Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Ronin Warriors: Hell Back on Earth ❯ When Heaven Met Hell ( Chapter 18 )

Within the confines of Houji's secret fortress, Tenma was hard at work at a minor summoning spell. This would b the second time he had tried this particular approach to destroying his adversaries before they could discover him.

Several floors down, Naru was in a sound sleep. Slowly but surely, a presence descended downward towards her body, enveloping her within seconds. Moments later, her eyes opened, glowing brightly as she rose from her bed, and headed up towards the mecha hangar.

"See Houji? I told you this would work."
"What exactly did you do to her, sir?" "I cast a ritual that allows our lord Drakka to take control of her body. Now, activate the Mobile Trace system and let's launch this mission."

As she systematically was stripped of her clothing, the MT system was activated, once again encasing her in a sheen of skin tight cloth. Her armor attached to it, and a new helmet, resembling the head of Nobel Gundam, attached in place of the damaged Fei Yen head. She blasted off under Drakka's control, heading out into the city to once again wreak havoc. Landing in the middle of the street, she managed to stop traffic, and blasted a line of cars to kingdom come with her bowgun. People dove for cover under her gatling fire, dodged her sword swings. Things were bad.

Up in the Heavens, Ayame was still hard at work on the Gundam suits that had been trashed before, so her only real hope was to launch something that was finished. She had just finished making the repairs on Double X, so Navcase and the relentless Kashin were sent out to deal with this sense of deja vu.

As the two armors flew over the city, Kashin picked up something on his scanners.

*"All right Samurai Boy, I've got it. Follow me. It looks like that piece of junk is back."
*"We should be careful. It could have been upgraded."
*"We can take it." Kashin said, descending to street level with Navcase in pursuit. The two touched down and prepared for combat.

"This thing's all mine." Kashin said as his faceplate opened to reveal the inner part.

Charging at the machine screaming at the top of his lungs, the distance shortened in a matter of seconds.

"SUCK ON THIS!!!!! SHINING FINGER!!!!!" Kashin roared, thrusting his hand forward towards the mech.

But this time, things were different. It caught his hand, and with superhuman strength, flipped Kashin onto his back! The mech raised its blade above his head, and prepared to thrust downward.
"Ryu Tsui Sen!" Navcase shouted, crashing down with his sword, knocking the machine to the ground, allowing Kashin to get to his feet and get away as it rose once again, this time firing its circle beam, which the two avoided as Navcase lit his thrusters and flew forward with Kuzu Ryu Sen, which the mech parried with incredible speed rivaling his own. Navcase slashed upward, only to have his blade blocked by the mech, and every follow-up blow.

"So, this is the one my men told me about. He is powerful." Tenma said, watching the screen.

Navcase now tried to hold off the assault from the mech itself, being pushed backwards, trying to dig his feet into the pavement to get enough footing to strike back. Navcase barely dodged the flurry of vulcan fire from Kashin, distracting the Fei Yen long enough for Navcase to twirl around and strike it in the back of the neck with Ryu Kan Sen. Kashin then came running, trying for another Shining Finger, only to be grabbed by his wrist and flipped over the mech's shoulder, on top of Navcase!

"Ow..." Navcase moaned. "You know, this is isn't working too well."
"Got any bright ideas?" Kashin asked.
"Not exactly."
"Good, then we'll do this my way."

Kashin stood up and held out his hands, and began focusing his energy. His aura erupted around him, as the armor was paralyzed, due to his current polarization. Navcase took his sword and charged straight for it, as it struggled to break free of his stunning. As Navcase got closer and closer, he began to feel a presence, until he got a transparent flash of a young girl inside. He quickly brought his charge to a halt.

"Why'd you stop!?" Kashin shouted.
"There's...someone in it this time. Someone who has only begun to live."
"You fool! I can't hold them much longer!" Kashin shouted.

The mech was finally able to shake off Kashin's magnetic personality, as it fired its bowgun at Kashin, knocking him backwards. Navcase barely got his shield out in time to block the attack from its gatling. The two braced themselves for another blast from the main cannon...but it never came. The mech simply stood there.

"Houji, what is going on?" Tenma asked.
"She's waking up. She can't know where she is!"
"Activate the Berserker System, NOW!" Tenma shouted.

Houji pushed a button back at the lab.
Naru, although free of Drakka's influence at the moment, now was driven into a berserk fury, as the armor began glowing orange and the hair expanded into spikes and the machine shot forward, tearing into the two with incredible speed and devastation, which the two could not hold off.

"This is strange...the blows before had an evil presence to them, but these new strikes have nothing behind them!" Navcase observed.
"Thank you for that wondrous observation...now FIGURE OUT A WAY TO STOP THIS THING!!!" Kashin shouted, not caring about Navcase's deduction.

Back at Otoantou, Tenma was enjoying this immensely. He smiled evilly. Soon Kashin would be finished. And all thanks to a fourteen year old.

From the shadows, a figure watched the two fighters get pummeled over and over again. He drew his swords, and began to focus his energy.

"What was that? Did you feel that?" Navcase asked.
"Feel what? All these blows? Of course!"
"No, that energy spike!"

A berserk Naru knocked the two back, where sparks flew from their damaged exoskeletons. She began powering up for one last blast, sure to finish them off. The two braced for impact, as she fired...and a form leapt in front of the two just in time to deflect the shot away from them! His swords drawn, he rushed at Naru, nailing her in several places to disable her, before pulling a needle from his wristband and disabling the system, the armor, and leaving a sound asleep Naru on the ground. Sheathing his swords, a falcon flew over and landed on his shoulder, as a wolf approached the scene as well.
"Thank you again." Navcase replied to the stranger.

He was dressed in Japanese rainwear, despite the fact that there was not a cloud in the night sky. Underneath it, was a standard ninja nightsuit, odd attire for someone who carried the very symbol of the samurai by his side. His hat obscured much of his face, but parts of his hair covered it, as the rest came out behind his head in the traditional samurai hairstyle.

"You can thank me, if you can tell me where I may find the Sword of Heaven."
"Right here in front of you." Navcase replied.
"I see. You are the Sword of Heaven. We will meet again."

Reaching down on the ground, he lifted up the still unconscious Naru.

"I must go now. This one must be brought back to where she belongs." he said, walking off into the shadows.
"Wait! At least tell me your name!" Navcase called.
"My name? It's Kazuhiko Yagyu."

Moving carefully, he soon found himself at Houji's doorstep. The place, as usual, was crawling with guards. He focused, and cleanly leapt over the wall and floated down inside the inner sanctum. He ducked against the wall and creeped along it as guards patrolled back and forth, ducking under searchlights as he went. Tiptoeing quickly up to the front steps, he placed Naru on the ground and turned to leave; right into the barrels of several guards.

"Okay you, stay right where you are." one ordered.

"Sir, we've got a trespasser, seems to be carrying a pair of swords with him." "Does he have anything to identify himself?" Houji asked.
"No, sir."

As Houji's guards attempted to figure out what to do, Kazuhiko's falcon flew down and began clawing at one guard's face, buying Kazuhiko some time to pull out needles and stick them in the guards' necks, rendering them unconscious. He then made a beeline for the front gates, as a group of mecha cut off his escape route. Drawing his swords in a blur, he cut them down to size, before running up the wall and flipping over the other side.

Sitting outside, he looked back at the veritable fortress.

"I felt a strong set of presences in that place. I'll have to see." he thought to himself, heading off into the night.

Elsewhere in the world, a small transport touched down on the beaches of Iwo Jima, off the coast of Japan. Toshihiko, Touru, Kinuko, Xiaoyu, and the Black Jackals stepped out, as several strange aircraft flew in and transformed into robots.

"Tell me again why we're here?" Kinuko asked. "Is it so this girl here can write a history paper?" she said, pointing to Houka.

"We're here to recruit." Toshihiko explained.
"What? corpses?" Tomoko asked.
"Dragons." Toshihiko explained, walking up the beach towards the obvious dead volcano in the distance.

"Why are you going there? Want to see the view from up there?" Tomoko called after him.
"No, there's something in the volcano." "Ohh..." Tomoko said in disbelief as the group followed behind their clearly mentally challenged leader.

From behind rocks, and every other possible place, scaly eyes watched the group trek towards Suribaichi. They descended into the tunnels and headed through the newly dug passages towards the mountain itself, where their lord and master, Ceiphied, was waiting.

"What do you have to report?" Ceiphied asked.
"Trespassers, heading for the mountain. What should we do about them?"
"Destroy them." Ceiphied ordered."

"We're getting nowhere fast. There's NO DRAGONS on this island!" Houka shouted.
"Am I not part demon?" Masahiko asked her.
"Well, yeah. So what?"
"Then it is entirely possible for there to be dragons living on this island."
he replied.

The group proceeded along on their little walk towards the distant mountain, still finding it difficult to believe why they were here in the first place. Toshihiko was clearly out of his mind, everyone else thought. As they trudged through the soft volcanic sand, everyone's feet kept getting stuck, slowing their progress even more. That, despite the armaments the group had taken from Houji to ensure their safety.

Sand filled into Houka's shoes as she took step after step, dragging her feet out and then causing them to sink back in as she took another step. She did not believe there were dragons on this island. There could not be. Still, considering their half demon companion, she had taken Houji's generosity and stocked up on RPB rounds for her pistols, and accepted the strange gauntlet he gave her which he said would help her focus her wraith blade better. But was all this necessary? She sighed and continued onward after Toshihiko.

Behind her, Tomoko was decked out in some sort of armor that linked directly over her clothing, which had some sort of backpack attached to a cannon. Houji had said this would help her out on the island. She had accepted the gift, but like her companions, was unsure if they were wasting their time, or walking into a trap.

Kinuko followed behind, wearing body armor and carrying a strange device in a holster on her back. Houji had explained to her that it was some new kind of more portable sniper rifle, which would be easier to carry. She wondered if she would even need it here.

Next came Xiaoyu. She was wearing some light body armor as recommended by the others, but only had her sword on hand; Tenma had said that was all she would need. This made her very suspicious. Why had all her companions gotten all sorts of gadgets when all she got was a suit of armor? Still, no time to think. Time to trudge onward after their clearly lost leader.

Jiro walked along clad in body armor, not knowing what to expect. Once he called his armor, he could direct the various Aegis Assault Androids to assist them, which had all been equipped with beam rifles. Most of the machines had stayed back at the ship, but one had come along for some reason.

Touru was also along for the ride, not having brought anything with him. The special tattoo that Tenma had given him was all he needed.

Bringing up the rear was Masahiko, his large sword locked across his back in all its gigantic glory, with a large cannon being held in one hand and braced in the other. Being part demon, he sensed something on the island, something powerful. But as to where it was, he was unsure.

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" Houka called up to Toshihiko.
"No." he called back.
"Then why should we be following you if we don't have a clue where we're going?" Houka said.
"All I know is, Mr. Furukiayu told me to come to this island and head towards the mountain in the distance because he wants to talk to the dragons that live here."
"AND YOU BELIEVED HIM?" Houka shouted back.
"He's my boss. He says jump, I ask how high."
"Don't you think it's a little weird that he's making you look for dragons?" Houka shot back.
"Yes. But he, along with myself, value our continued full prehensibility of our hands." Touru answered.
"So, what makes you think there's dragons here?" Houka asked.
"Mr. Otoantou's scanners picked up large traces of bio-energy here. Besides, this place reeks of sulfur. Perfect place for dragons to hide. My guess is that they've taken up residence in the tunnels built during the war." Toshihiko reported.

Suddenly Masahiko stopped.

"What's up big guy?" Houka asked.
"Shhh...I feel something getting closer to us...I also heard something."

His demonic senses spiked again as he felt a group of presences approaching from behind them. He turned in their direction and cocked his large gun.

Off in the distance, the group heard the faint cry of "Ishibiya!" Seconds later they heard the sound of some sort of shell flying towards them.

"Get down!" Touru shouted as everyone leapt out of the way of a set of energy bolts. Falling into a trench they had found, the group ducked down as another set of blasts sailed over their heads and landed somewhere behind them. Kinuko brought out her sniper rifle and unfolded it, as the scope popped out and the barrel extended, and aimed it in the direction of where the shots were coming from.

"What do you see Kinuko?" Xiao Yu asked.
"Well, we all lost our bet. Toshihiko's dragons are here all right. They've got some sort of old cannons that they're firing at us. I can probably get a shot off." she said, focusing on one of the dragons as a large form loomed in front of the sniper scope. Pulling the weapon down, she looked up to find a Draconai growling down at her. She gasped in shock, while Houka and Xiaoyu screamed and cowered, even more as they saw various spikes of metal were driven into the beast, causing it to fall down dead and bleeding, courtesy of Masahiko.

"Don't rest on your laurels just yet, there's more coming!" he said, pointing outward as more Draconai, many clad in the Mantles of Resurrection in addition to the colors of Gekidoku's clan, began charging at them. With the two girls still hiding in fear, Tomoko stood up, took aim with her cannon and fired, sending a blast straight through the chest of one Draconai and several others as they charged towards them, while Masahiko picked them off with the Drive Cannon he had been given. Toshihiko stood his ground and brought out his pistols and began cutting them down with depleted uranium shells, cutting through more Draconai, as Kinuko again tried to take aim at the Draconai trying to destroy them from atop the mountain. She fired, picking off one, and then tried to take aim at yet another.

"They're too far away! It's too hard to get a shot." Kinuko replied.
"See if you can pick off some of the Draconai coming this way! Jiro! Go see if you can give them something else to shoot at!" Tomoko ordered.
"I'm on it! Rise VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV-Cypher!" he shouted, going into the Mobile Trace Sequence and having the armor appear at his feet and lock upwards around his body. He blasted off into the sky, heading towards the mountain. Locking on, he let fly with a series of missiles, which were blasted out of the sky by their hand cannons. He then fired a spray from his gatlings, which they dove out of the way of as they focused to fire again. Firing his homing shot, the blast streaked straight towards them, nailing them with splash damage that took out several and sent the rest packing back inside. He called one of the AAA's off of guard duty and had it hover over the site with its cannon deployed, ready to fire if any more showed up, and then descended down to the ground again, letting loose a spray from his gatling once again just before he touched down. The group heard a strange staticy sound, as several missiles flew towards the group, aimed straight for Jiro. He fired his gatling again to stop most of them, but one struck his armor and encased it in a spherical field.

"Damn! I can't move my armor!" Jiro shouted.
"Great..." Toshihiko shouted as he fired more shots from his pistols. Houka faced her fears and peeked out, unloading with her own RPB pistols, cutting down Draconai as they approached. Tomoko fired her railgun again and again, as Masahiko continued to unload with his Drive Cannon.
"We should conserve our ammo, as long as we're pinned down here, we're going to waste it!" Touru said.
"He's right." Toshihiko said, putting away his pistols. "We're going to have to break through soon!"
"Hey!" Jiro exclaimed. "I can move again!"
"Good." Toshihiko said. "Everyone get ready with your weapons!" he said, drawing his own sword.
"It looks as though they're blocking our path to the volcano." Masahiko said.
"Then we're going to have to break through them!" Toshihiko said, taking a running stance.

Houka brandished her pistols, as Masahiko and Tomoko took the lead and charged forward with the others following behind, holding off any Draconai that followed. More of the strange shells flew towards Jiro, but Houka used her other special power to ensure pinpoint accuracy as the group headed straight for the volcano. They spotted an opening and dashed for it, only to be stopped in their tracks by several Draconai from Koureha's clan, brandishing several machinecannons. Jiro prepared to fire and blast his way through, however more of the strange shells came flying from behind, striking him several times and freezing up his systems. The environment seemed to step towards them as several other soldiers from that clan uncloaked and also brandished their rifles at the group. The group looked at each other and put down their weapons. Kouen pushed his way through the ranks and approached the trespassers.

"Our master wishes to see you." he explained. "Leave your weapons here and follow me."

Kouen led the way down a series of spiraling cut steps deep into the mountain, which seemed to get hotter as they got deeper, as they were right beside the volcano with only layers of rock to protect them. Their base reeked more and more of sulfur as they finally reached the bottom and entered a large hollowed out room, where Ceiphied clad in his Ryuujin Armor sat atop his throne, his faceplate and helmet removed.

"My lord, I have brought the intruders here, as you requested." Kouen said, bowing slightly and backing away.
"I see. What is so important that you fought your way through my forces to reach this mountain?" Ceiphied asked.
"This." Toshihiko explained, as the robot stepped forward. The blue spot on its head began to glow as it projected a full size image of Tenma in front of Lord Ceiphied.

"Greetings, Lord of the Draconai. My name is Tenma Furukiayu, leader of the Drakka Seishi, from what I understand you have been seeking out since your arrival back on Earth. I am proposing an alliance with you, from which we can enter the heavens using Drakka's power and lay waste to Amaterasu's kingdom. In exchange, we will provide you with more of the technology my ally Houji Otoantou, had provided to you before at my request. Devices far more advanced and powerful than the ones we gave you before."

Tenma's image vanished for a moment to display a rotating wire frame model of a sleek looking Gundam with a cone-shaped weapon on one hand and holding a shielded multiweapon in the other. The image returned to Tenma.

"So, do we have a deal?" Tenma asked.

The image faded as the beam of light shut off from the machine's head. Tenma's goodwill group and all the soldiers gathered around Ceiphied's throne looked towards their master for an answer.

Ceiphied stroked his small beard, as he pondered this mortal's request. This being was going to give him a chance to destroy Amaterasu once and for all, and equipping them with the means to do so. And he was the only Drakka Seishi to make contact with him. He would agree to this, for now...he could always destroy them later after the portal was open. But for that to happen in the first place, they had to work together.

"Very well. Tell your master I accept his terms." Ceiphied replied. "Now leave before I reconsider."

Toshihiko and his group took the hint and headed back up to their ship.

Meanwhile, back at Houji's...

Karen looked around the lower levels of the facility, searching for Naru furiously. She almost stomped with every step, half of her wanting to apologize and the other half wanting to blast some sense into her. One or the other, or both would occur once she finally located Naru. Her Chi level was slowly starting to rise from her anger. She headed over to Naru's door, preparing to blast it open if necessary, but it was locked. She began to charge her energy to blast it down and barge in there, but she was stopped by Shou.

"Karen? What's got ya all worked up?" he asked.
"<That little bitch Naru. She said I ruined her life by making Yuuji ask her out. I was just trying to help!>" Karen blurted out as she started to power down.
"I see." Shou replied calmly.
"<You wouldn't happen to know where she is, would you?>" she asked.
"You're not gonna suck her into a black hole, are ya?" Shou asked.
"<Maybe...>" Karen asked, starting to get angry and toyed around with the thought of sucking Naru into oblivion.
"Den you betta calm down first before you have it out wit Naru." Shou said.

As the two were walking down the hall, Mr. Yasuhara descended through the elevator, and overheard the last part of the conversation.

"I take it you overheard Naru talking to me." he replied.
"<Yeah.>" Karen replied.
"Come with me. I'll explain everything to you. There's lots to Naru you don't know." he said, walking off with her.

Arriving in his own room, the three sat down.

"I suppose I should start from the beginning. Several years ago, I was doing a study abroad program over in the United States while in college. I happened to be walking along in a park when I saw the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my entire life."
"It was a girl, right?" Shou asked. Karen whacked him upside the head.
"It was indeed. The most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my young life. I sat down next to her and fighting every inch of my Japaneseness, I introduced myself, and we soon hit it off. As it turned out, she was an American-born Japanese girl, who took to me quite quickly. It was easy to hang out with her, as she was in every way a tomboy. After we both got out of school, I proposed to her, she accepted, and we returned to Japan, together. A few years later we had Naru."
"<So, Naru gets her attitude and her boyish nature from her mom.>" Karen observed.
"That, and what I've told her about her mother. She doesn't really remember her."
"<Why?>" Karen asked.
"It's a very long story. Naru's mad at you because she was happy the way things were between her and Yuuji. If she was going to have some sort of relation with him other than friends, she wanted to make that decision with him, without interference. I wouldn't expect you to understand Karen, spending most of your life growing up in America, but we Japanese are very laid back and passive. She found it rude that you barged into her life. I'll try to talk to her, but It'll be hard."

There was a knock at the door, and one of Houji's associates answered.

"Excuse me, Mr. Yashuhara. Shou-sama, Karen-sama, Furukiayu-san requests your presence upstairs. Where is Naru-sama?" he asked.

As Karen puzzled the sudden godlike and royal honor she was being addressed with, Shou spoke up.

"'Naru-sama's' Out relaxin' somewhere. I'll go look for her." Shou said, heading off.

Elsewhere...

Ayako had snuck down to Toyama, partially to look for more info, partially to pick up the latest volume of her favorite manga. Heading over to a nearby park, she felt a strong presence around her, almost freezing.

"Ayako." came Temia's voice. "I sense something very powerful and evil nearby."
"So that's what that is?" Ayako asked.
"Yes." Temia replied.

Back at Houji's, Tenma and his loyal scientific genius were meeting in the research and development bay. In front of him, workers were working on several suits of armor that seemed to resemble God Gundam, Master Gundam, VR Raiden, and Full Vernian Zephyanthes. Some of the armors were further along and the visage of these powerful mecha was starting to peek through as armor plates were welded into place. Others were still in the early stages.

"I trust these will be finished soon?" Tenma asked.
"Of course. They're our trump cards for the invasion." Houji explained.

Another worker walked up to the two and informed Houji that the others had been gathered, except for Naru.

"Tell them we'll be there soon." Houji said. The worker nodded and walked off. Tenma and Houji headed off to another part of the facility, where they called up some sort of citywide monitor. Houji pointed to the screen.

"There." he said. "She's in Toyama Park."
"Good." Tenma replied. "Is she asleep?"
"She's in a light sleep, it wouldn't be wise to perform the ritual." Houji advised.
"Fine, then we'll wait."

Back in the park, Ayako fought her mystical senses and proceeded inward to find a place to sit, the feeling of a chill creeping up her spine. What could be so evil that Temia would be worried? Looking around, her curiosity led her in the direction of the pull. After a few minutes, she found herself in a small clearing, where a young girl clad in a tank top and baggy pants was sitting under a tree, her hat pulled over her eyes.

"There. That's the source of it." Temia replied.
"Her? But she looks so peaceful and harmless." Ayako said.
"I sense some sort of evil power from her. Be cautious." Temia warned.
"Relax, I'm not going to wake her up." Ayako said, tiptoeing over to the spot despite Temia's protests. Sitting down near the girl, Ayako looked towards her in curiosity, wondering how someone so relaxed and harmless looking could have Temia all worried. She turned towards her manga and began reading, trying ever so hard to fight off the energy telling her to go away.

Back at the lab, Houji and Tenma anxiously waited for the opportunity to strike again.

"There's one of Amaterasu's warriors nearby. This would be the perfect opportunity to take one out!" Houji exclaimed. "But we must wait for her to drop into a deeper sleep first before you can call Drakka into her body, and that is not happening."
"I can wait." Tenma said eagerly.
"I don't think she's going to fall any deeper at this point. If you perform it now the sudden shock will wake her up and Drakka won't be able to control her." Houji explained.
"Fine. We'll go deal with them later." Tenma said, a little disappointed.

In the first time since she got there, Ayako felt the cold feeling vanish from sight. At last she could enjoy herself a little more. Next to her, the girl's chest rose and fell with every relaxed breath, as Ayako hoped she was dreaming about something happier than the horrible feeling she had sensed earlier. She became absorbed in her book, and was startled back into reality as the girl next to her began to stir a little. Ayako started to inch away a little bit as not to try and intrude on this girl's personal space. The girl yawned and stretched out her arms and legs, as she adjusted her hat, and pulled her glasses out of her shirt and placed them on her eyes, bringing the world back into focus and spotting Ayako next to her. Ayako had been watching her wake up and nudging herself away more and more.

"Ah!!! I'm so sorry! I'm not a perv or interested in girls honest! I wasn't trying to intrude on your space, really, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry!" Ayako said, barely taking a breath as the words flew out of her mouth at a rapid pace.
"Oh, hi." Naru replied.
"Um, hi, look, I'm sorry I sat so close to you, if you want I'll leave, okay?" Ayako replied, hoping she had not offended this girl who was obviously minding her own business.
"No, it's okay, really. I was taking a nap when you sat down. I don't mind, really." Naru replied.

Ayako breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Geez, where are my manners? I'm Ayako." she replied.

Naru laughed a little. "Mine's Naru." she replied.

"So, what brings you out here on a day like this?" Ayako asked, trying to make conversation.
"I needed to blow off some steam so I came out here to calm down. It's so peaceful here, so I guess I slept it off. You?"
"Bored." Ayako replied.
"I see. Well you're welcome to kill time with me, I don't mind." Naru answered.
"Naru! Dere you are! Whereyabeen, I've been lookin' all ova fo' ya!" Shou shouted. "C'mon!"
"Is that your brother?" Ayako asked.
"Nope, just a friend. Gotta go now. Nice meeting you." Naru said, getting up and walking over to Shou.

From up in the tree, a familiar falcon watched the scene.

"Hmm..." a voice said, peering through its eyes. "It's that girl again. I should follow them. Arataka, you know what to do."

Naru walked off with Shou, as Arataka cried and took off into the air.

Shou finally arrived in the meeting room with Karen, who looked away from Naru when she saw her come in, and the two took their seats as Tenma stood before them.

"I'm guessing you're all wondering why you've ended up here. You all know about the symbols on various parts of your body, I'm sure." Tenma began, opening his shirt up to reveal his own. Houji opened his own right hand to reveal the mark on his palm.

"These marks identify us as the Seishi of Drakka, a powerful deity who has blessed all of us in this room with his power, which has manifested itself in various ways. All that is left to do is find the remaining two, and a Priestess to represent Drakka, and we can call upon his powers to grant any wishes we desire. We can end poverty, save the environment, bring about world peace with a single command. All you must do is agree to help me achieve this goal." Tenma finished.

Karen, Shou, and Naru sat there speechless. This certainly explained to Karen why her dad had gone to all this trouble to pick up Naru and Shou before coming back here to meet Houji; they were all other Seishi, like herself, and apparently like her father. She felt powerless, but at the same time, the three felt that perhaps this was worth it. The three nodded.

"Good." Tenma said. "Meeting's over. Houji, come with me."

The three headed back to their rooms, Shou closing himself within his. Naru and Karen looked at each other, with discontent but yet a desire to mend the fences, as they closed their doors as well.

"You're positive that when we call Drakka, the three of them will be under his full control?" Tenma asked Houji.
"That's what the research shows." Houji answered.
"Perfect. And with these new machines you're developing, and the impending alliance with the Draconai, things are slowly falling into place." Tenma said, smiling a contentedly and evilly. "Have we found a Priestess yet?"
"No sir. We're still looking. We hope to find one soon." Houji replied.
"We must also locate the other two remaining Seishi. Having them here will increase our chances of finding the Priestess, as she will be drawn to our location, in theory." Tenma explained.
"We will step up our search process and our production schedule." Houji answered.
"Excellent. We must be ready to complete the summoning ritual soon." Tenma said. "Then, the clan, Japan, yes, even the world will be mine for the taking." he finished, smiling evilly.

Outside the facilities' walls, Kazuhiko stood with his wolf at his side staring towards the base, as his falcon flew over and landed on his shoulder.

"Well done, Arataka. These people seem to be the ones I have been searching for. With the Sword of Heaven located at last, I must join my own Seishi so that I may challenge him in combat."

His wolf howled at the moon, as he stroked its neck.

"Yes, Saitou. We will meet them soon."

Next Episode:

::Shou dodges various objects being thrown at him by angry fans::

ANGRY FANS: You said that the retro guy was going to join you this time!

SHOU: I'msorry I'msorry! I don't write the episodes! Dunttakeitoutonme! We spent too much time shooting the island scene!

KAZUHIKO: I am sorry for disappointing all of my fans. I shall be back in the next episode, where you will see more of me and my companions. ::howl:: ::cry::

SHOU: See? Whadditellya? It's the next Episode of Ronin Warriors: Hell Back On Earth; The Sword of Hell.

KAZUHIKO: Farewell. ::howl:: ::cry::