New Faces

He had only ever been beaten once. That is what happens when some uppity prick uses a First Mind artifact to shatter your weapon. The bastard had called it a lesson; said that he had traded away his honor. He'd show him; he would become the greatest warrior that ever lived.

Ryuunosuke lounged as he waited. He knew he looked dangerous, and he was. Known as The Dragon, he was the champion of the underground fighting circuit of Geneva Prime. At least, he was until three days ago when half of the fucking city blew up. He had been an Allskin once, and so had been taught by the finest masters of Kenjutsu in the city. Now that he had become a Biomade, had received augmentations to his strength, speed, stamina... he was practically invincible. But practically wasn't good enough.

There was a rapid staccato knock at the door. He grunted. Finally. "Come in!" he yelled. The door opened to admit a short, slender man with a cigarette between his lips. Tricks-the-Wind was just the Zipsum he had been waiting for. "Is everything arranged?"

Tricks nodded. "Tomorrow night. Everything's set. You got my payment?"

"Yeah, I got it. Matthew?"

A Mechified stepped out of the corner, and tossed a small bag to the Zipsum, who deftly caught it and peered inside.

"It's all there, squirrel-breath. Two whole fucking days; your contacts had better be able to get us out without a fuss." Since the explosion, Goshi had quarantined the entire city. No one in, no one out. He had had to hire a mercenary little furball to get him out.

"Yeah, yeah. The cost of Sikolo powder isn't going down, you know. I've set it all up with the Grand High Muckity Muck. There'll be a distraction when we need it; we'll get out fine."

"The Grand High what?"

Tricks looked up from counting his money. "The Grand High Muckity Muck; the title of the leader of the band of Zipsum I'm part of."

"Are you fucking with me?"

The Zipsum dropped his butt and immediately lit another cigarette. "I shit you not. Well, it all seems to be here. I'll see you tomorrow evening." And just as quickly as he had arrived, he departed.

Fucking Zipsum and their addictive personalities. Most of 'em liked sweets and shiny things; this one was addicted to the hottest new designer drug. Little did Tricks know that he was an associate of the creator of said drug. "You catch all that Matthew?"

"Yeah, I got it Ryuu." Matthew was a hulk; there were no other words to describe him. More machine than Cheldrun, only his face showed more flesh than not anymore. He was the strongest person Ryuunosuke had ever met, bar none, and his metal body held several nasty tricks besides. You did not last long in the underground fighting world unless you were a dirty fighter.

"How 'bout you, donkey-man?" On the other side of the room, a figure almost as large as Matthew raised its head from the couch it was laying on. Both of his ears were ragged stumps and a deep scar had obliterated one eye. Bandages wrapped his massive barrel torso and bruises covered the rest. "I'm gonna get you out of the city, just like you wanted. Just you remember your promise."

The Gogajin glared at him. "Don't ye be worryin' yerself. I remember it well."

Ryuunosuke nodded. He had found this one alone and injured, trapped in the city. He had gotten his associate, Dr. Watanabe, to fix it up; she was mostly a chemist, but she knew a bit of medicine as well. While feverish, the Gogajin had spoken of a weapon, a blade of unmatched power. When it awoke, he pressured it to tell him more. Eventually the injured Karian promised to take him to its tribe to learn more, if he could get them out of the city. Now that had been arranged. An ancient blade of Karian magic could stand up to a First Mind artifact, and it would not care that he was no longer Allskin. Yes, he, the Dragon, would become the greatest warrior that ever lived.