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> Cyberpunk v1
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> Adventures in Parodyverse - Cyberpunk v2
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> “That’s odd,”  Yuki Shiro whispered as she stopped in the middle of the street just inside the Hayden Court neighborhood.  It looked like everything had been abandoned - cars with the doors left open, homes with front doors and lights left open, and debris in the street.  She looked up - the sky was an eerie dark red color.
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> “Hey Bike,”  she whispered, “What do you think is the deal with this place?  And the red sky?”
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> The childish voice responded.  “The red sky is everywhere, Yuki.  Check out webcams around Paradopolis.”
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> Yuki did as asked, using her cellular uplink to check every webcam in the city at once.  “I have a feeling it’s related to...whatever’s happening here.  This neighborhood looks like ground zero of the--”  She stopped suddenly when she sensed movement.  “What was that?”
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> “I...I don’t know,”  the Bike replied.
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> “I should check it out,”  Yuki whispered, looking back and forth slowly, warily.  “Stay safe, Bike,”  she said as she started to climb out of the cocoon.
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> “What if it tries to rip you apart?”  the Bike asked, sounding a little panicked.
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> Yuki tilted her head.  “Good point.  You have any suggestions?”
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> The Bike began to transform again, only more quickly this time.  Yuki was gently nudged from her sitting position to standing, and she felt the fiberglass structure wrap itself around her legs, feet, and arms.  The windshield had molded around her head, protecting her face.
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> “Battle armor?”  Yuki asked, sounding excited yet confused.
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> Before the bike could respond, a heavy creature leapt into Yuki’s new armor, knocking her back violently.  The armor balanced her so she didn’t fall over.  She looked down to check for injuries...
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> ...and lost her temper when she realized that the creature’s swift claws had scratched the paint.  “Nobody scratches the paint job!”  she fumed as she slapped the creature hard, knocking it nearly a half block before it tumbled into the street.  She caught up to it quickly.
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> “Oh, shit.”  Yuki whispered as she looked down at her victim.  Upon closer look, it was a very mutated human with glowing red eyes.  It was breathing heavily, even unconscious, and still wore most of the human’s clothes.  Pajamas, to be exact.
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> “They’re all like that,”  a red-headed teenager who suddenly appeared in Yuki’s peripheral vision said.  The girl really alarmed Yuki, mostly because of how calm she was, but also because she seemed to appear out of nowhere.
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> “What do you mean by that?”  Yuki asked.
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> The bike/battle armor whispered in her mind, “I don’t like this.”
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> Yuki agreed silently, knowing the bike understood.  She also agreed that it should remain in battle armor configuration.  She happened to glance over at a car parked on the side of the road just as it launched itself into the air at her.  She raised her fiberglass shielded arm and braced for a shattering impact.
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> There was a loud crashing noise and a creaking noise, and some impact, but her body registered no damage.  She opened her eyes to check on the bike.
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> “I will protect you, Yuki,”  the bike whispered to her, its childlike voice sounding more adult and determined now.
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> She felt a rumbling behind her.  A very familiar rumbling.  It was the engine, now located behind her back.  The bike surrounded her completely now, and her view was through the original polycarbonate windshield of the bike, now surrounded by hardened material.  The familiar electronic dashboard was below the clear plastic window, giving all sorts of information it never did before.
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> Yuki was suspended comfortably within, her limbs and head padded by the soft material that was the motorbike’s seat.  She felt something at her fingertips, like buttons.  She discovered that her legs could walk the mechanics forward, or she could will it to roll instead, impressively fast, on wheels.
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> The young girl was in front of her now, eyes glowing red.  Another car flew at Yuki, and she instinctively found the combination of buttons which swung the arm and tore the car in half.  She was fully interfaced with the bike now, and it was exciting and intoxicating.  She felt like an unstoppable machine.
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> Two houses went airborne like a tornado was whipping its way through the neighborhood.  Red-eyed creatures in pajamas started approaching from all directions slowly.  Yuki tore her way through the houses as they crashed into her from both directions.  
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> The red-eyed creatures piled onto the metal and fiberglass structure she wore and tried to bring it down and tear into it.  The engine revved loudly, and the power was used to toss around the creatures like toothpicks.
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> And then it all stopped.
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> “Nicely played,”  the red-haired teenager said.  Her smile disappeared suddenly, and her eyes stopped glowing red.  She looked around at the unconscious people and gasped.  Then she looked at Yuki in that mechanical shell and almost shrieked.
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> “I’m Yuki of the Lair Legion,”  Yuki said, thinking quickly.  “I need you to go home kid.  Get your family together and lock the doors.  Can you do that for me?”
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> The girl nodded, and then raced back toward her house.
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> Yuki looked up.  The reddish glow in the sky was diminishing rapidly.  “Hm.”  she mused to herself.  “Must have been temporary.”
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> “Yuki,”  the bike whispered to her.  “I have to go now.”
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> “Wha...?  What do you mean?”  Yuki asked.
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> “The force is going away,”  the bike explained.  “It’s getting close to daybreak, and Halloween will come to an end.  And I will be your regular bike again.”
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> “No.  No, no no!”  Yuki protested in futility as the wonderful shell protecting her shrunk and changed rapidly until she was sitting in the seat of the racing bike she recognized.  “Just when we were getting close, too.”
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> “We’ll always be close,”  the bike whispered.  “Did you see what the other cars were like?”
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> “Yeah,”  Yuki replied.  “Yeah, I did.  Why were you different?”
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> “Because you take care of me.  You truly love me,”  the bike replied, as the first beams of morning sunlight spilled over the horizon and touched Yuki and the bike.  “Good bye, Yuki.  I’ll always remember...”
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> “Me too, Bike.”  Yuki gently patted the fuel tank of the bike with her gloved hand.  “Me too.”
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> Yuki looked around almost sadly as the light of the sun made apparent the destruction.  Pajama dressed men and women began to stand and look around, dazed, wondering how they got outside.  But Yuki paid them not attention.
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> “C’mon, Bike,”  Yuki whispered, even though she knew the bike could no longer respond.  “Let’s go back to the garage, and I’ll give you a nice cleaning and waxing.”
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> She reached for the key and hesitated for a moment, wondering if the engine was going to fire up by itself.  But she had to turn the key instead, and for a moment that broke her heart.  She sighed and turned the bike around, headed back to the Lair Mansion.
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> -- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2007 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
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