Wow first kind of flame... Interesting =D I don't watch teenage mutant ninja turtles so I don't have a clue what you're on about but ok! I'll look into the errors myself seeming as you didn't get back to my PM.

To everyone, Abel Nightcross, ForsakenKyo-kun, rincewind2012, Timberillo, kidcrud, Konanakt and anyone else I missed (sorry!) thank you so much for the continued support! I won't let you down!

Own nothing

Chapter 21

Keitaro sailed through the air, dodging a flock of birds startled by his sudden appearance. Dusting the feathers out of his hair, he looked down. He saw his faithful dorms standing solid, apparently undisturbed by everything going on around. Keitaro grinned happily, massaging his whole head.

"That infernal headache has gone too! Hahahaha this is absolute bliss! Who would have guessed it was because of that darkling thing that I was having so many of these problems? I'm just so happy!!!"

Looking back up, Keitaro was about to fly past his dorms when a horrific growl echoed out. Keitaro patted his stomach.

"Hmmm. Hungry."

Rolling onto his back, he kicked off a pad and dropped towards the earth. He landed with a soft thud right in front of the main doorway. Patting down his clothes, he briskly walked in. He saw Shinobu's head pop out from behind the divider.

"SENPAI!!!"

Dashing over, she took him up in an enormous hug. All the wind forced out of him, Keitaro could swear he felt some bones cracking in there somewhere.

'This girl has strength to rival Naru!'

Keitaro had already come to terms with the fact that Naru and himself would never have anything more than a fleeting relationship. As such, he had dropped calling her by her last name. Coming back to reality, Keitaro managed a tiny 'eep' to let Shinobu know he needed air. The small girl looked up and let go instantly, blushing heavily. Keitaro instantly sucked in a generous lung full of the precious gas.

"I-I'm sorry Senpai I didn't realise what I was doing! On second thoughts I shouldn't have even been hugging you, that's reserved for girlfriends and I'm most certainly not your girlfriend or anything like that..."

Her babbling was cut short by Keitaro's hand on her head. She looked up through her hair. "Shinobu, you would make a fine girlfriend. Now, I need food really badly before I go off to help Motoko and Tsuruko. I am positively starving!"

Shinobu blushed more. "R...r...right away Senpai!"

'He said I would be a fine girlfriend! Me! A fine girlfriend! To him? I don't know! But, a girlfriend!'

Keitaro chuckled as she floated away. Turning to look up at the stairs, he saw Kitsune standing there. "Hey, what's up?"

The fox sidled down the stairs, a glint in her slit of an eye. "Hey tiger. You've been gone a while; we've been worried. What you been doing?"

Keitaro laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Oh, you know, this and that."

She leaned down with a smirk on her pretty features. "Come now, surely you must have been doing more than 'this and that'. From how you just spoke to Shinobu, I'd say you went and grew yourself a set. Correct?"

Keitaro's nose tinged the faintest red. "Well, I guess you could say something like that. More like a super, Su style detox though. What have you girls been up to while I've been gone?"

Kitsune shivered, not even trying to imagine a super Su detox. "It has been ULTRA boring. Motoko's stiff of a sister wouldn't let any of us out sight. For all her talk and light heartedness, she almost acts like she swallowed a pole down both ends. I'm running so low on sake that it's not funny! I'm practically down to the grime that coats the bottom of a good bottle. Do you have any idea how bad that is?"

Keitaro laughed. "Nah, sorry can't say I do. I don't think I really want to either..."

To Keitaro's eager ears, Shinobu's almost melodic voice floated out into the room. "Keitaro-senpai, food!"

With speed to match Su, Keitaro was at the table, chopsticks in hand. Kitsune followed a second later, eyes open in surprise. "Hunny, I don't think even in that match you had with Motoko did you move quite as fast as you did just then. What has Kaolla done to you? Did she inject some of her food loving side into you?"

Keitaro's stomach let out a dangerous grumble. Kitsune actually took a step back. "Nah, I'm just reeeeally hungry. I haven't eaten in over a week so, yea, food is pretty high on the agenda."

Kitsune chuckled. "And from how you smelt out there I'm guessing a bath is a close second."

Keitaro nodded. With that, Shinobu popped around the corner holding two massive bowls, one packed full of sweet ramen, the other overloaded with dazzling rice. Keitaro struggled to control his drool.

"Enjoy, Senpai!"

Turning, Shinobu started walking back to the kitchen. She froze when she heard a massive sucking sound and two plates hitting the table.

"Seconds?"

She turned to see Keitaro blushing and Kitsune in a posture that just screamed 'you did NOT just do that!' Smiling happily that Keitaro was enjoying her food so much, she quickly grabbed the plates and returned with them overloaded with food. Again the substance in the bowls were devoured instantly. This process went on for some time till the girl was struggling to catch her breath. Kitsune had since left, overwhelmed with the volume of food being ingested. And Keitaro was sitting very happily, dabbing his mouth with the corner of a serviette.

"Fantastic Shinobu! You truly are a genius when it comes to food. Even with all my travels, your cooking still places number one on my list!"

Standing, he let out a satisfied burp before walking to the door. Winding an arm around a few times, he looked back at Shinobu. "I gotta go now ok? But I'll be back with Motoko and Yoko in no time!"

The little chef ran over to him. "Be careful ok? Those horrible spirate things are everywhere!"

Keitaro nodded. "I will. Thankyou once again for the wonderful meal!"

Leaning down, he brushed aside her fringe and kissed her forehead. "Time to go!"

Shinobu instantly went woozy. Turning, Keitaro saw her collapsing. Catching her just in time, he carried her across to the couch. Laying her down, he smiled at her. "So innocent..."

"KEITARO YOU IDIOT WHAT DID YOU DO TO SHINOBU?"

Looking up, he saw Naru charging in, eyes blazing. A fist connected with his jaw and sent him flying. Bursting through the roof, Keitaro righted himself and looked down. The hole was only small and as an added bonus, he was headed in the direction he needed to. Spreading his arms for stability, he carried along. Naru was tending to a still unconscious Shinobu when she heard something. "What...?"

Looking up at the hole, she could still hear the echo. "Thankyou Naru!"

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Motoko and Yoko hung back behind the bushes. Motoko peered out at the swirling mass, extremely uneasy. Yoko was behind her, holding his knees to his chest, rocking slightly. It was that that had Motoko so on edge. As soon as she heard Yoko scream into her mind, she turned and saw the boy looking up in horror. Following his eyes, she looked into the spirates. Her eyes widened as well as she came to grips with what was happening inside it. The shadow she had seen was growing, absorbing spirates by the thousands. Though she didn't understand it, her instincts told her well enough to get the hell out of there as fast as possible and hide. Turning tail, she looked on in surprise as Yoko ran and over took even the most agile of her comrades. He dived into a bush without trace. Running over to him, Motoko leaned in when she saw him muttering something.

"Not possible, not possible, not possible, not possible, not possible..."

Though she shook him a few times, she couldn't get much more out of him than that. So drawing her sword, she lay in wait. She saw several of her kin diving behind rocks and bushes around her, all nerves practically spring loaded. Looking back up, the interior shadow continued to grow. It was now over 50 feet tall and beginning to develop appendages from odd spots on its body. The evil and menace that was coming from it had the hairs on Motoko's body standing high on end. Never had she encountered such a purely evil being. Looking over to her left, she saw one of the oldest samurai eyeing it up cautiously. Moving over to him, she nudged him.

"What do you sense?"

He shook his head. "Not sense. Have a look at the limbs on it. Doesn't seem like their directing something?"

Motoko looked up and focused on the little arms. They were waving gently, almost directing something like the old samurai had said. Being younger, Motoko's keen eyes then picked up on something that the senior didn't.

"It's directing the spirates!"

Giving Motoko a puzzled look, the older man squinted up. Sure enough, the spirates were altering direction where ever the arms pointed. They flowed around one another like stirred up water. Some moved up towards the head of the beast, others continued to circle while others yet were sucked into the still growing body. Onwards it grew in power and strength till Motoko simply fell back onto her rear in awe. Finally, the now 100 foot tall monster seemed to be complete. Its whole body was a translucent fog, creatures no longer discernable as spirates circling within its belly. Foul disfigured arms and legs hung from its sides at random. Hands and feet hung from these, though not every arm was limited to a hand. Several had a foot instead. Others had more than one hand or foot. The head of it was tiny and hanging from a neck that appeared to have an elbow joint in the middle of it. Deep red eyes glowed in the middle of the head, seemingly peering down at everyone around it. The base of it was shrouded in an unearthly fog. Spirates darted in and out of it, their cries the only noise breaking the silence. The head and neck began to rotate around, surveying the area. After finally completing one painstakingly slow revolution, it seemed to crouch down. It raised all its limbs and instantly a hurricane gale blew out from where it was standing. Trees and bushes were uprooted, rocks were thrown across the ground and several samurai were sent spinning into the distance. Motoko had dived back to Yoko and had buried her sword into the ground just as the wind struck. She held Yoko with a death grip as they flapped in the wind. After what seemed an age, the force subsided and they were lowered to the ground. Reefing her sword from the ground, she brought the flat of the blade across Yoko's backside. He yelped and looked up, tears in his eyes.

"What the hell was that for?!"

Motoko lifted his head up and made him look at the massive form in front of them. "Now that you're not babbling nonsense, tell me what that is!"

When Yoko saw it, he tried to scamper away but was held in place. Turning back, he looked up at her, the fear overpowering his mind. "I have no idea what THAT is! But I swear it spoke into my mind before! I swear it! That's why I shouted at everyone to hide! It was unlike anything I had ever heard before..."

Motoko's eyes thinned. "What did it say?"

Yoko swallowed and glanced from Motoko to the creature and back again. "I-it said... it said... not even your gods can save you now."

Motoko looked back up at the massive body. Its little head was looking straight down at them. Its eyes were slits and should it have had a mouth, Motoko suspected it would have been smiling. Ki began to swirl around the girl as she stood up. She looked across and saw her sister already blazing in power, eyes glowing. They took several steps towards the massive creature and stood side by side, auras mixing. Lowering their stances, they readied their swords.

"Gods' Cry School Ultimate Strike: Shin Lightning Slash!"

Instantly the two sisters were enveloped in a blinding light as energy poured out of them. The area around them began to shake and rock, smaller stones around them levitating into the air as their power increased. Finally in one massive cry, the sisters unleashed the attack directly into the chest of the beast. Its eyes widened as the super charged Ki wave slammed into it. A deafening shriek instantly filled the air and minds of everyone. Samurai all over clapped their hands to their ears as the noise quickly overpowered their senses. Motoko and Tsuruko dropped to the ground, a shrill scream leaving both their mouths as they fought to keep the noise at bay. It went on, ash beginning to rain down from the sky as if Mt. Fuji had erupted that very second. Through the shriek, the swordsmen and women could hear explosions firing off from the now dust obscured monstrosity as the Ki wave ripped through its body. The crippling scream cut out occasionally, giving some relief before returning in full strength. After what seemed an eternity, the scream began to subside. The voice dimmed and began to retreat from the minds of all effected. Eventually, all that was left was a small cry that was whisked away by the blowing wind. Motoko and Tsuruko stood up, reclaiming their dropped swords and standing tall. A churned up dust cloud covered their victim, no movement visible inside it. Dropping the tips of their swords, the women stood silently. Several of the samurai behind them looked into the cloud, desperately trying to see anything.

"Is it over?"

Motoko and Tsuruko stayed silent as some of the swordsmen behind them began to laugh hesitantly. Surely this should be it they mused. That was the strongest attack known to the school and it was performed and combined by the two strongest warriors in generations. Nothing could have survived that. The raising of the two strongest sisters swords instantly put that in doubt. Not a second later, a blast of Ki charged wind slammed into the sisters. They managed to resist for a second before being overcome. They flew backwards into the crowd standing behind them. Several caught Motoko while Yoko and another caught Tsuruko. Dropping them back to the ground, the group looked up in amazement. The dust cloud shifted as the creature within moved. It stood up, head poking through the top of the dust.

"That hurt bitches!"

Everyone took a step back in surprise; Yoko in panic. Tsuruko looked at Yoko unsurely. Did that thing just speak into their minds? Yoko took several more steps back. He saw Tsuruko looking at him. He shook his head, mouth gaping.

"It's not possible, not possible! Spirates are stupid creatures! They can't even organise themselves into pairs let alone even try to comprehend telepathy! It's like trying to teach an ant how to use this era's internet! It cannot be possible!"

The massive form above looked down, a split appearing where the mouth should have been. It separated away into a sickening smile. "Hahaha that's the spirates you used to know worm. You only wish you were back in the year 5 million. We were total dumb shits then I admit. Not like it matters now though I suppose. I am as I am now and there ain't a damned thing little rug rats like you could do to stop me! Now, after that wretched attack those two whores decided to hit me with, I think I can open up a can of whoop-ass on you guys."

Its eyes glowed a sickly red and a Ki bolt hammered out of the closest finger pointed at them. It struck the earth just in front of where they all stood. The ground disintegrated and everyone standing was thrown backwards with the force of the shockwave. Yoko hit the ground and rolled several times before coming to rest. He looked up but quickly dropped his head as the body of a large swordsman bounced over, only just missing him. Looking up again, what he saw scared the life out of him. Samurai all over were being blasted by this...things... Ki attacks and what's more, they were being annihilated! Some were thrown away to disappear behind uprooted trees and rocks while more unlucky ones slammed into the few remaining trees. They hung on the trunks for a second, winded, before slipping down to land in an awkward pile at the base of the trees. Everyone got up again but with varying degrees of readiness. Several were concussed badly. They staggered around before finally being propped up by a friend. Looking up at the massive being, Yoko's heart froze when he saw it staring directly at him.

"What you gona do now, little bitch? Your precious saviour Keitaro-sama isn't here to wipe your ass for you this time. I think you'll make a fine spirate. Now... join me."

A hole opened up in its chest and hundreds of spirates were created and flung out, all screaming deadly intent as they targeted Yoko. His fear filled eyes didn't even register the multiple Ki attacks being launched by the swordsmen, intercepting many of the ghosts. All he saw was their smiling faces staring at him.

'This is it...'

He covered his head with his arms.

"Yes, this is it, little bitch."

The spirates circled closer.

'Keitaro... where are you?'

He heard the evil creatures' laughter echoing around inside his head. Holding his breath, he felt his body bombarded by the light weight assailants. They all begged for entrance, trying to push their way into his nose and mouth. Ash fell around him as Motoko and Tsuruko fired Ki waves at the spirates on him. But for every one hit, another replaced it instantly. Anyone that got too close instantly had to contend with 10 or so spirates, forcing them backwards. Yoko felt his breath running out. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the telepathic voice.

"Come on, just one breath. It only hurts for a moment and then it's all over."

'No, I want to live! GO TO HELL!'

He suddenly felt the spirates in his body stop pressing at his nose and mouth. They gave a puzzled cry before they swelled and exploded into ash. Yoko instantly took the chance to take a deep, greedy gulp of air before holding his breath again. He heard the spirates screaming all around him but none seemed to be making it to him anymore. Opening one tentative eye, he looked around. Spirates were barrelling in with fury, only to explode just before touching Yoko. He saw the massive beast before him raise an 'eyebrow' as all its spirates were incinerated. Opening both eyes, Yoko looked up in amazement as he saw tiny thin streaks of purple darting out of nowhere to strike every single spirate straight through the heart. Hearing a grunt, he looked up to see the giant thing before him seal up the hole in its stomach that the spirates were materialising out of. Just as it sealed over, a massive Ki ball smashed into its chest. It screamed in pain and fury as it was pushed backwards. The ball exploded and sent the massive being stumbling before falling to its back. Motoko looked around in amazement, trying to work out where the powerful attack had originated from.

"What's that?"

Looking up and following the finger pointed, Motoko saw a small black dot rapidly growing in the sky. Tsuruko's eyes widened in surprise.

"Keitaro?"

A distant call echoed out, just reaching their ears. "Hi guys! Sorry to keep you waiting! ... Just watch out for me please?"

Everyone took several unsure steps back, wondering what was going on. Yoko saw Keitaro flying in and gasped. He quickly turned and ran behind a large rock to his right. Only a few seconds later, Keitaro smashed into the ground in front of the group. Everyone instantly grabbed hold of the nearest person for stability as the ground beneath them rippled and bowed from the impact. When everything settled, Keitaro walked out of the hole, dusting his clothes off and smiling sheepishly. Motoko dropped a hand to her hip, clearly annoyed.

"You could have slowed your decent somewhat so you didn't have to do that."

Keitaro scratched the back of his head. "Yeah... I guess I got caught up in the moment."

Motoko sighed. "Well, be less caught up in your moment and be focused on the task at hand. We still have this being before us to defeat."

The smile dropped from his face and he nodded. Turning, he faced the extremely agitated monster lifting itself from the ground. It looked over its shoulder and saw Keitaro. Its eyes widened but only for a split second. Keitaro was the only one to notice it. Walking towards the creature, Keitaro frowned.

"Creature, what are you and why are you here? What is your purpose and intent?"

A voice entered Keitaro's mind. It instantly had the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

"Ah so the great Keitaro shows himself. Funny, from what I was told you were up in the mountains playing tiggy with that darkling locked inside that bowling ball of yours."

Keitaro's instinct was telling him to attack this thing instantly. The only thing holding him back was curiosity. "How did you know about that, monster?"

A hurt voice entered his mind. "Monster? That ain't very nice! Surely you can see I'm a highly evolved creature like yourself."

Keitaro shook his head. "No, from what I know all you are is an accumulation of spirates. I don't understand how you have gained higher thought and the ability to communicate telepathically but you are nothing but a spirate in all senses of the word."

The voice entered again in a lecturing tone. "Yes, I am a spirate but I am far more evolved than any of these brain dead pieces of tissue paper floating around me. Ever since my first breath of this magnificent air, my mind began developing. I didn't really want any competition so anything I divided I made sure to keep at the level of the spirates you remember from your time. They can't do alot I must admit but it's pretty fun watching them chase you humans around. Bahahaha you bipods can sure move fast when you want!"

Keitaro growled. He spoke out loud. "Human beings are not play things. They have more right to exist than you because you are but a shadow of our race. A failed genetic cloning experiment. If you had been able to co-exist with humans, nothing would be wrong. But as you so clearly demonstrate, your kind does not deserve life simply because you threaten all things."

The being shook its head sadly. It looked at everyone gathered behind the lad. This time everyone heard what it said. "Don't you understand? With me, I can fix your problem! I will unite all nations under me to live in harmony and peace. Do you wish to deny your species what I can offer?"

Ki flared around Keitaro as bones in his fists cracked. It seemed very intelligent and obviously knew how to use words. "What you offer is total annihilation of every living creature! Every single organism would become like it was dead! You yourself said you keep the spirates below you at a pre-evolved state because you didn't want any competition. Yes there will always be differences among us but it is that that makes us unique! Doing what you suggest is taking away the very thing that makes us human. Your hollow plan, no matter how you word it, is to take over the world. And I will not allow it."

The beast shrugged. Or, tried its best. "Well, if you say it that way, yeah, I guess it would be like I would own this rock. Interesting idea actually... Your species always referred to royalty as Kings and Queens. Though I have no gender, the King was the most powerful being. So, I guess you can bow down to me. Because I will become your King. Worship me, because very soon, you shall be one with me."

"NEVER!!!"

The sheer force of the shout from Keitaro generated a massive shockwave that smashed into the king spirate. It was bowled over backwards several times. Regaining its composure, it looked up in shock. Keitaro was hunched over, positively glowing in rage. His powerful aura stretched up over double his height. Gusts of wind buffered his clothes and hair and everyone surrounding him. His eyes had turned completely black. Removing his glasses, he threw them to Tsuruko. The previous heir looked at Keitaro, a usually hidden feeling beginning to surface. She was scared. Seeing the look on her face, Keitaro smiled, showing her he was still all there. "Don't worry. I won't be losing myself like I did before. I destroyed that part of me while I was away."

Turning back to face his enemy, Keitaro's voice floated out gently, seemingly throbbing in latent power. "Watch the skies for rogue spirates. Take out any that try to escape."

Tsuruko paused a second. The raw power Keitaro was unleashing was sending her mind blank. Finally regaining control of her higher brain function, she turned to everyone. "Yoko, you team up with Motoko again. She'll make sure you stay safe. Everyone else, as you were around the area. Do as Keitaro said and remove any fleeing spirates. Su, you stay at a distance and monitor Keitaro. I assume your mecha has that ability?" She was met with a loud 'YES SIR!' Tsuruko pointed an arm to her left. "Ok. Fall back and watch him. Also, if you can, pick off any spirates we may miss. Questions?"

No hands raised. Frowning, Tsuruko turned her back to them. "Ok, GO!"

In a blur of movement, the swordsmen disappeared.

Keitaro watched as the king rose to its feet, its thousands of spirates now circling it rapidly, screaming incessantly. Keitaro's face disappeared behind his fringe. His aura increased in size again. "This ends here."

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A/N – I hope this was ok. It didn't quite feel like it flowed at the end as well as I may have liked. Please let me know what you think?

Anyway, the big fight is in the next chapter! See you then!