Kichigai wrote:
$Wai! Wai! Wai! Bout time!
Hey. It was only two months. I know other people that take a lot longer to
post their chapters. ^_^
And you lucked up and posted close to some of
my free time, so I'm almost not late for a change!
Cool.
Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot
$I thought it was supposed to be forgotten? And you also have forgot in
the subject line.
Unless I'm terribly mistaken, it's from 'Auld lang syne.' The line goes
'Should old acquaintance be forgot.' rather than 'forgotten.'
Chapter 2
A Dirty Pair, Iria: Zeiram the animation crossover
IMPORATANT NOTE:
Due to a slight mix-up in my chronology, Kei's age should be listed as 33
and not 30, as was said in the last chapter. Yes, it is a major factor I
made an error on. Sorry about the mix up.
$*blinkblink* Okay.
This becomes important later.
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Wisps of steam curled lazily in the air, drifting their way up to face
level before mixing with the air and disappearing for good. Kei fondled
the
source of the column of steam before her, handling the ceramic cup filled
with coffee that Iria had made for her since they had met once again at
long last. The coffee was a gift from her old mentor, a common enough
blend
>from one of the moons outside Seti-Zatta, one of the largest growers of
coffee in this part of the galaxy. There was a hint of cinnamon in the
taste, something that subtly altered the drink, making it taste more
exotic
than its origin would indicate.
$*Kichigai immediately pauses, saves, runs to town and buys a bottle of
wine, comes back, dims the lights, puts on music, kicks back, and gets
ready
for a classic DB fic.* Ahhh, you don't know how much I've missed some of
this. Those who hunt ninjas was good, funny and all, and the devil and
Miss
Mihoshi was pretty good too, but IMO you havn't really hit your stride
since
Vacation Days, which I loved. One of these days, when I get free time,
I'm
going to drag out those C&C files and turn them into a full blown MST of
that fic.
I try to write a variety of things rather than doing the same kind of story
over and over again in different ways. My personal preference is to do all
kinds of styles instead of being a one trick pony. I try to dabble a little
in everything from dark to humor, from epic to spamfic. Though of course
there will be one style I'm probably better at than another. In the case of
longer stories, like this and Vacation Days, it takes a lot of energy to
write a longer piece from beginning to end and is very time consuming. I
find the urge to do other kinds of tales in between helps to keep me fresh
when I'm writing. Takes longer between chapters, but I get more overall
work done.
Pretty much used all of your grammar comments, so those were snipped.
Kei's eyes went from examining the steam doing a circuit of the Lovely
Angel's galley, where they were currently sitting down After a moment of
$Wow, that sentance was a bit off. Maybe: steam to doing a circuit...
galley,
Heh, Kei must be pregnant. She missed a period.
Heh. Cute.
Iria
was drinking her coffee just as slowly as Kei, making a barely audible
slurping noise as she did so. Without realizing it, a smile creased the
troubleshooter's features. That sound brought back memories; it was the
exact same one Kei had heard most mornings growing up under Iria's
tutelage. Every morning they had a chance (when Iria wasn't on the job and
away from civilization) they would drink coffee in the morning for
breakfast. At first Kei only did it in imitation of her mentor, but later
she had grown to enjoy the taste of the beverage as well. Sometime after
she had left her home for good, she had dropped the habit. But now Kei
felt
she would be taking it up again. Iria took another identical sip, and Kei
found that subtle character nuance to be reassuring. It was nice to know
that even after so many years her mentor still remained the same, at least
in some ways.
$Huge paragraphs of course, being a DB trait.
Yep. Trying to cut back on it, but I do still tend to use longer ones every
now and then.
Kei opened her mouth to say something
$Kei: You look tired, and you smell. Want to take a shower first?
Heh. But the shower on the Lovely Angel is the one's that broken. She's the
one that would smell. :)
, then shut it just as quickly. It was
the fourth time she had repeated the exact same movement. Every time she
thought she had something to say, she'd think about it, then judge it as
too stupid a way to start a conversation.
$Kei: So... Killed anyone lately?
Very cute. And an appropriate line when involving these two in a
conversation. :)
Her actions had been mirrored at
least twice across the table as Iria would look at her, move her own lips
slightly,
$Iria: Umm, could I borrow your shower? Mine broke down a week ago...
Other way around, ironically enough. But it's been over two months between
chapters, so all is forgiven. :)
that was a good thing. The look of seriousness was uncharacteristic to
Iria, and the redhead was halfway convinced it might be that the Iria was
trying to figure out how to reprimand her for her actions over the years
rather than it just being a bit of tension at how to start a conversation
with someone she hadn't seen in so long.
$Finally settling on a logical, emotionless course of action, Iria calmly
reaches across the table and grabs her throat before settling into a warm,
welcoming throttling session.
Heh.
Sometimes a glance was all it took to let Kei
know she had angered the bounty hunter somehow.
$Not that she paid it any mind, now, she just liked to keep tabs on such
things.
Yes. Being aware of a problem is so different from actually acting on the
information. :)
And after over a decade,
just about anything she might have done could have disappointed the older
woman. Kei had led an... active life, and Iria had a tendency to be more
straight-laced than the 3WA agent.
$Kei: (Maybe I shouldn't have posed for that naughty magazine with that
cheerleading squad and that 40 tentacled ambassador from Hentacle VII....)
Iria: Only because I'd feel upstaged.
but she had been ashamed to realize that all of her
attention had been riveted upon Iria from the moment she had sent the deep
space communication and that she had not spared a thought about Bob in all
of that time.
$What about Bob!
*Sigh*
Sometimes Kei wondered what it would have been like to have met Bob in
person, before Zeiram had killed him. Iria had shown her pictures of the
bald man who had been her and Gren's primary employer before the Karma
incident, an event that had changed all of their lives dramatically.
However, the two dimensional photographs failed to convey the true
character of the man that had given her so much advice and assistance over
the years. But the universe was not made of 'What Ifs'. Bob had been
$'What if's.
It's meant to be plural, so I think it's okay. Could be wrong or need
another apostrophe instead, though.
mortally wounded shortly before Iria had crash-landed on Daowajon and she
had met Kei for the first time. Tedan-Tippendai,
% I guess you watched the subtitled version or something. Or can just
spell
better that me (no real feat). There's no way I would have got that
right.
Looked off webpages actually. :)
the corporation that had
hired Bob, Iria, and her brother Gren to rescue the crew of the
space-liner
Karma (while failing to mention that Zeiram was on board which was the
reason a rescue was necessary) had taken his brain patterns and secretly
downloaded them to an individualized 'Brain Bank,' for their own private
use. Bob had circumvented their security programs and contacted Iria, who
rescued him from the fate of being nothing more than an eternal tool for
the mega-corporation. Bob had adjusted to the change in form easily and
always considered himself lucky to even be a computerized brain, but it
was
still another potential future that Zeiram was guilty of stealing. Bob's
and thousands of others.
$Bob's and thousands of others isn't really needed. you should probably
just delete it.
Well, it's meant to show what a busy boy Zeiram has been in the past. I
thought it helped show that.
Bob 'cleared' his throat by buzzing static for the others' benefit. "I
must
say Kei, you've blossomed into a radiant flower of beauty."
$Kei: For the last time, Bob, no, I will not hook you into the little
computer brain of my vibrator just so you can have sex again! No matter
how
charming you get!
Ohh. Now that's just plain evil.
Kei nodded in agreement. Despite the numerous fights, explosions, and
crashes she had been involved in throughout her life, she had never taken
an injury that modern science could fail to erase as though it had never
been.
$That's right, it was Yuri that got killed, huh?
As I mentioned to someone else, I'm not using the 'we have the ability to
clone all of our agents back into existance as though they never died' WWWA
bit in the comics. It just kills way too much of the tension and excitement
if all you have to do is run off an identical Kei and Yuri if anything
happens to the real ones. So this continuity does not use that particular
trick, meaing that Yuri (nor Kei, for that matter) has ever died. If it
happens here, it's permenant.
Unless you're Zeiram, of course. :)
For Kei, it felt as though a tremendous weight had been lifted off her
shoulders. Iria had still cared enough about her to follow her career as
best as she could. Part of Kei, a small but a very real part, had been
fearful that once she had left Iria's sight, she had been quickly
forgotten. Originally it had been the fears of a young woman mostly alone,
fearful that not only would she fail to make her mark on the universe, but
that she had also failed to have an effect on the others whose lives she
had already touched. Later, with the onset of maturity (an idea Yuri would
have scoffed at when it applied to Kei) it was more of a fear that it was
a
way for Iria to get back at Kei for leaving her care with only a short
note
left behind. Eventually, the worries had been pushed to the back of Kei's
mind, newer, more urgent concerns, from how much money she had saved up to
who was trying to kill her today, taking precedent over the concerns of
the
past. But once Kei had made her call to Iria, the old fears had clawed
their way back to the present and made their presence known, showing that
they had grown in the dark recesses of her mind rather than fading away
like a memory over the passage of years.
$Ah, yes. The huge background paragraph. I know you're eager to get
started on the fic, but I'd reccomend cutting out about half of this and
the
rest of these lengthy background paragraphs and working them into the
future
chapters. Show, not tell, after all.
In this case 'showing' it would slow the story down rather than help it
along. Once things get going the pace should be fast enough on its own
without getting bogged down in that sort of detail.
There's nothing really wrong with
writing all this out, but I think you should ration it out a little more.
Actually this was intentional in that I'm getting the majority of
backlogged emotions and angst out of the way. It'll just slow things down
in the upcoming chapters, especially if there is more, different kind of
angst, to come. :)
It was Kei's turn to speak. "I'm sorry I didn't keep in touch," she
admitted shamefacedly. "I was afraid of how you'd react when I decided to
strike out on my own. I didn't think you'd approve, so I sort of-"
"--Left in the middle of the night at the age of sixteen, leaving a note
on
your bed saying you had to find your own course in life and that you
needed
to do it alone."
$And making off with the petty cash box. That was just wrong.
Heh
Iria's disapproving glare remained where it was, making Kei wonder if her
reasons had sounded just as lame to her now that they had been verbalized
(despite being the complete and honest truth). Then the glare disappeared,
becoming softer. Iria's whole form seemed to become more relaxed as she
tilted her chair back and placed her hands behind her head.
$Be funny if the ship suffered a major volt at about that time. *thud*
Iria: Remember, comedy is one someone else slips on a bannana peel. Tragedy
is when *you* slip on a bannana peel.
better. It took me a while, but I eventually realized that you needed to
search for something that you couldn't find at home. It took a little
longer, but I was almost ready to accept you having to leave me to find it
as well." There was a pause before Iria's voice held a bit more emotion in
it. Not painful, but more of the vague hint of lingering distress over
something done so long ago. "But you still should have let me know. I had
faith in you. If you were able to survive on your own as an orphan on
Daowajon, then after almost ten years of me teaching you about life and
showing you the ropes,
$That leaves so many possibilities open...
Iria: It's not that kind of fic. A rarity when involving three cute
gun-toting women that aren't blood related, but that's just the way it is.
:P
"Oh." Kei felt a cloud of depression start to hover over her. The
confession, combined with her own emotions after seeing Iria for the first
time in so long, was becoming a bit overwhelming.
$Bob <sarcastically>: Everybody! Group hug!
Heh. Not far from it.
All of her life Kei had
convinced herself that part of the reason she had to leave like a thief in
the night was that Iria would have tried to stop her. But to learn that
wasn't the case, and that she had made things so much more difficult for
herself and her mentor by running away, wasn't sitting well with her. Kei
could have handled things so much better and her unfounded fears wouldn't
have caused them to be separated for so many years.
$Aww...
With Iria before her, a host of feelings Kei had thought long gone and
forgotten returned. A feeling of belonging, of family that Yuri's presence
couldn't provide since she fell under the (also very important) category
of
friend rather than family, was the one that was strongest.
$*sniff*
All of that
angst, especially in the earlier years, but having recently returned with
the onset of the feeling of old age, could have been avoided if Kei had
been open with her feelings at the time. Everything would have been all
right, or at least better.
$That was beautiful, man.
Yep. And all of that nasty angst gets put down rather than dragged out over
ten chapters or so. Probably going against the grain, but I wanted to see
for a change where two people bury the past rather quickly instead of
wallowing in the angst for a lng period of time.
Iria released Kei's hand. "I can tell you've been really, really busy
doing, how does the press usually put it? 'Cutting a swathe of death and
destruction through the galaxy'?"
Kei felt her face grown red. "Well, me and Yuri's relationship
$Bad grammar in dialog is just fine. Most people can't talk properly
anyway.
Yep. And I picture Kei being somewhat worse than Yuri.
"It's true," Kei insisted. She leaned forward, looking around the room,
then gave Iria a conspiratorial look. Iria's curiosity was piqued and she
leaned forward in her chair as well, her face no more than a couple of
inches away from Kei's. The next words Kei said were virtually inaudible,
and Iria had to strain to hear them. "I don't like to say this out loud,
with Yuri being my partner and all, but the truth is, she's really a loose
cannon."
$Yup, typical.
Hey. Got to pass the buck somehow. :)
"Oh yes," Kei assured her in smooth, louder tones. "She's a wild, one
woman
wrecking crew. Now don't get me wrong, she's nice person most of the time,
and a heck of an agent. I wouldn't want anyone else for my partner, and
she
has cleared all of the charges too. But the main reason things get blown
up
around us is because she's recklessness personified. I can't begin to
imagine the untold damage she'd cause if I wasn't there to help keep her
under control."
$*coughcoughbullshitcough*
Kei: No, really. I wouldn't lie to you. It's all a bad rap, I'm telling
you.
Iria cocked an eyebrow at this so-called 'confession'. "That's
interesting,
considering you were always the one that was pretty hard to restrain
growing up, at least as I recall."
$She's got to recognise that kind of statement for the joke it is and
immediately decide that Yuri is the most responsible of the two.
Heh. Yep. Pretty much. That's why Iria's so suspicious. There is an outside
chance Kei is telling the truth, but it's just that: an outside chance.
pair had ever made. Yuri made a mental note to have a discussion with Kei
about taking responsibility for her actions at a later time, probably in
the middle of a hand-to-hand combat training session. That way Yuri knew
she'd have Kei's proper amount of attention. Oh, yes. Yuri would see to it
she received plenty of attention from her partner. Almost more than the
redhead would be able to handle.
$Damn, I havn't seen DP in longer than I've seen Zeiram. I know Yuri
uses
the bloody card, and I think is something of a better shot, but is she
better at hand to hand? And one of them is the better pilot, I forget
which.
% Actually Kei probably is, but Yuri is irate and thinks now she'll be
better since she'll really be trying.
"Most planetary governments could find something useful in there," Bob
confirmed, his mechanically simulated voice somehow conveying an
intangible
smirk.
$*nodnod* My family is like that. People like us give the ATF
nightmares.
I'll remember that if I need a handy firearm.
The trio of women stepped into the well-lit passageway connecting the
ships. It was a sterile white, reminiscent of the color within most
medical
facilities on any planet in the galaxy, no matter how vastly different
cultures might be. The five centimeter thick walls of the connection tube
were all that stood between them and being lost in hyperspace forever.
None
of the women thought about this as they made their way between the two
vessels.
$Foreshadowing? Maybe a Zeiram attack in hyperspace at some future date?
Well it wouldn't be forshadowing if I gave it away now, would it? :)
"As to Zeiram himself, in the simplest of terms, he's a walking killing
machine. He doesn't show mercy, murdering anything and everything that's
around him. He doesn't talk, doesn't bargain, doesn't hesitate, doesn't
sleep, doesn't stop. He is incredibly powerful. He can integrate just
about
any weapon system into his body and use it with expert skill. He's
incredibly resilient, able to bounce back from almost any injury or just
plain ignore them. He can create various repulsive monsters through the
white face on his head. It devours organic matter, then produces an egg
that can be hatched almost instantly, creating a monster that is one
hundred percent loyal to Zeiram. They are just as vicious and homicidal as
him, but nowhere near as powerful, thankfully."
$Basicly, he's the perfect main badguy for a 1st person shootemup game
like
doom or quake.
Hehehehe. I never thought of it that way, but yes, he is.
Kei let out a low whistle. "Looks like you've been busy since the last
time
I saw you. This thing must have grown almost five times...Hey! Is that a
smart-gun rig?"
$Gun: No, I'm really just an oversized squirtgun. What the hell do you
think I am?!
Bob: A smartass-gun rig?
Cute.
A surge of parental pride swelled in Iria's bosom as she watched Kei act
like a child let loose in a toy store. The redhead began darting around
the
room and examining the new 'playthings' she was being given a chance to
frolic around with.
$Happy as Minnie May in an explosives warehouse. Or my private armory.
Happiness is having infinite reloads.
Iria shrugged as she paid close attention to the 'loose cannon' her young
prot�g� had been teamed up with for over a decade. "You never know what
kind of problems you're going to run into when looking for a bounty head.
And since I usually operate alone, you only have yourself to rely on. If
you don't come equipped with what you need, you probably won't be getting
it anytime soon."
$Ah, she must have never played Doom, Quake, Duke Nukem, Half life...
Iria: No. I lived them. :P
"Sounds kind of lonely," Yuri said.
"Well, I have Bob with me all the time. And every now and then I team up
with another hunter, like that old bastard, Fujikawa, or some of the newer
jocks, like Slayback or Effer Effern Efferheart the Third, Esq.
$There's a joke there, I'm sure of it.
A bounty hunter with 'Esquire' in his name. That's pretty much it, that and
the fact all three of his names sound almost exactly the same.
Iria smiled at the implication. "After we take care of Zeiram, I'd be
happy
to take you back home. Things have changed a bit since you were last on
Myce, but not so much that you wouldn't recognize it.
$Still got all those funky looking buildings, eh?
Yep. One of the things I liked about the series was the rather unique style
used in the weapons, buildings, and vehicles of the future. Very unusual
designs.
The planet still has
the same feel, which can't be said for a lot of the other worlds that have
expanded in the last decade around there.
Kei could almost feel the tears coming to her eyes as a wave of memories
of
a wonderful childhood assailed her. "I'd like that. A lot."
$*snort* Wonderful childhood. What with monster attacks, watching people
die, killing monsters, learning how to use guns... Actually, it does
sound
kind of nice.
Yep. A little piece of heaven as far as Kei is concerned. She's unbalanced
that way.
Yuri bowed in appreciation and began looking the racks of various weapons
over. There was at least a token appearance by just about every type of
handheld weapon that had been manufactured in the galaxy. Slug throwers,
incinerators, lasers, particle beams, needlers (Blech!), ion blasters.
There was even a high-tech sling shot towards the back with a wide variety
of multi-colored spherical pellets next to it.
$Surprisingly effective. We use a similar design with the old style
cherry
bombs.
Yep. The slingshot is an underestimated weapon. Basic, yet versatile if you
know how to use it.
Yuri passed it over and
examined the variety of hand held weapons. There were vibro-swords, laser
lances, even some normal looking ancient type items, like a mace and a set
of bolos. The array of weapons was impressive, especially considering how
cramped the ship was to begin with.
$Does she prefer hand to hand? And what, no bloody cards?
She does both. None that Yuri can see.
Yuri drew closer to a familiar type of rifle. "Hey. This is a Pogtaltion
776. These were outlawed by the Uni-Gal Conventions Guidelines at the same
time the Barneyblast 'Love Me,' Firearms were.
$Outlawed? Why? I'd think anything that blasts Barneys should be
mandatory in all civilized civilizations.
Nah. Barneyblast was the name of the company that made them.
Only agents of an inner
world military force, or special trouble shooters of the 3WA can use them.
And even then we have to fill out a GGIL form in triplicate for each round
we use, which is why no 3WA agent has used them in the last five years,
since the 'Good God It's Long' forms take at least a two hour minimum to
fill out and that's if you're a speed writer."
$Cute.
I know forms like this. Just as pointless too.
Kei went up to her partner and grabbed her by the ear, hard. "Yuri, how
many times do I have to tell you that if some nice person is going to loan
us really cool weapons that are going to save our ass from some bad guy,
we
turn a blind eye to any illegal weapons charges we might be able to bring
them up on? Besides, this is the woman who raised me. If I still had a
mother, I'd sooner turn her in than Iria."
$I thought she was just commenting, not thinking about turning her in.
When a law enforcement officer says the words 'you have illegal firearms'
they are usually followed by, 'you are under arrest' Kei is just making
sure Yuri understands the groundrules.
Yuri spun on her heel and confronted Kei, clearly offended. "Excuse me. I
am nothing like you. I always stay strictly within the guidelines of the
3WA. I never do anything that would get me in trouble."
$Just a wee bit defensive.
Yep. Now she's blowing smoke like Kei was earlier with referring to her as
a loose cannon.
Kei raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh, really? What about that little
incident
between you and Chief Gilhooey at the Christmas party?"
$How did she know about it?
She told Kei, of course. They are partners.
Kei caught the look of confusion on Iria and began to explain. "Chief
Gilhooey was only Agent Gilhooey when he met the future Mrs. Gilhooey
while
he was on assignment. He was guarding her when she was a participant at
the
Intergal Olympiad. You know, the one to prove who the best people in some
individual sport in the galaxy are? She was registered in two events: Long
Range Target Shooting and Unlimited Class Fighting. She won the gold medal
in both."
$So why the hell was he guarding her?
A formality. They were supposed to do it with all of the contestants.
Sounds like the kind of woman that
eats a slab of plywood every orning to get her daily fiber.
Heh.
"I saw her drag an illegally parked armored limo out of her husband's
parking spot. You should have heard the sounds the metal made while it was
pulled across the ground. It sounded like little children being ground
into
powder."
$Chief Gilhooey: It's all just an act, she's really about as dangerous as
a
big teddy bear! *hug*
True. Though she could also maul real bears if she felt so inclined. :)
"I'll help her knock over a bank if it means you keeping your mouth shut,"
Yuri said.
$Iria: So posing in the middle of my armory wearing nothing but a
bandolier
and a smile for next month's issue of 'Guns and Ammo' shouldn't be a
problem? I'm the head editor, you see, and I was going to ask Kei to do
it
but seeings how you already owe us both a favor...
hehehehe. Pure evil.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"This feels somewhat familiar," Yuri commented as she walked down the
landing ramp of the Lovely Angel into the same landing bay they had been
in
before, hefting her new weapon and trying to become used to the weight.
$While I know what they say about the size of a man's gun, I wonder if
that
applies to the meaner sex?
Nah. That would be the size of their hooters. (Why yes, I am a pig. Oink
Oink)
What a Suboronic High Intensity Laser Rifle lost in range it more than
made
up for in power. At five more times more kick than the standard laser
rifle, it could burn a hole through just about anything, hopefully
including wandering Zeirams. She also had brought along the spike from the
needler that the oversized mushroom had shot into her, hanging it on her
belt. She just hoped she would get the opportunity to show him what
getting
stabbed with one of those things was like.
$Stab'em in the nads!
If she gets the opportunity.
An exasperated sigh escaped Yuri's lips. Kei would never learn. "You're
carrying a Sharter Smart Gun that's nearly as long as you are tall and is
so heavy you have to have it hooked up to a harness and belt mechanism so
you can carry it without breaking your back."
$Prefer something that won't get hung up when I dive through a little
hole
myself.
With what Kei has, it's assumed the enemy is the one that will be doing the
diving.
"That's my Kei," Iria said approvingly as Yuri held her hand to her head
in
mock pain. She just hoped Kei was smart enough not to use armor-piercing
or
exploding rounds, especially near one of the outer walls of the station.
With the gun's rate of fire, even those would probably punch a hole
through
$'even regular rounds' would sound better.
Nah. It's meant to be just what it sounds like.
"I'm not insulted," Iria assured her. "It's just that I used this the last
time I needed to kill Zeiram, and it's the weapon I'm used to. Besides, I
loaded it up with high velocity explosive tip rounds. They can punch a
hole
in just about anything. I just have to make sure we're not standing near a
wall that leads directly to space, just in case I miss."
$A more observant mind than Yuri's would probably pick up on the 'miss'
part of that statement. If they can punch a hole in -just- about
anything,
and she only has to worry about what happens if she -misses-, what does
that
tell us about Zeiram?
true.
That made Yuri feel all the more reassured. Someone else was thinking
ahead
too. For a while there she had thought it just going to be her and the
computer guy that were going to have to keep an eye on everything and
prevent the other women from getting them killed
$Or digital camera, as the case may be.
Eh? I don't get it.
definitely a good bit wilder than the bounty hunter, but it was easy to
see
how her usual manic, gun happy behavior could have been encouraged in her
formative years with someone like Iria as her mentor. It made Yuri
appreciate her own upbringing in a much more stable and ordinary
environment. She had turned out perfectly normal, especially when compared
to her red-haired partner.
$Not counting the death wish she flirted with every so often by messing
around with the husband to uberwife.
Nah. That was only a one time occurance. Not that that would make a
difference to Brunhilda the Hun. :)
Iria looked in the direction Kei indicated, then turned to the other way.
"I think we'll split up here. I want to make sure we locate Zeiram
quickly."
$Three minutes later, as Kei and Yuri are walking cautiously down a long
passageway, Iria's head rolls out of a doorway. Found him.
Eww. But amusing in a sick way.
"If this guy is as powerful as you say, is splitting up a good idea?" Yuri
asked as she double-checked her weapon.
"Everyone on the station is dead," Yuri pointed out. The station did feel
like a giant, expensive mausoleum to her. Hell, that was basically what it
was now.
Iria shook her head. "No. I mean besides that."
$Probably just PMS or something. *Iria promptly mallets Kichigai*
I would never have implied such a thing. :)
Kei moved closer to Iria, saying something too soft for Yuri to hear. The
darker-haired troubleshooter knew what would come next; Kei would want to
wander off with her mentor while leaving Yuri to fend for herself, despite
the nagging injury to her leg. True, it was not as though Yuri was a green
rookie that couldn't identify her ass from a space shuttle,
$Yeah, her ass is waay cuter.
hehehe. There is that.
Kei saw the look of astonishment on her companion's face. "Come on. We're
partners. Iria can take care of herself. Besides, someone has to keep you
out of trouble."
$Aww...
It was a cheap grab at sentimentality. Also to show that jusy because Iria
is back it doesn't affect Kei and Yuri's relationship.
"A fluke," Kei shot back. "What about the time I had to break you out of
that hotel room when the Jusky Planetary Security Forces were about to
inject you with sulfuric acid."
$Sulfuric? Why? Ice water is the much better choice. Less noticable
too.
More nasty. :)
"I was only in trouble because you gave
$... the bell boy a bad tip! You know how little they get paid, and
those
crazy people take it personally when you insult them like that!
Hehehe. That would work in parody fic.
Iria gave a soft smile at the duo before heading off on her own, allowing
their voices to drift off to a dull clamor
$Of course alerting any wandering monsters as to their exact locations.
Really now, they're highly trained agents, would they be that green?
Drawing Zeiram to them would be good though since it would save them the
time for looking for him. :)
until there was nothing left but
the gentle hum of the inner mechanisms of the station to listen to. It was
times like these Iria regretted not having a partner. A physical one, in
any case. She had tried to find one, but it never seemed to work out.
Occasionally, when going after bigger bounties, she would work with
someone
<snip>
There was that one time in her life where she did have a partner in what
she had hoped would be a permanent union, but that had turned into a real
bust, perhaps the biggest of her life. It made her wish her brother, Gren,
had still been alive. That had been the perfect partnership, and she
thought he had felt that way too. Combined, they had been far more than
the
mere sum of their parts. And they had gotten along better than even most
normal families did. There was never any doubt they would have always been
there to back each other up. A brother and sister team, taking every vow
they could, save 'till death do they part.'
$Keeping it in the family. Yick.
Actually a point was made that they were not blood related. Though it's
obvious Iria never thought of Gren in a romantic sense, and it also added
to the symmetry between Iria picking up Kei as her new mentor.
the Stardust Desert. Putting Gren's spirit to rest and nearly dying at
Zeiram's hands in the middle of that barren wasteland had been enough to
purge that rage once. That and the knowledge that she had find a way to go
on and take care of Kei had helped her bury that past. But now it had come
back with a nasty vengeance, like the bile that came up when one had the
dry heaves.
$Fascinating imagery.
I am finally trying to use metephors (or is that similies) somewhat.
It was taking a great deal of Iria's self-control not to shout
towards the heavens at how unfair it all was that Zeiram had the
opportunity to come back and her brother did not.
$RANMA! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!
But that goes without saying, hence why I did not say it. :)
the bounty hunter felt the satisfaction that could only be experienced
when
a parent felt moved by their child's accomplishments. That Kei was not of
Iria's blood made no difference to the older woman. Whether it was in the
role of sister, mother, or friend, she had always been proud of Kei and
felt a profound sense of accomplishment in helping the young girl change
>from a rowdy, thieving orphan to become an
$... out of control menace to life, the universe, and everything. Ah,
she'd done her job well.
Iria: It does a heart proud.
upstanding honest, young woman.
True, Kei had departed at the age of sixteen to start living a life of her
own making, and there had been an emptiness within Iria that had plagued
her for nearly a year afterwards, leading her to make some awful mistakes
with her life.
$Three ex-husbands, two ex-wives, and a bastard child sent to live with
an
aunt.
Hehehehe.
And now, years later, confronted with a not so young woman that was a
mature (physically, anyway) adult, Iria knew she had done the right thing
$Can't reccomend the (physically, anyway) aside. It's not necessary.
Okay. Dumped.
in not pursuing Kei and trying to drag her back. It had been better to
allow the young girl to leave the nest and learn to fly on her own. The
lack of contact over the years might have cost both of them some time they
could have spent together, helping one another as only they could, but the
end result had made the absence worthwhile. It was all in the past, and
they were now left with only the present and future to live in. Hopefully,
there would be plenty of both to deal with.
$I'm giving 3 to 1 odds Zeiram eats/absorbs her! Any takers?
No giveaways. :P
In a much improved mood, Iria decided she had done enough internalizing of
her emotions. It was time to turn her full attention to the matter at
hand.
It wouldn't do to become so wrapped up in thinking about Kei that Zeiram
got the drop on her, possibly absorbing her like he had Gren. That kind of
symmetry to life Iria could live without.
$Amazing how many people die of irony poisoning.
Heh
The first twenty minutes of the search turned up nothing in the way of
clues, frustrating Iria. Her most fervent wish was to locate Zeiram and
kill him right away.
$Not gonna happen. Unless you really really really want to hurry up and
start in on a different fic.
Nah. This one is meant to go a little longer than that. Best guess, another
novel sized Vacation Days sort of thing.
Iria was about to make her way to another section of the station when her
hunter's instinct made her turn towards another direction.
$That 'hunter's instinct' can also be defined as a sense of smell.
Something stank.
Heh.
few explosive rounds at anything that tried to rush her. The situation was
the classic misdirection trap, the blob meaning to attract her complete
attention. She made certain there was nothing hiding in a cubby hole or
vent nearby that might try to attack. There appeared to be nothing as she
drew near the thing in the corridor, getting close enough to clearly make
out its form. When it had been alive, the thing certainly could have been
one of the monstrosities produced by Zeiram. It appeared to have once been
humanoid, but just barely, with long ropy tentacle where arms should have
been and black skin the color of deep space.
$Should have had the color description in the initial sentance. When
you
said amorphous blob, I immediately thought flesh colored.
done
Iria shook her head. "You remember what it was like fighting those
monsters. Every one of those creatures was fanatically loyal. They'd never
turn on him. Also I can't see him going through all the hassle of creating
them just to kill them. No. I'm almost certain something else took out the
one I saw."
"Survivors?" Yuri asked.
$Yeah, maybe it resisted getting booted off the space station. But if
that's the way the tribal council vote goes, that's the way it goes.
I'm now very glad I don't watch that and have no desire to.
Kei nodded her head, examining what was left of the interior. No Zeiram.
That was too bad, but she hadn't believed for a moment that he had died in
the explosion. As to the computers, that was a different story. Nearly all
of them near where she had tossed her overloaded laser rifle had been
completely destroyed; all that was left was twisted metal and exposed
wires.
$Sparks?
Hmm. Will consider adding them.
"How long do you think it'll take for him to get into the system?" Yuri
asked.
"With all of the numerous and expensive encryption and protection programs
they have in this multi-trillion credit corporate juggernaut that took
nearly three years to build?"
$Who said this?
Iria.
"Hey, now. Some of those protection programs were state of the art," Bob
defended.
"Kei's just jealous because she can't get past the protection programs on
her own computer," Yuri said with a delighted smile on her face.
$There's actually a nifty way of setting up a random password system on
your computer using the power or busy light to flash your own personal
variation of the morse code at you to tell you what this session's
password
is. Although, admittedly, it'd probably be harder to figure out when
drunk.
Yep. Kei has enough problems dealing with it sober.
Yuri continued snickering and took the commander's chair next to the
console. The snickering stopped as she examined the screen, taking in
everything upon it. Her course of action decided, her fingers initiated an
elaborate dance across the keyboard. She could have used the voice
activation program, but there was something reassuring about using her
hands to go through the programs and systems. It might have had something
to do with feeling more in control. Or maybe it was just that feminine
voice the computer used grated on her nerves.
$Ritsuko: Yes, is sounds just like my mother, too.
Heh
Within seconds, Yuri came to a disturbing conclusion. "Most of these files
have been erased."
$Kei: Which ones?
Yuri: Hmm, lets see. *taptap* Ah, yes. The ones under C:/porn/personal/
Kei:...
heh, again
She jumped out of the seat and ran at full speed towards the ripped off
doors to the command center, her injured leg not bothering her in the
slightest. "The station's reactors have been set to overload and are going
to hit critical mass in about ten minutes."
$She seemed to have said tht rather calmly while running. Maybey an ! or
something?
Added
"Right!" Iria left the device behind as Kei urged her onward. There was a
bit of reluctance at leaving even something as small as Bob's access port
behind; it felt too much like abandoning a comrade. Mentally, she had to
remind herself that this wasn't really Bob at all, just an outlet for the
real him stored on the main computer on the Creeper. He wouldn't be in any
danger when this link was destroyed. But the action still bothered her.
$destroyed, but
And if the creeper dies, he does too, right?
Yep.
"Come on!" Kei insisted as Iria rejoined her and the two headed towards
the
docking bay their ships currently resided in as fast as they could.
xxxxxxxxxxx
"Bad Troubleshooter. No more donuts for you. They'll only slow you down
$Does the T need to be capitalised?
Not anymore. :)
"Then why was she a good thirty seconds ahead of you when you two finally
reached the docking bay?"
$Kei: Because she was more scared than me! I guess I've kind of goteen
used to running for my life from an installation that's about to blow up.
Heh. That would have been cute too.
"She's wearing armor, Kei. You're wearing a bikini."
"Hey now! This stuff is made out of Tyra-armor cloth. It weighs more than
your average normal fabric."
$That protection, of course, being completely negated by the fact that
she's not wearing much of it.
Luckily people always aim for her breasts. :)
"Shut up, Yuri!"
"You sounded like a dog in heat with all of that panting and wheezing.
Poor
Muhgi probably thought you were going to jump him."
$Muhgi: Growf! *zoom*
Pretty much his reaction.
turned away from him. He liked his partners well enough, but they really
scared the hell out of him with how weird they would get every now and
$Extra space.
then.
$Every now and then? Do I even want to know?
Just they sometimes get really bad.
Both looked at the space station again. There was a small blossom of red
near the top of the central spire of the station, then nothing.
Kei smirked at her partner. "Gee, Yuri. I was expecting something a little
more spectacular."
$Wait for it...
Yep. I didn't want to disappoint. Now they've destroyed the only place
they've been too so far. Next stop, an inhabited world.
"You probably stumbled on the program to somebody's toaster oven, Little
Miss Computer Expert."
$If so, they must have had it set for 'radioactive dust' to make that
kind
of explosion.
Heh
"Ohhh. Pretty." Kei clapped her hands in approval. "Looks like I owe you
an
apology, partner." She gave Yuri a hard slap on the back.
$Getting slapped on the back isn't plesant. Especially seeings how
Yuri's
is largely bare.
It wasn't that hard. Besides, Yuri's tough.
"I guess we ought to." Yuri's eyes were drawn to where the DX-11000
station
had been a moment before. Complete eradication. It would take a miracle to
find any evidence in that debris. If it hadn't been for the her and Kei
happening on the station when they did, and escaping with their lives, no
one would ever have known what had really happened there.
It made one wonder what was really going on.
$While the other one was too happy about finding her old mentor.
Hehehe. Partially true.
xxxxxxxxxxxx
Iria had returned the Lovely Angel again, the trio gathering in the
conference room on board. The Creeper V was too small for them to talk
easily, and Bob was able to interact with the Lovely Angel's systems with
ease. It had taken the man turned computer about an hour to thoroughly go
through the information he had scraped together from the download from the
station. In the interim, the women compared notes on the criminals they
had
captured over the course of their careers, each side being impressed by
some of the noteworthy felons they had caught. There had even been several
that both sides had grabbed at one time or another. "Small universe," Iria
remarked at the coincidences.
$Who? Lupin?
Lupin the 108th, yes.
A hologram projector built into the center of the table activated and
showed the footage Bob had managed to recover. In the beginning seconds,
nothing but static filled the screen.
$Then, a massive pair of red lips filled the screen...
Don't get that one either.
She pointed at the static filled image hanging above the table. "That
cargo
hauler he's getting on. It's one that was in the bay when we landed the
first time. I didn't even realize it was missing when we came back until I
saw him get on it there."
Bob spoke again. "I can confirm that that is the same bay which we
entered.
$Wait, you mean they entered the same bay both times, but the cargo
hauler
was still there the first time, and it's the same bay that the cargo
hauler
was docked in? Wouldn't it get in the way?
Nope. Big bay. Think of something like th Death Star from Star Wars, bays.
Very Wide and with plenty of room inside.
"That time frame for the automated scanners was intact. They took a 20275
heading away from here. But they could have easily changed their course
after they were out of sensor range."
$Ah, but is Zeiram that smart? Presumably no sane person would ride on
board with him.
That is part of the mystery.
"Information indicates the reactors were originally programmed to explode
an hour and a half before we arrived," Bob informed them.
$Matching the time frame for the dead little nasty.
Yep.
"You think someone else came on board after Zeiram left and set the
station
to explode?" Kei asked, hoping anyone would be able to answer.
$Supports the theory that Zeiram is alone on the ship.
Yep, it does seem to.
"No." Iria's answer was quick, almost like a gunshot. It had much the same
effect as one since everyone paid attention solely to her. "We still don't
know what's going on, other than it appears there might be a third party
involved. I want more information before we announce that we know what's
happened here and that Zeiram still exists. I don't want to wonder if the
people I'm spilling my guts to are somehow involved in all of this. No
sense in putting a bull's eye on our backs if we can help it. Besides,
Zeiram's mine and Kei's personal demon. We should be the ones to kill him.
At this point other people would just get in the way."
$And it's rude to shoot your nominal friends because they're in your way.
Yep. They tend to shoot back.
She watched Kei and Yuri nod in agreement. Apparently they were content to
defer to her, at least for the moment. Iria accepted that they might try
to
take charge after some time had passed, given the fact they were legal
representatives of the most powerful law enforcement agency in the galaxy
and quite capable of handling themselves. She made certain return the
favor
by keeping her mind open to any proposals they might have in the future.
$Kei and Yuri: How about a threesome?
Iria: Well, I did say I'd consider any proposals... No.
K&Y: Damn.
Told ya, ain't going to happen. Sorry. Maybe a fictional side story. I do
well with those. :)
"So what do you think we should do?" Yuri asked.
"Bob, did you pull an exterior registry number from the ship that took off
with Zeiram?" Iria asked.
"It's a bit fuzzy to make out, and one of the numbers is either a one or a
seven,
$I hate funky fonts.
Heh
"Right now it's the only clue we've got." Iria closed her eyes for a
moment, then announced, "We're going to head to Delabar."
"Any particular reason why?" Kei asked.
$Iria: I heard they just opened up a new shopping mall and I'm _dying_ to
get some new clothes.
K&Y: Oooh! We're there!
Hehehehe. I really like that one.
"And he has a thirty six hour head start on us," Kei said, letting the
implication of what damage Zeiram could to a population in over a day go
unspoken, though with the butchery all three women had seen, it didn't
take
much imagination.
They just hoped there would be a population left to save once they
arrived.
$If there is before they arrive, there probably won't be after they
leave.
That is something of their usual pattern.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Wow! Only two plus months in between chapters. Sorry this took so long to
do. No apologies really other than I felt the need to do several other
fics
first and that I've been exceptionally busy. The next one shouldn't take
as
long, since I've gotten most of the other fics out of my system.
$Cool! Always nice to hear. Well, in order to perhaps finish some of
the
other C&C I want to do, I'd best be off. Nice fic DB! C&C you later!
Already looking forward to hearing you again for the next chapter. nice mix
of grammar corrections and humor. Thanks a lot for the help.
D.B. Sommer