Ranma: Xero
Part 6
Blackheart
Fei walked through mechanics and around the feet of the gigantic mechs that lined the wall along the hanger bay of the moon base. She smirked as she neared the back portion that housed the elite models. Several large mechs of varying colors lined the back wall of the immense hall. The standards were easily half the size of these monsters and were all painted black with red highlights. The ones who stood before him looked like metal gods commanding an army.
"Fei, finally decided to grace us with your presence?" asked a blonde woman as she strolled up to him lazily from the side of a metallic gold mech. She had an odd smirk on her face as she draped her arms around her and kissed her deeply. Her skin color was a slightly lighter shade of blue than most of the other people bustling around her.
"Not now Kai, I'm here on business," muttered the redhead quietly.
"Well you're always on business," replied the blonde woman in a huff.
"That's part of my job..." started Fei in what was obviously an old argument.
Kai placed a finger over her lips and giggled. "Just don't keep me waiting tonight."
Fei looked at her coolly and nodded. "I have to go." She continued on her way and stopped at the black unit that was housed near the back corner. She sighed and walked forward with a stern look on her face. "Siore! What the hell are you doing?"
The woman in question turned her head and smiled darkly at the redhead. She had long brown hair tied in a ponytail and two painted white marks on her cheeks. She placed a tool down and turned away from the work she was doing inside the chestplate of the giant mech. She walked down the length of its thigh and paused on the knee calling down to the redhead. "I heard about what happened to your arm Fei. Those weak little girls aren't as easy to kill as you had thought."
"Shut up. I didn't even use the rattler on her. I underestimated her and it won't happen again," snarled the woman in retort.
"Hah! The great ace pilot, squashed by a...I believe the term used was 'bug'?" snapped the woman as she jumped down off of the leg.
"I take it you've seen the reports then?" snapped the redhead sharply.
"Of course, I wouldn't miss a chance to watch you lose so badly old friend," replied the woman curtly.
Fei broke into a smile at this and nodded. "In any case, did you notice anything unusual?"
"You mean besides firewall getting its tail kicked?" quipped the woman.
"Come with me," snorted the woman calmly as she turned away and beckoned her to follow with her hand.
Inside a small meeting room Siore watched the battle and frowned. "This is nothing I haven't seen before."
"You still don't realize do you? She's not using the weapon in her hand," noted Fei as he pointed at the screen.
"What? That's absurd!" retorted the woman calmly.
"Then watch it again. Look here, she clearly landed more blows with her feet and fist than with the spear. It wasn't until the end of the battle that she summoned the lance."
"What the hell does that mean? Why should I care?" snapped Siore with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"I think these people have Shikari, or at least part of it. I can't be sure until I've seen more." Fei scratched her chin and stared at the screen with a strange hunger in his eyes.
"Don't be absurd, that's only a legend." Siore didn't sound too convinced as she watched the screen intently.
"Unarmed combat, more powerful than any seen in the galaxy. It's said to be an art form, almost like a dance in action." Fei's gaze drifted off for a moment. "It is said that with Shikari one can defeat an opponent many times stronger than one's self with only pure skill."
"Bah, unarmed combat. I'll take a good blaster any day of the week over that rubbish."
"Rubbish? An X-09 overcoming a Z model unit? I think not. There are records that such an art existed on our own planet many centuries ago."
"That art was killed off if you recall. The emperor at the time nicely did away with it, besides, that's just a fairytale."
"I'm beginning to wonder Siore..." commented Fei with a heavy sigh. "Still, this is not something to be taken lightly. Use the cannons when you go out this time, don't try to take them out with that damn whip again. Long range weapons only this trip."
"You think I haven't tried that already! Those girls humiliated me!" snarled the woman in retort.
"No, I know you haven't tried that. I read the mission reports and watched the files," replied the redhead calmly as she shut down the screen and turned on the lights. "Don't disappoint me Siore. The Admiral's patience is growing thin." She turned and left the room leaving the woman behind seething at her seat.
Akane Tendo was not having a good day.
"Ranma Saotome! Your dark sorcery will hold Akane Tendo no more! Prepare to die!" screamed Kuno as the pair walked into the gates.
"What the hell is this? Catch a clue Kuno!" snapped the pigtailed boy as he simply kicked the boy in the face and sent him flying into a wall headfirst.
"Idiots," grumbled the girl angrily. It had been this way for almost two weeks now, every day. She brushed past her fiancee and moved towards the school.
"Nice going Ranma," commented Nabiki snidely.
"What did I do?" said the boy in confusion.
"Akane Tendo does not see the need for your protection Ranma-sensei," said Kodachi with a small shrug as she walked by.
"Why the hell would I need to protect that gorilla in a dress? Kuno attacked me!" replied the boy defensively.
"Jerk!" called Akane as she spun around at the steps of the school. Ranma was laid out in the schoolyard with a book bag stuck in his face.
"Now what did I do?" wondered the boy as he lay there.
"Tendo, this is not going well," said Genma with a heavy sigh as he stopped the tape and leaned back in a chair.
"Perhaps Kasumi would be better suited for the task?" said Soun hopefully.
"Somehow I doubt that. These two obviously care for each other. Why they've been engaged for two whole weeks! There should practically be grandchildren on the way!" lamented Genma.
"Agreed, perhaps they're just camera shy? What makes you think they care for each other Saotome?" Soun blinked in surprise as his friend's statement hit him.
"Well, Akane seems to be doing well in her training. Why she showed her appreciation for my son's work by making him lunch twice this week! If that isn't love I don't know what is!"
Soun froze in surprise. "Ranma ate two of my daughter's meals?!"
"Well, not exactly ate..." said Genma with a few drops of sweat forming on his brow.
"Saotome! You're absolutely right! They must be in love!" exclaimed the mustached man as he stood up from his seat with tears in his eyes. He calmed almost immediately. "We do have pressing matters to attend though old friend."
Genma turned his head away from the blank screen. "Huh?"
"We must prepare for your wife's arrival," said Soun with a friendly smile. "After all, she will want to be introduced to her new daughter in law after all."
Genma paused for a moment and adjusted his glasses. "I suppose she would. She hasn't seen her son in a few years either."
"Agreed. It should be quite a reunion, but we must be cautious," said Soun carefully.
"How so Tendo?"
"Don't play dumb Saotome, the situation here is delicate. Not even you are allowed full access to our facilities here. Even my daughters are restricted from certain areas here."
"I see. One question Tendo, how close to that project are we anyway?"
"Dangerously close. These are treacherous times old friend. We must be more cautious now than ever so as not to reveal our position to the enemy."
Genma nodded sagely and did not press the matter. "Where are our children right now anyway?"
"Where else would my daughter be? The training hall," said Soun as he began to shuffle through a stack of papers.
"What about my son?"
"..."
"Where the heck am I?" grumbled Ranma in frustration. In his hands was a map of the building. It was twenty five stories high and encompassed the area of four city blocks at the base. That didn't include the ten stories of underground rooms. Various doors that led to shut down old labs and safety bunkers lined the hall where he walked. "Maybe I got off on the wrong floor?" He paused and looked back down the darkened hallway again. "I don't even know how to get back."
For several more minutes he stumbled through storage rooms and many unmarked doors looking for a stairwell or some kind of land mark. The only light he had were a few maintenance lights that lined the walls every few hundred feet. "I don't think this place is even on the map!" He growled in frustration and paused for a moment. He couldn't even remember when it had gotten this way, the last thing he could remember was walking through a few desolate offices.
In front of him was a large door with a black symbol on it. He didn't recognize the warning and shifted uncomfortably. It looked like a half circle half star. "What the? He pushed open the door hoping for another elevator or at least some stairs. What he found nearly took his breath away.
It stood over five stories tall, dust covered everything in the room but the gigantic figure that was covered in scaffolding with computer equipment scattered across the open floor in front of it. Various wires and tubes were connected to various points on its body. His jaw dropped, the thing looked positively evil. It was jet black and looked almost like it was wearing samurai armor of some kind. It had a horn protruding from its forehead and two wing-like protrusions from its back. He stepped back and leaned against the wall. "What is this?" His heart raced as he looked at it and a strange uncomfortable feeling formed in his belly. He could only feel death in the air around him.
He moved closer and frowned as he noticed a strange claw like symbol that looked like writing on the thing's right chestplate. It was a bright red color and stood out even in the minimal light. He moved his lips as he realized he knew what it meant. "Xero..." He shook his head and tore his gaze away. "How? How did I know that?" He almost jumped out of the room as he caught something out of the corner of his eye.
He slammed the door behind him and clutched his chest gasping for breath as he stood unable to move against the doorframe. He closed his eyes and attempted to control himself for a moment before falling to his knees. An unfamiliar light shone down the hall almost blinding him. He shielded his eyes and shied away from the light as two men ran up to him and paused several feet away.
"What are you doing down here?" snapped one of them sharply.
Ranma paused and looked at them dumbly.
"The guards found him on the eleventh level basement," said the man on the computer screen.
"How is that possible?" snarled Soun angrily at the man. "All access to that floor is restricted!"
"Normally the elevators don't allow access to that floor without a top level security card sir. They were being serviced and there was a malfunction. He was trying to get to the tenth floor and find your daughter. The surveillance cameras do coincide with his story," said the man with a shrug.
"This is unacceptable! How far down did he get?" said Soun as he relaxed slightly and fell back into the high backed leather chair behind his desk.
"We found him in the back hallway under the training facility," said the man as he checked a report idly.
"That's near..." said Soun to himself with his eyes growing wide.
"Pardon sir?" asked the man.
"Nothing, continue." Soun poured himself a cup of sake and his frowned deepened.
"According to the boy he was looking for a stairwell or something. The found him before he went into the room according to him."
"There aren't any security cameras on that level are there?" asked Soun evenly.
"No sir, as I recall, you specifically ordered that. No recording devices of any kind," said the man with another shrug.
"I want them installed in the hallways only. Tomorrow, and no outside contractors on this one. I want only trusted and security cleared personnel working on it."
"You're the boss," replied the man with a smile. He was obviously relieved because the order excluded him.
"Man, you really got daddy riled up," said Nabiki with a smirk as she sat down with Ranma in the cafeteria. "Congratulations."
"Ha ha," commented the boy sourly.
"Really Ranma, I'm quite proud. It's almost as bad as the time Daddy thought I was fooling around with one of the guys in the financial department," said the girl with a little too much sugar in her voice.
"Did you want something?" grumbled Ranma.
"Other than to tease you a little? No not really," said the girl as she started to eat.
"How mad is he?" asked Ranma with a slightly worried look about him.
"At you? Not at all, it turns out this was a mechanical failure of some kind in the elevator system," said the girl sweetly.
"Great, well I guess that's that then," said the boy as he started to stand up.
"You saw something," said Nabiki calmly.
Ranma froze and slowly turned to look at her. He quickly regained his composure and turned away. "Just a lot of empty storage rooms and labs n' stuff." He quickly moved on and discarded his plate before walking out of the room.
Nabiki smiled to herself and began to eat slowly. "I knew it." Finally she had a chance to find out what daddy was hiding down there.
Ranma walked towards his room at a slow pace. He knew what he had seen down there. Those so-called storage rooms weren't storage rooms at all. They were disguised bunks, every room down there was dust free despite the fact that they looked so old. He had a strange feeling he didn't want to know what was going on down there. Still he found himself wondering what could be going on, and who was living down there?
That wasn't what bothered him the most though. "Those eyes, I thought I saw a red light..." he shook his head and dismissed the matter. "Must have been a reflection or something..."
"That's right. Security cameras," said Soun calmly. "They'll only be operated during the day of course, a recycling tape will cover the evening hours."
"I suppose. You know what would have happened if he had gone to far don't you Tendo?" said the elderly man who's face filled the screen in front of him.
"I am very much aware," said Soun calmly. "He only made it as far as hangar seven anyway."
"I want that hangar sealed off," snapped the old man.
"We discussed this," started Soun.
"Yes, I know. Out of the question, right?" The old man made a disgusted sound and dismissed the matter.
"About those elevators..."
"When you put that much electronic crap on one thing something's bound to break down occasionally. It's normal," interrupted the old man.
"Very well," said Soun with a heavy sigh. He cut off the transmission and turned to look out his window at the sunset.
"How much did you see boy?" asked Genma as the pair sat together in their room.
"Enough to know I don't want to know," replied Ranma calmly.
"That's a good answer. Just keep that attitude and we'll be fine," said his father approvingly.
"Let's just go to bed all right?"
"Fine boy."
The next morning at Furinkan went pretty much as the last two weeks had gone. Ranma sat at his desk fuming.
"Don't that jerk give up? I'm getting sick of this!"
"I warned you jerk!" said Akane with an amused smile on her lips.
Ranma paused and looked at her for a moment before turning away with a slight blush. "She's cute when she smiles that way..." He was quickly brought back to reality though as the teacher walked into the room and began the day.
During the break Akane walked into the bathroom and paused. "What are you doing in here?"
Kodachi turned and looked at her. "This is the ladies room isn't it?"
"Yeah, but..."
"I came in here to speak with you," said the girl as she gave in finally.
"What?"
"Its about Ranma-sensei," started the girl calmly.
"That jerk," grumbled Akane.
"Ho ho ho ho ho ho! Why Akane Tendo, I do believe you're angry!"
"He makes me so angry! He can be so nice, and then completely screw it up! I swear he tries to be this way!" snarled the angry girl.
"What did our honorable sensei do this time Tendo?" said the girl with a small smile appearing on her face.
"He was being a jerk as usual, so I clobbered him again that's what! Now I've got a grass stain on my new uniform!"
"Most unbecoming," commented Kodachi lazily. "Still, if he was not your fiancee..."
"Still what?" snapped Akane sharply as she gave the girl a warning glare.
"Don't be so snappy with me Tendo, we both know who would wi.." she was cut off by a loud beeping on her belt. She stopped and looked at the pager that rested on her side and then noticed Akane was doing the same.
"Well, it appears duty calls."
"Shit," agreed Akane with a scowl on her face. "It had better not be who I think it is."
The pair rushed out of the room and jogged out of the room. As they reached the doors of the school, the sirens began to sound. The students looked up and around in surprise, a few of them watched the two girls rush out of the school yard and put everything together.
Ranma stood up and began to follow them. "Hey! What's going on? Why are all of these sirens going off?"
Kuno walked up next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "And so the mighty tigress rushes off to defend her lair. Come Saotome, it is time we retired to the shelter."
The pigtailed boy whirled around in a defensive stance and frowned. "What the heck do you...huh?"
"I do not seek battle Saotome. I would only be distracted by worry. Akane Tendo goes off to fight off the enemies of Japan, and the world. We can only pray. Even the mighty sword of the Blue Thunder himself cannot withstand such odds as she now faces." The boy quietly turned and walked towards the building following behind the rest of the students.
"The hell!" cried Ranma as he finally figured out what Kuno had said to him. He turned towards the gates and started to jog after the girls.
"Saotome! You are not excluded from class because of alien invasion! Get back here!" cried a familiar voice from behind him.
The pigtailed boy stopped in mid run and turned to see his teacher standing behind him with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Now," finished the man as he pointed towards the door.
Ranma looked over his shoulder one last time and saw the two girls entering a black car that had stopped to pick them up. He struggled with the dilemma for a moment and looked at the teacher again. "Sorry." He jumped away following the vehicle.
Siore always hated this part of the mission. The G-forces pushed her body upwards as she fell towards the ground. The impact was the worst part, it didn't hurt thanks to the design of the delivery unit, but it always made her stomach churn. As the smoke cleared and her sensors came on line she surveyed the area around her. It was an urban area, somewhere in the city near her target. The shattered remains of the entry pod lay around her in ruins in the middle of a large crater created in the concrete around her. She smiled slightly as the dizziness wore off. "And now the fun begins."
The leg of the black unit slid open and a tube of metal slid out. She grabbed it and held it casually at her side. "Oh, not here yet? Well, I guess I'll just have to keep myself occupied!" The hulking black monster turned slowly and faced one of the nearby buildings. She slashed the cylinder at an angle and a long tendril of energy formed causing whatever it touched to explode violently. A long, deep scar appeared in the side of the structure and the street below was littered with debris. "Come on you red bitch. I'll show you why I'm called Blackheart!"
She walked down the busy street with a steely smirk on her face as she stomped on cars and pedestrians ruthlessly as she moved towards her destination. Even small buildings were not spared as she crashed through the center of the city. She paused for a moment as she looked down and saw a woman desperately pushing a baby carriage ahead of her as fast as she could. Siore smiled and continued forward feeling a satisfying crunch beneath her feet as she went. "I could fly, but this is so much more fun! Ha ha!"
"You bitch I'll kill you!" screamed a familiar voice over the communications system.
Akane could not believe what she had just seen the evil giant do. Rage filled her as maneuvered the massive red giant's decent and stopped dead in front of her opponent. Immediately the blade of energy formed from her hand and she snarled viciously.
"Well, look who's here. Care to join in my little party?" said Siore calmly.
"Akane, you were right. It is her after all," said Kodachi as she landed behind the enemy.
"She dies this time!" snarled Akane. It was obvious the only thing keeping her from attacking was shocked rage.
"Calm down Akane, we need to move her away from the peasants," warned the girl sharply.
"I think I like it here," commented Siore as she thrust her fist into a nearby skyscraper sending debris flying in every direction. Kodachi gasped as the top half of the building toppled and slammed into Akane's torso forcing the girl back into a smaller building. The red unit was relatively undamaged by the blow, but it was a shock none the less. Akane tensed up and glared at her opponent giving her a low growl. "Now, let's begin shall we. We're going to play a new game. It's called, how many missiles do I have in my chest?" The two chest plates slid open revealing rows and rows of round red lumps.
Akane staggered back and became deathly silent as she saw the weapons were pointed directly at her.
"This is new," commented Kodachi with a slight shaking to her voice.
Ranma rushed towards home across the rooftops of Tokyo and paused as the ground shook slightly. Several large explosions could be seen in the distance towards the center of town. He shook his head and continued on his way towards the complex. "Oh man, this again?"
TBC...
Next time: Battle in Tokyo! Akane and Kodachi vs. Siore!
C&C to Carrotglace@juno.com
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