Chapter 11

It had happened fast. One moment, Shi Hou and Evening Rabbit had been making their way through one of the old, disused, pulley car tunnels having not had to deal with anything more serious than the odd Marsh Strider that had made their lair in the Undercity, the next moment they were under attack. A flashing, Moonsilver, spear struck out of the darkness that Shi Hou just barely dodged enough to avoid being impaled on. Instead, he caught the sharp edge of the spearhead right in the meat of his upper arm, cutting a red line through his left tricep and winging him.

He sucked in a breath as he shoved the pain aside with an effort of willpower and turned to see a dusky-skinned woman in a veil of black silks and whose cloth armor was reinforced with Tyrant Lizard Leather and Moonsilver studs. Her black hair was pulled into a long plait and essence wafted off of her in a silvery haze.

"You dodged. Interesting." Mused the Woman.

"Monkey! We have company." Hissed Evening Rabbit.

Shi Hou spared a moment to glance further up the tunnel to find a Fang of Hooded Executioners in their blue armor blocking the way forward. With a growl, he turned back toward the Woman with the Spear. She was capable of using essence, so she was by far more dangerous than a single Fang of Mortal Troops.

"That Anima Banner. You're not in a Hybrid form, so I'm guessing you aren't a Lunar. Half-Caste maybe? One who had some instruction by the look of things. The last Lunar Half-Caste I fought didn't have nearly as much Lunar power as you." Frowned Shi Hou.

"The Council arranged for my tutelage by one of Luna's Warriors. You have fought one of my kind before?" Questioned the Woman.

"I have. Sander of the Scalebrood Pirates. He didn't survive the fight." Nodded Shi Hou.

"Sander was a fool who chose to learn from the Dragonbloods like a common Godblood. Still, perhaps you'll prove worthy prey. Let's find out, shall we?" Intoned the Woman.

Shi Hou nodded, falling into the Breath and Essence Control technique, hand on the hilt of his sheathed Dailkave and waiting for his moment to strike. It came as his Opponent let out a shout and began to thrust her spear at him once more. In a fluid motion, Shi Hou drew his Daiklave and cut out, his draw cut pre-empting his Opponent's thrust. His cut forced his opponent to back away, simultaneously bringing her spear down to parry the cut. Her counterthrust forced Shi Hou to parry at the last second in a burst of essence that saw him utilizing the Even Blade Form to divert her thrust off to the side at the last second.

Shi Hou had thought that his last-second parry had saved him. He wasn't prepared for the butt of his Opponent's spear to strike out for the back of his leg suddenly in a burst of essence, tripping him up. Shi Hou suddenly found himself being hefted up by his Opponent's spear and tossed into the wall of the tunnel. Fortunately, his armor took the brunt of the blow, but he found himself being smashed through the brickwork from the throw, feeling his back purple and form into one giant bruise even with his armor helping. His Daiklave went spinning away into the darkness as he landed hard on the stone floor of the new tunnel he found himself in.

Shi Hou just barely managed to evade the follow-on stab with a burst of essence, kipping to his feet and leaping away in a Hopping Firecracker Evasion. His Opponent's Moonsilver spear struck into the stone flooring of a much older tunnel, striking sparks off the flagstone. Shi Hou huffed out a breath and lashed out in a punch with his off-hand that was laced with essence. His jab struck his Opponent in the nose with a satisfying crunch, utilizing the technique of Pounding Surf Style to set his Opponent Up for a second blow, his Elbow strike smashing past his Opponent's defenses and smashing her back with the technique of Becoming the Hammer, essence infusing his flesh and turning his elbow into something akin to the head of a Goremaul and striking for her temple.

As his Opponent Stumbled backward, Shi Hou raced for his fallen Daiklave, snatching it up in time to whirl around and bat away the essence-laden, piercing, spear thrust that came at him in a snapping parry. His opponent's spear was forced into the flagstones of the tunnel floor with a crunch and sunk in to just below the spearhead. Unfortunately for Shi Hou, his opponent used the haft of the stuck spear like a pole vault, sending an essence-powered kick into his torso that smashed him backward to the floor, bruising a rib as it did so. Fortunately, Shi Hou managed to retain his blade this time, so he was able to snap off a last-minute parry using his Even Blade Form from a prone position as his Opponent wrenched her spear out of the stone floor and struck for him.

He just barely avoided the fight-ending thrust and swiftly got to his feet using the technique of the Effortlessly Rising Flam, kipping up on a cushion of essence and leaping away further up the Older Tunnel. He was huffing and puffing at this point, however, aura blazing around him in a shimmering, divine, white as he had used up so much essence already. Huffing and puffing, he realized that he wasn't going to win this as it was. His Opponent was just more powerful than he was, her Lunar Charms giving her the edge. Fortunately, as he had occupied his Opponent's full attention, she hadn't noticed something creeping up on her that would give Shi Hou and his charge the chance to flee.

"I admit it, you're better than I am." Intoned Shi Hou with a grin.

"Then why are you grinning?" Queried his opponent.

"Because I know something you don't know." Retorted Shi Hou.

"Oh? Care to share?" Asked his opponent.

"You should have been paying attention to your back." Smirked Shi Hou.

At that moment, Evening Rabbit moved out from where she'd been hiding behind some ancient masonry, drew her Orichalcum Dagger, and tossed it at the Woman in a burst of essence, aiming for the back of her left knee in a Joint-Wounding Attack. The Woman, spun around, eyes wide, and leaped away in a burst of essence. This gave Evening Rabbit an opening to move to Shi Hou's side, Orichalcum Dagger returning to her hand in a pulse of essence, she once more threw the dagger. This time, it caught the Woman in the shoulder, sending her spinning to the floor. Evening Rabbit's dagger returned to her hand in one last burst of essence as she reached Shi Hou's side.

"Are you all right?" Questioned Evening Rabbit.

"We need to run. She's stronger than both of us." Responded Shi Hou.

"Where?" Queried Evening Rabbit.

"Anywhere but here. Come on." Answered Shi Hou.

Then, in a burst of essence, he took off down the Old Tunnel, Evening Rabbit following suit after him. . .

XXXX

Ziva No-Clan snarled as she rose to her feet, essence burning to heal her nose and temple from her Prey's Guard's bare-handed attacks alongside the cut to her shoulder that her Prey's dagger had made. As she looked out at the tunnel, she spat on the flagstones, realizing that her moment of inattention had cost her the hunt. Now she would have to reacquire her Prey again, as the head start they had on her would allow them to lose her in the ancient sections of the Undercity. Her Prey smelled like a Sorcerer, which likely meant that she could use sorcery for her and her guard to evade pursuit by the time Ziva was able to get Sergeant Shun and his Fang back on their feet.

"And just where was Sergeant Shun?" She mused before stalking back into the disused pulley cart tunnel.

When she re-emerged into the brick tunnel, she found Sergeant Shun and his Fang of Hooded Executioners all sprawled out on the tunnel floor. Most had the tendons in their knee and elbow joints cut by precise throws of her Prey's dagger. Sergeant Shun was made of a bit more stern stuff than that, however, and had avoided being crippled. Instead, he'd been struck in a different place, his shoulder sporting a massive stab wound as the Orichalcum Knife had punctured the mundane steel of his pauldron. He was currently using a Blood-Staunching Compress on it to avoid bleeding out while swabbing Wound-Cleansing Unguent into the wound to avoid infection.

"Sergeant, what happened?" Demanded Ziva No-Clan.

"The girl's good with thrown blades. That wasn't in the briefing." Huffed Sergeant Shun.

"You're lucky. She bears the stink of Sorcery on her. She could have done a lot worse than simply disabling you and your men." Intoned Ziva No-Clan.

"I wonder why she didn't?" Asked Sergeant Shun.

"Because she is soft. I'm told that our Prey studied primarily as a Doctor. She wants to save people, not hurt them." Scoffed Ziva No-Clan.

"Huh. Wonder why the Council is demanding her capture, then? That hardly seems like the Mindset of someone who wants to bring down Nexus." Pointed out Sergeant Shun.

"It matters not. The order has been given, now it must be carried out." Reminded Ziva No-Clan.

"Well, my men and I are in no condition to keep going. We're heading back to base as soon as we can get an evac." Sighed Sergeant Shun.

"Indeed. You will only be a hindrance going forward. Those Tunnels lead into the most ancient parts of the Undercity. I wouldn't be surprised if our Prey stumbled across Forgotten Undead from some tomb or Wyld Beasts from the tunnels under Firewander. Wounded men will only get in the way going forward." Nodded Ziva No-Clan.

"What are you planning to do?" Questioned Sergeant Shun.

"What else? Continue the Hunt." Answered Ziva No-Clan.

And with that, she stalked back into the forgotten tunnels, intent on reacquiring her quarry. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we see what happens when Shi Hou and Evening Rabbit get matched against someone using Celestial-level Charms. It's not pretty, Ziva No-Clan was able to kick Shi Hou around the tunnels a fair bit before Evening Rabbit managed to give them both an opening to flee.

Now they're trying to lose Ziva No-Clan by fleeing through the Ancient Undercity of Nexus. It's a dangerous proposition, as already stated. Undead, Wyld Beasts that escaped the Firewander Quarantine, and other things lurk in the older bits of the Undercity, after all. There are also multiple, First Age, Solar Tombs down there. It's not an ideal situation.

At any rate, the next chapter will involve the flight through the Ancient Undercity complete with the appearance of one of said First Age Solar Tombs.

Stay tuned. . .