Trapped in the Fandom Net
Moon: ...(growls)
Neko: (sighs) Moon's been having trouble with her account. It wouldn't let her update her stories, which is why this is late.
Moon: Damn Soulless. Can't they bother someone else for a change?
Neko: At least we dealt with them now, Moon. Shall we?
Moon: Yes, let's! The second part of the Gatekeeper council is here, people! I do not own TMM or MMP!
Chapter 7: The Gatekeeper Council, part 2!
/With Ichigo
The lights were bright beams that swirled around, growing brighter and brighter. All the Gatekeepers stood up in reverence, and after getting glares from some nearby, Ichigo and her friends rapidly did the same.
The light flashed, and a being landed softly in the center of the clearing. Ichigo's breath hitched.
Silvera was a dragon. Yet at the same time, she seemed to encompassed everything, you look at her, you think of everything else. Her huge wings were transparent, every color imaginable bleeding across their surface like waves of color. Her scales were pale gold, and long claws scored the floor. Moon's key began glowing brightly while she and every Gatekeeper knelt in her presence. Gulping, the gang quickly followed suit.
Silvera smiled kindly. "Rise." Everyone stood up simultaneously. Ichigo looked at the being's eyes and found herself transfixed. It wasn't just the milticolors, but she could see planets, stars, and all life reflected in Silvera's intense gaze. She could barely look, but at the same time she couldn't bring herself to look away.
"Greetings, my Gatekeepers." There was a certain motherly tone in Silvera's voice as she said this. "What troubles you so?"
ZX spoke up. "We regret to bring you bad news, Silvera. Shinryu has escaped from his confinement cell."
Silvera sighed softly. "I see...I had hoped his wrath would fade in the darkness, but I suppose that wasn't the proper approach for him."
"He was last seen in Tokyo Mew Mew's Horror Genre." Gemini added, glancing in Moon and Ichigo's direction. "He said he was going to lead the Syndicate."
Silvera wrapped her tail around her feet, clearly upset by this development although it didn't show on her face. "What are you up to Shiru?" She murmured softly. "Are you trying to take your heart and soul back by force?"
"Shiru?" Kish whispered.
"That's his original name." Mew whispered back. "Before he became a soulless."
"SSSHHH!" A nearby gatekeeper hissed.
"Sorry Angelcake." Mew said, falling silent again.
This time Musica spoke up. "The soulless who inhabit the Book and TV are funneling out. Their headed towards the Land of Writer's Block. It's as if they're holding some kind of dark gathering."
Gasps echoed through the room. "That's it! Shinryu's forming an army!"
"That arrogant little...! He's going to try to invade the Sanctuary and steal his soul back by force, and topple the monument that holds the cosmos together?"
"Please, remain calm." Silvera pleaded. The murmuring ceased momentarily. "There is a way to stop him?"
"Like what?" A lazy, loud voice sounded from the edges of the crowd. Pudding, Brigit and Ichigo turned around and saw a bunch of Gatekeepers hanging around the pillars near the exit. Unlike most Gatekeepers, they noted, their keys were brass, almost black. "Face it, we're doomed. We should just give him his heart back."
"You, shut up!" Moon yelled. "You never even tried to protect the Net yourself, so don't you dare go around sowing fear among the rest of us!"
"It's funny, because you lot were the first one to suggest taking his soul and locking him away to suppress him in the first place." ZX's voice was taught with anger.
"Moon? Who are they na no da?" Pudding asked, squeezing the girl's hand and pointing towards the group at the back pillars.
"Flamers." Moon spat. Her usually sweet brown eyes were smoldering and her voice was coated in acid. "They're a group of wanna-be Gatekeepers who are so rude and arrogant I wish Silvera would just throw them out of the net. They pull their weight around and are constantly making trouble, often in alternate realities. I wonder if our lady's too nice to them."
The gears in Ichigo's head were turning. What could they do to stop a swam of Soulless? She found herself thinking of the time a flood of Chimera animals had attacked Tokyo, and a plan started forming in her mind.
"What do you plan to do against an army of Soulless?" One flamer said, rolling his eyes. "Give up. Shinryu's too powerful. You'll get wasted."
Gemini shot up. "If you were involved, we sure would!"
"What was that?"
Heated yells filled the room as Gatekeepers turned to each other and argued about what to do. Even Moon and her friends looked upset, although they were trying to keep some form of order in the rapidly deteriorating room.
"I...I think I have an idea." Ichigo spoke up daringly. When everyone ignored her, she yelled in a surprisingly commanding overlord voice, "I HAVE AN IDEA, WHICH I WOULD TELL YOU ABOUT IF YOU WOULD ALL BE QUIET!"
The room fell dead silent. Ichigo gulped, feeling thousands of eyes boring on her. Silvera smiled softly in her direction. "Go on."
Ichigo shook a bit, but she took in her friend's encouraging expressions and started to speak again. "I think...I think I've got this guy figured out." She stammered a bit, and gave Moon a frantic look. Moon gave her an expression that basically said; "it's okay, keep talking.'
"You beat a guy like Shinryu by drawing him out with three things." She glanced in the direction of the other mews. "Distraction, Diversion, and Submission." Zakuro smiled instantly, as if guessing what she had in mind. "We need to keep his attention away from where ever you're keeping his soul, and away from the gates to other worlds, so he can't get 'unconventional' reinforcements. Then, we need a diversion, to separate the army of soulless he's gathered into smaller groups, which will be easier for Gatekeepers to combat." She looked up at Silvera, who was listening with what she could have sworn was a look of pride on her face. "Then, we need to defeat them and lock them up somewhere. Shinryu will have no back up, and will have to fight all of us on his own."
Ichigo took a step backwards, as if trying to shake off the stares she was getting. Different Gatekeepers looked at each other, as if mentally analyzing her strategy.
"It's...possible..."
"It could work..."
One of the Flamer group rolled her eyes. "Are you seriously going to take advice from a low-born like her?"
"Oh, go jump off a cliff!" Lettuce yelled. Now it was her turn to be stared at. And judging by Ryou's expression, that kind of outburst was unheard of. "If you're just here to be a liability, take it somewhere else! If all you're going to do is whine and act cynical, why are you even here? For your information, Ichigo-san is NOT low-born, you stuck-up jerk."
The Flamers stared at her, a mixture of awe and fury on their faces. "You little-"
"Enough!" Silvera snapped, her voice suddenly colder than North Winds. The Flamers shut up immediately. "Leave this temple right now."
"Silvera-"
"Go."
"But we-"
"NOW!" Some of the other Gatekeepers stepped back, as if trying to get out of what could easily become firing range if this got worse. Pai gulped. This creature had created the cosmos and this place to hold it together. If her anger was unleashed, he wanted to be watching from a safe distance.
Like a couple hundred miles away.
The Flamers shrank under Silvera's angry stare.
"You heard her. Get out of here." Moon stated.
They gave her and the group a dark stare before slinking out of the building.
Silvera sighed and sat down again. "They never learn. I'm sorry you all had to put up with that." Her gaze became warm again, and Pai and the others instinctively relaxed.
Another Gatekeeper, a girl with brown hair, walked over to Ichigo. "How do you suppose we carry out your little sceme?" She asked, looking at her intently.
"W-Well...I-we should check a map." Ichigo stammered.
Neko and Moon both smiled. "I think you can supply us with one of those, right Amber?"
"Sure." Amber smiled.
"I'll get into the weapon system!" One of the other Gatekeepers, Angelcake, added brightly. "There's enough in there to supply everyone and the TMM cast with armour and proper weapons." She gave Ichigo and the others an apologetic look. "I'm gonna be brutally honest here, those skimpy outfits of yours won't do you much good in a battle against a soulless."
"I'll get the carriers ready." ZX chimed in.
Kunex nodded in agreement. "There's the small airships and the big ones, and I think we should go with the latter. They have better firepower."
"That's true." Neko grinned (a/n people are doing that a lot this chapter, aren't they?) "Good thinking, Kunex."
The boy beamed.
"Do we have any cloaking gadgets or space cannons or stuff like that?" Ryou asked.
"You'll have to ask a Gatekeeper who specializes in the Sci-Fi genre." Mew answered, her eyes narrowed in thought. "but we could use a few planetary cannons in this kind of battle."
"We'll need to work out battle groups based on Ichigo's plan." Gemini said.
"Time to lock and load!" Gatekeepers were rushing off in every direction.
"Moon." Moon and the others paused and turned around. Silvera raised a claw, and a huge black gun with strange hieroglyphs carved in white along the barrel. "Take this. Use it wisely."
Moon's eyes widened as she carefully picked up the gun. "T-This is...t-thank you Silvera!"
"Be careful, little ones." Silvera said softly.
/in the battle hangers
"What is that thing Moon?" Ryou asked, eyeing the gun Moon was holding.
"It's the most powerful weapon known to this pane of existence." She replied. Other Gatekeeper's looked surprised or shocked to see her holding it, and they often nodded at her and offered words of wisdom and caution.
"Which is...?" Mint interjected.
"It's a Plot Device." Moon replied. "It only has three shots, because it can bend the rules of a world to end something's very existence."
"Anything?" Zakuro questioned.
"Anything." Neko confirmed.
"Welcome to the armory." Gemini said. Ichigo looked down the passage and, for the umpteenth time since she first arrived in the Net, her jaw almost hit the floor.
The armory was huge, and she couldn't even see the other side from where they were standing. Every kind of weapon known to every pane of existence was there-guns, flamethrowers, war-hammers, sabers, daggers, rocket launchers, every kind of weapon knuckle from brass to metal claws, knives, even gravity-hammers and alien-looking weapons were stocked on the enormous walls in insane quantities, each weapon section taking up several meters of space. There were parts of the floor that would come loose and go up like elevators, to take Gatekeepers to upper stocks. The guardians of the net were scattered about. ZX laughed at their stunned expressions.
"Well? Is this mind-blowing enough for you?"
"M-More than." Kish gasped. "How is this kind of weapon stock even possible?"
ZX tapped his head. "Remember, we can walk between worlds as we please. I've been a gun-runner once, and I've come across and handled all shapes and forms of weapondry, from the simple stuff to the kinds that pros use. So, let's have a little look and get you girls and guys suited up."
Musica held her hand over one of the platforms. After everyone had gotten on, the panel flashed twice and moved along the floor. Moon shouldered the Plot Device and gave the passing weapondry a critical look. "Ichigo? What kind of weapon do you think you'll work best with?"
Ichigo thought for a minute, then remembered her Strawberry Bell. "Long range, I think."
"How about you, Mint?"
"Long-range too. I've only ever used my Mint arrows."
"Pudding?"
"Long range, na no da."
"Lettuce?"
"I...will go will long-range too."
"How about you, Zakuro?"
"Short-range." The idol replied. Musica pulled the panel to a stop, just within sword/saber territory. Ichigo gawked at the kind of weapons that were there. Every kind of melee weapon she had ever dreamed of lined the walls, everything from simple daggers, to gleaming energy blades, all of different lengths and styles. Moon nodded to Gemini and ZX, who stepped off and gestured for Zakuro to follow.
"Ryou, Keiichiro, you guys may have to get involved with the fighting as well. But since you don't have experience, like the girls, we'll put you on long-range weapons as well." Kunex commented, glancing towards the two scientists.
Ryou and Keiichiro looked at each other, slightly alarmed. They had sort-of trained the mews, but they had never actually fought themselves. And without proper training, how were they meant to be any use in a battle with Soulless?
"Kish, Pai." Gemini called. The two older aliens looked over at him. "You two will also be getting short-range weapons, since you're more used to using that kind."
Obediently, Kish and Pai got off and joined Zakuro. Gemini held his hand over another platform, and it began to rise as well, with them on it.
"What do you think, Zakuro?" The raven-haired girl eyed the different blades thoughtfully.
"I think I should stick to an energy blade." The panel paused and moved to the right. Zakuro swept her gaze over the possibilities. "Wait. That one." She pointed to a fairly large purple sword.
"An Alastar replica." ZX confirmed, picking up the well-crafted hilt. "Good choice. It's weightless, and has many of the capabilities of the real Alastar." Zakuro accepted her new weapon, a slight smile tracing her normally stotic face.
Kish decided to go with steel duel-blades, which were longer than his usual ones, and probably more powerful. Pai chose a blade that could create shock waves if swung hard enough. ZX identified what kind of sword they were just before handing them to the two boys. They rejoined the others, and the group moved on to the long-range weapon section.
"I think I'll go with some kind of bazooka." Ichigo said, weighing her options as they passed by.
"I feel more like two duel-guns." Lettuce said. "They're the most like my usual mew weapons."
"I'd like a hand-held machine gun." Mint added. "It'll be like my Mint arrows, except it can fire more, faster."
"Pudding would like a gravity hammer na no da!" Pudding cried happily.
"Hey, hey! I wanted to be the one with the gravity hammer!" Tart protested.
"Oh relax, Tart." Musica chuckled. "You can both have gravity hammers. Now let me see if I can find a lighter version of the normal one..."
Several minutes later, Ichigo was examining her surprisingly pink weapon as they moved on to armor and body protection. Pudding was absolutely ecstatic, and Neko and Kunex were taking great pains to make sure that she and Tart didn't accidentally smash something with their gravity hammers.
"Come on in." ZX said, smiling. Apparently, he knew this place very well. "I know something that will fit you guys." They were brought to the very end of the hall, where Ichigo was introduced to a suit of helmet, chest-guard, gauntlets, and leg guards. And lo and behold, the helmet had guards for cat ears! ZX couldn't help but chuckle at her expression.
"I thought you might like it." He smiled.
Lettuce, Pudding, Mint and Zakuro got similar suits, except Mint received custom-crafted guards for her bird wings, and Zakuro had ear protection much like Ichigo's due to her wolf ears.
Ichigo tested her movement, and found out that this armor was surprisingly flexible. Kish, who was wearing a suit of his own, walked over to her and stared for a few seconds. Ichigo blinked and blushed slightly. For some reason, Kish's suit made her think that he was some kind of knight in shinning armor...what am I thinking? Gah! Baka Ichigo! Baka! You do not think Kish is your knight-wait, my knightt? Where the heck did that come from? AGH!
Ichigo blushed under her helmet.
"Great, this is great. You're all set." Moon herself was wearing a suit of armor the color of moonlight, and an extra sword hung at her side. Gemini had his own armor, as did Mew and Musica. "Let's get to the hanger."
"If that's what their armory looks like, who's going to bet the hanger is also going to look unbelievable?" Ryou asked nonplussed under his breath.
"We're about to find out." Keiichiro said. ZX pushed the doors open. For the second time, the group's jaws dropped open all at the same time.
The hanger was enormous, just like the armory. Ships of all shapes, sizes and forms were flying in and out. Moon smiled and pointed towards a rather large fighter jet.
"That's our ride people. Let's get on board."
End Chapter
Oh yeah! I'm planning to try to make my chapter's longer from here on out, adding more description and stuff to each scene. Now you've met the governess of the cosmos! This won't be the only time you see Silvera either.
About the Plot Device gun; I felt pretty proud of myself to come up with that. It is a key weapon though, you may want to keep your eye on it. Also, I forgot to mention-GeminiSparkSP was in gemini split mode last chapter, but now he's gone back to his usual form: a guy wearing a mask that's half white, and half black. Sorry about the mishap!
Oh...the Flamers. Before anyone gets offended, they are NOT based directly on anyone one author/authoress in any way, shape, or form. The Flamer group is an abstract concept that came to mind when I was strolling through the web, and they will have their own little part in this story. But I repeat, they are not based directly on anyone. They're just here as plot devices, and another means of making the world of the net more 3-dimensional.
Next chapter: The Plan, part 1! And please please please review! That'll make me happy!
