Adventures In Parodyverse: Crossworlds, Part 3

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Adventures In Parodyverse - Crossworlds Part 3

    "Good evening," the Hooded Hood bade his guest...who hadn't appeared yet,     but he knew she was in the room, watching. He turned around in the middle of his private throne room at Herringcarp Aslyum and headed toward his throne to give his guest a chance to make her presence known.

    When he turned around he heard birds chirping. He was no longer in his throne room, but small, contained garden. A woman with long, black hair and clear eyes was standing before him. She didn't speak a word.

    The Hooded Hood waved his hand and sat down, sure that his throne had always been there. But it wasn't. He fell into a patch of fragrant flowers...which weren't there before either. "Amusing," he commented as he stood and dusted himself off.

    He looked up - the skies above the garden were slowly darkening with clouds, and the birds had stopped chirping.

    "You have my attention now, Ioldabaoth," the woman finally acknowledged him. Her strange accented voice sounded friendly, almost playful, even with a slight edge of irritation.

    "It's The Hooded Hood," he stressed. "Including the 'The'."

    "The vanity," the woman sighed and shook her head. She gave him a slight scolding look when she saw him make the slightest gesture. "After you fell into the orchids I thought you might have learned that doesn't work here."

    "Where is 'here'?" the Hooded Hood asked.

    The woman skipped over his question entirely and changed the subject. "You displaced your last Guardian and now you're asking me for help. Why?"

    "Asking? No," the Hooded Hood raised an eyebrow. "I merely wish to advise you of your stake in the events in the Parodyverse."

    The woman laughed playfully. "I'm quite occupied with my own universe," she told him. "Things will work out in yours."

    "A Guardian of yours visits the Parodyverse frequently," the Hooded Hood continued. "Given the fate of the Guardians here I'm sure you wish to make sure she is protected."

    "And you're offering your protection?" the woman asked. She shook her head and laughed again. "You have so little faith."

    The Hooded Hood suddenly became interested.

    "The Guardians I've chosen are each very resourceful even alone," she told him. "They were also chosen because of their social tendencies. They form connections natural to them. And those connections naturally protect them."

    "The Lair Legion," the Hood guessed. "You think they'll be able to protect her?"

    "Sometimes you think in such limited terms," she said with a sigh.

    "Meaning what?" the Hooded Hood asked.

    She gave him a slight smile, and a flash of bright light blinded the Hooded Hood. When he could see again, the garden was gone and he was alone again in his throne at Herringcarp Asylum...

    ...but in his lap sat a potted pure white orchid.

---

    "You know me, Lara," Yuki admitted as she continued her conversation about her meeting with Pricilla. "I can be a little abrasive sometimes, and I know it. But I really was making an effort to be nice."

    "What did you say?" Lara asked.

    "I was making small talk," Yuki told her. "Asking her what she thinks of the guys she's been meeting at the mansion. Expecting to hear about Epitome being a stick in the mud, CSFB! being crazy, Trickshot being annoying. You know, the usual."

    Lara nodded, urging her to continue.

    "Instead she told me flat out that I need to stop trying to make friends with her because she doesn't want to be friendly." Yuki shrugged. "I just shrugged and walked away. But it seemed like very odd behavior to me."

    "It's possible that you just annoy her by existing," Lara pointed out. "Some people are like that."

    Yuki shrugged as she finally took a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and took a sip. "I'm less worried about me than I am about Liu Xi. I mean blowing someone off is one thing but a threat?" She looked at Lara and asked the obvious question. "What would you do?"

    Lara took a deep breath and stared into space for a moment as she searched for an answer. "If someone threatened me? I don't know," she finally said. "I'd probably just walk away."

    "Wouldn't you worry about Liu Xi?"

    "A little, yeah," Lara admitted. "I mean, she can take care of herself but...she's so trusting."

    "Exactly." Yuki nodded. "Though I guess Pricilla kind of blew Liu Xi's freely given trust by threatening her, eh?"

    Lara laughed, but didn't reply specifically. She noted that Yuki seemed to be preparing for something - wearing a jacket, and seeming to gather a snack. "Are you going somewhere?"

    "Yeah, got a little errand to run for the Legion." Yuki nodded. "I'd ask you to come along but someone already requested you."

    "Huh?" Lara seemed confused by that.

    Yuki pointed toward the doorway of the kitchen with a nod. Jay Boaz stood there patiently waiting his turn to use the kitchen. She smiled at Jay as she slipped past him. "I'll see you two around."

    "You requested me?" Lara asked. "Why? And what about Zdenka?"

    "Zdenka is shopping with Sarah," Jay told her. "We can't spend all our time together or we'd start to annoy each other."

    Lara smiled. "Yeah. I was in a relationship like that once. For a few months anyway. So why did you request me?"

    "You're hardly ever here," Jay told her, "and I often end up nearly missing you entirely." He smiled. "I was going to have lunch with you but this mission came up so I thought I'd ask you to come along."

    "You mean you're asking me to go with you instead of telling me it's too dangerous and I should stay put?"

    He smiled at that. "We went through that before and you proved you can protect yourself. You're a little skittish but you'll get over that."

    "Cool." Lara smiled. "Lead the way, oh fearless leader." As she followed Jay into the hallway she asked one last question. "Why isn't Dream going? Isn't he your best friend?"

    Jay nodded. "Yes. But I'd like to go on just one mission without Dream asking me lewd questions about Zdenka."

    "Oh." She laughed at that. "Gotcha."

---

    "Oh my god," Visionary whispered, his eyes widening with horror. In his hands he was holding a hardcover book owned by CSFB!. It had pictures. And it was good he was already sitting on the carpeted floor because he might have fallen to the floor otherwise.

    "I told you it might be a little too much for your tastes," Liu Xi told him. She was sitting across from him cross-legged on the floor.

    "And you were reading this?" he asked in disbelief.

    She shrugged. "Visionary, I lived my life through pictures and television the whole time I lived with Manga Shoggoth. No mere image disturbs me."

    "You mean television?" Visionary asked.

    "Television, books magazines. Manga Shoggoth has a surprising array of current media." She nodded. "I'll go now so you can read the book in peace."

    "I'm kind of afraid this book might give me a heart attack and I'll pass out," Visionary whined as he tried to look away from the book but couldn't. "Maybe I shouldn't be left here alone."

    "I'll check on you every fifteen minutes," Liu Xi suggested.

    Visionary closed the book suddenly and looked up. "I'm sorry about what happened the last time you dropped by," he suddenly blurted out. "I keep thinking about it and it keeps bothering me."

    Liu Xi shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I know you made a mistake."

    "It was," he whispered, "but...I wonder how much of it was a mistake. Maybe even after I realized it was you--"

    "I don't care," Liu Xi interrupted. "I know, and I don't care. I said not to worry about it."

    "You mean you even forgive me for--" He lowered his voice to a barely audible level, making it clear he was ashamed to even say it. "--feeling you up?"

    Liu Xi frowned for a moment, uncertain of what he was saying. But it dawned on her a moment later and she smiled. "It's not even enough to make this meeting with you feel...awkward. I know it was a mistake. Let's forget about it, okay?"

    Visionary nodded. "I just wanted to apologize again in case you couldn't forget about it. Thanks, Liu Xi." He paused for a moment to think of a quick subject change. "So...what were you saying at the dinner about learning to use your power?"

    She spent a few seconds thinking of an appropriate answer. "I told you about the 'in-between', didn't I?"

    He nodded. "It's how you get from place to place without travelling and make rooms that are...impossible."

    "Yes." She giggled at the last part of his description. "I discovered more about it. "I noticed, passing through so many times...I noticed colors."

    "Colors?" Visionary didn't understand, thinking that perhaps she was using the wrong word. She did that sometimes, being a relatively new English speaker.

    "Differences," Liu Xi tried to clarify. She shook her head. "Like a white handkerchief on a white tablecloth. You can still see--"

    "Contrast," Visionary corrected. "You could see contrasts."

    "Yes." She nodded. "They were alive but not human. They moved. I asked Lara about them and she said she knows and just to let them be. But I wanted to speak to one."

    "Did it work?" he asked. "I mean, I guess it did since you're still alive."

    She smiled at that. "You're funny. No, it didn't work. They didn't understand me. But they seemed...curious. They were attracted to the energy I have. But they keep their distance." She paused dramatically before adding, "I think I can bring one here."

    Visionary's eyes widened at that. "What...? Liu Xi, that might not be such a good idea. It could be very dangerous, in fact."

    "I know." She sighed. "Maybe I'll wait for Manga Shoggoth to help me. Or Lara."

    "Both would probably be safer," Visionary pointed out. "Or not trying it at all."

    "I have to," Liu Xi explained. "Because if something bad happens to you and the Lair Legion, and Lara flees...those things from the in-between might be all I have to protect me."

    Visionary nearly made another negative comment to try and discourage her, but then he thought about what she said. "You may be right," he agreed. "But please, Liu Xi, try not to destroy the universe."

    She giggled again. "You're funny, Visionary."

    "You always say that when I'm serious," he complained. "Why do you think something will happen to the Lair Legion?"

    "Things have been very odd," Liu Xi started to say. She shook her head when she realized she couldn't explain it too well. "It's like...doors you knew to be open are now locked or missing. It's like small animals fleeing. I can't describe it well, it's a feeling I have."

    Visionary just stared at her stunned for a moment. "Maybe you should tell Sir Mumphrey," he said.

---

    Keiko circled around the spectacled green skinned woman who stood in the control center of the Lair Mansion. She was dressed very lightly yet not too casually, and she was tasting various snacks. The woman named Hallie had just finished explaining that Al B Harper and Yuki Shiro just built the body for her so she could explore the world a bit better, and that it was similar in design to Yuki's.

    But there were things even that body and its senses couldn't tell Hallie. Experiences that were beyond her and even her artificial intelligence, as they defied every ounce of designed humanity ingrained in her programming. Things that defied her very design. Even so, she had to ask.

    "What's it like to kill someone close up?" she asked.

    Keiko stood there with her mouth open for a moment, trying to decide internally whether the question was purposely rude. Or worse yet, honest. She couldn't even imagine the implications of why an A.I. would want to know the answer to that, especially after seeing several sci-fi movies on the topic.

    Nevertheless, there was something so human about the computer simulation of a person that she couldn't help but try to be honest. "It's exhilarating...and terrifying...all at the same time."

    "Not how does it feel," Hallie corrected. "What's it like? What does it look like from your point of view?"

    Keiko closed her eyes for a moment to think. She didn't like re-living those experiences to walk through them, but if they were stored away in her mind anyway she may as well use them. "I have to make myself angry," she said. "Very angry. Outraged, in fact. So angry that I have to force myself to be calm enough not to make a mistake."

    "How do you do that?"

    "I think about all the people my target has harmed," Keiko whispered. "Their families. The people they love. People who have stayed up nights crying, afraid, because one man fills their lives with terror. People who have no means to protect themselves from it."

    "So you thought of yourself as a protector?"

    Keiko nodded once. "I would unleash the anger, execute my target, and take a deep breath. Tell myself that everyone he has ever harmed is now free."

    "Have you ever killed anyone who wasn't...?" Hallie started to ask.

    "Yes." Keiko admitted. "I disliked it. I had to because my own life was in danger but I hated it."

    "So you're not so cold blooded," Hallie whispered.

    Keiko frowned for a moment and looked at her. "Did somebody say I was?"

    Hallie seemed saddened by the question, like she was afraid to answer. "You know the impression you give," she said. "When you visit here...you quietly skulk around with that emotionless expression, never speak to or smile at anyone."

    "That's what I do when I'm nervous and afraid," Keiko told her. "When I'm in an unfamiliar situation. I'm used to my reputation preceding me, and I'm never sure how well I will be received."

    "I'm glad we had this talk, then." Hallie smiled. "I really had you figured completely wrong."

    Keiko nodded and looked at the snacks in front of her again. "What's this all about?"

    "Oh, I'm trying out dips with different kinds of chips and pretzels," Hallie explained. "Trying to find an interesting combination."

    "How do you know which ones taste good if you've never eaten food?"

    Hallie smiled. "I have eaten food. Though I guess now I have Yuki's tastes since this tongue is calibrated to her. They couldn't really calibrate my own tongue since I haven't been tasting as long. Can I ask one more question?"

    "Sure," Keiko urged her to go on.

    "What do you think happens to the people you've killed after they die? Some faiths think they would go to heaven because they're murdered. I mean, is it worth killing them if they're rewarded and you're punished in the afterlife?"

    "I believe it's people, not deeds, that measure your life after you're gone," Keiko explained. "Almost all the people I killed left this world without a single true friend."

    "Do you have any true friends?" Hallie asked.

    "A few," Keiko answered. "Enough, for me at this point in my life."

    Hallie smiled at that. "That's good."

TO BE CONTINUED

-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2005 by Jason Froikin, and may not be
-- reprinted without permission.
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
-- Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
-- Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin
-- Keiko Takashi is an original creation by Jason Froikin

Post By Anime Jason Sat Dec 03, 2005 at 04:52:01 pm EST	Subject Adventures In Parodyverse: Crossworlds, Part 3

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