Chap. 6: Battle Plans
Josie was unready for what her opponent had planned next. The Ebon Wind came blinking on and off along the parapet wall. Josie teleported and tried to catch him off guard when he next appeared. She appeared beside the wall and made ready to strike out at her opponent. What she got was the pommel of a sai slammed between her shoulder blades, and a knee to her solar plexus. Josie vanished before she hit the ground.

Josie couldn't believe it, the ninja had taken her trick and improved it, and now he was using it against her. "Well two can play that game," she thought to herself. It look her a bit to recover, but she was ready for him none the less. Josie vanished as she went over the plan in her head.


Lydia led the way out of the cell. Jinn was still a little skittish about leaving the dungeon, fearing that Ming had set some sort of trap and that this was a part of it. Tam put his hand on his sister's shoulders and promised to stay behind her and make sure that everything would be all right. With that in mind, she slowly followed Lydia to the stairwell.

Jinn still felt a little awkward in her new body, her long legs made taking her usual short steps difficult. Jinn's new center of gravity made it necessary for her to hold tightly to the stairs' handrail. The great hall hadn't changed that much, the dragon arch across the way was still there, and beyond the arch, was a pair of double doors carved out of ebony. "Ming's throne room," said Tam. "It is from there she draws her magic."

"Any idea's on how to deal with her?" asked Lydia.

"Wait for the rest of your friends to deal with the guards," said Tam. "That is the best I can think of for the moment."


"Old ton o' blubber is back," said Didi. Cat turned to see the huge wrestler uncover himself from the huge pile of wall that fell on him. As he got to his feet, the wrestler began to run, charging faster and faster in Cat's direction. And just as he was nearly upon her, Cat leaped nimbly, for Cat, over the wrestler.

The man-mountain tried to slow his approach to the wall, but his feet skidded against the dusty ground. The huge wrestler crashed into the other side of the parapet wall.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," tsked Cat. "Can't believe Ming hires such clumsy help." Didi couldn't help but giggle.


"C'mon you Ebon Fart," grumped Josie. "Show yourself." Josie had perched herself on top of a pagoda style tower, so as to get the drop on her shadowy opponent. The wind, however, was blowing, and it was colder than a witches left one.

Then she saw him, looking for her in the courtyard below. The ninja was standing on the corner of the parapet cat walk. He then vanished and appeared on the opposite corner.

Josie bamphed off the tower, and appeared behind the ninja, slamming her fist between his shoulder blades. The Ebon Wind fell almost all the way to the ground before Josie appeared beneath him and placed her knee right where he would fall on it. The ninja rolled off Josie's knee and vanished again.

This time, however, Josie was ready for him. Josie strobe-ported across the courtyard and found the ninja waiting for her. "Ok," Josie thought to herself. "ShowTime." She ported directly in front of the Ebon Wind, and then strobe-ported to the side. She then strobe-ported back and to the right, then forward and slightly to the left. Then backward again, and then forward and two the right, and finally across again forming a five pointed star.

The ninja, confused by Josie's action's, stood still in the center of the star trying to figure out what all was going on. As he did this, Josie strobe ported across again, and gave him a quick jab. As he recovered from the punch, Josie tagged his shoulder with a cross that sent him spinning into his cape. Tangled thusly, the Wind couldn't avoid Josie punching him between the shoulder blades again, and then catching his cheek with a hard right cross. The ninja became so punch drunk, he didn't think to teleport. Then in a blink, the girl was gone.

Her strobe images vanished, save for the lines of the star furrowed into the ground by her feet. The Ebon Wind scanned the courtyard, no sign of her. The ninja teleported up to the parapet catwalk. Nothing, the three other girls were there, along with the archer, but other than them, nothing. He scanned the palace roof, nothing. The ninja teleported to the roof and scanned along the catwalk, nothing. That left only one place, the tower roof.

The Ebon Wind teleported to the roof of the high tower. Again there was nothing. Wait, there was something. Faintly scratched into the lacquer of the roof was a slight curved line. Why would someone draw a line like this on the roof. The ninja carefully followed the line inward until he came to the exact center of the roof. Now he was confused, why would someone draw a spiral on top of the tower roof. Upon reflection though, it looked sort of like an archer's targe- Josie's elbow smashed into the Ebon Wind's back, and caused the roof to cave in from her momentum. The two of them fell into the floor beneath them, and through the ceiling beneath, and through the next floor and the next...


The trio ducked as Josie kicked up a cloud of dust and broken lacquer. Tam and Jinn coughed as the sawdust and ash from the disintegrating ghost filled their lungs. "Hey," said Lydia "You beat him."

"He wasn't as smart as he thought he was," said Josie. "You just gotta be sneaky with teleporters." Jinn giggled. Josie looked behind the morphing mistress, at the transformed twins. "Who are these two?" asked Josie. "And where is Tam?"

"Present," said Tam. "and presenting Jinn, long, leggy, limber, and luscious." Jinn whacked her brother on the arm teasingly. "Wow," said Josie. "She could pass for that oriental girl with the big tits. Umm what's her name..."

"Minka?" said Lydia.

"Yeah, Minka," said Josie. "But Jinn's easily got twice the load Minka does." Jinn flushed hotly at the comment. "Where are the rest of the girls?" asked Tam.

The walls shook as the giant wrestler came flying through what was left of the palace front door. He slid on the lacquered floor and didn't stop until he crashed into the far wall with a meaty thud. "Playing with the wrestler," said Josie, answering Tam's question.

"Ahh."

Didi, Cat and Jazz ran into the great hall, followed by the Black Arrow. "Hey Josie, hey Lydia," shouted Didi. "Get over here we wanna try something." The girls huddled for a moment before they set up their opponent. Josie and Jazz stood back to back, as Lydia and Didi linked hands to for a sort of cradle between them. Cat quickly ran up to Josie and caught her foot in Josie's cupped hands. Josie launched Cat over she and Jazz's heads, causing Cat to land, belly first, in the cradle formed by Didi and Lydia's arms. The two then heaved Cat into the air and then jazz screamed. The force of Jazz's sonic blast caught the enormous girl, and launched her toward the wrestler. Cat slammed her elbow into the small of the wrestler's back and winced when she heard what sounded like his spine breaking. The wrestler then simply faded out like he wasn't there in the first place.

The girls met Tam and Jinn at the entrance to the great dragon-shaped arch. "The wrestler is gone that leaves only Ming," said Tam. Didi nodded. "Then lets get this over with quick," she said. Didi kicked in the throne room doors. Sitting on her great jade throne was Ming Sin Fou, slumped over, her bones hanging out from the sleeves of the silk kimono she wore. Tam shrugged his shoulders. "What happened," he asked. "She should look somewhat human, and be trying to keep us from leaving." The Black Arrow entered the room, and examined the bones.

"We took to long," the archer said finally. "She ran out of energy before we could get to her. Remember, the energies that one like her can draw from the dark demesnes is limited, and she must have used up her supply. She'll have to wait until she can be summoned again before she can draw a fresh supply."

"So then it's over?" asked Cat. The archer nodded.