Goooooooood morning, everybody!
Well, okay, technically it's afternoon. Maybe I should just get on with the
story, huh? ^_^
Anyway,C&C is asked for, accepted, preferred, yadda yadda yadda. Just tell
me what you thought, and I'll be a happy camper. ^_^
Here we go!
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-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
OBLIGATORY LEGAL DISCLAIMER : None of these guys are mine. The Sailor
Senshi belong to DIC and Kodansha, while the Yoroiden are owned by
Sunrise and Graz Entertainment. Okay? So don't bother suing me. I'm a
student.
RONIN SUMMER 2 : HOMECOMINGS
A Sailor Moon / Yoroiden Samurai Troopers cross-over
by Morgan Hudson (dataraven_659@excite.com)
Part 7 : Fighting Fire
The world was ending, and the Apocalypse had chosen a Chinese
restaurant to begin in.
At least that's what it had looked like to the inhabitants of
said restaurant, as a loud explosion rocked the entire building, and
clouds of smoke blew out of the open doorway to the kitchen. They had
been preceded by the door itself, which was torn off of its hinges.
Before the rumbles of the explosion had faded, things started
getting worse. An unearthly blast of orange energy, like a giant and
uncalled for ball of lightning, flowed out of the smoking hole that
used to be a doorway, and began exploring the rest of the room.
By now, several people had already fainted. The few with the
nerves to stay awake were treated to yet another oddity. Two women,
one of whom looked deceptively masculine, jumped out of their chairs
and lifted their hands to the sky, screaming something. Then the pair
began to glow.
Some of those who witnessed this would spend their life savings
on extensive therapy. The rest would spend an equal amount on getting
VERY drunk. Either way, most of the people in that restaurant chose
then as a very good time to go and get started.
**********
Haruka Ten'ou and Michiru Kaiou, the Sailor Senshi of Uranus
and Neptune respectively, raced across the restaurant and leapt
through the smoking portal into the kitchen. Drawing the Uranus Space
Sword, Haruka lunged forward and prepared to engage the large robot
struggling with Shuu Rei Fuan.
This was a bad idea for several reasons. Most notably, Shuu
had never met Haruka, and a smoke-filled battlefield was a BAD place
to introduce herself. Especially while charging and holding a sword.
ESPECIALLY to Shuu Rei Fuan, who, like the mighty rhino, did
not deal well with sudden surprises.
"Shuu no Kongo, we have come to - YIPE!" Haruka jerked her
head back just in time to get a very close look at the business end of
Shuu's staff. Although not as good a look as she would have gotten if
she had been two inches closer to him...
The staff swung like a golf club, and Haruka shrieked as she
quickly scrambled out of its path. A large tray of dishes which had
been behind the girl were suddenly turned into a pile of dust.
"What's WITH that guy?" Michiru had wisely ducked behind a
large cart of food as soon as Haruka had recieved her rude welcome.
"Aren't we supposed to be helping him?"
"Sure," Haruka hissed as she ducked under another swing, "if
we can get him to stop trying to KILL us long enough to explain!" At
least, she thought, he's not using the bladed end of that stick...
"Please, Shuu! You must listen to us! We're Sailor Senshi!"
"Nice try! I've MET the Sailor Senshi!" Shuu no Kongo gritted
his teeth under his steel facemask. "You're NOT the Sailor Senshi!"
The robot tried to grab Shuu, who used his tetsubo to readjust
several of its joints. "Do you MIND?" He shouted at the machine. "We're
trying to have a CONVERSATION here!"
**********
"No." Ryo Sanada shook his head. "I don't care if it WOULD
work. I'm still not saying it."
"Why not?" Ami Mizuno asked, a confused look on her face.
"Because it sounds dumb. I'm NOT going to stand here and
shout 'Flame On', okay? It ISN'T going to happen."
"I thought you wanted to get your yoroi activated." This was
NOT said by Ami Mizuno, but by Amy Anderson, someone who could easily
have passed for her twin.
"I also want a shred of dignity." Ryo snorted and tossed his
head, his shoulder length black hair shimmering in the light of his
room. He was sitting in his bed, in the lotus position, a large red
crystal in his lap. Over the past few hours, he had rubbed, twisted,
and hit this crystal, and it STILL wouldn't turn into his beloved
Rekka armour.
"Maybe we're taking the wrong approach, here." Ami sat as far
from the other girl as possible, nervously running her fingers through
her hair. Amy was supposedly an alternate dimension version of
herself, and frankly it creeped her out a little. Still, when faced
with a problem this big, two Amis were better than one, she guessed...
"No... I'm sure we're on the right track!" Amy bit her
fingernail. "Since MY dimension seems to be slightly different from
this one, and that crystal is from there, it makes sense that it would
have another name, similar but different from Rekka."
"Ryo, what other names could Rekka have?"
Ryo shrugged at Ami's question. "I don't know. Flame, Fire,
Blaze, Inferno... how many ways are there to say Rekka in English? For
all we know, some dolt named it the 'Happy Candle' armour!"
Amy smiled kindly. "Well, don't worry, Ryo. Between two
Sailor Mercurys, I'm sure we'll get your yoroi working in no time!"
**********
Touma Hashiba leaned back on the overstuffed couch in Ryo's
living room and closed his eyes. He smiled gently when the couch
springs creaked, and Makoto Kino joined him, curling up and resting her
head on his chest. It was comfortable and silent... for about two
seconds.
"Awwwwwww! That is SO cute!" Usagi Tsukino, looking upside down
from Touma's angle, stuck her head over his and looked down at them,
her long blond ponytails brushing against his face and tickling his
nose. "I think she's asleep! Hey everybody! Come and look at this!"
A door slammed, and Mamoru Chiba entered, carrying a duffel
bag. "Hey, Touma! I brought supplies, in case you guys have to hole up
here for a while. Those robots seem to be combing Tokyo right now."
"Hi, Usagi. Hi, Mamoru. Since Ryo and Ami are still upstairs,
I suppose the gang's all here, huh?"
Mamoru set the bag down on Ryo's coffee table. "Not quite :
Rei and Shin just called in from a pay phone. Apparently they asked
some kid with an umbrella for directions, and now they don't know
WHERE they are."
"And Haruka and Michiru still haven't called in about Shuu."
Usagi sounded a bit worried. "I hope they're okay..."
Mamoru grinned at Touma. "Well, since Hashiba seems to, er,
have his hands full at the moment, I'll just hop back in my car and
swing by Juban. I was planning to get Shin and Rei, anyway : it
sounded like they were in Nerima Ward. I can pick up the Senshi and
Shuu while I'm at it."
**********
Genichirou Hashiba looked down at the papers numbly. The words
seemed to blur, as if his will was actually making them change into
something less horrible. "Are you telling me that there have been two
more attacks on potential Yoroiden? How couldn't I have known? Why
wasn't I notified?"
The scientist's assistant, Ken Shimada, shrugged. "Mr. Xavier
must have wanted to take things into his own hands, Doctor Hashiba.
Maybe he wasn't satisfied with our progress : all we've managed to do
so far is get one, after all."
"Perhaps that is so, but look at this!" Genichirou pointed at
a section of the "borrowed" paperwork that particularly upset him.
"According to this, he used the XR-98 model. What the HELL is the XR-98
model?"
Ken winced. "Uhm... military upgrade of the prototype XR-71 law
enforcement cyberdroid?"
"Military..." Genichirou felt the need to sit down, so he did.
The fact there was no chair beneath didn't seem to register, even as he
thumped heavily on the floor. "How? I mean... WHY? The XR-71... it...
it was supposed to be a peacekeeper, not a war machine!"
**********
Several feet above both men, a blond boy brushed a thick shock
of hair away from his right eye and rewound the tape in his video
camera. It was amazing, he thought,the things a guy could learn by
hanging around in air vents. Beat high school ANY day.
"Doctor HASHIBA, eh?" The boy pondered that for a moment or so.
"Uh-oh..." He quietly concluded.
**********
"Ken? Did the good doctor take well to the reports you leaked
him?" Xavier asked over his shoulder, blocking a punch from his
sparring partner.
"No, sir. I fear you may be right. His gullibility makes him
too unreliable to use in any future operations."
"Shame... he was a brilliant man. Prepare the bio-mech unit
G-780." Xavier smiled grimly as he caught Ken's fist and tossed the
other man over his shoulder. As Ken tried to regain his footing,
Xavier grabbed a towel and began to dry the sweat from his face.
"I believe we can kill three birds with one stone here, Ken. We'll
use Hashiba as the pilot of G-780. Test that new drug... what are the
PR boys calling it?"
"Uhm... Compound 452? They've decided to call it 'Drive'..."
"Very well. Dose the doctor with 'Drive'. We can film the
battle and record his vital readings at the same time. Who knows? We
might get a good piece of PR footage, as well as the last parts of
the puzzle."
Ken gulped and suppressed a shudder. "What puzzle would that
be, Mr. Xavier?"
Xavier laughed as if he had just heard the funniest joke ever
told. "Why, the only puzzle worth SOLVING, Ken : how to be a god."
**********
"ACK!" Haruka yelped, as the massive black staff of Shuu Rei
Fuan caught her behind the knee and flipped her like a pancake. She hit
the floor with a loud noise that sounded suspiciously like "OOF".
Shuu no Kongo smiled and turned his attention back to the
annoyingly persistent silver robot that was shooting at him. The
bullets really weren't doing too much, other than annoying him. He
lowered his head, shielding his face with one orange guantlet. His
eyes were the only part of him not protected by the mystical armour
of Kongo, and he didn't want an eyepatch for the rest of his life.
People might mistake him for Rajura.
Suddenly, something white flashed through the air and removed
the robot's arm at the elbow. The gun, which had been mounted on the
creature's now severed arm, stuttered silent as the spinning white
object flew in an arc and returned to the hands of its owner.
Who, perched on the remains of the exploded stove, reattached
his mask to his face and smiled grimly.
"I realise," he said calmly, "that I should give a little pep
talk right now, but my sensei once told me : hit first, talk later!"
"All right! Tuxedo Kamen!" Shuu grinned and pumped one fist in
the air.
Haruka turned to Michiru. "Good. Let's go home."
"Go home? But what about..."
"Hey, we told Rei we'd look out for this psycho until someone
else showed up. And Tuxedo Kamen is someone else." Haruka rubbed the
back of her neck and began to walk away. "So I'm going to go home,
and take a long, hot bath. And I would appreciate it if you kept me
from falling asleep and drowning in the tub."
Michiru shrugged and gave a last look at the fight scene. Shuu
was continuing to pound on the robot, and now Mamoru had leapt in to
assist, slashing at the large silver machine with his hat, for some
odd reason. "Well, I guess we aren't really needed HERE anymore..."
"Geez," Haruka grumbled under her breath, "first Minako has me
crawling around in air vents looking after some stupid blond kid, and
then Rei gets us 'protecting' someone who wants us dead! These Yoroiden
are all crazy, Michi. From now on, no more favours. Stick a fork in
me, I'm done. I never want anything to do with yoroi for the rest of
my life..."
**********
Fire enveloped the cabin, spreading through the forest and
raging out of control. Somehow, in the middle of this inferno, Ryo
Sanada stood. Ami Mizuno was screaming, her body engulfed in licking
tongues of flame.
"Why don't you save her, Ryo?" Kauso asked.
"I... I can't. My yoroi..."
"The power is still yours, Sanada." Shutendoji snorted lightly
and looked down at the kneeling boy. "Regardless of dimension, Virtue
is still Virtue. Jin is still Jin."
"But..." Ryo tried to stand, but the fire seemed to wrap
itself around his arms, burning and charring the skin as he screamed
in pain. "But... I tried! The yoroi doesn't work!"
"Doesn't it?" Kauso tilted his head to one side and examined
Ryo clinically. "Then perhaps I chose poorly when I gave you the Rekka.
Perhaps you never should have been a Yoroiden at all."
"Yes," Shutendoji said, nodding, "obviously this is NOT the
Yoroiden of Rekka. He is just a boy."
Ami Mizuno screamed, reaching for him, and Ryo struggled
against the chains of flame holding him back.
"Summon the armour, Ryo Sanada." Shutendoji sounded almost
mocking, now. "What's wrong? Has Wildfire deserted you too? Just like
your parents?"
"Don't you DARE talk that way about my parents!" Ryo snarled
like a wild animal, straining against his bonds. "I'll KILL you! Do
you hear me, Sh'ten? I'll get free of this, and I'LL KILL YOU!"
Ryo raged, and Shutendoji laughed, and Ami screamed...
**********
Ryo sat up in his bed, gasping for air. Sweat covered his
body, and tears were streaming down his face. To his surprise, he felt
a pair of arms around him and looked over to see Sailor Mercury, or
one of them at least, had crawled into the bed and held him through
his nightmare. She had fallen asleep.
"Good evening, Ryo Sanada. Did you have a bad dream?"
Ryo looked over at the new visitor to his room. She was
dressed in a sailor fuku, and had long green hair. She was carrying
something that looked like a giant silver key. "Sailor Pluto, I
presume?"
Sailor Pluto nodded slightly. "Please, call me Setsuna. You
were never this formal before."
"Before? I've met you before?"
"Not yet. But to me, we've been old friends for centuries."
Setsuna glanced over at the other form in his bed. "Well, I'll be.
You always did say you couldn't sleep without her..."
Ryo rose to his feet. "Just make your point and get out."
"My point? I'm just here to take Amy home. I think some other
people have already made their points to you tonight. Once you bond
with your crystal, it will truly become the Rekka of this dimension."
With her free hand, Sailor Pluto tossed the glowing red yoroi to him.
"When the time is right, you'll know what to do. You always have..."
**********
Genichirou Hashiba was a shell of his former self. His eyes
were darting from side to side like frantic dragonflies, and his
fingers trembled violently. A small trickle of drool slid unnoticed
from the corner of his mouth, and his jaw moved from side to side as
he ground his teeth.
Ken felt a slight twinge of pity as he lowered the heavy
armoured cockpit of the giant 'Exterminator' mecha. The machine itself
was awesome, a twenty foot tall metal monstrosity built more like a
gorilla than a man. The gigantic arms bristled with spines, like the
rest of the mecha, and a dim red glow came from the squat flat head
resting on top of its massive shoulders. An incendiary cannon was
mounted on either side of that head, and the mortar launchers on its
back had just finished their final check. Somebody had painted the
prototype in a black and grey camoflauge pattern, which only added to
its presence.
Ken felt a slight twinge of pity, for both the doctor, who
really hadn't been a bad guy, and for the group of boys about to face
their deaths. Then, he shrugged it off. He wondered what they serving
in the cafeteria today... maybe it was tacos.
**********
Usagi Tsukino was sitting outside and looking at the stars when
Makoto Kino joined her.
"Hey Usagi... can I ask you a question?" Makoto was unusually
quiet, and Usagi could tell she was being serious.
"Sure thing, Mako-chan." Although, Usagi thought to herself,
I don't have the slightest idea what YOU would need to learn from ME.
"You've been dating Mamoru for a while, right?"
"Yeah, a while. Why do you ask?"
Makoto blushed a little. "Well, I don't know... Touma and me,
we've never even kissed, yet, but I was just wondering. I don't have
some prophecy telling me Touma will be my soulmate for life, you know.
I was just wondering, that's all, wondering if maybe I should..."
Makoto trailed off and looked up. "Usagi? I think our talk will have
to wait."
"Huh?" Usagi turned around and looked up. And UP...
"JUPITER STAR POWER!" Makoto glowed, and began to twirl as
lightning crackled around her. Usagi blinked, and then hurried to
join her friend.
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"
Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter raced forward, and the giant
black and grey mecha glared balefully down at them.
"I am Sailor Moon!" Usagi cried, leaping on top of the cabin
roof and posing dramatically. "And in the name of the Moon, I will
punish you!"
The mecha seemed to consider that for a moment. "Prepare," it
grumbled, "for EXTERMINATION!" The twin cannons on its shoulders
boomed, and Usagi shrieked as the roof of the building burst into
flame. Sailor Jupiter quickly grabbed her leader and jumped to the
relative safety of a nearby tree.
"Uhm, Usagi? I don't think this guy's going to get impressed
by speeches..."
Sailor Mercury darted across the lawn, bullets nipping at her
heels as the giant machine fired its built-in chest howitzers. Jumping
desperately, she joined the other two Senshi in the tree. "Sorry I'm
late," she explained breathlessly, "I fell asleep. What's our plan?"
"Uhm... how about 'Don't Die'? Is that a good enough plan?"
Makoto stared in annoyance at her friend. "Listen, you and Sailor Moon
can sit up here and talk, but I say we split up and give it more than
one target. It's made of metal, right? One of my attacks ought to
drop it." That said, Sailor Jupiter put her plan into action, leaping
out of the tree and racing back towards the cabin.
"JUPITER THUNDER DRAGON!" The mecha rocked as a massive blast
of crackling lightning, shaped like a dragon's head, slammed into its
side. In 3.23 seconds, it noted the source of the attack and raised the
girl's threat rating by seventy percent.
"Human GERM! Your future ends NOW!" Exterminator raised its
right arm, steel claws at least the size of Makoto herself glittering
in the moonlight as it prepared to crush her like a bug. Makoto closed
her eyes and covered her head. This was going to suck...
A flash of blue, and then the mecha smashed its hand down,
making a large crater in the ground and wrecking a perfectly good jeep.
Makoto Kino, however, was nowhere near the area effected. She was
currently sitting in the arms of Touma no Tenku, flying through the
air and wondering if this was how Usagi must feel all of the time.
"Sorry I interrupted, but I don't date pancakes." Touma was
smiling behind his mask, and Makoto saw his eyes gleaming slightly.
"I'll get him next time, Touma! Just let me at him!"
"Hmmm..." Touma thought back to the sight of Makoto about to
get smushed. "Tell you what, Mako-chan. I'll handle this one, and you
can get the next one. Deal?"
**********
Usagi was wailing steadily, and had been since the mecha had
smashed the tree she was sitting in to kindling. Of all the times for
Tuxedo Kamen to be in a different town! Ami wasn't much calmer, but at
least she wasn't crying.
Although, in Usagi's defense, she had a good reason this time.
Broken legs DO tend to hurt like hell. Especially messy breaks.
Sailor Mercury kneeled next to her friend, who was lying flat
on the ground and screaming words Ami never would have guessed she
KNEW. Slowly, and with reluctance, she looked up. There, looming over
them like a god of destruction, was the Exterminator. It seemed
to consider for a moment what weapon to use on them.
The cannons on its shoulders boomed, and Sailor Mercury felt
something hit her in the stomach. It knocked her backwards, and she
landed on her back as the chemical goo coating her caught fire.
And Ami screamed as flames enveloped her body...
**********
Ryo Sanada gazed numbly out the window. "What the... what's
happening?" He coughed as the bedroom began to fill with smoke.
Some giant shadow seemed to be fighting the Senshi. Touma
grabbed Makoto seconds before she was squished (never seen him move
THAT fast before, Ryo noticed), and it turned its attention to an
old tree. With one swipe of its huge hand, it swatted the tree into
splinters, and two of the Senshi fell out.
"Ami..." Ryo groaned, and coughed again, sinking to his knees.
The mecha was going to fire again, he could tell, and suddenly he got
an image in his mind.
<Ami Mizuno, burning...>
<Why don't you save her, Ryo?>
<He is just a boy.>
<Regardless of dimension, Virtue is Virtue. Jin is Jin.>
<What's wrong? Has Wildfire deserted you?>
"W...Wildfire... Jin..." Ryo slumped over and stretched his
hand out along the hardwood floor. Something knocked a crystal globe
into his hand. Ryo's eyes snapped open, glowing red.
<When the time is right... you'll know what to do.>
Slowly Ryo stood, surrounded by swirling smoke and flames. The
kanji on his forehead gleamed like a live ember as he lifted his yoroi
in both hands and held it in front of him. "For Ami," he muttered, and
then, oddly, "for the Queen..."
"ARMOUR OF WILDFIRE... TAO JIN!"
And, hidden in smoke, Sailor Pluto smiled.
**********
Ami Mizuno screamed as the flames enveloped her. Then,
strangely, she felt someone running their hands over her body,
absorbing the heat, cooling the fire, healing her burns...
She opened her eyes and saw a man dressed in red samurai armour
looking down at her. The steel blades on his helmet were smoking, and
small fires seemed to be starting of their own accord all over his
body. His eyes glowed a bright crimson, and his teeth flashed white
when he smiled at her.
"Ryo... you did it..."
"As if there was ever any doubt!" Ryo no Rekka stood and
drew the paired katana blades on his back from their scabbard. The
mecha known as Exterminator was then treated to his special smile, the
one that made grown youma and demons lose bladder control.
"You have dared to harm my love, and attack my queen. For
this, foul creature, I demand satisfaction." Then, that smile again.
"In other words, I'm going to kick your ass so hard you'll need a
brain surgeon to remove my foot."
"Pathetic fool!" The Exterminator growled. "There is
NO ESCAPE!"
Ryo chuckled. "Too bad for you... bitch."
**********
Touma no Tenku leapt into the air and flew back to the fight.
Ami and Usagi were all alone, and it looked like this fight depended
on... RYO NO REKKA? What the HELL?
"Ryo? What the hell's going on?"
Ryo grinned fiercely. "Time for explainations later, buddy."
He suddenly jumped, dodging a blast of flame. "It's a hot time in the
old town tonight," he yelled at the mecha, "if you want some, come and
get it!"
In mid-air, Ryo's swords suddenly burst into flame. Touma,
who had seen the Flare Up attack far too often for his retinas, wisely
looked away as his leader slammed the paired Rekka Ken together and
fused their handles to form a makeshift spear.
"FLARE UP..." The flames from his sword began to wrap around
Ryo himself, making the Yoroiden look like a falling meteor as he
plummeted towards the mecha.
"NOW!!!!" The front of the machine didn't even explode, as
much as it simply ceased to exist in a blast of intense heat. Ryo
continued his flight, skidding to a stop on the ground. He was
crouching, and holding the now disconnected Rekka Ken at the ready.
"Now THAT," he tossed over his shoulder, "is fighting fire
with fire."
Touma simply nodded grimly in reply and drew his Sho Ha Kyu,
nocking a golden arrow and glaring down into the smoking cockpit. He
pulled back the arrow as the smoke began to clear and a bearded man
leapt forward, screaming and swinging wildly. Touma stepped back and
fired, catching the man in the shoulder and spinning him like a top.
Ami Mizuno was the first to run over to the man, turning him
over and checking his wound. "I think he's still breathing. Ryo, can
we get some light, over here?"
"Huh?" Ryo shrugged. "Oh! Sure thing, Ami." His blade caught
fire again, and he held it by her face.
"Not so close, Ryo! I don't want to get burned."
"Burned?" Ryo blinked at her in confusion. "MY flame would
never burn you, Sailor Mercury."
Ami wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she settled for
examining her patient. "Hmmm... his pulse is erratic, and his pupils
appear dilated. I think he may be on some kind of drug."
"What's that on his jumpsuit? Some kind of logo?" Ryo pointed.
Touma leaned over to look. "Hey, I think that's the logo for
Xavier Industries... my dad works there as..." he looked at the man's
face, and lost his train of thought very quickly.
"What is it, Touma?"
"This man... he's... my father!"
TO BE CONTINUED...