Hey, K'thardin!
Please forgive the EXTREME lateness of my reply. I spent about three weeks
at my grandparents'
house, and they don't have a computer. As such, I've got a MAJOR backlog
that I am trying
desperately to get caught up on.
> Well, here we are. At thirteen chapters, Dark Crusade is now officially
the
> longest arc of Ronin Summer I've ever written! And, unless I've done my
math
> wrong, it's also the sixtieth Ronin Summer chapter I've written in the
past
> two years! I'm sure nobody really cares about that, but I'M sure
> impressed... ^_^
You are probably the only author I have ever seen do anything even
remotely close.
Well, my main source of amazement remains the fact that this was only going
to be
a six-part series, and then I planned to work on other stuff. I never really
expected it
to grow like it has. I mean, it's practically an epic!
> Anybody who wants to check out earlier chapters of Dark Crusade, or any
> other story arc of Ronin Summer, please go to my website at
> http://dataraven_659.tripod.com/roninsummer.html
And remember...remove the number 5 and you have...^_-
Uhm... 609? ^_^
> Another good place to go is Joy Lyn's fantastic webpage, Crossover
Corner,
> which can be found at
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Shores/5533/index.html
There are, as I recall, like 2 websites devoted to Samurai Trooper and
Sailor Moon
crossovers on Anipike. Is that one of them?
(shrugs) Could be, I guess. If not, then maybe we can convince her to put
it up there. ^_^
Anyways, on with the story! ^_^
Let the slaughter begin. I'm sure they're defenses are broken by now. ^_-
So, are the Insecticons in our way, or are they our way in? ^_~
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Chapter Thirteen : Curse of the Mountain Fields
Better than: "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."
Well, as I've explained a few times before, I like to get tricky with my
titles sometimes.
In this case, I was playing off of the fact that "Jun Yamano" means "Pure
Mountain Field".
Five shadowy forms moved through the still of the night,
%*In the still....of the night...%*
Sadly, I was wondering how long it would take someone to do this. >_<
Jun: Would you stop that? We're trying to be mysterious here!
Storm Senshi (with stars in their eyes): Ohhhh...
Jun: And that's just freaky!
Hmm... "just freaky". That may be one of the best descriptions of the Storm
Senshi I've
heard yet! ^_^
Puffs of steam rose from his whiskered snout as he trudged on, clearing
a path for his compatriots.
Who needs a machete, when you have a one ton lumbering mass of blind
destruction to
clear a path for ya?
Emphasis, of course, on the BLIND part of that... ^_^
"This is fun! Whee! Giddyap, horsey!" the small woman crowed
happily, bouncing in her perch atop the other woman's shoulders.
You do realize for this particular sickeningly sweet scene, you will be
banished to
the hell of Barney songs? ^_^
Sorry. Icestorm just lends herself to built-in cuteness, when she's not
killing people.
Besides, it was one of the fastest ways possible to utterly ruin the
established
mood. ^_^
"Come on, Thunderstorm," Jun Yamano argued, stopping and
leaning on his branch as he smiled in the tall brunette's direction.
"You know I can't do it; my shoulder's pulped!" He gestured with his
Yeah, I can see that one. She'd be trying to grab OTHER things on him. ^^
> "I had to carry that blue-haired bubblebrain once already,"
the minotaur pointed out with a snort. "I've suffered enough for one
night."
Heh, and he was used as a jungle gym.
By all three of the Storm Senshi, actually. Poor guy. Takenoko is kind of
like
Jun, in that neither of them seems able to get a break. ^_^
"Fine," Thunderstorm admitted. "Maybe you two have good
excuses, but what about you, Lightstorm? You're supposed to be my
leader! Isn't it your job to look after your team when they're hurt?"
Interesting to note: The actual Senshi leader is supposed to be Minako, is
it not?
Yes, officially Minako is the leader of the Inner Senshi. It only shows once
or twice in the
anime, although in the manga she takes charge much more frequently. Heck,
for most of
the Dark Kingdom arc, the Senshi all thought Sailor V was the Moon Princess!
shook her head. "Icestorm," she said sweetly, "I have candy. If you
promise to sit still and be good, I'll let you have some when we get
back to the camp, okay?"
If you're really good Tackleberry I'll get you some guns just like this
when we
get home.
Tackleberry: But I want THIS gun. ^_^
I mean, if they're in trouble,
wouldn't we at least be able to hear them fighting by now? Other than
Rajura, I don't remember Kayura or the Masho being very subtle when
it came to fighting."
Naa...Kayura usually did the destroy buildings thing when she fought.
Let's see... destroying skyscrapers, leaping out of billboards, freezing
waterfalls
solid, blowing up helicopters and tanks, trying to hit the Troopers with
subway
trains, freezing a whole forest, turning part of Japan into a desert...
Yeah, it's safe
to say that the Masho's tactics were a bit on the unsubtle side. ^_^
Storm Senshi had a comb. The three women were still sleeping nearby,
purring contentedly as they huddled together. It was almost unbearably
Purring? Well...if the latter is any indication they were of feline decent
before
their reformatting (DAMN YOU BEAST MACHINES!)
Err... the Vehicons were kind of neat. I sort of liked Jetstorm and Thrust.
As for the purring, well, it was kind of a foreshadowing for what happens
later
on, but also just something I could see the SS doing.
Jun didn't want to make even one
killing machine cranky at him, let alone three, if he could avoid it.
If he could avoid it. Which is not very often, going by his track record.
Heh.
Exactly. Why look for trouble when it finds you all by itself? ^_^
"REALLY?" The small human grinned widely for a moment,
enthusiasm shining in his eyes. Noticing that Takenoko was turning to
NO!! DON'T BACKSLIDE NOW JUN! YOU WERE DOING SO WELL!!!
Jun is still a bit young, and he's got a long history of kid sidekicking
behind him.
Sometimes he's going to backslide a little. Nobody just wakes up mature one
day. The
important thing here is that he's learning to catch himself when he does it.
Soon, he
might even stop doing it altogether...
The purple armoured youja inched
forward, and locked gazes with his ebony partner. "We see you have
returned the traitors. Well done."
"Traitors?" Jun asked Takenoko with a raised eyebrow. "Geez, I
just went to talk to my girlfriend..."
This kid needs to learn not to take everything personally. Though all
things
considered, most things seem to rain down on him, so I probably shouldn't
blame him.
Exactly. Jun's not paranoid: he's just used to everything being out to get
him.
I swear, in a few more years he's going to have Ash's seriously pissed off
attitude;
you realize this. Heh.
Hehehe. I was toying with having Jun mention his new part-time job at
S-Mart, but I
thought it would be a bit much. ^_^
"First of all," Kokuen seethed, "YOU were only created a month
ago, yourself! And age does not matter, because I am in command. And
Heheheheeheheheheheheh, age and rank. Two entirely different things, but
I've never
seen it quite this absurd. ^_^ I mean, Jun is older than both of them. ^_^
Which makes sense, since Kayura's only been Empress for a year or two. Jun's
probably
older than most of the soldiers in her army.
"Very well," Shien countered. "She is only going to kill them
herself, Kokuen. Her stance on traitors is well established." Whirling,
he pointed a steel-sheathed finger in Jun's direction. "You there! The
small human. What is your name?"
Jun blinked. "Jun Yamano."
Now here is where I'm almost with Latin D. I'd expect some familiarity
from them, but
I also do not recall them actually KNOWING Jun's name.
Ah, but Kokuen is the only one of the Guard who we've seen spending any time
with Jun at
all. It makes perfect sense for SHIEN not to know Jun's name; they've never
been introduced.
Kokuen probably did know what it was, but he wasn't asked.
"If they do," Shien offered with a gleeful lilt in his voice,
"then I can track them down." Casting a glance at the three sleeping
sisters, his gleaming eyes changed colour from white to red. "And
unlike Kokuen, I'll only bring back enough to prove I did my job."
Your umm...do they even HAVE funerals for these guys? Or are they like
programs you
can terminate and reset at your convenience, and about as much to be
concerned over?
That's actually something you'll get to see for yourself, in a bit.
"Aw, man," the blonde groaned, "it's raining. Like these damned sailor
outfits of ours are SO comfortable when they AREN'T soaked..."
It's why I've been recommending a foul weather upgrade. Or at least a
decent suit of
protective gear.
Believe it or not, I'm working on that. ^_^
"Hey!" Icestorm called out after the group as it began to get
under way. "Where's everybody going? You're not leaving me behind, are
you?" As one, the six creatures turned and looked behind them to see a
cutely dejected looking Sailor Icestorm, sitting in the mud and
Now I have an imaged of an SD Icestorm in my mind. Thanks a lot!
Well, that was kind of the effect I was going for when I wrote this scene,
so
you're welcome. :p
> "I warned you about hugging me," Thunderstorm growled, as she
stood up, holding her sister's legs in her hands. "And stop squirming,"
she added a second later. "You're going to bump your ankle on
something, and then I'll have to put up with your wailing."
She nags overly much. ^_^
Almost too much, wouldn't you say? ^_~
"Woah," Jun said to himself as he noted the terrain. "Looks
like somebody was having a lot of fun around here." The turf had been
churned into a frothy mud, and the brush was had been uprooted in
every direction. A tree appeared to have broken in half, and lay on its
side several feet away from the shattered remnants of its stump. Dead
leaves and dried, yellowed pine needles littered the muck, ground into
the sodden earth and laying over the torn and shredded underbrush.
That should have clued him in right there. Good thing the next thing he
saw did.
Heh. Too bad the next time Naaza changes, he's going to lose it.
The last time we saw him, Naaza wasn't even well enough to change his socks.
I
think it's safe to say that sword won't go anywhere just yet.
"He even takes it to the bath with him," Thunderstorm added
with a helpful smirk.
"How do you know that?" Jun couldn't resist asking.
One really wonders if the Masho haven't umm...succumbed to the
umm...charms
of these increadibly horny ladies.
Who would? Shutendoji is dead, Anubis is engaged to Kayura (and living in a
different
castle), Rajura is about as likely to succumb to someone's charms as a lump
of stone, and
Naaza is afraid of them. The whole reason he STARTED carrying a sword to the
bath was
because of the Storm Senshi! ^_^
"She nearly drowned until we reminded her to stand up,"
Yeah, humans have this problem with needing air. The one major weakness of
a Super
Saiyan. They still need to breath. Heh.
Sailor Icestorm's major weakness, on the other hand, is that she actually
has to be
REMINDED that she needs to breathe. ^_^
Takenoko looked about in expectation. "I can't believe it," the
bovine youma muttered to himself. "To think, we may even now be walking
on the earth he once tilled, the fields he once grew..."
How does he recongnize what he sees? I mean, there should be something
that sparked
his memory in specific. It seems...a bit...vauge here.
Well, he doesn't recognise anything, really. He just knows that the Owl used
to live somewhere
nearby. He's speculating more than anything else, letting his imagination
get away from him.
The fact that he's right is a coincidence. ^_^
"It's pretty dark," she noticed, and
snapped her fingers, generating a ball of softly glowing light in the
palm of her outstretched hand. "Just wish I could make it warm, too,"
she managed to chatter.
Light and heat ARE related. I mean, focus a beam of coherent Light (or a
LASER if
you must be technical) onto something metallic. Or just a really
concentrated ball
of light. heheh.
Yes, and that would be why Lightstorm's attacks do damage. However,
something can emit
light without emitting a LOT of heat. Like phosphorous, for example.
"Ooh!" Icestorm cooed as she wrapped her arms around the
taller girl's waist and hobbled over to the other member of their team.
"It's, like, totally frosty in here! I feel better already!"
One could make a splint and cast of ice if her reaction to it is thus.
One could, and indeed might, if she didn't prefer to be carried
everywhere, instead. ^_^
The minotaur gingerly took the note between two fingers and
held it up close to his face, squinting as the page fluttered in the
steam of his breath. "Let's see... Here lies Kirin Berylson, with the
father he adored. Beloved brother, foully murdered by a man who can
never be his equal." Lowering the page, Takenoko's eyes seemed to
Just a little bit of bitterness and self loathing there.
Maybe a smidge. Or maybe I was checking to see if anyone remembered who
Kirin's killer actually was. ^_^
**********
The way was blocked by a crude wall of stones, roughly hewn
and placed atop each other with little more than dried mud to hold
them together. Takenoko had to do little more than place a single hand
on the obstacle and lean slightly, and the entire construction
collapsed in a clatter of loose stones and heavy boulders. Coughing
That's no way to guard something potentially dangerous. You have to booby
trap it,
make it so one has to go through shear hell to get the final...ok, I'll stop
now.
a few small momentoes. A few spare uniforms, a plate of frozen fruits,
After all, even the dead need snacks on their way to the after-life.
The ancient Egyptians seemed to think so. So did many Native cultures.
The Greeks gave their dead pieces of cake (for Cerberus, or Keroberos, as
they
called him - or Kero-chan, as Sakura calls him).
Kingdom. Slumbering for eternity, he shall forever watch his realm
with the vigilance of the Owl... Huh." Scratching the top of his head
Personally, I think it might have been cooler if the script changed to
whatever
language the reader could discern rather than it being something similar
to that rock
they used to translate the first Hyroglyphics.
I believe you're referring to the Rosetta Stone. I wanted it done this way
because
"Cool!" Jun said with a grin as he tugged again. "It's like the
Sword in the Stone, then?" The sword remained immobile, and Jun scowled
slightly. Bracing himself by placing one foot against the wall, Jun
gripped the sword in both hands and tugged harder.
It was far easier for our good friend Arthur to draw that sword than it is
for you to
draw this one...and far less painful later. ^_^
"Jun, damn your eyes! He wasn't using it!" Takenoko took a step
forward, raising one placating hand. "We were entering into battle,
and the Owl DID NOT DRAW THAT SWORD. It's a source of unimaginable
power..."
I note he doesn't dare touch it. Heh.
I don't want anything to do with this, do I?"
Face it Jun, you're fucked already. ^_^
You know, I hate to say this, but the way you've been treating him and the
things
that are happening to him and are likely GOING to happen are going to make
him a
SERIOUSLY pissed off person. I mean Ash of the Evil Dead variety is going to
be
envious of the attitude that Jun is likely going to have if this keeps up.
Heh.
A soft crimson light bathed over Jun and Takenoko as an
ear-grinding sound of metal scraping against stone filled the room. As
one, the pair turned and stared at the sword. A bloody light spilled
from the eyes of the skull on the pommel, and the blade itself was
slowly drawing out of the wall, centimetre by centimetre.
"Okay," Jun said with a gulp, "I'm new here, so I might as
well check: it's BAD when something like this happens in the Dark
Kingdom, right?"
Takenoko: Naa, shit like this happens all the time. You have nothing to
worry
about, and I'm told you soul even gets returned to you after a couple of
thousand
years of slavery and servitude in the pits of hell.
With a final lunge, the sword leapt free from the wall and
rocketed past Takenoko, a wave of crackling red and white energy
trailing in its wake. The minotaur turned his head as quickly as he
could, trying to follow the thing as it slammed into Jun's stomach,
pommel first. Jun made a sound like a deflating balloon and bent over,
folding himself around the hilt of the blade and instinctively
grasping it in his hands.
That hurt just imagining it. Though one thing...isn't one hand still in a
sling?
Oh, and another thing: Later when his wounds are healed by this sword, did
his
shoulder get healed too? And if so, before or after Icestorms little attack
(I'd
argue it had to be before, all things considered. Likely right now as a
matter of
fact).
Takenoko tried to move, to race over and tear the blade from
Jun's fingers, but his every muscle rebelled. Quivering, he watched as
the young boy allowed the glowing blade to pull him to his feet. The
Jun: I HAVE THE POWER!!!
Jun: Now, I shall open the gates to Castle Grayskull! And Skeletor shall be
destroyed!
Takenoko: You need to find a better way to spend your Saturday mornings,
kid.
(Bonus points to everyone who read this joke and caught themselves saying
"Wait a minute!
He can't open the gates with just his sword! He needs Skeletor's, too!" )
sword had a long, straight blade, edged on both sides and surrounded
by an aura of crimson light. Bolts of white energy crackled along the
length of the sword, writhing and crawling against the cold steel of
the blade. Jun's makeshift sling shredded, tearing itself into its
component threads and drifting away on the strange breeze stirring
Ah. Here we go. But it still kind of dances around the fact his shoulder was
likely
healed here.
He snarled, and held his arm
straight out, gripping the sword by its blade as the energy snarled
and bit between his two hands, lashing out towards the three women
like a shockwave, tearing a trail of dust behind it as it exploded
against the far wall of the burial chamber.
Who pissed this sword off? ^_^
Maybe it's just not a morning person. ^_^
I get the feeling that this sword is using it's power
in the same way someone who's been asleep for awhile gets up and stretches
his arms.
Not entirely...serious.
Pretty much, yeah. Just stretching out the spectral kinks, as it were.
Finding out what
the new host could do. Taking him for a test drive, you could say.
The whatever-the-hell was controlling Jun responded by spinning the
blade
in his hands and holding it above his head in a ready position.
Question: Is it using it's own training or Jun's training minus any
restraint he
had. Or a bit of both?
Bit of both. It's only using its power to enhance the moves and abilities he
already had. Faster,
stronger, tougher, more agile, and with a few new tricks (the energy
attacks, for example),
but still basically using Jun's own skill and training. He IS the best
kendoist his age in all
of Japan, remember...
Eyes of emerald
fire narrowed, and the creature screeched through a set of crackling,
needle-like teeth.
Oh, so it's like Inouva of the Magic Knights of Rayearth?
Hadn't thought of it quite that way, but yes. Thunderstorm, like Inouva,
was originally another kind of creature before being turned into a human.
"I'm back," he said reverently, and closed his eyes again. "Oh, I don't
know what god brought me back from that place, but I swear if I ever
find out, I'm making them my new religion!" Slowly rolling over, the
boy pushed himself up to his knees and groaned. "Is everyone okay?
That thing didn't make me hurt anybody too badly, did it?"
Wonder if we'll ever get a description of where he went?
I don't think he'll be wanting to talk about it any time soon. ^_~
**********
It had taken a fair bit of convincing, but Kokuen and Shien
eventually agreed to go down into the depths of the tomb with Takenoko
and Jun to make sure that everything was sealed back up. "There's no
point," Takenoko had argued, "leaving something like that where just
anybody could trip over it." Jun had shuddered violently and agreed so
fast the Storm Senshi thought he was choking.
You see, this sword, if anything is likely going to make any relationship he
has with
Ms. Silence herself a bit more precarious than before. It'll be awhile, if
ever...if
it's even possible, before he can control it (come to terms with it,
whatever needs
to be done). When that happens he'll likely have undergone some serious
internal
change that will alter his perception of reality forever...thus he becomes a
new Jun.
That may or may not further strain such a relationship. But I guarantee,
such a
thing in my experience (you know, great life changes) is never anything
other than
stressful on those that you are involved with. Imagine how much more so this
must
be.
Someone placed their hands on his shoulders, and he nearly
jumped to the ceiling. Lightstorm smiled and gently rubbed his back.
"Relax, Jun! It's just me. Icestorm was worried about you. I think
maybe Thunderstorm was too, but she was busy threatening to clobber
anybody who bugged her about wearing your sweater, so it's kind of
hard to tell."
She's going to be like that girl from Gen 13 who is ALWAYS losing pieces of
her
clothing, isn't she? ^;;^
Congratulating
each other on a job well done, the trio walked out into the tunnel to
finish gathering the stones and begin rebuilding the wall. Icestorm
had even agreed to lay a few feet of ice over it, to make the thing a
bit more sturdy than before.
Yeah, but sealing things up never works forever. Something ALWAYS finds
the hidden
cursed treasure. Heh.
Well, I'm sure there are countless times that evil creatures or artifacts
have been sealed up
for all eternity and never found. It's just that we never hear about them -
on account of
their never being found. ^_^
Which leads one to wonder: What sort of OTHER types of men are there in
anime?
We've met them. I believe a few are named Mousse, Tatewaki Kuno, Ryouga
Hibiki, Kirin,
and all those other romantic, devoted guys that anime girls can't stand
because they
actually pay attention to the women they love.
Anime women are only attracted to men who want nothing to do with them. It's
the law.
Even Lum is the one woman Ataru Moroboshi DOESN'T seem to want.
**********
"Okay," Thunderstorm said with a scowl as she sat in the damp
grass and tried to pull Jun's woollen sweater over her knees in an
attempt to stretch it to a decent length,
So you can see her...her...oh my...^;;^
Yup. You can see her legs. I'm as scandalised as you are. ^_^
Seriously, Jun is about 5'2''. Thunderstorm is closer to 5'6''. His sweater
just wouldn't fit her very well.
"Ideally," Kokuen said calmly, "we would seek to return to our Empress,
but there is no way for us to know for certain where she might be. Our
best choice would seem to be simply to look for her. For that, any
direction is as good a choice as another."
That's pretty logical actually. About as logical as Grimlock's statement
to Daniel
on going with a stranger in a strange land. Heh.
Well, if you're looking for someone, it really doesn't matter where you
start, now does
it? It's not like you KNOW where to go when you're searching, right?
will have need of me, and I shall be there. And if you lack the
strength to master me, then it shall be I who masters YOU...* Glowing
ever brighter, the blade vanished in a flash of crimson light, leaving
no sign that it had ever been there.
So it needs a will and a body to use it? What does it need from a weilder?
That
might be interesting to get into.
I intend to get into it, actually. The sword and its wielder are supposed to
have a rather symbiotic relationship. We can kind of tell what the wielder
gets out of it already, but what about the sword?
Hoped this helped!
It always does, pal! Sorry I took so long getting back to you about it!
-Morgan Hudson
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