There's a song that I think goes really well with this chapter starting at a certain point. The song is called "Uprising" by Muse, and is kind of the theme song for the entire trilogy (No, I did not name Alien Uprising for this song; though the song had been out for a while before I started writing the story, I only heard the song for the first time a few months after posting the first chapter). If you care to listen to the song while you read, the point where I think the song needs to be started is marked by this: #
Anywho... ON WITH THE SHOW!
Chapter Nine:
Mylo continued to laugh.
"Tell me, Mew Ichigo, what exactly am I to be explaining?" He said patronizingly.
"Cut the garbage, Mylo!" Ichigo snapped, standing up straighter. "This was all a set-up! You lured us here for a reason!"
"Oh? Did I?" Mylo asked innocently.
"DON'T DENY IT!" Ichigo screamed. "You put a poison on your knife. You forced Kish to retreat to Earth when you wounded him. You got Pudding by mistake, you were aiming for Tart, and you weren't even truly aiming to kill him. That plant Chimera you made the night before the Autumnal Equinox made a grab for all of us, but it never even once looked at Pie, because you told it not to get him. And then you stabbed him so that you could test the reaction you got from Rin. You destroyed the medpod and most of the ship, but left the engine largely intact and easily fixable.
"You knew no one had ever seen the type of poison you used on the knife before. You knew we would come here to Cynnth to heal them. You knew we would have no other choice, because you're the one who made it that way. You were waiting for us here. You found a way to remove the Mew Aqua and started siphoning it off when you arrived, that's why the weather's been acting crazy. You didn't even have Topaz search the house for the rest of us, you told her to be content with just Kish, Pie and Tart, knowing they would give themselves up to protect the rest of us. Then, once you had them captured, you tortured Pie knowing full well that Rin could feel the pain he was in so that we would rescue them faster, not knowing if we would retreat to Earth or not. You turned the hospital into a prison, because the location was perfect for your plan. And then you led the battle out here. To this spot. And for what? What do you want with the Mew Aqua?"
That was when the other fighters saw where they were.
They were next to the Mew Aqua Tree. It was a large, beautiful tree, with huge, luscious leaves that were light green, dark green, blue, golden orange, red, dark purple, indigo and hot pink.
And they knew instantly that this tree and everything it represented was in danger.
"Is she right?"
They saw Topaz approach. She was bleeding from a wound on her temple and her hair was disheveled, but otherwise she looked perfect.
"This was all a set up?" She asked, confused. Zen, Chile, Cayenne, Jalapeno, Bell and Pepper all stared at Mylo too, looking for an answer.
Mylo smiled.
"Yes," He said. "And my ingenious plan has been a success. You are all here to see me seize the ultimate weapon, the one I shall capture Earth with! You see, I was never interested in Cynnth. It was Earth I was after all along. It is much bigger than Cynnth, and within it contains everything I need to maintain power."
"What are you talking about?" Ryou said, his brow furrowed.
Mylo chuckled.
"Oh, I'm not telling," He said, still grinning like a mad-man. "But what I will tell you is this: the Cyniclons were meant to rule the Earth. And that is what we will do. And I will see to the death of every single human, and personally kill any being—human or Cyniclon—who gets in my way."
"We will not allow you to commit genocide!" Pie growled.
"Good thing I'm not looking for permission then," Mylo said tauntingly. "Earth will be in my power, and the Mew Aqua is the first step to gaining this power!"
He suddenly teleported and appeared standing in front of the Mew Aqua Tree.
Mylo put his hands in the air.
"Mew Aqua, emerge from the ground and embrace your new master!" He cried.
Dark clouds filled the sky as it began to snow harder. Around them, trees were losing their color and dying, the air becoming thicker. The Mew Aqua Tree began to wither.
"No!" Kish yelled. He tried to run over and stop Mylo, but was thrown back by a shield. Picking himself up off the ground, he yelled at Mylo, "If you take the Mew Aqua away, the planet will revert to how it was before!"
"Like I care," Mylo snapped as the Mew Aqua came to his hands. "The Cyniclons shall soon have Earth. We will no longer have a need for this rock."
Suddenly, something pink hit Mylo's arm, causing him to drop some of the Mew Aqua. It sank back into the ground as more came up.
Ichigo caught her Strawberry Bell with a glare at Mylo, knowing she had his attention. The others barely had time to wonder how her Strawberry Bell had penetrated the shield when they noticed that something wasn't right with the Mew Mews.
"How self-centered can you possibly be?" Zakuro asked as the Mews stepped forward. As she spoke, her eyes began to glow neon purple. But her voice… it wasn't Zakuro's voice. It sounded like her, but at the same time it wasn't. Her lips and words out of synch. Like they weren't really coming from her mouth. "To take away from your own people what they have desired for many generations? A planet where they do not need to fear their own home?"
"Is it really worth it?" Pudding asked, her eyes glowing an eerie yet warm orange-yellow. Like with Zakuro, it didn't sound like Pudding was the one talking. Her voice was cold, emotionless, almost robotic and yet silky at the same time. "To cause so much pain? And for what? A planet that was once as beautiful as this one, inhabited by millions of men, women and children that you plan to exterminate without batting an eyelash?"
"You are treacherous," Lettuce hissed, her lip curling in disgust, her eyes glowing lime green. "To betray your own people. You accuse humans of being monsters, yet here you are: willing to sacrifice everything your people have gained just so your own selfish desires can be fulfilled."
"And that," Mint said, her eyes glowing blue. "Is unforgivable. For these actions you have willingly taken, you will pay dearly."
"For the future of the humans of Earth and the Cyniclons of Cynnth, we are at your service," Ichigo said flatly, her eyes glowing hot pink.
While speaking, Mint, Pudding, Lettuce and Zakuro had moved to stand in a square, with Ichigo at the center, their glowing weapons clutched in their hands. They were all staring at Mylo with their glowing eyes. All was silent, then…
"Mew Mew Lorikeet." Mint said, raising her chin.
"Mew Mew Porpoise." Lettuce said, tilting her head to the side.
"Mew Mew Tamarin." Pudding said, a small grin gracing her face.
"Mew Mew Wolf." Zakuro said, her eyes narrowing.
"Mew Mew Iriomote…" Ichigo said, then together they cried:
"ULTIMATE METAMORPHO-SIS!"
#
Each girl was suddenly submerged in bright light, each a different color.
Mint emerged first from the blue light she had been surrounded by.
Instead of her normal Mew Mint outfit, she was wearing a pale blue ballet costume with a knee-length skirt that had a layer of light blue glittery tulle overtop with several dark blue pieces shaped like feathers on top of that. The tight bodice had her Mew Mark embroidered in silver over her chest. Her hair was down, and atop her head was a crown of beautiful dark blue feathers and sapphires. She wore dark blue pointe shoes, with blue and silver ribbons crisscrossing up her legs. The ballet costume was backless, and Mint's wings had grown larger, the tail feathers longer, almost like she was now a bird-like fairy. Her eyes were black and beady, like a bird's. She went into en pointe on her left leg, putting the toe of the right foot at her knee in an attitude position, one arm above her head while the other she held out in front of her.
Lettuce emerged next from the bright green light. She wore a strapless lime-green dress with a ruffled skirt. The skirt was hiked up to just above her knee on her right leg, and held in place by a large silver pin that was a copy of her Mew Mark. She wore pale green stiletto heels, the ribbons from her hair curling around her. Her long, wavy hair was down and had pale-green pearls entwined in it, parted to the left, with a white rose pinned behind her ear. Her eyes were soft, but black. She stomped her feet and clapped as usual, but as a finishing pose, she put both arms in the air, carefully folded at the elbows, the wrists twisted just so.
Pudding came out of the orange-yellow light wearing a mischievous grin and a knee-high strapless yellow dress with a tiered skirt. The bottom tier of the skirt was pale yellow, and every tier above it got darker until it reached the golden orange bodice. She wore heeled, knee-high orange boots and yellow fingerless elbow-length gloves. On the back of the hand of each glove was a copy of her Mew Mark embroidered in silver. Her hair was down and she wore a yellow-gemstone-encrusted silver headband. Her eyes were now a brown-sugar color. She did a front flip and landed with her hands on her hips, her tail curled behind her.
Zakuro left the purple light wearing a dark purple strapless dress that looked to be made of soft leather and left her stomach bare, with long strips of leather at the sides connecting the skirt and bodice. The skirt was triangular in shape and cut of just at her knees. The skirt was frayed and had silver beads tied into the frays. Her Mew Mark, embroidered in silver, was on the front of the skirt. She wore dark purple knee-high boots that also looked like they were made of leather. Her loose hair was wavy and she wore a brown leather headband with silver beaded wolfs running along it with purple stones placed at intervals that was wrapped around her head, seen underneath her bangs. They saw that her eyes had become a pale yellow. She flipped back her hair before crouching down into an attack position, her tail and ears high, her lip curling so that they could see long fangs.
Ichigo emerged last from the pink light, and Kish sucked in his breath, taken aback by her new look.
She wore a hot pink dress with long, flowing sleeves that went to her wrists and had her Mew Mark embroidered in silver on the front of the bodice. The skirt was actually two skirts. One was hot pink, knee-length, straight and connected to the bodice, while the other one was similar to a hoop skirt and appeared to just be connected to the entirety of the dress at the hips. The glittery, dark pink fabric had a been cut so that there was a window where you could see the inner skirt, and yet it somehow kept its shape without a frame. She also wore heeled dark pink boots. She wore a silver ringlet with a pale-pink heart shaped diamond resting against her forehead. Her tail flicked behind her. The ribbon was the same color as her underskirt and the bell had become pure diamond, glinting in what little light there was. Her eyes were cat-like and a pale gold color.
Ichigo smiled, but it wasn't exactly her smile. It was more mature, more knowing.
"Strawberry Heart," She called, and her bell came to her hand. But it wasn't the same Strawberry Bell. It was sparkly, and the gem was bigger and brighter.
"Mint Grande Jatte," Mint called. A large wooden dark blue bow appeared in her hand, the bowstring a shimmering silver and wings like that of Mint's Mew Mark carved into the wood. Accompanying the bow was a quiver of pale blue arrows with dark blue fletches.
"Lettuce Tambourine," Lettuce called out. A tambourine with dark green wood, pale green paper with her Mew Mark painted on it and golden zils.
"Pudding Rings of Fire!" Pudding cried out. Her rings appeared in her hands, but they weren't exactly like her rings. They were bigger, and looked more like throwing disks with sharp edges where the bells had been.
"Zakuro Spirit Spear!" Zakuro cried. Instead of her whip, a cross-shaped spear appeared in her hand, but it still had the curling whip emerging from the end.
"Huh, that's cool," Yuzu said, grinning. "So, how long have they been doing that?"
He turned to his friends and his brow furrowed at seeing the Ikisatashi siblings, Ryou and Keiichiro gaping, their eyes wide with shock.
"Um," Vanilla said hesitantly. "They have not done this before, have they?"
"No," Tart said, shaking his head slightly. "No, no, they haven't."
"Ah." Vanilla said, biting her lip and turning back to the Mews.
"Um, Topaz?" Chile muttered quietly to the older girl. "What do we do now?"
Topaz looked over at the Mews, who were slowly making their way towards Mylo. She bit the inside of her lip; they would kill Mylo if she didn't think of something quick…
"Chimeras," She said in a breath, looking around what was left of her army (which at that point was just Jalapeno, Cayenne, Chile, Bell, Pepper and Zen) and yelled, "Everyone, make a Chimera, now!"
They did as they were told, and quickly large Chimera Animals littered the streets.
Zakuro's eyes narrowed and she looked over her shoulder.
"Ribbon Zakuro Tail-Whip!" She yelled out, lashing out at one of the Chimeras, the whip curling around the entirety of the beast. With a howl, it fell.
"Did… did she just…?" Rin struggled to get out.
Pudding did a high flip backwards over another Chimera, her eyes twinkling, her Mew Mark gleaming.
"Ribbon Pudding Fire-Screech!" She yelled. Instead of the regular Ribbon Pudding Inferno, a line of fire emerged from her rings, hitting the monster. The Chimera tried to recover, but Pudding launched one of her rings like a Frisbee, the sharp rings on the side hitting the monster, causing it to be destroyed.
Pudding grinned as she caught her ring in her hand, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
"Pu-Pudding?" Tart whispered in shock, blinking a few times.
Lettuce raised her tambourine. She twirled on her toes, lifting the tambourine high in the air before bring it sharply down, yelling,
"Ribbon Lettuce Tidal-Fins!"
Another Chimera bit the dust as it was hit with a tsunami from Lettuce's tambourine.
Topaz's eye twitched. Her human competition had just destroyed her Chimera.
Oooh, Topaz thought with anger as she glared across the battlefield at Lettuce. You are so going down.
Meanwhile, Pie could only gape as Lettuce smiled at her work, reaching back to put her hair behind her ear.
"Ryou, what is going on?" Pie managed to get out, but Ryou either did not hear him or was ignoring him.
Mint twirled, skirt flaring as she flawlessly managed to dance, pluck an arrow from her quiver, and draw the arrow back in a matter of seconds.
"Ribbon Mint Light-Wings!" Mint yelled, releasing her arrow. It struck a Chimera with a burst of blue light, causing it to disintegrate.
"Ryou…" Rirī said in a low voice, turning to her friend, who watched the battle, transfixed and scowling.
Ichigo smiled up at the three remaining Chimeras. She raised her bell over her head, clutching it with both hands.
"Ribbon Strawberry Sinking-Claws!" She yelled.
Ichigo suddenly dropped to her knees, the bell hitting the cold ground. To everyone's surprise, the ground split open from where her bell hit, and swallowed up the three Chimeras. The ground then reformed, leaving no trace of damage at all.
"Ryou! What is going on?" Kish demanded, his eyes hard.
"Ryou," Keiichiro said, more gently. "Do you know what's going on? What's happening with the girls?"
Ryou chuckled darkly as he turned to face his friends, meeting Keiichiro's eyes.
"Isn't it obvious, Keiichiro?" Ryou said. He made a sweeping gesture with his arm to the direction of the five girls. "We no longer have any sort of control over the Mew Project."
Keiichiro sighed with frustration, his eyes closed as he banged his fist against his forehead in agitation.
"Then what do we do now?" Rōzu asked, her eyes wide as she looked up at her older friends and siblings.
"We sit back and watch the show," Ryou said, turning back to the Mews, ganging up on Mylo again now that the Chimeras were taken care of.
"Ultimate Mew Power Extension!" Ichigo cried out, the Mews forming around her, holding up their glowing weapons. Beams of light came from each one: blue from Mint, green from Lettuce, yellow-orange from Pudding and purple from Zakuro.
Ichigo held up her arm, her wrist twisted and her fingers slightly curled.
"Mew Element Rod!" She called out. They watched as the Mew Aqua Rod appeared in her hand.
She glared at Mylo, who glared back.
"Who planted these poisonous seeds into your mind, Mylo?" She asked sadly. "Why must you do this? Your master will grant you nothing more than a swift and painless death."
"You know nothing, human!" Mylo roared.
Ichigo smiled again.
"How wrong you are," She said. A beam of pink light shot up from around her as she lifted her rod, yelling, "Mew Aqua, Advance!"
Suddenly, all the Mew Aqua went straight to Ichigo's Mew Aqua Rod. Mylo made furious and fruitless grabs at it. He sneered at Ichigo.
"There's plenty more where that came from," He snapped.
"And you will have none of it," Ichigo responded coolly.
Mylo's sneer became a smile.
"Who needs water when you can play with fire, among other things?" He asked. He teleported away, and Topaz quickly gathered the others to follow.
"Topaz," Cayenne said softly, grabbing her shoulder before going through the portal after his brothers and sisters. "Do you trust what Mylo is doing? Should we really be following him? Is this right?"
Topaz hesitated, biting her lip.
"I want to hear what he has to say," She said at last. "Then we'll make our decisions."
Cayenne glared at her.
"He lied to us," He reminded her. Topaz gazed past Cayenne over at Pie, who couldn't take his eyes off Lettuce. Even though he was far away, she could still make out the burn marks on his skin. The burn marks she had put there. Because Mylo had lied to her and told her that everything would be alright if she just administered the shock treatment. That he would see that he truly loved her, as soon as the shock cleared the fog. She swallowed hard, avoiding Cayenne's gaze.
"Mylo has his reasons for everything," Topaz muttered, deciding to keep having faith in her cousin. "These Mews were just a setback."
She went through the portal. With a sigh, Cayenne jumped in after her before it could close.
Her Rod glowing, Ichigo pointed it at the Mew Aqua Tree and cried out as she made a circular motion with the rod,
"Ribbon Aqua Restoration!"
The Mew Aqua shot straight out of the Rod and into the tree. Instantly, it became restored, the colors just as vibrant as before. The snow lightened and the clouds drifted away, the sun shining in its place.
Ichigo lowered her arm and smiled as the bitter cold became warmer and the air became easier to breathe.
Ichigo then looked down at her Rod and sighed, seeing that it was now empty. All that remained in the middle was a small pink crystal heart. She turned to her four other Mews, who stood behind her, waiting for her orders.
"It is time, my sisters, for you to find your elements, and I pray that you do so before Mylo does," She said. "Only then can we reach our full potential. It is the only way we will defeat Mylo to protect Earth and Cynnth."
Mint, Lettuce, Pudding and Zakuro all bowed.
"Hai, Hime," They said in unison.
When they were upright again, each girl reverted back to their original Mew form. Almost instantly, they all collapsed, unconscious. Pie, Kish, Tart, Yuzu and Curry teleported just in time to each catch a Mew. Curry carefully transferred Zakuro into Ryou's arms and watched as the young man stared down at her with wonder.
"Ryou," Curry said in a low voice. "You truly have no idea as to what just happened?"
"I wish I did," Ryou said, looking up. "If not for me, for them."
They had won the battle. They had reclaimed Cynnth. The Cyniclons had regained their freedom from Mylo.
Now they just wanted to know how they had done so.
(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( (Scene Divider))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) ))))))
Topaz allowed Jalapeno to help her to her feet as she landed in the fourth dimension she had brought them to. She saw Mylo, standing far off, not facing any of them.
"Start talking, Mylo," Topaz demanded.
Mylo looked over his shoulder and smiled at Topaz.
"I know how to claim Earth for the Cyniclons," He said. Topaz frowned.
"Mylo, you're not making sense," She said. "If the Mew Aqua doesn't work-"
"That's where you're wrong, my dear cousin," Mylo said. He held up a small vial containing a small crystal orb. "The Mew Aqua does work, too well if you must know."
Topaz blinked and out of the corner of her eye, she saw her companions exchange glances.
"But… but you found that there was something wrong with it… that the effects would fail," Topaz stuttered out.
"I was mistaken," Mylo said simply. "Even I can be wrong sometimes."
"So then why are we fighting for Earth when we can have Cynnth?" Zen demanded, coming to stand beside Topaz. "You've seen Earth. It's awful compared to how Cynnth is now."
"It may be awful, but it still contains valuable resources that will make the Cyniclons the most powerful race in the universe," Mylo said. He tilted the vial of Mew Aqua. "There is more of this on Earth. As well as three other similar substances. I have found that while it is extremely beneficial, these substances are extremely powerful weapons. However, the Mews new abilities is a setback. A minor setback, though. Our goal is still obtainable."
"That's great and all," Cayenne said harshly, crossing his arms. "But you still haven't answered the question. Why not just take these mysterious substances of yours and then use them on Cynnth like the Mew Aqua?"
Mylo smiled knowingly as he turned around.
"We will capture Earth, because it is what Deep Blue-Sama has asked us to do." He said softly.
Mylo's smile grew as he watched as their eyes widened.
"Deep Blue-Sama?" Bell whispered.
"But… but those Mews and the Ikisatashi boys killed him, didn't they?" Pepper said, blinking.
"They only thought they did," Mylo said. "I only thought they did, until he came to me. But Deep Blue has been hiding, gathering strength and plotting revenge. These substances will make him even more powerful than before, and he will rule over not only Earth, but all of the universe. And we are the only ones who can find these items for him to gain full power."
Mylo looked at each member of the group.
"So," He said. "Are you going to fight for your master? Or will you become traitors like the Ikisatashis?"
No one moved. No one spoke. Mylo grinned.
"We'll take a few days off. Take some time to rest and recover from battle, you've earned it," He said, turning to fly off. "Besides. We are going to need our strength to take over Earth."
