he face of the man standing alone inside the top-secret, express
elevator was unreadable, much like that of a perfectly carved statue.

His eyes were fixed on the mural panel whose quickly-growing numbers
indicated the machine's fast ascension. He was immobile, his hands
casually crossed behind his back, his breath calm and composed. His
business clothes were plain and unremarkable. The man blinked twice,
noticing that the elevator was slowing down at last.

With a slight frown, he passed his hand through his graying hair, wiping
at the same time several beads of sweat which had started to form at the
top of his brow.

Throughout his entire life, he had faced countless threats, some
incompetent bureaucrats, and even sometimes seemingly uncanny events. But
tonight was a different matter altogether.

Tonight for the second time in forty-five years, the man named Amemiya
Goro, Commander of the Third Evaluation and Detainment Complex, was 
about
to face the men who had appointed him to his current position.

***************************************************************
********

Wings of Fate, Chapter 34

Stormclouds

Series created by John Evans and Ardweden

***************************************************************
********

Time, which had reclaimed its rights on the area with the flight of the
Man in Beige, nevertheless seemed to stand still. Neither Soshi and his
friends, nor the six guards aiming at them with their rifles were moving,
as if nobody had really expected such an encounter.

"They're here! The prisoners have been found!"

The standstill was abruptly broken by new sounds, footsteps and commands
barked at the other end of the corridor, showing that the place was going
to get very crowded soon.

"Looks like we'll have to act quickly..." Kenchi whispered to himself. He
started to walk forward, his eyes reflecting the light coming from behind
the troops. But an arm, suddenly raised before his torso, stopped his
movement.

"No, Kenchi." Soshi's voice was calm, though his tone was more peremptory
than concerned.

Soshi ignored the surprised look which Kenchi gave him, and tried to
appraise the situation with a few quick glances. He still had a gun, of
course, but he had no doubt of how poorly he would fare in a firefight
against six trained fighters who were holding heavier weapons.

Morrigan was sprawled at his feet, her face pressed against the concrete
floor. Apparently, the disruption of Rukeo's spell had put an end to her
sudden surge of power, for she had reverted to her human form. A large,
spreading pool of blood was visible next to her stomach, and she hadn't
moved a muscle since she had crashed down a few minutes ago.

'Is she truly dead?' he thought, mildly disappointed by that possibility.
She had done too much, inflicted pain on too many people, to finish her
existence like that.

Shuukou was now holding Akari's left arm, preventing her from getting
close to the body of the self-proclaimed goddess. Akari frowned at that
gesture, before realizing the gravity of her situation. She then started
to shudder, looking at Judou for signs of reassurance.

Soshi almost chuckled when he saw that the Tengu was apparently too busy
looking around the room himself to pay much attention to Akari's emotional
needs.

That detail seemed odd, though. 'What are you doing, Judou...?' thought
Soshi, his brain working faster now.

"Soshi...What the hell are you doing?" He could hear Kenchi's voice, his
breath shaking with anxiety. The blond dandy had moved closer to him,
enough for Soshi to actually see his eyebrows quiver slightly, like a
golden-tinged meadow agitated by a furious wind.

"Kenchi...Please stay quiet," hissed Soshi angrily, making his friend
narrow his eyes at him.

Soshi's mind was elsewhere, however. More soldiers were pouring into the
room, making his brain work frantically. There was something missing...

"Don't move! Put your hands up, now!"

One guard, bolder than the others, aimed his rifle at Kenchi. Soshi

didn't pay much attention to that, only placing his hand on Kenchi's
stomach in order to remind his companion not to do anything rash.

There was something missing...Something...Or maybe someone?

His brow frowning in realization, Soshi fixed his gaze on Judou, who had
at last noticed Akari's silent plea, and was now standing next to her.
Strangely, the city Tengu was also looking at him now, his dark eyes
composed and serious. A few seconds passed, during which the guards
quickly surrounded the little group, to the obvious dismay of Kenchi and
Akari.

In a brief instant of osmosis, Soshi arched his brow questioningly at
Judou, the two lean, dark haired men looking incredibly similar. Then,
Judou slowly shook his head, sighing imperceptibly. At this, Soshi let a
knowing smirk come to his lips.

Dropping his gun to the floor before him, the young wizard raised his
hands high in the air, motioning his friends to do likewise. He opened his
mouth to speak, his voice sounding hollow to his ears.

"No need for further violence. We surrender."

***************************************************************
********

Goro's journey to the meeting had been by private helicopter. According
to the reports Goro had recieved en route, the prisoners had predictably
tried to escape during last night's attack, only to be recaptured an hour
later. Weird events had happened then, causing much confusion among the
chain of command. Some were saying that the prisoners had left their cells
without leaving a trace, the electronic locks on their doors mysteriously
deactivated. Others mentioned several casualties among the troops, guards
and sentries killed in a most gruesome manner, their bodies hacked and
sliced into little pieces.

Of course, the fact that the Commander had chosen this particular night
to leave his post didn't help either. Goro knew that it was the reason of
his presence here, at the doorstep of his employers' inner sanctum. They
surely wouldn't have taken such measures to call him back from Honshuu to
the Haganeryu Towers in the business center of Tokyo otherwise. But, as
the carefully-polished steel doors of the elevator opened slowly before
him, the old man couldn't help feeling confused.

How had they known so quickly?

Goro walked out of the elevator calmly, determined not to show his
anxiety to whomever was waiting for him. Fortunately, the long and large
corridor before him was devoid of any living presence. At the other end, a
huge, gaping door was visible, its blackness standing out against the warm
colors of the corridor.

They were waiting for him to come to them, just as they had during that
famous night, forty-five years ago...

He made his way toward the door, slowing his pace every now and then to
examine some of the statues or tapestries displayed along each wall. It
was not so much an act of deference to his superiors, as a gesture
motivated by sheer curiosity. Most of these works of art were ancient-
looking, but more importantly, he could have sworn that they were exactly
the same as the ones he had checked when he had come through here for the
first time.

His senses were telling him that they were aware of each of his steps
ever since his arrival. But no camera was visible anywhere, strengthening
Goro's feeling of unease. He couldn't go back now though; such a decision
could have terrible consequences for his career...

The old Commander snorted derisively. They would more probably put a
definite "end" to his career.

Back then, he had been chosen for his efficiency and his ruthlessness.
His methods and the way he carried out his assignments no matter what the
cost had made him attractive to the Inner Circle. The fact that he was a
mercenary leader with a not-so-glorious past didn't matter to them. They
were interested in results only.

But how were they going to judge his decision concerning the handling of
the last test subjects? The fact that he had received the order to
evacuate the place wouldn't be much of an explanation, nor would it be a
satisfying excuse.

The fact remained that the prisoners had almost managed to escape, that
at least one researcher had been killed, and that confusion would run
rampant at the base until his return.

If he DID return...

Goro's silhouette was now stretched be fore the doorway, his feet
shuffling next to it. Now that he was there, he could actually see about
ten figures, seated around a large mahogany table. There were large window
panels at the other end of the gigantic room, the glass somehow radiating
the cold darkness of the night. The only lighting in the room was coming
from alabaster pillars placed at its four corners; long, serpent-like
creatures coiled their stony scales around them, their slender jaws
pointed toward the roof.

A strange feeling of deja vu invaded Goro's thoughts, to the point that
he shook his head imperceptibly. The room, its atmosphere, were so
similar, that for a moment he had had the impression of having traveled
back in time. But now that he could look more or less at the people gazing
at him from their seats around the table, the spell vanished like a
morning dream. None of their faces were familiar to him.

A voice resounded in the otherwise silent room, making the old man shiver
nervously. Several people straightened out their chairs, as if it was some
sort of signal.

"Ah, Amemiya-san. We were expecting you. You're a bit late, though."

Goro's almost-forgotten fighting instincts awakened, warning him
silently. This voice, coming from the young man seated at the other end of
the room, was deceptively welcoming and harmless. Much like mixing honey
with a spider's venom...

With a soft sigh, the Commander of the Third Detainment and Evaluation
Complex stepped inside the room. He couldn't run away from his
responsibilities. Not after so much time spent working for this
organization. All he could do was telling the truth to his superiors and
then let them decide.

As he walked toward his position at one end of the table, he almost
didn't notice the muffled sound of a silvery curtain unrolling itself
before the door, effectively cutting his possibility of retreat.

***************************************************************
********

Shuukou straightened her posture while trying to maintain a neutral
expression on her face. The guards, who had hesitated for a few seconds
after Soushi's declaration, were now binding their prisoners' wrists with
ropes. The young woman realized with a slight shudder that their captors
had expected them to react somehow; that would have given them a reason
for running away, or, more probably, for firing at them.

The guards then started to search her and her friends, looking for any
hidden items or weapons. Shuukou's detached glare was more than enough to
convince the young soldier petting her bosom that continuing this little
game would be a very bad idea for him, even if her hands were restrained.
Mumbling nervously, the man decided to search Kenchi instead.

"Hey, be careful with these hands, buster," warned Kenchi, feigning
anger. The only answer he got was a sharp blow in his back from another
guard, who apparently couldn't be influenced as easily as his comrade.

Would Kenchi ever learn when to stay quiet? With a soft sigh, Shuukou
turned her gaze away from her friend, who was now cursing under his
breath, to face Akari and Judou.

"What's going to happen to us now, Judou?" muttered Akari nervously,
almost hiding behind the dark-haired man. Akari was fidgety, looking much
like a doe startled by headlights. She was aware, just like Shuukou, of
how dire their current situation was. But Akari had never been really good
at hiding her emotions. Especially her distress.

"Don't worry, Akari," replied Judou, blushing at the irony of his words.
He tried to pat his friend's shoulder reassuringly, a sheepish smile on
his face.

Shuukou did understand what Judou was trying to do though: Akari looked
so tired, so vulnerable, that she too was tempted to hug her friend.

But it wasn't her duty to do so now. She smiled wistfully, remembering
the time when she had seen Judou and Akari's relationship growing, the two
of them never realizing that they hid their feelings very poorly. One
night, Kenchi had even bet a date with her on the fact that Judou and
Akari would eventually end up together.

Shuukou hadn't been surprised to see him grin when Akari had declared her
love to Judou a few minutes ago: there was nothing that Kenchi loved more
than to be right about something.

A violent shove pushed her onward, startling her out of her reverie.

She snarled at the guard standing behind her, making him recoil a bit. He
pushed her toward the door again, this time with the butt of his rifle.

Another guard, kneeling next to Macha's body, raised his head toward a
gruff-looking man, whose stripes on his shoulders designated as some sort
of officer.

"I'm feeling a pulse, but barely. I think she's still alive," he said
hesitantly.

The officer nodded briskly, then motioned two guards positioned next to
the door to come next to him.

"You know well enough what our orders are. We cannot allow any of them to
die until the higher-ups say so," he grumbled while shaking his head.
"Bring her to the infirmary and tell the meds there to keep her alive. If
they can..."

The two soldiers lifted Macha's unconscious body, holding her by the arms
and dragging her out. The officer hmphed loudly, before motioning his men
to lead Shuukou and her friends out of the cell.

'Something tells me that Kenchi will have to wait if he wants to obtain
his prize for winning our bet' Shuukou thought as she was walking out of
the room.

Her friends followed her, Soshi bringing up the rear, walking calmly. His
lips were curled up in an almost invisible smile. He definitely looked
like a magician who was planning to fool everyone with his newest trick.

Shuukou continued to walk along the incredibly long corridor, glancing
every now and then at the silent wizard. She was almost sure to have
forgotten something... But despite all her efforts, she couldn't summon
the energy to solve this new puzzle.

Still deep in thought, she almost didn't notice Kenchi moving next to
her. The young man looked around to check once again that the nearest
guard was busy talking to one of his comrades. Then he allowed himself to
relax, and winked at her.

"We could try to escape, now that the number of guards around us has
dropped," he whispered. "With my power I could..."

"Do nothing, Kenchi." She interrupted him angrily, keeping her voice as
low as she could. "Even your mesmerizing gaze can't change the fact that
we are outnumbered. That would be suicide."

Kenchi blinked at her friend in surprise; obviously he didn't expect such
an answer from her. Shuukou almost smiled at the young man. After all the
time they had spent arguing together, she could still surprise him. Good.

"Doing nothing would be suicide," he hissed at her frantically. "Where
has your fighting spirit gone, Shuukou? Don't tell me that you've decided
to give up, like Soshi..."

She glared at Kenchi, only to see him hold her gaze in defiance. His
words had hit their mark, though. Feelings of doubt started to invade
Shuukou's thoughts, making her blood chill in fear. The young woman did
her best to keep them at bay, fixing her gaze on Soshi. His smile was
still there, unwavering, taunting.

She shook her head, looking at Kenchi once more. Soshi was certainly the
most devious man she had ever met...but he wasn't a coward.

"I don't think Soshi has given up yet," she replied patiently. "I'm sure
he had his reasons for acting like that. We'll have to trust him for now."

Kenchi opened his mouth to answer, only to be pulled back abruptly by one
of the guards, who had noticed the end of their discussion. Another guard
pushed Shuukou forward, motioning her to walk faster.

"Hey, cut it out, you two! Or else..."

"Yes, sir..." grumbled Kenchi, keeping his eyes focused on the ground
before him. He was too stubborn to be convinced so easily by Shuukou's
arguments, but she knew that his pragmatism would stop him from doing
anything foolish. For the time being.

As the little group progressed toward their unknown destination, Shuukou
started wondering what was hidden behind Soshi's mysterious smile. Hope?
Maybe. The young woman hoped that she and her friends would live long
enough to learn the answer to that question.

***************************************************************
********

A short period of silence reigned in the meeting room after Goro's
debriefing. The sound of the Commander's receding footsteps were muffled
by the silver curtain which had fallen over the doorway once again. Some of
the people around the table looked at the curtain for a while, their faces
reflecting a strange mixture of disappointment and annoyance. Men and
women from all over the country were now gathered here; politicians,
businessmen, scientists... Most of them had been chosen for their skills
and their dedication to the cause.

But even this last merit couldn't prevent discord from spreading among
their ranks.

At last, a man chose to stood up, and after bowing in the direction of
the young man who seemed to conduct the meeting, addressed the whole
assembly. He seemed to be in his late forties, his grayish hair cut in a
very formal manner. His finely-cut clothes and his stocky build gave him
an aura of leadership, though it was difficult for him to hide his blood-shot eyes to 
his audience.

"If this is the reason why I was awakened in the middle of the 
night," he
started, visibly annoyed, "Then I'm afraid that some further explanations
are necessary. I was told that this problem was going to be solved
tonight. Kouryu-san?"

He turned toward the young man, obviously enjoying the way his statement, 
combined with his 
presence, was influencing his peers.  Whispers were now invading the room, a 
barely
contained wave of doubt and tension.

Kouryu remained immobile in his seat, a neutral expression on his face. A
long mane of black hair flowed down 
to his shoulders, moving slightly
with each movement of his neck. He let the mutterings continue for a few
seconds, his gray eyes fixed on the one 
who had dared to challenge him
here, where his influence was the strongest. Then he stood up himself, his hands 
raised in a reassuring
manner.

"Please, my dear brothers and sisters," he said while motioning the
middle-aged man to sit down. "Let us not be led astray by petty concerns
like that..."

Another voice rose up suddenly, its owner a young man whose black clothes
stood out in the soft lighting of the room.

"Petty concerns? This wasn't what I was told during our last meeting," he
declared hotly. "Back then, even yourself didn't hesitate to qualify these
guys as being a 'Danger of First Category'."

Kouryu turned toward the black-clad man, nodding slowly. His right hand
was still raised, as if to prevent any further interruption.

"Such is the case Jinnai-san," he began, talking to the whole assembly
more than to the person he was looking at right now. "As we all know, our
organization, the Iron Dragon, has for its ultimate goal the protection of
this country from all supernatural threat. I thought, and I still think,
that Karasuno Judou and his 'apprentices', because of their sorcerous
dabblings, can be considered as such a threat."

The young man walked around his chair, eventually facing all the people
gathered around the table. He looked at each of them as he spoke, and
smiled when he noticed that their attention had been captivated by his
speech.

"But as we all know, the world we live in isn't perfect," he shook his
head in feigned annoyance. "And even the best of plans can't be carried
out efficiently every now and then."

The middle-aged business man, who was whispering to a man who sat next to
him, opened his mouth once more, his voice full of concern. His brow was
furrowed in concentration, though, and it wasn't difficult to realize that
he was ready to use every opportunity to counter Kouryu.

"Does that mean that what we had all agreed to has now to be revised? The
Wu-Long is after these youngsters, and they don't seem to be afraid of
using direct magickal assault in order to reach them." He nodded wisely,
apparently satisfied by his argument. "They seem have so much importance
for the Wu-long...Maybe we have overlooked something during their
detention."

New murmurs of assent moved along both sides of the table, almost making
Kouryu cringe. He walked toward the person seated to his left, a tall 
woman
wearing glasses and a rather strict suit.

"Senator Akimori, the Wu-Long is an organization which is well known to
us," the young man said while putting a hand on the woman's chair. "The
Iron Dragon has fought it long before any of us was even born. The ways of
its members are strange, and unfathomable most of the time. The fact
remains, however, that they always have been on the lookout for people
gifted with spiritual energy, hidden potential, and sometimes both. With
tonight's events, I would be, at first glance, ready to agree with you,
dear Senator. But..."

Kouryu raised his hand again, silencing Akimori.

"The Inner Council have received at last the results of the tests we have
carried out on the prisoners shortly after their arrival," he explained,
his face solemn. "And they have convinced me that there is no need for us
to change our plans."

The young man pressed an almost invisible button placed before his chair,
and a large screen slid down directly between two of the alabaster
pillars. It automatically flickered into life , producing a 
short, repeating
series of images and equations. Kouryu, noticing that most of the assembly
remained rather confused, turned toward the woman next to him.

"Mikayami-sensei, if you could describe the situation to us..."

The woman nodded curtly before standing up to face the whole room. She
cleared her throat several times, then pushed her glasses up her nose.

"As it is usually done in these circumstances, the researchers working at
the Third Evaluation and Detainment Complex have conducted several basic
physiological and chemical tests on the prisoners shortly after their
arrival." Her voice was somewhat faint, forcing her to raise it above the
murmurs which agitated her audience. "Later on, the description of the
unusual method that the prisoners had used in order to obtain their powers
pushed the scientists into doing more advanced research on the samples
they had collected."

Mikayami walked next to the screen, using her hand to point at several
masses highlighted in a cellular picture.

"They have then tentatively concluded that the prisoners had found a way
to infuse themselves with a tremendous amount of energy," she said calmly.
"Most probably by tapping into the Earth's spiritual resources themselves."

The murmurs abruptly rose in volume, this revelation apparently upsetting
most of the assembly. Several men, Jinnai among them, reacted strongly,
demanding to know more about such a method. Kouryu only shook his head,
and tried to calm the uproar once again.

"Let her finish, please..." he said more than a few times, his own voice
growing louder with each attempt. The room became more or less silent
after a few minutes, and he nodded at the young scientist, who continued
her explanation.

"Unfortunately, they seem to have paid an awful price for such a
discovery. Advanced cellular tests had shown that all of them but Karasuno-
san and the one named Macha have too much energy for their body to safely
metabolize." She sounded a bit disappointed. "They're all condemned to die
within the year if they don't find a way to evacuate this surplus of
energy..."

Kouryu looked at the young woman, his brow arched questioningly.

"Do we have any idea why Karasuno-san or Macha-san haven't these 
symptoms?"

"As far as we know, their xenomorphic ancestry could explain it,"
Mikayami shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "But we can't ascertain that
fact without conducting more tests."

The middle-aged Senator chose this opportunity to put up a last
resistance, standing up while Mikayami went back to her seat, her report
now finished.

"Can't we at least keep this Karasuno? We could try to obtain as much
information from him as possible about how he managed to empower himself 
and his
friends..."

Kouryu shook his head slowly, his smile more predatory than apologizing.
He sat back in his chair, his ears discerning the faint sound of the rain
hitting the glass panel behind him.

"You would want us to let all of them escape but Karasuno-san?" He
chuckled softly. "Even if we managed to pry his secrets out of him, which
would be most improbable in my opinion, his friends won't leave the area
without him. Our goal is to use them in order to force the Wu-Long to
expose themselves to a retaliatory strike. We can't put one of our
facilities at risk again."

An elderly man wearing a long red robe coughed politely in his hand.

"But what about Amemiya? His pride and the current situation at the
Complex will make our plan difficult to achieve...Maybe we should tell him
about it, and ask him to act accordingly."

"Amemiya-san is a faithful servitor of the Dragon, but he has to be kept
in the dark, for his own security. As for the current situation..." Kouryu
laughed, a sound which made several of the men seated around the table
shiver instinctively. "I think that it will make our 'newfound pawns' act
more predictably. Now, let's proceed with the financial details. We have
to consider a change in the budget alloted..."

A storm was raging outside of the silvery Haganeryu Towers, the raindrops
crashing helplessly against its surface. The elements cast long, watery
shadows on the milky white statues of the dragons placed at the four
corners of the meeting room, as if the stony creatures were crying silently.
***************************************************************

"All right...I guess we can let her sleep for the time being." 

The doctor removed his plastic gloves, and sighed, looking at Macha's body, 
which was stretched before him. A young intern was standing by his side, a file 
tucked under his 
arm.

"Are you sure, sir?" he asked his superior in a meek voice. "You know that the 
orders are to keep the prisoners alive for further interrogation..."

The man turned briskly toward the intern, startling him a bit.

"I fully remember what the orders are, young man," he replied, visibly 
annoyed. "But I can't conjure a miracle to please our higher-ups. The damage 
done to her internal organs is too much for me to handle."

He looked at Macha's immobile figure, her chest rising and falling slowly. Her 
face was ashen, her lips curled in a painful grimace.

"The best we can do is to keep her alive for now," the doctor concluded. 
"Frankly, I'm surprised that she even managed to survive as long as she did."

The infirmary's door slid open with a hiss, making the two men glance quickly 
at the figure entering the room. It was the officer whose squad had captured 
the prisoners again a few hours ago. Looking even grimmer than usual, he 
walked straight toward the doctor.

"How is she doing?" he asked, motioning at Macha's body with his chin.

"She's still alive," answered the doctor. He narrowed his eyes at the officer, 
obviously considering this intrusion as one more source of annoyance. "But 
I'm afraid she's condemned. It's a question of hours for her now..."

The officer seemed oddly satisfied by that answer, and nodded several times. 
He moved next to the woman, and fixed his eyes on the wound in her 
stomach, before looking shortly at her pale features. He scratched his beard 
several times, mumbling to himself.

"Sir? Is everything alright?" asked the intern, as much confused as the doctor 
by the man's behavior.

"Hmmm? Yes," the officer answered curtly, turning toward the two 
researchers once more. "In fact, I came here for another reason, Doctor 
Tachibana. Your help is requested in the Sector 7. Another sentry was 
attacked over there, but she seems to have survived."

Tachibana eyebrows frowned slightly, as he looked around the almost empty 
infirmary. 

"That wouldn't be wise," he declared after a few seconds. "I can't leave this 
specimen alone. She still represents a danger, after all. Maybe one of my 
colleagues..."

The officer shook his head, interrupting the Doctor's train of thought.

"You know that they're all busy in the Main Infirmary right now," he 
remarked calmly. "Their hands are full with the people who were injured by 
that explosion. It's been an hour already since it happened, but it looks like 
they'll have a whole night of work before them."

A period of uneasy silence invaded the room, the only sound being Macha's 
breathing. Tachibana opened his mouth in order to reply, but stopped 
suddenly. The officer's face, at first glance strong and bony, seemed to blur in 
the greenish light that bathed the room. The Doctor blinked, then rubbed his 
eyes. 'Probably the result of a stressful night,' he finally thought.

"I could stay here to watch the prisoner," said the intern, who chose this 
moment to break the silence. "I don't think there's much risk anymore. As you 
said a few minutes ago, she received enough 
tranquillizers to make her sleep until next week."

Both the Doctor and the officer smiled at that remark, though the soldier's grin 
was somewhat forced. He nodded at Tachibana, trying to look reassuring.

"I'll stay with him, in case anything happens. Don't worry, I won't touch any 
of your precious samples," he said, joking good-naturedly.

The Doctor remained thoughtful for a few seconds, then nodded slowly. He 
picked up a first-aid kit along with a few syringes, before going toward the 
door.

"I'll try to make this as short as possible," he warned the intern while exiting 
the infirmary. "I just hope I won't be too late." The door automatically closed 
behind him, preventing any comment from the intern to reach Tachibana's 
ears. 

The young researcher sat next to the door, idly playing with a pencil and 
looking every now and then at his patient. Macha was sleeping soundly, 
though her twitching hands showed that she was still in pain. The officer 
looked somewhat restless too, now that he was alone with the intern. He was 
pacing the floor briskly, as if he waited for something to happen.

'Strange,' thought the intern with an amused smile. 'I should be the one feeling 
nervous here...'

He stood up and stretched, looking in his mind for a good way to start a 
conversation with his "guest". The officer was now examining the content of a 
glass closet, careful not to touch anything. 

The intern frowned suddenly, noticing something through the glass panel 
inserted at the top of the sliding door. He arched an eyebrow, then stepped 
back slowly toward the soldier.

"Hey, where is the sentry who was posted..." he begun, before being knocked 
out by a blow coming from behind him. He fell to the floor without uttering 
a sound, while the officer put his gun back in its holster.

"Good thinking. Bad timing," Amano said slowly, his features blurring and 
rippling once again.

***************************************************************

Kenchi couldn't remember the last time he had been feeling so nervous and 
frustrated.

"I can't believe we have come back to our starting point," he muttered while 
looking around the cell. He and his companions had been thrown into 
this large, padded room a few hours ago, and nothing more had happened after 
that.

The young man walked next to the steel door, brushing his fingers on its smooth 
surface. He didn't quite know what was the more annoying: their 
captors' sudden silence, or his friends' lack of any reaction whatsoever. Shuukou 
was leaning against a wall, her eyes strangely distant; Akari was 
sleeping, her head resting on Judou's shoulder; Judou was stroking his friend's 
hair, apparently deep in thought; As for Soshi...

"That isn't the case," Soshi said as if he had been aware that Kenchi was thinking 
about him. "We've been all gathered here, rather than confined inside individual 
cells. Things have changed."

Kenchi glared at Soshi, obviously not expecting the young wizard to have heard 
his previous statement. Soshi sighed softly, relaxing the meditative posture he had 
taken after his arrival.

"What a change," Kenchi said sarcastically. "In case you haven't noticed it yet, 
our escape attempt has failed! We're still their prisoners!"

Soshi only shook his head at the outburst, a tired smile on his lips.

"Kenchi my friend," he replied calmly. "You seriously should consider meditating 
every once in a while. You would see the world in a different way then."

Kenchi felt a dark wave of anger rising inside his chest. He was sure that Soshi 
was hiding something from them. Something important. Clenching his fists, he 
stepped in his friend's direction, only to be interrupted by Shuukou's voice.

"That's enough. And I mean the two of you," she declared, pushing her back away 
from the wall and fixing her gaze on Soshi. "Soshi, I think you can understand 
how Kenchi is feeling right now. In a way, all of us here share his anguish. All of 
us but you. I think it's time for you to tell us why."

Soshi stayed silent for a while, as if he was wondering whether to talk or not. 
Kenchi, somewhat surprised by Shuukou's sudden reaction, moved back a bit. His 
anger vanished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving only tiredness in its wake. 
He glanced at Soshi once more, and noticed that he was looking intently at Akari's 
sleeping figure. The young wizard arched a brow, then looked at Judou.

"Akari is still exhausted," declared Judou in reply to his friend's silent question. 
"It would be better to let her sleep while she still can. We'll tell her about it when 
she wakes up."

His brow frown in confusion, Kenchi sat down in the middle of the room. Now 
that he thought about it, he could 
feel the strain left by what had happened a few hours ago. The young man chased 
away with a shiver the memory of the beating and the strong, debilitating pain 
which had followed. He raised his head, focusing his 
attention on Judou.

"About what? Are you hiding something from us too?"

Judou's rubbed his nose in embarrasment. Soshi spoke up before Kenchi could 
add anything else.

"Judou might know something," Soshi declared, his face impassive. "But he's not 
sure about it. That's probably why he didn't say anything up until now. As for 
myself, well... Let's just say I had to think about it." 

Kenchi winced inwardly when he saw Soshi's smug smile appear again on his 
face. His mind was too intrigued, however, to find it as exasperating as usual.

"What are you talking about?" he finally asked.

"I'm talking about a missing person, Kenchi," Sochi cryptically explained. "About 
a man who should have been put in this cell along with us, if the guards had been 
more alert."

"Judou's father," concluded Shuukou with awe. "We forgot about him in all this 
commotion." She had resumed her position against a nearby wall, and was 
looking at Soshi with a newfound interest.

"I didn't," Soshi remarked. "It would have been easy for us not to notice him then, 
though. He has remained concealed through our entire ordeal."

Kenchi's eyes opened wide in amazement. His face quickly clouded with worry, 
however, a disturbing thought making its way through his mind.

"But...What if he had died afterwards? I mean..." he turned toward Judou 
hesitantly. "His body could have disintegrated or something 
like that."

Soshi chuckled softly, obviously amused by such a strange idea. Judou only shook 
his head, looking confused.

"Of course not Kenchi," he said to his friend. "Tengu cremate their dead, just like 
other Japanese people do. Moreover, I know he's still alive and inside the base."

"What makes you say that?" asked Shuukou.

"Well," began Judou, rubbing his nose once more. "One of the guards who led us 
here winked at me."

Kenchi blinked several times, then groaned, falling on his back. He closed his 
eyes, wondering if this whole room would disappear if he wished 
so. 'Tough luck," he thought after opening his eyes again.

"So, that's how you guessed about his presence," Soshi remarked calmly. 
"Interesting. But how can you be so sure about that?"

"I remember having heard during my childhood about a ritual which allows 
Tengus to change their appearance," replied Judou. "Much like wearing an 
illusory coat. But I thought it was just a fairy tale back then." The dark-haired 
man shrugged helplessly.

Kenchi turned his head to look at 
Soshi, who was nodding with satisfaction at Judou's explanation.

"Even if Judou's right, and his father knows such a trick," 
Kenchi grumbled, "Why didn't he try to free us then?"

"Don't forget that Amano-san was wounded during the attack," Soshi said slowly, 
as if he was explaining something to a child. "He needs time to recover and 
prepare himself. A firefight would have broken out if he had chosen to act right 
away. Since this is our last chance of escaping, he probably wants his plan to be 
perfect."

Kenchi frowned slightly; Soshi's last sentence sounded a bit too ominous to his 
liking. Shuukou, however, expressed that fact before he could.

"Our last chance? What do you mean?"

"That Kenchi's first statement couldn't be farther from the truth," Soshi declared, 
his face suddenly becoming grim. "Our captors obviously didn't expect such an 
attack from the Man in Beige. It proves that we are precious to him and to his 
employers. And in any conflict, precious things have only two fates: they're either 
put under heavy surveillance, or... destroyed in order to hinder the adversary's 
plans."

Shuukou shook her head slowly, as if she couldn't believe what she had just 
heard. Judou, suddenly paler, stroked Akari's cheek gently. Kenchi 
found himself happy that the young woman was still sleeping. She wouldn't have 
reacted very well to this news.  

"That's just great," he concluded with a deep sigh. "In short, they're going to 
transfer us to an unknown place, where security will be a lot tighter, or they're 
simply going to put us to death."

"What can we do now?" asked Shuukou in a whisper.

Soshi smiled again, but for the first time, his voice sounded a bit nervous.

"Wait for Amano-san to carry out his plan."

******************************************************************

Author's notes:

Well, another part for me...Writing this one was much more difficult than for my first part, though. A lot of things happened to me recently, the worst being infected by a rather nasty virus. My mind was so fuzzy then that I wasn't able to organize my ideas. Thus the lateness for bringing this part.

I worked on it with two thoughts in mind: 
-First, I always have regreted that almost nobody had developped the group's adversaries. I can understand that the series' mood thrives on paranoļa and mystery, but there's a difference between the characters and the readers. Thus the introduction of the two factions, the Wu-Long and the Iron Dragon. I'm a little bit disappointed by my work on them, however, for I would have loved to describe both factions accurately. But this is Impro, and I can't possibly monopolize the story. There's also the fact that they're introduced a bit too abruptly, but I thought that that was becoming more than necessary with the end of the series coming.

-Second, "The countdown effect". In my first part, I have tried, with the help of the ancient Tengu legend, to imply that there is always a price to pay for obtaining power. At first, I was hesitant about using "the countdown". But after submitting my idea to my prereaders, I became convinced that such an event can easily be used and transformed by further authors (namely CF and Ardweden). There is always the possibility for Judou, Amano, or a third party, to find a way of saving the other characters, by siphoning the excessive amount of energy for example.

Recommandations: I know it sounds a tad proud for me to write this, but I thought I could try helping to bring a nice end for WoF by giving ideas for the next part.^_^;;
The Wu-Long, being the main adversary should definitely be introduced, probably through Rukeo.
I personnally don't think that it's necessary to kill off Macha. She was enough of an Anti-Hero to exit the story without being maimed. Furthermore, Amano'll need her firepower in order to break his son free. He could exchange her life (Akari's powers would be useful) for Judou's, for example. Macha would go away after the escape, since she wouldn't have any reason of staying then.

Now that I've made a fool of myself by giving recommandations to better writers than I am, let's finish with the thanks:
Chu-san, whose patience and understanding really helped me to bring my ideas together. Time is precious.
My prereaders, Lirazel-sama and Maleski-sama, who helped this poor Frenchman to write a gramatically acceptable chapter. It's people like them who give me the will to keep on writing.^_^
Ardeweden-sama, who co-created this series, and thus pulled me into the world of intro.

Well, it's time for me to hide, I guess.:p