GUILTY GEAR
The Wedding Night
The Series
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Conceived and Written By: Sheo Darren
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Disclaimers
I don't own anything here but myself, my created characters and the story itself. It's coming to a close, too, and I hope you enjoy it –and the surprise ending.
This chapter is dedicated to Akira, the girl I never met but whom I feel I know so much from my friend (and her boyfriend) Taka Ichiko that I think I'd really want to meet her one day, just to compare notes and ask for advice. I'm always looking for advice.
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The Wedding Night Series
"All Good Things Must Come To An End…"
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Part Four of Five: Yuuki
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"Hello, Yuuki. It's been a long time."
Loki smoothly slid forward with the grace of a fox, placing himself squarely in front of Sho Tsuzuku like a small child would in front of the adult he liked, seemingly a silly gesture of adulation of protectiveness. The super villain was taller the (supposedly) ten year-old boy by a good two feet or so, and so Loki didn't seem to present much of a threat, even if one caught the mysterious depth in his dark eyes that told clearly that this was no ordinary boy, he was just too oddly normal and cute.
But to Yuuki Darren, this was perhaps the worst thing that could ever happen.
"Loki…" She couldn't bring herself to believe in what she was seeing, even if she knew it was no illusion but the stark truth. "Loki, is that you?"
The slow smile on his face was the terrible answer.
"Yes."
She'd liked him a lot, really. She'd told Bridget in all but an outright declaration of her liking for him: "Actually, I think he's cute, too." They'd met a while back before the first The Wedding Night, when Sheo Darren had gone over to the Matantei Loki Ragnarok world to try persuading Reiya to join his harem. Sheo had failed –Reiya was too devoted to Loki– and while the poor author had been thumping his head on a wall on his failure and the other girls were consoling him, Yuuki had met Loki himself.
Something about the pleasantly polite exiled God/demon had piqued That Girl's insatiable curiosity. Without really knowing why she was doing so, she became rather good friends with him and found much delight in his companionship. They were one of a kind, children who were not really children, possessors of power, sharing immense responsibilities. She liked their intellectual discussions together and enjoyed his charmingly smooth mannerisms a la Eriol Hiiragizawa (Yuuki old first crush from Card Captor Sakura) and just loved to be around him even for frivolous reasons such as drinking tea or talking about poetry.
Much to Sheo's annoyance, Yuuki was irresponsibly leaving her duties undone and spending more and more time hanging out with Loki. At one point the author had brought her in for a scolding… and learned just how 'real' his creation had become…
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"Yuuki, you just can't go running around the world leaving me here to try fixing everything by my lonesome. You're supposed to help me out in keeping the world ordered and neat. That's what I created you for."
"Oh, come on, Sheo. You're the most powerful person in this dimension. I'm sure you can handle things just fine. Besides, you always know where I'm going, anyway."
"Yuuki, I'm the author. Not God with a flowing beard."
"There is actually God in your created world?"
"I am not going to entertain the theological/metaphysical implications of that particular argument right now."
"Look, I promise to get my duties done when I get back, okay?"
She said it quickly then, not bothering to think it over, wishing to get over this scolding session soon so she could return to Loki's side. He had invited her for tea that afternoon, and being a punctual person she did not want to be late. Besides, she enjoyed the tea sessions. (And for those perverted of mind, no, drinking tea was not a sublime metaphor for hot sex taken from Noir. For Yuuki and Loki, it really was all about drinking real tea.)
"I've said those very same words before a lot of times. I never got to doing them. How much more with you?"
"This time, I'll do it. Please, trust me a bit, okay?"
"Fine, fine. You're going over to Loki's place, right?"
She didn't deign to answer, which basically meant, Yes.
And then, inspiration and realization sprung awake inside Sheo's normally dense (when it came to girls, that is) brain. He suddenly asked:
"You're in love with Loki, aren't you, Yuuki?"
She came to a complete and utter standstill, her heart not so much skipping a beat as practically stopping for the better half of a minute. Utterly flabbergasted, That Girl couldn't form a cohesive argument for or against that accusation.
"I… that's… well… um…"
And then Sheo hugged her warmly then, grinning as he did.
"That's so nice. It's great to know you've got a good romance going on, not like me at all." He sighed upon his own rather chaotic love life, before cheerfully going on: "Now, I know you're a responsible girl and so is Loki, but please, wait 'til you're both old enough and married."
"Old enough?" She raised a questioning eyebrow at that remark. After all, she was all of a hundred and forty years old. As for Loki, suffice it to say that he had been around for a while. Like, for all of prehistory and history, being an immortal part-God and all.
Sheo laughed good naturedly at that ribbing. "I mean, wait until your bodies finally catch up with your minds. You're so mature that you sometimes forget you're stuck in the body of a ten year old."
"Well, it's your fault I'm like this. Why didn't you make me fifteen or eighteen?"
"It's because you wouldn't be as cute as you are right now." He rumpled her hair affectionately, like a father to his daughter. "Besides, I never had a little sister, and a daughter is way too far in the future to consider." If I could even pick one girl without all the others murdering her in envy, that, too…
"That's Talim's role, or would you rather me start calling you Kuya Sheo?"
"Sheo is just fine. Now, scoot." He turned her around and pushed her towards the door. "I don't want Loki annoyed at me because I kept you cooped up all day. Enjoy."
"Thanks," she said, meaning it, smiling back.
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That wonderful moment passed, and Yuuki found herself in the present reality once more.
She saw the sadistic pleasure on Sho Tsuzuku's face and realized that he had planned all this in anticipation of her moves. The super villain had always been one to divide friends and pit lovers against each other; such was his cruel nature that thrived on suffering and tragedy. Jam, Testament, herself, even that bastard Johnny, turned against those they should love at his insinuating venom.
She thought she knew the measure of his evil already. She was wrong.
But right now, she didn't care. Right now, anger burned through Yuuki like a poison, saturating her senses, loosening her grip on reality. It was a different kind of anger than with Rock, though. It was a cold fire of blue white, intellectual, scalpel like, and it so happens that the blue white flame may take the longest to get and seem coolest to the eyes– but it burns the hottest to the touch, so hot and fast that one would not feel it until it was past.
She knew this was what Sho Tsuzuku liked: To blind his opponents with their own emotions and thus indirectly force them into destroying themselves with little effort on his part. It was so with Rock, with Geese and Misaki.
Well, she would not play the game according to his rules. She would make her own rules. She would win. She must win.
With an immense internal effort, Yuuki relaxed her entire demeanor and body, letting her raging emotions cool and flow out of her body freely with her breath. Her eyes, however, could never hide the brightness in them, but that was fine by her.
I'll save you, Loki. I promise I'll save you.
In her cupped hands, the star pendant thrummed faintly.
Loki had transformed into his true form already, now a leanly handsome young man. The staff of power in his hand grew to its full size.
But first, I have to save myself.
"Show me your power, Yuuki Darren." Sho Tsuzuku clearly belittled her even now. "Let us see if you truly are That Girl."
"You want to see my power? Fine by me." Yuuki raised the star pendant up in one hand and announced in Japanese accented English:
"STAR DIMENSION POWER: DRESS UP!"
* * *
The clash of low-carbon divinely-blessed steel upon nanometer-thin alloy blade made him open his eyes, and the Wanderer knew that once more was he protected and spared by Fate in order that he may go on living.
"Elde-san!"
Her surprisingly considerable strength and the demon-quelling Western long sword holding back Johnny's formidable new katana, Kawasumi Mai locked eyes with her friend. "Go. Elde-san…"
"Mai." He did not move, merely looked at her as if the moment was extraordinarily ordinary.
"There's no time to lose, Elde-san. Go!"
"Out of my way, girl!" Johnny pushed forward at once, but Mai wasn't going to just buckle down and lose. With an imperceptibly skillful twist of her sword hand's wrist, she sent her opponent's deadly katana downward harmlessly to the ground and then fell back, pulling her sword up as she did so. The edge of her weapon ran lightly across Johnny's left arm, scoring a shallow but lucky wound, the pirate lord wary now of his new foe. All that while, she was looking straight at the Wanderer, her attention evenly split but her fighting skills impressive.
"I'm getting careless," Johnny decided.
Even in a crisis Mai's face was serenely calm. "Go. I'll handle Johnny, Elde-san. You have to go help the others. You're the only one who can go head to head with Ranma or Sephiroth or Lucia. You can do it."
He saw the trust in her eyes, trust whose foundations were solid and real as the world, trust in his skill and power. Most of all, it was trust in him, trust in a Filipino youth named Elde Talonn who was once Swordsman and now was the Wanderer of legend come true.
It was the same trust that Hibiki Takane, his sensei, had in her eyes.
It was the same trust that Kirika Yuumura had for him.
It was the same trust that Hitomi Barrens bore shining in her heart.
Trust in yourself, Elde. Trust in yourself.
Trust in myself.
And then the Wanderer was alive once more, and his smile brought an equal one on Mai's face, a rare thing indeed. "Be careful," he told her, this time his turn to trust in her, just as she trusted in him.
"I will."
And then he was gone, running flat out, the winds whipping past him but unable to hold him back, fairly flying, the Wanderer of legend given reality and purpose once more.
Her friend back on his way, Mai turned to face Johnny. "You can't take me on alone, girl," the pirate lord cockily said. "I'm in EX Gold Mode. You, you're just a clone of me and Hibiki. You're no match."
To his surprise, Mai agreed. "You're right. But then again," she added, suddenly leaping aside, "I don't exactly fight alone."
Behind Johnny came a most ridiculous battle cry, but one used by perhaps the most fearsome person in this fan fiction aside from Sheo Darren or Sho Tsuzuku, and thus a cry to be feared.
"Andito na muli ang baliw na paksiw!" And here again comes the crazy curry!
Even as the Jellyfish Pirate whirled around, he was met by the staccato roar of full automatic weapon fire, the Soviet Avtomat Kalashnikov AKM light machine gun firing nine hundred 7.62 laser-guided high-explosive armor piercing rounds per minute, fifteen bullets per second, with an accuracy of less than a centimeter thanks to the infrared tracking laser now turned on and following him.
Johnny's life just became a lot harder.
A Stabilo ball pen viciously chomped in between his teeth, the AKM held steady in his hands as it spewed out its deadly cordite thunder, Earl Osborne laughed out loud in his maniacal way.
"Dasfidanya, tovarisch! Gawa na ang machine gun na papatay sa iyo!"
* * *
Darkness/Eddie howled as multiple explosions crumpled several of the hydra heads, severing two completely and stunning the rest with their shockwaves.
The battered Millia and Venom turned around to look at their unexpected reinforcement.
"NEED A HAND?"
Elbow-mounted rocket launcher still smoking even as his arm contracted and closed, eerie red eyes just now switching off their missile guidance mode, Robo Ky was a strange sight –but a very welcome one.
"We thought you'd never show up," Millia commented, a feeling that Venom was in agreement with.
"I AM VERY SORRY THAT I AM LATE. NOW, SHALL WE GET ON TO WORK?"
"Right on."
Darkness/Eddie roared.
At Robo Ky's shoulder, Sumomo woke up. She gave the recovering Darkness/Eddie one look and then squeaked in fear, scrambling behind her friend's head and peering anxiously from there. "Wah! Robo Ky, he's scary!"
"DO NOT WORRY, SUMOMO." An armored hand patted the Mini Persocon's head reassuringly. "I WILL PROTECT YOU, MILLIA AND VENOM AND I."
"I've got faith in you, Robo Ky."
"THANK YOU." The three GG fighters got into their battle poses and prepared for their counterattack.
* * *
Athena and Justine encountered difficulties in reinforcing I-Nou. For one thing, Lucia was a powerful foe, Goddess girl and Gear girl notwithstanding.
For another thing, I-Nou didn't exactly want their help.
As the two girls Fortress Blocked against the killing banshee keen, Justine tried to yell out above the din of battle: "Onegai, yamete! We're on your side, Miss I-Nou!"
She didn't hear them –or perhaps she didn't want to hear.
Lucia smirked. "It seems like I will not have to exert myself too much."
And then a hand clamped upon his shoulder tightly, totally unexpected.
"Wha–"
Sol Badguy glared at Lucia, growled "Fuck you," Wild Threw the villain, opening up his ▼-Slash-High Slash-Dust-Bandit Revolver-wait for attack's second hit-Roman Cancel-▼-HS-▲-S-Dust-repeat ▲-S-D until impossible to do cheap combo, then launching a Tyrant Rave: Version Gamma that blasted Lucia off a good half mile or so.
"Bad word!" clamored Kagura in a scolding manner. "Sol-kun must not use bad word!"
"Knock it off." The Guilty Gear gave the surprised Justine and Athena a look of annoyance. "I don't suppose you're going to squeal 'Sol-chan' and throw yourselves on me, are you?"
Beside him, Kagura tensed just a little bit.
Athena, then Justine, broke into smiles. "Nah," they both said. "Nothing to fear from us anymore, Sol."
"That's nice to hear."
A scream of anger brought them all around.
Dark I-Nou would have launched an attack at them if she could. But she couldn't, being pinned down by three burly WWE wrestlers: Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Rock and Mister America. Mister America was also stuffing a rag into her mouth, cutting off the keen that was her power.
"They can do that?" Athena and Justine asked in honest awe.
"Plot device."
Lucia was up on his feet again. "A reunion? More of you to kill, then." Then to his surprise, a cloth fell on top of his head.
Loudly saying "So sorry, chap," Axl Low still grimaced as he yanked on his weapon hard. Lucia spun around, his neck slashed badly, and then Leopaldon hit him like a rocket-propelled battering ram, all 1,500 pounds of armored bio-weapon. As he staggered about in a daze, he heard the distinct schnickt sound that bone claws made as they slid out of their forearm sheaths: Everyone's favorite X-Men loner, Wolverine, doing a–
"Berserker Barrage!"
That signaled a general mobbing action. What Athena and Justine had done to Cloud in a recent chapter, the entire bunch of them did far better and to more devastating effect. Lucia was indeed powerful and fought back relatively well, but 'relatively' was not enough. Dark Bring or not, he was up against three boss characters –Goddess, Command Gear and St. Bernard Isuka Gear–, the legendary Brit-Fox ninja commando, Kagura/Kaguryl sniping from afar with an ultra-accurate 'kitty bag' rail gun, the mutant named Logan, and The Badguy, the last being using his ultra-cheesy original attacks from the first Guilty Gear.
Nonstop Gun Flame attacks, anyone?
* * *
"STAR DIMENSION POWER: DRESS UP!"
There was a surge of power from all around, flaring from the earth and sky and space in cloth like lengths of soft pink –yes, pink– that wrapped around Yuuki, a calm translucent cherry tornado that just barely showed the shape of the girl held within. Celestial music began to play and a Gregorian choir led by Japanese pop idol Ayumi Hamasaki began chanting in harmony with the music.
"A magical girl transformation?" Sho Tsuzuku was surprised. Then he remembered the prime attraction of a magical girl transformation: The implied (and sometimes visible) nudity that was the hallmark of such costume changes. "Where's my camera?"
Inside her protective envelop, Yuuki was undergoing a radical transformation. Her clothes disappeared to make room for her new costume, she herself hunching into an almost fetal like position (Sho Tsuzuku's muffled curse of "Damn!" was quite audible and made her smile.). Taking in the energy all around her, her body began to rapidly develop until it reached an equivalent age of fifteen, complete with fair but not overdone feminine assets. Her hair grew rapidly until it was as long as she was tall. Her rapid physical growth done, her costume now materialized.
First was the glowing energy that coalesced into a black backless leotard (Again, Sho Tsuzuku's disappointment: "Rats!") Once she was no longer nude, Yuuki uncurled from her earlier position and let herself be carried by the power all around her, as a small boat would bob in the midst of a storm. A white fuku (sailor suit) with black lining on its sleeves, lower part and collar went over the leotard. Long ribbons wrapped around her forearms and hands, becoming black gloves. A dark blue pleated short skirt formed at the lower part of the sailor suit. She still had her socks on; Yuuki used her feet to daintily remove one, then the other sock, and they were replaced by penny loafers and soft white boots. Two small chibi wings sprung from her fuku's back. Finally the star pendant grew in size to form a bejeweled medallion framed by a big decorative bow.
The transformation was complete. She landed softly on her feet.
(The previous line rhymed.)
All that was needed was the entrance lines.
"Enemies of all that is good and pure!" The challenge was accompanied by appropriate gestures. "I will punish you most painfully!
"My people and my world have suffered greatly from your tyranny! You have corrupted the servers of fanfiction.net long enough! Now: In the name of Love, Justice and All Cute Things, I will destroy you!"
Yuuki did a fancy pose. "I am the protector of Love and Peace in The World of Guilty Gear! Magical Joushikusei Bishoujo That Girl Yuuki! I will punish you most painfully in the name of Sheo Darren!"
Sho Tsuzuku allowed himself to consider Yuuki –but not as an opponent. "Not bad… A little bit on the petite Evangelion side, far more on cuteness than sexiness… but not bad, not bad at all… Oh, right." He turned to Loki. "Kill her."
Before the mind-controlled Demon Detective could take his first step, Yuuki executed her first move. The medallion burst into startlingly bright light.
"Key that uses the power of the Word, reveal thy true self! Yuuki, the one who formed the contract with thou, commands thee! RELEASE!"
The magical baton materialized in front of her, its long handle gleaming as she grasped it firmly within one hand. With the dexterous poise of a skillful cheerleader she twirled the baton expertly into a whirling blur before with a simple flick of her wrists arrested its motion, holding it in front of her in a two handed sword stance.
Just in time.
Baton and staff clashed in a collision of material force and magical energy. Though Yuuki managed to stop the first surge, she was inexorably being forced back by Loki's greater physical strength. Magical Girls have never been muscle bound powerhouses; they bent more on speed and agility and magical powers.
But this Magical Girl was not like the rest of the crop.
As Loki pressed harder and harder against her shield, Yuuki suddenly switched tactics. Instead of trying to stop her opponent outright, she let her self fall backwards, extending a foot as she did and kicking out. The idea –derived from judo– was that her sudden move, Loki's own strength and a good deal of momentum would send him flying over her head.
It worked.
As Loki scrambled to get back up, Yuuki vaulted upwards and agilely landed on her feet. Again the baton was held before her with one hand, but no longer in a defensive posture. Her free hand made a dramatic gesture while beneath her a circle of power came to life.
"STAR DIMENSION PHASE ON!"
The accordion-like ends of a squeaky toy popped out on the baton's head, forming a Piko Piko hammer while the baton itself lengthened. Yuuki shifted her free hand to grip the distant end of her weapon's elongated handle.
"LOVE LOVE HAMMER!"
She lowered the Love Love Hammer and then raised it up swiftly, letting it rest on her shoulder and almost down her back for a long moment as she threw a flirty flying kiss with her fore and index fingers, a red heart floating out with her gesture.
"Magical That Girl Time!"
Then, both hands on the stick, Yuuki swung out with all of her might, her immense magical power driving the squeaking bludgeon home.
"LOVE LOVE FLOOD HAMMER ATTACK!"
Loki had brought his staff up to block. It and his power were barely enough. When the Love Love Flood Hammer slammed into his magical shield, the tremendous shockwave buckled the ground beneath them and sent tremors throughout the battlefield. Yuuki was floating in mid air, buffeted by the contesting energies of their magic and weapons but holding on tightly, forcing her Hammer onwards against the barrier.
"Come on!" urged That Girl to herself, to Loki and to the Hammer, trying to end the stalemate, pouring all of her into the fight. Ignoring everything else –even her concern for Loki–, focusing all of her concentration and power into her weapon, Yuuki shone bright.
"Ooh," Sho Tsuzuku commented on the side from where he was watching. "Hair flying, skirt also flying, unintentional panty flash action from this certain angle… I just love these Magical Girls…"
"Come on… come on… come on…"
They were equally matched, and if one of them didn't give up– the stalemate of their powers would overload. Her humanity returned to her briefly –her attack weakened, letting Loki slowly begin to push her back– and then Yuuki yelled:
"Loki!"
Loki looked up, startled, at the familiar voice full of…
"Onegai, Loki!"
…Full of love.
"Now!"
In Yuuki's hands the Love Love Flood Hammer blazed like dawn breaking upon a clear sea, its power surging to its fullest once more. At the same time, Loki's will suddenly weakened and then gave way to doubt.
Her attack broke through the barrier. The Love Love Hammer's business end connected with Loki's forehead. There was a cute squeak.
The resultant heart-shaped explosion of light and sound made Sho Tsuzuku raise a hand protectively. "Impressive," he allowed as sakura petals fell all around him, "Even given the 'power of love' crap. Perhaps in my next plans, I can use that power to evil purposes…"
Yuuki was cradling Loki in her arms, the Demon Detective having been returned to his ten year old form by the Flood Hammer Attack. The Hammer and the Staff had been set aside, forgotten. "Loki kun! Loki kun! Daijoubu! Onegai desu, wake up!"
He was so cold, almost as close to being dead as one who was alive could possibly be without truly dying.
"Loki kun… onegai… please…" She was crying now. "Onegai… please wake up…"
He lay very still.
"I… I'm not… I'm not whole without you… I... I can't live without you…"
There was silence, save for her sobbing and her tears falling.
"… because I… because I love you…" She broke down and hugged him tight and cried. "Aishiteru, anata. I love you very much…"
A finger wiped her tears away. In her arms, Loki smiled faintly.
"I know."
Sniffing, her tears quenched, Yuuki broke into a smile. "Gomene, Loki kun. I think I overdid it."
"Safety margin's still out for debate. Yuuki chan," he added, his smile growing bigger.
She blushed and said, "Are you okay?"
"Don't worry about me. I'll be okay." He smiled at her. "Go beat Sho Tsuzuku for me."
Armed with that reassurance, her spirits full of hope and confidence, That Girl got back on her feet. "Sho Tsuzuku! In the name of Hope and Love, prepare for a most extraordinarily massive punishment!"
The super villain made a show of being bored. "I have heard this all before…"
Yuuki held the Love Love Hammer high above her head and yelled. "STAR DIMENSION PHASE ON! LOVE LOVE BLASTER!"
Again the magical weapon transformed anew, the handle shortening back to baton size, the Hammer Head turning into a heart shaped crystal flanked by two chibi wings. Again the circle of power formed beneath her, drawing in the energy from all around, focusing it into the Love Love Blaster in one single intense strike. "Magical That Girl Time!"
"I have seen many attacks in my time," smirked Sho Tsuzuku. "And what sets your attack from the rest, pray tell?"
"This." She began to spin around and dance a small ballet routine, as all Magical Girls do when charging up for their ultimate attacks, reciting word by word their Overdrive's full name. "STAR–"
His smirk became wider. "I am not one of the normal villains in magical girl genre. I will not stand here, stupidly gawking, while my opponent is preparing to cast a spell that will utterly obliterate me." A fireball came to life in his hand as he spoke.
Ignoring him, Yuuki continued: "–DIMENSION–"
"A weakness of all Magical Girls: You need to charge up your attacks." The fireball in Sho Tsuzuku's hand glowed as ominously as its wielder. "How would you do with an interruption?"
"–LOVE–"
He threw the projectile at her–
"–LOVE–"
–Only to see it bounce off on a now visible shield.
"A shield!"
"–BLASTER–"
"Go, Yuuki!" Loki yelled in support.
"ATTACK!"
Yuuki released the Star Dimension Love Love Blaster Attack. The attack came on, all that energy concentrated in the form of–
Sho Tsuzuku had indeed seen and fought many martial artists in his eventful existence. He had seen many attacks that could have destroyed the world ten times over if executed to their full potential. He had witnessed entire planets annihilated, killed millions of people and then resurrected them in order to toy with them further. He was a cold-hearted and soulless bastard, the perfect villain.
But nothing he had encountered before bore compare to the sight of the giant pink heart heading his way.
The Star Dimension Love Love Blaster Attack smashed into Sho Tsuzuku and detonated into a massive burst of pink light and sakura petals.
And then it was over. Or was it?
His aura was no longer detectable. There was no sign of him –wait.
It was a glitter of gold, nothing more, really. His ring, the one he wore on his right index finger. It lay upon the dust and the soil, abandoned, the body it was attached to having been disintegrated by her final attack. Odd to see that it survived when its wearer did not; in many cases, the human body is far stronger than gold.
It might mean that Sho Tsuzuku was still alive.
But Yuuki could not detect his aura. There was no sign of him, physically or spiritually. Wary, she kept on guard, searching carefully, not trusting her senses even though they were the only things she could rely upon.
There was none.
Deciding it wouldn't be too ostentatious or undeserved, Yuuki broke into a long sigh. Then, in a happier gesture, she twirled her baton in a dizzying pattern and then tossed her baton up into the air, catching it expertly as it fell. She turned towards Loki, flashing him a small smile that slowly took on depth and emotion.
He grinned back at her, their feelings mutual. Geese and Misaki were coming over to them, and so were Rock and Hotaru. But Loki and Yuuki's attentions were devoted only to each other. A simple hug turned into something more, a tight embrace that conveyed their relief and feelings to each other far better than words could ever dream of. It was a thanksgiving that the nightmare was at last over.
"You did it, Yuuki-chan," Loki whispered in her ear, his emotions uncharacteristically human and real, "You did it."
She held him back for a moment, mock disapproval on her face. "Yuuki-chan?"
"Would you rather I call you 'Pee-Wee'?" he asked.
"Nah." Yuuki grinned as she hugged him hard once more. "Yuuki-chan is just fine with me."
And then, just as they all turned away, a cold wind blew.
Along with it was an evil chuckle.
"Do you really think it's over?"
* * *
"Interesting," Soldat J noted in his cool unemotional way at the sight on their forward viewers. "Captain, it appears to be a giant 5,000 foot tall Ranma Saotome wielding God-like powers."
"Hostile?" But Lumiere knew the answer to that already.
"Affirmative, Captain. Ranma has been confirmed by intelligence reports to be on the side of Sho Tsuzuku. He is one of the enemy's strongest and most loyal Chapters, second only to Sho Tsuzuku himself."
Inside the all-too-large captain's chair, Lumiere visibly looked a bit uncomfortable, and it was not due to the chair itself but the position. Tom Clancy had said that command can be such a lonely place. He was right on that, as Lumiere was finding out for herself.
The Anti Sho Tsuzuku Task Force was a formidable collection of heavyweight battleships and military units assembled for the purpose of defeating Sho Tsuzuku. The fleet flagship was the massive Race of Abel's Anti-31 Primeval Species Weapon battleship J-Ark from GaoGaiGar. Normally the Task Force was under the command of Sheo Darren, but the author was conspicuously absent right now. Command prerogatives had therefore fallen upon his assistant Lumiere, who was now preparing the Task Force to hit the Chapter of Ten like a Kansas tornado would a trailer park.
Fear of hitting friendly forces on the ground by accident –'blue-on-blue' or 'friendly fire' in military terms– had delayed their attack. But now there was a big target in view, a target that even the dumbest battleship captain –and note that all the captains in the Task Force were brilliant and capable at the least– couldn't miss, and whose position was clear enough so that no friendly troops could be caught in a crossfire: The giant 'God-Mode' Ranma Saotome, absorbed so much in beating up on the Box of Doom/Plave and his EFZ team that he had not noticed the Task Force at all, the last not exactly the stealthiest of soldiers but certainly some of the heaviest hitters. All the while, status reports from the entire fleet were coming in.
"Captain Rowe reports that the Silvana and the Yamato are closing in on the target unnoticed…"
"Macross, move to the following vectors for the Reflex Cannon fire mission…"
"Nadesico is scrambling and deploying Aestivalis interceptor squadrons…"
"The Ultrasaurus is maneuvering for attack…"
Taking a deep breath to steady her self, Lumiere gave out her first order:
"Soldat J, go to battlestations."
"Plug Out!" commanded the Soldat Special Forces soldier.
The bridge and gun turrets of the J-Ark separated from the main battleship hull to become the J-Bird. The twenty-five meter long 'space jetter' was under the complete control of Soldat J's thoughts, a speedy aerospace combat aircraft. At his next command of "Fusion!" the J-Bird merged its mechanical frame with Soldat J himself, creating the Variable Figure Core Robot J-Der. The final phase called for "Mega Fusion!" where J-Der merged with the J-Ark main unit to form the gigantic Ultra Mechanoid 'King J-Der'. King J-Der was two hundred fifty (250) feet and thirty two thousand seven hundred twenty (32,720) tons of hulking Mono Crystal Shell regenerating armor, Meson Particle Turrets, Finger Maser Cannons, Real Time Productive Missiles and J-QUATH Ultimate Anti-31 Primeval Species Weapon.
Even as King J-Der finished its transformation and swung around to face its titanic foe, the other battleships were undergoing last minute battle preparations. Already in 'fortress mode', SDF-1 Macross was aligning the twin booms of its likewise-named Macross Reflex Cannon. The Nadesico was warming up its Gravity Cannon, the Yamato energizing its destructive Particle Wave Gun/Black Hole Cannon, the Norad III powering up the Yamato Gun. Automatic loading systems inside the Ultrasaurus loaded 400mm anti-armor artillery shells into their monster rifles' chambers. Anti-ship torpedo tubes and heavy missile launchers were redlined, their warheads armed.
The fire plan was called a TOT barrage by the American military, TOT an acronym for 'time-on-target'. It basically meant that all the guns at various locations would fire at various predetermined times so that all of their ordnance would land at exactly the same time, thereby negating any warning that an all-too-early shell or rocket would give the enemy.
"Transformation is complete," announced Penchinon, the J-Ark/King J-Der's AI unit. "J-Ark transition into King J-Der is complete. All systems green, all weapons on line."
"All Task Force ships verify that they are in position," announced Ruri Hoshino over the communications net. "We are awaiting the command to attack."
"This is Meia Gisborn on the Ultrasaurus. We're ready when you are."
Other captains and commanders sent affirmative, all of them were as ready as humanly possible.
"On my mark," Lumiere murmured, mentally preparing herself for humanity's greatest battle and perhaps the greatest show of force to ever take place on the planet. "Ready…"
"Incoming message from the Wanderer," Celtic Midori announced excitedly, even constrained as she was by her big full-body teddy bear suit. "He's asking us to hold our fire!"
"What?"
"He's saying that we should fire on Ranma when he gives the signal," Maya Ibuki reported. "Until then, he's asking us to hold our fire."
Consternation spread amongst the Task Force members, almost all women by virtue of Sheo Darren's bias.
"I'm sure he has a good reason," Dana Sterling suggested.
In the end, they all decided to trust the Wanderer's judgment.
"Check fire, all units check fire." Lumiere sank into the captain's chair and let her breath out rapidly. She hadn't noticed she'd been holding her breath. "We'll wait for the signal."
What are you up to, Elde?
* * *
Sephiroth's attention was fully centered on Cloud Strife. The Jenova Being had an especial hatred for his former comrade-in-arms. Cloud was his sworn foe, his rival in swordsmanship, his eternal opponent in the battle for their world's future. Sephiroth had killed Aeris and caused much suffering for Cloud, but the latter survived and grew much stronger. Even Cloud's sword, the Materia Blade, was the foil to his own weapon, the only blade that could not be bested or destroyed by Masamune, made of Materia Energy and not of physical matter. So great was his hatred that Sephiroth would lose himself too much into it, seeing Cloud and only Cloud, driven to search out and destroy him at the extent of ignoring everything else around him.
It was a fatal flaw.
The idea that the Wanderer cannot kill is a misconception. He can, has, and will kill freely in order to protect people and the world from harm –if there is no other choice but to do so. The current Wanderer, Elde Talonn, is a kind person at heart, disliking fighting and abhorring bloodshed, respecting and loving life to the fullest. He had adopted as his guiding principles a pacifistic stance that would fight only to defend himself and his loved ones, and to help other people. His favored sword Hiryu, his sensei Takane Hibiki's old sword and personal gift to him upon his leaving her tutelage, reflects his philosophy in that it is a reverse-edged pole sword, a non-killing weapon.
But his other sword, the mystical katana Astray, is a killing sword.
And Elde had spilled blood before as the Swordsman –driven by anger and Soul Edge, yes, but he had killed.
And though he would not kill anyone unless there was no other recourse, though he would not take pleasure in even the thought of harming another person with deadly force however evil that person was, the Wanderer had learned that the tree of liberty and life must be watered with blood in order for it to grow.
It was the greatest testament to his mastery of the sword that Sephiroth didn't even feel the Wanderer's attack, so swift was his blow and so sharp was Astray. The first inkling the Jenova Being had that there was something wrong was when the Swordsman materialize right in front of him, Astray sliding back into its saya smoothly as water flowed through a straight river, Musou Maden Ryu modified for a katana. Surprised and angered, Sephiroth brought Kamigami to swing around in a decapitating stroke –and found his hand missing, only a stump remaining, severed by a razor-sharp divine blade that wasn't even the slightest stained with blood, it had cut through his wrist so finely. The detached hand was still holding on in a death grip, only to loosen up and fall away as Kamigami came upon a new owner.
The Godslayer didn't react harshly to his touch. It was never really evil; few weapons are. Only their wielders determine the result of their work. You do not blame the bullet or the gun that killed a person; you curse the man who fired it. So was it with Kamigami. It was merely created for one purpose: To kill Gods.
A purpose it was to realize once more.
Even crippled and fending off foes, Sephiroth would not accept his loss, striking out with Masamune in a vicious blow. Fate intervened once more for Her Swordsman; Cloud parried the blow aside with the Materia Blade. The blonde Soldier exchanged the briefest of glances with the swordsman in black, sending his greeting and his best wishes. Hotsuma dashed in to occupy Sephiroth's attention. Now he was clear of the first obstacle.
Though heavily engaged, Lucia tried to stop him. Athena and Justine's combo strike was shrugged off despite their damaging punch, but then Sol slugged the Dark Bring backwards with a mighty Viper Fist to the stomach. Enterprising Axl looped his sickle chains around a leg and pulled, and as Lucia toppled Leopaldon plopped his huge weight down on the small of his back, stopping him for precious seconds even as Wolverine turned to help the WWE guys tackle the berserk I-Nou.
And Johnny was there, Mist Finer already on the way, grinning cockily, thinking to test the mettle of this brash opponent. The Swordsman No More blocked it effortlessly with Hiryu, the first defensive action he took since recovering Kamigami, was slowed down but compensated for it, defending with the pole sword that his teacher had given him. Again Mai stood between her friend and the pirate lord, her swordsmanship superb, and then with a storm of machine gun bullets Earl Osborne drove Johnny back, the threat of death dealt by automatic weapons fire all too real.
He was through. In a matter of moments, he was through the thick of the fighting and charging alone into the lion's den.
He was heading straight for God Ranma.
Plave was down on the ground, buried alive in the soul, down for the foreseeable count. The EFZ girls were all hurt or unconscious, and that brought anger to his heart. They were his enemies, yes, but he had never wished them ill or harmed them beyond what was needed, disliking hurting or even fighting them. Their enmity was professional, and there was much mutual respect built into it. And they were girls. Elde Talonn had been taught to respect and cherish and protect women and children, as all Swordsmen (and Swordswomen) do.
Chivalry was not dead.
But there were those who would wish it and its proponents were.
Lightning cascaded around him, millions of volts of electrical energy springing from fingers the size of battleships. The earth shook below his feet as a foot that dwarfed all others stomped its displeasure. Meteors fell down and missed, massive crushing rocks falling down to ground level. All of it was a deadly display of power that would have frightened any other man –and claimed their lives.
But he was no ordinary man, no other man at all. He was the man who would live beyond all others, immortal, forever to walk the world until it was unmade, forever a protector and guardian and guide and paradigm, forever young and alive.
He was Elde Talonn, Swordsman No More, the Wanderer.
The Wings of Eternity sprung to life, carrying him into the sky and at enemy target, the abomination that should not be, the falsehood that he would vanquish now. Words flew from his lips, a challenge borne by the winds and echoed all around.
"You, sword that is death to those of immortal descent, assume your rightful place! You were created to strike down almighty tyrants who ground the lesser folk beneath their ironclad feet. You were taken from that worthy purpose, your meaning distorted, your purpose twisted into evil. But you are not evil; you are merely a weapon. The ends you achieve are the good or evil; your wielder decides them for you!
"Reclaim your rightful role! Strike down this corrupting presence from the world! Kamigami, the Godslayer, man has given you that name. Godslayer, indeed! Now assume your name!"
Past the lightning and meteors, past the storm gusts and hail and freezing rain, the Wanderer came up to the very façade of doom: The face of God Ranma.
"Retake your rightful name! Slay a false god!"
Upwards went the sword that was forged to kill deities. Upwards it was borne by hands that were backed by mighty Fate, greater than the gods of mythology, the weaver of past and present and future tapestries, the seamstress of reality. Upwards it was watched by dark eyes blazing with courage and hope. Upwards the Wanderer looked into the heavens and prayed to the true God to drive his blow straight and true.
There was a flash of lightning, even as feathers scattered all over the wind and earth.
* * *
"Do you really think it's over?"
They turned, disbelief marring the joy in their faces, as where the ring stood –no; where the ring hovered in mid-air, a most familiar powerful aura manifested once more and an evil laugh echoed all around. There was a shadow there, hovering around the jewel, a shadow that began to rapidly take on solid form and definite shape, an identity they all feared and hated.
"That's impossible!"
The ring gleamed gold upon the hand of Sho Tsuzuku, alive and well once more.
"It was an impressive display, indeed, Yuuki –if little else." The barb was arrogant and condescending and exactly familiar; there was no mistake about it, he was the real thing, returned to life. "
"I obliterated you." Yuuki was cold to the pit of her bones. "I disintegrated every cell and every molecule of your body into nothingness."
"Ah, yes. The so-called 'tactic' Dragonball Z heroes use to destroy the villain who keeps on regenerating every supposedly 'fatal' wound he received. Clever of you to use it against me; few people ever think to do that.
"This fight is hopeless for you, girl. You cannot defeat me!" proclaimed Sho Tsuzuku.
But she wasn't listening to him.
"I won't give up." Yuuki trembled visibly, her anger and her emotions returning in full force, her knuckles white from gripping her baton with so much force, her aura rippling all around her. "I won't give up. I won't give up. I won't give up."
Her blue eyes flared with the words of her invincible spell.
"I ABSOLUTELY WON'T GIVE UP!"
The baton was raised once more into the air, the wings spreading, the crystal gemstone aflame with power.
"Yuuki, look out!"
The warning came too late.
Caught up in her turbulent anger, That Girl had failed to spot the slimy feeler slithering towards her. The tentacle wrapped itself tightly around her ankle and pulled hard.
Yuuki lost her balance.
More importantly, she lost her concentration. The spell she was about to cast failed.
Even as she was finally reacting to the attack, more tentacles appeared, grasping for her arms and legs, immobilizing her, lifting her roughly into the air. The baton fell to the ground, useless outside its mistress' hands.
She could hear Sho Tsuzuku's laughter.
"Tentacle monster!"
The hideous beast that rose from the darkness and of the darkness was no ordinary tentacle monster. Despite its multitude of tentacles waving in the air and fastening upon its victim, it was vaguely humanoid, speaking of an origin that was human. Then the face appeared.
"Ah, Arvi." Sho Tsuzuku spoke calmly as if discussing friendly matters with an ally –which he was. "How do you like the ADV Virus I inserted into you? Liking your new form?"
"Dammit, Sho! I didn't ask to be turned into a tentacle monster!"
"Yes, yes, but you asked to get powers to enforce your Lolita tendencies, if I remember correctly."
"Well, yeah, I did, but–"
"Yes, you did. Now, quite whining and take care of That Girl. She's quite a morsel if you crack her armor."
"Okay…"
"Yuuki!"
Loki was charging wildly towards ADV Arvi, ignoring his injuries, the staff of power in his arms. He knew that almighty as ADV tentacle monsters were versus women, they were completely vulnerable and weak against even the lowliest male.
But then Sho Tsuzuku blasted him aside with a power beam.
Geese and Misaki, then Rock and Hotaru, attacked.
The super villain carelessly tossed them aside or broke their attacks –and then broke them.
Yuuki could see it all from her impromptu perch above ADV Arvi's head, paralyzed and held in the air by at least half a dozen tentacles. She couldn't resist at all, even as other tentacles took hold of her costume and began tearing it apart. The fabrics resisted, their essence being composed far more of magical nature than physical material.
"Get the gemstone on the ribbon bow," Sho Tsuzuku advised as he shunted aside Rock's Shine Knucle and smacked Misaki into Geese, stopping the last's offensive. "It's just like the Sailormoon movie; destroy that, and she's basically naked."
Arvi followed the directions given him. The gemstone burned the first few tentacles that approached, but he had plenty more of them where they came from. It was all a matter of ignoring casualties and pain for a greater objective.
At least ten tentacles wrapped around the gemstone tightly and in a violent motion finally ripped it off the front of the blouse.
The shine of Yuuki's costume faded, but then turned into streamers of bright pink light that leapt away from the body they clothed and into the medallion, leaving her in just her underwear.
Sho Tsuzuku firmly planted a foot upon Loki's chest. All the others were down, unconscious or badly injured.
They had lost.
Tentacles reached for Yuuki, aiming to strip away the last of her clothes.
.
Tears slipped from her eyes.
She had failed.
I'm sorry, Sheo… I did my best…
"I know," said the voice inside her head –and outside her. "But that's what counts in the end: How much you tried."
Yuuki gasped.
.
Something whirred through the air, glancing off ADV Arvi's shoulder, the impact causing a disproportionate energy explosion in the form of an AT Field. Yuuki got a good look at them and gasped again.
It was a pair of spectacles.
And as ADV Arvi turned, he found someone standing in front of him.
"NO REGRETS: M.D.K. (MURDER DEATH KILL)!"
A barrage of punches and kicks, each blow calculated carefully and delivered at precise points of the body –pressure points and nerve endings– to inflict maximum punishment. The closest comparison would be Shin Akuma's Shun Goku Satsu, though No Regrets: MDK was not meant as a killing move but merely as something to pummel the living daylights out of the target.
The principle was the same: In Guilty Gear terms, an Instant Kill.
The tentacles holding her prisoner went limp, and Yuuki fell down–
–Right into the arms of her rescuer.
"Oi, Yuuki," commented a voice so familiar and beloved, with a grin that was both teasing and warm. "You okay?"
She looked into the face of her rescuer and saw him, and then Yuuki broke into a smile so long overdue.
"You're late."
* * *
The famous British military counterterrorist troop SAS (Special Air Service) had a saying: "Who Dares, Wins."
The Wanderer dared.
He won.
Kamigami sheathed itself home into the giant eye.
A deep groan escaped from Ranma's lips as he tried to save himself before it was too late. A giant hand reached out to swat away the mosquito that was the Elde Talonn, to pluck the needle that was Kamigami. But the Wanderer was away now, flying clear of his enemy. The needle had done its purpose, reclaimed its name: Godslayer, the weapon that kills men inflated by their egos into thinking and behaving as if they were gods when they were only human. Only one blow was needed.
The other blows would be insurance.
"NOW!" the Wanderer yelled.
.
The girl stood up, the better to watch.
It was perhaps the greatest fireworks show in the world. All the Task Force battleships opened fire with primary and secondary batteries, their armament tracing lines in the sky, lines that spelled death and destruction. Huge rifled artillery howitzers, large-caliber automatic cannon, electromagnetically driven rail guns, high-explosive and plasma-yield and nuclear anti-ship/anti-planetary missiles, gamma ray laser blasts, charged particle beams and unimaginable super weapons such as the Black Hole Cannon and J-QUATH Phoenix lighted up the sky, a manmade storm of annihilation, the true fire that burns heaven and earth.
Under that awesome barrage of firepower, the impotent immensity that had once been a virtual god disintegrated, the soul having long fled before that final conflagration. Ranma Saotome was now in whatever afterlife awaited such of his kind.
"The altar of falsehood had been torn down by men and women who know better –and pray with truer hearts and believe in a truer faith: That of the goodness and hope in all of us."
So saying, the girl walked down from her mountain perch. It was time to rejoin the world, time to shed away her differences and her shelter and let Fate bear her wherever it wanted.
It was time to rejoin one special young man.
* * *
It was him.
Savior, master, creator, teacher, father, but most of all, he was her friend.
Sheo Darren had returned.