It’s been a pleasure to tell this story. Thank you for reading, and enjoy the grand finale.
This is the ninth and final episode of the nine-part series, Wu-Tang vs. AI. This is purely fan fiction, so of course, the events, actions and dialogue in this story are completely fictional. Catch up on Episode I, Episode II, Episode III, Episode IV, Episode V, Episode VI, Episode VII and Episode VIII.
In the eighth episode, the Wu-Tang Clan’s epic battle with the army of androids began at Fort Tilden at Camp Rockaway Beach in New York. Though the army of the Wu-Tang, G-Unit and Wu-Tang Killa Bees had initial success, they soon were outgunned and outnumbered by hordes of robotic soldiers. Method Man was severely wounded by a grenade and was rushed to a medical tent to save his life.
During the retreat, RZA spoke with the top U.S. General over the phone. The general told him the government was not involving itself in the battle, leaving the Wu with a daunting night ahead of them.
In Italy, YDB finally arrived at the evil Giorgio De Luca’s villa determined to aid his uncles. But under ground beneath the villa, De Luca revealed to the bound Clansman his true plan: To create an army of AI Wu-Tang Clan replicas to take over the world. Unbeknownst to the hip-hop army at Fort Tilden, these deadly replicas are on their way to Fort Tilden to wipe out the hip-hop soldiers…
Method Man was scared.
Lying on a cot in a medical tent, his fear surprised him. It was an emotion he rarely felt. Being on this earth for more than half a century, he’d made it through enough adversity to be confident in handling almost anything.
But death was a different matter.
Not his, but his brothers’. He remembered the opening words from 2Pac’s “If I Die 2Nite”:
“A coward dies a thousand deaths. A soldier dies but once.”
Meth understood the sentiment. But he was terrified that if he died, a piece of each of his brothers would die, too.
He kept trying to think of an ancient Chinese proverb about fear and courage, but it was a game of Chinese finger cuffs. The harder he tried, the more he struggled.
Eventually, he surrendered to the blankness of his mind and enveloped himself in gratitude for being alive. He’d heard the doctor tell RZA he’d missed the worst of the blast but had been hit with shrapnel in his legs and stomach.
Still groggy, he’d strained to make sense of the conversation. As soon as he heard the words “no permanent damage,” he let himself rest.
There was a nurse in the corner, he knew, though he hadn’t lifted his head in a while. The doctor was momentarily gone for a meal - the brother had most definitely earned it - and Meth was left alone to hear the shouting, laser blasts and gunfire within earshot of his tent.
Frequently, he’d hear a scream he’d imagine was from one of his fellow Clansmen.
Was that RZA?
Naw, that’s Deck.
Chill. You don’t know that.
His heart started pounding, and the monitor he was hooked up to beeped faster. The nurse leapt from her chair.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“It’s fine, it’s fine,” he said.
“You need rest,” she said. “I’m going to get you some earplugs.”
“It’s all good,” he said. “Don’t-”
But she had already hurried out of the tent. Meth exhaled in frustration.
Why couldn’t he think of a proverb? Worse still, why couldn’t he think of a solution to all this?
He knew Common said something about courage at a show in Chicago one time.
Common….
The brother was always so soulful. So spiritual, in life and on tracks. Even when it wasn’t his own song.
Meth’s thoughts drifted to a song called “Goodlife,” by T.I. featuring Common.
Common did his thing on that record. T.I. killed it too. Meth smiled as he remembered Tip’s verse.
“And even when my days wasn’t the bluest/Never ran from adversity, instead I ran to it.”
Meth’s eyes flew open.
“Fear ain’t in the heart of me I learned just do it/You get courage from your fears right after you go through ‘em.”
The answer was right there all along. If the government wouldn’t show up, hip-hop would definitely show out.
“Nurse Berry!”
RZA’s heart broke from the carnage around him. So many dead soldiers who’d given their lives. But everyone understood the stakes, and he knew that it was either sacrifice now or mass destruction later. So, when Meth called him to the tent and suggested they reach out to Hip-Hop Nation, RZA gritted his teeth and accepted the idea.
Given the location of the battle, most of the artists who showed up were Beast Coast or close to it.
Nas. Jay-Z. Joey Bada$$. Buckshot. Cardi B. Eve. Cassidy. Black Thought. Will Smith. Young Zee. Queen Latifah. MC Lyte, Salt-N-Pepa. Kool G Rap. Chuck D. Flava Flav. Rakim. Havoc. Missy Elliott. Pusha T. DJ Premier. They all brought their crews. And more followed.
But there were a handful of rappers who were touring, chilling or doing business in New York or the Hamptons who came out.
T.I. Ludacris. Big Boi. J. Cole. Rapsody. Dr. Dre. Kendrick Lamar. Royce Da 5’9”. Bump J. Twista. Bizzy Bone and Krayzie Bone. Bun B. Juvenile. Young Buck. And they all knew people in the Rotten Apple who were down to ride.
Some were already on their way once they saw the news. Some came when they were called. And some came when recruited by those who were initially called.
They charged the beach as the day faded. Dr. Dre rolled up in a tank, finally blasting the third aircraft out of the sky.
T.I. wielded two swords at once, masterfully cutting down the evil androids as they ducked for shelter. With steel in his eyes, he kept his head on a swivel and let out a war cry:
“I’M LOOKIN’ FOR THEM ROBOTS, WHERE THEY AT, STOP HIDIN’!”
Salt and Pepa fought back to back with butterfly swords. Kool G Rap, Nas and Jay-Z rolled in armored ATVs, picking off androids down the beach. And Rakim chucked hand grenades at a cluster of robots that turned them into shreds of falling metal.
He turned to RZA and gave an easy shrug.
“Casualties of War,” he said.
RZA grinned.
That’s why he’s the greatest.
But what drew the most attention was Queen Latifah’s sword fight with an imposing, dastardly android.
Humans and robots alike were momentarily distracted by their combat and drew a circle around them in the sand.
“What you want?” Queen dared the android.
They were dead even, clashing swords like they were trying to cut down the Rock of Gibraltar.
Queen stepped back as the robot showed off by figure-eighting its sword through the air. The android went faster and faster as it moved toward her, and she nearly fell as she stumbled back into Eve behind her.
“You got this, Queen,” Eve said in her ear.
Queen took a step forward and let herself slide to the ground. The android sneered at her as its eyes lit up. It raised its sword high, going for the kill stab.
SLASH.
Queen cut out its ankles, and it fell to the ground and writhed in the sand. Queen dispensed of her sword and ripped the android’s sword out of its hand. She mounted and pummeled the android until it was a pile of smoking rubble.
Then, she got up and stood tall.
“U.N.I.T.Y.!” she shouted.
The soldiers let out a unified, deafening war cry. The androids in the circle looked stunned. And steel-slicing, laser-blasting, metal-crushing pandemonium ensued on the beach as night fell. RZA looked up at the stars. He saw no androids this time. The enemy’s forces were depleting.
Hip-Hop Nation was winning.
Across the Atlantic, the situation was much bleaker. De Luca had disappeared from the room in which the Clansmen were held, and for a while, all they could do was sit in silence, glowering at the ninjas and encouraging one another with looks of resolve.
Masta Killa’s mind raced. What’d he’d seen days before when he’d tripped on those steps and his blindfold slipped was his own face staring back at him. But he’d been knocked out immediately after, and when he’d come to, he was disoriented and wasn’t even sure it had happened. If it had, he’d assumed what he saw was a robotic Masta Killa to replace him in the world and make music.
The forced combat, though, disturbed him. He thought maybe it was to make his android replica more convincing to the outside world. Once, he tried to communicate his concerns to his brothers, but he was stopped by ninjas, bound, gagged and viciously beaten in seclusion. The ninjas threatened to kill his brothers if he tried to communicate with them again, so even though Killa’s concerns were confirmed, he kept his mouth shut.
But this, he never expected.
Eventually, the shackled Clansmen were taken further below the earth and into an area that looked like a large basketball arena. There were even bleachers lined full of hundreds of ninja-garbed figures.
The floor, though, was cold, hard concrete. A tower rose to the ceiling on the far side of the arena, and a large enclosure whirred and glowed blue below the ceiling.
The Clansmen looked up to see lights illuminating a square walkway around the enclosure and ropes hanging from the edges of the walkway.
Rae and Ghost looked at each other and nodded their silent understanding.
The AI power source.
Hanging from the middle of the rafters was a jumbotron. De Luca stood below it. He nodded to one of the henchmen, who disappeared behind the bleachers. Moments later, the jumbotron was powered on, revealing a hacked livestream of the Battle of Fort Tilden.
The Clansmen were startled but maintained their composure. They were encouraged by the sight of RZA and Deck, as well as the many rappers who had come to their aid.
“Chuck!” U-God exclaimed.
“Cassidy’s there, too,” Ghost said.
Cappadonna frowned.
“Where’s Meth?”
They looked at each other uneasily.
“It’s a large battle,” GZA said in a would-be reassuring voice.
“Looks like we’re winning,” Masta Killa said.
De Luca’s face broke into an evil smile.
“For now,” he said. “But not for long.”
YDB stood at the top of the steps beneath the villa. He was encouraged by the vanquished androids strewn about the steps behind him but dumbfounded about how to penetrate the stone archway before him. It looked pristine, so no liquid sword could have penetrated it and no meteor hammer could have demolished it.
Somehow, Ghost and GZA had gotten through. Where were they?
Panic flooded YDB’s senses. He struggled to steady his breath and sat down against the archway. He remembered what RZA had taught him.
If you are at peace, you are living in the present.
YDB slowly breathed in and out, becoming one with the moment.
The oxygen refreshed his mind, and suddenly he was struck with a revelation.
The silver talisman.
He took the weapon from the All-Seeing Eye out of his pocket and instinctively knew what to do. Slowly, he turned it over nine times in his hand.
Then, he heard a voice – a distinct combination of deep and nasally – from somewhere beyond the steps.
“Ayo, son.”
YDB froze.
It couldn’t be.
It was as though the owner of the voice read his mind.
“Word? It’s not possible? Come on, man, hasn’t this journey taught you anything? Nothing’s impossible.”
YDB turned around, but no one was there.
“This ain’t Star Wars, and I ain’t no Force Ghost,” the voice said. “It’s crazy, son, it’s like, you hearin’ me outside, but I’m with you on the inside.”
YDB smiled as his eyes shone with tears.
“Dad.”
“That’s right, son,” ODB said. “Yo, it’s mad wild out there right now. But in here, it’s cool, nahmean? But you gotta go outside to make it stay cool inside, because the inside cool won’t last if the outside’s not cool, nah’msayin’?”
YDB laughed.
“Yeah, dad,” he said. “I gotta get through this archway. But how?”
“There’ll be time for that,” ODB said, his voice suddenly sad.
YDB immediately understood.
“I’m sorry, son,” ODB said.
“You’re with me now, dad,” he said. “You’re with me now.”
“Tell Bobby and them, it ain’t on them,” ODB said. “And tell ‘em, ‘I love y’all.’”
“I will,” YDB said, and he managed a smile as tears streamed down his cheeks.
“OK, good,” ODB said, his voice resurging with excitement. “Now, you got a stone in your way. Ain’t nothin’ but a stone. How can you get through it?”
“Through it?” YDB said. “I got no idea.”
“Word?” ODB said. “Come on man, think. You’ve got time.”
Time.
YDB had waited his whole life for this. But Uncle RZA had always told him it wasn’t the right time.
What did he say?
“Dripping water can penetrate the stone,” YDB said aloud.
“That’s right, son!” ODB said. “I love you, man. I’m proud of you. Keep going.”
YDB held up the silver talisman and tapped its center four times. A bead of water appeared. But YDB wasn’t astonished. He believed it would happen.
“Almost there, son,” ODB said.
YDB turned the talisman diagonal to the archway and let droplets of water drip onto the stone. On the seventh drop, the stone began to crumble on itself. In seconds, it was a pile of rubble and YDB stepped over it into the room.
“You’re there,” ODB said, his voice an echo now. “And I’m still here.”
Deck just had this feeling.
They were winning the battle. There weren’t that many androids left. And they were no longer suffering casualties as they had throughout the day.
But something wasn’t right. It was like the Knicks in the playoffs. Something bad was bound to happen.
As sure as an Eastern Conference Finals exit, when Deck looked up at the sky he saw swarms of android reinforcements. The rest of Hip-Hop Nation saw them, too.
As the androids screamed toward the beach like comets, the warriors got into fighting stances. But when they landed, Deck was horrified to see it was his fellow Clansmen.
“ZOMBIES! VAMPIRES! ZOMBIE VAMPIRES!” yelled Will Smith. For him, this was all too reminiscent of I Am Legend.
But Deck knew better. So did RZA. As he faced what appeared to be Cappadonna, he saw an unnatural gleam in Cap’s eyes.
The sudden revelation of De Luca’s plan hit them both like a subway train.
“No!” RZA shouted. “Androids! Don’t be fooled!”
As the AI Cappadonna charged at RZA, sword in hand, RZA realized that knowing the nature of the enemy made no difference. He blocked AI Cap’s sword strike, and suddenly the battle was on across the beach.
RZA found it was surreal - even painful - facing off against an android who looked like one of his brothers. He and Cappadonna had closely trained together, so they knew the same Shaolin Kung Fu. The android and RZA anticipated each other’s every move as they crouched, leapt, kicked and swung their swords. RZA thought it’d be a matter of who tired first, and he knew androids didn’t get tired.
All up and down the beach, soldiers not trained in the art of Shaolin Kung Fu were being pummeled and forced to retreat. AI Raekwons slashed up crews, while robotic Masta Killas punched, kicked and chopped soldiers down the shoreline. As more and more androids shot out of the sky, waves gently crashed into the still bodies of fallen soldiers.
There were less camera crews now and still no government help. The New York Times journalist Jonathan Harper, who’d since moved positions, ditched his camera crew to join the fight. He caught a few androids off-guard with a killer left hook. After one particularly vicious hook, Harper turned to RZA and winked to say, “See? I told you I still had hands.”
RZA, who saw Harper out of the corner of his eye, smiled wearily. He was still battling the same AI Cappadonna, and he was wearing down. It was frustrating how automatically the robot responded to RZA’s fight moves. It had clearly been wired and trained for the sole purpose of advanced combat. No creativity, but it didn’t matt-
No creativity.
RZA was struck with inspiration. He peddled backward about 10 yards and tossed his sword to the side. AI Cappadonna charged at him with his sword. RZA hurriedly took his left spiked boot off and slung it at Cappadonna. The spikes didn’t make full contact, but the robot was momentarily disoriented by the mundane combat move. RZA took advantage of the robot’s moment of hesitation by grabbing his sword off the ground and slicing the android in half at the waist.
RZA looked down at the upper half of the AI Cappadonna and saw for the first time how much it resembled a mannequin. He spat on it and retrieved his boot.
Moments like these were fewer and farther between as the night grew colder. As RZA looked down the beach, he figured it was only a matter of time before they were defeated.
He was left with two choices: Pull the troops back now and lobby for governmental support, or try to hold the androids at bay just long enough for more hip-hop reinforcements to arrive?
“Deck!” he shouted. “Tent!”
Back in Meth’s tent, RZA expressed his dilemma to Meth and Deck.
“No way,” Deck said. “Absolutely not.”
“But-” RZA started.
“Listen, we’ve always trusted you,” Deck said. “Now it’s your turn to trust us.”
Meth nodded.
“If we fall back now, every one of them soldiers died in vain,” he said.
RZA looked from Meth to Deck. He nodded and turned to Meth.
“Call as many reinforcements as you can,” he said. “We fight on.”
The Clansmen were horrified as they watched their friends struggle and die on the jumbotron in De Luca’s underground arena. De Luca stood in the center of the floor, looking up at the screen with sickening pride. For most of the Clansmen’s time in the underground, the ninjas had been deathly quiet. But now, as they sat on the bleachers, they cheered like bloodthirsty Romans watching gladiators at the Coliseum.
Rae turned away. It was too much for him to bear.
As he turned, he saw something that almost made him gasp. He clamped his mouth shut as he locked eyes with YDB, who had snuck into the arena. YDB put a finger to his lips and crept to the side of the bleachers. De Luca and the ninjas, too transfixed by the battle, failed to notice.
Suddenly, YDB chucked multiple smoke detonators in De Luca’s direction and at both bleachers. De Luca and the ninjas screamed, sputtered and coughed as the air was filled with fogs of confusion. YDB wasted no time running over to the Clansmen and cutting them loose. He freed his Uncle Raekwon first and armed him with a dagger to help him free the others. By the time the smoke began to clear, all the Clansmen were freed from their cuffs and wielding weapons.
“NOOOO!!!” De Luca screamed. “De Luca Army, get them!”
The hoods came off and the ninjas were revealed to be more androids. Spurred on by their brotherhood, the Clansmen spread out and fought with every ounce of courage they had. They focused on the ninjas. All except Ghost.
“I declare WAR!” he shouted. “WAR ON THE DE LUCAS!”
He charged at De Luca at the center of the floor. Surprisingly, De Luca whipped out his own sword and engaged in a battle with Ghost. He could hold his own for a moment, but Ghost’s rage was too extreme to be repelled for too long. He furiously slapped down De Luca’s sword with his own sword, dropped it and open-palm slapped De Luca in the face. He rained down blows on De Luca’s head until android ninjas came to tear them apart.
“WHAT?” Ghost said, throwing ninjas off him. “Fight me like a man! You gotta get robots to help you. No people. You’re all alone!”
De Luca glared at him, but behind the glare was the pain of a grieving child. Ghost felt a pang of empathy, but shook it off. De Luca had made his choices.
“Young Dirty!” he called, pointing to the tower. “Power source!”
De Luca’s eyes widened with fear. YDB sprinted to the ropes leading to the walkway, narrowly escaping the grasp of two ninjas and beginning a speedy climb up to the tower. Ninjas swarmed to the ropes to stop him.
“Hold ‘em off!” Rae shouted, and the Clansmen chased after the ninjas, pulling them back and fighting as many as they could. But there were too many. Four ninjas were climbing up other ropes, while two were climbing up the same rope as YDB, frantically grabbing at him from below.
YDB kicked at them but didn’t look down. His eyes were on the enclosure, though he glanced at the jumbotron and saw RZA and Deck cornered by androids. He gritted his teeth and climbed with all his might, finally getting high enough to swing onto the walkway.
“YOU FOOLS! YOU IDIOTS!” De Luca screamed at the androids. “STOP HIM! I RUN YOU! STOP HIM!”
With a wild look in his eye, De Luca indiscriminately chucked a detonator at the ropes.
“BOMB!” GZA shouted.
The Clansmen dove just in time, but several androids were blown to bits. For the briefest of moments, the androids on the ground stopped fighting and the ones on the ropes stopped scurrying.
Then, one of the androids turned to De Luca and spoke in a chillingly casual tone.
“You are much too reckless to take orders from,” it said.
It charged at De Luca, whose mouth fell open in horror.
“What- no- NO!” he shouted as he tripped backward onto the floor. Most of the androids – including three which were on the ropes – abandoned their fight with the Clansmen and swarmed De Luca. They piled on and pulverized every bit of him they could, his screams muffled underneath the heap of metal.
And then, the screaming stopped. Giorgio De Luca was dead.
But the battle wasn’t over. Some of the androids were still attacking the Clansmen with fire in their eyes. This wasn’t a fight to subdue. They were aiming to kill. And the Clansmen were still overwhelmingly outnumbered.
Meanwhile, YDB was fighting off three android ninjas who’d made it on the walkway. As he backed closer to the door of the enclosure, he stopped, dropped his sword and ducked just in time to miss the swords coming at him from both directions. The swords slashed through each android instead.
The third ninja leapt onto YDB and tried to throw him off the walkway. As they wrestled, YDB saw his brothers surrounded by the robots down below. Pinned down, YDB reached around for his sword, but the android kicked it off the walkway and reached for the weapon at its side. YDB locked up the android’s outstretched leg with his own legs and pulled, causing the android to fall off him. YDB leapt to his feet, whipped out a dagger and threw it directly at the head of the robot. It twitched, sparked and lay still.
The door to the enclosure was locked. YDB took out his last grenade, pulled the pin out, chucked it at the door and dove down the walkway. He looked down to see Ghost being pummeled on the ground and GZA get knocked unconscious. He scrambled to his feet and ran through the hole left by the grenade.
Against the back wall of the blue-glowing room was a large mainframe with numerous switches and a giant lever in the middle. Even in the most intense situation of his life, YDB marveled at how simple it all was.
He swiftly crossed the room, pulled the lever down and the glow faded out. Below, he heard thuds of metal hitting the floor. When he left the enclosure, he looked down to see GZA coming to, Ghost picking himself up and the rest of his uncles looking around at the motionless androids. Rae looked up at YDB and grinned.
“NEPHEW!” he shouted. “YOU DID IT!”
YDB returned his grin.
“Look!” Ghost said, pointing at the jumbotron. Back at Fort Tilden, no androids were left standing. On the left side of the screen were RZA and Deck in a joyful embrace.
It was over. They’d won.
The Wu-Tang Clan were declared global heroes. There was even global talk of observing the anniversary of the Battle of Fort Tilden as “Wu-Tang Day,” but the Wu insisted it be called “Hip-Hop Day” in honor of all the reinforcements. Those who gave their lives in the battle were honored with military funerals.
The Wu, including a fully healed Method Man, was honored by New York City with medals for bravery and valor in front of a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden. Familiar faces - including all of their fellow surviving soldiers - were in attendance. So was CIA Agent Frank Steuben, grinning broadly; Jonathan Harper, covering the event for The New York Times; and FBI Agent McGinley, who caught RZA’s eye and slyly winked at him before slinking into the shadows.
After they were honored, RZA found 50 Cent in the crowd and gave him a pound and a hug.
“Thank you,” RZA said.
“We good,” 50 grinned. “Just know, you try to do another TV show, I’mma crush you in the ratings.”
RZA had to laugh.
The next day, RZA flew to Washington, D.C. He met with Steuben, General Granger, NSA Director Graham Hill and a few veteran members of congress to discuss the elimination of - or at least the tight harnessing of - artificial intelligence. They sat around a long wooden table in a room at the Capitol. RZA wasted no time in sharing his ideas.
“Look, I know I’m not an elected official,” he said. “But given our experience, I have some ideas that I’d like to be included in the bill that-”
Director Hill put up a hand to stop him. General Granger awkwardly cleared his throat. Steuben gave RZA an apologetic look.
“At this time, there won’t be discussion about a bill,” Hill said.
It took a second for this to register with RZA.
“What?” he said.
The members of congress averted their eyes. Hill continued.
“We’ve had discussions with the president and NATO leaders, and we all agree that this horrendous episode was… tragic,” he said.
“Tragic,” RZA repeated flatly.
“Yes,” Hill said. “However, we also examined the specifics of the situation and determined that the likelihood of this repeating is infinitesimal. To outlaw artificial intelligence, or to place undue restrictions on it, would…be counterproductive to the health of the global economy.”
RZA stared at him.
“You’re not serious,” he said.
Hill merely blinked.
“A man created an army of androids to take over the world,” RZA said. “Hundreds of people died. Money doesn’t matter. The public won’t-”
“We feel the public will warm back up to AI in the coming months,” a congresswoman said. “There will be outreach that assures them that the benefits of AI still far outweigh whatever risks are involved.”
“Ad campaigns and propaganda,” RZA said, and his assumption was confirmed by silence. He shook his head.
“Well, I’m not going to-”
“Of course you have the right to free speech,” Hill said. “But leaders of other nations you do business in may not be as understanding of the economic ramifications your words could have.”
RZA gave Hill a look of pure disgust.
“This is-” he started.
“Mr. Diggs, we’d like to thank you for your time, and we’re all grateful to you and your group for what you’ve done,” Hill said. “And we certainly don’t want to take up anymore of your time.”
RZA stood up and stared around the table. Steuben gave the slightest shake of his head to say, “I’m against this.”
“We won’t stay silent,” RZA said, and he swept out of the room without another word.
He made good on that promise. The Wu-Tang Clan, having retrieved their Golden Record after De Luca’s villa was raided, decided not to wait a thousand years for the public to hear it. The people of the world needed truth, love and unity now more than ever.
The Wu added four new tracks to the record, including a “Rapper’s Delight”-sized single called “United We Stand,” which featured several rappers who’d fought with them at Fort Tilden. The album was renamed after the single, and not long after its release it became the best-selling Wu-Tang Clan album of all time. Not only that, but activism groups sprang up in many countries around the world demanding the elimination or restriction of artificial intelligence.
The Wu-Tang Clan took comfort in knowing that even if the powers that be were morally bankrupt, there were millions of hip-hop fans around the world who were willing to do the right thing.
YDB was nervous. It was funny to him how standing before a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden was no problem, but a small ceremony at the Quincy Jones estate made him jittery.
As RZA had said, dripping water penetrates the stone, and his patience, persistence and love for his Wu family paid off. He was going to fill the hole left behind by his father and become the 10th Wu-Tang Clansman.
Though Quincy had died, his daughters Rashida and Kidada Jones held a lovely dinner for the Wu. They honored Quincy’s memory before RZA stood at the head of the table and called YDB up.
“My nephew,” he said. “So much has been said. But I think I speak for everyone at this table when I say one more thing.
“Thank you.”
The whole table broke into applause. RZA cemented YDB’s membership by clasping a silver chain that belonged to Ason Jones around YDB’s neck. Then, he embraced his nephew as a member of the Wu-Tang Clan.
Back at the newly repaired fortress, it was finally time to rest. RZA was getting ready to lay down for the night when he heard a knock on the door.
“It’s me,” came the voice of YDB.
“Come in,” RZA said.
YDB entered and closed the door behind him.
“I talked to the rest of the guys, but I didn’t get a chance to tell you before now,” he said. “It felt weird to bring it up at the dinner.”
“What’s up?” RZA asked.
YDB paused. RZA looked at him expectantly.
“The silver talisman the All-Seeing Eye gave me, it let me hear my dad’s voice,” YDB said.
RZA’s expression was calm, but he swallowed hard.
“He helped me figure out how to get through the stone archway,” YDB said. “We made our peace, and he had a message for the whole Clan.”
RZA was silent but could barely contain his yearning.
“He said to tell everyone it wasn’t on y’all,” YDB said. “And he said, ‘I love y’all.’”
RZA eyes shone with tears.
“Thank you,” he said earnestly.
YDB nodded. He knew it was best to leave RZA alone, so he stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.
RZA sat on the edge of his bed and let out a cathartic exhale. He knew he’d get the best night’s sleep he’d had in a very long time.