Gas y tamales de Garcia just off the Federal Uno on the Baja Peninsula, MexicoThe Garcias had just returned from a Santa Rosalia shopping trip to restock their pantry. Their latest guests had eaten a weeks worth of groceries. The unscheduled trip delayed their normal opening time. In Fact it was rather late in the day when they opened the restaurant. Mrs. Garcia was once again busy in the kitchen with Diego, her youngest, son helping. Mister Garcia and the two older boys were recycling and salvaging auto and motorcycle parts.
"Father, I thought you said life would be quieter out here," protested Alberto.
The patron of the family shook his head. "I only said your mother would encounter fewer misunderstandings out here."
"But elves, demons, dinosaurs, snake women, junior mad scientists, mercenaries, and super hero mutants, all in one day," complained the middle son.
"They and Mom seemed to understand one another just fine," replied Manuel.
Alberto gowned while his father laughed and nodded.
"Some of those girls were really hot though," said Alberto.
"And under age," cautioned his father.
"And able to throw balls of plasma," added Manuel.
"Whatever comes down the pike next can't compare to today," said Alberto.
"As mom would say; 'don't say such things least you challenge the fates,'" stated Manuel.
"Too late," observed his dad as the cloud of oncoming crickets darkened the horizon.
-----------_
Two miles to the North West along Federal Uno on the Baja Peninsula, Mexico"This is somewhat difficult. The local insects are less reliable then those I brought with me. They keep eating each other," complained Shino.
Hinata scratched her head. "I thought crickets were vegetarians."
"That is only partly correct. For the most part crickets eat fruit and greens, especially seedlings. But they also need a good bit of protein in their diet," lectured Shino.
"So why not use other bugs," asked Kiba.
"For some reason there is an over abundance of crickets. So the other insects are fleeing, or being eaten. So I am forced to work with them. The worst part is they are not that good at reporting back," Shino griped.
"We move faster then they do. We should catch up with them soon. Which kind of makes them almost useless," mused Kiba.
Surprise jolted Hinata to a halted as she crested a hill. "Oh my! How many crickets are you using?"
Shino shrugged, "A few hundred."
"They brought friends," Hinata snarked as the others joined her and saw the ocean of insects ahead of them.
=======+++
Pluto the Gate of TimeSailor Pluto desperately searched for a path to sanity amid the chaos but the patterns of the future still remained in disarray. What was evident was an on coming conflict. She could see a conflict was imminent, but its nature and outcome were uncertain. She decided to encourage the Senshi to bring more resources to bear.
------------+++
From the Akasic Journal of Thanh BeaconArmageddon. Ragnarök. Apocalypse. Just words for misunderstandings that get out of hand.
------------+++
A Phone Call Between Tokyo and Santa Rosalia"My scouts have informed me they discovered something that looks like the aftermath of a battle. Pleasant though your hospitality is, and as nice as the hotel is, I am still greatly worried about my people being so far away from reinforcement," politely complained Shikamaru Nara.
"I agree, I will start transporting the rest of your people first thing in the morning," answered Sailor Sun.
"Why wait? I can have my people ready to go in ten minutes," pressed Shikamaru.
"I must have sunlight to do multiple teleports," revealed the Solar Senshi.
"It is still light out," stated the Ninja.
"Only on your side of the ocean," complained Sailor Sun.
"See you in the morning," conceded Shikamaru as he digested the new information.
=====--
Cerulean Tower Tokyu HotelIt was still dark out when the Ninjas checked out of the hotel. They stood ready in the lobby when Sailor Sun literally popped in on them. "Ok, who's first," she announced?
"Me!" said Rock Lee and Naruto Uzumaki nearly simultaneously.
"I shall take the lead, I am the most youthful. The fires of my youth burn brightest. Thus it is obvious that I Rock.." Lee ignored Naruto's interruptions, despite Naruto's near constant counter point of "but I'm the strongest ninja here" rapidly reaching an ear splitting volume. As the two settled in to argue and posture Sakura and Sailor Sun vanished in a flash of light, leaving a despairing band of ninjas to watch the ensuing fight..
In an effort to both save time both time and collateral damage Shikamaru declared; "rock, paper, scissors."
"I win," said Naruto.
"Best three out of five," declared Rock Lee.
Sailor Sun reappeared and left with Tenten. In short order all the others were transported.
"Best sixteen out of thirty," declared Rock Lee.
"Sun covers Rock," declared the red headed Senshi as she grabbed Rock Lee and teleported out. She reappeared a few seconds latter.
"But I was winning," wined Naruto.
"Big deal, he always picks rock," pointed out Sailor Sun before transporting the still complaining ninja.
------------+++
Another Phone Call Between Tokyo and Santa Rosalia"No sign of Happosai as yet, and Toro seems more interested in his new girl friend then finding and beating on the old pervert," reported Akane.
Ami asked; "You are still keeping track of them?"
"It's not too hard, they are in the room next store and their bed squeaks," yawned Ukyo.
"Pantyhose stayed in his room till dinner yesterday. His girlfriend seems to take a jog before he wakes," added Akane.
------------+++
Santa Rosalia, Baja California Sur, MexicoAkane took her duty as the principal point of contact for the Senshi in Santa Rosalia very seriously. She was very busy. She tracked her husband's activities as he shuttled Ninjas to the desert. She followed the progress of Ukyo's early afternoon cantina crawl. She took reports from Konatsu, as he tailed Taro's girlfriend. She also kept tabs on Ami, who was discreetly tracking down any mention of lost unmentionables. It was Akane's duty to summarize all these activities and reported them to Usagi, Luna, and Artemis who were monitoring communications at their headquarters in Juuban.
She was just finishing up her latest report when Ukyo called with an urgent message; "Akane I am at a cantina on the north side of town. A man came in seconds ago warning of a plague of locusts, I am going to check it out. Tell Konatsu to join me"
"A plague of locusts? That sounds more like the type of thing Setsuna is worried about. I will tell Usagi."
In short order Usagi had told Akane she was assembling all the Senshi and they would be ready if Ukyo needed reinforcements.
------------+++
The Mayor had sent runners about the town to warn the residents of the approaching nuisance. Cricket swarms had passed though town previously. They did quite a bit of damage to the gardens and posed a traffic hazard. Beyond that, insects didn't do much in the way of serious damage. They were a general nuisance. Getting crunched under foot, and when they died the smell was terrible. The smell would often get sucked into the air conditioners making things quite unpleasant. The tourists hated them. The runners would tell people to close their windows and doors to keep the pests out.
A Bit to the North West of Santa Rosalia, Baja California Sur, MexicoLike a dark tide the cloud of insects moved toward the town. Sailors Ganymede and Callisto realized there was no way that they alone could stop the approaching onslaught. They informed Akane of the situation as the cloud moved closer.
The duo began blasting the oncoming hoard while falling back toward the town. They had not gone far when Sailors Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, and Uranus teleported in.
Sailor Moon quickly analyzed the situation and presented her assessment; "Yuck! Icky bugs!"
Half a second later she took a slightly more tactical approach ordering the girls to line up.
"Where is Mercury?" Mars asked.
The bugs continued their advance.
"She is still in town! I'll take her position!" yelled Ganymede.
The bugs continued their advance.
"Nasty bugs should not harass the peaceful residents of this town," Sailor Moon projected in her most commanding tone.
The bugs kept coming.
"I don't think they understand Japanese," commented Sailor Venus.
The crickets kept coming.
"Fire at will!" ordered the Moon Princess.
"Burning Mandala!" pronounced Sailor Mars.
"Crescent Beam!" yelled Sailor Venus.
"Shine Aqua Illusion," cast Sailor Ganymede
"Supreme Thunder," released Sailor Jupiter
"Moon Healing Escalation," broadcast Sailor Moon
"World Shaking, contributed Sailor Uranus.
"Deep Submerge"" added Sailor Neptune.
"Icy Blizzard Wind," finished Callisto.
Before the gathered Senshi lay a wide path of burnt, frozen, drowned, disease free, electrocuted, and otherwise mangled crickets. Wide though the path was it was quickly filled in as the teaming masses of arthropods took advantage of the newly open space.
"Ladies, this is going to take a bit of work," observed Sailor Mars.
------------+++
From the Akasic Journal of Thanh BeaconWith apologies to Alfred Tennyson:
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Jumped the three million.
"Forward, the cricket hoards."
"There must be salt somewhere"
Into the valley of Death
jumped the three million.
"Forward, the cricket hoards."
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the insect knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to breed and die:
Into the valley of Death
jumped the three million.
Senshi to right of them,
Senshi to left of them,
Senshi in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with heat and chill,
Boldly they hopped and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
jumped the three million.
Flash'd all their mandibles bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air,
getting into the Senshi's hair,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the gathering-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Sailor and Senshi
Reel'd from the disjointed stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they hopped back, but not
Not the three million.
Senshi to right of them,
Senshi to left of them,
Senshi behind them
Fire'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with wind and fire,
While six legged heros fell,
They that had marched so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left was six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
With the knowledge gained,
Returned the six hundred.
=========++
Farther to the North of Santa Rosalia, Baja California Sur, MexicoThe Leaf Village Ninjas saw an ominous cloud on the horizon. The sounds of thunder, the flashes of lightning, the shaking earth, and the bursts of flame had stopped, leaving only the thick black cloud of dust and smoke.
Shikamaru had the Ninja move quickly and cautiously toward the scene of the conflagration. They could already see the blasted area when Shino encountered a few of the survivors.
After questioning the survivors Shino told his findings to the others; "I have asked my insects what happened? From what they can tell me it seems that they were attacked by elemental forces wielded by humanoids. There were only a few survivors from a truly immense swarm."
"How large a swarm was it?" asked Shikamaru.
"How large was the swarm? I estimate that nearly three million insects were slaughtered," flatly stated Shino.
"The locals must have some major crops they are trying to protect to use so much fire power," tentatively theorized Hinata.
The groups of ninjas pressed on, Team eight in the lead. As they began to cross the blackened area Akamaru barked a complaint about the stench.
"I know it smells awful," agreed Kiba as they continued.
Shikamaru had his people spread out, least they all be taken out in a single attack. They crossed the zone of dead, and in a few cases still dying, crickets. The footing was unpleasant. They did not encounter the level of agriculture production that Hinata had anticipated on their way to the town of Santa Rosalia.
=========++
Santa Rosalia, Baja California Sur, MexicoFor the Mayor of the town of Santa Rosalia the day was not good. A swarm of crickets was one thing but ground shaking explosions, fire, lightning, and a dense cloud of dense smoke were another. Strange rumors were circulating around the town. The rumors ranged from reports of odd groups of immodest young women running about town and bandits stealing gas along the highway, to the Three Virgins (a local active volcano) erupting. None of these things, with the exception of the immodest young women, were good for the town's tourist industry. Worse still, some of the residents of the town had taken the ferry to the main land on the advice of a local bruja that had been in town shopping.
=========++
Ami's search had hit a wall earlier in the day when one of the local merchants informed her of the huge swarm of bugs approaching. He'd warned her that the bugs would be a major nuisance and recommended she stay indoors. Heeding his advice, she had settled into a restaurant whose large glass windows offered protection from the messy insects and an excellent view."
It was not to long thereafter she received an urgent call from Akane.
"There is a plague of locusts approaching the town. I told Usagi and the rest of the Senshi are on their way," rapidly relayed Akane.
"But..." Ami attempted to interrupt her.
"There are so many of them that Ganymede and Callisto are hardly making a dent," Akane continued.
"But..." Ami attempted again.
Akane continued her play by play as the events transpired. The fireworks on the northern horizon become visible as Ami sank lower and lower in her chair.
---------++
Diamondback and Fey had spent long hours preparing the new location spell. The first spell they tried only gave vague directions. Sara also could feel a sort of pull from the object but yesterday's attempt at triangulation had met with little success. Today's attempt involved a local map and the laws of similarity to display a more precise location. Diamondback and Fey's preparations had taken most of the morning. While they were busy, some of the more restless members of the group did some exploring on their own."
Toni Chandler AKA Chaka was not one for sitting around. There were circus acts that required less precision coordinated activity that what she did while "sitting," so it was only natural for her to go exploring. So, when her roommate decided to spend the morning researching a spell. Toni decided the town needed exploration and a shop she had seen on the way in demanded particular attention.
It was not long into her walk that she reached the small boutique that had caught her interest. Oddly the shop was open and yet shuttered. The owner spoke enough English to tell her why. The proprietor had just finished explaining about the expected swarm of hopping inconvenience when she received a call from Lancer. "Lancer, I am over at that boutique I told you about," she communicated over her subspace radio patch.
"We were supposed to stay together," admonished Lancer.
"I wanted to get more familiar with the terrain," said Chaka defensively.
"How did that blouse you saw look close up?"
"Ok, I'm busted, but there are all sorts of fireworks going on at just north town. I am going to check it out. Don't worry I'll stick to the main road and keep in touch," replied Chaka.
Experience had taught Lancer that reasoning with the group's most hyperkinetic member was a waste of time. Knowing Chaka's talent for finding trouble, he sent Bladedancer out to back her up and hopefully provide a leveler head.
Happosai was relaxing in a restaurant after a bit of a run. Her new body gave her amazing freedom. In the past the old master had used potions and many odd forms of meditation to keep away the pains of his ancient body. Now the only problems she faced were pronouns. That and she looked so young that she had trouble buying alcohol. She also had a lot more energy. She was trying not to think of Taro. One of the local merchants had warned her of a swarm of crickets that were approaching. So she had taken cover in a restaurant with large glass windows that promised protection from the insects and offered an excellent view. The fireworks on the northern horizon offered a far better show than she had expected. The show looked familiar, what would Sailor Senshi be doing around here in such numbers? Happosai's curiosity got the better of her, she finished her lunch and went to investigate.
---------++
Not long after Kiba and Akamaru crossed the area of devastation Akamaru picked up a scent. It was the scent he had been tracking in the desert. They followed the scent into the town, where it finally led to a young woman. Kiba hid while Akamaru went up to her doing the lost puppy act. It got him close enough to get a good smell. Kiba's four legged friend soon returned with the confirmation, this was their target. Kiba called in to Shikamaru; "We found Happosai, he is in disguise. He is using something like Naruto's sexy jutsu only more sophisticated, it even affects the scent."
"Ok, I am sending in team Guy to detain him, keep an eye on him till they get there," instructed Shikamaru.
---------++
Happosai did not know why the feral looking boy and his dog were following her. She slowed her movement to better understand his motives. When three others joined the boy she decided this might well be fun. She meandered further into town as the group set up their ambush.
---------++
While headed to the source of all the fireworks Chaka found something that interested her more; three youths in their mid teens trying to sneak up a slightly older girl. It was not that they were not stealthy, to anyone else they would have been almost invisible. However, to Chaka's Ki sense they looked like walking Christmas trees. This truly acquired the martial artist's attention. Quietly she light footed to the top of a small building to get a better view.
---------++
According to the plan Rock Lee was to engage the well disguised master with a direct challenge, allowing the rest of the team to close. Of course to Lee it was merely a chance to be the first to test himself against someone that was rumored to be a worthy opponent.
"Master Happosai we have seen through your disguise, please come with me or I will be forced to challenge you," declared Lee.
Happosai looked at the goofy looking kid with the hair cut that was probably supplied by Principal Kuno.
"Sorry kid, I'm not taking new students at this time."
"Then I will prove myself worthy," declared Rock Lee.
Although Happosai was already aware of the two ninja behind him, their groans did nothing to better conceal them.
Neji was shocked to see what looked to be a young girl easily best Rock Lee using taijutsu alone. He was more shocked to see her grab his teammate by the eyebrows and use him as a missile weapon. Neji barely dodged the dark green screaming missile. Tenten, frustrated by her partner's lack of success, encouraged her team into pursuit.
She was interrupted when a dark skinned girl appeared and asked in a mocking way; "three on one, it hardly seems fair, are you sure you have enough ninjas?"
The only answer the three ninjas provided were several smoke pellets as they fled in pursuit of the hasty master. When the black interloper, undeterred by the smoke, gave pursuit, Kiba and Akamaru followed. Kiba phoned Shikamaru to update him on the situation.
____--
Subspace Communication(Chaka) Someone has brought a bunch of ninjas in town and they are chasing a young Chinese girl who also seems to be a martial artist. I am in pursuit and checking it out. I am currently one click south of check point three along the main highway.
(Lancer) Ok, I am sending Bladedancer to your location.
(Fey) Lancer, we have the spell working. We have located the object. It is moving south along the beach about two clicks south of check point three.
"Oh sh!t!" said Lancer wondering if Toni's nose for trouble was in fact an unidentified mutant power. He decided if they ever got back to school, and if he was having problems with insomnia, he would ask his powers theory teacher.
----+
A Cell Phone CallThe phone rang and Sailor Sun answered it. "Hello Sailor Sun this is Shikamaru," said the voice on the other end.
"Hello Shikamaru, what have you found?"
"Some of our people have made contact with Master Happosai. He has proven rather difficult so far," said the ninja leader.
"Where is he?".
"He is a few kilometers south of the north edge of town running along the beach."
"Good, we will try to cut him off."
"I have a question, what do you know about his associate?"
"Associate? The old pervert sometime picks up an idiot or two as a student, but I don't think he has had the time to find any here."
"We made contact with a dark skinned girl with remarkable light-foot technique that has been shadowing the team that made contact," said the ninja.
"She probably had her underwear stolen and wants a piece of the old man," surmised the Senshi.
Shikamaru found that odd but still asked; "Strange, are their any known weakness we can exploit against him?"
The remainder of the conversation consisted of Sailor Sun briefing the ninja on the perverted master.
-----+
When Sailor Sun informed her that their target was approaching Ami's location Ami was hoping that she soon might gain a clue as to what was going on. She found a discreet place to power up and Sailor Mercury was soon on her way to intercept.
-----+
Tenten quickly found delaying the dark-skinned girl that was following them to be more of a problem then she anticipated. The girl had a uncanny knack for pulling the Kunai Tenten threw at her out of the air as easily as if she had just set the cutlery on a table. Resorting to paper bombs; Tenten found that the girl used the weapons she had already provided her to intercept the bombs and return them to her mid flight. To add insult to injury, when she tried her Twin Rising Dragons attack she found her scrolls nailed to a telephone pole before she could activate them.
The dark skin girl was fast, constantly playing with the range. It seemed that the girl was not so much taunting her but studying her. Because of language differences, Tenten could not tell what the girl was saying to her. Tenten's attempts with Genjutsus and Ninjutsus proved equally ineffective. If they had shared a common language, Chaka's comments such as "cool" or "neat" would probably not been appreciated by the frustrated Ninja.
Sailor Mercury took up a position on a roof where she could observe the strange contest that the martial artists were engaged in. After three years of training with Ranma Saotome she at least had programmed her computer not to give error messages at the black girl's physics defying movements. She had also gained an eye for martial arts skill. She watched as Tenten charged with a summoned bo staff and two Kibas closed in on the black girl at incredible speed. She decided that she would need a slow motion replay to figure out how the three attackers wound up in the overturned, galvanized steal, trash can.
Once the black girl had departed Sailor Mercury went to aid the three canned ninja.
"Get your hand out of there before I cut it off!" complained Tenten.
"That's not me, it's Akamaru," said Kiba.
Akamaru whined, complaining of his discomfort in the close quarters and the smell.
"Are you alright boy?" asked Kiba.
A muffled bark answered his question.
"Tell him to quit squirming," demanded Tenten.
Hold still, I will have you out of there in a second," said Sailor Mercury before Kiba could respond to Tenten's order..
Seconds later the tight steel container was lifted and the girl, the boy, and his dog squirmed free to once again see daylight.