Chapter 9

Aco slowly returned to her room. She was sore from taking Ledger the way she had. She knew the consequences, but she had done it that way rather than risk having a child by anybody other than Aston. She was also going to break Aston of his squeamishness. He was well experienced, yet still resisted her in specific ways. ‘Yes, I will have my man in every way, in due course,’ Aco thought. Once in her room, she looked at her clothing. Some of it would still be fine. Others did not fit her mindset now. She looked at the masks and shuddered. The dragon sent chills up and down her spine. Aco picked them up and placed them in the travel case. She sealed them and placed the case on the top shelf in the clothing cupboard.

Aco stripped and stood in front of the mirror, studying herself closely. She could see that she had been getting lax in her exercises. Aco dressed for training and took a small travel bag packed with the needed items to care for herself. She slipped a note under Robin’s door and left at once should Aston return soon. She started to go for the lift, then stopped herself. With a sigh, Aco opened the door to the stairs and began to slowly run down. She was jumping and rebounding off the walls and rails when she had gone three floors down. By the time she reached the ground floor, she was falling, screaming at the top of her lungs as she rebounded around the turns.

Her screams had attracted attention further down, and the ground floor door opened just seconds before she would have plowed into it. The bellhop that had opened it jumped back as Aco flew down the last flight of stairs and out the opened door. Without slowing, she made the left turn to the opened front doors. The repairs from Bloodrend’s flight were ongoing. Most people in the lobby stopped and watched as she shot out the door at a dead run. Gareth just watched and wondered who Claw was going to kill today.

Aco ran flat out for as long as she could until her breathing came in ragged gasps. She slowed but didn’t stop running. This told her she needed to really get serious about her workouts. The steady jog took her to her school in less than an hour. Master Poe was informed that Aco had arrived, taken over one of the workout rooms, and was going full-out on the weights. Aco lifted as much as she could, pushing until her muscles gave out. Poe had several stronger men standing by to spot her if Aco got in trouble. Once she caught her breath and stood, she went to Poe and bowed to him.

“Allow me a few minutes to clean up, Master. I would like to spar with several of the advanced black belts today.” She flipped a towel around her neck, making ready to leave the exercise room. “I have much to tell you, Master. Much has changed.” Master Poe gestured to one of the students to gather six training masters in the main hall.

Aco walked to the showers and stripped. Her clothing was sweat-soaked, sticking to her body. She washed and stepped out of the hot water to dry. The school had improved once they replaced the old oil lamps and candles with glow-pin lanterns. A water heater using the heating plates had replaced the coal-fired heater. The savings in the cost of the coal had helped the masters fix many of the things that had begun to fail from age. She pulled a fresh suit from her bag and dressed for battle. No masks, never again. She entered the main training hall and noted the six masters stretching and preparing for the fight of their lives. It occurred to her they thought they would be up against Claw. Aco had yet to try to use her speed step since the merging. She decided not to use that ability. She needed the workout these six could give her. Aco approached the mat, stepped out of her shoes, and bowed to the six that were about to beat the living crap out of her.

The six, four men and two women looked at each other, deciding who would go first. One woman stepped to the edge of the mat and stopped. She had almost committed the sin that would have Aco turning her to paste. She stopped and bowed to Aco. Aco smiled on seeing the near mistake. She returned the bow, and both women stepped onto the mat. Master Poe bowed at the edge and joined them in the center of the mat. He held up a staff between them, “You both know the rules. No killing blows allowed.” He looked hard at Aco. He froze when he saw the look in Aco’s eyes. Something had happened to her. This was different from the Aco or Claw he was familiar with. Aco smiled at Master Poe and nodded.

He dropped and pulled the staff back from between them. He barely made it off the mat before the two were both flat on their backs, groaning in pain. He had seen the moves and was shocked at how hard both had made the first strikes. Aco was the first back on her feet. She helped Mistress Carden to her feet. “Let’s not do that again,” Aco said, wincing from the sore spot in the center of her ribs. Carden nodded in agreement. Carden jumped at Aco in an attempt to catch Aco off guard. Instead, Aco reacted and performed the exact same move. Both women slammed into each other again, both falling to the floor, stunned by the impact. Aco was first to her feet again.

“I don’t understand what just happened. I barely saw Carden move, and then I moved in the same attack and pattern as her.” Master Poe bowed and stepped on the mat. He turned and addressed the others. “This session is at an end. I must speak with Mistress Aco. Something has changed.” The five helped Carden to her feet and bowed to leave.

Master Poe looked at Aco and snapped, “Come with me. I don’t know who you are. You are not the woman I am familiar with.” Aco followed Master Poe to his office. She slid the door closed behind her, then knelt before him.

Master Poe looked at Aco. He lifted her face and looked into her eyes. “Who are you? You are neither Aco nor Claw. Who are you, and what have you done with them,” Poe demanded.

Aco rose to her feet and faced the old man. “I am the result of a type of healing repair.” Aco went on to explain what was done and why. “As to what happened on the mat, I have no idea.”

Master Poe sat silently, looking Aco in the eyes. He noted the color change. They were now a deep brown. Before, they had always had a touch of orange to them. She seemed to be looking back, deep into his soul. He didn’t see the faint hint of madness that always seemed to be waiting to strike out at any instant. “Hmmm. The Aco I know is gone then?” Poe asked.

Aco smiled a sad smile, “Yes and no. She is part of me. Her memories and personality are merged with Claw and then folded into a new gestalt. I am what would have been had I not been acid burned as a child.” Aco sat back and sighed, “Poe, you have to understand; I am still learning my new self, body, and mind. I suspect what happened was the speed jump combined with another ability that had not manifested. I was doing an exact mirror image of her moves. The strike was equal in both directions. That is why we both kept going down.”

Master Poe was trying to digest what Aco had told him. “Claw is gone now?” he asked quietly.

Aco nodded, “Yes and no. Same thing, she is merged into me. I may have always been inside, deep asleep. Now, like the Aco you had grown to know and love, Claw is bound inside me. Believe me, Poe, it is for the best that Claw is no longer an independent being.”

Master Poe had noticed her manner of addressing him. He was afraid of this new Aco. She was confident beyond her prior self had ever been. He wondered if her speed movement ability had been lost. That ability fascinated him to no end. He would ask her about it later. “Let us return to the main gym. I want to see if you can fight without the mirror effect.”

Back on the mat, Poe faced Aco. “Try not to mirror me, Aco. That ability will get you killed in most combat situations.” He stepped back from her and bowed. She returned the bow and waited. Poe started with a simple palm strike at Aco’s chest. Aco saw him prepare as he telegraphed the blow. He was giving her time to defend against the blow.

Aco felt her body start to mirror his strike. She clamped down on the urge and brought her left arm up and across, deflecting the strike up and away. “I saw the start of the mirror, Aco. We will continue this manner until you have full control of yourself.” Aco nodded and almost failed to sidestep the hip strike he sent her way. The gym had gone silent as the other students and masters came over to watch. Master Poe noted this and let them be. “Aco, you are hesitating. Think about how you would have moved and reacted before. Bring forth the ability the Claw had, and use your body’s muscle memories. Aco stepped back, closed her eyes, and concentrated. Looking inward, she heard two voices whisper, ‘Be yourself, not us. Learn to use the body as it was meant to be used.’

Aco opened her eyes and frowned. That they could still speak to her meant things could get dicey if she allowed either of them to surface. She took a combat pose and waited. Master Poe, seeing this, began a series of full-speed and strength strikes and kicks. Aco took several hits, and then she suddenly found herself blocking, dodging, and countering his attacks. He was still far more skilled than she was. Aco found herself being pushed towards the edge of the mat. Without a thought, she shifted and was behind Master Poe. She managed to get three hits on him before he could spin and begin deflecting. Again, without a thought, she was to his right, hitting him once, and then she shifted again. This time to his left side. Aco stopped, holding the defensive pose. Master Poe turned to face her. He smiled, “That is the Aco I know. Perfect child. You are learning to use the speed to your advantage finally.” He had used his eyes to call four other master instructors onto the mat. Aco heard the faint sound of feet on the mat, closing in on her.

As a team, they closed to strike from three sides. “Just try not to kill them, Aco,” Master Poe said as he limped off the mat, bowing to her as he did so. Aco vanished and was behind them. She struck the youngest, a woman of 30 years. Aco had only wanted to put her down, not break bones. The strike hit her on the upper arm, just below the shoulder. Aco heard the bone snap on impact. The woman went down with a scream. She lay on the side, not damaged, and held her arm in place. Two men stepped onto the mat, ignoring protocol. They gave Aco a look that said they didn’t care. They carefully lifted the injured Master and took her to the waiting medic. The three remaining Masters stepped back and off the mat. The senior trainer looked at Master Poe and said, “We cannot fight nor train this one, just as before.” Aco backed off the mat, bowed, and then went to the woman she had hurt.