Evil Geniuses for a Better Tomorrow In association with von Harlas Schweremachinerywerk GmbH (Side 3) (Mobile Suit division) Present ******************* A WOLF IN CRISIS ******************* PART 3 : A DESPERATE TWILIGHT STRUGGLE. ******************* A BUBBLEGUM CRISIS / SHADOWRUN CROSSOVER By Barry Cadwgan (BCADWGAN@FL.NET.AU) Inspired by a story by Darren Steffler (Twister) Bubblegum Crisis and related characters are all (c) Artmic, Inc., & Youmex, Inc Fenris & Angua created by Me :) The 'Real' Angua created by Terry Pratchett, may his pen never get blunt Prime Reference (after the OVAs themselves) The Bubblegum Crisis Role Playing Game by Ral Talasorian Reality Engine used : Shadowrun(FASA)/BGC RPG (Ral Talasorian) (ie, used to define what is and is not possible.. not having any _personal_ experience with automatic weapons, magic or hardsuits.) Note : This FanFic currently rates at 36 drinks and climbing on the BGC Drinking game scale. Warning, do not drink and hard-drive Normal Speech uses conventional quotes Thought uses * * Telepathy/mental communication uses { } Spells uses {* *} _indicates_ emphasis WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE... In the sort of freak accident that is beloved of cliche ridden writers and real life, a Shadowrunner, a type of freelance corporate mercenary, going by the name of Fenris, a Wolf totem Shaman and professional trouble magnet, was transported from 2057 Seattle to 2033 Megatokyo, arriving in a rather flashy and spectacular fashion. With his background in the 'black economy' he managed to disappear quite competently, and settled in, trying to make a new life for himself while he tried to work out what had happened to him and if it could be reversed... or at least he tried to. Magic was difficult in an unawakened world, but it was enough to give him a significant edge... the only problem was going to be keeping things 'impossible' in a normal context. To keep his skills up, as "Benedict Rowan", he joined a fitness club.. Phoebe's.. and caught the roving eye of one of the instructors, Linna Yamazaki. They dated.. Things began to get serious, which worried both of them as they each had secrets to protect. Then, one night, as he was walking her home, a street gang tried to shake them down... It ended with Linna lying critically injured and a bloody massacre of the gang. In a different persona, "Mack" a 'physical penetration specialist' (i.e. burglar), our hero had attracted the attention of Sylia Stingray who had been looking for 'unusual' people who fitted the profile of a rather spectacular recent arrival. She began to gather information. Fenris managed to keep Linna alive, and got her back to her apartment where he healed her. He called one of her friends, Nene Romanova before collapsing from exhaustion. The redhead had, at Linna's request, done some checking on 'Benedict' and had found out it was a manufactured ID. An unexpected guest arrived, his familiar, a wolf-spirit calling herself Angua. With less than perfect timing, her sudden appearance almost precipitated a firefight in Linna's living room. Confronted by Sylia Stingray, who seemed to know entirely too much about him, Priss in a hardsuit, the revelation that Linna was also a Knight Saber, along with her reaction to his being literally from out of this world and, perhaps, not entirely human (certainly not normal)... He ran. Angua, his familiar, decided that she liked the Knight Sabers and thought he should too, trying her best to bring them together.. especially Fenris and Linna. She struck up a friendship with Nene, sharing an interest in chocolate and ice-cream, but she managed to get off to a poor start with Priss.. Sylia, desperate for something to break a stalemate in her favour was _very_ interested in him. Kira Midori and Go Buranto of the N-Police were assigned to capture the notorious burglar called the 'Spectre'... A Genom executive recently promoted sideways out of the tower, Johann Aachen assisted by Mr Baker, began scheming to get back into favour. In his wandering, Fenris met a woman, Genevieve Bujold.. a biochemist and neurologist.. unemployable after an accident that rendered her unable to tolerate conventional computer systems... *** The shadowrunner and the green saber were finally reconciled to one another PART 3 : A DESPERATE TWILIGHT STRUGGLE. OUT OF THE SHADOWS.... ===================== 26 December 2033 The next morning, Sylia was ..interviewing Fenris at the Silky Doll. His outfit was radically different from the colourful outfits Benedict Rowan wore, black biker leathers, the jacket cut to conceal a shoulder holstered handgun. The jacket scanned as having kevlar and ceramic laminate reinforcements, and he was wearing more armour under the leather, along with an impressive variety of other equipment. Sylia looked over the figure seated opposite her. He was very good at controlling his reactions, as good a poker face as hers. She had a whole room full of sensors and processors focused on him, summarised on a screen set into the desk. Fenris was running the Pinnochio spell... "Well, I can see where I would be useful to you. Magic support is a significant force multiplier, especially unopposed. I'm sorry I don't have a resume, and it would be uncheckable if I did. " He leaned back, staring at the ceiling "Lesse now, been shadowrunning around four years. My equipment and skill set is for infiltration and medium combat against moderate opposition. I don't have any spells powerful enough to take on Panzers or those Boomers at range without kitchen sinking and risking exhaustion, and going hand to hand with them is not something I would look forward to at the moment." *Spells.. Magic* Sylia thought *There are more things in heaven and earth... Well, whatever he calls it, Magic, Psionics, it certainly works.* "I can provide recon and intel, direct firepower, limited illusion, healing, conjuring and countermagic. I won't do wetwork and I won't do hostile extractions. Not on commission anyway. If I have to kill, I'll decide if it's necessary. Other jobs, well it depends on the job." Sylia thought for a moment before replying "Candidly I am worried about what you did to the Blue Monkeys, six dead, eight maimed. This is not considered socially acceptable, even with provocation." "I _don't_ go around gratuitously killing people who piss me off. I'm no psychopath and I do like to sleep at night." Sylia said nothing. He continued, a little angry "What would you have had me do? I tried talking, I tried bribery, I tried intimidation. The tactical situation was lousy. Linna was dieing, I was hurt, badly outnumbered on their turf. There was no _time_ to take them down soft. I still had a cover to protect, otherwise I'd have bugged out invisibly with Linna before things got rough. I _will_ kill to save a friend's life or my own, but I don't do it lightly." The leader of the Sabers leaned back , steepling her hands under her chin "If we are to work together we must come to an understanding. On the one hand, your capabilities are unique. There literally is no-one else that I know of in this _world_ able to do what you can do. " She leaned forward again "On the other, I will not allow you to destroy this organisation. The presence of a ... a loose cannon could ruin us. I have to be able to trust my people, and frankly, I don't know you well enough." "I agree. I'm quite pleased to work as an outside consultant on specific projects. I wouldn't suggest I become a _part_ of your... organisation. Yet anyway. Neither of us knows the other well enough. I will happily operate _with_ you on specific operations, and we'll see." "One day at a time?" "One day at a time." Brown eyes met amber... and they smiled. When I first formed the Knight Sabers, I set rules some of which I have allowed to lapse, but ... well read them yourself and decide." she passed him a sheet of paper _________________________________________________________________ 1) Do not divulge any information concerning this organisation. 2) Do not act upon a personal grudge. 3) Do not act without the mutual consent of all the members. 4) Do not secede from this organisation. 5) Members are personally responsible for any damage done to the organisation's equipment unless that damage was unavoidable. 6) Do not divulge any information concerning our clients. 7) Do not gather information on your own. The task of intelligence-gathering is to be distributed evenly among all the members. 8) Do keep in contact with the other members regularly. 9) The members do not know each other outside of this organisation. 10) Do not get involved with a man. 11) The penalty for violating any of the ten regulations listed above is death. _________________________________________________________________ He looked up "Sylia, I think we both want to make this work. I much prefer to work with a team. Running solo is too risky especially on unfamiliar turf. It's your team, your turf and I'll work to your rules of engagement. Thems as pays says. Anyway," He flashed a grin "I know too much for you to let me run loose." Sylia smiled, but said nothing. "Besides, you have a good rep. A class act. Even the _police_ like you!" he smiled "I think I can live with most of these, standard operational security. Four doesn't apply, I assume nine is a dead letter, rule eight taking precedence, ten is not my style, and eleven," the smile vanished "well I would not go _gently_ into that good night. " the smile returned "But before I commit myself, I should consult with my colleague." He whistled a complex air and a small shimmer appeared in the air "Find Angua, ask her to come here when she can, job offer, go now." he said Sylia struggled to maintain her composure. "What, pray tell, was that?" Fenris grinned "A watcher spirit, they're useful as messengers and scouts. Dumb as a housebrick though. Do exactly what you tell them... "She'll be here soon." "Ah.. you two seem to have some sort of mindlink.. why do you need the messenger?" It's not very long ranged.. the further out, only very strong for want of a better word, signals can get through.. it's less effort to summon a watcher.." he grinned "..and it lets me show off." "Ah.. yes. As you have said, some of the regulations I have never enforced. We are closer to a family than a conspiracy now, Linna for example has never followed rule ten, Priss breaks rule three with monotonous regularity.." "Well, if I'm going to be a consultant, I'd better try to give you some background. First I'm a shaman, rather than a mage which is what most people think of when they think of magic. Magery is sorcery of the mind, a finely constructed artifice of the intellect. A Shaman's comes from the heart and soul. The destination is the same, but the path is different. I walk the path of the shaman, and I sing songs of Wolf." *Wolf.. * she thought.. *If he follows the pattern from that game.. then he is a beserker..* "I have a _lot_ of experience working with a team in a magic intensive environment" he smiled thinly "I'll bet the opposition haven't even heard of wards..." Sylia raised a delicate eyebrow in inquiry "Wards?" "Prevents Astral recon... quickest way is to show you.." He leaned back in the chair and went limp. There was a shimmer in the air which coalesced into a figure recognisable as the shaman "Like this I can go virtually anywhere at the speed of " he blinked to the other side of the room "thought" he disappeared "invisibly" his voice was from behind her. He stirred and sat up again "Limitations : I can only do that for a few hours at a stretch, I cannot directly affect the mundane world, I cannot pass through living beings, wards or the living earth and I cannot read anything, only get emotional content, which makes most stuff pretty unintelligible, but I can overhear conversations. I am _very_ vulnerable in that state, almost any trauma to my body will kill me, and if I am prevented from returning to my body I will die. Can't read maps or street signs, so navigation's a bitch." "Other capabilities : various area and point effect offensive spells like fireball and manablast, levitation, invisibility, I was working on a group invisibility effect but hadn't got very far, never got the hang of masking properly, Angua usually handles it, danger sense, illusions, the ever popular healing and detox spells, the Pinnochio spell..." "Pinnochio?" both now eyebrows raised, a little stunned at the descriptions of effects he dropped with blithe unconcern... "Analyse truth, you know, Pinnochio, his nose got longer when he lied... it's a long story. " "I can shield people within my line of sight against magic. Ah yes, basic point. Without a ritual link of some type, say a tissue sample, my magic is pretty pure line of sight. Mirrors are in, closed circuit TV is out." "Angua is a slightly different case, she's a spirit that can manifest. She's extremely fast, very difficult to hurt, can arm wrestle a troll and knows most of the magic I do..." "Taking my name in vain again" Angua appeared like a back to front Cheshire cat, grin first, the rest following. These sudden appearances were disturbing Sylia, she just couldn't get used to it. "Sylia here wants us as consultants. Have a read of this..." "Hmmm... " her brow furrowed. While she was thinking Fenris continued "The quality of your people speaks well of you. There is a lot of loyalty there and you care about what you do. One final question. You are obviously not in this for the money. Why? What is your object" "My father essentially created boomer technology. Genom murdered him to gain control of it and what should have been a boon to mankind is being used as a tool to gain control of humanity. We cannot destroy Genom, and even if I could, I wouldn't now, they are too important to the world economy. But we can curb their worst excesses. It is a balancing act." she smiled "But money is relevant, saving the world doesn't pay the bills, especially Priss's repair bills. I notice you have not asked about money yourself." "First run's a freebie, afterwards, if you think we're worth it, standard share after costs each for field work, quarter for combat support." Sylia smiled and nodded "That seems fair." "I have enough to get by for now" Sylia raised an eyebrow "Do you really want to know?" She nodded "I had approx 2 kg of gold cached in the bike, I've converted some of it into yen, some went on the ID. Why, did you think I'd robbed a bank?" Turning to his familiar "What do you think? *The truth, but not the whole truth* thought Sylia. *Where could he have acquired large amounts of money quickly?* "Well, it's a job _worth_ doing. This place needs a clean up as badly as home, worse in some ways, no bugs though, and the Ice Cream is great over here! I vote yes" "As do I. We are at your disposal, if you'll have us" "Very well, on probation." "Thank you, I think." Fenris smiled as they stood and shook hands, Angua floated across the desk and gave a surprised Sylia a quick hug and disappeared. ++++++ First thing in the morning a crisp and fresh Kira walked up the steps of the ADP HQ... making her way to Chief Todo's office. She quickly explained her needs to the harried police chief who thought a moment before muttering into the intercom.. a minute later there was a knock and a short haired brunette office-worker-in-uniform entered the office. Chief Todo rose, indicating the new arrival "This is Miss Naoko, she will assist you in your enquiries... Naoko-san, this is Officer Midori, NPD. You will extend her every courtesy." Naoko bowed formally to Kirra "Good morning Midori-san. I hope we can help you." As soon as they left the office Naoko began a virtually non-stop commentary on.. well, life, the universe and everything... At one stage they were almost run over by a stack of files on legs rushing past.. Kira caught a vivid impression of red hair and panic... Naoko rolled her eyes up. "That's Nene.. she got behind again... funny girl, always window shopping. I keep trying, but she _still_ doesn't have a boyfriend!" They spent the rest of the morning and afternoon going through the ADP records looking for something on the mysterious Spectre.. As they walked down the front steps after a hard day of haystack searching Naoko turned to the other policewoman "Look, we're all going out tonight.. do you want to come along?" Kira took a half step back "I.. ah... " Naoko grasped Kira's hand in both hers looking pleadingly at her "Oh say yes.. It'll be fun!" Kira wavered "Well.. I could.." "We'll be meeting at eight at Wendy's in the arcade two blocks south of here. _Everyone_ will be there! It'll be _so_ much fun!" Naoko gushed *What have I gotten myself into?* wondered Kira distractedly. ++++++ After lunch, Sylia had demanded a demonstration of 'magic' in a controlled environment... Fenris complied, growing more and more exhausted as an increasingly frustrated Sylia got out more and more instrumentation trying to work out where the energy was coming from, mass going to and generally freaking out in a very restrained manner... Sweat running down his face, he finally called a halt. "Look I'm exhausted.. and if you attach another set of electrodes I'll start thinking I'm a decker! No! No more!" There was a moment... he caught a whiff of her scent, a heady mixture of fear and exhilaration. "I scare you, don't I." He stated quietly Sylia looked him in the eye "Your very _existence_ frightens me. You undermine the foundations of my world-view! The implications.. multiple universes, _Infinite_ universes, magic... it takes a lot of getting used to." "You're telling me, and I'm already familiar with the metaplanes." "But it is also the opportunity of a lifetime! Something new under the sun! Mr Rowan.. something _new_." Sylia projected a frightening intensity Fenris groaned.. +++++ A short lift trip and they retired to Sylia's penthouse.. Fenris draping himself over a lounge, Sylia more decorously seated across from him. Fenris, eyes closed, was speaking to the ceiling "Main thing is I don't know your Action On's .. Action On Front, Action on Left... All else being equal, a Team will beat an equal number of individuals every single time." "That has always been our advantage." Replied Sylia, sipping her tea "Well, throwing Angua and I into the mix without preparation is a Class One Murphy waiting to happen. It'll take time to integrate." Sylia smiled ruefully "That is true. It is good to be working with a professional. Now. What _else_ can you do?" "A few other tricks. Conjuring. Calling up spirits of nature." "Nature here? In the city?" asked Sylia, a little surprised. "Everything has a soul.. the land has a soul, and every tree and mountain, every lake and flower, and every bird, fish and beast that is in it. This is the substance from which all our pleasures and sorrows are built.. Love, hate and sorcery all spring from the soul." "All is nature, whether it is mountains and forests, or towers of concrete and steel. Jungles can be made of concrete and ceramics. There is no difference in essentials. Anywhere you find life you will find Soul. Mages conjure and bind elementals to serve them, shamans make bargains with the spirits of the land, water, skies.. and of man. Kami of place you might call them. Here, I'll show you." He sat up lithely and began to gesture and sing softly, then speak in a musical language she didn't recognise. He smiled and said "OK then, manifest yourself and meet the boss" turning to Sylia "Meet the spirit of the Silky Doll." "Oh dear" Sylia said softly, a hand covering her smile Fenris looked back at the spirit. After a moment he spoke "Well, it _is_ the spirit of a lingerie shop" Most hearth spirits, spirits of an inhabited building, were small gnome like creatures with beards and antique clothes. This one had chosen to appear as a two foot high female tastefully underclad in an ensemble appearing in the shop window downstairs. She also bore a strong resemblance to Sylia "You have really stamped your personality on the place. Silkie, obey Sylia here as you would me. Sylia, just treat her like a person. I.. I think I'll go and have a lie down, it's one of those days..." Fenris said walking to the door As he left he thought to himself *Well, one thing I'd better do is get my working gear down to Doc Ravens, should be safer...* +++++ Later, as Sylia entered her thoughts and observations in her log, she wondered at the strangeness of the universe.. no _Multiverse_ it all checked out against the source material.. She thumbed through the old book she had obtained recently.. 'Shadowrun, second edition' HUMAN IS AS HUMAN DOES. ======================== 26 December 2033 Later that night ... Fenris was in a screened off bay in Raven's garage. All three of Fenris's bike's panniers were unpacked and spread over a pair of long tables and the bike itself was in the corner. Fenris was finishing reassembling a heavy pistol after cleaning it, and Angua-wolf was curled up by the door. He was busy. Now that he had enough space and privacy to do so, he was triageing his gear into 'Useful things'.. Guns, med kit, and 'Not Useful Things' such as his Maglock passkey.. not much use without maglocks.. another fake ID.. a cache of corp scrip.. He heard footsteps steps approaching, boots and shoes, familiar scents. He looked up to see Nene and Priss "Ah Little friend of all the world, and Red Eyes, to what do I owe the honour?" "That's a serious collection of iron you've got there, what's this..." Priss looked over the collection of hardwear "Eeek! get off me..." they turned to see Nene pinned up against the wall with Angua enthusiastically licking her face and both cracked up. Noticing Priss was incapacitated, Angua took the opportunity to switch targets, trapping the singer against the table. Fenris was still cackling when Priss managed to escape. The two women looked at each other, looked at Fenris and looked at the fire hose in it's box on the wall... Soaked and still chuckling Fenris watched a disgruntled Nene berating Angua, who was totally ignoring her, a literally wolfish grin on her face as she watched her creator drip, wagging her tail. "What did I tell you. No respect" "Could go black blind around you Ben" Priss commented looking at his outfit. It was black on black on black... biking leathers, the jacket, currently on the table concealing a shoulder holster that he slipped the pistol into. She picked it up and was surprised at the weight of it. "Benedict goes out in day, you can see the colours in daylight. At night you can only see black and shades of grey." "Deep and meaningful, Ben, Deep and meaningful" "It's also kinda cool, the dark clad avenger of the night shtick.. The Johnson's expect melodrama. It's good PR. My working clothes are a little less dramatic." He motioned towards the black and grey armourcloth BDUs, helmet and armoured jacket laid out on the table. "What's a Johnson?" "The client, the person with the credstick. Mr Johnson. It's a generic term." Nene mentioned a new all night Dessert palace that she had been _planning_ to invade with Angua and Angua had suddenly become very apologetic. They had left giggling at Fenris, who was towelling himself off. "Will they be allright..." asked Priss "Nene is probably safer with Angua than inside AD Police HQ. Angua _likes_ Nene. She's has only been learning how to interact with humans for two years and she's basically a wolf. Nene's part of her pack now. Anyone wants to hurt Red, they'll have to go _through_ Angua. Heck, I like Nene too, she's a nice kid, just hope some rubs off on Angua. Ice Cream though, I think she's created a monster..." he chuckled "Why did you call her Angua, it's an unusual name?" "She picked it herself, some series of books written last century, guy named.. Pratchett I think, one of the characters was a female werewolf." he shrugged "She wouldn't answer to anything else after reading it... " He went back to preventative maintenance while Priss cast a professional eye over his bike. The silence was finally broken by Fenris "Say, do you know any good bars?" "Yeah" drawled Priss "How long to get that" she indicated his bike "on the road. I want to see how good you really are." She grinned and he grinned back. They put the empty panniers back on the bike, and Fenris snapped his fingers and grabbed a box from the collection of gear. He passed three small patches and one larger one to Priss. "Secure comm link, these bits behind the ears, they'll stick, work by bone conduction, this bit's a throat mike, this bit the transmitter/receiver. Put it anywhere so long as it's in skin contact. Uses body capacitance to work. It'll filter out background noise and amp or damp to a comfortable level, apparent noise from direction of transmission, frequency agile with a moderate level of encryption, a transponder and life signs monitor. Only a short range though, a few hundred metres in a city without a booster." "Impressive toy" "Tool of the trade. Don't lose it please, they cost me almost 30 grand each, dollar equivalent. And I don't think I _can_ replace them here.. not as part of the set anyway.." *3 million yen?* Priss looked at the comm link with more respect ++++++ Nene and Angua got off scooter and bike respectively and walked the last little way to where they were meeting Nene's friends. Angua glanced back over her shoulder at the scooter dwarfed by Angua's machine "You know, you really should get something with a little more authority. That little putt putt.." "Hey, I'm not a muscle girl adreneline junkie like Priss.. It's as big as _I_ need to get around..." As they came around the corner and saw the group waiting for them Angua grabbed Nene's arm and whispered fiercely "They're all COPS! What are you Doing!" "Angua-chan, I'm a cop.. " "That's different.. you're.. well, you're a runner too.." "They're my _friends_. Look, just act natural." The wolf spirit frowned "What. Sniff them and roll on my back 'n stuff?" "Oh Angua-chan.. come on! They won't bite!" "I'm not promising _I_ won't.." Angua muttered as Nene dragged her towards the others who, Naoko in the lead, were coming to meet them. Kira Midori was intrigued. While they waited, Naoko had been telling them all about Nene's friend Angua, who she'd met a few weeks ago.. She certainly stood out, wearing black biker leathers with yellow accents rather than the girls night out look of the others. A Bad Girl, and there was something.. odd.. about her. ++++++ Two bikes rolled out of Raven's garage. Priss's bike had better initial acceleration and agility, Fenris's had better top speed and his reactions were faster, especially with the datajack in his wrist linked to the bike's control systems and sensors. Skill was about even. It turned into a follow the leader contest, Priss trying to shake the big black bike off, Fenris trying to keep the red one in sight. He could have used the transponder to track her but that would have spoilt the game.. On the long stretch of the highway, he was right on her tailpipe all the way.. where there were a lot of stop lights, she came close to losing him several times.. Priss finally pulled over and parked, tail in, at the end of a row of bikes, Fenris pulling in beside her a few moments later. As they walked toward the bar Priss asked what he wanted to be called. "Mack" he grinned. "Doesn't it get confusing? all these names" "Well, knowing your life depends on it focuses your mind wonderfully" "Yeah, I guess it would..." They went up to the bar each got a beer and found somewhere to talk. "...Boomers don't scare me. Vampires and Dragons and Banshee LuftPanzers _scare_ me, but androids, naa, they don't scare me." *Vampires... Sylvie.... Damn, it still hurts! Dragons?.. makes me shiver.. dunno why* she thought "You obviously haven't looked down the muzzle of a BU-12's 46mm." laughed Priss Fenris thought for a moment "OK then, maybe Boomers _do_ scare me..." "What's a 'Banshee Luftpanzer' anyway?" "Imagine a cross between a Harrier jump jet and a light tank. Very dangerous bit of kit. Also heard of Banshees, elves infected by HMHVV, the same retrovirus that turns humans into vampires and orcs into Wendigo. Never seen one though." "C'm on, you're pulling my leg... vampires and elves and orcs..." "Every word is true, I swear." "Just don't tell Nene, she'd go spare.... _Elves_..." she chuckled "They're just like the rest of humanity, saints and sinners, a little more prone to hubris than most. I'd love to introduce Nene to Jasmine... she loves that ice cream..." he slumped "I'll never know... she'd gotten married, going to have a baby. Life's a bitch." *You can't even grieve. They're not dead, you'll just never see them again... the ultimate exile... poor bastard. Need a distraction* "You say your totem is wolf, and everyone has one... what about me?" He sculled his beer, and viewed Priss through half closed eyes... after a while he spoke... "I'd pick you as Phoenix... bright and proud, a great artist singing a song of magnificence." He leaned back and continued... not seeing her blush. "Red ... Raccoon, a clever thief with many tricks and no malice in her heart. Herself... I don't know, she is difficult to read.... either Eagle, noble, proud and solitary, or Owl, silent font of wisdom, watching from the shadows. Linna... " He smiled "Wise and gentle Otter, the happy and playful protector." "And Mackie... is there a Totem of the Hentai?" Fenris laughed so hard he fell off his chair... People came up to greet Priss and check out the newcomer Priss had brought along. More beer was drunk... +++++ Angua had finally relaxed.. a bit... they'd gone to a few clubs.. the music was dull, the drinks soft, the crowd insipid and the company worrying.. and she was bored... She grimaced, stood and marched over to the DJ. "You got any 'Priss and the Replicants'?" she growled... +++++ The group was watching Angua dance up a storm, having bullied the DJ into quivering submission after he wouldn't (couldn't actually) put on anything by Priss... She moved like quicksilver, almost floating on air. "She must be incredibly fit!" Naoko shouted into Nene's ear over the beat. "Yeah, well, her brother's going out with an aerobics instructor.. and dancer... and he's a pretty good martial artist.." The wolf spirit had gathered a circle of fans, watching her moves with incredulity and, in the case of the girls, green eyed envy... Naoko began telling the others of her day. "...and Kira here's hunting the Spectre! It's _so_ cool!" Kira could not disguise her chagrin.. "Keep it down.." she shouted "It's an ongoing investigation.. " The meme spread like wildfire.. "Yeah! He must be like totally handsome!" "How Cool!" "You're _so_ lucky! You'll get to _meet_ him!" *These girls are supposed to be _police_ officers?* Kira thought behind a sickly smile.. "Listen ladies, He's a Criminal! You know, one of the Bad guys! When we catch him, he'll be lucky to get striped sunlight on alternate Tuesdays!" The track finished and Angua strutted back to the table, ignoring a small comet tail of admirers of both sexes. "That was a BLAST!" she exclaimed, flopping into the seat between Nene and Naoko, completely ignoring the crowd of fanboys asking for her name, address, phone number, measurements... Her smile became a little forced.. and as they reached a crescendo and started in on the others.. including Nene.. "Bug off!.." Angua turned in her seat, snarling "I said Slot and Run you Drek for Brains!" Kira was starting to get worried, she was getting strange vibes from the biker.. Kira couldn't read her as such, which was odd enough, but she was radiating menace, a palpable aura of violence.. she started pushing her chair back. Angua pushed her own back suddenly, sending a few standing behind her sprawling.. Bouncers began to move... Angua grabbed the two worst offenders in apparently painful holds, their faces paled as they tried to break away. She began to whisper to them, her voice rising gradually.. "...involving your soft, dangly bits, a cheese-grater, a bowl of honey, and a colony of mutant flesh-eating Brasilian termites." The boys paled even further.. managing to struggle free and began backing away, looks of horror on their faces. "Oh NO! I forgot the Garlic crusher! HEY COME BACK!" "You wouldn't _really_ do something like that.. would you?" Nene asked her friend who was smiling as she watched the crowd scatter.. she was ninety percent sure Angua was joking.. "Naaaaa.." Nene relaxed.. Angua grinned like a mad thing "You have any idea how hard it is to get mutant flesh-eating Brasilian termites?????" +++++ Eventually Priss peered at her watch "We'd better walk back to my plash, you can crash on the coush" said Priss as they wobbled out the door. "Naa, we'll be right" "If you think I'm riding home tonight, you're a crashy man" "Trusht me" He concentrated for a moment and shook his head "Woooh, now hold still..." he put a hand on her shoulder and concentrated again. Priss felt herself sobering up. It was a weird sensation. "You must be popular at parties" He wiggled his eyebrows in response "No hangover either..." Priss grinned "Now that's _magic_!..." her face fell "Oh no..." Fenris turned slowly and saw a police car had pulled up. Two men in plain clothes got out and walked over. "Leon..." Priss muttered "Hi Priss " the taller dark haired officer smiled She shook her head "Leon, If you want a date, the answer's no." "Relax" he held up his hands placatingly "Just passing. " Leon's partner motioned him over "That guy Priss is with is familiar, he's a player." Fenris lipread Daley whispering.. "Priss, stay frosty.. it's under control." He murmured "Excuse me sir, AD Police, could I see some ID?" Leon spoke to Fenris, while Daley moved to flank him "Certainly officer" Fenris moved his off hand slowly inside his jacket towards his ID. Daley's hand disappeared inside his jacket. When Fenris carefully withdrew the ID folder Leon and Daley relaxed slightly. Leon scanned the ID "Leon, are you rousting my friends now?" asked Priss dangerously "Null perspiration Priss, He's just doing his job. Is there anything else officer?" Fenris interrupted Leon wordlessly handed him back his ID. Fenris got onto his bike, said goodnight to Priss, nodded to Leon and rode off. Leon watched him ride off, something nagged at him about this Mack... Odd slang, too cool a customer. Something didn't fit, and there was something familiar... "I don't _believe_ you Leon" Priss shouted, disrupting his train of thought "Aarggg.." she stomped over to her bike and roared off. As Priss rode off she heard Fenris "Take the first right, then the second left" The voice was slightly flat, to distinguish it from someone talking next to the listener. Following the directions, she pulled up beside him. "I see what you mean about these comm-links, clear as a bell." Fenris looked seriously at the singer "Priss, how bright is this McNichol?" "He's no rocket scientist but he's smart, and he's stubborn. I've lost track of the number of knock backs I've given him." Fenris took a long look at his bike then sighed "It's too distinctive.. he might associate it with.. too risky.. Taking the bike out was a mistake. I didn't think it through. It's tied to the Mack ID, and if it's linked to you or Linna, and by extension the rest of you, it'll bring down everything. If one of you is compromised, the rest could easily be rolled up." Priss stared at him for a moment "..I suppose I'd better strip it down and scrap it. Damn!" The singer relaxed a sudden tension "I was afraid for a moment you were going to kill him, and while he's a pain,..." Fenris interrupted "You _Never_ kill a cop unless it's immediate life or death. They never forgive, and they never forget and they're after you for the rest of your life. I can do without that kind of excitement!" "You're a real cold bastard Mack." "Yes, but I'm an _alive_ cold bastard." He thought for a moment "I operate too differently to you, different paradigm. Mack and Ben are expendable cover IDs for me, masks if you will, you lot have family and friends. I've got to rethink things..." "Well, before you do, how fast does this monster of yours go?" "What, a swap?" "Yeah, sure... Keep these on you." he passed the temporary registration papers for the duplicate bike to her and connected a small cable from his wrist to the bike, concentrated for a moment, "OK say your name and put your thumb here." "What for, more magic?" "No. Tech. If you don't, the bike won't start for you." After she had done so, he concentrated again, disconnected the cable "OK you're able to access all the street-legal functions, just remember to use the print scanner or voiceprint to get it to start." "What was that cable for..." "Just a datajack, needed to give it the security codes for a new..." "What's a Datajack!" Priss interrupted, her voice tense He rolled up the cuff of his jacket exposing his wrist, when he placed the cable end pad on it, it stuck "Induction pad for a Direct Neural interface, don't you have these here?" "What are you, some kind of fuckin boomeroid?" hissed Priss He was stunned for a moment then flared up "Boomer? Oh I'm human allright, cut me do I not bleed, wrong me shall I not... It's what's here and here " he thumped his chest and touched the side of his head "that's important, not how much chrome you have... I've known full body cyborgs with more humanity than a whole corp boardroom!" He paused and took out his contact lenses. His irises were yellow, with huge pupils that shone green with reflected light "I'd be almost blind in daylight without flare compensation, and the noise of a city would be still driving me mad. I paid a price for power, there's always a Price! I was _changed_ by it. I'm not normal, I can _never_ be normal! But don't _ever_ say I'm not human!" he was trembling with fury Priss was stunned by his outburst He turned away, forcing himself to calm down... "So where do we go from here. Can you live with working with me?" Priss remembered first seeing him, arm in arm with Linna and smiling at her at the club, Sylia speaking "...He is unique, I fear we may desperately need him soon..." and Sylvie... as human as anyone she knew, more so than a lot. For a moment, she was silent, her expression unreadable, then she smiled. "Anyone who can ride like you can't be all bad, besides you owe Linna for her kitchen window. Gotta keep you around to collect. Who knows what you might do let out alone..." He snorted matching her smile. +++++ In the nightclub, the girls around the table suffered a sudden Beepilepsy attack.. Angua fished a little pager out of a pocket.. and started to swear furiously under her breath as she sprang up. "Hey, what'sh up?" Nene called after her.. like most of the others, moderately tanked. "Was it something we said?" giggled Naoko Angua snarled "Some Svloluch is trying to boost my Wheels! See ya ladies.." <> Kira stood too.. this was her _job_, not some civilian.. "Wait a minute!" she called after the biker girl's receding back as she disappeared into the crowd leaving a bow wave of people.. The others started to follow too.. a small, slightly drunk, excitable gaggle of giggling kawaii.. "Wee! Somebody's trying to take Angua-chan's bike!" Nene waved her arms in emphasis.. "Bhe-Beh-Betsh that she'll puntsch him do.. od... down." Naoko slurred as they weaved their way to the door. "Yeah!" Nene giggled. Naoko stopped suddenly, grabbing Nene's arm "Am I... drunk?" Nene shook her head vigorously, got a little dizzy and staggered a bit as Naoko dragged her off after the group.. Kira manage to keep the other girl in sight as she sprinted off, weaving through the sparse pedestrian traffic.. she was glad she'd gotten the chance to change out of that dratted uniform skirt before going on this little expedition.. Angua dashed around a corner, Kira a panting half block behind.. Kira heard some indistinct shouting over the pounding of her heart and panting breath.. several voices raised in anger.. then a high scream of pain! She sensed a blast of pain and anger and terror.. She put on a spurt, grabbing a lightpole to skid around the corner.. reaching into her purse for her service pistol.. Kira Midori saw three figures in a tableau around a canary yellow crotch rocket with black trim, parked next to a small scooter.. one, archetypal in studded leather jacket and colours was lying in a foetal position, his whole attention centered on the world of pain between his legs.. the other was pinned up against the wall of the building by the girl half his size.. "MY BIKE!" there was a thud as she slammed him back against the wall.. "MY BIKE!" another thud punctuated her anger.. "YOU STUNK UP MY BIKE YOU KLEPTO!!!" Angua screamed, slamming him again. Kira shouted "Hold It! Police!" She felt a wave of aggression, bloodlust and a sense of territorial violation as Angua whirled to face her, letting the thief slump as she fell into stance, her teeth bared in a snarl.. Then she straightened, her emotions calming.. "Oh, it's you.." She smiled as Nene and the others came around the corner, .. "..could you please arrest us?" moaned one of the thugs... "Shut it down or I'll reduce your Face!!" Angua hissed before turning to Kira and smiling wolfishly "All yours." TESTING TIMES ============= 27 December 2033 Raven's Garage, Next morning... "Goway, 'm sleeping" something growled from under the table in the garage "Sis wants you in the practice room." Mackie replied "Slow and painful Mackie, slow and painful. Go _Away_." Fenris growled from where he had spent the night and rolled over in his sleeping bag. Mackie turned on the overhead lights. They were very bright... "AARGH! GRRR. What do they say about sleeping wolves Mackie?" "Dogs actually..." "Whatever, just Rack Off! Or I'll turn you into a Newt!" "Get real!" "Try Me O-Soon-to-Dine-on-Insects! Aargh. I'm awake. I _Will_ get you for this... OK Tell Herself I'll be there in a bit... maybe tomorrow..." snore "Wake UP" "Yeah wake up lazybones, you and Priss shouldn't have spent the night playing chicken with those Outriders" chimed in Angua Mackie started. He wasn't used to voices from nowhere, especially female ones. The thought that someone could spy on _him_ was worrying , especially a female someone who could walk through walls... but the challenge... Mackie grinned. ++++++ The two NPD officers just couldn't stop laughing.. four of the notorious Outriders, _well_ known to the force, had been found lying unconscious by their bikes, which were now a bright pink, clad in _chicken suits_ . The mystery was how they'd gotten into them as there wasn't a zip anywhere.. but the photos were making the rounds. ++++++ "Good morning, Naoko!" Slowly, carefully, as not to disturb the third world war that was going on inside her head, Naoko turned to look at a sunny Nene. The redhead was smiling broadly and her face was full of life and colour, a sharp contrast to Naoko's own very pale visage. "asssprin.. neeed asssprin" she whispered.. "Did you sleep well?" Nene asked innocently.. Naoko winced then glared at her friend, the dark bags under her eyes, and the little bloodshot eyes themselves adding up to an very interesting effect. "no." Naoko couldn't understand how Nene could be so cheery. Naoko herself didn't remember anything after that third bar, and had been extremely glad, despite her condition, that she had woken up at home, even if she had slept on the kitchen table for some reason.. ..and she still didn't understand the traffic cone.. As she bounced off happily, Nene thought how _good_ it was to have talented friends.. <> ++++++ After running Fenris through an extensive battery of tests and scans Sylia began setting up a combat simulation. "Overall you are in excellent physical condition. Especially your speed and reflexes, 14.5 indeed. Your running and jumping ability is... surprising, I think you reached 70kph sprinting." Fenris answered Sylia "Speed, they say, is Life! I tire out a lot faster though." "Now, We will start at level 1....." Sylia was impressed, Level 5 on the first run through. He had been fighting cautiously, a holographic opponent was obviously new to him, and he had missed some opportunities for a quick resolution, but he was _very_ good at dodging. "OK I think I've got the idea, can we try that again, at level 5?" "Certainly, do you want to rest first?" "Would a Boomer let me have a rest?" Sylia smiled slightly "Initiating level 5 then" This time, Fenris went on the offensive from the start. He finished the level very quickly by working the opponent into the center of the room, then jumping, a two cushion shot, bouncing off a wall, flipping and kicking off from the ceiling, diving through the hologram and striking the target, hitting the floor, rolling and coming to his feet in an obviously practiced manoeuvre. "YES!" he grinned "I can see I will have to reprogram the simulator to deal with your special capabilities" "Just so long as Genom doesn't reprogram their boomers too fast." "One moment..... Initiating Level 6"... A little later "Was that level 7 or level 17?" growled a 'dead' Fenris "Your reactions are around three times faster than normal, so I speeded the program up by a factor of two" Sylia responded with a small smile. "Penalty for showing off. Ah well, It'll keep me humble I suppose... how about trying it again..." ++++++ Fenris showered and changed before meeting Sylia down in the bay where his equipment was. "When I scanned you for your physical, I noticed a few oddities. Your eyes, ears and nose are atypical at a cellular level, and you appear to have a number of implants, here, here and here." she indicated on a printout. "You have sensitive gear, no-one's noticed that before without prompting, and the cyberwear is designed to be low profile. When I was ...changed... my senses became much more acute. I also lost my memory. Part of the price. Madness takes it's toll, please have exact change. " "The cyberwear, well it's probably less use here as it's incompatible with the local gear. I imagine Nene, Mackie and I can bodge something up though. Should be able to reverse engineer it from some of the other gear." "Some of the more useful bits, flash and sound damping on eyes and ears, vision magnification up to 50x that ties into a range finder and the smartlink so I can use it as a telescopic sight, and lipread. The smartlink in left hand" he picked up his pistol cycled the action and ejected the clip mentally "..gives an eyes up target pipper and a few other things. The datajack is not much use as it won't plug into anything made here, but I can upload skill and datasofts and it's very handy on the bike." "And those claws?" "They are my... holdout weapon, one of them anyway. Enchanted cyberwear and synthetic diamond film coated. I think they are unique. People definitely don't expect it. Sylia looked over the gear spread out on the tables "Your equipment is, as you say, light, too light for use against Boomers. Your armour would only give you splinter protection, and only those tungsten penetrators will be any use at all against them, and you don't have very many. Without a Hardsuit, you have no margin for error, and construction of a new suit would take time." "I have to agree. For now, in a firefight I'd probably better keep back and snipe with the Walther. I'm mobile enough that I can probably keep my distance. Anyway, for mousing around, my current gear is better." "One thing puzzles me Fenris, why _Silver_ jacketed ammunition?" "Well, where I come from, there are a few things, shapeshifters and so on that only silver will permanently effect. They will regenerate from anything else, bar a weapon focus." "Which is..?" "What you might call a magic weapon. Not anyone can use one, you need some degree of magical aptitude to make use of one, and you have to bond it. I have two, the claws, and Fang." He flicked his wrist and a Sykes-Fairburn pattern commando knife appeared in his hand. "This is Fang. " He concentrated for a moment and the knife lengthened to a shortsword, then a saber and finally a katana and then began to glow softly. "It's also Dikoted.. Diamond film coated, and had a few enhancements on it as you can see." "..I see..." Sylia was both fascinated and appalled. He broke physical laws as easily as breathing... Well, on to something she Was familiar with. "The commlink you showed Priss last night is an impressive piece of equipment. The encryption and frequency hopping algorithms are very interesting. Can I borrow one, Nene and I would like to see if they can be useful in the Hardsuits." "Certainly, Heck I made them to be used, not kept on the shelf. I've got enough for your team and they are very difficult to spot. Same goes for the ECM system on the bike." Sylia paused for a moment "One question I must ask you..." "I don't _guarantee_ an answer "From what I have read, many magical traditions use drugs to .. expand perceptions." He smiled relieved "I don't use recreational phamaceuticals or simsense. Can you imagine what distorted perceptions can do to magic? You need a strong sense of reality, and there's enough weirdness out there without adding to it." He stretched and yawned "Look, is there somewhere I can crash, I really am tired and I don't want to sleep under a table again." "Of course, I'll show you to one of the spare rooms" "Ta" He picked up his kit bag and followed her down a few corridors Sylia glanced at Fenris "Tell me, would you really have turned my brother into a newt?" "Not unless he _really_ irritated me, and he would have gotten better. Making spells permanent really takes it out of you. Well anyway, good night Boss or day or whatever." He thought about the strange collection of people he had fallen in with, more a family than a team. Sylia, cold, hard and brilliant, Blue and white was appropriate, like diamond. Priss, who would have been a razorgirl back in Seattle, full of fire, both on stage and in combat. Nene, an archetypal decker and geek girl. Mackie, and Linna. Linna, firedancer in green. FIRST RUN ========= That evening six people were seated around low table, one hovering (which still caused all but one of the others some worry as they wondered when gravity would finally take notice) There were building plans, schematics and photos displayed on a large monitor at one end of the room and over the table. Sylia had just finished the briefing "So to summarise :A simple datasteal, go in, vamp the computers, boost the samples and get out again. Known opposition : 12 guards, and the security system is linked to the local police." commented Fenris "Correct and concise. How would you handle it?" asked Sylia "I assume we don't want a firefight if we can avoid it? And no evidence linking us to it?" Sylia nodded "That would certainly be preferable. This is not a job I would normally consider, but it seems well suited to you." Fenris considered the data then looked over the others in the room "OK, I would propose Angua and I recon the place astrally, then Nene, Angua and I do the run with the rest of you outside on overwatch.." "Intention : Get in quietly, get Nene to the computer, get the samples, get out quietly." "Method : Nene compromises and cuts off the outside link with a repeater, Angua keeps Nene invisible, I take point invisibly and take down any guards quietly, Nene and I open doors and Nene gets the computer data, we get the samples and get out the same way. The rest of you outside in case of trouble. With luck, no-one will know anyone was there at all." "Very well, how much preparation would you need?" asked Sylia after a moment's thought. "Prep and equipment check, say half an hour, transit half an hour, scouting, as long as it takes probably 2 hours, final detail planning half an hour, in and out, say an hour, Murphy allowance another half hour. Home in time for breakfast." There was a groan from Nene... she would have to go straight to work... "I like it. We move out in half an hour!" Sylia smiled at the other's reactions ++++++ An hour later, a nondescript van parked a kilometre from the target, in an industrial park. Inside the Knight Sabers were suiting up and Fenris and Angua were scouting their objective. Angua had disappeared, Fenris's body was lying on a reclined seat, breathing shallowly, unmoving. There wasn't room in the cab for him, so it was screened off while they changed. Nene had put a blindfold on him.. just in case. Astral space pulsed with life. Everything alive has a reflection on the etheric plane. The greater the life force, the greater the light. Parks were brightly lit, most buildings dull and dim, shadows of the mundane world. There was life here, but slumbering. The occasional talented dreamer, not really knowing where they were, drifting on the winds of imagination. The Genom tower dominated, reaching beyond the sky, exuding a grey miasma of corporate amorality There were two figures moving with purpose, a man in black with a glowing sword across his back, and a large black wolf. They flitted through the complex, finding guards, watching their routine for a while, scouting the building, locating their objectives before streaking back to the van. While they were gone... "Isn't this going a little fast Sylia? I mean we haven't known him long." Priss asked Sylia quietly. "If we cannot trust him, it is best to find out now, don't you think? This operation would have been simple for us, but seeing how he organises it is most enlightening. I need to know how he thinks. He avoids direct confrontation where possible, but when he does act, he hits very hard indeed. Very professional. He keeps focused on his objective and is not into grandstanding. Unlike some others." Sylia looked hard at Priss. "Look, I like him.." Priss lowered her voice further "..and he's good for Linna, but you don't trust him?" Sylia replied softly "My dear, there are times when I do not fully trust _myself_. We all have our failings, but I do not _think_ treachery is one of his. He will not _expect_ us to trust him yet, and he is very perceptive. We must not disappoint him now must we." she finished with a smile. Some time later, Angua popped in and Fenris stretched for a moment before he stood up . "Looks reasonably straightforward. Guard room here" indicating on the map " four guards off duty, two monitoring cameras, two roving in the building independently, four roving the grounds in pairs. 10 minute sweep pattern external, the inner 20 minute with check points. We go in over the fence here, in 20 minutes, then through this door here right behind the guards, " he smiled briefly " make for the office with computer access here, Angua and Nene stay there and keep security quiet while I go for the samples, Nene leaves a smartframe to let us out and then restore the system to normal." "The most risky point is following the guards in through the front door. We'll signal if we need help, but twelve guards with light weapons in penny packets are not a significant threat." Angua added "They have smugs, light body armour and comm links. We're lucky, they're using image intensifiers rather than IR. We should be able to pull this off." Her smile was a twin of Fenris's. "Why is that important?" asked Sylia "And what is a _smug_?" "Slang for a submachinegun. Try saying SMG three times quickly." Nene frowned as her lips moved... "The invisibility spell I use bends light around you, but doesn't do anything about light you radiate yourself. That means you radiate infra-red. Doing something about that would need another spell, and trying to do too many things at once , especially here, means you wind up doing nothing. There is another approach, to cause people to not notice you, playing with peoples perceptions, but that doesn't work on anyone out of range or line of sight, or on cameras. Most of the time, the type I know is the more useful. I _can_ spoof IR, but I'd rather not have to." "OK. Lecture's over. Class dismissed, meet me outside for the practical problem." "Walking in through the front door..." Sylia smiled at the thought. Noticing Priss's irritation "They also serve who stand and wait Priss. There will be other times" "And think of the bonus we'll get if they don't even know anything's gone." crowed Linna A little later, Nene finished splicing in the repeater to the dataline. Fenris was in baggy grey and black splinter pattern BDUs with a high collared armoured jacket both covered in pockets and pouches. He carried an assault rifle slung in a thermal shroud, had a submachinegun clipped to a small pack under a flap for Angua, two pistols and was putting on a hood and goggles, his helmet clipped to his belt. The swarm of watcher sprites he would use for scouting hovered shimmering insubstantially around him. Linna walked over, flipped up her visor, lifted the front of Fenris's hood and kissed him hard "For luck" she said and they both blushed as they noticed the others looking on with amusement. Angua looked a lot like Fenris, but without the weapons and equipment. The clothes she had explained, were a part of her, one of her alternate forms, for when it was useful to give the impression that she was a human opponent rather than a spirit. Nene was in her red and blue hardsuit. Fenris took a moment to recover himself "OK. Nene switch to thermograph. Radio silence for now, we'll use hand signals. Ready?" Nene and Angua nodded Fenris murmured and gestured briefly as he cast invisibility spell on himself while Angua did the same on Nene then herself. The others saw them fade out, first Fenris and Nene then Angua. They were visible to thermographic, but not visual. A very strange effect. Fenris waved them forward and they moved off. Getting over the fence was easy, Fenris and Nene jumping, Angua flying. They waited quietly by the door for an outer guard team to re-enter the building. Fenris looked at Nene's suit's feet, looked at the floor by the doors and thought for a moment. {We'll have to carry her in, she's too loud and too slow.} {Guess so bro} "Sorry Red, we'll have to carry you in." "Wha .. Why?" "You're too slow and too loud. Think about it. Get ready, here they come. Shhh" The guard team approached carded the door open and went in. As the doors closed, the two runners dashed through carrying Nene. She did manage to keep quiet, but her disapproval at being manhandled was obvious. Sylia, Priss and Linna had moved in close, and waiting on a rooftop out of sight. Mackie stayed in the van. Finding a room with a terminal was relatively easy and Nene began tapping into the building computer system. While Angua stood guard with the SMG (suppressed and loaded with Gel rounds) Fenris summoned up the building's hearth spirit, (this time it _was_ a little gnome like creature with a beard, but wearing a lab coat and glasses) and instructed it to guard and conceal the two women while he moved towards the lab area where the samples were stored, the watcher spirits he had summoned earlier leading and flanking him to provide advance warning of any guards. He found the lab, but it was locked. There was a handle on the inside, but he couldn't see it from the window set in the door. "Red. Do you have the security system under control?" He subvocalised "Yes Black, it's _Mine_ to _Toy_ with" "OK, start a loop on the cameras covering Lab B8 and suppress any door alarms" "Loop started... on Mark. Monitoring alarms, you're clear." Fenris activated the invisibility spell he had stored in a spell-anchor earlier and dropped the spell he had been maintaining. It wouldn't last long, but he would need all his concentration for his next stunt. He knelt and pulled an eyepiece attached to what appeared to be a long wire out of a thigh pocket. He slipped the fibre optic under the door, twisting it so it pointed towards the door handle. Looking through the eyepiece, he could see the handle. Fibre optics gave him a headache, it was difficult to synchronise a spell through one, but it was possible. Murmuring and gesturing with his free hand, he could see the handle move in response to the telekinesis spell. The door opened and he slipped through. Working quickly, he photographed the area he would be working in before he gathered the samples, putting them in a well padded rigid box and slipping that back into the pack. He used the photos to check he had left everything as he had found it. They would also be useful as provenance for the samples. He was just about to open the door when one of the watchers reported a guard approaching. He locked the door drew his gel gun and waited. The guard approached, rattled the handle of the locked door and moved on. Breathing a sigh of relief, Fenris recast the invisibility spell and deactivated the anchor It still had a few minutes power left before recharging, and he might need it later. Closing the door quietly, he made his way back to the room where Nene and Angua were. "OK. I've got the samples. Is the data secure?" "Of course. And the smartframe is ready. For fifteen minutes, it'll suppress alarms on all the fire doors, then wipe itself. No trace." "Let's boogie then." "Gee you're weird Fenris 'Let's Boogie?' " "Hey, it works for me. And it's Black on the job remember Red. You never know who might be listening." +++++ 12 minutes later they were back at the van. A quietly smiling Sylia received the samples, provenance and data from Fenris and Nene and put them away. Priss was still grumpy over not being able to pound on anything, and Linna took several minutes to assure herself that Fenris was OK, mainly by Braille. As they drove back to Raven's Garage, Nene was busy telling everyone about the spirit she had seen and the ease with which she had cut through the ICE and being invisible and.... Fenris sent Angua to check for tails "Paranoids still have enemies you know." he commented "Don't relax yet people, the run's not over until the cred's in your hand. Sylia, do you need cover for the meet?" "I do not think that will be necessary, but thank you. You certainly are experienced at this... Spectre." He bowed "I aim to please... Huh?" *Does she know _everything_?* he thought. "You're Spectre?" whispered Nene "N Police are going crazy about you." "What have you been up to now?" Linna asked pointedly "Everytime I turn around you pull another rabbit out of your hat" "You'd rather I was boring? Anyway, rabbits are traditional for magicians" "N Police are the least of your worries, there are a few people who are rather irritated with Spectre," continued Sylia "Those are enemies we cannot afford. I will not fight a two front war. I trust you will remember this." "Null perspiration prime, Spectre's on holidays and he'll _stay_ there." EVER GET THE FEELING SOMEONE'S OUT TO GET YOU? ============================================= In four different places across the city, four women and one man suffered a beepilepsy attack moments after Mackie picked up a flash alert on the ADP band.. Fenris and Linna were the last to arrive, screaming up in her car with Fenris at the wheel.. They both seemed to have dressed hurriedly and were in a foul temper.. As the women pulled on their softsuits, Linna muttered something about 'interruptions' and how she was going to take out her _frustrations_ on the unprintably qualified boomer.. +++++ BU12 battle second BU12, chasing car, car crashes Linna & Priss engage, Sylia & Nene rescue passengers, Fenris, Angua move up. as the two knight sabers were getting 'victims' clear.. Angua finally got a clear look at the two 'victims', started and screamed "PIGEON!" Fenris turned towards the group around the car, his pistol describing an arc from holster to bear on them. He felt like he was moving in honey, the others simply saw his arm blur then spit fire and thunder. BlaBlaBlaBlaBlaBlaBlaBlaBlaBlam The two figures on each side of Nene were punched backwards by the heavy pistol's slugs, Fenris's arm blurring as he alternated between them. Nene seemed stunned by the muzzle blasts and fragments from the explosive rounds pinging off her armour. Sylia lunged forward, tackling Fenris and pushing the gun out of line "What have you done! Murderer!" she shouted. Fenris put his free arm around Sylia and rolled them over as a laser scored the road where they had been. Angua tackled Nene as the two boomers, their disguises compromised by the explosive slugs transformed and attacked. Boomers revealed, attack Nene, several other disguised C-55s Sniper rifle damaged ++++++ Afterwards, Sylia held an informal debriefing as they relaxed for an ache reducing soak in her jacuzzi. "That was planned well they played on our good nature. There is no real way around it without becoming as bad as they are." "Someone out there is playing head games with us. Specifically targeting the Knight Sabers." Sylia stated "What was that Angua said... Pigeon?" Fenris replied "Called a Pigeon trap... an ambush using 'victims' to get inside your beaten zone." "Well, what can we do about it?" asked Linna, cradled in Fenris's arms. Sylia leaned back and closed her eyes "Whoever she or he is, they are cleverer than Mason or Miriam... They have an objective and they won't come out and challenge us on the top of Genom Tower, they'll stay in their office, cloaked in their anonymity." "And _laugh_ at us!" growled Priss. TOWARDS THE SOUND OF THE GUNS... =================================== Fenris had invited Linna out to dinner. The view of the Megatokyo skyline from 'Mr Hateli' would have been wonderful if not for the rain.... Half way through the main course Fenris moved his plate to one side and began banging his head on the table. Before Linna could ask him what on earth he was doing, her Saber Signaller went off. "I knew" thump "this would" thump "happen," thump "I just knew" thump "it." He looked up at Linna "There's at least one boomer down there painting the town red. Looks like it's time to pay some karmic debt." They called their waiter and explained that an urgent call had come in and had to leave. They collected their coats and made their way down to street level. "Sylia will pick us up in the van at..." "You go, I'll scout the thing. It's what I'd be doing anyway. Prime'll need intel and without a suit you can't do much. Go on, I won't engage without good reason. Now go and get me some backup." He loped off before Linna could say anything.... It was easy to work out where the boomer was, just march towards the sound of the guns. ++++++ He was within 2 blocks of his best guess of the Boomer's position, in an alley.. "OK intention : locate the boomer and track it. Method : Make it up as I go along." he muttered to himself, pulling the hood and goggles from a coat pocket and putting it on. {*FASHION*} Benedict's trademark plum coat darkened and began to flow like water, ceramic laminate armour plates sliding and rearranging to a different pattern, (it had been difficult to talk the tailor into it, but money always talks, and the tailor had listened, eventually) and in a moment he was dressed in a black longcoat of more conventional cut. The clothes underneath also morphed, the suit reverting to armourcloth BDUs, also black. "Holy secret identity batman!" he whispered and grinned to himself The rain would confuse it's thermographics, but make manoeuvring more difficult and dangerous for him due to reduced traction. Fenris got out his mirror-on-a-stick (tm) and looked around the corner of the alley. The boomer was a C class variant, looked like it had a six cell missile pod firing over a shoulder. A screech of tyres and blare of sirens announced the arrival of an ADP squad car.. **ADP** He drew the Ares arms Predator heavy pistol and checked the clip. The pistol's internal electronics had already told him it was fully loaded with silver jacketed tungsten penetrators, but old habits die hard. He leaned around carefully, minimum exposure and focused on the boomer's mouth mounted cannon. Even with the penetrators, a pistol could not penetrate the boomer's armour, but there were vulnerable points, sensors, joints and weapons. He could hear other AD police sirens approaching to cordon off the area. He stepped up his vision magnification until he could see the aiming pipper jiggle with his heartbeat, centering on the boomer's mouth. He braced himself against the corner of the building. 104.3 metres according to the rangefinder. A 10mm diameter target. Difficult, but not impossible... The smartlink cyberwear was linked to the cyberwear rangefinder, interfaced with sensors in the pistol and was programmed with it's ballistics. The round would hit wherever he put the pipper and his vision magnification let him see the pipper out to the maximum range of the pistol. He exhaled slowly and fired twice, ducking back behind the corner and smiling. He had heard the very expensive sound of a laser tube imploding. As he jumped up to a third floor window ledge, then to the roof, the spot where he had fired from sleeted with shrapnel, missile probably. *Gee, I think I made it mad...* He used the mirror to peek over the parapet, locating his target, then popped up quickly, trying for it's sensors. Another double tap, duck and roll as a second missile demolished the parapet 2 metres from his firing point, the concussion knocking the wind out of him. The important thing was going to be not repeating his firing points. He flicked out Fang and expanded it to shortsword length. Three quick cuts in the roof got him inside the building. More hackey-choppy got him into a room overlooking the boomer. Another set of cuts in the wall beside a window gave him a loophole. Eleven rounds left. He had hit one eye last time, he hadn't been sure, now for the other.. there were two more concussions from the heavy pistol, amplified by the confines of the room. His aural dampers were working overtime tonight. He was already moving when he was blown out the doorway by boomer's return fire, the plasma jet from the shaped charge a bar of light from the wall to the ceiling, the heat pulse setting the room on fire. Evidently it had backup sensors or was tracking him aurally. Well, he could fix the latter. He attached a suppressor to the muzzle of the Predator. It only had three missile left now. He had an idea. Under the mask he grinned. He backtracked to the hole in the roof and slipped down the side of the building away from the boomer. Quietly he used the mirror-on-a-stick (tm) to locate it. It was facing the loudest sounding sirens of the approaching AD police. He didn't have a clear shot. He ejected and pocketed the half empty sabot magazine and replaced it with explosive, then cycled the round out of the chamber. Fenris picked up a piece of debris and threw it at a plate glass window opposite. It shattered and the boomer whirled towards the sound. *Perfect* and kept on, towards him... Time telescoped *It repaired itself..* he mused as the missile pod came up.. foreshortening.. His aim point came up to meet it... there was a moment of almost non-being.. his entire universe was target and the aim point.. the missile pod and _it's_ target.. mirrors. It was a shock when the pistol bucked twice in his hand. The first shot blew a weather seal off, the second hit the warhead. The secondary explosions from the missile warheads and propellant blew one arm off the boomer and knocked it sprawling. It also shattered most of the remaining windows in the block. A dazed Fenris found himself lying on his back, half way across the street covered in concrete dust and debris. He shook his head and clambered up. *...ack respond please. We just detected an explosion. This is Prime, respond please Black* *Black here, I'm OK, the boomer just had an accident with some missiles* The boomer was attempting to stand, but it's spastic movements indicated severe control damage. He heard boots behind him. Fenris turned to see three fire teams of AD police moving up. "YOU IN BLACK! FREEZE! A-SQUAD COVER...." Before they could act, he ducked around the corner towards the dying boomer "Black to Prime, Boomer disabled, ADP on scene, breaking contact" He looked up, hearing boots pounding towards the corner, and jumped up two floors through a broken window and started moving quietly towards the other side of the building, doubling back. He heard a burst of fire, presumably the ADP were finishing off the boomer "Wing to Black, can you reach the roof of the building you're in?" Mackie sent "Black to Wing, shouldn't be a problem." He began running for the fire stairs. A few minutes later, the Knight Wing hovered for long enough for him to jump to the hatch "O Boy are _you_ gonna get it" Priss chortled as she helped him in. "What do you meAKKK" He was grabbed and slammed up against the wall by a green armoured arm.. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? BAKA! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED" Linna's face was white, she had left the helmet of her hardsuit off, but was otherwise ready for battle. Her scent was laced with anger and fear. "Linna, I know what I'm doing..." She leaned in closer, her nose almost touching his "IT HAD ANTI-TANK MISSILES!" Fenris winced "I'm not a tank." "BAKA!" "There there Cariad, I take good care of myself.." "Don't you Dare try and sweet talk me! Just wait.." "Just as Cat knows many secrets, and Raccoon's paws have many tricks, Wolf is a warrior and hunter. His fangs are sharp and his nose is keen. I take a lot of killing." "OOOHH YOU!" she turned away and stomped up to the cockpit, slamming the door. +++++ Silver bullet... Lone Ranger? Hire him to find spectre? UNPROFESSIONAL MOMENTS ======================== Leon scanned the file. "Mack the knife" A lowlife that had popped up a few months ago. He didn't have any form, but he fitted the profile of a mid range hood. Seemed to have Yak connections but didn't work for them... not a suspect in any current investigation, and he'd cleaned up his act recently, hanging out in a higher class of dive, but worth keeping an eye on. And Priss knew him. Well it seemed. This worried him... Mack was definitely bad news.. even for a Knight Saber. People were scared of Mack. He always seemed to know too much, appearing and disappearing. Leon had only met him once, but he remembered what Daley had said afterwards "...He thought he could take us, he was certain of it. I had my hand on my gun, he knew it, and he still thought he could take _both_ of us... and I'm not sure he wasn't right.." He leaned back and thought.. the ID had checked... it was valid... There were a few favours a certain Lieutenant Burns in N-Police owed him... ++++++ Fenris/Mack was walking... prowling actually, when a Blue and White pulled up along side. Two N-Police got out... The taller spoke "You Mack?" Fenris raised an eyebrow "It's what they call me. Something I can help you with officer?" *The know me.. not good... If I bug out the ID is junk..* As Mack, he didn't carry much in the way of illegal equipment, too obvious. As Rowan however he was loaded for bear. Especially when he was with Linna. "Malicious Lingering?" Pull him in... concealed weapons charge (Pistol) "Hey, I've never seen one like this." "It's custom." "Shaddup, I wasn't talking to you, scum." "So who do you work for.." Silence "Where did you get the gun" Silence ++++++ Elsewhere... Lt Burns was on the phone to Leon... "He's been sweated before, this doesn't rattle him." In the interrogation room there was silence ++++++ **Astral to Sylia.. "They can hold me for two weeks on this." "If it was just a random bust, why is this McNichol on my case, he's ADP not NP." Priss snarled silently *Leon... * She sprang up, ready to beard him in his lair... Reading her mind Sylia was in front of her "That won't help. Think it through, how could you know?" "** Grade one legal slicks with minds like writ-grenades." ++++++ ++++++ Sitting in cell, 'meditating' That night.. The door opened... the two officers that had arrested him came in... with tonfas "Your attitude sucks." "So I'm going to have 'tripped and fell'?" "Isn't he smart." It didn't start too badly, and he could use his arms to shield his head and ribs, and move enough to deflect the worst of the beating.. One caught him on the jaw, the world went white and buzzing for a moment and reflex took over... 30 seconds later, three more N-Police burst in. Fenris was sitting on the bed, cradling a broken arm, the two cops lying on the floor, still unconscious "I think they tripped and fell officer." Kira .. an image of the two officers from the night before.. and a blinding red rage.. "In this world there's cops, and there's little people... I'm little people. Now, unless you have something useful to say, go away little girl." Priss looked at Leon like something she had scraped off her boot. "*** *How does she know I'm involved?* "Leon Leon Leon..." Daley had his head in his hands ++++++ "Hey look at Me!" crowed Angua from behind them They turned to see a figure in a black hardsuit with yellow accents hovering. "I thought she should look the part" Fenris grinned, "so I designed a new form for her. She seems to like it.." BLOOD AND IRON =============== Theme Music : Ladyhawk Soundtrack : 'Navarre and Marquet Duel' **Another Boomer Battle, another cunning trap. most commercial/construction types dummied up to look like combat types "Our main strength lies in cooperation, we are a team, not a collection of individuals." "The ADP can't deal with them. What choice is there?" Running battle, split up... ++++++ Soundtrack : Ladyhawk soundtrack : 'Marquet's Death' *Not the Child!* One hand pushed the kid to one side, the other brought Fang up in a looping underhand moulinete, slicing the boomer from armpit to just under the jaw. It was already turning to face him, as it spasmed one arm just extending the long blade it was about to use... it had been hidden by the child's body. The shadowrunner just didn't see it in time. The blade punched through armour and flesh and emerged from his back just under the shoulderblade... his knees collapsed and for a second he hung. Then the body of the boomer toppled forward pinning Fenris to the road like a butterfly. ++++++ Angua was potting Boomers with her squeeze bore.. the only shots she was bothering to dodge were ones aimed at the weapon itself... She screamed like a damned soul and blinked out, the Gerlitch and it's ammunition bandolier clattering to the ground ++++++ Over the Saber's comm-links a simulated voice spoke "Fenris down. Major trauma. Critical. condition Location 540 by 925 Critical condition." *That must be the life signs monitor he mentioned* thought Sylia "Linna, Nene, Deal with it. Priss and I will hold here. Mackie, Nightwing for emergency pickup" ++++++ "MEDIC!" Leon rushed over, followed by a squad who tried to lift the dead boomer off it's killer and victim. The kid started crying.. "It's no good sir, we'd need a K12 or a crane to shift it." The pool of blood under the man in black was growing... Leon leaned down and pulled up the hood... and started *MACK?* First aid training took over.. the blade was plugging the wound in his chest... the Boomer's servos had locked, and at least he wasn't crushed under it. Left leg had been out of position when the boomer fell on him, looked broken, at least not life threatening, it could wait. The problem was, Leon couldn't move him, and there was no way he didn't have a punctured lung... he would drown in his own blood. He was breathing in short bubbling breaths.. The man's eyes flicked open... unfocused.. yellow eyes with dilated pupils... his mouth was moving..."linna... hurts..." his hand brushed weakly at Leon's jacket.. He coughed convulsively, automatically trying to clear his lungs. His eyes rolled back in a silent scream of agony as he shifted, a mist of bright arterial blood covering Leon's face and his own.. Before anyone else got a look, Leon pulled the mask part way down again A figure in a black and yellow hardsuit ploughed through the ADP squaddies and braced herself to lift the boomer. It quivered but wouldn't move. She snarled with frustration, picked up Fang and began lopping bits off the boomer, the police moving away form this dangerous maniac swinging an obviously very sharp sword with such gay abandon. "You! Grab that and hold it" she shouted at Leon and some troopers indicating the now lightened boomer. "MOVE IT DAMN YOU!" She darted over, grabbing one of the troopers and shoving him toward the tableau. She passed the blade to Leon "When I give the word, cut it's blade." Angua and the troopers positioned themselves around the Boomer and took the strain "Now!" Leon cut through the boomer's wrist and Angua and the troopers toppled the Boomer to one side with a crash of metal. As Angua bent over Fenris scrabbling at his belt, Linna and Nene bounded in. Both rushed over, Nene was taken aback for a moment, than began reporting to Sylia. Linna knelt by his head, cradling him gently in her armoured hands and holding him still "You promised me damn you! Don't you dare leave me!" in a strangled whisper. "Got it." Angua exclaimed, producing a bundle of eagle feathers and began to glow, singing a song without words..., then she reached and with a smooth motion pulled the boomer's blade out of Fenris's chest cast it aside and put one hand over the wound, the other to the sky holding the feathers. "Are you Mad?" Leon shouted, moving forward "You'll Kill Him Nene blocked him "She knows what she's doing." *I hope* The song reached a crescendo and the glow faded out.. the feathers crumbled to dust, and the black and yellow hardsuited figure toppled forward, disappearing before she hit the ground. "What tha..." Leon's jaw dropped, the other ADP troopers froze... Nene seemed as surprised, but recovered herself faster. Linna was already checking Fenris.. pulse thin but stable. She looked up at Nene "He's stable, lets get him out of here." ...AND INTO THE LIGHT ==================== He was dreaming.. he knew he was dreaming. Part of his training was in understanding his dreams.. He saw three shapes.. a woman with lavender hair and ice in her heart facing away from him.. an old man standing in front of her, white hair and an aura of power.. and back, in the shadows... a deeper shadow.. blood red eyes flashing.. a scent of danger.. the stink of corruption and evil... pain and the coppery taste of blood in his mouth... He saw a face beautiful beyond description, radiating happiness.. a mark on her forehead and one on each cheek... he could see two other women out of the corners of his eyes but he could not turn his head to see them clearly... Another face.. a woman, with long blue hair, serene with two circles on her forehead... two other figures in the shadows behind her... He was falling.. falling it seemed forever... but it was OK, because Linna was there... He stood on a city street.. he could feel the drag of a filter mask as he drew breath.. stink of chemicals filled his nostrils.. watching a blue painted tank drive past.. He saw two Linnas staring at each other in shocked disbelief... He saw himself, aged.. with Linna, also old, Angua looking in her 20s, other people.. the other Knight Sabers, as old as himself and other, younger ones who he did not recognise. They were all standing by a hospital bed.. the thin, reedy cry of a baby... he knew somehow was his grandchild. It was autumn. He was standing by a grave with Linna.. She laid flowers, stood for a moment in thought and they walked away.. *********** He drifted gradually awake... opening his eyes.. he was in bed, there was a drip in one arm.. On one side, Linna snored softly in a chair. "I hurt too much, I must be alive." He whispered Linna jerked out of her doze "Of course I have regrets.. wishes for things that might have been, everyone does... But I would not change anything, not for _Worlds_. Linna gave his hand a squeeze. ******************** "Problem is it's an addictive lifestyle. Money and Adreneline. I've survived four years in a profession that has a 90% mortality rate in the first six months and about 40% per year after that..." He broke off in a fit of coughing. "And that's who I was, It spoils you.. a trap I almost fell into again. Cutting myself off from what it means to be human, becoming better and better at what I did, until that's what I was.. All that I was. You saved me from that, all of you. Sounds silly I know, but I do really feel good about it.. this is a job worth doing." Blood trace : Nene changed 'Mack's' file... Great Ghost dance that the Native American Nations used to achieve independence, earthquakes, volcanos.. the drain was measured in Lives. The only limits are power and imagination. "I'm not as good at it as he is." "Hmmmm?" Sylia looked questioning. "He can cast more powerful spells.. for two reasons... first he's simply more powerful than me, and second he's not a spirit.. he has greater resources to draw on, both body and spirit, I have only spirit." "Save one life and you save the world" "You asked earlier what money can't buy, unprofessional moments, that's what... "I think I'll leave this beating up on killer robots to you jokers, <'Priss' maneuvered alone.. Barrage jamming starts, screen of boomers> *BLORTCH* "Like EUWWWWW!" ++++++ "Go to HELL!" It was a Dark and Stormy Knight.. "Now.. what am I going to do with you?" "Who'd have thought it... a boomer working with the Knight Sabers.. " "BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Angua cocked her head over to one side, as if listening to someone.. then nodded. "G'wan.. get out of here." "Why?" "Because you're a pro.. besides, I may need a favour one day.. it's not what you know.. it's who.. and I know who you are.. I know where you live.. or I soon will.. " SURVIVAL SHOT ============== "A toast.. Absent Friends." "Absent Friends" The plates were cleared away... "Let me tell you a story, one I heard from a guy called Brumby. He's a Troll, huge! The Wall that Walks like a Man. Really nice, gentle guy... Could probably rip the arm off a 55-C and beat it to death with it." Fenris's voice dropped an octave and became rougher, he seemed to bulk out.. Funny how things go, no? One minute we up in da clouds. Next minute we down in da dirt. I think confusing. And, I think right! But it all fun none the less. If we have clue as to what going on in the world it be no fun at all. Me like the idea that when I go to me car at night I don't no if it be there all nice or be blown to little bitty pieces. Sure this make most people mad. Dey say "Damnit, where da hell my car?". I say "Gee, much surprised car is still here!". Make my life so much easier. Same thing when I get up in da morning. I look and sniff and scratch my bum and go "Huh! I still here! Goodie!". When I get shot up I go "Gee! Bout time!". Let me tell you little story. There was little human runner who went around all day with hand on his gun and eyes shifting this way and dat and always got da job done and was always on time and never got lazy or nothing and finally a big gang was wandering along and filled him with lots of little bitty holes for no reason and now he dead. And he had no fun in life. Now people probably be saying that he probably live longer then he would have because he so watchful and careful and safe. Well, I say he still got dead so it don't much matter now does it? Dead is dead and there ain't much more ta say. That me getting at is dat running is serious little thing we do but dat not ALL we do. If all you can do is da running then you are of low brain. If you so narrow in the head that all you can think about is shootin and blowin up and killin and flying and driving stuff then you missing out! There lots out there! Go to museum or something or go to park or go to circus. Take break from da shoot, bang, shoot world and sit and eat some ice cream. When was the last time you even had ice cream? Gee, I think I'll go get me some ice cream." "Ice cream.." murmured Nene and Angua in unison and grabbed the dessert menu, and everyone else, even Sylia, laughed and laughed and laughed. WHEN YOU HAVE ELIMINATED THE IMPOSSIBLE... ========================================== The office was large and well appointed, with a beautiful view of the city "Sir, these are the records. They don't make sense, but they have been checked several times, and the raw data has never been tampered with, of that we are sure now. But... its impossible sir, I..." "That will be all. You are to be commended for bringing it to my attention." The suited salaryman bowed his way out. Quincy picked up the folder and began to read It was a beautiful sunset. TO BE CONTINUED IN 'BLOOD TIES' ================================================= OMAKEE THEATER.. Superdeformed Knight Sabers, Fenris and Angua, Leon, Kira and Buranto and a few Boomers dance on.. "Omakee Omakee Omakee!" they sing. Scene shifts: Hot Legs. Priss is on stage, pounding out 'Hurricane'! The crowd is wild! Suddenly Priss's tight bare middrift leather outfit seems to shimmer and change.. her hair restyles.. She stops. The band stops. The crowd falls silent. She reaches up and feels the ribbon with it's bow.. looks down, sees the frilly dress, the cute shoes.. so kawaii it makes her _sick_.. Across the hushed club, she hears a muffled snigger.. then the dam breaks two voices start pealing out laughter.. two very familiar voices.. others join in.. the whole club rocks with laughter. Priss goes white then red.. See Priss hunt down a certain wolf-girl! (having gotten some shinto wards) See Angua-wolf in a Poodle-cut!