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Message-ID: <52928asstr$1138313401@assm.asstr-mirror.org>
From: "Allyn West" <awest1@woh.rr.com>
NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 01:10:05 EST
Subject: {ASSM} Artemis Jones 00- Prologue
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Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 17:10:01 -0500
Path: assm.asstr-mirror.org!not-for-mail
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Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories
Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d

Sometimes people need someone they can count on.  Sometimes they need 
someone to believe in them.  Sometimes I am that man. 


Some people believe that ghost and ghouls don't exist.  They're wrong.  I
hunt them.  Not only that but magic exists too.  There is a whole other
world out there most people don't know exists.  Those that do are a part of
it and want to keep it a secret.  Sometimes someone unwittingly stumbles in
on it.  Sometimes they purposely go looking for it.  Rarely does anyone
make it out alive.  I have so far.

   First off let me introduce myself, my name is Artemis Jones.  I am a
hero.  I know that sounds contrived but I don't care.  It's what I am. 
Well that and a few other things.  I like to identify with the hero part.
I've done things in the past that I am not too proud about.  Maybe that is
why I like to call myself a hero.

   Other names I have been called are Cad, Rich Bastard, Unrelenting SOB,
Financial Shark and those are some of the nicer ones.  Like I said, I've
done a lot of things in my life, not all nice.  I haven't always been the
model of society.  I grew up a rich brat.  It could be that what I am doing
now is a way to atone for some of my mistakes, maybe it is because of my
past that makes me want to help.

   I do help people, that is why I am writing these stories.  I want people
to know that if the supernatural comes knocking at your door, there is
someone to help.

   I know most people don't believe in stuff like this, that is the way
they like it.  They try to explain it away rationally.  They make up
things, and convince themselves that is what really happened.  The
supernatural likes to get rid of those they can, and try to convince the
rest of the world the others are crazy.  So far you probably think I am
crazy.  If you still do listen up.

   The reason that I call myself a hero, is that I save people.  Hopefully
beautiful women.  A guy's got to have standards.  Maybe it is easier to
save beautiful women because they are easier to look at .  The monsters
might think the same thing, pretty girls are easier to look at as well.

   I was born into a wealthy family.  One thing I knew was that I would
never have to worry about money.  I was given the finest education money
could buy.  It also helps that I had a natural aptitude for learning. 
After graduating college, with a couple of Masters, at the tender age of
twenty-one, I realized I wanted to travel the world, more than I already
had.  I had traveled the world with my parents when I was growing up.  We
traveled whenever a business interest came up or just for fun.  I wanted
this to be my own personal odyssey.

   I took a lot of odd jobs.  I didn't need them, but I wanted the
experience that they offered.  My parents instilled with a work ethic in
me. Granted my wealth allowed it to be a little different than others, but
I knew I needed to work.  I took my share of jobs that required a lot out
of me.

   I took my first job as an herbalist in China, where I spent about
eighteen months.  I learned that sometimes folklore and superstition can
play a very real part in people's lives.  They would come from all over to
get this magical remedy from the Ancient One(my guess is at least 106 years
old though you would have only guessed 70 by looking at him.) His name
wasn't really the Ancient One, I kidded with him about the awe and
reverence that the everyone held him in.  He was very methodical and
precise.  He would only do rituals and harvesting at certain times of the
moon, and he would only picked certain herbs and plants on a particular
day. I never really believed in that, but the power of the mind is indeed
powerful.

   If people could convince themselves that something was magical, then it
actually might start working.  Having learned what I did, the Ancient One
dismissed me.  He told me my destiny lie elsewhere, and I had learned all I
could from him at this time.  I did learn some things, I admit.  I saw what
detail and pride he took in his work.  I learned how to show compassion to
people.  At the time he seemed like more of a father than a boss.  I didn't
use any of my own money when I worked for him.  He took care of me
completely by feeding, clothing, and making sure my mind was as sharp as my
body was honed.

   Lots of his simple remedies were very useful, antidotes to poisons, the
poisons themselves, energy drinks, memory enhancers and more.  I personally
had occasions to try all of these and they worked.  Western medicine could
learn a lot from eastern practices.  Maybe that is why a lot of doctors are
from there now.  But it was time to travel and experience more.

   My next job was as a professional wrestler.  My six foot six frame and
two hundred seventy pounds were put to good use there.  And it didn't help
I had good looks too.  Though if you watch professional wrestling you
realize that isn't necessarily a prerequisite.  I am also not that modest,
which is good considering spandex doesn't leave anything to the
imagination. It helps to be confident in yourself, and not to worry about
what you look like.

   Being a professional wrestler is definitely challenging.  I spent a lot
of time in the gym.  I was never seriously injured, but I had my fair share
of cuts, bruises and concussions.  By the time my yearly contract expired,
I was ready for a new challenge.  I was very lean and trim.  I was probably
in the best shape of my life so far.

   Again, I realized I had learned some things.  I learned how to roll with
punches and absorb damage.  I knew what parts could take hits and where it
was way to painful to get hit.  I learned how to exercise and massage the
tiredness out of your muscles.  And of course in the manner of old school
wrestling how to bleed and make what damage I took look a lot worse.  But
it was time to mover on.

   I started an engineering and design firm to make all sort of cool
gadgets.  One of my degrees is in electrical engineering, so I knew what
was plausible and would make money.  I gathered the best minds I could buy
and started letting them try to do things they wanted to do, within my
guidelines.  I knew this business would make money, but I must have
inherited my families business sense.  We have experienced rapid growth to
try to keep up with the items we were creating.  It turned into a
fabrication and manufacturing business as well.  By the time I was ready to
leave, I needed to hire people more competent to run the business at the
level it need to be.

   I noticed that I started to soften a bit.  I tried to find a place to
hone my body next, and maybe gather a few more skills.  I wanted to find a
martial arts grand master and resume some of the studying I had done as a
teenager.  I had wanted to resume Tae Kwan Do.  I had thought myself to be
rather good at it, I had managed to attain a second degree black belt.  I
could not find a grand master, or a master to continue at the level I
wanted to.  I did find a grand master in the art of Ken-Jutsu that would
train me.  It was an entirely different concept.  It dealt with sword
fighting instead of kicking and punching.  I hoped it would still satisfy
my needs.

   I spent about two years at this, longer than I had at any other so far.
It was there I met Kimoko.  Standing five foot tall with long brown hair
pulled back in a ponytail, she was a vision of beauty.  Kimoko wasn't
impressed with my money, looks, or intelligence and was by far the most
determined person I had ever met.  Her eyes burned with a fierce intensity.
She was as intelligent as beautiful.  In every sparring match between us,
she was the victor.  Her agility was cat like in its fluid motion.  When
she attacked, it was almost as you were standing still, as her movements
were a blur.

   My heart leapt whenever we were alone together.  There were other
students, but Kimoko took me on to teach.  I think she was better than the
grand master herself.  She showed me how to make my movements fluid, and
how to keep from overexerting myself.  Her slightest touch, was enough to
send chills down my spine.  After the first year, we spent more time alone.
I was studying more intensely.  There were times when after my matches with
her, it was almost like sex.  Some of the touches and the looks we gave
each other were so hot and passionate, I had to resist from grabbing her
and kissing her there on the spot.  At one point I could resist anymore,
and after a match I grabbed her and kissed her.

   The sparks flew and I saw fireworks.  I think that at my throat closed
up as I kissed her, there was such an intensity between us.  I don't know
how long the kiss lasted, by the time we stopped we were both panting. 
Maybe it was the intensity of our match or the intensity of the kiss we
felt, but I could almost feel the fierce passion that I saw in her eyes.  I
wanted her so bad.  I actually ached for her, to touch and caress her.  To
share how much passion I had for her.  I pulled the sash of my belt and my
top came open.  My muscles were glistening from the sweat of the workout we
both had.

   I hoped this showed her what I wanted to do with her, as I could no
longer form rational thoughts; let alone speak to her.  She pulled off her
top as well.  Then she removed her bra.  I watched stunned as I saw more of
her perfect flesh.  There was a subtle danger to her body.  Her arms and
stomach were toned and lightly muscled.  My arousal couldn't be contained
at this moment.  I pulled of the bottoms of my gi, as she pulled hers off.
We both stared at each other's naked forms for a while.

   Our bodies glistening with a slightly sweaty sheen, we moved towards
each other.  We kissed as passionately as before, but this time our hands
were exploring each other's body.  I felt the muscles in her back under the
softness of her skin.  I moved my hands up and down her sides, brushing the
sides of her breasts as I moved down.  I felt the tightest, smoothest ass I
could ever hope to hold.  My hands melded perfectly with the cheeks of her
butt.  I took her in my arms as I knelt down.  I knew that I had to have
her at that moment.

   We were laying on the floor of the gym we had just been practicing on.
We started to kiss, from there I moved my way down, gently kissing her chin
and neck.  I moved down to her breasts.  She gasped slightly as I did this.
My mouth moved down to her nipple as I flicked my tongue over it.  I
started to suck on her breasts, as her breathing became more intense.  She
reached down for my cock and it felt like heaven.  I moaned as she moved
her hand up and down on my shaft.  A gentle hand touched the back of my
head as I was sucking on her breasts.  I knew what I wanted when my hand
went like that on a woman's head.

   My mouth broke contact with her breasts as I slid and kissed slowly down
towards her vagina.  I moved in between her legs and started to lightly
kiss everything there.  Her smell aroused me even more.  I longed to enter
her, but I wouldn't just yet.  I moved down to lick around her mound and
heard her gasp.  She moved her hands to my head and grabbed some of my
hair. I started to lick and suck around her clitoris.  I licked lightly and
rapidly at first.  Then I changed pace to slow and hard.  I tongued around
the area and then went back to work on her clit.  I attacked it with the
passion and heat I felt for her.  As she reached her pinnacle and had an
orgasm I gazed upon her naked form and it appeared almost angelic.  I knew
I was in love.

   It was unrequited love.  Kimoko cared about me though.  The time we had
together was great, but she wouldn't leave.  She would take over her
father's place when he died.  She was the grandmaster's daughter.  In my
opinion she was probably better than her father.  He wasn't too happy about
our relationship either.  It was a great time and one I truly treasure now
though at the time I never had so many bruises and felt so exhausted in my
life and I never hope to again.  After I was sure my love wouldn't leave
with me, and she was sure that I wasn't going to stay, we said our
goodbye's and I left again.

   Now don't think I grew up like some wealthy kids with me not knowing my
parents or any crap like that.  I loved them and they loved me.  I talked
to them at least a couple times a week no matter where I was, satellite
phone and all.  And I decided to spend some time with them to get in with
the family business for when I had to take over.  We were all happy to be
together and I knew that they were sad about Kimoko not coming with me but
I had to get on with my life.  So I became the natural rich bachelor.  I
was hound daily by paparazzi.  Though I could handle it better than some
celebrities, I had more money to watch out for me.  The United Inquisitor
was the exception they published all sorts of stories about me.  Take a
grain of rice and they would make General Tao's chicken with it and fried
rice to boot.  So the stories had something in it that was true but the
rest were lies and exaggerations.  I did discover we had things all over
the world we were connected to.  I had a corporation in every country that
had a major airport.  Form logging, to media, to pharmaceuticals we had a
hand in everything.  Politics too, but hey if your that rich you almost
have to be involved in one way or another.

   I spent some time with my family and friends back home.  I needed to
catch up with them and see how everyone was.  My personal odyssey of self
discovery and play were over.  It was now time I started becoming what I
was groomed to be.  An heir to an empire.

   My parents were ecstatic that I was back for good.  I don't really know
if they understood what I did, but at least they supported me in it.  My
father took me to the board meetings.  I attended regular outings at the
country clubs.  I made speeches to our various companies and oversaw a few
projects.  I realized how much power we really had.  My parents had managed
to acquire companies and contracts in third world countries and countries
in the communist bloc that had previously not accepted outsiders.  We were
connected at in international level, though we had those offices headed up
by people form those countries.

   Life was good.  I had to cull about half of my friends.  They had not
accepted their wealth that well and were running their life to hell.  I was
too busy in mine to try to help.  Drugs, alcoholism and illegal activities
of all sorts had some of them heading down the wrong direction.  In stead
of helping them, their families bought their way out of the messes and
reaffirmed the lesson they could do what ever they wanted to do.  I missed
some of them.  I did have a few real friends left.  Those I kept in touch
with in some form or another.  Most had taken over the family business or
started their own.  Others I kept for the same for the same reason they
kept me, a contact.

   Then in one night it happened.  My entire existence was turned upside
down.  My mother and father were killed.  I was away at a business function
at the time.  I got the call in the hotel when I got back from a evening
dinner party.  I immediately flew home.  Police surrounded my home.  It
still looked like the same place I grew up.  I expected the house to be
destroyed, and everything laying in pieces.  I couldn't believe it.  I was
devastated.  I was getting to know them so much better.  I wasn't quite
ready to take over the business yet.

   The next day I found out that all of my close friends had been killed
too.  I was away at the time at that damn dinner.  I wondered if I could
have prevented this.  Maybe I could have been killed too.  If they knew I
was away, that might mean it was personal towards me.

   I surrounded myself with bodyguards, since I figured so I was probably
on that list as well.  The FBI was called in, as well as the state police,
to help the local police with the cases.  I personally called and hired
some of the best detectives and private investigators money could buy.  All
these conventional means weren't helping, I was getting frustrated.  One
detective brought in a psychic to help with the investigation.  She looked
a like a librarian to me, I didn't really know what to expect.  I was
desperate, who was I to complain if it helped.  She took a look around and
whispered to the investigator.  When he told me what the psychic said I
nearly hit the floor.  She tried to tell me it was magic.

   I checked the references on this investigator.  He after brought in a
psychic named Susan if he wasn't able to find any clues about a case he was
working on.  I found out he had a very high number of resolved cases.  His
clients were sang his praises.  It was another avenue to investigate.

   I never really believed in magic.  I could say that whoever saw
something unexplained, we just couldn't identify it yet.  Nobody else came
up with any information.  At all.  Nothing.  Zilch.  Nada.  Something was
just plain wrong with that.  Naturally I was a suspect, but I had alibi's
apparently the killings happened in waves.  Three to be exact.  I was also
still a target.  I began to think about what I could do to avenge my
parents.  I set up a board to deal with the companies and had several back
accounts set up everywhere in the world.  Then Kimoko came to visit.

   She said she was attacked by invisible assailants.  She was able to
defeat them.  As students, we were blindfolded and attacked by several
other students many times.  We learned to use our hearing, and to feel the
air around us.  By the end of my training, I was good.  As always though,
she was better.  And I only assume she just continued to get better.  She
told me that her father had died in the attack as well as over eighty
percent of the students in the attack.  The rest of the student left the
night of the attack.  The dojo she was going to take over was now
abandoned. We held each other, taking comfort in our embrace.

   Then my attack came.  I could smell it in the air, the foul stench of
decaying flesh.  The hairs on the back of my neck started to stand up.  My
attackers weren't invisible, but looked to be something from an old horror
movie.  They looked like the dead reanimated.  From all of the old horror
movie, I knew to aim for the head.  Between my swords and fists, Kimoko and
I were able to defeat this inferior but numerically superior force.  I
hoped this was the only attack.  I was wrong.  I wondered about my
bodyguards.  How had this force entered so easily.

   I believe the next things to attack us were vampires.  They didn't
really have that white face, claws and fangs sticking out though.  They did
possess a supernatural grace and speed that easily dispatched all of my
guards, while only taking one loss for them.  My bodyguards weren't your
typical type of body guards.  They were actually mercenaries, battle
hardened and field tested.  They were one tough bunch of guys They're dead
now.  The attackers came at us.  They were either blindingly fast, tough as
steel, or strong as hell.  This was a tough fight.  But my swords are razor
sharp.  So were Kimoko's.  They managed to rip my shirt during the fight. I
could see blood starting to stain my shirt in a few areas.  I got hit once
that sent my flying across the room.  It felt as if I had gotten hit by a
Mack truck.  I could feel the bile start to rise in my throat.  We did
start to even the odds.  Kimoko seeing that I was starting to get hurt
turned on the speed.  Her movements with her swords were barely visible. 
On one attacker she turned around in a one hundred eighty degree arc and
had her swords at head level.  She connected with the swords.  The head
flew form the body it had previously been attached to.  The body turned to
dust.  It was like a scene from "Kill Bob." She was doing a deadly sword
dance that had the attackers both captivated and scared.  Seeing this, I
could feel myself remembering the moves that had been drilled into my by
Kimoko.

   You could tell our attackers weren't used to being beaten and they were
starting to get scared.  That made it easier to kill them.  Eventually we
killed them all, but we were really ragged.  We were bleeding bruised and
tired as hell.  Then the demon appeared.

   I guess it was a demon at least, he was about 7 foot tall had multiple
arms and made the vampires look like school kids.  I went in with my swords
raised and brought them down on his chest.  My blade broke on him.  He
didn't take a scratch.  My fist was doing damage to him though for some
reason.  Kimoko's swords were able to cut it and though it didn't look
hurt, its arms had deep gashes caused by her.  After what I thought was one
well placed jump kick it caught me by grabbing my chest in mid air and
punched me.  If I thought I had been run over by a Mack truck in the second
fight, I must have been hit by a freight train this time.  I thought I
died. I found out later that I had four broken ribs.  It caused enough pain
that I almost passed out, I was severely dazed though.  I couldn't see
straight and everything was fussy to look at.  Then I saw the demon coming
for me.  I could see by the look in its eyes, that I was dead.  It was
coming to kill me.  The demon was almost on me when Kimoko jumped it.  She
bought her swords down in a blindingly fast arc towards its chest.  This
green ooze poured from the open wound.  The look in the things eyes changed
from gleeful murder to a hell bent rage.  The demon lunged at Kimoko, with
a speed that it hadn't previously shown.  It caught her off guard, and it
grabbed her.  It was as if something clicked in my brain.  I felt
rejuvenated.  I stood up, seeing clearly, and could almost feel where to
aim my attacks on the beast.  The demon was holding her up in the air with
one of his arms and fighting me with the others.  I felt like a man
possessed.  I was hurting him, blow after blow I would land on his head and
chest.  The thing started to stagger, and wasn't holding Kimoko quite as
high as it had been.  It was getting weaker.  It landed some hits on me but
I didn't really feel them, I knew they should have hurt but I wasn't going
to complain.  I was just trying to save Kimoko.  I jumped up and caught the
beast right on the side of the head.  It swayed back and forth a bit then
some guttural sounds came from its mouth.  The room smelled of sulphur and
then it was gone.  So was Kimoko.

   I felt my life force draining from me at that point.  I crawled to my
phone and I was able to call 911 before I passed out.  Three days later I
woke up in a hospital.  I hurt.  God did I hurt.  I knew at that moment
that I had to find out more about this stuff.  A few days later I checked
myself out much to the protests of my doctors.  I went to see Susan, the
psychic.  Her home was lying in pieces, and the place had been police taped
off.  I learned she wasn't home at the time, but her house had been blown
up(maybe she was a decent psychic.) I went about trying to find her.  When
I arrived at home to pack a few things I got a letter from her saying to go
to a place in a suburb of the city at noon and to come alone.  I was
curious about this but I went anyway.  First though I went to the man who
made my swords, and got another set.  At around fifteen till noon I saw
standing where I was supposed to go.  About thirty minutes later this kid
came up to me and looked me over.  He told me to follow him.  I didn't go
at first thinking maybe we were looking for different people, but he
mentioned Susan's name and I followed him.

   He took me took me to a rather unremarkable house.  It was a nice white
one story ranch.  Nothing that would make it stand out.  It didn't have any
flowers, the colors on the house were white and a dark color for the
accents on the shudders and trim.  Now that I think about it, I can't
remember a single detail how I got there.  An old lady appearing to be at
least 80 years old was sitting in a chair.  She looked at me and it was and
the intensity of her look made the hairs on my arm prickle.  It felt as if
she was staring into my soul.  I never was one to look away from someone, I
was just to overconfident to ever consider it.  The look she gave my was so
intense, that I couldn't keep meeting it and had to look away.

   She said she was a sorcerer, and there was a whole world I was going to
have to learn about and try to fight if I ever wanted to see Kimoko again.

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