Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ The Anime Margin: 108 Stars of Destiny ❯ Invasion of the Abh Story, part 3: The Eye of God ( Chapter 17 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer:
This fic uses characters, places, themes from franchises that are the property of others. I do not own these franchises.

Special Thanks to:
Charles Xavier, Fanfiction.net author: For writing an awesome crossover with anime and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Suikosource website: for providing great information that made this fic possible.

The Anime Margin: 108 Stars of Destiny
By: RB3

Invasion of the Abh Story, part 3: The Eye of God

It was another day in Toontown's presidential mansion. The current President of the Tooniverse, Adam Acme, awoke to the golden light of morning and the sound of birds chirping. After cleaning himself as part of his morning routine, Acme donned his designer suit and walked out of the immaculate bedroom to begin his day. "Good morning, Mr. President," said one of Acme's aides, a dark-haired young Toon.

"Good morning, Harvey," said Acme. "What's on the agenda for today?"

"At 9 o'clock you've got an appointment at the Superhero Veteran's Memorial. You're supposed to give a speech at the memorial service for the dead Superheroes," replied Harvey.

"Ah, yes, I remember. Tell Jeffery to get the limo ready after breakfast," ordered Acme.

"Sir, that will get you to the memorial two hours too early," replied Harvey.

"Of course, I want get there sooner so I have more time to talk to the veterans," said Acme.

"Oh I see. Good for you. It's nice to pay respects to our Superheroes," said Harvey.

President Acme ate a delicious breakfast of pancakes and eggs in the massive presidential dining room. Afterwards, Acme and his entourage greeted his limo driver, Jeffery, who was an anthropomorphic bulldog Toon. The bulldog was in a black chauffeur's uniform and held the door for his passengers to board. Jeffery returned to the driver's seat and started the car. Moments after the vehicle came into motion, an explosion ripped through the interior of the presidential mansion! Jeffery floored on the gas in an attempt to escape the area.

"Hold on, I'm going to the bunker!" cried Jeffery.

The limo made a sudden turn around and sped onto the open streets. Jeffery sped his car through the calm streets of suburban Toontown until they came to a remote area in the Toontown outskirts. This area was under constant patrol by military personnel, one of whom saluted the President as Jeffery took his limo inside. The compound was in fact a bunker for protecting the President in the event of enemy attack. Upon reached the underground parking lot, a large steel blast door closed behind them while the limo's occupants disembarked.

The attack made headline news that afternoon. "...Earlier this day, officials had confirmed that an explosive device had been set off in the presidential building. Experts concluded that the device had been planted at around 7am in the washroom neighbouring the president's office. Fortunately, the President had left early to give a speech at the Superhero Veteran's Memorial and was not in the building at the time. Officials estimate that the blast had resulted in two people dead and ten wounded."

Throughout the next few days of the week, the authorities tracked down the party responsible for the attack on the presidential building. Police and SWAT forces converged on a single hotel in the heart of Toontown in video footage broadcast over the media networks. In a raid free of bloodshed, they entered a private room only to find no one home. As the authorities searched the room, they found and seized identification papers that had been left behind by the bombers. Back at the station, the detectives searched through the papers and found that all of them had one thing in common; they were from Roshtaria of the anime world El Hazard.

Roshtaria was a nation tinged with the flavour of the Arabian Nights. Two primary races dominated this world, the human nations in the deserts and the insectoid Bugrom tribe from the wastelands. These two had fought a great war which had resulted in destruction of the Bugrom's home land through a mass destruction weapon known as the "Eye of God." The Bugrom tribe was scattered after the war and greatly reduced in number. With the confirmed involvement of Roshtaria in the assassination attempt on Acme, the Toons now had their next target in the war against anime violence.

---

Meanwhile in the Feudal Era of Demonic Earth, the demon hunters were looking around Valiance's campsite. The camp was bustling with activity as workers moved to disassemble the tents and equipment brought through the well. "Why are they taking everything down?" asked Shippo.

"We're leaving this place," replied Morty. "After Naraku stabbed us in the back and joined the other side, we lost many of our troops in battle. We don't have enough left to fight him, Omnipotence, and Morikage together now."

"So you're just going to up and abandon everyone, is that it?" asked Inuyasha.

"Do you really want to get yourself killed?" asked Morty. "You're crazy! Didn't you see the wounded men coming in to our camp?"

"I don't like it either Inuyasha, but if they lost many of their men, now would be a bad time to face Naraku or his friends," admitted Miroku.

"Yeah, Miroku's right. I tended to the injured men they brought into camp. It's pretty bad here," said Kagome.

"What about you Sango and you Shippo?" asked Inuyasha.

"I'm afraid I'll have to side with Kagome and Miroku," replied Sango.

"Me too," said Shippo.

"Bah, everyone's against me..." Inuyasha sighed. "Fine, we'll do it your way."

As the Valiance army returned to the Crimson Egg in the Kagome's world, Shippo looked out into space with Kilala. He marvelled at how strange and beautiful the world beyond the Earth was. The stars shone brightly like twinkling points of light in the distance. The Earth itself was a beautiful sight. The land was covered in a carpet of green vegetation while the oceans sparkled like sapphires. All he had ever seen were the forests and plains of ancient Japan. It was a sight Shippo and Kilala had never seen before, since the Feudal Era lacked the capability to bring people into space.

The demon hunters decided to ask Morty about himself and his role in the Valiance Army. Morty was happy to oblige. "You may not believe it, but I'm one of the founding members of Valiance".

"So you're saying you are one of the people who created this organization?" asked Sango

"Yep, so were Amelia and Sonic, but Amelia was from a different group. Before we formed Valiance, there were three groups of people that went up against Omnipotence. I was in one of those groups with my friends Yoh and Faust. We joined up with Amelia's group and the third group. We brought more people in, like our friends, and the other groups did the same thing. We even brought in Eddie and before we knew it, we were an army. You saw how dangerous Omnipotence is. That's why you joined us, isn't it?"

"So you were fighting Naraku's buddies? I'd never expect that a little pipsqueak like you could put up a fight," remarked Inuyasha skeptically, as he squeezed Morty's head. Suddenly, Mosuke appeared and slapped Inuyasha's hand away. The dog demon was in shock. "What?"

"A ghost!" remarked Sango.

"That's Mosuke, my friend and shamanic spirit guardian," introduced Morty. "It's because of him that I was able to do those things back in the fight with Naraku's demons. Don't worry; he's not trying to hurt me, Mosuke."

"Right, but if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that to him," said Mosuke to Inuyasha. The dog demon said nothing.

---

Meanwhile, a beautiful firebrand of a woman soaked herself within the warm waters of a hot spring. This red-haired, tanned skin beauty downed a cup of sake in a single gulp. She was visibly inebriated, her cheeks rosy red from all the sake she had consumed. Despite trying to drown her sorrows in alcohol, she was still very depressed over some unknown matter. "Why Makoto, why? How can you pick her over me?" complained the girl, Shayla Shayla.

A female servant approached her. "More sake?" she asked.

Shayla took the near-empty bottle and attempted to poor it into her cup to no avail. "Yeah, sure."

The servant took the empty old bottle and threw it into the garbage on her way to the stock room. She fetched a full bottle of sake from the wine cellar and removed the lid. At that moment, a teenaged girl made her way to that same wine cellar. When she walked in, she noticed the servant pouring a white powder from a pouch into one of the bottles. "Hey, what are you doing?" asked the girl.

The servant suddenly pulled out a gun and fired it into the girl's neck. The dart pierced through the teenager's skin, causing her wince as she clutched the wound. Within moments, the teenager, Nanami, began to feel disorientation and dizziness. As each second passed, it became more difficult to remain conscious. She gave out and collapsed on the ground. The servant lifted Nanami by the arms and put her into a corner out of plain sight. After, calling for help on a hidden radio, a pair of accomplices picked Nanami off of the ground and carried her away.

In the meantime, the servant returned to the hot spring with the tainted sake. "Here you go!"

"Thanks!" replied Shayla, who poured the sake into her cup and drank heartily.

Moments later, Shayla fell unconscious just like Nanami. Making sure no one was looking; the servant lifted Shayla's unconscious, naked body out of the water and slung it over her shoulders. "Man, she needs to go on a diet..."

When Shayla woke up, she found herself still naked, but lying on the floor bound by rope and chains. She looked around and saw a stony room lit only by dim, electronically powered lights. The room was cold to the touch, especially due to the fact that she was still naked and had not gotten a chance to put on some clothes. The only entrance to the room was a single metal door that was likely to have been locked from the outside. On the ground next to her was an unconscious woman she knew very well, Miz Mishtal. Like Shayla, Miz was also a priestess of Mount Muldoon.

"Oh great, where the hell are we? Miz, wake up!" called Shayla, but Miz didn't respond.

On the ground above her was a second girl, whose appearance gave Shayla no end of annoyance. "Oh great, Nanami's here too!"

Suddenly, a set of footsteps approached Shayla's cell. The door creaked open to reveal Leguma, who was carrying a pair of women over her shoulders. "Well, well, well, rise and shine honey!"

"Damn you bitch!" cried Shayla. "Let us go!"

"Tsk tsk, we have a little anger management problem here, don't we?" asked Leguma in mocking rhetoric.

"When I get out of here you're gonna wish you were never born!" threatened Shayla.

Leguma merely laughed off Shayla's threats. "Is that all you can say after all the trouble I went to get you company? Some people are such ingrates." Leguma sighed in plainly hypocritical manner. "Well, maybe you'll enjoy the company of these ladies. I hear the brown-haired one on my shoulder here is especially fond of female companionship."

Shayla glanced at the prisoner on Leguma's right shoulder. She was tied in ropes and chains much like Shayla was. She was also naked, which brought up a lot of questions as to what she had been doing before being captured. She had long brown hair which reached to the small of her back. She had a thin, petite build with skin that was smooth and free of unsightly marks. Upon looking at the face, Shayla noted its boyish quality and similarity to someone who was dear to her heart. It was Second Princess Fatora of Roshtaria, who was known for being a lesbian.

"Oh, you're curious about that? Let's just say that she went all the way to home base. Of course, she was batting for the other team when she did..."

Leguma dumped her two prisoners onto the ground and locked the cell behind her. Shayla took a look at the second prisoner, when her face came to a rest on the ground. This second prisoner's beauty was of the delicate, but enduring kind, like a beautiful flower in bloom. She was older than Fatora and had hair like honey. In her hair was head band with a flower attached to it which served as an ornament. Her beautiful clothes seemed to flow with her silky smooth skin. Shayla recognized her as the First Princess of Roshtaria, Rune Venus, who had beauty befitting of her name.

"Oh crap, they got Rune Venus too..." muttered Shayla.

---

Somewhere in far to the east, in the wastelands of the Bugrom, the forces of Valiance descended onto El Hazard. The wastelands of the Bugrom were vast tracts of land tinted with the darkest blues and purples. As a result of a war in the past, the Bugrom home land was dotted with massive blast craters caused by an unknown weapon of mass destruction. The Crimson Egg's drop ship touched down on the ground with a hiss and a kicked up a light cloud of dust. A door opened in the side of the boxy craft which Eddie and Folken exited with armed guards.

Outside of the ship, the leaders of the Bugrom survivors waited for their arrival flanked by armed Bugrom. The first was a beautiful, exotic woman with bronzed skin, pink hair, and markings on her forehead resembling insect eyes. She wore a two piece set of black clothing consisting of a top, a thong, knee high boots, and shoulder armour. She was Diva, queen of the Bugrom. The second was a Japanese school boy in his late teens. He wore the uniform of his school, which was almost like a business suit, but with a set of medals pinned to it. This weasel of a boy, Katsuhiko Jinnai, had a fairly smug grin on his face.

Folken shook the hand of General Jinnai while Eddie did the same to Diva. "Mr. Valiant, I'm glad you were able come. We've recently acquired pictures of the enemy's leading officers. Please have a look."

Diva handed set of hand drawn pictures of the enemy commanders to Folken. Valiance's strategist flipped through the pictures, not recognizing any of the faces until one finally stood out. It was a picture of a female Saiyan in her mid-twenties. "That's her," announced Folken. "That's Leguma." Folken flipped through the pages until he found a second picture. "...And this man is Lord Naraku."

"Well Folken, looks like we've hit pay dirt," remarked Eddie. "Omnipotence is definitely hiding under some rock here."

"Thank you for your assistance. These people are definitely Omnipotence agents. Can you tell me more about your encounter with them?" asked Folken.

"Yesterday, along the northern section of the border between our lands and Roshtaria, one of our patrols came under attack by creatures we have never encountered before on El Hazard," replied Diva. "They resembled humans, but had features like fur and the heads of animals. Several of our patrols have also spotted swarms of wasp and serpent-like monsters flying in the skies above our lands."

"I see," replied Folken. "I have no doubt that Naraku is here."

"Well don't worry, 'cuz us Valiance guys are going to help you with the Omnipotence goons," said Eddie. "Hopefully, you'll cooperate as best you can."

"Of course," assured Diva. "General Jinnai is mobilizing our forces to assist you. He will coordinate search efforts with Mr. Fanel."

At that moment, a Bugrom agent entered the camp and whispered something into Jinnai's ear. "Mr. Valiant, I've just got word that our troops have found an abandoned camp in the northern mountains. My servant will lead you there."

Jinnai's Bugrom servant led the forces of Valiance to a cave naturally formed from the side of a mountain. The area had already been secured by Bugrom before they arrived. When the two parties searched the area, they found signs of recent habitation, which meant that whoever was here had only left very recently. The Bugrom located a set of tire tracks in mud which led out of the camp and into the forest which surrounded the great River of God. Midway into the forest, the tracks turned northward towards the sea and ended at a beach.

One of the Bugrom returned to Jinnai, who was surveying the searching of the camp. In a garbled language, the Bugrom messenger narrated his findings in the garbled language of his people. "They went out to sea?" asked Jinnai.

Eddie was frustrated. "Oh great! They could be anywhere by now."

A few days later, a squad of armed thugs in camouflage and ski masks approached a second mountainside hideout set up elsewhere in the deserts of El Hazard. The thug uttered a password to the guard at the door, who confirmed the password and allowed them entry. After giving a report to Leguma, she called in yet another group of underlings to issue orders. "We will be moving the prisoners within the next hour."

"What about that girl?" asked the thug leader.

"Take her out and shoot her. Make sure no one finds the body," replied Leguma.

The thugs sauntered over to Nanami's cell and dragged her out, much to the chagrin of the other women. The thugs led her out of the hideout and into a secluded area in the desert. As one thug began to dig a hole into the sand with a shovel, the other forced Nanami into a kneeling position and kept watch over her with arms crossed. As each load of sand left the ground, Nanami instinctively began to grow terrified. She felt her heart sinking as realized how close she was to her ultimate fate. With her hands tied behind her back and a thug watching her, there was nothing she could do.

"Hey you! How dare you scare such a nice girl!" cried Naruto.

Nanami turned to look at Naruto and breathed a sigh of relief. "Get him!" cried the watching thug as he drew his handgun.

The digging thug fired on Naruto, who disappeared behind a sand dune. The digger left the execution site to flush the annoying ninja out. The watcher waited by Nanami to ensure she would not escape and kept on the lookout in case a second person attempted a sneak attack while the other thug was distracted. Naruto returned to the execution area, but the digger was nowhere to be seen. The thug pointed his gun at the back of Nanami's head. "Stay there! Don't you come any closer or I'll shoot this girl!" threatened the thug.

"What girl? All I see are two rock heads," said Naruto.

"What?" The thug looked down at Nanami to find that a stone had taken her place. "Dammit!"

The thug fired several bolts of energy. Naruto ducked under the dune, allowing the energy to sail past him harmlessly. When the watching thug decided to move closer, Naruto fled behind the dunes of sand. When the thug reached the rear of the dunes, he spotted his partner unconscious on the ground. In his moment of distraction, a sharp blow connected with the back of his head, knocking him unconscious. As Naruto went to check up on the girl he had saved from death, his clones gathered the bodies of the thugs in a nearby location to await the arrival of friends.

"Are you okay?" asked Naruto.

"I'm fine. Thank you, whoever you are," replied Nanami.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, ninja and Hokage of the future, believe it!"

"Naruto! There you are!" said Sakura, who came on the scene. "They're over here, Sensei!"

Kakashi entered the scene and chuckled once he saw Naruto's handiwork. "Ah, good work, Naruto. You found one of the missing girls. Not only that, but if these men are here, that means their base must be close by too."

"Sensei, I've spotted a metallic door in the mountainside. I've told the others, so they'll be coming here to investigate," informed Sasuke over the radio.

"Good, now all we need to do is kick back and watch the show," said Kakashi.

Within the next few minutes, Valiance heroes and agents swarmed the area and captured Omnipotence's base. "Eddie, we've captured the base, but there's nobody living there," reported Sonic. "I think they left just before we got there."

"Thank you Sonic, keep me informed," replied Eddie over a radio.

"Hmm, seems Omnipotence flew the coop once again," remarked Folken. "Faust is going to persuade our two 'friends' into talking. We should know where they are headed very soon."

In the meantime, Faust was outside in a different part of the desert, separate from the temporary staging area for investigating the Omnipotence base. The two men were bound and lying on the ground before him. "Do your worst!" replied the watcher to Faust's requests for information.

"Are you crazy? Look how creepy that guy is. Don't encourage him!" objected the digger.

"You'll never make us talk!" cried the watcher defiantly.

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you," said Faust as he snapped his fingers. At that moment, a pair of skeletons started to dig their way out of the sand near the heads of the prisoners. "Meet your new friends, Bones and Skully."

After digging their torsos out of the sand, the skeletons began to touch and examine the two prisoners. Those bony hands, aglow with the light of Furyoku, traced themselves across the faces of the men. "Oh my God!" gasped the digger, now visibly terrified.

The skeletons moved very close to the men, their jaws open and uttering a soft, guttural hiss at them. Now, even the watcher was becoming terrified. "What the hell are they doing?" asked the watcher.

"They want to get to know you better," replied Faust. "...But there was something else I wanted to tell you, something important. I just can't remember what it is for the life of me..."

The skeletons moved close again, their jaws open and hissing with a quiet, guttural sound once again. "Get them away from me!"

"Oh, I remember now! They're cannibals," informed Faust.

"AHHHH! AHHHH!" screamed the digger, terrified upon realizing what Faust said.

"Call'em off! Call'em off! We'll do anything!" cried the watcher.

"Anything?" asked Faust impishly.

The watcher finally capitulated. "Okay, okay! They went to the Stairway to the Sky. They want to bring back the Eye of God!"

"I see," remarked Faust. "Oh well, Bones and Skully will be very unhappy. They really wanted to meet some new friends."

The two skeletons sank back into the earth to deep sighs of relief by the men. After reporting his findings to Folken, Valiance and their Bugrom allies made haste to the Stairway of the Sky, a great mechanical tower constructed in ancient times on El Hazard. Along the way, Eddie and Folken learned the truth of what Omnipotence wanted from Nanami. This massive metal structure was the control system for the Eye of God, a super weapon that created destructive time-space vortices which devoured everything caught in them. It was what destroyed the Bugrom homeland during their war against Roshtaria.

"I was there when Roshtaria used it to destroy the Bugrom lands," said Nanami. "...But what good will it do to call it now? The Phantom Tribe sabotaged the Eye and Ifurita took away so it couldn't hurt anyone."

"Somehow, I think Omnipotence has figured out a way to bring it back," said Folken. "If they succeed, I have no doubt that they can repair it and gain its use."

"How?" asked Nanami. "You can't use the Eye unless... Oh no! Now, I get why they kidnapped Rune Venus and the others!"

"Others?" asked Eddie.

"I wasn't the only one they captured. They also kidnapped the princesses of Roshtaria and the priestesses of Mount Muldoon."

"What's so important about these dames?" asked Eddie.

"They're the ones who can activate and control the Eye of God," replied Nanami. "They need them in order to control the Eye of God."

"...But then why did they take you?"

"It was probably because I caught them in the act. They couldn't afford to leave me around so they took me too. They were going to kill me but your guys stopped them," said Nanami.

"...And they'll do the same to the other women too," interjected Folken. "Omnipotence will certainly modify the Eye of God to allow them to use it without the baggage of the princesses and priestesses. At that point, they'll surely be executed."

As Valiance raced to stop Omnipotence, the great Stairway to the Sky loomed in the distance. The tower was as Nanami described it, a massive monolith that extended higher than the tallest skyscrapers where she came from. The tower was made purely of metal with no windows or other openings save for the entrance and the opening to the roof. However, not all was well with the tower. The clouds above it seemed to swirl as a vortex of white energy hovered over the tower. From the top of the tower came lightning, arcing from the roof to the vortex above. A spherical object, made of metal just like the tower, was emerging from the vortex.

"I'm going on ahead," stated Trunks, who fled out of the Valiance drop ship and pushed himself to reach the tower as quickly as possible.

He had sensed the presence of his long-time nemesis, Leguma, on the top of the tower. Trunks charged up a devastating ki blast and sent it straight into Leguma's chest. The Saiyan terrorist, distracted by the coming of the Eye of God, was unable to avoid or block the golden beam. Her underlings and the Roshtarian princesses dove for cover as its sheer force swept her out off the roof of the tower and carried her away. After propelling her several kilometres, the energy beam exploded, leaving a blinding light and Leguma's fate uncertain.

Trunks landed on the roof and prepared to repel the thugs holding the princesses hostage. One came at him with guns blazing but Trunks stopped the energy bolts with his aura of ki. Another attempted to grab him only to have his attack reversed into a throw. Midway into the thug's fall, Trunks delivered a powerful kick which sent the man flying into a pair of his comrades. Two more attempted to attack him, but with both hands, Trunks sent a concussive bolt into each of them. The men went sailing onto the floor with their backs flat on the ground.

"I'm Trunks Briefs, I'm here to rescue you," assured the mighty half-Saiyan warrior. Trunks tore apart each of Rune Venus' shackles with his bare hands before doing the same with Fatora's. "Okay, it's going to be a little bumpy. Hold on!"

Trunks picked up the two women and flew them back to the safety in one of the drop ships. Valiance's ships had already landed a short distance from the Stairway to the Sky. Valiance heroes and soldiers poured out of the ships and stormed the area. As the two sides exchanged fire, Sonic manoeuvred around the positions to the flanks of Omnipotence. He kicked a thug down and leapt onto another with blinding speed which bowled him over. The Omnipotence thugs, now in jeopardy with Sonic cutting a swath through their ranks from the side, began to retreat into the tower's entrance.

Using herself as a shield, Amelia advanced into the tower under the cover of a magical barrier. Morty, and Faust followed her in with Valiance soldiers not far behind. Suddenly, Sonic zoomed past the entourage and up the side of the wall past the Omnipotence soldiers. Though Omnipotence had the advantage of higher ground due to the stairs, Sonic's presence forced Omnipotence to divide its attention. Morty and Faust charged into Omnipotence's front ranks and began to cut them down with ease. With Omnipotence trapped between the forces of Valiance, their defeat was inevitable.

The forces of Valiance secured the area as Shaoran and Meilin began to destroy the shackles binding the Muldoon priestesses. "Is everyone okay?" asked Nanami.

"Yeah, we're fine," replied Shayla. "ACHOO!"

"Don't try to do anything. You need to get warm," scolded Nanami. "You've been naked for a very long time."

"If I didn't know better, I'd think she kinda enjoyed it," remarked Afura. "I never knew you were so exhibitionistic, Shayla."

"I don't know about her, but I certainly did," said Fatora, holding her arms around Shayla, who brushed her off.

"Thank you little girl," said Miz, after Meilin unlocked her shackles with the magic of the Lock card.

Morty came to the priestesses with three items in hand. "I believe these were yours," he said as she showed the items to the priestesses and princesses. These items were a ring, a manacle, and a buckle. Each seemed to have circuitry built into it.

"Thanks," said Miz as she took her ring. Simultaneously, Shayla took her manacle and Afura reclaimed her buckle.

Rune Venus, however, was eager to find out what was going on. "So, these people who kidnapped us are terrorizing the anime worlds?"

"Yes," replied Folken. "We've been tracking them for nearly half a year already, but they are very elusive. Many of us came across worlds just to stop them."

"I can see that, but why do you have to work with him?" asked Rune, in reference to Queen Diva, General Jinnai, and their Bugrom troops.

Before Jinnai, could complain, Eddie beat him to the punch. "If it wasn't for the Bugrom, we wouldn't be here now. They were the ones who ratted those guys out. If they didn't, you and those other dames wouldn't be alive right now."

"Eddie's right," agreed Folken. "If they hadn't told us, Omnipotence would have executed you once they got the Eye of God. Right now, I think that Roshtaria and the Bugrom should put aside their differences and deal with the greater threat."

"Eddie," addressed Dr. Eggman over the radio.

"What is it?" asked Eddie.

"We've got a problem. Our long range sensors have detected a dozen battle-class ships on a course for El Hazard."

"Whose ships are they?" asked Eddie.

"Four of the ships are Abh battle cruisers, but you won't believe who the other eight are. They are UFO mk11s; Toon ships, Eddie," reported Dr. Eggman.

"Toon ships? What would the Toons want here?" asked Eddie.

"This certainly is a surprise," remarked Folken. "With Omnipotence involved, I'd really have to wonder if it's really Toons piloting those ships. In any event, we can not stay here. We have to leave as quickly as possible. Dr. Eggman, how long will it take for them to reach El Hazard."

"By my calculations, they will reach firing range of our ships in four hours."

"Thank you. Report any new changes in the situation," said Folken, who then turned to Rune Venus. "Princess, I just got word that an invasion force is heading to El Hazard. Considering your military power in this world, there is no way you can fend off their assault for long. Your two sides need each other's help now more than ever. My suggestion to both of you is to conceal as many of your military assets as possible and dig in for a guerrilla campaign once the invaders occupy your lands. We can provide a safe haven from which you can direct your troops."

"Thank you, Folken, we appreciate this gesture," said Diva.

"Very well. Your Valiance organization has done a great service to Roshtaria. I will cooperate for the sake of both of our peoples," said Rune Venus.

"Good," said Folken. "Make your preparations quickly, because you don't have much time. We must get to safety before they come."

With the help of the Crimson Egg's shuttle, the leaders of the Bugrom and Roshtaria were able to return to their peoples. Diva and Rune Venus did not delay in making all of the preparations suggested by Folken. Squads of Bugrom and human soldiers cast away their uniforms and went into hiding as common civilians. They created secret cache around their cities where they could preserve weapons for the revolt. As Roshtarians installed special equipment in hidden locations, the Bugrom began to tunnel out an underground, labyrinthine network of tunnels.

Once the preparations had started, the leaders of each side boarded a Valiance shuttle bound for the safety of the no-man's-lands. Hours after Valiance left El Hazard, the Toon and Abh ships surrounded the planet. They set up a staging area around the Stairway to the Sky including an infirmary and a sleeping area for troops. Several soldiers fanned out of the area in strategic defensive points to guard the location. Once the area was confirmed to be safe, a second UFO extended a bridge to the top of the tower, where a man and his bodyguards walked out. This VIP was Adam Acme.

"Where's Leguma?" asked Acme.

"Sir, we've found her lying in a crater three kilometres to the west," replied a humanoid Toon soldier. "We've taken her to the medical area for treatment."

The soldier escorted Acme to the infirmary tent, where Leguma was being treated for cuts and bruises. "So, I can see that you were successful in recalling the Eye of God..."

"Yes sir, it's all yours now," replied the Saiyan agent.

"Excellent," remarked Acme, who turned to a foreman. "I want that thing up and running as soon possible."

"Yes sir!" replied the foreman, who went to call his peers to work.

END OF CHAPTER

New Stars of Heaven/Heavenly Leaders:
#27 Tenken, The Dagger Star: Miz Mishtal (El Hazard)
#29 Tenzai, The Star of Sin: Afura Mann (El Hazard)
#31 Tenhai, The Vanquished Star: Shayla Shayla (El Hazard)

New Stars of Earth/Earthly Warriors:
#37 Chikai, The Chief Star of Earth: Katsuhiko Jinnai (El Hazard)
#104 Chiretsu, The Inferior Star: Nanami Jinnai (El Hazard)

Spotlight: El Hazard


El Hazard focuses on four individuals who were sent to the titular world by a powerful android named Ifurita. El Hazard is a world heavily influenced by Arabic culture and the 1001 Arabian Nights. An ancient civilization once flourished there, but had been decimated by war. Relics of that civilization still remain and became mysteries for El Hazard's archaeologists to solve. The four visitors were dragged into the war that was brewing between the human alliance and the Bugrom tribe.

Origin:
The four visitors are Katsuhiko Jinnai, Nanami Jinnai, Makoto Mizuhara, and Masamichi Fujisawa. By simply entering El Hazard, each of them gained a unique special power. Without these powers, they are regular human beings in every way. The priestesses received special theological and mystical training to use their powers and special artefacts to act as amplifiers. Most other individuals don't gain any supernatural powers and thus have to rely on innate skills.

Powers:
People who are dragged from the related Earth to El Hazard can gain a special power, which is of a psionic nature. This is how General Jinnai acquired his ability to communicate with the Bugrom and how Nanami is able to see through any illusions placed before her. Accordingly, Fujisawa gained the ability to augment his body psionically, giving him immense physical strength, while Makato is able to psionically interface with technology. The priestesses' powers are also psionic in nature, but enhanced by special artefacts given to them when they ascended to their position.

Although it's not commonly used, El Hazard has lost technology even greater than that of its Earth, with energy weapons, androids like Ifurita, and the devastating Eye of God. Though little is known about this ancient technology, they had power sources that were capable of powering Ifurita and the Eye of God. They also had enough aerospace technology to create the Eye of God, which is a super weapon that orbits El Hazard.