Busuzima, Uriko, Bakuryu (Kenji), Yugo, Alice, Shina, Stun, Long, Jenny, Alan and Shen-Long are all characters of the Bloody Roar Series, and I don't own them, Hudson do. Although I wish I did. However Vincent, Kevin Lightfoot, Horn and Tusk, Barry Serpent, Yotaba Kouto and Subject Drake Dante are mine, and I keep them locked tight in a cupboard. In the unlikely event that someone else would want to use them, please e-mail me first, or I'll be very annoyed and little else.
Right, legal stuff out the way, I would just like to thank God, for inventing the fingers (useful little beggars), my parents for letting me use the P.C at all hours, and the people who wrote in about some of my other books I've written. Enjoy!
Chapter 2: Renewing old ties.
It stank under the sewers, but Busuzima had little choice. His body ached still from the cuts and bruises he had received at the hands of his escaped experiment, Drake Dante, a very rare zoanthrope. He had no idea how or what had happened, but in a few brief moments, the thing had literally burst through the wall, slammed Barry Serpent to the ground and punched him out the window. When the pair had come too in a dumpster about a block away from the lab, they had returned to find their data wrecked, their computers smashed and the other two test subjects, Stephen "Stun" Goldberg and Kenji Oghami, had escaped. But Busuzima, despite his appearance, was no fool; he had taken extra samples of everything, and placed them in his secret hideout, which was in the sewers.
'It sssstinks down here,' Moaned Barry Serpent, Busuzima's watcher; the thin Mexican worked for Mr. Kotou, who had hired Busuzima to create a special formula for him, and Berry was there to make sure he didn't take any liberties. The scientist sighed and turned to Barry, who's nostrils were flaring madly.
'Oh shut up! Look, it smells down here, but what if those kids we fought decide to bring that pup Yugo or whatever? They won't be able to track us down here, so we're totally safe.'
'Not from Mr. Kotou we're not,' Said Barry with absolute certainty, 'When he sssseesss the lab, he'll have our headsssss for basssssket-ballssssss.'
'Hell, we don't need the test subjects anymore,' Said Busuzima, although some of the dread in Barry's voice did unnerve him, 'Granted it would have been better to kill them, but we have what we needed, so all we have to do is bang it in a syringe and hey-presto, the jobs done.'
'You're sssssure?' Said Barry warily.
'Would I lie to you?'
'Of courssssse you would, you're a Gaylord.'
'Hey, I've had just about as much as I'm gonna take from you! Just keep your trap shut until we get to the hideout.'
Kevin Lightfoot and Vincent Marks, friends of both Uriko's and Kenji's, arrived at the labs a few minutes after the incident with Drake Dante. They skidded to a halt, watching the building from a distance. Someone had obviously decided to torch it, and flames licked hungrily at the rooftops.
'Damn! Are you sure they came this way?' Asked Kevin. Vincent shrugged.
'Well, they headed in this direction, but they really could be anywhere; since we had to stop at Long's house to drop off Uriko, they could have turned back or anything. But I would place long odds that this was caused by Busuzima and that Barry Serpent character.'
'Well, what now? Do you think that Kenji is still in there?' Kevin said apprehensively.
'Unlikely; why would they capture Kenji just to place him in a building and burn it? I think that something happened, and Kenji escaped.'
'Really? Then where is he?'
'Well, lacking as I am my portable Kenji-Sensitive Radar, I have no idea,' Said Vincent wearily; Kevin was a nice guy, but he could ask a few too many questions at times.
'What are you children doing here?' Came a voice from behind them. The two kids turned to see a tall, thin and gangly man standing in the middle of the street, flanked by two huge muscled men. The tall man was old, with wrinkled skin and grey hair laid thinly on his head, and carried a thin jet black walking stick, but it looked more like for show than support. The two people behind him where the kind you would expect to see in a out-of-the-way bar in a bad part of America; arms like a sack of melons, tattooed on any bare space of flesh, bald headed and with little piggy eyes set into their thick heads. They were wearing black leather jackets and ripped jeans, much like bikers but obviously lacking the bikes themselves. The tall man was still staring strangely at them.
'Well?' He said again, 'what are you doing here? Did you set that fire?'
'And why do you inquire so?' Said Vincent. There was a gleam in his eye that made Kevin feel very awkward, but then again it might have been the fire reflected in his pupils. The tall man squinted at Vincent again, and his wrinkled features twisted themselves into a grin.
'My my, if it isn't little Vincent,' The man said coldly, 'My how you have grown. Perhaps I can help you with that little problem.'
He turned to the two people behind him.
'Tusk, Horn, tear his legs off,' He said simply. The two huge walls of muscle stomped forward, cracking their knuckles and grinning stupidly. Kevin edged backwards, but Vincent didn't appear to be moving.
'Vinny, what's the matter?' He hissed, 'We can't fight them guys!'
'I disagree,' Said Vincent, 'They may be larger, but we would have the advantage of speed on our side. So are you going to help me?'
Kevin hesitated; Vincent said it was possible, and when had he been wrong? He nodded.
'Ready Vinny,' He said, smiling faintly. Vincent returned the smile.
'As always friend.'
The pair crouched, readied themselves for a fight like never before, and leapt…..
Long groaned and sat up in his bed. He blinked heavily a few times, and took in his surrounding; he was in his room, which was bare except for his simple bed and a small wardrobe for his clothing. A thought struck him; he was wearing no clothes! He glanced down at himself, and indeed he was naked bar his boxer shorts, which was a blessing at any rate. He tried to swing his legs to the floor, but his muscles felt numb and unreactive. He gave another loud moan of pain, and obviously it had been loud enough for someone to hear, as the door opened and Yugo stuck his head around it, peeping in. The wolf zoanthrope took one look at Long's bare chest and quickly withdrew his head.
'Oh my God! Alice, why didn't you say he was naked!?'
'Yugo, he's not naked, and stop shouting or you'll wake him up!' Came Alice's voice from the living room.
'He's already awake, and I think I've gone blind if anyone's interested,' Said Yugo, but judging by the silence that followed, no one did. There was the sound of someone walking towards the door, a short sharp "thunk" noise, and a little yelp of pain as Yugo scurried away to the safety of the kitchen.
'And don't eat anything! Those are Long's groceries!' Alice yelled at his retreating back, before opening the door and smiling at Long. The Chinese man tried to return the smile, but couldn't help but notice the fact that he was nearly totally naked and she was still coming into the room. He coughed hesitantly and bunched the sheets over some of the more exposed area of his body.
'Oh please, I thought you of all people would know that as a nurse I see a lot of people naked,' Said Alice, placing a tray of soup and a glass of water on the floor next to Long's bed. Long coughed, embarrassed.
'Er, what happened to me? I can't remember much….'
'You were drunk,' Said Alice, 'By the way, I never knew you had it in you to drink four bottles of whisky in one sitting. I'm surprised you didn't die of alcohol poisoning.'
'Drunk? Impossible! I…I…,' He hesitated, as a few memories bubbled to the surface of his brain. That night with Uriko, the argument, the sadness; it all came flooding back, and it visibly made his slouch his shoulder.
'What's wrong?' Asked Alice, sitting down on the bed next to the downcast Kenpo master.
'I remember I had a fight with Uriko before I started my drinking binge. I just felt so….empty, and I remembered that most Westerners drown their sorrows in alcohol, so I thought I'd give it a go.'
'Well, not ALL Westerners turn to alcohol as a way to drown our sorrows,' Said Alice indignantly, feeling a moral calling to defend her country from a stereotypical view of all Westerners.
'Really?' What else do they do?'
'Well, some do…er, and others go and…..I think most people…..we eat chocolate instead,' She ended lamely. However, her weak attempt at a counter-argument was enough to satisfy Long. The strongly built China man stroked his chin.
'Hmm, chocolate you say? Well, I will bear that in mind.'
'Er, there's some other stuff you should know,' Said Alice, edging away from him slightly; in this mood, she had no idea how he would take the news, 'You see, Kenji has been captured by Busuzima and some guy called Barry Serpent, and they knocked out Uriko and…..'
Alice didn't get to finish her sentence. Long had leapt to his feet, the sheets thrown to one side and his soup scattered across the floor. He stood, red faced and shaking with rage, clad in naught but his Kelvin Klyne boxer-shorts, and looked down at the cowering Alice.
'Where is Uriko!?' He said. Alice pointed a quivering finger to the door. The stern Chinese zoanthrope, totally oblivious of his current state, marched to the door, and pushed it open so hard that it smashed against the wall and slammed back into his face. Calming slightly as he extracted his face from the dented wooden door, he strode across the hallway and into the kitchen, where Yugo was standing in front of the fridge, an open carton of milk at his lips. His eyes goggled as the half-naked Long stormed into the kitchen, and spraying milk across the walls as his brain seized up. (Oh my God, he's coming onto me!) He thought, but had no time to react before Long had shoved him out the way as he continued on through the kitchen and into the hallway, marched straight along it, and came to Uriko's room. There he stopped, his shoulders rising and falling with each heavy breath, and a look of utter indecision on his face. Alice, who had ran after him when he had stormed out his room. Yugo was behind her, rubbing his head where it had hit the wall when Long had shoved past him.
'What's he doing? Has he gone insane?' Asked Yugo, but merely received a slap across the back of his head from Alice.
'Quiet Yugo, this is a personal matter! And I TOLD you not to eat Long's groceries! Go out to the shops and get some more NOW!!'
Grumbling to himself, Yugo moped down the hall and into the living room. Alice turned back to see Long, who had finally some to a decision. Gripping the door handle, he carefully opened it and let himself in. In her bed, Uriko was dozing, wearing her silk pajamas and tossing her head as she slept. By the look on her face, she was having a bad dream. Long walked quietly to her bedside, and knelt down, gently resting a hand on her shoulder. Uriko must have been sleeping lightly, as even this light touch was enough to wake her up. She yawned, blinked the sleeping-sand from her eyes, and looked up into Longs smiling face.
'Master Long?! What happened, where am I!? Kenji!!'
She tried to leap out the bed, but got entangled in the sheets and landed back on the mattress, snarling and trying to untangle herself from the mess of linen. Long laid a hand on her shoulder again, and she eased her struggling. She looked up again, and there were tears in her eyes.
'What's happening Master Long? Where has Kenji gone, and Kevin and Vincent too? All I remember was the bastard Busuzima coming at us, and then that slimly little snake kicked me on the chin and then I was back here.'
'It's alright Uriko,' Said Long soothingly, 'Kevin and Vincent are fine, last I heard about it, and Kenji will be safe with them on the case, I can guarantee that. I always did like that Vincent kid, very stern, like me,' Said Long absentmindedly. He turned his attention back to Uriko, who was still crying quietly, and hugged her tight, patting her back comfortingly.
From the doorway, Alice smiled, watching the Master and the Pupil let their sorrows flow through them. This was a touching moment, which was somewhat spoiled by Yugo leaning over her shoulder and grinning childishly.
'Alright, get a room already,' He chuckled, but stopped when Alice snarled and back handed him across the face, sending him to the floor with a thud.
'What did I tell you about making fun of people!? Now get out this house and get some more groceries NOW!!!!!'
Yelping with fear, Yugo scrabbled to his feet and hurried out the back door, leaving it swinging on its hinges in his haste to flee the fuming Alice. Calming herself, she turned back to see Long and Uriko standing up, Long pulling on a silk dressing gown that Uriko had handed him from the closet. Long nodded to Alice.
'If you would be so kind as to get my phone book, it's by the cookie jar shaped like Snoopy the dog, and call the first three people on the first page. I think if Busuzima is up to something, it would be best to get some help.'
Alice nodded, and hurried into the kitchen. Uriko looked up at Long, who looked stern an upright again, bar the fact he was still semi-naked.
'We'll get him back, wont we? God knows what Busuzima could be doing to him, you KNOW what he's like with kids.'
'Yes, and that's why we must get him back as soon as possible,' Said Long. His face was grim and set like stone, 'Besides, I'm a withered old relic looking for one last chance of glory, remember?'
'Er, yeah, sorry about that,' Said Uriko, but suddenly looked him straight in the eye in surprise.
'Hey, did you just make a joke?!'
'I don't know,' Said Long, equally puzzled, 'There might still be some alcohol in my system. I think I need a lie down….'
Kevin and Vincent circled carefully around the two hulking beings, Horn and Tusk respectively, who stood their ground and readied themselves for battle. Kevin looked over to Vincent, and nodded.
'Alright, I think we'll need to morph to take these two down.'
'I agree totally,' Said Vincent calmly, and in an instant a cloud of white energy whipped about him, leaving in his place the tall black Panther, standing coolly to one side, fists held low and ready to strike. Then Kevin morphed, his Mongoose form as energetic as ever, twitching madly in eagerness for battle. Before either could leap to the attack however, the tall man laughed.
'You really think you can beat my bodyguards with your little beast forms? Horn, Tusk, morph.'
The two thugs nodded at his command, and a much darker clouds began to swirl around them, hiding their forms from sight. When it cleared, there was two titanic creatures standing in their place; one was slightly taller, with light grey skin and huge broad shoulders, much larger than his human form by at least three times. Two long tusks curled from under its upper lip, and a strong, flexible trunk waved in the air threateningly. It flapped its large ears a few times and stomped forward on big flat feet, ignoring the fact that its clothes were nearly bursting off its frame; Tusk, Elephant zoanthrope, glared down at Kevin, and chuckled idiotically.
'You wanna fight me kid?' He boomed, and swept its trunk across Kevin's chest, hurling him against the wall behind him. Kevin slid down the stone wall to the ground, gripping his ribs painfully.
'I'll get you for that,' He hissed with what little breath he had in his lungs, but all that did was make Tusk laugh all the louder. The other zoanthrope, Horn, was laughing with him; he was shorter but broader and had more meat on him, if that was possible. His skin was darker, and a huge, powerful looking horn protruded from the end of his snout. Horn the Rhino zoanthrope was about to step forward, but felt a sharp pain in his side, and swept and arm back, catching Vincent under the chin and hurling him into the air. Turning around ponderously, Horn stretched out a thick arm and caught Vincent around the tail as he plummeted back to the ground, stopping only just before he had hit the ground face first.
'Nice try kid, but no cigar,' He grinned, hurling him by the tail across the street to where Kevin was staggering up, crashing into his friend and sending them both to the ground. The two giant creature stood over them, smiling evilly.
'Come on, don't tell me you're done already?' Mocked Tusk, 'I was only just getting started.'
'Yeah,' Chuckled Horn, kicking Vincent in the ribs, 'Get up, we haven't had a good fight in ages.'
Watching from the safety of the far end of the street, Yotaba Kouto grinned as he saw Vincent roll across the pavement, groaning in pain. He had to admit, his usual calm exterior had shown cracks when he had saw the boy again, but he was sure in his bodyguards abilities to deal with two simple kids.
Kevin just managed to roll out the way before Tusk's foot came crashing down where his head had been, smashing the concrete underneath the force of the blow. Vincent had managed to stagger up again, and was ducking the clumsy swings of Horn without much difficulty. Hopping backwards to avoid a more savage punch, he leapt forward again, grabbed the horn in both hands and pushed up, jumping straight over the stunned Rhinos head and landing neatly on his feet behind him. Lashing out with his foot, he kicked the zoanthropes legs from under him, rolling out the way as Horn fell heavily to the floor, banging his head on the curb. Meanwhile, Kevin had dodged a punch that would have crushed his bones to powder, and bit down hard on Tusk's arm, his needle like teeth puncturing the tough flesh. Yelling angrily, Tusk staggered back, giving Vincent and Kevin enough time to recuperate.
'This is not going to plan,' Panted Vincent, leaning against the wall, 'We need to use something big to get these two down.'
'Are you think we should use our secret attacks?' Said Kevin, 'But we can barely control them. Our bodies aren't used to the flow of power.'
'The alternative is to sit here and have ourselves beaten to a pulp,' Snarled Vincent angrily, 'And I know you'd prefer to go down fighting.'
Kevin hesitated for a moment, and then nodded.
'Alright, but if we end up wreaking half the street, you're paying for it.'
'Thank you. Now, you take Tusk, and I'll go for Horn. Ready?'
'Yep,' Grinned Kevin, crouching low in preparation for his attack. Vincent took up a fighting stance, legs apart and arms held up above is head like they were wings.
'I suggest you surrender now, or be destroyed,' Vincent called out to the two fuming zoanthropes, his voice deathly calm. Tusk laughed horribly, and took a step forward.
'Oh yeah, and what are you going to do if we don't?'
'This,' Yelled Kevin, and leapt forward. His powerful legs propelled him high into the air, and as he soared towards Tusk, he began to glow with a silver flame. By the time he reached his opponent, he looked more like some sparkling meteor than a zoanthrope, smashing himself hard into Tusks chest. The titanic beast staggered backwards, giving Kevin enough time to land on his feet and give the Elephant zoanthrope an uppercut that sent him flying into the air. Bunching his legs muscles up, Kevin leapt up after him, leveled with the still groaning Tusk, gripped him by the head, and began to spin. By the time he had reached the zenith of his jump, nearly twenty feet in the air, he was lost from view by the whirling body of Tusk, who looked like he was in the middle of a hurricane. Suddenly, Kevin acknowledged gravity, and plummeted to the ground, still spinning Tusk as he fell towards the ground, and hit the street with the force of a small bomb going off. When the smoke had cleared, Kevin was standing over a huge crater in the middle of the street, in the middle of which laid Tusk, once again in his human form and bleeding badly from his head.
'And that, my friend, was the Silver Whirling Dervish,' he panted, grinning happily at Vincent, 'I knew I'd get the hang of it one day.'
'Well done Kevin. And now for Horn,' Said Vincent, turning to the stunned creature who was looking at his friend in the crater. Before he could turn, Vincent was running up to him, his claws out and his teeth bared. He got faster and faster, until suddenly, when he was a few feet away from the staring Rhino, he disappeared, leaving only a burning Buddhist sign for "Shadow" where he had been standing. Horn had no time to wonder however, for instantly his body was covered in flaming scratches, thousands and thousands of them, hiding his body from view in a whirl of burning slashes. Suddenly, Vincent reappeared, standing in a classic crouched pose, his arms held out behind him. The flaming marks died out, showing Horn in his human form, covered in what seemed like millions of very fine scratches.
'I believe that was the Shadow Panther Claw,' He said matter-of-factly, standing up and dusting his fur down, 'A pity, I was trying for a totally different move.'
'Hey, relax Vinny, we beat them didn't we?' Said Kevin, clapping a hand on his shoulder, 'Now, for that creepy looking guy.'
The pair turned around, but Mr. Kouto was nowhere to be seen.
'Goddamnit! He must have escaped while we were kicking his cronies @$$'s,' Raged Kevin, kicking a discarded can across the street.
'There's no time to worry about him,' Said Vincent, venom dripping from every word, 'We have to check out the building to se if Kenji is still in there.'
'No need,' Came a familiar voice, and Kevin and Vincent spun round to see Kenji and…
'Dear God, Kenji, behind you!!' Yelled Vincent, rushing forward, claws stretched out ready to slice. He pounced over the shocked Kenji and lashed out at the ugly looking creature standing behind him. The blow knocked the thing a few paces back, with enough time for the Panther zoanthrope landed neatly on his feet before it could retaliate. He went for another punch, but the thing counter him, punching him in the gut, but Kevin leapt on its back before he could storm forward and floor the winded Panther.
'Stop it you guys!' Yelled Kenji, grabbing Kevin by his shirt and pulling him off of Stun's back, 'He's with me. And what the hell are you guys doing here anyway!?'
'We were looking for you actually,' Said Kevin indignantly, pulling himself up off the floor and morphing back into his human form, 'Busuzima and some serpent guy crashed in on our lunch break and ran off with you in tow.'
'What happened to Uriko?' Said Kenji, looking suddenly worried, but Vincent laid a hand on his shoulder.
'Relax, we got her to Master Long's house, but sadly he was….incapacitated, so we asked Alice and Yugo to look after them both.'
'Well, at least they're OK,' Said Kenji, folding his arms across his chest, 'But where is Busuzima and that new guy? And who were you fighting before?'
Kevin looked around, and cursed graphically; Horn and Tusk were gone, obviously sneaking away when Kenji and Stun had arrived.
'Well, I'm annoyed too, but I don't think you should have said that,' Said Vincent, before turning back to Kenji, 'We'd better head back to Long's house; something fishy is going on, and I for one would like to know what it is…..'
Yugo looked for any traffic coming, and quickly crossed the road, grumbling to himself. Under his arms were two brown paper bags full of groceries, replacements for those that he had eaten at Long's house. Stupid stiff-backed martial artists guy, he thought bitterly, and snarled angrily as he stubbed his foot painfully on the sidewalk. This was NOT turning out to be his day.
Suddenly, the sewer cover in the middle of the street flew up, crashing nosily back onto the ground. Yugo jumped, yelping in surprise and ducking into the cover of some nearby bushes, weeping like a little girl. After a few moments, the wolf zoanthrope got a grip on himself, and turned to peek out of the foliage. Out of the hole leading to the sewers, someone had pulled themselves out and where looking around, hands on their hips.
'Oh bloody hell, I took another wrong turn!' The man cursed, and Yugo felt a surge of anger run through him; Busuzima. Before he could leap out of hiding and beat the perverted scientist into a bloody pulp, another man managed to heave himself out of the stinking pit and crawl onto his knees.
'Oh, that'sssss great. Well done, you total Gaylord! What issss it with you, have you got ssssome ssssort of problem with actually choosssssing the RIGHT TUNNEL!?!?!' Yelled Barry Serpent, glaring up at the mad man. Busuzima glared right back.
'Hey, it's been a while since I was down here, okay? Cut me some slack!'
Yugo had had enough; with a bellow of rage, he leapt from hiding and landed before the stunned looking Busuzima, smashing the stringy man across the face with a powerful right hook. Busuzima went down like a felled tree, cracking his head off the street as he fell. Yugo spun round, and kicked out at Barry, catching the Mexican in the gut with a solid boot. Serpent reeled back, gasping for breath as the air was forced from his lungs. Yugo took this chance to change into his wolf form, and in a burst of white energy he was transformed, still clad in his leather trousers and biker jacket, his teeth bared and fists ready to strike. With a growl, he stooped down and grabbed Busuzima by his shirt collar.
'Alright, what the hell are you two clown up to?' He said, pulling the terrified zoanthropes face close to his own, glaring into his eyes. Busuzima's mouth flapped open a few times, but suddenly Yugo was thrown off of him, sent hurling through the air by some unseen force. Barry was leaning against the side of a car, gripping his stomach with one hand, the other one outstretched, pointing at Yugo who was still flying through the air, finally landing heavily on his back. With a little whimper of pain, Yugo fell unconscious, his arms falling limply at his sides. Panting, Busuzima scrambled to his feet and rushed over to Yugo's prone form, dragging him to the sewer entrance.
'Quick, back into the sewers!' He called, before throwing the zoanthropes body down into the stinking darkness below and jumping down after it. Barry, hissing something about Busuzima's sexuality, crawled across the street and pitched himself down the hole. A second later, the sewer cover floated into the air, and landed back in place, leaving no evidence of a fight except the scattered groceries.
'Hey, Vincent,' Said Kevin, as they headed back to Long's house, 'That guy, you know, the tall one who Tusk and Horn seemed to be protecting. He seemed to know you.'
Vincent was silent for a moment, his usually stern features even more stony.
'Yes, he knew me. And I knew him. It's been a long time though, I didn't know he was still around.'
'Who was he?' Prompted Kevin, looking at his friend. Vincent sighed.
'He was my uncle. Or at least used to be; I think the family had him stricken from the family tree when he started to act….strange. He was always the black sheep, the one no one mentioned at the reunions. I've only ever met him twice, and last time we did he tried to kill me.'
'Wow, and I thought I had a hard time with my mother when she asks me to clean my room,' Said Kevin, shocked at this news.
'Believe me, Uncle Kouto is a LOT worse that your mother…..I think,' Said Vincent, remembering the time he had seen Kevin's mother get angry with her husband, 'Last I heard, he had been arrested for possessing illegal experimental military weapons. But now he's here, there's no telling what he's up to.'
'Hey, no sweat,' Said Kevin, grinning broadly, 'Whatever he's up to, we'll get him. We've already trashed his goons.'
'They were just the first. Uncle Kouto has a lot of power hidden under his sleeve, and now he knows we're onto him, he'll use it all to get rid of us.'
'You're really serious aren't you?' Said Kevin, finally noting the worried look in Vincent's eyes.
'I always am Kevin. Now, we'd better head back to Long's house; we need to gather our strength if something's about to happen…..'
And there it is, the second chapter done and dusted. With any luck, I'll get the third one done shortly, but with ever increasing exams, tests and course-work piling up, I find it difficult to get anything done. However, I hope you all enjoyed reading this next chapter, and get ready for the next one, in which Jenny, Shina/Marvel, Alan Gado and a few of my new characters will make an appearance. Big grins until then, and keep on writing!
Right, legal stuff out the way, I would just like to thank God, for inventing the fingers (useful little beggars), my parents for letting me use the P.C at all hours, and the people who wrote in about some of my other books I've written. Enjoy!
Chapter 2: Renewing old ties.
It stank under the sewers, but Busuzima had little choice. His body ached still from the cuts and bruises he had received at the hands of his escaped experiment, Drake Dante, a very rare zoanthrope. He had no idea how or what had happened, but in a few brief moments, the thing had literally burst through the wall, slammed Barry Serpent to the ground and punched him out the window. When the pair had come too in a dumpster about a block away from the lab, they had returned to find their data wrecked, their computers smashed and the other two test subjects, Stephen "Stun" Goldberg and Kenji Oghami, had escaped. But Busuzima, despite his appearance, was no fool; he had taken extra samples of everything, and placed them in his secret hideout, which was in the sewers.
'It sssstinks down here,' Moaned Barry Serpent, Busuzima's watcher; the thin Mexican worked for Mr. Kotou, who had hired Busuzima to create a special formula for him, and Berry was there to make sure he didn't take any liberties. The scientist sighed and turned to Barry, who's nostrils were flaring madly.
'Oh shut up! Look, it smells down here, but what if those kids we fought decide to bring that pup Yugo or whatever? They won't be able to track us down here, so we're totally safe.'
'Not from Mr. Kotou we're not,' Said Barry with absolute certainty, 'When he sssseesss the lab, he'll have our headsssss for basssssket-ballssssss.'
'Hell, we don't need the test subjects anymore,' Said Busuzima, although some of the dread in Barry's voice did unnerve him, 'Granted it would have been better to kill them, but we have what we needed, so all we have to do is bang it in a syringe and hey-presto, the jobs done.'
'You're sssssure?' Said Barry warily.
'Would I lie to you?'
'Of courssssse you would, you're a Gaylord.'
'Hey, I've had just about as much as I'm gonna take from you! Just keep your trap shut until we get to the hideout.'
Kevin Lightfoot and Vincent Marks, friends of both Uriko's and Kenji's, arrived at the labs a few minutes after the incident with Drake Dante. They skidded to a halt, watching the building from a distance. Someone had obviously decided to torch it, and flames licked hungrily at the rooftops.
'Damn! Are you sure they came this way?' Asked Kevin. Vincent shrugged.
'Well, they headed in this direction, but they really could be anywhere; since we had to stop at Long's house to drop off Uriko, they could have turned back or anything. But I would place long odds that this was caused by Busuzima and that Barry Serpent character.'
'Well, what now? Do you think that Kenji is still in there?' Kevin said apprehensively.
'Unlikely; why would they capture Kenji just to place him in a building and burn it? I think that something happened, and Kenji escaped.'
'Really? Then where is he?'
'Well, lacking as I am my portable Kenji-Sensitive Radar, I have no idea,' Said Vincent wearily; Kevin was a nice guy, but he could ask a few too many questions at times.
'What are you children doing here?' Came a voice from behind them. The two kids turned to see a tall, thin and gangly man standing in the middle of the street, flanked by two huge muscled men. The tall man was old, with wrinkled skin and grey hair laid thinly on his head, and carried a thin jet black walking stick, but it looked more like for show than support. The two people behind him where the kind you would expect to see in a out-of-the-way bar in a bad part of America; arms like a sack of melons, tattooed on any bare space of flesh, bald headed and with little piggy eyes set into their thick heads. They were wearing black leather jackets and ripped jeans, much like bikers but obviously lacking the bikes themselves. The tall man was still staring strangely at them.
'Well?' He said again, 'what are you doing here? Did you set that fire?'
'And why do you inquire so?' Said Vincent. There was a gleam in his eye that made Kevin feel very awkward, but then again it might have been the fire reflected in his pupils. The tall man squinted at Vincent again, and his wrinkled features twisted themselves into a grin.
'My my, if it isn't little Vincent,' The man said coldly, 'My how you have grown. Perhaps I can help you with that little problem.'
He turned to the two people behind him.
'Tusk, Horn, tear his legs off,' He said simply. The two huge walls of muscle stomped forward, cracking their knuckles and grinning stupidly. Kevin edged backwards, but Vincent didn't appear to be moving.
'Vinny, what's the matter?' He hissed, 'We can't fight them guys!'
'I disagree,' Said Vincent, 'They may be larger, but we would have the advantage of speed on our side. So are you going to help me?'
Kevin hesitated; Vincent said it was possible, and when had he been wrong? He nodded.
'Ready Vinny,' He said, smiling faintly. Vincent returned the smile.
'As always friend.'
The pair crouched, readied themselves for a fight like never before, and leapt…..
Long groaned and sat up in his bed. He blinked heavily a few times, and took in his surrounding; he was in his room, which was bare except for his simple bed and a small wardrobe for his clothing. A thought struck him; he was wearing no clothes! He glanced down at himself, and indeed he was naked bar his boxer shorts, which was a blessing at any rate. He tried to swing his legs to the floor, but his muscles felt numb and unreactive. He gave another loud moan of pain, and obviously it had been loud enough for someone to hear, as the door opened and Yugo stuck his head around it, peeping in. The wolf zoanthrope took one look at Long's bare chest and quickly withdrew his head.
'Oh my God! Alice, why didn't you say he was naked!?'
'Yugo, he's not naked, and stop shouting or you'll wake him up!' Came Alice's voice from the living room.
'He's already awake, and I think I've gone blind if anyone's interested,' Said Yugo, but judging by the silence that followed, no one did. There was the sound of someone walking towards the door, a short sharp "thunk" noise, and a little yelp of pain as Yugo scurried away to the safety of the kitchen.
'And don't eat anything! Those are Long's groceries!' Alice yelled at his retreating back, before opening the door and smiling at Long. The Chinese man tried to return the smile, but couldn't help but notice the fact that he was nearly totally naked and she was still coming into the room. He coughed hesitantly and bunched the sheets over some of the more exposed area of his body.
'Oh please, I thought you of all people would know that as a nurse I see a lot of people naked,' Said Alice, placing a tray of soup and a glass of water on the floor next to Long's bed. Long coughed, embarrassed.
'Er, what happened to me? I can't remember much….'
'You were drunk,' Said Alice, 'By the way, I never knew you had it in you to drink four bottles of whisky in one sitting. I'm surprised you didn't die of alcohol poisoning.'
'Drunk? Impossible! I…I…,' He hesitated, as a few memories bubbled to the surface of his brain. That night with Uriko, the argument, the sadness; it all came flooding back, and it visibly made his slouch his shoulder.
'What's wrong?' Asked Alice, sitting down on the bed next to the downcast Kenpo master.
'I remember I had a fight with Uriko before I started my drinking binge. I just felt so….empty, and I remembered that most Westerners drown their sorrows in alcohol, so I thought I'd give it a go.'
'Well, not ALL Westerners turn to alcohol as a way to drown our sorrows,' Said Alice indignantly, feeling a moral calling to defend her country from a stereotypical view of all Westerners.
'Really?' What else do they do?'
'Well, some do…er, and others go and…..I think most people…..we eat chocolate instead,' She ended lamely. However, her weak attempt at a counter-argument was enough to satisfy Long. The strongly built China man stroked his chin.
'Hmm, chocolate you say? Well, I will bear that in mind.'
'Er, there's some other stuff you should know,' Said Alice, edging away from him slightly; in this mood, she had no idea how he would take the news, 'You see, Kenji has been captured by Busuzima and some guy called Barry Serpent, and they knocked out Uriko and…..'
Alice didn't get to finish her sentence. Long had leapt to his feet, the sheets thrown to one side and his soup scattered across the floor. He stood, red faced and shaking with rage, clad in naught but his Kelvin Klyne boxer-shorts, and looked down at the cowering Alice.
'Where is Uriko!?' He said. Alice pointed a quivering finger to the door. The stern Chinese zoanthrope, totally oblivious of his current state, marched to the door, and pushed it open so hard that it smashed against the wall and slammed back into his face. Calming slightly as he extracted his face from the dented wooden door, he strode across the hallway and into the kitchen, where Yugo was standing in front of the fridge, an open carton of milk at his lips. His eyes goggled as the half-naked Long stormed into the kitchen, and spraying milk across the walls as his brain seized up. (Oh my God, he's coming onto me!) He thought, but had no time to react before Long had shoved him out the way as he continued on through the kitchen and into the hallway, marched straight along it, and came to Uriko's room. There he stopped, his shoulders rising and falling with each heavy breath, and a look of utter indecision on his face. Alice, who had ran after him when he had stormed out his room. Yugo was behind her, rubbing his head where it had hit the wall when Long had shoved past him.
'What's he doing? Has he gone insane?' Asked Yugo, but merely received a slap across the back of his head from Alice.
'Quiet Yugo, this is a personal matter! And I TOLD you not to eat Long's groceries! Go out to the shops and get some more NOW!!'
Grumbling to himself, Yugo moped down the hall and into the living room. Alice turned back to see Long, who had finally some to a decision. Gripping the door handle, he carefully opened it and let himself in. In her bed, Uriko was dozing, wearing her silk pajamas and tossing her head as she slept. By the look on her face, she was having a bad dream. Long walked quietly to her bedside, and knelt down, gently resting a hand on her shoulder. Uriko must have been sleeping lightly, as even this light touch was enough to wake her up. She yawned, blinked the sleeping-sand from her eyes, and looked up into Longs smiling face.
'Master Long?! What happened, where am I!? Kenji!!'
She tried to leap out the bed, but got entangled in the sheets and landed back on the mattress, snarling and trying to untangle herself from the mess of linen. Long laid a hand on her shoulder again, and she eased her struggling. She looked up again, and there were tears in her eyes.
'What's happening Master Long? Where has Kenji gone, and Kevin and Vincent too? All I remember was the bastard Busuzima coming at us, and then that slimly little snake kicked me on the chin and then I was back here.'
'It's alright Uriko,' Said Long soothingly, 'Kevin and Vincent are fine, last I heard about it, and Kenji will be safe with them on the case, I can guarantee that. I always did like that Vincent kid, very stern, like me,' Said Long absentmindedly. He turned his attention back to Uriko, who was still crying quietly, and hugged her tight, patting her back comfortingly.
From the doorway, Alice smiled, watching the Master and the Pupil let their sorrows flow through them. This was a touching moment, which was somewhat spoiled by Yugo leaning over her shoulder and grinning childishly.
'Alright, get a room already,' He chuckled, but stopped when Alice snarled and back handed him across the face, sending him to the floor with a thud.
'What did I tell you about making fun of people!? Now get out this house and get some more groceries NOW!!!!!'
Yelping with fear, Yugo scrabbled to his feet and hurried out the back door, leaving it swinging on its hinges in his haste to flee the fuming Alice. Calming herself, she turned back to see Long and Uriko standing up, Long pulling on a silk dressing gown that Uriko had handed him from the closet. Long nodded to Alice.
'If you would be so kind as to get my phone book, it's by the cookie jar shaped like Snoopy the dog, and call the first three people on the first page. I think if Busuzima is up to something, it would be best to get some help.'
Alice nodded, and hurried into the kitchen. Uriko looked up at Long, who looked stern an upright again, bar the fact he was still semi-naked.
'We'll get him back, wont we? God knows what Busuzima could be doing to him, you KNOW what he's like with kids.'
'Yes, and that's why we must get him back as soon as possible,' Said Long. His face was grim and set like stone, 'Besides, I'm a withered old relic looking for one last chance of glory, remember?'
'Er, yeah, sorry about that,' Said Uriko, but suddenly looked him straight in the eye in surprise.
'Hey, did you just make a joke?!'
'I don't know,' Said Long, equally puzzled, 'There might still be some alcohol in my system. I think I need a lie down….'
Kevin and Vincent circled carefully around the two hulking beings, Horn and Tusk respectively, who stood their ground and readied themselves for battle. Kevin looked over to Vincent, and nodded.
'Alright, I think we'll need to morph to take these two down.'
'I agree totally,' Said Vincent calmly, and in an instant a cloud of white energy whipped about him, leaving in his place the tall black Panther, standing coolly to one side, fists held low and ready to strike. Then Kevin morphed, his Mongoose form as energetic as ever, twitching madly in eagerness for battle. Before either could leap to the attack however, the tall man laughed.
'You really think you can beat my bodyguards with your little beast forms? Horn, Tusk, morph.'
The two thugs nodded at his command, and a much darker clouds began to swirl around them, hiding their forms from sight. When it cleared, there was two titanic creatures standing in their place; one was slightly taller, with light grey skin and huge broad shoulders, much larger than his human form by at least three times. Two long tusks curled from under its upper lip, and a strong, flexible trunk waved in the air threateningly. It flapped its large ears a few times and stomped forward on big flat feet, ignoring the fact that its clothes were nearly bursting off its frame; Tusk, Elephant zoanthrope, glared down at Kevin, and chuckled idiotically.
'You wanna fight me kid?' He boomed, and swept its trunk across Kevin's chest, hurling him against the wall behind him. Kevin slid down the stone wall to the ground, gripping his ribs painfully.
'I'll get you for that,' He hissed with what little breath he had in his lungs, but all that did was make Tusk laugh all the louder. The other zoanthrope, Horn, was laughing with him; he was shorter but broader and had more meat on him, if that was possible. His skin was darker, and a huge, powerful looking horn protruded from the end of his snout. Horn the Rhino zoanthrope was about to step forward, but felt a sharp pain in his side, and swept and arm back, catching Vincent under the chin and hurling him into the air. Turning around ponderously, Horn stretched out a thick arm and caught Vincent around the tail as he plummeted back to the ground, stopping only just before he had hit the ground face first.
'Nice try kid, but no cigar,' He grinned, hurling him by the tail across the street to where Kevin was staggering up, crashing into his friend and sending them both to the ground. The two giant creature stood over them, smiling evilly.
'Come on, don't tell me you're done already?' Mocked Tusk, 'I was only just getting started.'
'Yeah,' Chuckled Horn, kicking Vincent in the ribs, 'Get up, we haven't had a good fight in ages.'
Watching from the safety of the far end of the street, Yotaba Kouto grinned as he saw Vincent roll across the pavement, groaning in pain. He had to admit, his usual calm exterior had shown cracks when he had saw the boy again, but he was sure in his bodyguards abilities to deal with two simple kids.
Kevin just managed to roll out the way before Tusk's foot came crashing down where his head had been, smashing the concrete underneath the force of the blow. Vincent had managed to stagger up again, and was ducking the clumsy swings of Horn without much difficulty. Hopping backwards to avoid a more savage punch, he leapt forward again, grabbed the horn in both hands and pushed up, jumping straight over the stunned Rhinos head and landing neatly on his feet behind him. Lashing out with his foot, he kicked the zoanthropes legs from under him, rolling out the way as Horn fell heavily to the floor, banging his head on the curb. Meanwhile, Kevin had dodged a punch that would have crushed his bones to powder, and bit down hard on Tusk's arm, his needle like teeth puncturing the tough flesh. Yelling angrily, Tusk staggered back, giving Vincent and Kevin enough time to recuperate.
'This is not going to plan,' Panted Vincent, leaning against the wall, 'We need to use something big to get these two down.'
'Are you think we should use our secret attacks?' Said Kevin, 'But we can barely control them. Our bodies aren't used to the flow of power.'
'The alternative is to sit here and have ourselves beaten to a pulp,' Snarled Vincent angrily, 'And I know you'd prefer to go down fighting.'
Kevin hesitated for a moment, and then nodded.
'Alright, but if we end up wreaking half the street, you're paying for it.'
'Thank you. Now, you take Tusk, and I'll go for Horn. Ready?'
'Yep,' Grinned Kevin, crouching low in preparation for his attack. Vincent took up a fighting stance, legs apart and arms held up above is head like they were wings.
'I suggest you surrender now, or be destroyed,' Vincent called out to the two fuming zoanthropes, his voice deathly calm. Tusk laughed horribly, and took a step forward.
'Oh yeah, and what are you going to do if we don't?'
'This,' Yelled Kevin, and leapt forward. His powerful legs propelled him high into the air, and as he soared towards Tusk, he began to glow with a silver flame. By the time he reached his opponent, he looked more like some sparkling meteor than a zoanthrope, smashing himself hard into Tusks chest. The titanic beast staggered backwards, giving Kevin enough time to land on his feet and give the Elephant zoanthrope an uppercut that sent him flying into the air. Bunching his legs muscles up, Kevin leapt up after him, leveled with the still groaning Tusk, gripped him by the head, and began to spin. By the time he had reached the zenith of his jump, nearly twenty feet in the air, he was lost from view by the whirling body of Tusk, who looked like he was in the middle of a hurricane. Suddenly, Kevin acknowledged gravity, and plummeted to the ground, still spinning Tusk as he fell towards the ground, and hit the street with the force of a small bomb going off. When the smoke had cleared, Kevin was standing over a huge crater in the middle of the street, in the middle of which laid Tusk, once again in his human form and bleeding badly from his head.
'And that, my friend, was the Silver Whirling Dervish,' he panted, grinning happily at Vincent, 'I knew I'd get the hang of it one day.'
'Well done Kevin. And now for Horn,' Said Vincent, turning to the stunned creature who was looking at his friend in the crater. Before he could turn, Vincent was running up to him, his claws out and his teeth bared. He got faster and faster, until suddenly, when he was a few feet away from the staring Rhino, he disappeared, leaving only a burning Buddhist sign for "Shadow" where he had been standing. Horn had no time to wonder however, for instantly his body was covered in flaming scratches, thousands and thousands of them, hiding his body from view in a whirl of burning slashes. Suddenly, Vincent reappeared, standing in a classic crouched pose, his arms held out behind him. The flaming marks died out, showing Horn in his human form, covered in what seemed like millions of very fine scratches.
'I believe that was the Shadow Panther Claw,' He said matter-of-factly, standing up and dusting his fur down, 'A pity, I was trying for a totally different move.'
'Hey, relax Vinny, we beat them didn't we?' Said Kevin, clapping a hand on his shoulder, 'Now, for that creepy looking guy.'
The pair turned around, but Mr. Kouto was nowhere to be seen.
'Goddamnit! He must have escaped while we were kicking his cronies @$$'s,' Raged Kevin, kicking a discarded can across the street.
'There's no time to worry about him,' Said Vincent, venom dripping from every word, 'We have to check out the building to se if Kenji is still in there.'
'No need,' Came a familiar voice, and Kevin and Vincent spun round to see Kenji and…
'Dear God, Kenji, behind you!!' Yelled Vincent, rushing forward, claws stretched out ready to slice. He pounced over the shocked Kenji and lashed out at the ugly looking creature standing behind him. The blow knocked the thing a few paces back, with enough time for the Panther zoanthrope landed neatly on his feet before it could retaliate. He went for another punch, but the thing counter him, punching him in the gut, but Kevin leapt on its back before he could storm forward and floor the winded Panther.
'Stop it you guys!' Yelled Kenji, grabbing Kevin by his shirt and pulling him off of Stun's back, 'He's with me. And what the hell are you guys doing here anyway!?'
'We were looking for you actually,' Said Kevin indignantly, pulling himself up off the floor and morphing back into his human form, 'Busuzima and some serpent guy crashed in on our lunch break and ran off with you in tow.'
'What happened to Uriko?' Said Kenji, looking suddenly worried, but Vincent laid a hand on his shoulder.
'Relax, we got her to Master Long's house, but sadly he was….incapacitated, so we asked Alice and Yugo to look after them both.'
'Well, at least they're OK,' Said Kenji, folding his arms across his chest, 'But where is Busuzima and that new guy? And who were you fighting before?'
Kevin looked around, and cursed graphically; Horn and Tusk were gone, obviously sneaking away when Kenji and Stun had arrived.
'Well, I'm annoyed too, but I don't think you should have said that,' Said Vincent, before turning back to Kenji, 'We'd better head back to Long's house; something fishy is going on, and I for one would like to know what it is…..'
Yugo looked for any traffic coming, and quickly crossed the road, grumbling to himself. Under his arms were two brown paper bags full of groceries, replacements for those that he had eaten at Long's house. Stupid stiff-backed martial artists guy, he thought bitterly, and snarled angrily as he stubbed his foot painfully on the sidewalk. This was NOT turning out to be his day.
Suddenly, the sewer cover in the middle of the street flew up, crashing nosily back onto the ground. Yugo jumped, yelping in surprise and ducking into the cover of some nearby bushes, weeping like a little girl. After a few moments, the wolf zoanthrope got a grip on himself, and turned to peek out of the foliage. Out of the hole leading to the sewers, someone had pulled themselves out and where looking around, hands on their hips.
'Oh bloody hell, I took another wrong turn!' The man cursed, and Yugo felt a surge of anger run through him; Busuzima. Before he could leap out of hiding and beat the perverted scientist into a bloody pulp, another man managed to heave himself out of the stinking pit and crawl onto his knees.
'Oh, that'sssss great. Well done, you total Gaylord! What issss it with you, have you got ssssome ssssort of problem with actually choosssssing the RIGHT TUNNEL!?!?!' Yelled Barry Serpent, glaring up at the mad man. Busuzima glared right back.
'Hey, it's been a while since I was down here, okay? Cut me some slack!'
Yugo had had enough; with a bellow of rage, he leapt from hiding and landed before the stunned looking Busuzima, smashing the stringy man across the face with a powerful right hook. Busuzima went down like a felled tree, cracking his head off the street as he fell. Yugo spun round, and kicked out at Barry, catching the Mexican in the gut with a solid boot. Serpent reeled back, gasping for breath as the air was forced from his lungs. Yugo took this chance to change into his wolf form, and in a burst of white energy he was transformed, still clad in his leather trousers and biker jacket, his teeth bared and fists ready to strike. With a growl, he stooped down and grabbed Busuzima by his shirt collar.
'Alright, what the hell are you two clown up to?' He said, pulling the terrified zoanthropes face close to his own, glaring into his eyes. Busuzima's mouth flapped open a few times, but suddenly Yugo was thrown off of him, sent hurling through the air by some unseen force. Barry was leaning against the side of a car, gripping his stomach with one hand, the other one outstretched, pointing at Yugo who was still flying through the air, finally landing heavily on his back. With a little whimper of pain, Yugo fell unconscious, his arms falling limply at his sides. Panting, Busuzima scrambled to his feet and rushed over to Yugo's prone form, dragging him to the sewer entrance.
'Quick, back into the sewers!' He called, before throwing the zoanthropes body down into the stinking darkness below and jumping down after it. Barry, hissing something about Busuzima's sexuality, crawled across the street and pitched himself down the hole. A second later, the sewer cover floated into the air, and landed back in place, leaving no evidence of a fight except the scattered groceries.
'Hey, Vincent,' Said Kevin, as they headed back to Long's house, 'That guy, you know, the tall one who Tusk and Horn seemed to be protecting. He seemed to know you.'
Vincent was silent for a moment, his usually stern features even more stony.
'Yes, he knew me. And I knew him. It's been a long time though, I didn't know he was still around.'
'Who was he?' Prompted Kevin, looking at his friend. Vincent sighed.
'He was my uncle. Or at least used to be; I think the family had him stricken from the family tree when he started to act….strange. He was always the black sheep, the one no one mentioned at the reunions. I've only ever met him twice, and last time we did he tried to kill me.'
'Wow, and I thought I had a hard time with my mother when she asks me to clean my room,' Said Kevin, shocked at this news.
'Believe me, Uncle Kouto is a LOT worse that your mother…..I think,' Said Vincent, remembering the time he had seen Kevin's mother get angry with her husband, 'Last I heard, he had been arrested for possessing illegal experimental military weapons. But now he's here, there's no telling what he's up to.'
'Hey, no sweat,' Said Kevin, grinning broadly, 'Whatever he's up to, we'll get him. We've already trashed his goons.'
'They were just the first. Uncle Kouto has a lot of power hidden under his sleeve, and now he knows we're onto him, he'll use it all to get rid of us.'
'You're really serious aren't you?' Said Kevin, finally noting the worried look in Vincent's eyes.
'I always am Kevin. Now, we'd better head back to Long's house; we need to gather our strength if something's about to happen…..'
And there it is, the second chapter done and dusted. With any luck, I'll get the third one done shortly, but with ever increasing exams, tests and course-work piling up, I find it difficult to get anything done. However, I hope you all enjoyed reading this next chapter, and get ready for the next one, in which Jenny, Shina/Marvel, Alan Gado and a few of my new characters will make an appearance. Big grins until then, and keep on writing!