Prayer into the Dark, Part 4
#31 of Codename: Stinger
...
Part 4.
"When are you going to stop mopping around?"
Avelyn's mind was foggier than usual. Morning had broken in through the blinds of the room Ren Mao had lent her. It was just as precarious as the rest of the old-fashioned home; but for someone stuck in the middle of the woods there wasn't a lot one could expect. The metamorph wasn't facing Ren Mao, she didn't want to. There was something about the old lady that Avelyn did not like, aside her pushy and know-it-all demeanor, but she couldn't quite yet place her finger on it.
"You already skipped breakfast, but you're not allowed to miss training. Get up, or else I'll have to drag you out by your feet, Avelyn." The short old lady's threats didn't seem to reach the mantis, who considered her little more than an annoyance.
"I don't need to train. I just need to figure how to get out of here and catch up to Eugene," Avelyn wouldn't admit that last thought to anybody else but her own mind; she needed a better explanation, not to work out in the forest. Avelyn's feelers began to itch suddenly as she perceived an aggressive intent when Ren Mao approached her. Avelyn decided to sit up and kick her off, but no sooner than her brain had sent the order for her leg to retract, the mantis found herself crashing chin first against the bed as her body slid down.
"Honestly, you're more troublesome than you looked like yesterday, cupcake. I must've misjudged you." Casually as one could be, the old lady left the room while two of her fingers pulled on Avelyn's feet, dragging over the floor.
Avelyn couldn't believe how she couldn't force her legs to listen to her. All she could do was squirm as flaring pain ran up her leg as if she had cramped it. "Let go!" she managed to cry out while looking back at the old lady.
"Now now, I already told you yesterday before you went to bed. I'm going to make you strong, and that doesn't depend on whether you want it or not, Avelyn." Ren Mao stopped at the middle of her humble abode, gripping Avelyn around the ankle now to prevent her from escaping, "What is up to you is whether it'll be hell or hellish!"
Avelyn, having had enough, kicked through her pain with her free leg and attempted to break free. Her foot was caught by Ren Mao, who twisted it easily and pushed her off, "Dear me, so that is your problem. You're still angry." Avelyn screamed and crawled away before she could bring herself up to her feet. "I'll also help with that, if you'll let me."
"You can't help," Avelyn shot an inflamed glare at the china-woman, raising her arms and clenching her fists, "You don't know anything! You don't understand!"
"My, how silly of me. Eugene did tell me you were at a rather tender age. This kind of explosiveness is to be expected." Ren Mao put her hands at her back and elevated her posture to stare straight at the metamorph, "Fine, young lady. I'll let you go at me if it'll satisfy you."
Avelyn, whose heart felt gashed and wounded beyond repair, was unable to judge the situation correctly. This woman was dangerous, no doubt about it, but if she could defeat her then it would be that much easy to plan her escape from Germany. Without something as much as a gesture, the mantis threw herself at Ren Mao in a blind rage.
The old woman's squinty eyes seemed to open briefly, as if assessing the situation in the split second between the kick-off and the charge. A gentle smile was the last thing Avelyn saw before Ren Mao vanished from her sight, her fist striking air. "What the?!"
"Over here. Come." Avelyn turned around, eyes widely opening as they saw Ren Mao's static pose no less than five feet behind her. Humiliated, the metamorph kicked off again and this time she did a sharp turn in an attempt to connect with a low kick, but she struck empty air again instead. "You've got an unrefined technique, but it is there. Have you taken self-defense classes before?"
Avelyn didn't deign that with a response, but it did raise another interrogative. Back at the corporation, Avelyn had exhibited some sort of martial ability she hadn't been aware she had, and the lightning-fast old lady seemed to know about it. All Avelyn could do was glare at Ren Mao however.
"You're not going to hit me," she said after evading a side punch. The old lady did an impressive somersault backwards after Avelyn fiercely produced one of her raptorial extensions to hit her, "Interesting. So that's what the raptorial legs Eugene Masters mentioned are. But additional reach is superfluous if you don't know how to use it."
"Shut up!" Avelyn exploded, making the second extension appear, panting from the physical exertion and hunger, "I thought you said I could go at you!"
"If that would satisfy you, yes," Ren Mao casually said while ducking under a slash, then ducked again, and again, and every time after halving a phrase: "But satisfaction, my dear. It is not something to be taken lightly. Satisfaction is, put simply, the result to a certain grade of effort. Your want is not enough, because you don't wish to harm me. There is no intensity in your blows!" Avelyn gasped as her feelers twitched when Ren Mao suddenly began to move strangely, but she did not react at the appropriate time to catch the side-step evasion. Ren Mao followed with an upper that deflected Avelyn's arm to the side before the old woman stomped forwards and thrust her open palm into Avelyn's abdomen, knocking the wind out of her.
The mantis fell to her knees, both extensions withdrawing into Avelyn's forearms as she clutched her stomach. The chitin face mask retracted as well, allowing Avelyn's bile to escape her mouth. "Oh dear. Did I go too hard on you? I wanted you to learn what a proper blow was."
"S-screw you..." said Avelyn before collapsing forwards. Not long afterwards, crisp coldness struck the rim of Avelyn's mouth followed by a cascading amount of ice-cold water that forced her awake.
"Thank you, Hans. Go back to your training outside," Ren Mao's command was answered by a shaky yes followed by a strange word Avelyn hadn't heard before. From what Avelyn could see, a boy dressed in a white Kung-Fu Gi had seen and become terrified of her, which was why the bucket of ice-cold water had been shakily administered.
"Are you awake, Avelyn?" Ren Mao, sitting on her knees, was looking down at the insect with her squinty eyes, the wrinkles on her withered face scrounging up. "Don't worry about Hans. My disciples all listen to what I say. That's why they are strong, mind you."
"Do you knock all your disciples unconscious on their first day, too?" the mantis shakily sat up, still feeling queasy.
Ren Mao smiled, her factions returning to those of a kind old lady. "Hehe, only those that believe my old bones can't kick their asses if they don't behave."
"Wonderful, an old lady ninja with a sense of humor," Avelyn winced as she put an arm over her stomach.
"Does it hurt?" Ren Mao asked with sarcasm, but Avelyn didn't respond. "You're alive because I exerted just enough force to not break your ribs over your vital organs, Avelyn." Silence was the response Ren Mao received, so she continued: "What do you suppose would have happened if you had been out there?" Silence, again. This time however, Avelyn seemed to avert her gaze, visibly ashamed. "Eugene Masters is a very smart man. He would not have left you here under normal circumstances. But right now, he must protect his other family, and taking you with him would not only put you in danger, but also his family. Do you understand?"
Avelyn was on the verge of venting out again, her teeth clenching as she shook. Ren Mao sighed and stood up, approaching the defeated insect before gently placing a hand on her shoulder. Avelyn stopped shaking, too weak to swat her arm away, much less through the pain in her stomach. "Avelyn, your own body acknowledges that I am not your enemy. Don't you wish you were able to protect Eugene Masters?" the metamorph girl's eyes widened and she slowly lifted her chin to look at the smiling old lady, "You clearly have the strength and agility, and the basics to overcome enemies, but you do not have the power to protect yourself. In order to do that, you must first be strong. Then you can help those that need protection. That is why you are here. Do you understand, Avelyn?"
"Strength... How do I...?" Avelyn carefully began to ask, before three fingers appeared in front of her eyes.
"You need three important things before you can be strong. Discipline," she curled down her ring finger, "Training," the middle finger was next, "And the most important one of all: Courage. So, are you brave enough to be strong, Avelyn?"
The mantis couldn't yet admit it to herself that she had completely understood what the old lady was talking about, but a warm sensation in her chest was telling her not to give up. Ren Mao spoke first however: "Well, don't feel rushed to answer just yet. Sometimes words are meaningless unless action backs them up."
"No, wait. Ren Mao, I want to be strong," Avelyn finally said. The old lady looked down at her firmly. "Please, help me be strong."
"The first step, young mantis, is to admit one very important thing about yourself: You're weak. You're weaker still because just like Eugene Masters told me, you have no memories of who you are; you consider yourself an incomplete person." The mantis looked down in disappointment, but Ren Mao, after turning around, gave Avelyn a reassuring smile. "The past, my dear, can only dictate who you were. It has no hold over who you are, or who you will be." That's when something clicked inside Avelyn's head. Ren Mao continued: "Who you were is no doubt important, because it gives you direction. I don't disagree with that. Yet, people change, they adapt. Don't innocent little boys grow to become violent killing machines that fight in meaningless wars? Girls bloom into women one day. Yours I suspect will be a tad different, but you will mature into a woman inevitably. Just what kind of woman will you turn out to be, Avelyn?"
"The kind with serrated blades inside her forearms," the mantis thought to herself, not wanting to ruin Ren Mao's moment. "But still, I understand now. All I can do right now is to train myself and grow strong enough to protect Eugene." Avelyn looked at Ren Mao with firm disposition before declaring: "I can't say I don't care about whom I was anymore, but I know I have to put this as a priority. I'm a weak person, but I want to get stronger! Please teach me how."
Ren Mao grinned, finally satisfied. "I teach those that are willing to learn. I see that you're ready to do that now, Avelyn. From now on, I will be your master, understood?"
"Yes, Ren Mao."
"You will not address me by my full name anymore, Avelyn. From now on, you shall address me as Mao-shifu, or Shifu. Is that clear?" Avelyn nodded, "Say it then."
"Yes, Shifu!"
Mao-shifu was a strict teacher. She rarely held back against her students, so many didn't come back the next day. Avelyn's regime begun with a few bumps along the road, as putting on a Gi did not make everyone acknowledge, much less incorporate her. Aside the usual weirded out stares and talking behind her back, the mantis was subject to the older students' trials of acceptance, of which she thought she had no business doing. Mao-shifu did not resolve disputes among students. She encouraged them to take their quarrels out of the dojo and turn them into contests of strength instead. "Only those who can prove their discipline, training and courage with action are those that are allowed to speak down to those who can't." It was a tough starting week for Avelyn.
Being the only metamorph was rough enough, but being the only female among young male adults and those her age made it even more awkward. Mao-shifu taught them all equally, sparing no one, boy or insect girl, from the exhausting stamina training in the form of short and long dashes, to muscle flexibility and building. "Since you're behind everybody's schedule, you'll have to repeat this training during the late afternoons to catch up." Mao-shifu would say; an ear to ear grin on her face. Avelyn was only too grateful to reach her bed in one piece every night.
Every other day, Mao-shifu brought books to Avelyn and tutored her on acupuncture and certain Chinese philosophies, mainly Taoist mantra. The balancing of opposites and the importance of one's own place in the world. "The little fitness trials they had for you were good, but not good enough. You need to train your body and your mind equally if you're to achieve the necessary discipline."
The long days turned to weeks, which soon turned to months. Avelyn's will was strong, but her impatience was getting the better of her. Every day was largely the same: Morning build-up exercises, afternoon tea and studies and late-afternoon build-up exercises. Since Avelyn had nowhere to go or visit, every Sunday, Mao-shifu would take her out for a hike around the forest and lake, even using nature's examples to teach Avelyn much to the latter's dismay.
"Footwork is important for someone with your legs, Avelyn. We will train without your raptorial legs hidden indefinitely, but never forget the proper stance!" Mao-Shifu had instructed Avelyn to keep her elbows sunk into her torso while her index and thumb fingers made a hook-like shape. They had trained her stance for a good while, and how to keep it even while moving and side-stepping. The master had also employed the help of her other disciples in order to keep pressuring Avelyn, having them attack her while she evaded their blows without breaking her poise. "You're not allowed to deflect or block, only evade! Use your feet! Twist your hips and shift your center of gravity! Don't let them take advantage of the shift!"
And so, a year passed...
March, 2001.
It was during one especially chill Sunday afternoon, during tea time, both student and master were gathered by the fireplace, relaxing after a week of intensive training, when Avelyn decided to bring it up.
"When will I be ready to practice what the others are doing, Shifu?"
"When I deem you ready, young mantis. Technique training requires only the highest discipline."
"If they already know martial arts, why are they training under you, Shifu?"
"Because what these boys are doing is refining what they already know. This isn't the only dojo in this country."
Avelyn was most surprised when she realized that the ones picking on her could be considered masters. She was even more impressed with Mao-shifu's influence however. "I'm surprised there ARE that many dojos in Germany, Shifu."
"Martial arts are broadly represented as sports these days. But I don't teach flashy moves meant to be televised, tsk tsk." Mao-shifu's complexion seemed to darken every time they spoke about the rest of the dojos, "However, what a martial artist does with his strength is not something I can control. If they prove to me that they deserve it, then I am willing to teach."
"Why are you teaching me, Shifu? I didn't exactly prove myself when we first met, did I?"
"You did, and you did not. At first, I was doing this out of responsibility and a debt I owed to Eugene Masters."
"Right, you mentioned him performing some sort of operation on your grandson."
"When everyone else had given up on treating my grandson's sick heart, when no matter how much money was offered and no guarantee of survival was given, one man was recommended to us. That is why we moved here, so that we could get Eugene Masters to operate on my grandson. He gave my grandson's life back to him, and didn't even charge one more cent than necessary."
"In all this time, I haven't seen your grandson though. Where is he?"
"He lives with his parents in the city. Like me, they decided to remain in this city, but for different reasons. His father, mostly, had decided to bring his business here."
"I see." Avelyn found a weird pause at the last sentence, but decided not to press it. "Why did you stay here, anyway? You don't even seem like you're comfortable speaking German."
"I believe in fate, young mantis. That is why I decided to stay in Berlin with my family, to see the promise I made to Eugene Masters through."
"So, you told him you'd teach mantis fist to an actual praying mantis if he ever needed it?"
"Goodness, no. I was surprised when he brought you in all those months ago. When he explained your situation, I had been expecting a ten foot tall drooling monster right out of a horror movie to come into my dojo."
"Ugh, it's not my fault I drool when napping sometimes..."
Mao-shifu reached forwards with a smile and tugged at Avelyn's hair, cut down to just under her shoulders and tied into a braided tail, "But you know what? Instead of that, he brought me a child. A child afraid for her life, confused about her past, yet unwilling to give up in the face of it all. That is how you proved yourself to me, Avelyn. In this judgmental world with its prejudiced society, facing somebody with your appearance can break a person's psyche easily. But the truth is, you're just like anyone else; special, in your own way."
"So it's okay that I drool a bit while napping?"
"No. I'll disallow all naps and triple your training if you continue to stain your pillows."
"Ahh! You're horrible, Shifu! It's not on purpose!"
To Avelyn, everyday felt like a small improvement had been reached. The other students had grown accustomed to her, and she had even on occasion been invited to observe sparring sessions between them. Since Mao-shifu hadn't allowed her to fight them yet, she couldn't participate. But just watching both the friendly and competitive battles pumped her on to try her best.
July, 2002.
Practice had advanced sufficiently that on spring, Mao-Shifu surprised Avelyn with an announcement during a Sunday dinner. "Tomorrow we will be tripling your training regime."
Nearly choking on the Chow-Mein, Avelyn had to grab a glass of water to calm herself. "But Shifu, I...!"
"We're beginning technique training tomorrow, young mantis. Be sure to get a good night of sleep."
"Shifu..." Avelyn was dumbstruck, but this is just what she had been waiting for. Sure, she had just been rewarded for her hard work with even harder work, but to the growing martial artist in her, this was paramount to being recognized as worthy by her master. Mao-shifu got sudden hug from the excited girl. "Thank you!"
Taken by surprise at first, Mao-shifu couldn't help but admire the mantis' speed with which she had seized her. "Her body must feel lighter already. I couldn't see her coming; I must have hit the nail right on the head." She smiled proudly, but then cleared her throat and gently pushed Avelyn away, knowing that she had to put on the act. "Honestly, young mantis, control yourself. Go straight to bed after washing the dishes, you're starting at 4 AM. Don't think you can neglect your stamina and flexibility training from now on either! I'm going to go extra hard on you."
But Avelyn was that much excited that she simply went back to devour her dinner and skipped away to do the dishes. Mao-shifu sighed to herself, "There's not a lot life left in these dusty old bones. But if I can at least teach that to somebody like her, then I can..." Mao-shifu's train of thought was duly interrupted as she heard the phone on the wall ring, making her cringe since she knew of only one person with her number. Setting her mug down, the old woman went to grab the receiver before putting it next to her ear and starting on a fast-paced Chinese. "You troublesome child, what is it now? My answer is still no. My place is with my students, not in a posh mansion that would double as a geriatric. I do not care about your trifling matters; let them come. Do not call unless it is about my grandson. Good-bye."
"Shifu?" Avelyn's antennae were twitching as she approached Mao-shifu. The mantis couldn't help but notice how winded and exhausted the old lady seemed, plus the tone of her Chinese had seriously sounded inflamed. Avelyn had seen this happen before, on Christmas and New Years' Eve too. She wondered sometimes if the actual reason Mao-shifu didn't see her family was because they had grown distant with each other. "Are you feeling unwell?" she softly asked out of concern.
"Never mind, young mantis, I am fine." The china-woman that had been holding by her chest dismissed Avelyn's hand with hers and headed to her own abode. "I should rest, and so should you." Mao-shifu slid the door closed and sat down on her bed. "It seems I will have to hurry up with the lesson."
On the following day, Avelyn's new training had officially started. Mao-shifu had stuffed dummies built by her students hung on some of the sturdier trees. Since the "warm-up" as Mao-shifu called it consisted on a compressed version of all Avelyn had so far been doing for the better part of the year, technique training only began later in the day when none of the other students were present.
"Watch." Avelyn intently focused her black eyes on her master as the old lady adapted the stance she had already practiced over tens of thousands of times. With a short and explosive dash, Mao-shifu demonstrated the double mantis-punch, a technique where one delivers mid-section impact by bending their body sideways while aiding a punishing double palm-thrust. Not only did the dummy's fabric tear a bit after shaking violently, but a rain of leaves and even the cracking of bark under the dummy could be heard. Mao-shifu returned to her stance and breathed out, "Young mantis, we are aggressive. We are on the offense even while employing defensive tactics. We aim for the opponents' vitals and strike true."
Avelyn watched as her master's hook-like fists flew around the dummy's head and struck it down. She jumped to the next dummy, whose arm she waved over before she executed an upwards palm thrust. "We do not fear facing our foe in close-quarters. This is where they think they are safe, because this is where distance limits our impact. But this is where you prove them wrong," in a single graceful move, Mao-shifu's deflecting hand moved off the dummy's arm and caught her elbow. On the next fraction of a second, Mao-shifu's palm pushed her arm up, decapitating the dummy with a double armed uppercut. "We practitioners of the mantis fist are deadly, precise, and most of all fast."
The third dummy that was still intact was going to be Avelyn's target, Mao-shifu circling it as she evaluated Avelyn from a distance. "Use your footwork. Your honed lower body should guide your movement, and your arms follow after as with the flow of a river. Be both active and reactive, pile the pressure on, and never stop until the foe before you falls, Avelyn."
Avelyn did not put out anymore quirky remarks this time; she was very close to being overwhelmed by her master's almost inhuman prowess. Mao-shifu had demonstrated the techniques she had been looking forwards to learn; now she had to put in the effort to acquire their use. One after another, Avelyn's attacks were criticized and reexamined, with her master making her disciple retry countless of times.
The days went by, and bit by bit, Avelyn grew accustomed to each and all of the skills Mao-shifu had imparted. One calm day of September, the china-woman had arranged for Avelyn to finally spar against one of her students, Hans, a local dojo owner. After bowing to each other, Avelyn was humbled by how different things looked when after all those months of rigorous training; the man's blows appeared to be moving slower than she remembered from past spars she had observed.
Even still, Hans was a tiger fist teacher, which meant Avelyn was up against another aggressive, if not much more offensive style than her own, so the blows kept coming, forcing her on the defensive. Every time she ever so glanced at her master, the mantis girl's mind was assaulted by vivid images and thoughts. "Avelyn! What have I been teaching you?!" Mao-shifu yelled inside her head, "You must pressure the opponent! Be active AND reactive!"
Hans was going for a rather strong combination attack. Just one wrong move and Avelyn would be caught in the chain of blows, but then it clicked in on her mind that his pattern was easily observable, enough to see where it began and where it ended, as well as where his open sides were. Decided to implement her own strategy, Avelyn closed-in on her opponent just as he threw a fist at her. With a side-step dodge and her left hand smacking Hans' forearm down, she took her chance to grab around his neck with her right hand before he tripped him into a scissor grab with her legs. Hans, caught off guard, ended up on the floor with Avelyn, his legs caught by the insect's. "I did it...!" Avelyn thought surprised. "It was over so quick, yet there were so many times I almost got roped into his attack!"
Mao-shifu stroked her chin thoughtfully while the point was awarded and nodded in approval. The sparring continued. Ultimately, Avelyn was victorious, and not just that, applause, even from Hans, rewarded the suddenly meek looking mantis. "You've grown, Avelyn. I was right about your aptitude. You managed to learn everything I had to teach so fast. I'm so glad for you."
With sparring added to her diet, Avelyn's fighting only became better as the year came to a close. She began to participate in battles against all of her peers, testing her style against others and even those similar to her own. Mao-shifu had her own kind of mantis fist which she had devised by combining the strengths of both the northern and southern praying mantis styles, and had finished teaching every available skill, as well as her own. It looked like Avelyn was near graduation too, with her master acknowledging her more and more.
December, 2002.
Christmas was around the corner. Berlin's winter was strong in its coming, the usual chilling drizzles replaced by steady snowfall. During these times, the dojo wasn't as active, but Avelyn continued with her training regardless, and Mao-shifu continued to supervise her. It was during a late Sunday afternoon that a trio of black cars pulled over the old-fashioned forest house, prompting Avelyn to look out the window. Men in suits were escorting a dignified looking tall man; from what Avelyn could tell, their escorted was a middle-aged Asian. "What is the matter, Avelyn? Oh... Please stay inside. I'll deal with this."
"Shifu?" Avelyn turned with a worried look as the old woman hurried outside to confront the men in black's boss. She saw her teacher go out through the window, interrupting the approach to their house. What little Avelyn could interpret seemed to indicate this was an acquaintance of her master, and someone really familiar as well, as Mao-shifu seemed especially miffed and casual to them. "I wonder if that is Mao-shifu's son. She did say he has a business here in Berlin."
The conversation was turning heated, with Mao-shifu being held back by the escorts so she wouldn't hit their boss. "...what did you do this time, you troublesome child?!" was one of the few phrases Avelyn could make out before the equally aggravated china-man snapped and began to yell.
"It's not safe here anymore, mother!" And that phrase, accompanied with the titillating antennae on Avelyn's head, was finished with the piercing sound of a gunshot. One of the escorts fell down after Avelyn saw a cloud of red emit from his back, while everyone else followed suit to seek cover.
"Shifu!" the mantis cried as she rushed towards the door.
"Ren Fu! What is the meaning of this?!" Mao-shifu demanded while her son kept her under her arm.
"It's what I feared. And what I warned you about!" Ren Fu barked some orders in German, to which his bodyguards responded by drawing their 9mms and returning fire, and returned to his mother, "We have to leave now. I miscalculated their sheer numbers, my counter-assassins are holding off their advance, but we don't have a lot of time!"
"By all that's holy, child, just who did you piss off this time?!" Mao-shifu growled, pushing her son off, "I can't leave until I have secured my disciple!"
"Disciple? But I thought the dojo was closed around this time of the year!"
"Uwaa!" a groan coming from the house snapped their attention as one of the surprised gunmen fell off his perch, followed by his partner. There was a brief break in incoming fire, making both Ren Fu and Mao-shifu peek out from one of the cars to inspect the situation. It had become dark and it was hard to see, but someone else was being shot and swung at, judging from the groans and loud strikes. Even the bodyguards slowly crept up from their cover, since suppressing fire didn't seem necessary. "What is this thing?!" they heard one panicked man shout in Chinese, making Mao-shifu's eyes pop open. She turned to her son with rage in her eyes.
"You got involved with the triads, again?! Ren Fu, you...!" Mao-shifu's movements were faster than her voice as she pushed Ren Fu off, "Watch out!"
"Oof!" Ren Fu groaned as he fell onto his back just as a new gunshot was heard.
"Sniper from behind!" one of the bodyguards shouted.
"Shit! One of them must've given the counter team the slip!"
"Don't distract yourselves. Keep firing, keep firing!"
"Mother!" Ren Fu's voice tore through the cross-fire as the moment he reincorporated himself was when his eyes caught sight of Mao-shifu bent over at the knees, clutching her crimson-soaked chest. "God curse you, Jin Shao!!" he cried out with a shudder, unable to move forwards. Someone else, dressed in grey, was fast-approaching, a hood covering their face. Another assassin, maybe? "You will not lay a hand on her!" Ren Fu attempted to put himself between the incoming person and his mother, but he was flung over aside almost effortlessly.
"Shifu! Mao-shifu!" the voice of a desperate young woman filled the cacophony of violence as Avelyn flung her hood off and knelt by her bleeding master. "Shifu! What's wrong?! Answer me!" she grabbed the shuddering old lady by the shoulders before she freaked out when she noticed the large amount of blood pouring out of the gun-shot wound.
"A-Avelyn... Wh-what a relief..." blood was pouring Mao-shifu's mouth, "You're fine."
"Wait, no, don't talk. We have to get you help! Hey, you!" Avelyn yelled at Ren Fu, who she had knocked unconscious by accident, "Get up, no time to sleep! Call an ambulance or something!" she was on the verge of tears.
"Avelyn... I'm so... so sorry..." Mao-shifu's weakening voice pulled Avelyn back, "I'm sorry, my idiot of a son involved you in this pointless conflict. But p-please, don't blame him. I was too stubborn too... I always was; with you too."
"No, Shifu! What are you saying?!" Avelyn sobbed, grabbing Mao-shifu's hands as the old woman shakily raised them.
"Avelyn. Look at me," Mao-shifu smiled, "Don't get involved in his silly world, no matter what he says. Remember, you... y-you..." she coughed, "You're strong now. There's... nothing you've left to prove to me. Just... to yourself..."
"Shifu...!" Avelyn vociferated. "No, I'm not strong enough yet! Don't leave me. Please don't! You can't... you can't leave!" she cried louder, tears streaming down the black pearls that were her eyes. "Please stay with me! It'll be alright. You'll teach me like every day, you'll make me strong, you will...!"
But the words did not reach Ren Mao's cold ears; life had ebbed out of the old lady's body already. The firm grip in Ren Mao's hand lost its strength and her arms fell to the side as the martial artist's eyes closed forever.
"SHIFU!" A lone scream filled the woods, countless thoughts and regrets lost to a single projectile.
To Be Continued...