A/N: okay, first, I know this is a longer chapter. I had a lot to say, and had to really move the story. now, I did skip a few parts and change a efw things from the anime. this is because I can, I am the writer. I did try to keep the characters as close as possible. now, it will seem that I am focusing on the OC, but that is part of the story.
And for those of you who laugh during this story, good job.
*Disclaimer: I do not Halo or Witchblade*
Undisclosed location, open-water
Masane and Takayama sat in front of each other, Takayama finally awakening from his nap. He was sipping from a bottle of water, Masane holding a glass of orange juice.
"Where are we?" Masane asked, initiating the conversation.
"Out at sea. We had to get you away from the Cloneblades, and this was the fastest way. Agent Salcito was not pleased to say the least, but he is willing to let this go considering we did get you fixed up," Director Takayama said.
"Yeah, I got that when we talked briefly," Masane agreed.
"I'm sure. He was very adamant that he be the first one to speak with you, considering he's supposed to be protecting you. I can understand his side, but you are also a part of Douji. We also have a responsibility to keep you alive," Director Takayama said. "He does care about your health, even though it is in a professional manner."
"I think I got that. You could have left me clothed for the talk with him, you know," Masane said.
"Did he object?"
"Well, no. In fact, he didn't seem to care if I was clothed. It was like he doesn't look at women that way," Masane reflected.
"We thought the same thing, so I did some digging. I found that the U.N. actually doesn't have the security level he said they did; only he has it. But we only found the basic information on him and a few censured documents. I printed them out for you to see," Takayama said, placing some pieces of paper on the table.
Masane picked them up and started to read them and quickly found a major discrepancy on them.
"Most of this is just black lines with a few scattered words," Masane said, placing the sheets on the table.
"I know. This document is labeled 'Recruitment' online. All of the sheets are like this, and the only words able to be found are 'Officer Smith', which is a fake, 'Salcito', and the acronym 'U.N.S.C', and handfuls of common used words thrown around," Takayama informed, taking a sip from his water. "Nothing else can be found on this guy by our research department."
"There is definitely something weird about this, and I don't like it," Masane said.
"Same here, but there is nothing we can do. He has the proper clearance, and when I contacted the U.N. they told me to listen to Agent Salcito. I can't do anything about him, but you can. You are technically his client, so he has to listen to you with certain things," Takayama said.
"Really, so I can order him around?" Masane asked.
"Maybe, but I don't know for certain. You'll have to see how far you can push the envelope, but be careful because he can push back," Takayama suggested, dropping the topic. "Now to get to those who attacked you last night. They work for NSWF; they use what's called a Cloneblade. It's essentially a replica of the Witchblade that you bear, but not as powerful. They are still a foe you should not underestimate, as they are still very strong and each can have their own weapon."
"If they're so powerful, how was the U.N. creep able to escape?" Masane asked.
"He threw one of them into the ground from about eight stories up," Takayama said matter-of-factly.
"Wait, what do you mean 'threw' one in the ground?"
"He used some type of a rocket boost and slammed the Cloneblade that was fighting you into the ground, creating a massive crater. She was alive, is just barely. The strength he has is unlike anything else, and the technology just blows anything we have out of the water. And if that was him holding back, I don't think even the Witchblade at full power could take him down," Takayama said, allowing the information to settle.
"I guess that I have something to thank him for, then," Masane said, still trying to process the information. Just then, a deck hand came into the cabin.
"Director Takayama, we have movement. It appears to be a Cloneblade," the deck hand said.
"Then get ready, we are not losing the Witchblade."
NSWF Computer log
Subject: unknown combatant
Incident: attempted capture of Witchblade
Subject report: Subject is male, as body figure was factor along with tone of voice. Subject was wearing an advanced armor system, one that is unidentifiable. Subject had strength that was beyond that of any human, and reflexes surpassed those of any Cloneblade subject. Weapons choose suggests military background, either Russia or America, unable to identify which.
Incident Report: Subject severely injured Cloneblade Shiori. Shiori was thrown into the air and the subject flew up and slammed her into the ground. Subject landed and placed a warning, signifying itself as the protector of the Witchblade. Unable to identify if subject if Douji or external. If external, then the situation might escalade. Unable to determine with current data.
Extra Notes: recommend that if any Cloneblade finds herself in combat with Subject, they are to retreat and not engage. If retreat is not an option, then extreme measures are allowed. Subject can also turn invisible.
End Report
Salcito waited at the docks Takayama said the boat would be docking at, his gaze directed at the water. He was in a new trench coat, this one seeming cheaper than the other one. Rihoko was unable to control her excitement for her mother returning.
"Mr. Salcito, when is my mom going to be here?" Rihoko asked for the tenth time.
"In about ten minutes, if Director Takayama is able to keep to the time schedule," Salcito said, keeping his voice calm. He pulled out his cigar and lit it, puffing on it. "Don't worry, she'll be here."
"Okay, I trust Mr. Takayama to get her here safe," Rihoko said, determination on her face. "Mr. Salcito, do you have a first name?"
Salcito was taken aback by the unexpected question, unable to answer her quickly. He snapped himself out of the lock and looked at her, confusion in his face.
"I only have the name you know, Salcito. I might have had one at another point, but I don't remember it," Salcito said.
"Why don't you remember it?" Rihoko asked.
"Because I have only been called by Salcito-148 for most of my life," Salcito said.
"Who named you that?" she asked.
"Classified," Salcito answered, turning back to look at the water. He didn't have his armor on, but he could still make out the boat moving towards the shore.
He knew Rihoko couldn't see the vessel yet, but he did keep his cigar lit. He looked at Rihoko out of his peripheral vision and saw she had a small trickle of sweat fall down her face. He went to the front of his car and opened the hood, revealing a cooler. He pulled out a water bottle and Miller Lite, passing the water to Rihoko.
"Here, it's hot outside," Salcito said, opening the beer and taking a drink from it.
"You shouldn't be drinking if you need to drive us home," Rihoko said.
"We'll be fine, considering I can drink twice what your mother does and still remain sober enough to drive," Salcito said, laughing at that fact. "Talking about your mother, if you look out there you should be able to see her boat."
Rihoko didn't wait and ran forward, standing as close to the water as possible. A car drove up and stopped, a woman getting out of the vehicle. She had long hair and was wearing business style clothing. She walking up to the U.N. Agent and stood next to him.
"Nice to see you again," Salcito said, instantly recognizing her from the fight. She looked up at him in surprise and her blade started to glow. "I'm not here to fight you, and I don't think you want me to fight you. I'm just here to pick up Masane."
"And why should I believe you?" the woman asked.
"Because, I know you work for NSWF and that your name is Reina Soho. If I had wanted to kill you, I would have already," Salcito answered to the shocked Reina, taking a sip from his drink.
"How do you know that much?" Reina asked, her not even being able to find anything on him.
"Google, what else?" Salcito joked at her. "I will tell you, NSWF has some pretty good security measures. For children, not really against me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a package to pick up."
He started to walk down to the lower level before turning around.
"Oh, one more thing; I changed the name of your company to NSFW, just to see if people notice," Salcito said, turning and continuing down the steps.
Reina had no idea what to say, and just stood on the docks with a look as shocked disbelief as the trio left for their home.
Apartment/Café: hours before
The residents of the apartments all sat in the café part, the window blinds down and the place locked for the night. Tazawa and Cho stood in front of everyone, making sure they had everybody.
"Okay, I'm sure you're all wondering why we are having this meeting," Tazawa started.
"Damn right, you made me close shop for the day, so this better be worth it," Mariko said.
"It is. Now, yesterday when me and Cho were looking for a boat that Masane was on, the watch dog closed what we were doing. He placed a symbol on Cho's computer and told us not to look up anything on the boat, so we looked up this symbol," Tazawa said, passing around a print out of the UNSC symbol.
"So I checked with a few of my friends. Took some digging, but we were able to find some pictures from a crash site in Russia," Cho said, passing around some pictures he got from the internet.
The image was of a massive, jagged piece of metal with the letters UNSC on the side. The date on the picture was only a few years ago, compelling the others to really start to pay attention. Tazawa got back to the front to keep talking.
"We also found a report made by the Russians that was not destroyed or tampered with. Unfortunately we were unable to print it, for the document started to delete itself after we read it a few times," Tazawa explained, confusing the occupants.
"What do you mean, 'delete itself?'" Mariko asked.
"We think it was that U.N Agent guy trying to hide something. But, Cho and I read it enough times that we can accurately recite it to you all," Tazawa answered.
"That's right, and you all will be very surprised at what you hear," Cho said.
"The document said…"
Russian Research Report
Project открытие
Findings: The inside of the vessel was massive, large enough to hold an entire city population. The weapon supply on board was for an army of a small nation, and the vehicle count was high as well. The bodies on board have been found to have suffocated, and doors had to be forced open to find some. Ice crystals have been found, indicating the inside of the vessel was exposed to the cold of space.
The only power found was being used to keep what appeared to be cryo-stasis pods working. Only three pods were operational, pods have been taken to see if they could be opened. Occupants appeared to be human, but cannot be confirmed at moment.
Unable to find a computer storage room to find the records of the vessel, search has been slow because evidence suggests that part of the vessel if missing. This is a perplexing thought, because if a vessel of this size crashed and was damaged, then something bigger would have had to engage this vessel in combat. If the winner of the battle was to visit Earth today, what would they want?
Additive notes: The United Nations is taking control of the investigation, all photographs and documents have been seized. Threats of life imprisonments have been delivered to anyone who reveals what they had seen.
Head Researcher In charge: Doctor Igorek, Doctor Igorek
End Report
The café was silent as they thought this over, and then all thoughts went to that fact that he was with little Rihoko and Masane alone. They all decided that when he got there, Salcito would not be living in Japan any longer.
A/N: hope you enjoyed. also, I wont be updating for a while. the rest of this month and the first half of the next will be focused on one story, then the same thing for a different story. after that, I will then do something for this story. and this pattern will continue, I hope. please review. Also, I hope you all like the change I did to the cover page. I love photoshop