Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Kingdom Hearts, or Wild Arms 3. Thank you for observing the disclaimers.
Author's Note: I hope you all are ready for this! This is the explosive conclusion to this monster epic! I know I'm psyched! Are you psyched? That's great! Oh, hi doctor… No, I don't want my medication now…
A Different Side,
A Different Story
Chapter 13: Worlds End
Excerpt from Ryoga's journal…
Here we are. This is the final journey. I can't tell you all I feel, but most of all, I feel anxious. We are five. I never expected to have so many allies and friends when I got here. Donald, Goofy, and Xiao have been there since the beginning. Then we met Ranko who was invaluable in making it here. I definitely can't forget Virginia who is with us right now. Who would have guessed that we would have not one, not two, but three dragons helping us? Bahamut ZERO, Lombardia, and Zephyr. Also countless other friends who helped us on this journey. This was not an adventure for a lone wolf and thank Kami-sama that I'm not afraid to ask for help anymore. The expression "Love conquers all" comes to mind, but I think they should add "Friendship conquers just as much". Oh well, the time for introspection has passed. Yes Xiao, I do know big words! She's so afraid I'm going to turn this "epic" into something no one can read. Thanks a lot for being here as well, journal. Good-bye.
Ryoga sighed as he put the journal back into his backpack. He was still amazed at the fact that barely even a week ago he was a girl. To say that the cursed martial artist was thrilled would be an understatement. Donald smiled over at Ryoga "I bet you're glad to be back to normal." He said. Ryoga laughed "You call traveling through space inside the head of a dragon, wielding a legendary weapon, and rushing off to face the forces of darkness normal?" he retorted. The sailor-suited boy laughed "I guess you're right." Was the reply before they lapsed into comfortable silence. The only sounds were of Bahamut rumbling to himself about "Can't lose this time." As he and Lombardia streaked towards their goal.
Goofy sat with arm comfortably around Xiao's shoulders with her head snuggled into his shoulder. He occasionally played with her ears, causing them to twitch and her to swat him. "Whatcha thinkin'?" she asked. "Just worried about how this will turn out." He replied. "We got Ryoga leading us and hasn't he brought us through worse situations?" she said. The goggle-headed boy smiled down at her and kissed her nose. "I guess your right." before holding her closer. Virginia smiled at the two as she stole a glance towards them. Her thoughts kept traveling to the boy with the magnetic personality who drew them together. Even at his worst, he seemed to radiate something that made you want to follow him. It had to be his charming naiveté, the fact that he just didn't seem to be an egomaniac didn't hurt either. She was strangely reminded of a boy back home that made her feel the same way as Ryoga did about Shampoo. She once again looked at her picture and shed a single tear. They believed that Ryoga could get them all home, then she believed it too. She was a Drifter and her wings weren't clipped yet. "Time to fly." She whispered.
Elsewhere…
Cid looked at the two girls standing in front of him with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. They wanted to go to the Coliseum, but didn't have a ship. "Could you find us a ship, Cid?" Ranko asked with her "cute-as-a-million-puppies" expression. "Yes, we just want to help Ryoga and our friends." Shampoo said with her "cute-as-a-million-buttons" expression. Between the two of them, he didn't stand a chance. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright. I have a ship you can use, but only to the Coliseum. Got it?" he said sternly. The two girls nodded vigorously. He nodded at them before heading out the door. "Let me bring it to the loading dock." Was all he said as he left. The redhead looked to the Amazon girl "Stage one accomplished." She said "Stage two is a go!" the other replied excitedly. They high-fived, hip bumped, and did a chest bump with painful results. "Ouch…never do that again…" Ranko mumbled as Shampoo agreed with tears in her eyes.
The ship he managed to get for them looked somewhat small. It was perfectly round with a giant arm on top with a blaster array. It actually didn't look that bad, but didn't seem powerful. "It's called a Ball. Specially designed for maximum speed and has decent offensive capability. Since it's so small, it shouldn't be seen by the larger ships." Cid said as they inspected the small craft. It only had room for one person. They looked at each other. "Do I sit in your lap or the other way around?" Shampoo said. "You're taller so I'll sit in your lap." Ranko said. Since the seating arrangement was worked out, they climbed into the cockpit. Shampoo ended up working the foot pedals while Ranko held onto the steering controls. The Amazon had to reach around awkwardly to grab hold of the weapon system. The resulting tangle was vaguely ecchi, but no time to worry about that. Cid flipped them a thumbs up before initiating launch. Shampoo was prepared for a forward launch, but screamed in shock when it became a downward spiral into an explosive takeoff. "This is too weird!" was Shampoo's mantra as the tiny ship sped along. A rather large ship blocked their path. It looked exactly how a spaceship should look. It was large, was covered in guns, and had a streamlined appearance. It had on the side "Heartless: Not just a job, it's an adventure." Ranko and Shampoo groaned at the strange sign. Ranko immediately began saying "Kill it kill it kill it…" and Shampoo was more then happy to comply. Her left hand on the trigger and her right hand on the arm control, she opened the clawed mechanical hand and viciously grasped onto the ship. A loud commotion could actually be heard as the Heartless scrambled to the weapon systems, but it was sadly too late. "Fry piggies!" and squeezed the trigger repeatedly. Each blast was point blank and shook the whole ship until it finally disintegrated. The tiny ship happily puttered along towards its destination with two maniacal girls laughing in somewhat twisted glee.
Neither one of them had seen the Coliseum before, but it was hard to miss. Strangely enough, their landing was smooth as silk. The short walk to the gates was uneventful as well. Shampoo strode along warily with her bonborri out. Ranko also held her Pink Sugar Rod. As they entered the lobby, they saw a satyr setting up signs for the next match. "Excuse me." Ranko said to the short creature. He turned to look at them "Yeah?" he asked. Shampoo thought he was a rude creature. "Do you remember a Ryoga Hibiki?" the braided girl asked. The satyr's eyes about popped out "Of course! Great kid, real nice girl" he said. "If you're friends with her, my name's Phil." He said with a smile. His attitude underwent a complete one-eighty. "How's my pal been doin'?" he asked. So Ranko launched into the story. Roughly an hour or so later, she finished the tale. He sat, pondering quietly, before saying "Well, I know one guy who'd be glad to help. He's participating in the competition right now. Uhm.. He's also looking for someone." Phil said. The girls looked at each other. Shampoo asked "Who?" the satyr sighed "A person he loves a great deal. Her name's Aerith." He said. He didn't fail to notice the girls' jaws dropping in unison and said "You know her?" The two nodded mutely. "Great! Enter the competition and fight him! He's advancing through the ranks pretty quickly and two of the challengers for this seed cut out. They were supposed to double team him, but I can put you in their place." He said. With a whoop of joy the two nodded enthusiastically. "Okay, get ready." Was all he said in warning.
Pegasus Cup
Last Seed
The girls stood there nervously. Shampoo was ready to go and Ranko stood much like Tuxedo Kamen except in place of the rose was her Rod. The challenger entered the arena amidst applause and cries of encouragement. Ranko tensed up almost imperceptibly, but Shampoo caught it. The blonde-haired man strode in smoothly, exuding quiet power. The redhead muttered darkly "Cloud" and Shampoo blanched at that. He looked at them with a small smile "Is this the best they have to offer?" he said. That infuriated the two young warriors as they struck battle poses. "We may be small…" Shampoo began "But we pack a punch!" Ranko finished. Phil cried out "Attack!" and the battle began in earnest. Cloud whipped out his humongous sword and slashed at them, clearly intent on ending the fight early. It was child's play to leap over the weapon. The Amazon girl hurled shuriken at him, but he easily deflected them. Ranko fired off a Mouko Takabisha through her Rod and found that deflected as well. They decided to bring the fight to him since long range didn't work. He was harried on all sides as the smaller girls took advantage of their size and speed to strike at him from all over. With an angry shout he unleashed Sonic Rush, hurling the two combatants violently away from him. Once that ran its course, he spread his wing "Farewell!" and launched into the sky, surrounded in dark energy. "This is it…we have to beat him…" Ranko muttered as she fought to stand. "Ryoga needs help…" Shampoo said as she rose to her feet painfully. Shampoo and Ranko began glowing. A lavender aura surrounded Shampoo and a pink one surrounded Ranko. With a furious cry of "Trance!" they upped the ante on the battle. Ranko was in Senshi form and it seemed that Shampoo looked vaguely like a purple Power Ranger. The two girls didn't have time for a sweatdrop or a facefault as Cloud decided it was time to come back down. Ranko unleashed the Moon Scepter Elimination and Shampoo fired off a blast from a massive gun that appeared out of nowhere. Cloud flew right into the combined attack with a muttered "Oh crap." Before being blown into unconsciousness.
"That looked really painful." Shampoo winced as she helped Phil and Ranko set Cloud's injuries. The spikey-haired man winced at each new bandage. "I'll be fine by morning." He said quietly. "Hey, good news pal! These girls know where your Aerith is!" Phil said. The young man stared at the two intently "Where is she?" he asked. "She's in Traverse Town. We uh… came looking for you to ask you for a favor." Shampoo said. "For telling me where Aerith is, anything." Was Cloud's reply. "Well, we need to go help Ryoga." The redhead said and explained the situation to the young mercenary.
Back at the ranch…
"Final destination, dead ahead!" Bahamut roared, breaking them from their reverie. "I wish he wouldn't say 'dead'." Donald complained. The world they were heading to looked like it was literally falling apart or being put together. It took them a moment to realize that it was both. Bahamut roared towards the entrance and hurled Donald and Ryoga from the cockpit. They both used the Glide technique to reach the ground safely. After a quick search of the area, they concluded they had wound up in a world of water. The two young warriors found that they were on the only island. "This is no good. Water everywhere and if we attacked while swimming, we're sunk." Ryoga stated. Donald, however, was peering at the water. He rested his hand on the surface and found it wouldn't go in. It was wet, sure, but it could be walked on. "We don't need to worry about swimming. Come on." Donald said and led the way. Ryoga hurried to keep up. They walked in awed silence towards the giant portal they could see. It was swirling with purple energy and seemed to be simultaneously sucking in and spitting out pieces of land. "Kinda reminds me of a baby with solid food…" Ryoga muttered. The sailor-suited boy's eyebrow raised at the apt description. Suddenly a sphere of energy caught their attention and engulfed them. They shut their eyes against the blinding light and heard a roar. "That's not good." The cursed martial artist said to no one in particular. Donald just nodded his head. The roar came from the massive form of the Behemoth. "The horn is the weakest point! Get it Ryoga!" Donald shouted as Ryoga sprang into action. With a mighty leap, he vaulted onto the beast's back with both Keyblades out and ready. The sailor-suited boy alternated between hurling bolts of lightning and unleashing blasts of pure energy at the Behemoth's horn. The monster roared in pain and unleashed a storm of lightning bolts over the whole area. Ryoga grunted in pain as the blast struck him. Whirling into action, he struck at the monster's horn with enough force to shred steel. He was once again amazed at how much raw power his male body had. The creature was screaming in obvious agony just seconds before his horn was ripped out of its head by massive over the shoulder slashes of his Keyblades in a cross pattern. Blood erupted from the stump, its frantic squeals of pain and rage filled the air before Donald brought down a condensed bolt of lightning from the sky and blasted through the Behemoth's body. As they watched the monster vanish, Ryoga stared down at his hands with awe. Donald was even impressed at what he saw. "That was amazing…" Ryoga whispered, but a portion of his mind asked him if power was that important.
Lombardia burst into the massive cavern on the other end of the world with little effort. Virginia shouted, "Everybody out and let's move!" as Heartless began arriving to investigate the disturbance. They leapt from Lombardia and used the Glide technique to float to the far side of the cavern. The dragon roared before unleashing Draconic Missiles into the ranks of advancing monsters before retreating. "Everyone okay?" Xiao whispered and the others nodded in response. They took off stealthily through the darkened cave. Virginia was in the lead, watching the area ahead for signs of danger. Goofy was next, holding his shield to guard against side attacks. Xiao was actually a little awestruck over the scenery. Crystals hung down from the ceiling, glowing in beautiful reds, blues, and greens. Her eyes were so filled with wonder she didn't notice when Virginia stopped to investigate a big hole. She was leaning over it with Goofy next to her. "Hey Xiao. Take a look at… Wait! Stop! Ahhh!" she exclaimed as Xiao ran into her. Goofy tried to stop her from falling and found himself overbalanced. Xiao grabbed hold of him, but had no hope of holding them. The three startled companions fell down into the hole. As they fell, pixie dust exploded around them and kept them aloft. Xiao and Goofy were a little startled at Virginia flying until they saw Tinker Bell hovering near them. "Okay, this is definitely new." She said before squeaking in alarm at her suddenly floating skirt and shoved it down. Goofy's danger sense suddenly kicked in at the same moment that Xiao's did and they looked straight across at a strange mountain. The mountain seemed to be breathing. "What's goin' on?" the drifter exclaimed, drawing her guns. Xiao drew the Chijikimori in her right hand and the Masamune with her left. Goofy readied his shield as the "mountain" exploded in a roar and resolved itself into a massive demon of unimaginable power. Xiao's eyes slitted "That's Chernabog!" the others looked at her "What?" Goofy exclaimed. "The Lord of Bald Mountain." She said "A demon I came across in my travels to find Ryoga. His power is phenomenal and he's nearly invincible." She said as she clenched her blades tighter. Virginia scoffed "I've heard the term 'invincible' thrown around a lot, but that never stopped me." The gunfighter girl said with conviction. Goofy just grinned wickedly "As long as we all agree… Let's get this punk!" he shouted as they flew at Chernabog. Tinker Bell cast a strange glowing spell around them to keep their strength up. Virginia shouted out "Hyper!" The spell erupted into blazing light and wreathed them in white light as well as Tinker Bell's gold, they felt even stronger. "Attachment!" the girl also cried out, their weapons glowing bright white. "I attached the Light attribute to our weapons!" she said to her companions startled faces and fired her guns to show what she did. Her bullets blew holes through the demons wings. The beast roared and hurled them away with a sudden gust of wind. Xiao used her enhanced weapons to shear off his left wing while Goofy did his right one. With a scream of rage and a powerful slash, he slammed them all away. Tink's spell was helping with some of the damage, but not all of it. They hammered on him for a while longer, but each time he would throw them away as if they were nothing. "Fine.. You wanna play like that…" Virginia panted "Then this is what you get! Zephyr!" and summoned down her dragon! The eruption of pure light energy momentarily blinded them, but they were in for a surprise when the dust settled. Zephyr was struggling against Chernabog, but couldn't strike him with his attack. "He needs help! Let's get 'em!" Goofy cried and pointed his shield at the monster, gathering energy. Xiao was readying her First Class Demon God Assault Blade and Virginia was setting up for Finest Arts. Without warning, the three struck. Virginia rushed in ahead of the attack with blinding speed, striking Chernabog repeatedly before a powerful blast of energy to his head. She barely dodged in time to avoid Xiao's revised attack Breaker Cross Ray and Goofy's Nameless Blast. The demon reeled from the unexpected attacks just before Zephyr obliterated him with his Hope Blast. The three friends floated there in the air, trying to catch their breath. "Hopefully our friends had an easier time then we did." Goofy said. The others nodded in agreement.
A dark shadow infiltrated the massive citadel where Ranma currently resided. The shadow knew that Ryoga and the others were almost there so it figured on making a commotion. Chaos is much more fun than order because while the chaos reigns the others can get through. Cloud lowered his hood and struck a pose before a group of enhanced Guardians. The silver armored menaces took notice of him and rushed to destroy him. The SOLDIER let a grin cross his face just before he sent them to oblivion with a serious of lightning quick strikes placed in sensitive spots such as the neck, chest, and groin. He was certain they wouldn't get back up to trouble him, especially after the fireball he unleashed disintegrated them. More Guardians and a few Wizards heard the racket and came to investigate only to find themselves meeting the same fate as their fellows. He felt naked without his sword, but there wasn't enough room to draw it. The next turn brought him into a massive chamber with doors on both ends. He knew as soon as he walked into the room that it was a trap. At least the ceiling was high enough for him to quickly whip out his sword. Both doors slammed shut behind and in front of him. "Well, hello there traveler. I have been waiting for one such as you." A voice called out from above, but when Cloud looked there was no one there. "What do you want?" he shouted. "I need a test subject of course. New Heartless need a trial by fire before they are released. Angels! Invisibles! Attack!" the voice bellowed. The spikey-haired young man found himself dodging rapidly as balls of pure white energy struck the ground repeatedly, just barely missing him. He thought he was successful until his danger sense kicked in and he sidestepped just in time to avoid the sweep of a sword. The room was full of the monsters. In the air were glowing white Heartless with six angelic wings. The ones that hovered lower then them were pure black with a hole through their bodies in the shape of a heart. Cloud just smiled nastily at them. "Bring it on." He said before rushing forward at Sonic Rush speed, cleaving through Invisibles as he raced past before lunging skyward and soaring through the Angels. The Heartless falling to pieces as he flew by. The voice from above shouted down "Get your acts together! He's making you look like fools!" at which Cloud laughed maniacally as he proved that even though the label says "New and Improved" it's still the same old product in a new container. The sheer numbers of them hurtling into the room, however, did pose a problem. Cloud was growing desperate as he felt his body slowly tiring. "I'm through with this!" he roared "Meteorain!" as he twirled his sword in the air before unleashing dozens of energy bolts upon the hapless minions, destroying them. He was not happy when it turned out he needed to kick it up a notch as more flew in. They had no problem hitting him anymore. They struck from all sides and angles. The voice was crowing, "Now you see their power!" which was getting on Cloud's nerves. The young mercenary finally lost it. Black energy began gathering into his body, his sword was trembling with dark might. "I pity you fools. Dark Redemption!" he bellowed out in a mighty voice, hurtling through the air so fast it seemed almost like he was teleporting. Each time he reappeared, he would cut down another Heartless or hurl a blast of grayish black energy. The room was feeling the strain of repeatedly trying to contain the energy released. When Cloud finally stopped in the exact center of the room, discarded pieces of Heartless littered the room. Scorch marks and slash marks adorned the walls. The warrior grinned up at the ceiling before lazily floating out through a crack that had appeared in the wall. Once outside, he called out "That wasn't much fun! Maybe this will be more interesting!" just before holding a ruby materia over his head. "Knights of the Round!" summoned the most extreme of all summoned monsters. The Thirteen Knights flew at the citadel like guided missiles before striking heavily and repeatedly. Meteors, ice shards, fireballs, spinning staffs, axe strikes, and a grand sword slash later, there was nothing left except a smoking ruin. A boy floated above the ruined building with a scowl. "This is not the place to fight. Follow me if you're not scared." He taunted Cloud. The spikey-haired young man shrugged "Nah. Don't feel like it. I think you can amuse yourself while they come for you. Ja ne!" he said before swooping off. Ranma just stared after him in shock before floating off as well, in the opposite direction.
The divided companions finally met up again in a pale peach room with water dripping down the walls. A massive door dominated the room, but the feature Ryoga liked most of all was the energy restoring green circle. As everyone was getting themselves up to speed, Ryoga found his eyes drawn to the door. A voice spoke into his mind "This is the final haven before the Darkness. Use this time to reevaluate why you are here. Only when your purpose is truly known should you step through the door." It was immediately apparent to the cursed martial artist that no one else heard it. After a while, he cleared his throat. "Hey guys." He began as he got their attention. "This is the last place we can rest before the final battle. This will most likely take everything we have and then some. We didn't make it here with strength alone, but with spirit and heart. Who would have guessed we would all be here right now? Ready to fight the final enemy and rescue everyone who matters to us? I'll admit, I was worried about it, but I never gave up. I have to thank you. You're my friends and I needed you all." The young man finished, a lone tear trailing down his cheek. His friends surrounded him and gave him a big hug, they felt the same way. He saw Virginia standing off by herself and waved her over with a smile. As group hugs go, this was the biggest. A voice from the open doorway said "Great speech, but no hugs okay?" Cloud said as he walked in. "Cool! What are you doin' here?" Ryoga asked the mercenary. "You're girlfriends got worried about you and sought me out." He replied with amusement. Ryoga blushed down to his toes when he said "girlfriends". "You're 'pal' is in there. Let's finish this." Cloud said as he strode towards the door. Everyone hurrying to keep up. They all knew that this was the beginning of the end.
The space beyond the door was chillingly familiar. "Is this my island?" Ryoga asked numbly. They strode along the beach searching for any sign of their enemy. Down on the beach, near the water, he stood. His back straight and haughtily proud. He turned slowly to look at them as they approached. "I offered the child power many years ago. He refused me and I was amazed at his strength of will. Ranma became my personal project for many years as I cultivated the attitudes that would grant me a new body and new life. I really should thank you Ryoga. If you hadn't defeated him on that day, I never would have regained my former power. Thank you, sap." He said, eyes glowing ominously as he expanded in height. His hair turned spikey and lowered to his waist, when the transformation was complete he stood there proudly in baggy silk pants and no shirt, powerfully muscled. His grin was feral "I am Happosai." Ryoga gasped. "The old pervert who tried to summon a demon to steal all the girls' clothing at school?" he said in disbelief. Xiao blinked "Old? He doesn't look old." She said, but Ryoga continued "He was old. A couple hundred years old." Happosai was growing impatient with the fanged youth. "The spell backfired and he was killed in a rain of studded undergarments from the local chapter of 'Biker Grandmas Anonymous'." He finished just before Happosai raged "Shut the hell up you damn cretin! Now DIE!" he roared before exploding forward in a burst of speed, hurtling them all away with powerful strikes. What surprised the old pervert was that everyone just rolled back to their feet! "Okay, what's going on here?" he demanded. "Well, I dunno about Cloud, but we've been trained by Genma and Ranko Saotome. I don't think you'll find us so easy to beat." The fanged youth said. The man smiled evilly "Not bad, but I am the Grandmaster of the Anything Goes School! You'll never defeat me!" he broke into maniacal laughter and dared them to strike. "I won't even dodge." He said. A few seconds and a host of new wounds later he amended that statement to "Eat this and DIE!" before unleashing blasts of pure ki that leveled the surrounding landscape. Ryoga was deliberately lunging in close before jumping back, drawing the angry man's firepower while Goofy kept the heat off Donald and Virginia. The gunfighter girl was squeezing off shots rapidly, slicing into Happosai's exposed flesh and spraying blood onto the sand. Xiao was practically a black and red blur as she streaked about, slapping him on the flanks with the flats of her blades. Cloud unleashed Meteorain upon the Grandmaster's head, but growled when it was casually swatted away. Donald finally unleashed a combination of all elemental magic as he screamed out "Ultima!" and destroyed the area where Happosai had been standing. Past tense meaning the rejuvenated old man leaped over the incoming attack. He sweatdropped at the thought of nearly getting hit by that before all thoughts were driven from his mind by a Ryoga hurtling at him at Amaguriken speed and striking him in the head with the Keyblades. The enraged master unleashed a massive wave of ki from his body and flattened everyone. His eyes were red with hate and the malevolent power rolled off his body. "Why don't we conclude this elsewhere?" he whispered angrily. "Just so that you comply… I have your friends." and gestured towards where the island had cracked open like an egg, revealing Shampoo and Ranko. They were unconscious and obviously beaten. Ryoga saw red when he saw the state his friends were in. His hands tightened on the hilts of his weapons. Everyone stared in horror as a huge bull demon head came up and swallowed them! "Come along children! I don't have all day!" he shouted before vanishing. "Follow the old freak." The fanged boy grated.
They jumped into the area where the girls vanished and found themselves falling down what felt the Wonderland rabbit hole, but nowhere near as friendly. The companions had only thought on their minds and that was to rescue Ranko and Shampoo. The old pervert was heard laughing up a storm as the emerged into a dense, black fog before passing into more darkness. Happosai could be seen gloating over a pair of ornate double doors that seemed to reek of malevolent energy. "So glad you could make it." He said. "Since I have no use for them, they're too young for my taste, you can have them back!" and whipped the two girls back to their friends. Ryoga actually wanted to laugh at Happy boy's ignorance. Donald made short work of healing them. They woke up slowly, being held by Ryoga "I'm sorry. You told us to stay in Traverse Town." Shampoo said. "We just wanted to help." Ranko said softly. Their friends surrounded them, offering warmth and support. Ryoga whispered "I'm just glad you're ok." and their auras all flared up to amazing new heights! They reeked of power that Happosai never dreamed of before. With a shriek of rage he drew in all the dark power from around him, swelling himself to impossible heights. He grew to twenty times his original size, creating a massive sword from thin air. "I will not allow this to happen! I will not lose this body!" he shouted. Their burning auras flared even greater as they arrayed themselves in the air. "There's seven of us and one of you. The sayin' "Quality over quantity" don't apply, we're all quality!" Ryoga shouted. Happosai just grinned "Let's do this then, one on one. I'll amuse your friends in another fashion! Come my great ship and destroy them!" so saying, he summoned a giant ship with bull demon at the rear with a massive demonic skull in the front. Ryoga found himself slammed backward by a power tackle from Happosai. The ship's demonic head sucked in Xiao, Virginia, and Goofy while the main body assaulted Donald, Ranko, Shampoo, and Cloud "Don't destroy the outer body until our friends escape!" Donald shouted. The other warriors nodded before commencing the "attack".
Inside of the Ship
As they came to slowly, the darkness felt oppressive. Xiao was trying to wake up Goofy while Virginia scouted around the area. "It feels like a room of some kind, but I dunno what's here. All I can see is the glowing floor." The gunslinger said as she paced. The young knight stirred with a groan and sat up. "You're awake." Xiao said softly and hugged him. He smiled slightly before his eyes quickly shot to the side of the room. "There. It's watching us." He said urgently just before a massive shape hurtled out into the room and sent them flying. Virginia retaliated with a storm of bullets, but all she heard was the ricochet as they missed. Goofy tried to shield slam, but found he was charging the wall. Xiao was the only one with sight enough to see the creature. It was creeping around, trying to be sneaky, but apparently missed the most important thing. A neko-girl with two swords is not something you turn your back on. snikt!
Outside the Ship
The companions were having a hard time. Even though they knew they shouldn't destroy the outer shell until their friends return, just staying alive is proving to be a problem. The ship seemed equipped with energy missiles, vacuum waves, and bolts of pure electricity that it employed with brutal efficiency. Just as they were hurled back for the umpteenth time, the demon skull exploded releasing their friends! "Now we can destroy it!" Ranko cried as she powered up for a Mouko Takabisha Perfect, Shampoo was drawing in for a variation attack she called Exploding Sphere, Donald drew in for another Ultima, Cloud pulled in power for Meteorain, Goofy for his Nameless Blast, Xiao for her Breaker Cross Ray, and Virginia used Gattling. The rain of attacks hammered through the practically unstoppable beast. "The only reason you were so hard was because we didn't wanna hurt our friends. Let's help Ryoga!"
Battle with Happosai
This was certainly not Ryoga's day as Happy scored another direct hit on him. No matter what he tried, he couldn't seem to regain the initiative. "I own you." Was all the Grandmaster said as he pressed the attack. "No! I can't lose like this! So much depends on me. I want to save my friends and restore everyone's worlds!" with a primal scream, he cried "Nothing will stop me!" he cried to the heavens and unleashed Trance. Unlike the usual Trance, he was in his old black armor with Oblivion and Shadow Keyblade. He felt a presence behind his still male body and saw a pink haired girl in white armor similar to his. Her Keyblades said Heart and Soul. "What?" he asked intelligently. The girl smiled "You are me and I am you. No matter what, we are together. You're friends are coming as well. Let's show this evil bastard what we can do!" she cried confidently. Ryoga looked around and saw all his friends arriving, all in Trance form, even Shampoo! Cloud just seemed to be even more badass then before. Happosai growled "What do you think you can do?" he snarled. "Whatever we can." Came Ryoga's reply as they all joined the battle. "To quote someone famous 'Size doesn't always matter'!" Xiao cried and everyone sweatdropped.
The battle with the grandmaster took what seemed like forever to the battle weary crew, but the victory was worth it. As they surveyed the area, Ryoga's eyes fastened onto the doors and flew over to them. His girl half, Choko, following along with him. Upon reaching the door a voice called out "This is the final door! Once you open this, all the worlds will be restored! It's time to embrace your destiny and thank you." The voice quieted down. "Donald, Goofy, it will be time to go. You must say goodbye." The voice once again spoke. Donald and Goofy looked depressed. With a low cry, Xiao flung herself into Goofy's arms. "No! I wanna stay with you! I won't ever let you go!" she sniffled "I'm sorry Ryoga, I wanna be with Goofy." She said, eyes downcast. "That's alright. As long as you're happy." He said with a smile. The farewells were tearful and final. They set their hands on the doors and pulled, their last thoughts on the friends they made and the love they all shared.
End Chapter 13
Author's Notes: No, I am not ending it on that note! I will write one more chapter entitled "Epilogue". Creative, huh? I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did! Ja ne!