TOKYO
Chapter 4
The Man In Charge
The next morning, the newspapers and news channels were in an uproar. Everything was filled with speculations on what had happened, or why, and what that burn mark on the Tokyo Bay Bridge meant. (The fact that it was gone within hours wasn't even mentioned.)
Vash, however, was oblivious to all this. This had mainly to do with the fact that he was sleeping in a hotel room. The hotel owner had seemed to be a bit uneasy about housing Vash the Stampede, but Ranma had said he (although, currently, she) would make sure he didn't blow anything up. The most explosive thing Vash did was snore.
For breakfast, Vash had donuts. "Why you eatin' toast?" he asked with his mouth full.
"Because it's healthy," said Ranma, pointedly swallowing first.
"Cool," said Vash, swallowing and immediately picking up another one. "Y'know, I was just wondering ... how's the government here run?"
"Officially, it's a democracy," said Ranma, sitting back in her chair. "But really it's more a plutocratic bureaucracy, with the President really more of an absolute monarch."
Vash paused in mid-donut. "I have no idea what you just said."
Ranma sighed. "Basically, it's like a mean king, only not."
"Oh, I get it," said Vash, and resumed eating.
Ranma stared for a few seconds, and then shook her head, grinning. "Sometimes I wonder about you, Vash the Stampede ..."
"Wonder what?" asked Vash.
There was a knock at the door. "I'll get it," said Ranma, going over.
She opened the door, then promptly slammed it shut. "C'mon, we're going out through the window!"
Vash looked around in confusion. "Huh!?"
The door was slammed open by a figure in a grey trenchcoat, apparently wearing riot armor underneath, and with a sort of combat helmet with "H.O.L.D." on the front.
"Ah, I see," said Vash, even as Ranma began hurriedly opening the window.
More of the H.O.L.D. troops poured into the room, machine guns raised, and began to open fire on Vash.
Not a single shot hit. The way he dodged and weaved, Ranma almost wondered if he was seeing things in Bullet Time. Her mind almost didn't even register for a few seconds when Vash did a backflip over her head, grabbed her by the back of her collar, and sailed out the window, pulling her with him. She was even more surprised when they landed on their feet on the sidewalk below.
"Whoa ..." She shook her head as if to clear it. "Okay, it's times like this I'm glad I get smaller when I change ..."
Vash seemed to consider this. "Yeah, I don't think it'd've been as easy if you were -- Look out!"
Five more H.O.L.D. troops were running towards them, guns ready but not aimed quite yet.
"I'll handle these guys," said Ranma.
"You ever gone up against guys with guns before!?" exclaimed Vash.
Ranma smirked. "There's a first time for everything."
As the first one brought his gun to bear, she leaped up, kicked off his gun, and swung her leg around to hit him in the side of his head. She kept moving, kicking the next one in the face and slamming him into the third --
-- and saw that the other two, five feet away now, were aiming their weapons at her. Crap!
There was a loud BANG and then one of them dropped his gun, which now had a smouldering hole in the side. The other turned to face Vash, who had his silver pistol out and aimed, and then the troop was abruptly struck by lightning.
"Wha!?" exclaimed Vash.
"Precisely what part of 'they are to be taken alive' was unclear to you?" said a cultured voice down the street.
All three presently-conscious people whirled in surprise. Standing there was a tall man with blonde, dressed in a white coat, holding a large shotgun.
The H.O.L.D. trooper saluted. "President Shinra, sir!"
"Yes, indeed," said the man, stepping closer. "And I do not like my orderes to be disobeyed." He smirked slightly. "Mister Saotome -- or Miss, currently -- obviously knows who I am, but you, Vash the Stampede, apparently don't. I am Rufus Shinra, president of this city ... and, in fact, most of the merged world."
"Hi!" said Vash.
Rufus chuckled, shaking his head as he arrived within five feet of them. "I must say, Vash the Stampede, that your reputation simply does not do justice to meeting you in person." He tilted his head slightly. "I suppose asking you to come quietly is out of the question?"
"How well can you fight?" asked Ranma, an odd note in her voice.
"Quite well," said Rufus. "Especially since your arms and legs currently aren't long enough to hit me if I were to use my gun as a shield."
Ranma blinked. "Good point," she said. She pulled out a thermos and spilled the contents onto her head, promptly transforming into her male form. He did a flying kick at Rufus's head, knocking him backwards onto the ground, and then kicked the H.O.L.D. trooper in the stomach.
"C'mon, let's go!" yelled Ranma, starting to run the other way as she landed.
Rufus got to his feet as he watched them run away. "Bring them alive," he growled through gritted teeth, "if it is at all reasonably feasible."
"Sir! They've gone down one of the subways ... but we've lost track of them now ... No wait, I have a fix on them!"
"That was tense," muttered Ranma as they ran through the subway.
"Haven't we been through this before?" moaned Vash, dashing to keep up with him.
Ranma's cell phone rang. "Yes?" he said, answering it. There was yelling on the other hand. "Yes, Seifer, I did just kick President Shinra in the face." More shouting, with nervousness that gave Vash a run for his money. "Well what did you want me to do?"
There was a burst of red light and Zero appeared in full battle armor. There was a pair of handguns in holsters on his legs. "Hi," he said. "I'm here to be your backup." He grabbed each of them under one shoulder and leaped forward. There was a fffshh of compressed air, and he rocketed forward at about sixty miles per hour.
"Why didn't you do this with Zelgadis?" asked Vash, who sometimes had a traitorous memory for detail.
"What, and leave my back wide open for Zio to blast me in the back?" he exclaimed.
Vash looked ahead. "I'll shut up now," he whimpered.
They shot through a junction, which had a large number of H.O.L.D. troops on either side who hadn't expected to have to deal with a Repliroid with dash boots. Zero cackled at the sound of stray shots ricocheting around them.
"Whoo! That's awesome!" exclaimed Vash.
"You ain't seen nothin' yet!" said Zero.
"Uh, Zero," said Ranma apprehensively. "We're starting to go near ... um ... the ..."
"The Abyss?" said Zero, almost conversationally, as the tracks started to dip downwards. The tracks seemed to come to an end ahead of them, as did the tunnel.
"The WHAT!?" exclaimed Vash.
"When the worlds merged, the sewer system and the subway system in this area got ... confused," said Ranma.
"Hold on tight!" said Zero.
Vash unleashed a loud shriek as they were launched out into a gigantic, cavernous chamber. They were a little ways below the ceiling, and the bottom was impossible to see, but rushing water could be heard. Several terrifying seconds later, they slammed into the far wall.
"Ouch," mumbled Vash, managing to hold onto Zero's side through sheer force of will ... sort of.
"Everyone still here?" asked Zero, who seemed to be attatched to the wall. "No one fell off?"
"Nope, I'm fine," said Ranma. "I've been kicked farther and harder by Akane. And that was in my female form."
"Good," said Zero. "The passage to the other part should be right above us. Hang on tight!" He jumped away from the wall ...
... and with a burst from his dash boots, launched himself back onto the wall, only higher up. He repeated this process several times, until, instead of hitting a wall, they landed at the top of a stairway leading into a passageway.
In front of them was Rufus Shinra and a single H.O.L.D. trooper.
"I must say I'm impressed," said Rufus calmly. "I never expected that the star of the Maverick Hunters would be among you, Zero Omega."
"What are Maverick Hunters?" asked Vash.
"Mavericks are Repliroids that go insane and try to kill people," said Zero, not taking his eyes away from Rufus. "Maverick Hunters hunt Mavericks."
"I suppose this time you're likely to want to come quietly?" said Rufus. "Although, this might mean that the sixty-billion double-dollar price on Vash the Stampede's head might need to be removed ..."
"Uh ... I'm all for that, then!" said Vash.
The President exchanged a glance with Ranma and Zero, who shrugged helplessly. "It will mean you're under arrest," said Rufus sharply.
"Huh!?" Vash looked panicked. "I don't wanna be arrested! What did I ever do!?"
"The destruction of several towns ring a bell?" asked Rufus, though there was a hint of doubt in his face.
"Uh, apparently, that wasn't actually his fault," said Zero. "It was just dumb luck, near as we can figure out from his babblings."
"Well, then, I guess we'll just have to put you under protective custody, won't we?" said Rufus pleasantly. "Come on, then -- I won't be caught off guard so easily this time." He motioned down the passageway.
Soma burst into the upstairs room. "Vash Ranma and Zero got arrested!" he shouted in one breath.
Zelgadis shot upright. "What!?" he exclaimed. "Show me the Orb!"
Against the the current medical knowledge of a chimera when pummeled with a Black Wave (which, admittedly, was practically nil), Zelgadis got out of bed. Sure enough, the trio was plainly visible in the Orb, being led through the sewers by Rufus Shinra and some H.O.L.D. troops. "Damn," muttered Zelgadis. "Now I really wish we had a reliable magic teleport ..."
"What do we do now?" asked Soma.
Zelgadis stared into the Orb. "I have no idea," he said. "Attacking will only make our situation worse. I only hope that he'll ... understand our situation ..."
"Remind me why we're sort of officially illegal?" said Soma.
"Because, given our mission, the government would want to be involved in a way that would not help our effectiveness," said Zelgadis.
"And you're expecting Rufus Shinra to be understanding of this?" said Soma.
"Not with much hope," said Zelgadis. "He's been ... at odds with an underground group before. Hmm ... what's that?"
"What's what?" Soma squinted. "Huh ... it looks like ..."
As the group rounded the corner, they were surprised to hear the sounds of someone sniffling and sobbing. Rufus gestured with a frown, and a H.O.L.D. troop stepped forward. The two of them approached the source of the sound.
It appeared to be a girl, possibly in younger teens but with elongated, pointed ears. Her skin was pale, and she had flowing purple hair. She was wearing what looked like a blue swimsuit with gold trim, and a blue choker with an odd triangular design with three spokes.
"Hello?" said Rufus cautiously. He glanced at the trio, who shrugged to indicate ignorance.
The girl looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "She escaped," she whimpered.
"Who did?" asked Rufus, not unkindly. He crouched next to her.
"My ... my sister," said the girl. "She's ... my opposite ... and now she escaped ..."
Rufus softly said, "I see ... What's your name?"
She looked him in the eye. "Neifirst," she said.
Rufus nodded. "What did your ... sister look like?" he asked.
"Me ... but ..." Neifirst tugged at her suit. "Purple ..."
Rufus nodded again. "All right," he said. "We'll make sure to look for her." He stood up. "Lieutenant, I want you to -- gack!"
The H.O.L.D. troop shoved Rufus aside ... and then managed a strangled noise before he died. Neifirst pulled her claws from his back, a look of carnal bloodlust in her eyes. The other H.O.L.D. troops raised ther machine guns to fire, but she raised her hands, and all three were engulfed in flame.
Zero drew his sword, and Ranma got into a combat stance. This was NOT going to be pretty ...