The Kyoto Ordeal (Tales of the Other Universe Book 1)

by J. G. Taschereau

  “Creator, I think I may have an answer,” New Baggins said. The other three turned to him as he gave his hypothesis. “It could be biochalcum.”

  “Biochalcum? On Earth?”

  “What’s biochalcum?” Dee asked.

  “It’s a rare substance in the Other Universe,” the Creator explained, “often called ‘living metal’.”

  No further explanation was needed. Living metal was a well known substance, even though it existed in such small amounts and had largely disappeared. First mined around 3,000 years earlier, biochalcum was discovered to possess some characteristics of a living organism, despite being a completely inorganic metal. Scientists quickly learned that by manipulating the metal at a crucial time, it could be adapted for use in other organisms. New prosthetics were developed that could connect to the owner’s nervous system, allowing for full control over the metal’s morphing abilities. Such a prosthetic, it was likely, was attached to Osami Hyogo.

  “So you’re telling me that he’s got a weapon built into him that can change into whatever he wants it to?” Mathias asked. His anger had turned towards aggravation at the absurdity of this new threat.

  “We’ll have to stay on our toes,” the Creator said. “We should try to disable this man before he does any more damage to the train or the passengers.”

  Above them, there were three heavy metallic clangs in succession. The four standing in the car looked up and saw indentations protruding from the roof. More began to appear, moving towards the front of the train.

  “He’s definitely on the roof then,” the Creator said. He stepped forward to look straight up at the hole in the ceiling, which spilled the icy wind and snow all around him. “We’re going to have to get up there if we’re going to detain him.”

  “How do you expect us to do that?” asked Mathias. “The train’s moving almost 300 kilometers an hour through a snowstorm.”

  “I’ll be able to use my powers to hold us onto the train,” New Baggins said, “though I won’t be able to make any offensive attacks in the mean time.”

  “I was afraid that might be the case,” the Creator said grimly. “It will be difficult to capture that man without your powers. Unless…” The Creator turned to Dee, who was listening as the other three made their plan of attack. “Ms. Gatti, I know it’s not the reason why you came, but could I ask you to use your magic to get that man under control?”

  Dee was surprised he had asked. Since coming into his service, she had only been taking down notes and setting up meetings for the Creator. He rarely acknowledged her powers, let alone asked her to use them. Before they had left the Other Universe, he had even asked her not to use them. Still, she wasn’t about to let the situation get out of hand as long as she was able to fight.

  On top of the Shinkansen, Osami Hyogo held on for dear life as he was buffeted by the incoming storm. His right hand had reverted back to its familiar five fingered shape and was being used to cling to the train, no longer for attacking anyone. Carefully, he moved the hand against the force of the wind and gripped further along the train.

  This isn’t what he signed on for, he kept thinking. His purpose was for special situations where his biochalcum arm would come in use. Gien never said that he would be trying to kill wizards or sorcerers or whatever those two were. This isn’t what he signed up for.

  He had no idea where he was going. There was no where to run on top of the train, and even if he could hold on until the Shinkansen arrived in Kyoto he would be arrested there. That was unlikely, he realized. Gien would go through with his backup plan before that happened, or at the very least kill him as he had done with Sgt. Rogers.

  Through the howling gale around him, Hyogo heard three thumps on the metal behind him. He turned his head around and saw New Baggins, Mathias, and Dee standing on the roof of the train behind him. A bright yellow glow surrounded the three of them, seemingly keeping them stable despite the storm and speed of the train.

  “I’m afraid that’s as far as you’ll go,” New Baggins’ ghostly voice said. His words were clear to Hyogo despite the storm, as if they were being spoken directly into his ears.

  “Stay back!” Hyogo screamed. He let his right arm fly behind him. The polished silver-looking hand lost its form as it transitioned from a solid to a semi-liquid metal. The shape of a hand vanished as the biochalcum reformed into a cylinder. At the end, eight holes emptied out as the metal re-solidified. With a jerk of his arm, the weapon clicked.

  “Look out!” Dee shouted. The weapon burst to life, spraying a stream of bullets across the train roof towards the three of them. Dee and Mathias moved out of the way instinctively while New Baggins raised his hand out. The bullets stopped a few inches away from his face, as if they had struck a solid wall, and fell away into the wind. The golden glow around Mathias faded and the bounty hunter lost his footing. He slipped and fell, but New Baggins caught him within the glow again before he was lost over the edge. He slammed into the train, lifting his head up.

  “Be a little more careful, will you?” he shouted. “I’d like to see the end of this day!”

  Hyogo’s weapon clicked as the bullets stopped firing. He couldn’t afford to use up too much of the living metal or his arm would suffer permanent damage. He risked getting to his feet, keeping his balance by holding his left hand close to the train. Dee stepped forward and held out her wand.

  “There’s no where left to run,” she reminded him. “Please don’t resist anymore and come into the train peacefully.”

  Hyogo didn’t want to accept this truth. He wouldn’t accept not being able to go home again to enjoy a good meal. He wasn’t about to give up, especially to a little girl. He took the risk.

  The gun came to life again, spraying another volley of bullets straight at Dee. She raised her wand out, prepared for his resistance.

  “Conturbo!” she commanded. The end of her wand sparkled as a shimmering spiral flew out towards the oncoming bullets. As they struck the spiral, the bullets’ trajectory shifted dramatically. Each one flew away from the train, disappearing into the whitewashed air around them.

  The spell took Hyogo by surprise, an opportunity Dee didn’t intend to pass up. She ran forward, guided by New Baggins’ protection, and pointed her wand at Hyogo’s living metal arm.

  “Ignis flamma!” Flames flickered at the end of Dee’s wand and formed a large fireball. The fireball shot out at Hyogo, striking his weapon and burning away his sleeve in the process. Hyogo howled in pain, gripping onto the train with his other hand to remain steady. Dee realized from his reaction that the biochalcum was actually connected to the nerves in his body. He felt the weapon’s pain.

  Dee stepped closer and Hyogo inspected his ailing arm. He swung his head around, his face filled with rage towards the girl. She froze in fear at the sight of his face, giving him the chance he needed. The metal morphed again, returning to the shape of a hand, and thrust forward enough to grasp Dee around the neck. Her squeal was cut off as the cold metal claws wrapped tightly around her throat.

  “Ms. Gatti!” New Baggins called. Below them, the Creator looked up through the hole.

  “What’s happening? Is Ms. Gatti alright?”

  New Baggins ignored the Creator, looking for someway to separate the two of them. Dee was directly between them, and any use of his powers he tried to make on Hyogo would affect Dee as well. Dee’s eyes widened as Hyogo’s grip tightened and she struggled to breathe. She held her wand tightly, but couldn’t use it without an incantation. She was helpless in the giant’s grip.

  Through the rushing wind, a faint sound rang out, like a firecracker. Hyogo’s grip slackened a little, giving Dee enough space in her throat to take a much needed breath. She looked at her attacker’s face. The rage that had taken over him a moment ago had shifted to a look of surprise. It wasn’t until his grip let go entirely that she understood. There was a small hole in the left side of his jacket where a red trickle of blood was starting to leak out. Behind her, Mathias w
as still flat on the roof of the train, his pistol pointed outward. His eyes were unmoving, fixed on Hyogo’s. The failed assassin returned the stare, his eyes filled with a look of regret.

  Hyogo’s focus on the train faded and his footing slipped. As Dee fell safely back to the roof of the train, Hyogo’s body moved backwards. He fell from the side of the train and crashed into the snowy field below. His body bounced and rolled before disappearing like a dot in the distance as the train rolled along.

  Dee watched in horror as her former captor vanished into the snow, while Mathias got to his feet. He clicked the safety of the gun on, sliding it back into his vest holster. He didn’t say anything, even after he had gotten back into the train and was ordered to speak by the Creator. The deity got no answer from Mathias, who didn’t say a word until the train arrived in Kyoto. The deathly silence aboard the train following the incident matched his own.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The Reunion

  Kyoto, Japan

  The Shinkansen pulled into Kyoto about forty-five minutes later and was immediately boarded by police. News of the attack on the train quickly spread as passengers communicated to outside sources with cell phones. The result was a swarm of law enforcement officers and reporters arriving at Kyoto Station. The train was taken out of commission so that it could be properly searched and the passengers questioned. However, the four most important witnesses had already made their way off of the train. A few strange words and the powers of Dee’s wand were enough to make them invisible for a short period of time. As the police took control of the train, the four had already made their way off.

  This new element to the situation made things more complicated for Friedrich Gien. He quickly realized after Hyogo was killed that an investigation was going to be launched. Their hopes of completing their mission quickly and quietly were dashed. Now Gien sat, annoyed, while he waited to be cleared to disembark. He had explained to Hyogo before they left that should anything go wrong, he would go through with the backup plan: an explosive device installed on the train that would kill everyone on board. This was, however, completely fictitious, a tool used to motivate the often lazy Hyogo.

  Gien almost wished now that it had been real, so he could blow himself up and escape having to wait on the train another minute. He couldn’t give up on living yet, he decided. There was still the most important task for him to complete. That was why he contacted Souji after the incident. Even though the Creator’s group would escape him for now, Souji would catch them as they left the station. Even if he couldn’t kill the man in the golden mask or the other two, it would be worth it to kill the Creator. If that could be done, at least part of Gien’s revenge would be complete. One down, two to go, he mused.

  Mathias sat alone on a bench in the crowded station. He made certain to get away from the boarding platform as soon as possible so as not to be recognized by any of the passengers. He figured he’d be safe for the moment, since they were all still stuck on the train. The group had all split up for a moment, agreeing to meet at the main entrance of the station in ten minutes. The Creator and New Baggins had presumably gone off to gather information as they often seemed to do. Before Mathias could think about where Dee went, he found her standing in front of him, holding out a can of beer.

  “You look like you could use a drink too,” she said. Her voice was soft, attempting to reach out to the distraught bounty hunter. Mathias took the can.

  “Thanks,” he said, the first words he’d spoken since he killed Osami Hyogo.

  She took a seat beside him on the bench and opened her own drink. Mathias shot her a curious look.

  “Are you old enough to be drinking alcohol?”

  “I’ll have you know I’m 19,” Dee said curtly. “I looked it up in the guide, that’s over the legal age in this country. At any rate, mine doesn’t have any alcohol. I’m not much of a drinker.”

  “Well why’d you make it sound like it was alcoholic then?” Mathias asked, opening the tab of his beer.

  Dee stuck her tongue out childishly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Mathias smiled a little, then took a long drink of the beer. Dee held her can with both hands, staring contemplatively at the floor.

  “Mr. Albright,” she said, “thank you for saving my life.”

  Mathias took the can away from his mouth. “Don’t think you owe me or anything, kid. Killing criminals is part of the job description. You’re the one who deserves my thanks really.”

  “What do you mean?” Dee asked.

  “Well, you did all that…magic stuff,” Mathias said, trying to think of the right words to describe what he had seen. “It helped out a lot.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything about it before,” said Dee. “The Creator asked me to keep it a secret while we were on Earth. The truth is that I’m a rather accomplished mage, even if I’m still technically an apprentice.”

  “Well I’m glad you are,” Mathias said. “If you hadn’t have jumped in when you did I might have ended up shooting the stewardess just to get at that guy. She’s safe now, along with everybody else on the train thanks to you.”

  “And to you,” Dee said. Mathias looked ahead took another sip of his drink. “Where you really that mad at that man? Enough to be willing to kill someone else just to get to him?”

  Mathias didn’t answer, so Dee continued.

  “I know he was trying to kill us, but you were acting kind of strange this time, like you were taking it personally. The Creator told me that you had bought his lunch just before this happened, but even still, that doesn’t seem like enough to push you that far. It seemed to hit you close to home. Are you ok?”

  Mathias stayed silent, staring off into space in front of him. Dee tilted her head forward, trying to get a response by looking into his listless eyes.

  “Mr. Albright?”

  Mathias finally turned to her. “We’ve been out here for a while now. Where do you suppose Bright Boy and our fearless leader are?”

  Surprised by his sudden change of the subject, Dee thought about what they had told her.

  “New Baggins said he was going to try and get our baggage out of the train somehow,” she said, “and I think the Creator said he had to place a phone call.”

  “A phone call?” Mathias repeated. “Who in the world is he going to be calling here?”

  At the row of public telephones, the Creator mindlessly twirled the spiraled cord in his fingers while the call he placed went through. After three rings, the phone was answered. A young female voice answered in Japanese.

  “Is this the Hiwatari household?” the Creator asked in Japanese. Compared to his speech in Tokyo, his words were much more natural now. The girl on the other end answered affirmatively. “Then may I assume that this is Ayumi speaking?”

  “It is,” the girl answered in Japanese. “May I ask who is calling?”

  The Creator smiled. “It’s been a while, Ayumi,” he said in English. “This is Daniel. I’ve finally come to visit Kyoto.”

  The other end was silent for a few seconds, and the Creator thought she may have hung up the phone. This was disproved when an excited scream rang through the receiver, loud enough to be heard by those around the Creator.

  “Daniel-kun! Is it really you? It’s been years! What are you doing in Kyoto?”

  “I’m here on business with a few friends of mine,” he answered. “I was hoping I’d be able to pay you and Shuya a visit, and if it wouldn’t be too much trouble maybe stay with you for a few nights.”

  “Oh, well Shuya isn’t here,” Ayumi said. “He’s studying abroad this year, he’s almost through with university by now. My father is away on business so I’ve been home alone for a while. I’d love to have you stay over! We have so much to catch up on!”

  The Creator smiled again. “I look forward to it.”

  Ayumi gave the Creator her address, which he copied down on a page in the guidebook. He thanked her again in Japanese and told
her they would be there soon. He hung up the phone, glad to know his old friend had not forgotten him.

  “I’m impressed, sir Creator.”

  The Creator turned around and saw a Japanese teenager standing behind him smiling happily. In his right hand was some kind of long object wrapped in a green cloth.

  “You speak well for a foreigner, though your accent is off just a touch. Where did you learn?”

  The Creator hung up the receiver, eyeing this stranger cautiously. “Who are you?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry!” the boy said. “Where are my manners? My name is Souji Okita. Of course I already know you. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

  Keeping his composure, the Creator smiled nervously. “The pleasure is all mine. Is there something I can do for you, Souji?”

  “Well, actually there is,” Okita said. He began to unwrap the object in his hand. “If you’d be kind enough to stand still it would help me quite a bit. You see, though I don’t really know you or carry a grudge against you personally, by the order of my superior I’ll be taking your life now.”

  The Creator’s composure dropped as Okita tore the cloth from his concealed weapon: a Japanese katana. In a flash, the sword was drawn and Okita rushed forward. The blade stabbed at the Creator, who dodged in time to miss being impaled. Okita pierced the payphone the Creator had been using, taking on a displeased look.

  “I was hoping to get you with the first go, but I guess I underestimated you a little.” His smile returned as he prepared for another attack. All in all, the attack had been going on for about six seconds, but this was enough time to startle everyone standing near and send them off screaming. Shouts were made to call the authorities, and the chaos that the Creator had just escaped on the train suddenly returned. This time, however, he was the only target, and he was completely alone.