The
Great Crossover Adventure
by
Xanthix
Chapter
8: Rescue and Recovery
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Fox
sure hoped the others were doing better than he was. He was waist deep in an
electronic junction box, frantically trying to restore power to the Great Fox.
So far he had managed to power up Rob64 using spare batteries, but aside from
that, things look grim.
"I
don't believe it!" He nearly cursed at the robot, though it wasn't its
fault. "That shockwave completely wiped out these circuits! Rob, how long
will it take to reset and reconfigure these?"
"Complete
reboot of power systems will take approximately thirty minutes." Though
its robotic voice was incapable of expressing emotion, its words sounded like a
death knell to Fox. There was no way the Great Fox would last half an hour
against the swarm surrounding it.
"All
right, Rob. Begin the reboot process. I'll see if I can bring any other systems
online manually," Fox said as he climbed out of the access hatch and
headed for the shuttle bay. Maybe he could use the Arwing's power supply for
something, if it hadn't been wiped out too. It was a long shot, but it was
better than sitting and waiting for the inevitable.
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Meanwhile,
Zelgadiss was also worried about an Arwing's power supply, but it was his
Arwing and he was still in it. The pokémon that were attacking his ship were
trying to pry open the cockpit, and there wasn't much he could do about it: any
counter-attack he used might crack the windows, which was what the creatures
were trying to do anyway.
But
perhaps there was a way to scare them away without destroying the Arwing, he
thought. If he could hold them off, maybe it would give help time to arrive. It
was a long shot, but it was better than sitting and waiting for the inevitable.
Zelgadiss
focused for a moment and began an incantation. His chanting climaxed with the
words "Val Flare!" and the sudden sound of a roaring fire. A beam of
fire energy burst forward from Zelgadiss and passed through the cockpit
viewport, converging a few feet in front of the ship, in the center of the
pokémon swarm. It immediately burst into a huge fireball, with waves of flame,
light, and heat strong enough to melt iron. The blast toasted a few pokémon to
a crisp, and the shockwave sent the rest reeling away from the explosion.
Zelgadiss
had accomplished his goal, but perhaps he had gone a little overboard. The
material of his viewport was charred and blistering from the fireball, and
after the sound of the initial blast died down, he heard the distinct hissing
of an air leak.
Motivated
by the new urgency of his situation, he quickly came up with a way to protect
himself from the impending harshness of space. He cast Ray Wing. He had used
the spell to travel through the air and to block attacks, but now he needed it
just to keep an atmosphere around himself. Unfortunately, maintaining a Ray
Wing, especially one that conformed to one's body, required a lot of
concentration, and it was hard to cast other spells while using it. It was a
chance he'd have to take.
He
completed the spell just in time, as the blackened viewport couldn't take any
more punishment. It began to crack, and it burst outward. The fragments were
sucked into space, followed by the remainder of the Arwing's air supply, and
then the pressure pulled Zelgadiss out too.
Fortunately,
the fireworks show had cleared most of his opponents out of the area. For a
moment he just floated in space, observing his surroundings.
Below
him was the Arwing he had hastily abandoned. Its battered hull and smashed
cockpit made the ship look even more useless as it drifted without power. Ahead
of him was the Great Fox, also with no electricity. Droves of smaller pokémon
were encircling it or landing on it, trying to get inside. It looked mostly
intact, though.
Zelgadiss
suddenly remembered that Ameria was out here somewhere. In his crisis, he had
completely forgotten that she might need help too. He awkwardly pivoted himself
in the zero gravity to turn and look for her.
To
one side he saw a cluster of creatures of varying sizes. They seemed to be
congregating around two large flying reptiles. Zelgadiss wasn't sure what was
going on, but he risked using a spell to find out. He cast a simple Vision
sorcery to see if Ameria was in the group somewhere.
To
his shock and horror he discovered that one large dragon-like creature was
carrying Ameria captive in its claws. He couldn't tell where it was taking her,
but it looked like she was struggling to avoid being crushed by the beast's
talons. Even worse, another slightly smaller beast was trying to snap at her
with its teeth.
Zelgadiss
almost lost his concentration on the Ray Wing spell. "Ameria!" he
shouted, though she could not hear him.
He
knew he wanted to rescue her, but he wasn't sure how. He could barely maneuver
in his current condition, let alone fight. He began to "swim" through
space, propelling himself closer to the swarm around Ameria.
As
he approached the swarm, he frantically tried to come up with a plan. Any large
attack spell was out of the question, as it would hurt Ameria as well. Hand to
hand combat looked unlikely too - there were just too many foes for him to
defeat at once. He also had to be careful or he would lose his Ray Wing, and
the air it contained. There seemed to be no way to safely rescue her.
Time
was growing short for him to decide. There was no telling what the creatures
would do to Ameria, and the air in his Ray Wing shield wouldn't last forever.
He had to decide if he could save her, or if he should wait to see if Fox or
Washu or someone else could help. After some hurried soul-searching, he had an
answer.
He
spent only a fraction of a second preparing himself. Partly he was getting
ready for what he was about to do, but he was also thinking about why he was
doing it. His thoughts centered around Ameria.
After
taking a deep breath and closing his mouth and eyes, he let the Ray Wing spell
go. He opened his eyes, now in a vacuum. For once he was thankful for his
chimeric skin. He looked ahead to where the pokémon were flying, and mentally
began the incantation for a Scatter-bleed spell. The electrical attack should
meet his needs, and as he chanted the sorcery, he felt charges of electric
energy building up around him. At just the right moment, he threw his arms
forward and shouted the spell's name with all his remaining breath. The
electrical energy around him coalesced into several dozen bright spheres in a
blazing flash. The spheres immediately began moving forward rapidly, towards
their targets.
They
picked up speed as they traveled, and split into two groups. A third of the
spheres shot towards the smaller of the two Aerodactyls fighting over Ameria.
The balls of light swarmed around it and slammed into its body from all
directions, releasing huge charges of electrical energy and shocking the beast
with thousands of volts. It reared its head in pain, and flailed about as waves
of electricity swept through its body.
The
other two-thirds of the attack's power zeroed in on the larger Aerodactyl, the
one holding Ameria captive. The projectiles swarmed around it, and crashed into
its reptilian hide from all directions. The dragon-like pokémon felt the full
force of the attack, and it squirmed out of control as it was nearly
electrocuted by the sweeping arcs of energy that coursed through its body. The
surrounding pokémon fled at the sight.
In
one set of flailing movements, its claws loosed their grasp on Ameria, and
pushed her away into space as it writhed in agony.
Zelgadiss,
unfortunately, was too preoccupied to rejoice in this. He had seen the attack
hit the Aerodactyls, but after that he had his own problems. As he tried to
resist the burning pain in his lungs, he reflected on what he had done. He
hoped Ameria would understand... everything up to this point. He wondered if he
should have acted sooner. He didn't regret his choice, but wished it didn't
have to end this way.
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Ameria
was stunned as the huge talons that had held her tightly suddenly released,
flinging her into space. She was disoriented from the whole ordeal, and it took
her a moment to catch her bearings.
As
she slowed to a stop in space, she saw her previous captor drifting away, still
being jolted by electricity. It must have been zapped by an electric spell, she
thought.
It
took her a moment to make the logical deduction, and realize that Zelgadiss
must have used an attack spell to neutralize her assailants. And that meant
that he was somewhere nearby -- but his Arwing was still crippled in the
distance...
She
searched the empty space around her, looking for a sign of her friend. She
spotted his familiar cloak first, drifting in space above her. Then she
realized that it wasn't just the cloak; it was Zelgadiss, and he wasn't moving
at all as he floated among some debris.
"Mr.
Zelgadiss!" she cried as she darted towards his lifeless form.
"Zelgadiss!" she shouted again as she reached his body. He showed no
signs of hearing her. After the briefest hesitation, her reflexes took over and
she grabbed him and began speeding for the Great Fox. If she could get him back
inside quickly, maybe he'd be all right.
As
she carried him towards the ship as fast as she could, worry and panic
threatened to overwhelm her. Her concern for Zelgadiss was motivated by more
than just friendship. She wasn't positive how much more, but now that he had
risked everything to save her, she intended to give him that much in return.
But
the trip to the Great Fox seemed to take forever, and she was worried that
Zelgadiss had been without air for too long. In a flash of insight, she
realized that she could breathe in space. Maybe she could give him some of her
air...
There
was one way she could try, and only one way to see if it worked. Out of
necessity and something more, she took a deep breath and lowered her lips to
Zelgadiss's head as she held him tenderly. After pausing for the slightest
moment to look at him as she held him close, she pressed her lips against his
and exhaled, giving him much-needed air.
Ameria
was too overwhelmed by the situation to describe what she felt during the kiss,
and Zelgadiss was too unconscious. But the next thing she knew, she was lying
on the floor of the Great Fox's shuttle bay. Fox was standing next to her,
saying something about how he had just got the bay doors open, but Ameria
ignored him and went right to Zelgadiss. He was wheezing, on his hands and
knees, taking in air as fast as he could.
Ameria's
heart was filled both great joy and concern. She wanted to hug Zelgadiss as
tight as she could, give him room to breathe, and ask him what had happened,
all at the same time. She compromised and just crouched next to him, resting
her hand on his shoulder. Zelgadiss returned the gesture, and Ameria helped him
stand up. Out of exhaustion and something more, Zelgadiss collapsed into her
arms, too weak to stand on his own but strong enough to hold her tightly.
Ameria squeezed back, as tears welled up in her eyes.
Fox
looked on, not sure what had happened. He shrugged, and went back to restoring
the ship's power, leaving Zelgadiss and Ameria in their silent embrace.
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Ryoko
awoke pissed off. It was bad enough when Aeka and the rest were clamoring for
Tenchi's attention back home. Now it seemed like the whole universe was
conspiring to prevent her from seeing him again. And she was sick of it.
When
she picked herself up off of the floor where she lay, she was still a little
dizzy, a little sore, and a lot angry. As she turned to face the crowd of
various pokémon and Mewtwo, her eyes seemed to glow with fire.
She
screamed at all the pokémon, "Tell me where Tenchi is, and get out of here
if you know what's good for you!!" She tried to hover in the air to
punctuate her ultimatum with some fireworks, but found that she couldn't.
Mewtwo
turned and looked at her, landing gently a dozen feet in front of her. Its
deep, smug voice filled the room. "Oh, you're still alive? No matter. You
pose no threat anymore. I've suppressed all your powers, so you may as well
give up. It'll be more fun if you resist, though. Right, Machamp?" He
gestured to a huge four-armed monster that grinned evilly and flexed its many
muscles as it approached Ryoko.
Ryoko
was unfazed. She wasn't about to let some purple freak of an animal have the
best of her. But it was true that she couldn't fly, teleport, or use her light
sword. She would have to figure out her senshi powers in a hurry. Then she'd
make these monsters pay for what they did to her and Tenchi.
What
was it Washu had said about the powers? They were 'closer than she realized.'
That sure clarified things, she thought sarcastically. With all that had
happened, she felt like she wouldn't recognize her powers if they were right in
front of her face. She had been dragged into this dimension to look for Tenchi,
her true love, and one thing after another had acted against her making any
progress. Now, she was face to face with an evil creature that was blocking her
abilities and threatened her very life. And if that weren't enough, her old
fears from home were lurking at the back of her mind -- worry that Tenchi
wouldn't love her, or that he would choose someone else over her.
But
Ryoko was not one to stew in her worries or quietly agonize over something.
When she agonized, everyone agonized. In a burst of frustration as sudden and
fierce as a bolt of lightning from a powerful thunderhead, she screamed "I
love Tenchi and you're not going to stop me!!!" at the top of her lungs.
Mewtwo
was startled by the severity of her verbal assault. It was further surprised
when, despite its ability to block psychic powers, the large heart on Ryoko's
chest started glowing bright red. It started to worry when the glow spread to
her whole body, and she lifted off into the air, hovering a few feet off the
ground.
Ryoko
was also surprised by all this, but not at all upset. She felt a new power
flowing through her. She felt it surge in her heart, and felt it crackle in her
fingertips. She let it build up in her, growing stronger. She drew her legs up
and wrapped her arms around herself, gathering it in. Soon she could no longer
hold it all in. She threw her arms and legs wide, in a miniature explosion. A
full-size explosion of the power immediately followed, and a shockwave of
crimson light burst across the room, hitting all of the pokémon and knocking
them to the ground.
When
the aftershocks died down, Ryoko surveyed the scene. All of the creatures were
still there, but they seemed to have lost their hostility. Some were wandering
around as if grazing, others simply stood or sat still. Ranma and Washu were
looking around, taking in what had happened. Ryoko drifted gently to the ground
near them.
Washu
broke the following silence after a moment. She grinned as she said, "The
power of true love... congratulations, Ryoko!"
Ryoko
felt a little drained, but simply said, "Thanks. Can we rescue Tenchi
now?" Washu nodded and they turned towards an exit from the large room.
They walked through the now-harmless herd of pokémon, around Mewtwo's
unconscious body, and past the crashed Landmaster Tank. Ryoko pondered what had
happened as she followed the other two out.
As
the three left the room, Washu and Ranma quietly talked about what they might
face next. "Too bad you don't have your Tuxedo now, Ranma," Washu
commented. "If we got you a white mask you'd fit in perfectly." His
response was one of confusion, but Washu was used to people not getting her
jokes.
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Continued
in Chapter 9: Reunions
"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.