The Rescue Mission
Chapter 20
Written by rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

During the holidays, I get the car packed up to move into the complex in Charleston. It is the same one I have been going to since the first time I arrived in Charleston. Also, the Wilson family packed up as well. We give each other our hugs and tears. We promised to stay in touch as often as we can. They did tell me, the next time they will see me is during the Corn Planting Festival in the first week of May.

Brianna and I set up our counseling time for Sundays. The time I spend for my martial art training is during the week nights and Saturday for five to seven hours. So, Saturday night and Sunday is my day off from all activities and a chance to wind down and get ready for another week.

I check into the office on Thursday, January 3, 2104 to see what is happening. I see that I have been given the rest of the week off to make it two full weeks. My fairies check the gardens around the buildings. They see that winter is in full force here. There are no flowers blooming around the building. Fortunately they know how to find food in the woods nearby during the winter.

There were a few times they stayed in the car while I went inside to work each week. I left a blanket, a cooler filled with the nuts and fruit and the water skin for them. I also set up a small portable heater from the cigarette lighter to keep them warm back there. Of course, the rear window is down about one and a half inches for fresh air.

I worked with Randy and the engineers to make sure the 3D Server expands to large scale main frames. Most of the time it is making sure the incoming dedicated communication lines are going through the 3D server and not being bypassed to the old port connectors. Which meant that the old port connectors had to be eliminated during the upgrade.

My counseling sessions with Brianna took place at the Rescue Mission. There were a few times, we were having a hard time in discussing certain subjects. But we realized it must be done so that we can truly share our lives together. But the best day we had was on the first day of introductions. We met in one of the bungalows for privacy.

~~~000~~~

“So, now that we got the pleasantries out of the way of who we are. My first question is this. How long have you two been dating?”

Brianna and I look at each other with a smile. We know exactly what to do to cause her a double take.

“I’d say we have been dating for about four months.”

“That’s right ma’am.”

“What? Four months? That’s impossible! You can’t marry each other!”

“Why?”

“It take years of dating to know one another. Are you sure you want to get married?”

“Most definitely ma’am. In fact, we were childhood neighbors for about ten years.”

“Yes, then our families split apart for twelve years.”

“Then . . .. Then how did you find each other again?”

“Well . . . it was like this. . . .”

“Save it. Start over from the beginning when you were kids.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Then we both smile at her at the same time. She catches on quickly on what we did.

She smiles and moans, “Ohhh . . . I’m getting too old for this. I’m only 47 and have been married for 25 years. Just when you think you know something from class, a new problem crops up. No, that’s a wrong assumption. We did study childhood friends who got married later in life. But it was only a few pages in the chapter.”

Then the three of us begin to laugh and giggle at the situation we are in.

After telling our story to her, she finally calms down and knows which outline to use for our situation.

“Now, what I don’t get, Richard, is your attitude to having babies.”

“In what way, ma’am?”

“Well, in most cases, the man is not mentally ready for children. But for you, you exhibit a deep caring for life. Can you explain it?”

Brianna and I look at each other. “I must tell her, Brianna.”

“Do the first step like you did with me, Richard.”

“Yes, Brianna.”

“What is this first step, Richard?”

“I need to shake your hand.”

“We shook hands when you met me today.”

“I know. But nothing happened to you.”

“What is supposed to happen to me, Richard?”

“You will hear the Creator’s voice in your head.”

“I find that hard to believe. I have no outside voices in my head. The only inner voices I have are from my husband and children.”

“That’s fine, Mrs. Branson. I have a question to ask you. You come here to council the ladies. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s right, Richard.”

“Did you discover anything unusual lately?”

“Yes, I did, Richard. That is what I find most disturbing. Most of the ladies who I had a hard time with are now more open in sharing. It seems to have started after you left the last time you were here.”

“Yes, it started with me.”

“Then you must have experienced something that made a profound change in your life.”

“Yes, I did, Mrs. Branson. It happened during the Spring Semester of my Junior year in college. I visited another world outside our solar system.”

“What? You can’t be serious. You visited another world . . .?” She looks at Brianna’s and my face. She sees we are serious about it. “From the looks on your faces, you are serious.”

“Yes, I am, Mrs. Branson. I am very serious. If we are going to continue our discussions, I need to know why you don’t believe in the Creator or G-d for that matter.”

“You want to know why? I’ll tell you why!” A tear comes down her face. “My parents got divorced when I was ten! Then dad came to our apartment when I was still in high school, in class! He barged in to hurt mom! He put mom in the hospital for several weeks! When I learned what had happened, I became determined to have a better marriage than what I went through with my parents!”

Tears come down our faces as well. Brianna moves her chair closer to hold onto her left arm. I do the same and hold onto her right arm.

“Where is your dad now, Mrs. Branson?”

“He’s dead now. He got drunk one day and crashed into a tree by himself. I still see mom. She lives not too far away in Charleston.”

“That’s good. You must put that behind you and focus on the present. I must do the same as well after my family got killed in the plane crash.”

Tears come down her face some more. “That’s right, Richard. You no longer have a family to lean on. You are hoping to have the Wilsons as your family support.”

“That’s right, Mrs. Branson.”

Then Mrs. Branson sobs onto Brianna’s shoulder. “Oh . . . pl. . .please . . . forgive me, G-d.”

I rub her back to assure her everything is okay.

Then she looks up quickly, “Oh my. . . . what is this new voice in my head?”

“What’s he saying?”

“He’s saying he has been waiting for me to acknowledge him. He has already forgiven me and mom. Now I must meet mom and let her do the same as well.”

“So, do you want to continue today, Mrs. Branson? Or do we wait until next week?”

“Oh dear, you’re right, Brianna. Mmm . . . let’s finish it today with your life changing event, Richard. It will give me more to ponder on for next week.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I then give a brief summary of what happened during the Spring Break. “Then a month later, I get news of the plane crash in the mountains.”

“So you didn’t have much time to fully mourn over them.”

“No I didn’t, Mrs. Branson. Then when I arrived at Mt. Blanc, I get word I’m needed on Twainor once more. This time, I’m there for about three months. When I got back here, I was only gone for an hour or so.”

“Well, that helps some. But this time, I sense you came back changed.”

“I did, Mrs. Branson. I became the Omega Unicorn.”

“If you told me that earlier, I would say that is impossible. The Creator is telling me these events are true. Especially in defeating the Nephelim giants.”

“Yes, they are, ma’am. To help you understand, I need to do a show and tell for you.”

“Okay, Richard.”

I get up and open the door to the bedroom. I whisper, “It’s time, come in butterfly mode.”

They whisper back, “Okay, mother.”

The butterflies flutter into the living room. Brianna smiles when she sees them. I stand in an open space in the living room area.

“This is the proof, that I’m Omega Unicorn. I’m trusting you for complete confidentiality.”

“I understand, Richard.”

I thrust my hands to the side. Then six unicorn images appear on either side of me. The butterflies all change into fairies. Then Croin appears above me.

“Oh, my. . . You are telling the truth, Richard.”

I put my hands down, the twelve images and Croin returns to me. I sit down in the chair next to Brianna. The fairies flutter in closer to check her out. Then they speak out one at a time.

“Her heart will heal, mother.”

“Yes, she’ll be a better counselor as time goes on.”

“Richard, that fairy called you mother. Why?”

“I gave birth to six of these fairies, Mrs. Branson. Male unicorns give birth to fairies, while female unicorns give birth to more unicorns.”

“Then . . .then . . . then. . . That means you are intersexual!”

“Yes, ma’am. I was born that way. Remember, we told you about my life when I was a child.”

“That’s right. You didn’t know at the time of your first beating. But, you found out later when your family perished.”

“Yes, it was very hard news to take at the same time as when my family is gone.” Then Brianna reaches for my hand. We smile at each other as we squeeze our hands together at the same time. “Now that I’m reunited with the Wilson family, I’m hoping for some closure in my life.”

“Well, I’m not going to stop that. You two, do deserve each other. Let’s stop for the day. We’ll discuss the harder subjects during the next set of weeks like finances, who takes out the garbage, vacations, who makes the dinner when the other one is tired, and last but not least, babies and children.”

We all get up and hug each other. We then break apart. Mrs. Branson then leaves the bungalow and drives back to the Rescue Mission. We stay in it longer until I have to leave on the last ferry to the mainland at 4 PM.

~~~000~~~

During the evenings I work out at the local dojo learning more of the snake movements. In a month’s time, I finally have mastered all of the snake movements and all of the weapons. Then we went back to finish off the black panther movements and weapons. Immediately, I can tell the difference that the snake is much better in the stealth movements. That took a few days to keep the snake movements from creeping back in my mind. For the last four months, I start to learn the blue scorpion movements. This also includes toughening my stomach muscles for the Iron Shirt. This entailed a lot of weight training on the ab muscles. The fairies checked me physically to make sure my womb isn’t damaged each day by the timber hits. I am glad to report they didn’t find any damage there. The weapons are the short lance and scythe with chains on each of them, double swords and the long spear.

I finally report to the Charleston office on January 7. We all greet each other like we haven’t seen each other for a long time. I report to the Vice President of the Charleston office that I will be needed downtown to give my testimony for what happened the day before Christmas.

He agreed for the day off when it happens, if and when it comes to court. In fact, that day occurred during the second week in January.

~~~000~~~

I report to the police station in Charleston. Anna, my attorney, is there with me and the attorney from the Rescue Mission as well.

Anna speaks to the front desk secretary first, “Mrs. Logan and I need to see the officer in charge who arrested Mr. Rochelle for the jewelry heist on the day before Christmas.”

“If you please wait a moment, I’ll page Corporal Lance.” She contacts Corporal Lance on the phone. He agrees to be there in five minutes. “He’ll be here in five minutes.”

“We’ll wait here.”

In five minutes, Corporal Lance walks into the lobby area. “Richard, it’s good to see you again. Whom are these lovely ladies with you?”

The ladies smile at the compliment by the Corporal.

“This is Anna Dawson, my attorney. This is Mrs. Logan, the attorney for the Rescue Mission.”

“I’m pleased to meet you both.”

“So are we, Corporal.”

They shake hands with each other quickly.

“Corporal, we are here for the arraignment of Mr. Rochelle. However, we do need to add another charge to his robbery attempt.”

“There’s another charge? I haven’t heard anything about. Come into our conference room. I’ll need to get it recorded. Do you have proof of the charge?”

“We do, Corporal.”

We follow the Corporal down the hallway until he sees the door for the Captain. He opens a door. “Captain, I have Richard Moore here with a pair of attorneys. They said there are additional charges being brought against Mr. Rochelle.”

“This must be serious if they are here before the arraignment later in the week.”

“I haven’t heard it yet. Do you want to join me?”

“I have no problem with that, Corp. Lance. We’ll need the City Prosecutor to be here as well.” The Captain calls the City Prosecutor, he agrees to be there as quickly as possible. The Captain gets up and leaves the office with Corp. Lance.

The City Prosecutor shows up as we walk down the hallway. We all walk together to another door down the hallway. Corp. Lance opens the door, we all walk in and sit down in the chairs around the table. He pushes the button on for the recorder to begin the session.

“This is Corporal Lance. The date is Monday, January 14, 2104. Present is Richard Moore, Anna Dawson, Richard’s attorney and Mrs. Logan, attorney for the Rescue Mission. Also Captain Brighton and the City Prosecutor, Mr. Cranston is present as well. New charges are being brought fourth against, Mr. Rochelle who attempted to rob the jewelry store on the day before Christmas.”

Mrs. Logan speaks up next, “The new charge is for what happened a week before Christmas. Mr. Rochelle broke into the house of his former girlfriend, Lois. He proceeded to beat up the husband first. The husband suffered many broken bones while trying to defend the family. Then Lois hid their son in a pantry closet on the floor before Mr. Rochelle found her. Then he raped her forcibly and she passed out. Then he found the son and threatened him not to report his Christmas present to his former girlfriend.”

“Where are the son and mother now, Mrs. Logan?”

“They are staying at the Rescue Mission. Richard was able to talk to the son and tell him what was on his mind.”

“Is this true, Richard?”

“It’s true, Captain.”

“Are they available if the Defense Council asks for them, Mrs. Logan?”

“They are, Captain. They want to stand up to him and put him away for a long time.”

Mr. Cranston speaks up, “That’s good, Mrs. Logan. If this new evidence holds up, the robbery attempt will be the least of his worries.”

“Sir, I wish to report an attitude about Mr. Rochelle.”

“What is it, Corporal?”

“Once Mr. Rochelle knew that Richard Moore took him down, he gave him respect and said he had no chance to rob the place if he knew he was there.”

“That’s interesting, Corporal. He respects Richard. But he doesn’t respect his former girlfriend. That’s very interesting. That will be a good one for the doctors to figure out. Well, we’ll need their testimony, Mrs. Logan. When can they come in to give it?”

“They can come in this week, I’ll be with them. As far as physical evidence goes, their house was left as it was after the paramedics took them to hospital.”

“Good. Do you have the house key, Mrs. Logan?”

“There is no need for it, Captain. The front door was forced open.” She hands them a piece of paper. “Here is the address, Captain.”

“Thank you for reminding me of that.” The Captain takes the piece of paper from Mrs. Logan. “We’ll get a CSI crew there as quickly as possible. We’ll secure the door to make sure it stays locked this time. What I want to know is this. Why was there was no investigation done inside?”

“It was the boy, sir. He was threatened not to tell anyone.”

“I see. That makes sense now.”

The recorder is turned off.

“Richard, while you are here. Do you mind giving your testimony?”

“I don’t mind, Captain.”

“That’s good. Corporal, you need to leave the room. Then come back in to give your testimony.”

“Yes, sir.” The Corporal gets up and leaves the room. The door closes as he exits the room.

The recorder is turned back on. The introductions are given for the start of the session. Then I’m given a hand signal from the Captain to begin my testimony.

I repeat what I said back on Christmas day. I give as much detail as I can, minus the intervention of Croin. Once I get done, the recorder is turned off.

“That’s very good, Richard. The only question I have is this. Why did the robber claim someone was inside his head?”

“Sigh . . . I know why he turned around, Captain.”

“Why, Richard?”

“City Prosecutor, can you hear the Creator?”

“Yes, I can, Richard. The Captain shook hands with me last October.”

“That’s good. The reason is that I have a dragon companion with me. He’s only a memory. But because of whom I am, I can give that memory some life.”

“I just heard from the Creator that is true, Richard. That’s amazing.”

“The dragon’s name is Croin. I gave him instructions to lock the door and short out the battery to stop the get-away driver. Then he entered Mr. Rochelle to cause him to turn around and look at the driver.”

“Ah, that explains what happened. Then it’s a good thing you didn’t tell anyone else, but us. That’s easy to explain in court. I’ll just say that Mr. Rochelle heard the driver’s yelling. He turned to look at him.”

“If he still claims that someone was inside his head, then he will be given a Psych evaluation. Most of the times, when people hear voices in their head, it is a voice from the past that distracted them.”

“But, for us who hear the Creator, we aren’t insane. He’s for real. He’s here to help all of us.”

“That’s right, Mrs. Logan.”

I get up from the table and exit the room. “It’s your turn Corporal.”

“Thank you, Richard.” Corp. Lance enters inside the room.

In fifteen minutes he gives his testimony. Then I’m asked to come back inside.

The City Prosecutor speaks up next, “Well, we are glad to say that we have a match between the two testimonies. However, the sales lady can tell what happened from her point of view as well. But, Richard got her down for protection. If the Defense counsel uses her as the primary witness, then they are in trouble.”

We all get up from the table to shake hands with each other again. Then we exit the police station. On Tuesday, Lois and her son come into the police station to give their testimony. The CSI crew went out to the house to gather more evidence. They see that nothing has changed since the break in. They gathered it all up and catalogued it carefully. They did a rape kit for Lois. Unfortunately they found no semen on her. But there was plenty of Lois and Mr. Rochelle on the kitchen table. On Thursday, is the day of arraignment for Mr. Rochelle. That proved to be an interesting day.

Everyone is present in the Courthouse. Then the two defendants are brought in with hand and wrist cuffs. We see both of them look very relaxed. The attorneys both get up and stand together before the judge.

“What’s the charge, Mr. Cranston?”

“The first charge is a robbery attempt of the jewelry on the day before Christmas.”

“You said first, Mr. Cranston. Is there a second?”

“Yes, your honor. The second charge is for a first degree assault and rape done by Mr. Rochelle on his former girlfriend and her husband.”

The Defense attorney turns around to look at Mr. Rochelle. “What?”

“I don’t know what he’s talking about. I never did that.”

The Defense attorney turns around. “My clients plead guilty for the first charge. Mr. Rochelle pleads not guilty for the second charge.”

“Do you have the proof, Mr. Cranston?”

“We do your honor.”

“Very well, the bail is set for one million dollars, each. And no parole. Get your facts straight, gentlemen. The trial is set for next month on this date of the fourteenth at 8 AM.”

They both respond at the same time. “Yes, your honor.”

~~~000~~~

When the fourteenth of February arrives for the court date, we are all there. However, Lois and her son are kept secluded in another room.

Mr. Cranston then goes through the evidence of the first charge of the robbery attempt. Corp. Lance and I are brought up to give our testimonies. The Defense doesn’t challenge us at all. Once the Prosecutor got done, the Defense Attorney gets up to present his case. He calls up the sales lady, which we figured would happen.

The sales lady recalled the event as best she can. “Therefore, my client couldn’t commit this crime.”

Mr. Cranston gets up and smiles, “So, what else did you see that day?”

“When I got up, I saw Richard binding up Mr. Rochelle and Mr. Lance successfully taking the gun away from him. Then he had his wrists and ankles cuffed by Mr. Lance.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I have no more questions for you.” The sales lady gets up and returns to her seat.

“That concludes the first charge, your honor. On January 14, we received new information that Mr. Rochelle assaulted Lois’ husband first, then she was raped. The rape was witnessed by their son.”

Then the door opens to the side, Lois and her son come walking in. Mr. Rochelle becomes very mad now. He gets up, but is restrained by the chains. “I told you to keep your mouth shut. You’re a sissy wimp!”

“Bang! Bang! Order in the court! Bang! Bang! Bailiff! If there is another outburst from Mr. Rochelle, he’s to be taken away.”

“Yes, sir!”

The Defense attorney looks at Mr. Rochelle. “You did this a week before Christmas?”

“Yeah, I wanted to pay her back for ditching me.”

“You’re a fool, Mr. Rochelle. Mr. Adleman, I take it you had no knowledge of this?”

“I sure didn’t know about this. If I knew he did that, I wouldn’t have accepted his call and request.”

“That’s good. At least I’ll salvage part of my reputation here.” The Defense Attorney stands back up and faces the judge.

“Your honor. I wish to concede victory for the Prosecution. In light of this new evidence. I remove myself from representing Mr. Rochelle. I will now represent Mr. Adleman.”

“The City Prosecution accepts the withdrawal and the acceptance. We await word for declaration of guilt of both defendants.”

By this time, Mr. Rochelle is fuming mad.

“That is confirmed, Mr. Cranston. Mr. Rochelle is hereby declared guilty of both charges and Mr. Adleman is declared guilty of the first charge. Remand both for holding until the sentencing phase, next week.”

The judge pounds the gavel on the sounding board. “Bang!”

This time Mr. Rochelle struggles as he gets up. He faces Lois and her son. “I’ll still get my revenge on you!”

I then step up between them. I stare at Mr. Rochelle. “What will you do, Mr. Rochelle?” He sees me staring at him with a stern face.

“Eeek!” He now looks down in humbleness, “I’m sorry, Richard.”

“You give me respect, but you didn’t give your former girlfriend any respect. Your priorities are really screwed up.”

He responds in a humble voice again, “Yes, Richard.”

The police officers finally take him and Mr. Adleman away.

The Defense attorney and the Prosecutor attorney look at me and smile. “Well said, Richard.”

“Thank you, sirs.”

~~~000~~~

By the end of February, we find winter is starting to release its hold on the land. The flowers are beginning to bud and blossom forth their bountiful color to attract the insects for pollination. Mr. Rochelle is sentenced to prison for fifty years and no early release. Mr. Adleman is given ten years for his participation. If he hadn’t accepted Mr. Rochelle’s phone call, he would have been a free man after his first conviction of high speed driving on the interstate. He promises to stay clean once he gets out. He does get a nice bonus that he can hear from Creator while he is in prison. It took longer for Mr. Rochelle to hear his voice.

Everything is going well for once. I attended church services with Brianna in the Charleston area. The project is finished by the end of June. We came up with several sizes for the 3D Server. We also trained our service company from Texas on how to do it properly. But the biggest change in my life is what happened in the dojo and elsewhere on the high seas. I earned the first degree black sash.

In March, during one trip down to the beach, I noticed the dolphins swimming nearby. Brianna and I wade out to greet them in our swimsuits.

They swim around us to protect us. I get down to the water to speak to them with my mind.

Greetings dolphins.

Greetings, Omega Unicorn and mate, Brianna.

It is great to see you both.

Thank you, dolphins.

We have news for you. Leviathan is nearby. He wishes to see you and Brianna together by the end of the sixth moon.

Where do we go to see him?

You will need to take a boat trip to this side of the Gulf Stream. He’ll meet you there. We’ll guide you there.

Then we’ll make the plans accordingly.

We hire a charter boat to get on this side of the Gulf Stream. The captain asks why we need to go out that far. Once we shake hands with him, he understands what needs to be done.

“You’ll need to be here before dawn. I’ll be launching at 5 AM. I have to put extra fuel in the hold below deck. We should be back by sunset. The price is really for paying for the fuel.”

“I understand, sir. How much will it be? I can pay for it with no problems.”

“If you pay me now, I won’t have to dip into my profit that I have saved up for now.”

“Also, be thankful we are not going to the other side, captain.”

“That’s right. I’ll be fighting that current and its really easy to be further north than expected. We’ll catch some great fish there while we’re at it. The gas bill is $1,000.00 up front. Then I’ll add my rate and a crew mate to come along. Then we add how many of you will be coming.”

“There will be four of us going.”

“Okay, I need to buy food for six people really. My standard charter rate is $3,400.00. That comes to $4,400.00 even.”

“That’s fine, I can pay the bill now. You can withdraw from it by Wednesday if you need to.”

“That’s great, Richard. We’ll launch at 5 AM, Monday on June 17.”

“That’s fine.” I write him out a check. I fill in his charter form with all the information that is needed and who is going. He then gives me a copy of the form.

“You realize, your group can spend the night if it is too late out there.”

“We realize that, sir. We’ll take it one day at a time.”

“That we will. It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Richard. It’s a good thing you came by today. All of my other days are filling up fast from this Carolina Gold Rush event in May and June.”

We shake hands together and leave the office of the charter boat we are renting from.

~~~000~~~

It is now Monday, June 10, 2104.

I stand in the center mat of the Charleston dojo. I’m wearing the traditonal gray fighting suit that I’ve worn since I was at the Peaceful Dragon. On the back is the yin yang symbol with branches, green leaves and white flowers on both sides of the the symbol. Above the symbol are two embroided red and yellow flames. Sensei Chou, Qiang and the Dojo Master are standing their proudly. Brianna is off to the side watching as well. Croin is sitting off to the side, invisibly. He’s watching with pride as well. My fairies are in butterfly mode and sitting near the flower pots and Brianna. There are thirty other students standing around the outside edge of the mats in a line, side by side. They have smiles on their faces.

The Dojo Master speaks up first, “We are honored to have this ceremony here at this dojo. Richard Moore, has demonstrated all of the moves and learned all of the weapons for each animal. He also did it in two years of training. Normally it takes three years to do it. Once Richard has received the belt, he will then demonstrate for us his style in using all of the animals he has learned so far.”

I step forward, the Dojo Master takes off my brown belt. Then Sensei Chou and Qiang step forward, they put the first degree black sash with the third degree on. They step back. I do the traditional handclasp and bow to them and everyone in the room. They all respond like wise.

The three masters step back to give me room. The Dojo Master hands my brown sash to Brianna.

I go through the early kata movements to get myself warmed up. Once I feel my chi at its maximum. I do a quick crane kick and double wing slash. I aim for a paper lantern hanging in the room. It gets sliced into pieces. The students can’t believe what they are seeing. They murmur among themselves, quietly.

“Did you see that?”

“He didn’t touch it.”

“That’s incredible.”

“I want to do that, someday.”

The three masters have wide smile on their faces. I then do another wing slash, but this time the left palm is opened and the right hand is a fist. I slash my left arm and hand upward, it creates a wind effect to knock a student off balance backwards between two students. He is held up quickly. Then the fist is aimed at a brown sash student. I do another upper cut. The wind fist hits him on the jaw, he is knocked backwards and falls to the ground. He gets back up quickly with a smile on his face. The other students are in awe now.

Everyone claps their hands, but they quiet down quickly. I then mix up the moves from all of the animals. I quickly go through all of them. When I do the snake for a few moves, I get ready to strike. I quickly change into the black panther and do a claw slash in the air. “Roaar!” The wind from that rattles another paper lantern but does not shred it. I then get into a self defense using the mantis and blue scorpion at the same time. I quickly do the moves in blocking hits and delivering precision attacks on a wooden dummy nearby. On one of the wooden arms, everyone hears the wood break. On the second arm and body it receives a small dent in the wood from the Dim Mak hits.

I then back away from the wooden dummy. I get into a crouching position of the tiger as I stalk my imaginary prey. When I strike, I roar! “Roaaarrrr!!!” Qiang throws a dummy at me. I immediately wrap my arms and legs around it like a snake would. I take it down to the mat floor with a thud. I uncoil from it quickly and do some more snake moves. I also do some leg trips with my legs. Then I launch myself into another crane kick for maximum height. I come down and do the combo I did for Capt. Borhgess. I do a double wing slash, then rake the imaginary stomach with a tiger claw slash, “Roarrrr!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile in heaven, two men are watching the screen of the demonstration being performed. They have big smiles on their faces.

“He’s getting better, Goku.”

“Yes, he is, Yusuke. He has the wind movements understood. Now it is time for the water element.”

“I can’t wait until he learns the energy element.”

“Yes, then we can finally test him, Yusuke.”

“Those mixed animal movements will keep his opponent guessing what will come next.”

“I agree. Fortunately with our trained eyesight, we’ll be able to keep up with him.”

“But when he gets to the energy element, it will be interesting to see how fast he really is, Goku.”

“I agree. Come, let’s see what else in happening around here. We need to check on the other fighters up here.”

They step away from the screen. The screen turns into a sunset screen saver. Goku and Yusuke takes off flying in the air to find the other fighters training for the fight of their lives.

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I come to a stop with my feet on the ground and my arms outward to keep my balance. “Pant . . .pant . . . “ I slowly stand up erect. I do some more breathing techniques to slow myself down. By the this time everyone claps and cheers for the demonstration they have seen.

I do the traditional hand clasp and bow to everyone. Everyone responds like wise. Even Brianna does it as well with a smile on her face. I can see Croin with a wide smile on his face. He bows his head to me. I nod my head to him.

The masters step forward to give me a hug or pat onto the shoulder. Then the rest of the students do the same as well.

“That was a great demonstration, Richard!”

“I loved every second of it. I love those wind movements. Only the great masters have conquered that sequence. I think there only five that can do it today.”

Everyone backs away. The masters stay in the center area, the students return to the edge of the mat. “Now students, imagine this warrior with weapons. He would be very difficult to bring down. That is what the Shaolin martial arts teaches here. It teaches you to be the best warrior. But you must have balance in your life. Noticed he did the breathing techniques to calm himself down. He is not angry, he has everything under control at all times. His mind is very active in determining the situation and what to do next. This is especially true if there are no weapons nearby. But there are weapons nearby. By the time he has finished with the tenth degree, he will now how to use about 650 weapons by then. Even a paper clip is a weapon for him.”

The students look at each other with wonderment.

“That’s right. Richard has used his abilities to help the police force in Raleigh to be better officers. He also influenced the officers in Charleston as well. In fact some of their officers are here right now. It is our duty to be protectors when needed. Richard was available to wrestle down the jewelry thief while the officer removed his semiautomatic gun. This is a big responsibility we carry on our shoulders. If we use our knowledge here for the wrong reasons, we’ll be in jail where we should be. Is that understood, students!”

Everyone shouts out loud together, “Yes, sensei!”

I then step off the mat with Sensei Chou and Qiang. Brianna hugs with me a kiss. She then breaks apart.

“Now we have another trip to do, my friends. It is time to meet the Father of all Dragons.”

“Yes, Richard. It is time to meet Leviathan himself. This will be a great honor for us to see him.”

We leave the dojo together to get ready for the trip next week.