Note:  Enjoy the weird surprise ending, and I hope it doesn't mess anything up.
The Moderator Saga - Outlaws of the New Law


    The Psychic Samurai answered the door of her penthouse condo slowly, her sword sheathed but still firmly gripped in her left hand.  She opened the door only a crack, so only some of her dark hair and a single Asian eye was visible.  That eye watched every movement through that small gap.

    As she recognized the young woman standing in the hallway just outside her door she opened it wide.  She then checked the rest of the short hallway decorated in Japanese style, which terminated with her wooden door at one end, and the steel elevator door at the other.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Welcome.”  Chiaki Bushido greeted the young woman with a bow.  Chiaki herself was wearing a dark blue informal kimono and socks, likely having just changed out of her street clothing.  “I’ve been wondering if you would show up.”

    Liu Xi Xian nodded sadly.  She had been in hiding the last day or so at the Lair Mansion, isolating herself by making the door to her quarters disappear from the outside, exiling herself from the Parodyverse voluntarily to prevent it happening by force.  It was working great to keep The Moderator and his cronies from discovering her - until she realized that she was lonely and didn’t have enough food.

    Chiaki’s place, she figured, was the only stronghold left that would solve both those problems.  She was happy that the Psychic Samurai seemed to be expecting her.

    Once Liu Xi entered, Chiaki closed the door and locked it.  The lock looked fairly ordinary, but was louder than normal, and her door seemed heavier than it was supposed to be.  “Shoes, please,”  Chiaki requested as she took the duffel bag Liu Xi had, containing a few meager possessions.

    Liu Xi didn’t understand at first.  But then she remembered Chiaki wore only socks, and there were other shoes on a low shelf next to the door.  The two of them were standing in a small foyer like someone might see in the entrance to a fancy hotel room.  There was a closet with a sliding door, and the walls were made of wood.  She kicked off her shoes gently and placed them on the shelf.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I thought you might be coming,”  Chiaki said as she sailed out of the foyer and into the living room.  “I have prepared some food.”

    That prompted Liu Xi to narrow her eyes as she followed the samurai into the living room.  She expected the usually quiet Chiaki to have a perfectly clean, untouched, silent home.  But there was a large screen television that was turned on, with a book sitting open on the coffee table in front of it.  There was a newspaper tossed sloppily on a small table behind the couch.  And her cordless phone lay on an end table next to the couch.

    The living room, Liu Xi noted, was lit by Japanese style lamps sitting on tables and around the room.  The carpet was pure white, and the walls were traditional plaster, but framed by strips of wood.  The living room and entrance were three steps below the rest of that floor - the dining room was a short carpeted staircase above, framed like a painting by wood trim.  Off to the side of the dining room, also above the living room, was a hallway that looked like it had a bathroom close by.  In the dining room, the table was set.  Five plates were there.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Who else is here?”  Liu Xi asked.  She didn’t bother to ask if Chiaki was psychic to know she would arrive.

    Chiaki simply smiled, but didn’t give a straight answer.  Instead, she said, “Come, you need to eat.”

    Liu Xi obeyed, following Chiaki into the dining room.  Once again, she neglected to ask just how Chiaki managed to precisely prepare hot food and have it on the table for her arrival.  She was so hungry she didn’t really care - she simply sat down and began munching on appetizers.

    Then the second guest arrived.  But not from the front door - there were footsteps from the hallway adjacent to the dining room.  The person passed like a breeze by an open sliding door between that hall and the dining room, before looping around through the living room.

    Yuki Shiro entered the dining room looking saddened and a little disheveled.  She looked up at the table, and then Chiaki, and then Liu Xi.  And then she smiled brightly, and looked as if she were going to tackle the Chinese girl and hug her.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yuki?”  Liu Xi asked.  “I thought you were--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Disassembled?”  Yuki strode through the dining room and sat down.  “Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.”  She laughed with happiness as Liu Xi left her chair and hugged the purple-haired Legionnaire.

    The Psychic Samurai’s head was lowered.  Her eyes were tearing at the reunion.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t be ashamed to cry,”  Yuki told her.  She reached over with her other arm, forcing Chiaki to join the hug.  “Let’s have dinner, now that we’ve all gotten re-acquainted.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“How did you get out?”  Liu Xi asked Yuki as they all sat down.

    Yuki smiled and looked across the table at the Psychic Samurai.  “Anna got me out,”  she said, still watching the samurai.  “The irony is, the parts The Moderator stripped out of me, Anna rebuilt even better.  I don’t know how Anna kept me alive in the mean time.”  She smiled and continued, “Chiaki was the one who sent Anna to retrieve me.  How she knew what The Moderator was up to, I don’t know.  but I’m grateful.”

    Chiaki blushed slightly and looked down at the table.  She tried to distract from the subject by silently offering the other two fresh sushi.  Liu Xi took some, but Yuki didn’t.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“How about you?”  Yuki asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I...noticed everyone acting strangely,”  Liu Xi replied.  “I went into hiding after everyone I met told me I should speak to The Moderator immediately.  I tricked them by telling them I would but I had to go to the bathroom first.”

    Yuki laughed out loud.  “I love that one,”  she said.  “I wish I’d thought of it.  Instead I stupidly thought I could confront him.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“So...what do we do now?”  Liu Xi asked the two of them.

    A saddened silence fell over the table.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I believe we should wait this out,”  Chiaki piped up.  “We can’t fight The Moderator.  He will simply delete us.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Wait for what exactly?”  Yuki asked almost angrily.

    Liu Xi watched Chiaki across the table, and smiled.  “No, Yuki, I think Chiaki is right.  Lara told me that in every universe, everything has consequences.  The bigger action you take, the bigger the consequence.  We just wait for The Moderator to pay the price.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Where is Lara, anyway?”  Yuki asked.  “Why isn’t she helping us?”

    Chiaki looked up from tempura vegetables she had just served herself from the serving tray.  “She is close by.”

    Both Yuki and Liu Xi turned to stare at her.  Chiaki froze.  She knew she owed them both an explanation.  “She will be here shortly,”  Chiaki said.  “The Moderator attempted to delete her and failed because she’s not of this universe.  He tried to imprison her instead.”

    Yuki moved to the edge of her chair.  “Did she get out?”

    Chiaki nodded.  “Relax, she was here earlier.  She went home to her Earth since, but promised to be back.”

    Liu Xi breathed a sigh of relief.  Yuki relaxed and began eating.  There were a few moments of silence while both of them worked to fulfill their significant hunger.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“How will we stay under the radar?”  Yuki finally asked.  “The Moderator will find this place sooner or later.”

    Chiaki glanced at Liu Xi.  “There is a quite simple reason I hoped Liu Xi would come here.”

    The Chinese girl looked up at the sound of her name.  “Oh, I did that already,”  she said.


---

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I don’t get it,”  the Scarlet Lawnmower grumbled.  He stood in front of a two-floor parking garage.  “This is the right address.  Shouldn’t there be a huge condo complex?”

    Search Engineer simply scratched his head.  “This is supposed to be where the Psychic Samurai lives.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Idiot,”  the Lawnmower growled.  “The Moderator’s going to be pissed.  How can one human Samurai girl stay one step ahead of us?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“She didn’t move the building herself,”  the Search Engineer concluded.  “She had to have help.”

    The Scarlet Lawnmower raised a fist as if he intended to club the Search Engineer with it, but then he relented.  “Thank you, Mr. Obvious.  Why don’t you do something useful and tell me where the building went?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I...don’t know.”  the Search Engineer replied plainly.

    Deferring a violent response once again, the Scarlet Lawnmower gritted his teeth and turned away.  “Let’s go tell the boss and get this over with.”


---


    Anna the android appeared at the dining table as Yuki and Liu Xi were finishing off their dinner.  Liu Xi looked apologetic, suddenly saying, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were here.  I would have waited.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s okay.”  Anna replied.  “I’m not hungry.  I’ve been here a while.”  She sat down at the table for the sake of politeness.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“How did you get out?”  Yuki asked Anna, trying to round out the stories of their escapes.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I was simply forgotten at first,”  Anna replied.  “But then a few of the Spam Control agents found me.  I was forced to laser them to death before fleeing the Lair Mansion.  I believe the rest are still looking for me.  I came here because it’s someone I know, who’s likely not to be compromised.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Hey guys,”  another voice greeted them.  Lara Night had just appeared in the dining room.  She looked over all the new guests.  “I see you got all the refugees together.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Except for the kids,”  Yuki replied sadly.  “We still haven’t heard anything about Magweed, Griffin, or Samantha.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“They’re safe,”  Lara replied.  She looked at Chiaki and added, “Can’t say where though, because if any of you are captured--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I understand.”  Yuki nodded.  She assumed Lara’s lengthy disappearance had something to do with it.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Anyway, I spoke to her about The Moderator again.”  Lara said to Chiaki.

    Liu Xi looked up, first at Chiaki and then at Lara.  “You got Shema involved?”  She became saddened by that.  “Are things really that bad here?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No, not her.”  Lara shook her head.  “In fact, she’s the one who taught me it’s best to work with the system, cause as little disturbance as possible.  So I found someone me and Jay met once.  Faite says she’s waiting for the right moment.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“She’s always waiting!”  Liu Xi complained.  “During the Parody Master thing she did nothing!”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Liu Xi, she’s one of the people who helped the Hooded Hood disappear.”  Lara replied.  “It was one of the tipping points that changed the direction of the war.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’m still not sure why you contacted her,”  Yuki interjected.  “I think her abilities are too subtle to help us, really.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I think I see.  It’s like fighting fire with fire,”  Liu Xi replied.  “The Moderator can delete things.  Faite can put them back.  She can’t retcon but she can change the present.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“If you need proof of her talents,”  Chiaki added as she stood rapidly, and leaned over the table, placing her palms on its surface.  She looked at everyone present.  “We are all proof,”  she said.

    Liu Xi turned pale, and looked at a very surprised Yuki.  Anna was confused.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Liu Xi and Lara were the only ones not deleted by The Moderator,”  Chiaki told them, “He failed to delete Lara because she is not of this universe.  He was not aware of Faite’s existence.”

    Chiaki looked at Liu Xi.  “You came here because of a whisper of a memory from Faite,”  she said.  “You knew it was safe here because of that.  You knew if you came here you could save your friends in the Lair Legion.”

    Liu Xi looked down sadly as she considered that.

    Then Chiaki looked at Yuki.  “You were missing parts because you had been completely disassembled and your brain deleted.  Faite restored you enough so you would be forced to reconstruct yourself rather than fight The Moderator, so you would come here to lay low instead.”

    Yuki’s mouth hung open.  She didn’t remember any of that.  

    Chiaki’s attention turned to Anna.  “One of the first things The Moderator did was delete you, Anna.  You did laser to death a few of the Spam Control agents, but you simply made The Moderator angry.  You didn’t survive.”

    Surprisingly, Anna looked saddened at the prospect of her own death.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“And I--”  Chiaki sat down again slowly.  She looked down sadly.  “I was summarily deleted by The Moderator after I challenged him to a fair fight.  He fought most unfair...I feel ashamed for him.”  She looked up again and glanced at Lara.  “My death was the catalyst that forced Lara to locate Faite and try to set things right.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Why would Faite do all of this for us?”  Liu Xi asked.

    Lara smiled.  “Because after the Hooded Hood’s plan explodes in The Moderator’s face, like it’s destined to do, someone has to fix things.  Since The Moderator can’t create--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“But then Faite’s already fixed everything,”  Yuki concluded.  “It’s just in the wrong places right now.  Who’s going to put it all where it belongs?”


    Just then, the temperature in the room dropped several degrees.  A woman with silvery skin, dressed in charcoal robes, seemed to step right out of the curtains in front of the window.  “A clever observation,”  Faite noted.  She looked over everyone gathered in Chiaki’s dining room.

    The purple-haired Legionnaire stood.  She eyed Faite suspiciously.  “If you’re fixing everything already, why are you here now?”

    Faite touched Yuki gently on the shoulder.  Yuki turned serious as she felt a chill through her entire body, like someone poured icewater through her titanium skeleton.  “You are the Lair Legion, Yuki Shiro,”  she said.  “I have given you the power to reclaim it.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I...I don’t understand.”  Yuki swayed a bit.  She was uncharacteristically off-balance and confused.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“With a touch,”  Faite replied, “They will remember what they were.  Be cautious, however...do not allow them to be deleted in the process.”  Those last two words faded as Faite did, with a gentle rush of cool wind.  Then she was gone.

    Yuki looked down at her hands in disbelief.  They were shaking slightly.  Liu Xi, Anna, and Chiaki stood and moved closer for a better look.  “Looks like I have a job to do,”  she whispered nervously.


TO BE CONTINUED?
    

-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2008 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