[Story] The Future History of Jakob Pettersohn (11/Jul/09 - Final Chapter)

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

ItWasn'tMeIDidn'tDoItYouCan'tProveAnythingAndIWasn'tThereAnyway!


*cough* Having said that, it's a nice patch to cover the plot-hole - works well, and explains much.

[Tapewolf]

Chapter 13 - Thief

"What?" yelped Jakob.

"You heard me," replied Niall, with a slightly amused expression.  "He's in the washing machine."

"Let me get this straight... you're talking about Dorcan?  Not Daryil... Dorcan?  The level-headed doberman with the bat in his hair?"

"Yep."

"But why?  We gave him a psych check-up just the other day and his brain seemed to be functioning normally.  At least, it was then..."

"He was with Daryil, though." added the fox.

"Ahhh..." Jakob replied in a tone of sudden understanding.

"He was going to play football with Azrael," put in Ashley.  "You know, to help practice coordination and stuff with their new bodies.  Whatever they did, they came back kind of muddy.  I saw Azrael heading off to the showers."

"That makes sense," Niall continued.  "Anyway, the next time I saw Dorcan, he was climbing in the machine with a handful of soap powder.  Daryil hit the button before I could stop them..."

Jakob groaned.

"But honestly, Dad, you should have expected something like this when he asked if his fur was machine-washable."

"Well I assumed he was joking, but I guess you're right.  I should have thought of this when Ash told him he was IP-68 compliant.

"You know," he added suddenly, "I have a mind to leave him in there."

"I wouldn't," remarked Ashley.  "He'll be all damp when he comes out of spin-cycle and he'll start to smell if he isn't dried out fairly soon.  More to the point, he might force the door when he gets bored - assuming Daryil doesn't let him out first."

"Clan leader or no, he can be a bad influence when he gets in that kind of mood," Jakob mused, deciding it was probably time for a little chat with his leader.  It would not make good PR for the cybernetics project if word got out that he was making crazy androids.

"Where is he now?" he asked.

"Guess," said Ashley, rolling his eyes with a smirk.

"Oh," replied Jakob, and went very quiet.  A human would have flushed, but his fur made that difficult to see, so he looked away with embarrassment like a feral dog would.

"How did they meet, again?" asked the lynx.

"Daryil stole him right under my nose," snarled Jakob.  "I only found out when I went to... propose... to him..."

Jakob owed his leader big and generally held him in high esteem, but that incident still rankled him more than a century later.

"I went straight back to Fa'Lina to ask her what the Devil she was thinking of, giving a poor, innocent little kid like him to Daryil," he continued irritably.
"He was only twenty-four, maybe less.  I was really laying into her when she just cut me dead.  Told me she had no idea what I was talking about and she'd never even seen the guy let alone accepted him into the Academy.

"I thought I was going mad, except that Fi remembered it too.  That was when we realised that the person who'd taken the lad wasn't her."

"He impersonated Fa'Lina?" Ashley boggled.  "Jesus!  I bet she was pleased about that."

"Livid," Jakob agreed.

"Wait... Yak, did you just say 'Fi'?  The Warp-Aci?  Wasn't she vanquished or something?"

"Kind of.  I don't know the gory details but Fi survived and was re-bound to Clan Cyra.  Her new owner happened to be in the Academy at the time I was taking Fa'Lina to task, so she summoned Fi to the office and questioned her over it."

"But why did... I mean, he... Daryil is four thousand years old!  How come he was looking for a- uh, mate?"

"He's not very good with people," Jakob pointed out.  "But yes, he's had a succession of partners.  Sometimes they drift apart, sometimes they just get bored after centuries together.  His last love was murdered," he added unhappily.
"I believe that's what sparked off the war against Clan Ti'Nera.  One of the only times Daryil has ever eaten someone's soul, let alone another 'Cubi..."  He shuddered at the thought.  Ashley did likewise.

"It took him a long, long time to recover from that, both the murder and what he did in revenge, and when he finally started to come out of it, he decided he  wanted Dad.  That didn't pan out either because Dad was already in SAIA by then and it wasn't until relatively recently that he finally worked out how to get past the magical barriers."

Ashley looked slightly nervous at the mention of this.  He seemed to be having another bad flashback from the Tree Party.

"Yeah, defences like that are a constant battle to stay one step ahead of the 'bad guys'.  Not just intruders and adventurers, you also have to contend with wise-ass students like me who think it would be fun to make a hole in the barrier so we could slip out for a lark."

"Did you?"  Niall looked intrigued.  Ashley, who had spent more time with Jakob, simply grinned.

"Almost.  Fa'Lina found out before I could finish it.  She went berserk.  I guess it's part of the trouble of spending centuries in a safe environment like that, you start to forget how brutal the world outside can be... but that's besides the point.  What I'm saying is that you have people constantly trying to bring the barrier down, and eventually they will unless you constantly try to improve the spells to keep everyone safe.  Notice that my own defences have several layers to them over and above the wards surrounding it..."

Jakob broke off.  In the distance the sound of the washing machine had reached a crescendo, and as he listened it left spin-cycle and faded away, to be replaced by a faint metallic tapping sound from the laundry room.

Jakob strode into it, and opened the door of the machine.  "Blbplb," said Dorcan happily, a stream of water flowing from his open mouth.  Suddenly there was a blur of motion as Jakob seized the doberman in an armlock.  His smile was pure Cross as he dropped him into the gaping maw of the neighbouring unit, slamming the door closed and twisting the knob with relish.  Ashley just gaped.

"If he wants to roleplay as washing, he can go in the tumble-dryer," Jakob told him and left.  Behind him, Niall vanished.

* * *

Panther R-MAC padded around the corridors, and swore to himself as he noticed that someone had shut the adjoining door.  There was a problem with the opening mechanism intended for the panthers to use, and since Jakob hadn't got around to fixing it with all the recent excitement of the cybernetics project, they had taken to leaving it propped open in the interim.

Perhaps he could get the doberman guy to try and fix it, Mac mused to himself, making a mental note to suggest it later on.

Not having taken any Being Technology classes in SAIA, Dorcan was currently undergoing a crash-course in electronics, pneumatics and various related technologies.  In short, he was learning everything necessary to be able to repair himself should he decide to go off on his own.  A dead door-opening mechanism would make for some good practice at fault-finding.

In the meantime, Mac had a door to contend with.  Pausing, he leapt up at one of the handles and threw his weight against it, pulling it downwards.  Jamming a paw into it, he moved backwards a step or two on his hind legs and then quickly stuck his foot in the gap before it could close on him again.

I could so do with a pair of hands, he thought enviously, not for the first time, and moving the doorstop back into place, strode through into the corridor.  Out of the corner of an eye he saw movement and froze, unsheathing his claws slightly and coiling himself up so as to spring upon his prey.

A dark shape drifted across the corridor, singing what appeared to be a nursery rhyme backwards.  In its wake a trail of sweet-wrappers floated gently to the floor.

Crap, Mac thought as the tension left him.  That little creep really straightened me out.  And Jakob's gonna go apeshit when he finds his sweets are gone.

He was about to radio his Master - no, not master, employer... friend, even - when he spotted another movement at the intersection.  A figure.

Mac let out a strange gasping noise.  "Boss, you'd better see this!" he said, a computer simulation of his face appearing on Jakob's watch.

* * *

"There wasn't anything from Farlane, was there?  Did they stealth it, or have they mimicked our Friend-Or-Foe signals?" he asked.  He might have been a quadruped, but that didn't make him stupid.

"Well, well!  So, the prodigal son returns!" said Jakob, eyeing the husky with an unreadable expression as he stood in the corridor, looking extremely unhappy.  He was.  Joshua had hoped to be able to carry on his old job as if nothing had happened, going back to the old routine of investigating and possibly neutralising threats to world security.
Now he had been ordered to spy on the very people who had saved his life - indeed, the only people who could repair him now if he became sick - and the worst part was that he wasn't even sure why he was doing it.  No, in all of his career, he'd never been sent on a mission quite like this one before.

"I presume they sent you back here to steal something," Jakob continued, with a faint smile.  "Probably the ion beam technology?"

"Yes," Joshua sighed, his shoulders sagging as he collapsed back against the wall.  "Is my mind-shield really that weak?"

"Nah, it was simply an educated guess," replied the incubus.  "I mean, why else would you come back all stealthy-like?  If it was a friendly visit you'd have announced your arrival, and you know I'm going to license the android technology so it's probably not that.  The only other thing could have been the Total Conversion engine, but since that is still too experimental it kind  of leaves the ion-beam, doesn't it?"

As Jakob spoke, the husky slid down the wall and curled up into a foetal position.

* * *

"Why?" asked the cheetah.  "I'm already dying."

"I know," replied the stranger.  "As in living we slowly die, so too in dying shall we live."

He was a grey wolf of immaculate dress.  Black trousers, black shirt.  Black coat, long and sinister.
Dark glasses obscured his face, but in the mind of the feline a horrible suspicion took root.  An expression of terror filled his eyes as the intruder loaded his gun and took aim.

"Don't worry," added the wolf, as a faint tinge of regret finally entered his otherwise calm voice.  "Death is not the end."

"I know you!" the cheetah began, a wild note suddenly entering his voice.  "You're-"

He pulled the trigger.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

"level-headed guy with the bat in his hair" *giggle*


I like how the end results in someone impersonating Jakob. That bodes all over.

[Tapewolf]

Chapter 14 - Beggar Man

Joshua sat propped against the wall in the corridor, staring listlessly at his feet.  He couldn't bring himself to confront Jakob's withering gaze.

"Well?  Did you bring any friends with you?" asked the incubus coldly.  Before the husky could reply there was a thump from the ceiling.  "It seems you did," he continued, giving Joshua an even darker look.  A series of footfalls made their way towards the window, and Jakob braced himself.  In all likelihood the intruder was about to kick it in and attack them, so he cast a projectile shield and assumed a defensive posture.

A dark shape flew past the window, falling to earth with a muffled thump.  Sending two panthers on ahead and leaving two to guard the husky, Jakob raced down to the nearest entrance.  When he got there the panthers had stood down.  A few moment later he saw why.

"Please tell me you did not just do what I think you did," he said as Dorcan entered, his fur and clothing entirely covered in snow.

Joshua looked up, his eyes widening.  "Jeez, Dorcan, what happened to you?" he asked, still avoiding Jakob's face.

"I've been growing a bit concerned about his behaviour lately," Jakob said.  "If there's a problem with his brain it might affect you too at some point.  But anyway..." he said, turning to the Doberman, "Let's hear the worst.  What in the world were you thinking of?"

"The wings," he said.  "I was just checking them out, right?  They don't work."

"Ah," said Jakob, in sudden understanding.  "And the washing machine... basically you're exploring the capabilities of your new body.  I should have thought of that."  He sounded a lot happier now that he had some kind of explanation for Dorcan's odd ideas.

"Good job this base is in the Arctic," Dorcan murmured.  "Falling onto concrete or something would have hurt."

"The first lab was in Kurzmouth,"  Jakob remarked, a nostalgic expression in his eyes.

"Kurzmouth?  The seaside resort?" Dorcan boggled.  He couldn't imagine a less likely place to set up an advanced cybernetics lab.

"Yep.  It was perfect.  Busybodies like Joshua's mob would never believe we were doing any sensitive research there.  We had to put up our feet and enjoy ourselves from June to August, but for most of the rest of the year the place was completely dead.  We made a number of key breakthroughs during those times.

"But I digress," he said, his voice frosting slightly as his attention drifted back to Joshua, whom he contemplated like an errant child who had disappointed him greatly and would have to be punished.  Joshua could sense this but he remained there, quietly gazing at his feet once more.  Whatever the wolf had planned for him, he was not going to beg for mercy.

"So, what are you going to do to me?" he asked dully.  Jakob threw back his head and laughed.

"I'm sorry," he chuckled.  "It's a very bad habit.  But hey, I'm an incubus.  I'm going to get a kick out of playing with people's emotions."

Joshua slowly raised his head and stared back at the incubus with a strange mixture of hope and uncertainty.

"You mean... you're not angry?" he asked, hesitantly.

"Nah," replied the wolf, helping him up.  "I wouldn't need to be an empath to see that you're less than happy with this assignment.  But I am, and I can practically hear it.  Good job I never acquired a taste for misery or I'd be hyperactive by now.  Anyway, now that you're here, would you mind telling us how you got in?"

Mac looked up.  He had assumed that his question had been forgotten.

"Keaton sent me," he said.  "She used one of those Warp thingies, like the one Niall's got."
Jakob looked like he was about to interrupt, but the husky ploughed on.  "It deposited me a couple of miles from here and I walked the rest of the way."

"...and we forgot to take you off the authorized persons list for the security system," Jakob finished.  "How were you going to get back, though?"

"She gave me a charm," he replied, fishing a small amulet out of his pocket.

"I'll take that if you don't mind," Jakob said, fingering it gently as though it was about to bite him.  Meanwhile, in Ashford's office, a red light began to flash.

* * *

Azrael slouched in a comfortable chair in one of the recreation rooms.  A robot panther was sat next to him like a dog.  Formerly one of the less intelligent guards, they had been uplifted to the same specification as Mac upon Azrael's request.  Although the cats were technically sexless - unlike Azrael himself - Lilly had been slightly modified to have a female voice and personality traits.

As Niall sat flicking through the satellite channels, Azrael and Lilly were idly discussing the pros and cons of capital punishment.  This made for an interesting debate since Azrael had abolished it, while Lilly was designed from the ground up to be a killing machine.
Jakob has strayed from the path, he mused.  Something would have to be done about that.

Nothing violent of course, for that was not Azrael's way.  He was more subtle than that, gradually obtaining what he wanted through the tiniest manipulations and almost unlimited patience.  In any case, Jakob was a friend and Azrael, Angel or no, had little intention of jeopardising that friendship with some Machiavellian game.

He might almost have suspected that Jakob was finally settling into his role as an Incubus, finally beginning to treat Beings them as necessary inconveniences to be used, tolerated or disposed of if they got in the way.  But Azrael knew better than that.  After all, he had been deeply involved in Jakob's projects himself and it was quite clear that there was more to it all than mere selfishness.

In any case, he'd already broached the subject of the panthers.  Jakob had pointed out that in such a remote location as Furrae's Arctic Circle, the only people likely to stop by were those who had deliberately decided to visit them, which either meant they were in on the project, and thus protected by the 'Friend' identifier in their tag, or Jakob's enemies.

The only thing which really grated on Azrael's nerves was the lack of a non-lethal response in the panthers.  While Jakob hadn't actually built most of them himself, he hadn't modified their basic design either.  Once upon a time, he would almost have preferred to die himself than kill his enemies.  But then again, the two hundred and fifty years since Jakob had quit Ha'Khun was time enough for anyone's moral compass to drift. 

"How would you feel about being fitted with a stun-gun, Lilly?" he asked.  "We can probably fit a sonic into your nose."

"That depends who I get to test it on," she replied slyly.  "One question... how are you planning to integrate the control system?"

"I understand from Jakob that the brains used in the panthers are fairly generic and have a couple of unused ports allowing them to control accessories.  Probably we'll start with a headlight or something like that until you learn how to fire it and control the intensity."

Lilly pictured herself with a glowing red nose and emitted a peal of hissing laughter.
"Now that's an interesting crime," she remarked suddenly, pulling herself together as the news came on.

...ain story tonight is still the slaying of former councillor Renward Wils, who was found dead three days ago at his house in Wellbrook, the victim of what police are describing as an execution-style murder.

"Jakob once proposed a murder-style execution," Azrael commented.  "I think he was drunk at the time.  The idea was that the condemned remained in jail for an indeterminate time  until the executioner burst into their cell one night and stabbed them to death in their sleep.  Actually, I think it was that suggestion which finally pushed me to abolish the death penalty."  Beside him, Lilly snorted.

... at a loss as to the motive, since Wils had already retired owing to ill-health.  Indeed, sources close to him have stated that he was suffering from a rare magical disease which is generally considered to be terminal.

Wellbrook police have released CCTV footage of the suspect - or suspects - seen here entering the house shortly before the time that the murder was believed to have taken place.  A few minutes later this figure was seen leaving the house, although he never entered it.  Police suspect a succubus or incubus may be responsible although they are keeping an open mind.

Even though his neighbours heard the shot and the body was found almost immediately, forensic investigators were unable to detect any trace of Mr. Wils' aura, and are becoming increasingly concerned for his metaphysical safety.

"The True Death..." said Azrael gravely.  "That," he added, "is something I would execute someone for."

Niall looked like he was going to be sick, and left the room hastily.

And now, in 'Strange But True', police are still searching for the mysterious 'Preacher' of New Kunda, who has been accosting random strangers in the high street and attempting to marry them to each other.  Earlier today, Inspector Southgate told us that there has been a key development in the case.

"We now have film of the Preacher as he jumped out from behind a tree and attempted to force a local man into holy matrimony with a Mr. Wrightmann from New Zinvth.  A fight broke out after it emerged that Mr. Wrightmann was already married with three kittens, and the local constabulary attempted to intervene.
He then proceeded to marry the two officers to each other and promptly escaped in the confusion.  It is not yet clear if their marriage has any legal status, or whether a divorce will now become necessary."

Police have also issued a photofit description.  If you recognise this fox, please call the following number...

"Holy shit," said Azrael.  "That's Daryil."

* * *

"What the hell is this?" said Jakob.  A small parcel had arrived at the base, included in one of the less-than-frequent postal drops.  Upon his desk, wrapping and boxes were strewn about, one of which he had already warded to prevent Kirian from breaking it open and consuming the chocolates within.

The object of his ire was a very small parcel containing a matchbox.  It had a covering note, but since it consisted entirely of the word 'care...', no-one was able to to understand what it was or why it had been sent to them.
Inside the box was a single bullet.

"Looks like a death threat to me," Dorcan said.  He was about to throw the thing away when he realised what it was made from.

"Silver...?"

"Let me see that again," Jakob said, taking it from the doberman.
"In traditional human mythology you use a silver bullet to slay a wolf-were.  Possibly any kind of were, but wolves were the most common.  The most common legends, that is.  Anyway, I doubt anyone in this dimension seriously thinks I'm a were, but let's see if we can sense their aura..."

Dorcan cursed.  He should have thought of it himself, although he wasn't able to do it anymore.  "Don't they teach you kids forensics in SAIA these days?" chuckled the wolf.  He clutched the bullet firmly in one hand and closed his eyes, a look of intense concentration lining his face.
Dorcan of course, but nothing else.  Magic then...

Yes, there was magic in it.  Indeed, there was an enormous amount of energy trapped within the lattice of silver crystal which the bullet was composed from.  A strange expression crossed his features as he opened his eyes.

"It's a soul," he said.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

ok, Kursmouth? Damn funny. "Forced to relax and enjoy ourselves for six months of the year" ? damn funny.


But "Preacher of New Kunda" ? Bwahahahahahahahaha

[Tapewolf]

But "Preacher of New Kunda" ?

I got that idea from the Radio Project, believe it or not.  Audacity has a strange bug in 1.3 where certain operations will mess up the gaps between clips.  In this case, Tezkat's preacher guy shot into the middle of the clip and tried to marry Edward and Destania while the others were still trying to kill her.  I had in mind an outtake where he kept popping up to marry people at inconvenient moments.  I might still do that 

[Do you know why the forum software gets so confused if your session times out while posting?  That really sucks.]

[Zedd]

I really like it whats going down..I wonder who else will appear

[Tapewolf]

I really like it whats going down..I wonder who else will appear

We'll have to see

Oh yeah, and thanks to Zedd for inspiring the Kurzmouth idea.  To this day I'm not quite sure if he meant Blackpool or Blackburn 

[Zedd]

I really like it whats going down..I wonder who else will appear

We'll have to see

Oh yeah, and thanks to Zedd for inspiring the Kurzmouth idea.  To this day I'm not quite sure if he meant Blackpool or Blackburn 

I ment Blackburn dude...

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I think Blackpool is a better choice. After all, who'd look for a mad scientist in a sunshine resort?


.. although I realise that "sunshine resort" is stretching it a bit, for Blackpool... ;-]

[Tapewolf]

I think Blackpool is a better choice. After all, who'd look for a mad scientist in a sunshine resort?

Quite.  The trouble being of course, that while Zedd was setting his story in some kind of furry England, I'm not and there is no Blackpool in Furrae so I had to invent one.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Good chapter JP enjoyed reading your story after my little break

[Zedd]

And I will let you know Dr Wu is nuts...Hojo FF7 nuts

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

A dark shape flew past the window, falling to earth with a muffled thump.  Sending two panthers on ahead and leaving two to guard the husky, Jakob raced down to the nearest entrance.  When he got there the panthers had stood down.  A few moment later he saw why.

"Please tell me you did not just do what I think you did," he said as Dorcan entered, his fur and clothing entirely covered in snow.

Joshua looked up, his eyes widening.  "Jeez, Dorcan, what happened to you?" he asked, still avoiding Jakob's face.

Erm... just how far did he race? Can't have been far, since Joshua was still able to see the both of them when Dorcan wanders in...


(I knew there was -something- amiss... I was just enjoying the story too much :-] )

[Tapewolf]

Erm... just how far did he race? Can't have been far, since Joshua was still able to see the both of them when Dorcan wanders in...

The way I visualized it was like this.  Jakob and Joshua are in a corridor connecting three larger parts of the complex in a sort of T-junction arrangement.  This part of the building actually has two stories, they are on the top floor.

Dorcan walks across the roof (which is immediately above them) and jumps.  Joshua has his back to the window, Jakob is facing it and sees Dorcan fall past.

To get to where Dorcan is, Jakob now has to go down a flight of stairs and through the exit, which he does as quickly as he can to get to the intruder (Dorcan) before he can escape.

When he discovers it's Dorcan, the panic is off and the two of them walk back upstairs.

Does that make sense?

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Oh, it makes sense. And it's more or less what I expected.

My point was merely that "racing off" and "came in" give the impression, albeit falsely, that Joshua has magically moved to near the door, and it jars a touch.

Just a touch. Pedant mode engaged, etc etc. :-]

[Gabi]

Ah, so it was an accident with creative consequences.

Sorry for the late reply, I've been way too busy.

The part about the lab in the beach reminded me of my thesis director. He was invited to many conferences and asked to teach courses in many places, but would only go to cities which were by the sea.

I liked this chapter a lot.

[Tapewolf]

Chapter 15 - Poor Man

He opened his eyes.  He was lying sideways on a table.  Was it just a dream? he wondered, but as he began to look around he couldn't recognise any of his surroundings.  He had the strange impression of being about two-thirds of his previous size, and there was something very odd about his muzzle.  It was too long and the fur was black.

He tried to get up but his arms wouldn't move in the right way anymore.  He caught a glimpse of something... not a hand, a paw.  A feral paw.
Panicking, he thrashed, his powerful hind legs propelling him further than he had expected.  Too far.

"Catch him!" someone shouted as he fell off the table with a crash.

That didn't sound right, he thought, scrambling to get up.  As he did so the cat noticed that his legs weren't furred.  They had a slight lustre to them but they were solid.  Gingerly he managed to stand on his front legs, but his ass-end was still giving him problems.

"Come on," said a gentle voice behind him and a pair of hands helped him up.  He wobbled for a bit but became steady.  He'd never had digitigrade legs before.

"I'm very, very sorry it had to be done like this," said the speaker, a white wolf crouching before him.  "I'm all out of bodies at the moment."

"B-bodies?"

"Yes.  No.  I mean... I don't mean corpses... I mean a body for your soul to inhabit.  I assure you this is a temporary measure... we've had some problems with the manufacturing plant, but those are fixed now and we should have a nice, bipedal cheetah body ready for you by tomorrow morning."

"Where am I?  How did I get here?"

"You're in Ausmann Research station, in the Arctic.  As for how you got here... I'll tell you that later," he decided.  "It's ugly and I'm not sure you're ready for that just yet."

"Okay, what am I then?"

"At the moment, you're a feral panther.  Synthetic, as I think you've guessed."

"It's pretty obvious," he said, looking at his paws, which were somewhat angular and had a slight sheen to them.  "Couldn't you at least have added fur of some kind?"

"That's armour.  The panthers are my guards, and making them tough to kill was the priority more than realism.  They aren't my design either, I might add.  But anyway... would you care to tell us your name?"

"Wils," replied the panther.  "Renward Wils."

"That name sounds familiar," Jakob said.

"He was murdered," piped up Azrael.

"Well duh," Jakob replied, with a sly grin.  "He wouldn't be here in this condition otherwise."

"No, I mean it made the headlines," the snow leopard replied.

"A celebrity, eh?  Pleased to meet you.  The name's Kristofer Ausmann, and this is Page," Jakob added.  "He's a synthetic as well."

"You're joking."

"Nope.  Synthetic fur, pneumatic muscles and tendons you can see working... it makes your panther body seem a bit crude by comparison.  If you look closely, you'll notice he doesn't breathe."  As he spoke he wheeled a large mirror in front of the panther.

"Ooh," said Wils as he caught his reflection and tried to step forward.  He promptly stumbled but managed to right himself this time.

"You know, that's kind of sexy," he added, turning his head to see his profile and snarling.  Jakob looked bemused and slightly unnerved.  It was not the reaction he had expected.  But then again, he'd never been a feline.  Or indeed a Being.  Perhaps that was it.

Wils spent the next few minutes strutting, then running, and finally jumping around the room, getting used to his new body.  When he was bored, he performed a graceful leap before squatting in front of Jakob and fixing him with a glowing red eye.

"Now, would you mind telling me how I got here?"

Jakob looked pained, but quickly decided that it would be best if it was over and done with.
"You came here in this," he said, removing a small box from his pocket.

Wils burst out laughing.  "In a matchbox?  Get real."  But the wolf wasn't laughing.  There was an expression more like pity upon his face as he opened the matchbox and drew out a small silver object.

"Your soul was trapped inside this," he said grimly.

Memories suddenly came back to the panther.  His eyes widened - in so much as they could in their present state - and he let out a moan.  "They killed me!"

"They did more than that," Jakob said grimly.  "A solid silver bullet.  Enchanted.  Put that through someone's head and it will kill them and steal their soul in one single motion.  Very clever... almost admirable in a sick sort of way.  Of course you have to fish it out afterwards," he added with a look of utter disgust.

At that moment, Lilly entered, looking for Azrael and immediately came face to face with Wils.  Intrigued, she offered to give him a panther's-eye tour of the base.  Jakob was glad of the interruption as the subject matter was getting a little touchy.  He didn't want Wils to know who or what he was until he had a better idea of how they would react.

In the meantime, there were a couple of things he needed to do first.

* * *

Still in his disguise as Kris the Arctic wolf, Jakob opened the cupboard and began to search through it for some sticky notes.  I can see I'm going to have to order some more, he thought to himself.  In the process he managed to knock over a box of soulstones and swore.  Packing them away one by one, he suddenly froze as he realised that one of them was faintly glowing.

Now who could that be...? he wondered.  Oh dear... it's going to be HER.  She's not going to be very pleased with me.

He clutched the gem tightly with one hand and closed his eyes.  A vision of a black-furred marsupial swam in front of him.

"After the first thousand years of my imprisonment I vowed that I would grant three wishes unto the one who would release me..."  Ephrael said.
"After the second thousand years..."

"Knock it off," said Jakob.  "It can't have been more than a hundred and forty, if that.  Though I suppose that is twice your lifespan," he added guiltily.

"So... what's been happening outside?" she asked.

"Oh, this and that.  The good news is that we've figured out how to perform the resurrection.  The bad news is that I don't have a body for you at the moment so you'll have to... wait..."

"You forgot, didn't you?" she said curtly.

"Well, yes.  Look, it took over a century to get it to work!" he protested.  "You can't expect me to remember that far back!  It'll just a few more hours now, I promise!" he said hastily, and broke the link before she could argue.

* * *

The file on Jakob was quite long.  Too long for Keaton.  Try as she might, she just didn't seem to be able to keep her attention on the task of assimilating it all.
There was a theory, which had gained some currency in certain circles, that 'Cubi had short attention spans as a side-effect of not needing to sleep, as though their brains were somehow compensating by continuously trying to enter some kind of daydream state.

Jakob himself had gone through the same problem, as had Niall and to a lesser extent, Ashley.  They had beaten it with practice and training, although Jakob and Niall thrived on wonder, which had helped when he was learning electronics.  Keaton, who had been thrown out of SAIA and spent much of her life engaged in acts of brutality, had not quite learned the knack.
A spell as a secretary had improved her to some extent, but tonight was different.  Tonight she knew that she might finally be able to wipe the Kamei'Sin from the face of Furrae, and the excitement this brought her was not helping her concentration.
There was one item that piqued her interest, though:

Some twenty years ago as of this writing, Jakob Pettersohn, alias Johan
Cross, was slain in Woe Forest by a Being named Torris.  According to the
adventurer's own statement, Jakob died by a crossbow bolt to the heart and was
then decapitated so that his head could be presented to Qual'Neth city for the
sizeable bounty upon it.

How the hell did he get out of that?  She wondered idly, gazing at the picture of an ecstatic Torris, taken shortly after he had claimed the bounty.  He was a rangy feline, and as was often the case with these people, he wore an open jerkin and bracers.
You'd think they'd know better than to leave their belly exposed and vulnerable like that, she pondered.  No wonder they usually die young.

Torris did not live to enjoy his success however, as he was slain himself about
three weeks later in what was believed to be a revenge killing on the part of
Jakob's family.  This was never proven in court however, and remains unsolved.

* * *

Back in the recreation room, Azrael, Lilly and Wils were watching the news when Joshua and 'Kris' entered to see where they had got to.

Police investigating the murder of former Councillor Renward Wils have now released their chief suspect, a Mr. Zedtan d'Ombre.  Zedtan, 550, was released without charge after three hours of questioning.  Police are once more appealing for witnesses.

"They still don't know who killed me," Wils said unhappily.  "Is there any chance we could call them up?  I could give them an exact description."

"I'd rather you didn't," Jakob said.  "Firstly, you're in a secret location where I'm carrying out very sensitive research and I don't want the publicity.  Secondly, the panthers are a secret project.  Besides, even if we did call them up... do you think they'd believe you were Wils at all, looking like that?"

"True," he sighed.

...ile in other news, police have charged the renegade incubus Daryil, leader of the clan that bears his name, with forty-nine counts of breaching the peace.

"Oh Daryil," said Jakob.  "For someone who is so clever, you can't half be stupid sometimes..."

"Think he's going to be okay?"  Joshua asked.  Daryil still scared him a bit... after all, he was a clan leader and exceptionally powerful.  To say nothing of dangerous.  But on the other hand, Josh had a certain affection for him.  After all, he'd probably be dead without his help.  But then again, without him I probably wouldn't have got killed in the first place....

"I wouldn't worry about him," said Jakob.  "Breach of the Peace isn't too serious and anyway, he's got some seriously good lawyers.  We should get to see some fascinating legal contortions over the next few days."

He went quiet for a moment.

"Wils," he said, "If you don't mind, I'm kind of curious about your death.  Do you have any idea why you were killed?"

"I really don't know," he said.  "I mean, I was already dying at the time."

"How so?"

"A curse," he replied.  "You know I was on Wellbrook Borough Council?"

"So I've heard.  That's all I really know about you, I'm afraid..."

"Well, I made some decisions which didn't turn out for the best, and they voted to kick me off the council.  By a narrow margin," he sighed.
"Anyway, I got a job running the university's magical artifact department, but I was earning about half what I had been on the council and I was looking at a very, very bad financial crunch."

"Funny how that seems to happen to people in charge," Joshua said, grinning evilly.  Wils cast the husky a very nasty look and carried on, ignoring him.

"Anyway, I was specifically concerned with ancient magical artifacts, and one of the projects our department was undertaking was an archaeological dig.  I'd always been interested in archaeology and they'd just broken into a new chamber of the complex they were excavating.  Since I was ultimately in charge of the dig I flew off to oversee it, the idea being that I might be able to discover some priceless treasure..."  He tried to smile, but it didn't work very well.

"You're making this up," Azrael commented.

"It was a long shot, but I was desperate, right?  Anyway, it's true... you can look it up if you want.  Now, we found something good..."

"You were going to nick it?"

"It had occurred to me.  Being part of the team that found it and sharing the glory was the main idea though.  Anyway, we found some very interesting artifacts.  The trouble is they were cursed.  It was on the same day that my finances were starting to pick up again that they told me I was dying."

'Kris' made a sharp intake of breath.

"...but as it turned out, that didn't matter anyway because some madman came along and shot me!" he finished angrily.

"What did this madman look like?"  Kris asked.

"Tall, and grey... a fox I think... maybe a wolf... if I didn't know he was dead, I'd say he looked almost like... Johan Cr- HIM!  IT WAS HIM!!!" he screamed, pointing frantically with one paw as Niall entered the room.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Oh, goodie. More mistaken identities.

Poor Niall. He's always getting mistaken for Johan, isn't he? You'd think he'd have learned to make some changes to his appearance... ;-]

[Tapewolf]

Poor Niall. He's always getting mistaken for Johan, isn't he? You'd think he'd have learned to make some changes to his appearance... ;-]

Who disappeared shortly before Wils was murdered?  Who quickly ran out of the room when the murder came on the news?

[Paladin Sheppard]

Yet another great chapter from the master!

*Does a little happy dance for Ephrael appearing*

[Zedd]

Yet another great chapter from the master!

*Does a little happy dance for Ephrael appearing*

If hes the master then I...*draws out sonic screwdiver*

[Tapewolf]

"I wouldn't worry about him," said Jakob.  "Breach of the Peace isn't too serious and anyway, he's got some seriously good lawyers.

You'd be surprised how many times this gets mistyped as 'breach of the peach'...

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

If hes the master then I...*draws out sonic screwdiver*

... am the apprentice?

[Gabi]

Eph! What is she doing there? Is there going to be a long queue of characters waiting to be resurrected? (I don't think I would line up unless I had a very important reason.)

And Zedd is mentioned too! This is starting to involve more forumites than FC, isn't it?

[Tapewolf]

Is there going to be a long queue of characters waiting to be resurrected?

No - I've got more characters than I can easily manage already, so don't expect Eph to stick around.

This is starting to involve more forumites than FC, isn't it?

Heh.  Don't give people ideas   As I say, I'm approaching the limits of what I can sensibly handle.  Keaton remains the only forum character with a key role in the story.

[Zedd]

Im sure more info will be known soon...I am keeping my fingers crossed and hope your mind can take it all

[Tapewolf]

Truth be told I'm not particularly pleased with this one, but it does have its moments.

Chapter 16 - Rich Man

"Niall?" said Jakob, in frank disbelief, "How could you...!?"

"I didn't do it!" protested the fox. 

"But you left the room in quite a hurry when the news came on about the murder,"
Azrael remarked.  "Come to that, you were off somewhere during the time the murder took place.  And you would have been one of the few people who knew the address to send the soul to..."

"I didn't do it!  And even if I did, shooting him and stealing his soul wasn't a bad thing all told since it's saved his life..."

"It would have been kinder to wait until he died and then take his soul.  Murder is not the answer."

"But he's a Being!  Why would I want to save him?" his voice faltered as Joshua shot him a particularly evil look.  "I- What I mean is, there are orders of magnitude more Beings in the world than there are 'Cubi!  If I went round trying to save them all I would go mad!"

"It doesn't matter why he did it!" shrieked Wils.  "He's Johan Cross!  I'm telling you he's Johan Cross!"

"No he isn't," Jakob said.  "This is my son.  But if I find he has been impersonating legendary psychopaths, I shall be very angry.  Now, Niall... kindly lower your mind-shield."

"I didn't kill him," said Niall again.

"No," said Jakob, peering into his mind.  "You didn't.  Though I must say, I approve of your taste in women." he added wickedly.  Niall tried to hide his face.

Wils looked at Niall dubiously and then back to Jakob.  "I guess you're right... I got carried away.  After all Cross is dead and buried."

Jakob took a deep breath and gave a fiendish smile.  "Five out of ten.  The reason I know Niall isn't Johan Cross is because I am... Oh cut that out!" he snapped as Wils began to caterwaul again.  "Why does no-one ever want remember the good things I did?"

"No! No!  Johan Cross is dead!  He was killed in the forest... they cut off his head..."

"So what?" pointed out Jakob.  "You're dead too.  Yet here we are..."

"Does that mean you're a... robot?"

"No," he said, changing his fur back to grey.  "Robots can't shapeshift.  Besides you were happy enough to believe that Johan Cross was alive just now.  I suppose in a way he is dead, in that I am no longer a raving madman.  But somehow, I've never been able to shake the association others hold with the excesses of my evil reign, most of which are hoaxes anyway.  So I decided to fake my death..."

Jakob's voice trailed away as there was a black flash and someone appeared in the room.
"Daryil!" he yelped.  "What are you doing here?  Aren't you supposed to be in jail?"

"Oh hell, I forgot!" he replied.

"No, wait...!" Jakob called as the fox promptly vanished, presumably back to his cell.
"Damn!  I was going to ask him if he knew anything about your death.  Not that it's exactly his style, and besides, it could be anyone.  A century and a half ago I discovered someone else pretending to be my insane alter ego, and they turned out to be a feline succubus," he smirked, but his smile faded as he realised that Wils was still freaking out.

"I know what you're after!" snarled the panther.  If he had been flesh and blood, his fur would have been on end, hackles up.  As it was, his ears had flattened back as far as they could.

"Oh?  What's that?" Jakob asked politely.

"You're trying to raise an army of panthers to take over the world!  Well I shan't be part of it!"

"My dear Mr. Wils," began the wolf with an air of forced patience, "I thought we'd just been through that.  I already have an army of panthers, a death-ray, my own private airforce and a total conversion beam," he said, ticking them off on his hand as he spoke.  "A secret agent has already been sent to stop me.  We've got past that bit.  The only super-villain bit which I don't have is the evil plan..."

Wils' eyes went out and came back on again.  It was the panther equivalent of blinking in confusion.

"Aren't you going to hold the world to ransom or something?"

"Why bother?  I'll admit the capital costs were steep... I had to have help with that side of things, but we're turning a stupendous profit now the advanced prosthetics have hit the market."

"You?  You made those?"

"Of course... through one of our subsidiaries.  Jayhawk Cybernetics... J.C... Johan Cross, geddit?  Anyway, thanks to that we'll soon have enough cash in reserve to build another two synchrotrons if we need the extra capacity.  As you can see, I have more money than I need at the moment, so there's little point in trying to raise still more using some idiotic evil plan which will probably go wrong anyway.

"As it happens, I've got a good plan.  My intention is to throw open the gates to immortality.  Not just for me, but for anyone who can afford it.  Ultimately I intend to offer it via the National Health Service once all the bugs are ironed out of it..."

"Quite the philanthropist, eh?  If you're so full of sweetness and light, why the hell are you hiding out in the Arctic?"

"Because what I'm doing isn't strictly legal," Jakob said.  "That's the evil part of the plan, if you must know.  Certain territories have taboos and laws against creating new life.  Daryil thinks we can get those repealed or loosened up enough that transferring people's souls into android bodies is no longer covered.  In the meantime, I'm keeping it a secret.  Out here there are no laws, so I have to be armed to protect my territory and the details of the technologies I'm using.

"Of course I do like a good secret agent flick," he added.  "And giving the supervillain impression really messes with people's heads, which is always fun for an incubus, although it's a very bad habit I must admit.  But for the love of the Gods, can you please get it out of your head that I'm trying to take over the world?  That's just silly.
"I mean, what would I do with it?  After Azrael died I used to rule Ha'Khunn, and let me tell you, it was a bit of a chore to run that place after it had expanded to absorb three neighbouring regions as well."

Wils just stared back at him.  Jakob's frustration rose as he felt the lingering doubts in the panther's mind.

"Read this," he said irritably, making an elaborate gesture and snatching a handful of leaflets out of thin air.  Jakob opened one in front of the panther.  It was titled "Who's afraid of Johan Cross?" and unfolded into a point-by-point rebuttal of his crimes - both real and fictional - in full colour on glossy paper.

But if Niall didn't kill him, who did?

* * *

Keaton had managed to force herself to read all of Jakob's file, and was now making
her way through the cross-references.  She glanced again at the control panel, where
Joshua's light was still flashing merrily away to itself.
Good, she thought.  Well, as long as it keeps doing that.  He can wait for a few more days, he's only a Being after all...


Clan Daryil is considered highly controversial since it does not have a founder
in the normal sense of the word.  The clan's leader is Daryil, an eccentric
incubus aged approximately 4000 years as of this writing.

The clan was branched from its larger parent by Daryil using a number of rather
intricate spells after a disagreement of succession following the death of the
clan's then-leader... the original founder having been assassinated during the
Clan Wars some millennia previously.

Having lost the succession, Daryil branched the clan using a combination of
little-known spells and ingenious feats of fakery where his own powers failed
him.  This proved controversial, leading other clans to decry Daryil's clan as
not being a 'true' clan - more vocal opponents have considered it to be a fraud
often glossing over them and in many cases trying to pretend that they do not
exist at all.

Nonetheless, his clan, although minor, has garnered a certain amount of
notoriety, having spawned a number of infamous figures including Johan Cross
and Werrew the Usurper.  Indeed Daryil himself is feared by many for his
intensely unpredictable nature.  So far most of his exploits have taken the
form of practical jokes, however this is just the tip of the iceberg.  It is
not entirely clear what damage he would be capable of causing were these
miswired energies directed upon a more concrete goal.

Following his conversion to homosexuality in an attempt to keep the clan
population steady, Daryil has had a number of partners, one of whom was murdered
by members of Clan Ti'Nera.  The resulting war provided a tantalising glimpse of
what Daryil and his followers are capable of when provoked, although it must be
borne in mind that there are no documented cases of the clan ever attacking
pre-emptively.

Daryil's current partner is a young wolf incubus of approximately 175 named
Simeon Kaye.  Brought up in the belief he was a winged Being, Simeon was a
member of a local anti-wing group known as the 'Burning Feather' and is
believed to have killed approximately ten other 'Cubi in a misguided attempt
to avenge his parents before discovering that he was actually an offshoot of
clan...

Keaton's good eye widened slightly and she re-read that sentence again.  A thin, unpleasant smile spread across her face.  It lingered for a few moments before vanishing just as quickly as it had come.

No.  Joshua first, then him.  Without blinking or any outward awareness that it was happening at all, she slipped effortlessly back into the form of Ashford and began to dial on the video link.

* * *

As Wils digested the pamphlet, Jakob strode over to the wall and dialled up one of the viewscreens using his watch.

"Getting anywhere with the forge?" he asked.

"It still bombs out in the coating process," Dorcan replied.  "I've checked the mechanisms and Ash is driving himself crazy stepping through the software, but by the looks of it it's a failure in the operating system.  It's got to be."

Jakob glowered, and pressed a button.  The screen split in two, Ashley appearing to the right of the doberman.

"The operating system?" he queried.  "Again?"

"I think so.  We should have insisted on VMS..."

"We shall have to do something about this," he decided, and then his voice trailed away.  Dorcan and Ashley were both staring at something behind him.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

"No," said Jakob, peering into his mind.  "You didn't.  Though I must say, I approve of your taste in women." he added wickedly.  Niall tried to hide his face.

ROTFL.

"Oh hell, I forgot!" he replied.

... and again...

Having lost the succession, Daryil branched the clan using a combination of
little-known spells and ingenious feats of fakery where his own powers failed
him.  This proved controversial, leading other clans to decry Daryil's clan as
not being a 'true' clan - more vocal opponents have considered it to be a fraud
often glossing over them and in many cases trying to pretend that they do not
exist at all.

*giggle* Yup, that's Daryil. ;-]

... Werrew the Usurper.  ...
...  The resulting war provided a tantalising glimpse of what Daryil and his followers are capable of when provoked, ....

I can't wait for details on these two. ;-]

[Zedd]

Really nice