Ninja Gaiden III The Fury of the Dragon Written by Jeff Nussbaum deuce@scsn.net ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter Eight The muscular, acid-coated hand reached down for the ninja's neck. And the ninja made no move to stop it. Indeed, he seemed not to know of its approach... and in a moment, he would know nothing more. When the caustic slime touched Ryu's skin, his eyes shot open and he instinctively tried to knock away the threatening arm. But to no avail. He was too weak, from lack of oxygen and from the multiple blows to the head. The monster's hand closed around his neck and began to squeeze slowly. "Fffooossterrrr...," it rumbled. Perhaps this is the end, thought Ryu. Maybe this is the one time I can't beat back death. What about Ken... he has such a promising life ahead of him. And Irene... won't she be lonely without me? These thoughts came to him as if in a dream, and he was suddenly struck with a vision of his family, dead by Foster's hand... their bodies left unburied, their souls left unmourned. Images of scavenging birds and insects flooded his mind... and through a nearly crushed windpipe, the Ninja Dragon screamed. It was a scream of unbridled fury, of pure instinct... of hatred. He was no longer Ryu, he was only instinct, that which told him how to destroy his enemy. He brought his arms up with newfound strength, knocking the monster's hand away. He immediately brushed the slime away with his scarf as the creature fell back in surprise. The ninja began to take on a pale blue aura, and a thin trill of a sound filled the air. Without a word, Ryu reached down, taking the Dragon Sword back into his hands. "YOU!" he cried. "YOU are nothing more than an obstacle to me!" He dashed forward at his opponent, preparing to carve this misbegotten freak of nature in two. The sword sang with anticipation as it cut through the air. For a split-second, the monster seemed to realize what was about to happen, and it raised its arms instinctively to defend. For all the good it would do. The razor's edge cut through the soggy flesh as easily as it cut the air, carving the creature open from ribcage to groin. It fell over with a whimpering cry, twitched a moment, and died. Ryu averted his eyes from the grim sight, and immediately ran to the ladder leading up, on the other side of the room. The oxygen in the room was gone, and he had been living on adrenalin for much longer than any human ever should have been able to. With a bit of effort, he forced the manhole cover away, and climbed into the hot, still air of the city. But it was the breath of God as far as he was concerned, and he took it in huge gulps. A moment later, he passed out. *** When he awoke, he saw a pair of fine leather shoes directly in front of his face. He looked up slowly, finding that he had one hell of a headache to contend with. Above the shoes were some fine gray slacks, and above that, a button-down cotton shirt. Above that, there was the face of a man. Given his current mental state and perspective, that was about all the information his addled brain could come to grips with at the moment. His head pounded like a triphammer. The man cleared his throat. "Ah, Mr. Ryu Hayabusa, I presume," he said. "I'm here on orders to provide you transport and... well, some freshening up. And from the looks and smell of things, you could certainly use it." After so much time in the sewers, Ryu had stopped noticing the foul stench he was covered in... but now, in the relatively fresh air, it was plainly obvious how pungent it was. He got slowly to his feet, and looked the man over. He was tall and slim, his jet-black hair cut in a short, businessman's style. He appeared about six foot two, and wore a pair of small, round-rimmed glasses. He gestured, "If you'll follow me, I'll show you to the showers." Ryu shook his head, still groggy. "Wait a minute... who are you? Who sent you?" "The name's Caldwell. I was sent here by Foster." Ryu took a step back and reached for the sword, but found it wasn't there. What the hell? Caldwell sighed. "I figured that would be your reaction, so I took the liberty of removing the sword from you. It's right here." He held out his hand, the sword held in its sheath. Ryu sneered. "So what now? Are you going to kill me?" "If I were here to kill you, Mr. Hayabusa, I could have done so easily, before you woke up," said Caldwell. Fair enough, thought Ryu. "All right, so what's your story?" Caldwell tossed the sword back to him, turned away and gestured for him to follow. "I'll tell you on the way." Seeing little other choice, Ryu did as asked. While walking, the ninja looked around. He was indeed at the airport... his instincts had guided him well. "I'm supposed to go and find locker 217," he said offhand. "I know," said his odd new companion, "That's where we're headed. "There, and to the airport showers." The idea of a shower sounded like heaven to Ryu. "But how on earth are we going to get security to let me in? I've been trudging through the city's sewer system, and I look and smell the part... and holding a deadly weapon, to boot." This whole situation struck him as being more than a little preposterous. Caldwell shrugged, "Don't worry... like I said, Foster's got everything sorted out. Come on...." Ryu did as asked, and was amazed when they were not accosted by security, despite getting some truly odd looks. They went to locker #217, and he found a couple of items of extreme interest. Chief among them was a fresh change of clothes... an outfit identical to the one he was wearing now, except clean. And a few shuriken as well, evidently to restock his supply. "Foster left me THIS?" Ryu asked of the tall man. Caldwell shrugged. "He wants to meet you face to face, he says. So he's doing his part to help make sure you're at your best when you face the tests he's set up for you." Ryu scowled. "So this is just some sort of game to him?" "To him, yes. Not to you or to me. Now please," said Caldwell, "go take a shower. You're not getting on my plane until you do." "But--" began the ninja. "I'll explain everything once we're onboard. I'm your pilot." *** Ryu stepped out of the shower and dried himself off, then changed into the new outfit which Foster had left for him. As strange as all this was, he had to admit, he felt ten million times better now for having washed off all of that filth. He stepped out, and Caldwell was there to greet him. "Feeling better, I hope?" he asked. "Much. Now, this explanation...." Caldwell shrugged, "Now's as good a time as any, I guess." Ryu waited. "The fact of the matter is, I was sent here to fight you. But I'm not going to." "Why's that?" asked Ryu. Caldwell smirked. "Because I know you'd kill me quite easily, and I'm not an idiot. Plus, I know why you're here, and I personally think Foster's out of his fucking mind." "Heh... you too?" "Basically, Hayabusa, I'm here to help you on your way. I'd like to see you get your family back," said Caldwell. The ninja blinked in amazement. This was unexpected. "So where has Foster taken them? What did that man mean when he said 'the source of all my troubles?'" "The ruins of some temple in Brazil." Ryu's heart leaped into his throat. Caldwell sighed, adjusting his glasses. "Yeah, that's pretty much the reaction Foster was hoping for. His routine seems to be that he's confident you'll get past all of the obstacles he's placed in your path. He wants to kill you himself." Ryu folded his arms. "Charming man." "Yeah, I thought so. He got ahold of some statues that were somewhere in the ruins. Ugliest things I've ever seen." Ryu couldn't believe he was hearing this. Foster had the Demon Statues? It couldn't be... had he somehow gained power from them? It would explain that sewer-dweller he'd just fought. He shuddered at the thought. He nodded. "I understand... and I know what I have to do. But first, I want to ask you a question." "Go ahead." "Why," asked Ryu, "are you helping me? I don't get it." "Because," said Caldwell, "you're just a man trying to help his family... doing no more than any man would do. I may be a little money-hungry, but I'm not going to help him, either directly or indirectly, to murder innocent people." Ryu nodded, a bit relieved, but wary. "I squandered my relationship with my family," said Caldwell. "Maybe in some small way, this will help to make up for it." The ninja looked at him intently, trying to determine if he was indeed telling the truth. In the end, he decided he had little choice but to trust him... since he was the only one who would know how to get him to his destination. *** And so, the two boarded a small jet plane, which had obviously been chartered... few men were rich enough to own something like this, and Ryu was comfortably certain Foster was not one of them. They took off a few minutes later, the small plane headed south toward another airport which would procide a stopover and refueling point. Caldwell had instructed Ryu to relax, as it would be a rather long while before they reached their destination. "Why don't you get some sleep, Hayabusa?" asked Caldwell as he stared out the cockpit window. "I know you're exhausted, and you could use the rest. "It's not going to get any easier, I'm afraid," he finished. With a shrug and a mild sigh, Ryu took the advice in stride, and tilted his seat back, covering his eyes. Now that he had a chance to relax, he was amazed at how exhausted he was. "You're no spring chicken anymore," he said to himself. As thoughts of his wife and child drifted through his mind, the Ninja Dragon slept.... And when he awoke, then he would be ready. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TO BE CONTINUED ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ninja Gaiden, Ryu Hayabusa, Irene Lew and all characters, with the exception of Caldwell, are the sole copyright of Tecmo. This document is meant for public distribution in its ORIGINAL FORM ONLY, and should not be sold at any price. All events portrayed in this story are the inventions of Deuce, and do not reflect the "proper" story as shown by Tecmo (even though Tecmo screwed the pooch on the NG3 story).