(Steve Stachowicz)
gerrek@hotmail.com
(Matthew Frey)
mafrey@charter.net
Webpage: http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/shores/2307
Swords of Destiny
By
Erice Thorsen and Stacko
LEGAL STUFF:
** The characters and concepts used here are the property of those people
and companies holding the copyrights to the respective storylines, series,
and movies. The only exceptions are those created by the demented minds of
authors of this story. The use of this material should be seen as the sign
of respect that it is. Besides, suing either of us would be a waste of time
since we don't have any money to begin with.
We hope you enjoy the story.
*************************************
CHAPTER SIX - Kidnapped part II
*************************************
Drakkenhaus Hotel, Ginza Ward, Tokyo, 5 A.M.
Ami was confused as she woke in a strange place. The first thing to impinge on
her consciousness was that she was not at home in her own bed. The confusion this
engendered was dealt with by the memory that she was staying in the penthouse of a
hotel in the most expensive part of Tokyo. There was still something wrong though,
so she tried to get her mind working a little better. Checking all sensations that
her brain was receiving against previous experience, she classified all of them except
two. One was the sensation of something hard and warm running all along her back. The
other was something equal warm resting on her hip. When she had spent what felt like
five minutes attempting to classify both sensations she finally decided that the only
thing she could do was turn and look.
As she turned, she heard a grunt of complaint, and then gasped at what she saw.
Swearing in a way that would have shocked her friends, Ami jumped out of the bed always
keeping her eyes on the sleeping form that barely shifted at all from the waves that
washed through the waterbed. Her temper flared as she watched the man in the bed sleep
on peacefully. Her eyes lighted on the pillow she had until recently been lying on and
her hand reached out and grabbed it. With a shriek of feminine rage, Ami jumped onto
the bed and started pummeling Scott with everything she had. When the pillow went flying
out of her hands on a back swing she continued, using her fist since the pillow hadn't
seemed to have any effect on her victim.
As Ami pummeled him with her fist, Scott began to struggle awake. Still only
half-awake his mind registered two things at once. Ami was screaming swear words at
the top of her lungs that he really hoped she did not actually understand, and someone
was trying to beat him through the headboard of his bed. His reflexes took over at this
point and Ami suddenly found herself pinned under Scott's body with her hands trapped
above her head. When she looked up in shock at Scott, Ami saw his eyes slowly clear
of their sleep-induced fog as Scott's mind registered their position. With a gulp,
Scott swore viciously then started turning green. In a rush, he jumped off the bed
and dove into the bathroom, where he was very noisily sick. After a few moments Ami
heard the shower spray come on and she sat up, wondering what had happened the night
before. She looked down at herself and blushed as she realized what Scott had seen.
She made a quick dive for her book bag and put her bra back on, then straightened the
black silk shirt she was wearing. She heard the shower cut off, and then heard a door
open and close. Confused that Scott still had not come back into the room, Ami went
to the bathroom door and tried to open it. The door opened easily, but there was no
sign of Scott and since the only other door in the bathroom would not budge when she
tried it, Ami locked the bathroom door and took a short shower herself. Dressed in the
clothes she had worn to bed, Ami walked out into the room cautiously, every nerve poised
for flight.
As she stepped into the room, Ami looked pointedly at Scott, who was lying on the bed
wearing a black silk shirt similar to the one she herself had on as well as black fatigue
pants. A pair of black hiking boots rested on the floor next to the bed. As Scott registered
the look she gave him, he smiled a little self-consciously. After nervously clearing his
throat, Scott attempted to say something twice before he finally got out what he was saying.
"Just as a question mind you, but nothing happened in here last night did it?" Scott
asked, blushing lightly at the way the question sounded. "I mean you and I... we didn't...
did we?" As the point of his question finally percolated through her mind, Ami blushed
heatedly and became rather tongue-tied. Taking her reaction to mean the worst, Scott looked
at Ami with horror in his eyes. "Oh, boy," Scott said as he slumped back in the bed with
his hand over his eyes.
***************************
Kevin smiled grimly to himself as he made his way to the room he had assigned to
Scott the night before, since Ami had taken over his regular room. He wasn't looking
forward to waking his good friend up after the drinks he'd had last night. Kevin himself
had taken precautions to ward off a hangover last night, but based on the way Scott had
stumbled down the hall last night, he very much doubted that Scott would feel at all well
this morning. Thinking of the two quarts of Gatorade that he had downed last night just
before going to sleep, Kevin grinned.
"I just love modern technology," Kevin said to himself as he knocked at the door.
After waiting a few minutes without getting a response he knocked again, smiling even
more broadly. When still didn't respond, he simply open the door. When he saw that Scott
wasn't in the room, he checked the bathroom, and attached dressing room. No Scott.
Muttering darkly to himself, Kevin stormed to the library, and opened the concealed door
to the security monitoring room. After making sure Scott hadn't left the penthouse, he
began switching from camera to camera looking for his friend. As he reached the firing
range, the monitor devices detected a scream coming from Scott's room. Switching to the
bedroom audio monitors, Kevin activated the microphones in Scott's room and smiled at the
words Ami was using, then realized Scott's name was mixed in with them. When the words
were cut off, then followed by Scott's voice cursing, Kevin started laughing as he realized
what must have happened. He roared with laughter when he heard running feet, then Scott
being sick in the bathroom. Smiling to himself, Kevin shut down the audio monitors, and
left the room, shutting the concealed door.
As Kevin left the library his smile broadened as he considered the others got together
later for breakfast. He was so caught up in the image that he didn't hear Makoto's door
close as she stepped out of her room. In fact he didn't even notice Makoto until he ran
into her knocking her off her feet. With a startled apology, he reached down and lifted
her back to her feet. Motioning her to silence, as they were right across from Scott's
room, he grasped her arm and led her to the kitchen. As they entered the room, Makoto
froze and gazed at the huge room in open astonishment. The she turned a looked questioningly
at Kevin who was smirking at her surprised look.
"What is this? A restaurant kitchen?" She asked, looking around the kitchen,
completely bewildered.
"No, this was just a present I gave myself after finishing college the last time,"
Kevin said smiling as she explored the huge kitchen. "After graduating from American
Culinary Institute, I decided that I deserved a real chef's kitchen. So I had the one
here remodeled."
"The American Culinary Institute?" Makoto said looking confused again. "But I thought
you were still in High School."
"Makoto, I've graduated from at least ten different colleges in the last 60 years, with
degrees ranging from architecture, to cooking, to Medicine." Kevin said, smiling a little
self-consciously. "I've spent so many years in school, I don't even remember some of the
names. What usually happens lately, is I finish my degree, move to a new town and the truant
officer shows up and back to high school I go." Kevin muttered darkly to himself about
interfering civil servants.
"You mean you keep getting sent back to high school every ten years, and always back
to the second year?" Makoto asked, shocked that he had so much trouble, then thought of
something. "Wait a minute, If you move to different towns every time, why don't you just
have someone make up a diploma saying you already graduated from high school, or take some
kind of proficiency exam?"
Kevin blushed brightly at that. "Well you see there are two reasons for that," he began,
smiling sheepishly. "First, I would also have to have the diploma from a high school that had
record for me at my apparent age. The second is, they don't force me to go back to school. I
go back every ten years so that I don't get behind on all the advances that they make while
I'm in college. Quite simple to just register under a new name, with my old name listed as
legal guardian, and I'm all set. Ten years later it just starts over again."
"But what if they ask for a meeting with your guardian?" Makoto asked, coming up with
the biggest problem she had with schools.
"Real simple." Kevin replied, winking conspiratorially. "I just tell them he's on a
business trip. If they get really obnoxious about it, I just hire an actor, who acts as my
guardian for the meeting. I just have to keep him on retainer until I graduate in that case.
A lot of famous actors got their start that way." Kevin smiled
"Wish I'd thought of that one," Makoto muttered to herself in consternation. Then she
noticed Kevin rooting around in the cupboards and pulling out different containers as he
whistled to himself.
"What are you doing?" Makoto asked looking at the items he had already set on the
counter.
"Just getting ready to make breakfast," Kevin responded, getting more ingredients
and utensils out of the other cupboards. "You can help me, if you think you can keep up.
I probably won't get done in here by myself until around ten."
"Keep up?" Makoto gasped, outraged. "More likely you would slow me down."
"You think so, huh?" Kevin responded challengingly. "Okay, a contest then. Western
breakfast for half the guests, then Chinese food for the other half for dinner. After dinner
the others decide who the better cook is, agreed?"
"Agreed, on the condition that the breakfasts be relatively similar," Makoto
responded. "And that Scott gets to eat my cooking first."
"Fine with me," Kevin replied, grinning. "How about pancakes, waffles, or crepes,
eggs, juice and meat to order, and each serving prepared fresh on order?"
"Great," Makoto responded, getting ready. "May the best cook win."
*************************************
Mamoru smelled something delicious as he woke up in the double bed on one side of
the bedroom he had shared with Usagi the night before. After a few minutes of confusion,
he recalled that he and the rest of the Sailor Senshi were staying in the apartment of one
of the most recently discovered members of Queen Serenity's court.
As he pulled himself out of bed, he walked over to the other bed in the room and
checked on Usagi. He noticed the dried tracks of tears on her cheeks but, thankfully, she
was sleeping peacefully for now. His mouth tightened when he thought about the reason that
they had all stayed in Kevin O'Connell's apartment last night. Remembering the pain Usagi
had felt earlier, he swore that if any harm came to either his daughter, or to Hotaru, he
would not rest until those who had harmed them had paid dearly.
Stepping into the bathroom with his overnight bag, Mamoru removed his pajamas and
stepped into the shower. He was surprised to see that it had three nozzles and only one
faucet, and then realized that they all worked together. After turning on the water and
while he waited for the water to heat up, he looked at the stall, and noticed a set of five
small hand pumps set in the wall. On further investigation they turned out to dispense soap,
shampoo and conditioner.
After his shower, Mamoru found an electric toothbrush and a number of spare tips
obviously for the use of guests, and brushed his teeth. He smiled at himself in the mirror,
and then dressed in the spare clothes he had brought along. After knocking on the door into
the bedroom and receiving no reply, he stepped into the room, noticing that Usagi was still
asleep. After moving her overnight bag into the dressing room off the bathroom, he walked
over to Usagi's bed and touched her shoulder, calling her name. When she asked her mom for
just a few more minutes, he smiled, then shook her shoulder, and told her she had to get up.
After she was finally out of bed, he helped her into the bathroom and told her where
her bag was then closed and locked the door. Shortly afterward, he heard the bathtub start
filling. Smiling to himself, he walked over to his bed and started making it to keep his mind
off what was going on in the other room. After a few minutes, Usagi called out asking where
her bag was. After reminding her of the bag's location, he laid on his bed and read one of
the books he had brought from school, until she came out the dressing room door. When Mamoru
looked up at her, the first thing he noticed was the tears she had in her eyes. Smiling
encouragingly, he walked and hugged her gently. After she had regained her composure, she
moved a little away smiling back at Mamoru, and then sniffed the air.
"What smells so good?" She asked wonderingly, glancing at the door. "I'm hungry." She
moaned, and then sped out of the room in search of the source of the smell, while Mamoru
trailed along behind her.
Mamoru and Usagi were surprised, when they reached the kitchen, to see Kevin and
Makoto in matching chef's jackets and hats. They were standing by two identical grills,
with piles of ingredients and utensils on opposite counters. When they entered, Makoto
smiled at them, then looked to Kevin who motioned her forward. Smiling maliciously at
Kevin, she turned back to the new arrivals.
"Good morning you two," She said leading them to the dining room, and getting them
seated. "Today, we are having something special for breakfast and dinner, and we hope you
like it. Kevin and I are having a contest to decide who is the better cook." At her friends'
bewildered looks, she smiled reassuringly, and then looking over her shoulder to make sure
Kevin could hear her, explained.
"HE says that he's a better cook than I am," She said, motioning toward Kevin with
her head. "So we're having this contest. We will both cook breakfast for half of the
people staying here, then dinner for the other half. Then you can decide who made the
better meal. Fortunately Usagi, Haruka, Rei, and Scott get to eat my cooking for breakfast.
Mamoru, Ami, Michiru, and Minako will have to make do with whatever Kevin makes. Then for
dinner it will be reversed." Kevin could be heard chuckling in the kitchen over Makoto's
biased presentation, and the dazed look on Usagi's face. After each cook accepted their
client's order they returned to the kitchen, where the sounds of cooking could soon be heard.
"Which do you think is better at cooking, Mamoru?" Usagi asked quietly. "I would
think Makoto would be better than any guy, but Kevin has had 700 years to learn to cook."
"For my sake, I just hope he can cook half as well as Makoto, or I'm going to have
indigestion all day," Mamoru replied, with a rueful look. "And don't forget, he's making
your dinner so you won't come out unscathed either."
Usagi's expression of horror was still on her face when Rei, Minako, Michiru, and
Haruka arrived. When questioned about her expression, she explained to the others about
the contest, getting mixed responses. Rei and Minako felt that Makoto would probably win,
while Michiru and Haruka adopted a wait and see attitude. Usagi, Rei, Minako and Haruka
asked for pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs orange juice and toast, while Mamoru asked for
waffles, link sausage, poached eggs, apple juice, and an English muffin. Michiru requested
crepes with strawberries, ham, and fried eggs over easy, tomato juice, and croissants. When
Minako's pancakes arrived, she noticed that they looked fluffier than the others' did.
"How did you get these pancakes this light?" She asked after he had brought in
Mamoru's food. "I mean they're obviously lighter than Makoto's but I can't taste anything
different from her usual ones." She blushed when Makoto glared at her for the comment but
still looked questioningly at Kevin.
"All I really did was substitute club soda for the water," Kevin replied, smiling at
Makoto's slightly sour expression. "The bubbles make them lighter."
The others ate their food in silence obviously enjoying everything they were given.
The clock in the hall was ringing eight o'clock when Scott and Ami finally made their
appearance. At the curious glances they got from the others in the room, Ami blushed hotly
when Usagi asked about her outfit, which was similar to the one she had been wearing the
night before. As everyone else laughed at Ami's expression, Kevin got a wicked gleam in
his eye.
"And what, pray tell, have you two been doing all morning, Hmm?" He asked suggestively,
laughing openly at the glare Scott threw at him.
"Just talking." Scott grated; the look he was giving Kevin promising retribution in
the not too distant future.
After Scott and Ami finished their breakfasts, Kevin motioned them out to the hall
and asked the others to go relax in the living room. After the others had left, Kevin led
Scott and Ami to the closet in the entry. After putting on his black duster, and taking his
hat off the hat rack, he turned to his companions.
"I'm going up to talk to Katsuhito, and then to Marcus's place to see if I can get
more information on Annie's operation," He told them.
Scott nodded then glance at Ami. "I've set up an appointment at Claire's for Ami so
she'll have something besides my clothes to wear." He said, as Ami blushed. "I'll show the
others around the place, and try to keep their minds off the girls as much as I can."
Kevin agreed then glanced at his watch. "Well, if were going to get back in time to
do any thing, we had better get going." He said, motioning Ami out into the hall.
"Just make sure she likes what she gets." Scott reminded Kevin who nodded in response.
Ami looked bewildered at the look the two men exchanged then shrugged when they smiled
in agreement. "I can always tell him I don't want the clothes if I don't like them." She
thought to herself as Kevin led her an express elevator different from the one they had
used when they arrived yesterday. When Ami noticed the direction they were going she looked
questioningly at Kevin.
"Why are we going up?" She asked, looking at the panel on the wall. "Isn't your
apartment on the top floor?"
"Actually, the answer to that question is yes, and no," Kevin replied with a mischievous
look at his companion. "It is the top floor of the hotel, but I have a hangar on the roof
where I keep my helicopters."
"Helicopters?" Ami said with a screech. "Why do we need to use a helicopter just to go
to a fashion boutique?"
"Because Claire moved her showroom to Okayama." Kevin replied, and then smiled at the
shocked expression on Ami's face. "We should be back in about eight or nine hours, though most
of that time will be spent traveling, but don't worry the clothes she makes are worth the
trip."
Motioning her out of the elevator when the doors opened, they stepped into a well lit
chamber with numerous vehicles parked everywhere. After asking her to stay next to the
elevator, Kevin stepped over to a panel on the wall and pressed several buttons then nodded
in satisfaction when several green lights came on. After collecting a very strange looking
key from the panel next to the elevator doors, he told her to follow him.
As they walked down the aisle between the aircraft she saw vehicles most people only
see in magazines and movies. She was so engrossed in looking at the different helicopters she
almost ran Kevin over when he stopped by a dark gray metallic monster that resembled military
vehicles she had seen on CNN. Kevin helped her into the co-pilot's seat, then walked around
and finished the outside checks for the preflight checklist. He climbed into the pilot's seat
and spent several minutes on the interior preflight. After he finished that, he started the
engine, then reached up and pushed two buttons on the overhead instrument panel. With a loud
metallic clang, gates rose around the Helicopter and the locks on the door in the ceiling
released. Then Kevin flicked a switch on the panel and aircraft started rising as the doors
above slid out of the way.
"Just who is this 'Claire' person anyway?" Ami asked feeling extremely confused.
"Scott didn't tell you?" Kevin asked, surprised. When Ami shook her head, he shrugged.
"Claire is a friend of mine who went into women's clothing design in 1812 back in England.
When her shop was destroyed during the Battle of Britain in World War Two, I helped her
relocate to Tokyo after the war was over. She moved her shop to Okayama in 1960 when land
prices got to high for her taste here." Kevin started talking into the radio he had slid
over his head, requesting clearance for take off.
After they reached the roof, the gates around the helicopter fell out of the way and
Kevin got clearance and eased the Eurocopter AS 365 into the air. Tokyo quickly faded into
the distance behind them as they head southwest over the ocean at high speed only turning
inland an hour and a half after they left the hotel. They finally got to the airfield in
Okayama an hour later where they were met by a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties
who ran over to Kevin and greeted him with a hug when she saw him step out of the helicopter.
After a bewildered Ami was ushered into the limousine that was waiting, Kevin directed the
refueling of the helicopter then flew out into the heavily forested mountains nearby after
reading the note his contact, who was part of the refueling team, had left on the co-pilots
seat.
He smiled when he saw the huge tree near the shrine that was his goal, then stared in
surprise at the huge house that was sitting in the meadow where he had landed the last time
he'd been here. He remembered the old man's daughter living in the house that had looked like
that, but it had been on the other side of Okayama. He shrugged to himself and landed in a
clearing on the other side of the shrine. Whistling to himself, Kevin made his way up the
steps and walked toward the Shrine office. As he approached, he noticed a young woman with
dark hair sweeping the courtyard. When she glanced up at him questioningly he smiled, then
noticed some similarities between her face, and that of the priest he had come to see. When
she asked him if she could help him he smiled and shook his head.
"Don't bother," Kevin told the girl as he continued toward the office. "I'm here to
see my old friend Katsuhito Misaki. Please just go back to what you were doing, I'd like to
surprise him." When she smiled and nodded, he stepped silently up to the door. Inside the
office he heard Katsuhito reciting a Haiku that he had just come up with. Smirking to himself,
he slid to the side of the door and suddenly jerked it open, drawing his sword out of
subspace as he stepped into the room. When he saw Katsuhito's expression, he sent the sword
back and collapsed onto the floor laughing.
When he finally recovered, he looked his friend over. "Your powers are weak old man,"
he said in a menacing voice, then laughing again at the expression that came over the old
priest's face. "But then, after 700 years I figure you're allowed to let them slip once in
a while." Smiling at his friend he gave him the bow of equal to equal. After Katsuhito
returned it he looked around at the office.
"This place sure hasn't changed much," he said, returning his gaze to his friend. "But
what is that house doing in the meadow at the base of the steps?"
"My son-in-law moved his house to the meadow last fall," Katsuhito replied, proceeding
to make tea for his guest. "Had some help from my grandson's several girlfriends." At Kevin's
startled expression he chuckled softly to himself.
"Our Tenchi?" Kevin asked, shocked. "The kid who had a hard time asking a girl out on a
date? He's got more than one girlfriend? Never knew he had it in him." Kevin then remembered
the girl outside. "Would one of them happen to be short, have really strange red hair, and
look to be about 15 years old?" At Katsuhito's nod, Kevin smiled and waved at the girl who
seemed to be looking at a device that looked like a tricorder from Star Trek. She waved back
then stared at the device in her hand. She looked from it to Kevin and back again, hit it a
couple times then simply stared at Kevin then walked over to the other girl.
"Looks like that device actually does something," Kevin thought to himself, and then
turned back to Katsuhito. "The main reason I came was to find out if you had noticed any
unusual energy fields in the Osaka area over the last few months. One of my enemies seems
to have gotten a lot more powerful lately for no apparent reason." Katsuhito looked gravely
at his friend then smiled.
"I did feel a strange pulse in the energies around Nagoya almost five months ago," he
said, thinking back to the time. "At the time it felt as if another world had come to exist
in the middle of the city, but then it vanished altogether. While it was there though, this
New World felt as if it had been steeped in evil for millennia. I was glad when it disappeared.
Do you think this could have something to do with your enemy?"
"Could be," Kevin replied. "It would certainly explain the increased power level and
the strange abilities." They thought on it for a while then stood up to walk around the
shrine grounds. As they stepped out the door the sight of five girls and a boy standing in
the courtyard talking to each other greeted them. As Kevin stepped out of the office and a
little away from the building he felt a flash of excruciating pain as he was engulfed in a
bright orange light.
********************
Scott walked back into the penthouse and went looking for everyone. He found them in
the same room they had had the meeting in the night before, discussing plans of action for
getting the girls back once they knew where they were. As he entered the room their
conversation stopped as they all looked at him questioningly. Scott walked over to the bar
and got himself a soda then asked the others if they'd like one.
"How can you think of sitting around drinking sodas while Chibi-Usa and Hotaru are
still missing?" Haruka grumbled glaring at him while Michiru tried to calm her down.
"I can understand your feelings Haruka," Scott said, trying to calm her down himself.
"But we can't do anything about the situation until Kevin gets back with the information of
where in Osaka Annie is. Until then we need to relax or we will be so wound up with worry
and doubts that we won't be able to do those little girls any good at all. Do you all
understand that?" At the nods he received from the Senshi, he smiled, and then relaxed a
little. "While were waiting Kevin told me to show you around the penthouse. After that you
are free to do whatever you want as long as it isn't worry about how we're going to get the
girls back." When the others nodded in acquiescence, all be it reluctantly on Mamoru, Usagi,
and Haruka's part, they proceeded down one of the halls radiating out from the main hall.
The guests were shocked at the number of rooms that were included in the penthouse. They
saw 12 different bedrooms, the library, the kitchen and pantry, and the hangar. Then Scott
led them down another hall where they found the one lane bowling alley, Usagi's favorite the
arcade, and Haruka's favorite the shooting range, with four metal cabinets Scott told them
contained weapons and ammunition. When he brought them back to the lounge, Rei, Usagi, and
Mamoru took off in different directions except for Haruka, Michiru, Makoto and Minako. When
Scott looked at them questioningly, Haruka cleared her throat.
"We want to know how Kevin can afford all of this," She said as the others nodded. "You
act as if he owns the entire building or some thing."
"I can understand how that would be confusing," Scott replied chuckling softly as he
remembered something. "The reason Kevin acts as if he owns all of this is that for all intents
and purposes he does."
"How can he afford all of this?" Michiru asked confused. "He would need several hundred
million yen for everything we've seen here."
"Kevin's actual holdings fluctuate day by day but, from what he told me of the last
audit his accountant processed, his net worth was in the hundred billion range." Scott said,
laughing at Minako's expression.
"A hundred billion yen?" Minako screeched, appalled at the thought of that much money
in one person's hands. Scott laughed even louder.
"No Minako," Scott corrected her. "100 billion dollars US. Based on the latest exchange
rates that would be about 10 trillion Yen. But then most of his holdings are in corporate
stocks and the like so he can't really get to those that easily. His ready cash fund is
usually around 250 million dollars, so he doesn't have to worry about paying for most things
if he really wants them."
Minako and Makoto looked as if they had just swallowed a fish when they realized the
amount of money he kept on hand, and Haruka just stared at Scott in disbelief. Michiru took
this opportunity to ask her own question.
"Exactly how long have you known Kevin, Scott?" She asked. "I realize that you knew
each other pretty well back in the 1800's, but how did you actually meet?" Scott smiled at
this question.
"Well to begin with, you have to remember that we were best friends in the Silver
Millennium, but Kevin doesn't remember all that much from that long ago." Scott began.
"Around 1296, a friend of mine from Scotland convinced me to join the army that was forming
to stop the encroaching English forces. I had been through a couple of battles and was the
equivalent of a sergeant when we received word of an army that had been brought over from
Ireland. Our leaders were frightened that these troops would be more dangerous than the
usual British troops because of the traditional hatred between the Irish and the Scots.
They were afraid of them, that is, until a patrol found a group of Irish soldiers who had
deserted the force that was marching toward us."
Scott laughed. "It seems that this 'Army of Irishmen' we captured, consisted of 100
footmen. Compared to the English forces we had been fighting, they were poorly equipped,
severely disorganized, and, to the English point of view, dangerously unpredictable. The
Irish deserters that we found willingly turned their weapons over to our sentries as a
gesture of good will then simply set up camp and waited for us to decide what to do with
them. When our leaders heard about them, they were confused...
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Scotland, Argyle 1296
"How do we know that they can be trusted?" Sir William Brisbane asked, facing the
other leaders of the Scottish army. "They could all be spies for the English. They might
infect some of our troops with their poisonous words."
"Oh come now Sir William," Scott muttered disbelievingly. "If they were spies, they
would have come up with some better reason for arriving here than that they deserted from
the Irish troops because of Edward's reinstitution of Prima Noctum here. They would more
likely say that they had come here to offer their services after tricking the English to
bring them over, or some such nonsense as that."
"And what would a simple man of arms know of the practices of royal spies, Master
Schwartzstern?" Sir William asked suspiciously.
"It would seem quite a bit more than you do, sir knight," Scott replied, smiling
back at the man. "But that is beside the point in this case. My recommendation, Sir Andrew,
is that we give them the freedom of the camp, but form them into their own unit so that
they will only damage themselves while keeping them from, as Sir William fears, 'infecting'
our otherwise loyal troops. In this way we can utilize them to the best of our abilities
while preventing significant damage to our own morale."
"A wise precaution, Master Schwartzstern," Sir Andrew de Moravia said, nodding. "As
Sir William has said we cannot risk them turning some of our already few troops against us.
This does bring up the problem of who to set over them as a chieftain, since they have none
of their own."
"My Lord, since Master Schwartzstern is so positive of the good intentions of these
men I suggest that, for services to the Crown, Master Schwartzstern be given command of this
band of Irishmen." Sir William's face lit in a smile of victory as Scott realized what he
was in for.
"An excellent suggestion, Sir William," Sir Andrew replied smiling in return. "If you
are agreeable, Master Schwartzstern, I will place these men under your command in Fortingal's
band. Young Connor should do well as a second, don't you agree Sir William?" The knight's
gleeful contemplation turned sickly at the mention of his son and heir, but there was nothing
he could do without ruining any chance of advancement his son had.
"Of course my lord, Connor is an excellent choice," Scott replied, smiling at his
erstwhile enemy. "I will have my equipment moved to the new camp immediately if that will
be all." At Sir Andrew's nod Scott left the tent.
********************
After ordering his squire to move his tent and equipment to the Irish camp, Scott made
his way toward the separate camp that the Irishmen had set up after surrendering their swords.
As he approached the camp he felt an unfamiliar tingling at the back of his neck similar to
the one that signaled the presence of one of his kind. Immediately, Scott shifted to a fully
alert posture and faded into the forest to check on the camp's inhabitants.
As he reached the edge of the camp, he noticed several differences between the Irishmen
and their Scottish counterparts. First, the Irish had posted sentries around their camp armed
with quarterstaves since they had surrendered their swords. Others were practicing with the
staves while several sat by a nearly smokeless fire obviously making arrows for the long
bows that were leaned against several trees in easy reach. He felt the strange tingling again
to his left and spotted one man who was practicing with a wooden sword that was a little
thinner than most of the ones that they had confiscated from these men. Watching the man,
Scott was surprised to see a number of familiar patterns that he hadn't seen in a number
of years. Scott shook off the feeling of familiarity reminding himself that there were many
styles of fighting that he had seen in the last thousand years.
Shaking himself to clear the last vestiges of the eerie feeling, Scott moved back
to a safe distance then hailed the sentries. When told to come forward, he complied carefully
keeping his hands away from his weapons. When he was in the camp, and had given them Sir
Andrew's response to their request, he was led to the man who was practicing with the wooden
sword. This man was Kevin O'Connell, son of a deposed knight in Donegal County. He was also
the one on which the strange tingling was centered.
As Scott approached he noticed that Kevin trusted the men around him only as much as
the circumstances required. Kevin smirked at the man that had come into their camp and
looked him over. "And who might you be, my fine man? Hmm?" Kevin asked, motioning the guards
a little away from Scott. "You're not wear the kilt so, I'm guessing you're not a Scotsman,
but the patrols around here are so thick you'd have to be suicidal to be working for the
long shanks."
"I was ordered by Sir Andrew to act as your commander when we meet the English," Scott
replied. "Your right that I'm not of the clans, but I am a trusted friend of Sir Andrew's
family, as well as knowing something of warfare. One of the lairds decided that since I
wasn't of the clans, you would be more willing to take my orders."
"Then your laird was wrong," Kevin replied, and then shook his head when Scott was
going to protest. "Oh, it's not that we aren't willing to take your orders, it's just that
we would be just as willing to take any sane man's orders. Most of us know nothing of warfare,
and would be willing to do anything as long as it made sense."
"Then I'll try to make sure that my orders make sense," Scott said, smiling in response
to the laughter his reply caused among the group around him. "Since you seem to be the most
talkative among this lot, would you care to tell me what skills these men have that would be
useful? My name is Scott Schwartzstern by the by."
"Well Master Schwartzstern, these men have several useful talents..." Kevin then
proceeded to explain what the hundred Irishmen were capable of.
********************
The smoke from the fire Sir William Wallace had ignited at the beginning of the battle
was finally starting to dissipate when the runner with orders for the 'Irregulars', as Scott's
Irishmen had come to be called in the last weeks, arrived Scott spent several seconds gaping
in shock. "And these orders came from whom?" He asked the messenger who had been told to join
this unit after delivering the message.
"From Sir William Brisbane, sir...the Irregulars are to fall back to the wood and wait
there for additional orders from him." The man replied, looking rather uncomfortable under
the stares of the four men. Connor of Brisbane looked at the man in disbelief. Kevin O'Connell
and the other man who Scott had taken as a sergeant wore expressions of disgust.
"And what of Sir Andrew de Moravia?" Scott finally asked.
"Dead sir, killed in the first mounted charge."
Scott stared at the man in shock as the disaster-hit home. He simply stood, shaking
his head. Then his head came up as the sentry on the right flank called a warning.
"Master Schwartzstern, another rider coming."
The Irishmen blended into the underbrush as silently as ghosts except for Scott and
Kevin. The rider saw them, then wheeled his horse and rode back the way he'd come.
"We've been seen," Scott shouted to his men." We have no choice, now we must fight.
Prepare to attack the enemy as they come through the trees." The men moved into the forest
behind them and prepared themselves.
The enemy first appeared in the form of heavy cavalry. As the mounted men reached the
edge of the forest, which was the only barrier between them and the unprotected left flank
of the Scottish Army, they were met by a storm of arrows from the trees. The commander of
the cavalry unit ordered up the archers attached to the troop he was leading and they
unleashed a withering storm of arrows, which drove the Irish back further under the trees.
Scott sent the messenger off to demand reinforcements then gasped in shock as he felt an all
too familiar tingling along his nerves. Looking around for the source, he saw Kevin O'Connell
lying on the ground with an arrow in his chest. Then he felt a rush of pain as another arrow
suddenly blossomed from his belly. Scott fell over with a groan and blacked out when the
arrow was pulled out by his fall.
********************
Scott returned to consciousness at night. From the fact absence of smoke in the air,
he realized that it was not the same day as the battle. He looked around and saw numerous
huddled forms that were the unburied corpses of the dead. From this state her realized that
all of the men on both sides had died, including his messenger. The buzz of another immortal
presence was still strong, and when he walked slowly over to Kevin, he watched the man shudder
violently, then lay still several times. Judging from the arrow's position and Kevin's
repeated revivals followed immediately by death, Scott came to the conclusion that the arrow
had gone through his heart. Snapping the head that protruded from Kevin's back off, Scott
slowly slid the arrow and was rewarded with a rush of arterial blood, which stopped almost
immediately. Wrapping Kevin in fur blankets from some of the bedrolls of the fallen, then set
about burying the dead. The next night after burying them all, Scott tied Kevin to one of the
horses he had captured, and made his way north to the Orkney's.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"And that was how we met," Scott finished. "After I had trained him for about a year on
the island where he woke after the battle, we spent about 15 months wandering around Europe
and Asia mostly trying to avoid the Inquisition and other immortals. We finally arrived in
Japan in the spring of 1298, and went our separate ways in 1301."
********************
Kevin shuddered into consciousness, as he felt pain memories run through his body.
"I wonder if anyone got the license number of the truck that hit me," he said to himself then
sat up when he heard voices in the other room discussing him. With a grunt of pain he got to
his feet, and made his way to the door where he listened to the conversation.
********************
"Who is that man grandfather?" Tenchi asked.
A female voice broke in at this point. "More importantly what is he? He registers as
an Immortal, but from these readings he would be nearly immortal without being chosen."
"My dear Washu-chan, that man in there is as human as anyone else on this planet,"
Yosho said. "He is simply one of the Chosen Ones."
"That's not what the readings say." Washu muttered aloud.
"The 'Chosen Ones' Grandpa?" Tenchi asked his confusion mirrored on the faces of the
other occupants of the room.
"Another name for Immortals from Juraian legends."
"But why does he heal so quickly, Grandpa?" Sasami asked, still confused. "James is a
chosen one, and he doesn't heal nearly as quickly."
"That would be because of my place of origin," Kevin said walking out into the room.
"By the way who shot me?" The occupants of the room spun around and stared at the red head,
who crossed his eyes, making the young girl with blue hair giggle.
"Ah, I see your recuperative abilities are just as good as ever old friend." Yosho said,
then introduced him to the others. Once the introductions were complete, everyone sat down
again.
Kevin smiled at everyone in the room then turned to Yosho. "Now who was that shot me
old man," he asked looking around the group questioningly. When he noticed the embarrassed
look on Ryoko's face, he had his answer with no one speaking. "What was the big idea shooting
me in the back? Did I do something to you in a passed life or something?"
"I thought you were a danger to Tenchi, so I...well blasted you" She said defensively.
"Ryoko, I wasn't in any danger, he was just walking out of the shrine!" Tenchi exclaimed
surprised at her excuse.
"Tenchi, now wait a minute," Kevin said cautiously. "If your girlfriend thinks you're
in danger and wants to protect you, that isn't a bad thing unless she is incapable of doing
the job properly." At Ryoko's angry look and Ayeka's laugh, he smiled.
"I guess the only way to find out if she can do the job is to test her myself." Kevin
said rather pompously.
"Fine, I accept your challenge." Ryoko said creating a plasma blade.
"If you would lend us the use of two bokken Lord Yosho we shall see if this girl is
worthy to continue protecting Tenchi." At Yosho's nod, the two combatants made there way out
to the dojo. Kevin and Ryoko both disdained the use of padding since it would only slow them
down.
"Very well then," Yosho said smiling at the two warriors. "The rules are combat to the
first touch. All targets are valid, as are all forms of physical attack. Magical attacks are
forbidden, but flying is permitted. Are you agreed?" Receiving nods from both, he smiled
"Begin."
Ryoko immediately took to the air and began circling Kevin looking for an opening. At
almost the same instant they both attacked with blinding speed, their practice blades colliding
with a force that would have thrown sparks from metal blades. Kevin redirected his strike but
was blocked again.
"Not bad," Ryoko said watching Kevin as she floated around just out of reach. "But not
good enough." She slashed at his head then as he instinctively ducked, redirected the strike
to hit his leg. To the spectators that there was no way to dodge the blurred practice blade,
but to their amazement he suddenly was nowhere near the path of the blade. As Ryoko gaped at
what moment before she had thought impossible, her danger sense goaded her into a forward
roll. When she had completed the roll she saw Kevin standing in the position she had just
vacated recovering from a blow that would doubtless have hit her.
To the spectators, the bout was mostly a blur with many sudden stops as the
opponents came together at times. Washu used her computer to analyze the fight in progress,
and was dismayed to see that while Ryoko was performing at optimum efficiency, based on
hesitation and speed of attacks, this 'Kevin' person was holding back for some reason.
Trying to find out why his friend wasn't going all out like Ryoko was she walked over to
talk with Yosho.
"Excuse me Lord Yosho, but could you tell me why your friend is holding something
back?" Washu inquired, showing her confusion. "Doesn't he realize that if Ryoko notices it,
she'll interpret this restraint as contempt?"
"No, he doesn't know that yet, little Washu, but I think there is a more reasonable
interpretation than that to his actions." He replied, applauding as Ryoko barely extricated
herself from a trap Kevin set. "You see for a long time there have only been two or three
people that Kevin has been able to practice with at full speed. In the time that I have
known him he has defeated no fewer than forty opponents, many of who were considered masters
of the sword. He has even been known to defeat me on occasion, providing me with a much-needed
challenge. But then, when you consider that we both have practiced our art for several
lifetimes that is understandable that there are very few people that may offer us any kind
of a challenge."
"What do you mean by that?" Washu asked glancing at the dueling pair. "Sure, to keep
up with Ryoko, he's obviously very good, but he's only an immortal, not a super hero. How
skilled could he actually be?"
"My dear little Washu, no matter how strong someone appears, his or her actual power
can be surprising," Yosho warned, applauding again as Ryoko nearly caught Kevin in a trap
nearly identical to the one he had used on her. "I have it on the best authority that Kevin's
fighting style has been developed over 2000 years of nearly constant study. As to his ability,
last time he stayed here, our sparing session lasted most of the day and only ended when we
each scored a hit at the exact same instant and agreed to take the tie so that we could eat.
"Maybe he can help with my little problem," Washu thought, changing the subject to the
problem she had.
As their conversation continued, it began to look as if the fight would take all
afternoon. Suddenly Kevin seemed to blur then came back into focus with his bokken touching
Ryoko's chest. Then he laughed when he realized that Ryoko had touched him in the stomach at
the same instant. "Halt! Bow." Yosho called to the two warriors, who complied and then bowed
to Yosho as the other spectators cheered.
"Well it seems that you are worthy of being Tenchi's body guard, as well as his
girlfriend." Kevin said to Ryoko as they walked back to the house, ignoring Tenchi's protests.
"Thanks," Ryoko said, blushing a little and smiling back.
"You must be getting old, Ryoko, if a human immortal can almost defeat you," Ayeka said,
laughing behind her hand in derision.
"Actually, Ayeka," Washu interrupted, also smiling encouragingly at Ryoko. "Ryoko did
very well against Kevin. Especially considering that he has been fighting for his life for
decades and uses a style that's nearly as old as Ryoko."
Ayeka looked sharply at Washu, then Kevin, and then back to Washu questioningly. "What
do you mean Washu?" She asked looking very confused.
"Hmm...?" the little red head said staring straight back at Ayeka.
"Very well little Washu, will you tell me what you meant by that?" Ayeka asked in a
sickeningly sweet tone.
Kevin smiled at the by-play, and then cleared his throat. "I think what she means is
that Ryoko did very well for herself to accomplish a tie with someone who has been fighting
continuously for the last seven hundred years and practice a style that was developed over
the last 2000 years." At the startled gasps this comment elicited from everyone in the room
except Washu and Yosho, Kevin simply shrugged.
"How is that possible Washu?" Sasami asked in confusion. "I thought immortals didn't
train together, because it would give a potential opponent an insight into their skill."
"They don't normally, but there are a few of them that do," Washu replied. "James is
one of them, as is Scott, and, it seems, Kevin. Scott and James train with as many good
Immortals as they can find in order to keep themselves in top shape."
"If it's all about energy and knowledge, why don't they all just get together, declare
a truce, and share all of the knowledge they have?" Tenchi asked, looking over to Kevin.
"Easier said than done," Kevin replied. "The largest problem with that idea, Tenchi,
is that there are some Evil Immortals who look on the rest of us as rightful prey who are
only there to give them an advantage. Most of the fights I get into are with people like
that, or with new immortals that think it would be useful to takeout the older ones because
of the amount of energy we've accumulated."
"New Immortals?" Tenchi asked looking at both Kevin and Washu.
"Approximately ten new immortals are 'chosen' every year, Tenchi." Washu replied.
"Chosen how, and by whom, not even the other immortals know, but every year there are ten
more immortals in the fighting. Usually only around four or five survive the first year as
Immortals especially these days with so few people training in blade combat styles."
"The main reasons for the high attrition rate among the younglings," Kevin said,
nodding to Washu. "Are the 'Hunters'. They are the Immortals who are afraid of all new
immortals, because they are not under their control, and because of this fear they hunt
down every new immortal, they can find, and kill them before they can ally with one of
the 'Hunters' enemies. About two hundred years ago, my teacher and I decided that we would
no longer kill other immortals, unless they gave us no other choice. We have even gone so far
as to train younglings that we found to protect themselves from the 'Hunt' and, lately, to
hide themselves from the governments of the world. Unfortunately, this policy of ours has
left a number of Hunters as our enemies, and they seem to be getting together now." Kevin
said, looking rather disgruntled.
"So why did you come to visit today?" Washu asked, concerned. "From what you and James
have told me, I would think your time would be better spent practicing than visiting old
acquaintances."
"Well, since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you little Washu," Kevin replied, smiling
at the surprised expressions on everyone's faces. "The reason I came to see Yosho today is
that some young girls who are friends of Scott's have been kidnapped by one of my enemies,
and she seems to have found a way to teleport herself from place to place, even between
dimensions. I came here to find out if Yosho hand sensed anything that could explain it,
seeing as he was the only resident ALIEN I new of."
"Actually, Kevin, Washu would probably be better able to tell you about any unusual
energy readings on Earth," Yosho said, indicating the short scientist.
"Okay, I'll make you a deal," Washu said, rolling up her sleeves and bringing her
holo-computer up. "If you give me some pattern samples so that I can finish this project
I'm working on to find someone, I'll get you all the information I have on this Dimension
traveler your dealing with. I'll tell you the dimensions she goes to, how often she goes
there, where she arrives every time, and I'll even set up a subspace dampening field to stop
her from teleporting off of the Island. Is it a deal?"
"Must be someone important if your willing to do all that just for some pattern
samples," Kevin said non-committally.
"He is," Washu replied.
"Okay, sure," Kevin said after thinking about the possibilities. "You got yourself
a deal."
After twenty minutes of poking and prodding, Washu had her samples, and had agreed
to send the information to the server address Kevin gave her. As he was leaving he stopped
at the threshold and looked back at Washu. "Who exactly is this 'James' person you're trying
to find anyway?" He asked, curiosity finally getting the better of him.
"My Fiancé, James Dillinger." She replied. Kevin nodded in understanding, then
continued on to the helicopter.
He was in the air on his way back to Okayama after a short stop in Osaka to visit the
planning department offices there. After giving the ground crew their instructions he got
into the car he kept here for his visits to Claire and drove over to the boutique. After
parking the car, he walked into the boutique, where the receptionist waved him into the next
room assuring him that they had finished with the lingerie earlier. As Kevin entered the show
room, he froze in shock at the vision before him. Ami looked like an angel in blue.
"Claire, you've out done yourself," He said after he had regained his powers of speech.
"I hardly recognized her." With a smile he took her hand and kissed it.
"Kevin, you sound as if the girl were a hag," Claire gasped, tapping him lightly on the
shoulder in mild reproof. "She has an innate sense of what suits her, and a phenomenal sense
of color and style. I merely showed her the possibilities."
"I congratulate you Ami," Claire said smiling at the now blushing teenager. "You have
accomplished something few women have ever done. You have struck the great Kevin O'Connell
speechless in admiration." Ami blushed even more, then made arrangement for the bill to be
sent to the hotel. As they drove back to the airport Ami regaled him with stories of all of
the clothes she had chosen, then she asked him how much it cost.
"More than you would think," he replied chuckling at her protest. "Less than I thought
though, with Claire setting the prices." Ami had to be satisfied with that since he wouldn't
tell her any more.
When they arrived at the airport, Kevin had the ground crew load the clothing that
Claire had sent with Ami to hold her over until the custom made clothing was ready, into the
passenger section of the helicopter while he did the preflight check. Ami climbed to the
co-pilot's seat but it held a rather expensive looking digital camera, which she picked up
and looked at. She set it down when Kevin climbed into the cockpit, then signaled the ground
crew chief he was ready to start the engines. After the ground crew was clear, he start the
engines, and while the rotors spun up, requested and received clearance for take off from
the control tower.
"What is the resolution on your digital camera?" Ami asked as they flew back toward
Tokyo.
"Only about 300 megapixels," Kevin replied distractedly, not noticing Ami's startled
look. "R&D for the company that built it is working on one for me that will reach photographic
resolution. They should have it ready for testing in about a year or so. The main problem
they are trying to figure out is how to make a low dimension multi-gigabyte storage medium."
Ami's eyes grew wider at the thought.
The rest of the flight went by in silence as Ami thought about the effect that company's
research would have on the computer industry, while Kevin flew the helicopter.
********************
After he landed the helicopter, Kevin disappeared into his computer lab for an hour,
while Ami showed her new clothes to her friends. As the girls sighed and giggled over the
fashion display, Scott sat in the library and read, Mamoru, Haruka, and Michiru had decided
to take a nap to be ready for the fight that night. Ami had just finished her fashion show
when Kevin knocked on the door, then asked the girls to come to the war room. Then he walked
down the hall to the library and shortly returned with Scott. He then proceeded down the
bedroom hall and woke Mamoru up, then knocked on Michiru and Haruka's door. As everyone
followed Kevin down the hall, Scott caught sight of Ami in one of her new outfits, and
froze with a stunned expression on his face. Kevin walked up to his friend and waved his
hand in front of his face. Then he smiled as he motioned to the others to walk down the
hall, and he opened one of the closet doors in front of Scott as they proceeded. He kept
Ami in Scott's line of sight and motioned the others to stay quiet as they watch Scott
following Ami. The look on his face didn't alter for a second as he shuffled along the
hall until he was completely in the door's shadow. Then his face registered shock as he
walked into the open closet door.
Kevin smiled as Scott got back to his feet accompanied by chuckles and laughter from
the others, then he led the way down a passage even Scott had never been down before. When
they reached what appeared to be the end of the hall, Kevin drew a painting aside, and
inserted a card in to the slot he had revealed. There was a sharp hiss, and Kevin jumped
slightly, then the entire wall began to slide up into the ceiling with a faint hum. The
lights came up in the room, as Kevin pressed a button next to the opening revealing a massive
wooden conference table in the center of the room with an oddly shaped machine resting in the
middle of it. He motioned them to their seats then walked to the front of the room.
"From information gathered last night and today, it has been determined that Annie has
the girls hidden in a warehouse she owns on the docks in Osaka," Kevin began. "Based on other
data received from a reliable source and the time frame you provided Scott, She teleported
them directly from Juuban to the warehouse and has not teleported since. Using satellite
imagery from a number of spy satellites that the US and China deny exist, I have been able
to determine that nothing has gone into the building or left it in the last 36 hours, so
there is a very good chance they are still there. How long they will stay there and what's
happening to the girls is a complete unknown, so we will attack tonight." After all the
Senshi nodded in agreement, he dimmed the lights and activated the projector on the table,
which produced a three-dimensional wire frame hologram of a 10-story building.
"This is a diagram of the building, extrapolated from the plans I 'appropriated' from
the planning office in Osaka," Kevin continued. "As you can see here," the image shifted to
show a level in the building, "there are a number of offices on the third floor, including
the chairman's private suite at the end of this hall. The suite has several rooms branching
off of it, but this one would seem to be the most likely." He said using a laser pointer to
indicate a specific room that didn't have an indicated function, and was cut off from the
rest of the building by at least five other rooms. Another image came up. "This is the latest
imagery from the last satellite over the area. As you can see it's surrounded by water on
three sides, with two entrances visible on the ground floor. Now the plan is this. Ami,
Usagi, and Michiru will assault the third floor from the stairwell with Mamoru, Haruka,
Minako, and Rei as backup. Makoto, Scott and I will proceed up the stairs to the tenth floor
then to the roof to stop any escape by air. The source of the transport information insures
me that won't be able to teleport from anywhere within 300 miles of Japan so that's one thing
we don't need too worry about. After we have the roof secured, the second team will monitor
the outside perimeter to prevent any interference form outside agents." Kevin shut down the
projector, and slowly brought the lights back up. "Once the girls have been retrieved, we
will all meet at the vehicles and evacuate. Are there any questions?"
"What do we do if they have already moved the girls while we're on the way?" Haruka
asked, as the others in the room began to stir.
"Well, I have a portable satellite receiver in the helicopter which Scott will be
checking on the way," Kevin replied. "If they move them while we're on the way, we should
be able to follow them without much of a problem."
"What do we do if something goes wrong at the building?" Usagi asked, looking very
nervous.
"If you get into anything you can't handle, and you've separated, just call the others
on your communicators" Scott said smiling.
"But you and Kevin don't have communicators, so how will you know if we need you for
something we can't handle?" She replied, even more worried.
"Don't worry about that Princess," Kevin replied. "We'll have Makoto with us to pass
on any messages you might have." He then looked at the others in the room. If there are no
further questions, we'll meet in the entry hall in fifteen minutes. Scott, I'll need you
help with some of the special supplies. You others can relax in the conversation pit in the
living room, if you can." Kevin and Scott ushered the others out of the room, then walked
down the hall to the armory.
After fifteen minutes, which saw Usagi fidgeting constantly, Scott and Kevin returned
with two black duffels, and ushered the Senshi in the elevator. The Senshi, except Ami
gasped when the doors opened revealing the black helicopter that they had used for the trip
south. It was Ami's turn to gape along with the others when Kevin opened the passenger
compartment to reveal the posh interior.
"The flight will last about three hours so make yourselves as comfortable as you
can," Kevin said as he placed the two duffels in a specially reinforced compartment, then
he started the preflight checklists.
After finishing the checklist, and receiving clearance from Tokyo control, Kevin
took the helicopter into the air, flying directly to Osaka, while Scott watched the
satellite display, and called ahead to arrange for transportation to be waiting. It
wasn't until they were on final approach to the heliport that a new satellite photo
showed a helicopter landing on the roof of the warehouse. Kevin swore and then landed
the helicopter in a rush. Scott, Kevin and the Senshi ran down to the parking level,
and jumped into the Hum-Vees that were waiting. The traffic faded away in front of the
two black behemoths as they barreled down the highway. In fifteen minutes they arrived
at the entrance and were relieved by the sight of the helicopter sitting on the roof
with no one in it and the engines off. Kevin and Scott got out of the trucks and removed
the duffels from their cargo containers. As Kevin passed the open window of the car,
Makoto reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Be careful," she warned. "We don't want to warn them that we're coming."
Kevin nodded then kept walking toward the main gate where Scott was waiting. The
guard walked over to them and demanded to know what they wanted. As Scott tried to
convince him that the two Hum-Vees were carrying a delivery for the chairman, Kevin moved
into the shadows and pulled something out of his duffel. As the guard went to call the
security office in the building, Kevin materialized behind him, and pressed a stun gun t
o the junction of his neck and shoulder. The guard twitched a little then collapsed onto
Scott, as Kevin walked back over to his duffel and pulled out a tube of white phosphorus
compound. Smiling at the look on Scott's disbelieving face, he laid a trail of the gel on
the gate lock and retractor chain and strung wire from the gel to a controller he had
under his arm. Scott and Kevin moved away from the gate and set the device off in a
flash of actinic light. Kevin checked for security device on the gate, disabled them,
and then pushed the gate open to allow Scott to drive the first truck through.
Everyone gathered at the side entrance out of sight of the main security desk,
after Kevin disabled the security cameras.
"Here, you might need these," Scott said as he handed three cards to Ami.
"What are they?" She asked, looking them over.
"They're the key cards to the emergency entrances, the elevator override, and the
chairman's suite. I got them from the gate guard while Kevin was playing with his toys."
Kevin ignored the jibe, as he disabled the door sensor, then pressed a few buttons
on the code panel, then waved everyone through the now open door. Once they were inside,
the girls drew out their henshin rods, and were about to transform when Scott held up his
hand to get their attention.
"Hold it," He said looking around for cameras, then nodded. "A few more seconds,
and they would have had evidence of every one of your secret identities," Scott finished,
pointing at the camera slowly sweeping toward them. He motioned everyone into the alcove
under the stairs out of the camera's view, and then Kevin placed himself directly under
the security device. Carefully reaching up, he placed a mini-camera on top of the security
camera, and then shivered with impatience as the camcorder in his hands recorded the slow
progress of the security sweep. When the machine finished its cycle, he quickly cut the
cable to the camera, then quickly spliced in the digital camcorder. With the camcorder
repeating the scene it had recorded in an endless loop, he motioned to the Senshi that
they could come out.
After the Senshi had transformed Scott led them up the stairs, pausing for Kevin
to disable the cameras in their path. They stopped at the third floor and Sailor Mercury
got out the first key card.
"Be careful in there," Scott said, stopping Mercury, and looking at each of the
Senshi in turn. "Once you go onto that floor, the security force will know that we're
here, so make your sweep as quickly as possible. If you run into any Immortals, remember
that your attacks will only knock them down for a time. The only ones who can actually
kill them are Uranus and Tuxedo Kamen, and that is only if they behead them. I wouldn't
try for it though, since most Immortals that Annie associates with are at least 100 years
old, and probably know more about sword combat than you do." At the nods he received from
the Senshi, he released Mercury's hand and motioned them forward. After they were all
through the door, Scott, Kevin, and Sailor Jupiter started running up the stairs with
no further regard for the cameras. They had reached the tenth floor Jupiter's communicator
beeped insistently.
"Jupiter the enemy has a new kind of Youma that seems to become immune to our attacks
after it absorbs the ones we've defeated," Sailor Mars's voice came over the communicator.
The negacreeps got away with the package and are on their way to the roof in an express
elevator, you have to stop them before they get there." Scott nodded at this, and then
remembered an access panel he had seen near the beginning of the hallway. Running back to
it he cut it open to reveal a rapidly moving elevator cable. Without a moments hesitation
he slashed his sword through the cable, and dove out of the way as the elevator car reached
the level he was on by momentum alone then screeched to a halt with the door just above the
opening. He saw light from the elevator as the occupants forced the doors open, then jumped
back as he heard them talking. Kevin was quickly beside him with his sword drawn as they
prepared for their enemies. They sensed that there was at least one Immortal in the elevator,
and the fact that they could sense them, meant that their opponent were aware of their
presence as well. As they waited tensely, Sailor Jupiter was making her way to the roof
entrance side of the opening.
"Suddenly the wall in front of the door exploded outward, blasting both immortals
against the wall, and knocking Scott unconscious. Kevin dragged himself back to his feet to
see Sailor Jupiter holding off both Youma, and blocking the roof exit, and ran to help her.
She had destroyed one Youma, when a man in a dark uniform appeared in its place and blasted
her with some kind of energy attack. The two Immortals, who were carrying the captives dodged
past her crumpled form as Kevin stumbled from a wave of pain that washed over him.
"Jarosite!!!" he shouted as a brief flash of memory told him who Jupiter's assailant
was. "You're a dead man!!" He got back to his feet and raced to the roof, only to be stopped
by the last remaining Youma. He was forced back, trying to get past it, when he saw the
helicopter lift from the roof. With a yell of frustration he jumped high over the Youma,
cutting it in half, lengthwise then landed with green ichor dripping from his blade. Kevin
started swearing viscously, then drew a cellular phone from his hyperspace pocket, and made
a call, talking in very viscous tone to the person on the other end. He snapped the phone
shut, and then gathered some of the dust that remained of the last Youma, and made his way
back down to the tenth floor, swearing the entire way.
To be continued...