FicWad

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Disclaimer: The characters from Ranma, X-Men and Lone Wolf belong to their creators respectively. None of them belong to me.

Date: 300106, 020606, 220606.

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Synopsis:

At the closing of the Age of Night, Agarash, Demon Lord of Darkness encapsulated his remaining powers in seven crystals (forever to be known as Doomstones) and three runes in obsidian that his legacy might live on even as he was being defeated in the war with the Elder Magi. What if he had sealed the powers of the three runes into a certain pigtailed martial artist?


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Obsidian

Part 1:

"Pops! If there are anymore of those arranged marriages or Cursed Training Ground stuff that I didn't know about, I'm going to feed you to Zorkaan, you got it?!!" Ranma shouted.

Behind him, the dark forbidding presence swelled as if elated at the prospect of eating Genma … 's soul … fresh.

The panda quickly signed nervously, 'We're just going to visit a friend of mine in Nerima.'

"For the sake of your soul, that had better be true!" came the angry retort.

"Zorkaan return ... " the pigtailed martial artist ordered. Silently the nightmarish entity returned back to the jet-black sigil on Ranma's forehead without question. As usual …the strange black symbol on Ranma's disappeared from sight once that occurred.

In the Tendo Dojo …

"One of you must marry the Saotomes to continue the Tendo-Saotome line."
"What?" two female voices shouted at once.
"My friend is coming from China with his son on a training trip."
"So what's he like ... this Ranma?"
"I wouldn't know." Soun said, "I've never met him." He quickly hid behind the postcard as if reading it again.
"WHAT??!!!" The sudden shriek of dismay came close to deafening the Tendo Patriach's ears.

There was the sound of knocking on the door.

"It must be them!"

Quickly the Tendo Patriach and his daughters made their way to the door.

And took stock of the visitors …

"Are these your friends?" the middle Tendo sister asked as she gestured at the red-haired girl and bald-headed man in front of them.

"He looks more like a girl to me." Nabiki was about to move forward to touch the 'girl's breast' but stopped in mid-stride. Did the girl's eyes just turn black in colour? She blinked her eyes just to be sure. They looked normal to her. She must have been seeing things, she thought. Nevertheless, disturbed by what she thought she saw, she took a step back and let the girl walk into the house, unmolested^_^.

"I am Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this," came the reply.

The Tendo Patriach was about to say something but Genma rushed forward tackling him to the ground and covering his mouth. Without any hesitation, he quickly dragged his one-time friend and partner in crime ... away from the room.

"HEY!" a voice shouted but it came from the Tendo Patriach's daughters rather than him.

"Oh friend Soun, we got a lot to catch up on. Let our children get to know one another," the bald-headed martial artist spoke quickly.

Once he was sure they were out of earshot, Genma spoke.

"Whatever you do, you mustn't anger the boy. He's dangerous. There's no telling what horrors he would unleashed if pushed. We mustn't bring up the engagement in front of him."

"Why not Saotome?" the Tendo Patriach asked.

"He gets angry when the slightest hint of an arranged marriage is brought up to him," Genma explained. He neglected to mention the number of people pursuing him and Ranma all over Asia for the same reason (due to Genma's greed and irresponsibility, of course).

"What could be so bad about the boy, Saotome? He's just a sixteen-year-old lad." Soun commented, scepticism evident in his voice.

"I'm not talking about him! I'm talking about his servant! Worse than the Master! If he gets mad, he would just turn his servant loose on us! I don't want his servant coming after me!" Genma just about shrieked, his voice nervous with fear.

The bald-headed martial artist had experienced firsthand what the non-corporeal dark entity was capable of and to say that he did not like it was the understatement of the year. When Zorkaan the Soultaker had first appeared, it had nearly ripped out Genma's soul from his body. If Ranma hadn't stopped the Soultaker in time, the creature would have completely devoured his soul beyond any hope of restoration (or resurrection) for that matter.

As it was, it still managed to get a 'bite' in before Ranma succeeded in stopping it. Since that day, the evil entity tend to hang around the bald-headed martial artist when it got out, as if hoping that its master would change his mind about letting it finish off its 'half-eaten meal'. For some unknown reason, it seemed to have developed a taste for the bald-headed martial artist's soul.

Which of course served to make Genma all the more nervous about the shapeless, non-corporeal dark entity that floated around him a great deal of the time. If he didn't know any better, he would have bet his own soul that the evil entity was just grinning at his back with hungry eyes (and he is right^_-).

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

Somewhere in the Sea of Japan …

An Amazon hunting party armed to the teeth were sailing on one of the many fishing trawlers crossing the Sea of Japan.

The elder Amazon leading the expedition still recalled what happened at the meeting clearly.

The vote taken by the Council of Elders had been unanimous.

"So a decision has been reached?"

"The boy must be killed before he realises the full potential of his dark powers."

"But if we attack him … he could very well destroy the entire village."

"That is why we use the services of others when we choose not to show our hand."

"Assassination … "

"A necessity given the circumstances."

"Then it is agreed."

Unseen by the Amazons, a large winged shaped creature lifted up into the sky without a sound while shadowing the hunting group.

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

Ranma turned around as he leaped to the roof of the Tendo Dojo. The Amazons that he met in China were coming to Japan … to kill him. This he could not allow. A black light flared from his left hand turning it as black as night. The clouds above the Tendo Dojo began to swirl as if a localised tornado was forming above it.

Lightning flashed in the sky followed by the sound of thunder. Then … there was the sound of an unearthly roar. Followed by another. Then another. Accompanied by the sound of leathery wings in the air. Until twenty winged shaped misshapen creatures appeared before the pigtailed martial artist.

The Vaag, flying minions of Agarash the Damned had been summoned.

"Destroy the ship. Do not kill unless they resist," the pigtailed martial artist ordered. As one, the troop of flying creatures lifted up into the air, their wings beating about them tirelessly, before disappearing over the horizon.

Unknown to anyone but himself, whatever his servants saw, Ranma saw. It was a good thing he had left a few of the Vaag behind to keep an eye on the Amazon village to see what was going on in that part of the world.

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

Meanwhile … in the Sea of Japan …

"Elder … are you sure about this? The male demon could be anywhere," an Amazon sentry spoke up.

"I'm quite sure," the Amazon Matriach replied calmly.

The wind began to pick up. The fishing trawler began to shake as small waves began to rock the boat.

"Captain! There's a storm approaching. We must take cover," one of the crew members spoke as he looked through his spyglass.

'That's strange. A storm on a clear night?' she thought. Instinctively, she turned her face towards the skies and caught sight of large, dark clouds gathering on the horizon like a sudden storm approaching. 'An ill wind blows. Has he found out already?' she wondered.

"How can you be so sure?" the sentry asked disturbing her thoughts.

"Because who else but him would have sent them to kill us?" she spoke as she pointed at twenty winged shapes flying towards them from behind the cover of dark clouds.

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

"Everybody! Take your positions on deck!"

As one, the Amazons readied their weapons in preparation for combat. The captain and his crew did the same. The only difference being they used rifles and harpoon guns while the Amazons used swords, spears, bows and arrows. The winged creatures drew closer and closer to the boat, the sound of their wings beating the air. As they did so, a dark mist rolled in obscuring their view.

"Captain! Cursed this fog … I can't see a thing!" one of the crew shouted.
"Grandmother! I can't see either!" a female voice spoke.
"Sorcery … Demonic sorcery … " the Amazon Matriach hissed.

Suddenly there was a loud crash and an unearthly roar as something large and heavy swept unto the deck of the ship. Followed by the screams and sounds of battle as the ship began to shake.

"Hold your positions!"

Everybody slipped and fell to the ground as the fishing trawler tilted off to one side. The sounds of battle and fighting continued on board the ship.

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

This was bad. Despite their weapons and preparations beforehand, the creatures were tearing through them like a scythe through a wheat field. There was another massive crash as the one of the creatures tore through the body of the fishing trawler.

Undeniably, the ship began to sink.

"Abandon ship!" the captain cried as all the members of the crew threw themselves overboard into the sea.

The Amazon party did the same.

After ripping the ship to shreds, the demons left the way they came leaving many of the crew and passengers present with nightmares to come.

"A quick count of heads!" the Amazon team leader spoke.
"All are present!" one of the sentries replied.

"Upon reaching Japan, we look for new allies. The male is too powerful for us to face alone," the Amazon Matriach spoke.

"What do you mean? We all survived," her granddaughter spoke.

"Yes we did … because he did not want us dead … yet. If we face him as we are now, he could inconceivably destroy us without even having to lift a finger," she added.

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

Leaping down from the rooftop, Ranma landed on his two feet.

“Tadaima!” He spoke cheerfully as he entered the house.

A delicious aroma that made his mouth water assaulted his nostrils.

“What’s that … ?” the pigtailed martial artist asked as looked around for the source of the smell.

His father and Mr. Tendo were already eating at the table.

“Dinner. Here’s yours, Ranma,” the eldest Tendo sister greeted as she handed him his plate of food.
“Thanks, Kasumi,” the pigtailed martial artist replied and ate his food slowly.
“Wow! This is great!” the pigtailed martial artist exclaimed.

The eldest Tendo sister beamed at the praise.

“You’re welcome,” she replied before picking up her own fork and spoon.

Suddenly, there was a shriek. It was the youngest Tendo sister.

“Ranma! Stop flirting around with my sister!” she shouted.

The pigtailed martial artist simply ignored her outburst much to her (growing) annoyance.

“D**! Stop ignoring me! I’m talking to you here!” the youngest Tendo sister shrieked.

Ranma threw a glance at Akane and then much to everyone’s disbelief … she suddenly became silent as whatever words she was going to say did not make it to her mouth. She returned back to eating her food, her eyes glazed over as she munched her food in slow motion. It was as if all the aggression in her body had left her. Nabiki and Kasumi exchanged glances but did not voice their thoughts out loud. They would discuss the incident later … at their leisure … in private.

The rest of the dinner proceeded without any further interruption. Before long, everyone had their fill and Kasumi left with the dirty dishes for the kitchen. Nabiki followed suit.

“Nabiki, that’s alright. I can handle the dishes by myself.”
“I’m free for the night, Kasumi,” the middle Tendo sister commented as she grabbed a dirty dish and added some cleaning soap to it.
“Something on your mind, Nabiki?” the eldest sister asked as she rinsed another dish with water.
“What do you think of Ranma?” Nabiki asked.
“He’s a nice young man … though very much in need of seasoning,” Kasumi replied nonchalantly.
“He has a lot of rough edges … to be sure,” the middle Tendo sister agreed.
“But that was not what you came to me for. Isn’t that right, Nabiki?” Kasumi asked as she added more cleaning soap to the dirty dishes.
“That’s right. Did you see what I saw?” the middle Tendo sister asked, before she began rinsing her own dish.
“His eyes?” Kasumi hinted, her hands busy rinsing the dishes.
“They turned black. Both his eyes. The deepest shade of black I’ve ever seen. Right before Akane became quiet. Like a church mouse. You know what Sis is like. Akane has never been able to maintain her cool in the presence of the opposite sex at all. This time, I expected no different. She became silent. Silent like the dead throughout the whole meal,” Nabiki explained.
“Yes … I saw everything,” the eldest Tendo sister replied.
“I saw his eyes changed colours when he arrived at our home for the first time. Since it happened so quickly, I dismissed it offhand, thinking I was just seeing things. Now you’ve seen it too. He’s one of them, isn’t he?” Nabiki pointed out.

Kasumi placed all the washed dishes to dry beside the opened window.

“What if he is? We can’t just toss them out of the house. Dad would never let us hear the end of it,” the eldest Tendo sister replied.
“This is no laughing matter, Kasumi. You know how bad the situation in Japan is right now. Anti-mutant hysteria is on the rise and you know what will happen if even one of those anti-mutant groups get so much as a sniff of mutant stench in our house,” Nabiki reaffirmed her stance.

The eldest Tendo sister simply dropped her hands to her sides and let out a deep sigh.

“I am not the head of the Tendo household, Nabiki. The decision is not mine to make. It is Dad’s decision alone to make and Dad’s responsibility alone to bear it.”
“But what about us? The consequences? Everything? We will bear it! All of it! In body bags! I’m talking about our lives here! Don’t you even care?” Nabiki just about shrieked at her sister.
“Nabiki! Calm down!” the eldest Tendo sister wrapped her arms around her sister.
“I can’t calm down! It’s just that I don’t want to see any of us being carried out in body bags …” the middle Tendo sister began to cry.
“Shh … I’m sure everything will turn out alright,” the eldest Tendo sister spoke gently in her sister’s ear.
“Yes, I am sure that it will,” a voice replied turning their insides to ice.

It was Ranma standing at the entrance to the kitchen. And from the way he was impatiently tapping his fingers on his hand … he was none too happy about it too!

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

"Ranma?!!" both sisters stammered nervously before looking at each other in slight annoyance.

Caught red-handed, they could only look fearfully at him in silence.

"I was listening the whole time? Yes ... I guess there is no putting this off. Are you afraid of me? Kasumi ... Nabiki?" the pigtailed martial artist asked.

There was silence. Finally, the middle Tendo sister recovered enough to give her reply.

"Yes ... we are. Why did you eavesdrop on our conversation, Ranma?" she voiced out in an accusing sort of tone.

"I was on my way here to ask you about the place, Nabiki, but seeing that you were busy conversing with Kasumi, I decided not to interrupt until you two were finish. Now I have a question for you. Do you want me to leave?" he asked, watching the two carefully.

"You're a danger to all of us, Saotome. Your very presence would bring harm to this family," Nabiki replied firmly.

"Nabiki!" the elder Tendo sister spoke up.

"He's going to get us all killed! All mutants are a danger to those around them, Kas-chan! Whether they mean us harm or not, is irrelevant. They're a danger to themselves and those around them!" Nabiki insisted.

"I can assure you that I'm not a mutant," the pigtailed martial artist spoke.

"NANI?" Both Tendo sisters asked ... simultaneously.

"Then how ... " they both asked again at the same time before looking at each other in slight annoyance again.

"Zorkaan helped me out in diffusing the situation," Ranma answered.

"Zorkaan???"

"A friend of mine that I met many years ago. He strengthened my mental abilities and one of them was persuasion."

"Hypnosis." Nabiki concluded. Ranma simply nodded.
"You hypnotized Akane! But you did it without saying a word! How?"
"I projected peaceful thoughts into her brain. She should remain docile for a few days at least."
"A telepath?!!" Nabiki recoiled in horror.
"I prefer the description 'better use of the brain'. After all, the average human simply uses less than 5% of their brains throughout their life. I use 30% of my brain currently. Still working to get the remaining 70% in the near future," Ranma replied thoughtfully.
"Not functioning at 100% capacity?" Nabiki asked doubtfully.
"100%? Not even close. So there really is no mutation involved," the pigtailed martial artist replied.

"But your eyes ... "

"Still working on it ... One day, I might be able to do all those things without having to reveal it in the open," the pigtailed martial artist answered.

"If people saw what we saw, they would not care and target you as one still," Nabiki pointed out.

"You have a point. I will leave," the pigtailed martial artist conceded. "Thanks for the meal Kasumi."

"No. Don't go," the eldest Tendo sister replied, both her hands latching onto Ranma's arm, much to the disbelief of the middle Tendo sister.

"Kasumi?!! Are you alright? Ranma, are you hypnotizing my sister or something?" Nabiki asked in disbelief.

"Nothing of the sort. Martial artist's honour," the pigtailed martial artist declared.

"If I find out that you've hypnotized Kasumi ... there will be hell to pay, Saotome," the middle Tendo sister warned before leaving the kitchen in total defeat.

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

"Thank you, Kasumi. For standing up for me. Not many people these days would stand up for what they consider to be freaks or mutants." the pigtailed martial artist spoke.

The eldest Tendo sister blushed slightly before withdrawing her hands from his hand.

"Oh my! The time! My ... I had better be going before the grocery store closes! See you Ranma!" she exclaimed, leaving the kitchen in a hurry.

'That was fast. Why was she in such a hurry to leave?' the pigtailed martial artist wondered.

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

Kasumi was finally able to breathe and think normally again. Her mind went back to the events that took place at the Tendo home. What in the world had possessed her to stand up for a young man that she barely even knew? Other than his name and his powers, much about the young man remained a mystery. The eldest Tendo sister had always been the passive type, unwilling to take on oppose anyone directly. Yet she had stood up to her younger sister's request. An event that she never ever recalled doing to any of her family members in the past.

What had possessed her to do something like that? She wondered.

She was so occupied with her thoughts that she had not realised that she had strayed off her usual path towards the grocery store ... when suddenly ... without warning ... she found herself being grabbed from behind.

Instinctively, the eldest Tendo sister struggled against her attacker but a cloth was pressed into her face and then ... darkness ...

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

Kasumi stirred and open her eyes. Her surroundings though she could make out shapes in the darkness. She found herself hanging spread-eagled in midair from four chains that came from the ceiling and the ground.

“Looks like sleeping beauty is now awake. Do you wish to examine her?” A voice spoke to her left.

“Yes,” the second voice replied and stepped behind her. A chill went down the elder Tendo sister’s spine as she began to grasp the situation she was in.

A rough pair of hands began to caress her body gently as they began to remove the clothes that she wore from her body. First her outer garments … then her underwear. They were discarded in a pile in the corner of the room.

Kasumi began to whimper as tears pooled in her eyes. She was being assaulted sexually and there was nothing she could do about it. What was worse, those hands seemed to be rather adept at finding and touching all the sensitive places that the eldest Tendo sister possessed. Plus a few others that not even she knew about, existed.

Despite her current predicament (or maybe because of it), she found herself responding to her fondler’s gentle ministrations, arching her body and moaning softly in return, gradually becoming wet from arousal. Whoever this person was, certainly knew his craft.

The treatment continued for a few more minutes.

Finally, when the eldest Tendo sister felt herself just about to go over, her fondler ceased his ministrations and stepped away from her, bringing those tantalizing touches to a halt. Which in turn, caused Kasumi to gyrate uncontrollably in the chains as she struggled to regain control of her body (from being just about to come but not doing so in due process).

“How much for this one?” the second voice asked.
“Ten million yen,” the first voice answered.
“That’s outright robbery. Give me five million yen and we’ll call it a deal,” the second voice protested.
“For such a prime specimen? I think not,” the first voice insisted.
“Six million yen and that’s final,” the second voice argued.
“This is an insult! Check the girl! She’s in perfect health! Not to mention, her endowments are perfect,” the first voice scoffed.
“What if she’s suffering from a mental defect?” the second voice asked doubtfully.
“Not likely. I had my men going through her background and personality type very carefully. She’s submissive by nature and an excellent housekeeper as well. Her cooking’s second to no one,” the first voice explained.

There was silence.

“Listen … if this girl doesn’t perform up to expectations, you can always return her back to us within a week for a full refund. How’s that?” the first voice continued.
“Fine then … Ten million yen. She had better be worth it. Or the Oyabun will be taking this out of your hide,” the second voice conceded gruffly.
“Satisfaction guaranteed.” The first voice replied.

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

Back at the Tendo Dojo …

“Ranma! Kasumi has not come home! No one’s seen her! I think she’s been kidnapped! The police are searching for her now but they have yet to find any clues!” the middle Tendo sister shrieked as she caught sight of the pigtailed martial artist, training in the dojo.

“Kasumi?” the pigtailed martial frowned as he came to a stop.

Suddenly, his forehead glowed black and a presence that made Nabiki’s hair stand on end and gave her bad dreams for many nights to come, made itself known.

Struggling to stand, Nabiki tried to hold herself up but failed miserably. Her vision grew faint and her knees grew weak. Unable to maintain consciousness any longer, she collapsed to the ground in a heap.

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

“Ranma … what happened?” a pair of eyes opened.
“You fainted due to a sudden shock to your nervous system. In other words, you fainted due to fright. Don’t feel too bad about it. Few people can remain conscious in the presence of Zorkaan and fewer still can remain calm and collected in his presence,” the pigtailed martial artist explained.
“Your friend? It fell like he was sucking the very life out of me.” Nabiki replied.
“Like something from your worst nightmares? Yes … he has that effect on people with no spiritual training.”
“He’s not human?”
“Zorkaan? He’s searching for your sister now. And rest assured, he will find her,” The martial artist promised with a determined look in his eyes.

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

Kasumi knew she had to get out. One week had passed, since her abduction and she had yet to figure a way out of this fenced up place. Her time had been spent training under various female instructors on how to move, dress and please her ‘clients’ in various body positions all of which made her blush a deep red.

So far they had treated her kindly and no man had yet touched her other than the man that had brought her here, but Kasumi knew that would change. Her instructors had informed her that they had wanted to make her presentable to her ‘owner’ within a month.

Kasumi could only look on with a sense of dread at that daunting future. How she wished she were home! How she wished she could back home doing her everyday routine!

Her family must be worried sick by now. Her only hope lay in the fact that her sisters and a certain pigtailed martial artist would come to rescue and get her out from this forbidding place. Please hurry, she begged silently as she knelt on her bed in prayer.

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

Buildings streamed by at tremendous speed. Trees flew past and houses blew by the entity as it flew through the air passing through them at times and in between them at other times. But nothing would stop Zorkaan the Soultaker, chief lieutenant of Agarash the Damned in its quest to locate a certain missing Tendo sister for its master.

It had been the third day already since it had followed the psychic scent of its target to a large warehouse under the cloak of the Umisenken that it had acquired from Genma Saotome when it had just about ‘eaten’ the bald-headed martial artist’s soul (of which it hoped to finish the rest in the not too distant future yum yum).

It hovered briefly over the warehouse before diving down into it as its target finally came to a stop.

“Ichiro … where’s the dough?” a well-dressed man in his forties asked.

“All here. Where’s the dope?” Ichiro asked, lighting his cigarette.

The first man was about to answer when he felt his danger sense suddenly kicked into overdrive. Something was wrong. Something that made his hair stand on end. Something that gave him the jitters. He looked around for the source but could see nothing. Around him, his men began to fidget their guns quietly.

“Alright, Kenji-san … where’s the dope?” Ichiro asked again before taking a puff.

“Ichiro-san, did you bring anyone else with you?” the well-dressed man called Kenji asked.

“What are you talking about? There’s no one else in this warehouse besides us,” Ichiro retorted. “Now, where’s the dough?”

“Don’t try to f** b*** me, Ichiro! Did you bring anyone else that I didn’t know about here? Or did someone else follow you here to our meeting place?” the well-dressed man spoke angrily.

“What are you trying to pull, Kenji? If this is another one of your tricks …” Ichiro asked before he began to pull out his revolver.

“There should only be twelve of us in this warehouse but I can feel another presence watching us! Who … What did you bring with you, Ichiro?!!” the well-dressed man shouted as he began to tap his fingers nervously.

Whatever Ichiro was going to say next was never to be known for … just then, the lights in the warehouse began to flicker before dimming completely into darkness.

“Kami-sama! It’s coming in! Flashlights, NOW!” the well-dressed man shouted in a mixture of fear and desperation.

Quickly, all the men turned on their flashlights to see … something they would never forget. Something that would haunt them for many years to come. Kenji strung out in the air … his mouth grinning wordlessly like a lifeless puppet.

Pandemonium broke out. All the men took off as if the very hounds of hell were after them (which wasn’t far from the truth). Money … weapons … and … just about everything else were cast aside … forgotten … (save for the overpowering urge to run for their very lives) in the mad dash to get away from the warehouse.

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

Meanwhile, in the warehouse …

A blur of images entered the entity’s mind. And from it, knowledge of its next target. Without wasting anymore time, it dropped the limped body to the ground and disappeared through the walls without a sound.

Zorkaan was out hunting tonight.

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

Not faraway …

A wet, bedraggled band of women warriors pulled themselves to shore. From there … they could see the lights of the city and a large cluster of dark clouds above it.

“Elder … the skies …” the leader of the warrior band asked.

“I know. Be on your guard at all times. Something foul brews in this land,” the elder Matriach of the Amazons replied.

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

The entity, Zorkaan, had come to a stop outside one of the biggest nightclubs in Tokyo’s red light district. This was where its next target was staying. Black mist coalesced into shoes, clothes, body, overcoat and hat. Originally, Zorkaan was just a creature of the spiritual plane of darkness, unable to interact with the physical world at large except through the use of its vast psychic abilities. Thanks to Jusenkyo’s magic, the entity was now able to manifest a physical body in the real world.

Having completed its physical shell, the dark entity headed towards the entrance of the nightclub. Before it, stood scantily-clad women, displaying their assets, on both sides of the opened entrance, trying to tempt it with their wares. It was drawn to them alright … but not in the way those women expected nor wanted. Still if given the opportunity, tt would take them alright. Just not at the moment. Right now, it needed to complete its mission given to it by its master.

Disco songs rang throughout the building as both men and women of all ages danced to the beat, their bodies in tune with the rhythm of the music. The entity, Zorkaan ignored them all, interested in only the location of its target, drawn by his psychic scent. Finally the figure of a man attended to by a trio of naked young women turned into view. It continued on towards the man without breaking stride.

“Sumima-“ a man blocked his path before being slammed into the wall of the club, unconscious by the entity’s tremendous strength. The second man who attempted to sneak up on him from behind fared no better, being thrown to the other end of the wall. The man in front of him quickly drew his revolver and opened fire on it. Zorkaan ignored the shots fired into its physical body, reaching out with its hand to grab the man by the neck, lifting him up in the air as it drew him closer to it.

The man struggled wildly in its hand but was unable to break its vice-like grip. A kick into the groin did no better. Zorkaan simply placed its fingers on the man’s head, boring deep into the man’s mind as it did so. Blood pooled out of the man’s eyes, ears, nose and mouth. The man screamed in agony at the psychic intrusion while his henchmen continued to hammer ineffectively at the entity with their weapons and fists.

Finally, the terrible screams ceased as Zorkaan dropped him to the ground. Gunshots continued to hammer into it ineffectively as it turned around to faced the target’s henchmen. With but a few well-placed blows, the henchmen were as silent as their now comatose boss. Having acquired the needed information, there was no longer any reason to stay. It discarded its physical shell, dissolving into thin air as it did so.

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

Kasumi was no slouch when it came to physical labour but a sudden burst of vigorous activity was just too much.

Her hands struggled to reach the edge of the fence but it infuriatingly remained out of reach.

Once again, she reached out with her hands towards the fence, hoping against hope to grab it ... Come on ... she thought. Her hands swung wildly at the target. The fence was so close that she could even feel the metal ...

The fence which lay tantalizingly out of reach began to bend and weave as though being tugged and pulled by some unknown force. Not faraway, the four-wheel sedan began to slide over the grass in the direction of the Tendo girl.

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