Anime War Crisis By Chris Fogel Email: fogel@plains.nodak.edu "Yet another bizarre death in the string of murders that has been pluguing Mega-City California the last month. The Police are clueless as to the 'Anime Slasher's' identity at this time. It has been uncovered that this victim also an extensive Anime collection in their possesion, and once again nothing seems to have been stolen. More news at eleven." KLICK. "Hey Monty, this is spooky...You have a pretty large Anime collection. I'm scared Monty...."Jolene, a young college student whispered. "Don't worry about me Jolene, I've also got state of the art security men, and a personal arsenal at my disposal. Being one of the top Anime collectors has been good to me over the years. We will be fine." Monty bent down and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Awe, isn't that sweet, comforting your girlfriend like that. Too bad your lying through your teeth.." A tall dark figure slipped out of the shadows of the room into the light. "Huh...what," Monty stood up straight and whirled around to see the figure standing half-way in tthe shadows at the end of the room. "How did you get in here?" Monty asked flustered. "What happened to my security?" "You security is nothing compared to me," the figure laughed slightly. "But on to other matters. You DO have a ticket to Anime Expo correct?" "Security!!!!" Monty yelled. "Monty..." Jolene pleaded. "Where are they? "You did not answer my question Monty, I think that you are being quite rude." The figure pulled out a large .357 Alystyre Special. "Now Monty, that answer please," as the figure straightened his arms and pointed the gun at Monty. "Is that what you want? I have 2 in fact, I will give them to you, please, just let us be..." Monty begins fumbling through his wallet. "No, I don't want them, just making sure!" The figure pulls the trigger and Monty's body goes flying over the couch as a bullet pierces his skull in the left eye. "Haha! Got 'im." He faces the scared girl. "You know, I love being a perfect aim. So now I ask you, where you going to go to Anime Expo also?" "I...I...please...please...Oh Monty..." Jolene started crying. "Why, why are you doing this? Please..." Jolene's sobbing was racking her body so that she could even stand up anymore and she knelt to the ground. "I take that as a yes then. Oh well, even so, two tickets, so two people have to go. Might as well be you." The figure raised the gun at Jolene. When just at the right moment before he pulled the trigger, the door burst open. "Sir...look" One of Monty's bodyguards piled into the room and quickly surveyed the damage and aimed his gun at the figure. As he prepared to fire, he was slammed against the wall as a bullet pierced his left eye. A gun fight erupted as the other bodyguards opened fire at the figure and he at them. Every time the figure fired, one of the bodyguards dropped to the gound. Eventually though he ran out of bullets and more and more bodyguards were pouring into the room into defensive positions as he was getting hit again and again. "Okay! Enough!!" The figure hunched over a little and then burst out of his skin to show his grey bio-metallic true self. "Shit! A buma. Get the buma rifles! Quick!" Some of the bodyguards dashed out of the room as the rest opened up with even more fierocity, hoping that they could at least slow the buma until the buma rifles get back. "Not just buma, but shinma-buma! Hahaha" the buma walked over to the nearest corpse and picked it up. The corpse withered and shriveled and then animated. It began to open fire on it's old companions. Then the buma stood back and searched for his previos target, Jolene. "Aaahhhhh!" The screams of the bodyguards echoed out as one by one their former teamate took them out. When only three were left, three more came back into the room with buma rifles. "Go!" They opened fire at everything in the room. The buma was forced bakc not wanting to be hit too much by their rifle bursts. As he fell back, one of the bodyguards crept over to the sobbing Jolene and picked her up and slipped out one of the broken windows. "My prey!" The buma screamed. "Nobody ascapes from me, I am Saeba, Shinma-Buma!" Saeba's chest opened and a beam of powerful energy leapt forth into the room creamating everything. When the light had died down only his gory, withered servant was standing, nothing left of his body, but still being animated by the dark forces that were forced into it. Saeba then leapt out the same window and sttod outside scanning for his previous prey. "NO! How could they have gotten away from me...Hmmm... At least the night wasn't a total failure," He jumped back into the room and looked over everything. He saw the animated flesh strands still hanging there, and swept his finger at them. "You are dismissed." The pieces of the body fell to the floor. Saeba then open all of his cavities, stood there, and began to chant. Then the room went silent as the stigma of magic beagan to clear, and then he was gone. [Shift to AD Police headquarters, 2 days later] "Come on Jyanken, after more than a month of nothing, we finally get our first break, and you decide to transfer to the AD Police headquarters Special Combat team? We know now that there is a new type of buma in town, and that every single person murdered had a ticket to Anime Expo. We did extensive searches and found a pattern to his killing spree, not only that, but another murder happened last night at the same time, which means that there are at least two of these bastards. You can't ditch now" "PCHammer, you know that this case is the least of my worries, I really want to stay. I have Chun-Li here. But this is a chance of a lifetime. They only accept 2 people every year to go to the Special Training Armored Academy. Please, don't make it any worse..." Jyanken turned around and carried his box out of the room. "I'll give you a call PCHammer, it's not like I am gonna be dead. See ya." "Shit, now I have some good leads, a motive, a pattern, and what happens, I am gonna get a new partner. Hmmm...well, I suppose that I should at least go over this data, and wait to see..." PCHammer sat down at his desk and began typing things into his computer files. [Shift to Shogun's house, that evening] "Hmm...let's see. I am accessing the files on the murder cases now Shogun. Should be just a second." Dnab tapped on the keyboard a few times before, "Ah, here it is. The officers on the case are PCHammer and Jyanken." "Jyanken!" "Calm down Chun-Li," Shogun demanded quietly. "This is important, if we are going to help out, we have to get this info. Keep going Dnab." "Okay, let's see...It seems that there was a survivor of the last attempt. The big Anime Collector Monty Gust was killed along with about two dozen of his bodyguards. But it seems that his girlfriend was saved by one of them. Some of the bodies were totally fried to a crisp and one was shrivelled up and there was nothing left but a few strands even."There was an 'uuugh' in the background. "Anyway it seems that the girlfriends name is Jolene Anderson and she gave the AD Police an account of the night. The attacker seemed human at first, but wanted to know if they had Anime Expo tickets. When Monty said yes, the attacker killed him. Later on it seems that the attacker burst out of his skin into his true buma form and revealed his name to be 'Saeba' and said that he was a Shinma-Buma." "What's a Shinma, and if he is a Shinma-Buma, how could we stop him, I've never heard of that series before." Pomru looked at Dnab. "Is there any specs on this new buma?" "I'm afraid not, I did some more checking and nobody has ever heard of a shinma-buma series...Though officer PCHammer did put a side note in here that says something about a Shinma being a supernatural being, and that there were more than one of them!" "How can you mix a supernatural being with a buma? That's crazy," Chun- Li spoke up. "I don't know...But the craziest part is yet to be told. It seems that all of the victims were on the registration list for Anime Expo, and that all of them had their tickets. The tickets being nowhere to be found yet that was the only stolen item out of all the cases." Dnab sat back from the keyboard and screen. "It seems that we have a personal vendetta that is working against us, and we had best do something about it." Shogun stood up. Tonight they will most assuredly strike again and we will be there to stop them. Dnab, pull up the next two people on the list and pre-program the suits with any information that has been collected about these new bumas. Tonight we save Anime Expo." Shogun walked out of the room. [Later that night, the Sandstrom Mansion] "Don't worry Mr. Sandstrom, we have the best anti-buma technology outside of Japan here. You will be completely safe." PCHammer smiled. 'God, I hope so, if this buma has Shinma powers, we are in trouble.' he thought to himself. "I hope so officer PCHammer. I hope so." Mr. Sandstrom wrung his hands. [Shift to a large shadow filled room, unknown location] "Saeba. Dmitheon. They are waiting for you tonight. Those people who call themselves the AD Police. If you were normal bumas, they would be able to stop you easily, but you are half Shinma, and they will pose no problem to you." A deep, obviously buma voice spoke out in the silent darkness. "Yes, this will be an easy task for a shinma-buma, but be warned, you are not invincible as shinma either. Be on the watch for the Shinma Hunter. She has been hunting me on and off for over 27 years after she was given the mantle of Shinma hunter. And she will have a companion, a shinma himself. Against you, they are nothing, but with the AD Police as allies, should it occur, be wary." A dark whispy voice streched the words out. "As you wish master." Saeba spoke up with zealous intent. "Yes, masters, as you wish." Dmitheon quietly answered. 'For now that is. We are a new form of power. Greater than either of you alone. And when the time comes, we will reign supreme before you. Hehehe' "Off then, to make sure that Anime Expo is a failure. Gather data and life-force for us." The buma voice echoed out. [Shift to a grove of trees near the Sandstrom mansion, very shadowed] "I can feel their presence in this city. They are sending their shinma servants after this mortal. Tonight we will be able to get a lead on the shinma that has eluded us for 27 years. Tonight, we will be sorely needed. These are beyond normal shinma, I can feel them, and they are different from us." A shadow falls across the two figures and then nothing. The trees begin whispering in the wind again. [Shift to a complex across from the Sandstrom mansion, roof of complex] "Okay team, we know that they are going to hit here tonight, now we just play the waiting game." Shogun flexed his suit's muscles. "Tonight, we will have them." [Shift back to the Sandstrom mansion, front gate.] "Man Derk, this guard duty sucks. We're AD Police, not babysitters! I think that we should get payed extra to house sit for this dude." "Don't worry Mark. Our shift will be over in about 1/2 and hour, and then we can hit the bars." Derk replied. "Yeah, I suppose." Derk looked around. "Hey you! Get away from here." Derk yelled at a group of bums that were scrounging in the trash cans at the corner. "Please officer, we need food. Can you help us, we are so hungry." An old grizzled man limped over to the two officers. "Get outta here you jerk, can't you see we're on duty, we don't have time for the likes of you." Derk kicked a rock in the man's direction. "That's just too bad officer, I was looking forward to having some fun this evening" The old man's voice took on a youthful, evil edge to it. "Huh...wha!!!" Derk stepped back as the old man leapt forward and grasped his neck. "Hggggeeeeelll......" Derk choked out. "Shit!" Mark exclaimed as two of the other beggars leapt at him. Mark grabbed for his gun, but before he could even pull it out, his neck had been snapped. "Stupid haughty brats. Teach them to disrespect their elders!" The first beggar stood up straight. "Get ready team, here they come." The old beggar looked as the police forces came to attention at the deaths of their two comrades. Before their eyes, he began to run forward. "Hahahaha, you foolish boys, here we come!" "Get um! Open fire!" Someone shouted as round after round poured into the open area between the beggars and the rest of the police. The five old beggars took many hits and went down. Only to stand back up and burst out of their skin in a hideous fashion. "Ahahahaha...Now, we play by our rules! The lead buma shouted out, as he opened a secret compartment in his forearm and opened fire upon the unprepared police forces. The rest of the bumas followed suit and attacked the police in earnest, all laughing crazily. PCHammer heard the commotion on the front line. "What the hell?!" He pulled his .44 Magnum out of the holster and ran in the direction of the battle. By this time, the AD Police had recovered their senses, and had evened up the battle, but the toll of the bumas had already been taken. "My God. Look at the mess." PCHammer took a stance out in the open, where there was no cover, and aimed at the nearest buma. BLAM BLAM BLAM He hit the buma square in the head, but of course it did no damage. The buma turned towards him and laughed in it's mechanical voice. It then sped off towards another target, leaving the unattended PCHammer to himself. "Shit,I need a bigger gun, and more ammunition. Where is that K-512-640-720-1024-1280-1440-2048- MEGA suit. It has the power I need to fight these bumas." PCHammer ran off towards one of the large holding trucks. Bye now, only two of the bumas were left and the police were slowly backing them up towrds the gate. The gate had been closed, and it appeared that they were trapped and would be destroyed. The police pulled the ring toghter as the bumas were getting quite confused at the new strategy not used to the close fire from the police. The bumas were taking many a decent hit when a voice rang out over the din of battle. "You aren't being very nice to our friends you know. I thought that guests were to be treated nicely. We knew you were waiting for us, but we figured that the AD Police would be much easier prey. I guess we owe you some credit" With that, everyone stopped, even the two bumas. One either side of the gate, stood a man. We recognize the one on the right to be Saeba. The other we may only sumise as to be Dmitheon. "I think that we should exact a suitable price for their indecent behavior towards our friends" Dmitheon smirked. "It is our choice to be indecent hosts. We don't care if we don't get any more customers. In fact, we don't even want you. Go and play somewhere else." PCHammer stepped up in the K-something-something armored suit. "Well oficer...uh" "PCHammer. Leiutenant, AD Police." "Well officer PCHammer," Dmitheon jumped to the ground in front of the bumas. Saeba did likewise. "I think that we enjoy playing in this park. And besides, your men are so much fun to play with. Anything less than the 'AD' Police is just not the same. Saeba, if you please." Dmitheon gestured to his right. "But of course." Saeba puled out his Alystyre Special and aimed it towards his right. "Bang bang, you dead. Fifty bullets..." "Saeba! Please, we are supposed to be doing this executively in fashion." "Oh...Well i n that case." Saeba pulled the trigger. One officer went down. "FIRE! FIRE!" PCHammer screamed as Saeba pulled the trigger again and again. Four officers went down, even before the first round even reached the buma crew. Chunks of psuedo-flesh flew off of Saeba and Dmitheon and ammunition bounced off of the two bumas. Dmitheon covered his face as if in a protective gesture, only to burst out of his skin into his true Shinma-Buma form. He was shiny and yet his appearance was shimmering as if he was only partially there. Saeba also then burst out of his skin. Together they stood shimmering as round after round either fell into the shimmeing light, or bounced off their shiny tough skin. Together they opened fire on the unprepared police officers and began to make their way towards the house. PCHammer just stood there for a second and then as he saw ofiicer after officer go down, he regained his senses. He raised the auto-cannon that was his main weapon, and open up on the closest buma. But the buma was no longer there. "Huh?" PCHammer looked round only to find that Dmitheon was above him, and then on top of him. His auto-cannon fell to the ground and he staggered back from the blow. He squared off against Dmitheon and then they went at it. It was obvious from thestart who would win, and seconds later, Dmitheon did win. PCHammer was lying on the ground, his suit severely damaged. "Good-bye officer PCHammer, nice doing the tango with you" Dmitheon reached down towards PCHammer's body, which was now open to the air. PCHammer started as Dmitheon touched him and he felt his life-force leaving his body. Then, in the nick of time, a blast hit Dmitheon square in the chest reeling him backwards. "Wha...." Dmitheon looked up. There standing on each of four police vehicles was an armored suit, unlike any police suit he had ever seen. "Shogun Sabres SanGUU!!!" Shogun leapt down from his vehicle. The remaining Shogun Sabres leapt into action also. Each picked out a buma for themselves. Shogun matched up against Dmitheon, Chun-Li against Saeba, Dnab and Pomru against the other two bumas. The fighting slowed down as Dnab and Pomru easily took out the two normal bumas. "Hey Shogun, ever see a buma in this shape before?" "Nope!" Shogun continued his battle with Dmitheon. "I wonder if Chun-Li can get into that shape? How about it Chun-Li, wanna show us later?" Dnab over to help Chun-Li with Saeba. "Not NOW Dnab! I've got my hands full here!" Chun-Li dodged a blast from Saeba. "Naw, I'll give you something to fill up your hands!! Hehehe" Dnab smiled inside his suit. "Dnab! That's sick!" Chun-Li threw a punch at Saeba. "Here you go Chun-Li," as Dnab threw here the rail cannon from one of the moto-slaves. "Oooh, It's so BIG! Dnab!" Chun-Li opened fire towards Saeba who retreated in a manner that was obviously not wanting to get hit by the large cannon in Chun-Li's hands. Damn! I missed! What a waste!....Chun-Li says rolling her eyes.. Soon afterwards, the battle turned towards the side of good yet again as the Shogun Sabres pressed the two Shinma-Bumas further and further back. "Dmitheon. We are loosing out. I think we should assume our Shinma forms." Saeba cried out to his brother in conflict. The Shogun Sabres were pushing steadily and Saeba and Dmitheon were taking hits more frequently. "Yes, Saeba. NOW!" Dmitheon's body shimmered more brightly and the projectiles began to flow through him as he became a corporeal substance only half in this world. Saeba followed suit and the two of them stood there haughtily. "Now Shogun Sabres, we will show you why Anime America will prevail and Anime Expo will lose." Dmitheon's body began to change shape as his form melted away from a metallic-like shiny body to a dull crimson-brown, with various spikes and tails and (reverse articulated) cock- eyed legs, sharp claws, and a big ego. Saeba immediately followed suit and the two stood there appearing as the twins of chaos that they were. "Shogun, There's nothing there, my scanners can't pick up anything, only my visuals work, targeting out, weapons ineffictive. Almost as if they were holograms." Pomru relayed his findings as he checked all of his sensory equipment. "Can a hologram do this?" Saeba ran up, and smote Pomru in the head causing him to fly backwards. With that, the rest of the Shogun Sabres joined in the action, but there was nothing they could do to have any effect on the Shinmas. They were untouchable by scientific methods. it didn't take long before Dmitheon and Saeba stood there amidst the carnage. The only two left standing. "Now, to our goal. Mr. Sandstrom is waiting for us to come and collect his tickets." "Hehehehe" A not so girlish yet sharp laughter pealed out in the night as a figure floated into view not 50 feet in front of the two Shinma. And just to her right, another figure floated to the ground. She was pale, and stood out from the dark night, her clothing white and bright, her hair, long and silvery black. Her companion was tall, dark, and had a mask over his what most assume to be a handsome face. "I am Terianne, and this is my partner LordFranz. We are Shinma hunters. We have been searching for your master for 27 years now, and in this form, you have much to fear from us. LordFranz!" Terianne held up her hand, and a bright flame appeared. It floated over to LordFranz's now uplifted hand and set there as he raised it far above his head. "Dmi-the-on...With your name, I bind you back to the darkness whence you came." LordFranz arced his arm and threw the flame towards Dmitheon as lightning ignited towards Dmitheon. "Never Terianne! As I am bound by more than one darkness." Dmitheon's form precipitated towards its previous buma form. The flame and lightning smote Dmitheon and he writhed in agony, still changing. Concrete slabs slammed up to form a wall around him, and his name appeared carved into the walls. Everything began to glow as an opening formed over Dmitheon. Then went quiet. A second passed. Two. The walls burst apart as the Dmitheon- Buma stood tall and shiny in the night, still shimmering. "Now, I bind you to eternal hell!!" Dmitheon vaulted towards the two figures. When he arrived only a split second later, they were not there. They were now hovering over on of the overturned police vehicles. "Hmmm...Saeba?" Saeba scanned the area only to notice that members of the Shogun Sabres were coming around. "Dmitheon. We cannot avail against them both. We must return to our elders." Dmitheon looked around. "Shit. DAMN!, off then!" He fired his rocket boosters and bound into the sky. 'They think they have us they do, but they were only lucky that we were not fully prepared for all that occured tonight. I think even Saeba does not recognize his own potential. If he could only see what I see. It doesn't matter for now, he will learn my ways and our masters also. And the Shogun Sabres and Terianne and LordFranz and PCHammer; they will all fall before me. And Anime Expo. That will fail at my hands as well.' Saeba followed Dmitheon into the sky. Terianne and LordFranz misted away as if never there. The Shogun Sabres picked up quietly and slipped into the night, sulking in their defeat. And PCHammer just looked around at all that was not left and sighed. "And I'll be the one to fill out the paperwork I suppose" [End part 1] [Chapter 2.] "Looks like you guys really took a beating back there. These suits are a mess. It will take me quite a while to get these patched up. I can't believe that it took the four of you just to fight them back as equals and when they use their supernatural powers, they are out of your league." Jiro looked up from where he was poring over Shogun's ramshackled suit. "Really Shogun, I'm suprised that you even made it back here. I will have to go and get some more parts, it could be a day probably before I even get them to a suitable fighting level, and a few more before they are back in top condition." Jiro continued his tinkering with the nearly destroyed suit. "No problem Jiro, just get them as fast as you can. The more we wait, the more AX members that get in dire need of us. Not to mention the bad publicity. If it got out, we could be ruined." Shogun looked around the shop and remembered the fight from the night before. 'There has to be some way to stop them, some weak point.' He turned his words inwards to his thoughts. 'Even if we could stop them, who is their leader? We know that he is affiliatied with AA, but that could be any number of non-important and totally incorrect people. I'll have to talk to Dnab and see what he can pull out of the computer.' "See you later Jiro, I'll be around to check up later." "Okay Shogun," Jiro didn't even glance up as Shogun left the room. "Dnab, did you find out anything about last night?" Shogun entered another room of his subterraniean complex. "Well, not what I wanted to. You know, Chun-Li wasn't very cooperative and I only asked her for..." "Dnab! Please, what did you find out about the bumas?" Shogun started. "You can tell me about that later." "Well, I was going to interview the surviving witness from the previous case, only it was in the police files this morning that she was found on the street, apparently a .357 round had been drilled through her head. Sounds like our man actually, but she was supposed to be hidden and under police protection. Don't know how they could have found here. In any case I do do some research on Shinma, as well as bumas and I went over Pomru's data files from the fight last night." "And?..." Shogun sat down in one of few chairs in the cluttered commputer room. "Well, it seems that Shinma means God + Demon. And there aren't that many left roaming the earth up here supposedly. There is a caretaker Shinma that makes sure that any that do get up here, are sent back to the darkness. Our friendly officer PCHammer seems to know quite a bit about these particular beings. Well, more than I could find anywhere else in the world. He's good at his paperwork. Doesn't miss much. Anyway, taking what we know of both creations, I put together this data sequence." Dnab tapped the keyboard a few times and the screen flickered some data across itself. "Hmmm...what's this Dnab?" Shogun pointed to a spot on the screen. "It is a central AI-emulator. It is an AI chip that is made from organic material as opposed to metal and silicon. Very highly advanced and I've never seen it in any other buma class." Dnab popped his knuckles. "I really don't know what to say yet. We need more info to stop them." "Alright. See what you can do. I have few visits to make." Shogun stood up and walked out. 'Hmmm....wonder if I could get my hands on that AI and make myself a Chun-Li buma. One that would...' Someone yelled. "Hung. Oh well. HOLD ON!" Dnab got up and ran out of the room. [A cluttered room, filled with elecrtonic parts, and many papers] "Now where is my hot glue gun?? How will I ever finish this AI if I can't glue the cover on the AI mechanism. I new I should have bought the model kit with paints and plastic cement that came with it. Aha, here it is." A slightly older man is hunched over a table, with many electronic components. In his hands, he holds a revolutionary new type of AI. One that he knows will change the world. "Ah...Hello doctor." Jiro stepped into the small room. KRUNCH. "Oh no what did I step on? A vital piece of equipment...Oh, I hope not..." "Oh!" The man turned around, "What? Let's see." He gets up, and walks over to Jiro, bends down as Jiro moves his foot. "Oh, worse than that!" "No, what?!?!?!" Jiro was now scared that he destroyed years of work. "No, My Madoka Doll!!! Ohh....How could you Jiro...." the man sits down and pouts. "I'm sorry Kimagure...really I am." Jiro bent over and picked up her arm piece. "Here..." "Well, I suppose since you didn't mean to. And I can hot glue it back together, when I find my hot glue gun. Anyway, what can I do for you Jiro?" "Actually...I need some parts. Here's a list." Jiro pulls a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and hands it to Kimagure. "Hmmm...Lets see. One Positronic Cyclinator, one rear gyro-stabilizer, two frontal port jets, one auto-locking targeter, four nudge clips for master integration between links, and two games for the PC Engine: Ys, and SF2. Don't you remember last time you got SF2? You and Pomru got in a fight, and broke the PCE, and to top it off, you weren't speaking for 4 days!!!" "Yeah, well...I'm going to play Shogun this time." Jiro lokked around pretending to be innocent. "Okay, let's see what we have." Kimagure started rummaging through the stacks of paper and equipment. A few minutes later he pulled out some of the equipment and found a box to put it in. I found it all, except a fourth nudge clip. I have it arounf here somewhere." "Well, I can come back later and get it." Jiro picked up the box and walked out of the room. "Thanks Kimagure!" "No problem...Now, let's see, where was I???" Kimagure sat down and picked up the AI chip. "I believe that you were just about to give us that AI chip doctor." "Wha..." Kimagure turned around. "Who are you?" "I am Saeba, and this is Dmitheon. We are prodigies of your previous AI chips. We are quite happy with the life you have given us. But we now ask for that chip." Saeba's frame was outlined by a bright light begind him. "I'm not just going to give it to you because your one of my bumas. This AI is special. It will be the greatest step in buma development. It can give a buma a human soul.It is alive, not just silicon pretending to be alive. I cannot allow you to have this." Kimagure stood up. "Sit down." Saeba pulled out his Alystyre Special. BANG! Dmitheon jumped from befind Saeba, and rushed to Kimagure's falling frame. He grabbed his wrist, and tore it off of the doctor. He opened it and took the as yet un- covered AI chip. "Aha, we got it Saeba. Now we can return to our masters." Dmitheon walked towards the door triumphantly. "Yes, They will be pleased that we got this for them. I cannot wait to meet our new brother, that will receive this." Saeba follows behind Dmitheon. "Nor I brother Saeba, nor I" Dmitheon carefully hid the AI in his jacket and walked into the alley. 'Only dear brother, this AI will be mine, and our new brother can have my old AI. I won't let them give this to an inferior creature. It is the most powerful in the world, and it must be given to that which can use it.' [Shift to a small, yet seemly spacious agency room] "Yes, this is he. Yes, I would be happy to take your case. No problem. I can start tonight. Okay, thank you. Good Bye." A man sat back in a small desk that was in the room. On the desk we see a name plate. It says: Ryo. "Well I suppose I'll take lunch now." Ryo got up, and we notice something about him. He looks a lot like Saeba. He walks out of the office and goes next door to the small Italian buffet. "Oh wow! Look, it's Ryo!!!" A group of extremely good looking ladies that is walking along the street yell. They all come over and start giving Ryo hugs and kisses. "Ryo, your the greatest. Will you be MY bodyguard some day?" One of the girls asks. "Sure baby, but for now, I have to eat." Ryo smiled as the ladies calmed down, and sat around him chattering. "Did you hear, there's a new kind of buma on the streets, and it's going after people. I'm getting kinda scared another lady spoke up. "Yeah, me too. I think the AD Police haven't been doing their jobs, and they have to rely on the Shogun Sabres. Oh, I hope it isn't going to get me," the first lady sopke up again. "Oh, you needn't worry about them, not with me around." Ryo smiled inwardly. 'They don't know that they are talking to Saeba. As long as they aren't going to AX, they will be happy! And with me!' Ryo Saeba looked around the group. "I will protect you all. For no fee even!" "Oh Ryo!" As the ladies started hugging and kissing him again. [Later that night. Middle class housing development] A figure walks in the darker shadows of the street. "Hmmm...3693 Crest Way. This is it." The figure walks into the driveway, and up to the house. As the porch light falls on the figure's face, we notice that it is Dmitheon, with a different, more pompous look about him. KNOCK KNOCK The door is answered by a little girl, who can be no more than seven years old. "Hello? Can I help you?" The little girl opened the door as far as the chain lock would allow. "Could I please speak to your mother or father?" Dmitheon looked at the chain on the door. 'Hehehe, if only they knew that that chain is nothing to me.' "Just a minute." And the door closed. A moment later, the door re-opened and a middle aged woman with Auburn colered shoulder length hair looked out. "May I help you?" She opened the door nearly all the way. "Yes, I am just going around making sure of our participants. You have family tickets to AX do you not?" Dmitheon open his jacket and produced a piece of paper. "Well, yes we did buy the family set, for four people. Why do you ask?" The woman now had a confused look on her face, then it turned to horror as she saw Dmitheon drop the paper and look at her evilly. It was then that she realized that she wouldn't be alive for much longer. "No...." SNAP Dmitheon reached forward and grabbed the woman by the head and killed her instantly. He then chucked the body to the side and it imdented the wall and then slumped over on the floor. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!! Mooooommmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!" The little girl looked at Dmitheon and screamed again. "Daddy!!! Please, help me!" Dmitheon stepped forward at swatted the girl into the wall with such force that her body broke threw the plaster-board walls and out into the living room area. Her fragile, yet now limp form was sprawled out over a broken glass coffee table. Blood was everywhere. A man stepped into the hallway area. "Wha...My God! He saw Dmitheon there and turned around and ran back the way he came. "You can't run from me..." Dmitheon followed in the direction that the man man went. The man ran into his bedroom and rummaged through the closet for a second before producing a laser targeting fully automatic Riot-Destroyer rifle. He then ran back out of the room with the gun ready on full-auto. Dmitheon was nowhere to be seen. "Oh no, he must have gone upstairs. "Chris_M!!!!! Wake Up!!!" the man started upstairs dropping his wallet in the process. He doesn't notice it. but we pan down to look at it and it says :"ILuvMisa, ADPolice- Private": Dmitheon opened the door to the bedroom. It was dark, but he could see easily. "Hmm, nothing here." Dmitheon started for the next bedroom, he heard the man scream "Chris_M, Wake Up!" but just continued to the next door. He opened it, and Chris_M was there, ready for him. Hard-KOR had a gun in his hands. BANG BANG "My dad is AD Police. He taught me how to use this you bastard. Chris_M was all of 16 years old, but he knew how to handle a gun. Of course Dmitheon just stood up tall and shook the bullets off. Chris_M just sat there dumb-founded. Dmitheon stepped forward as Chris_M fired round after round till the gun was empty. "Heh...Boy. Obviously, he didn't teach you well enough you little shit. Of course, I am the greatest form of buma, no, life that exists in this world, so you couldn't stop me with that anyway." Dmitheon reached forward towards Chris_M and grabbed his arm. RIP! "Hehehe. Try to shoot me now." RIP! Now Chris_M had no arms with which to use the gun. SPLOOCH! Dmitheon punched right through Chris_M's head and into the wall. He retracted his arm, and was hit from behind by an armour piercing round in the small of his back, forcing him to the bed. "Who are you? Whay are you doing this to us??" ILuvMisa aimed the rifle at Dmitheon. "I am Dmitheon." Dmitheon began to writhe, and burst out of his flesh into his buma form. "I am the greatest form of life on the planet. And you must die." Dmitheon flexed his bio-spiritual-metallic muscles and started to shimmer and glow. Dmitheon stepped forward. "Not if I can stop you." ILuvMisa opened up on Dmitheon, but to obviously no effect. "Chris_M! What happened?" ILuvMisa was shocked. "I'm afraid your not going anywhere" Dmitheon lunged forward and swept ILuvMisa to the side. "Your little boy called me a bastard. I couldn't take that from him..." Dmitheon grabbed ILuvMisa and threw him across the room into the dresser. Dmitheon then stepped over to ILuvMisa and his body was enveloped by Dmitheon's shimmer. ILuvMisa, now limp and shrivelled as Dmitheon took his life-force. "Hehehe...Do evil deeds to the body of your son." The limp shrivelled body of ILuvMisa now dead, was animated by Dmitheon's evil aura. The body of ILuvMisa stepped over to his former son and picked him up and threw him out the window. THUD! The body lies still and lifeless on the ground outside. The body of ILuvMisa then jumps out after his son. The animation from Dmitheon ends. As the last true breath of life leaves ILuvMisa he thinks. 'I had found Misa, and made her my wife. Why does paradise have to end in tragedy?' THUMP! "Another night's work done well..." Dmitheon faded into the shadows. A cold empty wind rustled the curtains of the broken, open window. [Shift to a small and bare living room of an apartment] "Chun-Li, I'm sorry, but it's the chance of a lifetime. They only accept two people a year. Out of thousands, I was chosen. I really want to stay Chun-Li. I do, but..." Jyanken looked at Chun-Li who was staring at the ground. " "I sat around pondering this for days...I don't want to lose you Chun- Li. It was the toughest decision of my life. But I will come back. The training is only for 2 years. Then I will ask to be assigned back here. I care too much about you to not want to come back to you. Please understand." Jyanken looked her over. 'God, what AM I leaving behind. Only the most beautiful woman and greatest fighter in the world.' He sighed as his thoughts turned downward. "I know this is hard for you, but be strong. Jyanken bent down to kiss her passionately on the lips. "I love you." Jyanken turned around and walked out the door, with a box of his stuff. He turned and blew a kiss and waved as he dissappeared from Chun-Li's sight. Chun-Li slowly walked towards the door and out. She looked down the hall, but Jyanked was already gone. 'Hmmm..probably late for his flight...' She slowly closed and locked the door "Shit!!" Chun-LI chucked the keys down the hall, and fell against the door, sobbing. [End Chapter 2] [Anima War Crisis. Chapter 3.] [Large dark room. Location unknown.] "Now my children, See who is your new brother. Welcome to this world, Ahz. He is a superior Shinma-Buma to both of you. His new AI interacts better with his Shinma background more than both of yours. Only he needs one more piece of equipment to make him complete. There is a new data link that will allow his AI to infuse with his body, so that he will be Shinma-Buma at all times, instead of having to transfer his essence, as in your case. The new link is at Scanner Services Advanced Design Systems. And while your there, you can look and see what their Mystical Resources Department) might have for our cause. Also, take out Mr. Scanner himself, as he has tickets to AX." A deep bio-metallic voice reamed into the darkness. A figure stepped out of the darkness, and as Dmitheon and Seaba looked on, Ahz's body glimmered dimly in the near total black. "Thank you for the welcome brothers. I look forward to fighting along-side you in the future to come. May AX fall before our might." "Yes! Welcome brother," Saeba extended his hand. Ahz accepted it and they clasped for a few seconds. "Hmmm...Yes, welcome brother." Dmitheon pouted towards his new brother, and looked towards his masters. "Master Kai, Master Gunbuster. I believe that I alone could handle this Scanner Industries task. I think Saeba should take Ahz out on another mission to welcome him to the world." "Dmitheon...What better way to introduce Ahz to this world than to have him execute the holder of his soon to be new-found power. The Shogun Sabres will be expecting you, and Terianne will be sure to tag not far behind your activities. You will stand a better chance at obtaining it with him along with you. But while you will be at Scanner Services, Saeba will be going to make an assination. You will be after a goal, but also a diversion, as whom he will assisanate will greatly cripple their cause. " A whispy, yet slithering voice echoed into the room. A shimmer showed for mere second as Kai spoke, and then was again consumed by the black. "I see master. As you command." Dmitheon backed away. "Now, go and prepare," the bio-metallic voice echoed up again. "Tonight will not be easy for you, and you have much to show Ahz." The voice obviously belonging to Gunbuster. "As you wish masters." They all replied. 'But I will get that data link and be the new buma. They don't suspect that Ahz is just ordinary. The data link won't help him at all, but me, it will make me all things. It will make me master. I will be God to all living things, and I will Rule.' Dmitheon posed the thoughts to himself. 'Hehehe' Dmitheon walked out with Ahz and Saeba not far behind. "Kai?" GunBuster opened up. "I know. Do not worry, listen..." Kai whispered, and then, they were both gone. [Open to Shogun's house, It is obviously a few days after their defeat] "Well Shogun, we haven't been able to stop or even get the pattern of the Shinma-Buma's in the last few days, BUT I know where they will hit next. They stole an experimental AI chip from Kimagure the same day that Jiro went over there. But this chip was not finished, so they would need a data link to allow the Shinma part of the new Buma to exist. Now, it seems that the only place right now that makes these are Scanner Services (Computer Department). I figure if we watch that place, then we will have a chance at them. Of course we would have to take them out before they transfer their essence to shinma." This means, we would really need some firepower. I don't even know if the moto-slaves would be enough." Dnab broke the pencil he was fidgeting with. "Well, if you need more firepower, I just might be able to help." Jiro walked in. "After what happened to Kima, I want these guys now, more than ever. I have been working on a new version of the moto-slave, though this version is bigger, more armored, and slower. They are all equipped with special telemmetry and bio-data links. The joint areas contain paring cartridges that allow combination with other cartridges if there is a large enought power supply to keep the data system flowing. It allows up to five of the new moto-slaves to act as one system, to work in total unison. And with the new links, they have superior targetting than alone, and of course they can weild a bigger weapon. Which happens to be made with an anti-ionic corruption field, and uses 432 case energy propelled armor piercing meta synthetic rounds." "What are you trying to say Jiro?" Dnab plucked his broken pencil to the ground. "I watched too much Voltron when I was a kid???!!!" Jiro laughed heartily, as Shogun and Dnab broke out also. "Well Jiro, tell us more about it, and see what we can do, we don't have much time left..." Shogun walked out after Jiro towards the construction area that was setup for the suits, and moto-slaves. Dnab got up. "I'll get the rest of the Sabres, and be right down." [Later that hour, in a small, unadorned room. Lit only by a single candle] CLICK. The door to the small room opened up, and unnatural phos- flourescent light spilled into the barely candle-lit room. "Sir, this just in from the labs at the Computer department. According to the latest info and reports, the assailants next target looks to be you and this lab." "We know, Please leave us." A figure hovering over the center of the floor spoke softly. "Yes Sir...sorry to bother you sir!" The young man turned and closed the door. The room once again fell into psuedo-darkness. The figure at the middle of the room still hovered as though the young man had never disturbed it. "Now. Come to us." The voice was mysterious, yet it had the feel of old knowledge. The room lit as a portal opened into this world from another place, another time. "We ask. Answer." With the figure now lit we see that it, no that he, has long flowing hair, and wears only a simple robe. "Yesssss....They are Ssssshhinma....Thhey are perverted. They use physsssical bodiessss. I would not deem thhhem my kin. They come for you... Thhhheir massster is 'Kai' a full blooded Ssshhhhinma. You are all that is left between their new brother, and domination of Bothhh tthhhisss world, and the Abysssss, our world. If the one attains shhhinma-hood, then he would reign supreme in all. " The raspy voice echoed from the light portal. "So it would seem. Please leave us now." The man looked up for a second, and the portal closed, and the light was gone. "We shall see. We are returned." The figure descended and landed on the floor. We could see it stand up, and leave the room, closing the door behind it. CLICK. It locks. [That night, outside Scanner Services (Design Lab 42)] "There it is brother Ahz. Scanner Services Lab 42. That's where your data link is. shall we go and get it?" Dmitheon Smiled. "Yes. Let's brother." Ahz looked eager to get on. The two Shinma-Bumas headed across the halfway lit lawn towards the building. Never once stopping for anything, yet strangely, nothing was around. They had reached the building and were about to enter when a voice broke their as yet undisturbed trek. "Breaking and entering on Private property is not proper. I ask you to reconsider your propositions to enter." The figure from earlier stepped out from around the corner. He still wore the same simple robe and carried only a small weapon in his left hand. "Mr. Scanner. Nice of you to inform us of our priveledges, but we have to take advantage of your new data link. In fact, if you want to help us out, just tell us how to open the vault the easy way, and that'll save you the money on having to rebuild it." Dmitheon stopped his advance and smirked towards Scanner. "We are afraid that can not be allowed." Scanner raised the weapon in his left hand. "Now. We send you a compliment of Scanner Services." The weapon fired a small-high velocity projectile towards Dmitheon, whom it hit yet did nothing to him. "It seems greater measures need to be taken." "You should know by now that I'm not any ordinary buma, and that even that kind of round won't hurt me. Ahz, now's your chance. Kill your first AX culprit." Dmitheon turned and prepared to enter the building. " I will get the data link for you." "I think that you should stay and help your new friend Dmitheon. He'll have his hands full you know." A voice emanated from not too far off. Four figures stood on the lawn. "Shogun Sabres SanGUU!" "So we meet again, and this time, I needn't swat the AD Pests in order to take you out! And I shan't wait till you shoot me a few times either." Dmitheon burst out of his skin and into buma form. "Ahz, change now. Let's play!!!" Dmitheon leapt towards the Shogun Sabres eager to fight yet again. "Yes!" Ahz burst from his skin, and followed Dmitheon, forgetting all about Scanner, who stepped back, not hiding, but watchful. "By the way Sabres...Nice new mecha...not gonna help though!!!" [Shift to a movie theater. In the main room, with the lights still on.] A man walks out onto a stage which is under the projection screen. "Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Anime Mystery Showing Theater. Today we are proud to show the premiere of the 'Maisson Ikkoku' series with the first four episodes, done by Screamline Pictures Inc." Near the back of the theater, a couple sits. "Hardsuit!" The female whispers. "You said it would be a good movie...I HATE Screamline. I can't believe you would even take me to this tradegy of Anime. I'm appalled." "I'm sorry, I didn't know..We can leave, and go somewhere else. I'm really sorry. I am...I didn't know." Hardsuit pleaded to his girlfriend. In the background, moans and screams of dejection, dissappointment and hatred can be heard. Until a voice broke out over the calamity. "I can't believe of all the good stuff out there, you had to show a Screamline production. I'm dissappointed!." BANG. Saeba walked out from the sidelines as the body of the announcer fell dead. 'I wonder how Screamline got MI. Man, that sucks. Of all the people. Man, I think we should go and wipe out Screamline instead of AX...hmmm...Oh well...' Saeba walked over to the body on the floor. "Everyone will now be happy to know that they aren't going to show that shit today! Camaraman, you will change it. NOW!!! Put in 'Anime War Crisis, the movie, done by AE." As he talked, people were still fussing around, though now about the dead man than the movie. "And the people in this theater will sit down and shut-up, or I'll have them put the MI back in!" Saeba scanned the audience until he found who he was looking for. He started to walk towards th back of the theater. "Mr. Hardsuit, I believe that you are the Art Director for AX. I hope things are not self sufficient without you, because that would make things much easier for us." "Hardsuit...Hardsuit...no...this is the..the..the super buma that's in the news all the time..Please sir...please....don't" The girl started to get hyper. "We'll do anything....anything, just please don't kill us..." "Anything? Hmm...that's a thought...I know! How's this?" Saeba stroked his chin with his free hand. 'I'm as good as dead, unless I can knock the gun away long enough for us to get out of here. Okay...' "NOW!" Hardsuit jumped at the gun, in an attempt to knock it away. BANG. Hardsuit stopped in mid-flight, and dribbled blood "Doesn't matter, with our GoH, you've lost..." as he fell over the seat in front of him, empty of life. "Anything hmmm? How about you give me a backrub?" Saeba looked at the lady. "I've had a long day." "Will you kill me?" The lady whimpered. 'I can have the chance to get him for what he did to hardsuit' "Your a cruel woman...your boyfriend just died...bitch!" BANG. "Oh well, I guess the backrub'll have to wait till tomorrow when Ryo gets to work" Saeba put his gun away, and walked back down the aisle and out of the theater. [Now, back at Scanner Services, where the battle goes in the Bumas favor] "No good shogun...even the two of them are too good for us." Pomru jumped away from a blast sent by Ahz. "Alright then, we try Indy's new idea. Indy! We need you now!" Shogun pulled back, and activated the sequence. "Shogun Sabres form: Giant Shogun Sabre Bot." Jiro popped out of nowhere in his mecha, that was more of a piece to fit the puzzle than a fighting machine. The other four mecha leapt towards Shogun's and then in the blink of an eye, and three replays of the forming later, there stood the Shogun Sabre Bot. The fighting continued, but the Sabre Bot only evened the odds, instead of turning them. The battle ground on, and a winner was not being found. "Shogun, we only have enough energy left for 3 minutes, after that, we'll have to split apart again. I suggest we try to use the new cannon." Jiro interrupted the beeping of the intercom. "Your right. Time for the big gun." Shogun pulled a few levers and pushed a few buttons. The hands of the Sabre Bot came together as Shogun yelled. "Form! Blazing Big Gun!" As the hands pulled apart, a big gun appeared as if from nowhere. "Man, the designer watched too much Voltron!" Dmitheon saw what was coming and decided to make his move. 'Their power level isn't holding up, my guess is that they can't be that giant robot for long, so...' Dmitheon moved over to Ahz and opened up against the Bot. The now huge gun aimed itself in the direction of Dmitheon and fired. "Afraid not guys!" Dmitheon dropped, rolled back, and kicked Ahz right into the path of the burst. 'Can't have you taking me out when I'm so close to this. How about taking Ahz, he's just another one in my way too, so, here you go. Ahz's body slammed into the ground as now mostly slag. Dmitheon took the opportunity in the wake of the blast to change himself. "Heheheh" Dmitheon's body shimmered and then there he stood in his shinma form. "Now Sabres! We deal the final hand" "He's changed...break apart now, don't get caught together!" Shogun pressed a big button in his cockpit, and the Giant Sabre Bot broke apart. "Shinma. Hold!" The till now forgotten Scanner stepped forward onto the lighted lawn. Dmitheon turned around. Scanner had produced a small scroll with ancient writing on it. "Shinma. We bind you." Scanner started chanting. "You can't bind me Mr. Scanner, You're not the Guardian, and You didn't summon me!" Dmitheon struggled against the restraints that were forming around him. "Uuugh!" Dmitheon finally ripped the bonds and was about to turn his attention once again towards the now disenheartened Shogun Sabres. "But I may." Terianne floated down and LordFranz arrested next to her. Dmitheon jumped back to take in the whole scene. Standing on the lawn were the Shogun Sabres, Terianne(who now had brown hair instead of black) and LordFranz, and Scanner. Terianne formed a mystic flame and handed it to LordFranz. LordFranz cast the flame towards Dmitheon as lightning etched the ground around the Shinma-Buma. 'If only I had that data link. I can't take all of them on, not by myself.' Dmitheon started backing up till he hit the building. "Shit. Your lucky yet again Shogun Sabres." Dmitheon reformed into his buma self, and blasted off past the startled group. "Who are you, that can frighten his shinma form?" Shogun opened up his mecha and leapt out, though he still wore his suit. Scanner stepped forward. "She is Terianne, and he is LordFranz. She is the Guardian of this realm. She returns lost shinma to the Abyss." "I see. Thank you then Terianne for your help, and also you LordFranz. We were quite at a loss when they were in that form." Shogun walked over to where Terianne, LordFranz and Scanner stood. "You're welcome sir." LordFranz spoke up. "CUT...CCCCUUUUUUUTTTTTTT!!!!!!! What the hell do you think you're doing LordFranz?! Haven't you ever seen Vampire Princess Miyu? Better yet! Didn't you rehearse your parts? You aren't supposed to talk!!!!! Shit..Now we have to retake. Places everyone!" The man who yelled sat back down into his chair which had : Director - Heretic written on it. "And...Action." "You're in over your head Shogun Sabres, be wary..." Terianne giggled as LordFranz pulled her closer and they faded into the night. As the ring of Terianne's giggle faded...it darkened once again, and Scanner was nowhere to be seen. "Well, let's go home guys..." Shogun crawled back into his mecha and the group sped home. [End Chapter 3] ANIME WAR CRISIS written by Chris Fogel (early 1993) [Chapter 4: Identity Trouble] [A small cafe, around lunchtime] "Hi PCHammer, how are you today?" Chun-Li walked over to the counter where PCHammer was eating a small lunch. "No donuts huh?" She smiled and sat next to him. "Hi Chun-Li! I haven't seen you in a while. I'm doing fine actually, and today I meet my new partner, so maybe it's good that you saw me before then eh?" He chuckles. "How about you? Are you holding up?" He waves the waitress over. "Can I help you miss?" The waitress pulls out her order pad. "Sure, I'd like a coffee please." Chun-Li then turns back to PCHammer. "I'm doing pretty good. I got a letter from Jyanken the other day, and he has his hands full over there. He also sends his regards to you. He said that he might give you a ring some day. I guess that it's not all donuts and coffee over there!" She smiles. "And I may have found a new partnership to buy my manga series, so things are looking upwards." The waitress sets a cup of coffee in front of Chun-Li. "Thank you." Chun-Li takes a sip. "That's good. Things here are pretty hectic too. With all the rumors going around the city with the AX murders, and the rage of bumas everywhere all of the sudden, it amazing that I even have any free time at all. And worst of all, it seems we now have a copy-cat killer on our hands. Don't know how he got names or address, but that's just another problem to worry about." PCHammer looked over at Chun-Li. 'Hmmm...she's so beautiful, I can't believe Jyanken left....' PCHammer took a bite of his sandwich. "Oh well," he takes a sip of his coffee and stands up, knocking over Chun-Li's cup of hot coffee in the process. It spills all over her hand that was on the counter reaching for some more sugar."Oh damn...I'm sorry, geez I guess I'm kinda out of it maybe. Let me help clean that up..." "No, that's okay, you get back to work, and maybe I'll stop by later, okay!" Chun-Li faked a smile, as secretly, she knew the coffee was burning her hand quite badly. She got some napkins from the waitress, and started cleaning up the mess. "Go on, I got it..." "Uh, yeah, I suppose I really should get back, before I get into trouble. He takes Chun-Li's hands in his. "Take care Chun-Li, I'll see you around okay." He places his money on the counter and walks towards the door. "Okay, I will, you too. And don't be too harsh on your new partner!" Chun-Li waves. "Hah, if he isn't the death of me first, you can be sure that I'll be pretty harsh!" PCHammer starts laughing and walks out the door. [Later that day, city hospital] KNOCK KNOCK "Hello Kimagure, how are you feeling today?" Jiro opened the half closed door and walked in. "Hi Jiro! I am fine, how about you?" Kimagure struggled to sit up in the soft hospital bed. "Things are going pretty good here also, and I brought you some candy, and a gift, and we all hope you get better." Jiro placed a vase of flowers on the small table, and a box of chocolates next to it. He then handed Kimagure a wrapped box. "Well, open it Kima..." Jiro sat down as Kimagure took the box, and slowly tried to open it with his one hand. "Oh!" There was a pause. "Jiro...you...you shouldn't have...I" Kimagure stumbled over the words, as he pulled out the gift that Jiro had given him. We see that he pulls out a very real looking hand and wrist component. "I made it from your own design, in my spare time. I figure that you would like to be normal again, after what happened. I hope you like it." Jiro stood up again, kinda nervously. "Jiro, I don't know how to say this, but...Thank You!" Kimagure put the hand back in the box, and smiled. "Thank you for everything." [Not much later, in an abandoned warehouse somewhere] A shifty bio-metallic voice lifted out of the darkness. "Things are set for this eve. Since Ahz is no longer with us, we must step up our plans in a different direction. There is a GoH coming into town today. That is our plan of attack." [Scene now at ADP headquarters. An office] "Okay, PCHammer, It's been a few days, and some things have gone under restructuring. You are not only getting a new partner, but there is going to be another group assigned to your buma killings cases. That way, there are as many people as can be spared working on this." Gundam sat down at his desk. "Yes Sir!" PCHammer saluted. "Okay, you 3 can come in now." Gundam looked towards the second door in the room. In walked people. All of different ages, and sizes, and looks. "Hello Sir," the first of the three responded. "Hello Radman, HunterD, and Chico-san. This is Lieutenant PCHammer. PCHammer and Radman will be partners, their cameo team will be HunterD, and Chico-san. You guys will be given any special equipment you need. Just get these guys, okay!" Gundam stood up. "Good luck." Gundam shook each of their hands on the way out. As they all walked out of the office, just as Radman was going to speak to PCHammer, Chun-Li waves at him from his desk. "Oh, excuse me guys, a good friend of mine is here. See you in a few Radman." PCHammer leaves the three and moves towards his desk. "Hi Chun-Li, how are you?" He sits on the desk and offers the chair to her. "Oh, I'm just fine, except that I have a mighty wierd burn where you spilled the coffee this morning..." She shows her hand to him. "See?" "Yeah, so it is. Wow, I'm really sorry about that." PCHammer blushed "But! This might help." He pulls a first aid kit from under his desk, and applies some ointment to her burn, and then wraps it in a neat little BGC bandage. "There! This'll help a whole lot more!" He smiled. "Oh! Thank you. Feels much better already. Anyways, I just thought I'd stop bye to say hi, and see how your new partner is doing?" She smiles. 'I hope he's willing to give some more information out. We really need it...' [That night, a studio penthouse complex, downtown] "Goodnight Sensei." The bellboy closed the door behind him. "Ah, goodnight." The man watched the bellboy go, and then sat down on the plush chair. 'I wonder how things are going to fall into place and if I'll even get a chance to go to AX now with all the fuss...' The man was obviously Japanese in origin, and had the look about him, as if he were a great designer of characters. He took a glass of wine off the table , and began to sip slowly. "So, Shogun, when are you going to call? I really would like to know how things are going?" "Yes, so would I Kiku-Sensei. And better yet, how are things going to go after your gone?" A mysterious figure stepped into the room dressed looking like a professional hitman. "You may know me by my name or by what I am, just as everyone knows you for the same reason. But just to make things clear, I'll tell you. I am Dmitheon. I've had a long day at work, and I really don't feel like doing too many killings tonight so I've decided to make a big hit, instead of just lots of little ones." Dmitheon pulled an Alystyre Special out of his trench coat. "Why are you doing this? What have I done to you? What has anyone going to AX done to you?" Kiku-Sensei stood up. "I cannot lie and say that I am not afraid, but the Shogun Sabres will stop you, and AX will continue. Your efforts will be in vain. You will lose." Kiku-Sensei took a sip of his wine, and then flung it at Dmitheon. The glass shattered in mid-air as a ring resounded in the room. Dmitheon's barrel was smoking lightly. "I would have thought you a better man, Kiku-Sensei. Such a futile attempt by one who so many people admire. That is such a sad sight. Maybe this world would be better off without you, ne?" Kiku-Sensei made his move, and dropped below the couch, and Dmitheon just started laughing. "Hah, no matter what you do, you can't escape. Just give up." Dmitheon started walking towards the couch. Then Kiku-Sensei popped up, and had something in his hand. It looked like a detonator. He pressed the button, and lasers from all angles opened up fire on Dmitheon, charring his flesh, and clothes, as well as backing him away from Kiku-Sensei. Kiku-Sensei stepped back, and then a fully fledged armored Shogun Sabre pounced into the room from the now opened doorway. "Wha?" Dmitheon pulled back, and burst out of what was left of his skin. The lasers not doing any real damage to him. "A trap! No matter, I'll still take you all out!" "Afraid not Dmitheon, we have you now." The Shogun Sabre we recognize as Pomru returns, as he opens fire on Dmitheon with a fairly large Rail Cannon. Kiku-Sensei now against the wall hits a panel, and pulls out a good sized Blister cannon. He lifts it up to his eye-sight, and fires a round at Dmitheon. Dmitheon manages to dodge most of the incoming fire, but even he is not ready for what the Blister cannon had in store. As it hit him, Dmitheon reeled back, and waves of Neutrino-Plasma washed over him. His bio-metallic skin melted a little to form small ripples, as well as knocking him backwards towards the balcony. From this point, Pomru renewed his attack with the rail cannon advancing closer with each round fired. As the seconds ticked, Pomru, was silently praying to himself. 'Yes, just please don't change to shinma, just stay a buma, just a few more seconds...come on....' With each step, it seemed that Dmitheon was losing faith in his battle capabilities. The next shot from the Blister Cannon sent Dmitheon flaming over the balcony, towards the pavement below. Pomru jumped over the edge, and flew down towards Dmitheon, still firing the rail cannon so as to keep up the pressure. But even before Pomru could reach the ground, there was a large explosion, as Dmitheon's body could no longer contain the heat, and firepower that was in, and still hitting him. "Ya-ha! We got 'im!" Kiku-Sensei looked over the balcony, and stripped a plastic cosmetic mask off of his face. "Whew, that thing was hot, hope I don't have to wear that again." Under the mask, the dim light from behind reveals Dnab's features. "He had to come early though didn't he....Shit!" 'Just after I had ordered all those girls under Kiku-Sensei's tab! Oh well, maybe I'll just have them forwarded to Shogun's place.' "How do things look on that end Pomru?" [Elsewhere, about the same time, a small dinky harmless looking shack] "Sorry Kiku-Sensei, but until the coast is clear, it would really suit everyone's interests if you here, where we can keep you protected. Things will quiet down soon, and then we'll announce your arrival here in the states." Shogun walked over to the table, and set his hands down. "I have to leave for now, but don't worry, there is someone watching you at all times." Shogun then walked over to the door, "Don't worry, it's only for a short time. In fact, we have a trap set up at this very moment to catch those bumas." "Arigato Shogun-san." Kiku-Sensei just nodded, accepting his place and his temporary fate. Shogun walked out, and down the darkly lit road to a van there, where he met with Chun-Li who was already in her hardsuit. After getting suited up, Shogun just sat there. "Hmmm....now, we wait to see if they show up..." He leaned back, and thought about earlier that day, when he had talked to Arion. {Flashback, to earlier that day, at the AX main office} "So, Arion what do you think?" Shogun leaned back in the plush office chair. "I mean, Kiku-Sensei will be here at 1:00. From there, we will have him moved, and get a decoy to take his place. From there, Kiku-Sensei will be placed under the best possible protection. And a trap will be set at his hotel room. But something still bothers me...there is a leak in our system. I mean how are they getting all the names and addresses of our members? With that, they are always going to be a step or 2 ahead of us...I don't like it." "Well, all we can do is buckle down, and just give info out to certain important people, until it can be solved. That's all we can do, we don't have the money to do any kind of investigation. We're losing money as it is." Arion put a stack of files on the desk. "By the way, here is the latest batch of memberships." "Okay. Oh, another think, before you go for the day...Here is the addresses for the hotel, and the safe-house, set these up with Dnab, and make sure that nobody sees those, and that Dnab understands what he is supposed to do." "Okay, see you later." Arion walked away, and tucked the paper into his pocket. "Have a nice night Shogun!" {Back to the present, near the safe-house} It wasn't long after Shogun sat back, before the sensors set around the house went off. Shogun leaned up. "Shit, there they go. Come on Chun-Li, let's go." Shogun and Chun-Li got out of the van, and sped across the black towards the house. As they got there, they saw a figure walking across the lawn towards the house, obviously fearless of anything. "Okay Chun-Li...NOW!" Suddenly lights appeared from everywhere, lighting up the area as in the daytime. Simultaneaously, Chun-Li and Shogun opened fire on the target moving across the now lit grass. The figure, started by the light, jumped, and then as it regained it's bearing, it turned around just in time to get hit numerous times by both his and hers matching rail cannons carried by Shogun and Chun-Li. 'I'll bet Dnab is jealous that I got the cannon to match Chun's! Oh wait...back to battle' Shogun squeezed off a few more rounds. "Ah, the Shogun Sabres are awaiting! You know, you guys waste more perfectly good flesh this way..." Saeba pulled out his Alystyre special. "Obviously this will do no good now, so off I go!" as he bulged, and ripped out of his skin, all the maneuvering as to dodge the rounds aimed to terminate him. "Heh, it seems that our source was right, Kiku-Sensei IS here otherwise you wouldn't be so determined to press me right off." "He's too fast Chun-Li, use your new Tracers!" Shogun peeled away from her, as a blast upon blast came from Saeba's Arm cannon. Chun-Li on the other hand retreated a few, and two long things flipped out from her back to rest on her shoulders. The casing opened, and several dozen Mini-Tracer Rockets fired towards Saeba. He tried to dodge, or shoot as many as he could, but between those, and the relentless rail cannon shells, he stumbled backwards covering his face as he was racked by the miniature missles. The battle raged on, and with Seaba switching between forms, it seemed as if the battle would continue forever. Even with the arrival of PCHammer, and Radman (both in Combat suits), the struggle to keep Saeba from the house raged on, as the rest of the arriving ADP tried to evacuate Kiku-Sensei. During the course of the battle however, Saeba got unusually close to PCHammer, firing on him at nearly point blank range with some weapon or another. He flew backwards as Saeba aimed at his next target. "Chun-Li, you check on the ADP man that was hit, I'll try to hold off Saeba on my own for a few. Shogun stepped up his attacks, even though he knew that he was going to lose, especially without any kind of spiritual support when Saeba went to shinma mode. Chun-Li carefully retreated and went over the the ADP suit, and opened up the cockpit, which was totalled. As she did so, she saw PCHammer's bloody, yet still quite alive body lying there. 'Oh, PCHammer, My god...' Chun-Li quickly took off her gloves, and pulled some cloth out of her small, concealed first aid kit. She carefully pulled him from the wreckage, and layed him on the ground. "Here, this will help you some," as she tied the bandage to certain parts of his body. PCHammer was in a kind of daze after he was hit, but as he looked up, one of the Shogun Sabres had pulled him from the combat suit. He looked at him with thanking eyes, and watched as she placed the bandages around him. Until he noticed the left hand. 'It's...that's the bandage I gave Chun-Li this morning...No, it couldn't be...could it?' PCHammer stared at her again, and then decided to seek the truth. "Chun-Li...Is that you? You are a Shogun Sabre? How? Why?" PCHammer coughed a little. "Oh no....PCHammer....I....Your're not supposed to find out....This... This isn't good...um, here, you should be okay now, I have to go..." Chun-Li stepped back, and then proceeded again to battle. By this time, the rest of the Shogun Sabres had arrived, and as they collected, Shogun shouted, "Shogun Sabres SanGUU!" "Uh, that's Sanjo!" Pomru peeped up, as he smiled...'It seems that after already three chapters, Shogun still haden't gotten it right!' The ADP were successful by this time in extricating Kiku-Sensei from the house, and were taking him towards the vehicles so as to get him away from the battle. 'Heh, not tonight my friend' Saeba smirked. 'I've been saving this goodie for all night.' Saeba leaned back, and then forward, as a cannon grew from his back to resemble a weird reverse looking phaser. As it fired in the direction of Kiku-Sensei, everything in the way that wasn't in some way armored was vaporized, and those that were, got really hot under the collar. But his point was proved, as Kiku-Sensei was vaporized, as the vehicle he was entering exploded into nothingness. The battle turned for the worse then, and things quickly wrapped up as Saeba retreated away into the night since his deed was done. "Shit!" Shogun swore. "Arion that traitorous bastard. Now we're in a bind...." Meanwhile over in the ADP medical cart, PCHammer was having thoughts of his own. 'Chun-Li, a part of the Shogun Sabres...It's only my duty to bring them in, but yet, without them, we have no chance to solve this. Oh what to do...I need a drink' PCHammer then passed into the comfort of unconsciousness. "Hmmm....g'night PCHammer. Okay guys, get him to the hospital, ASAP!" Radman look over towards the departing Shogun Sabres. "What come next?" [Even later that night, or early morning, in the alleys, after another AX murder, made not of bumas or shinma, but a copy-catter] A smaller figure shuffled down the alley, obviously smug, and not scared about what might lurk there. Nothing else moved, and the night did not even stop this stranger from passing through it. As it reached the corner, and started out on a more lighted street, we see that it is a female figure, and obviously fairly decent looking, and about 20 years old. As she moved on the walk, nobody bothered her. She moved quickly through the street. 'There she is. Wonderful! Ah, and she is even going to cut through this alley here...heh...Guess I'll just have to approach her' Dmitheon jumped down from the rooftop, and into the alley. The girl wasn't long into reaching where Dmitheon was. As she passed nerby him, he noticed that she didn't even register his presence. 'Heh' He stepped into the open area of the alley, startling her. "Hello there, I would like to talk to you for a second." The girl screamed. "No!" She pulled a Grand Pistol out of her coat. "Take a hike asshole." She pulled the trigger four times before she even realized that he was still standing. She then proceeded to empty the clip into his chest. Seeing that it wasn't working, she dropped the gun in shock and just stood there gaping. "Who are you girl?" Dmitheon jsut stood there in a way that showed he could do a lot worse than just take over 9 High velocity AP rounds in the chest. "I am..." she fumbled. "I am Godai." [End of chapter 4.] -- GL_Ran-san: Supreme Controller of the Shogun Sabres Universe. Finally going to Anime Expo. (hehe Yipee!!!) Defending Robotech from all sides. IRC's too much (How many of you can vouch for this ne??) Wants some more projects to further the Anime community. Tales of the Shogun Sabres ANIME WAR CRISIS Chapter 5: Convergence The young man strode nervously through the hallways of the corporate headquarters of Scanner Services, his lab coat flapping behind him. He wrung his hands as his eyes darted about him. He was not particularly happy about the duty he had to perform here, but someone had to tell the Boss. The secretary said he was in an important conference and should not be disturbed. He ignored her; this was more important than she could possibly know. He came to a halt in front of a large metal door labelled "Conference Room 1". Pushing his glasses up his sweaty face, he straightened his lab coat and steeled himself for the worst. He rapped apprehensively on the door. Several seconds passed. To him, it was like an eternity. At last, the door opened. It fairly flew open with a swift, yet smooth, motion, revealing the sunlit interior of the plush conference room. The enormous, dark wood table was surrounded by expectant-looking men in business suits. None of them, however, could compare to the man who stood holding the door, replete in a whiter-than-white suit and tie. Scanner. The lab tech swallowed hard, and quietly attempted to stammer his message. "E-excuse me, sir..." He looked around, then motioned Scanner to come closer. Scanner drew closer to the tech. "I ... I really hate to bother you, but ... I have some bad news. F-from the Data Link project." Scanner raised an eyebrow. "Proceed," he demanded softly, his voice seeming to carry more menace than a primed anti-Buma cannon. The tech took a deep breath in a futile attempt to calm himself. "As you know, sir, today we were to put the final casing on the DL prototype. But when we went to perform the task, it was ... gone." Scanner's eyes narrowed. "Gone." "It must have been stolen, sir, and it was the only thing missing. Nothing else was out of order, and there are no signs of any tampering with any of the entries, windows or ducts." Scanner glared at the tech, who could feel himself wilting under his gaze. "We see," Scanner said finally. "Tell the team to halt work on the DL project for the time being." He turned from the relieved tech, addressing the men in the room. "Our apologies, gentlemen, but this meeting is adjourned. You will receive an explanation, and a date and time for the next meeting, by special courier within the next 48 hours. Good day." Scanner whirled to consider the young tech for another moment, then quickly strode past him down the hall. He turned a corner and was gone. "Hello? Anyone here?" Chun-Li walked into the main living room of Shogun's mansion, looking around for a response to her call. Cradled in her right arm was Miscreant, her little cat, who was quietly resigned to his rather pleasant fate. The handles of a shopping-size bag were looped over her left arm as her left hand scratched Miscreant's head. She sighed in the silence that answered her plea. "No one home. Damn." She lowered her head, watching the cat as she stroked his fur. "I was hoping there'd be someone here to take care of you while I was at the meeting with the publisher. I can't just leave you in the car..." She called out one last time. "Hello?" Still no response. "Shit." She turned to leave, convinced the house was deserted. "What, what?" Dnab's voice rang out, and he entered the living room from another doorway. "Wha-- oh, hi, Chun. What are you doing here?" She stopped in her tracks and turned to face him, smiling brightly. "Oh, Dnab! I'm so glad to see you!" "You are?" Dnab considered the possibilities. But HOW glad, I wonder? Dnab's face took on an evil smirk, but quickly resumed a charismatic smile. "So, what can I do with-- uh, I mean, FOR you?" he corrected. Same old Dnab, she noted. He'll help me out. He's such a sucker. "I need someone to take care of little Miscreant for me while I have my publisher's meetings today. Here..." She lowered her arm, and the handles of the bag slid into her hand. "Here's his food, and his dish, and his kitty litter, and his litterbox. Some of his toys are here, too." She batted her eyes, giving him a suggestive little smile. "I'd really appreciate it, Dnab." She'd barely completed the sentence when Dnab walked over and grabbed the bag from her. "No problem, Chunners! Consider this cat cared for!" he stated righteously. "Thanks, Dnab. I owe you one." Handing her furry bundle over to him, she blew him a kiss and ran out the door. Dnab heard a car door slam and the scream of tires peeling out of the drive. Dnab slowly stroked the cat's soft fur. "Looks like it's just you and me, Miscreant. What should we do to pass the time?" My, Grandma, what a large collar you've got, he noticed. He snapped his fingers as sudden inspiration struck him. "Let's go to the lab, kitty. I have something for you there that we'll both like! What do you say?" Miscreant looked up at him. "Miyaa," he replied. (What did you expect? He's a cat.) "You're a sport, Miscreant." Grinning from ear to ear, Dnab grabbed the bag and, with the cat still in his arm, rushed out of the room and down the stairs. Down on the riverfront, in an old, run-down warehouse -- exactly the type of place you'd expect a villain to use as a hideout, I should point out -- Dmitheon, in his buma form, sat on a table. He sat as still as he could, illuminated by the light of a single bulb dangling above and behind him. The purpose of this was readily apparent, as a young girl, not quite twenty, was intently operating from behind him. Her face was a picture of intense concentration as she carefully poked around inside a large panel which opened up into his back. He winced slightly every so often as she tightened and adjusted, but remained smiling in anticipation of the power that would soon be at his beck and call. "How's it coming back there, Godai?" he asked, turning his head to steal a glance at her. She was really quite lovely. They'd met almost by chance in a dark alley; she thought he was a mugger, and emptied a full clip of high-velocity rounds ineffectually into his chest. Her spunk was just one of the things he loved about her. After they were ... introduced, he discovered they were more alike than he could have dared hope. She was a copycat killer, picking off AX members for the sheer thrill of doing so. It was so good to have someone as motivated as himself, instead of that honor-bound wuss, Saeba. She also proved to be just as conniving, sneaky, amoral and ruthless as he himself. Whereas he most likely would have had to face the Shogun Sabres and those Shinma hunters again if he'd made a second attempt to steal the data link from Scanner Services, she'd simply walked in during normal business hours, getting by on a wink and a smile, and removed the technological marvel without so much as raising an eyebrow. It's so wonderful to have someone that understands you, he mused. Soon, thanks to her, I will be the greatest life form in all the Universe. I'll find a way for her to join me, and together, we will crush anything that dares to oppose us. "Almost there," she said quietly, careful not to break her own concentration. Her hands moved slowly, and painstaking precision. One final, crucial connection, and the deed will be done... With a final twist of the wrist, she stood back. "There! All set. You can close it up now." The panel on Dmitheon's back closed itself as he brought himself around to face her. He looked toward the ceiling as he ran an internal diagnostic. Results: positive/inactive. Perfect. He may not know how to actually activate the link now, but he would, eventually. His bulky frame shrank down, and he was soon in his human form. He turned to little Godai with a smile. "You've done well, Godai. You're quite a fast learner." She blushed slightly. "Yeah, well, my dad was a scientist, even though he wasn't quite firing on all thrusters. I learned a lot about working with buma technology and stuff from him." "He gave up being a scientist?" "Uh, no ... he was killed in a ... lab accident. Yeah, that's the ticket. Lab accident." Dmitheon's smile grew. We are so much alike. He walked up to her and wrapped himself around her, a gesture which she returned with gusto. "Oh, Dmitheon," she whispered, "this past week has been like some kind of dream! You understand me so well, and you teach me so much ... you're my hero." He gently stroked her hair, then brought a hand under her chin and looked into her eyes. "Let's go celebrate tonight, Godai. I have a new list with more people going to AX, a new 'hardware sites' list, and some new, destructive toys. It'll be such fun!" She beamed up at him. "Just try to keep me away!" A half-hour later, with their arms around each other, Dmitheon and Godai walked out of the warehouse and down the riverfront, off to make their "rounds" for the night. If Dmitheon had bothered to use just a small fraction of his heightened buma senses, he would have easily detected the figure which emerged from their warehouse, standing on its roof and glaring at them with more than just distaste. He was thoroughly distracted by his companion, however, and paid the shadow no mind. Dressed in a ragged black overcoat, with a dark fedora that tried to conceal a head completely wrapped in dirty bandages, the dark man watched the homicidal lovers walk off into the mists of evening. So, child. You burn the one who raised you from birth and leave him for dead. You execute those who have committed no crime. And now you profess your love for a monster. You have no remorse; it is as if you had no conscience. Where will your trail of destruction end? He shook his fist at the night, displaying the tattered glove that contained it. Jingoro will stop you, little one. You have crossed one path too many. The first of your wrongs will be your undoing. The final death will be your own! With a rustle of his overcoat, he concluded his silent overacting and returned to the All-Concealing Shadows (tm). A small, well-kept office building stood on the outskirts of downtown Mega-City. It was surrounded on both sides by fast-food restaurants, and its offices were rented out by various businesses, with everything from a typical insurance agent to PlumCo, an up-and-coming animation studio and creators of the mind-blowingly popular cartoon, "The Ben and Frimpy Show." There was one office on the third floor, however, that had seen the lion's share of clientele in recent weeks. The print on the door was large and clear. "RYO SAEBA - Detective, Bodyguard, All-Around Fun Guy." Within, a nondescript man was speaking with the proprietor, a dashing man who sat calmly behind the desk as the other pled. "Please, Ryo. I've been working with you for some time now. You've already solved two cases for me, and I can't count the times I've hired you as a bodyguard. But this is the most important request I've ever made of you. Please, find the bastard who killed my Cindy!" "Please calm down, Mr. Johnson," Ryo said sympathetically. Mr. Johnson put his hands on the desk and leaned closer to Ryo. "Look, I know things have been crazy lately, with the AX killings and all. But this isn't just another AX case! She was my fiancee, dammit! Please, I'll pay any price! How could anyone do this? How?" "It's all right, it's all right," Ryo said quietly, putting his hands on Mr. Johnson's shaking shoulders, pushing him back down into the seat. "I'll take the case. You're in good hands, now." "Oh, thank you, thank you," Mr. Johnson stammered, beginning to break down. Ryo put the 'Out to Lunch' sign in his window and locked the door after letting Mr. Johnson out. He returned to his desk, weighing the facts he'd managed to cull from his distraught client. It couldn't have been Dmitheon or I ... we don't operate that way. It must have been the copycat killer. He sat down, sighing in frustration. Copycat killer. As if anyone else could actually want this task. How can people do such things to each other? Worse yet, we are their inspiration. How can WE do such things? This is all so wrong... Ryo Saeba closed his eyes. He pondered his loyalty to Kai and Gunbuster ... his deteriorating relationship with Dmitheon (where IS Dmitheon, anyway?) ... his developing sense of kinship with this fragile species called humanity ... his role, his duty, and his place in the world. Shogun opened the lock on the door to his office in the AX Headquarters. Before entering, he turned to look at the staff, just now beginning to filter back in after lunch hour. He particularly noticed a face he hadn't seen for about a week, lazily gliding to his desk. Shogun beckoned to him, and caught his attention before he'd seated himself. "Arion, could you step into my office for a second?" Shogun pushed open the door to his office. "Sure thing, Shogun." Arion draped his coat over the back of his chair and preceded Shogun into the office. Shogun closed the door behind him. Arion leaned against the desk. "So, what's up?" Shogun regarded Arion coldly. "Why, Arion? How much are they paying you? What are you getting from all of this?" Arion gave Shogun a blank stare. "What? What are you talking about? Why what? How much is WHO paying me? What are you babbliNGK--" He didn't finish his question. Shogun jacked him up by his collar, yanked him across the room and slammed him against the wall. "Don't play DUMB-ass with me, DAMN YOU!" Shogun spat, his voice a barely-controlled roar. "I KNOW you're the leak! Only ONE person other than Chun-Li and myself knew about the Kiku-sensei plant! OWN UP!" He pounded him against the wall again for emphasis. "What the HELL were you THINKING? You're an accessory to DOZENS of MURDERS!! How can you LIVE with that?!" Shogun's grip slipped from Arion's collor, and he now had both hands wrapped tightly around his throat. Arion's face turned red as Shogun throttled him. "Dammit, how COULD you?! Innocent PEOPLE are DEAD, people who just wanted to have some FUN...!" Shogun was now beyond words in his rage as his hands continued to tighten. Arion's gasping stopped abruptly as he opened his mouth. "You fool!" he grated, his voice taking on a bio-metallic ring. "Do you really think 'they' offered me anything? I AM one of THEM!" Before Shogun's shocked eyes, Arion's skin turned grey as his human features melted away. Within moments, Shogun found his hands wrapped around the thick throat of an imposing buma. Arion struck him square in the chest with his flat, open hand, and he somersaulted painfully over the desk, the wind knocked out of him by the blow. "Pathetic human germ!" Arion taunted. "Did you truly think you ever stood a chance against us?" Shogun shook his head and reached under his desk, pressing a small, concealed button. "Just because you were here before us doesn't mean you will outlive us. After all, where are the mighty dinosaurs now?" Where you're going to be soon, Shogun thought as he slowly rose to his knee. He silently slid open the lowest drawer in his desk and groped for its contents. Arion had finally completed with his diatribe. "Farewell, Shogun. Since my human disguise has been revealed, you have outlived your usefulness. Any last words?" "Just two," Shogun said, rising to his feet and pointing an Alystyre Anti-Buma Z-107 Special between Arion's eyes. "Goodbye, head!" Arion moved quickly to dodge as Shogun fired. The Alystyre roared its destructive intentions and caught the buma's arm as he tried to evade. "Shit!" Arion hissed. "No room here." Kicking in his thrusters, he retroed backward, crashing through the wall and into the main office area in a hail of glass, wood and drywall. Already, the other staffers were scattering in screaming panic. Arion ignored them, knocking down, injuring and killing several of them as he continued in full reverse, smashing through cubicles, doors, walls and windows until he was outside. Shogun ran after him, still firing, never letting the buma out of his sights. He reached the makeshift exit Arion had created in the building in time to see Arion's arm-cannon charging. Yelping a quick curse, he dove to one side, using an illegally-parked car as cover. Arion's blast demolished the tail end of the car, then continued onward to rip through the structural supports of the AX building. Shogun vaulted over the car's remains and dove behind another one on the other side of the street, still firing. He looked backward in horror as the building burned and began to crumble. Arion laughed openly at the carnage. "Oh, my!" he squealed with a mock twinge of emotion. "More innocent deaths ... oh, who paid me for this? I guess I'm not just an accessory anymore! Poor, foolish me!" He nearly doubled over with evil laughter, then stopped abruptly. Sirens. The ADP were closing in fast. "Ah, you were just stalling me, weren't you, Shogun? Well, no matter. You can't stop us!" "You'll get what's coming to you, Arion! The Shogun Sabres will stop all of you!" Shogun wondered whether Arion would have the intellect to connect his name with the vigilante group. Probably not, he decided; after all, noone else in this story had yet made the obvious deductive leap. Besides, this buma wasn't programmed to be very smart. Arion laughed derisively. "Shyeah, right! And I'm the emperor of Mega-City! Well, not yet, anyway, but soon! As for your precious Shogun Sabres -- tell them that if they want a crack at us, they can come to the Westerland Park tomorrow, at midnight. Otherwise, let them flee before our might, like all true cowards!" Arion looked up at the incoming ADPolice with a contemptuous chuckle. Opening his thrusters once more, he opened fire and led them off on a wild goose chase through the city streets. Shogun rose from his cover as he watched Arion's retreating form, carving an explosive path of destruction through the AD Police ranks. His smug laughter still rang in Shogun's ears. We'll see who has the last laugh, you bastard. He quickly ran back toward the AX building, lending a hand to his surviving friends. The AD Police Auditorium was one of the largest, most impressive buildings still standing in Super-Mega-Tokyo. It had to be; it was the site of many gatherings of the collected masses of the AD Police Advanced Tactics Training Center, as well as the local ADP officers. One such meeting was currently underway. The auditorium was crowded with the Training Center's students, and the din they raised was quite amazing. Large groups of friends were discussing how totally wild the past few weeks had been, and rumors flew about the purpose of the current gathering. A large man stepped up to the podium and expectantly scanned the crowd. The assembled gathering soon silenced itself under his steely gaze. When he was sure he had their full attention, he spoke. "Ladies and gentlemen of the Armored Defense Police Advanced Tactics Training Center. Things have been quite hectic here in Super-Mega-Tokyo for the last few weeks with the buma uprisings, as you well know. We were very hard pressed to maintain order, and closed the training school because we needed all available manpower to suppress the insurrection. Many of you participated in that operation, and on behalf of the Super- Mega-Tokyo ADP, I thank you." He stopped for a moment as the crowd broke into applause. You wouldn't be clapping if you knew what I was about to say, he thought. Soon enough, the applause died down, and he continued. "Now that the situation seems to have calmed down, things are back to normal. Except for the fact that the training center will NOT reopen." The auditorium was filled with startled gasps and murmuring. He looked around, waiting for the stunned response to quiet down before continuing. "All normal operating funds have been diverted to reconstruction of the city. Therefore, all of you will have the option to either stay here and join work crews, or return to your homes and resume your previous ADP posts. We will need your decisions by the end of this week. That is all." The man stepped down from the podium, and the crowd, once again muttering to itself, began filtering out of the auditorium. Jyanken plodded along, letting the crowd set his walking pace. He was soon joined by one of his new buddies, Alphonse. "So, Jyank, what's the verdict?" Alphonse spoke with a thick Australian accent. "Stay, or go?" Jyanken sighed. "I really don't know, Alph. I can do so much here. So much help and good that I can't really do at home..." "Yeah, I know. That's why I'm going to stay here. Well, that's not entirely it, of course. I really have no reason to go back, meself. No girlfriend, or wife, or anything like that. Besides, if things don't work out here, I bet I could head home after a few months." Alphonse stopped, having reached his car. "Well, I'm off ... you have a few days to think about it, though. See ya, Jyank." "Later, Alph." Alphonse drove off as Jyanken's mind turned inward. A few days to decide between doing what he'd enjoy here, helping this city restore order, or going back to Mega-City, and Chun-Li. It's a decision he couldn't make in a lifetime, much less a few days... Jyanken walked on, brooding in silence. PCHammer returned to his home, leaning heavily against the door with his good arm as it closed. He took a deep breath, releasing it as a heavy sigh. It'd been only a week since he'd sustained his injury at the Kiku-sensei incident, and he was already short one partner; HunterD was dead, incinerated when his car was demolished by the buma that had destroyed AX headquarters. The prospects for the future filled him with despair. Everything he could possibly do within the confines of the ADP had been tried, and nothing had worked. They just weren't equipped to deal with anything as powerful as this new buma menace. They were strong, heavily armored and ruthless, and there seemed to be a guiding hand behind them that kept them a step ahead of him at all times. As if that weren't enough, they were able to become ethereal when things got too hot for them, as they did continually whenever the Shogun Sabres showed up. Just thinking about the Sabres weighed even more heavily on him. Immediately after he was blasted by that Shima-buma at point-blank range, he was assaulted by the discovery that one of his good friends, Chun-Li, was one of their members. Personally, he didn't mind at all. He felt that the Sabres were doing a great service to the city; a small, close group, far better equipped and prepared than the ADP could ever dream of being, and they probably didn't have to fill out forms and reports after each encounter. But Chief Gundam had no great love for vigilantes, and there was a standing warrant for their arrest. He let his head fall against the door with a thud. I hate my life. Resigning himself to accept his failure, he stood upright and walked to the kitchen table. Once there, he went through the mail that he'd been holding in his sling-bound hand. Bill. Ed McMahon. American Repress application. Bill. Credit card insurance. Grand opening. Bill. A letter from his little sister, PC-ko. Her frilly handwriting, and the fact that she always put little heart stickers on the envelope, made her correspondence easy to spot. Her childlike demeanor belied the fact that she was actually a lovely young woman, now in her senior year of high school. He smiled, hoping that she'd never have to go through what he did these days. What's this? PCHammer let the rest of the mail drop to the table as he considered the completely unmarked, yellowed envelope he now held in his hands. He turned it over; there was a gold seal on the back, bearing an arcane insignia he didn't recognize. He carefully began to remove the seal. Once he'd started to peel it off, the seal vanished, and the envelope completely unfolded itself into a scroll of parchment. It bore only a few words, written in a beautiful script that glowed with a light of its own. PCHammer - Please open your door and invite me in. We must speak of the Shinma-Buma. He read it again. And a third time. "'Invite me in'?" he muttered. The scroll suddenly disappeared, consumed in a flash of flame. The effect startled PCHammer a good deal, particularly when he realized that his hands were not affected by the fire. He whistled the Twilight Zone theme. After thinking for a moment, he decided to do as the note said. He walked to the door and opened it wide. He poked his head outside, looking around. No one within eyesight. He pulled himself back inside and cleared his throat, standing to one side of the open door. This feels really silly, he thought as he announced, "Please ... come in. I invite you." As he watched, a mist began to form and swirl in front of his doorframe. It became denser and denser, collecting into two shadowy figures. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head. The mists ceased collecting, and two people, who hadn't been there only moments ago, stepped into his house. "Thank you, Lieutenant PCHammer," the first said softly. She was a beautiful, delicate-looking young woman with dark, swirling hair elegantly bundled on her head, wearing a simple silver kimono with a golden sash. The second figure just nodded silently. This was a seven-foot giant, wrapped completely in a deep blue robe and hood with a silver mask concealing his (actually, PCHammer couldn't tell what this other one's gender was supposed to be, but assumed it to be male) face. His figure remained dark, even as he entered the lighted dwelling, as if he carried a shadow around himself. "I ... I could hardly refuse your request," the stunned ADP officer stammered. The young woman laughed lightly. "We have startled you." He swallowed. "Y-Yes. I didn't expect..." She smiled. "I understand. My name is Terianne. My companion is named LordFranz." She waved her hand, and the door closed with a gentle click. She then extended the same hand to PCHammer, which he hesitantly accepted. "I'm honored," he said, bowing to her. He released her hand and stood upright, watching her intently. Her eyes never left his as she gestured toward the living room. "Please, come with me and be seated. There is much for you to know, and very little time." Arion fell to one knee, bowing to his supreme masters. "So, the pathetic AX leader, Shogun, finally determined your role in his troubles, did he?" Gunbuster said derisively, almost laughing. His figure, as always, was concealed in shadow; only a silhouette and a pair of glowing red eyes testified to his presence. Arion kept his gaze averted. "Yes, my Masters." "About time," the mega-buma muttered. "And you delivered our challenge to the Shogun Sabres?" Kai added, not quite so confidently as Gunbuster, but still with self-assurance. His misty form hovered beside Gunbuster's shadow-bound frame, warping in a rather nausea-inducive fashion. "Yes, my Masters." "Excellent," the two leaders said in unison. Gunbuster continued alone. "The destruction of AX headquarters was a bit excessive, but will surely underscore our eventual victory." "And once we have dealt with the meddlesome Shogun Sabres, we can easily eliminate the only other opposition to us, the Shinma-hunters," Kai added. "What of the weaklings ... the Armored Defense Police?" Arion asked. "Ah, yes. The 'defenders of the public trust'." Kai snorted. "Imbeciles. They are bumbling fools, unable to comprehend, let alone deal with, what is happening about them." "We will crush them beneath our heel, as a pleasant afterthought," Gunbuster gloated. "You are wise, my Masters," Arion butt-kissed. Kai and Gunbuster enjoyed a megalomaniacal chuckle as Arion retreated from their presence. The moment the door thundered shut behind him, however, they were silent. The silence hung over them like a black drapery until Gunbuster spoke. "Dmitheon's absence disturbs me." Kai nodded, or, at least, appeared to be nodding; it was hard to be certain. "Indeed. And the Data Link has disappeared as well, though our previous attacks were unable to retrieve it." "He can still be contacted with the summons for the confrontation. His treachery will not go unpunished." "For now, though, we shall let him believe it has gone unnoticed. When the hour of retribution arrives, he will suspect nothing." "Will even we be able to stop him, once he has activated it?" Kai was unmoved. "He does not know how to activate it; even if he does, he will not have learned to control the new power. He may very well destroy himself while wielding it." "How poetic." "You have done quite well in learning of the Shinma so far," Terianne began. She and PCHammer were seated on his couch, with LordFranz standing nearby, looking away. PCHammer, for his part, gave her his undivided attention. "But there are more forces at work here than just a band of rogue spirits." "Yes, I've noticed," he replied. "I've read that the Shinma sometimes escape to our realm of reality in large gangs. They usually lash out completely at random, or in a predictable fashion. Now, though there is a great deal of confusion being spread, the chaos has a clear, frustrating method." She nodded. "Very good. As you may have guessed, LordFranz and I are Shinma hunters. We are charged with the task of returning escaped Shinma to our realm. For many years -- not much longer than you have been in this world -- I have been working to capture a ... 'ringleader', I believe you would say. A Shinma master, known as Kai. He seeks to unite the Shinma in this realm to serve his dark ways." PCHammer blinked. She's been doing this since I was born? I guess I shouldn't be surprised; after all, she's not an entirely natural being. Still, she sure doesn't show her age... Terianne continued, oblivious to his surprised expression. "Time and again, he has thwarted our attempts to bind him. Time and again, he has eluded our grasp. Time and again, we have ... failed. And now, all this world may pay the price..." Her gaze fell as she hung her head dejectedly. PCHammer, unsure of what one should do to comfort a downtrodden Shinma, quietly took her hand in both of his. She looked up at him, equally unsure of how to interpret the gesture. "We do what we can, Terianne. It's all we can do," he said quietly. She smiled at his words, bringing her other hand around his. He found himself warmed by her smile. "Now ... what were you saying about the world?" She took a deep breath, releasing it as she continued, their hands still together. "These new creatures, as you have theorized, are a fusion between a Shinma and the machine-creature you call a 'buma'. Their creation marks an unholy alliance between Kai and his newest partner, a 'buma' who calls himself Gunbuster. He is apparently classified as a 'mega-buma', though I know not what that means." Now, it was PCHammer's turn to hang his head. "Oh, frak. I don't believe I did that ... with all the time I've spent researching Shinma, I completely forgot to look into what could be behind the buma side of the menace." He looked back up at her with a weak smile. "Good thing SOMEbody's paying attention here. Please, go on." She nodded to him. "Kai's ultimate goal has always been to usher in an era of Shinma rule in this world. Gunbuster's goals are similar. The two have combined their forces in a way not even I would have dared dream possible. The Shinma-buma, in their physical form, are beyond my power to bind." "And in their spirit form," PCHammer continued, "they're unaffected by physical weapons. But they can't evade both simultaneously, which I've noticed, which hasn't helped, since there's always some degree of mis-coordination between you and us, or the Shogun Sabres. We haven't worked as a team, and it's costing us dearly." "It will cost us far more if we cannot do so soon." He looked at her, surprised that she actually thought things could get worse. She answered his silent question. "One of the Shinma-buma -- the one called Dmitheon -- has come into possession of a new device, stolen from the man named Scanner." But the last reported attempt to steal something there wasn't successful, PCHammer thought. Maybe there's been another robbery which Scanner Services didn't report? That Scanner's a pretty elusive dude, if not downright creepy. (Yeah, right. You're sitting here, holding hands with a cute little demoness, and calling a recluse who refers to himself in first person plural "creepy".) "This device, if used by a Shinma-buma, will grant him power neither you nor I have witnessed in our worst nightmares. And Dmitheon is not ... stable of mind." "So the ultimate super-powered psycho may already be on the loose." "No, not yet. I would be able to sense him if he had activated this new power, and he has not. But it is urgent that he be stopped before he does, or all life may be forfeit." PCHammer sighed. "Terianne ... I wish I could help. But surely you've seen how hopelessly outmatched my AD Police forces have been, even against their physical, buma forms." "I've nowhere else to turn," she replied. "The Shogun Sabres do not make themselves well-known. Unless they can be located..." PCHammer groaned, pulling his hands from hers and burying his head in them. Damn it all, he thought. I have no choice! Terianne looked at him with confusion. "What is it?" PCHammer released a frustrated breath, then stood up. He looked up at LordFranz, who was now facing him, then down at Terianne. "Come with me, both of you. We're going to call on a friend." If I'm lucky, he didn't add, she'll still BE my friend when this is over. Chun-Li lay on her sofa, exhausted. The meeting with the publishers had been a long, hard fight. She wished there were an easier way to sell an idea than to prove that it would draw a profit. She'd thought about taking Pomru up on his offer to have her manga published by NHS, but didn't want to abuse her friendship like that. If it had been Dnab, sure, she would've done it; he was just after her body anyway, and he deserved to be taken for any favor she could wring from him. Speaking of which, she hadn't had time to stop by Shogun's mansion to pick up little Miscreant. That would have to wait for tomorrow. Right now, she didn't even feel like getting up to do her nightly exercises. A pity; she could use something small and furry to cuddle right now. For that matter, it'd be nice to have Jyanken back, for pretty much the same reason. She closed her eyes, and her mind drifted back to more pleasant times. The doorbell, rather abruptly, brought her back to the present. She pushed herself up. "Who the hell could that be?" she grumbled as she walked to the door. Without checking the peephole -- after all, a fighter of her skill had nothing to worry about, right? -- she flung it wide open. With a sharp gasp, she slowly backed away from tall figure standing in her doorway. "Not you..." she whispered. "Hello, Chun," PCHammer said quietly. "Been a while." "p-PC..." He waited a minute for her to respond. "Well ... may I come in?" "Uh ... s-sure." He entered, closing the door behind him. He then released a nervous breath and turned to face her with a stern gaze. "Look, Chun, I won't mince words or waste time with pretense." "You never did," she replied as matter-of-factly as she could manage. "I need to talk to the Shogun Sabres, Chun. Something big, I mean BIG, is going down, and if we can't work together, we all lose." Chun-Li groped for an excuse. Even a group as small as the Shogun Sabres had rules, and keeping the group's identity secret from outsiders was foremost among them. "Well ... um ... you see, they..." "Well?" PCHammer sounded impatient. "...they ... aren't meeting until ... um ... next week. Yeah." "We may not HAVE until next week." She sighed in frustration. "Look, I'm NOT their damned DEN MOTHER! What do you WANT from--" Her cry was cut off as the telephone rang. "...from ... just a second." She approached it apprehensively, picking it up on the third ring. "Hello? ... Yeah, hi Shogun ... What? ... A challenge? ... Tonight? Now? Y-you mean, NOW now? ... Um, sure. ... Yes ... Yes, of course. I-I'll be there. ... What? N-no, I'm fine. Just fine. ... Okay. Bye..." She slumped her shoulders. No use lying any more. "That was Shogun, PC." "Shogun? THE Shogun? Director of AX?" She nodded. "Mm-hm. He's also the leader of the Shogun Sabres." She turned to face him, just in time to see the astonished look on his face. "We're meeting tonight. Now. The buma that demolished AX HQ gave him a challenge for the Sabres, and he's sure it's some kind of trap." "I see," he said, also nodding. It's moving as fast as Terianne said it would be, he noted. "You're going, then." "I have to," she said, grabbing her keys and a jacket. "I'll have to come, too." She didn't look at him. "I won't stop you," she whispered. She moved to rush past him. He put his hand on her shoulder, wanting to thank her. In return, he received an icy glare that told him, under no uncertain terms, that he should remove his hand if he valued his health. Slowly, sadly, he released her. He then sprinted after her as she fairly flew out the door. Jingoro waited in his old, demolished lab, reorganized only in the scattered places where equipment demanded it. The lighting was not entirely adequate; except for the lone worklamp over the table nearest to him, it was downright dismal, which suited him just fine. For the past three hours he had worked. An incredible collection of photographs lined the walls and tables; they were all photographs of Dmitheon, in his human form. A personal computer sat nearby, with a hand-scanner attached. The computer was also interfaced to another device, a machine of his own design. He'd been perfecting it when the ... "accident" occurred. Now, it would be his tool of vengeance. "Once Chun gets here, we'll start with the strategy session," Shogun lectured. "Jiro, I hope you have some new tricks for us to try on these guys. That Blazing Big Gun trick was fine, but I doubt they'll fall for it again." "They didn't fall for it last time," Dnab interjected. He and Miscreant were on the sofa, and Miscreant was enjoying the scratching he was getting behind his ears. "We did manage to waste one of 'em, though." "Only because he was pushed," Pomru commented. Shogun regarded Pomru curiously. "Really? I didn't notice." Pomru shrugged. "You were too busy controlling the composite systems. When that one we'd been working over jumped out of the way, he kicked that other one into the line of fire." Shogun took this new fact into consideration, pacing slowly. "So, they aren't presenting an entirely united front. Interesting. Maybe we could use these internal squabbles to our advantage." "Doesn't help us 'less we know what the deal is," Jiro mumbled. "Oh, come on, try to be positive about it." "Sure. I'm positive it doesn't help us 'less--" "Okay, okay, o-KAY, I get the picture," Shogun interrupted. "Why do I get the feeling I'm the only one who thinks we can actually win this one?" Dnab looked at him. "You don't really want that answered, do you?" "Of course not," Shogun grated. "It was a rhetorical question." "That's what I thought." Shogun was about to respond when the doorbell chimed; it was a custom job that sounded the first few notes from the "Totoro" theme song. "Saved by the bell," Pomru whispered. The entire group went to the door, certain that Chun-Li would be there to greet them. Shogun reached the door first, and opened it wide. As they'd expected, there stood Chun-Li. She was looking uncharacteristcally meek, with her eyes cast downward and her hands folded before her. "Hi, guys," she said quietly. "Great, you're here. Come on, folks, it's time to plan," Shogun began immediately, striding back to the living room. He was ten paces from the door when he realized no one was following him yet. He turned back around to face the crowd. Everyone was looking at Chun-Li, who hadn't moved. "What?" he asked. She chanced a look up, her mouth open as if to speak; she immediately averted her gaze again and remained silent. She forced her eyes back up to look first Shogun, then Pomru in the eye, still faltering in her attempts to say something, anything. Eventually, she turned her head to look to her right. "I can't..." she apologized. Pomru, who was closest to the door, leaned forward to see what Chun had been apologizing to. His eyes went wide. "Hoooooooo buoy," he commented. Chun-Li stepped forward, turning sideways, still facing to the right. Pomru backed a step away from her. Shogun was alarmed. "What is it?" PCHammer stepped into view. Dnab tried to say something clever and witty, but all he could manage was, "Haaaaaa." "Lieutenant," Shogun said darkly. "Good evening, Shogun Sabres," PCHammer announced. His greeting was followed by an uneasy silence. "Chun, what were you thinking?" Jiro asked. "It wasn't her idea," PCHammer responded, not waiting for Chun-Li to answer the accusation. "I asked her to bring me here." "But..." Pomru stammered. "But how did you--" "Purely an accident," he said, anticipating the obvious question. "About the same time I got this." He indicated the sling that held his left arm. "It wasn't her fault." Shogun took his right hand away from the handgun he kept concealed behind his back, folding his arms. That injury had been sustained over a week ago, so he couldn't be here to arrest them, or he'd have done so long ago. "To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit, Lieutenant?" PCHammer stepped through the doorway, now sufficiently convinced that he would survive the experience. "Please, call me Hammer. And pleasure is hardly the purpose of this visit. Do you mind if I invite someone else in, to help with the explanation?" Pomru shrugged. "Sure, why not? One more couldn't possibly hurt." "Thank you." Extending his hand through the door, PCHammer said, "Please, come in. I invite you." To the amazement of everyone there, including PCHammer himself (he still wasn't used to the idea), there was suddenly a dainty hand in his. It faded into the spot, accompanied by the rest of Terianne's being, as well as that of her constant companion, LordFranz. PCHammer gently guided Terianne through the door, giving a nod to LordFranz, who followed close behind. Everyone recognized the new pair immediately. She nodded to the assembled group. "Good evening." "Good evening," Shogun responded on behalf of his dumbfounded comrades. Shifting his gaze to PCHammer, he asked, "Any other surprises?" "Aside from what my friend here will tell you, I hope not." "Well, then, shut the door and come with me. We were just going to start a strategy session, and, thanks to you, I think we finally have someone who's qualified to answer some of the harder questions." With that, he whirled and once again strode toward the living room. This time, everyone followed him. [The author may be getting a little preachy in this next scene. Just a warning.] "...and that is where we stand, as you might say," Terianne concluded. "The one called Dmitheon poses the greatest threat, even greater than my age-old nemesis, Kai. This 'Data Link' assures us of that." The group was scattered throughout the living room, with PCHammer and Terianne sharing the sofa again, and LordFranz standing watch over them. Miscreant had bundled himself up in Chun-Li's lap, and the four Shogun Sabres, plus Jiro, all had found seats for themselves. They all watched Terianne and PCHammer intently, save for Dnab, who would look jealously over at Miscreant every so often. "Do we have any concrete idea what the Data Link will do for a Shinma-buma?" Shogun asked. "Not right now," PCHammer responded. "I'm going to pay Scanner Services a visit tomorrow, to see if anyone over there could offer us any assistance. If they can make a device to enhance this force, maybe they can make one to combat it." He doesn't miss a trick, does he? Shogun asked himself. "I guess the only thing I still don't understand myself," PCHammer continued, "is what Gunbuster has against AX. I mean, it's just a fun little convention, isn't it?" "Not quite so little, I don't think," Shogun retorted with a smirk. This question, at least, he already knew the answer to. "It's the largest all-Anime convention in the entire country. Or at least, it will be, if our guests and patrons survive this crisis." "But still, who could possibly hate a convention this much?" "The petty politics of Anime fandom, as with any other kind of politics, can reach levels you'd never even dream of," Shogun replied. "People get into their little power plays, work to keep control of whatever they can get their hands on ... before long, you practically have a war on your hands. In this case, it started as a rivalry, and a desire to correct some mistakes at the previous AX -- I'll admit, there were some mistakes -- that grew into a second convention: AA. It wasn't this bad at the onset." "I should hope not." "Things only turned really ugly once Gunbuster joined the AA coalition. He's a mega-buma who lives to amass political power wherever he can get it, and just happened to fall into the Anime community first. It took a little work on his part, but he managed to turn a simple clash of egos into all-out bloodshed. I think he may have his sights set even higher, like moving into the global political scene." PCHammer put his head in his hands. "'Today, AX, tomorrow, the world.' Jeez Louise, that is so ... cliche." Pomru cast a sidelong glance at Jiro. "Right. As if nothing else in this story's been cliche." Jiro nodded sadly. Chun-Li, meanwhile, had located her official AWC Cliche Check-off Chart, and was busily making up for lost time by darkening most of the squares. "Miyaa," Miscreant said, placing a paw on the chart. "What?" Chun-Li checked where the cat's paw was. "Wow, you're right, Miscreant! I almost missed that one. Thanks!" She scribbled in the box and gave Miscreant a warm hug as a reward, inciting an envious glare from Dnab. PCHammer turned to face Shogun. "For my part, I'm also going to see if I can get some cooperation from Chief Gundam. I don't know how he'll react, but I hope I can at least get a little extra manpower from him for tomorrow night's showdown." Shogun nodded. "It's too bad that one day isn't enough time to make decent powered suits for them." "You may be wrong there, Shogun." The extra voice startled everyone. All eyes turned to the room's main entrance. "Hi, guys," Kimagure said, smiling. "Kima!" the Sabres (and Jiro) responded in unison. He waved his artificial hand at them. It wasn't obviously artificial at all; on the contrary, it was indistinguishable from the one Dmitheon had so rudely removed from him, except that it was stronger, and steadier. Stepping into the living room proper, he regarded the sofa with curiosity. "I didn't know you were throwing an AX membership drive." Shogun stood and moved beside Kimagure as first PCHammer, then Terianne (graciously accepting PCHammer's offered hand) rose to their feet. "Kima, these are our new allies in the battle to save AX. PCHammer is a lieutenant with the ADP, Terianne is a Shinma hunter, and LordFranz is her companion and assistant." PCHammer and Terianne shook Kimagure's hand with a smile; LordFranz just nodded slightly. "It's nice to know we're not alone in this thing," Kimagure sighed. "Yeah. Now, what was that you were saying about me being wrong?" Kimagure grinned evilly. "What, you think it's not possible?" Shogun returned the grin. "Well..." "Actually, it's something I've been working on with Jiro for a while -- smaller, less powerful hardsuits we can use as backups when our primary suits are damaged beyond usability. They're pretty cheap to make and repair, using modular replacement parts for every component. I could currently assemble at least three dozen of 'em within two hours' time." Shogun's jaw dropped. "Really?!?" "Hey, how else am I supposed to keep my reputation as a miracle worker?" Shogun regained his composure. "Well, Lieu-- Hammer, there's your answer. If you can get the men, we can suit 'em up." PCHammer nodded, smiling. "Great. I just hope the Chief can see this our way. If he doesn't ... I'll do what I can." Shogun addressed the rest of the rabble. "Well, let's go to the lab, folks. I want to see these new cheapo-suits, and I'd like to get Hammer familiar with the equipment." He exited, followed by most of the group. PCHammer, Terianne, LordFranz and Chun-Li lingered. Terianne turned to PCHammer, catching his attention. Of course, she'd never lost it to begin with. "I fear I must leave you, for now." He took her hand, leading her back to the front door. "We'll see you tomorrow night, I hope. You're ... a key player in this." She smiled. "No more so than you, PCHammer. I will see you again." Releasing his hand, she gestured to LordFranz. A hand appeared from somewhere within his cloak; she took it, and, walking through the front door together, they faded into the night. PCHammer returned to the living room. Chun-Li was just now getting to her feet, having finally convinced Miscreant that he should find another kitty-couch. He took a deep breath, releasing it as a sigh. "Chun..." "No, PC. Don't apologize. I'm the one who owes an apology. I should have trusted you from the start ... and trusted Shogun, too. I'm sorry. My life has been so ... I just can't think right." She lowered her head, shaking it slowly. She raised her head again when she felt his hand on her shoulder. This time, her eyes told him his hand was a welcome comfort, and she thanked him with a quick hug and a broad smile. Her smile turned to an apologetic giggle when he winced in response; she'd squeezed his bad arm a little too tight. "Come on," she said, sprinting toward the basement stairs, "they'll start without us if we don't hurry!" PCHammer bounded after her, trying his best to keep up. -- The High Diggy-Hoek of Chihuahua-Wala Land (Martin Rose) - mfrose@ais.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Truth is stranger than Fiction ---------------- Stupid is a boundless concept The Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies: Ann Arbor Division Tales of the Shogun Sabres ANIME WAR CRISIS Chapter 6: Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow "NO! PLEASE, STOP! LEAVE US ALONE!" The woman's voice was frantic as her tears flowed freely. She clutched the bloodied, unconscious form of the man who'd been her lover for over a year, shielding his body with her own. The side of his face was torn wide open, the result of a biometal claw ripping across it. He also bore bullet wounds in one shoulder, his belly and through the hip joint. He was still alive, but had blacked out from the intense pain of his injuries. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" she screamed. Her plea only brought a sadistic smile to one of the assailants, a young woman, even younger than herself. The other, an imposing buma, would have smiled as well, if his face were capable of doing so. "What do we want?" the girl mimicked. "Why, your pathetic lives, of course!" the buma answered. The girl raised her gun at the quaking woman lying before her, inciting the desired response; a face full of terror. She fired twice, letting both shots rip painfully through the waist of her target. She laughed at the screams of her victim, lowering her weapon to savor the moment. The injured man began to stir, obviously awakened by the cries of his beloved. Suddenly, two silencer-muffled shots pierced the night. The wounded, forlorn figures immediately ceased their writhing, collapsing into a still, bloody heap with a fresh hole in each one's skull. Godai and Dmitheon became abruptly silent. They looked at each other, confused and angry. "You make me sick, Dmitheon." The sadistic lovers whirled to discover Saeba landing behind them. Dmitheon groaned. "Oh, great. I should have known you'd show up to spoil our fun sooner or later, you candy-assed wimp." "Don't give me your excuses," Saeba hissed. "Playing your stupid little torture games wastes valuable time that could be spent tracking and killing other AX members. I've made three hits in the time it's taken you to do this one." Godai slipped an arm around her buma companion. "Who is this creep, Dmith?" Dmitheon patted her head paternally. "Oh, that's right! You've never been introduced. Godai, this -- much as I am loath to admit it -- is my partner, Saeba. Saeba, this lovely little lady is Godai. We've found we have a lot in common." "So I see," Saeba growled. "She's the copycat killer I've been hearing so much about, then?" "That's me!" she proclaimed proudly. "Dead-Eye Godai, the cutest, worstest nightmare of all AX patrons!" She made a 'gun' with her fingers, aiming it at Saeba's head. "Bang!" I didn't think the Universe was capable of holding another being like him, Saeba brooded. "Anyway, Dmitheon, I'm here on business." "Aren't you always?" "Our Masters have issued a formal challenge to the Shogun Sabres. We are to meet them at Westerland Park tomorrow at midnight." "We're finally gonna rub 'em off the map, eh?" "That's the plan. The Masters have grown weary of their interference, and have devised--" "Forget the Masters," Dmitheon spat with a guffaw. "I want their clammy armored hides for my own reasons." Saeba shrugged. "Whatever. Just don't forget to be there." Dmitheon brushed him off with a wave of his hand. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Geegus, those two treat us like a couple of children." Saeba ignored him, bowing instead to his companion. "Good evening, Godai." With a quick burst of propulsion, he leaped onto an adjacent rooftop and disappeared into the night. Dmitheon huffed, then returned his attentions to his little helper. "So, Godai ... want to see us wipe the floor with the Shogun Sabres tomorrow night?" Her eyes sparkled. "Would I! Oh, that would be great!" He gathered her into his arm. "Come on, Godai. The night's still young, and we still have a bunch of names on the list!" Together, they roared into the moonlit sky. "Mister Scanner will see you now, Lieutenant." PCHammer stirred, awakened from his thoughts and memories of the previous night. "Thank you," he said to the receptionist, walking into the door she'd indicated. She closed it behind him. Once inside, he stopped to look around. Very, very impressive, he thought to himself, suppressing the urge to give a low whistle. He was standing on one of six paths of firm, shallow red carpet which stretched outward from the center of the room, forming an enormous asterisk with a large desk at its focus. The wall directly opposite the entrance was a magnificent window, and the remaining four paths terminated in massive sculptures. The chair at the desk was facing the window. "We trust your business with us is urgent, Lieutenant," a voice said from behind the chair. PCHammer swallowed hard. Damn, this guy is unnerving. "Yes, Mr. Scanner. I have come to seek your assistance." "We are not interested in becoming involved in the affairs of the Armored Defense Police," the voice responded curtly. That display of indifference cured PCHammer of any jitters he may have had at the time. He narrowed his eyes and worked to control his temper. "Perhaps you would care to involve 'yourselves' in the ongoing well-being of the world as we know it. Sir." The reply apparently caught the man in the chair by surprise. It was a moment before he responded, "The ADP is ill-equipped to deal with the menace of the Shinma-buma." "A limitation of which I am very well aware," PCHammer stated, his voice beginning to grate. Aware of his rising anger, he stopped, took a deep breath, and continued more calmly, "I do not represent just the ADP in this affair, however." PCHammer strode forward, stopping when he was directly in front of the desk. Lowering his voice, he said, "I am also here on behalf of the Shinma hunter, Terianne, and the vigilante group known as the Shogun Sabres." Silence reigned supreme in the room an eternal moment. Then, soundlessly, the chair swiveled around to face the ADP officer. The man in the white suit regarded PCHammer with curious eyes. "We have met the Shinma hunters," Scanner stated, "as well as the ones called the Shogun Sabres. It is most uncharacteristic of a police officer to work with such as these." "If what Terianne has told me of the data link's capabilities within a Shinma-buma is true, my action is not only justified, but prudent." "You, alone?" "I'm hoping to get my department's cooperation, but I can't make any guarantees. Chief Gundam can be very stubborn." Scanner smirked. "No less so than his subordinates, it would seem." PCHammer shrugged. "I had to do something. This is bigger than just me, or you, or Mega-City, for that matter. The Shogun Sabres have been issued a challenge to meet with the Shinma-buma in Westerland Park at midnight. We're all in agreement -- myself, Terianne, and the Sabres -- that this is our last chance to stop these creatures and their leaders, Kai and Gunbuster." Scanner's eyebrows went up at the mention of the leaders' names. "You have our attention, Lieutenant. What do you desire of us?" Time for the begging, PCHammer decided. "As you know, the Shinma- buma have proven quite troublesome for all of us. They can't be bound as Shinma in their physical form, and can't be damaged by weapons in their Shinma form. Since your company has made this wonder-widget to enhance the two, we were wondering if, by any chance, you'd developed any kind of weapon or device that could harm them regardless of which form they take." Scanner stared at, or perhaps through, PCHammer, considering his request. After a minute's silence, he replied. "Assemble your forces two blocks west of the park one half-hour before the encounter is to take place. We will join you there with something that may be of assistance." PCHammer smiled. "Thank you." Scanner's chair turned toward the window once more. "Do not thank us until the deed is done. As you yourself have said, we can make no ... guarantees." "I understand. Thank you for your time." Receiving no reply -- indeed, not expecting one -- PCHammer exited by the door he'd entered. The door closed behind him with a clap of thunder. Now alone, Scanner rose to his feet, slowly approaching the window. He would tell his receptionist that he was not to be disturbed for the rest of the day. There was much to be done, to save this world. Just to be different, PCHammer decided to try a new place for lunch today. He bypassed his usual diner, walking instead to a newly-opened Chinese restaurant that had piqued his curiosity, the Little White Dragon. He entered slowly, looking around with awe. The walls were not only decorated with Chinese artifacts, but also painted in an ornate, intricate fashion with images of dragons. It was thoroughly elegant without being the least bit gaudy. It was, all told, quite a beautiful sight. He was so busy admiring the painted walls that he almost didn't notice the small, friendly girl in front of him, wearing a red dress with her hair tied up on both sides of her head. He stifled the urge to make a comparison to Mickey Mouse. "Hello! Welcome to Shao Pai Long. My name is Lynn Minmei, and I'll be your hostess. Will you be eating alone today?" "Ah, yes, I--" "No, he'll be with me." The voice behind PCHammer startled him. He whirled and was greeted by a grinning Chun-Li. "Hi, PC." "Chun..." Minmei put on a sly smile. "Oh, I see. Table for two, then. Follow me, please." She led them to a dimly-lit table for two, secluded in a romantic corner of the restaurant. Once they were seated, she gave them each a menu and, with a knowing wink to Chun-Li, left them to consider their selections. Chun decided to go with the special, and, leaning forward, placed her head in her hands and gave Hammer her 'bedroom eyes'. In a hushed, romantic whisper, she said, "So, how'd it go with Scanner?" Hammer worried when he saw her position, but what she actually said snapped him out of it. He figured out what she was doing, and thought it was a great way to camouflage their true conversation. He returned her lovesick posture in kind, and, with an equally sweet whisper of a voice, replied, "Pretty well, I think. He said we should meet two blocks west of Westerland, a half-hour before midnight, and that he'd have something that might help." "That's wonnnnderful," she moaned in reply. "It'd be nice to have a little more lead time to test out whatever he has in store, though." He sighed. "That's for sure. It'll be hard to formulate a workable plan with so little warning about the gizmo's limitations." "How about ... your boss?" she continued softly, bringing a hand to the side of his face. "I'm going to talk to him after lunch," he responded, closing his eyes and putting a hand gently over hers. "I really hope he can be open about this." "And what if he can't?" she pressed, taking his hand and bringing it to her lips. "I'm not sure. I'll probably resign." She stopped abruptly, her eyes nearly bulging out of her head. "What?!" He gave her hand a squeeze. "If he won't cooperate, he'll want me to arrest the Sabres. And if he's going to make me choose between duty and friendship like that, he's not going to like the choice I make." She wrapped her other hand around his. He looked into her eyes; the concern there was real. "But ... then you'll have to leave Mega-City. You'll lose your job, your home, your friends ... how will you live?" "I have no idea. But at least I'll be able to live with myself, which is more than I'd be able to do if I'd betrayed you." She massaged his hand gently. "I'll miss you." "I'm not just walking away with no second thoughts, you know..." They started to lean over the table toward each other when their mood was broken by a soft "Whoops." Their heads both snapped to face little Minmei, who'd just arrived with two glasses of water, ready to take their orders. "Um ... I can come back," she said, smiling sheepishly. "No, that's all right. We'll order now," Chun-Li said. She gave Hammer a quick kiss before he could respond, and the two women enjoyed a laugh at the expense of his embarrassed reaction. Minmei's attention was suddenly diverted by the sound of the door's small chime. The silhouette of the exiting man waved to her. She waved back enthusiastically, calling, "See you tomorrow, Mr. Saeba!" Once he was gone, Minmei sighed deeply with a faraway look in her enormous blue eyes. He's soooo dreamy... She allowed herself a moment's daydream, then returned her attention to the two people seated before her. Ryo Saeba walked slowly back to his office, deep in thought. Friendship over obligation. Loyalty over security. Trust over duty. He hadn't missed a single word the young couple had said. He was paying close attention since he'd noticed the ADP lieutenant entering with the woman. His enhanced buma hearing guaranteed that he heard what they were saying better than they themselves. Their physical antics were irrelevant; they were discussing tonight's confrontation. The woman must have been one of the Shogun Sabres. Their talk about Scanner made him wonder what the industrialist could have up his elusive sleeve. But the other things they said made him wonder even more. Friendship over obligation. Loyalty over security. Trust over duty. These ideas struck Saeba at the core of his being. What of all the people who depend on his protection? How can he face them, being what he truly is? What of Dmitheon's single-minded desire to cause suffering? Why should he be party to such madness? Is it enough to just say "Kai and Gunbuster created me, so I must do as they command" when he knows it isn't right? Friendship over obligation. Loyalty over security. Trust over duty. Ryo Saeba walked slowly back to his office, deep in thought. PCHammer approached the door to Chief Gundam's office with trepidation. The fact that there was a "Wanted" poster with an artist's rendering of the Shogun Sabres next to his door didn't alleviate his fears in the slightest. Lunch had been very good. (A condemned man's last meal, he'd half- joked.) Chun was going to tell the Sabres the good news about Scanner's promised assistance. She gave him a hug for reassurance before they parted. He wished she was here now. He tugged nervously at the sling holding his left arm. "Yo Hamma!" The call startled him as he returned to awareness of his surroundings. He decided it'd be best if noone else knew what he was about to do; putting on his best Leon McNichol smile, he turned to address the voices. "So, Chico-san, Radman ... back from lunch so soon? It's only 1:30." "Very funny, ha ha," Chico-san and Radman replied, bobbing their heads in unison with an unspoken 'Not'. Radman continued alone. "How's the wing?" Hammer flapped his wounded limb weakly. "Still attached, and that's about it. Doc says it's comin' along good enough. It definitely won't be holding a gun for a couple weeks yet." "Going to see the Chief, I see," Chico-san said with a nod. Hammer gave him a 'duh' look. "Yeah, I picked up a lead last night. I'm seeing if he can spare any more manpower." Radman smirked. "More 'uuwaas', you mean." "Oh, please. I suppose you think I enjoy watching subordinates get creamed. You think it's fun or something?" Chico and Radman looked away. No, they knew it wasn't fun. Only yesterday, they'd lost a member of their little Gang of Four, HunterD. D may have been an odd fish, but he was a good officer, and he'd been with the two of them since their Academy days. Hammer realized he'd stepped on some toes with that crack. "I'm sorry." Radman shrugged. "Maybe you're right ... maybe we take it all for granted. Maybe tomorrow..." Hammer waved his comment away with his good hand. "Go on, back to work. If you think about that enough, it'll drive you crackers." They returned to their desks, and he went onward to Gundam's office. The knock at his door pulled Gundam's attention away from the Daily Flugelhorn's latest editorial blasting the ADP for their inability to deal with the murderous buma menace. As usual, the editor in question had no idea what it was like to fight such powerful technology under a municipal budget. The visitor came as a welcome relief from a paragraph praising the "mysterious, unknown champions of the night" -- referring, of course, to those damned Shogun Sabres. "Come in," he grunted, folding the paper. The door opened and Lieutenant PCHammer stepped in. "Afternoon, Chief," he said, closing the door behind him. "Afternoon, Lieutenant. Here, take a look at this." Gundam tossed the paper over to Hammer, who fumbled to get a hold of it with his good hand. "What am I looking for?" "The editorial." Hammer snorted, tossing the paper aside. "Why bother? They're all the same." He made a whiny, nasal voice as he continued, "'The ADP is stupid, our tax dollars are wasted, we deserve REEEAL protection.' As if we just sit around and scratch our butts all day. Twenty-four hours of genuine police work would change those armchair quarterbacks' minds." Gundam grunted. "Then they have the gall to sing the praises of those vigilante anarchists." Uh-oh, Hammer thought. Here he goes again. Better change the subject before he boils over. "Well, I didn't come here to discuss the editorial page of the Daily Flugelhorn." Gundam stopped in mid-rant. "Oh, sorry. I suppose you're going to tell me what it is, now." He turned his chair to one side. "Indeed I am." PCHammer took a breath and released it as a sigh. "I've learned where we'll be able to find the AX murderers tonight." Gundam's head snapped to face him. "Well, this IS good news!" "Maybe yes ... maybe no." Gundam's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, 'maybe yes, maybe no'? Don't talk in riddles, Lieutenant." PCHammer held up his hand. "Now, Chief, hear me out. Let me make my full statement before you respond. Okay?" Gundam sat back warily. "Go ahead." PCHammer steeled himself. "I have spoken with the Shogun Sabres, sir." The look on Gundam's face told him he'd best explain quickly. "The Shinma-bumas have issued an open challenge to the Sabres, to meet them tonight for a showdown of some sort. I know where, and when. But I also promised my cooperation to the Sabres." Gundam all but exploded on the spot. "You WHAT?! Good God, man! Whose side are you on?" "The side that's trying to save lives, sir," PCHammer responded as levelly as possible. "The bumas have been murdering AX patrons, and the Sabres are fighting to stop them." "That's an outrage! These matters should be left to the police, or the military if it comes to that!" "The police are under-equipped and poorly prepared for anything like this! In case you haven't noticed, sir, we've been losing a lot of good officers ever since this started!" "So call in the Army, then! We can't just let some high-tech rocket jockeys take over our city!" PCHammer's level-headedness flew out the window. "The Army? Against WHAT? Even the military can't contain this! Armies conquer by force of numbers and mass of firepower, and they have to know what they're AIMING at! Even twenty groups of Shogun Sabres couldn't even BEGIN to match that level of collateral damage!" "But we have no CONTROL over them!" "And maybe we SHOULDN'T! I still remember the first crowd control case we had with the assault armor! Weapons and politics don't mix!" They stopped, glaring at each other. They were both standing, hands on Gundam's desk, nose to nose. Gundam broke the silence first. "What did you say to them, Lieutenant?" PCHammer's eyes didn't leave his Chief's for a moment. "We discussed the nature of the Shinma-buma threat. We also had a Shinma hunter on hand. She helped us by explaining aspects of their being we hadn't really understood before." Gundam snorted. "And how long has THIS snake-oil saleswoman been operating?" "A hundred thirty-six years, sir. She's a Shinma herself, who fights to return rogue spirits to their own plane." "And you believe her?!" "I have no reason to doubt her. Sir." The stare-down continued. It was once again Gundam who re-started the conversation. "So, how have you planned to involve us?" "We have a plan, sir, and it just might work. It's more than the ADP could do alone. But we need some more manpower; there are only a total of six Shogun Sabre members. If we can spare a half-dozen or so good officers, no more than a dozen, the Sabres will suit them up in powered armor that far outpaces anything we have available to us. The control is simple and easy to learn; I can testify to that." "And what do they want in return?" "Amnesty. Acceptance. Not seeing their images on the post office wall. Maybe even an ongoing working relationship with the ADP." Gundam stood upright, fiercely regarding the Lieutenant, not quite believing what he was hearing. "Suppose I refuse." PCHammer pushed himself off the desk and drew himself up to his full height. "Then I suppose you'll see my resignation on your desk." "You would do this for vigilantes?" "I would do this for friends." Hammer paused as Gundam stroked his chin. "Your reply, sir?" After a pregnant pause, Gundam took a slow breath and responded, "I'm sorry." "I see." PCHammer pulled out his ADP ID, badge and gun, dropping them on all Gundam's desk. He walked to the door, and began to exit. Before closing it behind him, he turned back to glare at Gundam. "I wish I could say it's been a pleasure, sir. You'll have my resignation letter tomorrow morning; right now, I have preparations to make." The door clicked shut. Once outside the office, PCHammer ripped the Shogun Sabres' Wanted poster from the wall, tearing it into several pieces and disposing of the crumpled remains in a nearby wastebin. He stormed by Radman and Chico-san wordlessly, oblivious to the fact that all eyes were on him, and, with a muttered "Bat-piss", slammed the department door behind him. The door's glass pane was cracked by the blow, and Sergeant Romanova was so startled that she spilled her piping-hot coffee all over herself with a shriek. Radman and Chico-san looked at each other quizically; then, with one mind, they rose and headed toward Chief Gundam's office. -- The High Diggy-Hoek of Chihuahua-Wala Land (Martin Rose) - mfrose@ais.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Truth is stranger than Fiction ---------------- Stupid is a boundless concept The Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies: Ann Arbor Division Tales of the Shogun Sabres ANIME WAR CRISIS Chapter 7: Pride (In the Name of Love) Jingoro smiled a wicked smile when the computer began the rhythmic beeping he'd been waiting so long for. The preparations were finally complete; his special masterpiece of vengeance was ready to work its wonders upon the little traitoress. He checked his watch. Five past eleven. Damn. He would have to hurry; it would only be good for an hour, and then not usable again for another fourty-eight without lethal repercussions. Of course, that just wouldn't do at all. He had to be certain that she knew his wrath before he left this mortal coil. He slowly, methodically unwound the bandages surrounding his head; then, with equal care, he applied his invention to his scarred, exposed face. Saeba checked the preparations again. Walking slowly, purposefully, looking carefully around him as he went, he visually checked the status of the traps. The gloom of night that enompassed him did not affect his enhanced vision; he could see the traps clearly, as if it were midday. They were designed by his Masters, Kai and Gunbuster, to snare the Shogun Sabres when they least expected it. Of course, they would be expecting a trap. But nothing like this; no amount of preparation could ready anyone for something like this. Even as he assured himself of the brilliance of the planning, the meticulous precision of the design, and the utter power behind it, he still felt himself weighted down by his personal doubts. His mission seemed no more right to him now than it did this afternoon, when he'd overheard the ADP officer and the Shogun Sabre in the restaurant. He hadn't told his Masters about what they'd said, because just recalling it disturbed him so greatly. Deep within him, a part of his Shinma-buma mind told him to take down the traps and tell all that his Masters planned to the Shogun Sabres. What would the humans call it? A ... "conscience"? He shook his head. There was no time for such thoughts; Dmitheon still had yet to arrive. It would do no good to let his sadistic partner see him wracked with uncertainty. He walked to the perimiter of the park to make sure it was still clear, and to see if Dmitheon had bothered to show up yet. An unmarked truck, about the size of a small moving van, came to a halt in the parking lot of a Denny's about two blocks west of Westerland Park. Its headlights were doused, its engine ceased humming, and six figures stepped out into the night. "I wish the instructions would have been a little more specific," Pomru said. "Well, we only know what we've been told. Just keep your eyes open," Shogun replied. The entire party scanned their surroundings, looking for some indication of where their rendezvous was to be. Dnab spotted a tall figure leaning against a lamppost, not too far away. He appeared to have a sling around his left arm. "There," he said, pointing. The group approached the lone person, who did not stir. "Evening, Lieutenant," Shogun called out. No reply came. They stopped, looking at each other. Chun-Li stepped forward. "Lieutenant?" "No lieutenants here," PCHammer replied quietly. After a long moment's silence, Shogun answered, "We're sorry, Hammer. You wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for us." PCHammer turned to face them with a weak smile. "I would be dead if it weren't for you, so I guess you're right, after a fashion." "We're still here with a couple minutes to spare," Jiro interjected, shifting the subject. "How long have you been here alone?" PCHammer shrugged. "I've been here for quite a while. But I haven't been alone." He looked up, and everyone else followed suit. "Good evening," Terianne stated from her perch atop the lamppost. She hopped down, falling rapidly until her fingers touched PCHammer's waiting palm; her descent immediately slowed, and her feet touched the ground soundlessly. LordFranz, who had been beside her, just floated down without trying to match Terianne's theatrics. "Well, at least everyone we're counting on is here," Shogun noted aloud. "We'll just have to do what we can, even if we're shorthanded." Hammer nodded silently, still unhappy with Gundam's closed-minded reaction. Chun-Li noticed that he was still holding onto Terianne's hand; she didn't seem to mind a bit. She wondered whether Shinma hunters ever had time to have relationships. PCHammer spoke again. "I've been thinking about that. The concept is still workable, but if we lose even one person, the whole thing's shot. Unless we arm Terianne and LordFranz, which puts them at a disadvantage with respect to what they need to do." He sighed. "I really wish Gundam could've seen it differently." A car driving down their street chose this moment to pull over next to PCHammer's lamppost. With all eyes on it, its lights and engine shut off, and its two occupants got out, slamming the doors behind them. "Yo Hammer," the ex-driver said. PCHammer's heart leaped into his throat. "Uh ... hi, Radman." Radman came around the car to stand beside Chico-san. Together, they approached PCHammer, who released Terianne's hand and pushed away from the lamppost, facing his former partners with a determined look. They stared at each other in silence before Chico-san spoke. "Chief Gundam sent us after you, Hammer." "I see," he replied coldly. He knew they would come after him, but he was hoping it could wait until after tonight. "Give me your hand," Radman said. Hammer complied, presenting his hand palm-down. "No, like this," Chico-san grunted, twisting his hand to face palm- up. Radman held his left hand over PCHammer's and dropped a shiny, polished metal object into it. Hammer looked at it with amazement. It was his badge. "The Chief decided you could'a been right," Radman said with a grin. Almost on cue, an ADP van stopped behind the car, and a group of about ten officers clambered out. Joined by Radman and Chico-san, they quickly fell into a line, standing at attention. PCHammer could only stare and blink for a few moments before regaining his composure. Donning the badge, he marched up to the line, giving the smiling officers his best "MacArthur Reviewing the Troops" look. "All right, men--" Sgt. Nene Romanova cleared her throat. Her partner, Sgt. Rally Vincent, rolled her eyes. "--sorry, men AND ladies," he corrected, "I'll assume you've all volunteered for this mission. I will inform you right now that this will be far more dangerous than anything you've ever done in your life. The enemy is waiting, and is prepared to fight us on natural and supernatural levels. Injury and death are only the beginning of what could happen to you. If you have any misgivings at all, you should turn around and leave right now." No one moved. PCHammer considered the line sternly. "Are you with me?" "Yes, SIR!" they barked in unison. PCHammer stumbled backward from the force of their response. "Okay, okay, not so loud!" He was smiling as well, now. Shogun stepped forward. "Well, now that that's settled, we just need Scanner and we'll be all set." "We are here," Scanner replied from behind the Shogun Sabres, quite effectively getting their attention, particuarly Kimagure, from whom he was no further than five feet. "Doesn't anyone in this city knock?" Kimagure complained. "If they can help us, they can walk right into my bathroom for all I care," Shogun answered. "Good evening, Scanner. Will you be able to help us defeat the Shunma-buma?" "Our person will not be able to physically assist you," Scanner stated in his usual style -- that is, giving everyone around him the willies -- "but we have some items which may be of use to you, and to the Shinma hunters." "Great. Okay, everyone, gather 'round. Now that we have Scanner here, he can tell us what his new frammistats do, and we can work 'em into the plan." The entire group, Shogun Sabres, Shinma hunters and ADP alike, formed a huddle around Shogun, Scanner and PCHammer. None of them noticed the silent figure in the nearby alleyway, completely hidden by the All-Concealing Shadows (tm). With only thirty seconds to go until midnight, Dmitheon entered the park at a run. "Well, well, look who finally showed up," Saeba said with no small annoyance in his voice. Dmitheon brushed it off like so much lint. "Hey, Killjoy. 'Dja miss me?" I wouldn't if I were aiming at you, Saeba didn't say. "You're here alone?" "No, I just let little Godai off back there." Dmitheon pointed to a large shrub behind him. Saeba looked, and his buma night-vision easily spotted the young woman. "She may be a born killer like me, but it'll be too much for her any minute now." "Since you arrived so late, I can't explain everything about the trap. If you go Shinma and look at the ground, you'll see eight small areas with a faint glow of spirit energy. Stay away from those." "Why?" "They're bad." "Badder than me?" "Possibly." "ooOOOooooo! Can I borrow one?" "Now that they're activated, you can't even touch one. Now shut up; I hear something coming." The two bumas looked to where the sound was coming from. The pigeons had finally arrived at their final nesting place; the Shogun Sabres had arrived. Right on time. Shogun's feet hit the ground with the crunch of shattering concrete. He was accompanied, as always, by Dnab, Chun-Li, and Pomru, who landed in that order behind and to either side of him. With a quick motion, Shogun drew his energy blade and pointed it at the Shinma-bumas who stood a few dozen yards away. "The Shogun Sabres are here to end your reign of terror, evil ones!" "Good," Dmitheon called in response. "I was getting bored." "Your destruction will cure your boredom, buma!" "Oh, I'm SO scared. Help me, I'm going to faint." Shogun's arm dropped as he looked back at his armored companions. Pomru shrugged, Chun-Li rocked on her heels, and Dnab was doing the sign language for "that buma is a few tacos short of a combination plate". "People..." The three immediately snapped to attention. Shogun turned back to the bumas. "Shogun Sabres--" "SanJO," Pomru mumbled. Shogun whirled. "What?" "Never mind." Once again facing the bumas, and getting rather annoyed at the interruptions, Shogun roared, "For Anime Expo! Shogun Sabres, SANGUU!!" The four techno-knights immediately bounded forward and opened fire with gusto. Shogun and Chun-Li hosed down the evil pair with their his- and-hers matching railguns, Pomru lit up the night with his pulse cannon, and Dnab peppered the recipe with his particle-beam repeater. Streams of hot death sped toward the Shinma-bumas. Of course, they didn't just stand there and wait for it. By the time the first volley reached their position, they were airborne, and the Sabres' firepower accomplished little save for kicking up an immense cloud of sod, grass and splintered wood. The bumas arced through the night sky, charging their arm cannons. Saeba touched down and fired first, and Dnab only barely twisted out of the shot's path in time. Dmitheon cut loose from the sky with a shot that would have removed Chun-Li's arm if she'd been standing still. The firefight continued for a minute, going to close quarters as the bumas and Sabres closed in on each other. Shogun could already see that the fight wasn't going to go well, and everything was still above the board; no indication of any "special surprises" on the part of the bumas. Hopefully, something would happen soon. Fortunately, something did happen. Unfortunately, it was because he wasn't paying attention. Dmitheon pounded him from behind with his fists, stunning him and knocking him to the ground. His vision was filled with dancing stars as he lie face-down on the grass. "Goodnight, sucker," he heard behind him. Something sharp ran across his back, and he felt a sudden, cold wind on his newly-exposed flesh. "Scan Tiara Action!" The new voice called out shrilly from somewhere to his distant left. It was accompanied by a peculiar unhuman cry, a sort of shrieking howl, and soon followed by a roar of pain from where his assailant was. His vision finally cleared, and he flipped himself over to find Dmitheon staggering backward with a glowing gash in his chest. The reason for this was clarified by a glance to what was now his right, where Sergeant Romanova, clad in one of Kimagure's quickie hardsuits, was just now catching what appeared to be a neon boomerang. She gave him a wink and a thumbs-up before closing her helmet, and he replied by forcing Dmitheon back with several rounds from his railgun. "ADP, forward!" PCHammer bellowed as he emerged from his cover in the nearby shrubbery, accompanied by almost a dozen Kima-armored troops. They ran forward like a military chorus line, blasting away at the Shinma-bumas as they went. PCHammer himself was only partially armored, since there was nothing to cover his wounded arm without aggravating it. Saeba was startled out of the attack he was pressing against Dnab. Apparently, the officer he'd heard was able to work out an agreement with his superior. Unfortunately, this put the bumas at a disadvantage in more ways than one; not only were they now vastly outnumbered and narrowly outgunned, but the traps would each only work once... "Dmitheon! Force them onto the traps!" "Hot damn," Dmitheon hissed. "I've been wondering what the big deal was about those things." He bolted up to the advancing line, grabbing the closest thing to him, which happened to be Sergeant Vincent. Before she could voice her protest with a "Hey, what--", he flung her onto one of the invisibly-glowing plots behind him. She bounced twice on the ground before reaching the spot. The moment she was over it, she was surrounded by a column of burning red light. Her eyes darted around helplessly as she was slowly lifted several inches off the ground. The light turned green, and she jerked forward, clutching her stomach and swallowing a yelp; it changed to yellow, and her hands went to her head as she cried out in pain. The column turned to an unbearable white, and everyone around her watched, horrified, as her skin, muscle and bone seemed to burn away in spots and layers while she writhed and screamed in agony. Finally, the light went out, and her empty armor and clothing fell to the ground. "Dear God," PCHammer whispered. What a horrible way to die, Saeba thought, regretting his suggestion. "Not bad," Dmitheon said admiringly. "RALLY!!" Screaming the name of her fallen partner, Nene ran toward the empty shell of Sergeant Vincent's hardsuit, throwing off her helmet. Before anyone could stop her, she was on her knees, clutching the dead officer's uniform to her face, weeping bitterly in shock and disbelief. A least we know it only works once, PCHammer conjectured. But how many are there, and where? "Hold your positions! Don't let them force you anywhere!" His mind still reeling from the horror, but working on a solution nonetheless, he ran back to the perimiter. He stopped at a tree, and called up into it. "Terianne!" "Yes," she replied softly, "we can see them." The Shinma hunters appeared, standing on a thick, sturdy branch of the tree. "Good! Can you dest--" His sentence was cut off by the shriek of another ADP officer caught in one of the traps. He shook off the urge to cry and repeated, "Can you destroy them?" "We have nothing with which to do so." "What if I were to go with you? Could you point out the locations to me?" She considered this for a moment. "Yes. Bring him with us, LordFranz." There was a rustle under LordFranz's robe, as if he were gesturing. PCHammer suddenly found himself rising, not under any power of nature or science; it felt as if he was being lifted from within. He rose until he was eye-to-eye with Terianne. She smiled and took his good hand, and together, the three of them flew out over the battlefield. "You'll see a small red dot on the ground where I'm aiming, Teri. Guide my hand." Hammer turned on his laser-sight and charged his arm blaster, pointing it at the ground. Terianne gently moved his arm until the dot came to rest on a grassy patch of ground, mere feet from where Chico-san was standing. "There." Hammer fired the blaster. Its beam punched easily through the ground. After a moment's delay, the plot of land exploded upward in a shower of dirt and gravel, knocking Chico-san off his feet and onto his rump. PCHammer smiled. "That's got it. How many are left?" She looked at the field. "There are five." A scream and flash of light got their attention at that moment. "Now there are four." "Well, let's get to it before there're only three." He charged his arm cannon again, and they flew to their next target. Saeba took another ADP officer into his grasp. "I'm sorry; this is nothing personal," he said apologetically, preparing to throw him onto one of the spirit-mines. He didn't like their effect, but he felt he'd best use them all before anyone not involved in this battle had to suffer at their hands. A loud BWOOMF drew his attention, and he saw that the place where the trap had been was now an exploded hole in the ground. "What? How?!" he exclaimed, throwing his intended victim away without a second thought. His eyes scanned the area, and he saw nothing ... until he looked up, spying the Shinma hunters and the ADP officer from the restaurant. The officer's beam cannon was charging, and the trio drifted toward what he quickly determined to be the final mine. This will have to be stopped, Saeba decided. He opened his mouth wide, revealing the blaster therein, and, after a moment's charge, he fired it at the silver-robed Shinma hunter. LordFranz noticed the sudden burst of light that escaped his Mistress and her mortal companion as they concentrated on destroying the underground device beneath them. He moved as quickly as he could to her defense, but he was too late when he began; his reward for his neglect was her scream of pain as the light tore through her corporeal form. "Teri!" the mortal called, obviously distressed. The mortal put his unbound arm around her limp form as quickly as he could, probably hoping to shield her as Franz should have. He should have been more concerned for himself; with the Mistress unable to levitate herself, there was no way Franz alone could keep all three of them aloft. Franz grabbed onto the two of them as they began to plummet. Something else came to his attention at that moment; they were all falling onto the last of the deadly glowing spaces on the ground. Franz had seen and felt the effects of these devices; not even a Shinma could survive it. It would surely be the death of all three of them, and the mortal wasn't even aware of its presence. He had to protect the Mistress. His first Master had already been destroyed; he had no desire to lose another. The mortal gave him a bewildered look as he whirled them around, moving himself so that he was beneath them, planting his feet on the mortal's back, waiting for the ground to strike. Farewell, Mistress. I have served you as best I was able... PCHammer grunted aloud as he felt what must have been LordFranz's feet suddenly jam against his back. The sudden movement forced him and Terianne to land a few feet away from the mysterious cloaked figure. Hammer continued to hold onto her as tightly as he could, trying to ignore the renewed pain in his left arm and wondering why their landing point was so important. Suddenly, he felt her limp form stiffen as she released a shriek. He looked at her, discovering a mask of suffering on her face. She squirmed slightly in his loosening grasp as he stared, dumbfounded. A flash caught the corner of his eye, and he turned to discover the cause of Terianne's discomfort. So that's why he pushed us away, he thought sadly, as he watched LordFranz silently discorporate in a column of white. He sacrificed himself for her ... for us. Billowing, sulfurous smoke escaped from the eyeholes in his silver mask and the opened sides of his robe. The light faded, and the cloak and mask fell to the ground. Terianne relaxed in his arms, tears falling quietly from her eyes. Hammer gently laid her on the ground, then, standing, tried to run to join his comrades, wincing at his bad arm. "The mines are destroyed! ATTACK!!" The latest round of firepower and maneuvering had kicked up an immense cloud of dust. Godai cursed her poor luck as she tried to get a view of the fight without being seen. All things considered, it could have been going better for her lover's side, but she'd seen a few really nifty kills on his part. Those wierd buried mines were definitely the be-all and end-all of ugly deaths. "Enjoying the show?" She whirled at the sound of the voice behind her, relaxing when she saw it to be Dmitheon in his human form. "Shit, lover! You trying to give me a heart attack or something?" She went to him and embraced him. Yes, that's right, he thought. You trust me, don't you? "So, how have you liked it so far?" "Mmmm ... it's been pretty good, so far. You've scored a few mean kills yourself. There were more of 'em then you were counting on, weren't there?" "Huh? Oh, yes, surely." His hand snaked around her back as he felt his way around her concealed holster. This produced an inadvertent purr from Godai. "Are you sure you have time for this?" she asked quietly, opening her jacket and loosening a couple buttons on her blouse. "The fight doesn't look over yet." He smiled evilly at her. "Oh, it'll all be over very soon. Very soon." He felt his fingertips reach a large, leathery bulge. Jackpot. He brought another hand slowly around the front of her waist, and she hummed pleasantly. Her attention was suddenly caught by an explosion behind her. Momentarily stopping her hands (but not about to stop his), she turned her head to see what was happening. Amid a brief hail of particle-beams and contrails, two bumas emerged from the dust cloud, flying in her direction. What the hell?!? She stiffened as her eyes went wide. She whirled to look at the man in her arms, then back to look at the bumas. One of the bumas was definitely Dmitheon. Shit! Jingoro thought. She figured it out! He made a quick grab under her jacket for the handle of her gun, but she twisted away from him and had it pointing at him in an instant. "Who the hell are you, you bastard!?" she demanded. He paused for a moment, then decided to be honest, in a menacing way. "Why, Go-chan ... you cut me to the quick!" Go-chan?? "I'd think you didn't even recognize me, after all the time we've known each other..." Her hand began to shake. No, it can't be ... it can't! "You don't even know YOUR OWN FATHER!" The gun began to lower. "You ... you're dead ..." "Yes. You killed me. And I have returned ... for VENGEANCE!" He dove at her, hoping to take advantage of her disorientation. It was not to be. Reflexively, she brought the gun back up and fired twice, puching large, bloody holes in his chest. He fell onto her, staining her with his blood. "Go ... chan..." he gurgled, then exhaled his last. A small beeping sound came from his pocket -- a timer he'd had to remind him when his disguise would dissolve. As Godai watched, his face melted into a scarred, pitted, inhuman mass on twisted flesh. For the first time in her life, Godai completely freaked out. Kicking and flailing, she pushed what was once her father off of her and ran, screaming, to where she knew the real Dmitheon was. Dmitheon wasn't having a very good time. Oh, sure, the few kills he'd made were fairly satisfying. But he and Saeba were being beaten back by the combined Shogun Sabres and ADP. They'd even tried becoming Shinma to evade them, but a couple of the cops had peculiar weapons that caused them intense pain in that form. They'd decided to try to stick it out in buma form. If only he could figure out how to activate the data link within him... "We've got 'em on the run! Don't let up!" That damned ADP commander was at it again. He would definitely have to be dealt with, if he could ever get an opening. He was easy enough to spot; he was the only one with his arm in a sling. His movement seemed a bit unsteady, and he was holding the slingbound arm with a grimace. At least he would be an easy target. "Dmitheon!!" He whirled to see Godai running toward him, screaming and agitated. What did that little nut think she was doing? "Godai! Get back! Get out of--" A stray shell glanced off of Dmitheon's chest and streaked past him, landing directly behind Godai. The explosion hurled her into the air as shrapnel ripped through her body. He watched helplessly as she arced through the sky, landing limply at his feet. He bent down, oblivious to the continuing attack, and picked up her still, silent form. Her eyes, normally alive with a wicked glee, now stared blankly off into infinity. "Godai..." A bullet rang off his skull, reminding of his current situation. He turned toward the attackers, his eyes flaring red. Deep within him, amid the madly flying neural signals that were the physical representation of his rage, a new connection was formed. His eyes changed from fierce crimson to burning white. "GOOODAAAIII!!" Pointing both palms forward, Dmitheon lashed out at his assailants with a new-found power, throwing the entire group backward and out of the park. The glowing coals which were Kai's eyes widened suddenly. "He has done it!" "What?" Gunbuster realized something was very amiss. "The data link! Dmitheon has activated the data link!" -- The High Diggy-Hoek of Chihuahua-Wala Land (Martin Rose) - mfrose@ais.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Truth is stranger than Fiction ---------------- Stupid is a boundless concept The Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies: Ann Arbor Division Hang in there, troops! Things get much worse before they get better! Tales of the Shogun Sabres ANIME WAR CRISIS Chapter 8: Consequences, Schmonsequences Shogun shook his head and groaned as he sat up. "Oh, man ... anyone get the number of that tank?" Pomru was nearby, in about the same condition. "I dunno, but that tank definitely had OUR number." Chun-Li had landed on top of Dnab. He was presently being 'rewarded' for not being able to keep his hands to himself. Armor or no, a girl has to keep her dignity, and Chun gave Dnab a powered slap that propelled him several yards away. "Hentai!" The Shogun Sabres looked up when they heard the sound of sirens, not very far away. Sure enough, what appeared to be every vehicle in the ADP was on its way to the park. Dnab started to get up. "Well, we'd better--" "No, we stay," Shogun reprimanded. "They're working WITH us for once, remember?" "Oh, yeah. I'm not used to that." "That makes two of us," Radman added from not too far away. With much noise, the ADP motor fleet arrived on-site. Amid the slamming of doors, flashing of roof lights, tromping of running feet and whining of servomotors raising heavy mecha into position, a lone figure emerged and approached the scattered group of Shogun Sabres and armored ADP. The ADP members quickly got to their feet, standing in a straight line at attention and saluting. Standing one dozen strong when they'd first met the Shogun Sabres, they now numbered a mere six. The approaching man returned their salute. "Report," he commanded. Chico-san spoke first. "Chief Gundam, sir. The battle has taken a sudden turn for the worse." "Worse than losing half of your troops, Sergeant?" "Yes, sir. One of the bumas appears to have achieved a higher power level. We were near the center of the park until a moment ago, when it fired a single shot that threw us all out here." Gundam looked at him incredulously. "That's hard to believe." "It's also true," a voice behind him confirmed. Chief Gundam turned to regard the new voice's source. "So, you are the leader of the Shogun Sabres, are you not?" Shogun nodded. His armor completely concealed his identity, as well as those of his partners, who stood in a group behind him. "Sir, one of the Shinma-bumas is in posession of a new technology, which was stolen from Scanner Services a couple days ago. Apparently, he hasn't been able to make use of it until now." "And this ... new technology grants him increased power?" "Frankly, sir, we've spoken with Scanner, and even he isn't sure just what the creature will be capable of now." Gundam paced toward Shogun. "So we could now be fighting the most powerful weapon ever known." "Or we could be fighting a ticking time bomb. His ability to contain and control the power is also subject to question." Gundam considered this for a moment. So, even if they could destroy it, the city itself may be in peril. With a sigh, he resigned himself to action; it may be too dangerous to destroy, but it was certainly too dangerous to let it run loose. Turning to the ADP forces with a sweep of his arm, he barked, "Battle positions! Prepare to move in!" About this time, Sgt. Romanova was looking around at the armored ranks and noticed something, or rather, someone, missing. She nudged Chico-san, who bent down slightly to hear her whisper: "Sergeant, have you seen Hammer?" Chico-san's eyes widened at the realization. Hammer was missing! He turned to whisper to Nene. "We don't have time to look for him. He knew the risks. We'll just have to hope he comes out okay." Nene nodded sadly. So much had been lost already this night, but the time for mourning would have to wait. Gundam turned and strode back to the parked ADP armada. The weary officers followed him; the Shogun Sabres hurried after their own leader as he led them to Jiro and Kimagure, waiting in the van in a nearby alleyway. PCHammer stirred, groaning and slowly rolling off his stomach. Once on his back, his breath came in hissing gasps. Dmitheon's beam had ravaged him pretty badly; his unarmored left arm, which he'd landed on, felt like it was on fire. He'd also forgotten his helmet, and was sure he didn't want to know what his face looked like. (Actually, it wasn't too bad, except for a stream of blood flowing from a cut above his forehead.) He opened his eyes and looked around. Where did everybody go? Jeez, this place looks even worse than it did before. We didn't demolish all those trees... A sudden sizzle of energy attracted his attention as another tree exploded into shavings, wood chips and burnt leaves. One of the Shinma- bumas laughed hysterically, roaring with delight as he wantonly levelled the park, blasting every bit of foliage, leaving nothing standing. The corner of his eye spotted a blue lump within his reach. He stretched toward it with his good arm and pulled what he'd grabbed into his view for inspection. A blue robe. LordFranz's robe. He pulled himself into a sitting position as gently as he could. Once up, he surveyed the area again. LordFranz's mask was over by where he'd pulled the robe from; he retrieved that as well, in addition to a short staff he'd been given by Scanner. The devastation Dmitheon was wreaking looked even worse than when he'd awakened. He proceeded to crawl toward the only other notable landmark in his vicinity. He sat once again when he reached the still, prone form of Terianne. Setting the blue bundle beside himself, he worked quietly to remove the armor from his right arm; the task was difficult when it was the only arm he had to work with, but he managed. He scooted himself closer to her, then gathered her onto his lap with his right arm. "Come on, Teri," he whimpered quietly. "Wake up. Please, don't be dead. We need you ... I need you." Parts of his mind told him that she wasn't really alive, as he knew it, in the first place, and his pleading wasn't logical. But then, the way he felt about her wasn't very logical, either. As he cradled her in his arm, he looked down at the enormous wound in her abdomen. The scarred flesh of her belly was easily visible through the large hole in her kimono, both created by the blast that shot her down. Its silver was stained with her crimson ichor; the shredded remains of her golden sash were not far away. He moved his left hand to brush her hair away from her eyes. The action hurt like hell, but he did it anyway. He leaned over and gently put his lips to her forehead. When he sat back up and opened his eyes, she was regarding him most curiously. "PCHammer..." He smiled weakly. "Welcome back." "You are ... hurt." She raised a hand to his face. "You're worse than I am." She looked at him fearfully. "LordFranz ... is he..." He closed his eyes, unable to watch how she would react. "He's gone. After you were hit, we fell toward the last spirit-mine. He got underneath us and kicked us away so we wouldn't fall into it. It consumed him completely." He kept his eyes shut, squeezing them tight. The soft gasp of Terianne's weeping brought tears to his eyes anyway. "WELL, ISN'T THAT SPECIAL." Dmitheon's growling voice startled the injured couple. They gasped in unison as their heads snapped to face him. He stood before them, his appearance being like a bizarre hybrid of his buma and Shinma forms and surrounded by a pillar of pure white flame. Terianne and PCHammer clutched each other, mutually paralyzed by fear. "ALL LIFE WILL BE CRUSHED UNDER MY HEEL. STARTING WITH YOU TWO LOVEBIRDS!" He slowly pointed a finger at them, and his aura flared around him. "PREPARE FOR EXTERMINATION!" Then, just as Hammer was certain his life was over, Dmitheon was toppled by an explosive blast that sent his arm flying ahead of him. "WHAT?? WHO DARES?!" Dmitheon was really mad, now. Saeba stepped forward, his own eyes burning red through the night, his smoking palm a silent testament to his guilt. "I cannot allow this madness to continue!" Dmitheon rose to his feet. "SO, MISTER LOYALTY-AND-HONOR FINALLY REVEALS HIMSELF FOR THE TRAITOR HE IS." "The only traitor here is YOU, Dmitheon! You have betrayed the very life which you were given!" "LIFE?" Dmitheon snarled derisively. "LIFE IS MEANINGLESS. THERE IS NO MEANING UNTIL DEATH! YOU, TOO, SHALL BE COMPLETE MOMENTARILY!" Without warning, a bolt of searing energy erupted from Dmitheon's mouth, sending Saeba sprawling across the barren space which was once Westerland Park. Saeba rolled when he hit the ground, charging his arm-cannon. He ended the roll standing upright, and immediately fired at his former partner. Dmitheon laughed openly as the beam dissipated in his aura before reaching him. He reached down, retrieved his arm, and put it back in its place. He flexed it for a moment; it worked perfectly. "Damn!" Saeba hissed. "How did he do that?" "YOU CANNOT STOP ME, SAEBA. NOONE CAN. I AM A GOD, NOW! EVEN KAI AND GUNBUSTER WILL FEEL MY WRATH!" He once again blasted Saeba without so much as a moment's pause, and strode fearlessly after him as he sailed out of the park, out of control. PCHammer and Terianne helplessly watched Dmitheon's retreating form. "The one called Saeba ... has saved our lives," Terianne said softly, speaking for the both of them. "I wish we could return the favor," PCHammer replied, nodding. "Perhaps you may," Scanner stated, scaring the both of them shitless. Chico-san's attention was drawn from the current strategy session with Chief Gundam by a sudden noise from within the park. He looked to see what it was, and spotted a smoldering, metallic figure arcing through the sky. "The buma!" Radman shouted, also spying the object and prepping his arm blaster. "Get him!" "No, wait!" Nene shouted, pulling Radman's arm down. "Look at him!" Radman wondered momentarily how soon they could have her committed to a nuthouse, but took a second look. Sure enough, the buma definitely wasn't attacking them. Landing flat on one's back with a loud crunch of asphalt and concrete definitely made for a poor attack posture, and it didn't seem to be in any great hurry to go after them as it lay there, groaning. "What the hell?" was how he chose to express his confusion. A thick white beam burst from behind a cover of trees and shrubbery, evaporating all of it and revealing a second figure, shrouded by an aura of pure, burning white. "The other one! The one with the new power!" Chico-san exclaimed. "SO, THE ABOUT-TO-DIE PEONS HAVE COME TO MEET THEIR DOOM HEAD-ON," Dmitheon laughed as he surveyed the gathered might of the ADP, such as it was. "SUCH IDIOCY. OOPS, I MEANT, WHAT COURAGE! HA HA HAAA!" Chief Gundam wasn't about to sit still for his verbal abuse. "Open fire!" he commanded. Instantly, every piece of weaponry available to the ADP was brought to bear on the mocking, glowing figure before them. Beam, shell and slug converged on his position on a moment's notice, throwing up an immense cloud of smoke and flame. Even the Scanner- supplied weapons were thrown into the fray. "Cease fire!" Gundam ordered. "Wait for it to clear!" Long, silent moments passed as they waited for the cloud to dissipate. Eventually, it did so, much to the shock of the gathered ADP. "PATHETIC." Dmitheon now strode toward them again, not visibly damaged in the slightest. Gundam looked toward Radman and Chico-san. "Any suggestions?" "Uh, leaving sounds pretty good about now," Chico-san offered. "That's unthinkable!" "So's the possibility of our helping anything here." "NOW, WITNESS TRUE POWER!" Dmitheon waved an arm, and his aura lashed out for nearly a half a mile in that direction. Seven cars, three armored personnel carriers, two ADP powered armors and fifteen officers were gone in a flash; a dozen other people were injured or mutilated as the vehicles they'd been using for cover detonated. As if that weren't enough, the ground levels of several buildings in the beam's path were demolished, bringing the structures tumbling down. Gundam gaped, then recovered. "We can't fight this! ADP, withdraw!" With a cacophony of slamming doors and squealing tires, the area occupied by the ADP fleet was vacated in mere moments, leaving a confused Sergeant Romanova standing alone, the Scan Tiara still in her hand. She frantically looked around the deserted street, panicked momentarily upon spying Dmitheon's menacing form, then ran frantically after the Chief's car, shouting, "Wait for meeeee!!" Dmitheon wished he'd had a camcorder. That scene definitely would have taken the top prize on "America's Funniest Home Videos." He ran after the retreating redhead; after all, a buma's gotta have some fun. "Scanner!" PCHammer and Terianne said together. "The Shinma-buma known as Dmitheon is now a different creature. We have seen its new power. No corporeal weapon can destroy it, and no spell can bind it. Even the special weapons we supplied to the ADP will do it no harm. Only the pair of staffs given to the Shinma hunters may end this destruction." "Then ... we have failed," Terianne said quietly. "LordFranz is no longer among us." Scanner seemed genuinely moved for the first time. "That is regrettable. Only the Shinma hunter's partner may wield the other staff and realize its power." PCHammer closed his eyes. "There must be another way." "No," Terianne said resignedly. "I have no partner. Without one such as him, my wound will not heal, and my own power will not be complete. Kai h-has..." Her breath faltered as she completed the thought. "Kai ... has won." PCHammer opened his eyes, looking directly at her. "Teri." She looked into his gaze for a long moment, uncertain what he wanted to express. Then, her eyes went wide with realization. "You ... w-would do ... such a thing?" He nodded. "We hope you realize what you are saying, Lieutenant PCHammer," Scanner stated, also comprehending. "You cannot rescind--" He was cut off by the sound of screams and explosions as Dmitheon's power ripped through the ADP's ranks. PCHammer's reply was unwavering. "If I do nothing, all is lost. Some things are worth dying for." His eyes never left Terianne's as he whispered, "And some, worth undying for." Terianne put her hands to his head, caressing his face, drawing him closer. He leaned down willingly, closing his eyes and pulling her up with his right arm. She lifted her head, slowly opening her mouth as it approached his neck. Nene, still wearing what was left of the armor Kimagure and Jiro had supplied, backed away slowly from Dmitheon's burning presence. She held Scanner's tiara in her quaking, gauntleted right hand. "S-stay back! I mean it!" she threatened, fighting a losing battle against the terror in her own voice. Dmitheon's new composite body allowed him to regard her with a sarcastic sneer, something his buma form had denied him until now. "OOOOOOO, I'M SOOOOOO SCARED," he whined, cowering. Then, with a quick motion, he faked a lunge at her. Much to his amazement, she didn't scream and jump backward. Instead, she hurled the weapon at him, with a cry of "Scan Tiara Action!" It shone a dazzling yellow as it flew toward him. It scraped against his chest, creating a shower of sparks and doing little else. He snatched it in his hand as it attempted to return to Nene, and, as she watched wide-eyed, he popped it in his mouth, chewed, swallowed and belched. "TIME FOR DESSERT," he growled, wearing an evil, toothy smile. Now frightened beyond the ability to speak, Nene continued backing away from the hulking, grinning monster, waving her hand in front of her as if to shoo him away. She tripped over a curb and fell backward; her quiet whimpers intensified as she backpedalled and tried to stand. His hand was around her throat before she could right herself. He pulled her up and held her aloft as she struggled with both hands against his grip, her feet dangling beneath her. She wriggled and gasped desperately for breath, remembering how much her mother was against her becoming a policewoman. "YOU'RE NO FUN ANYMORE," he grumbled, and she felt his hand begin to tighten, flattening her windpipe as she tried to cry out. The rhythmic sound of metal repeatedly crumbling concrete made Dmitheon loosen his grip as he turned to look at its source. He was greeted by the enormous fist of the Giant Shogun Sabre Bot, which struck him so hard that he went through a nearby brick wall. The fist's impact also made him inadvertantly release his captive, who struck the same wall with a shriek and crumpled to the ground, unconscious and bleeding. "How'd it go?" Chun-Li asked. "We caught him flat-footed," Shogun said. "Romanova looks pretty bad, though. She needs a doctor, fast." "NOT AS MUCH AS YOU WILL!" "Shit!" Dnab shouted. "Doesn't he let up?" Another of Dmitheon's vicious white beams squarely struck the Bot's torso, sending it, and the five Shogun Sabres within, sprawling into the building on the opposite side of the street. "I'd say that's a 'No'," Shogun replied, wincing. The cuts Dmitheon had scraped into him earlier, patched up quickly by Kimagure while they were getting into the motoslaves, were hurting again; he felt something damp on his back, probably his own blood. "I don't know if we can take much of this," Pomru complained. "He's right," Jiro confirmed. "Bring in the heavy stuff!" "You got it!" Shogun stood the iron titan upright and brought its fists together with a loud clang. "Form! Blazing Big Gun!" he called, separating the fists as a glow formed in the space between them. The glow subsided, leaving a ridiculously enormous gun in its place. "OH, PLEASE." Dmitheon slumped his shoulders. "NOT THIS AGAIN." "Die, thing of evil!" Shogun levelled the new weapon at Dmitheon, carefully making sure that Nene was nowhere within his sights. Certain of his aim, he fired, and the gun's burning blue beam struck Dmitheon directly. "Bull's-eye!" Pomru shouted. "NICE SHOOTIN', TEX. BUT IT WON'T HELP YOU AT ALL!" Jiro pounded his fists against the sides of his control console. "Damn it! What does it take to hurt this thing?!" "MORE THAN YOU'VE GOT, PEE-WEE!" Dmitheon lunged forward and grabbed at one of the Bot's legs. Before Shogun could react, they were airborne, which wouldn't have been so bad if the battle behemoth were designed to fly. "Disengage!" Shogun shouted, and the Giant Shogun Sabre Bot split into its five component motoslaves in mid-air. "Jiro!" Chun-Li cried. "How to we use the flight thrusters in these things?" "Thrusters?" Jiro mumbled. "Shit. I knew I forgot something." "WHAT?!?" his four partners shouted. The ground was approaching at an alarming rate. A phantasmal light bulb winked on over Dnab's head. "The hardsuits still have thrusters! Bail out of the motoslaves!" "No! I can't leave my babies!" Jiro wailed. "You wanna die with them?" Chun-Li shouted, already pushing her motoslave away from her and kicking in her retro-thrust. Jiro paused. "Point taken." Moments later, the five empty armored shells slammed into the street with a whine of twisting metal and a crunch of crushed concrete. The five hardsuited Shogun Sabres reached ground level soon afterward, but with a much softer landing. Jiro looked at his demolished, deformed handiwork and sighed. "Back to the ol' CAD/CAM system." Chun-Li looked back toward the place they'd left, thinking of the helpless ADP officer. "I hope she'll be all right..." Pomru turned to Shogun. "Well, now what?" As if to prompt a response, one of Dmitheon's beams burst through several nearby buildings, and they began to topple into the street. "Move!" Shogun yelled. The Sabres immediately vacated the area, and Jiro's special motoslaves were buried under Dmitheon's urban renewal project. "So," Pomru continued once they were running in a group, "what's the plan?" "There is no plan," Shogun muttered. A sudden yelp over the comm system captured their attention. The Sabres all came to a halt and looked behind them. Well, all except for Chun-Li, who had already stopped running; her ankles were being held tightly by Dmitheon at the moment. "Let go of me, damn you!" she hissed. "I LOVE IT WHEN YOU TALK DIRTY, BABY," he grinned. "Hey, that's MY line, you bastard!" Dnab complained. "OH, MAYBE YOU TWO SHOULD BE TOGETHER, THEN!" Dmitheon swung Chun-Li once around himself and flung her forward at nearly Mach 1. Her impact with Dnab demolished her thrust pack and his sensory array, and they flew another two hundred yards down the street before hitting the ground and rolling fifty yards further still. They stirred slightly as they came to rest, trying to shake off the dizziness. Dmitheon walked toward Jiro. "GUESS YOU'RE NEXT." "Sorry, no." Shogun drew his beam sabre and stepped forward, accompanied by Pomru. "We fight as a team. You take us all on." Dmitheon rubbed his chin, then shrugged. "WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT. IN THIS CASE, MORE LIKE 'WHATEVER SINKS YOUR TITANIC'! HAH!" The three standing Shogun Sabres, glowing swords in hand, leaped forward in rapid succession. "Shogun Sabre Three-Strike! SanGUU!" Each one raced past Dmitheon, who stood impassively as their particle- beam blades failed to so much as scratch his chassis. Dmitheon yawned. "MAIL ME WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO START." Shogun was unhappy with this turn of events. (Actually, he was pissed.) With a roar of irrationality, he leaped at Dmitheon, intending to beat him down with his gauntleted fists if he had to. Dmitheon lazily caught the incoming fist with one hand, crushing it tight, laughing at Shogun's cry of pain as his fingers were dislocated and two of his hand bones snapped. The buma-monster then held the hand aloft, dangling the rest of his armored form like a human carrot in front of himself. He reared back with his opposite hand and flexed his fingers, which abruptly grew long, curved, sharp talons. Jiro quickly brought his arm up and began firing high-velocity explosive rounds at the buma, to no effect. "No, you twit!" Pomru shouted, grabbing Jiro's arm. "You're going to kill Shogun that way!" Dmitheon paused, and Pomru suddenly realized his error. "'SHOGUN'? *THE* SHOGUN? WELL, THIS *IS* MY LUCKY NIGHT!" With a rapid motion, Dmitheon tore Shogun's helmet from his head. Though the man was obviously in pain, his eyes burned with defiance. "AX ... will be ... a success ... with ... or without ... my life," he hissed, panting. "OH, HOW NOBLE," Dmitheon soothed. "I CARE NOTHING OF YOUR PATHETIC CONVENTION WAR, NOW. THERE WILL BE NOONE LEFT TO ATTEND EITHER!" "You are wrong, Dmitheon!" a metallic voice reprimanded. Dmitheon sneered at the newly-arrived, battered-looking Saeba. "SO, BACK FOR MORE, EH?" "Your evil cannot be allowed to continue!" "OH, BUT IT WON'T! IT'LL ONLY LAST AS LONG AS IT TAKES ME TO KILL EVERY LIVING THING IN THE WORLD! THEN, WHO KNOWS? PERHAPS I'LL GO TO THE SHINMA REALM AND KILL ALL OF THEM, TOO! THE SKY'S THE LIMIT!" Dmitheon chuckled sinisterly. "No! I will not allow it!" Saeba leaped at Dmitheon, preparing to tear his insane brother's arm off. It wouldn't be permanent, but it would free the one called Shogun. "GET A CLUE." Dmitheon opened his mouth and, with a sound not unlike a supernatural belch, released a ball of green energy at his adversary. The ball enveloped Saeba completely, and he was disintegrated in howling agony. Pomru and Jiro looked on dumbfounded at the effortlessness of Saeba's destruction. Dmitheon looked at his feet, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "LET'S SEE NOW, WHERE WAS I ... OH, YES! PLAYTIME!" Chun-Li and Dnab skidded to a halt behind Dmitheon just as the buma was rearing back with his clawed hand again. With a laugh, he scraped his claw across his target. Shogun roared in agony as Dmitheon tore off most of his body armor and a significant amount of the flesh of his left side, and he was awash in a sea of red. "NNNOOOOO!!!" Chun-Li screamed. She tried to lunge at Dmitheon, but Dnab, not thinking of himself for once, held her back. "Let me GO! Let me GO!" "Stop, dammit!" he shouted as she struggled. "You go in there and we'll have a double funeral tomorrow!" She stopped pressing forward, but even under her armor, Dnab could feel her quaking with rage, not too much unlike himself. Dmitheon laughed like a maniac as he repeatedly ripped at Shogun with his claws, tearing every last piece of armor from him, along with no small amount of flesh. He especially enjoyed listening to Shogun's painful wails; this was definitely a night to remember. The four Shogun Sabres stood tongue-tied, unable to do anything save watch their friend and leader suffer. Jiro was pounding his fist into the ground repeatedly, making a new pothole. Pomru was on the verge of being sick. Dnab was still holding Chun-Li back as she stood with her fists clenched, crying silent tears beneath her helmet. Finally, Dmitheon paused to consider his handiwork. "I THINK YOU'VE SUFFERED ENOUGH," he said most uncharacteristically. Rearing back one final time, he prepared to sever Shogun's head. "SAY GOODNIGHT, GRACIE." Hidden voices from the alleys on either side startled him with their reply: "Goodnight, Gracie." -- The High Diggy-Hoek of Chihuahua-Wala Land (Martin Rose) - mfrose@ais.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Truth is stranger than Fiction ---------------- Stupid is a boundless concept The Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies: Ann Arbor Division This is it - game over for Anime War Crisis! I would like to thank the Academy...uh, no, that's not right. I suppose the two people I would like to thank most would be Sazan, who started the story, and Pomru, who suggested me to Saz when he felt he wouldn't be able to finish it himself. Writing this has been a real kick. Special thanks to Ryan Mathews and the Undocumented Features posse, who have proven, beyond all doubt, that great anime fanfic doesn't have to be in script form. Besides, it was Ryan who first told me what Deus Ex Machina means, other than "Form Blazing Sword". Tales of the Shogun Sabres ANIME WAR CRISIS Chapter 9: Deus Ex Machina Before Dmitheon could utter so much as a "WHO DARES?!!", two thick beams of light lashed out from the darkened alleys to either side of him. One was a brilliant blue, like the flame of a propane torch; the other was a soft yet intense shade of red, bordering on neon pink. The beams met at the point where Dmitheon stood, and he flattened out between them, his arms outstretched to either side. His grip on Shogun's hand loosened, then released entirely as his face twisted with frustration. "NO! MY VICTORY CANNOT BE DENIED! YOU CANNOT DESTROY MY DESTINY!" "Your destiny is in our hands, now," the voices replied, calmly yet firmly. One of the voices was definitely male; the other was obviously female. "Your reign of terror is ended." Jiro and Pomru stepped forward apprehensively, the ran toward the body of their fallen friend. Shogun was lying in a pool of his own blood, bleeding in more places than not. They gathered him up as carefully as they could and carried him away from the struggling, enraged monster. "SHOW YOURSELVES, COWARDS! LET ME SEE THE FACES OF THOSE I MUST DESTROY!" Two figures stepped from the alleys, one from each side. Dmitheon regarded them with contempt. "I SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOU WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE." "But you did not," Terianne replied from behind him. Her silver kimono was stained with red around and below her waist, with LordFranz's robe tied there to replace her destroyed sash. She held the staff Scanner had given her tightly in both of her hands, and its crimson beam seemed almost pale when compared to the burning anger in her dark eyes. "Our lives were spared by your short attention span," PCHammer added from the opposite side. Chun-Li blinked as she looked at him. It was definitely him. Wasn't it? His sling was gone, and his left arm seemed fine, with a good, firm grip on the staff that was the source of the intense blue beam. Kima's armor was gone, too; he was wearing nothing more than he had been when they'd first seen him that night, give or take a bit of torn cloth where the battle had taken its toll. Chun was suddenly aware that Dnab was still holding onto her, and that his hands had relocated to not-very-noble locations. She gave him a sharp elbow to the ribs and swatted him away. Some things never change, she sighed. Teri and Hammer slowly circled around the trapped buma-monster, stopping when they were parallel with the street. Then, abruptly, they cut off the beams, and Dmitheon, who had been held in mid-air by their force, dropped to his knees. The Shinma hunters held their staffs horizontal, arms straight forward, and Terianne began to chant. "YOU SHALL REGRET YOUR ARROGANCE!" the monster spat, immediately rising to his feet. He pointed a finger at PCHammer, which proceeded to fire a machine-gun-like series of tiny, yet no less lethal, spirit- energy spheres. Immediately, PCHammer was a veritable dervish of movement, as he used his staff to deflect every single one of the charges. He whirled, twisted, parried and swung, and all of the spheres vanished with faint popping sounds before reaching him. Terianne's chanting ceased, and she rotated her staff to a vertical orientation. Dmitheon ceased firing, and PCHammer stopped as well, glaring at the buma-monster. "YOUR KUNG-FU IS GOOD, YOUNG GRASSHOPPER," he grunted, "BUT LET'S SEE IF YOUR LITTLE FRIEND IS EQUALLY SKILLFUL!" He turned slowly to face Terianne. "Teri..." PCHammer whispered, standing with his feet together and stretching his arms to either side, the staff in his right hand. She nodded and matched his pose as he closed his eyes. Hammer gracefully traced his hands in an arc, bringing them together to grip the staff in front of him; Terianne moved identically, simultaneously. Chun-Li took in a sharp breath when she realized that Terianne's eyes, normally a warm shade of brown, were now hazel. She wondered for a moment what that could mean, then remembered. PCHammer's eyes are hazel! Dmitheon opened fire on Terianne, and PCHammer was in motion once more, twirling his staff like a baton, swinging it like a bat, parrying with it like a quarterstaff. And Terianne matched him, move for move, stopping every one of Dmitheon's shots. "NOW CUT THAT OUT!" Dmitheon screamed in frustration. "YOU WANNA PLAY ROUGH? FINE!" He turned toward PCHammer and opened his mouth, which began to glow green from within. "No, don't!" Chun-Li cried. PCHammer did not respond, verbally. Instead, he took the staff in one hand near its tip and swung it in a circle in front of him. Terianne did the same, and the staffs' afterglow formed an enormous bubble around Dmitheon just as his mouth belched green fire. The green sphere sailed toward PCHammer, who stood passively as Chun- Li nearly had kittens. It struck the inside of the bubble and rebounded. Dmitheon's eyes went wide. "NO WAY!" he bellowed as he jumped to dodge the little green glob of certain extinction. His head struck the ceiling of the bubble hard as it passed beneath him, heading toward Terianne now; it rebounded again, meeting Dmitheon at somewhere near his initial position. As the Shogun Sabres watched, awestruck, Dmitheon roared in rage, pain and frustration, writhing under a blanket of green electricity. The power he had unwittingly unleashed upon himself chewed at the pavement beneath him as he struggled vainly, crackling and sizzling with an unholy fury. After thirty seconds of horribly drawn-out, melodramatic twitching and overacting, the glow subsided, and Dmitheon lay still in a pit of his own devising, his ever-present aura nothing more than a fading memory. PCHammer and Terianne relaxed their arms, and the bubble vanished. The Shinma hunters then walked to stand beside the Mother of All Potholes and stood, not facing the buma's dark, lifeless remains, but facing each other, hands joined. Jiro recovered his wits sufficiently to speak. "Is ... is it really over?" After a pause, Terianne and PCHammer responded as one. "No. The masterminds still await us. They, too, shall fall. But first, we must attend to the fallen." "There's a phone booth over this way," Dnab said in an unusual display of responsibility. "I'll get an ambulance!" He ran down the street as fast as his legs would take him. "Don't forget about Officer Romanova!" Chun-Li called after him. Jiro watched Dnab for a moment, then turned toward the Shinma hunters. "So, do we hit 'em--" He stopped short of his question when he saw them; arms around each other, they had dropped to their knees and were leaning on each other for support. Hammer's face was visible, and he looked positively drained as he embraced his new partner. Pomru stretched and yawned. "No more action tonight? That's good. I need the rest -- this has been a hell of a night." "No, Pomru," answered the exhausted pair in quiet, tired voices. "If we wait, they will elude us. When Dnab returns, we will go. For now, a moment's rest is all we ask..." "It's all over, I'm telling you! We must leave this place!" Kai regarded his panicking mechanoid partner with cool annoyance. "There is no need to relocate, Gunbuster. Everything we need to begin anew is in this very place." "What's the use? Our greatest plan has just been undone! Our two greatest weapons, destroyed! Yet the Shogun Sabres still live!" Gunbuster was raving. "Why should we bother with another of your half- baked failures again?" "This plan was as much yours as mine," the wraithlike Shinma replied testily. "I see no profit in your futile finger-pointing." "'Finger-pointing'? 'FINGER-POINTING'?" "Yes, finger-pointing." Gunbuster stopped, paused, and sighed. "You're right. But we must still leave this place." "And I still say, there is no need. Noone save our servant buma has ever been to this place, and there is no way for anyone to trace us." "No way that you can THINK of, you mean. The good guys always have a way to find the bad guys!" Kai chuckled paternally. "You've been watching too much anime, my friend. Those things only happen in cheap, sensationalistic fantasy stories." Abruptly, as if to underscore what Kai had just said, the doors to the enormous, darkened chamber they were in literally exploded off their hinges, revealing the five hardsuited Shogun Sabres standing behind them. "In case you've forgotten," Kimagure opened as he marched forward, followed by his armored colleagues who were all rather torqued off and looking for an excuse to blow something up, "you happen to BE in a cheap, sensationalistic fantasy story!" Kai blinked twice. "That's right,", he admitted. "I forgot." "Well, tonight is something you'll NEVER forget!" Pomru struck a pose at the point of the group, and shouted, "Shogun Sabres -- SanJO!!" The Sabres leaped forward, their firepower relieving the oppressive darkness of the chamber, and offering their first view of the really- not-all-that-impressive-looking mega-buma known as Gunbuster. He returned fire, of course, working to prove that looks aren't everything, but not really succeeding. Kai looked at Gunbuster with bemusement as the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune whizzed right through him without effect. With a wave of what almost looked like a hand, he said, "Well, sorry I can't stay, Busty ol' buma, but I have other fish to fry. See ya!" He began to drift toward the exit. "Not so fast, tall, green and nebulous!" PCHammer taunted, striding into the room. "My friend has something to say to you!" Kai continued to float toward the defiant ADP officer. "Oh, really. And what does your friend want to say?" PCHammer smiled and stepped to one side. If Kai were corporeal, he would have wet himself at that moment. "For twenty-seven long years, I and my soul-partner have pursued you." Terianne walked slowly forward as she spoke, arms ramrod-straight at her sides, her eyes ablaze like burning coals of rage. "For twenty- seven long years, you have eluded our grasp. Now, because of you, he is gone. But he shall be avenged!" Chun-Li's beam sabre easily sliced through the armored hide of Gunbuster's arm, relieving him of a weapon she'd been finding most bothersome. He swatted at her with his other, but she was out of reach by the time he tried. "Way to go, Chunners!" Dnab yelled, planting a flying kick into the mega-buma's chest, sending it sprawling. Gunbuster continued to fight desperately, but he had met his match, if not his masters. The Sabres' hardsuits were more powerful than ever before, and, though the Sabres themselves may have been tired, they were also royally cheesed off, and fought like a pack of demons. Kai regained his defiance. "Avenged? I think not! Without your soul-partner, your power cannot bind me. I am free of you forever, you little nuisance!" "Believe what you will," she said coldly. To Kai's astonishment, she waved her hands and was instantly holding a burning flame encased in a large bubble. "No! Without a partner, you cannot do that! Who is he? WHO?" Terianne smiled, handing the flame-bubble to PCHammer. Kai was incredulous. "HIM?!? He is not one of us!" "Don't bother me with technicalities," PCHammer smirked. "I've never seen Vampire Princess Miyu." This time, Kai DID wet himself. With a shout of "Think fast!", PCHammer cast the bubble at Kai's enigmatic form. Gunbuster lay twitching on the ground. Well, what was left of him did, anyway; all his limbs had been removed. The Shogun Sabres were gathered around him, looking down at his pathetic form. "Well, what do we do with him?" Pomru queried to the assembly. "Well, we could set him afloat in the ocean," Jiro offered. "And change his name to Bob?" Kimagure replied. "No, let's put him in front of the door and call him Matt," Dnab chuckled. "Why don't we hang him on the wall and call him Art?" Jiro continued, dead-panning. Chun-Li shook her head. "You sickos and your amputee jokes. I'm leaving before it gets worse." She turned and headed toward the door. "You know, that's not such a bad idea," Pomru said. "I'm pretty tired, myself." Among general mutters of agreement, the entire group began walking away, leaving Gunbuster squirming alone. Always needing the last word, Gunbuster shouted after them, "Cowards! Come back here! I'll bite your legs off!" They stopped and looked back, and Gunbuster realized he may have made a tactical error. Kai struggled vainly against the spirit bonds that held him fast, clawing uselessly at the air in hopes that it may provide a handhold to pull him back into the Waking World, away from the Shinma realm and the judgement he was sure to face. "No! Please, I'll do anything! I can give you anything you want! Anything!" Terianne looked on impassively. She was already getting what she wanted, more than anything else. "Begone, Kai." "NNNOOOOooooo..." Kai's voice echoed through infinity as he was dragged through the rift. It closed neatly behind him, and all was calm, as if he had never been. Terianne closed her eyes and reached into the robe tied around her waist, pulling a silver disc from it. She opened her eyes and regarded the object sadly. He had definitely been, all right. She would never forget. "LordFranz, my dear friend," she whispered to his mask, "you are ... avenged." She hugged the mask to her bosom and began to weep. How does one express the pain and loneliness? Her inseparable companion for over a century was no more. Though he never spoke, she knew the depths of his soul. Though she never saw his face, she knew him to be a thing of beauty. He was a friend, an ally, a protector ... and so much more. How could such a treasure ever be replaced? A gentle hand at her arm. A soft whisper in her ear. "Teri..." She whirled, burying her face in PCHammer's chest and releasing the sadness of a hundred and thirty years lost in the blink of an eye. LordFranz would never return, and he could never be replaced. She would never again hear the silent music of his presence, the music which was his very essence. The arms that soothed her whispered different music to her soul. They sang a new song to her: a quiet song of life, of hope, of dreams -- of love. It was not the song of LordFranz. But it was beautiful, and she loved it, and its singer. Her tears of sorrow for what she had lost mingled with the tears of joy for what she had found. And PCHammer understood everything as never before, for she and he were one. Gunbuster's torso lay alone on the floor now, sliced precisely in half, stem to stern. Dnab was using the mega-buma's severed head for a footbag, and Chun-Li was getting a little nauseous. "How can you DO that with ... with ... with that THING?" she asked, incredulous. "It's all -- a question -- of timing -- and balance," Dnab replied in a stop-and-go fashion, concentrating on keeping the head airborne without touching it with his hands. He punted it over to Jiro with a flourish. "It's also a question of a lack of taste," Chun answered, watching the perma-grinning skull arc through the air until Jiro booted it over to Kimagure, who fumbled it outright. "Buttertoes," Pomru chided. Kima shrugged in apology, then picked up the skull. He held it, considering it thoughtfully. "Alas, poor Yorick -- you look a little gaunt." Everyone groaned at that one. Pomru snatched the trophy from Kima's hand as he walked past him. "Okay, we've been here long enough. Let's get going. Anyone for pizza?" "Not me," Jiro replied. "I'm dead. I just wanna get some sleep." Chun-Li yawned and stretched in agreement, and Dnab wished her armored shell was elsewhere. "I don't think anything could keep me from getting my forty winks tonight. Feel more like getting sixty or so, though." Their thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of sirens and screeching tires, though not in anywhere near the numbers they'd had at Westerland Park; there were probably no more than four ADP squad cars outside. "Right on time, as usual," Dnab said. "I told them to be late," PCHammer explained. "Don't worry about your helmets. I'll see to it that your identities aren't made public." "You're an officer and a gentleman, Hammer," Kimagure said. Terianne smiled up at him, silently seconding the opinion. Several uniformed figures entered the room at a brisk walk, led by Chief Gundam. Terianne moved to one side as PCHammer stood at attention, saluting. Gundam returned the salute. "Report, Lieutenant." "The enemy commanders are defeated, sir. The Shinma overlord, Kai, has been banished to the Shinma realm. Terianne says he has a harsh sentence waiting for him there; they don't take kindly to having their folk trying to take over our world." The chief nodded. "And what of the mega-buma?" Hammer pointed to the drawn and quartered remains. "See for yourself, sir. The Shogun Sabres respectfull request to keep the head as a trophy." Gundam looked at Pomru and smiled. "It's the least we can do for you folks; feel free. I hope we can count on your help if we're ever in another fix like this." Pomru nodded, returning Gundam's smile. "We're at your service, sir. If I may ask, though ... about Officer Romanova?" "She's doing as well as can be expected. The doc says she'll pull through and be back on duty in less than a month." Chun-Li sighed with relief. She walked toward the doorway, removing her helmet and tossing her long, dark hair free. "I'm outta here, guys," she started to say, until she saw the silhouette standing dumbfounded in the doorway. The figure stepped forward slowly, apprehensively. In a weak voice, it said, "Chun...?" Chun-Li gasped, wide-eyed, as her heart skipped a beat. That voice ... could it really be...? She stepped toward it with equal trepidation. Quietly, hoping against hope, she whispered, "Jyank?" His face beamed as he quickened his pace. "Chun!" "Jyanken!" With gleeful laughter, the two separated lovers bounded into each others' arms. Jyanken, having arrived back in Mega-City less than an hour ago, was so happy to see Chun-Li that he didn't mind that she was nearly crushing him with her powered-armor embrace. She didn't care, either; she just laughed and whirled him around. They came to a halt, slightly dizzy, and proceeded to try to suck each others' face off. Pomru looked at Jiro, pointing his thumb at the door. Jiro nodded, and the rest of the Shogun Sabres and ADP left as one, leaving the two lovers with each others' company. That night, Chun-Li and Jyanken celebrated his return. And, thanks to the mini-cam he'd planted on Miscreant's collar a couple days ago, Dnab's greatest wish came true. "So everything's back to normal, eh?" Pomru laughed. "Define 'normal', Shogun." Shogun would have laughed as well, but it hurt too much. He was drugged out of most of his pain with local anesthetics and bandaged head-to-toe. But with his friends surrounding him, everything seemed just fine. Dnab seemed particularly happy this morning. He wore an ear-to-ear grin that just wouldn't let up, and he glanced at Chun-Li even more frequently than usual. She'd already decided that she'd interrogate him later that day to find out what the hell he was on about, but for now, seeing Shogun alive was reward enough. "If you must know," Kimagure interjected, "yes, everything is moving back into the usual routine. No AX ticket-holders were killed last night after midnight, so I think we've accounted for all the assassins. The new AX HQ has been set up, as you know, and operations are getting back up to speed. In fact, Prisoner, the AX art show director, is waiting outside to talk to you." "And there was a flame-bait AA-versus-AX post on r.a.a just this morning," Jiro added. Shogun sighed. "Some things never change, I guess." "Mostly true." The entire group turned to face the new voice from the foot of the bed. "Well, nice to see you this morning, Lieutenant. Also nice to see you, Terianne." Teri smiled, nodding in reply. The silver kimono that had been her trademark had been replaced by a pretty white long-sleeved blouse and a pleated skirt. PCHammer removed his sunglasses and grinned his best Leon McNichol grin, tucking the shades into a pocket of his jacket. The fact that she had an arm hooked around his was lost on noone. Dnab scratched his head. "Shouldn't you be sleeping on some dirt about now?" "That is fallacy," Terianne responded. "My kind has no need to fear the light of day." "Good thing, too," Hammer added. "She's even more beautiful when you can see her." Teri flushed slightly at the compliment, smiling meekly. Since she could see into his very soul, she knew he was being bluntly honest. "So, you're staying on with the ADP, I take it?" "Yeah, though I'll be granted leaves of absence every so often. There are still quite a few Shinma loose in the world, and it's still Teri's job to round 'em up. Well, mine too, now. We figure it shouldn't take much longer than a couple centuries or so." "Centuries?!" Chun-Li was slightly incredulous. "It is not such a long time, when it can be shared," Terianne replied with a smile. Shogun tried to shrug, but winced instead. "Well, you would know better than us. Best of luck to both of you." "Thank you," they replied, exiting together. Jiro sighed as he watched them leave. "I love happy endings." Chico-san had the dubious honor of being chosen to survey the damage done during the battle. The ADP had already taken stock of their internal losses; Chico's job was to inspect the property damage to the city, starting at Westerland Park's defoliated remains. He'd just finished climbing over the enormous pile of fallen buildings Dmitheon had toppled, and was approaching what looked like the end of the trail of destruction. A fist-sized hole in the pavement was at his feet. It looked like just another pothole; chuck some cold-patch into it and it should be fine. This bigger hole was another matter, though. It looked big enough for a man to fit in, and a large man, at that. He paced around it. It didn't look like it was dug or pounded -- more like it had just been dissolved by some high-energy weapon. Damned high-tech vandals, he thought. He leaned over and peered into the hole, which was only about half as deep as he was tall. There seemed to be a roughly human-shaped imprint in its floor, though much bigger and bulkier than any human he'd ever seen this side of the WWF. Looking ahead, he decided this was the last of the combat damage, and headed back to file his report. He was beginning to learn just why Lieutenant PCHammer so passionately hated paperwork. E N D "What the hell kind of ending is THAT!?" AnimeServ bellowed. "It's an ambiguous ending!" Heretic justified. "Anime thrives on ambiguous endings! We don't know whether Dmitheon's really dead or not, so we might be able to do a sequel!" "I know anime thrives on ambiguous endings. I've seen so many ambiguous endings, I sometimes don't know whether I'm leaving the theater or just arriving! I HATE ambiguous endings!" "But -- but this is The Nineties! People want Ambiguous Endings!" "No, they don't, and neither do I! All cast members are hereby de-opped and kicked!" "What!?" "Do you want to join them?" Heretic blanched. "Ehhhh, no sir, Mister Producer, sir." "Good. Now then, let's get to work. We'll never get Undocumented Features: The Movie ready for Christmas release if we don't get cracking!" "Yes, sir," Heretic replied, disheartened. -- The High Diggy-Hoek of Chihuahua-Wala Land (Martin Rose) - mfrose@ais.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Truth is stranger than Fiction ---------------- Stupid is a boundless concept The Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies: Ann Arbor Division