The
Great Crossover Adventure
by
Xanthix
Chapter
1: Crossing Paths
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Fox
McCloud hated parades. He would rather be scouring the solar system for any
remaining trace of Andross's evil forces. Or searching the ruins of Venom to
see if Andross could have survived their last encounter. Or even campaigning to
raise funds so Corneria could field an actual army, instead of relying upon him
for planetary defense. But the rest of the StarFox team enjoyed the
celebrations that usually followed their victories, so he let them have their
day.
As
he sat in the Great Fox's cockpit, watching his teammates party on the planet's
surface below, he wondered what tomorrow would bring. Peace for Corneria? Or
more danger from the stars? Whatever it was, he would be ready for it. He was a
fox of action, but for now he was content to rest up, help repair and rebuild
after the war, and plan for the future. But he would welcome the next
adventure.
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Ranma
Saotome hated tuxedos. He wasn't thrilled about formal occasions in general. He
would rather be back at the Dojo than stuck at some formal dance. Oh well, he
thought -- better a tuxedo than a Prom dress. Fortunately, no one had come
close to spilling cold water on him all night.
Thankfully,
Akane wasn't making the occasion too unbearable. When their attendance at the
Furikan High School Prom was "arranged" by their fathers, he had
worried that the tension about his and Akane's future would spoil the evening.
Ranma himself wasn't sure whether they would end up together. But things were
turning out okay, and he was even able to tolerate spending time with Akane,
tuxedo or no.
But
he still would rather be on an adventure.
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Zelgadiss
Greywords hated waiting. He understood that it would probably be a while before
he could find a cure to his condition, but traveling with Lina could be
frustrating when she got sidetracked. And Lina got sidetracked often. Now it
looked like it might be a week before they got back on the trail, just because
of some food festival in town. At least she managed to find a decent inn this
time, he thought to himself as he got settled in his room.
A
knock on the half-open door disturbed him from his musings.
"Mr.
Zelgadiss?" It was Ameria. "Have you seen Miss Lina?"
He
shook his head in reply. "I haven't seen her since we ate. Maybe she's
still in the dining hall. I hope she hasn't forgotten the importance of our
mission again, and gone after whatever catches her eye, like she usually
does."
"Is
everything all right, Mr. Zelgadiss?" she asked, looking concerned.
"You sound sad. Don't worry, we'll find the Claire Bible for you!"
She suddenly started smiling. "For Justice has a Kind Heart for those who
are Patient and Endure!"
It
was hard to compete with Ameria's optimism. He looked up at her and said
soberly, "But until we find it, I'll just have to wait."
Unaffected
by his seriousness, she beamed a smile at him. "What you need is an
adventure!"
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Ryoko
Hakubi hated being bored. Normally, with everyone in Tenchi's "extended
family" around, there wasn't any time to be bored. Plenty of people to
talk to, plenty of things to do, and plenty of mischief to cause. She liked it
that way.
But
with Tenchi and the others in Tokyo raising funds for the "Rebuild the
Tokyo Tower from the Monster Attacks" charity, there wasn't as much to do.
Only she and Washu were staying at the house, keeping an eye on things. And
Washu was content to work in her lab all day. Ryoko flew around the house
again, looking for something to do. She could really use an adventure.
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Washu
Hakubi loved being alone. She cared for Tenchi and the rest, but she
appreciated some time to herself, to think and to tinker in her workshop. Plus,
she had to keep an eye on her lab, the house, Tenchi in Tokyo, and the rest of
the world. "It's such a demanding job being the greatest scientific mind
in the universe!" she half-joked out loud, to no one in particular.
She
saw Tenchi talking to some city officials in front of the Tokyo Tower on a
viewscreen in her lab, and saw Ryoko fly by the house on another monitor. She
wondered, "What is she doing, laps? She must be bored. It is pretty quiet
around here. I wonder if anything exciting is happening in neighboring
dimensions..." Her voice trailed off as she saw a warning light blinking
on a sensor console.
Hmmm,
looks like we're in for an adventure, she thought.
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Ryoko
floated into the large, dimly lit lab room in which Washu was studying the
source of the warning. "How can you stand to stay in here all day? It's
bad enough that no one's around, but..."
"Not
now, Ryoko," Washu cut her off. "More important matters require the
attention of my immense scientific expertise." She started typing some
search parameters into a computer, not even looking up. Ryoko rolled her eyes.
After
a quiet pause, Washu continued. "There've been some ripples in the
time-space continuum lately. They've been occurring suspiciously close to power
spikes detected by the satellite sensors. Just now they've focused on a local
urban area."
"Translation
please?" came Ryoko's sarcastic reply.
"Big
trouble in Tokyo today."
"Tokyo?
That's where Tenchi is! What kind of trouble?" Ryoko looked concerned, but
not afraid.
"Here,
maybe this will help explain things..." Washu answered, as she flipped a
switch. A large 3-D display appeared in mid-air, showing the calm sky above the
Tokyo Tower. Washu and Ryoko could see a crowd of people gathered around the
tower, listening to a presentation. Suddenly, the air above the tower started
rippling as if someone has thrown a pebble into a pond. The ripples became more
dramatic, and their center grew brighter, until a bright flash of light
illuminated the whole of the sky. When the flash dimmed, three strange ships
hovered in the now-clear air.
"Wha?
Whose ships are those?" Ryoko asked, surprised.
"Hmmm...
I don't know..." Washu replied. As the two watched, the ships maneuvered
into formation and started flying towards the tower. At this moment they both
noticed the large amount of weapons on all three ships. "...but it doesn't
take a scientific genius to see that they don't look friendly," Washu
finished.
"Oh
great- probably space pirates. The Galaxy Police never could track them
down..." Ryoko replied sarcastically.
"I'm
sure the G.P. will be on their way. They're used to this kind of thing -- Tokyo
Tower gets attacked so often these days. Anyway, I'm sure Tenchi and the rest
can hold their own for now." Washu went on despite Ryoko's look of
surprise at her apparent lack of concern for Tenchi. "What concerns me is
where those ships came from, how they traveled through dimensions, and what
they're up to. I bet that there's more than just those three, and I don't think
they're just space pirates."
Ryoko
stared at Washu. "What concerns ME is helping Tenchi!" You can scan
all you want, but I'm going to Tokyo to help Tenchi!" She lifted off the
ground, and started for the door.
"Oh
no you don't -- I need you to help me in another dimension," Washu told
her calmly. She quickly entered a key sequence into a computer panel and
watched as an electric field appeared and surrounded Ryoko, preventing her from
leaving.
"Hey!
What's the big idea!?!" Ryoko's shouted angrily. She struggled against the
net-like field, trying to burst it using an electric blast, but the more she
struggled, the stronger the field got.
Washu
ignored her daughter's struggles and went from computer to computer, entering a
variety of commands and queries, bringing all her equipment online, and getting
ready to test her cross-dimensional transporter. In the background she heard
sounds of laser attacks and counter-attacks from the display showing a
now-slightly-more-damaged Tokyo Tower. They'll be fine, she assured herself;
now it's our turn to have some fun.
After
gathering a few more pieces of equipment, she looked around once more. She
tried to suppress her smile at the sight of Ryoko struggling in vain against
the energy shield, and she pressed a large red button. With a flash of light,
she and Ryoko were gone, leaving behind an empty and much quieter lab.
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Zelgadiss
and Ameria were interrupted by another knock on the door. It was the innkeeper.
Up until now he had been a jolly old man, but now he looked worried.
He
cleared his throat before speaking; he was clearly nervous. "Begging you
pardon, honored guests, but might I ask you about your traveling
companions?"
"The
swordsman and the pyromaniac?" Zelgadiss replied, more sarcastically that
he would have liked. He was tired though, and Lina's antics in particular were
starting to weigh him down.
"Umm,
perhaps..." The innkeeper was clearly confused, and stumbled over his
words. "At any rate, your friends seem to have, ummm, well, they seem to
have left without you."
Zelgadiss
and Ameria looked at the innkeeper, unbelieving. He quickly continued, "I
hope you realize, I tried to get them to stay, or at least to tell you, but the
redhead, she insisted that it was very important, important enough to use her
fire magic if she was delayed, and so I really had no choice in the matter, and
when I asked her about payment for the rooms, she got more upset and of course
I-"
Zelgadiss
cut him off. "Did she say where they were going?"
"She
mentioned something about a disappearing dragon, and a reward to whoever could
find it or dispose of it. And she mentioned the town's food festival too,"
the innkeeper explained, happy that these guests were not as upset, or as
violent, as the redhead had been.
"That
explains it," Zelgadiss sighed. "Lina craves riches and food as much
as she loves trouble. She probably convinced Gourry to go with her in her
haste. They'll be back, and then you'll have your payment." He looked at
Ameria and continued, "We should stay here at the inn until they return. I
want to rest after today."
"Very
well sir." The innkeeper bowed and left them alone again.
Ameria
quickly filled the ensuing silence. "You see, Mr. Zelgadiss? We can rest
now, and tomorrow, while we wait for Miss Lina, we can ask around in town for
information on the Claire Bible!" Her expression threatened to flood the
room with cheerfulness, but just as Zelgadiss made eye contact with her, there
was a blinding flash of light and the two were gone.
The
innkeeper, coming back to the room to ask if he could expect interest on the
late room and board payment, was taken aback as he found the room deserted. All
he could say in his surprise was "Oh dear..."
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"Ranma!"
The female voice came from behind him. As he turned from his place at the
table, he was suddenly blinded by a flash of bright light. But as some people
walked by, they blocked the light source. It was just a rogue spotlight from
the karaoke stage. As his eyes cleared, he saw a familiar face.
"Ukyou,
what are you doing here? This date with Akane is bad enough without her seeing
you here with me!" Fortunately, Akane was at another table at the moment.
Ukyou
caught her breath and composed herself. She must have run here from somewhere,
Ranma thought. He wondered what could be going on. "I had to come and tell
you," she began. "Ryoga's missing!"
"What
else is new?" Ranma replied. "If Ryoga gets any more lost, he'll have
to ask directions to tie his leg-braces!"
"No,
I'm serious." Ukyou looked worried. "He was trying to sneak into the
prom as P-chan, but we got separated hours ago and I can't find him anywhere.
And someone said they saw a suspicious man carrying a small black animal out of
the room!"
"Wait
a minute, Ukyou. What was he trying to do in here... and what were you doing to
help him?" Ranma half-asked, half-demanded.
Ukyou
looked nervous for a moment but dodged Ranma's question. "It doesn't
matter! Someone pig-napped Ryoga!"
"All
right, I'll go look for him or any suspicious characters. Wouldn't want him to
cause any trouble he can't handle. It beats waiting here for Akane
anyway."
Ukyou
said, "Good -- I'll help," and turned towards the exit. Ranma started
to follow. As he got up, he was again blinded by a bright light. He was about
to yell at the spotlight operator when he realized that this time the light was
something else, and he promptly disappeared.
A
moment later, when Ukyou saw that Ranma was no longer following her, she
returned to his table. Akane had just returned as well.
"Ukyou,
why are you here?! And where's Ranma?" She asked her rival. All Ukyou
could muster was an "Oops" and nervous laughter.
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Fox
was lost deep in thought when Rob64's metallic voice came on over the ship's
intercom.
"Sir,"
the robot began, "Incoming transmission from General Pepper. He wishes you
to direct your attention to the broadcast from the planet. Rob64 out."
Fox
leaned forward and turned the monitor's volume back on. He had turned it down
because it distracted him from his thoughts, and because he was sick of sappy
parade announcers. But what he saw and heard now was not a parade report, but a
news bulletin.
"...live
on the scene here with the parade director, who was an eye witness to the
sudden disappearance of the three StarFox Team members just this
afternoon..."
"What!?"
Fox sat bolt upright. He quickly changed channels until he found CNN, the
Corneria News Network.
"...evidently
the three StarFox pilots disappeared from plain sight during the parade, and in
the ensuing confusion no one could find out who was responsible. Authorities
have blocked off..."
The
founder of the StarFox team was stumped. "What on Corneria? It can't have
been Andross -- he's dead! Or is he?" Fox's thoughts were interrupted as
ha saw an intense white flash outside the cockpit windows. "Now what? An
attack? The sensors didn't show any other spacecraft nearby," Fox wondered
out loud. He quickly ordered, "Rob64, status report!"
As
the robot copilot scanned the nearby space for any signs of danger, Fox looked
out the window. No damage to the hull at least, he observed. And as for the
planet below, wait a minute, wasn't there supposed to BE a planet below?
"What happened to Corneria?! Where are we?"
Rob64's
voice was calm, but far from comforting. "Navigational scans show that we
are no longer in Corneria geosynchronous orbit. NavCom is attempting to
determine our current position. Loading, please wait."
Fox
wasn't about to sit around and do nothing while the computer tried to figure
out what happened. He started to run a ship diagnostic to see if anything had
happened to the Great Fox, and almost jumped out of his seat when a warning
klaxon started blaring.
"Intruder
Alert! Intruder Alert!" Rob64 warned over the intercom. "Scanners
detect unauthorized life forms in the main cargo bay. Intruder Alert!"
"Well,
at least there's one way to get to the bottom of this!" Fox said, as he
checked that his holstered laser pistol had a full charge and made for the
passage down to the cargo bay.
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Continued
in Chapter 2: Sneak Attack
"Slayers" is copyright H. Kanzaka / R. Araizumi. Original ideas, artwork, and text present on this page are copyright Esther Nairn, unless otherwise noted. No reproduction is allowed without express written or emailed permission. Violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.