An Empty Palace

[RenaRoo121]

He looked about the simple structure and felt a certain amount of nostalgia set back in. The very air as he breathed it felt inviting beyond anything he had known before. It smelled like home.

Katmandu was home.

The Crystal Palace still felt slightly vacant and it caused a certain ache in his side to think about it. It felt like it had not been that long ago since he had sat at the Charlie Llama's side and spoke from sunrise to sunset about life, feelings, the weather.

It also did not feel like so long ago since he held his dearest friend and spiritual leader in his massive arms and watched him fade away into yet another reincarnation. He watched Charlie's last breaths and listened to his heart's last beats. It was a moment that tore Katmandu apart from the inside.

"I miss you, Old Friend," Katmandu whispered to the echoing walls.

He was seemingly alone in this place of spiritual refuge. Alone with only his memories to support him. They were good memories but they were not enough to make him feel whole.

Sighing, he slid his right leg up and rested his foot against his thigh. His two top arms bent themselves over his head and met in the middle, flattening their hands against one another as his two remaining limbs bent themselves and held their thumb tips to their finger tips.

He closed his eyes, relaxing in the meditative Vrksasana pose. He waited for Karma to bring things to him.

[lost frequencies]

Summer in New York was not like any other he had experienced in the city; it was unbearable even for the nanites to keep working at their best. It slowed him down so much that he felt the need to escape to a cooler climate, where the nanites could recuperate and repair themselves without overheating.

The air was different here in Nepal and so were the colours of her mountains, hills and lakes. It was not like how he had pictured it to be though; it was like stepping into a water colour painting where everything seemed so surreal. Even the people and animals looked rather odd here; like they were from another time; another dimension...

And as he ventured further, he wondered if this was even the Nepal he had learnt so much about from the television documentaries.

A few days ago, an old herder approached him, thinking he was a god and had begged for some money. Instead of money, Nano fashioned something out of the herder’s watch. He then held out his hand to produce ten brand new gold watches. “Go to the city,” he told the herder, “and earn your own money with these.”

Astonished, the old herder dropped to his knees and prostrated after the robot. “I am not a god,” said Nano, as he slipped the watches into the man’s bag. He then made his way out while the herder was still worshipping the ground where he once stood...

Days passed, he was getting more uncertain about the place.

This is not Nepal, he thought. This is a painter’s dream.

While looking out towards the horizon, something caught his eye. A temple. It was the first and only he had seen since he arrived almost a week ago.

Perhaps there were monks. Perhaps there was someone much wiser. Someone he could learn from.

He had travelled this far to not make it a meaningful one.

So he flew into the sunset towards the hills. While standing at the entrance, he was mildly disappointed to see that the temple was vacant.

Or so he thought.

[RenaRoo121]

He arched back, his eyes remaining closed, and flickered his ears toward the halls of the palace. For a moment it was only the wind through the chimes which spoke back to him. Katmandu began to doubt that he had heard anything at all and leaned back into pose again.

Then, again, his ears flickered and he could hear something, sense some other presence, obscuring the crystal clarity of the palace. There was no doubt that it was something or someone else, he could so clearly sense it.

At first he believed that it was perhaps the Monkey Monks which served the Charlie Llama before his passing but Kat knew better. They now catered to the whims of the reincarnation of Charlie, a small child, and would not be back at the Crystal Palace until the babe had his moment of enlightenment and accepted his re-birthed destiny.

No, Katmandu should have been alone in the palace.

This other presence, however, was unavoidable and also utterly unnatural. It was strange, unlike anything else that had been allowed entry to the sacred meditation area. Katmandu scowled and lowered his arms and leg.

Growling, Kat grabbed a club he had brought in and slowly made his way through the shadows, his blue eyes glaring at the creature which had gained entry.

"Who enters this sacred place?" he questioned lowly.

[lost frequencies]

Upon hearing a voice echoing throughout the empty monastery, Nano’s receptors glowed bright with suspicion.

He picked up an infrared presence of a warm-blooded being lurking in the shadows. The nanites enhanced the image further, revealing a four-armed beast that was as tall as he was.

His laser weapons beeped softly in the background, a subdued warning to a possible threat. Still Nano remained poised in the presence of the guardian beast.

“I am not here to fight,” the robot’s mechanical voice replied matter-of-factly. “I am here to seek answers—from the Lama, himself. Do you know where I could find him?”

[RenaRoo121]

Katmandu stared at the metallic mass and crinkled his snout. The creature was definitely something that stuck out in the placid settings of Nepal and the Crystal Palace, so shiny and sharp. Katmandu supposed that the fact it was metallic and mechanical could attribute to the sense of not belonging yet he was not sure. Something else seemed amiss.

In response to the lasers, Katmandu merely cocked his head to the side and naively stepped forward into the light, further brandishing his large and puzzling body structure.

Katmandu crossed his two underarms over his abdomen and frowned at the creature. The metallic beast seemed pleasant enough and, possibly more than anyone else, Katmandu knew how it felt to be incorrectly labeled as a monster.

"I am sorry to inform you that the Charlie Llama as you seek him is no longer in the form he was in," Kat sighed, a deep crease forming over his eyes at the thought. While he was a large creature it was clear to see that the simple statement touched something deep within Katmandu. "He passed from this incarnation into his next. The new Charlie Llama is... incapable of leading anyone to any answers in his current state. And as the sworn protector of his mortal vessel, I cannot even tell you where the babe is."

Eyes narrowing, Katmandu tilted his head slightly. "I also hope you realize how suspicious it is to me that you would be asking such a question, especially when Whirling Dervishes and other assassins have been so numerous in Nepal as of late."

[lost frequencies]

"I was met with no such threat," Nano said, in response to the four-armed creature's suspicion.

The robot stared curiously, his green optics grew brighter, scanning over the giant tiger-man as he stepped into the light for a closer inspection.

"I apologise for my sudden intrusion. This is the first monastery I have seen since I arrived here. A source told me that the Dalai Lama knows of a place untouched by extreme weather conditions. Many of my people have died while the city burns under a heat spell. I wish to safe them, and my family..."

Nano tilted his head in confusion.

"You said the Lama has been reborn? I do not understand this."

[RenaRoo121]

Placing the hands of his upper limbs on his hips, Katmandu shook his head with a smirk. The curiosity of this machine reminded him of a child's soul, of the turtle-friends he had encountered on his last journey to the Crystal Palace. "In Buddhism we believe that a soul is carried from one mortal vessel to the next, that death is merely the passage way to a new life and new opportunities. When one is very good and receives good Karma in life, their next life is closer to Nirvana: or heaven. Likewise, bad Karma leads to a new life that is farther from Nirvana. The Charlie Llama is the reincarnation of the Buddha who forsake Nirvana in order to teach the rest of us how to attain it."

Smiling to himself, Katmandu thought back to the benevolent spiritual leader. "Charlie was... is a good soul. He is a knowledgeable and patient father and the best of friends. When he has returned to a position where he is aware of his former lives I hope you and I both shall have the pleasure of knowing him. I wish fervently for that day."

He laughed a throaty, heart felt laugh and looked suddenly kinder and happier, his already rounded features more softened and a certain excited gleam in his blue eyes like a curious kitten. "But I believe your sources were mistaken in calling Charlie this ... 'Dalai Lama.' His name is Charlie, I would know. I was with him in his last days."

Raising a brow, Katmandu seemed to recall something the creature had said. "Did you say you were from a larger city? Do you hail from Kathmandu?"

[lost frequencies]

The Charlie Llama is the reincarnation of the Buddha who forsake Nirvana in order to teach the rest of us how to attain it.

If only the tiger knew the many "deaths" he had been through to attain his own sense of maturity.

Despite the confusion, the very mention of this revered teacher named "Charlie Llama" had certainly piqued the robot's interest.

He was silent for a moment, before answering, "No." The robot then broke his gaze from the creature to look around the palace. "I have come from a place much farther than here."

Pressing the palm of his mechanical hand against the aging wall of the temple, Nano began to realise that perhaps, the other Nepal he was looking for...was gone. Perhaps the nanites, while still in the midst of recuperation and defragmentation, were conjuring up visions of false hope to compensate for his struggles, replacing a world he had lost with something familiar.

Now that there was no Lama to seek answers from, how was he to find the way to a Shangri-La untouched by death and suffering?

He turned his head to look in the direction of the temple's entrance, the feel of low, vibrating energies spreading throughout his body as a series of mini tornadoes began drifting in towards them.

"Too late," uttered the robot's sorrow-filled, mechanical voice.

[RenaRoo121]

Eyes widening at the announcement, Katmandu rushed toward the door. He could sense the approach of the terrible assassins before the might of their passing winds ever struck the tranquil airs around the Crystal Palace.

He narrowed his eyes and bared his long teeth at the approach of the black clad killers. "It is the Whirling Dervishes!" Katmandu roared, his voice of a man becoming inexplicably woven with the bellow of a beast. "They caused the early ascension of my closest friend and now they are here to destroy the last standing testament to the Llama's teachings! I will not stand for this!"

For a moment he ran past the metallic creature, forgetting he even existed, and grabbed from the corner a sword and another club, leaving only one of his four limbs free to catch the spinning blades of the mystic murderers.

Flexing, Katmandu made his way back through the hall, passing the robot and looking over his shoulder only for a moment to look into its eyes. "Creature, if you would assist me against my most bitter enemies - the enemies of this most sacred place - then you shall have my immortal thanks and, in my eyes, be my blood brother," he stated before taking out through the doorway.

The first blade was caught cleanly by Katmandu's free claws and the assassin merely glared into the dilating demigod's eyes as it roared in his face, throwing him aside and seemingly off the narrow bridge to the palace.

In the assassin's stead there were four short, whirling winds which slowed to reveal the marauders within. They prepared their blades and narrowed their eyes.

<"You protect nothing but a hollow shell,">* the leader hissed before tightly gripping his blade.

Snarling, Katmandu readied himself, his knees bending and his arms rising up, demonstrating his large mass as well as his mastery of his four limbs. <"You are not able to comprehend what treasures of the soul I protect.">*

<"We know that you have no Turtles to assist you like last time,">* another dervish prodded.

Katmandu did not respond and the five Whirling Dervishes closed in on him and the demigod found himself locked with their blades. He bit back and roared in his throat as he attempted to push them away against the availing winds.



* = translated from Tibetan

[lost frequencies]

Nano had never seen such ethereal, dark entities before though he had sensed the electromagnetic fields and frequencies since the day he began trekking up the winding mountain path in search of the other Lama’s temple.

The Whirling Dervishes were neither heat nor cold; neither living nor dead; merely cursed souls that fed on the fears of life forms made of flesh and blood. And while never knowing fear, the robot had never been a stranger to loss and sadness.

Nano recognised the pain lingering behind the tiger’s eyes as he promised the likelihood of friendship between them in the name of his enemies.

He comprehended the threatening voices of the black-clad assassins and immediately broke away from his vessel. The nanites began to fog up the emptiness in swarms, covering every wall, nook and cranny of the Palace.

They could consume almost anything in their path. And could disintegrate weapons in mere seconds...

[RenaRoo121]

Dervishes had always had reason to fear Katmandu. He was a fierce guardian of their enemy, the peace preaching Llama, and it was because of this that they knew a certain amount of damage would come about to their team.

Katmandu, likewise, had always had reason to fear the Dervishes. Just to begin with, their residing in the dark arts so opposite of the Zen Mysticism that was practiced in the Crystal Palace led to many advantages for them, many which Katmandu's trained calm was tested by.

It was unavoidable to note, however, that Katmandu's advantages came assist him as well, though. His four arms worked masterfully alongside one another for both blocking the assassin's attacks as well as retaliating with his own.

After being locked in battle with the multiple Dervishes, Katmandu saw that the weakest of the five, the one whose blades he had caught with a simple wooden club, was losing grip. Kat smirked and before the Dervish could guess what was coming, the mighty Beast of Kathmandu flung him off like an ant.

He raked his sword across the blades of the two Dervishes held with it and planted a strong kick to the one on the left, knocking him away. The other stumbled back without the opposing force.

Katmandu felt elated. He was doing well, two Dervishes were all that immediately stood in front him. This, he hoped, would work to his advantage.

Before he could make another move, however, Katmandu felt the rush of wind surrounding his body, rocking it from side to side. He tightly closed his eyes and roared, cursing himself for walking into the Dervishes' favorite attack: the cyclone.

The two on both sides of him summoned the winds around themselves and then inexplicably forced them upon Katmandu, rocking his body back and forth uneasily. It was as if they were trying to tear him apart.

Katmandu stood his ground, though, merely holding up his arms and blindly stabbing his weapons through the torrents, hoping to either land his mark or block a Dervish attack on his person.

While he was incapacitated, two of the then freed Dervishes took off into the Crystal Palace. They were racing, blades ready, and only came to a stop nearly halfway in. They looked around, utterly confused by its quiet openness.

<"The new Llama is not here!"> one Dervish angrily announced.

The other was more observant, glancing about his surroundings before noticing some strange, golden mass taking over and absorbing objects and materials around it. His eyes widened, he had never seen such a feat.

<"What is that?"> he demanded, drawing his weapon alongside the other Dervish.

[lost frequencies]

From the outside, it looked as though a shimmering cloak had been thrown over the rundown Crystal Palace.

The nanites continued to scour the interior for any inorganic material to feed on for energy.

As for the two Dervishes, they might not be able find any physical means of escape since every opening had been sealed shut and their weapons, fully obliterated.

The nanites brimmed over and spread throughout the holy ground outside the monastery, sneaking their way beneath the tiger's feet before crawling up his legs and arms to reach the Dervishes' weapons...

[RenaRoo121]

The Dervishes screamed out as they found themselves enclosed within the very shack they had attempted to destroy. <"It is a trap!"> they cried out before slashing their weapons against the suddenly metallic Palace. They tore into the building as fast as they could only to find that it was not breakable by their man-made weapons and it blocked them from the outside winds their whirling magic relied upon.

They were indescribably trapped.

Outside the building, Katmandu continued to fend off the attack of the remaining Dervishes only to feel something come across his legs. "By the gods?" he questioned before looking down. His eyes widened. Some mass of golden creatures crawled up him, causing his face to pale in terror. What sort of negative Karma could lead to this fate? It felt as though thousands upon thousands of spiders were crawling up his body. Was this more magic by the Dervishes? Or was he truly suffering from the fates?

The creatures, oddly enough, did not harm him and instead crawled from his feet to his arms and weapons where they then consumed the metal of the Whirling Dervishes' weapons like locust consuming a field. Katmandu was shocked beyond response, as were the Dervishes who were so intimidated by the event they dropped their spell over the winds and backed away from their dropped weapons.

<"The Buddhist's magic is a kind I have not seen before!"> one Dervish determined before looking to the leader.

He was more concerned with the fact that the same force had surrounded the palace and closed off the other members of their group. He narrowed his eyes and summoned the winds beneath his feet again. <"The reincarnation of the Charlie Llama is not here. We leave. I know where he must be.">

Without another word, the Dervishes took off into the air and disappeared within their cyclonic forms. Disappearing across the channel from the Crystal Palace and losing any visage the robot and beast might have of them.

"NO!" Katmandu roared as he attempted to move, only to stop in superstitious fear of the surrounding creatures. "Black magic, be off of me! Those Dervishes are heading to Kathmandu to murder the Charlie Llama! I cannot stand here because of you or any other mortal threats!"

[lost frequencies]

The nanites retreated to their robot form before emitting a wave of electromagnetic pulse throughout, in hopes to get rid of any lurking entities within the palace.

Still weak from his journey, Nano dropped to his knees before the demigod.

He then cast a forlorn gaze at the tiger and said, "Your world, and my world are in great danger..."

After losing a great amount of energy through a force field, the nanites were edging close towards shutting the robot down to preserve their remaining power.

"Must find...Shangri-La."

Nano had reached the limitations of his own strength. The nanites were now in desperate need of full recovery.

Then suddenly, the lights of the robot's optics went out. His once golden, metallic form was now a lifeless pile of scrap metal prostrating after the temple guardian.

[RenaRoo121]

His gaze softening as he watched the collapsed form of the golden robot, Katmandu frowned. "You have earned my trust, brother," he said gently to the robotic companion.

Bending over, he scooped up the contraption and held him in his lower arms before beginning his trek over the bridge. "Unfortunately, we cannot stay in the sanctuary of the Crystal Palace, Gelug-pa," he explained as he made his way through the area. "The reincarnation of my dearest friend is in danger and I know where he resides, in Kathmandu, and before anything else I must protect him."

He smiled as he reached the end of the bridge and could finally begin his fearfully fast run through the mountain trail, clutching the newly nicknamed metallic creature closer to him. "I also believe that he is the only one who can help you find the Shangri-La you are looking for!"

((End Thread))