I still don't own anything. This is the sequel to my story Lycanthrope. It takes place ten years after the last chapter of Lycanthrope.
Lycanthrope 2: The Prophecy
Chapter Twelve: Frenchies!
Jen walked carefully down the stairs leading towards the plane's cargo hold and knocked on the door that opened to the hold. There was no answer and Jen began the lengthy process of opening to the airtight door. Finally the last lock was undone and she opened the door. The sheer force of the music from inside nearly knocked her on her ass. "Shinji?"
"Speak up!" the larger man called. "I can't hear you!" Jen frowned and stepped into the massive room.
"What the hell are you doing in here?" she screamed over the music. "You've been in here for six hours!" She paused when she saw Shinji with his upper body shoved under the SS. "You've been working on it for six hours?"
"What can I say?" Shinji asked, his voice slightly muffled by the car over him. "My baby is coming up on fifty-six years old. She needs a lot of care or she'll be cranky."
"I guess so," Jen said. She paused and sniffed the air. "What's that smell?"
"I had to drain the tank," Shinji said from under the car. Jen looked down and noticed several open buckets lying on the ground.
"Well I guess you don't have many brain cells left to kill," she muttered as she sat down.
"What was that?" Shinji asked.
"Nothing."
"Okay." Shinji didn't speak again and Jen listened to the loud music screaming from the car's speakers.
"I can't get to heaven, cause heaven's a place that don't want me. I can't get to heaven; well heaven's a place that I don't want to be!" Jen fought the urge to laugh. She couldn't think of a better song to represent Shinji.
"So what exactly are you doing anyway?" she asked.
"Bean made some modifications for me," Shinji said. "I'm just checking them over."
"What kind of modifications?" Jen asked.
"Just some new headers, mufflers, things like that," Shinji said. "Of course I pretty much rebuilt the engine myself. Most of its Titanium and everything else is top of the line."
"Wow," Jen said.
"This thing will put out about six hundred horses," Shinji added. "It'll do the quarter mile in just under nine seconds." Shinji shimmied out from under the car. His shoulder-length hair, face, and clothes were covered in oil and grease. There was also an un-lit cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. "Give me a hand."
"What do you need?"
"Just bring the buckets of gas over," Shinji said. Jen did as she was told and watched as Shinji poured them into the tank with a funnel.
"That's a lot of gas."
"Another modification," Shinji explained. "The fuel cell holds twenty more gallons then the standard tank. Start it up."
"What?" Jen asked.
"The key is in the ignition. Start it up." Jen was in the car before he could even finish the sentence. She slipped the key into place and twisted. The massive engine roared to life and Jen sighed happily. "Sounds good, huh?"
"Very good," Jen said. Shinji leaned in through the window and pushed the cigarette lighter down. "Uh. . .Shinji? You know that the hold is full of gas fumes, right?"
"Yup," Shinji said as he walked towards the wall. Jen quickly climbed out of the car and followed after him.
"Shinji?"
"Yes?" Shinji asked as he typed something into a keypad on the wall and punched a button that set red siren-style lights off.
"What are you doing?" Jen asked.
"Getting rid of the fumes," Shinji said as he slammed his fist against a button on the wall and pulled down a massive lever.
"You idiot!" Jen screamed as the back ramp to the plane's cargo hold opened. She was lifted off of her feet and then something wrapped around her ankle and kept her from flying out of the plane. Sirens rang and the doors finally shut. Shinji set her down carefully and walked to his car. He leaned in through the drive side window and pulled out the cigarette lighter.
"See?" he asked as he pressed it to the cigarette between his lips. "No fumes." He took a long drag on the cigarette and stuck the lighter back in its place. Jen just stared at him, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly.
(:::::::::::::ii::::::::::::::)
"What the hell was that?" Yuki screamed as the plane finally came back under control.
"We're all going to die!" Asuka wailed. The back door to the passenger cabin banged open and Shinji stepped into the room with someone slung over his shoulder.
"Is that Jen?" Mana asked.
"Yep," Shinji said as he dropped his cigarette and stubbed it out on the carpet. The shattered smoke detector overhead beeped feebly and fell silent. Shinji dumped Jen into one of the seats and fell into another one.
"Do you have any clue what just happened?" Mana asked.
"What do you mean?" Shinji asked.
"The plane just started bucking all of the sudden," Yuki said. The P.A. system beeped overhead.
"I'm sorry about that ladies and gentleman," the pilot said. "We must have hit a pocket of turbulence. I've never seen anything like it."
"I'll rip your throat out if you do it again!" Mana shrieked.
"Where's Asuka?" Shinji asked. "She hasn't jumped. . ."
"Shinji!" Yuki watched as the redhead soared through the air and landed on Shinji with enough force to knock the wind out of him. "I was so scared!"
"What have I told you about jumping on his lap?" Yuki asked. Asuka froze and leapt out of her seat.
"If I break it you'll kill me," she said. Yuki nodded and stood up.
"Let's go see if she broke it Shinji."
"I am not a machine!" Shinji said.
"So?"
"Let's go," Shinji said as he threw her over his shoulder and ran out of the section.
(:::::::::::::ii::::::::::::::)
Shinji watched as the plane's cargo ramp lowered and he released his hold on the brakes. The SS rolled down the ramp and out onto the tarmac. He pushed the brakes again and waited for the others to pile in. "Muscle cars are not meant to hold this many people," Jen complained from the back seat, which she was sharing with Asuka, Mana, and Rei. "Hey! Whose hand was that?"
"Sorry," Mana said.
"Don't make me turn this car around," Shinji said as he drove slowly towards the admittance gate. He showed his ID to the guard and pressed the accelerator down as the gate swung open.
"Easy!" Jen cried. "Some of us back here don't have seat belts."
"Guess I won't be able to use the brakes," Shinji said as he pulled out into traffic and shifted gears. "Now let's get one thing perfectly clear."
"Keep your eyes on the road!" Mana shrieked. Shinji looked back and jerked the steering wheel to the left to avoid an on coming cargo van.
"Stay on your side of the road asshole!"
"We are on the incorrect side of the road Shinji," Rei said calmly.
"Oh." Shinji swerved into the proper lane and cut off some lady in a minivan. "Now let's get one thing clear. I do no like Frenchies and we will not stay in this country one second longer then we have to."
"What's your problem with France?" Mana asked.
"Theses people are assholes," Shinji said.
"That's a stereotype," Jen said calmly.
"Have you ever been to France?"
"No."
"Well I have," Shinji said. "It was the most miserable day of my life. They don't even taste good."
"This place stinks," Asuka whined. "Let's just nuke the city and leave."
"I like her plan," Shinji said. "All in favor?"
"You wish."
"Well, yeah actually."
(:::::::::::::ii::::::::::::::)
Bob stared at the paper in front of him. "Yes!" Beside him Angel nearly jumped out of her skin.
"What's wrong?"
"They killed him!" Bob yelled. "They actually killed him." He dragged Angel out of her seat and began to spin her around.
"Who killed who?" Angel demanded.
"Shinji killed a member of SEELE!" Bob declared. "They're all actually doing what I asked!" Angel managed to dislodge herself from her mate and picked up the papers.
"Five hundred rounds of .45 auto?" she shrieked, "probable weapon was a Thompson Model 1928?"
"Yeah," Bob said, "so?"
"That's a fucking Tommy gun!" Angel shrieked.
"Don't forget the P90," Bob said. Angel scanned through the papers.
"Three hundred rounds of 5.7mm?"
"Good stuff huh?" Bob asked cheerfully.
"Do you know what this means?" Angel screeched.
"Uh. . ."
"It means that Shinji is making those poor girls like him!" Angel screamed.
"That's my boy!"
"Bob," Angel began, her voice forcibly calm. "Do you really want a dozen female equivalents of Shinji running around?"
"For the time being I don't see how that could be such a bad thing," Bob said with a shrug. "They're certainly getting the job done."
"That's a little cold," Angel said. Her tone betrayed her shock.
"We're trying to save the world," Bob said. "The few must always die to save the many, even if one of the few is your own son."
"I see."
(:::::::::::::ii::::::::::::::)
"You are ze American?"
"No," Shinji growled. "I am ze Japanese. Now get the fuck away from me before I snap your neck like a glow stick." The man turned on his heel and walked away from the table.
"He's going to spit in your food," Jen said calmly.
"Not if he knows what's fucking good for him!" Shinji bellowed after the retreating man.
"What is your problem with the French?" Mana asked. The question had already been asked, but she was hoping for a better answer.
"They're snooty, they're pansies, and they never smile," Shinji growled. "And the only good thing to ever come out of this damn country was smokeless gun powder."
"Plus they don't make anything like whiskey," Yuji commented.
"You would hate a whole group of people because they do not produce an alcohol to your liking," Rei said flatly.
"At least I have a reason," Shinji said. "That makes me better then most."
"You have a point," Rei said as she sipped form her wine glass. "The sun will be coming up soon."
"I know," Shinji said. "We'll find somewhere to crash for the night and I'll get to work."
"Do you need any help?" Jen asked.
"I got it," Shinji said. He noticed that Yuki suddenly looked rather nervous and Asuka, well, she looked ecstatic.
"Can I come?"
"Sure."
"You two are not going alone," Yuki hissed. "You may not like France, but that is no reason to destroy Paris."
"It isn't?" Shinji asked. "I don't feel like eating here anymore. I'll go see if I can catch something to eat outside."
"I'm going with him," Asuka said quickly.
"Me too," Mana said as she rocketed out of her seat. "At least it won't have any spit in it."
(:::::::::::::ii::::::::::::::)
"This is boring," Asuka whined.
"Hush," Shinji growled as he watched his target through his camera's massive zoom lens. "That's it."
"He lives there?" Asuka asked.
"He owns the building," Shinji said. His eyes followed several angles and he grinned. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" He glanced at Asuka. She looked puzzled for all of ten seconds before a wide grin spread across her face.
"Can I do it?"
"It'll be your big Christmas present for the year," Shinji said.
"Thank you!" Asuka shrieked as she wrapped her arms around him.
(:::::::::::::ii::::::::::::::)
Yuki looked up as her mate and Asuka stepped into the apartment. "Where's everyone?"
"They're all asleep," Yuki said. "They can't handle such long hours with no sleep." Shinji shrugged and reached under the couch. He pulled out a briefcase and laid it on the table.
"What's that?"
"Every man's vice," Shinji said as he flipped the briefcase's locks and opened it.
"You really are taking a step back in time aren't you?" she asked as she pulled out one of the stacks of Euros and flipped through it. "First the Tommy gun and now a briefcase full of money."
"Some things just shouldn't have changed," Shinji said as he took the bills form her hand and laid them back in the briefcase. "Get ready to leave."
"Did you find the target?"
"Jean-Luc Cougar," Shinji said. "Don't worry. Asuka and I are taking care of it."
"Now I'm worried," Yuki said. Shinji flashed her a broad grin and straightened up. He shut his briefcase and walked to the door.
"Tell the others to be ready to leave as well."
"Okay."
(:::::::::::::ii::::::::::::::)
"It's beautiful," Mana said as she stared at the Eiffel Tower. "Hard to believe its only sixty-percent finished."
"I did take a while to raise the money to rebuild it after the Second Impact," Jen said. "So why are we here Shinji? I doubt you're the kind of guy who stops to admire the view."
"I can admire the view," Shinji argued. A snicker ran through the group of women. "I can," Shinji insisted. "I just prefer a difference kind of view." Mana saw him raise a pair of binoculars to his eyes.
"Is he in?" Asuka asked.
"Is who in?" Jen asked.
"He's in," Shinji said. "Show them my kind of view please." Mana turned and saw Asuka grinning as she clutched something in her hand. A tremor ran through the street and Mana spun back to look at the building. Flames shots out of all the windows on the first floor and the building began to sway. Mana saw Shinji and Asuka's target a moment before the building began to lean towards the partially reconstructed Eiffel Tower.
"Shit," she managed. The two building collided and Mana winched as several more explosions went off.
"Now that's a beautiful view," Shinji said. "What do you say Asuka?"
"Thank you so much!" Asuka said as she threw her arms around her sire. "That's the best Christmas present I ever got."
"Now let's get the hell out of this shit hole," Shinji said.
"Problem," Mana said, holding up one hand.
"What is it?" Shinji asked.
"Her," Mana said, jerking her thumb at Jen. The lone human of the group was staring at the scene of devastation with wide, unblinking eyes. Her mouth was also moving soundlessly.
"Eh," Shinji grunted. He picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. "She'll get over it."
(:::::::::::::ii::::::::::::::)
Jen stared at the airplane seat in front of her. "Are you sure she'll be okay?" she heard someone ask. It sounded like Mana.
"She'll be fine." That was Shinji's voice. She launched herself out of her seat and tacked the older man. Somehow she managed to catch him by surprise and knock him onto his back. "You've been hanging out with Asuka too much," Shinji commented as he looked up at her.
"Shinji," Jen began calmly, her hands clutching either side of his skull. "We're doing things my way next time."
"But. . ." Shinji was cut off as Jen lifted her skull and brought it crashing down on the plane's carpeted floor beneath him. "Okay. Just don't look outside." Jen leapt off the man and ran to a window. Below her she could see Paris burning. As they continued the ascend the fire became a very specific shape. It was a smiley face with a mile and a half diameter. She turned and stared at Shinji.
"Now those Frenchies have a smile they can be proud of!" Shinji declared, leaping to his feet and flashing her a victory sign. Then Jen did the only thing she could think of. She grabbed the case containing her rifle and brought all seven kilograms of bag, rifle, and ammo down on Shinji's skull.
-End
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-Author's notes. Yes I don't like people from France, but Canadians are cool. If you find this chapter's use of thoughtless violence offensive, then what the hell are you doing reading this story? I was originally planning on them hijacking an ICBM, but giant flaming smiley faces seemed more like Shinji's style. Oh and the song is Heaven by Opiate for the Masses. It's on the Galerians: Rion C.D. that I bought a few weeks ago and have yet to take out of my C.D. player. If you see if and are a fan of good music, then definitely pick it up.
