Due to the size of this, it has been broken up into two parts.
             
Ash.
                   
                    

                  THE POCKET DIMENSION THEATRE

(Ash, Mason, Miyuki, Sachiko, and a newcomer wearing a Gold and
red face mask that has a rather... hawkish look to it, stand in a clear
area at the front of the theatre.)

Ash: Hi! We're just getting ready for the MST.  Joining us today is
Shigeo, who is from a little group called the Heritage.)

Shigeo:(Scowls) I wouldn't say it was little. 

Ash: True. 

        Chapter 23: Edosel Canyon

        "Ready guys? Let's do it!"
Ash: You guys ready?
Others: Hai!
 
        Five figures stood silhouetted in the late afternoon sun, the 
wind
tossing their hair as it tossed granules of lavender sand about them.
Mason: a sure sign that we're reading a Lurker fic.
Miyuki: What's that?
Mason: Gratuitous use of the color purple.

Simultaneously, the five figures dropped into modified ready stances,
and began performing various motions with their arms.
Mason: (looks slyly over at Ash.) Hey Ash?
Ash: (nods)

        "We fight for the defenseless!" a male voice cried out, as one 
of
the figures stepped forward, now performing solo arm gestures.
Mason:(makes arm gestures) We fight for massive toy sales!

        As the first figure finished, a second stepped forth, and began
posturing as well. "To protect the good from the evil!" a female
voice said.
Miyuki: (ditto) To ensure that millions of children watch our show!

        "We bring justice on those who make innocent suffer!" another 
female
voice declared, as a third figure began posing.
Sachiko: (still even more) We bring you mindless fights and mass 
destruction
of cities with men wearing cheesy monster and mecha suits!

        "We'll right wrongs and triumph over evil!" a male voice 
declared,
as the fourth figure stepped forward, robes rustling in the wind.

Shigeo: (Yet again...) We'll surpass Sailor Moon in Popularity!

        The first four figures stepped back, as the fifth raised a fist 
to
the sky. "Forces of evil beware! For we are..."
Ash: (you get the idea) Forces of Saban beware! For WE are...

        With a final round of hand gestures, the five shouted in unison,
All: MERCHANDISING STARS!

"MAGIC SENTAI!"
Ash: heh.
Shigeo: (scowls) say, Ash isn't that similar to 
Ash: Mason?
Mason: Right-o guv! (Pounds Shigeo into the floor with one blow from a
massive fist.)

        Nearby, Cologne and Clef developed massive sweatdrops.
"Are...they...always like this?" Clef asked slowly.
Mason: (Cologne voice) No, they usually do Dragon Ball Cosplay.

        Cologne sighed, and put her hand to her forehead. "To think,even
with all the time they spend fighting amongst each other back home,
they still manage to watch too much television..."
All: Heh. ^_^

        "I like it," Ryouga said.
        "Works for me," Ukyou agreed.
        "Silly Japanese watching too too many corny TV show," Shampoo 
said.
        Mousse smirked. "And *who* is it that stays cranky for a whole 
week
if she misses a single episode of one of those shows?" 
All: Bwahahahahahahahahaha!
Miyuki: Seriously, drop a too or add a comma.

        Shampoo flushed crimson. "Shampoo no knowing what stupid Mousse
talking," she said. The others snickered.
        "Well, it may be a little on the corny side, but it works..." 
Akane
said, shrugging. "At the very least, it's bound to confuse our
enemies long enough for us to gain an advantage."
        Suddenly, the jewels on their wrist guards flashed. The weapons
they'd borrowed from Presea shimmered into existence in the air
                                                            before them, 
before vanishing entirely.                     
Mason: Ash...
Ash: Don't look at me.

        "Aiyah! What happen?" Shampoo wondered.
Ash: The time limit on your weapons has expired. Please insert 3000
to continue using them.

        "What happened," called the voice of Presea from the entrance to 
her
special wagon, "is I finished creating your new weapons." She walked
out of the wagon, grinning. "Go ahead, summon them."
Mason: (solemnly) Oh weapon of power, I call upon thee in my hour of 
need...

        "Finished already? Wow!" Akane said. "Err, how do we summon 
them?"
        "Just concentrate on your weapons," Presea said. "They will come 
to
you."
        Akane frowned, then closed her eyes, stretching her hand above 
her
head. Although the sky was cloudless, a bolt of lightning lanced from
the sky, striking her arm. As the bolt struck, it began to condense,
and soon solidified into a gleaming katana. The hilt of the katana
was golden, and sculpted into the shape of a sleeping tiger. The
guard, however, resembled a series of intertwined, stylized lightning
bolts. She brought the sword down to eye level, and examined it.
"Sugoi," she breathed. 
        Mousse's hand began glowing white as he concentrated. The glow
stretched outward from his hand, and a shining falchion formed. The
hilt of the falchion resembled folded, feathery wings. He grinned as
he took a few practice swings with the sword. 
        A tall column of rock erupted from the ground at Ryouga's feet. 
He
blinked. The stone column exploded, spraying fragments of gravel in
all directions. When the dust cleared, everyone gaped. Before Ryouga,
its point buried in the ground, stood a massive, stone-hilted
claidhmore.
Ash: is that the proper spelling? I always thought it was claymore.

 Ryouga hesitantly gripped the hilt of the gigantic sword,
and drew it from the ground. Several jaws hung open as the blade
continued to come forth, until Ryouga finally hefted six feet of
glistening steel. "Now *this* is more like it," Ryouga said.
Unnoticed by all, the gem on his gauntlet turned brown. 
        Shampoo's shadow chose that moment to begin moving of its own
volition. a Chinese broadsword appeared in its hand as it attained a
third dimension.
Mason: nice SFX.

 "Aiyah," Shampoo said as her shadow stood before
her. It reversed its grip on the sword, and offered it hilt-first to
the Amazon, who hesitantly took it. The sword ceased to be a shadow;
however, it remained jet black from hilt to tip. The black blade
somehow seemed to suck up the light around it, as did the glistening
onyx hilt of the sword. Soundlessly, Shampoo's shadow reverted to its
two-dimensional origins, and slid back into its proper place. The gem
on Shampoo's glove turned black. 
Miyuki: this must be a foreshadowing of sorts.

        Ukyou grimaced. "Jeez, looks like swords are the rule around 
here,
huh?"
        Presea smiled. "I wouldn't say that..."
        With little fanfare, a silver glimmer appeared in Ukyou's hand,
slowly stretching into a long, thin line. It continued to stretch
until it reached Ukyou's height, at which the ends began to curve
slightly. One bright silver flash later, Ukyou was holding a silver,
double-bladed naginata. She spun it for a moment, and shrugged. "Not
bad," she said. The gem on her gauntlet flickered, and turned silver.
This time, someone noticed.
        "Hey, Ukyou...your jewel just changed color," Akane said.
        Ukyou blinked. "Yeah, it has." 
        "Aiyah! Shampoo gem change color too."
        "So did mine," Ryouga said. "Anyone else?"
        "Not mine," Mousse said. Akane shook her head in the negative.
        Presea frowned thoughtfully. "Hmm," she said at length, "it 
might be
because of..." she trailed off, and stared into the distance. The
others followed her gaze, to see nothing in particular except
countless kilometers of amethyst sand...except for an unexpected gap
on the horizon. 
        "What is it, Presea-san?" Ryouga asked.
        Presea pointed off into the desert. "Do you see that place on 
the
horizon where the sand ends so abruptly? That is the deepest, widest
crevice in all of Cephiro, Edosel Canyon. It is a very special part
of Cephiro, though it is seldom disturbed."
Mason: I see we've met today's quota of car jokes.

        "What's down there?" Akane asked.
        "The Graveyard of Mashin," Clef spoke up from behind the group. 
Ash: that's interesting.  I didn't think anybody remembered AniMax.

        "The WHAT!?" the five teens chorused.
        "Throughout the history of Cephiro, many Mashin have been born, 
have
seen many conflicts, and have lost their bearers, or been destroyed.
While the Mashin worn by the Magic Knights rest in ancient shrines,
due to their...special role in Cephiro," Clef coughed nervously, "the
other Mashin have no holy resting sites...except for this place.
Edosel Canyon."
        "So...this canyon is basically a junkyard for derelicts?" Mousse
asked.
Miyuki: Ah, the proverbial land of the lemon.
Mason: I thought I was the one who did sexual innuendoes around here.
Miyuki: What sexual innuendo?
Mason: (grins wickedly) you said 'lemon'
Miyuki: I wasn't talking about that kind of lemon. It's an old American
expression.
Ash: she's right, Mason.


        "Pretty much," Presea agreed. "The remains of destroyed Mashin, 
the
sleeping Mashin whose wearers have long since faded from this life,
the Mashin which were abandoned for various reasons...all rest within
the canyon."
        "So...what's that got to do with us?" Ukyou asked.
        Clef waved his staff in the direction of Edosel Canyon. "Many of 
the
Mashin which lie below are long since dead. However, many more of
them are simply at rest, repairing their damage from ancient battles,
awaiting the time when another comes along who will wear them." He
whirled, pointing his staff at the five martial artists. "You," he
declared. 
        "Us?" Akane asked.
Shigeo: No. the sailor senshi.

        Presea nodded. "The impending danger here has undoubtedly caught 
the
attention of those Mashin who lie in wait for a return to service.
Your presence, and the Escudo weapons you now possess, have probably
been noticed." She gestured expansively. "As we speak, there may well
be five Mashin in Edosel Canyon who have awakened, and await the ones
who will wear them."
        "Aiyah! You want us pilot big robots?" Shampoo asked.
Shigeo: no. we want you to chase this string around.

        "It makes sense," Mousse said. "Something dangerous is
coming...remember the warning Rayearth gave us before the others went
back to Earth? If they need to wake that other Mashin in China, then
chances are the rest of us will need our own Mashins as well." 
        "So...what do we do?" Ryouga asked.
Shigeo: Pull my finger.

        Ferio leaned out of his wagon. "I'd suggest we make haste to 
Edosel
Canyon, and see if there are a few old Mashin that are ready to
protect Cephiro once again."
Mason: who knows what clunkers they'll find.
        
        The caravan rolled to a halt half a kilometer from the rim of 
Edosel
Canyon. The Magic Sentai, Ferio, Presea, Clef, and Cologne piled out
of the wagons, and stood staring at the great crevice. 
        "Wow," Ukyou said.
        "Reminds me of something I saw back home," Ryouga said.
        Akane blinked. "There aren't any canyons in Japan, are there?"
        Mousse chuckled. "Maybe it was that one in America." Everyone 
from
Earth broke into laughter, except Ryouga.
        "And what's so funny? I can't help it that I never remembered
crossing any oceans..." Ryouga said. The laughter ended abruptly, and
the group stared at the lost boy.
Miyuki: How does he do that?
Ash: hard to tell. The limits of how far he can get lost change from 
story to
story.

        "Well, if you're prepared," Presea said, "it's time to go down 
and
take a look through the Graveyard."
        Ferio stepped forward. "I'll be going as well."
        "Your Highness, you mustn't," Clef protested.
        Ferio shook his head vigorously. "My land, my people...my
sister...they're all in danger. I refuse to sit idly by and let
someone else fight my battles for me, without joining in."
        Cologne placed a hand on Clef's shoulder. "I suggest you let 
this
one do as he wishes," she advised. "He's got a strong fighting
spirit; his help will no doubt be useful in the coming struggle."
Shigeo: No doubt as cannon fodder.
 
        Clef thought for a moment, then nodded. "Very well. I feel I 
must
forewarn all of you: awakening and gaining the power of the Mashin
will not be easy. You must face this with your mind and heart open
and aware."
Shigeo: and bring enough gum for everybody.

        "Also," Presea chimed in, "I'm not sure how those new armors 
will
react to the Mashin. Your armors may change radically once the Mashin
are awakened."
        "Will that affect their protection?" Mousse asked.
Miyuki: (Precea voice) There's a chance that they'll mutate and 
give you strange powers, but at a tragic cost.

        Presea shook her head. "If anything, it should strengthen them."
        "Well, let's go then!" Akane shouted, running for the rim of the
canyon. The others joined her, while Presea and the two Gurus
remained behind. 
Mason: Cologne, a guru? You have got to be kidding me.

        As the group approached the vast crevice, Akane slowed, and 
knelt at
the edge, staring in wide-eyed wonder. "Wow," she breathed. The
others caught up with her, and took a look at what had awed her. 
        As far as the eye could see, Edosel Canyon was packed with 
mecha.
Mason: look! There's a Gundam!
Miyuki: And there's poor Alphonse!
Ash: My god! Look at what they've done to Mazinger Z!
All: The bastards!

There were mecha with gleaming metal skin, their armored hulls
slightly dinged, and in some cased dented badly; there were others
which had rusted through and were full of holes. Here and there, a
piece of some unfortunate mecha lay among the rubble, trailing bits
of metal and circuitry. Thousands of different colors and textures of
metal lay before them, in a vast river of derelict technology. 
Shigeo: I am suitably impressed.

        "Aiyah," Shampoo breathed. "Is like junkyard one see in 
future-type
anime."
Mason: heh.

        "Yeah, you sure don't see somethin' like this every day," Ukyou
said.
Miyuki: we do. At least once a week.

        "I wonder how many of them even still work..." Ryouga mused. 
        "Let's get down there and find out," Ferio said. The six of them
leapt down into the canyon, struggling for foot purchase amongst the
heaps of scrap. "Spread out," Ferio instructed. "There's no danger
here, we can afford to split up. We have a better chance of finding
functional Mashin this way."
Shigeo: or get yourselves picked off.

(END PART ONE)

Ash.



"...But cats are sneaky," I added.
She tossed her head, raised a paw and studied it.
"There are certain pleasures to be had in lurking."
"For cats," I added.
"...and certain knowledges gained."
"Such as...?"
 Snuff and Graymalk from,
     A Night In The Lonesome October


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