The Sweet Rest Inn
1:32 PM Pacific Standard Time
"Do I have to stay in the car?" Brad asked.
"Yes. The last thing I want is for Banyan to see you and think her daughter is safe. Because then I'd have to explain who the hell you are and why you look like Willow well before I'm ready," Bree said while pulling into a parking space.
"And the last thing I want is for this Kashi guy to see you because I am not thrilled with the idea of trying to defend you from a guy who obliterated his own living room almost casually fighting four guys at once," Dan added.
"You better get your head down. I think that's her at the lobby door," Natalia said, gesturing with her chin.
Bree, Dan and Natalia exited the car and headed towards the waiting Banyan.
"Bree! I'm surprised you're not helping defend the city. Willow's gone missing. Kashi and that Hunter, James, are going to look for her. I'm glad you're here. We could use all the help we can get," Banyan said. She was trying to hide it, but Bree could tell Banyan was nervous.
"So, Kashi's gone?"
"Um, I'm not sure exactly. He and James were on their way out. I'm not sure if they've left yet."
Bree looked slightly hesitant. "Can we go talk somewhere more private?"
Banyan noded and lead the group of Solars into the office. She closed the door behind her. "Can these people be trusted, Bree?"
"I trust them. They're like me and Kashi," the red head replied.
Then I have another issue: we have a suspect for who took Willow, but it's not going to be easy to get her back. You see my father is a very powerful man..." Banyan began.
"Let me stop you, Banyan. I have some confessions to make and I need to get the off my chest. I've kept secrets from you. I'm not proud of it, but I hope what I've done will turn out for the best and you will understand. I need to tell you this in order to keep it straight, but I can assure you Willow is safe," Bree admitted.
She'd thought about what Dan and Natalia had said back in Kashi's neighborhood and how they'd been alarmed by her manipulation of the mage, Brad. It bothered her that her actions could be interpreted as selfish. It made her wonder if she'd misjudged Campeggio? Had she been a cop so long she'd become suspicious of everyone?
Bree hoped not. She'd never wanted to be an oppressor, forcing her views on others and substituting her judgment for their own. That was why she had to come clean to Banyan. She wanted to be a force for good in the world.
"Well, it feels like it's been a day for confessions. Go ahead Bree let's hear it," Banyan said.
"You know that back in October I helped Kashi fight a group of vampires. The other vampires that were on our side offered me information about my father's murder that lead us to meet with Terra Alani at MSI.
The vampires performed blood tests on Willow and Kashi. They found out Kashi has werewolves in his ancestry. Jin's father was a werewolf."
"Kashi already found that out from someone else. Apparently there's a large clan of them in Japan. He didn't tell me about this until today, though. Oh, my God! Did Willow become a werewolf?" Banyan asked shocked.
Bree inhaled sharply. "No. And she never will. She can't. Willow doesn't have any werewolf genes. Dr. Alani found absolutely no trace of them, which means..."
Banyan's face twisted in anger. "I didn't cheat on Jin! How many times do I have to say it!?"
"Not willingly. Banyan...you were raped."
Banyan looked at the Zenith incredulously. "No, I wasn't. I fought off my attacker! He never got anywhere near me."
Bree shook her head. "That man, the one you accidentally killed, wasn't the rapist. It's more sinister than that. According to the tests, Willow's father is a powerful ghost, one who is so powerful he can take physical form. And I mean not just possess a corpse like the ones we're dealing with now, but he can form a solid body and walk around in the physical world. Such ghost are incredibly powerful and master of many ghostly powers like emotional control and memory alteration.
"Jin didn't lie. He was not there when Willow was conceived. You didn't lie. You thought you were with Jin. You both had your lives turned upside down and your marriage destroyed because a supernatural force was using you as pawns."
Banyan stared into space blankly. "No," was the only word to escape her lips.
"I wanted to tell you right then, but we found out at the same time that Willow was being watched by both a group of mages and your father. You must know your father is a dangerous man from how you cut yourself off from him."
"My father sent men to kidnap Willow. Kashi killed them. More followed him here. They battled out back. I helped him. I had to kill them. All I wanted was a peaceful life for my children. For them to be children and grow up and not be my father's pawns. But, I am what he made me. And I don't regret killing to defend my children. This hasn't hurt me like killing that stupid man behind the diner. This killing I'm okay with," Banyan said, obviously still trying to convince herself.
"Wait, what?" Dan asked, trying to follow the conversation.
"My father is part of a conspiracy a group that has vast influence over the world. They try to rule it. They have secret lairs, private armies the full James Bond works. They call themselves 'The New World Order.' I was trained to be an agent and to go and kill at my father's command. Other rich girls had riding lessons. I was running mazes with a pistol pursued by attack dogs. Forget father daughter dances our bonding time was when he was giving me fencing lessons." Banyan said shaking her head.
"So, it wasn't luck. It was a trained reflex when you crushed that man's windpipe?" Bree asked.
"I was trained to eliminate threats. Even capture missions can turn into bloodbaths when training meets survival instinct. The more I think about it, the more I think that's what happened with the attack on Kashi. He was too powerful to take alive, so they fell back on their training and tried to kill."
"Oh, wow! So what do you think they were going to do? Drag him to see your father like Luke being brought to the Emperor?" Dan asked his mind reeling at this information.
"Yes, only they didn't send Darth Vader. They just sent some stormtroopers who couldn't handle it," Banyan explained.
"Your father is even more than that, Banyan, he's among the leadership of a group of mages called the Technocracy. They frame their magic as a type of science and seek to defeat the council of traditional mages. They are the stronger force with more control of the world.
"Willow has become a mage there was a prophecy about it. The traditional mages sent men to watch her eight years ago. They completely misunderstood your father's level of interest in Willow. Only one survived and he just barely made it," Bree said quietly.
"You said my father didn't have Willow and these mages are dead. Who has my daughter?" Banyan asked resolutely. She was no longer willing to wait.
"The vampires of House Tremere want Willow's goodwill as well as Kashi's. They reasoned that if you were warned your father would be able to tell. He'd notice even the slightest change in your normal behavior. They gave the mages' intervention a very low chance of success. Personally, I think that they overestimated the mages even at that. The Tremere ambushed your father's men, killed them, and have Willow in their safely warded headquarters in the city."
"So, she's 'safe' among blood drinking predators?" Banyan asked in disbelief.
"Their leadership has declared her off limits. Turning a mage into a vampire destroys their powers. The Tremere started as mages trying to gain immortality. They know better than most. They have a steady supply of food. They have no reason to feed off her and everything to lose if they hurt her."
"So you trust their self interest?"
"Yes. I have a coded text. They have Willow. The original plan was they'd take her to MSI and I would pick you and Kashi up to meet them there. Even your father would be reluctant to attack there."
"I take it the chaos out there has screwed up the plan?"
"Yes. With the bulk of the MSI Manifested here in Los Angeles, their compound might not be safe. The Tremere didn't mean to have their chantry be more than a stopover, but I have been assured the wards around the building have been strengthened to hold off your father's attempts to find her. They want to meet as soon as possible to plan how to get her to safety."
"Any other bombshells?"
"Yes. The traditional mages were just going to kidnap Willow and leave a soulless clone in her place. After he and his partner were gunned down by your father's men, the surviving mage had to abandon his dying body so, he threw his spirit into the nearest thing it could find….namely the clone of Willow," Bree admitted.
"Which is set to die of an aneurysm in a few years," Dan added.
"They were going to take my daughter from me?" Banyan said with a dangerous look in her eyes.
"They were, but I think his close brush with death has him seriously rethinking his life. He seems pretty motivated to atone for past sins," Bree explained, trying to put the best spin possible on the abysmal truth. She thought she owed Brad that at least.
"Let's hope so for his sake," Banyan said darkly
"You said your son was gone? Sorry, I had trouble following what you were saying at the beginning," Natalia asked, changing the subject. "I sort of wanted to meet him. Bree talks about him. A lot."
"Yes. He'll be back. He left with James. Kashi doesn't have a ride. Jin, my ex-husband, was released from prison and took back the motorcycle Kashi had been using. He also left Kashi the sum if his 'wages' for taking the fall for Bree's father's death. I passed up my father's billions because it was blood money. I wasn't about to start taking gang money," Banyan explained
"Well, it's only a few million; sixty thousand a year, wisely invested for thirteen years. It does explain why Willow was checking her own finances," Dan explained, setting down Kashi's dropped clipboard and pulling out Brad's tablet.
"What? You mean her saving from helping teachers after school?" Bree asked.
"Seventy four thousand. She got most of it from writing and selling programs, piracy and some minor data cracking."
"What!" Banyan exclaimed.
"She's small potatoes but good enough. I recognized her handle, no official rewards for unmasking her, and if there were, none of the charges would stick to a minor. That's likely why her planner keeps referencing her sixteenth birthday as a cut off for illegal earnings. She planned to flip her hat from black to white or more like from dark grey to light grey. It's funny, everyone suspected Willowisp was a dude named Will who was bragging about being like a ghost on the net. Instead, it's a girl who IS half ghost and who originally meant Willow ISP," Dan said without looking up from the tablet he'd borrowed from Brad.
"How long?" Banyan asked.
"Three years. I'll bet it's what first drew vampire interest. A ten year old genius writing this kind of stuff would be someone to watch. Heck, I'd give her 60k a year to intern for me part time so long as she kept progressing towards a degree," Dan explained.
"That good, huh?" Natalia asked.
"I have to save her so I can kill her," Banyan snarled.
"She's the opposite of you, Banyan. I don't approve of what she did, it's terrible, but her behavior is due to pent up mental energy! I think you know that. It's the same thing you sidestepped in Kashi, only instead of boundless physical energy, Willow was not being challenged. School offered her no outlet. She sought out her own challenge from those that don't ask questions or care who you are because all they care about is themselves."
Banyan was ready to retort when Natalia interrupted with a small cough. "We're drifting again. Where did your son go with the Hunter?"
"He said his girlfriend, Sayuri, was stranded and he got a text she was stuck in a location with zombies actively walking the street. We assume her car is broken down. She needed Kashi to pick her up. We didn't have a clue where to start looking for Willow so he took off to help her while waiting for more information from the other hunters to come in."
"Okay, I just need to make sure he doesn't fly off the handle and attack the Tremere. They are quite willing to turn Willow back over peacefully. It would be a shame if he started something and put her in danger accidentally," Bree explained.
"You have this mage with you? The one who is in a copy of Willow's body?" Banyan asked.
Bree nodded. "He's in the car."
"I think your name was Dan? Would you get him and meet us out back? Bree, I need you and your other friend to help me take care of something back there," Banyan asked cryptically.
Curious, Bree agreed and Dan left to fetch Brad. The exalt and the mage made their way to the back of the building. They rounded a corner to the back loading dock to see the devastated parking lot. The mage in Willow's body involuntarily started. It was quite obvious he was thinking of what Kashi might do to him if he saw him in his sister's body.
"More of Kashi's work?" Dan asked.
He could see Bree's eyes drifting around the lot, following her mind's recreation of the action. "All but those guys with the neat bullet wounds. What happened to the guy who was right here who bled so much?"
"Tied up downstairs. Don't even try to talk me into freeing him. I took his suicide pill. He might be ready to die for the cause, but I know ways of making him talk," Banyan replied.
"Talk about what? You already know they didn't capture Willow. If you were scared for your daughter's life I could see holding him hostage or doing a rough interrogation but..." Bree began.
"He has no value as a hostage to his superiors. He's already a dead man. I told you pain isn't going to get this guy to talk, but I have my ways and NO you cannot ask what they are! Now butt out of my business. He's my captive not yours. If I'm lucky it will be a while before my father sends an assassin to kill him. Now, I need two things; first I need for you to use your magic to burn these corpses before they attract ghosts and to talk to this...mage," Banyan said forcing an astonishing amount of scorn into the final word as she looked at Brad.
"Um, yeah, it looks like you got them all. They use platoons of twenty four men. There were six at your house that were killed by vampires, your son killed four more there and the other fourteen tried to ambush you here," Brad stammered.
"I know how many people my father puts in a damn platoon! They left four at the house to watch for Kashi and capture him. They probably hoped they could get information out of him. The other two were likely trying to find a trail on Willow's true abductors or rescuers took. They would have all been informed when the four Kashi killed flatlined. So, they came after the man who killed their own. They hoped to put down a threat fast and hard. They failed to count on Kashi's power, his having allies and lastly they failed to count on me who knows an out of date but still relevant version of their playbook," Banyan explained.
"Wait. He trained you?" Brad asked, confused.
"You people did shit recon," Banyan spat in the tone of a professional insult.
"No! You don't understand! Your father's had children before and he's never done that. He's seen they've had an excellent education and he provided them the safety net of a trust fund. He's never trained anyone or pulled them into his life or the business of the Order. He's always kept his personal life and second life separate," Brad explained.
"I can't speak for them only myself. If you want a chance to redeem yourself you better listen to me. I want to know if your magic can call up the spirits of the dead?" Banyan asked.
"The dead? You want to find Willow's true father?" Brad guessed.
"What I want is to find the son of a bitch who though it was alright for him to masquerade as my husband and take my body without my consent. I don't blame my break up with Jin on this. It was going to happen eventually. It was an inevitable. We were rapidly approaching the point of no return. It shouldn't have happened because of something Jin wasn't guilty of, however. He might have been the biggest ass in the world, but he shouldn't have to suffer for something he didn't do. He should be suffering for things he would have done himself regardless."
"That doesn't sound very enlightened. Remember, the Buddha says…." Dan began.
"You quote proverbs at me and I might just slap you. That might make me a poor Buddhist, but I just found out I was sexually assaulted by a ghost. I think I get a pass," Banyan barked.
Dan winced and took a step back. "Yeah, okay, sure."
"I can't do that. I don't have the skill to summon ghosts, but I think I know some people that do," Brad quickly explained.
"Do you think they'll actually help?" Banyan asked with a scowl.
"Yeah, I think I can make that happen. There is a coven of Verbena Witches out in Malibu. I have a few things I can trade them. Information they will want, mostly. Yeah, I'll help you. It's the least I can do," Brad admitted.
"Are you three willing to help him?" Banyan asked.
Bree looked at her fellow Solars. A moment of understanding was achieved without words.
"I have to trust you not to do something horrible to that soldier. I've resolved to try to trust people more and judge them less. Whoever or whatever chose to abuse you and steal Jin's identity is an evil worthy of being pursued and brought to justice. And yes, I will use my power to burn these corpses before some ghosts find them."
Banyan nodded. "I can swear to you I won't torture him."
Bree nodded and set about disposing of the dead. Her fellow Solar, Dan, however, approached Banyan. "I'm pretty sure you're using him as bait for something but it's not my business right now. I only ask if you see your plans might affect the greater effort to secure the city and your daughters safety, you let us know."
Banyan simply nodded.
The Solar Exalted and the mage stuck in a little girl's body headed out to seek the answer to the mystery of Willow's ancestry.
Streets of Inglewood
1:53 PM Pacific Standard Time
"Hey! I think this is it!"
"You said that three streets ago."
"Hey! we're following your girlfriend's directions!"
"Directions? She just said she was at the bank and gave the street. I'd hardly call them directions."
"Exactly my point."
"Hey! Over there! It's a zombie! Down there dude! Step on it!"
James gunned the motor and sped down the street. Kashi prepared to leap out of the car and attack the undead creature. Beyond its pale form he could see the parking lot of a bank in it Sayuri's BMW came into sight.
James suddenly hit the breaks and swerved. Kashi's hand reflexively pulled the handle opening the car door. He was nearly tossed out as he'd already removed his seatbelt in preparation to jump. Leaning out of the car as it swerved to the side, Kashi struggled to not get tossed the wrong direction and under the wheels. With great effort he pulled himself back into the car, his abs burning at the effort of countering the momentum. He spun in place toward James and shouted "What the hell man?!"
"That's not a zombie! It's a strung out dude," James shouted back as the car skidded to a halt.
Kashi turned to look about to debunk James' claims when he realized it not only was it a living man but one he knew. "Oh, hey! Dylan! Small world, man!" he shouted to his mom's fellow hotel employee.
"Kashi? Great, just what I need. What are you...wait...were you guys trying to run me over?" Dylan Castle asked, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.
"What? Us? Um…. No! No! No! Just...um...a slick spot on the road. Is there, um, zombies around man?" Kashi asked sheepishly as he put his hand on the back of his neck and smiled broadly.
"Not anymore. That Fire Manifested girl killed them all. Damn she's hot," Dylan said, his voice full of admiration.
"In every sense of the word," James replied sarcastically.
"What the hell is it with you late twenties guys? I mean Reiko is like seventeen and my mom is like thirty-eight. Can't you find chicks your own age to lust over?" Kashi spat.
"Kashi, like you have any room to talk! I remember your mom complaining about you getting transferred to another class because the teacher found you 'distracting,'" Dylan sneered. "And I'm twenty-four."
"And I'm only twenty-six! But, you see Kashi, the problem is the older you get the less time ten years feels like. No one complains about a seventy year old and an eighty year old going out or even a fifty year old and a sixty year old. At twenty-nine going up to thirty-nine is only weird 'cause she might have teenage kids that find it weird and make a big deal out of it and going down is weird 'cause ten years is huge to them," James offered.
"Whatever. I'm going to check on Sayuri," Kashi said blowing them off. He was already bored of their conversation. Besides, he wanted to see Sayuri.
Around the corner Sayuri and Reiko were sitting on a bench near a glass enclosure with a night drop box and an ATM machine. The parking lot around them had clusters of smoldering ash piles. The cousins were ignoring all that and had their heads together, obviously in some deep discussion. Reiko was the first to notice him and waved him over.
"Hey Kashi! Going to have to be faster than that if you expect to play the hero with me around!" Reiko said with a smile.
Kashi broke into a run and embraced Sayuri who hugged him in return. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips before turning to Reiko. "Hey! I'm just glad everyone's okay. What's going on? Your message was kind of short," he asked, turning back to Sayuri.
"Well, I thought if this was going to be an emergency it would be useful to have cash on hand. So, I came by this ATM. It looked like the best place because of all the security. When I came up I saw there was a guy in the booth looking kind of panicked and acting weird. I would have driven away but I recognized him from your mom's hotel," she said.
"That's Dylan. He's okay. Kind of uptight and he reads too much, but whatever. And it's still Goya's hotel. Mom just manages...well...yeah...I guess it's sort of hers too. Yeah! 'mom's hotel' has a nice sound to it," Kashi said. This was really the first time he'd ever thought about how much his mother had moved up in the last few months.
"Anyhow, so I rushed over to see if he needed some help. That's when I ran into these zombies or ghost animated corpses. They had him trapped in the ATM enclosure and would attack anytime he tried to get back to his car," Sayuri finished.
Kashi looked around, eyeing the piles of bodies closer. Before being turned to ash, all the undead were behind cover that would hide them for ambush. The group had been using Dylan as bait to lure more people in. They had planned to slay good samaritans as they came to help.
"They're called nemissaries. Ghosts that can possess a human or corpse for long enough to be useful in combat are called nemissaries. They are among the most valued troops in the armies of the dead because their skills make them more useful in the mortal world," Kashi said abruptly, as if reciting from a book.
Sayuri looked at him dumbfounded before Reiko spoke up. "Is that some of that knowledge that just came to you? You know like since you got your powers?" She asked.
"I guess. Stuff like that just pops up in my head like I'd studied it once and forgot. It drives me crazy how spotty it is! I mean I don't remember anything about vampires, werewolves, and Hunters, but here I am shitting out random facts about ghosts," Kashi lamented.
"Yeah, well, I got zilch in that department, so still envious. In fact I don't think any of the Manifested did. Kind of jelly that you get that if it's true."
Kashi shrugged. "Well, you did a good job here, Reiko. You killed all the ghosts I take it?"
"Yup! That was me! Well, the ghosts aren't dead they fled when there was nothing left to possess. I think they were trying to lure more people into rescue that guy in the box so they could generate some corpses for their buddies. They weren't interested in staying around after I showed up. Not supposed to be looking for fights but I told Kai I was deverting from returning from my latest messenger run to help my cousin. He thinks she had car trouble," Reiko explained.
"Ahh. You're the messenger because you're only seventeen?" Kashi asked.
Reiko nodded. "Yeah. The police were trying to stop me from even doing that. It's funny, I was all excited that Kai was going to Austria for Christmas and I'd be free from his watching over my shoulder for a month. Now I'm glad he's trying to keep me involved."
"I want to help defend the city, but I have my own problems. Willow has been kidnapped again. James is going to try to help me find her," Kashi explained.
"James? Who's that? You mean the guy talking to Dylan?" Reiko asked.
"Yeah. That's him. He's helped out before. Hey! Wait! I can help you out," Kashi said whirling to wave manically at the Hunter. "YO!"
Reiko glanced at Sayuri with uncertainty. Kashi wasn't known for being the sharpest tool in the shed. Reiko had doubts about how much help a Kashi plan would be.
Unsure which was being summoned both men jogged over. "You bellowed?" James quipped.
"Yeah, but not for Dylan. Dude pretend you didn't hear anything. You don't want to be a part of all this. Okay, look, James, we don't have any leads yet on Willow and your fellow Hunters are all over the city doing their own thing. Go to Anaheim. Get your arsenal. Arm up anyone who will work with Kai to protect the city as a group. You know, opposed to just randomly running around. We'll all meet up at the Sweet Rest. I'll run back to the hotel and wait."
"Run? On foot? Kashi! Just go to my Dad's and get your bike. He'll be cool with it. He saw your bank stuff. He knows you're not going to stiff him and this is clearly an emergency," Reiko suggested.
"I can drive you there, Kashi, but first let's check on my dad. I can't get him on the phone. Reiko hasn't even been out there, and although she says the dead weren't going near Brentwood, that could change at any time," Sayuri said.
"Oh, yeah! Good thinking, Yuri!" Kashi exclaimed.
Reiko looked up from her own tablet. "Dylan you had best follow James out to Anaheim then go wide around the city. The undead are starting to drift. I can't really make predictions about their path."
"Hey, I'm good with that. I have had enough of a brush with death tonight," Dylan said, glaring at Kashi.
Reiko laughed and embraced the graduate student, planting a quick kiss on his surprised face. "Hey it's all good. I liked getting a chance to be the big hero. At least you're cool about being the 'damsel' in distress."
Dylan stood stunned as Reiko leapt on her motorcycle. "I have to get back to work. I'll tell Kai help is gathering at the hotel and he can make his way there. Stay safe!"
James clapped Dylan on the shoulder. "Come on man. Let's get out of here before more undead wander up to see where their friends went."
Kashi gave his mom's employee a sad shake of the head and made his way to Sayuri's BMW. Maybe they could work something out to help everyone without this disaster deepening.
Manifested Services Incorporated Compound
North of Fresno, California
1:53 PM Pacific Standard Time
Terra had been trying to avoid watching the news. She knew that watching the continuous stream of fragmentary coverage of the disaster in L.A. would be distracting. She also knew it would not really give her a clear picture of the dangers Kai and the others faced. It would also stoke the imagination, filling her with all manner of worry. She thought it was better, perhaps, to be ignorant of these events until after the battles had been won or lost.
Unfortunately, she kept hearing half snippets of news from the various televisions and radios scattered throughout the compound as she made rounds throughout MSI. She was continuously checking on the groups of children cloistered away as well as the building's security. She also made sure the automatic systems and interns were monitoring the idle experiments in the labs before catching a quick snack.
The bits and pieces of news, she decided, were worse then the whole. It was just enough information to cause her to panic. Having grown frustrated with it she began keeping up with more of the news just to dispel the false impressions.
Terra had learned that Kai had put the young Fire Aspect, Reiko, on messenger duty. She was underage but could spread news and revised tactics quickly. Having a runner was essential given how tangled the information network was becoming, even with the various government agents taking most of the civilian bandwidth, service was sketchy and each agency and organization felt its messages were the most important.
The assault team was making discoveries that didn't have time to file through the official channels. They quickly figured out the idle spirits standing about in the zombie crowds were anything but idle. They were bolstering the troops, relaying information, cursing their opposition, scouting the enemy or just waiting their turn to hijack a body and join the war on the city as a soldier.
Ghost effect ammunition was expensive and not common, so they had resorted to only shooting the strongest ghosts. To deal with the teaming mass of undead, Kai had begun an effort to destroy any corpses before they could be possessed.
The old werewolf, Fletcher, came up behind her. "A few of the werewolf gangs have made contact. The Hand of Justice reports that San Francisco is doing well. They are sending reinforcements south as local problems are cleared up."
"Good. Kai found our lawyer, Mr Campeggio. This event has drawn a multitude of small spirits to the mortal realm. His exalted nature seems to produce a field about him that prevents spirits from resorting to violence so long as one honestly intends to negotiate."
"A most useful ability," Fletcher admitted.
"It's not a flashy power, but tamping down those conflicts is helping. He's even managed to enlist a few elementals to join the city's defense. They have fire elementals that are burning corpses in exchange for incense."
"Good. The Devil's Wolves are mobilizing and getting ready to assault the undead who broke away from the main thrust into east L.A.," Fletcher reported.
"Angel has seen other breakouts. If they were trying to flank our forces, I don't think they'd go so far away. There is something to the south those undead want. The thing is what? If we knew what they were after we could plan so much better," Terra said, puzzled.
Suddenly, an intern burst into the room. "Dr. Alani! Internal security reports something is moving in tunnel seven! That doesn't make sense. That tunnel is a dead end, but something's definitely there."
"I'll deal with this!" Fletcher said taking off.
Terra slipped on her jade knuckle gloves and followed after him. Consulting her mental map of the facility, she remembered the tunnel the intern mentioned. On paper it dead ended, looking like an unfinished project that didn't pan out. The official plans of MSI indicated that tunnel seven was intended to connect with an underground power plant before the plant's location was revised. That was a ruse.
The truth was the tunnel lead to New Orleans. It had been built and enchanted with space twisting magics with the help of the New Orleans cabal as an emergency escape should the MSI compound ever be overwhelmed.
Terra reached the terminus of tunnel seven. Fletcher stopped short as the intruders rushed up the hall. None were over the age of twelve. These children were obviously scared. They were coming along at a rush just short of panic.
It was then she heard someone calling her name. It was then she saw Alexandra, Alex Silbern's eldest. The young girl raced to Terra her siblings trailing behind her.
"Auntie Terra! The bad ones finally showed up! There's enough of 'em that daddy and the doc got their hands full! Is uncle Kai here?" The girl asked.
Alexis, the second eldest, piped up. "If uncle Kai helps daddy, they surely gonna win. Can't nothing stand up to both daddy and uncle Kai," she said with a noticeable drawl.
"Got that straight. Uncle Kai is down right unstoppable," Alexa, the third eldest, opined.
"He's bonafide!" Alexandra added in agreement in the same drawl as her sisters.
"What? Children, no, Kai is fighting zombies that are attacking Los Angeles. What is going on? Who is attacking your father?" Terra asked, perplexed at the girls' rambling.
"I will explain, Dragon Mother. I can't stay, but I came to offer what wisdom I could in these darkened days," a familiar voice said from further back.
Wrinkled and dark the human form of old Pops Rayburn walked down the hall, a calm spot in the sea of excited youth. He was wearing flip flops and a pair of jogging pants but otherwise nude.
Fletcher gave a nod that was almost a bow to the old Mokole and Pops gave a deep nod in return.
"Honored one! It is rare to meet one of your kind. It is a privilege even in these dark times," Fletcher said.
"No greater than the rarity of seeing a wolf with the wisdom to grow grey rather than die for so called glory. Come, let's get these children out of this tunnel. I'll tell you of events as we walk," Rayburn said.
"Is New Orleans truly under attack? Their security has always been so tight. I didn't think anyone could dislodge them," Terra wondered.
"Strength always draws challenge no matter how great," Fletcher ventured.
"There are secrets in New Orleans, deep workings of the spirits from Heaven and Earth that aided Alex Silbern and his friends in pulling off an amazing victory against our foes," Rayburn explained.
As they walked Rayburn told the pair of the great work that had been done before the band that now ruled as the council had come to New Orleans and the reasons for their moving to the city.
"So, you see, these children are not just the families of the supernatural beings in New Orleans; they are the future of the changing breeds thought lost that have been restored. Hence their numbers," Rayburn concluded.
"There is a problem. Even if the whole of our pack at PSI were to join us here, our strength without Kai and the assault team may not be enough to repel an attack of the proportion that would come if the enemy learns they are here," Fletcher worried.
"The spirits will provide. They tell me that they set in motion for aid to arrive, having seen these dark tides rising and what you need will be here shortly. Now, I must return. These are not the lands I pledged to defend nor the ground my bones will sink into when my flesh fails the needs of my spirit," Rayburn said, turning away and heading back for the tunnel. He stopped and looked back.
"There is one last message from the spirits, but I know not what it means. They whisper that the darkness in Los Angeles seeks the Daughter of Death who is sister to the Rising Sun. She is the gate and if she is taken the walls will fall and the lands of the living be over run by the dead. Make of that what you can." And with that last cryptic remark, he disappeared.
Terra pondered this message as the old Mokole departed. However, before she could even begin to decipher it, the intercom blared for her to come to the security staton again. With a sigh Terra rushed off leaving Fletcher to watch the children.
Terra sprinted up the stairs past a security checkpoint and into the nearest elevator. She cursed the security minded people (her husband among them) who had insisted the basement and restricted level areas of the building not have elevators that connected them to the rest of the floors above.
As she past through the door into the main security room for the perimeter of the compound, the guard within, who was, if she recalled correctly, some Glass Walker kinfolk was having a confused conversation with the main gate intercom.
Through the static of the intercom, she heard what sounded like several people talking over each other. Some in English and some in a language that she could not place, but it was neither Malay, Spanish, German or French. She looked at the guard who shrugged. Terra put her hand to the intercom button. "This is Dr. Alani. Please, one at a time and in English if you can."
"You heard that! English! I'll do the talking!" A young female voice exclaimed.
"Hey, why don't you let your brother do it? You already bungled the first time you tried," a deep but mellow male voice interjected.
"But.." the female began, but she was cut off by a string of words from a crisp more mature female voice. Terra was pretty sure now that she heard it clearly that the language was Japanese.
"Fine," the younger female said in a sulk.
"Greetings friends! We invoke the ties that bind us both as fellow Dragon Blooded and of members tied to one clan of werewolves to another! We are members of the Kimura family of the Hakken Clan! Our numbers include three who hold the Dragon's blood and one who doesn't but is our kin! We have come from the distant islands of Okinawa and Hawai'i and ask for guest right among you!" A youthful, incredibly excited and chipper male voice called out.
It was then that the guard pulled up the security camera for the main gate. The people in question were in a large van and out of the driver's side window a youthful, spiky black haired boy hung out the window almost to his waist. He pushed the driver back out of the way. From what Terra could make out, hinted that the driver was the younger woman who had been speaking in English.
"Get OFF!" The younger female voice said, a hand lashing out to grip the boy by the spiky hair of his head.
"HEY!" The young man called out as he was tossed back into the front passenger seat.
"Guest right?! We're not in Game of Thrones, stupid!" She snapped.
"It's werewolf formality, idiot!" The boy snapped back.
The sharper, more mature female voice spoke up in Japanese again and both looked away from each other, the argument ending.
Terra hesitated for a moment before she relented. "I will open the main gate. Follow the road all the way up to the central plaza. We will meet you there and consider your request," Terra said into the microphone.
Minutes later, Terra and Fletcher were large double doors of MSI's visitors center looking out. The visitors had parked their van in front of the large steps that lead up to the domed building and were getting out.
The driver was smoothing wrinkles on her skirt. Seeing her up close she was obviously Wood Aspected. She was in her early twenties and a curvy thing at that, with an hourglass figure very similar to Terra's own, however, she was taller than the doctor so the curves were more gentle. Her eyes and hair were pink and the soft petals of the cherry tree drifted free of her head as she moved. Her tan skin even looked to have a slight blush of pink as well. She wore a skirt and top that were one step away from being scandalous. The top in particular had a heart cut out between her extremely generous breasts and revealed the pretty girl's toned abdominals. She did, however have on sensible shoes.
The younger male, the one who had hung himself halfway out of the door to greet her, looked to be a few years younger than the girl. He had wild, spiky black hair the color of coal. His skin was also tan like the girl's, but it had a distinct bronze cast to it as well. This, coupled with the slight heat shimmer about his body, revealed him to be a Fire Aspect. His bright, alert eyes were red, although it was the merry red of a crackling fire. Sparks occasionally drifted off of his lithe, athletic form as he moved. He looked to be about eighteen or so to Terra's eyes. He was in a pair of jeans and a button up shirt that had the top three buttons undone revealing not only part of his muscular, hairless chest but a necklace with the werewolf claw glyphs for 'warrior' emblazoned in silver. He wore a pair of slightly oversized sneakers.
Behind the pair, a dignified thirty something looking woman had emerged from the back of the van. She had white hair with streaks of grey that made it look like a bank of clouds. Her eyes were a light blue and she was noticeably paler than her two compatriots. Her skin had an almost bluish blush to it. Her Aspect was obviously Air and even from so far away, Terra could feel the static electricity about her. She was dressed smartly with a fashionable skirt and top with a pair of stylish shoes. Terra recognized they looked dressy from the top but had rubber soles and felt and acted more like a running shoe.
The last member emerged from the van. Terra involuntarily took a step back. She could not help herself. It was not fear that moved her, but surprise at the sheer physical size of the man. He was at least seven feet tall. Despite being shorter than Kai, he had to outweigh her husband by a wide margin. The van visibly rose on its suspension when he exited.
The huge youth almost seemed to defy logic. He had absolutely enormous tree trunk-like arms and legs. The legs were particularly impressive with huge, powerful thighs that propelled his gigantic midsection forward; a titanic, taut stomach that jutted forward from the rest of his body. It was like a great dome turned on its side. Above this behemoth belly was his prodigious, muscular chest which led to his enormously large shoulders, shoulders that were as wide as Kai's and hips that were even wider.
He moved with a surprising grace that signaled to all that he also had copious muscle, even where it looked to be buried under slabs of dense flesh. This musculature turned this enormous man into a mountain, one that had to have been taking up the entire rear seat of the van.
He was wearing what had to be the largest pair of cargo shorts ever made and a simple t-shirt the size of a tarp with a pineapple on it. The giant sported a similar haircut to the younger Fire Aspected boy, albeit in a longer, shaggier style. He was tan with dark brown eyes and black hair and when he smiled, his white teeth beamed at Terra. Unlike the others, he had no aspect markings.
"Hello Miss Alani! Don't worry! We're all friendly! They call me Big Ichigo," the mellow voiced giant rumbled with a bright, happy smile. Just like the Fire and Wood Aspect, there was not a trace of accent in him, despite his obvious Japanese ancestry.
The giant gestured to the younger girl. "This is Sakura and yes it was her name before she became a Dragon Blood. This is her brother, Sora, who's proof that the spirits were not handing out powers based on name."
"His name means 'sky,'" Sakura chimed in.
"My flames reach the heavens!" Sora exclaimed happily.
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Idiot."
A frown from the older women shut them up. Ichigo also gave them a raised eyebrow look before continuing. "And this is Aiko. She's in charge, but she doesn't speak English very well. She understands it just fine but she'd rather let someone else speak."
"I see. Why are you here, exactly?" Terra asked.
"Oh that's easy! We got a distant cousin here in California named Kashi. We're here to invite him to learn his rich history as a Kimura and offer him the support of his family," Ichigo answered.
"No, I mean why are you here at MSI?" Terra asked again.
"Oh, we'd never dream of encroaching on the territory of some of the most famous Dragon Blooded in the world without introducing ourselves first," Sakura said, bouncing up and down slightly. "It's bad manners. Anyway, is Kai, here?" She asked expectantly, almost standing on her tiptoes to see over Terra.
"We're also here to make sure the Devil's Wolves faction of the Uktena tribe don't try to force our cousin to join their pack," Sora blurted out eagerly while cracking his knuckles.
Ichigo moved with surprising speed to stand beside his cousin and place one massive hand gently but firmly on his shoulder. He leaned over and while looming said in a gentle voice.
"But we're not going to start nothin' unless they do first, right? I mean just cause we're prepared for someone to do something stupid, doesn't mean we want to be the stupid ones who start a fight."
"Umm...yeah, Ichigo, of course. I mean you know I'd never embarrass the family," Sora replied nervously.
"I'm family and you embarrass me all the time," Sakura scoffed.
"A shaman told us the spirits might send us help in our hour of need. If you are warriors we have need of you. Finding your cousin in this time of crisis will be hard but we can send word to our forces in Los Angeles to look for him for you," Terra offered.
"How did you know where he lives? We just said California," Sakura asked.
"Come inside. We'll tell you the whole story as we know it," Terra said, opening the door to the visitor's center.