Dead or Alive: Beneath Erinoch Island
A Dead or Alive/The Immortal Crossover Fanfiction
By The Headcrook
The Headcrook's disclaimer: All characters, locations and other regarding Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden are the sole property of Tecmo, while the characters, locations and others regarding The Immortal are the property of Electronic Arts and its creator, Will Harvey.
Now, I've been a fan of Will Harvey's The Immortal ever since I was a kid and this is my first attempt to write a crossover combining the world of Erinoch City with the world of DOA and Ninja Gaiden. This is also my first true Ninja Gaiden fanfic taken from Ryu's POV.
Please note that this fanfic is slightly AU, since in this one, the Hayabusa village is rebuilt and most of Ryu's clan is still alive.
Prologue
Erinoch Island, 50 miles southeast of O-Shima Island...
After fighting more megalomaniacs, demons and evil corporations that I can shake a stick at, you would think that I would deserve a small break.
I guess I was wrong. No rest for the super-ninja.
Let me start from the beginning. My name is Ryu Hayabusa, of the Hayabusa clan. Aside from being a ninja, I also own a curio shop in Tokyo, an inheritance from my late father, along with his love for archeology and history.
Some might say that because of this, I could be a Japanese version of Indiana Jones...well, minus the bullwhip and the cool fedora.
I guess all this started following the last Dead or Alive tournament. Kasumi and I started dating and Hayate must have seen reason (either that or having your runaway of a sister's boyfriend peeved at him for sending ninja after her), reversed Genra's death sentence, allowing Kasumi to come back to the clan.
Ayane also made her peace with Kasumi, at my suggestion. There was too much bad blood between them surrounding the...'circumstances' surrounding Ayane's 'conception.' As the healing process continued, Kasumi decided to go on a training trip with her father to the Ryuku Islands.
That's where they were last seen. Hayate sent down a squad of Hajinmon ninja to bring them back, but they haven't been heard from since. That was over a week ago. It was Ayane who gave me the news, and Hayate asked me to go and look for the both of them. Leaving Kureha in charge of the shop (she works part-time when she isn't at the shrine), I took the next flight to the islands.
When I arrived at Kasari, I saw that Rachel was waiting for me. She told me that both Kasumi and Shiden were kidnapped and taken to a small island which the Ryukyuans considered to be cursed, given what had happened nearly 2000 years ago.
Turns out that the Vigoor Empire came across Erinoch Island years earlier, and had planned an expedition into the island, but was called off when I came through the empire. Rachel told me that about 2000 years earlier, the island was a paradise, and home to many indigenous tribes, the Ainu, the Anami, the Miyako and the Yaeyama. They built a city on the island, carved from the mountains itself.
But the city was well-known for its enchanted waters. Whoever drank them was given eternal youth. However, a ruthless Chinese warlord had heard about the waters and had sent his army to the island. The war lasted for three years. When it appeared that the warlord's army was going to win, the the loyalist came with a desperate plan. They summoned two dragons, which decimated both the warlord's forces and a number of the loyalists as well.
Realizing what they had done, the surviving loyalist used an ancient amulet which had a forbidden spell engraved on it to destroy the dragon...as well as the city and himself.
After that incident, the surviving tribes dispersed around Japan, and the island was abandoned. Over the years, people dared not to tread on its shores, because the island was cursed. There were rumors that people have seen Tengu and Shibuto inhabiting the island, but were dismissed as nothing more than a mere horror story.
When the Europeans were expelled from the country with the exception of the Dutch, the Portuguese discovered the island and tried to make it into a trading post. They were all slaughtered and the plan was abandoned. Then the Vigoor Empire found it and the search party sent in hasn't been heard from since.
Rachel and I reached the eastern end of O-Shima and after taking a boat out, we reached the island. However, given Rachel's powers as a Fiend Hunter, she could not enter. But I can. The path leading to the city was destroyed, meaning that I had to climb the steep cliff. Not a problem for a super ninja.
However, my ninja uniform was in the process of being repaired after my last mission and I'm dressed in a black tanktop, khaki pants and hiking boots. With only a knapsack slung over my shoulder, as well as several throwing stars and kunai, I started to climb the steep cliffside.
After an hour of climbing, I reached the summit I saw that from where I was at, the trail was long since destroyed, leaving nothing in its wake. Erinoch City was just ahead. And somewhere in the city, was Kasumi and Shiden.
The city isn't far now. Rachel told me that it was beautiful once, before the war and its destruction. It was true. Erinoch City was nothing more than a shadow of its former self. nothing more than a necropolis.
I walk though the gates as I felt a chill coming up my spine. Almost immediately, I knew this was going to happen, since Rachel warned me about this beforehand. Because of the dark aura surrounding Erinoch, using my offensive and teleport ninpo would be ineffective unless I found some ninpo scrolls.
I looked around. Ancient Heian architecture was evident...although the city was in ruins. Walking through the city streets I took into the destruction that had been wrought on this place. The city was completely dead, as it has been and would never rise again. From what I hear, the Demon Clan, any surviving Vigoor soldiers and even the locals consider this place cursed and I really don't blame them.
But Kasumi was in this city somewhere.
That's when I noticed something on the ground as I walked through what was the town square. There were signs of a struggle, but most importantly, I found something that showed me that I was on the right track.
Kasumi's tanto. The weapon was pointing to a door. I took it as a sign that she was still alive...I hope. I picked up the tanto and stuck it into my belt and moved towards the door.
When I opened the door, I saw that there was nothing but a flight of stairs leading down. I could be walking to my own death, but if that may be, I will go out fighting, like a true warrior.
I walked down the stairs, until I reached a door at the bottom of the stairs. I stopped for a moment to calm my nerves. Pulling out a picture from my pocket, I looked at it. It was of Kasumi, smiling, wearing a summer dress, the snapshot taken at Hamarikyu Gardens. Her smiling face calmed me down and gave me courage.
I opened the door, and entered the room.
Little did I know that I entered from reality and into the surreal.
