InuYasha Fan Fiction / Crossover Fan Fiction / Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ *What* Insertion? ❯ Short on Fuel ( Chapter 7 )

[ A - All Readers ]

*WHAT* INSERTION?
by Curtis Wildcat


Chapter Seven --- Short on Fuel

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(Cue theme)

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Time: Late evening, one day after Chapter Six
Place: Unknown location

The incessant ringing of a telephone woke the room's lone occupant out of a sound sleep. Grumpily, she reached over and picked up the phone. "What is it? I was trying to sleep!"

"I know you were asleep, but I have a mission for you. This can't wait."

The other person's no-nonsense voice brought the figure to a full alert. "What is it about? Sounds urgent."

"I've just received a report. Subject 0452 has escaped from its confinements."

The figure's eyes narrowed. "The tester for the 10x Charger? I thought the scientists had that thing under control."

"They underestimated the power that the prototype Charger gave 0452. The laboratory is heavily damaged, and the subject was last seen speeding across the Sea of Japan."

The figure had believed earlier that experimenting with such a device would be disasterous, and now it was looking like her hunch was correct. "So, what do you want me to do?"

"I need you to track the subject to wherever its heading and retrieve it. Even with its abilities enhanced, it will have to rest eventually. Use everything at your disposal to recapture it and bring it back."

"Understood," the figure said. "Over and out."

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Time: The following afternoon
Place: Tendo dojo, on the roof

Phibrizzo sat silently on the roof, watching the sky and the landscape. Sooner or later, Ryoga would be passing through here; and until then, he was going to wait right there on the roof. The sooner he got rid of the pamphlet, the better. Besides, the lost boy almost always homed in on Ranma at some point.

Ever since Phibrizzo had arrived this morning, clouds had been gathering on the horizon. Lunch had come and gone, and now the clouds covered more than half the sky. He tensed momentarily. "Crud," he snarled. "I hate rain. Reminds me too much of Deep Sea Dolphin."

"Something I've been wondering," Curtis said, fooling around with something in his chamber. "Did you really have siblings, or is that just a figure of speech?"

"Well...yes and no," the former dark lord muttered hesitantly. "We didn't have parents the way you guys do. Since the five of us were formed at the same time, though, we may as well have been brothers and sisters. A few dragons and humans began calling us that, and after a while it just stuck."

"And what's with this Dolphin character?" Inuyasha asked, sitting against a wall. "She pick on you or something?"

Phibrizzo grimaced. "What are you insinuating?"

"Hey, I was just asking."

"Some questions are better left unasked..." Phibrizzo's voice trailed off as he watched Curtis work. "What are you doing in there, family-size?"

"You mentioned something a week ago about having some extra abilities in addition to the ones you had before." Curtis didn't slow down. "I'm trying to see if I can find out what they are, maybe even unleash them."

"You just find out what they are and leave it to me from there," Phibrizzo growled quietly. "I don't want you messing with them."

Curtis hesitated, then slowed down his activity a little. "Well, alright. If you insist."

"Of course I---hey, someone's coming."

A young woman who didn't look to be much taller than Akane slowly walked into view. She had blonde hair done into curls at the end, and was wearing a cap and a large pack. Most of her attire was meant for winter weather...smart considering it was near forty-five degrees. She was carrying some sort of odd device in her hand, and she was talking to herself. "So, it came through here and stopped to sleep somewhere. No wonder I'm making good time on this---"

"Excuse me, miss!" Phibrizzo called out, catching the woman's attention. "Would you have happened to see a dark-haired martial artist with a bandanna anywhere around here?"

The woman blinked, then shook her head. "Can't say I have," she said loud enough for the trio to hear. "What are you doing up there? Shouldn't you be down here?"

"Why? I like it up here."

She sighed, annoyed. "Well, whatever. Just be careful," she said, walking away.

"You too," Phibrizzo said, waving. "See you."

The woman waved over her shoulder, then continued on. The three of them continued to watch. "You know," Curtis murmured, "she looks kinda familiar."

Phibrizzo growled to himself, laying back against the roof. Each time you say something like that, we wind up meeting a person associated with your world's entertainment. Let's just leave things as is and ignore her. We have a martial artist to wait for.

Curtis nodded, then hesitantly continued what he was doing.

"So, who do you think she is?" Inuyasha inquired.

"I have a rather vague idea," Curtis said. After a minute, though, it was clear he was leaving that statement unfinished. He chose instead to start a new one. "You hear anything?"

"Outside of another one of Ranma and Akane's arguments, nothing," Inuyasha said, saying it as if it were nothing unusual...which, in Nerima, it wasn't. "Besides that---"

One cry was clearly heard by all of them. "Ranma, you idiot!" The noise of Akane bringing her mallet to bear followed, followed a split second later by Ranma crashing through the ceiling...directly where Phibrizzo was sitting. What---!?

That was all he had time to think before he was forcibly hurled in a skyward arc.

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As she went on down the road, tracking down subject 0452, she heard a loud crash from back at that dojo she walked by. As she looked up, she saw two figures flying overhead. The smaller one---the boy she talked to briefly---was yelling: "Akane Tendo, your aim is just incorrigible!"

I don't want to know, she told herself. I don't want to know. I don't want to---hmm. Hello, what have we here? She double-checked the tracker. Great. It's nearby. Not much longer now!

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As the two soared through the air, Phibrizzo---who was wincing at the short-lived pain that Ranma's impact had caused---turned to watch the martial artist. "So," he asked, "what's your story?"

"Lousy tomboy had the nerve to whallop me when all I was doing was giving her a compliment," Ranma grumbled.

"Why? What did you say?"

"Kasumi told me to think positive about Akane. So I told her, 'For an unbalanced gorilla, your skills have actually gotten better.'"

Phibrizzo shook his head. "Too brutally honest, and too insensitive. It's called 'tact', Saotome."

"Do you have any bright ideas, then?" Ranma asked indignantly.

"For once, I can't say that I do," Phibrizzo said sadly. He quickly glanced downward. "Appointment with the ground. Looks like it's outside the Nekohanten." I hope that noisy girl's not in there.

"Just what I needed!" Ranma yelled as he descended.

"If you don't act fast, Phibby, you'll find out what---" Curtis looked up at a monitor, and his eyes widened. "Hey, I think I found something! Phibrizzo!"

The knowledge of an almost long-forgotten ability came rushing back. Tensing himself, Phibrizzo reached out and grabbed the edge of the Nekohanten's roof an instant before he could land on top of Ranma. He almost broke off part of the roof in the process, but he was still able to stop his fall.

The half-mazoku shook his head in relief. Man, that was close, he thought, letting go and dropping to the ground safely.

"Phibrizzo?" Curtis asked as Ranma groggily pulled himself out of his crater and wandered off down the street.

Yeah, Curtis?

"I don't get it. You were two meters away from the roof's edge. How were you able to get hold of it?"

Phibrizzo tried to think of a way to explain it. Well, with my half-mazoku and half-human makeup, I---

"Aiyah! Something happened here?" a familiar Amazon's voice interrupted him. "Oh, it small boy!"

Grumbling to himself, Phibrizzo turned to Shampoo; the girl was standing just outside the restaurant, holding a carton of ramen in one hand and a bonborri in another. "Yeah, 'it small boy'," he said. "I was the victim of a flying projectile."

Shampoo thought about this for a moment. "Violent girl took mallet to airen?"

"Got it in one," Phibrizzo growled. "I was sitting on the roof at the time, right where Ranma broke through. Now I know what it's like to be a baseball."

Shampoo nodded. "Where airen go now?"

Phibrizzo jerked a thumb down the street. "Went that way, noisy girl."

The girl glared at him for a second before taking off down the street. "Deal with small boy later. Airen, wait for Shampoo!"

Phibrizzo stared after her as she ran off, then shook his head before sitting against the Nekohanten. I really loathe that woman.

After a minute or two, a distant roar jerked him into full awareness. Getting up and walking into the middle of the street, he tried to see where the noise had come from. Did you guys hear that?

"I heard something, but I won't know what it is until I see it," Inuyasha remarked. "Man, it's fast!" He sniffed the air. "It smells a bit like...well, almost like fire. There's some dog in that scent, too."

"That's not good," Curtis groaned. "It means we have a big problem on our hands. Where in the world did a fire dog come from?"

Now's not the time to wonder about those things, Phibrizzo said, squinting at something. Incoming!

Phibrizzo tensed himself to jump out of the way, but he didn't need to. Somehow, the speeding creature managed to come to a complete stop without any difficulty. The massive dog-like animal stared into his eyes for a few seconds, then growled deeply as it's own eyes---and the strange collar around its neck---glowed a bright blue.

"Forget what I said," Curtis said quietly, his eyes widening a little. "We have more than a big problem on our hands. That's an Arcanine!"

"A what?" Inuyasha and Phibrizzo asked in unison, not liking how the creature was staring unnaturally at them.

"Tell you later. Just be careful! Got it?"

Phibrizzo nodded. It's time to test my abilities. You guys just sit back and watch.

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Admittedly, she was surprised to find the missing Subject 0452---an Arcanine---standing right out in the open and staring at the kid she'd met earlier. She was even more surprised when the kid tensed his muscles and prepared himself. How's he going to fight if he doesn't have anything to fight him with? The Arcanine has the prototype 10x Charger, to boot...it's supposed to increase the wearer's abilities by up to ten times the norm!

She slipped into a hiding spot, watching the scene. This won't bode well.

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After a few seconds, the Arcanine opened its mouth and released a massive stream of fire. Reacting instinctively, Phibrizzo threw his arms in front of his face and worked to absorb the intense heat into his system. As the attack continued, he could feel the energy inside of him build up to enormous levels...nowhere near a hundredth of what it was several weeks before, but it would do him just fine for the time being. This felt much better than the Shi Shi Hokodan that Ryoga nailed him with previously, since it wasn't emotion-driven.

After the Arcanine kept up its attack for a full twenty seconds, it finally let up and closed its mouth. As the last embers faded away, though, it started to think that maybe it hadn't put enough power into the Flamethrower; not only was the target of his Charger-induced anger still up and able, it looked to be completely unharmed!

Phibrizzo's skin, as well as the air around him, was glowing a bright orange as he lowered his arms and clenched his fists. "Almost hate to say it," he said, smiling eerily, "but you don't stand a snowball's chance in the desert of fazing me with tricks like that. Understand me, mutt?"

The Arcanine growled and barked at him, but Phibrizzo just shook his head. "I don't understand any of that, but I'm guessing you're still willing to fight. Am I right?" Getting an affirmative response, he closed his eyes momentarily as he prepared himself mentally. "Okay, then. It's been a while since I've used this move, so I hope I've still got it. Just bear with me."

Opening his eyes, he took a half-step back and cupped his hands in front of him. A black glow formed around them, followed by a small indigo sphere that materialized in his hands. "Just like your fire abilities are completely natural to you," Phibrizzo explained as the sphere grew to the size of a grapefruit, "my own abilities are completely natural to me. Take this move, for instance: the fact I'm using it is due to my ability to absorb extreme amounts of heat and energy. If I used my own energy for this, I'd be exhausted in no time."

The orange coloring that imbued the air and Phibrizzo's skin faded away as the sphere finished forming. "I can take whatever you throw at me and return it with interest! Now, try this on!"

An explosive beam of purple fire burst forth from the orb, slamming into the Arcanine. The fire dog, for his part, tried to withstand the beam as best as he can---some select members of his species were able to withstand attacks from fire-types better than others. The force of the beam was too much, though, and the Arcanine was sent spinning away a good twenty meters before finally crashing into the ground.

Phibrizzo lowered his arms as the fire beam dwindled down to nothing. The last time he had used that technique about eight centuries ago, it only took a minute fraction of his energy. Now, even with the aid of the fire that he'd absorbed a minute before, it took all his effort just to stay on his feet. He wasn't about to let Arcanine know that, however. "Dark Harsh," he intoned, smiling again.

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She was entirely in shock. This can not be happening. I am not seeing this. I am NOT seeing this!

She was first surprised when Arcanine's Flamethrower had little to no effect on the boy. She was even more so caught off guard when he began charging up his own attack, but the kicker was when the resulting blast blew Arcanine off its feet. What is he? Is he even human?

After a few seconds, the shock wore off and her mission returned to her. At any rate, it'll make my job easier. Maybe I could attempt to capture him along with the Arcanine...if he could somehow be turned to work for us, we'd have a powerful force on our side.

She watched as the Arcanine got to its feet, then smirked a bit. What the boy hadn't known was that this Arcanine could grow stronger by coming into contact with fire. When combined with the 10x Charger, which multiplied the user's defenses are well as their attacks, it likely negated the effects of the boy's technique.

In less than an eyeblink, the Arcanine suddenly disappeared. It reappeared a split second later---ramming straight into the boy at its maximum speed (which was also super-charged). On second thought, maybe its not a good idea to capture the boy after all...I almost forgot about Extremespeed. Ouch.

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Phibrizzo's half-mazoku form absorbed most of the damage that the Arcanine's unexpected attack dealt him, thankfully. It didn't stop him from being thrown aside like so much paper in the wind, though.

Several buildings away from the Nekohanten, it took him about fifteen seconds to pry himself out of the hole in the wall. That dog's tough---it took the Dark Harsh and it still has enough power to fight back! Unreal!

"It's not its own abilities responsible for that, though," Curtis explained. "Did you notice how that strange collar glowed the exact time the Arcanine's eyes did? There's something fishy here."

Inuyasha caught on quickly. "You think it's controlling him or giving him a boost in power? That would explain a lot either way."

"Yeah. Basically we have our work cut out for us." Curtis eyed a few monitors before gazing out at the Arcanine. "If we can just trash the collar, though, he should be easy to beat."

If we can trash the collar, Phibrizzo groaned. I hardly took any damage from that last attack, but using the Dark Harsh took a lot out of me. My legs feel like rubber, and... His voice cut itself off as he began pondering something.

"Think you can spare enough energy for a teleport?" Curtis suggested, not knowing that Phibrizzo was hiding his thoughts from them again.

It took a few seconds for him to respond as he watched the Arcanine, which was eyeing him with some arrogance but also a hint of wonder on its face. Yeah, but I'd prefer to save it. I have something else planned. "Dog," Phibrizzo shouted as he took a few forward steps, "if you going to attack me, just go on and do it already!"

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The woman continued to watch, a bit caught up in the surprise and suspense. Don't know how, but he managed to shrug off Arcanine's Extremespeed. He looks like he's having trouble staying on his feet, though. Why's he trying to incite it to attack him? None of this makes sense!

I wonder what he's planning now.

The boy started rotating his left arm. "Come on!" he shouted. "What are you, chicken!? I've known redheads who pack stronger strikes than you! Compared to me, your fire breath isn't enough to light a candle! Is that all you've got!?"

Although the Arcanine's mane of fur was blocking most of its head, the woman was sure she saw a vein throbbing. Roaring fiercely, the majestic dog opened its mouth to assail his enemy with another Flamethrower...or worse, possibly an Overheat.

The woman's fears were confirmed as the Arcanine decided to choose the second option. As it did so, she saw something that nearly made her jaw fall to the ground.

As the monstrous blast of fire engulfed the boy, he quite literally threw his arm forward...and for no discernable reason, it stretched the length of the street to grab the 10x Charger. Half a second later, the boy was pulled forward by the sheer elasticity and out of harm's way. In the process, he had launched himself on a head-first collision course.

While the awesome defense provided by the Charger protected the Arcanine from the boy's impossible tackle, said defense didn't last long. The boy leaped onto its back and grabbed the Charger with both hands. Straining as best as he could, he broke off the collar and began punching it repeatedly. After about eight impacts, the device was officially beyond repair.

The boy climbed off the Arcanine and stepped a few feet away, allowing the disbelieving woman to read the short statement on the back of his shirt. "I don't like being attacked for no good reason," he growled as the Arcanine settled down, released from the mechanical collar. "And I dislike being used as part of an experiment even more. Whoever it is that's watching me, come on out."

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Well, that problem's solved, Phibrizzo uttered smugly, looking on as the blonde-haired woman from earlier stepped out from in front of a shop down the street and stopped near the ruined collar. Inside his mind, Inuyasha looked both amused and interested at the stunt he'd just pulled. We got that thing off of it, and it's even less of a threat than it was before. I even got some of my energy back from that last---um, Curtis? Curtis?

The human was staring straight ahead of him, chuckling weakly. The chuckling got stronger momentarily. "Rubber," he said, having the broadest grin that Phibrizzo had ever seen on him---and this despite being under the weather. "You've got rubber arms. No wonder you saved yourself from that fall so well. You know, you and I are going to have to talk about this later." His grin faded. "And there's something I'm gonna have to tell you about now. It's about that woman."

The woman started talking, but Phibrizzo didn't pay her any mind. What about her? You said that she's another one of those fictional figures back on your homeworld.

"Yeah, well, there's more to it than that..."

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She was surprised to know that the boy had somehow known where she was hiding, and even more so that the 10x Charger was destroyed. Her professional nature didn't let that bother her, though. "My, you're a very remarkable kid," she said, smiling. "You can do all those things that no other human could do." She folded her arms, thinking for a second on how to phrase her proposal. "I don't suppose your parents would be interested in letting me give you a job?"

The boy looked up, seemingly interested. He wasn't paying attention to her, but she didn't know that. "You'd get to work with creatures like the one you just faced. You'd have the satisfaction of getting your own money---as much as you wanted. We could even get you toys, if you're interested at all in that sort of stuff. All that I'm really asking is that you carry out some occasional tasks for my boss. I'm sure that when I tell him about you, he'd be willing to accept you as part of the team. And when I talk to your parents, maybe they'd be accepting of it too."

The boy didn't respond, instead looking thoughtful. The woman bent down and scooped what was left of the 10x Charger into her hands, transferring it to her pack. "I can give you a few minutes to think it over, if you want," she stated, her gaze landing on a nearby restaurant---the Nekohanten. Man, I'm so hungry...maybe if I convince him, I can celebrate with a nice lunch.

As she waited, she let her eyes wander around. I've never actually been in mainland Japan before. Rather quaint. One thing that gets me: I wonder why the citizens or police haven't come by to investigate here; it's not like any of them have ever seen a Pokémon before.

A few minutes ticked by slowly. The kid kept staring ahead with a thoughtful look on his face the whole time. Finally, it switched to a determined expression. About time. "How about it, kid?" the woman asked. "Want to give it a shot?"

"Put a sock in it, lady!" the kid suddenly snapped.

The woman blinked. "Huh? All that thinking, just to say that?"

"Let's just say," the boy said slowly, "that I don't work with criminals." He folded his arms over the fireball design on his T-shirt.

She laughed a bit disbelievingly. "Criminal? I'm not a criminal."

"I can't imagine anything else you'd be," the kid growled, smirking, "Agent 009 Black Tulip. A.K.A. Domino."

Professionalism and secrecy were two of the things that the woman prided herself on. She always took a mission seriously, and she never gave her true name to anyone; "Domino" was just a moniker she thought up after she signed up.

But with the boy's statement, the woman's mind froze up. Just like that. "Wah...how...how did..." After her brain took the time to put itself back together, she glared at the boy. "How did you know? I never left any hints for you or anyone else to follow. There are only a few hundred people outside the various islands that know about the existence of Pokémon and Team Rocket. Where'd you get your information?"

The kid's smirk became deadly. "That is a secret, Miss."

"Huh," Domino said, smiling. Since she no longer had need for it, she tore off her disguise with a single sweeping movement. Pulling out a black flower---one with a sharpened stem---from out of nowhere, she inquired: "Since you won't join, does that mean you won't let me take the test subject back home with---"

"Excuse me," someone asked, "but can you tell me where the Tendo Dojo---oh. Hi, Phibrizzo."

Phibrizzo? Domino asked herself, arching an eyebrow as a young man with a bandanna and an umbrella appeared near the Arcanine. What kind of name is that?

"Hi, Ryoga," 'Phibrizzo' said, waving as he approached him. "I was looking for you. Do you know a 'Miss Valen' by any chance?"

The young man nodded. "Yes. She's my aunt."

Phibrizzo took an envelope out of a pocket and handed it to him. "Miss Valen had wanted someone to return this pamphlet to you. She wanted to say that as much as she appreciates the offer, she won't be able to go to Cerulean City until the school year ends. The work of a principal, and all that."

Ryoga shrugged, taking the envelope. "Thank you. Where's Ranma?"

"If I've got the whole timing thing down," Phibrizzo said, "he's probably trying to escape from that noisy Amazon. Somewhere off in..." he pointed in the direction behind him. "That way."

"Thanks, Phibrizzo," Ryoga said, walking past Domino and the Arcanine. "Hello, miss," he greeted as he walked by, bowing just a little. "Nice to meet you; and if you ever see a guy named Ranma Saotome, stay away from him." With that, he continued on.

Domino's mind slowed down again, trying to digest what just happened. Judging by the boy's clothes and pack, he's a traveler that wound up in Cerulean City at some point. He sent a brochure which talked about the place to the kid's principal. In turn, the principal gave it to Phibrizzo to pass on to him. After receiving it, he walked in the opposite direction of where the boy had told him to go. To top it off, he treated me and the Arcanine as if we showed up everyday.

She groaned loudly. "How in the world did I wind up in a psycho ward?"

Phibrizzo started chuckling, greatly amused. "Most sane people typically don't go to the Nerima district of Tokyo unless they're martial artists, they have family or friends here, or they just have a high tolerance for 'strange'. I fit in the third category, but you're not in any of them; therefore, you're insane."

"That's rather twisted of you to say so." Domino folded her arms. "At any rate, I've been ordered to retrieve that Arcanine. Stay out of my way."

"You and your odors," was Phibrizzo's smug riposte. He ignored Arcanine's growling (probably aimed at the TR agent) and continued on. "What's that smell---sulfur and monoxide, or just perfume?"

Domino gritted her teeth. "Say that again," she said testily.

Phibrizzo looked up at the sky. "Looks like it's going to rain," he commented off-handedly. "Your plans as part of Team Rocket have just been grounded." He looked back at her. "Do me a favor, Domino, and I'll let you off easy."

"You, let me off easy?" the young woman scoffed. "How do you plan on stopping me, considering how much trouble you had with the test subject here?"

"I have my ways."

"Well, mind letting me in on them?"

-------

Before Phibrizzo could formulate a reply, Inuyasha's ears began twitching. "Heads up, guys. Those nutcases are coming through again. I think there's five of them."

Domino heard them coming too, and spun off to the side. Phibrizzo did the same, not willing to get trampled on. By this time, he knew enough of their personalities and quirks to figure out who said what.

"What did I do to deserve this!?" "Airen, not like you to pass up free ramen!" "Come back here, foul sorcerer!" "Ranma, how dare you betray Akane's honor! Prepare to die!" Following a few meters behind was: "Haa-ha-ho-ho-ho!" Being unfamiliar with the oddities of Nerima, Domino just stared at them with a nonplussed look.

As soon as Phibrizzo heard Kodachi's laugh, something occured to him. Something that Kodachi and Domino had in common...

As those that led the pack raced past, Phibrizzo began rotating his arm. Almost as soon as Kodachi passed him, he stretched his arm across the street and snagged Domino. Ignoring the woman's startled shriek, he twisted a bit and flung the Team Rocket agent straight at her.

"Phibrizzo," Curtis asked as the two collided, "what are you doing?"

Two things: getting one of Ranma's pursuers off his back, and preparing myself for some quality entertainment.

"Quality entertainment? What do you...ohhh. I get it now." Curtis smiled. "Glad you noticed that."

The trio looked on as Domino recovered and stood up, seething angrily. "It's not polite to do that, kid," she warned, slowly walking towards Phibrizzo and arming herself with one of the sharpened flowers.

"It's not polite or ethical to try enlisting a kid into a criminal organization, either," Phibrizzo pointed out. "Besides, I don't have any of those creatures to use against you. Vice-versa with you, so I figured a you-versus-me fight was in order."

"Who says I don't have any Pokémon?" Domino continued forward. "You're just assuming I don't. I could probably have a half-dozen stored away inside my pack!"

"Maybe you do, maybe you don't. It doesn't matter to me," Phibrizzo stated, shrugging.

Domino prepared herself to attack. "It should matter, because---whaaaa!"

There wasn't any other way she could have finished that sentence. One of Kodachi's gymnastics ribbons had wrapped itself around her leg, tripping her up. She had no time to react before she was pitched to the ground.

Domino threw herself back to her feet, looking both sore and angry as the ribbon retreated. "Okay, who did that?"

"It is I," Kodachi announced, holding a rose in one hand. "You may call me the Black Rose, Kodachi Kuno. How dare you strike a noble woman from behind!"

"Whaaat!? Are you blind? That kid over there threw me into you! I didn't mean to do that!"

Kodachi's eyes passed over Phibrizzo. "He is of no consequence," she concluded. "Even as insolent he may be, he couldn't have done such a thing. Alas, you are to blame for interfering with my pursuit of Ranma-darling! State your identity!"

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(BGM - "Domino Dancing", by the Pet Shop Boys)

Gritting her teeth, Domino prepared herself to attack. "Some people call me Domino. You'll know me best as the Black Tulip!" she shouted, flinging a rain of sharpened flowers at Kodachi.

The clearly insane woman was able to dodge them. "So you seek to copy me? Your designs shall end in failure!" she exclaimed, punctuating her declaration with the most dreadful laugh that Domino had ever heard. She ducked down and swiped again with the ribbon, forcing the agent to jump back several feet.

"Me, copying you?" Domino grabbed the ribbon on Kodachi's next attack and pulled on it sharply, yanking it free and tossing it behind her. "My skills are my own!"

Kodachi produced another ribbon, used it to retrieve the one Domino took, then wound it around a bouquet of flowers. "I suspect you of many things. Lying is one of them, charlatan!" She flung the bouquet straight at her.

Domino hurriedly slashed the bouquet repeatedly, shredding it. As she did, she caught a whiff of the roses---and started wishing she hadn't. She stumbled and nearly fell as some of her muscles locked up. "Why, you..." she growled. "That's paralysis powder! They actually let you go out in public with that!?"

Her only response was another high-pitched laugh. "You're just prolonging the inevitable. Admit your defeat! Ranma-darling can not wait for me much longer!"

"He wasn't waiting for you to begin with," Phibrizzo muttered. "But no one ever believes a kid when he has something important to say..."

Domino struggled to stand straight, unwilling to lose to a civilian maniac. What would Giovanni think if she lost to someone like her? "I'm not going to lose," she declared, arming herself with another sharpened tulip. "And I always mean it!"

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Sitting near the Nekohanten, Phibrizzo couldn't help snickering as the battle continued. "This is actually fun," he said to himself. The Arcanine he was leaning against rumbled softly in agreement.

"Yeah. You'd think they'd both get the point. Is this sort of thing mazoku-grade entertainment?"

Close enough, Curtis. Hey, what does popcorn taste like?

"You mean you've never tried the stuff? Sad."

"Excuse me, child..."

Both Phibrizzo and the Arcanine turned to see the old woman standing at the Nekohanten's door. "Oh. Hello, Elder Cologne," the former addressed her. "Nice to meet you."

"Glad to see someone still has respect for their elders," the Amazon matriarch commented, smirking. "So, why's this battle taking place right outside my door?"

"One's insane, the other's a professional criminal. One likes black roses, the other likes black tulips. One likes Ranma, the other 'accidentally' got in her way." Phibrizzo shrugged. "Enough said, really."

Cologne's eyes glinted. "I see. You must be the 'small boy' that my great-granddaughter was complaining about."

Phibrizzo's mirth vanished. "That's me. But it stands to reason that if I can call you 'Elder Cologne', you can call me 'Phibrizzo Kaden'. Am I right or not?"

"Very well then, Phibrizzo. You don't like being called 'small', do you?" Cologne asked.

"No, I don't. My older sister used to keep harping about that for the longest time," Phibrizzo said grumpily. "To hear someone else call me that really annoys me."

Cologne nodded. "I see. So, she 'used to'? What made her stop?"

Phibrizzo's voice turned serious. "Someone drove her insane. After she was locked up, I never saw her again." The seriousness was gone, replaced by a bright smile. "But hey; I can't complain. My family never was the greatest, anyway."

The half-mazoku turned back to the fight, then blinked when a raindrop hit his nose. Soon enough, the cloud-filled sky began dispensing the rain in larger quantities. Sighing, he got up and started to head towards the Nekohanten...then stopped, grinning as he remembered Domino. Let's see how much harder we can make this.

Hurriedly, he doubled back to where the TR agent's pack was still sitting on the ground. Opening up all the pack's compartments, he upended it and allowed the contents to spill to the ground, broken 10x Charger and all.

With all the noise this made, there was no way Domino could have missed it. The second she turned her head, though, a rapid-fire assault of rhythmic gymnastics equipment forced her to focus on what she was doing. "Little brat---! That stuff was important!"

The smug expression Phibrizzo had as he headed for shelter made it clear that he was well aware of that.

----------

As Kodachi's assault wore down a minute later, the insane woman decided that fighting any longer in the rain wasn't worth it any more. "We will have to resume this later," she said. "I've already stayed here longer than I intended. I trust you have learned your lesson, copycat." After turning around, she strode away gracefully. "Until we meet again...haa-ha-ho-ho!"

Domino glared at her as she left and briefly contemplated throwing another tulip, but the way the rain was coming down and her muscles weren't cooperating fully, she didn't think it would work. She turned to examine what was in her pack, groaning loudly as she did so.

Along with the broken 10x Charger was a long-distance radio, several empty Ultra Balls, the tracking device she used to trail the Arcanine, a fireproof leash and net, a cell phone, her ticket to a Water Show at the Cerulean City gym for this coming Friday, a few instant food containers, a laptop computer, and her purse. The Ultra Balls and food containers were waterproof, but nothing else was. Plus, the only thing in the purse that survived the rain was her wallet.

She was seriously starting to consider demanding some vacation time. No experiment, no matter how crucial, was worth this; about the only good thing that came out of the encounter was that she didn't receive any real damage. And where did Kodachi get all that equipment, anyway? Of course, I'm one to talk considering all those tulips I had with me...but still, she took the cake!

Putting everything that survived the rain into the waterproof pack and sealing it, she made her way into the Nekohanten. Not bothering to look around, she sat down at the first table she came to and deposited the pack on the floor. "This," she griped, "has to be the worst day of my life."

"Eh, you deserve to be taken down a peg," a most unwelcome voice told her. "Happens to the best of us."

Domino finally looked up...straight into the face of Phibrizzo, who was smiling at her innocently. "Ordered some sushi ramen," he said. "Want any?"

The TR agent first glanced at the floor nearby, where the Arcanine was dozing quietly. She then turned to Phibrizzo, who was flicking some damp hair out of his eyes. "I don't like you," she said calmly and dangerously. "Not...at...all."

Phibrizzo's expression brightened even more. "You mean that? Great! I thought you just looked like it!"

There should be a statute of limitations on cuteness, Domino thought, grimacing. "Do you think I'm being funny?"

"Do you think I care?"

Domino folded her arms and settled into her seat. "Obnoxious little brat."

Phibrizzo shrugged. "I've been called worse."

A lavender cat wandered into the eating area, shaking water out of her fur. Some of it landed on the Arcanine, who perked up and started chasing after it. After a minute, the cat made a running leap onto an empty chair, and from there onto Phibrizzo's head. The fire dog glared up at it, but composed itself and sat back down.

Phibrizzo glared upwards at the cat. "Shampoo, you've got ten seconds to get off my head before I turn mean."

The cat meowed something, then stuck its tongue out at him. Didn't think normal cats could understand humans, Domino thought, wringing water out of her cap and gloves. I've made a serious mistake in coming here, if I'm starting to believe that.

"Having a cat on my head is hardly funny," Phibrizzo retorted. "An oversized fedora, maybe...but not you! Now get off before I swat you off!"

All the cat did was rotate herself on the boy's head so that her tail was hanging directly down his face. Growling, Phibrizzo pulled a tennis racquet from out of nowhere and swatted at her---but she jumped back onto the empty chair, causing him to hit his forehead instead.

Putting his racquet away, he shook his head angrily. "It never fails. Ever since I came to Japan, I can't go a single day without hitting my head on something!" He turned his head to complain to the cat.

Domino didn't say anything to that, but looked up as a robed young man wearing thick glasses set Phibrizzo's order on the table. "Excuse me," she then said. "Could I have a carry-out case for one of those boxes?"

"Sure. Of course," the man said as he walked away. "He said you'd probably want some anyhow."

A short time later, the man returned with one a carry-out case. Domino took one of the extra containers of sushi ramen and closed it up within the case. She then took a second container, made as if she was going to do the same...

...and dumped it over Phibrizzo's face and hair. "If what you were doing was an act of kindness," she muttered, "I don't want any." On that note, she stuck the carry-out case inside the pack and slung it over her shoulder as she left the restaurant.

-------------

Phibrizzo slurped a few noodles that hung near his mouth, looking rather sheepish. "Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day...give Domino some ramen, and she decorates you with it."

Mousse, Shampoo, and even the Arcanine couldn't help but be amused at this.

------------

Time: Fifteen minutes later

The rain had let up a bit by this time; it was more a mist than an actual downpour. Phibrizzo had paid for his ramen and had made arrangements with Cologne to have the Arcanine returned to his home island. I know she's the matriarch of a warrior race, but I didn't think she knew that many people.

As he stepped outside, he saw the trash that had been left behind because of his actions. Nothing on the ground was of any use to him, so he started to walk away...

"Phibrizzo?" Curtis piped up. "Even if that ticket there is drenched, we may be able to use it somehow. Let's take it home and get it dried off."

Frowning, Phibrizzo carefully picked up the water-ruined ticket and examined it. "Water Show Special. Cerulean Gym, Cerulean City. Friday, February 9, 1996 at 4:15pm. Section E, Row 2, Seat 8...this Friday if I have the date right, but why would I want to watch something that'll bore me asleep?"

"You don't even know what it's going to be like," Inuyasha pointed out. "How do you know that it's going to bore you?"

"Besides, there's a lot more Pokémon where that Arcanine came from...couple hundred different species, actually," Curtis added. "Don't tell me you didn't think that Arcanine was cool."

Phibrizzo hesitantly thought about his fight against the fire dog earlier. "Well, I don't know...I mean, they're not really anything unusual."

"That's only because we've been visiting Nerima," Curtis said. "We don't need anything more unusual than that; Pokémon are more or less normal compared to what we've seen since we got here."

"Case in point," Phibrizzo said, sighing in defeat. He carefully stuck the ticket in subspace. "Alright. We've got that pamphlet back to Ryoga, started a rivalry between that criminal and Kodachi, and had a snack at the Nekohanten. Anything else we need to do...right. Mom gave me money to buy some dinner over here for later."

"You know, you should also toss the rest of that stuff in the trash. Can't leave litter behind, you know."

Phibrizzo stooped to grab the rest of the ruined tools, grumbling something about the unfairness of life. He and the others had an argument on the subject as they threw the trash away, but it dwindled away to nothing as they moved on.

--------

Time: Five minutes later

It was business as usual for Ukyo, but the customers had stopped coming in when it began raining. Just another one of those days that she had to go through, she supposed.

Feeling a slight tug on her arm, she looked down at a somewhat-wet Phibrizzo. "Oh. Hi. Didn't see you there," she greeted.

"No problem," Phibrizzo said. "I was wondering if I get something to go...and if I could use your phone, please? I need to ask my mother what she'll be wanting."

--------

Time: Five hours later
Place: Location unknown

"Mr. Giovanni? Agent 009 is here to see you, sir. I would advise you to reserve judgement until you speak with her."

"How come?" Giovanni asked, his usual testy tone betraying nothing.

"You know the pack of Houndour on guard duty downstairs? They upstaged the cafeteria trying to find places to hide."

This gave him pause. "I see. Well, send her in anyway," he said, shutting off the room's P.A. speaker. Did she retrieve the test subject, or didn't she?

After a few seconds the door opened. Giovanni looked up from his computer...and found himself unable to move his eyes. The Persian sitting on his desk was suddenly under the boss's chair in less than two seconds, shivering.

Agent 009, the Black Tulip...words couldn't really describe her. The best way to put it would be a cross between an angry crocodile and a cat that's just had a bath. She didn't walk in so much as stumble in, but Giovanni had never seen her this furious before. She was completely and thoroughly soaked, smudges of dirt covered her uniform, and there were stress lines on her face. She was holding a container in her hands...containing what, Giovanni couldn't tell.

After about twenty seconds, Domino reached the desk and turned the container over. Immediately, the desk was covered in various debris. On closer examination Giovanni saw multiple pieces of various 10x Charger units, plus the shattered remains of the prototype. He looked up angrily. "What's the meaning of this, 009?"

Domino tilted her head just a bit, and for the first time Giovanni noticed the tiredness in those angry eyes. Her voice, although calm and quiet, reflected the fury she was radiating. She said only one sentence:

"I cancelled your stupid project."

Turning around, she stormed out---or at least tried to---and slammed the door behind her.

Hearing her footsteps fade away, Giovanni clasped his hands beneath his chin. On the one hand, he should be angry that one of his best agents failed in her mission---as far as he knew, the only failure that 009 ever had. On the other hand, he did give her the assignment on short notice; and he knew it probably could've been a result of him asking a lot of his agents in recent months.

And how did this happen to her? Who or what had she fought for her to be in that condition?

Giovanni pushed a nearby button. "Have a memo typed and sent to 009's quarters. Effective tomorrow, she is to have a week's vacation to sort out any difficulties she may be having. She can pick up her paycheck in the morning. Upon her return, she is to prepare a report detailing her most recent mission."

"Upon her return? Why not sooner?"

"Do you want to be the one to tell her what she's to do?"

"I see. Very well then, sir. Anything else?"

"Several things; you may wish to make a note of these...all set? Good. First, have the janitorial staff clean the water off the floor. Second, make sure the Houndour are returned to their posts. And third..."

"Third?"

"Contact the lab and see if 009 really did cancel the project. If she did, let it be. If not, tell the scientists that I want all testing and production on the 10x Charger halted."

"Very well, then. Good evening, sir."

I very much wish that could be the case.

--------------

Chapter Seven finished. Chapter Eight soon to commence

Author's Notes

Phibrizzo's seemingly newfound ability to stretch his arms will be explained somewhat in the next chapter. And before you ask, yes; I had Monkey D. Luffy in mind when I gave him that. Straw Hat himself, though, had nothing to do with it. Just thought I'd tell you.

In my mind, a meeting between Black Rose and Black Tulip was inevitable. Who do you think would win?

Kind of an odd way to introduce Pokémon into the mix, but I don't have any intention of having Phibrizzo going on a journey of his own. Besides...heh, heh...where else could the meeting have taken place besides Nerima?