Another long update... curses. I really need to start wrapping things up... it's not fair to leave people on such cliffhangers (especially for a long time). But first things first...
To Kambanjo: I want to thank you so much for the review! It was thanks to that that I had the motivation to finish up this chapter, because honestly, I was lacking in that department to do writing on any of my fanfics because of a class that I took that made me feel like I wasn't as good as I thought I was. Between all that was happening in my life, I could barely write even a sentence, especially because of the horrifying recent news that I heard about the Keroro Gunso Anime ending in March this year (yes, it's not a rumor, people! Look it up!). I was just checking to see if maybe I could actually do writing until I noticed this review for this. I know this sounds maybe a little awkward to be thanking you for, but thanks! Time to get writing again!
And now, here's the long awaited chapter 25! This is also for the Keroro Anime! Power to the frogs!
Everything happened so fast for Dororo that he didn't even have time to gather his senses.
He faintly remembered the others and himself being grabbed by the strong arms of the soldiers that suddenly came out of nowhere... he was trying to struggle to get loose and help Koyuki and his friends before he felt a punch to his gut that knocked the wind of him as the kunochi started protesting fiercely...
Despite the blurriness in his eyes, the frog ninja could now felt his hands bound together so he couldn't reach any of his weapons... and they were all being taken somewhere. From what he caught from the panic in Yukiko's voice nearby, he had a feeling that he knew where they were heading.
"G-gero! What's going to happen to us?" he heard Keroro's squeaked from somewhere behind them.
"Keep quiet!" snapped one of the troops.
"I demand you to let us go this instant as heir to Ikuy!" Yukiko said angrily (which surprised Dororo quite a bit, since she really did gain some influence from Koyuki).
One of Kazu's soldiers laughed. "Oh, we are so scared of a little girl. Lord Kazu is going to be so happy to see you again, Princess, just you wait."
Dororo had a strong feeling that the Koyuki look-alike was now really trembling, even though he was not able to see her.
"Here we are."
The ninja blinked his eyes a couple times in an attempt to clear his vision (which started to by now), and he could now see that a few of the soldiers were pushing open a huge pair of chamber doors, then being pulled along inside into what appeared to be a large throne room.
Where a giant, dark figure sat, watching them greedily.
"K-Kazu..." Yukiko gasped softly as they were being led closer to the seated Uzuzian.
The large Uzuzian shifted into a more comfortable position. "What is the meaning of this? Release the Princesses and our other... guests." His red gaze briefly flickered coldly in the two Keronians' direction.
Dororo would have frowned himself - if it could be seen - as Keroro was shaking badly in his legs at this point. "G-gero..."
The guards did not question their lord's orders, quickly unbinding the heroes (more or less) and taking away any kind of weapon from them before backing down.
"My, my, this is quite a reunion isn't it?" the lord asked mockingly. "The two twin sisters of the Royal Family have been brought back together. Then joining us are two members of the Uzuzians' sworn enemies and a simple human child."
Koyuki clenched her fists, but dared not make a move since she was now weaponless while there were several soldiers behind her.
"You must stop this, Kazu," the blue-eyed girl stated, trying to control the anger and fear in her voice. "You have brought the fight to the capital and it must end before more lives are lost. Give up your authority and this can end peacefully without more bloodshed."
Kazu's laughter echoed off the walls of the room. "You really think I'll give it up, Princess? No, I have a much better idea." He gestured to one of the guards on either side of him, who handed something to him; the Orb of Layorh. Yukiko's eyes stared in terror.
"Maybe next time you shouldn't sneak back into the palace with this on you," the giant Uzuzian said, sounding pleased as he looked over the orb. "You have now doomed your land."
Yukiko stood still.
The blue Keronian glared in the lord's direction. "There is no need for us to be enemies. Your anger and hate have clouded your judgement, for the Keronians and most of the Uzuzians' differences have been resolved back on your home world of Uzon."
"Lies!" hissed Kazu, standing up from his seat. "Keronians will do anything to trick us! You two are no different!"
"Uh, Dororo?" muttered Keroro nervously. "I don't think it's a good idea to provoke him."
The ninja ignored him as he continued as calmly as possible, "Kazu, don't make us fight you. This can end peacefully."
"You're right," the lord answered, surprising everyone. "This can end peacefully if you agree to my terms."
"What terms do you mean?" the human male asked, feeling uneasy.
Kazu scoffed, walking in front of the group. "I'm afraid this only applies to Princess Yukiko, little human. The rest of you shall have no saying in it."
While glaring at the large Uzuzian, the Koyuki look-alike calmly requested, "Speak your terms then."
"Yukiko-san," whispered Koyuki as she leaned closer to her, "are you sure this is a good idea?"
The kunochi's twin hesitated. "I don't think I'll have a choice anyway."
Koyuki and the rest of her friends watched worriedly as Yukiko stepped forward, then was led to one of the windows that overlooked the ruined city below as well as the battle taking place just outside the walls that could faintly be heard from even where they were. Apparently, Kazu couldn't care less about the others listening as he spoke in loud tones.
"Look hard out there, Princess," the Uzuzian stated. "Your precious Resistance is slowly failing and it's only a matter of time before my men completely overcome them. However... I can make an arrangement for their lives to be spared."
The Princess's face hardened, continuing to stare out into the battlefield. "What kind of arrangement?"
If it was visible, the large Uzuzian would have been seen smirking a little more. "I thought you might ask." He took out the Orb of Layorh, showing it to her. "You no doubt are already aware of how a member outside the Royal Family may be able to access this heirloom's power... that was the reason you ran away in the first place. At the right age, a member of royalty may be wed to anyone they wish and once their vows are made... the other can use the Orb. The deal is simple: marry me and you may have everyone spared from anymore agony."
"I will never betray my kingdom for that!" Yukiko spat.
"Again, I expected that you would say that." The giant Uzuzian nodded his head in the direction of the guards nearby, who in turn suddenly grabbed Dororo, Koyuki, Keroro, and Fuyuki from behind, blades pointed to their throats, much to their own horror.
Yukiko gasped.
"We can make this easy or hard," Kazu said coolly. "I would suggest the easier way, unless you want your sister and your new friends' lives to end in an instant."
"D-don't listen to him, Yukiko-san!" Koyuki exclaimed, her voice a little strained by the blade to her neck.
"He'll do what he can to get what he wants!" added Fuyuki, his eyes pleading.
"Quiet," both the soldiers holding the two humans muttered, pushing the sharp edges of their swords closer to Koyuki and Fuyuki's necks, who both cried out a bit. Dororo and Keroro tried to struggle in reaction, but were too small and weak to get loose from the stronger grips that had them.
Kazu looked down at the terrified Yukiko as she stood rigid. "You have a choice to make. I suggest doing it quickly before my men start to lose their grip." The guards laughed a bit in response.
After what seem to be forever, the blue-eyed girl sadly replied, "... Alright. I'll... do it."
"Hi-ya!" Momoka shouted as she unleashed her dark personality's rage onto one of Kazu's soldiers, nailing him right in the head, causing the poor Uzuzian to lose his balance and fall right off the wooden platform to the ground far below, screaming.
The Dark Momoka smirked proudly to herself. "Ha! That will teach you-!"
"Momo-chi!"
She barely had time to consider the fact that there was an Uzuzian trying to sneak up on her from behind, before he himself got blasted away from her by a familiar Keronian's Tamama Impact, just missing her by a hair.
"Are you okay, Momo-chi?" asked the Dark Keronian in concern as he rushed up to meet her.
If he thought he was going to be thanked by saving her life, he was dead wrong. "What the hell? I didn't need to be saved by you!"
Tamama tried to keep himself from retorting in anger so he wouldn't release his own dark alternate ego on the human. "A thank you would have been appreciated, desu..."
"Quit it, you two!" Giroro shouted over to them over his shoulder, while he and Natsumi were preoccuplied with two more of the soldiers. "Take care of more of those enemies!"
"YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF US!" both the partners in their dark selves snapped, but did eventually go off to get the job done.
The Corporal snorted, but returned his attention to the Uzuzians, who were waiting for the Keronian and red-head to make their first move. "You sure you can handle this?" he asked the human, although he had a touch of teasing in his tone.
Natsumi rolled her eyes in reply. "What do you think? We just climbed several floors without much trouble. Besides, I think you should be more worried about yourself, Giroro." She smiled a bit.
"You will fall to Lord Kazu's might!" one of the soldiers growled.
"I doubt it," Giroro scoffed a bit as he quickly whipped up his guns and fired it at the enemies. From experience against these Uzuzians so far, they learnt that there were weak areas in certain parts of their armor that he had to really aim right at to actually really hurt the opponent. He was pleased to see that he managed to get one of them down, while the other had the bullets reflect harmlessly off his armor.
The remaining soldier laughed. "Is that the best you got?"
"Not even close!" declared the teenage red-head as she jumped up and threw a kick right into the middle of the Uzuzian's chest, which hindered him as he backed off a little. "Had enough?"
"No where... near," panted the soldier, hunching over a bit as he put a hand to his chest. "Even if you do manage to clear away all of us, by some slim chance... you won't be able to stop what our Lord has in store with this project in just a matter of minutes."
Giroro narrowed his eyes. "What exactly would that be?"
"Like I'll tell you."
He snarled, firing another round of his gun, this time meeting its target as the soldier fell in an instant.
"I wonder what he means," Natsumi wondered aloud.
"Let's see if Kururu has found out anything," the Corporal suggested, activating his communicator. "Kururu, come in." However, he frowned after a second. It was just static because a possible interference. "Kururu!" Something in his gut told him that this wasn't good at all whatever that thing at the top was.
"Well, this seems like a major inconvenience, eh, Kururu?" Saburo asked, relatively calm despite the situation.
The silver-haired teenager was forced to keep his paper airplane, carrying himself and Kururu, away from the strange purple sphere at the very top of the pillar that had crackling electricity sparking off it, hopefully not close enough to actually be shocked... whatever it was.
"Kukuku... the signal keeps going in and out," the Yellow Keronian grumbled very lightly as he continued to type at his laptop, occassionally smacking the side of it lightly in an attempt to get it working. "If I can just get a few seconds to detect the energy signature..."
"Need some help?" Saburo asked.
"I am more than capable of doing it myself, kuku..." Suddenly, Kururu's hands froze over his keyboard, his own shocked expression being blocked by his glasses as he stared at his screen. "Ku..."
The teenager blinked, noticing this. "Not like you to broke off your sentences like that, Kururu."
"You can say; completely unnatural?" Angol Mois added, watching from nearby as she floated from her own Lucifier Spear.
"What's up?" the wave buddy of the Keronian pressed, waiting for a response.
After a while, the Sergeant Major's reply came, sounding dead serious and senting a small chill down the human and Angol's backs as he uttered one word:
"Kiruru."
Dororo, Koyuki, Keroro, and Fuyuki all still had their necks at blade points because of Kazu's soldiers holding them in their grips. They were all being forced to watch, practically as an audience, as Kazu and a teary-eyed Yukiko stood at the front of the throne, where a soldier stood, doing the "honor" of being the one to help perform the vows of the sacred ritual of marriage.
"... we are now gathered here today in this, uh, joyful weather as we join the hands of these two individuals..."
The ninja couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe that Yukiko was going to be forced to marry Kazu just for their sake, while they watched helplessly. He wanted to desperately to help her... but he would only end up risking himself and all his friends' lives.
"Skip most of it," ordered Kazu, interrupting the priest. "Once the vows are made, it's done."
After all they worked for... after all they went through... it was going to end like this.
And worst of all is that they probably will never see the beautiful planet of Pekopon again... unless something was done. He glanced over at Koyuki who was looking downward (as best as she could because of the blade to her neck) with an expression of defeat... a rare sight even from her.
He clenched his fists. He had to get her and the others out of this. He had to get themselves out of this situation somehow. If only he had his katana...
"Use that when you really need to."
Dororo blinked, suddenly recalling the private conversation he had with Giroro when they were still at camp... and when the Red Keronian threw him something that would be useful in the future. Trying to feel around for the small object without anyone realizing it, he was relieved a minute or so later when he found out that it hadn't been taken away when they were captured.
However... the problem as that he couldn't reach it. If there was some small distraction that hindered the Uzuzian holding him long enough... he could grab it and use it.
And he had a good idea on who might be the best nomination for the job.
"Leader-dono," he whispered to the green frog. "I have an idea on how we can get out of this."
Keroro huffed a bit. "You could have spoken sooner then, de arimasu."
While Dororo secretly told the plan to his leader, the "wedding" between Kazu and Yukiko continued: "... and so, by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you-,"
"Erm, excuse me?" Keroro suddenly piped up, intervening. "Don't we get a final saying in this?"
Kazu glared at the alien frog, while Yukiko shook her head rapidly at her friends, her eyes obviously reading: "What are you doing? I'm trying to save your lives!"
"Keronians don't deserve final sayings in anything," the giant Uzuzian spat. "Especially you two. Now keep quiet until we're finished here..."
"Another quick question," Keroro began again before the priest could resume. "What is the deal with airline food?"
A look of confusion crossed Kazu's eyes, along with the rest of the soldiers. "What...?"
"Yeah, you heard me! It always taste so bad and...!"
The Blue Keronian made a mental note to later thank the green frog for the distraction. While Keroro babbled on and on, he could feel the soldier's grip loosen just enough for him to have room to grab a badge-like object from him, making sure to do it as slow and unnoticeable as possible so he wouldn't alert the baffled Uzuzian as Kazu's confusion was now gradually being replaced by frustration. Now he just had to press it...
"Silence!" the lord finally bellowed, cutting Keroro off at last. "I will hear no more of these strange things! Now, you!" He indicated the priest. "Finish it already!"
Now!
Dororo pressed his thumb onto the badge as hard as he could and it erupted itself into a burst of light, startling the Uzuzian soldier so badly that the Keronian was dropped as the creature stumbled back. The kunochi didn't waste a moment to take advantage as well. She punched her elbow back into the Uzuzian holding her, then kicked him back into the others, all three tumbling to the ground like dominoes that also allowed Keroro and Fuyuki to escape before they would get crushed.
Even Kazu didn't expect the sudden turn of events. "What?"
Keroro stared in surprise as he watched the light engulf Dororo for a few moments, recognizing what it meant. "Th-that's...!"
Once the light show was over, standing down in Dororo's place was a Keronian outfitted in a top-to-toe dark blue combat suit, with one arm that had an armored-blade, and a golden shuriken symbol on his covered chest. Small horns sprouted from the top of his head and a shroud, much like the ninja's cap, were visible.
If it wasn't for the fact that his glaring crystal eyes were windows to his soul, Koyuki wouldn't even realize that it was her Keronian partner, since she had never witnessed him using his close combat armor in the past.
However, despite her shock at his - rather menacing - appearance, she didn't waste an opportunity to grab the two katanas back from the still recovering soldiers, tossing one to the ninja. "Dororo!"
In one swept move, the Blue Keronian grabbed the hilt of the sword from mid-air, nodding his thanks at the kunochi, then turning his attention back to Kazu, who was snarling at the Keronian, standing by the still stunned Yukiko.
"I gave you a warning, Kazu. Now for everything you did to these poor people, this land, and Koyuki-dono; I will make you pay."
Finally, it's time for Dororo's Crowning Moment of Awesomeness! :D
And yes, you're probably thinking how cliche it is so far, but don't judge this otherwise until you finish the story (which I will try to do as soon as possible). I hope this was a good chapter after my long hiatus! Please review and stay tuned for chapter 26, since that's going to be the start of the final battle... because, rest assured, it is going to be epic!