Season 1, Episode 4 - The Microwave XXII - "Shokahu vs Deborah"

Mogami swerved the car to a halt across the street from the flaming wreckage of the van. Shohaku stepped out the car, his face neutral, scanning for the State Police.

Through the Rddhi, Shokahu knew the van was empty; his blast was more of a show of force of anything. By destroying their ride, Shokahu could either force them to run, a race he knew he would win; or force them to stay and fight, a fight he also knew he would win. They could also surrender peacefully, but Shokahu didn’t really find that option likely.

Instead, a girl stepped out from the jewelry store, red Rddhi circling up and down her arms. Her hair was short and brown, her faced looked pale, and Shokahu guessed she was somewhere around college age. She wore a long indigo coat and mottled military fatigues.

The girl looked around. “Seriously, never a dull moment in this city, huh.”

She smiled wide, and pointed at Shokahu.

“Train’s leaving the station!” As soon as she finished speaking, lightning flared from her right fist, each lightning strike blowing out a window above her, all the way down the line of stores on either side of the jewelry shop. A particularly large blast struck the windows of the upper stories above the jewelry store; she stood proudly as the shattered glass fell behind her.

Shokahu eyed her dryly. “So the State Police sent in a Rddhi user, too.”

I didn’t detect her on my way here...to be fair, I wasn’t particularly looking for a user, but to think the State Police even brought their dogs with them...

A State Police officer poked his head through the door to the store. “Uh, Deborah...is it safe for us to leave? We’re not gonna get blown up or nothing, right?”

The college-aged girl, presumably named Deborah, nodded. “Head out through the back. I’ll hold the line here and catch up with you guys later.”

The officer didn’t look convinced. “Uh, are you sure? Oswald can’t you lose you, he says he needs you for-”

“I said beat it!” Lightning sparked from Deborah’s hand, and the officer flinched as sparks struck the storefront, sending fragments of mortar and brick raining down around her.

“R-roger that.” The officer, followed the rest of his squadron, moved away from the door and must've headed out of the jewelry store through a back entrance.

Shokahu grunted. I have to beat her quickly and catch up to them.

Deborah stepped forward, puffing out her chest, proudly displaying the blue-and-yellow armband that signified she served the State Police for all the world see. She then held up her hand, lightning pulsating through and around it with each heartbeat. “You like it? I call it the Thunder Express. Well, the name’s a work in progress, but I find myself coming around to it. Don’t get any ideas about it either, I’m gonna apply for a trademark soon.”

Shokahu narrowed his eyes.

Deborah smiled. “I suggest you stand down. I know how your Academy here works. You take it in all the hopeless Rddhi users, the kids who can only make fire in the palms, maybe push some air around. Just the kids who can only control an element a tiny bit. Class 1s forever, and once they graduate from here they’ll go back to being pencil-pushers and office drones, having forever wasted their chance at being somebody. Because me – I'm somebody. This makes me somebody.”

Lightning shot her hand and struck a nearby lamppost, shattering the glass into falling shards.

“Don’t think I’m one of the hopeless kids from here,” Deborah continued. “Anybody can push around nobodies. But me, I’m a somebody. Lightning’s a basic element too, I bet some of the kids here can make some sparks too. But me...I can do this-”

Deborah’s plan was simple. Cover the retreat of the other State Police troopers through the use of an extensive monologue. The monologue would also give her time to charge up the Thunder Express so she could defeat her opponent in a single blow.

Deborah expected the usual counter-monologue. She was sure her opponent would speak in some sort of lengthy diatribe about how all kids deserve opportunity and nothing is wasted in the pursuit of one’s self or some other feel-good speech that never held up in real life. By the time his counter-monologue finished, the Thunder Express would be ready to leave the station (heh) and to destroy its destination in a flash (double heh).

Instead, by the time Deborah finished her dialogue, her opponent’s fist slammed into her stomach. The force of the blow knocked her back down the avenue, sending her crashing into a blue mailbox bin. She rubbed her stomach, but her opponent was on her again! She rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding another strike.

Stumbling away on the sidewalk, Deborah shot an electric beam at a metal pole, using electromagnetism to pull herself off the ground. She landed onto a red awning above a storefront and scanned the avenue, searching for her opponent.

She didn’t have to look far. He stood defiantly in the middle of the avenue, red Rddhi coursing through his body.

“My first teacher was the great Master Roland,” Shokahu said. “And his first lesson was to never get caught up in a battle of monologues.”

“I recognize you from your file,” Deobrah realized, saying it aloud to play for time. “Frank Shokahu, teacher at West Narragansett Technical Academy, veteran of the First American War. Powerful-”

“Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon!”

Deborah jumped off the awning, avoiding the red beam of energy that blasted its way through the store, coming out the other side. She nimbly landed on top of a street lamp, gritting her teeth. “Hey, at least let me finish!” she complained. “And everyone talks about kids interrupting their elders-”

“Rat, Ox!”

Shokahu slammed his shoulder into the streetlamp. Deborah struggled to keep her balance, then managed to jump upwards off of it, straight into the air. “Hey! What about collateral damage?” she cried in disbelief.

Oh well, Deborah supposed with a new grin, still in mid-air. If he wants to mess up his own city, I can help him with that.

She glanced at her fist. The Thunder Express still isn’t completely charged yet. I’ll have to use a modified version.

Electricity and lightning flared from her fist. As Deborah started her descent, she aimed herself at Shokahu, who seemed to be collecting himself after using his Ox.

“All aboard the Thunder Express, Red Line!” Deborah declared. She reared her fist back, closing the distance between her and Shokahu, several streams of electricity trailing outwards from her hand, stretching behind her.

Shokahu looked up at her. A red Rddhi circle appeared behind him as he brought his palms together.

“Rat, Ox!”

The same move as before, Deborah realized. She grinned, ready for the challenge.

Just as Deborah’s Thunder Express - Red Line was about to make contact, the red Rddhi circle reappeared above Shokahu, directly in Deborah’s path. Her fist struck the center of the circle; a loud gong noise erupted from the center of contact, shattering any remaining windows in the immediate vicinity.

Shokahu’s circle withstood her blow. The circle was essentially solid – it certainly felt like it – so Deborah rolled off of it, leaping away to give herself some space. She smirked as the rest of the Red Line caught up to Shokahu; those streams of electricity behind her fist had brought with them magnetized girders and pipes from the wrecked jewelry store, now aimed directly at Shokahu.

Shokahu brought his palms together. “Rat, Ox!” he declared once again. The circle appeared once more, taking the full blow of the impact, keeping Shokahu no worse for the wear.

“Gotcha!” Deborah declared. Shokahu, his hands full with the pipes, saw Deborah approach him from the other side, her fist full of electricity.

I can’t bring up another shield, or redirect my energy, Shokahu supposed calmly. I’ll have to do this manually.

Keeping one hand holding up the red circle, Shokahu nimbly dodged Deborah’s punch, sticking a leg out to trip her in the process. Deborah stumbled forward, then fell, her fist slamming into the ground, unleashing a muffled shockwave of electricity, cracking the pavement and presumably wrecking the infrastructure below the street.

With no more falling pipes, Shokahu lowered his circle. Deborah sat up on the ground and laughed.

“Thunder Express, Blue Line!”

The delayed impact of her punch hitting the ground finally arrived; jets of water shot upward from those broken pipes below the street, through the cracks in the pavement, or even from new holes formed by the pressure; Deborah slammed her fist into a puddle, electricity crackling and flaring, snaking its way from the puddle to the other sources of water, electrifying them, sure to electrocute Shokahu to a crispy end-

“Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit!”

Red Rddhi running through his shoes, Shokahu leapt out of the way, his jump height magnified by his Rabbit power. He escaped before any of the electrified water could hit him, landing safely some ways away down the street.

Deborah stood, the grin on her face slowly disappearing. Shokahu’s face remained passive and casual, with a subtle air of determination about it.

“They told me your ability involved the Chinese Zodiac,” Deborah informed him. “I didn’t wake up this morning expecting to fight against it. Nor did I expect it to be so powerful.”

“Surrender yourself,” Shokahu simply said.

Deborah smirked. “You leave with no choice.”

Deborah survival tip number one; when in doubt, target civilians!

She brought her hand up towards Shokahu, facing her from down the street, but then she moved it away to the side. She now aimed it towards the Model Litoral, which had attempted to hide itself out of sight below the elevated railway, behind a concrete pillar. “Thunder Express, Silver Line!”

Deborah snapped her fingers. A solid beam of electricity, much like Shokahu’s dragon, rocketed out of her fingers, heading directly for the car. The solid concrete of the pillar would be no match for the penetrative (heh) power of the Silver Line-

“Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse!”

Shokahu covered the distance in no time, arriving in less than a second when it should’ve taken three times that. He took the Silver Line square in the shoulder; the force knocked him backwards, on to the ground, but no concrete pillar or cars exploded.

Shokahu sat up straight, gripping his shoulder.

I was lucky I had the time to at least set up the Ox in front of my shoulder at the very last second, he supposed. Otherwise my whole arm might’ve gotten taken off. Or worse, the car would be a crater right now.

He heard worried cries, then saw Mogami sprinting towards him, followed by Kelb and Dimitrij.

“Frank!” Mogami cried out as she reached him. She started applying her Rddhi healing powers on his wounded shoulder.

“I can’t just sit there!” Kelb exclaimed, Dimitrij nodded, struggling to keep his hands off his pistol.

“You have your orders,” Shokahu said plainly. “And I have mine.”

He stood up, ignoring Mogami’s protests and the stinging pain. A distant roaring noise slowly grew louder; he looked up in surprise and saw an elevated train pass overhead.

“They’re still running?” Mogami asked in disbelief.

“The orders must’ve got lost somewhere along the line,” Shokahu murmured. He then narrowed his eyes.

Down the street, Deborah pulled herself up onto the departing train using magnetism, safely landing on its metal roof.

Shokahu gritted his teeth and brought his palms together, despite the pain in his shoulder.

“Frank!” Mogami reached out for him, but-

“Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit!”

Frank took a few steps forward then leapt with the strength of the Rddhi behind him. He soared through the air, leaving the bewildered trio behind, landing on the last car of the train. The train’s speed almost made him lose his balance, but he carefully balanced himself.

With the power of the Horse, Shokahu bounded forward, covering the distance between cars in no time. Deborah’s grin turned into a frown as she saw Shokahu approaching.

Deborah shot out a Silver Line, timed to hit Shokahu just as he landed on the car in front of her, but he nimbly dodged it. His next leap took him straight into Deborah herself, landing a kick to her jaw, sending her flying backwards, landing at the front edge of the car.

Pain from his shoulder shot through Shokahu, forcing him to stop his assault for a moment.

Rubbing her jaw, Deborah stood up, her face looking rather annoyed. “Are you kidding me? I was only fighting you just to give my men time to retreat.” She pointed an accusatory finger at Shokahu, leaving her other hand hidden behind her back. “They’re long gone now, safe and sound, so I have no more interest in fighting you. I’m leaving too.”

Shokahu sighed. “I may have only known you for a single fight, but that doesn’t sound like you all.”

Deborah grinned. “Just playing for time. Thunder Express, Color-Still-To-Be-Determined Line!”

With her left hand, hidden behind her back, Deborah charged up a golden ball of energy, and then emitted rays of blinding light, as if there was a second sun in the sky. Shokahu shielded his eyes with a raised arm, but he feel stinging pain running through his face all the same.

“Rat, Ox!”

A red shield emerged in front of Shokahu, enabling him to lower his arm. The shield would prevent the ball of light from hurting his eyes, though unfortunately, the light was all he could see through the shield. At least the new protection would stop any incoming attacks directed at me.

When the light vanished, Shokahu saw Deborah’s left hand still raised, but her right hand was instead aimed in front of the train, down the track. Before Shokahu could change his sign, Deborah smirked and snapped her fingers, the index finger immediately pointing out in the shape of a finger gun.

“Thunder Express, Silver Line!”

Lightning surged out of her finger, shooting all the way down the track, until it struck the rail itself, blasting them away, forming a gap that would send the train plunging down to the ground.

She looked back at Shokahu and smirked. “Good luck!”

Deborah shot out another bolt of lightning which connected with a nearby lamppost, then used the magnetism to pull herself off the train.

Shokahu grimaced. I want to go after her...but a train-full of people need me, and fast.

He stepped forward, but another flash of pain shot through him, forcing him to grab his shoulder.

No time for pain. There are people waiting for me.

Shokahu had squared off with death many times, none of them having particular concerned him. When death reached out for others, that’s when he grew scared. Ten years ago during the Pulaski Coup, a friend in particular had been waiting for him; Shokahu arrived too late. She would be forever waiting for him.

That’s why I can never be late again.

The gap in the tracks was growing closer.

He looked his bleeding shoulder. But how can I stop this in time? I could always use that...

The memory of a thousand arms and eyes flooded Shokahu’s mind, and he shook his head.

Never again. It’s too risky.

He thought of his Zodiac circle. I have twelve animals...only the Ox could bear the impact, if it really can at all...

Shokahu knew what he needed to do.

With the powers of the Horse, Shokahu bounded down to the front of the train, nimbly stepping across its coal hopper, past its smoke stack. With the powers of the Rabbit, Shokahu leapt as far he could. He landed along the track in a spot that gave him enough time to ready himself, as well as some breathing room before the gap in the tracks.

He glanced backwards, frowning slightly; despite the distance, the gap still appeared ominously close.

But no time to dwell on it.

He placed his palms together.

“Rat, Ox!”

His shield materialized in front of his palms just in time. There was a rush of wind, and Shokahu felt the weight of an entire train hitting him. The train charged into the shield, Shokahu’s lone Ox facing down what seemed like a charging herd of them. But his Ox could only be as strong as the man behind it. The force was overwhelming, with Shokahu’s heart racing and beating like a drum, and the train pushed him back with all that power, Shokahu sliding backwards, the force pushing him down and through the planks below the rail lines, across and into the concrete that provided the platform for the elevated rails.

His shoes shredded, the soles of his feet as well, and his nose and ears started bleeding, cracks appearing in his arms with red Rddhi light pouring out of them. Worst of all was the call of a thousand arms and eyes, telling him he could simply dream the train to a stop, with the only price being the unraveling of the soul. Shokahu vowed to never use it again.

He kept his breathing regular, he kept himself calm, and he kept believing he could do it in the here and now. Between the shield that refused to vanish and the efforts of the train driver pulling on the train’s break, the train gradually slowed, but would it be in time?

Shokahu called on his remaining strength to intensify his shield; Rddhi flared from the edges of the circle, threatening to turn it into a spiral, but he held the circle firm.

And, at long last, the train grinded to a complete halt. Shokahu let his shield go, and as the adrenaline subsided, he felt enough pain to last a lifetime rush through him.

But no time to dwell on that, either.

“Mogami’s going to give me such a beatdown,” he said to himself. He would never show it, since old habits died hard, but considering the circumstances, maybe hearing the voice of one of his oldest friends wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world at the moment.

He took a deep breath, and stepped with wounded feet and broken bones back toward the train to make sure everyone was alright.