As a response to positive reviews, this latest brainchild has survived to see the light of day!
Momo: YOSHA! I'm gonna show you all a real climax!
Kyugan: As always, this fic is dedicated to my good buddy Sketchfan, and also, to brave kid.
Momo: Who're they? Small timer's I'll bet...
Kyugan: Shut your hole, momohiji...
Momo: QUIT CALLING ME BUTTHUGGER! *Shoves Kyugan out of his seat and grins at camera *Yosh! Let's get this started! Ikuze!
Chapter 1: Hibiki, Sanjou!
Within a distant, mostly unexplored section of space, there exists two worlds which could not have been more different from one another, save for their unbridled hatred and ignorance of one another's respective cultures.
One, known as Mejele, was a planet comprised entirely of women. They had vast resources, advanced technology, and had achieved a level of civilization that would have made them the envy of any other.
The other planet, known to it's residents as Tarak, was comprised entirely of men, and unlike Mejele, which was rich in natural resources, was a barren, desolate world with hardly water on it's arid surface, though it was rich in metal deposits. In addition, in comparison to the technologically advanced society of Mejele, the men of Tarak were drastically underdeveloped. They could barely amass the resources to construct spacecraft, and even those they managed to develop were considerably clunkier and slower in comparison to the elegant, streamlined craft that Mejele boasted.
This was made ever so apparent when Mejele raiders would pick off the supply and exploratory vessels from Tarak, which were sent out to search for materials in space from the asteroid fields. The faster, more agile Mejele fighters could run rings around their Tarak opposites. Furthermore, unlike the men, the women of Mejele outfitted their craft with advanced weaponry, including lasers, whereas the men where limited to mere ballistic missiles and high caliber bullets.
Things had gotten so bad that the military leaders of Tarak soon realized that, unless they thought of something soon, Tarak would soon run out of resources, and they would be completely at the mercy of their hated foes.
And so, despite the initial concerns of their great leader, Grand Pa, a motion was passed to address this growing threat.
*******
Tarak capital...
"MY COMRADES!" the bald Prime Minister of Tarak declared, standing tall behind a podium as his speech was broadcast across Tarak, be it visually or by radio transmission "MY BROTHERS! We now go into battle to prove the glorious manhood of the empire of Tarak! Our great forefather Grand Pa guided us here, but we will now leave this holy land that we have cultivated with our own hands, in order to regain the pride of men!" he clenched his fist before the cameras "For today, we have a new power in our possession," he punched said fist into the air "which will change our very HISTORY!"
While the masses of Tarak roared in approval of the bald man's words, one figure, considerably smaller than most, was not so enraptured by the speech, and was making his way as quietly, and as quickly as possible towards the spaceport, a bag of tools at his side.
'Why'd I have'ta open my big mouth?' the figure, a short teen in the garb of a third class citizen muttered, sighing in exasperation as he ducked out of sight of a nearby patrol 'Boasting I could steal a Vanguard…real smooth Hibiki…'
It had all started out as a childish boast, something Hibiki had said on the fly while off duty at the Vanguard construction plant. As third class citizens, Hibiki and the others employed at the factory never even got to see the fruits of their labors in action. The completed machines were shipped out the moment they were assembled, and the actual assembly lines were automated, even if the parts were mainly made by hand.
Naturally, this could be rather frustrating for a growing young man, who'd come to the city from the outside in search of work, friends, and a better life. He'd found the work alright, Third Class Citizens did EVERY menial task under the sun, from manual labor to janitorial duties, and he'd even found a group which he could tentatively call friends, when they weren't making cracks about his size or his temper.
But life as a third class citizen was hardly BETTER than the life he'd led on Gramps' farm, back before the old man had sent him to the city. At least on the farm his work had been appreciated.
Now here he was, planning to slip onto the newly refitted ship, the Ikazuchi according to the Prime Minister, which was sure to be filled with Elite and First class pricks and military types, in order to steal one of the very machines he'd helped construct and bring it back for all to see.
"I should've just kept my big mouth shut…" the teen sighed, even as the derogatory words of his 'friends' echoed in his ears, his eyes hardening as his resolve strengthened "Too late for regrets now…idiot or not I'm still a man…and Hibiki the man always keeps his word!"
Resolve reaffirmed, the teen resumed his trek across the rooftops towards the shuttle port, unaware that he was being followed, not by security thankfully, but by a strange, glowing orb that had been drifting past, only to be drawn in by his words.
'Huh…This kid seems interesting…' the ball muttered, circling the teen, Hibiki continuing on his way heedless of his strange tag-along 'Little on the short side…but I suppose I could do worse…'
Thus said, it rushed forwards, Hibiki letting out a grunt as it ploughed into his back, cursing as sand suddenly fell from his clothes, covering his feet as he stumbled.
A horned figure rose out of the sand, it's body seemingly ending from the waist down, though for some reason, it's legs formed above it, sand particles sliding off them as Hibiki shook himself. "Tell me your greatest desire…" the sand figure intoned, it's voice deep and impressive as it crossed it's arms before it dramatically "Tell me, and I shall grant it for-!"
"Stupid sand!" Hibiki cursed, hopping along on one foot, unknowingly plowing through the sand figure, causing it to erupt into a cloud of sand with an irate squawk, before turning on his heel and running "Shit! I've gotta move it!"
"HEY!" the sand creature yelled reforming with an irate glare as it watched the young Tarak teen run off, before giving chase "Oi! Get back here and tell me your wish, CHIBI!"
*******
Inside the Ikazuchi...
"Aw man…" Hibiki gasped, leaning against one of the numerous, identical doors that littered the interior of the Ikazuchi "this ships a lot bigger than I thought it'd be…"
That was an understatement, the Ikazuchi, originally the ship used by Grand Pa and the original eight to colonize Tarak, had been completely refitted as a military Flagship. There were so many corridors, hallways and staircases that Hibiki was surprised he hadn't bumped into any security, but it seemed everyone was too wrapped up in listening to the Prime Minister's speech on remaining 'constantly vigilant' to notice.
The irony of the situation would've made Hibiki laugh if he wasn't so out of breath. His heart had been hammering ever since he'd first managed to sneak on board, slipping past a guard who'd just been blinded by a sudden flurry of sand.
'Kinda weird…' Hibiki muttered, as he rifled through his bag as he stood in front of a palm print scanner 'Could've sworn I heard someone swear back there…' Shrugging to himself he pulled out a plastic, see-through glove, used for handling raw materials, and a spray adhesive that would detect any residual fingerprint data and copy them onto the glove's surface 'Ah well…good thing I did my homework…' he muttered, placing his palm against the scanner.
"Teme…" a low, voice growled, the sand figure rounding the corner, glaring at the teen in annoyance, only to be ignored as the scanner's rejection sent Hibiki into a panic "I finally found you…"
The figure had a good reason to be annoyed. It had been following Hibiki ever since he'd trampled through it, trying to catch the Tarak teen's attention, only for a random series of events to keep the teen from noticing it, be it gouts of steam disrupting it's form, a panel the teen had opened slamming shut in it's face as Hibiki passed through, or more recently, getting lost in the previously mentioned halls of the Ikazuchi.
"Oh man…this isn't happening…!" Hibiki panicked, too caught up in the scanner's countdown to notice his tagalong as he repeatedly slapped his palm against the scanner "I couldn't have screwed anything up! I did everything right this time!"
"I'M TALKING TO YOU TEME!" the figure yelled, only to yelp, staggering into the wall and disintegrating into sand when the Ikazuchi rumbled, the ship preparing to take off a full two hours earlier than planned.
Hibiki, so frantic that he failed to heed the telltale rumble, pressed his palm against the scanner after blowing on it to remove any dirt, sighed in relief as the countdown halted, the doors sliding open to reveal the darkened vanguard storage hangar.
"Heh," the teen smirked, crossing his arms confidently as he eyed the rows of machines before him confidently, though a nervous sweat still adorned his brow "Not bad…that was a piece of cake!"
"I'll give you cake…" the sand figure muttered, it's body reforming as it slithered purposely towards the teen, fist rqaised while the other went through the motion of rolling up it's sleeves, only to pull up short, gaping at the hangar in surprise "What the hell're those?"
"Let's see…" Hibiki muttered, walking down the rows of machines with a concerned expression "Huh? It's not here? Don't tell me they didn't use the part because of the scratch…?"
"These things look pretty tough!" the figure muttered to itself, looking approvingly up at the vanguards, slithering along in Hibiki's wake, only to curse as it stumbled into the back of the teen's legs as Hibiki came to an abrupt halt "SUNNUVA-!"
"There you are, partner!" Hibiki cheered, grinning up at a particular Vanguard with the distinctive mark on it's codpiece section that designated it as his target "Man…you're looking pretty cool…"
"What's so cool about it?" the sand figure muttered to itself, looking up at the Vanguard that, save for the scratch, was indistinguishable from it's brethren, only to sweatdrop as Hibiki leapt at the Vanguard like something out of a shoujo manga "Oi…what an id-is the floor shaking or is it just me-?!"
The figure's thoughts were cut off as Hibiki, offset by the sudden shifting of the Ikazuchi as it launched, landed ass first on top of it, causing it to explode into sand once again, the two of them cursing in sink, though for different reasons.
*******
Ikazuchi, main hangar ceremony...
"CHEERS!"
Duero McFile sighed, the longhaired elite looking on as his fellow men celebrated the successful launching of the Ikazuchi. As an Elite, Duero was no stranger to the propaganda and machinations of his fellows, and had been thoroughly bored as he was forced to stand through the Prime Minister's speech.
It wasn't like he, and everyone else on Tarak, hadn't heard the same thing, or something similar, before. Women were the enemy, every man and child under the unrelenting sun knew that, it didn't change the fact that they 2nd and third Generations knew next to nothing about their supposedly monstrous foes.
In truth, Duero had signed up for the Ikazuchi mainly because there was a chance he could get to see the enemy up close. While he hardly believed he'd be able to capture one single-handedly, he felt there was much more to their foes than the grotesque, dramatized images that the Department of Propaganda spewed out as religious doctrine.
"I assume you'll be assigned to Headquarters, right Duero?" one of his fellow elites asked, toasting the long haired man with a cone-shaped cup of champagne as Duero ignored the inquiry by staking a sip of his own.
"With a record like yours you could do whatever you want." Another elite pointed out, smirking with pride at the longhaired man, who thoughtit rather presumptuous of him to suggest such a thing. After all, even Elites had to follow orders.
"I hear he submitted his assignment request form completely blank." A third pointed out, earning looks of confusion from the others as Duero sighed.
It wasn't that he wasn't ambitious…he wouldn't be an 'Elite' if he lacked such a basic thing as ambition, it was simply that Duero didn't want to get stuck planet-side, which is exactly what would happen if they assigned him to HQ.
A career stuck behind a desk listening to the Top Brass spew propaganda and hatred, or a post on the frontlines, where the action was. It really wasn't that hard to choose from was it?
"Hey there!" a voice called out, the Elites turning to find a blonde, First Class recruit walking up to them, a box of food pellets in one hand and a salesman's smile plastered on his handsome face "Everyone having a good time?" He winked and held up the box "This is a sample of our companies new product! It's our own unique formula Special Nutrition Tablets."
He leant in conspiratorially, unnerving the elites somewhat "I probably shouldn't be telling you this but the quality of ingredients is far superior to other pellets." He stepped back with a smile, fishing one of the candy-cane-like pills out before offering the box to the Elites "But I'll let you have a free taste if you like!"
"Uh…no thanks…" one of Duero's comrades muttered, eyeing the blonde man with a look of discomforted embarrassment, the others making simmilar excuses while Duero looked on, intrigued with the display.
"Oh really?" the man sighed, shrugging offhandedly, as if it were their loss, "Too bad, you may never eat this good again…" his smile returned as he turned to face another group "Hey there! You look like gentlemen of distinction! What do you say? Care to try out this new pellet? I recommend it personally-!"
"Who is that guy?" one of Duero's group muttered, the trio of elites watching as the blonde man sauntered off to annoy the rest of the crew, trying to get them to taste his supposedly 'superior' food pellets, and failing admirably.
"His name is Bart." One of the other's supplied with an exasperated expression "His father owns Garsus foods." He grimaced at the blonde's antics "Let's just say his company's keeping us all fed and leave it at that…"
"Gentlemen!" a voice called out, the lights dimming even as the assembled troops looked up in confusion, Duero's frown deepening as the curtainspulled back to reveal a screen "Please direct you attention to the screen above."
'Oh brother…' Duero muttered, his features deadpan as yet another propaganda reel started playing, this time advertising the latest Tsukumo model Vanguards, the rest of the crew looking on in wonder as the machines advanced on their foes, taking direct missile fire without much duress, and carrying a vast assortment of weapons.
'Never mind the fact that the women rarely, if ever, resort to ballistics…' Duero muttered, shaking his head slightly in disgust 'Not to mention the fact that a machine that heavily customized would be a sitting duck for a smaller, faster opponent.'
"So…Dorky…" Bart muttered, his look of disgust at the unaesthetic design of the machines drowned out by the roars of approval from his fellows, though Duero, with his sharp hearing, caught it, and his opinion of the Son of Garsus foods went up a notch.
Of course, his disinterest soon turned to surprise as the curtain rose, revealing several of the machines standing ready, with a startled, third class citizen clinging to one for dear life.
*******
Vanguard podium...
'Crap in a hat!' Hibiki panicked, smiling uncertainly at the suddenly silent crowd, as the gathered Elite and First Class soldiers blinked up at him in surprise, to stunned by what they were seeing to react for a few seconds "Um…routine maintenance?"
"ARREST THAT BRAT!" the Prime Minister barked, the security team rushing in with riot sticks and scowls, Hibiki letting off a curse as he vaulted off one of their heads to clamber onto the bust of Grand Pa which stood in the hall.
"Leave me alone dammit!" he swore, kicking at the guards as they swung at him, using the advantage of height and their inability to strike at Grand Pa's image for fear of damaging it to his advantage "Get away from me!"
"Nice of them to provide us with entertainment…" one of Duero's group snickered, the rest of the soldiers cheering for the Third Class intruder, even as the Elite shook his head in exasperation.
"Go for it shorty!" Bart cheered, the blonde First Class soldier calling out to the teen with a taunting grin, Hibiki's hair spiking up as the teen leapt off the bust, planting his boot in a guard's face with a roar.
"WHO THE HELL CALLED ME SHORTY?!" he demanded, only to curse as he was tackled to the ground by the guards, scant inches from Bart, who backed off surprisingly quickly into the crowd, unnerved by the teen's temper "DAMMIT! LET GO OF ME YOU BASTARDS!"
"Take that brat to a cell and throw him in it!" the Prime Minister commanded, the bald, mustachioed Elite glaring down at scene from the monitor, a vein bulging on his brow "We'll have him executed for this later!"
"E-EXECUTED?!" Hibiki yelped, his features paling as his struggles resumed as he was hauled to his feet "DAMMIT! LEMME GO!"
The guards paid no heed to his struggles, frog-marching the teen towards the nearest door, paying no heed to sphere of light that suddenly swooped down and entered the teen's body, though their paused as he tensed, blinking at the piles of sand that fell out of his clothes.
"Hey!" one of them barked, shaking the suddenly limp teen roughly, scowling threateningly as he grabbed a lock of hair "On your feet you little-!"
His threat was abruptly cut off as he was flung, along with his fellow guards, in every direction away from the teen, the soldiers looking on in surprise at the sight of six full grown men being tossed aside by a kid, and an underdeveloped Third Class citizen at that.
Only Duero, who's one visible eye sharpened at the sight, seemed to notice the sudden change in the teen's hairstyle. It had become spikier, and a streak of red now ran through it as the teen straightened up, revealing eyes that glowed red above a confident smirk.
"Ore…" Hibiki called out, Duero's eyebrow quirking at the deeper, decidedly more confident tone that was issuing from the teen's mouth as he dusted off his hands, before moving into a stance, legs held wide and arms spread as if he were surfing "Sanjou!"
"You little punk!" one of the guards yelled, coming at the teen with a riot stick, intending to bash the third class citizen into submission, only to choke as he was punched in the gut, doubling over only to receive a knee to the face.
"Feh…you guys're pathetic…" Hibiki muttered, the red-eyed teen sneering down at the guard as he kicked him between the legs, bending down to pick up the riot stick "Seriously, is this the best you can do?"
"GET HIM!" the Prime Minister roared, a vein bulging dangerously on his forehead as the guards sirged forwards, Hibiki grinning ferally as he tapped his appropriated weapon against his shoulder, completely unintimidated.
"Think you can take me as a group eh?" the red-eyed teen sneered, scoffing disdainfully as he turned to face the group, stick over his shoulder "Sorry guys…but from start to finish, I'm at my CLIMAX! IKUZE!"
That said, he charged into the fray, the stunned Elites looking on in wonder as the bloody brawl kicked off.
*******
Ikazuchi's Bridge, one hour later...
"Captain on the bridge!" one of the officers on duty announced, the entire Bridge Crew saluting as the Prime Minister and his fellow Elites arrived, the balding leader scowling something fierce as his chair locked into place.
"That brat turned our ceremony into a shambles…" the man growled, supporting his cheek with his gloved palm as he glared out into space.
Not only had the Third Class brat DARED to mar the wondrous Ikazuchi with his unworthy presence, not ONLY had he dared to touch one of the new Vanguards reserved especially for the Prime Minister's chosen few, but he'd managed to fight off the entire security team in an hour long brawl, one that had injured SEVERAL of said chosen few in the process. In the end, they'd been forced to use stun guns to end the fight, and even then it had taken several shots to take the teen down.
What was worse, the entire event had been televised, which means everyone under the Tarak sun had witnessed a Third Class nobody mop the floor with several of the chosen Elite and First Class soldiers that the Prime Minister had praised not moments before.
"Sir, the escort ship Maboroshi is hailing us with questions regarding the exhibition match." One of the crew on the flight deck announced, trying to avoid meeting the bald man's eyes, which right now looked like they could give Mejele lasers a run for their money.
"The exhibition match is cancelled!" the Prime Minister snapped, the bald Elite glaring pointedly at the crew, who wisely averted their gaze as he waved a hand towards the viewscreen commandingly "Order all ships to move into position!"
"That Third Class brat…" he muttered, sinking back into his chair with a growl as his crew hurriedly to relay his instructions "he won't get away with ruining everything…"
*******
Holding cell on the Ikazuchi...
"Oooh…my head…" Hibiki whimpered, his eyes, now their normal black, flinching open, gritting his teeth at the pain running through his entire body "What hit me…?" he wondered, trying to sit up, only to blink as he realized he was wearing what appeared to be a straight jacket "Hey what the-?!"
"Awake are we?" a snide voice muttered, the teen looking up to find several guards glaring at him from the other side of energy bars. For some reason, they looked pretty beat up, one of them had a torn lip, the other a broken nose "You caused a lot of trouble you little pest."
"Who you calling little?!" Hibiki demanded, managing to get to his knees as he glared at the guards, only to blink as he took in his surroundings "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing, tossing me in a damn storage room?! You could at least put me in a real cell!"
"Shut your hole brat." The one with the broken nose muttered, his tone somewhat muffled because of his injury "For your information, your highness, it might be used for storage but it's a real brig, so simmer down and await your execution like a good convict." He smirked at the paling teen "And I hope they make it as long and drawn out as possible."
"Hi-Type no.6!" the one with the torn lip called out, smirking as an egg-shaped automaton appeared from the side, coming to a halt as it hovered before the cell "Watch the little bastard. He tries anything funny, fry him."
"Beep. Roger." The machine acknowledged, turning to present it's screen, which looked like a touch pad, towards the cell, even as the guards walked off, leaving Hibiki alone with his injuries and this weird sensation in the back of his head, like someone was snoring.
"Why the hell do things like this always happen to me?" the teen muttered, shaking his head with a sigh, wondering if there was someone else in the the cell next to his, before looking up at his guard with a nervous smile "Hey partner, why don't you be a pal and lemme outta here?" he shuffled forwards on his hands and knees, making sure to stay well back from the bars "We were both born in a factory right? That sorta makes us brothers, right?"
"Beep." The machine contradicted, it's tone negatory as it continued to hover impassively before the energy bars, well out of reach "We are composed of completely different materials, therefore the term 'brothers' is incorrect."
"C'mon, I've got this great generator back home!" the teen pleaded, trying to win the outdated relic over with the prospect of an upgrade, something many a bot he'd worked on would kill for, and had "Let me outta here and I'll install it for free1"
"DENIED." The robot countered, an angry red X appearing on it's screen as Hibiki flinched "The subject is making an improper request. Instigation of attempted bribery and escape are crimes. Therefore…"
"Therefore?" Hibiki repeated, blinking in confusion as he looked at the egg-shaped sentinel in concern, wondering just what it was planning to do, even as two small prongs extended from it's body.
"Punishment." The sentinel finished, unleashing a blast of electricity that lit poor Hibiki up like a Christmas tree, sending him crashing face first into the floor.
However, rather than the subduing effect that the tool had been installed for, and the sentinel had been aiming for, the teen quickly leapt back onto his feet, his arms ripping trough the straightjacket as his eyes turned a sharp red, a streak of red running through his now spikier locks.
"THAT HURT TAMAGO-YARO!" Hibiki roared, the now red-eyed teen's deeper voice actually forcing the sentinel to stumble slightly in midair from the force of the yell "Who the hell do you think I am?!"
"Identity scan of subject commencing." The machine complied, it's screen shifting as it scanned the raging teen's biological data "Subject is human, organic body structure. Searching database…scan complete. You are-!"
Whatever the little bot had been about to say was cut short by a burst of static, followed by a muted explosion, the Ikazuchi shifting suddenly to the side, causing the poor robot to slam against the bars with a burst of electricity and drawn out cry of 'BEEP!'
"What the heck?!" Hibiki yelped, the red-eyed teen landing on his ass once more as he gaped at his surroundings, "what the hell's going on now?!"
*******
Bridge of the Ikazuchi...
"I GAVE THE ORDER TO STOP THE EXHIBITION!" the Prime Minister snapped, standing from his chair and glaring at the crew. First the trouble with the brat and now this? Was it so hard for the supposed Elite, the cream of Tarak's birthing factories, to follow such simple instructions?
"This isn't part of the exhibition!" one of the crewmen called out, even as they tried to get the ship under control, as several flashes of light flitted past the screens "It's the women! They're launching a surprise attack! Formation has been broken!"
"ALL SHIPS!" the Prime Minister snapped, waving his hand to the side as he glared at their hated enemies as the harpies closed in "GUARD THE IKAZUCHI!"
*******
Tarak Space, debris cluster...
As the men scrambled to move into a defensive formation around their newly refitted Flagship, a Mejele craft, smaller and decidedly more advanced, appeared from behind the rubble like a shark advancing on a wounded whale.
"Well captain…" a silver haired woman with dark skin noted, smiling smugly as she watched their fighters swarm over the ship like wasps "It looks like we caught ourselves a big one."
"Mhm…" an aged voice agreed, a woman wearing a cowl which gave the impression of cat ears smirking at the scene before her "Looks like it's our lucky day."
*******
Holding Cell on the Ikazuchi...
"Looks like this is my lucky day…" Hibiki muttered, the red-eyed teen smirking to himself as he pressed two wires he'd pulled from the fired robot into the locking mechanism of the cell, cutting off the power to the bars "Heh, no cell's strong enough to hold me!" he stuck his head out into the corridor "Yosh…time to get outta here…"
"B-beep…" the robot whined, Hibiki turning, narrowing his crimson eyes at the egg-shaped automaton in annoyance as it lay there, damaged and defenseless, it's systems completely shorted out by the collision with the bars.
"Feh…serves you right…" he muttered, though his features showed conflicting emotions as he looked from the deserted corridor to his onetime guard, clearly torn between making a break for it and saving the machine.
"Kuso…" he muttered, gripping his head for a few seconds, before grabbing the robot under his arm like a rugby ball and running off "You better not zap me again, ot I'll turn you into an omelet!"
"Hull breach in sector three!" a voice announced over the intercom, even as Hibiki tore down the trembling hallways "Electromagnetic doors activated! Intruder alert! All personnel proceed to the control center of the Ikazuchi!"
"What the hell's going on?!" Hibiki demanded, not honestly caring so long as he could get his, or rather, his hosts body out of here before the shit that had crashed into the fan could spray his way "Screw this! I can't let this kid die till he tells me his wish!"
He blinked, looking up at the sound of something crashing, only to curse as a section of the wall exploded, blinding him and sending him into blessed unconsciousness once more.
*******
Bridge of the Ikazuchi...
"Minister!" one of the Elite's aides cried out, looking on in alarm as the bald Elite readied the emergency lever that would separated the new additions to the Ikazuchi from the original ship "You mustn't do this!"
"We cannot afford to let the entire ship be captured by our enemies!" the Prime Minister countered, tears in his eyes as he prepared himself "I must at least save the new section of the Ikazuchi…and in order to keep everything from falling into female hands…I'll separate the old from the new!"
So saying, he pushed the emergency lever forward, causing the new additions to the old colony ship to separate, the smaller, streamlined craft drifting away from it's bulkier additions, even as the men still stranded in the newer sections cried out in alarm.
Unfortunately for the Prime Minister, he'd just made the women's task all the easier, as the pirates could care LESS about the clunky, outdated newer sections of the Men's Flagship.
No, it was the old colonization vessel that had been refitted that was their true prize.
*******
Ikazuchi, Paeksis Pragma corridor.
"Ow…" Hibiki groaned, his hair and eyes once again back to normal as he slowly regained consciousness "What happened?" he wondered, lifting a hand up to rub his face, blinking as he realized it was no longer restrained, only to pause as it bumped against something round, soft and decidedly squishy.
"What the heck?" he wondered, giving the strange mound an experimental squeeze, marveling at the feeling as it molded to his touch, only to look up at a soft moan from whatever it was attached to, his eyes bugging out at the sight of the alien mask of one of their hated foes as she lay on top of him. "HOLY SHIT!" he yelled, shoving the rousing creature off him, the female letting out a startled cry as he scrambled to his feet "MONSTER! HELP!"
"WAIT!" a voice called out, Hibiki turning round in surprise at the lack of hostility in the creatures tone, his eyes widening further as it reached up, removing the mask from her face, the entire upper section of her suit falling away to reveal a redhead young girl with bright blue eyes "WOW! It's a real alien!"
"A-Alien?" Hibiki stammered, the Tarak teen staring at the, admittedly less horifying than he'd expected, woman in confusion, wondering what on earth she was talking about. SHE was the alien here after all, this was a MAN'S ship!
"Oooooh…" a voice groaned, the duo jumping, their eyes widening as they turned to gape at a pile of sand, from which formed the upper torso of a horned figure, which was holding it's head, it's legs hanging in mid-air above it's head "What happened? What hit me?"
"AGH!" Hibiki shrieked, the poor, Third Class Citizen backing away from animated sand figure in alarm, his eyes threatening to pop out of his skull as it turned to look at him "Another monster! A sand demon!"
"DEMON?!" the sand creature demanded, turning to glare at the teen angrily, shaking it's fists at Hibiki irately "I'm not an monster you freaking chibi! Is that the thanks In get for saving your life?!"
"Saved my life?" Hibiki repeated, the teen looking at the animated sand pile in confusion, and a little bit of apprehension, as demons were considered a tricky, coniving lot "What are you talking about?"
"Who d'ya think busted you outta that cell while you were taking a dirt nap?" the creature demanded tersely, crossing it's arms with a huff "Mataku…what a troublesome contractor I've gotten mixed up with…"
"WOW!" the redhead cheered, the two of them jumping, having completely forgotten she was there, turning round to find her looking between them, her wide eyes glittering with excitement "Another alien!
"Alien?!" the sand creature repeated, looking highly insulted as he rounded on the girl, shaking a fist "I'm no alien! I'm an Inmajin! In-ma-jin!"
The redhead apparently wasn't listening, as she seemingly ignored the figures outburst in favor of kneeling before them whilst making a weird series of hand gestures towards the pair, who blinked, and mimicked her gestures after a moment's hesitation.
"I did it! It worked!" the redhead cheered, clasping her hands together in glee as tears of joy formed in her eyes "I made first contact…"
'This woman's insane…' Hibiki and the Inmajin muttered, sweat dropping as she laughed to herself, before the Tarak teen decided to make a break for it, grabbing the robot along the way "LATER!"
"OI!" the Inmajin yelled, turning around and racing after the teen, leaving a trail of sand and curses in it's wake as it shook it's fists in the air "Get back here runt! Don't leave me with this crazy dame!"
"Hey wait a second!" the redhead pleaded, struggling to free herself from the remains of her spacesuit as they raced off "I wanna take a picture!"
All the while, neither of them noticed the strange, glowing sphere that hung in the background, despite the fact it took up most of the room.
*******
Old section of the Ikazuchi, Sub-bridge...
"I don't believe it…" a breathy voice marveled as a trio of women moved into the old, darkened sub-bridge of the Ikazuchi, looking around in amazement at the condition it was in after all these years "Nothing's been touched here…"
"Then it appears what we found isn't the main bridge…" the silver haired woman from before muttered, walking past her crewmates as they struggled out of their suits. The women had already seized control over most of the ship, and were rounding up the remaining stragglers that had been left behind, having suffered minor casualties.
"Captain, this is Buzam." She declared, speaking into a communicator as she fired up one of the dusty, unused terminals "The men have escaped by splitting the ship into two, and we've gained access to some sort of sub-bridge."
"Oh my…" the breathy voiced woman exclaimed, looking on in concern as the Tarak-text scrolled up the screen, completely at a loss as to what it was saying "whatever shall we do? I can't read a word of this…"
"Just leave it to me!" a bespectacled young woman insisted, pulling out a weird device from inside her suit "I knew something like this would happen, so I brought along this Inter-pricko!" She smiled at Buzam "I'll set one up for you commander…"
"Meia…" Buzam called out over the radio, the silver haired second-in-command of the pirates' fingers flying across the keyboards as she read the men's language with apparently little difficulty "Give me a status report."
"The men have all been secured." The blue haired captain of the dread squadrons announced respectfully over the radio, looking on as she oversaw the evacuation of the survivors, who were being evacuated on the escape pods.
"No way…" the bespectacled young woman groaned, looking on in disappointment as Buzam gave the order to dump the hostages "You mean you can read this stuff?" she sighed as her comrade tried to console her "No fair…and I worked so hard on this…"
*******
Hallway of the Ikazuchi...
"Oh man what a day!" Hibiki gasped, the Tarak teen running for dear life as his pursuers called out for him to stop "the liver-eating woman was bad enough! No I got a sand devil following me around!"
"Mr. Alien!" the redheaded girl called out, smiling excitedly as she chased the teen with apparently little trouble, only her pausing to snap pictures keeping her from catching up "C'mon! Let's just sit down and have a little chat!"
"Get back here gaki!" the Inmajin demanded, his feet racing frantically above his head as he tried to catch the teen, leaving a trail of sand in his wake "Just slow down and tell me your wish already!"
"Like hell!" Hibiki yelled back over his shoulder, cursing as his bag snagged on a nearby nail, ripping off his shoulders and crashing into the Inmajin, who sputtered incomprehensibly as he dissolved into sand "Don't you people ever give up?!"
"Mr. Alien! Why're you running away?!" the redhead demanded plaintively, even as she tried to snap pictures of the teen, the hallway, and anything else that caught her attention "We're really a peaceful race!"
"TEME!" the Inmajin roared, surging past the redhead with its hands outstretched, aiming for Hibiki's neck, or at the very least his waist, since that was as high as he could reach "GET BACK HERE ALREADY!"
"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!"
*******
Ikazuchi Sub-Bridge...
"Oh my…" the breathy voiced female gasped, looking on in concern as the long range scanners of the refurbished ship picked up the men's last ditch attempt to save face "There's a missile locked onto us!"
"What?!" Buzam demanded, the silver haired woman cursing as the proximity alarm sounded in confirmation to her colleagues report, rounding on the bespectacled woman "Parfet, is it possible to move the ship?"
"I'm afraid we can't…" Parfet countered, the bespectacled chief technician shrugging helplessly as she turned to look at the silver haired second-in-command, completely defeated by the men's cutting corners "the engine's dead."
"Damn!" Buzam cursed, though if she hadn't already known that it was simply because of negligence she'd have praised the men's forthought, before pulling the communicator up to her ear "Captain! What do we do?"
"I see it." the captain acknowledged over the radio, her tone grim as she watched the missiles draw ever closer to their target, the dreads already heading back "Losing the ship would be a shame…but let's get outta here!"
"Roger!" Buzam acknowledged, even as the other two made preparations to return to the ship, slipping back into their suits "Did you copy that, Meia?"
*******
Dita's Dread, Paeksis Pragma corridor...
"I've lost Dita." The dread captain reported in another section of the ship, her tone as grim as her expression "I'll rendezvous with the rest of you as soon as I've found her so go on ahead."
"GET BACK HERE!" a voice roared, Meia and Jura, her second in command, blinking as they gaped over the guardrail, just in time to see a young man from Tarak being chased by their missing comrade…and what appeared to be a pile of sand.
"Dita?" Meia stammered, the blue haired commander of the Dread Squadrons blinking in confusion at the bizarre sight, even as Jura shook her head in disbelief, the beginnings of a headache coming on.
"Did you see that Meia?" the busty blonde pilot wondered, a confused expression on her face as she watched the scene below, wondering if the smell of Paiway's disinfectant was getting to her at last "is it just me or is that sand alive?"
"Dita!" Meia called out, leaping down and tackling her young subordinate, halting her from getting any closer to the man and the thing chasing him. Whatever it was, the man obviously didn't think it was friendly, which meant it wasn't under their control.
"M-Meia!" the redhead gasped, looking up at the blue haired young woman with a hint of concern, and rightfully so, for Meia was always getting on her case for goofing off, especially since she usually forgot what she was supposed to be doing when she did.
"Meia! Where are you?!" Buzam's voice demanded over the radio, the silver-haired second-in-command having already departed with the rest of the crew on the main ship, her features lined with concern as the missiles drew ever closer.
"All three accounted for!" Meia assured her, even as she, Jura and Dita raced towards their respective machines "We're leaving now on the dreads."
*******
Vanguard Hangar...
While the women were boarding their machines, Hibiki was still trying to lose his remaining pursuer, which was proving rather difficult.
"Dammit kid!" the Inmajin yelled as they rounded a corner, finally starting to catch up, since unlike Hibiki, it didn't run out of breath "We don't have time for this! Those dames are bugging outta here for a reason! We gotta make trails too!"
"What do you think I'm looking for?!" Hibiki demanded, the Tarak engineer racing round a sharp corner as he made his way back to the Vanguard storage hall "If you wanna escape, go ahead by yourself!"
"If anything happens to you it won't matter if I escape or not!" the Inmajin countered with a snap "If you die, I go too! So I gotta get you outta here!"
"Then quit trailing sand all over the place and hurry up!" Hibiki yelled, bursting into the hangar even as Meia, Jura and Dita were clambering into their respective Dreads "If we can just find that vanguard…"
"That ugly lookin' robot?" the Inmajin demanded, looking up at his contractor in confusion, and a little annoyance "How in the hell's that clunker gonna save us? It didn't do those other guys any good!"
"We can use it to get off the ship!" Hibiki countered, tucking the robot tighter under his arm as he glanced around the room "And besides! I can't just leave it! I swore I'd being it back with me! And a man always keeps his word!"
"A man's word huh?" the Inmajin muttered, looking up at the teen with a calculative expression, as if revising his oinion of Hibiki for thebetter "Heh, I like that gaki!" he dusted off hia hands theatrically "Yosh! Let's find this thing!"
"Yeah! Hey I see it!" Hibiki cheered, the Third-Class teen grinning as he espied the vanguard, toppled over and the hatch already open, clearly knocked down while the pilot had been attempting to get in "Hey wait…there's only room for one!"
"Not a problem!" the Inmajin declared, turning into a ball of light and entering Hibiki's body, the teen jerking as his eyes flashed red and his hair acquired a red streak as he smirked confidently, going through a one armed version of his entrance pose, the egg-robot under his arm "Ore…Sanjou!"
"Hey! What the hell?!" Hibiki yelled, the Tarak teen's voice echoing inside his own head as he watched his body moved on it's own, like he was playing one of those first-person holo-games he and the others enjoyed "What the hell'd you do?!"
"Oh calm down." The Inmajin muttered, snorting dismissively at the teen's discomfort as he leapt down the debris towards the vanguard at a breakneck pace "This way all three of us can get into the thing, no problem!"
"Of course there's a problem!" Hibiki raged, his anger and terror at being possessed making the inside of his head flash a dangerous red as he tried to regain control of his limbs "Gimme back my body!"
"IKUZE-IKUZE-IKUZE!" the Inmajin cried, apparently heedless of Hibiki's discomfort and attempts to regain control as he leapt across the debris, landing inside the Vanguards cockpit and shutting the hatch "Yosh!" he declared, grabbing the control sticks "Let's get this show on the road!"
He paused suddenly, his crimson eyes looking at the dark interior and controls before him in confusion "Uh brat…" he muttered, after a few tense seconds of awkward silence "you know how to fly this thing?"
"You mean you don't know?!" Hibiki demanded, the young man sounding highly panicked at this latest obstacle as the seconds to the missile's impact continued to count down "I don't know how to fly this thing!"
"EEEH?!" the Inmajin gaped, his crimson eyes widening hilariously with shock as he gripped the control sticks "You mean you snuck onto this ship to steal this thing and you don't even know how to turn it ON?!"
"Oh like you're one to talk!" Hibiki countered, though in truth the Tarak Teen's voice was lined with unrestrained panic as they heard a countdown start up over the speakers "Crap! Do something!"
"I am doing something!" the Inmajin countered, pulling on levers and mashing buttons in an attempt to get the Vanguard moving, while over in her dread, Dita was panicking as she realized she was stuck "Move dammit! MOVE!"
Just as he spoke, the giant orb that dominated the center of the ship shone bright, a white light bathing everything in it's path, just as the Muramasa Missiles detonated.
*******
Detached newer section of the Ikazuchi, bridge...
"We're losing mass sir!" the bridge hand called out, watching with mixed emotions as the Muramasa missiles detonated, taking with them not only the female pirates, but a piece of Tarak's glorious history.
"I hope you women enjoyed the taste of defeat." The Prime Minister muttered bitterly, his features cold as he glared at the receding ball of fire and gas, which was slowly falling in on itself, like a black hole, before giving the order to contact the rest of the fleet to come and pick them up.
Not even out of Tarak orbit and already their precious Flagship was damaged and adrift. He could only pray that the suffering those pirates had gone through would be worth the reprimanding he was likely to receive from Grand Pa for his blunder in losing the old section of the Ikazuchi.
*Double Action-Sword Form Playing in the background*
Momotaros: Oi...this looks like a great pinch kiddo!
Dita: Mr. Alien! Save me!
Hibiki: What is this?! What's going on?
Buzam: Are you just going to run away?
Momotaros: Those Cube bastards! Lemme at 'em!
Dita: Ah! Mr Alien! Your friend has legs now!
Next time on Kamen Rider Vandred-O: a Man's decision!
Momotaros: I'll show you a real Climax soon enough!
R&R for more!