Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the computer I'm typing this on, the clothes that I'm wearing, and the jar of stolen souls that I keep hidden under a copy of the Star Wars Encyclopedia. And if some guy inscribed an unholy symbol upon your chest while you were sleeping and now your soul is gone, I don't know anything about it.

Guardian
Chapter 12
Repercussions

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Asuka stood gaping, completely taken with shock.
"D... Disbanded? What?! That can't be right!"
Everyone else stared at the government official with varying levels of shock and anger.
"The hell?!" Snake shouted, stepping forward and jabbing a finger at the well-dressed man, "You'd better get your story straight, twit! That wasn't me blowing up people who might not have deserved it, and we have the corpse to prove it!"

Ranma turned to Sakura and whispered, "Hey, what'd we do with that corpse, exactly?"
"Well, first we gave it to Yamma," Sakura whispered back, "and then he cut it apart some and said he put it in the big freezer where Seras keeps his booze. And then Seras saw it and thought someone bought some raw meat to feed to Hunter, so..."
Ranma sighed.

The official looked distressed as Snake glowered at him angrily. "Now, wait, I-"
The lieutenant turned away. "Figures that ass Remerick would pull a stunt like this. And after he stabs us in the back, he's probably going to try and take my tank too!"
Kyle blinked, then scratched his head. "But wasn't the tank totaled?"
"Nah, not completely. The turret was completely obliterated, but I just sent it in to the guys who made it. They'll have it up and running in no time." Then Snake glared at the messenger. "Not that it matters NOW."
"That rat bastard of a general can't do this to me!" Asuka ranted, "After I nearly got myself killed saving his pitiful little Core division, I can't believe that pencil-pushing twerp would... he can't... I'm going to hunt him down and rip his legs off!!"
"Would you all please calm down and listen?!" The messenger shouted, obviously distressed.
The man gulped and immediately regretted his outburst as the room's attention immediately focused on him.
He sighed. "Look. General Remerick had nothing to do with this. In fact, he issued a very clearly worded statement that Snake was in no way responsible for the incident earlier today, nor was anyone in the Department of Abnormal Phenomenae Containment." The man bit his lower lip as he paused, casting a slightly nervous look at Snake. "Actually, he's the one that put down a widely supported bill that would call for the complete destruction of Lieutenant Yakata's DNA, to prevent this incident from happening again."
Snake's eyes narrowed. "That's Lieutenant SNAKE, insect."
Droplets of sweat appeared on the man's brow, and he began to tremble involuntarily as he looked into the man's eyes, which he made himself swear had NOT taken on a demonic red glow.
Asuka rubbed her forehead. "Please try not to agitate him. He's violent and ruthless when he's happy, but when he's mad..." she looked up at the man. "So if Remerick's not responsible for this, who is?"
The messenger tore his gaze away from Snake's, and managed spit out a reply as he made sure his heart was still beating. "Th-The government at large, I guess." After a moment he composed himself. "While all charges of murder and damage against the DAPC have been dropped, it was noted that it WAS your equipment that was instrumental in the destruction of several buildings and vehicles, as well as the deaths of numerous civilians and military personnel. As a result, the calling for your department's disbanding has finally been agreed upon. You see, it's actually been on the table for quite a while, but any debates about it never solved anything, and not too many people thought it was that important anyway. This recent incident sort of changed all that. The DAPC is no longer recipient of government funds, and all its assets will be taken, especially the weaponry of an unreliable or experimental nature that seems to be quite prominent in your armory."
At some point, the messenger's eyes had gone back to Snake, and the man swallowed deeply as he saw the lieutenant shaking with his fists clenched.
Making eye contact proved to be a mistake, as Snake then lashed out and grabbed the front of the man's shirt before lifting him in the air before him.
"SHOW ME THOSE WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE!!! I WILL TEAR OUT THEIR HEARTS AND REND THEIR FLESH!!!"
"Geez! Grab him!" Kyle and Junko immediately tried to take a hold of Snake's shoulders, and Ranma jumped out of his chair and started to remove the government official from the officer's grasp.
"I WILL BURY THEM IN FLAME!!! I WILL HUNT DOWN THEIR FAMILIES!!! THE STREETS WILL RUN RED WITH THEIR BLOOD!!!"
"Rrrgh... almost got it..." Ranma normally wouldn't have had much trouble trying to loosen Snake's grip, but Junko wasn't very strong, and the arm that she was trying to hold back seemed to be going for the messenger's throat, which further occupied him.
Asuka sighed deeply, her expression leaden. Then she slowly walked up to her subordinate and his victim.
"Oh God!! Somebody help!! He's going to kill me!!"
"I'LL DESTROY YOU ALL!!! YOU WILL DROWN IN FIRE AND LEAD!!!"
Asuka brushed by Kyle, who was in danger of being tossed aside, and then ducked under Snake's arm.
"THE EXPLOSIONS WILL BE SO LOUD THAT THE EARTH WILL TREMBLE!!! THE CRATERS WILL BE SO VAST THAT-Urk!"
"Lieutenant Snake, calm yourself please. Additional violence will not help our case." She then removed her elbow from his stomach, and Snake involuntary lost his grip on the official's jacket, dropping him to the floor.
Asuka calmly turned towards the messenger as the man scrambled backward on his rear, trying to put as much distance between him and Snake as possible. Unfortunately, he didn't have far to go before he hit a wall.
"Are you SURE it wasn't him who killed all those people?" The man asked, still on his hands and knees.
"Yes. You can see why he was chosen to be cloned, though." Coughing into her fist, Asuka's eyes took on a harder edge. "So that's it, huh? The DAPC is gone? And we're all laid off? Just like that?"
The man tugged on his shirt collar uneasily as he slowly got to his feet; these people were scary! "Well, no. Not all of you."
All heads immediately turned toward the messenger, and he fought the urge to fall back down.
"Wait... what are you talking about?" Asuka asked, confused and a little bit hopeful.
Feeling that it was best that he give what little good news he had, the official straightened his tie as he answered. "Due to excellent service records, certain former DAPC members will be offered positions in Japan's Central Organized Response Echelon, Core. They're making an effort to salvage what they can of this whole mess."
Asuka's flat expression slowly turned into a small smile. "Core? Some of us are going into Core? You're taking the competent officers and giving them better jobs?" She clasped her hands together over her chest and looked up at the ceiling.
Junko frowned. "Competent officers? Well, I mean, being completely honest, we only have two of those..."
The messenger laughed, though it sounded forced. "Well, that's good, because we're giving two of you new positions.
Junko, Sakura, and Snake turned their heads to look at Ranma. Kyle, Tiro, and Tycho turned to look at Asuka..
'At last!' Asuka mentally gloated, 'At last I'll be able to ditch these morons, and get a real position! I'm a shoe-in for a high rank too! I'll bet I'll make sergeant within a month!'
Ranma looked a more embarrassed, both because he felt guilty at getting saved when his friends were being laid off, and because he didn't feel as confident that the man meant him. "Excellent service records" of any type were not anything that he had been commonly associated with.
The official recovered his manila folder from the floor, and then looked at a series of sheets held together with a paperclip.
"The first officer was at the top of the list, and was actually requested prior to the decision to disband your department."
"Yes! I knew it! All my hard work and unfathomable patience finally paid off!" Asuka squealed in delight, jumping up and down with her hands clasped together.
The man sweatdropped. "Right. Cadet Ranma Saotome, I formally offer you a position within Japan's highest ranked military organization, Core. As a veteran officer, and due to your outstanding performance record as an officer, you will bypass basic training and go immediately to active duty."
Ranma blinked, and then began to scratch the back of his head, unsure of what to say. Glancing around the room, he winced a bit as he saw the disgruntled looks he was getting from Tiro, Tycho, and Snake.
"Well, I dunno... I mean, it's great that I've got a job already lined up for me, but it just doesn't feel right to accept this when most of the rest of you guys are being laid off...."
The messenger coughed into his fist. "And upon signing on with Core, you will of course be given a 1,000,000 yen bonus to accommodate for the loss of your previous assignment and to lessen the burden of any relocation costs that you may have."
"Which is why I really feel bad about accepting this offer like this!" Ranma finished, smiling nervously with his hand on the back of his head. Ordinarily, Ranma wasn't concerned in the slightest with money, but trying to live on his own had driven the reality of economics into his head the hard way. Hell, he didn't even have a place of his own yet!
Certain people, however, didn't see it that way. "You traitor..." Tiro muttered sourly.
"Hey now, that's not fair at all!" Junko suddenly stepped in front of him, and Tiro jumped back in surprise at the scowl on her face.
The voluptuous redhead frowned deeply at Tiro, and extended the look to include Snake and Tycho in its effects. "I can't believe how childish you jerks are acting! Why do you think Ranma was offered this position and you weren't, huh?"
"What are you talking about," Tycho said, "Ranma gets all the luck."
"Oh really?" Sakura said dryly, poking the driver in the back and startling him, "and it doesn't occur to you that maybe he's EARNED his job protecting the peace while all you've done is violate traffic laws and trash our cars?"
Tycho sweatdropped. "That's not ALL I've done... technically..."
Junko smiled. "Exactly. Ranma got this opportunity by working harder than the rest of us and not flaking off. Would you want him to throw away his future and scramble around for a job like the rest of us just to make you feel better?"
That caused the three men to wince, and they all looked down slightly, ashamed.
Ranma smiled again, but less nervously this time. "Heh... uh, thanks girls. I mean, I really do feel kind of bad about this..." Junko just turned and winked at him, returning Ranma's smile to full nervousness.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Asuka said, turning once again to the government official. "So get on with it."
"Oh, right," the man muttered, returning to the papers. "Let's see... here's the other one!"
Asuka grinned and closed her hands into fists, almost shaking with excitement. 'This is it! This is my ticket to success! Look out, criminal scum, because you're toast now!'
"Lieutenant Kyle Tekai, I formally offer you a position within Japan's highest ranking military organization, Core. As a veteran officer, and... uh... well, as a veteran officer of notable rank, you'll also go straight to active duty as well, and similarly receive a signing bonus."
Asuka's happy expression froze in place, and her face slowly started to darken as little blue flames appeared around her head. "K... K... Kyle......?"
Everybody else in the room, with the exception of Kyle himself, simply gaped.
Kyle, however, walked up to Asuka with a pleasant smile on his face.
"Congratulations, Asuka! I know you always wanted a chance like this, and I just wanted to say that you really deserve it! I'm rooting for you!"
Very slowly, everyone turned to stare at him.
"Uh, dude," Tycho mumbled, "he said Kyle. That's you, man."
Kyle blinked, then pointed at himself in confusion. "Wait... oh yeah, huh?" Then he looked even more confused. "But why me?"
The official dusted off his suit, and cast a worried glance toward Asuka, who was twitching slightly. "It's not my job to know, or care, for that matter, but I suspect it has to do with your father being a Colonel in that organization. However THAT happened."
Sakura ran up and hugged her brother tightly. "Way to go Kyle! This is great!"
Snake sweatdropped as he stared at the former captain of the DAPC, who was now trembling mightily. "Uh... yeah. Peachy."
The official sighed as people started to congratulate the blonde man, and turned away to step outside. "Well, that's all I have to say. Goodbye."
"What? That's it?" Tycho complained, "you just spout 'you're fired, except these guys', and leave? What about the rest of us? Don't we get severance packages or anything?"
The man's expression went flat. "Well, you're not being charged or penalized for all the damage you've done, so if I were you, I'd take that as a 'severance package', and I'd quit while I was ahead."
He turned once again to leave, but nearly fell over when he felt something suddenly grab a hold of his leg.
"Please, wait!" Asuka cried, on her knees in front of the man, "there must be some mistake! Check the paperwork again! Call the people in charge! Anything!"
The messenger twitched. "I'm quite certain there's no mistake. Now please, let go of me."
"No! You're wrong! I HAD to have been promoted! You can't tell me that airheaded, irresponsible, blond lunkhead got the job that I had applied for! You can't!!"
Kyle sweatdropped. "Hey!"
"Well, she has a point, dude."
"Okay, yeah, but still..."
The official would have none of it, and began shaking his leg to try and get the former captain off. "There's no mistake. Tekai was given the position, and you were fired. Now LET GO OF ME!"
Asuka felt her grip weaken, and finally loosened her arms so that she was knocked onto her back as the man kicked. "But this is my dream! My fate! My destiny! I'm a born leader! And you're passing me up for a guy who can't even spell his own job title correctly!"
Kyle opened his mouth to protest.
"She's got a point."
Kyle's mouth closed, and he flushed slightly in embarrassment.
The messenger looked down at the fallen woman contemptuously, straightening his suit. "That's not my problem. Though from my perspective, you look like something less that a 'born leader'." With a slight smirk on his face, the man immediately turned around and walked out of the main office into the hall.
"Huh? WHOA!!! What the hell is-AHHHH!!! AAAAH!!! HELP!!! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!! IT'S ATTACKING ME!!! IT'S GOT MY-*Choke* *Gurgle*"

The screams coming from the hallway were totally ignored as the former staff of the DAPC stared uncomfortably at Asuka, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor with her head down.
Finally, Ranma stepped up and leaned down next to her, putting his hand over her shoulder.
"Well, uh... look, I'm really sorry about how this turned out. You deserve this deal more than I do, but you were stepped over and that's not fair."
The sulking bluette looked up at him, her features leaden. "Wonderful. So what are you going to do about it?"
Ranma blinked. "Er... well, I was planning to sit here and dump more pity on you until you just got so sick of it that you left on your own and the rest of us could stop standing around awkwardly."
"Thanks for your honesty," Asuka said dryly.
Ranma sweatdropped. "Well, people tell me I suck at lying, so there you go."
Asuka just rolled her eyes, and then slowly got up to her feet to face Ranma. "Well, I suppose that's that. Like Chikiko said, it really isn't right for me to get angry at a former teammate because he won't have to go through the ordeal I will." She stuck out her hand for Ranma to shake. "May you go on to bigger and better things, Ranma."
Ranma smiled and shook her hand. "Thanks. I hope you find a good job somewhere, Asuka."
Asuka let go of Ranma's hand, and then turned toward Kyle.
"And as for you, I hope that you get gutted alive by a mutant while you're in the field."
Everybody in the room sweatdropped.
"Aw, c'mon Asuka," Kyle complained, "it's not like it was my decision! Hell, I know you're a better officer than I'll ever be!"
The blue-haired woman frowned, then sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. I guess I hope they only gut you AFTER you're dead." The former police captain then walked swiftly past him and out the door.

"That could have gone better," Ranma muttered.
"Well, this whole thing sucks," Junko said, arms crossed. "But I guess we've all got to deal with the cards we've been dealt." She turned to Sakura. "Hey Tekai, I can drop you off at home if you want. Then Saotome and your brother can go straight to Core headquarters."
Sakura nodded, and then hugged her brother again. "Kyle, I'm going to go now. You be good, okay? And remember what I told you."
Kyle sighed. "'Don't play with pointy things no matter how shiny they are, don't pick up broken glass, and don't put metal objects in electric sockets.' Yeah, I remember."
His sister smiled and patted him on the cheek, then turned to Ranma. "Ranma, I... uh, I feel bad that we won't be working together anymore, but hang in there, okay?" Ranma nodded somberly in response, and Sakura only hesitated a moment before wrapping him in a warm hug.
Ranma blinked in surprise, but then hugged her back after a moment. "Well, take care." Soon they parted, and the blonde woman smiled sadly at him before moving to leave the room.
Ranma watched her go, until he felt someone tapping on his arm. Turning, he saw that Junko was smiling at him.
Sweatdropping, Ranma raised his arms for another hug, totally unsure of what he was doing.
Junko didn't seem nearly so hesitant, and grabbed the front of Ranma's shirt before yanking him down into a deep kiss.
"Wha-Bu-Hey!" Sakura shouted, gaping as the vivacious redhead.
Junko moaned slightly and wrapped her arms around Ranma's head, to which he graciously responded to by waving his arms wildly in imitation of a hummingbird.
Finally, Junko pulled her head back and released her victim, who immediately began panting for air. "Catch ya later, hot stuff." She winked at him, and, ignoring his haggard shell-shocked expression, turned to Kyle.
The blonde man blinked, then extended a hand. "Well, I'll be seeinnnmmph..."
Sakura's eyebrow twitched, and she crossed her arms over her chest as Junko engaged liplock with her brother. "Are we going, or are you just going to make out with everyone here first?"
The redhead slowly disengaged herself from Kyle, who, though confused, had just started to get into it. Then she turned away and walked into the hall, giggling. "What's the matter, did you want a piece of Saotome?"
Sakura followed, fuming. "What was that about, anyway? You don't just walk up to somebody and kiss them like that!"
"Your jealousy is SO transparent."

Kyle stared for a long time after they passed, then straightened his jacket self-consciously. "Well... that came out of nowhere."
"Right," Ranma deadpanned. "Anyway, it looks like we've still got jobs, at least." He glanced down at the floor, and then looked back up at his former superior. "Hey, since I'm getting the bonus and all, I figure I can finally move out of your place. After we drop by the headquarters, maybe I could go pick up my things and... uh, are you listening to me?" Ranma frowned as he noticed that Kyle was looking about himself in confusion.
"Huh? Oh, yeah! I was just wondering where the guys went. They never said goodbye."
__________________________________________________________________________________

"One, two, three, HEAVE!!" Tiro and Tycho grunted mightily as they lifted the DA headquarter's backup power generator into the back of the 18-wheel cargo truck.
Snake nodded, and then gestured them forward. "Wattai, you push it forward, and be VERY CAREFUL to place it so that it keeps the boxes of rocket ammunition from being knocked around. Yamazaki, you go get another locker of 9 mm. rounds to fill in that top space. Then fill the ammo closets with the tea boxes, like we did with the locker rooms!" Snake himself hefted a rack of heavy and light machine guns over his shoulder, and then carried it into the back of the Lipton truck, placing it on top of a number of crates of grenades.
"Let's move, people! We need to loot this place ASAP! Wattai, you go up to Seras's labs and get all his booze before somebody tells him that he's laid off! He keeps it in a secret compartment behind the test tube cabinet that's activated by pulling down the jaw of the plastic skeleton in the far corner!"
Tycho sweatdropped. "Everybody knows he drinks. And he still built a secret compartment to hide his booze?"
Snake nodded. "And then told us all about it. But to be fair, he was wasted at the time."
"Surprise, surprise..." Tycho muttered as he rushed up the stairs.

"Hey Snake," Tiro shouted from within the truck, "is anybody going to notice that all this stuff is gone?"
Snake snorted. "Please. I have a little more experience with the Japanese bureaucracy than you do. When they find out that all the weapons and gear has been replaced by boxes of tea, they'll file a report and send the report to a single disgruntled clerk who sits around playing computer games all day and staples the papers in his 'In' box together to make a roof for his cubicle."
Tiro blinked. "Seriously?"
"Oh yeah. In fact, he got that job because the last guy tried to make the roof with scotch tape, and it all fell down and crushed him like a roach."
Tiro blinked again. "Oh. Okay." Then he frowned. "But, given that we're not even police officers anymore, isn't it illegal for us to even own guns now?"
"Bah!" Snake scoffed, "laws are people who don't have guns!"
Tiro thought about that for a moment, and then nodded. "Fair enough. Where do the .50 caliber belts go?"
"On the right, next to the flares and plastic explosives. Wattai, you're back! Put the first case of rum next to the flamethrower fuel, and then go back for the second crate. It should be brandy, I believe."
Tycho did as he was told quickly, and was running up the stairs for more within moments.
Snake looked into the truck with satisfaction, his fists planted on his hips. Then he heard a scratching noise behind him, followed by heavy breathing.
"Hey Hunter! How you doing, big guy?" Snake greeted pleasantly, then noticed that the zergling's mouth was dripping blood and gore. Closer inspection also revealed that Hunter had a big, blood-soaked strip of paper caught on one of his upper claws.
"Yo, Yamazaki?"
"Yeah?" Tiro called back, poking his head out of the back of the truck.
"Wasn't it your job to feed Hunter?"
"Well, yeah, but I don't know where to find live cows in the city!" Tiro complained, "I mean, can you even buy those here?"
Snake shrugged. "I dunno. Actually, I was just going to tell you to forget about it, since it looks like he already ate."
"Ah, I see," Tiro muttered, hopping out of the truck. "What's that on his claw?"
Hunter nudged Snake's leg in an admittedly disturbing act of affection, and the former officer began to stroke the zergling's head crest as he removed the paper to look at it.
"Hey, this is the notice that Saotome's recruited into Core... this is the same paper that government guy was carrying when he laid us all off."
Both men stared hard at the bloodied paper, and then slowly turned their heads to look at Hunter, who was either trying to urge Snake to pet him harder, or was trying to clean the blood off his beak with Snake's pant leg.
Slowly, they turned their heads back to look at the paper, and then turned to stare at each other.
"Well, I can't imagine how Hunter got a hold of this thing," Snake commented off-handedly, taking out a cigarette lighter and holding it under the paper.
"Yeah, real funny, isn't it. Doesn't really matter, though, I mean, what are the chances of us ever meeting that guy again?" Tiro laughed unconvincingly. "Hell, I'm not even sure if I ever saw him in the first place!"
Tiro stopped laughing nervously, then looked thoughtful. "You know... I have a really annoying neighbor who I might not have ever seen before..."
"Give him a few hours; I think that last guy gave him indigestion." *Click* *Click* *Fwoosh*
__________________________________________________________________________________

*Screech!* "Garasuka and 7th Avenue! Watch your step!"
Wolf looked up as the bus driver called out, and pushed his sunglasses up to the bridge of his nose as people starting filing past him.
As the last man walked to the front of the bus to exit, Wolf himself turned and stepped out onto the sidewalk, his hands in his pockets.
While tracking down Ranma's past had proved interesting, it had been an amusing distraction at most. Still, Calvin couldn't help but marvel at how alike him and Saotome really were. Cut off from his past, and always facing forward; perhaps out of fear of what lies behind him.
However, they were still on opposite sides of the law, which is why Wolf was hoping that he wouldn't have to run into the man again. Ranma seemed amiable enough, but he was a cop. And worst yet, he was a cop that could probably take him down. Just knowing that was something of a blow to Wolf's peace of mind. He had always thrived with the knowledge that he could pretty much beat any man or woman that came after him with a gun, and having that self-perceived aura of invincibility shattered had him a bit edgy.
'Maybe I should find Igov, see what he's up to. He said he had a job for me... What the hell?' Wolf blinked and stared as several cars came shooting out of a nearby intersection, all in the same direction. This was followed by a number of people rushing the same way, many of them staring backward as they went.
*Ruuumble* *Booom* Flashes of light accompanied distant explosions, and Wolf frowned as smoke began to rise over the tops of the numerous skyscrapers of Tokyo.
Wolf stared at the smoke for a moment, then looked toward the setting sun before glancing at his watch.
"It's getting late... still..." Sighing to himself, Wolf began jogging in the direction of the smoke.

*Boom!* *Ka-krrrrrr...* The dust shook over the ground as the explosions continued on, and Wolf slowed down as he saw a human body trapped under a flat piece of concrete. Now that he was close to the center of the battle, he could see rubble everywhere. The streets and surrounding buildings were decorated liberally with bullet-holes and craters, and most of the cars had been torn apart by what Wolf had to guess had been assault weaponry.
Running up toward the man who was trapped, Wolf grimaced. "Hey, you all right? You alive, man?" Getting no response, Wolf kneeled down and grabbed the edge of the concrete slab before throwing it aside with a mighty heave.
Wolf began to dust of his hands, but then stopped when he saw what the rubble had obscured. The man on the ground had a line of bullet holes across his back in a diagonal slash that he couldn't possibly have survived.
"Damn... whoever's causing this mess isn't fooling around. A heavy machine gun did this. Hm?" Looking over the man's back, Wolf scowled as he found a tattoo on the man's bicep; a cobra entwined in barbed wire.
"FAs. Wonderful."
*KAA-KROOOM!!!* The ground shook as another heavy explosion ripped through the nearby building, and Wolf turned as an avalanche of rubble began to rush at him from the parking garage he had stopped in front of.
Leaping up quickly, Wolf backflipped in mid-air before landing atop a delivery truck that had its cargo trailer gutted out. Clicking his tongue, he observed the source of the explosion as a wave of dust and shattered cement washed under his perch.
The building looked like it had been an extremely sturdy concrete bunker connected to a parking garage. And from the way the debris had settled, it looked like there were several stories below the ground, too.
Another slight tremor shook the rubble on the street below, and Wolf watched more dust and soot shoot into the air as the shattered roof of the bunker sunk even lower into center of the wrecked compound.
"Hmmm... the roof is fractured, but those explosions definitely came from inside. The fires, too." Moistening his lips, Wolf steeled himself and jumped from the truck onto the mountain of debris, darting from boulder to shattered support with cat-like agility.
A final leap brought him over the edge of what was left of the building's southern wall, and Wolf scanned the top of the collapsed structure for any sign of further combat.
Peering through the plumes of smoke, though, he was unable to find any.
"I don't get it. No assault trucks, no police or government vans... something's just not right here..."
"The smoke clouds your judgment, perhaps?"
Wolf turned sharply at the voice, his hands already whipping out one of his butterfly knives. *Swip*
The twirling blade cut through the air easily as it spun in a circle, beelining for its target on the edge of the rubble pile.
The target snorted, and then shifted the bundle that he carried on his shoulder to block the projectile.
*Clang!* Wolf's blade struck metal, and the knife was deflected harmlessly as it fell into the broken cement and steel below.
"Your aim is true, but your attack lacks will."
Wolf's eyes narrowed. Standing nearly 20 meters away and facing away from him was a tall, dark-haired man in a full-length trench coat, carrying a huge tied-up bundle on his back. Half of a cigarette hung from his lips, smoke slowly wafting from its glowing tip.
"Turn around." Wolf commanded firmly, flipping open a knife in each hand. Taking a closer look at the figure in from of him, he could see that his coat had several bullet holes in it. Glancing at the rip he had made in the bundle, Wolf could see a flash of silvery metal.
The figure did as he was commanded, and slowly turned to face Wolf, the bundle being held easily over one shoulder.
Wolf raised an eyebrow. "And a crucifix around the neck completes the description. You're Rayden Shikodan, aren't you?"
Rayden's flat expression didn't change, and Wolf almost felt himself flinch under the man's cold eyes.
"Charmed, I'm sure."
A quick look over the man's front revealed more bullet-holes, and the glove and sleeve of his left arm was soaked in blood as well.
"Well, I'll be damned..." Wolf said, a bit impressed despite himself. Rayden had clearly been shot a number of times, but didn't move as if he was hurt at all.
"Well now, that depends," Rayden began, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and crushing it in the palm of his bloodied hand. "You have me at a disadvantage. My reputation precedes me, but I do not know who you are."
Wolf began to back away. If what he had heard about this guy was true, he wasn't in much danger of being arbitrarily shot, but this was NOT a man he wanted to deal with. Something about justice-minded freaks that answered blood and violence with more savage blood and violence just didn't make his day complete. "Oh, just your regular, everyday citizen, curious as to what the hell had taken out this whole bunker. What was this anyway, some mob hideout?"
Rayden scowled at him, and took an aggressive step forward. "This was a laboratory and a biological production facility. And no 'regular, everyday citizen' can throw a blade like that."
'Great. Me and my stupid reflexes give me away again.' Wolf took another step back. "Look big guy, I'm not looking for trouble. You just startled me, is all. How 'bout I just walk this way, and you can go back to killing evil sinners, okay?" Rayden's eyes narrowed, and Wolf winced under his shades. Apparently he had let just a little too much sarcasm enter his voice.
Rayden began to walk forward steadily, his gait causing debris to shift at every step. "Your hands are stained with much blood, German. What does your conscience hide?"
Wolf took a step back. "Hey, hey! I said I'm not looking for a fight. I've got no beef with you!"
"The Lord's eyes and ears see and hear all," Rayden muttered, lowering his head as he continued stalking forward. "Whose blood have you spilled?"
"I'm not hiding anything you Catholic nutjo-" Wolf's frustrated reprisal was drowned out by another loud rumble, and the mercenary stumbled a bit as the massive pile of debris beneath him began to shift mightily. "What the-? How many explosives did you put down there?! This place is already totaled!"
Rayden frowned. "That was no explosion." Calmly, he reached into his trench coat with his left hand, and pulled out a large rifle that Wolf couldn't identify.
Wolf raised one knife into a defensive position and prepared to let the other one fly. "I wouldn't do that if I were-"
*Kroom!* Again Wolf was interrupted, this time by a massive form breaking free and rising out of the rubble below.
"WHAT THE HELL?!?!" Wolf shouted, jerking back in shock.
"Gyuuuuuu..." A high-pitched growl echoed from the shiny, featureless face plate of the K-series mutation, and the muscle-bound monstrosity reared a claw back to strike.
Wolf leaped straight up over the attack, and let one of his knives fly before backflipping to gain some distance.
*Thack* The mauler barely even noticed as the knife stuck in its armored head, and it began to walk forward slowly, lumbering over the uneven concrete slabs and steel supports.
*Bloom!!* The wound that came of being shot in the arm with Rayden's high-powered rifle proved to be more difficult to shrug off, and the mutant howled as a significant chunk of blood and flesh was blown onto the floor of debris.
"Soulless creature!" Rayden shouted angrily, smoke wafting from his rifle barrel. "Face me and be destroyed!"
"Grrraaaauuuu!" The mutant flexed its claws as it turned, and then charged its attacker in a mindless bloodlust.
*Blam!!* *Blam!!*
"GRRRRAAAAAGGGG!!"

Wolf, meanwhile, had made his way to the street by this time, and was in a full run away from the wrecked facility.
'Religious freak and the mutant freak can tear each other apart, for all I care,' he thought. Normally, Wolf loved a good fight, but he was well aware of Rayden's combat style; mostly in that it involved a lot of shooting and explosives. Hand-to-hand combat to him could almost be considered a sport, or maybe even a game, but there was little of what he liked about martial arts in gunfighting.
Really, the mutant was more his kind of fight, but honestly, just seeing it burst up so close to him like that had startled him quite badly. Besides, it would likely mean putting up with Rayden afterward.

*BWEEEEEEOOOOOOOOO!!*
Shifting his attention to the streets, Wolf noted that several police vehicles were heading to the destroyed facility, including an armored van marked with Core's special operations sigil.
Wolf snorted and adjusted his shades as the cars sped off down the street and out of his sight. "Well, the cops are here, so it's time for me to beat it." With that, Wolf turned around and began jogging in the opposite direction.
__________________________________________________________________________________

'Damn it, I barely get time to sit down after that whole clone massacre before they just make me suit up again. It's not fair...' Mizu grumbled under her breath as she sat in the back of the armored transport, the massive shoulder pads of her protect gear nearly rising over her head as she let herself slump deeper into her armor. Somehow the powered suit always seemed much bigger when she wasn't moving around in it, like a hermit crab's shell.
"I can't believe they couldn't get division 3 to handle this," she muttered sourly.
"Well, in all fairness, a quarter of division 3 was wiped out trying to hold that other roadblock," one of her companions reminded her.
Mizu winced. She had forgotten about that.
The engine noise began to die, and the Core soldiers began to pick up their weapons.
"All right people, let's move out! Spread over the police line, and fire on MY signal!"
"Helmets on! Move, move, move!!"
Mizu pulled her air mask over her mouth, and slipped her hand under her hair to do the clasp behind her neck.
The doors slammed open, and her fellow soldiers poured out onto the streets as she picked up her helmet.
With a final grimace, she put the helmet on and slipped down the visor before taking up her autorifle and exiting herself.

As the police and their cars formed a thick barricade across the street, the small group of armored troops spread out behind the formation, covering the rear as well as preparing heavier support fire.
"Sniper teams, move into those two offices! I want to be able to kill anything within a 300-meter radius!"
Mizu herself took up a position in the midst of the group, placing herself between two officers that positioned next to their squad cars.
Noting with some amusement that the two men seemed rather unnerved by her presence, she reached for a switch on the back of her pack and pressed it, turning her visor on.
Scanning over the explosion site, whatever conflict had happened seemed to be mostly over. The bombed building had already been reduced to an avalanche of rubble, and it was pretty obvious from where she was standing that none of the bodies lying on the ground were going to get up any time soon, if at all.
One group of officers that had doubtlessly been sent on ahead to check out the bodies rushed back to their commanding officer at the barricade, looking rather spooked.
"We don't have any ID yet on the bodies, but we've confirmed that they're Freedom's Angels, sir."
"All of them?"
"Yes sir. It's possible that a skirmish broke out between two factions and they massacred each other, but everyone out here's a terrorist. And it would seem not a single one survived, either. We'll have to start excavating the debris before-"
*KA-KRROOOOOM!!!* The police officer was cut off by a sudden detonation atop the debris pile, and the entire group flinched back as a huge fireball set off a tidal wave of dust that blasted down into the streets below.
Mizu held her ground as the unarmored officers ducked to the street or into their cars, being fully protected from the suffocating cloud. Taking a hand off her autorifle, she placed it on the side of her face mask, carefully manipulating the small touch controls for her visor.
In moments, the snowy green panel before her eyes was replaced with a thermal heat display, and she quickly sorted through the array of colors to find a particular signature straight ahead.
"There's something getting up in the dust cloud! Stay sharp!" She shouted into her communicator, and raised her rifle.
"Hold your fire!"
"Something's wrong! The heat signature is too big! That thing can't be human!"
"I said hold your fire!"
Mizu's eyes narrowed, and she switched her visor back to default mode, replacing the vague splotch of red and yellow once again with the haze of green imagery still hidden beneath the dust blanket.
Slowly, the cloud began to recede, and a general wave of discontent spread through the group as a shape slowly penetrated the barrier.

The officer on Mizu's left began to shake as he wiped dust on his face, hoping that perhaps his eyes were playing tricks on him. "Wh-Wha-What the hell is that?!"
Mizu grimaced under her mask. The huge, muscular creature lumbering toward them was quite distinctive enough with its shiny, featureless head that Mizu could identify it from her briefings.
"That's a 'mauler', an FA mutant," she said, her voice coming out in a raspy, hollow tone from the transmitter in her mask. Both officers immediately turned to look at her. "What I'm wondering is, what did that to it?"
The creature lumbering toward them looked to be in rather bad shape, having suffered a large, grievous wound that had apparently taken off one arm and left large burn scars over the rest of it.
The officer to Mizu's right leaned toward her slightly. "What's that leaking out of its shoulder?"
"I'd like to say blood," the man on the left replied, "but it looks more like motor oil."
Mizu ignored them and lined up a shot at the mutant's head. The head was more heavily armored than the rest of it, but she wagered that her autorifle's rounds would be up to the task.
Moving her hand once more to her visor, she hit her intercom switch. "Sir, target is in my sights. Permission to fire?"
*Denied,* came the swift response. *The mauler is too badly wounded to be a threat at this range. A crew is on the way for capture and containment. Our objective for now is to find any wounded and secure the area.*
Mizu thought about that for a moment. A live mutant sample would be an invaluable catch for her department, and ultimately in the battle against such biogenetic weapons. "Containment, sir? Is the DAPC in on this? Sounds like their job." 'Even if they're more into annihilation than containment.'
*The DA? Hell no! They're not even around any more! They will NOT, nor will they ever be, part of a Core operation!*
Mizu blinked. They weren't around any more?
She was mentally debating whether to continue her line of questioning and risk a reprimand or just drop it for later, when her light amplification, which she had turned on as the sun had started to set, picked up a burst of light from behind the mutant, back in the part of the street that the dust still obscured.
"Look out!" Mizu dropped to her knees, and saw many of the men and women around her do the same.
*KA-KRROOOOOM!!!* The unfortunate mauler was lost within the fiery explosion as its body was torn apart, and the police squads shielded their eyes from the heat as a huge fireball was swallowed up into the air, blasting the blanket of dust away into the surrounding buildings and alleys.
Mizu again didn't have to shield her eyes from the dust, and her visor readjusted for the sudden influx of light automatically, so she got a better look than most others at the figure at the foot of the debris mountain as it slowly wrapped a large piece of cloth around a large rectangular object.
"Sergeant, are you getting this?"
*I see 'im. Is that Snake again? I thought they laid that psycho off!*
Mizu rolled her eyes. "No sir, that's definitely not Snake. He's too tall."
The man had finished wrapping his parcel, and had slung it over his left shoulder. Though the explosion had blown much of the dust away, most of it had swept up against the walls of the surrounding buildings and subsequently been blown back into the streets. As it was, Mizu couldn't make out any more than she could from her initial glance, except that the figure was wearing a large trench coat that was flapping in the winds that kept the dust cloud aloft.
*Oh, sweet mother of Jesus... please don't let that be who I think it is...*
Mizu blinked. "Sir?"
The walked forward slowly toward the blockade with his head down, the bundle held over his left shoulder and his other hand in his pocket.
Soon he passed out of the obscuring dust, and Mizu frowned as she observed his features. It wasn't anybody she had seen before.
The man stared down at the burning patches of gore that had once been a K-series mutant, his face like chiseled stone. "Such a horrific imitation of God's creatures. Has Japan truly fallen into the hands of devils and madmen since I had left?"
Mizu couldn't help but sweatdrop. 'Bit of a drama queen, isn't he? And a slight Russian accent... could he be one of Yuchtzky's men?'
Her commander wasn't so inquisitive in his observations. *Shit!! It is him!! All units take aim and prepare to fire on my mark!*
Mizu immediately aimed her autorifle for the man's heart as her commander began to shout orders to the surrounding police officers, forgoing further use of the intercom.
"Captain, get your sniper teams ready! Pull back those men in the front some more! Give me that bullhorn!"

Rayden stared calmly out at the police barricade, noting all the routes he could use to get through. He noted the number of heavy machine guns along the left flank and his frown deepened, though he was glad that he had thought to dress some of his deeper wounds and remove most of the bullets that had hit him when he had had the chance.
Honestly, he wasn't expecting this much force to be arrayed so quickly when the authorities had no idea what was going on, but given the recent news concerning mutant and terrorist assaults, perhaps he should have.
"RAYDEN SHIKODAN, THIS IS SERGEANT YUJIKATA OF CORE'S 1ST HEAVY INFANTRY DIVISION!! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR MULTIPLE COUNTS OF FIRST-DEGREE MURDER, DESTRUCTION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY, ASSAULT..."
Rayden tuned the man out and fished in his chest pocket with his right hand, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. He slid one out and took it between his teeth, wincing slightly as the police commander raised the volume on the bullhorn in response to being ignored.
"...BRANDISHING AND USE OF AUTOMATIC AND EXPLOSIVE WEAPONS, VAGRANCY, LITTERING, PARKING IN A HANDICAPPED SPACE, JAYWALKING, AND OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE!!!" Yujikata let out a deep breath as he finished reading the long list, and then crushed the piece of paper in the palm of his armored hand. "YOU ARE INSTRUCTED TO DROP ANY WEAPONS YOU ARE CURRENTLY CARRYING... UH... PLUS WHATEVER THAT THING IS ON YOUR SHOULDER!!! YOU WILL THEN SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY AND SUBMIT YOURSELF TO ARREST!!! FAIL TO COMPLY, AND WE WILL OPEN FIRE WITH LETHAL INTENT!!! THIS IS YOUR FIRST, LAST, AND ONLY WARNING!!!"
Rayden stared calmly at the array of officers, his unlit cigarette hanging freely out of his mouth. Then he let his left arm drop.
*Clang!* The heavy sound of his bundle hitting the pavement sent a wave of flinches through the barricade. The corner of the parcel ground into the street for a moment, and then the entire bundle lost its momentarily balance and teetered over. *Thud!*

Sergeant Yujikata blinked, and then put the bullhorn back up to his mouth. "SO... UH... DOES THIS MEAN YOU SURRENDER?!!"
Rayden raised his left hand up, and flipped a silver-cased cigarette lighter around in his glove. "Obstruction of justice... a curious charge."
The sergeant frowned. "What's he mumbling about?" he muttered, "I can't hear a thing from back here..."
"As one who furthers justice without the aid or permission of mortal law... I will not surrender, guardian." Rayden flipped the top of the cigarette lighter up, and placed his thumb on the switch next to the lighter wheel.

"The hell? Did he just say he wasn't going to surrender? Then just what does he think he's going to do?"
Mizu shrugged at the officer's speculation, though her shoulder pads were too heavy to move that easily and not designed to relay such a gesture. "I can only imagine that he's going to try to fight his way through."
The man blanched and turned toward the armored behemoth to his right. "Are you serious?! There's no way!"
"Oh, it's possible," Mizu retorted, still keeping her rifle aimed. "He might even think he can win."
The man who had spoken before shook his head in disbelief, but was distracted when another officer pushed past him to stare at the ground.
"Huh? Hey, what's wrong with you?"
Mizu didn't glance at the man, being far too focused on her target. As it was, she noted that her target seemed to be debating something internally, and was idly rolling the open cigarette lighter around in his hand.
"What are those things?" The officer asked, squinting as he peered out at the street in front of the barricade.
"What are what things?" His companion asked, annoyed. What with all this drama, how could this guy be absorbed with some rubble on the ground?
"Those things!" he pointed nervously onto the ground. "They're metal, but they're not debris or anything, and well..."
Mizu jerked at that, and immediately moved one hand to her visor controls and switched to high-resolution mode before she started scanning the ground. This made the smoke and dust a much more prominent obstruction than in any other view mode, but if the officer could see it without a visor himself, then she should be able to find what he was looking at.

Yujikata growled at Rayden's seeming idleness, and brought up a microphone that was linked to the Core intercom. "All units, maintain position and prepare to fire on my signal! We're burning daylight here, and I'm not going to wait any longer so that freak can make us sweat!"
He then raised the bullhorn to his mouth. "RAYDEN SHIKODAN, THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!!! PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD AND LIE PRONE ON THE STREET NOW OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE!!!"
Rayden finally stopped rolling the lighter around in his hands and held it upright, lifting it at last to the cigarette that hung from his lips. "You have made your choice. I have made mine. It is for God to judge."
*Flick*

He was right.
A long, haphazard line of uniform metal disks were spread out in front of the barricade. Each one was about the size and shape of a large cookie and were composed of a dull metal that didn't stand out very well among the debris. Each one also had four prongs along the outer egde that were digging into the ground, further dispelling the idea that they might be innocent chunks of metal.
'But what are they? Mines? Or bombs?'
At the thought of them being explosives, and being aware of the great number of explosions that had been reported surrounding the wrecked facility, her view quickly zipped back to the mysterious gunman in the middle of the street just as the man hit his lighter.
*KA-THOOO-OOOO-OOOOM!!!*

Sergeant Yujikata gasped as a line of explosions detonated in front of the barricade, sending many of those officers that weren't bogged down with heavy armor diving for cover.
"Shit!" the man cursed, wincing as several spurts of gunfire went off into the new smoke cloud. Yujikata picked up his microphone and once again keyed it to the intercom. "All units, fire at will! Fire at will! I don't care if we take out the rest of the buildings on this street, but I want that man DEAD!!"
There were many more reports as new weapons joined in the fray, though Yujikata knew that were all still shooting blind into that smoke cloud. He switched the keys on his radio.
"Sniper teams! Can you see him?!"
*Yessir! Clean shot here! Should we take it?*
"Yes! All of you! Fire at will!"
*Toom!* *Toom!* *Toom!*
*Rattattattatttatta!!*
*Boom!*
*Rattattattatttatta!!*
Yujikata grabbed up his helmet and mask and prepared to put it on, if only to drown out some of the noise from the multitude of weapons going off around him.
*Choom!!* *Choom!!*
*Toom!* *There's something wrong! I haven't dropped him!*
The sergeant paused in putting his helmet on, and glanced toward the radio.
*That's impossible! I got a clean head shot!*
*D-Did the bullet j-just bounce off? I can't find an entry wound!*
*Toom!* *Toom!* *This is crazy! He's moving into the smokescreen! We didn't even faze him!*
Yujikata gulped as he turned off the radio, and then looked up into the billowing smokescreen as Core and police forces continued pouring hundreds of rounds randomly into the area.
"Huh? What're those?"
"Look out! Grenades!"
Several small spheres began flying out of the smoke in high, lazy arcs before bursting open and pouring more smoke into the air.
Yujikata groaned and rubbed his head. "Dammit, why couldn't Remerick take care of this? Just because he nearly got wasted by a rogue police clone this morning..."
*Crash!*
"Holy mother! I think he's coming this way!"
"Shoot him, you imbecile!"
"He must've taken a hundred rounds already! What makes you think another is going to stop him?!"

*Too-too-too!!* *Too-too-too!!*
Mizu sweated heavily as she continued firing her autorifle blindly into the street, already engulfed by the expanding barriers of smoke.
'Keep your head, Mizu! You're nearly impervious yourself! Just calm down and try not to-'
Her breath caught in her throat as a shadow quickly zipped toward her through the haze, and she found her autorifle smacked out of her hand before she could let loose another burst.
She quickly reared back a punch and threw her fist forward, the synchronized micro-motors in her protect gear preserving her natural speed and nearly doubling the sheer force of the blow.
*Pap* Rayden easily caught the punch, and brought his bundle down off of his shoulder to thrust it into Mizu's chest, throwing her back into another car hard enough to cave in the doors.
Grimacing, Mizu tore her visor off with her hands and ignored the sting of the smoke in her eyes as she looked up at her attacker, fully expecting to see him brandishing a gun or a grenade.
Instead she saw him turn away toward the car she had been next to and scan the top of it, like he was considering its dimensions.
*Zhooo* A bullet zipped by merely inches above her head, and Mizu flinched as she left her state of focused consciousness and once again became aware of the full chaos of the battlefield. Bullets tore through the smoke, their reports lost with hundreds of others. Trails of displaced air created webs through the thick fog of the smokescreen, and fire spread slowly along the ground, licking at the rubble that littered the field.
Ducking lower to the street, Mizu saw that her autorifle was lying just two meters to her left, and she cast a glance at Rayden before she slowly began to reach for it.
*Ptang!!* The autorifle jumped away as the bullet struck it on the stock, and Mizu's hand jerked back in reflex.
"Mortals are too quick to affirm their mortality. It is sad, but it is the way of things."
Mizu gulped and looked up at the man who she was facing, seeing that he now had a smoking .50 caliber Desert Eagle in his free hand.
Rayden let out a deep breath, and smoke blew out of the corner of his mouth to mix freely with the smoke from his grenades. "It is not your time yet, guardian. I will not have your death stain my soul. Such would be... unjust." With that, he turned around and placed both hands on the edge of the police car, as if he was going to lift it.
Mizu felt a sweatdrop roll down her head. As he had turned away from her, she had glanced a silver cross around his neck. 'He's a Catholic... figures.'

"Move away from the smokescreen!! Move along the sidewalks into flanking position!! Get those heavy weapons loaded!! Move it you pitiful maggots!!" Yujikata continued barking orders to his own troops for a moment, then turned toward the police captain. "Hey, what's the matter with your guys?! They're dragging their asses like they're half dead!"
The police captain grit his teeth and turned toward the sergeant, trying his best to keep his anger in check. "My men aren't soldiers, Yujikata! They're detectives and traffic cops! Hell, half of 'em have never been in a real gunfight before! And frankly, I'd like to know just what the hell they've been dragged into!"
*WHAM!*
"Holy-LOOK OUT!!"
The two officials jerked their heads toward the center of the fighting just as a police car broke through the edge of the smoke screen and sailed into the air upside-down, trailing smoke in its wake as it flew over the entire barricade.
*CREEEEECH!!* Yujikata jammed his protect-gear helmet over his head to try and deaden the high-pitched screech of a metal roof sliding over rough asphalt, and growled as he realized that the firefight had momentarily stopped.
"What the hell are you standing around for?!?! Don't stop shooting until your ammo's gone, idiots!!"
"Wh-What the hell was that?" The police captain gasped out, confused. "There was no explosion or anything!"
Yujikata snorted. "Aw, now the bastard's throwing things. Maybe he has no bullets or something."
"THROWING THINGS??" The captain exclaimed. "Are you kidding?! He just threw a car?!"
"Shut up!" The sergeant growled, "Christ, you assholes are so spoiled! Get off your ass and-"
His ranting was cut short as a female voice came in through the intercom on his helmet.
*He's on the car!! The car!! He was on top of it!!*
"Huh?" Yujikata turned around just in time to see the tail end of a ripped and battle-worn trench coat as Rayden jumped from the upturned police car and onto the roof of a relatively short apartment building.
"Shit! Get him! Get him now!" Yujikata ordered.
"You've gotta be kidding me," one police officer next to him muttered, slumping down on his squad car, "the guy's bulletproof, can throw cars 20 meters up into the air, and leap tall buildings in a single bound, and we're supposed to stop him?" General grunts of agreement and various other affirmation rolled through the barricade, and Yujikata angrily noted that they didn't all come from the police officers.
"Shut the hell up and get your ass in gear!! Your being paid to mow down scum like that, and I won't take any insubordination from such a worthless excuse for a practice dummy like you!!" The sergeant was practically frothing at the mouth when he finished, and the Core soldiers among the police were all groaning in anticipation of what they'd have to deal with later.
The police officer, however, just stared flatly at him. "With all due respect sir, you can only claim insubordination of YOUR subordinates, so you can shove it." The officer opened the door to his squad car. "Respectfully," he added, and then got in.
"Why you little sonuva..." Yujikata began, only to have his curses drowned out as the police captain began calling his men back to regroup.
"What? You're giving up too?" Yujikata asked angrily.
"A good and responsible officer knows when to give up, Sergeant," the captain said harshly, "that... man... got away, and all we lost was about 30,000 yen in ammunition. I'd say it's time to quit while we're ahead. Do you want to stick around for the investigation, or are you heading back? From what I've heard, your men have had quite a day."
Yujikata snorted and turned away, considering it. "Well, the big fish is gone, thanks to those weenie faggots you call officers," he quite deliberately ignored the other man's twitch, and then went on, "but at the very least, we don't have to worry about those DAPC retards blowing things up."
"In all fairness," a random officer began while passing by, "a great deal of damage has been done without their presence, the body count looks to be just as high as in any of their operations, and unlike many of those same operations, we failed to make a crucial kill."
The sergeant glared at the man. "I can have you shot, you know."
"With all due respect, sir, bite me," the man responded.
__________________________________________________________________________________

"I swear! It was THIS big!" Kyle exclaimed, stretching out his arms as far as they could go. "No... actually, it was even BIGGER!"
Ranma sighed. "I KNOW Kyle, I was THERE. I saw the giant squid. I killed it, remember?"
Kyle blinked, then scratched his head. "Oh yeah. Well, did you see the man-eating whale? It was-"
"YES, I saw the man-eating whale. I was right next to you."
"Oh... uh, right. I remember now. Uhm... giant robot?"
"I saw it," Ranma muttered, "I was with you the whole time. Could we talk about something else?"
Kyle flushed a bit and sat back in his chair, trying to think of a different topic of conversation.
The two former officers were in the lobby of Core headquarters, waiting. They had been informed upon arriving that the entire department was either recuperating from the massacre earlier that morning involving Viper, or out responding to some new emergency uptown.
Kyle had spent most of the time telling stories that Ranma already knew, while Ranma had spent most of the time staring at a suit of protect-gear displayed in a glass case across the room.
"Bleagh... am I really going to have to wear that thing? How can you even move around in all that?" Ranma made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat.
Kyle shrugged. "My dad showed me a suit once. It's powered armor. You know, like in video games."
Ranma blinked. "You mean like those mech suits?"
Kyle shook his head. "No, no, no... not like that. You ever play Fallout?"
"No."
"Oh... Well, it's supposed to have, like, motors inside to help you move or something."
Ranma snorted. "Uh huh, sure. They might as well just set us in blocks of concrete."
Kyle nodded, even though he wasn't really sure what Ranma was talking about. He had seen the Core troops in action, and they didn't seem that slow.
"Soooooo... have you ever seen a K-series mutant? They're like THIS big!" Kyle stretched out his arms.
Ranma just groaned.
"Ah, there you are!" A bright, somewhat sultry voice called out from the hall, and both men turned to see a gorgeous brunette walk into the lobby wearing a gray business suit and knee-length skirt.
"Hey, isn't that the evil lady's twin sister?" Ranma whispered to Kyle.
"Twin... sister?" Kyle said slowly.
Mia walked up to them and had opened her mouth to speak, when suddenly Kyle jumped up out of his chair, startling her.
"Wait a minute! NOW I get it! You're her twin sister! That's why you look exactly the same!" He suddenly looked embarrassed and put a hand to the back of his head. "That's been bothering me ever since Snake set the hotel on fire."
Mia simply stared at him, unable to think of anything to say.
Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Well, ignoring the fact that all that stuff was already explained to all of us, what did you THINK was going on?"
Kyle scratched his head, "Well, I don't know. But really, I was expecting that it was some elaborate double-agent spy plot involving Russians and rubber masks."
Mia blink-blinked.
Ranma sighed and turned toward her. "Don't mind him. His entire reality is defined by popular entertainment. So what's up?"
"Uh, right..." Mia sweatdropped, trying to regain her train of thought. "Anyway, I believe even though we've already met, formal introductions are in order. Private Saotome, Private Tekai, I am Colonel Tokima."
Ranma and Kyle both stood up straight and bowed deeply.
"Colonel." They both intoned.
Mia smiled and winked at them. "However, since we have shared a bit of field history together already, you two won't have to speak to me so formally in private. I think we can go with a first-name basis. Is there any problem with that, Ranma?"
Ranma shook his head. "Not at all... uh... uhm... Miss Tokima."
Mia blinked. Ranma began to sweat. 'Damn! What was her name?'
Mia's eyes narrowed slightly, and she straightened a bit. "You DO remember my first name, don't you?"
Ranma started sweating more. "Well... er... you know, it didn't really seem all that important at the time..."
Kyle quickly took a step away from Ranma, and busied his attention by focusing on the opposite wall.
"I-I mean, in respect to being shot at by terrorists and nearly ripped up by mutants, I mean!" Ranma tried to clarify, tugging on his shirt collar.
Mia frowned at him. "I admit that seems like a fair argument, but still, I'm not used to men forgetting my name," she said a bit huskily.
'Wait... wait... got it!' Ranma suddenly snapped his fingers. "Oh, okay, now I remember! You're Alexandra, right? Sorry about that!"
A vein popped out on Mia's head, and Ranma bigsweated some more as her left eye developed a twitch.
"Well Private Saotome, you and Kyle can find Lieutenant Tekai in the third office down the hall on your left. Goodbye." She turned away coldly and walked stiffly back to her office.
Kyle leaned over next to Ranma's ear. "It was Mia, dude."
Ranma blinked. "Mia? Wait, then Alex was..." Suddenly he turned toward the hall. "Oh, give me a break! You're freakin' identical twins!" He shouted, "even if one of you is a government agent and the other a sadistic terrorist mastermind..." he added quietly afterward.
*Slam!*
"Psh. Fine. Whatever," Ranma mumbled, then turned toward Kyle. "How do you remember her name anyway? You don't know anything!"
Kyle shrugged. "Don't think I'm a pervert or anything, but when a girl like that is introduced, I pay attention." He began to walk down the hall. "Don't let it get to you. The name's probably just a front for her to sneak into Core's files and cripple Japan's defense abilities before she reveals her secret identity as the girls' super evil third identical sister..." he paused for dramatic effect, "XENA, warrior princess!"
Ranma sweatdropped as he followed him. "You know, now that you don't outrank me, I can call you stupid."
"Awww..."

Kyle made his way down the hall ahead of Ranma and opened the door to Colonel Umezeki Tekai's office. It was an office he had visited several times in the past during his trips to check up on his father.
"Kyle! It's about time, boy!" Umezeki laughed and gestured for his son to come in, "come in, come in! And bring that other fellow with you!"
Ranma grimaced as he saw the colonel. A tall blond man with shoulder-length, unkempt hair, a small mustache, and a grin as vacant as he had ever seen on his former commander.
"Hey Dad, how's it going?" Kyle leaned over the desk, and the two men shared a brief hug before separating.
Umezeki smiled a bit tiredly. "Oh, you know, same 'ole, same 'ole. Damage assessment forms, munitions request applications, and life insurance claims."
Kyle and Umezeki stared at each other silently for a moment. Then they spontaneously burst out laughing.
Ranma sweatdropped. "Wait. Whoa, whoa, hold on. Were you joking?"
Umezeki and Kyle stopped laughing as if some switch had been flipped. "No, unfortunately," the colonel replied.
"Anyway," Umezeki continued, "I'd like to congratulate the both of you for making it to this level, and I'd like to offer my sympathies to what happened to your department. A mass downsizing is never pleasant for anyone." He stopped speaking, and then pursed his lips, as if in thought. "Actually, it might have been pleasant for the SWAT teams. As soon as they heard the DA was gone, they broke out some champagne and submitted some forms for fireworks." He scratched his head curiously, "Although, when news of the disbandment was broadcasted on the six 'o clock news, the stock values of two local reconstruction contractors plummeted eighty points each."
Ranma cleared his throat suddenly, and the other two men turned to look at him.
"Uh, not that that's not fascinating and stuff, but can we get back to us?"
"Oh! Right!" Umezeki looked appropriately embarrassed as he realized he had been rambling a bit. "I'll take care of your paperwork submissions. I just wanted to give you both your bonus checks and your instructions. Tomorrow you should arrive in the main hall outside the locker rooms at seven 'o clock sharp. There you will be given your suits, weapons, miscellaneous equipment, and began your squad training. Understood?"
"Yessir, Colonel!"
"Sir! Yes, sir!"
Umezeki turned to his son. "Please don't talk like that. We're not the marines." Then he grinned and jabbed a finger at him. "Now you be grateful I managed to get you this position, Kyle. I had to pull a lot of strings and *ahem* 'misfile' certain papers in order to yank you up with Mr. Kung-fu over here." He jabbed a thumb at Ranma.
"Well, couldn't you have gotten Sakura a job too?" Kyle asked hopefully.
"There aren't enough strings in the world, son." Umezeki said bluntly. "The best I could do for her is destroy all those executive requests to have the DA officers tarred and feathered."
Kyle sweatdropped. "Well, thanks for that, at least."
"They were really going to tar and feather us?" Ranma asked.
"If you got lucky," the colonel replied uneasily, "there were worse orders than that. Most of them got thrown out immediately because the methods of execution were simply so exotic and expensive." Umezeki sighed and then turned away slightly, muttering, "Who ever heard of sharks with lasers attached to their heads, anyway?" He sighed, and then opened a drawer before removing two slips of paper and placing them on his desk. "Here are your signing bonuses, boys. Any questions?"
"Oh, yeah. Hold on," Ranma said, fishing in his pocket. "I'm actually getting my own place today. I found this ad and called 'em up, so this is my new address."
Umezeki looked at the newspaper clipping that Ranma produced, and then nodded and took some papers out of another drawer. "Okay, no problem. I've got your forms right..." the colonel trailed off as he looked at the transfer papers. "What? Why are your mailing addresses are the same?"
"Oh, that's nothing," Kyle assured him, "Sakura just brought him home one day and insisted he stay at my place until they could find a house."
Umezeki immediately jumped to his feet. "What?! Did Sakura got married without telling me?!"
Ranma and Kyle both sweatdropped at the man's confused outburst.
"No, no, no!" Kyle said, trying to calm him down, "Dad, don't jump to conclusions! They're not married, they're just sleeping together!"
"WHAT?!" Ranma shouted, beads of sweat becoming apparent on his brow. "What the hell are you talking about?!"
Kyle grinned at him, apparently oblivious to the frown his father was directing at Ranma. "Dude, did you really think you could pull a fast one on me?"
'Must... resist... obvious... response...'
Kyle continued, "It's nothing to be ashamed of. I just saw her sneak into the room you were staying in."
"What, and you didn't see her sneak out two minutes later?!" Ranma shouted, mortified.
"Two minutes?" Kyle asked, blinking. "Kinda fast, aren't you?"
"AAARGH!!"
__________________________________________________________________________________

"Stupid Kyle and his stupid delusions..." Ranma muttered to himself as he stalked his way down the sidewalk. "That's yet another first impression blown to hell."
Grumbling some more under his breath, Ranma looked up to his left at the numerous condominiums that made up the community. He then looked down at his newspaper clipping, confirming the address.
"Yep, this is the place." Readjusting the small pack he had slung over his shoulder, Ranma walked up to the front door. "So, do I knock, or what?"
Shrugging, he raised a fist to the door when a patch of the red caught his eye on the ground.
"What the...? This is blood!" Ranma grit his teeth as he looked over the patch of fresh blood that leaked out from under the doorway. Then he slammed his fist hard against the door.
*Bam!* *Bam!* *Bam!* "Yo! Is everything all right in there?! Hello?!" Frowning deeply, he took up a stance in front of the door and prepared to break it down.
"All right, open this door! This is the police! I'm..." Ranma blinked, and stopped in mid-yell. "Wait, I'm not a policeman any more... uh... Open this door! This is the military! Or something..." Ranma trailed off again, and then shook his head fiercely. "Aw, the hell with it! I'm coming in!" Ranma reared back a powerful kick to bring him through the door and into anything waiting a fair distance behind the door, and leaned back on one leg in preparation to spring.
*Slam!* "Hello!"
Ranma stumbled and nearly fell over as a man burst through the door with his arms spread open.
"Ah, yes! You must be the new tenant! Very good! I've been expecting you!" The man smiled broadly at Ranma.
Ranma blinked. "Uh... great. But what happened here?" He pointed down at the entrance, which had a thin puddle of blood that leaked out of the door and onto the front porch. A quick glance inside revealed a bit more blood on the floor and wall.
The man swallowed a bit and looked up at the ceiling nervously. "Oh! Uh... that... um... that... is... actually... where a bird died..."
Ranma blinked. "A bird."
"Uh huh. Yeah." The man chuckled a bit. "I just opened the door and the crazy thing just crashed into floor, and made that big mess all over the place. Yup."
Ranma raised an eyebrow. "All that came from a bird?"
The man sweated slightly as he managed a fake smile. "I know, I was surprised too." Then he took Ranma by the shoulder and led him inside. "Anyway, that's not important! I just wanted to be here to welcome you!" He pulled Ranma into the living room and then turned around to face him. "So... welcome!"
Ranma sweatdropped. "Uh... thanks. Now I-"
"And as a housewarming gift, I'd like to present you with this lovely... uh... housewarming gift!" He produced a giftwrapped package from behind his back and thrust it toward Ranma, who helplessly took it in his arms. He then chuckled darkly a bit. "You'll be amazed just how warm your house will get."
Ranma blinked as he looked down at the box. "Er, thanks... um... it's ticking. Should it be ticking?"
The man shrugged. "Sure, why not?" He then blinked rapidly as Ranma grabbed one end of the package and then stuck his finger along the edge of the wrapping paper. "NO!!! DON'T OPEN THAT YET!!! NOT YET!!! PLEASE GOD, NO!!!"
Ranma nearly fell backwards at the outburst, and accidentally tossed the package up in the air.
"WAAAUGH!!! CAREFUL WITH THAT!!!"
As it was about to hit the ground, Ranma regained his balance and swiftly caught it in his arms before staring curiously at the man before him.
The man grabbed his chest with one hand and panted heavily, slowly regaining his composure.
Ranma sweatdropped, and carefully placed the gift on a coffee table before turning back toward the man. "Um, right... look, about the down payment-"
"Oh, don't worry about that!" The man said brightly, suddenly standing straight up and once again all smiles. "As a free gift to you, we'll let you get settled in before charging you, or something! Bye!" With all haste he could muster, the man ran for the front door. Unmindful, unfortunately, of the crimson puddle he had himself created.
"GYAH!!!" *Crash!!* *Slam!* *Thud!*

Ranma winced as the final sound came from the front, then sighed and set his pack down onto the floor.
"Well, this place looks nice enough," he said to himself, looking around the living room with his hands on his hips. "Two bedrooms, one bathroom, big living room, and they said it had a nice kitchen, too."
He stopped to look down at the giftwrapped package, and then gave a final glance toward the front entrance of the house.
"Well, it sure was nice of them to get me a present, I guess. I just wonder what his problem was." Shrugging his shoulders, Ranma picked up the parcel and then walked into the kitchen.
"Hey, this is pretty nice," Ranma remarked, marveling at the size of the refrigerator in particular. Then something on the windowsill caught his eye.
"What the-"
"Hssssssss!!"
"Oh geez!" Ranma jumped back as the worm rose up on the windowsill like a coiled snake, the jagged teeth of its oversized maw promising death to any that roamed near.
*Smash!* The sound of glass shattered fill the house as Ranma's housewarming gift crashed into the mysterious creature, forcing it through the window and outside onto the back porch.
"What the hell are those things, and where are they coming from?!" Ranma growled out, clenching a fist angrily. Then he stopped to think seriously about the possibilities. "Could they be another biogenetic terrorist weapon sent to kill me?"
*KAAABOOOOOOM!!!* Fire poured through the broken window and the entire structure shook as a violent explosion took place outside, sending flame and dirt alike up into the night sky in a spectacular demonstration of the might of plastic explosives.

Ranma blinked as the detonation receded, leaving huge black scars around the window and the nearest counter tops.
"Hmmmm..." Ranma cupped his chin in one hand, and tapped his elbow with the other.
Finally, he shrugged. "Well, I guess I COULD be acting just be a bit paranoid."
With that, he turned around and decided to put the sleeping facilities to use.
__________________________________________________________________________________

Bei rushed through the empty halls of Wraith's primary offices, cursing under her breath and toting a manila folder under one arm.
The occasional employee that was working late at night averted their gaze, well aware that Bei was not one to be trifled with when irritated. Not that the young woman was any significant danger on her own, but it was well known that Bei was a very close assistant to Alexandra Tokima. And pissing off Tokima was commonly likened to cutting one's own wrists.

Bei entered the elevators and hit the proper button, dreading the news she had to give. She wasn't really afraid of what Alexandra might do to her, but it had been HER job to arrange a simple assassination for Saotome, and she was quite ashamed at having failed.
The elevator stopped, and Bei entered the hall to the president's office.
Straightening her blouse and miniskirt, the young woman took several deep breaths to prepare herself, and then quickly entered her employer's office.

Alex turned her head sharply as she heard her office door open, but her gaze quickly softened as she saw Bei enter, a nervous expression upon her pretty face.
"Ah, Bei, there you are! Come here and sit down. Me and Yuchtzky were just sharing a bottle of champagne I've had sitting around for a special occasion." She smiled pleasantly and gestured to one of the many plush leather chairs that surrounded her large hardwood desk, which she was presently sitting on top of.
Igov raised a wine glass toward her. "You look worried, young lady. What is the matter?" He too gestured to a seat, and Bei gulped before hesitantly letting herself into the chair.
"We were just celebrating the news from this afternoon, actually," Alex said, refilling her own glass.
Igov shrugged, grinning. "Igov does not know what big problem is with 'DAPC', but glad to know that problem is gone now."
"Um, about that..." Bei began, looking down into her lap.
"Hm?" Alex looked up at her assistant, and then uncrossed her legs before crossing them again the other way. "What's wrong?"
Bei sighed. "I'm afraid the initial attempt on Ranma Saotome's life was a failure, Miss Tokima. I fully accept responsibility for the mistake."
Alexandra blinked, then bit back a laugh before shaking her head slowly. "Oh dear... Bei, don't feel bad. Now that I think about it, it was an unusually difficult task I put you to. I was actually going to tell you to forget about it."
Bei blinked, then grit her teeth. "No, please! Let me handle him! I promise I'll have him killed! I just need more time!"
Alex smiled gently at the girl. "Take all the time you need, Bei. Saotome is no longer any great obstacle to our plans." She stopped, and then looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Come to think of it, he wasn't any great obstacle to our plans before, but him and that little pack of fools did have the most dreadful luck." She shrugged. "Oh well, it hardly matters now."
She looked back down at her assistant, and saw that Bei was still fidgeting uncomfortably. "Was there anything else?"
Bei nodded slowly, then sighed. "Konta's cloning lab was targeted for a surprise attack from an unknown source earlier today. It appears the facility is a total loss."
Alexandra and Igov immediately froze.
"What?" Alex whispered, almost to herself, "a total loss?"
Bei nervously tugged on the collar of her blouse as she continued. "Yes ma'am. The equipment, the data core, the materials, the staff... even the few mutants that were moved on-site for additional experimentation. It was all wiped out."
Alex sat frozen on her desk, stunned.
Igov frowned, idly rolling the wine around in his glass as he considered the information. "You said it was from unknown source. So government is not responsible?"
Bei shook her head. "No. The officials arrived soon after the facility was destroyed, and are even now still investigating the incident," she sighed irritably, "which has slowed down our own investigations considerably."
"Bei..."
Bei's head snapped up at Alex's voice, and the young woman noted that her employer had snapped out of her trance, and was even now staring expressionlessly at her bottle of champagne. "Ma'am?"
"I'll need some more champagne."
*Thud!* *Thud!*
Alex ignored her two subordinates as they facefaulted, and began snickering as she spoke. "I really can't believe it... it's almost too good to be true... in a seemingly random incident that can't possibly be traced back to me, that tiny little smart-ass bastard Yoshi has finally been crushed like the pasty white worm he is! Ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
Alex's joyful laughter seemed almost disturbingly melodious to Bei's ears, and she sweatdropped heavily as she climbed back into her chair. "Ma'am?"
Alex once again ignored her, and pressed the champagne bottle against her breast, sliding it up along her cleavage suggestively. "I don't believe it... tonight all my dreams have come true... and all my problems have just evaporated!"
Igov leaned over to Bei. "Igov thought that terrorist goal was for collapse of government and establishment of anarchy."
"Whatever," Bei hissed, "as long as she's happy!"
"A toast," Alex said suddenly, causing the others to jerk to attention, "to the inevitable downfall of Japanese oppression and to the more immediate deaths of little nerdy pricks!"
*Slam!* "Accursed government bungleheads! 'No sir, you can't be allowed to oversee the excavation'. 'No sir, it's too dangerous for you to search for your critical research files'. 'Please leave this to the professionals, sir'. Blast!"
*Ka-ching!* The wine glass shattered in Alex's grip as Yoshi Konta stalked into the room, dust and ash marring the lower part of his usual lab coat.
Yoshi glared at the terrorist general, but somehow made the expression appear like a venom coating over the normally perfect calm that was his usual disposition. "Alexandra, I have certain complaints about the apparent security of the facility you presented for me. By large, my complaints encompass that because of the LACK of such security, said facility is nothing more than a multi-billion yen pile of steel, glass, and concrete confetti!"
He turned away from her and began patting down his lab coat, quite deliberately spreading the dirt all over the spotless white carpet of the prestigious office. "I respectfully request a new lab so that I may continue to carry on the experiments that, may I remind you, finally rid you of those irritating officers you kept whining about. AND, if such incompetent security leaks are to become commonplace, I expect that the new facility be constructed more like a bunker and less like a bloody dollhouse!" Yoshi turned his cold stare back toward his "superior", only to find that she was actually crying, with her face in her hands in an attempt to muffle it.
Yoshi blinked, and then turned toward Bei. "Now what's wrong with her?"
Bei sweatdropped heavily. "She's been having a pretty bad day..." she looked down at her watch, "... for about 52 seconds now."
The diminutive scientist snorted and swiftly left, slamming the door hard enough to make Igov and Bei flinch.

Bei glanced at the Russian general uneasily as Alex continued sobbing to herself, unsure of what to say to fill the awkward silence. She decided that a simple explanation would probably be best.
"Uhm... like I was saying, because of the police investigations, it's been hard to track the incident at all. We actually still don't know exactly how many we lost in the attack, or who they were," She paused, then sighed, "though we can obviously rule out the lab supervisor as a casualty."
Alex slowly slid off her desk and onto the floor, her head down.
*Bam!* The terrorist general slammed the mostly-empty bottle of champagne onto her desk, and then began to stumble toward the exit. "I'm going home... Bei... send someone to find out exactly what Yoshi wants... and just give it to him..."
She had reached the exit and was opening the door when she suddenly glared at Igov. "And YOU..."
The Russian swallowed deeply as Alexandra walked up to him, and then he blinked in confusion when she placed her index finger and thumb close together in front of his face, as if indicating something small in measurement.
"I was THIS close to dragging you into the mail room and having my way with you!" She turned away, and Igov blanched as the woman stalked out of the room.
*Slam!*

Silence reigned for a few precious moments.
Finally, Igov nodded slowly. "Some rest will do her good."
Bei smiled nervously and nodded in agreement.
Igov emptied his wine glass, and then took the bottle on Alexandra's desk for a refill. After his glass was full, he held the bottle out to Bei. "Champagne?"
Bei blinked. "I, uh, I don't drink, actually."
Igov snorted. "Igov has unfortunate feeling that now would be opportune time to start."

**********************************************************************************

Government nobodys needlessly devoured: 1
Terrorists/scientists crushed: 86
K-series mutants annihilated: 4
Ranma's landlord: Yup, he's gone.

End Chapter 12