A Case of Mistaken Identity.... Chapter Four Disclaimer: The X-Men belong to Marvel, the Coda to Wildstorm, and the story to me. Psykeye's psychic sword hummed slightly as she shifted to see the man who would rule Clan Yashida. Kenuichio Yashida, brother of the late Mariko and twin of Kwannon... Her violet eyes narrowed, she'd not counted on his presence here.... Psylocke was confused for the moment, wondering what one of the X-Forces' most troublesome Japanese foes was doing here, and what his connection to her was... Part of her recognised him as one of the X-Force's foes, but another part of her recognised him as family... Remy was bemused by the whole scenario, and it's absurdity, "No reason t' be fightin' right now, Sammy.... We jus' came t'look, lissen an' learn, eh?" His cards glittering in the dim light, reflected in his eerie ruby eyes, he was ready for a rumble... And some things had changed since he'd last had a run in with Yashida... Silver Samurai's eyes and most of his face were hidden by his helm and mask, but what could be seen of his expression was one of disbelief, "LeBeau, I have never known you to battle, when running would serve you equally well... You are without honour, and as such, superfluous to the Majestrix of the Coda...her grievance and therefore mine, as well--is with the ladies...." Remy shook his head, and let fly with half a dozen of his cards... "Well, Sammy, Momma always tol' me--never let someone else dance wit' the dates you brung to th' ball!!" Yashida dropped the Beast, and fired the tachyon field around his katana and attempted to parry the cards which exploded harmlessly against his mirror bright armor. "Let it be so, LeBeau, you shall be struck down as easily as was your competition, the Beast..." Psylocke and Psykeye said nothing, thankful the opportunity for combat would permit them to avoid thinking about their current dilemma. They came to Greece with their fellow teammates, the Beast and Gambit, to the home of the shadowy Sisterhood of the Coda. They sought to learn why they both share the same memories, and why both of these young women both claim to be Lady Elisabeth Braddock.... What they found in Artemis' study was an opponent eager to cut them down, in the form of the Silver Samurai! Strangely, their combat styles were incredibly similar, Remy noticed. But the Otherworlder was left-handed, and the Oriental was right-handed... If they were the same person, shouldn't they use the same hand?? His train of thought was interrupted by Yashida's further soliloquizing speech.... "You do not understand the stakes we play for, Gambit!" he shouted over the dissipating energies, "Lady Artemis has tendered an offer which would allow my family-- Clan Yashida--to regain its honoured place among the Jigoku underworld. That offer is an offer worth fighting for, and worth killing for...." His tachyon powered blade hissed and spat sparks as it's energy field came into conflict with the bio-electric energies of Psykeye's psychic sword.... She'd parried a blow meant for Remy, who leapt out of the way with a spectacular acrobatic flip. "As if you've ever needed an excuse f'r that, Kenuichio!" he taunted, "Pardon... Comin' through..." Yashida passionately hated being denied his target, but he turned his attention away from the gaijin telepath, to the Cajun, he pulled his tanto (dagger) and primed it for a quick toss at his agile opponent, "Show disrespect, gaijun, and while you do, I will pin you flapping tongue to the wall..." His blade missed the flippant thief, who landed on his feet as he always did, "Now, no need to get surly, mon bete enfant!" Gambit chided, "Then again, Kenny-boy, your aim is simply _too_ ironic, n'est-ce pas? Few of us wouldn' mind doing that t' th' little lady ourselves, right 'bout now...." Kwannon's portrait had been pinned thru the 'heart' with the tachyon sheathed tanto still shimmering and 'smoking'. Psylocke looked a bit pale, and didn't like the accusatory gaze that Gambit pegged her with.... "I almost wish Yashida's blade had found its way into your mouth, Gambit..." she spat vehemently, as the Otherworlder countered another blow of the Silver Samurai. Gambit watched her with an obvious appreciation that irked his Oriental team- mate, but his reply irked her even more, with its gentle condescension, "Have I offended you?? Forgive me, mes petites...." Psykeye's roundhouse connected solidly with the ronin's chest, staggering the large man. She impaled him on her psychic sword as he fell, "Let's finish this.. My psychic blade should be sufficient enough to scramble Samurai's synaptic control...." She watched with supreme satisfaction as he tumbled backwards over several large pieces of statuary, hitting his head soundly on Budda's belly! "...and with his strings cut, the marionette falls! The show finishes, and the puppeteer's charade an unsuccessful one..." An indigo fist shattered his mask and helm, sending the groaning mercenary into sweet oblivion. "Incapacitated, my dear Lady Elisabeth, but not unconscious.... Allow me to correct that condition in our favour...." He rubbed his jaw, and tentatively stretched his aching shoulder, "And mind you, the bubbly, bouncing Beastie has no qualms about striking the Silver Samurai in so unseemly a fashion, considering his craven assault on me, whilst my back was turned! Ever so sorry I missed out on the frolic and fun...." Remy was examining the tanto that protruded from the portrait, with his practised and frequently skeptical eye, "Henri, t'was nothin' but the hors d'oeurves we been servin' up...." He reached up to pull the blade from the painting, only to see a safe behind it... "Now lookin' at what we got here...." With Henry's help, Remy removed the large canvas from its place upon the wall... And after some time, cracked the old wall safe.... "Hmmmm, money from a dozen o' countries, legers an' books... An' a couple o' scrolls?? I would imagine then, ladies and gentleman, that these is th' main course for the evenin'!" Psykeye's eyebrow raised spockishly, "That would most likely be Artemis' diaries. She has a penchant for antiquated methods...." The Oriental woman grimaced, fearing what might be found there.... Tokyo, the wee hours of the morning.... Among the neon splashed perpetual motion of the infamous Ginza District, where most men and women went to forget the day's miseries, if only for a fleeting moment or to forge future alliances which will last across the bonds and bounds of generations ahead--one young man comes to conquer through duplicity, malice and greed... An expensive, antique Rolls-Royce limousine wheels through out the drenching rain filled streets. It pauses briefly, as the strangest sight greets the eyes of the jaded and bored thrill seekers: a tall, well dressed and extremely handsome young man appears to emerge _through_ the door, without it's ever opening.... He crosses the sodden sidewalk, through a 'lady of the evening', and then through the doors of an exclusive little restaurant with a 'closed--private party' sign displayed on the doors. He appears to be a ghost, or a spirit... Those who saw him, and heard the odd, sizzling sound of his passing make ancient warding gestures of protection--for surely they have seen a demon walking among them.... He entered the inner doors of the establishment's finest private dining salon, removing his hat and bowing respectfully to the gathering of the highest of the low, -:Gentlemen, I am so sorry that I am late....:- His smile was as sincere as he could make it, considering his rather flippant attitudes and lack of real respect for traditional Oriental jigoku practices.... the eyes of three stern crime lords met his... They were seated upon the tatami covered floor, with comfortable pillows and a low table with a sumptuous meal spread before them... The young jonin raised his dark blue eyes, the disdain and irritation readily apparent on his handsome face, -:Why, Shinobi... What _else_ could one expect from an irresponsible, fledgling young industrialist such as yourself??:- -:Lord Matasu'o Tsurayaba, Lord Tatsu'o, Lord Nyorin--of course, I meant no disrespect...:- Shinobi lied glibly, -:Pressing business matters prevented my timely arrival at this 'summit' meeting...:- Tatsu'o snorted as he sipped his tea, -:You are young, Shaw, and half gaijin--your rudeness can be excused. But you *must* curb you western ways... I have heard rather disturbing tales... But, we were just beginning to disperse the Sino-Provincial profits form our jigoku endeavours.:- Shaw had to bow again, but this was a necessary evil so the two geisha could remove his overcoat and shoes, -:I notice there is no representative of the Hong Kong region...:- Nyorin raised his eyebrow, -:No... Should the Mandarin still be alive, he will return to his claim anyway....as it stands now, it is territory best left unallocated....:- Shinobi accepted the cup of warmed saki that one of the silent ladies slipped into his hands, -:Well, quite frankly, I have no interest in these 'games' of districts and boundaries. I wish what I have always wished--to be left alone to conduct my own business--and that my mother remains separate from all your maddening schemes. She has suffered enough at the hands of my own father, Sebastian Shaw... Beyond that point, this meeting means precious little to me...:- Tatsu'o surged forward, seizing the young mutant by the throat, -:Shinobi, you arrogant whelp! Do not seek to tell us matters of Clan honour mean nothing!! Your mother....my own daughter, tried recently to poison me, and failed due to the intervention of my _loyal_ kin!:- He threw the young half-breed back into the table from which the geisha had been serving them dinner, -: Ensuring our mutual well-being is vital, if we are to carry our traditions down to our descendants.....:- Shinobi rubbed his bruised throat, his voice was raspy, -:Lord Tatsu'o--I did not seek to disparage our family name...my sincerest apologies. Really--why don't we continue?:- He had never expected his grandfather to react so violently, and fear was something he was unaccustomed to feeling.... Greece, the estate that serves as the seat of the Coda.... The delicate pagodas hid more than just high tech weapons systems and a defence grid that would rival that of the Pentagon, they also hid secrets... Beast was examining the scrolls, some of which was written in Greek, and the relevant information in Japanese, "You claim to be unable to read this part, Psylocke? The Japanese text?' Psylocke raised her eyebrows, "No less odd than *her* ability to read it! My body may be Japanese, but my mind remains European..." Beast sighed, his great patience was beginning to wear thin..."I think, ladies, we are all in agreement, that this is a complicated enough situation, as is.... with out the two of you playing tit-for-tat!" Remy nodded in agreement, feverently wishing to be anywhere but here for the thousandth time in the last few hours.... "Well, let's kiss an' make up at the Blackbird, eh? A good thief never hangs around to count his purse..." Psylocke was inclined to agree Gambit, and turned to leave, "You're right, gaijin, the sooner we leave, the Lizer....." The Otherworlder shook her head quietly, briefly caressing the hand the Cajun thief laid on her shoulder, "No...The answers lie _here_, both in this palace, written in Artemis' diaries, and in your mind!!" She fired up her psi-blade, her frustration mounting, as she impaled the retreating assassin in the back... "We do not leave, until this situation has been settled, Kwannon..." Gambit and Beast looked on, in dismay at the Otherworlder's ruthlessness, "Now, Elisabeth... no reason t' hurt Kwannon is there? Or is it the other way 'round? I'm soooo confused...." The assassin moaned in exquisite agony, part of her reveling in it. She writhed on the lavender blade that had pierced her through between the shoulders and emerged between her breasts.... "The pain she feels comes only because she resists my psychic link, Remy... But in some way, she gets some perverse enjoyment from this...." Psykeye informed him, though she wasn't going to let the assassin escape her again, "Why *is* that, Kwannon? Are you so unwilling to discover the truth that you enjoy forcing me to do this??" "No--I.... am not...." she moaned between the almost orgasmic spasms that shifted down her trembling body.... Psykeye brought the two men into the psychic link, showing them what was in the Oriental assassin's mind, "Then listen to the words from Artemis' scroll: 'Kwannon has not returned, she was sent on a routine assignment in Hong Kong several days ago... Sources told be she was seen in Hong Kong. Why would she go there? Is she there of her own free will, or was she abducted?' Think back, Kwannon, you were there to end a life--a local official who'd betrayed the Coda and threatened their plans--and what you found there caused you to do something very alien to you... You reached out to save a live instead... My life, Kwannon... Elisabeth Braddock had just emerged through the Siege Perilous, her mind fractured, her body battered raw.... Her mind open to the thoughts of everyone with in range.... And I sensed your presence, so whole, so alive. But which came first? You reaching out to her, or Liz's reaching out to you?? Either way, one touch--mental and physical--was all it took. And in my chaotic, wounded state, your mind fused with mine.... Copying, merging, conflicting..... We both screamed out cutting through the still fog of that cold night... And you lost all sense of yourself--we both lost sense of ourselves--and you ran blindly, only to be found by Matasu'o Tsurayaba--who used the resources of his liege, the Mandarin to piece together the fractured pieces that were both your mind and a copy of mine into a unified whole... From the scroll: 'It cannot be my sword sister, Kwannon in the employ of the Mandarin, can it? And yet I have heard of a British woman found in the vicinity the night Kwannon disappeared. Perhaps I should visit the sanitarium where this foreigner lies, and start finding out what truly happen- ed that night....' Artemis found me, and took me in. Little by little, helped Elisabeth Braddock regain her memory...all so that she could regain the services of Kwannon--a woman who was not only her prime assassin, but her *lover* as well!" Elisabeth, the Otherworlder who grew up in England threw the scroll on the low table as Kwannon fell forward off the psychic sword, a conflicted look on her face.... Her 'shock' was not the revelation of Artemis' diary, it was that her secret had been discovered.... Beast rubbed his face, not wanting to believe what he'd just heard, "Oh, my! this does so complicate things, doesn't it?? Still, there are quite a number of inquiries unanswered..." Remy supplied a few of them, "Like how come British Psykeye is readin' Japanese 'n Greek an' how'd she learn t' fight like a Coda?? An' how come Japanese Psylocke has a British accent..." "The only question we need to address, Remy...is why she chose to walk among you, impersonating me?" Elisabeth demanded, "It is obvious that I was trained by the Coda as they sought to regain their Sister... And the answer is quite evident: the woman you know as Psylocke is *still* in the employ of the Mandarin and the Coda....and as soon as she is ordered, she _will_ betray the X-Forces..." Kwannon struggled to all fours as the glittering effects of Psykeye's more powerful psiblade slowly dissipated from her body and mind... She let her rage build, drawing upon its strength... Tokyo. Along the rain-slicked streets, the roll of elegant limousines marks the completion of the jijoku meeting. And within the small restaurant, Shinobi picked up a bottle from the table, and begin to drain it. Matasu'o watched the shiftless young dilettante with open scorn, -: I thought for certain that your grandfather was dead when he manhandled you like that... But I believe I have seen something new in you.... Fear." -:Hmmm. Did you, now?:- Shaw muttered, in his inebriated state, -:Not my style...:- -:I never gave you much credit for having _any_ style at all, Shinobi...:- he jibed, his voice cold, -:In your piquant little way, Shaw, you are nothing more than an overly pampered, spoiled child attempting to play an adult game...:- The jonin shrugged into his kevlar lined longcoat and prepared to leave as Shinobi's liquor-loosed tongue rattled onward, "I'm playing well enough to kill my own father, and assume his mantle of power, Matashuuo! Tell me, other than failing to shucshessfully turn Pshylocke into your pershonal ashashin-- and looshing control over the Mandarin--what exactly have you done to claim this delushional title of murdering artiste??" Tsurayaba whirled around at the faint crackle of that announced the presence of a mysterious omni-path, Gamesmaster. A dagger was poised in his graceful hands, ready to pierce the psychic projection... <> came the mental voice of the most powerful human telepath to ever live, <> Matta bowed slightly, "Many thanks for your words of support, Gamesmaster." Shaw staggered to his feet, feeling the effects of too much saki and his earlier entertainments...not to mention the 'business meeting' with Artemis. "I abide by your deshishion in the Gamesh we play, but why did you grant Matashu'o--who ish not a member of the Upshtartsh--the right to kill Pshylocke??" The mindvoice shook with humour and disgust at Shaw's stupidity, <> The young jonin's handsome face was frighteningly beautiful to behold in the waning light of the candles that had burned down their subbs in the fragile lanterns that hung around the room. "Enough then, Shaw! You will allow me the pleasure of my kill--at the time and place of my choosing--not yours..." With that, he left to arrange the avenging of his liege lord, leaving Shinobi with chilling words of warning: "...for when all is said and done, the true nature of this lump of clay I have sculpted into a twisted, fragile, killing flower will blossom to surprise and delight you all, most especially Kwannon!" Kwannon seized her twin's katana, and charged the Otherworlder, who raised her psiblade to parry, "I will not stand for any more of her lies...." Kwannon let out a guttural kiai, but was not prepared for the Caijun's swift move. He unfurled his battle staff and delivered a smart blow to the Oriental woman's head... Beast swiftly spun Elisabeth out of Kwannon's reach, "Oy vey, here we go...." Gambit rolled Kwannon over, hoping he'd not done _too_ much damage, muttering to himself, "So stubborn, I'll prob'ly break m'staff 'fore I break yoah skull, woman!" Hank gently rubbed the Englishwoman's shoulders, trying to calm her, "You'd do best to control yourself as well, Milady Elisabeth, because you have agitated as much as she has instigated! Now take a deep breath...there, that 's better...." "But Henry, I want my honour back... I want my name back, and I want my life back!!" she whispered, almost pleading. Right now, part of her wanted to cry, part of her wanted to scream, and part of her wanted to kill the Oriental who'd robbed her of so much.... Kwannon still had a chance to recover her severely compromised cover.... "Mine is not yours to take, I am not who you say I am... As you are not who you claim....." A faint rustling, as the paper screens opened from an inner, private court yard. The Silver Samurai knelt before his liege lady, a spectacularly beautiful woman of indeterminate age, and obviously Greek ancestry. Artemis spoke with a voice trained by Mozart and Bach, "Now ladies...if you are to invite yourselves into my home, you could at least be mindful of the furniture..." Kwannon's head snapped up as shame and fear washed over her, "Artemis...." Now, she had failed her Majestrix, and more importantly her lover... The woman who'd made her everything she was.... Artemis slipped out of her trenchcoat and a large silk scarf, swinging her long ebony hair over her shoulders. She chose to ignore the Cajun's openly wanton gaze, and the more subtle appreciation on Beast's. Their reaction might be useful later...but for now, she had other pressing concerns.... "Now as to your ongoing little debate, isn't the answer obvious as it is simple??" she said, as though she were talking to rowdy children, "you, my dear Elisabeth, are most obviously yourself, though you must admit that you have benefited from your time here... And my darling Kwannon, you, have changed also...are you not, now more powerful and much more able to enter the arena of combat than you were? But you also proved that I'd always told you... The essential question is: can you become whole again, and would you desire to, my love?" Keniuchio looked at the assemblage, "Lady Artemis, I agreed to help you further your plans in exchange for helping Clan Yashida. We both want Kwannon back... I miss my sister, and you miss your lover... What is to become of this??" Artemis merely smiled....