Red Leopard: The Dragon's Den

## Act 1 - The Road To Man’s End

### Part 1

12am in Wuhan, China. December 21st, 2046. On the top floor of a skyscraper is an apartment with interconnected rooms. There is a kitchen off of the living room. A man in a tuxedo stands in front of the glass walls drinking hard liquor. His black hair just barely doesn’t reach his shoulders. He looks far from well groomed. In one hand he has a battered scroll. The paper has turned yellow and the golden rod of the scroll is damaged. The man sighs as he reads the scroll another time. Behind him, the elevator stops. A man in yellow armored ninja gear walks forward.

Ninja: Give me the scroll.

???: Your master already got his scroll. You can only get one. After that, you’re done. You hunted down all of the man and woman I trained. This will be no different. You’re just another Talon to the Dragon. Once you die, I’ll be hunted by another talon.

Talon: We’ve accepted that. You never could. That’s why all the other students excelled. You became a drunkard. You stand in a skyscraper that isn’t yours. One you stole, and still think respecting your master’s rules will bring you something in life, Shao. You’re so fucked up you never brought yourself to give away the scroll because you know everything in your life turns to shit. You just couldn’t put that on anyone else.

Shao: That’s why I follow the rules. Eventually, I’ll do one thing right.

Talon takes out two swords from the sheaths on his hips. He runs at Shao with the swords extending like arms out of his body. The Right sword slashes. Shao ducks under the steel blade. One quick punch to Talon’s stomach. Talon’s head moves forward. Shao grabs his chin and pushes him up into the ceiling. Talon falls down spinning. The swords create a tornado of blades. Shao finishes his drink and throws it at Talon. Talon stops spinning and hits the floor. Shao walks up to Talon and kicks him in the stomach. Talon’s body rolls over. He sees blood on the floor.

Talon: (That’s not my blood.)

Talon looks at Shao’s leg. He sees a wound on his thigh.

Shao: Get up. You’re not doing anything.

Shao kicks Talon in the stomach again. Talon grabs his leg. He takes two finger and sticks them into Shao’s wound. He moves his fingers around. Blood rushes out. Shao punches Talon in the head over and over and over again. Talon’s iron helmet cracks. A piece of iron split off and cuts Talon’s forehead. Shao punches Talon again. The piece digs deeper down into Talon’s skull. Talon falls down and lets go of Shao’s leg.

Shao: He’s not dead yet.

Talon jumps up. He rips the piece of iron out of his skull. Blood trickles down his face. Talon Swings his swords. Shao uses the scroll. He parries Talon’s sword slashes and smacks Talon’s eye with the gold rod. Talon’s bloody eye closes. He jabs forward. Shao grabs the sword between his two hands. He kicks Talon’s stomach. Talon stabs one sword down into Shao’s foot. Talon falls to the ground and Shao drops Talon’s sword. He rips the sword out of his foot.

Talon: You’re the weakest student we’ve fought. Everyone else had special moves. Something that made them special. You have nothing.

Shao: That’s what makes me special. I never needed them.

The Elevator stops. Three more Talons run up.

The three Talons take out their swords. They surround Shao. Shao makes his hands as straight as possible. Blades come at him from every direction. He knocks each blade away with his hands. Slowly slices appear on his hands. The swords become bloody. A sword slices Shao’s hand off.

Shao: Agh!

From behind him, a sword slices through his back and up his stomach. The blade comes up through his mouth. The Talon twists his blade and pulls it out of Shao. He grabs Shao by his collar and drags him over to the window. The talon throws him. Shao’s body breaks the glass. He hits the ground. All the Talon can see is a pool of blood.

Talon2: He’s dead.

Talon: He was dead when you cut him open. Did you get the scroll?

The Talon hands him the scroll. He reads it.

Talon: It’s a fake. He didn’t have the scroll. We’ll tell the dragon.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Small wheels roll against the sidewalk of the busy Hong Kong street. A young man balances on his skateboard. He has short blond hair and a skinny build. He pops his skateboard into his hand and walks into a small pawn shop.

Taio: Ma! School’s out, imma go hang out with a friend.

Taio’s mother shuffled out from the back of the store.

Ma: School ends in an hour. Why are you home so early?

Taio: Half a day.

Ma: You said it was a half a day last week. Fine, maybe your friend will get you to do some homework. Lord knows I can’t.

Taio: Thank you.

Taio runs outside and throws down his skateboard. He rides alongside the cars. He has to cross the street. He lets his skateboard roll under a car as he rolls on the hood. The driver yells at Taio. Taio lands on his board and rolls away. Taio flips off the man who is yelling in his car.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio rolls past a chain link fence. He watches as a man is pushed to the ground. A talon stands above the man with a foot on his chest.

Talon: Where is Zhou Taio?

Man: I-I don’t know!

Talon: You knew who Shao was. You don’t know his nephew.

Man: I’ve never seen anyone else I swear!

Talon stomps on the man’s chest. His foot breaks his bones ripping through his chest. Talon hears rolling wheels. He scales the side of a small building. When he gets to the roof, he runs over to the ledge. The street is nearly empty. Only a few people are walking. Talon gets annoyed and walks away.

### Part 2

Taio is running through alleyways with his skateboard in his hand. He’s breathing heavily. He stops and leans against a wall. He looks down the alleyway. He jumps onto his skateboard and rolls away.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio rolls onto a skatepark. His friend is sitting down on a bench fixing the wheels on his skateboard.

Taio: Dude, I just saw the craziest shit! This guy was wearing armor and beat up some random dude. He said he was looking for me.

Friend: What? You didn’t explain anything.

Taio: I told you everything I know! This guy had, like, yellow armor. He just stomped on a guys chest. I think he might’ve killed him.

Friend: And you didn’t do anything?

Taio: Bro, he was looking for me. I was running for my life. What did you want me to do?

Friend: Call the police then! Tell them what happened.

Taio: I can’t call the police. Be like, “uh, hello. Yes, a yellow knight is trying to kill me.”

Friend: At least tell them about the guy.

Taio: Fine.

Taio calls the police and tells them that he saw a bloody man behind the chain linked fence.

Taio: Wait, if he is asking about me, do you think he knows where I live?

Friend: Probably not. He would’ve already checked there if he knew that. You’re lucky you never go to school. You’re not an easy person to find.

Taio: Good. I’m going home. Imma get all my stuff before the knight finds me.

Friend: So we aren’t hanging out.

Taio: Hell no!

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio walks inside his mother’s shop. He walks past the counter.

Mother: Taio, you got a package.

Taio’s mother starts opening the package. Taio pulls the box away from her.

Taio: Stop opening my mail!

Mother: I’ve been opening your mail for the last 16 years. Why now that you're 17 it’s different?

Taio: Cause it’s almost illegal.

Taio walks up the stairs in the back of the shop. He throws the box on his bed. Darting around, he looks for any type of bag. An old school bag that hasn’t seen use in years sits in the corner of his closet. He opens it up. The bag is nearly empty. He takes a few notebooks and papers out. Once the bag is empty, he scatters to different places in his room. Grabbing clothes, tools, anything that could help him. As he is throwing stuff in his old bag. He gets distracted by the box that lays on top of his bed.

Taio: Why did I even get mail anyway?

Taio walks over to his bed and opens the box. In the box, there is a golden scroll and a letter. Taio picks up the scroll. The paper rolls off the scroll. Dust flies into the air. Old Chinese characters are written on the scroll. Taio struggles to read it.

Taio: “Through the village of the wealthy deceit. Across the river of the floating creatures of the night. Down in the valley of the past lives. Climbing the mountain that even the gods look up to. That is where the 2nd heaven, Vitala, is.”

Taio puts down the scroll.

Taio: What? Is this some prank? Who sent me a dusty scroll where I can’t read half the words!

Taio rips open the letter. He takes a piece of paper out of it.

Taio: “Dear Taio, I know this scroll is strange, but it is the only thing that can help you now. The talons are after me. I know once I am gone. They will be after you. Watch out for them. Watch out for the yellow armor. The scroll has directions to Vitala. There, you will be safe. The people there will help you, and watch over you. Ask your mother for money. Tell her you’re going to a school for bad kids. Tell her anything you can. You will never be safe at home. Below I listed out the way I got to Vitala. I know how strong you are. You will do well. Signed uncle Shao.”

Taio puts down the letter.

Taio: Uncle knew about the yellow knights?

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

A few hours later, The shop is closed. Taio and his mother are sitting down for dinner on the second floor. The dinner table is quiet.

Taio: Mom, I thought Uncle died from a fall.

Mother: He did.

Taio: The package was from him. He said people were following him.

Mother: Somebody must have sent that to us as a cruel joke. Don’t pay attention to it.

Taio: No, I’ve seen the people who were following him. I think we need to leave.

Mother: Taio, are you crazy? We aren’t leaving! Eat your dinner and go to bed. Did you stay up too late last night? Is that why you are acting like this?

Taio: No mom-

A Talon crashes through their window. Glass shards fly around the room. Cuts appear on Taio’s arms as he protects his face. The Talon swings his sword. Taio’s chair falls backwards. Talon’s sword misses. Taio hits the ground and rolls out of his chair. Taio gets up and runs down the stairs. Talon turns to Taio’s mother.

Mother: Leave us alone!

Taio’s Mother points her knife at Talon. Taio sees Talon from the bottom of the stairs. He hears his mother’s voice.

Taio: I have the scroll!

Taio runs out of the shop. He calls the police, and puts his phone to his ear.

Taio: Where is the yellow knight?

Talon jumps back through the window and lands on the ground near Taio. The police answer the phone.

Taio: I’m right outside of the Zhou shop! This man is trying to kill me!

Taio hangs up the phone. He holds the phone in his hand like a weapon. Talon laughs at him. Pointing his sword to Taio as he walks closer. Taio walks backwards to keep the distance between them.

Talon: Is the scroll on you?

Taio: Why do you want the scroll?!

Talon: Have you read it?

Taio: N-no.

Talon: You read it. You should know. Unless you can’t read archaic chinese.

Taio:...

Taio backs into a wall.

Talon: Stupid boy. You don’t even know what you have. The potential for greatness is in your hands and you have no idea.

Talon is only a few steps in front of Taio. He raises his blade. Then, bullets fire off and dent Talon’s armor. Talon looks at two police aiming at him.

Talon: You will die Zhou Taio.

Talon jumps up onto the rooftops. The police run up to Taio.

Policeman: Are you okay? Do you have any injuries?

Taio: No, he never hurt me.

The policemen bring out their radios and start reporting.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Later that night, the police leave. Taio and his mother are in a car driving down the old streets of Hong Kong.

Mother: Where did your uncle tell you to go?

Taio: Vitala.

Mother: What is that?

Taio: I don’t know.

Mother: Don’t you think you’d be safer here? With the police all around?

Taio: I won’t be able to escape him again and again. I got lucky. He could have killed me, but he waited.

Mother: Fine. Here, take this money and stay safe. You have no idea where you’re going, but if you leave the city. You’ll find a life very different from Hong Kong.

Taio: I’ll be safe.

Taio gets out of the car. A bus drives up. He walks onto the bus and sits down in one of the seats. The rickety old bus drives away. It feels like it is wobbled back and forth as it drives.

### Part 3

Taio’s head is bobbing back and forth. He has almost succumbed to drowsiness. The bus stops. The sudden movement wakes him. He looks up at the bus’ front window. The driver makes a gesture for him to walk up. Taio stands up from his seat. Down the long aisle he bumps into almost every seat there is. The bus driver pulls a lever. Taio looks at the door opening.

Bus Driver: Do you know where you are going?

Taio: Uh, a merchant village is suppose to be around here. You know of it?

Bus Driver: Yeah, I do. It’s about a mile or two straight ahead.

Taio: You can’t drive me?

Bus Driver: Not my route kid. Most don’t even go this far out of Hong Kong.

Taio: I get it. Thanks anyway.

The Bus driver reaches to the lever to close the door.

Bus Driver: Oh. You’re young. You should know, don’t trust the merchants. None of them deserve your time, and especially not your money.

Taio: I won’t give them any. I’m on a mission.

The bus driver laughs.

Bus Driver: Look out for the smile. Everyone there has a weird ear to ear smile like a businessman. Good luck, kid. I’m rooting for you.

The door shuts. The bus slowly drives away. Taio turns forward. He looks around at all the green trees. They are perfectly still. No wind, no animals rustling the leaves. So still it’s almost fake. Taio looks down at the barely gravel pathed dirt road. He remembers how beautifully paved the road was only a few miles back. Taio pushes forward.

Taio: I better not ruin these shoes. Maybe I should change them? They are new.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

2 miles and callused feet later, Taio sees the bright lights of the Merchants city. The oranges, pinks, and yellows of the lights brighten the night sky. Beautiful women are paraded around the streets wearing thin clothing. Men are loud, drunk, and always have money in their hands. Taio is immersed in the hysteria of the city. His stomach growls. He walks through the streets. A woman standing behind a register. Taio smells the food on the hot grills behind her.

Woman: Hey you. You’re kinda cute. You look like you’ve been traveling around.

Taio: Only a little. I rode on this one bus. It was so rusty I might need to get a tetanus shot.

Woman: Well, if you’re hungry. We sell all different kinds of food.

Taio looks at the menu.

Taio: I’ll take chicken.

The woman hands Taio a barbecue chicken shish kabob. Taio hands her money. Something feels off. The sound of her pressing keys on the register is so loud everything else is drowned out. Everyone walks around slowly. Taio looks around. He is captured by the sound of the register opening.

Woman: Here’s your change.

Taio takes the change and walks off eating his food. Everyone walks past him. He feels off. Like he is almost disgusted with himself, or disappointed. He watches everyone walk into a building. The feeling disappears as he follows the crowd inside. The building has strobe lights everywhere. The lights are no longer beautiful, but blinding. He hears talking. People are sitting down at a table. They all have cards. A man overlooks the game.

Man: You! This game is almost over. Try your luck! Everyone has a chance here at Lady Luck’s Palace! Sit down.

Taio sits down next to a man. The man looks nervous. He puts his cards down.

Man: You lose! Oh, another unlucky day for you. Will that be going on the tab too? How are you going to pay us back 500,000 yuan without a win?

Nervous Man: J-just one more game.

Man: Is everybody ready to play another game yet?

Everyone at the table says yes in an almost zombie like fashion.

Taio: I’m not playing.

Man: Don’t get nervous. Everyone has cold feet. It’s an easy game. Sit down and I’ll tell you the rules.

Taio: No, I’ll try something else.

Taio walks into the crowd. The man tries to run after him, but Taio is lost in a blockade of people.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio runs outside of the building. The Streets are still bustling with people. He steadily moves through the crowds of people. As he is looking for an inn, every building he passes is just another store. The farther from the center of town he goes, the less people he sees. Until he is nearly the only one there. All he sees is a few scattered people now and again. Some are so drunk they can barely walk. Other’s looked like they were weighed down by something. The desperate look on their faces scared Taio. An old woman walks out from a building. She looks at Taio.

Old Woman: Young man, how old are you?

Taio: I’m 17.

Old Woman: Then you must come inside. Come here.

Taio follows the woman inside her building. She shuts the door.

Old Woman: You shouldn’t be out there. It’s dangerous for someone at your age. The people are trying to take all your money and then some.

Taio: Why is everybody over there then?

Old Woman: It’s like a moth to a flame. Even if they know the consequences they will still go. The lights, the stores. It draws people in.

Taio: Why do you live here?

Old Woman: The merchant's trick only works at night. During the day, you would never expect the deceit of the night. That’s why I stay inside for the night.

Taio: Do you know where I can stay?

Old Woman: This right here is my inn.

Taio: That’s pretty convenient. You run a business here?

Old Woman: I’ve run this business for forty long years. Most that come here are young couples or men who are scared to go home and see their wives.

Taio: How much for a room?

Old Woman: 4,000 yuan.

Taio: 4,000 yuan? I can’t pay that.

Old Woman: No, it’ll be fine. Sleep here. We’ll figure it out in the morning.

Taio looks at the old woman’s face. Her smile goes from ear to ear. Taio feels like an arrow pierces his heart. His head has a pounding headache. The lights in the hotel are bright and beating down on him.

Taio: No. I’ll find a place to stay.

Old Woman: You don’t want to go back out there.

Taio: I can handle it. I know how those people are.

Taio opens the door. The old woman looks furious. The door closes and Taio is back on the street. He walks through the street. The trees bring a familiarity. Taio walks into the forest. The ground is cold and solid. The grass is so green and luscious he can’t even feel the dirt below it. He drops down with his back against a tree. His headache slowly dissipates. Taio lets out a sigh.

Taio: I thought red light districts were supposed to be fun.

### Part 4

A droplet splashes on Taio’s forehead. He wakes up. His clothes are soaked. Rain is pouring. The night time sky is becoming daylight. Taio stands up and moves through the muddy forest. Slightly wind blows Taio’s clothes.

Taio: I must be close to the water.

As Taio is moving through the forest, his body starts burning up. He leans against a tree and wipes sweat from his forehead. He sees something on his arm. A leech is stuck on him.

Taio: Ah, what the fuck! What the fuck!

Taio tries to pull the leech off. His hands slide off of the slippery creature. He looks around for something. He opens his bag.

Taio: Come on!

He gets anxious. Taio almost destroys his bag looking for something to pry the leech off with. He finds a knife. Taio stands up and leans against the tree. Taio breathes.

Taio: 1, 2-

Taio drags the knife under the leech and pries it off. Slicing through his arm with it. The leech falls onto the ground. Taio stomps on the leech.

Taio: Fuck you! Creepy little bastard.

Taio checks the rest of his skin. He looks at his backpack real quick and then picks it up.

Taio: Where’s this water?

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio runs out of the forest. He sees the giant body of water. The sun is still rising. The sprinkle of sunlight that Taio can see is bouncing off the pond’s calm waters. Taio sees a boat moving across the water. He looks over to the side and finds a dock. Taio sits down at the dock and waits.

Taio: what did the scroll say about this place again?

Taio takes out the scroll.

Taio: Not much. Great. Hopefully the captain of that boat will know something.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

The boat docks. A man slowly walks onto the port. His gray beard is dirty and unkempt. The long blue coat draping over his body has holes throughout it. The man looks at Taio with one eye. The other eye is scarred. Taio stands up.

Taio: Are you a pirate?

The man laughs.

???: My name is Bronson. You must be the last to get your scroll.

Taio: Other people have these scrolls.

Bronson: Few others get the scroll, but yes. Other people have them. How many made it to Vitala? I don’t know. I would put good money that you’re not the only one that'll be at Vitala besides the master.

Taio: The master?

Bronson: How many words were scratched off your scroll?

Taio: Uh, most of them.

Taio hands Bronson the scroll. Bronson scoffs.

Bronson: it’s practically unreadable. You’re lucky you made it this far. Get in the boat. I’ll get some supplies and come back.

Taio sits in the boat. His stomach growls.

Taio: I’m hungry again. Why did my uncle even want me to go to this place?

A few minutes later, Bronson walks onto the boat. He starts up the engine. The boat slowly moves away from the dock picking up speed. Soon the boat is cutting through the pond.

Bronson: I’ve been moving people across this pond for as long as I can remember. I used to row a boat down the water.

Taio: That must have been awful. I can’t even run for thirty seconds. You rowed a boat for hours.

Bronson: It wasn’t all bad. My arms were huge. The ladies loved them.

Taio: You gave up being jacked?

Bronson: I got old. Nobody wants to row a boat every damn day.

Taio laughs.

Taio: One time, my friend got tired of skating so he bought a scooter. It was the worst decision of his life. He couldn’t do anything with it. He ended up just selling it and buying another skateboard.

Bronson: I was like that. When I bought this boat, I thought it was useless. Nobody ever taught me how to use a motor boat. That’s when Master Yin told me to be patient.

Taio: Master Yin?

Bronson: You’ll meet him. He once told me, “fear comes in all shapes and demons. The path of the frightened only leads to more fear.”

Taio: He sounds cryptic.

Bronson: More than anyone else you’ll ever meet.

Taio: if you’ve been carrying people across the water for so long, have you met some creepy bastards?

Bronson: Of course I have. Most of them are looking to intimidate you. The trick is to be overly friendly. They usually get weirded out by you. If it really does come down to a fight though, I can handle myself.

Taio: I bet you can! Like 300 pounds of pure Viking power!

Bronson: I thought I was a pirate.

Taio: I mean, close enough. You’re both practically made to fight.

Bronson looks up at the sky.

Taio: What?

Bronson: You picked a good time for a ride. We’ll barely have any problems.

Taio: Problems?

Bronson: You really don’t know anything.

Bronson laughs.

Bronson: You’ll be fine.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Twelve hours later, Bronson and Taio are eating food that Bronson packed in the boat. The sky has become dark again. Taio can see the shore.

Taio: Finally! Why didn’t you tell me it’d take all day!

Bronson: It doesn’t matter. You’re stuck here either way.

Something smacks the boat. Taio jumps up and looks over the side. He sees some type of green creature. It’s scarlet body slowly climbed up the side of the boat.

Bronson: They’re here!

Bronson walks over to the side of the boat. He grabs one of the creatures by the neck.

Bronson: Green bastards!

Bronson throws the creature back into the water.

Bronson: Don’t let them on the boat!

Taio opens his bag and takes out the knife. He slices the creature’s scaly hand. The monster let’s go of the boat and sinks into the water. Taio feels something knock him into the bottom of the boat. He looks up. A monster stands above him. The monster roars.

Bronson: Kill it!

Taio slashes the monster’s throat. The creature stumbles back and falls off the boat.

Bronson: They won’t follow us on land!

Bronson drives the boat onto the sandy shore. The monsters let go of the boat as soon as the water becomes shallow. The boat kicks up sand. It stops, a little sunk into the ground. One creature is still on the boat. It slashes Bronson’s face. Bronson picks the creature up and throws it into the pond.

Taio: What the hell were those things?! Why didn’t you tell me anything?!

Bronson: Not allowed to.

Taio: What? Who told you that you can’t say anything?

Bronson: You still don’t understand what you’re doing here. Progress forward. You haven’t made it to Vitalla yet.

Taio looks at the forest ahead of him.

Taio: Where is it?

Bronson: Straight ahead!

Taio hears Bronson’s voice from far away. The boat is on the water. Bronson stands on the boat, waving to Taio. The cut on Bronson’s face is gone. Taio watches as the scaly green creatures push Bronson’s boat back to the port.

### Part 5

Taio is walking through a sandy area. His mouth is dry. He moves slowly and wobbly. His feet hurt so much he can’t feel how tired his legs are. He collapses. The sand rubs against his face. Taio tries to stand up. His fist fills with sand as he lifts himself up. Taio sees feet in front of him. He looks up. A man in desert clothing stands above him holding an assault rifle.

Taio: Fuck.

The man bashes Taio in the back of the head with the stock of his gun.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio wakes up. He takes a deep breath. Looking around, he finds himself in a cave. Turning his head around so fast stirs up the dormant headache he has. The pounding of the headache comes back. The man is sitting on the opposite side of the cave as Taio, with his gun pointing at Taio’s head.

???: Who are you?

Taio: Zhou Taio.

???: What are you doing here?

Taio: I’m walking through the valley to get to the mountain.

???: What mountain?

Taio: A tall mountain. I don’t know! I was given directions.

???: Give me the directions.

Taio: I can’t. They were word of mouth.

???: We have a problem then.

Taio: We obviously have a problem! You’re pointing a gun at my head!

???: And you need to stop yelling before I put a bullet in your head.

Taio:…

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Two talons are looking down on the valley.

Talon 1: Through villages, across water, and now to this valley.

Talon 2: We’ve followed him most of the way. Once he gets to the end of the valley, we kill him.

Talon 1: Then we take his scroll. Bring it back to the dragon.

Talon 2: The dragon will be pleased.

Talon 1: Very.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

???: Give it to me.

Taio: What? What do I give to you?

???: Take it out of your bag. Any sudden movements and I’ll blow your head off.

The man grips his gun tighter. Taio opens his bag.

Taio: Who are you?

???: The Shadow Baron.

Taio grabs the knife. His hand is still in the bag. In one quick motion he throws the knife at The Shadow Baron. The Baron fired off one shot. The shot deflects the knife.

Baron: That was stupid.

The Baron hits Taio with the stock again. Taio falls back. The Baron puts a foot on Taio, keeping him pinned to the ground. He pulls the scroll out of the bag. The Baron reads the scroll, and puts it back in the bag. He takes his foot off of Taio.

The Baron: Let’s go.

Taio: Go? Do you have anything to help my bloody head?! You just bashed me with the back of your fucking gun!

The Baron: Do you want to get shot?

Taio:…

The Baron: Then stand up and start walking.

The Baron pulls Taio up. Taio walks forward and out of the cave. Giant walls of yellow rock and sand reach about a hundred feet up. The Baron pushes Taio to keep moving.

Taio: The scroll is wrong. This isn’t a valley. This is a canyon.

The Baron: The scroll doesn’t lie. It was a valley at one point. Now, all you see is the remnants of a valley.

Taio: What caused it?

The Baron: Water, weathering, maybe something else.

Taio sees a vehicle up ahead of them. The vehicle looks like a motorcycle without wheels.

The Baron: We’ll be using that. Just keep walking forward.

Taio hears the noise of sand moving. Dust slowly falls from the peaks of the canyon’s cliffs. Creatures that look like shadows jump down the sides of the canyon. They dig their hands into the mountain, slowing their fall.

The Baron: Run, run, run!

Taio and The Baron run as fast as they can. Taio feels like his legs are moving faster than they can. He doesn’t feel like he is running. His legs are almost moving on their own. A mass of the shadows comes together at the bottom of the canyon. They all chase after Taio and The Baron. Taio keeps running. The Baron turns around and fires off his gun. Round after round is shot out. The shadows disappear as a bullet pierces them. Taio reaches the motorcycle like vehicle. He can feel his heart beating in his chest in between every breath. He turns around. The Baron is still firing off bullets.

Taio: Run!

The Baron doesn’t hear him. The Shadows start inching closer. He throws his gun over his shoulder. It stays on his back from the strap holding it close. The Baron is barely staying in front of the endless shadow army. He jumps onto the motorcycle. He puts his feet on the sleigh like the bottom of the bike. Taio gets on behind him. The bike starts up. Taio turns around. The shadows are only a few feet away. The bike blasts off. Kicking up sand in the shadow’s faces. Taio looks at the shadows as they wipe dirt off their face. Every shadow has the same face as his Uncle. Soon the shadows become just black dots, too far away to see.

The Baron: What did the shadows look like?

Taio is startled.

Taio: M-my uncle.

They start to see grass as the Canyon’s tall walls become less steep.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

The bike is parked on bright green grass. The Baron leans against his bike holding the scroll. Taio stands in front of him.

The Baron: If you are going to finish the journey, all you have left is to climb the mountain.

Taio looks around. He sees the grassy field is surrounded by mountains in the distance. The Baron points to the top of a mountain.

The Baron: That is where you will go.

Taio: Why are you helping me?

The Baron: Why has anyone helped you? The bus driver, the captain of the boat. Maybe you’re charismatic, maybe it’s something else.

Taio: W-

The Baron puts his hand up. Smoke bombs drop onto the ground surrounding them. As the smoke clears, Taio sees the two Talons.

Talon 1: Two talons, one Baron.

Talon 2: Or should we say Shadow.

They keep circling.

The Baron: You follow the dragon, and I know more about your master than you do.

Talon 2: We don’t follow the dragon.

Talon 1: We are the dragon.

Talon 2: We are the talons.

Talon 1: The dragon’s claws.

Talon 2: His weapons.

The Baron: Back up, boy. You can’t fight these things.

The talons swing their swords. The Baron ducks under one sword. Two swords come down from over his head. He rolls to the side. The talon kicks at his head. The Baron drops to the ground. On his back, he kicks the talon in his stomach with both feet. The Baron jumps up and looks to the left. The other talon swings his sword. The Baron can’t dodge it. The blade moves so fast. A shadow forms in front of The Baron. The shadow blocks the talon’s sword. The shadow holds the talon there. The other talon rushes The Baron. He swings his sword. Another shadow forms and blocks the blade. The Baron forces his palm into the talon’s stomach. He stumbles back. The shadow kicks him in his chest. The Baron punches him in the jaw. Back and forth The Baron and his shadow beat down on the talon until he drops down to the ground, defeated. The other talon is still fighting The Baron’s shadow. The Baron’s shadows disappear. He fires off bullets at the talon. The talon dodges a few bullets, but they fly so fast. He gets caught by one bullet. He slows down. The other bullet’s pierce his torso and arms. He falls down to the ground.

Taio: You killed them.

The Baron: They aren’t people. Just entities. Bodies for The Dragon to use. If you knock them out, they will wake up and try to kill you again. Their mission is not finished until it’s complete. They have no exceptions.

Taio:…

The Baron: Go to the mountain. It’s the last obstacle you’ll have to overcome.

The Baron gets on his motorcycle and drives away. The Baron feels the cold wind slap his face

The Baron: He’s just like his uncle.

### Part 6

Taio’s feet are killing him. He sits in the grassy field. Breezes move the grass. Taio puts on a jacket and looks up at the mountain ahead of him.

Taio: I can’t climb a mountain. I can barely climb a big rock. How am I supposed to even get up there?

Taio stands up and progresses forward. The mountain gets ever so closer. Once Taio gets closer, he can see a man at a gate. The man watches him like a hawk. His eyes are completely focused on Taio. Taio stops in front of the gate.

Taio: Are you here to help me up the mountain?

The man laughs at him.

???: I’m just the man that guards this gate. If you want to climb up the mountain, then follow the path.

Taio: Uh, okay.

Taio tries to walk past the man. The man puts out his arm and stops him.

???: Show me the golden ticket.

Taio: Golden ticket?

???: I am Aegis. I guard the only way up this mountain. You either show me the golden ticket, or you turn back around and go home.

Taio reluctantly digs in his bag and pulls out the scroll.

Aegis: Unroll the scroll.

Taio rolls out the scroll and shows Aegis the words.

Aegis: You may proceed up the mountain.

Taio: Thank you.

Taio bows and walks forward. The path is long and weathered. The path along the mountain looks like it was carved out of the mountain’s side. Taio walks around and around the mountain. He sees the same places over and over again. Every time he makes a trip around the entire mountain, the air gets much colder. The air starts to become thicker.

Taio: I wonder if it’ll start snowing. I didn’t have the clothes prepared to climb a mountain.

Taio keeps walking. He turns and a body is laying on the mountain. Taio runs over. The person has blood all over them. Taio crouches down, and puts his hand to the person’s mouth.

Taio: He’s dead.

Taio looks at the person’s face.

Taio: He was around my age.

Taio looks at the kid’s coat. Then turns back to the kid.

Taio: Rest in peace.

Taio stands back up and continues walking up the mountain.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

A few hours later, Taio is cold and hungry. Taio leans against the mountain and slowly slides down until he sits on the ground.

Taio: Fuck. My legs are sore. My feet hurt. My head still hurts from getting bashed by a gun. What the hell. I should just go back down the mountain. Maybe I should just stay with The Baron. He took down the talons like they were nothing.

Taio looks up. He can see how close he is halfway up the mountain.

Taio: The mountain is only getting smaller… But I’ve pushed myself too far. I’m just a regular kid. I came here to stay safe. What if I fall like the other guy…

A snowflake falls in front of Taio. It lands on the ground. Taio puts his hand out. Another snowflake falls.

Taio: I’ll freeze! I need to make a decision. Up or down…

Taio stands up. Taio looks down, then up at the mountain top.

Taio: I can’t go back. My uncle made it there. I can make it there too. He wouldn’t have told me to go if he didn’t think I would survive.

Taio starts running up the mountain. The farther up he goes, the more the snow covers the mountain. His run shortly turns into shifting through the snow. His legs are freezing. His feet almost slide on the layer of ice under the snow. Taio hears the sound of wolves howling. He stops in his snow tracks. He looks up on the ledge above him. Three wolves look down on him. Taio tries to run away. Two wolves jump down in front of him. The other one lands behind him. Taio tries to say something. His heavy breathing leaves him no time to even get out a sound. One wolf jumps at Taio. In an attempt to dodge, Taio falls off the mountain. The hungry wolves look down the edge of the mountain to find him. All they see is the white of snow. They run away.

Taio: My arms!

Taio’s hands dug into the snow on the edge of the cliff. He barely holds himself up. His arms give out every time he tries to pull himself up. The numbness in his fingers gets worse by the second. He almost doesn’t feel the cold in his finger’s anymore.
 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Five years ago, Taio was skateboarding away from the cops. The sirens are behind him. The cops get stuck in the traffic of Hong Kong. Taio escapes into the alleyways. Taio looks behind him with a big smile on his face. His head slams into something. He falls off his skateboard and hits the ground.

Taio: My head!

Shao stands in front of Taio with his arm out.

Shao: Taio, again? What did you do?

Taio: I was just having fun.

Shao: Rebelling against your parents, even your teachers, is fine. I understand it. You’re young, everybody is always trying to tell you what to do, and you still don’t even know what you want to do. I get it. I’m still figuring out what I want to do, but you’re getting older. You can’t be acting like a kid anymore. When you were younger, yeah, the cops would have only given you a slap on the wrist. If you get caught now, you’re looking at jail time or worse. Your mother and I don’t want to find you dead. Learn something. Do something. Get a grip on your life. It goes by fast. If you keep acting the way you do now, it’ll end even quicker.

Taio: I’m sorry uncle.

Shao: Come on, let’s go home.

Taio stands up. Shao starts walking Taio home. Shao messes with Taio’s hair.

Shao: Survive Taio.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio: I’m not gonna die!

Slowly, Taio manages to lift himself up. He forces his torso onto the snow and swings his legs onto the edge. Taio lays in the snow for a second while breathing. He stands back up and walks through the snow. Soon, he can’t see the top anymore. All he sees is the sky above him. Taio turns to the side. He sees a small cave. On the outside of the cave is stone architecture around the edges of the cave’s entrance. The stone has carvings of archaic chinese across it. Taio walks into the cave. He sees the stone heads of several different animals on stone pedestals. A giant rock door is in front of Taio. Taio bangs on the rock. Even his weak knocks hurt his cold fist. Next to the door is a yin yang symbol. The seeds of yin and yang are open holes. Taio is confused. He can barely think.

Taio: A puzzle! I’m freezing! The scroll has to have something on it.

Taio takes out the scroll. He unravels it more and more, finding nothing. The scroll is entirely open. He looks at the scroll’s rod. He sees a line in the middle of the scroll's rod. He unlocks the rod. It splits in two. He puts a part of the rod in each seed. The rock door slowly slides open. Taio grabs the scroll and rolls it up. Taio looks at the door in awe. A bald man with a long white beard stands there. He has a white kung fu jacket and loose black pants. His back is hunched over. He holds a bo staff like a cane.

???: Taio, I have waited for you. Come inside, before the frostbite sets in. Don’t forget the golden rod.

The old man leads Taio through the door. Taio pulls the rod out of the yin yang seeds. The rock door shuts behind Taio. Taio follows the old man through a long dark hallway made of rocks. He sees sunlight ahead of him. They turn a corner and the sunlight blinds Taio. His eyes adjust and he sees a beautiful field with green grass, scattered trees, a small pond with lily pads and water lilies.

???: My name is Master Yin. Taio, this will be your home for a little while.

Taio: It’s beautiful.

Master Yin smiles.

## Act 2 - Journey to A Better Self

### Part 1

The air feels unnaturally cold for such a bright sun. Sunshine warms up the air, but every once and a while a breeze comes in. Reminding you of how cold the air actually is.

Master Yin: Follow me.

Taio follows Master Yin down the hall. Taio is almost upset that he didn’t get more sunlight. The hall’s walls are dark, but sunlight still somehow manages to brighten up the room.

Master Yin: You completed all the challenges. Anyone who doesn’t turn back deserves a reward.

Taio: Challenges? The scroll wasn’t the way to get here, it was just a test!

Master Yin: Not everyone has the will to be here.

Taio: I didn’t even know what the challenges were. How did I pass them?

Master Yin: Do you question why a car just drove past you? When you make a new friend, do you question how that happened? There was only one way to succeed. That was to arrive here, Vitala. Therefore, you passed.

Taio: Is that what The Baron meant? The bus driver and Bronson. Everyone was there to guide me through the test?

Master Yin: Merchant Village, The River Of The Floating Dead, The Great Valley Of Shadows, and here. The Mountain Higher Than The Clouds. Those places are… a path, a challenge, and the way you got here. The mind is a beautiful and destructive tool. Deep thinking should only be used by the ones who know what to think about.

Master Yin opens up a door. The room looks like a magnificent cave. Stalactites hang from the wall. Drops of water roll off of the rocks. As the water droplets fall through the air, they make a sort of distorted rainbow. In the center of the room, a small pool of water has formed.

Master Yin: Wash yourself before dinner. It’d be rude not to.

Taio walks inside and Master Yin closes the door. Taio drops his clothes onto the ground. There is a body scrub next to the pool. Taio walks down the rough stairs into the pool. The water is warm. Taio feels like he is in the shower. He walks through the warm water. The bits of frostbite on his fingers evaporate. He grabs the body scrub. When he rubs himself down, the dirt spreads out into the clear water. The water breaks down the dirt until it’s gone.

Taio: What is this water?

Taio looks at his nose in the reflection of the water. He sees a cut along the bridge of his nose. He dunks his head under water. When he picks his head back up, he wipes the water out of his eyes. Taio looks at his reflection, and the wound is gone.

Taio: The water heals you.

Taio gets out of the water. He sees a shelf to the side of the room. The shelf is almost completely empty. The only thing there is a white towel and white clothes. Taio dries off and changes into the clothes. He realizes the outfit is a gi. He keeps the gi together with a black belt.

Taio: What is this outfit for? I thought they used this for karate.

Taio opens up the door back into the rocky hallway. A girl is sitting on the floor looking down. Her long thick black hair covers her face. She looks up at Taio. Taio realizes she is around his age. Her face is slim and innocent. She is wearing the same gi as Taio.

???: You’re a young one.

The girl stands up.

Taio: You don’t look any older than me. How old are you?

???: I’m 16.

Taio: You’re younger than me.

???: But you climbed a mountain.

The girl starts walking away. She stops and turns around.

???: C’mon, there’s time before dinner. Don’t you want to see what this place looks like?

Taio follows the girl down the rocky hallway. She stops at the opening. Taio looks forward into the sunlight filled air. The girl steps onto the grass and puts her arms out.

???: It’s always so warm.

Taio moves to take a step.

???: Take off your shoes. You won’t need them.

Taio takes his shoes and socks off. He steps into the grass. The sun beats down on him. The soft grass feels like padding under his feet.

???: This way.

The girl walks through the grass. Taio follows her.

Taio: Where are we going?

???: You’re going to meet the other students.

Taio follows the girl onto a small bridge. The bridge covers over a small body of water.

Taio: I don’t even know your name yet.

The girl turns to Taio and smiles.

???: I always forget the little things. Everyone calls me Aishu.

Taio: Is that a nickname?

Aishu: I guess so. That’s what grandpa Yin always called me.

Taio: So what are the other people like?

Aishu: I’m not telling you. You’re about to meet them.

They walk over a small hill. They see two men and a girl sitting on the ground. They all look tired and worn out. They’re gis are dirty.

Blond man: Who are you?

Aishu: Everyone, this is Taio. He found the last scroll

Blond man: Don’t think that means you're hot shit kid. You’re not.

Dark Haired Man: Shut up, Sone. Don’t listen to him Taio. Scorsone is by far the dumbest one of us.

Sone: Am I not telling the truth? Listen kid, we all climbed that mountain. It doesn’t mean you’ve accomplished anything. Give yourself a day or two and you’ll forget all about the mountain.

Dark Haired Man: He’s trying to scare you. Just don’t listen to him.

The dark haired man stands up. He shakes Taio’s hand.

Dark Haired Man: My name’s Joon-Woo. The girl here-

The girl waves.

Joon-Woo: Is Dilara.

Dilara: Nice to meet you.

Taio: Is that it? No one else. We’re really everyone?

Joon-Woo: Yup. It’s a good thing too. If you want to be alone you can just hide in a corner or something. Nobody’ll find you.

Sone: Joon-Woo, you do that everyday. Most people don’t hide away from the world.

Taio and Aishu sit down with everyone.

Aishu: Joon-Woo loves hiding.

Aishu messes up Joon-Woo’s hair. His bangs cover his eyes.

Dilara: He even hides in his hair.

Joon-Woo: I thought we were going to make fun of Sone. When did this become, bully Joon-Woo.

Aishu raises her head, sniffing.

Aishu: The food’s almost done. What do you think we’re eating today? I think Grandpa Yin was talking about soup earlier.

Sone: He’s even secretive about food. You know half the time he talks just to confuse us.

Dilara: Maybe if you listened to his words, it would make more sense.

Sone: Oh yeah. Please tell me. What does “You must cross the fence before you can come back home,” mean when he was teaching me how to cook?

Joon-Woo: You’re just mad.

Sone: I damn well should be!

They hear a bell ring.

Aishu: Dinner time!

Everyone stands up. They walk through the grass until they find a picnic table. Sensei Yin stands next to a fire. He finishes setting the plates and everyone sits down. Sensei Yin sits at the end of the table. Everyone eats white rice and meat. Taio can’t figure out what the meat is. All he knows is it’s unseasoned.

Sensei Yin: Did you all finish your training today?

Aishu: Yes-

Sone: Hell no.

Joon-Woo: I’m getting there. I guess.

Dilara: Your training is too hard Sensei!

Sensei Yin: Would it be training if you weren’t struggling? If you aren’t pushing your body to it’s limit, you’ve accomplished nothing.

Sone: But-

Sensei Yin: No more detail. Taio still hasn’t begun his first training.

Taio: When is my first training?

Sensei Yin: Tomorrow at sunrise. Here, we work from sunrise to sunset. The night is for rest.

Sone: Enjoy winter because summer is brutal. You get like 6 hours of sleep at most.

Sensei Yin: Summer is the time of training. The weather is at its most docile.

Dilara: That’s why I hate this time of year. Spring is awful. The days just keep getting longer.

Taio finishes his food. Sensei Yin see’s him looking awkward.

Sensei Yin: Taio, why don’t you get some more food. Training will take a lot more out of you than you might think.

Sone: This isn’t a slave camp. We don’t give out rations.

Joon-Woo: I’ll get up with you.

Joon-Woo and Taio stand up. Taio gets a little more. Joon-Woo’s food almost spills out of his bowl. Taio gets more before he sits back down. Everyone continues talking. They laugh and joke until the sun finally sets. Aisha leads Taio to his room.

Aishu: I’ve heard our rooms aren’t that comfortable, but it’s somewhere to sleep.

Taio moves to open the door. Aishu stops him.

Aishu: You were really quiet today. We didn’t scare you or anything, right?

Taio: No, I’m not scared.

Aishu: Good. They’re all softies anyway. If they ever give you trouble. I’ll beat all of them up for you.

Aishu starts to walk away.

Taio: You’ll beat them all up?

Aishu turns around with a big smile.

Aishu: That’s one of the training Grandpa Yin makes me do.

Aishu winks.

Aishu: I always win.

### Part 2

A group of wealthy men sit in an elaborately decorated dining room. Art work and decorative bowls and plates fill the room. In the corner, a skillfully handcrafted case stands tall. The case is full of trophies with the name Tsai Yu-hsuan. Everywhere you look there is something filling your view. It’s almost inescapable. Everyone sits at the dining table snickering and talking. Dishes with small portions laid out like artwork on the plate sit in front of each person. The business men all have bodyguards that stand behind their chairs. The only one without a bodyguard is Yu-hsuan who sits at the end of the table.

Wealthy Man: I hate it when people say, “You spend so much money on useless stuff like art. You could be helping people.” It’s my money! You can spend it on your money on helping people when you make a few billion. Yu-hsuan knows! Look at this place.

Yu-hsuan: I don’t look at the artwork I buy as just something to spend money on. Everything in this room is an accomplishment of mine. I worked enough to buy that 10 million dollar painting. Everything in this room reminds me of how I succeeded.

Wealthy Man: That’s deeper than most.

Yu-hsuan: The wounds I got clawing my way to the top are deeper than most.

Blades come up from below the table. Swords stab through each of the wealthy men. Blood pours out onto the floor. The bodyguard takes out their guns. Their nervousness makes them sloppy. Talons come up from the table and slaughter the bodyguards. Blood lands on Yu-hsuan’s suit jacket. He stands up and takes the jacket off. He delicately lays his jacket on his chair.

Yu-hsuan: Clean this place up. We have breakfast here in the morning.

He pats his jacket.

Yu-hsuan: Burn the jacket. I can always buy another one.

The talons start working. Yu-hsuan leaves the room fiddling with his golden dragon cufflinks.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio stands in a small wooden hut. The hut is old. Some of the wood has begun to rot, but the boards still look strong. In front of him, a log standing a bit taller than he does.

Taio: What do you want me to do with this?

Sensei Yin stands next to the log.

Sensei Yin: If you want to learn kung fu, you must learn how to throw a punch first. If you know how to throw a punch, the log will fall over.

Sensei Yin walks away.

Taio: Could you give an example?

The log door creeks shut. Taio looks at the log, and presses his fist against the cold wood. He readies his fist and punches the wood. A jolt of pain. His fist jumps back. Taio grabs his pained hand.

Taio: Ah, damn!

Taio pushes the log, trying to knock it over.

Taio: Is it nailed to the floor?

Taio gets low to the ground looking for nails or broken wood. He sees nothing but wood. Annoyed, he stands back up.

Taio: Maybe this is magical? Like the mountain being sunny.

Taio takes a deep breath. His fist slams against the wood. The pain releases his breath. He bashes the wood again and again.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio walks through the field of grass. The sky is dim, but the dinner bell has not yet rung. His tired body slouched with his head down looking at the grass. He leaves a trail of blood stained greenery as he walks. Numb hands bruised and dripping blood. Taio sees Sone sitting in the grass looking drained.

Sone: Hold on.

Taio stops and looks at Sone.

Sone: Let’s go. I’m bringing you inside. We need to clean you up. You can’t be bleeding all over your food.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

In Sone’s room, Taio is sitting on his knees. His hands soak in a bucket of warm water. Sone sits against the wall, eye level with Taio. Watching how pitiful he looks.

Sone: The first day is hard. Really fucking hard. Nobody likes pain. Before I came here I was scared of getting punched. I like to say I’m the strongest because I can punch the hardest now, but I couldn’t knock that log over. I took the longest to knock it over. Everyday I punched the log over and over for weeks. Splinters we’re stuck in my knuckles, but I couldn’t feel them. My hands bled everywhere. My fingers would dislocate, and Sensei Yin would pop them back in. My hands never stopped hurting. You think someone would go numb to the pain, but they don’t. You may not feel your fingers, but that’s because the feeling in your hand overwhelms you. When I knocked the log over, I wasn’t afraid of getting punched anymore. You’re not afraid of what pain someone else can do when you’ve mangled your own hands.

Taio stares down at his soaking hands. He smells the musty smell of his own blood. His hands raise out of the water, shaking off the water.

Taio: My hands stopped bleeding.

Sone: Good. Dry them off and we’ll wrap them up.

Sone stands up and grabs white wrap. He sits down next to Taio and starts wrapping his hands.

Sone: I learned this from Aishu. If you ever need any help, you can go to her. She knows the most out of all of us. It’s almost like she is a mini Sensei Yin.

Taio winces in pain. He wants to pull his hand back, but hides it.

Sone: Man up. Don’t hide your pain. You look weak. People are more perceptive than you think. Anyone can see you’re trying to hide your pain.

They hear the ring of the bell.

Sone: I’m almost done. Only a few more wraps.

Taio’s voice becomes a faint whisper.

Taio: Thank you.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next day, Taio walks inside the cabin. The floorboards creak under his feet. He stands parallel with the log. Taio looks like he is sizing up his enemy. Then, not out of bravery but pure ignorance. He punches the log as hard as he can. He yells out in pain, but his hand doesn’t move. Blood begins to stain his white wraps.

Taio: Ah!

Left, right, left, right. Taio punches the log over and over again.

???: I’ve never seen someone do that…

Someone speaks, but they’re words fall on deaf ears. Aishu watches Taio from a window. Her eyes sparkle and she looks mesmerized.

### Part 3

Weeks later, Taio’s calloused and torn hands strike the wood. Chips fly off of the stained log. The wood has more blood on it than Taio’s hands. The white wraps Taio had gotten became a deep red. He doesn’t yell every punch anymore. Taio feels the full pain, but he has no reaction. The log begins to tilt backwards. Every hit the log moves further and further.

Taio: Yes!

Taio gets a burst of energy. He has never seen the log move before. His fist shakes from every punch. His muscles tighten. The crack rings in Taio’s ears. The log hits the ground, denting the wood below it. Taio looks at the log. He is so happy his face is confused and emotionless. His mouth slowly becomes an ear to ear grin. Taio leans against the wooden wall of the cabin and slides down it until he reaches the floor. Tired and victorious, Taio sits there happily until he falls asleep.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Someone taps Taio on the nose. Taio’s eyes reluctantly open up. A woman speaks in whispers.

Aishu: Hey, you missed dinner.

Taio speaks through a stretch.

Taio: Is everything already gone?

Aishu: No, I brought you some food.

She passes Taio a bowl and sits down next to him. They both eat.

Taio: You didn’t eat dinner yet?

Aishu: I grabbed food and went to find you.

Taio: You could have eaten before you found me.

Aishu looks at the log laying on the ground.

Aishu: No one wants to eat alone. Especially when they had a good day.

Taio: I wouldn’t say a good day. I don’t feel all that accomplished after it.

Aishu: That’s because you fell asleep afterwards. You didn’t even get to enjoy your moment.

Taio: I did for a second. I had a big smile on my face.

Aishu: I wish I got to see it. The first training is always special. I bet it was one of those cheesy smiles that makes everyone else smile.

Taio: …Aishu, what was your first training?

Aishu: My first real training?

Taio: Yeah.

Aishu: It was this. Except there wasn’t a cabin to train in. It was ten years ago. The log was on the grass. I guess Grandpa Yin got tired of hearing me yell in pain so he built this cabin.

Taio: You were 6.

Aishu: Yup. It took me 5 months to knock it over.

Taio thinks of his mauled hands. He wonders what Aishu’s hands are like. He reaches out, and she grabs his arm.

Aishu: Your wraps are all bloody. They don’t work anymore when you keep them on for weeks.

Aishu begins to unwrap Taio’s bloody cloth. The cloth drops to the ground. Taio moves his arms around like he hasn’t had them in weeks. Aishu clasps her hands over his.

Aishu: This is what my hands feel like. Since you were so curious before.

Aishu’s hands are small, delicate, and her palms are soft. Her knuckles are larger and more pronounced.

Taio: After all that training your hands are still girly.

Aishu smiles.

Aishu: Thank you.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next day, Taio stands on the grass. Thin wooden pillars stick out of the ground. All of the pillars are only a foot or two away from each other. Sensei Yin stands next to Taio.

Sensei Yin: You’ve completed your first training. Now you’re here. What do you do?

Taio: Do I have to break through these pillars?

Sensei Yin: No.

Taio: Do I stand on them?

Sensei Yin:…

Taio: How do I get on it?

Sensei Yin: Climb.You must have built up some muscle while punching the log for weeks.

Taio walks over to a pillar. He can’t jump high enough to grab it. Taio pulls himself up onto one pillar. He uses his feet to hold himself steady while climbing the pillar. Taio can only get one foot on the pillar. His other foot doesn’t fit. Teetering back and forth, Taio puts his other foot down on another pole. He stays steady.

Sensei Yin: Good, you’ve had balance training. You’ve passed when you can run across the pillars as fast as you can run on the ground.

Taio: What? How?

Sensei Yin walks away

Sensei Yin: If you’re alive, then there is a way to solve your problem. No more questions about how you do something. You must learn to come to your own conclusions.

Taio watches as Sensei Yin walks off into the distance until he can no longer see him.

Taio: Okay…

Taio moves one foot to the next pillar carefully and quickly. His feet are far apart now. He can feel in his gut that if he moves he’ll fall. He moves his foot forward anyway.

Taio: Good.

Taio steadies with his feet next to each other. Taio keeps taking steps. Slowly and awkwardly Taio almost makes it to the other side of the pillars. He places his foot on the pillar. Taio puts pressure down. His foot slides and he falls down between the pillars. The fall doesn’t hurt, but he lays there for a second looking at the sky. He closes his eyes and crumbs fall on his forehead.

Joon-Woo: You fell.

Taio: I’m on the ground.

Joon-Woo: And I’m letting you know.

Taio: Why are you here Joon-Woo?

Joon-Woo: Why not be here? I’ve got nothing better to do.

Taio: The training?

Joon-Woo: Nothing better that I want to do.

Taio: So what? You’ll help me out on this?

Joon-Woo: What are you struggling with?

Joon-Woo jumps up. He pushes off of the poles, jumping between them, and lands on the top of a pillar. Taio climbs onto a pillar.

Joon-Woo: You struggle just standing up on the pillar. The only thing keeping you up is that you can balance well.

Taio: What do I do then?

Joon-Woo: You punched a log for months. Your arms are strong, but nothing else is. Do some push-ups. Strengthen your core or something. Do some lunges.

Joon-Woo jumps down from the pillar and walks away. When he turns around. Taio is doing push-ups on the ground. He continues walking.

Joon-Woo: I guess I was right. He is a skateboarder with that balance.

### Part 4

Taio stands on the top of the pillars. Wobbling a bit, he walks across the pillars. Once he reaches the other side, he turns around and stabilizes. Almost showing off, he walks back without wobbling.

Joon-Woo: Having fun?

Taio: A little bit. Just look at me. I’m getting muscles and walking on pillars.

Joon-Woo: Yeah, and? You’re supposed to be running, not walking. Have you even tried running yet?

Taio: No, I’m gonna fall off the pole if I run.

Joon-Woo: You punched a wooden log for hours, but you’re scared to fall.

Taio: I don’t know. It’s different.

Joon-Woo: Fall off the pillar.

Taio: What?

Joon-Woo: Fall off. Let yourself fall to the ground. Don’t put your hands out. Don’t jump down. Fall.

Taio: Fine.

Taio lets his body fall forward onto the ground. He stands back up and brushes the dirt off his face.

Joon-Woo: Better?

Taio: No. What the hell was the point of that?!

Joon-Woo: Didn’t think so. You’re not afraid to fall.

Taio: Was that some kind of trust exercise?

Joon-Woo: More of a test. If you were really scared of falling you wouldn’t have just dropped. You didn’t even hesitate. You're just unconfident.

Taio: Are you going to tell me to believe in myself?

Joon-Woo: Kind of. Let’s go.

Taio follows Joon-Woo to the cave entrance. Joon-Woo leads Taio through the cave. Taio remembers the rocks.

Taio: Are we allowed to leave?

Joon-Woo: Sensei Yin doesn’t run a prison.

They walk up to the stone door. Joon-Woo puts his hand on a carved face of a lion. He pushes the stone in like a button. The door rumbles and begins to slide open. Taio feels the cold air smack his face. They walk out of the cave and onto the cold mountain. Their bare feet touch the snow. Taio jumps back onto the stone.

Taio: Do you have shoes or something? I’m not walking in snow.

Joon-Woo raises his bare foot and puts it back down.

Joon-Woo: Let’s go.

Taio follows Joon-Woo further up the mountain. Taio notices the mountain rock isn’t gray or brown, but black. They stop before a two cliffside. The black rock goes straight to the sky for twenty feet on both sides.

Joon-Woo: Climb it.

Taio: Sensei told me to stop asking questions, but his ideas are a bit more complicated than this.

Joon-Woo: And I’m not Sensei. I’ll show you.

Joon-Woo gets low to the ground. He lets out some breath and runs at the the cliffside. The ball of his feet bounce against the rock. His speed slows down. He grabs onto the rock and jumps to the other cliff. Quickly, he uses the speed. His feet bounce against the rock. He jumps back to the other side. The top of the cliff is just out of reach, but he’s not getting any higher. Joon-Woo grabs onto the rock and throws himself up. His fingers grasp the top of the cliff. He pulls himself up.

Joon-Woo: Just like that!

Joon-Woo yells from the top of the cliff.

Taio: I can’t do that! I’m just starting to build muscle! I can’t run up walls like an acrobat!

Joon-Woo: Just starting?! You’re a fighter, not a bodybuilder! You’re not gonna look like you live at the gym and go to bodybuilder shows! Climb the fucking cliff!

Taio backs up a bit. He runs at the cliff. The ball of his feet bounce against the rock. He starts to slow down. He pushes against the rock and jumps to the other cliff. His body slams into the rock. Taio falls into the snow.

Joon-Woo: Better than my first time!

Taio stands back up. He readies himself and runs at the rock. His feet bounce against the rocks. He jumps to the other cliff. He grabs onto the cliff. A rock breaks. He slides down the cliff and falls into the snow. Pebbles get stuck in his hands and feet.

Joon-Woo: Again!

Taio takes a deep breath of cold air. The air startles his lungs. He coughs and pulls himself together. Taio runs at the same rock again. The balls on his feet bounce against the cliff. He jumps to the other side. This time, he keeps his momentum. He bounces against the cliff. His speed quickly fading. He jumps to the other cliff. His chest slams into the rock, and his head bashed into the side of the cliff. He reaches for a rock to grab, but there is nothing. He claws at the cliffside for something. His nails break against the rocks. The tips of his fingers grind against the cliff. He can’t feel the bottom of his bloody feet from the cold. His body lands in the snow. The snow around him turns red. He looks up at the bloody cliffside.

???: Why are you here?!

Sensei Yin steps out from behind the mountain. Joon-Woo jumps down from the cliff. His fall is broken by the snow.

Sensei Yin: You just completed this challenge. Why is Taio attempting it?!

Joon-Woo: I thought it could help him!

Sensei Yin: Help what? All you were going to accomplish was getting him killed. Bring him inside to the healing waters.

Taio falls asleep.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio wakes up on his bed with new clothes. He gets up. His feet and hands are healed.

Taio: The water…

Taio walks outside. The sun is still bright, but it’s dimming. He walks past the dining table. Sensei Yin is standing there preparing food.

Taio: What happened?

Sensei Yin: Go back to training. We’ll talk about everything at dinner.

Taio: Everything?

Sensei Yin: You don’t think your news is all the news, do you? Everything will be explained at dinner. Now shoo. There is still light to be used. Don’t let it be wasted.

Taio begins to walk away. Sensei Yin looks at him with a weird eye, and begins to follow him. Taio walks over to the pillars. He looks at them in a different light. Taio jumps up and grabs the top of the pillar. He pulls himself up and stands on the top of it.

Taio:...

Taio breaths. Then his feet almost move on their own. He runs across the tops of the pillars. He quickly gets to the end, and jumps off the pillar. He lands on the ground and rolls back to his feet. He hears clapping.

Sensei Yin: Maybe that cliff did help you. C’mon, I can’t have you doing nothing before dinner. You need to build up an appetite.

Sensei Yin brings Taio to a wooden training target. Sensei Yin points to the three pins sticking out of the log.

Sensei Yin: You have to hit the pins in a certain way.

Sensei Yin smacks the pins with the back of his hand. He keeps his hands perfectly straight.

Sensei Yin: Now practice with that for a little while. Dinner should be done soon.

Sensei Yin walks away. Taio begins to beat away at the log.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Half an hour later, everyone sat down at the table for dinner. They all wait for Sensei Yin to sit down. Then they start eating.

Joon-Woo: Taio, sorry about bringing you to the cliff.

Taio: It’s alright. I ended up running on the pillars after, so it must have helped.

Joon-Woo: Good, I hoped it would.

Sone: You brought him to the cliff. Why the hell did you think that was a good idea?!

Aishu: Taio has been completing the training fast. We all took longer than him on every training. After the test, he might be able to do it.

Taio: Test?

Aishu: Don’t worry. Grandpa Yin will tell you tomorrow.

Dilara: If he does the training faster then he’ll get the other trainings done quicker. He shouldn’t be skipping anything.

Taio: Isn’t it weird to be arguing in front of me, about me?

Aishu: We have your best interests at heart.

Taio: I wasn’t saying you didn’t. It’s just weird.

Sensei Yin: I’ll choose how Taio is trained. None of you have finished your training yet.

Aishu: Why did you say it like that Grampa Yin?

Sensei Yin: You all will be finishing your training tomorrow. There isn’t much left I can teach you all, and the world has a lot left in store for you. Tomorrow will mark the end of your training. That will be the last night you sleep in Vitala.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Yu-hsuan walks in his mansion’s backyard. The ferns are cut perfectly. There is a small pond with sakura leaves delicately floating on the surface of the water. A red bridge goes over the water. A kid follows Yu-hsuan onto the cut grass.

Yu-hsuan: Son, do you know why I made my backyard like this?

Son: Why?

Yu-hsuan: I wanted to make it look like where I trained. I wish I was able to get pictured. I can remember the bridge and the way the grass looks, but my memory has faded. Even with my memory faded, my training has not. I hate nearly everything about my Sensei, but he did not create the training grounds. He merely used what his master gave to him. Now as a student, I do the same. Are you ready to train?

Son: Uh, can we skip training today?

Yu-hsuan: Why? Do my stories bore you? I promise I won’t tell any more.

Son: No.

Yu-hsuan: You have to tell me what the problem is. I can’t help you if I don’t know why you’re struggling.

Son: I’m bad at training. I feel like everyday I get worse. You’re good at kung fu. I’m not.

Yu-hsuan kneels down and smiles.

Yu-hsuan: The training gets harder, you aren’t getting worse. I’m good at kung fu now. I wasn’t when I was your age. I hadn’t even thought about kung fu until I was an adult. My sensei trained me as if I was going to be the greatest kung fu master alive. When he realized I wasn’t, he threw me out. Today, I’m still not the greatest kung fu master. I work for everything. You’ll have to do the same. If your training’s hard, become stronger than your training. Okay?

Son: Okay.

Yu-hsuan: Let's get to it then.

### Part 5

Crack! The wooden pins snap back when Taio smacks his hand against them.

Sensei Yin: You enjoy the wooden training dummy. I would have thought wood would be the last thing you might want to see.

Taio: I like it. Trying to go as fast as I can. Like you're always in competition with yourself.

Sensei Yin: Then you’re ready for the test. Follow me.

Taio and Sensei Yin walk through the green grass and over the bridge.

Sensei Yin: During this test you won’t be in any competition with yourself:. You’ll be fighting yourself.

Sensei Yin brings Taio to the cave. He presses the lion's head, and the stone door opens.

Taio: Are we going to the cliff?!

Sensei Yin: No. More than one test will be on the snow.

Taio: Do I get warmer clothes?

Sensei Yin: No.

They both walk a little ways down the mountain. Then Sensei Yin turns to gray snowy rock. He placed a hand on the rock. The small section splits in two and slides open. Sensei Yin and Taio walk inside. The room is flat white snow. The rocky wall rises over a hundred feet into the sky. The sun shines down through the open roof.

Sensei Yin: You will stay here for the entire day. You will only be able to leave tomorrow morning when the sun rises. If you do not survive, I will give your scroll to someone else.

Taio: What?!

Sensei Yin leaves the room. The stone doors quickly close behind him. Taio runs at the doors, but can’t escape in time. The cold air circulates the small room. Taio tries to move into the sunlight.The sunlight only gives a faint warmth, but cold wind blows around keeping him frozen.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aishu, Sone, Joon-Woo, and Dilara all stand in a line on the grass. They wait for Sensei Yin to speak as he paces back and forth in front of them.

Sensei Yin: This is your last test. The test will take everything you have learned and then some. You will turn around and begin your test.

They all turn around. Wooden dummies stand before them. The dummy looks split horizontally. Three pins are on the top section and three pins rest on the bottom. The dummy begins to slowly spin around. The spinning gains more and more speed until they can’t see the pins, just after images. The top spins left and the bottom spins right.

Sensei Yin: Break off a pin.

Sone reaches a hand out. The pin slaps his hand out of the way. The pins continue swinging around. Everyone looks at Aishu. She watches the pins. Slowly, she gets into a stance with one hand out. Her hand is perfectly still. With one swing, her hand collided with the pin. Her shaking hand holds the pin still. Everyone watches full of anticipation. They hear a loud crack. Eyes widen. The pin snaps off falling to the ground. Aishu’s arm drops down tired.

Aishu: Is that it?

Sensei Yin stands there stroking his beard.

Sensei Yin: Now for the real test. You must lay one hand on me. Whether that be a hand on my shoulder, or a fist to my chest. Your choice.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio stands in the snow. His feet are numb, but he thinks sitting might be even colder. The turmoil in his mind ends when his attempt to walk becomes a fall. He curls up, pressing his knees into his chest to keep warm. Snow lays on his eyelids and his skin is dry. All he feels in his fingers is pain. He knows soon the pain’s fade into numbness. Taio speaks through his shaking.

Taio: The others did this too. Sensei wouldn’t have put me here if he thought I’d die.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aishu runs at Sensei Yin. She extends her arm, reaching out. Sensei Yin jabs her leg with his staff. Aishu falls down to the ground and Sensei Yin jumps back. Aishu jumps back to her feet and runs straight at him. Sensei Yin prepares for a punch. Aishu gets in real close. His arm extends out. Sensei Yin grabs her forearm and twists her arm. Aishu moves her hand, but it can’t reach him. Sensei Yin shoves a palm into Aishu’s chest. She falls back.

Sone: I’ll beat Sensei!

Sone starts trying to force his hand to catch a pin. The pin knocks his hand away over and over again. Then, Sone’s hand catches the pin. Instantly, cracks crawl throughout the pin and it shatters.

Sone: Come on Sensei!

Sone runs at Sensei Yin. A heavy right hook aiming for Sensei Yin’s jaw. A wooden staff whacks Sone’s hand. Sensei Yin front kicks Sone in the stomach. Aishu reaches out to put a hand on Sensei Yin’s back. He drops his staff and turns arounds. Yin grabs her arm and pulls her closer. He sidesteps, puts out his knee and pushes the back of Aishu’s head. She falls over his knee and lands on the ground. Sone grabs Sensei Yin’s staff and runs at him. He swings the staff like a bat.

Sensei Yin: I never trained you how to use that.

Sensei Yin grabs the staff and jabs it into Sone’s stomach. Sone pulls the staff closer, dragging Sensei Yin with him. Yin lets go of the staff. He makes his hand straight and stabs Sone in the stomach and uppercuts him. Aishu runs at Sensei Yin angry. Her punch is fast and light. Sensei Yin smacks her hand out of the way. He punches at an opening. Aishu watches his left hook. She grabs his wrist and stops his punch. Sensei Yin bangs on Aishu’s chest with the side of his right fist. She falls to the ground.

Sensei Yin: You pass. You may go rest up.

Aishu stands up and leaves. She walks past Dilara and Joon-Woo still trying to break the pins. Beads of sweat drip down Joon-Woo’s forehead. Dilara looks at his face.

Dilara: We still have time.

Dilara catches the pin. Slowly, the pin pushes her hand. She puts both hands together trying to combat the pin. Joon-Woo watches and does the same. They both use all their strength and break the pins. Joon-Woo’s face fills with relief.

Dilara: Let’s help Sone.

Sone throws heavy punches like he is boxing with Sensei Yin. Sensei Yin dodges all his punches.

Sone: So slippery! Let me hit you!

Sone missing is only making him more frustrated that he can’t touch Sensei Yin. Sensei Yin hits Sone with a palm to the stomach and quickly turns around. Sensei Yin starts parrying punches from Joon-Woo and Dilara at once. He hears Sone’s footsteps. Joon-Woo throws another punch. Sensei Yin grabs his arm with his left hand. Yin’s right elbow flies backwards, bashing into Sone’s chest. His right hand becomes a fist and he punches Dilara in the jaw. Her body jolts back. Joon-Woo tries to punch with the other arm. Sensei Yin grabs and uses his empty hand to grab his other arm. He twists Joon-Woo’s arms and kicks him in the stomach.

Sensei: Have you given up?

Sone: Never!

They all stand up and rush at Sensei Yin. Sensei Yin stands still. They all punch him in the torso. Everyone looks at each other confused.

Sensei Yin: You all pass. It’s almost dinner time. You should all get ready.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio is lying in the snow. Still curled up. He hasn’t moved an inch in hours. He starts to wonder if he can even move. He wonders how long he has been there until he sees the daylight fading away. The stone door opens, but Taio can’t run over to it. He slowly tries to stand up. Aishu walks in holding a plate. Taio looks up at her as she walks over to him. She kneels down next to him and sets the plate on the ground. Taio grabs her and pulls her close.

Taio: You’re so warm.

Taio shakes in Aishu’s arms. They sit there in silence.

### Part 6

Taio rocks back and forth in a trance. His body is completely numb. Every rock he tries to see if he gained any feeling back. Daylight begins to brighten the sky up. A wave of hope and relief washes over him.

Taio: Sensei’ll be coming soon. I’ll be able to go back to the cave.

A few minutes later, the stone door slides open. Sensei Yin walks inside the snowy room.

Sensei Yin: Can you walk?

Taio struggles to speak.

Taio: N-no.

Sensei Yin picks Taio up and throws him over his shoulder. Taio falls to sleep as Sensei Yin brings him up the mountain.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio wakes up to water splashing on him. He opens his eyes completely submerged under water. He shakes at the thought of drowning. He swims to the surface. Water splashes around him and rushes down his face. He takes a deep gasp of breath. He wipes the water off his face and brushes his hair back.

Taio: What’s going on?!

Taio looks up. He is in the healing waters. Sone is sitting down next to the pool.

Sone: You alright?

Taio: I’m fine. Sitting in the snow barefoot just got to me a little.

Taio hops up onto the side of the pool with wet pants on.

Sone: You didn’t see us take the final test. We all passed.

Taio: So… You guys are leaving?

Sone: Yeah, I guess once you finish your training, you kinda just get kicked out.

Taio: Will I ever see you guys again?

Sone looks down at the water. Then with a foggy look in his eye he speaks.

Sone: I don’t know.

Taio looks down at the water. He sees the reflection of them sitting together.

Taio: You really helped me, Sone. Without your words I don’t know if I would have even passed the first test. Thank you for being there for me.

Sone nods.

Sone: Aishu was there for me when I would spend months on one challenge. I needed all the help I could get. She’s like a sister to me, and I wanted to be like that to you. I wish I could have been around more, but at least Aishu was able to help you out.

Sone stands up. Taio stands up with him.

Sone: Good luck out there. I wish I could give you advice for when you get out, but… I don’t even know what I’m doing.

Taio and Sone shake hands. Taio tries to scavenge for words, but has nothing left to say. Sone walks out of the cave. Taio looks back down on the water. He only sees himself.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sone, Dilara, Joon-Woo, and Aishu all stand at the bottom of the mountain. Sensei Yin stands with them.

Sensei Yin: It was a blessing to teach you all, but now you can learn more from the world than I could ever teach you. I hope you will all be cautious going back to society. Especially you Aishu. It’ll be the first time you ever see society. I wish I could have kept you longer, but I fear if I did you might end up running away in the night. I wish you all the greatest fortune.

Sensei Yin looks up to the top of the mountain.

Sensei Yin: I thought Taio would come to say goodbye as well.

Aishu: Taio isn’t coming?

Sone: I told you. You should have said goodbye to him before you left.

Aishu: I thought he would at least come to see me!

Sone: Who would want to climb a mountain to see you, you little she-devil.

Aishu: I can’t even give him his gift…

Sone: Aishu, he’s a 17 year old boy and you're a pretty girl. He’ll be here.

Aishu: How do you know?

Sone: I was a 17 year old boy once, and you’re the only girl he’s seen in months that’s around his age.

They see Taio walking down the mountain. Aishu perks up. Taio walks up next to Sensei Yin. Aishu runs up and hugs him with one arm. She lets go and takes a step back.

Aishu: We got you a present so you don’t get lonely when we’re gone.

Aishu pulls out a box from behind her back and opens it up. Inside the box is red wrap for his hands. Taio smiles and takes the box.

Aishu: It was Sone’s idea, but he didn’t know how to make it.

Taio: Thank you.

Aishu hugs him again before they all leave. Taio waves as they walk away. Once they get out of sight, Sensei starts to walk up the mountain.

Sensei Yin: Are you coming back to the temple? Your new training will start today.

Taio: New training?

Sensei Yin: I’ve let the other students train you so far. It’s time for you to train with me. You need to learn some languages too. You’re going to need to know more than just Cantonese.

Taio stays silent as they walk back up the mountain. When they get to the snow, Sensei Yin stops.

Sensei Yin: You don’t seem to be complaining about the cold.

Taio: It doesn’t feel the same anymore.

Sensei Yin grins and they keep walking.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sensei Yin and Taio stand on the grass.

Sensei Yin: You will fight me from sunrise to sunset everyday. The only breaks you will get is to complete other sections of the training. To beat me you must either punch me or grab me.

Taio: You’re my Sensei. I’m not going to punch you.

Sensei Yin: Then don’t.

Sensei Yin runs at Taio.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

A few days later, Joon-Woo, Dilara, Sone, and Aishu are all sitting in Bronson’s boat.

Joon-Woo: Where are you guys going after this?

Aishu: I’m going to travel the world. I haven’t seen any of it yet. I want to see everything.

Sone: I’ll go see my parents in Venice. After that, I don’t know.

Dilara: I’m the only one with a plan then. When I was a girl I always wanted to create a restaurant. So I’ll go to the biggest city in my home, Istanbul. What about you Joon-Woo?

Joon-Woo: I was trying to get ideas from you guys. I have no idea. Never really wanted for anything.

Bronson: We’ll be docking soon.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

5 Months later, Yu-hsuan is walking through a business building. Bodyguards follow behind him. He opens the door to a skyline office. The bodyguards wait outside the room. Yu-hsuan shuts down at the desk and opens a laptop. A few clicks and a call appears on his screen. He answers the call. A dark screen with a shadowy figure appears on it.

???: You're hard to get in contact with. I’ve spent months trying to get your number. I found some of your guards that wouldn’t give me any information until I showed them my eyes.

Yu-hsuan: You are the dragon’s eyes. It wouldn’t be good if getting my number was easy. I wanted to know how easy it was.

Dragon Eye: You shouldn’t be worried. While you were hiding, I kept track of the students. There is only one left with the master. Dilara, one of the female students, opened a restaurant in Istanbul. I’ll send you more info about it.

Yu-hsuan: What about the rest of them?

Dragon Eye: They’re gone, off the face of the earth. I kept track of them for a little while, but they disappeared.

Yu-hsuan: Find them. I’ll handle the rest.

Dragon Eye: Do you need a team?

Yu-hsuan: I’ll get the men.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sensei Yin and Taio run at each other. Sensei Yin drops to the ground, his leg swings for Taio’s feet. Taio jumps back. Sensei Yin jumps up from the ground. His fist almost collides with Taio. Taio knocks Sensei Yin’s hand out of the way. Yin keeps up the pressure. Punch after punch, Taio blocks every fist. Taio sees many openings, but none to grab him. He gets distracted. A knee cracks his rib. Taio falls to the ground.

Sensei Yin: Hopefully that didn’t make you lose your appetite. Dinner is ready.

Taio and Sensei Yin sit down at the dinner table.

Taio: Why do we do this test? I’ll never be able to grab you.

Sensei Yin: The point of the test isn’t to win, Taio. The point of the test is to see what option you choose. You will never grab me, because you never will. You’ve trained with me for nearly six months. You can keep up with me. You completed nearly every other training. The test is about what you choose. Not a single other student I have had has persisted with grabbing. Even Aishu threw a punch. Dilara, Joon-Woo, and Sone never completed their training. I let them hit me. I know they are strong. They’ve completed the other training. It is nothing but a personality test.

Taio: You never tell me anything?! This is what you tell me! Why have I been taking a personality test for six months?!

Sensei Yin: There are only three people I know who have chosen to never strike. You, myself, and my Sensei. My Sensei made me take this test for one whole year. Do you know why we take this test if everyone passes?

Taio: To see who the next person who will become the Sensei is.

Sensei Yin: You will become the protector of all Vitala’s students. Taio, you will take my place as the Sensei of Vitala.

Taio looks down at his food. Pondering the thought of Sensei. Letting the sentence ring around in his ears.

Taio: What was your Sensei like?

Sensei Yin: The wisest man I ever knew, and the wisest man I will ever know. I always thought he did everything right. It was only once I got older I realized how many mistakes he made, when I made those same mistakes.

Taio: What mistakes could you have made? You have these tests and-

Sensei Yin: I may have the wisdom of my years, but not omniscience. My biggest mistake was my first pupil. His name was Haitao. He was the only student I had at the time, and I focused everything on him. I didn’t realize how much I expected from him. Back then, the tests were different. Some tests were very important, and failure meant you must start from the basics. When new students came in and were going through tests faster than him, he needed my guidance. Instead, I had to focus on the other kids because they needed someone to move them through the training. Haitao thought I was abandoning him because he was a failure. He had still made it to the last test before everyone else. He was expecting some type of victory. When he tried to strike me, that meant it was time for him to leave. In his mind, all he saw was his sensei giving up on him. Now that was so long ago, his memories may not show his adult mind the clear picture. He was by far my most wrathful student.

Taio: Is that why you never spend time with us? You always gave me a mission and disappeared after. Why are you training me now then?

Sensei Yin: No more students will come. You are the last. I still have all the scrolls.

They go silent.

Sensei Yin: The most important thing my sensei ever taught me was to reach enlightenment. You must simply have your mind in tune with your body. So if you need time to think, maybe a little practice will help you. You’ll have no curfew tonight.

Taio watches Sensei Yin stand up and walk over to the cave. He relies on his cane. Now, all Taio can see is a brittle old man.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Crack! Taio’s hands smash against the wooden dummy. He is faster than he has ever been. His hands feel like water as they maneuver around the wooden pins. Cracking when they hit the wood like a whip. Taio steps back from the wooden dummy, sweaty and heavily breathing. He sees a button at the bottom of the dummy. He presses the button. The dummy begins to spin around.

Taio: Sensei told me about this. You have to break one of the pins off.

Taio tries to hit the pins. They knock his hands out of the way. He tries over and over again. Then, he catches the pins. His right hand holds the top pin, his left hand holds the bottom pin.

Taio: Come on!

The pins crack and the wood begins to break.

???: Ah!

Taio hears the screams of pain. Taio’s head turns to the sound. He starts running toward the sound, stepping over the broken pins on the ground.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio through the grass. Two warriors stand on the bridge.

Taio: Talons!

Taio runs up to the Talons. One swings his sword. Taio ducks under the sword and hits the talon with a palm to the stomach. Taio stands up and elbows the other talon in the ribs. The talon is knocked back into the side of the bridge. Taio side kicks the talon in the chest. He falls into the water below the bridge. The talon recovers from the palm to his stomach. He front kicks Taio in the stomach. Taio is pushed back. A sword comes straight down over him. Taio moves to the side and punches the talon in his jaw. Taio looks at both talons on the ground.

Taio: Where’s Sensei?!

Taio runs over the bridge. He sees a crowd of talons. He can hear sensei’s voice through the crowd. Talons see him.

Talon: You’ll never get through us.

Talon 2: Your sensei is going to die.

Taio looks around in a frenzie. He sees the top of Sensei Yin’s head.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sensei Yin stands in the middle of the crowd of Talons. A blue energy radiates off of him. The talons won’t let him leave. He looks worn out and tired from battle. A man walks in from the crowd.

Yu-hsuan: This is the first time we’ve met in over 20 years, Sensei. I feel like I know so much about you. I know everyone you’ve trained, I’ve even killed a couple. I never wanted to kill your students. They never did anything wrong. You being their sensei isn’t their fault. I tried to plead with Shao, but then he got all the others to turn against me. I realized they don’t realize the danger in what you do. So I had to cut every rotten branch off the dead tree.

Sensei Yin: There was a time in my life where I’d have helped you no matter what you asked of me, but you became a monster. A sensei guides you, there is only so much one can do to change a man. You were always the killer you are today. I just wasn’t able to change where you were heading.

Yu-hsuan: I went down the path of victory and accomplishment. I have a family, riches, power. Everything a man wants, I have.

Sensei Yin: Not without losing your character.

Yu-hsuan: According to you, my character never changed. Your sensei chose the wrong student. You’re nowhere near as wise as you think you are. Outsmarting teenagers isn’t worthy of status.

Sensei Yin begins to glow blue. He prepares his staff. Yu-hsuan gets ready to fight. Sensei Yin’s staff cuts through the air, spinning around. Yu-hsuan moves back, dodging the staff. Sensei Yin spins around, his hand on the end of the staff. He swings the staff with him. It comes around like a giant pole. Yu-hsuan dodges under it. He runs at Sensei Yin. His shoulder collided with Sensei Yin’s chest. Sensei falls to the ground.

Yu-hsuan: When you were younger you would have beaten me like I was nothing. Now you're old, slow, and crawling your way into a grave.

Sensei gets back to his feet, the staff still on the ground. Two punches hit Sensei Yin in the chest. Yu-hsuan grabs Sensei’s arm and twists it around behind him. Yu-hsuan stands behind sensei, holding his arm. He kicks him in the back of the leg. Sensei Yin drops to one knee. Yu-hsuan puts a knee on Sensei Yin’s back, holding him there.

Yu-hsuan: You’re a false prophet. Who was the Sensei that passed this place down to you? I met him. I know who you are.

Yu-hsuan pulls on Sensei Yin’s arm. It snaps. Sensei Yin falls to the ground. A talon hands Yu-hsuan a sword. He stabs the sword straight down, through Sensei Yin’s back.

Yu-hsuan: Make sure he’s dead. Then kill the kid. We’ll find the others afterwards.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Four talons chase Taio through the grass. Taio can hear all of them behind him. He tries to think of a way to escape. He sees the log cabin and runs inside: he opens the window in the back and jumps through it. He closes the window and runs off. The four talons break into the log cabin looking for him. They tear the place up.

Talon: He isn’t here, we need to find him.

They all leave the cabin.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next morning, Taio wakes up under one of the bridges. Most of his body is submerged in water. He hears nothing but peaceful silence. He climbs out from under the bridge and crawls back onto the grass. Taio runs over to Sensei Yin. Taio has a look of horror on his face.

Taio: No, no! Sensei!

Taio tries to wake Sensei Yin up. He rips the sword out of his back and throws it on the ground. Taio kneels down next to Sensei and turns him over. He looks at Sensei Yin’s dead face. Taio doesn’t know what to do. He looks around in confusion. He sees the cave.

Taio: The healing waters! I’ll save you, Sensei. You’re gonna be alright.

Taio drags Sensei Yin’s body into the cave. Taio throws the door open. The door crashes into the wall and Taio looks at the pool. His legs shake, he falls to the ground in defeat. The healing waters have dried out. The pool is only rock.

Taio: …I need to bury him. He deserves a burial.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hours later, Taio digs a hole in the dirt. He gently lays Sensei Yin down in the dirt and covers him. Then he places rocks over the grave. Sensei Yin’s words ring in Taio’s ears, “You are the protector of all Vitala’s students.”

Taio: He’ll come for everybody else. I Need to warn everyone.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio runs into his room. He grabs his old clothes that he came with and puts them on. He sees the red wrap.

Taio: I’m not very good at this, but I’ll try.

He slowly wraps his arms in the red cloth.

Taio: It’s time to go back to Hong Kong.

## Act 3 - The Purpose Within

### Part 1

Taio stands on a boat. Cold breezes blow past him. He likes the chilled air. It cools his head down as so many thoughts cross his mind. The boat flows over the water, but it can never go fast enough. Not fast enough for Taio to keep the memories of his family. He can picture his mother's face, but he can’t hear her voice. He hears another’s.

Bronson: Back to Hong Kong?

Taio: I guess. No where else to go for now. I don’t know where Aishu, Sone, or Joon-Woo is. It’s not like they all had plans.

Bronson: They all talked on the boat. The only one who knew where she was going was Dilara.

Taio’s eyes get bigger.

Bronson: They’ll all find their way.

Without a moments pause, Taio speaks up.

Taio: Where is Dilara?

Bronson: Istanbul. She’s going to build her own restaurant. Why do you want to know where everyone is? Shouldn’t you want to start your own life.

Taio looks at the water. Then back at Bronson. He tries to look Bronson in the eye, but the sun blinds him. With squinting eyes, he speaks.

Taio: Sensei’s dead. Talons came and killed him.

Bronson: The water…?

Taio: Dry.

Bronson: Who will take his place?

Taio: He wanted me to, but I don’t know anymore. I’m not ready to become a Sensei. I haven’t even finished my training.

Bronson: Then do what you were going to do. Find the people who have finished the training. They’re the only ones that know what Sensei Yin wanted.

Taio: I will.

Bronson sighs.

Bronson: The world is telling me it's time to finally put this boat to an anchor. I knew you were the last student, but I thought that I would be able to see the next generation at least once. If even Yin is dead, I don’t care anymore. I had a good run. Runs don’t last forever, and I don’t have the will to push the line anymore.

Taio: You’re talking like you’re going to take your life.

Bronson: This boat is my life.

Taio: I’m sorry.

Bronson: For?

Taio:...

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio walks off of Bronson’s boat. He waves to Bronson before heading off. He watches Bronson take out the anchor and drop it down into the water. He looks as if he is taking one last look at the boat. Then, his body fizzles away into little flakes of blue. The flakes disappear as they fall through the air. Taio watches almost crying, he tries to walk into the forest, but he feels like an anchor is tied around him.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio walks through Merchant’s Village. He looks at the sky, reminded that it’s already night. Even the thought of the bright lights of the town square gives him a headache. Before he knows it, the lights blind him and his head aches. The town is different this time. He can feel the pull. He knows the town is trying to draw him in. The pull is strong, much stronger than the first time he came. He knows he can’t fight it. He reaches in his pockets, saving himself. He is reminded that his pockets are empty. His mind clears just enough for him to pass by town square.

Taio: I don’t have anything to give this place. Even if I wanted to.

Taio finds a bus stop at the edge of the town. One eyebrow cocked, he remembers the long walk it took to get to Merchant village. A bus pulls up to the stop. Taio looks at the bus driver’s familiar face.

Taio: I don’t have any money.

Bus Driver: I’ve given a free ride or two to regulars before. Just get in.

Taio sits down in one of the large bus seats.

Taio: Hey, um, did you know Sensei Yin?

Bus Driver: I’ve heard Yin before, but no Sensei Yin. Sorry.

Taio looks out the window. His head slowly falls forward into a sleep.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio feels the rumbles of the bus fade away as the road smooths out. The sky is starting to brighten. Buildings start to come into view. Taio smiles. The buildings he remembers better than the back of his hand are only around the corner. The bus stops and Taio gets up. He walks to the front of the bus. The bus driver pulls a lever, the door opens. Taio takes a step. He is cut off.

Bus Driver: I was thinking about the name Yin. I own this bus, but it’s a family tradition. My father knew a Yin that used to take this bus all the time. I saw him. He came around the house all the time. He had blond hair, and a small blond beard. I don’t think he was much of a Sensei though. He was a scrawny dude. I don’t know if that helps, but… I tried.

Taio: Thank you. I’ll look into it.

Taio steps off the bus. The bus drives further into town. Taio chuckles.

Taio: That’s how he makes his money.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio finds his mother’s store. The store looks different. Taio hesitantly walks inside. He realizes this is not the same store. He walked into a jewelry store. Taio steps up to the counter. A woman smiles at him from behind the cash register.

Taio: Excuse me. Do you know what happened to the old store that was here? It was a pawn shop.

Taio looks at the woman's face. She looks lost.

Taio: Any idea?

Cashier: No, I'm sorry. I don’t own the store. I just work here. I wouldn’t know what this building was used for before.

Taio: Then what is the upstairs used for?

Cashier: Storage.

Taio: Do you know of any good pawn shops around here?

Cashier: Um… I think there is a pawn shop down the block to the left.

Taio: Thank you. Have a nice day.

Taio walks off.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

After a day of looking for pawn shops, Taio’s body was eager and ready. His mind just couldn’t take it anymore. He sits down at the empty skate park. Both of his hands are messaging his forehead. Taio hears a noise he has heard many times. Skate wheels stop behind him. Two people walk into the skate park.

Taio: Sorry, I’ll let you have the park. I just needed a moment to relax.

Taio turns around. Taio’s old friend is standing there. He is with another kid their age.

Taio: Yo, it’s been so long!

Taio hugs his friend.

Friend: Where did you go? You vanished months ago.

Taio: It’s been a wild year, dude. All day I’ve been looking for my mother’s shop. I went to at least ten different stores. Nothing. Did she move? Do you know what happened?

Friend: I thought that’s why you left?

Taio: Where did she go?

Friend: Taio, she’s dead.

Taio stumbles back.

Friend: Are you okay?

Taio: Where’s her grave?

Friend: In the cemetery near your old house. Do you want me to come with you-

Taio: How did she die?

Friend: She was murdered a few days after we last talked. Someone walked into her shop and found her.

Taio: Murdered with what?

Friend: I don’t know.

Taio runs out of the skate park.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio stands over his mother’s grave. He looks down at her name carved into the headstone. Dead flowers lay in front of her grave. Taio kneels down. His tears water the dry grass below him. He slams his fist into the dirt.

Taio: I couldn’t even save you!

Taio’s yelling scares the crows. They fly away. The sound of their wings is the only noise around.

Taio: I left you here to die! My own mother!

### Part 2

Taio stands near the wired fence of an airport. His fingers press through the holes in the wire. His eyes look past the wire and to the planes taking off. He takes out a ski mask and puts it on. He throws his hood over the mask. He is wearing thick leather gloves. He jumps up, and places his shoe on top of the wire. He holds onto the fence and jumps down. He runs through the open area.

Taio: I never realized how huge these places really are.

Taio finds workers. They load a few boxes onto a cart. Taio runs up to them. The workers, distracted by their own conversation, don’t see Taio until he’s already close.

Worker: Who the fuck is that?

Worker2: He’s coming over to us. Call the security.

Worker: Alright.

Taio runs up to the first worker. One. Right hook to the head, and the worker drops. The other worker swings on Taio. Taio grabs the worker’s arm and punches him in the gut. Taio can hear the worker’s breath leave him. The two workers lay on the ground in pain. Taio knocks them out. He drags them into the garage they were taking boxes from. When Taio walks out from the garage, he is wearing one of the worker’s clothes. He gets on the cart and drives it into the garage. He closes the garage door and starts running over to the planes.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

A few days ago, Taio walked inside his friend's house.

Friend: Yeah, you can stay here for a few days. I talked to my mom and she’s fine with it.

Taio: Thanks. You know I wouldn’t ask. I just have nowhere else to go.

Friend: I understand. I’ll show you where you’ll sleep in a second. I gotta run to the bathroom.

Taio: Alright.

Taio’s friend walks off. Taio sneaks around the house. He finds his friends room. He walks inside and sees a laptop. Quickly he opens the laptop and turns it on. Eager for the computer to start, Taio begins to tap his fingers on the computer desk. The computer starts up. Taio opens up a browser and searches for flights. He looks at flights for Istanbul. He doesn’t read the information, he scans it. Memorizing every important word.

Taio: This plane has a cargo hold.

Taio hears noises from outside the room. He deleted the history and turned off the computer. He quietly shuts the laptop. His friend walks in.

Taio: I remember this place well. Sleepovers and all.

Friend: You wish you were sleeping in this room. C’mon, it’s down the hall.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio looks up at the white plane. Black letters are aligned on the plane’s jet. Taio reads the numbers in his head.

Taio: Good, that’s the plane.

The cargo hold is open and Taio walks inside the back of the plane. Boxes fill up almost the entire storage. Taio hides behind one of the boxes. He sits there in anticipation. What if someone finds him? He doesn’t know how to close a plane's cargo door. Thoughts rush through his head. A man walks onto the plane holding a clipboard. He looks at the labels on the crates and writes on his clipboard. He gets closer and closer to Taio. Taio gets ready to stand up.

???: Get the plane ready for flight. We’ll be boarding soon.

The worker picks up his radio.

Worker: We won’t be boarding for over a half an hour. There is enough time to check the cargo.

???: Close the plane.

The worker shrugs and attaches the radio back to his belt. Taio watches the light go out as the door closes. Taio has a sigh of relief.

Taio: Safe for now.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

The plane takes off. Taio’s ears feel like they’re going to explode. His ears pop and the sound gets quieter. The pain only gets worse. The air gets colder and colder. Taio feels like he is sitting in an icebox.

Taio: I’m used to the cold-

Taio can’t hear his own words. The landing gear rises into the cargo hold. Taio looks at the wheels that look like they are half his height. Taio hears the faint noise of a bang. He can’t make out what it is. Taio sees a door to the left of him. The door flies open and crashes into the wall. A man walks into the cargo hold holding a pistol with both hands. Taio doesn’t miss the opportunity. He jumps to his feet and runs at the man. A right hook goes out. The man turns. He puts up both arms and blocks Taio’s punch. Taio watches the man point his gun. Taio looks down the barrel and jumps to the side. A bullet grazes Taio’s arm. Taio runs to the crates. The man sends off bullet after bullet. Taio moves across the crates like he’s wall running. Taio gets close to the man. He jumps off the crates and tackles the guy, forcing him into the floor. The gun slides across the plane’s cold hard floor. Taio keeps the guy pinned down, the man puts his knee between them.

Taio: W-

Taio remembers he won’t be able to hear him. The guy moves his leg, forcing Taio off of him. He scatters and grabs the gun. Taio runs up to him. The guy gets back to his feet. Taio’s leg raises. The man blocks the roundhouse kick.

Taio:...

The top of a crate rises behind them. Taio looks confused and shocked. The man sees Taio’s confusion. He punches Taio in the jaw. Taio’s back slams against a crate. The man puts his arm up against Taio’s throat. The barrel of his gun presses against the side of Taio’s head. Then he sends off a shot. The bullet goes past Taio’s ear. The man pulls his arm away and Taio falls to the ground. Taio’s left ear is dripping blood. The top of the open crate rises. A man stands with a shotgun. Just before he sends off a shot. The man in a ski mask fires three bullets into his chest.

Taio: Ah!

The left side of Taio’s head feels like pure agony. The plane starts falling down. Taio can’t even feel worried over the pain he’s feeling. The man in a ski mask stands over him holding the gun. Taio looks up at him.

Taio: Am I gonna die?

### Part 3

Taio’s eyes struggle open. Blurred vision and the ringing in his ear makes him sick. His blurry vision fades as his eyes adjust to the light. He moves his arms, but there’s resistance. He looks over to the right and left. His arms are tied down. His legs are too. Taio feels a sharp point press on the back of his neck. The sound of footsteps distracts him from the ringing.

Taio: You-

The man in the ski mask crouches down. He’s still holding the gun.

???: You feel that on the back of your neck? That’s a metal spike. If I think you're lying, the spike goes through your head, and everyone thinks you died in a plane crash. Now, why were you in the cargo hold?

Taio stays silent for a minute.

Taio: I needed to get to turkey.

Taio sees the impatient look on the man’s face.

???: Why?

Taio: I have a friend there. I thought my friend could help me.

???: Who?

Taio: A girl I know.

???: Okay, you don’t understand.

The man walks over to the side of the ship. He breaks a metal spike off of the wall. He walks over to Taio. Taio struggles, trying to break out of the hold. The metal cuts into Taio’s thigh. Blood starts pouring out.

Taio: Ah!

???: Now you have a time limit. Who were you going to see? Why were you seeing them?

Taio: I was seeing a girl I trained with! I needed to tell her our old sensei died! I had to make sure she wasn’t in danger!

???: Who was your sensei?

Taio: Yin!

The man rips the metal out of Taio’s leg. Taio yells in pain.

???: I don’t want to do this, but you’re not dangerous.

Taio: What?

Taio sees a fist.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio wakes up to the rumbles and shakes of a moving truck. Taio looks up at the ceiling. He is laying on the seats in the back of an armored truck. Taio sits up. He looks directly into the eyes of the man that captured him. Taio feels a medical wrap over his leg.

???: My name is agent 17. You are going to The Federation.

Taio: What is that?

Agent 17: It's an organization that organizes crime from the shadows. You’re going to join.

Taio: Do I die if I don’t?

Agent 17: You’ll die eventually.

Taio:...

The truck stops. Taio’s tapping his foot. The truck's back door opens up. Two large men stand on the outside of the truck. Agent 17 signals for Taio to get out. Taio stands up and jumps down onto the ground. He takes a few steps forward, and hears Agent 17 land behind him. Taio walks forward feeling like he’s being dragged. A giant building stands in front of him. The building looks like a regular business skyscraper, but the feeling in his gut tells him otherwise. Taio doesn’t go through the front door. The large men lead him to the back of the building and inside an iron door that the two men can barely fit under. Taio looks around the room. They are standing in a walkway with a small railing. Below the railing are workers packaging weapons that Taio has never seen before.

Taio: Wouldn’t the cops stop a place that only has one door to get to their illegal business.

Agent 17: Not when the government is our biggest stock holder.

The two large men open doors to an elevator. Taio and Agent 17 walk onto the elevator. The doors close and the elevator rises.

Taio: You don’t need protection anymore?

Agent 17: They weren’t protected. More like a secretary. They just help me with small things. If you rise in the ranks, you’ll have a lot more of those guys helping you.

Taio: What ranks?

Agent 17 laughs and stands tall in the silence of the moving elevator. The elevator doors open. Taio sees skyline windows while walking through the halls. Agent 17 opens a door to another elevator.

Agent 17: Go up the elevator and you’ll learn more. I have more important shit to do than guide you around like a lost dog.

Taio walks into the elevator. Soon he reaches the top floor. When the doors open, the color scheme changes. Deep browns and bright reds. The top floor looks like a mansion. Couches and chairs are set up in the room. People are waiting on the couches. Taio sees no workers, so he sits down on the couch waiting.

???: First time?

Taio: Yeah.

???: Everyone’s first time they always look confused. Hell, I’ve been here for years and I’m still confused. They call me Skyhigh. I damn near control airplanes. If one of my targets decides to fly… Then they made the wrong choice.

Taio thinks about what would have happened if Agent 17 wasn’t the one who found him.

Skyhigh: Oh, since you're new. I’ll give you some advice. When I started, I thought I was good enough to just fight everyone. It didn’t matter who it was, I thought with enough punches I could bring them down. I realized you gotta use shit that’s around you. Look for weapons, objects, anything that’ll hurt or distract them.

A door creaks open. A man in dark robes walks out.

Dark Man: Taio.

The man disappears back into the room. Taio stands up and follows the man into the back room. To Taio’s left, giant pillars go up to nearly the top of the room. A man sits behind each pillar on a chair that’s almost as tall as the pillar. Each man uses the top of their pillar like a desk. Papers fly out of the wall and land on their desks. They all write and stamp on the papers before sending them down into shoots that take the papers away. Behind a regular sized desk, is a man in a black and white business suit.

???: It’s nice to meet you Taio. My name is Anthony Wade.

Taio: Why am I here?

Anthony: You’re here to join the federation! It’s an exciting day for you. You may be looking at us as if we are the villains, but all we do is guide you. We give you missions that you choose from. We’ll supply you with everything you need. You could go anywhere in the world. Most people that come here tend to lean more towards murder, but our missions aren’t evil. We have people that stop crime from happening too. All that we ask is you keep your identity hidden, and never speak a word about us. If something happens to slip your mouth, we’ll kill you and whoever you spoke to.

Taio: Are you trying to convince me to join? I thought I didn’t really have a choice.

Anthony: I’m not convincing you of anything. I’m telling you what we do. The last thing, before you pick your mission, we have ranks. If you do anything before you get here, as in, turning in bounties or stealing. You might start off in a higher rank. Unfortunately for you, you have done nothing so far. You have no rank. So you must prove yourself before you do anything.

Taio: What are you going to make me do?

Anthony: Something the people call a tutorial mission.

### Part 4

Taio stands next to a sewer. Another large man that looks like a bodyguard stands with him. He grabs the manhole cover and places it down beside the sewer hole. Taio begins climbing down the sewer, and the manhole cover slides back on top, covering his way out. Taio’s feet land in the slimy water. He can’t see through the water’s surface. His steps make quiet splashes. The dark tunnel of the sewers is only filled with brick walls and the dirty river that Taio just can’t seem to get out of. Every once and a while Taio passes a camera that looks like it’s watching him. Then the camera moves the other way and he realizes that it just stays in it’s pattern. The sewer tunnels seem endless. When every turn arises Taio can help but feel like he has forgotten the way, until his memory strikes him and he can remember nearly everything about his route. Quiet chuckles bounce off the walls and into Taio’s ears. Taio sees the left turn up ahead. He presses his back against the left wall, and edges up to the turn. The splashing footsteps that have been ingrained in his memory, are now coming for him. Each splash is closer than the last. Taio smells the stench of metal.

???: Did you know that there were people down here before us?

???: I thought we set this place up.

???: No, a few months back we took this place over like it was noth-

Taio swings around the wall. The two soldiers stop, and try to move their guns. Taio grabs one soldier’s arm and pushes it up to the ceiling. Two bullets fire off and crack the brick above them. The soldier next to Taio almost has his gun aimed. Taio side kicks the soldier’s ribs. Another bullet fires off as the soldier kneels in the sewer water holding his ribs with one hand and a loose grip on his gun in the other. The soldier, gun still pointing to the ceiling, knee’s Taio in the stomach. Taio falls into the murky water. He splashes the water into the soldier’s face. The soldier closes his eyes and turns his face. Taio kicks him in the shin with his right leg. The soldier falls lower, and Taio uses his left leg to knock the gun out of his hand. Taio gets up quickly and grabs the gunless soldier. He looks to his right and the other soldier is aiming the gun at him. Taio uses the other soldier’s body as a shield.

Taio: You’re not going to fire the gun.

Soldier: It’s my life or his.

The soldier fires off a few shots. Taio throws one soldier into the other. Nervous and pinned to the wall by his friend’s body. The soldier throws his friend off of him and tries to re-aim his gun. Taio’s fist cracks his dome. The soldier falls to the ground incompacitated. The other soldier, still on the ground, scrambled to find the gun in the dirty water. He hears Taio and looks back. Taio kicks him in his head. The soldier's face falls down into the water. Taio flips the soldier over and drags him out of the water.

Taio: I hate the sewers.

Taio shakes off his arms and keeps walking. Soon, the echoes of bustling machines make it to him.

Taio: The machines must have drowned out the noise of the gun shots.

Taio quietly runs down the tunnel. He sees a giant opening in the wall. He leans his back up against the wall and peers in. Workers, machines, trucks. The room looks like a factory. Taio sees people walking in and out of an office.

Taio: No, I’m not here for that.

Taio looks at the power cords. Lines in the floor stretch from one machine into the wall. His eyes follow the line on the wall. The lines go into a small room.

Taio: What about a backup generator? I'd need to take that out first.

Taio scans the room.

Taio: Nope, I need a better view.

Taio sneaks into the factory. The rooms in the factory don’t reach the ceiling. Taio looks to his right. A small break room is empty. He runs over to the room and jumps. He grabs the break room’s ceiling and climbs on top. His eyes go right back to scanning. With a different view, he can see other lines in the wall that extend out from the power room. Taio follows the lines to another power room next to a giant garage door.

Taio: How do I get there?

Taio taps his finger. A worker is walking over to the break room. He’s got headphones on to block the sound of the machines. Taio hangs down from the ceiling and looks through the break room’s window. He sees the man grabbing a drink. Taio looks around, then jumps down. He opens the door and walks up to the worker. He grabs the workers head and slams it against the breakroom table. Taio ducks down before anyone sees.

Taio: Sorry.

Taio changes into work clothes. He leaves the man on the ground and turns off the break room light.

Taio: Hopefully that’ll give me some time.

Taio walks through the factory. Everyone is distracted by their work. Taio walks inside the second power room. He looks at the breaker next to the backup generator. Taio takes a device out of his pocket and attaches it to the breaker. Taio walks out of the power room. A man is standing in front of him.

Manager: What the hell are you doing in the power room? How did you even get in?

The manager closes the door and locks it. He turns the handle. The door opens again.

Manager: Damn door. I thought I told Jamie to fix this!

The manager looks back at Taio.

Manager: Why were you in there?!

Taio: I thought I could hide out to get a break.

Manager: Well, not anymore. If I catch you doing that one more time you’ll never step foot in here again. We have a break room anyway. Why would you need to use this room?

Taio: The break room’s light is off. I thought the door was locked or something.

The manager looks at the break room.

Manager: Ah, shit! This is why I need an assistant! I can’t do everything around here. Get back to work! I’ll be watching.

The manager watches Taio walk back over to the machines as he walks over to the breakroom. He opens the door and turns on the light shaking his head in annoyance. The light shines on the near naked worker’s sleeping body.

Manager: What the fuck? Is he on drugs?

The manager walks out of the breakroom. He looks at the workers.

Manager: Not again! Where’d the kid go?

The lights all go off. The factory goes dark, and the noise of machines stops. The manager reaches for his gun. The garage door explodes. Bullets fire off. The bullets sound like birds chirping. The manager ducks down and gets as close to the ground as he can.

Taio: I can’t even see the door out of here.

Taio is in the power room.

Taio: I’ll just wait then.

Taio hears banging on the door.

???: Taio, let’s go.

Taio moves over to that side of the room. He moves his hands around on the wall to try to find the doorknob. He opens the door. A soldier in dark clothes with night vision goggles puts a hand on Taio’s shoulder.

???: Let’s go!

The soldier leads Taio out of the factory.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio stands in front of Anthony’s desk.

Anthony: That was your first mission. You did well.

Taio: I didn’t know if you had actually turned off the security cameras or not.

Anthony: If we hadn’t, you would have never made it out of the tunnel.

Taio: What was that even about? What was the mission?

Anthony: We pulled most of our soldiers out of the sewers because we thought the tunnels were secret enough. Those gang members took over our underground trade while we were focusing on other matters. We have it back now, and that’s all that matters.

Taio: That was for trade?

Anthony: That was the mission you completed. You're an official member of The Federation now. Where do you want to go?

### Part 5

Yu-hsuan stands in front of a brown board. Names, pictures and words are spread out over the board. Lines connect everything together. Yu-hsuan draws a red x over one of the pictures. His son watches him.

Yu-hsuan: You see son. You’ve got to stay organized. Men like us. We have big ideas, elaborate ideas. Sometimes my ideas can get away from me. So I keep everything down, but you must remember one thing. Do you know what that is?

Son: What?

Yu-hsuan: You can’t let anyone see. I’m showing you this because I can trust you. This is between us. Just you and me. Can you keep this a secret?
Yu-hsuan’s son nods.

Yu-hsuan: Good.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio sits on a rooftop looking down on the istanbul street. His legs dangle off the edge of the orange shingled roof. People walk through the street, buses pass, and cars fly by. Taio pushes himself off of the roof. His feet delicately land onto the stone ground. He walks out into the street with his hands tucked into his pockets. Looking around with a child like curiosity, Taio doesn’t see any restaurants yet. He sees shop after shop. He decided there must be a few restaurants outside of the district for people that get tired of shopping. Taio runs around. He turns a corner to see restaurant after restaurant.

Taio: I don’t know what district she’s in, but I’ll find her… eventually.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio is worn out after a long day of walking around town and looking for Dilara. He sits back on the rooftops. The only place where he doesn’t feel out of place. He eats an apple he stole off of a cart after thoroughly checking to make sure the apple was safe. Taio lays down on the roof looking up at the still blue sky.

Taio: I need better detective skills. Seems I never find anything in the city.

Taio hears a distinct sound. The sound of clanging metal. At first it sounds like broken shingles, but the quiet noise persists. He stands up in a frenzy. Taio looks around with his eyes wide. His nose twitches. His head stops. His eyes focus.

Taio: A talon.

Taio runs across the shingled rooftops. He follows the talon’s every move. He gets closer and closer. The talon notices Taio’s speed. He takes a hard turn and jumps to another building. Taio stops before he jumps. He looks around. A metallic close line goes between the two buildings. Taio runs and jumps onto the close line. He lays his right hand on the top of the close line. He slides across it. The red wrap protecting his hands. The close line brakes. Taio falls forward to the wall of another building. He runs along the wall. He starts to lose speed. He almost falls down. Then he jumps off the wall and onto a fire escape. He scales the side of the fire escape. He gets to the rooftop and looks around. The talon is coming his way. Taio stands just below sight. His head hidden behind the roof. He sees shingles falling off the roof. The falling shingles get closer to him. Taio jumps onto the roof. He swings around, kicking out the talon’s leg. The talon falls forward and off the building.

Taio: No!

Taio jumps off the roof top. He lands on the ground and looks around. The talon is gone.

Taio: Dammit!

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio shows up at a giant building annoyed. He walks inside and up to the lady at the desk.

Worker: Do you-

Taio shows her a badge.

Worker: The elevator should behind me on your right. If you’re looking for a new mission, go to floor 67.

Taio: Thank you. Have a great day.

Taio walks into the elevator. He stands there as the elevator slowly rises. He taps his foot waiting. The elevator stops and doors open. A man in dark clothes and weapons comes in. The sword on his back drips blood. Taio takes a step away from him.

Taio: How did you get in here? Is there some secret passage for people that don’t want to look normal?

The man turns to look at Taio. He gives Taio a look of intimidation. Taio doesn’t react. The man looks disturbed. The elevator stops. The door opens, and the man gets out. The doors shut and the elevator continues on. Soon, Taio hears his last ding for the moment and the doors open. He steps out of the elevator and into another mansion esque room. Taio’s eyes immediately catch the papers aligned on the wall. Each paper is pinned to the wall’s backboard. Taio walks up to the papers. Skimming the words.

Taio: They’re all missions. Every single last one of them.

Taio stands amazed looking at all the papers.

Taio: I’ll just grab an easy one.

Taio looks around for a minute.

Taio: Delay the truck. Not much to this one I guess. I can just do this to keep the Federation happy.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio stands on the orange shingles again. He looks down. Cars fly by. Then, the sound of a slow heavy vehicle comes. Taio looks to his left. The truck comes up to him, picking up speed. The truck has tinted windows and an armored look to it. Taio slams his fist on a shingle. The shingle breaks off. As it starts falling, Taio grabs it. He gets his arm ready.

Taio: Just a little closer.

Taio hears the metal clanging again. He looks up. The Talon is running across the buildings on the opposite side of the street. Taio looks at the truck and then the talon. The talon makes eye contact and starts running faster.

Taio: Shit! I'll lose both if I go after him.

Taio watches as a man jumps up from below the buildings. He grabs the talon. Taio sees the man’s blond hair.

Taio: …Sone?

Taio almost got distracted. He looks at the truck below him. He throws a shingle into the truck’s wheel. The truck spins out and crashes into a wall. Taio jumps down from the roof and runs over to the other building. He jumps up and grabs onto a deck. He pulls himself up and grabs onto the roof. He looks up at the blond man.

Taio: Sone?!

The man looks down at Taio.

Sone: Taio?

They both hear an explosion. Taio looks off into the distance. Two people get out of the crashed truck.

???: Isn’t that where you were going?

### Part 6

Dilara cleans herself up and takes her white apron off. She throws the apron in the back of her car. A worker runs out from the restaurant.

Worker: Miss, look at this!

The worker shows a video on her phone.

Reporter: Everybody has been raving. The Crown Parlor is the best up and coming restaurant people have ever tried!

Dilara gets so happy tears come rushing down her cheeks. She hugs the worker.

Dilara: This is amazing. We’ll all have a party soon. Don’t tell anybody. I want it to be special.

Worker: Okay.

Dilara gets in her car and drives off. The streets never seemed so calm. She was in her own world. It felt like every person she passed had a smile on their face. She parked at her apartment complex. It was small, but great for it’s price. She climbed up the stairs with her apron in hand. Down the hallway she sees her door. She slips the key into the lock. The door clicks and she opens it. The room is so dark she can’t see anything. She closes the door behind her and flips the light switch.

Dilara: Who are you?

A man sits on the couch. He has compact battle gear on. A mix of red, green, and gold shimmer in the new lighting of the room. In his hand, a gun Dilara has never seen before. He pops a blue object into the gun and click’s it back. All she can look at is his eyes peering through the golden japanese dragon mask. The iris of his eyes are blood red, but the pupils are white.

???: Sit down.

Dilara doesn’t move. The man’s tone gets harsher. His words faster.

???: You’ll never leave this room before I can use this gun. So, sit down.

Dilara cautiously walks over to the sofa chair and sits down.

???: I don’t want to kill you. You’ve got your own life going, and it’s going well. I applaud you for that. It’s hard to start from nothing.

Dilara: I didn’t have nothing.

???: Well lets just say that you did. Now imagine a girl with no one and nothing to hold onto. Then they ask her to help them. Wouldn’t that be a problem? I think it would be a big problem.

Dilara: What are you talking about?

???: Oh, this is why you’re going to die first. Out of all his students, you were the least talented. There was nothing special about you. Now you’ll die with knowledge of nothing but a question. I do have a soft spot for you. I’ll let you have an answer. I am called the Dragon’s eye.

Dilara: You’re part of the dragon’s group. Why are you trying to kill me?

Dragon Eye: What do you think would happen when all of Sensei Yin’s students came together? You may think of an old family reunion. I think chaos, destruction, ruin. A will of fire that water just won’t put out. Now, separately, the flame is nothing but candle lit. Now, you can die in peace.

He raises his gun. Dilara tries to move. A cloud of smoke covers Dilara. She breathes in something awful. Her lungs hurt. She starts coughing.

Dragon Eye: They’ll all see what happens when they feel the dragon’s breath. You’re not just an enemy, but a message.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio and Sone stand in a run down studio apartment. Taio sits on the rough couch. Sone walks over to the kitchen.

Sone: You need anything? Food, something to drink?

Taio: No, I’m fine.

Sone: Alright.

Sone grabs some water and sits down on a sofa chair that sounds like its going to break as Sone sits down.

Taio: I think you’re too big for that chair. Sit down a little to quick and you go’n break the fucking chair.

Sone: I’m not to big for it. It’s just a shitty ass chair.

There is a moment of silence.

Sone: Why are you here Taio? How did you get here? Did you already finish your training?

Taio: I didn’t finish my training. Sone, Sensei Yin is dead.

Sone: What?! How? He was the greatest fighter we knew-

Taio: The dragon showed up with an army of talons. I couldn’t even get close enough to help him.

Sone:...

Taio: That’s why I came here. Bronson told me Dilara went to Istanbul. I came here hoping she would find her.

Sone: You’re too late. She’s dead.

Taio: No, not-

Sone: The talons killed her a few days ago. I’ve been following talons ever since she died. I tried to get information out of them, but I couldn’t get anything. Even when I captured them it was like they would go brain dead. Any talon goes completely silent when captured. No matter what you do to them. I tried everything. That’s how you found me. I was tracking down that talon.

Taio: Why are you here? I thought you guys all split up after you finished your training.

Sone: We did. I think we might even be here for the same reason. Look at this.

Sone walks over to a section on the wall covered with a sheet. He rips the sheet off the wall to show a corkboard with many different pictures, words, and lines scattered across it.

Sone: For a while after we left Vitala, I did my own thing. Its weird to have nothing to do after waking up everyday with a purpose. I tried to-

Sone air quotes.

Sone: -Find myself or something. Nothing really worked. I wasn’t going to get a regular job. There was nothing in the world for me. I was stealing food everyday. Which was, granted, easy to do, but not fulfilling.

Taio: I think I've been on somewhat of the same track.

Sone: Don’t you have parents? You’re still a kid. You should have gone back to them.

Taio: I don’t have parents anymore.

Sone: I’m sorry.

Taio: It’s… fine. It’s not your fault… Continue on. How did you get here.

Sone: So one day, in Italy. There was a bunch of people in trouble. One guy had a bunch of hostages trapped in a building. The cops couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t stay and watch. I snuck in and took the guy down. It hit me. My purpose was to help people. What I didn’t know, was the news had gotten footage of me. The next day, I woke up and talons attacked me. From then on I’ve been trying to stop the Dragon from whatever his plans are.

Taio: That’s what this is. All the information on the Dragon’s plans. That’s why you came to see Dilara. To warn her.

Sone: Not exactly. I came here to ask for her help. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I looked, Aishu and Joon-Woo are gone. I haven’t seen either of them since Hong Kong.

Taio: They must have alluded to something. Did you guys talk in Hong Kong? One last dinner with the family?

Sone: No. We all just left. It was a bit awkward too. We had all spent over a year together and knew near nothing about each other. I came to see Dilara because I needed help and she was the only one I had a clue about.

Taio: Well, that part of the plan was a bust then. Did you at least find anything about The Dragon?

Sone: Not as much as I wanted, but yes. Yes I did. The Dragon isn’t just a person. It’s a business.

Sone points to a picture of a pill.

Sone: The company started with a pill they called Dragon’s breath. The story goes that the owner of the company’s daughter had cancer, and when she would go to sleep at night he would read her tales of knights and dragons. Hence the name. So they made a pill called dragon’s breath that cured cancer, but it also did something else. The company isn’t just a medical, but biological. The liquid inside the pill is two different compounds. One of them is mercury.

Taio: I’m sorry. I wasn’t too good in school. Kind of a weed smoking skateboarder kid. I know mercury is dangerous, but where are you going with this?

Sone: Mercury is a poisonous metal, but it’s safe in small doses. The dragons breath cure uses a small amount of mercury. Then the company made, what I call, dragons breath 2.0. A pill that dissolves in your mouth in seconds and explodes mercury gas.

Taio: What was the point of making it? It’s not useful if you have to shove it down someone’s throat to make it work.

Sone: I don’t know… All I know is they turned it into a weapon. When I found Dilara, she wasn’t killed by a sword.

Taio: This is a lot. Let's focus on something else. Finding Aishu and Joon-Woo.

Sone: Do you know anything.

Taio: I might know where to find something.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio walks into The Federation building. The lady at the desk is still there.

Taio: Know where I can find any information?

Worker: Floor 45.

Taio: Thank you.

Taio walks over to the elevators. He looks determined. The door shuts. Taio looks at a poster on the wall.

Taio: A tournament to see who the best fighter is. I didn’t know the organization held tournaments. Weird.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio looks around in a library. Frightened of all the books he finds a computer to sit down at.

Taio: Okay. Where do i look? Joon-Woo’s a mystery, but Aishu… Maybe I could find her.

Taio looks around. Searching in google about events. Eventually he resorts to news paper articles. Scouring for hours and hours. He even tries reading books. He finds a book on the greatest criminals who were never caught. He finds nothing.

Taio: This is annoying. I don’t know whether she is a criminal, hero, or dead. With all the deaths surrounding me lately she might be… Ever since I left-

Taio’s eye sparkles.

Taio: What events happened around when she left? There has to be something!

Taio scours the internet until he finds something.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hours later.

Taio: And… print.

Taio grabs sheets of paper from every event afterwards. All from giant news companies.

Taio: All one month after each other. Famous artworks were stolen. It must be her.

Taio walks up to the librarian.

Taio: Do you know who did this?

Librarian: We don’t give information on criminals unless they are part of your job. All we can say is that they call her She-Devil.

Taio: She-Devil… Thank you. That’s more than enough.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio walks back into Sone’s studio apartment.

Taio: Sone! I’ve got a lead.

Sone is looking at the corkboard.

Sone: What’s the lead?

Taio puts all the pictures down on the table in front of the couch. Sone walks over and looks at it.

Sone: Famous artwork?

Taio: It all started a month after you guys left. From then on, once every month, a piece of multi million dollar artwork was stolen every month. They call her She-Devil.

Sone: Hm.

Taio: She always wanted to travel the world.

Sone: I’ll find out where she’s going next.

Taio: How?

Sone: I said I wanted to be a hero, but I spent a lot more time as a criminal. Criminals know criminals.

### Part 7

Taio stands in the elevator. Taio taps his foot as he slowly gets higher. He hears a ding and the doors open. Taio sees a man on a computer. His fingers never stopping for a second typing on the keyboard like he’s playing a piano for an orchestra. The man is unfazed by Taio.

Taio: I need to leave Istanbul.

Man: Why?

Taio: A mission.

Man: What mission needs you to leave Istanbul?

Taio: A personal one.

Man: Where is the flight to?

Taio: London. And… I kinda need two tickets.

The man sighs.

Man: You will leave tomorrow. A man will find you when you go to the airport. He has your ticket.

Taio: Thank you.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio is walking back to Sone’s hideout with his hands in his pockets. He feels like everyone is watching him walk down the street. Taio slips into an alleyway. An elbow catches his neck. His back smashes on the brick walls of the alleyway.

Taio: Fuck!

Taio looks up. Agent 17 is pinning him down.

Taio: What did I do?!

Agent 17: I’ve only come here to warn you. The Federation isn’t going to allow you to do whatever you want. You have to pay us back for everything we give you. One mission. That’s all you did in Istanbul. You keep on that track and they’ll pull all funds from you, or even worse. They’ll assign you to a squad that makes sure you do missions.

Taio: A squad?

Agent 17: A group that does whatever they’re told to do. Sometimes, if needed, they sacrifice themselves for The Federation.

Taio: What if I give you something better than a mission?

Agent 17: What could you give?

Taio: What if I got She-Devil to join The Federation?

Agent 17: You’re trying to tell me you know where to find her, and you would be able to convince her to join us.

Taio: I’m an old friend of hers.

Agent 17: I’ll give you a pass this time. You have one chance to bring her to us. If you fail. I’ll be picking your missions for one month.

Taio: Works for me.

Agent 17 drops his arm. He disappears into the street.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio sits down on Sone’s couch.

Taio: Sone. We kind of need to find Aishu soon. How do you know she is in London?

Sone: I didn’t find anyone that knew where she would be. So I asked some computer guys-

Taio: Asked?

Sone: I paid some computer guys to look at the information and try to see if they could find a pattern. They ran some programs and landon on London.

Taio: They just ran some programs? You don’t know how that works do you?

Sone: No, and I don’t pretend to. I’m not a computer guy. After they told me London I looked into it. A painting called Turner’s Rome was recently sold back to the museum. The paintings worth about 30 million dollars.

Taio: If I was a thief I’d try to steal that.

Sone: I know. After I saw that I had to double check. I was like, “shit, maybe I’ll steal it.” I have no idea when she’ll go for it. We might end up sitting on it for a little while.

Taio: That’s fine. We’ll have tons of time to wait. We’re leaving tomorrow.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio and Sone sit on a plane. Sone tries to get comfortable, but he’s too big to fit his seat. Taio looks up and watches the movie.

Sone: Who do they make these seats for?!

Taio: Regular people.

Sone: I need like two seats. Move over.

Taio: You don’t get two seats. If you wanted more seats then you should have paid for your own damn ticket.

Sone: I guess I’ll just suffer.

Taio: We’ll finally be going to a place that I know the language of. Sensei Yin only taught me Mandarin and English.

Sone: People in Istanbul speak english.

Taio: What? I tried to talk to some guy in the elevator and he just looked at me.

Sone: Maybe you were just annoying.

Taio: I mean. He did have a sword dripping with blood on his back, but that’s no reason to be rude.

Sone laughs.

Sone: Where the hell did you find a murderer in an elevator. You know what? Where did you get these tickets?

Taio: …I’m working with The Federation.

Sone: That’s a group of criminals. No, they aren’t even a group. They’re a damn corporation of criminals. Why are you working with them?

Taio: It was either that or die. They didn’t give me much of a choice. Remember when we found each other and an explosion went off? I was there doing a mission. I had to stall a car. I guess my mission was to save someone’s life. I’ve been trying to stall and not help them, but they’ll start cracking down on me soon. That’s why we need to find Aishu. If they haven’t caught her, then she must know how to avoid them.

Sone: Make sure you don’t lead them to her.

Taio: She’s smarter than that. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aishu sits in a dim lit grey room. She wears a tight red suit and a red coat over it. Her long black hair drapes over her clothes. The red on her clothes reflects off her eyes. She holds a pistol in her left hand.

Aishu: Why are you following me if you don’t want to kill me?

Talons walk into the room. One of them holds a card in his hand.

Talon: Read the card.

Aishu holds the gun still as the Talon walks closer to her. He puts out his arm. Aishu takes the card and the talon steps back.

Aishu: A tournament?

Talon: The dragon will be at the tournament. If you want to fight him, that’s where he’ll be.

Aishu: Why would I want to fight him? He was my Sensei’s problem. He’s never been mine.

Talon: Our problems get passed down to our children. Problems don’t go away until they’re solved, and the Dragon will never die.

The talons leave. Aishu looks at the card.

Aishu: If Yin wants me to help him then he would find me.

### Part 8

Taio and Sone roll bags through the airport in london.

Taio: Oo, let me get a cinnabon or something.

Sone: With what money.

Taio: There are tons of people around. Find a person who looks well off and steal a twenty. They won’t care. You act like we haven’t stolen before. We’ve been stealing to stay alive for a while now.

Sone: Do whatever you want Taio. Aren’t you eighteen now. You can do whatever you want.

Taio: I’ll be eighteen soon.

Sone: Wow, you really didn’t even train with Sensei a year.

Taio: Nope, and I’m still the better fighter.

Sone: Yeah, let’s let sparring decide.

Taio: We will. After we find Aishu. What museum are we going to?

Sone: The Museum of London.

Taio: Sounds important. There’ll probably be security guards there.

Sone: What are you thinking Taio?

Taio: The better one doesn’t get seen by any security guards.

Sone: We’re not playing stupid games.

Taio: You shouldn’t get seen anyway. This is just an added incentive.

Sone: What did you master three languages? You can barely use big words in Cantonese.

Taio: Oh, shut up.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio and Sone sit on a roof. They look over at the Museum of London. The night sky makes everything a little harder to see. They both sit there bored, watching.

Taio: Do we just sit here forever?

Sone: Until we see her, or here that it’s been stolen.

Taio: Got anything for us to do?

Sone: I got cards.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Over one week later. Taio and Sone are still playing cards on top of the building.

Taio: Every night we come back here. She still never shows her face.

Sone: Eh, just wait. She’ll come eventually. Planning takes time.

Taio: It’s taking my time. Go fish.

Sone: Shit, you won again. My turn to pick the game. We’re playing war.

Taio: That game sucks, and it goes on forever.

Sone: Shut up, we’re playing war.

Taio sighs.

Sone: What?

Taio: To get to Istanbul I rode in a plane’s cargo hold. Then a guy shot his gun right next to my ear. My other ear healed from the plane’s noise, but not from the gun shot. Usually it’s just a bit of deafness, but every once and a while the ringing comes back.

Sone: Are you deaf in one ear?

Taio: Kind of.

Sone: The federations giving you all this stuff, but not a hearing aid. Bullshit man.

Taio looks over at the museum. He sees a flash of red.

Taio: That’s her.

Sone: how do you know?

Taio: She’s called She-Devil and we just saw a person in red sneak into the museum. It’s her.

Sone and Taio sneak up to the vent Aishu went in through. Taio and Sone put their hoods up. Taio jumps into the vent.

Sone: The vent’s too small for me. I’ll find another way in.

Sone sneaks around the building. He finds a window to an office. He grabs the window and tries to open it. The windows locked. He keeps pulling it up. The lock breaks and the window opens. Sone steps inside and closes the window. He sneaks over to the door. He unlocks the door and opens it up just a crack. He peaks through to see anyone. The hallway is empty. He sees a light shine on the dark wall.

Sone: Flashlight.

Then he hears something small hit the ground. The light on the wall moves lower. Sone runs over to the light. He sees the flashlight on the floor, but nothing else. The hallway is empty. Two feet kick the back of Sone’s head. Sone almost falls forward. Aishu jumps down from the ceiling.

Sone: Ai-

Aishu jabs Sone in the stomach twice. Sone tries to push her off of him. She slides behind him. Her elbow collides with the middle of his spine. His legs go numb for a second and he falls to the ground. One swift punch to the head and Sone goes unconscious. Aishu runs down the hallway. Her footsteps don’t make a sound.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio sneaks through the vents. Everytime there is a rumble he gets worried, thinking someone must have heard him. He gets to the end of the vent. Where the vent cover is sitting there, no screws in place. He takes the cover off and drops down onto the floor. He carefully puts the cover back on, and runs through the hall. Taio looks at the signs.

Taio: Sone said, the painting should be in section c.

Taio finds the sign. He runs through the big open areas of artwork. His eyes dart around looking for anyone. Then he gets to section c. Aishu stands in front of Turner’s Rome.

Taio: Aishu?

Aishu turns and looks at Taio. She rushes up to him. One fist flies at Taio. Taio pushes her arm to the side. Fist after fist comes.

Taio: Aishu-

Aishu kicks Taio in the chest. He falls to the floor. His back up against the museum wall. Aishu runs at him.

Taio: It’s me. Taio.

She stops in front of him. Her flist opens and she takes off his hood.

Taio looks at her. She crouches down and whispers into his left ear.

Taio watches her take the painting and run off. He tries to catch up to her. He turns a corner, and she’s gone.

Taio: I need to find Sone.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio and Sone walk down the street.

Taio: At least we can say we found her.

Sone: That's all we needed. She knows we’re here. She’ll find us.

Taio: How is she going to do that?

Sone: We’re going to make it easy for her.

Sone leads Taio into an old-fashioned bar. Criminals sit all around. Sone sits down at one of the booths. Taio sits on the other side.

Taio: Aishu whispered something in my ear.

Sone: What did she say?

Taio: My left ear.

Sone: Why are you telling me that? I didn’t need to know that we were that close.

The door opens. A girl in an elegant red dress with a slit in it. Her dark hair pinned up in a french twist updo. She looks around and sees Taio and Sone. Sone slides over and she sits down.

Sone: What, are you dressing like a grown woman now? You’re showing too much leg. Put some pants on. You ain’t even eighteen yet.

Aishu: I know what age I am. You don’t need to tell me.

Sone: Apparently I do, young lady.

Aishu rolls her eyes at Sone. He’s visibly hurt. Aishu looks at Taio.

Aishu: How did you guys find me?

Taio: I found all the information on all the paintings you stole. Sone put them together, threw them into a computer, and London popped up.

Aishu: Maybe I need to hide better. That sounds a lot easier than it should be.

Taio: Nobody else has found you yet.

A waiter comes over.

Waiter: Would you like anything to drink.

Taio: Just a water.

Aishu: Mojito.

Sone: Aperitivo.

Waiter: We don’t have that sir.

Sone: Negroni.

Waiter: Okay, they should be out soon.

The waiter walks away.

Taio: You won’t let her wear a dress, but she can drink liquor.

Sone: What are you talking about? In Italy we serve liquor to 16 year olds.

Taio: Oh, nevermind then.

Aishu: Taio how did your training go with Yin?

Taio: It went well for a little while.

The waiter sets the drinks down on the table.

Aishu: Did Yin get bored without all of us? I bet he missed us.

Sone’s face becomes a blank stare. Taio looks awkward.

Aishu: What?

Aishu takes a sip of her drink. She breaks eye contact from the awkwardness of the room.

Taio: Sensei Yin is dead, Aishu. The dragon killed him.

Aishu chokes on her drink. Her chest becomes tight and she feels like she can’t breath. Sone puts his hand on her back. Aishu stands up and walks out of the bar.

Taio: Should you-

Sone: You can go, Taio.

Taio stands up and walks out of the bar. Aishu is standing there, looking at the street. Her arms are crossed, and tears roll down her face.

Aishu: I just needed air. I’ll be back in a minute.

Taio stands there. Waiting for her.

Taio: I know you called him Grandpa Yin, but he was more like a father to you.

Aishu: The only father I ever had. He protected me for 16 years. As soon as I leave…

Taio: It’s not your fault. My mother just died recently. The last time I saw her she sent me off to train with Yin. When I came back. Talons had killed her. The talons would have killed me too if I stayed. You never know what would have happened. Now we can avenge them.

Aishu turns around and looks at Taio.

Aishu: What about the healing waters…? How-

Taio: I tried those. The water was dry. I don’t know how the dragon did it.

Aishu rubs the tears off her face, but they keep coming.

Aishu: Did you bury him?

Taio: Yes.

Aishu walks up and hugs Taio.

Aishu: Thank you.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Later that night, Aishu brings Taio and Sone to her hideout. They walk into the grey room. The room is messy and full of pictures of artwork. A few paintings lay against the wall with a sheet covering them. Aishu walks over to her desk and grabs a card.

Aishu: A few days ago, talons came here and gave me this card.

Aishu hands the card to Sone.

Sone: A tournament?

He passes it to Taio.

Taio: I’ve seen this. This is the tournament the Federation is holding.

Aishu: I looked into it. It’s a tournament for mercenaries. Everyone tries to kill each other.

Taio: Last one alive wins?

Aishu: No. The rules change every time the tournament is held. The killing each other is up to you.

Sone: I’m guessing killing is expected.

Aishu: At least some blood is. The talons said the dragon would be there.

Taio: It’s definitely a trap.

Sone: It doesn’t matter. We can handle ourselves. How else are we going to find him? We have to take this chance.

Aishu: Taio? What are you thinking?

Taio shakes his head.

Taio: What other chance will we get?

Aishu: Then we go.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Yu-hsuan sits at his computer again. He sees The Dragon Eye’s face on his screen.

Dragon Eye: How do you know they’ll go to the tournament?

Yu-hsuan: What else would they do? They don’t know who I am. All they know is I killed their Sensei. Then I’ll kill them all at the tournament.

Dragon Eye: Hasn’t the plan always been to not get them together? They’ll be dangerous.

Yu-hsuan: Not when you make the rules. I run the tournament. We’ll kill them.

## Act 4 - Tournament Of Killers

### Part 1

The sliding doors open up. Taio walks into The Federation’s building. The lady at the desk smiles at him.

Worker: How can I help you?

Taio: Where do I go to join the tournament?

Worker: You want to help set up for the tournament?

Taio: No, I want to be a part of the tournament.

Worker: You will have to speak to your agent.

Taio: Where is he then?

Worker: We’ll send him a message. He’ll find you.

Taio: Thank you.

Taio leaves the building.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

The sky is a clear blue. Taio sits on a rooftop looking at the clouds in the sky. His gaze drops down to a giant clock tower. A hand grabs Taio’s back. Some pulls Taio back and flips him over. Taio’s face is pushed into the roof.

Agent 17: Now you want to go to the tournament. Federation members don’t join the tournament. We help organize it.

Taio: She-Devil’s going to the tournament. I’ll lose her if I don’t go.

Agent 17: It’s out of your hands now. Starting tomorrow, I pick your missions.

Taio:...

Taio feels the hand come off his back. He gets up and Agent 17 is gone.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio is sitting down with Sone and Aishu in the hideout.

Taio: We can’t use the Federation for a better way in.

Sone: You thinking we’ll just have to trust we can get out of any trap?

Aishu: You put trust in yourself evertime you fight. We’ll just have to go to the boat on this note card.

Taio: When does the boat come in?

Aishu: Down by the docks at midnight.

Taio: Before we get ready, anybody know anything more about this tournament?

Sone: It’s a big event. It’s practically a world wide event. Lots of people will see it on the TV. That’s it.

Taio: That’s not much.

Aishu: We can go in blind. If everyone else is too, than we’ll be fine.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hours later, Taio, Aishu, and Sone all stand at the docks. The moon’s high above their heads. They see the boat coming in from the horizon.

Taio: Last chance to turn back.

They hear footsteps on the dock.

???: Lots of last chances tonight.

Taio: Agent 17.

Agent 17: I told you not to go to the tournament Taio. Everything I’ve told you, you disobeyed. You didn’t lie about She-Devil though. You did really find her. I applaude you for that, but she isn’t exactly joining the Federation, is she? No, we still can’t let you walk Taio. If you step on that boat, you’ll be on our shit list. That boat will be the last place your ever safe. Why don’t you come with me, and I’ll let you rejoin back with us. You will join a squad, and everything will be dandy.

Taio: I never wanted to join the Federation. You forced me, and now you’re threatening me like a signed a contract. I did one mission too many for you already.

Agent 17: Potential wasted. Your heads held high today. Keep it there. Makes it easier to cut your throat.

Agent 17 walks off. Taio, Aishu, and Sone wait for the boat to dock. They all step onto the yacht. On the yacht, people are partying, drinking, and having a good time. A waiter walks up to them.

Waiter: Welcome to the tournament. Here. Everyone wears masks. It’s part of the tournament.

The Waitor hands them all japanese masks. Taio puts on a leopard mask, Aishu a tiger, and Sone a snake.

Waiter: Would any of you like drinks?

The waiter holds out mysterious cocktails.

Waiter: We treat our guests with the more luxurious cuisine. This is a once in a life time experience.

Sone: Taio, take one. Your damn near 18. Like she said. This is a once in a lifetime experience.

Taio sighs. They all take a drink.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

A few hours later, everyone is drunk. Sone is on the dance floor, partying with the other passengers. Taio and Aishu sit on the furniture.

Aishu: You did not!

Taio: Yeah, when I was a kid. My friends and I thought were so smart. We all bought one movie ticket and snuck around to different theaters watching movies. One guy came in to clean and was like “Haven’t I seen you before.” We were all like 11. One kid ran out the door. The worker tried to chase after us. Everyone was hopping over chairs.

Aishu laughs.

Aishu: Did you think you were going to get away with it?

Taio: Maybe! You don’t know until you try, and we never tried that again.

AIshu: What other stuff did you do?

Taio: Not much else. I just rolled around avoiding school. I kind of wish I could go back though. I wouldn’t get caught anymore, but life was a whole lot more fun.

Aishu: I wish I could have lived in Hong Kong like you. I feel like there was so much I missed out on.

Taio: There was, but you’ve been making up for it. Look at me and Sone. Broke, stealing for scraps. You have millions.

Aishu: The Turner’s painting was going to be my last painting. I don’t need anymore money. I want to see what else there is to do.

Taio: Best of luck. We’re all looking for purpose. If anyone will be able to find it, it’s you.

Aishu: Haven’t you already found yours.

Taio: What do you mean?

Aishu looks in Taio’s confused eyes.

Aishu: Nothing.

Aishu starts tapping Taio on the chest.

Aishu: Oo, oo, oo, we’re docking! Let’s see where we are.

Aishu drags Taio out of the room. They both run up to the front of the boat. They see an island full of trees. In the center of the island, a giant mansion. The boat fully docks with several other boats. One of the waiters walks off the boat.

Waiter: Everyone follow me! We will all be going to the mansion.

Everyone steps off the boat, following the waiter into the thick covering of trees.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

The giant mansion doors are already open. The line of people walk inside. Talons are everywhere. They all hold trays with drinks or food. Stairs lead up to a small balcony. At the top of the balcony stands a man with a dragon mask on. All the tournament participants are talking. The man in the dragon mask raises a glass and taps it with a tuning fork.

???: Everyone I will be your host. You may call me The Dragon.

He points to his mask.

The Dragon: No accuses for forgetting my name. Tonight we may party, but the tournament is coming. Sooner than you may think. Don’t drink too much. You’ll make a fool of yourself on television. The rules for this tournament are simple. Who ever can claim 10 masks before this midnight tomorrow, and beat me will be the winner. You gain a mask through two ways. Forcefully taking it, or making your opponent submit their mask. As always, there is a cash prize for winning. Who ever is able to collect the ten masks, will win 50 million dollars and maybe become a famous TV personality. But for now, have fun!

The dragon walks down the long steps, and disappears into the crowd. The room is almost filled with people.

Aishu: Where’d he go?!

Taio: I don’t know. We should all split up and try to find him. He’s not going to try anything in here.

Sone: Maybe he won’t, but the talons might.

Aishu: They obey their master.

Sone: I’m gonna party. We’ll have to fight him later anyway. No point in letting him know we’re here.

Taio: There is a point. Figuring out how much of the tournament he controls.

Sone: Whatever. The cold outside sobered me up. I’m going back to drinking.

Taio and Aishu split up. They move through the crowd, pushing drunk people out of the way. Neither of them can hear anything. The voices of the crowd drown everything out. To Taio, the voices start to muffle. They all become distorted sounds. He can hear The Dragon’s voice. He knocks people out of the way. The dragon stands in front of him.

The Dragon: Oh, you made it. That must mean the rest of your friends are here.

Taio: You control the tournament.

The Dragon: You must have know there was going to be some sort of twist. Why would I ever give you the chance to take me down when I don’t have the upperhand. Who would have known that you’d join the Federation, and then betray them.

Talons grab Taio’s arms.

The Dragon: I thought you would all be part of the tournament, but I don’t make all the rules.

The Dragon looks at the talons.

The Dragon: Send him to the dungeon.

A door opens. The Talons drag Taio through the door and down the stairs. The cells don’t have iron bars, but walls of hard stone. They open an iron door and throw Taio inside. The heavy door closes and locks shut. There is almost no light in the room. Taio can’s see anythin, but the tiny slit in the metal door. He looks through. All he can see is the talons leave.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Up in the hall, Aishu can’t find anyone. She looks up. The Dragon is back on the balcony.

The Dragon: On the back of your masks is a leter and a number. The waiters will hold up letters. If your letter matches, follow them. They’ll lead you all to your rooms.

Sone pulls his mask away from his face.

Sone: C.

Sone sees a talon holding up C. He follows him. The talon leads him down a long hallway. The rooms start to say C-1, C-2. Sone looks at his number.

Sone: 9.

Sone walks into room C-9. The room looks like a plane hotel room. Sone hops in his bed.

Sone: Ah, comfortable.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aishu sits on her bed.

Aishu: Where did Taio go? The Dragon couldn’t have gotten him. Maybe Sone was right. We should have stuck together.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Down in the dungeon. Taio sits in pure darkness for an hour.

Taio: Am I the only one down here?

???: You’re not the only one, dear boy.

Taio: Who are you?

???: Someone your master knows far too well.

Taio: What do you know about my master?

???: Me and Yin were, well, enemies in a way.

Taio: If you and Yin were enemies, than why would you help me.

???: Because I’m not in Yin’s dungeon.

Taio looks out the slit in the iron door. The lights turn red. Alarms go off.

Taio: What is that?

???: That is the start of the tournament.

### Part 2

Sone slowly falls asleep laying in the large hotel bed. For so many people in one place, the mansion is oddly quiet. Sone puts his hands together.

Sone: Thank you for the silence.

Sone’s arms drop on the bed like anchors. The door creeks open. Sone opens one eye. An alarm starts ringing. Red lights shine throughout the mansion. It looks like the world is ending. Sone opens up both of his eyes. A talon drops down from the ceiling. Sone rolls off the bed. The talon’s sword cuts through the sofa. Sone rips sheets off the bed and wraps it around his left hand. The talon rips his sword out of the sofa and turns to Sone. He swings his blade left and right. Sone dodges back and forth. The sword stabs forward. Sone grabs the sword with his left hand. A quick jab to the talons stomach. The talon is stunned for a second. Sone cracks his dome with a heavy right hook. The talon drops to the ground. Sone puts the sword in his right hand and drops the sheets. He looks at the door. Five more talons come running in. Sone pulls the other sword out of the incompacitated talon’s sheath.

Sone:...

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aishu: What’s going on?

Aishu looks at the red light. She runs over to the door. When she opens it, other people are standing outside their doors. They have the same confused look Aishu does. They all hear a click. Aishu turns to the left. A mercenary points their gun. Aishu quickly rolls back inside her room and shuts the door. More shots fire off. Aishu hears bodies drop. Then four bullets break through her wooden door. Aishu stands to the left of the door. Her back is up against the wall. The mercenary kicks the door open. Aishu knocks the gun out of his hands. The mercany kicks Aishu in the stomach. He throws a punch. Aishu dodges to the side and punches him in the kidney. He backs up, and Aishu roundhouse kicks him in the jaw. The mercenary is stunned. Aishu runs up. Three punches to his stomach. She jumps up and punches his head into the wall. He slides down the wall and falls to the ground.

Aishu: Where’s his gun?

Aishu looks around. She finds the gun laying on the floor. She clicks the gun back, and puts the safety on. The gun becomes hidden in her red coat. She runs out of the room. There’s nobody to be found.

Aishu: I saw Sone went with the c’s. They were somewhere around here.

Aishu runs down the hall. She opens every door. With each word another door slams shut.

Aishu: Nothing, nothing, nothing… Ugh! Where did he go?!

She hears the faint noise of clashing metal. She runs down the hallway. The sound gets louder. She sees a door cracked open.

Aishu: Sone!

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio: How do you know I was trained by Yin?

???: All of you. Everyone Yin trained reeks of the waters. It’s a nasty stench that never washes off.

Taio: You can smell it?

???: Of course I can smell it. I was born there.

Taio: Who are you?

???: I’m the man your Sensei robbed. I was the last of my family to take after the sacred gardens, and I will be the last. Yin knew kung fu far greater than I ever did. He through me off my own mountain. The only reason I survived, was the wolves that caught me.

Taio: Why are you in this dungeon? Shouldn’t you and The Dragon be on the same side.

???: The Dragon is fighting evil. That does not make him good. He’s one of the most meticulous and powerful men I have ever met. He had no interest in ever giving me my home back. When he learned that I wouldn’t help someone else conquer my home, he kept me here.

Taio: So you know how to turn the waters off and on?

???: I’ll never turn the waters on again. Yin stopped me from turning them off when he came. I told The Dragon how to turn them off. I’d rather die than give him the power my ancestors used to protect Cloud Mountain.

Taio: What do you want from me?

???: The Dragon didn’t take one of the yachts to get here. He took a smaller more manageable boat. I’m going to use it to get out of here, but that plan doesn’t include stopping The Dragon. I’m well aware of my limits, but I don’t know yours. You can come with me. All I ask, is you try to kill The Dragon.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aishu opens up the door. Talons surrounds Sone.

Aishu: Sone!

Sone can’t look away. From every angle a sword comes at him. He parries left and right. Three swords come at him. He blocks two. His body jolts to the side, and the third sword slices through his right arm. His arms in so much pain he can barely use his sword, but he still holds onto it. Swords come from the right, and he sloppily blocks them. He swings the sword around more like a bat than a blade. He sees Aishu out of the corner of his eye. She runs away. He almost loses hope. Than he watches as three talons run out of the room, following her.

Sone: Only three of you left, huh? You think you can beat me with this handicap?!

Sone shrugs off his right arm.

Sone: Let’s fucking go!

Two swords jab to his front. He blocks the sword and moves them to the left, throwing the talons off balance. A sword comes from behind him. Sone dodges to the side and blocks the sword. The talon slashes his other sword down. Sone blocks it, and kicks the talon in his leg. His swords drop. Sone stabs a sword through the talon’s chest. The other two talons come running back at Sone. Sone runs at them. His one sword readied. The talons swings. Sone blocks left, then right. He slashes the left talon’s stomach. The right throws a punch. Sone winces as he catches the talon’s punch with his right hand. He headbutt the talon. The talon falls to the ground. Sone stabs his sword through the talon’s head. The last talon jump kicks Sone in the head. Sone falls to the ground. He spits blood out. The talon kicks him in the stomach. Sone rolls into a nightstand. A lit candle falls down. Sone catches it. He throws it at the talon. The talon knocks it out of the way. Sone stands back up. A blade just barely misses his face. His nails dig into his hand as he makes a fist. His knuckles collide with the talon’s head. The talon hits the ground, his nose bent off to the wrong side.

Sone: Fuck!

Sone sits down on the bed for a second. He looks at his still bleeding arm. He rips sheets off the bed and wraps it around his arm. He spits blood out onto the floor. He hears a bang from outside the door. He runs out.

Sone: Aishu?!

A talon body falls to the ground with a bullet hole through its forehead.

Sone: Thank god you’re okay.

Aishu: You were right. We should never have split up. Where is Taio?

Sone: The Dragon took him.

Aishu: When?!

Sone: The party. Did you think I was actually drinking and dancing. I was looking at all the mercenaries. I found the Dragon before either of you. Taio was wrong. Having people everywhere gave him cover to do whatever he wanted. Talons took Taio down into a dungeon.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio: I’ll take down The Dragon.

???: Good.

Taio hears the man’s heavy breathing.

Taio: What are you doing?

???: I need silence.

Taio hears a giant crash. The man is standing in front of Taio’s door.

???: Get away from the door.

Taio moves back. The iron door breaks off the hinges and crashes into the cell’s back wall. Taio walks out of the cell. The old man is standing there. He is wearing monk clothes. Gray blends into his blond hair.

Taio: What do I do with The Dragon?

???: Either kill him, or bring him back to the boat.

Taio: It’s a deal.

They shakes hands.

Taio: Taio.

???: Eleazar. Make sure you have ten masks first. If you don’t. Every mercenary in the whole tournament will be after you. They’ll never let you get to the docks.

### Part 3

Taio runs up stairs and into the mansion’s foyer. Eleazar runs out the front door. The doors shut behind him and Taio can feel that he is on his own. Taio runs down the left hall. The halls are scaringly empty. Taio looks around for any sign of life. Even one mercenary would make him feel better. He hears noises come from the ceiling. Cracks appear on the wood. The ceiling begins to split. Brown smoke bursts out of the ceiling. Wood falls down, something heavier comes with it. A woman lands on the ground. Her eyes gleam with hate. She snarls. Her teeth are made of metal fangs. The tips of her fingers have been cut off and replaced by metal spikes. Taio can still see the calluses. She jumps at Taio, swinging her arms. Taio dodges back and forth. He grabs her right arm and palms her in the chest. She swings at him with her other arm. Taio lets her go and dodges back. Her feet push off the ground. She leaps right into him. Taio sees her mouth open wide. He ducks under her and grabs her arms. He pulls her down, and slams her into the ground. Her teeth get stuck in the wooden floors.

Taio: Are you even human?

Taio rips the mask off her face. He runs off. He hears the sound of metal breaking.

Taio: Broken plates? The kitchen?

Taio runs off.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aishu and Sone run into the foyer. Sone tries to open the door to the dungeon downstairs. The door is locked. He looks at the sign on the door.

Sone: “Where you go if you don’t want to play our game.” Stupid.

Sone kicks the door open. Aishu stands guard upstairs. Sone runs down the staircase. He sees two prison cells with the doors busted open. He runs back upstairs.

Sone: Taio’s gone. Two of the cells were broken open. Someone was able to break open full iron doors.

Aishu looks at the doors.

Aishu: It wasn’t the dragon. He would have just opened the doors. If someone really could have broken those doors open, than I don’t see why Taio would stay inside.

Sone: He wouldn’t have just run off. He must be close to the mansion. Lets stick together. We can’t risk the talons picking us off one by one.

Sone and Aishu run outside.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio runs up to the kitchen. Six people are all fighting in the kitchen. Taio hides outside the kitchen doors peaking in. Gun shots go off. Bullets hit bulletproof vests. Blood splatters on the floor. Taio hears the fighting start to calm down. He runs in. Three guys are left. They all look tired. To Taio’s left, the kitchen wall is made of glass. He sees a flash. Taio jumps down behind a kitchen table he flips the table over. Two bullets explode the mercenaries heads open. The one mercenary left tries to hide behind a table. A bullet breaks through the table and pierces his heart.

Taio: Shit!

Taio gets back to his feet, still crouching. A bullet busts a hole in the table and grazes his leg. Taio jumps behind the counter and crawls over to the metal stove.

Taio: Fuck!

Taio looks at his leg gushing blood.

Taio: That’s not a graze.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Two snipers sit in trees. Their eyes don’t move away from the rifles.

Sniper1: We can’t just let him sit there. There’s six masks just waiting for us. We get those we’ll have 10. One more bullet and The Dragon is dead.

Sniper2: You want to get down from here and risk getting into a brawling match with him. We don’t even know if we hit him.

Sniper1: You just shot through the table. You probably hit him.

Sniper2: Let’s just get different masks. We’ll wait it out. He has to come out eventually. If he doesn’t he’s probably dead.

Sniper1: From your bullet.

Sniper2: Look. Two people coming from the front yard.

They aim their sights.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sone and Aishu walk to the backyard. The yard looks like it was made for battle. The ground isn’t flat. There are many trenches, rocks and trees to hide behind.

Aishu: We need to find something. We’ll find The Dragon before we find Taio at this point.

Sone: You might be right. Won’t stop us from looking though.

Aishu sees bullet holes in the mansions windows.

Aishu: Snipers?

Sone sees a flash of light.

Sone: Snipers!

Sone pushes Aishu down to the ground. A bullet cuts off the top of Sone’s ear. He drops to the ground. Aishu and Sone both hide in a trench.

Aishu looks at Sone’s head.

Aishu: The side of your head’s bleeding. Where’d they hit you?

Sone: My ear. I’m fine.

Aishu: Your ear, your arm. If killers get any more of you, they’ll actually kill you.

Sone: You could say that about any of us.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Talons are walking around the trees.

Talon: They’re boring the viewers. The Dragon said to kill them.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

The two snipers sit in their positions.

Sniper1: Damn, how did they get out of that? That bullet should have hit the tall one. His big ass can’t duck under anything.

Sniper2: Maybe we do need to move. We’re getting no action here-

A sword comes up through the tree branches and stabs the sniper through the chest.

Sniper1: No!

A sword come up from the tree and stabs the other sniper in his stomach.

Sniper1: Ah…

Both of the snipers fall down to the ground.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio sits behind the stove breathing.

Taio: Fuck! The snipers haven’t shot in a while. They might be gone.

Taio peaks out from above the stove. He sees Aishu and Sone running in the backyard.

Taio: Aishu! Sone!

Taio hops over. He grabs a knife that sits on the counter. He runs at the windows ready to throw the knife. Someone grabs the back of his shirt. Taio is thrown through the glass. He drops the knife and falls onto the grass.

Taio: Argh!

Aishu and Sone hear the glass break. The Dragon is standing over Taio. Dragon Eye comes out from behind The Dragon. Dragon Eye runs at Aishu and Sone. Talons follow behind him.

### Part 4

Taio rolls to the side. He gets up from the ground. He looks the dragon in his eyes.

The Dragon: What was your name again Leopard mask?

Taio: Why?

The Dragon: You were familiar when I saw your picture, but I just can’t picture who you remind me of.

Taio: My name is Zhou Taio.

The Dragon: That’s it. Shao. Both of you have the same features. Same personalities too. Blind loyaltee. The type of person who gets everyone to follow him on nothing more than a whim. The type of person I despise. The one who leads everyone to their death for the wrong cause.

Taio: Who are you to say your cause is the right one? We all believe in something.

The Dragon: Taio, you’re still young. None of us create our own ideas. We just pick something to believe in. That’s why speakers are so popular. That’s why speakers are so deceitful.

The Dragon walks up to Taio. Taio throws a punch. The Dragon knocks his arm out of the way. Two punches hit Taio’s stomach like pistons. A fist breaks Taio’s nose. Taio flies a few feet back and hits the ground. Taio puts both hands on his nose. A crack rings through his bones as he corrects his nose. Taio stands back up. The Dragon’s left fist comes at him fast. Taio tries to deflect his punch. The Dragon’s left arm grabs Taio’s wrist. His right arm punches Taio’s still elbow. The bone cracks. Taio screams out in pain. The Dragon’s grip becomes loose. Taio drops to the ground.

The Dragon: What did Yin teach you? Nothing? You can’t even deflect a punch right.

The Dragon grabs the front of Taio’s collar. He picks Taio up and smashes his back against the ground.

The Dragon: I cannot get over how much you look like Shao. It’s like I’m seeing him die twice.

A sparkle of hatred forms in Taio’s eyes.

Taio: You killed my uncle?

The Dragon: There we go. A fight for everyone to enjoy.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dragon Eye walks up to Aishu and Sone as talons surround them.

Dragon Eye: The Dragon wants to enjoy his fight without any interference. If you try to get past us-

Dragon Eye takes out the weird looking gun.

Dragon Eye: I’ll kill you with the same gun I used to kill Dilara.

Sone runs at Dragon Eye.

Sone: You did what?!

Aishu slides to the side. She takes out her gun and fires off a shot. A talon kicks the gun out of her hands. The bullet clashes with Dragon Eye’s gun. The gun falls out of Dragon Eye’s hand and lands on the grass. Sone dives onto the ground and grabs the gun. He chucks the gun out of sight. Dragon Eye tackles Sone into the ground. Six talons surround Aishu. Aishu looks around at all the talons.

Aishu: Are you going to attack me, or are you waiting for me to go after Taio?

The talons don’t move.

Aishu: I get first strike. Thank you Dragon.

Aishu runs up to a talon. The talon swings his blade. Aishu keeps both hands perfectly straight like they’re her own blades. The side of her left hand meets the smooth part of the blade. She pushes the blade out of the way. Her right hand rabs into the talon’s neck like a snake. The talon drops his blade and grabs his neck trying to breath. Aishu pushes him back, and he falls to the ground. The other talons run at her. Aishu picks up the talon’s dropped blade. She looks at her situation a little hopeless. She remembers Sone.

Aishu: I can fight six talons. Sone didn’t give up either.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sone looks at Dragon Eye.

Sone: I’ve never seen eyes like that, and I’ll never see them again.

Dragon Eye: No. Death blinds all vision.

Sone: For either man.

Sone runs up to Dragon Eye. He throws a heavy right hook. Dragon Eye ducks under it. He hits Sone with a barrage of punches to the stomach. Sone’s elbow drops like a hammer. Dragon eye dodges to Sone’s side. Dragon Eye’s fist knocks Sone’s jaw out of place. His head falls to the side. Sone swings his arm to his blind side. Dragon Eye jumps back. Sone’s arm almost hitting him.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio stands on the ground. One leg is holding up his body. The other lightly touches the ground. His right arm dangles at his side. The left arm is up, and ready to block anything. The Dragon laughs.

The Dragon: You look pitiful.

The Dragon walks up to Taio. He punches him in his chest.

The Dragon: That’s a powerful punch. Maybe if you didn’t have a bullet wound in your leg, you would have put up a better fight.

The Dragon’s fist collides with Taio’s chest. Taio’s bones break. He falls down. His arms in front of him. Before he hits the ground. The Dragon grabs his broken arm and pulls him close. He turns Taio around, grabs his neck and forces him into the ground. The dragon’s knee presses down on Taio’s back.

The Dragon: Is this your hurt leg?

A knuckle strikes Taio’s bullet wound.

Taio spits out blood.

Taio: Before you kill me, why did you do it?

The Dragon: Do what?

Taio: Chase us down. Try to kill us. You already have the cure for your son.

The Dragon: That pill was never a cure. It staves off cancer. If my son has to take a pill twice a day to not die, is he cured? Yin would never let me cure my son in his pool. Then I learned about his past. He was an evil old man. His only accomplishments in life were stolen. The day I killed him, before I got rid of all the water, I cured my son. I had to get rid of the water, for fear of Yin coming back. Once I learn how to get more water, I’ll use it to help cure everyone. Shao wasn’t going to stop me, you aren’t going to stop me. No one will.

Taio: Why turn the pill into a weapon?

The Dragon: Why not. I had a weapon at my disposal.

Taio: For everything good you do, you do something else horrible. Yin may have stole Vitala, but he used it to train people. He used it for good. Eleazar kept Vitala to himself, but he also kept it out of evils hands. Theres a good and bad to all of you. You’re all the same.

The Dragon: Okay, now you die.

The Dragon’s knee slowly moves from Taio’s back to his neck. Taio hears his Sensei’s words.

Sensei Yin: (The most important thing my sensei ever taught me was to reach enlightenment. You must simply have your mind in tune with your body.)

Taio’s heartbeat rings in his own ears. He thinks to himself.

Taio: ‘I just have to stall for time. Sone and Aishu will come.’

Taio’s breathing syncs with his heartbeat. A red aura radiates off of him. Taio’s bullet wound begins to heal. His arm corrects itself. Taio throws his elbow behind him. The Dragon jumps back.

The Dragon: The only thing Yin taught you was his most important move. Fucking typical. You’ll still lose. Your skill doesn’t match your power.

Taio gets ready. He looks at The Dragon.

The Dragon: Yin used that the day he died. He was glowing just like you.

Taio: History doesn’t always repeat itself.

The Dragon runs at Taio. His hard fist flies at Taio. Taio blocks his strike. There arms hold still. Taio fist moves quicker than it ever has before. He The Dragon feels a fist hit his chest. The Dragon drops to the ground and sweeps Taio’s leg. Taio begins to fall. The Dragon puts his knee up. Taio’s head almost falls onto The Dragon’s knee. Taio spins around in air. His legs slam into The Dragon’s knee. He pushes off The Dragon’s leg and lands on the grass. The Dragon stands back up.

The Dragon: My bones aren’t so easy to break.

Taio runs at The Dragon. He jumps up and roundhouse kicks. The Dragon blocks the kick. Taio drops to the ground and The Dragon’s fist smashes into the left side of his head. Taio stumbles to the right. The Dragon throws another punch. Taio moves his head back. The Dragon’s arm breezes past Taio’s face. Taio’s elbow crashes into The Dragon’s stomach. The Dragon stands there in pain. He grabs Taio’s legs and picks him up.

The Dragon: You can’t hurt me. You just stall time.

Taio’s head slams into the ground. The rest of Taio’s body hits the ground a second later. Taio looks up at The Dragon. The Dragon’s foot comes down on his head. Taio holds his foot up.

The Dragon: Die Red Leopard.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Five blades jab at Aishu. Aishu ducks under the blades. She spins around, knocking out the talon’s feet. All of the talons drop to the ground. Aishu gets up quick. She stabs her sword down on one talon. Her sword cuts through the talon’s stomach. The talon stabs both of his blades up. The blades cut an inch deep into Aishu’s stomach. Aishu rips her sword out of the talon. Another talon swings his blades at her. She parries blow after blow, then slices the talon’s stomach open. Two more talons follow after him. Aishu tries to parry all the attacks. Four swords come at her at once. The talons start cutting up her arms. She hears the other two talons running behind her. She knocks the blade out of the left talon’s hand. She stabs her sword through his throat. A talon comes up from behind her. She kicks him in his chest. The talon to her right slashes down her right arm and some of her stomach. She yells out in pain. She slices the talon’s torso over and over again. One final stab goes through his head. A sword slashes her back. Aishu falls to the ground. The last talon stands above her. Aishu crawls away. She grabs the gun on the floor. The talon’s sword comes down. She fires a bullet. The talon drops to the ground. Aishu stands up and looks at Sone.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sone gets himself back up after the punch. Dragon eye runs at Sone. He superman punches. Sone grabs his arm and slams him into the ground. Sone slams both of his arms down. Dragon eye rolls out of the way. Dirt flies up past Sone. Dragon eye gets back up and kicks Sone in his eye. Sone falls to the ground, one eye blinded. He opens one eye. Everything is a little off. He feels around to see how much his view differs. Dragon Eye comes in for another kick. Sone punches him in the stomach. He falls to the ground, and spits out blood. Sone gets on top of Dragon eye and punches him over and over again. He knocks off his mask. Sone stops punching.

Sone: Joon-Woo?

Dragon Eye pulls a knife out of his coat. He stabs Sone in the back. Sone Stands up. He pulls the knife out of his back. Joon-Woo front kicks Sone in the leg. Sone drops to one knee. Joon-Woo stands over him.

Sone: Why?

Joon-Woo: You don’t get to know every story.

Sone hears a bang. Blood comes out of Joon-Woo’s forehead. Joon-Woo falls to the ground. Sone looks back. Aishu is standing there, bloody, and holding a gun up.

Aishu: Taio needs us.

They both run over to Taio. Taio is still holding The Dragon’s foot up. Aishu aims the gun at him. Sone holds out the knife. The Dragon laughs.

Sone: You’ll never beat all of us, Dragon. You’ve finally lost.

The dragon shakes his head.

The Dragon: You’re right.

The Dragon takes a step off of Taio’s neck. He kneels down and puts his heads behind his head.

The Dragon: You have won this season of The Dragon’s Den.

Sone runs up and punches The Dragon in his skull. The dragon falls to the ground, incompacitated.

Taio: Sone, pick him up! We have to get out of here! There’s a boat down by the docs.

Aishu: What boat?

Taio: Just follow me!

They all run through the grass.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taio, Aishu, and Sone run down to the docks. Eleazar is waiting for them on a small boat. Everyone jumps onto the boat.

Eleazar: I didn’t think you’d actually get him. If you took another few minutes. I would have left on my own.

The boat starts up. Water spray up from behind the boat as it treads through water.

 - - - - - - - - - - - -

They see London in view. The boat gets a little closer, and they see police and Federation agents lined up along the coast. The boat slows down once they get closer.

Taio: Fuck.

Eleazar: What have you lead me into?

A small boat floats up to them. Agent 17 stands on the boat.

Agent 17: Obviously you see your situation. Either you come with us Taio, and all your friends can go free of charge, or you try to run and we take you all in. Which is your choice?

The Dragon sits up.

The Dragon: I didn’t give up because I would have lost. I gave up because I knew the Federation was at every corner you could ever escape to.

The Dragon stands up.

The Dragon: You’ve lost Taio. You are wrong to many powerful people.

Taio looks at Sone. Sone remembers that Taio is only a 17 year old kid.

Sone: Give him one more chance. Taio is 17. He didn’t understand the circumstances. Give him one more chance to prove to you he can be useful.

???: I don’t think that’ll be necessary.

A black portal appears. A man in dark armor walks out from the portal. He floats down to the boats.

Agent 17: Ozak.

Ozak: We’ll be taking Taio for now. He shows some real potential. He just won the Dragon’s den. I watched it all on TV. Looks almost too real. Agent 17, yes I do know who you are, you wouldn’t want to start a war against The Legion would you?

Agent 17: You may be a powerful group, but you’re just a group. We’re an organization. This will be the last time you interfere with us.

Agent 17’s boat drives off.

The Dragon: Wait!

Ozak: Whoever is willing to come with me, I would like to show you something special.

Eleazar: This is your thing. The Dragon’s gone, and Yin’s gone. I’m going back home.

Taio: Ozak, you have to take The Dragon. He’s dangerous.

Ozak: I know far too well.

A black aura surrounds The Dragon. He can’t move. Black stairs that lead up to the portal appear.

Ozak: Follow me.

Everyone walks into the portal.