Shaken and ashamed, that's how Tina was feeling in the aftermath of it all, and as the hours wore on with weary travel, things didn't get any better.

Poured all her efforts into watching her back, because there wasn't no safety to be had out here. Howie was right. Abby were easy enough to deal with, because they was predictable for the most part. You knew they was out here, and you could plan accordingly, but how do you plan for all the possibilities when dealing with other people? Though she'd dropped the ball by letting the Qin catch her unawares, it wasn't like she'd fallen asleep on watch or let the monotony get to her. No, she'd been awake, alert, and vigilant as always, patrolling around the wagon under the cover of a Minor Illusion while leaving her Echo out as bait. Was moving from shadow to shadow with her hood up and cloak fastened to hide from heat-based vision and kept low to avoid being silhouetted by the stars and moons in the sky and revealed to anyone or anything with Darkvision. She used every trick and strategy she knew to keep herself and her Echo out of sight while maintaining her Minor Illusion and puppeting her Echo so it would move according to where it was instead of just mirroring her movements willy nilly and taking cover five feet out in front of the rock she herself was crouched behind.

And yet, catch her unawares the Qin did, with that older swordsman seeing right through all her tricks and coming up behind her like a ghost in the night. Tapped her firmly on the shoulder with the flat of his blade before doing the same to her Echo, barely hard enough to leave a mark on its skin but just the right amount of force to dissipate the Construct all quick as a blink. Made it clear he could've hurt her good and well, but he made an effort not to, so Tina didn't have no choice but to fall in line.

Could've shouted out to alert the family, but fear kept her good and quiet. A mistake that, because she couldn't have known they wanted to take her alive, nor could she have known what they was planning to do afterwards. Them Vanguard knew what they was doing though, and Tina hated being so far behind the eight-ball that she wasn't even a player in the game, just a piece on the board to be taken out of action.

The worst part was that Howie didn't say word one about it. Wasn't no teachable moments today, no After-Action Reports where he went over the events and pointed out things she could've done better so that she wouldn't make the same mistakes next time. Could be he was too focused on getting them out of the badlands safe and sound right quick, or could be he was too steamed to say anything just yet, but either way, Tina was on pins and needles waiting for the other shoe to drop and desperately hoping to learn how she could do better the next time around.

Because if not for luck, things could've gone a whole lot worse, and Tina was right grateful they hadn't. Was a miracle they made it out in one piece, much less without having to kill nobody on the way out, and that was largely because them Qin wasn't looking to spill any blood. Howie was right ready for it, but even with a Fireball readied and the Big Stick trained on them Vanguards, that was still half too many left. There was more than sixty total, maybe closer to eighty even, but she couldn't get a good count since the Swordsman had plucked off her Darkvision shades and made her put them away. Either way, that was still too many bodies for Howie to deal with by himself, especially with how they was all spread out rather than clumped up tight as prime targets for a Fireball.

Which they'd done on purpose mind you, as they knew going in what Howie could do. In the end, they still underestimated him though, and if Tina, Chrissy, and Mama weren't here with him, he might well have taken his chances and started blasting right then and there. Wasn't fear that stayed his hand though, or even mercy on account of his daddy. No, Howie didn't gun them Qin down because end of the day, he could tell that most them Qin were just there doing what they was told to, and they didn't have no real dark intentions.

For the most part at least. Lord knows what they would've done to him if they'd brung him to the Qin settlements down south. Fuyuan was its name, though Tina wasn't sure if that was what they called the settlement or the Frontier as a whole, as Uncle Ming told her it translated to "Land of Fortune". That's all Tina really knew about it though, that and how every Qin this side of the Divide other than Uncle Ming and Howie made a beeline right for Fuyuan in the south as soon as word spread that it was there. She never thought much about it really, because while there were all sorts of folks working side by side in New Hope, there were plenty of other settlements out there where the vast majority were either the same nationality or the same religion. Folks liked to band together with like-minded folk, or they stuck together to help one another out, similar to how most of the black community moved up north to Meadowbrook to help Uncle Marcus when he took charge of the settlement. That's just how people were, so Tina never paid much mind to that sort of thing and figured there wasn't much to it.

So even though Howie had been saying for years that his people hated him and were likely to shoot him on sight, Tina thought he was just being dramatic and angry at the Qin in general. Truth is, they wasn't even all that sure that them Qin who shot Uncle Ming had done it on orders of their government, because that didn't make much sense. Wasn't nothing the Qin gained by that, so they always figured they was rogue bandits who Uncle Ming might've crossed paths with before. He told them plenty of stories, but even Mama didn't know everything he got up to, because he did so much he'd barely have time to eat and sleep if he had to list it all out. So they chalked up Howie's anger as misplaced, and steer cleared of the touchy subject of him hating his own people as best they could.

Truth was, it made Tina mighty uncomfortable at times to see the depths of his hatred, especially when he seemed so reluctant to help Jinfeng and her cadre out as soon as he saw that they was Qin. Normally, he be the first to run into danger, and while he did just that in the end, he only did so because Mama acted first and he didn't want her to shoulder the burden all by herself. Didn't much like the way Howie treated Who Sheng either, or rather Jinfeng disguised as Who Sheng, because after the big reveal, she made it sound like her people didn't really hate Howie and wanted to welcome him back with open arms. As a soldier and the Firstborn of course, but they still wanted him all the same, which was more than you could say about most folks in New Hope considering they just done Exiled him this past summer. Was a close vote, but 57% was still a majority, whereas Jinfeng made it sound like Howie was a folk hero down south in Fuyuan.

So Tina had all but made up her mind to convince Howie to at least go south and take a look, and maybe she'd go with him to watch his back. Might even convince the Rangers to go with too, because she knew good and well Uncle Teddy wanted to open up a dialogue with the Qin and try and get them to stop raiding their settlements going up south of Redeemer's Keep along the Highway. Wasn't even like them settlements was encroaching on Qinese territory, as there was still New Sonora to the south which was held by Mexico, and a whole bunch of scattered settlements flying UNASUR and ASEAN flags for round about 400 klicks before you even got to the border of Qin lands. Didn't make no sense for them to go that far out to raid for supplies under the guise of banditry, and while the Rangers were doing well enough defending the settlements, tensions were high with so much armed conflict so close to home.

Wasn't no chance of her letting Howie head south anymore though, not after running into the rotund fella back there calling the shots. Which wasn't entirely fair, as even though Howie dubbed the fella 'fatty', he wasn't actually all that fat, just more fleshed out than most Qin who skewed towards dangerously underweight. Either way, after seeing what went down and hearing the translation of what he'd said, she could still hardly fathom why anyone would think of Howie or Uncle Ming as a traitor just because they wasn't working for the Qin Republic. Largely because that kind of thinking was crazy, especially seeing how neither one of them ever worked against the Qin.

And yet that fatty fella was ready to march Howie south in chains and use Tina, Chrissy, and Mama as leverage to hold over his head for that same reason. Jinfeng said she'd talk to the other Qin leader and see about getting the family home safe and sound, but after Howie told them what the fatty had said, Tina wasn't so sure he would've gone alone with Jinfeng's request. Not that Mama would've walked away and left Howie with a bunch of strangers who didn't seem none too friendly in the least. No, they would've fought to the last to keep him safe, except until just last night, Tina never thought it'd ever be necessary, especially not for such a stupid reason.

Howie didn't owe the Qin Republic nothing, same as he didn't owe the Federation anything outside of taxes, which he wasn't even entirely honest about anyways considering he wasn't reporting earnings from his Aetheric Condenser. Not that she blamed him, but that didn't change the facts none as it was still illegal all the same. Thing is, even if he was found out, it wasn't like they'd clap him in chains or nothing, just send him a tax bill that he'd have to pay, whereas the Qin had sent a whole cadre out to capture him just because he wasn't living and working in Qin lands. Bass Ackwards is what that was, and Tina would fight anyone who said otherwise to defend him.

Not that he needed much of her help, not really. Was amazing how he handled it, though he had a pretty big assist from Mama and her quick thinking. Clever of her to first cast Invisibility on the Rattlesnake he kept under his pillow, then slip it into his right holster without no one being the wiser using nothing but plain and simple sleight of hand. All while eschewing Somatic Components using Howie's Metamagic Bracelet on his wrist mind you, and making it look completely natural. Tina had been standing front and centre, because her guards wanted Howie to see she was good and captured, but she hadn't clocked what Mama had done and neither did anyone else. No one besides Howie that is, who would've felt the weight of the weapon on his hip and knew full well what Mama had done.

Made the next little bit of Mama's impromptu plan much harder though, because now she was stuck Concentrating on Invisibility for a single gun, when normally she could cover up to three targets with a single Spell. Couldn't rightly turn all three of them invisible right in front of everyone though, because even if they couldn't be seen, everyone would've known they was still sat there in the wagon. So Mama did what she could and put all her faith in Tina and Chrissy to handle the rest once she explained her plan through quiet whispers made to look like she was consoling Chrissy.

See, while Chrissy could cover 2 targets with Invisibility, Tina could only manage one, neither of which was good enough for what Mama had in mind. With the addition of Tina's new Spell Storing Bracers though, that was a whole different kettle of fish. For lack of a better Spell to put in there, Tina had been keeping Invisibility, since she figured they were better bang for buck as opposed to something like Shadow Blade or Blur. Not only did those latter two Spells only last a minute each as opposed to an hour for Invisibility, she was much better off casting them manually since they had a lot more leeway when it came to pushing their limits, whereas Invisibility could only be made to last longer or cover more targets. This meant she had three instances of single-target Invisibility though, two in the bracers which didn't require Concentration and one from slinging the Spell the old-fashioned way.

Was the tricksiest part of her job really, casting Invisibility through the Metamagic Bracelet to eschew all the finger waggles the Spell normally required. Still had to mumble the chant beneath her breath, but Tina took a page from Mama and made it look like she was consoling Chrissy, who had the harder part of the job in that she had to coordinate her Third Order Major Illusion Spell to create a lifelike imitation of Tina's target right where they was standing and time it to spring up just as the Invisibility took effect. All while coordinating with nothing besides blinks and hand squeezes mind you, because while most the attention was on Howie, there were a fair few people watching them too, Jinfeng included.

Verbal communication had never been Chrissy's strong suit however, so she had plenty of practice with nonverbal communication and handled her part perfectly. So perfectly she did better than what Tina could've managed if their roles had been reversed, knowing just when to solidify her Illusion to cover the now Invisible target and not leave so much as a blink of time in between to give the game away. Just the slightest bit off would've left two Tina's overlaid atop one another or a void where she'd been standing only for her to reappear right quick, but Chrissy knew how to read Tina's flows and could tell exactly when to solidify her Major Illusion into place. Even made Tina's Illusory doppelganger look all lively and upset, scowling up a storm while patting Chrissy's hand and back to really sell the Illusion. After that, it was all easy enough, because Tina only had to reach out and activate her Spell Storage Bracelet to make Chrissy Invisible, then Mama with the other one while Chrissy expanded her Illusion to cover all three of them without flaw.

Was humbling for Tina to see how she was the weak link in the group, with even Chrissy working extra hard to pick up the slack. Was funny too, because while they was all Invisible, they couldn't really see one another all that easily, so they had to move hand in hand so as not to trip over one another on their way out. Tina didn't even think to warn Howie either, but apparently Mama had, gently touching his shoulder to let him know they was invisible and getting gone. Howie didn't give the game away with a flinch or look, which meant he had already more or less figured out Mama's plan and was just waiting for the signal to know they was on their way out to safety.

Then and only then did his arms go down, and Tina knew the Qin were in for a rough time. Gave them a fair shake he did, even if none of them cottoned on to the fact that he had an invisible pistol on his hip, but even if they had, Tina wasn't entirely sure they'd have shot him without express orders to do so. Sounded like Howie's Uncle had some real pull over in the Republic and the same anger issues to boot, meaning anyone who shot Howie would be in for a real rough time. Then again, might be they was all frozen in shock to see him pull a gun out of thin air and do a triple shot right quick, firing three times in maybe a tenth of a second to hit their young, rotund leader square in the chest. With only two Bolts mind you, because the older Swordsman blocked one with his sword, but two Bolts was more than enough to hurt a man real bad. Fact is, Tina almost took for granted that the Swordsman blocked another Bolt from Howie's second triple shot volley and was more impressed by how the older man was able to maintain Concentration despite taking two Bolts to the chest, because all signs pointed to him being the Abjurer maintaining the Warrior's Ward on him and the little fatty calling the shots.

Most impressive of all was Howie's accuracy throughout it all. She'd never even seen anyone do a triple shot with anything besides blanks or empties, because the recoil wasn't nothing to sneeze at. It was more of a party trick than anything else, because most folks had trouble maintaining accuracy on a regular quick draw shot at 10 metres, much less a quickdraw triple shot that saw all three Bolts hit the same target. Only person she'd ever heard of using it in an actual combat scenario with any sort of success was Uncle Teddy, and only because he combined it with a Third Order Projectile Barrage to multiply the number of Bolts coming out of his gun for a brief period of time. Less than a quarter of a second, that's the sort of window they was talking about, and this was a specialty of Uncle Teddy's that didn't come standard to the Spell. All this to say that he wasn't all that accurate with his triple shots, because he didn't have to be when every Bolt multiplied about ten times over to hit more like a Blast than anything else.

In contrast? Howie was deadly accurate with his triple shot, or accurate enough that Tina suspected he'd get a grouping less than a handspan apart. All with a hand he'd lost and recovered this year no less, with less than 6 months of real practice with it. Course, he said the Wildshaped Hand was no different from using his regular one, but he couldn't hit those triple shots with his regular hand. Was some right fancy shooting, and while a handspan grouping wasn't great if you was firing one Bolt at a time, you put enough Bolts downrange in the general vicinity of what you want to hit, and eventually one will land on target. Oftentimes, one is all you really need, but Howie went above and beyond to put three shots on the fatty. Really went to show Howie meant to kill him, probably because he dared to threaten Tina, Chrissy, and Mama.

Tried to take out the swordsman too, no doubt because he presented too large of a threat, but that didn't work out either. For a moment there, Tina had been ready to go all out and throw a Madness onto one of them Qin with a Blastgun, or pull out a Shadow Blade and get to chopping, while Mama was gearing up with a Big Spell beside her. They wasn't all that far away, stood close to the horses and Cowie to keep him from getting in to trouble, so they would've been right in the thick of things if it all fell apart, but once again, Howie took control of the situation and got them out clean with no need for any more bloodshed.

Largely because Tina believed most them Qin didn't actually have nothing personal against Howie, nor did they want to hurt him. They was just there following orders, same as Tina would if told to go arrest some outlaws somewhere. That's why they was here, because someone told them Howie was a criminal and had to be brought in alive, so they didn't draw and shoot even though they had him outnumbered by good bit. That and the fact that Howie had the Big Stick pointed in their general direction and swivelling from side to side so no one got any funny ideas about sacrificing their comrades for the success of the mission, alongside Howie's frankly terrifying and commanding presence.

Was incredible is what it was, and Tina figured he'd be over the moon at his fancy shooting and successful disengage. Time was, he'd be grinning like a fool after hitting those shots and talking it up to anyone who cared to listen. He would've walked her through it from the start like she hadn't been there to see it herself, telling her all about what was going through his mind and how everything just worked out perfectly. Might even try to keep it humble by making it sound like a fluke in some ways, which was really just a humblebrag, but he did so love to attribute his success to Lady Luck then mention how you couldn't always count on her to solve all your problems.

Wasn't none of that though, and Tina didn't think it was because he was too busy watching out for Abby. Which he was, riding forward and back while broadcasting his Detect Spell this way and that. All while wearing a cold glower mind you, one that wasn't directed at anyone in particular, or at least not no one present, but his expression made the frosty winter air feel downright balmy in comparison. Didn't much change as the day wore on, and he didn't say much of anything at all other than to grunt or nod. Aside from telling Tina to look sharp for any pursuers while they were still within eyeshot of the Qin, he hadn't said word one to her since, and as the hours trickled by, that silence grew heavy as a mountain pressing down on her shoulders.

Night turned to day and then back to night again, with Howie switching horses every three hours like clockwork while Tina followed suit even though she was coming onto a full two days without sleep. She'd been first up to take watch after all, and was interrupted long before she had a chance to lie down and rest, but even though Mama kept hinting for Tina to take a break on the wagon and give her horses a chance to rest, she refused to give up before Howie did. Two hours of sleep wasn't all that much better than none, so she was gonna tough it out as long as he was just to show him that she could. She done already screwed up by letting the Qin get the jump on her and the family both, because while they all came out of it alright, they all knew how bad it could've been and how it was all Tina's fault.

So she had to show Howie she still had it in her to do better, but he wasn't taking notice as he moved them around in zigs and zags at a fair rate of knots. Looked ready to keep riding in complete silence all throughout the night, but Mama decided enough was enough and asked outright, "How much longer you want to push it Howie? Them horses gonna need more than a feedbag and a bucket of water to keep them going, and you and Tina ain't doin' much better."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Would've been better if Mama left her name out of it, but Tina was hoping Howie would call it quits right then and there all the same. Instead, he sucked his teeth and used his chin to point in the general direction of where they was headed. "There's an outcroppin' round about an hour or two that-a-ways that'll make for a good defensible location. Made a lot of noise on our way out and Abby are right unhappy about it, so I wanna get somewhere we can hide for 24 hours to rest and recoup."

Or defend if it came right down to it, which is why he wanted to stop at an outcropping. Put their backs against a wall and build up some dirt walls or something out front to slow Abby on the way in. Might give them a fighting chance if a small patrol stumbles over them, or time enough to drink their Potions of Gaseous Cloud and get out right quick while leaving Abby stranded down low. Wouldn't take them long to get up and around of course, unless it was one heck of an outcropping, but any lead is a good one when running a footrace against Abby.

Howie didn't mention nothing about the Qin, but they all knew he was worried about them too. Wasn't no general purpose Detect Human Spell to let them know where any possible pursuers might be, and while he'd made sure to collect the bit of blood that splashed onto him when he headbutted Jinfeng with a clean white kerchief, he hadn't stopped to use Locate Plant or Creature on it just yet. Was a more specific type of Detect Spell that worked off of blood or some other biological sample, one that would let him know if she was in the general vicinity, but with nowhere near as much range as a Detect Spell would. That was the trade off though, range and clarity for specificity, and unless someone had come up with a Detect Human Spell in the last eighteen years and change, then there wasn't no better alternatives.

As for Locate Plant or Creature, the Spell would only be keyed to Jinfeng, or whoever's blood Howie used while casting. Wouldn't tell them anything about the fatty or his master swordsman of a bodyguard, a calm and stoic warrior Tina couldn't help but admire. How long would she have to train with her butterfly blade to block Bolts like he could? Might well be a waste of effort considering everyone and their mothers might have fully automatic weapons by the time she got good enough to do it, but there was just something so incredible about blocking Bolts with nothing but speed, precision, and hammered steel that made Tina's head swoon with wonder.

Or exhaustion maybe, as she was finding it a touch difficult to keep her eyes open and head upright. Not too difficult, but not effortless like it should be, so she patted her cheeks and kept her eyes on the horizon behind them to watch out for Abby or Vanguard alike. Was only another hour or two, so she should be fine, except Mama managed to pick up on the obvious hint that Tina had overlooked.

"Round about an hour or two?" Mama asked, her tone dripping with disbelief. "Round about an hour, or round about two hours I could believe, but an hour or two? Since when did you stop trackin' the exact amount of time it'll take you to get where you goin'? Yesterday?"

"Might be three hours," Howie admitted, then shrugged and said, "And a bit. It's a good place to stop though, and we'll hunker down for a full day to give the horses time to rest." Assuming Abby was willing to play along, which Mama implied with little more than a look but didn't so much as say. Howie just shrugged again and said, "There's an okay location 20 minutes thataways. I suppose it could do just as well." Wasn't no prodding needed to get him to change course, and Tina was right grateful for it when she arrived and found a nice defensible cave that didn't have no exit, but would make for a good campground all the same. Howie wasn't too pleased at being closed in, but Tina was ready to fall over in exhaustion, until she remembered she was supposed to take first turn at watch.

Luckily Mama was on it, handing her a skin of water and a piece of hardtack covered in honey and pemmican. "Get that in you and then off to bed," she said, stroking Tina's hair as she did. "You been up for almost two days now, so time you got some sleep in you."

Judging by Howie's sheepish look, he'd plum forgotten all about it, and he left off without asking Tina to do something like he was just about to. Course, Mama knew he hadn't gotten much sleep either, so she was on him in a jiffy too. "Same goes for you mister," she said, producing another water skin and piece of hardtack seemingly out of thin air. "You barely got any sleep either, and I know how to dig in and lay a Ward same as you. I got this handled, so I want to see you both fast asleep by the time I check in."

Course, Mama had gotten the same amount of sleep as Howie, but she could at least nap in the wagon while they rode. Not that she did, though Chrissy most certainly got more than her fair share of sleep, but was still ready for bed all the same. Cozied right up to Howie quick as a blink, nibbling on her own food and getting crumbs all over his duster, but he didn't seem to mind one bit. Instead, he gave her a look, one that was both happy and conflicted at the same time, and watched her eat in silence for a bit. When he finally spoke up again, it was in the softest, sweetest tone he had, one so rarely used he had to clear his throat twice before the words came out right. "Hey there Chrissy," he said, stroking her hair like Mama had stroked Tina's. "Sorry about all this. I hope you wasn't too scared by everything that happened, but the worst should be behind us. You did real good with the Illusion though. That was you, right?" Chrissy nodded, and Howie positively beamed to see it. "Yeah, I thought so. Great job Chrissy. Real aces."

And oddly enough, Howie turned to Tina looking all conflicted too, then raised his arm in offer of a group hug. One Tina quickly accepted as she sank into his chest and touched heads with Chrissy. "You done good too," he whispered, and a weight lifted off of Tina's chest to know he wasn't cross with her for screwing up. "Getting everyone out of harms way with Invisibility was a good move, and wasn't your fault you lost out to the better soldier. That man back there was probably a Sword Saint, which is a bonafide title that's supposedly on par with a Ranger Captain, or maybe even above it. Would be like asking you to beat Tim in a sharpshooting contest or Marcus in an arm wrestle. Just wasn't gonna happen."

Taking a deep breath, he heaved a long sigh while squeezing them both tight. Almost too tight, but neither Tina nor Chrissy complained, because it was rare for him to be so affectionate. "I'm sorry," he said, nuzzling them both with another long sigh. "I almost let you both down. I'm supposed to protect you, but you had to go and protect yourselves. Won't let it happen again."

Only then did Tina understand why he'd been so steamed all day. Wasn't because she screwed up, but because he was furious at himself for putting them in danger. That's why he was being so sweet and hugging them both so tight. He was scared, scared of losing any one of them, and it broke Tina's heart to see it.

"No." The uncharacteristic outburst from Chrissy took them both by surprise as she broke free of the group hug to meet Howie's eyes. "Great job," she said, pointing at herself with a nod, in reference to Howie's praise. Took them a moment to figure out what she was talking about, and it clicked for Tina just a second before Howie arrived at the same conclusion.

"You saying you done a great job of protecting yourself, so I don't gotta protect you?" Howie asked, smiling as he did, and sweet darling that she was, Chrissy nodded like a chicken pecking grains. "Alright," he said, humouring her just because. "Then I suppose you can protect me while we go and learn sign language together. That sound good?"

Chrissy's shoulders slumped a second later once she parsed out what Howie had said, and Tina's heart warmed to see it. The trip hadn't really gone the way Tina had hoped, as she ain't done nothing to prove she was ready to stand alongside Howie, and they had plenty of speedbumps along the way. Wasn't all bad though, because they'd gotten closer as a family, closer than they'd been in years it felt like, even if they had to go home and live two hours apart again.

Had to look on the bright side though, so as Tina snuggled into Howie's shoulder for a good night's rest, she heaved a long sigh of contentment before falling fast asleep. This was the life, the four of them all together, because home was where the heart is, and their hearts were all linked together. That's what family was after all, and even if everyone else thought their little sorta family was strange, all that mattered was that they had each other.

Which they would, because there wasn't nothing in this world that could tear them apart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Worthless dogs! Bunch of know nothing rice buckets! Turtles, the lot of you, all pulling your heads into your shells at the first sign of danger!"

A wise man protects himself. That's what Eight-Eyed Sifu once said of Ao Tian.

A sarcastic jibe meant to provoke him into speaking up after they'd gotten into a fight with another Sword School and lost out. Ao Tian had single-handedly defeated their top three students, but his fellow classmates were far too useless and he eventually fell before the weight of numbers. Though he was clearly the top Novice Swordsman of the Republic, he still had a long way to go before claiming the title of Sword Saint himself, and the defeat had irked him so. Thus, when Sifu asked whose idea it'd been to challenge the other school to open battle in the streets, Ao Tian had remained silent alongside the rest of his defeated peers. Lot of good that did, because Sifu's eight eyes rarely missed a thing, and they saw the truth of the matter at a mere glance. It had been Ao Tian's idea to offer the impromptu challenge, and thus, the disgraceful defeat also lay upon his shoulders, so Sifu punished him dearly for it.

Throughout the exhausting runs, gruelling exercises, and long hours of standing in horse stance with buckets of wet sand dangling from his wrists, Ao Tian had nearly choked on his fury as Sifu never once asked why he'd gone out and challenged the Green Pine Sword School. If he had, then Ao Tian would've answered because the other school had disparaged his teacher and called him a good for nothing Sword Saint. There was a time when the Eight Eyed Sword Saint was the most promising Warrior West of the Divide, for he had been 28 when he earned his title, which was young for a Sword Saint. The youngest ever had only been 25, but that was a generational genius from almost seventy years ago who'd grown up with a weapon in hand and a war unlike any other in which to hone his skills. In contrast, most Sword Saints were in their early 30s before receiving the acknowledgement of their peers required to uphold the title, meaning the Council of Elders and High Command all held high hopes for Sifu's future accomplishments.

Ones which never came to pass. While his peers were delving under dark to slay Progenitors or leading offensive efforts to clear the Divide and Knife's Edge Mountains both, Sifu rested on his laurels and accepted a paycheck from the General to teach the next generation. A respected profession, to be a teacher, one deserving of praise, but at the time, there'd been a saying going around that went, "Those who can, do. Those who cannot, teach."

Add in Sifu's refusal to spar with Major Mu Bai, and the Eight-Eyed Swordsman's reputation was at an all time low, a man who'd become a laughing stock as the most underachieving Sword Saint of the Republic.

So if Sifu would not appreciate Ao Tian's efforts to uphold his teacher's good name, then he would find himself a teacher who would. That's how he found himself working alongside Prince Gong, who was currently laid up in a wagon while a medic tended to his badly bruised ribs, ones which might well be cracked even, though the Prince had howled and hollered loudly enough that everyone else though he was dying. No such luck however, so now Ao Tian had to once again protect himself by staying silent as the Prince went on a tirade in front of his people. Like a child throwing a tantrum, that's what this was, when instead they should be moving away with all haste before the Yao Guai came to investigate all the light and noise.

Not that Prince Gong seemed to notice, as he had screeched at the drivers to stop the wagon when they tried to set out whilst he was being treated. The bumping wagon was far too painful for him to bear, so they had to all remain still while waiting for his painkillers to kick in. Once they did however, they were far too effective, which was what led to him calling everyone to fall in line so he could rant and rave at them in incoherent rage. If they weren't going to leave, they should at least set a perimeter watch, but no, the Prince wanted them all here so he could scold them for their failures. "One man!" he screeched, his voice going shrill and cracking in the process, but not a single person in the audience dare do anything besides stare straight ahead at nothing in the distance. "One man," Prince Gong repeated, after clearing his throat and finding his voice again. "He was but one man with an empty gun and a single Spell readied. One he would not dare to use, for doing so will have brought the wrath of my father and the Republic down upon his head."

Ao Tian thought otherwise, because the Yellow Devil sure looked ready to unleash fiery death before Jinfeng stopped him. That faithless bitch had no doubt already spread her legs for the traitor; the same way her bitch mother had spread her legs for the General so many years back after the death of her husband. Not that it did her any good, but at least she hadn't been given a bloody nose by the very man she seduced. Seemed Jinfeng still had much to learn from her crazed harlot of a mother, but Second Sister was nothing if not quick on the uptake.

It still stung to not only owe his life to her once again, but to also be completely disregarded by the Yellow Devil once again. The other man had paid Ao Tian no mind at all as he stood there like death incarnate holding their lives in his hand, a man ready to unleash hell without a care for the consequences involved. Case in point, he'd already tried to kill Prince Gong with his impeccable gunmanship, and then tried to kill Major Mu Bai immediately after. In fact, he almost succeeded, and might well still, for the Major had been struck directly over the heart by both Bolts and had to be given a stronger cocktail of drugs to keep him from going arrhythmic or into cardiac arrest, among many other possible side effects. Again, no bones were broken or blood spilled, not externally at least, but it most certainly wasn't for a lack of trying on the Yellow Devil's part.

In truth? Ao Tian believed Jinfeng's plea had been what swayed the Yellow Devil's heart, rather than his ham-fisted story of his father's loyalty to the Republic.

It mattered little to Prince Gong however, because he cared nothing for the Yellow Devil's backing or the difficulties of his subordinates. Instead, he focused on how they had failed him by doing only that which could only be expected of them. Without an order, they could not legally bring arms to bear against the Yellow Devil, for the General would have the offending parties flayed alive and torn apart by four horses. That's what he did to the mastermind of the plan to bring the traitor Ming to justice, for traitor though all knew him to be, his name had still not been struck from the Vanguard roster, and thus any action against him was considered a betrayal to the Republic.

Ironic that. Ao Tian's father was a true hero of the Republic who executed a traitor, but the General twisted the truth to punish all those involved with his heroic actions, while the true traitor Ming's name had still yet to be removed. It burned Ao Tian to no end knowing this was what his father's loyalty had earned him, showing just how stuck in the past the General was. The time of bloodlines and dynasties had died alongside the Heavenly Immortal Monarch, and now was the time of the Republic, where every man and woman was equal before the Heavens and must all do their part.

At least now Ao Tian's father would be laid to rest in the mausoleum proper. That much not even the General could deny, and his only regret was not being able to accompany his father's remains home. Difficult to even say which one of the three corpses carried by Jinfeng had been Ao Tian's father, for the Yellow Devil had not even offered them the courtesy of a coffin. There would one day be a reckoning between them, and Ao Tian would show that arrogant son of a traitor what true regret really was, but today was not that day.

There was no denying it. The Yellow Devil Zhu Hao Wei stood beyond Ao Tian's reach. For now at least, for the traitor followed foreign doctrine and relied heavily on the weapons he carried, master crafted Aetherarms available only to a select few due to connections made with the ingenious gunsmith, Armand Kalthoff. Without his fancy revolvers and the oversized cannon atop his fortified wagon, the Yellow Devil was nothing, and Ao Tian would gladly cast his sword aside to show him just that. A battle of fists and fury and nothing else, that's all it would take to show the world who was the true Dragon of this generation, not Hao Wei, but Ao Tian.

Prince Gong seemed to think otherwise however, judging by his self-important and frankly downright obnoxiously arrogant rant. One which outlined how he would've shown the traitor what for had he not been taken by surprise by his opponent's Invisible Aetherarm. He seemed to have forgotten how he had all but dared his foe to strike out at him after being given multiple warnings from the traitor. Fool that he was, the Prince thought the Yellow Devil had been bluffing, but anyone with eyes could see his arrogance was more than well deserved, even if they couldn't see why until he drew his weapon and fired. Add in his Mage Hands utilizing the massive Pressure Wave cannon mounted up top of his wagon, and they would have had to pay dearly to bring him down unharmed, assuming it was even possible.

It was all the General's fault. If not for his protection, the traitor would be nothing, a bug to be crushed underfoot by Ao Tian.

"And you," Prince Gong hissed, his finger mere centimetres away from Ao Tian's nose and pulling him out of his reverie. "Do you think yourself above all this? That you are also not to blame for this debacle today?" There was no need to answer, because the Prince did not expect one, as he sneered and continued, "Your failure is greatest of all in fact, for it was your lacking information which led to all this. Had I been properly made aware of his capabilities and that of his Aberrants, then I would have taken the proper precautions and none of this would have come to pass."

The Prince continued making excuses for himself and lay all the blame upon Ao Tian's shoulders, which was more or less customary for the insolent silk pants. There was nothing Ao Tian could say or do in his own defense however, for his father was dead while Prince Gong's was an Elder with ambitions to expand his power base beyond the political sphere. What's more, Ao Tian had firmly and unequivocally taken a stance against his Sifu and the General both, so he had no one else to turn to should he anger Prince Gong as well.

"You will make amends for this failure forthwith," Prince Gong continued, once he was done making it clear in no uncertain terms that none of the fault lay with him. Pointing at Ao Tian, he said, "With Major Mu Bai out of commission, command falls to me, and I am ordering you to execute the traitor Hao Wei."

Convenient for the Prince to omit the man's family name in the process, like Ao Tian would somehow forget the Yellow Devil was the General's only blood relative on the Frontier. "This lowly one hears," Ao Tian replied, snapping to attention and firing off a salute, but the Prince merely narrowed his eyes when he realized Ao Tian had omitted 'and obeys'. Because it wasn't possible, as he explained, "However, General Zhu Yuanzhang has already given orders to the contrary stating in no uncertain terms that the target is not to be harmed."

And though Prince Gong and his father might stylize him as royalty, it was merely a nickname rather than a proper title, one he was utterly undeserving considering his father's lowly origins as the son of a baker. Elder Chang Sang was a political genius however, and had risen quickly in the ranks in the early years after the Advent while gathering enough support to elevate him to the position of Council Elder. Now, he was one of a dozen of the most powerful men in the Republic, at least so far as the Frontier was concerned, but there was political power and then there was military power, the latter of which mattered far more and was concentrated in the hands of the General himself.

Meaning that Ao Tian would sooner eat a bucket of shit than obey an unlawful order to kill the Yellow Devil.

"Fool!" Prince Gong retorted with his hateful sneer. "Did you not hear the traitor? With his own words, he has denied any and all ties to the Republic, staking a claim to this land that should belong to us all and claiming he will wage war against his own people as only a traitor and rebel would. That is a betrayal of the highest order, and not even the General can protect him now. Upon my return, the traitor's name will be struck from the Vanguard roster and a warrant made out for his death. One you will serve forthwith, or you will find someone else's leg to hug because my house has no use for cowards and layabouts."

Ao Tian's eyes went wide as he considered the implications, and try as he might, he could see no flaw in the Prince's logic. The Yellow Devil's refusal to return to the Republic was easily dealt with by a man of the means like the General, but an open declaration of war on all Qin Vanguard in illegally claimed territory? Not even the General could protect his precious nephew from this outright betrayal of the Republic, and he would lose all his supporters if he even tried.

"I will require soldiers," Ao Tian said, his mind racing at the prospect of bringing down the man who killed his father and presenting his head before the tomb. "And weapons." Eyeing the Beam weapons on the side of the Prince's wagons, Ao Tian dismissed them as too unwielded and glanced at the Flames of the Fire Dragon instead. Though considered illegal for use in warfare, Flamethrowers were a vital weapon in the war against the Yao Guai, and the Prince had five such weapons born by the elite soldiers under Major Mu Bai's command.

"Not them," the Prince said, appearing as unhappy with the command as Ao Tian felt. "Rifles and handguns are all I can allow, as the Federation will take issue if the Flames of the Dragon are seen in their territory." To say nothing of how the Prince wanted those weapons close at hand on the trip home. He'd had an easy go of it until he caught up with Ao Tian in Jinfeng's Cadre, so easy he purposely set out to find trouble where there was none. A harrowing two days it'd been, fighting tooth and nail against the Yao Guai who'd been stirred into a frenzy by the Prince's rampant ways, ones which tampered down far too late once he realized the dangers involved. If not for those beam cannons and the Flames of the Dragon, they might well have been overrun, and their convoy had precious little ammunition left to them for the trip home.

"I also require a Scout," Ao Tian added, upon seeing the soldiers given to him by the Prince. Only 9 soldiers, most young, though there were two veterans here to assist. "A veteran Scout," he added, "One who can assuredly avoid the traitor's detection." Because if the Yellow Devil saw them coming, he could shoot them all down before any one of them got into range to return fire with their weapons.

The Prince relented, pointing at a scout named Qian who stepped forward alongside two assistants. "Do not think to attack him head on," the Prince said with a sneer, and Ao Tian had to work hard to resist the urge to throttle the fat silkpants. "He knows these lands too well and holds every advantage, to say nothing of his vigilance. He will be guarded against the possibility of attack, so better to kill with a borrowed blade. Rush ahead and prepare the battleground before lying in wait, and all the better if your hands remain clean of all this." Meaning the Prince was less than confident in his earlier declaration of securing a death warrant for the traitor, but he allowed no room for Ao Tian to speak. Waving him away as if he were a fly, the Prince said, "Now go. I cannot do everything for you. Use your head and do not fail me. You will be richly rewarded upon your return, and if done right, then the General will have no legal avenues to pursue vengeance."

Which was not saying much, for the General was unto the law himself. If he said left, not a single soul in the Republic would dare look right, for there was not a Sword Saint, Battle Monk, Aberrant Death Guard, or any other illustrious Warrior who could match him in single combat. Nor was there anyone else who could command as large a force as he, not anywhere close by at least, meaning that if he were to break the law and seek vengeance for the blood of his blood, then there was little anyone could do to protect Ao Tian, or even seek justice for his death.

And yet, he would still do this all the same, for much like his father had killed the traitor Ming, Ao Tian would in turn kill the traitor Hao Wei and finally have vengeance for his father's death. As for what may come after? It mattered not, for Ao Tian did this not just for himself, but for the Republic as a whole, a hero to the end same as his father, and one who would hold his head up proudly right up until the bitter end.

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