The Crane Hermit Part 2 (Open/Quest/Complete)

The sun sat heavily in the sky, raining warm rays of light down upon all who stood underneath it's gaze without shelter, and though it brought drops of sweat to their brow, the many people who labored under that sun were content. Recently, far to the East of Master Crane's hut a poor village had been severly damaged by a rampaging tornado; Master Roshi ever the good samaritan sent a trio of his hardest working students to help out in the repair efforts. Which as it turned out was a blessing that probably saved the poor villagers from suffering for long months of trying to repair with their own meager materials, and badly weakened people, who were not in shape for doing any repairs.

For full ten hour days each student would perform heavy tasks for the village, doing for the villagers what they could not currently do themselves. One student, tall, wiry muscled, and completely bald spent the day, chopping wood, keeping a steady rhythm of raising the ax, splitting the wood, and then grabbing another fallen tree that the other two students had brought down earlier and continuing his pattern. At the start of the day, there had been no logs available to build houses, but by mid afternoon when the sun was at it's hottest a great pile of logs had formed.

“Wow! Can Roshi's students really work hard!” one Villager exclaimed in surprise, eyes wide at the giant pile of logs.

Turning to face the villager, the tall student favored her with a bright smile, “Just happy to help, all of this hard work is great training!” the student finished his voice filled with enthusiasm.

Happy that they had such hard workers repairing the village, the Villager turned away from the student walking back towards the village, long blonde hair swaying from side to side in sync with the rocking of her body. As she approached the village, she could not help but sigh at the sight of ruined village, whole buildings had been ripped to shreds sending logs flying all through the village. The only saving grace was that the town hall had been spared, so that the entire village had a place to gather, and rest safe from the elements.

“I guess I should be thankful for what we do have, and those students of Roshi will have this place looking great in no time!” the blonde haired Villager said to herself, her tone full of cheer.

The village was once again at peace, they had stalwart, hard working champions to aid them in the repair of their shattered homes. The wounds on their hearts could begin the slow process of mending, as the dead are buried, and funerals held. Soon though, a new 'norm' would develop and people would go back to their daily lives, satisfied with new homes... or would they? Far to the West, trouble was brewing...

Deep within a lush green valley, populated with healthy foliage of all kinds was the house of the Master Crane, kept isolated from the public by the massive mountains that ringed it. The house was simple in design, a four side construction made from the trees of that grew in abundance in the valley, a simple thatch roof being sufficient to keep the rain from seeping deep into Master Crane's mountain cottage.

Today, the warrior Prince Novashen spent his time practicing in the clearing outside the Master's house. Moving from pose to pose that the Master had taught him, trying to grasp the fluid movements of the Crane. Shifting his weight to his right foot, Novashen gracefully lifted his left leg into the air, raising his up and to his side, so that they are arced outwards to either side of him, a moment later his right leg shook as he overbalanced and the warrior tumbled into the muddy ground.

Letting out a slight groan, more due to his mistake that led to the awkward position that he was in now then any pain. He had fallen face first into the mud, his marble white skin now slathered in mud, hair normally white now had thick streaks of brown, little droplets of mud dripped from his face as he lifted it from the ground.

“Ha ha ha, how did you manage to defeat Roshi's student with skill like that?” a familiar voice reached Novashen's ears as the annoyed prince rose to his feet simultaneously turning to face the voice.

Before Novashen stood, the Master Crane, dressed in his customary long flowing robe, the emblem of the crane on the front.

“Clean that mud from your face, and I will show you the correct way to do this series of stances,” Crane said to Novashen, waiting a moment for the Prince to wipe the mud off his face before beginning the first stance.

Feeling foolish at having been seen in an awkward position by his Master, Novashen tried not to meet his Master's gaze while he wiped the mud from his face, wiping large goblets off his face, and trying to regain a small portion of his Princely dignity; in front of anyone else other then the Master Crane it would have been comical to watch. A Prince trying to act like nobility covered in mud.

Once Novashen was ready, the Master Crane began to go through a series of stances, his feet moving lightly across the wet and slippery earth barely leaving a print. Novashen noticed as his Master moved, each movement seemed to have a deliberate reasoning, and somehow the Master's robe always seemed to glide just an inch above the wet mud, as if some invisible force stopped it from touching.

“His skill...,” Novashen thought to himself, stunned at the graceful movements of his Master, “Here is a true Master of his art.”

Crane was in his zen place, his mind perfectly focused from outside distractions, so that each movement was perfectly precise and there was no energy wasted in his movements. The movements he was going through, were designed to focus ones energy when attacking, so as Crane lifted his hands high and to the sides, creating a perfect opportunity for an opponent to strike his chest, he lashed out with a series of lighting fast kicks that lifted him from the ground, resembling a crane taking flight in a strange way. Then just like that, the Master landed, the attack having happened like a lighting strike; fast and deadly and hard to predict.

Landing softly on his feet, balance perfect, and the hem of his robe still clean of any mud Master Crane turned to face Novashen.

“Novashen, you are too practice that move for the rest of the day and tomorrow we shall talk about your next task,” Master Crane said to his pupil, his voice calm and relaxed as his mind was still focused from the martial exercise he had completed.

“Master,” Novashen replied, bowing more deeply to further indicate his respect for his Master, impressed by the display he had seen. This time Novashen noticed that he was not corrected by his Master for bowing.

For the rest of the evening, Novashen practiced the movements he had seen his Master perform. Going through each step, and practicing it until he could do it almost as well as he had seen his Master do it, and strangely after a few hours practice he was finding that he was doing it nearly as well.

“My Masters at home always told me that I was a fast learner, but I was never this good,” frowning Novashen floated a few feet into the air, crossing his legs so that he was now sitting cross legged while hovering above the ground, the ideal pose for thinking.

“Things have been different since I woke up in that strange lab,” Novashen thought, reflecting on all of the changes he had noticed so far.

Since awakening, he had the strange ability to sense the power of every living being, his mind was filled with information about things that he knew for certain it should have been impossible for him to know, and probably the most interesting of all, he could fly!

“Again someone did something to me while I was unconscious, the bastard,” Novashen growled.

Then the thought returned to him that he could fly, and he had not fully enjoyed the benefits of it quite yet. Smiling, the Prince stood straight up standing a foot above the ground mud, then by focusing he willed himself to rise into the air, rapidly rising high into the air, moving so fast that the cool mountain air whipped against skin feeling refreshing and light.

Once he was high into the air, floating with the ebb and flow of the winds, the Prince relaxed, a look of peace coming over him as the muscles in his face relaxed.

“If he had known flying was this wonderful, I would have learned to do it sooner!”

Suddenly, a smell speck appeared on the horizon, quickly a series of calculations were performed without Novashen having to even think, and the Prince knew exactly how far away the speck was and how soon it would be for it to reach Master Crane's hut.

“I wonder who that could be?” the Prince thought, curious as to who would be visiting him and his Master.

WC - 1575

The intense rays prying their way through the skies were really beginning to beat down now, almost giving Seventeen a sort of sensation of sweating anyone else might have felt just by stepping into such heat. However, it did not bother him in the slightest. Although, it did manage to catch him in the eye every once in a while and nearly blind him for a moment. Maneuvering his way through the clouds, he anxiously headed back to the Crane training grounds in order to inform his expecting teacher of his much anticipated success. If his actions in the West City were not enough to get the human’s blood pumping and teeth chatting, perhaps he would have to go back and level the place. At this point, he’d do just about anything the Crane Hermit asked of him if it meant gaining such knowledge. While he was embedded with several fighting styles, his programming was not completed and he does not know how to properly wield all that has been imprinted into his build.

The thought of having such immense power lying dormant within him was a most aggravating one. It was like getting a christmas present that was double wrapped in complete titanium. Seventeen was like an irritable infant, right about now. His blue eyes were covered by his eyelids in an attempt to gather himself as he inhaled deeply and took in the clearest of air from the empty skies. Not even a cloud was around to clog up the air space. Perfect flight weather, indeed.

As time flew by as well as he, the carefree cyborg was now closing in on his destination. The raggedy old hut was a hard point to miss, along the several training dummies scattered throughout the field surrounding. However, something was different or even somewhat out of place. Another presence picked up by his internal scouter, a familiar one that had already been registered to his database. There was no mistaking this one, as the reading became more and more clear the closer he got to the target. ”What the hell... Why is.. How..--”

It was Novashen, the guy who claimed to be a prince from the land beyond the sky and whatever the hell. Still didn’t know what his story was and it really did not matter at this juncture. The situation was not making very much sense at all. If Seventeen had remembered correctly, this guy hardly knew of the mission Gero embedded in each of his creations yet somehow had to have the knowledge enough to seek out Master Crane. It was him, or the old pervert Roshi. However, Roshi would not take any student bearing the Red Ribbon Insignia.

As he drew within a good distance of his Red Ribbon comrade of sorts, he smoothly skid to a sort of halt and glided his feet about the ground before gently transitioning into a walk. Without making eye contact, he walked past the dignified “Prince” who was still covered in remnants of mud and headed towards the hut. “Fancy seeing you here, your highness.”

The taunt was subtle and wasn’t meant so much to tick off Novashen as much as it was to tease him. Really, to think this guy believes himself some sort of royalty? Not in this world. It sure showed considering they were now under the tutelage of the same man, scratching and clawing their way towards dominance. Perhaps, a friendly rivalry could be in store between the two. It would certainly help to push them towards their own separate goals. It didn’t seem like the prince was such a horrible fellow and might even come in handy, eventually.

After passing up Novashen, Seventeen continued onward towards the hut with his hands now buried in his pockets and his head now upward as he whistled a low tune to himself. As he approached the door, he thought about knocking, but completely ignored the thought and pried his way inside to find his sensei in a state of meditation. By the look of it, he was mumbling something under his breath. “..It is to be done, Master..

The last words prompted Seventeen’s look of surprise and confusion. He stood there a moment, eyes wide and hands still planted loosely within his jean pockets. While he knew ‘hermits’ were odd characters, speaking to themselves and even referring to themselves as master was a bit... weird. “Uh.. Master Crane..?”

Just as Seventeen formed the slightest of words, Shen turned his head toward Seventeen and glared for a moment before standing to his feet. He adjusted his sunglasses before clasping his hands together behind his back and pacing toward Seventeen, somewhat examining him. “Hrm.. not even a sign of conflict.. I’d assume your task is complete?”

Seventeen nodded in response and pointed toward Shen’s television. Surely, the events would have made it on the local news by now. However, the cyborg hoped that they were not on scene as it took place. The last thing he needed was confirmation of his appearance on film. Persecution from the righteous heroes could be a major annoyance. “Yes, master. Check it out for yourself.”

Shen shook his head before continuing to stroll past Seventeen toward and out the door to his hut. As soon as he stepped outside, his sunglasses caught was left of the sunlight and the beams created a gleam across the lenses. He stopped on his doormat before inhaling deeply and cocking his head back toward the skies. “That will not be necessary. You see, I can already sense the dischord. You’ve done well. I’d assume you’ve met your fellow pupil?”

Seventeen walked back outside just behind Shen and removed his pocketed hands to fold his arms of over his chest. As he stepped out the door he looked over Shen’s head towards Novashen. By the sound of it, the Crane Hermit would have some sort of announcement and if the already leery cyborg hadn’t known better, it would involve the both of them. “Yeah, we’ve met.”

----
WC: 1,022

Patiently, the Prince waited floating in midair amongst the clouds, the sun rays warming the surface of his skin a feeling of relaxation growing throughout his body. It did not occur to the Prince for a moment that the incoming person was hostile, so he waited a faint smile on his face, his hands tucked comfortably behind his head.

A few seconds later, the speck in the distance began to take on shape, details such as hair style, general build, began to take on shape, something seemed familiar about the being approaching.

“Why does he look so familiar?” the Prince wondered, still patiently waiting for the being to get close enough so that he could see who it was.

Again as he thought, odd words appeared in his vision, Visual Enhancement Mode Engaged..., and suddenly he was viewing the incoming speck as if he was standing only feet away from the being, and he recognized that being immediately.

“17, my comrade? This is perfect it was getting a bit boring around here with only the old Master around,” Novashen thought, as he patiently waited for 17 to arrive, his visual enhancement also disengaging after he recognized the person approaching.

Gently descending to the ground, he watched and waited for 17 to approach, mildly surprised when his friend addressed him, “Fancy seeing you here, your highness.”

Novashen felt an inkling of satisfaction at his comrade addressing him by a royal title, it had been some time since he had felt like his royal self, and even though he was no longer in the world of his birth and he had never taken his title seriously, it was really the only thing that kept him drowning in despair. His title, his pride, his sense of dignity, the thing that set him apart from the common man of Earth, he was meant to rule.

A faint smile formed on his lips just then, his expression growing serious at the thought, a sudden and private idea coming to mind.

“If I cannot be Prince there, I shall rule here,” Novashen's faint smile turned crooked for a moment, as he thought on the dark deeds to come. “I had better see what my 'Master' will want us to do, now that 17 is here things will be different.”

Breathing in deep, Novashen held his breathe for a moment focusing on all of the discord and stress that he felt in his body, imagining it as a ball of black energy, then as he released his breath he envisioned the black ball exiting his body restoring his body to harmony.

“It wouldn't do for them to see me like that,” he thought, before turning and walking inside Master Crane's house.

Boldly the Prince walked up the steps of his Master's house walking through the door that 17 had left ajar, hearing the tail end of a conversation between his ally and Master.

“Yeah, we’ve met.”

As Novashen entered the front door, Master Crane immediately noticed his other pupils entrance, a sly smile forming on his lips.

“Excellent, I was about to call you Novashen, you and 17 have something that must be done... consider it to be your next phase of training,” the Master Crane spoke to both pupils, his eyes lighting up with excitement as he spoke.

“There exists a village that was recently damaged in a storm, students of Master Roshi are helping rebuild this village. My... I need these students taken care of by any means necessary,” the Master Crane's robes fluttered faintly as he spoke, the faintest outline of a black aura shimmering around his body until he finished speaking. The light in the room, seemed to dim ever so slightly that only the most perceptive of people would consciously notice it.

“Do you understand my students? Kill them for me, make me proud and you will be one step closer to the power you dream of,” Master Shen look at each of them in turn, his eyes staring eerily into them, as if reading what was on their hearts and minds, as if he could read their dreams and thoughts with a glance alone.

A shiver ran up and down the Prince's spine as the Master spoke, not from his request he was fine with that. It was the way he spoke, as if the Master Crane had a darker power, something that gave him strength, or maybe something that was manipulating things behind the scenes. A bead of sweat formed on the Prince's brow, trickling down until it reached his shirt soaking into it's fabric, leaving a singular wet spot.

“Who... who is he really?” the thought flashed through Novashen's mind, causing him to pause just a moment before he responded to Master Crane's question.

There was something dark behind his Master's power, something that promised strength, something that had the ability to help him fulfill his dreams, it was something that Novashen wanted to achieve. The force he felt resounded throughout his soul, sending dark vibrations throughout the entirety of his being, and for a moment the pupils in his eyes turned black.

“Yes, Master Crane I wish for power, heh heh,” Novashen responded after just that one moment's pause, his eyes returning to their normal color after he answered, unconsciously the Prince's hands dropped to his sides, tightening into fists at the thought of the violence ahead, as his body prepared for battle.

WC - 917
TWC - 2492

“Very well, then off you go.” Shen nodded and lifted his right hand from behind his back to motion them off to complete their given task. With a swift wave, he then turned away and headed back inside his hut without another sound.

Seventeen felt the door shut behind him as his sights shifted away from Novashen and toward the west. If he’d been correct, the village he had just flown over on his way back to the Crane hut had been undergoing some sort of renovation. The damages there looked to be caused by some sort of storm, as the buildings rooftops were torn from them and there were large puddles of water soaking into their grounds. Wasn’t too far off from their current standpoint and would be a very short trip.

The task was easy enough, albeit an odd request. Though, in retrospect it was not too odd. Shen had a lifelong rivalry with the Turtle Hermit, Master Roshi and would probably do anything to see himself come out on top in any given competition. Not too surprising that he would send his own students to lay siege to those of Master Roshi. The tallies continued. A death toll that would never seem to stop until the power hungry cyborg honed the strength he so vehemently craved. The teachings were already showing their results and he would have further chance to test his abilities on this rather simple mission.

Stepping down from the doorway and out onto the fields surrounding the hut, he’d assumed Novashen would do the same. Before preparing to dash his way toward the village, he promptly addressed his assigned partner to ensure that they were on the same page. “Let’s keep it simple, nothing too fancy. In and out, quick kills. However, I would recommend that you grab one of those flags bearing the Crane symbol. I would assume that Master Shen would like for it to be known it was of his commands.”

With that, Seventeen was off. His legs crashed into the ground below, nearly ripping up the landscape with each passing step. His training was definitely beginning to show, as his feet were moving so incredibly fast that it was hard to for one without a trained eye to catch his legs beneath him. It might’ve looked as though everything below his waistline was a blur. His hair whipped behind his head, revealing his very shiny gold earrings and his eyes did not squint once even with the wind blowing against them.

Seventeen checked behind him to be sure Novashen was keeping up and he definitely was. While their speed wasn’t exactly matched, it was apparent that the training was having a definite great effect upon him, as well. ”Impressive. Perhaps, we will finish that fool Gero could not. Gotta hand it to the royal dweeb.”

Adjusting his thoughts back onto the task at hand, his eyes fixated onto the designated village in the distance. Utilizing his mechanics, he zoomed in a bit further to examine the area for their targets. Surely, they would be bearing the Turtle marking on their outfits and as he suspected, they were. Their reddish-orange gi’s with the Roshi insignia on their backs and their chests confirmed them as fighters under his tutelage.

“This ought to be as smooth as cutting butter with a searing hot knife.” Seventeen muttered under his breath before pressing his speed even further. He did his best to differentiate between citizen and target, as it was not his orders to kill any of the bystanders. As he was getting closer, he could tell that a couple of the warriors were beginning to take notice, finally. They could not sense his presence sooner due to his mechanical nature, but they could certainly seem him at this point. However, it was all too late.

Before one of the fighters could even make a move or a judgement for that matter, Seventeen had already made direct contact and had been forming a sphere of energy to drive directly into the chest of the dignified student of Roshi. The victim appeared to be a standard monk, completely bald head and all. The wind was clearly knocked out of the fighter and those who were watching were still in a sort of state of shock as to the sudden assault they were witnessing.

To finish off the first student, Seventeen drove his elbow into the spine of the now bent over man and the prospect fell flat to the ground, presumably unconscious. Seventeen flipped his hair while looking down at his work and heard a shriek coming from a girl who had witnessed the entire deed. Looking up toward her, he smiled in what might’ve appeared to be a friendly fashion under different circumstances. However, the smile in this situation gave off the impression of a remorseless killer and was further supported by his following actions.

While still smiling menacingly at the girl and not removing his sights from her, he extended his left hand downward toward the back of the knocked out fighter, hovering his open palm just above where the heart would be. Without much gathering of ki, he released a beam that continued on and piercing through the fighter’s flesh. After a while, Seventeen was certain the heart was nothing more than cinder lying on the fresh grass beneath him.

After the disposal of one fighter, he took a look around at the others who were finally gathering their wits and preparing to jump him with all that they could muster. Seventeen lifted his hand and fell backwards into the Crane signature fighting stance with his legs crouched low, one in front of the other and his arms outward, swaying around a bit. “Alright, let’s see what you Kame guys have got. I hope this guy wasn’t one of your Grade A students!”

With the taunt, Seventeen began fending off the students with ease and managed to occasionally look over to see how his partner had been fairing.

----

WC: 1,016
TWC: 2,038

The pair took off leaving the Master's house behind, Novashen content to let the eager 17 take the lead, though his ally had suggested he grab a flag before they left, he completely ignored the thought.

“If he wants to bring a flag he can bring it himself,” the Prince thought annoyed with the blue eyed cyborg, his eyes tightening for just a moment as he stared at the back of the cyborg while they ran through the woods.

After the moment of annoyance passed, Novashen took a moment to admire his allies skill, noting that he seemed to move at such a rapid pace with ease. Carefully he studied the movements of his ally, analyzing what he was doing with his feet, so that his own movements would unconsciously adjust to improve.

“The Master has trained him well,” Novashen observed, his brown eyes taking note of every movement, the way his muscles impacted upon the ground, and the way he propelled himself forward with each step, maintaining his balance with ease in spite of his rapid pace.

Each tree they whipped past, had it's branches sent whipping upwards and inwards sending sprays of long fallen leaves into the air, Novashen normally running past a falling leaf after 17 had disturbed it, yet such was their speed that each individual leaf only fell but an inch before the pair was again gone, leaving the forest to rest in peace once more.

“Now where is that village?” Novashen thought, his mind wandering back to the task at hand, the task of putting down Master Roshi's students.

With his mind back on the task of finding the village, his bodies built in sensors began analyzing the power levels a head and calculating his distance from the village.

“Seems it's not much farther a head,” Novashen murmured, the exact distance and number of powers a head of him appearing on his visual.

Realizing that he and 17 were not that much farther from the village, Novashen stopped running, letting 17 dart off into the village by himself to gather the attention of their opponents to come, his plan being to use 17's straight forward personality to formulate a plan that would allow him to take at least one of their opponents by surprise.

Tensing his legs muscles and crouching down before leaping into the air, Novashen hurled himself high into the sky, his innate ability to fly taking over as soon as his intimate interim wore off. His hurtling body soared through the trees, branches breaking as his steel hard body flew through them, not flinching once when he impacted against one. Then he was in the sky, his enhanced vision zooming into the village below, just in time for 17 to kill the first of Roshi's students. The echoes of a woman screaming, reached his ears even though he was easily a hundred feet in the air above the battle field, his hearing just as enhanced as his vision.

“Exactly as I thought he would...” Novashen thought, as he watched 17 quickly become surrounded by the remaining students of Roshi, judging by the symbols he read on back of each warrior there were two remaining.

Not one to shy from a battle when one of his comrades were involved, Novashen focused a small measure of his power causing it to soak into the muscles of his body; a moment later he disappeared moving so fast that it was impossible for normal opponents to read his movements. He 'reappeared' behind the one warrior who had not yet attacked 17. Novashen, raised his left arm and flung it to the back of the warriors neck simultaneously sending energy flowing into his arm so that a blade of ki erupted from his arm slicing clean through the warriors neck, the head went flying through the air spraying blood all over the grounds of the village as it flew, hitting the ground rolling only to stop in front of the girl that 17 had just smiled at, she burst into a fit of screams her anguished voice sending shivers down the spines of every villager who heard it.

Novashen had yet to finish though, darting forward to kick the back of the remaining warrior, sending him stumbling into the 17's fist, the impact of the blow causing the human to cough blood all over the ground, not giving the human a moment to think, Novashen formed his right hand into a fist, driving it into the spot where the human's neck and spine met, breaking it; the human died instantly.

A cold wind blew into the village just then, as the lifeless bodies of Roshi's students slumped to the ground, and the world seemed to mourn as dark clouds gathered in the skies, blotting out the suns rays and casting deep shadows upon the Earth beneath.

“Well done..,” the words seem to whisper in the ears of 17 and Novashen, like some foreign being was speaking to them from afar, or perhaps it was all in their minds, a by product of having just been in a heated battle.

The three corpses that littered the battlefield began to glow a strange black mist rising from their bodies, the mist seeming to take on the shape of the warriors as they appeared in life, except this time they seemed to be screaming, their mouths open wide yelling in silent agony. Another gust of wind blew into the air, chilling the villagers to the bone, dispersing the misty forms of the warriors.

Novashen stood still for a moment, shocked at what he had seen, his mind unable to form a logical conclusion. Deciding it was not something he should concern himself with the Prince turned to his cyborg ally, a wide smile appearing on his face.

“Well my friend, it seems we battle well together. I look forward to seeing where our training takes us,” the Prince said, feeling happy that he had found such a great warrior to fight with, his eyes were open with excitement, white hair still drawn up in a pony tail, all traces of the mud that had covered his body were strangely gone.

Word Count - 1038
Total Word Count - 3530
17's total count - 2038
Thread Count - 5568