Tokyo Mew Mew: Reborn
Sorry this chapter took so long. I've been focused on finishing my Warriors fic, so I've been neglecting this one a bit, haven't I? Anyway, I think you'll all like this one… (wink)
Oh, and if you're wondering, Gliese 581 c is a real planet, which has the right conditions to support life. Also, every movie or TV studio mentioned so far is an actual studio in Japan.
Chapter Four: Alien Dance
"Mint, are you sure you know where this studio is?" asked Ichigo, who was rather beginning to doubt that the bird-girl had a clue where she was leading them.
"Y-yes!" replied Mint, who didn't really sound sure herself.
"Mint, it's okay to admit if you don't know." Keiichiro was driving and couldn't turn to look at the Mew Mews in his car's backseat, but Ichigo could hear the compassion and gentleness in his voice.
"I really do know!" Mint insisted, but a second later, she added, "Although I may have forgotten the exact location."
"Do you remember what the name is?" asked Ryou from the passenger seat; although he didn't need to watch the road, he did not turn and make eye contact with Mint, either.
"I think it's the Toei Company," Mint replied.
"Oh, they have a studio in Tokyo!" Sakura, who was sitting between the two animal-girls, exclaimed. "Is it that studio, or the Kyoto one?"
"That's the part I can't remember," admitted Mint.
"We'll try the Tokyo studio first, then," said Keiichiro. "We're actually almost there, Mint. Your directions weren't far off."
Ichigo glanced at Mint; the blue-haired girl looked rather pleased with herself.
"Of course they weren't," the wealthy Mew Mew boasted. "I am Zakuro one-sama's number-one fan, after all."
"I wouldn't be so proud of that if I were you," Ichigo muttered to herself.
"Pardon?" asked Mint, facing Ichigo with her left eyebrow raised.
"Oh, nothing," Ichigo said, waving a hand dismissively and turning to stare out the window.
If Ichigo hadn't been looking out the window, she would have missed it altogether, for it was nothing more than a quick flash; however, the light that shone across the horizon was such an unusual shade of blue that she could tell immediately it was not natural. "Akasaka-san!" she gasped. "Stop the car!"
The vehicle screeched to an immediate stop; an angry driver behind Keiichiro's party slammed on the brakes just before ramming into their fender and honked angrily. "What's wrong, Ichigo?" asked Keiichiro breathlessly, trying to regain his composure as quickly as he could.
"There was a strange light coming from over there," Ichigo explained, pointing in the direction she had seen the flash.
"Oh, no…" groaned Ryou, burying his face in his hands. Ichigo could just make out his muffled words: "Why now?"
"What's going on?" asked Mint. "This isn't another one of those freaky…"
"We have to change course now," interrupted Keiichiro, quickly swerving the car to around and zooming down the opposite side of the road, managing to ignore the speed limit while still avoiding a catastrophe. Ryou and Keiichiro were the only ones who did not scream all the while.
Blurred scenery whizzed past the windows, and Ichigo could barely believe it when the vehicle suddenly came to a smooth, gentle stop. "Everyone out!" shouted Keiichiro, and the entire group nearly fell out of their doors, hurrying to get out as soon as they were opened.
"So what's going on, anyway?" demanded Ichigo, seeing that they were in the parking lot of a large building; only three vehicles were parked there, and an eerie feeling hung in the air. To add to the terror, there was nothing in sight that could have caused the mysterious light.
Ryou was silent for a few long moments before finally answering, "Aliens."
Ichigo, Mint and Sakura all exclaimed at once; while Ichigo cried, "No way!" Mint simply said, "Seriously?" and Sakura gasped, "Now?"
Keiichiro nodded. "As for that flash of light… we have determined that the aliens' form of attack is to attach a parasite from their world onto animals, which causes the animal to go wildly out of control. The parasites also seem to channel strange abilities through their hosts, such as firebreathing."
"Well, that sounds delightful," Mint said, throwing her head upwards to stare at the sky. "At this rate, we'll never find out if onee-sama is one of us."
"How are we supposed to fight?" Ichigo asked. She did not like the thought of hurting animals, but also was unsure how she would if she had to.
Keiichiro unlocked the trunk, reached in, and pulled out a plastic grocery bag that seemed to have something inside. "We have created voice-activated weapons for each Mew Mew," he explained. Pulling out a pink, berry-shaped ring with a bell attached to a golden heart at the top, he continued, "Ichigo, this is your weapon. We're calling it the 'Strawbell Bell.' And Mint, this is yours, the 'Mintone Arrow,'" he added, producing a blue bow and arrow from the bag.
"They're voice-activated," explained Ryou, taking the weapons from Keiichiro and handing them to their respective Mew Mews. "We've set up a special phrase for you to say in order to use them, using voice samples we recorded."
"When did you do that?" Ichigo gasped.
"Last night," Mint answered. Ichigo looked at her, confused. The blue-haired girl went on to explain, "I was feeling restless, so Ryou and I took care of mine, and then we recorded you talking in your sleep."
"You did what?" cried Ichigo.
"The bell fires narrow but powerful lasers," Ryou went on, as if he hadn't heard her, "and the arrow is sure to burn whatever it touches, once fired. Your job is to destroy the parasite while making sure that you do not injure the animal."
"That sounds impossible," Mint commented.
"As impossible as sprouting wings, you mean?"
For what seemed to be an eternity, everyone was silent.
"Ichigo. Your password is 'Reborn Strawberry Check,'" Keiichiro finally said. "You must only say this when you are absolutely certain that you want to attack."
"Mint, yours is 'Reborn Mint Echo,'" Ryou added.
"That seems a little silly," Mint said.
"Perhaps," Ryou allowed with a shrug.
Keiichiro explained, "We wanted it to be something that you had an extremely low chance of saying by accident, which is why the passwords seem a bit strange."
"Okay, so why are we standing around talking when some alien-possessed animal is on the loose?" Ichigo burst out.
"Well, we haven't seen any signs of –" began Sakura, but just at that moment, a small, mangy dog stepped conveniently from the shadow of one of the sparse vehicles. A clear, jellyfish-like creature not much larger than Ichigo's cell phone was attached to the dog's back, its tentacles spread around the body of the animal. The look on the stray's face was horrible, its eyes wild and lips drawn back in a snarl; its curly brown hair seemed to bristle uncontrollably, and its floppy ears were held straight out in an impossible position.
Mint recoiled, a look of pure shock on her face. Ichigo felt a tremor of fear rumble throughout her body; whether it was because she was a cat, she did not know. It seemed to her that this dog, taken over by an alien creature, would be a frightening and grotesque sight to anyone.
"Well, there you go," Ryou remarked, as if the dog's appearance was nothing short of natural."
"Mint, Ichigo, you know what to do!" Keiichiro shouted. "I'll be rooting for you girls!"
"Oh, do be careful!" pleaded Sakura as Ichigo, Strawbell Bell in hand, summoned all of her courage and rushed forward. As Ichigo ran on, she became aware of Mint flying beside her, matching her speed even as she accelerated, faster and faster.
Much to her surprise, Ichigo was already nearing the dog, which stood completely still – the alien parasite was a perfect target. What do you know… this is going to be easy!
Raising her weapon in front of her and grabbing it with both hands, Ichigo called out her password. "Reborn Strawberry Check!"
A laser emerged from the bell's center, white in color and as narrow as a pencil. The light it emitted was blinding, and Ichigo was forced to shield her eyes. Much to her delight, her aim had been spot-on, and the laser approached the parasite at an alarming speed. Closer… and closer…
At the very last moment, the dog dodged.
As the animal, controlled by the alien, jumped out of the way, the laser instead founds its mark on the shiny red sports car that the dog had been in front of. Out of the corner of her eye, Ichigo could see that while the dog was moving, the alien's center glowed with red light; as the vehicle burst into flames, she could help but think, That won't be easy to replace.
"Oh, come on!" Ryou called from somewhere in the background.
"I don't think that's what we're supposed to do, Ichigo," Mint stated, swooping down and letting her feet touch the ground.
"Well, thanks a lot for telling me that; I'll do my best to prevent it in the future," Ichigo replied sarcastically.
"Why don't you let me give it a try?" the bird-girl suggested. "I can fly, after all?"
"What does that have to do with it?" protested Ichigo, but Mint was already back in the air and chasing after the dog.
Defeated, Ichigo could do nothing but watch as Mint circled over the dog, which was running towards a white pickup truck. Mint aimed at the alien on its back as the dog slowed down, adjusting her weapon every second to follow the movement of the animal. Ichigo thought that the whole thing seemed a bit too risky.
"Reborn Mint Echo!" Mint yelled, shooting the Mintone Arrow from its bow. The dog quickly ducked under the truck and emerged on the other side in almost no time at all. Mint's arrow, similarly to the laser from Ichigo's bell, ended up embedded in the side of the pickup, and a huge hole that looked as if it were burned by acid spread rapidly across the door.
"Niiiiiiiice," Ichigo snapped as Mint flew guiltily back to her, arrow retrieved from the truck.
"Look, do you want to fight about it, or do you want to team up?" Mint fired back.
"What?"
"Look, I have a plan, but you're going to have to trust me."
"Ok, I'm listening. What is it?"
Mint began to explain her idea. "I think that you should drive it towards the wall of the building – corner it, you know. Then, I'll fly overhead and finish it off."
"I guess it's worth a shot," agreed Ichigo. She turned and ran towards the curly-haired dog, which growled and lunged at her. Dodging quickly, Ichigo held up her bell; as she expected, the animal began to back away, snarling. Feeling rather satisfied, Ichigo pushed the dog further and further back, eventually cornering it against the wall. Hurry up, Mint, before it escapes!
"Reborn Mint Echo!"
Before the dog had time to react, an arrow plunged straight downward from the sky, piercing the parasite. Ichigo watched in disgust as the arrow's tip glowed inside the clear body, which quickly dissolved from the heat. The arrow immediately cooled once the parasite was gone; it then fell from the air and bounced off the dog's back, coming to a rest on the pavement.
The dog shook itself and looked around, seeming confused; apparently not realizing what had just happened, it trotted off in a few moments.
Ryou, Keiichiro, and Sakura walked up to the Mew Mews. "Excellent job, girls!" Keiichiro exclaimed.
"I don't think Kobayashi and his friends are going to appreciate what you did to these cars, though," Ryou commented.
Ichigo glowered at him, lashing her tail. "Listen, you –"
She was cut off by maniacal laughter from above.
Looking up, Ichigo could see a silhouette on the roof of the building. Who – or what – is that?
Ichigo didn't have to wonder long. A moment later, the stranger leaped from the roof of the building, but he never hit the ground; instead, he stopped just a few inches from the parking lot, floating in midair.
Ichigo gawked at the stranger. Never in her life had she seen anyone more odd-looking – his pale skin, forest-green ponytails, and golden, catlike eyes were unusual enough, but when combined with his bizarre outfit, he appeared downright… alien.
Of course, Ichigo had never imagined aliens as wearing something like a brown vest over a short green shirt that exposed their stomach, baggy shorts with a piece of fabric similar to a loincloth in front, and bandages on their arms and legs. But if one thing about this mysterious man was clear, it was that he was from the planet of Gliese 581 c.
"My name is Kish," said the alien. "That was a good show, good show! I think you girls are going to be rather interesting opponents."
Pulling out her bell almost without thinking, Ichigo ran towards Kish. "Reborn –"
But suddenly, Kish was gone. Ichigo cried out and stumbled, nearly hitting the ground in her shock.
Turning to face her companions, she could see the seriousness of the situation in everyone's faces. Eventually, Ryou spoke.
"Well, everyone, I think we've officially met the enemy."