Disclaimer: I do not own Rumble Roses or it's characters. (This chapter got me stuck a loooooooooooooooooooooooonnng while ago TT_TT AND it's kinda filler that advances the plot... but has no action, so... sorry folks) Anyway, R+R. Enjoy

Chapter Eight: Unprecedented Findings

The following takes place between 12:00AM Monday and 12:00AM Thursday.

"Son… of… a… bitch…" was all that Ian could say when Anesthesia showed him her secret base and what he was to be working on. She had dropped him off at a hanger at an undisclosed location on Monday and had promised to pick him up before Thursday. The only positive was that he was able to bring whatever personal tools he required. Working nonstop over the course of three days, Ian was able to make substantial progress. After putting the finishing touches on his customized Lady X, Ian stood back and admired his work. "Bone chilling isn't it," he said referring to the diabolical weapons he was fixing up. He looked at his watch which read "10:38pm" and sighed, "She should be here any time now…"

The sigh was both for relief and disappointment all at once. Up to this point he was able to fix up both Lady X Subsistence and the new version of Lady X that he had promised Anesthesia. However, the doctor had upped the ante, if he could fix all three models of Lady X, then she would forever be in his debt. However, after he finished those two, Ian realized that this task was impossible. "This wouldn't have even been a problem if Yasha and Noble Rose didn't screw around so many times with the inner mechanisms and if Anesthesia didn't keep making it go up against the Roses while it was half baked…" He shook his head, and then closed his eyes. "You know, if you're gonna follow me, don't trail me so close… It gives me the chills."

Swiftly and suddenly, Yasha appeared before Ian in a cloud of smoke. Before the smoke disappeared, she said, "I thought that your plight was one for justice." She fell into her stance. "But I see that you just wanted me off your trail. If you continue your ways… I'll kill you!"

"Son of a… Then the second one… well the second one is actually in pretty good shape. Just needs to have a different type of energy supply… Ah that's where she stored the negative energy. However, this one like totally needs a total revamping otherwise-"

"Are you mocking me?" The kunoichi was glaring so viscously at Ian that a normal man would swear he was being set on fire by her stare… in a bad way. "Seems like you have become another one of her-"

"Would you be quiet Yasha? Gosh, I thought if I let you trail me here, you'd be a little more appreciative… but I was wrong." Ian finally looked at Yasha but had an annoyed look on his face. "Listen," he said quietly. "I'm one of the good guys, but to foil Doctor Cutter's plans, it is best to know beforehand what her strategy will be, and to be able to then stop her when she can do nothing about it. That way, she'll be completely vulnerable and susceptible to both you and Noble Rose."

"What do you mean?" Yasha asked in an unsure fashion.

"Think of it like this, while it is true that I'll be backing Anesthesia a hundred percent, I'll also be plotting to stop that nurse's plans once and for all." Ian could tell that Yasha was not buying his explanation. "It'll be a sabotage of sorts. She'll never-"

"This plan of yours is doomed to fail," Yasha said coolly. "Both Noble Rose and I have both sabotaged numerous incarnations of Lady X, and still that bitch walks around here like nothing's wrong. You have no chance to—what are you doing?" Yasha watched as Ian continued to work on the Lady Xs as though this conversation was not occurring. She forced the red haired male to face her and grabbed him by the collar. "Who is your allegiance with? That evil doctor or justice?"

Ian pushed her off of him and went back to work. After a few moments went by he said, "Neither."

"Then who sent you? The government? No…" Yasha remembered the hand signs Ian had used in that UFA match she saw him participate in, and she changed her approach. "Which clan are you from? Who's your target? What's your goal?"

"Anesthesia's returning. I normally wouldn't ask this of you but," he stared at Yasha in a pleadingly way. "Please leave. I need to keep up my cover."

The kunoichi said nothing, and continued to stare at Ian. "I don't want to leave such a task in the hands of an unknown… But what if he succeeds…" Before Yasha could make up her mind, she had it made up for her as she heard footsteps from outside thehanger doors. Not wanting her presence here to be known by another soul, Yasha disappeared in a cloud a smoke.

Swiftly, before the doors were opened, Ian banged up on Lady X Substance and positioned her exactly where the smoke originated from. Then, as soon as he heard the doors open, Ian yelled out, "Damn it all! This piece of crap!" He hit Substance again out of 'frustration'.

"My my Ian, having a bit of trouble are we?" mocked Anesthesia.

Ian turned his head toward the nurse, who was wearing a black overcoat over her nurse's uniform, and saw that she was accompanied by the newcomer Colin Fuduke. At first glance Ian didn't notice anything; however, looking back and forth between the two of them Ian saw that something was wrong. "Is Colin being controlled?" "Well yeah," Ian said responding to the Latina. He turned his head back toward Lady X Substance. "I've got my new Lady X up and running, and Lady X Subsistence is good to go too…"

"What's the holdup then," Colin badgered. He looked at Anesthesia to see if he was out of line and her eyes gave him the green. "You had a dead line, and we're here to collect! Maybe the Dark Nightingale put too much faith in-"

"You said that two out of the three were done correct?" Anesthesia interrupted.

"Yes… I did." Ian turned his head toward the duo again and was met by a fierce look in the eyes of Anesthesia. Was it a mixture of anger and doubt? Or was it something else…

"Then show me. Show me the fruits of your labor." Ian nodded and began to head toward Subsistence when the Latina cleared her throat. "I know how Lady X Subsistence is supposed to function, my dear. Show me this new Lady X."

Sighing, Ian went to his left and stood beside a table that had what resembled a woman on it. He called them over to it and said, "This… this is it." On the table was what seemed to be a sleeping woman of Japanese descent that looked somewhat like a mature Reiko Hinomoto. She had blonde hair that stopped at her shoulders, and a toned, but not excessively, muscular body. Her skin was smooth and very pale. The woman had rosy cheeks, full red lips, and arched eyebrows. Ian had outfitted her in a sleeveless formfitting black leotard that showed off some cleavage and had the word 'Kamikaze' in white going down the sides, black boots with white laces, and black fingerless gloves. Pleased with himself, Ian commented that, "Her attire is based off of what Kamikaze Rose wore in one of her earlier matches when she just started off. And the hair is exactly like human hair, except that you… well whoever she identifies as being her 'master', can modify it verbally. The real challenge was trying to get the skin-"

"This is it?" Anesthesia and Colin dryly said at the same time.

Ian looked at the two of them, standing across the table from him, with a shocked expression on his face. "'This is it?' you ask? 'This is it?'" He shook his head in disappointment. "Do you know what this is? This is an exact replica of the REAL Kamikaze Rose. This isn't a lookalike. Not only does she have the exact same specs that the real Kamikaze Rose had, but she's the closest thing to human that one could create in this day in age. If I must say, she's excellence incarnate!" Ian stuffed his chest out proudly and waited for some appreciation but that's not what he received.

"I need a weapon, not a wrestler you idiot!" Anesthesia attempted to slap him, but Ian backed away just in time. "I want world domination! This Rumble Roses organization means nothing to me!"

"You pea-brained fool," shouted Colin. "You've wasted our time and resources! My lady, please let me put him out of his-"

"Calm down, calm down," Ian said assuringly. "I know that on the surface, you want a weapon capable of flooring nations overnight and I assure you that she's fully capable of doing so." He opened the woman's eyelids and looked into her brown eyes. "However, your methodology is wrong."

"More insults your cur?" Colin was fuming. He wanted to jump over the table and tear Ian limb from limb but a gesture from Anesthesia halted his actions. "M-my lady! You're going to indulge his ignorance? You're going to listen to his garbage?"

Anesthesia gestured again and Colin was quieted. "You say that my method of attack is wrong," the Latina replied.

"Yes. In fact, you could have taken over the world numerous times by now IF…" Ian intentionally paused. He had laid the bait and Anesthesia was going to bite. It was just a matter of time.

"'If' what?" barked Colin.

"Shut your 'dog' up, nurse," Ian said arrogantly. "This is a manner for people. DOGs should mind their place."

"Why you!"

"Silence, Colin." Immediately the blonde haired male's demeanor changed. He stood emotionless and still like a statue next to his master. Meanwhile, the Latina looked Ian up and down examining whether or not he would be of any use to her. "I can't tell if he's bluffing. Maybe he has some information that has slipped past me…" "Do tell, what didn't I do mister Uzuki?"

"Bingo!" "You tried to use pure corruption to take over the world. Don't you see a flaw in that?"

"Not at all," snapped the nurse.

Ian sighed. "Well that's a problem. There was always two things missing." He stuck up two fingers with his right hand. "Two things that your Lady Xs couldn't command, and they were fear and respect."

"Fear and… respect?" repeated Anesthesia.

"Yes," Ian confirmed. "Without these two things, there's no way that you or your Lady Xs will control anything except your imaginations." There was a moment of silence before Anesthesia burst into laughter. "You think I'm kidding?" Ian asked as he got red in the face. The nurse's sudden laughter was a condescending way to say "that was bullshit". However Ian wasn't about to be discouraged. "Okay fine. So tell me, what the best aspect that your Lady Xs have going for them?"

After taking a minute to compose herself, the nurse said through breaths, "It's… her unrelenting… power of course…"

Ian nodded. "I will admit that Lady X's original presence was somewhat intimidating, but since then it hasn't nearly commanded the same type of indomitable feeling. I would even go as far to say that that whole show of strength you made the original go on when she dismantled each and every Rose on the roster, all that did was give the Roses the determination to win. You knocked them down, but they continued to get up."

"So what are you trying to say?" Anesthesia argued. "My Lady X wasn't string enough to take down those brats twice?"

Hearing the tone of anger in the Latina's voice, Ian toned down his approach a bit. "Not exactly," he started. "It's more like… with each passing fight, they realized that your machine was less and less infallible, right up to the point where Reiko and Noble Rose finally destroyed the initial one."

Anesthesia looked down at Ian's Lady X and began to think. "So…" She thoroughly examined the surface of the woman and was impressed by the likeness to the real Kamikaze Rose. She felt its skin and to be expected it was cold; however, it still felt lifelike. The nurse looked up at the red haired mechanic with a mixed expression on her face. "What… can it do?"

"Finally!" "Like I promised she's able to collect tons of data as she fights, and is currently up to par with the abilities of your present Lady Xs." A smile appeared on Ian's face. "However, she's more lifelike in design, so she can't do the whole 360 torso twist antics that Substance and Subsistence can do. But she can talk."

"Talk! How? Why would I every want a weapon that can talk?" Anesthesia asked. She was astonished that someone would even conceive that a weapon should be able to talk.

"It's to gain respect," Ian said proudly. "The original Kamikaze Rose, though not quite as verbal on the mic as other Roses were in her time, was very verbal in the backstage areas. She talked about her kids, gave out tips and pointers, gave encouragement, and helped disciplined the newer Roses."

"What does that have to do with ME conquering the world?" The wicked nurse inquired.

"As much as all the Roses knew that Kamikaze Rose was a friendly person to be around," Ian continued just as though he was reading from a script. "They also knew that once the bell rang, they had almost no chance of beating her. Kamikaze Rose changed into a graceful monster that looked restrained as she wrestled. Looking back… I don't envy any of the Roses that went toe-to-toe with her…"

"I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, but I'll have to keep a close eye on him" "Hmmm, I get where you're going," said the nurse, seemingly coming around to what Ian was saying. "So, start her up! I want to see what makes her tick."

"No probl-" Ian cut himself short after seeing the crazed look in Anesthesia's eyes. "N-no problem." He looked at the being on the table and closed her eyelids. Ian then took a few steps back and after Anesthesia and Colin followed suit, he said, "Initiate Project: Rising."

Instantly the woman's eyelids snapped open and she rigidly got from off of the table and stood to the right of Ian. Then in monotone voice she said, "Initiating Boot Up Sequence… Boot Up Sequence Complete… Initiating All Primary Functions… Initiating All Secondary Functions…" Suddenly color rushed into the woman's skin and she truly looked like the legendary Kamikaze Rose. Five seconds later, she said in a familiar voice, "All Functions Up And Running… Switching To Human Mode…" The tension from woman's 'muscles' and joints eased up, and in the next moment she stood upright like a normal human being.

"Well I'll be," Anesthesia gawked. She circled around the machine a couple of times and noticed that it was indeed inseparable from human. "What's your name, machine?"

"I am Project: Rising, also known as "The Integral Gear" Lady X Rising," the machine said. The inflections and pitches that would be in a human's voice were present in her speech now.

"I must admit, though it is a horrendous thought, you flawlessly gave this weapon the ability to speak," praised the nurse. "And that voice, it's exactly like Kamikaze Rose's! How were you able to-"

"Can't give away all my secrets," he looked at Lady X Rising and smiled. "Anyway, can't we call her something else? You know to differentiate her from all the other Lady Xs?"

"What do you have in mind?" Anesthesia was taken with the machine. All that she needed to see was whether or not it could perform like Ian promised. A name was a trifle thing at this point.

"Well, Kamikaze literally translates into divine wind right? So let's call her Divine Rose," Ian asked. His plan was to get everyone to dissociate this new Lady X with Anesthesia. That way, she wouldn't immediately be called out or targeted by the Roses or any other outside forces. "And, I didn't give her that tattoo that's become your signature. That's okay right?"

The nurse thought a bit about this before finally walking toward the door she came in from. After taking a few steps she said, "It's fine. Now pack all your stuff up into the back of the truck outside and let's get a move on. Come along, Colin." With that the two of them exited the hanger and left Ian alone with Divine Rose.

Ian waited about a half minute before letting out a huge sigh of relief. Smiling, he looked at Divine Rose and said, "Phew… looks like phase one is complete!" He patted her on the shoulder and said, "Well now how about we make our way to Kamikaze Madness?" A smirk appeared on Divine Rose's face, and the two of them began to set the next part of Ian's plan into motion.

The following takes place between 7:00 PM Friday and 8:00 PM Friday

With a little over twenty-four hours before the Bleeding Thorns pay-per-view, Clive Richards assembled the entire into his hotel room. Though each of them seemed preoccupied with their own affairs, there were some things that Clive needed to clear up. Once they all gathered, Clive cleared his throat to get them to quiet down. "Listen," he finally said to them all. "I know you all are trying to prepare for the upcoming pay-per-view, however there are some things that we need to cover." He looked at each of them and saw that they each had a look of determination in their eyes. "Now as you all know," he continued. "Reiko and Aigle will be in the main event for the Roses of Roses Championship." A few disapproving murmurs began. "And also, Michiro will face Miss Spencer in the Finals of the Rumbling Roses tournament." More disappointing murmurs began. "However, there are three more matches I've got planned for tomorrow." The room fell silent, causing Clive to grin. "The first is for the vacant Tag Team Titles. I've been thinking on this since I stripped The Balance Of Terror of the belts and I've decided to randomly select the two teams who will face off for the titles and it can be anyone."

"Wait just a second Mr. Richards," interrupted Miss Spencer. "Now I understand that you want to shake up Rumble Roses, however is this just a bit nonsensical? Two random teams to face off? It will not make a bit of sense to the fans."

"It's completely sensible Muriel," Clive replied. "I thought to just have the two teams who were ranked number one and two contenders for the Tag Team Titles go at it. However, I ran into a snag. The number one contenders is the team of Tequila Sunrise-"

"No can do, I already have to defend my championship," Reiko interrupted. "I'm not going to jeopardize one championship for another!"

"I understand that," Clive responded firmly. "However, if I were to continue, the number two contender team is surprisingly G. B. S. P., but I ran into the same situation."

"So you'll randomly decide in order to give everyone a fair shot," asked Ayake.

"Exactly, which brings me to the main reason I'm here," Clive said definitely. "As we all know, Rumble Roses used to be an all female wrestling organization. That is, until the addition of Colin and Ian. Now, since this was originally the women's show I must ask, how do you feel about taking on male competitors other than Sebastian?"

"Aigle has no problem," said the Nomad instantly. "Aigle take men down just the same as women."

"We might be called Roses, but we're not fragile and delicate shug," Dixie chimed in. "We're top tier wrestlers and if you boys thing you can keep up—"

"Then we'll tear you down!" said Makoto and Candy Cane simultaneously.

"That's good to hear," Clive said. "And here I thought that they'd be completely against the idea." 'Well if that's the case, I need an opponent for Ian in his debut match toni—"

"I shall partake in the match," interrupted Yasha. She looked over at the red haired male and their eyes met. "I shall cast judgment upon him…"

"Great!" Things were running smoother than Clive had imagined. "Now then, all that is left is—"

"Hey GM, is my Kamikaze Madness Match sanctioned," asked Aisha somewhat rudely.

"Ah, so it was you that Rikku was talking about," Clive responded. "Yes, of course! But if you get picked in the lottery, then don't be upset with me." Aisha nodded the coolly looked at Rikku. "Anyway, the last match concerns Colin so the rest of you may be excused." And with that everyone went off to prepare themselves for tomorrow's pay-per-view.