CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
A/N: Yup. It's official. This is the longest CCS story I've ever written. And about damn time, too.
General Armstrong and Captain Yelland entered the room, where several naval officers were currently hosing down their find in the ocean. They stood behind a protective window and watched as the crew continued to steam clean the timer probe, which continued displaying the countdown.
"Is all that necessary, Captain?" The general asked.
"Safety precaution, sir." Yelland nodded. "We don't want to get infected with any kind of alien disease."
"You understand the Secretary of Defense and the President are breathing down my ass. Right now they've got every ship, plane and outpost ready just in case these guys show up to pick a fight."
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that, sir."
"General Armstrong! Captain Yelland!" A shipmate hurried into the room. "Sirs! You have to see this!"
"What is it?" Armstrong demanded to know.
"They're… the aliens… I see them!"
"Really? Damn, I gotta check this out!"
Meanwhile, in a more interesting part of the story…
The rampaging Black Knight grabbed Kanaye by his neck and flung him across the broken streets, where the rest of the Demon Knights were waiting to pound on him. Kind of like that chubby nerdy kid in the halls that nobody likes and the jocks are always beating up on 'cause he won't give out the answers to the algebra test and he's always getting caught taking a peak at the girl's locker room but the coach never snitches because he's got this-- Oh, sorry. I haven't done that in a while. Anyways…
Kanaye switched on the rotating blade of his Klaw X-2000 and pushed the Demon Knights back. Luckily for him, the moon and sun guardians reappeared to continue their aerial bout.
"Oh, thank God…" Kanaye sighed until he noticed Lorca coming after him again. "…No, wait! Lorca!"
"Enough!" The creature growled as he swung his rusty scimitar.
Tokyo Mew Mew and the Gunsmith Cats fought back to back in a circle, shooting down and slicing through every demon, dragon and Blood Ringer that came their way. Sakura and her team, however, scattered everywhere to take down any lingerers while the Hinata residents escorted the majority of the wandering public away to safety. Tanks, military jeeps and other Japanese forces arrived to help assist the evacuation any way they could.
"Sand!" Sakura cried, fusing with the card and becoming a giant whirlwind of dust that blew several enemies away.
She then maneuvered the card's abilities to transform her into a giant statue-like sand creature and pound on every demon that crossed her path.
"Me sand woman! Me crush you like bugs! Mwa-Ha ha ha ha!" Sakura cried out in a deep, booming voice.
"Sakura?" Li raised an eyebrow.
"Nah, I'm just kidding."
Eriol grabbed Meiling and Tomoyo, shielding them with a magic hull and aimed his staff towards the demon vortex. "I've got to close off that damn portal!"
"Eriol, you can't!" Tomoyo reminded him. "We need to destroy the power gems, remember!?"
"I've got to try something!"
The sorcerer concentrated all his energy and released a powerful blast from his staff towards the swirling vortex. The staff's energy ribbon and the vibrant portal met with a massive spark of light and remained stuck on each other for a few moments before another dragon poked its head out and threw off Eriol's concentration.
"Uh-oh." Eriol gulped as the dragon growled and flew out of the portal, with its eyes fixed on him. "Tomoyo? Meiling? Run."
"Okay!" Meiling had no trouble following his order.
The dragon zoomed towards the young man, knocking down several combatants, and prepared to bite his head off when suddenly--
ZAP!
BOOM!
In the blink of an eye, the dragon and several more creatures like it, vanished into a glob of fire coming from an unknown source. Confused, both hero and villain turned around to see who fired the attack.
"Hey! Good one, Sakura!" Mew Pudding cheered.
"That wasn't me, Pudding." Sakura shook her head, looking up to the black sky.
"I'm telling ya, man." May gulped. "It's those damn clouds."
Everyone gathered around and kept their eyes focused on the dark clouds that began to pulsate in the dark sky, bringing the fighting to a stop. Even Faust couldn't help but wonder what was heading their way. No one could. Except for Aries, who stood in the middle of the street with a lump in his throat and a weight on his heart.
"Oh, this can't be good." Li shook his head.
White flashes of light began to spark within the dark clouds, much like Sakura's dream, as the clouds themselves began to bulge out. A large, curved hull poked its head from the thickness of the sky as little green lights scattered along the exterior. As the object moved further, they could all see that the ship was round in front, pointed in the back and had two fins on each side.
"What the hell is that thing?" Naru grabbed her husband's arm.
"I… I don't know." Keitaro gazed at the alien craft.
More sparks of light from the clouds illuminated the ship's exterior as it hovered directly above Tokyo, leaving no part uncovered.
Back on the USS Nimitz
General Armstrong, Captain Yelland and the rest of the ship's crew stood on the bridge and watched as the clouds darkened and bulged outward.
"Was I right?" The General asked.
"What's happening?" Yelland turned to one of his officers.
"I don't know, sir. Radar was clear a minute ago and the next…"
A lightshow began in the dark and soon, another massive alien carrier appeared from the clouds, hovering above all of Hawaii. The ship's crew remained awestruck and confused at the same time, while the General reached for a radio.
"What are you doing?" Yelland asked.
"I'm calling Washington." He said. "I have a very bad feeling we're not the only ones who are seeing this."
Beneath Café Mew Mew
"Oh, Jesus! Oh, Jesus!" Ryou began to panic in his chair as he watched the infrared screen on his computer. "They're here! Keiichiro! Have you got a lock on them yet!?"
"I'm working on it!" The other said as he welded some wires together from the back of the lab.
"Hurry up, damn it!"
"Hurry, my ass! This thing takes time! I don't want to end up bringing half those bloodsuckers to the lab and have them ravaging my kitchen!"
"Shut up! Shut up!" Ryou switched on a radio and spoke into his piece. "Touya? You ready?"
"Ready." Touya responded on the other line. "Just send me the coordinates."
"I'm already giving them to you." Ryou typed in a few keys.
"I'm on my way. Touya out."
Keiichiro paused and lifted his welding mask. "Was that Touya? Sakura's brother?"
"Yeah. He's bringing some others here with the jet. They'll be safe here in case these guys start to attack."
"Wow. This is just like old times, huh?"
"No, this is more tense. Now will you please… SHUT UP AND GET TO WORK ON THAT DAMN TRANSPORTER!?"
Before going back to work, Keiichiro grinned and gave Ryou the finger. "Right here, buddy."
Meiling hurried over to Rally's Mustang and opened the passenger door, where the timer probe remained seated. She opened the hatch and noticed the countdown was still going.
"I don't get it." She sighed. "Why's this thing still counting down?"
"It doesn't matter." Aries said as he walked by.
The Hinata residents rushed over to Sakura and her team for protection, their eyes still fixed on the enormous ship above them.
"Sakura." Motoko said, unsure of what else to say.
The green-eyed girl exchanged glances with her and shrugged, unaware of what to do as well. She wrapped her hand around Li's and placed another on her pouch of cards.
"Is this it?" Li asked, a hint of fear in his voice. "Is this how we're going out?"
"I…" Sakura was at a loss for words.
The ship began to emit a low humming noise that alarmed everyone. Faust turned to his minions and signaled them to return to the vortex.
"Another time then, Sakura?" Faust winked as he vanished before her.
But the girl didn't acknowledge him. A sincere look came across her face as she thought to herself, wondering what to do next.
Tomoyo, meanwhile, took out her camera and began filming. "I can't believe I'm actually filming this."
"Tomoyo, are you sure this is the right time?" Eriol put his hands over her shoulders.
"I don't think it matters anymore."
"Aries?" Kero turned to the alien. "What's happening?"
"They have arrived." Was all he said.
"Oh, is that all?"
"Whoa." Rally put her gun away then turned to her partner. "You think we'll get hazard pay for this?"