The Prince of Astoria-Chapter 78: LXXVIII - The Sword

Etienne stared down in horror at the item on the kitchen counter, and Gabe leaned against a wall and studied his reaction.

In the middle of the counter, a short katana sat on a fancy wooden stand. The hilt was black with crimson red accents. The front of the blade was well polished but lacked an edge. The blade’s back had a visibly sharp edge, but multiple chips marred it.

"So...this is it. The reverse-edged katana you’ve been talking about for so long. The pictures online didn’t do it any justice. It’s like looking at an art piece..."

Gabe reached his hand out to touch it, but Etienne smacked him away. Etienne looked around the room suspiciously.

"You shouldn’t even have brought these in the house, Gabe," Etienne stated, his voice dropping in volume, "This isn’t just some random reverse edged katana, the is the exact same reverse edged katana I used on Tashiro Island."

Etienne’s eyes never left the sword.

Gabe tilted his head and glared at it, "Seriously, the exact same one?"

Etienne grabbed the sword out of its stand and swung it through the air with a fluid motion. It made a whipping sound as if it sliced through the air itself.

"The very same," Etienne glanced at Gabe, "Do you know who dropped this off? Did you see any trucks or anything?"

"N-no, I didn’t..." Gabe’s voice became softer, "I just heard the doorbell ringing, and I saw this on the ground. By the time I got there, nobody was at the door. Well, the sword and the stand were there..."

Gabe pointed to a shiny black and red scabbard emblazoned with a red dragon, "...along with that. Isn’t this a good thing though? Based on the stories you’ve told me, this has to be Shu Takino’s doing, right? He’s been to America once; maybe he just came back."

Etienne bit his lip and shook his head vigorously, "No. Absolutely not. This isn’t Shu’s work. He has too much pride in his work to just drop a sword on our doorstep and run. And he would never ever have given me a broken weapon, even if they were only minor chips on the edge."

Gabe shrugged his shoulders, "Okay, not Shu then. This can still be good news, though. It has to be one of your ninja buddies, right? Maybe they just grabbed your old sword and brought it back to you?"

Etienne grabbed the scabbard off the counter and placed the katana inside, "That’s not possible either. Everyone from Ukiyo is dead."

Gabe’s eyes widened, "Do you finally remember the month before you came here? Do you remember how you returned home?"

Etienne grabbed the scabbard and placed it at his side, "I do. I remember every gory, fiery detail. I’ve remembered ever since I fought Senshi Sentinel. When he tried to burn me alive, it unlocked something in me. Not just physically, but it removed whatever fog was clouding my mind and making me forget that time."

Gabe looked at him, his face contorted with concern and hurt, "And when did you plan on telling me?"

Etienne looked away from Gabe, "I...I don’t know. I wanted to tell you right away, but that has felt a lot less significant compared to everything else going on."

Gabe moved closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "You’ve told me a lot about your time out there. I need to know how it ended, Etienne. I need to know exactly how you came back to us."

Etienne nodded his head slowly and looked at the ground, "Okay, okay. I’ll...I’ll tell you. During my time in Ukiyo, my master—"

Clang!

A sound like a bell being struck played aloud from Gabe’s phone.

Gabe scrambled and pulled it out of his pocket to silence it, "Sorry about that. I forgot to turn those notifications off. Please continue."

"What was that?" Etienne asked, desperate to change the conversation topic.

"I still get pings from the Contract Hero Assignment Board. For whatever reason, they haven’t removed us from that system yet."

Etienne crossed his arms, "Just out of curiosity, what exactly was that ping about?"

Gabe glanced up at Etienne before looking back down on his phone and reading the notification aloud, "There’s an ongoing situation at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry."

Etienne rubbed his chin, "The OMSI? What could possibly be going on there?"

Gabe shook his head, "The details are vague, but they are saying there have been multiple fatalities. Seven security guards have been slain. The only reason we know anything is going on is because of an eighth guard who was gravely injured."

Gabe scrolled his phone with his finger, "Here’s the part you’ll find really interesting. The last guard stated the assailant was a man in a knight helmet and a fur lined puffer jacket. Do you know whose description that is?"

Etienne mouth opened slightly, "I...do. I heard some kids talking about it when I was on the bus. It’s one of the members of the Dark Pattern, the Terminator, right?"

Gabe nodded his head, "That’s right. I’ve been looking into those guys ever since that mall situation happened. Of the four captains, The Terminator has the least amount of information on him. He wasn’t a public figure prior to joining the Dark Pattern, and in his live streams he speaks very rarely. He just shows off the gadgets he builds..."

Etienne slipped the medical face mask back onto his face and muttered, "I’m going. I need to test out this new sword, anyway."

"You’re not taking the bus, are you?" Gabe called out.

Etienne laughed and shook his head, "Absolutely not. I want to get here as soon as possible. I’ll cut down this Terminator and whoever else he has with him."

_________________________________________________________

45 minutes later...

Etienne stepped out of the car, and barely stopped himself from throwing up.

"T-this is close enough," He brought his hand up to his mouth once again, "Have I told you the way you drive is completely unbelievable? And not in a good way..."

Gabe rolled the window all the way down and looked at Etienne, "Be careful, Eti. Terminator is a complete unknown. From my research, I didn’t find anything that pointed to the Dark Pattern being strong fighters, but I wouldn’t put it past them. Did you put in that earpiece?"

Etienne smiled and tapped the sleek black earpiece hanging slightly out of his ear.

"I forgot all about these things. We’ll need to thank Petey for making upgrades on them."

Gabe nodded his head and tapped his own earpiece, "I’ll provide any updates if the INHO gives them. All I can say is be careful."

Gabe turned around and sped off, leaving Etienne at the end of the bridge leading to the OMSI.

Etienne pulled the black face mask over his face and kept his hand on the hilt of the katana at his side.

"I never thought I’d be here two times in one year," Etienne thought to himself, "I haven’t seen Nairo since we went on that...date here. I wonder what she’s up to."

Etienne stopped a short distance away from the front of the main OMSI building. He gripped his sword tightly as he spotted two figures near the front entrance.

An individual in black leather jeans and a cropped leather jacket kneeled next to a giant dinosaur and scratched its chin.

"That mouth, and those two huge horns on top...is that a Triceratops?" Etienne asked himself.

The individual peeked from behind their dark sunglasses before turning their attention back to the Triceratops. The triceratops nuzzled lovingly into that person’s neck.

"Are you a fan or something?" The individual said with a gruff voice, "Sorry, there is an active incident ongoing. You need to get out of here."

Etienne pulled his sword partway out of its scabbard, "Are you a part of the Dark Pattern too?"

The individual looked at Etienne and recoiled in disgust, "Are you serious? Do I look like—"

The individual took their glasses all the way off and looked at Etienne with a devious smile, "You. You’ve got a different outfit on, but you’re Ninjaman, aren’t you? You’re a wanted man, former hero. But lucky for you, you’re a priority one, and this current situation is a priority three."

The individual, who Etienne could now identify as an older woman, tapped the triceratops once, and the hulking animal turned and faced Etienne. The animal growled at him as Etienne stood his ground.

The woman smiled and petted the triceratops, "You probably don’t know who I am, do you? Your ignorance of heroes is well documented; I think I even saw it in your file. I am the Dog Catcher, and my companion here is Weird Dog, but he prefers Max."

The triceratops barked at Etienne, now baring its teeth. Dog Catcher shook her head and glared at Etienne, "You should run along, Ninjaman. Before Max thinks you’re a threat."