Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Ronin Warriors: Hell Back on Earth ❯ The Path to Conquest ( Chapter 23 )

The energy shot straight down into the ground, as lightning began to flash through the sky. An energy shot up through this column, which stopped on the rooftop, as energies shot out from the pillars around the city as well and materialized into the Drakka Seishi as the shape itself began to take shape.

Meanwhile, down in the city, everyone else had rushed to where the APC had parked, Kale flew in and let the girls off before changing back, and clambering inside, while Sakura pulled Kanesada inside the CAS bay and initiated the switch to B Type Armor. Seconds later, the ramps opened up as she shot out, landing on top of the roof, her thrusters set as she latched onto the roof.

"Okay, put this thing in neutral, just steer! I'll push!" Sakura said, as she lit the ion boosters and proceeded to rocket forward towards the rest of the transport.

Up on the roof, sinister looking armor began to materialize, peeking up through his cape. An equally sinister helmet was on his head, and his eyes glowed evilly.

"I am Drakka, lord of Hell. Are you the Priestess who summoned me?"

"FASTER SAKURA!!! FASTER!!!!!" Rowen shouted.
"We're going as fast as we can! I burned the ion boosters out last time I tried this!" she explained.
"That's it, we've got to try something." Ayame replied. *"Mia!" Ayame called.
*"What do you need?" Mia asked.
*"Fire up the main gun! We've only got a few minutes to try this!" Ayame called.

At Ayame's direction, Mia pushed a series of buttons, warming up the large cannon on the fourth section, as she proceeded to zoom in and line up the crosshairs on a still readily awakened Drakka. In the time it took, the confirmation came that the cannon was warmed up and ready to fire as Mia pulled the trigger as a blast of Gauss energy surged out from the barrel, straight for Drakka.

"Ahhh!!!!" Drakka called out. "What is going on here!!!!!?" he demanded.
*"FIRE!!!!" Ayame shouted.

Mia did so as a deafening boom erupted from the barrel again as a small nuclear core shot out straight for their enemy, striking him dead on, as a large cloud of smoke and a contained nuclear blast with mushroom cloud erupted into the sky.

*"Did we get him?" Ayame asked.
*"Direct hit." Mia reported.

Everyone watched nervously as the smoke cloud slowly cleared, hoping that their worries were over. But their fears were realized as Drakka still stood there, barely fazed.

*"Hit him again!" Ayame shouted.
*"Roger!" Mia replied, firing another shot. It had no different effect on the evil one, neither did the two shots she fired after that before the cannon initiated its mandatory recharge and repair cycle.
"Great. We're doomed." Sai replied.
"We're not done yet man! We can still succeed!" Rowen added.
*"That's right! I'm still here, I'm going to take a shot at that looser myself!" a voice said over the radio.
*"Himeihoshi, are you crazy?!" Ayame replied.
*"You tell me, you're the one who built me." he replied.
"Who's Himeihoshi?" Sekhmet asked.
*"This is your Captain speaking, we're now cruising at an altitude of thirty thousand feet, we seem to have lost our pursuers." Himeihoshi said as he flew above the clouds, apparently having lost the Aegis units that were following him."

He cruised along, just under supersonic, as his targeting computer searched for the prize, that being Drakka, as he got tone and a good lock on him.

"We hope you enjoyed our in-flight movie, and are looking forward to lunch, where our main course will be HOT AND HEAVY PARTICLE BEAM DEATH!!!!!!!!!" He shouted as he transformed into Soldier config, bringing his shoulder cannons to bear on the target below as they quickly warmed up to maximum power. "NULL LASER CANNONS...FIRE!!!!!!" Himeihoshi shouted, as the clouds parted from the intense heat and the blasts tore into Drakka.
"YEAH!!!! TAKE THAT!!!!!" Himeihoshi added.

Drakka, with a wave of his hand, knocked the searing blast away, as it flew off into the distance.

"Houji, I believe we have some uninvited guests." Tenma replied.

The Aegis units emerged from the clouds and transformed to robot mode, with their beam rifles ready to fire.

"Oh great, it's you again. Gotta go, cake's in the oven!" Himeihoshi said as he quickly transformed and flew off, as they also transformed and followed closely behind him.

Back on the Rooftop, all distractions aside, Drakka stood before those that had summoned him, Tenma quite pleased, Houji pleased for Tenma, Karen, Naru, and Shou confused, Teisei excited for no apparent reason, Kazuhiko not sure. Midori was shaking at the sight.

"Tell him you are." Tenma whispered.
"Y-y-yes. I am the Priestess who summoned you." Midori replied.
"Excellent. Now, I must fuse with you, after which you will have the use of my supreme powers up to three times." Drakka explained. "Are you ready, Priestess?"

Midori nodded.

"Very well." Drakka replied.

He became a bolt of dark energy and surged in through Midori's mouth, as she began to scream in pain as the kanji of her Seishi once again glowed on themselves and on her, as her body was rocked violently by the energies, before fainting, caught in the arms of Toshihiko.

"Let's get out of here. The ritual's complete." Tenma said. "Shou, Karen, Naru, the dropship will take you back to the factory. Kazuhiko, go with them."

As soon as the group was on board and on their way out, Tenma turned to the remaining members of his team.

"Teisei, take your future self and try to cut off the escape of those accursed allies of Amaterasu. Houji, proceed with the forced evacuation and complete fortification of the city once that is complete. Let's go."

Alarms sounded throughout Otoantou as soldiers rushed to their tanks, mechs, and other machines and headed out to accomplish Tenma's plan. Droves of new types of mecha Houji had secretly developed in addition to everything else he was secretly developing also took off to aid with the process, as well as more Aegis units.

Sakura and the others were nearing the outskirts of the city and were almost home free, thanks to her rapid thinking and even faster pushing, as a group of pinkish purple blurs flew overhead and landed in front of them, as Rowen told Sakura to slow down.

"Damn. We were so close." Rowen said, banging his fists on the dashboard.
"Maybe not. Yuri, get ready by the door with your cannon. Suiren, go for the other one. Sage, aim all the guns forward. We're not giving up without a fight." Ayame answered.

Ryo and Anubis shed their armor and climbed up through the access hatches to the laser turrets.

The Aegis units brought out their beam rifles and prepared to open fire as the side doors opened on the APC, and Yuri proceeded to open fire as Suiren fired pink waves of death as fast as she could charge them. Ryo and Anubis fired their laser turrets like machine guns and the ion cannon fired blast after blast, knocking back the Aegis units standing in their way.

"Ayame, this isn't working!" Suiren called to her.
"We're just going to have to plow through them!" Sakura said. "Kanesada, give it everything you've got!"

Before Sakura could fire up the ion boosters on the back of her bike, the roar of jet engines was heard flying on the scene, as mini-missiles exploded inches away from the Aegis units.

"What the hell?" Yuri wondered, as the form of a jet flew overhead, shot straight up in the air, transformed into a robot, and slowly lowered itself to the ground, firing shots from his twin energy gun pods to slow his decent, ripping holes into the enemy units as he touched down in front of the APC.

"Sorry I'm late girls, I had to deal with some of their buddies on my way out here. They almost caught me, but they can't do Mach 5.5 like I can!" Himeihoshi explained.

Suiren, Yuri, Sakura, Ryo and Anubis gazed up at the 22 foot tall robot standing in front of them, easily dwarfing the Aegis units.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a score to settle with these guys." he said, discarding his gun pods and brandishing the long spear clipped to his forearm, as a helmet structure locked into place over his head and various thrusters opened up on his legs and began to come to life.

"Playtime is over....HERE I COME!!!!!" Himeihoshi shouted as he rocketed forward towards his opponents like a bat out of hell, slicing cleanly through them with his blade, taking three down with one stroke, the machinecannons on his hips cleanly tearing the others to pieces as more came flying towards him, which he slashed away, impaled with his spear after energizing it, finishing off the last with a stylish impaling, before firing a plasma bolt from the blade that ripped the impalee to pieces and destroyed the last of the enemy units standing in their way.

"Let's get out of here. TRANSFORM!!!!" Himeihoshi said, leaping in the air and changing back into a jet, flying on ahead as Sakura lit the thrusters once again and followed behind the strange aircraft, finally coming to a stop well outside the city, where they had parked the rest of the SDT. The twin side doors opened up as the group stepped outside, as Himeihoshi set down and transformed back into soldier config, looking towards the city of Toyama sadly.

"Come on everyone." Ayame said as she dismissed her armor. "We've got work to do."

Temia reverted into Ayako as she was taken inside the command center to rest, while Kanesada and Himeihoshi returned to their container, appearing in portrait windows on the screens inside the bridge of the command center, where Rowen and the others in charge began to plan their strategy.

As the warriors united under the banner of Amaterasu plotted their strategy, those under the banner of Drakka began to implement theirs. Siege Tanks, Mammoth Tanks, and the other weapons of Houji's war machine proceeded to roll out of his complex, heading down the streets of Toyama, coming to a halt and converting to cannon emplacements at the edges of the city, blocking all ways in and out. Aegis units accompanied Goliaths and Titans as they proceeded to fan out as well, taking positions on rooftops and patrolling the streets. Squads of soldiers fanned out to various points in the city, and with the help of the Aegis units, installed three towers in a triangular pattern around the city.

As the hours passed, the citizens of Toyama became more and more worried. What was going on? Why was Otoantou going to all this trouble to fortify the city? The officials running Toyama made phone call after phone call to Houji, demanding to know what was going on. Each time, he assured them that they had nothing to worry about, which of course, worried them even more. Secretly, police stations all over the city were notified, as civilians were urged to stay inside their homes until the problem was resolved.

"Furukiayu-san, I have proceeded according to your plan as you requested, however, as you anticipated, the people are getting worried." Houji explained. "My PR people are running out of spins to put on this deployment, before long the city will take action." Houji continued, worried.
"Let them." Tenma explained. "Just let them. A display of our power will be enough to quiet them and allow us to proceed undisturbed."

Houji's worried expression turned to one of glee.

"Of course! You anticipated this all along sir! You are truly a genius!" Houji exclaimed.
"Indeed. And I hold all the trump cards, wind and dragon tiles, and aces and kings. Let's see those Amaterasu fools try and get in now." Tenma said evilly.

Elsewhere in the city, the city's officials sat at their impromptu meeting. A consultant from the Jeitai had been brought in to help with the planning.

"This is ludicrous! What reason does Otoantou have to put this kind of a military presence around our city?" one official said.
"Although Mr. Otoantou does have several contracts with the Japanese government, it is apparent that he has kept some of his best ideas for himself, to raise that infernal personal army of his." another added.
"We are prepared to launch an attack on the city if absolutely necessary. However, this is a last resort." the consultant from the Jeitai stated.
"There is no point in negotiating! Otoantou refuses to listen to us!" another official added. "It is time to take action! Serious action! Tell the police forces to move in!"

Unbeknownst to the officials, a Ghost operative had been placed within the room by Houji, completely oblivious and invisible. Outside, a group of Draconai using Blitz armors to cloak themselves, laid in wait.

*Sir. They've decided to move against you." the operative said.
*"All right." Houji replied.
"This is just as I thought. Tell Teisei to prepare to go out to wherever they strike." Tenma explained.
"Teisei?" Houji asked.
"Yes. Teisei." Tenma repeated.

Meanwhile, in another part of the fortress, Kazuhiko was practicing with his weaponry, trying to get his mind off of what had happened earlier. Drakka was loose, of course. Out to lunch, or even more accurately out on a smoke break, true, but that is what he was supposed to accomplish. The only problem was, three of the people in the club were very shady characters, three were innocent bystanders, and the final one was him. How Naru, Karen, and Shou had been dragged into this situation, he was unsure. When he was younger, he felt a tighter grip from Drakka, but now, much older, he simply did his bidding, almost without question. What Tenma had in store for the "kids" was beyond him. He had overheard them talking about certain armors being complete, heard Shou's screams of pain as he tested some experimental suit Houji developed. He had to do what he could to protect the three of them as long as he could, but he was sure that Tenma knew when they would be ripe for the picking.

Sheathing his swords, he decided it was time to inspect the situation. Tenma and Houji were upstairs conducting some sort of business, so he headed down the halls where he overheard Shou crying out in pain as Karen tried to soothe his wounds. Looking into the next room, he found a sound asleep Naru lying on her back with a hat pulled over her face, as Saitou sat by her bedside, looking up at his master with a quizzical yet assuring look, as if to say, "Yes, she's fine, what are you doing in here?" Assured by his presence, the ninja-trained samurai headed off to figure out his plans for dealing with Navcase next.

Naru stood outside an arcade, flipping her wrist over to check the time on her watch. Five minutes to go. Would he show? She stood there more nervously that she had ever been, wearing her baggy jeans, a tank top and a flannel shirt with one of her many hats, as she began tapping her sneaker clad foot impatiently.

Then, she saw him, walking down the street. As he caught sight of her, he began running towards her as the two embraced as they met.

"I missed you so much..." Naru said, fighting back tears.
"I missed you too, Naru." Yuuji answered. "So, have you decided?"

She nodded.

"I asked a friend what I should do...she said to starve a fever and feed a cold." Naru began.
"But I'm not sick." Yuuji answered.
"If nothing you do scares him away, then you've found someone special..." Naru continued.
"Are you trying to tell me something Naru?"
"I guess what I'm trying to say is..." Naru said nervously.
"Is?" Yuuji asked...

Naru closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath.

"Would you like to go out with me sometime? Just us?" Naru asked.
"But Naru, we do that all the time..." Yuuji said, confused.
"Yeah...but this time...if I fall asleep in your arms...we can get away with it." Naru answered.
"So you're saying yes?" Yuuji asked, hoping he was right.
"Mhmm. Let's go for it. Boyfriend and Girlfriend." Naru said finally.
"I've been waiting for you to say that for so long..." Yuuji answered.
"Same here Yuuji...Same here." Naru answered as the two came together in an embrace. As they drew closer and closer, Naru cocked her head to the side and closed her eyes, as their lips met...
"Yuuji..." she thought to herself..."Ai...shiter..."
"EEEW!!!!!!!" Naru screamed as Saitou began to lick her. "SAITOU!!!!"

Naru sat up and stretched out.

"I must have been talking in my sleep again."

Just then, Karen and Shou came running.

"<Naru, we heard you screaming, is something wrong?>" Karen asked.
"No. It's just...it's just..." Naru said as she started to fight back tears. "I miss him so much..."
"Waddyanuts? You're dad's not back home, he's here!" Shou answered.

Karen elbowed him.

"<She means Yuuji.>" Karen answered.
"Wadishe? Your boyfriend or sometin?" Shou asked.

Naru started to cry some more, as Karen rushed on the scene to comfort her.

"<Let me guess, you were dreaming about him again, weren't you?>" Karen asked.
"Mhmm." Naru answered through tears and sobs.
"<Look, you'll see him again, don't worry. Then you can tell him your answer, which I think is yes, isn't it?>"
"Yeah..." Naru answered. "Being away from him all this time made me realize how much I miss him...and my new friend Ayako said I should at least give it a chance, if it doesn't work out it doesn't work out..."
"<You know what I think? I think it will.>"
"You think so?" Naru asked, calming down.
"<Yeah.>"
"See, whadditellya? If I was your age, I'd definitely wanna date ya." Shou answered.
"<Excuse me.> Karen said.

She got up off of Naru's bed, and grabbed Shou by the ear, as she dragged him back to her room with him mumbling in pain and screaming her name Ozzy style.

Naru smiled and snuggled up to her pillow, closing her eyes with a smile.

"Yuuji..." she mumbled, unhitting pause on her dream.

As Naru slept, the police force of Toyama was gathering its armaments. SWAT teams all over the city were on their way towards one of Houji's many blockades, hoping to thwart this situation easily. Before long, a long line of cop cars had assembled a barricade in front of one of Houji's tank battalions, their guns pointed outward towards the outskirts of the city.

The commander pulled out a megaphone as the tank crews peeked out of their vehicles.

"Attention. This is the Toyama Police Department. Please remove the barricade from this area immediately."

The tank crews stood their ground, as they had been ordered to by Houji.

"Stay in your vehicles, no matter what occurs. Mr. Furukiayu will take care of everything."

"You have three minutes to turn your vehicles around and leave the area." the commander said again, as officers lined up with machine-guns and other weapons, tensely waiting for the machines to undeploy and leave the area. One minute passed. Nothing.

"If you do not leave immediately we will be forced to open fire." the commander said, unwavering.

Another minute. Still Nothing.

"You have one minute left. Leave immediately or I'll give the order!" the commander said firmly.

The final minute. The tanks were still there.

"All right! Open fire!" he ordered.

As the officers prepared to shoot, a round of missiles hit the parked cars, causing them to explode and burst into flame. Several officers were left dead, others wounded.

"What the hell?" the commander wondered.

More missiles were fired, more officers, not wanting a repeat of the last salvo, dove for cover as more vehicles exploded.

"You can't win." Tenma's voice came from within one of the tanks. "You're all doomed. This city is mine." Tenma answered. "Teisei."

A maniacal laugh was heard from the rooftops as the Armor of Omnistrike leapt off the building and used its Aile form to land, before switching to Sword mode.

"It looks like I'm going to be painting the town red tonight..." Teisei said with glee, as he unclipped his sword and powered up the cutting edge. "Here's my paintbrush!"

The commander's eyes widened with fear as he ordered everyone to open fire, but his orders were soon drowned out by Teisei's cackling.

About a half hour later, Tenma interrupted the local news channels.

"Greetings, citizens of Toyama. My name is Teisei Furukiayu. I was going to let you all stay here nicely, but after what your wonderful officials just pulled, this city is mine now. My men have barricaded every possible exit from the city with powerful artillery pieces. If you try to leave, we will open fire. You may go about your business, but do not leave the city. Furthermore," he added as he began to show some B-roll of the mayhem Teisei caused under a VO of himself, "Unless you want something like this to happen again, you'll think twice about trying to stop me."

As his broadcast continued, the cloaked Blitz Units began to open fire on City Hall, as the Black Jackals stormed their way in, taking down any guards standing in their way and then leading the city officials out of their board room at gun and sword point.

"As we speak, I have taken hostage the wonderful officials who make this town run. If you want to keep them alive, then you'll do whatever I say, whenever I say. Please welcome, your new mayor. Me."

Next Episode

SAKURA: That's it! THAT's IT!!!!

AYAME: Sakura, calm down, he's only been in control for less than an episode.

SAKURA: That's too long! We've got to do something!

AYAME: Relax, we're working on a plan.

SUIREN AND YOKO: Will it involve lots of cute boys?

AYAME: NO!!!!!

ANUBIS: It will however involve a major counter strike on the city of Toyama as we attempt to get it back.

SUIREN: Awww...

AYAME: We've got to get going! We attack tomorrow at dawn!

SUIREN: But that's too early!

SAKURA: Yeah Ayame, even for you.

AYAME (realizing the error of her ways and remembering her sleep habits): Okay, 9:30?

SUIREN: DEAL!!!!

KASHIN: This is supposed to be a counter strike, not a slumber party.

HIMEIHOSHI: Yeah, stop being a party pooper! This will be the greatest counter strike ever! It's our next episode of Ronin Warriors, Hell Back on Earth...(aside)um, what's the episode title?

KASHIN: Taking back Toyama...

HIMEIHOSHI: That's it! Taking Back Toyama! They'll be plenty of explosions too!

SUIREN: Will there be any female-oriented fanservice?

HIMEIHOSHI: Um, I don't think so...

SURIEN AND YOKO: Aww...

KALE: What about Male-oriented?

WARLORDS: KALE!!!!

HIMEIHOSHI: What does this look like, EVA?

AYAKO: Although this could be Metropolis, we've got a robot controlling the episode preview.

HIMEIHOSHI: I told you for the last time! I am not a robot! I am a specially modified VF-1MS Metal Siren from Macross II!!!!

KASHIN(sighs): I give up...