Part 1

Adventures in Parodyverse - Emergency Management, Part 2


    Liu Xi Xian looked down a small crack in the concrete located in the alley next to Alto Tumour’s Used Occult Book Store.  It was wide enough for a human being to fall into.  The fire department had it roped off for that reason.

    Earlier they fed a camera down there, and found it was so deep that they ran out of cable before they could see the bottom.  At least they discovered why the building’s top floor partially collapsed, seeing as how the crack continued through its foundation.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What do we do with this?”  Liu Xi asked Vinnie De Soth, who was right behind her, trying to look down the hole, over her shoulder.  She wore a jacket, as the morning fog turned out to be a sign that it would be cool out that day.

    He shook his head.  “I’m not sure.  I’ve always worked in urban settings, I don’t have any experience with caves.  Can’t we send in the Lair Legion?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“They are busy with rescues and cleanup.”  She placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly and gave him a mischievous look.  “Hey, I’m a master of elements.  If we get in trouble I can get us out.”

    Vinnie couldn’t help but be a little amused.  He always worried about his work getting Liu Xi in trouble.  Now it seemed the tables had turned.


---


    A gentle gesture from Liu Xi had transformed the sheer cliff face of one side of the giant crack into a narrow but navigable stairway.  She walked down carefully, her canvas sneakers finding traction on each step.  Vinnie followed her gingerly, afraid to say he was less than confident with her created stairs.

    There was a stiff wind coming from the darkness below as they descended.  Liu Xi switched on a flashlight as the faint light from above began to fade into oblivion.  Even fairly well prepared, it still took the two of them nearly a half hour before the stairs gave way to a solid granite floor.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Weird.”  Liu Xi whispered, her voice echoing through the low cavern she was shining her flashlight around.  It was a small, crudely carved room, and there were tunnels going in different directions - some large, some small.  “We don’t want to be crawling, so we should take a big tunnel.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“There’s no guarantee it’ll stay big, it might narrow down.”  Vinnie pointed out.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I know.”  Liu Xi smiled at him again, her long hair blowing wildly in the wind.  “I can fix that.  Trust me.”

    He followed, wishing he had her confidence.  He had an awful feeling about being down there.  So much so, that he held Liu Xi’s free hand as if he were afraid either he’d lose her, or be left behind if she had to escape suddenly.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Wait.”  he finally said.  “Before we move on--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yes?”  Liu Xi turned to face him.  He felt relieved that she wanted to be prepared, and wasn’t just racing off in a random direction.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I...prepared some spells.  For emergencies.”  He took a few paper packets, resembling wet wipes, out of his pocket and held them up.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Keep them handy.”  Liu Xi said with another mischievous look.  She closed his hand over the packets.  “I can make my own now.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Really?”  he asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Xander gave me some books.”  To demonstrate, she switched off the flashlight and whispered something too quiet and too fast to hear.  The entire cavern lit up as if someone brought a spotlight along.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Nice.”  Vinnie admired.  “But...turn it off, because if there’s something down here--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh...right.”  She picked up some dirt and threw it in the air, and the cavern went dark again.

    They picked the largest of the tunnels...coincidentally, it seemed to be where all the wind was headed.  It was getting warmer as they continued on.

    Eventually, the tunnel led to a deep cavern.  Liu Xi didn’t need the flashlight right away, as the entire room was lit with an eerie red glow...and it was almost unbearably hot, like a sauna.

    She switched on her flashlight and waved the beam up and down the walls.  They were strange too...instead of looking like they were cut out of the usual rock, they were smooth, and black.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What is this?”  she asked in a whisper.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I...don’t know.”  Vinnie admitted.  “I don’t think we can go down any further, though.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah.”  Liu Xi agreed.  “It’s hot for a reason.”  

    She shined her flashlight into the giant pit in the center of the room.  Some vapor ascended toward her slowly, and it smelled acrid.  The light didn’t touch anything at the bottom, however, as it was washed out by the reddish glow.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What do we do now?”  she asked.

    Vinnie thought for a moment.  “We find an expert in underground things.  The Abyssal Greye.”


---


    For some reason, Vinnie felt better once he was in the lead again.  Sure he took a shortcut to the All Saints Cemetary courtesy of Liu Xi.  All he did was tell her where they were going, and in the blink of an eye, they were there.  At least there was no climbing out of a hole involved.

    But now, Vinnie was the one who knew where they were going.  He approached the door of one particularly old, yet well-kept crypt.  He knocked on the door, hard.

    Nothing happened.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What did we do wrong?”  Liu Xi asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Just wait.”  Vinnie said.  He leaned against the stone doorway and looked at his watch.

    Just as Liu Xi began pacing and kicking fall leaves, the door creaked suddenly.  It opened inward, and out stepped what looked like a man well past a hundred years old, wearing tattered clothing and slippers.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Mr. De Soth.”  the man greeted him.

    Vinnie visibly cringed at the sound of his last name.  “Please, call me Vinnie.”  he said.  “Abyssal Greye, this is my friend, Liu Xi Xian.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh!”  the old man exclaimed with surprise.  “What a beautiful brain she has!”

    Liu Xi took a step back.  She didn’t like the way that was phrased.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t worry, the Scholar Ghouls don’t attack living people.”  Vinnie noted.  “They are, however, experts on what goes on under the city.”

    The Abyssal Grey cleared his throat at that last part.  “Actually this earthquake pretty much caught us by surprise.”  Nevertheless, he offered them hospitality, stepping out of the way of the narrow door.  “Would you like to come in?”

    Liu Xi looked at Vinnie for approval.  He answered by walking past the old Ghoul into a narrow stairway which led down.  She followed, afraid to be left behind.

    At the bottom of the stairway was a stone cavern...but it looked more like a country club with a large collection of books, than a tomb.  The floors were all carpeted, and several ghouls shuffled around in bedroom slippers.  The walls were covered in dark wooden shelves and tapestries.

    The room they entered was only one in a complex of similar ones, a circular room with a domed ceiling, with hallways leading in two more directions other than the one they came in.  There were old wooden chairs in the center, and wooden shelves packed with ancient tomes were floor to ceiling.  That room, too, was carpeted.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Am I supposed to take off my shoes?”  Liu Xi whispered to Vinnie.  She remembered being asked to do so the first time she visited Chiaki’s home.

    Vinnie shook his head, and then asked the Abyssal Greye his most important question.  “What do you get from this?”

    As they practiced on the way over, Liu Xi held up her cell phone to show him the photos she took in the underground caverns.  It had to be her phone since Vinnie didn’t have one.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Ah.”  the old Ghoul said as he looked at the pictures.  “This...shouldn’t be here.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Where should it be?”  Liu Xi asked.

    A figure in a dark cloak and hood walked and cloth wrapped boots strolled into the room in a matter much unlike the Ghouls.  As she raised her head, Liu Xi and Vinnie could tell it was a female.

    One who looked only a little older than Liu Xi...with bright red colored eyes.

    She cast the hood off of her head, revealing red and silver hair.  “I know where it should be.”  she said.


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