Trapped in the Fandom Net
Angel Ichigo: THEY KIDNAPED MY PARENTS?
Kunex: Well, that's just great. Now what?
Moon: Hey everyone, I'm back! Thank you for reading my story...which now has over 100 reviews! (Does a happy dance) I LOVE YOU ALL! (hugs reviewers)
Katani: This is a hostage situation, guys. One wrong step could put Ichigo's parents in mortal danger...Celestial Moonlight Blade does not own TMM or MMP. If she had, there would have been obvious changes.
Chapter 17: We're in trouble
*In the Sue's Hideout*
Moon grinned and kicked the back door down. "I knew it! It worked!"
"Now all we have to do is march in and take out the Queen Sues, right?" Kunex asked, excited at the prospect of one big epic showdown. The silver-haired boy had been jumpy ever since they had gotten close to the Sue's hideout.
"I don't know if it would be as simple as just 'marching in'." Katani said worriedly, looking around the inside. So far there weren't any security systems that she could see. Apparently, the Sues were so confident that their scheme would go unnoticed that they hadn't even installed a door alarm.
Angel Ichigo was concerned, she didn't know why. Something just felt wrong. Glancing between her friend's confident facial expressions, she guessed that she was the only one feeling it. Clutching her Mew Aqua staff closer to her body, Ichigo started to walk faster. She only hoped that her mind was playing tricks on her.
Kish blinked. "Is something wrong, Ichigo?" He asked, clearly surprised by her behavior. Angel Ichigo signaled for him to be quiet and scurried up the stairs, wings fluttering.
Kish looked back at the Gatekeepers, as if he figured they would know what was going on. Unfortunately, they didn't understand either.
"What's wrong with her?" Angelcake wondered out loud. Amber shrugged, gazing in the direction Angel Ichigo had disappeared.
Moon scowled, her famous why-can't-things-go-smoothly-for-once expression appearing on her face. "Come on, guys. We can't let her get too far ahead with the Stus around." The brown-haired Gatekeeper speed-walked down the hall in the direction Angel Ichigo had gone.
The rest of the group picked up the pace, trying to keep up.
Angel Ichigo had stopped at huge doorway, frowning. A dead end? She scribbled as the others caught up with her.
Musica frowned. "No...look at this..." She ran her fingers down the door, before light flashed in her eyes. "This door is fake!" She ran back a few steps, and then threw herself at the door. A loud groan filled the halls as the door careened over backwards and hit the floor with a BANG!, causing everyone to jump.
"Whoa." Gemini whistled. "Nice one, Musica." The others clapped a bit before continuing onwards into the keep.
The building was like a rat maze, in Zakuro's opinion. The narrow hallways lead in circles, and more than once they would pass by a group of Stus, sharpening their weapons and talking excitedly. While they never stuck around long enough to hear much, Kish caught the words 'captured' and 'insanity' and 'plot device'.
Why do I feel so concerned? The alien wondered. Something just doesn't feel right...
They found the stairwell after a lot of searching. At the top, there was a door that apparently lead to the Inner Keep of the Sue's hideaway. Katani grimaced in concern, while Tart just gripped his Gravity Hammer and stepped closer to Pudding.
"Everyone ready?" Soulstealer asked. The manic look in her eyes hadn't changed; hacking apart endless ranks of Sues must be her idea of a good time. "We'll be outnumbered ten to one, so be careful and stick together. Or you can just let me do everything!"
Moon laughed. "Not a chance, Soulstealer. We're coming with you."
"I second that." Destiny said. Amber elbowed him in the ribs and smiled.
"Ready and willing!" She added cheerfully. Ryou and Keiichiro both looked less than thrilled. Kish drew his swords and shrugged.
"Let's go." Gemini said. Moon drew the Blade of the Moon and smashed the door down.
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Savannah glanced out the window when she heard the yells of "imperfects be gone!" from the gathering room. "They're here." She said briskly, turning towards Bella and Stephanie. "Hurry up!"
"I'm trying!" Bella cried. Her fingers traveled over the keyboard, typing as quickly as she could. "The porthole will take another minute or so!"
"Right." Savannah turned towards Stephaine. "You will stay here."
Stephanie's perfect blue eyes widened. "What? But we were going together!"
Savannah growled low in her throat, a noise no one would have suspected the delicate-looking girl would be capable of. "Well, there's been a change of plans. You will stay here and deal with the Gatekeepers. Your goal is to get Shiru." She pointed into the mass of combatants to where the black dragon was tearing into some of the Wish Plot Bunnies.
"But-"
"No buts!" Savannah snapped. "I am the Queen Sue, aren't I?" Stephanie gulped and lowered her head. "Now do your job and we'll be back soon enough. And don't, fail me."
"Y-Yes, my lady." Stephanie sniffed. Bella grinned and opened the porthole.
"I got it!" She yelled. Savannah nodded, and turned to where the blue porthole stood. Bella went in first, but the silver-haired sue paused.
"If I can't achive my perfect wish because of you, you will be so very, very sorry." She told Stephanie over her shoulder. Then she smirked and walked into the porthole. It closed, leaving Stephanie behind with the attackers breaking through.
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Zakuro would be happy to say that she was getting good at this.
After battling thousands of Soulless, Rabids, etc in the Net, she had gotten quite proficient in dispatching the annoyingly perfect beings. No substance, and sometimes their attacks just passed right through her. She didn't really understand why, but it worked to her advantage.
The Stus kept yelling things like, "Why isn't my ultimate weapon working?" Or "Come on, I don't want to fight you!" Zakuro smiled, and continued to cut through them like a knife through butter.
"Great work, Zakuro!" Soulstealer exclaimed, joining the amythyst-haired girl. "You'd make a fine Mary-Sue Slayer!"
"Thanks Soul." Zakuro murmured, kicking a Wish Plot Bunny towards Shiru, who promptly ate it. The Sue's around him looked stunned. Pudding seemed to notice this, and an evil look crossed her face. The monkey's got an idea.
"That's right na no da!" Pudding cried smugly. "If you get too close Shiru will nom your soul na no da!"
Shiru barked and flapped his wings aggressively, drawing himself up to full height and bearing his fangs. While he wasn't as large as he used to be, he looked surprisingly threatening. In fact, some of the Sues around him started to back away.
There was a pause, as if both sides had forgotten what they were doing. Then Shiru unleashed a jet of flame that burned through the ranks of the Sues. The perfect beings turned on their heels and fled, while Shiru burned the ground at their heels.
"Where are you cowards going?" Stephanie demanded. She had run down from her post atop the building and glared in the direction most of the Sues were fleeing. She glared at them, but they were too scared to pay any attention.
"Don't bother." Gemini said smugly. "They aren't coming back no matter what you say."
"Why you!" Stephanie was seething, glaring at him behind long eyelashes.
"They're Relationship Sues." Moon spoke up. "They're created to be the perfect, forever lovers. Without a guy to be with-" she flashed a quick glance at Kish, Ryou and Pai. "-that defies their reason for existing."
Stephanie's expression was dark with rage, as if she were struggling and failing to keep her beautiful face composed. "How dare you!" She screamed. "How dare you get in the way of the Perfect! Mew Mew Superberry, Metamorphosis!"
There was a flash of multicolored light, characteristic to the Mew Mew's usual transformations, and then Stephanie reapperared as Mew Superberry. Her blonde hair had grown twice as long, and a bell like Ichigo's original one appeared in her hand. It was blue and golden. Her dress also looked like Ichigo's, also blue and golden. Her eyes became golden as well.
Despite her obvious power-up, Soulstealer rolled her eyes. "Sorry, I meant Recolor and Copycat Sue. Pathetic."
Apparently, that was a sore spot for Stephanie, because she attacked. The Gatekeepers dove in different directions as she shot a beam right into the center of the room. "Shut up! I'm totally an original character!" She shot a few blasts from her bell, which apparently fired more quickly than Ichigo's.
"Oh really?" Kunex snorted before spin-kicking her to the back of the head. Stephanie was quick on her feet, though, and got up again. She fired her attack once more, and then a strange expression crossed her face. She looked like she was remembering something.
"Oh! Duh! I'm an idiot!" She cried, before pressing a button on her bell. "If you attack me, I'll blow up Ichigo's parents!"
Angel Ichigo's eyes widened, and she halted her own attack. The others stopped up short when they heard there were hostages involved.
"Wow! Dick move there! And I thought you were supposed to be perfect!" Destiny yelled.
Stephanie glowered at him. "All I have to do this push this button, and ka-boom! Got it? And I am perfect! I just can't have opponents!"
"Oh, grow up." Mika snapped.
Stephanie's fingers hovered over the button on her weapon. "Well...?"
Grudgingly, the group took a step back. "That's what I thought. Now if you'll excuse me..." Stephanie started walking towards Shiru, and a muzzle appeared out of nowhere. Shiru growled angrily and took a step backwards, claws scoring the floor.
"You don't have a choice, Shinryu!" The dragon's growl deepened when he heard his old name. "You're going to be my very special pet. And with the Soulless under my command, no one will stop me!"
"You're mad!" Moon spat. "Completely and totally mad!"
"Oh, well, we lost. Enjoy your perfect world, where you don't have any fun because you're constantly being made into a goddess." Ryou spoke up suddenly. His eyes were glowing hotly. "You won't get any privacy because you'll be queen of the world and every guy will try to get in your pants. Your existence will be meaningless, no matter how much you try to fill it up with guys, clothes and purple prose!"
"Shut up!" Stephanie yelled, not turning around. Ryou walked forward until he was standing right behind the Mary-Sue, while the others watched him in astonishment.
"You'll just eat, sleep and flaunt your life away, and after a few thousand years you'll realize that you're an existence leech, and there will be nothing to give you comfort. Evnetually, you'll get so desperate for a thrill that you'll do something stupid that no one will be able to fix. And when everyone comes out from under your spell, you won't even get a gravestone!"
"SHUT UP! IT'S MY PERFECT DREAM!" Stephanie shrieked, spinning around and raising her bell. Ryou seized her by the arms and wrestled the bell free. "GIVE THAT BACK!"
"The world isn't something that can be made into someone's fantasy." Ryou's voice was no higher than a growl. "There are people here who don't want to be subjected to your every whim. You need to wake up." He threw the bell down and crushed it under his boot.
Stephanie let out a scream of rage like a child that had been told no. She lunged at Ryou, but Shiru pounced on her from behind, dragging her off the blonde and quickly dispatching her with his razor-sharp teeth.
"Wow, Ryou. I didn't know you had that in you." Destiny remarked.
"What does that mean?" Ryou asked, not sure if that was a compliment or what. Pudding just cheered and hugged the older boy.
Angel Ichigo darted upstairs, into the control room. Sensing her anxiety, the others followed.
Thankfully, neither parent had been harmed. They were shaken, but otherwise okay. Before anyone could say anything, Moon waved the Blade of the Moon over her head. Both Mr. and Mrs. Momomia vanished.
Angel Ichigo turned around and stared at her. What did you do?
"I sent them home, and put a barrier around their house. They'll be safe now." Moon answered. "I'm sorry, but we'll need to adjust their memory later to explain away the weird things that have been happening lately."
Keep the Net secret. Keep it safe. Angel Ichigo decided, before sighing.
"Nice one, Ryou." Zakuro spoke up. "That...that was good thinking."
"It's not over yet." Gemini said. He, Musica and Angelcake were pulling up a porthole. "Bella and Savannah went on ahead. We need to track them down."
End Chapter
I apologize for my braindead-ness. I couldn't think of anything, and then I decided to write this chapter no matter how horrible it looked. Anyway, that's one Queen Sue down and two to go!
Like it? Hate it? The only way I'll know is if you review!