“Oh good, you’re back,” Professor Toei said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We have a lot more to get through.”

  “More ancient history, Professor?” Suki asked. “More half-known facts, the details uncertain? I don’t think that’s going to help my boyfriend.”

  James felt his face grow warm at her words. She called me her—

  “This is important!” Professor Toei insisted. “He needs—”

  “All this time he’s been gone, you’ve been lecturing us, and none of it has been relevant, let alone important,” Suki countered. “You don’t even know if any of it is true!”

  “Some of it is,” Professor Toei said, gesturing in the direction of the unseen giant robot. “And how can it not be relevant?”

  “You should have started with an apology,” Suki said. “For lying to him his whole life. Or at least his parents should. Failing that, you should tell him something that explains why you felt all this was necessary.”

  “That’s—” James said, finding his voice again. “Why have you done all this? The military, bringing me over, this school…”

  “Aramara Academy was simply convenient,” Professor Toei said. “It made itself convenient in many ways, but… yes, there is a reason for all this.”

  He went back to his computer and tapped a key to bring it back to life. The screen was showing a strangely shaped bottle, made of glowing blue glass. The professor made a tsk noise and started skipping over slides. A lot of slides.

  “I wanted you to understand the heights of the civilisation that the Warrior came from,” he said.

  “You do not even know its name,” Mitsue pointed out.

  “So much has been lost over time,” Professor Toei agreed. “But the reason for its fall has been remembered.”

  He clicked on a new slide, which depicted a cave wall. Someone had managed to carve it flat and scratch out a picture. Grooves in the rock were all that the artist had to work with, but their skill was clear, as was what they had depicted.

  “This is… a cave painting of a dragon? A legend?” Mitsue said uncertainly.

  “Not a cave painting, and not a legend,” Professor Toei said. “Dragons are real, and they destroyed the greatest civilisation ever produced by humanity.”

  James looked more closely at the drawing. The dragon looked like the standard Chinese dragon. There was a city burning in the background. James wasn’t sure of the scale, but the dragon looked big. It could snatch up the trees in the foreground and use them as toothpicks.

  “It looks quite dangerous,” Mitsue said doubtfully, “but I’m not sure it could stand up to a nation that had weapons like those robots.”

  “Professor Toei shook his head. “The stories passed down by the Jade Path tell us that the Jade Warrior was constructed only after the fall.”

  “After?” James asked.

  “Yes. After the defences had fallen, and the dragons were free to roam as they pleased, killing and pillaging the defenceless remains of humanity, one man, or institution retained enough manufacturing capacity to produce it. That’s why there is only one of them.”

  “And this one device fought off all of the dragons?” Mitsue said doubtfully.

  “It defeated their leader, the Dragon-God Orochi,” Toei said. He clicked forward to another picture from the same artist. This one showed the dragon fighting the same robot that they’d seen outside. In this picture, the robot was wielding a familiar-looking sword, and a swirling shape was visible in the background. Toei pointed at the shape.

  “We think that this represents the portal that allowed the dragons' entrance into our world, and also served as a source of their power. When Orochi was defeated, he fled back through the portal, and the Jade Warrior was able to seal it, saving the world from these creatures… for a time.”

  “So he didn’t kill all the dragons?” Mitsue asked.

  “No, dragons are still with us today,” Professor Toei said. “Since losing their god, they have had to be more circumspect. They share several characteristics with supernatural creatures and are generally counted among their number, despite their different origins.”

  “Supernatural creatures?” James asked. “You mean yōkai?”

  “Oh yes. Them and others. There are quite a few cryptid classification schemes, depending on which tradition or organisation you follow.”

  “Did you know Kana was a yōkai?” James asked.

  “I didn’t,” Professor Toei looked uncomfortable. “Teachers aren’t provided that kind of information on the students. Most of the faculty aren’t informed about that sort of thing— that side is handled by the student council.”

  “This is all very interesting,” Suki said. “But you still haven’t explained why.”

  “I did touch on it,” Professor Toei said defensively. He gestured at the picture again. “The portal to the dragon’s world was sealed, but only for a time. The Jade Warrior knew that it would eventually open again. And that Orochi would be waiting to come back through.”

  “After fifteen thousand years?” Suki asked. “Can anything live that long?”

  “He is a god,” Toei said simply. “He only grows stronger as time passes.”

  “Wait, I’m supposed to fight him? In that?” James said. “What kind of plan is that?”

  “I can’t say what the Jade Warrior’s plans were,” Professor Toei said. “If anything, I would have expected him to try and rebuild his civilisation. Clearly, that didn’t happen. Perhaps the dragons remaining were able to obstruct or destroy his efforts.”

  “Are the dragons from then still around?” Mitsue asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Professor Toei said. “We don’t know how long dragons live, but they can be killed. They keep themselves hidden. The only ones I know about are the ones that act within human society, preparing for Orochi’s return.

  “Would the Black Dragon Society be a part of that?” Suki asked.

  Professor Toei looked at her, frowning. “It would,” he said. “Where do you know that name from?”

  “Oh, I heard it somewhere,” Suki said. “I had no idea that it contained actual dragons, though.”

  “It’s mostly made up of humans,” Professor Toei said grimly. “Traitors or fools, willing servants or unknowing of the evil they serve.”

  “The Society has several wealthy Japanese industrialists among its members,” Suki said thoughtfully. “I imagine they can pay their minions well.”

  Toei frowned at her some more, then shook his head. “Yes, well,” he said. “You can see what we’ve been up against over the years. It’s little wonder that we’ve lost so much. Now there is only the most tenuous of links, passed down the centuries. That chain ends with you, James.”

  “So this portal, which has been shut for fifteen thousand years, is just going to open today? And I’m supposed to just jump into a robot and fight a dragon?”

  Put like that, it did sound like every dream he’d had while watching cartoons. But James wasn’t a kid any more. At least, he was old enough to know that the world didn’t work that way.

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “Not today,” Professor Toei said. “The blood sea was a sign that the seal is weakening, but it should hold for two or three years yet. There should be plenty of time for you to prepare. And you won’t be alone. There’s… well, let me show you.”

  He led them out of the conference room and out of the building they were in, taking them toward the robot. There were guards all around, but they let them through. Professor Toei led them to something like a large cherry picker, a large platform that could be raised, clearly meant to save researchers from clambering over the robot’s armour.

  Professor Toei gestured for them to all get aboard. Stepping on last, he closed the safety gate behind him. Slowly, the platform started to rise.

  “Why blood, Professor?” Mitsue asked. “Why was that a sign?”

  The professor glanced at him. “We’re not relying on the blood,” he answered. “We’ve been monitoring the seal for quite some time, and this was only the latest sign that it’s weakening. The blood… we have a theory.”

  He looked up at their destination, the helmet. “We think that the portal is a tunnel between dimensions. When it was sealed, both ends were closed simultaneously.”

  “I’m not familiar with theories of dimensional travel,” Mitsue said. “But I suppose that makes as much sense as anything.”

  Professor Toei gave a faint smile. “That sort of thing isn’t offered as part of the curriculum, but there are a few here who might be willing to teach you. Anyway, the theory is that part of Orochi was in the tunnel when it was closed.”

  “Like a rat getting its tail caught in a trap,” Mitsue mused. “And the trapped portion…”

  “Was crushed,” Toei said with some satisfaction. “Pulverised as much as divine flesh could be, and then it rotted, as much as divine flesh can. Then the tiniest of cracks opened…”

  “Allowing the remains to leak out…” Mitsue finished. “Is it wise, to allow such remains to float in the sea?”

  “We’ve tested it,” Professor Toei said. “Magically, it is inert. Biologically… It’s unusual, but nothing that should cause problems. Saltwater will denature it entirely in time.”

  As he finished talking, the platform came to a halt with a slight jerk. They were standing about a foot away from a giant robot face.

  “What now?” James asked.

  “This is as far as anyone has ever gotten since we uncovered this thing,” the professor mused. “Try touching it.”

  James shrugged and reached out his hand. The metal was cool under his fingertips. Then there was a flash of green light. Smoothly, without any sound at all, the helmet rose up, revealing the chamber behind. James couldn’t make out much, though, just vague shapes in the darkness.

  Professor Toei made a strangled sound. “So easy,” he muttered. “Go on, go inside.”

  It felt like he was breaking the rules, clambering over the yellow-painted safety rail and stepping into the chamber. He forgot about that as soon as he stepped inside. The moment his foot touched the floor, lights began to shine all around the room.

  The first lights were dim and in different colours. Indicators on instrument panels. Then all the shapes in the chamber started to be defined as a white light began shining from all of their edges. Finally, a warm yellow light came from the ceiling, lighting the whole room.

  James could now see that he was standing in a small, clear space in the centre of the chamber. Directly in front of him was a small table with a glossy finish that made him think of a display screen. Each side of the table had two control stations. Deep bucket seats with a variety of screens and controls in front of them. They didn’t face the table or the front, but were set at a forty-five-degree angle in between.

  On the other side of the table, set up higher than the others, was another control centre. Looking around, James saw that the room wasn’t exactly spacious. There was just enough room to get around the other chairs to get to the main one.

  “All this time, and it still works like new,” Professor Toei said in a hushed tone. “Go on. Go sit on the seat.”

  He didn’t need to say which seat he meant. James shrugged and made his way to the back of the chamber. Sliding into the seat, he looked over what he supposed was his domain.

  It wasn’t very edifying. The controls and panels were lit up, but there were no labels to tell him what anything meant. It was going to take a lot of training to use this thing, and James had a sinking feeling that the manuals were one of the things that had been lost.

  “There should be a place to put the key,” Professor Toei called out.

  James looked around. He didn’t see anything sword-shaped, but there was a flat surface that was lit up more than the others. It was big enough to rest his toy sword on, so he tried that.

  As soon as the sword touched the surface, it flew from his hand and locked itself to the geometric centre of the panel, which changed its light from white to green. The rest of the console started to light up. Labels appeared. It didn’t help much; they were glyphs entirely unknown to him, but it was a start.

  As he watched, the glyphs seemed to writhe, changing and mutating into something that looked more like kanji.

  “There should be some way of assigning the other consoles,” Toei called out. “Can you see anything?”

  “I can’t make sense of any of this,” James called back. “It’s all—” Wait.

  One of the panels was showing a graphic of the four chairs. There was a red light and an unintelligible label next to each of them. Curious, James touched the red light.

  A chime sounded, and a bright light shone down from the ceiling, creating a column of light at the front of the chamber, where James had been standing before.

  “I think I found something?” he called. “I think they have to stand in the light to get assigned.”

  “That’s wonderful!” Professor Toei exclaimed. “There are some pilots from the JSDF on the ground who will make excellent controllers!”

  “Wait! I— I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Jack said. The thought of letting some Army pilots in here didn’t seem right. “I don’t think—I don’t know those guys. If I’m going to do this, it needs to be with someone I can trust.”

  “You— We can certainly have you get to know them before you decide,” Professor Toei said. “You can come down and meet them. I’m sorry, I got a little excited at seeing the interior for the first time and wanted to take the next step.”

  “If you can trust me, I would be honoured to fight at your side, James-san,” Mitsue put in.

  “Me too!” Suki exclaimed. “This sounds like the sort of thing that couples do together!”

  James wasn’t sure about that, but he felt a surge of warmth inside when his friends spoke up.

  “I’d like that,” he said.

  “But, but, neither of you are trained for this!” Professor Toei protested.

  “Neither is James,” Suki pointed out. “If you want him, you can accept us.”

  Mitsue leapt over the safety rail in a single motion, turning and offering Suki his hand. With his help, she managed to make it over the safety rail with some grace.

  “Ladies first,” Mitsue said, gesturing to the light. With some nervousness, Suki stepped into it. It didn’t seem to affect her at all, but the console in front of James changed. The red light next to the seat changed to purple, and the label changed. It was still unintelligible, but it definitely changed. A moment later, the column of light turned off.

  Judging by the light shining around his key, green was good. Purple was better than red, but it wasn’t green yet, so James pressed on the light again.

  This time, a small section of the table in front of him slid aside, and an object rose up from underneath.

  “What’s this?” Suki asked. “Is this my key?”

  “I’m not sure,” James said. It didn’t look anything like his toy sword. It was some sort of globe, formed from three bands attached at right angles to each other. There was a smaller globe inside, made of glass or something similar, that seemed to be suspended, not touching any of the bands.

  “Oh,” Suki said when she picked it up, “It made an arrow!”

  She held it up so that James could see. There was now a tiny arrow in the glass sphere. Suki twisted the globe experimentally, and the arrow stayed pointing in the same place.

  “It’s a compass?” Suki guessed. “Does it point north?”

  “Oh… Oh! I know what that must be!” Professor Toei exclaimed. “The arrow will guide Suki to what she needs for the next step in the process.”

  “And what is that?” Suki asked.

  “I’ll explain later. For now, do you want to try assigning a seat to Mitsue-kun?”

  “Sure,” James said and touched another red light. The column of light came back, and Mitsue stepped into it. The column winked out, and the light turned purple, but when James pressed it, no globe came out.

  “This time it didn’t make a globe!” James called out.

  “I think there’s only one of them,” the professor said. “Suki-chan, can you let Mitsue-kun hold the globe?”

  “I guess,” Suki said and handed it over.

  “Ah, the arrow changed direction,” Mitsue said. “It pointed significantly North of West for Suki-san, but West for me.”

  “Yes, yes,” Professor Toei said. “We’ll have to take some measurements, see where they’re pointing to. James, would it be all right if some researchers came up and took a look at the cockpit? They’ll be sure not to touch anything.”

  “Sure,” James said. He looked at his key on the lit panel and then reached out to grab it. As soon as he touched it, it freed itself from its lock, and he picked it up easily. He joined the others on the platform.

  “Um…” Professor Toei said. “Can you make it open again?”

  He pointed behind them, and James saw that the head had closed up again without a sound.

  “I didn’t tell it to close,” he said, “But…” He reached out to touch it again. Sure enough, it opened easily enough, but when he turned away, it shut again.

  “Ah. Can I get you to stay here so the researchers can enter?” Toei asked. “Just long enough to take some photos.”

  “Sure, I guess,” James said grumpily.

  It took two hours before they were finished taking photographs. They wanted to take pictures of everything. James spent the time sitting in his seat and staring at the controls. They kept changing, which researchers were really interested in. They took lots of photos of that.

  Eventually, they ran out of things to photograph or ran out of storage space and James could come down to rejoin his friends. Suki gave him a quick hug of welcome.

  “Welcome back!” she said. “Professor Toei has been telling us about the sub-stations. The short version is that they’re each powered by a power-gem thingy, and our compass tells us where each power-gem is.”

  “Great!” James said, more focused on the hug than on anything Suki had said. He’d spent a long while listening to the researchers jabber at each other in highly technical Japanese, which he only half understood. “Are we getting back to the dorms soon?”

  “In a bit,” Professor Toei said excitedly. “We’ve taken very precise measurements on these arrows, and we just need to get the software ready to calculate where on earth they’re pointing.”

  “Okay, but—” James was interrupted by a staccato cracking sound, coming from outside.

  “Is that—” Professor Toei started to say.

  “Automatic weapon fire,” Mitsue answered. “Unless your troops are having a drill, it seems we are under attack.

  kokuryūkai. It's confusing because that's not how you say "Black Dragons" in Japanese. It was named after the Black Dragon River, which uses an archaic form. As players, we mostly said "Black Dragons", while the GM was fond of saying kokuryūkai. After lots of discussions about the background of the game, I've sort of got infected with that, and now I switch between them for reasons that aren't clear to me.