Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Ronin Warriors: Hell Back on Earth ❯ Blasting Down Heaven's Door ( Chapter 27 )

After finally managing to drive off Tenma's combined forces, the time had come to prepare for their next attack. By unanimous vote, I.J. had been put in charge of the defensive efforts, as Amphibious APC's slid up the beach and unloaded numerous troops in body armor, which deployed into small protective shells with their bazookas ready. Still more headed for the guns that Ran had set up on the beach to reload and reprepare them for their next assault. Missile launchers were set up, as some troops headed up the beach to the cannon command center, to install a disk in the center, which enabled a set of strange coiled towers to emerge from the ground, as a series of large guns also sprung out of the ground, all aimed for the shoreline.

"All right you Maggots! It is my job and mine alone to ensure that nothing, and I mean nothing takes this island. Now move, move, move!"

With I.J. embracing his orders, the next step was to get the Seishi ready to fight.

"We're not staying to protect the Isle?" Ryo asked when he heard the news.

"We found out where the Priest of Amaterasu is." Kinjiro explained.
"Where? Where is he?" Anubis asked.
"Somewhere in Toyama. Houji's done something major to keep us from knowing about their positions, so I can't effectively scan the city. So we'll have to rely on magic for this one."
"Like, that means it's up to me, right?" Yoko asked.
"Amaterasu taught you a spell that will point your staff towards a particular target, right?" Kinjiro asked.
"Yeah."
"Oh this is just peachy. Our success on this mission is entirely dependent on this girl's ability to perform this spell right." Kashin grumbled.
"It's a real easy spell!" Yoko protested.
"We will do our best to help you sense our Priest, Miss Yoko." Navcase insisted.
"At least someone supports me on this." Yoko pointed out.
"Ayame will use the new ship I developed to slip through Houji's defenses and then safely land inside the city. Once inside, you will locate the Priest and escort him out as fast as you possibly can to the recovery point. We're not sure what kind of surprises Tenma has in store for you within the city, but Amaterasu and I are positive that you'll succeed."
"What about what happened last time? The whole armor canceling out thing?" Kashin asked.
"Houji might try and use it again. But we're pretty positive that he'll be too busy trying to blow up the island that he'll forget." Kinjiro explained.

Meanwhile, at a secondary facility outside Toyama, a mammoth ship was being prepared alongside a second one, which Houji had repainted to resemble, of all things, White Base. The floor bustled with activity as workers loaded strange fighters into each of the craft, with Houji looking on in earnest. He was then informed that he had a phone call, and headed off to take it.

"Houji, how goes your other project?" came Tenma's question.
"Oh wonderful sir, wonderful! That accursed plane won't stop me this time! And I have surprises for their little boat too!"
"Good. Then I can count on you to wreak havoc while I deal with any intruders to the city with our little pawns. Which reminds me, I have some business to take care of." Tenma said before hanging up.

He head through the halls of Houji's elaborate facility, finally entering Midori's room.

"I am ready for you to make our second wish to Drakka."
"Fine, what do you want me to ask for this time..." Midori answered with little enthusiasm.
"Tell him to open a portal to the Heavens from within our own base." Tenma answered.

"Kai Jin!" The girl called out, as Drakka's symbol began to glow on her forehead. "Open a portal to the Heavens within our own base!"

Evil energies crackled throughout the base, arcing their way down the hall away from her room, traveling along the walls, all meeting like roads to Mecca in the main grounds outside, as a vortex of energy slowly began to swirl together, as Tenma laughed in glee. Midori's eyes continued to glow brightly and evilly.

"Well done Tenma." came Drakka's voice. "Now what?"
"You should have power enough to control our pawns, they will be more than enough to fend off any visitors we may encounter." Tenma explained.
"Very well." Drakka replied.

Back on the Isle, I.J. was making the final preparations for his defensive posture for protecting the Isle. More weapons were being delivered and set up, as Kinjiro's special cargo ship, the Phantom Express, resembling a EVN
Valkyrie freighter, touched down on the island and began to unload even more Guardian GI's, and workers emerged to set up a Tank Bunker and erect a makeshift War Factory.

"I.J. Arclite!" one of the engineers declared.
"What do you want, you clipboard carrying maggot?" he asked.
"We need to you to drive yourself in there. We've got some new weapons we want to install on you."
"Ooraugh! Why didn't you say so!? Let's make me able to kick some more ass!" He said as he transformed into Tank mode and drove inside as the door to the garage slid closed. Bakurai took to the water with Ran as he proceeded to unload dozens of mines in the waters approaching the shoreline. Himeihoshi waited patiently in his own launch bay, as his armaments slowly replenished back to full strength. Across from him, Kanesada was doing the same.

"Okay, it's all well and good that we're all here defending the island, but what if Tenma hits the Heavens too?" Yuri asked.
"We'll use the portal on the island to send more forces over to Amaterasu's front."
"Like a Nydus Canal." Sakura asked.
"Something like that. But our forces are limited to what we can fit into the temple with little effort. Anything on the big side we're going to have trouble doing." Kinjiro explained.
"Such as?" Suiren asked.
"I.J. for one thing."

The girls had a temporary vision in their heads of chibi thems trying to push the lumbering death machine into the portal, and understood instantly.

"Um, Kinjiro, did you and Ayame build me a slave at all?" Suiren asked.
"We did, but we had trouble controlling it. It sort of ran away." he explained.
"Okay..." Suiren replied, not sure what they meant by "ran away".

Outside, the Seishi were wondering about this new vehicle that they were going to use to reach Toyama this time was. Their long, nasty battle machine was bad enough, what could Ayame possibly have built that they needed so badly to get to Toyama this time?

Ayame stepped out from inside the fifth section of the monstrosity.

"Okay, all pre-flight stuff's done. Let's get going." Ayame replied as the container began to split down the middle, revealing a aircraft that looked like it could go straight into space and fit right in.

"Kinjiro and I based it on a Mod Starbridge." she explained. "It's got all the standard armaments of an E class. I don't have a name for the thing yet though. Ready to go?" Ayame asked as everyone warily climbed in through the cargo bay and followed her up to the cockpit area. They took their seats as Ayame prepared to lift off.

"This thing has two seperate power systems on it, a secondary and a primary. The secondary can only provide enough juice to the weapons systems and power the engines on speeds up to Mach 3."
"What about the primary?" Ayako asked.
"That kicks in the added oomph we need to push the engines up to escape velocity and go into space. But all we really need now is the repulsorlift systems and the verniers to get where we're going." Ayame answered as they lifted off and proceeded to glide along at high speed towards mainland Japan. Ayame flipped on the radar and began to scan for the Seishi based on Kinjiro's own satellites, but only found large patches of black that remained, even though most of the radar map revealed the terrain and units occupying them.

"Damn. Houji must have set up GAP Generators."
"What are GAP Generators Miss Ayame?" Navcase asked.
"Well, I hate to break your heart Yoko, but they don't fabricate trendy clothing stores. What they DO accomplish is blocking out portions of our radar picture, GPS uplink or not. Meaning, we have no idea what the area looks like or how many enemy units we can expect to find there. Our best bet is to try and land somewhere outside where the GAP generators are and pray that Houji doesn't throw too much at you guys." Ayame explained.
"I just hope he doesn't turn on that blasted whatever it was that turned off our armors." Anubis said.
"Ayame, what is that strange 'u' shaped thing on top of that building?" Yuriko said, pointing up ahead.
"That, would be a GAP Generator. Okay, I'm powering up the guns to see if I can take it out."

Targeting crosshairs appeared on the front glass, as Ayame brought the evil tower into her sights, moments later sending a pair of railgun shots slamming into the annoyance, damaging it badly before using her lasers to finish it off. Instantly the radar became much clearer, as all the various units in the immediate area became visible.

"Can you get any info on what they are Ayame?" Ryo asked.
"Unfortunately, no. We're going to have to land." She explained.

Ayame began to take the ship down, firing her weapons frequently to clear a path for the Seishi as they filed out of the cargo bay, charging into the numerous DINN and Cyber Soldiers that Houji had dispatched, as they began to drop like flies. Moments later, they were gone, and Yoko was on.

Reciting a simple incantation, she threw her staff out in front of them, and it turned towards the north.

"This way!" she said, as the others followed suit.

Back at Houji's little base, the final preparations had been made. His carriers set out at last towards the Isle of Mists, with him at the helm of his flagship, the Char Anznable.

"With all these fighters, that accursed plane will not stop me this time!
And with all my sea mecha, none of them will succeed!" Houji said confidently.

Back in Toyama, led by Yoko's staff, the group was slowly making their way towards the Priest of Amaterasu, wherever he happened to be. There was not much in the way of resistance, as the mechs left behind were quickly dispatched before they could do anything serious by Navcase, Anubis, Ryo, Yuriko, and Kashin.

"This is almost too easy." Navcase observed.
"Yes, I agree. I would bet my former Ogre armor that Tenma has been expecting us to some degree." Anubis said.
"Great, so where is that bastard?" Kashin asked.
"I wish I knew. We must be on our guard." Anubis said.

The group treaded cautiously as they proceeded further into the city, following the trail Yoko had picked up with her staff. Everyone knew that the Priest was somewhere here. They were also quite sure that Tenma knew this as well, and would do everything in his power to keep it from happening.

Back at the ship, monitoring the situation carefully, Ayame had picked up four unknown blips coming their way. All had taken off at relatively the same time, and they were all headed for the team.

*"Anubis! It's Ayame. I'm picking up bogeys coming your way. I don't know what they are, but you can bet they're bad. Be careful." Ayame said.

*"Right. Perhaps we should ready our armors." Anubis said.

Navcase had fallen into an almost trance as he stood, as if expecting something to happen, and soon.

"I feel someone familiar, but it's very faint." Navcase said, going into Shinken no Kamae stance as what looked like VR Raiden flew in and opened fire with its bazooka in a spread of shots, forcing the group to dive for cover.

Next, a ground bomb was tossed, but the group jumped to dodge it, as the explosion tore up the street.

"Kazuhiko...it's you." Navcase said to himself. "I can feel you...what in Heaven's name has Tenma done to you?"
"Anubis!" he shouted. "I'll stay and handle this!"
"What? We need you and your sword if we're gonna remotely get to the Priest unscathed!"
"You can handle it! This is my fight!" Navcase declared.
"Good luck to you then. Yoko! Lead on!" Anubis said as Yoko aimed her staff again, as they were presented with a new direction.
"ARMOR OF HOPE!!!!" Navcase shouted, as he armored up and flew above his rival, producing his beam saber.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu! Ryu Tsui Sen!" he shouted, crashing down on top of the armor, only to have his attack blocked by the bazooka, and whacked by it as he was sent backwards. He recovered, and was forced to dodge in the
air as bazooka shots were fired at him again. He attempted to make more advances on the enemy machine, but most of them were fended off by the Raiden's bazooka.
"All of his blows have no life to them! It as if he has had most of his life force suppressed! Fear not, my friend, I will free you from whatever it is they have done to you!" Navcase vowed.

"I really hope cape boy isn't getting himself killed right now." Kashin replied.
"Shinta-chan can take care of himself!" Yuriko declared.
"I hope you can say the same about him when he's heavily encased in armor plating." Kashin added.
"That's enough Kashin. Yoko, which way is that staff pointing now?" Anubis asked.
"It says to go this way." Yoko answered.
"Great, we're entirely dependent on valley girl to get us out of this." Kashin complained.
"Geez, are you always this negative? I've known pessimists with more confidence than you." Ryo added.
"There's a big difference between being pessimistic and being realistic." Kashin stated.

*"Guys! I'm picking up another one of the bogeys, approaching really fast!" Ayame reported.
"Everyone, jump now!" Anubis said, as a blur came flying by and turned again to face them.

"Hahahahaha! You guys are gonna get your asses kicked so fast, ja won't have time to wonder!" the opponent stated.
"This guy seems very cocky and overconfident about his abilities. Ryo and I can take him. Kashin, take Ayako, Yuriko, and Yoko and find that Priest. We'll catch up." Anubis said.
"Fine. Okay girl, point that thing and let's get a move on!" Kashin ordered.

"ARMOR OF WHITE REFLECTION!!!!" Ryo shouted.
"ARMOR OF DARK ABSORPTION!!!!" Anubis added.

Within moments their own super armors were in place and it was time to rumble.

"What do you make of this guy Anubis?" Ryo asked as the others hurried off.
"He's extremely fast, and is too sure of himself. It's the speed I'm more worried about." Anubis informed him.

The slowly shrinking group headed forward as the sounds of Osakan laughter and battle cries from Ryo and Anubis faded into the distance, Yoko's staff led them onward.
"Great. We're down to you three. Okay girl, now where to?" Kashin said.
"Ayako, be careful." came Temia's voice.
"Where?" Ayako asked.

Suddenly, another form raced past them, slicing at Kashin and Yoko, but somehow Yoko managed to block. Whatever it was, it was on in-line skates it seemed, and pivoted around to charge them again, swinging its sword at Kashin, who only held out his hand.

"I don't think so." Kashin said, as a familiar metallic hum took to the air as the warrior was pushed back, tripping over its skates and hitting the ground hard.
"Skates? It couldn't be. But Temia did say that she had to be one of them."
"I did. And you are not mistaken. That is your friend, trapped within that thing, under some sort of mind control Your only hope of getting her free is to use something stronger than what controls her." Temia explained.
"Kashin!" Ayako called out.
"What is it?" he called back.
"Leave this one to me!" Ayako demanded.
"Are you nuts? I'm not leaving a sixteen year old to fight something like this!"
"I'm seventeen, and I've got Temia to back me up!" Ayako insisted.
"Fine. Just don't get yourself killed, kid." Kashin replied, as he, Yoko and Yuriko headed off.

"Naru. I'm going to help you any way I can." Ayako said. "Maybe something gaming related will refresh your memory." Ayako said to herself as she focused her Chi, transforming into an outfit not unlike Sun Shang Xiang from Dynasty Warriors. Chakram in hand, Ayako charged the strange Third/Fei Yen/Nobel Gundam thing, slicing into the armor, only to be parried by her own sword, which opened up into her bow blade and fired, knocking Ayako back, but not before she absorbed the shot and sent it flying back at Naru, damaging one of her gauntlets.
"Good work, Ayako. Keep up your attack, and soon you should be strong enough to transform." Temia explained.

Ayako rushed in again, dodging the sword thrusts carefully before swinging in with a few good strokes from the chakram and knocking Naru backwards. She got up and skated at high speed straight towards her friend, slicing with the sword again, but Ayako managed to swing around back and hit her in the back with her chakram. Naru elbowed her backwards, as Ayako fell on her butt, but quickly lined up and fired a force bolt back at her opponent, disarming Naru and giving Ayako some time to rush in and get a few more hits with her chakram.

"Temia, are you strong enough yet?" Ayako asked.
"I'm almost there. Just a little more energy." she explained.
"All right." Ayako said, not knowing how much longer she could hold out without Temia to help.

She ran in once again, somehow cartwheeling into Naru and knocking her over, as the ring began glowing brightly.
"It's up to you now Temia." Ayako said, as she held the ring out, and energy began traveling all over her body, placing spikes on her shoulders, helmet, and shins. The protrusions on her arms were missing as the chakrams remained in Temia's own hands. With her own skills, she tore into Naru at high speed, damaging the armor and driving her backwards.

"How much is this going to take to get her free?" Ayako asked.
"I don't know Ayako. Is there anyone that could possibly get through to her other than you?"

Ayako thought to herself, and remembered.

"Yuuji! That's it! I saw this in an anime once. All we have to do is get that helmet off her. But how do we get him here?" Ayako asked.

Temia reached up to her shoulder and pulled one of the spikes off, which easily detached, as she threw it out into the air and the energy formed a portal.

"I'm not too good at this, so focus as hard as you can on this Yuuji, and that beacon should pull him here. I will see what I can do about keeping Naru busy."

Temia lifted off the ground and charged Naru with blinding speed, driving her back further and further as Ayako concentrated harder and harder. Slowly but surely, a figure started to appear out of the gateway, who looked quite confused as to how he got there.

"Where am I?" Yuuji said, looking at the strange skating fiend and the spiky thing fighting it. Suddenly he heard a voice in his head.

"Yuuji! I'm a friend of Naru's. She's stuck in that thing!" Ayako called out.
"Naru? She's in trouble?" Yuuji answered back.
"Yes, and I need your help to save her." Ayako continued.
"All right. What can I do?" Yuuji asked.
"Call out to her! Get her attention!"
"Naru!" Yuuji called out, breaking the monotony of battle sounds.

The skating thing paused suddenly, as if it was listening.

"Yes! It's me, Yuuji! You've got to stop this Naru! Fight it!" he shouted.

Taking her chakram and wasting no time, Temia sliced again, striking a blow across the faceplate.

"Careful!" Ayako said.

However, this was not good, as the hair fins on the back of the armor opened up and it began glowing red.

"This is really bad." Ayako said to herself.

With increased fury, the thing with Naru trapped inside began wailing on Temia, as she managed to knock her sword away and then fired force bolt after force bolt at the helmet, denting it more and more until it finally shattered around her, revealing Naru, whose eyes seemed to be glowing. Temia dove for the sword and grabbed it, as a circle beam fired out at Temia, who absorbed it.

"That wasn't a good thing. Tell him to hurry up and do whatever it is you intend to do!" Temia said.
"Yuuji! I need you to kiss her!" Ayako said.
"Kiss her?" he said questionably.
"Yes, Kiss her! Love conquers all, right? Hey, it worked on Ceres, maybe it'll work here!"
"Okay." Yuuji said. "Naru!" he called again.

She turned towards him with an evil, but almost understanding gaze.

"Naru, I've missed you more than life itself. I hoped you were all right. You know how much I care about you, right? Do you have an answer for me yet?" Yuuji said.
"Yuu-ji?" Naru said weakly, clearly trying to fight Drakka's control.
"Yes, it's me. Come here, please." Yuuji said.

Naru cautiously approached, as he quickly grabbed her around the neck and gave her a kiss. Not just a kiss, but one of those, fireworks launching, heavens cheering, and of course, control breaking mega kisses. The force was so great, that back at Houji's, Drakka/Midori was knocked backwards, and was screaming in pain as the positive energy nailed him.

Back at the battlefield, the armor shattered around Naru as she remained in her Trace suit, and slumped over Yuuji's shoulder. But Yuuji soon started to fade.

"Hurry and give her to me. I'll take care of her. My anchor spell will not last much longer. When it expires, it will return you to where you were." Temia explained.

Yuuji handed the unconscious Naru into Temia's arms, as he turned to energy and vanished, back to where he belonged as the energy also returned to Temia's shoulder. Temia lifted off the ground and raced back towards the ship, where Ayame was waiting to pick them up. Ayame was surprised to see Ayako back so soon.

"Did you find him yet?" Ayame asked.
"No, but the others are in big trouble. We should try and help." Ayako answered as she set Naru down in one of the seats.

"Okay. Wait here, I'll let the others know you're okay." Ayame answered.

*"Anubis!" Ayame called out.
*"Anubis here, but somewhat busy at the moment."
*"In case you're worried about Ayako, she's right here. We're also heavy one tomboy."
*"Okay. We've got a problem here, some speed demon. Kashin and the others went on ahead, and I don't know where Navcase is, he hasn't said anything."
"Okay. We'll see what we can do." Ayame said. "I just hope the others are having better luck back on the Isle."

Meanwhile, and luckily for I.J, the additional armaments were installed and he could finally come out. The door slid open and the large machine wheeled himself out, armed with a pair of Brownings on top of his turret and a pair of 150mm railguns on the inner sides of both his front treads. He rolled over to the Tank Bunker that had been set up and locked into place, among the other Tank Killers that Kinjiro had brought with him. One of the engineers headed over to Kinjiro, who was waiting in the CCC.

"All defenses are in place sir."
"Good. Let's hope they hold." Kinjiro said.

Ever last radar was fired up as the good guys began looking out for Houji's next strike force. When they would come, was unknown. What they were packing, they were very sure of.

Some distance out to sea, still a ways from the island, Houji's commander gave orders to deploy the various water mecha stored in the lower compartment. They would be a deterrent to Bakurai and Ran, while the hordes of air mecha would finally put Himeihoshi in his place. Decked out with all sorts of missiles and such to shoot the looser down, Houji was quite confident that his forces would succeed this time.

Back in the city, the continued struggle between Kazuhiko and Navcase was still ongoing. Navcase continually dodged shots from Kazuhiko's bazooka, as Navcase tried to get a shot from his rifle back at him, but he seemed to be quite fast.

Navcase's on board computer thing told him that the suit being utilized by Kazuhiko had only three weapons: the bazooka, the ground mine, and the powerful death beam. It was the death beam that he was most afraid of, as he was unsure if Kazuhiko was able to fire it without invocation. At the moment, Kazuhiko was only sticking to his bazooka, so it was quite possible that his heavier weapons might require outside authorization to fire.

"I have to get through to him. Somehow." Navcase thought to himself, bring himself into the attack stance favored by the 13th Hiko, as Navcase raced forward doing something in between a God Field Dash and Kuzu Ryu Sen, slamming into Kazuhiko, hitting at the nine points successfully, with no problem whatsoever.

"Kazuhiko! It is I, the Sword of Heaven, your sworn opponent and opposite! Cast aside your armor and fight me on your terms, not theirs!"

Kazuhiko's response was to unload with another blast from his bazooka, Navcase managed to evade.

"I have to get that helmet off him. It may be my only hope. But if I am off by the slightest, I could also kill him. Perhaps Ayame and her new magic can help with this."
*"AYAME!!! DO YOU READ ME!?" Navcase shouted into his radio.
*"Yes, I can hear you loudly and clear. You don't have to yell."
*"Forgive me. Can you use your new magic to make Kazuhiko's helmet come off?" Navcase asked.
"I can try, but no promises." Ayame said.
"Thank you." Navcase said.

Ayame suited up and stepped outside, expanding her scan throughout the city, seeking out Kazuhiko in particular. To make a long paragraph short, she found him, but there were all sorts of blocks that she would have to hack through first. Ayame wasted no time starting her hacking.

"Perhaps I can get him back by overpowering their control, the same way Ryo freed me." Navcase wondered. "It will be a gamble, but it just might work. KAI JIN!" he shouted.

Instantly all of his focusing panels deployed as his guns were aimed squarely at its target has he began to lock on.

Up in the Heavens, Amaterasu focused her own energy and sent it flying downward towards the earth, as the clouds parted and the energy flew down to a waiting Navcase, as his panels charged.

"I hope this works." Navcase said to himself. "FIRE!!!"

The energy unleashed from the two guns and nailed Kazuhiko dead on, as he began to scream in pain. Back at Tenma's, all was going bad, as systems were fried and shut off.

"Houji, your dampeners on Yagyu are failing...." Tenma said to Houji, who was slowly approaching the target area.
"Oh no! That means we will not be able to control him!" Houji said.
"Oh, is that all?" Tenma replied. "You're lucky we still have the others, or you would be typing with seven fingers by now."

Images flashed before Kazuhiko's eyes; battles with Navcase, Nakoruru, his wife, his extended family, as his kanji slowly began to glow once more, stronger and stronger, as the armor began to glow as well, and crack. And crack more, before it finally exploded around him and he dropped on top of a building, still clad in his Trace suit, as Navcase set down as well.

"Where am I? How did I get here?" Kazuhiko asked.
"Houji and Tenma must have corrupted you in some way and forced you to pilot that armor against your will." Navcase explained.
"I see. It gives me all the more reason to wreak havoc on them later. Our conflict will be settled in the near future. Until then, farewell." Kazuhiko replied as he quickly headed off across the rooftops.

Navcase extended his Seishi senses outward, searching for the others in his group. After getting a lock, he raced off to help Kashin and the others.

Back at the Isle, the early warning system went off and everyone scrambled into action.

"They're here. All right everyone, get ready. Mia, see if you can get a lock on them and keep them from getting close and save us lots of trouble." Kinjiro said.

Mia began to warm up the huge gun that made up most of the cannons' primary weapons system, word came in that it was broken for some reason.

"Oh no. This is just great. I knew I should not have dabbled with a weapon whose systems I barely understood!" Kinjiro replied.
"What do you want us to do Kinjiro?" Sakura asked.
"We've got to keep them from getting to the island, that's what. Ran, take Bakurai and submerge, work your way towards Houji's ships as fast as you can, see if you can get any info on them."
"What about the AA guns?" Dais asked.
"Those won't even begin to open fire until they get in range of the beach, so we're going to have to take the fight to them. But without Ryo and the others, it's going to be difficult."
"I'll go with Kanesada, and launch Himeihoshi. Maybe we can cripple them before they even get into range to launch." Sakura explained.

"Good idea. We still have Rowen and the others here, they'll have to hold the beach if they make it past the cannons."

The side of the Slave Bay opened up and Kanesada slid out, with Sakura once again ready, who charged down the ramp, only to get stuck in the sand, transformed to soldier config as the backpack and other armaments locked into place and she headed out to deal with Houji's new threat up close and personal. The roof hatch opened on the Slave Bay as well, sending Himeihoshi hurtling into the air.

"Look out, it doesn't matter who or what you throw at me, It'll crash faster that you can launch it!" Himeihoshi dared as he flew alongside Sakura as they raced along the water, where up ahead they spotted a pair of carriers.

"What on earth?" Himeihoshi wondered.
"Not on this one, but EVN Earth. That's a Fed Carrier, and I have no clue how Houji got them. But I've never seen anything like the other ship he's got with him." Sakura said.

"Ha ha ha! The mecha gods must be smiling upon us today! They granted me this wonderful carrier, which I have painted to resemble White Base, and then there is my own supercarrier, which I have christened after the most dangerous of all mecha pilots in Gundam!" Houji said.
"Sir, we have incoming. Can we launch the fighters?" an officer said.
"May I finish my blatant worshipping of myself first?" Houji asked.
"Yes sir."

Houji let out a few more cackles of glee before giving the order to launch. A small hatch on the front of the Fed carrier opened up, as another opened up on the other carrier, as hordes of fighters began flying out.

"Where in the name of Basara Nekki did all these planes come from?" Himeihoshi wondered. "THANK YOU!!!" he shouted as he flew in to engage.
"Himeihoshi, wait! Even you can't take out all these fighters yourself!" Sakura said as she sent a few mortar shells flying into some of Houji's attackers, knocking them out of the sky. A few started pursing Sakura, who fired back at them.

"No! No! Not her! The other one! Destroy the other one!"
*"Roger that. Target is verified." one of the mechs reported as they veered off from following Sakura and headed after Himeihoshi.

"WHY ARE YOU ALL GOING AFTER ME???" Himeihoshi wondered as a group of fighters got on his tail. He quickly went into a loop, passing over them and got behind him.

"How'd you like that?" Himeihoshi asked.
"Target is on our six. Fire cannons." the mecha reported.

A pair of cannons on each mech began firing backwards, which Himeihoshi banked to avoid as he opened up his leg launchers and sent some mini-missiles screaming into them.

"Try these on for size!" Himeihoshi shouted.

The missiles flew out and nailed a few of the planes, but the rest were able to dodge quickly and avoid getting hit.
"DAMN! Where did these things get programmed to fly?" Himeihoshi wondered.

He banked around and headed back the other way, only to run into more of them.

"Target is locked. Fox 1, 2, and 3." the mecha stated.

Several AAM's were sent flying at Himeihoshi, who swerved to avoid them, as he approached so he could launch his own ordinance.

"Target is too close for missiles, switching to guns." the mechs stated.

"Ha! Your missiles, MISSED!" he stated as he began opening fire with his autocannons, as they shot back with their lasers. Himeihoshi launched into a barrel roll, which caused the enemy shots to bounce harmlessly off him. A group of mini-missiles slammed into the enemy fighters, courtesy of Sakura. This gave Himeihoshi the opportunity to send some well placed plasma shots into the remaining fighters.

"Good, take that!" Himeihoshi stated.

The hatches on the White Base clone opened once again, as more fighters streamed out. Himeihoshi sent a few more missiles streaking towards them, knocking a few out of the sky. A few more went straight up, only to come diving down in an attempt to strafe the warrior, but Sakura blasted their engines with her mortar cannons, turning them into balls of fire as they crashed into the ocean. Himeihoshi flew past one and pulled a U-turn, racing back the other way, as opened fire with a few more missiles, taking them down as well.

"Himeihoshi, you draw their fire, I'm going to see if I can take out their guns!" Sakura said as she raced back the other way, sending her mortars into a few of the ship's weapons, including their missile launchers.

"That should hold them. Now for the engines." Sakura said as she turned around and headed around to the back, only to find a few more weapons there, that forced her to break off her attack, as group after group of fighters came flying out of the White Base. Himeihoshi tried to conserve missiles the best he could, but soon he was out. More fighters came flying out, forcing him to take them down with his autocannons or short bursts from his gun pods.

"You don't get it! There's two ways to take down a carrier! Destroy all their fighters, or destroy their capability to launch them!" Sakura shouted.

"Why didn't I think of that?"
"Look, I'll cover you, just hit that door!" Sakura said, as the next wave of fighters was launched, Sakura launched her missiles to take a few down, as Himeihoshi took aim and sprayed the door with his gun pods, damaging the opening mechanism, before climbing over the top and firing his autocannons along the top.

"Damage report!" the captain ordered.
"Launch doors damaged! It'll take time to repair them!"
"What about our guns?" he asked.
"A bunch of them were taken out when the other one opened fire!"
"Damn! Contact Otoantou and let him know we can't back him up!"

Houji moved forward with his own supercarrier, plodding along towards the island, as he opened up his own bays and launched a different type of fighter.

"Those things are different than the ones from before." Himeihoshi noticed.
"Looks like they might be an attempt to take the defenses out before Houji gets there." Sakura observed. "Let's move!"
"Right behind you!" Himeihoshi said as the two flew back towards the beach, in an attempt to get there before the fighters. Himeihoshi transformed and took a position in the water, opening up all of his launchers and locking his Null Lasers into firing position.

"This is our only hope." He said, training his crosshairs on the first plane and began opening fire with everything he had, shooting them down. Only a few managed to scoot by, but I.J, the tanks, and Guardian G.I.'s managed to shoot the rest down before they could launch their ordinance.

"Launch the second wave!" Houji ordered, as the carrier got closer and closer to the island. More fighters were taken down by the siege line, including fire from the CCC, which used its other weapons besides the big gun.
"We must take that island at all costs! Launch more fighters!" Houji ordered.

More fighters came streaming out of the launch bay, as they deployed their forward weapons and launched long range missiles at the beach. However, they too were no match for Kinjiro's island defenses.

Under the water, however, Bakurai and Ran were having even more trouble. A whole school of War Fish had been sent out courtesy of Houji, and guns and torpedo fire was being unleashed on them, as they dodged every which way to stave them off, as they sent torpedoes of their own flying back at them, with laser fire being unleashed as well.

"We've got to stop all of them, Bakurai!" Ran said.
"Yes. They must be another phase of Houji's plan." Bakurai reported. "However, as a boat I can not do an effective job of taking them out. TRANSFORM!" he shouted, switching into soldier config and deploying his trident, which he ignited the optional beam blade from, as he began swimming towards his opponents and impaling them with his weapon, taking them down much faster than he would as a boat.

"I don't think those mines we planted are going to help too much." Ran said.
"No. We'll have to rely on our fighting down here to keep our water-based attackers off our case." Bakurai explained as he continued to spear all of the other War Fish in one fell swoop after another, rolling over to avoid torpedoes, and using his spear to parry their arm blades.

"Aquatic unit to Houji! We're loosing here!" they reported.
"You'll have to do better! I did not build a large purple submarine for your personal use!"
"Sir, but there is only one of them, and they are doing a number on us!"

Explosions were heard in the background as more and more of Houji's War Fish were turned into filet of mecha.

"How close to the island are we?" Houji demanded to know.
"Only a few more klicks away!" the navigator reported.
"Deploy more Class B fighters. The more defenses we take out now, the fewer we face when we land the Dropships!" Houji ordered.

More class B's were launched, and sent their long range missiles streaking towards the island once again. And once again, Himeihoshi and the Isle defenses trashed them.

"Keep at it! That thing has to run out of ammo for his guns at some point!" Houji said.

And so the cycle continued, with Houji firing his missiles, them getting shot down, more being launched, and even more being shot down.

Back at Tenma's end of the operation, tank after tank was being gathered outside the portal.

"When you want something done right, do it yourself, and don't let Houji screw it up first." Tenma mumbled to himself as he led his tank battalions through the portal Drakka had opened and just outside firing range of the palace.

"Now Amaterasu, let's see how you handle a two-pronged assault."

Inside the palace, soldiers rushed to Amaterasu's side, informing her of the impending situation.

"Another attack? Aimed here? Contact Kinjiro, tell him to get some of his Guardian GI's up here to help fend off the tank assault."

Back on the Isle, about a dozen of the anti-tank troops undeployed themselves and ran up the beach towards the shrine so that they could get into better firing positions at the palace.

Back in Toyama, the search for the Priest was on. Now down to Yoko, Yuriko, and Kashin, they had to hurry. Anubis and Ryo were busy trying to stop the fast moving warrior, and Navcase had broken off to handle Kazuhiko. Ayako had chosen to stay behind for yet another opponent. Their numbers kept diminishing, and there was little hope that they too would make it through this mission without some opposition coming after them as well.

Yoko's staff started glowing extremely bright, and several attempts to use her pointing spell all pointed the same way.
"I think we've found him! I hope he's cute!" Yoko replied.
"We are here to retrieve our priest, whether or not he is cute does not matter." Kashin said.
"Yes it does!" Yoko shot back.

Before she could continue her argument, Kashin cut her off.

"Something's coming." Kashin replied.

Out of the sky, a large, maroon robot that resembled a bell came down slowly, and landed in front of them. Within a matter of minutes, Aegis and DINN units also descended around it.

"Okay, now what?" Yoko asked.
"Houji and Tenma aren't going to let us take the Priest without a fight. Now we've got to take this big stupid thing out." Kashin observed.
"Then let us do so." Yuriko answered.

The final three Seishi called upon their armors, and began to rip into the enemy units before them. Yuriko, using her great skill with her spear, sliced and diced through line after line, as Kashin ripped into even more with his beam saber. Yoko, on the other hand, was doing her best to stay out of the conflict.

"Why did we have to bring her anyway? I could have found the Priest by now!" Kashin shouted.
"Her Magic is the only thing that has gotten us this far!" Yuriko replied.
"Well, it's my power that's going to get us the rest of the way!" Kashin shouted, as the air began to hum and the enemy mechs were lifted off the ground, and slammed into each other, smashing them. Kashin then charged like a bat out of hell straight towards their leader, reciting the activation lines to initiate Shining Finger, preparing to drive it straight through the outer shell and straight through.

"SHINING FINGER!!!!!" he shouted, driving his hand into the outer shell, attempting to burn through. But something stopped him. Memories. Memories which he knew, and those he did not know. Karen.

The next thing he knew, he was being lifted into the air, and sent flying backwards by an energy bolt that felt like it was going to crush him like a tin can while still inside his armor. The wing that had briefly opened up to reveal a clawed hand now closed up again, as Yuriko went in for her own assault, only to suffer the same fate.
"No! Karen's inside that thing!" Kashin shouted.
"Are you sure?" Yuriko asked.
"Yes. I saw her memories when I touched that thing. I'll try to hold her off, you and Valley Girl get inside and get that Priest." Kashin replied.

Yuriko and Yoko headed inside the nearby building, as Kashin went to work, using his beam saber in an attempt to hold off Karen's energy bolts as she continued to open fire from her hands. He attempted to pull the wings apart, but before he could gather the concentration, he was thwarted by another energy bolt. The wings parted, as it raised its hand, which lifted Kashin off the ground, dangling him in the air, as it took off and charged him, landing punch after punch, before ax kicking him back down t. It landed, and as Kashin got to his feet again he flew in with his judo, only to have his advance blocked over and over again, somehow Tenma had managed to program the suit with the means to win. He would have to hurry or have a miracle if he wanted to win today.

Inside, Yuriko and Yoko hurried up the stairs, dismissing their armor quickly, finally coming across a teenage boy.

"It's you!" he exclaimed. "I have dreamed of this moment for months now. You're both Seishi of Amaterasu, right? My name is Makoto Tsukigumi."
"A very wise and disguising name." Yuriko observed. "But we must hurry."

Makoto nodded as he, Yuriko, and Yoko headed downstairs and out the door, where Kashin was still trying to fend off Karen without hurting her.

"He's in trouble. We must help him!" Yuriko shouted, bringing her naginanta and armor to bear on Karen, only to have a series of blasts send her back.
"Mobility Mode!" Yuriko shouted, as her shoulder guards detached and locked around her beam bow, forming a shield, which she locked into position as she went in again with her spear, blocking Karen's own retaliation.

"We will need help." Makoto observed, grabbing Yoko's staff and driving it into the ground, as energy surged up, enveloping the area. Navcase's kanji glowed, as he turned directly for the energy spike.

Back with Anubis and Ryo, Shou was keeping them busy with his sheer speed, dodging every hit they tried to make, going into the air, rolling into a ball, and then dive-bombing them, punching several times before unleashing an uppercut, running up close and spinning upwards, taking his target up with him, as he landed safely and they crashed to the ground.

"Nya nya nya nya nya! Jou guys don' stand a chance against me! Dey don' call me Onsoku for nothin'!"

"Anubis, your kanji is glowing." Ryo observed.
"So is yours." Anubis pointed out.
"We must hurry to where our energies lead us." Anubis said, as he and Ryo took off.
"Wait, what about speed boy?" Ryo asked.
"Leave him to me." Anubis said, as he actively cloaked, as Shou made a beeline for Ryo.
"I'm comin' for ya! Ja better look out, It's gonna hurt in da mornin'!" Shou exclaimed, running at full speed, not noticing that Anubis was invisible, and holding his sword like a golf club, and swung just as Shou flew by, making him trip and fly into a nearby wall.

"Will he be all right?" Ryo asked, as Shou proceeded to moan, groan, and curse.
"Yes, in time." Anubis replied.
"How can you tell?" Ryo asked.
"He spoke with an Osaka accent." Anubis stated.
"Ohhhhhh." Ryo answered.
"Now, let us hurry to whatever called us." Anubis answered as they flew off at high speed.

Back at the ship, Ayako's own kanji began to glow.

"Ayame! Ayame! The others in trouble, we've got to hurry and get to them!"
"All right, lead the way!" Ayame shouted, taking off and following Ayako's frantic directions.

Up at the palace, Tenma's assault had already begun. Blasts from Siege Tanks crashed into the magical barriers, as Guardian GI's fired back in a attempt to disable the tanks. Archers unleashed explosive tipped arrows, somehow managing to hit the tanks at their range.

"Something is up, your Eminence." one of the commanders stated. "Their Siege tanks are firing away, but the rest of their armored units are silent. Shall we be concerned?"
"Yes. We must hope our barriers hold until Kinjiro can send us reinforcements." Amaterasu declared. "Do as much damage as you can now."

On the Isle, jets dropped like flies as Himeihoshi lay waste to a portion of Houji's new air corps. Anything that got past Himeihoshi was cut down by the AA batteries on the beach and the SDT itself. When the larger dropships failed to get close enough, Houji launched the smaller troop transports, but their slow speed made them easy targets for the Guardian GI's and a certain Browning equipped tank. Below the waves, Ran and Bakurai were making sushi out of the War Fish sent to destroy them.

"Damage report!" Houji ordered.
"You don't want to know sir." one of the officers replied.
"YES I DO!" HOuji fired back.
"Do you want the statistical answer or the straight one?"
"The straight one!"
"WE'RE LOOSING MISERABLY!!!!" the officer fired back, before ending with ",sir."
*"Houji. Report in." came Tenma's voice.
*"Sir, my massive army is no match for them, I am running out of mecha..."
*"I assumed that. Change of plans. Withdraw and head back to the city, we're picking up a power spike, and it's not us. I checked Karen's visuals and we've got a Seishi problem. Somehow they snuck in here, and there's someone with them. We must not allow them to leave! Head back and cut off their escape!" Tenma ordered.
*"At once." Houji said, giving the order to retreat. The remaining fighters returned to their ships, and the mammoth carriers turned around and started heading away from the island.

"We won? WE WON!!!" Kento shouted.
"I don't think so Kento. They're withdrawing." Rowen answered.
"But why? What's so important back in Toyama..." Kento wondered, and then he remembered.
"We've got to move out, and fast, Ayame doesn't know what's coming." Rowen said as he headed for the Cannon. Kinjiro was there to greet him.

"Houji's retreating."
"They must have found out about the Seishi. We've got to follow them, quickly. I can't get a message through to her. We have to get them out of there, or we loose all hope of winning this war." Kinjiro said. "Get I.J. into the Phantom Express, and get Himeihoshi back inside to rearm. We've got to link this thing up and get there fast." Kinjiro said, as everyone clambered inside as fast as they could, linking up the Hauler and everything else, before slowly making their way down the beach and out to sea, bound for Toyama.

Back at the city, Kashin and Yuriko were doing all they could to fend off Karen's attacks, when a bolt of energy slammed into her, knocking her back and putting a serious dent in her wings!

"Good, Samurai Dork's finally returned." Kashin replied.
"Luminance from the Heavens!" Ryo cried, nailing Karen and knocking her for somewhat of a loop.
"DARKNESS FROM THE DEPTHS!!!!" Anubis called out, nailing her with yet another blast.
"We saw it too." Anubis said, keeping the pressure on her as Ryo did the same.
"What did you do?" Yoko asked.
"I cast a calling spell, that will gather the Seishi to my side." Makoto explained.

Ryo and Anubis stopped firing, as Karen reeled backwards, as her faceplate opened.

"Where...am..I?" Karen wondered, looking around at the surroundings. "Yoko? Yuriko? What are you doing..."

She screamed in pain as a surge of energy overtook the armor, as the faceplate and wings closed up again and she blasted off.

"Karen!" Kashin shouted. "Come back! TENMA, when I find you..."

More units patrolled onto the scene, as Kashin continued to fume.

"I WILL MAKE YOU DIE A THOUSAND DEATHS!!!!!" Kashin shouted, his anger triggering the transformation to Super Mode.

His sword flaring with anger, he tore into the enemy units, trashing them with one hit after another, taking them down at an incredible rate.

"Kashin! Calm down!" Navcase shouted. "Focus your thoughts, and find a serene state of mind!"
"BULLSHIT!!!!" Kashin replied. "I'm sick of all this waiting! We take Tenma, and we take him NOW!!!!"
"This is how you hope to defeat Tenma? He's expecting this! Your rage blinds you and makes you an easy target!" Navcase explained firmly.
"SHUT UP!!!" Kashin shouted, charging at Navcase, who turned to block with his own beam blade. "THIS HAND OF MINE GLOWS WITH AN AWESOME POWER!!!! ITS BURNING GRIP TELLS ME TO DEFEAT YOU!!!!! TAKE THIS! MY LOVE, MY ANGER, AND ALL OF MY SORROW!!!! SHINING FINGER, SWORD!!!!!"

Kashin charged blindly and angrily at Navcase, who stood ready, as Kashin swung, Navcase swiftly dodged his attack and swung around in back, clipping him on the back of his neck with the handle, knocking him out.

The remaining mechs swarmed around them, but a series of laser blasts sent them to the scrap heap as Ayame touched down and everyone scrambled aboard as the turrets took out anything that tried to get close.

"Is this him?" Ayame asked as the group made their way up to the cockpit.
"Yeah. Isn't he cute?" Yoko answered, causing Makoto to blush a little as they sat down their demon of vengeance.

"What happened?" Ayako asked.
"Kashin decided to throw another temper tantrum." Anubis explained. Yoko summoned a small rain cloud above his head to wake him up, as Anubis grabbed him by the throat.

"Listen you, our only hope of survival and ensuring that you get your daughter back is if we perform the ritual here and now. We've got no other choice other than let Tenma finish us off."
"Agreed." Kashin said.
"But what about the others?" Ayako asked.
"They're probably headed this way now, but I don't know if we can get a message to them, or vice versa."

Suddenly, a staticy crackle came from the communications gear.

"Ayame! It's Kinjiro! Thank Amaterasu I've managed to reach you. We're on our way here now to get you guys out of here, but we think Houji's waiting for you. Amaterasu's being bombarded by Tenma, she doesn't know how long she can hold them off. Once Himeihoshi's rearmed, we'll send him to help out. I.J. and some troops are on their way here now on the Phantom Express. See what you can find out before we get there. Good luck."

With that, he was gone.

"Now what?" Ryo asked.
"It's going to take forever for that big pile of junk to make it here, and we'll be flying right into another problem." Ayame explained.
"Then we have no choice. We must perform the summoning now." Anubis explained.
"But what are we going to do once we've called her?" Yuriko asked.
"I have a plan." Makoto explained. "You just get into position and make this thing work."
"We've got to let the others know."
"I think I know a way." Ayako explained, "If you're willing to trust my knowledge of anime."

Inside the SDT's command area, one of the walls slowly started to turn into a screen of some sort, with Anubis in it.

"Kinjiro! I have a message for you and the others."

Next Episode:

YOKO: Like, it's me again!
KASHIN: Heaven save us...
YOKO: It's finally time for us to take a chance and call down Amaterasu to help us out! My new object of affection, Makoto, has a plan, but what is it? We'll all find out next time, on Ronin Warriors: Hell Back On Earth; Here Comes the Sun Goddess. Don't miss it!
ANUBIS: It appears that our author has run out of good ideas, including those for titles...
YOKO: Catch you later!