############################################################### SENSHI MUYOU! Episode 15 - Calling all plotpoints! By Reader in Invisible Fanfics Original concept by Mervyn the Wonder Slug (c) 1999, 2000 Hosted by Indie Madnesse (http://www.students.rhodes.edu/~knoke/indie/indie.html) ############################################################### Whittington looked about the scene. Just when he though he'd gotten a handle on the latest group of Mystic Champions he was advising, they went and pulled something like this. They'd managed to get out of the theatre without anyone noticing them(the adults were stil recovering from being drained by a giant Dalmation Hellhound/Youmabibble and the kids were too busy complaining about the missing Youmabibble), and were heading back to the house he maintained with Carlisle. The problem now was the dealing with the aftereffects. Nadako was maintaining a death grip on Sachiko's arm while was Sachiko looking extremely nervous and confused. Meryl was fuming slightly and casting glances at Fushin while trying to keep someone else between her and that boy she'd been with, while the boy was casting glances at her. And as for Fushin... Whittington was definetly feeling nervous around him. He'd *never* seen the usually bland as... well, something really bland Fushin so emotional, and while he'd been hoping (or, when Fushin was working on checking paperclips for faults, praying) for the man to show a little more emotion or liven up a bit, he hadn't expected tonight's explosion. While it had been short, and Fushin was now something approximating his usual dull state, Whittington was still somewhat uneasy. He still couldn't believe the way Fushin had *hurled* the giant Hellhound Dalmation across the theatre, the whole Kamen transformation wasn't supposed to grant anywhere near that level of strength. Instead, it was supposed to focus more on improving coordination, throwing and stealth skills. Of course, the whole urban samurai outfit wasn't exactly normal either... It was in this frame of mind that he met Carlisle at the door. "Whittington? What are you doing back so early?" "Ran into Uzume again. Not fun. Oh and the group's cover's been partially blown." "WHAT?! WHITTINGTON, how on earth could you let something like that happen?!" "Long story. Wasn't my fault. Look, we've got a lot of stuff to deal with here, just let me in and *then* you can chew me out." Stunned slightly by this statement from the usually laid back Mystic Advisor, and the following parade of the nervous Sachiko with Nadako attached, Meryl and Kagi, and Fushin with traces of his previous upset, Carlisle *knew* she wasn't going to enjoy this one. ********************** In somewhat similar houses, two seperate groups of Magical Champions were deep in approximatly the same (but seperate) lecture from their Advisors. "This is ridiculous!" exclaimed a goldfish in a slightly cloudy fishbowl (there had been some plaster shaken loose in the Youmabibble attack.) "How- "-could you let that... that... thing steamroller you like that? You didn't even get to transform!" a fairly irate goat snarled. "I've trained you-" "-Seasonal Magic Defenders better than this. I don't know why we agreed to see that movie in the first place. Plus, that was Carlisle and Whittington's group out there tonight that-" "-saved your slacking hides. If you could just have teamed up-" "-with them, that would have gotten rid of the favour we owed them for their handling-" "-the Nyx account in that gym incident, but now, thanks to your performance here, the Pretty Temporal Crusaders-" "-owe them big-time now. Plus, Yasha is still out there doing goodness knows what, so we're going to spend the next few days training seriously-" "-and hope we can find some way to pay off Carlisle and Whittington without too much fuss. (sigh) I wonder if that old goat George-" "- know-it-all goldfish Charles-" "-has these sort of problems with his four?" "-puts up with this sort of crap from his three?" ".... Nah." ".... Nah." ********************** Back at the Advisor Cats's house... Carlisle and Whittington were deep in discussion. Nadako and Sachiko were in the living room, Sachiko trying to watch something, *anything* to keep her mind off the small bundle of energy attached to her arm, while Nadako was happily cuddled up to Sachiko and giving a good puppy dog impression. The cats had been concerned with the two until they heard Nadako call Sachiko "oneesan", dismissing the matter as simple hero worship that would likely be good for the team in the long run. Fushin had settled back into his normally dull state with no obvious sign of his previous show of anger, apart from the occasional looks at the ruined pocket of his suit. The current object of contention between the Advisor Cats was Meryl's friend. "Fine, Whittington, maybe you couldn't have helped him seeing them transform but what do you mean by suggesting he stay on?" "Look at him, Carlisle. What do you see?" "What? Well... oh, another Mystical Destiny." "Yeah, since he already knows and he's got the qualifications, why not let him stay on?" "But any new members to a team have to be carefully vetted and screened!" At a somewhat dubious look from her fellow adviser, she remembered the circumstances surrounding the current team's formation, sweatdropped and continued on in a slightly more subdued tone. "Okay, perhaps we *can* keep him on, but he's not going to be terribly strong, now is he? He's got a destiny, but it's not much. Probably the reincarnated stableboy of some long-lost Magical Kingdom." "Hey, it all adds up right? Besides, he'll probably be mostly for backup. He could help us out with research or something. You know how much erasing memories gives us a headache." "I suppose so," raising her voice slightly, addressing the subject of their discussion, "hey... Kagi, right? Could you come over here for a few minutes. The rest of you, if you want to head back home that would probably be for the best, there's not much more we can do here tonight. We'll meet tomorrow and go over a few things, but I think it's best that you all get some rest." Agreeing, the group dispersed, Sachiko still trying to pry loose Nadako & Meryl looking slightly more relieved at not having Kagi glancing at her. Fushin meanwhile returned home to his apartment, where he frowned briefly at the ruins of the sampaguita stamp before climbing into bed to fall asleep. Only to awake somewhere else. ********************** "So Macavity, it's been a while." The bishonen Dark General smirked at the cat tangled in his net spell. "Well... I've been busy you know... so what's the occasion?" If Macavity seemed somewhat less confident and self-assured than usual, the fact that they were at a height where the immediate scenery at eye-level consisted of white clouds and the peak of Tokyo Tower might have helped. "Well Macavity, I was just thinking 'Gosh, I haven't seen that old trickster Macavity in a long while', and amazingly enough, I sensed your energy signature in Her Dark Majesty Uzume's castle at the exact same time. Coincidence, isn't it. And since I've just recently come across a little problem, I wondered if my old *pal* Macavity would help me out since he was in the area. Do you know anything about The Agent?" "Ah, gosh... you've got me there old friend-" Macavity paused and looked wide- eyed as the net spell started to quiver and sway in the wind, threatening to leave its occupant to the mercy of the Law of Gravity, blurting out "butIthinkI'veheardafewthings." "Such as?" "The Agent's one of the best, some say THE best assassin in the Dark Realms. He specialises in people like Dark Monarchs, Youma Lords, the occasional Dark General if he feels like it. He costs a *lot* to hire though, and not many people are willing to talk much about him-" Macavity paused as he glanced back down at the ground "-so just finding out he exists and getting in touch is a challenge, only those who are really connected out in the Dark Realms can afford and know about him. Strict professional, a pro's pro, won't do anything for anyone 'less the price is right. He's not very good with magic though." "Hmmmm?" Turning his back to Macavity and placing his hand on his chin in a thoughtful manner, Schein processed this. Sway, quiver. "Yeah, he's supposed to have pretty much no talent at offensive magic , but he's an ace with teleportation and disguise, maybe a little more since the number of people who managed to survive his first attack can be counted on one hand. And even then, he always got 'em the second time round. But he doesn't need the magic, even in taking down the biggest & baddest of the Dark Realms, with his signature." "His signature?" "All his kills, he does them exactly the same way, you can't predict who he might be or where or when he'll strike, but he always does the deed with a black stilletto. The little sucker's enchanted to make up for what he lacks in attack magic, no known spell will stop it, and it kills without hope of return." "Interesting... well thanks, Macavity, I knew I could rely on my old pal for help with this. Now, about what you were doing in the castle in the first place ..." Silence. "What?" Schein whirled around in mid-air, sensing something was wrong... His net spell still hung behind him, but Macavity... wasn't there. Staring in consternation, Schein's head jerked up as from nowhere a catch of a song floated past. "Macavity, Macavity, he breaks the laws of gravity..." ********************** "I'm sorry... Ma'm, but hospital policy forbids animals of any kind being brought into the wards." The attendant sweated as he tried to focus on how breaking hospital regs one more time would cost him his job instead of the oddly-dressed but definetly female figure in front of him. "Oh, poo. Can I leave the little thing here then? He's so kawaii, I'm sure he won't be any trouble." Usume pouted cutely as the attendant again reminded himself of how hard it had been to get this job in the first place. "Ah... yeah sure, why not, I guess it couldn't do any harm and I'll pass him onto the three girls when they get out." Surely he couldn't get fired for something like this. He'd just dump the little furball in one of the animal cages he'd noticed lying around one of the storerooms, and take a nice, long, *cold* shower. And so after performing Happy Bounce #16, Dark Queen Uzume left the hospital to get a good night sleep, sure that the three villains of her show would recover much faster with that cute bunny waiting for them. ********************** Fushin's brow creased as he looked about him. He'd quickly determined that he had to be dreaming. However, his dreams generally ran along the same lines of his work (ie, repetitive and dull, though not to him), but this seemed different. He seemed to be in a mist-shrouded valley, the site of some large battle judging by the several dozen large inhuman bodies strewn about, mixed with the bodies of what seemed to be fallen samurai. Looking closely, all, human and monster seemed to have identical expressions of combined horror and... boredom? In fact, they all seemed to have commited suicide... "WELL MET MY DESCENDANT." Fushin slowly turned around, and came face-to-face with... himself? No, the person standing in front of him was dressed in traditional samurai armour, loked slightly older, and had a neatly-trimmed beard and moustache. That, and he had a slightly manic look on his face. "ENLIGHTENMENT! I THE LEGENDARY TAKUSAN IKUJI GREET YOU, MY (WHILE NOT AS LEGENDARY AS ME OF COURSE BUT STILL QUITE LEGENDARY DUE TO YOUR DESCENT FROM I, THE LEGENDARY TAKUSAN IKUJI) DESCENDANT, TAKUSAN FUSHIN! I SPEAK TO YOU HERE IN THIS DREAM TO INSTRUCT YOU ON THE GLORY THAT IS AND THE WAYS OF YOUR MYSTICAL DESTINY THAT AWAITS YOU! I SEE BY YOUR PRESENT GARB THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY BEGUN TO AWAKE TO THE TRUTH OF YOUR GLORIOUS HERITAGE AND ARE THUS UNDOUBTEDLY EAGER TO RECEIVE YOUR INSTRUCTION FROM YOUR VENERABLE AND LEGENDARY GREAT-GREAT-GREAT -GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER, THE LEGENDARY TAKUSAN IKUJI, AS TO THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR AND THE TRUTH OF YOUR MYSTIC DESTINY!" Looking over himself, Fushin noticed that he was dressed in his urban samurai outfit. Turning his attention back up at his apparent ancestor and holding his ears, Fushin uttered the first thing that came to mind. "Who?" "DOST THOU NOT KNOW OF ME? I, THE GREAT TAKUSAN IKUJI, WHO ONCE DEFEATED THIRTY- SEVEN ONI BY RECOUNTING MY DEEDS TILL THEY ACHEIVED ENLIGHTENMENT AND SAW THE FUTILITY OF FIGHTING THE LEGENDARY TAKUSAN IKUJI AT MERELY THIRTY-SEVEN TO ONE ODDS?! WHO SLEW THE GIANT THREE-EYED ONI OF THE KANDA RIVER WITH NAUGHT BUT MY ADMITTEDLY LEGENDARY VOICE?! MY DEEDS ARE SPOKEN WITH REVERENCE AMONG THE ANNALS OF THE TAKUSAN CLAN, IN THE HOPES THAT ONE OF MY BLOODLINE MIGHT APPROACH MY LEGENDARY MIGHT!!" Fushin searched his memories, trying to recall what his great aunt Ikuko had told him about the history of the clan when he was young. He'd listened carefully as was expected and proper, but he couldn't recall a Takusan Ikuji being in the family tree. "No, I'm sorry, but I don't think that I was told of your deeds," Fushin announced after a minute of thought. "WHAT?! HOW COULD THE UNSURPASSED FEATS OF TAKUSAN IKUJI NOT BE PROCLAIMED FROM GENERATION TO GENEARATION! THE SLAYING OF THE-" As Ikuji wound on about his great feats in battle, Fuhin began to realize just *what* had caused the samurai and oni about him to commit suicide... ********************** The next day... At a bus stop, Bozo was preparing to leave for work at Dark Queen Uzume's Edifice of Happiness and Terror. Upset about the possible unmasking of his true purpose in joining Uzume's staff, he didn't notice a small figure watching him from on top of a nearby roof, as he had a whispered conversation on his shoe phone. "-Look, if I'm going to be working under these sort of conditions, you can at least provide additional security for my family! I don't know how her Dark Majesty Uzume is going to react if she finds out, but we're not that popular in the first place, and if the information leaks any further, she won't have to do anything about me. She's a Dark Queen, for goodness sake, and I don't care if she's changed from spreading Fear and Terror to Happiness and Terror, she's probably even worse now that we can't predict her!" "We are aware of your problems, and Uzume's activities at the theatre surprised us, too. Very well, you have a point; we'll detail one or two agents to watch over your house. Between them and your partner, that should be sufficent." "Yeah, thanks, it's just that her actions are just so... loopy that it's unnerving. Okay, Agent Double O Honk out." Somewhat reassured Bozo returned his shoe to his foot just in time to catch the bus that pulled up. At least this would keep Emi happy, she'd insisted that there be someone to watch over the kids when she wasn't around. Back on the roof, Moonshine's eyes were wide. She hadn't heard much, even with her Happy Fun Daisy Listening Device but she'd heard enough to know that the nice clown who looked like Daddy and was lettig her stay at his place was being forced to work for some Dark Queen, who was trying to spread Fear and Terror! Maybe she was the source of the darkness causing the gloom threatening the Kingdom of Happiness. She had to do something! ********************** "-AND THUS SAVING THE LIFE OF THE SHOGUN FROM THE ONI HORDES AND RIDDING THE LAND OF THE DREADED BAKENEKO BY DRIVING IT BACK INTO THE SACRED BELL! FOLLOWING WITH A DUEL WHICH OF COURSE I WON WITH EASE DUE TO MY UNSURPASSED SKILL AGAINST SOME IMPUDENT UPSTART WHO DARED SUGGEST HIS LEGEND EXCEEDED MINE AND THAT HE, NOT I THE LEGENDARY TAKUSAN IKUJI, HAD TRULY ACHEIVED ENLIGHTENMENT AND COULD STAND AGAINST MY LEGENDARY MIGHT, HAO - EH?! WHAT STRANGE SOUND IS THAT?" Fushin, who'd managed to survive by using the remenants of a banner he'd found as earplugs, looked up at this and sighed. He hadn't had much left in him. "Oh, I think that's my alarm clock. It must be time for me to wake up." And with that, Fushin piffled in typical dream sequence manner and returned to the waking world. "BUT WAIT! I HAVE NOT YET INFORMED YOU OF YOUR GLORIOUS DESTINY, THE SACRED DUTY ENTRUSTED TO THOSE OF THE TAKUSAN LINE TO OPPOSE THE DEMONESS SEALED IN THE VASE OF PENULTIMATE DOOM WHO NOW STIRS AND SEEKS FREEDOM TO-" Stretching, Fushin's mind processed the dream he had just had. "Was he shouting something as I left?.... No, I doubt it. Besides, the cats already told me about my Mystic Destiny." Shrugging, Fushin put the dream behind him and proceeded to work on his stamp collection, concluded it it would be too much excitement after his dream, and resolved to start checking a new batch of paperclips. And lo, in the spirit world, an ancestral spirit did curse even louder than normal about the follies of the current generation in disregarding their legendary forebears. ********************** Ensconced in his comfortable office, Nyuyokumiru frowned as he studied the figures in front of him. The Youmabibbles show had proved... surprising. The sheer popularity of the concept was almost unnerving; he hadn't expected the networks to lap it up the way they had. The fact that children or, according to some of the testers, *adults* could find the disgustingly cute little vermin's antics *amusing*, worried him slightly as to the state of current culture. Still, it was but a sideline, his *real* job still waited. The timing of the event was the key, he'd need a large amount of time alone and uninterrupted with his target. Till then he'd just have to endure the Uzume's incessant cheerfullness and bouncing and those idiots calling themselves Dark Generals (the sheer *smell* that came off Marais some times...). At least those girls he'd scouted for Uzume were in the hospital at the moment, he'd never come across a group as *bad* at singing as those three, he wondered at whether they were of Youma descent, surely nothing *that* bad at singing could be wholly human. Probably the only thing he'd enjoyed out of the recent show was seeing those three hospitalised. However, his target still awaited, and he had a reputation to uphold. Almost idly he fondled the small black stilletto lying on the table in front of him... ********************** "Ano... this is where the Dark Queen lives?" Princess Moonshine looked over the castle standing in front of her. She'd learned that a Dark Queen who wanted to conquer the world and spread Fear and Terror was living there(she'd asked the Mystical Magical Nashida Emi where Bozo went off to work in the mornings), and as the Magical Princess of the Kingdom of Happiness she was going to have to stop her. So, following her Magical Princess training, she'd come to the Dark Queen's castle to find her and stop her as was expected of a proper Magical Princess. But, the place in front of her didn't *look* like the sort of place she'd expected to find the source of the unhappiness... The Dark Edifice of Fear and Terror that Prudence had abandoned, now occupied by Uzume, was... disconcerting. It still had the general design of an Edifice of Fear and Terror, looming over all that saw it, with large threatening semi- gothic architecture, sinister-looking gargoyles, and so on, but there had been some obvious changes... The castle was now a pristine white with pastel pinks and yellows(the workers had finally found the hidden rooms housing the focus for the 'make the walls always imposingly black' spell, though they claimed there were signs of other hidden rooms), and the weather all about was cheerful and sunny (the room containing the focus for the 'perpetual sinister and threatening dark clouds overhead' spell had also been found). The banners draped about the castle, instead of depicting traditional symbols of evil, bore large pictures of blue, fuzzy, cheery Youmabibbles, and the gargoyles were all painted cheerful colours and were wearing party hats (a tempoary measure instituted until the workers could get around to making them more happy). In short, it was now a Dark Edifice of Happiness and Terror in accordance with Uzume's new plan, and was giving Magical Princess Moonshine's Magical Princess instincts a headache. "I wish Tewwance was here, he might have been heavy and talk funny but Daddy did mean for him to advise me." Still, she was Magical Princess Moonshine of the Kingdom of Happiness, and with or without Tewwance, she'd find out if this Dark Queen Uzume was helping cause the external gloom that threatened her kingdom and stop her. Marching up to the large imposing gateway (painted a pastel mauve), she ran into a giant teddy bear with a double row of tentacles down it's back holding a large stack of papers. "Excuse me, Mr Tentacled Teddy Youma, is this the castle of Dark Queen Uzume?" She'd been trained to bring people to the side of Niceness and Justice, and part of that was being polite to everyone, even minions of evil. Besides, she thought it looked sorta kawaii (being a Princess raised in a Kingdom of Happiness and now deprived of an animal advisor to hold, Moonshine was unconsciously suffering from Cute Fuzzy withdrawal). "Hmmm, oh yeah, this is it, what do you want?" Pookie looked down at the little girl who'd bumped into him, using his newly learned skills in Japanese(the We-B- Youma company had helped there at his request, he couldn't have Schein to translate for him all the time). "Can I see the Queen?" "Oh sure, I've got a bunch of tax returns I wanna go through with her as her accountant, you can tag along if you want." "Okay!" "My name's Pookie, what's yours?" ********************** Deep in the depths of the hospital, the Vorpal Bunny of the Void brooded. While it had been distracted by the tall bouncing female and sated by the recent shredding of a telemarketer(the Dark Lord [Bun-Bun]'s declared nemeses), it had allowed itself to be confined to this small plastic cage. Soon though, it would be free to return more to the [Void] and all in this puny hospital would be harvested in the name of his Dark Lord... ********************** Sitting alone in the Dark Library of Dark Queen Uzume's Edifice of Happiness and Terror, Schein cursed as he reviewed last nights meeting with Macavity. Damn! Played by the cat, again! And worst of all, he couldn't even report the incident to anyone else since nobody else ever saw the cat... Still, Macavity never lied, so he'd learned something, even if the cursed cat had been the one in control again, not him. As he mused over what he'd learned, a sudden thought struck him. From what he'd learned of Uzume's history and past career as a Dark Queen of Fear and Terror, she'd never had many enemies apart from the usual magical girls. Magical girls likely couldn't afford the Agent and wouldn't know of him (or her, or it) in the first place, and as far as he knew, Uzume hadn't offended any of those who could know and afford the the Agents 'services', such as the Dark Queens and Monarchs of the Dark Realms, to the extent that they'd send someone like The Agent after her. So if the Agent wasn't here on his own accord, extremely unlikely going by what he'd learned, then... Just *who* had *hired* The Agent in the first place? ********************** Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" "Oh, Pookie, who's your friend?", Dark Queen Uzume commented as she was treated to the (hopefully) rare sight of a giant tentacled teddy bear giving a squealing Magical Princess a piggyback ride. "Oh she's-" "I'm Magical Princess Moonshine from the Kingdom of Happiness. I'm here to stop you from spreading Fear and making people here unhappy so that I can spread the light of Joy here to make to stop the external gloom that threatens the Kingdom of Happiness!" "...But I'm not trying to make people unhappy!" Uzume exclaimed, performing Indignant Bounce #45. "Huh?!" ********************** In her pocket dimension, Rei looked up briefly from her chessboard, breaking off the images of pillage and conquest she'd been filling Yuriko's mind for a moment. =| My Pawn approaches it's proper position |=, said the floor. =| Though Macavity had been active too... |=, remarked the left wall, musing. =| And while Uzume is not directly under my influence, |= stated the ceiling. =| She still serves my cause well. The Ivory side seems confused, |= =| But such is often the case with Macavity. |= Suddenly, one of the Ivory pieces shimmered briefly, filling the room with a bell-like tone, causing Rei to sit up slightly and examine the chessboard. An Ivory Pawn was shimmering, the shape distorting slightly. "Interesting, a Pawn seeks or is sought by others to become a Knight. T'would seem that an old enemy wishes to advance the game..." =|Yes, most interesting indeed...|= chorused the walls, as Rei smiled. (TO BE CONTINUED!) Tune in next time to see Carlisle and Whittington actually name their group! Or perhaps not. Authors Thoughts or What Passes For Them: Gosh, my first Improfic. Erm, apart from the usual comments on this being my first time, begging for mercy as to the undoubtably poor quality of this contribution to Senshi Muyou!, what else do I have to say? Hmmm... well I'd like to thank my prereaders, Steve Scougall, Mark Poa & Scott Schimmel (gives a small bow to each), and Mervyn the Wonder Slug for creating this fic in the first place (gives a small bow to Mervyn) and of course my Muse (gives a really deep bow to her since she'll hit me with a mallet if I don't). Some explanations as to why I wrote certain things (or What The Hell I Was Thinking when I wrote all this). Kagi: Well, he did see the transformation. I'm picturing him either as an extra pair of legs for the Advisor Cats, or as a really incompetent Kamen, getting caught and needing the girls(and Fushin) to rescue him, fumbling his attack, doing that whole 'Attack now!' thing at the wrong time... Uzume: Yes, I know I didn't have much Uzume, but I didn't think myself capable of writing a full scene with her, and I had enough ideas involving the rest of the cast. The Agent: Makes sense to me and he needed some background, and you do have to wonder who of the current cast could and would hire him... Fushin: His real destiny's been tossed around a bit, and another author suggested linking it to the Vase. Oh, and as for why Ikuji isn't remembered, a warrior who bores his opponents to death by listing his exploits is likely to find it hard recounting his history for others to record. The other Mystic Champions: Noticed that #14 didn't mention them and tossed that part in. Oh and yeah, I probably trailed off too much when writing this but oh well...