Hina Digger Chapter 4, a Love Hina + Gold Digger Crossover fanfic

Many thanks to all those that sent in their support.

To those that ask, I haven't considered writing a Naruto Gold Digger Cross, though it sounds tempting.

Halibel: Pervert...

Kyugan: I try.

I, Sadly, do not own the rights to any of these characters, they are the property of Ken Akumatsu Sensei, Fred Perry, and their respective creators in regards to any cameos that make an appearance.

Chapter 4.

Urashima Haruka stood at the private sector of the airport, a taxi nearby with the driver looking decidedly nervous. And can you blame him? This psychopath had kicked a mafia lord in the balls, beat the living shite out of his men and stuck his date in a trash can just so she could be first in line for the cab. She'd even thrown the guy into the street to get him to stop!

And now, climbing out of the helicopter, was one of the scariest women in all of Japan, and quite possibly the world, the woman rumored to have her fingers in every government body and every aspect of the criminal underworld, the woman who had ripped the head off a bear to protect her children, and the balls off a park ranger for trying to arrest her for it.

'Shouldn't have transferred.' He muttered repeatedly, recalling a similar circumstance that had happened in his past, 'Shoulda never become a taxi driver for that matter.' He shivered as the cold barrel of a golden Desert Eagle was pressed against the back of his head, only for a gentle rebuke to have it removed.

"After all," Urashima Hinata stated with a kind smile, "I'm sure this young man wouldn't DREAM of keeping an old lady waiting."

The driver quite frankly would've preferred having the gun pressed to his skull; it would have given him a decent incentive to avoid thinking about the woman's smile. There were things that lurked in the backs of prehistoric caves that would have been afraid of that smile, and most likely WERE lurking there because of it.

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A small militia had built itself outside the council headquarters, traffic had been diverted to ensure that civilians weren't counted amongst the collateral damage, as these men had been ordered to shoot first, and keep shooting until they either ran out of ammo or target to shoot, whichever came first. At the forefront was a behemoth of a man with a Vulcan cannon, which had been customized into a handheld from an anti-tank vehicle. He eyed the street ahead with a sharp, albeit primal glare, waiting for the telltale signs of footfall or tires screeching that would herald the enemy.

Inside, the councilmen had barricaded themselves in the conference room, decked out in riot gear save for three, the Chairman, the Chief of Police and the Flamingo, who knew that no amount of armor would serve any relevant purpose outside of providing their own tinfoil. "How long?" one of the councilmen asked nervously, a naginata at the ready in his trembling hands as his samurai helm clattered in fear.

"One minute." Flamingo replied, sitting calmly in his place at the Chairman's right, the Chief of police sitting across from him, chewing the end of his cigar tensely. The councilmen huddled together, save for the chairman who sat with his hands before his face in the standard Gendo Ikari pose, though without the incompetence and erectile dysfunction that the pose had been designed to make up for.

A minute passed, and the councilmen began to wonder if they'd been wrong, that ended when the chairman cleared his throat. "I see you're still in good health." He spoke out calmly, "Urashima Hinata dono."

The councilmen, with the exception of the two at the head's side, leapt at the name, before turning in terrified unison to stare at the chair at the far end of the table, which was slowly rotating so it was facing them. In it sat the most dangerous, spiteful, destructive spawn of the deepest pits of hell that coincidentally chose to walk around in the guise of a rather small, eccentric old woman. They each checked themselves to ensure their codpieces were fastened on tightly, the custom made pieces of metal designed to hold off anything short of an anti-tank round. They still didn't feel secure enough.

"I flattered you think so," Granny-Hina replied amiably, her smile traumatizing small children and battle heardended veterans in third world countries on the other side of the globe "I trust things have been quiet since I left?"

"Not quite." The chairman replied honestly. It didn't pay to lie to Urashima Hinata, andif it DID, it didn't pay ENOUGH. No matter what it was she KNEW what had really happened, even if you yourself didn't.

"You still haven't found my Grandson." The matriarch stated. It wasn't a question, and the amiability in her voice carried a hint that there was going to be a feeling of general UN-amiability in the near future, say the next two seconds.

"We have contacted a few of your…acquaintances." The flamingo stated warily, earning an annoyed grunt from the chief of police, who loathed the notion of relying on the criminal underworld for anything other than target practice "We have also set an underground bounty on him, nothing that would draw attention to his…'unique gifts', but enough to ensure that if the criminal underworld catches so much of a glimpse they'll hound him to the ends of the earth.

"So nice to see you young folk using your heads for a change." Hinata replied with her smile back in full force, the threat of imminent pain gone without a trace, "You're Vetinari-kun aren't you?"

"Indeed madam." Vetinari admitted, bowing respectfully to the Urashima family matriarch.

"And the rather sullen fellow across from you is Vimes-kun?" Hinata queried, smiling at the suddenly on the spot chief of police "So good to see you off the bottle." She noted with a smile, "And you certainly have better taste than my Haruka, she still insists on those god awful cigarettes."

"Give me a cigar any day." Vimes agreed stiffly, trying stoutly not to look away from the woman's gaze. She'd scared the living shit out of him as a child, and she still did now, but he'd be damned if he admitted that even to himself.

Hinata eyed the stubborn man for a few moments, before nodding in satisfaction and turning on her heel. "Coincidentally, you may want to send for an ambulance." She called out "Your men down in the yard seem to have shot themselves in the feet with the exception of the one with the Vulcan gun."

"Remind me to give the sergeant a raise." Vimes breathed as the old woman walked out the council doors, leaving the members slouched in their seats, weeping in relief and calling their respective wives/lovers/both to let them know they were alive. This lead toa minor dispute, as some of them discovered they were sharing significant others.

"Was it really necessary to order him to shoot everyone else in the foot with that gun of his?" Vetinari asked, cocking an eyebrow at the man, as slowly but surely, the sounds of men groaning, cursing or crying filtered through the reinforced walls of the council room.

"Compared to the damage that fighting of three pissed of Urashima Women would have incurred?" Vimes shot back, his own brow raised in challenge, as he let the THAT particular scenario worm it's way into the man's head.

"Good point." Vetinari conceded, before making a mental note to triple the bounty on Keitaro before the day was over.

Keitaro winced as he slowly came back to consciousness; something he felt was becoming FAR to common an occurrence on these little trips with Gina and co.

Keeping his eyes shut he slowly twitched his limbs to see if anything was broken or missing. 'Toes: check. Legs: stiff but there. Arms…' he winced at the pain of his right shoulder "scratch that, valuables…'he sighed as a brief grinding of the legs revealed his pickle and eggs were still in the basket. 'All present and accounted for…now where the hell am I?'

Slowly cracking an eye open the immortal Ronin fought the urge to blink at how humid it felt in the room. In all honesty he first assumed he'd woken up in a sauna, it was only when he realized that they appeared to be in some sort of chamber and that a rather beefy guy in a toga was standing nearby did he recall what had happened. "GINA-SAN!" he yelped, sitting up quickly, startling the toga-man and catching sight of two people with a passing resemblance to Gyphon, obviously Atlantean.

"Keitaro?" Gina's voice called out, causing him to turn, blushing at the sight of the blonde's new attire, "What are you doing in a toga?" Gina asked, only to blink and notice her own state of dress "What the? Where are we?"

"Atlantis." Keitaro supplied, pointing across at the female of the two Atlanteans, keeping a wary eye on the massive human and the Atlantean with the sharpened blades growing out of his arms. Those looked like they could SERIOUSLY hurt a guy.

"Are we prisoners?" Gina wondered, blinking as Mesha slowly came round, complaining about the humidity "I'm guessing these guys are our hosts." she noted after speaking with the elf for a while, the bladed Atlantean garbling out something in their native language.

"What he say?" Keitaro asked, hobbling over on stiff legs towards the two, making sure not to leave his back exposed, but then waking up with a muscle-bound Fabio dressed in a toga would have anyone a little wary.

"Didn't get a word of it." Gina replied, eyeing the trio warily, her hands on her hips as she wished she had a blaster with her. Not that she was COMPLETELY helplesswithout her firearm mind you, but it was comforting to know that unwanted advances could be deterred with a quick burst of photo-electric death.

"Perhaps a spell could help matters." Mesha reasoned after a moments contemplation, Gina agreeing provided the elf 'blast 'em' should they be in the company of Gyphon's allies, only for the muscular Human to speak up in English.

"We're very sorry for tricking you," the bladed Atlantean offered solemnly, bowing his head slightly, one hand placed over his tunic as he spoke "but Gyphon has many spies. We had to make sure you were really upper-worlders."

"Then you're not Gyphon's troops?" Gina asked, putting a hand on Keitaro's shoulder to let him know they were in the clear, for now, even as the big guy snorted in affront a look of diusgust crossing his features at her words.

"Never!" he proclaimed proudly, looking insulted at the woman's insinuation, even as he stood to attention, muscles rippling in a way that drew both Gina and Keitaro's gazes, out of interest and wariness respectively "We are warriors of the TRUE rulers of Atlantis."

"Which would be me." A refined voice announced, a regally dressed Atlantean female emerging from behind a drape with a kind look on her face "I am Tyr, Gyphon's Half-sister." She bowed her head slightly in greeting "It was I who rescued you from one of Gyphon's traps and used my Healing magic to mend your broken bodies…" she turned to regard Keitaro curiously "Although, one of you didn't seem to need it as much."

"I've been through worse." Keitaro replied with a chuckle, noticing the looks of confusion of the Atlanteans' faces and sweating nervously. Gina drew attention away from the Ronin by thanking Tyr for her help, before inquiring as to why and where they had rescued them.

"Gyphon claimed he would instigate a war against all Upper-worlders." Tyr explained carefully "We assumed that an enemy of Gyphon would be a potential ally." She looked at Gina "Tell me, were you coming to destroy Gyphon…or surrender?"

"That creep?" Gina snorted, looking annoyed at the mere mention of the sorcerer that had put them through heck and back, not to mention what he'd made her little sister go through "We came to kick his butt!"

"I'm relieved to hear that," Tyr admitted in relief as she held out her hand, on which rested the gem of returning "for you had this in your possession, a prize much to dangerous to surrender to Gyphon."

As the Atlantean princess explained the importance of the Gem to the explorers, Keitaro took the chance to look around the chamber, noting in amazement the quality of the artwork and carvings. Aside from the obvious lack of gold, the humidity and the obviously nautical motif, the room could have passed for El Dorado, especially in terms of space.

He blinked as he noticed the female Atlantean from before taking a step away from the group, as if putting some distance between them. She hadn't noticed him watching, and the look in her eyes was making the Ronin's hackles stand on end, the faint smell of ozone he recalled surrounding Gyphon just as the mage had been about to use his magic filling the air. "ABANAI!" he yelled, lunging at the woman, only for a large, horned demon to swat him out of midair as it apparated through a summoning portal. He collided with some pots, groaning as the others leapt into action.

Gina leapt out of reach of the demons as Garen and Tanis kept them busy alongside Tyr and Mesha, the spell casters taking potshots at the traitorous Dyranna which the demons kept deflecting. The traitor advanced on the blonde, who promptly found herself without a weapon as she was backed into a corner. She grabbed a nearby pot and hurled it at the traitor only to blink as it apparently shattered against an invisible wall.

"Useless." Dyranna mocked, "My stasis field negates all physical attacks, only spell casters can harm me." She smirked as a demon deflected one of Mesha's arrows into Garen "and as you can see that problem can sort itself out."

She advanced on Gina, who began tossing whatever came to her hands at the woman, webbed fists crackling with magical energy as she prepared some highly unpleasant spell for the human. Keitaro, in an act of desperation lunged to his feet and tried to grab the Atlantean by the ankle, but instead snagged the end of her dress.

SHRIIIIIIIIP!!!!!

Dyranna blinked, Gina blinked, the demons and their combatants blinked, eyes bulging out of sockets as they took in the decidedly NAKED sorceress standing before them, the remains of her dress in Keitaro's stunned hands as he lay on the floor. "Er…sorry?" the Ronin offered, as steam began to emerge from Dyranna's ears, her face turning an interesting shade of purple either out of rage or embarrassment.

"PERVERT!"

POW!!!

"PRRRRRGH!!!!

Gina sweatdropped as the Ronin was kicked right in the face and sent careening into the two demons, slamming them into the wall with the force of his momentum. They landed badly, poofing out of existence from the combination of raw blunt trauma and Dyranna's loss of control over the summoning spell.

"Stupid…perverse…wretch!" the Atlantean hissed, panting heavily in sheer fury at what had happened, covering her unmentionables as best she could "How DARE you-eh?"

She blinked as someone tapped her on the shoulder, turning right into a face full of pottery as Gina smashed an urn against her head with all the force she could muster.

"I swear if I ever get out of this I'm never eating calamari again!" Penny swore, as Ace dropped the spare fuel tanks right into the gaping maw of the kraken, firing the boosters and tearing the sub right out of the overgrown squid's reach. The explosion as the beast detonated rocked the mini-sub, but by then they were well on their way.

Whilst Ace and Stripe attempted to navigate the terrain in search of Atlantis (which wasn't all that hard if you considered the only direction you had to go was DOWN) Penny drafted Tark into helping her repair the bilge pump, teasing the elf slyly, much to his confusion.

"Whoa what's this?" Ace muttered, blinking at the sight before him, not sure if he was seeing things or if Penny had spiked his soda "There's a crazy guy out there with glowing red eyes and hands! He bugging or what?"

"Beware Ace!" the Kryn prince cautioned gazing out the screen at the figure warily, eyes narrowing in anger as he recognised his longtime enemy through the murky gloom "That's the Atlantean Mage we've been looking for! Gyphon!"

"Well whoever he is he's gonna regret messing with Mac-Daddy Ace!" the pilot boasted with his usual bravado.

Which made it all the more embarrassing as Gyphon had them all imprisoned like living bowling pins with a simple wave of his hands. They hadn't even had the chance to run him over! The only comfort the pilot had was that the terror of being tortured by the sadistic sorcerer was keeping Penny from making any snide comments.

"Let the others go Gyphon!" Stripe growled, straining against the bonds that held him in place as Tark strained in agony at the Atlantean's mercy "This is between you and me! As it has always been!"

"You are hardly in a position to give orders, oh lord of El Dorado." Gyphon pointed out mockingly "With the powers I have gained from your artifacts I could easily destroy you as easily as I destroyed my former masters, the late lords of Atlantis!" As if to demonstrate his point he pointed at the still human Brittany, eyes glowing beneath his cowl. "But I find it more amusing to torture your friends slowly," he admitted "while the armies of Atlantis prepare to conquer the upper-world with my ultimate weapon!"

"Dream on psycho!" Brittany spat, only to scream as Gyphon gestured with his hand, sending a current surging through her body. Had she been in her Lycanthrope body it would've been worse, most certainly fatal, but her human form's pain tolerance level was much lower.

"Ah, I remember you brash one." The Atlantean noted darkly, his eyes glowing a dark, vindictive crimson as he recognised the voice, if not the form of the girl before him "the lycanthrope that attacked me at El Dorado."

"Gyphon if you dare harm her-!" Stripe snarled, redoubling his efforts to break free and thrash the mage to within an inch of his treacherous life, and having no more success than before, the magical bonds holding him firmly in place.

"Silence fool!" Gyphon shot back, eye glowing as he glared at the prince "This one has much to answer for…NO ONE assaults me and lives unscathed!" he raised his hand again, crackling with energy, as he held it over Brittany's head "And with her in human form, punishing her will be especially easy!"

"GO F$*# YOURSELF!" Brittany shot back, eyes clenched against the pain as she tried to avoid biting her own tongue, only for the current to cease as a large, expensive looking pot shattered against the back of Gyphon's head.

"WHO DARES?!" the Atlantean bellowed, only to gape in shocked fury as Gina, Keitaro, Tyr and the rest appeared through a vortex, the blonde and Keitaro riding atop what looked to be a double seated lazy-boy, with Keitaro holding onto Gina's headrest for support, having hurled the pot at Gyphon's head as they warped in.

Cursing, Gyphon deflected a magical blast sent his way by Tyr, only to curse as he realized Mesha had locked down the room with a spell, preventing him from summoning help, Garen and Tanis taking up positions by the door, halting the progress of any of the Mage's guards that attempted to get in. He took advantage of the confusion to launch a blast of energy at his sister and the elf, cackling all the while as it appeared his superior magical might seemed to still be in his favor, only to blink as he realized two things.

One: the humans and their machine were nowhere in sight.

Two, it was getting a LOT harder to breath...

"Sorry about that." Gina offered a gasping Tyr as they finished tying up Gyphon with Mesha's 'Wizard lock' spell, the captured mage cursing at them in every language he knew, which seemed to include a few that had long since ceased to exist "I didn't think it would affect such a wide area."

Keitaro made a mental note never to sit so close to an ion-accelerator in a toga again, it had been distinctly uncomfortable, akin to being wrapped in plastic and set in a microwave for an hour. All around the others were reuniting (Tark and Mesha), poking fun (Penny and Brittany) or simply grousing (Ace). The mood far much lighter than it had been earlier, and the Ronin was surprised at just how EASY it had been.

If there was one thing his dorky obsessions with videogames had taught the Ronin, it was that if the supposed Boss was defeated with relative ease, it meant something even worse was looming on the horizon.

However, he was distracted from such thoughts by the conversation between the rulers of El Dorado and Atlantis, who he first assumed were going to throw down or even haggle over some ancient dispute, but instead Tyr offered Stripe the crown Gyphon had stolen from the Kryn, and the Prince humbly accepted, the two monarchs hoping for peace between their nations.

It wasn't until Brittany elbowed Gyphon upside the head that Keitaro's finely tuned sense of danger, which oddly enoug only kicked into action when it didn't invlovle females, warned him that something in the mage's posture hinted there was something rather unpleasant hidden up his sleeve, and we weren't talking B.O either.

Before he could say anything however, Gina had already crossed the hall to the doorway the mage had indicated, just as Tark and Mesha sensed the highly vindictive magic behind it. Keitaro managed to catch Gina as the explosion rocked her backwards, landing on the floor as they gazed up in horror at the multi-story, multi-limbed, multi-headed monstrosity that was towering over them.

"There are your artifacts Stripe!" Gyphon goaded madly, cackling in insane glee, "They power the most awesome weapon on earth: ARMEGEDDON!" he cackled again, the beast towering Over them as he finished "KILL THEM ALL MY SLAVE!"

"GYPHON YOU EVIL SACK OF S#&!!" Brittany cursed, dodging lumps of ceiling as the monstrosity let loose a terrifying roar. Keitaro couldn't help but agree with the sentiment, but was currently too busy trying to avoid becoming a pancake. It brought no small amount of satisfaction, however, when the giant ploughed it's house sized fist into it's creator, shutting the madman's insane laughter off, even as a piece of ceiling crashed into the Ronin's skull, causing him to black out for the second time that day.

"Now then Shinobu-chan." A kind looking police captain began, his shaved red hair and wide smile putting the girl at ease despite his size, "can you tell us about what it's like at the Hinata dorms?"

"Well," Shinobu began uncertainly, looking shyly up at the captain's friendly face "I like it, and everyone always seems so nice to me." She twiddled with her fingers nervously "Since Sempai joined us things have been a lot of fun too."

"By Sempai, do you mean Urashima Keitaro-san?" the captain asked, to which the blue haired girl nodded, a blush rising to her features at the mention of the errant Kanrinin "And how would you describe Keitaro-kun?"

"He's really kind!" the girl replied with an earnest smile "And he works so hard to make everyone happy, even though it cuts into his study time!" she blushed as she realized how energetically she'd been speaking "Um…that is to say…"

"I quite understand." The captain supplied with a smile, making a careful note of the girls reaction and attitude in relation to her statement "Now, how would you describe Keitaro-kun's treatment at the dorms?"

Shinobu winced, this being a tender topic that the Hinata dorms kept to themselves. It was no secret that Keitaro was sent into L.E.O on numerous occasions, but most people had no clue as to the cause. This is exactly how Naru and Kitsune intended to keep it. 'Can't have John Law sniffing around and asking questions that don't need answering' the fox had told them all during dinner, before staggering off too lose Keitaro's savings on the races again.

It had therefore become an unspoken rule that no members of Hinata house would divulge information to an outside source, in order to preserve the security of their private lives.

"Maehara-san." The Captain stated, "We are trying to locate Keitaro-kun as fast as possible, but before we can do that we need to narrow down the reasons for his disappearance." He held up a pen, "I won't force you, the choice is entirely yours."

Ten minutes later and the captain had to send out for another ten notebooks, as the information just kept coming.

"She ain't talking sir." A rather large sergeant reported to Vimes as the cigar chewer gazed into the cell where Aoyama Motoko was sitting in a straight jacket. The Kendo-ka had had to be sedated before they could get it on her, for reasons that included attempted assault on a policeman and attempted escape via ki techniques.

Vimes detested chi users, he detested magic-users too for that matter, and that wasn't even counting the numerous half demons, full demons, gods and demi-gods that were so frequent in Japan. He was of the sound mind that Humans had been given enough shit in their life to deal with, but someone, usually some deranged manga-ka, just kept on adding to the pile in big stinking heaps. 'At least chi users are human' he reasoned, which made him feel a little bad for what he was about to do next. But just a little.

"You called sir?" a voice around shin height asked, the Vimes turning to regard what appeared to be either a rather skinny dwarf or a rather sick monkey. The boils made it a little hard to be sure.

"At ease Corporal." He ordered, the apparition settling into a more relaxed slouch. "I want you to go in there and keep Miss Aoyama entertained, maybe then she'll be a little more co-operative."

"YESSIR!" the creature saluted, his pigeon chest sticking out with pride, nearly lifting him off the ground "I shall do that right away sir!" and with that, he proceeded into the cell with a smile on his face.

"Isn't that a bit too much sir?" the large sergeant asked reproachfully, even as the door shut behindthem...officer, though he DID lock the damn thing as he did so "I mean, did you really have to sink that low?"

"I'll buy him a pint or ten later." The chief replied, walking off with a small, satisfied nod as Motoko's screams filled the air.

"TORTURE ME PROPERLY YOU BASTARDS!" she screamed, sounding oddly hysterical "YOU…THING! STAY AWAY FROM ME WITH THOSE BOILS! ANEUE! DASKETE!"

"Any luck?"

"Ook."

"You don't say?"

"Ook."

"A real princess? No kidding?"

"Eek."

"Okay, okay I'm not doubting you." The fscruffy looking police officer assured the rather sorry looking orangutan with a policeman's badge hanging from it's neck "Does she have diplomatic immunity?"

"Ook."

"I suppose it WOULD be too much trouble to fill in that red tape." The officer conceded, his face, despite being young, giving you the impression that he'd 'Been There', even if all he'd done WHILE there had been to run the hell away "So did she confess?"

"Ook."

"Really? How'd you get her to do that?" he blinked as the ape began to look decidedly sheepish "Oh no, you didn't?"

"EEK!"

"I don't care if she did, she's a child!" the man chastised, the ape turning away ashamedly as he put his hands on his hips and shook his head "You really need to get that temper of yours under control."

"Ook."

"Don't worry I wont say anything." The scrawny officer assured the ape as they made their way to the next room, looking down at the simian as he unlocked the door "Just try to keep it in check with this one."

He opened the door, revealing a rather vexed Narusegawa Naru in a reinforced straightjacket wrapped in chains that could have held an elephant in place. "Who are you?" the violent girl snapped, eyes flicking over the duo "And what's with the monkey?"

Never had the words 'wild animal' applied more than they did in the minutes that followed.

Gina shrieked as Armageddon continued to rain down on them like, well…Armageddon she supposed. The monstrosity alternated between pummeling anything that came within reach of its fists and to launching fireballs at the group in a zealous urge to wipe them off the face of the planet, much like its namesake.

So far everyone had survived by staying the hell out of its way and ducking under shields crafted by the spell casters as they tried to make their way back to the portal they used to get here. But Tark was drained from the torture, Mesha was so concerned protecting him she couldn't concentrate, and Tyr was left trying to simultaneously ward off the beast and shield them at the same time. "We need to fall back!" Garen bellowed, standing beside his queen as they made their way back to the warp hole.

"Everyone!" Tyr called out, grateful for the human's bulk as she continued to maintain her spell without being distracted "Under my wall of force! It should protect us from the heat and flames!"

"Where's King Kong when you need him?!" Ace swore, sliding under the shield with the skills that would make him the envy of a major league runner. A cracking noise was heard revealing to everyone's horror that Armageddon's rampage had shattered the roof of the citadel, letting in the water that was pressing down from all sides.

Tanis gestured wildly to the portal as the water began to slip through Tyr's fading shield, Garen scooping up the exhausted Atlantean monarch and carrying her behind the others to ensure they got out, leaping through the portal just as the shield broke, the water crashing down behind them.

They emerged in the pool of legends, Cheetah gasping for breath as she was pulled ashore by Penny, the adventurer wrinkling her nose at the smell of wet cat, only to shriek as the girl morphed into her hybrid form and promptly shook the excess water free from her coat. "What about Keitaro and Gina?" Mesha asked, looking about in concern, "I saw them get knocked back by the initial blast of Gyphon's trap and tried to teleport them out of the way but the surge of magic disrupted my invocation! They could be anywhere by now!"

"Do not worry my heart." Tark assured her, holding his consort's shoulders gently, though there was concern in his eyes for their missing friends "I'm sure they are safe. We have seen first hand how resourceful Gina can be, and as for Keitaro…"

"Kid's built like a brick shithouse." Ace supplied with a grin, recalling how he'd accidentally LANDED on the Ronin the first time they'd met, only for the immortal to smile it away "Bad luck aside I don't think there's any reason to worry about them."

Gina awoke to the unusual sensation of someone carrying her on their back and a biting cold. She blinked slowly, wincing at the stiffness in her muscles, only to gasp as she realized not only were they no longer in Atlantis, but that the one carrying her was most definitely not Cheetah. "KEITARO!" she gasped, the haggard looking Ronin looking over at her and smiling weakly.

"G-G-G-G-Gina-san." He stuttered, face blue and covered in frost from his prolonged walk through the blizzard "W-w-w-what a r-r-r-r-relief…I th-th-th-th-thought we w-w-w-w-w-ere goners b-b-b-b-back there."

"How'd w-w-w-w-we get up h-h-here?" the explorer asked, getting he feet under her as she tried to support the Ronin, who looked half dead already. Though truth be told, she wasn't doing much better herself. Togas were NOTexactly arctic wear.

"N-n-no clue…" Keitaro managed to get out, still a little concussed from the ceiling landing on him "Exp-p-plosion…f-f-fire…t-t-then h-h-here." He stumbled, Gina gasping as she realized how cold he was, noting the trail of footprints behind them.

'He must've carried me all this time!' the scientist realized in horror, looking over the man in concern, noting his lolling head and drooping eyes 'For God only knows how long with now proper gear and his own injuries to boot!'

"I m-m-m-miss t-t-the f-f-f-fire." Keitaro stuttered weakly, as Gina held him close, what little body heat she had to spare micing with his own depleted reserves "B-b-better t-t-than f-f-f-f-f-f-freezing at l-l-l-least."

"Trust y-y-you to j-j-joke at a t-t-time like t-t-t-this!" Gina chastised, though she was glad the Ronin was still talking, even if he was going delirious. "J-just h-hang on," she instructed, "I-I'll t-t-try to f-find a c-cave or s-something".

"Th-that's…n-nice…" Keitaro whispered, Gina shaking him desperately to keep him awake, only for her own body to slowly submit to the chill, the two lying with Gina holding the Ronin's head in her arms.

All was silent on the snowy mountaintop, and the bodies of the two adventurers may well have been abandoned to the snow, were it not for a shadow that appeared over the two, belonging to a heavily dressed figure with a hooded cloak.

CLIFFHANGER!

Seriously, the amount of times people black out, only to wake up in changed circumstances in the GD universe is uncanny. But then Keitaro's had his own fair share of interesting wakings hasn't he?

And yes, if the cmaeos weren't enough of a hint, I am a Pratchett fan, VIVA LA DISC!

R&R Or face the wrath of the 300 PEEBOS!

Pebo-nidus: THIS! IS! KAPOWIE!