Chapter 4

Alex was surprised to find Sato waiting for him.

"Not that I'm complaining, but did I do something to bring you here?" Alex said.

"That would be something of an understatement." Sato said, wearing the clothing of a peasant farmer.

"Where are we?" Alex said, trying to get his bearings.

"Ancient China, not long after your visit to Italy." Sato said.

"That's interesting: usually the time periods are more spread out." Alex said.

"We could not hold things back any longer. It was decided that the situation needed your personal attention." Sato said.

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked.

"Do you remember what you were afraid of when you made those advanced machines of yours?" Sato replied.

"I was worried that they would cause catastrophic advances in technology, as western civilization received a dramatic boost in technology." Alex answered

"Curious ... what were you thinking when you created rockets in the time of ancient Rome?" Sato asked.

"I don't understand..." Alex began to say, then it hit him, "When were rockets created in the original timeline?"

"Ninth century ancient China." Sato said.

"Oh, no." Alex said with a wince.

"I can only assume you realize what that means." Sato said, showing no hint of amusement.

"In forgetting the timeline, I forgot that I had already made that mistake. Granted, the advances would have been more gradual, but the end result would eventually be the same." Alex said with a sense horror.

"Your rocket technology had a definite impact on Chinese culture, especially when it had thousands of years to develop it, when you created it instead of them." Sato said.

"What have I done?" Alex said, his mind reeling at the possible consequences.

"We had considered the possibility that you would cause dramatic changes to the timeline. Like Kenshiro, you use technological advance to your advantage, but the difference is your style and mind set. He stayed in the realm of medieval weaponry, while you use technology from any time period that you find useful. I must admit not even I saw this much change being possible. I underestimated you." Sato admitted.

"I have to say that this is the first time I would have rather you had been disappointed." Alex said.

"I do not believe you did what you did out of an intention to cause this. You tried to save the lives of people you meant to protect. Now you must decide your path. I for one am curious how you will react to this new challenge, and I will be watching." Sato said.

In the blink of an eye he is gone, and Alex is left alone. Despite his brutal realization, Alex had no intention bowing out to allow someone else to deal with his mess, but before he formulated a plan he needed information. Avoiding any hint of civilization, he lived off the land and headed deep into China. He did not have to wait long to see what he wanted. One of the complications of the constant military advances, was that monarchies had worn down until warlords essentially ruled the country without any strong central government to keep them in check. Unlike Italy, China doesn't depend on mercenaries who have no interest in preserving their nation, and achieving victory at the cost to the common soldier. A mercenary predominately does not sell their life cheaply. One cannot spend or earn money when you're dead. As career soldiers who have based their entire lives on not selling their lives cheaply, or simply not dying at all, they would have avoided what was happening in China at that exact moment.

Alex watched a battle where thousands died in a single day when facing weaponry that would have given 18th century European army cause for concern. Shells exploded in midair, and for the first time in years Alex sees smokeless gunpowder. In the timeline he came from, smokeless gunpowder didn't show up until the late 1800s. This change, which he caused, made the Chinese armies superior to the European's, as opposed to the other way around. Alex could easily understand why Sato, and whoever was in charge of giving him this opportunity, were more than a little concerned. Not only would it be bad if the Chinese ended their civil wars and began an outward expansion, but if the Europeans began taking notes on what was going on here, which for some reason they hadn't, their technology would begin to mirror China's.

Now, with one piece of key information obtained, Alex would find the other answers he sought: namely how had all this affected Chinese culture itself, and more specifically, why had the Europeans not followed suit yet. At the mere mention of some of the weapons he had just seen, they should have been beating down the door to get a piece of Chinese technology so they could bring it home, and be able to make their country a ruling power in Europe, if not the world. Traveling to China's eastern coast, where he would most likely see European merchants and sailors as he himself traveled in disguise, doing his best to hide his face, Alex found very few. At the port cities, Europeans were carefully watched, and he could tell by the demeanor of his fellow foreigners that the Chinese were not permitting the slightest bit of mischief. Commotion down one city street drew his attention, as they saw a drunken sailor being dragged from a establishment where he had broken furniture in a brawl. What Alex noted the most as he peeked through the crowd gathering, was while efficient, they counted more on their rifles to usher him away, than assuming that they could take him without it. Eastern martial arts could arguably be said to be superior to western martial arts. The West's main advantage had been technology, and a very flexible mindset when it came to its use.

Eastern traditions tended to lean more towards honor and tradition. Even looking around, Alex saw the citizens wore non-traditional clothing; sometimes western, and sometimes a mixture between the two. The results would have been confusing to a historian on Chinese culture from his modern world. They might have thought they were in the late 19th, or perhaps early 20th, century, because of the clothing difference. While it was clear that there had been European interaction, it seemed the Chinese took but did not give back, and they themselves had forgotten some of their own traditions. Upon visiting more cities, Alex found that westerners were stopped at the coast, but their trade goods and religion made it deeper inside China. As through a sieve, it made it through in small amounts. Catholic Christianity was the strongest of foreign religions to make it inside, and Alex watched them practice openly.

Kenshiro had described a similar occurrence happening in Japan. What kept Japan from being totally influenced by westerners was their strong traditions, but what if China had slowly moved away from the old ways, including martial arts? The evidence was here before him. Alex came up with a plan and immediately put it into motion. Going to work for one of the local churches, he performed odd jobs just to get his foot in the door. When one of the priests needed a local translator, Alex volunteered. This quickly became a permanent tradition, thanks to his familiarity with the languages of China, including Mandarin. Being raised in China had given him many advantages over the foreign priests, who didn't understand every nuance of each language. Through his new job, Alex was able to gain their trust, until they offered him a teaching job where he would service a local village, but had a better idea.

"If you can use what influence you have, perhaps I could start a school for war orphans deeper in China, closer to villages that have no doubt been ravaged by the internal conflicts of this country. I feel, as an orphan myself raised by a loving adopted family, that I can help them have a better life." Alex said.

Father Michael, a good man who Alex had come to respect, replied, "I will do what I can, and pray that God sees fit to aid you in your venture."

They shook hands before they parted for that afternoon, as each went home: Alex, the short purpose filled man with his mission, and Michael, the tall red haired Irish priest ready to support him. With Michael's support as one of the more popular foreign priests in China, Alexander Gregorvich got the school he wanted. It would be a large scale orphanage, using both locals and foreigners as its educators and other staff. Going to work right away, even was the school is being built around him Alex immediately began teaching the children sent to him games that would be the building blocks of their very special future. Officially, the school was an orphanage of the finest caliber in China. Educators and government officials visited the school, and learnt that not only do they teach children science, history, mathematics, foreign language, arts, and native languages, but martial arts as well. Raised by a master in multiple martial disciplines, Alex was also an expert in hand to hand combat, and he knew enough of Chinese arts that he was able to teach the children how to defend themselves, under the excuse of exercise. Any military officer who visited or heard about what was being taught in the school, quickly became alarmed as they became aware of this possible threat, and Alex, being well aware of what he was doing, was not surprised when the local warlord decided to make a visit to the school, a visit with very hostile intentions.

From the first days of their life in their new home, the children of the orphanage had been taught to hide, first and foremost. Alex was under no illusions that children could defeat battle hardened soldiers with guns. His goal wass instead to insure their survival. Able to think on their feet, and escape quietly through vast underground tunnels that they had been playing games in for years, the inhabitants easily slipped away. The warlord, Chang Wei, finds no signs of how they managed this feat. To him, the adult and children he meant to slaughter had simply disappeared. This was only the beginning of what would become the legend of the Black Lotus. For years, things were quiet. Eventually, Chang felt safe that his enemies were so terrified of him, that they disbanded and would not show up to threaten him again. It was a foolish belief, that would only make the Black Lotus' first appearance even easier.

Sleeping in his bed, Chang Wei, a short bearded man with a slight belly and balding head, was not aware that darkly dressed figures were climbing over the walls of his fortified compound, past barracked soldiers. Those few guards who might have raised an alarm were either bypassed or quietly killed. Chang Wei was alone and helpless when Alex stepped into the room of the warlord, as he still lay sleeping. Drawing a small sword strapped to his back, Alex stabs into the man's chest, killing him almost instantly. With one final breath, Chang Wei dies, assassinated by one of the people he had meant to kill years before. Alex, dressed like medieval ninjas of Japan, led two squads of shadowy figures back out of the compound as silently as they entered. By the morning, the alarm was raised as bodies were found in the early morning light. This did not end the Black Lotus' exploits. Repeated assassinations showed that no warlord or corrupt government official was safe.

Arriving in the woods north of the compound, Alex pulled of his mask, "Roll call"

The rest of his group called off names until he heard the names Aiguo and Chun-Hua. They were his most promising students, and the two he was grooming to start their own groups. While still under the Black Lotus banner, they would operate independently; choosing their own missions and personnel, but first he would have to make sure they were ready. In this mission, Chun-Hua had taken the lead of one team, while Aiguo was second in command of the other, with Alex being his only superior. The young woman and man were brother and sister, and were quite close. Like all the children at his orphanage, their parents had been killed in the crossfire of the war; innocent victims that had not stood a chance against modern rifles and cannon. Despite the desire for revenge, they had kept their cool, and performed their duties without insisting on killing the man responsible for their parents' murder. Alex was proud of the professionalism both of them had shown. When they had returned to the caves that they had been forced to live in, Alex motioned for the two of them to follow him.

"You did well tonight, but there is still more work to be done. Each of you will choose two more teams and begin attacks on the Warlord Wei's supply lines. We will take advantage of the confusion caused by his assassination, by sowing even more. One of his enemies will try to move in to take his territory, and they will die next. Succeed in this mission, and you will be given your own rein to fight for our cause." Alex said.

"Yes, Fu-Hua." They said, calling him by the title that identified him as the head of their secret society.

Aiguo and Chun-Hua looked to him as a distant father, whose respect was hard to gain, let alone maintain. Fu-Hua's hardness had molded them into an effective fighting force. He showed no hint of favoritism. If you rose, it was by your own merit, not because he had unfairly helped you. Out of hundreds of others, they had earned his notice, but they knew the price of failure, and were willing to face it for even the chance of earning his permanent respect, not the coveted title of Fu-Hua they would gain when they ruled their own people independently. Fu-Hua watched them go, his face formed into its usually unreadable mask as they passed. Part of him wanted to wish them good luck, but experience had taught him that remaining distant was safest, not only for them, but for him as well. Aiguo and Chun-Hua were not the oldest of the children who had escaped. There had been others up for the duty of leadership before them, and they had failed Fu-Hua's tests, but among the Black Lotus, failure meant death either by the enemy's, or his hands.

He allowed no one to be captured, and made sure to provide them with a quick death. Fu-Hua knew the enemy would show them no mercy, and he could not risk the others to save even a few of them. Gang had died a couple of years before, he was the child that Fu-Hua had watched over for four years, and would have been his successor.

Gang's death still haunted him to this day, with his last words, "Father? Where are you, I can't see!"

A cut across his eyes from a guard, who had struck Gang instead of his intended target when Gang put himself in front of one of his surprised comrade. Even blinded, he had quickly cut down the guard without a sound, and had been disciplined enough to stay quiet in the aftermath, so as not to bring more guards down on their heads. Fu-Hua had dragged him away to someplace out of the way, while his people set the explosives to blow up the powder keg. The act would be blamed on Wei's enemies, and it would help free up the Black Lotus' movements. Too many times military patrols came way too close to the caves they had been hiding in. Fu-Hua wanted to change the situation quickly. It was that rush that had allowed an unprepared group of young people to take on a mission before they were ready, and Gang had paid the price.

He had held Gang close as he lay in the shadows on the ground, and said, "Save your breath son. You're fine. Just rest."

"I'm sorry ... I've failed you." Gang said, his body and face wracked with pain.

"No, you haven't. I am so proud of you. I couldn't ask for a finer student, or son." Fu-Hua said.

"You have to leave me. You and the others must escape." Gang said, knowing full well what would happen to him if he were caught.

"Close your eyes, Gang. If you want to pray, now is the time." Fu-Hua said.

He heard Gang pray, before he said, "I'm ready."

"Goodbye." Fu-Hua said, before snapped Gang's neck.

It was a hard lesson, but one he would never make again. No matter how much he wanted to, Fu-Hua could not let them relax by showing he cared, he would not have another Gang. The siblings headed out, and carried out their missions with great success, burning most of Wei's supply trains and depots. It proved easy for one the rival warlords to move in and take over, with very little resistance from Wei's armies, despite the competence of his subordinates. Returning to their master, he rewarded each of them with the title of Fu-Hua. Now they would take part in the building of the myth that Fu-Hua, himself, was everywhere like a ghost or demon that could not be caught or stopped. The serving members of the Black Lotus swore fealty to their Fu-Hua, and dedicated their lives to fighting, and if necessary dying, to serve their masters and their clan.

The armament of the Black Lotus was nothing to slouch at. Much of their weaponry and fighting techniques came from Ninjitsu, that formed the foundation of how they operated. The Black Lotus did not fight using conventional methods, their area of expertise was solidly in area of special tactics. Arson, assassination, rumor, espionage, and sabotage were their bread and butter. Focusing on rumor after the Warlord Wei's death, the Black Lotus' name caused even the greatest warlord to hesitate entering a territory without considering what they might lose if the Black Lotus didn't want them to have it. Those Warlords who decided to try to eliminate the organization they were afraid of, died themselves in their sleep, or more commonly while they were eating. Poison was the favorite weapon of the Black Lotus, as it maximized fear, but not the only one. The earlier physical weapons mentioned, such as shuriken; which were metal throwing stars, blowguns that fired poisoned darts, caltraps, short swords designed for close quarters combat, blinding mist that could be thrown directly into the victim's eyes, bows and arrows, and finally, to cover an escape or used as a distraction, bombs, while room was made for additional weapons when needed, but these were used in their main arsenal. Traveling in disguise, the Fu-Hua led the children and adults who remained, to villages where they could recruit and hide among the local populace. All new members had to be carefully tested and double checked. Fu-Hua had a dozen filters between him and new members. None of the new members ever met him if they weren't in the core group. As each new member was trained and proved themselves, they would replace a core member who would now be their contact agent.