So they had finally managed to make it out, and when they once again hit the dim light of the perpetually burning torches, they ran directly into a small river; water. To the left of this new found "T" formation was nothing but a dead end, the water coming out from it's own little tunnel that had been created in the wall. To the right was the winner, that was the way out, and everybody was sure about it, all they had to do was follow the water.

They turned to the right at the "T", and followed the walkways that guided the river as well as themselves. As seemed to be customary in the extravagant cavern, it was no short endeavor. They walked in silence for nearly another three hours, chasing the elusive exit down the constantly twisting and turning sidewalks, fending off monsters whenever they attacked (at one point they were ambushed by some flaming lizards and nearly fried and filleted).

At long last though, after coming around a bend that seemed to curve forever, they saw light that didn't come from any flame, but from the golden rays of the sun. It was barely noticeable, but it was indeed there, casting a lighter shade of gray on the imprisoning rocky walls.

The walkways began to get smaller it seemed, but the two, one of them on either side of the river, slowly began to converge. They never got to an intersection however. When the two walkways were some fifteen feet away, the river flowed underground once again, forcing the separate sidewalks to form into a full-on ground once again.

"I would be remiss if I didn't state that I think we're almost out of here." Fuma said aloud, leading the two pairs, Slade right behind him.

"I agree," Slade replied, walking a little faster, placing himself right behind the ninja. "I can almost feel the sun beaming down on me now."

Fuma responded with a chuckle as he and Slade entered onto the new "platform" first, some five feet in front of the other two.

Zamza was a bit curious as he watched Slade and Fuma walk overtop of the underground river. They seemed congenial! Who would have ever though that those two would have been friendly two one another? Zamza didn't, and so Zamza didn't buy it, it just didn't seem right.

He had just followed the previous two off the walkway, when a sharp pain stung his side. He fell to a knee, and cringed in the torment the injury still caused him on occasion.

Kage, walking last in the four-pointed line, slowed up as he watched Zamza go down. He came to a stop, right next to the injured warrior, and looked down at him, not saying a word.

Zamza let the pain eventually pass, and slowly got to his feet. He was a little surprised that Kage was there, but even more surprised that Slade and Fuma weren't. The other two were laughing and talking to each other, a great deal ahead of Zamza and Kage.

"What the hell do you think they're talking about?" Zamza asked.

Kage gave a small shrug that said he didn't know, nor, did he really care for that matter. With Zamza up and ready to move once again, the duo slowly began to try and catch up with the two men far in front of them.

Fuma let out a hearty laugh. He was really surprised by Slade's upbeat personality. By all of Zamza's accounts, not to mention the Knights of Camaro's take on him, Slade was a wee bit off his rocker, and to say that he was a little aggressive and violent was like saying a ten-thousand pound anvil was a tad heavy. Sure, he was a little distant to everyone, and he was extremely skillful in warfare and preferred a more aggressive style to it, but that hardly qualifies one for being insane. It seemed to Fuma that when you gave the poor guy a chance, he was pretty normal, and rather friendly to boot. Maybe everyone just had the wrong impression of the guy; Fuma could understand how that might happen, especially with the way Slade looked and all.

Fuma continued to walk with Slade by his side, unaware of how far back Zamza and Kage were. They talked and laughed, pleased, relieved, and thanking the 27 True Runes that they were actually going to get out of this. They couldn't get to that daylight fast enough.

"So...what's the first thing you're going to do when you get out of here?" Slade asked the ninja, a light smile on his face.

"Aww, hell, I don't know. I think I'm going to go to the first inn I see and eat everything in their kitchen" he responded, chuckling.

Slade gave a robust laugh as he looked down at the rocky surface he was walking on. Slade sighed, and all at once, his whole aura changed, the mask taken off and the real Slade exposed.

"Isn't it a shame you're not going to get to do that"

Blink and you would have missed it; it was just that quick. Zamza hated Slade with the fire of a thousand suns, but anyone and everyone who saw what happened would have to put aside any personal feelings and just respect the move that Slade performed. It was the perfect mix of viciousness and beauty. Any warrior would have to marvel at its simplicity, yet it's undeniable precision and effectiveness.

The two were a great distance behind Slade and Fuma, walking a little faster so they would gradually catch up, yet in no great hurry to actually do so.

Zamza, who had been waiting (and expecting) for something to happen, could honestly say that he didn't see it coming. One minute Slade and Fuma were yakking it up, appearing to be getting along great and having a good time, the next thing anyone knew, the quadruplet had been reduced to a trio, and Zamza and Kage, each surprised by this course of action, were endangered of being placed on the extinct list alongside Fuma.

Slade expertly placed his left foot behind Fuma's knee, and gave a crushing backhand chop to Fuma's chest, sending the ninja sprawling over the extended leg, and flying through the air. But Slade wasn't close to being done with the poor ninja. With reflexes that resembled that of a cat, Slade caught the ninja with his left hand, roughly gripping the back of Fuma's neck. Slade's right hand flew straight over to Fuma's face, his index finger just under Fuma's lower lip, and the palm of his hand cupped over the ninja's chin. Without so much as a heavy breath, Slade snapped his neck, let the corpse fall from his grip, and, exposing his claws, ripped out Fuma's throat. All this before the ninja's back even had a chance to touch the ground after the initial backhand.

Not willing to give up one of the most important elements to fighting, he performed two quick spins toward the remaining two enemies, snagging two daggers out of his belt, in the process.

Kage knew what Slade was going to do as soon as he started spinning. The mercenary was ready, and his reaction was instantaneous. He brought his arms up quickly, clapping his hands over the projectile's blade just inches before it added a new, rather large breathing hole in his face. He opened up his hands, and the dagger dropped harmlessly to the ground.

Zamza, on the other hand, didn't have the reflexes of Kage, and so, he never stood a chance. The dagger embedded itself into Zamza's right shoulder with such force, that it sent him falling backward clumsily, and eventually, stumbling and tripping over his own feet.

Zamza lay on the ground for a minute, letting the excruciating pain circulate throughout his body. He closed his eyes as he tried not to think about the agony that would come with his impending action. He moved his left hand up his body slowly, across his chest and up, until it reached his shoulder, and, the hilt of the dagger. Without a second thought, he ripped the blade out of his body, feeling the flesh tear apart as he did so. He looked at the dagger, his crimson blood dripping off of the blade and onto his tunic, and finally threw it off to the side.

Placing his hands next to his head, palms flat on the ground, Zamza bent his knees and raised his legs. Kicking his legs forward, and using his hands to propel his body upward, he flipped back onto his feet. Bad timing. As soon as he was back on his feet, Zamza was struck with a large lightning bolt dead in the chest. The magic attack sent him flying backward, but with no ground left to hit, Zamza crash landed in the river.

Luckily, the current carried back towards the "bridge". Zamza swam through what was now a bloodstained river, crawled back up onto the sidewalk, his garments soaked, and hopped back up to where the other two men were. Kage seemed to be untouched by the two attacks, and Slade seemed to be a bit aggravated by this notion, as now, he just sat there staring.

Zamza lit Tekkan, ready to extract a little payback for the injuries he'd just sustained, when a monotone voice and an icy glare changed his thinking.

"Stop now, or I will kill you myself." Kage said, "He is my contract, so I will take care of him." That was all that needed to be said, as Zamza let Tekkan flame out, obeying the mercenary.

And so, that was how Zamza became merely a spectator in the greatest fight he ever had a chance to witness.

"You know I'm going to kill you just like your weakling of a friend over there" Slade said, pointing to Fuma's fresh corpse over his shoulder.

Kage didn't respond, as he just sat and watched his enemy. He would try to end this quickly, he decided. Slade was an incredible fighter, and also an unknown, the longer the fight stretched on, the more confidence Slade would get. But the key was that he was an unknown, whatever abilities he possessed Kage did not know, and if he ended this quickly, he wouldn't need to find out. So, without wasting so much as another thought, Kage disappeared.

Slade had just a split-second to decide what to do when he saw the ninja disappear. He knew what Kage was doing, and he hoped he knew how to defend against it. Slade dropped flat to the ground, and looked as though he was about to do a push-up. Placing most of his weight on his arms, Slade lifted himself up, and thrust his legs outward, connecting with Kage's chest just as he reappeared, sending the ninja tumbling back.

Still lying parallel with the earth, Slade jumped from the ground, twirling and spinning his body through the air, until he landed flawlessly on his feet. Then, in one deft motion, he whipped out a dagger and hurled it at the ninja, striking Kage in the stomach.

Kage fell to one knee, and pulled the knife out of his body. He got back up, and just looked at Slade, trying to both, hide the slight astonishment, and show that these turn of events were merely a minor setback.

"What's the matter? Surprised? My last teacher was a ninja, just like you. Your little parlor tricks won't work on me, so you're going to have to try a lot harder than that if you want to kill me" Slade said, cracking a smile.

Then Slade was on him, a full frontal assault. He took two quick swipes at Kage's torso, his claws giving shallow cuts to the ninja. His speed picking up, Slade threw a clawed fist right at the Kage's face. The merc dodged to his left, but Slade once again out hustled him, bringing his leg around, and connecting with the back of Kage's heel just as he evaded the initial attack, sending the ninja crashing to the ground.

Kage came roaring back, jumping from his back, to high in the air, and kicked Slade in the face. He landed, and pressed on with a tenacious ferocity. He brought his right foot up with a roundhouse, and hit Slade directly in the left cheek. Slade doubled over in pain, as he felt a left hook connect with his opposite jaw. Then, he was flying in the air, courtesy of an uppercut from the ninja.

He hit the ground with a dull thud! and quickly scattered back to his feet, just in time to catch Kage's foot with his hands, right before it had a chance to crush his throat. Slade placed his left hand around the back of the ninja's ankle, and his right hand over the base of Kage's foot. He gave a vicious tug with each of his arms that twisted the mercenary's whole body. Slade let go of the foot, and the ninja plummeted to the ground, his body still twirling in the air.

Kage smacked the ground hard, and as Slade released his claws, and brought them down towards the ninja's face, Kage rolled to his right, just dodging the miniature knives. Slade's claws dug deep into the rocky surface, and as he struggled to get them out, Kage, still on the ground, brought his legs up, and, using them in a scissors-like capacity, attached them to the front and back of Slade's own legs. He pushed each of his legs with all the strength he could muster, and Slade's claws came up easily as he fell to the ground to join his fellow warrior.

They each scampered to their feet this time, Kage bleeding steadily from the wounds on his torso, Slade with a constant stream of the red liquid running from his half-nose. They just looked at each other for that moment. Kage just sat there, simply staring, never moving a muscle, while Slade returned the glare, lightly hopping up and down trying to get loose. Finally, Slade got into his stance and it seemed they were ready to go again.

Slade charged, as fast as his legs could carry him, with his claws flying in a hasty, but fairly consistent manner. They were smooth and extremely fast, but Kage dodged each of them easily, backing up with every step Slade took forward.

Finally, Kage put his back to Slade and made an all-out sprint towards the wall, Slade following in close pursuit. Kage kept going, giving no cogitation of the rapidly approaching wall. Slade was only a couple of steps behind, but the ninja reasoned that would do just fine. The wall was just two steps away now, but he didn't slow. When he was just a step away, he put his foot up on the wall and kept going...up.

Slade came to a startling halt before he could run headfirst into the wall, and stared in amazement as the ninja moved effortlessly up the wall, first two steps, then four, and six, before he finally used his legs to propel himself off the wall and over Slade's head. Kage flipped midair, and when he landed, gave a brutal kick to Slade's back, forcing him to hit the wall.

Kage was on him not even a second later; punishing Slade's kidney's with constant right and left hooks. Zamza watched as Kage continued the pummeling with such speed it looked as though he had eight arms. Zamza was sure the fight was over, Kage wasn't very powerful, but he was moving so fast, and pounding Slade so unmercifully, Zamza didn't see how Slade was going to get away from it. But nonetheless, he did.

Slade took the bashing, hoping to draw Kage in some more. One of the most important aspects to fighting was patience, lose your head, lose your life, that simple. He began to move slowly to his right, such small movements they were barely noticeable by Slade himself. His hand slowly moved down his body and grabbed the hilt of a dagger. He was ready. As soon as he felt Kage's left hook connect and rise from his side, Slade spun out to his right, causing Kage's next punch to hit only the wall, sending a large amount of harrowing pain surging throughout his body. As Slade saw Kage's follow-through, he side-stepped back to his left, removed the dagger he had kept his hand on, and rammed it into Kage's own side, twisting it to give even more torment to the ninja.

Kage jumped to his left, and removed yet another dagger from his body. Damnable blades! If this kept up, Slade was going to win due to him bleeding to death. Enough of this shit, Kage thought to himself, it's time to end this. He reached into a pocket on his belt and pulled out a small object. He tossed it at the ground between himself and Slade, and a large cloud of smoke erupted from it.

When everything cleared up, Zamza was alone, no Kage, no Slade, no one but him and a soon to be rotting corpse. He walked a few steps forward, trying to figure out where the other two men went.

"Kage?" Zamza said out loud. "Slade? Where the hell did everyone go?"

As if in answer to his question, Kage materialized right before his eyes, and seemed to be just as confused as Zamza. His eyes darted everywhere, right, left, right again, turn around, same process. No sign of Slade. Just then, a look took over Kage's eyes, one that was unmistakable. It was the look of realization, that look everyone got for that one second when they've figured out a riddle. Slowly, Kage began to look up.

Slade looked down at the fool. Hadn't he told him his last master was a ninja and he wasn't going to fall for those novice-like tricks? Hadn't he? Unless of course, those were Kage's best tricks, in which case, the ninja was in some serious trouble.

Slade looked up at his claws, embedded deep into the rock that provided the ceiling to the underground fortress. He got the idea when he saw that his Harmonian-steeled claws could actually penetrate the stone. It was a good idea; he was actually glad he thought of it. He began swinging his legs back and forth, trying to get his momentum up. When he got enough speed, he brought his claws back in and dropped from the ceiling like a radar-locked bomb, destination: Kage. He curled himself into a ball, and grabbed two of the few remaining daggers left from his belt, and continued to descend.

Kage knew it, all at once he realized the one place he hadn't analyzed: the ceiling. He looked up slowly, and as he saw Slade falling straight towards him, he jumped up and away as quick as he could, just as Slade fell past him, each of the daggers in his hands hitting nothing but air, and the blades snapping in half when they struck the earth.

Zamza just gawked at what was happening. First Slade dropping from the heavens like a bat out of hell, then Kage jumping away in the nick of time. It was all so incredible.

Kage turned back towards Slade midair, and when he reached the pinnacle of his leap, he placed his right hand over his left wrist and held his left palm straight out. Then it seemed as if the time around Kage just stopped, it was the weirdest thing Zamza had ever experienced. For a span of about five seconds, Kage didn't continue to go up, nor did he begin to come back down, he just...stayed up there. Then time stepped back in, and four shurikens bolted from underneath Kage's left palm and headed straight for his enemy.

Slade brought his left arm up, and turned his face away. The stars struck his forearm one after the other, forming a perfect line.

Slade began to laugh, a horrid screeching sound, and started to pull the shurikens out one at a time, letting the blood flow, undisturbed, over his entire left arm.

"How does it feel?" Slade asked, mocking the ninja. "To know that you can't kill me, to know that you can dig as deep as you want into your bag of tricks, but only to do so in vain. Well, don't worry, my poor misguided warrior, for I shall take all the pain away soon enough."

Kage didn't respond. Truth be told, he was a little perturbed. Nothing had worked. Slade just wasn't your average warrior. He had mastered multiple styles and techniques, using them all fluently, and combining them into one whole knew style, and so he was quite unlike any fighter the ninja had ever encountered. He was as quick and agile as an elf, had the strength of someone like Flik, and yet kept a fighting intelligence that rivaled Kage's own. Like the mercenary, Slade was born and bred for the battlefield.

Slade began to attack once more, claws exposed. He brought a quick right cross towards Kage's face, but the ninja eluded the attack easily, countering with a kick to Slade's abdomen. Kage pressed the offensive this time, bringing another wicked kick to the left side of Slade's face, then, brought the foot back, his heel connecting with the right side of his enemy's face this time.

Slade staggered back a few steps, and regained his composure. Kage came at him with a series of kicks and punches, all of which got nothing but air. Slade went down, bringing himself closer to the ground, and charged. He ran past Kage, leaving his right arm outstretched, and ran his claws against the ninja's leg. Kage growled in pain, and turned around, grabbing a couple of shurikens from his belt, then hurled them at Slade. The first missed high, a sure sign to Kage that Slade was indeed getting under his skin. The second remained true to its mark though, and hit Slade right in the back.

Slade gasped in pain, as he turned back towards Kage and ripped the shuriken from his back. Slade looked at the ninja, a half smile, and half scowl on his face. They had been fighting for quite some time now, but neither man looked very tired, this was too important to let a little thing like fatigue hinder them anyway.

The two men began walking towards each other slowly, Slade exposing his claws, and Kage finally withdrawing his sword. They stopped some five steps from each other, and once again just stared. Virtual fighting clones, created to be on the battlefield, each nothing but weapons of destruction. Nothing else existed outside of this one-on-one war, all else faded into a black nothingness, only the opposing warrior sticking out in a blaze of color in either man's vision. They were on another plane of existence, one reserved for only the top of their trade, where all the little things became monumental, where the most breath-taking move, when flawed in the tiniest increment, such as the smallest extra step, or a slightly overextended follow-through, could cost you your life.

As was in his nature, Slade attacked first, two quick strikes to Kage's face. The ninja ducked the first, then skipped back to avoid the next. He countered with a quick thrust of his blade, penetrating Slade's thigh. Slade let out a maniacal laugh, and grabbed Kage's sword by the blade. He ripped the blade out of his leg, and tugged back as hard as he could, bringing both the sword and the owner of it, towards him. As the ninja came flying by, Slade stuck out his arm, delivering a pulverizing clothesline to the ninja's throat.

Kage's head hit the rocky surface with a sickening crack! His body shouted with pain, and an intense ringing erupted in his ears and head, drowning out any and all other sound. He rolled to his left, and began to get up slowly, only to feel Slade's claws rip through the skin on his left bicep. Kage pulled back a few steps, and thrust his sword out wildly with his right hand.

Slade spun to his right, evading the thrust, and distributed a clawed backhand in the process. The razor-sharp talons caught Kage's swordhand, cutting the skin from the ninja's forearm down to his wrist. Then, in a stunning display of agility, Slade stepped under Kage’s outstretched sword hand, and drove his claws right into the ninja’s right side.

Kage dropped his sword to the ground, as his left hand instinctively clasped over the fresh wound. This was getting waaaay out of hand, and each of the three men in the cavern knew it was.

Zamza thought to himself, that in that one second, he saw a different Kage. Not the one, who in his stoic state was the epitome of calm, cool, and collected. It wasn't the Kage who overestimated each of his opponents to make himself better, and most importantly, it wasn't the Kage who kept that constant essence about him, the one that told everybody the ninja was not one to mess around with, because he could, and would, kill you in a heartbeat. No, for that one instant, he saw a completely different Kage, one which was walking slowly through the tunnel of defeat, edging ever closer to that hypnotizing white light.

That light would eventually grab every warrior, including himself, Zamza knew. It paralyzed you with its magnificence and beauty, then it just sucked you in. Yes, most people resisted, but for the majority, it was simply delaying the inevitable. A rare few did actually break free, but for most, they would be sent spiraling down the tunnel, pleading and praying all the way down, until they got to the light, where they were just swallowed whole.

Zamza knew Kage had already turned his back on that white light, valiantly defying his impending fate. But now came the real test, where Kage would fly down the corridor faster than his legs had ever carried him before, and it would all come down to one simple question: Just how fast could Kage run?

Slade brought his backhand back around, and gave a violent jab with his claws, wishing to kindly remove the burden from Kage's shoulders which was his head. The ninja expertly dropped flat to the ground, grabbing his sword once again. Bringing his sword up just a little, the ninja sliced through Slade's shin. Wasting no time, Kage brought the sword back, and thrust it straight up as his enemy doubled over. It ripped into his stomach, and as he slowly continued to grind down the sword, Slade somehow found the strength to stop his progress. He got back up to a standing position, and fell back a few steps. The injury would have been fatal had he gone any further down, but for the time being, he would be alright, after all, blood loss needed time to take it's effect, and he planned to end this soon.

Kage, unwilling to let go of the attack, remained on the floor. He rolled over towards Slade some and popped up to his knees. Placing his hands on the ground, face down (the hilt of his sword tucked neatly underneath his right palm), Kage swiftly lifted himself up and spun around, using his hands to keep his balance, and stretched out his right leg. He connected with Slade’s legs, sending him sprawling to the ground with the agile ninja.

Slade tried to get up quickly, but he was somewhat dazed, and really hurting. He moved as fast as he could, but he had to do everything deliberately. As he got to his knees and began to get himself to his feet, Kage jammed his blade into the rocky ground, and, using his sword as a type of pole vault, lifted himself into the air and sent both of his legs crashing into the side of Slade’s face.

Slade fell over to his right, and as he hit the ground he had left just seconds ago, he rolled to his right, desperate to put some space between himself and the momentum gaining ninja. They hopped to their feet simultaneously, and each man knew it was getting closer, put up –or- shut up time.

They attacked at just about the same moment this time around, Kage trying to keep his momentum, and Slade attempting to turn the tide back in his favor. They met halfway, and, the show began anew.

Zamza moved up closer, dying to get a closer view of seemingly apocalyptic battle.

"Good Gods" Zamza whispered under his breath. Did Slade move that fast when they fought? He didn’t think so, and if Slade could move that quickly, why didn’t he do it? He knew there had to be a good reason but what was it?

The reply came from nowhere and everywhere, but its voice sang with truth and sincerity. Slade was drawing him into something, and by helping Slade, Zamza was walking into it carelessly. But now a new question arose, just what was Slade drawing him into?

The thoughts faded out of his head, as Zamza once again focused on the exhibition at hand. The two warrior’s movements were a blur, recognizable by only the false replications that rippled through the atmosphere like reflections in water. Sparks flew as metal scraped on metal, adding spectacular fireworks to an already explosive show.

Zamza was really astounded by what was taking place. Each man had sustained enough wounds to severely limit their capabilities; but neither man faltered. Endurance was becoming a factor as well, Zamza knew both of them had to be getting tired; but neither man slowed. They were like two machines, greased up with enough oil to run for eternity.

Kage dodged to his left, then brought his sword down to deflect Slade’s next blow. Continuing to bring his sword in a downward arch, Kage spun his blade off the claws, and brought the sword back up in a diagonal arch. Slade backed up a step, the point of the ninja’s blade just missing running up the length of Slade’s torso.

Slade retaliated with a quick left cross, which Kage evaded by twisting his body back to the right. Slade continued to pounce, never letting up, but Kage blocked everything, seeming to read every one of Slade’s thoughts.

They were at a sped way beyond either of their own parameters, Kage knew, everything was becoming exceedingly important. Someone had to mess up soon, it was only human. When a person ran at their normal speed and strength, there was probably only a 5-10% chance that they may screw up on a particular attack or defense maneuver. As you continued to higher your attributes, your margin for error decreased, and you would start to make more costly errors. Both of these men were well beyond what either thought was physically possible of themselves, Kage thought, so now it was only a matter of time.

As fate would have it, Kage was the first to make a mistake. Slade brought a right-left assault to Kage’s face, and the ninja dodged to his left first, then skipped back to evade the second jab. Kage stepped back up, doing everything without thinking now, it was all natural, every move and every breath just instinct. His sword came down in a diagonal arch, and as Slade jumped back, Kage thrust forward once again. Stopping his original drive, he cut his sword back to the right, forming a perfect, invisible 45-degree angle.

Slade stepped into it purposely, letting the pungent blade graze his chest, a necessary evil he felt. He pushed his claws forward, and Kage, caught completely off-guard, tried to jump back, but stumbled, and didn’t make it as far back as he would have liked. He avoided the first attack, but he knew he wasn’t in a position to parry the second punch from Slade’s trademark one-two combo.

But fate was not an entirely cruel mistress; at least she wasn’t in this duel. As the ninja made what in his mind was to be a fatal mistake, Slade compensated, forging one of his own. Slade’s left fist came sweeping down, and as Kage watched the punch that should have ended his life, he leaned back as far as he could, his sword, pointed at the gravel that littered the earth, was carefully fisted inside his right hand. The mercenary brought his left hand up towards his face, fingers spread as wide as he could possibly stretch them, in a fool-hearty attempt to give himself some defense. The overhand left came whistling through the air down at him, and Kage raised his left arm even higher. Kage, completely expecting his heart to stop beating in the next second or so, was astounded to see Slade short-arm the attack. It wasn’t a completely wasted effort on Slade’s behalf, however, three of his claws actually made contact with then ninja, and those three tiny blades would cause Kage to forever remember the name Slade. The first talon (the one that was located furthest to left on Slade’s left hand) cut through the top of Kage’s pinky finger, stretching down to the place where the nail just ends. The second claw followed suit, severing the ninja’s finger down to the lower joint. Finally, the third claw finished off the job of the first two, completely removing the finger altogether.

The three fragments, which, when connected, used to form Kage’s pinky finger, plopped to the ground in a river of Kage’s own blood, landing with a nasty splat! that made Zamza want to puke when he heard it.

Kage performed a couple of quick backflips, and in one slick motion, he removed the shroud that covered his face and tied it around his left hand, hoping to cut off the gallons of blood spraying forth from the open appendage hole.

Zamza looked at him carefully, for this was the first time he had actually gotten to see Kage without his mask. His face was lean, but muscular, just as the rest of his body was. His long silver hair, which Zamza couldn’t believe belonged to the ninja, fell back just above his shoulders, coated with so much sweat it gave the color an almost metallic look to it. There were no scars or marks on his face, which gave his skin a smooth look, but his eyes deeply contrasted this, as it overlapped the smoothness for a more rough and rigid look to the mercenary’s face. The eyes were everything about him though. Behind the mask, those light blue pupils could scare the shit out of you, but when the mask was off, it was worse. His eyes told everyone that he had seen the deepest pits of hell, and if one weren’t careful, he might take him for a ride down there one time.

Kage began pacing back and forth, shaking off the injury and the suffering it caused. He gripped his sword even tighter in his right hand, and had the other two warriors with him been able to see his knuckles, they could have seen all the color flush out, going an even paler shade of white then they previously had been.

The ninja attacked with a vengeance, his spirit rejuvenated for the time being, and brought the sword up and across Slade’s neck, barely missing, and clipping Slade’s collarbone. The blade came down once again, slashing across Slade’s chest from his shoulder blade down the length of his upper body.

Slade fell back a few steps and collapsed to a knee. His breathing and wheezing was so heavy, Zamza could hear it without a problem from where he was standing. Slade coughed up some blood, then proceeded to spit out a huge wad of the red fluid on some stones lying on the ground. He watched Kage coming at him out of the corner of his eye, and threw his claws up above his head in a pitiful last resort to defend himself.

The sword screeched down on him, the blade splitting the wind as it approached, and finally connected, only not in the way Kage had hoped. The blade came in nice and easy, and unremarkably tucked itself right in between Slade’s middle two claws.

Slade looked up cautiously, unsure if what he felt happen really did. He saw the ninja struggling to remove the blade, and he let a wicked smile appear on his face. Taking advantage of Kage’s precarious situation, Slade straightened up and kicked the ninja in the stomach, then, bringing his free hand up, he shoved his talons through Kage’s left forearm, right below the elbow (Kage laughed to himself at this point, albeit through a tremendous amount of pain, that hadn’t that arm suffered enough damage?). Slade then flicked his wrist, and Kage’s sword flew out of his hand. Slade threw his hand out to his left, pulling his claws in as he did so, and the sword soared in through the air, finally landing in a cloud of it’s own dust.

Zamza watched Kage crawl away, obviously frantic to try and regroup. Slade stepped forward a couple of steps, wobbling and unsteady, the wounds publicly showing their effect.

"Oh, I’ve got you know" Zamza heard Slade begin to say, "There’s no way you’re getting out of this one. I bet you always thought you were the best, huh? Nobody could ever beat you right? You always have a plan for everything, well guess what, you didn’t have any plan for me. Ha-ha. I told you when we first started this mess that you’d be right there with your friend with this was all over, and so you shall." A fit of coughing spasms erupted from Slade. "I will give you more credit though" he started once again, clearing his throat, "You definitely did better than he did, I mean really, he didn’t even put up a fight, it was such a letdown. Ha-ha. But you…you gave me a game for the ages, but now that game is over, so say goodnight!"

What happened next, Zamza really couldn’t say. Slade charged, as did Kage. The two ran at a speed that was incomprehensible to Zamza, and the enemies became nothing more than two colorful streaks moving towards one another. There was a dazzling light as the two met, and then they continued past each other. When they stopped, shapes returning to their normal station, colors flowing back into place, they were on opposite sides from when they started out.

Zamza’s mind was reeling. Had that really happened, or was his mind playing tricks on him? Zamza wasn’t sure. His eyes fell to the ground, not for any specific purpose, but to perhaps give his eyes a rest, and maybe just to make sure he wasn’t seeing anything swirling and moving down there, too.

Psychotic episodes beware, he mused to himself. His eyes continued to survey the ground, his ears listening for any movement from the two fighters (there had been none since the initial encounter), when something struck Zamza as rather odd. He double-checked the ground to see if he missed it, but sure enough, it wasn’t there. Where the hell was Kage’s sword? Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the two combatant’s fall.

Kage looked up at Slade, the ninja’s right hand cupped over the holes on his forearm. How the hell did this happen?, he questioned himself. He had been so close; it should be over now. Of all the freak occurrences that could happen…I mean seriously, he continued to scold himself, what the hell are the odds of that ever happening?

Kage sighed. Slade was a distance away, his claws pointed at Kage’s face as if in some type of threat. It might have actually been intimidating if Slade could hold his balance for more than two seconds. He started spewing some nonsense about Kage thinking he was the best, and how the ninja had plans for everything. Kage really wasn’t listening to the speech; he was tired of hearing Slade’s bullshit. Then Slade’s words suddenly snapped back into focus. He saying something about it being a fun game, but how now it was over. To Kage, the words mattered little; it was the way he had said it. It wasn’t the cocky swagger that he usually tried to scare people with, no this was different, Slade meant what he was saying, he wasn’t joking, he thought it was over.

That’s when Kage knew it was finally over, he had won, Slade had lost. Slade had committed the most grievous error a warrior could commit; he had claimed victory before he had actually obtained it, and that left you open for some many problems you couldn’t count. For all the jabbering Slade had done, he had been right about one thing, Kage always had a plan, as well as a backup plan for every situation, and losing your sword was on the top of his list.

The opportunity to remedy that situation had presented itself three years ago, during the Gate Rune War. Granted, the Liberation Army was a bunch of outlaws and bandits, but they also had some members who were unmatched by anyone else in their particular field. So when perhaps the greatest blacksmith ever to grace the earth joined the cause, well, Kage just had to take advantage of it.

He had gone to Mace just days after the blacksmith joined, and asked him for a favor. Kage told him what he needed, and after some careful deliberation on the part of the blacksmith, he finally agreed. The ninja checked in periodically to see how the blacksmith was doing and waited around patiently, he was in no hurry.

Finally, after around a month of waiting, Kage visited Mace and was delivered a finished product. It was nothing short of a piece of art. The blacksmith had constructed a very thin, but very durable (he later told Kage it could probably lift his body weight if a crisis situation called for it), 30 foot long steel wire. It was exactly what Kage needed, barely visible, strong, and long. But that wasn’t it all. Mace told Kage that he had gone down to the alchemist Kamandohl and asked him to build something to connect the other side of the wire to. The old alchemist came through with flying colors, developing a small, black box that strapped on to the bottom of Kage’s right wrist. Inside the box was a spool, which the steel wire resided on. A small switch on the outside of the pad worked the spool. When flicked over to the left, the spool allowed the steel wire to go out as far as it could, but when flicked over to the right, the spool hastily ran in the other direction, retracting the wire, along with blade, back to him.

So, when Slade attacked what he thought was an unarmed Kage, the ninja wasn’t remotely concerned. As Slade charged, Kage jumped up, lightly pressing the switch that was hidden beneath his sleeve, over to the right.

Kage’s blade flew into his hands less than a second before they hit each other. The ninja saw Slade’s claws coming down on him, and he brought his blade in a huge, sweeping oval. It connected with the bottom of Slade’s claws on it’s way up, sending the madman’s hand flying up in the air. As the sword continued it elliptical arch, Kage brought it cutting back through the middle, slashing halfway through Slade’s stomach.

There was no reaction on Slade’s face as Kage slid the blade out of the left side of his gut. As they passed each other, Kage wondered if Slade even realized he had probably just been killed. Kage pulled up and turned around right as Slade did and they stared at each other. They looked at one another for what could have been a really long time or a relatively short one, Kage couldn’t tell, but nonetheless, the end result was the same. Slade slowly began to look down, his hand following his gaze. His hand found his fatal wound, and when he saw the blood that stained his hand, a mask of fright and confusion covered his face.

"H-h-hoooow?" he gurgled his final question before he slumped to his knees, and finally fell flat on his face, a large pool of his life fluid cloaking the brown surface of the earth.

Zamza and Kage walked for less than five minutes when they hit the exit. The river that flowed underneath them, opened up into a luxuriant waterfall, pouring out into a beautiful lake below the cliff.

Zamza rushed up to the edge. "Where the hell are we? I didn’t know places like this existed anymore" Zamza humored himself, looking over the cliff at the lush green foliage that flowered the long lost and dearly missed soil.

"I don’t know" Kage sighed. Zamza walked back towards the cave and waited for the mercenary. Kage walked past him a couple of steps, then stopped, turned around, and spoke up once again. "Fuma told me you’re looking for information on your rune."

Zamza looked at him curiously and simply replied, "Yeah."

"Well, Fuma told me he noticed something on it, a little, but maybe important mark. I don’t know if this will help you any, but you may want to talk to Joshua, the leader of the Dragon Knights, he may know something."

"Why are you telling me this?" Zamza asked.

"Because I having nothing to gain by keeping it to myself. Now, my contract is complete, as is our business together" and with that, Kage jumped off the edge of the cliff. Zamza rushed out to look over the edge, but Kage was nowhere to be seen.

"Going back to Toran, huh?" Zamza heard a familiar voice say behind him.

Zamza turned around and sighed. "Hello Slade, sacrificial Jizo worked alright I take it?" was his only reply. He had bought the item at the brief pit stop he, Fuma, Kage had made in Rockaxe, just before they were asked to leave by some less than hospitable white knights. He had given Slade the item right after they were caved in, when there was the least probability to get caught by Kage. Who would’ve known it would work?

"Yeah, and I didn’t know you still cared" Slade jeered. "You know, I haven’t been to Toran in quite some time, maybe I should tag along." He finished up, running his hands over his chest. The Jizo had healed the wounds that were there, but Slade still had cuts on his collarbone, back, and thigh, as well as some other minor scratches as well.

Zamza grabbed Slade by the shirt and shoved him to the wall, Slade’s feet a good two or three inches off the ground. "Let’s get one thing straight, you’re only alive to take me to Vandle, after that we’re finished, and you’ll be lucky if I don’t kill you myself. Understand?"

"Perfectly, and don’t worry, I’ll take you to see your poor friend Vandle" Slade growled, the sly smile that Zamza was so accustomed to seeing sliding onto his lips.

"Okay, then." Zamza started, releasing Slade from his grasp. "Let’s get going." And with that, the two men began searching for a way off the mountainside.

Kage sat in his room of the inn; his mask and shirt off, checking the bandage’s that ran rampant throughout his body. There was way more than he wished to count. His legs, chest, stomach, and arms (especially the left one) had been completely ravaged by Slade’s claws. Kage took a careful glance at his left hand, now forever marred by the reduction of a finger.

"At least I won’t have to deal with him again" Kage whispered to himself.

He had talked to his contact the day before yesterday to collect his money and tell the knights the job was completed. The man had made a smartass comment after seeing how the ninja looked, something about Kage taking on more than he could handle, but a quick glance from the mercenary shut him up instantly.

So now here he sat, the mind-numbing ache the wounds were giving him had been reduced to a dull throb, but only after he had taken enough medicine the last two days to bring the dead back to like.

War was erupting, he knew that much for sure, and this last job was only a hint of things to come, because, pretty soon, some people were going to be knocking down the door of the inn to hire his services. But he also knew that he did indeed need some help, but it wasn’t the kind he was going to get from a partner. The way he figured it, it was time to claim something that was rightfully his. It was just a matter now of how to get it and when to get it.

Kage lay back on his bed and tried to give it some thought. He was asleep five minutes later, and remained that way for two straight days.