I've run this through the spelling and grammer checker, and made a few
revisions based on you comments and things I saw as I was reading through
it. Today I made a few more.
Comments on this are encouraged. If we can get agreement that this
works, I'd like to put this on the FFML.
Steven P. Cornett
cornetts@gemair.com
And now...On with the story!
**********************************************************************
In a time of darkness and treachery they came from the heavens...
They had no bodies, only the power to take our own...
In the ensuing conflict, seven will stand apart from the rest.
Each with a talent, ability, or frame of mind to stand against the
invaders....
They are...The Seven Samurai of Anime!
Story I: The Silent Invaders
by
Steven P. Cornett,
with additional material by Gary Kleppe
The Introduction Story to the "Seven Samurai of Anime", a
joint project of Steven Cornett, Gary Kleppe, Ken Arromdee, Donny
Cheng, Andrew Petalik, Vincent Seifert, and Ethan Tsai.
Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2, and the characters thereof are the
creation of Rumiko Takahashi. All rights reserved by publishers
Shogakukan (Japan) and Viz (U.S) for the manga, and to Viz (U.S. ed
Ranma 1/2) and Animeigo (U.S. tranlation of Urusei Yatsura) for the
anime.
***********************************************************************
In the void of interstellar space, at a point three times more
distant from the sun than Pluto, a five mile long cylinder shaped
object began its deceleration to its target. Within the ship,
internetworked computer systems of immense power and capacity
calculated landing sites for landers based on data gathered by a fleet
of probe ships. From UV data, the ship received the location of urban
areas, population concentrations, even traffic flow. The systems
analyzed radio communications, UV, and visible data. From these,
the systems determined vital individuals, their locations, and even
their friends.
The cylinder's computers processed the information in
preparation for a long awaited moment: The landing of vessels that
would begin the Fellani's rebirth on the new planet.
Earth.
An iris-like entryway on the sunward side of the cylinder
opened, allowing hundreds of saucer shapes to leave the ship. The ship
then relayed trajectory and other information, as well as final commands,
to the vessels through digital radio transmissions.
Then, like bees leaving the hive, the landers made the jump
through hyperspace from the mother vessel's location to near Earth
orbit. The jump was nearly instantaneous, with the ships bedecking the
cylinder like an array of beads creating a swarm of warp entry lines as
they performed their maneuver. An instant later, they relayed their
successful re-entry to normal space to the cylinder, then began their
descent.
The leftover radio signals, powerful yet intended for short
range relay, continued unfettered to the planet the landers had warped
towards. As the vessels landed, the signal arrived on Earth.
***** *** *****
At a Radio Observatory in West Virginia, an astronomer trained
the series of radio telescopes to focus on a nearby star in the
southwest quadrant of the sky. The scientist set the frequency to
the narrow microwave band, and turned on the digital filtering programs
to attempt to receive signals of artificial origin. As dedicated
observers had done for the three decades SETI has been in operation,
he scanned nearby stars for signals of intelligent life.
One of the most telling ironies of the two and a half years
since the First Tag Race was that the intense, painstaking, and thus
far fruitless effort to detect the signals generated by alien
civilizations continued even though an answer to the question of "are
we alone" had been so resolutely answered. Some suspected that those
who still searched with Radio Telescopes thought the aliens who came to
Japan with Lum weren't 'real' aliens but merely humans with advanced
gizmos.
Despite this, Sean Connelly searched the skies with perhaps a
greater dedication after the First and Second Tag Races between Ataru
Moroboshi and Lum Redet of Uru. When asked why SETI continued when
people knew about the Uruseians, Elle, and Neptunians (whose existence,
when publicly revealed, came as a total shock to the scientists who
had scanned that world with the Voyager probes nearly a decade ago
without finding *anything* that suggested that life flourished), the
astronomer replied that the Oni arrival raised new questions for the
search to answer. Questions about the development of such cultures,
about why other races that should have evolved differently from us
resembled us in any way at all, never mind in the precision in which
many did.
The reception of past transmissions from other cultures in
space would be a window into the past of the culture, as well as a
calling card from races yet unknown. Races we would contact first
instead of the other way around.
For that, and other reasons, Sean Connelly, Ph.D. from the
University of Pittsburgh, continued his lonely vigil for signals from
unknown galactic cultures. While some interesting signals arrived,
most turned out to come from natural sources or, with the combination
of newfound knowledge, from the civilizations presently known. If he
was lucky, he would find a 'reference signal', as Uruseian or Elle
transmissions were known, again tonight. Not as interesting as the
discovery of a new people, but nonetheless stored for study as a piece
of the planet's past.
He was not disappointed. After a half hour's wait, the
analysis program buzzers went off, indicating that regular spectral
signals, possibly from an alien civilization, had impacted the antenna
array. Sean began to run though the alien contact protocol, moving the
target angle by five degrees to see if the signal died off while the
attending technician checked the software and equipment to rule out a
false positive. The next check was to see if the target was near any
known cultures while the technicians determined the possibility that
the signal came from a known source, either on Earth or elsewhere.
"Got a check on target variance. Target location is on the
opposite side of the sky from reference bingos, so this looks good.
How's it look on your end, Roger?"
Roger Calverson nodded and looked at the astronomer with an
exuberant expression. "Software and system diagnostics check out, so
it's looking hot, Sean. Robby, you golden?"
"I've getting near point 0029 percent match. This may be the
big one, guys!" Robert April, or Robby as the full time staff called
him, reported. At twenty-three years of age, Robby was a youngster
among SETI veterans, having entered to develop the first 'reference
culture' discriminator programs and add them to SETI's set of tools.
The knowledge he gained from the effort allowed him to write a Master's
Degree wining thesis paper, and would soon gain him a Ph.D. of his own.
"All right, next step is to alert Ohio State, CMU, and Arecibo
of this to get confirmation. Lacking that, we enter this into the
analyzers and see if we get a repeat." At that, everyone nodded an
affirmative and set out on their tasks. Within a half hour, the phones
rang from the other observatories, with Arecibo confirming first, and
the others soon after. With this, the group confirmed and tentatively
labeled the new civilization ETC-CCA-05. (Extra-Terrestrial-
civilization, Connelly-Calverson-April, 5th contact)
A week passed before the contact became public, during which
time scientists analyzed the signals to confirm their uniqueness from
any others known sources. Only then did the researchers make the
announcement in concert with its publication in the journals. The
newspapers gained it a day later. Then the world knew of the first
culture discovered through radio detection.
***** *** *****
Unknown to the scientists sharing and confirming the discovery
that night, the probe ships from the culture known then as ETC-CCA-05
landed at sites near the major cities of Earth. A few landed inside
the cities, their arrival ignored as a meteor shower, unusual in that
Earth haf not passed any known comet tails that night, but not unknown
since most comets passed undetected by the inhabitants of the
blue-green orb.
The objects sat where they landed and waited for someone to
approach. Since they had landed near or inside heavily populated
areas, and humans were creatures of great curiosity, the probes did
not have long to wait.
When people arrived, and got too close to the probes, they
would be captured and taken into the ship. A short time later, the
individuals would exit the ship, taking a suitcase full of items to
pass to friends. The friends would pass them to others, targeting
famous scientists, leaders, entertainers, and holy men.
The first of the targeted individuals were affected a week
after the initial landings. Some, like Shutarou Mendou, would be
affected much, much, earlier...
***** *** *****
"Young Master, this device landed about an hour ago," the
Mendou forces researcher told the heir to the Mendou fortune. "At
first we thought the thing was a meteorite, but as you can see, there
is virtually no crater. Just this lander. It's not from Uru, so we
thought you might be able to identify it, since you've been out in
space so often."
Shutarou Mendou surveyed the lander, walking around it to get
every possible detail. The lander was saucer shaped, a little like the
Jupiter 2 from an old gaijin Sci-fi show he saw as a kid. The color
was silver, but had no windows, nothing that would indicate humanoid
inhabitation. All the ships he had seen on his inadvertent excursions
had possessed windows, as if all humanoids liked looking out to the
stars as much as the people of Earth did. Either these people didn't
much care for the sight of such vistas inhabited the ship, or the ship
was completely automated.
There were external sensors, detecting UV or some other type of
radiation, as well as transmitters on the top of the lander, pointed to
the southwest corner of the sky for some reason. "No, I haven't seen
any ship like this. Doesn't mean it couldn't be Uruseian or something,
but I don't see why they would drop an unmanned probe here."
"Then it's an unknown. It could still be an mistargeted probe.
Any orders, young master?" the researcher inquired of Mendou, who
ignored him to take in the sight of the ship. Moments later, the
young heir placed his hand on the ship...
...Just in time for the lander to come to life. All sensors
lit up with a red glow, and the antennas moved to lock to an unknown
target. Mendou bolted with a shock and tried to run from the ship,
only to find his hand unable to move from the hull! "It's like an
electric shock. I...can't...move!"[2]
Mendou felt a presence attack his mind, and tried to resist.
He gave a good fight, blocking the attacker with thoughts of his
wealth, his beauty, and images of Lum, as well as of Ataru slashed in
two. After what seemed an eternity, the attack stopped, leaving Mendou
attached to the hull of the probe as the researchers and armed forces
officers watched slack jawed.
Just then, a voice rang in Mendou's head. "Join me...join us,
Mendou. Join us, and we can make sure you get what you want."
"Who are you? Show yourself!!" Shutarou yelled out,
surprising those surrounding the ship, who wondered who or what the
young heir was talking to.
A black-shirted Mendou officer turned to the researcher to ask
him, "Is the Young Master contacting the aliens who made the ship,
sir?"
"I don't know. I just don't know," the scientist responded,
giving an expression of utter helplessness in the face of the unknown.
"I was a general of the Fellani, a people whose bodies were
destroyed in a great cataclysm many of your years ago. We need bodies
to allow our rebirth, and the creation of the ideal future. What
desire do you seek? What will get you to join with us?" the ghostly
voice responded.
"If you saw my mind, you would know already. There is one
person I desire." With that, the ghost viewed the images of a teenage
girl of great beauty and personal presence. A woman with horns and
green hair.
"This Lum. You seek her, and she binds herself to another?"
the voice asked Mendou after an instant passed.
"Yes. How can you give me that?"
"Join us and see, Mendou. Become one of us. Join with me,
and become a shadow general of the Fellani. Then your desires will
be granted." At this point, the young heir gave an unconscious
assent to the voice. After that, a pillar of light surrounded Mendou
as a feline howl rang through the area of the lander, frightening the
guards and researchers huddled around the site.
After five seconds the pillar fell, leaving Mendou hunched on
the ground. As the researcher and an officer ran to him, Mendou stood
up and glanced around the site, all the while with an expression of
utter amazement. Almost as if he was seeing the world for the first
time, or after a long absence. "I'm alive again. It's been so long!"
The two men watched in shocked silence as Mendou continued his
revelry. The young heir took in a deep breath. "Air. To be able to
breathe again. The wind on your back, the sweet air filling your
lungs. No simulation can replicate this, even if the software existed.
It is good to be out of the net, and in an organic body again!"
"Young master?" the officer asked the teen, hoping to get a
response, fearing what it would be.
Mendou turned to the two men watching him. "Mendou. Yes, he
is here. But I lead the body now. I am Keltra, First Shadow General
of the Fellani."
The possessed heir grasped the two with grips of iron as he
spoke, and a reddish glow came from the sides of his head, illuminating
his hair. "You two will be the first to join me in our people's holy
crusade. We will be reborn!"
The two men screamed as pillars of light surrounded them.
***** *** *****
At midnight, as the other two members of the SETI team went
down to the nearest town to celebrate their discovery (or, as Sean
yelled, "Find the only two bottles of Champagne in West Virginia, pop
the corks, and paint the mountains red!!"), Robert April attempted to
analyze the signals received from ETC-CCA-05.
The Doctoral candidate studied the tapes of signals received
from the contact to learn its location, and to decode the messages, if
possible. As he worked through the night, running on pretzels and Jolt
Cola, he focused his efforts on a sequence of the message that arrived
6 hours after the initial signal. It was unusual in that it could be
decoded, as if meant for Earthlings to receive. "Could they know about
us?" the student wondered as he worked.
Eventually, he determined that the section was indeed in a
standard human digital code, and began to translate the signal to
readable form. When he decoded the message, Robert scratched his
head in confusion.
The message, digitized in standard Japanese Industrial Code,
read "we who escaped...will be reborn." That meant that the source
was close, less than ten light years or less away from Earth. No stars
existed that nearby in the direction of the signal within the necessary
range, so a probe ship of some sort existed.
"Huh. An exploratory ship, perhaps." With that, Robert sent
an e-mail to the scientists at Arecibo mentioning the signal, and in
the process gave the race a name: Nigetanji.
The name, Japanese name for the phrase "they who escaped" (or
so Robert thought. His Japanese, based on two formal courses and
loads of subtitled anime, wasn't the most proficient.), stuck. Soon
after the announcement, the English speaking press used the term
Nigetanji exclusively.
***** *** *****
"Did you see the interview the scientists gave on NHK? This is
amazing," Hiroshi exclaimed as he handed the newspaper article to his
friend as they sat in the booth at Ucchans. "Two beef modern yaki,
with extra noodles! Daisuke, you want anything?"
"I'll have the classic," Daisuke responded. He looked rather
bored at this news, and sighed dismissively. "So they found another
alien race, and it looks like they're coming to Earth. They'll land
in Tomobiki and make some unusual demand or cause something weird to
happen, just like the Oni, Elle, and those folks with the giant
'shrooms did. Same script, different players. Big fat hairy deal!"
"Here's your lunch, sugar. Talking 'bout those aliens they
discovered?" Ukyou asked of the two Furinkan high school students as
they dug into their meals.
"Hiroshi is. Me, I'll take an interest if they announce a
baseball game to determine the fate of the world. I mean, it's not as
if this is the first contact we've had, after all." Daisuke shrugged,
and continued his repast.
"I don't know. I think it's great we finally found one on our
own before they knocked on our door, so to speak. I just wish they'd
know the name of these folks. What kind of name is 'ETC-CCA-05'?"
Ukyou mused as she prepared another order for the lunch-time crowd.
"Just the official mumble-jumble for it, I guess. Say, Hiro,
what do ya think of the baseball game with the Carp this evening?"
***** *** *****
In another section of Tokyo long jaded to weird happenings, a
high school class was enjoying lunch as well, with one noted exception.
"I wonder where Mendou is after all this time?" Shinobu asked
Ataru and Lum.
Lum shrugged. "His parents say he's come down with something.
That's all I heard."
"Maybe he slipped on a banana peel and sliced himself up with
that stupid sword of his. Serves him right if he did!" Ataru retorted.
"Any day I don't have to catch that katana of his is fine by me."
"Maybe he's come down with whatever our Prime Minister got.
Nobody's seen him in a while either." Megane interjected. "The way
this flu seems to be spreading, I wonder if anyone will be around to
greet the new arrivals when they land?"
"Maybe they're trying to show irritation at the aliens for
something?" said Ran, who had entered from her own classroom to spend
lunch with Lum, and seemed for once to be in a genuinely good mood.
"Dangers of diplomacy, especially when first contact is involved.
Mother just told me of the trouble our folks just went through to get
the Niphentaxians and Zephs to finally sign a peace treaty."[3]
Lum turned to Ran with a puzzled expression. "I thought those
two races fanactically hated one another and would fight until one or
the other was extinct. How'd anyone manage to get them to the table?"
"Once someone actually found out what caused the whole thing,
it was pretty easy. After a state dinner with the Zeph ambassador,
and copious amounts of sake, he told us the whole thing got started
when the Niphentaxian ambassador accidentally killed the Chief Bishop's
cat." Ran explained.
"When we contacted the Niphentaxian tribal counsel's president,
he was so embarrassed by the thing he immediately contacted the
Archbishop and offered a present as a reparation to end the war, and
a show of contrition. They cloned the old cat, and President Lee
personally offered the furball to the Zephyrite leader with the
blessings of the Order of the Blue Suede Redemption."
"And that ended the war?" Ataru asked.
"After it almost started up again," Ran quipped. She shrugged
before continuing. "Who would have known the new First Among Equals
would be allergic to cats?"
Ran shook her head slowly as the others got up from the face
faults the event caused.
"Compared to that, a contact with a new race like the Nigetanji
will be a piece of cake," Lum heartily added. "Although why any race
would have a name like that is beyond me. 'We who fled'?"
"Kind of like that knight in the Monty Python movie Nagisa took
me to see," Ryunosuke added.
"Actually, I heard the name was given by a researcher working
on the signals from the craft. An American, from what I read," Megane
answered.
"Guess we'll find out when they arrive, right?" Ataru said
as he shrugged. "Maybe they'll be a race of Amazon babes, with super
powers and...bweeheheheheee!"
"DARLINGGG!!!!!" The other classmates returned to lunch as
the sparks flew. Ataru flambe was a common enough sight that all
continued despite the noon-time entertainment.
Another lesson in living with weirdness.
***** *** *****
Robert April looked up to see his superior, Dr. Sean Connelly,
as he entered the observatory. Robert rose to greet the astronomer.
"Glad to see you're finally back. Must have been some flu! We were
beginning to think you died of pneumonia or something."
"What have you found out about ETC-CCA-05?" The scientist
asked while giving Robert a glare that froze him in his tracks for an
instant.
"Well, we've just located the source of the signal, and it's
in a very unusual spot. It seems to be sitting 120 Astronomical
Units from Earth, and closing. The way it's decelerating, it should
be here in about four to six months." The doctoral candidate responded
with a worried tone. "By the way, are there contact efforts with the
Nigetanji from here? I don't know of any, but I've just gotten word
to add transmission equipment here. Powerful stuff, the kind you'd
use to send data to space probes. What's up?"
"You'll know soon enough. You'll know everything when you
become one of us!" With that, Sean took out a 9mm handgun and pointed
it at the young technician. He walked over to the next table, put a
small device down next to the workstations, and motioned Robby over to
the table. "Pick up those devices! NOW!!!"
"Hey, sure Doc. Doc, can't we talk this over. It's not like
you to go postal like this. Come on, Doc, snap out of it, man."
Robby's fear went into overdrive as he saw the expression on Sean's
face, and the glare that greeted the technician. It was one that of a
man who simply wasn't there.
As he got to the table, Robby motioned as if to touch the
devices, then ducked and bolted under the table toward the door. Dr.
Connelly fired, and Robby heard bullets buzz past his ear as he zipped
to open space to the next table, pushing it over and running past it
as the equipment toppled. As he reached the door, he placed himself
outside it and waited for the doctor to search for him.
He didn't have to wait long. "Robby! I know you're out here.
Give yourself up and join us! Then I won't have to *kill* you!!"
As Dr. Connelly walked out of the door, Robby gave the man a
snap kick to the stomach that doubled the old scientist over. Robby
gave a snap blow the doctor's left wrist, causing the man to drop the
weapon. The technician caught it, ran to his car, and started the
engine.
It kicked into life, and Robert hastily got the thing in gear
and sped out of the observatory site faster than allowed. As he drove
off, the scientist rose and spoke to the open air. "Forgive me, Shadow
General. I was unable to stop Robert, but he's heading down the hill.
If I go to his home, I may be able to begin his hacking."
<<Do not attempt to follow Robert. Proceed with the conversion
of the observatory, then return to Pittsburgh to convert the remaining
scientists on your list.>>
"Sir, he knows of some of our plans. He's beginning to suspect
the truth."
<<One man cannot stop us. He does not know of the full extent
of our plans. He is not of the network. He cannot inform the people
of Earth as easily as we can inform ourselves of things.>>
<<Proceed with your task, Mikel. We will take care of Robert
from here.>>
Half a world away from the observatory, A young man with dark,
swept back hair grinned as he cut off his transmission to his
subordinate. "One man cannot hope to stop what has already begun. The
Fellani rebirth has started, and soon we rebuild our perfect future
here and on Uru!"
"It has already begun," with that, the Shadow general who
resided in Mendou's mind continued his communications to the leaders,
movers, and shakers already hacked with the ghosts of the Fellani as
the wealthy teenager's persona slept.
***** *** *****
The next morning, the Fellani ghost general walked into the war
room of the mansion to gain the reports on the initial possession
efforts. While he could easily glean the reports from the back and
forth communications possible through the node that maintained his
persona in Mendou's head, he found it much more refreshing to hear it
from another's lips.
It made him feel alive again. Just as the experience of eating
just after he awoke with the rising of the sun (and such a healthy and
yellow sun, too!), a meal Mendou told him was called 'breakfast'.
Shadow General Keltra savored every experience that spoke of
life. It gave him a sense of rebirth, that he was helping the great
Fellani people regain their bodies, their lives, and their deserved
place in the galaxy.
"Gentlemen, I know we are able to send reports and data to each
other through the nodes, but I hope you agree that a face to face
progress meeting is much more productive, or at least satisfying. Just
being here is a sign of the progress our cause is making. Maygyer, what
about the witness in...West Virginia was it?"
The possessed bodyguard, now sub-commander Maygyer, stood
upright and reported. "Sir, we had our allies await him in the city of
Pittsburgh as he drove up their main highway conduit. Our luck
enhancement devices were most helpful in facilitating the automotive
accident that jammed up traffic on the lane he was in. Our men
captured him with no trouble!"
"Good. I take it he will be on our side or silenced with the
utmost dispatch? You will see to it!" the General responded.
"He was already been taken, sir. One of our madoshi took
control of him last night, and returned to the observatory where work
on our high power connection to the main ship is underway."
"Very good. What is our progress with this world's leaders,
Beldar?" the general turned to his father, now a commander in charge of
the assimilation of the leadership and elites of Earth.
"We have the top leaders of all of the Western governments in
our hands, as well as the leadership of this world's UN. Some nation
states will be harder to take over due to their close control by the
dictators who rule them, and the extreme paranoia these individuals
have."
"I see. Will they succumb to our spies, or will be have to
have the nations in our control attack those countries to install more
pliant governments?" the Fellani-possessed teen asked his lieutenant.
"The less efficient governments already have guards that can be
possessed and bribed, or rebel movements we can take over and influence.
Our fortune reaction instruments can also make a difference if major
conflicts erupt, and we can supply weapons to the leaders in our hands.
This will work for the Eastern European and African nation states," the
commander responded.
"We have states such as Iraq, North Korea, and others that are
heavily armed, and whose leaders are extremely dangerous. Those will
take the concerted efforts of the major powers on this planet to take
over."
"I see, Beldar. Meet me later so that we can discuss those
plans further," Keltra nodded.
He turned his attention to the group, moving to his next topic.
"However gentlemen, the plan also demands the control of talents from
a variety of fields, not just politics. Entertainment, science,
industry...even Martial Arts."
Keltra produced a folder, and placed a dossier on one Ranma
Saotome on the table. "This is one such example, the heir to one of
the most powerful schools of martial arts on this planet, as well as
the most closely guarded. If we control him, not only do we have his
power, but we can gain access to the Anything Goes School as Ranma
fights it. Maygyer, what is the status of that operation?"
"We have succeeded in capturing this Martial artist while he
and his father were on a training mission. We had resistance from the
father, Genma Saotome, but we eliminated him quickly. Unfortunately,
the father's premature demise has given Ranma reason to resist
possession."
Keltra silently fumed at his associate's lack of finesse in
Ranma's capture, and that the difficulty it placed him. He used the
chastisement program on his node to let the lieutenant know of his
displeasure. "I see. What else do we know of this Ranma Saotome? My
reports indicate that he is engaged to be bonded to three women."
"Yes, shadow general!" the Fellani turned to the source of
the confident voice, the woman who was Mendou's sister Ryoko and who
now was the Fellani Madoshi Faeari. She produced photos of four women,
each a beauty in her own right. "I have their information here. Ranma
has varying degrees of affection for each of the woman here, Kodachi
Kunou, Shampoo, Ukyou Kounji, and Akane Tendou. We could use them as
leverage to ensure his compliance."
"Which do you recommend?"
"While the capture of Shampoo or Ukyou would be prudent if no
other option is available, our best chance is the capture of Akane
Tendou, the fiancee with whose family he is currently living. Our
studies of the man indicate that while deeply hidden, the affection he
has for this woman is the strongest. He will sacrifice to protect her
in a way he is currently unable to do for the others."
"I see," Keltra mused as he read the dossier on the youngest
Tendou sister. "We will capture Akane Tendou, and use her to make
Ranma Saotome acquiesce to possession."
"Sir, My men are ready to capture her on your orders, Shadow
General!" Maygyer enthusiastically retorted.
"No, I've had enough of your bungling as it is. I will go with
an elite squad to the Tendou Dojo for the capture. We can tolerate no
further botch ups, so I handle this capture myself!" Mendou replied
hotly.
"Now for our last order of business. Have the prototypes of
our military equipment been created for the party on Saturday? They
must be ready to impress those industrialists we still want free."
Those we want free for now that is, Mendou thought.
Faeari nodded. "They will be ready for our demonstration by
then. The functional schematics and notes are being generated even
now, as are the licensing agreements with those firms loyal to us, and
those we wish to be."
"Excellent. I've also taken the liberty of inviting some of
my Terran persona's classmates to the party. We can select from them
those members who would make excellent additions to our group." Mendou
and Keltra thought of one green haired Oni in particular for a very
*special* role. "Gentlemen, we have our tasks. Let's get to them!"
All is going to plan, even with the glitch, the Fellani Shadow
General thought. Soon he would go to the Tendou Dojo, and deliver an
invitation to this Akane Tendou...personally. And if there was time,
maybe he could go to a local restaurant and order...what was the Terran
name for midmeal again?
Ah yes...lunch!
Something else to relish!
***** *** *****
"HYAAHH!"
A loud crash echoed through the yard as Akane Tendo's fist came
down. The wooden board shattered into debris, as did the three
cinderblocks on which it had stood. Her angry scowl changed to a smile
as she wiped her forehead with her gi.
Slightly amused, Kodachi watched. Though she preferred to rely
on precision and finesse, she certainly couldn't deny that brute force
had its uses, and that Akane was an effective practitioner of it.
Watching her was entertaining, in the same way that a visit to the zoo
was.
Noticing Kodachi, Akane turned. "Anything I can do for you?"
she said, sounding slightly irritated at the gymnast's presence.
"I have come to visit with darling Ranma. My school is hosting
a dance next Saturday. I wish him to accompany me."
"You're out of luck." Akane picked up some unbroken blocks and
began to construct a new pile. "Ranma's away for a while."
"Oh? Where has he gone?"
"Training trip. With his father. Left three days ago." She
placed a fresh board atop the blocks, and took up her stance above
them, preparing to strike.
"I see." Kodachi stared closely at Akane's face, wondering
whether she was telling the whole truth. "And he will be returning
when?"
A voice came from behind. "He won't be."
Kodachi and Akane whirled around. A young man stood confidently
against the wall, flashing a debonair smile. His hair was immaculately
groomed, as was the boys' school uniform he wore.
"Permit me to introduce myself," he said. "I am--"
"Shutaro Mendou," Kodachi finished for him. She'd seen his
pictures in newspapers and magazines many times. His family fortune
was rumored to exceed fifty billion yen.
"Ah, but I'm afraid not. Not any longer. I could explain...."
He touched a control on his belt. "But it will be easier to show you."
Twin pillars of light suddenly flashed down, engulfing the two
women in white radiance. And Kodachi Kuno was no more.
There was only Culliguni. Culliguni, class one madoshi of the
Fellani. Culliguni, discoverer of the energon processes through which
a warrior's bio-energy could be utilized to power the fusion cannon and
fortune enhancement reactors. Wife of Mostruboli until he was executed
as a traitor to the Union.
How strange to be alive again. So many sensations, feelings,
experiences that had always (black rose) been taken for granted. The
pushing of air against the chest as it flowed in and (black rose) out
of lungs. The soft rubbing of fabric against flesh. The dull, (Black
Rose) rhythmic thumping (BLACK ROSE) of the heart. The (BLACK ROSE)
quiet strain of (BLACK ROSE BLACK ROSE) muscles as they expanded and
contracted (BLACK ROSE BLACK ROSE BLACK ROSE BLACK ROSE BLACK ROSE
BLACK ROSE BLACK ROSE BLACK ROSE BLACK ROSE BLACK ROSE BLACK ROSE
BLACK ROSE BLACK ROSE BLACK ROSE BLACK ROSE BLACK ROSE BLACK ROSE
BLACK ROSE BLACK ROSE....)
Gripping her head between her hands, Kodachi screamed.
"Ah, you've managed to resist possession," Mendou said. "I
congratulate you, my dear. Very few people manage to do that." He
turned to Akane. "Most remarkable, don't you agree?"
Akane said nothing as she picked up her piece of wood, and
shattered it on Mendou's head.
"That hurt, you know." Mendou stepped back. "Both of you. Pity.
But I am prepared to do this the hard way." He reached into his pocket,
and the barrel of a weapon was pointed at Kodachi and Akane.
"That's supposed to scare us?" Akane glared at the rich boy
defiantly. "You've got a lot to learn about guns and martial artists."
"Our scientists have considered the question of whether bullets
would be effective against you. They're still arguing about it.
Fortunately, we have other resources at our disposal."
A cloud of gas issued forth from the weapon, momentarily
engulfing the women. From the neck down, Kodachi's body suddenly went
limp, refusing to move.
"Either of you would've made a fine addition to our forces.
But we really don't need you on our side. All that we require is a
hostage."
"Hostage?" Kodachi's tongue pushed against the back of her
molar, dislodging the pill that had been taped there. She swallowed,
hoping she could keep Mendo talking long enough for the antidote to
take effect. Then she'd show him that *nobody* beat Kodachi Kuno at
her own game.
"You see, Ranma Saotome has been most uncooperative so far."
Mendo grinned. "But now, I think he might change his mind, and serve
us."
"Oh ho ho!" Kodachi's legs began to tingle. Just a few more
moments, and she'd be able to move. My dear little man, the Black Rose
has poisonous thorns. You'll never be able to use Kuno Kodachi in your
plot to....What? What are you doing?!"
Mendo walked off, with Akane draped over his shoulder like a
sack of flour. "Put me DOWN, you ASS!" she screamed. "Put me DOWN!"
By the time Kodachi could move again, they were gone without
a trace. She had been left behind. The Black Rose, overlooked as
though she were insignificant.
She leapt into the air, headed back to her home. These Fellani,
whoever they were, would learn the error of their ways. Ranma would be
freed from their capture, and whatever plans they had would be ended.
Kodachi Kuno, the Black Rose, would see to it.
***** *** *****
Mara sat in the coffee house and watched the people play their
ultra-violent games on the computers. It was such fun watching people
get aggressive and explore their dark sides by blasting away at
soldiers and demon things in games such as Doom, Quake, and Hexen.
While some of the depictions of the creatures of the nether regions
were quite lifelike (mostly due to the nightmare images imposed on
humanity), some of the others were laughingly unrealistic. Which
added to Mara's amusement as she downed her third latte.
As the waiter arrived to give her the fourth cup, a message of
what seemed to be gibberish appeared on her computer screen. It was not
indecipherable to Mara, for she knew it could only be from one source:
her bosses in the Underworld. Indeed, from the fanciness and
impressiveness of the script, it was likely from one of the Kings of
Hell.
That meant it was *very* important. And, more than likely,
either hellishly troublesome, or horrificly deadly.
Or both!
She took out a CD from a pocket in the leather outfit the demoness
wore and placed it in the computer. The machine spun up the CD, and
soon more seemingly indecipherable script appeared, which of course
Mara could understand perfectly.
She was off the Norn beat, and placed on a special mission, she
quickly read. She had been selected for this *top priority* mission
because of special talents indicated in her record, though of course
it didn't go into what they were. Once again, she'd have to figure
that part out as she went.
This was interesting, she thought as she read her first order
in the new mission. It said that she was to be *possessed by* a
Fellani, incorporate it into her, and return to the Kings of Hell to
await further orders. That had to be a mistake, since everyone knew
it was *demons* that did the possessions, and second...who or what
was a Fellani?!
It looked like her superiors were going to answer the last
question, since a new instruction appeared directing her to the
head-phones connected to the computer speakers (which just happened
to have a microphone on them). She picked them up, and quietly spoke
to her superiors. "You meant possess a Fellani, right. This is a
typo, isn't it?"
"No. The Fellani are different; they come from outside this
world."
Like the Neptunians or the Uruseians, she realized. "Why bring
one down for analysis? Surely they're humanoid and have their gods and
demons of their own?"
"As I said," the voice replied with irritation at her query,
"they are different! They have no corporeal body, but exist as wetware
that can inhabit any sentient space whether it is based on silicon or
organic technology. They may be capable of symbiosis with us, much
like angels are to our enemies," the voice replied.
"Like angels? And they came from space?" Mara asked, getting
an affirmative response. Still, It didn't answer the big question,
which was why the Kings of Hell were interested in them.
The way things usually worked out, Mara darkly thought, they'd
likely end up being a thorn in their sides like the Saiyan were.
And there was one other point Mara wanted to clear up. "Why
me, of all the minions of Hell now on Earth?"
"You are the nearest operative to their main concentration on
Earth. More importantly, you have goddess blood, so you have the best
chance of taking the living program and assimilating it. We can
analyze it in our systems after you return." the demonic voice replied
over the headphones.
"And this is *top* priority, you say?" Mara repeated, betraying
no small amount of disbelief in the question.
"Yes! This *is* top priority! Read your orders and begin
execution immediately. Over and out!" With that the CD light on the
computer went out, and Mara was left with the strange script on the
computer screen and her thoughts.
The first thing to go through the demoness' mind was the
obvious notion that she wasn't being told the whole story or even
a partly true story. There had to be a reason for wanting to take
a Fellani down to the underworld, and having an angel equivalent
wasn't it! Not enough of a reason to make the matter top priority
anyway.
The only obvious idea was that these creatures were invading,
and the demon realm wanted to move into the god's territory by having
dominion over them.
Nothing like the prospect of new faith markets to get the
kings of Hell scheming, eh, Mara mused.
One other train of thought plagued Mara as she removed the
infernal CD, left the table and paid the barrista for the coffee and
the on-line time. On any other mission she was sent on, her desire to
cause chaos (a result of a inner playfulness she shared with Urd,
which would make the two such natural companions if not for the sides
they were on) gave her an enthusiasm only slightly tempered any fear
of the mission's risk.
This time, however, something was telling her that not only was
this odd, but that the mission itself was dangerous. She was about to
play with an unknown fire, and no-one knew where the flames would end
up if she wasn't careful.
Perhaps it was only the cold, but for some inexplicable reason
Mara shuddered for a moment as she walked out the exit of the cafe.
***** *** *****
The next Saturday, as the sun set, the Mendou mansion came
alive in lights and music. Everyone in Tomobiki knew that the Mendou
family was the richest and most flamboyant Zaibatsu in Japan, and on
the night of the Conglomerate's special announcement, their zest was
fully in evidence.
It was not just another "throw a grand ball to impress the
townsfolk with our standing" either. Global VIPs were in attendance
as well, and from the lawns and bandstands where the vast majority
enjoyed the melodies offered by the classical, jazz, and swing
ensembles, to the main reception area with their ballroom elegance and
vast array of food and drink, these individuals stood nearby the
common people in attendance. Everything about the gala spoke of a
tremendous spectacle.
While most of the class, including Shinobu, Ryuunosuke, and
Ran, were out on the bandstand area enjoying the sounds of bands such
as Pat Methany Group and Spyro Gyra (who were specially brought in for
the occasion [4]), Lum, Ataru, and the Gang of Four were in the main
reception hall with Mendou. As it turned out, he had invited Lum
specifically, which meant that Ataru had come along as well. Megane
and the others had been invited as well for some reason or other,
though no one quite knew what it was.
Lum hobnobbed and warmly greeted the leaders gathered in the
room, while Ataru went to the buffet table and found Megane and the
Guards in front of the line. Megane was speaking, but Ataru ignored
what the bespectacled student was saying as he watched the Oni who
had entered his life in what to him seem to be her element. Not for
the first time, he wondered what it was she saw in him.
Also not for the first time, he wondered why it was he really
played the girl chasing game with her. He had long realized that he
cared about the alien girl, and perhaps even loved her (more than
Shinobu, Oyuki, Benten, Ran, etcetcetcadinfinatumworldswithoutend...),
but still preferred to chase others.
Part of it had to be the way she had horned in on his life after
the tag race, Ataru mused. Even after all the years, and the times
the two had connected, it still bothered Ataru, and rubbed against his
sense of independence in all the wrong ways. Was it his fault if she
had misunderstood his cry of determination as a wedding proposal, he
thought, so why should everyone expect him and Lum to get together or
break apart anyway?
Because in the final analysis, he mentally concluded, everyone
*knew* the two cared about each other and would marry...someday. Even
he had to admit he cared about her, and even...err...well he really,
*really* cared.
So Ataru went back to the buffet, derailing the train of
thought with a quick scan of the hall for beautiful women to try to
pick up later tonight. Hoping to find the lovely secretaries and
"executive assistants" ("I could use the kind of assistance *they're*
giving," Ataru mentally quipped.), he fell back to his girl hunting
mode, leaving the questions of his life unresolved as usual.
"Ataru!!" Megane bellowed.
"What?!" the displeased teenager responded after he took his
hands off his ears.
"Is it just me, or is that jerk even *louder* lately. Any
more so, and they'd hear him in Alaska!" he whispered to himself.
"You've been ignoring everything I've been telling you for the
past few minutes to scan the room for woman to chase! And with Lum-san
not a few feet away. Have you no shame?!" the bespectacled classmate
wailed. Ataru continued to ignore the loudmouth and was about to zero
in on a likely prospect when...
"Hellllooooo, handsome!" a tall, black haired woman spoke in a
soft, sultry manner. A quick glance told the most lecherous boy in the
universe that Lum was still distracted, so he took the hook!
"Bweehehehehe. Hello yourself! How about we ditch this party
and find someplace where we can get to know each other better. Perhaps
share some tea? Perhaps do more than that?!" Ataru asked. About this
point, of course, the young man knew, he would be either (a) slapped in
the face (b) splashed with offended woman's drink (c) Zapped by a
*very* jealous Lum who just _happened_ to fly in on the scene, or
(d) hit with a combination of any or all of the above.
So one can imagine the surprise (and the lecherous grin which
only got wider!) when the mysterious woman in question said, "I think
that would be an excellent idea. Let's go!"
Dumbfounded and befuddled, the class clown of Tomobiki High
school walked with the raven haired beauty as the Gang of Four looked
on in astonishment.
"Men, we will have to leave as soon as we can to hold a special
trial for Ataru's latest transgression!" Megane yelled as he dropped
his plate (on the table) and started off to try to find the pair.
***** *** *****
As the greetings and salutations went on around Mendou, a
message arrived for Keltra though the link node. "First Lieutenant
Idris! I've removed Ataru Moroboshi from the party, and am about to
link him in with your permission."
"Good. Proceed with the hacking. I will handle the alien girl
personally," the Fellani general responded.
The Fellani-hacked heir gracefully walked over to Lum. "You
must be getting tired of this. Shall we take a walk?"
Lum startled, then glanced around the room for Ataru. "I
thought Darling was at the buffet. Where'd he go?"
"I could only guess. Shall we take a walk around the hall and
try to find him? I'll help you look; it's the least I can do," Mendou
gallantly said.
"And I can finally take you for myself. Ataru, after all these
years I can finally prevail over you!" the part of Mendou that was
himself thought to himself. Keltra heard the thought (it was directed
at him, so he could) and subconsciously nodded. Mendou guided Lum
around the hall until Keltra assured him the attack was ready.
"Lum! I think I saw him go this way!" he cried out to the
annoyed Oni as he pointed to a corridor at the west end of the banquet
hall. Mendou ran some way down the hallway, then stopped as Lum flew
past at breakneck speed to inflict 'Divine Retribution' on her
unilaterally choosen fiancee.
Keltra took the reins of Mendou's body, and said one word to
those down the hallway. "Now!"
Two men in Mendou armed forces uniforms came out with devices
drawn that looked to be nozzles of some sort. They pulled the triggers
on their devices, and a green gas quickly permeated the hallway ahead
of the flying alien girl. Lum saw the gas and tried to slow down, but
stopped just as she entered the region the vapor permeated.
She felt herself start to fade out of consciousness as the
effects of the gas took hold. She stayed focused long enough to glare
at Mendou with an expression of shock and betrayal. Just before
passing out, she whispered, "Mendou. I thought we were..."
She then fell to a heap on the floor.
Keltra walked up to the guards, who had masks on, and nodded.
The guards expression glazed over for an instant, then refocused as the
ventilation system kicked into overdrive to disperse the anesthetic gas.
After the fans turned off, Keltra knelt beside the unconscious Oni and
put a finger to her neck to check her condition. Satisfied that she
would be all right, he nodded in satisfaction.
Ryoko/Faeari walked briskly up the hall to where the guards
were, and took in the scene. She knelt beside Keltra, and glanced at
Lum, then at him. "This is the woman you choose to have your wife
reside in, Shadow General?"
"Yes, Faeari. Given my host's strength of will, it is best
that my relations coincide with his own associates, and those close to
his heart. Wouldn't you agree, sister?" the general responded,
referring both to his host's biological relationship to Ryoko, and
Keltra's familial relationship to the Madoshi.
"As you say, but we have not had much contact with any
individuals of her race," Faeari responded, glancing at the fallen Oni
as she did. "And if her will is as great as you say, Maedara may well
have a hard time making a suitable host of this one. Are you sure it
must be her?"
Mendou/Keltra looked fondly at the green-haired beauty for a
moment. For an instant, Faeari could not guess who had dominance,
Keltra or Mendou, or even if it was a relevant issue. When the moment
passed, Mendou's face gained an expression of utter determination, and
Keltra responded. "I have never been more sure. This one reminds me so
much of my wife's beauty and demeanor, that I'm can see Maedara as she
was before the end."
"Guards! Take Lum to the medical facility, and have the
unnetworked Doctors leave. Faeari is to take charge of this one's
linking! Go!!" the Shadow General shouted. The guards lifted Lum by
her shoulder and feet, and followed Faeari down the hall.
As the Madoshi and the soldiers exited, Keltra nodded in
satisfaction. "This will be a glorious day for the Fellani. It will
see the rebirth of my wife, and it will soon see the defeat and capture
of my host's rival. Soon, our nation will be reborn on this new world!"
Satisfied, he turned around and returned to the party.
***** *** *****
"Ah. This will do. We won't be disturbed here!" the raven-haired
lady told Ataru as she closed the door to the guest bedroom behind her.
"Ah...a woman that wants to move past the preliminaries! I like
that!!" Ataru responded as he laughed his typical lecherous giggle.
"My sentiments exactly," she said as she wrapped her arms around
the back of the Tag Race champion. She kissed the teen full on the
lips, leaning into the embrace as her tongue played with his. As she
did, she noticed that her thoughts were becoming disordered as images
from her host came to the fore.
Stranger still, Idris felt arm muscles pushing for a brief
moment, as if to...push away? No, that can't be, she thought as she
continued to french kiss the teen.
Or tried to. The formerly submerged thoughts of Idris' host
rose to the surface more strongly, while the Fellani's control slipped.
At that moment, Idris broke the kiss, stepped away from Ataru, and
slapped the letch in the face. Ataru flew over to the bed, and lay
temporarily unconscious.
For a moment her expression was one of shock as she realized
her control over her host had slipped for some reason. She quickly
calmed herself, reprimanding herself for her loss of professionalism,
and quickly returned to the femme fatale role she was playing.
She hoped the lecherous teen in front of her lived up to his
reputation, and would continue his advances despite the setback.
"Oh, you're into a bit of S&M to get someone excited?! I have to
say it worked, babe!" the suddenly recovered teenager quipped as he
bounced in front of her.
Guess I don't have to worry about *that*, the Fellani agent
thought as she saw Ataru with his arms out, ready for the upcoming
events. She spoke in the sultry voice that inflamed passions that
certainly didn't need stoking, and unbuttoned her blouse to let Ataru
get a good look at her assets just to make sure. "Just stay there.
I'll be back with a big surprise for you."
As he waited to score, the woman entered the inner bedroom and
grabbed the conversion device that would start the pillar of light
around Ataru and make him a Fellani. Who took him didn't matter to
the Fellani as long as it was male and someone whose company she had
enjoyed before the Catastrophe ended their world.
After all, she was already in a rutting mood; why not enjoy the
bounty laid out before her!
She entered the parlor of the guest quarters, and smirked as
she saw the horny teen in front of her. Here goes, the woman thought.
"Close your eyes and get ready...to join the Fellani, human!"
She made the connection through her node, and the pillar of
light came down on Ataru, and his body jerked in pain. He screamed.
Thoughts and memories of someone who was not him flooded Ataru's
mind as the Fellani ghost hacking proceeded. It can't end up this way,
Ataru thought as the flood began to resolve itself to a persona not his
own.
Once again he was being made a slave to another's whims. Once
again he would be made to do things for others who didn't care what
happened to him, and he wouldn't allow that. He bolstered his mind to
defend against the invader with whatever he could dredge up from his
mind.
The alien, one Kaldiara, soldier of the Fellani, savored the
fact that breath was (I am the free spirit, running from flower to
flower!) coming into him again.
He savored the scent of flowers
that came from the woman that Shinobu, Ran-chan, Oyuki-sama!
stood before him and.... Benten, Elle, Sakura-san!!!
What was this! Something was
Interfering this his inhabitation, So many pretty woman, so little
causing him to black in and... time.
out...No, I can't be yanked back... Ataru fixed upon the one
image that predominated everything
The Fellani can't be... else, the person he always came
back to, who did not reject him,
beate..... who he cared about and even...
loved?!
"LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM"
The woman blanched in fear as the name of the recently captured
alien screeched out of the boy's lungs as the pillar exploded, leaving
Ataru unhacked. She shook her head as the thoughts of her host came
rushing through. It was now her turn to experience the rejection the
Fellani ghost must have felt as he was repulsed!
"What did you...try to do to me?!" Ataru asked as he stepped
forward to the woman, his lecherousness replaced by a cold anger.
The Fellani shook her head vigorously at this point, as she
put her head in her hands to try to keep control. "This can't be, this
can't be. No-one should be able to resist the hacking, no one! And
why am I losing control....THIS IS IMPOSSI..."
The woman fell to the floor in a heap as Ataru leapt to her
side to see what could have caused such a reaction. As he caught her
and checked her pulse (she was breathing normally and would recover
as far as he could tell), he noticed what looked to be a microchip
behind her ear flashing rapidly before stopping and dropping off. He
picked up the device and examined it.
He was about to examine the lady ("Wasn't this how you got in
trouble with Sakura the first time? It took a week to recover from all
the disease spirits that attached themselves to you", he recalled.) as
the lady came around.
"Wha...where am I? This isn't the office? And what are you
doing here??!" She looked down and saw her state of relative undress,
and responded by slapping Ataru in rapid succession.
"You groped me while I was out, you pervert!" she screamed.
"Calm down." Ataru responded to the lady in gentle and, he
hoped, calming tones. He certainly didn't want to get slapped around
or malleted again. Besides, he was only *thinking* about groping her.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"I was in the office...I'm a secretary for the Minister of
Justice, and I was called in to his office. He was there with a young
man...wait, I think he was Shutarou Mendou, from the magazines. You
know?"
Ataru knew Mendou all too well. he nodded, and said, "Go on."
"The boss said that I would be joining him at a party, and then
this...light came down and flashed in front of my eyes. Some weird
images flooded me, and the next thing I knew...here I am. Where are
we?"
"I think you're at the party. You're in a guest quarters of
the Mendou estates. Yours, I suspect," Ataru responded.
The lady looked out of her window and saw that it was evening.
"This isn't Friday, is it? It isn't even afternoon?"
"No. It's Saturday, around 10PM. Can you stand?" Ataru said
with unfeigned concern. Somebody was bound to notice the screams, and
if people in Mendou's forces were acting as strange as this woman was,
he likely didn't want to hang around.
The woman stood up and looked around the room. "We need to get
out of here, don't we?"
"Yes, we do. The window is open. I think we should take it
and get to the bandstands to blend in with the crowd."
"The sooner the better. The last thing that went through my
head before I came to was something about Guards."
"I see," Ataru said as he opened the window, climbed out, and
gave a hand to the lady. When she exited the window, he pointed a
direction, and the pair started running.
"While we're on the way, you don't think we can continue what
we started, eh?!" Ataru asked as the two fled.
"You try to make a move on me, and it'll be the last one you
make!!" a female voice hotly responded.
***** *** *****
Mara excused herself from the banquet hall, where she was in
the company of a rather corrupt corporate type she associated with (he
sure acted strange. Wonder why?) and nonchalantly walked down the
corridor to have a look around. She headed to the medical wing of the
Mansion, all the time feigning the look of one who belonged here.
She soon entered the medical wing, and recalled the precise
orders she was given. According to her orders, she was to enter the
very lair of the Fellani and offer herself up as a *willing* receptacle
for one of their individuals. She was assured that this was merely
information and memories, so there was nothing to worry about.
She had her doubts, of course. After all, if it was just data,
how could it actively take control of the minds of its hosts? Still,
orders from the bosses at the top couldn't be disobeyed without
terrible consequence, and so she put her misgivings to one side and
went to work.
She looked for whoever might be in charge and sauntered over.
"Hello, you fine lad! You wouldn't by chance know where any Fellani
might be, do you? I hear they're really fun, and I'd like to join."
For her efforts, she was captured and taken to a cell for
interrogation. "The Shadow General himself will get the truth from
you!" the soldier said as the door slammed shut.
So far so good, the Demoness thought. Now all that she needed
to do was wait, and form a convincing lie for these folks to swallow.
With that, she lay on the cell bunk and schemed.
***** *** *****
"Shinobu, Ryuu-chan! Thank the gods you're here! I've had *such*
a frightening experience and..." Ataru would have gone on, but
Ryuunosuke's fist shut him up. He fell to the floor.
"Ano, does he *always* behave like that?" the woman who came to
the bandstand area with Ataru asked of his two annoyed classmates.
She saw the hit, and the glomp on Ryuunosuke that prompted said punch.
"Usually. I'm Shinobu Miyake, this is Ryuunosuke Fujinami, and
you are?"
"Keiko Yakamura. I'm a secretary for the Minister of Justice. How
I got here is a question that I can't answer." the secretary replied.
Ataru suddenly bounced back into the conversation, apparently
unscathed from the TKO applied by his classmate. When he did, he showed
the microchip that until recently was applied to Keiko. "This woman
lost about a day of her life to this device, and tried to attack me
for some reason."
"Let me guess, you groped her, right?" Ryuunosuke cynically asked.
"I tried to seduce *him*. At least I think whoever had control of
me did," the secretary piped.
"You remember what happened back there in the guest quarters,
Keiko? I thought the entire event was a blank," Ataru asked with
unusual concern.
Keiko nodded. "Some. For some reason, the other being or
whatever it was began to lose its grip when we kissed. I seemed to
have gained bits and pieces of what it was trying to do. I know it was
intelligent, and that it imposed itself on me for some reason. The
snatches of thoughts I got from it suggested she...I think it was a
she...was trying to lure you in and make you like I was."
"What a minute! Are you trying to say some spirit possessed
you and made you try to seduce Ataru?!" Shinobu stammered. And here
she thought it was Lum that had bad taste in men (like I should talk
right?),Shinobu thought. What would a female spirit want with him?
"Not a spirit. It had a name for itself, and a name it called
others like it. What was it....hmmm...Fellini, Falcori, Ferarri...
no, Fellani! That's it, Fellani! I can't give you the being's name,
but the word Fellani was very strong in my head when the device
stopped!" Keiko replied.
"Anyway," Ataru continued. "You'd better get Ran and high tail
it out of here. And take Keiko with you. There's something fishy going
on, and I think freeing Keiko here's stirred it up somehow. I'm sure
none of you want to get mixed up with this."
"And besides," he quipped, "if you all get possessed, how will
I able to build my harem!!"
A moment after everyone got up from the face fault, Ataru waved
the girls off to indicate his seriousness. Between that and the
bodyguards casting unfriendly glares in their direction, the girls got
the message and started to leave. Ataru stayed where they were.
"What about you? You are getting out of here too, right?"
Shinobu asked as she sped off.
"I'll be fine. If I can avoid the guards long enough, I can
find Lum and leave this party too." Ataru scanned the crowd, and saw
the none too gentle Mendou armed forces men pushing roughly through the
evening crowd. "Get going!"
"Ataru. Be careful!" Shinobu yelled as she lost sight of the
lecherous teen.
"I'll try. Though I suspect..." he said to himself as he leapt
for a large tree to escape Mendou's men. "That I'll be doing all I can
to stay *alive*."
***** *** *****
"What is her status, Dr. Faeari?" the Shadow General asked his
chief Madoshi, who was completing the scans of their latest capture.
"I believe that a ghost hack will be possible. Lum has a
strong disposition, and that means that your wife may not be able to
assert herself full time. Lum's persona will take over at moments of
stress to Maedara, and there will be no interlapping of accessible
memory between the two personas." the Fellani scientist responded.
'So much like my own case,' thought Keltra. He could not force
access to his host's memory, and gained memory of Earth custom and his
place in the culture by either observing for himself or by asking
Mendou for information. It was not optimal, but the cooperation
between Mendou allowed for a comfortable reign as co-chief of Mendou's
body.
It was certain that such a modus operandi could not be hoped
for with Kelta's wife and the lovely Oni that he intended for her to
inhabit. "Sounds like Maedara will have to be careful to maintain
control over this one. She always loved a challenge. If Lum
re-emerges Mendou will calm her. We will get Lum's cooperation in
this!"
"I hope you are right," Faeari responded. She turned to her
assistants, Fellani who possessed the bodies of Mendou conglomerate
scientists, and nodded for them to begin the hacking. At her signal,
they began to make the connections to the West Virginia observatory to
send the signal to the mother ship to download the computerized ghost
of the Shadow General's wife.
As the connections were made and preparations were readied
for transfer through the scout ships, a guard walked in. He strode up
and saluted Keltra. "Sir, there is news of Moroboshi. And a matter
that requires your attention!"
Mendou's birth personality perked up at that. "Ano Moroboshi
...What is the news?!" Keltra yelled, embarrassed over his momentary
loss of control.
"Our agent was unable to possess the teenager, and we have
lost the link with the node the agent was in," the guard crisply
responded.
"What about our agent?" That would be a dicey situation. If
the agent had realized the extent of her troubles in time, she would be
able to upload some of the last few moments through her node for those
in the network to analyze. Otherwise everything would be lost.
"Some information was sent up, but it's scrambled between the
host's and the Fellani's thoughts and memory. We might not be able
to glean anything useful." While the agent was not dead, any future
hosts would contain a copy of the person from the mother-ship. Since
that original would not be updated in order to maintain data integrity,
that person would know nothing of her past habitations, or what she
did while there.
"Do what you can and *find* Moroboshi! We'll need to know how
he was able to break a node with such ease," Keltra ordered the guard.
"Now, what was the other matter?"
"Sir, a woman walked into the medical compound and *asked* to
become a host for us. We have no idea how she slid past the security,
and her image was not detected on any of our security cameras...and
sir, she says she has information on Magic-possessing beings that she
feels would be of use to us!"
So, there were beings capable of using magic on this world. The
apparent lack of mana manipulation or psionic ability among the people
of this world was considered a liability among the network, since in
the Fellani Union there were many who possessed formidable talent in
such areas. This liability was offset by the technological achievement
of those on Earth, and the lack of attention this world received from
the rest of the inhabited galaxy, which would allow the Fellani to
redevelop their culture undisturbed.
So for information on magic to just waltz in like this...it bore
further investigation. "I see. We have her detained at the moment, I
take it?"
"Yes, sir. She is in a cell, awaiting your interrogation."
"Good. I'll attend to her, after I have seen my wife again!"
With that, Keltra walked into the chamber, where the persona that was
Maedara awoke for the first time on a new world.
***** *** *****
Later that evening, as the digital display read '12:25', Ataru
Moroboshi scrambled in through the bedroom window, and looked in the
closet where Lum usually slept.
She wasn't there. As far as Ataru knew, she was still at the
Mendou mansion. Whether she would return, or, as he feared, was now
the captive of his rival was open to question. Just about the only
blessing in this mess was the fact that Ten was with his mother for a
month (probably scared stiff the whole time. Serves him right, the
little brat!), Ataru mused.
He slumped alongside the wall near the window. He hoped Lum
would return, but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was in great
trouble. Normally, he felt a bond that allowed him to know where she
was, and it seemed to go both ways. Now, it seemed as if the part of
his heart she touched was...buried under something, for lack of a
better term. He didn't know what it was, but he doubted that it was a
sign of anything good.
And if she was there, it would take a lot more than a mere jaunt
through the Mendou mansion while Megane and the others of the Gang of
Four distracted the forces by driving a Panzer tank. While all but
Megane had been captured quickly after the initial raid to rescue the
amnesiac Lum from Shutarou the first time, they had kept Mendou's armed
forces buzzing away from him. That had allowed Ataru to reach the
building where Lum had been kept, and seeing him on the railroad
bridge acted as the trigger that had allowed Lum to regain her
memory.
This time, the armed forces were more professional, and, if the
way they had broke up the concerts to chase after him was any
indication, more ruthless. The mines and choppers he had dodged to
escape the mansion also spoke of a new determination to keep Lum in
Mendou's hands.
Not that it mattered. Taking advantage of Lum's injury to win
her heart, callous as it was, was one thing. But kidnapping Lum and
manipulating her outright...could never be forgiven, could never be
forgotten, and would *not* be allowed to stand.
An unaccustomed emotion filled Ataru. Anger and raged filled
the face that usually held lust. He would find Lum and rescue her
again, and this time, Ataru swore, Mendou would pay.
Resolved to his course, Ataru gave in to his weariness and fell
asleep where he lay.
***** *** *****
FIRST SAMURAI: Ataru
The Fellani have Lum, but Keltra's effort to remove Ataru from
the picture backfires, as an ill wish combines with a demoness'
struggle for sanity to rip apart the fabric of time. Ataru and a
heavenly sidekick are the only ones who can stop the catastrophe,
but at what price?
Time traveling action as Ataru tries to save his mother in "Or
Ataru May Get It!"
***** *** *****
Editor's Notes:
[1] The name Robert April is the one used for the first captain of the
U.S.S Enterprise in Star Trek. Any relation to that individual is
purely coincidental.
[2] Given how many times Mendou has been on the receiving end of Lum's
50000 volt fury, he should know, right? Not as much as Ataru,
but...
[3] Two races used in Fred Herriot's series "UY: The Senior Year".
Some like it, others think it's the worst excuse of a
fanfiction ever created, but it is a massive exercise in
world building, and the joke was there. I had to take
it.
[4] I saw Spyro Gyra in Schenely Park when I came in for my sophomore
year at the University of Pittsburgh. I don't know if they still
play together, but if they do and they hold a concert, go see
them.
Same goes for another modern fusion style jazz band, The Pat
Methany Group. I have their live album "Travels", and they play
a good set as well.
Comments, flames, grunts and loud noises to:
Steven P. Cornett
cornetts@gemair.com