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Chapter Text

Prologue : The Living Weapon and the History of Woodoak

He was 20 years old when he was quickly promoted to Second in Command. Since the age of 5, Shiva remembered how rough it was being raised in Woodoak City's Chinatown District. He was born in Hong Kong, but grew up across seas with his father's brother Wai Liang. At the age of 20, he worked hard nights as a Bodyguard in the Red Light District smashing the faces of scum into the worn brick walls outside who would dare grope the women working at the Le Femme Strip Club. Though the job paid well, Shiva despised his Boss Mr Framton and the Red Light District in general. Mr. Framton was a relic of the days of Chinatown being suppressed by the cruel late Old Man Arcana.

Much like most of the dinosaurs from that era, Framton hated the citizens of Chinatown and Shiva was no different. In accordance to his family roots dating back to the era Post Civil War, Framton's old friend Old Man Arcana was the grandson of a Confederate General who became the leader of Woodoak Town before it was known as Woodoak City.

Three years after the Emancipation of African slaves, General Arcana, with what was left of his Platoon, left the South and secretly established Woodoak Town as a base of operations to try to appeal to children of the Confederacy to rebuild and launch an attack on the Capital up North to finally give the Confederacy the victory over the Union.

Unfortunately, due to the effects of the Civil War, resources were scarce and the Confederate Dollar was nothing more than a glorified outhouse wipe. Fearing that Woodoak was finished, many of General Arcana's men and their families departed North to find jobs. Those who wished for the town to thrive would work odd jobs in other towns to bring in resources to the struggling settlement. It wouldn't be until 30 years later that what was left of Arcana's precious town finally received unexpected help that changed Woodoak forever.

Mr. Alpha, the Grandfather of Mr. X, had come to Woodoak to hide from the law after being persuade for Tax Fraud. He, his family, and his loyal men arrived to Woodoak promising to revive the town and take it to higher heights. Arcana, rejoicing over his prayers being answered, had no idea that the in following decades his family would lose control of Woodoak. This became the start of what would later be known as the rise of the Syndicate. Replacing many of Arcana's loyal men for Alpha's men, Woodoak Town would soon evolve out of what its original purpose was with the monuments of the South being destroyed and its Confederate roots being almost erased.

What was left of Woodoak Town later would transform into Woodoak Chinatown; grieving the Arcana clan in the process as Woodoak was suppose to be the start of the revival of the Confederacy. The last monument of General Arcana's legacy would be the mansion on the large hill in Chinatown known as Arcana Mansion, the symbol of pain to the citizens living in Chinatown. As much as the citizens hated the Estate, the mansion would later be bought, renovated with all the last remaining Confederate themes removed, and turned into the Woodoak Orphanage with its own school campus to aid children in growing up in a loving and caring environment unlike Arcana's Mansion. It wouldn't be revealed until years later that the Mansion was purchased by the Second in Command of the Central People's Army.

Now that Woodoak had been reduced to another city abiding to the laws of the North, Old Man Arcana, grandson of General Arcana, vowed to wipe out the descendants of Mr. Alpha and return Woodoak back into the hands of the Arcana Clan.

Though vengeance would not be enough to take Woodoak back from Mr. Alpha. For when Mr. Alpha passed away, a power struggle would follow. The city would later be divided into four sectors: Mr. X controlled 75% of the Western Districts including the Factory District containing his Ammunitions' Factory, Mr. Zeta who was Mr. Alpha's son controlled the Eastern Districts including the Red Light District, the Arcana Clan would control the Arcana District which was redrawn to include Chinatown, and the neutral grounds known as Central Woodoak, which would later become the secret base of the Woodoak City Central People's Army, or CPA for short, a resistance group formed to drive out the Syndicate.

This era would be known by those growing up in Woodoak at the time as the Romance of the Three Sectors. Mr. X, thanks to his charm and ability to gravitate many in similar interest to his side, would over take the Eastern District and take power from his Elderly father in the span of five years. The Arcana District would fall five years after Mr. Zeta's untimely end, due to the Arcana's folly in trying to get Extremist groups to join with him in controlling Woodoak using his daughter Bianca to woe these criminal groups into assisting him.

It wasn't until Bianca's sudden death occurred via poisoning that Mr. X would out Arcana and his family in trying to woe the Extremist with the false promise of marrying a daughter that would, by Arcana's control, remain single. At her funeral, Mr. X revealed to the men in attendance that Bianca was not the perfect woman as they thought, but the product of an affair Arcana carried out with a Chinese maid. Because the girl passed as white, no one would have suspected something was wrong. Mr. X, however, knew the truth by secret agents planting bugs in Arcana's mansion. It was through this that he discovered that Bianca would never marry and would later die via poisoning by her father's hands when she realized she would never be allowed to start a family.

The Arcana Clan, now excommunicated and forever pariahs, imploded with Old Man Arcana demanding his remaining children from his many affairs in the household to slaughter each other until only one remained. Whoever survived would be his sole heir to the mansion and the Arcana district. Though this would prove meaningless in the end of Arcana's lifetime, as the Arcana District and Chinatown were buried in loads of debt owed back to the banks.

This would be the last time the Arcana clan's influence on Chinatown would be present. The last survivors to the pathetic old man would be Catherine, his temperamental daughter and later the Ex-wife to Mr. X who would surrogate the Y Twins that were biologically Bianca's kids via in vitro fertilization, and a son with a Puerto Rican maid who Arcana ran out of the district while opening fire on them both before realizing he had no white male heirs and turning the gun on himself.

Though Old Man Arcana was gone and his family's dream extinguished, the effects of his cultured bigotry could still be felt years after his death. Shiva, after getting off his shift from the Club, was always reminded by Framton in a condescending manner to never date any of the women or look at them, lest his salary gets cut. In Framton's own words: We don't need another Bianca on our hands. So keep in your yard and we'll keep in ours. We good boy?

Tired of the treatment by the remnants of Arcana, Shiva later applied to work for Mr. X in being the eyes of the Ruby Arch Casino. After getting the job, Shiva quit his current job by writing at letter to Framton that he would not return to the Club.

In an unrelated note, a night later, Framton would go missing for three days and wouldn't be found until a bike group training for the Triathlon would find his body washed up on the Bloomcaster Point Beach. His murder to this day remains unsolved.

Though the pay was the same as before, Shiva saw a chance to become the Grandmaster of Chinatown as it was up for grabs. The previous Grandmaster, a white Martial Arts Champion known as Godhand, would retire soon to seek Cancer Treatment. Only in truth, this was a front to hide the fact that he was heading to Hollywood to become a Stunt Coordinator booked under the new name Cishu. His reason for the change would stem from dealing with Old Man Arcana not paying his coworkers the same amount as him and later being Blackballed from ever attending anymore City Council Meetings.

With his trust in the Syndicate snuffed out and the end of the era at hand, Godhand wrote his farewell letter to Mr. X and asked him to give Chinatown back to the citizens living there. That would be his last communication to the Syndicate. He was never seen nor heard from ever again.

After being hired, Shiva was tasked in catching a stealthy thief who was using the Counting Cards Method in Mr. X's Casino's to abscond with $2.5 Million worth in cash. Since the beginning of the year, many of X's men had struggled to catch this thief. However, Shiva was quick to notice the thief's method of madness: The thief always had an inside man helping the group the thief was with escape. By removing the spies involved, scheming and offing VIP members by framing them for being spies for the CPA, and getting information connected to the Resistance from them, Shiva brought the information to Mr. X as well as the identifying the thief's egress route. The men were to be on the look out for a woman with Dark Colored skin with Indigo Blue eyes working with four other accomplices with ties to the CPA.

Seeing Shiva's dedication in figuring out the thief's schemes and the connection with the CPA, as well as VIP members being offed for treachery, Mr. X promoted the 20 year old to be his second in command. Before taking the position, Shiva requested for control over Chinatown as well as monitoring the citizens who bought Real Estate from Mr. X. As of recently, an unknown Real Estate agent had come to Woodoak to buy up property and setting up the buildings to hide members of People's Army. Without hesitation, though frustrated that a rival Real Estate Agent is helping the CPA, Mr. X gave Shiva full control of Chinatown as well as investigating the bank account and true identity of the Phantom Agent known only as Mariana Trenches.

The next two years would be a game of cat and mouse with a total of $100 Million being stolen from Mr. X's 10 casinos. Shiva would come close to catching the elusive woman with Indigo blue eyes, but would always loose her due to spies planted from the Army to help the thief escape each time.

His spare time spent training his men and winning Martial Art Tournaments for the Pride of Woodoak would grant him the title The Living Weapon. Though despite the respect he got from Mr. X, the Syndicate, and the citizens of Chinatown, Shiva's obsession would grow to where his men worried if he had become smitten with this mysterious Cat burglar. Though it didn't matter if the one caught spreading rumors or gossiping was a man or woman. Anyone who was caught discussing about Shiva wanting to elope with said thief were swiftly rewarded with a circle kick to the face and having to clean up their own blood after they regained consciousness.

After many investigations in catching the thief with his men secretly being the eyes of the Syndicate, he caught a break. By planting spies from the Syndicate in the People's Army, Shiva managed to memorize her routine and find out her true identity as well as her ties with two of the Most Valuable members in the Army: A famed wrestler in Woodoak named Max Thunder and the head of the CPA who Mr. X called "The Carpet Bagger from Florida" running for Woodoak City Mayor named Milan Cortes.

Despite this new information, what was important to Shiva was that the thief wasn't an average Cat burglar committing random robberies for riches nor the Pride of the People's Army. It was a reserved but compassionate Storyteller named Asteria Mary Re, an outsider who recently came to Woodoak four years prior who helped aid the CPA in slowly taking back Woodoak from the Syndicate.

Upon visiting The Central Woodoak City Library, he saw her reciting a story in the children's section of the Library reading a book she had recently published called The Search for Puni-Puni.

As Shiva watched from afar for three weeks, he waits for his opportunity to catch the great elusive Asteria Re and take her back with him to his beautifully cultured abode in the upscale neighborhood in Chinatown. Unknown to him though, she would recite the greatest story to him from a friend she met during her travels... Nozomi.

MissAkaiTsuki presents...

THE LIVING WEAPON AND THE STORYTELLER

Ihoujin (Foreigner) by Acid Black Cherry

kodomotachi ga sora ni mukai morote wo hiroge
tori ya kumo ya yume made mo tsuka mou to shiteiru
Sono sugata wa kinou made no nani mo shiranai watashi
Anata ni kono yubi ga todoku to shinjiteita
Sora to daichi ga furiau kanata
kako kara tabibito wo yonderu michi
anata ni totte watashi tada no toorisugari
chotto furimuite mita dake no ihoujin

(The children look toward the sky, spreading both hands wide
As if to reach for the birds, the clouds, and even dreams themselves
That image was myself, who before yesterday knew nothing at all
I believed that those fingers would reach you
On the other side of earth and sky
The way to call to a traveler from the past
When it comes to you, I'm just a passerby
A foreigner who just tried to look back, just a little)

ichiba e yuku hito no nami ni karada wo azuke
ishidatami no machikado wo yurayura to samayou
Inori no koe hizume no oto utau you na zawameki
watashi wo okizari ni sugite yuku shiroi asa

(In the waves of people off to market, I leave my body behind
Wandering in the slow swaying of the paved street corners
Voices of prayer, a distorted sound, a clamor like someone's singing
The innocent mornings I spend in my being left behind)

Jikan no ryokou ga kokoro no kizu wo
nazekashira uzumete yuku fushigi na michi
[SAYONARA] dake no tegami mayoi tsuzukete kaki
ato wa kanashimi wo moteamasu ihoujin
ato wa kanashimi wo moteamasu ihoujin

(The journey through time is a mysterious road
That somehow buries the wounds of the heart
A letter with just the word "Goodbye" that I hesitantly keep writing
After which, I'm just a foreigner, too overwrought with grief
After which, I'm just a foreigner, too overwrought with grief)

PRESENTED BY SEGA

Chapter Text

Chapter 1: The Thief's old friend

~March 22, 1991~

Central Woodoak Library, 3 P.M...

Central Woodoak Library is located deep in the heart of Woodoak City. It opened on April 30 1979, four years after the Vietnam War came to an end. Thanks in part of the builder being inspired by Woodstock 69, the Library is a Eco-friendly Building, meaning it helps reduce contributions to Ozone depletion. The Library now offers Internet access to 50 computers. There is a meeting room available for reservations. There are also Study Rooms for students and patrons to access.

The library also offers a number of Youth Services, such as Storytimes with the Old Storyteller. There is a list of the library's collections available through the Internet. There is also a Seed Library, where patrons can check-out different types of seed packets for free. People can also take a break at a cafe in the library. That is where the Storyteller is found during Lunchbreaks eating Vegetable Korma and drinking Welch's grape juice.

It's three in the afternoon. Two little girls waved back as they left with a group of school kids. One was a blonde 11 year old, wearing a long sleeved, pink floral dress with black ankle boots. Her sister was a red head, 10 years old, wearing a long sleeved, dark blue floral dress with black ankle boots. The oldest had a named tag written Sue. Her sister had a tag written Lissa.

"Bye Miss Storyteller!"

"Bye! Have a great day!" The Librarian waved back at the kids as they left the Library to return to their parents. She let out a sigh of relief. "Finally, the day is over. I can shed this ridiculous disguise."

The Librarian walked over to the small wooden finished theater and pulled the curtains closed. She took her large round glasses and let her hair down. She removed the the shawl from her shoulders and took off the bright blue, long button dress she was wearing. Under the dress was a curve hugging dress that matched her eyes: Indigo Blue. She tucked in the tag that read Oppyraway under the skirt of her dress. She pulled up the garter peeking out with a small thumb sized device clipped to it under her dress. She pushed her hair from her shoulders two times to give the strands air.

"Alright. Now to go have..." She exhaled slightly tired. "...A pleasant conversation with Barbon. I hope Electra isn't there this time. I don't want to be on the receiving end of her... arm... Again... Ugh..."

Gathering what she took off, she placed the items in a old yellow sports bag sitting behind the curtains. The sports bag read in faded letters Adam Hunter. As she was about to pick up her bag, she heard a voice.

"Excuse me?"

Ears perked, the Librarian quickly grabbed her bag. She pushed aside the small theater curtain. She squinted her eyes to see who was in front of her.

Crap... my vision is going south... Should have scheduled for that Summer Laser eye surgery ahead of time. Better be careful approaching this guy. Can't let him know that my vision is going to crap. She thought adjusting her posture.

She walked closer to see an Asian man wearing a grey suit in front of her. He had a slight tan and had his dark long hair tied neatly back. She walked off the wooden stage and approached him. The man stood six feet tall, towering over her five foot five figure. Surprised as well as on full alert, the Librarian hugged her bag between her and the man.

There's something strange about this man. He looks familiar, but because of my crap vision, I don't know if I'm seeing things... or... no... it's not him... Remember, he's in Costa Rica. There's no way this man is him... I think.

"Can I help you?" She looked around trying to find a familiar face, but then she remembered something about the Library.

The children's section is in a blind spot of the library. I'm too far away for the Library staff to hear me. If anything were to happen... no... stay calm... focus...

She then tried to remain calm, as to not let the man know that she was scared.

"If you're looking for your child, I'm sorry. I must have dismissed them without checking to see if every parent was present."

"It's alright." He smiled, trying not to chuckle. "I'm not a dad yet, but thank you for thinking me so. To my younger students, they see me as a father, but that's out of the question. I came here for a different reason."

"Umm... okay." She continued looking around for any staff member close by. Once more, she saw no one. She shifted her weight onto her right foot, giving a subtle click on the ball of the high heel. "How can I help you Mister..."

"Shiva. It's a pleasure to meet you for the first time... Miss Asteria Re." He said as he gave a polite bow.

"You know my name?" Her eyes widen in surprise.

"Of course. The youth at my Dojo speak of you often. I was so curious as to what they were saying that I had to come and see you. They described you as being this kind old lady, but seeing you now, you look to be around my age."

She had a gentle smile on her face.

"Really now? How old are you?" She asked curious.

"I'm 22, but my age is still controversial in my hometown. I became the next Grandmaster in Chinatown's Dojo after Godhand, the previous Shiva, stepped down from his position. The timing couldn't have been better. To be able to erase the legacy of Arcana from Chinatown's history will bring forth a fresh start to every citizen who lived through that terrible era."

"You're 22? Oh... wow. I thought you were at least 25. You look..." Her eyes looked at his body, studying his height and posture. "...Very mature. My apologies."

"It's okay. Are you 25?" He looked at her figure while she looked around for the remaining staff. "YOU look very mature."

She looked away embarrassed.

"Uhhh... mines is a complicated situation. Wow... 22 years old and also the Grandmaster at that. That's an amazing accomplishment."

"Thank you. That's very kind of you."

"Also... Umm... You said the children in Chinatown know me?" The young Librarian started blushing. Her words started becoming flustered. "My apologies. I-I-I didn't mean to become a distraction at your Dojo, M-Mr. Shiva."

"Just call me Shiva... and you don't have to worry. I had been meaning to come to the library for some time. I'm reading some books to help me speak and read Korean. So by coming here, I already killed two birds with one stone."

"Oh you don't have to make meeting me mandatory. If you wanted to see me in private, you could have filled out a form and placed it in the suggestion box in front of the Check out line."

"I could have, but I also could have missed you by the time I finished. Besides, I was so excited to see you that I was looking forward to coming here after I finished training my students."

"Oh dear. I'm sorry."

"Miss Re, don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I'm... oh." She looked at him as he crossed his arms unamused. "Uh... thank you. Um... Shiva?"

"Yes?" He dropped his arms.

"Call me Aster. I... have an Aunt that shares the same name as me. So my dad just called me Aster. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind. Thank you." He turned to see a small window shining the remaining light left from the sunset. "Aster?"

"Oh... Yes?"

"I want to see you again."

"Really?" Her eyes widen from his response. Is this guy seriously asking me out on a date? Weird! How do I tell him that I have a boyfriend? Crap! Would he be willing to accept that answer without turning hostile?

"Yes. When I come by, I want to hear your stories."

"Oh I don't know if they would interest you. The stories I give are... unusual."

"That's okay. I want to hear your stories anyway. Would you mind?"

"Oh well... there's one story that will be published in two weeks. Unfortunately, the book will be dropping nationwide in Bookstores during Hell Week. I can share the story with you if you like. In fact, I can share the prologue tonight. Would you like to hear it?"

"Of course. I normally go home after this. However, I can cook up dinner for you if you like. Would you like to come over to my house?"

"Well... I'm not doing anything important after this. Are you alright with me coming over to dinner? I wouldn't want to drop in uninvited." Oh please let this be a normal evening!

"Yes Aster. I'm glad to have you over."

"Okay." She lit up albeit nervous. "I'm in." What am I doing? I didn't warn Max about a change in plans! Crap! What do I do? The Second in Command just asked me out on a date! Is he serious?!

"Wonderful. Come on. My car's outside."

Shiva's house, 7 P.M...

Shiva's house is located in the Labyrinth Gated Community, a high class community in Chinatown that rivals that of the Starlight Gated Community, owned by the three most powerful families in Chinatown and where the once powerful Wai Clan use to live. A 10 acre island surrounded by a 20 acre lake, entering the private gate and crossing the bridge was in itself like finding a personal resort. Over 18,000 square feet under one roof. The main house consist of five bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms, a basement theater, upstairs game room and open loft, a sunken living room and family room.

The Master suite contains a sitting room, a huge office, two private courtyards, a bathroom with a walk-in shower, a steam room, with personal closets. The laundry room held three washers and three dryers. There is a control room that checks the security and entertainment. Apart from the main house are two separate bedroom guest suites off of the six car garage.

Four separate one bedroom guest suite, a 6000 square feet workshop with three roll up doors. A massive, private pool with waterfalls and two BBQ stations, a pool bath, and sun deck and tennis court. All 10 acres, and the home is pristinely maintained and manicured. In all, the home consist of 10 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, 6000 square feet workshop, six car garage, basement theater, game room with full bar, pool table room, family room, sunken living room, formal dining room, sun deck, and a tennis court.

After a lovely meal, Aster and Shiva relaxed on his couch in the Living Room and talked to each other. They share stories of their families and their own adventures both good and bad.

"And that's how I got out of the Red Light District."

"Oh Shiva I'm so happy that you got out of that toxic workplace and you're happy in your current job. That Framton fellow was no good." Although, he did give me a free Dodge Caravan and his brother Hannibal's apartment for his hoarding Mistress in that one fateful Poker Game. Had to get Mr. French to let Hannibal know about Framton's lousy gambling habit to hand over the lease to me. Then I had to put in effort on the Black Jack Tables to pay for a team to clean, sanitize, and repair both the van and replace everything in the apartment before I could use them. Though, it was worth it in the end. Well... Sammy and Cherry think so with the free cable and they get to see me often. Can't complain about that... but the Blackmail... that definitely was the cause for physical withdrawal.

"I wasn't even interested in dating any of the women at his club. One of them got fired for slapping my butt while Framton was present. Though technically, she was only fired for talking back to Framton for cutting her paycheck by 80%... and then going on a Racist Tirade when she realized she would no longer be employed at the Club.

She just had to break the rule of talking to the Bodyguards during work hours. Freakin' Polly... glad I'll never have to see her wrinkly face nor smell her chain smoking breath ever again. I had to put up with her harassing me whenever I came in. Though, I was glad that she was fired, it didn't change my opinion of Framton after she left. He was still a (piece of shit). If anything, he was saying those things because he was still bitter towards finding out that Arcana was never honest with him." Note: Words with Parentheses around them indicate that the character is speaking a different language in this case is Cantonese.

"The story about poor Bianca is truly tragic. Her blood father used her until she became aware of what was truly happening and then he killed her. He didn't have to do that. Though, I can't feel sorry for Framton and the men who longed for her. They sold their souls for a bag of goods they would never see. Their anger should only remain with Arcana and no one else."

"Old Man Arcana used Framton as well as everyone else as a means to exact revenge on everyone who wronged the Arcana Clan starting with the family of Mr. Alpha. Framton wasn't getting on my case out of the fact that he crazy about any of the women working for him.

He was upset because the one person he wanted was killed by the man who promised him her hand in marriage... but pull the same crap with 100 other men despite being his old friend. There's also the fact that I'm a citizen of Chinatown. The Remnants of Arcana despise every citizen who lives there and the fact that Bianca's blood mother was one of us didn't help that case."

"His bitterness is unwarranted. How long has Bianca been dead?"

"Let's see..." He leaned forward. "Bianca died five years before Catherine gave birth to the twins. The twins will be turning 10 years old during Hell Week. She's been dead for 15 years."

"My God Framton is pathetic. He should have came to terms on the fact that his friend lied to him and betrayed him. Also, I believe without a doubt that Framton never truly loved Bianca for who she was. I believe he fell in love with the idea of all the power he would obtain from Arcana if he married her.

If he did love her, he would have accepted the truth, showed kindness to the citizens of Chinatown as her mother was from there, and take care of them. He never did, which makes him irredeemable. Also, Bianca died before she turned 20. Framton was close to her father's age when he wished for her to marry him... Gross."

"Oh the age gap was definitely a double standard for Framton. He didn't have any trouble wanting to marry his friend's daughter who has a large age gap between them, yet he got on my case over the women who came over to talk to me. The ones that flirted with me were either 20 years older than I was, reeked of cigarettes and sometimes booze, married or single mothers, or a combination of any of those. It was never going to work out anyway. A majority of them were past the age of having kids."

"Well I'm sure when you became the new Shiva, your dating life got better, right? Women must be throwing themselves at you constantly. Men must be jealous of you, too."

He looked down disappointed.

"Aster, I'll be honest with you. Since I became Shiva, I've never had time for relationships outside the Dojo."

"Wait, you... you haven't gone out dating at all since you left that place?"

"Not really." He looked away from her. "Watching over Chinatown is stressful, but I wouldn't want the District to go back to the days of Arcana. The citizens are kind, but I wish the young women in the city would stop sending me letters of how they are capable of being," He leaned back and sighed. "My 'Perfect Wife.' "

"You see any that interest you?"

He turned to look at her.

"Actually I haven't read a single letter since that recent scare."

Aster looked at him concerned.

"Really? What happened?"

"I was 20 years old when I got the position of Shiva. Godhand gave me a careful run through of how the position in Chinatown's Grandmaster works. I reviewed the rules, trained in the ways of Kempo, and met with the other Martial Art Masters in Woodoak. After a month of training under him, he bid his students and me farewell. Three months into training my students, the head of the Chinatown Newspaper came to the Dojo and interviewed me."

"That must have been interesting."

"Not really. It was nerve racking. When they discovered that I was single, they asked for permission to put the Dojo's address in the Dating section of the Newspaper. At first, I thought this was a good idea. I finished college, got a successful job, and now a new chapter could be written. I was young and I thought finding the right partner would be amazing and another accomplishment in my life. I could start a family and lead a generation of Grandmasters in Chinatown. What followed after nearly drove me to kill someone... mainly the people involved in the debacle."

He turned around to the small bookshelf close to the loveseat. He gets up and opens the drawer under the shelf. He brings three slightly yellowed envelopes to Aster. Aster took the envelopes from Shiva and looked at the letters. She smiled from reading the letters.

"You have a wonderful fanbase."

"These letters are what almost made me fly off the rails. Look carefully."

Aster looked at the letters and then the envelopes. Her eyes widen from the envelopes.

"Hey. These envelopes have the same home address... the full names are different."

He sat down next to her.

"There was a student in my Dojo. She was 16 years old. She was very depressed and I couldn't understand why. She had been attending my Dojo as part of a Rehabilitation program launched to help troubled youth turn their lives around. Though, I have since discontinued having the Grandmaster Dojo as apart of the Rehabilitation program all because of that incident."

"A Rehabilitation program for troubled youth... using Kempo? How would that work?"

"Martial Arts is not the practice to gain power, but to unify the mind, body, and spirit. She was apart of the program due being caught shop lifting in the Central Woodoak Mall. At the court hearing, the judge gave her the Ultimatum: Attend one of Woodoak's Rehabilitation Programs or spend three months in a Correctional Facility."

"That's quite the sentence, but she should have already knew that if she got into trouble, she'd have to do some service for the time."

"She must have really loved what her and her pals pulled because rather than miss out on meeting with the same people that landed her in that mess..." He closed his eyes annoyed from recalling the memory. "...She choose to attend my Dojo. She had potential and she was going somewhere with her training. Then the incident happened. I contacted her parents and asked them what happened. Her mother told me that someone she had a crush on rejected her. She's been heartbroken since."

"Aww that's sad... but she's young. Crushes are like Sour grapes. Sometimes it's better to want than to have. She'll get over it."

"I doubt it. You know those letters sent to me from single women asking me to marry them? Guess what I found when I was sorting letters I read from what was unread."

"What did you find?"

"The address to the young girl's family... on ten different letters with ten different names."

"What? She was writing to you..." She looked at the envelopes and then at Shiva confounded. "...Using ten different names?"

"Yes. It was horrible. I was suspicious when I saw this. I remember calling her parents and asking them to come talk to me. I showed the letters to her father. He recognized the handwriting, but there was one problem."

"Oh?" She giggled. "What was wrong?"

"The name on the letters didn't match any of the members in the house. In fact, the names used on the envelope never lived at their house. In order to hide what she was doing, she always came home before her parents and grabbed the mail to get to my reply. Her parents weren't aware of this until I asked them if they allowed her to write a letter to the dating corner."

"Oh no. I know where this is going." She started to laugh.

"Turns out, the reason why she was heartbroken was because she was the one who wrote the letter to me and she was rejected for the tenth time. I was 20 when this happen. Needless to say, her parents were pissed. Not only did she lie to me, she tried to get me to go out with her under different identities. I had to contact the Chinatown Newspaper to remove the Dojo's address from their dating corner."

"Did you tell them about the incident?"

"I couldn't. She's a minor. If the people found out that a minor was writing to me, there would protests requesting for my resignation. So I told them that someone abused the system and got caught. The Manager of the Corner, a kind old lady who was a match maker, was pissed. The following column had an apology letter in the place of the Corner from the manager, citing that they had to close down the corner until everything was properly resolved."

"Did your student's parents do anything about her?"

"I remember on the day we had the conversation they yelled at her and she broke down crying. I asked her why she did this and that's when she told me the truth. I almost broke her father's neck when I discovered what was going on."

"What was she crying about? Was she sorry for getting caught?" Aster rolled her eyes at the student's actions.

"Actually she was crying about what her family got her into before she wrote to me. She apologized for what she did. She confessed everything out of fear that she would more than likely be sent to Juvie if she got kicked out of the program. It turns out, she's in an arranged relationship with someone she hasn't met yet and will marry this person in the Philippines when she finishes high school. The man in question is twice her age."

"Wait what?" Aster's face turned to worry while his face sunk into his hands.

"Ugh... She wrote to me because if I accepted her letter, she could have came forward about her true identity and hoped I could marry her, thus nullifying her arranged relationship. Turns out, she plotted this dumb scheme in hopes to stay in Woodoak. If she married me, she could stay and see her friends without leaving town."

"Oh God! How awful! What did you do next?"

"I gave her parents an ultimatum: Call the future groom and end the arrangement right now or I'm calling the cops. Some might think that I was crossing the line, but trafficking is illegal. Especially when its making your child into a child bride."

"Oh Lord... I can see why you've been avoiding this." She leaned back as if the wind was knocked out of her by what she heard.

"I called my most trusted men to block the doors and took out a mobile phone. I handed her father the phone with a paid international card promising to pay for their call. They ended the arrangement, but they then explained to me why they did it."

"Using an excuse as an apology is pretty sad. Can't feel sorry for them because they knew better."

"You're right. They had no excuse, but they told me their reason. Their daughter and her friends had been shoplifting from different stores for two whole years and didn't get caught until that moment at the Central Woodoak Mall. Tired of her antics, they secretly arranged a marriage for her and had plans to send her away so they can be done with her thieving ways. She would be miles away from them and they would wash their hands of her."

"That's still no excuse to try to traffic their daughter. They had a chance to be good parents when they discovered the first time she was stealing. The fact they knew of her crimes makes them complicit to everything that went wrong."

"They were (pieces of shit). After I confronted them about the matter, her father told her because of what she did, she has until she turns 18 to find a job and a place to live. I then told her to turn her life around because once she completed the program, she couldn't afford to get into trouble again. If she did, it would be Prison time."

"Well at least the both of you got out of that mess. Shaken yes, but still much more wiser than before you both got pulled into it."

"My head was spinning after all of this went down. I just thought about how much worse it could have been had I accepted any of her letters. If I had went on a date with her... I would have been forced out of my position and branded a pervert when someone, possibly her parents, would have found out that I was dating a minor. Thankfully, I'm glad I got onto reading the letters. Otherwise, I wouldn't have dodged the bullet on that one. The last I heard from her..."

"Yes?"

"She graduated and left Chinatown... but it's only because both her parents died from a violent mugging from a gang ambush a year earlier. I think the Newspaper identified the killers to have been from the Brutes, a gang from Mr. X's District known to drive around Woodoak in a graffiti covered car. They're hideout must be close to the Munitions' Factory. Otherwise, where are they getting the ammo for their guns from? Anyway, I haven't received any letters from her since."

"Well..." Aster put her drink down. "I know what she did was wrong and left you not trustful of the Dating Corner... though I think you shouldn't allow that to ruin your chance of finding that one lucky woman."

"What are you saying Aster?" He said relieved that she heard him out.

"I think myself happy to think that she found what made her happy and I think you should do the same. I mean, had you not discovered that letter fraud, she would have been married off, left in a land she's not familiar with, and unhappy. Though I'm sure she probably already figured out now that not only is stealing not okay, but hopefully she realized that you don't have to get married to be happy. Happiness is what you make of it in life. And most importantly... I hope she realizes that past experiences and backgrounds don't make someone good or bad. It's the choices that do."

"You're right on that part." He smiled from her answer.

"Which is the perfect Segway for the Prologue I promised you. Well Shiva, sit back and relax as I share the story of a dear friend of mine that I met in Japan a long time ago. This is the Tale... of Nozomi." Aster reclined back and closed her eyes. She smiled as she thought back on a time she traveled to Tokyo before she came to Woodoak.

"Ah Nozomi. I met her after she got famous for her story. Her books never won awards, but they were very popular with children and sold out quickly. My first meeting with her was at a Hospital in Tokyo. After I had recovered from a car accident caused by a drunk driver slamming into the cab I got into, I ran into her while she was reading her story to a child in the same hospital. I had finished paying off my bill when I spotted her. She had just finished reading her latest book and wished the child to get well soon.

As she left, I approached her slowly and asked her in Japanese about that book. She told me that she was the author of the story. I was so fascinated from what was written that I asked her if we could talk about the story. After getting Lunch with her, she told me what inspired her to write her story:

Her journey to become an author had her wrestling with emotions, loss of family, heartbreak, and the will to live. The stories she published were stories she wrote after a particular incident occurred on her ex-boyfriend's birthday. However, what I will share with you... is how she came to the point to become a writer."

-Prologue of Story Begins-

An Epilogue-Like Prologue

Klack...klack...klack...

Perhaps because it was passing through a tunnel, the sound of the train moving surrounded her. At the moment, Nozomi was feeling very gloomy. Like a child who doesn't like something, she turned her head back toward the inside of the train again and again, but slowly turned her face back to the window.
The window became a mirror. Reflected there, she could see her own face. A woman who was tired, a face that had lost all of its spark.

"Today, I'll die..." Nozomi muttered to herself. "My love..."

While the reflection of herself in the window looked so tired, Nozomi was looking back on the last 28 years of her life. When she was in elementary school, her father was transferred a lot because of his work, so she had to change schools several times. Because of that, she did not make very many friends. Then, in the winter of her second year of high school, her parents died in a car accident. She wasn't able to take over the care of her parents' home, but it wasn't because her relatives were well-off to do so, either.

"It's okay, Nozomi-chan, it's just you..." They told her this, but the reality of it was that to be alone in this family was no fun, and it was quickly understood that she was sensitive to the smallest things, and was hurt easily. So, naturally, Nozomi learned to hide her feelings. She became more concerned with how she appeared to those around her than she did about herself.

Also, since she wasn't very good at connecting with others, Nozomi became an extremely introverted person.

Though she was presented with many problems, she made her way through a junior college. Of course, she had a part-time job to pay off her educational expenses. It wasn't that she had to do it, she just thought that working was natural for a student to do. After graduation, she succeeded in finding a job, and she began her life on her own. It wasn't skilled work at all, but she was just happy in the same way that people are when they find somewhere to belong.

Though her new life had some sorrows, there were some little bits of happiness, too. To Nozomi, though, there was something bad about continuing to live her life this way forever.

And then, yesterday...
She was fired from her job of eight years due to company restructuring.

"We want you to leave the company in three months."

She intended to do her best. She had her objections to the decision, naturally, but she also understood that there was nothing she could do about it. However, she would have been fine, if that was all that had befallen her. It might have been not so good for her to be able to look inside of herself like this, but she was able to.
Though it was sad, she had become used to doing such things.
However, to Nozomi's already wounded heart, there was one more thing that would serve as the final blow.

Nozomi, bearing the shock of the sudden restructuring, after work, she set herself on going to his house. Surely, if they met for even a second, she would be overjoyed.

"Tomorrow's his birthday, and so we'll spend the night together, and I'll give him more than twelve hours of celebration no one else can give."

If I just have him...then I can be saved, Nozomi thought.

On the way home, she bought two cakes, and made her way to his apartment. Climbing up the stairs, and knocked on the door of the innermost room of the second floor. There was no answer. It looked as if he had yet to have come home. Since there was nothing she could do, she waited in front of the door, underneath the cold sky. As soon as she started wishing that she could see him right away, she felt a strange chill.

She guessed she had been there for about an hour. From the bottom of the stairs, she could hear the sound of familiar footsteps. It's him!

"Ah! Yasu-kun...nnnnnn..."

She wanted to run up to him, but her body wouldn't move. There, in the shadows, he wasn't alone. He was in the company of a woman that Nozomi didn't know. At first, her face registered an expression of surprise, but suddenly she became very serious.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, since it's Yasu-kun's birthday tomorrow..."

"Did he promise to meet with you?"

"Ah...no, it's wasn't arranged or anything...I just had something I wanted to talk with him about..."

He looked a little disgusted, and said, "Aah, don't get so worked up about it, that's just how you put it, anyway. You say you worship me, but I don't belong to you, you know, and what happens when we date each other again? What a strange misunderstanding."

As for the woman, just standing there saying nothing, Nozomi looked her up and down.

Nozomi was very sad.

"Hey, hey, do you always make that face? It's no good for you. You're really one of those girls who gets irritated all the time, aren't you."

"If you don't say anything, then why are you here? It's cold, I wanna go inside."

It was a cruel way to cut her off. No, looking back on it, could it be that she wasn't his girlfriend anymore? Or was it just Nozomi's simple way of thinking? But, that couldn't be right. Surely, it can't be right that they're "dating". But...

Slam.

The door closed in front of the dazed Nozomi. As he disappeared into the room, the shadows within moved before Nozomi's eyes as if they were in slow-motion. As if on strings, she left. So many things she could have done whirled about in her head, but she couldn't put them in any kind of order. When she noticed enough to wonder how far she had run, she came to a nearby train station. In the depths of her heart, she supposed, she thought that even if it was just a little bit, she wanted to go to somewhere far away.

"This train that's here right now, since I don't care where I end up, where's the farthest that it goes?"

After giving her a dubious look, the station worker encouraged her to go down by the tracks, seeing that she appeared to just be someone with some troubles in her life. Without knowing where she wanted to go, Nozomi randomly chose a seat, bought a ticket, and just like that, boarded the all-night train. The train went on and on. It arrived at its last stop. Then, of course, the lines all changed to local ones.

To say that only the local people used these lines, well, the strange thing about it was that other than those in charge standing in front of the doors, no one got on. After the next station, Nozomi was the only person riding the train. She felt sleepy, listening to the sound of the rails. In the middle of this aimless journey, looking back on her life, she began to think that there was no one in the world who could possibly feel that she was important at all.

Nozomi tried thinking it through. If, for some reason, I weren't in this world anymore, would there be anyone who would be saddened by it?

...No one came to mind.

Nothing at all came to mind.

No matter what I thought of, they were all a bust.

Should I just kill myself?

However, I got to thinking, if someone forgot about me after I had died, everyone would think that person was absolutely horrible.

"So, I'll kill myself today, on his birthday. Even on the winds of gossip, it was fine with her, for if the news of her killing herself on his birthday reached him, even if everyone else forgot about me, every time his birthday came around, he'd remember I was here..."

It's a malicious decision. Even I think so. Dark and narrow-minded as it may be, compared to the cruelty with which he cut me off, this is just a meager little revenge, after all...

So, as far as I'm concerned...this is my final day...

"Today, I'll die..." Nozomi muttered once to herself.

Gazing at herself in the dark glass, her reflection looking vacantly back at her, suddenly a dazzling light came across Nozomi's eyes. It looked as if the train had finally come out of the long, long, dark tunnel. The world outside had become brighter, and the sun itself was fairly high in the sky.
"So bright..." Nozomi shielded her eyes with her left hand. And so, that's how more than half of Nozomi's last day on Earth passed.

"Where in the world am I?"

Nozomi looked outside. There were many things that seemed quite contrary—the space between buildings was quite wide, and you could see a long way. It looked like she was really out in the countryside.

Thinking for a while, she had feelings of déjà vu as she gazed at the unfolding scenery out the window.

"Oh? I think I might have been here before...am I hallucinating?"

She tried to remember.
It could have been somewhere she had been as a child. Since she had moved around so much as a child, her memories had become muddled. She had no confidence. But, Nozomi tried getting off at the next station.

It was a small station, with no one inside.

Though there was no one to check tickets, there were a few small stores around. To her right, she could see a small convenience store. Certainly, that convenience store was the first thing she could see, but looking at the building itself, she remembered something. On the lower floor, wasn't there some kind old woman selling sweets? The neighborhood kids called it "The Red Roof".

"Surely, I've been here before." Her memories returning little by little, Nozomi decided to take a walk around the city. Of course, there were some things she didn't remember at all. But, there were the places, the scenery, the signs, that she did remember, so much she felt that she knew them. Walking slowly, Nozomi spoke to herself.
"Ah, surely, before..."
Without thinking, she took off in a little run.
Climbing up a hill, there was an elementary school there.

"It's still here..."

It seemed that no one had cared for it in some time, and it had become an abandoned lot. Little by little, Nozomi was able to remember. It was a school for all grades, but only about 25 people attended. It was a very small school. She had, at one time, attended classes here. From first to sixth grade, she attended classes in the same classroom, with the same people; that was the kind of school it was. Nozomi climbed over the rope lying in the dust, blocking off the grounds.

When she was a child, she thought that they looked so vast, but now that she looked at them, they were unexpectedly small. It was a flat-roofed, wooden school building. Next to the large flower garden in the corner, there stood a small building.

"I've missed this place!", Nozomi said, running to the front of the small building. When she put her hand on the doorknob, the lock opened on its own. Opening the door just a crack, Nozomi peeked inside.

The only adult to stand in here, finally she walked into an entranceway with a dirt floor. Stepping inside, immediately in front of her was a vacant room, about eight tatami square. To her left, there was a small kitchen. Strangely, it wasn't very dusty at all. Crouching down, she went further inside.

"What? Could it be..."

Nozomi spoke in an amazed tone, and without thinking, stepped inside the room, her shoes still on and covered with dust. The eight-tatami space looked to be something of a storage closet, the last half of the room or so being so dusty that she couldn't go in. There sat many books and paintings, and stuffed animals were neatly arranged there, sitting on a shelf.

"My little secret room...it hasn't changed at all...it's just like it was, back then..."

Nozomi, touched, looked all around her. Her favorite stuffed animals. The stories that she wrote. The paintings that she had painted...everything, Nozomi's most prized possessions.

"But, why...?"

Nozomi picked up some of the books, and looked through them. The books, she had written them all by hand. These were the stories that, in elementary school, Nozomi always wanted to write. She tried reading a number of them. Surely, there were some that were very childish, but, reading them now, she was surprised at how well she wrote her stories: all of them, stories she had since forgotten in her faraway memories.

"Now that I think of it, I wanted to be a fairy-tale writer, back then. With my daily life being so draining, I had forgotten I even had that dream at all."

Since then, she hadn't seen herself the way that she was now, at all. She had failed at following her dreams, the glimmering dreams of her past.

Nozomi mumbled to herself. "When did I turn out the way I am now, anyway? Why is it that I can't laugh from the heart anymore?" Suddenly looking back in the corner, one book caught her eye.

"Oh? What could this be?"

Though it was written by hand, it was done so more neatly. It was a book on the larger side, with an old brown cover. She picked it up. The title was "Another Story".

"Another Story...?" Nozomi tilted her head. "Is this a book that I wrote? It's quite an elegant little book, though..."

She had the feeling that she had written this book, but she also felt as if she may not have. She tried flipping through the pages.

The story of a world long, long ago, or perhaps far into the future, Gaia...

"What is this? But...that's my handwriting..."

Surrounded by a strange feeling, as if to confirm something for herself, she slowly opened the old front cover.

[The Beginning Before The Beginning]

The story of a world long, long ago, or perhaps far into the future, Gaia...
Once, Gaia was a vast, beautiful world, blessed with abundantly fresh water. Then, the gods made humans out of that water and Gaia's soil. The gods also passed onto the humans five music boxes. . Contained in each of the separate boxes was "love", "dreams", "wisdom", "courage", and "hope". With "love" came the power to bring new life; with "dream", the power to imagine; with "wisdom", the power to make things of the imagination reality; with "courage", the power to face terrible problems; and with "hope", the power to create the future.

Thus, human society grew larger and larger.

It was if you could believe that peace could last forever.

But, the humans were foolish.

At that time, the humans became aware that the gods possessed one more music box. Thinking that surely the melody contained in that box would be a wonderful one, they deceived the gods, and obtained the sixth box. Everyone had their own expectations for it.

"What do you suppose they've brought to us this time?"

However, the melodies contained in that box were ones of "jealousy", "resentment", "disease", "death", "thievery", "betrayal", "regret", "anxiety", "strife", "murderous intent", "discontent", "poverty"...
These sufferings that had never existed in the world of humans before, were released upon them. The people started meeting one another in hatred, and seeking to possess even more territory than they had before, met again and again just to kill one another.
The gods, while lamenting the foolish behavior of the humans, became very angry. Before long, they tore the lands of Gaia apart, and transformed the seas to sulfuric acid. Then, they scattered the melodies of "love", "dreams", "wisdom", "courage", and "hope" all throughout the land, hiding them away.
Thus, the world of Gaia fell into an era of total darkness: "love", "dreams", "wisdom", "courage", and "hope" being completely lost to them. -End of Prologue-

Shiva looked at Aster surprised from what she shared.

"Wow Aster. That style of storytelling is not used much anymore. In fact, your style reminds me of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein."

Aster's eyes lit up.

"Oh you mean the story with the mad scientist who made Frankenstein?"

"Actually... the scientist is named Victor Frankenstein. The creature, who you've mistaken for the main character, has no name. Though, it isn't your fault that mistake got through. People misremembered the story due to Faulty memory... but yes. That is the story I'm referring to."

"Oh thank you Shiva. My apologies. I didn't know anything about that."

"Not many do. I read an article once questioning if Technology advances too fast, will people stop reading books forever? Unlikely."

"Well, we all need to read to remember how we got here. I mean, if we were to build a future with no past, then are we really moving forward at all?"

"Heh. Glad you asked. Unfortunately, I don't have the answer for that question... though to get back on topic, your style is close to that."

Suddenly, the front door opened. Shiva and Aster looked in the direction of the step of footsteps coming closer to the Living Room. The person coming towards them then came into view. Before them was a sharp dressed man wearing a butler suit. He looked at Aster and then at Shiva. He bowed with a hand over his fist in front of him.

"Pardon me Master Shiva, but I have received news from Mr. X. He wishes to discuss something important for tomorrow."

Shiva then got up.

"That's right. I have a meeting with him tomorrow about the Real Estate in Chinatown. The other Masters will be present. I'm sorry Aster, but I guess I have to cut this evening short."

"It's okay Shiva. I enjoyed this wonderful evening with you. I hope we can do this again." Better appeal to his Ego or I'm toast! Got to reach Max before Shiva catches on! I don't want to go into hiding at Arcana Hill, but I can't let him catch me again! "I'd love to share more with you. As long as you don't mind of course."

"And you will share more. The meeting tomorrow is just to tend to finances within the District as well as discussing future payments in month's time. After I finish the meeting, I'll come see you again Aster."

"You mean... you liked the story?"

"Yes Aster. I love your story. I want to hear more of it." He then turned to his Butler. "Leung, on your way home, will you drive Aster back to her home?"

"Of course Master."

Aster turned to speak to Shiva.

"Are you sure Shiva? I can always call a cab. That's how I've been able to travel back and forth across Woodoak."

"It's alright Aster. I drove you up here and it would only be right to take you home."

Leung then walked over to Aster.

"Shall I start the engine for you, Miss Aster?"

"Oh... are you going to be okay Leung? You must be very tired from running around Woodoak today." She asked worried for the man's health.

"I do not mind taking all tasks given to me from Master Shiva. It is only right to take you back home."

Shiva then walked over to Aster.

"Aster, let Leung drive you home. He lives in the city just as you do."

"You mean? He has an apartment in Woodoak? I thought he would live with you."

"In truth, Aster, I don't like having anyone stay at the house if they work for me. Especially if they have families. If they have kids that attend school away from where I live, it would be an inconvenience to keep their families away from them. Many of my students live close to or in Woodoak apartments in the Central area. The schools they attend are close to the Dojo as well as the Central Woodoak Library. You live close to Chinatown, don't you Aster?"

"Uhh... yes... I do. My home is at the Walnut Grove Apartment Plaza. Such a peaceful apartment Plaza... within an area of turmoil. It's close to Central Woodoak Park. Its location is how I've been able to reach the Library without transit."

Leung then walked over to the door.

"Your ride, Miss Aster." He said politely to the young woman.

Aster got up from the couch and stretched her back. Shiva took her cup from her, quickly took it to the kitchen, and placed it in the kitchen sink. She then walked over to Leung and then went to pick up her purse and her shoes. She walked towards the car outside with Shiva behind her and Leung in front. She turned around to face Shiva.

"Thank you Shiva. I enjoyed dinner and spending time with you tonight. Same time, tomorrow?"

"Yes. I'll meet you at the Library tomorrow. Goodnight Miss Aster." He said bowing to her with a hand over his fist in front of him.

"Goodnight Shiva." She said giving him a gentle smile and kindly waved back at him.

Aster walked over and got inside the passenger seat. Leung got in the driver side, start the car, and drove off. After the car was out of site, a muscular Kung Fu fighter walked over to Shiva.

"You're soft, Grandmaster." He said with a smug grin on his face.

Shiva didn't turn around, but shifted his eyes to the right.

"You mock me, Tiger. The Masters Meeting isn't until tomorrow. Why are you trying to start a fight in a residential area?" He said annoyed.

Tiger chuckled.

"You had her, Shiva. You had her in your house. Why didn't you torture her and kill her?" He had a menacing smile on his face. "Had it been me, I would have made sure her ribs were broken and after taming her, I would make sure she wouldn't be able to walk anymore."

Shiva turned towards Tiger and gave him a smile.

"As ever, you disgust me. You don't see the bigger picture, do you Tiger? I don't need to sink to your level to get back at those who wrong me. I'm not being friendly with her to be her friend. I don't need to break her bones, force her into my bed, nor tie her down to keep her from running." His friendly demeanor changed to a frown. "I know what I am doing. I know full well who she is."

"Then you know how dangerous she is. That thief manage to abscond 100 mil from under the Syndicate's nose and gave it to the People's Army."

"Do not think me as simple minded! Or did you forget the duel the Masters fought me over to gain Godhand's position in the main Dojo? I could have very well have walked in and took control. You came in to personally challenge me alongside the others upon hearing the position was being given to some greenhorn no one had heard of."

"..." He grit his teeth in anger from hearing him bring this up in the conversation.

"I know what she is as well. I've been trying to catch her for two whole years. Chasing a curvy woman in a skin tight dress from behind does not help one's reputation, but for the time it's how I was able to figure out who she was immediately. Besides... the timing couldn't be perfect. Now that Hell Week will be approaching soon, I can force her hand. She won't be able to escape me this time. This will be the last time... the CPA will steal from the Syndicate. Remember that Tiger..." He then looked down the road where the car drove down and grinned. "Remember it well... Heh Heh Heh."

End of Chapter 1...

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Welcome to Woodoak City

~March 22, 1991~

Ancient Road Parking Structure, 10 P.M...

Leung drives up to the Ancient Road Parking Structure parallel to Walnut Groves Apartment Plaza. He parks his Red 1989 Lancia Delta Intergrale, gets out, and gets the passenger door to open it. Upon opening the door, Aster steps outside and walks parallel of him towards the gated Plaza. Walking with him Aster looks to the distance and views Central Woodoak Park with its Light Poles lighting the pathways on the pavement. She turns and continues towards the Gate. Upon reaching it, she reaches into her bag and pulls out a handkerchief. She covers her fingers, presses the code, and steps back. The gate opens to a Large 16 acre Plaza. Each building is five stories tall with balconies overlooking many views of the Plaza's Amenities. The rooftops only accessible with a Brass key from the Landlord.

Situated on the Northwest corner of Central Woodoak close to the border of the Arcana District, the 16 acre complex opened in 1980. The complex consist of 18 buildings, 17 of which are residential and the 18th the Main Building. Each floor consisted of 10 apartments for every living resident. Aster's apartment, however, fell on the peculiar side. The doors of the fifth floor apartments were not single door, but double. The elevator on the floor was located in the center of the building, with the stairway parallel from Aster's Apartment past four apartment doors.

Inside the Main building of the Plaza, Leung accompanied Aster to the elevator all the way up to the fifth floor. He walks with Aster down a white wall hallway on a carpet with large black circles in its pattern. Reaching the Door labelled 5-5, Leung stopped with Aster. He gave Aster a kind bow after walking her to the door of her apartment.

"Thank you so much Mr. Leung. Please be safe on your way home." She gave him a gentle bow.

"Thank you Miss Aster. Your kind words are appreciated. Have a pleasant night."

As he walked away, Aster walked into her apartment and turned on the Foyer light. For the past four years, Aster had been paying $793 a month to live in the rented 2709 square foot space. She had received the apartment by winning at a Poker Game held by Mr. French and his Poker buddies as well as a 1986 Dodge Caravan and a 1987 Mitsubishi Galant Hatchback. The monthly rent would occasionally lead her to heading outside of Woodoak to other city Casinos to play the Black Jack Tables to pay off her Landlord Mr. French.

Though, her early days before the move-in were spent paying for the detailing the van needed as well as cleaning the apartment out to be used. The following days after receiving the apartment were filled with blood, sweat, and tears from Mr. French, his pal Mr. Bridges, and Aster combined. After suffering from asthmatic issues and finding used heroine needles, they stopped cleaning and called a professional Bio-cleaning team to finish the job. Most of the payment went to cleaning, repairing, and filling the space with all replacements needed.

The apartment 5-5 was once inhabited by a Hoarder, whom was the Mistress of a Remnant of Arcana and mother of two heroine addict sons that lived in the two spare bedrooms. What was suppose to take a few days to clear out took Aster almost three months before she could move in. Upon smelling the apartment and seeing what was under the pile of women's clothes turned into a nightmare on the first day.

Because of the horrifying experience of trying to clear the Foyer, Aster pulled double time in hitting two casinos to get the space cleaned up, trash properly disposed and recycling organized, and have many of the pipes, electrical wiring, lighting fixtures, plumbing fixtures, insulation, cabinets, all doors, windows, furniture, appliances, and flooring replaced. The ceiling and walls had to be ripped out, cleaned, insulated, and painted before she could move in.

In handing Mr. French the casino winnings, he called Bio-cleaning services, Dumpster Rentals, Contractors, bulk collectors, and maid services to make the apartment safe and appealing to live in again. The other parts that he didn't pay for, like picking appliances, furniture, lighting fixtures, bathroom appliances with plumbing fixtures and toiletries, painting, and flooring, were left in Aster's hands as long as the new additions adhered to the Building code.

She didn't officially move in until Saturday, December 12, 1987, or as she describes it as her late father's birthday. She held a move-in party and invited her two poker buddies Mr. French and Mr. Bridges; her four friends from the Pine Pot Mike the Hero of the Market Place, his partner in crime Esma, Officer Yau who is a friend of the Wai Liang, and Nurse Candance Meyers with her daughters Sue, Lissa, and Elle; Wai Liang the owner of the IceBox Cafe and his nephew Wai Lung; as well as Blaze Fielding, Adam Hunter, Axel Stone, Sammy Hunter, Max Thunder, and Cherry Hunter.

This gave Adam relief and joy in knowing Sammy and Cherry would be safe staying with Aster when Adam was working dangerous overnight shifts involving gangs like the Deciphers, the largest gang in all of Woodoak. Her location also made it convenient for Sammy to head back and forth to school safely without taking the bus, thanks in part to the Galant she now owned. Though, after Blaze, Adam, and Axel were accepted into the Police Force, each one would stop by her apartment occasionally if they were pursued by gang members.

The apartment was made up of a three bedroom, three and a half bathroom with a two private balcony floor plan. The following residential amenities were added by her choice under Mr. French's supervision:

Dine-In Gourmet Islands, Whirlpool Appliances with a Kenmore Microwave Oven with a Electric Range, stainless steel sinks, solid wood raised panel cabinetry, built-in wine refrigerators, custom island pendants with coved ceiling lighting, hardwood flooring in the kitchen and living rooms, Built-In Bookcases with custom shelving, Living Room speakers, shades on windows with blackout shades in the bedrooms, spacious customizable Walk-In Closets, full size washer and dryers, walk in showers, Porcelain tile flooring and shower wall surrounds, large soaking tubs, custom framed vanity mirrors, and a two door entry.

The floor plan of the 2709 square foot apartment went as followed: Opening the door lead to the Foyer, on the left was a door leading to a half bathroom. Past the Foyer was a three way hallway with two doors parallel to the Entry. Past those doors would lead to a sitting room with two full bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and a closet on each side.

Returning to the three-way hallway, going left would lead to the kitchen with a hallway closet before reaching the pantry, a dining area with a dining room table with eight chairs, and a Living Room with built-in bookcases, a Sofa parallel to the Entertainment Center, a love seat, a one arm chair with an ottoman next to a coffee table. Behind the Dining Room was a private patio with a patio table set with four chairs, two arm chairs, and a corner table.

Returning to the three-way hallway, going right would lead to two doors. The door to the right lead to the utility room with a washer and dryer. Heading the door past the utility room to the right, the Master Bedroom consisted of a Master Bathroom with two sinks, a separate whirlpool bathtub, a enclosed shower, a door separating the toilet from plain site, and a walk-in master closet. To the left of the Master Bedroom was a private patio with two patio sofas, a table, and an arm chair.

Upon entering her clean home, she quickly ran over to the sitting room to a shelf with a wooden framed photo of a loafing black Standard Rex Rabbit. She lightly lifted the photo up and pressed down on a wooden peg. The peg then caused the shelf's bottom part to swing open, revealing a secret compartment in the shelf. In the compartment were five passports, a pistol with one ammunition box, $100,000 made up with $20 bills in a manila envelope, a two way pager, a walkie talkie, and a copper key labelled Rooftop. She grabbed the key, ran to the foyer and opened the entry way door. She checked to see if the hallway was clear.

Upon seeing no one present, she quickly ran to stairs and headed to the roof. Using the key, she opened the rooftop door and quickly grabbed a foldable chair on the roof and placed it in the doorway, leaving the door a jar opened. She then ran over to see Leung walk up to his Red 1989 Lancia Delta Intergrale in the parking structure. She waited for him to get in his car and leave the parking structure. Upon seeing him drive off, she exited the rooftop and quickly headed back to her apartment. Getting back inside, she dashed to the hallway closet and opened it. She grabbed a packed suitcase and headed to the master bedroom. She grabbed a key ring with seven keys on it and threw it in her bag. She headed back to the entry way and quietly exited her apartment.

Aster rode the elevator down to the main floor, which was now a silent space. She walked out to the gate and opened it using the code given to her. She saw a dry cleaner service van pull up and dashed over to it. She quickly loaded her suit case into the back and ran to the passenger door. The driver flung open the door for her and she quickly jumped into the passenger seat. The driver was a muscular man wearing a white shirt and blue jeans with a jacket that read on its back THUNDER.

"Kept you waiting, huh?" He said leaning on the steering wheel.

"You're good Max. My apologies for the sudden short notice. Now then, shall we go check on the kids?"

"Mm."

Max drove the van through Central Woodoak and onto a rode that led up to the place known as Arcana Hill. On top of the hill was where the old mansion sat, which had been completely renovated into a Orphanage with a School Campus with Residential dorms, Treatment Center, and Shelter. As they drove to the hill, they stopped at the first light.

"Hey Aster. I saw you exit Leung's car. What were you doing outside of your apartment? You know how dangerous it gets during this time of night."

"Well... I was on my way to do recon at Barbon's bar and pray to God himself... that I wouldn't encounter Electra again." She stroked her left shoulder. "My left arm still twitches when she's nearby."

"You still in pain after Operation Nooks and Cranny?" He said looking at a newly placed wall poster advertising DJ Yuzo Koshiro at the Bus stop.

"I know that was two years ago, but yes. That stint getting those former Strippers away from being sent to the Juicy Lips Brothel was risky. Though it was worth it as some of them, mostly those between 18 to 30, are sadly trafficked if they don't bring in the dough. I'm glad to have made it out alive... shaken though. The mission would have gone south without Blaze's help as well as Candance."

"You still write to Blaze?" The light turned green as Max drove forward.

"I do. I even write to Adam and Axel. Adam told me he reads my letters to Sammy and Cherry out loud. I missed them so much. I'm so glad Blaze, Adam, and Axel made it into the force." Aster leaned back. " As for Candance... mother of three daughters... I never thought she would come back to mind. Blaze and I would have never made it out of that Brothel had it not been for her stupid husband coming to the place and shooting it up."

"Oh that's right. Ex-Officer Meyer. He tried to kill Candance and replace her with one of his mistresses on the force."

He notice the rows of homeless tents around the block. Turning the corner, he saw a man with a beanie hat peek out of one of the tents. The defective street lamp blinked its light on and off, giving an ominous atmosphere to the block. He sped up through the dark streets.

"Yep. The same one... what a loser. When he was found to have misused police resources to try to kill his wife and replace her, he got the boot and was arrested afterwards. His girlfriend threw him under the bus to save her own hide before running off with another officer transferring to a different county when his plans came out in civil court."

"Serves him right."

"Indeed. Thankfully, Candance won the case and finalized her divorce from that loser. Unfortunately, she had to sell the house and become a stripper at Le Femme Strip Club to pay off the legal fees. Brilliant Lawyer she hired... too bad he was a lousy boyfriend who hated kids. Though her time at that wretched hive didn't last when Framton bit the dust."

"Hm. I wonder what happened to her." He let out a sigh upon reaching a well lit intersection.

"When Meyer came to the Brothel, he was looking for her. The last I thing I remember before I got shocked by Electra was Candance climbing out the third story window and down a drain pipe. I hope she and her daughters are okay. I use to eat breakfast at the Pine Pot with her was well as Mike, Esma, and sometimes Officer Yau if he worked a night shift.

I don't go there anymore due to my ties with the CPA. Since joining, meet up spots would occur in secret at the Library. If going to the Pine Pot became a regular hangout, the Syndicate would know when and where to ambush our members. During that time at the Juicy Lips, Blaze and I fought off Electra. However, we only got caught because Electra found out that Blaze was an undercover cop. I blame inside men in the police force for that."

"I think we may have inside men in the CPA as well. Electra wouldn't have attacked you if she didn't know about that. I wonder if Milan knew that spies got in."

"Milan is just as useful as a stick used to remove dog shit. Commander Mike and Lieutenant Esma were right for one thing. The leadership is a joke. Milan is just a politician using a resistance army to boost his image. Luckily for us, his campaign team hasn't found the spot we're holding him at." She sighed. "If only Mike and Esma were still with us. I still haven't told Blaze nor her mother Debralee about how I wasn't able to save her Uncle Mike... the hero of the Market Place."

"Mike and Esma did everything they could with what they had, but recruiting you is what gave the CPA a chance to make the Syndicate take us seriously. Using the Counting Card Method at Mr. X's ten Casinos allowed for us to take back Woodoak one area at a time. Before then, Milan's strategy used to hold Central Woodoak was based on numbers, not strategy. The gangs kept creaming us when we got into skirmishes in the other territories. The worst one that cost us many lives was with the Deciphers. Mr. X must have laughed his ass off all the way to one of his many banks hearing about our many defeats."

"I know... and the victory we got from The Juicy Lips was a fluke. In truth, we should have lost helping those women. By Meyer attacking the Brothel in a drunk rage, it got Electra to fight and kill him, giving the remaining survivors time to flee by heading out the fire exits. Glad that Mike and Esma had the buses ready to take them to Arcana Hill. Blaze got me out of there while I was knocked out and we hid in the Park. I didn't stay long to say goodbye, but I wished Blaze the best. I wish I could have told her how I got wrapped up into the CPA's war against the Syndicate."

"Same. I feel you on that one. Blackmail is an awful weapon. If only Milan wouldn't have been attending one of those Casinos when you were solo."

"Maybe... but I wouldn't have met you guys if he, Mike, and Esma didn't see me four years ago running from the Syndicate's Eyes. It was my mistake using some of my winnings to buy a house outside of Woodoak that caught his attention. Should have just used the money for my apartment only. I'll have to live with that for the rest of my life.

But getting back to what happened at the library, my whole evening was thrown in a loop. Rather than go to the 91 Summer Night happy hour and enjoy CranGrape Lemonade cocktails... I had a close encounter with the Living Weapon himself."

"Shiva approached you? What was he doing?"

"He came to the Library this afternoon to see me. Just looking at him sends chills down my spine... and somehow a familiar feeling but I can't put to words why. He said my storytelling has become a distraction to his younger students in his Dojo and he wanted to know why."

"What did he do next?"

"He invited me over for dinner at his house. I know there was a giant risk going with him, but I couldn't let him see that I was scared the whole time." She then gently lifted her skirt and pulled out a thumb-size device from her garter. "I wouldn't have alerted you if I didn't feel safe. That whole time I was there, I made sure to activate the tracking device in my shoe and the SOS signal from this. I was scared when I got into his car, but what terrified me was what would have happened if I denied going with him. I think he would have beat the crap out of me and kidnapped me."

"I don't know. Axel told me that Shiva would never sink that low against unarmed civilians... would he?"

"That I'm not sure of, but I guess he was sincere when he brought me over. He seemed to be kindhearted, albeit lonely though. The stories of how he was brought here from Hong Kong broke my heart. Unfortunately, the whole time I tried to keep calm was nerve wrecking. When I had dinner with him, I kept my cup close to me so he wouldn't slip anything into it. Thankfully, the wine bottle he served to me was new and sealed. At least it wasn't tampered with and he didn't goad me to drink until I passed out. The food was also delicious and filling. He's quite the accomplished cook for being the Grandmaster of Chinatown."

The light changed and Max drove forward.

"Did you head to the bathroom to see if their were windows to slip down to? I couldn't hop over the fence because the community he lives in has guards watching the fence for jumpers. They're armed with tasers and stun grenades. If you would have signaled me ahead of time, I would have waited outside of the gated community Shiva lived in to come get you."

"Oh trust me. Running would have alerted him immediately. It was already a giant risk going over to his house, but if I had tried to run, he would have know something was up. I had to appeal to him. I even gave him the thumbs up to come see me again..." She looked at her legs and clasped them together. "...But I should have been more careful of my words. I'll be eating them if he comes after me, even during Hell week. I wish I wouldn't have to go into hiding, but I got to check on the stock pile so that no one has to leave to find supplies like food and water. Mr. X is catching onto the Real Estate Empire under Mariana Trenches to be hiding spots for those seeking shelter and harboring members of the CPA."

"I know you were trying to not let him suspect you were up to something. Still Aster..."

"I know Max... I know. Things could have gone so much worse. At least he didn't force me to service him. I could only imagine how bad it would have gone... if Axel was wrong about Shiva." In her mind, she could see herself from outside her own disorientated body with a gash on her forehead and a black eye, dress ripped, carrying her shoes with her bag while barefoot, being lead by Shiva to Leung's car. Coming back to reality talking with Max, she leaned her head into her right hand to cover her eyes and exhaled a nervous sigh, almost as if she could cry. "I'm so sorry Max."

He slowed down and patted Aster's left shoulder. She lifted her head with tears welling in her eyes and looked at him.

"It's okay Aster. I'm just glad you activated the tracking device and the SOS signal as soon as you could. What time did you turn them both on?"

"I turned on the tracking device while I was still in the Library. The SOS signal went on while I was in his car."

"Well at the very least we can be grateful that you came out of this safe and unharmed." The van reached a three way fork in the road and drove forward on Kawashima Avenue. It passed through an steel door gate. On the right side of the road sat the dance studio, Bike shop, Shinobi-Style Center, Saturn House, Sega Campus Center, and the Beats Conservatory. On the left, the van drove past Lizard Cube Tennis Center, Guard Crush Hall, and the Dotemu Athletic Center. The Memorial Union, known as the main Hall for the Orphanage, was on the left. He slowed to a stop. "Well... we're here. You going to be alright Aster?"

Aster walked to the back of the van and grabbed her suitcase as well as her bag. She closed the back doors and walked over to Max's driver window.

"I'll be fine Max. You take care and stay safe. I see you and the others tomorrow."

"Okay. Use the signal if something comes up."

"I will. Goodnight Max."

"Goodnight Aster. Say hi to any of the kids still up right now."

"They better not. It's a school night." She said as she closed the door and crossed her arms while the window was down.

"Haha! You know how they think. Anyhow, good night Aster!"

Max did a U-turn and drove away as Aster waved back. The area where the main building of the Orphanage sat on measured at 30,000 square feet. The school campus where the Orphanage resided was the size of a Rural Town by 240 acres. The Orphanage and the Campus was on an elevated topography that looked towards Chinatown to the distance. The employee staff that helped out had 1200 adults tending to the area. Many of them apart of the CPA. Living on the campus were a total of 1600 orphaned children from infancy to the age of 17. The majority of those in High School resided in a Dormitory as soon as they start Freshman year. The High School Dormitories had areas on the Campus that were gated off to separate the sexes to avoid fraternization.

The Main building layout went as follow:

The building was shaped as to resemble a Diamond. The Southern part contained the opening to the Orphanage. The entrance was a large foyer with stairs leading to the second floor with an elevator in the center and emergency staircases on the first floor. Each wing was divided by the respected grades. The Center is where the Nursery rest on the second floor. The West wing is dedicated to children from preschool to fifth grade. The East wing is for those from grade six to eight. The North part is reserved for classrooms, computer halls, and art and music classes with Hallway Restrooms.

The exterior of the main building was nine levels high and had the kids living in their own rooms. Each floor was advised by a Residential Assistant watching over ten kids living on each floor. The floor plan was as followed: two bedrooms share a full bathroom. The Residential Assistant had their own full bathroom. The first floor had the adults living with their bedrooms with their own dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens, walk in closets, bathrooms, and patios with bars and mesh to keep intruders and mosquitoes out. In the center of the building is the dining hall, with a large kitchen connected back to the hallway and the the dining hall. The recreational room sat in the right wing while the living room resided in the left.

Parallel from the main building by 1000 meters sat the Residential Treatment center for those who are in need of special attention. Behind the RTC was two Battered Women Shelter buildings to aid to mothers in need of special housing. An Iron Gate kept the are guarded from the School Campus and Orphanage.

The Campus the Orphanage and the Shelters resided on had Dormitories and many buildings that handled different subjects. Behind the Sega Campus Center was the Ulala Center for Visual Arts. Not far from the Visual Arts building as the Hall of Music, which stood 500 meters away from the Shelters.

2000 meters away from the Shelters was the Afterburner Commons, a 500-seat dining facility that serves the entire campus community. The Commons is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and has a variety of food stations and a coffee shop. Next to the Commons were 11 Dormitories with the Harrier Center. The Harrier Center houses of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving. It also contains a reception and meeting area for faculty, staff, and alumni. To the east of the 11 Dormitories sat the Akira Health Center. Operated 24 hours a day by a certified nursing staff, the Akira Health Center provides medical and counseling services for students.

Behind the Lizard Cube Tennis Center, the Re Technology Services and security stands not far from the Gemini House and the Pai Chan Fitness Center. Just behind the Dotemu Athletic Center sat the Ichiro Ogami Theater. The 330 seat main theater features a revolving center stage and side stages. The theater also includes the Sakura Shinguji Classroom, the Erica Fontaine Studio Theatre, and the Riela Costume Shop. The Lobby houses the largest hanging collection of theatrical posters in all of Woodoak.

Next to the Ichiro Ogami Theater is the Cyrille Library, a four-story, open-stack facility. The History of Arcana Hill, the Woodoak Town Archives, and the Alpha Library of Woodoak History are located on the first floor. North of the Library is the Hall of Science. To the East next to the Library and Memorial Union, Lake Dog and Duck flows through the Campus near the Outdoor Tennis Courts and south of Koshiro Field. Near Koshiro Field sits Ancient Hall, an academic building that houses the departments of sociology, anthropology, economics, environmental studies, history, politics, and psychology, as well as a natural history museum and a 350-seat lecture hall.

East of Ancient Hall is the Amphitheatre, Guard Crush Glen, Cyrille House, and Busujima Residential Hall. North of Koshiro Field was the nine building Anton residential Complex, named after Aster's late father. West of the Anton Complex sat the agricultural area, where the Hill grew their own food and tended to farm animals for needs like milk, butter, and eggs. The Aquaponic and Organic Garden resided just 10000 meters from the farm area next to the Physical Plant. Far northeast sat the Lizard Cube House. Lastly, far up north near the wall, The Segata Stadium stood proud and victorious with the Athletics Fields to its right.

As Aster walked through Memorial Union, she took an elevator to the ninth floor in the center area. On the ninth floor was an Office. As Aster exited the elevator, she looked at the note on the door:

Dear Asteria,

This is Mariana. I'm going to be away for sometime. Please take care of the Orphanage in my absence. I pray the key I sent to you made it to your home at Walnut Grove apartments in Central Woodoak without trouble. As peaceful as that part of the area is, the ever growing crime in Woodoak could change the environment if you don't keep your eyes open and your guard up.

Remember to keep the curtains closed when the sun sets. If you are in need of quick cash, look up Casinos away from Woodoak and plan accordingly and talk to Miss Helena if anything comes up short. Be sure to contact food banks and keep the pantry shelves and Walk in refrigerators stocked. Don't forget to call the Discount Department stores for donations. If any women escaping abusive partners come up with their children, offer them a position to work as paid employees as well as housing at the Residential Treatment Center. Be sure to check for Contraband and be kind to the guards on the wall. We don't need another call for an ambulance because someone manage to smuggle heroine onto the property.

As long as Mr. X doesn't know about the Hill having not only an Orphanage but also having a Battered Women's Shelter on the campus, you can help rehabilitate not only the children, but also the mothers as well. Use the counseling and therapy services at the Residential Treatment center to help them put their lives back together and have them help those who lost their families and those who were abandoned. If something comes up, contact the CPA to protect the area. You know their numbers and paging stations.

Mariana

Aster looked at the book shelves along the walls. She walked over to one with a bust of the late Old Man Arcana. She lifted the head up, used the key in the hidden slot, and opened the secret bookshelf door to a hidden apartment. The hidden apartment is 838 square feet in space.

Walking in from the concealed door, to her left was the Living Room with a sofa, love seat, and an entertainment center. To the right, the Dining Room resided with the Kitchen and the Laundry room behind it. Parallel to the kitchen was a doorway leading to the Bedroom. From said doorway was a hallway closet going forward. To the right of the doorway was the full bathroom. To the left was the bedroom with a walk-in closet on the right of the bed and a patio balcony with a storage shed to the left of the bed.

She walked inside and placed the note on the Breakfast bar kitchen counter. She quickly ran over and closed the curtains on the windows and the patio door.

"This never gets old. Three years of the Orphanage being up and still going strong... For now..."

She returned to the Living Room and looked at the Calendar on the wall. It had days crossed out with the last day reading Hell Week begins April 4, 1988. She took down the Calendar from the wall and changed it to an undated Calendar. She wrote March 1991 and filled in the blanks for the days. She then took notice of the photo of her with a young Asian man wearing round spectacles with a clean ponytail on drawer with a lamp on it. They were posing on the Pirate Ship ride in the Amusement Park. She rolled her eyes.

There were ways of dealing with a family that didn't accept your girlfriend, Wai Lung... She thought and frowned. She then put the photo faced down on the table and continued filling out the Calendar. Tripping your grandmother and sending her falling down the stairs to her death... was not one of them. I can't even go back to the Uncle's shop and order Egg Cream anymore. Besides, it's kind of hard to stop your boyfriend if you were caught in the act having sex on Granny's bed butt naked... and have to quickly get your clothes on.

She looked at the photo for five seconds and then returned to filling out the Calendar.

Ugh... the least you could have done was break up with me before fleeing for Costa Rica. Don't leave a letter saying you'll come back to marry me after killing a family member... A look of dread appeared on her face. Crap! He still writes to me and I already ratted him out to the police... but I have no reason to write back to him. She sighed. I hope he doesn't leave Costa Rica. I'll have to testify if he gets arrested coming back to Oakwood.

After finishing the Undated Calendar, she walked over to a photo sitting on the Entertainment Center. It was taken during the Holiday Season with two young men, a young woman, an eight year old kid, and a toddler in Aster's arms.

"I miss you guys... sigh... if only I hadn't been blackmailed... Blaze... Adam... Axel..."

~August 2, 1987~

Hunter Residence, 7 P.M...

A young man in a yellow shirt with black pants stands with another young man wearing a white shirt with blue pants and a blue bandana. A little boy wearing a red hat with a yellow tank top and white shorts stands next to a young girl wearing a red bra with a denim jacket paired with a denim mini skirt and red shoes. She's sitting in front of a birthday cake parallel to a baby girl in a yellow onesie in a high chair. The two young men and the little boy hold up party poppers and pull the strings.

"CHEERS!" Three party poppers go off, leaving a temporary smoke cloud in the air with ribbon and confetti all over the floor.

Three teenagers celebrate the 17th birthday of young Blaze Fielding at the Hunter Residence.

"Haha! Happy Birthday Blaze!" The 19 year old man cheerfully said as he was about to cut the cake and noticed by his young daughter's cooing that something was missing from the table. "Oh whoops. I forgot to get the cake cutter. Just a second. Sammy, watch Cherry so she doesn't chuck her bowl at my back again."

Cherry let out a cheerful toddler scream. Sammy covered his ears.

"Geez! Any louder and it could kill an whole army. She'll grow out of that. Uhh... right big bro?"

"Huh?" He found the cake cutter and turned around. "Oh yeah. She'll grow out of it." He shrugged his shoulders. "I hope... The worst thing that can happen if she joins a band. Fingers crossed she isn't a lead vocalist."

Axel and Blaze laughed.

"Don't worry Adam. Once she starts figuring out how to open doors, that will be your next worry." Axel giggled as Adam giggled and gave Axel the cake cutter. Axel gave the cake cutter to Blaze. "Happy Birthday Blaze. Only one more year until true freedom!"

"Thanks Axel!" Blaze blew out the candles as everyone clapped. She then got up and cut up the strawberry shortcake. "You know what's great about this day... besides it being my birthday?"

She gave small slices to Cherry and Sammy. Sammy looked at the Calendar as Cherry started mashing her cake slice.

"Wait a minute... today is the last day of all three of you being in the Rehabilitation Program. So that means you guys don't have to go to Godhand's Dojo anymore, right?" Sammy asked as he picked up Cherry's bowl when the toddler chucked her bowl at his backwards hat.

Blaze glared from hearing about Godhand.

"I was going to say being with my friends, but now I hope to put that experience behind us. I am so done with that program. The running, the beatings, the yelling, just... everything that reeked from the cesspit of society was right before our eyes in that wretched program! Martial Arts can only do much to change someone from a criminal to a law-abiding citizen."

Sammy put the bowl back onto the table and rolled his eyes as Cherry laughed and clapped.

"Whole program is a scam... I heard in my school Godhand as well as his friends Blackbird and Pink Typhoon were being paid buttloads of cash for how many kids they get in the program to fix. All that cash they got? Straight from the Syndicate itself."

"Sadly, there's truth in all that. We shouldn't have been placed in that program. Those idiot children of the Remnants of Arcana got us into this mess when they picked a fight with us at the park. And for what? Because of Gerrell Stone turning coat. Screw those guys."

Axel ate the strawberry from the slice he received.

"The fact that my old man had nothing to do with us is even more infuriating. You forget that many of the Remnants are from rich families, right? Of course they're going to get off with a slap on the wrist. Even though their cash cow is gone, many of them are hypocrites. Despite being loyal to Arcana, they don't want to let go of the cash the Syndicate gives them. So they'll keep spouting their loyalty to a dead man while at the same time taking wades of cash from the enemy their idol despised. They can definitely go screw themselves."

"Amen to that." Adam said cleaning Cherry's face as well as her hands and the little table in her high chair. "Old Man Arcana has been dead for 11 years. Why can't they let it go? They lost everything and yet they continue on as if he never died."

Axel ate his cake slice and looked up.

"They're more hostile because of that Divorce case. Mr. X won the case and full custody of the twins using his ten Lawyers, but Catherine won the war. Those Remnants came in like a swarm outside the courthouse and turned the steps into a bloodbath."

"Man... they managed to kill eight out of ten of X's Lawyers. The ninth Lawyer took his own life when it was discovered that one of the slaughtered Lawyers was his big brother." Axel said taking his fork out of his mouth when he bit down on nothing.

Blaze ate her slice. She hit her fist into the table.

"Worse than that! While the chaos went down, Catherine kidnapped the kids and made a run for it. No one knows where she is right now, but she's pulling the strings to have the Remnants continue being a pain in everyone's ass. Because of Catherine, Hell Week was born. I hate having to hide in abandoned buildings and then make a run to the train if I have to go find food and water."

Sammy cleaned his hat with a napkin.

"So let me get this straight! Hell Week exists because Mr. X is upset that Catherine took his kids?! That's ridiculous! A whole week wasted because of a nasty divorce..."

Axel picked up his empty plate.

"Even though Old Man Arcana has been dead for years, the Remnants of Arcana are willing to continue being a menace in Woodoak. I didn't expect them to take orders from Arcana's only legitimate daughter. She was never his favorite. Also, I heard that the reason why he didn't want Bianca to marry was because he wanted to marry off Catherine first to finally be done with her."

Adam shook his head.

"We all know that's a lie. Proof of that? He would have never asked his remaining children to try and kill each other if he wanted Bianca to marry in the first place. Poor girl... what a heartless father." Cherry coos as he picks her up. He holds her and pats her back. "Oooh don't you worry Cherry. Daddy's not going to raise you like that. Now then, whose up for movie rentals? Or... who wants to play the latest game rental from Blockbuster?"

Axel cleaned his plate in the sink and placed it in the drainer. He quickly rushed over to the Living Room.

"ALL RIGHT! YOU'RE GOING DOWN ADAM!"

"Haha! Don't be too sure Axel!"

Blaze finished her slice and cleaned her plate in the sink. She placed the plate in the drainer and took Cherry from Adam as they all headed to the Living Room.

"Poor Max is missing out on all the fun." Blaze said cradling a sleeping Cherry.

Sammy jumped onto the couch.

"His loss! If we had Cable, we could watch his latest match right now to see if he can make it into the NWA or WWF, but it ain't going to happen in this neighborhood."

"Quit your whining Sammy." Adam said setting up the controller to give to Axel. "Because the price of cable went up, regular citizens can barely afford food, water, rent, and cable. Since I started working at the Police Academy, our finances should improve to where we can afford all of it... with the exception of cable."

"Man this sucks! Local TV is so boring. All you got is the news and shows you have to check the tv guide for if you want to set up the VCR. Seriously! Who wants to watch reruns of Little House on the Prairie after Saturday Morning Cartoons are done at 12?"

"Remember Sammy, if you hire a Babysitter, that crap is bond to happen. Many times I wished that our older cousins could watch over us and rent us movies that you could watch pass 10 P.M. Sadly, our family and friends closest to us live hours away from Woodoak. Can't afford to be picky."

Blaze smiled from hearing Adam say that.

"That night your Uncle came over and we watched The Untouchables was quite exciting. Imagine having to go after a Mafia that powerful except being likeable. Wish Woodoak had something like that. The CPA will never reach those levels if they keep getting into skirmishes with the gangs and the police."

Axel turned on the Master System and sat up holding the controller. On the screen read Enduro Racer.

"Only time will tell with them. The way I see it... they'll keep being seen as losers until they do something about the Leader. I heard that Milan Cortes gave them his blessing even though he's running for Mayor. Not a smart move." He turned to Adam. "Bet you I can beat your score."

"Ha! You're on!"

Adam pulled out the notebook filled with high scores written down. Blaze rolled her eyes. As Axel started the race, a loud thud came from outside followed by a blackout. The group let out angry yells. Sammy spoke up as Cherry started crying.

"Oh man! What happened?!"

Axel groped around and found a drawer. He pulled out the flashlight and turned it on.

"Is everyone alright?"

Axel shined the light towards Adam as Adam took Cherry from Blaze.

"What the hell is going on?" Adam said calming his frighten daughter down.

Sammy looked out the window and saw darkness.

"Big bro... it looks like the whole neighborhood has been hit."

Blaze walked over and picked up the phone.

"Power is definitely out. The phone lines are dead."

Axel looked outside and turns to the others. A look a dread fell on his face. He turn towards Blaze and Adam.

"Never mind the powerlines. Did anyone hear that thud sound outside?"

Adam and Blaze's eyes widen from Axel's question.

"You're right! I did hear something hit the ground outside."

"That sound was accompanied by the power going out shortly. Hey... you don't think-"

"Uh uh! No way are we going to allow some lowlife thief to get into Dad's house! They would have to be the biggest coward to attack a house with three adults and two kids."

Axel looked at Adam confused.

"Three Adults? Blaze is 17."

"Because she is close, Blaze is technically an adult by the laws here... though that's only because of the volatile environment of Woodoak. Damn Sundown Town history. Now then..." The group walks to the kitchen and each grabs a flashlight and a knife. Adam gives Cherry to Sammy. "Sammy, you know what to do."

"I'm on it."

"Guard Cherry and yourself with your life. Don't open the master bedroom door unless you hear the password."

"Right!" Sammy put his knife between the side of his belt. He kept the flashlight hanging on a wrist strap. "Come on Cherry. Lord you're getting fat."

"Sammy!" Blaze scolded the eight year old.

"Okay okay. I'm going. I'm going."

Sammy walked to the bedroom area holding Cherry as Blaze, Adam, and Axel walked to the door. They looked at each other and opened the door. Shining their lights they looked around through the darkness knives in hand. As they looked, Axel lowered his knife.

"You see anything?"

Adam looked around towards the gate to the backyard.

"Nothing! Blaze, how you holding up?" Adam noticed that Blaze didn't respond. "Blaze?"

They then heard the sound of someone running towards the house.

"ADAM! AXEL! CALL 911!"

Blaze appeared in Axel's light range. Adam and Axel ran towards her.

"Whoa! Blaze! Slow down! What's going on?!"

She lead the two men to where she was. As they arrived towards the front yard, Blaze shined her light in the direction. As she did that, the lights came back on the neighborhood. Adam dropped his knife and flashlight in horror.

"Oh my God..." He said terrified.

Blaze closed her eyes angry, but trying not to cry.

"What monster would do this?" She said furious.

Axel said nothing but walked forward. He stopped and kneeled down. He stretched out his hand. Before the three adults was a dark skinned woman lying unconscious on the street completely naked and bleeding from her head. Axel looked on not saying anything. As his hand hovered over her head, he heard a small groan from the woman. She slowly opened her eyes, causing Axel to jump back. She turned her head, revealing her Indigo Blue eyes to the group. Axel cried out as he turned to his friends.

"SHE'S ALIVE! SHE'S ALIVE! CALL AN AMBULANCE!"

~August 3, 1987~

Woodoak City Hospital, 6 A.M...

Adam walked towards the Anteroom, where Blaze and Axel sat with Sammy and Cherry. Blaze and Sammy were barely awake while Axel had fallen asleep while holding Cherry, who was asleep as well. Blaze jolted up upon seeing Adam. Sammy gently tapped Axel's shoulder, waking him up. Axel looked up, stretched, yawned, and stood up as Adam approached them. Blaze stepped forward, a look of worry was on her face.

"How is she doing?"

"She's alive, just as Axel said. She's in critical condition. When we found her, she lost 75% of her body fluids from the blood loss coming from her cracked skull. They currently have her in the ICU. Don't know when she's going to wake up from her coma."

Axel walked over and gave Cherry to Adam.

"Did they find anything else?"

"That's the weird part in all of this."

Blaze shook her head.

"How could it be weird? It should be obvious. A young woman was sexually assaulted and left for dead in front of the Hunter Residence. Surely from all that, they should have found evidence from the attack, right?"

"That's what makes this odd, Blaze. I asked the doctor about it. Upon examining her body, they found no trace of abuse on her. The only injury she had was from her head injury. If their was trace of abuse, it would have shown somewhere on her or inside of her. They even would have found semen inside of her or trace amounts of the date rape drug if it was present."

"Then what did they find big bro?" Sammy asked confused.

"Her blood."

"Blood? What about her blood?"

"They said her blood is purple. When they tested to see what blood type she was, all traces of blood samples turned up unidentifiable. Her DNA isn't in the system anywhere."

Blaze looked at him surprised.

"Wait her blood is purple and they couldn't identify her blood type? That makes little sense."

"I agree. Either she is from out of town or..."

Axel looked down frustrated.

"Someone was trying to kill her to bury a dangerous secret. I don't get it though. If they were trying to bury a secret, why leave the body?"

Blaze realized something.

"Maybe they were trying to get rid of the body... but we were there that evening when the power went out. They may have abandoned her to avoid getting caught."

Axel then shook his head.

"Wait! This makes even less sense than before. Remember when we heard the thud sound when the power went out? When the power came back on, I didn't see any drag marks, tire marks, or foot prints indicating someone had fled after leaving her behind. What if she was dropped from somewhere?"

Sammy looked at Axel shaking his head.

"You been hitting the arcades again Axel? There's no way she would have been dropped from the sky. That would make her an alien. You trying to get us probed or what?"

Blaze frowned and crossed her arms.

"Very funny Sammy. You think you're worried, I'm the one wearing a skirt."

"Hey I'm just saying the mothership could come back for her... and because she got dropped in front of Dad's house, what are the chances they could grab us first before attacking Woodoak?"

The group looked at each other concerned.

"Do you think the Government could come after her because of us?" Adam asked looking at his sleeping daughter.

"They better not. If she escaped Area 51 or where ever she came from, then we better clear out before the Hospital is surrounded. I'm not blowing my dance scholarship over an alien the Government failed to protect us from or a top secret project they failed to keep secret." Blaze said worried.

"Guys, this could be serious!" Axel said concerned. "I think she might need our help. What if someone experimented on her for some kind of illegal project and she came here looking for help? There's no way this could be a coincidence. I mean what if the Syndicate was trafficking her and she made a daring escape? We'll never know unless we talk to her."

Sammy looked at Axel taken aback from the 18 year old's words.

"Hey that's right. What if she escaped the Syndicate? Would it be safe to leave her alone? What if she came to warn someone? What if they're still looking for her?"

They looked at each other and then turned around to see a middle aged doctor walking towards them. He wore a white coat with a blue scrub and denim jeans with white sneakers. On his coat was the name Barker. He stood in front of them holding a folder.

"Pardon me. Adam Hunter?"

"Yes?"

"The young woman you found... She woke up."

"She did?! But she cracked her skull! How can she be awake now?" Adam asked shocked.

"I don't know. I looked closely at her wound. The injury she received looks like she fell from a building. See this X-Ray? Look at this X-Ray and look at her X-Ray. If she was attacked, the fracture wouldn't look like this."

"Wait, there are no tall structures close to where we live she could have fallen from. Are you suggesting she fell from the sky?"

"Unlikely. If she fell from that height without a parachute, she wouldn't have survived. Something else I discovered..." He showed an X-Ray from her body. "Look at this."

The group looked at the X-Rays baffled. Blaze's eyes widen from the X-Rays.

"None of the other bones on her body are broken." Blaze said shocked. "The only injury she sustained was her head injury. When we found her, there were no indications in the neighborhood that a rape took place. There were no torn clothes, no drag marks, no foot prints, and no tire tracks. Where did she even come from?"

"I'm unsure what is going on. Another medical mystery is trying to figure out what caused her blood to turn purple in the first place. While we were trying to administer an water IV to her, the IV clogged up. It's as if her body rejected the IV."

"You mean the liquid in her body... isn't blood?"

"It's inconclusive. I may have to run more test to figure what is going on, but it's going to be a challenge. I'll talk to Miss Meyers about other cleansing solutions to administer to her. Without any ID to identify her, we don't know if she is among any missing person reports across the country. When she does recover, can anyone take her home?"

"I can. I have a guest room at my house."

Axel turned towards Adam.

"Adam wait. Are you sure you should take her home? We don't know this person. If she's a dangerous criminal, she could put Sammy and Cherry in danger."

"I doubt she is a criminal Axel. If she was, some indications would have been found when the hospital took her in. Tattoos, scars, marks... they would have known by checking her body. What concerns me though is who would try to kill her. If someone tried to kill her, it means she knew something. Also, since she's awake, will she remember who and what placed her here to allow us to find who did this to her?"

"Speaking of asking, shouldn't the police be here to ask her?"

The Doctor took off his glasses and cleaned the lens.

"I heard it's going to take a while before they can get here. Since their budget got slashed, police response time has been abysmal. It's going to be hours before someone from Law Enforcement can talk to her."

"Is it alright if we go and see her right now?" Blaze asked the doctor.

"She's being transferred to room 5C. They should be done placing her in the room."

"Then... can we go see her?" Sammy asked.

"Yes. Be careful though. She is extremely weak right now. Keep your questions at a minimum."

"Right." Axel answered as the group headed to the fifth floor.

Room 5C...

As the group sat around her, the young woman opened her eyes and looked at them.

"Who are you? Where... am I? Have... have you come to kill me?"

Their eyes widen from hearing her words. Blaze slowly walked over to her.

"It's okay Miss. You're safe. You're at Woodoak City Central Hospital." Blaze spoke as she gently tapped the woman.

"I'm... safe? I'm... safe." The woman touched her shaved head and felt with the crack is. "I... feel it. How... did I get this? How did I... get here?"

"I was hoping you could tell us that, but... because of the injury, I guess you don't remember everything, do you?"

"Remember..." The woman said quietly.

"Miss, what's your name? Maybe we can find your family if you remember your name." Adam asked.

"My name... my name is... my name is..."

Sammy leaned back into his chair beat.

"Bro, I don't think she remembers her name."

"Maybe we should leave until she fully recovers. What do you guys think?" Axel said disappointed to see that she couldn't remember.

As he said this, a cheerful family was leaving outside the hallway. A little girl could be heard.

"Can I see the baby Mommy?"

A baby had been born and the mother was being taken to the elevator in a wheelchair. As they passed by, the young woman caught a glimpse of the flower vase the little girl was holding. Her eyes widen from seeing the flowers.

"Aster." She said catching a glimpse of the decorated flower vase.

The group turned towards her. Adam chuckled.

"You like the Aster, Miss? Romantic flower isn't it?"

"Aster... that's the name my father gave me."

The group looked at her surprised. Axel got up and ran over to her.

"Your name is Aster? Do you remember your last name?"

"My name..." As he asked her, the sun rose and came through her window. Her eyes widen. "Ray... Sun rays... no that's not it. It's not spelled that way." She looked around the room and turned to Axel. "Paper."

"Huh?"

"Paper! Paper and something to write with! Do you have a pencil or pen I can write with?"

Blaze quickly got up.

"Hold on! The front desk might have something? Be right back!"

As she quickly ran out, the young woman looked at Axel.

"You."

"Me?" Axel asked pointing at himself.

"What's your name?" She asked stern.

He smiled, though a bit nervous.

"It's Axel."

"Axel who?"

"Axel Stone."

Adam came forward.

"Glad you're memories are starting to come back. I'm Adam Hunter. This little bundle of joy is Cherry. Say hi Cherry." The toddler only snored. This brought a somber smile on the woman's face as she gently booped the toddler's nose, causing the sleeping child to turn her head away from Aster. Adam felt relief from seeing her signs of compassion. He shook her hand. "This pipsqueak here is my little bro, Sammy Hunter."

Sammy frowned at Adam and then walked over to the woman. He shook her hand and then took his fingers to make a gesture. He pointed two fingers at his eyes and then pointed at her suspicious. Adam face palmed from his brother's reaction to the confused woman. Blaze then came in.

"I got a Post It note and a pen. Is that okay?" The woman nodded as Blaze gave her the pen and sticky note. Before she wrote something, she pointed at Blaze. "What?"

"She wants to know your name." Axel said smiling.

Blaze looked at the woman and scratched the back of her head.

"Blaze Fielding." The woman looked at her perplexed. "What?"

"Blaze... I had an ancestor named Blaze... but he was a man."

"Okay... you remembered you had an ancestor named Blaze? Cool. So... did you remember something while I was gone?"

"My full name."

She finished writing on the note and gave it to Blaze.

"Asteria... Mary... Re? That's an odd name."

"Can't be any odder than Tom Cody."

"So... have you remembered anything else besides your name?"

"Not yet... it'll come to me though." Blaze looked at her surprised. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry. I thought that from the trauma you went through... you would be scared or something. Even weak too. You seem... calm."

"Probably just the Pain killers kicking in... or... Perhaps my emotions were retained before the memory loss, but yes. I guess because I can't remember, I don't feel scared. I guess that's a good thing?" She looked at the group and then started pointing. "Axel... Adam... Cherry... Sammy... and... Blaze."

Blaze smiled from her recalling their names. Axel walked over and shook the woman's hand. Blaze followed after.

"It's good to see Asteria." As Blaze let go, she stood up straight. "Welcome to Woodoak City."

End of Chapter 2...

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: A Shaky Reunion and Reconciling

~March 23, 1991~

Walnut Groves Apartment Plaza, Main Building, 10 A.M...

"Thank ya for the early payment. Rent isn't until the end of March, but I'm makin' an exception. Because March 30 at sunset marks the beginning of Hell Week, I'll take the rent before the end of the month." An older man said to a woman wearing a pastel blue head scarf with round, black sunglasses.

Standing at the front desk of the Main building in Walnut Groves Apartment Plaza, Aster gives a sealed envelope to the older man in the main entrance of the building. She wore a Spring Trench Coat with a Baby blue skirt with knee high black boots. She had a Aramis Red and Gold Rain Umbrella under her left arm. The sports bag hung around her left shoulder.

"Thank you so much, Mr. French. I'm glad you understand the predicament. Be safe. I'll see you on Sunday April 7 at 10 AM. Send my regards to Mr. Cortes."

Aster walks out of the Main Building in the Apartment Plaza, exits through the gate, and heads to the park. The forecast for the day was cloudy with a 50% chance of rain. While walking, Aster felt a drop of rain hit her.

Oh fantastic. Didn't know April Showers were already here. She thought annoyed as she opened her umbrella.

A hard rain came pouring over Central Woodoak as she walked along. She looks around alert of her surroundings. She walks down through the Market Place. While walking down the block, she passes a Ice Custard shop playing the song I'll Be Around by The Spinners. Aster stops to listen to the tunes as her thoughts came to her. Her eyes look into the shop seeing a happy couple ordering Italian Ice.

She then pulled out her wallet from her coat pocket and looked at the photos she had with her. Her eyes fell on her at the Baseball Game with Lung holding the loose ball after it landed in the stands. She looked up to see the couple sitting down, laughing about something. Her thoughts remembered what happened the day she heard that song four years ago.

Listening to Bobby Smith singing... brings back bad memories at the police station. Ratting out Lung and calling his remaining family about the murder he committed was no fun... at the very least Officer Yau had good taste in music... to go with the scotch flask we shared. Nothing like fire down your throat... and no ice present to ease the pain.

Aster recalled the moment like a Polaroid picture. It showed her coughing with tears down her face giving the flask back to Yau as he smiled. In that moment, she remembered hearing the screams from Tao Jie, Liang's soon-to-be Ex, after Jie had been caught cheating on her husband with her ex-boyfriend. Aster remembered how loud the crying was when the family was done arguing and walked out of the Police Station. Even the young kids were crying when they left.

The Wai Clan fallout in the Police Station was very stressful, but I was glad to have helped them get out of Woodoak. Buying those plane and train tickets was annoying no thanks to Price Gouging, but worth it since the remaining members, save for Liang's Ex Tao Jie, became nicer to me for helping them leave Chinatown. I hope Liang is doing okay. He and Lung's Great Aunt were the only ones kind to me and Lung. There's also Chao, but I doubt Chao will return to Woodoak without being hunted. If only Lung wouldn't have killed his Grandma...

Aster looked at the traffic lights change ahead of her as the rain continued.

The Spinners are an oldie, but a goodie. Too bad this song is associated with the last time I saw Lung. Need to be careful. Hopefully, neither him nor Shiva will recognize me. I mean, it would be nice to start all over in a new relationship... and Shiva seems nice. She shook her head and resumed walking. Ugh! Get a hold of yourself! That's the Second in Command in Mr. X's Syndicate! If Lung were to suddenly leave Costa Rica and see me getting rammed on all fours by Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome... he would probably pin his Grandmother's death on me and get away with murder. What a mess! Dear God!

Aster looks to the distance and sees the Derivière Parking Structure. She lets out a sigh of relief from seeing the 1986 Dodge Caravan parked in her sight. She clutch the keys in her pockets.

"Liang's Food Bank, here I come." She said softly.

As she walks, a car horn beeps twice and she lets go of the keys, leaving them in her pockets. Aster jolts and turns around. A 1989 Blue Chevrolet Corvette pulls up and the driver window lowers. On the tape deck he blasted She's A Bad Mama Jama by Carl Carlton.

"Need a ride?" Shiva asks as he lowers his sunglasses. He then noticed the outfit and looked at her confused. "Why are you dressed like an actress from a 1950s film?"

Shiva was wearing his traditional black Koppou-Ken attire with training shoes, a thin red headband, sash belt, fingerless kickboxing gloves, and Sunglasses.

"Oh! Shiva! What are you doing here?" She asked surprised. "How did you recognize me?"

"Your bag. It's the same one from yesterday. You used it to change into that kindhearted Storyteller character you put for the kids."

"Oh... I see... Crap..." And this is what I get for keeping the old sports bag Adam gave me for sentimental value. I have no one else to blame but myself. She looked away and facepalmed. "As I was saying, what are you doing here?"

"The meeting was a success. The Masters all agreed on a meeting to make a deal with the Orphanage on the Hill. They want to offer their services to train the kids. Seeing how the Orphanage puts up an Electric barrier during Hell Week, they're hoping to team up to protect their students as well as keep the Orphanage safe."

"I thought the Masters wanted to close down the Orphanage. They got 90% of the Chinatown citizens to sign their petition to get the Orphanage to relocate. However, their timing wasn't on their side with Mr. X, the one who sold the old Mansion to Miss Trenches."

"Yeah, Mr. X's burning the petition collection with a cigar in his mouth really pissed off the Masters. They're grudge towards Mr. X hasn't died down yet. At the very least they were in a good mood to discuss helping the Orphanage."

"I'm impressed. I thought he would listen to the Masters and close the Orphanage. There are more of them than the Headmaster of the Orphanage. What changed Mr. X's mind?"

"I recall that Mr. X originally wanted to turn the Mansion into a Brothel to spite Old Man Arcana after the twins were born. Then when Miss Trenches bought it and had it turned into an Orphanage with a Treatment Center and School Campus, he shrugged and let it through."

"The locals were pissed, but it's because they wanted the Mansion demolished. Unfortunately, because Old Man Arcana shafted so many people on their finances, no one wanted to pay for Demolition cost and removal fees. Even Chinatown's four wealthiest families and City Hall wouldn't touch the mansion. Though, I'm glad the Masters changed their minds."

"I'm glad they changed their minds as well. By helping the Orphanage, they'll be inviting new blood to their respected Dojos. Anyway, you heading to the Library today?"

"Oh, I'm actually heading out to the food bank. It's my day off today. I volunteered to help pack food to send to families in need of food and water. I hope you don't mind."

"I can drive you there. Which Food bank are you heading to?"

"Wen Ming-Na's Thrift Store. There's a food bank in the back that volunteers help out at to send food and water to Battered Women's Shelters, Homeless Shelters, and the Orphanage."

"Cool. I'm free today as well. The Dojo is closed for today. The Sento under the Dojo is in need of cleaning to be open to the Masters again. Godhand wanted to spite the first Shiva by closing the Sento and divide the other Masters. By renovating and reopening the Sento, the Masters can come visit and relax in the Grandmaster Dojo again if they wish. It'll also improve the unity of the Dojos across Woodoak. Want to come along?"

She nervously looked at the Caravan without turning her head and then at Shiva. Her thoughts started to race.

If I reject him, he might follow me... but getting into his car again is a giant risk. I'm on my own. Can't alert Max without the Tracking device and SOS signal. Dear Eversing, please keep me safe. Okay Aster. Calm down. Don't make it obvious that you're uncomfortable.

She took a deep breath and accepted the ride.

"Well... I don't have a ride for today. I guess we can go over to the Thrift Store."

"Hop on in." He said opening her passenger door. She climbed in and closed the umbrella and the door. "I'm glad to see you again."

"Uhh... I'm glad to see you again. Shall we be going?" He then started driving to the Traffic Light ahead. While he was happy to see her, Aster turned her head away.

What am I doing? I was suppose to go to the Food Bank by myself. What will I say to Wai Liang when he sees me with Shiva? He'll be freaking out. This man driving right now is a Crown Jewel in Chinatown. If rumors circulate that Shiva was dating someone from outside of Chinatown, the Orphanage could be closed down for causing a problem with the citizens. Not because of anything the kids did, but because of my handling of the situation. I have to do something... Aster then looks up and sees the Thrift Store Parking lot. Oh no... we're here!

Shiva exits his car and walks over to Aster's side and opens the door to let her out. As they walk out with Shiva holding the Umbrella over Aster's head, they head into Wen Ming-Na's Thrift Shop. Aster removes her trench coat, sunglasses, and headscarf, revealing her to be wearing a tan headband, tan T-shirt, and denim jeans with her knee high boots. She places her items in a rental locker in the back and carries the key in her right pocket.

As they walk to the far back of the shop, Shiva catches a glance at something moving and hides behind a stack of boxes. Aster doesn't notice Shiva hiding and greets a man carrying a medium cardboard box. She walks over to him while Shiva remains hidden. The man carrying the boxes calls out to her.

"Aster! So glad you could make it!" He said putting the boxes down and shaking her hand and giving a gentle hug.

"It's been some time Wai Liang. I pray everyone has been doing well. How's Zhen Ju and the kids been? The last I heard she gave birth to twins."

"Ju is doing wonderfully. I couldn't have been more happier than right now. After Jie and I divorced, I reconnected with my old childhood crush and discovered that she had the same feelings for me as I did for her. She had been working at a Jewelry Store around the time I reconnected with her. I missed out on marrying her the chance I had years back because of the arranged marriage to Jie. Glad that's over with."

"I'm so glad that you're happy, Liang. Congratulations on becoming a father. You have such a beautiful son and daughter. I wish nothing more than happiness for you. Also, I had means to ask. How's Chao been holding up?"

"After the family talked with you at the police station, it seems their relationship has improved. Chao and his boyfriend Elliot send their wishes from Canada. He's grateful for you helping his boyfriend escape Ashe's Love Den from the Red Light District." Shiva has a confused look on his face, but keeps hidden. "Even (Aunt) misses you. She sees you at the Casinos every often, but you never stick around to talk." Note: Parentheses indicate a character speaking a different language. In this case, Liang is speaking in Cantonese.

"Well what can I say? I don't stay in one place for too long." Aster said jokingly but nervous.

"Ah yes... Even when you cash in your chips. Haha!" He then spoke in a somber tone. "Wow... it's been four years since Lung left for Costa Rica... two years before I married Ju, I actually took a trip in secret to Costa Rica to find my nephew. I was hoping to mend the fences between us."

Shiva looked away ashamed from hearing Liang's words. Aster placed her index finger from her right hand under her chin and looked at Liang concerned.

"Did you manage to talk to him? I sent a private Investigator to find his home address. That Investigator came back to me saying he couldn't find him."

"No luck... in fact... something weird is going on. I asked people in the area if they had seen Lung and showed his picture to them. They didn't recognize him. I don't get it. Costa Rica has no Extradition Treaty. Someone should have been able to recognize him living in exile, but it's as if he's never lived there at all."

Aster's eyes opened widen while Shiva looked at her nervous from behind the stack of boxes.

"Liang... you don't think-"

"Well... there could be a chance he did come back home, but because the family refused to press murder charges, coupled with a mass exodus of family members leaving Chinatown, no one would have known when he arrived back in Woodoak or not."

"No Liang. Don't say that. He may be already be in Chinatown. I don't want to think about where he is right now..." Shiva's eyes widen from Aster's frighten response turning to anger. "...But I'm on to him! In fact, I didn't come here alone if he thought of ambushing me."

"You didn't come here alone? Okay. Whose your friend?"

Aster turned around and noticed Shiva hiding from Liang. She jogged over to his position.

"Shiva what are you doing?"

Liang's mouth dropped open.

"Shiva?! You brought Shiva here?!" He said panicking and trying to run away.

"It's okay. He won't hurt you." He stopped and walked towards her. She turned to the boxes. "Shiva, why are you hiding? This isn't like you." He looked at her not moving. She grew annoyed. "Alright Mister! No more hiding! Come out here right now!"

"Aster, not now." He whispered to her.

"Why are you whispering?! Get out here right now!"

"But-!" Shiva looked at her nervous. Liang's eyebrow raised from hearing his voice.

"Wait... I know that voice... Could it be..."

"No buts! Get out here!" Aster grabbed onto his left arm and attempted to pull him out from behind the boxes. The young man then wrapped his left arm under her and picked her up using the bridal cradle. "GAAH! What are you doing?! Put me down!"

"Aster!" Liang yelled as he ran over to her. He grabbed a lead pipe on the counter and ran with it in hand. He held it like a baseball bat, preparing to swing. "Let her go!" Upon seeing the young man holding the woman close to him, Liang dropped the pipe and backed away. "No... it can't be!"

"Help me Liang!" She then looked at Liang standing there in shock. "Liang?" Tears started pouring from his eyes. Aster started to freak out. "Liang what's wrong?"

He took off his glasses and wiped his eyes with a handkerchief. He then walked over to Aster and Shiva.

"Lung..." He said kindly with a smile on his tearful face. "Welcome home."

Aster looked at Shiva and then at Liang in shock. She then yelled in anger upon realizing what was happening.

"WHAT?!"

Three hours later...

In the staff lounge, Liang sat uncomfortably between Shiva, who he just discovered was Lung the whole time, and Aster, Lung's now disgruntled girlfriend.

"..." Shiva sat parallel of Aster, who sat across from him. He looked at her nervously.

"..." Aster flashed a glare at Shiva.

"..." Liang used handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his head. He then threw his hands up got up from his chair. "Okay what is going on here? Neither one of you are talking to each other. In fact, during the packing session, Aster you wouldn't talk to Lung."

"You know why Liang. Or did you forget that Lung caused your family's financial downfall when he killed your elderly mother?" She said gritting her teeth.

"I would never forget that. That day and the day after were the hardest days I had to live with since loosing my father here in Woodoak..." He turned to look at Shiva. "...And then my own brother and sister-in-law. Their deaths still haunt me to this day. I do not hold ill will to my nephew, but I'd wished to see you both talk to each other again. What I'm wondering is... when are any of you going to drop this?"

Shiva spoke up exacerbated.

"Uncle, I can't talk to her if she won't let me. I don't know what to do. She keeps avoiding me. I don't understand why she would care about (Grandma). (Grandma) hated Aster because she said she would prevent the Wai Clan from rising up to Shiva... yet here I am. Aster, I get you want to get along with my family, but sometimes you're going to meet families that won't accept you because their minds are set."

Aster turned to Shiva.

"You're right Lung. She and the other family members wanted me to never see you again..." She shook her head with tears in her eyes. "But when you killed your grandma and grabbed me to make a run for it, I couldn't do it..." Her voice cracked as tears fell from her eyes. "...Then you left that note. I had to take it to the police. I knew the remaining family members were going to press murder charges on me for what happened. Once the note was in police hands, they called the family for an investigation on how she died. After they took their statements, Officer Yau called them and me in because they received a video... from you!"

"..." He looked away ashamed.

"You recorded so much damning evidence against every family member that an Atomic Bomb might as well had gone off that day! I sat outside of that room where they watched the tape and I could hear them cursing, screaming, and crying. Even Chao broke down after you left."

"You do remember that Chao-"

"I KNOW! HE BULLIED YOU! You never liked him because your grandmother always had you two competing against each other. Not helping was that Chao was the son of Shao Delan, Wai Huo and Wai Lung's half brother and her favorite son from her first marriage. Yes, she was insufferable and a lousy mom. Chao's father was a dead beat all the way to his death, leaving behind ten kids for her and his siblings from her first marriage to care for."

"I'll never understand what she was thinking when she raised them like that." Shiva said.

"Besides favoritism, even when you both were enrolled to Kempo, she always made it a competition on who would become the next Shiva, you or Chao. Well guess what? On the day that your family came to the police station, I saw Chao exit and closed the door to the room he was in crying. He couldn't make it through the first three revelations you put on that tape! I asked him if he was okay. He was visibly shaken."

"Why would you care about him? Did you forget what happened when I had you over at (Grandma's) mansion? That guy flirted with you, gave disgusting gestures to want to put his face between your boobs, and got my younger cousins to call you Oppai! He even got his friends to try and spike your drink. I don't want to know what would have happened to you if I left you alone with them. He was an asshole Aster and so were his friends from the other wealthy families in Chinatown! So why do you care?"

"HE'S GAY LUNG!" His eyes widen from her answer. "I asked him on that day if he was okay. He told me he wanted to go outside the station. So I took him out there. Chao apologized to me for being complicit in his friends attempts to assault me and when that failed, not doing enough to stop them from drowning me.

Had I not gone and searched his room to find Elliot's letters, things would have gone so much worse. He told me that when you left, you threw a gigantic burden on his back that he wasn't ready for. I didn't know what he was saying until he shared the rules on how one becomes Shiva. He showed the list of requirements one has to go through to receive the title and what rules must never be broken otherwise..."

"...The Whole Clan would be marked as Pariahs. We'd have to leave Woodoak."

"Yes, but there's more. On that day, Chao told me he wasn't looking forward to fighting Godhand. His reason? Two years before I met your family, Chao saw Godhand cheating on his wife... with one of Ashe's service boys. It took place in Ashe's Love Den."

"That area he saw everything in would have happened in the Red Light District. He should have never been able to know that unless..."

"...He was already a frequent customer. And the worst part about this? He found out about Godhand's sadistic nature... when Godhand sent his boyfriend to the hospital in a neck brace. Upon visiting him, Godhand arrived with Lawyers to force the victim to sign an NDA to not talk about what happened that night. When he saw Chao, he paid Chao and his boyfriend Elliot to stay quiet... but it didn't stop him from using the visit as ammunition against your family."

"So that's why Chao seemed scared than usual." He said in a somber tone.

"Yes... and sadly, you will never see him again. Lung, I asked him if he was this scared of Godhand, why take him on for the title? He told me this:

For my whole life, I was faced with this great amount of pressure placed upon me from Grandma. As much as I wanted to make my late mom and dad proud, I wanted to give it to Lung. He's better than me in academics and sports. The shelf in our Grandma's Mansion holds Lung's 16 trophies and 30 medals. I only have two trophies and five medals.

Besides, there's a dating culture here in Chinatown that stresses me out because of my situation. They would never understand. If I got the title, the citizens would have wanted me to take a bride, but I couldn't... because if anyone found out about the truth, our family would be ruined. Lung should be the next Shiva, not me. (Grandma) just had us buttheads because she did the same thing to my dad as well as Wai Liang and Wai Huo. We're her first grandsons born to her in her life time."

"Oh crap... now everything makes sense." He said closing his eyes.

"Chao repeatedly apologized to me lamenting for not stopping his friends from trying to drown me... and said that it's over. The Wai Clan is finished. Lung, where are you?"

"..." Lung's frown soon disappeared from hearing what was shared.

"Lung... I was almost gangraped, I almost drowned on your family's property... and then you left me." She sighed. "Lung, where did you go? Why did you leave me behind? What did I do wrong?"

"It wasn't your fault, Aster."

"Then what was it?"

"The night (Grandma) died, she was going to call Yamato and his men to kill us. She was going to do this after... our romp in her bed. We were alone in the upstairs Master Bedroom. The family and friends went to the hospital to perform damage control for my mess. (Grandma) stayed home to call the family of Chao's friends to pay for the hospital bills. I remember she was downstairs in the Living Room making calls. After I sent Chao's friends to the hospital for trying to drown you in the backyard pool... we were both fed up."

"..." She looked at him as a tear fell from her left eye.

"Chao and his friends didn't respect you... And I remember what you told me that night. You asked me if gaining (Grandma's) respect was worth your safety." He walks over to Aster and carcass her tear stained left cheek. "I didn't want to live that way anymore... so that night... when we were alone in the Master Bedroom, I finally embraced my inner rebel and felt sweet release when we made love that night. I always wanted to be with you and I still do. I didn't want to leave you behind... but I didn't want you to become a fugitive on the run. If I stayed for my family to return, I knew we both would have been arrested. I'm so sorry Aster."

She turned around and covered her face with her hands as she quietly wept. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder. She quickly turned around and ran into his arms. He held her and looked at Liang. Liang smiled back at him. She wept into his chest.

"Lung... I missed you Lung."

"I know. I'm sorry Aster." He said gently stroking her hair.

"I'm sorry too." She said wrapping her arms around his waist.

"For what?" He said as he lifted her up to meet him eye to eye.

"Everything." She said eyes puffy and covering her nose so snot doesn't fall onto him.

"It's okay Aster. Don't cry. Come on. I'll take you home. Liang, you wouldn't mind me taking her home, would you?"

"That's alright, Nephew. I'm glad to have helped you two speak to each other after all these years. It also makes me happy to see you again. Will you be visiting the Food Bank again?"

Shiva looked at Liang and his smile disappeared as he held Aster. In his memories, he recalled seeing Mr. X smiling, on his golden throne with a lit Cigar, and handing Shiva an agreement to sign. Shiva lifted his head to look at his Uncle.

"I'll try Uncle..." He said looking back to Liang. "I'll try..."

Liang gently placed his hand on Shiva's shoulder.

"Don't feel sad Lung. I'm proud of you for becoming Shiva. Your father would have been proud of you too if he was here. Don't beat yourself up for all the things that went down that night. Your Grandma knew either you or Chao would become Shiva someday. So don't go grieving about all that occurred in the past. Smile because you're going to be the positive change that Chinatown has waited for."

"I hope you're right..." He said quietly as he kissed the top of Aster's head. "I going to take her home now. Be safe Uncle."

"I will. Goodnight Nephew."

Walnut Groves Apartment Plaza, Apartment 5-5, 10 P.M...

After taking an elevator up to Apartment 5-5, the rain continued on until a black out in Central Woodoak occurred. Aster lit candles and kept Shiva as company in the Living Room on the sofa until the rain ended. Shiva stroked Aster's hair as they laid on the sofa. His shoes and gloves were near the entry. He laid behind her spooning her. He kissed her shoulder as he stroke her arm.

"How are you Aster?" He said resting his head on her shoulder.

"I'll be fine." He kissed her neck. "Lung... you're tickling me. Please..." She said holding her hands to her lips.

He took her right hand and kissed the back of her hand.

"Tell me more about your friend Nozomi. Tell me what you heard during your travels."

"Mmm Shiva, it's hard to tell the story when you're teasing me like this." She then turned to face him. "If I tell you the next chapter, will you wait until we go to the bedroom?"

He stopped and moaned as he kissed the nape of her neck. He then rested his head on a pillow.

"Okay. Tell me more."

"Thank you." She turned around to face him. "I'll share to you... Nozomi's school memories."

[Stage 1] Beginning: The Old Man and the Girl

The sky that should have been bright was clouded over by steel-colored clouds. Through the cracks in those clouds shone a red moon that never set, dying the seas red.

On the wind, a singing voice could be heard. An indistinct sort of singing voice, like a whisper...

The voice sang the same melody, over and over again, echoing over and over.

As if there were memories, shut away, carried within that song...

Entering the temple, there was a solitary old man sitting in the middle of some great stairs. It seemed that the singing voice was his. Now, the place was completely dilapidated, but to the old man sitting in this temple, it was not difficult to imagine the stones brought back up to their height again, having been restored to the way the building was supposed to stand. The old man always sat in this place, spending most of his days there.

"Gramps!"

The voice interrupting him was that of a spirited young girl. The old man turned toward the direction the voice was coming from. A short time later, the cute-faced girl was cheerfully hopping up the stone stairway, toward the old man. Then, she sat down right next to him.

"Ah, it's you...so you've come by again, hm?"

"Yeah, because I heard your voice. Gramps, you're always singing that song, aren't you?"

The old man laughed and replied, "Ha-ha-ha, I guess so."

"Um...Gramps?"

"What is it?"

"Is it okay if we talk again?"

"My, my, what kind of crazy story are you going to have us listen to today?"

"What do you suppose there could be, beyond that sea?"

"Beyond the sea?"
The old man looked out at the sea. At one time, it had been Gaia's beautiful blue sea, however, now it had been transformed to a sickly-colored, ghastly sea of sulfuric acid. The old man gazed out at it with sorrow, loneliness, and a feeling that he had given up. He was, of course, looking at more than just the horizon over the water; he was looking with eyes far away, to the perfection of the world.

"So, what do you think there is?" the girl asked, restlessly, without waiting for an answer.

"Ah...hmmm...what could there be out there?"

"Well, I think there's a sort of...'puni-puni' land out there."

"Puni-puni? What's that?" asked the old man, surprised.

"A 'puni-puni' place is a place with all sorts of really cute things living there..."

With that, the girl began the "Tale of Puni-Puni".

The girl didn't know what in the world her name could be, nor where she came from. The old man didn't know, either. Though she had only suddenly appeared before him a few days before, every day she told the old man all sorts of fantastic stories. Surely, they were just the stuff of children's stories, but since the girl's stories always had plenty of imagination, and at times she was astonishingly good at telling them, they had made for a quite grand tale.

The old man, suddenly remembering, thought things over.
"In even a world such as this where dreams are lost...to have a girl who can tell so many stories...how surprising, this one..."

The girl, eyes sparkling, continued to tell the "Tale of Puni-Puni".

"That's enough for today. Thank you."

The girl, being interrupted in the middle of her story, made an unsatisfied face-as if to say that no, it wasn't enough.

"So today gramps is going to tell a story? What kind of old guy is this, anyway..."

The old man, taking a moment to look at a stone statue nearby that still had all of its stone limbs, began to speak slowly.

"When this world was at peace, this place was the center of it. Though now it has all fallen apart, this place was the "Gaia Museum", the sacred Temple of Music. Humans created this place to thank the gods for what they had, and to implore them for everlasting peace. Every night, a musical group known as "Arc" kept appearing on stage at the Gaia Museum so that humans would never forget love, dreams, wisdom, courage, or hope. Me? No, I'm not a member of Arc. Every night, I was the one who would open the doors to this place, as its manager. Actually, I was the one appointed to remain here, as a god myself. Ha-ha-ha, it's really not that surprising. As you can see, though, I'm an old man now.

Before I knew it, I too had become able to remember the human emotions of affection and love, having had many opportunities to be involved with the people who came here.
Then, while still being endowed with a godly station, I fell deeply in love with a human woman. Though such things were prohibited, as long as the peace in this world lasted forever, it wouldn't be a big problem at all. But, the world of Gaia, having the sixth melody containing all those sorrows released upon it by the foolish humans, changed into a very ugly place.

This temple, the sacred symbol of peace, fell to rubble, and Arc, bearing too much grief, sealed away their hearts and turned to stone. The eldest of the gods, being very angry with the foolish actions of the humans, tore Gaia apart and hid away the five melodies all around the world. Thus, the world entered an era of darkness, being truly devoid of love, dreams, and hope.
Of course, with the Gaia Museum falling apart, no one could hear music anymore. I, having nothing to do, had to return to the Land of the Gods. I thought of bringing the woman I loved with me. Promising to return to her no matter what, I took her to wait at the "edge of the Earth", where it was closer to the land of the gods, and went to beg permission from the Eldest.
However, the Eldest was enraged that I would fall in love with one of the foolish humans, and ask him to allow it. And so, he turned me, who loved humans so much, into one, and sent me back here so that he could keep watch over me.
Now having lost my almighty powers, I could not go to the "edge of the Earth", even if just to meet with her again.
Then, a long time passed.
Having become a human, I was not a thing of eternal youth and longevity anymore.
So, I became a senile old man.
Even now, I can't fulfill the promise I made to her.
I wonder, has the woman I loved already died...?"

The old man, speaking that much, let out a long breath. Gazing out at the reddish-brown sea, his eyes blurred, as if they were about to run over with tears.

Then, both the old man and the girl sat there, falling silent as if they had always been that way.

Soon, the old man's cracked lips parted. Then, he started to sing that song, soft as a whisper.

...la la la, la...
"That's the song you're always singing, isn't it? It's a very beautiful song...what song is it?"

"It's the song of love. It's a song that you sing for someone you truly love. A long time ago, I too was in love, and sang it for that woman. But, I can't remember anything more than this one phrase. No, if that's really the case, I shouldn't be able to remember it completely, since the Eldest sealed away the five melodies. Actually, I can't remember the other four melodies in their entirety, either."

"So why can you remember only one phrase of this song?" After thinking for a moment after the girl asked her question, the old man ascended the stairs, as if deciding something.

"Look at this." Slowly ascending the stairs, the old man gently undid the buttons of his shirt. On the left-hand side of the old man's chest, near his heart, there was a wound that looked like it had been made by someone's fingernails scratching against the skin.

"These are the wounds the woman I promised left me with, so that I would never forget. Even now, they remain, the same as they were then." The old man traced the wounds with his finger. "Looking at these wounds on my chest, I can remember the love I shared with her. Within this era of darkness, if it looked as if I was going to forget how much love we had, these wounds made me remember what love is. Therefore, I too haven't forgotten. I suppose you could say that I still love her, even now..."

Then, the old man sang once more.

...la la la, la...

The girl continued listening to the tune, and began to sing along. Upon doing so, in the blink of an eye, a flower sprouted from the withered land underneath the girl's feet.

"Though there has been nothing that could breathe new life into Gaia since then..."
The old man, amazed, stared at the flower blooming at the girl's feet.

"Is there some way to save this world, perhaps?" the girl inquired of the old man.

"Only one. That is, to find the five melodies that have been hidden all over this world. But, to be able to do so, to keep the journey from destroying them, the person must truly possess love, dreams, wisdom, courage, and hope. Only such a person can become the Messiah and save this world."

"The Messiah?" The girl tilted her head.

"That's right, the Messiah. I've been waiting in this place for a long time, waiting to see such a person. Until now, there have been those with your same depth to show up here, but those people...now that I think of it, they didn't have the same guts at all. Hearing of the danger of the journey to find the five melodies, they all vanished in the blink of an eye. It was always like that."

After a short silence, the girl asked the old man,
"Do you think I could save this world?"

"I don't know about that. And, I suppose, I may not live long enough to see what happens, but I think that if you were the Messiah, that would be a good thing." The old man hugged the girl gently. Within the old man's heart, the girl before him was tracing his scars with her fingers gently. Then, she said,

"So, should I try it out, then?"

"Eh?"

"I suppose I have to go out and look for the five melodies, don't I?"

The old man gently separated himself from the girl's embrace.

"Really?"

"Yeah! If I can save this world, then you, gramps, might be able to see that woman you loved once more."

"That's true...but it's a very difficult journey."

"I know."

"You might not make it back alive."

"It's fine! Surely, I have to see if I can save this world!"

"Hahaha, looks like I can trust you. If it's you, I have a feeling that this world really can be saved. I can't win over your resolve, can I..."

"That's right!"

Seeing the strength of the girl's resolve, the old man pulled a tattered object from the pocket of his worn coat.

"This is the miraculous map. If you really are the Messiah, I suppose the map will lead you to where the five melodies are hidden."
In the old man's hands was a very old map, but on the yellowed paper, not a single thing was drawn or written. When the girl tilted her head in confusion, he said,
"Depending upon whom is holding the map, its appearance changes. Only a person who truly possesses "love", "dreams", "wisdom", "courage", and "hope" can see anything on this map. As for you, I think it will work."

"Got it," the girl answered.

"Around the stone mountain, there is a ship. Please make use of it."

"But...the sea is sulfuric acid, isn't it? Won't something like a boat fall apart?"

"You should be able to travel across the seas with the protection of the miraculous map."

Next to the mountain, among the secluded islands, an untarnished silver boat showed itself.

"So, please use this boat." The old man, while looking as if he was through speaking, let down the ladder from the deserted deck.

"So...ride on."
With those words of encouragement, the old man helped the girl up the ladder, then left the deck.

When she entered the steering room, the boat somehow began to float and bob. The girl, steeling her nerves and taking the helm, unfolded the miraculous map.

In a flash, the image on the map changed to a very dark place. It appeared that would be the first place that the girl would arrive to.

"Cast off!"

As if waiting for the order, the ship made one heavy clanging noise, and shot off, slipping into the open sea.

"Gramps! I'll come back for sure!" the girl called out once again.

With a gentle smile, the old man watched her leave. The image of the waving girl became smaller and smaller, until he could see her no more.
The red moon, as if blessing her departure, continued to keep watch over the girl, forever and ever...

Nozomi, having finished reading "The Old Man and the Girl", let out a sigh of relief.

"It's as I thought...I did write this story."

A kindly old man, the janitor, had lived in this room she was sitting in, long ago. Reading this, she remembered that old man had been the model for the old man who lived on Gaia. It tugged at her heart to remember. Those things that had yet to leave her still smoldered within.

"That janitor was my first friend...I wonder if he always remained that cheerful, in the end?"

Beginning with these memories of the old man, Nozomi slowly began to remember the days she spent in elementary school. As a child, Nozomi was forced to change schools often. For no other reason than that she was a transfer student, those who welcomed her were standoffish from the start. Even so, eventually she would warm up to them as fellow classmates. But, as soon as she finally felt like she had friends, she had to transfer again...this pattern repeated in her life over and over.

As for Nozomi, her chances to make lasting friends were not very many at all.

But, the students at this school were different. Perhaps due to the secluded environment, they were not standoffish to her at all, and warmed up to her like family. However, for Nozomi, who had never made friends, while this was nice enough, she was not able to return such warmth in the same way as her classmates, and, as it turned out, she spent more and more time alone.

Playing by herself was truly her strong point. Drawing pictures and spreading the wings of her imagination, writing stories...

That day, as well, Nozomi was playing in the world of her imagination. Becoming one of the people in her stories, she talked to the flowers, letting her voice be heard anywhere she went...

"That's an interesting story, isn't it?" The old janitor asked her, watering the flowers nearby. Nozomi was embarrassed. But, the old man thought that Nozomi's stories were interesting, and would be glad to hear them, if she had any more to tell. And so, Nozomi went to the small room where the janitor lived after school, and he listened to the stories she had written. Before she knew it, sometimes, when she didn't have any stories, the old man would listen to what was troubling her. It was like this that she and the old man opened their hearts to one another.

"I really want to be friends with my classmates...but I don't know how to go about doing that..."

"That's easy. Just offer to tell everyone these same stories you've been telling me."

The Next Day...

At school, during the first recess, Nozomi gathered her courage and tried telling one of her stories to Kiyo-chan, the girl in the seat next to hers.

Though she looked surprised at first, she listened to Nozomi's story. As Nozomi finished her story, deeply moved, Kiyo-chan climbed to the top of a ladder and said very loudly,

"That's great, Nozomi-chan! It was really interesting! Oh, that was so great!"

Hearing Kiyo-chan's excited voice, their surprised classmates gathered around. Just like that, on that day during recess, Nozomi ended up telling one of her stories in front of the entire school.
After school, she went to see the old man in his little room.
"Thank you! Just like you said, I've managed to get along with everyone!"

"Oh, really? That's good..."

"But, it's so awful! Kiyo-chan and You-chan and Shuichi-kun, they told me they want to hear a new story again tomorrow! I can't write new stories every day! I've always been alone in school, and so I've always had plenty of time to think, and oh, no...!"

"So, just use the time you've been spending telling an old man stories to write down the ones you've made up so far."

"I can't do that! I might not have time to talk with you anymore, then..."

"Hmm, that is a problem...so let's do this. Since no one's using that storage closet back there, I'll let you borrow it for a while to use as you like. After school, you'll be able to talk with me from there, right?"

And so, that little storage closet in the back of the old man's room became Nozomi's "Secret Little Room".

In the days after, Nozomi became the most popular student in school.

If she were to compare...,thought the grown-up Nozomi, the time she spent here, in this place, might be the brightest time of her entire life.

Thinking of it that way, to visit this place again on the day when her life, in the end, would disappear...there was no way having done so was a simple accident.

But, to find the school, and her secret room, all over again...that was an occasion, indeed. If the things that happened today wouldn't have happened, she probably would not be able to remember what she had been able to do while she was in this place.

To Nozomi, looking at these things after so many years- in the same way that this small mountain of things before her let her see the dreams of her future- they also let her look back at her past, now.

If something had not allowed her to remember her past in the first place, though, she supposed that finding her will again, even in this place, would have been difficult.

She was reuniting with her memories of her childhood, but more than that, within the memories of the well-traveled Nozomi, without seeing this place, awakening those memories of the things she had been able to do would have been impossible.

Perhaps, the hope to return to the place where she once shined had been sleeping within her, in the depths of a great sea of memory; and Nozomi was now diving deeply into it. Or perhaps, somewhere, Nozomi had a mysterious power inside of her. In any case, Nozomi felt something like fate.

"Even like this..." Nozomi said, looking around her Secret Room. "Even like this, it hasn't changed at all since then, has it? Even though it's been close to 20 years since I've been here..."

She tilted her head, as if she felt something strange. After thinking for a little while, she took a look at the clock resting against an old pillar, and once again glanced over toward "ANOTHER STORY". The strange thing about that clock? It still told time quite precisely. It read 3:25. From the time that Nozomi had last glanced at it, it had ticked away nine more hours.

~End of Stage 1~

"Sounds like she had a good time in Elementary. Kind of jealous of her. I never liked school. Being around others who didn't want to understand you was one of the worst memories I had during my Elementary days. Even the teachers didn't care if you disappeared without a trace."

"I'm jealous of her as well. My memories of my childhood were a mess. I didn't have any friends in school and the teachers just ignored me. Hearing her story brings back those terrible memories..." She then came close to him and kissed his lips. "But enough about bad memories... you want to make good ones?"

Shiva looked at her and then kissed her back. He looked up and heard the Thunder boom outside the building. Lightning flashed outside of the Dining Room Patio Balcony.

"Well... the storm is going to continue on probably until the morning... At least the neighbors won't hear us. Shall we?"

He picked her up and took her to the bedroom, where he shut the door behind him. The next morning, the smell of fresh air after the rain crept into Aster's Bedroom through the open door to the Bedroom Patio Balcony. Aster slept in the bed while Shiva was in the shower. Upon getting out, he looked to see her still sleeping. The bedsheets left her upper body exposed. Wrapping a towel around him, he walked over to the bed and kissed Aster on the lips. He then pulled the sheets up to her shoulders.

As she slept, Shiva walked over to where his pants were and checked his pockets. While he was in the act, his Pager beeped, but he ignored it for the time. Now that he was awake, he pulled out the Pager. It had the message flash on the green screen: Prep done AO Meng Tao. He smiled.

"Preparations done... Awaiting Orders. Good job Meng Tao... I knew I could count on you. And Tiger still sees me as a green horn. Hmph. It's all going to plan. Hm Hm Hm Hm."

He put the pager back in his pocket and looked at the keys Aster had hanging on a corkboard near the bedroom door. One of them read Ninth floor key. He peeked over to her and quickly pulled out a small cigar case from his other pocket. Opening it showed a soft surface memory foam on both sides. He took the key and pressed it in by closing the case on it. He pulled it out and put the key back where he found it. As he heard Aster tossing, he smiled, put his pants on, and headed to the kitchen. It was time to make breakfast.

End of Chapter 3...

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Blackmail and Poker

~March 24, 1991~

Chinatown, Shiva's Dojo, 6 A.M...

(What's this?) A woman in a red qipao takes the package from a man wearing Red Kung Fu Attire. She looks at the man in front of her. (Meng Tao, Valentine's Day already past.) Note: Characters speaking in a different Language will have Parentheses around their dialogues. In this case, the characters at the Dojo are speaking in Cantonese)

(I assure you, Miss Typhoon, this isn't from me. As we were opening the Dojo, we found this outside.) He spoke unsure of what the package was.

(You think this is from Shiva's many adoring fans?) She asked with a chuckle. Tao shrugged his shoulders. Typhoon opens the box and removes its contents. Inside is a letter and a tape. (Tao, play this tape in the VCR. We need to know what's on this tape.)

(Yes. Ma'am.)

Tao took the tape and played the VCR. He walked back and leaned back onto the office desk. As Typhoon and Tao watched what was on the TV screen, Typhoon quickly stopped the tape and shut off the TV. She turned to look at Tao, who had the same look of horror on his face.

(HOLY SHIT! TAO! CALL LEUNG! SHIT JUST GOT REAL!)

30 minutes later...

Pink Typhoon exited her 1990 Jaguar and made her way back to the Dojo. She walked past the crowd of Ten men at Shiva's Grand Dojo scrambling to reach their Master.

(Shiva you idiot! How could you have been careless?) She whispered angrily as she headed to Tao's office.

The city wasn't fully awake and trouble was just starting. The Dojo just received a tape at 6 A.M. The Renovation for the Sento, which Shiva had means to reopen for sometime, had finally finished and was getting ready to fill with fresh hot water. Though what was suppose to be a tremendous day in Chinatown was about to turn ugly. The staff members surrounded Meng Tao, speaking over each other concerned about the package that came in. He then tried to calm the group down.

(Everyone stay calm! Panicking won't solve this. I just contacted my brother Leung and he is currently looking for him. Until we get an update, this doesn't leave the Dojo. Now then, Teachers! Get back to work! When 11 A.M. comes around, the students will be coming in! Let's go everyone! If anyone needs me, I'll be in my office. That is all.)

He walks away and closes a door behind him to discuss matters with Pink Typhoon.

(What did you find?) He asked as he looked at the letter closely.

(Yasha and Onihime contacted the spies on each block. They told me that one of our eyes saw a strange figure emerge from Central Woodoak during the storm last night and made their way to Walnut Groves Apartment Plaza. The eyes were stationed in the Apartment Plaza on Shiva's orders. According to their statements, the figure jumped the gate to get in. After two hours passed, they saw the same figure jump the gate, but this time with something in their right hand. Guess what they saw?)

(What did they spot?)

(A hooded person holding what looked like a Sony eight millimeter camcorder.)

(Oh great! A peeping tom! What could he want? You think it's money?)

(Maybe not. Yesterday, Shiva concluded that the meeting was a success with the Masters heading to the Orphanage during Hell Week. Whoever sent this video must be aware of that meeting. The package was delivered here for a reason.)

The phone rang, prompting Tao to pick it up. As the senior members investigated what was happening, the men started talking amongst themselves.

(Can't anyone get in contact with the Grandmaster?)

(Do you think he was killed by the Remnants of Arcana?)

(There's no way those losers could kill him that easily! Still that's not like him! Everything is ready to go. With the other Masters on board, we can finally bring both the CPA and the Remnants down once and for all.)

A man wearing traditional white Kung Fu attire came out of the duel area from hearing the commotion.

(What's this? What a shameful display! Meng Tao! I thought you had everything under control.) He shook his head. (Never leave a Green Horn in command of an army.)

The crowd turned around to see the man walking towards.

(Hakuyo! Help us! Shiva has disappeared and we've received a tape with a threating note!)

(Someone is trying to Blackmail Shiva into stepping down.)

(We don't know what's on the tape, but the note says that the perpetrator has copies ready to send to every known person Shiva talked to.)

Hakuyo gestured his hand to silence the crowd. As the noise died down, he placed both hands behind his back.

(So... someone wishes to challenge our Dojo? They must have a death wish. No one threatens Shiva and lives to tell the tale. Now then, do we know what's on the tape?)

The crowd looked at each other and then Meng Tao came out of his office.

(Hakuyo!)

Hakuyo approached Tao.

(Tao, what is going on? What is this tape the staff is talking about?)

Tao pulled Hakuyo to the side and let out a sigh of disappointment. He talked quietly to him.

(Someone recorded Shiva last night with a woman... engaging in sexual intercourse.)

(Does Shiva know anything about this?) He whispered.

(That's the problem. We haven't been able to reach him. However, I did request for someone to check the Traffic and Security cameras leading up to the Dojo. My brother Leung got in contact with one of our inside men for the Chinatown Police Department. From viewing the recordings, he received news about a hooded individual that approach the doorway of the Dojo delivering the package. The figure disappeared just as quickly as they appeared in capture view.)

(Bizarre... who would dare show the audacity to blackmail our Dojo? The Masters agreed on the storming of the Orphanage on top of Arcana Hill.)

Pink Typhoon walked out of the office.

(There's no way this is a coincidence. Someone is trying to divide us from within. The meeting yesterday must have been the catalyst for all of this to happen.)

One of the men spoke up.

(Hey! Do you think this is another under handed tactic by the CPA? Think about it. They stole from the Syndicate and now they're seeking to divide us. What if this is from a spy from their side?)

Hakuyo and Tao looked at the crowd as they started to look worried. Just then, Tao's mobile phone started to ring. He picked up the phone

(Leung? Are you there?) He gestured the men to calm down.

(Yes Brother Tao. I bring good news.)

(What did you find?) The men listened carefully as he spoke.

(Tell the men I found Shiva!)

(You found him? Where was he?) The group let out a sigh relieved that the Grandmaster was found.

(At Walnut Groves Apartment Plaza. He's with Miss Aster.)

(Miss Aster?) The group looked at each other curious of whose name they heard.

(The Librarian from the Central Woodoak Library. The reason he didn't answer back is because he found evidence that someone broke into Aster's apartment and was watching her.)

(Wait, there was a Voyeur with them last night? So that's how they were able to get the recording.)

(The intruder is long gone, but the fact that they disturbed her bedroom by planting a camera on the dresser with a pre-typed card is concerning. There's evidence that they used the fire escape ladder outside her balcony to leave after the recording was done. There's also signs of the intruder using the roof top to climb down into the Apartment using a grappling hook. The Grandmaster stayed with her to keep her safe. He suspects that the person who made the tape and the delivery person are working together. The break-in can't be a coincidence.)

(Oh that's great news! Men! Shiva's okay!) The men cheered from the news. (Is he with you right now?)

(Yes. We're heading to the Dojo right now.)

One hour ago...

Aster turned in her bed as the fresh rain air came in from the opened balcony door. As she opened her eyes and sat up, Shiva was coming into the room. He walked over to Aster and kissed her.

"Wake up. Good morning." Aster smiled from hearing his voice. "Breakfast is ready dear."

"I'll be in." He kissed her neck, causing her to yelp and giggle. "Please Lung, let me get dressed."

"Alright." He got up from the bed and headed to the kitchen. Aster walked over and grabbed her Barbizon Polyester white Nightgown and white robe to wrap herself in. Shiva spoke from the kitchen. "The Dojo doesn't open until 11 A.M. You think we can get in a quick morning tussle before heading to work?" As he said this, Aster looked at her dresser and saw a note. She looked at the note and her heart sank. She let out a scream, causing him to run to the bedroom. "What?! What's wrong?!"

She ran and hugged him.

"LUNG! SOMEONE WAS IN MY APARTMENT WATCHING US LAST NIGHT! THEY RECORDED US!"

"W-What?"

Aster sobbed as she handed him the note. He read the note and a flush of anger came onto his face.

"Oh no... how dare they?!"

"Lung, what are we going to do?"

He looked at her and he calmed down. He took her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Aster, try to stay calm. For now, let's eat breakfast first. While eating, I'll call Leung and ask for his help. I'll take you to the Dojo. Whoever did this is clearly a menace to society."

Shiva's Dojo, one hour later...

Shiva and Aster arrived at the Dojo with Leung driving behind Shiva's car. Getting out of his car, Leung quickly walked over to Shiva's car and opened the door for him and then over to Aster's side to do the same. As they walked inside, Aster walked behind Shiva and Leung to avoid the gaze of the men. They murmured to themselves.

(Is that the woman Shiva was with last night?)

(She better not be. He would have step down if that's the case. Shiva is not allowed to have a foreign wife. It's just Bianca waiting to happen all over again.)

As they walked through the crowd, the crowd cleared a way for Shiva, Leung, and Aster. The members bowed to Shiva.

"Welcome back Master." They said bowing with one hand over another in front of them.

Shiva gave a smile to the men as he passed them. The three continued towards the area of the dueling grounds. There they met with Tao, Typhoon, and Hakuyo. The three bowed to Shiva.

"Grandmaster." They said as they bowed towards him and he bowed back.

"Good morning everyone. It's good to see each and every one of you in good health." He then turned towards Aster. "Aster, I believe this is your first time to the Dojo."

"It's very beautiful and spacious, Shiva. It truly is the crown jewel of Chinatown."

"Come now. Meet the three I leave the Dojo in good hands with." He then turned to face his three commanders. "Tao, Typhoon, Hakuyo, this is Aster... the Storyteller."

Aster looked at them a with a gentle smile.

"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet all of you today. I hope this will be the start of a everlasting friendship for the Chinatown Grand Dojo and the Woodoak Orphanage."

Shiva turned to face Aster. He moved his right hand aside towards Tao.

"Aster, this is Meng Tao. He's Leung's brother and one of the teachers I have teach Kempo in my absence. He's also my tactician in defending the Dojo during Hell Week."

"Hello Miss Aster. It is a pleasure to meet you at last. Your stories are legendary among the youth. I'm happy to meet you in person... Storyteller." Tao said giving Aster a gentle bow.

Shiva turned to face Hakuyo.

"Aster, this is Hakuyo. Hakuyo is from China. He trained at the 4000 year old Shaolin Temple before he came here. He is the lead Commander of the Dojo in my absence."

"I met Shiva two years back during the World Martial Arts Championship in 1989. Since fighting him, I wished to learn more of how he was able to best me back then. So I came here to help out in Chinatown. I have learned much since coming to America. Those who would dare drag the name of Shiva through the mud will feel my wrath before they have a chance to meet Shiva. Let our meeting be one of peace Storyteller... for the Dojo and the Orphanage's sake."

Shiva then turned to face Typhoon.

"Aster, this is Miss Yang Li-Tsing. She is who the students address as Pink Typhoon. She is one of the last Veteran teachers from the days of Bertram Mullen and Johan Rodger, Black Bird and Godhand respectively. She leads the women's Martial Arts classes and leads Reconnaissance to see if the gangs are getting too close to the Dojo."

"After Shiva had the Rehabiliation Program closed, I stayed to teach many of my girls the way of Shiva's new Dojo. My best students, Yasha and Onihime, are the greatest contributors to the Grand Dojo's success on how just as dangerous women can be compared to their male counterparts. Know this, Miss Aster, you may be Shiva's lover, but don't ever let any man tell you that your place in life is in the kitchen." She said flashing a glare at Shiva, making him look away in shame.

Aster's ears perked up from hearing the assertive tone from Typhoon and took notice of how she even made Shiva uneasy.

"Oh wow. I guess there's truth in that one fact that sniper shared with me when I traveled to Iraq during the the second Iraq-Kurdish war. I may have been lucky to have escaped that conflict, but the memories of so much suffering remains."

"What is that fact you speak of?"

"Two thirds of the world's best assassins in history were women. Said sniper also told me that women make better soldiers than men, claiming they could never finish what they start... though that changed when I recently heard that she was killed by a man. I hope she found peace... where ever she is now."

"Hmm. Interesting. Miss Aster, you are quite the story teller indeed. Though, you are few of the people I talk to and feel interest in talking to. Why is that?"

"Oh... I guess it could be... You remind of one woman I met on my travels before I came here. She is what the people of her home call the Blue Jade. She was definitely terrifying... in a beautiful tranquil fury kind of... way."

"What was her name?"

"Chun-Li. She's pretty and kindhearted, but I learned the hard way why everyone warned me too late to avoid being on the receiving end of her kicks. When they showed a video of the fight that went down, I wondered to myself how the hell I survived those attacks. I should have been dead... yet I lived. A person with thighs that big could fully shatter a person's spine in three seconds. It took me three months in the ICU to recover from that. Still, I'm grateful for her saving me from the Killer Bees. What a miserable existence."

"Hm Hm Hm..." Typhoon said curious.

"Huh?"

"The way the youth described you was that of a kind old lady that had traveled to many parts of the world. You, however, sound as if you could be much older than the character you show yourself as to the youth."

"Older? Well, if I was older, how old would I be in your eyes?"

"Over 100."

Aster's eyes opened up shocked. She didn't say anything else after that, but her thoughts raced.

100? No... that old king... King Psalm... what did he tell me before I was sent on this exhausting journey... I think the name of the trial... what was it? Ah! That's right! The 1000 year trial. I'm not 100... I'm... more than that?

Shiva looked at Aster then snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Aster?" She blinked and shook her head. "You okay?"

"Oh... yes. My apologies. I was lost in my own thoughts."

"Was it something I said?" Typhoon asked in a concerned tone.

"No such matter. I was just... thinking... about how long I had been traveling. But I digress." She looked at Shiva. "Shiva, shall we look into this matter before getting Law Enforcement involved?"

"Of course. The office is this way. Leung, show her the way."

"Yes sir."

As Aster walked away with Leung, Tao, and Hakuyo, Shiva turned to speak to Typhoon.

"Is she serious?"

"I didn't sense any indication of a lie in her voice... though something disturbs me about what she said. The second Iraq-Kurdish war happened in 1974 to 1975."

"But that can't be right! Wouldn't she have been a young child back then? I mean, she seems close to my age. But when you brought up 100, she didn't seemed offended. She looked... as if she got caught."

"Be on your guard Shiva. This isn't going to be like that small time amateur thief that was a pain in the Dojo's neck. Rimayes Errata was persistent in trying to steal from the Dojo, but this matter is one that can't be taken lightly. If she is the reason why the Syndicate is struggling to take out the CPA, then that would mean-"

"I know... Mr. X could be in greater danger than we anticipated. However, if we can get her on our side and dissolve the CPA, then it would bring Mr. X closer to the presidency. Think about it... having someone like her on the Syndicate's side would make us the most powerful force in the world. All those experiences and skills... if I could bring her to our side, Chinatown would be elevated as the most respected District in Woodoak all thanks to our efforts."

"Your efforts... you met her first. I may be loyal to the rules of Shiva, but if your relationship with her helps puts Chinatown onto the map of Woodoak, then I will accept your bond with her. But do be careful."

"I will. Come on. They're waiting for us."

Shiva's office...

Shiva and Aster wait for the police to arrive to view the tape sitting on the desk. Tao and Typhoon came in with Hakuyo. Hakuyo gave a polite bow. Shiva then spoke.

"One hour ago, Miss Aster here received a threatening note while my Dojo was targeted in my absence. So... what do we know?"

Typhoon crossed her arms.

"The timing of this couldn't be a coincidence. Someone followed you yesterday with the intent to harm your status. The tape delivered to the Dojo was made using a Sony eight millimeter camcorder. Whoever planned this must have a high status to afford this much equipment and help."

Tao handed the note to Shiva.

"We haven't figured out who the mysterious person is that wrote this. What we do know is that the letter Miss Aster received and the letter the tape came in were typed up using a Panasonic Processor Typewriter."

Hakuyo handed photos to Shiva from the traffic cameras.

"Traffic Cams caught this strange hooded figure heading to Walnut Groves Plaza and then another to one of the alley ways before appearing in front of the Dojo."

Shiva pondered from hearing the news.

"This could be a prelude to a larger attack on the Dojo... and only six days before Hell Week begins. If the Remnants of Arcana are responsible, then they're aim could be to somehow retake what is now Arcana Hill from Mariana Trenches. If this is from the CPA, then the spies deployed are seeking to weaken Mr. X to the point that it will make it easy to kill him."

Hakuyo then looked at the tape.

"What if one of the members of the Dojo are the ones responsible for this? This could hurt your position as Second of Command."

Aster spoke up.

"But who could remove the current Shiva without fighting him? In order for a new Shiva to rise up, the rules state that the challenger has to win in a fight against the current Shiva... right?"

Typhoon looked at the letters.

"Usually... however, if they're looking to get the citizens of Chinatown riled up to riot, then that could be the end goal. If a riot took off, Shiva and all associated with him would be driven out of Chinatown by force. This could be troublesome, especially since that one event is coming up." She looked at Shiva. "Grandmaster, the meeting at the abandoned Gamma Mega Theater is this week. Are you still planning on attending it?"

"Attending the Summit would allow Mr. X to run out the last of the Remnants of Arcana and the CPA in one shot. Under the guidance of Ismael Rivera leading the Deadly Five, we can wipe out their forces in case dissolving the CPA is taken off the table. Antonio, Souther, Abedede, and Bongo are ready and willing. They want Ismael to lead the first attack. With the gangs all in order under the Syndicate, the Remnant scum will seize to exist and the CPA will be finished. The Deadly Five will go forth in Hell Week with Mr. X and I's blessings and power behind them."

Leung entered the room.

"Pardon me, Mr. Shiva. You have a phone call." Leung hands Shiva a mobile phone and then walks over next to his brother Tao. He politely bows as Shiva heads outside. "My apologies, Miss Aster. You must have looked forward to a glorious morning had not for these events to unfold so soon."

Aster shook her head.

"Oh it's okay Leung. I knew somehow Shiva must have had many enemies, but now the bigger question is... who would try to Blackmail the Dojo and even the Orphanage?"

Typhoon walked over and sat down next to Aster.

"If you're being targeted, it means the attack could be coming from a disgruntled employee. Do you know anyone from the Orphanage who would wish to do you harm?"

"I'm not sure. Some of the adults that are rehabilitated are glad to be able to get their lives right to put their past behind them. Of course, most of the adults working at the Orphanage as well as the Rehabilitation Treatment Center and the Campus are women. The men we have there are either guarding the wall that protects the property or they're teacher, coaches, and janitors at the school campus. The only ones who wouldn't have approved of the Orphanage from the very beginning would probably be the other Dojo Masters Shiva is working with."

Hakuyo then walked over and leaned his body into the desk.

"Why would the Masters want to Target both Shiva and you? They agreed to help the Orphanage. What would they gain in removing the both of you?"

"If Shiva gets removed, the position would become a Free-For-All Battle. As for me, if the Orphanage is closed, Mr. X could go forward in turning it into a Brothel as originally intended. I fear, however, that the other buildings will be used for something more sinister. I know that some of the Masters are married, but you don't think they would approve of a Brothel in Chinatown, would you? Especially if it's in plan view where school children can see it."

Tao looked at the Map of Woodoak on the Office wall.

"The Masters had a majority of Chinatown requesting for the demolition of Arcana Mansion. However, because they couldn't gather enough funds for the cost of demolition and cleaning up the rubble after demolition, they gave up."

"Wait a minute, Tao." Leung turned to his brother. "What about the Four Most Powerful Families in Chinatown? Do you think they would target bother Mr. Shiva and Miss Aster for any reason?"

"NO!" Aster yelled as she jumped out of her chair and then quickly covered her mouth. She closed her eyes and took her hand off her mouth to clinch her hand nervously. "That's not possible! The Wai Clan disappeared four years ago after Miss Wai, the Matriarch, died. But the other families..." She then slowly sat back down concerned. "Chao's friends must have heard of the fallout that happened at the Chinatown Police Station. Could they have done this?"

Hakuyo turned his head curious to Aster's actions.

"Miss Aster..." He said smiling. "You sound like you know this family well. It's rare to hear from those with connections to the wealthy. Why don't you tell us about it?"

"Oh!" She shook her head in a depressed manner. "I knew of them. I dated someone from the Wai Clan years ago, but they left after the Matriarch's death. I wish I could be of more assistance."

Shiva then came inside.

"Excuse me? Typhoon, Hakuyo, Tao, and Leung! The police are here. I need to speak with you in private. Aster, wait here. This is urgent."

The four called by Shiva walked outside to speak with him. Aster quickly dug into her bag and pulled out a mobile phone. She dialed on it and listened for the voice on the other line. She then heard a man's voice.

"Hello?"

"Max?"

"Aster? You okay?"

"I'm fine. Though, I won't be able to return to the Hill for sometime. Listen, I need you to follow these instructions carefully. Are you up to it?"

"Of course. What did you find?"

"Shiva is going to attend the Summit at the old abandoned Gamma Mega Theater. I need you to make contact with Blaze and reel this information to Adam and Axel. The police needs a Special Task Force as this could become one of the most bloodiest nights in Woodoak's history. Ishmael Rivera is ordering for a City wide Truce from all gangs. Even the Deadly five."

"I'll try Aster, but there's another matter I need to ask you."

"I'm listening."

~September 19, 1987~

Walnut Groves Apartment Plaza, Garden Room, 9 P.M...

"Read 'em and weep boys! Royal straight Flush!" Aster sat at a large round glass table in the massive Garden Room of Walnut Groves Apartment Plaza. Three men threw down their cards as Aster gathered up the cash on the table as well as three keys. As she was about to drop her winnings into a sports bag with a faded scribble of Adam Hunter's name, she looked at the keys. She picked up one of the keys labelled 5-5 and dangled it to one of the men. "Mr. French, I believe you owe me a tour of this legendary Apartment of your's."

"Framton's actually. Sorry pal." The man in a red flannel said shrugging his shoulders to Framton, who was wearing a grey shirt.

"God damn it. Hannibal is going to be pissed... but I'm not worried because I have two extra houses, one for my family and the other a vacation home. This apartment was from my brother to hide my mistress, but I don't have a choice. I got to break the news to him and dump her because we can't come back here... but seriously! Where the hell did this girl get those skills from? French, where did you find her?"

"Actually, she found me. As it turns out, she answered the advert I put down on the Kiosk job bulletin out in Central Woodoak Park. Didn't think nuthin' of it at the time. Figure she was lookin' for a good poker game. So... I invited her over."

Another older man, dark skinned, chuckled as he gathered the cards to shuffle them.

"Careful French. Someone with her skills could become a future threat to our game... and from her poker face, my guess is that cards aren't the only thing she cuts."

"Is that so? I got my eye on you Missy! You better not cut anything but cards when you're here. French! Bridges! Watch your backs! There's something fishy about this one." Framton said wagging his finger at her.

Bridges gently tapped his hand on Aster's right shoulder.

"Oh don't listen to him, Miss Aster. He's just grumpy because he's got to break the bad news to his brother Hannibal. Hannibal's got quite the temper... worse than everyone in this very room. Even him."

"Piss off Bridges and no, that is not what I'm stressed about. I'm more stressed over Ginny. Gotta dump her no thanks to this newbie here. However, breaking off with Ginny was long over due... for obvious reasons. The main reason is no more places to fool around in. I blame Mr. X for the recent price hikes on the Hotels in the city. All of that stuff is expensive now, so I can't book a room anymore. Screw that guy. The second... Well..."

French got up from his chair and turned on all the lights in the Garden Room.

"Well that was a good game fellas. Wanna give this lovely lady a tour of where each key goes?"

"You already have my apartment key French. So why don't you show her?" Framton said leaning on his chair.

"Err what about the van?" French looked at Framton concerned as Bridges did.

"That gas chamber? She can have it. I was never crazy about Dodge Caravans anyway." He then let out a chuckle and pointed at Aster. "By the way, girly, I would stand far back when you open that door. That is, if you don't want to puke on your pretty little shoes."

"Ha! She hasn't seen the inside of the apartment, if ya have to warn her, Framton."

"Yeah... Ginny has a... problem with shopping at Thrift stores. Half the apartment is... oh what the hell... heh heh heh." Framton gets up and walks to the door. "Why should I worry when I got an annoying heifer back at home with five annoying brats? Give her the tour you two. Also, watch for needles when you get in! Ginny's sons weren't Angels! That's all. I'll be at Barbon's place. Later! Ha ha ha ha!"

Framton lights his cigarette with his lighter, opens the door, and leaves. As the door shuts close, French spat into a steel bucket next to the door. He then grabbed an empty trash bag and then a broom with a dust pan. While he swept, Aster wiped down the wooden chairs with a rag and a vinegar-water mix spray. Bridges put the empty beer bottles in the trash bag.

"Framton really should know better than to piss off Hannibal. Especially since Hannibal forsook the ways of Arcana for the ways of the Syndicate. Though it's a pity he can't see the writing on the wall. Mighty shame!"

Bridges picked up the bottles on the table while setting the cards aside.

"Yeah well, the pace he's going... it's only a matter of time until someone does him in. Haha!"

"Gwahaha! Ya right on that one. Ya think he'll be dead at the Strip Club he runs?"

"Not even. He ain't that bright. Could be Bloomcaster Point Beach. Place is a dumping ground for trash. If you make enemies, people will know you're garbage when they found your body there."

Aster then sprayed and wiped the glass table.

"Sounds like Framton must have picked a fight with someone dangerous."

"Ya god damn right on that, Miss. Being a Remnant, he should know better. There's barely any Remnants of Arcana left. Though there are those wit money, there are more of the Syndicate members these days than the original founders. And knowin' the Syndicate, the murders will probably remain unsolved for decades. But enough of that! Alrighty! No one can complain about the mess in the Garden Room. Now then, which would ya like to see first, Miss Aster?"

"Let's check out the Apartment and then the van. Bridges, I'll let you give me a tour of your 1987 Mitsubishi Galant hatchback for last."

"Now what makes my car so special that it needs to be saved last?" Bridges asked confused.

"I got a bad feeling about what Framton said to me. If I check out his apartment and van first, then I can assess how bad it's going to be from what he warned me about."

"Okay. Ready French?" Bridges asked French who opened the door leading to the main lobby of the Main Building.

"You bet I am."

One hour later...

Aster pukes into a trash can next to a street lamp in the plaza. She writhes as French pats her back and Bridges laughs as he grabs the garden hose.

"Oh... OH GOD! THE VAN! THE VAN! IT SMELLS LIKE A DRIVE THRU... Urk... mixed with... BURNT SOCKS! And the apartment... OH GOD WHY?!"

Aster had tears rolling down her eyes in immense pain as she coughed. Bridges walks over to her after cleaning the bottom of his shoes with a garden hose.

"Sorry... forgot to warn you that Ginny turned the van into a trash can. Framton had means to get it detailed, but never cared enough to get it clean. Then again, he did buy that van for her, so what does that tell you about him?"

"How awful! Framton is cheating on his wife with... with... A HOARDER!" She wiped her mouth with a clean paper towel. "The apartment is halfway filled with women's clothes! THE OTHER HALF IS TRASH! That Apartment is a living nightmare! All four toilets have been clogged for God only knows how long, the fridge needs to go because of the spoiled food inside, the ceiling and walls need repair, and Heroine needles litter the sitting room area. It's going to take me a few days to clear that out the clothes and trash... but it could take longer to restore the apartment back to its livable form. I think a special team may have to be called to finish the job. Why didn't anyone tell me about Ginny being an absolute slob?"

"That's easy! YOU NEVER ASKED! HAHAHA!" Bridges said clapping his hands.

French shook his head as Aster sat down on a bench and sprayed her shoes and wiped them. She then walks over to a hose and sprays her feet with water and wipes it with a dry towel.

"Okay that's enough teasin' Bridges. Now that the worst is over, give her a tour of ya car."

"Sure. I assure you Miss Aster that at least I kept my car clean."

"What are ya talkin' about? Ya just bought that car a few weeks ago." French said casually, catching Aster off guard.

"What? The car is new?!" Aster asked putting her cleaned shoes back on

Bridges smiled as he guided her over to it at the Ancient Parking Structure.

"It's my sixth car. Thanks to my nice retirement as CEO of three decades at the Nomenclature Bank, I've taken up collecting cars as a hobby and traveling to car shows."

He then showed her a metallic blue car not far from the van in the Parking Structure. Aster walked over to it amazed.

"Oh Bridges it's beautiful. Now I feel bad at winning this from you."

"It's alright Miss. You won it fair and square. In truth, I was going to use this for going on dates, but there's one problem. I read recently that Corvettes are in for men my age. So this car is only going to be for grocery shopping. Still... if only Sergant Hunter could see me now. Bridges the lady's man is still kicking it! Haha... ha..."

"Wait a minute... Sergant Hunter?" Aster recalled seeing the guest room Adam had her tour and remembered seeing a frame holding a neatly folded flag on the wall next to a black and white photo of a man in a uniform. Is Bridges an old friend to the Hunter family? She thought upon hearing his words. "Umm... What's wrong Bridges?"

"It's been 13 years since my pal was sent to the Vietnam War. He only had one more year left and he could have left and returned to his family... but that was a war our country shouldn't have gotten involved in. Poor man died stepping on a landmine. Left behind his wife and two sons. His wife was recently sent to a Senior home for medical care. So the only ones left at his house are his two sons Adam and Sammy. I wish I could go over and talk to them, but I couldn't do enough to save my old friend... when the draft came for him."

"Bridges..."

French spoke up as he cleaned his shoes with the spray.

"Let it go Bridges... Ya know I was apart of Hunter's unit. I doubt he'd want ya to continue frettin' over the past. For now, we need to live for the present. Times becomin' more turbulent. Need to be ready for the worse."

"You're right. Aster, with this car, I want you to drive it safely and be mindful of your surroundings. Use your time wisely when going to Mr. X's District. There's been an increase of gangs across Woodoak, the largest ones in Woodoak being the Deciphers. They reside in Mr. X's District. So watch where you take Mitzi, okay? That's the name I gave her."

"I will. Thank you Mr. Bridges."

"If you run into trouble, there's a pistol in the glove compartment with two ammo boxes. Use them wisely."

"Wait bridges! I don't have a license for the pistol nor the cars! Won't I get into trouble with the police?"

"That..." He smiled as he cleaned his shoes. "Is now your problem Miss."

She shook her head annoyed as the men put their shoes back on sitting on the bench with her.

"Why do I feel like I played myself?"

He and French started to chuckle. French slapped his own knee while holding the vinegar-water spray.

"We're playin'! We're playin'! But ya pretty good at the game. Tell ya what? I'll help ya out. Got a pal at the Motor Division who can help ya get a license with a back door deal, but ya have to be quick. The police have been crackin' down on back door deals at the MVD. Otherwise, he can't register ya secretly into the system."

"Sounds like I'm playing with fire there, Mr. French."

"Don't worry about it. I'll call him tomorrow. Ya better be ready to come in to make a payment. It'll cost ya 100 in cash, but it'll fast track ya so ya won't have to do the driving test. Ya do know how to drive right?"

"Uhh yeah. I was a drifter before I came here I believe."

"Alright then! Now let's see. Ya got 2000 from the game tonight as well as an apartment and two vehicles. Pay 100 to my bud Charlie and he'll contact his pals to get ya a license into the system and place you on the Passed list for the driving test. As for the other 1900, I'll have to find someone to clean the apartment and change the locks. Ya may need to find a dealer that can detail the van and get registered for a gun license. You should be set after that. Though, I'll be expecting rent two months from now. Once I call Hannibal to let him stop making payments and cancels the lease, ya'll be the new owner of 5-5."

"I'll be sure to get payments in. Thank you Mr. French."

"Don't mention it. Truth is, Framton brings in the big cash for these games, but he's a piece of shit. Glad to have kicked him and his Mistress to the curb to get 5-5 back. Don't look forward to talkin' to his brother though. They may be on different sides of the fence, but they're still equally dangerous. Hannibal is the Second in Command to Souther, a dangerous criminal who runs the most deadly gang in the Dilapidated Town.

If ya travel to the Dilapidated Town, here's some advice... DO NOT GO INTO THE DILAPIDATED TOWN! Souther and his gangs will cut ya up! If not them, the Motherless will get ya first. So be careful. Anyhow, gotta get some sleep. Goodnight Miss Aster. Night Bridges!"

They waved at French as he went into the apartment entrance. They then heard a chime from the Clock tower in the center of the Apartment Plaza. Bridges looked up at the clock. They stand in front of the Galant in the Parking Structure.

"Oh it's ten already! Well Miss Aster it's getting late. You want me to give you a ride?"

"I can always call a cab if you want Bridges."

"Nonsense. You don't want to be in a cab nor a bus when the sun sets. There's also the train, but that's a bigger risk as the gangs use the transit to travel across Woodoak. Sometimes the newbies behind the wheel, bus or cab, pull over to be good Samaritans. Depending on the District you're traveling to, you don't want them to stop. You can get killed by gangs ambushing you if you end up with those kind of drivers. I'll help you out. Where do you live?"

"Oh... uh... I... I live with Adam Hunter."

"What? You're kidding right? Why didn't you tell me this?"

"Let me think... you never asked." He looked at her annoyed while she looked back equally annoyed. "I wish I was kidding, but I'm not. I'm actually the babysitter he hired for his daughter and little brother-"

"Daughter?! Adam's a father now?"

"Yes... unfortunately, his wife passed away from giving birth to his daughter on April 30th 1986. His daughter's name is Cherry."

"Cherry... that's right. Adam always loved Bonsai trimmings... got that from his father's love of visiting Japan. Wait... are you sure you want me to drive you? What if he doesn't want me to come in?"

"If you're a good friend, then he'll want you to visit. Come on. I'll let you two catch up."

"Well... if you insist. Oh what the hell? Hop on in."

Aster climbed into the car as Bridges stepped into the driver's seat. Upon starting the car, Bridges drove the car out of the parking lot. Past the Market Place, outside of the Pine Pot, Aster sees an Asian man bleeding from his head with dirty clothes running from what appears to be four men wielding pipes being lead by Framton. Bridges shook his head from seeing such a sight.

"No way I'm getting myself involved with that."

Aster turned around to see the men surround the injured man.

"Bridges pull over!"

"Nuh uh! You going to get us killed."

"He's going to die Bridges! We got to help him!"

"You lost your mind?! Those are Remnants of Arcana! You're going to get us both killed!" She then swung the glove compartment upon and grabbed the loaded pistol. She aimed it at Bridges. He looked at her in disbelief and then anger. "Oh you did not just go there."

"PULL OVER!"

Bridges stops the car as Aster jumps out and runs towards the group attacking the man. Bridges, reluctant, jumps out and chases her. As the men ambush the man, Framton, drunk, yells slurs and insults at the injured man. Seeing him, Aster takes the pistol and fires, missing Framton's head but causing the men to stop and turn around.

"FREEZE!" The injured man covers his head and then turns to see a mid height woman in a green Oppyraway dress holding the loaded pistol. "FRAMTON! STEP AWAY FROM THE MAN! YOU AND YOUR PALS! NOW!"

Framton looks at her with a lit cigarette in his mouth and threw it at the wall next to him.

"You got some nerve shooting at me girl! You already have my apartment and the God damn van! What more do you want?!"

"Correction! I have your BROTHER'S apartment and YOUR Mistress' van that YOU paid for! Now listen up! Do you want you and your friends to die that badly? If no, then step away from him. I already called the cops. They'll be arriving here shortly. If you value your lives, then clear out!"

The men gave her a menacing look as they then took off running. Framton flashed her a glare as he quickly ran off. Bridges yelled at Framton.

"YOU ARE NOW BANNED FROM PLAYING POKER WITH US, FRAMTON, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Bridges ran up to her furious. "YOU CRAZY BITCH! YOU COULD HAVE GOT US BOTH KILL!"

She gave the gun back to Bridges and ran over to the injured man.

That bluff about calling the cops was risky, but I guess it worked out! Didn't have a mobile phone on me, but it scared them off. Now then, let's tend to the injured.

"Are you alright?" Aster says kneeling down to look at him.

The man, shaken, looks around and sees that the men are gone. His glasses were broken and his jacket was torn. His forehead was bleeding and his right arm had a bone sticking out. He nods to let her know that he's safe.

"Y-Yes. T-Thank you."

Aster looks at Bridges, who sighs from what she did.

"I am getting too old for this shit." He walks over to Aster, who lifts the man to his feet. "Well Aster... what now?"

"We better get him to the hospital. He broke his arm during the attack. Can you help us Bridges?"

"Alright... but you better pay his medical bill."

She nodded quietly. The injured man then looked at Aster and gave a gentle smile.

"You are very brave. Thank you."

"Oh you're welcome. Are you going to be alright Mister..."

"Liang... Wai Liang. Thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome, Liang. Are you going to be okay Liang?"

"I'll be okay. Just need to call my nephew Lung and let him know where I am."

"Okay. Come on. We better get your injuries treated."

As she walked over to the car, Bridges sighed and shook his head.

"This is going to be one hell of a night."

End of Chapter 4...

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: ATTACK OF THE BARBARIANS

~September 20, 1987~

Hunter Residence, 5 A.M...

In a quiet urban neighborhood, a four bedroom home is about to get a rude awakening. The sky turns into a dark shade of blue, indicating that dawn will soon be upon Woodoak. In the Master bedroom, Adam sleeps in his king size bed with Cherry's crib not far from the master bedroom. Cherry, wearing a light blue onesie with white socks, is already standing up in her crib looking around the room. Adam snores away wearing a white T-shirt with white boxers on his bed with half the bedsheets off him. Next to his bed is the night stand with the lamp, a book framed photo, and his Trimline telephone. In the book framed photo is him smiling with Sammy and a pregnant woman under a Gazebo in Central Woodoak Park. The photo in the second half is that of Adam holding Cherry with Sammy next to him. While sleeping, his AT&T Trimline telephone next to the bed starts to ring. Adam rustles from his slumber and quickly grabs the phone. Groggy, he answers.

"Hello?"

He wipes his eyes and turns to look at Cherry awake and standing in her crib looking back at him with a smile on her face. He listens with his eyes close.

"Adam. It's Aster. I'm at Central Woodoak Hospital." A somber voice replies to him.

Adam quickly springs up. His heart racing as he remembered the night he, Blaze, and Axel saw her outside of the Hunter Residence.

"What? Aster, what happened?!" He cried out as sweat comes down the side of his head.

"It's okay. I'm safe. I'm with a man I managed to rescue from an attack last night. He's waiting for his nephew to come pick him up." Adam exhales a sigh of relief, knowing she is okay. She continues. "I'm here talking to him with Bridges and-"

Adam's eyes widen from hearing what Aster was sharing.

"Whoa! Aster! Slow down. What are you doing with Bridges at the hospital?"

"Oh... you know him? Huh... so he was telling the truth... I digress. Um... I was on my way home when... look. Can you just come to the hospital? It's a long story."

He placed his hand over his eyes to try to wake himself up. He then took his hand off his face and slammed a closed fist on his bed, a frown now present and the tone of his voice raised.

"Where the hell have you been?! I warned you that being out on the streets past 9 P.M. is dangerous, Aster. Did you take the bus home, ride the train, or were you in a cab? Also, how did you meet Bridges?!"

"It was... sheer coincidence. I can explain-"

"Man you better explain yourself. Almost gave me a heart attack in front of Cherry." He responded in a stern tone looking back at his young daughter.

"I will. Can you come to the Hospital? I'll be waiting for you in room 3B."

"Okay. I'm going to get dressed and wake up Sammy. It'll take time because I have to tend to Cherry first and then page Axel and Blaze to call me back. Got to meet with them because they don't have a ride. I don't trust the bus stops nor cab services anymore. Too many ambush spots for gangs these days. Especially during Hell Week. Bear with me. Alright?"

"Okay. Be careful Adam."

"YOU be careful. Also, don't let Bridges leave. I have some questions to ask him."

"I will. I'm heading to 3B. Just bought some flowers. See you then." She finished with a somber and defeated tone.

"Bye Aster."

Adam hangs up the phone. He then turns towards the doorway and sees Sammy walk in. Sammy wipes his eyes trying to wake up. He's wearing a Pajama set with a bright orange color.

"Man... What was that? A prank call?"

Adam turns to see Sammy walk in and stands up to look outside.

"Sammy, get dressed and grabbed the keys to the Camaro. It's Aster. She's at the hospital." He said almost releasing a yawn.

"Again? What happened?" Sammy said as he looks at a curious Cherry in her crib.

"I'm not sure... but Bridges is involved." He said looking out the window at his father's Maroon 1969 Chevrolet Camaro.

Sammy's eyes widen from hearing the name.

"Oh crap... not him again. I thought we were done with that guy!"

"I know. Sammy, get dressed and eat breakfast. I got to get Cherry ready and contact Axel and Blaze. God dammit Aster. What did you get yourself into this time?" Adam opened the night stand next to the bed and grabbed a Motorola Pager out. He then closed the drawer as the sun rose outside, flooding the room with light.

Central Woodoak City Hospital, 6 A.M...

Aster walks down the hall to a room with an open door. She recently bought flowers from the flower shop near the main entrance of the Hospital. As she walked, some older male patients would turn their heads to see her walk by and eyed her surprised but happy to see her. Aster looked away nervous and sighed as she continued down the hallway.

Blaze has a good heart... She thought. But I was not aware that the cheap dresses she bought for me had such a... salacious reputation no thanks to the company's Lingerie origins. I get that they were on Clearance at the discount shops close by, but I wouldn't have mind a simple summer dress. Oppyraway dresses paired with these sandals are fashionable as well as functional to wear, but the impression in catching a man while wearing semi modest clothes that shape out the curves... bothers me. I am NOT that kind of girl. Please don't think of me that way.

Aster let a sigh of relief when she sees the room sign reading 3B. Inside the room is Bridges sitting in a green cushioned chair talking to Liang, who is sitting up in his hospital bed. Liang is wearing a hospital gown with a white cast on his broken arm and dressing around his forehead. His broken glasses sit next to him with cut medical tape holding them together. As she walks to the door next to the sign reading 3B, she pushes it open to see the two men kindly conversing.

"That's how I lost an intense poker game as well as Mitzi. So long story short, don't judge a book by it's cover. But I got the last laugh! Didn't buy any seat covers yet, so that all falls on her to care for the car now! Haha!"

"Does she have her driver license? Lung got his last month. He isn't happy about it."

"No she does not and why is he unhappy? Now that he can drive, he'll have plenty of time to pick up chicks after work. Is he upset because he was hoping for his own car to drive?"

"Nah it's my wife. She doesn't like driving, so she makes him drive her. Don't help that her father treated her like a princess before I married her."

"Oh no... so let me understand... he gained the freedom to drive and turned into a free chauffeur at the same time?"

"Yes! Yes! He's a chauffeur now! All at the age of 18!"

"Oh no! Hahahaha! Poor bastard!" Bridges then takes notice to Aster. "Hey Aster! Wow! Beautiful bouquet! Liang! You sly dog! You movin up in life if your getting flowers from pretty women."

"Oh no! Don't say that! My wife would kill me! Hahaha!" Aster sat the bouquet next to him. "Oh thank you Aster. Such pretty flowers."

Aster gave a gentle smile as she went to sit down in another green cushioned chair. She put both hands on the back of her waist to check on the skirt of the dress. She ran it down her butt to make sure it was staying in place so she doesn't show her underwear. Reassured that the dress was as it should be, she sat down.

"You're welcome Liang. I'm glad you love them. I see the painkillers have kicked in. How's your arm?"

"Hm the doctor said the issue with my arm was easy to put back together. Don't like that I have to take painkillers, but I got to get to work after my stay is done."

Aster looked at him taken aback from his response.

"What? Aren't you going to file a police report? You almost died last night."

"Even if I did file a report, police response would take too long. Plus, I got to get to work after this. Got to man the register."

"Have you heard back from Lung?"

"Eh knowing Jie she probably has him opening the shop up before he can come pick me up. It's going to take some time."

"I don't understand. Can't your wife drive up and come see you while Lung tends to the shop?"

"I wish. Jie doesn't like Lung. I don't know why she acts like this, but she sees Lung like a servant. He's my nephew, so he's family. I don't have any kids right now. Recently, Jie and I have been struggling to have children. She had a miscarriage not too long ago and I have been helping her to the best of my ability. So right at this moment, I am raising Lung to be like a son to me. It's what my brother would have wanted for him."

"You have a brother? Where is your brother Liang?"

"Oh... well..."

Aster's smile faded when she realized what was happening.

"He's gone isn't he?" She looked down ashamed of what she had asked.

"My brother Huo... he and his wife Wu Na... they passed not long ago. Lung was only 12 when he heard of their passing. He's a good kid. I try to raise him like his father would have wanted... but with trying to start a family and keep up with other family matters... it's been difficult."

"Liang..."

"I'm proud of Lung. Smart kid. Five PhDs, can talk 15 different languages, attended University at the age of 14 and graduated with highest honors this year. He's 18 now."

"Oh wow... That's quite the feat." She looked at how surprised.

"My elderly mother is looking for the perfect wife for him. Now that the hardest part of his education is done, she figures he can make room and start a family now."

"Isn't he a little young though? Why not wait for him to decide where he wants to take his career first? I mean, he does have a stable job right?"

"Well yes... but I'm his employer. My mother is getting old. She wants to see her great grandchildren first and then have her grandchildren take over the family business. My brother Huo didn't like the way she guided the family. So he stayed in Hong Kong and married his longtime sweetheart. My mother didn't approve of her. I fell in love once, but I ended up marrying Jie to strengthen the bonds in Chinatown's four powerful families."

Bridges leaned into his right hand.

"Oh man... you're apart of that group? I feel sorry for you. Sounds like your mother is a control freak Liang."

"Oh I wouldn't call her that." Liang gave a nervous smile, but Aster looked at him concerned. "She just wants the family to go far so that my late father can rest, knowing his family will be okay. The way I see it, when she is ready to go, she'll know that everything she did wasn't in vain."

"Okay then, what kind of women is Lung into? Shouldn't be too hard to find his kind of his preference." Bridges asked interested in Lung's taste.

"That... is the problem. Lung looks... tired. I think he's been working too hard to notice any nice women around him. Even worse, he's been butting heads with his cousin Chao again whenever we stop by my mother's mansion. Chao and his friends... Cao Jia, Gu Song, and Fu Xue..." Liang sighed worried. "Those kids are a terrible influence on Chao. They started a rumor that Lung prefers men."

"Does he?" He ask insensitively.

"Bridges! Rude!" Aster scolded the older man and looked at Liang. "Liang, please continue."

"I don't know. There's so much happening right now, it's hard to for me to keep track. The greatest problem right now is the conflict between the two of them. Trying to keep them from fighting each other is getting out of hand. I wish my mother wouldn't pit them together to compete for the Honor of being in the family. I know she wants one of them to become the next Shiva, but... I'm starting to see what Huo saw long ago and why he stayed in Hong Kong with our grandfather. If he knew how unhappy Lung was, it would break his heart. Huo... I miss him."

Aster placed her hand on his to comfort the stressed man.

"Liang, no matter what happens, what truly matters is that you love Lung and will support him where ever he goes next with his life. Always remember that."

Bridges looked at Aster flabbergasted.

"You serious? Have you checked the news lately?"

She turned to look at Bridges with a frown and then rolled her eyes.

"If Lung is family, that should matter in the end and nothing else. Liang, I'm certain your brother would be proud of how you raised Lung."

Liang looked down.

"It feels like it's not enough though. Then again... I have to wonder... if our mother is making our family compete to see if we truly deserve to be called her family. I mean, when her first husband died, she already had three kids. Then when she married my father... my father always told me that he felt as if the marriage was out of security rather than love."

"Why would your father say that?"

"Growing up, my brother Huo and I faced harassment because... someone discovered that our father wasn't from Hong Kong, but was actually a Japanese illegal immigrant that came to Hong Kong using a fake I.D. to hide from someone. I suspect it was the Yakuza due to the mystery of where he got all that money from. Because of this, Huo and I felt that we never truly belonged. After our father died in Woodoak Chinatown, our mother started to take a cruel turn on us... while showering her first born from the first marriage with favor and gifts. Huo went back to Hong Kong to escape that. That's where he got married and had Lung."

"Liang, how did Lung end up in Woodoak if your brother was happy in Hong Kong?"

Liang looked at his glasses and then put them on his bruised face. He answered in a somber tone.

"...Kidnappers."

Aster's face looked at him in shock while Bridges looked back and forth from hearing the answer. While Aster and Bridges sat looking at Liang, noise could be heard out in the hallway.

"Seriously? How did she end up here again?"

"That's what I want to find out."

"Was she called back here in regards of the test results in her blood?"

"We gonna find out today! That's for sure!"

Walking into the room was Adam and Sammy accompanied with Blaze and Axel. Axel held Cherry in his arms, who was holding onto his blue headband. Blaze quickly walked over to Aster and quickly hugged her.

"Are you alright Aster?" She asked a little scared with her hands on Aster's shoulders.

"I'm... I'm okay." Aster replied in a somber tone, knowing now that she made her friends worried. "I'm really sorry for making all of you worry. I should have been more considerate of my decisions."

Axel walked over to Blaze while holding Cherry, who managed to pull off his headband. She dropped the headband on the floor, prompting Blaze to pick it up and put it in Axel's back pants pocket.

"Adam told us you were here. Aster, what happened last night?" He then turned to see Liang in the hospital bed. "Oh! Mr. Wai! Uh good morning!" He said to the Asian man sitting up with a cast on his arm. "Oh God... Aster, is this the reason why you were out late?"

Liang responded to Axel in a cheerful manner.

"Oh good morning Axel. How are you?"

"I was just about to ask... until I realized what happened."

Bridges looked at Axel surprised and then pointed at Aster.

"You friends with this Lunatic? Woman's got a death wish! Jumped out of my car last night to rescue him..." He said pointing at Liang. "...from Remnants of Arcana!"

Adam then walked over with Sammy. His arms were crossed.

"And just what were you doing with Aster last night, Bridges? Explain yourself." Adam asked in a stern tone.

Bridges recoiled from Adam's tone and leaned back with his hands out in front of him.

"Take it easy Adam. I was giving her a ride back to your house last night. On my way, we saw Liang getting attacked. I told her that we had to keep going and-"

"Oh God... how typical of you." Adam said face palming.

"Excuse me?"

"You saw someone about to die and you ran away... just as usual huh?"

"Hey, if you're still upset over the events that happened after your mother went to that nursing home, I'm telling you to get over it! After she suffered that stroke, she needed more medical attention than you and I could give to her. I did what I had to to give her a chance to live."

"Abandoning me and Sammy on our own after she got transferred to the Senior home... was that also you doing what you had to do as well? Because of you, I had to drop out of school to get a job and provide for me, Cherry's mom, and my brother... meanwhile, you're rolling in dough given to you by the Syndicate to cover up their crimes. What should I share with Aster that you won't tell her? That you bribed the Syndicate to exempt you from the draft so you could be with Sammy and I's mom? Or that you were chicken shit to ask her to marry you before she chose our dad?"

"Come on Adam. Not now." Bridges said looking away ashamed.

Sammy spoke up.

"Then when Bridges? You were our dad's friend. When we needed you, you left us... and now you're making your moves on our friend?!"

"YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE BRIDGES!" Adam proclaimed angrily. He then looked at Aster, who looked at him in shock. "Take our advice Aster! Do not trust this man! He's one of the original bastards Mr. X chose to make the leadership in Woodoak look diverse. In truth, they were chosen because they love the bribes they get from Mr. X and his men."

Bridges spoke.

"Now hold on just a second Adam! I wanted to help your family while I was still working at the bank, but I couldn't just take money at anytime."

"Bullshit! You had enough money to make sure you were exempted from the draft. Otherwise, you would have served 10 years for trying to dodge the draft."

"I know Adam. Your father's death and your mother's stroke still haunts me to this day. I had means to talk to you and Sammy again. But when Arcana died, I was thrown into a loop I wasn't prepared for. Do you know how many accounts I had to check under Arcana's name and remove once he died? By the time I finished sorting the last one, Chinatown was left with an overbearing amount of debt to pay back. Face it Adam. Even after Arcana died, he financially ruined many lives. I did what I had to make sure I wasn't fired for incompetency. It was wrong morally to follow the rules, but I would have lost my retirement if I didn't foreclose on many businesses under his name."

"So now you choose this moment to want to talk again?"

"Why not? Sammy is my son. Don't I have the right to talk to him? Come on Adam. Let me take care of him. You're a father now. Spend time with your wonderful daughter Cherry. I don't know. Maybe even ask Aster on a date on your spare time. Cherry has come to see her like an Aunt and you've seen Aster as your friend. She needs you. You're all she has left. Start again on the right foot and I'll do the same."

Blaze spoke up exhausted from seeing the drama unfold.

"Adam, hold on a second. If Bridges is Sammy's father, shouldn't we leave it up to Sammy to choose?"

She looked at Sammy, who looked at her arms crossed. Sammy rolled his eyes.

"Big bro... I'm gonna be real right now. It is true that we don't have the same father, but that's not going to stop me from calling you family. I'm happy you accepted me as your brother, regardless of what happened in the past. But if I'm going to choose... I would rather stay with Adam."

Blaze looked at Sammy surprised.

"Sammy, Bridges is a wealthy man. Wouldn't you want to live a life where you would have a safe place to grow up in? Woodoak hasn't been kind to either of us growing up here."

"Bridges might be my dad, but I like being with Adam and Cherry. Sure we have problems, but think on this: Would you rather live a rich life and be unhappy? Or live a life where even though you're struggling, you appreciate and grow with everyone around you? Plus, I like being with Axel and Blaze. Aster's okay, I guess. Still creeped out by her Indigo eyes, though. Max is cool too. Hope he gets noticed by the NWA or the WWF and goes on Wrestlemania someday."

Axel placed Cherry down who walked over to Adam.

"Wow Sammy. I never thought you would say that, but you're right. So... you want to stay with Adam?"

"Adam did his best to raise me while tending to Cherry. The least I can do is help him raise her in a loving life. Sorry Bridges, but I'm a Hunter. You can go home now, but at least apologize to Aster before you go."

Bridges looked down disappointed.

"I see..." He looked at Aster, who looked at him confused. "Miss Aster, I'm sorry for all the trouble I dragged you into. I'm no man... just an old coward."

"It's okay Bridges. I knew nothing about this before today. So... because of the kerfuffle last night and this morning, will I have to give you back Mitzi?"

"Aster, you won Mitzi fair and square. You're pretty good, you know that? However, because you don't have a driver's license, I can hold on to her for you until you get your ID and license. But after you receive your license, I'll give you the papers to help you change ownership. The seat covers, detailing, maintenance, repairs, insurance, and car payments will be your responsibility after the change is complete. Take care of Mitzi for me, will you?"

"I will. It was great playing you and French in Poker, Bridges. Will you be attending another game in the future? When I get a Pager and a mobile phone, will it be alright for me to contact you and French?"

The old man smiled and then laughed from Aster's response. Liang smiled as well as Blaze, Adam, Axel, and Sammy looked on confused. Cherry smiled, unaware of what was happening.

"Ha ha ha ha..." He started laughing with tears coming from his eyes.

"Bridges... What is it?" Aster looked at him surprised.

"...It's you, Aster. You are a most amusing woman. Since French invited you to play, I feel I've laughed enough for ten years! You have my gratitude."

"Uh... I'm not sure I understand, I'm pleased to have lighten your mood."

"Ha ha ha! I may have been rejected by my own son... but... it seems I've gained a friend. Yes Aster. I hope you come play with us again! Hell, may I'll bring over another sucka that you can gain another car from. Very well! Take care Aster! And..." He calmed down when he looked at Sammy. "Take care Sammy... and have a good life." He then looked at Aster. "If you need a ride Aster, I'll wait for you in the Lobby. Just come talk to me and I'll drive you back to the Hunter Residence."

The old man got up and walked out of the room. Adam looked at Sammy, who walked over to hold Cherry by her arms.

"Sammy..." Adam said in a somber tone.

Aster shook her head bewildered of what just went down.

"What? So Bridges was... Sammy's blood father? Wow... I didn't expect that." She walked over to Adam, who picked up Cherry. "Oh Adam. I'm so sorry. I knew nothing about this."

"It's alright Aster. You must have been surprised when you learned everything all in one place, huh?"

"Bridges' right. I don't ask the right questions. Please forgive me Adam. All this happened because I was careless. Had that group last night been armed, I wouldn't have made it back to your guys."

"There is just one thing that caught me off guard." He gave Cherry to Aster, who held her. "How did you meet him? Sammy and I hadn't seen him in years."

"Oh that! Uhhh..."

Liang spoke up.

"Aster, it's okay. Tell your friends how talented you are in poker. Bridges couldn't get enough of how amazing she was in fooling everyone last night with her poker face."

Axel spoke up surprised.

"Wait... you were playing poker last night? Slow your roll! You've been recovering your memory for two months... and you suddenly excel in poker?"

Blaze looked at Aster curious.

"Come to think of it... Aster, I noticed you write in your journal what returns to your mind. How are you doing in getting your memories back?"

"Well... I remember the names of my family members as well as... my brothers... My brothers I had to leave behind."

"Why did you leave them behind?"

"Well... it wasn't by choice... and I believe I was... driven out of my home by my older brother. It happened after my parents died in a horrible fire at a festival we attended at the park."

"Do you remember anything else?"

"I remember that... before I came to Woodoak... I was a drifter."

"Wait... you were homeless? That would explain why they couldn't find you in the system."

"I have been traveling for some time. I learned a variety of different languages... as well as certain skills from many people I met... both good and bad. I believe the last person I met before coming here... was a professional gambler. They taught me how to use the counting cards method as well as how to win at Poker games. Unfortunately... I think they're dead now... the Russian mob got them. So, I'm all that's left of their Style in gambling."

Axel scratched his head as he put back on his headband.

"That's risky business. Pull that mess at any Casinos here, you could guaranteed you won't make it in your bed to see the next day."

"I'm aware of the risk. I'll be sure to be careful about that. Besides... I have bigger things to worry about. One memory hasn't come back to me yet."

"Which one is that?"

Aster blinked twice and looked down scared.

"There's one that is blurry. It's a room... a room with white walls and automatic sliding doors. All I can recall from that right now was hearing people's screams beyond the door... after that... I start getting this terrible feeling of dread. It's as if I don't feel safe."

Blaze looked at her concerned.

"I'm glad your memories are almost back to you. Once you remember everything, we'll do everything we can to find the person who did this to you. Oh wait! Did you hear back on your test on your blood?"

Adam spoke up.

"The Hospital called the house."

"What did they find?"

"When testing Aster's blood, they found sediment in her blood. Here's the weird part. The purple in her blood... it isn't a chemical... it's clay!"

"That doesn't sound right. What is clay doing in Aster's blood? Ugh! Too many questions and not enough answers. At the very least, I'm glad you're safe Aster, but more importantly... thank you for saving Liang. Yes, it was reckless, but at least your moral compass wasn't lost."

Aster looked at Liang.

"Liang... are you sure don't need a ride too? What if Lung is running late?"

"Well..." He then heard someone yelling swear words in Cantonese outside his room. "Oh! That must be him."

Walking into the room was a young Asian man with his hair tied back wearing aviator sunglasses. He had on a white shirt with a bomber jacket, a watch with roman numerals on it, tan dress pants, and Doc Martens. In the plastic bag he was carrying was spare men's clothes.

(JUST PUSH THE TAPE IN AND HIT THE PLAY BUTTON ON THE REMOTE! STOP CALLING ME! I NEED TO PICK UP UNCLE!) Note: Parentheses signify someone speaking in a different language. In this case, Liang and Lung speak in Cantonese.

He hung up on the bulky mobile phone.

"She knows how to use a VCR! Why must she always make me play those stupid movies? I hate Casino Raiders!" He then sees Liang and then sees Blaze, Adam, and Axel. "Are you shitting me? You're out of the Rehabilitation Program. Why are you here? Go Home."

(LUNG! THESE ARE OUR GUESTS! BE NICE TO THEM!) Liang scolded Lung.

(Uncle, what are you doing here?! The shop opens in an hour!)

(Are you blind? Do you not see the cast on my right arm?! I almost died last night!)

(Let me guess. You got jumped while you were out with your girlfriend again?)

(Don't believe what Jie tells you. I don't have a girlfriend.)

Lung then looks at Aster from head to toe as she stands up and places Cherry in a chair. He starts laughing when he looks at her from the side profile.

(You're full of shit Uncle.) He looks at her again and laughs. He looks away and then looks at Aster again, who pulls her dress skirt down. (Oh no she's gorgeous! Aunt Jie is going to kill my uncle.)

(You better take that back before I throw my shoe at you!)

(Your age is catching up to you! Your throwing arm is getting worse!) He looks at Aster with a smile on his face. He pointed at her and looked at Liang. (There's no way. You're too old. You can't handle her magnificent curves! No way! Haha! How long have you been seeing her, Uncle?)

(Will you shut up? That's the woman who saved my life.)

(Yeah... from a failing marriage. I'm not blind Uncle. Look at her curves. She is way too pretty to be just a friend. You have been hitting the clubs, haven't you Uncle? With a body like that, Jie would have every right to send someone to end you.)

Liang and Lung continued talking in Cantonese as if they were arguing over something. Blaze, Adam, Axel, and Sammy looked on lost as to what was being exchanged.

"What is going on?" Sammy asked confounded.

"I have no clue." Adam said with Blaze and Axel looking just as confused. He then noticed Aster seductively biting her lip. "Uhh... you okay Aster?"

Lung then stopped and looked at Aster. She smiled at him and pushed her hair aside when he looked at her. He walked over to her to where his face was a few inches away from her face. Axel was about to step in to push him back, but Adam stopped him. Axel gave him a gesture as if to ask him what he was doing. Lung looked at her with his arms crossed.

"What? You want to laugh about something?" He asked trying to look annoyed, but he was blushing.

Aster then tilted her head and smiled at him as he lowered his sunglasses wondering what she was doing. Cherry climbed out of the chair Aster placed her in and cheerfully ran to Blaze.

"Oh don't stop. I want to hear more about you taking a Polaroid picture of me and keeping it in your room with lotion, tissue, and a waste basket to keep you company."

Axel's mouth dropped open at the same time as Lung. Adam broke out laughing, Sammy looked on shocked, and Blaze, who picked up Cherry, shook her head in disapproval. Axel spoke up surprised.

"Wait a minute! Aster, how did you understand all of that? Can you understand Chinese?"

"Cantonese actually. They're from Hong Kong. The dialect is close to that. It sounds like they're upset with each other but..." Aster smiled and snickered while covering her mouth. She waved at Lung as she took her left hand off her mouth. "I'm sorry. Your conversation with Liang is too funny to ignore."

Blaze frowned and held Cherry while shifting her weight onto her right foot.

"Aster, what the hell are they saying?"

"Lung is accusing Liang of having a girlfriend while being married. He's saying this because he told him that I'm too pretty to be just a friend. He also said that Liang can't handle my magnificent curves, though that's Lung's words and not mine. Meanwhile, Liang is accusing Lung of... having a... certain date night if Lung takes a photo of me and keeps it in his room."

Liang, realizing what was happening, picked up the bright green slippers off the granite floor the Hospital gave him and chucked them at the back of Lung's head using his good arm. Lung turned around and yelled at him.

(OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!)

(ARE YOU STUPID?! HOW HAVE YOU NOT FIGURED IT OUT?! SHE CAN UNDERSTAND US!)

(OH YEAH?)

Lung looked at her and stood up straight. He placed his hands in his jacket pockets.

"So... what do you want?" He asked trying to look tough but still with his face blushing.

"Oh I don't know. Do you think I'm pretty?"

"That's a trick question. I'm not walking into that one. And for the record..." He then leaned in close to her. (You rat me out one more time, I will spank you. That's a promise. Understand?)

She looked away bored for a bit and then answered him by walking up to where she looked like she was going to kiss him. She slowly and gently took off his glasses while his hand rested on her hand.

(Lung, if you're going to spank me, at least marry me first. Unless...) She raised to her tippy toes. (Do you want to make love between the sheets?)

He took his glasses from her and put them back on with shaking hands. His mouth ajar open from her response. He looked at her horrified and backed away freaking out. Liang started laughing as Lung cried out freaking out.

(NO! NO! SO LEWD! YOU ARE NAUGHTY!) Lung yelled wagging his finger at her.

Liang clapped his hands from Lung freaking out.

(YES! YES! GREAT! GREAT!)

Axel looked at Lung, who turned away and looked at the white hospital wall not blinking. His face still blushing. Axel walked over and waved his hand in front of Lung's face.

"Uhhh... I think you broke him." Axel said wondering what was just said.

While Lung faced the wall, Aster walked up to him.

"Lung, if you're serious about... you know? Come find me at the Gazebo. I'll be at Central Woodoak Park. Okay?"

She kissed his right cheek, causing him to jump back. He then responded flustered.

"H-HEY! D-DON'T DO THAT! YOU ARE NAUGHTY!" He then looked at Liang red in the face and then gave him the bag with spare clothes. "UNCLE! WE'RE LATE! COME ON! WE NEED TO GET TO WORK!"

"Nephew... don't you want to advertise the treat of the day? Do that as I get my clothes on, will you?" Liang answered still smiling.

"Okay fine. But that's it!" He sighed as Liang grabbed his clothes and headed to the bathroom. He turned to face the visitors. "Today's special at the IceBox Cafe is Chocolate Egg Cream. Available in three sizes. Only on Sundays." Axel looked at him confused, causing Lung to lash out at him as Liang came out of the bathroom adjusting his shoes. "STOP STARING!"

"Okay nephew. That's enough. Come on. We better get going." He walked over to Aster. "Thank you so much for everything Aster. Lung may not look like it, but he's happy to see you. Will you be stopping by the IceBox Cafe? It's on the corner leading into Chinatown in Central Woodoak."

"Chocolate... Egg Cream? Oh wow! It's been forever since I've had that. I'll be sure to stop by. It was nice meeting you Liang. Your nephew is adorable."

(I am not. You're too pretty for Uncle to handle. Don't repeat what I said. I will spank you if you rat me out. Remember that.) Lung replied with Liang following up by slapping the back of Lung's head with his Hospital slipper.

"Nephew, treat our customers kindly, will you?" He shook his head. "My apologies for everything everyone. I'm so glad to have seen all of you again. Glad to see you in good health Axel. You, Adam, and Blaze did a wonderful job at the last tournament, placing in the top 3 for boys and girls. Axel... your fight between you and Lung at the 86 Kung Fu tournament was amazing. He took first while you placed in second. If you both keep training, maybe one day one of you will become Shiva. I hope you continue to fight in more tournaments. Say hi to your father for me, okay?"

Axel looked at Liang hesitant. Adam, Sammy, and Blaze looked at each other uneasy.

"Uhh... sure?" He said not confident.

"Take care Blaze, Adam, and Axel. You all were amazing at the tournament. I hope you continue practicing even after you left." He waved at Sammy and Cherry. "Nice seeing you Sammy and Cherry." The kids waved back at him, Sammy bored while Cherry was entertained. He then bowed to Aster. "Be safe Aster. Thank you for saving my life. Come by the IceBox Cafe at anytime, Okay? Only 50% off on Wednesdays."

"Oh I love Wednesdays." She said cheerful. "They're always in the middle of the week. I will, Liang. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, Miss Aster. Come nephew."

Lung rolled his eyes from hearing his uncle.

(Alright. Alright. I'm coming.) As soon as Liang left the room, Blaze, Adam, and Axel took Sammy and Cherry with them. Once the group was out, Lung and Aster were alone. Lung looked at Aster, walked over to her, and smiled as if to appear sinister. (My uncle is an idiot if he thinks Stone can become Shiva. Hear me now. I'm going to be Shiva one day. When I become Shiva and I catch you in Chinatown, you'll be wishing I spanked you instead... Lewd woman.)

(Lung... seriously. Do you want to just do it here and now that Liang is out of his bed?)

His jaw dropped from her response. He looked at her repulsed and then turned away. He left the room defeated. His face blushing, trying not to cry.

(WHY CAN'T YOU ACT SCARED?!)

The Lobby...

"See you at the house Adam! Cherry! Be nice to your father and Sammy for me, okay?" Aster waved back to Adam, who was about to get into his Camaro.

"See you later Aster!" Adam pointed at Bridges. "Bridges, bring her over and keep her safe! I'm watching you!"

The old man peeked out of the Galant's window.

"You know I will." He got into the driver's seat and looked at Aster. "Ready to go Aster?"

"Yes."

As Aster gets into the passenger seat, a car beeps its horn from behind. It's Lung driving his Uncle's 1987 Lincoln Mark with Liang in the passenger seat.

(THE LIGHT'S GREEN ASSHOLE! LET'S GO!)

Liang took his hospital slipper and hit the back of Lung's head. Bridges looked at Aster, who looked at him surprised at what she heard.

"What did he say?" He asked confounded of Lung's words.

"He said we're blocking the road. We need to go."

Bridges shrugged his shoulders, started his car, and backed out of the lot. As he drove, Adam and Lung drove behind him. Axel leaned his head into his hand as he looked out the window. Blaze stretched while in the front seat. Sammy picked up and held Cherry's toy, so she doesn't throw it at the back of her father's head. As they drove out of the Hospital lot, Blaze spotted a gold 1970 Chevrolet Kingswood station wagon in the area. She looked closely and saw what looked like men holding long objects in the windows.

"Adam heads up." She pointed at the car. Adam looked and then face palmed.

"Aww shit. Here we go again. The Remnants of Arcana. What are they doing here?"

"You think they're targeting us?"

Axel looked and saw the men roll down their windows as the three cars drove past them. Axel lifted his head from his hand. As they drove out to the main rode, they saw the car trailing after Bridges. Axel's eyes widen as his heart sank.

"OH CRAP! ADAM! THEY'RE GOING AFTER BRIDGES!"

"BUT ASTER IS WITH HIM!"

As the car got to Bridge's driver side, a man emerged from the window. Raising his arm, he struck the driver side window with a baseball bat, shattering it to pieces. They heard Aster's curdling scream as Bridges tried to speed away. Adam hit the gas to chase the car with Lung chasing behind him. As the drove down the rode, the station wagon struck the Galant two times until it reached the park. After the second time, the Galant drove off the rode and onto the grass, heading towards a man training a group of 12 people on the basketball court pavement for a daily morning exercise in the park.

The people quickly got up from their mats and ran as the Galant made a sharp turn and hit the brakes until it stopped a few feet from a man wearing a jacket that had the words THUNDER sown into the back. Bridges, frightened, turned to the glove compartment and pulled out his gun. The station stopped at the parking area and had nine people jump out. They had baseball bats, lead pipes, a beer bottle that one broke against a light pole, and another with a knife. Adam stopped the car in the parking lot. He jumped out with Blaze and Axel. He then turned to face Sammy and Cherry.

"SAMMY! LOCK THE DOORS AND KEEP CHERRY SAFE! DON'T LET ANYONE IN UNTIL I COME BACK!"

"GOT IT! GO BIG BRO! THEY'RE GOING TO KILL THEM!" Sammy yelled as Adam slammed the door. Sammy quickly locked the door and watched as his brother ran with Axel and Blaze towards the group marching towards the Galant. Aster and Bridges quickly got out as the men approached closer. The Galant's driver and passenger doors separated them from the hostile men.

"RUN ASTER! I'LL TRY TO STOP THEM!" Bridges yelled as he aimed his pistol at the crowd from behind the driver's door.

The group came closer laughing in enjoyment of the fear they instilled.

"WE'RE GOING TO MAKE YOU CRY, BITCH!" One yelled walking towards Aster.

"STAY BACK! I WILL SHOOT!" Bridges yelled while behind his car door.

One of the men then reached from his belt and then aimed at strange item at Bridges. Upon pressing the button, a white stream shot out from the device at Bridge's eyes. Bridges cried out in pain as he covered his eyes and dropped his gun.

"BRIDGES!" Aster cried out horrified.

One of the men walked over to her holding a knife. Aster backed away from the passenger door as he got closer. He stopped to look at her body and smiled at what he was looking at.

"That's a nice dress. I like my women like I likes my fruit. Full and ripe! Hahahaha! You look good to eat in it... but you know what?" He started to giggle. "You would look better without anything on."

The man in the jacket walked over to the men surrounding the car.

"HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! GET AWAY FROM THEM!"

The man then saw Blaze, Adam, and Axel running over.

"MAX! THE REMNANTS ARE PACKED! THE REMNANTS ARE PACKED!" Axel cried out running over to the Galant.

Three of the men turned to face Max with their pipes.

"BACK OFF THUNDER! THIS IS PERSONAL! SO BEAT IT!"

Max crossed his arms and then walked towards them.

"I'm going to have to disagree with you. No one makes an open threat in Central Woodoak and walks away unscathed."

"HUH? YOU SOME KIND OF A MEAT HEAD?! BEAT IT!"

He swung the pipe at Max, who charged at the man, slid at him, and tripped him. The man dropped his pipe, prompting Max to catch it in mid air.

"AXEL CATCH!"

Max threw the pipe at the teens. Axel jumped up and caught the pipe in mid air. Axel sung the pipe down over one of the men holding a baseball bat. As they reached the group, Adam leaped forward and struck another goon with his fist, causing him to drop his broken bottle. Another charged at Adam to hit him with a bat. Blaze charged at the man and struck his nose. She kicked him in the gut and using his stomach as a step, flipped up and kicked his face, causing him to drop his bat.

The one with the knife looked at see his buddies getting thrown at the Galant and nearly at him. He looked at his pals attacked by the teens and Max. He ran over to stab Blaze, but was swiftly punched in his gut by Axel and then round house kicked by Adam right into the Galant windshield. Max, put his hands together and spun around, striking nearby Remnants with his knuckles. Blaze grabbed one and got on her back to launch him into a nearby trash can, knocking the contents over onto the sidewalk as he cried out in agony.

Free from the hold up, Aster ran around the Galant over to Bridges and pulled him up onto his feet. She used her shoulders for him to lean on as support. She picked up his pistol and ran away from the Galant. She ran to the concession stand which had been deserted when the fighting began, and hopped over into the window. She grabbed an unopened bottle of water, pulled out a five dollar bill from her bra, threw it down in the place of the bottle, and hopped over back to Bridges.

"Bridges, stay still." She said sitting him down as she opened the bottle.

"Ah! My eyes!" Bridges said in pain trying to open his eyes to no avail.

"Those jerks pepper sprayed you to disarm you. What a dirty trick!" Aster poured the bottle steady over his eyes. "Bridges, can you open your eyes?"

"It's no good! I can't see! Aster, you got to leave me and run."

"I'm not leaving you behind! Come on!" She said pulling him back onto his feet.

As she took Bridges to run for safety, another Station wagon pulled up with more men pouring out. Lung pulled over close to the Market Place and saw the chaos unfolding in the park's basketball area.

(WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!) Lung yelled from seeing the brawl unfold.

Liang looked at the men and recoiled horrified.

(THOSE ARE THE SAME MEN THAT ATTACKED ME LAST NIGHT! THEY MUST HAVE WENT AFTER ASTER FOR REVENGE!)

Lung jumped out of the car with Liang.

(UNCLE, GO FIND HELP!) Lung ran towards the park towards Aster's location, close to the Concession stand.

(NEPHEW BE CAREFUL!) Liang yelled as he ran towards one of the shops in the Market Place.

As the new group came into the park, they spotted Aster running with Bridges.

"IT'S THE BITCH THAT SHOT AT FRAMTON!" One yelled upon seeing her.

They poured out of the wagon and walked over with lead pipes in each hand. They yelled their taunts at her.

"NO WHERE TO RUN SWEETHEART!"

"WE'RE GOING TO RIP YOU WIDE OPEN! HAHA!"

"WHEN WE'RE DONE WITH YOU, YOU'LL BE GLAD TO PISS AGAIN IF YOU LIVE, SWEETHOLE!"

"HOPE YOU LIKE TRAINS BECAUSE WE GOT ONE RIGHT HERE!"

Bridges cried out to Aster with tears in his eyes. He knew what was going to happen even though he couldn't see what was in front of him.

"NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND... WHY I TRIED TO DRIVE AWAY LAST NIGHT?! IT'S HEROIC SHIT LIKE WHAT YOU DID THAT GETS PEOPLE KILLED IN THIS HELLHOLE!"

One of the men in the other group then ran up, grab Bridges by his jacket, and threw him away from Aster. Aster attempted to aim Bridges' pistol at the Remnant from behind, but the goon knocked the gun from her hand and slashed his knife at her dress. Aster falls backward, narrowly avoiding the knife slash that cut through her dress, causing her strapless bra to pop out. The Remnant then grabbed her picked her up and held her arms. Aster struggled while Bridges groped around the grass, feeling for his fumbled pistol. The lusting group cheered on as they approached Aster.

"So... this is the woman who shot at one of our fellow brothers last night?" He smiled gleefully as Aster still struggled. "No reason to continue struggling sweetheart. How about you relax and I'll show you a good time?" Aster spat in his face from hearing his words. He slapped her bruising her right cheek, and grabbed her neck hard, leaving a hand print bruise. "Come on juicy melons. Don't you want to see a real man?"

As he attempted to straddle her legs, he stopped. In the corner of his eyes was a foot flying at him. As the heel impacted the skull, the man fell down with his nose bleeding and two teeth flying out of his mouth. The man holding her pulled her back, frightened by one of his own getting kicked by the person in front of them. It was Lung. He had taken off his jacket and left it on a bench nearby, revealing the blood impact onto his white shirt. The other men raised their pipes at him.

"NO ONE STRIKES ARCANA'S MEN AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!"

As the men charged at Lung, Lung picks up one of the pipes on the ground with his foot and launches them forward with a palm strike. The pipe strikes one guy in the face, knocking him down. Another charges at him with a pipe in hand. Lung moves aside and rapidly whips out a spinning overhead back kick in a circular motion. He then dashes and kicks a man under his jaw up into the air and grabs another and slams him into the ground. As three rush up from all sides, he quickly jumps up, kicks one on his left, then his right, and kicks the last one in the neck. He palmed strike one that tried to bring the pipe down on him. As Aster struggled to get out of her captor's grip, she watched as Lung fought the group by himself.

It's like a dance... 1,2,3, pause... 1,2,3, pause... Lung...

After Lung defeated another, three men backed away frighten by him. He turned towards the one holding Aster by her arms. The man quickly pulled his knife and held it to her throat.

"WHOA! HEY! I WOULDN'T DO ANYTHING IF I WERE YOU! HEH HEH!" He slowly backed away as Lung walked closer. "Unless you want your pretty girlfriend here to bleed out, you'll back away... slowly."

Lung stopped walking and stood still, glaring at the man. Lung was covered in blood, broken teeth, and skull fragments on his white shirt and pants. His shoes muddied and covered in fresh blood.

"Let the woman go... and I'll let you live." He said without changing expression.

"AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN! YOU KNOW WHAT THIS SLUT DID TO ONE OF OUR OWN LAST NIGHT?! HUH?! DO YOU?!"

"Yes... I know what she did..." He looked at her. "I am grateful for her."

"Huh?! What are you rambling about?!"

"Last night, at around 10 P.M., your men charged after my uncle and tried to kill him. She did the right thing and saved his life... regardless on if she would lose her life on the same night. Last chance... Let her go."

"Oh! You want me to let her go... JUST BECAUSE SHE WAS BEING UPPITY?!"

A gun shot then went off, causing the man to let her go and fall over in pain. Someone had shot his Achilles heel. Aster looked over and saw Bridges still hadn't found his pistol. Bridges covered his head upon hearing gun fire.

Bridges hasn't found his pistol yet... Wait! Who shot this man?! She thought while she was on the grass.

She then sees an Asian man with short black hair holding at gun in front of him. He's wearing a denim jacket on top of his white shirt with white pants, a black leather belt, and black shoes.

"FREEZE!" He yelled holding his gun out in front of him, the barrel smoking. The man writhing in pain is still holding onto his knife. "DROP THE KNIFE! NOW!"

Three of the men that backed away from Lung charge with their pipes to strike the armed man in the back of his head. He quickly turns around, dodges a swing, and kicks one in stomach. Another tries to strike him and gets kicked in the throat. The last man he kicks three times in the chest and then jump kicks him in the face, knocking him down and breaking his nose.

The hostile Remnant that took Aster hostage, defeated, drops the weapon and rolls onto his stomach. He covers his head as the man in the denim jacket runs over and handcuffs him.

"NEXT TIME I TELL YOU TO DROP YOUR WEAPON, YOU BETTER DROP YOUR WEAPON!" The man in the denim jacket says as he hand cuffs the goon.

Liang trails behind the man and runs over to Lung.

(Nephew! Are you alright?)

Lung nods his head while wiping the sweat from his forehead.

(I'm okay.)

(Wonderful! Great timing! I found Officer Yau! He was on his way to work when I ran into the Pine Pot to call for help! He already called for back up!)

Lung looks at Liang and then at Aster, whose sitting on the grass trying to cover her exposed bra. Aster looks up to him while shaking. Her dress was cut open, had grass stains and mud on the skirt, and dried mud on her arms, legs and shoes. He walks over to her, picks her up in a bridal carry, and puts her back onto her feet. He walks over to a bench, where he took off his Bomber jacket, and brings it over to Aster. He puts the jacket on her and zips it up to cover her exposed bra. He looks at her as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

(Are you alright?) He asked looking her in the eyes.

Tears roll from Aster's eyes as she took his right hand and placed it on the bruise on her face. She took her right hand and placed it on his face.

(Yes. Thank you Lung.)

Back with Max, Adam, Axel, and Blaze, Max finishes the last of the Remnants in their group by jumping up and smashing the goon's spinal column against his knee on landing. As the silence rolls in, Max wipes his nose, which has blood coming out.

"Is everyone okay?"

Axel leaned against the dented Galant hood and spits blood from his split lip. Blaze flips her hair back while covered in blood and bruises on her arms and shins from the men they fought. Adam rolls his bruised right shoulder and cracks his neck. The four of them were bruised, covered in blood from the Remnants, and dirty from being knocked into the grass and mud. They smiled victorious from the fight. Axel then sees Aster helping Bridges onto his feet. Bridges' sight came back to him. He looked around and then saw the pistol in the grass. He picked it up and put it in his pocket.

"Oh! Hey! I can see again! Thank you God!" He looks at the aftermath and then at Aster. "Where'd you get the jacket from? Win another Poker game without me?" He then sees the Galant banged up with the windows smashed open. He lets out a sigh of disappointment. "Well... I guess fate had a reason for me to lose Mitzi." He sighed as the police rolled into the park. "Wow. What a mess."

French came over to the park with a bag of bird seeds when he spots Bridges and Aster. He quickly ran over to them, viewing the aftermath of the carnage that just went down.

"Whoa! Eh this is NOT what I was expectin' this mornin'! I'll tell ya what?" He then saw Bridges covered in grass and mud. His eyes had a red lining around them. "You alright Bridges?"

"I'm okay French. Looks like whatever Aster got herself into..." He looked around as the police rounded up the defeated Remnants. "Well... seems like it's been resolved."

"Well geez." He turned to see Aster wearing Lung's jacket. "Aster, it's only 70 degrees this mornin'. The high is going to be 80 this afternoon. Ya gonna cook in that."

"It's borrowed." She turned to see Lung, who looked back at her lifting his sunglasses off his face. "I'll give it back when this is all done."

Bridges then looked down as he saw Sammy approach while holding Cherry. He looked at Aster.

"Hey Aster."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

"We almost died today because... I forgot that when the Remnants feel they have been wronged, they make things personal and won't stop hunting the person until they kill them. They followed us all the way to the Hospital and I didn't notice it until... it was too late. Even worse... I got my own son dragged into this."

"It's okay Bridges. You were just trying to take me home, remember?"

"Yeah... I was... and I failed my promise to Adam... I couldn't keep you safe." He saw Sammy approach Adam holding Cherry. "Hey Aster?"

"Yes?"

"I'll pay for your two licenses and help you clean out 5-5. I'll even pay for a professional car detailer to clean Ginny's van. It's the least I can do after all of this."

"Are you sure? Bridges, they pepper sprayed you. We better get you seen by a doctor first."

"Yeah..." He looked on as Officer Yau took Max, Adam, Axel, and Blaze's statements. "You know something Aster?"

"Yes?"

"I'm going to change my will after this."

"Why?"

"Adam risked everything with his friends to save us. They're good people Aster... and I'm already a relic of the past... I already bought some new cars before all of this went down. I'll put them as well as you and Cherry... so that they'll be able to live out their lives not limited by the City's sins. I hope this... will also bring me closer to forgiveness."

"Bridges..."

End of Chapter 5...

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: A familiar face and memories of Flames

~March 24, 1991~

Chinatown, Shiva's Dojo, 7 A.M...

"Grandmaster, the meeting at the abandoned Gamma Mega Theater is this week. Are you still planning on attending it?" Typhoon asked concerned of recent events.

"Attending the Summit would allow Mr. X to run out the last of the Remnants of Arcana and the CPA in one shot. Under the guidance of Ismael Rivera leading the Deadly Five, we can wipe out their forces in case dissolving the CPA is taken off the table. Antonio, Souther, Abedede, and Bongo are ready and willing. They want Ismael to lead the first attack. With the gangs all in order under the Syndicate, the Remnant scum will seize to exist and the CPA will be finished. The Deadly Five will go forth in Hell Week with Mr. X and I's blessings and power behind them."

Leung entered the room.

"Pardon me, Mr. Shiva. You have a phone call."

Leung hands Shiva a mobile phone and then walks over next to his brother Tao. He politely bows as Shiva heads outside. Shiva holds up the phone. He looks towards the practice area. In that area sits weapons on display like sais, naginatas, and katanas.

"Hello?"

An eccentric voice answers.

"Can you count Grandmaster? I say the future is ours! If you can count."

A roar of cheers in the distance follow from the voice speaking. Shiva smiles from the response.

"Ismael. I see you're in good health. I heard the Deciphers captured Gerrell Stone before he could get on a plane to leave for New York. Kamau's gambit paid off well. Well done."

"I heard you unified the Dojos across Chinatown under your name. That's very good. That adds to the Delegates we need for Hell Week. Well done."

"My men received news from the respected areas: The gangs in each district are ready to lay down their live for this truce. Antonio and his gang have seized control of the market districts starting from the Pine Pot, Souther has control of the dilapidated town gangs, Abedede has Bloomcaster Point Beach, and Bongo has taken back the Bridge from the CPA."

"All we need is the truce between all the gangs across Woodoak. With Mr. X's command, we will be ready to hunt every last vermin into extinction. No Remnant nor CPA will be standing nor hiding when we're finished."

"The Masters and I plan to attack Arcana Hill. Rumor has it that before Arcana died, he completed multiple projects before the funds went dry. One of them is a large dry food warehouse under where the mansion once stood. The others are a rain water collector with a filtration system, a salt water filtration system, and a trash compactor that transports the compacted trash to the landfill via a underground bullet train tunnel.

It seems the Old Man had completed these projects as an attempted to live off the grid. We suspect that when Trenches bought the mansion and turned into an Orphanage, she must have found the Warehouse and the other systems in the process of renovating the land."

"If you can seize the Orphanage before any Remnants or CPA members attempt to escape, the war will finally come to its end... and Mr. X will have officially unified Woodoak at last!"

"And the final step is to find Catherine and end Hell Week at last. Pink Typhoon contacted one of her spies and they reported back about members of the CPA working alongside of some Remnants. She believes the reason why this is happening because two things are occurring as we speak: Either the CPA found Catherine and they're protecting her in exchange of being able to receive immunity for participating for the murder of Mr. X... or the Remnants are using members of the CPA to fight their war... just like Arcana's family used colonies filled with workers of color to enrich their lives while they executed anyone who was out when the sun set. So typical of them."

"My men and I have HAD IT with the Remnants getting their way. When our grandfather's needed food for their families, they threw torn bread crumbs at the crowd. When our families needed doctors, they told us to leave our brothers and sisters to die on the streets. When we needed warmth and shelter from the cold, they told us to burn the very places we lived in. When they needed water in the Summer, the rich bastards forced our families to drink urine.

It's about time to show THE MAN why he should remain dead... and gone. We owe Mr. X for the freedom he gave back to our people in exchange of removing many of Arcana's influences and power. My men are ready to help elevate Mr. X to become the next President of the United States. Say the word... and the army will march for glory, brother."

"Right ahead of you. I have sent two spies out: One to infiltrate Arcana Hill and the other is one of our inside men who was hired to defend the Arcana Hill wall. The second in command will never know what hit her until it's too late. Once Arcana Hill has been captured, we will feast and then prepare to capture Catherine and bring the kids back to their father... bringing these dark nights to their end."

"Can you dig it Grandmaster?" Cheering could be heard from the other line.

"More than that..." Shiva smiled. "I can smell victory."

"That's wonderful brother. There... is one more thing I should bring to your attention. Kamau has received the list that you asked for."

"The list of undercover cops?"

"That's correct. With this list, we will uproot any who dare to threaten the unification. He will be faxing the list to your safe house. I have already... wasted some of the traitors that DARED try to rat out our plans and have Kamau sending false information back to the police. I suggest you do the same."

"I will. Thank you Ismael."

"May fortune be with you, brother."

Shiva hung up the phone and turned to see a man wearing a denim jacket with a white shirt, grey pants, and black tennis shoes walking up to him. The man had aviator shades on. In his mouth was a toothpick.

(Officer Yau,) He shook Yau's hand and sat down on the low fence in the Dojo Hallway. (It's good to see you.) Yau looked at Shiva and lowered his shades. He squinted at Shiva. (Is something wrong?) Note: Parentheses on a character's dialogue means they are speaking in a different language. In this case, Cantonese is being used.

Yau smiled and then put his shades back on.

(Nothing Shiva. I couldn't help but feel... nostalgic.)

(Do you miss teaching at the Dojo? I heard rumors you were suppose to be the second Shiva until Godhand came along by Arcana's iron fist and judgement on Chinatown.)

(It's not that. I don't miss this place one bit. Too many bad memories. I am nostalgic... from seeing you.)

(Really?) Shiva asked confused.

(Yes. Four years ago, I attended an annual party at the Wai Residence with some pals of mine. They've gone their separate ways, but I keep in touch. One of them is a woman this one member of the Wai Clan was dating before...) Shiva looked at him suspicious. He stopped when he saw how uncomfortable the conversation got. (You know what? Let's not bring that up, shall we?)

Shiva walked back to the office and then came inside.

"Excuse me? Typhoon, Hakuyo, Tao, and Leung! The police are here. I need to speak with you in private. Aster, wait here. This is urgent."

The four called by Shiva walked outside to speak with him. Officer Yau shook the hands of Typhoon, Hakuyo, Tao, and Leung.

(It's good to see all of you again.) Officer Yau said with a smile on his face.

Typhoon, Hakuyo, Tao, and Leung smiled back and then their smiles faded. They looked away ashamed. Typhoon looked at him.

(To think... we could have had the best student lead as the second Shiva after Grandmaster Shen Ning... the first Shiva.)

Yau looked at Typhoon and reassured her.

(If what you were looking for is a carbon copy, you'll always be looking. No one will be able to replace the first Shiva. I am my own person.) He said with a sad smile.

Hakuyo crossed his arms.

(So you were the heir to the Standing Serpent Lash? I heard Shen Ning was the father of the Standing Serpent Lash. It was a move so devastating that they had to permanently ban it from a majority of World Martial Arts Championships for its Wing Chun Origins. I would have loved to know how to use that technique had the Temple allowed my generation to learn it. A terrible shame that he is no longer around to teach that move.)

Meng Tao and Leung pondered on the first Grandmaster.

(Shen Ning left such an influence on Chinatown, it's no wonder his presence can still be felt even if he is no longer with us. Though Wing Chun is a rare martial arts form in Chinatown, there are still those that practice it on certain occasions. Our parents were some of his early students before he left long ago. They met thanks to the inclusivity for boys and girls to challenge each other. I still laugh at how Mom bested Dad in their first fight against each other.) Tao said recalling what he and Leung's parents shared with them about the first Shiva.

(I recalled that before Godhand had taken over as the second Shiva, there weren't these special rules in Chinatown. In fact, there was a time where Interracial couples were common in Chinatown. You could see Chinese citizens marry others outside of the District and it wasn't any big deal. Though that was many years ago before Mr. Alpha gave power back to the Arcana Clan before he passed.)

(That is true. If only Shen Ning didn't make the mistake of marrying one of Arcana's nieces before the Arcana Clan came back into full power again.)

(HEY!) Yau scolded the twins. (DON'T GO SAYING SHIT LIKE THAT! Remember what lead up to that moment! Arcana didn't approve of the marriage and secretly went to the mayor that Alpha instated to outlaw Interracial Marriages in Chinatown! Remember what happened when Alpha gave Old Man Arcana full reign over Chinatown! He not only drove Shen Ning out with his wife and kids, he divided other families and tore them apart to take power from us! He caused the divide and tensions between the other Dojos and got the Sento closed because of it!

One of my best friends had to leave his girlfriend behind because those assholes were looking to hang people and set their bodies on fire if they didn't obey the law! I spoke out against the cruelty of this law and you remembered what went down that day! As petty as he was, he got me blackballed so I couldn't become the next Shiva. Remember that the old tradition before these RULES came in was that anyone could become the next Shiva if they could best the previous one in power. These days, you need to appeal to those outside of Chinatown to get your position! THAT'S SHIT AND YOU KNOW IT!)

(Master Yau...) Leung said remorseful of what Yau told them.

(Don't call me that anymore. That was years ago. These days... I'm just a regular officer watching over his home so no more will be taken from the people he cares about.)

(We're sorry Yau. We remember all that you and Master Shen Ning brought to us that our hearts shattered when Arcana took everything away from you.) Tao said sadden.

(It's okay. Those days are over and Arcana has been dead for close to two decades now. I heard that the third Shiva is doing a wonderful job keeping Chinatown in peace even during Hell Week. I also heard from my coworkers that he managed to unite the other Dojo Masters to help protect the Orphanage on Arcana Hill. Very impressive.)

Shiva smiled from Yau's words.

(Your words are always welcomed Yau. Though I come to you about a certain pressing manner.) Shiva's tone went from calm to stern. (Yau, somehow is trying to Blackmail my Dojo in forcing me out of power. I need your help.)

(Someone is threatening the Dojo?) Yau's toothpick fell out of his mouth.

(Not just the Dojo, the Orphanage as well. Tell me, have you heard of a woman named Asteria Mary Re?) He asked crossing his arms.

Yau's eyes lighten up from hearing her name.

(Oh I know that name! That's Lung's girlfriend! Hahaha! I missed that rascal! Seems like yesterday when I met her after that brawl in the park. What has she been up to recently?)

(She became the Headmaster of the Orphanage on Arcana Hill. It was by the promotion of one woman who bought the mansion: Mariana Trenches.)

Yau looked at Shiva confused.

(The new Real Estate Mongrel? I heard of her. She's kind of a phantom. She buys up properties that Mr. X has no use for and turns them into businesses to help the struggling areas that lost their jobs. Her biggest acquirement was Arcana Hill mansion, but I heard from my wife she was trying to buy the closed Tomcat Air Force Base.

That's quite a daring move. I heard that Tomcat is half the size of Clark Air Force Base. That's like a whole city in itself. I wonder what she was planning to build on that land if not just the Orphanage. The deal never went thru, through. Still... I was shocked when the Mansion became an Orphanage because like everyone else, I wanted that place torn down.

I went up there to see for myself what the deal was. Turns out, it's land at the size of a Rural Town. The kids seem happy and well taken care of. Even the staff is well taken care of and happy to be there. Quite the contrast of the Hill's dark history and origin.)

(Don't you feel angry that the Hill is active after how many years it was left abandoned?)

(I should be... but after seeing the clean modern site and how happy the people there are, I... I think we should give it a chance. Anyhow, want to go speak with Aster?)

(Of course. Typhoon, Hakuyo, Tao, and Leung; Officer Yun should be outside near the entrance. Give your statements to him and return to setting up the Dojo. I'll take Officer Yau to Aster.)

"Yes sir." The four then left went to the entrance area.

Shiva then turned to face Yau.

(Right this way.)

Shiva lead Yau to the office where Aster sat by herself. As they approached the door, Aster finished speaking to Max before hanging up.

"Thank you. It's wonderful to have you on my side. Be safe." Aster hung up her mobile phone and quickly put it in her bag. She turned to see the door open up. The door opens with Yau and Shiva coming in. Aster stands up. "Officer Yau."

"Hey!" Officer Yau gave her a hug, comforting her in seeing his face again. He placed his hands under hers as she let go from the hug. She had a gentle smile on her face. "How's it going? Heard you became the Headmaster of the Orphanage on Arcana Hill."

"It's good to see you, Officer Yau. The promotion was a strange choice because of the mystery to my origin, but I've gotten the hang of how to manage the site. Hell Week is near, so provisions are being checked to see that we don't suffer a shortage. How's your wife and kids been holding up?"

"They just finished confirming their reservation for a Three bedroom dorm at the recently finished Residential Complex on Arcana Hill. I'm so glad to finally got a spot at last. No more hiding in the basement in our neighborhood and having to wait out if it's safe to go outside. At least the kids will have a safe place to stay. Plus, they can play with the kids on the Campus as we wait out Hell Week to be over."

"I'm glad to have gotten the nine-building Residential Complex finished. I know it'll help in taking in families at a disadvantage during Hell Week. I get that Mr. X is goading the last of Arcana's men out of hiding to try and kill him... but it's selfish of him to get the other citizens involved. Shame on him. Will you be staying with your wife and kids in the upcoming week, Officer?"

"Sadly, I'll be on active duty during Hell Week, but at the very least I know my family will be safe and out of harm's way."

"I'll be praying for your safe return, Officer. Don't go dying on us, you hear?"

"Haha! I won't. It's a promise. So... Aster, what are you doing here at Shiva's Dojo?"

"Oh! Umm..." She looked at Shiva, who looked just as uncomfortable as her. "We better explain ourselves."

Five minutes later...

"You're kidding." He shook his head in disbelief while sitting in a chair facing the dithering paused TV. "Aster... you and Shiva were..." He looked at the paused screen on the tape on the CRT TV with Shiva kissing Aster's neck while she's under him. "Aster... you're lucky that Lung is in Costa Rica. You know what will happen if this get's out to the public, don't you?" Shiva looked away, trying not to smile. "Good grief... this is just like the Fallout of the Wai Clan all over again."

"Yau..." She whispered in a sad tone with her head looking away from him.

He got up, put his hands in his jacket pockets and looked at Shiva and Aster.

"Aster..." He leaned on the desk. "I was recently in contact with Officer Hunter. He warned our office that this year, Hell Week is going to be much more bloodier than the previous years."

Shiva asked calmly.

"What have the police discovered, Officer?"

He pierced his lips and let out a hard exhale.

"Since Hell Week began, crime went up by 25%. According to the traffic cops, every block now has a gang. What was once 200 gang members across Woodoak... could possibly be in the 100,000." Aster's eyes opened wide in horror while Shiva blinked his eyes and leaned back. "This blackmail is being committed in an effort to scare people in need of aid from going to Arcana Hill. If the one involved wishes to attack the Orphanage, then it means that there could be a particular target hiding up there every single year during Hell Week."

"Are you suggesting that Catherine might be hiding up there?"

"It's a theory, so don't jump to conclusions just yet. Whoever is targeting Miss Aster here knows that she has ties to the Orphanage and possibly the funds needed to protect it. I heard from some criminals recently arrested that there have been security guards in the wealthy neighborhoods that have been bribed to get the gangs in hours before Hell Week begins. There has been evidence of sabotage on the security system for the gated communities.

Since then, the families have complained in droves at City Hall about the gangs getting into their neighborhoods. As of last year 16 people were killed, 30 homes pillaged, over $500,000 worth of property destroyed, 14 kidnapped and still missing, and 20 accounts of sexual assault were reported. Nine were gangrapes."

"My God... And this is from the upscaled neighborhoods alone? I know without a doubt in the vulnerable neighborhoods, it's a hundred times worst. Though it's odd... These are faithful donors to the current Mayor. If the attacks have been escalating into the wealthy districts, then could it be that they're being targeted for housing members from one of the three factions?"

"I suspect that might be the case. Four months ago, I ran into CPA sympathizers who were passing out fliers to invite people up to a particular location to be safe during Hell Week. The fliers advertise the Residential Complex on Arcana Hill. I got my hands on the flier before they got shooed away by Security. In fact, I hold on to it in case I find any families in need of protection before Hell Week begins."

He handed the flier to Shiva. Shiva read the flier while Yau looked at it and Aster looked on at the map the flier had on it.

"Anton, The Arcana Hill Residential Complex is composed of nine buildings designed specifically for housing lower income families in need of protection during Hell Week. Complete with open courtyards and breezeways, academic, student, and residential engagement team support these state-of-the-art residential hall facilities. Anton fosters an engaging and unique community where families and friends are able to meet and develop bonds to foster growing and everlasting friendships through such trying times." Shiva pondered and then looked at Yau. "Yau, what are the chances that Aster is being targeted because of the people advertising Arcana Hill as being a safe place to hide from the gangs?"

"If any of the three factions are looking to waste someone still evading them, then that is a possibility. The Syndicate, the Remnants, and the CPA... if they see Arcana Hill as a food supply for the other side, they may try to seize it before Hell Week begins." Yau walked over to Aster and placed his hand on her right shoulder and looked down. "Aster, if I were you, I would start looking into background checks for those coming to hide on the Hill."

Aster looked at Yau confused of what he said. She stood up, almost offended from what he said.

"Officer Yau, we already do that, though it's extremely controversial as it makes the Hill look like a members only club when it should be open for everyone. Sadly, inviting anyone is just an invitation to all forms of trouble during Hell Week. Knowing this, the staff already received proper training on how to handle the event of Hell Week. We lay out the rules before anyone wishes to come up to the Hill. Violence in any act, harassment in any form, contraband whether it is drugs or weapons, alcoholic drinks disguised in any container, flammable products like matches and torches, littering, and stealing are prohibited before entry.

Every year the staff checks for contraband as well as signs of repair for the defenses on the wall surrounding the Hill. We make sure that any type of drugs and any form of a weapons, especially shanks from toothbrushes, never make it into the camp grounds. We even check the food and drinks, mainly the drinks, to make sure that no form of alcoholic beverages make it on site.

The staff gave me weird looks when I told them to check the food containers as well as the sandwiches packed for some of the families. I'm glad I trusted my instincts. Last year, we had to expel 12 families in secret through the trash tunnel under the Hill because they didn't listen to our rules about not bringing any firearms onto the site. Some of the food containers confiscated had firearms and ammunition hidden in them. Two sandwiches we took away had box cutters hidden in them. Almost had a heart attack when I heard that. We blacklisted the names, addresses, emails, page numbers, and phone numbers of the families involved and don't plan on letting them back in anytime soon."

"That's the issue Aster. If you have to send people away for breaking the rules, then it means they were going up there in the sole intent to hunt someone or a group of people down. If you and Shiva are being blackmailed, then there could be a chance that it may be someone who could take issue with the both of you. It could be someone expelled from the Grandmaster Dojo who tried to hide at the Anton Residential Complex, but got caught and was sent away quietly."

"If the Orphanage is being targeted as a means for one of the factions to full out control Arcana Hill, then we need to find this sicko before they go too far."

Shiva stood up and walked over to Aster. He turned her around and hugged her.

"Aster, stay calm. For all we know, this could be a bluff meant to cause panic." He then placed his hands on her face. "Right now, let's give Officer Yau our statements and let the police take care of this. If they find something, they'll let us know. Okay?" She gently nodded her head as he kissed the top of it. "Officer Yau, please do what you can to protect Aster. If Arcana Hill falls, your family could be among the causalities when that happens."

"I'll do what I can. For now, let's take the tape and the letters as evidence and get your statements. If there are fingerprints belonging to someone from outside the Dojo, then we can catch them before they attack. Let's hope we get them before they go too far."

Central Woodoak Library, 3 P.M...

The Library closed early that day. With Hell Week so close, having certain buildings operating at that time would be a risk factor for the City. Aster finishes sorting the books that were dropped off to be returned. She walks over to see Shiva waiting for her in an area with couches under a high ceiling. The afternoon light pours through the window dome above, making it hard for Aster to see Shiva's face. She closed her eyes sadden from the blurry image in front of her. She walks over to him and sits down with him. Her mind winded from the events of the day. He rubs her back as she leans in.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. Don't look so gloom."

"..." Aster opens her eyes as she leans into Shiva's chest. "Lung, can I confess something?"

"Of course."

"Lung... have you ever wondered why I didn't recognize you immediately when I saw your face?"

"I figured my disguise was so convincing that there was no issue. What's wrong Aster?"

"Lung... my vision has been getting worse in the pasting years. Even though I use glasses, I had means to get that fancy laser eye surgery to be free from glasses. I... don't like wearing glasses. Do you know why?"

"Aster, I don't care if you hate glasses for any reason. You're still beautiful regardless if you have them on."

"It's... not that Lung... People who belittle me for wearing glasses are irrelevant. It's... something else... more... personal..." She inhaled and exhaled deeply. "When I was ten, my older brother Apolaki needed these ugly glasses when his vision started to go bad. His glasses reminded me of my father's glasses... tortoise shell pattern, dated, and boxy like. Wearing glasses... reminds me of what I left behind. Having to use them sucks because I have to relive the memories of being driven out."

"How old were your brothers when you left home Aster?"

"My older brother Apolaki was just turning 12 when I ran away. My younger brother Aholi was five years old. I left my baby brother behind because I didn't know how I would be able to care for a five year old."

Shiva frowned from what she said.

"Your older brother was 12? What gave him authority to kick you out?"

"It wasn't so much his call... but an argument that went down between him and our Guardian... Alastor. They were having an argument about my brother bringing his friends over.

During that time, a pandemic broke out in our city and the city was having problems trying to keep people from spreading the virus. My brothers just survived their bout against the first strand around the time that..." She looked down. "...Around the time that my parents and I went to that festival. My aunt was caring for the both of them because she survived the first strand and figured she had immunity. So my mom had her watch over my brothers."

"What was this... stupid argument about?" He asked confounded from what she said.

"It was about my brother letting his friends come over while a lockdown was still in order. During this argument... my older brother said something that... drove me out of the house. It was the last straw. He had already been blaming me for Mom and Dad's death even though I was innocent. He told Alastor these words... and I'll never forget them as long as I live: I wish it was Aster that was gone instead of Mom and Dad... because at least we would still have a house and we wouldn't have to live with you."

"..." Shiva closed his eyes from hearing her words.

"I remember how fast I was running. The sun was going down when I ran out. I remember running all the way to my school. As soon as I got there, I fell down in front of the swing sets. I cried and cried as the area became dark and the lights came on. I must have fell asleep before..." She stopped horrified. Something was coming back to her.

"Aster?" Shiva asked wondering why she stopped.

In her memories, Aster saw an Old Man in a Wheel Chair in front of her. He had a strangely colorful blanket covering his legs and his left arm. His face was obscured by the large brimmed hat on his head. She saw herself walk over to him.

"Mister... are you okay?"

She then heard the sound of little kids laughing and turned to see a little dark skinned girl with curly black hair in a baby blue frilly dress with white stockings and mary janes sitting on Aster's favorite yellow swing. She was holding a medium sized mirror. Next to the little girl was a little boy wearing a white sleeveless shirt with blue shorts with brown sandals. His appearance seem to resemble a southern Asian style of fashion. She then turned to see a man wearing white medical attire standing behind the old man in the wheel chair. She then saw the hat slightly move up on the old man. A deep voice came from the old man.

"If you could make one wish... what would your wish be?"

Aster's heart started pounding out of her chest. As she was about to run, she turned to see the little girl laughing. The mirror the little girl was holding was glowing as bright as the sun. Aster closed her eyes tight as she started to violently shake. Shiva saw what state of mind she was in and gently rocked her back and forth.

"Aster... what's wrong?" He felt her shaking violently against his chest. "Aster, snap out of it. You're not in any danger."

Aster uttered words out as she started to cry. She clenched Shiva's shirt collar as if she felt that she was about to die.

"AAAAAHHHHH! THIS! ISN'T! HAPPENING!" She cried out squeezing her eyes closed.

"ASTER!"

Aster opened her eyes. She was in a cold sweat with her heart pounding out of her chest. She lifted herself off of Shiva. She looked at Shiva and then at her right hand. She placed her right hand onto her face.

"Lung, what happened?"

"You were freaking out and crying. Aster, are you okay?"

Aster looked at him with a blank stare.

"Lung... I remembered something from my past. I... remember why I can't go home anymore. It isn't that I don't want to go home... I can't remember how to get back there."

"Do you remember where you came from?"

"..." She looked down as hot tears stained her face.

"I guess that hasn't come back to you yet."

"I'm so sorry Lung." She wiped her tears from her eyes.

"You keep apologizing and I'm just going to take you home with me. You want that?"

"Lung, you could get in trouble if we're seen together."

"I don't see the big deal anymore. Someone already recorded us last night. Wait... you know what? I'll just take you back to my place. How about that?"

"Lung... I..."

"Aster if I leave you alone, you could end up targeted again. Come stay over in my place."

"I don't know about this Lung. Are you sure being with you is safe?"

"If the three factions are targeting you, it means you're fair game. I can't let that go on. Your safety must come first. Now then, I'll take you back to your apartment. Pack your things and come stay with me."

"...Okay."

Shiva's house, 6 P.M...

Aster and Shiva lie on Shiva's couch quietly. She was wearing a white halter floral dress while Shiva wore a black silk Kimono, a gift he received by Yamato in past meetings with Mr. X and the Syndicate visiting Japan. Shiva spoons her while stroking her hair.

"Aster..." He quietly spoke to her as he trailed kisses over her neck. "Talk to me."

Aster lifted her head and looked at him. She turned her whole body around and looked at him.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

He smiled at her as he gently caress her neck.

"I'm sorry. I've been waiting for so long to be with you again. I wish I wouldn't have left you four years ago." He took her hand and kissed it.

She stopped him as he was about to move his head below her shoulders. He was looking at the buttons on her floral dress positioned below the cleavage.

"Don't get too feisty, Lung. Don't you want to hear the next part of Nozomi?"

He looked at her and hugged her. He rolled her on her back and then rested his head on her right shoulder.

"I almost forgot. Thank you for bringing that back to my memory."

"Now that everything is settled... I will tell you about the next character in Nozomi's story... The Left-Sided Servant."

[Stage 2] Departure: The Left-Sided Servant

The boat the girl was riding cut through the sulfuric acid seas at a furious speed. The brownish acid splashed up around the prow, a strong wind blowing the scent of it up to the girl's nose. The silver ship, like a living thing, sliced through the sulfuric acid on an unseen path.

"Aaah!" Something about it gave her a quite exhilarating feeling.

"Hey...qu...quiet down out there," came a kindly voice from the inside of the ship.

"Who's there?" The girl took a peek out of the steering room. Suddenly, something jumped out at her.

"Oh...that was a nice rest...hey, when did this ship start moving?!" This "living thing" was bright white, with a tiny face, and an appearance something like a daikon with arms and legs. Something about it was feminine, with deep-set eyes, but even more of a change was that it seemed to only have the left side of its body.

"Who are you?" the girl asked this "living thing".

"Who am I...well, same to you! But even more importantly, why is this ship moving? Quick, stop it! Stop it right now! I don't want to go anywhere. I don't want to move," this strange guy said, shoving her along impatiently.

"But you see, we've just left, and we can't stop now. And then, and then, we're on a very important quest, you see."

"Wa...wait just a minute! When you say "we", who are you referring to?"

"Well, it's been settled, hasn't it? You and I. Unless there's someone else here too?"

"Ah, geez, stop joking around! All around us, the sea is sulfuric acid! If you don't turn back quickly, this ship will fall apart!"
Daikon-kun looked at her with thin, emotionless eyes.

"Ah, that's not a problem, since I have the map to show me the safest way to go." The girl produced the faded map, and showed it to him. Upon seeing it, the daikon violently snapped his neck backwards.

While they were talking, the boat pitched up into the acid sea.

"Oh no! This is the end! But, it must be the doing of the mysterious map. Oh, I don't know for sure, but to my eyes, this thing looks different. Isn't there anything we can do?"

"Ah, but I know things you don't. Only the Messiah who can save this world can see what's on this map. So, it's okay not to worry, since I am the Messiah."

"As I thought, you're an idiot. I've been tricked into traveling with a fool. Ah, God, why do you have to be so cruel? Oh, God, what is your will? Even though I could have done it well enough not going anywhere. Oh, God, what have I done? What could I have possibly done to be forced to depart on a suicidal journey with this idiotic little girl? Oh, God..."

"You'll be fine, if you just put up with it...I'm sure God's sick of you by now."

"Me, at this point I'm more sick of you."

"Anyhow, I'm not giving up. We have no choice but to go on this journey together."

The Daikon fell silent once more.

"Hey, can I ask you something? Why don't you have half of your body?"

"Ah, that, huh..." he said, resignedly.

"I don't really want to talk about it, but...aaah, I guess I can tell you. For some reason, when I boarded this ship, I let it go." With that, he began his story.

"In the beginning, I had a normal body. Can you say that the Left-Sided Servant lives by curiosity? Or perhaps he is reckless? He approaches things without fear of failure, going here and there, anxious to just be going somewhere. But, even though he's not doing anything important at all, the Left-Sided Servant feels that it's most important to just be focused on whatever you do end up doing. Because that's just how things are, aren't they?"

"Are they?" The girl tilted her head.

"That's right. If you just do that, you won't hurt anyone else, and you won't sustain any wounds yourself. So, if I were to move my right side ahead, the left side would draw back. In the end, I couldn't be ahead anymore. Forever returning to that day, and completely despising that right side of myself, I separated myself completely from it...ah, to say I'm alone now is strange, isn't it? I split myself willingly into two halves, you see. After that, thinking that no one should come to this ship, I lived in peace here. Ah, then...I got rid of that other half. Get it?"

"I get it."

"Ah, yeah, I guess you do. So, end this dangerous quest, and just leave me on some island somewhere!"
"Yeah, yeah, I get that you're a coward."

"A coward? No! I want to call it being prudent."

"Ah! Behind you!"

"Eh? Wh...wha...wha...what? What? What?"

"Ahahaha, I'm joking. As I thought, you're a coward after all."

"...you...you're terrible!"

He tried to rest his cheek against the right hand that he didn't have, and with a bitter smile that seemed to light up his face, rested it in his left hand, gently this time.

"Hey...isn't only having half of your body really inconvenient?"

"...well, I guess that's true..."

"I think the right side of you feels the same way."

When the girl said this, he let go of his cheek, and tilted up his chin. "It doesn't work that way. The right side of me thinks that I don't exist anymore. To him, the Left-Sided Servant isn't important at all."

"I don't think so. I'm sure he thinks that it would be nice if the left side and the right side were together again," the girl said encouragingly, "that's right, you may be able to meet with your other half again on the course of this journey. So, together, we'll search for that other part of you, okay?"

"That's okay. It's really fine. In any case, I can't go. After all, the next time we hit land, you're going to do me a favor and leave me there," he said, falling off the girl's shoulder so that he could not see her any longer.

Just then, a large black mass appeared off the prow, still kicking up the brown-colored sea.

"Wha...what's that!" the girl cried out.

"Hah, you can't eat anything with the same hand twice."

"Really, well in that case, I'll use another one!"

At the same time, the Left-Sided Servant looked back. With an ominous sound from the inside of the ship, it shook with the strong shock of impact.

"This isn't good. We might be stranded."

"That's why I said I hated all this. Outside of this ship is a sea of sulfuric acid, so what will you do?" The Left-Sided Servant's white skin was shaking.

"It's okay. We'll keep going around this side to that cliff, disembark, and walk."

"Wh...oh geez!" Not having much of a choice, the Left-Sided Servant followed to that side of the cliff. Once arriving there, he held tightly on to the girl's hand, his hand covered in sweat.

Suddenly, the red moon that had been watching them all this while was covered by dark clouds, shrouding the sky and all around them in darkness...

~End of Stage 2~

Shiva sat up to look at her.

"Something tells me I am going to hate the Left-Sided Servant."

"He is a coward. There is a Right-Sided Servant, but he won't appear until later in the story."

"If we were to compare the characters to us... Who do you see yourself as more? Left or Right?"

Aster lifted herself up and looked at her right arm. She let her left hand glided over the skin. She notice something off about her body.

Left or Right... wait... something isn't right... Why didn't I notice this before? Before I came to Woodoak... I was badly burned on my back and... my right arm. That festival fire left me with severe scars on those areas of my body... but they're missing... Where are my scars? She thought looking at her arms.

She looked at Shiva and then remain sat up.

"If I were one of the characters, I would want to be the Right-Sided Servant... yet... I feel more like the... Left-Sided Servant."

He sat up behind her when he noticed her trailing her left hand over her right arm.

"What's wrong?" He lifted her right arm and looked at it and then at her, puzzled as to what she was doing.

Aster placed her left hand onto his right hand, which was holding her right arm up. She then took his right hand and placed it onto her stomach.

"Lung, remember when I told you about how my brother drove me out of our home?"

"To be honest, I really don't like your brother Apolaki. He sounds like an asshole."

"He's actually more complicated than anyone thinks. His hatred towards me wasn't always there. Before our parents died... he was kinder than that. Though there's another reason why I had enough and left. After mom and dad died, I was left with these terrible scars on my right arm and my back. Though... I have a terrible phantom pain. As if... they suddenly disappeared."

"..."

"Do you know... about how exactly my parents died?" He nodded his head in disagreement. "I'll try to give a full detail of what happened:

I was ten years when they perished. Before we went to the festival, my Aunt was called on by my mom to watch over my brothers, who had caught the virus. My dad protested that my mom was going to kill her sister and my brothers, but after my mom did her usual beat around the bush tactic, my dad gave in and took the three of us to the festival.

It was a giant event where these large canopies stood. The air smelled like cooked bacon, popcorn, cotton candy, and sweet bakery goods. There were tents set up that sold jewelry, paintings, clothes, toys, and bonsai trees. There were musicians playing at these three separate stages within the park we went to. Many of the people present weren't wearing any masks. They were happy and smiling.

The area was pretty crowded to where sometime along, I got separated from my parents. As I tried to look for them at this large event, I found my way to the center of the park. There was a protest going on to where the police got involved. I watched as one group was trying to protect this giant tree. They said the tree was endangered and had to be preserved. Another was demanding that it should be cut down. They claimed the tree was evasive and dangerous, it's pollen combined with the containment soil caused health risks with one being life threatening if the tree remained standing. As the chaos ensued, my focus was thrown for a loop... when I saw... that man."

Aster brought her arms around her legs, curling up.

"He was sunburned with unkempt hair. His clothes were dirty and torn. He had on a stained white T-shirt with ripped pants and soiled hiking boots. I'll never forget his face when... he saw me. He walked up to me and bent down to look me in the eye, flashing a crooked yellow teeth stained smile with a lit cigarette in his mouth. He asked me:

"Hey kid. Do you like fireworks?" I didn't answer him back. His whole appearance just gave me a terrible shock. He then spoke again. "If you do, you're going to like this."

I then noticed something in his right hand... a red canister with a black nozzle. He then stood up and walked away from me and... toward the crowd. I saw him splash what looked at water on the tree. I thought it was water until I saw the police tackle him. I always wondered why the police attacked him if he was watering the tree. It wasn't until I figured out that it wasn't water that it was too late. As they held him down, he struggled with them until I saw it..."

She stopped as she stared at the wall. Shiva sat up and hugged her from behind. Her voice started to crack.

"Lung... he got his left hand free... and threw his cigarette from his mouth at the tree. It hit the spots he splashed the tree with the strange water. I didn't connect the dots that it was gasoline until the tree ignited and started to burn at a rapid pace.

I remember turning and trying to run, but the crowd was too thick for me to squeeze through. As I tried to push through, I found myself nervously walking away being pushed back and forth trying to keep my balance. Suddenly, I felt someone grab my hand. I looked at who grabbed me. It was my dad. He scolded me for running off, but told me he would talk about when we got home. For now, we had to get out of the park before that fire spread. As we walked, I saw my mom up ahead yelling at people to walk faster. I watched with my dad in horror of the next event... that left me scarred forever."

"..." Shiva rested his head from behind her onto her right shoulder.

"Someone turned around and punched my mom in the face. When she fell down, I figured my dad could reach for her with others and pick her up... but something worse happened. I didn't realize that when you're in a large crowd, you don't have enough space and time to reach out and grab anything. The last thing you want to do is fall down. In my mom's case, it wasn't the trampling that would kill her. As it turned out, my mom had inadvertently caused what I later found was called a crush. When she fell down, she caused a domino affect to the people around her and behind her.

My dad and I got knocked over and trapped under the bodies of those in front of us and those trying to climb over. My dad hugged me close to him to protect me from the mountains of bodies that would soon bury us... under a pile of corpses. As people desperately tried to climb over the mountain created, I found out after the whole ordeal that the tents near the tree caught fire and were spreading carbon monoxide.

The sounds of the people screaming angrily to break free... turned to screams of desperation. If it wasn't the tents raining fire down on those on top of us that killed them, then the smoke inhalation would. My dad told me to not cry. If I did, I wouldn't make it. He kept me close to him as I felt my right arm and my back being burned slowly. The whole time, I tried not to panic... to keep calm, I put my ear up to my dad's chest and listened to it beat. It kept me calm as the chaos unfolded."

"Aster..."

"I didn't know how long it was until I was rescued. By the time firefighters got to me, I notice something was wrong with my dad. My ear was close to his chest and I realized to my horror that... my dad's heart had stopped beating... and he stopped breathing. As soon as I felt the pressure of the dead bodies being lifted off of us, I saw a black boot in front of me. I quickly reached out and grabbed it. I lifted my head and... the first thing I saw getting out from that pile.. was my mom's dead body being pulled away with others among the dead.

I tried to say something as I looked up at the firefighter in front of me... but all I could do was wail in anguish. I remember crying in front of him while grabbing his boot. He was wearing a lime green firefighter suit with a black helmet and black boots. In one hand was him holding the arm off a dead woman. The other had... an abnormal battle axe at the size of his body. He let go of the dead woman and placed his axe on a holder on his back. He carefully picked me up and carried me to a stretcher. As he carried me, I... I reached out for my dad. His body laid motionless with the others behind us. Once I was in the ambulance, I was in and out of conscious. What I do remember upon waking up in a hospital bed... was seeing Alastor."

"..."

"I didn't know why he was visiting me. I was having trouble trying to figure who he was until... I saw the battle axe resting on the wall nearby. It was him. I couldn't believe it. He was that fireman who saved me. He was checking on me because... 700 people died at that park festival fire. Only 20 survived, but the news claimed it was 19.

He kept my identity a secret by sneaking me out of the hospital and took me and my brothers. He kidnapped us from our aunt. He told her if she didn't want to go to prison for violating the quarantine that she needs to tell the news that my brothers and I are over at her place because our parents dropped us off there.

When news came out that our parents were among the dead, our relatives came in droves to ask for custody from the court. My mom's family wanted my little brother Aholi because he looked like our mom. Since Apolaki and I didn't resemble our mom, they didn't want us. It was my dad's relatives, however, that destroyed my brother's relationship with me.

They wanted me because... they said my gift had awakened and that I was going to go on to do great things. When the judge asked about Apolaki, my dad's crazy sister Aunt Angelica said that Apolaki can go into the Foster care system. They knew of his gift, but they said it wasn't much of a gift as it was a curse. None of my family members wanted my older brother and that broke his heart. The only one who wanted to keep all three of us together... was Alastor."

"Aster... Alastor kidnapped you guys. You were children when he grabbed you."

"To my shame, it is true that him asking the judge to watch over us was unethical and inappropriate... but after he brought over a lawyer that showed that he was a distant cousin to my mom, and that my dad's sister Angelica mishandled my medicine money and used it to pay for bail to one of our cousins in jail, the judge was fed up of both sides and gave my brothers and I to Alastor. I was happy to be with my hero... but my older brother grew to hate me after the court case was done. He wished I never survived... I guess he was wishing that he never knew about how heartless our family members were towards him. It wasn't his fault.

Please understand, Lung. He wasn't mad at me because of Mom and Dad's deaths. He was more upset that none of the other relatives wanted him and were willing to abandon him... when he need them just as much as Aholi and I needed them. I want to go back to see him, but I don't know how to get back... and I fear I'll never be able to remember how."

"You... you were kidnapped... but the way you talk about Alastor. You seem happy that he took you and your brothers. Why?"

"I heard that there's a chance I have suffered from Stockholm Syndrome when Alastor rescued me. Though, I doubt that's the case. The six months my brothers and I lived with Alastor and his wife Tabitha were peaceful ones. My little brother and I got along with Alastor and Tabitha. They gave us things my mom and dad could never had given us while they was alive. We had bigger bedrooms with our own full size beds and full bathrooms, fancy clothes, toys, video games, better quality food and drinks, and access to our favorite shows and movies.

Thanks to the pandemic, I discovered how wonderful of a tutor Tabitha was. She gave me a custom made pocket watch with special programs put on them. The picture of me with my mom and dad and my brothers was always the first thing I saw when I checked the time. Oh Lung, you should have seen how brilliant she was. I sadly lost the watch sometime ago, but not sure if it happened before or during the time I became a Drifter. My grades went up during the time we spent with them. My older brother though... around the time of his birthday... he grew to resent the both of them and his grades started slipping. I didn't realize it until now... when my relationship with Alastor and his wife started growing... my brother's anger towards me grew as well. It caused a divide until the boiling point was hit. When he said what he said to Alastor..."

"Right Aster. That's enough." He kissed her head. "Come on. You need to rest. I think that fiasco today is bringing back terrible memories that you didn't want to deal with until know. Even though they were heartbreaking Aster, I'm glad you told me about them."

"Lung... thank you Lung."

Shiva lifted her up from the couch and took her into his bedroom. He shut the door behind him. On the counter top in the kitchen was his Pager going off. It read the following on it: FoundSS CallYun. C Meyers. Over a hundred miles away from Shiva's home was back at the Orphanage on Arcana Hill. On the first floor, where the staff sleep, was a bedroom with a private room and Bath studio. A nurse, who had recently quit her job at the Hospital held a pager in her hand while laying on her bed. Next to the bed was a nightstand. On the night stand was the lamp with a framed photo next to it. In the photo was her with three young children; their names printed on the frame: Candance with Lissa, Sue, and Elle.

"Shiva... I found it! The Arcana Hill Security System. Please hurry and call Officer Yun. We need to act quick... before you go meet with Ismael."

End of Chapter 6...

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: The Dilapidated Town

~March 2, 1991~

Market Place, Pine Pot, 5 A.M...

A middle-aged red haired woman wearing hospital blue scrubs, blue washed out jeans, and white sneakers finishes her breakfast plate accompanied with a empty cup of coffee resting on top of a ten dollar bill. She exits from the Pine Pot. The sun was just rising and she was tired. Her shift had finished and she was going home to her tenement. Her home located in the Dilapidated Town area, on the border of the Red Light District. Taking a bus ride, she watches as the bright neon colored lit area faded and transitioned into a run down area where 70% of the tenements were barely preoccupied. Trash and old newspapers would occasionally blow through the area when the wind picked up. She watched the sun's rays come over the large buildings on her way home.

After getting off the bus, she sees a large group of men gathered on the sidewalk. Each of them wore brown hooded jackets over their olive green shirts with denim jeans and dirty white sneakers. On the back of their shirts were stitched on wording that read MOTHERLESS. They're leaning up against the walls. As she approached her home, she saw in the distance what looked like two pre-teen girls walking up the street. The older one was blonde wearing a white stand up collar, long sleeved floral dress with white tights and mary janes. She carried a white sports bag around her body. The younger one was a red head with braided pigtails. She wore a red floral short sleeve dress with black tights and black rain boots. She had a red sports bag with her. The girls seemed happy about something.

"I'm so glad we went to that Sleepover! That duel was amazing to watch!"

"If you're talking about Officer Yau and Aster fighting each other on top of a round table on Koshiro Field, yeah I saw it. It surprises me how fast they were able to keep up with each other on top of an unsteady surface. I thought many times the table would fall before it got snapped into two."

The young red headed girl spoke with her older sister while giving a one-two punch with a kick. Trying to mimic what she and her sister saw.

"That's what makes it so cool. All the punching and kicking they were doing was so fast, I felt dizzy watching. Even when the table broke in half and they spun both sides around with their feet to land the pieces on the kindergarten wooden stools was awesome! You think he will train the younger kids in Wing Chun after teaching the High Schoolers and Staff?"

"Unlikely Lissa. I'm just wondering why Miss Aster is asking him to help the older kids defend themselves. There's a giant wall that surrounds the Hill that is protected by an electric fence. What would Arcana Hill need for practicing Wing Chun? She must be a Bruce Lee fan."

"I think it's cool. I hope Mr. Yau teaches us. Imagine, we would be able to kick boy butt if they messed with us."

"I hope not. From how he and the Headmaster fought, that would definitely scare anyone from wanting to go near us. We 'd never get into any college if people heard those rumors."

"Well I'd love to give that big meany Mallis at Arcana Hill an open palm to her dumb face."

"Lissa, if Mom hears you say that, you're really gonna get it."

"I thought we promised not to talk about visiting Arcana Hill in secret in front of Mom. You know how Mom feels about that place. She says it's haunted with the souls of dead children and other people Arcana killed. Even the ones Grandpa on Dad's side were involved in."

"We won't talk about it with her. So just keep it locked shut okay?"

"Okay. I promise."

They then stopped and saw a group of men looking down from on top of the tenements. Sue took her sister's hand.

"Come on Lissa. Let's get inside before-" Sue stopped in place.

"Before what Sue?" Lissa turned and saw what stopped Sue. "Uh Oh."

Standing in front of them was the children's tired mom. Sue stepped forward.

"Uhhh... hi Mom."

The woman crossed her arms.

"Please tell me you didn't leave Elle alone at the house."

"W-We didn't. We asked Miss Greto to watch over Elle as well as Jacque-"

"You left your baby sister... with Miss Greto?!" She looked at the man leaning against the wall with a straight razor in his hand. She turned to look at Sue. "Sue! You can't just leave your little sister with our neighbors! You don't know what kind of people they are!" She marched over to the tenement past the chain linked fence. "Both of you come here! NOW!"

As all three walked inside of the tenement, one of the men leaning against the wall looked at the door the mother walked in with her daughters. Inside the tenement was a small space with wooden stairs leading up to the three small bedrooms with one bathroom. There were cracks along the walls with lamps hanging from the ceiling. Next to the door was a steel baseball bat leaning next to a wooden drawer.

The kitchen was small with a square table that had four chairs with its appliances ordered from a 1980 Magic Chef Home Appliance Catalog. The family room had a small white floral semicircular sofa in it along with a Panasonic Color TV facing parallel to it. Next to the door entrance was a coat hanger with shoes lined alongside of it. Two small backpacks, one with horses and another with rabbits, hung on the coat hanger.

As the mother walked into the small house with her two daughters, she saw a elderly woman wearing glasses with a green satin jumpsuit with brown shoes. She was sleeping on the sofa sitting up with a ugly pastel quilt on her. Next to her feet was a sleeping German Shepherd lying stretched out on the floor. The youngest daughter sat watching the Saturday morning cartoons on a large blue rug.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Candance said upon seeing the elder woman

She took the remote off the couch and turned off the TV. The little girl, still in her blue floral sleepwear gown, turned around and saw the woman standing in the doorway.

"Mommy!"

She got up and ran to her mom. The elderly woman woke up and turned to see the mother in the door way. She put her glasses on to see who was inside.

"Oh good morning Candance." The old woman yawned as she got up.

"Miss Greto... please tell me you didn't accept my daughters asking you to baby sit Elle."

"Huh? Oh that. Mmm yes. Your daughters Sue and Lissa asked me to watch over Elle because you said it was okay for them to go have a sleepover after school at a friend's house."

"You let them... seriously?" She looked at the elderly woman in disbelief.

"Well... I figured they talk to you first and that it was okay with you. So I came over to watch Elle. Besides, with my son Poul having his girlfriend live with us and having that insistent gang running around here, I decided that... I need to get out of that house."

"Miss Greto... as much as I want to thank you for keeping Elle safe, I have to tell you the truth. My daughters lied to you."

"I know that." The old woman said without looking surprised.

Candance crossed her arms frustrated from hearing the answer.

"If you knew, why didn't you tell me?"

"Miss Candance Meyers! You have an answering machine that my calls keep going to. How am I suppose to make time to call you if you won't call me back? Also, in case you want to know, your daughters have made it a habit to have a sleepover every Friday after school."

Sue and Lissa looked at the old lady shocked that she told their Mom. The panic on Candance's face mixed with anger came out.

"Every... friday? EVERY FRIDAY?! They have been leaving their baby sister, my youngest daughter, with you? Without even TELLING ME?!"

"Yes. That's right! And you know what? I do not mind. My daughter Ruth is all grown up and will become a mother soon in these upcoming days. So caring for Elle gives me joy... well until Ruth gives birth which won't be until the middle of Hell Week... and God only knows how we're going to be able to get her to the hospital."

"Did you try to get in contact with a Midwife?" She asked trying to calm herself down.

"I did. No one wants to come out here. I blame Poul for that! His gang really did a number on this area. Calls himself the leader of the Motherless... PAH!"

"Miss Greto... I can't pay you back for babysitting because I wasn't aware of this."

"Well... I can think of something to make us even." She looked at her lowering her glasses. "You're a nurse, aren't you?"

"I am a nurse, but I'm mostly tending to patients in the ICU. If you're asking for my help in delivering your grandchild, you need to find a way to get Ruth to a Hospital or find an actual midwife. I wouldn't know how to properly deliver your grandchild without the right equipment and medicine needed."

"Well you better come up with something and soon. If you can't make up for what your daughters did..." She walked over and looked Candance in the eyes. "If you can't make up for what your daughters did, know this Miss Meyers! MY SON HATES COPS! AND YOU WERE MARRIED TO ONE! Make this right or else!" She then looked at the horrified daughters. "Thank you so much for letting me babysit your sister. She was such an Angel. Goodbye Sue. Goodbye Lissa. Goodbye Elle." The dog barked. "Oh I haven't forgotten about you Jacque! Such a good boy! Yes you are! Yes you is!" She then stood up to look at Candance with a scowl on her face. "Remember... make this right or else!"

The old woman then walked out of the house. Candance took Elle upstairs, placed her in the master bedroom, and closed the door behind her. She then went back down and looked at her two older daughters furious.

"I. Am. Disappointed... in BOTH OF YOU! LEAVING YOUR SISTER WITH THE MOTHER OF A GANG LEADER! WHAT WERE YOU BOTH THINKING?! I TOLD YOU NOT TO GO ANYWHERE NEAR OUR NEIGHBORS!" Candance then walked over to the kitchen and sat down. She placed her head down on the wooden surface, sobbing. "They going to fleece us for money... as if things weren't hard enough as it is."

Sue and Lissa walked over to their sobbing mother. Sue placed her hand on Candance's back.

"We're sorry Mom. We wanted to take Elle and Jacque with us, but we knew if we ran into trouble, we wouldn't be able to protect them."

Candance lifted her head and looked at her oldest daughter with her eyes red and her face tear stained.

"And you thought that leaving them with her was any better?"

Sue and Lissa looked down ashamed. Lissa then ran over and hugged Candance. She started crying too.

"I'm sorry Mom. It's all my fault. We wanted to take Elle and Jacque with us, but... but we knew that if the gangs got us, we knew we would never see you again."

Sue spoke as tears ran down her face.

"We didn't want to put Elle through that because she's five. And... if Jacque would have barked at or bit any gang member, we don't if they would draw a gun on us. We heard that the Brutes are a gang that are known to take guns with them and drive around Woodoak in a graffiti sprayed car. If we encountered them, I don't think we would have made it back home."

Candance asked softly as her daughters held her.

"Where did you go?"

Lissa spoke while clinging to her mom.

"Sue and I went to Arcana Hill. We went to the Hill because..." Candance looked at her middle child while tears fell onto her daughters face. "...Because me and Sue's friends, who use to attend Millar Elementary, are up there. Remember when some of the families lost their jobs two years ago? Their parents lost their jobs too."

Candance looked at her and stopped crying.

"What?"

"Yeah." Lissa said seeing how distraught she made her mother feel.

"What are they doing at Arcana Hill?"

Lissa looked at her mom, but didn't answer. Sue answered.

"Mom... their parents killed themselves. Our friends feared the Foster Care System, so they ran away and started living on the streets like thieves."

Candance lifted her head to her children and wrapped her arms around her two daughters.

"So... your friends are..."

"Yes Mom... they're Orphans."

Lissa then spoke up.

"They are Orphans... but the Headmaster at the Wookoak Orphanage sent one her friends to find them and invited them to Arcana Hill. Remember Miss Aster? She's the new Headmaster on Arcana Hill. She sent her friend out to find kids living on the streets and brings them in to feed them and shelter them. Her friend's name is Rimayes Errata."

Sue spoke and added to Lissa.

"He's a thief just like them. He found them after Shiva drove him out of the big fancy Dojo in Chinatown... for trying to steal the electronics in the back. I heard that Shiva calls Rimayes Aoi Hekireki, which means Blue Thunder... They say he's given that nickname because he appears like Thunder and disappears. It's also because he wears blue overalls with a blue shirt and a big blue newsboy hat. So Shiva told his men to yell the name to warn others that the thief is in the Dojo."

Candance looked at Sue and Lissa shocked.

"Aster's... the Headmaster on the Hill? And there's a kid... trying to steal... from the recent Shiva?"

"Yes. It's true. He's escaped Shiva and his men ten times for breaking and entering... but he's doing it because he saw computers and other devices in the Dojo. So he was hoping to pawn them off. If he sells the items, he can buy food."

"Sue... Lissa..."

Lissa spoke hugging Candance.

"The Headmaster found Rimayes one day when he tried to steal her LeSportSac purse and took him in to the Orphanage on the Hill. Since then, he's been trying to help get as many Orphans off the streets as possible. Our friends are one of them."

Sue spoke.

"They went to the Hill and met Miss Aster. I found out from Tan Wei, one of the orphans from Chinatown, that the Orphanage was bought four years ago by Miss Mariana Trenches. She made Aster the Headmaster by revealing that Aster is her niece three times removed. However, it didn't open until the next year... because the other buildings were being built. One of them is the one we slept at... the Anton Residential Complex. It's dedicated to Aster's late father... Anton Leonardo Re."

"It's beautiful Mom. We wish you, Elle, and Jacque could have came with us, but... we knew you hated Arcana Hill. So we kept it a secret. We're sorry Mom."

Candance looked at the Calendar and then at her daughters, who were still hugging her.

"Oh my God... Hell Week starts this month. Sue? Lissa?"

"Yes Mom?" The daughters looked at their Mom with tears running down their faces.

"I... I... I'm sorry. I haven't been protecting all of you as I should have. I forgot to buy train tickets to leave for your Grandmother's house like we usually do. Because of me, we'll have to buy expensive tickets just to get out of here. Oh what have I done? I'm a terrible mother."

Sue shook their heads in disagreement.

"You're not a bad mom. You did everything you could for us."

"Yeah. You're not like that meany Mallison and Nathan's mom. Their mom abandoned them to run off with her boyfriend. You would never do that to us! Even when that mean Boyfriend Lawyer wanted you to get rid of us, you broke up with him! You love us Mom! We love you too!"

Candance smiled while tears ran down her face.

"I love you all. I want you to live a wonderful loving life, but my job is keeping me away from my daughters. I don't know what to do. Even worse, I now owe Miss Greto for watching over Elle."

The two daughters pulled from their mom, tears rolling down their face.

"We're sorry Mom." They said in unison.

The dog walks in whimpering and licks Lissa's face. Candance placed her hand on her lips. She got up from the kitchen chair and hugged the German Shepherd.

"Oh Jacque. I'm sorry. We didn't mean to forget you. Don't cry dear. We'll figure something out."

Lissa wiped her tears from her eyes.

"I wish Miss Aster could take us in, but I don't know if she'll accept us... if she'll even remember us?"

Candance wiped her eyes and looked out the window. Out in the distance was a hill miles away with a building sitting atop of it.

"Aster... I haven't heard from her in two years... and she's the Headmaster on Arcana Hill... Arcana Hill... am I willing to go up there with my own family again... after the legacy and pain that was left behind all those years ago?"

The Dilapidated Town, 8 P.M...

Sue and Lissa watched a kids movie while Candance made phone calls in the kitchen on her Trimline phone hanging next to the table. In her hand was her yellow page phone book. She turned the pages searching for names until she found a familiar name: Robert Wai. She highlights his name with a neon yellow highlighter.

"If he doesn't pick up, then I'll have to buy either four train tickets or camping equipment... granted if there are still stores left selling any camping gear. The price gouging is going to be ridiculous, but we need to take one or the other. If I can't afford four train tickets, we'll have to go to the Hill with camping equipment and pitch a tent on Koshiro Field like everyone else. My coworkers at the Hospital always talked about reserving a room at the Complex weeks in advance before Hell Week begins. I wish I would have paid attention and had known about this ahead of time."

She dialed the number and put the phone against her ear. On the other side of the phone line was a young Asian man doing pushes on a red wooden panel floor. Sweat fell from his body as he pushed away from the floor in reps. In the room with him were weapons hanging on the walls, a training dummy, and candles light in front of a portrait of an Asian couple. Next to the doorway was a Uniden Cordless phone hanging on the wall. It started ringing, prompting the man to stop what he was doing. He quickly pushed himself up onto his feet and grabbed a white towel on a red tea table next to him. He wiped away the sweat coming off his body and walked over to the phone.

"Strange... who could be calling at this hour?"

He picked up the phone and held it to his right ear. After the phone rang two times, a click noise could be heard. He answered.

"Hello?"

Candance's eyes widen from the answer on the other side.

"Robert?" She asked as her heart raced from hearing his reply.

"Yes?"

"Robert. Oh God! Hi! It's been too long. How are you?" She tried to keep calm while speaking on her line.

"I'm fine. What's up?"

"Robert, I'm so glad that you picked up. I thought you changed your number."

"That would require time and money to do, but yes, my number is the same. How are you?"

"I'm okay. Wait... Robert, where have you been? The last I heard from you, you wrote to Framton that you quit being a bodyguard. What happened?"

"Oh about that. Yes, sorry I didn't let anyone know where I was going. I just got tired of the same deal every night. The Red Light District always left me uneasy to walk through. So one day during the daytime, I went to apply for a second job."

"You applied to a second job? Is that why you didn't come back?"

"Yes. I got tired of the salary Framton was giving me as well as his broken record order of telling me not to talk to any of the dancers. He always told me that the world doesn't need another Bianca. So by his orders... I stayed behind my fence."

Candance's eyes widen from hearing Robert's response.

"Is that why you rarely talked to us?"

"Yeah pretty much."

"Oh my God... Framton you asshole. I would had loved to have spoken to you many times when you came in each night. I heard from the other Bodyguards that they use to joke about your name... they always called you Rob Wai..." She smiled from talking about the memory.

"Kind of sounds like a question than a saying to me." He smiled from hearing the saying.

"Yes... The saying always was... Rob Wai is always fly. I never did understand that, but it made me chuckle. After you dealt with my terrible ex-husband, I felt like I had a friend. I always knew Framton was just a mean old man, but I knew nothing about how he treated you. Robert, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. This was something out of your control. So don't apologize for it. You knew Framton would have cut our pay checks if he saw us talking. So don't blame yourself for it."

"I would have every reason to be pissed off Robert. My whole time in that wretched place was just spending time getting drunk. That way when it was my turn, I wouldn't have to look at the faces of the pigs staring at me. Putting on those clothes every night just to reveal myself for cash was degrading and tiresome.

I hated myself being there and I hated that I couldn't tell my daughters about where I worked all those nights. The other dancers hated it as well, but because so many of them were either in debt or lost their jobs, we didn't have much of a choice. We either had to bring home some serious cash or we would go homeless. You understand, don't you Robert?"

"I understand. Now then," He took the towel and continued to wipe his hair. "What is this call about? I don't remember giving my number to you."

Candance peeked over her shoulder to watch her daughters enjoying their rental from Blockbuster.

"Robert... I need your help. I wouldn't have looked you up if I wasn't in trouble."

"Okay. What's bothering you?"

"It's my daughters. Two years ago, after Framton died, I... barely escaped being employed on my first night at Electra's Brothel The Sugary Lips. After I escaped, I returned to my previous career before having kids and got a job as a nurse at the Central Woodoak Hospital. The job pays better than my previous work, but it's time consuming. I have lost friends from the previous Hell Weeks that could watch over my children while I'm away. It's been a struggle trying to be a mother and pay for rent, food, and water. I was wondering if my daughters could stay with you during Hell Week while I work at the Hospital."

"I don't know Candance. That's going to be hard. I'm going to be at Arcana Hill during Hell Week. I can't take your daughters up there because we're not blood related. The Headmaster running the place has a certain number of rules that I would surely get kicked out for if I broke any of them."

She looked down when she heard his answer bewildered of his reply.

"You... you're going to... Arcana Hill?" She asked in a somber tone.

"Yeah. I have a tent ready with camping equipment and all. Going to be sleeping under the stars on Koshiro Field. Maybe listen to what sick beats are playing on the Boombox nearby like DJ Yuzo Koshiro. Dance with some pretty women, perhaps? Will you be sending your kids there?"

"Ummm..." Tears started falling from her eyes. "Y-Yes. I can't send them to my mother's house in Wisconsin because each ticket now cost 300 in cash. Besides..." She wiped the tears from her eyes. "I found out that my two oldest daughters, Sue and Lissa, have been sneaking up there in secret without telling me. They left their younger sister alone with one of our... Temperamental neighbors. Now, I have to look forward to their family fleecing me for money because of what my daughters did."

"Oh that's not good. Wait... are you calling me because you need a bodyguard to protect your family?"

"Yes. Apparently, I'm struggling to keep up with work and it's affecting my home life. I want to be there for my daughters... but at the same time... I don't want them displaced. Robert, if you know someone who can help me, please call me back. I beg of you."

"Okay Candance. I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you."

The man hung up the phone as another man wearing a Butler suit walked over to him. He was bringing the man his shirt with a grey duster coat and the keys to his car.

(Master Shiva, who was that?) Note: Parentheses indicates someone speaking in a different language. Here the language being spoken in is Cantonese.

(Someone from my past wants me to babysit...) Shiva put on his shirt and took the duster and put it on his shoulders. (...Their three kids.)

(Shall I install this new device from Japan to block their number?) He asked holding a small electric box with a button on it. The Kanji character on the button translated to BLOCK.

(There'll be no need Leung. I doubt that'll work with American phones. I have an idea.)

(I'm at your service.) He looked at the device in his hand and quickly chucked the device over his shoulder.

(Do we have any spies up on Arcana Hill right now?) Shiva asked as he looked at the happy couple in the photo behind the candles.

(Some of our spies have gone quiet. I fear they have been caught, Sir. The worst case... is if they turned coat. The Headmaster's Compassion rivals Mr. X's Charisma.)

(Take note Brother Leung.) Leung pulls out a Psion Organiser II PDA as Shiva turns around and walks away from the photo. (Call Officer Yun and ask him if he and his two friends on Chinatown's Force are looking for a nice bonus during Hell Week. After you finish, I need you to rehearse an act with me. After the act is done, call Typhoon to prepare a rental van.)

(Are we going to lure someone out, Sir? Yamato's number is saved in the PDA.)

(Better... we're going to get someone who will help us spy on the Headmaster. She'll give all the Headmaster's secrets to Yun and relay it back to us. That is all.) Leung puts away his PDA. (Tell Brother Tao that I'm done for the night and close the Dojo up.)

"Yes, Sir."

~March 3, 1991~

The Dilapidated Town, 7 A.M...

Candance, wearing an Lovely Olga teal blue gown with yellow full cotton floral apron, cooks breakfast for her three daughters. Lissa, wearing a pink floral sleepwear gown, walks down the stairs and into the kitchen. Sue, wearing a white floral sleepwear gown, brings Elle, wearing a blue floral sleepwear gown, down from her bedroom for breakfast. Lissa turns to her mom.

"Morning Mom!" The dog ran over to Lissa and licked her face. "Jacque! Yuck! Morning breath!"

"Morning Mom! Smells pretty good!"

Elle ran over to Candance.

"Morning Mommy!"

Candance placed scrambled eggs and bacon with buttered toast onto four plates. She turned to hug each of her daughters kissed the top of their heads.

"Oh good morning Sue. Morning Lissa. Morning Ellie." Jacque trotted over to the mother. "Oh good morning Jacque. Hang on Jacque. Lissa, can you get Jacque's bowls ready?"

"Coming Mom." Lissa grabs a clean water bowl and fills it with water. She takes the dog and fills it with kibble. She places the bowls down for the happy dog.

Sue picked up the prepared meals and placed them on the kitchen table. Candance placed the forks next to the plates with glasses of milk and Orange Juice next to the plates. Lissa was the last one to sit down with her mom and sisters. Candance then brought her hands up in prayer with her daughters following her example.

"Let's pray... God, we thank you for this food. For rest and home and all things good. For wind and rain and sun above. But most of all for those we love. Amen!"

As the family ate, outside their home a 1989 Chevrolet Corvette drives into the derelict neighborhood. Leung, wearing a grey business suit, looks at the houses that they pass by while he drives Shiva, who is wearing a black business suit with his hair tied neatly back.

(My God! She's been living here over the last two years?)

(It's a miracle in itself that she has lasted. She should have been dead a while back.)

(Look at these tenements! Only a few don't have planks boarded around the windows with ducktape covering the openings. How will we be able to tell which one is her home?)

Shiva then see's a window with three young kids talking with a woman as they ate at the table. He saw Candance's face.

(Leung! That's her place! Park the car!)

"Yes, Sir!"

Leung pulls over and parks the car a house away from Candance's house. Shiva looked at Leung.

(All right Leung. Remember what we rehearsed last night. You ready?)

(I'm ready.)

Inside the house, Sue washed the plates and the cups as Lissa wiped down the table. Candance swept the floor while Elle went to the Family room to watch Sunday Morning Cartoons with Jacque. As Lissa wiped the table, she heard voices coming from outside the house. She opened the window and saw two men yelling at each other next to the Corvette.

"Mom! There's some men yelling outside the house."

Sue looked out the window and shrugged her shoulders.

"Lissa, closed the window! We'll have a draft if you leave it open." Sue noticed that they made gestures toward the car, implying that something was wrong with the vehicle. "Looks like their car broke down. They're goners. The Motherless are out there right now. It best we don't get involved."

"Yeah, but they might need our help. What are they saying Mom? I don't understand them."

Candance walked over to where Sue and Lissa were looking. She peeked her head out the window and saw the men arguing about something, but couldn't make out what they were saying. One wore a grey duster over a business suit with brown shoes. The other wore a grey duster with a black business suit underneath, black dress shoes, and aviator shades on his face. She then saw a familiar face when he took off his shades.

"Oh my God!"

Candance then quickly walked to the door and headed outside. Her two daughters followed behind. As Candance walked outside, she saw the men still arguing to each other.

(I told you to refill at that Gas Station, but then you said we could make it to the next one! This is what I get for trusting you!) Shiva said taking his shades off and pointing at Leung while the shades were in his hands.

(Hey! I'm not the one who bought American junk! Maybe buy a Toyota next time you want to drive yourself around, smartass!) Leung yelled while pointing at the car.

(What?! You calling me a friend to the Japanese now?! You blind that you can't tell that I'm Chinese?! You want a fight?! I'll mess you up, Blind Fai!) Shiva said as he raised his closed fist.

(I'll take you on and 20 more! Bring it!) Leung replied with his fist and one leg raised.

Shiva and Leung got into fighting stances, ready to fight in front of Candance and her daughters. While Sue looked on horrified and Lissa looked excited about a fight about to go down, Candance ran over and got between the men to separate Leung and Shiva. Sue and Lissa stood outside the front door of their home.

"ROBERT! ROBERT!"

The men stopped, released their stances, and looked at Candance, who was still wearing her night gown with an apron over it. Leung looked at Shiva and pointed at Candance and then back at Shiva.

"Robert?" He then looked at Candance confounded as to why she ran outside to them in a night gown with an apron on. "Little chilly outside, don't you think?"

Candance noticed Leung spoke English and then looked at her nightgown with the apron on and placed her hand on her apron embarrassed.

"Oh my... I forgot to get dress. Robert, it's good to see you again. Can you wait while I go inside and get dressed?"

Shiva looked at her and nodded his head. She quickly walked over to the door and ushered her daughters inside. Lissa looked at her mom disappointed.

"Oh come on Mom. Do we have to go inside?"

"Yes Lissa. Puts some clothes on before anyone else sees us. Sue grab Elle and get her dressed, please."

"Yes Mom." Sue answered as they went inside. "Do you want me to heat up some Sunday tea?"

"Yes. Go ahead and heat up some tea. Lissa, grab the tea set please."

"Yes Mom."

As the three went inside, Shiva and Leung smiled, triumphant of their performance. Shiva gives Leung a secret handshake for the job well done. He knocks his knuckles on top of Leung's, clasps Leung's open hand, holds it, holds the wrist, and finishes with a fist bump. They then took notice of the gang watching them. Leung asks Shiva in their native tongue.

(You recognize them?)

(Motherless. So far down they ain't even on the map. Real low class.)

(How many?)

(Full strength maybe thirty.)

(Thirty's greater than two.)

The Motherless are standing outside a tenement.

"Hey!"

The leader, a man clicks his fingers and one runs off.

(You know where he's heading don't you?)

(Yeah reinforcements.) Leung spoke to mimic a scared man and following up with a laugh. (We're gonna get jumped here, we're gonna get jumped! Haha!)

The Motherless Leader walks over to Shiva and Leung. From behind Shiva, Candance emerges from her tenement wearing a mauve long sleeved, floral buttoned shirt over a white buttoned dress with Oxfords white leather shoes. Sue now wore a grey floral dress with frilly ankle length socks and white mary janes. Lissa wore a blue floral dress with black stockings to match her black mary janes. Elle wore a bright red floral dress with white stockings and black kiddy boots. Candance and her daughters saw Shiva and Leung talking to the Leader of the gang. Sue looked scared.

"Oh no. Mom, Poul's walking towards them."

Candance turned around to see what they were saying while her daughters peeked through the opened door to their Tenement. Poul spoke up as he stood in front of the two business men.

"Maybe you outha show me your invitation?"

"How do you figure?" Shiva answers crossing his arms.

"Well you come driving down here, invading our territory, no permits, no parley."

"We're not invading, and I'm parleying right now." Shiva looked at Poul annoyed.

Leung spoke up.

"We were just passing by when the car broke down. Waiting on the tow truck to get here."

Poul turned to face Leung.

"You're going to be waiting a long time. No vehicles ever come into the Motherless Territory. Especially ones that belong to the Head cat from Chinatown."

"That's real funny. You act all tough with your men, but if the real Shiva was here, you would all run."

"Hey you think The Motherless ain't ready for a throw down, you think The Motherlesss ain't well known?"

"We didn't say that." Shiva said almost ready to laugh with Leung.

"We got a heavy rep. You mess with us and you'll find that out." One of the Motherless members walked over to Poul and gave him and Newspaper page. He pointed at it and showed it to the two men. "You see that? They write about our raids in the paper."

"Yeah. Oh yeah, that's really heavy. The Motherless right? Yeah our youth teacher, she talks about you all the time." Leung said smiling and about to laugh.

"We ain't got one." The Motherless Leader said back to them.

"That must be because you guys are so bad, they're afraid of you."

"There's nothing wrong with you making it through our territory as long as you come in peace."

After he spoke, a girl wearing a denim jacket on top of a pink top with a pink skirt and black leather boots made chicken sounds from the top of the stairs outside a tenement. Shiva and Leung look at each other confused on what was going on. The Leader turned around.

"Ahh, cut it Pearl!"

Shiva leaned to whisper to Leung.

(You know what that is, don't you?)

(Yes, trouble.)

Pearl looked at the jackets the men wore.

"Those jackets are real nice."

The Motherless gang scolded her.

"Lighten up Pearl, stop lookin' for trouble now."

"Should've slapped your mouth the minute you opened it." Poul said looking at her angry.

Pearl looked at him unamused.

"So who stopped ya?" She looked at Shiva and Leung. "You know, for a pair of Chinamen like yourselves, Shiva must really pay you well. You sure dress nice." She looked at Poul. "Come on, give me one. Just one. I just want the one the tall one is wearing." Leung looked at Shiva's jacket and then at Pearl confused. He then looked at Shiva, letting him be aware it was a no sell. "You can get another one man!"

"No chance." Shiva spoke up, offended that she was demanding for him to surrender his jacket to her.

She looked at the Leader, offended that he wasn't doing anything about it.

"Are you just gonna let an army walk through here anytime they feel like it? How is that gonna look?"

"Get lost." He snapped at her.

"Yeah pretty soon every gang is just gonna boogie right in, soldier right through. I'll tell you, some man you are."

Poul, annoyed by Pearl's antics, then looked at Shiva and Leung.

"Take your jackets off, you can walk through."

Shiva looked at him insulted. Leung gave the Leader a gesture, as if to ask what gives.

"We're not even wearing gang colors. So shut it."

"It's cold out here. Spring isn't until a few weeks from now."

The Leader spoke up again.

"Just take off your jackets, okay? You go as soldiers from Shiva, I got to come down on you. Now take off your jackets. You hear me?"

Shiva shook his head with a frown on his face.

(Fuck you!)

"We are not gonna let you mugs just take from us just because some whore shakes our ass!" Leung adds offended.

Pearl looked at Leung and crossed her arms.

"Don't call me no whore. I ain't no whore!"

Candance looked in horror from seeing Pearl present. She shook her head, not approving of the situation.

"Oh God! Sue! Lissa! Stay inside and watch that Elle and Jacque don't run out! I got to stop this. Oh God! Robert!" She ran over to Shiva and Leung. She then turned her attention to the gang Leader and stepped in front of Shiva and Leung. "Poul, what are you doing?! For the love of God, you better not be trying to rob these men!"

"Back off Candance! These Chinamen think they can just walk into our territory wearing the pride of Shiva without a fight. All I ask is that they take off their jackets and they can leave without any trouble."

"Goddammit Poul! Give them a break will you? Can't you see that their car is in need of service?"

Poul pulled out his straight razor, causing Candance to take a step back. Shiva and Leung stood next to her, straightening themselves to anticipate a fight. Poul looked at Candance with his slightly open right eye.

"I don't need to take shit from you, woman! You owe us for my Ma taking care of your daughter! You gonna approach me, you better bring money! Come any closer and I'll give you a reason why you don't mess with us! You hear?!"

"Poul please." She said exhausted.

Shiva placed his hand on her shoulder. Leung stepped back to be behind Candance, as if ready to grab her and run. The three looked at the gang stepping slowly towards them. Shiva spoke to her.

"Candance that's enough. Don't try to reason with them. Uneducated people like them are unpredictable to read. Don't waste your time. Come on. Let's go inside for now. When we're done, Leung and I will march down to the next station and call for a tow truck," He turned to look at Poul. "Right through (these pieces of shits) territory. Now let's move."

Pearl yelled at them as they walked to Candance's Tenement.

"Yeah that's right Chinamen, just keep walking. Real tough mothers ain't ya. You guys don't show me much. Why don't you dickheads just walk all the way back home huh?"

"Go home Pearl! Leave us alone!" Candance yells back at Pearl.

"As if you can make me! What? You want a fight? You try me! I dare you! You step here, you gonna get cut bitch!"

"Oh my God I can't with that girl." Candance ushered Shiva and Leung faster, annoyed by Pearl.

Leung rolled his eyes and leaned towards Shiva, ready to laugh.

(By Blind Fai, that gang girl has got quite the mouth!)

(She's lucky that Candance is here. Otherwise, I would kick her jaw out of its socket.)

Leung started to laugh as they approached Candance's tenement. Shiva and Leung wave at her daughters.

"Good morning." Leung says in perfect English. "My name is Meng Leung, but everyone calls me Leung. This is..." He looks at Shiva and then remembered the name Candance knew him by. "Robert."

"Morning Leung! Morning Robert!"

The red headed on stepped forward and pointed at herself.

"I'm Melissa, but Mom calls me Lissa."

The blond one then spoke up.

"I'm Susan, but Mom calls me Sue."

Lissa then brought her youngest sister forward.

"And this is Lindsay, but Mom calls her Ellie because we have an Aunt Lindsay. Sue and I call her Elle."

Elle then waved at the two men.

"Good morning!"

The three girls then moved away as Jacque runs up to Shiva, barks at him, and puts his front paws on him in a playful manner. Leung scolds the playful dog putting his paws on Shiva.

"Hey! No no no! You can't do that!"

"Jacque, cut that out!" Lissa yelled as she went to pull her dog away from Shiva.

Shiva smiled and petted the dog.

"It's okay. He's good. Hi! Hello! Good to see you!" The dog started to lick his face. "Oh okay! Not fully awake just yet, but thanks! Haha!"

Candance beckoned Jacque over and let Shiva and Leung into her home. Sue picked up Elle and walked over to the couch in the family room. Lissa looked out the door and saw the gang getting closer. She quickly shut the door and locked it. She ran to the Family room where Shiva and Leung sat down on the semicircular sofa with Candance and Sue, who placed Elle down on the rug. Lissa spoke up.

"You two were really terrific back there. Those guys are quite scary."

"Heh heh." Shiva smiled from her compliment.

"You guys really lipped them down but good." Sue replied bringing in a tray with a Tea pot and three tea cups. She sat it down on the table near the wall and pours the tea into the three cups.

"Yeah his ear's gonna be ringing for a month." Lissa said gleefully.

Candance, taking the cups and giving them to the men, gestured her daughters.

"Okay girls. Settle down. Mommy's going to talk to the kind gentlemen. Okay?"

"Okay." The two said sitting down on the rug with Elle.

Candance turned to face Shiva as he and Leung drank the chamomile tea given to them.

"It's been a while Robert. How's life been treating to you? I see the suit you're wearing makes it clear you found a good paying job. Right? Where are you working at?"

"I got a job in Chinatown where I started out as a new hire working for 12 hours a day save for weekends. I worked my way up and now I lead a company."

"So you're a Boss? In only two years? I've never heard of such a job employment. Wish I could work where you work. To be promoted to a higher position in two years is amazing."

Leung smiled.

"Yep! Boss Robert! Everyone in Chinatown respects him. Women want him! Men want to be him!"

Lissa looked amazed from Shiva's answer.

"You must be as famous as Shiva himself. You're good looking, too. Mom agrees." Shiva smiled from her words. "I heard from Tan Wei that Shiva is scary."

"Tan Wei? Really? I wonder how he's been." He replied with a smile on his face.

"Yeah! Some people say when he spins his leg in a circle, it looks like it's on fire."

Sue spoke.

"That's just a myth, Lissa. No one can make fire appear on your leg unless you accidently set yourself on fire."

Leung spoke.

"It is possible to perform the Legendary Moon Kick. A special art mastered by the Great Shiva. By concentrating your Ki very carefully, you can perform the same kick as well. Why, this kick carries the power to break doors down in one strike. We can have you meet him if you want. You can even bring Wei with you."

"Really?" Lissa asked excited. "Sue it's true! It's true! Wei was right! Shiva is strong as everyone says he is."

"I'll believe it when I see him in a fight." Sue said rolling her eyes.

Shiva and Leung chuckled from Sue's answer. Candance then spoke.

"Lissa, Sue please behave yourselves." She turned to Shiva. "I'm sorry. It's been difficult to be there for my girls. I was hoping to talk to you."

"You want someone to help take your daughters up to Arcana Hill during Hell Week?"

"Yes. I'm going to be staying with some coworkers while we tend to our shifts at Central Woodoak Hospital. I want to bring my daughters, but because this is on short notice, it would be rude for me to bring them over unannounced."

Leung spoke up.

"Miss Meyers, consider your prayers answered. We know who can help you."

"You do? Oh thank you so much. What's his name?" Leung didn't reply but pointed at Shiva. Her jaw dropped and then she smiled nervous. "Robert? You want to help me?"

"Of course. I'm glad that Sue and Lissa have already been to the Hill because that saves me trouble from giving them a tour. Heh."

"Are you sure about this Robert? Wouldn't you get into trouble taking my kids up there?"

"I would have if I didn't call the Main desk at the Memorial Union last night. I inquired about your situation and they discovered that Sue and Lissa are regular visitors. So they decided to set your daughters up in a three bedroom private quarters with full size beds and two full bathrooms. The lady at the front desk, Miss Helena, said the third bed is just in case you go join your daughters. As for Jacque, they just finished renovating a boarding area for pets his size. They can give you a key card to go feed him, bring him treats and toys, and even take him out for walks on the Campus. How's that sound?"

"Oh Robert that sounds amazing." She started wiping the tears from her eyes. Shiva pulled out his handkerchief and gave it to her. "Thank you Robert. Thank you Leung."

Leung then looked surprised, as if he just remembered something important.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Can I use your phone? I have to call for a Tow Truck. See the car outside? It's out of Gas."

"That's not good. Sure. The phone is in the Kitchen."

"Thanks." Leung took the three empty cups from Shiva and Candance. He placed the cups in the sink, pulled out his PDA, and walked to the phone.

Candance looked at Robert, who picked up Elle and sat him on his lap.

"Wow. It's been two years since we last saw each other." She then tilted her head. "Robert... what were you doing driving through here anyway?"

"Oh that! I... I was on way to the Grandmaster Dojo. A big meeting today, but with the way things are, I think we might have to hoof it on foot."

"I hope not. There's a gang outside that can rough you two up if you aren't careful."

"It's okay. We're not afraid of a bunch of kids. They're going to need to do better than that to scare the Living Weapon."

"Huh?" She looked at him confused from his reply.

Sue and Lissa looked at each other and gasped. Leung comes into the Family Room.

"Sir! We have a problem! Look out the window!"

The three adults look outside and see the gang surround the car. Candance looks horrified while Leung sighs. Shiva shakes his head and walks to the door. Leung follows him with Candance trailing behind. Sue and Lissa follow after them. Upon opening the door, the group sees the large gang surround Shiva's car and block the path to the streets. Candance tries to step outside, but Shiva puts his arm out and nods in disagreement of her stepping outside. She calmly lowers his arm and steps out crossing her arms. Poul walks towards her.

"Poul... get off my front steps. Now!"

Poul suddenly takes his straight razor and slashes Candance's arm. Candance falls over frightened while Shiva rushes down the steps and catches her. Blood flies out of her slashed arm. Lissa and Sue screamed as their mother fell down.

"MOM!" They screamed frightened from their mother being slashed by a straight razor.

Shiva holds her as she clasped her bleeding arm. Leung runs over to lightly hold the injured arm.

"CANDANCE!" Shiva yelled as he caught her.

"I'm okay. Thank you for catching me."

"I tried to stop you... because I knew this would happen. Uneducated folks like them are unpredictable. Be careful next time."

Candance looked at the blood falling from her arm.

"My God... the crazy bastard cut me."

Shiva takes Candance up the steps and gently lowers her next to her daughters in the doorway. He and Leung step forward to protect the vulnerable family behind them. Poul yells at them holding his razor while his men join with him.

"You see what you get Chinamen, you see what you get when you mess with The Motherless!"

"We're gonna rain on you Chinamen!"

End of Chapter 7...