Disclaimer: I do not own the copyrights to Gundam Wing, Endless Waltz, Sailor Moon, Trigun, Evangelion, Lupin the Third, Outlaw Star, Rurouni Kenshin, G-Gundam, any other Gundam Series, Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, any movies, books, or any songs that are used in this story. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.
Notice to Readers: To understand certain parts of this story, you'll have to read the other stories before this one. It is recommended by not required.
The DarkTower
Anime's Unite
Chapter 19: The City of Nash
000
Speeding ahead from the west was Blain the Mono going full speed ahead carrying the Kenshin Gumi, the Peace Guns, Bartleby The Spy, Loki the Warrior, and Jake Chambers the Key Master. Its silvery exterior blazing in the morning sun as it sped across the plains over rivers to reach its destination in the City of Nash.
The journey had been a long one for all of them. First starting in their own comfortable surroundings, the planet Gunsmoke, Japan in the eleventh year of the Meiji Era, and suddenly to be thrown into such a situation where a great destiny rested upon their shoulders. Thinking back on the road to being inside a silver colored bullet-shaped train was long, messy, frightening, as well as funny on top of it all. After all they would have some great stories to tell once they got back home. Such as there was that three headed knight that argued with itself and the Knights who say "Ni!", time always has that effect to put a humorous venire over events that were frightening at the time. But most of all there were the friends that they had made.
Though it may have appeared to be smooth sailing from the outside, inside there was a great deal of un rest. As Bartleby said, in answering his question to Wolfwood at what was at the tower:
"It's not what's at the tower that worries me." He said sitting back in his big very comfortable chair.
"Then what?" Wolfwood asked
"What will be at the station in Nash when we arrive?"
Though Bartleby had never revealed it at first, after all he could see anywhere in the present as well as into the hearts and minds of anyone he meets. For this man who had the face of an angel could definitely see what was waiting for them at the train station in the City of Nash. In his minds eye he saw dozens of men, women, and creatures all standing on the platform like a Venus Fly Trap waiting to swallow up its prey. Bartleby knew this and he couldn't' hide it from the more telepathic of the Peace Guns.
"You already know what's going to be there." Knives said aloud to Bartleby.
The spy looked at Knives and smiled, "I can't hide anything from you can I?" Bartleby asked, "I would've had to tell all of you sooner or later."
And so Bartleby the Spy revealed what he knows about what was waiting at the station.
"So, what do we do?" Meryl asked
"Don't be stupid, missy." Sano cracked his knuckles, "We fight them."
"I'm with Sano on that one." Loki smirked boyishly, "Just go out there and kick some ass, bust some caps, split some wigs, and all that goes with it."
"Then this means we're all in agreement, that we are." Kenshin smiled
Vash shook his head, "We've come too far to just give up."
"In that case, how shall we go about it?" Meryl asked
"Blaine?" Bartleby called out to the train's computer.
"Yes, Bartleby." Blaine answered back in that sweet southern stewardess voice
"How long until we reach the station in the City of Nash?"
"Approximately one hour and fifty minutes."
Bartleby looked back to the company he had, gunmen, swordsmen, ruffians, and outlaws. He smiled to himself.
"Let's plan." He said.
For the time that they had they went through every scheme and attack plan that they could think of. Each one was met with the same kind of result that they all had faced no matter how the plan was made.
Fifteen minutes was left until they would pull in at the station and already they felt themselves being brought under the gun.
"We can't attack them the minute we get out the door." Bartleby voice, "Because the numbers that are at the station, no doubt we'll all be dead before we even take a good shot at them."
"Even if we wait for them to come into the train," Loki postulated, "That would just be more trouble. Putting us into a siege kind of situation and that's the last position that I'd like to be in."
To Bartleby, it was strange for Loki to take such a caution in such an endeavor. On the other hand both of them knew what was at stake. The freedom of Mydar, and that's something too big to risk by simply charging at the enemy.
"Why don't we try to jump from the train?" Kaworu asked
Bartleby, Jake, and Loki all shook their heads.
"At the speed this trains going," Bartleby pointed out, "We'll all be dead when we hit the ground."
"And we'll be no closer to getting inside the City of Nash." Loki added
"So, what the hell are we supposed to do?" Sanosuke asked out of bitter frustration, "Just wait here to die?"
"In my opinion, that's not an option." Wolfwood stood up with that statement, "The only option there is, is to find a way out of this."
"How do you suggest we do that?" Kenshin asked
"I don't know."
As the arguing continued, Jake Chambers took off his back pack and opened it. Inside it was filled with keys, all kinds of keys for different locks. Yet, he pulled one out, the very one that he carved out of the branch of that tree. He held it in his hand as the voices of the others were being drown out like being submerged in water. Only hearing muffled voices and all attention was brought to the object in his hand. With all attention focused upon it, his eyes witnessed as it glowed brighter and brighter, and Jake understood immediately what he had been saying all along.
"Another way" he whispered to himself. "That's what the master taught me, there's always another way."
As he whispered this to himself, the others heard him.
"What was that, Jake?" Loki asked
Jake tightened the grip on the key, he stood up, "There's always another way."
"Ok, then what?" Sano asked
Jake reached into his pocket and pulled out a black felt pen marker. Without saying a word he went for the door of the train. With the key in one hand and the marker in the other Jake went to work. Behind him the Kenshin Gumi and the Peace Guns along with Bartleby and Loki watched as Jake worked.
They saw the young boy sitting down upon the floor in front of the door and began to draw on the wall with the marker. Ironically, there were children in homes who would have been punished for writing or drawing on the walls. Except everyone aboard the train knew that there had to be some kind of method for the madness, they watched as Jake drew a circle for a door knob, a diamond for a keyhole, and a rectangle that encased the doorknob and keyhole.
Jake stood up, placed the cap back onto his felt tip marker, and put it back in his pocket. He looked back down at the piece of work he had done as he took out the key he carved. He placed its pointed tip against the diamond shaped keyhole with his friends watching over his shoulders.
At first the key simply stayed where it was, but with a little more push from Jake's hand the key went through the drawn keyhole. Sinking in up to the handle and Jake took the key's handle fully and gave it a good, solid, three-hundred-sixty degree turn, and pulled the key back out.
The next thing that they all witnessed was a real doorknob, keyhole, and brass rectangular fixture that sprung right out of the door that originally had none of those things. With the doorknob sticking out, Jake reached for it, took the cold brass in his hand, turned it, and just like any other door, it opened.
Beyond the door, they didn't see the outside that was speeding by. Instead they saw the inside of a very dingy looking room.
"Come on." Jake said as he was the first one to step through it. Then as quickly as Jake went through, Bartleby the Spy, Loki the Warrior, the Kenshin Gumi, and the Peace Guns all stepped through. With that last member through, Jake closed the door behind them.
Yet, back inside Blaine the Mono as it rolled into the City of Nash, with the platform filled with operatives and soldiers of the Obsessed, the door that was the escape route became normal again. The ink that Jake had used to make the door knob, keyhole, and rectangle began to vanish. Simply fade away like writing in the sand that the wind was blowing away.
000
To the north, along the road that curved its way around the Great Lake was the bus that held the members of the Sailor Senshi, the Evangelions (Asuka Langely Sohryuu, Shinji Ikari, and Misato Katsuragi), and the one driving the bus, Draco the Beast Master. It had been quite a long journey for them, first starting out on foot, traveling in the saddlebags of a dragon, to riding on a bus. It truly was quite amazing what had happened only within the space of a twelve hour day. It was only a few days ago that the Evangelions and Senshi had only special abilities. The Senshi with their transformation powers and the attacks they had. The Evangelions…in the beginning they themselves could only pilot the Eva's, nothing more.
Then after spending one day in the lands of Mydar all of that changed for all of them. They could control an element (even the Senshi in their non-transformed state), and in the ride on that bus the depth and gravity of what had and what would happen began to sink in. It is usually at times like this when something unimaginable happens that people are either really quiet or they talk about it.
In the case of the ones on that bus, more of them were quiet because they were asleep.
Shinji on the other hand was asleep until he woke up to a song playing on his tape player. Thanks to the supplies that were picked up in that town of Hiker's Point, Shinji could hear that wonderful song once again. He smiled as he awoke to that hauntingly sad song that seemed to echo everything he felt back there in that hell hole that was his life.
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide.
No escape from reality
Open your eyes,
Look up to the skies and see
I'm just a poor boy
I need no strife
Because I'm easy come
Easy go…
Little high….
Little low…
Anyway the wind blows…
Doesn't really matter to me…
To me…
As Shinji awoke he couldn't help but look out the window. Out at the thing upon the island in the middle of the vast lake, The Dark Tower. At night when the bus was passing by different towns as the road bordered the edge of the lake, the tower was like a void in an otherwise star-filled sky. It seemed almost like looking down into a well, only light around the edges before it stretches into the dark abyss.
As the morning sun began to rise over the mountains in the east, the tower still looked black as could be. It seemed to be like some kind of void in the universe. A scary and somewhat exciting place to be going to, but Shinji's mind that morning wasn't on the Tower when he thought about the destination. The City of Nash.
The feeling of familiarity was still there for Shinji and it only got stronger with the passing hours. He had made several attempts to reach out with his new found powers but he was no closer to finding out what was there. The only thing that improved was the increased feeling of memory, knowing that whatever was out there it was something or someone from his past. Realizing that, Shinji tried to think of the possible people that it could be. Kaji, Kenuske, Suzahara, Ritsuko, Rei, his father? Thinking about names Shinji threw out each one, saying that it couldn't be, because the "aura" (if it could be called that) of whoever was out there was kinder than any of those people.
Whoever it was, Shinji was certain about one thing:
It was getting closer.
As the morning sun began to rise up higher and higher over the Dark Tower, the others on the bus slowly began to awaken. It wasn't suddenly like the way a person wakes up to an alarm clock. For the rest of the Evangelions and the Sailor Senshi they had awakened very naturally and slowly. Of course, sleeping on a bus is quite a far cry from sleeping in a bed, but it certainly beats sleeping on the hard wet ground.
With the few awake, they couldn't help but look out the windows, after all what else could they look at? TO the west they saw forests sprawling out over miles and miles of land with a river flowing through it, branching off in a few places as it stretched on into the horizon.
Yet, to the east they all knew what was there. The tower was just like a monument that everyone knows about or rather the proverbial elephant in the room that everyone knows that's there but no one talks about. Just like the fly in the punch bowl at a garden party that no one has the stomach to mention.
Even with the sights out the windows, one passenger on the bus started to feel a very new kind of sensation. She never knew what it was until she came completely out of sleep and gave her complete attention to it.
With all the other Sailor Senshi looking out the windows at the sights, scenery, and landmarks, Minako now understood what she was feeling. She felt up to the cold metal around her neck, to the ring that hung on a gold chain that was given to her by that man. Carolinas the Green Wizard and keeper of Barret's Wall, he gave Minako the chain and told her something very ominous.
"Keep it safe." He said, "Keep it safe, until it brings you to its master."
Minako took the ring and clutched it in her hand as it was still on its chain. In the warmth of her hand she felt the cold steel warming in her hand. She thought back to how she found the ring in the darkness of that case and how it helped her and her friends' free Carolinas from those members of the Obsessed. The ring felt very different as Minako held it, not like how it was before when she picked it up out of the dirt in the dark. It just felt ordinary, not like how it was inside of Minako's fist.
"It feels heavier." She thought and she opened up her hand and looked at the simple golden band and saw those same odd letters in that golden haze. She thought back to a couple nights ago when Draco had thrown the ring into the fire and the flames brought out the secret that the ring carried.
She remembered Draco's translation of the rings fiery inscription
I am from the One
I am bounded to the One
I am ruled by the One
And I shall return to the One
The ring itself was fulfilling its own declaration or perhaps Minako was helping the ring on some kind of unknown or unspoken level. Thinking of it as helping once again, Minako felt that enormous sense of duty, much in the same way when she took on the duty as a Sailor Senshi. She clutched the ring in her fist again thinking about the bigger picture how that there were probably hundreds if not thousands of people waiting for their freedom. As she thought about it, she suddenly felt the bus beginning to slow down.
Immediately she poked her head up over the seats to see what exactly was going on. Yet, she couldn't' see so she got up from her seat already with the mind set of what she was going to ask.
"Why are we slowing down?" She demanded from Draco, looking at him as he looked out at the road.
Draco had already put on the brakes; he raised his hand and pointed out the window. Behind Minako came Shinji Ikari who was also very curious about why they had stopped. The two looked at Draco in his drivers seat never looking at Shinji or Minako, just pointing out the window and down the road.
The two of them followed the line at which Draco was pointing, the direction he pointed led to the road that led on its downward tilt and upon the dusty and paint faded asphalt they came to the City of Nash. It was as expansive as Tokyo (or Tokyo-3 in Shinji's case) buildings stretching up to the sky as if they wanted to be as tall as the Dark Tower itself. Around the edge of the city they saw a wall, as long as the Great Wall of China if its mileage were added up, as tall as the sky scrapers in the city, and as formidable as any defense the Senshi or Evangelions had ever seen, with guards patrolling the parapets like guardians of a great treasure.
As the road came up to meet the wall, Shinji, Minako, and Draco could see the great steel gates, God only knew how thick those doors were, and already there was a doubt about what to do next.
Minako hung her head thinking that everything that had happened would have been in vain. That was when she felt a pair of arms coming around her. She looked up at the face of Shinji Ikari who had a look on his face that seemed to say, everything's going to be alright.
As Minako looked into those bluish eyes of Shinji's and like a bolt of lightning she had an idea. Yet, when the idea came over her, it felt like that the idea wasn't hers rather it came from an invisible source that spoke through her.
She broke the embrace and came to Draco's side, "Drive." She said
"What?" Draco asked rather confused but just as he asked he had lost control. Minako hopped onto Draco's lap, like a kid on a mall Santa. She took the wheel, and stamped her foot against the gas pedal which sent the bus flying down the road all the way to the Gates of Nash.
Already, everyone was wide awake and asking what the hell was happening. Yet, all those voices were being drowned out as Minako kept her sights upon that Gate into the City of Nash. The controls did feel a lot more sluggish than those car racing video games that she loved to play almost everyday when school was over and she was on her way to study at Rei's place. Yet, it did feel strange driving a bus as well as sitting on a man's lap while doing it.
Still, the seconds passed rapidly as the Gates of Nash came closer by the second and the guards began their barrage on the bus. Amazingly enough, Minako managed to dodge it using such driving skills that would rival Haruka Tenou's. It felt as if she were possessed at least that's what Minako's friends figured as they gathered up at the front of the bus trying to call to her.
"Stop, Minako!" They would shout, "We're gonna crash! Do you wanna die?"
Even Draco tried to take the wheel back but Minako kept pushing his arms out of the way. Still, there wasn't time as the Gates of Nash were in front of them. It looked like they were going to crash but then as the bus came to the gates, the bus didn't crash. It simply vanished into the wall.
000
To the south of the City of Nash, there was a road that stretched and cut its way through the Redwood Forest to the town of Rachel. It was a town that only recently had been liberated of the vicious drug lord of the Obsessed, Butcho. It was all thanks to the Lupin Crew, the Outlaw Six, Armand El Mariachi, and his students, The Gunsmith Cats. But there was no time to celebrate Rachel's liberation, as the freedom of Mydar took greater priority. Added to that if they stayed in Rachel, no doubt more of the Obsessed would arrive. So it was decided to leave Rachel and head to Nash.
Of course, there was that question that they were leaving Rachel to run from the Obsessed but they were going to head to a city filled with them?
"We're going to have to take the fight to them." Armand had answered
Despite the unspoken dangers, the Lupin Crew and the Outlaw Six agreed to head to that city. All of them felt as if that they were heading straight into the lion's den, going head on into the danger of it. Yet, each group had their own reasons in going. At first for them it was for money and a way to get home, but after the fight at Butcho's Palace they had second thoughts about it. There had to be more than what met the eye about the situation. It became a quest for answers.
They headed north in a stolen stretched white limousine from Butcho's Garage. It was quite a piece of work considering that it could comfortably seat everyone in their group, and a mini-bar on top of that. After all, even after a day like the one they had, a good stiff drink would be needed.
As the stretched limo drove north through the Redwood forest, past the enormous ancient trees, a couple had sneaked a peek through the sunroof. It was a good thing that the sunroof was big enough otherwise Fujiko and Melphina would have had to take turns in looking down the road.
Down the long stretch of road was the city of Nash, a sprawling city stretching from east to west like the other great cities that they've gone to. The buildings reaching up to the sky like trees made of glass and steel. Then beyond it was the Dark Tower, standing and towering over the buildings in Nash like an ancient tree atop of a hill. It stretched and branched with its spires with each window seemingly hollow. That place seemed like an abandoned house, like the house that no one wants to mention because of its unpleasant memories.
With each mile that the limo took and with the wind blowing in their hair, Fujiko and Melphina felt different about the items that they carried. The cup and the watch, both of them began to feel heavier like a pot being slowly filled with water. Along with the heaviness, they felt that the items knew that they were coming home; going back to the place they came from. It seemed easy not to think of them as objects because both Fujiko and Melphina knew for certain that the items had chosen them to bring them back home. Even that thought seemed to be comforting when looking at that dark and forbidden kind of place.
Both Melphina and Fujiko looked down into the City of Nash, but then they saw something. They saw the wall that surrounded the city as if it were a castle or a fortress. For a moment all that they could concentrate upon was the height of the wall, its formidability, the parapets, the turrets, and the guards that paced between them. Then their view came down the wall to where it met the road, and there they saw the great steel doors. It did look like the entrance to a castle with the steel gate and the turrets upon either side.
Fujiko looked at it and it did spark an old memory of hers, it was back when Lupin came to the little country of Calliastro. It was after robbing a casino in Monte Carlo, it seemed like a good smash and grab job, but Lupin found out that the money he stole was counterfeit. After that he decided to track it down and that brought him to Calliastro where the fake bills were called "goat bills", because of the ram on the Dukes family crest. The castle of Calliastro was immense just like the wall that surrounded the City of Nash. Though Fujiko smiled in thinking that at least there was no moat or it would have made the job a lot harder.
As both Melphina and Fujiko looked at the wall they felt the limo starting to speed up tremendously. It came ot the point where both women dropped back down into the car.
"Hey, what the hell's going on?" Jigen asked
"I'll ask." Fujiko volunteered as she moved her way to the front of the car to speak with their driver, Armand El Mariachi. She knocked on the black Plexiglas window that separated the driver from the rest of the passengers.
"Armand?" She asked as she knocked, "Armand?"
Upon the second hard knock, the Plexiglas window came down and there was Armand in the drivers' seat.
Fujiko wasted no time, "What are you doing? Don't you see that gate ahead?"
"Yes, I do." Armand answered
"Then what are you planning to do?" Gene called out from the back.
"I'm planning on going through the gates." Armand answered to Gene
"Are you crazy?!" Jim shouted at Armand, "That means we're gonna crash!"
"I agree with the kid." Lupin spoke up, "We all may have pulled out some tight spots but that doesn't mean we're invincible."
"Don't worry." Goemon said confidently holding his sword, the Zantetsuken in his ready stance, "I'll cut through those doors."
"And I the same with Goemon." Sazuka volunteered for the task ahead.
As the car sped forward to the gates of Nash, something came over both Melphina and Fujiko.
"Don't." Fujiko said to Goemon
It was quite surprising that Fujiko said that but the way she said it was stranger still. She said it in such a calm tone as if she knew some kind of plan or secret that everything was going to be alright. That in itself was strange, especially to those who knew Fujiko best.
"What are you saying, Fuji?" Lupin asked
"Trust Armand." She said to Lupin
A moment of silence came over them and then Melphina spoke on Fujiko's behalf.
"She's right." She said to the rest of the Outlaw Six, "Trust Armand."
"He hasn't steered any of us wrong before now has he?" Rally asked
"But this is just crazy!" Jim shouted, "All logic states that if we keep going at this speed, we're gonna crash, burn, and more than likely die!"
"We'll find that out soon enough, kid." Lupin said as the Gates of Nash were upon them.
Instinctively more than one of them thought of opening the limo doors and bailing out. That soon turned out to be a bad idea as the guards upon the wall began to rain down their bullets and lasers at the limo. Then the gates were soon inches away from them and there was no time to act or even think. Yet, the limo that Armand drove did not crash into the Gates of Nash. It simply vanished into the wall as if it were never there.
000
To the east, trekking along the northern edge of the Redwood Forest was the Fellowship of the Gundam, who had lost and regained their friend, Gandalf the Gray, who then became Gandalf the White, along with their newest friend, Callina the Songstress. Every member of the Fellowship was overjoyed to see Gandalf returned to them as if God had answered just one plea to bring a loved one back. Though Gandalf had explained what happened at least in a way that the Fellowship could understand.
After his fall into darkness, Gandalf battled with the Black Beast of Ahh in the depths of the Earth, until he had finally vanquished it with a great blow to its eyes. With that blow Gandalf was changed dramatically and he changed from gray to white. With his transformation Gandalf returned and rejoined the Fellowship of the Gundam.
Everyone was so happy that he was back, especially Johan. That much was evident in the first day but something had happened by the second day that changed everything.
It was already mid-day and the Fellowship were trekking along the meadows that bordered between a range of foot hills to the north that rolled from east to west with such lush greenness that they harkened the hills of Ireland and the Redwood forest to the south that was thick with trees of great age.
As they trekked they were all happy that Gandalf was with them that it added a little more bounce in their steps. For Johan the situation seemed to take a different turn. As he walked along with the Fellowship with a smile on his face everything seemed good. Even with the looming Dark Tower in the distance it couldn't faze him one bit, because the moment was good. At least until something struck him like a bee sting and he fell to his knees.
The soft thud of his knees hitting the soft soil beneath him caught the attention of all the Fellowship. They gathered around him much in the same way people just gather around someone who was just injured in a car crash.
"What's wrong, Johan?" Haruka asked coming to the aid of her husband.
Johan reached, he knew when his knees had hit the ground that something was pulling him down. As if a hand had reached up to his belt and yanked him down to the ground. He reached around for the very thing that had yanked him and his hand told him what it was.
"The sword." Johan answered as he got to his feet again, "It's gotten heavier. We must be getting closer."
Heero looked up ahead and saw how the grasslands were beginning to slope upward
"It must be over that hill." Heero said to the others
"It is." Gandalf acknowledged
The Fellowship went on ahead as Johan got up to his feet with Haruka, Julia, and Leto at his side. He had to give himself a little firmer grip into the ground like carrying a bag of sand upon his belt. He walked up the hill with his family still staying at his side never wanting to leave him. Johan's wife and children all felt that same way about him that the Dark Tower may take him away as if it were some malevolent monster out of a fairy tale. And all the members of the Fellowship could see the face of that monster at the top of the hill along with something at the bottom.
A wall.
A wall taller and longer than any that the Fellowship had ever laid eyes upon. Its brick construction was as smooth as freshly laid concrete as it stretched around the edge of the city of Nash. As far as the eye could see there were no doors or gates, absolutely no way to get in. At least not from what they could see. Atop of the wall was the parapet like the walls of a castle and with guards walking back and forth between each turret in the wall. It seemed almost impossible, but why come that far and not put up a fight?
"Is there a way around it?" Chibodee asked
Trowa shook his head, "That could probably take days and we won't find a thing."
As Johan came up to meet the rest of his friends he had heard the discussion among them. He too looked at the overwhelming size of the wall, looking at it from left to right and just stretching on and on. With the task of trying to get into the city looming over them like a dark cloud, Johan suddenly felt a sharp prick in his mind, much like a severe headache hitting the victim without any kind of warning. Except when it hit Johan he came out of it with some new kind of knowledge. His left hand reached for the sword at his side and all became clear.
"We won't have to go around the wall." Johan said with a great air of confidence in his voice.
"What are you planning, Johan?" Duo asked with that narrow eyed look on his face
"Going through the wall." Johan answered
"With all do respect, Messiour Johan." George approached, "I believe the plan is ludicrous. Even with a beam saber the walls must be twenty or thirty feet thick."
Johan did take in George's concern but it didn't faze him one bit, because he had faith. He believed in that knowing feeling about the sword he was asked to carry to the Dark Tower.
"I know that's what it looks like." Johan half agreed, "But I know that this will work."
"Well," Duo shrugged, "If this is what you plan to do, then I'll be with you on it and I'm sure the rest of us will back you."
Johan looked to the rest of the Fellowship seeing their agreement with Duo's promise to stay at his friends' side through good and bad.
"But what about the guards?" Domon asked
"Leave that problem to me." Gandalf said as he raised his great white staff to the sky. There the clouds grew thick and black just like before when Gandalf used his magic to slay a handful of Techno Wraiths. Gandalf swirled the staff around like a spoon into the depths of a great stew.
The lightning sparked and came down a good distance away from the Fellowship. It struck down atop of the parapet where the stones began to cave in and crumble. With the wall already damaged the guards began to rush to the scene and scramble about trying to fix it as well as find out who did it. As they did the black roads above them cleared and the Fellowship moved ahead to the wall.
As they descended down the hill they kept their watch on the wall to make sure that the guards wouldn't alert the others to their presence. Because God only knew what would happen if they were captured.
Johan was at the front leading the assault upon the wall feeling the weight of the sword growing heavier at his side with each running stride he made. He reached for the hilt of the sword, unsheathed it, and was ready to cut into the wall like a Thanksgiving turkey. He approached the wall as the members of the Fellowship armed themselves to guard their friend and comrade.
With his friends protecting him, Johan held the sword in his hands, and felt possessed as if the sword was guiding him. He plunged the sword into the white brick and mortar. There was absolutely no resistance as the sword sliced its way into the wall up to its hand guard, and with that Johan took the handle and began to cut the whole into the City of Nash.
The blade of the sword made its full circle cut, the circle itself seemed perfect to Johan's eye. In the back of his mind he wondered how it was that a flat blade could cut through solid brick and mortar with no problem and make a nearly perfect circle cut. That was when a memory popped back into his mind, he couldn't' figure out why he thought of it then, but old memories always have a way of creeping back into a persons mind.
It was over fifteen years ago when the first tear appeared and Johan had lost Haruka for the first time. How could he forget something as heart wrenching as that? The whole event was planned by a demon from the Sailor Senshi's universe and the fact that his wife wasn't dead at all, only being held prisoner. He remembered being given a sword much like the one that was he used to cut through that wall. He remembered how he defeated a demon thanks to it, and how he regained his wife because of it.
Johan pulled the sword out of the wall and felt something else within him. He reached out to the piece that was cut as if to give it a push, and the piece was pushed away, sinking into the wall, but Johan had never laid a hand upon it. He soon saw that it wasn't important, the door was open, and he called to his friends.
"Everyone!" He called, "Let's go!"
As soon as he said that he dove straight into the hole just as the guards for the wall came about seeing the intruders.
Everyone dove into that same hole in the wall one right after the other. The members of the Shuffle Alliance, the Preventers, Link the Elvish Warrior, Gandalf the White, and Callina the Songstress.
Yet what they didn't know was that after they had gone through the hole, the wall was…healing itself. The hole that was cut just blended itself into the rest of the wall as if the hole had never happened. Brick, mortar, and whatever was used to smooth its surface all came back and no one on the wall knew what the hell just happened.
000
The City of Nash was named after Sirrus Nash, who was the architect and designer of the city. With the aid and magic of the King of Mydar, the two of them had built the city out of nothingness; the buildings, the underground subways, the stores, the restaurants, and even the cars. By the time that they were finished, the people came in from all around Mydar to the city that the King had christened, "The City of Nash".
The city was like most other cities, at least that's what it became when the Obsessed took over, before the construction of the wall. The City of Nash was a beautiful place, not a single building was old or run down, all of them were shinning as if they were brand new while between the buildings as well as upon the streets were the cars that both drove as well as flew from one place to another. It was truly a great city to live in, and no one had to be rich to live there. It only became a matter of choice to live in the glorious hustle and bustle of the city or live the quiet country life in the towns and villages all over the lands of Mydar.
Until…they came, and the wall of Nash was built, becoming isolated and ruled tyrannically, the buildings became old and run down as the Obsessed had captured their king and stolen all the wealth in Mydar and the City of Nash, making it filthy, dingy, dirty, and as dark as the tower that lied on that island in the middle of the lake.
It was in the darkest corners of Nash that hope would arrive. It was somewhere around the industrial section, the place where things were built, a section of factories. Once they were fully functioning and operational, then they became old and run down. It was in a building that once produced dolls, all kinds of dolls would come off of the assembly line. This was the Happy-Go-Lucky doll factory, but then it was shut down when the wall was being built. The workers were forced to work the wall, even the children were forced to work, and work to death, only to be buried in the wall as work continued.
The entire third floor of the Happy-Go-Lucky doll factory was once used for office space. Remnants of that old time were still there in its cheap economy style carpet that had turned dusty, moldy, and with pieces of paper scattered everywhere. There was some light that came through the dirty mud covered windows, like sunlight coming through the bright material of an umbrella on a partially cloudy day. The light that was present was only dim and brownish, aside from the few bright beams of light that came through the window frames that had its glass knocked out, probably from kids throwing rocks at the old factory to cure boredom.
The light was soon to change as in the center of the empty office space floor appeared a very bright point of light, like a star in the middle of the room that sent out waves of its brilliance. Then the bright light in the middle of the room grew bigger, and bigger, and bigger, until it became a perfect hole that floated in the middle of the room. Then like the echo in a tunnel came a flurry of yelling and screaming. The yelling and screaming got closer and closer until out of the hole came all the members of the Fellowship of the Gundam, and they piled up on top of one another like a childish game of dog-pile in front of the hole.
"What the hell just happened?" Duo grunted from within the pile
The first one to get off of the pile was Callina the Songstress who straighten out her clothes.
"I gather that we've must have gone through a tear." She said while the other members of the Fellowship got off of the pile. Especially Gandalf who tried to get up with his old bones working against him, but with a little help from Johan he got back onto his feet, along with all fo the members of the Fellowship.
"If we're gone through a tear" Link the Elvish Warrior had followed the logic aloud, "Then where are we?"
With an explorer's curiosity, Johan, along with the others went to the nearby windows that were cracked, and covered with dirt. The window that Johan came to had the bottom pane broken out and through the opening Johan saw the City of Nash. He remembered the city's skyline from when he was atop of that hill looking in. He saw a cluster of buildings stretching up while around the outer edges the buildings were shorter.
"We're in Nash." He reported to the others.
"But how's that possible?" Sai-Saici asked
"We'll, we've gone through tears before." Quatre pointed out, "Perhaps here in Mydar, tears are more common than anything else."
Johan shook his head, "That's not it at all."
"Then how do you explain it?" Rain asked like a professor demanding a professional answer out of a college student.
Johan reached for his sword, "It was because of this." He said, "This sword created that tear in the wall and brought us here."
"It's just as Lord Hyrule said." Link reiterated, "The sword has a mind of its own."
"And there are other items like it." Argo remembered as well
"And they're coming." Johan said
"What?" Haruka asked
"The others are coming." Johan repeated, a very deep tone was in his voice as if he knew what he was saying was going to happen at any moment.
"What are you saying, dad?" Julia asked very fearful for her father.
"Don't any of you feel that?" He asked the members of the Fellowship
"Feel what?" Chibodee asked
"I sense it too." Gandalf the White confirmed, "Something comes this way."
"So do I" Link confirmed, "I don't like this one bit."
"It's here." Johan thought to himself
He didn't even have to stretch out with any kind of intuition or whatever powers were unwillingly given to him, he simply knew. He turned his head sharply to the end of the room. At the end of the third floor was a door that probably led to an office that was once used by an executive. That door at the end was closed but in the limited light, Johan saw something. At first it was faint but it grew to a light, a halo that shimmered from around the doors edge, until it was as bright as the light around a total eclipse of the sun. By that time, the light was bright enough that it caught everyone's attention and that was when the door opened.
"Come on!" A young voice called out as the door opened fully.
The next instant, whoever was behind that door jumped out, much in the same situation as the Fellowship had done. The few had jumped from behind the door and landed inside the third floor of the Happy-Go-Lucky doll factory. Unlike the Fellowship before them, the ones who came through the eclipse-like door simply rolled onto the floor instead of piling up upon one another. Then just as the last of them came through the door behind them slammed shut as if it was to close automatically.
"Ah." One of them exhaled, "We're safe."
To the members of Preventer, that voice was very familiar. Yet, the memories were so far away that a small refresher was needed. Some of the Preventer officers came closer to the ones who had just arrived in the City of Nash. They couldn't' tell who they were since they were in fact lying on the floor.
As the Preventer came closer, and the Shuffle Alliance along with Gandalf and Callina stayed behind, the memories became a little clearer.
"Hello?" Quatre called out
"Whose there?" A stern voice asked as once of the few from the eclipse-door arose and drew his gun. In the muddy light that came into the room, they saw the silvery gun. The memories were like links in a chain, one already led into another and that was evident for Duo because it was there that he received his weapon, the Cross-Punisher.
"Vash?" He asked
On the other side, the Peace Guns, the Kenshin-gumi, along with their guides Loki the Warrior, Bartleby the Spy, and Jake the Key Master slowly got up after their small exit from Blaine the Mono. Then to hear that voice called out Vash's name, they wondered who knew them, in that place (wherever it was to them).
Vash recognized faintly who it was, yet the person standing in front of him and who called out his named, seemed very different than the person that was in the back of his memory. Vash had this happen to him several times where he met someone again and time had done its work upon them. That is what happened to the man that was in front of him as well as the others around him and that caused him to lower his gun.
"Duo?" Vash asked, "Johan? Heero? Quatre?" He blinked twice to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, "What happened to all of you?"
"Well," Johan smiled, "the last time we saw you it was over fifteen years ago."
"But to us," Kenshin stepped in, "it wasn't all that long ago."
"Very true." Quatre smiled, "But it's wonderful to see all of you."
"Likewise." Wolfwood replied
"I take it, all of you know each other." Bartleby said addressing the reunion of the Preventers with the Kenshin-Gumi and the Peace Guns.
"Now, there's a voice that I haven't heard in a long time." Callina smiled as she approached the other guards.
"Callina?" Loki asked very surprised, "Oh, no way! We haven't seen you in such a long time! And what's with the lumberjack clothes?"
"Long story." Callina shook her head, "The same with Gandalf."
"Gandalf the Gray is here?" Jake asked excited about the prospects of the news.
"Formerly, Gandalf the Gray." An old voice called as it approached Jake, Bartleby, Loki, and Callina, "Now that Wizard is Gandalf the White."
"Woah…" Bartleby whispered in awe of Gandalf's change, "What happened to you?"
"That's a long story as well." Gandalf said to his comrades.
"Hey, can anyone tell us where we are?" Sano asked very annoyed about the situation
"We're in the City of Nash." Domon Kasshu answered
"And who are you?"
"Don't worry, Sano." Quatre said, "They're all with us, they helped us once before."
"You mean they crossed into your world?"
Quatre shook his head, "Not exactly."
"Well, first think I think we should do is eating." Vash suggested
"Couldn't agree more, mister." Sai-Saici smiled
Yet, as the new company of friends was about to settle into their new surroundings and hopefully unpack some food, there was a great noise outside. It just came out of nowhere and each sound compounded upon another like falling dominos. At first, it was a screeching sound like a set of tires, but it didn't sound like it belonged to one car.
There were two very distinct engine sounds to those who knew the most about such things it sounded like two different cars, or maybe one car and another with a larger engine. After hearing the screeching tires and the two very different engines there was a great crash. The sound reached up to the third floor and all the members of the new company of friends dashed to the windows to find what it was that caused that calamity. Looking out the windows, some of them found nothing, while a few saw two vehicles, a bus and a stretched white limousine.
"Is it, the Obsessed?" Jake asked
"Couldn't be." Loki answered, "they can't find us this quick."
As Johan looked he felt that same stirring within him. The same way he felt when that eclipse-door opened. It was a kind of resonance, like he was attune to some kind of frequency like a radio that picked up these disturbances. He squinted through the dirt that had built-up on the windows and he knew that he had to go down there.
He looked sharply around the room looking for another door that would lead the way out. He then saw a door with a symbol next to it, no matter what universe he was in, certain things were true everywhere. He saw a symbol of a man walking down a set of stairs.
Johan dashed to the door.
"Where are you going?" Haruka asked
"I'm going down to meet them." He answered with the door halfway open and his foot already out.
"How do you know they're not with the Obsessed?" Chibodee asked
"I just know." Johan answered as he dashed out the door and down the stairs to the new visitors. While behind him a member of the Fellowship had a minor breakthrough.
Kaworu Nagisa felt that prick in his mind, even though he didn't know that Johan was feeling the same thing, he felt that familiar presence somewhere near him. He had felt it ever since he came to Mydar and it just kept growing stronger the closer he got to that city called Nash.
"Must be from that bus." Kaworu thought, "Has to be." He thought this as Johan Rodriguez of Preventer and the Fellowship of the Gundam rushed down the stairs and to whoever was outside.
000
Outside, near the loading dock of the abandoned Happy-Go-Lucky dolly factory, the bus carrying the Evangelions and the Sailor Senshi crashed into the dock with the white stretched limo that carried the Outlaw Six & the Lupin Crew. On both sides everyone was coming to grips with what happened, after all both had sped up and gone through a wall without crashing that was until they came to the loading dock. Instinctively, both drivers got out trying to assess the damage, but then both of them caught a glimpse of one another and the situation had changed dramatically.
Draco looked across at the stretched limo and the man who got out of it from the drivers side and he couldn't help but smile.
"It really has been a while." Draco said as he approached his old comrade
"So it has." Armand smiled back.
Then instantly just like brothers, the two of them hugged, while their passengers got out of their vehicles to see what was happening. At first both sides were confused at what they were witnessing, but there were a few on Armand's side who knew what was going on.
As Rally Vincent and Minnie-May Hopkins got out of the stretched limo, they looked in the direction of Armand. The man that he was hugging like a brother both of them recognized and immediately answered the most obvious question.
"Who the hell is that?" Gene Starwind asked who sounded very annoyed
Rally quickly answered, "That's one of the other Seven Guards to the One True King of Mydar, Draco the Beast Master."
"But who are the others?" Lupin asked
"I don't know."
As both sides stood looking at one another in a kind of stand off, a voice called out to them.
"You're all here!"
Everyone in the Lupin Crew, the Outlaw Six, The Sailor Senshi, the Evangelions, the Gunsmith Cats, as well as the two guards looked and saw someone familiar to them.
"Well, well, well." Lupin smiled, "If it isn't Johan Peacecraft Rodriguez of Preventer."
To be continued…