Author's note: Here we are! Born to be kings!- I mean… with another chapter… Sorry for not having this upload ready for the weekend as I promised, but I had forgotten the Super-Bowl was taking place yesterday, so yeah… I got distracted a little. I personally found the entire thing mildly disappointing, Carolina played just damn terrible the entire game, what with making mistakes one after another, missing throws that they really have no excuse for having failed, getting flags raised from the referees in the worst possible moments, and well it was just simply a series of stupid calamities and failures one after the other. How the hell did they managed to get to the final with such terrible performance is beyond me! The entire thing was one sided curbstomp in favor of Denver, that it wasn't even funny. Very cringing to watch it felt to me. The half-time show was good though, but overall, the Panthers' offensive was Meh!
Anyway, I still haven't been able to finish this arc, yes I know, not yet! But we already there, here in this chapter we are already in Myoushinzan and have everybody getting ready to get those pesky dragon spirits out finally! Each chapter brings us more and more closely to the end of this particular matter, and on to further crossovers! So let's begin with this thing already, alright?
Disclaimer: I own nothing; copyrights to the different series that appear in this fic belong to their respective owners.
The Sacred Dragon Mountain, Myoushinzan!
!
After a couple more hours of travel, the group finally reached its destination, the giant gates to a massive compound standing before them. It was certainly a sight to behold, from the outside it looked as if the massive complex was a mixture between a Shinto temple and a feudal Japanese fortress, the tall stone walls surrounding the perimeter of the place being obvious evidence of its defensive capabilities against outside threats, two giant wooden gates barring what it looked as the only entrance inside the fortress, unless of course you knew how to fly. Each of the massive doors had a big stone face of an Oni carved on their surface, indefatigable guardians that dissuaded anyone from wanting to set foot inside the compound with their unnerving gazes alone. Not that they had any effect in the alien girl since she was strong enough to blew entire mountain ranges with a flick of her wrist, frowning demon faces made of cold stone would not be enough to make her lose sight of her objective.
She had to admit though, that it was a small surprise to discover that the Oni stone faces were sentient, as they began to speak with otherworldly voices when Pan and her group approached the doors.
"Who dares approach the gates of Myoushinzan! The sacred seat of lady Shoryuki!"
For a moment her followers seemed startled by the unexpected acknowledgement, but Pan remained uncaring as always. Before she could make a reply, Mikami beat her to the punch and spoke. "Oh, quiet you two! It's only us! We came back to ask lady Shoryuki assistance in another matter." The red-haired beauty stated with obvious disdan in her voice, it seemed her opinion about these two stone guardians was not very high.
Most of the martial artists didn't know that stone faces were able to look bewildered, but that's exactly the feeling that the guardians of Myoushinzan were giving right now, and making a good impression of it by the way.
"Ah, it's you three again… Weren't you gone already?" The right Oni gate asked with what sounded like irritated contempt. "Why are you coming back here again? Haven't had enough after you destroyed this temple the last time you lot were here?"
"Now wait a minute, I didn't had anything to do with that! It was lady Shoryuki who destroyed her own temple after she turned into a dragon. In fact, it was me who had to stop her from burning this entire place to cinders and it was also me who paid the construction crew that rebuilt this place from my own pocket…" Mikami replied back fervently, taking offense that they wanted to blame her for the trouble that had occurred in here during their last visit, and certainly unwilling to let herself be turned into a scapegoat.
The immovable stone guardians were not fazed by her response. "Yes, but it was because of one of your companions that lady Shoryuki turned into a dragon in the first place, and since you were warned before stepping inside that you were going to answer for the actions of your companions while inside Myoushinzan, then that makes you responsible for what happened!" Explained the right gate with indifference.
"No it doesn't…" Mikami denied, shaking her head sideways. "We were already outside of Myoushinzan when Yokoshima touched the golden scale Lady Shoryuki has on her back and turned her into a feral dragon. So those terms didn't apply anymore and thus I was not responsible for the actions of this idiot." She said with finality, pointing at a suspicious Yokoshima. Pan and her followers simply remained silent while the ridiculous scene played out, not knowing how, or willing, to intervene, they simply decided to wait for the situation to resolve itself, Mikami seemed to have everything under control after all.
"By Kami, you're an annoying unmerciful person, did you know that?" The Oni gate replied with a tired sigh, trying hard not to lose his patience and failing miserably. "And what's with all these new people you brought here with you!? For what reason did you led them here to Myoushinzan? This is not a place that accepts tourists you know?"
Mikami once more replied pretty brazenly. "For your information these people are here in official business, we came here because we wanted to ask for Lady Shoryuki's help in an issue that's troubling them…" She explained.
"Absolutely not! No one is allowed to enter Myoushinzan unless they wish to undergo lady Shoryuki's training. The lady does not lower herself to deal with the troubles of mere mortals…" The Stone guardian stated with finality, refusing passage into the sacred mountain.
Mikami did not have the patience to be wasting time like this, a vein throbbing on her forehead to show her rising anger. "Open already you stupid gates or I swear I'll tear the two of you down and turn you into toothpicks!"
"No! The gates of Myoushinzan are barred to anyone! None may enter unless they come in search of training from our lady…"
Mikami's temper was about to burst in a fit of rage when suddenly, a female voice was heard coming from behind the gates. "What is all that ruckus out there? Gates, do we have some visits or something?"
Both of the stone guardians seemed alarmed for a moment, sweat-drops appearing all around their foreheads proving the old adage that it is indeed possible to pull water out of stone. The two Oni faces tried the best they could with their limited wits to draw away the attention of the unknown female without raising suspicion. "It's nothing that you should concern yourself with your ladyship, just some random wandering merchant that got lost."
Obviously such lame excuses were not going to hold for long, especially when Mikami decided to put a wrench on their plans. "Hey! Lady Shoryuki! It's me Mikami! I came back with some people in search of your aid on a little problem they have, but these two idiots you have in here refuse to give us entrance." She called, encircling her mouth with both of her hands.
For a heartbeat there seemed to be no response, but then the voice of Lady Shoryuki was heard again, the two Oni faces showing looks of panic etched on their features. "Mikami is that truly you? What is this problem you decided to bring to my door? No matter… Open up you two and allow entrance to Mikami and her companions." The voice ordered in a no-nonsense tone.
"But my lady!"
"Now!"
"Yes lady Shoryuki…" The guardian gates complied with a sigh of resignation.
The giant gates began to split outwards by the middle, the loud creaks of wood groaning in protest with every movement. Little by little the two Oni gates opened as they dragged their entire weight through the ground, scraping the stone surface, until finally, both gates were left wide open, revealing a lithe red-headed woman waiting under the threshold of Myoushinzan.
She looked as if she were on her mid-twenties at first sight, garbed in a sleeveless purple outfit that reminded strongly of those usually worn by the legendary Shinobi of old Japanese tales and legends, two small wooden horns protruded from atop her short fiery mane on each side of her pretty head, showing that the young woman was not entirely human. The red-head greeted Mikami with a happy wave of her hand, and then proceeded to roam her gaze around the rest of the people that the attractive Ghost-sweeper had led to her abode, surprise evident in her eyes as she took notice of the great number of visitors. She immediately picked up who among the newcomers was a being of celestial nature.
"Mikami, what a surprise!? What brings you back to my sacred mountain so soon… and in the company of first-rank goddesses?" She asked as her eyes focused on Belldandy, her older sister and Lind, taking notice of the blue marks on their faces that revealed their true nature and station.
Belldandy greeted the dragon goddesses with a bow. "Hello, my name is Belldandy, goddess first rank unlimited. This is my sister Urd, goddess second rank limited; and Lind, goddess first rank unlimited currently under suspension." The kind brunette said, pointing to each of her fellow goddesses in turn.
Shoryuki turned with a nasty glare towards the Oni gates. "You dared to refuse entrance into my mountain to a goddess of first rank!?" She accused with a 'You better explain yourselves and I hope for your sakes that you have a good excuse or else!' attitude.
The stone guardians were in full panic mode by now. "We didn't know! You have to believe us lady Shoryuki, we weren't aware that there were first ranked goddesses among their company!" Both Oni face pleaded in tandem, trying to assuage the mounting anger of the dragon goddess before she decided to burn them all to cinders with her breath.
Luckily for the two idiots, Belldandy seemed to take pity on them. "It's alright Lady Shoryuki, it was an honest mistake. We were trying not to draw attention to ourselves after all, so we didn't thought of announcing our presence. Please forgive them, it was not their intention to be offensive, they were just trying to do the job you gave them…" She pleaded with that calm, appeasing, forgiving manner that only a kind being like her was able to pull off.
As it is, Shoryuki could not simply find in herself to oppose the wishes of the pure-hearted goddess. "Very well, I'll let them off the hook this just this time, but they better make sure not to make any more mistakes from now on." She tossed a pointed look towards the gate's faces before turning back to the assembled group. "Anyway, it seems I'm being visited by quite the distinguished guests." She turned towards Mikami with a smile. "Your new friends must certainly be an interesting bunch Mikami, if they have goddesses among their company… And I think I sense other auras that don't seem to be entirely human." She said absentmindedly as she began to roam her gaze over the people standing in front of her gates, taking on their features, her senses at sharp attention trying to divine if there was something particularly out of the norm about their natures.
She suddenly, and without notice, reared back in alarm, complete surprise on her expression, and turned quickly to face the child avatar of the Daimakaicho. "Daimakaicho Hild! What are you doing here!?" She hissed with hostility as she raised her guard and assumed a combat stance. Her eyes then flicked towards the succubus in disguise among the ranks of Pan's followers. "And Morrigan Aensland! Belial's only daughter!" She turned her neck sharply to give Mikami an accusatory glare. "You led the Queen of Hell and her pet Darkstalker in here? What is wrong with you!? And what's this…!? I also sense traces of the essence of the Yamata-no-Orochi! Mikami, are you trying to betray me to the Demons!? And after I helped you increase your spiritual power!?"
The scarlet-haired ghost-sweeper quivered for only a moment under the baleful glare of the dragon goddess, her eyes flaring with a deep crimson as a visible aura began to manifest around Shoryuki, a pretty obvious evidence of her power rising to unbelievable levels in an instant, the wooden floor underneath her feet getting scorched by the incredible energy being expelled. Mikami was perfectly aware of the fact that Shoryuki could easily end her life in this very moment without her able to do anything about it unless she was quick to explain herself in a convincing enough way to appease her fury. "Wait a minute Shoryuki…!"
Luckily she was saved by the quick second intervention of the Norn of the present, Belldandy pressing a reassuring and calming hand on the shoulder of the dragon goddess, whose anger and fiery aura disappeared almost immediately, a puzzled look falling on her features as she turned towards Belldandy with an inquisitive gaze on her eyes.
"Please, there's no need for violence." Belldandy began to say, a calm merciful look of endless tolerance on her face. "I know it may be difficult to believe, but Miss Mikami did not lead the Daimakaicho into your mountain for any nefarious purpose. We are actually, both Goddesses and demons; working together to find a possible solution to a problem that was brought to our attention. For several reasons, we ended up having to cooperate with each other under the guidance of this girl over here…" She explained, motioning towards Pan who hadn't moved from her spot since they arrived to Myoushinzan and was simply standing there with her arms crossed, watching the proceedings unfold.
Shoryuki forgot all about her ire after hearing Belldandy's explanation, wondering what problem could be serious enough to force both Goddesses and demons to work together. Such circumstances are rare; they do have ocurred sometimes in the past, so there is precedent of Megamis and Akumas joining forces for the common good, but they are so scarce that most of the younger deities ignore that such possibility may be feasible. Luckily for all the people involved, Shoryuki had been extensively tutored by her superior Seitentaisei, so she was aware that such instances are indeed possible and was naturally curious about what kind of issue could warrant such cooperation.
She turned intrigued towards Pan and gave her a quizzical look, her senses telling her that the rough looking girl was not fully human. In fact she wasn't even sure about what she was, as she had never encountered such powerful and completely unknown energy readings before like the ones she was sensing from her.
"Who are you girl? I've never sensed this type of energy before…?" Shoryuki asked, tilting her head slightly to a side in curiosity, eyes fully open that honestly showed her puzzlement.
"The name's Pan, Saiyan warrior and alien from another world…" It was the blunt, simple answer of the alien girl.
"You're an alien from another world…!?" Shoryuki replied in amazement as she began to approach the short Saiyan girl, her eagerness and childish wonderment at meeting a being from another world pretty evident. "Fascinating… This is the first time in all my centuries that I meet someone from beyond the confines of this planet; I must say this is a new experience for me." She confessed with an impish grin tugging at her lips.
Pan simply rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah… Just get it out of your system." She plainly commented, being from a race that has its own space empire and treats frequently with other galactic-spanning governments caused Pan to not be impressed by the reactions of the inhabitants from a planet who have yet to leave the confines of their own celestial body and create their own colonies in other worlds. The status of celebrity she received on this world simply because she's a being from beyond the stars lost its appeal real fast, having every people she meets do nothing but gape at her did nothing but delay her in her ventures.
On that note, she decided to move things along less they waste any more time. "Anyway, the reason you have the Daimakaicho and several goddesses paying you a visit is because I managed to enlist their assistance with a little problem I have. The Daimakaicho pointed me towards Mikami to find a solution, and she in turn led us all here with you. So I hope you can help us to finally resolve this issue that came to out attention a few days ago."
Shoryuki nodded in acknowledgment, following her words without much trouble so far. "Well, why don't you and your companions step inside my mountain and tell me of this little problem you have." The dragon goddess offered politely, gesturing towards the interior of her temple. "Though I will be keeping a close eye on some of your companions, you understand right?" She said as she openly tossed suspicious glances at the Daimakaicho and her high-ranked sucubbus.
"Of course…"
"Regardless of the presence of the Daimakaicho, I'm actually pretty excited about hearing what you have to say. It's been many centuries since Myoushinzan opened its gates to a group as large as yours…" Shoryuki said with a smile.
And so the whole group finally was able to enter Myoushinzan, they were led inside a waiting room were everybody was barely able to fit together. They certainly ended up feeling rather cramped, but somehow they made due. Lady Shoryuki offered a seat to the alien girl before taking one of her own, and then Pan proceeded to explain their situation with the Dragon spirits, the reenactment of the war of the three kingdoms between the seven Toushi schools, the problem with the Magatamas and their ultimate fate, and their current goal to exorcise all the people with a Dragon essence inside of them, thus their need to go in search of a Dragon deity. Shoryuki heard all that the alien girl had to say attentively, never making a single interruption unless she needed clarification in some parts, her face an expresionless mask through the entire explanation. By the time Pan was done, Shoryuki had fully realized the gravity of the situation.
"This is indeed a serious situation that you bring into my doorstep, and I can tell you're being truthful since I can sense these draconic spirits inside your friends now that you pointed them out to me." She said before turning her head in the direction of the Toshi students. "But I can also smell the scent of another dragon among your midst…"
"Another dragon? What do you mean…?" Pan inquired, puzzled.
Lady Shoryuki did not replied and simply stood from her seat with a delicate elegant motion, before walking without a hurry towards the lines of the gathered students form the seven schools; her nose pointed high and sniffing the air as she did so. The young students moved away and let her pass unimpeded due to in no small part thanks to the fact they were a bit intimidated by the Dragon Goddess. Whatever scent she may be tracking, it led lady Shoryuki right in front of Chou'un, where she began to sniff around the silver-haired sword-girl with a bit more (impetud), taking her scent until she was practically touching noses with the teenager. The young Toushi rearing back a bit at the sudden aggressive breach of her personal space, a small blush on her face as she felt Shoryuki was coming a little too strongly at her.
"Wha.. What are you…?" She tried to say, but was interrupted by Shoryuki putting a hand on her face and opening one of her eyelids forcefully with two fingers to gaze at her eyes, her suddenly revealed golden iris showing clearly her frightened confusion and disquieted embarrassment.
"You are a descendant of dragons. I can smell the blood of my kind in you…" Said Shoryuki with satisfaction, unaware of the discomfort she was causing to the young woman.
"She has dragon blood in her veins?" Asked a mildly surprised Whip. "Actually, that would explain the shape of her eyes…"
Shoryuki suddenly trapped Chou'un in a hug and brought her head into her bosom, holding her as one would to little children. "I am pretty glad of finding a youngling of my kind. We dragons seldom have children; it is scarce the times we decide to reproduce, and on the rare ocassions we do, we lay no more than a few eggs per sitting. The downside of being a long lived species you know. We cannot allow our population to grow too numerous, less we risk a shortage of our resources. I haven't seen another hatchling since before I took the mantle of caretaker of Myoushinzan. Such rarity makes our children to be quite precious… And to find one so young… Oh, you're just adorable!" The red-headed dragoness said as she swept the silverette off-the ground, lifting her up in her embrace without any problem as she began to press and rub cheeks with the young Toushi. Chou'un, face burning red with embarrassment, tried to break the hold that the dragon goddess had over her and escape from such humiliating treatment, but found to her dismay that Shoryuki's strength was much greater than what she appeared at first sight. Every single of her efforts failed miserably and Chou'un was left unable to do nothing more but squirm awkwardly in the embrace of the Dragoness. A situation that was compounded even more by the fact she was being watched by the rest of the people in the room who were pointing and laughing at her, or in the case on her friends, trying to stifle their laughs but failing miserably
Shoryuki began to take notice of her discomfort and tried to calm her down with a gentle hand. "Shhh… It's alright little one, do not be afraid. You are safe here among kin." She cooed as she passed her fingers through the hair at the top of Chou'uns head in a series of short caresses. The silverette had to admit that it did felt nice to be doted upon, as she scarcely had any memory of her own parents showing their affection to her in similar ways during her childhood, being the distant and stern authority figures that they are. She only wished that the dragon goddess wouldn't be so open with her affections in front of others, public embarrassment is not something she wanted to suffer on any day of the week.
While the dragoness continued to cuddle the flustered Toshi, Foxy leaned towards Mature as she stared at Lady Shoryuki weirdly. "She's acting just as Diana does when she's around children." She whispered conspiratorially at the blonde secretary.
Mature just sweat-dropped. "Yeah… So it seems…"
Pan interrupted the retching-inducing show of affection by pointedly clearing out her throat. "Excuse me, but I think we have some pressing business in need of being address before you start to get clingy with my followers…" She said with all the subtlety of a plane crash.
At least that blunt call seemed to be enough to get Lady Shoryuki out of her Kawai induced frenzy, if her startled look and blooming blush were any indication. "Ummm… Yeah… Sorry… I let myself be carried away for a moment…" She confessed sheepishly before setting Chou'un back into the ground grudgingly, and straightening her clothes out of any crease that she might have caused her.
"No shit…" Vice deadpanned sarcastically.
"Ahem… Anyway, I better take a look on your friends under the influence of this dragon spirits and see what I can do for them…" Shoryuki said with a fake cough, trying to change the subject to make everybody stop dwelling about her unseemly behavior so that she might overcome her embarrassment easier.
But of course it was not going to be that simple, especially with this group. "Why were you treating that girl as if she was a baby…?" Foxy asked with a frown. "I don't know if your eyes are having trouble to see straight, but in case you haven't noticed, she's a little too old for you to be handling her that way. She's like what? Seventeen for Christ's sake! So please refrain from such unsettling acts in the future…" She scolded with a little bit of scorn in her voice. She certainly hadn't like this woman treating that girl, who looked only a few years younger than her, the same way she and Diana treat Kula. It doesn't look cute at all when you do that to someone who isn't a child.
"Well…" Shoryuki trailed off in her answer a little. "To be fair, she is nothing but a baby for my people standards. We dragons can live for dozens of millennia; I despite my young looks am several centuries old. My kind doesn't reach what you call your teen years until we are at least fifty years old, and we don't reach full adulthood until our first century. So for her to have only a dozen and seven years makes her but a toddler in my eyes…"
"But she is not a full-blooded Dragon!" Whip interjected, not accepting that answer. "She's human with a bit of Dragon genes on her blood."
Shoryuki shook her head in a negative. "That doesn't matter… The nose knows." She said as she tapped at the tip of her nose with a delicate finger. "We dragons have a distinct scent depending on our age. A young adult like me who's only a few centuries old doesn't smell the same as one who has been living for millenia. And well… She's giving the smell of a baby dragon, hence my attitude towards her."
Kushinada furrowed her brow as a thought suddenly passed through her mind. "The Legend of Myoushinzan, which dates back to the times of the warring clans' era, tells that the temple upon the sacred mountain has always been guarded by Lady Shoryuki since its foundation. Taking this into account, it is safe to say that you must be at least five hundred years old your Excellency."
Shoryuki just shrugged, not minding pretty much being questioned about her age due to the fact she measured years in a different manner than humans. "Give or take a few years, you're pretty spot on… So yeah, compared to me, that little dragonling among your company is but a small child."
Pan spoke again, trying to redirect the conversation back to the important matter at hand; not having much interest about the habits and development stages of dragons since she already knew all there is to know about that subject. Her own father having a pet dragon of his own that she used to play with as a child. "Whatever, I didn't come here to discuss the breeding habits of your species. Can you remove those dragon spirits from my underlings or not?" She asked testily with her arms crossed, drumming her fingers over one of her forearms in impatience.
The Dragon Goddess took a moment to recompose herself, as the blunt brazen manner that Pan used to describe their topic of conversation made her uncomfortable enough as to cause her another blush. "Well, as I had said, I would need to check over your friends first to see what can be done for them."
Pan nodded at that and ordered all of the people being possessed by a dragon, or that had been exposed to their tainted essence, to step forward. Ryuubi, Sousou, Hakufu, Ryomou and Elder Furunji formed a line at the front of the entire group of fighters and students, and waited for Shoryuki to take a look at them. The Dragoness examined them thoroughly, roaming her eyes up and down over their figures as she paced around each of them, her nose once more sniffing the air to pick over the scent of the Dragon spirits within them. The Toushis in the group tried their best to endure the entire ordeal without complaining as they could, despite being mildly disquieted at Shoryuki and her rather intrusive examination methods. Having the pretty red-headed dragon goddess with her face so close to them and smelling their entire bodies from head to toes was embarrassing enough to cause fiery blushes to bloom on their faces, but other than that they had no problem in shouldering through their check-ups. Their discomfort eased a great deal by the dispassionate and concentrated look on the Dragoness face, which clearly told them that she was more focused in dealing with the problem at hand rather than trying to molest them in any sexual fashion. Elder Furunji however, seemed totally unconcerned for what was happening around him, his usual cheerful and perky demeanor keeping any outside observer from discerning what may be passing inside his mind.
After a few minutes of an incredibly awkward examination, Shoryuki proceeded to give her verdict. "Well, I must say it was certainly a good thing that you decided to bring your friends here to my seat of power. It would have been very difficult to remove these spirits from them otherwise if we had been anywhere else, as they have become pretty strong after feeding from all the strife and destruction they have been causing for centuries with the cycle of war and resurrection they had in place." She explained with a clear frown of disgust on her face.
"Seems you're not pretty pleased about the actions of your fellow dragons? I take it you don't approve." Agent Viper commented, her pointed look clearly visible through the yellow tinted glasses on her face.
Shoryuki gave a rather sharp sway of her head to show her disapproval, her eyes turning harsh in outraged affront. "Of course I don't approve! Such waste of life and senseless killing goes against all the oaths I swore to uphold as a goddess." She took a moment to rein her temper, shaking her head again, this time in disappointment. "But the truth is I'm not surprised about the actions of the mortal counterpart of my kin. Dragons by nature are cruel and greedy beasts who consider any living being smaller than them to be nothing more than prey." She said a little dejected, receiving nods of sympathy from the other goddesses like Belldandy.
That statement made Viper to crease her brow in thought. "You consider yourself and those like you separate from the rest of your kin?" She asked.
Shoryuki suppressed the need to scoff, but still waved a hand off in disdain. "Do you humans consider yourselves equal to your gods? It is the same for us dragon deities, there's as much difference between us and our mortal counterparts as there is between you and the goddesses in your company. We as deities have our duties and specific placement in the great order of things, we know what our function is and what influence and responsibilities it conveys, so we understand its importance for the greater whole no matter how renowned our humble that position may be; we all have our parts to play. Though I must admit there are some among our ranks who had retained a few more of the traits from our mortal kin than I would like, making them a little more… difficult to be around." The dragon goddess said, having a specific fellow dragoness in mind. She shook her head from such unseemly thoughts towards another of her race. "Anyway… That's not important right now. What matters is that I think I would be able to remove these spirits safely without harming your friends, but first I'll have to deal with the tainted essence infecting the bodies of these two." She gestured at both Ryomou and the Elder.
The blue-haired Toushi seemed a little apprehensive. Even though she would at last, after two long years, finally be able to get rid of the fragment of Dragon soul tainting her body, she dared not to raise her hopes too high least this cure proved to be a failure just like many others before. "Is that true…? Would it be truly possible for you to remove this taint from me?" She timidly asked as she fidgeted nervously with her fingers.
The Dragon Goddess gave her a serious look, realizing exactly what her worries were. She gave her an honest nod. "Yes… There's nothing you should be worried about. I am more than capable of removing the taint from your body." She set a reassuring hand upon Ryomou's shoulder as she stared truthfully into her eyes. The eye-patch wearing girl seemed grateful for the gesture. "The reason I wanted to start with you two is because I only have to focus in removing the essence from your bodies without having to fight a dragon spirit into submission since neither of you are possessed. So it's only a matter of me snatching the taint and pulling the thing out." Shoryuki's expression grew graver as she put her remaining hand in Ryomou's other shoulder, and forced the blue-haired Toushi to give her undivided attention solely on her. "Though I must warn you… This procedure is going to hurt a lot; you're going to feel a pain like no other in your life since the dragon essence inside your body has had enough time to latch into your soul, and what I'm about to do is basically attack the taint directly and forcefully rip it out of you. It is not a subtle or sophisticated method, but its effectiveness cannot be denied, so I must ask you if you are willing to go through such pain?" She asked in a completely serious no-nonsense tone of voice.
Ryomou seemed intimidated for just a moment, her mind trying to comprehend just how much pain removing a poisonous infection straight from her soul was going to cause her, but it was only for a moment and she steeled herself for the ordeal at hand, giving a resolute nod back to the dragon goddess to let her know of her decision. "Do it!"
Shoryuki's answer was simply plunging an outstretched hand right into the sternum of the blunette, Ryomou let out a gasp at the feeling of being stabbed as the hand penetrated completely into her without any kind of resistance, just like knife through butter. The eyes of their audience suddenly widened in shock thinking that the Dragon Goddess had decided to take the young girl life rather than save it. Ryomou gave a scared betrayed look to Shoryuki, who continued to stare straightly into her eyes without flinching, her entire attention solely on the girl in front of her. For a moment no one knew what to do due to the impression, wondering if there was something they could do in the first place since it was unknown just how powerful the Dragon Goddess was, the memories of the battle between Pan and Lind still fresh in the minds of alien girl's followers. Their worries were completely forgotten as a sudden light began to shine in the room.
The place where Shoryuki had stabbed the young began to glow with a white light, its intensity growing stronger and stronger overtime. The white light gave a feeling of peace and serenity to all who were touched by its rays, reassuring everyone that the Dragoness course of action had been the correct one. Ryomou too, felt herself calm down by the soothing fingers of light that came out of her wound, seeing that nothing particularly harmful was happening to her, she began to think that maybe things were not so bad. That's when the pain began…
A loud scream pierced the air as Ryomou found herself experimenting suddenly an unbelievable agony, a pain she didn't know that could exist coming out from the core of her very being, her body arcing back violently as Shoryuki kept her hold on her wound. A black foul looking taint bursted suddenly from her wound and began to spread through the rest of her body, black wriggling tendrils that got under her skin through any exposed part of her body were they could stab themselves into, causing unsightly bulges under her epidermis wherever the black tentacles moved, making for a very gruesome sight. Ryomou was not aware of this however, as her mind was being overtaken by the pain burning at her soul, unmindful of the slithering tendrils making their way into her eyes. The present martial artists could only look in shock at the unfolding situation out of a horror movie happening in front of their eyes.
Shoryuki wasn't paying attention to all this however, focusing solely in combating and removing the infection straight out of the wound. Her arm began to shine again as she began to pour her holy energy directly into the taint to weaken it, all the while; the screams of Ryomou kept reverberating throughout the room. The action seemed to have some kind of response, as the tendrils began to trash violently as if they were in some kind of pain. The infection tried to fight back against its aggressor once it felt threatened, redoubling its efforts to reach Ryomou's face while lashing back against the Dragon Goddess, black tentacles whistling through the air like whips, forcing Shoryuki to duck least she lose her head. The taint's resistance was short lived however, as a pulse of energy from the Dragoness' arm was enough to take the fighting strength out of the infection entirely, the tentacles writhing in pain for one last time before falling inert.
With her path seemingly clear out of any more obstacles, Shoryuki proceeded to rip the infection out of the young female Toushi. With a brusque yank she began to pull at the dark essence directly, wrestling briefly for a moment as the taint used whatever remaining strength it had to clasp itself on Ryomou's body, unwilling to be removed from its host.
Shoryuki had enough of the taint's resistance, and with a last mighty pull, she ripped out all of the poisonous essence from the young blunette's body, the wound closing seemingly on its own after the red-headed dragoness pulled her arm out, Ryomou simply fell bonelessly down into the floor on her back, completely knocked out by the pain. With a smile of satisfaction, the dragon goddess held the extracted infection on her hand for all to see, the black taint seemingly reducing in size once it no longer had a host to latch to, compressing into a small sphere of burning dark energy that radiated an obvious malevolence that caused anyone who laid their eyes on it to feel an unexplainable unease.
"Well, that's the end of it I believe." Shoryuki stated as she wiped her brow with her free arm.
Most of the young students however, were more worried about the unconscious Ryomou, currently sprawled on the floor, rather than in the words of the Dragon Goddess. "Is she going to be alright?" Hakufu asked in worry, a look of alarmed concern in her usually bubbly face.
"Huh?" Shoryuki partially acknowledged her, her mind focused more on the dark essence hovering over her hand. "Oh yeah, she will be alright. She just passed out because of the Pain." She gestured dismissively with her free hand. "Anyway, I'm done already. You can tend to your friend now until she awakens if you want, in the meantime, I'll take care of the next taint." She declared as she turned towards Elder Furunji.
Pan signaled for some of the students to take the unconscious Ryomou away and look after her, meanwhile Shoryuki began to remove the dark essence inside Elder Hayato's arm. The operation running much more smoothly and without complications than with Ryomou, Shoryuki simply grabbing the taint without needing to stab the old grandmaster with her arm and yanking the thing out as one would do to a scab, the only thing that betrayed the pain and discomfort that the elder may have been experiencing were a small series of brief grunts and winces on his face.
Now Shoryuki was holding a sphere of dark essence in each on her hands. "This one was much simpler to do. It was a good thing that you came to me with the infection was still recent, as it hadn't yet have enough time to latch into your soul, also, well done for keeping the taint isolated on your arm. You must have quite the remarkable willpower to be able to accomplish such feat; then again, you young people always seem to be quite spirited, how can an old woman like me could ever hope to keep up with such energetic strapping young man like you." Shoryuki jested, offering a pleasant smile to the old grandmaster.
"Oh please, you're making me blush…!" Elder Furunji said with a booming laugh, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment with his free hand, a burning blush on his cheeks. "You're being too harsh on yourself. For someone of your years, you're certainly aged quite well; I can only hope to look as good as you do if I am lucky enough to ever reach your age." He said with another goofy laugh.
"That's kind of you to say." Shoryuki smiled.
Miu could only look at his grandfather with an odd expression. "Grandpa, what are you doing?" That seemed to take the wind out of Hayato's sails, as he suddenly began to choke awkwardly.
"N… Nothing that you need to concern yourself with, Miu…" Furunji replied while fake-coughing over his fist, his face burning even brighter.
Miu didn't seem convinced by his words. "Just stop it; you're embarassing yourself in front of everyone." She stated with a consternated stare, the only reply she got was a non-decipherable grunt from her grandfather.
The Dragon Goddess decided to get back at the matter at hand. "Anyway, that is all for the two of you. You and that other girl should be fine now and be able to recover on your own overtime. Just make sure to have enough rest for your body to deal with the last minute traces of dark essence that may have remained, do that and you should completely be taint-free in a couple of days." She told to Hayato before turning towards the other three remaining Toushis. "Now which one of you does this two soul fragments belongs to? I can easily sense they both are from the same dragon." She inquired as she lifted on display both of the dark essences in her hands.
Ryuubi answered by lifting a hand, drawing everyone's attention on her. "They belong to me I think… For what I was told, both Ryomou and Elder Furunji were infected by a fragment of my Dragon's soul after facing it during one of his awakenings where he takes control over my body…" She explained a little unsure, passing a few fingers through one of her long strands of hair and curling it around her index.
"And you have no memory of any of these incidents, am I right?" Shoryuki discerned.
Ryuubi gave a sharp nod as an affirmative. "Yes… I can't remember anything of the times my Dragon has awoken. Everytime I try to recall something, all that I get is a blank. But according to my friends, when my Dragon awakens I turn into a mindless unstoppable berserker that shreds anything standing on its way and that is unable of distinguishing friend from foe." The bespectacled girl seemed suddenly uneased, as she hugged herself while shrinking in shoulders. "I don't like it when my Dragon awakens… I don't like it waking up covered in blood without knowing what happened, unable to do anything but stare at the destruction all around me and wondering if my friends are alright or if…" She trailed off a little. "Or if I killed them…" She said in a low terrified voice.
"I see…" It was all the reply that Shoryuki could give. "We should do a change of location before continuing, I believe. We're going to need a lot more space for what's next, as it would be too dangerous to do it in such confined spaces and too close to the rest of your companions. So if you could all be so kind as to follow me…" The Dragoness said as she turned and walked towards one of the sliding doors in the room, so common in traditional Japanese architechture, and opened it to a side, revealing a long wooden-floored corridor.
Mikami seemed to remember this passage and where it led, raising an eyebrow in recognition. "Doesn't this corridor lead to your battling grounds, Lady Shoryuki?"
"That is correct Mikami." The red-headed Dragoness confirmed. "This passage will take us to the arena were you and your assistant faced my challenges in order to increase your spiritual powers. So, shall we...?" She gestured to be followed.
The entire group of fighters and students began to trail after the lady of Myoushinzan without complain, wondering where she was leading them. After several minutes of traveling through long corridors, Shoryuki finally opened the gates of their destination. Everybody had expected she would lead them towards a big dojo-like room or an open inner courtyard, but they were all completely unprepared for what was revealed to their eyes.
At first, it appeared as if they were about to enter into another small antechamber like the one they had just came from, but they couldn't have been more wrong. The interior was massive, a vast desolated landscape of cold blue rock as far as the eye could see, not a single thing, be it plant, animal, or man-made constructions could be found in all this forgotten solitude. The sky above was pitch-black and dotted with a million stars, little points of light beyond count that illuminated what would outherwise be a very unremarkable barren sight. None of the martial artists present had ever seen so many stars in their life, they weren't even aware that so many could exist. Nebulas, comets, stardust, shooting stars and other galaxies, seemed to make their way through that (trafico) void, uncaring –or more likely unaware- of the presence of so little and insignificant mortals like them. The looming glittering blackness seemed almost alive with all its activity, as it pressed upon them heavily with nothing in the way to push it at bay, threatening to devour them all whole. In this wasteland, there was no shelter to be found, the only things that existed on this place were the cold immutable ground and the endless darkness above. At the distance, beyond the horizon, the glow of a nearby dying star could be seen; granting a few warm orange and red brushes on an otherwise black sky, the star itself shrouded in darkness, only its silhouette being visible thanks to the light of its fiery crown. It was a sight out of a strange dead alien world, a vision of things never before seen on Earth.
Which unnerved the present fighters greatly, weren't they supposedly just entered a closed room? "What… What kind of place is this…!?" Whip asked, clearly disturbed by what they were seeing.
Lady Shoryuki swept an arm to gesture at their surroundings. "This are the Battlegrounds were I bring those who wish to increase their spiritual powers in a short amount of time. Here I make them fight against powerful spirits to improve their strenght; this option is only for those who do not wish to grow stronger through the methodical and segmented training I offer, wishing for fasts results instead. Only the most brave or reckless dare to accept my challenge, for the spirits I hold in here are powerful, and defeat in this place would mean not only your death, but the destruction of your soul is devoured by the creatures that defeated you. We are currently in another dimension outside the normal flow of time and space whose sole entrance is through the door we just went through, a gateway that I created to connect this place with the human world."
That explanation seemed to leave most of her audience utterly stumped. Angel gaped. "What!? You mean to tell us that we have entered into, ANOTHER DIMENSION!"
For some unexplained reason, those words seemed to echo throughout the entire place, giving an ominous feeling to all who heard them. The words 'Another Dimension' kept repeating one after the other until they lost themselves in the distance of this desolated landscape.
ANOTHER DIMENSION! ANOTHER DIMENSION! ANOTHER DIMENSION! ANOTHER DIMENSION! ANOTHER DIMENSION! ANOTHER DIMENSION! ANOTHER DIMENSION! ANOTHER DIMENSION! ANOTHER DIMENSION!ANOTHER DIMENSION!
The gathered fighters simply stood there in awkward silence until the echoing words could not longer be heard anymore. "Okay… That was weird…" Pan commented plainly, her arms crossed again.
!
Somewhere in Greece, on the outskirts of Athens, on a balcony that faced towards a field where dozens of young men trained in different combat styles and exercises, a man with his whole body covered by a wide and loose white robe, wearing a blue marble mask carved in the likeness of a mute face, and a red crimson helmet that covered his entire head and had a perched eagle carved at the top, took his gaze from the young men training on the field and turned his head to a side, as if looking at the distance.
"Holy Patriarch, is something the matter?" A nearby guard standing on attention in front of a pillar, wearing spear and shield, and ancient Greek armor, asked.
The 'Patriarch' seemed to snap out of whatever daze he was and turned towards the lone guard. "It is nothing… I just thought I was having a premonition or something. It was the weirdest of feelings, as if someone was talking about me behind my back… No matter, it was probably nothing."
!
Back in Shoryuki's Battlegrounds, the gathered martial artists decided to ignore the recent bizarre oddity they had witnessed. The Dragon Goddess cleared her throat to call their attention and continue with the matter at hand. "Anyway…" She addressed Angel. "Yes, as I had said, we are currently inside another dimension." 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!' The echoing words of Angel called back from the distance. That really caught everybody off guard.
"What the fuck? Didn't that echo was gone already!?" Juri asked with a puzzled expression. "Why did we hear it again as soon as the Dragon Lady said the words 'Another Dimension'?" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!'
Whip groaned in frustration. "Please don't tell me we got caught up in some bizarre comedic routine and now we're going to be hearing that echo everytime somebody says 'Another Dimension'…" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!'
Chun-Li gave a startled look at the distance. "It does seems as if that echo is going to be heard when someone says, 'Another Dimension'" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!'
Foxy was getting fed-up with all this nonsense. "Stop saying 'Another Dimension!' Is annoying…" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!' "Goddammit!"
Aya Natsume pointed a finger at Foxy. "You just said 'Another Dimension' yourself!" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!'
Nagi turned at her, rubbing a finger inside his ear to clean it. "Who just said 'Another Dimension'?" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!' "I got distracted for a moment…"
Okinu seemed pretty chirpy for some reason. "Are we playing a game? Is it my turn to say the words 'Another Dimension'?" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!'
Mikami was quick to chastisize her ghostly assistant. "No Okinu, we are not playing a game. So please refrain from saying 'Another Dimension'" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!' "Crap! I just said it myself!" She stated as she smacked her own forehead.
Iori Yagami began to face-palm, he turned towards Angel accusingly. "Dammit, woman! Why did you have to scream the words 'Another Dimension!' In the first place!?" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!' "Now we are never going to stop being harassed by them!"
"ENOUGH!" Pan exclaimed suddenly, bringing an abrupt end to all conversation, her patience utterly spent. "All of you idiots shut up! I don't want anyone else saying those words!" She warned with a threatening demenaor.
"What words?" Hakufu Sonsaku asked with a clueless expression, it was more than clear that she was not aware of what was happening around her.
But Pan, in her anger, didn't saw it like that. "You know exactly the words that I am talking about! So stop playing the fool and keep quiet!" She said with a fulminant glare.
Hakufu shivered under the baleful gaze of the alien girl. That doesn't necessarily meant it was a good thing because she began to wail. "But I don't know which words you're talking about! I wasn't paying attention! Please somebody tell me which words I'm not supposed to say!" She yelled to the four winds.
Pan was simply stumped in disbelief at that declaration. "What do you mean you were not paying attention!? We've been standing in here for several minutes now, with those words being repeated for too many damn times!" She snapped a little testily.
The well-endowed bubbly girl cowered under her words. "I… I… I was simply marveling at all the pretty sights since I've never been to another world, this the first time I've seen the sky of an alien planet…!" She confessed scared, bracing her arms over her head in an attempt to escape from the piercing eyes of the Saiyan girl.
Aya Natsume spoke in defense of her fellow air-head, a pleasantly surprised expression on her face. "I was doing that too! I would have also ignored what was happening around me if I didn't have my sister forcing me to pay attention to what was going on!" She declared as she motioned towards her elder sibling, Maya, the silver-haired girl trying to supress a groan at her Imotou's stupidity and failing miserably.
The alien girl didn't seem inclined to ease up despite the appeasements. "Be as it may… I don't want any of you uttering those words anymore, in fact, better if none of you open your mouths again."
"But I wanna know what words were you talking about!?" Hakufu kept whining.
"I'm warning you girl… Don't challenge me on this…!" Pan all but threatened through gritted teeth.
That seemed to be enough to make Hakufu relent from keep bothering the Saiyan, but not to dissuade her curiosity for long, as all that Pan's dismissal did was make the busty Toushi go pester someone else. "Pssst! Hey, Koukin… Pssst! Do you know what are the words that Pan doesn't wants us to say…? Can you tell me…? Pssst!" Hakufu whispered towards her cousin, using one hand to cover the side of her mouth facing Pan from sight as to not draw attention to herself. Of course her attempts at discretion were bound to failure, because in the completely silent landscape where they were standing –As everybody else was following Pan's instruction and keeping their mouths shut- her voice could be so clearly heard by everyone, that might as well she be using a megaphone to speak. Hakufu certainly didn't do subtlety; everybody present sweat-dropped.
Pan's eyebrow began to twitch erratically; Koukin took notice, and wasn't reassured by it. "Hakufu… Would you be quiet…!? Are you trying to get the both us killed…! He whispered back to the clutzy girl through gritted teeth, thick beads of sweat falling from his forehead. "Wouldn't you should be more cocnerned on the fact of getting rid of the Dragon Soul inside you…?"
"But I really want to know what Pan doesn't want us to say…! Please, tell me!"
"No!"
"Please! Please! Please!"
"I said no, Hakufu! Leave me alone!"
"Pretty please!"
"No!"
"Pretty pretty please!"
"I said no, already! Don't you understand the meaning of the word no!"
"Pretty pretty please with sugar sprinkles…?"
"No!"
"Pretty please with sugar prinkles and ice cream in the middle…?"
"No! No! No! A thousand times, No!"
"Pretty pretty please with sugar sprinkles and ice cream in the middle with chocolate chips…?"
"You're not gonna stop until I cave do you!?"
"Pretty pretty please with sugar sprinkles, ice cream in the middle with chocolate chips and whipped cream…?
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaah! Why me!? God, what did I do for you to hate me so much!"
"Pretty pretty please with sugar sprinkles, ice cream in the middle with chocolate chips and whipped cream, and a big bright cherry on top…?"
"Arrrgh!" Koukin raged as he tried to supress the need to face-palm, his hand spasming wildly. "Goddammit, Hakufu! Fine! You win! I'll tell you! You damn baby!"
Hakufu just nodded. "Okay, that's good, because I ran out on what else to put on my pretty please…"
Aya Natsume acknowledged with her head. "That sounds like a very delicious pretty please alright…"
With turned to Foxy with a blank look. "You know, I'm surprised at her imagination for managing to come up with all those sugary confections to decorate her pleases!"
The white-haired fencer gave her a response just as dry. "Yes… All it was missing was a ribbon for it to be damn fine as a gift…"
Okinu tapped at Mikami's shoulder, the attractive red-head turning at her with a quizzical expression. "Mikami, do you think we could stop for ice cream on our way back home after we're done here…? I suddenly have the craving of eating ice cream after hearing Miss Hakufu speak." Okinu pleaded with an utterly adorable an innocent expression.
"We'll see Okinu…" Replied the Ghost-sweeper with a sweat-drop.
Honoka too began to tug at his elder brother shirt. "Can we too go for some ice cream when this is over Oni-chan?" She pleaded while she gave him the dreaded puppy-eyes treatment.
Koukin dared to take a glance at the alien girl to find she was not in the very least amused by their antics, as far as he could tell, her temper was about to blow. How did he come to that conclusion, you may ask? Because the eyes of the young Saiyan were charging with energy, making it seem as if two ominous stars were being aimed at his direction. Koukin could do nothing but gulp and try his best to not shit his pants. It was more than obvious he was walking on eggshells in here, better try not to do something that would finally cause Pan to snap.
He made a come-hither gesture to Hakufu with his index finger. "Come over here Hakufu, and I'll whisper those words into your ear so I do not break Pan's orders of speaking them out loud."
"Okay!" Hakufu chirped hapilly before skipping towards her cousin with her usual bubbly attitude and presenting an ear at his face, barely able to wait for him to spill the beans.
The young Toushi cupped a hand around the offered ear and leaned close the whisper the words in a very low and quiet tone of voice, so low in fact that it was barely able to be heard despite the silence in the barren field. "The words that Pan doesn't want us to say are, another dimen…'" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!' The echo that had been bothering everybody suddenly rang ear-burstingly throughout the place before Koukin had a chance of finishing speaking, it seemed to not have liked the measures taken to silence it, and so it now came back with a vengance. All of the people present had to jump back due to the sudden impression and forced to cover their ears from the deafening sound.
"Ah Goddammit! My ears!" Said one voice among many, as the sound was loud enough the bring many to their knees; even Pan was bothered by the loud echo.
Hakufu had certainly didn't liked the ear-numbing sound either. "Aoooouchie! Where did that came from…?" She turned with a mildly annoyed face back to her cousin. "Koukin, could you repeat the words you tried to tell me one more time?" That certainly caused another impact among the recovering martial artist, as everybody began to look at her as if she was bonkers.
Koukin gaped. "What…!? Why!? I just said them to you!?" He all but screeched in alarm.
Hakufu iddly cleaned an ear with a finger, unaware of how everyone was looking at her. "Yeah, but I wasn't able to hear anything you said because of that shout of 'Another Dimension'" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!' The echo rang again, this time back to its normal volume.
Koukin look as if about to get a stroke. "But those are the words right there!" He wailed.
"What words…!? I haven't heard anything but that loud echo of 'Another Dimension'" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!'
"Those are the words Pan doesn't want us to say!"
"Which ones…?"
"Another Dimension!" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!'
"Yes, 'Another Dimension'" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!' "Is the shout that keeps interrupting us from you telling me which words Pan doesn't want us to say."
"No! Those are the words right there!" Koukin all but screamed.
Hakufu looked perplexed for a moment and began to nibble at her finger in thought, or whatever that passed for thoughts in her usual empty head. "I don't follow…"
"It's Another Dimension!" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!'
"We are currently in another dimension, yes…" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!' "Lady Shoryuki explained that to us when we arrived in here."
"NOOO! 'Another Dimension'" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!' "Are the words that Pan doesn't want us to say!" Said a too much frantic Koukin, clearly at the end of his rope.
"'Another Dimension'…" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!' "Are the words that Pan doesn't want us to say…?" Hakufu repeated as her mind slowly comprehended that statement.
"YES!" Everybody present exclaimed, having enough of this stupid nonense.
Hakufu seemed taken aback for a moment at everyone's reaction, but her surprised dissapeared pretty quick before she was back to her usual clueless demenaor. "Alright, alright, I get it… There's no need to shout. If you don't want me to say 'Another Dimension' anymore;" ANOTHER DIMENSION!' "You should have just said so, geez…" There was a general face-palm at the unbelivable idiocicy of the blonde Toushi.
Pan's temper was already past the boiling point, but she tried, real hard, not to kill the air-head since that would not amount to anyhting beneficial for anybody in the end. "Then… Let me make it clear for you, so there are no more mistakes…" She said through gritted teeth, the sound of the bones of her jaw creaking hard was heard clearly through the field. It wasn't a reassuring sound. "I do not want anyone of you to say, utter, whisper, mumble, not even think! The words 'Another Dimension'" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!' She let out a terribly frustrated flinch at the echo, but did her best to calm herself. She passed her rage-filled smoldering eyes over everyone who was present in the desolate field with her. "I do not want to hear even a pip of those words! Is that clear…!?" She got her answer immediately through a series of nervous nods. "Good!"
Seemed her little threat had succesfully cowed every single one of her minions, too bad for her it wasn't that effective on those who technically were not under her service and were simply trailing along due to boredom; namely Hild. The Demon Queen was simply grinning, that toothy grin of hers, as she stared at Pan with a look of evident mischief.
The alien girl of course, took notice of that smile that clearly spelled trouble. She pointed a finger at the grinning chibi-Daimakaicho. "Don't. You. Dare…!"
Hild gave an amused innocent look at the accusation that didn't fool anybody. She continued grinning as she locked eyes with the young Saiyan and leaned forwards, as if daring her to stop her. The tense staring match continued for several awkawrd moments, the gathered martial artists not knowing what to do that would diffuse the nerve-wrecking situation without causing Pan to blow a gasket, Hild's smile widening more and more with each passing second, a tell-tale of her intentions.
It was when her smile threatened to split her face in two that the Diamakaicho simply went for it. "ANOTHER DIMENSION!" 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!' She yelled at the top of her lungs, receiving the expected echo as result, before teleporting away in a puff of smoke as a hand suddenly appeared inside her personal space and almost closed around her throath. Pan's fingers could only manage to grasp the empty air as the Daimakaicho's laughter rang loudly throughout the field, the alien girl letting out a frustrated growl.
Hild reappeared close to her daughter, unable to come to a stop in her laughter. Urd simply glared at her mother with contemptuous eyes. "That is enough Hild! We do not have time to be wasting in your games!"
The Queen of hell seemed put out at having her own daughter interrupting her fun, a dissapointed pout on her face. But it was nothing more than a front, as she actually didn't mind stopping from yanking the young Saiyan's chain if it was Urd who asked that of her. "Oh, boooh! You're not being fun at all, Urd-chan. You should stop being so serious and learn how to relax more. But, fine! I'll stop bothering Pan if that's what you want…" She said, as she crossed her arms and remained perfectly seated while in mid-air.
Yet even so, the alien girl's temper didn't simmer down, even with Hild relenting from her teasing. She adressed everybody in general again. "Ok, I'm seriously about blowing this entire place up if someone opens his mouth again, so everybody just shut up! I don't want to hear anyone speak until I'm sure that damn echo is gone!" She remarked erraticaly with an obvious tick mark on her brow and a pulsating vein on her neck.
No one made any comment, knowing they were practically walking through a mine field with Pan's temper as strained as it was, any false step could literally break whatever small grip on her sanity she still had if they were not careful. The gathered martial artists remained silent, as the minutes began to stretch in more awkard silence.
….
….
….
(Cough) (Cough)
….
….
So far things seemed to be going rather well as no other trace of the annoying echo could be heard, the people present began to feel less apprehensive as they witnessed Pan's mood improving with each moment, the alien girl listening intently to her surroundings for any sign of the echo and feeling rather relieved when nothing dared to rise up and break her peace and tranquility.
….
….
….
Pan stopped listening to her surroundings and let down her guard, seemingly satisfisfied at not hearing anything, her minions relaxing too as result of her improved mood. She was about to speak again, when suddenly…
'ANOTHER DIMENSION!'
"THAT DOES IT!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Pan released a brilliant energy blast at the distance, towards the direction she heard the echo coming from. The sudden detonation being so powerful and deafening, that the gathered martial artists felt as if they were standing next to a firing piece of artillery. The energy blast struck somewhere beyond the horizon, illuminating the entire field in a blinding white for a moment, outshining even the nearby star in the distance, before an eardrums-bursting explosion blared throughout the place. The ground under the gathered martial artists' feet began to shake violently, causing many to fall down into the quaking earth, unable to keep their balance, as an impressive and terrifying mushroom cloud rose higher and higher into the star-riddled dark sky, tossing an impressive quantity of dust and debris on all directions for several kilometers around the point of detonation. The pieces of broken earth and debris falling back into the ground in a shower of dirt over the heads of the terrified fighters, who were forced to hug the ground for dear life to withstand the furious vibrations shaking the entire field for miles on end.
When the effects of the detonation finally passed, they left in their wake a bunch of knocked down people groaning pitifully among the dirt.
Pan gave a sattisfied humm as she dusted her hands off, uncaring of the distressed she had caused to her minions. "That should take care of the issue… Ah, that felt good! It's great to be able to unwind a little!"
Shoryuki rose back up and shook her head off, trying to get rid of the sudden feeling of diziness that had befallen her after the ground went all shaky, she took a moment to dust off her clothes and deal with the fragments of dirt and stone in her hair. "I think we should move on and start with the exorcism of the Dragon Spirits already, and sooner rather than later, before you end up destroying this entire dimension with us inside." She began to walk away after signaling the rest of the group to follow her.
Pan just shrugged and began to follow the dragon goddess wordlessly, her minions taking a moment to recover themselves before setting after her, many of them already feeeling they had enough of this strange dimension where they were in.
!
Back in Greece, the mysteryous masked man was still acting strangely while he oversaw the training of the young recruits below him, staring at them with a crazed glint of madness in his eyes that were luckily for him covered by his blue marble mask as he deliriously muttered to himself under his breath. "I would send you all to Another Dimension…"
"Did you say something Great Patriarch…?" The same guard from before asked in concern, glancing at the white-robed individual with a strange look.
The masked 'Patriarch' was pulled out of his frenzy at being adressed by his underling and began to cough on his fist to draw off suspicions. "Ahem… No, it's nothing, thank you for asking." He began to rub the back of his neck, his long sleeves flapping with the motion. "It's just that I can't simply shake the feeling that someone must be really talking about me behind my back… How queer don't you think…?"
The guard just kept looking at him oddly, but eventually answered with a hesitant nod. "As you say Great Patriarch. Maybe you are just tired after a long day of work; you have been pretty busy all morning after all… Maybe you should retire to your chambers, your Excellency, and get some rest." The armored man suggested.
"You're right; maybe it's just the weariness of the day finally catching up to me. I'll make sure to follow your wise advice and call it an early day. A warm bath and some sleep would certainly do me a world of good." The masked man conceded, trying to act as naturally as possible.
"Should a call the servants and have them prepare your bath Great Patriach?" The guard offered.
"Yes… Go see to it, and make sure to inform everybody else that I decided to retire to my chambers and do not wish to be disturbed by no one, is tha clear?" 'And I must make sure to device a way of getting rid of you my noisy little guard… Wouldn't do for you to start speaking about what you've seen and spread rumors of how strange the Holy Patriarch has been acting lately. That would only draw unnecessary attention upon myself and cast suspicions over my authority. I simply can't let that happening; nothing will get in the way of my total dominion over the sanctuary… Soon, the time will come to make this world mine…" The masked figured thought darkly to himself, not giving a single hint of his true intentions to the unsuspecting guard in front of him.
"At once, Great Patriach!" The armored man said with a bow, before walking off in search of the servants, leaving the masked robed man alone with his dark thoughts…
Alright, enough for now… Aha,ha,ha, if anyone wonders what the hell with the 'ANOTHER DIMENSION!' thing in this chapter, it is a reference to a meme from Saint Seiya that only those who have seen the anime or are from spanish speaking countries will get. Because the voice actors for Latinamerica of this anime really knew how to apply their over-the-top haminess on this series, it is epic! How the hell did the story ended up going in such moronic direction, not I know and I'm the one who wrote the stupid things. Some times the story takes life of its own and moves intro strange weird places.
Anyway… Many of you may not like the fact that the story tends to constantly derail out of course in favor of idiotic things, but sometimes plot has to move aside in favor of stupidity. It is a good way for the characters to bond and interact with each other after all, and also because is a staple of anime and manga that stupid things tend to happen even in the most serious of Shonens, so I'm just simply being faithful to the source.
But whatever… As always, leave a review and tell me what you think of this chapter. Make sure to spread the word about this story and recommend it to your friends and/or people you know, and I'll read you all next time.