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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters here that belong to Ranma 1/2. The Ranma 1/2 cast belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. Nor do I own Suikoden 3 or any other characters that I put into this story except for my own OCs. Neither do I own any of the characters in any of the crossovers I do. I'm just using them in this fanfiction and I have no money so don't bother suing me. You'll just lose money instead of gaining any.
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Somewhere in Japan, Honky Tonk Café –
"So why are they here again?"
Blue eyes gazed out from behind a small pair of sunglasses as the Master of the Jagan assessed the people gathered in the small café. Ban Midou frowned as he waited for an answer to his question. With the Jagan's ability an ability which allows him to fabricate dreams with only eye contact on an opponent and his Snakebite attack a powerful grip which utilizes his 200+ kg of gripping force, he was considered one of the premier Recovery agents in Japan. The 'Get Backers' were reputed to recover any item that they were sent after. He has blue eyes thanks to the German blood in him, has spiky brown hair. He's wearing his usually outfit of a white shirt and black pants. Dark brown bangs fell over his eyes as he shifted to look at his current partner.
Ginji Amano, once known as the legendary 'Lightning Emperor' of the 'Limitless Fortress', was currently engaged in stuffing his face with a pizza provided by the waitress Mizuki. His body can create electrical impulses that can be multiplied into millions of volts worth of energy. With Ban gauging the competition, the blonde boy was wasting no time with idle observations. Eating was never a sure thing when his partner was nearby, especially when there was pizza to be had. His brown eyes smiled his thanks to the girl behind the counter as he paused, catching Ban's gaze. He straightened up, careful not to drip pizza sauce all over himself; it wouldn't do to have red stains on his green vest, after all. Not for this meeting.
Heavn brushed back a strand of blonde hair as she accepted a cup of coffee from Wan Pore, the owner of the café. She waited until he returned to his newspaper before replying to Ban's question. "I have a big job on the line and I needed the best team that I could get." She frowned when Ban arched an eyebrow at her. "No offense Ban, I know that you and Ginji have handled several tough assignments, but this one seems like it'll require more than just a strong arm and a shock to get through."
Ban grimaced and let his gaze travel away from Heavn's ample chest and back to the people waiting quietly opposite him. Himiko grinned at him, her clothes form-fitting as usual over her slender tan body. Ban's girlfriend worked as a Transporter under the name 'Lady Poison'. Her use of poison perfumes had both helped and hindered the 'Get Backers' on occasion, depending on which side of the job Himiko had been on. Beside her sat Kasuki, his long hair and loose white shirt almost a trademark of the thread master. His threads were capable of both offense and defense, with a few other tricks to annoy people. He keeps them all in a small round bell. Beast Master Shido leaned against the counter further in, his spiky black hair held in check by a yellow bandana. He can controls animals by whistling. Both Shido and Kasuki were former leaders of the Volts gang inside of the limitless fortress who had decided to live in the outside world.
Ban's eyes narrowed. It seems that the gang was all here.
A few months ago, they, along with a man known as Doctor Jackal went into the Limitless Fortress to stop Makubex from using the IL to destroy the Fortress with an Atomic Blast. They had to battle through the fortress against super human fighters. But in the end they all managed to get through it.
"What death trap are you putting us in now?" Ban asked.
"Well at least Doctor Jackal isn't here," Ginji muttered to himself.
"So what kind of job is it?" Kasuki inquired of Heavn.
"Well, we should know soon. I was told that the job information would arrive after you all got here." Heavn sipped her coffee slowly, ignoring Ban's insinuation.
"Great. I hope that it isn't like our last job," Ban groused.
"Well it could be worse, we could have been in Shibuya when Neclord was there," Himiko said pointedly.
"Yeah, from what the animals there told me, Neclord would have use people like us in creating monsters," Shido closed his eyes, refusing to look at the others.
"Yeah, with our abilities he would have sent those super powered enforcers after us," Kasuki said.
"They wouldn't be able to beat us," Ban said.
"Yeah, but that guy Faceless, you know, the one that fought Ranma; how would have you beaten him?" Heavn inquired of the Jagan master. Himiko nodded once, blue hair waving with the motion. "It's not like the Jagan would have work on him since he doesn't have eyes for you to lock onto."
"And you saw how fast he was going when he fought with Ranma. He's not the type that would let you get a hold of him with your Snake Bite." Kasuki put in.
"He's well above your fighting skill, that's for sure. And does the Jagan work on Vampires?" Shido cracked open his eyes to catch a glimpse of Ban's irritation.
"What? You think I wouldn't be able to handle those monsters that Ranma and his team fought!" Ban shouted. He growled as everyone started looking everywhere but at him.
"Well, have you heard the latest on the new superhero Ion? For a young girl like that, she's doing a great job at cleaning up her city." Mizuki said, "Hey Ginji, you have kind of the same powers, why can't you fly on a metal disk?"
"Well… I..." Ginji began.
"Because he can't maintain that kind of power for long," Ban said, flatly.
"Hey! It's not like I have the high tech equipment that she has to help her," the blonde boy protested.
"Or those arm bands that make you stronger like that baseball-toting superhero freak has in that other city," Heavn said.
"At least they're not into your business or you all would be out of the job," Wan Pore said. His words were met by sighs and glares, though no one argued the point.
The door to the café open and a man wearing a black suit and holding a leather-bond briefcase handcuffed to him came walking in. "Would you the owner and your waitress go out till this is over," the man said. Wan Pore and Mizuki nodded and turned the open sign to close, locking the door behind them as they exited the café.
"You are Heavn right?" the man stated, glancing at the blonde woman.
"Yes, I am. Are you the contact?" Heavn asks.
"Yes." Opening the case, he revealed a speaker inside of it.
"Hello," the voice coming out of the speaker was neutral, with no masculine or feminine properties. "I have a job for you that must be kept secret. There is a low survival rate, so anyone that does not want to take the job should leave now."
"How dangerous is it?" Ginji wondered aloud.
"It's much more dangerous then the Limitless Fortress," the voice said. All of their eyes widened at that.
"So you're part of the government then," Ban remarked, "and it's a job that you can't send your own people in or it could turn out to be another scandal like Ranma's parents. With what his Grandfather said about his true feelings about Japan, I can understand that."
After what Ranma's Great-grandfather Doctor Jones said in that interview, quite a few young people have been coming out of the woodwork stating that their families are doing the same things to them that Ranma's parents did to him, by taking away their choice of what they want to be away from them or by forcing them to fulfill family honor. Kaoru Hanabishi who had met Ranma before the raid on Neclord's home base, and now spoke out publicly on what his grandfather had done to him. He's been getting a lot of support since the unspoken policy of 'keeping things in the family' about abuse is changing. Doctor Jones' public refusal to allow his grandson to return to an abusive lifestyle in Japan left an unsavory image of Japanese family values before the world, an image that the government is striving desperately to clear away.
"Yes, is there anyone that wants to leave?" the voice asked.
"No, we're fine." Kasuki replied.
"Good. We need you to recover something in the United States," the voice said, "Tickets have already been reserved to fly you to the target."
"An overseas trip, it's been awhile…" Himiko mused.
"We need you to recover a file that was acquired by Doctor Jones. Get it from his home at any cost," the voice said.
"Wait… you want us to get a file that Doctor Jones has in his home. The 'Doctor Jones' who's grandson Ranma will hunt us down if we hurt his grandfather? The same guy who has a whole team of demon hunters trained to fight against super strong monsters? And is being closely guarded by that Dark Hat guy who killed over two dozen heavily armed men in less then a minute, and then somehow got from Doctor Jones' home all the way to New York City to kill the arms dealers that sent those men in the first place?" Ginji's voice was flat.
"We'll see you later," Heavn said as she and the others made their way to the front door. "You'll have to get someone else to do that job."
"Want to go and see a movie?" Kasuki asked Himiko.
"Sure, I'm game." Himiko replied. The transporter knew what jobs she could do and what she couldn't.
"Your payment will be five million!" the voice from the speaker said.
"Five million yen, big deal," Ban said as five million yen was a big number but not enough for that kind of job.
"Five million in, United States dollars." the voice said firmly, causing the group to walk back to their previous seats. "You are free to do whatever you wish after you return the item to the drop off point."
"Yeah, but how do we get past Dark Hat?" Ginji was frowning now. "I mean, if that guy wanted to, he could easily reach the top level of the 'Limitless Fortress' in less then a day."
"Yes, the kind of aura that surrounds him isn't something to take lightly." Kasuki played idly with a strand of hair.
"Why don't you try sending Doctor Jackal after it?" Himiko suggested, "Its right up his alley."
"We already tried that," the speaker confessed, "He failed to retrieve it, and Dark Hat now knows that we're after it now."
"You mean he talked?" Shido's eyebrows rose infinitesimally.
"When we recovered him he had over ninety percent of his bones broken," the voice said, "A strange thing was that he was happy of being beaten."
"Well he always wanted to see what his full potential in battle was, I guess he found it fighting with Dark Hat," Ginji said as that was the reason Jackal was always trying to kill him was to bring out that potential.
"Get someone else then." Ban said as he and the others made their way to the door again.
"Dark Hat's reason appears to have been the fact that Jackal tried to force Jones to tell him where the item was. That was when Dark Hat stepped in," the voice seemed to stress the last sentence, "It seems that he only appears when Jones is in danger. And it seemed that Jackal knew this and only tried to force Jones so that he could fight with Dark Hat."
"That sounds like Jackal," Ban said.
"So, as long as we don't try to harm him we'll be safe," Ginji said, "At least in theory."
"Yes," the voice said, "And Jones won't be home by the time that you get there. He's going to the yearly Adventurer Club being held in Las Vegas this year."
"So as long as we make no moves on Jones, Dark Hat won't show up." Shido said. "…how convenient."
"Correct." The voice almost sounded smug.
"So what's the deal with the speaker?" Ban asked.
"After dealing with Doctor Jackal, Dark Hat killed the ones that sent him," the reply was bluntly honest, "So I have taken steps in making sure that he won't find out who I am."
"Great, so you're safe while we're risking our butts," Himiko said, "Just like last time."
"Does this mean that you're taking the job?" the voice hesitated slightly.
"Yeah, we'll take it," Ban replied coolly. Behind him, Ginji rolled his eyes.
"So, what does it look like?" Kasuki inquired, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the speaker.
"You'll get the information on the plane. There is a van waiting for you, follow the man with the case," the voice said.
"Well, have a nice trip guys," Heavn started to wave, but stopped abruptly as both Ban and Ginji hauled her out of her seat on either arm.
"You are coming with us, since you got us into this mess," Ban stated firmly.
"And if we meet Dark Hat, we can tell him that you're the one that put us up to it!" Ginji growled.
"Hey wait!" Heavn shouted as she was dragged along with them.
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MI-6 Headquarters, London –
Moneypenny looked up from her computer as James Bond entered the office. "Good morning 007."
"Good morning to you, Miss Moneypenny. Might I add that you are looking exceptionally beautiful today?" said the agent as he placed a yellow rose on her desk.
"Ah you're too kind James..." Moneypenny smiled at the man. "M is waiting for you inside."
"I'll see myself in then," James said as he stepped inside the office.
"Greetings, Bond." M perused the files on her desk, not bothering to look up as the agent entered.
James grinned slyly as he stopped in front of her. "So what's the next job you have lined up for me?"
"It's an important one, I'm afraid." M said blandly, "You are to go to the States and recover an item that was stolen from a Japanese governmental lab. You are to get it from the person that now has it and bring it to England."
"So what's the item?" Bond wondered. He looked longingly at the cabinet where the intelligence head kept a small supply of fine liquors.
"It's the only remaining file that contains the information on how that vampire, Neclord, created those monsters." M raised an eyebrow as Bond's eyes widened, "Yes 007, the bigwigs are hoping that they can learn how to use it so that we can recover some of our image. You are well aware of what happen last month. We're still feeling the after effects from that, and the bio enhancements that might be contained in the files would help rebuild our ruined image."
"Ah yes, Joker and his agency. They've ruined our image for years to come," Bond grimaced, thinking about that sudden live broadcast revealing the Joker's plans to revive 'The Gentlemen' and make Britain into an Empire again. Using girls with power over paper and taking that child from that agent, Ms. Deep, as well as the things they did just to get the books made the Nazis look almost compassionate. (1)
"Correct, James. Now that we're under the eyes of the world the higher ups want to try to regain our image. And the only way is to give something back that can help us and the healing powers that those monsters have could be use on humans," M said.
"And since England has it, we can regain the image that Joker ruined. And I'm sure the High Brasses is thinking about creating some bio soldiers too," Bond said, "So who has it?"
"It's in the hands of one Doctor Indiana Jones," M said.
"What!" Bond raised his voice.
"The person that stole the files is also the one that was hired by those girls to bring Joker and his plans into the light; Dark Hat," M said.
Bonds eyes widened in remembrance. He'd seen Dark Hat in action as he broke into Jokers base.
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They were all well armed, some with innate powers of their own, and yet they didn't stood, a chance - not against someone like him. Dark Hat had the camera pods that his sister, Mind, used during the raid on Neclord's base. It wasn't pretty to watch him do his work. The guards and people with powers threw everything they had at him and he walked through what should have been a storm of death without so much as blinking once as if it was nothing more then a light spring rain. That display shook up the guards, but seeing him snatch up the C4 that was thrown at him and then grabbing the one that threw it totally terrified them. He held it in front of the man's face, letting him see the timer run out on his own bomb. When the smoke cleared, Dark Hat stood next to what was left of the guard; his clothes untouched by the blast. One of the other guards panicked, trying to use that blue laser on him when he was in a lab. All that did was to tick Dark Hat off... Bond had started to believe what Dr. Jones had said; that he could kill gods, as he watched Dark work without getting anything in return but his outfit dirty. And there was something else that made him uneasy as Dark Hat acted like all of the death and destruction that he brought with him was something that he's very use to. There was no pleasure or regret in Dark Hat but something else something that he couldn't place in words as it was something that few people ever felt or saw before.
He finally came upon the man called Joker and that girl Wendy. By this time they were the only ones left, he'd killed everyone else that was part of the agency. Only the cleaning staff had escaped his wrath, and the base. Dark Hat pulled out a liquid metal weapon that could take the shape of any weapon that the wielder desired. He swung it at Wendy letting the liquid metal grab onto her legs, letting it wrap around her body. He stood there impassively as it slowly cocooned around her, unfazed by her screams as the metal covered her entire body before finally covering her head. With a thought, the liquid metal solidified into a metal blade with her in the middle. Bond could still see the blood and other body parts gushing out of the metal as it took shape. (2) Dark Hat had wanted her to see true fear just before she died.
When he turned to face Joker, he did something that was much crueler than death. He cursed him with eternal life, without the benefit of eternal youth. They all saw Joker transformed into an old dried up man that could barely breathe, much less walk. Then Dark spoke for the first time since he had entered the base.
"How foolish you are Joker, trying to bring things back to how the world once was; looking back and not forward. You, who look to the past to see what the world should be and not trying to make it better then it was before. I will let you see what the world is to be in the future, as now you can never die or lose your mind in the years to come," Dark Hat's voice was cold.
"What did those girls give you?" Joker managed to gasp out. They were on the run after he had those books burn in that pile. He was about to send someone to get the Paper and her friends after they had lost contact from Junior. Then he had shown up and ruined everything.
"They gave me the book that you were after as my payment. The one that you destroyed Hong Kong for, just to make sure there wasn't anything left to lead back to England and you. All of that just to bring back one man back to life by putting his mind into that boy's body," Dark Hat stated coolly, showing him the book as well as the others that contained the mind of the Gentleman. His eyes narrowed and the books burst into black flames burning them to nothing, "Unlike you, I don't need these books as I already know everything and more than the Gentleman ever did in life. He had only worked on his mind but I worked on my mind and body, giving me the power of both. There's no room for people like you in hell, so I will leave you as you are now. There's no one in this world that can undo the curse I cast onto you. I have also sent all of the files you have to every news agency and government in the world. And also made sure there were no block outs on the truth or I'll be visiting them next."
"What side are you on?" Joker asked, his voice almost too low to be heard.
"Side?" Dark Hat repeated, "The only side I'm on is my own. For in the end, the only one that you can truly trust is yourself. You, of all people should know that, seeing how many of your friends you have betrayed just to bring one person back to life. You would have backstabbed him as well, given the chance. Loyalty to a nation or government is meaningless in the end because nations rise and fall over time. Loyalty to the people and the land you live on is what true loyalty is; it's the people that make a nation. I hope you learn that before you become the last human left on this planet millions of years from now, because from now on you will never die. Oh yes, one more thing: those girls who hired me they are now under my protection. Any attempts to retaliate… Well, let's just say I will make the destruction of Hong Kong look like nothing compare to what I would do."
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After that incident, Dark Hat disappeared and all of the files on the Royal British Liberty Section became world wide news. The girls that hired Dark Hat disappeared; no one knows where they are now. As for Joker, he's facing trial in China for destroying Hong Kong. He had destroyed the image of England for years to come.
"China and Japan are now suing us for the destruction of Hong Kong, as well as the district where the book burning took place. Adding to the fact that many nations had declared bans on trade with us, investors are now pulling out from business ventures in England," M said.
"England is now facing bankruptcy right?" Bond asks seeing M nod, "And getting our hands on Neclord's cutting edge biotechnology is one way of keeping that from happening."
"Yes, the higher ups are hoping that we will be able to maintain the government with the retrieval of those files." M said.
"That does raise the question of 'why me'." Bond stated simply.
"All of the agencies are running deeply in the red. And given the world-wide reaction should the mission ever be made public, this could become the proverbial 'straw' that broke the camel's back." M said, "There were attempts to get the explorer Lara Croft to help us, but the Lady Croft insisted that she doesn't want to be involved with the British government anymore. With her father having been a close personal friend to Dr. Jones, it's a good thing that agents didn't tell her what they wanted her to do or Jones would already know by now. We're taking steps to ensure that no leaks develop, especially from bunglers who forget to check for potential dangers to the mission."
"Yes, I see," Bond chuckled, imagining what punishments the so called bunglers were being put through. "So what's the plan?"
"Doctor Jones is scheduled to attend the yearly 'Adventurer Club' that's being held in Las Vegas. The plan is to have you enter his compound at that time and find the files. They are somewhere in his home." M handed the agent a map of the area as well as a blueprint of the mansion. "We couldn't get any satellite pictures of the area, since there seems to be some kind of distortion field over the place; possibly one of the gadgets that Molly Fight has been cooking up. These floor plans are the only layout of the building we could find. It's the best we can do with our limited funding against this type of opposition."
"Very well, I shall do what I can. If however, I run into Dark Hat, you understand that I won't be able to complete the mission. After all, he was the one that killed off the 'Soul Dots' when Noir hired him to do so." James said.
"Yes, he destroyed all of their resources, and killed off all of the key members in one blow. Just make sure that you don't anger him if you do meet up, James." M said. "It wouldn't do to have you die and leave us without any options."
"I'll keep that in mind," the agent said as he headed for the labs to pick up a few gadgets he would probably need to complete the mission.
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At the mansion of Doctor Jones, Good Old US of A –
Things were much livelier now at the Jones estate, what with the new tenets moving in and helping to clean things up. The place was much cleaner than the day that the interview had taken place. The new tenets met Doctor Jones for the first time when he contacted Dark Hat for them. The old adventurer had been keeping tabs on world events thanks to a new computer controlled network of flying miniature cameras. The fact that they blended in well with most local insect populations was a bonus. He has been using them to scan to see if Ranma or the others returned to Japan, since that is where the last portal dumped them. As an aside, he's also been watching to see if there were any demons or creatures from other planes popping onto earth. Mind had finally figured out how to open a gateway between the two worlds, so she had set things up for him when she returned.
Mind was testing it out on the day that the book burning took place, and one of the bug-cams had been in the district where it happened. Jones recognized that it had something to do with the 'Royal Liberty' group when he saw the emblem on those soldiers' fatigues. One of his old friends, the one that he called 'Shortly' as a kid (he'd been along to the Temple of Doom), was in Hong Kong when it was sunk. So the doctor had a look into it and with the help of Dark Hat he found out about Joker's plans. He had Mind use the bug-cams to follow those girls back to their safe house, where they met a man named Drake who he had hired to get them to safety. On the way, he overheard everything that the 'Royal Liberty' under Joker's command had done, all to bring back the Gentlemen that he had heard about before on a previous visit to England. That's when he contacted them.
Once they knew who he was they asked if he could have his grandson to help them out. Doctor Jones told them that his grandson was unavailable, but there was another person that might be willing. He contacted Dark Hat, who then teleported himself to meet with them face to face. Knowing that they couldn't pay his usual fee of ten million, he merely requested the book as payment for taking out Joker and the 'Royal Liberty' group, as well as making everything they had done public, so that something like this won't happen again anytime soon.
The contract was filled out to the letter, as Dark tore through the base, killing everyone that was part of the agency and then making everything about it public. There was a question about what the girls would do now that they weren't being chased anymore. They agreed on one major fact – they wanted to be left alone after all that they'd been through. So Doctor Jones called the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.), to see whether the agency was inclined to recruit them. Indiana Jones had met with the agency previously when he had to explain to them what really happened to his grandson. He also gave Hellboy some of the casters that Mind made, as the big guy seemed really interested in them. Thrown in were about twenty 'death' spell casters of the type that were used to kill Nemesis, for use only when he was facing a high level monster or demon. They met Dark when he showed up for a few moments. Dr. Tom Manning tried to get him to join the B.P.R.D., but Dark wouldn't change his mind saying he works for them only when they can pay his price and only for one mission. The girls with their powers to control paper, and Ms. Deep and her son, Junior, with their phasing powers, were recruited into the B.P.R.D as agents.
With the vast increase in paranormal agents, the decision was made for a secondary base to be made available. One of the requirements for their base was that they needed to have a place out of the public view, somewhere to keep them out of sight for a while. As Doctor Jones had plenty of room in his estate, he offered them his hospitality. It met the requirements for a base, being quite far from any major cities, and with only a few small settlements around the forest reserve. Mind followed Jones' floor plans for the basements to create an underground base. The lowest floor of the basement is little more then a massive vault that houses the magical and dangerous objects that he collected over the years. Also inside the vault was an item that Dark Hat found when he was tracking down the data on Neclord's monster creation techniques. Doctor Jones realized that there was much to be learned from the files Dark Hat took from that Japan government agency. The healing tanks and the monsters' cellular regeneration could help advance the medical field by years.
As are the healing herb seeds that Rico found in her bag just before she returned to her home world she was using them as smacks while she and Fred were out traveling. She had given them to Doctors Tofu and Jones as a going away present. Tofu has already been doing some great things with the herbs. As for Jones, he has started growing them in his garden and slipped a few to some of the farmers that he knew around his area of the country. Now they are selling like hot cakes, as it is a quick way to heal up from an injury without going to an overprice physician. The doctor had to explain how the herb works; that they only heal physical damage to the flesh, not broken bones unless you snap it back in place first or diseases. However, it has started to save a lot of lives, as the use of the herb spread quickly around the area.
In one of the rooms of the Jones estate, Nenene Sumiregawa, an American citizen now, thanks to the help of Doctor Jones, is busy typing away on her computer. She worked for the B.P.R.D., mostly as a desk jockey. As she is a writer, she could handle the loads of paperwork that needed to be typed out. At least it wasn't like the paper works that are used in other government agencies, where you needed to fill out a stack of papers just to get a form to fill out, to get yet another form, just so you could actually do something. She was now working on her new book about what happened to herself and her friends as they faced off with the 'Royal Liberty' of England.
Jones had said that they could stay in his home as guests, since he was the only one living in the house now. As he wanted to keep the house in shape for when his grandson might return, he requested that they help to keep the place in repair. None of the girls have met Ranma yet, but they did heard lots about him. None of them minded a few chores here and there.
As for the paper sisters, they have been settling into the house. For the first time in a long while, they each had their own rooms instead of sharing a single one bedroom apartment. The eldest sister, Michelle, had filled her chosen room full of books. With long blonde hair, mature body, and flighty temperament, she might seem insane to most people. There is however, more to her than first meets the eye. The second sister, Maggie, is a complete opposite of the older girl. Taller by far, she has chosen to leave her own dark strands of hair short. She prefers to present a bored face to the world, and strangely enough, chose a closet for her bedroom. Little more than a deep, low ceiling storage space for boxes, Maggie has nonetheless figured out a way to cram a ton of books inside, while still leaving enough space to lie in (Mind installed a bright reading lamp inside, so that Maggie wouldn't kill her eyes by reading in the dark). The youngest, Anita, had chosen frogs to fill up the empty space inside her room. Whether made of porcelain or paper, the tiny pink-haired girl had room for decorations of the amphibian variety.
They had all joined the B.P.R.D as agents under assigned code names, since they wished to remain outside of the public domain. From the time that they signed on, they were assigned to several missions, all of which they completed successfully. On a side note, it seems that their paper-master abilities were quite effective when dealing with demons. Helping them on their assignments was Nenene's friend, Yomiko Readman. Formerly known as 'The Paper', the slender young woman prefers to hide her many generous curves under modest clothing. That, along with the glasses that she wears, makes it easy for opponents to underestimate her prowess based on appearances.
She was currently lying on her back across the bed she shared with several small stacks of books. The room that she had picked out for herself had been laying empty, but was now filled with books piled almost up to the ceiling. The scent of their pages added to the mélange of paper smells in the room that had comforted the young woman all her life. They now brought her little comfort any more. Yomiko Readman is a meta-human former agent in the service of the Library Special Forces, charged with protecting humankind from paranormal threats beyond the scope of normal law enforcement. Acting under her alias as The Paper', she could animate and magnify the strength of her namesake and was the strongest agent in the LSF's arsenal.
That was before Joker tried to use Nancy and her child to revive the Gentlemen from the dead and restore the British Empire to its former glory. So many things had changed since then. They had given the last book that held the mind of the Gentlemen to Dark Hat as payment, since he was the only one that could stop Joker's plans before it was too late. They watched from the sidelines with the rest of the world as he thoroughly trashed the villain's scheme. Jones was right in that Dark Hat was the perfect freelance agent; he had done the job down to the letter. In the process, he let the world see what kinds of things that were being done in the LSF base, things that were kept in the shadows and layers of government paper works. His curse of immortality left Joker an old man with a lifetime of crimes to ponder. Readman could still see Wendy's face as that liquid metal weapon covered her, just before… She just hoped that in her next life Wendy wouldn't make the same mistakes as she did in this one. She did have to admit that Dark Hat warned them that once he took the job, Hell would be unleashed. She glanced around the room, which was larger than her previous apartment. The books that she'd collected here didn't compare to her previous collection, however. Most of her old collection had been in her old apartment in Japan when the LSF had leveled the bookstore district. Doctor Jones' massive library was a small comfort to the girl, and she has been buying books on eBay, having them delivered to several of the nearby post offices for later retrieval.
Elsewhere in the estate, Michelle and Maggie were busy reading books in the library. The vast collection of books and texts that Jones had picked up here and there over the years was a dream come true for them. Many of the books were rare copy or out of print. They did have to clean up after themselves, since they were the housekeepers for the estate when Jones was absent. In the event of his death, they had instructions to keep the estate up and running for Ranma Jones, as the estate goes to him when his grandfather dies. It wasn't a bad deal as all they have to do was maintain the house as it is till Ranma or one of his children returns to claim ownership.
The last two occupants of the estate were Nancy and her son Junior, both of whom possessed the ability to phase through objects. In her mid-twenties, Nancy's skin was pale, almost white, while her hair remained a rich, royal blue. Full lips drew up into an almost bemused smile whenever she let her gaze stray to her son. For his part, Junior was even paler than his parent, his hair white due to the trauma of Joker's experiment. Mind was able to halt the rapid ageing of his body and fix his genetic makeup, but nothing could give back the lost childhood that he'd had snatched away. Well Mind could return him back to an infant but then he wouldn't be who he is anymore.
Now he and Anita were busily helping Doctor Jones pack his things for the trip to Vegas. Both kids had been getting along great with each other, which was a good thing, as they both went to school together in a nearby town. They'd made some friends among their schoolmates as well, a development that was pleasing to the adults around the place. They needed to just be kids for a while, before they lost that time altogether. Of course, getting them to school on time had been a trial, until Mind offered each of them one of her 'one-wheeled bikes'. The kids loved them, and Mind decided to market them to the world, with a little help from her older sister. She's been keeping herself busy down in the part of the basement that she set up as a lab, tweaking her numerous inventions.
"So how long will you be gone?" Nancy called down to Jones from the window.
"About a week I would think, since I'm also going to the grand opening of Molly's sister's company in California after the convention." The old explorer shaded his eyes and looked up at her. "Not much more than that, unless I run into friends."
"Oh okay, we'll watch over the house for you." Anita said as she slipped another box into the trunk of his old 1920's Ford. Sadly, they didn't make cars like this anymore; Doctor Jones' vehicle has been taking him to places in the US ever since he first purchased it, years ago.
"Well, since it seems that the others are busy, I'll drive you to the airport." Nancy offered, as she slipped down to the ground.
"Thanks," Jones said as he got into his seat.
"Junior, Anita go and tell the others I'll be back later," Nancy said as she drove the old car out of the estate.
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Two days later –
Las Vegas.
The city is known worldwide for its many vices, especially gambling. With new casinos popping up every few months, it ranks as one of the fastest growing cities in the world. A new casino that had opened a few weeks previously was modeled after several exploration habitats. Named the 'Adventure', it was hosting the yearly 'Adventurer Club' this year, thanks to Doctor Jones. The doctor had purchased enough stock to become a part owner of the place, and being a chief member of the 'Adventurer's Club', he'd been able to bring things together nicely. Ever since purchasing his way into the casino, Jones had been shipping in reproductions of artifacts that he'd found around the world to authenticate the atmosphere.
The dining room where the convention was taking place was modeled after several ancient temples around the world, with a mixture of stonework and design. An extremely large stone tablet with strange hieroglyphics dominated the center of the room. It was the first thing that Jones had sent to the casino. Crafted out of solid black marble with the carvings on each face lined with gold, the centerpiece gave the room a distinctive look.
The convention began as explorers and adventurers, both young and old, from around the world entered the dining room. More people were in attendance than was usually the case, since it was being hosted in a casino in Vegas for the first time. In addition, many of the younger explorers and adventurers were there to pick up some more clues for the Quest for the Lost Scrolls, as well as many young people that wanted to become powerful fighters like Ranma Jones, the great-grandson of the convention's host.
Besides being the host, Doctor Jones was also the guest of honor. He was seated at the main table, looking over a layout of convention events. The noise of a chair scraping the floor next to him pulled him out of his perusal of the plans, and Jones looked up and saw Lara, the daughter of his old friend Doctor Croft.
Lara had been brought up as the wealthy heiress to Lord Henshingly Croft, a British aristocrat. However, after she'd grown up a bit, she'd been on a ski trip that went awry. The plane carrying her crashed, leaving her the only survivor. The girl was forced to use her wits to escape alive from the Himalayas. She survived and returned to England, but found herself unable to live in the stuffy atmosphere of upper class British society. Since that time, she traveled the globe, going on adventures and discovering several ancient sites of extreme importance in the archeological community. Jones had to acknowledge that she had definitely changed from the skinny girl with two ponytails over each of her ears he had last seen when she visited his estate with her father. Doctor Croft had been looking for information on an artifact that had the power to control time. Lara had become a beautiful woman, far more athletically fit. Just as tall as Ranma, she had long chestnut-brown hair tied in a long ponytail braid, perfectly revealing her beautiful face. Her current outfit of a brown jacket, grey shirt, and tan pants hugged her shapely figure quite well. The bag at her side apparently contained something of interest to her
"Hello Mr. Jones, it's been awhile," Lara greeted him.
"Yes it has been," Jones said in an almost wistful tone; he had miss the last four conventions, "I heard tell something about you and some adventures with a Clock of Time and Pandora's Box."
"Well, compared to the stuff that you and your grandson have been through, it really wasn't too hard," Lara had read up on what Ranma had gone through while he was in Japan.
"Well, very few people have been through something that challenges you to become something greater," Jones said, "So is anyone with you?"
"Jeeves is back home looking after the house and the computer geek has gone to California, looking into a new high tech company that he heard about. He heard that they have Mind Hat working there." Lara replied.
"Well that's true; the company called Hat Co is setting up there. Their first production item is a one-wheeled motorcycle, based off the prototype that Mind made and drove around in Japan, only without the weapons. Molly's elder sister, Top Hat, is the CEO of Hat Co." The doctor took a sip of his iced tea.
"Another Hat sibling is here?" Lara said, remembering what the eldest of the Hat's had done while in England. Of course, after what that man Joker did, well, he got what was coming to him. "So is that bodyguard of yours here?"
"He's standing right behind me," Jones said calmly.
Lara looked back and froze when she saw him. He was standing tall, dressed in black with a black top hat that made him look even taller. She felt a chill go down her back as she looked at his face, which was hidden by a white mask that only revealed his cold, dark eyes. She turned back to the old adventurer.
"So is he here for a job?" Lara wondered, knowing from what she watched on TV that Dark Hat is practically unstoppable.
"No, he's just here to watch over me, as well as Top who is supposed to be coming to the convention in a bit." Jones stated simply. Glancing back, Lara noticed that Dark was gone from the spot where she had just seen him. The old man chuckled lightly at her look. "Don't bother, he only showed himself to you because I asked him to. He's not that bad, once you get to know him
"Judging from what I've seen, he's someone that you want to keep on the good side of," Lara said.
"Mm-hm. So what question did you want me to answer?" Jones shook his head as shock flittered across her face. "You and your father are a lot alike; I could tell that you were waiting for the right moment to ask something of me. You share the same habit of twitching your fingers like him when he's waiting to ask for something."
"Well, I see that you still have it," Lara said, "The reason is that I have been searching all over the area south of Salt Lake and still haven't come up with any leads to the keys or the tablet that you hid."
"Sorry, but you'll have to find it the old fashioned way, just like your father and I did before the high tech equipment came around," Jones said, "Besides, I said that I hid the tablet south of Salt Lake; if you think about it the answer should come to you."
"Yeah, but so many people have been searching every square inch of the desert and haven't come up with anything regarding the Lost Scrolls." Lara said.
"I am sorry, but the kind of power that the scrolls contain isn't the kind of power that comes easily; I know it didn't come easy for Ranma," Jones' voice was quiet as he looked the younger explorer in the eye. A commotion at the room's entrance caught their attention, causing them to turn that way.
At a card table, two men were playing a high-stakes poker game. One of the men was about to show the other player his cards, bragging about how great of a hand he had when something caught his attention and he suddenly went quiet. His compatriot glanced up at him, wondering what had caused him the sudden change. When he looks over to where the other mans eye's were glued, the reason patently obvious. Three women had just stepped through the door to the dining room.
The woman on the right towered above most of the people in the room. Standing at 6'11 made it so that most of the people had to look up to see her face, if they could tear their gaze away from her busty body, that is. Her skin was midnight colored, offset nicely by silver-gray hair. Her body is a remarkable sight; she is built like a supermodel with a touch of a weightlifter added. Her arms and legs showed large, firm muscles that did not slow her down thanks to her training that she does. Her gray business suit opened just enough to display the deep valley of her ample chest. A black headband was wrapped just above her ears, holding them to the sides of her head. She was lugging two gym bags that seemed to be filled to the brim with something, apparently quite heavy.
The woman on the left side was shorter than the other two. She seemed to be rather mousy looking, with her short blue-green hair covering her ears, glasses that occasionally revealed sharp green eyes, and a wool jacket and knee-length skirt, both dull brown in color. Her skin was rather pale, a sign that perhaps she didn't get outdoors all that often. But for all that, she possessed a very shapely, compact body. She was busy writing in a small notebook, only glancing up occasionally to see where she was going.
It was the woman in the middle that was getting all of the attention, however. Her long, flowing, bright-red hair stopped at her slim waist, and served to draw people's eyes. Her own lively green eyes captivated anyone lucky enough to look into them. Her skin was a healthy tan and absolutely mind blowing to touch. High cheekbones highlighted a painfully beautiful face, one that could have graced the cover of any magazine. She was dressed in a very form-fitting blue strapless dress that emphasized her curves. A long slit on the right side of the dress allowed her gorgeous hips to move freely about and revealed her impossibly long legs. Firm muscle tone remained subtly hidden, only revealing itself when she stretched - not that anyone would still be conscious if they saw her stretching. Her breasts seemed to defy gravity, filling the dress to its very limits, so much so that it looks likes it's painted right on her. She also wore a small white jacket; open in the front with dome-shaped shoulder pads made of metal. However, the jacket didn't cover much, merely accentuated her impressive chest. Matching white gloves, knee high boots and a white top hat completed the ensemble. With an aura that fairly screamed out "I'm hot!", she made sure that everyone got the idea, flaunting her 42-24-36 figure in front of them.
"It's about time she got here," The old adventurer wasn't as affected by the aura of sex that the three women exuded. They came walking over to his table, where the doctor made introductions. "Lara, meet Top Hat, Dark's slightly younger sister."
Top sauntered along the middle path of the large dining room, the slight smile gracing her lips the only acknowledgement of the two card player's stares. All throughout the room, the reaction was much the same, with every male there stopping what they were doing to stare at her, and every female stopping to either mutter about the idiocy of the opposite sex or stare as well.
"Hello Jones - sorry I was late," Top said as she took the seat next to him, her two aides sitting across the table from them. Jones was a lot calmer than most of the other occupants of the room. Lara, on the other hand, felt a rare flicker of breast-envy. She usually had no cause to be jealous of anyone on that particular feminine battlefield, but Top Hat as well as her tall bodyguard had her seriously out gunned.
"So just what have you been doing?" The doctor asked wryly.
"Oh, I've just hit all of the major casinos and won a hell of a lot of chips," Top smiled.
"How much did you win?" Lara wondered.
"Well, I just got out of MGM, and there were two bags full that, I'm guessing in the number of 10,000 in chips. That comes to around four million dollars, give or take a few. Once I cash them, that the casino should be able to make that much back in a couple of weeks," Top replied. Many of the people around her gasped aloud when they heard her statement, which was nothing compared to what she said next. "Melon is still figuring out how much, I won from the other casinos."
"No way!" one of the men that had followed her to Jones table said.
"Show them Ann," Top said to the woman that carried the two bags.
"Sure boss," Ann said as she unzipped one of the gym bags, showing a pile of about 10,000 chips in it, "The rest of the bags are on their way to the suite. How much is that in all Melon?"
"Well let's see," the shorter aide replied, "We got twenty-three bags in all from the casinos that we hit. I think it be easier to just weigh them, instead of counting them all. We should really get some money counting machines once we cash them. If we want to get to the opening of Hat Co after this, I hope that the girls don't break their backs lugging them upstairs."
"Well at least with my gambling, I don't keep on playing until I've lost everything I won," Top said smugly.
"I'm sure that would have made the casinos very happy. You took some of them for everything they had," Melon said still working on the figures in her notebook.
"Yeah that's for sure," Ann closed the gym bag again.
"The press should catch wind of it soon. In fact, they should be arriving right about…," Top looked dramatically at her pocket watch, "Now!"
The dining room doors opened and a female reporter and her camera crew entered. The woman turned to speak into the cameras as they reached the head table. "I'm Carman and this is Channel Eight, News Live! We're here at the grand opening of the 'Adventure', to talk to the person who just won the largest jackpot in Los Vegas history. She won millions in each of the big casinos before leaving for the next one on her hit list. Now that we've tracked her down to this casino we have to wonder: Will she make another million today?"
"Well maybe," Top grinned slyly, "But my aides already have their hands full with my current winnings already."
"So you're the big winner?" Carman said as she and her crew followed her to the table.
"I am," Top said tilting her top hat, "Call me Ms. Top or Top Hat - whatever you want."
"So what brought you to Vegas, besides winning huge jackpots?" Carman asks.
"Originally I came here to meet up with Doctor Jones, who is a major investor in this casino," Top said.
"You are?" Carman blinked, turning to the aging adventurer for an answer. The cameras followed faithfully.
"I am. Top here is the CEO and founder of Hat Co, a new company that will be opening its doors for business in a few days." Jones said, "And before you ask, my relationship with Top isn't the 'rich old man' and 'young woman' thing like most of the men in my generation do. We're merely acquaintances who met due to the actions of some of our relatives, namely my grandson Ranma and her sisters, Mind and Fight."
"Wait… wouldn't that mean that you and Dark Hat are siblings?" the reporter returned to the prior target of her questions.
"Why don't you ask him yourself? He's standing right there," Top said, pointing to a nearby corner. As if melting out of the shadows, Dark Hat appeared for all of the people in the room to see. Of a sudden, all of the guys that were going to hit on the red haired beauty decided to try their luck elsewhere.
"He's here?" Carman's voice wavered, and she was shaking from the mere sight of him. "He's not here for a job right?"
"No, I'm not," Dark replied flatly, his voice giving nothing away, "I'm just guarding Jones and keeping an eye on Top as well."
"Come on Dark, I don't need you watching over me. I can handle myself," Top said.
"Oh really? What about the time you got your head stuck in that honey pot?" Dark said, secretly amused at the face she made at that recollection.
"Hey! You know I tripped, and Magic was carrying that oversized honey pot right in front of me at the time," Top half-shouted. Her face was red, and she glared at the oldest of the Hats.
"Magic?" Lara asked quietly.
"The youngest of the Hat siblings," Jones informed her, leaning over to whisper in her ear.
"Oh." Lara returned to listening.
"Would you mind if I interview you, sir?" Carman shifted nervously as the man in the top hat and mask considered her question. If he refused, she wouldn't press it. There would be nothing that she could use as leverage that would even make this being give her the time of day.
"You get only three questions," Dark said finally.
"Okay," Carman said, thinking of three good questions, "From what I understand, you do a job once your price is met and you do it down to the letter; but when you did that job in England you accepted a book in payment. Does that mean you can be bargained with? As in, people who need your services, but don't have the money to meet the price tag?" This was a question of interest to many people, as most don't have the means to pay for a million dollar purchase, much less pay the ten million dollar fee that Dark Hat demands.
"It depends on the person, what the job is, and what my target has done to the person that hires me. I only lower my price for those that I know can't afford it, but truly need my power to aid them," Dark said.
"Alright, if you were hired to, would you attack any government bases and release what they been doing? Like if someone hires you to break into Area 51 would you do it?" the girl waited anxiously.
"It really depends on what has been done to keep the public from finding out the truth about that so-called Air Force base. For the brass in charge of the base's operations, the ones that are carefully monitoring this broadcast, I have a simple word of advice. I would be careful in how you handle people who learn about life beyond this planet. Besides, people now are learning that there are supernatural beings in this world again, so how hard would it be for there to be life on other worlds?" Dark Hat shifted his position subtly, his eyes going straight to the camera, "Yes, there are beings that live on other planets. For those who are close-minded, I no longer have the need to lie. At my level of power, a level that most would only dream of, it would gain me nothing but the reputation of a liar. You've got one more question."
"Is it true that there is more than one god out there?" the reporter wondered.
"Yes, there is more than one entity that maintains the universe out there," Dark Hat said, "To those who say otherwise, hear me. In my kind of business, I've seen it all: immortals, vampires, zombies, demons, gods and goddess. You people who say that there is only one god because of a book written down by a mortal years ago in the past, one who never saw a god, listen up! Moreover, you others, who claim that there is only one god because of a book that no one even knows who wrote it, I say this: Sure there is one creator of all things out there, but that being is beyond the realm of gods and demons. Gods are only meant to watch over mortals. Mortals themselves are supposed to choose the god or goddess that they want to worship, not wage meaningless wars against each other just because they believe in a different god. Those people that say that its god's will that they force people to believe what they believe, that it's a sin to think otherwise, well, they will never see Heaven as they never earned the right to go there."
"So what do you believe in?" Carman was having trouble taking it all in.
"I said you could only have three questions." Dark Hat stated flatly, causing Carman to step back, "But I will say I believe in no god, as none have earned it." With that, the shadows around him seem to engulf him; he vanished from where he was standing. Many of those present looked around the room, trying in vain to find where he had gone.
"Where… How did he?..." Carman began.
"Oh, my brother has the power to move through shadows, meaning that as long as there's a shadow he can appear in it, or vice versa. Of course, that just means that unless you keep a room completely shadow free, he can appear wherever he wishes," Top said, "It's impossible for someone that has ticked him off to be able to get away from him. No one can stay out of the shadows forever. Besides, that's one of the reasons that his name is Dark."
"He makes it his business to know what's happening in the world, which he has his own unique ways of doing. However, as long as people don't do anything to tick him off, there's no danger. I've seen many people in my long life who thought that they were all powerful. Still others thought that they could control the life and death of others. But Dark Hat is on a whole other level of power."
"There's an old saying, 'There's always someone better then you'. It is true, but like everything else, there are exceptions to the rules. I've seen it first hand - Dark Hat has no betters, for he stands alone on his level. Friendly demons and demi-gods that I've come into contact with confirm this. All of them say that Heaven and Hell both fear him. No supernatural being that has contact with either Heaven or Hell would dare to face him."
"You must have seen what he did to the man, Joker, making him into a decrepit old man, cursed with immortality; he has powers that most people only dream about. He only limits himself in his power by what the target has done, and if someone were to make him truly mad – well, there are things worse then death, you know. He is true power, because, unlike most people he doesn't have the need to show how powerful he truly is. He doesn't needlessly kill or harm people weaker then himself, just to show others his power, or use fear tactics like killing a person family to control them. When he appears, anyone can feel his power. He doesn't prey on the weak, but on the strong that prey on the weak instead."
"Wow you know a lot about him," Carman said, awed.
Jones shrugged. "Well, he does have some trust in me."
"Yup that's for sure. Usually he doesn't give away anything about himself to anyone," Top said.
"Mr. Jones, while you're still here, are there any more clues to the Scrolls that you hid?" the reporter smiled brightly at him.
"Forget about it," Lara broke in, speaking for the first time in the interview, "He won't say a thing about it. I know; I tried already."
"Really? None of you explorers has found the stone tablet yet?" Top said, "I already figured out where it is."
"You know?" Lara burst out, causing many of the other explorers to crowd to come in closer to hear.
"It's so simple that it's right in front of you. I can't believe that none of you have figured it out yet. But I am the smart one in the family when it comes to figuring out things like this," Top said.
"Well…?" Lara raised an eyebrow.
"Think about it. Jones brought enough stock in this casino to become part owner of it and its theme is exploring. Add in the fact that Las Vegas is south of Salt Lake City and many of the items on display are from Jones…" Top drawled.
"The tablet would then be somewhere on display in this casino…" Lara concluded, along with many of the other explorers. They all took off to find any stone tablets in the casino, leaving Jones, Top, and her aides alone at the table.
"Top, they were suppose to figure it out by themselves you know," Jones said.
"Well, it's not like you never had help in finding an artifact in your younger days," Top said. Then she turned to Carman and her crew, "Since you're here want to get an inside look into what Hat Co is brining out like the new game base on what happened to my sister and her friends. It's called Dark Hunters."
"What you made a game out of that already?" Carman asks.
"Well someone would have done it sooner or later so with cutting edge game creating techs and the brains of my little sister my team created the game in so little time," Top said.
"How did you get the permission of the Japanese government and those in involved?" Carman asks.
"Well some of the money will go to the Japanese government to help to rebuild Shibuya that was heavily damage in the battle with Neclord and royalty's will be paid to those people that been put in the game they even gotten advance copies of the it already," Top said.
"Really how is it?" Carman asks.
"Well there are many characters that you can choose in the game from Ranma's group to the cops and the two superheroes Ion and Strike Man. Each has a different storyline and endings also there are four disks to get since there are so many characters to pick out and very detailed storylines. Also there's some very fun mini-games to play," Top said, "The best one to play is where you're Mr. Green Turtle the gator that lived in the temple pond. And you have to keep people from entering the temple group. It even has Ryo the City Hunter as one of the people you have to keep out," Top explained.
"Wow sounds like a fun game," Carman said.
"Yup I think the people that I gave the advance copies to think so too. The Gunsmith Cat's have been playing it ever since I gave them a copy of the game they really like playing as themselves shooting up the screen," Top smiled.
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In Japan –
In the coffee shop the Cat's Eye that Ryo and Kaori hang out in owned by their friend Umibozu and Miki. Their friends Saeko her two younger sisters Reika and Yuka were there also. Currently Ryo was growling as his friends were playing the new game that Top Hat had sent over to them. On the TV screen the video game counter part of Ryo was screaming like a little girl as he was pulled under the water by Mr. Green Turtle then shot up into the air and was tail whip over the temple wall. The one that just did that was Kaori as the others were waiting for their turn at crewing up Ryo.
"I can't believe that they put that in there," Ryo growled.
"What you mean this is so fun, I'm sure that every woman that you have hit on is going to get this game," Umibozu said taking his turn at the game.
"Yeah like you don't deserve to be man handled by a thirty foot gator," Saeko said watching the Ryo on the screen screamed again. Her two sisters were laughing up a storm.
"I wonder how the other people who got advance copies like this game…" Miki said.
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At the Kotobuki house hold –
Ran was lying on the floor as she played as her sister superhero counterpart, Ion on the new game they had got through the mail. She was on the final level fighting her way through Neclord's tower.
"This is so cool, I'm already in a video game!" Sayo shouted.
"Yeah, yeah keep it down there's guys are strong," Ran grumbled, "I need to let out some stream you wouldn't believe what. Miss Frizzell put us through this week."
"Remember it's my turn next," Masato said.
"Really what did she do?" their mother asks as their father and brother weren't back yet.
"Well she took us on a field trip into the deep ocean to teach us about deep sea life. And, I was trap inside of a giant clam till Miss Frizzell used that laughing gas on it making it let me go," Ran said.
"Well at least your grades are up from all you been learning," her mother said as while she thought it was weird for a school teacher to take her students on so many field trips she couldn't complain that they were doing better in their school work, "Also Sayo is Masato going to joined up on your patrols?"
"Yup, Net Hat has my hard suit done giving me super strength and speed also making the suit look like, Protoman from Mega Man like I asks," Masato said as he likes the suit that Protoman wears.
"Well make sure you two watch each others backs okay," Ms. Kotobuki said still a bit uneasy that her youngest child is the city's superhero. Well at least she's not like Strike Man.
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Speaking of which in Bokuto precinct –
The cops of Bokuto were in the office watching on the big screen as Toukairin and Natsumi played against each other in the new game that they had just got in the mail. They're playing in the two player mode trying to get a highest score in the game. All around them the other officers were cheering them on.
"Why are you guys all doing here?" the chief asks walking into the room.
"Well we just got this new game of Dark Hunters since we signed the contact for some of us to appear in the game," Miyuki said.
"Yeah it's a cool game," Ken said.
"You're only saying that since you get to play as your girlfriend in the game," Yoriko said. She didn't like the fact that in the disk version they got she appeared as a nerd giving information to the player characters that mostly gets them into trouble or doesn't help them at all. Okay so it's like in real life but still she's not like that all of the time.
"Shouldn't you guys be out there patrolling the streets?" the chief asks.
"Why Strike Man been keeping everything in order," Ken said making Natsumi to growl as she hasn't been able to beat him yet.
"And we need to be here to tell the owners where to pick up their cars that he's been bringing here," Miyuki said.
"He has brought in today about sixteen cars in today," Aoi said, "They must be learning to park elsewhere now that Strike Man been grabbing them off of the streets."
"Strike Man, I will beat you yet!" Natsumi shouted raising her fist into the air. But as she did her game character died as a Hunter slice her head off, "What no fair, I'm playing again!"
"You're on," Toukairin said. The others signed as it looks like she and Tokairin would be at this all day.
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Back in Vegas –
"So what you want to asks me?" Top said to Jones after they had gotten away from the crowds on the lower floors.
"I know. There may be something else you can help me with," Jones looked over at Top and her 'friends'.
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Elsewhere in the casino –
She had traveled far from her homeland, going through many hardships just to get here. What was left of her savings had been used get her into the US, and then timing it just right so that she could meet the one person that might help her. She just had to meet Ranma again, to beg him to forgive her and give her another chance! She left everything behind her just to find him again.
Would he even recognize her? She had changed from the girl that he once knew. The past two months had nearly bankrupted her, as she had to pay out of her own bank account for the trip to here. Her two helpers, Tsubasa and Konatsu, had offered to help her pay for this one way trip, but she refused, stating that this was something that she had to do on her own. Her father had disowned her when she told him that she was going after him. Ranma was right about her father - he was stuck in the past, saying that he didn't want his daughter to marrying an unclean Ai no ko. It wasn't a polite term, referring to a half-Japanese in a society where racial purity and bloodlines were important concerns. So like him, she left her family and her homeland hoping she would find a new life with him in the homeland of his grandfather.
She was about to walk into the dinning room where Doctor Jones was, when a tall dark-skinned woman appeared in front of her. "Hello Ukyo, I'm Pan. Doctor Jones wishes to meet with you upstairs, so please follow me."
"What?" Ukyo asked her, but instead of answering, Pan just started to walk through the crowd to the elevators. Ukyo quickly followed, as it wasn't hard for her to losesight of Pan in a big crowd like this.
When they got to the elevators, Pan held the door for her as she got on. Pressing the button for the penthouse floor, Pan remained silent as they rode upward. Ukyo, looking at Pan, could tell that she was someone that takes her job seriously. Her muscles gave the impression of great strength, at least the equal of pig boy.
Upon reaching the top floor, Pan led the way to one of the penthouse rooms, the one that had two women in black suits guarding the door. Ann greeted the newcomers before opening the door for them. Ukyo looked around the room as she entered. She noted that it was a well furnished apartment, no, a plaza. A king-size bed with silk sheets and curtains draping from all sides was in the center of the room. One corner held a fully stocked fridge and bar, loaded with goodies. Down the chamber that served as the sleeping quarters was a bathroom that was more in keeping with a spa. A large Jacuzzi with several hydro-jets beckoned invitingly. Dozens of rare and expensive shampoos, soaps, and conditioners were in a hand-woven basket, offering anyone a pleasurable bathing experience, the likes of which would not be soon forgotten. A pleasant aroma wafted throughout the room; to stay here had to cost at least a $10,000 a night!
The main thing that caught her attention was that both rooms were filled with cash. Piles of dollar bills were all spread out the room, with four women counting them. A jade haired woman dressed in a form-fitting suit was feeding cash into a money counting machine, reading off the amount before putting in another wad of cash. A mousey looking woman was taking down the tally, writing down each figure in a notebook. Two other women were handing the jade haired woman wads of cash, and gathering what had already been counted into a separate pile. One is a blonde wearing a blue dress, the other a dark-skinned, auburn-haired woman in a purple dress. Both of them could pass for sisters, Ukyo thought, seeing that they looked alike. In fact, they vaguely resembled the Gemini Elf card from Yu-Gi-Oh.
"Hello Ukyo."
Turning to the voice she saw Ranma's great-grandfather, Dr. Jones. "I learned much about you these last few months. My network told me that you were coming here to meet me, after you left your family behind you."
"So you're the 'cute one', huh?" the sexy redhead next to him grinned widely, "I wonder how big you are without those bindings of yours."
Ukyo blushed deeply as she noticed the look that the redhead was giving her. She had seen those looks before, and had briefly considered doing that kind of thing with another woman, since Ranma used to be able to transform into a good looking girl. But compared to Ranko, the woman in front of her was way beyond Ranma's sister in body and looks.
"I came here to ask you to help me," Ukyo said, taking a deep breath first, "I want to find Ranma and asks him for forgiveness. I have given up everything, just like Kodachi did, to be with him."
"I'm very well aware of that," The doctor had one of Mind's spy cams inside Nerima to keep him updated about what was going on with the remnants of the NWC. He'd had a second one assigned to follow Ukyo, since she had gone through much and she only lost Ranma because of her pride in her family's honor. He'd had the feeling that she would try to find Ranma again, given time.
"Will you help me?" Ukyo said, with renewed hope in her eyes.
"I will, but as I have said before, Ranma isn't looking for a wife. He wants a mother for Reni and Iris. I think you understand what will happen if they don't think of you as their mother, correct?" Jones asked gently.
"Yes, I do know. But I lost him once; I won't lose him again," Ukyo said bowing her head.
"Ukyo I can see that you're in love with Ranma. But please remember that there are other women that are in love with him as well. Don't treat him like a prize like you did before, because few ever get a second chance like this," Jones said.
"Thank you," Ukyo said bowing to him.
"There are some things that you should know about first," Jones said, "But I'll save them for later."
"Hey boss," the mousey woman spoke up.
"Yes Melon?" Top looked over in her direction.
"We're done counting the money; you won over 30 million dollars," Melon said.
"Good, I just won paychecks for the workers at Hat Co that should last for a good long while," Top said laughingly.
"We'll put it into the bank tomorrow," Pan looked around at the huge piles of money for a moment, "We'll need to have some help getting all of this to the bank."
"Boss, there's an incoming call from Mind," the blonde woman said.
"Put it on screen," Top ordered. The blonde girl nodded and pressed a remote. A view screen appeared from a metal orb. Ukyo eyes widened at seeing this but thought it must be from that girl Mind that was with Ranma. Appearing on the screen Mind gave them a wave.
"Hi sis, hi Mister Jones!" Molly greeted to them.
"What's up sis?" Top asks.
"Well, this is really for Mr. Jones. My scanners picked up some intruders making their way to the estate. Did you have any guests coming over?" Molly inquired.
"Nope, no one was coming over," Jones said.
"So who are they then?" Ann asks.
"They're a recovery team, sent by the Japanese government to get the remaining file that Neclord had on creating his monsters," said Dark Hat appearing in the room, causing everyone but Jones and Top Hat to jump back at seeing him popping up like that.
"So bro, are you going to rip into them?" Top asked, arching an eyebrow.
"I thought you killed the ones that sent Doctor Jackal after me?" Jones looked at his shadow calmly.
"Yes, but I only killed the ones that were connected with Jackal," Dark Hat said, "This team contains the 'Get Backers', as well as some of their friends who are also in the recovery service. Unlike Jackal, they won't try to kill anyone that gets in their way."
"I think that's the first time that Doctor Jackal met someone like you before," Jones mused. He thought quietly for a moment. Jackal was a man that enjoyed killing as he wanted to see what his limits were. So when he showed up he ask Dark to not to kill him as Jackal only came to fight with Dark to bring out his true potential out. The fight did bring out Jackal's full power out as he had watch the fight from the window as they had taken the fight outside as he had asks them to. But in the end Dark beat him but Jackal did last for ten minutes fighting with Dark "You say they're not like Jackal, huh? Molly, are you almost done with the new files?"
"I already revised the files so that there's no way to recreate the monsters from them. All of the medical benefits from their healing powers are still there," Molly said, "You know, it's really amazing what he managed to do in such a short amount of time, even if he did use his magic to help speed things up. I had to make sure that the new files don't need magic to work it."
"Good. The last thing I want is to hand over something that can be turned into a weapon," Jones said, relieved as he knows too well what governments are like now.
"Wait… you have files that can create more of those monsters?" Ukyo asks.
"Yes, when I became aware that the Japanese government had somehow managed to recover one of the Neclord files. I had Dark here recover it, and destroy any information that they copied from it. Biological weapons like those monsters are something that I will do everything possible to prevent from happening. The US government has no idea that I have it, since I know all too well what that would mean," Jones shook his head as he saw how much the US government had change since his youth, "Molly throw the hard copy into the boiler to make sure there's nothing left to recover."
"And what about the new file that I copied off of it?" Molly wondered.
"Well, I have an idea for that." Jones smiled.
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In the deep forest of the American Heart Land –
A low mist had cropped up, wafting through the underbrush like a ghostly tide. There was a parting in the trees about a dozen meters ahead, a path big enough to be a narrow road, though it was hard to tell due to the mist covering flowing through the forest. All was quiet, save an occasional rumble of thunder, the sound closer than they had expected; the storm was almost upon them.
"I have to ask, why couldn't we take the jeep along with us instead of walking through the forest?" Heavn glared at Ban. The group had left the jeep in the clearing a few miles back.
"If we drove up there, we would have alerted anyone inside the estate," Kasuki said to the blonde bombshell.
"At least we haven't run into anything inside the forest," Himiko commented lightly. "But we really ought to get to the mansion before it starts to rain. My perfumes don't work as well with all the water washing the atmosphere."
"Hey Shido, are there any traps up ahead of us?" Ban shot a quick glance at the Beast Master.
"Most of the animals around here are friendly to Dr. Jones, they say there isn't any traps in this forest since Jones made sure of that," the beast master said, "They seem reluctant to approach the estate for some reason though."
"You know, we should be at the back of the estate by now," Heavn said looking at the map that was provided to them.
"Just remember not to hurt Jones if he shows up," Ginji reminded them.
"But he's in Vegas!" Himiko protested.
"We know that, but you can't be too careful," Ban said, "If he shows up, just use your sleep poison on him or we'll have to deal with Dark Hat."
"Hey, what's that?" The group paused to look where Heavn was pointing. Ahead lay a small clearing, with a private cemetery like most of them had seen only in the movies.
"Must be the family plot," Heavn said, after a moment's consideration. "I would bet that most of the Jones family is buried here."
"Come on guys, let's get through it," Ban started forward into the cemetery. He stopped when he noticed that no one was following his lead. "What are you guys waiting for?"
"Well, for one thing that's a graveyard," Ginji pointed out.
"Monsters usually pop up in such areas," Himiko noted.
"The animals around here won't go anywhere near it," Shido said quietly, "There's a Native American ritual spell that helps give peace to the dead around it."
"And every time people go into a graveyard in movies something bad happens. It's usually the weakest person in the group that is killed first. And I'm not going in there," Heavn stated firmly, taking a few steps back to accentuate the point.
"It's the quickest way to get to the estate without going around it," Ban glared at his fellow teammates.
"Uh-huh, but there is a fast way and the right way," Heavn replied, crossing her arms beneath her breasts, "And since we're not Americans who go for the fast way, why don't we go and do it the right way."
"Come on it's not like zombies are going to start popping out of the ground," Ban grumbled. When he saw the looks on their faces he relented, "Okay, forget I said that. But Jones wouldn't have used his dead family members like that."
"Well that's true," Himiko said.
"Yeah, I mean, that kind of thing would be evil. He wouldn't do that," Ginji said.
Thunder roared throughout the forest releasing heavy rain from the summer thunder storm. "It's raining now, so let's go through the graveyard," Ban said.
"Well, as long as we stay on the path, we should be okay. But if we get attacked in there, you are so going to get it," Heavn said.
Entering the graveyard, they couldn't help but stare at the tombstones that decorated the family plots. Stone angels, statues, stone houses were all over the graveyard. One that caught their eye was two graves that had a plain looking stone cup on top of them.
"Hello," Kasuki said looking at the names of the two plots, "Guys these two graves are Dr. Jones parents."
"Really what does it say?" Himiko asks.
"Here lie Maria and Henry Jones, Sr. (5) They spent their lives in search of the truth of history and found the location of the Holy Grail." Kasuki read aloud the words engraved into the stone. A newer gravestone that stood nearby caused his eyes widen as he read the inscription. Hina Jones, Ranma's great-grandmother. Kasuki recalled hearing that Jones had her remains reburied here so that she would be remembered as a Jones. She refused to be bound by her family's whims in life, and the doctor insured that they couldn't touch her even in death. The empty plot beside her was presumably for her husband who only had a few years left in him.
"The Holy Grail, I wonder what happened to it?" Ginji mused, looking at the gravestone. Turning away slowly, he gave a yelp as something that had been behind him caught his attention. "Ban!"
The others looked over and saw what Ginji shouting about. A stone golem knelt on the ground, twin swords sheathed on top of its massive shoulders.
"How did we miss something like that?" Ban asked, not addressing the question to anyone in particular.
"I think I've seen it before, but can't place exactly where that was," Shido said, rubbing his chin.
"It's a monster card from Duel Monsters," Heavn spoke up. She'd gotten into the game after the duel disk came out, "It's 'Giant Soldier of Stone'. Jones might be into the card game."
"There are some more over there," Himiko pointed to where a dozen wooden robots stood along the tree line on either side. All had wooden orbs for hands and they all looked very much like logs, and each have a number 18 emblazoned on their chest. Yet another statue seated on top of an old tombstone was a wooden doll. Dressed in blue overalls, boots and ragged blue shit with dirty blond hair, its face had large eyes and a grinning mouth filled with teeth. In its hands was a large ax.
"Uh-oh," Heavn said. "Those wooden idols are 'Impachi', and the creepy doll is 'Malice Doll of Demise'. Both are duel monsters as well. I wonder why they are here though; it's a weird thing to put in a graveyard."
"Talk about a set up," Shido snorted.
Then the sound of stone grinding against stone brought their attention back to the silent soldier. They watched with widening eyes as the golem stood tall and unsheathed its swords. The Inpachis all began advancing on them from two sides. A high pitched giggle sounded from the Malice Doll as it came to life as well. It stood up on the tombstone and jumped on the path where they had just come from.
"Didn't I tell you this would happen!" Heavn shouted at Ban.
"What are you talking about!" Ban said as the others moved closer to each other, "That kid who made those duel disks must have set up a hologram of duel monsters when people try to get into the estate. I'll prove it to you!"
"Out here in the rain?" Ginji wondered, worriedly as the raindrops were hitting the monsters.
Ban walk up to the stone giant before turning his back to it so he would be facing his friends. "Nothing but … "Ban shouted as he struck the stone giant left leg, "….holograms," Ban ended abruptly as his fist connected to the giants leg very solidly.
"Ban that thing is real…," Ginji gulped backing away from the menacing wave.
"No kidding." Ban stated calmly, "And they outnumber us, with most of our abilities being useless against them right now. My advice is to perform a tactical retreat, in other words – RUN LIKE HELL!"
They all took off as the stone giant slammed his stone swords where Ban was a moment before. The doll holding the ax jumped at the others but Shido knock it into the dirt before he took off with the others. The wooden robots tried close in around them, as the group dodged their attacks and ran.
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Elsewhere –
In the front end Bond had scaled the outer wall of the estate. He was dressed in black clothes with a ski mask and night-goggles to help him gain access to the house. Prior scouting earlier in the day had revealed that there were no guard dogs on the grounds. Taking a closer look, he saw that the garden was in much better shape then when the interview took place. The noise of the storm was increasing in volume; he could barely hear anything else but the rain falling and the thunder roaring. Grimacing in slight distaste at the trickle of water that found its way down the back of his shirt, the agent looked for an opening into the building.
On the right wing of the manor, he spied a side entrance. Taking out his picklock, Bond managed to open the door quickly, as the lock was a simple one. Looking around he saw that the room he entered is empty, save some garden tools and a ticking clock. The lightning flashing through the window lit up room showing him the lay out. Remembering the reported presence of guests in the manor, the spy was careful not to reveal a light inside.
Taking out the tranquilizer gun that he was given for this mission, he inspected it by touch to ensure that it was in working order. He didn't have a license to kill on this mission – Dark Hat wouldn't look too kindly on him if he did so. Checking his other equipment, he readied the smoke bombs and knock-out gas. In order to have free reign of the mansion, he'd have to take out anyone still present before they realized that he was there. If he could execute it properly, they would merely believe that they had fallen asleep.
Satisfied with his equipment check he moved over to the inner door and eased open the doorknob, listening for any movement on the other side. It was silent except for the ticking of the old clock. He was about to open the door fully when a nearby door slammed shut. Bond eased the door back into place and flattened himself against the wall, listening with the dart gun in hand. The sounds of several pairs of feet reached him faintly and then were gone, the noise fading in the direction of the left wing.
Deeming himself safe for the moment, the spy opened the door. It looked out into one side of narrow corridor, dimly lit by antique light fixtures. James checked both directions. To the right was maybe ten meters of hardwood hall, a couple of doors across from him and a door at the end of the corridor. To the left, the hallway took a sharp turn away from where he stood, widening out.
'If they knew I was here, they would have come by now. Perhaps there are other party crashers here as well,' James thought to himself.
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A few moments earlier –
The back door of the estate fell open as Ban and the others ran into the estate. Quickly closing the heavy wooden door behind them locking it they all began gasping for breath. Looking around they found themselves in the dinning room of the manor. A long table stood there with places for twenty, but it was only set for a handful of people. Luck was on their side when they ran from the cemetery, as the large monsters would not travel through the gravestones, instead moving outside the area. Unfortunately, the axe wielding doll was small enough to follow them on their escape route. Until Ginji atomized it with a major bolt of electricity, that is.
"Are they still out there?" Heavn's gasping for breath caused her ample chest to jiggle.
Ban spared a few seconds to check out a window before his eyes went back to the previous object of his attention. The monsters were standing just beyond the stone walkway the group had just run across to reach the mansion. "Yup, they're still there."
"Why aren't they coming in after us?" Ginji wondered, panting.
"Maybe they have orders not to bust up the place?" Himiko let the curtain fall back into place.
"That's probably why they refused to chase us through the maze of tombstones, too." Shido said.
Sighing, Kasuki turned to Ban. "We did warn you."
"Well, we can't go back now. We might as well see if we can find the file that Jones supposedly has," Ban said, putting on an overly cheerful face, "Remember it's on a red disk." He hurried out of the room, not looking back at the others.
"Come on, let's stay together. Otherwise one of us is going to be pulled into a trap door or something," Shido said, leading the others after Ban.
It took a few minutes for the group to make their way to the library. Strangely, all of the doors along the way had led into empty rooms. Nevertheless, the team checked for any clue to the files whereabouts. The only things that they had found were a few rare items that had come into the doctor's possession from his past adventures. Save for a small pile of papers burning cheerfully atop the pieces of woods in the fireplace, the library seemed to be deserted.
"Where is everyone?" Ginji shivered as he tried to dry out in front of the fire, "I mean, those people we met in town said that there were maids or something working here."
"Who knows? Anyway, we should be careful, we don't know what powers or skills they possess." Ban said, "If they have been hired, they probably double as bodyguards."
"Come on! There has to be something here that can help us," Heavn snapped.
The group split up to search the entire library, looking throughout the large room. Books were pulled from shelves before being carefully replaced, in the hopes that one of them was a trigger to a hidden door. Anything not nailed down to the floor was examined intensely, as they made their way to the center of the room. One item of interest was a strange looking mirror, protected by bullet proof glass. The nameplate on the case proclaimed it the Chaos Mirror. Nothing further was revealed. At the study desk, Heavn noticed a strange paper weight. It had the image of a horse rising up from the top of the metal weight, while the bottom of it resembled the handle of a key of some kind.
"Well, we searched the place," Himiko said. "And we still don't have any clue."
"There is a door behind one of the bookcases, but it's double-bolted, reinforced steel. There's no keyhole on it," Shido reported.
"How do we get in then?" Ginji wondered.
"Without destroying the house," Kasuki put in helpfully.
"Did anyone else find anything?" Ban asked.
"Well, I saw something weird. Next to the clock, the wall has a slot with the image of a horse engraved into it," Himiko said.
"Horse?" Heavn snapped her fingers suddenly and ran back to the desk. Grabbing the weight from the desk, she placed it into the slot, and then turned it once it was in. They all heard the loud click of something unlocking from the back of the room, "Ha! It looks like the door is unlocked now."
Shido led the way to the back of the library, where a single steel door stood in shadow. It opened smoothly, revealing a small, shadowy room, with a strangely cool and silent feel to it. Muted tracks of lighting illuminated a single, large-framed painting on the dusky wall in front of them. The painting was of a young boy with pale skin and white hair with a sad look to his face.
"You know, this isn't the hidden room as I thought it would be," Ginji said quietly.
"Why is there a lock like that, for this?" Himiko turned to look at Ban, who ignored the question.
"According to the information that they gave us, this room wasn't here before," Heavn said looking at the map.
"That layout that they gave us is outdated by twenty years, so who knows what changes Jones has made since then," Kasuki replied.
"Wait, maybe there's a trapdoor or something," Himiko said, glancing around, "Things like that happen all the time in old places like this."
"Right. Maybe there's something behind the painting," Shido walked over to the wall. As he reached out to remove the painting, it began to move. Shido leaped backwards as the boy in the painting started to climb into the room. As he stepped fully into the light, the group could see that the boy's skin seemed paler because of his white clothing. Long hair covered his eyes, but they could all see the blood that covered him.
"Ghost!" Himiko shrieked and clung to Ban tightly.
"It can't be," Shido replied, narrowing his eyes as he backed away from the approaching figure.
"Why are you here?" the boy asked.
"Who are you?" Heavn whispered, staring like the others at the ghost in front of them.
"A soul, taken too soon," was the reply, "Why are you here?"
"To find a file that Jones has," Ban said, his mind racing, 'If I use the Jagan on him it might not work, since he's dead. But if he's alive, then… but again, he did walk out of that painting.'
The boy smiled softly, "Oh it's down stairs. The others have been getting bored, you guys should do nicely."
"For what?" Himiko asked, suspicious. The boy waved his hand and the floor in front of them opened up, revealing a staircase leading down.
"Go down," the boy sounded amused.
"What! No way! There's no way I'm going down there," Ginji shouted, "I've seen too many movies with ghosts to just go down into a basement - you never go down into a basement like this."
"You could stay here with me then," the boy gave them a creepy smile, "And take your chances with her."
Turning around, they saw a dark haired woman, with pale skin, and dressed in a long black dress coming down the hallway. Blood dripped from the twin hatchets that she held, and she lifted her face her hair covered her eyes giving them a smile showing white teeth, before walking towards them.
"Close the doors!" Heavn shouted as the woman began to run at them.
Ban slammed the door shut, but her head phasing through the door, causing his eyes to widen in shock. He took a swing at her but his fist passed through her face without pausing. She used the hatchets to lock together on the back of his neck and press his face into the door.
"Take this!" Ginji shouted, throwing a blast of lighting at her. It caused her to pull herself back freeing Ban.
"Quick, let's go!" Shido shouted, seeing that they couldn't hurt her, but she could hurt them. They all ran down the stairs, fleeing from the axe wielding ghost.
"Well, that was fun mother," Junior said to Nancy as he looked down the stairs.
"Hope the others don't work them over too much," Nancy said as they both walk back to the painting and phase into it.
Bond was watching from the shadows, and saw the two going back into the painting. When nothing was left but a smiling mother and son in the painting, he finally stepped into the light, "It looks like I've got company in getting those files and that those girls that Joker wanted are here also," James said to himself, remembering the faces of the people that Joker was after.
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Downstairs –
"Are they following us?" Ginji looked back over his shoulder nervously.
"No, it looks like they're staying upstairs," Himiko said.
"Where are we, exactly?" Heavn looked around the underground room to where two huge sliding triple-reinforced titanium doors stood in front of them. They'd found a tunnel at the bottom of the stairs, and they all ran to their right in an attempt to escape the apparitions.
"Well there's only one way to find out," Kasuki as he used his threads to pull the heavy metal door open. When it opened they all gasped at the view.
Fluorescent lights were set into the ceiling, concrete walls, and even some of the floors. Weird machines covered with blinking lights are running experiments – obviously this place is a laboratory. All kinds of machines of every shape and size filled intervening spaces. Pistons pumped, cogs turned and wheels revolved and making a lot of noise. From cutting edge technology to things only seen in anime and manga, it was all there in the lab. The ingenuity and complexity of whoever crafted the laboratory surpassed the greatest scientific minds living. Only a few minds in anime and manga might come close to the person.
The room itself was well protected, perhaps even overdone. Laser cannons and camera guns bristled from walls, pointed in every imaginable direction. The only way through was a heavily guarded tunnel and then through triple-reinforced titanium doors. They jerked forward suddenly as the walkway they were standing on began to move, almost like one in the old cartoon 'The Jetsons'. They came to a halt in a wide empty space in the middle of the lab.
"Welcome to the party," a childish voice spoke up from above, "Said the spider to the flies." Looking up, they saw a girl hanging onto support beams with metal spider legs. As they watched, she jumped down to where they stood and gave them a grin that said exactly what she planned to do to them.
Ginji who sent a lightning bolt at her, and Himiko tried to use her perfume to put the girl to sleep. Unfortunately for them, the electric current just got absorb into one of Minds spider legs and another one of Mind's spider legs shot in front of her and sucked the perfume into it like a vacuum cleaner. Ban hardened his eyes as he met the child-genius' gaze.
"Nice try but I can't be harmed by something weak like that," Mind laughed as she pressed a remote on her wrist.
Metal pods flew out of the wall, creating fields of energy around the group, trapping them. "Let's see, what kind of powers I can I copy from you guys," Mind smiled.
Her smile vanished as the people in the force fields melted away to nothing right before her eyes, "What the?" Mind whispered, stunned. She looked up again as the noise of a door shutting came to her ears. "So that was the Jagan; well, that's one Jagan use down and only two to go, all according to plan. Now it's up to the others." All was going just as Top predicted it would.
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On the second basement –
"That was close," Ginji commented, his gaze darting around the area. He and the others had run downstairs and into a high ceiling chamber. The room was filled with gears like inside of a giant clock. Walkways and hanging bridges were everywhere, leading around the cogs and gears. Metal pipes made the whole room seem like an old spider's web. The gears seemed to power Minds lab above. (6)
"She was just a little girl," Shido said. The others gave him flat stares as if he just grew a second head.
"Well it's clear that you don't keep up on Ranma's group," Heavn said.
"Yeah, she's the most dangerous person in his group," Kasuki commented idly. "She might even be partly insane."
"Wait a minute, I've seen this kind of thing before," Himiko said, looking at the gear room and seeing the types of machinery there. In the center of the room stood a huge boiler. "Is this a giant steam engine?"
"A what?" Shido blinked. Then he looked at the pipes, and he could see steam coming out of them now and then.
"A steam engine built this big?" Heavn wondered aloud "But that means that Mind's lab and the house are running on steam?"
"So you used the Jagan to escape Mind."
The voice that broke their train of thought bounced around the walls, making location of the person difficult. "To answer your question, the manor, as well as Mind's lab is run on stream, since it's a cleaner energy then fossil fuel. In fact, many of her inventions are stream powered to begin with. Secondly, you're the first people to make it this far. The two ghosts upstairs usually handle people like you. That is, unless Mind wants to experiment on them before erasing their minds. Now it's my turn."
"Where are you?" Ban shouted as group formed a circle facing outward.
Just then, a huge cog that was lying on its side above them began to turn. Facing the cog they saw it was a young woman, riding on it as it moved on its circuit. Blonde tresses fell from under a green portpie hat, while a long, flowing, green button-up coat brushed the ground. One hand held a white longbow in front of her. Strangely, her eyes were closed. "Hello intruders, I'm Snake-Tail and I'll be fighting you today."
"Snake-tail?" Ginji blinked, losing his fighting stance, "Why call yourself Snake-Tail?"
"Well…," Snake-Tail said as a long snake tail came out from underneath her coat showing them a serpentine tail. They all realized that her lower body was, in fact, that of a snake, "I'm in the same family as the legendary Medusa. Shall we see how good you people really are? I warn you Ban Midou, the Jagan will be useless, for in meeting my gaze, you will turn to stone." (7)
"In that case, what about an electric shock!" Ginji shouted as he sent a bolt of power at her. It struck a nearby gear and was absorbed, however.
"This room is designed to absorb all forms of energy blasts, there's no way you have enough power inside of you to short it out," Snake-Tail said sternly. She reached back and took a long white snake out of her quiver; it wiggled before it straightened out into a rod. She placed it in her bow and shot it like an arrow at them.
The group split up as snakes rained down around them, having not only to dodge the ones that were falling, but also the ones that hit the ground, since they came to life after they hit the floor. Heavn and Himiko took one of the walkways going down, while Ban and Shido ran across gears and cogs to avoid the attack. Ginji grabbed a plank from a pile and used it to knock the snakes out of the air. Kasuki took the fight up to her as he used his threads to climb up to her.
Before reaching her, a pair of oversized boots slammed into him from behind, knocking him back down. Kasuki's gaze traveled upward, coming to rest on a little girl wearing oversized boots with spring-heels on them. A pair of loose fitting, purple shorts and a purple coat three times her size (her arms didn't even reach out of the sleeves!) continued the ensemble, which was topped by a leather helmet and goggles. (8)
"Name's Spring-Heeled Jill," the girl said as her sleeves rolled up to show playing cards in her hands. She flicked them negligently in his direction. "Pick a card!" Kasuki ducked as the cards imbedded themselves into whatever they hit.
"Ginji! I need a hand here," Kasuki shouted, as he blocked incoming cards and snake arrows with his threads.
"On it!" Ginji shouted back, grabbing a portion of the guard rail and ripping a metal rod out. Taking a page of tricks from Ion, he channeled his power into the rod, making it glow with power, "I'll handle Jill while you go get the snake woman!"
Ginji swung the pipe at Jill, an attack that she evaded by jumping to a much higher level with her springs. Ginji was forced to duck as she threw more cards at him; he found himself lying flat on his back when she followed her cards down and kicked him. Desperately he took another swing at her, but she merely jumped out of his reach. Staggering to his feet, he followed her as she continued to jump in and out along the walkway. They traded blows for a moment before Jill managed to get in a kick to his back, knocking him over the guardrail. Ginji screamed as he fell past the turning gears.
Kasuki was having no luck with his opponent. Snake-Tail could move around the gears faster then Kasuki could follow her. The whole time she kept up a barrage of arrows in his direction, all without opening her eyes. Covering the gears might enable him to trap her, but the thread master was afraid that if he did so, the gears would break apart and cause the room to collapse. As he glanced after her again, he saw Snake-Tail open a valve on one of the pipes. A wall of hot steam blocked his path, and as he turned to find another way, several snakes fell on him with fangs bared...
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Elsewhere in the room –
On the bottom floor, Ban and the others regrouped after they handled the snakes that had chased them. Surprisingly, the snakes felt weird; when they hit the creatures, they felt lighter then they should have been. As though they weren't real snakes at all.
"Where's Ginji and Kasuki?" Heavn asked, looking hurriedly at the gears above.
"Snake-Tail and Jill are taking care of them."
Turning they saw a dark-haired woman with generous curves. She wore nothing but white bandages wrap around her body, making her look like a mummy. Next to her was a tall, thin woman with short hair. She was dressed in a gray pants and shirt. Her mouth was covered with a black guard like doctors use. What was weird was that she carried a huge, totally white sword, and rode on a strange looking beast. The beast was on all fours and looked something cross between a bear and a bull. It was all white and appeared as though it was made up of something all wrapped together.
"Wrap," the mummy said.
"Tamer," the monster-riding woman said in a flat voice.
"We're here to fight you," Wrap said as she whipped out several of her bandages at the group. Following her lead, Tamer charged forward on her beast, swinging her sword. Ban dodged as the bandages tried to wrap around him, and the rest of the group scattered as Tamer charged at them with her beast.
"Take this!" Himiko shouted, as she opened her regression perfume (The perfume was designed to make people think that they are apes). The perfume hit, but Warp and Tamer didn't seem to be affected in the least.
"Sorry kid, but I'm already dead and Tamer doesn't even need to breathe anymore," Warp said as her bandages tied down Lady Poison.
"Shido! Can't you control that beast?" Heavn shouted, as she watched Shido holding the beast back by its horns.
"It won't work. This isn't a real beast!" Shido shouted back, "It's not even natural, more like a monster. My power doesn't work on it!"
"That's because it's really a demon," Tamer said, leaping off her mount to take the battle straight at Ban, who was now busy dodging all of her swings.
'Damn! How can she be so fast with a sword that big?' Ban thought to himself. At first he thought that it was made out of some kind of plastic, but it sliced through objects without any problem, and when he was nicked with flat side of the blade it felt solid enough. 'Need to take out that demon first.'
Ban kicked Tamer away as he jumped back and locked onto her gaze. Tamer's eyes narrowed as she jumped at him, her sword held high. The downstroke cut through Ban like a hot knife threw butter. The retrieval agent crumpled to the ground in two bloody halves. But then the scene began to rewind, and her eyes widened as she realized that she had just cut her beast's head off.
"Good one, Midou," Shido said as Ban slipped his glasses back on with one hand. This had been his second use of the Jagan, meaning that he could only use it once more today.
"It's not that easy; I said my beast is a demon," Tamer growled at them, as tentacles reached out to reattach the head back to the body of the demon. The beast shook its head after the cut healed, then turned on Ban and Shido, growling.
"Great, all you did was make it mad," Heavn was staying as far from the action as she could.
"Tamer, stop playing around," Wrap admonished as she wrapped up Heavn like she did to Himiko, "I took care of the girls already."
"Well, this is bad," Ban whispered as he and Shido stood back to back, watching the three circling around them.
"You don't know the half of it," Snake-Tail snorted, appearing suddenly on the ground floor. Beside her, Kasuki was held by several snakes, their bodies tied around him like ropes.
"Yeah, these guys were too easy," Jill said as she hopped out dragging a mop bucket behind her. Ginji had gotten his butt stuck in the mop bucket with wheels on the bottom, when Jill had kicked him over the side. (10)
"Sorry Ban, she got the drop on me," Ginji said apologetically, still trying to free himself from his predicament. He was a little leery of trying to shock his way out, because of the gears overhead.
"You see, Jones hired us to keep the manor safe. There's no way that we're going to let him down," Wrap said smugly, "You should just give up now and let Mind erase your minds."
"Sorry girls, but there's no way we're going let that crazy get a hold of us like that," Shido said.
"That's right," Ban backed him up, remembering the crazed gleam in the young inventor's eyes.
"So we'll have to do this the hard way," Wrap mused as she shot her bandages at them, while Jill sprang forward.
Seeing his chance, Ban ripped away one of the incoming bandages. Evading the others that tried to bind him, he formed a lasso that he used to bind Jill's feet together, stopping her from jumping. Twirling the girl around his head at the end of the 'rope', he threw her into Tamer, knocking both of them down and out as their heads met. Snake-Tail fired an arrow at Ban, causing him to duck.
"Got you!" Shido growled, dropping down behind Snake. Grabbing her tail, he started swinging her around in a circle, not giving her a chance to fire one of her arrows.
"Why you!" Wrap shouted, sending a massive wave of bandages at the Beast Master.
"Here catch!" Shido shouted in reply, throwing a screaming Snake-Tail into the oncoming barrage. The momentum that Snake-Tail had caused the attack to turn around, catching both her and Wrap in a neat bundle of bandages.
"Guy's the beast!" Kasuki had finally worked himself out of the snake-ropes and was being chased by it. His threads were holding it back but not for long.
"I'm on it," Ginji used the distraction that Ban started to free himself from the bucket, and now he released a powerful bolt of electricity directly into the creature. The beast roared as it burst into flames before falling apart. It burned until there was nothing but a pile of ash left behind.
"Paper?" Ban said blankly, looking at what was left of the demon, "The demon was nothing more than paper!"
"A paper demon? Hmm…" Shido said as he and Kasuki freed Heavn and Himiko.
"What should we do with them?" Ginji wondered, panting slightly from his exertion. He looked over at the fallen girls with concern. Ban was going to say something when they all heard the click of something being released. The floor beneath them fell away, revealing the trap door that they stood over.
"Well that was fun," Snake-Tail said, after the group disappeared down the hole.
"Yeah I haven't dress up like this since I was a kid," Wrap said smiling having some real fun for a change.
"My head hurts," Jill whined, rubbing her head where she had hit Tamer.
"It was hard to allow them to defeat us without it becoming obvious that the whole thing was a sham." Tamer was rubbing her forehead too. "We got lucky."
"Well, its Writer turn now," Jill smiled, knowing what was waiting for the party down below.
High above them, Bond was spying on them from the shadows. He'd taken a long detour to avoid coming close to Mind's laboratory, not wanting to tangle with the child genius. Reaching the room behind the 'Get Backers', he'd opted to try and remain out of sight until the right time.
"So it was all staged," James muttered to himself in a low voice. 'Looks like Mind had really gotten creative with the powered costumes.' Bond sneaked away making no sound as he made his way down to the lower basement.
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At the lower level –
Shaking their heads, the Get Backers all got up from their fall. A circle of light shone dimly down on them from above, barely illuminating the group in the darkness that filled the place into which they had fallen. Looking around, they found that there was no other form of illumination. A distinctly creepy feeling began to crawl up their spines; it felt like a thousand eyes were watching them.
"Alright, we know that you're there, so turn on the lights and show yourselves!" Ban shouted, "Come on, we handled the girls upstairs, we can handle you guys!"
"You shouldn't say that," Kasuki warned him in a whisper.
"How many could there be?" Ban replied in a hushed tone, "We have handled large groups before."
In response to the shout, the lights inside the room came on. Blinking rapidly to adjust to the sudden influx of light, the Get Backers stared at the full extent of the room and then they all started to sweat heavily. The eyes were all visible now, and there were a lot of them.
"Ban you just had to say it didn't you," Heavn muttered, "If we get out of this alive, I'm so going to kill you!"
The room was something like a speaking hall with several balconies for people to look down at the stage. However, it was quite apparent to most of the group that the people crowding the balconies weren't human. They were, in fact, an army of female duel monsters. Surrounding them on the ground floor were Warrior and Beast-type monsters. The girls with the long-range weapons were on the upper levels, as were the spellcasters. Girls capable of flight perched along the railing on the third balcony, including the four 'Harpy Lady' sisters. On the second level, Ginji could make out an 'Amazoness Blowpiper', a 'Crimson Sentry' with her highly decorated bow, and a 'Red Archery Girl' among the host of other girls preparing their weapons for combat. The Amazons' close range fighters were cracking their knuckles in preparation for a beat down. All in all, it was enough to make the most confident fighter in the word sweat.
"Think we can take them?" Himiko whispered, gazing around at the girls.
"No," Ginji said, his voice flat.
"There's no way we'll be able to take them all on like this." Kasuki said, "Shido can you get control over the beast girls?"
"Sorry. My beast control powers won't work on beasts that have great degrees of intelligence," Shido crossed his arms as he surveyed the masses arrayed against them. He'd never been able to control any of the ape family, since they were some of the most intelligent land mammals alive.
"Take this!" Ginji shouted, as he released a huge electric wave at the second tier. However, a 'Dark Magician Girl' created a magical shield that absorbed the attack. Ginji was panting as he finished. Himiko sighed and fingered her poisons, knowing that there was no way to influence any of the group until they came in close. And with the looks of things, when that happened it would be entirely too late to do anything. She might get a few of them, but the rest would mob her before she could turn around. The only ones with a chance to make it outside were Ban and Shido.
"We're doomed," Heavn said again as she saw that there was no chance of getting out of this one, "We're surrounded there's no possible way we're ever going to get out of this!"
"Well, come on, get on with it." Ban was deadly calm now, his entire focus on the fight. 'I only have one Jagan left. If it comes down to it, I'll have to catch as many of them as possible.'
Suddenly the girls in front of them parted, clearing a path for them. As the group looked down the path that was clearing, they noticed a woman seated at a stone table waving for them to approach. She was dressed in blue jeans and a yellow sweater, but Ban could still tell that she had a great figure. Brown hair fell to her shoulders, and sharp green eyes weighed the entire group from behind the glasses that she wore. In the wall behind her was a massive vault door, like something out of a major bank.
They began walking down the pathway, since there didn't seem to be much choice in the matter. As they did, the women continued to stare at them, smiling as they walked by and closing the path behind them. Heavn grew uneasy as she noticed that looks that the women were giving her were the same looks that most guys gave her, not that she really minded showing off her body.
"Hello there. My name is Writer," the woman said, "You should be proud - this is the first time someone has gotten down here to my level. But this is where the ball stops. As you can clearly see, you're vastly outnumbered thanks to the girls."
"So are they real or illusions from that Duel Disk that Mind made?" Ban asks.
"Oh no, they're quite real, since I did summon them to this plane," Writer said, "Now what should I do to do to you guys?"
"You could let us go?" Ginji said, not really believing that it would work.
"Nope, no chance that's going to happen," Writer said, "But since this is the first time someone has gotten this far I'll give you a choice: You can take your chances with fighting my girls here, or one of you can duel against me."
"A duel!" Himiko exclaimed.
"Yes, but the other choice is something that my girls here would really like," Writer hinted.
"You mean that they really want to beat us up?" Kasuki wondered, glancing over his shoulder at the women.
"No nothing like that," Writer said, smiling, "You see, they haven't had any guys around here for a long time, and now here you are, four energetic young men for them to play with. You might die from exhaustion, but at least it will be a pleasant way to go."
The boys shifted nervously, their eyes widening as they saw all the female duel monsters smiling and licking their lips.
"I guess that Heavn and I should just take our leave then," Himiko said as she and Heavn started inching away from the boys both were very glad that they weren't guys right now.
"Where you two think you're going?" Writer asked, causing them to stop in their tracks. She faced them, amused. "I mean, a tall, busty woman and a cute, slim, young woman like you two are just their types."
"You mean they hit both ways?" Kasuki asked faintly.
"Yup, and girls, the order you girls have to follow is that the girls on the first level get to go at them first, then the second level, and so on okay?" Writer grinned as all her girls nodded in agreement.
"Oh yes," said a 'Prickle Fairy', a plant woman with green skin and long yellow hair. Her clothes looked something like a flower, and her arms were nothing more then four long green vines, "I would just love to get my tentacles around these girls."
"I guess that means that one of us will have to duel you, then." Ban sighed as Heavn and Himiko started hiding behind the guys. Both looked fearfully at the plant base monsters, knowing what usually happens to women with tentacle monsters.
"Yeah, I mean, I'm opened minded, but I don't swing that way," Himiko said.
"Oh really?" Writer smirked as she turned back to the crowd, "Well then girls, once they lose the duel give her the works!" All of the girl's smiles got wider and Himiko started laughing nervously while a large sweatdrop went down the side of her head.
"So who has played Duel Monsters before?" Ban asks.
"I'll do it, since I have been playing the game from the time the duel disk came out," Heavn volunteered, taking the seat across Writer, "But I don't have any cards with me."
"No problem. You just pick them out of the card data base then," Writer said as a sliding screen of cards showed up in front of Heavn, "In this game you get to pick 52 cards like a regular playing deck, also we get 4000 life points to start out with. Make sure you pick some good cards. They'll come out of the slot next to you. And we're playing by the battle city rules, you know - tributes are required to summon higher level monsters."
"Fine. Let's get it started then," Heavn said, picking cards from the database. There's no way in hell that she's gonna let those girls use her like that. Even Ban, lecher that he was, wasn't that bad. After picking all of her cards the slot opened up to reveal all of the cards she had chosen.
"Good! Now I'll let you have the first move," Writer said picking up five cards. The stone table they were sitting at widened out show a field similar to those used in the second season of the anime.
"Okay, I place one card facedown and place 'D.D. Trainer' in defense mode (ATK-100/DEF-2000)," Heavn said as a strange dragon with a goblin ridding on top of it appeared on the field.
"That monster does have high defense points for a level one monster," Writer commented, "I'll play this trap card 'Mask of Restrict' so that neither of us can tribute any monsters. But wait, there's more: I play 'Call of the Mummy', a magic card that allows me to special summon a zombie-type monster onto the playing field. And I call forth 'Patrician of Darkness' (ATK-2000/DEF-1400) in attack mode!" A blue-skinned vampire with wings and wearing armor appeared on the field.
"Then I will put two cards facedown and end my turn," Heavn said, seeing that she would have to wait until the time was right to make her move.
"Well since I made sure that you can't summon any high level monsters, I suppose I ought to give you a hand. I'll play 'Two-Man Cell Battle'; each time we end our turn we can special summon a 1st through 4th level monster from our hand," Writer said playing the card, "I now end my turn and summon 'Dancing Fairy' (ATK-1700/DEF-1000) onto the field in defense mode." Three little fairies appeared on the field dress in white dresses. "'Dancing Fairy' raises my Life Points by 1000 each turn."
(W – 5000 LP)
"Well, I play one card facedown in defense mode and end my turn," Heavn placed the card down, and then surveyed the rest of her hand.
"Very well then, I play the magic card 'Hieroglyph Lithograph' at the cost of 1000 life points; I can now hold seven cards in my hand instead of five. And I also place one monster face down in defense mode." Writer said. Her life points went down to 4000, and then went back up to 5000.
"Hmm. I'll play one monster in facedown defense, and one card down. That will have to end my turn," Heavn said, buying herself time. Writer smirked at her.
"Well, since I only hold two cards in my hand, I think I use one. I play 'Pot of Greed' to draw two more cards. But wait, there's more! I flip my facedown monster 'Spirit of the Pot of Greed' (ATK-100/DEF-100) into attack mode. It lets anyone who plays 'Pot of Greed' to draw one more card," Writer said as a small monster popping its head out of the Pot of Greed appeared on the field. Its face was just like the face on the pot. She drew three cards and smiled seeing what she drew from her deck, "Now I end my turn with one card face down." (W – 6000 LP)
"Heavn, you have to take her down before her life points get any higher!" Ginji was really sweating as he watched from the sidelines. That girl was toying with Heavn.
"It's time for me to attack with my face down monster 'Giant Orc' (ATK-2200/DEF-0) and I also use another monster card 'Second Goblin' (ATK-100/DEF-100) to raise it's attack by 100," Giant Orc power rose to (ATK-2300/DEF-100). A giant grey skin orc with two tusks sticking jutting out of its lower jaw and dressed in green pants arose on the field. Holding a long bone as a club, it looked menacingly at the monsters opposite it. A small, horned, one-eyed goblin in a dirty yellow shirt and black pants appeared next to the larger orc.
"So, one of those new Union monsters," Writer observed casually.
"Uh-huh. Now 'Giant Orc', attack 'Dancing Fairy'!" Heavn said, as the orc charge at the three little fairies who all group together staring at the giant orc coming their way.
"Hold it! You forget 'Patrician of Darkness' special effect: I can control what your monster target's are and I pick your new target to be Spirit of the Pot of Greed'!" Writer said as the orc smash the pot spirit into pieces. (W – 3800 LP)
"Normally when 'Giant Orc' attacks, he has to go into defense mode immediately afterwards," Heavn said. "But thanks to 'Second Goblin', he can stay in attack mode."
"Fine then, I now play 'Armed Dragon LV3' (ATK-1200/DEF-900) and the magic card 'Hinotama'!" Writer said, as an orange and grey colored dragon appeared on the field. Shortly afterwards fireballs rained down on Heavn's side of the field draining her lifepoints, "That does 500 damage to your life points and it also activates my face down trap card 'Robbin' Goblin'. Each time I damage your life points, one card is removed from your hand to your graveyard." (H – 3500 LP, W – 4800 LP)
Heavn growled as an arm reached out of the graveyard and removed one card from her hand. "Well I flip my facedown card 'Princess of Tsurugi' (ATK-900/DEF-700) to activate her special effect: 500 points of direct damage to your life points for each trap and magic card on your field!" A young woman in a red robe appeared, holding knives in her hand. She threw her knives at Writer, taking her down to 2800 LP, "Then I play 'Card Destruction Virus Cannon' (9). This magic card takes away ten percent of your deck each time I end my turn! Also I special summon 'Red Archery Girl' (ATK-1400/DEF-1500) onto the field." A mermaid sitting inside of a giant clam appeared on the field, a red bow in her hands.
Writer frowned as ten percent of her deck was sent to her graveyard, "Before my turn begins I use 'Armed Dragon' special effect to summon 'Armed Dragon LV5' (ATK-2400/DEF-1700)." A red and dark grey dragon appeared in the place of the first one. It was much larger than its predecessor was, and had more spikes on its body.
"Now I summon a level one monster that has a special ability that you should find interesting. I summon 'Goblin King' (ATK-0/DEF-0)," a small green goblin sitting on a throne popped onto the field, "His power comes from the number of fiend-type monsters on the field and since you have three fiend-type monsters on the field his power is three times one thousand!" The Goblin King glowed as he gained power from the three monsters (ATK-3000/DEF-3000). "Now attack 'Red Archery Girl'!" Before 'Goblin King' could attack, Heavn flipped one of her facedown cards. "What? An 'Infinite Dismissal' card?" Writer said, as her monster was frozen for three turns. "Then I place one card facedown and end my turn." Writer then lost four more cards from her deck and gained 1000 more life points (W – 3800 LP).
"First I remove 'Princess of Tsurugi' to summon 'Silpheed' (ATK-1700/DEF-700) then I summon 'Muka Muka' (ATK-600/DEF-300) who gains 300 points for each card in my hand!" A purple-skinned man in green clothes holding an ax and a crab-like creature appeared on Heavns side of the field. Since she had two cards in her hand, Muka powered up by 600 points (ATK-1200/DEF-900).
"Well you still can't attack me since if you do I just use 'Patrician of Darkness' ability to redirect your monsters to 'Goblin King' which is the strongest monster on the field," Writer said smugly.
"Well, I end my turn," Heavn stated, knowing that she couldn't attack while 'Patrician of Darkness' remained on the field.
"Now I play this trap card 'Pyro Clock of Destiny' so that in my next turn I can attack you with my 'Goblin King'," Writer said, "I also power him up with 'Ax of Despair' powering him up by 500." Goblin King suddenly was holding a black ax powering him up to (ATK-3500/DEF-3500). More of her deck disappeared into the graveyard and she gained 1000 more life points (W – 4800 LP).
"Well I play one of my facedown cards 'Graceful Charity' that allows me to draw three new cards and I have to discard two from my hand. Also raising 'Muka Muka' power to (ATK-2100/DEF-1800)," Heavn said, "I'll remove 'D.D. Trainer', than summon 'Invasion of Flames' (ATK-1300/DEF-1200). As long as it's in play, you can't play any trap cards." A living red flame with a face on it appeared on the field.
"What does that do, your monsters are still too weak to beat 'Goblin King'," Writer smirked.
"Not unless I use this trap card: 'Elemental Burst'. I can only use it when there is one Wind, Water, Fire, and Earth type monster on my side of the field. And draining them of power allows me to destroy all the cards on your side of the playing field!" Heavn said as four orbs of red, green, blue and orange came out of the four monsters as they disappear and then exploded on Writers side of the field taking out all of her cards in one blow, "Leaving you open for attack!" 'Giant Orc' slammed his club at Writer taking out a huge chunk of her life points. (W – 2600 LP)
"Well then, since you destroyed all of my cards on my field, I think I'll play two cards: 'Mystical Space Typhoon' and 'Blasting the Ruins', since you been kind enough to put more then 30 of my cards in my graveyard." A huge typhoon swept away Heavn's magic card 'Card Destruction Virus Cannon' just before a big explosion carried away 3000 of her Life points. Writer sighed with delight. "Just think, all of that and I still have one card left in my hand."
Heavn growled as she watched her life points being drained (H – 500 LP). "Well too bad for you that you can only use that trap card when there are cards in your graveyard! I play 'Fiend Comedian', flipping a coin to determine if it works or not, and I call heads!" They all watch as a coin appeared flipping downward until it hit the floor and they saw it was heads, "Which means that all of your cards in your graveyard are taken out of play! Then I attack with 'Giant Orc'!" The orc attacked and brought Writer's life points down again. (W – 1300 LP)
"Well, thank you for helping me to defeat you," Writer said smiling.
"What are you taking about?" Ban narrowed his gaze at the woman, "You only have a few cards left in your deck and hand, and another swing from that orc will finish you off."
"Well I play this rare monster called 'Gren Maju Da Eiza' (ATK-/DEF-?), who gains 400 points for everyone of my cards that have been remove from play and I have thirty-seven cards remove from play thanks to you!" A large red demon appeared on the field that has spider like legs, bat wings and four horns on its head over shadow the either field. Then its power rose for each card that was removed from play (ATK-14800/DEF-14800). Now attack her orc!"
The demon roared as it formed a huge fireball over its head then threw it at Giant Orc. Heavn flipped one of her cards face up. "I play 'Waboku' making that attack go down to zero!"
"Nice, but on my next turn I get to end the game, and you don't have a monster strong enough to beat him," Writer said.
"She's right," Himiko groaned.
"How does she beat something like that?" Ginji wondered, staring.
"I play 'Jar of Greed'," Heavn said as she drew two more cards, "Then I end my turn."
"Well then I summon 'Man-Eater Bug' (ATK-450/DEF-600) that destroys 'Second Goblin' first," Wirter said a beetle man thing appeared and 'Second Goblin' was automatic destroyed causing 'Giant Orc' to go into defense mode, "Now 'Gren Maju Da Eiza' destroy that over grown orc!" The orc was destroyed as the red demon used another one of those fireballs at it. Heavn's life points were now open to direct attack. "Next turn you're all mine!"
"Interesting…" Shido narrowed his eyes at the Negotiator, as the female monsters started to get closer to the ones they wanted to sample first.
"You know, I never thought that I would die like this," Kasuki gulped, as the Amazons all crowded around him giving him hungry looks. His threads wouldn't be much use as two of the Amazons were feeling him up while pressing a rather large soft part of their bodies onto him. One of them took the bells that he kept his threads in and put them inside her top. The look that she gave him told him that there was only one way for him to get them back from her, and the Thread Master knew that the other Amazoness were going to close in once he put his hand in there. All of them were heavily muscled while retaining their good looks and shapely figures.
"Well, I bet a lot of guys really hope that they could," Himiko said, clinging to Ban as the female monsters ran their eyes all over her body.
"Heavn, if you have something that will end this duel, use it!" Ban growled.
"Don't worry, I got the five cards I needed," Heavn said, drawing one more card and removing one to the graveyard, "Well, I managed something that few others ever have in a duel. I have drawn all five special sealed cards to summon the unstoppable 'Exodia, the Forbidden One'!"
"'EXODIA'!" Writer screamed, as she saw the five cards in Heavns hand. All of the female monsters let out their own screams before backing away from the dueling field.
"Now I play the five cards and summon forth 'Exodia'!" Heavn said as she laid the cards out. Five portals opened on the field and the arms, legs and the body of 'Exodia' came out of them. When it was over, standing before Writer and her monsters was the most powerful and the most difficult monster to summon in Duel Monsters. The giant in golden armor overshadowed Gren Maju Da Eiza' and 'Man-Eater Bug'. Each of his limbs were chained but they all could feel the power coming from him. Exodia's power and defense were showing on the field just said (Infinite). "Now 'Exodia' obliterate!"
Exodia powered up forming a ball of pure power then shot a beam at Writer's monsters destroying both of them all in one blast. And brought her remaining life points down to zero. "I've been beaten, you may leave the manor safely," Writer said, admitting her defeat.
"Good and we'll also be taking that file that Jones stole from Japan," Ban smirked, holding out one hand. After all, they needed it to be paid.
"Oh, I don't remember anything about you taking that file with you, alive I mean," Writer said as the female monsters all started grinning, "Besides, do any of you even know what is in that file?"
"What is it?" Himiko asked.
"The file that Jones had Dark Hat steal contains information on the monsters that Neclord made," Writer said.
"What!" Heavn slammed her hands on the table.
"Yes, some of the Japanese Special Forces wanted to learn how Neclord made those monsters, and they managed to get the last remaining file on it. Dark Hat had already destroyed all of the other data and killed everyone that knew how to make them." Writer said.
"Then why did the Professor steal it?" Kasuki wondered, "For the American government?"
"Of course not! Jones knows too well what that would have meant. No, he had it stolen since the information does have some medical value to it. Mind read through it and took out all of the medical information," Writer replied.
Then where is it?" Ban asked, but then his eyes widened as he remembered. The fireplace was burning brightly with those papers placed in it.
"Yes, the papers that were in the fire were the files that you came for," Writer said, her expression grim.
"So we came here for nothing," Shido said.
"Yes, but at least you people got to learn something out of this," Writer shrugged.
"Can we have the medical data?" Heavn asked, staring hard at the other woman.
"Why, so you can give it to that lady that hired you?" Writer said.
"Lady? How could you know that?" Himiko asked in surprise. The voice that had spoken to them had been too modulated to tell which gender.
"He told me," Writer said pointing behind them.
Looking back they saw Dark Hat standing behind them. All of the female monsters were giving him plenty of room. Even with his mask in place, the look he gave them felt like he was gazing into their very souls.
"Dr. Jones asked me to look into who hired. I found out that if you would have gotten the file to the drop off point, you all would have been eliminated to make sure there were no loose ends. I already killed all of the people that were in on it," Dark Hat said.
"Um, we really ought to be going, then. Sorry for bothering you!" Ginji sweated nervously, pushing Himiko and Ban ahead of him, towards the exit.
"Your jeep is waiting outside," Writer informed them as they passed.
"Great we came all this way and all for nothing," Heavn whispered, bitterly.
"Nothing?" Dark Hat scoffed, "I'm letting you all live. And that is only because Jones requests that I do so. You should leave now."
"Right," Kasuki fairly flew as he rushed back and dragged along the protesting blonde.
When the elevator doors closed, Dark Hat turned to another corner of the room. "You can come out now, James Bond."
"So you knew I was here then," Bond sighed, stepping from his hiding spot behind a pillar on the third level, somewhat away from the summoned monsters. The shadows around him engulfed him suddenly and he found himself standing in front of Dark Hat.
"I already know why you're here. The files would have given England the backing it needed to rise up from its downfall," Dark Hat said.
"You know, me and the others barely made it out alive with England's goon squads after us," Writer (better known as Nenene) commented.
"Granted. But Joker was working under backing from other governments too," Bond said, attempting to deflect the verbal attack.
"I know. I killed Joker's all of supporters already." Dark Hat stated simply.
"So you were behind all of those killings?" Bond said, somehow not surprised as there been a rash of killing in government officials a few days after the broadcast with Joker.
"I was. You would have gone away empty handed as well, but Jones does have a debt to pay off from Q, who was always a good friend to him. Therefore," Dark Hat said, pulling out a folder and giving it to the agent, "I'll allow you to have this. It is some of the medical information that Mind compiled, enough to help England get back on its feet. It isn't everything; England did too much to attempt its Empire's resurrection to offer anything else."
"Yeah, we're only going along with this since Jones asked us to," Nenene said.
"I understand," Bond said, taking his leave for the return trip back to England.
"So what about the rest of the file?" Nenene asks.
"Any of the existing pharmaceutical companies would try to jack up the profits before benefiting people. So, I'll be handing it over to Top, as she's the only one that I can trust to market the new medical equipment without becoming greedy." Dark replied, handing the girl a typed list.
"Yeah. Besides, she has more then enough money already," Nenene commented, as she saw the bank account balance for Top's company which all in total would be enough to run the entire US for two years.
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A few days later –
Ban and the others were back in Japan, hanging around the Honky Tonk café. They were all still down, since they didn't get any pay from their trip. The only one that gained anything was Heavn, as she has made money on her dueling skills.
"Well, at least you guys are still alive," Mizuki commented cheerfully to the morose group.
"And you guys still need to pay off your tab," Wan Pore reminded the two freeloading recovery agents, reading an article about some new medical break through in England and in the United States.
"With what?" Ban growled, irritated.
"Ban's right, you know. The only thing we got was that we get to keep our lives," Himiko reminded the owner.
"We got our butts kicked," Ginji admitted, remembering the fight with Spring-Heel Jill.
"And we almost got mobbed to death," Shido said thinking of those female duel monsters. He shuddered. "Death by pleasure…"
"Mind almost had us," Kasuki said simply.
"Guys, I've got another job for you," Heavn said as she strode briskly into the café.
"Forget it, we won't do anymore of your jobs," Ban said, as all of the others nodded.
"Really? The job that I got you is to recover and transport a cargo shipment from here to the United States," Heavn smiled mysteriously.
"Why would they need us?" Ginji wondered, eyeing the busty blonde.
"The cargo is for Hat Co, that company that opened recently." Heavn replied, looking smug, "It looks like Mind and Dark Hat told their sister, Top, about you guys and the way you got past Jones' security."
"What are they transporting?" Shido asked, leaning against his favorite corner.
"It's a large shipment of those one wheeled bikes, that been design by Mind. They were stolen as they were being shipped out for sale. Top could have sent her brother to recover them, but she's letting him take care of the people in charge of hiring the thieves. That's why she's asking you guys to do this." Heavn said.
"How much is she paying us?" Ban asked, waiting for a response.
"Well, she said something to the tune of two million dollars each, since she won the largest jackpot ever in Las Vegas," Heavn's eyes fairly glowed with excitement.
"Tell her that we'll take the job," Ban stated, as the others nodded in rapid agreement.
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Back in Jones estate –
"So, are you sure?" Jones asked solemnly, holding the Chaos Mirror.
"Yes, I'm going to stand at Ranma's side once more," Ukyo said. Jones had told her about what really happened with Ranma.
"You know that there might be no going back, this time around," Jones said.
"I know, but Ranma is worth it, and I need to earn his forgiveness or I will always be haunted by it," Ukyo said.
"Then go to him," Jones said, giving her the mirror.
"Mirror, I wish to go to the world that Ranma has gone so that I can earn his forgiveness." Ukyo said into the mirror. The glass started to glow as she was engulfed in light. "Farewell Mr. Jones and thank you for everything."
Jones picked up the mirror from where it hovered in the air. "Ukyo, I know that you can earn my grandson's forgiveness, as you have true feelings for him." Setting the mirror gently down on the nearby table, he pondered the other reason that he had helped Ukyo: she looked almost exactly as his wife, Hina, did when he had first met her years ago. Looking over his shoulder, he could see the ghostly figure of Hina smiling at him, "Yes I know she's kind of like you at that age. I know she'll do us proud. Soon we'll be together again my love."
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Authors Notes –
1 – From Read Or Die (R.O.D)
2 – From Escaflowne when the doubleganger was killed the same way.
3 – From Noir
4 – Think of the small robot that took cell samples from the Z fighters to make Cell
5 – Don't know his mother's name (The Last Crusade: Indy's dad always calls him 'Junior' – Trevor X)
6 – Think of Slade's first base in Teen Titans
7 – Clash of the Titans
8 – Spring Heeled Jack from Jackie Chan
9 – I don't remember if it's the name of the card that Kiba use in Yu-Gi-Oh the movie that does this
10 – A thread of Authorific FATE. Kinda like what happens in Warner Bros. Cartoons to Elmer Fudd
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