The Azure End

[Nayt]

Did Shin really think it would be that easy? Sturm seemed relatively defenseless, perhaps--even tired to the point of lethargy and extreme weakness, but would that really make the act of trying to kill Tyrian Sturm easy? The man was, at one point, a Prime Directory under the Guardians of Utopia--one of three. Prime Directors specialized in certain invaluable particulars and were the best of the best in those fields. Gold was the standing combat expert. When it came to supernatural powers and physical fighting skills, she knew more than perhaps anyone else in the world. On the opposite side of the spectrum was Silver, a man with absolutely no physical abilities, but a literal master of the battlefield. When it came to politics and wars, no man or woman alive was more of an expert than he.

What was Sturm's field? Science? Biology? Medicine? Raw intellect? Yes--yes, that was it. Sturm wasn't the brawn of Gold or the leadership of Silver. The Guardians had their two essentials. If it was an army they wished to build, they had their field combat expert and their politician and tactician--two which could work together to end wars swiftly and efficiently. Two which had worked together before to achieve that very goal. But what were they without recon, research, and both magical and technological advancements?

That was Sturm's field--and at it, he was the standing expert. Given the opportunity, he could have fixed the errors of the infamous scientists of McCarthy and Rune, difficulties which plagued the scientific community for years, and were guaranteed to remain as theories and questions for hundreds more.

Would a man of his intellect really come into this situation unprepared?

The answer was obvious.

Sturm turned as Shin rushed him. Shin was fast, but Sturm only had to move slightly. By the time he'd turned to face Shin, the Tenken was already upon him, already thrusting his metal sheath towards Sturm's throat--or, rather, past Sturm's throat, inches to the right.

And the reason? Sturm's hand, of course. The sheath continued its forward movement, but off target, as the back of Sturm's hand, reached up to smack the sheath just in time, guided the weapon harmless to the right--and all the while, Sturm leveled a patronizing stare at Shin Shiden. He did not counterattack, though the opportunity might have been there. He simply stared, perhaps waiting for Shin's next move.

[Shin]

Shin continued coming forward, just because he had thrusted forward his sheath didn't mean he had stopped to do so. Shins speed would take him extremely close to Sturm and only a fraction of a moment after Sturm knocked Shins sheath to the side his right hand would draw back slightly, as if in anticipation to snap forward at the bridge of Sturms face.

It was a ruse, a moment later Shin leaped forward at Sturm bringing both knees up to hopefully collide with Sturms chest. The attack would hurt if it hit, maybe even break a few bones, but the real danger would come if Sturm let the attack connect or tried to stop it, Shins right arm, the one he drew back slightly, would snap down elbow first in an attempt to crush the top of Sturms skull.

Shin wasn't strong enough to really crush anything, but the blow would be a staggering one. Capable of leaving Sturm distraught for a moment, which is all Shin would need to end the fight. Even the slightest hesitation would spell death for Sturm.

[Nayt]

Shin continued to push his sheath forward until the tip of his fingers met the back of Sturm's hand. It was then that Shin made his biggest mistake so far . . .

With the sheath still against the back of Sturm's hand, Shin even lunged forward, throwing his knee out at Sturm with full intentions of taking him down right then and there. But alas, that wasn't to happen. The next moment, prompted by Sturm swinging his body to the right, would go by in a flash--yet not because Sturm was excessively fast. Shin Shiden could likely outrun him. But Sturm knew his own speed, he knew Shin's, and he knew the time he had to react to each and every attack--and Shin left him the proper amount of time. By moving to the right, Sturm evaded Shin's knee, while still pushing the back of his hand lightly against Shin's hand at the bottom of the sheath--and . . .

With a snap of his hand forward, he'd have Shin by that wrist, to squeeze at just the right point to drop the pressure in the limb and force him to release the sheath in his hand--all while Sturm continued his rightward motion of his body, essentially to take control of Shin's entire arm with just his hand and swing out of reach, while forcing tension on the Tenken's elbow and shoulder all the while.

Provided he had control of Shin's wrist, an easy goal to achieve with Shin's attention distracted as it was, Sturm would twist his hand against the grain, to snap Shin's wrist, and follow through to put pressure on the elbow, a singular twist which could bring even the best of martial artists to his knees, or even face first upon the ground. Leaving the opponent the opportunity to obtain wrist control was more often than not a terribly fatal mistake. Unfortunately for Shin, this was the mistake he made. Unless he was careful in the next few moments, this battle might well come to a very premature end . . .

[Shin]

Shins hand had been pushed wide of its mark, but it had been glided there by Sturms own and not thrown out to his side, leaving it still relatively in front of Shin albeit off to the side. While Shins knees hit nothing his eyes were readily following Sturm, watching the man’s movements carefully.

As Sturm snapped his hand to get a grip on Shins wrist Shin rotated his wrist slightly and tightened his hand into a fist. The result wouldn’t be Shin missing his pressure point, the man would be too skilled for such a simple technique to work, as Sturms hand closed over Shins wrist the Tenken gave a great tug, using all the strength in his arm to either rip his hand free of Sturms grasp or turn his body in mid flight to face Sturm. Either way breaking Shins arm let alone wrist would prove impossible with his hand free or his body turning about.

The pressure point would force Shin to drop his weapon, and drop it he would, hilt first in to his other hand. His right hand would swing forward, not slowing in the slightest after catching the weapon, under both combatants arms to hopefully catch Sturm by surprise and strike him in the ribs, possibly breaking a couple in the process.
It would be at this time that Shins left foot, now fully extended down would touch the ground, assuming everything went to plan.

[Nayt]

Synapses fired in Sturm's brain at a rapid pace-- and so did he react . . .

Perhaps surprise to Shin would be the fact that, while Sturm continued to walk to the side, to further work on twisting Shin's arm around by his wrist, he caught the sheath with his free hand, upon Shin grabbing it and nearly plowing it into his ribcage. It met, instead, Sturm's open hand, with which he wasted no time in pulling it up. Still, he walked around Shin. The only way for Shiden to avoid Sturm twisting his arm behind his back would be if Shin, too, walked in the same circle that Sturm had began to walk.

At the same time, though, he pulled back on Shin's arm and twisted upon the sheath, to press it against the back of Shin's arm, right up against his elbow . . .

The twist on the sheath, pressed up against Shin's elbow, with a simultaneous pull upon Shin's arm to resist the sheath pressing against it, would take only a moment to break Shin's elbow, but the result--the break of Shin Shiden's left elbow--was practically guaranteed, lest Shin could find some unlikely way to avoid losing the use of that arm . . .

[Shin]

A cry of agony forced its way through Shins lips. Shin was no stranger to pain, his life had been of nothing but pain! But even he was not prepared for the sweeping rush of pain that shot up his left arm as it was snapped at the elbow. His eyes watered and his legs buckled.

His right hand also released it's grip on his sheath, relinquishing control of it over to Sturm. To Shins credit, despite his cry of pain, he did not whimper or so much as make another noise. He was at Sturms mercy at that point, anger had clouded his aim and now he paid the price for it.

There was not much Shin could do at that moment in time, he was in no position to attack Sturm back. Yet...he would try. Shins right arm, after letting go of the sheath, would snap out under Sturms guard towards the mans groin. Shin threw everything he had into that punch.

It normally wasn't a tactic he would use, even under dire circumstances, but at this moment in time he didn't care. Winning was the only thing that mattered, Sturms death, and if Sturm happened to kill Shin in the process then so be it, he would explode killing everyone!

[Nayt]

Once Sturm had Shin's sheath and arm under control, he let go of the sheath and used that hand to take Shin by the bicep instead-- the bicep of the same arm that suffered from a broken elbow. Sturm continued to twist it and his body, walking around Shin to stand behind him, both arms on his injured one.

By the time Shin tried to attack Sturm again, he'd already gone half-way around Shiden. At best, Shiden caught the very edge of Sturm's hip, but nothing more, and just a grazing by, really. Taking the man's elbow out and keeping control over his arm was practically a means of turning him into a docile pup.

Once sufficiently behind Shin, Sturm would twist the man's arm behind his back, now to threaten breaking his shoulder if Shin didn't go along with it. That threat, of course, would only go on for so long; it was really just a means of distracting him more than anything else. Once the opportunity came, Sturm would let go of Shin's arm, but only at the same time as he planted his boot into the top of Shin's spine, to subsequently step forward with all his weight, with full intentions of slamming Shin down upon the ground, face first.

Nothing made a man shut up more than a face full of dirt. Especially Oblivion dirt. It was ashen in color and would taste like one might expect fire to taste.

[Shin]

Through hours of training daily, mental discipline and because his orders demanded he did not flinch from his task Shin hid the pain well. He pushed it aside and focused on what was happening, on what Sturm was doing and the mans movements.

Shin felt the pain in his shoulder, would that two be broken had to wonder. He had been foolish to give up his sword earlier, with it he was sure the fight would have taken a much different route. He was ready to brace himself for the snapping of his shoulder when he felt pressure on his back. Shin acted even as he fell forward.

He looked over his shoulder as he began to fall forward, and with the accuracy and speed one befitting of Shins style he kicked out at Sturms other leg. Shins kick would come in at a slight angle, so even if Sturms leg was slightly bent to avoid it being able to be broke Shins kick, if it landed, would likely pop it out of his socket.

Even if his attack was dodged Shin would recoil his leg just as a quick in an attempt to strike behind Sturms knee and cause the man to topple backwards. Either way Shin would find himself landing face first into the ground, his good arm reaching in front of him to lessen the blow and provide as comforter between Shins head and the ground.

[Nayt]

Shin tried to fight back, but alas, it seemed as if there was nothing to do. He attempted to throw his foot and attempt to damage Sturm's leg, the one that had no presence on Shin's back, but his foot met nothing. Shiden was flailing, he was desperate. He wasn't fighting like a skilled martial artist. He was flailing about, trying to hit something, anything, with his legs, but it didn't work. The truth of the matter was that Sturm had pushed the man forward with his boot upon his back. Sturm was a tall man, Shin was not. Sturm had planted his foot into the upper half of Shin's spine and thrust forward and down, to send Shiden down with his and Sturm's weight, far too quick for a man in his state to react fully, and a few feet too far for that react to even have an ounce of merit.

This, of course, had Sturm leaning dramatically forward, but he fixed his stance once Shin was down. Shin's leg met nothing, his face hit the earth, and Sturm was out of range, officially, with one foot on Shin's upper back and the other just inches to the left of Shin's ribcage and broken arm.

"Stop struggling," Sturm commanded.

As he said this, he'd lift up with his heal, the heal that was once upon Shin's back, and slam down with excessive force. If a man didn't stop flailing after a face-full of ashen, fire tasting earth, then he was bound to cease flailing after a blunt force stomp to the spine.

"It's over."

[Shin]

Broken arm, broken ribs.. it didn't matter, Shin was incapible of quitting. Even after he was slammed into the dirt Shin did not stop struggling. Of course, there wasn't much a man in his position could do.

If there was an ounce of reason in Shin, it was over powered by the need to kill Sturm, by any means necessary. Shin reached deep within himself, trying to find his center of Chi trying to find the power he had come to rely on so much over the years. It was part of him, like breathing, and without it he was severly crippled.

But there was nothing there, nothing to grasp. Only an emptyness, not emptyness...no...it was something more, something that Shin could not and did not have the time to look into at the moment. One thing could be said about the Tenken, he was certainly used to taking a beating and this time seemed to be no different.

Shin would continue to struggle, or at least in his mind he was struggling trying to move legs and arms that were weak and sluggishly responding if responding at all.

[Nayt]

Shin would hear a loud click.

"Revenge yourself, Shiden--" Sturm began.

Shiden's struggles were meaningless. Now, he was just an injured, rabid man, flailing in hopeless abandon. There wasn't much more he could do about this. Shin was trapped, pinning to the ground, forced into a situation that he, himself, could not escape from.

And with the tug of the trigger, he concluded: "--in the void."

Although pained, Shin Shiden would not experience a feeling that would promote impending doom. The only pain he would experience would be within the confines of his back, a section near the center of his back, a section which commanded the outright uselessness of his limbs. That would be the end of pain. His broken arm would no longer mean anything. His function arm, his legs, his back, neck, and head-- all useless, all limp, yet his eyes would still be very open, and his mind would still be very conscious of his surroundings.

Shin's back-- Shin's spine. Tyrian Sturm intended to paralyze the man with a mortal wound-- one that if left untreated for the next hour, he would very well die.

[Shin]

There was nothing Shin could do, he was pinned and with a broken arm, broken ribs and arguably his most depended on ability gone he was literally at the mercy of Sturm. He didn’t quite, he fought to move valiantly.

At least until the bullet was placed in his back, then there was no movement. No smart remarks or further attempts on Sturms life. Shin merely lied there, bleeding out.

But none of that seemed to matter either, Shin knew he was going to die…and that was it. There was no afterlife for Shin Shiden, no place reserved for him. Which he thought was probably a good thing because he was certain heaven would not be the place his soul would reside.

Blank eyes stared outward, unblinking, yet he wasn’t mentally there. It was a strange thing, knowing you are going to die. Surprisingly there was a lot for the Tenken to think about, ponder over and regret.

All in all, Shin would just lay there and without intervention within an hours time he would silently drift away and die.

[Nayt]

Brenden regarded the sight with a half look of disappointment. Perhaps he thought Shin might have stood a chance. Perhaps he had his bets on Shin. The entire time, he'd been watching from a distance, calculating the next move--but Shin Shiden was a damaged man. Strung out on such a journey, he must have been weakened--he must have lost the will to continue. Was that it? Was it that he was a lost man? Brenden didn't know. It was . . . numbing, in a way. Brenden, who had his arms folded the entire fight, let them fall by his sides, whilst his head and shoulders sulked ever so slightly. He'd fought Shin before, personally, yet it was hard to imagine that the man would ever die.

__________

On the shore of a Cizokian river, two boys sat watching the afternoon sun in its gradual descent. One had just awoken. He was alive and well, against all the physics of the universe. For all intents and purposes, he should have drowned. That boy was older than the other--he had outlandish azure hair, wet and matted to his skull, just as his tattered gi did to his skinny, frail looking frame. The boy next to him, that pulled him out of the river earlier and stayed nearby, waiting for him to wake up, was a year or two younger than the azure haired boy--who was, himself, a year or two shy of his tenth birthday. This boy, a bushy haired brunette, wore unfitting clothes of Ulsterian nobility, a vest, undershirt, dress pants, and all the like. Indeed, he was from Ulster, but he hadn't the discipline to keep his clothes clean.

They were children, the two of them. They knew nothing of consequences; death and despair, to their minds, were temporary. Death was just a lengthy sleep, and it was just a matter of time before the deceased awoken. They were children with all the ignorance of children, all the blissful ignorance so many wished to return to.

They'd spoken, but they did not introduce themselves. The brown haired boy looked to the one who'd nearly drowned and decided to fix this.

"I'm Brenden! What's your name?"

". . . Shin," replied the wet, weary, and broken boy.

They were children, and even as children, Shin Shiden had a stark inability to die. Stricken by horrible head trauma, Knocked into a river with a strong current, and left to die. The weakness of frailty of Shin Shiden the child could not be put to death by man and nature.

__________

But, perhaps, immortality was a temporary, fleeting thing. Shin Shiden came out alive in so many impossible circumstances--but whether it was luck or fate's unwillingness to accept him, perhaps it was all bound to run dry eventually.

Everyone died, someday, sometime.

But that didn't make death a pleasing thing to see. Nothing could truly glamorize death. Brenden folded his arms over his chest and shut his eyes.

Sturm bent down. With one hand, he lifted Shin by the back of his shirt. Brenden looked up from the stones at his feet, only to observe this with a frown.

"Shiden . . ." Sturm whispered to himself.

Sturm shifted the man in his grip; Shin wasn't too tall. Sturm himself was much taller. Lifting him up was an effortless task. He held him by the collar, but though his hand at first was guided by an austere strength, it loosened when he turned the destroyed remnant of Shin Shiden to face him. He was bleeding out, and hadn't much time. Sturm hadn't much time. None of them had much time. When Shin Shiden died, he would inevitably become the death of this city of shadows and all those within it. Containing this was an impossible feat.

In truth, Sturm had no love for Shin Shiden. For the most part, he possessed only a subtle loathing of the man. Truthfully, he hated Shin when he first saw him again. By now, though, he'd come to terms with certain facts that Shin could not: Shin Shiden was the blade and Silver was his wielder. When Shin killed Sturm's men, it wasn't anything personal; he was simply doing Silver's work. Now, that blade was turned on him, and Sturm acknowledged the fact that he'd very little choice but to break it and make sure it was of no further use to Silver. Destroying Shin Shiden was an impersonal act for Tyrian Sturm; he was doing little more than disposing of a valuable weapon.

But that didn't mean he could not acknowledge Shin Shiden's humanity. It existed somewhere, deep within a heart and soul perverted by the outside world and its own inner power. At some point, Sturm knew, Shin was a good man. It was a fundamental fact about humanity: no child was born inherently evil. Morality could not be bred, only taught. At some point, Shin Shiden was not an amoral man; he was not a veritable killing machine, nor could he be turned into one. At some point, Shin was a genuinely good person. Sturm regretted snuffing out whatever was left of that.

"You never were supposed to be part of this," Sturm remarked lowly. Perhaps Shin could hear him, perhaps not--it mattered little. One could always hope he could, but in the end, how would it effect a thing? Shin was gone--dead, in body, yet alive in mind. "You only became a soldier of Silver's because I hadn't intervened in time. I knew of the possibility--yet . . . I only skirted the issue. This is as much the fault as yours as it is mine. You cannot forgive me, and I haven't a want for your forgiveness."

"You and I are soldiers--as were my men, as is Silver, Eilert, Icsorue, Exitus, and everyone you've come to know in this damned organization," Sturm began as he turned towards the cliffside; it was little more than a vertical plunge, with only darkness at its heart, "One of us had to die today, whether we liked it or not. As soldiers, it is the risk we took, every day of our lives. But . . . Shiden, if there is a life for us beyond this world, understand you will not be alone. Silver and I will meet you there soon."

Sturm took a step forward--and then another, and another, pacing forward until he stood at the farthest reaches of the cliff-side, the very point that he could look down in see into forever. This battlefield was chosen for a reason. It was safe--for the city, it was safe. Shin's death could kill them all, unless he died too far away . . .

Shiden dangled from Sturm's tight grip, turned as he was to face the former doctor. Below, there was nothing--an endless nothing, a dive into the farthest reaches of darkness, one that Sturm himself, nor any of his Ersatzshad, had the courage to probe. Even science had its limitations.

"Revenge yourself when we meet again. I expect no less," Sturm admitted as he looked down into the abyss, only to let his eyes trail back up and lock with those of a near lifeless Shiden's, "Until then . . ."

With his arm reached out and Shin dangling before him, Sturm narrowed his eyes and willed his fingers to move, to distance themselves from Shiden's collar, to allow the darkness of Oblivion to swallow him.

". . . goodbye."