Ru Feng, wished, with all his heart that at the top of the stairs he’d find a whole bunch of smackable burglars and thieves to play with. He cracked his fingers as he flew up the stairs, even in his mirth remembering that he didn’t have his weapon, his favorite gauntlets, on him.

Suddenly, stopped dead in his tracks. Right in front of him, carrying a small bundle of bandages and injuries and mud was a group of human trafficking knights with armor that shone in all its prismatic glory.

“Mister Knights? I do have to say you are doing much to ruin your image right now…” Ru Feng shrugged, “At least you’re boosting mine.” He added with a lopsided grin. He lifted his fists to a guard, took a stance, and huffed a big breath of air.

“Get out of the way, NOW!” Ordered the clear leader amongst the immoral knights. Golden hair flowed down to his shoulders. A beard grew wild on his chin. Nose bridge curved in, and its tip pointed to the skies, much like his attitude. He was the only one in the thieving group that did not wear a helmet.

“Sorry mister picture perfect knight. But I ain’t gonna do that. You drop that bleeding bundle and f*ck off, Please?” Ru Feng mock-plead, and did not wait. He twisted his ankle, put torque into his waist, and sent his fist barreling forward.

The cracking of bone echoed in the stair well right as Atlas and Ru Shi reached Ru Feng. They got a full view of his deadly punch denting the Knight leader’s face, shattering his bones.

Blood showered from the helmet-less man’s face, splattering his armor, the walls, the stairs, Ru Feng, and even reaching up to the ceiling. The bundle of injuries the knights had stolen fell to the ground as the knights were pushed down with the weight of their leading figure.

“Captain!”

“How dare you! Filthy unbeliever!” Rage filled the blond leaders men, and telegraphed their moves. Ru Feng stepped down the stairs, a thick slab of sharpened metal flying above his head. Swiftly he grabbed and pulled onto the attackers armored shin. The young knights lost his balance, bounced on the stairs, and slid down with neck breaking pace. “Have a safe trip.” Ru Feng waved and mocked.

Ru Shi did not stand dormant either. Already past Ru Feng she reached forward and grabbed at the injured man they’d tried to smuggle. The knight too preoccupied with their leader’s injury to pay her attention. Yet as she pulled she found herself unable to budge. Her eyes snapped up and a pair of piercing caramel eyes smiled at her through the pockets of a crystalline helmet.

“Sorry gorgeous. Can’t let you have him. Orders from above.” A voice as sweet as the color of his eyes came from the armored knight. His hand drove down, cleaving with a heavy bastard sword ready to take Ru Shi apart. Only for flying knives to slam into the descending weapon.

Sparks showered the dark stairwell, reflecting of the crystal armor of the knights as the hefty weapon was forced off course, narrowly missing Ru Shi, carving into the marble flooring instead.

“Captain! They’re after the Traitor! We need to stop them!” Shouted the the caramel knight, getting the attention of his troupe, finally forcing them into action.

Atlas rushed, but Ru Feng was there already. He towered behind Ru Shi. The caramel knight gulped as a mountainous punch came bounding over Ru Shi’s head straight for his face.

“Oops.” Sounded the caramel Knight, lifted his leg, mock slipped under the punch, and held onto the shoulder of his fellow knight before pushing himself back to his position. The fellow knight was not so lucky or slippery. His helmet caved in with a crack, blood oozed out and he flopped to the ground like a puppet without strings.

The caramel knight pulled his slipping helmet back on. An x shaped scar showed stretching from his chin to his cheek and to under his left ear, while lush locks of wavy auburn hair flopped out of the helmet. But he stopped the full reveal, hopping a step back as he did so. “Still want my life.” He mumbled.

Ru Shi did not let that chance go, she grabbed the body of ointments and puss and disengaged. She rushed down to Carius, a jittering, immobilized mess, and tossed the unconscious rescue at him. Carius fumbled his heavy package, but held steady at the end.

The caramel took another step back at Ru Feng’s zealous advance. He ducked and spoke to his captain. “Captain, The Brute! Let us take him hostage!” He dove out of the way of a kick that could cleave rock in two. He waited for the blond captain, weak and stupid as he was, to piece the situation together.

Yet faster than he expected he saw a nod. He rushed away from his opponent, much to Ru Feng’s glee, who chased after him. “Ru Feng, get back!” Atlas shouted, to no avail. The caramel knight rushed to the wall of the stairwell before opening up a latch in his breastplate.

“Men! Grab a hold of the Brute that did this to me!” The Captain shouted, pointing to his crooked, still bleeding, nose. All his knights obeyed and dove on the hulking figure. Arms aiming to wrap around his waist, legs, arms, neck.

“Oh Shit.” Ru Feng exclaimed, yet did not falter. He dodged left, then dodged right. He slid down the stairs with unfitting agility, he played with their incline and his incredibly long reach. The knights were relentless in following their orders, they threw themselves at the young man, and made it harder as if they had grown in size.

They grabbed a hold off Ru Feng with any way they could. His punches thudded into their armor with deadly force, like gunshots they rattled the knights, and dug past their reflective protections. But suddenly the flat side of a bastard sword smacked him on the back of the head. “Hell Yeah!” Screamed the knight Ru Feng had sent sliding down the stairs through ragged breaths.

“NO! RU FENG!” Ru Shi screamed, she reached for her bow, yet found it missing. Atlas dove at the knights that were now retreating. Steel tipped boots slammed into helmets, daggers etched into armor, washing the stair well with a blinding orange. Yet he was too late. An explosion rocked the building. Dust blocked his eyesight, and the rush of the explosion sent him into the air, flying above the stairs, Ru Shi, and Carius to the other end of the well.

“Now! Rush to the Eternal Pavilion!” The captain ordered and before the cloud of dust had settled his knights had clambered up the stairs and out of the fresh hole in the wall.

Quickly enough the dust was sucked out of the building, and on the crumbling wall dangled with one foot off, the caramel knight, he waved goodbye with his free hand. “My name is Xerxes. And we shall meet again at the Crystal Shop, ‘Heavenly Mirage’ At the southern edge of Eternal City. The sooner you come the better for your friend.” He finished with a wink and disappeared.

The group was left stunned. All expect Ru Shi that is. She pulled her bow to its place on her shoulder and hurled herself down the stairs. In just mere seconds she had grappled her way tot he ground floor. She grabbed Jonathan, whom she got to first. Shaking him she shouted. “Where is this Crystal Shop? And how do I get in this damned Eternal City!?” She questioned, her emerald eyes sharp with a hint of blood.

“Calm down Ru Shi.” Old man George put his cane in between her and his son and said. “What happened?”

“They want a hostage exchange, the bastards. What am I even going to tell my father?” She seemed crazed, yet before she went too far she took a step back, and forced down her next words. “Now, where is this City?!” She said, calming herself. She took deep breaths as she waited for a response. “It’s in the pavilion, just walk through it.”

“Are you being serious… or should I expect you’re with the knights as well?” Ru Shi locked onto Old man George’s eyes. Her eyes spoke of violence, her tone a threat. The Old man was shocked, yet Atlas was shocked even more so.

He grabbed her and whipped her around, stared into her glimmering eyes, bloodshot, tired, glazed over by memories he knew nothing off. “They wouldn’t lie. Don’t lose your cool. We’ll be going in.” He didn’t waste more time. She would get it. Atlas turned to the stunned old man with a soothing smile. “Is there any way we can get our weapons?” He turned to the old man.

“Sorry to say, but the foreman works for the Eternal City. If I want to still be able to help the people of this city after you’re gone, then I can’t interfere. I’m sorry.” Old Man George spoke with severity. He was as solid as the foundations of his home. “You are on your own with this. And remember, entry to the City without proper registration by the foremen is forbidden. You will be going against their law if you rush in there. You won’t see this city again if you go inside.” He advised.

Ru Shi’s eyebrows furrowed deeply, she went to speak, curses aimed at the old man, the foreman, and the world, yet Atlas noticed and interjected. “Ru Shi. Just wait. We’ll deal with this at another time.” He was clear on how she felt about the Old man’s stance. Yet he was clear on his mission as well. He wanted the old man’s help just as he wanted to help this city.

Carius settled Jean’s body to the ground near Atlas as he arrived, and handed a small bag he was carrying to Atlas. Atlas’ eyes shown, he nodded to his uncle-cousin. Along with his own bag he handed them to Old man George who took them with confusion. Atlas pulled out a sheet of paper from inside the folds of his assassin’s attire and handed it over. “Take whatever you want as a reward from those two bags, and if that is not enough you can demand more, but we want all the medicine and pills that are on that least ready to grab and dash by the time we return. Deal?” He proposed in a breath.

“Deal. I won’t scam you. This’ll be as fair a trade as I can give you.” The Old man pocketed the list and nudged Jonathan, who’d been staring slack jawed. He left without another word.

“We should go. We just have to find where that Shop is, grab Ru Feng and go.” Atlas said and made to move, but a hand clawed around his own. He looked down and saw the injured traitor’s cracked and dirty palm clutching onto his wrist.

The man had awoken. “Take me with you. I know how to get you there. It’s my fault in the first place.” He demanded through cracked bleeding lips.

“Sorry to say mister. But we were already planning on doing that. This is a hostage exchange. One I’ll gladly take for him. Even if Ru Feng would not want it.” Ru Shi said as if she meant it. Atlas stared at her, shocked inside. He had never even thought of doing the exchange, yet he could tell that Ru Shi had.

Jean shook his head and emitted a dry, empty laugh. “It is only deserved. Let’s not dally. The Fanatics of the Crystal Palace are not prone to kindness. I should know, I was one of them not too long ago.”

Atlas grabbed the self-deprecating mess of injuries, white of hair and white of beard yet just above his age. Yet Carius stopped him. “I’ll take him, thank you very much. You go running after little Shi here, she seems very eager after all.” He knelt and hoisted the broken man onto his shoulders. Atlas would have argued, but he knew what Carius was alluding to. He could feel it of course, the trembling of his muscles, the aching of his joints, the fever on his forehead. He was not fully healed, and his body was already being brought to its limits.

The reshaped party of four headed out of the building and rushed straight for the massive pavilion not too far away. They paid no attention to the warning shouts of the foremen as they rushed up its steps of pink clouds and under the enormous arc of ornate carvings in between its thick pillars, they stepped through and disappeared. Melding into the invisible, gelatinous, window that was the portal that would bring them to the Southern Gardens of Eternal City. The Portal Gardens.