Animal Instinct
Chapter VI
While the siren had a tendency to be annoying, D had to admit that it did have it's benefits; every other car on the road got out of the way for Leon.
And his contacts at the police station were helpful; Leon had simply told them he had information on a disturbance near the reservoir and that he was on his way to handle it and would call if he needed backup. So at least the police interference was out of the way, for the moment.
D settled back in his chair and wondered what poor creature had been turned into a monster this time.
The phone sitting on the counsel between them rang; Leon answered it.
"Detective Orcot, I hope you don't mind that we're following in your wake." It was Ryou.
Leon checked the mirror and sure enough, there was another car nearly tailgating him. "Is that you and Akasaka back there?"
"Yep."
"Feel free to follow; I'll escort you. Where's Tokyo Mew Mew?"
"Oh, don't worry; they'll get there long before we do." Ryou told him, then hung up.
As if to prove his point, the next moment, both D and Leon noticed Mews Lettuce and Zakuro running up towards the road – fifty feet up on the roof of a building. Without missing a beat, Mew Zakuro leapt off the building and over the road, landing on the building on the other side of the road, Mew Lettuce directly behind her.
"They're going to get there faster?" Leon asked, unbelieving.
"They'll take a more direct route." D replied. "Eyes on the road, please."
"I think that was Detective Orcot back there." Mew Lettuce said as she followed Mew Zakuro from one rooftop to another.
"Don't worry about them." The purple Mew replied. "We have to stop that Chimera Anima.
Across other rooftops they could see Ichigo and Ringo bouncing from building to building, and Mint flying straight over all of them.
"There!" Mew Zakuro exclaimed, and sure enough, a few buildings over, the green Mew could see where the buildings ended and the beach began.
And there, on the beach, was a monstrous Chimera Anima.
He'd been forgoing his swearing for the last few days on behalf of Tokyo Mew Mew, but when Leon pulled the car around the final corner and came to an abrupt stop in the middle of road that led to the beach, he really felt the need to swear.
The monster towering over the beach might have once been an octopus, but now its features were oddly cartoon like and a lot meaner. Next to him, he heard the Count gasp.
Leon flipped the siren off but kept the lights on as he moved the car forward. In the rearview mirror, he watched as Keiichiro pulled the other car into a parking space.
Mew Berry jumped out of the way as a tentacle tried to crush her, Mew Pudding cart-wheeling after her. Mew Mint flew down over the roof of building and headed straight for the fray, Masha flying after her.
Out of the corner of his eye, Leon spotted a flash of hot pink, and slammed on the brakes as Mew Ichigo came bounding into his vision. For a moment Leon was sure he would hit her, but she back flipped over the hood of hood of the car, landing on her feet on the other side of the car.
Irritated, the detective rolled down his window. "What are you trying to do, get yourself killed?" He asked, fear and anger coloring his voice.
"No, I'm trying to kill that thing before it kills a bunch of people!" Mew Ichigo replied, pointing a finger at the Chimera Anima, which roared and thrashed in the water.
"Ichigo onee-chan!" Mew Ringo came running over. "The others are already attacking the monster, Onee-chan! We have to go help them!"
Figuring that if left where it was, the car would deter gawkers and morons, Leon threw it into park and then he and the Count exited the vehicle.
Ryou and Keiichiro came running over a moment later. "Ichigo!" Ryou said, but she shook her head.
"Ringo and I just got here." She replied. "You'd have to ask Berry or Zakuro about the monster."
"Then let's go," Ryou said, and the group ran towards the battle.
As it turned out, they didn't have to get directly into the fray to find out what was going on. Mew Lettuce was standing on the beach about twenty feet from the battle, castanets in both hands, waiting for another opportunity to hit the monster.
"Mew Lettuce!" The porpoise-girl turned as the group came running up.
"What's going on?" Ryou asked.
"Nothing we do against it works." She replied. "This might be the hardest one yet."
The monster roared, irritated, as the other Mews' attacks hit it. It swung out a tentacle and sent the four Mews flying.
Mew Berry and Mew Mint were flipped head over heels until the came to an abrupt stop a few feet from Lettuce and the others; Mew Zakuro rolled to a stop not much farther away. Mew Pudding tried to break her fall by cartwheeling and landed sitting down on the beach.
"How are we going to stop this thing?" Mew Ringo asked.
"I don't know, but we'd better come up with something soon," Mew Zakuro replied as she and the others pulled themselves to their feet.
The air above the monster rippled, and then an purple-haired alien holding a red and purple fan appeared.
"Pie!" Zakuro exclaimed as the Mews readied their weapons.
"What are you doing here?" Mew Lettuce asked.
"Just making sure that the Chimera Anima is doing a decent job, despite my compatriot screwing this attack up," He replied, crossing his arms over his chest.
"What do you want with the pet shop?" Ryou asked.
Pie eyed him coldly. "Oh, it's not what I want."
"Then who wants it?" Leon asked.
"I think you'll find out soon enough." Pie retorted. Then he pointed his fan at the group. "Go, Chimera Anima!
Before anyone could respond, the Anima swung four of it's tentacles out and grabbed the group, then dragged them into the water.
Underwater, the group struggled to get free from the tentacles before their air ran out. It was Mew Zakuro who finally freed them; gripping her Zakuross Whip tightly, she swung out and whacked the monster across the eye. It let out a sound that might have been a shriek, but it released the group and they wasted no time swimming back to the surface.
It was less than three minutes later that most of them were pulling themselves out of the water.
"Well, I didn't plan on that unexpected swim." Leon said as he collapsed on the beach, small waves still rolling around him.
"No one did," Keiichiro replied.
Ryou looked around, making sure everyone was there. Mew Ringo was helping Mew Mint, who was coughing up water. Mew Zakuro was standing next to them, Mew Lettuce was behind Ryou himself. On his other side, Mew Ichigo and Mew Pudding were crawling back up to the shore, Mew Berry not far behind them.
He and Leon realized who was missing at exactly the same time and turned to face each other.
"Where's D?" Leon asked.
Ryou shook his head. "I haven't seen him. Can he swim?"
"I don't think so."
Ryou swung around to face Mew Lettuce. "Find Count D – right now!"
The green Mew nodded and turned to run back into the water, only to have the Chimera Anima resurface and block her path.
"Ribbon…Strawberry Surprise!"
"Ribbon…Minto Echo!"
The two attacks hit, and the monster shrieked again. Mew Lettuce looked up at Mint, who was floating just above her head. "Go find the Count!" The blue Mew yelled. "We'll keep the Chimera Anima busy!"
Lettuce nodded and darted past a marauding tentacle, making a shallow dive into the ocean.
Sometimes, Count D really did wish he knew how to swim. Whether he had been pulled further down than the others or the monster had held onto him longer, he didn't know, but the surface was a long way up, and he would probably not be able to get back to it on his own.
Now his body would nourish the ocean life, and though the thought of death didn't bother him, he was little a concerned about who would take care of the pets after he was gone. Somehow, he didn't think Leon could be trusted to do it.
"…ount D! … Count D!"
Startled, he opened his eyes and looked up. The surface was still a long way up, but someone else was floating down.
It was Mew Lettuce, her body glowing blue, her antennae – as long as they were when she summoned her weapons - streaming out behind her.
And her legs were gone, replaced with a blue fish tail.
Then again, D remembered, she was a Finless Porpoise.
He reached up to her, and she grabbed his hand, righted herself, and started swimming towards the surface as fast as she could go.
"Ribbon…Pudding Ring Inferno!"
"Ribbon…Loveberry Check!"
Mew Pudding's attack trapped the monster, allowing Mew Berry's attack to hit it dead on.
But the Inferno didn't hold it for long, and Berry's attack only infuriated it further, allowing it struggle free on it's entrapment.
"This is insane." Mew Mint said. "How are we supposed to stop this thing?"
"I don't know." Mew Ichigo sighed. "Mew Zakuro! Mew Ringo! Let's go!"
The three Mews leaped up into the air and sent their attack at the monster.
"Ribbon…" Ichigo began, and then the others shouted with her in unison, "Trinity Requiem!"
It was a relief to get back to the surface and take a deep breath of air.
"Count, are you alright?" Mew Lettuce asked.
After a moment, he nodded, then asked, "How did you know to come back?"
"We got back to shore, and Shirogane and Detective Orcot realized you weren't there." The porpoise-girl replied.
"The question is, will you make it back to shore now?" A third voice added.
Lettuce and D looked up and saw Kish floating above them.
"Kisshu! What are you doing?" Mew Lettuce demanded.
He leaned back, still in midair. "Oh, I just thought I would watch the happenings. See how you people fared against our new and improved Chimer Anima." Kish grinned down at them. "I think you'd better hurry back to land, eh?" He told Lettuce. "Your friends might need your help." The air around him shimmered, and he vanished.
Mew Lettuce turned and saw that land was behind her, albeit far away. She could even see the enormous monster thrashing around near it.
She turned back to the Count. "Is it alright with you if I go underwater?" She would be able to make better speed that way.
D nodded and took her hand. Then Mew Lettuce dove back underwater, pulling the Count along behind her as she headed in the direction for shore, just as fast as she could move her tail.
"Ribbon…Apple Pop!" Mew Ringo called her attack, then waited anxiously until Mew Zakuro finally opened her eyes. "Zakuro onee-sama! You're alright!"
"Yeah," The purple Mew replied as she sat up.
Several feet away, Mew Berry and Mew Mint were attacking the monster, with predictable results.
Further back on the beach, near where the sand returned to grass, Keiichiro, Ryou, and Leon Orcot were watching the battle.
"I don't think this is going to end well," Keiichiro said as he watched the battle.
Ryou's eyes narrowed. "These Animas… they're getting harder and harder to defeat. What is in that pet shop that the aliens want so much?"
Leon shook his head. "The only thing I've ever seen there were animals," He said, frowning as he realized that the battle was starting to draw onlookers. "You people handle the monster. I better take crowd control before someone gets hurt." He finished as he walked off towards the bystanders.
Ryou sighed. "Great. Gawkers. Just what we need."
Keiichiro smiled. "It'll get better, Ryou. We'll win in the end."
The blonde shook his head and turned to look back at the battle.
Mew Ichigo came running up. "I think if we do Ribbon Imperial Prayer we can defeat the monster." She gasped out. "But we need Lettuce to come back for that."
Ryou considered it. The Imperial Prayer should work…. "Okay. Hold the monster off for as long as you can, and take care of it for good when Lettuce gets back."
Mew Ichigo nodded and ran back into the fray, and Ryou turned to Keiichiro.
"Now we get to start praying that Lettuce hurries back."
Mew Lettuce had been sure that they would have gotten back to land by now. The water should have started getting shallower.
But it wasn't, and she didn't know why.
"What's the matter, Mew Lettuce?" Count D asked after they had surfaced again.
"We should be getting closer to land, but we aren't." She replied.
"Try again," He suggested, so she grabbed his hand and they both went back underwater.
But when she came back up to the surface a few minutes later, they were still no closer to land. Worse, there was no sign of the shore anywhere.
"We're lost." She whispered, feeling hope dwindle inside her. On the one hand, at least she wasn't lost alone, but on the other hand, D would probably not be able to last as long in the water as she could. She could go for months, but he would probably die if they forced to keep endlessly searching for land.
As if he could sense her thoughts, Count D placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't give up, Mew Lettuce. This isn't your fault."
She took a deep breath and nodded, building up her resolve. She wasn't Lettuce Midorikawa right now, she was Mew Lettuce.
And there was a difference.
As if to prove that the Count was right, three dolphins came splashing up to the surface a moment later, squeaking and chirping.
"We saw you needed some help." The first one said.
"We're lost." Mew Lettuce told them. "We were trying to get back to shore but something went wrong."
The second dolphin appeared to nod. "We know. The weird floating people put something in the water. It kept changing the current so you thought you were swimming to land but you weren't."
"Can you help us get back to land?" The Count asked.
The dolphin nodded again. "Yes. Follow us." The three dolphins turned and dove back under the water. The green Mew took D's hand again and followed them.
"Ah, hurry Lettuce! I don't want to use up all my powers!" Mint yelled irritably before launching another attack. "Ribbon…Minto Echo!"
Mew Zakuro darted across the beach, her boots sinking into the sand before she jumped as high as she could and launched her attack. "Ribbon…Zakuro Spear!"
The monster shrieked angrily and lashed out at them, causing all the Mews to go darting out of the way.
They regrouped on the beach as the monster drew back a little. Mew Berry turned to Mew Ichigo. "Ichigo, do you want to do the Imperial Prayer without Lettuce?"
Mew Ichigo shook her head. "We'll need everyone's power to defeat this. Just keep it busy as long as you can."
"Okay!" Mew Pudding cheerfully assented before turned to face the monster. "Ribbon…Pudding Ring Inferno!"
And the battle was back on.
The dolphins kept up a fast pace as they moved through the water, and Mew Lettuce was never more then a few feet behind them. Finally one of them turned and swam back around to talk to them.
"We're going to surface now so your friend can breathe." It told them, and D nodded gratefully.
Just like that the dolphins switched directions and headed back up to the surface.
"We have to make this quick or we'll lose our way again." One of the dolphins told them. "By the way, I'm Kye, that's Troy, and Cascada."
"I'm Count D, and this Mew Lettuce." The Count replied.
"Ready to dive?" Cascada asked. "We have to get going."
"That's right. Let's go!" Kye said, and the group dove back under the waves.
The pace this time was quicker, but Lettuce still managed to keep up the dolphins.
And after a few more moments, she started to notice that the water was getting shallower.
"We think you can make it from here," Kye said.
"Thanks so much for your help!" Mew lettuce told him as they kept swimming.
He seemed to brush her words off. "Don't mention it. And if you want to do something for us, stop that monster."
"We'll do our best." Mew Lettuce assured him. Then the dolphins turned and swam back the way they had come, while the green Mew swam up towards the surface.
They broke surface shortly after that, and Lettuce was overjoyed to see that further up on the beach were the rest of the Mews.
And the monster.
"Yo D! Where have you been?" Leon called as he noticed the two of them in the shallows. Most of the crowd had decided to keep a safe distance, and other than two fools who'd thought close-up pictures would be just the thing for the Internet, there had been no trouble, so he had alternated between keeping an eye on the crowd and keeping an on the battle.
"Mew Lettuce and I have been trying to find our way back here." D replied as he stood up, water dripping from his cheongsam. "We needed some help, but we got back." He turned to see if Lettuce needed help, but her tail had already vanished, replaced by her green-booted feet. She jumped up and raced up the beach.
"Everyone! I'm back!"
Most of the other mews turned at her shout, but Mew Zakuro and Mew Berry will still fighting.
Mew Ichigo looked around excitedly. "Then everyone's here! We can do the Imperial Prayer!"
Mews Berry and Zakuro dropped back to the ground.
"Alright! Let's do this! First we'll start by giving ourselves some room! Ribbon… Strawberry Surprise!" Mew Ichigo finished, launching her attack at the monster.
"Ribbon…Lettuce Rush!" Mew Lettuce joined in, and together they knocked the monster back.
"Everyone, now!" Mew Ichigo yelled. "Ribbon…"
"Imperial Prayer!" All the Mews finished with her.
Beams of pink light spurted out of the smaller heart on Mew Ichigo's weapon, growing in strength and form until they glow they emitted swallowed everything.
And in the midst of the light, they saw a Para Para release an octopus, dropping it harmlessly back into the water.
All seven Mews landed back on the ground a moment later. Behind them, they hear the crowd clapping and cheering.
"Well, that was certainly an interesting lightshow," Leon said. Standing next to him, D said nothing.
"See Ryou, I told you there was nothing to worry about." Keiichiro said cheerfully.
"Oh, no, our worries are just beginning." Ryou countered, then headed across the beach to talk to Leon and D.
"Count D, I think we need to discuss our next course of action." Ryou said. "Three attacks at the same, or intended for the same place, tell me that there's something up with the aliens and your store. I'd like to figure out what it is."
D nodded, and Ryou turned to Leon. "Detective, you will be there too, I hope?"
Leon nodded. Ryou turned away. "Good. I'll see both of you back at the pet store."
T.A.R.N.S.: I apologize to everyone. I didn't mean to take so long for another update, but I've been busy with school for most of the fall. I'm on break now, though, so I remembered this story and decided to update. For those who are wondering, Imperial Prayer is an actual attack, named in the video game. When I think of it, I think of the scene in the TMM anime opening, when all the Mews go flying by then sync up their powers with Ichigo, who attacks with the pink energy beam. Just an FYI.
And I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story. AnIn has even been put in a C2! These are the things that make all the time invested in this story worth it, people. They really are.
Alright, I think that's all for this chapter. Please read and review!