Strange, no posts to the list for a while. Oh well,
perfect time to post. If you missed anything, you
can get it from:
http://www.geocities.com/jitou.geo/fanfic.htm
If you're confused, try out the Dark Crucible Manual
http://www.geocities.com/jitou.geo/dx-info.zip
[jitou@geocities.com]
*----------------------
The Dark Crucible
Mega Crossover
Episode 2 v1.2
"A Crossing of Paths"
*----------------------
Kuno, Ukyo and Akane stood in the now deserted
schoolyard, surrounded by a wide plethora of beasts. Each
beast was different and varied. Some were bestial, like
wolves or tigers. Some were hideous, distorted features of
humanoid derivation. Some were simply horrific,
indescribable beyond the imagination of mortal men. Some had
claws, some had fangs, some had both, while others simply
looked ugly. What they all had in common, however, was that
they all seemed intent on rending the three humans limb from
limb.
"Fear thee not, fair Akane, for mine prowess in battle
is legendary. Not a single foe shall lay its filthy claws
upon thine magnificent elegance!" Kuno declared.
"Will you just shut up?" Akane retorted angrily.
"Sorry to break into your interesting dialogue, but we
have a slight problem here." Ukyo noted. The pack of beasts
attacked.
"You will pay for your insolence!!!" Kuno drawled,
indifferent to the fact that his opponents probably did not
understand a word he was saying. He dashed forward, his
boken flashing quickly, precisely, angrily. The mob of
demons were cut down as they came. Still, there were dozens
upon dozens of them, and Kuno, although showing great skill,
could not hold them all back.
"Looks like the Blue Thunder needs help." Ukyo
remarked, taking out several small spatulas into her hand.
Having lost her large spatula, she had to resort to her
smaller ones. Ukyo leapt into the air and tossed her
projectiles in a sweep of her hand. Several of the monsters
in the tide fell down, clutching their throats.
Still, there were too many of them. A handful came up
to Akane, teeth bared and claws flailing. A look of madness
was in their eyes.
"Get away from me, you freaks!" Akane cried, smashing
her fist into one, sidestepping the lunge of another, and
sweeping her feet across the others.
"Not only is she beautiful, but she possesses the heart
of a tiger; fierce, bold and deadly! How righteous it was
that she doth grace this earth!" Kuno rescinded, amidst
bashing an incoming horror in the face.
"Shut up and watch what you're doing, baka!" Ukyo
snarled.
As if on cue, one of the little buggers crept up behind
Kuno as he disemboweled a ferocious rat-like demon (not an
easy feat with a boken -- a testament to the Blue Thunder's
strength <heheh>). The sneaky little thing took a swipe and
scored a long gash against Kuno's back with its claws,
rending clothing and flesh alike.
Kuno snarled in pain, bashing his boken against the
offender's little head, but his momentum had been stopped.
The horde of monsters howled with fury and renewed their
attack.
***
The princess Rune Venus sat in the palace gardens, a
wan look disturbing the serenity of her face. The princess
was beautiful, many ballads had been composed in her name,
depicting her beauty as cool and as pleasant as nature
itself. Her smooth white skin and finely chiseled features
were the object of many a poem and song, and her elegant
blond hair was laid against the finest streams of gold.
Today, however, she simply stared around the lush
greenery and foliage surrounding her, wondering how long
peace would last this time.
"Cheer up, sis. You know those old windbags don't know
what's good for them." A sharp voice said from behind her.
Rune Venus did not have to turn to know that it was her
little sister, Fatora. Fatora came around the bench and sat
beside her sister.
"I just wish they'd listen. Just because we've defeated
the Bugrom, doesn't mean that we can relax. We must always
be ready for any threat to El Hazard." Rune replied, turning
to face her sister. Although they were sisters, there wasn't
much that they had in common. Rune was often introspective
and reserved, giving a quiet dignity to her seriousness and
sense of duty. Fatora, on the other hand, seemed full of
life and vitality, her face a picture of boyishness and
energy. Rune could be described as a cool, quiet lake in a
mountain glen, Fatora was the fire that crackled under the
stars at the camp of a hardy adventurer. *She really does
look like Makoto,* Rune thought for what must have been the
millionth time. *Aside from her pale skin and long black
hair, they could be twins.*
"Don't worry, Rune. Even if we don't have the support
of the other lands, we don't really need them just yet.
We're not even sure what we're facing. I'm not surprised
that they didn't fall head-over heels about this thing.
Strellbaugh really seemed to be grasping at straws."
Rune nodded. Earlier, she had called for a convention
for the leaders of El Hazard, after hearing of the
potentially disastrous news Strellbaugh and Ifurita had
isolated. However eloquent was their delivery of the
perceived situation, the representatives could not commit
themselves because there wasn't enough evidence, or grounds,
to do anything about this purported other dimensional
threat. They asked that she present them with more solid
information on the matter before doing anything. Besides, as
an emissary from one of the northern kingdoms had pointed
out, there really wasn't anything that they could do. It's
not as if they could send a whole army across dimensions.
They would simply have to wait it out.
"Still, I think it would be best if we looked into this
matter some more. We can't afford to be careless." she said.
"What do you plan to do about it?" Fatora asked.
"I think we should send someone through the Eye of God,
to this dimension `Earth.' That way, we can gather more
information on this matter."
"Good idea, but who can we send?"
At that moment, one of the garden shrubs burst open as
Makoto flew through it, running at an incredible pace across
the two of them. He was gasping and panting for breath,
crying, "Wait! Stop! It was a mistake!" As he passed by, a
furious-looking young woman with short, brown hair sprang
out of the bushes, holding what appeared to be a cabbage in
her hand. As she ran up in front of the two princesses, she
gave the cabbage a mighty hurl, hitting Makoto in the head.
"Nanami, cut it out!!!" Makoto whimpered, still
running.
"That'll teach you, Makoto Mizuhara!" Nanami fumed as
she stalked off.
"You know, Rune, I think we just found our man." Fatora
smiled slyly.
***
He woke up to the soft touch of the wind on his face.
With a soft moan, he pulled himself into a sitting position,
placing one hand on his aching head. He'd never used his
power to such a level before. Indeed, he didn't even think
that he could teleport four people. Heck, he didn't even
think he could teleport two people.
Still, strange things were going on lately, and the
hidden power of his family had been exhibiting some very
strange effects. Just the other day, his sister had conjured
a huge tiger out of thin air. That was very, very strange.
Good thing it turned out just to be an illusion. Perhaps
this was the reason that grandpa had decided to bring them
over to this spiritual place of his on the top of a mountain
somewhere near Tokyo. Grandpa had said that this place was
a great source of ESP concentration, thanks to some sort of
natural node formation which drew the spirits of nature like
a magnet.
Looking around, he saw that he was in a small clearing
in a grove of trees. He wondered where they were? He wasn't
familiar with this district where they were staying, what
was it called? Nerima? As such, he could only guess where
they were. He looked up to the sky and saw that the sun was
already half-way through with its descent. It was around
noon when the monster had erupted from the ground of the
park; they had been unconscious for around three hours.
He checked the three other people whom he had brought
with him.
Madoka Ayukawa was still unconscious from the blow to
her head, and there was a slight matting of blood at the
side of her head crusting her hair together. He sighed. She
wouldn't have been here had he not promised to go out with
Hikaru-chan. But why was it that fate had brought grandpa's
visit and their plan on the same schedule? When Hikaru-chan
heard of it, she just wouldn't take no for an answer, even
if grandpa insisted it was a family affair. She even managed
to get Madoka to tag along, too. Now, here he was, enjoying
a quiet noon with Ayukawa at a park, when suddenly this
monster leaps out of nowhere... could his powers be acting
up again? Grandfather had told him to take his two
`outsider' girls out so that he and the rest of the family
could go to the shrine undiscovered. Go figure. It was a
good thing Hikaru-chan went back to the hotel to get her
wallet, or else she might have been hurt as well. Bad enough
that Ayukawa got involved in this.
He looked at one of the young men he had saved. He was
a curious character, wearing a yellow shirt and dark green
pants. A yellow and black striped bandanna was tied across
his head. Who was he? He certainly looked surprised when the
monster leapt up from his finger. He was certainly...
strange. But he was a great fighter. What was that thing he
threw at the monster? The... ishikaduhan?
He looked to the other man, and he got an incredible
jolt. He looked exactly like he did! The same facial
features, short-cut brown hair; heck, he was even wearing
the same white t-shirt he was wearing. Even the sneakers he
wore were exactly.... hmm... wait a minute... didn't he have
black hair and a braided pony tail?
He looked down at himself, and was surprised to see
himself wearing a red chinese-cut shirt. He put one hand to
the back of his head and felt... a braided pony tail.
Something was very, very wrong here. I am Kyosuke Kasuga.
But why am I lying down on the ground, unconscious?
"Hey, Ranma, what happened?" Kyosuke's attention was
quickly taken away from his mysterious physical appearance
to the other boy he had saved. He had begun to stir while he
was checking over `his' body, and now was regarding him
intently.
"Uh... I think we're safe now!" Kyosuke rattled on
hesitantly, not quite sure how to handle this situation.
"This guy," he pointed to his body, "seems to have saved us!
Thank goodness, too!" He gave a small laugh.
"Are you feeling okay, Ranma?" Ryoga asked, raising an
eye-brow. *Why was Ranma acting kinda strange? He seems
kinda scared and unsure. I never thought I'd see Ranma like
this. Hah! Of course, the coward finally shows his true
colors. He must've gotten scared stiff by that monster.*
"Uh, of course!" Kyosuke-Ranma replied. "Why wouldn't I
be?" He laughed even more. Ryoga just big-sweated.
*Damn,* Kyosuke thought, *I've switched bodies with
this `Ranma' character. What did I do this time? The last
time I switched bodies with that idol star, it was a
disaster. Why does this always happen to me?*
"Hey, look at this guy." Ryoga continued. "You know,
Ranma, he looks kinda like you. Except for the hair, you two
could be twins!"
*Twins?!* Kyosuke thought. *Does he know... no, of
course not. Hmm... do we look alike?*
"We could?" Kyosuke said. "Why isn't that strange!
Hahahaha!!!"
*Something is definitely wrong with Ranma. I think he
got hit too hard in the head or something.* Ryoga mused. His
fang glinted strangely as he thought about it. Images of him
beating Ranma up flashed through his mind while Ranma was
laughing like an idiot. *No! Until we find out who those two
freaks were, I can't go picking fights with Ranma. We have
to dispose of that monster. It might try to hurt Akane!*
Kyosuke's body suddenly began to stir.
"Hey, look! He's waking up." Ryoga said. "Now we can
get some answers!"
*Uh, oh...* Kyosuke thought.
Ranma-Kyosuke woke up to find himself staring at him.
"Gaaah!!! What the heck is going on?!" Ranma demanded,
staring eye-to-eye with himself. Kyosuke was beginning to
form numerous beads of sweat on his brow.
"Um, well, you see..." Kyosuke fumbled.
"What do you mean? I thought *you* knew what was going
on." Ryoga said.
"How could I possibly know what's going on, Ryoga?
You're the one who summoned the monster! Besides, why am I
staring at myself?!?"
"What do you mean, staring at yourself? Oh yeah, you
two *do* look alike. Could've been brothers! Wait a
minute... how did you know my name?"
Kyosuke was definitely getting hot under the collar.
Ranma's chinese-cut shirt, somewhat tight at the neck,
wasn't exactly helping either. *No, no, no, no, no, my
secret is bound to be revealed! At least I'm not at home, so
we don't have to move away...*
"Hold on, pig-boy." Ranma-Kyosuke said. "Lemme slow
down a bit so you can understand. *I* am Ranma. That guy
over there-" Ranma pointed at Kyosuke-Ranma, "is an
impostor."
"Hold on, since when did you have brown hair?" Ryoga
wanted to know. He let that comment slide because he was
getting quite confused, and he didn't think fighting was a
good idea right now.
"Brown hair?" Ranma asked doubtfully, running a hand
through his hair. Suddenly, his hand went rigid. *Where's my
pony tail?* Ranma groped frantically behind his head. It
wasn't there.
"NANI?!? Hey you! Give me back my hair!" Ranma yelled,
lunging for Kyosuke-Ranma.
"Wait!" Kyosuke protested. "There's a very good reason
for this!"
"Oh yeah?" Ranma retorted. "Give me back my body or
else!" Ranma had noticed that he wasn't exactly himself
right now. "There's something very fishy with you, out with
it!" Ranma demanded, hands on Kyosuke-Ranma's collar and
shaking violently.
*Oh great, what do I do?* Kyosuke whimpered.
"How did you get us away from that crazy black-clothed
guy?" Ryoga asked Ranma-Kyosuke.
"How many times do I have to tell you?" Ranma said
exasperatedly at Ryoga. "I AM RANMA!" He pointed at Kyosuke.
"This is the guy you should ask questions too!" Ranma glared
at the now cringing Kyosuke.
"Alright, who are you? *What* are you?" Ranma demanded.
"Uh, well, it's like this." Kyosuke's thoughts raced
desperately. *What can I tell them? Even though I'm not at
home right now, it's best they not learn of my powers. But
they saw me teleport, and now our bodies are swapped. I
know! I'll say...*
"I'm Kasuga Kyosuke, and I belong to a family of
ESPers." *Doh! Why did I say that?*
"ESPer? What's an ESPer?" Ryoga asked confusedly.
"Um, to keep it simple, my family has powers which do
some very strange things." *Alright, that blew it.*
"Teleportation is one of the things we can do."
"Is body snatching another thing you do all the time?"
Ranma asked, a scowl on his face.
"NO!!" Kyosuke protested, feeling just a little bit
intimidated. "It's just that lately, our powers have been
working strangely. In fact, the reason why we're here at
Nerima is because we're going to visit a place of high-ESPer
concentration. We're trying to figure out what's happening."
"So why am I in your body?"
"I'm not sure," Kyosuke mused. "It may be a side-effect
of the teleporting. I've never teleported other people
before. I'm not even supposed to be able to. The
unpredictability of our powers nowadays seems to have made
my power stronger."
"So how do we change back?" Ranma demanded.
"I'm not sure. This happened once before, when I ran
into someone head-on. We changed back by bumping our heads
together."
"Well, let's try it." Without missing a beat, Ranma
rammed his head into Kyosuke's.
"OWW!!!" they both cried in unison.
"Hey you're still me..." Ranma-Kyosuke said.
"... and I'm still you." Kyosuke-Ranma finished.
Ranma winced in pain. "Man, your head is soft! Oww...!"
"Sorry." Kyosuke said.
"Will somebody please tell me what's going on?!?" Ryoga
screamed frustratedly.
A soft moan came from Madoka.
"Uh oh!!!" Kyosuke said. He looked at Ranma and Ryoga
seriously. "Please, I can't afford to let Ayukawa, or anyone
from my hometown, know that I have these powers. Please try
to act normally!"
"Huh?" the two replied.
Madoka's eyes opened, and she regarded the three boys
before her. "Kasuga-kun? What happened? Who are these two?"
she asked Ranma, motioning towards Kyosuke and Ryoga.
Ranma just stared dumbly, unsure what to do. "Uh, um,
this is my good friend Ranma!!!" he said, taking Kyosuke by
the arm. "He's a very powerful martial artist! No one can
defeat him. He's strong, brave, fast, courageous and
handsome. Don't you think?" Madoka just eyed the rambling
Ranma-Kyosuke testily.
"And this is his friend, Ryoga!" Ranma continued. "He's
slow, lumbering, and has an awful sense of direction! Don't
go to the malls with him!"
*TONK!*
Ryoga just gave Ranma-Kyosuke a *very* hard tap to the
head with his fist. "Look, *Kasuga*, let's not get any more
gratuitous with this than necessary, hmmm?" Ryoga said,
fangs gleaming in the light.
Madoka just narrowed her eyes.
"Well, it was nice meeting you," she continued, holding
a hand to her head where the blood matted her beautiful
raven hair. "However, I think Kasuga-kun and I need to be...
getting back now. Hikaru-chan is probably... very
concerned..." Madoka's eyes suddenly glazed over as she fell
to the ground.
Faster than even he would have thought possible,
Kyosuke-Ranma caught the fallen girl in his arms before she
hit the floor. Madoka felt so tender in his arms, a fragile
icon of beauty and intricacy that might crumble in his
grasp. *A-ayukawa!* Kyosuke thought.
"Ranma! What's the big idea, keep your hands off that
girl!" Ryoga screeched, knocking his fist into Kyosuke's
head. Ranma-Kyosuke rammed his into Ryoga's.
"How many times do I have to tell you, I'M RANMA!!!!"
Kyosuke just looked at the two wanly. "Please! Ayukawa
is hurt! I can't be sure how bad it is. Is there a hospital
around where I can take her?"
"Hmm... well," Ranma thought. "I know just the place!"
***
They had been fighting for what seemed to be hours now.
Perhaps, they had been. The boken felt like a deadweight in
his hands, yet still he fought on. He could not allow Akane
Tendo to see any sign of weakness. Kuno had mowed down quite
a number of the beasts already, but more were still coming.
Akane and Ukyo weren't any much better. Ukyo had run out of
throwing spatulas and was forced to go hand-to-hand with the
monstrosities. All three were covered in their sweat and
blood, numerous cuts and scratches drawn across their arms,
legs and bodies.
*How much longer can we keep this up?* Akane thought
wearily as she smashed her fist into another of the little
demon.
"Fear... thee... not... Akane Tendo... I have.... much
strength... left..." Kuno panted, although it was obvious he
was on the verge of collapse. Nothing but pride was keeping
him going.
"How come no one's... arrived... to help us yet?" Ukyo
lamented breathlessly, dodging the swipe of another
creature. "We've been... fighting so long... someone's bound
to... have noticed..." she stomped on the head of another
creature and launched off to deliver a kick to another. It
was getting very repetitious and very, very tiring.
A scream cut through the air. Akane lay sprawled on the
ground, the demon's attacks finally having caught up to her.
A number of the demons leered over her, ready to rip the
life from her flesh.
"I will save thee!" Kuno declared, cutting swath across
the demons towards his *true love*. Unfortunately, he was
nigh exhausted, and the there were quite a number of the
demons between him and Akane. He was brought to a halt mid-
way, and the demons bore over him.
Akane closed her eyes as the demons grinned evilly. She
never thought her life would end like this. She never even
had the chance... *Oh Ranma, I'm sorry...*
Instead of the hot, searing pain she expected when the
demons would disembowel her, she instead felt a soft
throbbing. She waited and waited for the throb to become
pain, but it never did. Curious, she opened her eyes and saw
the demons turned away from her. Turned away from Kuno and
Ukyo, and staring at a brilliant red rectangular slab of
glowing energy and light in the middle of the courtyard.
It looked like a door, erected in the middle of the
field, throbbing and pulsing with energy, emitting a
humming, throbbing noise which seemed to resonate in Akane's
mind, a dull, almost hypnotizing sensation that blocked away
all other perceptions. Her attention was fixed solely on the
red gate.
As time seemed to stand still in that temporal quality
of essence, a figure emerged from the red haze. Akane
gasped, along with Ukyo and Kuno, at the otherworldly
presence which entered into their midst.
It stood tall, seeming to thunder over them all, with a
massive frame shrouded in a blood red cape. Gleaming in the
sunlight was a layer of cold steel, glittering brightly
underneath the cape as it stirred in the breeze. A huge
helmet of a like metal lay upon its head, daunting with its
blunt curves and its two protruding horns. No face could be
seen in the dark recesses of that helm, partly silhouetted
against the soft light of the gate. Across its right
shoulder could be seen a beautifully crafted hilt of the
darkest color of night, jutting out from the form as an
offensive presence of sheer malevolence. On the zenith of
the hilt where it met the guard and the blade lay a
magnificent gem of the deepest blue, crackling with an
unholy energy that had its own powerful fire. A fearsome
bluish aura crackled about the helmet, and underneath the
red cape, soaking the air around it with power.
It spoke.
"I have finally arrived." its voiced echoed, projecting
quietly, but powerfully, into the hearts of those present.
It was a fearsome voice, echoing gratingly underneath the
visage of that massive helm. Akane shivered in fear, Ukyo
stared in shocked astonishment, Kuno gripped his boken
tightly, in fear or in rage, it was uncertain.
With that stolid decree, it clasped the hilt of the
black sword with a gauntleted fist, also crackling with
bluish aura, and drew the sword forth, pointing it high into
the air. The sky, once a brilliant afternoon blue, darkened
as it crackled with energy, and the sword rose its song,
bursting with awesome might. From the jewel that lay upon
its hilt, gouts of flame spread forth and engulfed the
little demons, causing them to writhe in unimaginable agony.
*Such power!* Kuno thought, *Can only be... black
sorcery!*
It was then that Akane noticed three others who had
appeared with the mighty figure. Appearing beside and behind
him were three others, of no less stature, but each almost
entirely different.
The first to the figure's right wore an impressive full-
body suit of gleaming silvery steel. It was fashioned in the
age old tradition of medieval knights that Akane had read
about in studying the history of Europe. Steel gauntlets
adorned his hand and steel greaves which ended in plate
boots covered his legs. A gleaming red tabard ran across the
front length of his breastplate, held in place by a brown
leather sword belt which ended in a curved scabbard holding
an ornate scimitar hilt. His face was ruggedly handsome,
with shoulder-length brown hair and a flowing brown
mustache.
To his right was a man wearing soft hues of green.
Underneath, however, could be seen the glint of metal, woven
into intricate links which reminded Akane of chains being
stringed together. He wore a red cap on his head, covering
his rich blond hair. At his back was a large bow of
beautiful ashwood, which throbbed with a greenish quality.
Beside it was a small quiver filled with feathered arrows.
At his side hung a slender sword. His blue eyes looked at
Akane and sparkled, a small grin appearing underneath his
slight blond mustache.
The last figure newcomer looked to be an old man in a
drab brown flowing outfit. Laced across his body was an
assortment of pouches, and slung at his waist was a strange
contraption which tugged at the edges of Akane's medieval
studies... ah! A crossbow. At his back could be seen the
handle of a strange pear-shaped instrument, made of wood and
strung with several taut strings.
A strange ensemble indeed.
The figure in the lead lowered the black sword which
had burst with incredible power as the reddish light behind
them began to fade. Around them were the charred remains of
demons, contorted into grotesque, blackened shapes.
"Vile sorcerer!!! Your fell minions could not do the
job, so you have come to face us yourself!!! DIE!! Die like
the scum beneath my feet!" Kuno drawled, stomping over the
blackened remains of the demons, seeming to have gotten his
second wind as he brandished his boken against the
mysterious figure.
"Kuno, you jackass! Have you lost your mind!?" Ukyo
screamed.
The figure and his three companions were taken aback at
this unexpected attack, but the lead figure easily brought
his sword up to deflect Kuno's frantic thrusts.
"I shall smite thee, base villain! Kuno vowed, murder
in his eyes as he stabbed again and again. "I swear this
upon my honor!!!"
***
The room was lofty and dark, made even loftier by the
soft hum of complicated machinery. The soft metallic
surfaces finely shaped into the smooth contours of a sleek
aero-dynamic car made excellent paneling for the room,
covering layer upon layer of circuitry and advanced
nanotechnology.
All along the walls were patterns of vidscreens,
consoles and terminals, dimly lit by the glow emitted by a
massive screen taking up the majority of one of the walls of
the alcove. In front of a large console before the screen
was a figure. Not many of the features of the slender, wispy
figure could be made out in the dark, but short dark hair
could be seen framing a face marked by one distinguishing
feature -- a smooth visor which ran across the figure's
eyes. The figure was busily tapping into the console while
studying the screen before it, which flashed with images and
data.
"Damn!!" it swore, taking one fist away long enough
from the console to clench and shake it. Whilst the other
hand continued typing away, the other slowly softened its
tight fist and resumed its place beside the other more
industrious hand.
"What is it?" another figure asked from the darkened
room, at another console. In the soft light of the screen,
its features could not be clearly defined, but the even the
dark could not block out the finely chiseled features of the
comely face, nor its tall, towering height.
"My fears have come to pass! Do you recall that strange
disturbance Askani detected a few weeks back? Since then,
its echoes have been growing in size and intensity, and
finally, now, they seem to have reached a peak. And they
keep reaching that peak. Something bad is going on, and from
the advanced data which I've recorded from our past
dimensional hopping exploits, it seems that a large mass of
entities from this dark dimension charted as `KX-020' has
been moving to this other dimension called `A5-Prime'."
"Hold on there," the other figure said. "A5-Prime?
Isn't that a highly symmetrical dimension to our own?"
The figure at the console nodded. "Indeed, with Dr.
Light's dimensional scheme, we are `A2-003'. Dr. Light's
dimension is classified as `A1-Prime'. This dimension is in
a class highly parallel to our own, and is very, very
accessible to ours."
Another figure walked over to the three. This figure
was burlier and more strongly built than the other two, and
in the dim light, he was an impressive figure. "If that is
the case, then I can only come up with a few scenarios, most
of them quite ugly."
"Such as?" the tall figure asked.
"A large migration can only mean two things -- an
exodus to escape an offensive or dying land, or an invasion.
What are the stats about that dimension `KX-020'?"
The figure at the console had already been typing and
reading more information. "It seems to be a long-uninhabited
dimension of barren life-less qualities. There seems to be a
lot of negative energy coming from this dimension, and the
history of records from Dr. Light's Dimensional Guide
indicate that this dimension has had a massive influx of
dark energy only in the recent year. It's as if something
has just awakened."
"Dark energy... hmmm..." the tall figure thought. "This
whole thing stinks of evil."
"Indeed," the figure at the console agreed. "I do not
believe that this could have been an exodus from a dying
world -- this world was long dead and gone before we were
even born. I think some strange phenomenon has been revived
here, spawning a massive army of dark creatures. I believe
that this army is now invading Dimension A5-Prime."
"If that is the case," the burly figure said, "then
this might be a case of inter-dimensional conquest. From the
dimensional map, it seems that if Dimension A5-Prime will
fall, it is highly likely that the next target will be our
own."
"It is decided. We must investigate this matter closely
and prevent any dangers that might arise." the figure at the
console declared. "We must go over to Dimension A5-Prime
immediately. There can be no delay. I shall just compose a
short message to Dr. Light to inform him of the situation. I
am sure that he will be able to lend some assistance to this
matter." As he said this, he was already composing his
message to Dr. Light. His hands dashed across the terminal.
"Chavez, gear up the Mega X-2. We will be going for a
trip." he added.
Across the room another figure, this one wearing a
cape, was flicking switches on a nearby console. A circular
platform to the other side of the room was beginning to
light up, revealing six nodes arranged in a circular
pattern.
"Hurray! Another adventure! Things have been getting
boring here of late." a wiry figure announced from another
corner of the room.
"Ack, but I thought that you had finally decided to
rescind into the moldy presence of fungus." the tall lean
figure said derisively.
"Hey, I resent that. I must say, I am much more
sophisticated than a piece of bread mold!" the wiry figure
quipped. "In fact, I eat bread mold for breakfast!"
"The message is sent." the figure at the console stood
up and went over to one of the six nodes. The tall figure
joined him beside it, as did the wiry figure. In the light,
we could see three youths, a slender one wearing a brown
vest and a curious-looking visor, a tall youth with a regal
bearing and handsome features, and a short wiry youth with
soft features.
From another corner came another figure, and as it
stepped into the light, it was an attractive young lady with
long, raven black hair and a slender figure. She took her
place on another node.
"Strategics," the slender, visored figure barked. "Set
our coordinates and ready the transfer. You and Chavez set
the auto-dimensional tracking and follow us as soon you have
stabilized our position. I will be setting my specs to
record data."
"Of course." the burly figure replied. He turned to the
console and said, "Askani, take notes of all features of
Dimension A5-Prime as transmitted by the Demon Sword." He
then began tapping onto the terminal.
"As you will," came a soft, melodic female voice that
wafted through the room. "The coordinates for the warp to
Dimension A5-Prime is set."
"Ready here," the caped figure replied from his
console. "Warp levels are at prescribed levels."
"Send us." the visored figure enjoined.
The warp pad begun to light up, and the four figure
began to shimmer out of this dimension.
"All readings are normal." the caped figure called
Chavez reported. "Warp signatures are in place, and we will
be able to track them within 10 seconds. Askani, commence
tracking sequence."
"10-" the atmospheric female voice said.
"Conduit to Dimension A5-Prime is opening without
fail." the burly figure known as Strategics replied.
"9-"
"Warp factor reaching critical level. In two seconds,
the warp will have commenced." Chavez stated.
"8-"
"Holy cow, what was that?" Strategics cocked an eye as
a slight crackle of energy flew across his console.
"7-"
Suddenly, a huge crackle of electricity ran across the
room as Chavez was turning some switches at his console.
"The hell!?!?" he stammered.
"Askani! Stop the sequence! Something is wrong!"
Strategics screamed.
"I am sorry," the ambient female voice said. "But you
see, the warp factor has surpassed critical levels. I cannot
reverse the procedure now."
"5, 4, 3-"
Strategics looked over to the warp platform the four
figures were now more light and energy than physical human
bodies. He could only hope nothing was severely wrong...
***
In another dimension, a huge behemoth of mechanical
design was hovering above the ground, high into the air. A
huge tower, reaching mile upon mile up into the heavens, did
not even come close to the huge machination in the sky. It
looked like another moon for the world known as Roshtaria.
"The Eye of God is ready." the Princess Rune Venus
declared. With her was her sister, Fatora, and they were
both garbed in the formal robes prescribed throughout
Roshtarian tradition for two princesses who were to wield
the awesome Eye of God.
Gathered at the top of the tower as well were Makoto,
Ura, Ifurita, Nanami, Mr. Fujisawa and the three priestesses
of Mt. Muldoon.
"Sensei, are you sure you want to go with me on this?
Ifurita and I can handle it." Makoto said to his teacher.
"Of course, kiddo!" Mr. Fujisawa declared. "Besides, I
kinda miss the old Shinonome High. It'll be nice to go back
to Earth."
"And wherever Masamichi goes, I go!" Miz declared,
glomping onto Mr. Fujisawa and eliciting a blush from said
sensei.
"And we sure as hell aren't letting her go alone.
Priestesses of Mt. Muldoon stick together." Shayla
announced. Afura nodded stalwartly beside her.
"And don't think you're going to leave me behind!"
Nanami declared. "It'll be good to be back on Earth!"
"Makoto! Makoto!" Ura playfully called, strapping onto
Makoto in typical cat-armor fashion.
"Hey, Ura!" Makoto laughed.
"It is settled, then." Rune Venus said. She nodded to
Fatora. The two princesses began their motions, unsealing
the power of the Eye with the spiritual power that only a
princess of the royal house possessed.
The Eye of God turned to face the pedestal at the tower
where the eight travelers were assembled. It opened its
front eye and a beam of powerful white light shot out,
engulfing them, ready to send them across dimensions.
Suddenly, the intensity of the beam rose dramatically,
blinding in its light as the Eye hummed loudly, more
intensely than in the previous travel.
"Uh, sis, I think something's wrong!" Fatora declared.
With a final powerful burst of light, the Eye stopped
and the two princesses were left alone at the top of the
tower. It seemed that Makoto and his companions had been
sent underway.
A gasp from Rune prompted Fatora to look up into the
heavens.
"Oh my..."
The Eye of God's front end was blackened, darkened
actually, but it did not seem to be a residual carbon
deposit as would have been the case from intense heat
burning. Rather... it seemed to be a palpable darkness
that... defied explanation.
"Rune, I think we'd better tell Strellbaugh about
this..."
***
"2-"
Chavez was noting wild fluctuations of dimensional warp
energy on his console.
"Ben, there's something very, very wrong here! My
sensors are overloading with unknown readings!!!"
"1-"
The figure called Strategics continued to regard the
four on the platform.
"0. Warp complete."
The light reached its brightest and began to fade away.
Once visibility was back to normal, the four were gone.
"Oh, great!" Chavez said. "Ben, you'd better take a
look at these readings." he pushed a few buttons, and the
main viewscreen shifted to a different kind of data.
"Wait a minute... Askani, does this mean what I think
it means?" Ben asked.
"Affirmative, if you mean the that warp signatures are
overloaded and unviable for further use." Askani replied in
that ambient female voice that echoed throughout the room.
"Then that means..." Chavez said unsurely.
"Yes, inter-dimensional travel is dead." Ben said
gravely. "We're stuck here, while Erwin and the others are
stranded on Dimension A5-Prime with no way to contact us."
***
Tatewaki Kuno proceeded with a series of lightning fast
thrusts and strikes with his boken, but the armored figure
easily deflected the blows with deft twists of his massive
black sword.
"Do you think that a few lucky maneuvers will overcome
my superior skill?" Kuno demanded of the mysterious figure.
"No. That's why I am using carefully timed counters."
the figure responded in that strange resonating voice. A few
flicks of its wrist and it sent Kuno struggling back for
even ground.
"What does that baka think he's trying to accomplish?"
Ukyo seethed. "That stick of his won't even dent that guy's
armor!"
"He can rot in hell for all I care!" Akane humphed.
The three figures on the other side were busy
conferring as well.
"Don't you think that she's being excessive?" the
handsome man in plate armor noted.
"Methinks the fight is quite boring." the old man in
brown said.
"Your age is catching up with you! Anything requiring
energy is boring for you." the green-garbed man said.
"I am *not* being excessive!!!" Akane roared at the man
in plate armor. "He *can* rot in hell for all I care!!!"
"I was not referring to thee!" the man replied.
"Oh, so I'm being excessive now, is it?!?" Ukyo
demanded.
"No, no!!! Not at all! You see..." whatever he was
about to say was cut off as a brilliant flash of light lit
the scene. Standing a scant distance from the two parties
were two youths. One was tall and well-built, with fine
features and dark brownish-black hair. He was dressed in a
simple collared shirt overlaid with an ochre-colored
sweater, as well as a simple pair of jeans. His companion
was shorter and wiry, wearing a casual grey-colored sweater
and jeans.
Kuno charged the figure once again. "Die, you shameless
knave!!! Stand back and face me like a man, for thy
cowardice knows no bounds!" he went through the same routine
of jabs and thrusts, but this time, the figure had caught on
to his fighting style. With a few flicks and parries and a
sudden twist, the figure sent Kuno's sword flying to one
direction and the Blue Thunder the other. He landed
painfully on the ground.
The figure simply regained his stance, red cloak barely
rustled in the series of maneuvers it went through, settling
gently around its wearer once again.
*That sword!* The tall handsome youth's eyes fell onto
the black sword held by the armored figure. *It reeks of
demonic power! This must be the dark energy that Erwin had
mentioned!*
"Die, demonic fiend! I sense your evil!" the tall,
handsome youth shouted.
"What?" the armored figure turned to face its new
threat.
"Wait, Charles!" the wiry youth called. "You can't be
serious! You saw how that dude can fight! I think we should
regroup and find Erwin and Giel first!"
"Justice awaits no man!" Charles replied. "I cannot
abandon these three to the mercy of this demon spawn!" with
a fierce shout, the handsome youth snapped out a bull-hide
whip from his belt and whipped it at the sword-wielder,
charging forward at the same time.
"Hold on here," the figure grated in his resounding
voice. "You do not know who you are facing!"
"Your evil tells me enough! Even if you were the king
of hell himself, I would not hesitate to cleanse this world
of your taint!" the whip curled around figure's legs, and
the youth pulled, knocking the armored figure down.
The three companions of the armored sword-wielder drew
their weapons.
"Nay, we've done enough damage as it is!" the figure
shouted. "I will handle this!"
"You cannot fool me with your benevolent facade!"
Charles replied.
"You *will* listen." the armored figure retorted. With
a quick flick, he slashed at the whip entangling his legs
with the black sword, intending to cut himself free.
Instead, a brilliant flash of energy emerged as the sword
struck the seemingly fragile bull-hide, causing sparks to
fly. The sword burned an angry fire, and the gem flared a
bright blue, as if in distaste of the contact. The whip, on
the other hand, began to glow a pure white light and was
soon immolated by the powerful aura.
"Impossible!" the armored figure screamed.
"Believe it! Behold a Paladin's Holy Weapon! No evil
can withstand the righteous might of a true Paladin!" the
youth jerked the whip violently, bringing the entangled
figure towards him. Charles balled his free hand into a
fist, and smashed it into the helm of the armored figure.
The figure's head snapped wildly backwards, caught off-
guard by the unorthodox tactic. The black sword fell to the
ground with a clatter as the armored figure fell to the
ground before the paladin.
"How can he just punch that helmet with his bare
hands?" Ukyo wondered.
"Methinks this paladin-person is quite daft." said the
man in plate armor.
"Even so, he seems to be doing quite well in his
lunacy." commented the old man.
"Hah, that muckety-old paladin packs more power than
you might think, as much as I regret saying it." the wiry
youth said.
"Why exactly is that?" Akane asked.
"Uh, let's say that we had a sort of `operation' in our
recent past." the wiry youth quipped.
"I will defeat you as I have defeated countless others
pawns of evil!" Charles declared. "Witness the power of the
Sunburst Technique, first hand!" the paladin began glowing
with pure white energy, covering his entire being with
brilliance.
"Oh, great. He's doing it *again*." the wiry youth
whined.
"What is he doing?" the old man asked.
"The Sunburst Technique." the wiry youth explained.
"Passed on through generations of paladins, or some such
bull. It cleanses and destroys evil with sheer, stubborn
righteousness. Or something like that." The youth shrugged.
"I've seen wretched evil people blasted into silliness with
that thing."
"It doesn't work on good people?" the man in plate
asked.
"Hmm... I dunno. I think the more evil you are, the
more it hurts. Ol' Charlie here used it on a street thug
once, and he got bawled over, like he was run down by a
heavyweight boxer. He used it on a demon once, and the thing
just plain vaporized!"
"Hehehe, did you hear that?" the plated man laughed.
"What a fiasco! Hahahahhaha!!!!"
"Good joke!" the guy in green agreed.
"This is too rare!" the old man joined in the laughter.
The three were laughing so hard, they were doubling over and
their eyes were starting to water. "HAHAHAHHA!!!"
"What the heck is the matter with those three?" the
youth asked the two girls.
"Dunno, sugar."
"Hmmpph. They can rot in hell if they want to."
The armored figure lay on the ground, before the
spectacle of righteousness the paladin was displaying.
"Now, your fell existence ends, demon!"
"We shall see." the armored figure said through its
helm. If Charles hadn't known better, he thought that he'd
heard a chuckle underneath that huge metallic mask.
"Taiyosuidokan!" the paladin's white aura came alive as
he held his hand, palm-extended, over the prone figure. The
light blasted forth, engulfing the armored figure
completely. The paladin relaxed from his pose, his
righteousness spent. "It is over." he declared.
"Not likely." the plate-mailed man smirked.
"That was... nice." came the resonating voice.
"What?!" the youth stared incredulously at the red-
caped, armored figure, who was once again standing, the bull-
hide whip in his hand. The figure muttered a few arcane
words, and held his hand out towards the paladin. A ring of
fire grew around him, encircling him in flames.
"What's this thing about a Holy Weapon?" the figure
rumbled, regarding the whip. "Maybe I should get one of
these myself." The helmed face turned towards the youth.
Charles thought he could see blue eyes in the depths of that
shadowy helm.
"Fool, only a paladin can command the might of a holy
weapon!"
"You know, you really should learn some manners!" the
figure sent the whip flying through the air, and it curled
around Charles' wrist.
"Fool, a paladin's weapon can never turn against its
master!" he simply waved his hand, and the whip uncurled
from his wrist, at the same time leaping from the figure's
hand. In a flash, the paladin sent a bright glow of white
aura across the weapon, and the whip coiled around its
master, following the circle of fire. The fire died down,
leaving the whip in a circle around the paladin.
"We shall see who will be teaching whom!" the paladin
declared.
"Hmmph." came the resonating reply. The figure held out
its hand, and the black sword came to his hand. "All the
same, I do not think I need to use this." The figure laid
down his sword. "Have at thee, brutish knave!" he put up his
fists.
The armored figure charged, his red cloak whipping
slightly around his fast form. He threw a couple of punches
and jabs at Charles, but the tall youth nimbly sidestepped
and blocked the incoming hits.
Without missing a beat, the youth rebounded from his
sidestepping and blazed in with several graceful punches and
kicks. The figure likewise retreated and deflected the hits
with swift parries of his wrist.
The two disengaged and regarded each other intently.
"How can someone wearing so much metal move so fast?"
Ukyo wondered.
"I can move faster than that." the wiry youth pouted.
Ukyo just glared at him.
"Scouts honor!" he replied, holding his hand up. "I
really can! Trust me!"
"Impressive footwork..." Charles noted appraisingly.
"I have trained under the fighting masters of a whole
kingdom. I have mastered a dozen different fight styles in
pursuit of the finest fighting form. I have trained under,
and defeated, the master of the Library of Scars. " the
figure replied. "I expect I should have learned
*something*."
"You'd like my friend, the Demon Sword, then." the
paladin replied.
"If his fighting style is as good as yours, I'm sure I
will."
"I'll take that as a compliment. En garde!" the paladin
wove in with a few quick kicks and punches, which his
opponent easily deflected. The armored figure would then
drive in with a series of well placed counter-attacks, many
of which came close but would not hit the mark. This seesaw
tirade continued for quite a while. The six onlookers
(seven, counting the semi-conscious Kuno) were starting to
tire of the performance.
Suddenly, the paladin struck a glancing blow against
the armored one's breast plate. Following more attacks and
ripostes, the paladin began landing more and more hits.
"What is the matter, villain? Lost your footing?"
Charles taunted.
"Hardly. I can't seem to move right." came the reply.
It was noticeable that the figure's bluish aura seemed to be
subsiding.
"Look!" the old man noted. "`Tis impossible! The
aura..."
"Verily! How can the armor-" the plate-mailed man
agreed.
The figure began to take off its gauntlets. Then it
undid its breastplate, dropping the heavy metal onto the
ground. Load considerably lightened, the figure nonetheless
kept his red cloak wrapped about himself, and indeed, he
seemed to be able to fight quite effectively in spite of his
strange costume.
"Shall we begin round two?" he chided.
"Anytime." the paladin replied, charging.
This time, the flurry of blows once again commenced,
but the once armored-figure now moved much faster, and
managed to get in a few more telling blows than the paladin.
"Ack, that does it." Charles avowed.
He once again rushed the now unarmored figure, but as
he came closer, he leapt into the air to deliver a flying
kick. His opponent, however, would not be so easily
finished. He ducked under the attack and came up behind the
unbalanced paladin, having just landed from his attack. It
was an easy advantage which promised victory. An
ungauntleted hand was raised for a final blow to the back of
the neck, but as it descended, the paladin smiled.
"Gotcha!"
The paladin brought up his hands in a practiced motion,
entrapping the descending member. With a few quick twists of
his feet and jerks of his arm, the paladin reversed his
position and was about to send his opponent flying above
him. His opponent, however, was better versed at fighting
than the paladin gave him credit for.
As Charles was about to execute his brilliant flip, the
helmed figure locked a leg down the paladin's lower body and
brought his other hand to bear the paladin's throat. Charles
was forced to let go of the arm and brace his hands across
his opponent's body, or else the figure would fall upon him
and break his windpipe.
The paladin fell to his back, but easily caught his
opponent in the chest with his hands, stopping the descent
of the arm against his throat. He was about to flip his
opponent over as planned, had he not received the shock of
his life.
His hands had caught his opponent's chest, and he felt
something ... soft. Soft, but firm. *What the...*
"Uh-oh, he's done it now." the green-garbed man
replied.
"Done what?" Allan, Ukyo and Akane asked.
Charles just realized what had happened when a hand
slapped him across his cheek.
"You pervert!!!" the figure rose and took off its
helmet. Long blond hair cascaded down across a strikingly
attractive face. As the figure stood back, the red cloak
swirled dramatically with a flourish, revealing a full-
bodied figure wearing a bright orange tunic which revealed
some very nice curves. A short skirt revealed a pair of
long, shapely legs covered by knee-high boots. Along the
breast of the tunic was a strange yellow symbol that looked
like a `T' with an `O' balanced at the top.
"Uh..." Charles said, still stricken on the ground.
"Oh, my lovely goddess of strength and might!" Kuno
declared, suddenly awake and fully conscious, glomping onto
the now unarmored girl's full figure.
Her face lit up like a very, very angry fire as Kuno
drawled on his inane poetry.
"JERK!!!" She screamed, launching Kuno into the air
with an ire-powered kick.
"Oh, great, what have I gotten myself into?" the
paladin lamented.
***
*----------------------
Confused? I sure hope so!
In the Next Episode of... The Dark Crucible
Ranma, Ryoga and Kyosuke bring Madoka over to Dr. Tofu's, only to
meet a mishap with Shampoo! Meanwhile, Charles and his companion
spend a fun-filled day at the Tendo dojo with the Tendos and the
mysterious babe and her three stooges. This and more!
Be there!
*----------------------
***BLAH, BLAH AND BLAH :
Many people have complained that they can't keep up with
everything that's happening. I admit it's a problem intrinsic
in the fic itself, being a poorly planned experiment on my
part. But I fun doing it, and to help you enjoy it more, I
wrote a Dark Crucible Manual, available in the link above.
Well, that wraps up this episode. It's a miracle what a glass of
chocolate milk and mocha crackers can do to your writing. I actually
finished this damn thing. Only two more posts to go before I
post a newly finished chapter that really needs C&C. Hope you
guys enjoyed the fic.
End -- The Dark Crucible - Episode 2 v1.2
*----------------------