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-Outside the city of

Toronto, Kameyama Manor-

July 29th, 2015

            Almost

a year had passed since the fateful day that the Yakuza were driven from the

city of Toronto. Nearly twelve months, since the day the head of the Kameyama

family, Takeo, was defeated by a masked vigilante garbed in white and red, who

battled him on sovereign ground in his place of rest, besting him, and then

delivering him to the doorstep of the Toronto Police, along with enough proof

of his crimes to put him away for two decades -two decades of shame and

ridicule.

            Even now, Takeo remained imprisoned in the Toronto South

Detention centre, without the possibility of parole -without the possibility to

regain his honor. Doomed to rot away in the presence of dishonorable scum and

villainy, and not able to maintain control of his Empire, leaving it in the

hands of his brother and nephew...

            It could not be allowed to pass.

            This was nothing less than an insult, and a dishonor to

his family! For Takeo to be forced to endure such indignity in the prisons of

an inferior nation, surrounded by fools who had no purpose in life but to bring

misery to those around them by distributing drugs and beating one another

senseless in street brawls, it disgusted him. And there was only one man who

could be blamed for it; one wretched, white-clad man who appeared at random in

the night, and delivered shame to those who served a better purpose.

               J?sh? sat on his knees before a

life-sized portrait of the masked hero, glaring at it between thick locks of

hair that concealed his left eye, leaving only the right visible. The room

around him was dark except for four candles placed neatly around him and two

torches on either side of the portrait, filling a small space with an eerie

glow. His fists rested against his thighs, with no shirt covering his upper

torso, revealing numerous scars all over his body, scars that left bald spots

where fur should have been, and a bushy tail flicked angrily behind him.

               Slowly,

with his eyes on the portrait, J?sh? rose to his feet, the wooden sandles worn

over his footpaws echoing across the wooded floor as he placed one foot down,

the second step softer as his weight pressed upon both. Slowly, with his right

hand, he reached across his stomach to grasp the hilt of his sword, the brass

pommel and hilt reflecting the fire light around him as his foot slid along the

floor, back leg straightening as he stood with his front leg half bent, bracing

himself as the blade clicked free.

               In

a fraction an instant, the sword was drawn, faster than the eye could follow,

with only a flash of metal reflecting from it along its path as any indication

the sword had been removed from its scabbard, and how it was now gripped

tightly in the hands of the Hokkaido fox, standing frozen until the slash

appeared in the portrait, and the lower half of the painting from the waist

down fell from the frame, crumpling to the floor in a still heap.

               "My

mission is clear," whispered J?sh? in his native tongue as he stepped forward,

grasped the remaining half of the painting portrait of The Warp and pulling it

down from the hooks that supported it, hold it over the candle in front of him

until the flame caught, watching with a deep, hateful stare as the image of the

Warp slowly burned away in his paw. "I will avenge Shisho Takeo's honor, and I

will return our family to power." He dropped the portrait to the floor, and

stomped on it to quell the flames. "I will kill The Warp."

~~~~~

-City of Toronto, Docks near National

Yacht Club, 12:02 AM-

July 20th, 2015

               Slowly,

the small yacht pulled up to the docks in the dead of night, gently approaching

the pier until they were close enough for one of the boat crew to jump down and

tie the boat to the wharf and dropping anchor to secure it in place. Speaking

in Arabic to one another, they quickly got to work offloading stacks of crates

from the back of the boat, urging haste in their native tongue as another one

jumped down from the yacht and helped the first catch the crates as they were

dropped.

               One

after another the crates fell from the ship, caught by the two men on the

wharf; they were making good time, but after setting each crate down their eyes

would dart around the docks, expecting at any moment to be spotted by a

Security Guard or even someone working late out on their boat. The docks were

clear, though; a window bought by the men they worked for, but the concern was

always there...

               The

last crate was offloaded by the time one of the men on the wharf gruffly asked.

"Where is the truck? They're late!"

               "He'll

be here," the other replied.

               "He

better be; the leader will carve us into jackal food if we fail him!"

               A

flash of light behind them; a blink, appearing and vanishing in an instant,

cast their shadows across the wharf. They froze as a cold, stern voice spoke

dangerously close to their ears. "About this leader of yours," it said. "I

want. His. Name."

               Immediately,

the two men reacted, grabbing for wicked curved knives in their belts.

Calculating their speed and waiting until they began to turn around, the white-clad

caribou vanished in another flash of light, reappearing in front of them and

grasping them both by the sides of their heads, bringing them together in a

satisfying 'thud!' before they both

fell to the pier, groaning.

               Precisely

as he calculated, the other men on the boat were already reacting, drawing

blades and guns alike; quickly, Warp zeroed in on the ones who had firearms,

and vanished in a flash of light as the first of them brandished his weapon and

took aim, discharging the first bullet, only for it to strike the pier

harmlessly where the caribou had been standing less than a second before, and

in that same second, he appeared at the shooter's side and elbowed him in the

face before grabbing him by the arm, twisting it painfully and dislocating his

shoulder.

               The

rest were after him; Warp went for the gunmen first, one by one disarming them

and breaking wrists or forearms to prevent them from going for their guns

again. When the last gunman went down, the knife wielders became his concern.

One rushed at him from the side; he caught slapped the man's arm aside before

delivering an elbow strike right to his face, dazing the jackal, and then

teleported as the next one charged at him from the right. Warp reappeared

behind the charging furson, and nonchalantly kicked him in the buttocks,

sending him stumbling towards the rail before going over, yelping in terror as

he plunged into the dark water.

               'Six down, four to go,' he thought.

               The

next knifeman ran at him, and took a few swings, each one Warp dodged until he

blocked one with the armguard concealed beneath his gloves, and then snapped

his arm forward to jab the anthro fox in the nose; he saw the man's eye's tear,

before he delivering a powerful left hook to the man's head, sending him

careening to the deck. The next two, these ones unarmed, charged at Warp from

the sides; he teleported away and let them collide with each other instead,

both of them groaning, before reappearing above them and striking them on the

tops of their heads, his fists hitting hard enough to be felt even through

their hats.

               'Too easy,' though Warp. 'Just one left now.'

               The last man, the same jackal he had

dazed before, had recovered, but barely managed to set his eyes on Warp before

the caribou disappeared again. Powerful arms seized the jackal from behind,

twisting his weapon arm harshly and forcing him to drop the knife, before he

suddenly felt weightless, seeing blue light around him for only a fraction of

an instant until colour and...

               Open

air.

               He

screamed in terror as he suddenly realized he was on the top of a very tall building. "What in the name of Allah am I doing up here?!"

               "You're

going to give me some answers," Warp said, sternly, holding the man up by his

arm, giving him a good view of the street twenty stories below. "I know those

crates you offloaded are full of opium; where did it come from, and who is it

for?! TALK!"

               "No!

No!" The jackal protested, instinctively squirming as he stared in horror down

at the street. "I cannot betray him!"

               "I'd

make a decision, friend; my arm's starting to get tired."

               "Never!

I won't betray him; you don't know

what he will do to me!" The jackal

protested. "Turning to wet paint on a street would be an act of mercy compared

to his wrath!"

               "GIVE

ME A NAME!" Warp roared, deliberately loosening his grip on the jackal's arm a

little to scare him; the anthro screamed and flailed, grabbing Warp's arm with

his other hand to steady himself.

               "I

can't! There's nowhere I'd ever be safe from him!" The jackal screamed. "You

don't understand; he is cruelty incarnate! I..." The jackal slacked, his eyes

slowly closing, and he didn't utter another word as his free arm released

Warp's arm, falling limp to his side.

               "Dammit,"

Warp cursed before he pulled the man closer, wrapping his other arm around him

and teleporting back to the pier, where he dropped the fainted jackal onto the

yacht with two of his friends. He could hear police sirens approaching -someone

must've heard the shooting and reported it. He couldn't stay any longer, hoping

for one of them to wake up; he had to leave soon.

               To

confirm his suspicions, he reached down and picked up one of the knives; an

Arabic jambiya dagger, a weapon of ancient design, with a wicked sharp curve,

terrifying to even look at and absolutely deadly. He stared at the insignia on

the flat of the blade; a black crescent moon, just as he suspected. "Desert

Moon again..." He said, raising his left arm slightly after dropping the

dagger.

               "No mistaking it," Akio's voice spoke in

his ear.

               Warp

teleported from the yacht, leaving the men and the evidence for the police to

find, and reappeared on the top of the roof of the HCMS York, across the water

just in sight of the boats, where he sat down on the edge and continued his

conversation. "This is the third time in the last two months I've managed to

track down one of their operations; I keep taking out lieutenants, stopping

trucks, and knocking out boat crews, but no matter how many of these guys I

interrogate they never give me their leader's name; they truly do fear him more

than they fear death."

               "The way they go on it's like they believe

he is evil incarnate," remarked Akio.

               Warp

grimaced, even though Akio couldn't see his facial expressions. "Maybe he is,"

he said. "There's got to be something

out there that can lead me back to this guy."

               "We'll get another chance, Dan. In the

meantime, come on back to the Bunker; I got something for you to test out."

               "A new invention, Akio?" Warp asked.

               "Possibly one of my best ever," replied

the weasel.

               Warp

chuckled. "That's what you said when you made my mask," he reminded.

               "I said 'one of', not 'the' best," Akio

returned.

               Warp

laughed again before replying. "Alright; I'm coming back. See you in two

seconds."

               Quite

literally, Warp was there in only two seconds, appearing in The Bunker after

only two teleportations -he had been too far away to make the trip in only one.

With his trademark flash of light he appeared in the bunker at the very center

of the room, notifying Akio of his presence. The weasel looked up from his

workbench as Warp rematerialized in the room, looking over his shoulder at him.

               "You

make very good time," he remarked.

               "Benefits

of being a meta-furson," returned Warp, taking off his mask to give his eye

sockets some air, causing the nanites to recede back to the mask and remove the

white coloration from his fur. "What have you got for me?"

               "This,"

replied Akio, holding up a small metal object, square-shaped with a seam down

the center, and with two clips on the sides...

               Daniel

blinked at the item before looking down at his cape, grasping the buckle and

pulling it away from his collar to look at it, seeing it looked identical to

the object Akio was holding, only the two clips on the sides were hooked

through the brass rings of his cape to hold it on. "You made me a new brooch

for my cape?" He asked, before adding humorously. "It's not even my birthday

yet."

               "Look

a little closer, shittakaburi,"

retorted Akio, giving him a scowl.

               Daniel

chuckled at how flustered his jest had made Akio before he did as he was told

and took a second look at the brooch, examining it carefully until something

caught his eye; on the left half of the brooch was what appeared to be a lens.

"Look at that," Akio remarked, catching Daniel's attention and pointing across

the room to his computer monitor, in which Daniel saw... himself?

               "A

camera," the caribou realized.

               "Bingo,"

replied Akio. "With that on, I'll be able to help keep an eye on your cases; if

you need something for me to inspect, I can scan it through the lens of that

camera, rather than you having to bring it all the way back here. Chemical

stuff or the like I'd still need samples, but say you need a coded message

translated; I can do it right through that camera." He snapped his fingers. "Sono y?na tanjun'na."

               "Nice... this could come in handy,"

agreed Daniel. "But how did you fit all that into something only three

centimeters thick?"

               "Nanotechnology

is the way to the future," replied Akio. "Nanobots only need programming, and

then they do the rest."

               Daniel

eyed Akio with surprise. "Just how many of those nanites do you have left after

you made my mask?"

               "A

little vial of them, but more than enough to make all kinds of gadgets,"

replied Akio. "Besides, they're self-replicating too; I'll never run out."

               Daniel

grimaced, nodding his head. "The Chinese sure can make some interesting stuff,"

he stated.

               "And

then I perfect what they put together," added Akio, cockily, a big grin on his

face.

               "Don't

get a big head now, Akio, this Bunker's too crowded for it," Daniel teased.

               "Daniel,

if you weren't twice my size, I would kick your face."

               "I

think you mean 'kick my ass', Akio; that's what we say here in the west,"

returned Daniel as he removed his cape and began to attach the new camera

brooch.

               "Right...

well anyway; the brooch has the same traits as the old one -the clasps are just

made of thin plastic so they'll break if your cape gets hung up or someone

pulls on it, so that it can't be used against you. The camera also

automatically adjusts to night-vision in low-light conditions, so I'll never

lose the feed. But it only has a battery power of about four hours, so we'll

have to use it sparingly or it'll run out."

               "How

does it charge?"

               "Same

as any cellphone; hook it up to a universal charger and it's ready in twenty

minutes."

               "Great

work, Akio," complimented Warp as he finished replacing the brooch, and then

adorned his cape. "I'll pick you up a burger when I go back out on patrol."

               "Delicious!"

               All

of a sudden, the lights went out, and the room suddenly became completely

black, except for a pair of emergency lights that kicked in seconds later,

filling the room with dim, red light that only barely illuminated the

exasperated looks on both their faces.

               "And...

some diesel while I'm at it," he added.

               "My

next invention ought to be a new power source for this place," remarked Akio.

               Fortunately

for Warp, he didn't work the next day, allowing him to stay out as late as he

needed to and sleep in, as well as get into costume at dusk. Appearing on a

roof near the CN Tower, where he stood on the edge of it, feeling the wind

caressing his form, blowing his cape around his legs as rushed all around him.

He reached up to his collar, tapping a button on the side of the brooch,

eliciting a faint click.

               "Test

in progress, Akio; how's it looking?" He asked into his left glove.

               "Looking good; the feed is so clear I can

almost count the lights on the tower, except for the glare," replied Akio. "I'd say it's a success."

               "Good," replied Warp, switching off

the camera before gazing at the sky for a moment, resting a hand on his hip.

"Well, time to get started with my patrol."

               "Hold that thought, Danny," Akio stated

suddenly. "Looks like you might have

something already; a disturbance on the roof of Stanley Terrace -someone has

set fire to the rooftop."

               "On

my way," replied Warp, turning his attention to the west and vanishing in a

flash of light.

               Less

than a second later, Warp was on a neighboring building overlooking Stafford

Street, directly across the way from the building designated by Akio, in an

area of Toronto known as King West Village. The building in question, where the

fires could be seen, was a large complex overlooking the Stanley Off-Leash Dog

Park, only two blocks from the East Liberty Medical Center. 'Well, if anyone's hurt, I don't have to

worry about a hospital being too far away,' he thought,

semi-optimistically.

               The

fires were visible even from his perch, but they didn't look very big, or like

much of a threat to the building either. Curious, he teleported over to the

building, and stood on the perch, overlooking the fire. It was spread out

randomly across the roof, and didn't appear to be spreading -and for good

reason, as there was nothing actually burnable on the roof. It was made of concrete,

and the flames were nowhere near any electrical lines, indicating the cause was

not a short in the wiring.

               Suddenly,

a smell caught his nostrils; he inhaled deeply, breathing in the smell but not

able to identify the substance, though he noted it had some sort of alcoholic

smell to it, but didn't see any sort of booze on the roof. He stepped onto the

roof, and felt his hook sink into something... gelatinous. "Ew!" He lifted his

hoof, looking at it, and seeing a copper-coloured substance dropping from his

hoof. "The hell is this?" He asked, curiously, reaching down and dabbing the

substance with his finger, lifting it to his face and smelling it again; it

wasn't a substance he could identify, but the flames were emitting a similar

scene as they burned.

               "So,

this gel is the ignition source," he muttered to himself, examining the flames

carefully as he shook the gel off of his glove and hoof.

               At

that moment, he noticed something. The flames were not randomly spread across

the rooftop; they were forming a pattern... He started surveying the patterns,

trying to decipher them, when suddenly the door to the roof flew open, and

several fursons garbed in firefighter gear poured out onto the roof, hauling a

large fire hose with them, and taking aim at the flames!

               Warp teleported into their

path promptly. "Hold it!" He screamed at them, waving his arms.

               They

looked at him incredulously. "Hold it? For what; we've got to put this out!"

               "It's

not a random fire; please, just give me two seconds!" Warp begged before

turning back to the flames and reaching up to activate the camera on his cape

clasp. "Bunker; screen capture, now!"

               The

lead firefighter looked back at his fellows. "Are we really going to take

orders from this vigilante?" He asked.

               "Brother,

I've seen the guys this guy has hospitalized; don't get on his bad side,"

another replied.

               "Done!"

Warp called suddenly and stepped out of the way. "Go ahead!"

               "Let

'er rip!" The lead fireman urged, and the crew braced themselves as they opened

the hose for the water; immediately, the water rushed out of the mouth of the

hose, and blasted over the rooftop, choking the flames as the powerful streams

washed away the gel.

               "We

got it," the lead fireman said, before lifting up his visor and turning to

Warp. "Mind telling us what that was about?"

               "Those

flames were ignited using some kind of flammable gel," replied Warp. "But that

gel wasn't just spilt up here; someone spelled out a message with it." He

pointed at a burn on the concrete. "Look at that; that's the kanji symbol for 'ni',

in the Japanese language."

               "What

does 'ni' mean?" One of the firefighters asked.

               "Sadly

it's only a particle, so by itself it may not actually mean anything in our

language; each kanji is like a word on its own, but can be combined to create other

words. Unfortunately I don't have a very good grasp of the language," he

replied. "But, I know someone who does." He studied the area of the burn. "What

I would like to know, though, is what the gel-like substance they used to write

this message was."

               "Oh

that's an easy one," the lead fireman stated. "Flammable gel's not hard to make

if you have the right products; common household stuff at the right proportions.

With some rubbing alcohol and a couple of other things it'd be easy to make a

flammable gel." He stared at the burn. "But to spell out a message in this

stuff; that'd take hours! Whoever did this has the patience to stand around

watching paint dry."

               "I'll

get it translated and find out just what that message was," stated Warp as he

walked towards the ledge of the building. "Pretend you never saw me up here."

               "Hey

wait a minute, you can't just...!" The fireman didn't even finish before Warp

vanished in a flash of light, leaving the fire fighter in the midst of his

sentence, hanging with his mouth open. He shook his head in annoyance. "Damn

supers; flashy entrance, flashy exit... quite literally with this one!"

               Warp

reappeared on another building several blocks away, overlooking the waterfront

of Lake Ontario. Now that all was quiet, he sat down, and raised his left arm

to mouth level to speak into it. "Akio; any luck?"

               "You were right; it was kanji," replied

Akio. "These guys used some harsh kanji

in this; 'ore-sama' is not something you use for just anybody."

               "What

does it say?"

               "Let's see... translating it to English it

says...'I challenge The Warp, in the place of'... wait, what?!"

               "What's wrong?"

               "A lot! It says 'in the place of Takeo's

fall'."

               Warp's disguised eyes widened in

realization, feeling memories flooding back into his mind, of his battles with

the Yakuza, sabotaging their operations until he learned the identity of their

leader and confronted him in his penthouse home in Toronto. "Takeo... the

Yakuza boss I captured; Takeo Kameyama?"

               "Whoever left you this message, it seems,

wants you to meet them where you defeated him in combat," stated Akio. Warp

heard a grunt of disapproval from the weasel through his earpiece. "I don't like it, Daniel... I'd stay away

from there."

               "They started a fire on a roof just

to get my attention," Warp reminded his friend. "Next thing might be something

more serious; there's no telling what lengths they'll go to in order to get me

to do as they want." He shook his head. "No... I have to go there; can't risk

the entire city just out of caution, at least not until I know what I'm dealing

with."

               "But it's obviously a trap!"

               "I know it is," assured the caribou.

"But at least I'm expecting it, and we know I can't be restrained."

               "I know... but still... just please be

careful."

               "Don't worry; I will," promised Warp,

before shutting his eyes and thinking back to the night of his battle with

Takeo Kameyama, at his penthouse suite and office, in a building he had

constructed himself in the Toronto Financial District -the Azuma no Shinboru

Tower, a fifty-story building from which Takeo had run his operations in

Toronto, renting out forty of the fifty floors to dozens of businesses, while

using his business as a supposed 'Savings and Loan' outfit as his cover. He had

also made the tower his personal home; the top three floors were residential,

with condominiums for his lieutenants and a luxurious, Asian-style penthouse on

the very top floor.

               No

one had any clue who Takeo Kameyama -or other way around if one were to choose

to say their names as they do, really was behind the wealthy philanthropist and

man who lent money to those who needed it. Those who couldn't pay back the money

were often found dead in Lake Ontario, or not found at all, but the police had

never been able to connect Takeo to it. Warp, however, as Daniel Tonraq, had;

he'd followed the accounts of those who had accepted money from Takeo back to

the source, figured out who worked for him, and worked his way up from there,

until confronting Takeo himself in his very home.

               It

had been a hard-fought battle. The middle-aged Hokkaido fox had been a worthy

opponent; skilled with a blade, experienced and precise, but not as fast or

strong as The Warp. Eventually he was able to defeat him. As a last act of

desperation, Takeo had pulled a gun on Warp and shot him, but the armour

created for him by Takeo had been enough to stop the bullet of the compact

pistol he had used, and so Warp delivered the final blow, knocking him

unconscious and achieving victory. From there it had been a simple manner of

delivering Takeo, Akio's confessions and the right evidence to the police.

               Now,

it seemed, someone from Takeo's outfit was ready to exact revenge.

               Finally

getting a mental picture of the penthouse, he vanished, journeying across the

city to face unknown odds.

~~~~~

               The

suite was illuminated as Warp made his entrance, appearing in the living room

of the penthouse home and touching down on the hardwood floor with both hooves

audibly, standing perfectly still as he slowly and carefully surveyed the room

around him, ready to teleport again if he was attacked, fully expecting an

ambush at any second. He was ready for angry Yakuza to leap out of the shadows

with swords and guns alike, filling the suite with lead and steel...

               But

it never came. There was nobody in the room. The entire room was lined with

candles, giving it a dim, ominous illumination, but a clear view of every

corner. There was no one in there, except for one person, straight ahead of

him, seated on a cushion by the big, round window at the far end that peered

out to the city streets beyond. They were down on their knees, feet tucked below

his backside, with a sword lying across his lap. His back was to the window,

covering his front in shadow as the moonlight beamed through into the room,

bathing him in an eerie glow.

               The

stranger's eyes opened, revealing the faint shine of a nocturnal species as he

raised his head to gaze at Warp. "You arrived," he stated plainly, the Japanese

accent of his voice thick. "You have courage to accept my challenge."

               "You

left me a rather clear indication of how much you wanted to see me," Warp

returned in a cold tone. "Though I have to say, I'm surprised; normally when

someone sets a trap, there's a lot more than just one person there when it's

sprung."

               "A

trap?" The shadowed fox asked, sounding insulted. "I need no such cowardly

tactics," he stated as he slowly began to rise to his feet, but set his sword

down on the cushion upon which he'd sat before stepping forward. "And I do not

need more men; I called you here as a challenge. Others would only get in the

way."

                He stepped enough into the candle light that

his face was revealed, although half of it was still somewhat shadowed by his

scalp hair, but just like Takeo himself, Warp was speaking to a Hokkaido fox,

who looked like a much younger version of the old crime boss; a white vulpine

with silver hair and the typical slanted eyes of a person of Japanese birth.

What stood out on his face however was a scar running from the rear of his

muzzle but vanished behind locks of hair that obscured his left eye. "This is a

bout between two warriors, and only two."

               "Daniel, turn on your camera; I want to see

this guy," Akio buzzed in Warp's ear.

               Warp

discreetly raised his hand and pretended to adjust his cape, but switched on

the camera on the brooch without the stranger noticing. "And who are you,

exactly?"

               "You

will know me as J?sh?, Hand of the Master," returned the fox. "I have come to end

your life, Ghost of Toronto; to avenge how you shamed Kameyama Takeo."

               "I

have no reason to fight you," Warp stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It would be a simple matter for me to just leave you here and carry on with my

night. I'm sure you've heard, I cannot be restrained; I can be gone in a flash."

               "Indeed...

but you can be lured," retorted J?sh?.

"That is why you came here, isn't it? You fear what I will do to this city if

you continue to ignore me." He scowled. "I will go to any lengths to avenge the

dishonor you have caused my family."

               "What

dishonor?" Warp asked. "Are you referring to when I defeated Takeo Kameyama in

fair combat; you consider that a dishonor?"

               J?sh?'s

scowl deepened. "You will speak of him with respect," he stated.

               "I

will not speak with any respect in regards to him," retorted Warp. "He covered my city in blood, violence, drugs and

destruction, and I brought him to justice. Just as I will do to you if you dare put anyone here in danger."

               "The

world belongs to the strong," J?sh? stated firmly. "And the Samurai and their

descendants are, and always will be strong. If your city is incapable of defending

itself from us, then it is weak, and right for claiming."

               "That

isn't the way the world works anymore, sir," Warp argued further.

               "I

beg to differ."

               This

time, it was Warp's turn to scowl, uncrossing his arms and letting them fall to

his sides, rapidly losing his patience with this outlander. "This country was

built by the hands of foreign nations," stated Warp. "And since then it has

become a haven for people from all corners of earth; where people can escape

the troubles of their countries, and come where they can be safe and treated

like people and not like insects." His fist tightened with anger. "But groups

like you bring the terrors of your own countries here to Canada -the very

things immigrants from Japan left there to escape, you bring here, and then all

sense of safety is gone.

               "They

come to build brighter futures for themselves, yet people like you make

escaping the terrors of they left behind follow them even across the largest

ocean," his scowl was deepening. "I can't stand your kind, using my homeland's

leniency and understanding for your own selfish gain." He jabbed his thumb

towards his chest. "This symbol, the Maple Leaf, isn't just something growing

on a tree; it's a beacon to those who wish to be people and not cattle to scum

like your boss; it is for that reason they come here, and for that reason I

fight for them."

               J?sh?

scoffed at Warp. "Moving words," he retorted. "But words mean nothing; the only

truth and path of the future is decided by strength and skill of arms, and by the

honor of those who have it. You can speak all you want, white-clad warrior, but

I did not come here to talk. I came to kill you, and I will not rest until the

man who ruined the honor of our clan lies dead at my feet."

               Warp

snorted. "I can see there'll be no reasoning with you," he said, placing his

right fist into his left palm and cracking his knuckles audibly. "So I'll have

to knock some sense into you; let's get this over with."

               "Gladly,"

retorted J?sh?, switching his stance sideways to a more defensive posture with

his right leg and arm held forward, right arm defending low while his left was

held high, in front of his face.

               "You're

not using your sword?" Warp asked as he switched to his own stance, pushing his

cape behind him and holding both fists up at cheek level, similar to a boxer,

but his arms were curled tightly.

               "You

possess no weapon; unless it becomes clear I cannot best you on equal ground, I

shall battle the same," returned J?sh?, plainly.

               Warp

arched and eyebrow, and even grimaced a little. "Huh. For a Yakuza enforcer,

you have traits I could like," he admitted, and reached behind him on his back

behind his cape, where he removed the two sets of bolas he brought with him and

tossed them to the floor. "In that case, this round will solely be

hand-to-hand."

               Slowly,

the two began to circle one another, their eyes meeting as Warp's hooves and J?sh?'s

sandals clicked audibly against the floor with every sideways step, discreetly

moving closer to one another by the second. During this time, Warp was able to

size up is adversary, and determine what he was facing in this fight. J?sh? was

shorter than him by precisely six inches, giving Warp a three-inch reach

advantage over his adversary. However, he clearly felt out of place without his

sword; this guy did not battle without a blade in his hand often.

               Nevertheless,

his first attack was swift and effective; lunging forward he struck out with a

straight punch aimed for Warp's chest, which was met by a palm strike from

Warp, diverting it, and then the caribou retaliated by delivering a straight

punch of his own, using the strength of both arm and shoulder to attack, but J?sh?

proved to be quite quick to react, leaning his head aside to suffer only a

glancing blow to his furred cheek, before pulling away, spinning on his heel

and striking Warp in the chest with a back fist strike.

               Warp

winced, stumbling back from the blow. 'Good

striking power,' he thought. 'This

guy may not have much muscle mass but his fist feels like getting whacked with

a claw hammer. He's been trained well.'

               J?sh? attacked again, this time with

kicks; he raised his leg to unleash two consecutive kicks at his opponent, one

at the thigh, the second higher, towards the head; Warp backhanded the first

away, blocked the second with his arm, and then delivered a mid-level kick

directly to J?sh?'s flank stumbling him, and followed it up with a spin and a

back-fist strike of his own, aiming for J?sh?'s collarbone with enough force it

might have taken the fox off of his feet, but the attack never landed; somehow,

even with his gaze angled downward, J?sh? somehow perceived the incoming

attack, putting up one hand to block it, before, in a lightning-fast motion,

seizing Warp by the arm with both of his own and turning himself about,

bringing his foot up to connect with Warp's thigh as his hooves left the floor

and was thrown over J?sh?'s head.

               Warp

it the floor hard, winding him somewhat, but just as J?sh? rushed in to deliver

a stamping attack to his face, he triggered his teleportation, appearing above J?sh?

and twisting around in the air, ensuring he would land feet first, and

delivered a falling punch to J?sh?'s shoulder, making him buckle with the force

of the fist backed by the caribou's weight as he returned to the floor.

               J?sh?

tumbled forward, tucking in an rolling away from Warp before he sprang back to

his feet and spun around to face him, eyeing his suspiciously. "I see... so

that is why you are called 'The Warp'," he stated. "You're a meta-furson; a

teleporter, apparently. Now I see why my oji was no match for you."

               "Isshun matte, did he just say 'oji'; his 'uncle'?" Akio's voice buzzed in the comm with

clear surprise.

               "You

never said you were Takeo's nephew," Warp remarked, without directly addressing

Akio, but asking essentially asking the same question. "Now suddenly why you

want to kill me makes more sense; it's personal revenge."

               "Who

I am is irrelevant; even if Takeo-san had not been my uncle and I were assigned

this mission by another, this battle would still be going on," J?sh? stated

dismissively. "Now, resume the fight."

               "Kuso

? !" Akio swore, suddenly. "Daniel, I think I just figured out who this man is! This man is infamous

in the ranks of the Yakuza; a ruthless killing machine!"

               Warp pretended

to return to his defensive posture when he was really bringing his gauntlet

close enough to whisper into it. "If I run, he'll hurt more people. Besides,

the fight has barely started; I'll be fine."

               "But Daniel...!"

               The conversation was cut short as J?sh?

moved to attack again, letting out a bellow of fury as he crossed the floor and

attacked Warp with a hook punch towards his head. Warp put up his fist to block

it, and J?sh? winced as his fist connected with Warp's hidden gauntlet, and

Warp retaliated with a horizontal elbow attack with his other arm, catching J?sh?

in the side of his muzzle. The fox struck back with a reverse punch, delivering

a painful strike to Warp's exposed side as he stepped away, buying him a

precious second to attack with a front-kick, fast as the striking of a cobra.

               The

trading of blows carried on; Warp was surprised by how J?sh? was able to read

and respond to his moves so well, as if perceiving the attacks just as they

began to happen. Nevertheless, though, Warp had the advantage; he was stronger,

larger, and fast enough to deliver strike after strike, and soon J?sh? was

having the worst of the fight. Warp deflected a punch and successfully threw

off J?sh?'s balance; even if he could have perceived what was about to happen

next, he could never have dodged it.

               Warp

delivered two jabs to J?sh?'s face that stumbled him, no doubt making stars

dance across his vision, before following it up with a left-handed punch to his

stomach to wind him, and finishing it with a mighty uppercut that sent J?sh? an

inch off of the floor and falling hard onto his back with a grunt, and lay

there struggling to gather his breath, while Warp stepped back to a minimum

safe distance, three meters away, and watched him, waiting to see if he would

get up to continue the battle as he too panted for air.

               For

a while, J?sh? was still, laying there motionlessly on the floor, the only

sound from him the panting for breath as he struggled to gain his second wind,

paws resting gently on the floor. Eventually, his eyes opened, and he stared at

the ceiling, a stern expression still on his face, but not one of anger or

resentment to losing this first round with Warp. Rather, he seemed to come to

an understanding about something, and slowly sat up, groaning as the soreness

of his bruises set in, continuing to breath loudly.

               "I

see clearly now," said J?sh? as he brought his feet under him and slowly,

tantalizingly, stood up until he was back at his full height, all the while his

eyes remained shut. "I see now why Takeo-san was unable to defeat you himself;

skilled as he was it seems your drive to rid your city of people like me is

stronger than mere skill."

               "Is

that supposed to be a compliment?" Warp asked, rhetorically. "Or are you

willing to put an end to this nonsense and just leave?"

               "Don't

get the wrong idea, teleporter," returned J?sh?, making his way over to the

cushion where he had been sitting before. "My words are merely my acknowledging

of your great prowess; even with all my training, I will not defeat you in a

mere contest of skill, for in that we are even, but you are much stronger, more

determined... motivated." He reached down to the cushion, picking up the sword he

had left there, but did not remove it from its scabbard. Rather, he fastened

the scabbard to the belt of his robes. Even as he turned around, he kept his

paw on the scabbard, holding the blade securely. "The first round is yours, but

the second begins now..." He faced Warp, dropping low in a stance that said he

was ready to charge. "You shall now face the power of a Samurai blade!"

               Warp

stood his ground, but Akio was practically screaming at him all of a sudden. "Daniel! Don't let him draw that sword; take

him out, hurry!"

               "That sword won't cut through my

gauntlets," Warp said, directing the response at Akio, but it was heard by J?sh?

as well.

               He

responded in kind. "Then I shall use it to carve out your heart!" He said

before he hollered with fury and charged at Warp, crossing the room in just

three long strides before he turned, ready to draw his blade.

               Warp

calculated the angle which the sword would come from, rapidly determining

distance and angle in his mind, and then raised his gauntlet to block the blade

as it was being drawn; if he interrupted J?sh?'s first swing it would disrupt

his opening attack, and possibly throw him off. He waited, watching for that

sword to be drawn...

               He

never even saw it leave the scabbard as his arm suddenly went ablaze with

white-hot agony. Warp screamed in a mix of horror, pain and disbelief, reeling

away from J?sh? from the sheer force of whatever had hit him and grabbing his

arm, feeling as though it had actually been cut off, and even looked at it as

if he'd only find a stump, but his arm was still attached. His glove was split

over where the glove hit, revealing the titanium arm plate underneath, which

was dented. Dented. The strongest

metal known to living fursons, and it had just been dented by a sword being

drawn, digging into Warp's forearm.

               Warp

hurriedly got his bearings as he realized J?sh? was still on the attack,

bringing his katana attack for another strike, which Warp blocked with his

other gauntlet. It didn't hurt as much that time, but he still felt the blade

hit. J?sh? was coming at him on a whole new level this time, attacking not only

with precision -every swing a death blow if it was not stopped, but with speed

that left Warp no opportunity to counter-attack, making him duck behind his

arms repeatedly, trying to keep the attacks to his bracers and not to his upper

arm where he was practically unprotected.

               'So fast!' Warp screamed in his mind. J?sh?

had not displayed this much speed before in their contest of martial prowess;

it was as if having a sword in his hands had brought out the true warrior,

bringing him to a whole other level. Sure, J?sh? had been fast in the first

round, but Warp had not even seen that sword leave its scabbard, or see it hit

his gauntlet, as though it was drawn and something otherworldly had struck him

while it was leaving the sheath. He had been overconfident, believing that just

because he had defeated countless Yakuza 'swordsmen' already, that this would

have been just like those times, but no; J?sh? was in a league of his own, far

beyond anyone in the Yakuza Warp had ever faced...

               Seconds

into the fight, Warp thought he might have gained an upper hand when he managed

to deflect the sword enough to throw a counter-attack, lunging forward with a

punch to J?sh?'s face, which the fox somehow read he would do and leaned his

head out of the way before he brought his sword up to strike, until Warp threw

a second punch; a hook fist from the fox's left, going behind his sword to hit

directly into J?sh?'s left eye. The fox's glance shifted to the fist; he saw it

coming too late, and it was too close for him to evade, the knuckles going into

the eye upon pushing back his hair and impacting with the socket...

               What

he felt his fist hit did not feel like an eyeball. It was too hard, like metal.

J?sh? barely even grit his teeth from the hit either, when a punch in the eye

was excruciating, especially with enough force to pop a blood vessel. Yet that

was not what occurred; J?sh? recovered from the punch faster than what should

have been possible, pushed his sword forward before yanking it downward, delivering

a contact- cut to Warp and successfully cutting through his Kevlar uniform,

opening a wound in his flesh and staining his uniform.

               Warp

screamed in pain, grabbing the wound with one arm, until J?sh? carried on the

attack with a horizontal slash; Warp tried to put up his gauntlet as he noticed

J?sh?'s stance, but the fox was too fast, cutting above Warp's elevating arm

and delivering a second slash across his chest, severing the maple leaf symbol

on his chest in half as once more blood flowed out of the wound. The two

consecutive cuts left an inverted '7' shape on his chest, and as the blood

poured forth from his injuries, it rapidly turned the areas around them red,

staining his white uniform.

               Warp

fell to his knees, clutching the open lacerations on his chest with his arms,

gritting his teeth and clenching his eyes at the searing pain wracking his

chest. It had been a while since he'd received cuts like this; the pain was

familiar to him, and he managed to suppress it enough to glare defiantly at J?sh?,

who was raising his sword up to deliver a final blow, face contorted with rage

and his furious yell loud enough to rattle a window as he held the sword over

his head and brought it down towards Warp's.

               Possibly

inches from Warp's skull, the caribou suddenly vanished, sending the sword into

the wooden floor, cutting into it as easily as foam, and as J?sh? stood there,

stunned, for a split second, Warp appeared behind him, back to him, before the

caribou mustered all of his remaining strength to spin himself on his hoof,

digging it into the floor. J?sh? began to turn, both hands on his blade to

deliver another slash, but by a fraction of a second, Warp managed to complete

his circle first, and struck J?sh? in between the eyes with the back of his

left fist.

               J?sh?

recoiled from the hit, his swing completely off, flailing uselessly as Warp

drew back his hand and let J?sh? finish his turn, the sword glancing harmlessly

over his head as the fox stumbled. He still had his eyes on Warp, though, and

as the caribou tried to follow up his counter-attack with a straight punch, the

fox ducked under it, wound his sword back, and brought it down for an overhead

slash. Warp reacted quickly, crossing his arms in its path and catching it with

his gauntlets.

               The

two fell into a deadlock, their eyes burning into one another as Warp grit his

teeth through a mix of strain and agony, fighting the pain in his bleeding

chest while trying to hold back J?sh?'s sword, while J?sh?, fangs bared,

pressed his sword with all of his strength, bringing the edge of the blade

closer to Warp's forehead by the second...

               Suddenly,

there was no resistance. One flash of light later, and the Warp vanished; J?sh?

fell forward, once more burying his sword in the floorboards. He quickly

recovered, brandishing the blade once more as he surveyed the penthouse around

him, expecting another sneak attack from The Warp, but it never came. The

penthouse had suddenly become quiet, all of the candles continued to burn, and

there was not a sign of the white-clad Canadian meta-furson to be seen.

               "COWARD!"

J?sh? roared as it became clear the Warp had retreated, leaving the enraged

samurai alone in the skyscraper...

~~~~~

               Warp

reappeared in the bunk rather noisily as he clutched his wounds and collapsed

against a workbench, growling with pain as he lost his footing and fell to one

knee, one hand across his chest and the other resting on the workbench for

support, leaving a blood-stained handprint on the metal surface. He struggled

to breathe through the agony in his torso, trying to staunch the bleeding with

his hand.

               All

of the ruckus caused by Warp's return to the bunker caught Akio's attention

immediately; he whipped his head around at the sound of clamour, and saw the

injured caribou at the bench. In a split second, Akio was on his feet and

running across the room to Warp's side, feeling the old paramedic mentality

kicking in as he dropped to Warp's side. "Daniel! We have to get you into the

infirmary!"

               The

caribou didn't argue with him; he knew that he was in danger of bleed-out if

the lacerations on his chest were deep enough. They wouldn't know until they

pulled off his uniform and took a look. With Akio supporting him, the two

rushed into the infirmary, where Daniel laid down on the cot, staying still as

Akio hurried to remove his uniform, pulling down the zippers that ran from his

collar to the end of his sleeve, hidden under a folding piece of cloth,

removing Warp's gloves in the process.

               When

the second zipper was undone, Akio grasped the front of the uniform and slowly

lifted it free. Warp grit his teeth as the shirt front was slowly peeled away, feeling

knives in his flesh as it tugged at his fur and skin, resisting the urge to

yelp as he felt several strands of fur pulled free, which sent prickly pain

shooting across the nearest laceration. When the shirt was fully away, Akio

darted over to the table where their emergency medical items were kept for

situations like this.

               Warp

lay back as Akio returned to his side, carrying stitching tools, ibuprofen and

alcoholic disinfectant, and watched as the weasel cut away the rest of the

uniform with a pair of scissors, opening it to fully expose Warp's chest,

seeing the terrifying lacerations left by the sword of J?sh?. The weasel

cringed, but didn't stop his work, urgently applying alcohol to a cloth and

gently dabbing it at the wounds to clean and disinfect them, with Warp once

gritting his teeth and snarling through the process, but staying as still as he

possibly could to let Akio work. The alcohol helped staunch the bleeding as

well, slowing the loss of blood.

               "You're

a lucky man, Daniel," stated Akio. "This horizontal cut in particular; if it

wasn't for your armour, it could have gone much deeper." He tossed aside the

cloth he was using, replacing it with another which he dowsed in the alcohol to

continue application. "The one on your side missed anything vital but you won't

be making any sharp movements for a while or you'll tear it open."

               "But

J?sh? is still out there; I still have to stop him," Warp returned.

               "In

this state? You'll collapse halfway through the fight, and then you won't be

waking up at all," Akio stated in protest. "You need, at the very least, a few

days to let these slashes heal; I can stitch them but if you move around too

much you'll pull them open again. J?sh? will have to wait."

               "He won't wait," stated Warp, his gaze

drifting to the ceiling as he thought back to his encounter with J?sh?. "He

wasn't just some contract hitman, Akio... he was out for blood; he wanted

revenge, for when I defeated Takeo."

               "I

already figured that part out,"

replied Akio as he sterilized a needle, looping a thread through it.

               "I've

never faced anyone like that before," Warp continued. "He wasn't just skilled,

he was fast; not super-speed fast, but it like his arm moved like lightning

when he drew that sword. He drew it so fast I didn't even know it was out until

it hit my bracer." He looked down at his right hand. "Feels like it fractured

my arm."

               "Does

it still hurt?" Akio asked, looking at Warp's hand.

               "Somewhat,

yes."

               Akio

set down the needle and thread, reaching over and lifting Warp's arm, slowly

and gently removing his glove, seeing the dented titanium bracer inside, eyes

widening at the sight, but he didn't look at it long, setting aside the glove

and examining Warp's arm closely, gently feeling from his hand to the wrist,

and finding a darkened spot of skin beneath the fur at the middle of the

forearm. "No fracture," he said in assurance. "But it looks like that padding

still needs some work. You've got a big flowering bruise here, possibly as deep

as the bone."

               "Well,

speed equals mass, after all," Warp remarked, raising his arm to look at it. "I

felt that impact all through my arm... that much force behind a sharp blade, he

could've cut me right in half."

               "He

could have cut three of you in half," remarked Akio as he began stitching,

going slowly to try and spare Warp some discomfort.

               Warp

glanced at him curiously. "On the comm, it sounded like you knew something

about him," he stated.

               "Not

much," admitted Akio. "But he was the subject of some talk among the members;

Takeo's nephew, training in Japan to be the Kameyama Clan's greatest warrior;

the name J?sh? itself means 'Rise'; he was intended as a symbol, and the means

to bring the Yakuza to absolute power in the west, ousting all other crime

factions; they made him to be their ultimate weapon." He paused as Warp winced,

though it was just a reaction to the pinpricking of Akio's stitching. "He only

came out to Toronto once or twice before but I never saw him; 'slaves'

apparently had to keep their head down so low when bowing to the heads of the

family that all they can see if their feet."

               Akio

grinned. "He wears a size eight, by the way," he said in jest, chuckling.

               Warp

gave him a stern look.

               "Sorry,"

Akio returned, continuing. "His real name is Kameyama Masaru, the first-born

son of Takeo's brother, Kameyama Ren."

               "Do

you think Ren is the one who sent him after me?" Warp asked.

               "Doubtful;

Ren has too much to gain from his brother's removal from power," replied Akio.

"Besides, Ren is a coward; he'd never do anything that could bring the man who

shamed his brother to his door." He cocked his head at Warp. "No... more likely

Akio has taken this upon himself. He probably feels his family being forced to

flee Toronto is a shame on his family's legacy; they're descended from some of

the greatest samurai in history, and are proud -perhaps obsessively so, of that

lineage. Akio has been raised in the olden ways of Bushido; going into battle

and dying for his master is the greatest fate he can embrace."

               "But

since I put Takeo away, he now feels he failed his master?" Warp asked.

               "Something

like that, yes," replied Akio, nodding. "So now he feels the only way he can

cleanse the family of this shame is by killing you."

               Warp

thought back once to his fight with J?sh?, particularly to the moment his fist

had connected with the fox's eye. "There's something else," Warp continued.

"During the fight, I landed a hit on J?sh?'s eye; it felt like I punched a

large marble."

               Akio

looked up curiously. "A glass eye, maybe?" He suggested, before perking up.

"Or..." he began.

               "Or

what?"

               "An

ocular implant," said Akio. "A sophisticated piece of technology, no doubt. I

had heard somewhere that he had lost his eye in training, and his sister -a

genius of technology, possibly even better than me, built him a replacement

eye. The eye could have other functions besides returning J?sh?'s sight to him;

if only you got a look at it."

               Warp

glanced down at the brooch of his cape. "...Maybe I did."

               Akio

glanced at Warp, and then followed the caribou's gaze to the opened brooch of

his cape, still lying across Warp's collarbone. He stared at the brooch for a

moment before a big grin stretched across his face. He triumphantly raised his

arms, accidentally pulling the needle and thread in his hand in the process,

and bellowed out. "I'm a GENIUS!"

               "Aah-owww!"

Warp growled as he felt his flesh being pulled from his body, casting a glare

at Akio that could have stopped a clock.

               "Oops..."

Akio muttered, meekly, slowly lowering his arms. "Uh... sorry Daniel."

                Later...

            Warp, mask off and back in his true

colours as Daniel Tonraq once again, looking almost mummified by the gauze

bandages on his torso covering the stitches, stood by, watching over Akio's shoulder

as the two reviewed the footage of the fight with J?sh?. Though the footage was

somewhat choppy -do excuse the pun- as they watched, some parts of it had good,

up-close looks at J?sh? himself, including of the second he drew his sword;

they watched with keen interest as the fox rushed forward and pulled the blade

free of its scabbard, but didn't even see J?sh?'s arm moving as a flash of

metallic reflection shot across the view, followed by some sparks generated by

the sword's impact with Warp's bracer.

            "Slow that down," Daniel stated.

            Akio rewound the footage, bringing

it back to only a few seconds before the draw, and slowed it down, letting the

footage play again. They watched with narrowed eyes, and saw J?sh?'s arm moving

once more, but it was still a blur as it moved, once more with the brief glint

of metal. "That's fast," Akio remarked.

            "What speed are you running that?"

Warp asked

            "Half-speed," replied Akio. "I can

reduce it further but his arm's going so fast I don't think the camera can even

follow it."

            Daniel leaned back and rubbed his

chin. "Footage that slowed, and we still can't even see him drawing that

blade," he said, already doing the math in his head. "He must've had that sword

fully drawn in one-tenth of a second at least, but there's no one in the world

who can draw that fast."

            "Except for Kameyama Masaru, it

seems," replied Akio as he rewound the footage again. "Wait a second..." His

eyes widened and he tapped the pause key. "I got it!" He pointed at the screen,

to a little, faded blue dot barely visible from the distortion of movement. "Look

there; that little blue spot here, coming from his left eye."

            "I see it; is that it?" Daniel

asked.

            "Let's see if I can enhance the

image," replied Akio. His fingers danced fluidly across the keyboard, switching

between there and the mouse as he made several adjustments to the footage. When

he was finished, the image still was not completely clear, but it was enough

they were able to make out a metallic object, lodged in the eye socket of the

Hokkaido fox, uncovered by the act of draw-cutting his sword, causing his hair

to sway and revealing the little blue glow of the eye. "There it is."

            "You were right; an ocular implant,"

stated Daniel. "A very expensive looking piece of technology, isn't it?"

            "Nothing the Yakuza couldn't

afford," returned Akio. "Let's see if I can get any closer." He zoomed the

image further, zeroing in on the center of the eye, and continued to enhance the

image further. Unfortunately, due to it being so pixelated by the zoom, it was

extremely fuzzy, not letting them see much of the eye beyond the blue light it

emitted... or at least nothing Daniel could see, but something had definitely

caught Akio's eye. "Hey... there's something in there."

            "I don't see anything," returned

Daniel.

            "I'll see if I can run an analysis

of it and cross-reference it with today's technology; could be significant,"

said Akio, before once more going to work; several windows popped up on the

screen, filled with words and coding that made no sense to Daniel, but Akio's

eyes danced across them as though he were reading a comic book, until finally,

a new window came up, revealing what appeared to be a circuit board, blue in

colour and riddled with highly complex patterns of silvery wiring. "Kuso yar?," he cursed.

            Daniel had known Akio long enough to know that whenever

he said 'Kuso' it meant something serious. "Is that some kind of computer

chip?"

            "The latest and most advanced in military microchip

technology,"

replied Akio. "The LSR-9047 'Hunter'

chip, designed for missiles."

            "What does it do, exactly?" Daniel

asked.

            "It was developed by the Americans a

few years ago, as a step in their smart-missile technology, created as part of

a highly advanced tracking system," explained Akio. "When the missile is locked

on target, the microchip allows the missile to stay locked on that target at

all times, even if it moves. Picture this; the missile is locked onto a fleeing

armoured personnel carrier that is stationary at the time of launch; if the APC

suddenly starts moving, then the tracking systems in the missile continue to

follow it, and allow the missile to steer itself after the target, compensating

for any changes in direction.

"Even if the APC goes into a cave or a tunnel, the

missile will still adjust its angle of approach to keep chasing them. The

microchip does all this by allowing an onboard computer to calculate and

predict a target's path depending on speed and direction, and then auto-pilots

the missile accordingly to make course corrections while in motion; the

programming is all on that chip."

            "I thought the American

smart-missile technology used global positioning to track its targets?" Daniel

asked.

            "Some of it does, but even that

isn't without flaw," Akio explained further. "GPS systems can be hacked, cannot

see through the top of caves, or in the case of a JAVELIN missile, the target

could relocate itself beneath cover where the missile can't follow it if they

see it coming, but this technology rectifies that as basically allowing the

missile to track its target and follow it all by itself. All it needs is a

laser or an input command to show what its target is, and then it'll do the

rest."

            "I didn't think microchips were

capable of this kind of function," admitted Daniel.

            "Technology evolves as much as we

do, my friend," Akio stated. "Even the bow and arrow is still enhanced today."

            Daniel nodded, admitting Akio had a

point. "Okay, so... what is this piece of military hardware doing in a man's

skull? And does it benefit him in any way?" Daniel inquired.

            "Well, the microchip was intended

for combat against vehicles," Akio said, leaning back in his chair and meshing

his fingers together as he rocked back and forth. "But with the proper tweaking

and some additional enhancements, using some tech that has appeared over the

last few years since the chip was developed, it could be reconfigured for

combat against living targets."

He looked at Daniel. "If I'm right about that, then

someone implanted with this chip could literally read their opponent based on

their movement; say you draw your arm back to throw a punch, the device with

the chip will literally make a prediction on where your fist will go, or if

you're using a gun, it could predict the trajectory of which the bullet will

travel, so that if you move at just the right second, you can actually dodge

the bullet before it fires. Your movement would have to be very sudden and

perfectly timed, but it is possible."

Daniel nodded again, but then looked blank. "That

explains a lot," he said. "I thought J?sh? just had really good reflexes, but

there were times I swear he was able to evade my attacks before it should've

been possible to perceive what I was going to do; driver reaction time dictates

that a mind perceives danger in zero-point fifty seven seconds, and has about

that long to react to it as well. A man or woman with years of combat

experience can perceive enemy attacks by reading bodily movement, something

that takes years of practice.

"With this ocular implant though, it's like he

perceives an attack in half that time, because now he knows exactly what the

attack will be; against opponents vastly more experienced than him, this would

make him equally dangerous, because it gives the illusion that he has skills

that, at his level of experience, he shouldn't have; that makes him both

intimidating and a difficult opponent to defeat."

"But you were still able to beat him in the

fist-fight, right?" Akio asked. "Maybe the microchip isn't perfect; maybe it

can't always read every movement?"

"Possibly," agreed Warp. "Even if it did, I'm

larger and stronger than him, and the chip probably only picks up attacks

within his overall line of sight, so at that I suppose it depends on how good

the depth perception and peripheral of that eye is." He suddenly grinned.

"Which means, he has a weakness."

"What're you thinking, Dan?"

"If the ocular implant is still limited to basic

line of sight, that leaves me a complete one-hundred and eighty degree

blind-spot where I can attack him," said Daniel. "During the fight, I used my

teleportation to warp behind him, and when I appeared he wasn't even turning

around; he didn't know about my powers, and he clearly didn't sense me when I

attacked from behind."

He turned to face Akio again. "So, the secret to

winning this fight, is to not meet him on his terms; I fought him fairly,

man-to-man, but if I'm going to beat him, I may have to fight a little bit

dirty; pull out all the stops to defeat him."

"You can't possibly be thinking of going after him

again tonight?" Akio asked, baffled.

"Not tonight, no," admitted Warp.

"And not tomorrow, either! Lacerations like those,

you'll need at least five days before they seal up enough you can risk anything

strenuous, and ten before they seal completely," Akio argued.

"Five days may not be an option," stated Daniel,

eyeing Akio sadly. "J?sh? wants me, and he'll do whatever it takes to draw me

out. We've seen what he can do -what lengths he'll go to. We don't know just

how desperately he wants his revenge; just leaving him to run wild will put

countless people at risk."

"At least wait out the weekend," Akio pleaded. "If

you go after him now, you could tear those stitches and hurt yourself even

further, not to mention any other injuries he could inflict upon you!"

"I know, Akio," Daniel said gently. "But like I

said, J?sh? may not give me much choice. I don't know how desperate for revenge

he is, or the lengths he'll go to for it. I won't let innocent people be cut

down by him on my behalf."

"At least wait two days, or three," Akio pleaded.

"By then the cuts should be mended enough they'll be at less risk of tearing open

again if you get into a fight." He stood up, approaching Daniel and placing his

hands on his shoulders. "Please Daniel; just try and wait for as long as you

can."

Daniel gave Akio a weak smile, moved by the

weasel's concern for him. He brought up a hand, placing it on Akio's arm and

nodded to him. "I will try, Akio. That's the best I can promise you."

Akio nodded, and then heard his watch beep,

prompting him to glance at it. "Huh. Five o'clock already," he said. "Short

night, wasn't it?"

"Seems so," replied Daniel. "I suppose if J?sh? is

going to make another move, it won't be when the sun is about to come up."

Akio turned back to face him, nodding at him. "Good

time for you to go home then, and try to mend," he insisted.

Daniel nodded to his friend. "Thanks Akio, for

everything," he bade before stepping back. "As long as nothing comes up, I'll

keep resting at home."

"I'll hold you to that," stated Akio. "I'll see

about repairing your uniform, but with all that blood and those cuts, I might have

to dispose of that one and just make another."

"Good thing I keep a spare one, right?"

"Right... sleep well, Daniel."

"Bye." And with that, Daniel used his teleportation

to return home, leaving The Bunker to let Akio settle in...

~~~~~

-Saturday morning, Toronto

RCMP Precinct-

            Officer Robert Miles, better known

as 'Bob' to his coworkers, was  assigned

to the front desk at the precinct that night, monitoring arrivals and

departures and taking calls for the other officers who were out on patrol. He

had just returned from his coffee break, pulling out his daily report sheet and

marking down his time of return. The middle-aged, slightly overweight badger

sighed before reaching for his mug of espresso and taking a sip of it, brushing

the residue off with his thumb after setting it back down.

            "Hate working the front," he

mumbled.

            He heard the front doors slide open;

he looked up to see someone walking in. A fox with pale fur and silvery hair,

dressed in old-fashion eastern clothes -not anything Bob was familiar with,

with long, oversized sleeves and baggy pants, all made of fine, blood-red silk.

He walked, wordlessly, up to the front desk, the only sound he made being the

footfalls of his wooden sandals, clacking on the floor with every step.

            "Good evening," Bob said as the man

approached, marking down the time of arrival on his report. "May I help you

with anything?"

            "You can deliver a message for me,"

the fox replied as he reached the window, glaring at Bob from between the steel

bars. "And I don't care how you do it. Tell The Warp that I demand he return to

finish his battle with me."

            Bob looked up at the fox as if he

were crazy. "Excuse me?" He asked.

            "Did I stutter?" The fox asked.

            "Look, sir," Bob began, remaining as

polite as possible as he stood up from the desk to look the man in the eye; the

fox was almost a full foot shorter than himself, and so without looking down

his nose at him, he met his gaze. "We do not work with the Vigilante known as

The Warp; standing orders are for him to be arrested on sight. If you were in a

fight with him, then you should be here to report it, not trying to get back

into it."

            "I told you what I'm here to do,"

the fox returned plainly, his glare deepening. "You're going to get my message

out there, as I've requested."

            "Do I look like Canada Post to you?"

Bob asked, starting to lose his patience. "I'm not your errand boy, sir; I..."

            Faster than Bob could blink, a sword

has appeared in the fox's hand and was thrust through the bars, pushing into

his kevlar vest and roughly shoving him against the back wall behind the desk.

Instinctively, he put up his hands, but dared not move another muscle after

that as the fox stuck his arm through the bars to maximize the reach of his

blade, pinning Bob where he was.

            "I'm giving you two choices," the

fox stated. "Deliver my message with your heart still beating, or I can run you

through right now, and let the media do it for me; you don't have to be alive

for my message to be delivered, so do not test my patience." He pushed the

sword harder to emphasize his point. "And when you relay my message, be sure to

include, that every night the Warp does not return to finish my challenge,

blood will be shed; the longer he makes me wait, my organization will thin out

the population of this wretched pile of western filth, until it drowns in

blood.

"I am patient, but I will not rest until he pays

for ruining the honor of my house, and anyone who gets in my way will feel the

edge of this blade rending their head from their shoulders as well." He

lightened the pressure a little. "Do I make myself clear, officer?"

"Bob?" A voice asked from the corridor on the left

called, both the fox and the badger turning to face it, and spotting a male

grey wolf in uniform, staring dumbfounded at the scene before he drew his gun

and aimed it at the fox. "Drop the blade, now!"

The fox pulled back his sword, deftly slipping it

into the scabbard and making for the front door, walking briskly towards the

sliding doors. The wolf shouted for him to halt as Bob collapsed back, panting,

against the wall, hurriedly gathering himself and following after the second

officer to pursue the assailant out the front door, both of them with

Glock-19's in hand as they headed through the magnetically locked access door

and charged after him.

The fox was out on the street by the time they

caught up to him, and both aimed their guns. "Hands in the air, right now!" Bob

yelled.

The fox stopped, and stood perfectly still,

elevating his gaze towards the sky. "I had hoped I could deliver this message

without problems," he stated. "You two do not want to pursue this."

"I said," Bob warned, disengaging the safety of his

Glock. "Hands. In. The air!"

"Don't make him ask again!" The wolf called.

The fox sighed. "You men of the west really are

fools," he said, slowly turning around to face them, his hands hanging at his

sides. "I guess God has to place the fools somewhere, does he not?"

"Taze him," Bob instructed.

"Gladly," returned the wolf, holstering his gun and

reaching for another item on his belt; another gun-shaped item, which crackled

with electricity as he tested it.

The retaliation came out of nowhere.

The fox elevated his arms as if to surrender, and

suddenly there were compact pistols in both paws, appearing out of his sleeves.

Two shots rang out at the same time, both officers buckled, crying out in agony

as blood exploded from their shoulders and knocked them down, sending them both

onto their backs; the wolf banged his head against the pavement and saw white,

while Bob fell against the steps leading up to the precinct, suffering a jolt

that made him drop his gun.

As the guns disappeared back into the fox's

sleeves, he sighed. "I do so find

guns distasteful," he muttered.

Bob groaned, putting a hand over the bullet entry

wound, and then grunted as he felt a wooden sandal on his chest, the fox

staring down at him coldly. "I gave you my request; deliver it, or don't. If

you don't make the right choice, this

city will start seeing a decline in how many living souls dwell here," he warned.

"And another thing; make sure you keep your cohorts out of our way. The battle

will be between me, and The Warp, and only us. No one... interferes."

With that, he lifted his foot away from Bob's

chest, turning his back on the cop and resuming his walk. While his back was

turned, however, the wolf officer found his second wind, returning to his feet.

He'd lost his gun tazer, and his pistol had fallen out of its holster, leaving

him with only one weapon; his baton, which extended with a flick of his wrist

after drawing it, and he set his eyes on the fox.

"No, Frank; don't!" Bob pleaded.

The fox looked over his shoulder, spotting the wolf

coming at him with the baton, and immediately spun around his hand on his

sword. Neither Frank nor Bob saw the blade leave its scabbard, but faster than

the eye could follow, the fox drew the sword, cut across the man's stomach, and

when his blade stopped, fully draw and with its wielder's arm extending to

their right, blood was thrown from its edge, spattering onto the pavement, and

more of it spilled out from Frank's stomach, along with some other pieces that

did not belong outside...

The fox touched his sword to Frank's sleeve as the

wolf stood, frozen in place, eyes wide in shock and mouth hanging open as he

grunted, unable to scream. The fox pulled back his sword, wiping off the blade

on the wolf's sleeve, and then brought it around to his other sleeve, wiping

off the other side of the blade with that one, before turning around and

sheathing the sword in one deft motion.

It was then that the RCMP officer dropped, wetly,

to the pavement.

Bob, in a surge of adrenaline, was up on his feet,

and ran to the wolf's side. "Frank!" He cried. "Don't you die on me now, you

hear me?!" He reached for the radio transmitter on his shoulder, squeezing it

to add pressure to the button. "Officer needs assistance; officer down!"

~~~~~

Daniel groaned as he heard his radio alarm clock

buzzing as he lay comfortably in his bed, roused awake by repetitious, loud

beeping that would carry on forever no matter how much he wished to. He rubbed

his eyes with one hand while reaching over to the clock with his other, trying

to tap the snooze button to at least get a few extra minutes...

Pain lanced across his torso as his pectoral

muscles moved. "Yeow!" He yelped, sitting up sharply, only to feel more pain

from moving too sharply. "Son of a bitch..." He growled.

He looked at his chest, checking his stitches to

make sure he hadn't pulled any too hard. There was no blood, nor a sign of any

tearing, but the pain had been sharp and sudden. "Damn... why couldn't my

superpower have been regeneration like Pierre's?" He muttered as he reached for

the clock, seeing no point in snoozing any longer since he was now wide awake,

and switched off the alarm, changing it to radio as he yawned and stretched as

best he could without pulling at his stitches.

"...garding

the death of a police officer outside the RCMP 6th precinct at

approximately 6:00AM this morning," the newscaster said.

Daniel stopped yawning instantly, his mouth

actually snapping shut, and he turned to look at the radio with an expression

of horror as he feared what was to come next.

"Officers say

a man came into the precinct armed with a long blade and two handguns,

threatened and assaulted two officers, and then while fleeing the scene,

executed 2 year RCMP Officer, Franklin Cardenas. Authorities have released no

further details than that, but they did say that the culprit was asking for the

notorious vigilante known as 'The Warp' by name. Why he would go to the police

for that is beyond this reporter, but we believe that there may be some

connection between this assailant and the vigilante, one that sounds quite

personal."

Daniel launched himself out of bed faster than

perhaps he should have, ignoring the pain in his chest as he dashed over to his

dresser, finding his phone in its charger and dialling the Bunker before

holding it to his ear, listening as it rang.

"Konichi'wa?"

"Akio, did you hear the news?" Daniel asked.

"Damn it...

figured you'd hear it too," Akio returned.

"You knew already?"

"I sleep with

a police scanner over my head; of course I knew."

"Point taken. Do you have any other info regarding

the incident?"

"Daniel, you

can't go back out there with those cuts!"

"This is J?sh?'s work, Akio; it has to be," replied

Daniel. "None of the criminals in this town are bold enough to kill a cop right

outside their precinct -I know this." He sighed. "I told you, Akio; J?sh? is

not going to let me wait until I'm healed."

"Alright,

alright, give me a second to check police and hospital records."

"This just in

-I've just been handed this. An anonymous message, apparently intended for The

Warp himself," the radio chimed, drawing Daniel's attention back to it. "'If you are out there, listening, Warp, I

would meet with you. Come to the place of our first meeting, where you... fell

upon the hood of a car to break the fall of a young woman, ten o'clock

tonight'."

"Daniel, did

you get that?" Akio asked.

Daniel raised the phone to his ear again. "I think

I did," he replied. "And I think I know who left it for me."

"Daniel..."

"Akio," the caribou interjected. "I don't have a

choice. I have to meet with him... and I have to go back and finish what I

started with J?sh?."

Akio was silent for a long moment before speaking

up again. "After you meet with him,

whoever it is, stop by the Bunker before you go off and do something stupid."

"I have to stop there to pick up my uniform

anyway," Daniel pointed out.

"I'll

probably be busy," returned Akio. "Going to need

every hour for what I've got in mind for you."

"Akio, I'm sorry; I know you're worried about me,"

said Daniel. "But J?sh? is not going to stop long enough to let me heal. My

life is not worth more than that of the Toronto citizens, but to him, vengeance

is worth more than every life in Canada. He walked into a Police Precinct,

killed an officer, and just walked out; anyone who can do that and live to see

the light of day is more than the RCMP can handle. That is where people like me

come in; the ones with only their own rules."

"I know,

Daniel," returned

Akio. "I just don't want to lose the only

person I know who isn't out to kill me for betraying the Yakuza." He added

humorously. "Who else is going to bring

me a burger every Friday night?"

Daniel allowed himself a light chuckle. "See you at

the base tonight," he said, before they both said goodbye and hung up.

~~~~~

Dressed in civilian clothes, Bob walked slowly

across the plaza leading up to the CN Tower, heading into the adjacent park as

he had described in his message. If the Warp had been listening when that

anonymous message was played over the airwaves, than only he would know where

it was directing him to, as only Bob himself and one other cop had seen him

land there that night; the rest had been focused on a certain monster using the

CN Tower for its personal jungle gym and hostages in an elevator.

He reached the spot where it had happened, near the

trees lining the stone path leading up to the foot of the tower. Nothing

remained of the incident that night, but Bob remembered it well. The exact

place where the car had been, and how the Warp had risked his life and his

mobility to break the fall of a woman going through the bottom of an elevator,

only to get up and walk away from it. Hardly something you simply forgot.

Now, Bob was back, and looking for the vigilante,

sending him a message he might not even respond to -given how many people were

probably out for his blood, he'd be smarter not to. But it was the only way

that Bob could think of to get in contact with him; he had to know what the

stranger had said, but the moment Bob had told the chief about the message

intended for the Warp, he had forbidden him to let it be set loose on the

airwaves, believing it would make the city think that the RCMP were actively

working with a fugitive.

"We'll deal with this guy our way -the right way," he had said. "Not giving

that flag-ripping freak the satisfaction of believing we need his help."

He hadn't seen how fast that fox had drawn his

blade.

And he hadn't watched one of the 6th

Precinct's best men get disembowelled.

This was beyond them; they could not stop this guy.

But there existed somewhere in the shadows of Toronto that could. Or so, Bob

hoped at least. The way the fox had spoken to him that morning...

"I'm warning you now, Officer," a voice spoke; Bob

looked around, trying to find its source, but could see nobody anywhere; the

voice sounded like it was coming from behind him, but when he looked, turning

in a full circle, no one was there. "If this is some elaborate ambush to

capture me, it won't work. I can be gone faster than any police officer can

even pull the trigger of their gun."

Bob breathed a sigh, calming himself after the

initial jump-scare. "This isn't an ambush," the badger called. "None of the

other cops at the precinct know I'm here."

"What about your partner; the one who was with you

the night we met?"

"So you do remember

me then," said Bob.

"'Come to the place of our first meeting, where

you, fell upon the hood of a car to break the fall of a young woman'," the

voice reiterated. "Most of the cops there that night were barely paying

attention, except for you and him."

"He got transferred," assured Bob. "He works over

in Yorktown now, in operations against what's left of the Russian mob. Say, how

come you haven't gotten over there yet?"

As if on cue, a spontaneous flash of light erupted

in front of Bob, making him jump backward and fall flat on his backside with a

start. Looking up, there stood the white and red clad vigilante caribou,

standing with his arms crossed over his chest as he stared down at the police

officer, a toneless expression on his pale face. "Not even I can be everywhere

at once, officer. My range is limited."

"With the way you pop in and out like that,

could've fooled me," returned Bob as he stood up and dusted off his pants.

Warp's gaze narrowed. "Why did you want to see me?"

He asked. "You risk your badge coming to talk to me, you know that."

"I'm off-duty, talking to a guy heading to a

costume party," Bob replied. "They can't prove it's anything else even if one

of them did follow me." He impatiently shifted his feet. "Now look, I'm here

because some fox with a samurai fetish showed up at the precinct last night;

you hear about that?"

"Only that someone attacked the precinct, and

executed an officer," replied Warp. "A white-furred Hokkaido fox with silver

hair, carrying a katana and wearing a crimson samurai kimono; was that him?"

"Right on the money," returned Bob, crossing his

arms. "Frank Cardenas... been on the force two years; made a record number of

arrests before he was past rookie. One of our very best; just got married last

year to the single mother of two kids that he saved from a stalker on his ninth

week." He shut his eyes in disgust. "I watched his intestines spill out onto

the sidewalk, when he tried to catch that guy. I didn't even see the blade cut

him."

Warp eyed him sympathetically. "I'm sorry,

officer."

"Yeah, me too," returned Bob. "The bastard came

there because he wanted a message delivered to you, Frank and I happened to be

the guys closest to the front desk -I was at

the desk, even. He put that sword right up against my chest, and told me that

if I didn't relay his message to you, he'd drown this city in its own blood.

Said that you're to finish your battle with him." He put his hands on his hips.

"You want to tell me why this guy is so obsessed with you?"

"His name is Masaru Kameyama," Warp replied.

The name Kameyama struck a chord with Bob, making

him pause and look at Warp thoughtfully before raising one hand and waving a

finger. "I remember that name... Takeo Kameyama; the guy you dropped on our

doorstep last year?"

"The very same," replied Warp. "Masaru is his

nephew, and a member of the organization he once led. He views Takeo's defeat

as a shame to his family, and seeks to cleanse it by killing me."

"And I'm guessing," began Bob, "that when he said

you already fought him, and showed up at our precinct instead of at the

hospital... things didn't go your way."

"Not so much," admitted Warp. "He's one of the most

deadly opponents I've faced."

"You know where to find him, don't you?" Bob asked.

"I do," replied Warp.

"Then tell me," stated Bob, giving Warp a hard

look. "I'll round up a SWAT Team right now and go get him. I want to bring that

guy in my..."

"You can't," interjected Warp. "And I won't tell

you."

"Why not?" Bob asked, harshly.

"You said it yourself," said Warp. "He killed one

of your best officers, in a single slash that was so fast you couldn't even see

the blade, right? That's because he can draw it faster than even the fastest

athlete in the world can evade. Clearly, kevlar doesn't stop that sword of

his." He reached up and rubbed his chest. "I learned that the hard way myself

when I faced him last night.

"But if you go after him with a SWAT team, then

that takes his attention off of me and brings whatever power the Kameyama

family have left in this province right down on the Toronto RCMP. You have the

training, they have the numbers; you'll run out of men long before they do. Let

me deal with Masaru; the less people get caught in the feud between him and I,

the better."

"You know that isn't how this works," stated Bob.

"That's the way it'll have to work," returned Warp. "You can't defeat him; I don't even

know if I can stop him. But I will

not let Toronto be endangered by a personal vendetta."

Bob eyed Warp quizzically. "Are you talking about

me or him?"

"Both," Warp replied without hesitation, a firm

look on his masked face.

Bob growled in frustration, pacing on the spot for

a moment before he looked at Warp again. "By everything I swore by there's

eight different things I should be arresting you for right now, not the least

of which being obstruction of justice for not telling me where to find that son

of a bitch."

"Then why did you pass this message on to me?" Warp

asked. "Why did you not simply leave it, and let the system do its work?"

Bob scowled as he turned his gaze to the sky. "I

guess the world is just becoming that strange,

isn't it?"

Warp smiled. "Strange indeed," he said.

"You just make sure you bring that guy to us,

understand?" Bob asked. "The 6th deserve to be the ones to charge

this guy after he took out one of our own."

"Just make sure your gun is holstered when I bring

him to you," replied Warp. "And, if all goes well, he'll be on your desk before

the night is out."

Bob actually allowed himself a small smile, but

still groaned. "I'm probably a fool for this," he said. "But I wish you luck."

"Thank you, Officer..."

"Miles," he replied. "Robert Miles."

Warp nodded to him, and ended the conversation

there as he once more vanished in a flash of light.

Warp reappeared at The Bunker, seeing Akio sitting

at the workbench as he had been when he'd been there earlier. This time, when

he arrived, the weasel turned to face him, eyeing him curiously. "How did it

go?"

"Wasn't a police trap," replied Warp. "But we've

got one ticked-off police officer who wants a shot at J?sh? himself; I talked

him down, but I can't be sure of how long he's going to wait. I've got to take

J?sh? down before the RCMP tears through the city looking for him or they'll

get caught in the crossfire."

"Why are you so certain that they can't handle

Masaru?" Akio asked. "He may have lightning-fast reflexes and a cybernetic eye

but he's still just a furson; a bullet in the right place will kill him just

like any other."

"You know as well as I do the Yakuza won't let that

stand," replied Warp. "The police may have put away Takeo, but the one they

want is the one who took him down. That means I'm their only target, and it

needs to stay that way or there'll be an all-out war in our streets. I think we

both know the cops don't have the numbers to take on the second-largest

criminal organization in the world."

"Yet you can, all by yourself?" Akio asked.

"One man can journey where a thousand cannot,"

replied Warp. "What that means is, it's a lot harder to find one man, than it

is to find a group -especially one that lives in buildings marked with their

names over the front door. They can find the cops, but they cannot find me; the

police need warrants, I need only a location. That's what makes me a much

greater threat to them; there's no limit what I can do to them, and there's no

one they can blame for that on the legal system. As long as I keep it that way,

the people of Toronto are much safer."

Akio grimaced. "Sooner or later, Daniel, the cops

are going to target you. Especially if they run out of real criminals to go after you; people like Mr. Miles may be

tolerant of your presence now -especially with giant gremlins and modern-day

samurai running around in their city- but you're still just a vigilante to

them. So why insist on doing this?"

"Because if I don't, who will?" Warp asked plainly.

"My powers are a gift. I trained to use it to the best of my abilities. And

this is how I will do it."

Akio stared at him for a moment before releasing a

long, tired sigh. "Well I'm never going to be talking you out of going out

there tonight," he said. "So, it's time I show you what I've been working on

all day; it's a little messy but it'll be helpful." He turned to his work

bench, picking up a beaker full of a beige-coloured substance that barely moved

as Akio lifted the beaker. "It's the best I could come up with on short

notice."

"What is it?" Warp asked.

"Basically, glue," replied Akio.

"Glue?" Warp asked incredulously. "You've been

making glue?"

"It's a different kind of glue," replied Akio. "You

ever notice the only thing glue ever really sticks to is your fingers?" He

motioned for Warp to take off his shirt. The caribou was skeptical, but he

complied, unzipping the sleeves and letting his outfit fall open, but grasped

his belt with one hand so that it wouldn't be dragged down and leave him

standing in his underpants, letting Akio approach him and dip a little, smooth

wooden stick into beaker. "What we have here is a type of glue that eventually

melts into the skin; completely un-harmful, designed to patch up hurt soldiers

in the field."

"How come you never tried using it before?" Warp

asked.

"Because I'm not sure I got the 'dissolve' part

working," replied Akio. "If I didn't, you'll have to peel the glue off. And

it's going to feel like you're waxing your fur."

"I'm not afraid of pain, Akio," Warp pointed out.

"You've never had your back waxed by your friends

while you were peacefully sleeping in your dorm room at the University of

Tokyo," returned the weasel.

Warp tried to hold back his smile, but as the image

of Akio being waxed in his sleep crept into his mind, it wasn't long before he

was snickering. "Holy shit, someone actually did that to you?"

            "Hai," replied Akio as he stared to apply the glue, using the little

pestle to smooth it over the stitched cuts on Warp's chest. "It felt like a

giant wasp stung me."

"I'll bet. So what'll this glue do for me?"

"It should help keep you from pulling your stitches,

or if any do rip it'll staunch any bleeding," replied Akio. "Just try not get

cut anymore."

Warp nodded. "I'll try," he promised. "Last time, I

made the mistake of fighting J?sh? on equal ground; he caught me off guard with

his speed and that skill with a blade. This time, however... I'll be ready."

"Have a plan, do you?" Akio asked.

"Yes," replied Warp. "I think I know how to take

him down."

~~~~~

J?sh? was sitting exactly as he had the previous

night when he had first battled with the Warp, his back to the window that

peered out to the city beyond, the lights casting his entire body in shadow as

he sat there, scowling and fuming as he waited for his opponent to return.

Already, he was considering what he would do if he didn't; if the police

officer failed to deliver his message to The Warp, then he would start with the

6th RCMP Precinct in Toronto, for their open defiance of him; if

they didn't believe him a threat, they soon would know otherwise.

His anger was seething, threatening to overtake

him; not only had The Warp shamed his family, he had fled from him in the

middle of their battle, rather than accepting his fate and defeat. To be so

desperate to preserve his own life; he was not worthy of the praise the city

gave him, nor the fear he had instilled into the Yakuza leaders.

As J?sh? contemplated this, a flash of light

illuminated the room; the fox looked up, and saw him, standing there just as he

had when they had met the night before, but instead of seeking out his presence

in the penthouse, he was looking straight at him, his dead-gray eyes showing an

expression of great displeasure as he glared at J?sh?. Those eyes showed more

than any words the two might have spoken to one another at that moment; that

was the look of a man driven by purpose, with a hint of anger in them -nowhere

near as much as J?sh? was filled with and controlling, but nevertheless, that

stare along told J?sh? that the Canadian warrior was ready to finish what they

had already begun.

"That westerner policeman made the right call,"

J?sh? stated as he stood up from his cushion, a hand already on his sword.

"This fight is between you and me, Masaru

Kameyama," Warp stated firmly, giving J?sh? pause as he heard his true name

being spoken. "You shouldn't have gone after the RCMP."

"Says the man who fled like a frightened child,"

retorted J?sh?.

"There's no shame in running away if you know you

cannot win," Warp returned. "Something we westerners struggled with in our

beginning. Do you think the Americans saw every battle they fought down to the

last man against the British during their revolution?"

"Spare me your words, scum," returned J?sh?. "I am

not here to talk about your western foolishness; when you enter battle, you see

it through to the end. Either let your enemy fell you, or fell yourself if he

deems you unworthy of being executed by his blade. That is the way of a true,

honourable warrior."

"Then you have a twisted sense of honour," returned

Warp. "One that died three hundred years ago when the era of the Samurai

ended."

"The Samurai are eternal; honor does not die, and

so long as it exists," he put his hand upon his sword. "So too does the

Samurai."

"If you were truly any sort of Samurai, you'd know

what the Yakuza do is nothing that they would have ever supported," Warp

returned. "I may not know your culture as well as I wish I did, but extorting

money, spreading drugs and violence; I know that that was not the way of the

Samurai. If one of them were to look upon you now, they'd die of shame knowing

what their name is now associated with."

"As I told you before, this world belongs to the

strong," returned J?sh?. "My master was strong, until you made him weak. Now by

my honor I must restore the good of his name, and that begins with your end."

He jabbed the hilt of his sword with his thumb, freeing it from the scabbard.

"Now, prepare yourself; this time, we fight 'till the last breath. You will see

this battle through, or I will see this city burned to the ground for your

cowardice."

Warp shut his eyes for a moment, his breathing

steadying. "You're right," he said. "This does

end tonight..." He reached behind him, producing a long rod from a holster

on his back, which at the touch of a button, suddenly became longer as its two

ends extended to a five-foot long staff of metal. "When I'm finished with you,

Masaru Kameyama, I'm going to find where the rest of your associates are

hiding, and I'm going to drive them out of Canada for good; I won't tolerate

your presence in my country any longer." He spun his staff before adopting a

sideways fighting stance, the tip aimed halfway between the ceiling and J?sh?'s

head. "This madness is over."

"Then you are finally ready," stated J?sh?,

readying himself to charge. "This will finally be the battle I expected from

you."

"You'll be getting far more than that," retorted

Warp. "Last time I fought you as an equal. This time, I fight you as the thing

your uncle and his associates feared everytime they walked in the open." His

scowl deepened. "This time I battle you as the Ghost of Toronto."

Without another word, J?sh? unleashed a battle cry

and charged at Warp, sprinting across the room towards him with his paw on his

blade, ready to perform his signature draw-cut that had ended many battles

before they had begun, his wooden sandals thundering on the hardwood floor as

he charged. The grip on his blade tightened as he neared Warp, time seeming to

slow for both of them...

He drew.

A flash of light reflected off of his blade as it

swung.

He reached his full swing, his arm fully extended,

but he had hit nothing.

"You may be able to draw that sword faster than the

eye can perceive," Warp's voice spoke from behind him; when he looked over his

shoulder, he saw the caribou standing on the opposite side of the room,

completely untouched. "But I can teleport just as quickly."

"You... dodged my sword," J?sh? said in disbelief,

an expression of shock on his face. "No one has ever evaded my draw-cut

before."

"No one you fought can departicalize themselves and

reform at another location in less than a millisecond," retorted Warp. "As I

said before..." He returned to his previous stance. "You're fighting me on my terms now."

            J?sh? bared his fangs at Warp before

he gripped his sword with both hands and charged at him again, delivering a

vertical slash to him that he blocked with his staff before kicking J?sh? in

the stomach to knock him back. With that, he lunged forward himself and swung

at J?sh? while he was off balance, but the fox quickly found his footing, his

ocular implant detecting the trajectory of Warp's oncoming attack, and he

parried as needed to deflect the weapon, before attempting to counter by

circling his blade around and slashing at Warp.

            But the caribou took one hand away

from his staff, using the hidden gauntlet to block the sword, and leapt away as

J?sh? brought the sword around to attack again, slashing at his legs, but

missing. The fox growled at his failure to land a strike again; Warp was

proving to be just fast enough to meet him on equal footing in combat, dodging

and parrying his attacks with deft and skillful movements, showing his talent

with the quarterstaff. The way he attacked with it was like using a naginata,

attacking with a blade mounted at the top.

But Warp's staff did not have a blade; instead he

had refined the technique to make full use of the reach of his weapon, using

the speed of the balanced armament to further his advantage. He was much taller

than J?sh? and had the longer weapon, many times leaving the fox too far away

to counter-attack. At one point in the battle, as Warp lunged at him after

avoiding a stab, J?sh? stepped out of the way, and grabbed the caribou's cape

to try and pull him back towards him.

The breakaway clasp of Warp's cape did just as it

was supposed to; as soon as the cape was pulled taut, the two halves of the

brooch separated, leaving him little more than just slightly off-balance from

the sudden tug on his collar, and J?sh?'s initial surprise saving him from

taking advantage of it when the cape pulled off so easily. Angrily, J?sh? threw

the cape aside, letting it fall to the floor, before resuming his duel with

Warp, once more their weapons clashing in the dimly lit room.

When J?sh? managed to find an opening and thrust

his blade at Warp again, the caribou once more disappeared. Reacting quickly

and without even moving from his spot, J?sh? spun his blade around, putting the

back of it beneath his left arm and with a twist of his hips to the left,

accompanied by a push of the sword pommel, thrusting it behind him.

He felt the satisfying bite of his sword tip

meeting flesh, along with Warp crying out in pain. "Fool me once," J?sh? said

coldly, looking over his shoulder at the caribou; the blade had stuck into his

side, not deep nor finding anything vital, but it had slowed his opponent.

Immediately, J?sh? followed up on it, returning the

two-handed grip on his weapon and spinning around, swinging his blade with

blinding speed towards Warp's neck. The caribou predicted the attack, bringing

up his staff just in the nick of time to block the sword, the two weapons

clanging as the katana hit the metal rod, imbedding itself halfway through it

and almost severing it in two, and Warp noticed, sent quite a jolt through

J?sh?'s hand; the grip on his sword loosened, just slightly, but that instant

was all that he needed.

Warp pulled sharply on his staff before J?sh? could

reaffirm his grip on his katana, and it was successfully pulled free of his

paws, the fox's eyes widening in horror as his weapon was suddenly taken from

him, slipping free of the staff before clattering to the floor several meters

away. Warp took advantage of the shock to kick J?sh? square in the chest and

send him flying onto his back, and then discarded his staff, the weapon too

damaged to risk using any longer.

J?sh? sprang back to his feet, the upper half of

his robes falling loose as he rose. He shrugged it off, letting it fall free from

his body and exposing his torso, riddled with scars from past wounds, leaving

many horizontal, vertical or diagonal bald spots in his fur, within which

grotesque, old wounds could be seen. What had this man subjected himself to

throughout his life? And that wasn't all; as he pulled his arms free of the

sleeves of his robe, two spring-mounted, concealed pistols, Walther P1's to be

exact, could be seen hidden on the inside of his arms, once covered by his

sleeves.

Warp expected him to resort to the pistols, now

that he had just lost his primary weapon, but much to the caribou's surprise,

J?sh? actually removed the spring devices from his arms and let the weapons

drop to the floor. He still had one visible weapon, though; a blade on the back

of his belt that Warp had not seen before, but just like with the pistols, he

did not draw it; he raised his fists, ready to continue the fight.

Warp wound up his arm before he teleported to him,

appearing right in his face and delivering a punch that J?sh?'s ocular implant

did not have time to process, his fist striking J?sh? squarely in the cheek.

J?sh? retaliated with a kick to Warp's flank, stumbling him slightly, and then

punched him in the jaw, which sent Warp reeling from the surprisingly hard

punch. He recovered quickly, and saw J?sh? going to retrieve his sword.

Reacting fast, Warp teleported ahead of him, grasping the sword before hurling

it point-first up to the ceiling, where the blade stuck itself into the

rafters, higher than J?sh? could reach.

"How dare you touch my blade?!" J?sh? roared before

he continued the lunged in with another punch.

Warp put up his arm, letting his gauntlet take the

hit, before he teleported again and jabbed J?sh? in the back of the head,

making white flash across the fox's good eye and staggering him. While J?sh? was

open, Warp made his final move, stepping forward before he pivoted around, his

arm tensing as he held it half out, and then landed a powerful spinning

backfist strike to J?sh?'s face, sending the fox off of his feet and spiralling

feebly to the floor, a dull sound marking his impact with the floor.

Warp stood in that position for a moment, his fist

still where it had struck J?sh?'s cheek, until he let out a long, deep sigh to

calm himself, and stood up straight, turning to face J?sh? with a hard stare.

"You're finished," he stated, firmly.

"This fight is over."

"No..." J?sh? growled defiantly, shaking his head

to clear it, pushing himself up on his hands and trying to stand back up.

"You... have not beaten me yet; I still draw breath!"

"I have beaten

you," retorted Warp. "You can't continue this fight in your condition; that

strike alone was almost enough to give you a concussion." As he spoke, he

grabbed one of the bolas on the back of his belt, letting it unfurl in his hand,

the two brass spheres hanging low by his waist. "And now I'm taking you in."

"I..." J?sh? retorted, grasping the blade on the

back of his belt as he finally manage to get to his feet. "Will not..." he said

shakily, slowly drawing forth the short blade -a tanto, to be exact. "Let you

shame me..." He grasped the blade in both hands, Warp standing ready as he

anticipated an attack, already whirling the bolas in his hand. "Like you shamed

my uncle... I will not be imprisoned in this wretched land!" He turned the

blade around, teeth bared as he faced it towards his stomach.

Suddenly it became clear what he was about to do.

Reacting fast, Warp teleported to the side, and

hurled the bolas in his hand for J?sh?'s arms. A second of hesitation is what

had bought Warp what he needed as the enraged fox held the dagger in the ready

position; the bolas whipped around J?sh?'s arms, spiraling as the high-tension

cord in the spheres uncoiled from inside of them, the balls spinning

hypnotically around his arms before one of them struck him on the nose, making

him reel and growl as they forced his arms together, unable to bend them, and

finish the ritual sacrifice known as Sepukku after dropping the tanto in the

process.

Warp appeared at his side and delivered one last

punch that sent him off of his feet, falling to the floor hard and spewing

curses at Warp in his native tongue. "You deny me everything! You shame my

family, and you shame me! Then you take the chance to cleanse myself of your

shame away from me!" He looked on the verge of tears, his face so contorted

with anger as he glared daggers at the caribou from below.

            "You don't get off that easily,

Masaru," returned Warp, coldly as he produced his other bolas and, after

avoiding a kick from the fox, used it to bind his legs, effectively hog-tying

him with the nearly unbreakable cords. "You're in Canada now, and you'll face

Canadian justice, not this misguided sense of self-cleansing that died a long

time ago. I'm taking you to the RCMP, and you're going to be sharing a cell

with your uncle." He reached down, sharply pulling J?sh? to his feet by the

scruff of his neck. "I hope the reunion goes well."

            J?sh? was spewing all kinds of

colorful words at Warp in both Japanese and English, some of the former he

understood, but ignored every one of them as he hauled J?sh? over to his cape,

picked it up, and tucked it under his arm before the two vanished in a flash of

light from the ruined penthouse...

            At the 6th Precinct, less

than an hour after Warp's battle with J?sh?, the fox was found tied up and

lying on the desk of Officer Robert Miles, along with note plastered to his

face that read 'You'll find the rest of the evidence at the following address';

naturally, the address led back to the unused penthouse where the two battled.

They collected J?sh?'s guns, discarded kimono top and removed his sword from

its imbedded position in the ceiling, returning to the Precinct with all of

them in tow to be put on showcase in the evidence room.

            Analyzing samples of the blood on

J?sh?'s sword, which they sprayed with luminol to reveal past samples, they

found the blood belonging to Officer Franklin Cardenas, and the two pistols,

both non-registered firearms with recent GSR coating the sleeves of the kimono

top were all they needed for a conviction, with of course, a witness statement

from Officer Robert Miles. Even though The Warp had been the one to bring in

J?sh?, which by all accounts should have had him released, the fox's actions

the night before were enough for them to hold him.

            "One katana sword," the keeper of

the evidence locker said as much into a recording device he held as he did to

Bob as they went over the items collected at the scene. "Composed of forged

titanium, tempered with folding methods commonly used in the forging of swords

in Feudal Japan, two unregistered restricted firearms, model Walther P1 compact

pistol, one Tanto blade, and a blood-red kimono robe, composed of silk commonly

found in Japanese fashionwear. Probably pretty comfortable too," he added

dryly. "All of this, property of one Masaru Kameyama, AKA J?sh?, nephew to one

Takeo Kameyama, former head of Yakuza operations in the city of Toronto."

            "Whom he will soon be joining,"

stated Bob. "Doesn't matter he has twenty lawyers show up to represent him;

this evidence is solid."

            "Defense will still argue he was

brought in by that vigilante you know," the keeper warned. "Could hold some

sway."

            "Justice is a set of scales, my

friend," stated Bob, smiling as he turned to leave. "A pound of lead against

six pounds of gold, and we're bringing home the gold. The bastard who killed

Frank is going nowhere."

            "Speaking of which," the keeper

asked. "How uh... how did his wife take the news?"

            Bob looked over his shoulder, eyeing

him ruefully at the question. "How do you think she took it?" He asked,

irritated.

            "Sorry," returned the keeper.

            Bob let out a sigh, and continued on

his way out of the evidence locker, feeling the need for some air. He made his

way to the stairs, climbing all the way up to the top floor before following

the last flight to the roof access, greeting several other cops on his way up,

congratulating him on his success at finding the evidence to convict the

'wannabe samurai' they called him. Bob returned their greetings half-heartedly,

forcing smiles and waves until there was nobody else, and then exited through

the rooftop door, wedging it open as he walked out onto the roof, feeling the

crunch of the pebbles beneath his feet as he crossed over to the ledge, placing

his hands upon it and staring out to the city beyond.

            It wasn't quiet for long before a

voice spoke from behind him, his heart nearly leaping out of his chest at the

unexpected intrusion. "Officer Miles."

            Bob spun around, and saw none other

than the vigilante standing five feet away, looking back from him from the

darkness of the inner part of the roof. Bob put a hand over his chest and

sighed. "Dammit, man," he said. "My heart's in enough trouble from the pounds

I've been putting on lately; I don't need you accelerating my risk of cardiac

arrest by scaring me to death."

            "Sorry," returned Warp. "How did

J?sh?'s arrest go?"

            "Swimmingly, so far," replied Bob,

putting his hands on his belt. "But the lawyers haven't come yet; see what

dirty tricks they have to play when we meet in court."

            "Not even the Yakuza can use the

legal system to free J?sh? with all the evidence you've collected," assured

Warp. "Just make sure that the right judge is on the job; one that can't be

bought."

            "Not really my call, but I'll see

what I can do," returned Bob, shaking his head. "I can't get Frank's family out

of my mind, though... widowed two years ago, married one year ago, and now

widowed again; poor Stephanie's heart probably can't mend itself too many more

times after this."

            "I know how she feels," assured

Warp, sadly. "Sometimes the pain never really goes away... especially not when

you lose two so close together."

            "Is that what drove you to put on

that mask?" Bob asked.

            "You know I can't tell you that,"

Warp returned. "The less you know about me, the better." He expressed a

confident look as he continued speaking. "We may not be on the same team,

Officer, but we're both on the same side; of that, I can assure you. If you guys

should ever catch up with me I will respectfully accept my fate... but until

then, I have my own war to fight, and it's somewhere the police cannot go."

            "I know," returned Bob. "But hey,

you're uncatchable, right?"

            "Maybe I am," replied Warp. "Or maybe

the one who can catch me just hasn't revealed them self yet."

            "I pity whoever that fool is,"

returned Bob. He then noticed the dark spot on Warp's uniform, eyeing it with

some concern. "You're hurt... do you need first-aid?" He asked.

            Warp waved it off. "I'm okay; the

wound was shallow," he assured Bob before tugging at his uniform a little.

"Bi-woven kevlar gives some protection at least, especially from swords not

really meant for stabbing."

            Bob nodded. "Kay," he said, and then

grimaced. "You've earned my respect, man, and at this point I believe this city

really does need a man like you," the badger said. "You know, there's this

group out there, officially sanctioned by the United Nations, called the Bureau

of Superheroes or something like that; they put guys like you on jobs like

this. Have you ever considered joining them?"

            Warp shook his head. "I operate only

city-wide; they operate on a global scale," he replied. "I only want my home to

be a safe place for those like Franklin's children to be raised in. When the

time comes that this city no longer needs their guardian 'Ghost', I will

happily take off this mask, and live my life normally."

            "This city's a big place," Bob

pointed out. "Not the biggest on Earth, but still the biggest in this country.

How long do you think such an endeavor will take?"

            "As long as it has to," replied

Warp, walking around Bob and over to the roof ledge, which he jumped up to,

preparing to depart.

            Before he could, Bob spoke again.

"Thank you," he said. "For everything you've done for this city so far. It's

like you said; we're not on the same team... but I believe in what you've

accomplished."

            Warp looked over his shoulder at the

officer, the light breeze blowing through the streets making his cape sway.

"And that gratitude is all I need to keep going," he said, before he jumped off

of the roof, and vanished once more in that flash of light, leaving the

satisfied cop to smile happily for just a moment before he started to head back

inside.