1. The Dark Side of Destiny: Beginnings

Chapter 11 - Door of Consequence

Kai had quickly lost track of how many days, or rather, how many weeks now that he and the others had been training under Wu. All he knew was that they were improving. And every day they fought their sensei, it seemed like they got closer to landing a blow. Kai was even enjoying seeing the others every day. He might have even called them his friends.

One day, they were not surprised to find that Wu absent when they arrived. He was late sometimes, and they would simply practice with each other while they waited for him. But this time, it took so long that they eventually got bored of sparring. After what seemed to him like hours of waiting, Kai paused his pacing and asked, "Is he ever going to come?"

"I believe that Sensei would want us to be patient," Zane reminded him from where he sat cross-legged on the floor.

"Do you think that something happened to him?" Jay wondered aloud. He sat near Zane, leaning back on his hands while he studied Wu's throne.

"To him?" Cole asked incredulously. He was lying on his back, gazing at the craggy ceiling. "Nah, he's too good of a fighter, no one could touch him."

Jay shrugged. "He's never been late before. And he always gets on to us about being on time. It must be something serious." Then his eyes widened and he gasped. "What if his brother got him!"

"Or he fell asleep," Kai suggested.

"I guess it could be something like that," Jay admitted, but he wasn't convinced.

"Hey, I've got an idea," Kai stated, grinning. He strode toward the large pair of doors looming on the other side of the room. "Why don't we just go see for ourselves?"

"No, Kai," Cole said sternly. "We're not allowed to go through those doors."

"Come on, if Sensei really did fall asleep or something, I don't think he'd mind if we let him know that we're here. And if he really is in trouble, we can help him." Kai didn't think it was likely that their teacher was in any trouble, but even so, he thought about how proud Wu would be if they came to his rescue.

"I don't know," Jay said, wincing at the thought of their teacher's wrath.

"Don't be such scaredy-cats!" Kai teased them. "Aren't you curious to see what the rest of this place is like? Even if we just take a peek, he'll never know. Besides, it's like you said, Jay, there could be something wrong. We really should check."

Still, the other three hesitated.

Kai crept towards the door. "I'm getting closer to the door!" he announced. "Is anyone going to stop me?"

Finally, Jay stood up. "If we get caught, I'm blaming you."

Kai nodded, certain that they wouldn't be caught. "Yeah, sure."

Zane was quick to follow Jay, and now Cole stood up too. "Seriously Kai, you'd better not."

Kai didn't listen, but dramatically put his hand on the handle.

"Kai!" Cole ran forward, half wanting to stop him, half wanting to help him. But before he could make a choice, Kai yanked the door open.

All four boys cried out in shock at what they saw: two living skeletons, big and sporting thick armor and sharp weapons, with dark, bottomless sockets for eyes and red pupils – and they appeared to be in the middle of a game of Rock Paper Scissors.

The skeletons, too voiced their surprise.

"Hey, you can't do that!" the one with an eye patch exclaimed.

"Get back in there," the other demanded.

But then a third voice sounded behind the boys. "What do you think you're doing?"

The boys whipped around to see their sensei standing exactly where he hadn't been a moment ago. The skeletons quickly shut the door with a resounding clang! leaving the boys alone with Wu.

There was a brief moment of silence before Jay pointed to Kai. "It was his idea!"

"I, uh, you were gone for so long!" Kai exclaimed, his mind racing with excuses. "We were just going to check if you were okay!"

"I told you to never open those doors," Wu growled.

"I tried to tell him, sensei," Cole interjected, but Wu didn't look any kinder on him.

Silence fell again as Wu examined his students with those burning, red eyes. The boys tried to stand tall, but trembled under his gaze, fearing their punishment.

"Your disobedience will cost you."

Kai stepped forward, head hanging. He'd made a promise to take responsibility if they were caught, and he intended to honor it, no matter the consequences. "It really was all my fault. I wanted to see what was out there and I talked them into it. And I'm the one who opened the door." He would probably be banned from ever coming back again, a fair punishment.

Without warning, Wu whacked Kai on the head with his staff. The boy yelped in surprise, but otherwise made no sound.

"A noble effort, Kai," Wu hissed. "But they should have been able to talk you out of it. It is not impressive that they could be so easily manipulated by a fool."

The others said nothing, too afraid. Wu looked them over again, his stare hard and unnerving. The boys waited for his verdict, afraid as to what it might be. Finally, he announced, "As punishment for your actions, your training will be postponed for two days."

Their reactions were exactly what Wu had hoped. They slumped and groaned in frustration, but none of them dared to object. "You brought this on yourselves," he said, eyeing Kai. The boy held a hand to his head and wouldn't look him in the eye. Wu was satisfied that he had gotten his point across.

Cole tentatively raised his hand and Wu nodded for him to speak.

"Sensei, we know that what we did was wrong. But will you please tell us: What is this place, and what's out there?"

Wu shook his head. "That is a story for another time. But rest assured, those two you saw serve me, and they will not harm you." He opened up a portal behind them. "Now leave, and I will see you again in two days' time. Perhaps then you can attempt to redeem yourselves."