Adventures in Parodyverse: Underworld Part 4


    Samurai were trained to face an army and show no fear.  It was the latter part that was the hardest, especially for Chiaki.  As skilled and well trained as she was, she never faced more than a handful of somewhat equal opponents at one time.  Against a mechanized army that could tear through her like tissue paper, fear was something that came naturally, and with good reason.  It was facing certain death.
    
    Inspiration came in the midst of Chiaki’s worst moments, walking alone through one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Paradopolis, where she wanted badly to cry, but she could not - because showing weakness made her prey in such a place.  She had to be as mysterious and silent as possible, and let the sword strapped to her back speak for her.  She had to present herself as a predator - that’s how she would get home in one piece.

    She realized that she needed to convince Visionary and Hatman to go to one of Akiko’s secret lairs, and then claim they had both been killed.  Then she would use the greatest weapon she had against the Machine Shop - Ironically the same weapon they used against her:  Fear.  She would ask the one person they were afraid of, by reputation only, to help her - only there would be no fight.  Chiaki had something better in mind.

    The Psychic Samurai paused and turned around.  As she did, the angry and hurt frown she wore slightly bent into a smile.  Ghost Taxis always appeared when someone desperately needed them.  In this case, it was quite literally a lifesaver.


---


    Chiaki strolled into the Lair Mansion and found it unusually quiet.  Not wanting to spent too much time looking, she ignored Flapjack’s leering and took a shortcut.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Hallie?  I need your help,”  she said out loud in the entry hall.

    As if on cue, a green glowing wireframe in the shape of a human female appeared, and then filled in with the full color holographic form of Hallie.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Hi there, Chiaki.  What have you been up to?”  Hallie asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’ve...been getting myself in trouble, sadly.”  Chiaki admitted.

    That’s when Hallie finally realized, “You look like hell.  Are you okay?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Tired.  Covered in a little blood,”  she sighed.  “I’m supposed to kill Hatman and Visionary, or the Machine Shop goes after Akiko.  And then me.”

    Hallie frowned.  “I can get a...virtual army together--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t bother,”  Chiaki replied almost coldly.  “They left with no trace.  They’re intent on hiding out and stalking until they need to be seen.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“And what would draw them out?”  The Lair Legion A.I. caught on quickly.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“The deaths of Visionary and Hatman,”  the Samurai said.  “Simulated, of course.  I need to quietly relocate them both to one of Akiko’s safehouses, and claim they’ve been killed.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh, are you lucky today,”  Hallie noted.  “Hatman and the team of newbies he went out with have been missing for a whole day.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“And Visionary?”  she asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Nobody really knows if he’s here or not until he makes a phone call.”  Hallie said.  “I’ll just keep him busy deep in the mansion and claim he’s missing.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Excellent.”  Chiaki agreed.  “I only need two more pieces.  I have to relocate Akiko without calling her, and I need to borrow Anna.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’ll help with the Akiko part, Chiaki, but Anna...I don’t want her anywhere near the Machine Shop.  They’d like to strip her down for parts.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Hmm.”  Chiaki regarded that sadly.  “They’re terribly afraid of her, though.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“They destroy what they fear.”  Hallie pointed out.  “However...”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yes?”  Then Chiaki realized what Hallie was thinking of.  “They’ve never seen Anna close up before, have they?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No, they haven’t.”  Hallie replied with a smile.  As she spoke, one of her small spherical H.E.D.’s floated over to Chiaki.  “Try to bring it back in one piece of you can, they’re expensive.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What if they call my bluff?”  Chiaki asked as she grabbed the tiny globe and held onto it.  “I might need Anna’s...special ability.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“If it comes to that, I’ll have you covered.”  Hallie said.  “I promise.”

    Chiaki sighed.  “How will we ever pull this off?”

    Hallie smiled.  “Planning.  Flexibility.  Being just a little bit crazier than Master Machine.  You’re a small woman with a sword against huge hunks of metal, I’d say that qualifies.”

    The Samurai’s attitude changed a bit, and she smiled.  But that smile didn’t stick around, as the gravity of her situation crushed her happiness yet again.

    Finally, Chiaki bowed slightly to Hallie.  “Thank you for your help, Hallie.  I’m indebted to you.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Only if you break that HED.”  Hallie joked.  “Good luck.  Don’t worry, I’ll have your back.”


---


    Getting Akiko to disappear was fairly easy - she had many, many ways for her friends and acquaintances to notify her of things.  Chiaki simply stopped at one of her associates’ locations and handed the Japanese man there an envelope.  She asked him to deliver the message to Akiko personally.

    That was the easy part.  The hard part was trying to attract the attention of the Machine Shop.

    Hallie had another part in that, as well.  She leaked a fake news release that Hatman and Visionary had been reported missing.

    Yet still, with all the preparation, it came down to just one small and fleshy, female, Japanese Samurai, and the Machine Shop’s steel, unstoppable hulks.

    And just on time, Chiaki found herself confronted with them once again.  They seemed to have been following her in her travels.  They knew every place she had been that day.  The Lair Mansion, a Sushi restaurant in Mangatown, and now walking in an underground parking lot in Paradopolis, carrying a bag.  That last one is where they decided to confront her.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Hatman and Visionary missing, eh?”  Master Machine asked, not wasting any time getting to his point.  “How do we know it’s not a trick?  What proof do you have that they’re dead?”

    The Psychic Samurai thought about that part.  She pulled a baseball cap out of the bag.  It was Hatman’s, and was soaked in blood.  “You found me too early,”  she said with a perfectly straight face.  “I had some evidence to get rid of first.”

    X-Ray Machine blasted the bag she carried, and it vaporized into a puff of black smoke.  Chiaki was left holding a smoldering baseball cap and the remnants of a strap.  She shook out the cap - none of the machines present saw the small sphere that fell out and floated a short distance away.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“May I leave now?”  Chiaki asked.  “I’m not feeling too good about what I’ve done.  I’d like to go into hiding for the rest.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Awww, poor fleshy doesn’t have the stomach to watch the Lair Legion get wiped out?”  Meam Machine taunted her.  “Maybe I’ll shred you first to spare you the pain.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Maybe,”  Chiaki replied with a shrug.  “But you haven’t yet, so I suppose you still need me for something.”

    Master Machine reached over and quickly yanked the baseball cap from Chiaki’s fingers.  “We do,”  he said, as he dropped it to the ground.  “We need a distraction.”

    As he said that, there were police sirens approaching.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Pity you’ll be behind bars when the Lair Legion is murdered,”  Master Machine taunted.

    A bright green light came from behind Chiaki, and it quickly formed the body of Hallie.  

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Good thing I have a habit of recording everything,”  Hallie said.

    The small dark blue haired android Anna stepped out from behind Hallie, and her eyes were quietly glowing red.  

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s her!”  Media Machine panicked.  “It’s the battle android!”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Destroy her!”  Master Machine ordered.

    X-Ray Machine blasted the android, at the same time that Mean Machine fired all the blades he could at the same target.  The other Machines followed suit, and a giant cloud of smoke formed.

    As the smoke dissipated, it was clear that The Psychic Samurai had used the distraction to disappear.  Also gone was Hallie, and Anna.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Find them!”  Master Machine ordered.

    Answering Machine worried, “But the police are already on the way.  We can’t stay here!”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“At least they’ll find that baseball cap--”  Master Machine looked down, and realized that was gone too.  “Aaaauuughh!!”


---


    Chiaki Bushido looked down from the window of the Lairjet, piloted by Anna.  Below was the parking lot she just left, and it was quickly fading from view.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I supposed by now they’re loudly proclaiming that they will find and destroy me.”  Chiaki said with a sigh.

    Anna looked back at the Samurai as she flew the plane, and she smiled.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You get used to being threatened by them eventually.”  Hallie pointed out.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“This jet has missiles.”  Anna supplied.  “We could destroy the entire Machine Shop with the touch of a button.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Missiles?  Since when?”  Hallie asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I...added them before we left?”  Anna replied sheepishly.  “I borrowed the empty missiles from Joan Henry, the rocket fuel, electromagnets and explosive from Al B Harper, and I designed my own guidance software--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I really appreciate the effort, Anna,”  Hallie told her, “But...please don’t do stuff like that without asking.  We can get in huge trouble.  The Lair Legion can get in huge trouble.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I know, that’s why I kept it secret.”  Anna then stared at the new button on the pilot’s console.  “And...why I can never launch it to destroy the Machine Shop.  I see the problem now.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You’re a smart girl.”  Hallie said with a laugh.  “You just need to curb the enthusiasm and think farther ahead.”

    Chiaki walked behind Anna, and placed her hands on the android’s shoulders.  “Don’t feel too bad,”  she said.  “I nearly pressed that button myself before you figured out why you can’t.  I watched them kill someone...my mind is still set on revenge.”

    Anna glanced behind her.  “A friend once told me that the dead learn nothing.”

    The Samurai smiled and chuckled to herself as she returned to her seat.  She knew very well that she was the one who said that.  The young android remembered her lesson, and brought it full circle.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Thank you for reminding me.”  Chiaki said.  “I nearly lost my way.”


-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2010 by Jason Froikin, and may not be 
--    reprinted without permission.  
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
--  Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
--  Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin

A fun continuation to the tale with some nice cameo appearances from the likes of Hallie and even the Ghost Taxis... I'm curios to see how Chiaki resolves matters so that Vizh is let out of the house again.

One question on Anna... I thought she had to learn just as a human did. Where did she get the schooling to build missiles from the ground up and program guidance software? I'm just curios as to how Anna's mind and abilities really work.

Would anyone be able to tell?





She lived at SPUD HQ for a few months, she probably picked up some weapon designs while she was there.

Part of the point of this story is to show, from her point of view, what it's like to plan these things. And earlier, what it's like when that psychic sense comes together. It really does feel like something that's out of control, and way bigger than herself.