In the year 2500, the world has become modernized with new technology to reach into outer space, cure disease and injury with relative ease, and keep the Earth in good living condition. At this time, the 50th World Martial Arts Tournament has begun and ended. Many fighters saw fierce compeition in the ring, with surprising and unusual outcomes along the way. In the end, however, the last rounds saw four particular combatants standing above all others.
Angela - A Fist-Fighter Bakuto - A Swift Warrior Niko - A Trained Soldier Lee - A Pure Martial Artist
In the semi-finals, Bakuto unexpectedly took down Lee with ease, despite the fact that Lee had taken down the reigning champion, Michael Miocic. And although Niko had trained well and reached this point, he was defeated by Angela, who then went on to fight agained Bakuto in a tense and exciting final match. Bakuto's technique was flawless, but after dealing damage to Angela, she hunkered down and took all that he had in a strong defense that wore the warrior's strength down to the point where he could barely move, and he had to admit defeat, making Angela Piers the World Martial Arts Champion of the 50th Competition!
The aftermath of the competition saw the inclusion of a special guest, the grand-daughter of Hercule Satan, Pan, who had been a champion at one time, herself. The four strongest fighters were invited to a party, though Lee and Niko declined for their own reasons. And while Lee disappeared to parts unknown, Niko found himself on a beach, thinking about his time at the Tournament and what to do next in life. But then, as the Champion and runner-up in the competition attended the afterparty, Niko was suddenly confronted by a man who wished to fight him, the mysterious Wu Han. He was, in reality, an assassin, and after they fought, he revealed such and explained that someone had hired him to kill Niko using false information to paint him as a bad guy. But looking now, he could see that this was not the case, so he could not act upon the order. Niko then asked for his assistance to find out who had done this, and the assassin agreed.
@GingerBoi123 The short answer is YES. The long answer is "Hello, and welcome to our fabulous little corner. Anything not immediately apparent that needs to be explained, @Balthazar007 can surely answer.".
Confused though he was, Niko's mind was fasttracking its way out of that and away from his previous anxiety to carefully determine whether or not he was hearing a truthful tale. The man was currently under suspicion, so he'd have to make a pretty convincing case. That Wu Han was testing his character and had come to some sort of decision on that was, on its own, not very helpful. No, it was the fact that he admitted to being an assassin hired to kill him started the ball rolling, because the assassin was not currently assassinating. He had put a hold on his job, pending inquiries into the true nature of his target, of which he subsequentally discovered that his target was a narrative fiction put to Niko Renzo in like the frame of a painting. Someone slandered, big time, to get the murder put on him. But wait! It gets better! Because apparently Wu was not merely an assassin, but an assassin with a conscience, a man with a personal code to live by. Niko found such people to be a little sketchy, because it was effectively the notion that they were drawing the line at certain actions, all which being a murderer for hire. That said, since this guy's code was apparently 'I know kill terrible people', and Niko himself was a soldier trained to do just about same...it was clear that the difference between them at the end of the day was minimal, at best. There'd be some question of the legalities of whay Wu did in life, less about Niko's actions, basically.
Anyway, the honor code that he lived by was such that he felt bad for even taking the money for the job in which he was lied to on, and so he was offering it to him. Niko thought for a moment, 'Might be a decent consolation prize for my efforts.', but then he stopped that thought as Wu got tot he part about his client... It was probably a company who'd sent a man in as their contact, and that alone tipped him off, because...Niko could count on basically one hand the kinds of people who would really want a piece of him. As a soldier, he entertained a degree of anonimity, and none of his COs had really anything against him. In fact, the kinds of people in the military who would be pissed off enough to want him dead wouldn't bother with a paid assassin. They could put together a good Black Ops team to do it. No, this was probably the work of 'people with connections', and that narrowed the field to about ONE, which he sadly had no evidence for...but Wu was willing to help on. That was a definite sign that he could be trusted. Because a professional assassin wouldn't bother with something like this if he'd failed and was looking for a better opportunity. He'd be popping off of Niko's radar to catch him off-guard. So, he must have been an honorable assassin and not simply lying to cover his ass.
"I won't be taking the money. You can take it something of a consultant's fee because I need your help to get at the bottom of this. I think I know who did it, but I want to confirm it, at least from the man who hired you. And if there's any connection to who I think it is, I might ask for a little help on a raid I've been thinking of, if you're up for it. It's just for information from the guilty party, to add to this obvious slander. What do you say? Deal?"
He held out his hand, eyes on Wu to see what he'd do.
There was a man making the rounds in a restricted area in Junon. Among his duties, it was his job to inspect ammo storage for all the heavy ordinance, all the military-grade material they use for demolitions or armored vehicles or even the robots. Furthermore, there was a section that even he didn't have clearence to inspect, only to make sure there are no signs of tampering with the doors, the locks, or that any means of entering were possible. He didn't know for certain what was in there, but given that it was just past the area where the materia was stored on this base, it had to be something big. The Executive Vault, as they called it, was only for this: The highest-grade deterents known to man. That was all he knew.
Now then, you may be curious as to who they gave this job to. Did they hand it off to some grunt because they just didn't care, or to someone with a little experience who would know what the hell he was doing? Well, the answer...was the latter. A single SOLDIER walked along the halls, entering each room to make certain that everything was there, including the clipboard that stated what was suppose to be there. If anything was missing and not recorded on that clipboard, he had the authorization to take any action he thought appropriate, up to and including a complete lockdown of the area. This SOLDIER had a First-Level rank, and in fact was titled 'Captain' for his training of the younger SOLDIER units, the ones who joined after the Wutai War. He is a robust sort of man with a Hardedge on his back and a little gray in his hair. Not that you'd see it, of course, while in uniform. He had a unique helmet on with a crescent across the brow area.
As he came upon the Executive Vault door, he checked the numerous sensors - such as the scanner pad in front of the door, the retinal scanner, and palm print analyzer - to make sure none of them had seen any damage or tampering at all. He then leapt up, suddenly, to stick himself to one corner of the room, all to make sure that the mounted turrets in the area continued to track him. They wouldn't shoot, of course. Any SOLDIER could walk down these corridors. Lastly, he was about to jump up to and inspect the local air vents when...he received a call. Awkward timing. Maybe it was from Surveillance, finding a problem with one of the cameras... Ah, nope. Different number. One on his all-time top-ten. He hit the button with a smirk, going "Hello, Joe.", then removing his helmet when the caller complained about the reverberations of his helmet in the speaker.
"That better? Good. What's up?"
A small pause as the caller explained. The Captain's brow furrowed.
"That's strange. Haven't been any complaints around here. Well, if they say you have to destroy 'em, then... Ohhh."
There wasn't any confirmation on the X-Series going crazy at Junon yet, but Joe was anticipating that it might be the case, and that they should be prepared. The man said he needed to check something, and then quickly activated the app on his phone to check regional alert status. What the...? The lower areas had an intruder alert?
"Joe, we may be getting something here already. I'll have to check up on it. I'll talk to you later."
He hung up, then dialed Junon Central Dispatch.
"This is Captain Gonovich speaking. Ya mind telling me why I just got warnings of a problem here in Junon from someone not even in city limits?"
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Meanwhile, at the Junon airfield, where a heavy Gelnika was about ready to take off, Rufus Shinra addressed the Head Turk, the chopper pilot, the repair technician, and anybody else who happened to be around.
"So then, let me make sure I understand the situation, then. This is an airfield...correct?"
"Correct, sir."
"The largest, in fact, in the world. You agree?"
"I do, yes."
"So...when I ask for a helicopter, it is not unreasonable to have one ready for me immediately, which...I will say...you have not failed in. But, to my understanding, it should equally have been possible to secure a second one within a moment's notice that the one we were using developed a fault...correct?"
Tseng of the Turks bowed his head, slightly.
"Regrettably, that is not the case, sir."
"Kindly explain why."
The man in the black suit nodded, and spoke plainly on the matter.
"At a recent board meeting at the home office, it was decided that the majority of helicopter coverage was best-spent in the patrolling of city sectors in Midgar, as opposed to that of the already-militarized sections of Junon. Thus, there are actually very few chopper units to be found here at any given time, less if there has been any necessary transport from Junon to Midgar, specifically, which is currently the case. The helicopter that we took is held in reserve for all other uses, such as Executive transport. The situation we find ourselves in - with no second reserve helicopter - is the result of prioritizing where to cut the budget."
And that was probably Heidegger's field. Rufus shook his head, keeping calm, but nevertheless maintaining an air of disappointment.
"This must not be allowed to happen again. I will see to it."
"Yes, sir. Fortunately, there is a chopper incoming, so we will not have long to wait."
Down in the tunnels, Ranger Krait and the AVALANCHE members were still on the move. Mostly, it was just them and whatever robot drones happened along their path, since those could keep up. Occasionally, they'd also pass some worker or security guard who would be like "Hey!" and draw their gun, only to be too late to do anything and just be forced to call it in. On this particular occasion, his phone got back a different alert, one that read thusly...
ALERT
Authorization: Captain Gonovich
Report status/movements of Custom Sweeper Prototype units (X-Series Sweepers) immediately. Do not engage unless units' actions are openly hostile. They are to be retired at the earliest juncture by SOLDIER.
End of Line
This is fairly-important, because...as the pursuit was continuing, Ranger Krait would naturally be getting this message on his phone. But whether or not he had the time to look at it, what happened next was certainly happening. Lex was closing in, Kanade had asked Wedge to open fire at the jeep, instead of the Slug-Rays, Wedge went "Ow! Ow! Ow!" as he opened fire and got zapped by the robots, Kanade was preparing to throw, and then...things got a little crazy. How much crazy, you might ask? That split-second 'Oh Crap' kind of crazy. Biggs looked ahead at an intersection, shouted at Wedge, Wedge suddenly panicked, and swerved to avoid the...larger robot that just rolled into view. He collided with Biggs, who was thrown off-balance and almost hit the tunnel wall, and...well, due to that business, the Jessie bomb went flying from Kanade's grip as they passed the pair of Sweepers in the tunnel.
This is where the 'Oh Crap' come in. First of all, 'Oh Crap, there's a pair of Sweepers here', which Wedge nearly collided with on the bike, but narrowly missed. Second, there was 'Oh Crap, I dropped the bomb!' for Kanade specifically as it bounced along in the tunnel now. Third, there was 'Oh Crap, there are these Sweepers in the way!' for Lex, who had of course been pursuing at speed and now couldn't get by. And in ALL of their cases, that would be 'Oh Crap, that bomb looks like it's armed', followed by BOOOMMM!!! as it blasted through said tunnel area!
Finally, the last 'Oh Crap' would be for anybody at all who realized that these units were X-6 and X-7, having just gone rogue.
With things having calmed down considerably at Fort Condor and the process of rebuilding having gotten underway, Jessie Raspberry found herself paying more attention to the needs of this young man, Akira Ayumu, who was pretty sure that his last name alone was problematic, since he looked at least part Wutai. Yeah, that was definitely a problem for him, considering there was plenty of anti-Wutai sentiment, and that people who seemed like they were from there might be badly received. Fact is, and she told him this, his whole name might've been a bit of a giveaway, and if he was that worried about capture...
"I think you might seriously need to lie low for a while. This was a good refuge away from Shinra, but if you're really that much of a target, it's time to step out of the limelight entirely. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about."
His contribution here at the fort could not be denied. They might not have pulled through here if not for his support and a bit of heroics thrown in. They tried really hard, this time, and while it might be a while before any serious attack happened again, it was a guarantee that Shinra would be back. So, now that there'd been a battle with a serious death toll on both sides, now was a great time to slip out quietly and find some place to hold up for a while. Jessie had a suggestion or two on where, asked the people living and working here to give Akira his pay in supplies, and sent him on his way.
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. You just look after yourself until the heat dies down."
Of course, way ahead of THEM was Tace, who was now back on the move and no longer being harrassed by evil birds. He had decided, once he recovered from the shock, that maybe his services were badly needed at Fort Condor, which was also the destination of that Trio. He stepped into his car and gunned it for the Fort, which was still a ways away, but hey...he had a nice goddamn car. He could get up to speeds those Shinra bike patrols couldn't manage, and he could put the music on and everything. Though, what he'd be listening to was on him. Along the way, as he began to see the distant tower and that whoa-massive bird on top, he found a curious sight. He had been avoiding monsters in general by speed, but in this area...maaaybe he didn't have to, and maaaybe he might've wanted to be just a bit quieter. Ya see, in the distance, there had been this circle of flying predators, and then some of them would jerk suddenly as flying lead was rammed through their bodies.
Halfway to Fort Condor, there was a Sweeper out there, going the other way, shooting at the wildlife. Whadya think of that?
In the alleys of Midgar, there was a "Whoops." as the molotov went over Aiko's head. That was Burke. Burke had no idea that was wrong with the situation, only that he'd missed, and that Beck was gonna shout at him for missing. He had no idea what the actual problem was when Beck shouted "Now, look whatcha did!", apologizing to get their leader off of his back. He didn't like getting shouted at. That was usually reserved for Butch, which was a relief. That said, the screeches got all their attentions, and he immediately blurted out "I don't think we wanna be here, boss!" right as giant rats on fire came out all over he place! Yeah, no worries, kid. They know when the hell to run! In fact, the last thing Aiko would hear as she got out of the range of their shouting was Beck going "Everything! Just toss everything and RUN!", followed by the deployment of mines and molotovs.
To her own credit, Aiko still knew these alleyways like the back of her hand, so while there had been this detour, and that she WAS in full retreat mode for a while to get the hell out of Rat Country, it was easy for her to get back on track after the fact and resume heading for her destination. The only problem was that when she got back on track to go into her prep work, there was that feeling of being watched, even though there was no immediate sign of being around. That was a problem.
Maddie was alone with Naisha. Naisha was alone with Maddie. Who was the one really threatening whom? Thr Turk may not be pleased that the SOLDIER wasn't around anymore, but to be fair...she was a Turk. She could handle things, and also Joe had not been aware of any actual problems with the wheelchair woman, apart from her being aggravated by people in Shinra. Well anyway, he was no longer a part of this scene as the two ladies began the act of verbal parry and thrust. They might eventually see another different helicopter - a cargo chopper - touch down at the junkyard that they had gotten the hell away from. Looks like Joe had gotten a team to do something about this mess and they weren't going to destroy it.
If Naisha wanted the thing for herself, she might recall that she was still connected...
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