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 Rising Tide ( Chapter 67 )

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

___________________________________________________________________________ _________________

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

---- Recap ----

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

Amiko: Last time! On GINGA GIRI GIRI!

Kensou: Okay, so TM finally masters his flame thing.

TM: Yeah, and Davis gets info on the Earth Incarnation, Fenrir.

Davis: I rush down with Mokona and free Fenrir after a creepy fight scene. God, I hate bugs.

Cindy: Yep, and after that, TM gets the Blood Sin removed and Rantmon makes a deal.

All: So! On with the show!

---- Chapter 67: The Rising Tide ----

Finally, the time had come. It was the morning of the tenth day, and there was never more
commotion. Rumors had spread quickly throughout the oceans and over the land. No one knew
what had happened, but no one even got close to Rantmon within the past five days.
Something- or someone- had happened and fear couldn't be any higher.

Throughout the world, people cried, prayed, hugged their children, or simply waited for
news. News, they got, for all along the edges of Rantmon's castle, standing in the sand by
the ring, were various news reporters, and many more floating robotic cameras surrounding
the island.

Everyone saw that not a single body lay on the ring. They all had burnt away and never were
seen again. The two people guarding Rantmon's door were ruthless. And everyone recognized
them. Of course, just a month or two ago, their faces were all over Terra. Amiko and TM, so
they thought, were stopping everyone from entering the palace. Outrage spread across the
land. The people they had hoped upon had betrayed them!

They thought so until there came a signal that interrupted all television transmissions.
Kino's face appeared on every television in Terra. There was the uninviting gray wall of
steel behind him as he held a microphone to his mouth. "People of Terra," he began. "I hear
your cries of outrage over this. But have hope. Rantmon won't defeat our resolve. We will
return home in one piece. And by "we", I mean me along with these people."

Kino turned the camera to show the Outlaws. Every person on Terra was thoroughly perplexed
when they saw TM and Amiko sitting at the sides of the aircraft. TM was grinning and
holding out a victory sign as Amiko just smiled. The others sat beside them, hopefully
smiling. Kino said into his microphone, "These are strong guys. Trust them. Put your hopes
in them. Pray for them."

With that, Kino shut off the camera and turned off the microphone. He put them both into a
wooden box and slid it into the corner. He sighed, "Damn, those citizens are getting
restless." He turned to the Outlaws. "I can trust you all, right? I haven't seen you all
fight, but I heard stories. Of course, for the ones who defeated all of the Enders, I don't
doubt your powers."

The Crew said nothing to that. For one thing, they didn't kill two, and the other two were
taken only by Cindy. None of the others had enough power to defeat even one of them. But
they didn't want Kino to know these facts. Everyone was counting on them.

To say that they were pressured would be an understatement. The biggest battle of their
lives was coming up, and the world relied upon them to defeat Rantmon. There was no helping
that they were all shaking. They all had their own tricks, but none were sure of their
ability to defeat Rantmon for sure. Would releasing the Blood Sin be enough? Is the Fall of
the Sky powerful enough of an attack? Are the Dark Trinity Gloves powerful enough to
destroy someone beyond the Six Gods? Can bullets of thunder or the like even hurt Rantmon?
And finally, was it possible for Phage's blood to kill Rantmon in one blow?

So they sat in silence, awaiting their time to face Rantmon. They only could look at the
up, where strips of glass separated their cold metal hold from the blue sky above. Finally,
the ship shook. It had violently rumbled and the Crew struggled to grab hold of the walls.
As suddenly as it began, the shaking stopped. The plane had come to a stop. They were on
Rantmon's island.

The door at the back of the ship opened, throwing more light into the relatively dark room
of the aircraft. A current, too, entered the ship, throwing the place in disarray. When
their eyes had finally adjusted to the new brightness, they were surprised to see the large
group of people surrounding the ring before them. Kino stepped up before them. "Don't look
down," he advised.

Now, you just don't say a thing to kids, because, of course, the Crew looked down and saw
the gigantic drop down below, onto the waters far, far away. They gulped and carefully
stepped off the ship and onto the soft sand of the edges of the island. It wasn't very
comforting.

When they had all disembarked, all six of them including Kino, they weren't met by praise
or cheers. No, the other people on there were staring at the middle of the stone ring,
where bodies lay in disarray. They were too distracted by a boy up on the ring, slashing
through opponents with weapons of ice.

On another portion of the ring, as people dashed up and at a single girl, the girl simply
had to just complain and snap her finger, and the fighters were gone. They were killing the
challengers before they even caught sight of Rantmon!

The group shoved through the people surrounding the ring, demanding to get through. Even
Kino had trouble getting through, despite his high rank. And finally, they reached the ring
and all but Kino and Kensou recognized the two. Black Amiko and Shadow. "Them?!" said Cindy
in surprise.

"Not again!" yelled Davis. This, of course, caught the attention of Black Amiko and Shadow.
The two turned away from their slaughter and saw the Crew. They finally smiled.

"Finally!" said Shadow with happiness. "No more of these guys!" And he kicked off a pile of
bodies he made during his slaughter. They flew through the air, flinging blood everywhere
before they fell off the edge and down to the sea below. "I sorta missed you, Flame! All of
these ones are worthless!" He said it in such a carefree, light tone that TM couldn't help
but fume.

"So, you have finally come!" announced Black Amiko as she faced her other self. "I have
waited for this ever since you defeated me in Mauzel's place. Now, I can have my revenge
before I go and kill Mauzel!" Amiko just glared at her counterpart as she saw Black Amiko
burn the bodies of her opponents to ashes.

TM and Amiko put their hands on the ring and stepped upon it. Everyone suddenly grew
silent. Nothing was heard, except for the almost silent whispers of news reporters into
their microphones. It was all being told, the Outlaws and what seemed to be twins. The
legendary Outlaws, whose travels were only told in rumors, had finally come.

"Shadow," said TM. "Why did you kill all these people?!" He glared at the smiling Shadow.

"Why?" repeated Shadow, and he rubbed his chin. TM just silently contained his anger as
Shadow thought long and hard, just to reply, "It seemed fun at the time. So, why not kill?"

TM gritted his teeth and his red aura exploded out of his body. Shadow was no longer
surprised by it, not even at its larger size. "FUN?!" screamed TM. "Killing another human
being is fun?!"

"Oh, don't say that, Flame," said Shadow, still with a smile. "Besides, you have killed
plenty, have you not? I heard of your various adventures on Battleship Libra, at the Iron
Town Missile Silo, and where you fought those androids."

"Shut up!" Amiko suddenly cut off, seeing TM shake in anger. "TM didn't mean to kill all
those people!"

"Didn't mean to?" interrupted Black Amiko with a sneer. Amiko and TM just stared at the two
parts of themselves, so similar and so different. "There's nothing accidental about
killing. It's either you take someone's life, or you don't. You can put yourself into
denial and say 'I didn't mean to do it!' or 'There was no choice!’ The truth is, to kill is
a conscious act that everyone must make. In order to survive, one must kill something, be
it a plant, animal, bacteria, or even a deity."

Amiko and TM knew she was referencing to the Asura they met in the Red Mountains. Shadow
then said, "Killing a human is no different. So, humans are sentient, so what? What
separates a human from any other being?"

"What are you getting at?!" yelled Amiko.

Black Amiko and Shadow said in unison, "We ask you to tell us, what is wrong with killing
humans?" Amiko and TM just stared at the two.

Black continued, "Tell us, without religious, ethical, or philosophical answers. Give us a
straight answer. Why is it wrong to kill humans?"

Amiko ground her teeth together. "You sound like the cold Satsuki," she said to Black
Amiko. [1] They were silent, thinking about the answer. It was a difficult answer to give.

Finally, Amiko said, "Because... Because no matter whom you kill, someone will be hurt."

Suddenly, Shadow bursted out laughing. Amiko and TM looked up at him with large glares.
"Haha! What a completely laughable answer!"

"What?!" screamed TM. "What's so funny about that?!"

Black Amiko then chuckled, getting their attention. "The fact that it's so dismally wrong!
There are at least two people in this world that can disappear, and no one would notice."

Amiko and TM stared at their counterparts with immense disbelief. They knew who she
referred to. She was referring to herself and Shadow. They were met with a deep burden in
their hearts before Shadow finally pulled out his sledgehammer and Black Amiko her staff.

"Enough talk, Flame!"

"Come on, Amiko!"

Shadow suddenly leapt forward as Black Amiko revealed the chain inside the broken staff. TM
barely blocked with his sword the immense blow from Shadow's sledgehammer. TM swore. Shadow
had gotten a lot stronger!

He suddenly flew back, having received a kick from Shadow. TM skidded back on his feet and
prepared himself for battle a little late. He screamed and his red aura burst out further.
The whole island seemed red before the light faded. On TM's right arm was a blade of fire,
coming out of the side of the forearm like a scythe.

"Oh," said Shadow with a smile. "Finally mastered your flame?" TM dashed forward, screaming
as he aimed a slash at Shadow. The blade, instead, hit a wall of ice, formed from the water
in the air. TM leapt back, just in time before a spike came flying out of the wall. He
dodged away, barely missing the sharp point.

And then there was Shadow, knocking him into the sky with one hand. TM's head reeled, for
Shadow had just hit right under the chin. It was then that Shadow realized something: it
was a body of fire. A clone?!

Something hit his back. Shadow turned around and saw the tip of a scythe in his icy back,
with a flame whip attaching it to TM's arm on the other side of the ring. Shadow smiled.
"Impressive!"

Shadow threw his sledgehammer straight at TM's head. TM dodged as the weapon flew through
where his head had been. Shadow took the time to rip away from the weapon and pull out the
hilt of his sword. To the surprise of everyone minus the Crew, a blade of ice suddenly shot
up, sharper than ever. It was also larger than it had ever been, a gigantic ten meters into
the sky.

Shadow slashed at where TM was. TM quickly drew his sword in defense and blocked the very
tip of the blade. 'No way!' TM thought when he felt the immense pressure. He looked at
Shadow, effortlessly pushing it down upon his blade. 'This large, and he can still
overpower me?!'

TM then got an idea. He screamed and his red aura burst out. The weapon of ice melted ever
so slightly. Shadow had packed in more water than before! TM's red aura then transferred to
his blade. Cindy and Davis recognized it: the Zero Slash!

TM broke away from Shadow's blade and leapt above the powerful boy. Shadow looked up in
surprise and saw TM slash in his direction. But TM yelled, "FLAME SLASH!" as a wave of his
red aura came racing down at Shadow. Everyone was taken aback when the wave bursted into
flames and crashed into Shadow's sword.

There was a sound of cracking glass. Shadow saw shards of ice flying everywhere. There was
a gash on his shoulder. Not only had it broken through his powerful Glacier, but it had
actually cut through his skin? Shadow smiled. Flame had become more powerful!

Shadow smiled. "Well, pretty impressive. However..."

TM suddenly felt a chill. He looked down at his boots. They were encased in ice. He saw the
ice race up and spread around his body. His legs were trapped. Then his body. His arms were
next and last before he hit the ground.

TM was trapped, standing there stuck inside a block of ice. He saw Shadow smiling. Shadow
said, "If you control your environment and opponents, you can win any battle. With that..."
Shadow held out his palm. TM suddenly felt the ice pressuring his skin. It was getting
tighter? The ice then spread. His head was trapped as well.

He stared at Shadow, unable to move, with a foggy window separating the two. He thought he
made out Shadow saying, "Blizzard Tomb!" And he closed his hand. A great pressure suddenly
was exerted on TM. He felt himself being crushed. And he suddenly split into flames.

Shadow was taken aback. Another illusion of flames?!

He then felt a wind behind him. "Don't underestimate ninjutsu!" he heard TM scream. He
turned around, and there was TM with the Rasengan held in his hands. Not again?! TM threw
his hand forward. Shadow barely formed an ice wall between the attack and his gut.

But no, the attack tore through the wall of ice with no problem! He saw why. TM had mixed
his flames into the spinning typhoon. It was a storm of flames! "Oh, fu-" And the attack
struck Shadow.

Shadow screamed in pain as the attack tore in his gut. Not only was it tearing through, but
the flames were melting the ice in his skin. It was burning him! "Impossible!" screamed
Shadow as he skidded back and into the crowd around the stage. TM sighed when he saw
Shadow, laying there and staring off into space, blood flowing from his mouth. He had
defeated Shadow again.

He stepped up to Shadow. "What's so fun about killing humans?" asked TM as he glared down
at Shadow.

Shadow rolled his eyes at TM. "What's so fun? It's fun, because I'm doing it of my own
will. I'm not like you, trapped in a cage called 'morals' and 'innocence'. I am my own
person, and I do what I please."

"Then why did you join Black Amiko?"

"Heh. I didn't join her. I'm just having fun." With that, Shadow closed his eyes and went
to sleep. TM just didn't understand that guy.

He turned and saw Amiko having a tough time with Black. He saw Black's attacks had gotten
more sophisticated. Every time she snapped, an explosion tore through where Amiko was.
Whenever she clapped, the sand from the sides of the island raced up at Amiko and cut her
like blades. When Black was feeling nice, she struck her with her broken staff.

Amiko wouldn't give up. She dodged a blue hand made of magic. She shot an arrow through a
fireball. She blocked a sandy blade with a shield of wind. She was pulling out all of her
power to defeat Black Amiko. "I'll fight for every person you have killed since now!"
screamed Amiko.

"You're too naive!" screamed Black Amiko as she kneeled down and clapped her hands
together. "You can't answer even a simple question!" With that, suddenly, spikes tore from
the stone ring, packed hard with rock. All around Black Amiko, spikes tore up and threw
stone everywhere.

Amiko was taken aback when the sharp stalagmites spread towards her. She leapt into the sky
just as the earthen spikes impaled the air she just stood upon. With a wave of her arm, she
screamed "Kamaitachi!" [2] A sharp wave of the wind raced down onto the ring, slicing
through the many, many stalagmites.

Black Amiko barely ducked under it and returned her staff to its solid form. She shoved it
off the ground and leapt high into the sky, far above Amiko, floating in the air by a
spell. "Someone will cry if anyone dies, huh?! Your answer is completely wrong! Who will
cry when I die?!" Amiko looked up at her counterpart with a pain in her heart as Black
Amiko bit into her finger. She was going to do it again.

Black Amiko pressed her finger into the side of her weapon, and the people beneath the two
were taken aback to hear the chain cracking. The chain of Black Amiko's weapon broke apart,
separating each piece of her staff. Amiko saw again the thin brown line of mana holding the
pieces together.

She was suddenly hit in the side. Black Amiko swung her weapon around and Amiko was hit
right in the stomach. Then on her shoulder. Black Amiko was aggressive! Amiko lost control
of her spell and fell back towards the ring, slamming into it with much pain. She could
barely move when Black Amiko landed on the ground.

Amiko looked up as she lay on the stone, seeing Black Amiko's hateful glare. She heard
Black Amiko say, "The sky can't exist without an earth. But, the earth can exist without a
sky." With that, Black Amiko released her bloody finger from her weapon. The chain
reformed, the line of mana disappeared, and her weapon returned to normal.

Black Amiko raised her weapon high into the sky. "One more chance. Why is it wrong to kill
humans?"

Amiko struggled to move. She just looked up at Black Amiko's face, twisted in hatred. "It's
wrong because..." She couldn't answer. She thought and thought. Finally, she replied, "It's
wrong because no matter who dies, someone will be hurt. Yes, for you and Shadow, that
someone would be Siria..."

Black Amiko looked down at her, face unchanging. She then sneered. "Mauzel?! Don't make me
laugh. What could be more of a burden upon her than knowing that we were born? The ones who
weren't supposed to be free are now roaming the world. You must be joking!"

"She would. She was saddened whenever SSJ's other self was mentioned. It must be the same
for you two. Not only would she cry, but we would, too." Black Amiko suddenly looked down
at Amiko, surprise registering on her face. "You two are part of us, right? We are supposed
to be one at some point, weren't we? If you were to die, it would be half of us dying,
right? Why wouldn't we be sad about that?"

Black Amiko just looked down at Amiko, no longer showing emotions on her face. She seemed
like an earthen statue, standing there over Amiko. She didn't respond when Kensou went to
pick up Amiko. She didn't respond when Kensou muttered, "You shouldn't have pushed
yourself. We still have Rantmon, remember?"

"I know," Amiko replied. With that, Cindy and Davis leapt onto the battered stage and
followed Kensou towards the door of Rantmon's apartment. TM led them forward and shoved
upon the large doors of stone. The group that surrounded the ring now left to follow the
Outlaws. They left Black Amiko and Shadow there, alone.

Black Amiko finally stepped over and kicked Shadow's gut. "Get up, we have a fight to
watch."

Shadow awoke then and looked up at Black Amiko. He wiped the blood from his mouth and
shakily got to his feet. "She convinced you, huh?" He then weakly threw an arm over Black
Amiko's shoulder and leaned on her.

Black Amiko twitched. "You were awake after all, huh?" Shadow nodded. "Gonna still follow
me now that I was truly defeated?"

"Why not? I couldn't care less about what I'm doing. All I want to do is have fun."

Black Amiko smiled. "Yeah. You wouldn't do anything if it wasn't fun, huh?"

They then stepped towards the doors of Rantmon's palace, slowly following after the Crew.

***

The doors to the throne room of Rantmon's palace opened with a gigantic scrape, the noise
sending pain into a few of the people opening it. Inside, they saw the red carpet leading
from the door, up a few steps, straight to the throne in which Rantmon sat in. They saw the
Rood Inverse carved into the ground between them and Rantmon, directly under another Rood
Inverse up at the top of the room, where six crystals floated.

They saw them all. The Six Gods were sealed up there, floating in the glowing mark of their
element. "We'll free them, no matter what," said TM as they turned back to Rantmon, sitting
in the throne.

Once they thought about it, it was their first time meeting the real Rantmon, despite all
the times he had imposed himself on their journey. His council, his enders, his mana
clones... The memories came back to them in a flash as they stood before Rantmon.

The five stepped forward. TM stood before then and yelled, "Rantmon! We are here for your
challenge!"

Rantmon didn't reply. They stood there in silence, waiting for him. Time passed. The clouds
moved across the sky. The sun sank just a bit. It was not until then that Cindy screamed,
"HE'S ASLEEP?!"

They screamed at Rantmon to wake up, only increasing the snoring coming from Rantmon.
Finally, Cindy drew her gun and shot him right in the head. Rantmon shook as the bullet
bounced off the hood and clinked along the stone ground. Rantmon twitched and arose from
the chair, seeing the Crew from the darkness of the hood. "Oh, you have finally come!"

"WE CAME HERE HALF AN HOUR AGO!" screamed them all in unison.

Rantmon just laughed. "Well, it seems those two accomplished their purpose. I haven't
fought anyone for a good long time!"

"Forget that," interrupted Amiko, who was now standing on her feet thanks to an X-Potion
from one of the fighters around them. "I just want to ask before we fight, why do you want
to destroy the world? Moreover, why are you giving us a chance?"

Rantmon heard the questions and just laughed. They saw him shaking ever so slightly as he
laughed to himself. "That's something you'll have to figure out!"

"Like that you're a virus?" yelled Davis. Everyone was silent then. Rantmon looked down at
Davis as he continued, "You're just a virus who has taken over Rantmon, right? You're not
the true one, but a fake!"

There suddenly was a commotion among the people. That was hardly believable! Something
controlling the Creator? It was almost too much. But Rantmon just laughed and laughed and
laughed. "So you know! It must have been that Siria Mauzel." He then said offhand, "I'll
have to take care of her afterwards." He then turned to the Crew. "So you want to know,
huh? I may be a virus, I may be something else. Whatever it is, you'll have to fight me
anyway. So, who's first?"

Davis was about to step forward when someone from the large group at the door yelled,
"We'll be first!"

Everyone turned around. They saw the Hokuten standing there by the door. The people around
them moved apart and made a path for them, and they stepped forward to stand beside the
Outlaws. It had been Lee who had made the challenge. Lee proudly stood before Rantmon,
saying with surety, "We'll be the first to try his power, right Paul?"

Paul released his ax from the strap on his back and let it fall to the ground, sending
cracks throughout it. He yelled, "Fine with me, Lee! We'll be sure to weaken him for our
friends!"

Rantmon looked down at the two, who stood within the Rood Inverse carved into the ground.
Everyone else moved away, surrounding the Rood Inverse on the ground, which began to glow
an eerie blue. Rantmon announced as he stepped into the Rood Inverse, "We are nearing the
center of The Rift, where the most mana is leaking."

That notion struck Amiko, TM, Davis, and Cindy, who had seen the Mana Pool. "Leaking?" they
said amongst themselves.

They had no time to ponder, then. Lee and Paul stood before Rantmon, ready to fight. It
finally was beginning!

---- To Be Continued ----

- ENDING SONG: NAVY BLUE - Aiuchi Rina -

eien nante aru hazu mo naku
"moshimo..." nante kuchi ni sureba KIRI ga nai

sou genjitsu ni egaita yume wa
toki ni zankoku de
mezamete naita

Just in NAVY BLUE omoidashiteru
kimi no te no nukumori
Still loving you kinou yori zutto
tsunai de te setsunaku

Lonely my heart is NAVY BLUE

---- 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! Lee and Paul face off with Rantmon!

Kensou: Of course, they have no chance, but they have to use all of their power!

TM: Who will take up the battle after they lose?

Cindy: Probably another of their Clan!

Davis: Next on GINGA GIRI GIRI! "The Beginning of a Storm"

----

Author's Note:

[1] Satsuki, one of SSJ's bishoujo, asked this same question in X to Yuzuriha.

[2] Kamaitachi - Something like Wind Sword or something. It's a popular attack name from
what I heard. (It is in Naruto and Flame of Recca.)