Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ The Anime Margin: 108 Stars of Destiny ❯ Fall of the Abh Story, part 1: Retaking the Feudal Era ( Chapter 23 )

[ 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


Fall of the Abh Story, part 1: Retaking the Feudal Era


At the end of a strategy meeting between the founders and leaders of Valiance, several of the founding members had left to carry out missions in Aegypt. Eddie called in those recruited from the areas currently occupied by the Abh. One by one entered Inuyasha's demon hunters, the Evangelion crew, El Hazardan exiles, and the Straw Hat Pirates. They were joined by commanders from Valiance's other divisions, mostly its ground forces. With the Abh in disarray after having so many of their ships destroyed, now was the time to prepare a recapturing of those worlds they have conquered.

"Glad you all can make it," greeted Eddie. "You did good job back there. All of you should be proud, but now's not the time to rest on our laurels. We've hit the enemy very hard and now's the time to take advantage of it. We're going to take back everything they stole, one planet at a time."

"We are going to prioritize places that are especially important to the operation of Omnipotence," continued Folken. "Our strategy is a simple one. We are going to gain the support of sympathizers and resistance forces from the occupied worlds. With their help, we'll go on to drive the enemy out. Our first target is Demonic Earth. This area is a major food and supply hub for the enemy. Major Katsuragi, I am putting you in charge of our operations for this target and the others."

"Yes sir, you can count on me," said Misato as she saluted Folken.

Folken proceeded to brief Misato on the situation. Valiance's current situation was not good. It had suffered great losses amongst its space fleets from the battle with the Eye of God. Thus, Folken could only spare the Crimson Egg and its cohort. However, the Abh and Omnipotence had suffered even from their losses in the attack. Folken didn't expect heavy space-based resistance as a result. Misato's mission was largely a ground-based one anyways, which matched the composition of her forces. Her job was to unite Valiance and resistance forces against Omnipotence and Abh occupied planets.

In particular, her first mission was in Demonic Earth's Feudal Era. By now, Lord Morikage would have conquered nearly the whole of Japan. The only way to enter the Feudal Era to fight him was through a single location, the Bone Eater's Well in the Higurashi Shrine. Due to its size, only foot soldiers could enter it. It was a strategic location for Valiance during its previous foray into the Feudal Era. Misato was to secure this location as a beachhead into the Feudal Era. She was to make full use of Inuyasha and his demon hunters, who were familiar with the area.

Before the meeting was held, Folken had already prepared Misato's would-be forces for mobilization. Toji and Hikari followed the main three Eva pilots to their hangar. "You're so lucky. You guys get to go out and have all the fun," remarked Toji.

"Yeah..." replied Shinji sheepishly.

"You should be happy, Shinji, you're not stuck here on guard duty like I am," complained Toji.

"Easy for you to say," Asuka chided. "You're not going off to who knows where with a bunch of weirdoes!"

"Weirdoes?" asked Hikari.

"Yeah, there are some weird people here. I saw this creepy looking guy who looked like he had been cut open and then sewn back up. He was talking to the air and carrying a skeleton under his coat. Can you believe that?" asked Asuka.

"They're not that scary," said Hikari. "I met this girl named Sakura during lunch yesterday. She had this cute little teddy bear that was flying around and talking to her friends. I thought it was so cute!" She beamed a great big smile.

"Man, I wish I had cool powers like they do," said Toji. "I'd love to be super strong and fly through the sky like a plane."

"I'd love to use magic like Sakura," admitted Hikari.

"I know what I want. I'd love to be able to make clones of myself. That way, there's more of me to go around!" boasted Asuka.

The group reached the hangar where Toji and Hikari waved to their friends. One by one, the transport ships took off from Valiance's space station bound for Demonic Earth. A swirling vortex of energy and light opened as the Crimson Egg's dimensional travel module merged worlds together at a single location. When the fleet emerged on the other side, they detected a trio of Abh ships hovering in orbit around Demonic Earth. In but a moment, Valiance ships descended upon the enemy craft, and reduced them into nothing but scrap metal.

Drop ships scattered out of the docking bays of larger carriers and descended onto the surface of the planet. A trio of ships landed at the centre of Shinjuku Park in Tokyo. With a hiss, their side doors opened to reveal the Evangelions of Asuka, Rei, and Shinji, curled up in the foetal position. The Evas uncurled and strapped on portable power packs and weapons from within the drop ships and moved into the battle. Within minutes, they came across nearly a dozen enemy GINN mobile suits, the same ones used by ZAFT from the Cosmic Era.

The GINNs also spotted the Evas with three of them advancing on Unit 01. The Eva pulled the trigger of its rifle. A searing beam of blue plasma streamed out of the muzzle and melted a hole through the torso of a GINN. Enemy energy beams struck Unit 01 and melted a hole through its lower right ribs. Linked to the Eva, Shinji felt the melting as a burning sensation in the same location. He nearly blacked out, but was just barely able to raise an AT Field in the nick of time. The enemy's subsequent shots were stopped by the orange barrier, but Shinji was in no condition to fight back yet.

Unit 02 pulled up beside its comrade and unloaded several rounds into the three GINNs. They shuddered as the bullets punched holes into their torsos. The sheer force of the impact sent them crashing to the ground. "You fool! You want to get yourself killed?" asked Asuka.

As the enemy fell back, Unit 00 advanced while firing its plasma rifle. With each shot, Rei's weapon seared a hole through the enemy like butter. "Major, we've cleared this area," reported Rei.

"Good work, please move on to the next," commanded Misato.

Valiance's forces swept through the city picking off any Omnipotence and Abh units wandering the area. They converged on the Higurashi Shrine, where Lina Inverse's forces were the first to arrive. Under the cover Lina and Zelgadis' protective magic, Gourry led a charge into the shrine. The enemy unloaded bullets, beams, and explosives, which merely bounced off of the protective barriers of white light. The Valiance soldiers closed the gap and began to cut down the enemy one by one. Gourry slashed an enemy soldier and finished the fallen man off with a single downward stab.

Lina channelled magical energy into a Fireball spell. Upon releasing it into a window, it incinerated every enemy soldier holed up in the shrine's living room. Valiance soldiers stormed the shrine as the enemy began to fall back to the interior. As the fighting continued, bodies began to pile up as soldiers fell, mostly from the Omnipotence and Abh side. When Gourry's forces cleared the shrine, he and an underling raised the Valiance flag at the peak of the highest rooftop. When Valiance saw the flag hoisted in the sky, the surge of morale propelled their last push into the shrine.

Like in their last battle, Lina sent a Dragon Slave spell into the well. Whatever happened on the other side was a mystery, but it was likely that whatever demons lurking there faced utter annihilation. When Lina's forces emerged in the Feudal Era, they were greeted with a charred wasteland just like the first time. Any Omnipotence soldiers, Morikage Samurai, or demons would have been incinerated. Following Lina's army into the well was Inuyasha's band of demon hunters, who looked on the charred landscape with a sense of familiarity.

"Talk about deja vu," remarked Kagome.

"I wouldn't want to make that girl mad," remarked Miroku, keeping his distance from a beaming Lina.




Over several hours, Valiance forces set up a camp around the well to secure their new beachhead. More troops and equipment came through the well as part of Valiance's efforts to reinforce their base. Kakashi led his ninja students on scouting mission through Feudal Era forests. After some time, Sasuke had located the village where the demon hunters' friend, Kaede, lived. The town was crawling with Morikage's troops. Armoured Samurai milled about the dirt roads, watching for any signs of enemy intrusion onto the lord's lands. Not even Kaede's village was safe anymore.

It wasn't a surprise to find the Feudal Era in this state. The people of the Feudal Era simply had little chance against an enemy who wielded modern weaponry and supernatural forces from far off worlds. Bound by the rules of their world, they were incapable of turning the enemy's weapons against them. Paradox was completely in the favour of the enemy forces. However, hope was not lost because a group of the Feudal Era's heroes, the demon hunters, had returned with help. Omnipotence now had to contend with Valiance, its mortal enemy. It was time for payback from their last loss.

Sasuke secretly watched as Kaede left her village. She entered a nearby forest and began to forage for medicinal herbs. When he was certain she was alone, Sasuke decided to make contact with her. "Priestess Kaede, I presume," addressed Sasuke as he emerged from behind a tree.

Kaede looked up from her herb gathering. "Who are you?" she asked.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha. I was sent here by Inuyasha," introduced Sasuke. "He's safe and has returned with allies to free your village."

"That's good news, child. I'm glad to hear that," remarked Kaede.

"My other mission is to warn you that he will attack your village within the next three days. Be prepared," advised Sasuke. "Before then, he'll give you a signal to tell them to escape. Be on the lookout."

"I see," replied Kaede. "I will let the village know."

Sasuke disappeared, leaving Kaede alone in the forest. When she returned to her village, she secretly warned the villagers about the coming attack. During the night, the villagers packed their things and prepared to leave. In the meantime, a pair of servant girls tended to the men during their dinner break. Once the men consumed their meal, the delayed-action drugs kicked in, putting all of them to sleep. The two girls vanished in a puff of smoke, revealing the true forms of Naruto and Sakura. Outside, a needle struck the neck of a guard. Its drugs seeped into the guard, causing him to doze off and leave his barracks unwatched.

Sasuke snuck onto the rafters of the barracks, which was merely a converted barn. He planted a small keg loaded with gunpowder onto a wooden beam near the roof. After lighting the wick with a jutsu, Sasuke snuck out and rejoined Kakashi and the rest of his squad in the forests. Inch by inch, the burning spark travelled down the wick. The spark entered the keg and triggered a deafening explosion, alarming everyone in the village. As the barracks caught on fire, soldiers rushed to extinguish the flames. Their unexpected emergency left few men to watch the villagers. Seeing their opportunity the villagers made a break for it.

Kaede urged the villagers forward, but not all of Morikage's men went to tend to the fire. Some of these men spotted the villagers trying to flee into the woods. As the Samurai pursued them, a horde of Naruto clones descended upon them. The clones pummelled the Samurai into the ground with their bare hands. The villagers took this chance to continue deeper into the forest, encountering the demon hunters as they came from the other direction. "Inuyasha!" said Kaede.

"Lady Kaede, please lead the villagers away from here," said Sango. "We're going to handle Morikage's men."

"Very well, please be careful," warned Kaede.

Kaede watched as Inuyasha's demon hunters continued back the way she came. As she looked back amidst the chaos in the village, Inuyasha cut down a charging Samurai with a single slash. Sango whipped Hiraikotsu into a Samurai's head, knocking him out. Miroku parried another's katana and forced the blade away. With a single quick, finishing stroke, he clubbed the enemy in the face. Kagome launched arrows into the soldiers who attempted to join the battle. One these arrows plunged into a Samurai's chest, felling him instantly.

The battle ended as quickly as it began. Valiance came to occupy the town instead of Morikage's men. With the area cleared of Samurai, the villagers returned to their homes. "It is great to see all of ye alive and well," said Kaede.

"Morikage's men didn't hurt you, did they?" asked Kagome.

"No child, but I can not say the same of other villages. When ye left, Morikage continued his campaign for new territory. He dropped all pretences of being a noble lord long before you returned. He made extensive demands for food upon our village. His men have executed several people for failing to meet his demands. It has been hard for everyone. He has begun including foreigners in his army, men armed with weapons and sorcery that we have never seen before. Rumour has it that he controls nearly two thirds of Japan by now."

"Where is his main army now?" asked Miroku. "What about Naraku's troops?"

"Morikage's forces are far to the west in a campaign for new territory. Naraku's forces are staying behind to guard their territory," replied Kaede.

"Thanks Lady Kaede, this information will be of great help," said Sango. "Let's let Misato know."

The demons hunters did just what Sango suggested. Misato mulled over this information, which represented a perfect opportunity for Valiance. At the moment, Morikage's forces were dispersed. Much of them were concentrated in the west on military campaigns for new territory. Since Valiance had effectively emerged within the middle of Morikage's territory, this gave them a great chance to cut off the supply lines to his main army. Once they did this sufficiently, the next move was to advance on Naraku's territory. By finishing off the campaign with Morikage's overthrow, Omnipotence's foothold in the Feudal Era would be removed.

Day after day, Valiance forces descended upon one occupied village after the other. Samurai barracks burned in the light of the afternoon sun and billowed smoke into the sky. Wagons filled with food and supplies for the front became beset by Valiance soldiers. Shipments of food and supplies to the front slowed to a crawl until they finally stopped altogether. The armies of Valiance, encouraged by their successes, advanced northward towards Naraku and Morikage's lands. The front lines retreated up the map of Japan day by day. Eventually, Valiance had pinned the enemy in Naraku and Morikage's original territories.

Valiance agents rested in the village nearest the border of Naraku's territory. "You should have seen it!" boasted Gourry by the fireside. "There were men coming at me from every direction. I must have cut down a dozen before I lost count."

"That's nothing," remarked Zolo. "Taking out a dozen men is child's play. Anybody can do that..."

"Oh, and says who?" asked Gourry. "How many men did you take out during the last battle?"

"Says me, Roronoa Zolo," replied Zolo. "I took out more than twelve men last battle, that's for sure. I got twenty, which is eight more than twelve."

"Oh, is that a challenge?" asked Gourry. "Cuz if it is, you're on!"

"Well, we're going to battle tomorrow so let's settle our little score then, shall we? Oh and try not to trip over any bodies in my wake, okay?"

As Gourry and Zolo continued their boasting and arguing, Nanami Jinnai came in with some bowls. Her presence caught the eye of the lecherous monk, Miroku. "Well hello there, you're looking pretty nice today. How you like to go out some time? Would you mind bearing my child?"

"What?" asked Nanami. Before Miroku could say anything further, a sharp pain suddenly flared up in the back of his head. Its source was the Hiraikotsu, which Sango had dropped onto his head. It was followed by Sango's angry glare, which Miroku shrank away from apologetically.

"He never learns," commented Shippo.

He turned around the room and looked at the dining Valiance troops. Other than Gourry and Zolo arguing with each other, everything seemed normal. "Dinner's ready!" said Sanji as he handed Shippo a bowl of stew.

Shippo took a whiff of the steaming stew. "Mmm, smells good," remarked Shippo. As he took his first taste, Kagome sat down beside him with her own bowl of stew. "Oh hi Kagome, this stuff's delicious!"

"Yeah," she replied. "Excuse me, but can you tell me what this stew is called?"

"Hasenpfeffer," replied Sanji. "It's a German stew made from marinated rabbit, pepper, and vinegar. It's the perfect dish for my little bunny in the woods."

"Rabbit? No wonder it tastes so good!" remarked Shippo.

Elsewhere, Sango watched as Sanji made flirtatious advances on Kagome. "Geez, would you get a look at that guy," she remarked. "He's almost as bad as Miroku!"

"Girl, you don't know a good thing when you see one," said Nami. "I'll show you." She batted a flirtatious wink at Sanji. "Oh Sanji baby! How about some hasenpfeffer for me?"

"Coming, sweetheart!" replied Sanji amorously.

The next day, Valiance advanced on Naraku's lands. The demon feudal lord had a tiny portion of land compared to what Morikage had. Misato listened to a report by Kakashi and his ninja squad. They had scouted Naraku's lands and found that his troops and citizens were quite terrified about Valiance's expected attack on his lands. Nearly all of the people had taken refuge elsewhere, leaving behind only a skeletal army. They couldn't locate Naraku anywhere and surmised that he was helping Omnipotence in Cephiro rather than leading his troops in the Feudal Era.

Misato and General Jinnai formulated a plan of attack which involved Bugrom sappers. The sappers had already begun work on a tunnel originating from an abandoned gold mine to the south of Valiance's current location. Inside this abandoned mine, the Bugrom tirelessly sifted through dirt and stone. Carts travelled out of the mine as the tunnel formed into Naraku's lands. They soon reached the border, where they reported their progress back to Misato and General Jinnai. Within the next hour they would had lengthened the tunnel to allow troops to emerge right behind the enemy front line.

Misato ordered the attack to commence. The armies of Valiance advanced into Naraku's lands, targeting a small demon farming village. The village had been heavily barricaded by the demon soldiers of Naraku. Bulwarks were present on every side of the village. It now resembled a fort more that a typical village. Oni and bear soldiers manned the bulwarks diligently in preparation for enemy attack. In the sky, bat demons scoured the land for any sign of the enemy. They soon spotted Valiance's army advancing and warned the fort. A bear demon blew a horn, calling his comrades to battle.

Before ever reaching the fort, Valiance came face to face with Naraku's demonic army. Upon seeing each other, the two exchanged fire. Arrows and blasts of supernatural energy travelled back and forth between the sides. Several minutes into the battle, Naraku's army began to lob crude grenades made of hardened clay. Upon cracking open, these grenades unleashed a thick, violet fog. Upon inhaling this fog, several of the men were sickened, some to the point of death. The strange substance was clearly a poison of some kind, like a biological or chemical weapon.

"What the hell are they throwing at us?" asked Misato over the radio.

"Misato, they're using bombs filled with Naraku's poison miasma," replied Kagome over the radio, covering her mouth. She sent a sacred arrow through the poison clouds. The holy spiritual energies pierced through the cloud and cleared the air somewhat. "My arrows can purify that miasma, but I don't think I can get rid of all of it by myself."

"I have an idea," said Lina. "We can turn their own attack against them!"

Lina chanted the words to a powerful spell. As she cupped her hands, great amounts of powerful wind compressed into a ball in her hands. She unleashed the blast of wind forward, blowing Naraku's poison miasma away from her forces. "Great idea Lina!" remarked Zelgadis, who followed her lead with his own Diem Wind spell.

Kagome followed the lead of the two magicians, firing arrows into the poison clouds to disperse them. The magical winds of Lina and Zelgadis blew the rest away from their army and back on the enemy. The enemy choked and gagged on their own poisonous attack. "Wow, that was brilliant!" remarked Kagome.

"It's nothing for a genius sorcerer like moi!" said Lina.

Bat demons descended on the Valiance troops, clawing at them and spitting acid from their mouths. Whenever Valiance forces attempted to retaliate, they flew higher into the air to evade. Zaibach soldiers retaliated with Chlima bullets. The silvery bullets glinted through the sky as they descended upon the demons. One lodged into a bat's wings, while another speared through its head, knocking it out of the sky. Shayla flung bolts of flame into the bats, igniting the Chlima into a roaring inferno. The flames spread across the battlefield until there were bonfires everywhere on the ground.

As Valiance forces advanced on the enemy, the Chlima riflemen generating covering fire. Several demons were downed by the hail of silvery spikes. Lina hurled a fireball which burned several bear demons to ash. The flame ignited several lodged Chlima bullets, starting massive bonfires in the enemy's ranks. Naraku's demons scattered from the bursting flames as Valiance forces closed to melee range. Swords clashed together in a medley of clinking steel. Oni advanced on the soldiers and began swatting away human soldiers like flies. One of the fallen men landed by Zelgadis' feet, prompting him to look in the oni's direction.

Zelgadis prepared a Flare Arrow spell and fired it into the creature's face. The oni stumbled back, rubbing his face in pain. Zelgadis' men swarmed the monster, with archers firing arrows to keep the creature preoccupied. The swordsmen descended upon the creature in formation. It recovered and slammed its club into a wall of shields. The besieged men kept their shields up to block the crushing swings of its massive club. Zelgadis sent Dug Haut to the oni, trailing a groove of rumpled ground to it. Upon reaching the target, the Dug Haut spell shot a stony spike upwards, slicing through the creature's ribs and shoulder. Zelgadis' men mobbed the creature and finally put it onto the ground where they finished it off.

Zolo somersaulted over another oni's club and charged in. He delivered a series of cuts to the oni's leg, forcing it down to one knee. The oni reared back its club for a swipe at Zolo's head. Zolo rolled away in the nick of time, but the club shook the ground upon hitting it. The shaking caused him to lose his footing and fall on his back. Zolo rolled away from a second strike and sliced upwards in a blind arc, catching the oni in the forearm. It screamed as black blood seeped from its wound. Enraged, it lunged at him, allowing Zolo to leap onto and travel up its arm.

After a decapitating slash, the oni's head landed on the ground with a thud, its body following soon after. "Yeah, score one for me!" boasted Zolo. "Gourry, eat your heart out!"

The sound of slicing flesh came from behind Zolo. He turned around and saw an oni collapse onto the ground. Gourry emerged from behind the beast, having felled it by cutting it down from behind. "Can't let him get you now, can I? I want to win this contest fair and square."

Zolo smiled. "Yeah, but don't think this little save will mean I'm going easy on you."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," replied Gourry, before the two broke and went separate ways.

The demon army knew it was losing this battle. With the enemy forced back into their fort, Valiance set up for a bombardment. A lobbed shell descended with a screech. The fort shuddered with the powerful explosion. A trail of black smoke billowed from ground zero. Yet another descended from the sky, flattening a watchtower and killing the demons within. The shells tore open the fort's ki-enchanted bulwarks, leaving it exposed to enemy attack. From out of nowhere, the Bugrom descended on it like a swarm of locusts. The demons and Bugrom clashed with steel flashing with each swing.

Valiance forces followed the Bugrom's attack, blade clashing against blade. Within minutes, Valiance forces had overrun the fort and captured it. News of the fort's fall reached the heart of Naraku's lands, causing concern among the lord's forces. With control of the fort, Valiance now had the foothold needed to move on to Naraku's castle. The weight of constant attacks and crushing losses sent morale plummeting in the enemy ranks. With the enemy gone, Valiance quickly set up a beachhead in the enemy's fort.

Misato walked among the Valiance troops to assess their condition. Morale was very high after such decisive victories with few losses. She paid a visit to the medical areas where Chopper was tending to the wounded. "Oh hi Misato!" said Chopper.

"Hello little guy, how's everyone doing?" asked Misato.

"Of course. We lost about thirty men in battle. Some had died from miasma poisoning but most of the deaths were from trauma sustained during the battle," reported Chopper. "We have about a hundred wounded men, some of which had inhaled miasma. They'll recover quickly once the poison is removed. The rest will take a bit longer. Kagome and Miroku over there have been a lot help in helping the troops get back to tip-top shape. "

"Wow, I'm surprised how fast you can work," said Misato. "Well done!"

"Really? Thank you," said Chopper, doing a small dance as appreciation.

Over the next week, Valiance shored up its beachhead in Naraku's territory. They restored the fort's defences and upgraded it with technology and supernatural wards. The fort now sported machineguns where archers and harquebus gunners were once stationed. The demonically enchanted wooden walls were replaced by ones enchanted with Red World magic. They were fortified with the Red World's Shamanistic earth magic to create stronger walls more resilient versus supernatural and mundane bombardment. At the same time, Valiance had laid siege around Naraku's castle.

Valiance forces had trapped Naraku's demonic forces within his castle and continuously bombarded it by the second. Mortars screeched from above and exploded on the empty parapets with a deafening boom. No snipers dared walk out for fear of being obliterated instantly. Lina Inverse, Zelgadis, and Saillune mages repeatedly lobbed Fireball spells into any windows they saw. The Fireballs burst into flame within, incinerating whatever may be hiding inside. Despite such intense bombardment, Naraku's castle remained largely intact due to the demonic energies reinforcing its structure.

Valiance focused its firepower on the front door, blowing it down with a devastating explosion. Valiance forces stormed the interior of the castle with Inuyasha and the demon hunters leading the charge. Hordes of demons rushed out of the demolished gate only to be greeted by the fierce winds of a Wind Scar. "Let's go!" cried Inuyasha.

With the bombardment halted, Naraku's demons were free to leave the safety of the castle walls. Hordes of demons clashed with an equally terrifying horde of screaming men and women. A boar demon crossed blades with Inuyasha. The demon lunged for his head but caught Tessaiga's blade instead. Inuyasha disarmed the demon and cut him down with a single slash across the chest. He leapt onto the parapets and cut down another boar demon from behind. A bear demon noticed and advanced on Inuyasha only to be sliced in half like the first. The bear demon lost his footing and fell off of the parapet to the bottom of the plateau.

The other demon hunters fought their way through the courtyard with the soldiers backing them. Kagome picked off several demons with Sacred Arrows as they poured out of doorways. However, they were coming out too quickly for her to stop entirely. Shippo threw Fox Fire into the enemy ranks, halting the demons with its searing blue flames. Miroku whipped opened the Wind Tunnel, sucking in several of the demons. A group of Saimyosho descended from the sky, forcing him to shut off the Wind Tunnel or risk pulling in the insects and poisoning himself.

"Get rid of those wasps!" called Miroku to anyone who would listen.

"Flying targets? Now this will be a challenge," said Gourry as he sliced two of the bugs which attempted to sting him.

Zolo made a spinning slash, creating a small whirlwind which nailed three bugs. "Wahoo, thirty kills so far. I'm on a roll!"

"Thirty, I'm almost up to forty," said Gourry.

"Bah, the battle isn't even close to being finished," said Zolo. "You just watch, I'll be up to fifty before it's done."

Scores of dead wasps piled onto the courtyard as the two swordsmen and Zaibach soldiers downed them. Several demons entered the courtyard from nearby doorways. Sango knocked several of the dead wasps into the enemy ranks. In particular, these ones had Chlima bullets lodged into them. The dead wasps bowled the demons over, slowing their advance. "Shippo!" she called.

"Got it!" Shippo replied as he tossed Fox Fire into the enemy ranks.

The ethereal flames ignited the Chlima, terrifying the demons and keeping them at bay. However, some gotten past the flaming wall before Shippo could ignite it. Gourry and Zolo confronted these enemies, cutting them down one after the other. The demons began to withdraw once enough of their numbers fell. Within an hour, the fighting began to die down and Valiance had the battle won. They had taken the castle and eliminated Naraku's base of power in the Feudal Era. Misato wandered through the captured castle, looking upon the devastation and the bodies of demons and Valiance troops which littered the hallways and courtyard.

She sought reports from various commanders and leaders. She found Chopper in a tent in the courtyard, where he had already begun efforts to clean up the castle and treat the wounded. "Hello Misato, we have a lot more dead than our last battle. I counted over seventy soldiers dead and the number's still climbing. We have over two hundred men wounded. We didn't have room in the castle's infirmary so we expanded it into the courtyard. It's going to take longer to get all of the men patched up, even with magic and advanced medicine on our side."

"Enough about the men, I want to know about you," requested Misato. "How are you holding up?"

"Me? I'm a bit stressed but I'm fine otherwise. Like you told me, I think of this as part of my training as a doctor."

"Yep, keep up the good work doctor. We're counting on you to patch up my men," said Misato.

At night, Valiance held a small celebration to commemorate this milestone in the battle against Omnipotence. Sanji cooked dozens of delicious turkeys for supper. They were served with mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn, just like a traditional Thanksgiving feast. Although the demon hunters enjoyed their meal, they found their meal very different, unusual compared to the Japanese food they were used to eating. "Mmm, this stuff is good. What is it?" asked Shippo.

"It's turkey," replied Kagome. "It's a bird; kinda like a big chicken. They eat it in the West to celebrate a holiday called Thanksgiving."

"It's okay; a little dry though. I prefer beef and pork," said Inuyasha.

Kilala purred in delight as she ate her turkey. "Well, Kilala seems to like it," remarked Sango.

"That's because you didn't put gravy on your turkey. That's the brown sauce in the dish. You're supposed to put it on your turkey so it's not so dry," said Kagome.

"I like this yellow stuff. Is it a vegetable?" asked Miroku.

"Yep, it's called corn," replied Kagome.

"What this sweet red stuff?" asked Sango.

"That's cranberry sauce. It's a fruit. You're supposed to eat it with your turkey to give it flavour."

"You've got some strange food in your world, Kagome," said Inuyasha as he ate his meal.

"At a different table, Gourry and Zolo were comparing the results of their contest during the battle. "Oh yeah! Who's the man?" boasted Zolo. "Fifty kills like I said! Oooh yeah!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, I'll admit you're pretty good," said Gourry.

"Hey, you're not half bad either," said Zolo. "If anything, meeting you has shown me I still have a lot to learn before I can be considered the best swordsman in all the seas." Zolo and Gourry shook hands as a consummation of their challenge.

After the meal, Sanji served up a dessert of pumpkin pie. Like with the turkey meal, the demon hunters found the food strange, but liked the taste nonetheless. Valiance took another week to beef up defences before hitting Morikage's lands. When the week was over, Valiance unleashed its wrath upon Morikage, who had helped Omnipotence just as Naraku did. Morikage's army laid in tatters as its infrastructure burned throughout the land. Hour by hour, Valiance forces felled Morikage's men and sacked Omnipotence hideouts. The frontline receded further into his lands until even his capital city was threatened.

Panic has started to set in within the court of Lord Morikage. "Dammit! We have to do something! Every hour, more and more of my men are falling to the enemy. You're the ones with the technology and the magic. Can't you do something?" asked Morikage.

Morikage's contact, an Omnipotence commander in camouflage, was irritated by Morikage's complaints. "I'd keep my tone down if I were you, Morikage. We made you and we can break you just as easily. It just so happens that we have something in store for Valiance." Several armed men entered the room. "Oh, right on time!"

"Wha... What are you doing?" asked Morikage.

"Winning the war," replied the commander, who pulled a gun on Morikage. The other men proceeded to gun down Morikage's royal guards swiftly and effortlessly. "We've had enough of your incompetence. We're taking over!"

A pair of the men took Morikage away. "Let me go! Guards! Help me!" cried Morikage.




Valiance continued its campaign to rid the Feudal Era of Omnipotence and its supporters. Its armies inched further and further up north, leaving Morikage's army in tatters. All that remained was his castle. Rather than battle mere Samurai, Valiance now had to deal with Omnipotence's cloned super soldiers as well. When the shots started flying, Omnipotence's soldiers returned in kind with blasts of various energies. Arrows and bolts of Chlima rained from the sky with gunshots and jets of flame following afterwards. Blasts of ice, lightning, and energy returned from the other direction.

One such super soldier soared over the Valiance line and unleashed blasts of amber energy upon them. This single super soldier flattened nearly a dozen men until Zelgadis stepped in. The energy struck his magical barrier, unable to penetrate it. He flung a fireball into the sky which exploded without touching the enemy. It knocked the super soldier out of the sky and crashed him into the ground with a thud. Before the man could get up, Zelgadis' men swarmed the fallen enemy and stabbed him to death with their blades.

A blast flame impacted Zelgadis' barrier from behind, sending him to the ground. A bolt of Chlima pierced through his airborne attacker's ribs, nearly causing the super soldier to fall. An arrow plunged into the enemy's chest, knocking him out of the sky. At this point, Zelgadis got up to retaliate, but found his enemy had already been shot down. He spotted another super soldier attacking some Zaibach men and moved to intervene. He chanted words to a Digger Volt and pointed the palm of his hand to the target. A lightning bolt arced from it and into the super soldier's body, searing his skin and hurling him into the ground fatally.

Despite some initial setbacks from powerful enemies with Superhero powers, Valiance pulled through and was able drive the enemy line back. One by one, Valiance shot every enemy super soldier down until none were left. The enemy was forced to fall back into their castle, which Valiance surrounded and started bombarding. Mortar shells screamed down on the castle, shaking the building down to its very foundation. The Zaibach began loading Chlima into special shells, which they then proceeded to launch at the castle. On bursting, the shells splattered Chlima all over Morikage's castle.

Lina tossed a fireball into castle, igniting the mercurial metal to a roaring conflagration. The fumes and the smoke were overbearing and flooded the entirety of the palace. The enemy coughed and gagged from within the thick smoke. As the Omnipotence soldiers fled, a great monster burst out of the castle walls! It was a gigantic creature made from petrified wood. It looked much like a tree with a gnarled face and no leaves. The monster roared as it advanced across the battlefield. Like flies, it swatted away several Saillune soldiers who gathered at its base to attack it.

The creature lunged at Inuyasha, who narrowly leapt away from the beast with deft speed. Kagome took a good look at the creature's face. "Hey, isn't that Morikage's face on the demon?" she asked.

The tree demon lunged at Sango, who dove out of the way. "You're right! Is this what they did to him when they knew they were going to lose?"

"DIE!" cried Morikage, as he lunged at Kagome. Through quick thinking, Inuyasha pulled her out of the way at the last second.

"What kind of enemy would do this to one of their own?" asked Miroku rhetorically.

"Who cares about what they did to him? All I care about is blowing him away!" said Inuyasha, who slammed a Wind Scar into Morikage.

The fierce winds staggered the beast but did little to actually harm it. Kagome released a Sacred Arrow into the beast, which bounced off of its hide. "Its body is like rock. My Sacred Arrow and Inuyasha's Wind Scar can't penetrate his skin."

Miroku reached for the cloth which sealed his Wind Tunnel. He spotted Morikage taking in a deep breath and spewing out a nimbus of poison gas. As the poison travelled forward, it felled several Saillune soldiers near instantly. Miroku moved his hand away and raised a barrier. "I can't use the Wind Tunnel. It will suck in the poison."

"If I can get him to breathe poison on me, I can turn that demonic energy against him with a Backlash Wave," offered Inuyasha.

"Leave that to me," said Sango. "Get ready!"

Sango hopped onto Kilala and flew up close to Morikage. She threw Hiraikotsu into his face although it seemed to have bounced off harmlessly, it infuriated him nonetheless. Morikage lunged at her, but caught air when Kilala moved out of range. As expected Morikage attempted to spray poison onto her. Sango swooped low and wheeled in front of Inuyasha, who was waiting for this precise moment. He slammed the Tessaiga into the ground, forming fierce whirlwinds. They swallowed up the poison gas along with the demonic energy contained within it.

Inuyasha steered the tornadoes directly into Morikage. The violent, envenomed winds slashed him to pieces within seconds. "NOOOOOO!" he cried.

When the winds died down, Morikage’s charred, wooden remains crumbled into dust. "Yeah!" cheered Shippo.




Jinto and Lafiel left the offices of Eddie Valiant and Folken Fanel with the two men in tow. They walked down to Valiance's munitions dump, where they kept the ammunition under lock and key. This warehouse was where Valiance kept its weapons when not in use. Several men were zipped from place to place packing guns, ammunition, and missiles into crates. Once finished loading a truck, the vehicle pulled out of the warehouse and travelled to the space port, where they would be loaded onto transport ships. All this was in preparation for Jinto and Lafiel's next mission for the Abh Imperial forces.

"Lafiel, we're shipping nearly 300 ship-mounted warheads and 20000 units of various small arms for your forces. I trust this should be enough," said Folken.

"That should be good enough," said Lafiel. "With this much firepower, we can mobilize our ships against Volbeirunei in about a week."

"Volbeirenei is a very important naval base for the Abh Empire. We need all of the firepower we can get to retake it. Once we take this place, we'll have dealt the insurgents a crippling blow," informed Jinto. "From here, it's onto the capital."

"I want to say again, thank you Eddie. We really appreciate your help; you too, Folken. We would not have gotten this far without it," said Lafiel.

"You're welcome. When we're dealing with Omnipotence, we're all on the same side," said Eddie.

Jinto and Lafiel waved to Eddie and Folken, who mirrored the gesture in turn. The two friends headed towards an awaiting shuttle craft. With a burst of gushing flame, the shuttle lifted off ascended into space. They pulled into the Basroil where its crew saluted the two arrivals. Soon after, they launched the ship from the dock and rendezvoused with an escorting Abh cruiser. The ships opened a shimmering doorway back to their world, going into one of the critical battles in the Abh civil war.

END OF CHAPTER

New Stars of Heaven/Heavenly Leaders:
None

New Stars of Earth/Earthly Warriors:
None

Spotlight: Slayers

Slayers is a swords and sorcery anime which follows the adventures of Lina Inverse and her companions. Lina Inverse is a young, but mighty sorceress. She specializes in fire magic with a personality to match. She travels the land looking for adventure, gold, and food. As a result of her profession, she often ends up having to save her world from various evil forces.

Origin:
Lina and her companions grew strong from the various adventures they had in the Red World. All but Gourry are powerful sorcerers or priestesses. Like all sorcerers, the magic users of Lina's group learned the art from another sorcerer in the magic guilds of the Red World. Amelia and Naga are princesses of Saillune, the Red World's White Magic capital. As a result, they were heavily trained in the priestly healing and protective arts. Filia had a similar upbringing in the temple of the Fire Dragon King and became one of his priestesses.

Powers:
The Red World has developed the magical arts to a high level. Magic is divided into different branches in the Red World. White Magic is healing and defensive spells, a substitute for Divine Magic, which draws upon the user's power. Shamanism spells deal with the elements and the astral plane. Black Magic, a fearsome school, calls upon the power of demons to cause massive destruction. Divine Magic, the last type, is a mix of offensive and defensive magic derived from the dragon gods of the Red World. It is very rare and usually only used by dragon priests and priestesses.

The Red World also has a small degree of science, mostly equivalent to that of the Iron Age. Its greatest advancements are in the form of gunpowder, which only a few individuals know how to create and use. From gunpowder came the derived technologies of the musket and crude explosives.