Chapter Text
There were many things Yoshi didn’t understand. He’d never bothered trying to count them, but it was safe to assume the number probably reached at least the thousands. Most of those things he’d probably be able to learn or figure out given enough time. There was one thing he hoped he’d never come close to understanding. That was, simply put, the wealthy.
He stared at the large wrought iron gates from his beat up car. It wasn’t the first time he’d been to the sprawling property located only a few hours from New York City. While Yoshi couldn’t possibly comprehend the need for peacocks roaming the property he and the owner were childhood friends. By mere coincidence Saki’s parents had sought out his father’s dojo when the two of them were young. Saki was a year older, but that did little to stop the two from becoming fast friends.
When Yoshi scraped enough money together to move to America and chase his dream of becoming an action star, Saki followed. Saki had connected him to all the right people. It had all happened so quickly. Maybe that’s why it had never been everything Yosh I had dreamed. All it took was one movie for the paparazzi to become far too much. He preferred keeping to himself. He hadn’t considered how difficult it would be to hide when everyone recognized his face.
Really, that was on him. Despite settling down to follow in his father’s footsteps and run a dojo of his own he and Saki remained close. His childhood friend taking the Oroku fortune and more than doubling it. Yoshi barely understood the ins and outs of it, but the towering mansion that stood like a castle at the top of a hill and the large tower in the city spoke for themselves. While his car puttered up to the main house, Yoshi couldn’t help but wonder why a driveway needed to be this long. Seriously, what was the point?
It wasn’t even as if the levels of unnecessary stopped at the front doors that were far taller than any man could hope to be. It was as if they’d been built for a giant. A glittering chandelier hung in the foyer between a set of twisting staircases. The first time he’d settled into the home he’d rolled his eyes. The opulence was too much. It had only gotten worse in recent years, though not so much in regards to the upgrades to the home or land. Rather in the collections Saki seemed to gather.
His most recent endeavor was tracking down old texts and artifacts pertaining to extraterrestrials. While Yoshi didn’t believe they were alone in the universe he couldn’t imagine anything wanting to stop on this planet specifically. Still, it was something Saki was interested in and Yoshi would be lying if he said he wasn’t interested in the make believe of it all. So, when his friend of several decades said he’d come across an amazing finding and he wanted Yoshi to be the first to see it, obviously saying no wasn’t an answer.
It was clear he’d made the right choice when his friend met him at the door. There was an air of excitement around the man, even if to most he would have seemed calm and collected. Yoshi could see the twinkle in his whiskey eyes and hear the slight rush to his words as he spoke.
“I’m glad you could make it on such short notice,” there was a buzz in the air as the man rubbed his fingers together. It was a habit born of too much energy he’d never been able to shake.
Yoshi didn’t miss the way Saki was dressed. The man was practically wearing a three piece suit as he strode through the long halls. His high cheekbones and almost rigid walk even in his own home left Yoshi feeling underprepared. Yoshi had never been able to gain the same amount of bulk Saki had put on. His mother had always told him it was because he wasn’t built to gain muscle like his friend. His father insisted being lighter on your feet was always best because you were able to avoid blows. If you were small, your opponents were more likely to underestimate you. A cocky adversary was easier to beat.
The stone eyes of the busts lining the halls felt like they were watching him. The more imaginative part of Yoshi’s mind told him they were waiting for something to go wrong. The oppressive energy the mansion seemed to radiate felt stronger today. He shook the feeling off in favor of letting his eyes roam over the many plaques awarded for humanitarian services. He’d had a long day and his mind was simply at the end of its rope. Nothing more. He just needed to distract himself.
“If you wanted a date you could have just said so,” Yoshi flashed a bright grin in Saki’s direction. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten our deal. Sometimes I think you turn down suitors to ensure you’re still single.”
“I turn down suitors because all they seem to care about is my money.” He replied as Yoshi stepped into the long dining room.
“Right,” the sarcastic drawl had a smile twitching across Saki’s face. “And yet, do my eyes deceive me or do you have dinner ready for me? Truly husband material.”
“You’re still dramatic enough to take up acting,” Saki teased with a shake of his head.
“And you are still a terrible flirt.”
“You just called me husband material.”
“That does not imply you can flirt. Only that you could take care of me into my old age.”
“So widow material?”
Yoshi gave him a far too wide smile. It still threw him how quickly Yoshi had picked up on the wide smile and general boisterousness of their new home. Even ten years later Saki was finding it difficult to adjust, but Yoshi took to it like a duck to water. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Yoshi had always been the more personable of the two.
They fell into a comfortable silence, Saki’s fingers drumming on the table as they ate. Yoshi couldn’t help but feel a hint of pride in his oldest friend. Since they’d been young Saki’s parents had been strict in ways Yoshi hadn’t understood. Like refusing to allow their son to move in a way that allowed him to show his excitement. The way Saki would be forced to wear clothing with the world’s worst texture despite his best attempts to explain himself.
It was good to see the man truly coming into his own rather than trying to live up to what his parent’s expected of him. Even if it did mean that rebellious phase came in spending a ridiculous amount of money on supposed alien artifacts. Yoshi wasn’t exactly one to judge. His passion came in the collection of weapons he had stored in his home. Many of them had been passed down through his family for generations.
While even he had to admit he was interested in the history and stories surrounding different weapons he liked to think he wasn’t dumb enough to fall for the first craigslist ad claiming to have a magic weapon. Maybe if money didn’t matter things would be a little different, but for someone who was barely scraping by it seemed like nothing more than a scam.
“While dinner was wonderful, as always,” Yoshi said, leaning back in his seat. “I can’t imagine you wanted me to rush over just for this.”
The man stood, gesturing for his oldest friend to follow him through a room off to the side. Yoshi had assumed the door was unused. He’d thought it to be a server’s entrance from years unfortunately not all that far removed from their current time. As he followed his friend down the winding staircase he realized just how wrong he’d been.
It was an assortment of artifacts Yoshi had never seen before, though it looked like they’d been here for a while. Each one looked so well preserved, even the yellowed scrolls and thick leather bound tomes were still legible. Not for the first time just how rich and powerful his childhood friend was, hit him like a ton of bricks. There were some things Yoshi was able to recognize instantly.
A pair of katana with blue hilts and the silver blade spackled with the deep blues, purples, and white stars of space. In the next case were sai, held in the air by nearly invisible strips of plastic. The metal glinted red to match the thick wrapping around the grip. A few more steps down and the next weapon was visible. The light, orange-yellow nunchucks were curled around each other like nesting snakes. On a typical weapon the kusari would be about an inch long. These seemed to be closer to a foot long, though it was difficult to tell exactly. He knew what the last weapon would be before he saw it. A bo staff. The thick wooden staff stood proudly in its display case, the lacquer chosen giving it a purple hue.
“The weapons of the cosmos,” Yoshi said with a shake of his head.
“Artist’s renditions of them, yes,” Saki replied, looking over the collection proudly.
Yoshi was disappointed he hadn’t noticed earlier. His father had told the two of them the story so many times. Saki seemed obsessed with it, but the thrill of the bedtime story for Yoshi had worn off around year 5.
The story went that there were great beings who traveled between worlds destroying everything in their path. Monsters that took what they wanted from a world before remaking it in their own image. In order to stop those beings the rulers of the most powerful worlds came together to create four weapons that might be able to stand against them. Just as the weapons were forged they were forced to flee, sending the weapons to the far reaches of the world in hopes that someone who might be able to yield them would be found before the end of days.
Yoshi’s father insisted there had been a name once that was now lost to time. He was always quick to tack on, some people believed the descendants of this unknown person would be able to wield the weapons. He personally believed it was nothing more than a tall tale passed down through his family, but Saki had taken it to heart.
When they were younger they’d play pretend, running through the streets on the hunt for evil bad guy aliens to take down. Now it seemed Saki was taking those dreams to heart. Though there were probably odder ventures, Yoshi just couldn’t think of any at the moment. He’d thought Saki just wanted to show him a new addition to his collection. He hadn’t been expecting the door at the bottom of the staircase to open into a fully operational lab.
“Weeks ago I finally got my hands on something amazing,” Saki explained as the door latched behind them.
They were standing in a small observation box looking down on several different cages. There were rodents of all kinds, turtles, cats, dogs, monkeys, any animal Saki seemed to be able to get his hands on was down there. Yoshi watched the researchers in white lab coats move between cages. Some were taking notes while others injected the creatures with something so bright Yoshi could see the green glow from where they were standing.
“What is this?”
“This is my next big project,” Saki said, pressing a button that had the platform lowering. “The stories have always been true. There’s something out there and now we have the ability to rise to meet it. With this, we could make an army of super soldiers. Think about it, you wouldn’t have to worry about anything any more. The world would fall at our feet.”
The room stopped falling with a jolt that sent Yoshi to the floor. A door slid open as three individuals dressed in those white lab coats entered. One he only recognized from a news report earlier that day where the scientist had talked about an up and coming project he was heading. Yoshi hadn’t paid much attention to it and he was now starting to regret switching the channel.
“Saki,” he tried keeping his voice calm, but this was just too much. If he didn’t know any better he would have sworn his friend was just pulling out all the stops for an elaborate prank. “Please, you need help.”
“The only help I need is yours,” he then turned back to the lead scientist. “Stockman, if you’d be so kind.”
Baxter Stockman easily closed the distance between them. Yoshi knew he should have kicked the scientist and booked it as soon as he saw the needle. Yet, there was some part of him that needed to know what the hell Saki was going on about. Even as the scientist drew his blood, mixing it in with some of that odd green substance one of the assistants provided for him.
The third assistant was rolling in a cart with four small holding tanks settled against one another. Each tank held a turtle. While Yoshi knew very little about turtles he could tell each of them was different. The first one they pulled out was the biggest, a feisty little guy that hissed and snapped at the man holding him. The hissing only grew louder when it was injected with the mixture. One by one each turtle was injected with the concoction made from his own blood.
He wasn’t exactly sure what was supposed to happen, but everything in him screamed that this was wrong.
“Saki, you can’t be serious,” Yoshi scrambled to his feet. “Super soldiers? All of this? You need help my friend.”
He felt like he was looking at his friend for the first time. The man wore a cruel smile he’d never seen before. It twisted his features and sent a shiver running down his back. Still, Yoshi stood his ground. Something was wrong and he couldn’t leave his only friend like this. He kept his movements calm, trying not to alert the man that he was doing anything out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, Saki had always been able to see right through him.
The second he was close enough the stronger man had his arm wrapped around Yoshi’s neck.
“Stockman,” Saki growled, tightening his grip around Yoshi’s neck.
Yoshi knew he should have been able to get out of this. It was self defense 101, but he couldn’t get his feet under himself properly. He couldn’t even seem to get the world to stop spinning. His head felt too heavy, his limbs weren’t cooperating. Even his thoughts felt sluggish. He shouldn’t be… he didn’t remember eating anything different than he normally would have… unless… but this was Saki.
This was the man he’d grown up with. They’d trained together, they’d snuck out at odd hours of the night to stare at the stars. Surely- the sharp pain in his arm startled him out of his thoughts.
“Let’s see how tough you are,” Saki muttered, letting Yoshi fall to the floor. “No human has been able to survive. I can’t help but wonder if you’ll be the first.”
Yoshi wasn’t paying attention to his friend any longer. He knew he should be. He knew the over confident man was probably saying a thousand important things. There was only one thing that occupied his mind. Pain. It raced through him, burning his insides with a fire he couldn’t escape. The fire racing through his veins was met with the smell of smoke and blaring alarms. Screams and shouts of people and animals made little sense in the flashing reds and oranges. He knew things were rushing past him in all directions.
A large animal barreled past him slamming into the cart, knocking the glass tanks to the floor. The shattering glass drew his attention just in time to see the smallest turtle slide between the floor and control panel. The smell of flames was drawing closer, animals were screaming as they burned. The acrid stench caught in his eyes and nose. He needed to run.
The other three turtles were chirping at each other, the large of the three looked to be trying to pull the two smaller ones beneath it. Yoshi scrambled for the fourth little one, scooping the tiny creature into his hands. Even as the pain and dizziness threatened to feed him to the flames he couldn’t. He needed to go and he couldn’t leave these tiny creatures behind. They wouldn’t make it. Yoshi wasted no time scooping up the remaining turtles, despite the larger one’s hissing.
Even tucked into Yoshi’s arms as the man stumbled through the flames, the large turtle was trying to cover the smaller ones. It was in that moment he knew, even as his shoulder slammed against the wall and he choked on smoke, he’d made the right choice.