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Path of the Warrior
(A Quantum Destinies Side Story)
Chapter 4

Any and all C+C is appreciated. You can contact me at
sommer@3rdm.net.

Angcobra is now storing all of my fics, including Roses and Swords, at
http://angcobra.jumpfun.com/dbsommer.html

Standard disclaimer:
I don't own any of the folks from Ranma 1/2. Quantum Destinies is a universe
that belongs to Jurai-Knight, and he has been kind enough to let me play in
it a few times.

Jurai-Knight's homepage with the most up to date Quantum Destinies chapters
is
http://home.earthlink.net/~sthesken/fanfics/qd.html

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The train station seemed to epitomize the words 'bustling with activity' as
men and women wearing a variety of outfits, from well-tailored suits to torn
rags that even a homeless derelict would be reluctant to wear, walked back
and forth at various paces as they boarded and disembarked from the variety
of vehicles present in the building. There were four separate tracks for the
tremendous activity in the vast structure that seemed to be nearly half the
size of Shampoo's village, all of it indoor.

Shampoo felt a bit overwhelmed by the constant motion of so many people in
so small an area. Jaddo had warned her that the main station in Kunming was
at least five times larger than the one in Shaoyang, which had impressed the
young Amazon the first time she saw it, but the difference between merely
being told and actually witnessing it firsthand was unbelievable. Still, she
had become used to the bigger cities, and mass transportation like trains,
since making the inner circuit of the fighting matches. In the beginning,
she had openly gawked in awe at the towering structures that at one time had
been relegated to photographs in books. Such amazing feats of engineering
could not have been prepared for anymore than the train station could have
for a young girl with her upbringing. But Shampoo had adapted quickly, and
in truth found an odd sort of fondness for the larger cities that seemed to
have a multitude of necessities no more than a block away. She still missed
her home, but did not feel uncomfortable amid tall buildings that dominated
those cities whose populations soared to over million. And in spite of that,
Jaddo assured her that Hong Kong was even bigger, the entire island nearly
paved over in an endless field of concrete and steel that stretched to the
ocean. Shampoo could barely wait to see the vast megalopolis.

And see it she would, for after another two and a half months, she was at
last ready to go on the next leg of her journey. Thirty-four opponents had
come and gone, and now only one remained before she could make the move to
the 'big time' as Jaddo liked to refer to it. Just one more fight and she
would be more than halfway to her final destination.

And yet, in spite of her anticipation, there were other, more urgent needs
that plagued Shampoo's mind. The big fight wasn't for another five days, and
there were more important matters that needed to be taken care of first.

Shampoo took an inventory of their surroundings. Jaddo had already purchased
their tickets, and the pair were sitting alone on a bench, waiting patiently
for their train to arrive. It was not due for another half-hour, and trains
never ran on time anyhow, at least from Shampoo's personal experience. They
had no pressing matters. There was nothing that should interrupt them. That
would give her all the time she needed.

She cast an expectant look to Jaddo, who appeared bored as he watched the
people walk by in an unceasing flow. After a minute of him continuing to
watch the passing throngs of humanity, and showing no signs of stopping
anytime soon, Shampoo switched to staring at him intently. Again nothing.
She cleared her throat, trying to get his attention.

His eyes continued to follow the people back and forth.

She kicked him in the shin.

That gained a response. "Damn it, girl! Can't you tell I'm busy trying to
ignore you?!"

"Too late now," Shampoo snapped. Two and a half months, and the man still
knew how to make her angry with a single sentence. She wondered if it was an
ability unique to him, or if all men could manage the feat if they put their
minds to it.

"What do you want?"

Now it was time to enact her plan. She had thought things through, and
believed she had chosen the best course of action to get what she
desperately needed. Her opening move was to unleash a bright smile upon him,
one her trainer rarely saw since she had little cause to give it to him.
"It's my birthday."

Jaddo's mood changed noticeably as he returned her smile with one of his
own, showing off his pearly white teeth. "Oh, well why didn't you say so?
Congratulations on not dying in the last three hundred and sixty-five days."
He went back to staring at the people passing by.

But not for long.

"Ow! Damn it, girl! Quit kicking me in the shin! What the hell do you want
now?"

"You could get me a present," Shampoo said, trying to be 'nice' in spite of
the remarks she was receiving.

"I have an idea, why don't you start holding your breath, and we'll see if I
get you a present before you pass out?"

That sent 'nice' right out the station on the train that was currently
leaving.

It took several tense moments for Shampoo to regain her composure. This was
going to be difficult. She hated being reliant on Jaddo, but she needed more
money than the cut he gave her from her winnings. "I need new clothes."

Jaddo sighed. "Look, I've been around women long enough to know that they
all possess a shopping gene that kicks in every other day or so. Frankly,
I'm astonished you've held out this long. I also understand that gene
compels you to try to get the nearest man to buy you things, rather than
paying for them yourself. But be that as it may, I am not buying you new
clothes no matter how much you smile, beg, or grovel. Get over it, and have
a nice day."

"But I need new ones."

"No, you don't," Jaddo assured her. "I've seen your outfits. All of them are
a little worn, and that blue and gold number is too shabby to use in a fight
anymore, but you can wear the rest just fine. I also know you got a new
blood red one a month ago, which you've been wearing all the time. And
that's not to mention your green dress that's too expensive and not fit for
casual wear, let alone combat. You know, the one you bought right after I
told you you couldn't afford it?"

"I never wore a dress like that before. It was pretty. I needed to have it."
And Shampoo meant every word. The style of the dress, with its long flowing
skirt that nearly touched the ground, and the frills that decorated the
front of it from neck to navel, was unlike anything even seen in the
village, or anywhere else for that matter. And it felt unbelievably smooth
on her skin, even better than silk. She did not have a single recrimination
about purchasing it. The only thing she was sorry about was that she
couldn't wear it more often, and that she didn't have a pair of matching
shoes to go with it.

"It was also an import from France and made from that Chantgard weave that
costs a fortune to make," Jaddo reminded her. "It's your own fault for
spending all of your money. Don't look at me to give you more. You'll thank
me for being this stern with you when you're older. But even if you are
still pissed about it in a few years, I won't be around so I won't care."

A trembling shook Shampoo's body. That man! It was time to bring out her
secret weapon, the one she had been saving for an occasion such as this. Her
whole posture changed to that of someone having been emotionally wounded as
she unleashed her patented 'hurt puppy dog' expression. It was so pitiful
that it would even make Mousse leave her alone for a few hours when she used
it on him and asked him to leave. It never failed.

"I ate a puppy for breakfast." Jaddo scratched himself, then turned
impassively back to watching the people go past.

Shampoo sighed. It looked like she was going to have to be direct and use
the truth. "I'm not saying I want new clothes. I'm being serious when I say
I really need them."

"Why?"

"Because all the ones I brought with me from home are too small now,"
Shampoo explained in a pleading voice. "They were getting a bit snug when I
left, and in the months since we set out on the road, I've grown almost
three centimeters. Now I can barely get into any of them. That's why I've
been wearing that red outfit so much. It's the only one left that fits
comfortably."

Jaddo rose to his feet. "Stand up." Shampoo did as she was ordered. He gave
her a measured look with his eyes before his brow creased in annoyance at
the decreased height differential between them. "Great. Nice timing for a
growth spurt." He let out a deep sigh and held his hand to his forehead: an
official signal of surrender. "Fine. I'll buy you two outfits and not one
more. And when I say outfit, I mean the male definition, not the female one
that includes matching handbag, shoes, and jacket composed of some valuable
animal's hide. And nothing expensive either. The pay triples in Hong Kong.
Once you get a few wins there, you'll have enough money to get whatever
outfits you want. And if your contract gets bought up, your owners will
supply you with all your clothing, housing, and food needs from there, and
you won't have to worry about any of that crap."

Shampoo smiled at the concession, but then shifted somewhat uncomfortably.
Jaddo saw the movement and grasped what she was feeling. He was beginning to
understand her just like he would any other person that had been a complete
stranger until he was forced to live continuously with them for several
months. He gave her an affectionate pat on the shoulder. "There's no need to
thank me. I enjoy helping you-"

"Actually, I need something else."

"-unfortunately for you, I enjoy having money a whole lot more. You won't
bleed another cent from me."

"But you have to," Shampoo all but pleaded. "I need new underwear. It's even
more important than the clothes."

"Yah. I noticed your butt's been getting a lot bigger."

Shampoo was getting good at kicking him in the shin. As he hopped around on
one foot and swore, she said, "It's not because of my butt! It's my chest.
My bras aren't big enough anymore. They were bad enough when we left home,
but they're so tight now, I don't even bother wearing them." She shifted
uncomfortably again, hating herself for having to point that fact out to
him.

Jaddo stopped hopping. "Oh, I see. Now it makes sense. And here I thought
your going without them was just some cheap, pathetic attempt at getting my
attention, especially given how cold it's been lately."

That gained him a nasty look.

"Hey now, don't be that way," Jaddo soothed. "You should be grateful. This
is a great birthday for you."

Shampoo's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why?"

Jaddo unleashed that whiplash smile of his again. "Because, you've gotten
the best birthday present any woman could ask for: bigger tits."

Shampoo broke part of the bench over his head.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"My butt is not bigger," Shampoo assured herself as she exited the ladies'
restroom. At first, she had needed to get away from Jaddo and the depraved
insults that he seemed to think passed for humor. After she cooled off, she
found she actually needed to use the facility. And finally, despite the fact
she knew he had only said that to anger her, she checked her posterior out
as thoroughly as she could in the large mirror that hung in the restroom.
Once satisfied Jaddo had just been more offensive than usual, she exited the
restroom. Besides, other women had begun to stare at her as she gauged her
bottom in the mirror.

By the time Shampoo emerged, she was certain Jaddo would have some pointed
comment to make about how women always took forever to relieve themselves.
Instead, she was confronted by a scene of chaos as people milled about in
clusters, some talking in animated discussions, some screaming angrily.
Others had formed long lines at all of the booths and administration areas,
obviously in a distraught state.

Shampoo was wondering just what had happened when Jaddo came up to her.
"Looks like we won't be leaving today."

"Why?"

"Didn't you hear the message over the speakers?"

"I was uhh... distracted." There was no sense in admitting that she had been
affected by his remark about the size of her posterior.

"Those idiots in the People's Freedom Movement blew up all the rails north
of the city. No train can leave that way now. We're stuck until they fix it
up, stupid assholes."

"People's Freedom Movement?"

"Yah. Don't you..." Jaddo trailed off for a moment. "Oh, right. You live out
in the boonies. I forget about that sometimes. The PMF are a bunch of
terrorists seeking the freedom of the people from the Empire, or some such
nonsensical rhetoric. All they really end up doing is little bombings, acts
of destruction, and killings that end up hurting the people they say they
want to help. They usually destroy something that the people use, like today
with the trains, and don't affect the Empire in the least. Worse, the Empire
then cracks down on the area the PMF operated in, causing the residents
there even more harm. They're a bunch of stupid morons that wouldn't know
liberation if it came up and ripped their nuts off with a pair of rusty
pliers."

This was all new information for Shampoo. She knew there were countries that
resisted the rule of the Empire, everyone in her village knew that, but they
were unaware that people that actually lived in her lands did as well. True,
the Joketsuzoku despised having to pay a token lip service to their
conquerors, even if the terms of surrender had been agreeable, but the idea
that there were others that had actually taken up arms against the massive
Empire astonished her. "Are there many of them?"

Jaddo shook his head. "Nah. They're no bigger than all of them other piddly
little bands of thugs that use the Empire as an excuse to blow up things and
make themselves feel important. They're maybe a half dozen groups with names
like 'Independence,' 'Freedom,', or 'Autonomy' in their name. They're all
the same. Completely ineffective and crushed the instant they become an
actual nuisance.

"Only ones that are any good are the Emancipation Brigade and the Tang
Liberation Movement. I don't much mind the EB. Ironically, they're led by a
former high ranking Imperial Security Directorate guy that decided he didn't
like the way his homeland rolled over everyone and made them subservient to
them. Empire tries to keep that fact quiet. It's a real black eye for them.
The EB's a smart bunch. They got good training and work out in the West
where it's hard to find them and they can do actual damage to the Empire.
Mostly cut military supplies lines, communications, destroy property,
especially high-tech stuff. Even been known to kidnap high-ranking officers
and ransom them back. Not much in the way of killing, but it's been known to
happen from time to time. Rumor has it some of the European governments
secretly back them too, which gives them a power base to work with.

"The real bad boys are the TLB. They're into all the really bad stuff.
Stealing and reselling arms. Assassinating key officials and so-called
sympathizers. Drug running. Hell, smaller military outposts out in the
boonies are known to disappear to a man, and even though it can't be proven,
everyone knows who's really responsible. Most of the people they claim they
want to 'free' are more terrified of them than the Empire. They disgust me,
more than just about anyone. They're profiteers using their propaganda as an
excuse to make a buck. Rumor's have it they're a cover for Shadowlaw even if
no one in the know has the spine to admit it. Hell, I'd help to turn one of
them bastards over if I knew any of them."

Shampoo was in awe. "I had no idea things were like that."

Jaddo gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "Don't be impressed. Even the TLB
isn't more than a single leech sucking the blood out of an elephant. Nothing
any of them do will amount to anything in the long run. Not that it really
matters one way or another. I don't care. I'm no revolutionary."

Shampoo's gaze towards Jaddo narrowed. "You make it sound like you have no
problems with the Empire controlling your lands."

Rather than be either offended or defensive, Jaddo shrugged. "Nah. I've
never known a life where I wasn't under their rule, but I'd just as soon
they pulled back to them Japanese islands that they originally came from.
Mind you, even if they did, they'd just be replaced by other incompetent
officials, but I'd rather have to suffer under local assholes than ones from
thousands of miles away."

For some reason, his attitude bothered Shampoo. "It sounds like you wouldn't
fight for your freedom?"

"I am free," Jaddo told her plainly, not offended in the least. "I go where
I want and have a job I used to like a whole lot more before I met you. Yah,
maybe I'm not legally a citizen, but out here that doesn't mean much. And I
realized a long time ago that just because you get some fancy title added to
your status, it doesn't mean you'll ever get your heart's desire."

That last seemed to be delivered almost pensively, a rare state for Jaddo to
be in when not talking about fighting. Intrigued, Shampoo asked, "What's
that supposed to mean?"

Much to Shampoo's surprise, he turned away from her and began walking,
heading for the nearest exit. "We need to get hotel rooms. The morons won't
get things sorted out for days."

Jaddo was moving faster than he needed to, or at least it seemed that way to
Shampoo. She picked up her bags and hurried to catch up to him. "You didn't
answer my question."

"It means you can win the tournament and become a citizen and still be
miserable. Citizenship is no guarantee for happiness, no matter how much you
want it."

Shampoo noted he had kept his face turned away from her the entire time. As
a general rule, especially when he was instructing her in the ways of the
world, like now, he always looked her in the eye. "It will mean happiness
for me. It's what I want. And it'll show my people back home since I'm
fighting for-"

"Honor and glory, yah, yah," Jaddo finished for her. "Not all people fight
for the same thing. For some, Citizenship is just a tool, and sometimes it's
not even the right one to achieve the goal they truly want."

Again Shampoo noted the unusual amount of feeling in his voice, or at least
the little seen emotion of depression. Jaddo was many things, depressed
wasn't one of them. "I still don't understand what you mean."

The duo exited the station and headed for the nearest hotel. Luckily, many
were located near the station. "Move your flabby ass. I want to grab a room
before the rest of those chumps in the station realize they ain't going to
get rerouted today and try to grab them. That is unless you want to sleep in
the park."

"No way!" Shampoo had her fill of that. If the choice had been between
sleeping outdoors as a citizen, or sleeping inside as a non-citizen, she
would have chosen non-citizenship in a heartbeat, promise to the village be
damned.

As they continued to the nearest hotel, a tall white structure that was at
least ten stories tall, Jaddo said, "Let's switch to Japanese. You need to
get a better feel for the language. Your great grandmother said you knew
some, and you'll be using it all the time in Japan if you're lucky enough to
make it there. You're going to have to speak it too. I don't think a single
citizen in that island knows three words of Chinese."

Shampoo nodded her head in agreement.

Living for years in Japan had allowed Jaddo to speak it with only a trace of
his accent. Talking with the full-blooded Japanese and government officials
had kept the language fresh in his mind. "<Right. Okay. If you manage to
speak Japanese the rest of the way to the hotel, after we get settled in,
we'll go out and pick up some outfits for you while we're here. Last thing I
need to do is end up stuck in a room with you bitching and moaning about how
tight your shirts are the entire time.>"

"<Good! Shampoo would enjoy shopping too, too much.>"

That stopped Jaddo in his tracks. "<What did you just say?>"

"<Shampoo said she would enjoy shopping for new clothes too, too much. What
stupid old man think Shampoo say?>"

"<Riiight,>" Jaddo moaned as he felt a headache coming on. "<Okay, why don't
we try this? If you manage to NOT speak Japanese the rest of the way to the
hotel, we'll go out clothes shopping.>"

"<What stupid old man mean? Why can't Shampoo speak Japanese?>"

"<Because I won't hang around you if you do.>"

"<What that supposed to mean? Shampoo speak Japanese very good.>"

"<Only to yourself and a deaf-mute. Luckily, you might be able to get away
with it. That pidgen-speak might actually make you seem cuter to the
audience.>" Jaddo's headache intensified. "At least you'd better hope it
does."

Shampoo spent the next five minutes grumbling to herself in Japanese. Jaddo
was just being his usual insulting self. Her Japanese was superb. He was
just giving her a hard time, as usual.

The duo got lucky on their first try and managed to get one of the last
rooms that were available. As they made their way up to the floor it was
located on, Jaddo began speaking again. "In a way, I'm glad those imbeciles
set off that bomb. It gives us an excuse to either get to the fight late, or
miss it altogether. Either way it would take a lot off my shoulders."

That surprised and angered Shampoo. "What would make you say that? I need
this one to get to Hong Kong."

Reluctantly, Jaddo said, "This fight's going to take place out in the middle
of a place that's shitier than anything you've seen. It's in a small mining
town called Meiling, but calling it a town is being generous. What it really
is is a hard labor camp where criminals serve out their sentences. The
actual fighting place is at a big Impy military base, which is more like a
giant glorified guard facility, called Hanshoi. But all the fighters call it
Hellmount. It's a real nasty place to fight, as bad as any in Shanghai. Most
of the fans that attend are soldiers, and a real bloodthirsty lot not all
that different from the criminals they watch. Most of the rank and file have
been relocated there because they ended up on someone's shitlist, and they
ain't happy about it. Hellmount is infamous for the brutality of the
matches. Got more deaths attributed to there than any dog pit in the Empire.
The whole area reeks of desolation and pain, Hellmount's just an extension
of the land and people around it."

"Then why go?"

Jaddo shook his head. "The head of base there, General Narayota, has some
influence in the area, and especially in Arena fighting. It's considered
prestigious to fight there, even with the viciousness of the matches. Most
of the fighters are invited by request, and a lot of them move on from there
to advance to Hong Kong. Many eventually go on to the Arena itself. That's
what happened to me. But turning down an open invitation wouldn't look good,
especially since you're so close to advancing. I just wanted to warn you
it's probably going to be nastier than anything you've had to put up with so
far."

Shampoo stood proudly before him. "I'll win. Have no fear of that."

"Yah, I know you will. Just warning you that things will be rougher than
anything you've faced so far."

Their discussion ended just as they arrived at their room. Jaddo used the
key to unlock the door and go in. The two had barely stepped inside when
they noticed a slight problem.

"Why is there only one bed?"

Jaddo pulled out his receipt. "It says it's supposed to have twin beds.
That's a queen. Oh well. The only other rooms left were single's anyway.
Guess we're stuck with this. That means I get the bed."

"Okay."

Shampoo's willingness to take the floor took Jaddo by surprise. Ordinarily,
she acted like a typical teenager and whined when she couldn't have her own
way. It was not as though sleeping on the floor would be any more
comfortable for a man his age. She was young and should be willing to make
the sacrifice for her elders, just like she was doing now. "It's nice to see
you showing your trainer the respect that's his due. You're finally starting
to act like a savvy fighter. Looks like my teaching's finally starting to
take."

Shampoo nodded her head in affirmation. "Yes, it has. You get the bed, just
like you asked, but I get the mattress." She walked right over to the bed,
pulled the mattress off and threw it on the floor.

"Damn girl's learning," Jaddo mumbled to himself.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The rumble of the super-steam driven locomotive made the travel too rough
for Shampoo to relax. It was unlike the other passenger trains she had
ridden, which moved so smoothly one would barely realize they were traveling
at speeds in excess of seventy miles an hour. Jaddo said there were
electromagnetic driven bullet trains in Japan that went even faster, though
the technology was apparently exclusive to Japan, as well as some of the
larger cities in Europe. Apparently, the seat of the Empire preferred
retaining exclusive rights to the best and biggest toys. Still, Shampoo had
found riding the trains that had left Kunming to be a pleasurable
experience. It was after the second time they switched trains that the
transportation took a notable turn for the worse.

There were no other forms of transport that left directly from Kunming to
Meiling. That left the railroad, and they had to transfer not once, but
twice to take the only form of mass transportation to get to the mining
town. The moment Shampoo's eyes fell on the huge, dull gray vehicle with its
engine that was three times larger than the previous trains she had ridden,
she knew things had taken a turn for the worse. The cars that trailed behind
the train were huge cargo carriers rather than the more familiar passenger
expresses that only carried a small quantity of shipment containers. But
this was the exact opposite, with only two small cars devoted to bringing
people to and from Meiling.

The ride had proven bumpy and the seats uncomfortable. Even taking a window
seat failed to distract Shampoo from the jolting journey. Jaddo explained
that this was actually an improvement from when he had first ridden the
'Meiling Express' more than twenty years ago. Shampoo shuddered at the very
thought of what the journey must have been like back then. Comfort cost
money, and comfort was not what the Senzenin Zaibatsu, the company that
owned the rights to the mines in Meiling and how the material was
transported, was in the business of doing. "Extreme efficiency" was how
Jaddo referred to it. Shampoo was forced to agree with the assessment,
suffering as she was.

Looking out the window, Shampoo noticed an enormous cloud of black smoke
rising in the direction the train was heading. She gained Jaddo's attention
and pointed at it. "Something's on fire up ahead. It must be huge."

Jaddo looked for a moment, then sat back in his seat. "Nah. That's just the
smoke the smelters kick up. At least one is going twenty-four hours a day.
Always been that way, reckon it always will. This is one of the primary
sources of ore for the Empire, and they want to keep the metal flowing as
long as they can."

"Oh." The thought of living in such a place repelled Shampoo. She couldn't
imagine what it would be like being surrounded by something that belched
such horrible-looking smoke all the time.

As the train continued onward, Shampoo noticed the land becoming more open
and gray. With each passing mile fewer plants grew from the ground. At
first, it was the trees that disappeared. Then the bushes and shrubs that
grew lower. And finally the plants themselves went from weak fields of
green, to sparse things with only small patches of small weeds that were
rugged enough to grow over the increasingly desolate ground. Eventually they
too succumbed, leaving nothing but unending fields of stone in a show of
colors that seemed to exclusively contain two emotions: drab and dreary.
Only black and a mottled brown seemed to offset the endless panorama of gray
that could be seen from the window of the passing train.

And then she saw her first pit.

It was a huge thing, having about as much in common with the pits she fought
in as Joketsuzoku had with Kunming. The concepts might have been similar,
but the difference in size made the nearly impossible to make a comparison.
The giant hole in the ground was at least a mile across and incredibly deep.
Numerous layers of strata could be seen as the various lines of rock marking
the ages seemed to stretch without number to the bottom. It seemed as though
nothing less than a hand of one of the gods could have reached down and
scooped out the earth and tossed it aside, though there was no rubble lining
either the sides of the pit or the surface of the land. The amount of rock
that had been removed was unfathomable to her. Even the entire population of
the Joketsuzoku working all day every day could not have moved that much in
a year.

Jaddo had seen his student's look of awe and leaned closer so that he could
look out the window as well. "That's what strip mining looks like. When the
Empire does stuff, it does it big. Didn't use to reach out this far back
when I fought here, but as the mines closer to Meiling play out, they keep
going farther and farther away to make a buck."

The desecration to the land made Shampoo's stomach swoon and threaten to
rebel. She was not an, what had Jaddo termed them? Ah yes,
'environmentalist.' She was not disturbed by people having to take what they
needed from the land, but the scene before just seemed wrong on some
instinctual level. "It looks horrible."

"Hah. You should see what the stuff close up to Meiling looks like. This is
one of the newer pits. They've been mining stuff out here for nearly three
decades, and had lots of time to really screw things up. This is just a
little brother to some of the real big boys out there. Seen pits over two
miles across and nearly twice as deep. The scenery is going to get worse
before it gets any better. That I can guarantee you."

With the initial shock over, Shampoo settled back in her seat, not wishing
to view the scene outside her window any longer.

Jaddo continued on, though. "You've got to understand, the Empire might view
your land as their territory, but it's also a resource to plunder. Mind you,
they would never do this sort of thing to their homeland itself, but the
rest of the conquered territories, well, they don't treat them with anywhere
near the same consideration. They still have plans, after all, and citizens
need their metals for their tools and their toys. It's a fact of life you're
going to have to deal with."

Shampoo cast another look outside. Indeed, an even larger pit was passing
by. "But what they're doing here... it's wrong."

"Oh, it'll leave scars for a real long time all right," Jaddo confirmed. "I
doubt if there's a living plant in the next fifteen miles around here. It's
why this place is so far out of the way that only trains come out here to
ship the metal out. But it's so far out of the way no one has to look at it.
Out of sight, out of mind. That's the way the world works for everyone. No
one cares about the manner in which they get their precious metal, just so
long as the like the end results."

"Do they do this to all the conquered territories? Even your land?" Shampoo
asked.

That made Jaddo think. "Sort of, but not like this. From what I've heard,
this is probably one of the worst of the mining operations in the Empire.
It's gotten some bad press from what I understand, since this land is going
to be unusable for better than a century once the mines play out. But this
operation is owned by the Sanzenin Zaibatsu. They're new money. They do
thing differently since they had to fight their way to the top in more
recent years. One of the ways they do it is to be leaner and meaner than the
competition, and that means doing things easy and cheap, long term
consequences be damned if it can get them the short-term gains they want.
Stupid way to run a business if you ask me. Of course, I'm just a fight
trainer while they're the ultra-rich elite. Maybe they know something I
don't."

"Probably," Shampoo agreed.

That caused Jaddo to scowl at how quickly she had agreed with the idea that
he had flaws. Not that he didn't have flaws, just that she was so ready to
point them out. Kids had no respect these days.

Other large pits began to pass by. Jaddo watched as Shampoo continued
shaking her head ever so slightly in disapproval at the sight. He felt the
same way on the inside, but saw no reason to exhibit outward signs of it.
The fewer people that knew about your true feelings, the more protected you
were.

Shampoo leaned abruptly forward, pressing her face against the window. Her
breath misted it up slightly as she pointed at something through the glass
and said, "Why do all of those men have those collars on?"

Jaddo moved closer to see what she was referring to. Passing within sight of
the train was a small group of men that were helping to load some large
metal cylinder onto a truck. They were topless, most of them with thickly
corded muscles that showed off years of hard labor, and wore an almost
perpetual sheen of sweat that seemed inexorably mixed with dirt. Most wore
the standard navy blue heavy trousers of the prisoners at Hellmount, though
each had a unique bandanna, headband, or some other cloth wrapped around
their heads to soak up the sweat that poured from their brows. The one item
that appeared standard to the group was the thick, gray metal collars that
each wore around his neck.

"They're prisoners. Those things are the way the prison keeps tabs on their
little lambs. Inside those collars is some high-tech stuff that allows them
to be tracked, monitor their life signs, and can be commanded to shock them
if they get frisky. If they get too frisky, they can be made to explode
instead. It's my understanding not many prisoners get too frisky."

"Remind me not to do anything to get these people angry with me," Shampoo
muttered as the train passed by the group.

His prot�g� was displaying an exceptionally sensible attitude, which served
to surprise Jaddo. Most people would have been revolted, or at least shown
some sign of sympathy or outrage at the treatment. "So what do you
Joketsuzoku do to anyone that gets into trouble with the law?"

Shampoo continued staring out at the brutal landscape as she answered,
"Women we lock up. Men we castrate."

Jaddo made a strangled sound and reflexively placed both hands over his
privates.

The reaction made Shampoo laugh. "I'm kidding. Usually the Elders order
criminals to work off their punishment if it's for something minor. If it's
for something major, we do have a jail to keep them locked up until they can
be shipped to a major city. One of the things our people have accepted is
sending the bad criminals to the Empire to punish. It helps keep the peace
between families if a neutral party is passing judgment instead of an elder
that happens to be from a clan that's a rival to the guilty party. But there
really aren't much in the way of problems. Joketsuzoku is a nice place to
live."

"Oh." Jaddo gave her a warded look. Someone had to teach the girl never to
joke with a man about the 'c' word. If she had a set of balls, she'd
understand all too well. He tried distracting himself from the topic by
gazing out the window and seeing what other changes might have occurred
since the last time he had taken a fighter of his through here. Then
something about the men struck him as odd. Leaning closer, he looked into
the pit they had almost finished passing by. "That's weird."

"What?" Shampoo leaned closer, trying to see what had caught Jaddo's eye.
All she could see was a large number of rough-looking men working with big
machines in the pit. Mining, presumably. That was what they were there for.

"That's an old mine," Jaddo explained. "I'm sure it's been played out for
years. Wonder why they're messing around with it."

Further thoughts on the matter were interrupted when the dull droning voice
of the public announcement system called out, "Prepare to disembark."

Jaddo and Shampoo grabbed their belongings and waited for the train to stop.
It seemed to take forever for the massive vehicle to coast to a standstill.
It took another five minutes for someone to get to the doors on the cars and
unseal them, allowing the passengers to disembark.

As Shampoo emerged, she saw before her what had to be the most dismal town
in the entirety of the planet. The squat buildings were all made of thick
blocks of stone, decorated with very few small windows. Everything, from the
trucks to the street signs, seemed covered in a dirty black grit. The
smelters belched out smoke from high stacks that pointed upwards like
fingers trying to caress the heavens. The pavement was worn and cracked in
many places. The air was darker and more foul than anything she had
experienced before. It took a single intake of breath to place some sort of
alkaline taste in her mouth. The entire town felt dirty and wrong. Had she
any real choice, she would have left immediately.

Even as Shampoo's senses recoiled at the various stimuli they were
receiving, a man approached them with a deliberate step. He was Chinese,
about fifteen years older than Shampoo, and wore a black outfit that blended
in well with the decor of the buildings surrounding them. His movements
suggested he had some combat training and knew how to carry himself. She
tensed up slightly. It never hurt to be too cautious in a new place where
everything and everyone was an unknown.

The man stopped in front of the duo, placed his hands behind his back, and
bowed. "Jaddo," he said as he rose.

Jaddo nodded in acknowledgment even after he came out of his bow. "Han. Been
a while."

"Over a year."

Jaddo pointed to Shampoo. "This is my prot�g�. Shampoo, this is Han. He's a
trainer like myself. One of his boys will be fighting on the card tonight.
Not your opponent, though."

'Thankfully," Han said as he and Shampoo bowed to each other. "Let's get
going to the Hellmount. I've got a jeep waiting. We'll need to get you
settled in quick before your match tonight."

Shampoo and Jaddo picked up their belongings and followed Han. As they cut
through the streets, Jaddo began to speak, "What is that funny smell? I
mean, I know this place always smelled bad, but its got this sharp, metal
taste to everything going on now."

"That would be the delightful new technique the Senzenin's came up with for
working out old mines and getting even more material from them. It's some
kind of chemical that can be used to melt the rock, then sort out the
useable stuff from the bad. That smell is its delightful little toxic
aftertaste."

"Toxic?" Jaddo looked alarmed and started to pinch his nose shut.

"It's not toxic airborne, though if you breath the stuff in long enough, who
knows? They've only been using it for a year or so. Anything could happen to
us a few decades down the line." Han grimaced visibly for his comrades
benefit. "I guess the chemical works pretty good and, more importantly, is
cheap. Don't need a third of the machines for mining they usually do and the
work goes a lot faster, at least that's what the locals tell me. Of course,
the residue is so toxic to the land that nothing will grow where it's used
for about two hundred years, or so the studies have showed."

"Delightful," Jaddo said. Shampoo just shook her head sadly. Her image of
the Empire was shrinking in leaps and bounds.

"The worst part is you'll have a funny taste in your mouth for a few days
even after you leave. It just seeps inside. Five years from now, we'll
probably discover the taste rots your tongue or something," Han stuck his
tongue out at Jaddo, who playfully swatted him on the arm.

Han led them to a jeep. It was of the same black color that virtually
everything else was. Shampoo began to wonder if it was supposed to be the
actual color of the vehicle, or if it was merely the smoke from the smelters
that made everything so. In either case, she despised everything about this
Hellmount, and wanted to be away from there as quickly as she could. She was
just glad this was the earliest they could get there. Tonight was her fight.
They would spend a single night in Hellmount, and head out on a train the
very next morning. Every second here was going to be a trial.

They worked their way out of the little train station and beyond the
boundaries of the small town and out across the barren landscape. Without
the glass of the train as a barrier, the whole scene seemed twice as
repulsive. Luckily, the high chain link fence that signified the borders of
the military base was within sight of the town, and it would take them less
than a couple of minutes to get there at the speed Han was driving. It made
the ride bumpy and uncomfortable, but having a sore bottom was infinitely
preferable to extending their 'tour'. Even the air was bone dry, as a gust
of wind kicked up a cloud of dust that instantly absorbed all the moisture
in Shampoo's mouth. It felt like the dirt was caked on her tongue, and the
small amount of saliva she could muster proved insufficient to get rid of
the dry and dirty feeling.

Through the bumps, Jaddo said, "So, what's the field look like?"

"You're not fighting my guy, thankfully," he shot a look over his shoulder
to the backseat where Shampoo sat. "I heard about you. You're going to be a
hot commodity in Hong Kong."

The way he emphasized the term caught Shampoo's attention. "Hot commodity?"

Jaddo interrupted before Han could explain. "It's a stupid term that's come
up in the last five years-"

"Ten," Han corrected. "You wouldn't acknowledge its existence for five
years, you degenerate bastard."

Jaddo scowled at Han for the interruption. "Anyway, it means stupid people
like him think you're a shoo-in for the Arena, which you aren't. And I'd
appreciate it if other trainers in the jeep would not give my already way
too cocky for her own good fighter anything else to feed her ego."

Han held up one hand in mock surrender, while the other remained on the
wheel. They hit a large bump, and suddenly the upraised hand returned to it
as well. The trio remained that way until they arrived at the main gate.
There, Han had to pause to show one of the sentries several papers. The
soldier gave the documents only a cursory glance before waving the trio
through and allowing the jeep to head up to the base itself.

Shampoo noted that the base seemed slightly less dark than the small town,
though not by much. It too was constructed of small stone buildings with
little in the way of windows. There were a number of military vehicles in
view, mostly jeeps and trucks with a handful of weapons mounted, but very
few soldiers. There appeared to be little activity currently at the base.

One of the structures caught her eye. To the left of the primary base was a
structure covered by a dome, larger than any of the others and standing by
itself. The dome was a dull silver rather than the black hue that most of
the other structures were.

"What's that?"

Jaddo saw what she was pointing at. "That's Hellmount itself. You'll be
fighting in it. It's the biggest indoor arena you've been in yet. Get used
to it, because the one in Hong Kong is even bigger."

Han added, "The crowd will be nastier than any you've seen before. They
really want blood. This whole area's so dark and depressing, I think it
would foul a priest's mood. Just be prepared for them shouting out a lot of
'kill, kill, kill's."

Han pulled the jeep up to a building that had glass doors in the front and a
brighter gray exterior. It almost appeared inviting compared to the other
ominous buildings.

"And here we are." Han continued talking as he helped the duo with their
bags. "You've already got rooms assigned to you since you came in so late. I
volunteered to show you to them, so I can get you set up fast. Still, you'll
have to get a move on. First match will start in three hours, and you need
to be ready by then. They like introing everyone before the first match
begins, and easily get irritated by fighters that think they're too good to
be formerly introduced by the general himself. Believe me when I say you do
not want to get on these people's bad side."

"What's she got to look forward to tonight?" Jaddo asked.

Han's demeanor, which had been open and friendly since leaving the town
itself, became serious. Deadly serious. "Let's just say, it sucks to be you.
I'm not sure if anyone told you yet, but you've got the main event."

"Yah, that was what I guessed at from what the promoter told me on the
phone. Since Shampoo's undefeated, he wanted her to get top billing. Had a
bad feeling about the way he said that, like he thought she wouldn't win."

"She might not, but for her sake I hope she does," Han said ominously. He
looked directly into Shampoo's green eyes. "Unfortunately, your opponent's a
real monster. He's called the Northman."

Shampoo heard Jaddo take a sharp intake of breath.

"He as bad as I've heard them say?" the aborigine asked.

"Depends on the rumors, but probably worse. He's racked up over twenty-five
deaths and maimings on both circuits. He's actually got seventy-seven
victories and no losses right now, but hasn't been allowed in Hong Kong yet
since he'll be bad for business if he kills or cripples people at that rate.
He doesn't seem real receptive to advice, which means he's either very
stupid or very uncaring and stupid. Tonight, though, if he wins, he'll
advance. That's one of the things they've been hyping for the main event. A
match between two undefeateds and the winner advances to the next circuit."

"He'll be fighting doubly hard then. I hate butchers," Jaddo said somberly.

"No one wants to fight him," Han confirmed. "He's not afraid to take a hit
if it means he can dish one back. And he hits hard. So it's not like he's
perceived as being unhittable."

"Yah, just indestructible and deadly," Jaddo agreed. "Any weaknesses?"

"A major one: he's one eye from night."

"What's that mean?" Shampoo asked as she considered all of the information
being offered. This fight was going to be different from all of the others.
She could feel it.

"It's an old fighter's saying. It means he's blind in one eye," Han said.
"Early on, one of his opponents ripped his left eye completely out of its
socket. Probably small consolation to the fighter since he died anyway. I'll
warn you that no one has been able to capitalize on the advantage. Still,
it's probably your best bet. One other problem you might have is his skin
condition."

"Skin condition?" both student and mentor asked.

"Afraid so. It's rare, from what I've heard. His skin is almost gray and
leathery. Worse, it's about as tough as leather hide. He's a hard man to
really hurt. He's ugly as sin, too. His face is all disfigured, even cut off
his ears. He claims it's ritualized disfigurement. If it's the truth, then
he's a real sicko. It's going to be rough on you, but if you're as good as
Jaddo says, I think you'll have a chance."

Not exactly the most ringing of endorsements. Shampoo was about to tell him
she was confident she would win, regardless of the oddities of her opponent,
when a voice boomed from the direction of the fighters' dorms. "So this is
the little girl I'm supposed to be fighting."

All eyes turned to see the figure that had emerged from the building. He was
a huge man, nearly seven feet in height and at least four hundred pounds of
muscle. He had massive arms and tree trunk-sized legs that almost looked
pudgy in comparison with the rest of his body. He wore a pelt of a huge
animal with brown fur, a shade of which Shampoo had never seen, in a toga
style of outfit. As Han had said, the Northman's skin was almost grayish
enough to match the color of the parts of animal hide that were visible
underneath the fur. Half of his chest was bared, and Shampoo could see a
huge pectoral with a number of jagged scars over it. He wore a mask that
covered the upper part of his face, but Shampoo could see a covering where a
hole should have been for his left eye. One glaring brown orb stared in her
direction. She shuddered for a moment, a sudden memory of Kwon Ching's
predatory eyes on the night he tried to rape her bubbling to the surface.
This man was like that, only perhaps worse. There wasn't the faintest hint
of compassion in them. All they held was hunger and rage.

The Northman lumbered over with an almost loping gate until he was standing
in front of Shampoo, no more than three feet away. He looked down at her,
enough contempt shining in that single eye for any four men. "Little
Joketsuzoku whore, after I'm through playing with you in front of all those
men, I'm really going to cut loose and enjoy fucking you tonight. I'll even
be careful and not mark up that pretty face."

He reached out with a beefy hand to cradle her chin. Shampoo lashed out to
slap it away. She hit cleanly, but was barely able to move it more than an
inch to the side. Still, the hand paused in its forward motion.

The Northman snarled, "Then again, maybe not. Can mess it up all I want if I
mount you from behind." And with that he burst out in uproarious laughter as
he turned to head towards the domed arena.

Once out of earshot, the men began talking. "Round one goes to him," Han
said.

"What the hell was he wearing? Looked like furry rhinoceros hide or
something," Jaddo watched the direction Northman had taken.

"He claims it's a Mammoth hide," Han said in exaggerated tones to indicate
that was what he thought of the claim.

Shampoo barely listened, completely distracted by what had just happened.
There was something about the Northman, besides his fearsome countenance,
that had snagged her interest. There was something familiar about him. And
his speech; she was certain the dialect he was using was from her area of
China. But she was absolutely certain she had never seen him before. The
Northman was the sort of person you met once and remembered to your dying
day. What was it about him that was striking such a familiar cord in her
mind?

Jaddo laid a hand on her shoulder and shook her out of her reverie. "We form
a strategy tonight. This guy's more dangerous than everyone you fought put
together."

For the first time in a great while, Shampoo didn't argue in the slightest.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And here's part 2

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shampoo looked in awe at the spectacle before her. This was no mere pit, but
a true arena for people to fight with one another. One continuous wall
fourteen feet high formed a circle that surrounded the fighting area. Ten
feet up, elaborate, sharp, foot-long wrought-iron spikes were affixed in the
wall about fifteen feet apart at regular intervals. The floor was composed
of an almost white sand, about an inch deep, with hard stone lying
underneath. There was not enough of the substance to slow a fighter down,
not unless that one was not careful. One moment of inattention could cause a
fighter to lose their balance or miss a step, and that could be the end.
There was also the potential to use the loose substance as a weapon, should
one have the opportunity. Jaddo said the sand was supposed to be reminiscent
of the gladiatorial games held in the ancient Roman Empire.

A skeleton (which had been there since the arena had been built, Jaddo
assured her) hung from one of the spikes, impaled by it. Legends said it was
the body of the first man ever killed in Hellmount, and that his opponent
had thrown him upon it. Now it was the signature piece for the owners of the
dome. Such background held little interest for Shampoo, at least at the
moment. Her attention was reserved for one man.

"And presenting Shampoo's opponent: the most dangerous man in all of the
Empire. He hails from somewhere to the North. An undefeated champion with
seventy-seven victories to his name and seventeen kills to his credit. He is
known only as... THE NORTHMAN!"

Shampoo watched as the crowd rose to their feet and roared loudly enough to
shake the building. Certainly it was at least three times louder than the
shout they had given for her introduction. Small surprise. Han had warned
them that the Northman had already fought here twice, killing his opponents
each time. The crowd had loved every second of it, from what she had been
told. Given their current reaction, Shampoo found it easy to believe.

Much to Shampoo's surprise, the crowd's choosing the Northman over her did
not disrupt her composure. Over the ensuing months, she had become used to
the occasionally fickle crowds backing her, and had grown to like the cheers
of approval, as Jaddo had predicted she would. But as the moments ticked by,
Shampoo found herself pushing their shouts out of her mind and focused all
of her attention on the one thing that mattered: defeating her opponent.

Confronted once again by the huge man, Shampoo found her mouth begin to dry
up and the prospect of fighting him daunt her. No, that was not quite right.
She found herself frightened by the prospect of losing to him. Since her
first fight in a dog pit that lasted all of one blow to the present, this
was the only time Shampoo felt as though she might lose to her opponent, and
he had not even thrown a single punch.

Quickly she pushed the negative thoughts from her mind. Both her
great-grandmother and Jaddo echoed repeatedly the need to keep one's
opponent from having the psychological edge, otherwise the contest would be
as good as over. It took a moment to find the center of balance within her
psyche that she sought. Once there, her entire outlook changed. With a sort
of calmness falling over her, Shampoo prepared for the fight.

The Northman approached slowly, his arms held out wide, almost as though he
were a long lost uncle coming forward to embrace a favored niece. It was a
ridiculous posture that left him wide open for any one of a number of
attacks, but Shampoo did not rush in. The Northman lunged awkwardly at her,
and she dodged rather then accept the offered opening. A second lunge
resulted in the same action on the young Amazon's part, though she found it
difficult to hold back and refrain from attacking the wide opening and
unleashing a powerful strike. The crowd began to let their scorn for such
evadsive tactics be known as they booed and cursed her seeming fright.

She and Jaddo had spoken at length at what they could learn about their
opponent from his appearance and reputation. The number of scars he bore,
some fresher than others, indicated that he was not adverse to being struck,
and the number of victories indicated he could obviously take such painful
attacks and still end up victorious. Perhaps it was even part of his
strategy to accept two blows for one, and given his obvious power, it would
not take more than a single blow to devastate most of his opponents. Shampoo
would have to bide her time and go for openings that she could make, rather
than ones offered to her by her opponent, and hope she could stay out of his
reach long enough to wear him down and defeat him.

And so she did, dodging two more of his attacks. His anger tripled as it
became obvious Shampoo was refusing to fight back. She marked that he
evidently was unused to his opponents running away, at least before he
landed a blow upon them.

"Stand still, Joketsuzoku whore," The Northman rumbled. "It'll be over quick
enough, and you don't want to get me angry for tonight. I might not be
gentle with you and could break something important that might never heal
right."

He snaked his tongue out and licked his lips in an obvious display for
Shampoo's benefit. She kept from revealing her disgust; she could not allow
him the knowledge that his taunting was getting to her. Frustrating such a
big man could only give her an advantage. If only she could turn the tables
by throwing some insult that would get under his skin. Something. Anything.

It was difficult. She knew nothing about him. His mask hid his features, and
his unique physical form did not come close to jogging her memory of anyone
she might have known. He was a mystery, except his accent, which meant he
might have come from around her area. And then there were his derogatory
'Joketsuzoku' remarks. Most fighters that bothered to look into her past
simply called her an 'Amazon;' a term the announcers on the circuit seemed
to enjoy and used with great frequency. That, in turn, led to both the
audience and the other fighters to using it when referring to her, That
meant it was soon used exclusively to describe her. Few could name the
village where she had come from, but not this mysterious 'Northman.' He knew
exactly where she was from, and the way he spat out the word was like an
insult. And there was the anger in his voice every time he directed it to
her. Why did he seem to have such hatred of her people, who had not caused
problems for anyone in the decades since they had been conquered by the
Empire?

Shampoo's mind returned to the fight. The Northman had given up his blatant
open handed gestures and tightened his stance to that of a well-trained
fighter. It seemed her and Jaddo's assessment of the Northman's fighting
tactics had been correct. It had all been a trap to lure her in so he could
squeeze the life out of her as he had so many others. She would have gotten
at least one solid blow in, maybe even two if she had been quick, but once
she ended up in that massive grip, it would all have been over.

Now that the fighting had returned to a more conventional bent, Shampoo
began to employ a more aggressive strategy. She allowed the Northman to
probe her defenses with an initial wave of tentative strikes. When she did
not strike back, he grew more bold, lashing out ever quicker with his huge
hands and the longer reach his nearly seven foot form afforded him. The
young woman's continued evasions served to increase the level of hostility
directed against her by the crowd, which in turn fed the Northman's
confidence as he increased the tempo of his assault.

And then Shampoo attacked. The Northman's cockiness in fighting someone that
seemed unwilling to fight back made him sloppy. It was the moment Shampoo
had been waiting for as she punched and kicked him in the opening
unconsciously provided. Both blows landed solidly, making the crowd cheer.
Perhaps the young Amazon could have landed another attack, but she chose to
back off rather than see just how fast the Northman could recover.

It was quicker than she had expected, though nowhere near too fast for her
to deal with. The Northman backed away, watching her carefully as he
assessed the damage inflicted upon him. Shampoo looked on, seeing if she too
could gauge the blows from his reaction.

He struck the area she had hit with a fist of his own. "Another ten of those
and I might start feeling it, bitch."

That was not good. Shampoo reassessed her situation, and decided to go with
the second part of the strategy Jaddo had come up with. The Northman was
big. Supporting his massive frame could not be easy and would burn much of
his energy, a lot of it, if she could work things out right. None of his
fights ever lasted long, so his endurance was in question. All she needed to
do was retreat just out of his reach and force him to follow, running him
ragged. Time was on her side. The longer the fight continued, the greater an
advantage she would have. All she needed was patience.

What enjoyment the crowd felt at Shampoo finally launching a successful
attack was quickly forgotten as she returned to her strategy of avoiding the
Northman's attacks. They booed and jeered as she continued to do nothing but
dodge for the next five minutes while the Northman continued chasing and
attacking her.

At the five minute mark she struck again, this time with an uppercut that
snapped the Northman's jaw back. Again she backed off and allowed him to
attack her repeatedly, drawing him in ever increasingly large circles in
order to wind him further. After another half dozen minutes of chase,
Shampoo thought she could detect the Northman's breath beginning to heave in
ever increasing amounts. She was surprised he had lasted as long as he had,
fully expecting him to have been rolling on the ground out of breath a long
time ago. His endurance was every bit as impressive as his strength, given
his huge frame.

Shampoo saw another opening and struck again, aiming for a shoulder and his
neck, though only getting a solid punch in with the former. That seemed to
cause the Northman to back off and reconsider his strategy. Seeing him
trying to collect his thoughts, Shampoo tried to disrupt them and get him to
pursue her again. She backed away a couple of additional meters, then turned
her back to him and wiggled her butt seductively in his direction. "What's
the matter, ugly? Too slow? Looks like you'll never get a taste of this
after all." The crowd roared out its approval at the display.

Rather than answer, the Northman simply lowered his head and charged.
Shampoo was taken aback for a moment, both at the nature of the attack and
the speed that he had gained instantly. She barely had enough time to react
by straightening out and lashing out with a foot to trip him. Only he didn't
trip. On anyone else, they would certainly have fallen from the force of the
kick Shampoo landed on the shin, most likely breaking the bone in the
process. But the huge man simply bore on, unflinching from the blow. Shampoo
tried to get out of his reach, despite being somewhat off-balance from the
kick, but was far too slow and ended up having a meaty fist slammed into her
shoulder, driving her away several feet and to the ground for a moment.
Luckily for her, the Northman seemed unable to stop quickly from the
momentum built up from his impromptu charge, and ran past a couple of meters
before recovering enough to turn. By that time Shampoo had returned to her
feet in another ready stance.

She rotated her shoulder in its socket a couple of times. It was sore, and
she would not be able to bring full force to bear from it. No one had ever
hit her that hard in a single blow. Not even Perfume. She was going to have
to be more cautious than ever dealing with this dangerous opponent.

No more words were exchanged between the duo. Shampoo because of her focus,
the Northman because of his ever increasing state of exhaustion. His
breathing was continually increasing in its heaviness, coming out in short,
wheezing gasps. And as he slowed down, Shampoo continued to find openings to
hit him. The fight progressed to a half hour, an eternity in such matches.
As time wore on, Shampoo maintained her endurance while the Northman
continued to slow down and tire out. Each passing minute opened more and
more holes in his defense, and Shampoo was eager to take advantage each
time.

Like the steady flow of a stream against a rock that finds itself stranded
in the middle of a current, the number of blows added up and wore the
Northman down. Large purple bruises formed on the part of his chest that was
bared. Welts had formed on his arms from the number of times Shampoo had
sneaked a blow in when he tried to hit her with one of his own. Even one of
his legs was starting to limp from the number of times Shampoo kicked him.

And then Shampoo got in her most telling blow yet, a spinning roundhouse
kick directly into the Northman's solar plexus. As it hit, a huge wuff of
air escaped his lips and a lump of spit shot out of his mouth, only to be
absorbed by the white sand the moment it hit. He fell to one knee, head held
back as he tried gasping for breath.

Shampoo was quick to press the advantage, hitting him with a full force blow
to the jaw just as his head came level with her. She snapped it back even
farther than it had been a moment ago. Truly it was the most impressive blow
she had landed yet.

And then she felt the arms close around her torso, pinning her sore arm next
to her body in a massive bear hug.

"Got... you," the Northman gasped out.

It was true. Shampoo tried prying herself out of his grip with her free
hand, but she couldn't. She was nowhere near powerful enough to break free
of his strength. As he increased the force in the hold, she could feel the
press of muscles and power that lay in his huge arms. For the first time
since she was a child, she was helpless in another's grip. She could barely
believe anyone could be so strong. Her strength was very impressive, there
probably weren't more than a half-dozen warriors that could match her, and
none of them had anywhere near her speed, but the Northman was more than
twice as strong as any of them. It was inhuman.

Regaining some of his wind, the Northman said, "I'm a little too tired to
give you a proper fucking tonight, Joketsuzoku. So it looks like I'll have
to make it up to you by breaking your spine."

Shampoo panicked, fully aware he was going to make good on his threat.
Already the discs of her spine were threatening to slip out, and he had even
more strength he could bring to bear. With her free hand she lashed out at
the only available target: his head. For the most part, it was a futile
gesture. The mask he wore now fit fully around his cranium, with only his
mouth showing. She couldn't rip his hair out by its roots. She couldn't
shatter an ear drum because the covering extended over them. Even his
remaining eye was protected by a light wire mesh over it. It had cut down on
his vision, and Shampoo had used it to her advantage during the fight, but
now its benefits far outweighed its drawbacks. The only part of his face
that was visible was his mouth, and there was nothing she could do to it.
Any attempts to rip his lips off would simply result in him biting her,
possibly laying claim to a finger while he was at it. She had little doubt
he would enjoy the act, too.

Drawing breath in was impossible now, and she would have to go with what
oxygen remained in her lungs. She would swear he was drawing things out for
the crowd's benefit, squeezing her slowly instead of just breaking her in
half like a dry twig. There was nothing else she could do, so in desperation
Shampoo clutched and gabbed at his head, trying to pry the mask off and get
to his face before it was too late. But it was made of a tough leather and
thick. It occurred to her that others in similar positions had probably
tried the same thing, and none of them had been successful. There was no
hope.

But something inside her refused to give up. She clutched and grabbed at the
mesh over his eyehole. He tried shifting his head, but another grasp
resulted in her thumb getting in the corner of it, and she refused to lose
her purchase on it a second time.

"Die!" she heard him curse as he tightened his grip and she felt a lower rib
go. Still she dug in with her thumb, hard enough to cause it to bleed as it
pressed against the wire. Slowly, inexorably, she felt the mesh give under
the pressure, even as her torso was following suit and giving in under the
Northman's embrace. It was a race against time.

Tiny, individual wires of the mesh gave, each one driving deep into her
thumb, but the pain coming from her back was far worse, and she could barely
feel her hand at all. But she could see the eye protection pushing ever
inward. It was almost ready to break.

And then suddenly it gave, and she could feel her thumb press hard against
the eyelid. The Northman gave a shout and flung Shampoo aside like a rag
doll. He continued crying out in pain as he tried to untie the buckles and
straps of the firmly secured mask, shouting out a variety of curses as he
used his awesome power to finally rip the thing in two to remove it from his
head.

Shampoo had used the ensuing seconds wisely and recovered her footing.
Regaining her breath was more difficult, especially with a broken rib. Every
inhalation was like someone was stabbing her in the lung with a hot poker,
and she needed hundreds of tiny breaths to regain one normal one.

Despite the pain, Shampoo tried to remain focused on her opponent. If she
ended up in another bear hug, she was finished. If he landed one more solid
blow, the outcome might be the same. She was on the verge of losing a lot
more than a match. It was clear this was now a fight to the death, at least
as far as the Northman was concerned.

Shampoo watched in a haze of pain as the Northman continued to hunch himself
over and play with his face. It was taking him a long time to recover,
unless it was another trap. Shampoo was beginning to wonder if she should
try to attack when the Northman finally threw some tiny object from his face
turned in her direction.

At last everyone had an unrestricted view of what lay hidden behind the
mask. His ears had been torn to shreds, there were huge scars along his
face, and it looked as though someone had taken the first quarter of his
nose, leaving it incomplete. Red dotted his face from where the mesh had dug
into the flesh of his eyelid, while not going to deep enough to touch the
eyeball itself. Still, every time he blinked blood washed into it, making it
nearly impossible for him to see. But between blinks, Shampoo saw something
else which surprised her. It was the eyeball itself. Whereas before it
appeared to be normal, now the pupil was large and black, nearly taking up
the entire orb. She could barely see any white in it at all, and it was
impossible that anything she did could have caused that sort of reaction. It
didn't even look human, perched there in its socket. It was the eye of an
animal. The thing he had tossed aside had to have been a contact, one of the
tinted ones Jaddo had told her about.

And then it finally sank into place. The personal anger directed towards her
tribe. The local dialect. The toughness of the Northman's almost grayish
skin. His affinity for masks, and the so-called ritualistic scarring. The
odd animal hide her wore. His lack of an acknowledged past, even going so
far as to change his name. Hiding his eye, so dark and inhuman.

"Let me guess, you're, what, Tusk Clan, Musk?"

The Northman's head jerked at the name in recognition. That was the last bit
of evidence Shampoo needed.

All the bravado left the Northman in an instant. Suddenly he was colder and
more hard than at any point Shampoo had known him. For the first time, he
spoke softly. "Your knowledge dies with you tonight."

His first lunge missed. He tried again with the same results. Repeatedly,
Shampoo's superior speed effectively negated any advantage he had. Within
minutes, even the desperate rage that had fueled him began to ebb while his
opponent appeared almost as fresh as ever, save for her wincing with every
breath she took.

Shampoo waited until his initial onslaught had passed, leaving him even more
weakened than before. There were a handful of times early on when he had
come close to hitting her, but now his attacks seemed ridiculously slow and
ponderous. That meant it was time to end this. Slowly, as Shampoo evaded his
attacks, she moved him into the proper position. Once there, she launched
into her final gambit.

"So, did you mess up that face of yours fighting Imperial troops as they
slaughtered your people? No. You probably messed up your face falling on
some gravel while running away from the fight."

The single eye seemed to change to red. As before, when she taunted him with
her body, the Northman lowered his head and charged quickly at her. All he
had to do was connect once and all that would be left was a bloody smear.

The charge was even faster than before, not giving Shampoo enough time to
dive out of the way as she had originally planned. Her mind was a whirl as
she recalculated the only escape route left to her, and that was only if the
Northman did not expect it.

Had the Northman kept his head up, he would easily have been able to prevent
Shampoo from evading, but instead he was barely aware of her as she jumped
straight up and out of his line of sight. An instant later he felt her hand
use his head as a springboard as she removed herself from his charge by
going directly over him. He was still in the process of mentally cursing her
agility when his head impacted directly with one of the arena's concrete
walls.

Shampoo winced slightly as a huge portion of rock buckled under the force of
the charge. Her plan had worked to perfection, and she had won the match.
Her own brains would have been splattered across the metal had she hit the
wall with such force, or worse, if she had been caught between the Northman
and said wall, but that had not happened. The taunt had blinded him in rage
and made him forget his position on the field and the possible consequences
from his actions. She knew from his previous charge he could not come out of
it in time before hitting the wall, and it appeared he had not even tried to
slow down when he struck it. It was over.

At least until the Northman pried his head out of the wall. With the remains
of shattered concrete falling to the ground, the huge man returned to his
feet. From the bottom of her spine, Shampoo felt a dread chill travel up its
length. If smashing his head at top speed couldn't finish her opponent off,
she doubted there was anything else in her arsenal of tricks that could do
the job. At the moment, it looked like her best bet to win would be if the
huge member of the Musk had a sudden heart attack from all of the running he
had been doing.

But then she saw how groggy the Northman was, barely able to stand and with
blood streaming down from some huge gash on the top of his head. Even his
red inhuman eye seemed more bloodshot than colored with anger. The impact
had taken its toll. Now victory was within reach.

Shampoo launched an unmerciful assault upon her opponent, most of the blows
targeted at the head, though she would go after another body part when the
Northman would focus his defense towards the now wounded portion of his
body. Within moments, the formerly groggy Northman was now swaying easily,
barely able to shield any part of his body from his opponent's blows.

With grim determination, Shampoo continued her attack. A critical mistake
was made on the Northman's part as she saw one arm fall limp from one of her
punches and the other arm cock back. He had left his head wide open. She
brought her own arm back for a punch that would land far earlier than the
Northman's ponderous blow.

And then he moved his head forward and into the blow, changing the point of
impact for the Amazon. Knuckle met a skull thinker than any normal human's
prematurely. The maximum force was not behind the blow due to the shift, but
there was enough for Shampoo to feel a spear of pain shoot from where her
hand met forehead.

Quick to take advantage of the gambit, despite the new waves of pain coming
from his skull, the Northman lashed out with his good arm. Shampoo reacted
in time to only take a glancing blow to the face, though there was enough
force behind it to knock her to the ground.

A quick shake of the head momentarily removed the cobwebs from the
Northman's skull. He had to finish her off fast. He leaped up into the air
and aimed both of his feet right at Shampoo's head, one of the few basic
attacks he still had the strength to execute after the tremendous beating he
had suffered.

Only she wasn't there when he landed, seeming to disappear at the last
instant as she rolled out of the way. Just as his feet hit, he felt a blow
land directly upon his right ankle, which was solidly braced with the
ground. The strike was enough to break the joint, the first such wound he
had ever received in his life. Unprepared for the pain, he fell to the
ground on his back, holding his ankle as the pain overrode his ability to
think. But pain was a part of his life. It only took him a moment to force
the sensations from his mind and reorganize his thoughts. Even with a broken
ankle, there was still an outside chance he could win, somehow. He turned
his head to see where his opponent was-

-just in time to see Shampoo at the end of her ten meter run, launching her
foot forward and directly into his face. His head snapped back from the
blow, and for only the second time in his life unconsciousness followed.

Shampoo ran back and prepared to deliver another blow if it should prove
necessary. That kick would have killed almost any other man, but the
renegade member of the Musk could barely be considered one. She watched his
chest rise and fall, even if his eyes were closed. He was tricky, and it
might have been another subterfuge to lower her guard.

But after thirty seconds of her opponent lying motionless, the announcer
declared Shampoo the winner, much to the crowd's roar of approval. It was
perhaps the loudest cheer she had heard directed towards her her entire
life, and it was the least concerned applause she had ever heard. Her ribs
and spine hurt more than ever. The last blow the Northman had landed on her
face was starting to swell up, and Shampoo was certain she would lose the
vision in her eye soon. Then she would have to wait for the swelling to go
down before she could see clearly again. Her shoulder still ached from his
first blow, and she was exhausted. Never had she fought so long and hard.
Much to her surprise, the hard-earned victory didn't give her the
satisfaction she would have thought it should.

Not bothering to play to the crowd in the slightest, Shampoo dragged herself
off the field towards the area where Jaddo waited. As the gate opened,
several burly men, escorted by what she assumed were doctors, rushed out
onto the field, presumably to remove the Northman. The last member of the
retinue walked slowly and deliberately. He was an odd man in a black uniform
and with the sharpest, most narrow eyes Shampoo had ever seen. But he was
pushed out of her mind as her own eyes fell upon Jaddo, who placed a hand
around her waist to help guide her to the nearest infirmary.

"I always said I wanted to test my abilities," Shampoo said, wincing as she
felt her ribs twinge again.

She watched Jaddo turn his head from looking out on the small arena's floor
and back to her. "I'd say that was a fair pop quiz. Satisfied?"

"Only if I get to quit now," Shampoo said, only half-jokingly.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shampoo groaned as Jaddo wrapped another length of gauze around her ribs.
The train ride back tomorrow was going to be like a journey through hell.
Every bump was going to make her whimper in pain. She just knew it.

"Painkillers should be setting in any minute now," Jaddo informed her.
"Normally, I don't care for any of my fighters using them, pain helps us
remember there's room for improvement, but when it gets this bad, and the
injuries aren't the result of your own stupidity..." Jaddo trailed off and
shrugged.

"They're working," Shampoo assured him. She just wished they worked a little
better was all. Still, the pain was currently dulled. She just hoped she
started to heal before they wore off.

Her eyes searched their room. It was quiet, which was just what young the
Amazon needed. After a preliminary examination in the infirmary, where the
army physicians carefully examined Shampoo's injuries under a machine she
had never seen before, they determined her only 'serious' injury was a
broken rib, though there were a host of other smaller ones, like a sprained
wrist and shoulder, sore back, and half her face swollen to nearly an extra
third of its normal size. They had given her a shot of painkillers and
wrapped them up for her. Jaddo had criticized their job and had rewound the
majority of her injuries the instant they returned to their shared room. It
was the first time he had ever handled her so gently, at least since that
horrible night where she had nearly been raped. It was nice to see him show
something like open affection towards her. She knew he liked her, just that
getting him to admit it was like pulling teeth from a hungry tiger.

There were other questions preying on her mind. "Will it be like that from
now on? In Hong Kong, I mean?" She found she feared the answer.

Jaddo cut the gauze and taped the end up, securing her ribs as best as he
could. "They're all a lot better, yah, but not as tough as that guy, at
least not normally. I don't think I've ever seen anyone take that kind of a
beating and keep going. Not even Sagat, and he was one durable skinheaded
piece of rock, let me tell you. Luckily, your guy wasn't that skilled. All
power and little technique. Still, it was a close one. I thought he had you
in the bearhug."

Shampoo nodded soberly. "He was going to kill me. I was frightened."

"So was I," Jaddo admitted. He then saw the look of surprise on Shampoo's
face. "Look, one of the roughest things when you're a trainer is watching
your fighters get messed up, sometimes killed. There ain't a thing you can
do about it. All you can do is watch them bleed to death in the dirt. Not as
hard as dying outright, but when it happens, a little piece of you dies with
them. Happens to any real trainer."

"Did any of your students die?"

Jaddo nodded. "Yah, but only one. I've been lucky in that respect. Several
been crippled, but only one actual death."

"I won't be your second," Shampoo promised.

"See to it you're not," Jaddo said somberly, but Shampoo could detect an
underlying mirth in his eyes.

"What are the fighters like in Hong Kong?" Shampoo asked again.

Jaddo considered that. "Lot tougher. All the meat's gone by then. Only those
that have some talent get there. Of course there's talent and then there's
talent. First, you'll get lumped into age categories. You'll be in the under
twenty-four bracket. That's the one most people watch, nearly two-to-one
over the twenty-five to thirty-five bracket. There used to be an over
thirty-five, but it proved unpopular except among the real masters of the
art, so they got rid of the category and added more under twenty-four
matches. Ratings and attendance went through the roof."

"You'll be in one place for a change, so you'll get a chance to make
friends, though why anyone would want to buddy up to a moody girl like you I
can't imagine. Probably only make friends among the fighters. Maybe some
Arena personnel too, but mostly fighters. It won't take you long to figure
out what clique to belong to. There's always cliques in the bigger arenas,
here or Japan."

"Friends would be nice," Shampoo agreed. Jaddo was likable now, but he still
wasn't the sort of person she could confide in like a friend. He was too
old, for one thing. There were events in a girl's life that could only be
confided in with other girls close to their age.

Jaddo nodded, remembering some of the friendships he had developed in the
arena, some even lasting to this day. "There's three basic categories of
fighters. You got saps, that's short for saplings. They're all lower-end for
Hong Kong. Mind you, they're still better than ninety-five percent of the
fighters you've faced, and that's a conservative estimate."

"Why call them that?"

"It's a way of saying they might as well make roots in Hong Kong, since they
don't stand a chance of making it to the Imperial Arena in Japan. Two other
categories are impact players. Those are the ones that the odds favor of
moving on. They're all nasty. You got to watch out for them. Some of them
will have a trick or two. Always take them real serious. Once you face a few
of them, then you'll get a real feel for how good you are."

"And the last one? Are they the 'Hot Commodities' Han mentioned?"

Jaddo looked annoyed. "In my day they used to be called 'Dawgs', short for
Top Dogs. Yeah, those are the sure shots to make it to the big Arena and
probably have a good measure of success there. Sometimes hot commodities
can't make the transition, but it's real rare. If others start regarding you
as one, don't let it swell your head anymore than it already is."

"Not after tonight, I won't." And Shampoo meant it. The near death
experience had changed her, especially concerning fighting. Never again
would she take things as easily as she had before. It was all serious now,
and each fighter a potential killer. No matter how easy they seemed, she
would always be on her guard.

Jaddo finished putting away the bandages. "Still like to know where that guy
came from. He's some of the worst news on the circuit I've seen in years.
Odds are next fight he wins he'll be going to Hong Kong too, and you two
might have to fight again. I want you a whole lot better next time around.
You damn near gave me a heart attack once he wrapped those big hairy paws
around you."

"He was that powerful because he's not a normal human. He's descended from
animals. At least partially."

That made Jaddo chuckle. "Yah, I wouldn't be surprised if a few of his
ancestors found some of the barnyard animals irresistible. He probably has
too, given how big and ugly he is. Probably got an affinity for pigs, would
be my guess."

Shampoo shook her head. "No. I don't mean it as an insult. I mean it
literally. He's descended from a tribe that was known as the Musk. Long ago
through magic they transformed animals into women and slept with them. Their
descendants took on the characteristics of the animals over the ensuing
generations. In his case, I think he's from the Tusk clan, who have the
blood of elephants in them. They were one of the most powerful, if what my
great-grandmother said was true."

Jaddo looked at her skeptically. "I've never heard of them. You think if
there was a whole race of people like that, word might have gotten around."

"They were always secretive. Only people in the area were aware of their
existence, and even then not that many. They were something of a rival of
our village in the early days, though we hadn't had any trouble with them
for a number of generations. Still, old hatreds die hard. There was no love
lost between us, despite the limited contact. And after the Empire came, it
didn't matter."

"Why?"

"When the Empire came with its armies and demanded obedience, the Musk were
the first to resist. They fought well, inflicting a great deal of damage to
the troops despite the Empire's superior technology and numbers, but, in the
end, they were destroyed. Every one of them slaughtered in a week as a
message of what it meant to resist the Empire," Shampoo shuddered a little
at the retelling of the tale. Everyone in the tribe knew it by heart. It was
used as an example whenever someone got the foolish idea in their head of
starting a rebellion. The ideas were always quickly squelched afterwards.

Shampoo continued, "Still, in a way the Joketsuzoku have much to thank from
the Musk. They had so depleted the local army's resources that had that army
needed to get involved in another fight, they would have had to summon
reinforcements. The general in charge would have been embarrassed to admit
that he was unable to pacify the area with the forces he was given. So when
the elders approached him with terms of surrender, he was eager to accept. T
he terms were most favorable for us, much better than many other conquered
regions." Though it still wounded Shampoo's pride to admit they were forced
to give up without a fight.

"Obviously one of them survived," Jaddo said.

"Yes," Shampoo agreed. "But I wonder why he's fighting. It seems awful
risky. You think someone like him would try to avoid any attention. And why
try so hard to become a citizen? If they ever found out who he really was,
they'd still detain him for questioning, and I doubt they'd let him go after
they killed his entire people. I can't even believe with his people
slaughtered he's forgiven the Empire. I could feel the hatred radiating from
him for the Joketsuzoku, and we weren't responsible in any way. He was
desperate to win. It doesn't make any sense."

"No, it doesn't," Jaddo agreed. "Look, it's getting late. You get some
sleep. I'm going out to have a little fun."

Shampoo gave him a curious look. "I thought you said you were going to stay
in since Hellmount is such a wretched place."

"I'm going to go woman on you and say I changed my mind."

The insult made Shampoo bristle slightly as Jaddo went with a darker outfit
than his usual going out on the town clothes. Probably it was to match the
mood of the town. There was no point in further conversation about it.
Shampoo was tired, and the painkillers were making her groggy. She bid him
good night and lay down for a peaceful night's rest.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The sound of a door bursting open startled Shampoo from her sleep. She sat
up quickly, and promptly let out a gasp of pain as her ribs reminded her of
their current condition. The pain did serve to chase the lingering hold of
sleep from her eyes as she sat up and saw that it was Jaddo who had barged
in so loudly. "What's going on?" she asked as she rose from the bed.

Jaddo closed the door behind him far more softly than he had opened it.
"Take your clothes off!" he hissed.

That caused Shampoo to blink at him in astonishment. That statement could
not have been what she had thought it was. Perhaps she was still dreaming.

"Hurry!" Jaddo hissed again as he began to take off his own clothes quickly.

Shampoo blinked again. No. She was in too much discomfort for it to be a
dream. She had to be awake, which meant her mentor was making an impossible
demand of her. How dare he do this! She was not his little whore to have sex
with him on demand. He paid others to do that and openly bragged about it.
Just because he couldn't find a woman to have sex with in town did not give
him the right to demand such from her. And why was he looking at the door
and acting so nervous?

"I said strip now, girl!"

The intense look in his eyes startled Shampoo, and she found herself
automatically obeying his commands just as she did in training. Quickly, she
pulled off her nightgown and panties, allowing herself to stand naked, save
for her bandages, before a man for the first time since reaching womanhood.
Jaddo was in the process of removing his own underwear even as Shampoo
covered her most private of parts with her hands, trying to hide her body
from his view. Why was she being obedient to him? It was true that she had
developed a healthy respect for Jaddo over the ensuing months they were
together. Reluctantly, she could admit she even held a certain affection for
him, like one would a favored uncle. But that affection did not extend to
this sort of behavior, at least she did not think it did.

"Get in my bed, quick!"

That removed any doubts from her mind, no matter how odd he was behaving.
What she should have done was kick him in the groin and run out of the room,
screaming about how he was trying to force himself upon her. But those were
just thoughts. She made no attempt to make her body follow through on the
mental threats. What was happening to her?

Seeing her hesitate, Jaddo grabbed her by the arm and all but threw her in
bed. She went limp with his pull rather than trying to resist, which was
again a peculiar reaction for her. She should have been screaming at the top
of her lungs and fighting desperately to get out of his grasp. Could it be
she did want him, in spite of what she thought her heart and mind were
telling her? Could she have been so desperate for the touch of a man that
she would settle for someone she had only respect for? Was she secretly
turned on by his brutish, coarse manners? Things were happening too fast for
her to tell.

A soft gasp escaped her lips as she hit the bed. Jaddo quickly followed,
placing his body directly on top of hers. Shampoo trembled in misery beneath
him, feeling his nude form touch her in ways that no other man had ever
done. This was not the way she had pictured her first time with another
going. It was supposed to be with someone she loved, someone she wanted to
be with, telling her how much he loved her and she saying the same to him.
It was supposed to be a beautiful experience that she would cherish for a
lifetime, not some act just to satisfy her partner's lustful desires. It
wasn't fair.

But curiously Jaddo made no further moves towards her. Instead, he remained
motionless, watching the door with his steely gaze. When it became obvious
that he was not going to touch her further, or even say another word, she
became even more confused. What was the point of all but forcing himself
upon her (and somehow getting her to acquiesce) and then stop at the moment
of truth? Not that she wanted him to keep going, but it just added to her
already confused and agitated state.

A bit of anger started to overcome the feeling of confusion. Shampoo decided
that she had enough and was going to ask him a question; she deserved to
know exactly what his intentions were if he was really going to try to go
through with this. It was just as she opened her mouth that he shifted his
gaze away from the door and directly into her eyes. Again there was a panic
in there that was not dissimilar to hers. Perhaps he did not want her after
all, but if that was the case, what was he doing demanding she strip for
him? It made no sense.

Then Jaddo's head whipped back to her, and she found her voice abandoning
her as well. A moment later, the door to the room burst open even more
loudly than Jaddo had done. Shampoo turned to see a man in a soldier's
uniform, gun at the ready, pointing it in the room. He took one step in and
shouted, "All right! Come out of WHOA!" He stopped entering and pointed his
gun to the ceiling.

"Do you mind?!" Jaddo shouted, getting off Shampoo and rising to his feet,
throwing the covers over her so that her body was hidden from the soldier's
view. She noted that her mentor did nothing to cover himself up, almost
showing off his body before their unexpected company.

"Is the intruder in there?" Another voice shouted from out of sight in the
hall.

There was a silly grin on the soldier's face as he looked back and forth
between Jaddo and Shampoo. "I think I can safely say he is not in this
room."

The other voice said, "How can you tell? You haven't even searched it." It
was at that point the speaker, another soldier, came into view. His rifle at
was pointed into the room too until he saw what was inside. He tipped his
green helmet in their direction. "Oops! Sorry about that. We were looking
for an intruder."

"The only intruder in this room was this guy here," Jaddo pointed at his
groin. "And he was going to intrude in that little thing there." He pointed
back towards Shampoo, who clutched the sheets high to her face in
embarrassment.

The men made it a point to not look at Jaddo's groin. The second soldier
said, "Yes, yes, I can see that. We just thought we saw an intruder run into
this room here. Didn't mean to interrupt you. You carry on with what you
were doing." He bowed again, this time directing it to Shampoo. "Nice fight
you had tonight, ma'am. I'll know to bet on you next time."

Having no idea of what to do, Shampoo meekly nodded her head and held the
covers more tightly against her body, wishing they would just go away.

A moment later, her wish was granted as the sounds of gunfire echoed in the
distance, somewhere outside the building. Both soldiers looked in the
general direction the noise had come from. The tension was broken as the
crackle of the radios on their belts gained everyone's attention.

"Intruder in grid 4, section 5. All secondary guard personnel from grids 1
through 5, converge on the area. All primaries remain at your posts. This is
not a drill."

The two soldiers looked at each other in confusion. The first spoke, "That's
halfway across the base."

"Told you you were seeing things. Making me run in the blasted building and
wasting my time."

"I saw someone," the first insisted.

"Fine. We'll write it in our report. We have to hurry. If we're lucky, the
intruder will run in the opposite direction and we won't see him. Or the
others get him, and it'll all be over by the time we get there." The second
guard headed off at top speed to the nearest exit.

"Hey! I want to nail him!" The first shouted. He too started to run off, but
then returned a second later, his body still pointed in the direction of the
hall. He looked directly at Jaddo and said, "I just wanted to say, if she's
half as good in bed as she is in a fight, you're the luckiest man I've ever
met."

A momentary look of disbelief passed Jaddo's features. He then laughed and
said, "Hell, no. She's terrible in bed. She's only sixteen. But I'm having
fun breaking her in with my training methods, if you know what I mean."

The sly wink he gave was returned with snicker by the first soldier. The
laughter was broken up by the second shouting. "Get moving or we'll get
reprimanded again!"

A panicked expression passed the first soldier's features as he ran at top
speed, placing a hand on top of his helmet to keep it from flying off his
head. His shout of, "I'm coming," was met with a, "I thought you wanted to
catch the intruder." Further conversation was lost as the duo sped out of
earshot.

Once satisfied neither man would return, Jaddo closed and locked the door.
Shampoo watched as her mentor's figure slumped so badly she thought he would
drop to the ground. There was a sheen of sweat now covering his body, and an
aura of palpable fear emanating from him. Never had she seen him so scared,
not even remotely close to this.

He turned to her, and seemed just then to realize she was still unclothed.
"You can get dressed now. If they come back I'll just say they broke the
mood."

Shampoo, relieved at being given permission to dress (and trying to remember
a time when she had ever needed permission to dress), made a little circling
motion with her finger to Jaddo. It took him a moment to realize she was
indicating he should turn around. She realized the gesture was probably
silly given that he had been naked and on top of her already, but there was
still a basic need to be modest around him.

Once the young amazon finished putting on her clothing, she finally had the
courage to speak. "What's going on here?"

Seeing she was finished, Jaddo put his own clothing back on. Shampoo turned
away as well, despite him not seeming to care whether she watched him dress.
"I kind of almost screwed up there."

"No kidding," Shampoo retorted. With her clothes back on, embarrassment had
been fully replaced by anger at the entire situation.

Some semblance of his former composure returned to Jaddo as he finished
dressing. "You weren't the only one who figured out something was wrong the
your buddy, the Musk. I saw a Security Directorate asshole make his way to
the field with the medical guys. The Directorate's always bad news. The only
reason he would make his way down to the field is if he was suspicious of
something. So after I made sure you were okay, I went looking around the
base for some info."

Shampoo looked at him in open disbelief. "You went lurking around a military
base?"

"Hey, I still got a few moves you ain't never seen. I can be damn sneaky
when I want to be. Security around here is pitiful since they don't have
anything important, and it's in the middle of nowhere. I managed to overhear
a conversation that they ran a blood test on big and ugly and determined
there was something funny with his blood. I knew it was only a matter of
time before they figured out he belonged to those Musk guys. So I sneaked
into where ugly was resting in the infirmary and tipped him off to what was
going down. He wasn't too grateful either, the animal. Still, he took what I
said seriously. I headed out quick. Unfortunately, one of those two dopes
that came into the room spotted me sneaking in. That's why we had to move
quick to make sure they didn't realize it was me that was sneaking around.
If I got caught, we'd both be in a world of hurt you couldn't imagine."

All but trembling with fury, Shampoo shouted out, "You had me strip for you,
jump me, scare me out of my mind, humiliate me, and nearly got both of us
permanently assigned here as criminals over that... that animal?! Why?! You
don't even like him! You said yourself he's a butcher that goes out of his
way to maim and cripple people! Why would you risk my life and yours for
him?!"

Jaddo gave a soft shake of his head. "If a man is going to be killed, it
should be for what he's done, not what he is. Even a butcher like him. It's
just not right."

Shampoo crossed her arms in anger. "Maybe, but risking your life and mine
for an animal like him is going too far. In case you've forgotten, he was
trying to very hard to go out of his way to either screw me or kill me
earlier tonight. I'm still in a lot of pain, and it's going to take days for
my ribs to heal. So you'll excuse me if I don't find your argument
persuasive!"

Jaddo worked his jaw back and forth, making a popping sound as he looked
down to the ground. "You're right. I screwed up. I shouldn't have put your
life at risk. I'm too used to being alone and only being responsible for my
own hide. I should have remembered my responsibility to you. And I'm sorry I
made you get naked and had those guys thinking we were screwing. Once we get
to Hong Kong, if anyone implies it, I'll deny it. I'm sorry."

Turning partially away from him, Shampoo eyed him, though she still had her
arms crossed in obvious hostility. "Did you just apologize to me?"

"Would you like me to bronze it for you so you can stick it on your mantle
back home?" Jaddo said with the return of some of his swagger.

Shampoo looked back to him, and this time she could not prevent a forgiving
smile from creeping across her face. "The next time you try and have me
strip for you, I will not only see to it you shoot blanks, but I'll also
make sure that your gun barrel is so twisted and broken it'll get rusty
before the next time you feel like using it."

"And destroy one of the Outback's Eight Natural Wonders? You'd leave half
the population of China very unhappy." In spite of his bluster, Jaddo
shifted uncomfortably. Amazons and castration jokes mixed about as well as
water and oil.

The two retired to their beds without another word. The events of the day
and night had left each of them completely drained. Jaddo was just starting
to drift off to sleep when Shampoo asked, "Do you think the Musk escaped?"

Jaddo thought about that. "His ankle was broken and he was in bad shape, but
that guy's a survivor. Besides, we didn't hear any other gunfire other than
those first two shots. It would take more than a couple of bullets to bring
that elephant down. Yah, I think he did. You won't have to worry about him
again. After tonight, he'll never be able to get back on the Arena circuit.
Hell, he won't be able to pop his face up in Imperial Territory. If the
Empire says they slaughtered a people, they want them to stay slaughtered.
They don't take kindly to being contradicted, and will try and rectify the
situation at the first available opportunity. I probably only bought the
thug some time."

Shampoo remained silent. Despite the Amazon's disdain for the Musk and the
beating she had suffered at the Northman's hands, she felt some sympathy for
his plight. Morally, she objected to Jaddo placing her life on the line for
him, or at least not being included in his plans. Still, the night was not a
total loss. It was the first time he had apologized to her, and that did
mean something. He dealt with her more as an equal if he could admit to her
he was not infallible. It also felt good to be right for a change. And his
unexpected act of compassion for one he held nothing but anger and disdain
to spoke even more highly of his character than Shampoo could have imagined.
Perhaps allowing him to see her naked wasn't the horrible, traumatizing
experience she had originally thought it to be, though she still wasn't
attracted to him. Even with all of the time they had spent together, the man
was still an enigma when it came right down to it. He was a puzzle she
wanted to solve before she reached the Arena in Japan.

The young girl tried thinking further on the matter, but sleep beckoned.
Assuming they weren't pulled from their beds in the middle of the night,
things would be fine until they took their train the next morning, leaving
Hellmount behind forever.

After all, Hong Kong finally awaited.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 Special thanks to
 Jurai Knight
 L.B. Drifter
 Wade Tritschler


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Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
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