Assassin Drones: The original saga
Fuyuki's training Arc. De Arimasu!
By Alex Young
The Hinata residence, 3:00 pm. April fools day, 2003
It's been one year since Fuyuki began going out with Momoka regularly. Feeling nostalgic, he was clad in his light blue dress shirt, navy slim tie, light gray dress pants, black belt, and black dress shoes as he headed downstairs for Momoka with Natsumi in toe. Once more, they headed off with Momoka in the limo for the sightseeing tour, as was done exactly one year ago today.
Kululu's computer room, 11:40 pm
"It is I, Space delivery man Kyorara, giving you a top secret document, because EX.W.A.T.I. keeps intercepting our transmissions to Pekopon." A cobalt blue on sky blue keronian with a mail symbol on his belly and white bandana named Kyorara declared as he casually handed the mail to Kululu.
"Kukuku, thanks for your assistance." Kululu replied. "It's nuttin, really. Besides, the Pekoponians may be vulnerable, but they're not stupid, just so you're aware." Kyorara then stated as he left on his space moped for Keron.
"Nibiru-san needs to hear about this." Kululu sneered glowering at the document as he translated the entirety of which into Japanese, and downloaded it onto Nabiki's laptop. Nabiki then woke, got dressed, and faxed it directly to Toramasa for pick up come tomorrow.
Toramasa's living quarters, 9:35 am. April 2, 2003
"May good tidings cometh to ye now and forever! For the days of April art surely come, no?" Kuno bombed flamboyantly as he made his usual entrance in front of Toramasa Kobayakawa, where a copy of the document concerning Jirara's wanted poster belied.
Little did Kuno know that Toramasa also had connections within EX.W.A.T.I.'s Z intelligence committee, albeit at the lower end of the spectrum. The document is to be sent off at the higher ends of the spectrum for review, and ultimately by EX.W.A.T.I. High Command itself.
He printed out one copy of the document for Kuno's viewing pleasure. "GAAH, FIE! OH LORD ALMIGHTY! I HAD NO IDEA THAT YET ANOTHER FROG DEMON SUCH AS THIS BE RESPONSIBLE FOR GIVING RANMA SAOTOME AN INTANGIBLE EDGE AGAINST US ALL!" Kuno shouted at the top of his lungs before storing the document in his clothes and heading off for class.
EX.W.A.T.I.'s North American headquarters in the Pentagon, 8:00 pm. April 3, 2003
Jirara had been called to a very important meeting within the Pentagon by someone known as "the Adviser," and he made his way into their office located directly beneath the main building.
"Well well, Jirara. I certainly hope to acquaint you." The Adviser spoke. "It's about that wanted poster, isn't it? Well let me clarify with you on that." Jirara replied as he brought himself to explain what's really going on.
"The government of Keron has unfairly branded me a traitor and a criminal because I found out somethings about their darkest secrets that they didn't want me to know. I've also since come and stolen some of their technologies as well in my rebellion against them." Jirara elucidated speaking another side to him being a wanted criminal.
"Here you are." He said as he presented all the documents concerning some of Keron High Command's more illegal black projects, including mind control, weaponized diseases, childhood PTSD torture, and the like. "I see! No wonder you and your unit has enlisted in EX.W.A.T.I.'s ranks. Thank you for your time." The Adviser declared sending Jirara back to whatever he was doing before.
The Tendo residence, 4:00 pm. April 4, 2003
Ranma traded one blow after another with Fuyuki, but this time using assassin magic to aid in the former's own fighting skills, and to push the latter ever further into becoming stronger.
Jirara was watching the action unfold from the roof top of the Tendo dojo, but to abate a gut feeling he had ever since he made landfall about a year ago. "Zeroro. I just know that you and I will reunite in mortal combat, soon." Jirara uttered in silence.
Happosai was sitting in his room minding his own business with the scorpion bra in his possession. This was Akane's way of saying that as far as the events of yesterday were concerned, he could have it.
About a week ago today, Jirara and Happosai have struck an uneasy, if not extremely fragile truce. So far, this truce seems to be holding, much to Soun's and Genma's relief, thus leaving them to focus on getting both of their unruly heirs hitched into marriage.
However, unbeknownst to either of the patriarchs, Happosai had just begun hatching a rather insidious plot to get rid of Jirara for good. "What are you up to, master?" Soun queried curiously as he peeked through the door to Happosai's room
"Oh, never mind." He sighed resignedly as he closed the door, resuming whatever business he was attending to shortly thereafter, leaving Happosai to flesh out the rest of his dastardly plan for Jirara.
At the outskirts of the Nishizawa Manor, 10:00 pm
Their home rebuilt, and the Nishizawa radio antenna rebuilt and upgraded since Gial's landfall, Dororo and Koyuki have both turned in for the night. Happosai, thinking that he's stumbled into an adolescent treasure trove, snuck in through the window.
Dororo, having woken up from a bad dream concerning Jirara as a spider, caught Happosai in the act just in the nick of time. "Explain yourself, old man! Why are you here?" Dororo lectured curtly as he grappled Happosai by his left ankles.
"If you let me go, I'll explain." Happosai replied flatly as Dororo let him go to hear the old freak's story. "You see, the thing is, my story concerns this goddamn snake oil sales-frog named Jirara." Happosai began to Dororo's surprise.
"He's the one that orchestrated the attack on this here mansion, as per an attempt on your life." Happosai added pinning Gial's breaking and entering into the aforementioned mansion on Dororo's old master; Jirara.
This was highly instrumental to Happosai's master plan to see Jirara dead and gone for good, so that he has free reign over the Tendo residence. Unbeknownst to Happosai however, Jirara was already listening in, and so was Gial for that matter, albeit on the opposite side.
"Hmph, so that's it! Trying to convince Zeroro to want to kill me early on. My, how foolish and lowly of you." Jirara sneered quietly before heading off. Koyuki woke up rubbing her eyes against her left forearm, dressed up in full ninja garb, and stepped outside to see what was going on.
Koyuki scanned the environment around her when she spotted Gial hiding in the bushes. Thinking Gial was back to cause more destruction, Koyuki tossed several thin icicles and shuriken at him as he beat a hasty retreat.
"Oh no you don't, sonny!" Happosai snarled as he leapt in from behind Koyuki to pursue Gial as the latter fled. Happosai had chased Gial far beyond Momoka's security border when Raikoume, Kamikase, Miezoen, and Moaghen popped out from various thickets to corner him.
Aoryuzen dropped in once his subordinates have surrounded the old lecher. A pair of mantis blades slid out from under his forearms as he engaged the Mantis Vector. Slowly but surely, he raised one of them about to strike at Happosai, and kill him, too.
"Did you come here because you want to die?" Aoryuzen threatened glaring at the perverted old coot to back it up. "No! Please! Don't kill me! I've got a really freaking good reason why!" Happosai pleaded with arms clasped and on his knees begging for mercy.
"Then what is it? Tell me why I shouldn't simply rip you apart right away?" Aoryuzen replied still glaring at Happosai and raising his weapon even further. "I-It's that no good double crosser, Jirara!" Happosai then blurted out with tears running down his face.
Finally, not sure whether or not its crocodile tears running down his would be victim's face, he lunged at Happosai. "You better be lucky that I missed." Aoryuzen hissed as he lowered his weapons and retracted them into his forearms. Scared out of his wits, Happosai then proceeded to hand Aoryuzen the document he stole from Kululu a while back.
"Hmph! Jirara, eh? I haven't seen the guy in like 50 years! Maybe it's time we tested Gial and Gaedool out on that ratbastard, and put him out of his misery once and for all!" Aoryuzen declared branding Jirara a threat to his hive mind capture initiative to Happosai's liking, therefore setting yet another component of the old lecher's master plan in motion.
Somewhere in the East China Sea, 3:00 am. April 5, 2003
An aircraft looking like a Sukhoi Su-33 Flanker in urban camouflage took off from a newly launched Russian STOVL carrier. This aircraft would come to be called the Sukhoi Su-36 Laguna, an electronic warfare variant of the Flanker from which it derived.
This was followed up by another, and another, and still another. This was actually part of a much larger joint war game between Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, designed to fake a perceived internecine conflict, to get any alien forces to come out of hiding in a surprise attack.
It would be at that moment, that their trap would be sprung, and the combined forces would launch their attack. All the while, Aoryuzen seems to be calling their bluff from within the safety of the Rapier.
"Remember, this war game is just a ploy to lure us out into the open." Aoryuzen lectured of his squad mates. "Not to worry, I have something else in mind for them. That's where the frogs come in to play, as well as the berserkers and Hazu the Nightstalker." He reassured as he set out to divert EX.W.A.T.I. yet again in his endeavor to see the hive mind captured and Jirara eliminated.
The Tendo dojo, 4:40 pm
After yet another exhausting training session with Ranma, Fuyuki and his sensei went back in for their obligatory meal break a la Kasumi. This was when Jirara's gut feeling intensified once more, compelling him to step forward.
"Ranma. There's something I would like to discuss with both you and your apprentice, in private!" Jirara hissed urgently citing the sensitivity of the matter at hand. After having finished their meals and submitted their dirty dishes to the kitchen sink, Ranma and Fuyuki accepted the offer, and thus they both went with Jirara into the dojo.
"I'm sure you're both wondering why I'm bringing this to your attention." Jirara began sitting cross-legged at the dojo floor. "It's concerning a former student of mine by the name of Zeroro. Apparently, he simply didn't want to get caught up in the controversy surrounding my exposing the Keronian government's heinous, despicable black projects program for what it truly is." The Assassin Magic master continued.
"Neither did Zoruru for that matter, but that's not what's important here. What is important is that I have been branded an enemy of the state because of this. Therefore, Zeroro has set out on an attempt on my life!" Jirara concluded. "However, this secret organization known as EX.W.A.T.I. as taken me and my assassin unit in as their operatives." Jirara added.
"Whatever it takes to show the bureaucrats on Keron the errors of its ways, to make them own up to what they have done, to make them repent for their sins." Jirara finished. "In short, you two are gonna join Jirara sensei, and embark on a very special mission with us." Tarara summarized.
"Shut up, Tarara." Dasasa sneered elbowing his companion on the forearm. "Anyways, with all that said and done, let's head 'em up and move 'em out!" Jirara declared as Ranma and Fuyuki set out to join him knowing that neither of them would have school anyways on that day.
"Whatever you do Fuyuki, just follow me, kay?" Ranma ordered. "Okay." Fuyuki replied as both jumped in coming with Jirara one after the other. Ranma with Fuyuki in toe, hopped along the rooftops with Jirara on Fuyuki's first ever mission along side the Assassin unit X1.
{I see! So, you're applying your lessons learned as an assassin into training your apprentice, Fuyuki.} Jirara huffed with a respectful glint in his left eyelet. Finally, Ranma, Fuyuki, and X1 all made it safely into a small base camp along the borders of the Nishizawa mansion.
"Greetings. For this mission, Radon and the Daikage cell will scout out the landscape and alert you of any potential ambushes. You will all move on ahead behind the advance scouts, clearing a gateway for landing craft as they advance further inland." The mobile command A.I. unit Dubbed a "War Chief" debriefed presenting the paths to be taken during the scouting phase of the operation.
"This directive is to be observed effective Sunday midnight, April 7, 2003. For the moment, you all must prepare your weapons and tactics, and rest up for the forthcoming joint assault mission codename: Diprotodon. Understand?" The War Chief A.I. prompted curtly. A swift "Roger!" was Jirara's only reply before they all turned in for the night.
Keroro's room, 1:00 pm. April 6, 2003
Keroro was in his room playing with his gundam models and doing them up as usual, when an uncomfortably familiar feeling crept up the little green sarge's spine. It was Gial, nay, Aoryuzen slinking along the ceiling.
Keroro shrieked in terror as Aoryuzen jumped down on all fours. "May I have a word with a certain someone? I'm to that referring to that 'other' someone, too." Aoryuzen requested making it clear that he was talking about Dororo, and that he wanted to see him.
"S-Sure! He's in the meditation garden, thinking things through." Keroro replied showing Aoryuzen the way into the mini fridge. \Hey, Sarge! You sure you should be-/ "No need to worry, corporal! I'll be just fine." Keroro hushed an untrusting Giroro who was over his comm channel conversing with his superior.
"Aaaand, viola!" The sarge declared as he presented Dororo's meditation garden, Aoryuzen taking him up on the offer. "Say. Dororo. May I have a word with you?" Aoryuzen broached patiently.
"You see. About your old master, Jirara. He had just reformed X1 with two new members about two years ago in secret, and are now working for EX. .I. as a few of their operatives." Aoryuzen stated after Dororo had consented to listen.
"They're plotting to build this superweapon to have planet Keron destroyed in a blink of an eye." Aoryuzen forewarned as he presented some forged blueprints of the superweapon in question.
"DA FROG!? DO THEY KNOIW WHAT THEY'RE FROGGING DEALING WITH!? I WON'T ALLOW IIIIIT!" Keroro screeched in the hallways. "Angol Mois. Get dressed in your stewardess outfit and prepare our transport." Keroro ordered growling under his breath.
"Right away, Uncle Keroro." Mois replied urgently with a salute as all parties, and later Aoryuzen rushed into the QSC transport, buckled up, and took off at the street runway, leaving Dororo behind to go out on his own and discuss the matter with Koyuki.
Into the backwoods, 12:01 am. April 7, 2003
It was the earliest hour of EX.W.A.T.I. joint assault mission, codename: Diprotodon, and Ranma was up after getting a lot of sleep. Fuyuki and Jirara were also up not seconds later.
"Zanana! Horara! You go this way. The rest of you go this way! Ranma! Fuyuki! Keep your distance, but follow me in case I need reinforcements!" Jirara ordered cutting straight to the chase as the group split up into three smaller groups in three deviating directions.
The Daikage cell were already hoofing it in their EJ-20k powered Subaru impreza fast attack rally raider complete with lift kit, floodlights, and bulletproofing all around.
The M.A.D. mesh network system as to be left behind for base defense purposes. Almost two hours later, a new foe had entered the battlefront, known as a Black Hunter, and had already begun eying the rally raider.
At one of a multitude of hidden missile batteries dotting the landscape at the other side, Recruit Tororo was at the controls ready to fire at will. \Heh, looks like DJ Lazarus and his conspiracy radio show announced the attack to be headed your way. So I'd make it quick in response if I were you, Toro-san./ Toramasa warned.
"No problem, I already figured them out right from the start. Pupupuuuuuu. Fire away." Tororo sniggered naughtily as he clicked on several red squares, thereby triggering one of many missiles from each to fire.
The few elements of Kamui that were to be found in the Don Viper gang joined the Keronians in battling EX.W.A.T.I. having struck a temporary non-aggression pact with the Vipers' most hated enemies.
This was because the Keronians were smart about giving their identities away to anyone, not ones to trust the Vipers with any of their intel. Each of the missiles that were launched featured a single, ominous, blood red eye in the center within a triangular, clam shell like aperture that looked like a part way open mouth.
Most of the airborne missiles were either shut down by the Lagunas' electronic warfare strikes, or shot down on sight. Leave it to the A.I.A.M.S. (Artificial Intelligence controlled Aerial and Missile defense System) for cleaning the skies of those missiles.
However, there were a few that avoided either fate, and landed. Strange, they didn't explode like all the rest of the missiles that have landed so far. There must be a logical explanation for it.
The missiles were still very active, as could be seen by two pairs of insectoid legs deploying at the sides, touching the ground, and pulling the entire munition out before pivoting it forwards.
The legs straightened themselves out just prior to moving on ahead in search of its enemies. This was no ordinary missile, rather it was a Mecha Missile. They are every bit as lethal in the air as any other missile, but even more so on the ground, and if need be, underwater.
Another example of assassin drone technology trickling down into Keronian hands, the Mecha Missile is but one of many weapons systems used against EX.W.A.T.I. in a valiant effore to defeat and ultimately humiliate them.
Thankfully, Radon the Daikage cell both slipped in behind enemy lines just prior to the missile launch undetected. Although, there was still the ever pursuing, and ever bloodthirsty Black Hunter to be concerned about.
One of the Mecha Missiles was out and about awaiting the enemy. It folded one of the leg tips in to reveal a pair of retractable machine guns, firing off into absolutely nothing whatsoever.
It was to test whether or not the guns were actually working, and they were. The clam shell opened wide to reveal the eye coming out attached to a metallic, tongue like appendage, swiveling and flexing about for surveillance.
The Mecha Missile suddenly began to contort its own body over so as to compensate for the blindspot behind it. Daikgae himself was hiding in a bush right next to the missile like robot as it contorted back into original position.
As soon as he was discovered, the robot opened the clam shell mouth, and fired its optical blade laser, slicing several trees in half. Daikage dodged the beam in one piece, save for some badly singed hair as he clambered up onto it, and stabbed in the back of the head with his ninjato.
In an instant, the Mecha Missile that Daikage had slain, would be one of the very first casualties soon after daybreak as it simply dropped dead. \Oh no! Ambush!/ Ryosuke cried in the intercom as Daikage rushed to his teammates' assistance.
In another area, Tatewaki Kuno, Ryoga Hibiki, and Mousse were still on the hunt for Ranma Saotome. Although, Kuno's walking along the road all by himself, or so it would appear.
Another Mecha Missile, the one from before, confronted Kuno, with a Venostriker and a pair of Shadow Blades for associates. "It would appear as though I am severely outnumbered and outmatched." Kuno began.
"Rest assured, need I remind you all that I can quite literally have you pinned down at the twitch of my nose?" Kuno stated as he twitched his nose, and out came Mousse's chains, iron balls, shuriken, kunai, and kusarigamas.
"That, and I can also literally kill you all dead at the blink of the eyes." Kuno added as he blinked, heralding the arrival of a super massive lion's roar wave shot from Ryoga, propelling every one of them on a collision course with the next volley of missiles.
The mass had blitzed a few of them, knocking them out of the sky, with the A.I.A.M.S./electronic warfare combo sweeping up a good chunk of it. Much like with the first volley, few have made it down, one of them directly into and destroying an A.I.A.M.S. defense node, apparently surviving the impact.
A lot further away from the raging battleground still early in the morning at 6:06 am, Dororo, clad in his X1 assassin outfit, was sitting on a stump discussing the matter with Koyuki, although a few distant explosions and gunshots could be heard from here.
"Let me tell you a story about my past, when I still called myself Zeroro. I was part of a fearsome unit back in the day." Dororo began. "An assassin unit?" Koyuki pondered in reply.
"Though it was just comprised of assassins, it was the best there was and our enemies had every right to dread the mere mention of the unit's name. It was known as the assassin corps - X1!" Dororo paused.
"Many terrible, nay, unspeakably horrendous things said to have one's hair stand straight up happened among us. Aside from adhesion to a stringent code of conduct, we would often greet each other by trying to kill each other. One could say that it's a group where members often do succeed in killing the other." Dororo resumed.
"Killing each other?" Koyuki pondered once more. "You've probably heard a story from Mois about how Mousse faced off against another former member back during the siege of Namibia, correct?" Dororo added.
"It was all fine and dandy, just another day at the office. That was, until all of a sudden, without any explanation whatsoever, Captain Jirara broke into the government headquarters, killing any politicians whom he believed corrupted the system, after having robbed them of some particularly sensitive documents." Dororo compounded cringing at the trauma that it induced later on.
"I didn't want to have any bad blood on my hands, so I left X1 and joined up with my current platoon; Keroro's A.R.M.P.I.T. platoon. I've been anticipating this final showdown between me and him ever since." Dororo stated during his build up.
"Now, rumor has it that Jirara also casually handed the blueprints for a terrible super weapon to EX.W.A.T.I. in order to destroy Keron once and for all! Finally, as long as he and X1 exist with all their sketchy loyalties, Pekopon is done for, too!" Dororo finished repeating the lie told to him by Aoryuzen.
"It's only going to get worse from there, so don't follow me, alright?" Dororo warned as he bounded off to confront Jirara, one last time. After what felt like several hours, being only 45 minutes, Koyuki would eventually follow him.
\Gial. Gaedool. Follow her, as she'll lead us right to our prey./ Aoryuzen hissed exhorting of his cohorts to trail Koyuki in her disobedient, yet concerned pursuit. Come 6:36 am, things would really heat up as Zane and the Stinger squadron rushed forth into battle.
This was not before several flights of F-22A Raptors, AH-91A Blue Devils, and RQH-6A Dire Wolves crossed the enemy's air defense zone. Yet another variant of the Apache sounded its telltale harsh whirring in aid of the X1 Assassin corps.
The AH-64X1 Assassin helicopter gunship is a special, limited edition variant tailored uniquely to X1's tastes. It featured all the stealth upgrades of the Stalker, but with more thrust, a nose mounted M556 Gatling gun, a more advanced A.E.S.A. radar, and a seamless connection to Jirara's comm channel.
Another aircraft tailor made for X1 blitzed its way into the battle, this time a dogfighter. It's the F-22X1 Assassin Raptor! This aerial assassin has but one major advantage over the aircraft that it's based on; the ability to use a pair of turret mounted laser swords from its wing tips.
This entailed modifying the thrust vectoring system with a pair of canards, along with the wing tips themselves (out of necessity by the way) so that they can rotate up or down to increase the laser swords' reach and damage.
It's also longer so as to accommodate a larger fuel tank for some of these, more fuel taxing aerial maneuvers conducted during swordplay. That, along with the engines being upgraded for a leaner burning of fuel.
Other than that, it can still use all the same weapons that it's progenitor has so as to reduce R&D costs. The same B-2B missile trucks that the Stinger squadron employs can also be used by the Assassin Raptors to shoot down targets it paints as well.
Raikoume and Kamikase have donned some new battle packs called Manda packs, which cave their bodies the appearances of cobra hoods. The Manda pack was designed and developed by a Mechadrone faction called the Venom warlords.
It was in response to a crisis they had back during the fourth Mechadrone war when they were being boxed in by another Mechadrone faction, the Southerncross Generals to the east, and the Keronian army to the north.
The Manda pack not only gave their fighter pilots an edge in maneuverability, speed, and firepower over their enemies on their home turf, but it also gave them an odd resemblance the the Keronian's most hated enemies; the Vipers.
Ironically enough, that in turn spawned the X1 Assassin corps, who could keep up with and combat the Venom warlords. So, they hired Aoryuzen and Alpha 134 to deal with X1, which in turn should help to explain their fierce, if not savage rivalry.
In short, Raikoume and Kamikase were the only two as of now that could ever hope to keep up with the Assassin Raptors and Assassin helicopter gunships in terms of maneuverability.
Zane and his Stinger squadron were just as much of a problem for them if not bigger because their maneuverability is comparable to that of the Assassin Raptors, and there are going to be a lot more where they came from.
Back on the ground, Aoryuzen himself was tailing Gial and Gaedool to ensure things go smoothly after a string of failures in his absence. "You two can go on ahead now, I think I found who we're looking for." Aoryuzen ordered silently as Gial and Gaedool heeded his word and rushed out to where he believed Jirara was located.
Dororo stood there at the clearing where Daikage killed a Mecha Missile, with its corpse still lying there on the ground, locked in a stare down between himself and Jirara. "I never thought we'd have to face each other in this war of Assassins, Zeroro." Jirara lamented.
"Alright, Captain Jirara! Why are you doing this?" Dororo questioned. "I ought to ask the same exact question of yourself, Zeroro." Jirara replied. "For instance, did you know that that wretched old man, Happosai had orchestrated this?" He added citing Happosai's involvement in this confrontation.
"Also as I am about to tell you, I had a feeling that the bureaucrats back at Keron were up to something, so I investigated and revealed something that you may find most disconcerting. Read these papers and see the truth of the matter for yourself." Jirara requested as he flung copies of each one of the original documents stolen by him.
"Tell me. Does the word 'mind control' ring a bell anywhere? How would you feel about the fact that you've been repeatedly traumatized for the sake of torture? Do you remember anyone who died of highly aggressive, mysterious illnesses by any chance? Do you see now why I rebelled against them for it?" Jirara queried disgusted with his government for all the actions cited.
"I didn't know. What they have done is unforgivable, but I won't let you destroy all of Keron for it either!" Dororo spat back citing the forged super weapon blueprint that Aoryuzen showed him.
"One more thing, Zeroro. Did you know that the blueprint you have in your hand is actually forged by Aoryuzen himself? EX.W.A.T.I. holds no such record of a weapon like that! It's because they don't actually intend to destroy Keron at all, but rather to teach its bureaucrats a lesson they won't ever forget." Jirara defended calling Aoryuzen's ruse.
"Before we fight to the death, another thing. I know you're hiding somewhere around here, Pekoponian! Come on out!" Jirara barked, with Koyuki's reply being to throw her trade mark icicles at him, who deflected with his left hand waving it off.
"Big D! I was worried that this guy had hurt you! Or worse, Killed you!" Koyuki exclaimed in concern for Dororo's life. "If I were to die right now, so be it. I did tell you not to follow me, didn't I?" Dororo lectured sternly.
"Oh, how adorable! Assassin super magic: Shadow Doll!" Jirara replied as one laser from each of his three unblinking eyelets, making contact with Koyuki as her head, chest, and then shadow in succession, possessing her completely!
"What in the!? K-K-Koyuki!?" Dororo shuddered at the prospect of having to kill his own student and partner as she turned to face him with the same glaring color eyes as Jirara's eyelets; a sinisterly dark shade of red!
Jirara had been working on and perfecting his shadow doll technique while he was watching Moaghen with his mind control strikes. Koyuki closed in on Dororo, before freezing him in place to deliver a death blow by impalement.
"Mantis Vector, active." That voice that Jirara heard inside of her, one that was not heard in a long time, rushed in to Dororo's "rescue" as he clashed with his shadow doll Koyuki, disarmed her, and very swiftly pinned her to the ground on the chest with his left talon!
"If you yourself would think this whole 'superweapon' business to be a total ruse, then you'd be right. However, you called me out too little too late! I already have you right where I want you, now do me a favor and say goodbye to Dororo for me will you, Jirara?" Aoryuzen sneered as he was about to deliver his deadly parting gift.
All of a sudden, a burst of energy knocked him in the lower jaw, forcibly releasing her from his grasp. The sheer force of said physical energy burst knocked Aoryuzen sideways into entire thickets full of trees, plowing them down along the way. "Who did that!?" Aoryuzen snarled angered at this act of interference as he struggled himself back up and was set to lash out at the interloper in question
"Nobody gets in my way." The aggressor in question, Venono snarled back through the thick black smoke before turning to face, and attempt to kill Dororo. This was when the latter found himself streaking to the side thrust forward by and clashing with Venono this time, leaving Aoryuzen to deal with the possessed Koyuki.
Alas, she too had disappeared in the blackness, leaving an afterimage for the bewildered assassin drone commander to behold. "Damn, Jirara. You're good." Aoryuzen spat as he set off into the bamboo forest cutting it up along the way.
Aoryuzen exuded more and more rage taken with every breath through his reptilian nostrils as he cleared a path for himself. Suddenly, he spotted a humanoid mecha robot at yet another clearing, lopsided and badly crippled as it struggled just to get up. "Hm. One of the first weapons to be issued by EX.W.A.T.I.; the M424A1 Beowulf unmanned humanoid weapons platform." Aoryuzen paused.
"Wonder what this one's doing out here?" Aoryuzen pondered for a moment before slashing it in half at the torso with his zweihander, and curb stomping its head flat, permanently incapacitating it in an instant. Aoryuzen gave the mechanical carcass a good pat down before turning it over to the side to reveal something very interesting.
"Ah, yes! The very last weapon to be issued in 2000 by EX.W.A.T.I.'s predecessor, the Next Generation Task Force; the M31A1 Mastodon miniature ballistic missile propelled grenade launcher rifle. I could use one of those!" Aoryuzen purred before ripping the weapon and its ammo compartment from the Beowulf's left arm socket.
The weapon itself came out unharmed from this, and a few nuts and bolts being taken out and with a push button trigger inserted after some wiring was to be done. "I'll consider it done. Now to go out hunting." Aoryuzen muttered in determination after cocking the huge gun and bolting the electronic trigger at the side with some more brackets.
"A huntin' we will go! A huntin' we will go!" Aoryuzen tuned to himself in his pursuit of Jirara walking along a quieter area of the battlefield. One quick whiff was enough to make Aoryuzen stop, as though interested. He stuck his nostrils up in the air, taking in more gulps of air into his tongue with every breath.
Suddenly, he heard the telltale rumble of some Challenger and M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks, and turned his big fucking gun in their direction. It was at that very moment that he opened fire. *KPHUNK!* The Mastodon gun launched one of several rounds, with Aoryuzen having tricked its weapons guidance system ino thinking they're the enemy.
*BANG!* *POW!* *KABLOOEY!* Several of the vehicles were destroyed by the very weapon their operators helped to develop within their own borders. What's more ironic that with Aoryuzen's lethal guile, the system advanced as it was, was easily tricked into working for him and not blowing him up.
"Now, for a rain check on some unfinished business." Aoryuzen smirked as he resumed his pursuit in the direction where the scent originated. Out on a dirt path somewhere in the eye of the storm, Koyuki, still under Jirara's influence, thought up a plan.
{Now that I remember, Happosai does have this rather shameful infatuation for young girls such as this one.} Jirara mused inside of Koyuki as wouldn't you know it, Happosai clad in a khaki suit and tie and a brown fedora was riding on the back of a bucking Mecha Missile.
"Hey there, little man. Catch me if you can." Koyuki invited cordially of Happosai, with Mecha Missile in toe, jumped at the chance to grope her, only to have her disappear and reappear at another tree, causing the latter to crash into the tree she was on before.
Koyuki began to lead the way for Happosai as he transformed the Mecha Missile from insect mode to missile mode in a hot and highly passionate pursuit. Fast as she was through the trees, she simply couldn't shake Happosai, with his dogged determination and his steed's speed at mach 7.
Gial jumped from a bush beneath the missile, and sliced in half with his vorpal plasma blade. Koyuki's arms and legs were each cuffed to a wooden stake with half a chain link at the top and forcibly splayed outwards. "I shouldn't have to do this to a young maiden, but I can't help it, neither!" Happosai then lamented as he went straight between Koyuki's legs and dived right in.
Gial and Gaedool felt absolutely confused, yet powerless to do anything but watch as Happosai went straight to work on her figure. The two then decided to kill their time by playing tic tac toe with each other.
\Gial! Gaedool! Now's your chance!/ Aoryuzen barked as Gial and Gaedool closed in on Happosai once he was done. "Ah, yes! Now to kill that JIWHOAOOAOAOAOAAAAAAGH!" Happosai screeched as Gial savaged him to oblivion flailing him around in his jaws. Gaedool caught Happosai by the claws, and flung him out into the sky!
Gial and Gaedool then went after Koyuki next, who Jirara released from his control at the last possible second upon having her escape. Koyuki continued her retreat to find Dororo and to provide assistance to him in doing battle with Venono.
Aoryuzen, obviously returning to the business of getting rid of Jirara, aimed his gun, and fired several of its munitions in his direction. Jirara dodged time and again, infuriating Aoryuzen to no end. Aoryuzen's black cape then hardened into a shield as Jirara tossed a slash bomb in his direction.
A direct hit, but Aoryuzen's safe and sound! Though, that made him all the more itching to retaliate. We then realize that his zweihander is part gun blade as he pulled a detachable Magnum revolver's trigger.
Aoryuzen is exceptionally strong for his size as he lifted his zweihander and quickly slashed the landscape to pieces with it without breaking any sweat. What's more is that he didn't even look remotely fatigued even after all that swinging and cutting.
That being said, he did need to take a smallish pause every now and then when using it, but can seamlessly jump right back into what he was doing before. It didn't matter all that much as Aoryuzen kept on pulling the Mastodon's trigger, that is until he ran fresh out of ammo, and it certainly didn't help that Jirara cut the barrel in half with his clawed hands.
"Shit!" Aoryuzen spat growling as he catapulted himself upwards to avoid a potentially fatal slash to his persoality core, discarding the damaged and empty weapon in the process. "Mantis Vector, ACTIVE!" Aoryuzen snarled as he took yet another downward swing at Jirara in engaging his Mantis Vector, making for an original scene transition when Daikage slashed into a Kamui terrorist guerrilla.
Several Shadow Blades and Galluds were about to get the drop on him when Ryosuke and Radon rushed to his rescue in pelting them all with 00 buckshot. The Black Hunter that was pursuing them was nowhere to be found, but they found themselves in some deep kimchi as they along with some JSDF and Blood Scorpion soldiers fired bullet after bullet, killing several with several more pouring in.
The Mecha Missiles proved the hardest to kill as they closed their clam shells every time a bullet approached its one eye. Suddenly, a sniper's bullet traveled through all the forest, denting one of the Mecha Missiles' clam shell armor valves.
The Mecha Missiles turned their attention towards the side of Mt. Fuji, where the sniper was supposedly at. As though all at once, the Mecha Missiles that were surrounding them, started to transform back into missiles and boost themselves in the sniper's direction.
It was an elderly looking Mechadrone sniper, named Kozul the Grim Sniper, who was an anti-hero and a loner. The sniper rifle itself had two scythes curving in horizontally opposite directions, and its bullets fly straight and true, always hitting their mark.
He pulled the trigger again and again, aiding the A.I.A.M.S./electronic warfare combo in killling a Mecha Missile for every shot. If Operation: Diprotodon would prove anything, it's not that the Mecha Missiles weren't at all effective, it's that the A.I.A.M.S. is pretty damn good at creating an area of denial for any enemy missiles and aircraft.
Come sundown, at a quiet, windswept, and untouched field of grass during the war of Assassins' die down, Dororo and Jirara resumed their staredown. The former brandished his assassin's katana, the latter his clawed hand.
Both combatants had this field to themselves, untouched by any of the fighting that took place today, and continued staring, and staring, and staring, and staring until the both of them made their moves and slashed at each other.
Jirara collapsed, with one of his claws cut off, and out of respect for Dororo being the victor, stood back up, albeit hunched over. "Beleagured of a hard life, a cursed life as a bloodthirsty assassin, it would be time to retire for me. However, my duty as an assassin is never done, not as long as I have an apprentice to look out for." Jirara finished and knowing that his claw would regrow itself in a matter of mere days.
Happosai was hiding out slinking around the war torn landscape when he made himself at home in the Black Hunter's dead body. Apparently, Jirara and Dororo had already disposed of it very quickly together, and now it's just lying there in the forest floor.
The clean up crews have missed this one, so it provided some instant shelter for Happosai as he took his rest in search of Jirara's allegedly dead body. That was, until Happosai picked up the sound of Chimera Taro crashing down feet first!
Happosai promptly escaped the carcass as Chimera Taro hoof bombed it to hell. Seeing a face like that, armed with a minigun and a Stinger missile launcher, Happosai had only one option; run for it! Run until the attacker is nowhere in sight, and then hide.
Ranma was still out and about in his own search of Jirara in a darker part of the war torn woods, when suddenly. "Ranma Saotome." Kuno sounded from the side. "Prepare to die, Ranma!" Ryoga snarled as he attacked from another side, but missed, hitting Mousse instead.
Ranma took the opportunity to get out of dodge and let the trio fight amongst themselves. "RUUN! GET AWAY FROM MEE!" Happosai sounded as Chimera Taro continued his pursuit. Kuno, Ryoga, and Mousse stopped fighting amongst themselves.
"We do not run from monsters such as this; rather we stand and fight together!" Kuno rallied as all four began to band together and take on Chimera Taro to defeat him. Kin Nee would join the battle as it heated up once more, and ultimately defeated him once more with his Strong Sword. Ranma was already home by then having given up on his search, presuming Jirara already dead.
Come nightfall, in the same clearing, Gial's silk was used to bind Jirara's appendages together as he dangled from a bamboo tree. Aoryuzen then slid the Magnum he affectionately called "the Executioner," and aimed the gun for his captive's head at point blank range.
As soon as Aoryuzen pulled the trigger on Jirara, *BAM!* The latter was dead, and that's all she wrote. That is, or so he thought as he took a closer look. Aoryuzen sneered in disgust as he discovered that he didn't actually kill Jirara, rather he killed a near perfect replica of Jirara. This was Assassin super magic: Replication in action.
"Why that, that, that SVENGALI! FROM NOW ON, HAPPOSAI IS A DEAD MAN!" Aoryuzen screeched enraged at this act of deception. "Gial, Gaedool, Raikoume, Kamikase, Miezoen, and Moaghen! Track down Jirara, then Happosai, and KILL THEM BOTH ON SITE!" Aoryuzen barked as his subordinates all scattered in search of the two.
The replica's corpse had simply disintergrated, and all of its knowledge was returned to the real Jirara, not one to let Aoryuzen have the pleasure of killing him (instead reserving it for Venono) and is currently along the outskirts of the greater Japanese megalopolis.
Although, that being said, it left him extremely tired and he was pretty badly hurt by Dororo already. Mere hours later, Jirara collapsed, and left himself to fate's mercy, until a kimono clad woman came along to gently lift him up in her arms, and take his taxed body home with her.