DESTINY FACTOR CHAPTER 2; Follow the White Rabbit
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We've all heard this particular story, the one about when Alice first falls into the rabbit hole following some rabbit with a pocket watch. In fact much of the story after that point is pretty much the curious little nimrod blonde trying to keep up with that rabbit just to find out just what is it he's trying to get to in such a hurry. I guess the very core concept of this scenario can be used as a metaphor for someone following one thing in particular in order to find something that they are actually looking for. In Maxine Jones' case, she needs a White Rabbit of her own in order to find her brother Terry. He's been missing ever since that fateful night, about a whole 22 days to be precise. and so here she is outside what looks like a humble diner somewhere on the outskirts of Kyoto at exactly 12:15 pm on the twenty-second of February, 2064 A.D. She has her doubts that the White Rabbit she's looking for is in there, so she calls upon her own Cheshire Cat on the horn for reassurance...
Maxine Jones;
“Hey, Orihime, it's Max.”
Orihime;
“What's up girlfriend^-^?”
Maxine Jones;
“I found it, that place in Kyoto. The 'Grindhouse', are you sure I'm gonna find this 'Striedge' guy in there?”
Orihime;
“Totally. He works there on the side.”
Maxine Jones;
“And is he really a professional 'Getbacker'? What the hell is that again?”
Orihime;
“A Getbacker is a guy you pay money to find something you wanna get back. Something you lost, or someone you want found. You know that Hinata chick from class? Well her boyfriend went up missing and she sought this guy out of a newspaper ad, he found Hinata's boyfriend in the middle of nowhere just before some serial killer was gonna kill him, he even put the smack down on the killer.”
Maxine Jones;
“Right. Well, what does he even look like?”
Orihime;
“Basically, he looks like a she, skinny guy with spikey black hair in a rather feminine outfit, he really does look like a chick. You can't miss him.”
Maxine Jones;
“...uh, right. Well I'll go in but I seriously have my doubts I'll really find anyone like that in here.”
And as if on cue, there arose such a clatter at the diner's front door as several guys in untidy student uniforms were somehow forced out the door by what appeared to be a hot-looking skinny chick in short-shorts. This chick actually fit the description that Maxine's friend just gave her, the guys there at the door who were now picking themselves up were rather thugly looking, no doubt the typical pack of hoodlums you'd find looking for trouble. From afar she watched the incident unfold, and after hearing this “chick” burst out with a rather violent tone it turned out that this person is the White Rabbit that Maxine was looking for, much to her dismay.
Striedge;
“You punks made a big mistake trying to pick up girls in such a disrespectful manner in my diner, but not as big a mistake as calling me a 'homo' to my face. Now the only way you can possibly atone for such blunders is to haul your asses out of here and never come back!”
Punk A;
“And just what are you gonna do about it faggot?!”
Punk B;
“Why don't you go suck some big cock like we know you do?!”
Striedge;
“Oh please, just because I look like this you assume I'm gay? Truth is I get more pussy than you virgins can even imagine!”
Punk A;
“Your just a pussy who got a lucky shot on us just now!”
Punk C;
“Yeah, but now we're not gonna hold back just because you look like a bitch!”
Striedge;
“Well if you fuckers don't beat it right now, your about to see me score plenty of 'lucky shots' all over your asses!”
Punk D;
“You sound so fucking gay for saying that you homo!”
Punk A;
“Enough of this shit! Let's get the fag!”
What followed would go down in the history of this city as the most severe and brutal case of total pwnage to ever accure in this particular district of Kyoto as Striedge was able to back up his claim ten fold. Maxine could not believe her eyes as she watched this transvestite, who was in fact holding a large wooden spoon, proceed to unleash a full barrage of advance samurai sword techniques...with said wooden spoon. Had he been wielding an actual sword, no doubt his current adversaries would already be in blood-spraying pieces, but even though it was just a mere wooden spoon the very magnitude and impacts of this transvestite's moves was just as devastating. It's a miracle they could even stand up after it was all over, about six men looking for trouble limped off into the streets with their bodies (and masculant pride) beaten and battered by some guy dressed like a chick holding a wooden spoon like a katana.
Striedge;
“Don't ever come back now, not unless you want another serving of my 'special dish', ya' here me^-^?!”
Orihime;
“Hey, Max! What is going on over there? I heard fighting...”
Maxine Jones;
“Nothing really, I just found this Striedge guy, that's all.”
___________________________________________________
It was quite a quaint little place, a good place to just go and unwind, be among good people and enjoying good meals made right out of the kitchen. The atmosphere is very low-key and local, as is the menu and the price range. But Maxine didn't nessecarily come here for the food, though she did receive some free butter-rolls on the house.
Tsubaska;
“Hey Striedge! Whatcha doin' there?! Aren't you suppose to be on your shift?!”
Striedge;
“I'm with a potential client right now! Just fill in for me!”
Tsubaska;
“Oh c'mon man! I'm always filling in for you!”
Striedge;
“Yeah, and it just so happens to be on fine days like this where the place is going a bit slow!”
Tsubaska;
“Oh c'mon man!”
Striedge;
“Dude! Stop your bitchin' man! You know how important my profession is!”
Tsubaska;
“Whatever man!”
Maxine Jones;
“......”
Striedge;
“Never seen a restarant filled with transvestites before?”
Maxine Jones;
“I thought you'd be the only one working here.”
Striedge;
“The manager is a bit of a pervert who likes men who look like women. It's not all transvestites here though, in the kitchen it's all ladies. I'm quite familiar with them...if you know what I'm talking about^-^.”
Maxine Jones;
“......uhhh...”
Striedge;
“Heheheee, sorry about that, I just blurred it out^-^.”
Maxine Jones;
“Wait you mean your not...”
Striedge;
“Of course not, all these other fellas sure, not me though. I just like dressing like this for some reason, it's gotten me quite a lot of tender tail over the years in fact, you cannot believe how many chicks like a man who looks like a chick. It's crazy^-^.”
Maxine Jones;
“Can we uhhh...get to the job please?”
Striedge;
“What do you want found?”
Maxine Jones;
“......my brother.”
She then relays her story, albeit a slightly alternate variation of it. She still remembers that fateful night all too well, the very vision of what her younger brother had become still clearly burned into her memory, like a bad dream haunting her in her waking moments. As of now, only those who had witnesssed first hand his first awakening know of the beast he is holding within, and as she concludes it's best that she does not reveil such information to anyone from here on out...certainly not to a mercenary for hire who's services she requires. As far as he knows, she's just looking for her brother who as far as she can tell has been kidnapped by unidentified assailants for reasons unknown.
Striedge;
“Okay then, well first off, you got the ten hundred thousand yen?”
Maxine Jones;
“This is all that's left of the savings my father left for me.”
Striedge;
“It'll do.”
Maxine Jones;
“Now what do we do? Where do we start?”
Striedge;
“You want to come with me I take it?”
Maxine Jones;
“I don't care how dangerous it is, I want to get my brother back.”
Striedge;
“Alrighty then, you are the client so you can tag along. You got something that belongs to him? A trinket of some sort that he is rarely seen without?”
Maxine Jones;
“Well...”
She had brought along a cute Powerpuff Girl backpack with her, it has many knick-knacks she brought along for this little trip. It also has something in the main pocket, a simple blue binder containing what appear to be hand drawn pictures and doodles. Also within the binder is what turns out to be an unused all-day free pass to Walt Disney World New York Resort which included a VIP access to the annual Kingdom Hearts festival. The date on it is the first of February, two years ago.
Striedge;
“What's this?”
Maxine Jones;
“It's the last birthday gift my parents ever gave him. They died on that exact date, killed by some Maverick out in the middle of the highway.”
Striedge;
“I see.”
Maxine Jones;
“He always carried it in this binder of his, it's where he keeps all of his most precious stuff. His drawings...and that pass.”
Striedge was just staring at the pass, as if he was memorizing every square inch of the thing. It was looking at it a bit peculiarly, enough so for Max to question him...
Maxine Jones;
“What are you doing?”
Striedge;
“You wouldn't believe me if I told you, nor would you understand.”
Maxine Jones;
“What are you doing?”
Striedge;
“You said this was precious to him, that he always had it with him. I can...sense his escence emitting around it, his signature escence which has seeped into this otherwise piece of paper, like an odor emitting from his soul.”
Maxine Jones;
“......
......”
Striedge;
“Well basically I'm picking up his scent, this will help me find him for you. Now all I need you to do is take me to where he first disappeared and we'll try to pick it up from there. We go around, ask some people if we have to, do everything we can to stay on his trail and finally find him.”
Maxine Jones;
“...okay, well you are the professional here.”
Striedge;
“Well you do flatter me, but let's be real here. If I were a real professional, I wouldn't be stuck being vice-manager of a local resterant just to keep a steady paycheck^-^.”
Maxine Jones;
“......”
Striedge;
“...anyway, you just sign this document here so I can use it to get my boss to let me take some time off, after that we leave when your ready.”
Maxine Jones;
“Okay.”
And so after placing her John Hancock on said paperwork, she had aquired the services of her own White Rabbit. She does not know what awaits her in the coming journey, but she shows little concern for what awaits her, she is more focused on the destination and being reunited with her brother Terry.
______________________________________________________
Meanwhile, somewhere along the outer coastal edges of Japan, it seems that her brother Terry is in fact on an interesting journey of his own...
This whole time, he has been here traveling with this strange woman, riding around on the back end of the giant motorcycle for hours on end. To be perfectly honest, he does not trust this person and would gladely escape from her if only he could, but instead he stays with her. In his heart he feels that there is no escape, the very vibe this individual taking him across the country is giving off is telling him that no matter how far he could get from her she would be able to find him again, and somehow he can tell she has the strength and ability to subdue him no matter how much he would struggle and resist, in the end he concludes that trying to make a break for it would be fruitless. He is her prisoner, plain and simple, her very presence is in itself the very thick walls and iron bars that hold him. He is still completely unaware of what it is she wants with him, or why she is still taking him across the country on some motorcycle, he cannot even begin to fathom the possible destination of this little trip. At the moment they are fast approaching some inner city beach area, it is about 8:07 am on the twenty-third of February, 2064 A.D.
Virus;
“How ya' doing back there?”
She speaks to him as if she were his closest friend, but he gives no answer. He has remained silent this whole trip thus far. Though she is a bit frustrated with his apparent cold shoulder, she still remains patient with him.
Virus;
“Well, in any case, we're gonna be making a stop here soon, hang out here for a while. Is that okay?”
He still says nothing, he just gazes off towards the passing city block not looking at her for even a moment.
Virus;
“......okay then
.”
And so they pull up to the beach area, with the giant hog parked Virus then leads the silent lad down into the sand. All around it seems so quiet, even with the small groups of people moving about off in the distance. Terry looks on at them just enjoying their day on this beach, he watches as these small gatherings of family and friends are able to freely bask in the sun without a care in the world, he watches on envious that they are together with the ones they hold dear.
He continues to follow this woman along the sandy region, the gentle sound of the small crashing waves up against the shallow edges of land does offer some comfort but does little to ease his troubled heart. Then after a short walk the woman finally settles down to what appears to be an arching palm tree, it provides sufficient shade as she rests up against it's lower trunk. She then looks towards Terry with a humble, warm smile on her face, the way she has her legs layed out she appears to be inviting him to take a seat in her lap.
Virus;
“Well c'mon, I won't bite^-^.”
He just looks at her for a second then decides to just go ahead and slumps next to her. But Virus did not intend to sit next to her, taking hold of him without any resistence like she was picking up a big dog, she now has him resting on her lap and is slightly cuddling him. It is rather suspitious behavior, the way she is trying to warm up to him when the two only met a week ago at the most, but Terry isn't even thinking about her possible motives at the moment and instead just gazes aimlessly into the ocean horizon.
Virus;
“How does it look? I for one always love such sights.”
She raises her hand with her flat palm facing straight towards the horizon. After gazing at it for a little while, Terry begins to finally take it in and feels less troubled. For reasons he doesn't even understand, he too raises his hand up towards the horizon and even places it over her hand, slightly clenching the spaces between her fingers with his own fingers. He still says nothing but somehow she can actually tell that he is enjoying this, even with a woman he just met he still finds himself in this serene moment.
They stayed there for a while, just basking in the beautiful moment. Then after a while Virus took him over to a nearby mobile ice-cream stand that was just passing by. There are a few other people hovering around it, enjoying the very product the ice-cream man is offering. Aside from ice-cream he also has assorted fruit and sour candies and soft drinks, at about a hundred yen a piece Virus then gets her fair a bar of ice-cream. But as the young Terry takes a small bit he is soon greated by it's unusual style of flavoring, his couching is slightly violent as it seems like he swallowed something very salty...
Terry Jones;
“HAGHK! What is this stuff?!”
Virus;
“Saltwater Ice-Cream I do believe. Yours is watermelon to be more specific.”
Terry Jones;
“Saltwater? Damn son...”
Virus;
“I know, but trust me after the initial 'kick' you'll get used to it. I remember the first time I tried this stuff, now I can't get enough of it^-^.”
Terry Jones;
“Well okay, if you say so......but damn, that was...strong...”
Virus;
“Hehehe, I know^-^.”
He takes another small bite, prepared for what's in store but finding the kick to be a bit less strong than last time.
Virus;
“Y'know what I find interesting about this?”
Terry Jones;
“What?”
Virus;
“That all it took was a bar of Saltwater Ice-Cream to finally get you to talk to me^-^.”
Terry Jones;
“......”
She then walks over to a nearby railing and slightly hunches over on it gazing towards the horizon eating her icecream. Terry goes over to her side and leans his back against the railing and eats his own icecream.
Terry Jones;
“Why am I even here? Where is it you are taking me?”
Virus;
“......to be honestly, there is no clear destination.”
Terry Jones;
“Then what the hell is going on? You pretty much drag me across the country without end and going along these back-country regions, what is it your trying to hide from?”
Virus;
“I myself am not hiding. It's you that I'm actually hiding.”
Terry Jones;
“......”
Virus;
“Your just gonna have to trust me little Terry.”
Terry Jones;
“And why is that? Your doing everything you can to try and get me to trust you...but just who are you?”
Virus;
“......the only person you can turn to right now.”
Terry Jones;
“...what about my sister? Isn't she the only one I can truly turn to?”
Virus;
“She can't help you Terry, not against the world. I mean I know she's your sister and all but let's be frank, how exactly can a mere organic help you in your current predicament?”
Terry Jones;
“Organic?”
Virus;
“Well...I meant to say human.”
Terry Jones;
“A mere human? What does that make us then?”
Virus;
“...nothing you could possibly imagine^-^.”
Terry Jones;
“What's that suppose to mean?”
Virus;
“......once we reach the actual town up ahead, I'll start showing you, when night falls. Okay?”
Terry Jones;
“What are you intending to show me?”
Virus;
“...^-^...”
She then starts to walk away with a coy smile on his face, somewhat leaving him in the dark yet again. He then walks off after her, now left with a bit of anticipation for the coming nightfall.
____________________________________________________________
It was quite an impressive size for being such a low key coastal port town, and yet it still had the feel of a humble backwater town. It was more or less the dead of the night, and just as expected there is hardly a soul in sight to witness the unfolding events about to transpire.
Somewhere along the outer bourder regions, just short of entering the city along the highway, that large motorcycle parked along the side of the highway intersection. The woman and the young lad stand along the sides of the road.
Terry Jones;
“So just what is it we're doing here...and do we have to be on the highway like this?”
Virus;
“You seem to be worrying about such trife. Relax, you'll need to be loosey goosey for what I'm about to show you.”
Terry Jones;
“What do you mean by that?”
Virus;
“
atience my young Padawan Learner, we will get to your lesson soon enough^-^.”
Terry Jones;
“Lesson? Padawan? What are you a Jedi or something?”
Virus;
“Well no, but in a sense I intend to be your Obi Wan as you are now to be my Anakin.”
Terry Jones;
“Luke. Anakin is a total emo doushebag. I'd rather you consider me Luke if your gonna make such references
.”
Virus;
“
erhaps...but somehow I feel your more of the Anakin architype.”
The way she spoke of architypes was rather unsettling for him, she seems to have already come to a conclusion as to the kind of person he is. He doesn't much care for such pigeon-toeing.
Virus;
“In any case, I'm gonna be teaching you a few things, simple little tricks that while simplistic are more than sufficient...”
Terry Jones;
“Sufficient?”
Virus;
“In showing you exactly what you are...and what it is you are capable of.”
She was a bit vague in his point of view, he had no idea just what it is she spoke of or what her intentions were. She just walked out into the highway without so much as a second thought, and already Terry was worried about her getting hit. And just like that, along comes some large semi vehicle with no trailer speeding around the corner.
Terry Jones;
“HEY, LOOK OUT!!!”
But she doesn't even seem to care, despite the vehicle fast approaching her, the driver not even knowing she is walking in the middle of the road until the very last moment when she suddenly appears within his vehicle's highbeams.
Driver;
“HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!”
Terry Jones;
“VIRUS!!!”
It looks as if she had been hit head on by the semi truck, the vehicle suddenly starts to swerve around chaotically as the breaks smoke and screech. The semi then collides roughly along the side of a road bridge's support tower before finally stopping. It happened so fast, a mordified Terry couldn't quite accept the reality as he was still lost in the initial shock of what just happened. But then, for some reason he can hear her voice calling to him, he looks to and fro still not seeing her anywhere in sight...
Virus;
“Hey, up here!”
He then looks up, and he goes from being mordified to being struck in awe as to the sight before him. There she was, suspended in the night sky by absolutely nothing. With the light of the moon glowing downward illuminating her silhouette she looked like a celestial goddess, her hair glissening and shimmering in the pale moon light as it freely swished and flowed. One could tell from her smile that she was taking much pleasure in the surprised look in Terry's eyes as he just stood there bewildered by the very sight before his eyes.
Virus;
“Well don't just stand there all stupified like that. Come on up here^-^!”
Terry Jones;
“......what?!”
Virus;
“You can come up here y'know! You just have to want to come up here, believe you can be up here just like a bird, your body will do the rest! Mind over body!”
Terry Jones;
“Your pulling my leg right?!”
She now hovers low, right in front of him as she extends her hand out towards him prompting him to take it...
Virus;
“Your not exactly human y'know...for one like you, this should be easy...trust me^-^...”
He finds himself looking into her eyes, as if trying to find absolute reasurence that she is not just leading him astray. But after a brief moment he just goes ahead and takes her hand. And just like that, he no longer feels the ground beneath his feet. He looks downward as Virus single-handedly whisks him gently into the night sky. Close by, near the now stationary and ruffled semi truck the driver is standing there on the side of the road watching as that woman he thought he hit just floats away with a young boy in tow, he is more or less at a loss of words...
It really was like a dream, the very surrealness of it just overwhelmed him with each passing moment. Flying through the air like a bird was just so natural to him, the only thing actually holding him up at all was the mere thought of souring through the night sky. He went all over the place, he swooped down into the empty streets and allyways, then climbed towards the heavens 'til the clouds were beneath his feet. There were only a few tall buildings here and there, even though they stood a good distance from one another it was no difficult feat literally leaping from one incredibly high roof-top to another in a single bound. All through the night, Terry lost himself to the very sensation of super-human flight, his movements were so blissful he even seemed to dance through the very clouds in a simple but fluid aerial ballet. But soon, it had to come to an end as the first light of dawn was soon to come across the sky's horizon, and after flying without a single care in the world he finally came to a stop and the reality of the situation once again took hold of his heart. He just stood there, watching the sky be enveloped in the soft blue of the approaching morning, the woman then came in and could sense his once again troubled heart...
Virus;
“What's wrong Terry?”
Terry Jones;
“...what am I? How is it I can fly so easily, let alone fly at all?”
Virus;
“......”
Terry Jones;
“How much do you know about me? Just tell me.”
Virus;
“More than I wanted to, and believe me when I say that you are better off not knowing everything.”
Terry Jones;
“...how is it you apparently know all about me?”
Virus;
“Well like I said, your better off not knowing everything. But I will say that I obtained such knowledge from my past associations...”
Terry Jones;
“Your past associations?”
Virus;
“Yes......”
Terry Jones;
“.........”
She goes up to him and kneels on one knee in front of him, there is a soft maternal glow in her eyes, the same warmth emits from her voice...
Virus;
“I'm sorry Terry, there is so much that I cannot tell you, there is so many things that could only make things that much harder for you. You understand?”
Terry Jones;
“Yes, but...”
Virus;
“Look, it doesn't matter what I tell you, you'll eventually come to understand what you are on your own. To be honest, it's up to you and you alone to decide what you are...and who you are.”
Her words were true, he could not argue with such a logical fact. In spite of everything he will come to understand about all this, he will still be the one to decide what he truly is. Perhaps that's the real thing about one's destiny, no matter what we tend to find out about where it is we come from it is still not what truly defines us, only our choices can truly define us and reveal the path before us. Such thoughts are a bit uplifting, but still there is much uncertainty and unease deep down in his heart. The woman then stands up, looking towards the sky, morning is fast approaching and all of the stars have just about vanished from the night sky.
Virus;
“Hey Terry, look up there. You see that star up there?”
Terry Jones;
“...that last one in the sky?”
Virus;
“Yeah, that one.........shoot at it.”
Well that was just out of the blue wasn't it? Terry just gave her a very blank stare. Noticing the rather serious look in her eyes which tell him she is not just pulling his leg, he has justified reason to think that she might be a bit out of her mind.
Virus;
“Don't give me that look, I know you can do this Terry.”
Terry Jones;
“You want me to shoot that star up there...and your serious.”
Virus;
“Well, what I mean is shoot directly at that spot in the sky, I wanna see how accurate you can shoot.”
Terry Jones;
“With what?!”
She then points at him, her middle and index finger stretched out. He just stands there with yet another blank stare.
Virus;
“...your bare fingers of course^-^.”
Terry Jones;
“.........my fingers? You mean to tell me that I can shoot things with just my two fingers?”
Virus;
“It's a little more complicated compared to flying, but it's pretty much the same thing. You just gotta focus, concentrate.”
Terry Jones;
“.........”
Virus;
“There is a great power deep down within you, it will do as you say if you tell it exactly what to do.”
Terry Jones;
“Right...”
It was pretty damn far fetched what she was asking him, the basic theory of it just seemed too simple than Virus was letting on. When it comes right down to it though, she is trying to help him and if she says he can do it then there is no harm done in trying it. He now gazes straight at the sky overhead, and as he extends his hand towards it he begins to feel the very power stirring within his arm, it flows upward into his two fingers that now point directly to that star in view. He can now sense that strong energy at his fingertips, it pulses and surges an intense blue light. Then, with just a single thought and the very star in his sights, he unleashes a great pulse of blue energy that shot straight through the atmosphere above and beyond. For a few minutes the beam continues to fly, until it then fades from view. Then all of a sudden, there appears a great burst of blue light shinning in the sky. It is almost as bright as the sun, but even looking straight at it Terry is not blinded by it. Virus just looked on also unflinching, she had a big smile on her face taking pride in what she was able to teach her student tonight.
Virus;
“Well, let's get going, no point hanging around here any more than we have to. We need to keep moving.”
Terry Jones;
“...yeah, but where do we go from here?”
Virus;
“Further away from here^-^...”
______________________________________________________
The big flash of light can be seen clear across the eastern hemisphere of the entire planet, even from the middle of the Pacific Ocean can one see this great flash of blue light shimmering throughout the sky like the Aurora Borealus. A large, tall man who is beholding this very sight takes a snap shot with a small digital camera.
Jack Chaos;
“Did you just take a picture of a giant bright light?”
Bulk Factor;
“Yeah, so what?”
Jack Chaos;
“What makes you think it'll even show?”
Bulk Factor;
“It wasn't that bright, I'm sure it'll pick up in the photo.”
Jack Chaos;
“Right
.”
The big guy shares his company with a avergae sized man who bares a fully mechanical arm. These two gents are currently tredding across the solid steel surface of a massive aircraft carrier of peculiar design, one that stretches for all least twenty miles from both front and back ends. There are several insect-like mechanoids and vehicles parked across many sections along it's runways. Along the vessel's lower side are gigantic letters that spell “WASP”.
Escorted by a small group of military personel, soldiers fitted in mechanical insectoid-humanoid battle armor, the big guy and the cyborg find themselves traversing the inner corridors of the massive vessel. Deeper into the vessel's facilities they go, until they finally come upon the war-room which awaits them behind a great big mechanical seal door, a tall man in a suit who has a freakishly large right eye has been waiting to greet the two guests.
Odin Saddler;
“Good morning gentlemen, so glad you can come.”
Jack Chaos;
“I was hoping I wouldn't be here again sir, I was technically 'sent home'.”
Odin Saddler;
“Well I am sorry but the General himself has reactivated you, he'll explain all the details himself.”
As these two familiar faces converse, there is a sudden flash of light from the big guy's digital camera.
Odin Saddler;
“......”
Jack Chaos;
“Bulk, did you just take a picture of the Lieutenant?”
Bulk factor;
“Yes.”
Odin Saddler;
“You just took a picture of my eye, didn't you
.”
Bulk Factor;
“It's for the kids back home, they'll never believe me otherwise if I told them I met a man with a giant eye.”
Odin Saddler;
“Right. You must be the big guy I've heard about from India, Bu-Chin Gunjino correct?”
Bulk Factor;
“Everyone just calls me Bulk Factor, it's sort of my street fighter name back home, wasn't really my idea actually.”
Odin saddler;
“Right. Well anyway gentlemen, the general is waiting. No pictures beyond this point please.”
Bulk Factor;
“Okay.”
After the Lieutenant imputs the security code, the great big door unlocks and slides open, revealing the war-room in all it's glory, in the center of the room stands a gargantuan hologram generator system displaying several HUDs and data streams over a three dimensional image of the Earth, the entire room stands upon a translucent floor where a monsterous-looking mass of technorganic flesh and circuitry seemingly sleeps suspended in a containment tank filled to the top with an eerie shimmering fluid. All around the room there a few military personel hovering over the several panels with all manner of button arays and gadgetry which look far too advance for this day and age. All in all, the room is quite a sight to behold, but for the man named Jack it holds no surprises, he's been here before.
General Siegfried;
“Well, well, if it isn't good ol' Jaqueale Terequous, or should I say Jack the Chaos Bringer?”
Jack Chaos;
“Just Jack, I don't much care for that war name.”
General Siegfried;
“Son, let me tell you something right now, even if you go and become a damn priest and swear never to harm another living thing ever again your still going to be known for all eernity as the Chaos Bringer of the Titan's War, there's no getting around it.”
Jack Chaos;
“Swell
.”
There is another small flash from Bulk's camera.
Odin Saddler;
“Dude, I said no pictures>_<.”
Bulk Factor;
“Sorry man, but that thing down there is just too amazing to not take a picture of...”
Jack Chaos;
“Gimme the camera Bulk, c'mon
.”
Bulk reluctantly hands the camera over to Jack who puts it in his pocket.
Jack Chaos;
“No pictures for the rest of the day.”
Bulk Factor;
“OkayT-T.”
General Siegfried;
“Right, well, anyway let's get down to business.”
Jack Chaos;
“Indeed, why am I here?”
General Siegfried;
“Well to be frank, what I'm gonna ask of you is to go on a wild goose chase.”
Jack Chaos;
“And just what pray tell is this wild goose you want me to find?”
The General then turns towards the hologram generator, prompting Jack and Bulk to look towards it as it suddenly brings up video footage of a recent incident, the footage can be viewed in full three-dimsional view, every possible angle that could have been seen at the time is visible.
General Siegfried;
“This is footage from thirteen days ago taken by our 3-D satellite feed over Tokyo at about 8:16 eastern time, about ten days prior to this incident we picked up a rather disturbingly high reading in the same area and we sent some of our boys to sniff it out, as you can see we did in fact find the source of the reading. It wasn't pretty.”
The footage in question is in fact that of the Human Dragon decimating the very insectoid-armored pursuers chasing him throughout Tokyo. Even the footage is too grizzly to watch.
Jack Chaos;
“Jesus...”
General Siegfried;
“We're already preparing for the worst, but we still have no idea just what it is we're dealing with.”
Odin Saddler;
“If our current data is correct, this new Maverick is supposedly an S class, it's been a good while since we last encountered one. But in the end our data is insufficient to fully rely on, we need to have a proper evaluation of the target.”
Jack Chaos;
“Which is where I come in, correct?”
General Siegfried;
“Correct.”
Jack Chaos;
“This is going to be fun
.”
Bulk Factor;
“Hey wait, who's that?”
The footage then starts showing the mysterious woman who came out of nowhere and challenged the Human Dragon...
Odin Saddler;
“Well other than this video footage we have absolutely no data on that woman, for some reason we can't even detect an actual reading on her. We suspect that she either has some sort of cloaking technology we are not aware of...or that she is not even an organic being...”
General Siegfried;
“In any case, she is our biggest concern right now, with only this video to go by it's obvious she currently has the target in her custody. There's no telling what she may want with him, you'll have to be extra careful.”
Bulk Factor;
“Man, this is some serious shit we're being pulled in, huh Jack?”
General Siegfried;
“We?”
Jack Chaos;
“Well sir, these past few years Bulk here has become my own wingman, if I am gonna do this I'd like to have him on the field with me.”
Odin Saddler;
“Well technically this is military business, and a civilian has no jurastiction in these affairs.”
General Siegfried;
“He'll have to be deputized into the military ranks if you intend to have him accompany you on the field.”
Bulk Factor;
“Alright then, what'll I have to do?”
General Siegfried;
“Well okay then. Since time is on the essence we'll just have you fill out the paperwork. Welcome aboard I guess.”
Bulk Factor;
“Cool.”
Jack Chaos;
“Well that's settled, now what?”
General Siegfried;
“Your gonna be heading out, we still have a faint reading of the target so you'll have to catch up to it before the trail goes cold. Good luck soldier.”
A little time latter, the two of them were now back up aboard the deck of the colossal vessel, There above was a great big insectoid transport vehicle waiting to take them to their target destination. Now we find that there are even more people jumping into this dangerous rabbit hole that fate has created, hoping to find the mysterious Human Dragon who lurks at the bottom of the hole.
Bulk Factor;
“Y'know I got your back, you know that right?”
Jack Chaos;
“What's on your mind Bulk?”
Bulk Factor;
“Well...it's just somehow I'm not liking where this is going, I'm getting a strange vibe from all this.”
Jack Chaos;
“Something wrong with the chi?”
Bulk Factor;
“Something like that.”
Jack Chaos;
“I get what you mean...there's just something a bit off about this. If nothing else I wanna know what's really going on...”
______________________________________________________
Back in that small humble city, there is a somewhat busted semi truck in the shop at the city's local truck stop sector. It was the same semi that almost ran over a strange woman, grinding up against a bridge's support causing much body damage on the driver's side. The driver is more or less fine though is a bit shaken up by what had happened last night, as his truck is getting fixed up he finds himself being questioned by a strangely feminine looking man acompanied by a female colledge student. The driver was given a photo of who is identified as the colledge student's younger brother. Right this moment it is about 10:25 am on the twenty-fifth of February, 2064 A.D.
Driver;
“Yeah, I saw this kid.”
Maxine Jones;
“You did? Where is he?”
Striedge;
“Easy Ms. Jones, don't get your panties in a twist. Now tell me sir, where did you see him?”
Driver;
“Well, it was out in the middle of the road, same place I almost ran over this woman by accident.”
Striedge;
“Strange woman?”
Driver;
“Some blue haired chick with a hot body, she just appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the road along the turn, I thought for sure I hit her man. Goddamn, was I freakin' out...”
Striedge;
“You say you thought you hit her...”
Driver;
“I got out of my truck only to find the brod was floating in mid-air, MID-AIR. Then she and the kid just took off into the sky and that was it.”
The driver told them everything he knew. It was an interesting little story to hear, and one that was worth at least some yen towards fixing the driver's truck.
Striedge;
“Here's something for your trouble, thanks for the information.”
Driver;
“Thanks. Good luck to ya'.”
The feminine man and colledge student then start to walk away, they got what little intel they were hoping to find in this city.
Maxine Jones;
“How did you know to talk to that guy anyway?”
Striedge;
“Remember that other essence I saw along with your brother's? Some of it somehow got on that guy's truck.”
Maxine Jones;
“Okay then, but what did we just learn from talking to him?”
Striedge;
“We now know that a blue-haired woman with a hot body has your brother with her right now...and when we do find your brother we might have to deal with her.”
_________________________________________________
To Be Continued...
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