… As he entered the tall, ominous building, he noticed a shadowy figure lurking off to the side.
"Ice. I wanted to see you before you went to your room." Shidousha stepped forward from the shadows and approached Ice.
"I don't think you made the mistakes on this mission, but I don't care to punish Koumouri on this one." He smiled in the cruel way that was so common for him, then turned and disappeared back into the shadows.
This was the best way to keep his operatives sharp. He was constantly pitting Koumouri and Ice against each other. He knew that if they ever realized it, the two of them together could make a move on ruling the Syndicate. He wouldn't let them succeed, of course, but he didn't want to lose two of his finest people.
The tall, icy man didn't flinch. 'So I was blamed for this one too, hmm? Weak bat creature…' he mumbled as he made his way back to his room. Once there, he settled down on his bed. He had had enough battle for the night...
**
"Kaze, you better go... I get the feeling there's gonna be some real trouble here." Anarky pushed Kaze towards his dojo, then reached into his pack and pulled out a large grenade launcher.
"Bring the pain, baby!" He leapt into the gas, which he was immune to and began firing at random, his sight being a bit impaired as well. Anarky had built up an immunity to every chemical in his repertoire. What good would it be to use weapons that could affect him, as well?
Kaze watched in confusion as the battle raged before him. Who were these people? Why were they fighting? His train of thought was cut short as he back flipped a few feet, narrowly avoiding a grenade, which exploded several yards away.
His mind was in a blur... Somehow, reacting to that grenade had sped up his senses. All at once, he was taking in data from the "battlefield"... sights, sounds, smells... It was overwhelming. Kaze's blood began to boil as the feelings strengthened. He wanted to battle... but then it occurred to him that he had no idea who was who. Was the green-haired man evil? Was he good?
Even if Kaze knew, he wouldn't be able to do much in a firefight… He finally decided to take the green-haired man's advice. Besides, it was easy to get lost in this neck of the woods, which had no real "right way" to get anywhere. He decided he'd make it home by taking a detour or two. So without a second thought, he abandoned the crazed men with guns and dove into the underbrush, melding into the forest silently and making his exit unnoticed.
Several minutes later... quite a while actually, Kaze's blue-clad form emerged from the forest. Much to his displeasure, he discovered that he had reached a small trail in the forest that he had never traveled before.
"Oh well…" he said to himself. "I wasn't in a hurry anyway…"
And thus, he began his trek on the small, unfamiliar pathway, with only the chirping of the birds and the gentle whisper of the wind to listen to…
**
Spotting an incoming grenade, Senjutsu shouted for his brother to jump to his left and dive. Instinctively responding to his brother's warnings, Zerosen dodged out of the way as a grenade blew up 10 ft. behind him. Falling forward a bit, Zerosen quickly got back up and ran towards Anarky.
A little muffled due to the cloth, Senjutsu called to his brother. "Nice job, brother. His friend just left so it's two-on-one. You go left, I'll take this side." Senjutsu knocked an arrow and aimed it at Anarky. ~You can't hide from me, you green-haired freak!~ Senjutsu let off the arrow before getting perfect aim due to having to dodge another grenade. Zerosen then emerged out of some smoke and swang down at Anarky.
"Shazz!" Anarky cried, making himself quite the good target. He ducked under the swing from Zerosen, and, in one smooth motion, came straight up, head-butting him in the stomach. It didn't do any real damage, but it knocked the air out of Zerosen, causing him to stumble backwards.
"Yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about!" Anarky put away his gun and reached into his pockets, pulling out his electro-knuckle guards. He barely got them on, however, when a bolt hit him square in the back.
"AAGH!" He hit his knees, feeling the arrowhead buried in his flesh. "Damn... My... Luck..."
Recovering his breath, Zerosen looked down at Anarky. "Alright! Nice shot brother!" As Anarky collapsed to the ground, Zerosen took a dirty shot, kicking Anarky in the head, which knocked him out cold.
Walking forward through the clearing smoke, Senjutsu bent down and pulled the arrow out of Anarky's back, making his body twitch. "Thanks. It looks like he's down. We should make all due haste to our contact, seeing as though we don't know when he'll wake up."
Picking Anarky up, Senjutsu and Zerosen headed to a smaller post where they boarded a less often used transport back to the Tekno side, so they don't attract as much attention.
**
Seeing that the other guy he'd been fighting with had cleared off the rest of the drunks, Jazker walked up to the bar, "Well Ten looks like you're gonna have to rebuild again... he give you enough money or you gonna need more?" Then, turning to the guy that had just walked in during the fight, "Seems you're used to fights. Don't think I've seen you in here before. I'm Jazker, what's your name?"
He smiled charmingly to Jazker, "I'm Alex. Been around enough fights to know they are a good show." a careless shrug. "You don't exactly seem a novice." He turned signaling the tender to refill his drink.
"Why don't you let me buy you a drink Champ? Repaying you for a good show." amused little smirk lit up his face. The man held his respect. He brushed his bangs out of his face to get a better look at the morph.
"Sure, I could use a drink after the fight, and you're right I'm not a novice, I used to fight in the street fights around in different places. So what do you do anyway, you don't exactly look like the fighting type." Glancing warily at Alex, Jazker sat at the bar.
"Mm… I'm not. The day job I sit in a little cubicle, type on my computer, and generally play nice. Night job," he says with an indulgent smile, "Is a little different, and my business at the moment."
He signals the tender over, "Give our champ anything he wants on me tonight." The tender nods waiting for Jazker's order. "You still fight or did you go out in a blaze of glory and find yourself...here." He was casual and purely friendly.
"Give me the usual, Ten. To answer your question," Jazker turned toward Alex. "I still fight now and then but for the most part I'm a merc now. At the moment, I'm not on a job so I came by to visit Ten since I haven't seen him in so long, about... three years I think. Do you know anybody that could use a good merc? I don't charge a whole lot." Jazker tried to grin amiably at Alex but only succeeded in showing off his rows of rather sharp teeth.
"Not unless you want to check into the Syndicate, which is not suggested." he turned his glass in his hands, thinking if he could recall hearing about anyone in need, "Might want to check the Natural's end of the game. We have hit a bit of a lull. Our brave warriors are becoming fat, lumpy masses swimming about in their vaults of money. I suggest finding a new occupation, or at least adding a facet to your skills, champ." the alcohol had loosened this ones tongue enough to be honest for once. He set the empty glass on the counter; he'd noticed the adverse effects it was having.
"You said 'our', I take it you're on the Naturals' side?" Jazker asked Alex while downing his third drink. " And why isn't checking into the Syndicate not suggested? It's not as if they're doing anything that someone else wouldn't do sooner or later, and I've heard that the leader of the Syndicate may be a Natural himself, or at least from a Natural family. Well, if you'll excuse me I'm going to go to back to the inn I'm staying at for the night. It was nice meeting you."
"I'm on no one's side. Who ever is paying me at the time has my allegiance. Money makes the world go round. Syndicate is not as stable as they think. Wouldn't get into them until they have weathered that storm, if you ask little ol me that is." a crooked grin that attempted to pass as innocent. He laid out the coin required by their alcohol consumption nodding to the tender. "Well good for Shidousha. He isn't my problem. Good night champ." he refrained from offering his escort to Jazker, didn't need to offend anyone this late in the game. "Toodles…"
Walking out into the street Jazker waved down a cab. ~Well, seems like the only place I might get a job in this city is the Syndicate.... oh well, better than nothing.' "Take me to the Syndicate HQ, and don't worry I'll pay you twice the rate...if you get me there in one minute."
Arriving at the Syndicate, Jazker looked up at the huge building in front of him. ~This building gets much taller and it'll fall over. Well, now that I'm here no reason to turn around.' Jazker waked into the building's main door and went straight to the front desk. "I'd like to talk to somebody about getting some kind of job around here."
**
"This is not a good day." Johnathon muttered to himself. He had stepped off the transport from one of the Tekno cities, when he heard a soft explosion, followed closely by a cloud of gas rising from the ground nearby, where the sound had come from. He had seen two men run into the cloud, and debated as to help everyone out by dispersing the cloud, but decided it was not something he wanted to get into. So he just ran into the near by underbrush and dashed away from that place, his backpack throwing him off balance every now and then as he ran. He had come to a clearing a good ways off of the main path. He sat down on the ground, catching his breath, and not sure what was happening. He wasn't sure, but he thought that he had heard something rustling in the nearby brush. He wasn't sure because he could still hear his heart beating like it was in his ear. He placed his hand near the handle of his sword, something he tended to do when nervous, and waited to see if he was hearing things or not.
Shanshalya had made much better time than she had expected, thanks to a farmer who'd also been headed for the post; she had helped the farmer's son through a nasty bout of Striped Throat not so long ago, and the grateful farmer had been more than happy to give her a lift. She'd been outside the walls of the trading post only two or three hours after leaving home.
She had taken a good look at the crowded, bustling post, and decided that her errand could wait a bit. Besides, the forest just outside looked so much more - interesting...
And what a trove of plants was growing there! She'd only been walking in the woods for a few minutes, and she'd already seen at least three different herbs that she just ached to transplant to her garden at home for study. Didn't anyone in the town go outside?
Spotting a beautiful little specimen under a cluster of thorn bushes, she dropped to her knees and crawled under the spikes. Fortunately she had bound her wings beneath her shirt before leaving so as not to appear too conspicuous; binding also kept them out of the way, a nice bonus at the moment.
She paused as she was examining the plant's leaves. Was there someone coming down that faint little path over there? She shifted to get a better view, trying to remain unseen herself. It looked like - a tall man, with blue hair, carrying a bag... and gold eyes... Maybe he was part-Morph? At any rate, he didn't look too dangerous, but she had heard stories. Better to stay hidden.
Kaze's head snapped up. He had been walking along, enjoying and getting used to this new roadway. The small dirt path had so much to enjoy... The sunlight shone brightly through the trees, and pollen danced lightly through the air. And the foliage… each luscious green plant seemed almost alive... And now, one piece of foliage that wasn't exactly green--white mostly, with hints of red and black, seemed to be actually moving among the other plants. And he could hear it… breathing? Kaze bent over and looked into the bushes. "Hello?" he asked curiously. "Is someone in there?"
Shanshalya almost jumped out of her skin. The man had seen her? Oh, damn... No help for it, now, thorn bushes obviously weren't very effective for hiding places. She slipped out from under the bushes and dusted herself off, aware of how grimy she'd gotten. She gave the man an embarrassed smile. "Hello... Sorry if I startled you, I was just - looking at the plants, that's all, I'm a healer, you see... I'm here to visit my brother, he works in the trading post, but I wanted to explore here, too. I love the woods. And I'm babbling, please forgive me - my name is Shanshalya. What's yours?"
"People call me Kaze." the blue-haired martial artist answered warmly. "And don't worry 'bout babbling... I don't mind. I was wandering through the woods myself. I just came from that trading post," he said, gesturing to his bag of spices. "These are for my sensei, though."
Inside, Kaze was proud of himself. This was one of the few times that he hadn't been bothered by someone asking for his name. Maybe there was some hope for him after all.
She smiled at him. He didn't seem scary at all. "It's nice to meet you, Kaze." She added hopefully, "I don't suppose you happen to know my brother? His name is Amanos, he has hair like mine but shorter, and he's taller than I am, too... Maybe you've seen him in the market or something?"
Kaze raised a hand to his chin in thought, scrutinizing the girl. Had he seen a man somewhat like her before? He hadn't been to the post THAT often, but he faintly remembered the avian feathery hair, even though the name Amanos had no meaning to him.
“Hmmm... I barely remember the face. I can help you find him if you want."
"Really?" She smiled at him again, her biggest smile. "I would really appreciate it; all that I have to go on is the name of the company he said he's working for." She looked down and realized that her shirt had gotten rather torn from the thorn bushes. "Oh, dear - I must look like a mess...” She looked up at the man - Kaze, what a funny name - again. "I don't suppose I could go with you to your sensei's, could I? Just long enough to change my shirt - I don't want to wander around in town looking like this..."
"Sure, I don't see why not. Just... whatever you do, don't ask to try on any clothes he has there. Trust me."
Kaze looked around again. The surroundings were unfamiliar… But he could smell something. It was almost like smoke… no… burning... Yes, something was burning. Meat. He let out a slight chuckle. "Follow me," he said smiling. I think I just found the way to my sensei's dojo."
Now Johnathon was more then a little worried, he had heard some movement, then some talking, now whoever was there was now moving closer to where he was. He thought they would be coming through the brush on his left, so he went to the middle of the clearing and faced where he thought they were. Placing his hand onto the handle of his blade, just in case they weren't friendly. He waited, and listened. ‘Please don't be anybody that wants a fight.’ He thought.
"Thanks again," Shanshalya told Kaze, shifting the strap of her shoulder bag so it was more comfortable. "And I won't ask to borrow your sensei's clothes, I did bring my own...” Whatever THAT was about. Oh, well, none of her business. She pushed through the bushes ahead of her, holding the branches back so Kaze could go through, and froze upon seeing a boy in the clearing. Was the whole town wandering through the woods today?
Kaze blinked as he caught sight of the young man with the sword. He was obviously terrified, and even seemed to shake a bit. Kaze would have to be careful... He was without his own sword, and didn't want to risk either of them becoming injured.
He turned back to Shanshalya and whispered. "C'mon… Let's pretend we don't see him. Don't wanna startle the guy or anything like that."
Realizing that these people were not here to do harm to him, Johnathon relaxed and took his hand off of his sword's handle. "I admit you had me startled, but I won't hurt you." He smiled. "I was just on edge from some excitement that happened back at the trading post I just left. My name is Johnathon, what are your names?" He believed these people to be safe, but he wanted to be cautious for a little longer.
Shanshalya shrugged and resigned herself to both more company in the woods and the likelihood of trouble when she finally did go to the trading post. Well, introductions couldn't hurt... "My name is Shanshalya."
"And I'm Kaze." the martial artist answered. He was relieved that there wouldn't be anymore fighting... That skirmish with Anarky and his "buddies" was enough for one day. He decided that they'd best take their time in returning to the post. That way, the battle would've hopefully ended.
"In that case, hello Shanshalya and Kaze." He had now calmed down enough as to take the time to look at the two in front of him. The one he looked at first, the woman, was the one that stood out, at least more so to him. She was about a half foot shorter than himself, and had hair that looked more like feathers, which he thought was cool. As for the man, he appeared to be the same height as himself. Has blue hair and... gold eyes? 'This is not your everyday group.' He thought to himself. He wondered whether or not he should voice his questions, but went ahead anyway. "So what are you two doing out here? And where are you two going?" He asked.
Direct as usual, Shanshalya said, "I'm here to find my brother who works at a company in the trading post. I don't like large crowds of people very much, so I thought I'd explore these woods a little first. Did you know how many rare plants there are growing out here?" She thought for a moment, and decided that might require a little explanation. "I'm a healer, so I notice things like that. I just ran into Kaze by accident - I'm going with him to find a place to change my shirt, it's gotten a bit ragged. That's all." She debated asking Johnathon if the trouble in the trading post had involved her brother at all, but dismissed the idea; Amanos had always been the well-behaved one of the family, even more so than she. The thought of HIM getting into trouble almost made her laugh.
"I've just recently come back from the post myself." Kaze answered. "I only
got some spices for my sensei, though." He looked out toward the direction of the burning smell, and saw a small bit of smoke rise into the air. "Apparently, he's trying to burn the dojo down now… "Kaze couldn't help but chuckle. The old coot just couldn't wait on anyone or anything. It would've been easier to let Kaze do the cooking, but nooo...
Walking up to Kaze and Shanshalya, Johnathon was
intrigued by these two. "So, you're a practitioner of the martial arts then Kaze? I saw some in the occasional street fights that happened where I grew up. They were interesting to watch. Do you think I could meet your sensei?" He said turning towards Shanshalya. "Actually Shanshalya, as much as my mother tried to teach me, I never picked up on herbal medicine. She told me that at the very least it would save me money if I got hurt. Why are you here looking for your brother? Do you think he is in trouble?" Realizing he was prying, Johnathon stopped himself after that last question.
"Well..." Shanshalya temporized. She really shouldn't be talking about personal business like this, but both Johnathon and Kaze seemed like decent enough people, and since Kaze at least had connections in town, she really could use their help... "We don't know, but he hasn't written to us in a while, and we haven't seen him almost since he got this new job, so I came to find him and talk to him." Having almost lost her breath from her unusual verbosity, she took a deep breath and smelled smoke.
Kaze cursed, the smell becoming more obvious to him, too. What was that old
fart trying to pull? He looked around the part of the path he was in. Shrubbery, trees, rocks... How far away was he exactly? "Eh... excuse me for a second." Kaze said worriedly. And with as much speed as he could muster, Kaze ran back up the path, and eventually into the foliage.
**
As the brothers enter the lab, Zerosen tossed Anarky, not real soft-like, onto a lab table. "We've got him, Dr. Nakistan." Senjutsu sat down, not feeling real well after the action and waited for Nakistan to come in.
"Oh good, good! I knew I could count on you two." Nakistan looked happily at Anarky’s limp body, but a little fear crept into him as he looked at Zerosen. He'd always been a bit afraid of the hulking male.
"Yeah yeah. Just put the money in our account and we'll get out of here." Senjutsu said, taking a sip of some medicine he made on the way over.
"Oh, right." Nakistan put Anarky in a holding contraption and turned back to the brothers as Zerosen moved protectively over by Senjutsu. Nakistan then left the room and brought out his laptop. Going through numerous passwords and things, he accessed the money transfer area. Transferring the money, he nodded to Senjutsu. "There you go."
"Thank you. We'll be on our way then… unless you have something else for us?" Senjutsu got up, leaning a little bit on Zerosen.
"No, no… that's it. I think. Maybe. Er..." Nakistan rambled. "That is, your payments will be given to you via secured anonymous bank transferal. After all," he chuckled, "Who wants creditors to know you're being paid by one of the most feared political firms on Terracon for doing their dirty work?"
"What?!" Senjutsu whipped around, but stumbled slightly, due to his sickness.
Dr. Nakistan chuckled a little bit. Wrong move. Zerosen helped his brother back into the chair before turning on Nakistan. "You told us Anarky was a trouble maker and was terrorizing some Natural villages and trading posts, you bastard! Not to mention you then laugh at my brother! I guarantee you that laughing at him won't help your predicament at all." Zerosen grabbed Nakistan's collar and lifted him a good foot and a half off the ground. "You want to tell us the truth now, doctor?"
"Thank you brother." Finishing his drink, Senjutsu stood up. " I do believe our good friend Nakistan owes us an explanation." Senjutsu put his hand on his short sword as Zerosen slammed Nakistan against the wall.
Dr Nakistan choked. "Ack!…urg..." He gazed helplessly and nervously at the bounty hunting brothers. Zerosen… the bumbling fool that he was, looked ready to rip out Nakistan's esophagus. All he needed was the word from his brother, who looked also like he'd oblige him at any second.
"I'm just as clueless as you! Honest! Well, not as much as Zerosen, but pretty close! All I know is that I was paid to pay you to get that Anarky fella! I don't know what for! ...Although that terrorizing nonsense sounds about right..."
"Er... let me down? Please?"
"Let you down? Hmph! I suppose we could do that. Brother?" Senjutsu relaxed his grip on his short sword as a grin spread over Zerosen's face.
"Sure thing." Zerosen tossed Dr. Nakistan across the room into a table.
Walking over, Senjutsu pulled out his short sword and, bending down, whispered to Nakistan so Zerosen wouldn't hear. "My brother may not be the smartest warrior, but that doesn't mean I'm not. You make a stupid remark about not knowing who your employer is after saying that you're doing a special transaction because our employer isn't very well liked, and you expect me to believe you?" Getting up, Senjutsu smacked Nakistan across the face with the flat side of the blade. "Now tell me who it is before I have Zerosen tear this place apart and I find out the hard way. And you know what happens after that? I'll kill you so you don't ruin any future employment opportunities that we might have. Understand?" Zerosen, hearing the last part, pulled out his broadsword and walkdc up behind Senjutsu, completely shadowing the quivering form of Nakistan.
"I...I don't know!!" Nakistan cried, clutching his head and curling into a protective ball. "All I know about my employer is that he calls himself "K"... and that he works for the Sinner...Uh... Center...no... Sandy cake... no... nononoNO! Argh! I don't remember!!"
The good doctor was now wrapped around Senjutsu's legs, nearly flooding the floor with tears as well as something slightly more yellow.
"I've told you everything!! Here!!" he said, now releasing one hand and reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a credit disk (Terracon's equivalent of a credit card) and put it in Senjutsu's hand as his own trembled. "Take this!! It's my credit disk for the bank K put my payment in!! That's all I can offer you! Just please... PLEASE don't kill me…"
"I ~almost~ believe you, you sniveling wimp." Kicking Nakistan, Senjutsu turned away and, sheathing his sword, headed towards the door. "Just a reminder, I don't like beggars." Whipping around, Senjutsu knocked and fired an arrow in one smooth motion. The arrow shot through Nakistan's arm, pinning him to the table leg. "I'll stick you full of arrows every time you lie to me from now on. Remember that. Come, brother." Senjutsu stepped out of the building and Zerosen, after giving Nakistan a menacing look, followed.
Once outside, the brothers started talking. "K, huh? Do you have any ideas who he might be working for?" Zerosen asked, a little disappointed at not getting to tear the place apart.
"I'm not quite sure. I'm sure Nakistan wasn't telling the truth but I wouldn't have gotten anything else out of him unless I killed him, which wouldn't have done any good. There aren't many businesses that are feared enough politically to make a payment through a secure transaction." Senjutsu said as the two headed towards Nakistan's credit disk's bank. "He seemed pretty sure that the business started with an "S", so that narrows it down even more."
As the brothers entered the bank, Senjutsu pulled out his sword as his brother pulled out his broadsword. "Look, I don't want to cause any trouble here. I just need to use one of your fancy-shmancy computers to check some stuff, understand?" Senjutsu stepped forward as the bankers backed off. "And don't worry. I've got a nice credit disk here for any of you who want to help me."
"Um... I'll take you over here, sir." A pretty young teller motioned for them to come over. "And, well, you really don't need to pull out a sword to cash a credit disk. It's a fairly standard procedure." She said, just a bit nervously. She took the disk and deftly inserted it into her computer. A few quick button presses, and she was done. She made a noise of discontent, however. "Excuse me, but what do you think you're trying to pull here? This disk is completely blank. You can't get credits off a blank disk." She pulled it out and threw it back down onto her desk. "You just get out of here before I alert the Tekno Forces..."
**
Meanwhile, back at Nakistan's lab, Anarky was regaining consciousness. The good doctor had left the room to attend to the arrow that was lodged in his arm, and Anarky certainly wasn't going to waste an opportunity to escape.
He quickly assessed the situation. His holding manacles covered his entire hands, leaving those pretty much trapped. His legs were strapped into place, but movable. Basically, he was screwed.
Except for the fact that they had forgotten to take his electro-knuckles off when they had locked him in. This wasn't going to be pretty, but he decided to do it anyway. He activated the electricity, sending a shock channeling through his entire body, but also shorting out the manacles. He broke them free easily after that, then freed his legs.
"Hey, wait! What are you doing!? You can't escape!! They will kill me!" Dr. Nakistan, just now noticing what had happened, was running back into the room.
"Sorry, doc, but I gotta save my own ass! Not yours!" And with that, Anarky cold-clocked him, sending a pulse of energy into Nakistan's body. The old scientist went flying backwards into the wall, out cold.
"FREEDOM!" Anarky screamed out to the world. Then, he took back to the streets, hiding himself among the scum that lived in the lower levels of the Tekno world.
**
"WHAT?!" Senjutsu's eyes crackled with energy, fire showing in his eyes. If there was one thing he hated more than being lied to, it was getting double-crossed. Managing to control his anger for a moment, Senjutsu muttered a thanks before leaving the bank.
"I can't believe that sniveling little bastard gave us an empty credit disk!" Zerosen said, smacking a brick wall and putting a short crack through it.
"Don't worry brother, he'll learn soon enough not to lie to us." Senjutsu said. As the two shoved their way through the street, they eventually arrived at Nakistan's lab. As Zerosen broke down the door, Senjutsu yelled, "Nakistan! Get your worthless ass out here!" Walking around a bit, Senjutsu stumbled a little. Looking down, he saw the unconscious form of Nakistan. "I can't believe I'm about to waste my spiritual energy on this piece of crap." Senjutsu muttered as he bent down and cast a weak spell on Nakistan, just enough to make him conscious. "I suggest you talk real fast and explain before I slit you throat!"
"Uuuhh...where....what..." Seeing Senjutsu's angry glare, Nakistan immediately remembered what happened. "Oh yeah! Heh heh...about the credit disk thing, I, uh, I mean, that doesn't matter right now."
Leaning a little closer, Senjutsu created a small fireball, "Oh? And why's that?"
"Anarky got free!" Nakistan shouted, backing up a bit.
"He what?!" Now it was Zerosen's turn to get ticked off. "I can't believe how damn stupid you are!" Pulling out his broadsword, Zerosen advanced towards Nakistan.
"Wait brother. Tell us where he went." Senjutsu said, enlarging the fireball.
"I don't know! He electrocuted me before he left!" Nakistan said. "I would guess towards the nearest transport. He most likely wants off of this half."
"Humph! I' sorry, but that's just not good enough after letting him go ~and~ giving us a blank credit disk! Brother, you seem anxious. Would like to have the pleasure?" Senjutsu said, standing up and extinguishing the flame.
Zerosen just smiled as his sword went downward into the doctor's heart. Blood spattered up onto the blade and Zerosen's face. Grabbing Nakistan's I.D. card by his computer, Senjutsu flipped it over. "Syndicate, eh? What a fool!" Senjutsu slipped the card into one of his pockets and headed outside, his brother following. "I think we've got our next job after we finish off Anarky."
The brothers then dashed off down the street towards the nearest transport.
**
Kira hurried through the small, dark streets of the slums of the city. She
mentally cursed her bad luck. ‘First I get pulled into a brawl, then pushed
into the street, then I don't catch Jix, and now I'm in the WRONG part of
town during the WRONG part of night...’ As she pulled her cloak down farther
across her face, she failed to notice the wild-looking young man until she
knocked into him. "OOF!"
"That's it, THAT IS IT!" Anarky was fed up with being bumped into, stepped on, and any other such thing that usually happened to him. "I am SO sick of people doing this to me!" He grabbed the person who had bumped into him and spun her around.
"This is the last straw, you lit-" Then, Anarky noticed that it was a girl who he was holding. "Oh... Oh, shazz, I'm so sorry." He released her, then looked down at the ground, sweatdropping.
Kira looked a little frightened as the man let go of her. "I-I'm sorry... I wasn't watching where I was going... Are you okay?" She took a closer look, as close as her cloak permitted, as long as she didn't show her face.
Vas was pacing down the dark street when he saw a strange, green-haired man abusing some poor woman. He was about to go intervene when the man let go of her and she asked if he was okay. ‘Hmm. Must be old friends or something. Perhaps I should ask if they know the way to the nearest transport back to my side of the planet... Got nothing to lose.’ Vas slowly walked out of the shadows and up to the speaking couple. "Pardon me. Sir, ma'am, would you happen to know where the nearest transport back to the Natural half of Terracon is? I've been wandering for hours with no success. I fear I may have to start climbing these large buildings to see where I'm going..."
"Uh, yeah, I'm fine..." Anarky was saying to the woman
when a young man with very distinct eyes came over and
addressed him.
"Transport to a Natural area? Sure, I can get you there. I need to get out of the city myself, actually. For reasons that won't be disclosed at the moment..." He looked over his shoulder nervously, knowing that he would be pursued as soon as the good doctor was revived, by natural or un-natural causes.
Kira raised her hand to get the attention of both the men. "Actually, I was planning on taking the next transport too... Maybe we could all go together?"
Vas looked at Kira, "Yeah, sure. I don't see why not. I could sure use the company. Actually, you guys are pretty much the only people I've met here so far that have said more than one or two words to me." Vas smiled his innocent, boyish smile. "Anyways, shall we go?"
Kira lowered her cowl a little bit, letting her reddish muzzle show, and smiled back at the man. "Don't worry, brother, you're in sympathetic company." She looked over at the other man. "I'm all too happy to go right away. Are you ready?"
"The sooner the better." Anarky had a creepy feeling in his spine, and that usually meant he was being pursued. And so, with Anarky in the lead, the three of them headed towards the nearest transport station.
Vas, still a little confused with that "sympathetic company" remark that the woman anthro made, decided to introduce himself. "I'm Vastal," he looked at the man, then the woman, "but people call me Vas. And your names are..."
"How stupid of me. I'm Kira, and it's nice to meet you, Vas." She hurried after the other man, who was rapidly heading towards the transport area. "What brings you to this half?"
"Well, I'd give you the whole story, but it'd take a few hours. The short of the story is I'm searching for information on this "Syndicate." Apparently many people know of it on this side of the planet, but no one seems willing to share any information. I would continue my search, but I'm sick of this half of Terracon, and I need to get back home. So, why are you here?"
**
"Brother, hold on a second." Senjutsu stopped and his stomach folded, starting to cough up blood.
"Sari!" Zerosen immediately stopped and held up his brother. "Are you alright?" Senjutsu stumbled a bit, and Zerosen put out his arm, giving his brother support. "You can't run like this, Sari. Let me help you....please!" Picking Senjutsu up, Zerosen then resumed running towards the transport. "Just hold on, Sari. When we get to the transport, I'll fix your medicine." People, now willingly moving aside at the sight of the sick man, allowed Zerosen to make good time to the transport. Arriving, Zerosen set his brother down in a waiting chair and took out a few herbs and things, crushing them together and placing them in a cup.
"Shade...thank you..." Senjutsu muttered, blood flecking up on his lips.
"It's alright, brother, just drink the medicine." Zerosen said, handing his brother the cup and sitting next to him.
Drinking it, Senjutsu slowly recovered. "When Anarky gets here, if indeed he does, I don't want you to get hot-headed and fight. If the Syndicate wants him, perhaps he knows about them. Now go wait by the entrance and when he comes, just lead him to me so we can talk."
"Alright, Sari. Just take of yourself alright?" Detaching his sword sheath, Zerosen laid next to his brother, hoping it'd make Anarky believe that he didn't want to fight. Zerosen then left his brother and waited by the transport entrance.
"Well, my name's Ben, and I was brought here against my will by a couple of Bounty Hunters. And if you want to know about the Syndicate, I can sure as Hell tell you..." Anarky said as they got within site of the transport station. "They're run by this guy, nobody really knows who he is. They control almost everything, they've got their sticky fingers in almost all Tekno operations..." Anarky pushed the door open, holding it for Vas and Kira. "And just when you least expect it-" Anarky gasped, cutting himself off. "AAH! THE BIG ONE!!" He had spotted Zerosen, and he turned to run.
"Wait!" Zerosen shouted, seeing Anarky turn. "I don't want to fight you. I don't even have my sword with me. I don't know how much Senjutsu wants me to tell you, but he wants to talk to you about the Syndicate. We got double-crossed, and believe me, he hates them for it. After we found you again, we were gonna go after the Syndicate." Zerosen raised his arms, a symbol of peace and stepped back a step. "Please, I won't fight you. We just need to know about our ex-employer. So, what do you say?"
Kira was confused. Who was this huge person, what did they have to do with the Syndicate, why was this Ben acting so afraid, and - "What the hell is going on?" She flushed slightly as she realized she said the last out loud. "Uhm... You can all ignore me, I guess I'll just go wait for the transport now..." She hurried over to a bench and sat down. "Way to look like an idiot, Kitsune."
Vas stepped up next to Anarky, who was nearly a foot taller then him. Trying not to look too small, Vas spoke to Anarky. "What's the deal here, Ben? These guys don't look too friendly, especially that big guy. He doesn't exactly pull this whole 'innocent' thing off too well." Anarky looked at Vas, "These are the Bounty Hunters." Vas' piercing eyes widened at Zerosen, making him flinch a little. "I see. Well, if it's any consolation, I've got your back if this gets ugly." Vas stepped back, staying just behind Anarky and to his side.
"While, any other time I might side with you on this, Vas, for some reason, it sounds just like the Syndicate to double-cross someone like that. I think I'm gonna go with them. See what happens. Feel free to take the transport with Kira." Anarky sighed, then walked over to Zerosen. "Take me to him."
As Vas watched Ben slowly walk with the rather large man, he thought to himself. ‘No, I may not know much about this Syndicate, but this just doesn't feel right.’ "WAIT!" Vas hurried over to Anarky. "You and Kira are the only decent people I've found on this part of the planet. I'm not gonna just walk away when you could be getting yourself into trouble. If you don't mind, I'll tag along. My trip back to the Natural side can wait a few days. At least now I have someone to talk to."
Kira got up, having heard the entire conversation. "Hey, I'm not gonna go on that transport by myself. Besides, the Syndicate is interesting to me. I want to know about it also." She shrugged, then smiled. "I'm not much in battle, but I can hold my own okay... I want to help too!"
"Thank you for following my brother, Anarky." Senjutsu said, standing up from his chair. "I know you probably don't trust us, nor do you really have a reason to. When we took the job to hunt you, we were told as a part of our information, that you were terrorizing Natural tribes. And, being from the Natural side, that was one thing we wouldn't allow. After we brought you to the late Dr. Nakistan, we learned that we were double-crossed through various events, had the Dr. lie to us about our employer, and learned that you weren't terrorizing any tribes. Now that we've found you again, we could use your knowledge of the Syndicate in our attacks against them." Coughing a little, Senjutsu finished the rest of his medicinal drink. "Sorry about that. Now that you know the story, will you help us?"
"Hmm… As you said, it is going to be hard to trust you again... But, if you're against the Syndicate, then you're with me. So, I figure we should pool our knowledge? What do you know? Any of you?" Anarky directed that last question to all gathered, Kira, Vas, Zerosen and Senjutsu.
"I hate to admit it, but neither myself or my brother know much. We know that they have someone known as "K", not that that means much. We're really in the dark here, that's why I was hoping to meet up with you, Anarky. I figured you'd know more about the Syndicate." Senjutsu said.
"I'll tell you everything I know, but it's really not that much. The Syndicate has managed to keep their business very private." Anarky sat down on a nearby chair, preparing himself for a long tale. First, the story of Anarky's village was told. He was extremely vivid in his telling, describing the hatred he feels for the vampire. "I believe he may be high ranking in the Syndicate, but I'm not sure. All I know is he's very powerful." Then, he listed a few of the government agencies that the Syndicate controls. "The Tekno Police aren't out to serve the public. They're out to serve this 'K' guy you two are talking about, I guarantee it. I bet he's running the whole thing." He shrugged at the end of his story. "That's about all I know. I've been setting up attacks on what I believe to be Syndicate fronts for awhile now, and I hope I'm getting noticed, but without anyone else in the cause, I usually have to just run. But maybe now that'll change...."
Always the strong, silent type (or SHORT, silent type). Vas listened carefully to what Ben, or "Anarky," as the tall man had called him, had to say. This was the information Vas had been looking for the past few months. "Ben, do you suppose Enrodar-DiAreus killed my wife for Syndicate reasons? All I knew of him after I killed him was that he had worked for this "Syndicate." I thought perhaps…perhaps not. Well, it seems we have a mutual enemy. Perhaps things will change now that you've got companions." Vas looked at the rest of the group, "Ben does have companions now, does he not?"
"Yes!" Kira grinned, showing very sharp teeth. "I don't know much about the Syndicate myself, but I am in search of something, and maybe by helping all of you and a little luck, I can find what I'm looking for."
