Blood Path

We decide the next day to go back to the Beach. I can’t protect my friends and family if I’m not there…

For the last six months, since the day Toranaga told me that I was the Heir , I have been training. I have actually beaten Hei-chan several times; he still wins more often then not. I really don’t want him to leave. But he doesn’t belong here. And I don’t belong in his time. We made love again last night, knowing that it would be our last time together.

We’ve discovered that the only way for Hei-chan to go home is to recreate the battle that he had come here from. Namely: him, Nightmare, woodrea.rea. Pungo would be perfect; it is a rural area in the southern part of Virginia Beach.

Now all we have to do is give Nightmare a wont to be there. It isn’t hard to do that; any populated area will attract him. His current path takes him south east; if he continued it, it would take him right to…my old neighborhood… "Hei-chan, we've got to get to my parents' housse..."

"I thought your parents were out of town."

"They are, but if you want to go home, you have to come with me..."

Without her her word, both of us jump into my car. I speed down the Boulevard to my parents’ house.

Along the way, I explain a plan. “We both know he will kill one of us outright if only one of us takes him. So we hurt him enough and let him follow us to Pungo. There, since he’s hurt bad, you and he will fight and both of you go home!”

Hei-chan nods his agreement to the plan.

After about five minutes of blatant speeding, I run to the front door. It was locked and no one is home, thankfully and the house is still intact---they must still be away. Dad has a tendency to cut vacations short…

I go outside and sit on the steps and sigh with relief. We’re alone and it’s VERY tempting. . . Hei-chan puts a hand on my shoulder, sensing my total and complete relief.

I hear screams from the next block. I look over at Hei-chan and he nods grimly. We run to the next block.

The demon is torturing this kid.

“Let the kid go!” I shout. I’m pissed; nobody tortures kids on my block.

I am frozen to the ground. He is a truly fearsome sight. I hear three swords being drawn, both of mine and Hei-chan’s but it doesn’t register. Fear just takes me. I can’t move, can’t breathe, all I can do is watch him.

The grotesque sword is coming at me and I can’t move. My eyes widen.

[“Jade-chan, MOVE!”] Hei-chan’s voice snaps me out of my reverie. I duck at the last possible second and roll forward. I have an advantage against Nightmare, being smaller and faster, but he has an advantage on me in that he has more experience.

As I roll forward, I jab the wakizashi into the demon’s gut. It doesn’t faze him. He picks me up and throws me.

I land, dropping the katana, and roll about 20 feet. Very painful landing… Nightmare appears outside. He says something in German, which I don’t speak, and advances on me, smiling lewdly.

My sword is about halfway between him and me. Lucky for me, there is a big ronin here to distract Nighty from me…as well as the wakizashi in the stomach.

The aforementioned ronin jumps onto Nightmare’s back and pins his arms so that the demon can’t move. He screams something in German, while Hei-chan yells for me to grab my other sword, which I do. The demon doubles over, launching Hei-chan at me. Dropping the sword, I catch him and we tumble across the back yard. My vision turns white and my right side screams out---fractured rib.

He gets up off of me just as the enraged demon charges. Surprising him, Hei-chan trips the demon, sending him sprawling towards me. He drops the grotesque sword.

“The plan’s not working! There’s a wood near hear; he’ll follow us!” I grab my swords, sheath them and pick up the Soul Edge.

Power flows through me: evil incarnate I am. I want to kill, destroy, maim…

[You…I choose you now…now you do MY bidding!]

*NO!*

Playing mind games with people has strengthened my mental power and I can push the evil tendencies from my mind. It transforms into a katana. . .my preferred sword. “Hey, ugly! Want this?” I shout at Nightmare. He reaches from the ground for the sword.

“You want it? Come get it!” I take off for the woods near my house. Nightmare follows, and is followed in turn by Hei-chan.

“Jade-chan, what are you doing?!”

My ribs scream. The forest is only a half mile away, but it seems like millions. I run deep inside it, followed closely by Nightmare, who is screaming German curses at me. He is slowing down; a gaping hole in the stomach will do that to you.

My side begs for me to stop and I do so. Nightmare and Hei-chan are nowhere in sight. I am still gripping the Soul Edge.

The Ultimate Weapon, the ultimate curse. My curse. Power, lust, greed, they all course through my veins.

[You are mine…]

*NEVER!*

Something rips into my back, about kidney level and I pitch forward into a tree trunk. It’s not deep, just very painful.

I slump down to the ground and turn around as a bloody aroterotesque hand grabs my throat and lifts me up. Ignoring the searing pain in my back, I get up and turn around.

Something big, brown and mutated slams me into a tree trunk. A red eye and a green eye bore into my soul…

He speaks in ENGLISH, which scares me. “So You’re the Heir…such a pretittlittle thing…you want this?” He pats Soul Edge. “Vell, you can’t have it. I have something else you may want…” Nightmare presses his groin again me; I cry out in pain from my back against the tree.

I realize that my swords are still at my sides. While Nightmare starts groping me, I discreetly move my left hand down to my wakizashi. He still doesn’t notice as I slide the blade out of its sheath…

But he DOES notice it coming at him. He backs up fast, giving me time to draw my katana.

Nightmare looks atwithwith amusement. “You think you can beat me?”

“I can sure as hell try!” I set up my stance, right foot and hand leading, wakizashi in a reverse grip parallel to my forearm.

He charges me, Soul Edge up at an angle. I block it with the katana and whip the wakizasha over his exposed stomach. He dances back again; the cut wasn’t that deep. “Feisty one, aren’t you? Your soul vill make a perfect addition to mine…”

“Gotta catch me first…”

By this time, Hei-chan has caught up to me and Demon-boy. “Jade-chan--?!”

I glance at him; big mistake. Nightmare charges me and I barely sidestep. As he goes by, he grabs my left arm, the closest thing to him and yanks.

I fall face first to the ground. I’m up almost instantly to take a foot to the chest that forces me back into the tree trunk.

Snarling in pain and pretty pissed off, I use the tree as leverage and launched myself at Nightmare. He grabs my right arm, flips me up and over and slams me to the ground. Hei-chan is too far away to do anything at this moment, so he starts to run over.

As I am on the ground, winded, Nightmare puts the tip of Soul Edge against my throat. “It won’t take too—oof!”

Hei-chan tackles Nightmare across the midsection and slams him into the ground, knocking Soul Edge from the demon’s grip.

It calls out to me telepathically. [I am your true DESTINY! Take me up and the world will be yours.]

I don’t want the world.

Nightmare launches Hei-chan off of him, slamming him into another tree, stunning him, and starts towards me. He doesn’t have his sword, but still has a big nasty claw…I block a swipe from it with the wakizashi and stab towards his neck with the katana.

He grabs my katana hand with his mutated one and with surprising speed, twists my wrist. I scream and drop to the ground. With my wrist still encased in his right grotesque hand, he forces me to the ground.

With his human left hand, he picks up my katana. With his hand across my chest, it would be kinda awkward for him to give a killing blow…

Nightmare puts the tip to my right side, just under my breast and shoves HARD.

I cannot begin to describe the excruciating pain it made in me. It was like a broken rib, but on a whole new level of pain. I’m now seeing this played out before me. I think it’s an out of body experience…

The katana rips out of my back and pins me to the ground. I see a spray of blood, but the katana is still in my side…Nightmare drops and I feel the katana pulled out of me…

“Jade-chan…talk to me…” A large hand puts itself on my side and presses down.

I snap back to my body, but I know it’s too late…I'm dying. “…Hei-chan…go home…”