(A.N./
Chapter Nine is here!
I hope you like the chapter
Review to tell why
Notice: I am currently updating the chapters of this fic in a pattern. If you can tell me what it is, you get...um...first place. And a butterscotch cookie. XD Sorry, I have this freaky obsession with virtual cookies...)
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Ichigo's scream echoed off the stone walls of the alien structure as she fell, creating an intense, dramatic effect. Instantly all of the Mews rushed toward her yelling,
"Ichigo!" Minto was getting ahead due to her flight, and Pudding was taking the spot up behind her with her infinite energy. No one really heard the sound of the chimera animal hitting the floor as they all ran to Ichigo. Zakuro, however, remembered the Blue Knight and split off from Pudding and Minto.
Ichigo's eyes fixed on the ground before her, and she felt something jump inside her. As soon as she did, she unconsciously flipped right-side up. Her cat genes had kicked in.
Unfortunately, Kisshu happened to teleport directly under her in an attempt to catch her. Before he could get out of the way, Ichigo had landed on top of him, her feet pounding his chest as she landed. He gasped in pain and rolled over to his side, gripping his chest.
Ichigo tottered off to one side and tried to regain her balance. Her head was pounding, her senses were dimmed, and she longed for sleep. She was, quite literally, half-conscious. The two Mews crowded around her, asking her if she was alright, and checking for broken bones. Ichigo didn't respond; she just stared blankly in front of her and took deep breaths of air.
At the same time, both Taruto and Pai teleported next to Kisshu, mumbling inaudible curse words under their breath as they examined him. Pai ran a hand over Kisshu's ribs, and heard him gasp. He frowned and turned to Taruto,
"I'm going to give him medical help. In the meantime, I need you to release the prototype chimera animal we've been experimenting on."
Taruto looked at him doubtfully for a moment or two, and then nodded gravely. At that, Pai teleported off with Kisshu.
Zakuro rushed to the Blue Knight's side as he flew to the ground. He had lightened his fall substantially by trying to fly in the opposite direction, but he still had hit the ground. Zakuro called to him, stooping to look at his face,
"Anything broken?" The Blue Knight shook his head and got up, brushing the dust off himself.
"Where's Ichigo?" he asked, "Is she alright?" Zakuro pointed to the three Mews,
"It seems so. You may want to have a look." The Blue Knight nodded and walked over to them, with Zakuro trailing behind.
The shark-like chimera animal rose to its feet, growling, and saw Taruto standing in front of him. Taruto outstretched a hand, summoned his weapon, and aimed it at the chimera animal. The great beast got a notion for what was going on, and was about to lunge onto its master when electricity flew out of Taruto's weapon, striking the chimera animal dead. The parasite and the soul floated came out of the dissolved body, and Taruto took them both.
He summoned a new parasite, it being an eerie, orange-red color. Taking the soul he had used for the shark chimera animal, he recycled it into the new parasite. It glowed a bright red, then Taruto took it with both hands and pressed it into his chest, it dissolving into himself…
The Blue Knight walked over to Ichigo and stooped to her eye level. He examined the blurry, absent look in her eyes and felt her forehead. Frowning, he turned to Zakuro,
"We need to get Mew Lettuce, then head back to the mansion. I am sure that Minto's parents will be returning at any minute." Minto gasped lightly at the realization of how much trouble she would be in if her parents returned to a flooded house, and nodded gravely.
"L-Lettuce…" Ichigo mumbled, stooping to the floor. All eyes were on her as she continued to mumble in a croaky voice, "L-lettuce…door…" Her eyes flickered to the door on one side of the hall.
Zakuro stood up and walked to the door. She aimed her weapon at it and called,
"Ribbon Zakuro Spear!" The impact was followed with a crash, and, amidst in a cloud of dust, Lettuce came tumbling out of the rubble, coughing lightly. The three able Mews rushed to her, calling,
"Lettuce!"
"Lettuce-chan!"
Lettuce smiled at them, but her face turned bleak as she explained quietly,
"I know how to make Ichigo's pendant go back to normal." The Mews listening let out a sigh of relief, and Zakuro handed her Ichigo's pendant. She turned back toward the door and slowly made her way across the blocks of fallen rubble as not to trip. When she reached the interior of the room, she walked to a large machine with the torn wires protruding from it. She set the pendant in a small, pull-out compartment in the machine before pressing a series of small buttons.
The machine whirred for a moment before a green light lit up on the side. Lettuce opened the small compartment and took out the pendant. She gasped lightly, though, when she found it to be extremely hot. Dropping it on the floor with a small 'plink', she whimpered to herself, waving her hand in the air to cool it down.
Zakuro came over to her and stooped to the pendant, blowing on it before picking it up gingerly. She carried it back to where the other Mews were standing, Lettuce following right behind her.
Zakuro handed the pendant to the Blue Knight, nodding to him. They seemed to have their own personal way of communicating without speaking, like they could read each other's minds.
Suddenly, a bright red light shone out from a few yards away where Taruto was. They all turned to look, but only Taruto was there when the light dimmed.
Before they knew what was happening, Taruto had teleported and was gone. The Blue Knight and the Mews looked around for him, but they didn't see him as he snuck up behind Minto. He smirked mischievously to himself before giving Minto a heavy shove. Her eyes widened, then closed. When they opened again, they were a dim, scarlet red, but they quickly faded back to blue. Taruto, in turn, quickly teleported once again.
The Mews and Blue Knight crowded around Minto, but she didn't immediately respond. When she did, she spoke in a slightly high-pitched voice,
"I'm fine, really. Let's get back to the…mansion." Zakuro exchanged looks with the Blue Knight before nodding,
"That seems like a good idea."
Zakuro readied her Zakuro Spear and took a wide slash at the air, calling,
"Ribbon Zakuro Spear!" She formed a wide gap in the air, but, before she could step through, a gush of water came pouring out of the hole. The Mews and Blue Knight, who was holding Ichigo, jumped out of the way to avoid the small river that was gushing out of the hole.
Pudding peered through curiously and gasped,
"The whole upstairs is flooded, na do da!" she shrieked. Lettuce grimaced, turning to Minto,
"Minto-san, w-what are your parents going to do about the damage to the house? What should we do?" Pudding shook her head and paced around Minto in a circle,
"Don't you have, like, a bazillion dollars in the bank, na do da? Anyway, you can probably come up with an excuse, na do da. I'd bet they'd buy that the house just flooded 'cause the basement was clogged, na do da!" Minto nodded,
"Yes, well, that's a very good idea, Pudding. Good job." Pudding grinned widely and began to jump around, yelling,
"Al-right, na do da! I did it, na do da!" Lettuce wrung her hands and spoke up,
"Um, well…that doesn't really explain how to…get all of the water out…" Zakuro shook her head,
"We don't need to get all of it out. We just need to slow it down until Minto's parents return, then Minto can deliver the story about the flooded basement accurately." Pudding spoke,
"But what about all the places where the water's coming out now, na do da? Won't the plumbers notice the pipes being broken and stuff, na do da?"
There was a small silence before the Blue Knight spoke for the first time in a while,
"That is exactly our challenge. In your Mew forms it should not be as difficult, but we need to repair all of the broken places in the pipes, turn off faucets, and so on." Pudding groaned,
"Aww man, na do da. That's no fun, na do da," Zakuro was about to counter her before Pudding spoke again, "I wish the aliens hadn't made such a mess in the first place, na do da."
Everyone silently agreed with her.
The Blue Knight stole another glance to the hyperventilating Ichigo he was carrying before nodding to Zakuro. He jumped through the hole Zakuro had opened and motioned for the other Mews to do the same. One by one, they jumped through the hole and waded into the river until only Zakuro was left. With a quick dash and a flick of her whip, she jumped through the portal and closed it behind her, leaving no Mews ever to return to the alien dimension.
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Taruto leaned over the cot the unconscious Kisshu was lying on, examining the place in his ribs that he had fractured. He narrowed his eyes and looked to Pai, who seemed in a daze as he stared off into nowhere.
"Oi, Pai," Taruto said. Pai snapped out of his trance and looked down at Taruto casually. The smaller alien continued, "Do you think that releasing the chimera animal on the Mews is such a great idea?" Pai's expression flickered to doubt for a moment before he said,
"Yes, I am sure. As the chimera animal moves through the bodies of the girls, it will collect valuable data by invading their dormant mind. This is crucial to our future mission, and will provide us with more of an advantage than we previously had." Taruto blew a hair out of his face and crossed his arms,
"Well, yeah, but the thing's still in development! We haven't been able to run any tests on it, so what if something goes wrong?"
"Nothing will go wrong," Pai insisted, "Even if something would, which is highly unlikely, what do we have to lose? I doubt any errors will arise in the prototype, since it will require one of us aliens to remove the parasite from the infected Mew. It is virtually flawless, that is, with the cooperation of you two…" Taruto rolled his eyes,
"Sure, sure. Like I'd actually interfere. I'm just worried about him," he shrugged his head in Kisshu's direction, "…but I don't think he'll be going anywhere soon." Pai nodded grimly,
"All the better, then." Taruto smirked and narrowed his eyes,
"All the better."
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(A.N./ I am honestly trying my hardest NOT to be to cliche here. The chimera animal is a prototype of the one in epside 39, where a similar, more improved one appears and attacks the Mews. This one has the similar abilities of possessing the Mews, but travels from one to the other instead of sticking in one. It also has nothing to do with dream-manipulating, throwing them into an alternate dimension, or Kisshu coming and rescuing them (maybe). -cough- Anyway, I'd love to hear feedback on this chapter, everyone!)