(posts chapter 16 up) Here you go! And once again, I'M SORRY FOR THE RANT!

Chapter 16 Battle! Motoko vs Barbara! Pt. 1 or Hold up at the arcade! Pt. 1

When Brandon woke up, he found himself in a room different than what he is accustomed to. Searching around, he finds a sword hilt with a note attached.

Hey, bro. Sorry to tell you, but your lightsaber is on the fritz (I think it's the focusing lens), and unfortunately I don't have parts available to me to make another one or to even repair it. So, I made something almost as good. Press the button with the "power" symbol to turn it on and off. As for the lightning bolt symbol on the other button, wait a while, 'cause I still need to do some more tests on it.

XD Peter

P.S. DON'T POINT IT TOWARD YOURSELF!

Brandon: Heh, leave it to Peter to give me a prototype.

Just then, he hears Shinobu shout from downstairs: Guys, dinner's ready!

Brandon checks his watch to see its 6:53. Stepping outside to check his surroundings, what with what has been happening the past two days, he feels a moderate breeze and stands in awe of the place Keitaro managed to get them. A gorgeous sunset with sapphire waters, a pearl white beach, and-

Brandon: Hey, they have a big mall over there…rrmmblle Gah, time to eat. I can enjoy nature later.

Downstairs…

Su and Sarah: Oooooh… (drooling at the mouth)

Ema: WOW! Shinobu-san, this looks great!

Shinobu: Haha. Yeah, I thought you all might be starving by now, so I went all out.

Laid out was a feast that would've been impossible to eat in one sitting. Of course, those who say that never met Su.

Su: GET IN ME BELLY!

She immediately grabs the entire chicken and in five seconds, before anyone could respond, had eaten most of it.

All: o.o

Shinobu: Auuuu! Su, that took me three hours to prepare!

Himeko: …and 15 seconds to eat…

May: Quick! Get what you want before she eats everything else!

Everyone grabs what they can get before Adara grabs what could be the biggest piece of ham you can legally get. And eats it all in four bites.

Peter: OO …holy crap…

Su (smirks): Hey, she is my cousin!

Brandon: Hey, what's fo- GAH!

Seeing the amount of food that was gone, Brandon started crying.

Brandon: (picking up the remains of the chicken) Alas, poor Horatio, I hardly knew him…

Mutsumi: Ara? Is that from a Steven Spielberg film?

Brandon, Peter, and May face fault.

Brandon: Nevermind, I'll take some potatoes, strawberries, and I'll take THIS- (swipes the four ounce tri-tip steak off of Peter's plate)

Peter: HEY! GIVE IT BACK!

Brandon: I'm…STARVING! (gives a demon-eye glare)

Peter: …eep…

Shinobu: (sweatdrops) Umm…so, what are we going to do tomorrow?

Kaoru: This brochure says that there's scuba diving, hiking, and I saw a mall really close to here.

Kanako: Shopping would be a good idea considering we have over a dozen people here.

Kitsune: Hey, they're advertising a virtual arcade!

Motoko: Hmm…I've seen those back in Japan.

Su (looking it over): Wow! This is world class, though! Sony worked with the Hawaiian government to make it a tourist attraction!

Ema: SONY? (gets sparkly-eyed)

Sarah: Great, mention video games around her and she drifts off.

Motoko: Well, I guess I could get some writing materials.

Su: BRANDON-SAN! TAKE ME WITH YOU TO THE ARCADE FOR A DATE!

All are shocked by this outburst.

Brandon: WHHAAAA!

Shinobu: AUUUUU! (gets swirly-eyed)

Motoko: NOOOO!

All are shocked again, by Motoko this time.

Peter: (crys bloody tears) meeeeh…Bran's got three girls crazy for him, and I only have one who likes me…

Himeko and Adara shift slightly at that moment, and correctly interpreting what the shifts meant (to a point), stare each other down.

Brandon: Gah, eh, I think (he stalls for a moment) instead of a date, you, Shinobu, me and…(he looks around) Kanako, go just for fun?

Kanako: Don't get me involved in your problems, Game Boy (slightly blushing, with no one noticing).

Brandon: Okay. Su, Shinobu. Does that sound okay?

Su: Sure!

Shinobu: Okay, then. That sounds great!

Motoko (thinking to herself): Why did I do that? Do I really like him? Oh, God. I feel beet red. (stands up and says) Excuse me…

May: o.o geez, and I don't even have a boyfriend yet.

The next day, everyone went their different ways. Brandon, Shinobu, Su, Peter, Himeko, Adara, and May went to the arcade; Kitsune, Mutsumi, and Kanako, went shopping for the timeshare; and Kaoru, Sarah, and Ema went with Motoko to get writing supplies and books.

May: Alright, meet with you all later!

Kaoru: (thinking to herself) I wish I could go with Brandon-sama…

Meanwhile, another group was watching from afar composed of three men and two women, all in pants and t-shirts.

#372: We've managed to catch up with them again. Okay, we split into two groups. Me, Harold, and Sharon (pointing to a mid-twenties man with black hair and an early-twenties woman with blond hair) will tail Miyamoto and the target. He'll be extremely difficult to deal with, so we're taking all the firepower. Barbara (he turns to a woman with blue hair and a shapely body), you and Kent take Aoyama. She has children with her, so she'll be trying to keep them out of danger. That'll distract her.

Barbara: Why should I go with Kent? He'll only get in my way.

Kent: You pompous dike! I'm just as good as you are!

Barbara: Really? We'll see, since Aoyama is as good as Miyamoto.

#372: Enough! You have your orders/

All: Yes sir.

At the mall…

Su (jumping up and down): Wow! This place is huge!

Dozens of stores line around them, ranging from clothing stores to toys to sporting goods.

Brandon: Motoko will find what she's looking for. How long it'll take is the question.

Behind them, #372 and his group skulk out of sight.

After about 30 minutes, Motoko finds a book store.

Kaoru: "Barnes & Noble"? What's this place have besides books?

Sarah: I know they have manga and magazines. Other than that, I dunno.

Motoko: Let's go. You all meet me at the front when you're done looking.

Ema: "Looking", nothing! We've got cash, and we're using it!

The three girls run off to where they are going, leaving Motoko next to the romance novels, whick caught her eye.

Motoko: (ponders)…I'll flip through some of them, just to get an idea of what to do…

An hour later…

Motoko, blushing and in dreamland, is tapped on the shoulder, and abruptly is brought back to reality.

: Excuse me, please.

Motoko: Oh, I'm sorry.

She sees a blue-haired woman with brown eyes scan the racks where Motoko was standing.

Motoko: So…you like romance novels too?

Barbara: Oh, yes. They're a great get away from the real world. The guys in there…sighs they're so perfect….

Motoko: Yes, I understand what you mean.

Barbara: It's too bad no guys are like that in real life…

Motoko merely nods.

Barbara eyes Motoko, looking her up and down, smirking: A cute girl like you;, you have to have a boyfriend. Do you?

Motoko: (shakes her head) No…well, there's someone I know that I'm interested in. But I'm not certain if he likes me as much as I like him.

Barbara: Well, I wonder if you might be open to other people. (she winks)

Motoko blushes heavily.

Kaoru: Motoko-san! We're ready to go!

Motoko: I-it was nice talking to you, I must be going!

Up at the front, someone screams, and Motoko rushes to give aid.

Ema: Let me go!

A man in graying hair about 40 had Ema's wrists in a death grip.

Motoko: Unhand her! (unsheathes her katana)

Kent: Crap!

He pulls out a handgun, sending people running. Suddenly, a wave of ki smacks into him from the side, making him crash into a window display.

Motoko: Who did that!

Walking out of the bookstore, Barbara, with a wicked looking scimitar, spits at Kent's motionless body.

Barbara: Rot in hell. That's what you get for hurting those kids. (she turns to Motoko, licks her lips, and winks) I'm here for you, sweetie.

Meanwhile, about 30 minutes before…

Peter: Geez! Finally we get in!

Shinobu: So, Brandon. What game is this exactly?

Su: It's a live RPG!

Brandon takes the role of a human Paladin, Shinobu a human healer, Su and Peter half elf/human Alchemists, Himeko a Vieran fighter, Adara an elven elementalist, and May…

May: …I'm a Moogle…

Half of the group was chuckling to themselves, while Su said: Relax! You're a bard!

May: ….But my race is a moogle, dammit!

Himeko: You think that's humiliating, look at me! I'm a Viera (bunny-girl)!

Peter: (thinking to himself)…Daymn! Himeko looks hot! I'm not into furries, but DAYMN!

Adara: …There's a monster….!

They go through a simulated forest, killing monsters until they reach an opening.

Shinobu: Good, we're almost out of here.

Su: Careful, Shinomu. This is about the time a boss shows up…

Suddenly the lights go out, and a bullet hits the wall next to Brandon.

Brandon: Get down!

Everyone ducks for cover behind barriers and walls.

Peter: Shit! They've found us!

Shinobu: Who's found us!

The lights come back on to show three people in urban warfare gear with pistols and semi-automatic rifles equipped.

Brandon pulls out the hilt that Peter gave to him, presses the "on" button, and a metallic blade pops out about a meter and a third long.

Brandon: Sweetness…

Peter throws similar hilts to Shinobu and Himeko, while him and Su pull out pistols of their own.

Peter: Sis, Adara, you two stay hidden.

Brandon: Alright. Himeko, Shinobu. You've gotten training from me and Motoko. We should be ready for anything they throw at us. Let's rock!

Fanservice, action, humor, and plenty more are to come next chapter. And now we have a love triangle (Peter, Adara, and Himeko) and a love quadrangle (Brandon, Shinobu, Su, and Motoko)! Daymn! Lol Anyways keep reading! Be sure to review!