CHAPTER TWELVE
Double Trouble

*Abysston, about 4 am*
The daylight shone through the
gutter and onto the front of
Mullen's boat. He put the ore out
in front of the boat. It came to a
halt. The light shone on a stop sign
he could see through the hole in the
roof of the sewer. He could now
see that the light was actually a
street light. He tied his boat to a
large bolt on the wall of the tunnel,
gripped the bottom of the small
street drain, just big enough for him
to slip through, and climbed up. He
rolled out into the street, stood up
and dusted himself off. As he took
a deep breath of morning air, he
thought to himself,"The sun will rise
soon."

*Japan*
Training at the temple has
been hard on Disciple. He
was beginning to question the
Master's judgment in sending
him to train with the other
boys. He really likes his
partner, Yoshihiro, but he
doesn't quite get the same
feeling from his partner. In
fact, he knows his partner
doesn't like him. Yoshihiro
was talking with one of the
other boys and Disciple
decided to eavesdrop.

"I just turned 18! I have
worked very hard to get this
far, and have waited most of
my life, just to earn the right to
work with a partner. And
what happens?! I get stuck
with some foreign, 16 year
old orphan kid, who has to
have a monk translate most of
the commands. I mean, he is
too young to even work with
me! Heck, I bet I could beat
him any day." Disciple was
very angry when he heard
Yoshihiro say this. He slid the
paper door open as gently as
he could and stared at Yoshi.
"Is that what you really think?"

*Abysston*
The neighborhood was small and
run down. The sidewalk was
cracked and busted up all over.
The stop sign had the word
"JAWS" spray-painted on the
back of it. The houses and
apartment buildings were in
desperate need of a new paint job.
Mullen hid behind a parked car,
leaning against a tree that
protruded from the space between
the sidewalk and the curb. The
street light flickered and went out,
as the sun rose. He didn't want
anybody to see him visit Jean-Luc,
so he looked around before
crossing the street, where he had
spotted the house with the number
1864. He began to cross the
street, as he wiped his eyes clean
of the dew that had accumulated,
during his nap, while waiting for
sunrise. He could now see clearly,
so he stepped up onto the stoop
and pressed the small button on the
right of the door.

*Japan*
"Yes, it is. I didn't expect you
to be eavesdropping, but I am
also glad you heard. You are
a disappointment, you're not
worthy to fight beside me.
Why don't you do me a favor
and tell the Master you want
a different partner? You seem
to be on his good side." As
soon as he said that, Disciple
felt like strangling him. 'ME!
NOT WORTHY?,' he
thought. "I'll make you a deal.
We will sneak out tonight.
Bring your kendo stick. We
will fight in the outer garden.
Then I will prove to you how
WORTHY I am," Disciple
declared. He looked
Yoshihiro in the eyes. They
seemed to glow with
anxiousness. "Deal!," Yoshi
replied. They both grinned
with confidence. Disciple and
Yoshihiro left the room.

*Abysston*
The door bell sounded like an pipe
organ playing a piece from a horror
film or something. He heard the
clicking and unlocking of the dead
bolt. The door swung open. He was
huge! The horror shone through
Mullen's eyes. The grin on this
giant's face showed that he knew
Mullen was afraid. The large man
asked his visitor for his social
security number, but Mullen was
not afraid, even though he numbly
told him the first five numbers.
Mullen realized that the only thing
standing between him and the giant,
was a thin screen door. He also
knew it wasn't Jean-Luc,so he
rechecked the number on the
house, 1869! Crap!

*Japan*
"What? Yoshihiro and
Disciple? In the garden?" the
Master asked.

"Yes, master," the boy
replied. The boy, who
Yoshihiro was talking to, told
the Master about the fight.
When Disciple made his
challenge, he forgot that
Yoshihiro was talking to
somebody.

"Are you sure you are not
lying to me?" the Master
asked the boy.

"I'm positive, sir."

"Well then, gather the other
boys in your class. I say we
give our two quarreling friends
a little surprise," the Master
said, with a slight grin.

*Abysston*
When he turned back to see the
big man reaching for the handle of
the screen door, Mullen's eyes
widened. He ran to the curb, then
looked back and saw the door
slam. His heart pounding, he
looked around and saw the right
house. It was pink and cracked
up, and the door was blue. He
walked up to the house, carefully
checking the number, before he
knocked on the door. Silence. He
knocked harder, silence. He
looked through the window in
hopes of seeing Jean-Luc coming
to the door, but there was nothing.
It was an empty room. He lifted
the window slowly and climbed in.
He fell quietly onto the red
carpeted floor. All the lights were
off, so he figured Jean-Luc was
asleep. Mullen pulled his crossbow
from under his cloak and placed an
arrow on the bow.

*Japan*
It was about midnight when
the two got up. They readied
themselves quickly and
silently. Then, side by side,
they walked to the garden,
careful not to make any noise
or waste any energy. The two
knew exactly the place they
would battle. In the outer
garden, there is a small river.
It flows in a perfect circle,
with a small portion of grass in
the middle, about five feet
across. It has two bridges on
opposite sides. It's perfect,
because there are trees
blocking the view from the
temple. It's closest to the
street, so if anything will be
heard, the students and
monks will only think it is
some street fight in the
process. The two positioned
themselves on the ends of the
bridges. They simultaneously
raised their weapons and nodded,
signaling they are ready.

*Abysston*
The walls on the inside were
cracked, as well. The kitchen was
empty and the dining room was
spotless. The only furnishing in the
front rooms was a hammock, in the
upper, right corner of the living
room, next to the window, in which
Mullen had entered. He began to
slowly and silently creep down the
dim, undecorated hallway.
There were three doors, one to the
right, one at the end of the hall and
one to the left. He opened the door
nearest him. He put the crossbow
into the room in front of him, as he
entered. The room was bare.
There was nothing in it, but a
broken window and a piece of a
large chain. "That was odd," he
thought to himself. "Why would a
chain be here in an empty house?"
He backed into the hallway, then
turned to the doors down the hall.
The door at the end of the hall
creaked closed, then clicked.
Mullen knew that must be where
Jean was.

*Japan*
Yoshi and Disciple rushed
forward, ready to do battle.
They executed technique after
technique, almost showing off
to each other. Disciple used
his own technique to land a
well balanced strike towards
his opponent's head. Yoshihiro
blocked the shot, but the
unexpected force of the shot,
caused him to step backwards,
a step or two. Now
they decided to break it down.
Yoshihiro furiously attacked
and Disciple took the
defense. Strike after strike,
the two clashed, fighting with
all of their hearts and strength.
Then, suddenly, a group of 5
youths started crossing the
bridge and raised their kendo
sticks. Disciple was the first to
notice. "AMBUSH!" he said,
to his opponent. Disciple
rushed past his opponent to
meet the oncoming raid. Yoshi
watched in disbelief, as Disciple
held his ground, not letting
two of them cross the bridge.

*Abysston*
Mullen walked gently down to the
door at the end of the hall. He
counted silently to himself, a count
of three. On three, he kicked the
door open. Three vampires ,two
ghouls and a lot of blood, were the
only things he saw.

*Japan*
Suddenly, Disciple was
attacked from behind, as the
three, Yoshihiro was expected
to fight, struck Disciple to the
ground. Yoshihiro stood still,
watching his young partner
struggle to fend off the four
assailants. "Four?" Yoshi said,
inaudible, over the sound of
Disciple and the other four
struggling and sticks clashing.

*Abysston*
The vampires rose to their feet,
one wiped his mouth of blood from
his ghoul. "Brujah!" Mullen was
sure of it. He'd seen this kind
before. Mullen raised his
crossbow. The nearest vampire
lunged at him. He pulled the
trigger, releasing the bow,
launching the arrow straight into the
chest of the on-coming vampire.
He was slammed backwards,
pinning it to the wall. Hisses
escaped the mouths of the two
enemies as they leapt to their feet.

*Japan*
SMACK! Yoshihiro got
struck hard by the fifth, right
in the head. He wasn't
knocked out, but the attack
caught him by surprise,
causing him to numbly watch,
as Disciple pushed his way,
away from the mob, and
stand between him and the
small crowd. "Such honor and
selflessness...," he said, as he
slipped into unconsciousness.

*Abysston*
They grinned widely, revealing their
fangs. Mullen dropped his bow
and pulled two wooden knives,
with matching designs of dragon
handles, from their sheaths on his
belt. The two vampires licked their
lips simultaneously, as if they had a
psychic link or something. They
walked towards Mullen, each on
opposite sides. Mullen chucked a
knife at the vampire to the right of
him, stabbing it in the heart. The
enemy to the left, tackled Mullen to
the ground. The other vampire
stood his ground and pulled the
knife out slowly, with massive
blood dripping down his chest.
Mullen kicked the heavy vampire
off him, and across the room, but
not without getting a deep scratch
on his chest, as the vampire
clutched the front of his shirt.
Mullen stood and threw his second
knife at him, pinning him to the
door frame. He picked up his bow,
loaded it and took aim at the
vampire wounded by his first knife.
He pulled the trigger, with a wince
of pain from his injury. This arrow
went through the monster's mouth
nailing it to the other wall.

*Japan*
Disciple didn't last much
longer, either. The crowd had
knocked the kendo stick from
his hands, into the small river.
So, he tried to protect his
fallen partner with his fist. But,
after a minute or so, his body
just gave in to the pain and he,
too, fell to the ground, bruised
and defenseless. "Stop!" the
Master said from the shadows.
Disciple looked up towards
the voice, as the beating
stopped. "Enough, for tonight.
Get to bed," he said, as he
turned to walk back to the
temple. Suddenly, Disciple
realized he was fighting his
peers in training. He looked
as the other students walked
away. They left him and Yoshi
to sleep under the stars. "Maybe
this is a lesson..." Disciple
said as he, too, fell asleep.

*Abysston*
Mullen then cut each of their heads
off, one by one. Only one man was
left standing, and he looked like
Jean-Luc, from the police report.
The other man had died when
Mullen killed the first vampire.
Jean-Luc's eyes were white. He
was seemingly lifeless, but he
remained standing. Mullen's
breathing was the only noise that
could be heard in the room. Mullen
then figured the vampire feeding on
Jean-Luc must still be alive, so this
wasn't over yet...

*Japan*
The next morning, Yoshihiro
woke to see Disciple lying
a few feet away, bruised and
unconscious. He rose to his
feet. He shook Disciple, slightly,
to wake him. Disciple woke up
and saw Yoshihiro in his face.
"HEY! dude, I'm not like that!"
Disciple said with a start.

"What do you mean? OH!
*laugh* No no no no....I'm
not like that, either. I was just
waking you to see if you
wanted me to help you fish
your weapon out of the river."

"Yeah, thanks." Disciple,
sighed in relief. Yoshihiro
extended his hand to Disciple
to help him up. "Let me help
you...partner," Yoshihiro said.
Disciple accepted the offer, with
a smile. The two walked away
with a friendship like no other
and bruises just the same.

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