NARRATOR: IN THE LAST EPISODE, BRANCH-X ACQUIRED A NEW BASE, JAMES SAW VISIONS OF ANOTHER TIME IN JUSENKYO VALLEY, AND THE AUTHOR WONDERED IF THOSE DAMN 'NEXT EPISODE' PREVIEWS ARE TOTALLY WORTHLESS, SINCE HALF OF THE SCENES FROM THE LAST ONE HAVE BEEN CUT FROM THIS EPISODE! ======================================================================== Warnings: Plot, interesting things happening Graphic violence, use of firearms, death and dismemberment Again, GRAPHIC DISMEMBERMENT, you have been warned! No sex or any real innuendo in this episode Casual use of explicit language ======================================================================== C&C, Flames, Anything, welcome at: rick_spiff@yahoo.com Posted at Insanity Production's home page: http://www.geocities.com/rick_spiff/ ~ Begin fic ~ Excerpts from the Branch-X Field Manual, 1st Edition (2007): Communications Tactical Multifunction Computer (Comm-Tac) A tactical computer system integrated into various pieces of Branch-X equipment, including all Coats (see Coat Models). It is essentially a one-button computer that enables encoded communication between agents, and continuously feeds battlefield data to the user. Use is indicated by tapping or squeezing the Coat's collar. Field Agent Digital Interface (F.A.D.I. or FADI) A simple modern PDA loaded with encrypted communications software and attached to a high resolution digital camera and recording system. Functioning solely in a client mode, the FADI provides a secure line of text, audio, and visual communication and event storage at Branch-X headquarters. Paranormal (syn. "Supernatural") An entity that at least partially demonstrates the characteristics attributed to living organisms, but fails comprehensive biological qualification in conventional science.* [Opening Music is Metallica's 'Enter Sandman' played very loudly. A montage of shots flash by to the bars of the song, mostly of the Sidestep cast and various Eva characters dressed in kick-ass clothes and shooting things out of frame. Splattered here and there among the characters are various explosions for variety.] [Music cuts out.] [INT. DAVE'S GOD OFFICE - SOFT LIGHTING.] [Dave sits primly in his throne, brown eyes focused intently on one page in a large binder held tightly in his hands. James breezes through the door, tripping (and ignoring) several alarms. As he saunters up to Dave's desk, the head of Branch-X closes the binder and turns off the alarms with a flick of his wrist.] James: Nice digs you got here. Got that assignment? Dave: You'll have to be more specific. James: The missing kids from Jingawa ward. [Dave nods and taps a few buttons on a laptop computer sitting on his desk.] Dave: There. It's on your FADI. Anything else? [James pulls out a PDA and glances at the messages on the system before pocketing it again. He looks forlornly into the distance and sighs heavily.] Dave: Sorry, I didn't know you were trying out for an Angsty Bishonen role today. [With a ghost of a smirk, James turns away from his friend to look around Dave's Garden of Eden-like office.] James: I'm just wondering how Miko's doing. Dave: Are you questioning her abilities or your training? James: Her luck. It goes from great to terrible, you know. Dave: I did, but thanks for reminding me. (pause) Is there something about this case in Jingawa. Is it that again? James: No...not really. It's different, but it bothers me all the same. Dave: I hate to sound callus, but get over it. Get angry if you have to, kill somebody...wait, don't kill anybody, but you'll need a sharp mind out here. A clear and level head. James: I don't need to be told that twice. I have no intention of letting the perp get away with this. Dave: (almost mocking) 'Perp?' James: When in Rome... Dave: So you like your police liasons? James: I'm getting to know them. So far they're good guys. Dave: Excellent. The perp? James: (faces Dave and grins darkly) I'll get creative if it comes to it. Dave: (smirks) Send me pictures? [James is making to leave when Dave stops him with a single word.] Dave: Jusenkyo. James: You read the-- [Kat storms into the office. Her Coat flapping behind her like a flag in a stiff breeze, she barks at James as soon as she has him in view.] Kat: James, what's this? James: (grateful for the interruption) What's what? [Kat holds up a massive pile of documents.] Kat: _This_. James: Uh...a stack of papers? Kat: (setting the pile on Dave's desk) These are reports about undead... _things_ being sighted in Paris-2. James: Oh. I've been waiting for those. [James makes to grab the pile, but Kat thumps her hand down on them, and offers James a glare that promises great bodily harm should he try to take the documents without giving her an answer.] James: (sighs) In case you haven't noticed, I'm the liason for paranormal disturbances of the peace, and the undead are my speciality. Kat: (hand unmoving) Since when? [James looks at Dave, giving the Branch-X head his best "Help! I'm no good at these word things!" look. Dave resists the urge to leave James alone to deal with Kat. Besides, it is his office.] Dave: Kat, James is a ghost hunter. Has been since they started showing up. Kat: When was this? Dave: About 2004. You see, Second Impact--the supposed meteor impacting on and destroying Antarctica--caused a great deal of changes across the world. Oceans rose, cities fell, legends became realities, and... unnatural things began to walk the earth. [Kat looks at James to confirm this.] James: (somehow holding the papers even though Kat hasn't moved her hand) They really do walk. It's kinda creepy. Anyway, I gotta go! [James bolts for the door. Kat blinks and looks at where her hand is resting firmly on the desk. From the look on her face, it's clear that she didn't feel it move from paper to wood.] Kat: (as the door closes) HEY! Dave: Relax. He's got work to do up north. Kat: Bouncing us around like this is getting confusing. Dave: (shrugs helplessly) It's hard to hire new people. John was going to help you with this, but I need technical support here. And someone has to chain up Ed while we critique his latest apocalypse-in-a-box. Kat: Another mecha? Dave: Transportation needs loading devices. We're tragically short on storage areas that one can use a forklift on. Kat: Really? Why don't you put your boxes in a warehouse. Dave: (mysterious smile) That would be too easy. Kat: Hmm. So, you want me to go off and do whatevery James...what _did_ he do exactly? I didn't think-- Dave: Do you want to hear the rest of the story? Kat: (nodding) Yeah. Dave: After SI, pinning down the Conspiracy was like grasping at smoke. Things were too chaotic. You couldn't build a base, plot an overthrow-- not that we can either, even now--but neither could they. Kat: So James turned to killing ghosts because the Conspiracy was too disorganized? Dave: No...because everyday people needed him to stop the ghosts. They were a more immediate threat than the Conspiracy, especially to a disorganized world, much of it without official government protection from the paranormal. Kat: That's what we're calling it now? Dave: It's in the manual. Kat: But what about-- Dave: Don't ask. In seven years of hard work, I still haven't come up with a full understanding of how all of this happened. I think, in a few months, I'll finish polishing my work on the 'what' and show that to everyone then. Kat: (mulls this over) So we're fighting blind? (all but ignores Dave's nod) Why didn't James just say that? Dave: He's lazy and forgetful when he wants to be. By the way, I'm giving you this case. Kat: What? James just left with-- Dave: We can make more copies. That's for his files. Old fashioned engineer, that man...Someone's kidnapping whole children and leaving sexually abused parts behind. It's all been in Jingawa ward so far. As there's indications that some paranormal beings may be involved, the Tokyo-3 PD requested a NERV Special liason. There's a little-known UN division that we're pretending to be part. International Special Services. We're going to be merged in about eight months. Bring on some more experienced people. Kat: I get it. So James hunting down some ghosts or something? Dave: We're not sure precisely what it is. Kat: I'm sure James will kill them with his usual flare for violence. [Dave smiles humorlessly.] Kat: And I'm hunting Zombies? Dave: (handing another pile of papers to her) Yep. Have fun! And remember... Kat: (ignoring Dave's scowl) Never mix the colors with the whites! ---------- Title Flash: Episode 8: Silent Pain/ The Eternal Battlefield ---------- [INT. PLEASANT HOUSE - DAY.] [Yellow crime scene tape with black kanji encircles a squat grey house with tiny strips of grass on either side. A front yard not much bigger then a small dining room is laid out before the open front door. A quartet of uniformed police officers stand a the corners of the property, looking out of place in this neighborhood of hundreds of anonymous houses deep in a the northern suburban sprawl of Tokyo-3.] [Other than the police, the crime scene decorations, and a few cars parked in the street out front, the outside of this house still looks like many others on the same block.] [Inside, things are substantially different.] [Namely, every room is painted in blood.] [James stands in the doorway of the smallest bedroom, clearly a child's room due to the small trophies, small bed, and shelf full of plushie animals. Every surface, every toy and feature, even the window and ceiling, is all covered in a thin coating of a familiar crimson liquid. James looks over the room, his blue-grey eyes cold as two lumps of flint. Behind him, Yuki Yamaguchi waits patiently for James to finish examining the room. Yuki, Japanese and thin, fills out his short-sleeved blue dress shirt and grey slacks about as well as a termite-infested toothpick. His belt features a black device about the size of a deck of cards, which records all audio and has a built-in camera. He stands ready and without complaint, though he already sports large wet patches under each arm and down his back, and occasionally dabs at a sweating brow with a hankerchief. James, wearing an all-concealing black (aparently leather) trench coat seems unaffected by the 90+ degree heat and unbearable humidity of the house.] James: No suspects? Yuki: None. [James continues to look over the room for a moment before striding purposefully outside of the house and into the blistering heat of the mid-day sun. Yuki is on his heels and almost breaths a sigh of relief to be outside of the house. Perhaps because of the humidity and smell, perhaps because of something else. Both make their way to an anonymous car with a heavy-set man behind the wheel, and stop at the doors, looking back at the house.] James: That's downright disturbing. Yuki: Yeah... James: The cleaners will be here soon? Yuki: Yes. The technicians finished about an hour ago. All of the data is being processed back the station right now. James: It's probably unnecessary, but I would like to request a copy of the scene data. Yuki: Is NERV getting involved? James: Yes. Yuki: That's your call to make? James: You don't miss much, Yamaguchi-san. Yuki: (shrugs) May I ask you a question? James: Sure. Yuki: How are you staying cool in that ridiculous coat? James: This one has an air-conditioning unit in it. [Yuki's eyes widen and he _stares_ at the Coat while James rambles on.] James: I need the weapons and armor it's equipped with, so the Master Designer back at our HQ whiped this one up to keep me somewhat comfortable. Yuki: (nods, but the look on face clearly indicates that he doesn't believe a word) _Is_ there anything uncomfortable about it? James: Yeah. It weighs about forty-five kilograms. [Yuki rolls his eyes while James gets into the back seat of the car. Yuki gets in after he does, taking up his spot in the passenger seat.] [INT. POLICE CAR - DAY.] [The driver's seat is already occupied by Detective Yamaguchi's partner, Godai Kuno. Godai is Japanese, with classical features, a regal bearing, and a respectful yet lordly presence. His eyes are a piercing brown, like storm clouds gilded in amber. His build is that of a professional football player, wrapped in a fine suit that must be a stretch to purchase on a detective's salary. He looks like he would never wear anything else though. A day at the beach? He'd be wearing a fine silk suit. Vacation to the North Pole? Wool suit. His shoulders are a brick wall, his arms construction derricks, his legs industrial hydraulic jacks. He seems capable of eating a bucket of ten-penny nails for lunch just sitting there in the driver's seat.] James: Can we go off the record for a moment? [Without a glance, Godai shuts off the in-car recorder. Yuki taps the recorder on his belt.] Yuki: Off the record. James: Theories? Godai: Yakuza killing. Very flashy. Intended to induce fear in future targets. James: Yamaguchi-san? Yuki: Scare tactic? Too extreme. Besides, we don't have leads yet. Even the Yakuza are surprised by this, if Kakuto-san is to be believed. What about a takeover-- James: We'd have heard something about it, or will soon. Godai: The detectives in our deparatment will stay appraised of the situation, but you do not think it's related to organized crime? James: (meeting Godai's eyes in the mirror) Godai-kun, (ignores the near-wince that crosses Godai's features) that room reaked of magick. It'll take me a week to wash it out of my Coat! Whoever did that was either a magickal being themselves or used a massive amount of magick in the process. Yuki: You can...sense magick? James: I've some experience with it. Heck, before I worked for NERV I was killing ghosts. Still might wind up doing that, come to think of it. [Yuki and Godai exchange looks that clearly indicate they're making a mental note of this.] James: (continuing) You guys should check up on the Yakuza link anyway. But I'm certain the killer was a demon, (dangerous look in his eyes) and he's mine. Godai: (single raised eyebrow) NERV has elected to care for this matter? Isn't there another agency that deals with supernatural matters. I have heard rumors... James: As have I. I...have some lattitude in how I operate. As my boss says, I work _with_ NERV. I suppose that will become literal soon, as the agency you speak of is apparently going to be merged with us. [Another look between Yuki and Godai. They almost appear to be communicating telepathically.] Godai: (shrugs) Shall we? James: Sure. [Recording devices are reactivated. Godai puts the car in Drive and pulls smoothly into the practically non-existent traffic.] Yuki: So, just out of curiosity, what does it take to track down a supernatural killer like this? James: Depends on what you're tracking. Ghosts aren't any harder to find than normal people--you can't rely on eye-witness accounts, you check out places they were known to frequent...oh yeah, don't go looking for the living when you know you're looking for a ghost. When people die and become a ghost, their remains usually haven't been buried, so you have to look for old bodies in odd places...your usual police work. I think this was the work of demons, though. Yuki: Like demons from the underworld demons? Godai: You mean youma? How do they differ from ghosts? James: Traditionally, Youma is a general term for demons that are formed from human emotions, and draw most of their power from a kind of alternate dimension. Youma aren't coherent matter until in this... reality. The demons I'm talking about are like a...level higher than Youma. They _exist_ in this alternate dimension, though they can travel to our reality. Their power can be stored within their essence. They're still basically made from emotions and raw energy, but there's so much of it, and it's so tightly focused, that gives rise to a solid, independant body. At least, that's how I think of them. I'm not sure anyone has a real handle on the physics. Yuki: (thinking out loud) Don't ghosts form their bodies from energy? James: You mean ectoplasm? Yuki: Is that what it's called? James: Ectoplasm is the lowest physical form that the a Human soul can summon. It's like a primordial soup. A biological stock, if you will. Now, the spirit can assemble the chemicals, but can't force them into the pattern that makes up a human body, and can't add the energy to make it move. So all that ghosts are physically is a slimy liquid. Demons can command so much energy, and are so much more skilled, that they have hard, physical bodies formed by energy. This energy is what I term magick. Most of them still dissolve into Ectoplasm after you kill them, but at least there's something more substantial than a walking cloud of salty water to shoot at. Godai: Having no physical form, can they hurt people? James: Not in the conventional sense, but because they lack substance, they can pass their energy into your body and disrupt the functioning of your nervous system. It isn't pretty. Yuki: They sounds very dangerous. Godai: Is there nothing else a ghost may be formed of? What about living trees and walking stone? Yuki: You mean like golemns? Stone and wood golemns are demons then too, aren't they? James: That's right. (looks at the back of Godai's head) You studied demons? Godai: My family owns several dozen original treatises on the subject of paranormal entities and legends. Many were donated to museums over the years, but some of the family collection remains. I used to read them as a boy, figuring them fantasy fit only for entertainment, though of more substance than books and comics of the day. It is an odd thing to now find this knowledge so useful in a practical field, keeping the public safe from harm. James: (noding) Second Impact has changed a lot of things. It's unreal to see the undead get up and walk around. That was the kind of thing you saw in cheap horror movies in my day, but now... Yuki: How do you fight a demon? James: Depends on what you're facing, precisely. Demons have elemental alignments, magickal alignments, protections, hidding power sources... most of what I know is based on pure guesswork. There is one source of information... (shakes his head) Everything has a weakness. Humans are physically weak and lack expanded senses, but nothing supernatural that I've encountered has been impervious to damage from conventional weapons. Sometimes it's enough to have gobs of firepower at your disposal. Literally, in the case of the living dead. Vulnerable to fire, those little guys... [In the rearview, both detectives look a little shocked to see someone speaking about zombies in such a casual tone of voice, as if they have to fight through a pack of them every day on their way to work. They share another one of their looks, and Godai is elected the spokesman.] Godai: A question. James: Yes? Godai: Can ashes... James: Absolutely not. Cremated bodies won't come back to life. Fire is a purification. It breaks all the soul's bonds to the physical world if the body is burned complete. Almost every culture in the world has some ceremony of purification involving fire. It's one of those things that's stayed with us for mellenia. Legends again. (scratches his chin) I think you use fire to purify something you're going to hold magick in too. Yuki: Funny that it's useful for sterilizing a knife blade in a pinch. James: I think the physical world we call 'reality' isn't so different than the 'magick world.' The similarities are more numerous than the differences. Yuki: Here's hoping so. [The car comes to a stop in front of a multi-story building full of small stores. The ground level contains something akin to the espresso booths still scattered across North America like weeds.] [James' Coat rings. The former assassin whips out a phone.] James: Yes? ... Europe? No way, I've got more important things to do here! ... Yes, if things get that bad--of course I'll come. Right... no problem. See you later then? ... Bye. [Godai and Yuki look expectantly at James.] James: The boss. It seems some vampires have been sighted in Paris-2. [The two nod in understanding. Yes, the world _has_ changed a lot.] [EXT. NERV PLAZA - DAY.] [The weather hasn't relented in the last two days. James makes his way across the NERV Plaza located off Street F (now mostly repaired from the battle in episode 4), walking through the phantom waves of heat rising oof the concrete. He waves to the construction workers installing some pots to hold decorative trees and enters the NERV office building through the front doors.] James: (to the receptionist) Good morning, Demi. Demi: (hearts in eyes, swoons, flowers in the background) Oh, my love! James: (barely fighting off the sweat drop) Good morning, Stef. Stef: (over his paperwork) Morning, Mr. Rahn. How are things? James: Terrible. There was a...crime scene I had to be at. Messy stuff. Stef: Oh? (polite interest) Are the police handling it? James: I'm afraid not. They aren't equipped to deal with the perpetraitor. Stef: So it's not a run-of-the-mill criminal. James: It's...something. I really can't share details. Demi: (coming out of it) Oh, more top secret NERV stuff? James: You might say that. Demi: (serious) Why is it top secret? James: Because I don't have all the info. If we held a press conference, I'd like to _not_ end my description by saying 'well, that's all we know; we really aren't sure what it is, what it can do, or where it can be found.' That's _really_ not going to help people sleep better. [Demi tips her head to the side, carefully mulling over James' words.] Demi: Oh. (smile) That's so considerate of you! James: Riiight. Anyway, I-- [James glances at the desk, spying a newspaper with a very blurry photo looking oddly like a screen capture from "Sailor Moon." Something looks like it's about to fall loose from his brain, but he quickly looks at his watch.] James: (surprised at this) It's two the afternoon. Stef: (looks at his watch; startled) Oh! Good afternoon, then. James: (smiling; waves to both Stef and Demi) Good afternoon! [Demi sighs dreamily and swoons again, Stef absently moving his coffee out of her way while he glances at the newspaper photo that had killed James' conversational abilities. James, meanwhile, walks back to the elevator, which opens just in time to let him in.] [INT. JAMES' TEMPORARY OFFICE - SOFT LIGHTING.] [At a familiar place in the cubicle farm, James stands over his desk, giving a small pile of papers the Evil Eye. With the air of a bouncer kicking out some trouble- makers, he sweeps the pile off his desk and into the garbage. As they fall, we catch the words "PARIS-2 TRANSPORTATION ARRANGEMENTS" on one of the papers. James finally sits down, and immediately has to answer his phone.] James: Moshi moshi. Dave: (over phone) Hello James, good thing you're finally back. I need an update the murder-kidnapping you looked at today. James: It's pretty ugly. Whatever came in there took what they wanted and slaughtered everyone else unopposed. I don't just mean effectively or quickly. There's nothing to do an autopsy on, and nothing to tell us precisely how they did it. Dave: (over phone) But you think it was a spell and not them charging into handle things by themselves. James: That's what the report will say. I'm betting the farm on demons. Any news about Miko? Dave: (over phone) Just that things are going smoothly. I'm expecting some files to 'magickally' appear here that lay bare some shipping transactions for Coltrane Heavy Industries, Inc. James: And? Dave: (over phone) A lot of what looks like exotic weapons are being built by CHI. I'm just seeing if he's got the materials and gathering more evidence. James: How close is Miko? Dave: (over phone) She's in constant contact with Jack Carlson. Moral-wise, there aren't many people better suited to the job. James: (unpleasant face) I'll take your word for it. Dave: (over phone; before James can continue) You're worried about her. James: Irrationally. She can handle herself, trust me. Dave: (over phone) I know you've dumped the Paris-2 requests in the garbage, (polite pause to let James look guitily in the trash) but consider going. Jack and Miko are both in Europe right now. There's a possi-- James: When do I leave? Dave: (over phone) Get Kat and meet me in my office when you're ready. James: Give me sixty seconds. [James says his goodbyes, hangs up, and stares at his hands.] James: (musing) Is it worth it? Is it? [EXT. JINGAWA SUBURBS - EARLY MORNING.] [The next day brings with it new hope, a new rising sun, a few more bodies, and a very worried James Rahn. The Branch-X agent stands at the edge of a tiny canal, right where it passes through the corner of a major park. The trees at ground level are so thick that it's impossible to see what's in the canal unless one has walked through this corner of woods to find the concrete. And on on the concrete, right at the canal's edge, stands James and the detectives from yesterday.] James: (looking down) Well, that's a relief. Yuki: (standing next to James, trying _not_ to look down) What is? James: There was no ceremony, no magick on the bodies. That means no spells of flesh and sacrifice, which means no portal. Either they have someone on the inside, or they're trapped here. [Yuki obviously doesn't understand half of what James is saying, and the look on his face tells us that this is usually the way their conversations go.] Yuki: What? James: The demons. I think I know who they answer to. They need some high-level magick to pass back into their world, and that means either a high-level demon or a sacrifice of flesh to begin a blood spell. Nothing else that I know of is powerful enough to open a portal. Yuki: And what do you mean about them being stuck here? James: Demons have a chain of command. If the top dog is ready to invade earth, we've got a literal war on our hands. Otherwise, this excursion is limited. If the demons have authorization, I may be able to find out who authorized them and demonstrate that it wasn't...appreciated. Otherwise, they're rogues and their chief demon will happily skin them alive and use them for furniture or something for violating his orders. Yuki: Eew. James: Yeah. Yuki: (nervously) But...either way we're taken care of? James: Yes. (thoughtful) I will be leaving for a few days. My replacement should be available if anything serious happens. These demons...will be dealt with. Yuki: You're leaving? To where? [Instead of responding, James looks down again. Crime scene technicians are now arriving, a cluster of them emerging from the dense shade of the large trees, setting up their equipment a distance from the canal.] James: (thinking) King Sikima is going to have a field day if these guys are in the insurgents...these bastards have really earned every ounce of his attention. [We fade out, still not privy to either what James and the Tokyo-3 Police have to witness, or how James knows the ruler of the Shikima.] ---------- Title Flash: Episode 8: Silent Pain/ The Eternal Battlefield ---------- [EXT. WET RUNWAY, PARIS-2 AIRPORT - NIGHT.] [Rain lances down as if the heavens are assaulting the very earth. Not only do the rain drops place a veil of darkness over every light of the city and its international airport, but the incessant hammering of each sphere of H2O creates a sound quite unlike any other. A symphony of rain, if you will.] [Naturally, all of this is lost on the assassins dropping from the rear hatch of a 777. The plane has only just touched its rear wheels to runway when James and Kat fall out and drop to the runway with their ribbon chutes wide open. The shattered remains of the plane's port engine are illuminated by the plane's lights, like a pig put on a split and attacked by a pack of starving wolverines. The 120+ decible shriek of the remaining engine fades from brain-liquifying to merely loud.] [As the two assassins close their ribbon chutes, letting a mechanism hidden in their Coats reel in the gossomar material, they pull out their military-grade earplugs.] Kat: (barely heard over the 'distant' roar of jet engines) WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!! James: (also just barely heard) VAMPIRE! [Kat stares down the runway, in the direction of where the plane should be. She waits for a moment, wondering when the noise will drop to a sane level, then gives up for the moment.] Kat: SHITTY WAY TO DIE! [Kat pulls out an MR-7 automatic shotgun, last seen in James' hands in episode 5. James waits patiently for the engine roar to turn into a distant howl through the sheets of rain and pulls out a cell phone.] James: (into phone) Dave? Hey, I need a type-2 loadout, with all the options...What? ... Yes, we've...landed. Look, a vampire got sucked into one of the engines...Well, it exploded, what do you expect? No, not the vampire, the engine! ... The plane is fine, we're checking the ground for any other threats...What do you mean 'why?' Because I don't want to die right now! ... Of course I'll check in with the authorities. Who's the contact? ... Right. [James hangs up his phone and draws his own MR-7.] James: Can you tap a sitrep to our contacts? Dave says they're on the Comm-Tac. Take cover in that drain channel and I'll flank over this hill. Kat: Roger. [Kat quickly drops into the drainage channel, then proceeds to curse up a storm (pun intended) when she lands in knee-deep muck that passes for water in this darkness. She pulls out a pair of odd-looking goggles and begins tapping the message pad of her Comm-Tac--the interface disguised as an attractive broach on her Coat.] [James, meanwhile, crosses the runway and makes a big circle over muddy berms and through a few other ditches before winding up at Kat's eblow.] James: Looks clear here. Kat: No movement on the runway. Why the paranoia? James: Zombies aren't master tacticians. If they're here, someone sent them. Someone sent them for a reason. Did you check the water? [On cue, a humanoid figure jumps out of the pitch-black water, its snarling more of a wet gurgle.] Kat: (while blowing off the creature's head) Gross! James: You know, Zombies don't need to breathe to survive. You can hide them in puddles of water, canals, bury them in the ground... Kat: If you give me nightmares, I'm going to start haunting yours. James: (points to a pair of approaching headlights) Fair enough. Let's keep on the flat spot between this ditch and the pavement. Turn on the polarization features of your headgear and watch this water. There's probably going to be one every forty feet or so. Flesh out this Marcus a little bit, even though he's a bit character, at least describe him! (he has an anonymous face of the forgettable french) [A large vehicle, cross between a Jeep and a motor home, comes to a stop, parked across the runway the 777 landed on a few minutes ago. The front of the vehicle is outfitted with a bank of lights that look like they were stolen right out of a major sports stadium. The lighting reveals a boatload of rain, and two figures walking through said rain towards the vehicle. Both trudge through the downpour like battle-weary soldiers, yet retain a remarkable spring in their step, perhaps from being highly accustomed to tromping through undead-infested airports in the middle of a blinding rainstorm. As they come closer to the vehicle, it becomes possible to make out the range of viscera painted upon their clothes--black trench coats--and it also becomes possible to see the massive weapons they both hold in a warding fashion.] [A tall man steps out of the vehicle through a side door, a man with an anonymous white face, slender hands, and dark brown hair with a precise part. He stands on the runway casually smoking a cigarette, protected from the rain thanks to a small panel that projects from the vehicle's roof over the side door. His eyes watch the approaching figures with some interest. While waiting, he adjust his wool jacket, and on the shoulder we see an odd patch with a red maple leaf in the center and a pair of golden swords crossed over it.] [The two figures walking up the runway, James and Kat, come to a halt before the tall man, their trench coats mostly free of gore now. They peel off their matching goggles and smile warmly at the man, who nods in their direction.] James: James Rahn and Kat Dogson, NERV Special Services and Information, at your service. Man: (putting out the cigarette and speaking with a hard-to-place accent) NERV SSI, huh? You always going make a flashy landing like that? James: Only when we're attacked by Zombies. Marcus: (nods in understanding) Marcus Domino, relations for the government, yadda yadda. James: (shrugs) We know. Nice R.V. Marcus: (gestures for them to board) It's comfortable enough. You want a towel to dry off? [James halts as his Coat beeps. He gives the collar a few squeezes, listens for a second, then nods and boards.] [The interior is done in olive drab, and reeks of military design. Each side of the interior is dominated by a long bench that screams uncomfortable. A section of the floor appears to fold up into a table, a kind of gourney perhaps. The rear of the vehicle is taken up by a wall of olive drab cabinets, from which Marcus procures several gray Army-issue towels. James and Kat sit on side of the vehicle while Marcus sits directly opposite them. His face, now under better illumination, is pale and lined, like a craggy cliff face worn smooth by the sea. Dark brown eyes peer out from under a heavy and stern brow.] James: (looking at his towel) I didn't know they made 'em in this color. Marcus: Courtesy of the French Army, as is the transportation. James: (wipes his face clean) You aren't with the Army? Marcus: No, Special Services liason. I was a cop and then worked for Interpol. Now I'm a special attachment to the government, interface with the U.N. and all that. Kat: (trying to dry her hair) You're not French? Marcus: As good as a native, though I moved here in '91. Kat: Glad to meet you. I left a message. James: Charmed. What's the situation? [Marcus pulls out a PDA and scans it for a moment before tapping out a few commands with the stylus.] Marcus: There. I've forwarded the official line. Off the record, this is a mess. We've got numous sightings of undead, but discernable pattern. They're primarily coming from the north of town, where the original Paris was centered. James: People have been buried under Paris for hundreds of years. If any of them are coming back... Marcus: Exactly. Kat: (to Marcus) Are you a ghost hunter? Marcus: No, and Mr. Bennington is in Scotland on U.N. SSI business right now. James: (surprised) Will's posted here? I thought he got shipped off to Greenland. Kat: Who's Mr. Bennington? James: William Bennington is a ghost hunter. Worked Europe for a while. I know him pretty well, but last I heard, he was sent up north by the U.N. Waaay up north. Marcus: He did go way up north, but Greenland's been quiet for weeks now. We're having a flare-up all over Europe, so he's due back soon. James: Any confirmed Vampire sightings? Marcus: None. And that's something to be thankful for. I mean, we're looking at several hundred undead targets right now. The regular police can't field a team, and even with NERV pushing, the U.N. won't move troops to cover the civilians until there's a concrete threat. James: Hence us. Marcus: Hence you. [Both Branch-X agent look grim, and James speaks for both of them.] James: (gloomily sarcastic) Great. [EXT. RUINS OUTSIDE OF PARIS-2 - DUSK.] [James and Kat stand in the middle of a large pile of rubble. Smaller plants have grown out out the cracks between loose bricks here and there, but most of the wreckage remains relatively fresh. Shells of hundred-plus year old buildings surround them on all sides. James is looking at the wreckage under their feet while Kat is checking out the surrounding buildings. The rain from their arrival a few days ago is long gone, but a scattering of dark clouds still bask in the light from the sun set low in the sky.] Kat: So, this the ruins of Paris? James: Nice, huh? After SI, the fighting got pretty bad out here. Monsters attacking, troops marching, oceans rising, earthquakes leveling old buildings, people in a state of desparate panic. It was quite a mess. Kat: You sound like you were here. James: I've talked to some rescue personnel who were in this area during Second Impact. Kat: Research? James: Training. Kat: (sighs) The cops didn't look happy to have us around. James: Technically, we were supposed to meet Will, and he was going to lead us around. But Marcus has done a great job, even he's always in a funk. Kat: Have you met him before? James: No, of course not. Kat: What are you looking for, anyway? James: Evidence of the undead. Kat: Great. I'll let you know if a Zombie starts choking me. James: The undead are undead for specific reasons. William had some records from before Second Impact that suggested that some of the people in this area were Latents. If they died during or immediately after Second Impact, maybe they would rise as vampires and those loyal to them would probably be branded familiars. It's happened elsewhere, why not here? Kat: Let me see if I remember this...a Latent is somebody who has a Vampire in their bloodline, but doesn't show external signs of vampirism? James: Yes. Kat: And Latents rise when there's an influx of magickal energy, such as that released by Second Impact. James: Glad to see you're learning. The rising process doesn't always turn them into a Vampire, though. Kat: Right. Maybe. And this knowledge will help me keep all of my limbs? (eyes light up with realization) If a Zombie bites me, I won't turn into one, will I? James: They aren't Lycanthropes. Kat: Wait...I've heard that word before. James: Werewolves. Kat: Let's get back to the Vampires. The Latents realize they're Vampires, then what? James: They do what Vampires do. [Silence reigns. Then....] Kat: (impatient, prompting) Which would be... James: Drink blood, kill people, raize cities, build armies, try to take over the world? Vampire stuff! I ain't no Vampire psychologist. They're bad, they kill people, I get rid of 'em, that's all I need to know. Kat: Well...er, that is... (sighs) how do we kill them? James: Well, first off, don't try to use garlic. You'll need them to swallow a couple of heads worth to finish them off, and it can't be cooked or it's useless. Kat: But a string of it around your neck? James: Like wearing a gallon of tear gas for perfume. They can't even come near you without getting violently ill. Some legends claim silver is poisonous to Vampires, but let me lay that notion to rest. Kat: I thought silver was for Werewolves. James: Dead on, Kat. Silver is highly poisonous to Werewolves. Vampires though, doesn't matter. B/C weapons are also out. Vampires can fly, not fast, but they can gain altitude quickly enough to escape while anyone at ground level bites it. They don't bleed as fast as Humans, so hitting major arteries rarely works, and even then they have the ability to mask out pain for a period of time. If you're in close, take off their heads or score a massive vital strike. Vampires _can_ regenerate limbs, but it takes a long time, years usually. Kat: Wait, wait! They can _fly_? James: Duh. How did you think one wound up in that plane's engine? Kat: That makes them very-- James: (flatly) No. It doesn't. Vampires move way too slowly in the air to be effective offenesively. It's nothing for us to shoot them down, too. Mostly, I think they use it for dramatic entrances. (stops digging in the rubble to scratch his chin thoughtfully) Pretty much the only thing Vampires have to fear is sunlight. Kat: Ultraviolet? James: Some combination of radiation we haven't been able to catalog. No artificial light man has invented will hurt Vampires, but letting sunlight hit them is like setting their flesh on a barbeque. (looks thoughtful again) Actually, that would kill them too. (to himself) Take too long, sure...but they'd die. Eventually. Kat: So, shooting off heads or staking them out in sunlight is our only options, huh? James: (stops his probing) Actually, there is another way. Kat: Really? What else have we got? James: Magick. Kat: ... Magick what? James: I'm not sure. Will told me he used many kinds of Magick to kill Vampires. Without it, we're back to shooting off heads and staking them out in an open area. Kat: (thinking) He didn't say 'there is another way' not 'we have another way.' (pumps a fist in the air) DAMN YOU, RAHN!!! [James looks at the silent Kat, holding a fist to the sky, her expression dark and unforgiving.] James: (thinking) Whoa. Now I remember why I try not to get on her bad side. [And it is with this distraction that a particularly quiet zombie wanders into the small square. He is only a few meters from James when the NERV agent pulls out a Desert Eagle .50 and relieves the living corpse of its head without so much as turning his own to look at it or even aim.] Kat: (looking at the mess on the ground) We're in trouble aren't we. James: Yes. Yes we are. [Undead suddenly burst from under every brick and through every gaping window hole around the pair of doomed Humans. Rotten flesh hands loose over faces with gaping holes in them. Empty eye sockets stare accusingly at the pair. Hands sprout from the ground like a mineature five-fingered forrest.] Kat: (shooting everywhere at once) What is this? 'Evil Dead?!' James: (firmly mastering the obvious) ZOMBIES! Kat: (barely resisting the urge to shoot James) I can see that! [Each agent drops close to a dozen approaching zombies with well-placed shots from their MR-7's, then dash for a narrow alleyway packed to the gills with more undead. En route, Kat scans the area with her eyes, twice.] Kat: (thinking) All of these guys are wearing military uniforms. [On approach to the alleyway, James levels his MR-7 and starts putting down corpses. Having nowhere to go, they rapidly fill the alley. James and Kat don't even slow down, even as their feet elicit squishy noises from the thoroughly-dead and they run over the pile of bodies. At the end of the alley, James stops short of open air and fires a half-dozen shots into the open in a 180-degree arc, hoping to stun or kill anyone preparing an ambush. Yeah, he may have just killed potential help too. The the two dart out of their escape passage into the remains of a deserted street paved in brick.] [A laugh rises through the dry night air. The auditory equivalent of a funeral pyre, it inspires unspeakable fear in anyone that hears it. Yet James and Kat, who have looked into the very maw of death so many times that putting their lives on the line in any way is like returning home for a chat with beloved family members, only stiffen slightly.] James: That would be the vampire. Kat: (dryly) It's time to dust 'em. James: Lame. Very lame. Kat: Bite me. James: (smirks) Better. [As the vampire's voice again washes over them, the ground itself seems to curl up in disgust.] Vampire: (OS) Who dares to tread upon my land? James: I am the unknown warrior. I strike from shadows and feast upon your defeat! I am nameless terror! I am faceless hate! I am the cold revenge of all you have made victim! I am a guardian of Humanity, and I am your END, filthy creature! [Kat raises a questioning eyebrow as she covers James' back.] Vampire: (OS) You...are PREY! James: (to Kat) Kill the zombies, armed ones first, then pick them off by range. Don't be distracted by the vampire. I can take him. Kat: (grimly) Got it. [There is no wishing of luck, no heartfelt words. In their voices, one can hear how these two are intimately familiar with combat and are fully prepared to face their ultimate fate. Then zombies flood into the narrow Paris street ruins, and a figure cloaked in ragged black cloth floats into view above them, commanding the horde.] [Without warning, James fires a shot directly at the vampire, who takes it dead in the chest and goes down, hard. Shrugging, James pulls a small set of papers from his inner jacket and stuffs them into an exterior pocket on his Coat. Then he hefts his MR-7 again and shifts targets to the marching undead.] [Kat spends ammo as fast as she can draw a bead on her targets. The zombies aren't so numerous and rushed that they've come out shoulder-to-shoulder, and thus she actually has to aim before pulling the trigger. Still, years of practice take over without any effort on her part and body after body falls to her stoic defense.] [After building a veritable wall of corpses around their spot in the street, James and Kat watch the bleeding vampire rise a head and shoulders abover the remains of his undead army.] Vampire: SPIRE OF HELL! [A blue glow fills the air around the defenders. James pulls the papers from his pockets and flings them into the air.] James: Holy Wall! [The blue glow shifts to red in the blink of an eye, and lava begins to appear in some of the cracks between the roadway's bricks. Kat starts dancing around, trying to avoid setting her shoes on fire while still gunning down zombies. James just stands quietly in place, staring at the vampire's pale red eyes.] [The red light increases in intensity until an explosion rocks the ground. The lava and a brilliant flash of firey orange light explodes from the ground. A pale blue sphere surrounding James and Kat flickers into existence, deflecting the power of the ground-borne explosion out, mowing down the attacking zombies and setting _everything_ it touches on fire.] [The vampire merely waves the black rags wrapped about him, and throws off the flames like a duck shaking water from it's feathers.] Kat: What was that? James: Ward-type seal. Forms a magickal barrier against aligned magickal attack spells like those a Vampire is particularly strong with. Don't worry about the Zombies either, fire is pretty hard on them, and they can't pierce the barrier either. Kat: Why didn't you use this before? James: I don't have that many wards, and they're kinda one-time use. [Kat looks down and notices several peices of smoldering and slightly glowing paper around James' feet. That satisfies her and she looks for something else to put her attention to.] Kat: (looking at one of the bodies) You know, I think these guys are wearing military uniforms. James: (still watching the vampire) Yes. Kat: World War I uniforms. James: Yes. Kat: James? James: Vampires are very fast. I need to keep an eye on him or he'll flank us. I want this guy to go down. Kat: Wouldn't escaping without lives be good enough? [But James ignores her as the shield becomes visible for a second, then fades one final time. James rushes the vampire, a katana held tightly in one hand. Laughing his 'flaming death' laugh, the vampire dodges James' attacks with imcredible speed.] [Frowning, Kat marches over to one of the buildings, and sets a device about the size and shape of a paperback novel against the wall. She calmly walks to the other side of the street and waits patiently as James slowly works the vampire back towards the place of their defense, the vampire dodging James' attacks, flaunting his superior abilities while being prevented from doing any kind of harm to James thanks to the latter's greater skill level. The vampire spies Kat, and tries a few times to get around James, but is thwarted at every turn. Slowly hereded towards the building with the device attached to it, he backs up against the wall, preparing to spring at James.] [With a little smile and a friendly wave, Kat pressed the little red button on a black box held tightly in her free hand.] [The anti-personnel charge hits the vampire full in the back. Blasted forward, he is instantly impaled on James' waiting sword. The assassin wastes no time in pulling his sword free, and twisting his body to manage a powerful vertical slash, cuts off the vampire's right arm. Without pause, he pivots, bringing the sword back down to sever the other arm even as the vampire's body shakes and blood fairly spurts from his back. Without pause, James shifts his weight again and makes a rapid strike across the vampire's abdomin, gutting him in a flash of steel, then decapitating the vampire with a powerful and well-practiced stroke.] [James stands in his follow-through stance for a second, waits for the corpse to fall, then gives the blade a jerk to cast off the worst of the blood.] James: (panting slightly) That was...anti-climactic. Brilliant work, by the way. [Kat looks uneasily at the pile of flesh that slowly turns to ash without being consumed by flames.] Kat: ... That was messy. James: (nods and begins cleaning his sword) Good thing it worked. I'm very thankful your skills haven't degraded over the years. Kat: (looks at her shotgun) This job... James: Is not so different from last time. [The look on Kat's face clearly indicates she's making a mental note to ask James to elaborate on that statement later. Yet she burns to ask another question.] Kat: Fire has its way with Zombies. Vampires disintegrate when their heads are cut off. How do you kill a ghost? James: There are ways. Kat: (plays her trumph card) Jusenkyou? James: ... Only certain kinds of magickal energy or particle weapons can kill ghosts. They aren't very useful against living things, but they're lethal to ghosts. Kat: (gesturing to the burning piles of undead corpses) I'm going to wind up dealing with this problem aren't I? James: (sighs) We didn't plan things like this...Carrie is going to secure the South China base, and then you two are going to start getting rid of these zombies and hunt down their master. Kat: Why? James: (puts his sword away and stands) That's the easy part; I have to catch some demons, and it's going to take up all of my time. I talked with Dave about this shortly before we left. Kat: (looks at the battlefield) ... James: This is why Will was supposed to be here. He knows more about Vampires, Zombies, and Werewolves than I do. Kat: (smirks) Are the demons worse than this? [James looks away for a moment. When he looks Kat in the eye again, his face appears emaciated, in the light from the flames, covered in deep shadows. His mouth hangs open like a war veteran suffering shell-shock and his eyes appear to be little more than lifeless holes in his head.] James: ... Kat: (sweat drops; makes warding gestures to fend off James) Scary, okay! I don't wanna know! I don't wanna know! James: (normal) Sorry. So, anyway, I'll leave you to take care of the rest of this mess. I've got to get into town. Kat: For what? James: I'm meeting Miko. Kat: (understanding) Ah. Going to wear out a few matresses playing 'hide the salami?' James: For a woman, you sure are vile. Wait, scratch the woman part. And for the record, we're just managing an exchange of information. Kat: Really now? I heard she was a demon-hunting specialist. James: She is, but she's spying on Coltrane Heavy Industries right now. She promised an information update. Kat: Why is she spying on them? James: Dave is pretty certain they're building a lot weapon systems without a military contract. Kat: ...And? James: That's the thing. We don't know _why_. Kat: I thought we were dealing with supernatural stuff. Why are we spying on some random corporation... James: Why did we do anything we did back in the nineties? [Kat looks at the MR-7 held in the crook of her arm. James puts his MR-7 away while Kat stands there quietly, thinking over his question. Finally, she looks James in the eye.] Kat: To protect and serve. James: (with finality) To protect and serve. [EXT. PARIS-2 CITY STREETS - NIGHT.] [That night, long after the sun has set, the lights of Paris-2 come on, lending the sky a yellow haze that blots out all but the brightest stars. Seated at a lonely corner table in a cafe with 1920's decorations is James. He is dressed in a light blue button-up shirt and dark blue slacks. Casual accessories and shoes round out this "undercover" ensomble. He appears unaffected by his location--an odd thing since he is both separated from the other patrons and an easy target in this spot. He occasionally takes a sip from a cup of coffe on the table and reads a local newspaper, invisible against the back drop of Paris-2.] [Miko Mido comes strolling up the street. She's wearing a pleated white skirt that comes down to her knees. A yellow blouse with a square collar, low-rise white pumps, and a tasteful pink purse complete the casual outfit. She comes up to the fence of the cafe, stopping only a few paces away from James, and looks into the night sky wistfully.] Miko: (quietly, but not appearing to speak to James) Hmm...I have a present. A secret little present for you. I...I think I like you, you know. Gosh, it's a weird thing saying I might love you, but it's true, you know. I'm not scared. If you're worried, don't be. I can handle this. I can help. I may not understand everything you're doing, but I agree with it. [She looks at the sky for a moment, then continues even though James hasn't acknowledged that she's even there.] Miko: Jack is getting very suspicious. I ask him to keep quiet. I'm reasonable with him. He takes well to reason, which makes sense. He's a reasonable, practical man. I haven't gotten close to Coltrane though. He's always away, barely at his office. He's not just handling work elsewhere though. There's something like a black hole in his company, a lab...or another business or something, that _nobody_ talks about. Jack can't even get proof that it exists, but there's so much circumstancial evidence even he can't ignore it. I know it might sound like paranoia in my report, but it's real. It might be innocuous. A getaway for executives, maybe? I don't know. But find it. You might be able to get answers there. [Miko pauses for a very long time. No-one from the sidewalk or the cafe bothers either of them.] Miko: My father said you're meeting went well. A word from me and we'd have the wedding tomorrow...or so he said. I'm not sure I'm ready for that, but... (sighs) Look. I have a present for you. I can't give it to you now, obviously. My father has it, he'll be sending the "Goon Squad" to deliver it when you get back to your apartment. It was his idea, actually. You might like it... (giggles) I'm sorry, if I keep going on like this, I'll spoil the surprise. (long pause) I love you, James. Be safe. [In the next breath, she's gone, skirt flapping in the breeze as she strides down the sidewalk. James continues to hold the newspaper for another minute, then sets the prop down. Tears stream down his cheeks, his eyes drowning in them. Hands rest on the table. Hands scarred from a thousand battles, hands scuffed from one battle already won today at dusk, hands that backed an indomidible fighting spirit. The hands of a killer, that were steady as the northern star, lay on his table with enforced, unnatural stillness. If he were to lift them again, how badly would they now shake?] James: (sighs heavily, but smiles like his sould has just been saved) I think I love you too, Miko. [Fade to black.] [Cue Metallica's "Better Than You" faintly in the background as the narrator's deep, booming voice speaks over the scenes.] Narrator: NEXT TIME, ON SIDESTEP:EVANGELION! [James sits on a nice wrought-iron bench, an odd-looking clock tower in the background. The scenery around him is lush and green.] Narrator: IT'S TIME FOR THE CLOAK-AND-DAGGER GAMES TO BEGIN. [In the ruins of a city, James walks past a couple of casual-looking men, snapping pictures with a pen camera. The men notice him and start walking rapidly in his direction.] Narrator: THE CHASE IS ON! [Shot of a tiny sports car barreling down a dirt road at insane speeds. Miko is in the driver's seat, the steering wheel held in a white-knuckle grip. Jack Carlson is in the passenger seat, trying to make his hands one with the dash. Whoever is following them is probably dead since there's a dust cloud behind them big enough to loose a 747 in.] Narrator: THE DIE IS CAST! [James gets the drop on the two men from earlier. They draw their guns. James does likewise, charging at them.] Narrator: AND THE LIES START FLYING! [A mom-and-pop type restaurant. Miko and Jack sit at a table, failing to look casual. James stands over them with an evil smirk.] Narrator: ALL IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF SIDESTEP:EVANGELION! [Ending credits:] Ranting, Sidestep, lots of other stuff: Jared Waddell, HQ Consulting: Insanity Productions Staff Remarks: John Genoni, Pullman Branch Insults, Death Threats: Fan Fiction Mailing List (ffml) Absolutely Nothing: Andy Mucha, Kennewick Bunker Miko Mido, the Shikima, and those with tentacles (usually) are from 'La Blue Girl.' Tokyo-3 and all things and characters present regarding Eva are from Neon Genesis: Evangelion. * The much-needed definition of 'paranormal' was borrowed from "Cast the Crying Dream," a Ranma 1/2 megacrossover fanfic seen on the FFML. No copyright infringement is intended. This work is copyrighted but non-profit. Perhaps in the vein of a bizarre parody, but I'm guessing not. All other characters, unless noted, are copyright Insanity Productions. Original characters created by Insanity Productions may be used in freely in other non-profit works, without the author's prior assent (you can get it, but you don't have to). And thank you, the reader, for reading.