This is a little something I came up with last week and have been working
on it for a few days. Let me know what you think about this before I
submit it to The Couch.
SAOTOME: SHADOW GENERATION
a Ranma/Shadowrun crossover
by Donovan Willett
Ranma is owned my Takihashi-sensei and a multitude of companies, but not me.
Shadowrun is owned by either FASA or WizKids, depending on the state of
the sale, but still not me.
I do own a cute cat.
Chapter 1
SupraTech Research Facility
Seattle Enclave, United Canadian American States
26 March 2060
::This corridor is clear.::
Reikai sent a quick mental acknowledgment back at her twin as she turned
the corner and quickly padded down the hallway. They were not too
worried about being detected, each wore a small medallion crafted by
their great-aunt which rendered them invisible to all forms of visual
detection, extending well into the invisible spectrums above and below
visible light. The only exceptions being the ghostly forms each could
see of the other allowing them to work together.
Running on soft soled shoes which made her already quiet step utterly
noiseless, she reached the intersection they sought and looked around
the corner. She smiled to herself as she saw that the only thing in the
hallway was an empty chair beside the door they sought. Reikai closed
her eyes concentrated. When she opened them again, she was looking
again down the hallway, but this time seeing the Astral world that lay
just beyond the perceptions of the mundane population.
::Damnation!::
Jiro quickly met her sister at the corner. ::What is it?::
::Look Astral.::
Jiro looked around the corner and saw what had upset her sister. There,
in the 'empty' chair sat the form of a woman, a form that had the mild
glow about it that characterized a magically active individual. Of
course, the vest, haltertop and tight jeans combo were not Knight Errant
Security uniform, so she was hired help.
::What do you think?::
Reikai was momentarily thankful that the quirk that she and Jiro shared
granted them the ability to speak mentally with each other. Everyone
who had examined the phenomena had come to the conclusion that it was a
magical process, but a mage could be standing right between them and
would never notice a thing unless he knew what he was looking for. It
was one benefit that came from their mother's exposure to a magic rich
environment while she was carrying them. Of course, there had been a
down side.
::I haven't seen any sign of her looking astrally. I say we move down
there by the door like we had planned, but keep an eye on her. If she
does look, we take her down.::
Once again, the twins started moving down the hallway, always keeping a
close eye on the mage. But, her eyes never acquired the soft glow that
marked one looking into the astral plane.
Now only a few feet away, Jiro looked her over again. ::Wish she weren't
invisible. Not bad to look at, prob a lot better in the flesh.::
Reikai was thankful that her twin was just out of reach or else she might
have been tempted to backhand her. Though, this might have been do to
the fact that she had been thinking along the same lines.
Thoughts of after-hours entertainment were discarded though when the door
to the office opened. The twins waited for a few seconds for the
salariman to pass through, then quickly made their entrance before the
door closed behind him. Inside, they found themselves in a large
research area. To the left were numerous cubicles where the techs had
their desks, and, more importantly, their cyberterminals.
Their mission was simple, get a download of the activities and projects
that were taking place in this lab. The problem had been that the
Matrix security for was pretty tight to the point that at no time did
the central computers for the lab ever connect in real-time to the
Matrix itself. The solution was for their decker to create an automated
smartframe which could sneak into system and grab the data and have it
ready for when the twins arrived.
It only took the two of them a few moments to find the cubicle of one B.
James Mason and to type a quick set of keystrokes into the still
operating terminal. Within seconds, the terminal transferred the data
into a waiting optical chip and they were ready to go.
They were halfway to the door when it opened. Jiro and Reikai
immediately went on their guard when they saw who was coming in. The
first was a black haired young man wearing black denim and black Chinese
silk shirt, which suited his ancestry. After him came in a young woman
who showed herself to be related to him in all appearances. She wore a
long Chinese dress which had been split up the sides of both legs to
give her mobility. But the most striking part of her was her hair,
which was of a light violet. Finally came the one of them they had seen
before. Now visible, the mage also appeared to be related to the first
two. Also like them, her outfit was predominately black, what little
there was. Only her hair, a shade darker violet than her sister's, and
the ivory charm on the front of her haltertop broke the color scheme.
Reikai and Jiro froze for a moment as the trio looked around the room,
then they began to edge towards the door. The three began to spread
out, and the twins froze again as the male turned in their direction and
walked straight between them. They thought they were safe as he had
made no sign of recognition, then his hands shot out and they felt their
medallions being pulled from their necks.
The trio all looked straight at what they could see now. The twins both
wore a snug, gray jumpsuit covered with pockets for gear. Jiro stood
just a hair shorter than the shortest of the three, the mage, and had
her auburn hair tied back in a ponytail. Reikai stood taller, and her
flaming red hair hung loose, nearly covering the ears that marked her
elven nature. Both dropped into a ready stance.
The mage smiled as she turned fully towards them. The male and his other
sister stepped back to take up their own ready stances. "Nice
invisibility spell you had there." The mage said. "But you forgot one
thing, I could hear you breathing beside me." She smiled then as her
siblings moved slowly forward. Mai Ling could not see any sign of any
cyber augmentation in the twin's auras, and with the mild magically
active glow about them, she figured them to be adepts who used their
body's natural magics to enhance their powers. It wouldn't do them any
good. Xan Tao and Son Li were both adepts themselves, the best to come
out of the Los Angeles sprawl. With Mai Ling backing them up, they
should take out these Seattle girls with ease.
Xan Tao approached Jiro slowly. The two eyed each other warily, then
suddenly Xan Tao struck. This was just what Jiro was waiting for as he
fell back a step countering his strike. Within seconds the two were
exchanging shots, but neither could get through the defenses of the other.
Mai Ling's attention was pulled from Xan Tao and Jiro by the flurry of
movement to her left. While Xan Tao and Jiro were executing power
strikes back and forth, Son Li and Reikai were poetry in motion. Mai
Ling smiled, knowing that speed was Son Li's specialty. Suddenly, both
voices called out 'Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" as the arms became a blur.
This was unthinkable, she thought, the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken was a
secret technique that few had even heard of, yet here was this Japanese
elf doing it against Son Li.
Still, Mai Ling was confident that her sister would win. This was broken
when she saw Son Li's head snap back for a second. Then again. Mai
Ling looked closely and saw red handprints forming on Son Li's face.
The elf was striking fast enough that she was able to block all of Son
Li's strikes and still reach in and slap her across the cheek.
Mai Ling quickly looked over at her brother and his opponent. Here too
it was clear that the redhead was the better fighter as Xan Tao was
being forced back away from her blows. Mai Ling knew what to do now.
The three of them have worked as a team all their lives and they knew
when it was time to tip the balance.
Reikai was enjoying herself. This Chinese girl was one of the best
fighters she had met outside her family. The fact that none of them had
drawn any weapons beyond their natural skills had upped her opinion of
them one step higher. Her revelry was broken as she saw the mage begin
to act. Having a couple of mages in the family had given her the
ability to recognize spellcasting, and she knew she had to act quickly
to disrupt the casting, but she was tied up here. Suddenly, that was
it, she had the way. Within the flurry of blows, Reikai's right hand
shot down to her belt. Grabbing the cylinder just over her left hip,
she pushed the button on it and drew out a metallic whip that had been
wrapped around her waist. Before Son Li could even react to her motion,
the whip wrapped around her chest pinning both upper arms to her sides.
Reikai let go the handle and whip suddenly became stiff as steel.
Reikai surged to her left at the cast mage. Several options ran through
her head, but one seemed perfect.
"Batusai Tenketsu!!"
Mai Ling saw her coming and was desperately trying to finish her spell.
She heard Reikai summon her chi and suddenly she felt sharp pains in her
chest. Then she realized she was feeling a breeze where none had been
before. The spell forgotten, she looked down and saw that the Breaking
Point technique had been executed against the clasp for her top, and now
her chest was out for all to see. Mai Ling was an experienced fighter.
She was also a seventeen year old girl. Now she acted like one and
did the first thing that came to mind.
Jiro was pushing her opponent hard when both had their attention
distracted by a high pitched scream. Jiro looked over in time to get an
eyeful before Mai Ling could start to cover herself. Then Jiro realized
that all three of her opponents were nearly lined up and that her sister
was clear. Xan Tao looked back just in time to see the ball of energy
forming in Jiro's hands. "Moko Takabisha!!"
Soon, with the need for stealth negated, the breaking point was used
against a window and a wall to enable their escape.
==========================================================
Living Quarters
Saotome School of Martial Arts
Tacoma District
Reikai and Jiro walked into the apartment they shared on the third floor.
Now that they were clear of the fighting they had been in, they could
begin to react to the blows that their opponents had been able to
deliver back against them. Neither was truly hurt, but both could feel
light bruises forming.
"You think you could have found a better way to distract her?" Jiro asked
as they entered the washroom.
"It worked." Replied the elf. "Besides, I didn't hear you object."
"Baka." Jiro shrugged as she peeled the jumpsuit off. "At least you
finally found a use for that silly whip of yours."
Reikai chuckled a little at that as she hit the button on the outside of
the double sized shower they shared. Stepping into the steaming water,
her body shifted, loosing a couple of inches, the points of her ears and
gaining a slightly more filled out shape.
Jiro paid not attention to her twin as she stepped into the shower. In
this case, the change was a bit more dramatic as Jiro grew four inches
in height, the red hair darkening to raven black and the curves being
replaced by the muscular physique of a young man.
There were times when the twins cursed the fact that their mother carried
them while in a magic rich area. Normally, the curses of Jusenkyo were
not passed on to following generations. But for them, things changed.
The first change came only hours after their birth when a nurse wasn't
watching what she was doing and didn't get the water for their first
bath warm enough. She had panicked and raised an uproar in the
Maternity ward. Luckily, a little fast talking from their grandfather
and some donations to the hospital from great aunt Nabiki had kept
things quiet.
Unlike grandpa Ranma being cursed as a teen, growing up with the curse
had made things a bit easier for the twins. One result was that neither
had any real modesty when it came to being around each other. While
neither would have shared a shower with their older siblings, for them
it was casual.
Coming out of the stall to find their great aunt sitting there wasn't
casual, but they'd learned to deal with Nabiki.
The woman standing in the door looked no older than twenty-five or so and
not the eighty-five they knew she was. Then again, the pointed ears
that she had developed in the 20's gave an indicator of why she was so
young looking. Before that, everyone just figured she had the devil's
luck when it came to aging.
Of course, Nabiki was lucky that her changes were so minor. Very few had
undergone the shift from human to elf in the years of the Awakening,
even fewer to dwarf. Most of those that were around today were born
after the 2011, with the few that were born early keeping quiet after
some of the 'immortal elf conspiracy' paranoia came to light.
But many were not so lucky. A few years after the first elves and
dwarves were born, the Goblinazation happened. Across the globe, a
sizable percentage of the world's population underwent the drastic, many
times painful, transformation into what became popularly known as Orcs
and their larger cousins, the Trolls.
In her native Japan, things were not good for the 'changed.' Elves and
dwarves were barely tolerated by 'proper' people. Orcs and Trolls found
themselves being shipped off from their families for 'health reasons.'
When Soun Tendo had been killed in a riot trying to defend a neighbor
who had just had an orc child, the rest of the family, including the
Saotomes, felt it was time to find a safer place to be. The large
Japanese population in Seattle seemed like the perfect place to go.
"You guys did well." She said as they dried off. "I've already had the
data shunted to their drop box and from what I saw of it before I sent
it, it looks like you got the data they wanted."
"Considering the trouble we went through, I certainly hope so." Reikai
said as she pulled on a robe. "You missed their hired help."
Nabiki looked them over, noting the bruises and such. "You run into
professional help, or a competing team?"
"They acted like they had the run of the place." Jiro replied. "And the
way that the mage was sitting invisible outside the door, I think she
had been posted to guard that very room."
"Any clue who they were?"
"Never seen them before." He replied. "Three of them, a female mage, and
two adepts, male and female. All young human, Chinese, looked like
siblings. They liked wearing black, and the girls had dyed their hair
purple."
Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Purple you say?"
=====================================================
Main Dojo
Saotome School of Martial Arts
27 May 2060
The main Dojo of the School was busy, as was normal on a Saturday
morning. Reikai and Jiro, along with their two elder brothers, walked
among the students helping correct form and judging the progress of the
more promising ones. At the front, they could hear their parents, Akira
and Hohiro lead them through a kata.
Nobody heard her enter, but anybody with any true feeling for the Art
could sense her enter. While Akira and Hohiro were the primary teachers
here, Akane Saotome was the undisputed master of the School. At 86
years her hair was white and she wore reading glasses, yet she was
still one of the most physically fit people in Seattle. Something that
the twins had learned a few of the times they had gotten cocky as their
own skills had grown. Their grandmother made eye contact with them and
made a quick gesture. Soon the twins were in her office.
While, by no means a 'traditional' Japanese woman, many things in the
office showed how she did prefer many of the old ways. The desks and
tables were low, but this was to be expected considering that there were
no chairs present. Her desk was for some a juxapoism, but for her, it
was her way. A laptop terminal sat beside a century old calligraphy
set, a bonsai tree sat atop a vidphone.
Across the room from her desk was a second. The slightly disorganized
top had sat virtually unchanged for fifteen years, save only to be kept
dust free. Behind it sat a small shrine with their grandfather's
portrait. He had gone to the Government Annex to update their business
license when the anarchist group set off the bomb. Forty-three people
died that day, but many said twenty-seven more would have had he not
held up one of the pieces of debris for nearly 15 minutes before giving
out. Once a year, on the anniversary, the family visited the plaque
that had been put up in his memory in the new building.
Akane took the time while they settled down to pour herself a cup of tea
and pull out a notepad. Once she saw that they were comfortable, she
spoke. "Nabiki said you ran into an opposing team last night."
Reikai nodded. "Looks like they hired a team to protect that office."
"Tell me about them." Akane replied. "I want to know what they looked
like, sounded like. Their styles and techniques. Everything."
The twins looked at each other for a second, then began to describe the
night's events from the moment they first saw the mage to the point they
escaped, only leaving out the secondary effects of Reikai's 'attack'
against the mage. Grandmother Akane would not of approved of that.
When they were done, Akane sat there in silence for a few moments. "This
is interesting." She finally said.
"Who were they?" Jiro asked.
"I'm not sure, but they do remind me a lot of some unfinished business of
Ranma and I left back home." She composed herself then, and put down
her notepad. "Let us just hope that this is not what I think. Now,
Nabiki also told me that you nearly lost your medallions."
The twins cringed, for they had hoped that their great-aunt would not
notice the broken chains on the table. They had barely managed to scoop
them up before fleeing in the wake of Jiro's blast.
Akane saw the chagrin in their eyes and softened her expression. "Well,
you did recover them. Just remember, they may be useful, but if they
are ever taken, they could be used to send something nasty in Kasumi's
direction." Akane knew that the twins wouldn't do that, but she was
still worried for her sister. Kasumi was very skilled in healing and
illusion magics, but she was no warrior.
"Well, now that you've answered me, Nabiki wanted to see you two." She
smiled warmly at the twins. "Remember, be careful. And most of all,
remember you are Saotomes."
Nabiki's office was in many ways a contrast with her sister's. This made
her current activity even more of a surprise to those who did not know
her. The twins knew full well though that she used bonsai tending to
occupy her hands as she thought.
It had taken many years for her to get where she was now. She was not as
rich as she thought she had wanted to be when she was young, but she was
quite comfortable and really desired little more in monetary areas, not
that she gave up on making money. As magic began to return to the
world, she and her elder sister had found they had a talent for it. At
first Akane had been jealous, though she had not said anything, but they
learned over time that in many ways the magics that she and her husband
harnessed within themselves were just as strong as any mage's. After
coming to America in 2023, she had set herself up as a private
investigator, using her magical skills to help her. It wasn't long
before she had quite a reputation and could name her fee for any job she
wished.
But in those years, as the power of the multinational corporations had
eclipsed the authority of national governments, the shadows in which she
sometimes had to operate in had grown longer and darker. Finally, while
working on a corporate espionage case, she caught a large caliber pistol
round in the chest. It had taken Kasumi nearly three weeks to nurse her
sister back to health, and in that time Nabiki realized that the Shadows
were no longer the place for her. Not that she had let her magical
skills go to waste. Behind her office was an extensive library and
ritual circle that she used on occasion. And few knew that this little
elf had a water elemental nearby in Astral space.
But, as she looked back at those years, she realized that she had
acquired a large number of contacts and associates in the Shadows. She
now had friends that would risk their lives for her, and much to her
surprise, she realized that she would have done the same for her. Even
today, she smiled at herself over the change that had occurred to the
'Mercenary Girl' of Furikan High.
With these contacts, she began to help her friends outside the Shadows.
Soon, when somebody needed something important, or need to contact
somebody, she was the one they came to. Being a 'Fixer' had been a
natural career at this point and now she was one of the premier ones in
Seattle. And now she was even more careful as her great niece and
nephew were in the Shadows too.
Akane had tried to prevent it from happening, but the two were naturals.
While only working for about six months now, they had a reputation for
being able to get into places without much collateral damage, a trait
some other Shadowrunners didn't seem to appreciate, but many employers did.
As the twins entered, Nabiki set down her snips and turned away from the
Douglas Fir she had been tending for nearly forty years. "I see my
sister is done with you."
"What was that about Auntie?" Jiro asked.
"That's best left to your grandmother. If she feels her suspicions are
justified, she'll let you know." Nabiki settled into her chair as they
did in the ones on the other side of her desk. "The reason you are here
is that you have another job offer. And this time it didn't come to me
first. Richardson asked for you. He wants you to meet him and the
others he's bringing in Wednesday night at Everywhere. Now remember, I
like Richardson and we've worked well together in the past. So make a
good impression."
=============================================================
Everywhere Club
Everett District, Seattle
31 Mar 2060
As was usual when working, the twins had taken on their cursed forms. In
Seattle, this had a practical reason though. Reikai and Jiro knew it
wasn't true that the state flower for Seattle was mildew, but with the
light rain that came so often to the enclave, it wouldn't have surprised
them. They dressed for a good time, Nabiki having told them that the
actual job wouldn't be tonight, and blended in well with the crowd.
Everywhere was a midsized club in a better part of the district. It
usually stayed busy, but few of the partiers knew that the meeting rooms
in the back often were the gathering place of some of the more competent
Shadowrunners in town. They had wondered about the name of the club
before they got there, but the sign said it all. 'Good girls go to
Heaven, but the bad girls go Everywhere.'
As the appointed time came, the two of them edged through the crowd,
ignoring a few offers on the way, and made their way towards the meeting
room. Standing beside the door was an Amerindian woman who held herself
with the poise of a competent fighter. She nodded as they approached
and opened the door, never looking away from the crowd.
An Irish accent greeted them. "...and the bloody elf pulled out a sword.
Would ya believe it. An' I looked at 'im. 'Leave it to an elf. Brings
a knife to a troll fight.'"
The troll who was speaking was like none other that the twins had ever
met. He sat at the table beside a blonde dwarf whom he had cornered
with his story, but still was taller than the twins standing. While
this was normal for one of his race, what was different was that instead
of the dermal deposits that adorned many of the other Trolls of the
world, this one was instead covered with a light coat of brown fur. On
top of this, he wore a light vest with many pockets.
The dwarf was nothing special in his own right, though he did get the
twins attention. He sat at the table trying to not look bored for the
troll as he looked over a pocket computer he carried. He had a short,
well trimmed beard and wore a duster cut for his size over a shirt and tie.
The third occupant of the room was ignoring the other two, though she did
give the twins a quick once-over as they came in. They had to remember
not to dismiss her out of hand when they first saw her sitting there,
knowing that appearances could be deceiving. She had platinum blonde
hair with a red headband running through it. Her jacket and shirt were
lightweight partywear and her pants almost looked sprayed on. Rounding
it out were a pair of short sequined boots that she had up on the table.
After a moment, Jiro noted her rubbing her left thumb in her right
palm, an action she had seen a few times before. Sure enough, as she
looked closer, he could see the faint outline around the edge of the
palm of a smartlink pad just under her skin. Whoever this Valley girl
was, she was ready to shoot when the time came.
The twins were just settling down in their seats when the back door
opened. Alexander Richardson was not a big man, but he had a presence
about him. He was tall and wore a navy blue double breasted suit. His
long black hair was tied behind his neck and a closely trimmed goatee
adorned his face. Immediately everyone present stopped what they were
doing and sat up to pay him attention. He stopped at the end of the
table, nodded, then sat down.
"I am glad to see you are all as punctual as your reputations say you
are. I was asked to bring you together by Mr. Johansson here." He said
gesturing to the dwarf who nodded respectfully to him. "As that most of
you don't know each other, Derek Johansson is a formal Lone Star officer
who now does private investigation work. He has a job for you that
he'll tell you about in just a moment."
"As for the rest of you, the two ladies at the other end are Jiro and
Reikai Saotome. They are quite skilled martial artists who have made it
a specialty of theirs to be able to get in and out of places without
having to resort to violence.
"Our other young lady is Terri Bowman, AKA Valkyrie. She will be your
Matrix support." This surprised the twins. The Valley girl was one of
the up and coming deckers in the area.
"And last, but not least, is our Famori friend here, Kevin McTaggart, AKA
Sweetums. He'll be giving you magic support."
Jiro leaned back in her chair. ::Thought something seemed familiar about
his type. The Famori's are a breed of troll only really seen in
Tir-na-Og.:: she thought at her sister. Tir-na-Og was a legendary
elvish land that once was simply Ireland.
Once introductions were done, Richardson yielded the floor to Johansson.
The dwarf reached in his briefcase and pulled out a stack of folders
which he began sliding across the table to each of the runners. "Three
weeks ago, Katherine Kulp, a junior vice-president at Saeder-Krupp, was
coming home from a party drunk off her ass. She lost control of her car
and ended up plowing into a bus stop killing three and hurting eight
more. Before the Star could get there and arrest her though, she
managed to leave the scene and get to her home in a corporate enclave
owned by S-K. Unfortunately, S-K and the Star had a run-in about three
months ago and for face-saving purposes, they don't want to turn her
over Lone Star and are thus granting her claims of extrateritoriality in
the building.
"The good news is that apparently lil'Katherine the Terrible appears to
be a bit disliked by those in authority here in Seattle. Thus word was
passed out that S-K might not raise a fuss if someone could slip in,
snatch her, and slip out without doing too much damage to S-K property
and personnel. I'll now sit back and let you figure out why I've called
you here."
There was silence for a few minutes. Then Valkyrie leaned forward.
"Okay, I'll be the mercenary. How much?"
"If we get her out without S-K following us with half their corporate
army, then we'll be splitting the reward the Star has for her. That's
fifty thousand nuYen total, seven for each of you, five for Mr.
Richardson for getting us here, and seventeen for me."
::That's a bit of a big share.:: Jiro thought.
Reikai looked over the information in her pack. ::He's done a lot
already. We're just here to carry it out. Seven thousand sounds good
to me.::
::I just hope he's right about S-K not really minding if she gets nabbed.
Last thing I want is a Mega-corp run by a dragon pissed at me.::
============================================================
Saeder-Krupp, Bellevue Office Complex
1 April 2060
::I hate this part.::
Jiro didn't care much for it himself. The twins were packed inside boxes
on a pallet being off loaded from the back of a delivery van. Another
pallet carried Sweetums while Johansson, playing the role of the driver
argued with somebody on the loading dock.
"This is damn irregular." They heard the voice of the other man.
"I don't care if it's down right constipated. My boss told me to make
this delivery and unless you want to call her and tell her 'no'
yourself, I'm going to make it. You said yourself that you had
authorization for this delivery in your system, so I don't see what the
hell your problem is." Jiro noted that Johansson was an adherent to the
'Loud and Annoying' school of getting in.
The plan was simple. The enclave was a forty story building with offices
on the first 15, 3 of a mini shopping center for the employees, 22 of
residences for the employees, topped by three more floors of offices for
the high muckity mucks. It was typical of the self contained, keep your
employees out of the public, models of facilities that so many
multinationals preferred these days.
Last night, Valkyrie had hacked into the delivery computers for one of
the stores on the seventeenth floor, saying that a delivery was coming
in. Johansson would then use that delivery to smuggle the 'retrieval'
team into the building. The twins and Sweetums were to move invisibly
to the 37th floor and 'acquire' Ms. Kulp and take her down to the
freight elevator where the truck would be waiting.
Jiro waited patiently as she felt her pallet being loaded into the
freight elevator, then up to the storeroom of the miniature grocery
store. A few minutes after they stopped moving, they got the all clear
signal from Valk. As she got out of the box, Jiro looked at her watch.
They had about 10 minutes to meet the truck.
A moment later, they got the signal to go. Valkyrie, having decked into
the building's security system, was watching them on security cameras
while ensuring that they were not running into anybody. This floor was
dark, the stores on this floor having closed at 9:00, an hour ago, so it
was clear for them to get to the elevator. Twenty floors up, they had
to wait in the elevator for a moment as Valk watched somebody got to
another apartment, then they came out trotting to suite 3702.
As they approached the door, the maglock flashed green three times
indicating that it had been bypassed by the emergency codes. "She
doesn't have anything I can access inside." Valkyrie radioed them.
"But, I've isolated it so she can't call out."
The three nodded to each other, then Reikai cracked the door open. Once
she was sure that nobody was in the entrance hall, she opened it fully
and the three entered. Inside, they could see the livingroom, complete
with a half-full bottle of vodka and two glasses on the coffee table.
The mystery of the second glass was answered by a noise coming from the
direction of the bedroom. "Diddae we come at a bad time?" Sweetums
quipped quietly to himself.
The twins shook their heads as they headed for the bedroom while Sweetums
began to cast the spell which would silence their escape. Reaching the
door, they found that indeed, Ms. Kulp was entertaining.
Reikai got a silly grin on her face and stepped forward. "Ms. Katherine
Kulp." She said in a loud voice. "You should now consider yourself in
custody pending delivery to Lone Star personnel."
Needless to say, this broke up the little party she was having. The man,
stood up and looked at the two young women at the door. "Get rid of
them, Billy!" she called.
Reikai was suprised by his name, he definitely looked like a 'Biff' or
'Hans.' He was tall, blonde, and looked like he spent all his free time
in a weight room. Reikai took on a casual stance as he approached in
his birthday suit. "I think I'm going to have fun getting rid of you
two." He said as he approached.
When he was close, he lunged at her, but Reikai simply stepped aside and
delivered one quick kick to the back of his head. Billy dropped like a
wet noodle.
Ms. Kulp, meanwhile, was desperately trying to cover herself with a sheet
while hitting buttons on her vidphone. Jiro just walked up shaking his
head, then, with a quick submission hold on her hand, led her into the
livingroom. There, Sweetums had just finished casting his spell and he
raised his eyebrows at her state of undress. As they reached him, her
screams cut out inside the silence field and he reached out and tossed
her over his massive shoulder.
The hall was clear as they headed back to the elevator they had taken up.
Quickly, it dropped them back to the seventeenth where they ran back
to the one that had carried the pallets up. They were two minutes ahead
of schedule when they came out the elevator, surprising a bored security
guard. Jiro stepped forward and swept his feet out from underneath him
while Reikai moved in and relieved him of his gun and radio. At the
loading dock, Johansson was waiting and, after dropping the gun and
radio just outside, they were in and moving.
Inside the van, the set her down on the floor and they had time to notice
a rather foul smell. "Bloody drunk bink." Sweetums complained as he
dropped his spell. "You know how hard it is to clean vomit out of fur?"
he said. Reikai just shook her head. Ms. Kulp had emptied her stomach
all down his back during the escape.
Jiro patted his other shoulder. "Seven grand will get you plenty of
shampoo."
========================================================================
St Francis Hotel
Pullyup District, Seattle
1 April 2060
Mai Ling sat quietly reading from one of her books of magical theory. It
was easier than thinking about what was coming. The three of them had
sent the message home after they were fired by SupraTech saying that
they were on the way home. Instead, they got told to stay and wait.
Great-Grandmother was coming.
Mai Ling had just finished researching a particular point of magical
theory that she thought was the problem when she heard the ring of an
elevator down the hall. Her hearing was one point that she was acutely
proud of, for she had not lied to the twins about being able to hear the
breath. Sitting quietly now, she listened to the approaching footsteps
and recognized them instantly. "Son Li, Xan, she's here!"
By the time they had come to the room and Mai was standing, she had
arrived. Years ago, she might have used a more dramatic entrance. But
tonight, she simply opened the door and stepped inside. She was old,
but in no way infirm. Her people had had a long history of fighting off
infirmary, and she excelled in that way. Now, she stood there looking
over her three best pupils.
"Hibichan, forgive our..." started Xan Tao before she raised her hand to
stop him.
"Your failure is minor at this time." She said, a faint Chinese accent
marked her speech. "When you told me what techniques they were using, I
had a good idea who they were."
She pulled a piece of paper out of her coat and handed it to them. It
was an advertising flyer for 'The Saotome School of Advanced Martial Arts.'
"Sixty years ago, I was exiled from my people for my failures. I tried
to run away from it, first to San Francisco, then Los Angeles." Xam Poo
gave them a hard look. "I can never return. But, if you accomplish
this task, you will be Jokeksuzoku"
==========================================================
Hibi Island, Sea of Japan
1 April 2060
He was not the most powerful of his kind, though he was working to that
end. Few even knew he existed, and none knew his true name. On the
other hand, in some ways he preferred the name he had taken for others
to know. Soryu, Green Dragon. What had been simply a description of
him when he awakened seemed a perfectly simple, yet elegant name for the
world to call him.
What Soryu sought was power. Not the limited power he had seen others of
his kind. He scorned the limited power Lofwyr had through this
ownership of Saeder-Krup. He had actually laughed when Dunzulken was
destroyed the night he was inaugurated President of the United Canadian
American States. No, Soryu would have true power over everything.
Soryu was no fool though. He knew that it would not be an easy task.
But he had patience, a trait normally not seen in a dragon as young as
he. But, today he knew that he was about to be able to take the first
step. To the west of him was a place of great power. But this place
had guardians powerful enough to give him pause. He knew he could
destroy them, but they might be able to hurt him first. He knew he had
to wait till the time was right.
The sounds of a boat roused him from his thoughts. This cave on a small
island off the Korean coast was not his home, but it was a convinent
place to meet others. He raised his great bulk up and looked out over
the lagoon where a small boat was being nudged ashore. Three men were
in it, but only one left the boat and approached. He had found these
people near his place of power, and with only a little work, had turned
them to his service.
The man reached the mouth of the cave in a matter of minutes. While part
of him acknowledged that Soryu could destroy him if the beast chose too,
he was not worried. He had the blood of a dragon within him, and that
gave him strength and an understanding of his 'master.'
After a moment, Soryu spoke. "The time is nearly here for us to make our
move against Phoenix Mountain."
"Has Saffron died then, my Lord?"
"No, not yet. But there is an artifact that can destroy him, utterly.
It was crafted many years ago in the form of a Katana wielded by a
powerful Shogun of Japan. I have not been able to trace it too far yet,
but I do know it was passed on into a Samurai family over the years. I
need you to send your agents out to find the sword and bring it to me.
The family was the Saotome line."
The man looked up sharply there. Then a thin smile crossed his lips.
"Saotome. I shall take care of this one myself, my Lord."
Herb was quite happy as he returned to the boat.
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