Are you ready, kids?
Percy, Reevee21, Announcer: Aye, Aye, Captain!
Tod: We can't hear you!
Percy, Reevee21, Announcer: Aye, Aye, Captain!
Okay, We can hear you now so now I'm guessin' you guys are eager to get to the Giant Robot Rumble of the Episode!
Percy, Reevee21, Announcer: Aye, Aye, Captain!
So, get ready for the most exciting thing since the announcement of Yooka-Laylee!
Reevee21: I have literally no idea what you just said, so AYE AYE, CAPTAIN!
Okay! Well, then let's get this show started, Gundam fight all set! Ready, Go!
1: Tatakai no Toki - Digimon Adventure
2: Overcoming a Burning Hatred - G Gundam
3: I am The Doctor in Utah - Doctor Who Series 6
4: Venari Strigas - Madoka Magica
5: Absolute Configuration - Madoka Magica Rebellion
6: Sakubou - Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)
7: Fake Verthandi - Steins;gate
8: A Duel with a Witch - Madoka Magica
9: Spiral of Truth - Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood
10: Cor Destructum - Madoka Magica
11: Ms. Muru Muru's Hidden Future Diary - Future Diary
Chapter 21: Freedom of Soul
There are two type of lives in this world, the one that are discarded and the ones who are chosen for so much more. My father is among the latter, while one Takashi Waku is among the former. And yet, he survived his attempted rescue of Sarah Kamijiha: a chosen maiden who somehow slipped through the cracks. Just by looking into the eyes of his father, I could tell Waku was too weak to be chosen, and yet I wonder how he managed to hold on.
1
Tomoki was reading a Hobby magazine when he glanced towards the window to find a giant white robot in the shape of a cockroach with the shell of a snail. Kodama had also been taking notice of the mech as the Mighty Zearth was standing right in front of the 'bug' waiting for its pilot.
A familiar sweep of static consumed them and before they knew it, they were in the cockpit—still containing the decorative touches and outright presence of Deus and his entourage—alongside all of his other comrades.
"Showtime, Punks!" Koyemshi barked to the pilots.
"I do hope this battle is worth enjoying." Deus spoke from up high.
"Koyemshi! Can't you at least warn us when you're gonna warp us out!" Barked Anko, her hair all frizzed up, courtesy of an interrupted hair-drying. "Some of us have actual lives, y'know!"
"Yeah, Yeah, sorry 'bout that." sighed Koyemshi in apathy.
"H-Hey! Koyemshi!" barked Maki in shock of the Nentaga Controller's severed cord, "Dad's gonna kill me if he sees this!"
"Okay, I'll reconnect the cords once we get back." complained Koyemshi.
"Just let it rip and knock 'em dead!" Cheered Murmur.
The chairs lifted into the air as the darkness surrounding the dome gave way to the sky once more. This time giving light to an added feature of their towering toy: a flowing crimson cape with a metallic plate with numerous slots each with a light similar to the mech's slotted face. Both the enemy and the Mighty Zearth started to move as the civilians started to panic as you'd usually expect from mechs of this size. The Bug-Mech pierced the roads one would use to escape, Zearth merely steps forward... into a tall building... Does it not help that MZ stepped on a house that was next door?
"Tomoki! Stop moving so recklessly!" yelled Daichi. "Lust look at how much damage you caused!"
"I'm certain he'll grow into it..." Kodama sighed to the fellow, "Besides, Do we even care at this point..."
"Geez, do ya even realize what you're saying?!" complained Maki.
"If you really want to save them, then go ahead and Ranger up, more power to you." Kodama responded in apathy, "If anybody dies before you can get to them, then that's just the way the world works."
"God damn it, you're so..." Machi struggled to find the right word to describe Kodama, especially with his twisted views on the world's nature, "Ugh! Anybody willing to help out the civilians, Take Kodama along with you!"
"Go for it, Moji!" added Nicole, "The less time we spend together with Kodama, the better!"
"Guess I better help out, too..." sighed Kanji.
"Whaddiya say, Komo?" asked Maki, "Wanna go to fully stretch our Kyuseiger wings?"
"If anything we can do can save as many people as we can, then I might as well." agreed Komo
2
The five summoned their spheres called 'Grid Cores' after the 'Morphin Grid' Toei regularly utilizes for its Tokusatsu series across the globe. With each pilot letting out a cry of the word: "Henshin!", The five bash their cores into the sky and let the costumes flow onto them as usual.
Kodama's outfit was a particular shade of blue that is commonly used to color the ocean in most pieces of artwork. "Advent of chosen man, Zearth Indigo"
"Zearth Blue"
"Coding ideas long weathered by time, Zearth Black"
"The nerdy heroine, Zearth Turquoise!"
"The ...uh, reasonable heroine, Zearth Teal."
"Drawn together as a single whole," Kodama spoke flatly as he spoke their title with more than enough pride to get the other four shouting the last of those three words: "Zearth Sentai Kyuseiger"
3
The static whisked the Seiger'ed up kids to a scene of catastrophe, Komo placed her hand onto her visor to activate her Virtra Scope to search for any nearby civilians that might wind up in harm's way.
"We gotta get out of here!" cried a man to his wife who then yelped upon feeling the quake triggered by the close proximity of Zearth's footsteps. "C'mon, Hurry!"
"Where are we supposed to go?!" the wife cried back before Maki leapt onto a nearby streetpost and pointed away from the ongoing battle, "Run this way, just don't look back, alright?"
The loving couple fled as Maki ordered, prompting Maki to keep searching for people to rescue. Meanwhile, Moji found a little girl looking for her mother, lost, frightened, and alone.
"I'm here, and I will find your mother." spoke Moji in a calming manner.
Kodama leapt atop a school bus teetering on a broken bridge to karate chop falling debris to prevent a moving limo from getting crushed under said debris.
'This is amazing, I can personally choose who lives and who dies.' thought Kodama, showing no care towards the innocent lives on the bus. 'Just thinking about this exciting gift gives me chills.'
The children on the bus were mostly 8th graders, three of which were well known to bully a certain girl on a regular basis. Right now, they were concerned with surviving their usual commute amongst all this giant robot rumbling, "No! We don't wanna die! We're so sorry Nana-Nana Boo-Boo!"
Thinking quickly, Kanji used his superhuman strength to pull the bus back onto the road with Komo using her Ribbon Whip to rip away the emergency exit: "Get to safety, we're already taking measures in preventing any further catastrophe."
Maki arrived to herd the survivors to a safe location using her twin Daggers to point to the way as the middle schoolers flocked out of the Bus, "It'll be alright!"
"Thank you, good Madame," cried the fluffy lipped "You've proven yourself better than the Nanarangers!"
As the bus emptied she leapt to the site of the Limo Rescue, "Kodama!"
"Hey, shouldn't you be Helping?!" Kanji complained to the Ocean-colored warrior.
"I am helping, Mister Yoshikawa. The more paying customers I rescue, the more business Dad gets. The same goes for the buildings Tomoki destroys in his flight."
"The hell are you talking about?" spoke Kanji.
"Give it a rest, Okay?!" yelled Machi via Intercom.
"And all of this to save ten billion lives," re-alliterated Kodama as he walked towards his gathering comrades, "What difference does a mere ten thousand make in that, anyway?"
"Everything!" Cried Komo as she walked to Kodama, "Every life can make a difference in the lives of others!"
"Of course I care for the lives of others." scoffed Kodama. "But the time to protect others comes after we've protected ourselves! Got it?"
The other Kyuseigers glanced at themselves before moving on to prevent further damage to the city.
Damage that the Opponent was trying to do as little of as possible.
Meanwhile, Shoukachi, Naisho and Josei piled out of the car and watched the carnage that was ensuing.
"This is getting crazy..." sighed Shoukachi.
The five Kyuseigers have gathered at the real estate offices to escort as many civilians as they could. As the only five silhouetted in calm whilst the nearby crowds were panicking heavily, they apparently stuck out just enough for our next monsters to find them...
A man in a white leisure suit stepped forward, bejeweled walking stick in hand, sporting a wicked grin on his face.
"The Morning Sun, a dish best served with cream corn, no?" a waiter spoke to Maki, making her shutter and say: "A dish served with corn chips, yes. Preferably with a helping of salsa, but cream corn? Excuse me, but how old are you?!"
"Elevendy-Bajillion! Just like every other puppet the Machine has to rrrrr-recycle!"
It was then that the man in the suit shed his canon form to become a monster, its hard and twisted body sporting the man's ridiculously age-ified face as its torso, its harsh and twisted will being not his own - as he is merely a puppet for the green haired man from the previous episode.
"Come now, Fatalfloss, we mustn't spoil all my secrets."
Speaking of which; the green-haired man himself chuckled while displayed on a nearby flatscreen as the five multi-colored mooks stepped close to the creature, dubbed Fatalfloss.
"That would merely spoil the fun, and we cannot have that when your ability to assimilate puppets has been neutralized," he stated sadistically.
"No... but I can still destroyinate them!" Fatalfloss cackled.
4
It was then that he regurgitated a brown substance towards the Kyuseigers present; all of them leapt onto a nearby desk out of both self-defense and...disgust, obviously.
Maki tried to merely backflip across...
...until she tripped and fell onto the substance, which upon inspection was pretty sticky. "Geez, what is this stuff?" she muttered.
"Nothing much, Just a little soda to quench your thirst!" The foe continued to spray his 'soda' at the Kyuseigers.
Kodama rushed in only to slip on the Soda. Kanji used the distraction provided by such bullheadedness to his advantage as slashed Fatalfloss from behind.
The creature turned around and spewed a gas from his topmost mouth and knocked Kanji away towards Komo, knocking both of them flat on their backs and leaving them against a new set of foes, faceless mooks with an illustrated skull adorning each of the masks they wore as they cried "Eee! Eee!" in inhumane voices.
The 'Seigers gather around their comrades to fight off the mooks around them. Kicks and punches flew in every which way you could imagine as two looming shadows approached them; going so far as to wrist-grab one and throw it into others like a massive game of incredibly deadly, close-combat bowling.
"So, you're the famous Kyuseigers?" asked the silver-haired fellow, intrigued by how well they are fending off the mooks. After a brief stop to dodge a Judo-Tossed Mook at him, he continued with, "I can see why Ankh here's taken a liking to ya!"
"Shut up!" Kanji barks, rushing to the grinning man and unleashshing an array of kicks.
The man dodges at every turn as he grabs his leg and tosses it towards Maki and Komo, knocking the two on their sides. "At least put up a fight, I was specifically told not to go all out and instead use the rider getup... Much to my displeasure..."
And at that moment a cybernetic caterpillar scurried into his hand and condensed its body into the shape of a cuccoon, revealing three yellow circular buttons sporting images of a lion, a tiger, and a cheetah. "Henshin."
Once more, the Kyuseigers found themselves face to face with the armored entity from the Little Miss Scurvy pageant a couple of nights back. The foe in question was still just as slow as ever, except here, he was all alone with the one known as Fatalfloss a few yards away.
They assaulted the armored knight with every punch and kick they could muster; but what the knight lacked in speed, he made up for it in durability. "Honestly, this is just sad..." he sighed.
"Who you callin' sad!" Kanji snarled.
"Me, for not casting off sooner..." snarked the knight as he pressed the buttons upon the cocoon. Each shouted the name of the animal that was printed on each button: 'RAION!' 'TORA!' 'CHEETAH!', and the corresponding animals shined onto the streetlight-esque chestplate on his armor.
"'Casting off'? You mean that isn't the only form your armor can take?" gasped Moji.
"Heh, you underestimate the technology of Lunar Empire of Shocker." And as he detached a black ring, all the notches that were visible on his armor began to unlock and detach from each other - and as the mask disassembled, Moji noted that a holographic outline of a mask similar to a lion's mane was being projected onto the knight's helmeted face: "Cast Off!"
He scans the three buttons on his belt with the circular device, causing the device itself to generate three yellow rings and the belt to speak 'CAST OFF!' as the rings circled around to the point where the projected symbols were right in front of the armored warrior. The command given by the belt allowed the speaker on the scanner to play a little jingle, 'La-Tora-Ta, La-Toraaaaa-Tah!' before the now lined-up symbols fused together and slammed on the Knight's chest, blowing apart the armor and sending each chunk towards the Kyuseiger, slamming right through them piece by piece.
The digital mane manifested itself in the physical plane like a high-speed 3D printer on overclock. A shout of 'CHANGE CHIMERA!' signaled the completion of the knight's rebirth, and no longer was it weighed down by the bulky armaments that had once limited its movement. Now, the warrior was sleeker, swifter, and oh-so-much deadlier, to the dismay of the Kyuseigers.
"So... What do you think, kiddies?"
The Kyuseigers struggle to get back up after the damage the five had sustained and watch as the knight in yellow walked closer and honed his new claws: "Shocker Rider... RaToraTa!"
5
Their foe's newfound superhuman speed as enough of a hassle already, but now they had to fend off a clawed warrior. Curse you and your unfair fates, destiny.
"This doesn't make sense!" cried Maki. "The only other RaToraTa isn't even its own entity! It's just a form change of OOO!"
This information earned her a glare from Komo which allowed her to continue, "Kamen Rider OOO, uses these interchangeable core medals to transform and pretty much mix and match forms on the fly!"
"Oh, I'm aware. And It's through the research on OOO that we were able to Mass Produce these new DuplOOO toys!" Sneered RaToraTa, frightening Maki just with the thought of Mass-Producing Kamen Riders. They were unique warriors of justice - despite being nothing more than a children's TV show from Japan - what kind of sick individual would be perverted enough in-universe to mass produce the very tools and gadgets that made them special?!
'This isn't right' She thought to herself... They fought on, but even with Kanji's axe and Moji's Staff, he was just too hot to handle.
And to make matters worse: "Remember me?!"
The Monster from before, Fatalfloss, has jumped in. They now had two beasts to fend off, and arranged accordingly to face them; to buy some time, plant some vengeance, maybe even for the fact that they were going against a soda-spewing beast and a feline-armored fiend and might possibly need to practice a bit of self-defense. You know, if they were ever going to live through this galactical, deity-concering mess of robots and aliens.
Meanwhile, with the rest of the pilots. Tomoki was not doing much better against his opponent the insect-like mech unleashed a tendril to grasp at MZ's right arm. The pilots panicked as you'd expect, but Tomoki still remained fierce and courageous as another tendril made for the arm's corresponding shoulder and thus causing the heroic mech to pull it in closer and dragging it's heeled feet through the streets. "Tomoki, You're crushing the houses!"
"I can't help it, we're being dragged in!" Cried Tomoki.
"Please, You want to be considered a chosen man or not?!" commanded a voice from a projection on the cockpit 'wall' right before it yelled: "Keep fighting so we can prove our worth to God!"
"But how can I fight when I can't even move!?" replied Tomoki.
"A reasonable challenge if you ask me." added Koyemshi.
Tomoki tried pulling the mech close using the tendrils as a rope. Obviously this rewards MZ with another moment on all fours courtesy of another one of the cockroach's tendrils.
"I can't do it, I can't do it!" Tomoki was sobbing his eyes out.
The mech then uses another tendril to grip the remaining arm to pull Tomoki and company forward.
"Just ignore their complaining and focus on the task at hand!" commanded Kodama, "Don't you want to protect your parents?"
"But how do I beat him?!" rightfully whined Tomoki.
"Well I know for sure that there'd be trouble if our legs are caught in the crossfire." Moji recounted.
So naturally, it results in MZ Hopping for it's life to avoid an extra tendril. They were merely 50 meter hops, so there wasn't anything too dramatic, except for the cape which MZ promptly tripped over its cape.
Right above the fancy restaurant Shoukachi was going to.
"Father!" This made Kodama run off, not to flee from their foe, rather to rescue his father. The superhuman speed allowed Kodama to arrive on the scene before a full 20 seconds before impact, so lets see what the pilots were thinking beforehand.
"Gyaaaaaahhh!" Kako was crying in fear of the imminant crash, Koyemshi slides towards him a more laid-back manner.
"No need to worry, kiddies..." Koyemshi stated "The cockpit was designed so you'd all float."
"It's all to keep you in peak physical condition." added Deus, flattered that Kako found concern for the team. Sure, it was aimed more towards his own wellbeing, but still! "In fact, it is highly important that you stay alive during this endevor."
The Mech was falling towards the city, leaving the mech-stationed Kyuseigers in a panic as Kodama gave chase to the impending crash site.
"What do I do, Kodama-Sempai!" Cried Tomoki over the Radio as Kodama quickly approached the bistro where his father is currently feasting...
"Toss it away! You're one of the Chosen..." Kodama commanded as he prepared to make a leap towards the falling titan. "ACT LIKE ONE, DAMN YOU!"
"Saa! Ikuze!" Tomoki roared in Japanese as it spun around, tossing the bug across the cityscape with the momentum of the fall as the tendrils came undone at the seams. Kodama sensed that the arm was going to slam into the bistro where his father and his guests were currently eating so he leapt up and slammed his hands on the forearm of their soldier of naught, pushing with all his might as it final crashed into the cityscape. Tomoki started to get the Mighty Zearth back up but then freezes up at the sight of his parents eating an expensive dinner...
Without him...
They spent his college fund on a fancy dinner without him!
6
Below the mech that laid on its side was Kodama, struggling to keep the mech from causing any further damage to the bistro as any falling debris would kill his father on contact. The weight of the Mighty Zearth was straining the already impressive superhuman strength his suit had bestowed upon the boy. He feared that it could give out at any moment, crushing him as well as everyone in the bistro...
"This doesn't look good." Kozue glanced.
"Tomoki, Hurry and finish it off now!" complained Hikoi.
"They lied to me... They lied to me... They lied to me... They lied to me..."
"Yo, Tomi! Would ya snap out of it and wrap this up?" Tedd yelled.
"Hurry up and end this fight, forget the damage to cause and let go of your shortcomings!" Kodama 'yelled' to Tomi "Listen to Me!"
This made Tomoki willing to let the Mighty Zearth stand tall and proud as it made it's way to it's target so that said mecha would be promptly torn to shreds.
And willing to tear this mech asunder was Tomoki, not just because it was his duty, but because it was through this mechanical menace that he learned a dark truth about his parents.
"This level of brutality is not what a hero would do..." Daichi lamented to himself.
As the mechanical monstrosity tore into the foe in question. Kodama, having now been relieved of the weight of the mech, charged forth at Fatalfloss with his claws, slashing away like mad while mixing it with quite a few kicks. As the Foe was kicked into a candy store, Fatalfloss then spotted "TAFFY!" Its purple masked second head popped out and made the form eat away at the taffy like mad as the torso cried in horror. "No! Not my one delicious weakness!"
"Now you're wide open!" Roared Kodama as his hunter claw transformed into a rocket arm claw which Kodama held steady with his free hand "GIGA CLAW..."
Twin Horns Emerged on the Claw like you would find on a stag beetle as Kodama charged forth with a massive wind pushing him ever closer "TEAAAARAAAAAHHHHHRRRRR!" When the attack landed upon the foe, Tomoki held the enemy's vital point in MZ's hand. They both finished off their foes with a crunch. One from Zearth's Claw, another: the horns on Kodama's Glove. And while MZ's foe was silent, Kodama's foe was as over the top as a Toku Monster can get.
"I NEEEEEEEED... ONNNNEEE MOOOOREE... SOOOOOOOOODAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The monster cried as it collapsed on the floor and inevitably exploded in a ball of green fire which blew away the walls and ceiling of the candy store, and yet left the sweets unharmed for stray survivors to gorge on. RaToraTa stepped forth and yawned: "Just what we need, Further proof that two scraps aren't better than one..."
"You're Next, Copycat!" roared Maki as she charged towards her current foe. She ran towards the feline, daggers in hand, before being punched back by a sudden force. Maki glared into the eyes of the person responsible; Golden Hair and a silver mask adorn the newcomer's fierce face as a scanning screen is displayed on the lenses. "Hands off my pet project."
"S-So you're the one..." A knee to the gut was all it took for the woman to knock Maki out of her morphed state and onto a wall. This made RaToraTa chuckle at the sight of his fallen opponent being a little girl, "I clearly could have taken her down on my own, ya old hag! She's just a kid after all..."
"The reason I chose to intervene at this particular moment is because I have finished my current analysis on these Kyuseigers for the time being and they're still adjusting to the powers they've received." explained the golden-haired woman of seemingly thirty to the knight in yellow, "It doesn't matter if she's new to the power or if she's found the genetic tampering in her body, Death at the hands of a little girl will be something the afterlife will never let you live down..."
"...fffffffine." quoth a disgruntled LaToraTa as he shed his armor to reveal his seemingly typical self to the group as he said his goodbye for the moment. "You're lucky she showed up, you half-bred Monkey. Things would have been a lot more bloody if she didn't..." Those were the last words Maki heard before losing consciousness, the last words she thought before falling into her deep slumber was... '...muh...monkey?'
7
Fearful of what had happened to Maki as Komo returned with the unconscious body of her childhood friend, Marco glances to the god in anger.
"I demand to know what the meaning of these powers are!" declared Marco.
"Come to think of it, You never said that while you were spying on us these past several weeks, there would be other smaller monsters eager to hunt us down even during our battles in the Mighty Zearth!" Ushiro added.
"Nor do I recollect saying the Toys of the Core were created on earth for an earthly purpose." stated Deus.
"Cheap shot." muttered Nicole.
"Calm yourselves, I have not been careless with such cosmic artifacts of power. These tools are merely a means to an end, a little side quest to add to your duties as pilots of Zearth. As a matter of fact, by finishing off this third foe, you have completed three of your fifteen priliminary trials."
"Hold on, Did you say 'Priliminary'?" exclaimed Kodama.
"Wait, does that mean-?" Cress asked before the static overtook our heroes once more.
When next they opened their eyes, they found their ring of chairs in another ring of chairs. Twelve rings circled Deus as the children glared at the other sets of pilots.
"So we get a giant robot out of the deal? Sounds like a party to me?" An arrogant voice sounded loud and clear, "At 500 meters a pop, heh! I bet Kakarot would've loved to dance with one of those."
"Yuki, there are so many of them!" pointed a young woman with her long pink hair stylized in big, rabbit eared hair loopies in the front and a big, fluffy bun in the back.
"Heh, guess so..." chuckled a man with flowing black hair. They shared in common the standard uniform they modeled after the elder god; a flowing dark cloak with ornaments attached hiding a fancy fencing outfit.
"Congratulations, Children of Courage." greeted a middle aged man clad in another cloak of Godhood and a Jewish Kippah.
"Yeah, Good Job, Dude!" Cheered a girl in a fancy cap. "We just saved a princess from replacing the moon spirit by cutting her arm off! No Fate but What we make, am I right!"
"Wehew!" a cheer from the girl right next to the capped girl filled the air.
"Wait, are these bozos..." Monika gasped.
"...pilots, just like us?" added Koraline.
It was then that Marco saw a bunch of people, some of them were similar to their siblings, their cousins, every one of the Tenda kids who were among the pilots were there.
...Except for himself and Cress.
Did I mention that for the sake of mystery, they'll all be cloaked in shadow.
"Now that you all have congregated under the auspices of my newest survival game, permit me to extrapolate on its rules and purpose." began Deus.
"You may think that I am a god, but fret not. I no longer have such power for I have passed it down to these worthy successors." Deus lamented as their attention was re-directed to the three in front of this former god. "And even then, they have no time to see everything, so below your feet is a diligent crew of moderators to watch you go on your chosen path."
Sure enough, there was a bustling control center of what appears to be a studio. There, Freya and Caitlyn spotted two familiar faces amongst the scientists and blue collar workers present. Freya's jaw pretty much dropped upon seeing the bearded man and the young lady wave hello to them before going into a special room.
"Hey, that's Renei-" exclaimed Freya.
"...and Hakuharu!" Caitlyn continued.
"Indeed, they are the same producers from your dream." Stated Deus, "after all, they were the first to volunteer in the first place. Therefore, they are entitled to oversee the inner and outer workings of this new type of survival game where four giant robots in separate dimensions fight off the mechanical monstrosities I can afford to have their masterminds send over: fifteen for each metal warrior I dispense to each earth."
'No way, there are alternate universes involved?' thought Kanji.
"Excuse me, but I have a question about the giant robots." Asked a frog-like creature sitting atop a someteen-year-old dude's head, "I know you mentioned that there are four robots, but why do I see twelve around here?"
"While the other eight teams I plan to include in the survival game will not receive the fifteen metal foes destined for the remaining four—mainly since the budget can only stretch so thin..."Deus answered as a simulation of the Kyuseigers' ring of chairs appeared in front of them, spinning round and about to select the next pilot, "but with the monsters I vow to send to your universe, at least you can have these mechs to use in a pinch. Do keep in mind that any and all battles are fueled by the current pilot's entire midichlorian count, making your current job as costly as all the others."
The mark of the enemy appeared below the illusional projections of the cockpit as the chairs begin slowing down. "Furthermore, after your distinct set of trials are finished, you will all be sent to a universe of my choosing to neutralize the nothing."
"The wut?" A portly young teenager turned around to find a goddess in white holding a chest of four masks which all floated out one by one towards their respective hosts, The portly girl being one such host.
"These four faces are known as Kamikamé: Masks of the Gods." extrapolated Deus, "These will grant you the Power of the deities that each mask represents, but some have more unique traits than others."
Twas then that the portly girl's mask split in half, gaining the attention of a somewhat less portly girl as the masks begin to move towards their hosts. "You've already seen one of the masks' drawbacks in that Jessadie of Imagination's power is to be shared, but among the other three masks, they each have a different curse, there is one that condemns you to the face of a strong presence within your heart, as well as another that can influence your own ambitions. But there is one cursed mask that can completely suppliment the entire existence of the mask's wearer and turns the poor dastard into nothing more than a puppet for the nothing to control. And so, it is up to you to figure out which among the masked is cursed with this power."
Alistair Uno
He felt a panic not unlike when the day he faced Mother and Grandmother together in the same room... He felt the same fear just by looking at it, the visible dome of a salty codger combined with the unified darkness that made up of his ancestry.
Makoto Bario
He felt awe for once in his life, the power flowing from this mask was amazing to behold and twas he, a neive little Nintendo fanboy who got his mitts on such a powerful mask. Said mask resembled that of a Eastern-style dragon's head refined into a knight's helmet, symbolic of heroism in times of need.
Terry Bartholomew Jones
So this was the key to his new strength, the way he was destined to draw power from, his third and final wish was to be forfilled by this mask. The mask itself was blue with crimson horns adorning the bottom of the cheekbones like antenne
Jessica Paltrivel
Madison Zocuté
They both stared into each other's eyes, disappointed that their mask partner wasn't somebody they truly loved (Jess wanted an alien transfer student named Gomez) nor someone they could rely on (Maddie wanted her father) but nevertheless, the two still find joy that they gained their halves of this mask which brandished a swirl of chocolate and golden hair with its face marked in a hot-pink glow that seemingly invited the two...
Ventus Frederickson
At that point the chairs had stopped rotating and landed on Ven's seat on the cockpit, prompting the masks to propell themselves onto the faces of the guys and gals destined to wear them. There were screams of agony as their bodies mutated and grew into monstrous forms before they exploded into a mass of liquid energy and flew in their own directions.
"JESS!" cried a similar looking girl who was quite more fit than the girls wearing the mask of Jessadie "What the hell did you do!?"
"The same thing I've done to Miss Zocuté as well as three other entities, and that is transform them into the spawn of deities." Extrapolated Deus as he stood upward to further pronounce his preachings, "These four are in the running to become the next Chronicle Emperor or Empress,"
"Uh, Excuse me, but there were five people, not four..." asked a boy who shared the stage with five small frog-like humanoids. Deus calmly re-iliterated: "They share the mask of Jessadie, so they shall share the throne should they make it to the Edge of the Canon where it waits for the new ruler..."
"Ruler of What! Do we get a galactic empire to rule over!?" smiled the small green one, at least I think it's green, My Night Vision's rather weak.
"Only if your patron god's up to the task, for lo and behold: The battles that require the use of your Titans are fueled by every midichlorian within the body of the pilots chosen for each brawl." Koraline noted that the term 'Brawl' the former god had used in his speech wasn't half bad and thus considered using it sometime in the future as Deus continued extrapolating the rules of this new survival game "Those that weather their specific set of trials shall move onto their training as the next generation in an army of my Saints."
"And if those you choose are Buddhist ...or Jewish?" asked a slightly short fellow with a clean-shaved head. "You are free to maintain your faiths in your native religion if you please, but there are still tasks you need to do for me at the moment."
"Well I, for one, am glad we will be taking apart the scraps an re-using them for smaller-scale mechs." sneered a yellow frog.
"Please tell us about who will punish us for doing such things with their scraps!" Cried a fellow with a bowl of curry atop his head.
"Calm down, The Multi-Dimentional Diversity System has agreed to send over the twelve mechs you see before you on the condition that we send them the Engines that run them, just as the Subspace Army has agreed to send their mooks to test you so long as you stay out of their way during this first round." Deus explained to the group, "I even managed to get the Anti-Spiral to provide the multiversal transit as waiver the Humanity Annihilation System it has in place for your destination in universe AC-2015 on the condition that any additional mechs remain in your homeworld."
"So how do we know these business partners can be trusted?" spoke a red frog.
"Four Fleet-Destroying Titans, Four Legendary Heroes, Four Powerful Gods in Disguise! The one that reaches the Key to return hearts shall receive a throne incomparable; Indeed, the victor shall rule over the intergalactic empire of Phantasticaä as its Reborn Chronicle Emperor! Look around you, twelve pillars of hope have been gathered to defeat the Nothing once and for all. There are rules to this specific game your patron game masters will explain along the way, but know that the power within each of you will grow with each of the fifteen foes I send across your twelve home dimensions, sharpening your strength for the second phase of my game. Prepare yourselves for War and Death, for they shall follow you from your home to your destination."
8
"First thing's first, you might say!" snarked a fellow with white hair obscured by the veil of shadow Deus has cast upon all multi-dimensional guests, his bespeckled superior adding: "Well put." before the two vanished to their own world, the others began to follow suit.
"A pleasant Day to you, dear mighty Zearth." bowed the young woman as she and her apparent pupils tipped their witch caps as they faded back to their home world.
"You better stay alive long enough for me to kill you!" snarked a crazy-eyed girl in a flowing white outfit as she faded.
"My God... Andy, What have I done?" sobbed the woman as she vanished, gaining the attention of a shocked Andy. "MOM?!"
"It isn't your mom, kid." Explained a man with spikey hair on the same platform as the short bald man, glaring at the lad of 21 as said man faded from the platform "Knowing the Gods, She's probably got her own Andy to deal with."
"And he's probably in for some big trouble if you ask me." Snarked the Short Bald man before dissipating.
"All the same, we're gonna have to start training if we're gonna stand a chance against these Trials," sighed another bald man, as tall as the spiky haired fellow, "I recommend you do the same."
"Wait, so... We have to fight after our fifteen battles?!" panicked Andy.
"Fear leaves an aura about you!" quoth a spectacled girl before said spectacled girl dissipates.
"Looks like It's gonna be a blast, bashing some metal mooks in!" Snarked a collared fellow in a yellow coat which faded from view in an instant.
"Glad to know we'll be giving you a show while you sit on your ass, Porky!" snarked another fellow, tall, with a scar on his chest. He sounded a bit like Daichi except colder, more aloof.
"Alright, Everybody! We're now in full-on paranormal investigation mode, so let's get ready for War, Guys!" smiled a fading girl with yellow ribbons in her hair.
"Ugh... And all because her favorite author bit the dust and denied her a book." facepalmed the man next to her.
"Well, I wish you the best of luck, you crazy kids!" smiled a sly young lad, fading away as he says: "I admit, You must have some mad skills to end up fighting alongside us, huh?"
"B-But it wasn't skill!" cried Cress.
"Easy kid, I know your worth to the universe." spoke a nearby humanoid, resembling a cross between an insect and a lizard, before he faded from sight saying: "I'm gonna be watching over you."
"Thrown into Handling Galifrey's dirty work, huh?" sighed the witch that remained on the platform to their right, "You poor little monkey."
"So, I take it you want these guys out, Right?" the green frog asked the young boy, around the same age as the boy in the vest who had faded back to his home universe a few seconds before, and the boy replied as both parties joined the boy in the vest in their home universe. "Of course not, Sarge! Any friend of the ARMPIT Platoon is a friend of Mine!"
"If that's the way you want it, Then this means I'm gonna keep you bozos on a very short leash." sneered the boy's older sister as she quietly followed them.
"No! Please wait!" howled Marco.
"Deus, There has to be a way out! Tell Us!" cried Komo as Deus dissappeared from view:
"I declare this meeting adjourned!"
Now, fifteen of our heroes stood with an empty white void. The only things worth noticing is a grown-ass man with black hair, a stringy young girl with brown hair, a white outline in a button shirt, and an oddly designed stone doorway behind the pilots that stared into the trio of newcomers.
"Pain!" piped Maki as she snapped herself awake and struggled to sit upward, "Ugh, Everything's in pain! Man, does she know where it smarts..."
"Look, I've got places to go and a Cereal Cocktail to eat so, I'm just going to make this quick." the outlined entity then took a spoonful of his cereal to his mouth to swallow it upon the completion of the sentence, "I've seen your future through a plethora of lenses, most of them end in dispair, yadda, yadda, yadda."
"...what are you?" piped a voice, redirecting the outline's attention to the spiky-haired boy in the black and blue checkered shirt. The entity smiled at this revelation and glanced at the fellow on his side.
"You're doing quite a good job so far, but you've still got a long road ahead," chuckled the entity, causing the fellow to blush, "And with an Internet Review Series on top of that!"
"Well, Tod, I do my best... Eheheh..." the fellow meekly replied as he brushed the side of his head in a bout of shyness.
"Hold on, YOU'RE seclusive anime writer-producer Tod Schimer?" exclaimed a shocked and rightfully startled Anko, "The same moron who proposed to Disney to buy Hasbro in the 90s and failed?"
"Due to a lack in capital, Yes!" screamed the entity, named Tod, as he slammed the table before sighing to himself, "See, this is why I wear the helmet in public, to make sure no one freaks out, myself included!"
"Deus mentioned something about being a retired god..." Komo quietly spoke as she analyzed her surroundings "So does that mean that-"
"Yes, Of course I am god! At least in this form, anyhow... But people have called me the world and the universe from time to time" Tod meekly commented as he stood from his seat, walking towards the pilots as he spoke his usual speech "I am all and I am one, this basically makes me all of you."
A good chunk of the group recoiled in shock as Maki struggles to sit upwards, still reeling from the pain that the enigmatic woman had dealt her. "Oh, look, you're all surprised. Wait. Okay, one of you's been beaten half to death. Hey, Silver! Get this broad a Senzu Bean, Will ya?"
"SENZU BEAN!" Sounded a Voice as a bean came flying in the direction of Komo, causing her to scramble just to grasp it for a few seconds so she could feed it to her friend.
"Open wide." Maki obeyed her friend as she bit and chewed the bean to the point where she can easily swallow it. And upon swallowing, the bruises left by her battle seemed to grow weaker and faded away. "Whoa, you're kidding."
"I kid you not, that's the actual function of these Senzu Beans." declared Tod as he paced the void with his blend of miniature Luck-themed marshmallows and processed Peanut Butter-Chocolate Puffs in his hand "The only reason your world wasn't allowed to grow these was because there wasn't any major threat to its existence...Well, until now, that is!"
9
The gate opened in an instant as a soul-piercing glare stunned the fifteen children long enough for what appears to be a massive array of oversized ribbons take hold of each pilot and drag them into the gate kicking and screaming. The ribbons grasped at the arms, legs, chests, necks, heads and abdominals of each of the pilots as they were being stuffed with a sensation of seeing the wonder of the past, the pressure of the present and the looming tragedy of the future. The magical power and knowledge gushed into their minds to the point where it feels as if they were going to burst until...
...they found themselves back in the cockpit, most of them were in their seats while others were square in the center, Kodama being one such pilot.
"So this is... the power of a god..." Kodama whispered. With each sentence, his voice emitted more and more pride in himself. "Somehow, I knew this power would come from someone. My father's destiny as a chosen man has allowed me to save him."
"What good is he?" Tomi uttered.
"What good is-?" Kodama was dumbfounded by Tomi's depressed remark. "He's a man of endless energy able to overcome any obstacle with pride, that's why he's among the chosen!"
"But he's only one of those so-called chosen..." Tomi sighed. "There are just so many chosen people out there, and my parents... they just can't be amongst those guys, can they... Is lying a thing among the chosen?"
This got Kodama startled for a bit, but he soon regained his usual tone and demeanor. "Only when it's necessary, for all you know, they could be hiding something terrible-"
"Like what?! They've lied to me about my college fund! Who knows what else they've lied to me about?" Tomoki Toriyama had tears flowing from his eyes. "Did they want me? Was I even their child? They probably didn't even love me at all!"
Those were the last words Tomoki Toriyama spoke.
The moment the boy fell to the floor, everyone immediately realized that something was wrong.
"Tomoki!" yelled Moji.
"Yo, Tomi, get up!" added Kanji.
"Tomi!" spoke Maki.
"Tomoki-kun!" cried Komo.
"Guys, I... I heard the voice and that means I'm next in line, I get that! It's just..." Ven stopped mid sentence "between the accident atop Zearth... and now this... I'm really freakin' scared!"
10
"Please, he's just sobbing quietly after seeing his folks blow his college fund on a fancy dinner." Tedd nonchalantly responded. "He'll be fine... Right?"
Tomoki did not move one inch.
Moji headed to Tomoki and checked his neck to see if there's a pulse. The results: "Nothing... Tomoki Toriyama is no more."
"Oh, gods!" Anko yelped.
"No way!" Maki added.
"You're kidding, right? You have to be!" Komo hoped in vain. "Hey, Tomi, please wake up!"
Sarah was hyperventalating in her chair and Ellen comforted her the best she could. "You'll be fine, Sarah, we can get through this..."
"If he's dead, maybe I can save him!" Ichigo then got out a defibulator machine from... wherever the heck he had it... and made his way to Tomoki's lifeless body "CLEAR!"
And all he received in return wasn't the life of a friend, but an comically frizzy mess of an electromagnetically charged afro.
"It's no use... His life force has probably been sucked dry from moving the Mighty Zearth..." lamented Kodama. "Such a Pity, I actually considered him to be among the chosen myself."
"...M-My cripes!" Ellen was frightened of the truth he just spoke as Sarah hyperventalated even more. "Stop doing that, Sarah!"
"You say you're to pilot the thing next, right?" Ventus nodded to the boy. "I suggest you fill out some things on your bucket list sometime soon before your battle."
"The punk's right, and the same goes for all of you bozos." Koyemshi added. "If there are things you wanna do before you die, I highly recommend that you get on that."
(Magia - Amanda Lee)
Macaulay Culkin as Takashi Waku
Spike Spencer as Masaru "Kodama" Kodaka
Crispin Freeman as Daichi Yamura
Laura Bailey as Mako "Nakama" Nakarai
Vic Mignoyna as Isao Kako
Wendee Lee as Chizuru "Chizu" Honda
Elijah Wood as Moji Kunihiko
Janice Kawaye as Maki Ano
Johnathan Rosansky as Yosuke Kirie
Apphia Wu as Takami "Komo" Komoda
Kagome Higurashi as Aiko "Anko" Tomosuki
Blake Swift as Kanji Yoshikawa
Chrissy Bares as Kana Ushiro
Anna Kingsley as Yoko Machi
Alexander Cayford as Jun Ushiro
Lewis Lovhaug as Dung Beetle
Hailey Joel Osment as Sora Rockbell
David Gahlegger as Riku Raiobiki
Hayden Penniter as Kairi Hakumei
Meghan Jette Martin as Namine Hakumei
Quinton Flynn as Lea Yamauchi
Jesse McCartney as Roxas Rockbell, Ventus Shinkei
Hayden Penniter as Xion Botkins
Jason Dohring as Terra Capulet
Willa Holland as Madoka "Aqua" Waku
? as Elliot Dunkel
? as Tedd Verres
? as Sarah Brown
? as Grace Sciuridae
? as Susan Pompoms
? as Ellen Dunkel
? as Bonnie Anderson
Janet Varney as Meiko Xinenbo
John Morris as Andy Davis
Josh Grelle as Marco Tenusei
Todd Haberkorn as Cress Tenunsei
Monica Rial as Freya Tenunsei
Tia Ballard as Caitlyn Tenunsei
Micah Solusod as Maurice Jinaka "Sage"
Mona Marshall as Harold Rasobu
Wayne Knight as Shoukachi Kodaka
Written By
The One Named Light
Reevee21
Super Smash Bros. (C) Nintendo / Creatures inc. / GAME FREAK / Intelligent Systems / Monolith Soft / Konami / Sega / Capcom / Namco
Kingdom Hearts (C) Disney, Square Enix, Tatsuya Nomura
Bokurano (C) Mahiro Kitoh
Toy Story (C) Disney + Pixar
El Goonish Shive (C) Dan Shive
Story Direction by
The One Named Light
Reevee21
Murmur's Behind the Chair
Episode Three: Tomoki Toriyama in Backnine of the Gods
"Well brother, fancy meeting you here." Smirked god of desolation and future creator of the Mask of Unicron, Ende Demise. "I take it you're here for the tournament of gods?"
"Indeed I am, although I have relinquished my throne to a worthy successor, I have trained them in all of my techniques." declared Deus in the face of his younger brother with a glare that could rival the smirk on said brother's golden mask, "My team simply cannot be defeated!"
"Oh, but you forget that I've brought in comrades from a few alternative realities to assist my ploy for the prize in question," Demise turned towards a banker, a Viacom executive, and a Key-weilding sorcerer. "Failure is inevitable."
"I understand this..." sighed Deus before pointing to his successors. "But even so, My successors will carry on and pick up where I falter. I have known them for years and in many possibilities, they have proven themselves cunning, intelligent, brave, noble and adaptable enough to reign over causality in my place."
"Boys, you're both pretty! Can we please go to register already?" groaned the fair lady Atomisa, taking the form of the deceased mother of a boy with a magical gem on his body. "It's just mini-golf, you know."
11
It was a beautiful Summer Day as a few deities have gathered together, for today is the day the most powerful beings in all causality get their golf clubs and sweatervests for a round at an East Longmeadow recreational establishment best known for miniature golf. Driving Deus' cart was none other than Meiko Xinenbo with Tomoki Toriyama being brought along as a babysitting gig.
"Don't you just love the great outdoors?" gleefully asked Tomoki to the then-nameless girl who then replied: "Yeah, lets go explore!"
"YIPPEEE!" Tomoki ran off from the cart with Mei being not too far behind as they explored the greenery of the golf course. Hole after hole, The two mortals played as the gods had at it at their puttlery. Eventually, Deus was ahead by two strokes and needed to beat Ende's 5-stroke hole to at least even the score. Tod Schimer was Cookie Dough Ice Cream, While Hakuharu was eating Peanut-Butter Chocolate Ice Cream and for some Reason even THiN CRUST and Mr DeeP DiSH were sitting there eating soft serve vanilla with Oreos and M&Ms, respectively.
"Say, When's that Korra review you've been hyping up?" Tod asked the two critics to which they wouldn't respond.
Tomoki had asked Mei to climb the treetops with him and she gleefully accepted. Sure enough, Tomoki climbed the branches and yet Mei merely stared at him, watching him climb higher and higher until his foot slipped off a branch. "TOMOKI! GET DOWN FROM THERE!" She rushed to Tomoki as he began to stumble, she reached out to Tomoki with both her arms as he fell into them with a thump!
"What were you thinking, Tomoki!? You could have gotten yourself killed!" Roared Mei, enraged that Tomoki doing exactly what she allowed him to do.
"But, you said you were gonna climb the treetops with me." whined Tomoki, shocked and dissapointed that the nice lady who agreed to this adventurous task was ultimately not willing to go through with it in the end.
"I did?" Mei was shocked that she of all people agreed to this, she of all people should know this, she's mature enough... or is she... "Uh, even if I did, I wouldn't do it until I was sure we'd be able to survive a fall so next time, try not to climb so high, m'kay?"
"m'kay..." quoth a dissapointed Tomoki as Deus took his second stroke of the hole, getting the ball in there in time for the score to put him three steps ahead. Mei glanced at the god, she knew that time has passed for him to the point where he's chosen to retire... Hopefully enough time would pass so that the girl that will soon be known as Meiko Xinenbo would be mature enough to understand how to properly take care of such a kind and innocent soul such as Tomoki Toriyama.
"We're still get paid, right?"
Next Time
Friends and Family are always there to help you when things get rough, they are a part of you and vice versa. Through good times and bad, they are your power even if you know that death will be imminant.
Weakness
Oh, My Christler! This show's starting to get good! Eleven More Mechs to Merch up to High Heaven, New opportunities for new characters, and Narry a Luke Perry in sight! That sounds like my kind of party, What do you think, Ree?
Reevee21: ...
Uhuh... *Mouth clicking noise* So, Bonus Nerd Points! Let's get this party started, Out of the 25 Kamen Rider Shows that currently exist at the time of it's writing, Which one is Kamen Rider OOO and in which year did said series debut?
Reevee21: You KILLED him?! Tomoki's dead?! He's just - he's dead! Drop-dead, like that! No warning, no faint heartbeat or anything, just BOOM, the most adorable character is DEAD! HE'S DEAD! HE'S -
Get A hold of yourself, Ree!
Reevee21: BUT HE'S DEEEEEEAAAAAAAD! *Sob* WHY?! *Sob* Why is it always the cute, stat-less ones that die first?! Why must thee be so cruel, natural selection?!
C'mon, Ree... I promise I'll make it up to you. How about a Commercial Break of Sorts?
Reevee21: *Sniff* R-Really?
Sure, We'll take our characters to E3 to react to the stuff we enjoy from saith trade show as well as give them a tour through our merchandise catalogue.
Reevee21: (We now have a merchandise catalogue! Apparently. My section's probably full of Eevee tracking equipment, and Eevee suffocation insurance) *Wipes eye* Y-yea, that'll be fun...I've never been to an E3 before...y-yea! Let's do it!
Alrighty, then. Chin up, Ree. We've got some summer fun to have before we kill off Ven!
Reevee21: W-WHAT!
Be sure to Hug them Eevee as you answer today's bonus Nerd Point Questions! Be creative and Have Fun, Saint Zearth Duo Out!