Zamza.  Why did this man's name pop up everywhere.  Fuma and himself had spent a good amount of time talking to the Knights of Camaro.  Anyone who knew Slade was asked about him, and everyone only had one thing to say...Zamza.  They weren't sure if he was family, friend, or foe to Slade, but they knew Slade talked about him...a lot.  A few, the people closest to Slade, Kage believed, had told him a little more, saying that Slade had some 'business' to attend to, and that he needed a place that he could escape from should his 'business go wrong'.  Kage had thought about this, and knew that there were very few places like that in this area.  The best, and most noticeable was Greenhill, a war could brake out in those woods and no one 
would no about it.  Of course there were others, but since it was the closest, he and Fuma would scope it out first.  Who knows, maybe they would get lucky.

Zamza checked the new wounds that glittered his body.  The one one his leg was almost completely healed now, but the four shallow gashes on his stomach still caused a little pain sometimes.  His back ached like hell from where he hit the tree.  He couldn't see it, but he was confident that he probably had the biggest bruise of his life on his back.

He continued bandaging up his wounds when their came a knock at the door.  He pulled his shirt down over the newly bandaged cuts, and went to answer the door.

"Here is the medicine you wanted, Lord Zamza" the innkeeper said, when Zamza opened the door.  Zamza took the medicine from the man in a hurry, and closed the door before the innkeeper had anything else to say.

He opened the medicine and took it hungrily, hoping that the wounds would heal up by tomorrow or the day after.  He had to get back to Slade, he had to find him so that he could find Vandle.  Zamza still couldn't believe that Vandle was alive.  Zamza knew there was a problem though.  Slade just wasn't going to give him this information willingly, he was going to beat the crap 
out of him, kick the crap out of him some more and more, until Slade couldn't stand it anymore and would tell him what he needed to know.  That shouldn't be too much of a problem though, Zamza thought, after all, a great warrior-magician like himself has no equals.

Zamza put his thoughts aside and looked at the two runes embedded on each of his palms.  First he looked at the Fire Dragon Rune, and then at the Lightning rune on his left palm.  It seemed like by this rune was a waste.  The only real rune he needed was on his right hand he decided, so there was no point in keeping it anymore.  Zamza carefully picked up his satchel, trying not to upset the wound on his abdomen.

Zamza travelled down the steps of the inn at his own pace, and went to a table to get a drink.  It was getting pretty late, so he knew he could only have a couple of drinks, he wasn't sure when the students' bedtime was.  He chugged down two drinks, and paid the innkeeper, stating that he was going to be at the academy for a few minutes having a rune removed.  The innkeeper nodded, as if approving this action, and went back to wiping of the tables.

When Zamza walked out of the he surprised by how little daylight there was.  The sky was a beautiful dark pink, bordering on purple.  Zamza could count only three brave stars which had been brave enough to make an appearance before they were due.  Over the most distant horizon, tiny specks of daylight poked out, as the sun continued it's descent to rest for the night.

Zamza began to peel away from the sky and walk towards the academy, he heard a voice boom out in the silence.

"Lord Zamza, Lord Zamza" the innkeeper proclaimed, running up behind Zamza.  "You forgot this-"

"Forgot?  Oh no, no, no.  Do you think a great warrior and magician like myself ever forgets a thing?  No, no, no.  Everything we do has a purpose, and this time my purpose was to see if I can trust you.  Now I know I can."  Zamza said, talking so much bullcrap that innkeeper believed he was going to have to put on boots.  Zamza grabbed the satchel from the innkeeper and 
carelessly threw it on his shoulder.  As the satchel hit the giant bruise on his back, Zamza winced in pain, hoping the innkeeper didn't see it.  "And since you are so trustworthy, I want to give you this" Zamza said once again, pulling out the three hundred potch that he kept in his pocket.

"Th-thank you, Lord Zamza" the innkeeper said, forgetting all of the nonsense Zamza had been sprouting about it being a test.  He quickly turn and ran the other way, anxious to tell his wife what he had just received.

Zamza began to walk towards the school once again, sure that the innkeeper had bought his story of it being a test.  How in the hell could he forget his satchel?  It carried almost all of his money and he just leaves it in a bar.  He wasn't thinking straight, and he needed to cut it out, or the next time the giant griffon won't be there to save his ass.  He continued scolding himself as he walked to the school, oblivious to the two ninja that sat crouched upon the roof of the Greenhill inn.

"Damn, what luck!" Fuma exclaimed as he watched the man on the street.  "It isn't Slade, but we got the next best thing, didn't we?  So Kage, what do you think, is he Slade's enemy, or ally?" Fuma asked, trying to figure out how they were going to go about this.

"Hmm...If I had to guess, I'm pretty sure that he is Slade's enemy." Kage responded in a monotonic voice.

"What makes you say that?" Fuma questioned.

"Well, if Slade was half as determined to find this man Zamza as the Knights led on, than that means this man Zamza would be the first thing Slade would want to get to, and if you were watching just now, than you would notice that this man Zamza has more than likely recently been in a fight, and chances are it was our man Slade." Kage replied flatly.

Fuma gave Kage a questioning look.  "How the hell could you tell that he has just been in a fight?  I didn't see a thing wrong with the man."

Kage sighed, maybe bringing Fuma along wasn't such a good idea after all.  "Did you see when the man three the satchel over his shoulder?  Or when he took the bag from the innkeeper?"

"Yes."

"Well, when he took the bag, he tried not to overextend himself.  He sort of short armed it." Kage said, showing Fuma what he was talking about.  "I would say that he probably has a fresh wound on his stomach.  Also, when he threw the bag over his shoulder, he sort cringed from pain.  There's probably something wrong with his shoulder or his back."

"How the hell did you see all of that.  All I saw was him take the bag.  It didn't look like anything was wrong to me." Fuma said, completely amazed by Kage's explanation.  He had known Kage a long time, and Kage had never failed to amaze him.

"All you have to do is open your eyes, Fuma" Kage stated, still watching the man 'Zamza' walk towards the academy.

"Well what do you say we pay him a visit?" Fuma inquired, wanting to get off the roof.  He never said anything because he was so embarrassed, but he was deathly afraid of heights.

Kage simply nodded and they were off the roof in seconds.

Zamza walked up the stairs of the inn.  He had made it to the academy just in time, in fact, the last apprentice runemaster was just getting ready to leave when Zamza walked through the doorway.  It had cost just 100 potch to have the lightning rune removed, and Zamza was very thankful to have it off, the damn thing was useless, it didn't help one bit in his fight with Slade.  
It was just a hinderance, and Zamza wondered what had possessed him to buy it in the first place.

He had finished climbing the steps and was just outside his room.  He had a bottle of wine with him, and all he wanted to do right now was have himself a drink and get a good night's sleep.  He hoped that his wounds would be healed by morning.

Zamza opened the door to his room, and was shocked to see that the room was pitch black.

'What the hell?  I know I didn't turn the light's off' Zamza thought, both confused and uneasy.  He contemplated lighting Tekken, but thought better of it.  He knew the room well enough not to get himself killed tripping over things on his way from the door to the lamp.

Zamza made his way to the light, managing to only knock over a single chair in the process.  He carefully lit the lamp, and an eerie, dim glow came over the room.  Two extra shadows, unnoticed by Zamza, clung to the wall, flickering with the motion of the flame.

"Is your name Zamza?" one of the shadows asked, crashing the deafening silence.

Zamza whirled around as fast as he could, and was shocked by the sight of two intruders in his room.  One of the men was dressed in all black (he thought it was black anyway, it was hard to tell with the poor lighting in the room), garb that covered him from head to toe.  The other, was a lot less intimidating.  He was dressed in a similar fashion, but instead of black, his choice of color was red.  However, it wasn't the simple fact of the color of his garb that made him less intimidating, it was the fact that he allowed you to see his face, it wasn't hidden by shroud.

"Well, are you or are you not Zamza?" the one in red asked.

"What's it to you?" Zamza retaliated.  "And what the hell are you doing in my room?  Do you realize that I am a fantastic magician who could kill you where you stand?"

"No, you couldn't, you just had your lightning rune removed" the man in black said.  Truth be told, Kage knew the man had another rune on his right hand, but he decided to give it a shot anyway.

'How in the hell did he know that?' Zamza questioned himself.  "Have you been following the all great and powerful Zamza?  If you have, be forewarned that it could have dire consequences."

"So you are Zamza then?" the one in red asked once more.

"Yes, if you must know, I am the awesome warrior-magician Zamza, and you two had better have a really good reason for being in here, or you may not live to see the sunrise." Zamza tried to confidently.  However, he was pretty sure he could here the fright...no not fright, concern in his threat.

"We're here to talk about Slade" the one in black said.

Zamza straightened up right away, and glared at the man dressed in black.  All of a sudden this conversation had gotten very interesting.

Kage looked at this 'Zamza'.  By his reaction, he did indeed know Slade, and if Kage were to guess, he'd say Zamza knew him very well.

When Zamza spoke up, Kage was a little surprised that he didn't lie.

"What about him?" Zamza asked, giving Kage a hard stare.

"We need to find out where he is right now." Fuma spoke up.  "And we believe that you can tell us that information."

"Why do you want to find him?" Zamza challenged the man in red, quickly replacing his eyes back on the man in black.  He wanted to keep his eyes on this man as much as possible.

"Well now, that depends, are you friend or foe?" Fuma questioned once again.

"To who?  Slade?"  Fuma nodded in consent.  "Foe.  So tell me what you need to find him for."

"I'm going to kill him" Kage stated flatly.

Zamza was shocked.  He had never heard someone come out and say it so bland and straightforward.

"What do you mean?"  Zamza asked, wondering if he had heard right.

"I mean I'm going to kill him.  What don't you understand about that?" Kage replied, becoming suddenly bored.  "Now tell us what we need to know so we can be on our way"

"I recommend you stop ordering me around.  You do not want to anger me." Zamza said, extremely agitated.  "That is, of course, unless you both wish to retreat to an early grave.  Now get the hell out of my room."

Kage looked over at Fuma, who now appeared to be getting mad himself.  This shocked Kage somewhat.  Fuma was much too laid back to get mad about anything most of the time.  Apparently, though, he wasn't such a big fan of having his life threatened every few seconds.

Kage, took Zamza's words in stride.  He had met tons of men like this 'Zamza', most were cowards at heart who couldn't fight worth a damn.  Kage figured Zamza for this group, it appeared he didn't carry a weapon, and he wasn't strong or quick enough to fight with barefists.  Nevertheless, Kage proceeded with caution, you just never knew when someone could surprise you.

"if you are a foe of Slade's, as you so sternly say you are, then you shouldn't mind what I'm going to do to him.  By the looks of you, you aren't the most healthy person in this room, which could only mean that Slade has already paid you a visit.  Now, I'm going to kill him with or without your help, it will just move a lot faster if I have it." Kage said, not a hint of anything in his voice.

Fuma watched with great intrigue.  He was pretty sure he knew what was going to happen next, and he figured 3 seconds max, before Kage wiped the floor with this character.

As Zamza let the words sink in, he came to a startling and quite disturbing revelation...he needed to protect Slade.  If these two men killed Slade, then he would never find Vandle, and that's what really mattered here.

Zamza slowly approached the man dressed in black, for some reason he felt he was the much bigger threat out of the two invaders.  Without even bothering to light his weapon, Zamza threw a hard right hook at Kage.

As it turns out, Fuma's three seconds was a little too generous for Zamza.  The initial attack and defeat didn't last two.

Zamza threw the punch, but hit nothing but air.  In fact, the man he was attacking was nowhere to be seen.  Zamza shot quick glances to the left and right, and was about to turn around, when he felt the cool, smooth, sharp edge of Kage's blade across his throat.

"Here's some advice, free of charge.  First, always know your enemy's abilities before you engage them, or you go into a fight blind.  Secondly, never let your emotion out when you fight.  Control them, or they will eventually lead to your death.  Now, tell me what I want to know or I will be the one taking your life." Kage bluffed.  He had no intention of killing Zamza, he posed no threat, and Kage would gain less than nothing from it, it would only serve to bloody his blade.

Zamza mulled over his current predicament.  He was both extremely ashamed and really pissed.  He moved his arms carefully up, and positioned them under Kage's own arms, acting as if he was going to struggle to remove them.   He quickly lit Tekken and scorched the man's arms.

"Shit!" Kage said, a little shocked.  He swiftly performed three backflips to put some distance between himself and Zamza.

Fuma looked on in awe, wondering what in the hell just happened.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you kill Slade, not yet, anyway"  Zamza said looking at his opponent.

It didn't appear, however, that he was paying any attention to Zamza.  Zamza watched the man, who's eyes were currently closed, as he performed what looked like to Zamza as warmup exercises.  Zamza continued to stare as the man finished his 'warmups', ending with is head bowed (eye's still closed), and his hands clapped together under his face.

Suddenly Zamza wasn't faced with just the one man in a black suit anymore.  Now it was four, one on each side of him.

'Another clone rune maybe?' Zamza asked himself, even though he fairly sure of the answer.  No, it wasn't a clone rune, a clone rune didn't do this.

Suddenly the four men(only one real) began to run around him at an incredible speed.  At first, they were running, then it looked like they were floating over the ground they were going so fast, and then Zamza saw nothing but black streaks all around him.  Zamza began to get nauseated.  He didn't like this one iota.

When the men finally stopped spinning around him, Zamza felt really sick.  There was no longer 4 opponents, just the original one.  When Zamza tried to attack him, he wobbled around and fell straight to the floor.  He tried to get up once again, but when he reached his feet, all sense of balance was lost, and he fell back to his knees.

Kage approached the man on his knees with caution.  He withdrew his blade, and stuck the point of it at Zamza's neck one again.

"Go ahead and kill me" Zamza spat out through gritted teeth.  He was so angry.

"I have no desire to kill you, but I will if I have to.  Now, tell me why you said that you couldn't let me kill Slade now.

Zamza rose slowly to his feet, it took all of his strength, but he did it.  He looked fist at the man who had the sword pointed at his throat, then to the man in red, and finally back to the fist man.

"He has some very important information that I need to retrieve" Zamza said, trying to pull away from Kage's blade.

"Hmmm...Is this the only reason you have for protecting Slade at the current time?"

Zamza nodded.

Kage pulled the blade away from Zamza's neck.  He gave what Zamza had said very careful consideration.  He could find Slade perfectly as well with just him and Fuma, but if he got Zamza to give in, he could find him twice as fast, which meant he could move on to another job.

"Fine, you will come with us.  You will take us to wherever Slade is, and I'll give you five minutes to get the information, after that, he's mine.  Clear?" Kage asked.

Zamza looked at him.  Something told him he should take this proposal.  This man didn't seem like the type to give any kind of offer to anyone.

The truth was also evident to Zamza now.  He was scared shitless of this man, plain and simple.  It was his eyes that were the key, they made Slade's look like that of a puppy dog or a kitten.  The reason for Slade acting the way he did was simple, he was insane, and any person could see that by looking into his eyes.  This man, however, was different.  He was completely 
lucid, he just didn't care either way.  He struck Zamza as the type of man who could be both your best friend and your worst enemy at the same time, and you would never know until it was to late.

"Fine, we leave at dawn." Zamza said.  He knew one thing though, it was time to do some serious thinking.

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"Kage" and "Zamza" are (C) Konami This chapter was posted on March 27, 2000