Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction / Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction / Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ Ginga GIRI GIRI! The Universe is in Danger! ❯ The Calm Before the Storm ( Chapter 66 )

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

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Ginga GIRI GIRI! The Universe is in Danger!
By SSJ Heero (http://animenext.knorf.net)
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---- Recap ----

[Chibi characters of SSJ, Momo, and Dark appear in the foreground as scenes from the last
episode play in the background. Though, you can't see 'cause this is text. Haha!]

SSJ: Okay, last time on GINGA GIRI GIRI! So, we rest for a bit.

Momo: Team Voldemort meets us, and then SSJ makes a promise with his bishoujo.

Dark: We visit Mauzel, who tells of my past, and we finally begin our training.

All: So, on with the show!

---- Chapter 66: The Calm Before the Storm ----

Three days after SSJ, Dark, and Momo came to Mauzel, the rest of the Crew had taken care of
Crosis, the Purger. At the time that Crosis left, Rantmon was having a fine day. He stood
inside the large throne room of his palace, where the Council had met just a month or so
ago. He sighed and looked around it now. Nothing but bodies and blood littered the place,
staining the walls and making a particularly unpleasant smell.

He sighed, 'I really need an assistant to stop them before they enter. Damn Jallopsimon to
Hell!'

He did what he could in his time, kicking all the bodies out of the windows and into the
sea far below, spraying a mist to get out the scent of blood, and cleaning the Atma before
returning it to the stand over his throne. No, those fools weren't good enough for Atma.
His regular blades would be enough.

The double doors creaked open. Rantmon sighed and turned to see who it was. More useless
people, dressed in uniforms of a weak fighting dojo. Everyone was there, black belts, white
belts, or whatever was in between. The oldest of them, clearly the master, yelled at
Rantmon, "This is it, Rantmon! Your end shall be met by our scho-"

He suddenly stopped. He noticed something about the room. There was blood everywhere. A
great deal hasn’t even dried yet. All the blood flushed from his face. Rantmon just sighed
and replied, "One of us shall meet our end today, but the question is who."

Rantmon then pulled out his sword and stepped up to face them in the center of the room,
where a Rood Inverse glowed on the ground. The most blood stained that area. The students
and masters couldn't move as Rantmon continued, "Wait, that's not even a question. It's
obvious who will win."

Ten minutes passed. More blood covered the area. Rantmon sighed with a whole pile of
slashed, maimed, and decapitated bodies littered the room. Weak. All of them were weak.
Now, with blood flooding the room and forming a thin layer throughout the room, he figured
he had better find a way to get rid of it all. He kicked the bodies out of the window and
kicked out a brick from the wall. The blood began flowing through the hole and out over the
edge.

It rained blood under the palace, coming nearer to the center of the Rift. Rantmon stood in
the center of the room, the red not so overpowering now. He looked all over himself. The
blood stained his shirt. He just sighed and spread the mysterious mist over the room. The
smell of death faded just a little. He sighed, "I really need gatekeepers."

The doors opened yet again. He sighed and got back to work.

***

Zoom back to Century City, right after the Crew met with Kino. The capitol building within
in heart of the Century City stood high above the sprawling city, apart from the pipelines
and walkways. It stood, a great distance away from the other buildings, as well as the
ground. Indeed, it was a very important place, protected by a wall of light. Nothing
unwanted passed through. No one was out of place there.

Except for the Outlaws, who stepped through the halls of the gigantic building, looking
this way and that at the rather rich interior. They followed Kino, who led them through the
halls of the building. Kensou was at the back of the group, stepping slowly, thinking about
the information he just received.

His father spread the plague for profit. His father had killed millions of people. He
couldn't stand it. He had trusted his father. His father had loved him more than
anything... There was simply no way his father could have done it, not from what he knew.

Amiko looked back at Kensou, seeing him stress and torment himself. He was paler than ever,
but Amiko felt it was better not to disturb him. There was nothing to do, but concentrate
on Rantmon then. She then heard TM ask, "Hey, President Kino, where are you taking us?"

Amiko turned to face forward. She saw Kino look back at TM. "We're going to the dojo," Kino
replied. The Crew exchanged glances. The president was going to help them... They didn't
have many good memories with government officials, mind you, so it seemed rather funny the
president himself would help them. Kino asserted one thing, though, "It isn't for you. It
is for friends of the government."

The Crew couldn't help but repeat, "Friends?" Amongst themselves.

They came to a set of rather well-furbished doors, intricate and appealing. The way the
light from the window shone on it made it seem to shine with a holy light. It seemed to be
a gateway to Heaven. Kino heaved open the doors and stepped inside. The Crew looked inside
to see the mats, the walls made of paper, and the group of people sitting across from them,
throwing cards and playing poker. Their faces were hidden behind rather tall stacks of
chips.

The Crew sweatdropped as Kino muttered, "Are you people serious or not?!" He kicked down a
rather tall stack, which tumbled down and crashed all over the place, revealing Anya behind
the stack. Amiko and company were taken aback as the rest of the Hokuten appeared from
behind the chips- well, Orion came from the side of the room, away from the gambling.

Amiko stepped forward with surprise. "Hey!" she yelled. The members of the Hokuten put away
their chips and stood before the Crew. "What's this all about?" asked Amiko.

Anya stepped forward with a smile, "Well, you know, I figured it'd be good for us to train
together until the battle!"

Amiko looked at Anya. "And you didn't tell me this before I left... Why?"

"I kinda forgot," Anya replied while scratching the back of her head.

Suddenly, Orion stepped forward and faced Anya. "No need for any more lies," said Orion.

Anya pouted. "I don't like being blunt," she replied.

Orion then faced the Crew as Anya slipped back amongst the Crew. "We saw your battle
against the dragon," he explained. "I say that was nicely done, all of you..." Everyone
grinned. "Except TM."

TM's grin disappeared. "Huh?" he muttered.

"You wasted the most energy in your attacks. You see, Amiko was the most efficient at using
her magic, focusing only on her own element. Cindy and Davis, seem to be newcomers at using
their auras, but they're fairly proficient. I saw your Zero Slash, and it made me think
about how much stronger you could make a flame blade using the same amount of energy."

TM was suddenly struck with that realization. "Oh, yeah," he said...

"When you use attacks of your own aura, you're most efficient. Your red aura is better off
for flame attacks."

TM rubbed his chin. "I see," he said. "Well, I guess I should do that, huh?"

Everyone then stepped away from TM. He thought of a way to materialize his aura... A flame
blade... Something like in Flame of Recca, Saiha! He tensed his right arm and pulled out
his red aura, and he concentrated on his arm. His right forearm began to glow brighter than
the rest of his body, his energy becoming concentrated in it. He imagined a flame blade...
He felt his arm heating up. He felt it getting warmer.

Suddenly, a blade bursted out of his arm- a sharp blade of flames. It almost startled TM as
it cut into the wall. Orion looked at the long blade stretching from TM's arm to the wall
some three yards away. "I guess this is your first time... We'll practice, anyway."

Orion began to glow red. TM was taken aback as Orion's skin turned a shade of crimson, and
suddenly blades of flame came from both of his arms. He was a flame element as well! Orion
faced TM, the two blades threatening him. "I have less power than you, but I have more
control," he announced. "Your power would be useless unless you learn how to control it
properly!"

TM blocked Orion's slashes, shortening his blade and making it easier on himself. The rest
of the Hokuten edged around the battle and stepped to the Crew. Anya spoke to the Crew,
"What else are you going to do to prepare for the fight?"

Davis then spoke before Amiko could open her mouth, "I'm searching for the Earth
Incarnation. I need to seal it in my gloves to strengthen me."

"Earth Incarnation?" said Risika. Everyone turned to her as she rubbed her forehead in
thought.

Anya whispered to Davis, "She's the one we trust with demon info. She comes from a family
of demon slayers."

"Ah!" she then said. "That's right, the Earth Incarnation... Fenrir!" Davis listened
intently as she explained, her eyes closed as she tried to remember. "Fenrir is a wolf
seen in the Millennium Sands... Recently, it disappeared. It is impossible that it has
died, so I'm afraid we can't be certain on where it is."

A voice suddenly cut in, "Puu!" It was Mokona. Everyone turned to Mokona, sitting on
Cindy's shoulder. They saw Mokona whisper into Cindy's ear. Cindy suddenly became filled
with surprise.

She translated, "F-Fenrir... It's right below us."

Silence. Everyone was too surprised to speak. "EH?!" they all screamed, surprising Kino,
TM, and Orion a distance away.

"That's not possible!" said Risika. "Fenrir never leaves the desert!"

Davis then had a sinking suspicion. "I think Fenrir had no choice in this matter," he
muttered. With that, Davis yelled at Mokona, "Come with me!"

Mokona nodded and leapt upon Davis's shoulder. "I'll return him later!" Davis yelled as he
dashed out of the window. Everyone stood there, not knowing what was happening.

Risika turned to the others. "Shouldn't you follow him?" she asked.

"This is Davis' test," Amiko replied. "I had no help in mine, so he shouldn't get help on
his. Besides, I don't think he wants help..."

A silence passed in the room, only broken by the sound of flame blades striking each other.

***

Davis dashed through the halls and down the steps of the capitol building. When no one was
around the expensively decorated halls, he yelled at Mokona, "I can figure out how you knew
of Fenrir's presence." Mokona began sweating when Davis said that. "I know who you are,
Incarnate of Life!"

Mokona sweating and shaking grew to a maximum. "I never thought you'd be an incarnation for
the greatest hybrid... Life, where all the elements meet." The two dashed through a door,
and the beautiful exterior of the building melted into an ugly series of stairs and
catwalks.

Mokona just sighed. "I tried hiding it," he spoke in English. "What are you going to do
with me, seal me?"

"Nah," said Davis as he dashed past employees and security guards. "Cindy would get pissed.
Besides, don't you know how the element gloves work?"

Mokona shook his head. Davis leapt over the railing of a catwalk to dodge security guards
dashing at him from both sides. He landed upon an expensive piece of equipment down below,
denting it every so slightly.

He leapt off and continued down the maze. He explained to Mokona, "After the first
incarnation is sealed, there is a specific pattern in order to capture the rest of the
incarnations. You have to capture the others in its trinity first, then move to the next
trinity. And finally, after you capture all six main incarnations, then you can move on to
capturing the Life Incarnation."

"Oh," said Mokona as Davis dodged bullets from the security guards. He dodged employee left
and right, leaping above and past them. Mokona pointed out the way each time, going deeper
and deeper into unauthorized territory. Davis could only wonder what Fenrir would be doing
in such a place... The deeper he got, the more his suspicion was confirmed.

Finally, he came to two great doors of metal, a group of armed and angry guards coming
closer. They were locked, and there was no keypad or way to unlock it. He had only one
idea: he made a gigantic fireball. He made one as large as he could, and at his command, it
slammed straight into the doors.

The doors burst open, ripping from their hinges and slamming onto the ground with a loud
clang. Davis and Mokona were taken aback. Fenrir, a wolf in shape, was unconscious in a
cylindrical tank of liquid, stretching from ceiling to floor in the middle of the room.
"What the HELL?!" said Davis. The ever maddening sound of footsteps came closer. Davis did
what he could to stop them, forming a firewall between the guards and him.

He faced Fenrir's tank, left alone in the room. Mokona then spoke, "Fenrir... He was
experimented upon..."

"By who?" asked Davis. "It couldn't have been Tsumuji; from what I know he is no biologist."

"Why not ask him?"

Davis turned to Mokona with a look of fear. "ASK HIM?!"

Mokona said nothing, but just leapt off Davis' shoulder. He floated about the room,
searching for something. Finally, he landed upon a console just beside Fenrir and said,
"Davis! This looks like the control panel."

Davis sighed and reluctantly stepped forward. He came up to Mokona, standing upon a keypad
next to the glass. Davis thought, 'So, we need a key, huh...?' He rubbed his chin and
thought of what number the government could possibly use for this. He guessed a number: 666.

Smoke suddenly came from the tank. Davis pulled Mokona away as the room became filled with
smoke. "Did I do it?" asked Davis. He heard something opening. He became filled with
optimism.

He then heard a voice call through the smoke, "Access number denied. First defensive
procedure initiated." Davis' hopes were just shot down. Behind Davis, between him and the
firewall, a shutter suddenly closed down where the doors had been. He gasped when things
came out of the vents. Bugs. He so hated bugs.

He then noticed something about them: they were rather strange bugs... They weren't found
anywhere on Terra. They were specifically made for this? "A genetically engineered bug?" he
muttered. They came sprinting as fast as their tiny legs could carry straight towards him.
They swarmed around him, along the walls, ceiling, and floor, dashing straight at his place.

As quickly as he could, he made a firewall between him and the incoming ants. There, he was
protected!

Or so he thought. He heard clicking, and turned to his left and right at where the sound
came from. Parts of the wall opened up, revealing more ways that the ants could enter.
Another swarm came right at him. He swore. He had only one idea to defeat the ants: stop
them before they came in.

He dispelled the firewall, only to be met by literally thousands of insects at the other
side. Using as much power as possible, he sent flames all around the walls and ceiling. The
bugs on the ground sprinted at him while the bugs anywhere else were burned. He dodged the
bugs, leaping over them and away. Eventually, they would reach all places of the floor and
there would be a blanket of them all over the floor, with no where for him to go.

He felt one on his shoulder. As he smacked it off, he felt one crawl up his leg. He kicked
it off. They kept on coming. They bit into him, and he felt intense pain. They secreted
poison?! He swore and released the flames from the walls and ceiling. That was enough time
for them. He leapt up, away from the blanket of ants down below. As he stuck to the ceiling
using chakra, he slapped off what was left of the bugs on him. His plan worked. The walls
and ceiling's opening had melted and covered up every opening. All that was left were the
ones on the ground.

He sent another volley of flames straight at the ground. Instead of a blanket of black
insects, there was a blanket of flames. He waited a good five minutes before releasing the
flames. Not a single bug was left. He sighed. He really did hate bugs.

He then turned to Mokona, hanging on his shoulder. "Couldn't you have helped me?" he
demanded.

"No can do," replied Mokona. "I don't have long range attacks."

Davis just sighed and landed back on the ground. He looked around and saw that Fenrir's
tank was in rather good condition. It was built stronger than the rest of the room. It
figured, considering what power it housed. He stepped up to the console again, whose keys
were slightly singed. "You better get it right this time," warned Mokona.

Davis couldn't figure out a code. Fenrir was above him, floating within the liquid, with
wires sticking in it. What had happened to it? Who had done this? Davis didn't know the
answer at all. He didn't know anything about this. No matter how much he knew about
everything else in the world, these secrets and intricacies were beyond him.

Suddenly, he heard Mokona's voice, "Davis!" Davis turned to Mokona and saw him right by a
destroyed portion of the wall. The wall had melted away to reveal a safe. It was carelessly
left open there, as if the owner thought no one would get in. It was in good condition, as
were its contents: a folder of papers and memos. Davis looked inside, and the first thing
written in it was "053087".

He stepped to the console and punched in the numbers. More smoke came from the tank. This
time, it was different. He heard something more inviting: the wires ripping out of Fenrir's
body. The smoke cleared just a little, and Davis saw the water was draining out of the
tank. The wires dangled from the ceiling as Fenrir stood there, shaking. It was awakening.
The glass rose, the wall between the beast and Davis slowly disappearing.

Fenrir weakly opened its eyes. It saw Davis. "So," it began to speak immediately in a raspy
voice. "It was you who saved me."

Davis stepped up to the wolf. "Who did this?" he asked. He stepped up to Fenrir and put a
hand on the beast's back.

Fenrir weakly got to its feet. It was panting, struggling to keep up. "A human..." It
trailed off, struggling to remember. "I can remember one thing that might help. I heard
this before I was knocked out, 'Master Daedalus, we have secured the beast.'"

That struck Davis. Kino had been right. The one called Daedalus did defect from the
government. "How long ago was this?!" he asked, getting more inquisitive. He wanted
answers. He wanted to know what was going on.

"I can't tell," replied Fenrir. It shook off the liquid, soaking Davis quite a bit. Fenrir
looked around, still weak and unable to do much. "I can't help much more than that. All I
can remember is that the one called 'Daedalus' imprisoned me."

"How?"

"He had help. I was attacked by the Sky Incarnation, Pandemona."

Mokona suddenly chimed in, "Pandemona?!" That caught both off guard.

Fenrir looked up and saw Mokona landing upon Davis' shoulder. "Life Incarnation!" it said
with surprise. He bowed down low to Mokona. "I did not see you! I apologize!"

"Forget that!" said Mokona. "Why did Pandemona do that?!"

Fenrir then explained to the best of his ability, "I know not exactly, but I believe that
he was tainted."

"Tainted?" said Mokona and Davis at once.

Fenrir nodded. "Tainted. Shiva and Alexander have been tainted as well."

Davis just looked at Mokona, who muttered, "The Light Trinity has been tainted... What
could have done that?"

The idea then struck Davis. He recalled what was controlling Rantmon. If it could control
Rantmon, what stopped it from controlling an incarnation? Davis then muttered, "The virus
controlling Rantmon... That did it!" Fenrir and Mokona turned to Davis. Davis looked Fenrir
straight in the eye. "Fenrir, I need your help. If my hypothesis is true, then Daedalus
made a pact with Rantmon at some point. This is a very dangerous thing, so I need all the
help I can get." Davis raised his fists and showed the Meteor Gloves. "Join me, please!"

Fenrir saw the gloves and was amazed. "The elemental gloves... I thought those disappeared
long ago..."

"Rantmon had it hidden away. I took my opportunity and stole them."

Fenrir was silent for a bit. He stepped around and inspected Davis, carefully looking at
all aspects of the boy. Finally, he completed a circle around Davis and said, "Even if
you're a tad short, I accept. It is great luck that the gloves landed on our side!"

A light came from Fenrir. Davis held his gloves before the wolf. Fenrir spoke his final
words as he disappeared into the glove, "Now the trinity is complete. The powers of the
elements are at their maximum for now. With the three of us- Ifrit, Devimon, and I- joined
together, you shall have the most powerful summoned beast of them all."

Fenrir then disappeared from the world, its light entering Davis' gloves. They glowed a
bright light and seemed to melt and change shape. Davis felt the gloves cover his whole
hand, fingers and all. The light faded. He saw his gloves.

It wasn't just black, now. It was a fiery black that had its own luster. It was a brilliant
color, amazing to see. The metal had molded to cover his entire hand. It was pure metal,
but it was extremely flexible at the fingers and palm. Thick layers of metal covered the
back of his hand, where intricate carvings circled around the jewel, which gave off black
light. The Dark Trinity Gloves were complete.

Davis just sighed as the shutters behind him began to open. He turned and saw light slowly
flood into the room. There, he saw Kino standing before the group of guards. Kino looked
around the destroyed room. Kino muttered, "Why didn't anyone tell me of this room?!"

The guards looked at one another. "We thought it was your orders to create it," one said.

Kino looked at them all with anger. They were all saying of how someone higher up told them
to make it. No one knew who it was. No one had a definite answer. Davis stepped up to Kino
and said, "Daedalus did it. He had sealed the Earth Incarnation, Fenrir, in there." Kino
looked back at Davis in surprise. "I released Fenrir and he told me that. Right now, he's
in here." He showed the new gloves.

Kino looked at it. He didn't have much interest in it. He wasn't the kind to like magic.
"I'll take your word for it." He then turned back and started his scathing verbal abuse of
the guards. They stood in place, afraid to move. Davis slipped through and went upstairs.

***

As the days passed, with the tenth day slowly coming, TM continued to practice with Orion
as the rest of the group trained together. Amiko and Anya practiced their wind attacks,
with Amiko slowly growing stronger and more adept at using her Sky aura. Amiko made wind
sickles, tornados, and barriers of the wind without a second thought.

Cindy and Mokona kept on practicing to fight, with Cindy perfecting her aim and her use of
her Thunder aura. She came up with more attacks than the Thunder Bullets. She made a Rain
of Thunder by launching bullets into the sky. She practiced using thunder without the
bullets, launching thunderbolts just as Davis launched firebolts some time ago.

Davis practiced alone, using whatever he could to help him. Davis made flames, used
meteors, attacked with earth quakes, whatever he could think of that used his elements. It
continued like so, with the day slowly coming.

Kensou continued practicing his techniques at his master's shack, one after another, even
trying to strengthen his succession technique. The others were getting more and more power.
He was just a normal guy in their midst. He needed to make up for his weakness.

During all this, the Hokuten practiced on their own near Lake Sen. Risika used her charms
to their full advantage, even making up new ones and seeing if they worked. Paul practiced
chopping through anything with his axe; he cleaved through stone, wood, and anything in
between. During all this, Lee trained in secret. No one knew what went on with him, except
that from the forests by Lake Sen, Risika and Paul could have sworn they heard trees
crashing down.

On the seventh day, three days after Davis acquired the Dark Trinity gloves, it was time
for all of TM's power to be released. Everyone came to the room where TM and Orion had
constantly trained to see his progress.

They were surprised to see TM do almost everything Recca would do in Flame of Recca. He
made fireballs, flame whips, flame blades, and any mixture of the three. He made things
catch fire and created flame bodies as easily as thinking. The only things Recca could do
but not TM were to create a flame barrier (it was hard for TM to do that since flames had
no hard shape and all), and to create a phoenix of flame.

He was quite adept then of the huge offensive capabilities of his flame aura, but unlike
Shadow, he had little defensive maneuvers that his aura could do. "Little matter," said TM.
"The Hiten Mitsurugi covers that." With all of the flame attacks he could think of
completely mastered, there was little else to do but break the seal on the Blood Sin.

"I think the Hokage planned this all along," said TM. "I had to unlock it sooner or later
to defeat Rantmon." TM took off his shirt to reveal the Blood Sin printed upon his back.
All around it were lines, the same symbol as printed on Mauzel's platform. They needed to
break that.

The Hokuten looked at it, and Risika immediately said, "Ah! I know how to release this
seal!"

"You do?" asked TM without turning around.

The rest of the Crew sat down as Risika stepped up and placed a hand on TM's back. "I was
trained to handle all seals and symbols," she explained. "One thing my clan was taught more
than the rest was how to stop the Blood Sin, the most fearsome of all demonic symbols.
Since I can apply the seal, I can also take it off."

"I see," said TM as he sat on the ground. Risika pulled out a pack from her belt containing
various items and potions. She took out one red potion and carefully opened the top. A
powerful odor immediately came from it. She took a small brush and dipped it into the
potion. She then drew a small circle about TM, as well as one on his back. She drew other
lines and curves in the large circle and completed a picture of the Rood Inverse right upon
TM's back. With all this done, she put away the potion and the brush in the small pack
where they came from.

She clapped her hands together and began a prayer. Then she placed them on TM's shoulders.
A light suddenly came from the red liquid on the floor and TM's back. TM suddenly yelled in
pain, with the lines of Mauzel slowly ripping from his body. Risika yelled over his grunts,
"My way is a little more arcane way of doing it than what the Hokage did. It'll take longer
and it'll hurt more, but bear with it!"

TM gritted his teeth and did the best he could. It was a searing pain as the lines slowly
were ripped off of his skin by the red liquid, crawling up his skin and onto the lines. He
struggled not to open his mouth and scream as the pain increased. He didn't know how much
more time he had before the seal would be released.

Risika announced, "Just a little more!" TM nodded and closed his eyes. He thought of
something to take his mind off the pain. The only things that could calm him down. Girls
and money. He thought of how much he wanted both. Oh, he would get them when he got home,
he was sure of that. Then the pain stopped.

TM panted with exhaustion. His back was sore as the red liquid faded away. He was in the
worst pain that he had ever been in. But he could feel the power slowly surging through
him. The energy he had felt when he had fought at Naraku's castle was again flowing through
him. But it was stronger, just like him.

He got to his feet, shaking. Shaking not from pain, but from anticipation. He felt stronger
than he had been ever. He felt leagues over how strong the mana clone was. He felt like he
was on equal ground with Rantmon. He smiled. "I feel great!" he said, standing tall and
proud. "This is it! We can take on Rantmon!" He then gave a hearty laugh, causing the
others to sweatdrop.

With that, he was given his shirt. As he put it on, The Hokuten stood before the Outlaws.
Amiko, Davis, Cindy, and Kensou stood as well, standing behind TM. Anya spoke, "This is it.
This is the homestretch. The battle with Rantmon is fast approaching, so with all barriers
crossed, we can train with all our power."

Paul then stepped up and spoke, "Yes, you all are promising individuals. We have no doubt
that you all will be the ones who save Terra from Rantmon." The Outlaws smiled at that.

Then with that, Lee announced, "Okay! How about some dinner?!" (Anya whispered to the
Outlaws, "He's the best cook ever, we swear!") Everyone smiled and nodded.

***

Back at Rantmon's place, things were getting quite messy and unpleasant for Rantmon. As
more and more people arrived, he had little time to kick the terrible smelling bodies out
of the window, and the blood on the floor had little time to drain out. He just sighed and
muttered, "I just had to open my big mouth, huh?"

With that, he sliced through another gang of fighters, just a tad stronger than the usual
opponents. Still, they were nowhere near his level, and he just wanted to clean his room.
He was glad to hear fighting amongst the lined up opponents, for he wanted quite a bit of
them to die before he got to them.

He was surprised when he looked up to see TM and Amiko tearing through the line of
opponents, one after another. Then he noticed them. No, they weren't part of the Crew. They
were the shadows, who had come to meet him. He could only wonder whether they came to fight
and crew impatient, or whether they had come to help.

They stepped up to him, a line of bodies laying behind them. There they stood, Black Amiko
with her staff and Shadow TM with his sledgehammer. Rantmon spoke, "Oh, this is a surprise.
Why have you two come?"

"We have not come to fight," said Black Amiko.

"We came to wait for certain persons," added Shadow.

Rantmon figured out who. "I won't interfere with your battles on one condition." He knew
why they were there. They were demanding he not interfere, even if he was the most powerful
being in Terra. They certainly did not care about that! He liked that in a person: a
conviction to follow only as one wished.

Black said, "You look tired. Maybe we'll act as the doorkeepers until they come?" She had
figured his condition, just as Rantmon had figured her demands.

Rantmon nodded. "I'm getting annoyed at all this." He then looked around the room. "This
needs to be a bit cleaner, too."

Black just snapped her fingers, and suddenly the room was set ablaze. The flames
disappeared just as suddenly as they came, and Rantmon saw that nothing was touched in the
flames. The carpet stood untouched and the throne didn't burn away. The only thing that
changed was that the blood had evaporated and the bodies just turned to ash and blew away
in the wind. Rantmon smiled. "Deal, then."

Shadow and Black just nodded and turned away. Rantmon stepped back and turned to his
throne. This was dangerous, dealing with the shadows. They were the only things he feared
in the world. He knew not of the extent their powers; they were mysteries in the world.

He was glad they didn't care about the planet. That made it much easier for him. He
suddenly heard someone's screams and the sound of flames. That cruel girl had killed
someone else. He just chuckled and sat in his throne. Yes, she was scary. He was glad she
didn't use her magic on him.

In his throne, he finally rested his head back on the cushion and dozed to sleep. The time
was nearing. The final hour was going to come soon. He needn't wake up until they came.
When they came, the storm would finally be unleashed.

---- To Be Continued ----

- ENDING SONG: KAZE NO NAI UMI DE DAKISHIMETE - Aiuchi Rina -

hitorija nai konna watashi wa
chippoke sugiru mono dakara
kimi mo mata hitasura ni ne
watashi wo utsushiteru no

kimi ni utsuru sugata ga tada yuiitsu no
watashi no ibasho sagasu nerai nante

kaze no nai umi ni negai kakete
hitotsu dake kanaetai yo
futatsu no kokoro ni yadoru hitotsu no omoi wo
kaze no nai umi de dakishimete
nido to aenai basho nado
keshite hitori de ne ikanai to yakusoku shite

---- Preview ----

["Last Wolf Suite" from the Kenshin soundtrack plays in background. The Crew minus SSJ
appear as chibi style, and random scenes from the next episode play, though you can't see
because this is text. Haha!]

Amiko: Next time! On GINGA GIRI GIRI!

TM: We head to Rantmon's palace and are greeted once again by Shadow and Black Amiko!

Cindy: What else could follow but a fight scene?

Davis: After they finish Shadow and Black, they finally make it to Rantmon.

Kensou: What does Rantmon truly want with the destruction of the world? We can only ask.

All: NEXT! On Ginga GIRI GIRI! "The Rising Tide"

----