Power Stone part 3

Chapter 1: The Slayer of Manches

Part 3

The blades came flying at her like arrows from a bow and Ayame barely had time to side step, her reaction time slowed down by the heavy English clothes.

The daggers ripped through the dress like it were made of paper. Using this to her advantage, Ayame swung her leg directly up smashing her foot directly into Jack’s chin. The bandaged boy staggered backward dropping his weapons, clutching at his face and cursing in French.

Ayame discarded the dress as fast as she could and went for the throwing stars concealed about herself. Jack recovered from the blow in time and rolled avoiding the thrown objects. Picking up one of his daggers in the process Jack somersaulted back to his feet in time to use his free hand to brace for a succession of kicks as Ayame came in fast trying to land another blow to the side of his head.

Not only did Jack block the attacks by he found away through them side stepping with impossible speed. Ayame barley had time to duck as he slashed at her with his dagger. Quickly she backed off and went for more of her shuriken.

Jack being faster tore his second dagger up from the ground and slid across the ground like a shade. As if she was moving in slow motion, the Japanese girl wasn’t even able to throw her weapons before Jack was inside her defensive line launching a slash down towards her throat.

His head snapped to the side as the length of a katana blade parried away his weapon. Holding the dagger away from Ayame’s body was Ryoma, one of his swords held in both hands.

Jack hissed angrily, before bringing a leg up sharply and smashing a powerful kick into the girl’s stomach. Ayame crashed down to the ground, hitting her head on the cobbled street. His attention turned fully to the samurai, Jack stabbed towards him constantly with movements of the arm that seemed too fast to be human.

It took every bit of Ryoma’s agility to parry them away never mind hit back. This man had to be double jointed in places as his limbs were bending impossibly to make those attacks.

Unable to defend himself from the speed of the stabs, one of them broke through his defences and the tip neatly grazed the samurai on the leg. Letting his defences down Ryoma left himself wide open as Jack leapt up into the air and smashed a succession of kicks directly into the samurai’s chest slamming him hard against a wall.

Jack was on him in seconds, pinning him up against the wall with one hand and readying a dagger for a stab with the other. His single uncovered red eye burned with intense hate.

“Momma is mine!” He hissed into the samurai’s ear before bringing the dagger up ready to strike.

Without warning the waters of the river nearby began bubbling as if exposed to intense heat in a single instant. A moment later the surface broke and a beam of blood red light lanced up into the sky; bolts of lightning sparking around it. Jack stayed his hand and looked back as the water erupted and Falcon rose up into the air.

Ayame rubbed the back of her head and eased herself up into a sitting position. Her head was throbbing angrily from the blow.

The shadows before her were long and danced as the light behind her pulsed like the beating of a heart. Turning around, she let her jaw drop as she saw the Englishman floated in mid air above the water. The Power Stone in Falcon’s jacket pocket floated out and hovered there in front of him spinning on its axis going faster and faster.

“Power Fusion!” Falcon declared into the air and in that instant the stone slammed directly into his chest as it did, he began to change. His clothes glowed brightly before undergoing transmutation into sheets of armoured metal. Ayame covered her eyes as the light grew too intense to look upon directly but when it faded away she glanced up to see a Falcon changed.

He was now completely made of metal, his entire body streamlined and gleaming even in the faint light. He seemed as if he were modelled after his plane. His forearms had engine exhausts running along the outside and a single metal spike like a wing from his bi-plane lanced directly upwards from behind his head. The upper half of his head was protected by a thick red helmet with four black window like patches above his eyes.

Before Jack could react the armoured Englishman shot through the air like a bullet and slammed directly into him. “Power Missile!” Falcon declared and instantly the fist he had crashed into Jack’s stomach rocketed forward propelled by jets of fire. Thrown along with it, Jack could do nothing but hopelessly struggle before the fist crashed him head first into the back of the alleyway.

But that seemingly wasn’t enough to put Jack the Slayer down. Completely unfazed by the attack, the bandaged boy leapt up to the rooftops above by rebounding off the walls of the alleyway. Falcon recalled the metallic hand to his wrist before crouching tensing his legs and launching himself up into the air with an impossible jump.

Reaching roof top level he expected to find Jack waiting for him, but only found himself facing a slatted roof and a chimney pot. Jack had completely disappeared. Not a trace of him remained.

That is until the attack came, not from a hidden position above but rather from below. Jack came souring out of a window below Falcon with a loud crash and a shattering of glass. Ryoma watched from below as Jack grabbed Falcon’s feet and tugged him violently down into the side of the building with a deafening crash. Jack wasn’t finished yet though.

Repeatedly he used Falcon’s own momentum to slam him time and time again against the side of the wall as if trying to crack his armour open.

The Englishman smashed a metallic punch into Jack’s chest before bringing his knee up sharply into his face. To finish off, a kick landed itself against the slayer’s stomach sending him flying through the air and down towards the ground.

Jack would have fallen into the river had he not caught the iron bars and spun himself back to the street. Ayame had never seen a fight like this before. Not once during her training in Oedo had she been trained to combat something like this. At that moment she felt small, really small; an insignificant nothing.

Falcon crossed in his arms in an ’X’ shape in front of his chest and a blast of intense heat blew from the exhaust pipes on his arms steam following close behind.

“Power Explosion!” He yelled throwing out his arms and small metallic doors over his body opened in response. From this dozens of missiles flew up into the air, coursed upwards before all turning at once to bare down towards Jack. The slayer bent his legs before leaping out of the way as the ground before him began exploding as one after the other the missiles made their attempt to strike him.

One hit him directly in the chest and instantly he disappeared behind a thick loud of smoke and dust. A thin, high pitched scream dying away.

Falcon pushed himself off the wall and descended to the street. Jack was skilled there was no doubt about that. No everyone could go one on one with the Englishman while he assumed Power fusion.

“Are you hurt?” Ryoma asked as he tried to gaze through the mist and smoke swelling up around them.

“I’m fine. I‘ve taken tougher beatings before.” Falcon replied as the smoke began to clear only to reveal nothing but the street beyond. All the noise had attached the attention of the police. They could hear shouts and hurried footsteps echoing closer. They could wait. None of them were going until they could confirm that they had stopped this madman. “Now where did he…”

“Look out!” Ayame cried in Japanese. Falcon looked up sharply to follow her pointing finger but not soon enough as he did Jack dived in from above with both daggers held ready to swipe. Everything seemed to slow down to a crawl as Falcon raised his right arm and closed a metallic fist. Jack was mere inch away from him now with those daggers.

“Power Missile!” His entire hand rocketed forward and slammed with a thud that shook windows for miles into Jack’s chest sending the slayer rocketed backwards until finally slamming hard into the metal rail on the edge of the river. The metal bent under the impact but prevented Jack from being hurled into the river.

The slayer himself slumped to the ground like a rag doll, his head and arms hug lifelessly. Falcon’s hand returned to his wrist with a short clank and he paused to catch his breath. Just who was this person, no more than a boy by size? What allowed him to be so resilient and relentless? It was as if pain meant nothing to him.

In point of fact, by now, it didn’t. The skin under Jack’s bandages was almost in near constant pain and so by now, after so long of enduring it; he was used to its presence. A little more from an outside source meant nothing to him. Pain was an irrelevant and quite meaningless concept to Jack the Slayer.

Suddenly his head snapped up and arms came up so sharply Falcon didn’t have time to react. With expert marksman skill Jack tossed his daggers through the air and like bullets they sank into the armoured chest of the Englishman. They sank through the metal with ease and buried themselves up to the hilt.

Falcon cried out in pain staggering backwards before finally hitting the ground. As he did the metal form he had been using vanished and he returned to normal. The stab hadn’t pierced his skin as the Power Stone had protected him from physical harm but what it had done was shattered the Fusion and in doing so left Falcon half conscious on the street floor. His Power Stone fell from his hand before rolling along the ground a short distance.

“Momma stays with ME!” Jack cried spinning on one foot towards the samurai before attacking him with everything he had, daggers flying through the air so fast they blurred. Ayame darted up behind him and smashed a kick into the back of his legs trying to knock him over.

It worked partially but to contour it Jack simply bent over backward before flipping up into the air with intense acrobatic skill. The tip of his shoe hit Ayame in the face making her nose bleed.

Ignoring the pain, blood rolling down her face and fuelled by anger, Ayame lanced backwards with a punch striking Jack directly in his good eye as he landed behind her. He screeched like a wounded animal and clutched at his face.

Ryoma took the opportunity to go one the offensive lancing his katana blade forwards nearly stabbing Jack through the leg had the boy not sidestepped at the last second so the samurai impaled his coat instead.

Ayame tried to attack again but Jack dealt with her by dropping to the ground and spinning both legs around in wide arch knocking hers out from under her. As she fell, he somersaulted into the air and slammed a punch directly into her face knocking her to the ground. Ryoma charged in with a vertical slash ready. Jack blocked the swing with his dagger then ducked under a horizontal swipe.

“You are mine.” Ryoma told him reaching down to his second scabbard and withdrawing the twin of his Katana, the blade unsheathing itself with a long hiss. Now armed with a sword in his each hand the samurai charged forward.

Falcon forced his eyes open with sheer willpower and hoisted himself up. The use of a Power Stone was not without its drawbacks. Whenever a Fusion, the state one assumes when they absorb the elemental energy contained within is broken by force it leaves the user drained and extremely fatigued. Every limb felt like a lead weight and a terrific pounding was smashing into his brain like a bass drum.

Perhaps he had grown out of practise during the last year.

“Ryoma, don’t draw the battle out. He’s too skilled for that!” He called over to the samurai and he hoisted himself up. “Finish him quick.”

“I understand.” Ryoma stated without looked back as his twin blades repelled off Jack’s mutable stabbings.

“Stop in the name of the law!” A voice shouted and looking back, Falcon could see several armed policemen charging across the far side of the river towards the bridge. Some of them were blowing whistles angrily and others were escorting barking dogs. Suddenly all of them came to a halt as a thunderous clap echoed across the clouds above.

Jack swung backwards before balancing his weight on the side of the iron fence, his single red eye glaring at the samurai. Ryoma had withdrawn his Power Stone from his robe raising it aloft into the air. A soft glow pulsated around it, coinciding with the thunderous echoed raining down from the sky.

The clouds above their heads began to darken as if a storm was coming and in that instant, the elemental power of lightning inside the stone was released, a bolt sparking down from the clouds and striking the stone in Ryoma’s hand channelling energy down his arm and into his body. Jack slunk backwards along the fence as slowly Ryoma began to change, using his own stone to achieve Power Fusion.

The dogs the police were using were the first to run away, followed by screaming officers desperately hurling themselves for the safety of the next street.

Ayame had expected him to become a metallic version of himself as Falcon had did, but this transformation seemed different. Instead of metal plates as skin, silver shogun armour appeared piece by piece over the samurai’s body.

The chest plate was wide with a single red dot in the centre. Each piece was perfectly crafted to Ryoma’s physique and underneath it was tight fitting chain mail. The helm came last a protective shield over the back of the neck and finally a silver mask over the face. To finish up a beetle like horn lanced upward from the forehead.

“Change all you want!” Jack hissed. “I won’t let you take momma from me!” Without hesitation he charged screaming in rage. Ryoma slowly readied one of his swords raising it horizontally by his waist, his eyes glaring at the slayer from beyond his mask.

Then with speed that defied explanation he ran straight at Jack. Ayame watched in amazement as the two meet in mid air and both swung their attacks at the same time. Then they separated going their separate ways. Jack slid to a halt suddenly and so did Ryoma still with his blade in his hands.

For a brief moment nothing happened, then the sky ripped itself open and a bolt of lightning came charging down and smashed itself into Jack with tremendous force. The slayer arched his back and streamed, for the first time in a long while actually remembering just how discomforting pain could be as thousands of volts passed through his body. Finally the strike ended but Jack was still standing, thick stream rising from his blackened bandages.

“I call that move Raijin ken.” The samurai replied over his shoulder before Jack toppled backwards dropping both daggers and collapsing onto his back. The sound seemed to echo across the rooftops of Manches for miles.

“Unbelievable.” Was all Ayame found she could utter as she starred dumbfounded. Now that nagging doubt was stronger than ever. She could never have taken Ryoma on. He was simply too skilled and wielded magic she did not understand She had fooled herself into believing she could accomplish something far outside her abilities. It would have been like going up against kami.

“That was indeed a close one.” Falcon remarked balancing himself using the side of a wall. He found some strength in his leg and wandered over. Together he and the samurai gazed down on the charred body. Now it wasn’t moving too fast for them to see properly they observed that Jack was little older than fifteen. He was just a boy.

“You are under arrest!” Looking back the two of them saw several police officers had braved the bridge but not a single one of them had the nerve to approach to armoured warrior any closer than a few feet.

“Is that the thanks we get?” Falcon asked with a furrowed brow. “We just apprehended the Slayer for you.” He added gesturing behind him to the smouldering body.

“Is this some joke boyo?” One of them asked. “And just what the hell are you supposed to be?” Several of them looked at the samurai in his full silver armour, small bolts of blue lightning travelling down the length of his sword.

Ryoma ignored them as he studied the boy on the ground carefully. His green coat and smouldering, the edges of it turning black and even his bandages were being to burn. Despite his appearance and ruthless fighting style he was just a boy. The samurai wondered what could have turned a youngster into such a monster.

Well that was something for the police to decide. Now it was time to take what they had come here for. Ryoma knelt down to examine the body and reached for his left pocket where the boys Power Stone may lay.

Jack lay there unable to move, every injury stinging a thousand fold. He couldn’t defend her now. They were going to take the stone and with it, her. He closed his eye forcing a tear out. He had failed… “Momma…”

As the tear hit the ground the stone in his left pocket began to glow brightly, shafts of blue light lancing out of his coat and into the sky. Ryoma’s hand snatched itself away as those beams rocketed up into the air like arrows.

Looking up, Jack could see her. For the first time in years he could see her. Her soft smile spread over her lips. The emerald green eyes sparkling with unending kindness. Her red hair swaying gently in the wind. Her arms outstretched towards him offering sanctuary.

“What in blazes?” Falcon asked staggering backwards as Jack’s blackened body began rising upwards into the air, the smoke from the body disappearing in an instant. Ryoma backed off as well holding his sword at the ready.

Again Jack felt his mother’s arms gently close in around him the flow of kindness and warmth inexhaustible. Strength began to returning to his a body and the pain dulled bit by bit. His mother would not abandon him. He knew that now. His mother would never let them take her away from him again. She was here and she wasn’t going to leave again.

“He’s using his Power Stone!” Ryoma declared bringing his sword up preparing to strike before the Fusion set in. He was too late.

Armoured plates began forming all over Jack’s body. First his legs and armed twisting impossible around so his body was almost in a ball.

Then armour began holding him in place along with chains and brass links. To replace his folded limbs metallic ropes began linking together on all sides.

Once they had all reached a length of two feet they ended with a spin-able double edges serrated blade. As Ryoma struck his blade was deflected by something invisible in the air between him and Jack.

A thick sadistic laughter escaped the lips behind the bandages.

“It’s the Power Stone of Water.” Falcon growled recognising the elemental transformation from the folk lore his research revealed.

“Rolling Slash!” The arm shot out so fast it was impossible to see with the naked eye, the chain like arm extending to over eight feet. Had Ryoma not been protected by his Power Stone he probably would have been sliced in half. As it was he was simply thrown violently against the metal rail with a thud that could be heard from miles away. Falcon tried to attack from behind but as if he had eyes in the back of his head, Jack sensed the coming punch and swung his left leg around stretching the limb out wide.

The brunt of it struck the Englishman along the side, throwing him violently back into the policemen knocking them all over like dominos. “Momma mine, you die!” Jack stated before turning to stare directly at Ayame, his single red eye glowing brightly. “But you die first!” He spread his arms out wide and instantly over twenty particles of light emerged into the air around them. These balls of light twisted themselves into blades and became semi transparent swords. “Misery Rain!” Jack declared before throwing his arms forward and as he did so those swords lanced through the air straight towards her.

Ayame turned to run but she may have been wading through mud as they was approaching her fast too fast. From an instant time seemed to slow down to a crawl and then stop. All she could hear was the fast beating of her heart in her chest. Then a calm certainty set in. She was going to die…

An instant later, Ryoma came charging in and slammed his shoulder into Ayame’s body knocking her over the metal rail and nearly into the river. This pushed her out of harms way but put him directly in it.

As she fell she could hear the scream as each sword lanced one by one into Ryoma’s body and his Power Fusion was broken. Ayame’s hand lashed out at the last minute and caught hold of the edge preventing herself from falling. The water lapped around her feet sweeping away her sandals in moments. Ignoring her lost footwear she tried to reach up for a better foothold. All the while, the screaming continues intertwined with Jack’s hideous laughter.

As she struggled to hoist herself up her mind began spinning. Why had he saved her? She had travelled here, following him around the world to kill him and take his Power Stone. He knew that, yet he had not hesitated to throw himself in harms way to protect her. Why? She was a Ninja. He was Samurai. Their clans were rivals. They were born enemies.

The bodies of two policemen, blood streaming from huge cuts in their stomachs went cascading over the edge to slid into the water. Ayame had seen blood spilled before, but never like this. Her gaze was transfixed on those two bodies as they floated just below face down. The water slowly being stained black.

She slipped and fell, loosing the grip one of her hands had on the edge nearly dropping into the water. The feeling of utter despair and hopelessness was overpowering. She was a fool. An utter fool! She was way out of her league. She had thrown herself into something beyond her understanding without thinking.

Her emotions were a rolling storm of self loathing. How could she have been so stupid? Her grip on the edge of the wet stone began to lessen, both from fatigue in her fingers and slipping willpower.

She should have stayed home instead of obeying the voice inside that told her to go. In that moment of despair the words Mel had told spoken to her began to float back.

Her comforting words echoed in her head refusing to leave and the longer it did the more it made sense. Just as her grip gave way, her other hand reached out and grabbed the base of the metal rail.

Ayame stopped running from the self pity that was consuming her, turned around and faced it head on. She could not forget who she was anymore. At the age of seven she had learnt everything her sensei had taught in martial arts and even more in the art of stealth. At ten she completed her first assignment and brought honour to her clan. Then at fourteen she was finally accepted into the clan ranks as a full ninja. She had done all of this within the first years of her life. This challenge would be no different.

Angrily she hoisted herself back over the edge. In the distance through the fog she could see the remaining policemen still alive running for their lives, one limping badly, the other with his arm over his shoulder supporting his weight.

Ryoma lay on the ground nearby, exactly where he had fallen taking that attack to save her. His Power Fusion had broken and his silver armour had disappeared. He lay there lifelessly. The only sign she had that he was still alive was the rising and falling of his chest. It would be easy to slit his throat right now, take his stone and run. But Ayame was not going to do that.

He had saved her when it would have been of greater personal interest to him to let her perish. While their clans were enemies and she did not fully understand why, that single action meant far more then their rivalries ever had.

At the ground of clashing metal caught her attention and quickly she glanced off to the right towards the bridge. The Englishman was there right in the middle over the river, doing his best to defend himself against spinning serrated blades as they shot out so fast it was impossible to see them with the naked eye.

“I could use a little help here!” Falcon shouted over before Jack swung his head forward and smashed a head but directly into his face. As he staggered backwards, a blade lashed upwards and ran itself right through his clothes. A long thin arm hoisted the Englishman into the air. Falcon struggled to free himself but he couldn’t remove his jacket. Jack twisted his free arm around and the double blade on the end started spinning like a buzz saw.

“Let’s see what colour the English are on the inside.” Jack hissed sadistically, bringing the whirling blades closer towards Falcon’s neck.

Ayame leapt down to the street and started running towards the bridge. Her thoughts all blurred into one as she ran. Hopes and fear vanishing in a surge of instinct. Jack snapped his head to the side as he heard her coming. His single red eye glowed brightly and he moved his spinning blades away from Falcon, hurled them over his head and threw his arm towards the young girl. The chain like limb extended like stretched elastic through the air right at her.

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl. Her heart was beating fast and hard in her chest. As if a dam had been opened, a flood of instinctive knowledge came pouring out and in that second Ayame knew exactly what she had to do. She didn’t question it. She just knew.

Without a moments hesitation she hurled herself up into the air as the spinning blades were only inches away from her. With acrobatic skill she landed on the arm and started running along it‘s length towards him with cat like balance. Jack retracted his arm back towards himself hoping to catch her on the rebound but he was too late.

Her body obeying the whim of some other source, the young girl coursed through the air and slammed a kick directly into his head. As he toppled backwards she reached out and laid her hand on his chest. Without thinking she yelled out in Japanese;

“Power Fusion!”

There was a loud ripping sound and a single beam of blue light shot out from Jack’s chest, parts of it intersected by the young girl’s fingers. Jack squealed angrily and dropped Falcon. The Englishmen nearly dropped over the edge of the bridge had he not grabbed a hold of the edge to stop himself. Jack started glowing brightly blue his entire form surrounded by the light, then just as suddenly it travelled up Ayame’s arm and into her.

As it did, the armour and weapons covering Jack’s body disappeared and he was reduced back to his original form. He dropped down from the height and Ayame was left hovering in the air, the energy from his stone travelling into her.

Falcon looked up in mute surprise as Ayame’s clothes changed on her body, changing colour and shape.

“Blimey!” Was all he managed as the young girl descended to the ground transformed. Her green robes had turned bright pink, tied around her middle by a sky blue silk belt. It stretched all the way to her head were it looped around her forehead. Two trailing bands of pink silk ran down behind her head, almost resembling rabbit like ears. Strapped across her back was a large metallic shuriken about the size of a ships helm.

Each point seemed to run along each one of her legs and arms. Underneath the silk covering her body up to the neck was a suit of tight fitting silver chain mail. Slowly her eyes opened showing they had changed from chocolate brown to sea blue. Falcon didn’t know how she had done it, but the girl had stolen Jack’s Power Stone and used it to transform and while Jack himself had been in Fusion. The Englishman hadn’t thought something like that possible. Even Kraken hadn’t performed that little trick.

Rage burning in his eyes Jack tore up his daggers and drove them forward. Ayame dodged the swing with inhuman agility and even managed to avoid them again as Jack tore around for a second stabbing attempt. She was untouchable. Her speed and acrobatic skill unmatched. No matter how fast Jack had been, she outclassed him completely.

“Ouka no mai…” She spoke softly into the wind as Jack lunged at her again, only to find his dagger running through nothing but thin air. She came at him from behind with a bone crushing kick, then vanishing. Before the boy could react a punch came in from below the jaw forcing him into the air.

Again the girl disappeared before reappearing in mid air above him. She clasped her hands behind her head and then swung them forward smashing both into his shoulders. As Jack fell towards the ground, she reappeared directly in his path and brought her fists back. As she reached her, she swung a blurred succession of punches directly into his stomach one after the other. They were so fast Falcon couldn’t count how many she had given.

Jack dropped down to the ground groaning loudly but even then he didn’t have time to recover. Ayame’s kick came in so fast all he saw was a blur of pink. Finally she drew her left fist back and held it there for a single moment, before throwing it forward and arching upwards. Jack was knocked off the bridge and clear up into the sky.

As he travelled further and further up Ayame reached around and took hold of the giant throwing star on her back. Wielding it as if it were lighter than air, she spun around on one foot before tossing it after her opponent.

Jack soured upwards and in the clouds he could see her slipping away, going further and further. He reached out, yelling after her to wait for him but after a few moments she was gone and he was once again alone.

When the metal throwing star struck him, it exploded on contact. A dazzling ball of light appeared in the sky for a single moment lighting up all the ground below before it dissipated and the fog returned. Falcon glanced to the side as something crashed into the water just below with a loud splash. Slowly a white bandaged hand slipped below the surface. The waters calmed themselves after a moment, a few bubbles rose to the surface but after that nothing.

Quickly he pulled himself up and saw Ayame standing on the far end. A second later her pink clothes vanished and she returned to normal. The second she did she gasped out load and collapsed to her knees, breathing heavily. The affect effects of intense adrenaline leaving her disorientated. She didn’t even notice the pale blue Power Stone lying beside her hand.

“Are you alright missy?” Falcon asked offering her a hand up. Ayame found she could barley kneel never mind stand and accepted his offer.

“She’s just not used to the fusion that’s all.” A voice stated. The Englishman looked up to see Ryoma wandering across the bridge towards him. Parts of his blue robes had been torn and he was limping a little but apart from that he appeared to be in one piece.

Once he was by their side, he knelt down and picked up the stone from the floor. “This is yours now.” He stated in Japanese to the girl placing the gem in her left hand. Ayame stared down at it in awe and astonishment, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and wonder buzzing in them.

“Weren’t you the one going on about how we couldn’t trust her?” Falcon asked with a short smile as Ryoma stood up again.

“The stone chooses the wieldier Falcon.” The samurai stated flatly. “You recall how we came in possession of ours. The stones chose us over Kraken.” He looked down at the girl. ”And this stone chose Ayame over the Slayer. For better or worse, it’s hers now.”

Ayame was standing there staring at the stone, the words of the other two blurred out completely. The jewel in her hand she could feel pulsing in perfect synchronisation with her own heart beat. Its energy washed over her like a rolling tide, removing all ill feeling and fatigue.

In that moment she knew her small world and what she had known of it was over. This is what she came here for. She was certain of that now. Whatever intentions had brought her to this place were irrelevant. This was the ultimate prize at the end of the track. Now she had entered a new world completely.

She had entered the world of the Power Stone.

-

-

The sun was shining brightly as the young man made his way through the foothills along the eastern coast heading south. With a canvas bag swung over one shoulder and a smile on his face, any troubles in the world didn’t seem to touch Wang-Tang. Not tied down to one place all he had ever had to do whenever he felt bored of one location was pack up and go.

It was a fulfilling and satisfying way of life. True it made him the target of petty prejudice but he wouldn’t change it for the world. While Wang-Tang was only nineteen he considered himself very independent. He was a traveller by nature. He had walked great distance from one shore on the continent to the other by himself and seen many things.

His well kept physique and long raven black hair tied back into a pony tail caused heads to turn in any town he passed. Mostly ladies he was thankful to observe. He wasn’t rich. He didn’t need to be. He didn’t need a large house or fine clothes.

The white shirt lined with blue silk down the middle and around the next and brown pants tied up at the waist by a golden silk wrapping and at the ankles by a pair of bracelets suited him just fine

They had a size too big for him when he left the temple and he had grown into them by now

Reaching the top of a small hillock he caught sight of the ocean. There was a bay directly ahead, a small coastal town just down the length of the trail. He was closer to the shore than he had thought. Well this seemed far enough for now. Wang-Tang paused to stretch his arms before he sat down in the tall grass on the side of the road and placed his bag down in front of him, opening it up. All he had for food were a few Rice Cakes which he suspected were beginning to turn.

Nevertheless, it was all he had and sank his teeth into one anyway. Apart from a few bits and pieces he had picked up along his journeys his bag was pretty sparse. The only object of any worth it had was the cut stone at the bottom. Wang -Tang reached down and picked the jewel up. Cut to a diamond shape, the rock was a dark emerald green. Simply touching it brought back memories. Memories of this trip north where he came across the stone. Or perhaps more accurately, he came across the man holding the stone. He forced the unpleasant thought out of his mind and tried to recall more favourable times.

This stone was not the only one he found that time. But they went to other owners. A smile crossed his lips remembering them each with distinction. First was that remote samurai, Ryoma and then slightly egoistical Englishman, Falcon. Each unique in comparison of believes and culture. In fact the three of them, himself included, couldn’t have been more different. They together they stood against a common enemy, comrades in spite of past cultural differences. There was something poetic about that.

The unmistakable roar of cannon fire echoed across the sky followed by a loud crashing sound. Wang-Tang was on his feet immediately, glancing out towards the bay as thick black clouds of smoke began rising from the town he had observed. The column quickly diluted into the air, filtering upwards higher and higher. Wang-Tang quickly packed up his bag and ran down the road as fast he could towards the town. It was an instinctive reaction he couldn’t help. Whenever he saw someone in need of help he acted without thinking.

By the time he reached the wood gate entrance he was meet by a scene of utter devastation. Huge holes had been blown in the sides of buildings, fire burning out of control on nearly every roof top, debris was scattered through the streets like confetti and the sounds of screaming coming from nearly every direction. People were running scared past him heading towards the relative safety of the forest line.

Another roar resonated and Wang-Tang had to duck to the side as the building just up the road exploded in a shower of wood and brick dust. Looking up through the clouds of dust Wang-Tang caught sight of a tremendous vessel moving up alongside the dock just in-town.

Moving through the air with its starboard side to the shore was a colossal Turbine Ship. Its sail wings spread out on either side covering the giant fans keeping the vessel flying. A long line of wooden flaps on the side opened up and the metallic ends of cannons slid outwards.

Again the roar came and another building blew apart in a towering spray of smoke. Acting on instinct again Wang-Tang took off through the buildings that were still standing towards the dock. All the while people were running against him, tripping over one another trying to get away.

When Wang-Tang finally reached the dock, he watched as the ship lowering itself down as close it could to the water without actually landing in it. After a moment a gang plank was projected over the side towards the ground. Judging by the fact that the crew themselves were armed to the teeth with rifles, an assortments of blades and other weaponry reinforced Wang-Tang’s speculation that these were raiders. Even in this day and age in remote regions it was not altogether unknown to find that the acts of piracy and raiding were still going strong.

A normal man would have run from the sight of so many preparing to land. But Wang-Tang was anything but normal.

The gangplank hit the dock and two by two the raiders descended and those with curved blades up front and those who were armed with muskets and rifles behind.

They never knew what hit them.

Wang-Tang came flying out from nowhere, slamming two kicks into the men at either side as he rushed past. Before any of them could so much as raise a sword, his swift and accurate punches sent men flying backed into walls and crates. Wang-Tang needed no weapons. He was trained in a martial art far more deadly than any still known to civilized man. The art was known in English as ‘Golden Dragon’.

By the time any of them had the wits to fire the first shots from their guns Wang-Tang was behind them. He struck them over the back of the heads with only the palm of his hand, rendering them comatose in an instant. As they fell, he side stepped through lines of bullets avoiding them with ease. His fighting style looked more like some elaborate dance than martial arts but nevertheless it was very effective.

Their numbers dwindling, the raiders turned and ran for the safety of their Turbine ship. Wang-Tang ran after them, slamming punches and kicks into them as he went.

He had almost reached the top of the gang plank when a large slab of metal came swinging around and smashed directly into his face. The blow was so heavy he was sent flying backwards. In the air he seemed to do a flip before landed on his chest with a loud thud and the bag he was carrying on one arm fell away from him.

The top undid itself and his Power Stone along with a half eaten rice cake rolled out onto the deck. Wang-Tang hoisted himself up onto his hands and watched as a large metal claw reached down through the gunpowder induced smoke clouding the ship and gently picked the stone up.

The young mans eyes dilated as a more than familiar figure stood over him. Tall and lean with long grey hair tied back into a ponytail underneath a mariners hat and red bandana. The blue seafarer’s coat flapped in the wind caused by the turbines, held in place at the waist by a thick leather belt. There was no right hand, only a large rectangular metallic claw, the Power Stone trapped in between the pincers.

“No…” Wang-Tang gasped stumbling backwards onto his backside as the smoke began to clear. Now he could make out the features, sharp checks and a horrible straight face. An unshaven chin and bad sparse teeth in-between the lips. A skull mask covering the left hand side of the face to cover an horrific injury to the eye. The image had been wedged firmly in his mind for over twelve’s months now. There was no mistaking that “You… you, you can’t be…” A thick sadistic smile spread over the face as the captain of the ship as he reached down with his hand and grabbed Wang-Tang by the shirt and hoisted him into the air showing a surprising amount of brute strength.

“Alive?” He sneered. “Believe me lad, if I were dead, I wouldn’t be able to do this.” The metal arm whipped around and clamped itself around Wang-Tang’s body, pinning his arms to his sides. “This I believe is mine.” The pirate announced, holding up the green Power Stone in his remaining hand before placing the rock in his pocket.

Without pausing he tossed Wang-Tang through the air and slammed him hard against the mast. Groaning he slid down to the deck, pain running through him like fire. “I could have my crew kill you here and now.” The young man looked up as the men surrounding him, their guns pointed directly down at them.

“But without the other two to share your trip to the after life, it’s going to be an empty revenge.” That metal claw shot out again, clamping around his arms like a vice pulling him roughly into the air. “You tell that Samurai and English man for me, you tell them...” The pirate dragged Wang-Tang over to the side of the ship and he swung his arm over the side dangling the young man over a long drop to the churning waters below. “Kraken is back in business!” With that he tossed him nimbly over the side.

Wang Tang tried to control his fall but the winds produced by the spinning fans in and below the ship tossed him around like a rag doll and when he hit the water, it was like hitting the ground for his body before he sunk into it.

Kraken grinned maniacally as he watched the young man disappeared without a trace into the water. A fall like that won’t kill him but it would leave its mark for a while.

“We could have shot him you know.” His first mate, Puss told him as he and his older brother, the brawny but often quite brainless Octo standing behind him looked over the side. “Now he’ll run to his friends and warn them.”

“Aye, I know. I‘m counting on it.” Kraken stated with a thick smile that showed he was missing one or two teeth. The two of them looked up a bit confused. Puss being smaller had a thin frame. His hair was prematurely grey and he wore a small pair of wire rime spectacles on the front of a hunched nose. Octo was almost completely different. He was tall and muscularly built; his lips fat and red from too many punches to the face. Both had bandannas tied around the tops of their heads, as did most of the crew. It was a mark that identified their gang.

“I don’t follow ya captain.”

“I could gun them down in their sleep if I wished.” Kraken stated gently tapping the pistol in its sheath near his belt. “But that won’t do for me.” He turned back to the amassed crew behind him. “I want them sweating bullets and soiling their trousers when I come for them. And even that is just the beginning.” That thick smiled widened over his face. “The quest begins lad! One down…” He stated hoisting the stone into the air for them all to see. “Eight to go!” A loud roaring cheer from the men onboard set the scene for the pirate king. The Stones, all nine of them would belong soon enough to the Octopus Gang and then an age of piracy the world had never before seen would begin.