Chapter 34

(Prison break)

(Scene opens as the symbol of virtue glows red on Ryo's head)

Ryo: (in inferno armor, thinking) Virtue!

(Ryo awakens in a small prison cell. As his vision clears, he distinguishes the details. The cell consists of 3 dull, brick, orange-yellow walls. Mold grows in the damp corners. Confining them are rusty, brittle looking bars, beyond which lies the corner of the corridor they're in. Heero rises from the corner he's been crouched in)

Heero: 'bout time you got up.

Ryo: Where are we?

Heero: A Pokemon base. You fell unconscious when we crashed. A group of watchmen saw us crashing, and sent a team to get us. You were no help, and I was out numbered.

Ryo: Then...why didn't they take my armor? I mean, at least they could have gotten the swords (gestures to the inferno armor covering him).

Heero: Well, after one soldier evaporated trying to get near you, they got a thermometer and measured you somewhere around 3000 degrees Fahrenheit. I guess you heated up during reentry.

Ryo: But...how'd I get here if they couldn’t get near me?

Heero: They got a fire-resistant suit and pushed you with a 10-foot alloy pole. You left a molten trail on the way in. (gestures to the crater Ryo now notices he's been lying in)

Ryo: Oh. Well, let's see if I've cooled down.

(Ryo places his palm against some moss growing on the wall. It hisses, ignites, and crumbles to ashes)

Ryo: Nope! Still cookin’!

Heero: Great. Now open the door. And keep away from me.

(Ryo walks up to the bars. With a flick of his wrist, his hand smashes one of the rusty columns. Heero and Ryo give each other an amused look and a slight chuckle. Ryo walks through the remaining cage door, followed by Heero. The remaining bars shatter like crackers)

Heero: This is sad. Let's leave.

(Ryo jets down the hall, followed by Heero, who's keeping at least 6 feet between them. They run through the twisting halls in hopes of finding an exit. They run past an intersection, at which two guards notice them)

Guard: Hey, stop you!

Heero: Oh great!

(The guards open fire with their plasma rifles. Ryo jumps left and stops. Heero is startled and jumps right to avoid him. Ryo, now behind Heero, uses his armored back to shield Heero from the hot plasma shells)

Heero: Next time you do something like that, WARN ME!

(They continue down the corridor, ignoring the lousy shots of the guards behind, but are soon confronted with a wall of men with their sights on them. Heero nervously skids to a stop, but remembers the white-hot mass just at his heels. Ryo doesn't have the time to stop completely. Heero manages to throw himself to the floor. Ryo stands on one foot hovering over Heero, trying to maintain his balance. A drop of sweat falls beside Heero's face. The ground sizzles and spits drops of molten rock. Ryo and Heero exchange a nervous glance, but then become aware of the many guards who have been taken by surprise by this strange dance. They soon forget about the oddity and prepare to open fire. Ryo jumps over Heero and flips into the ranks of the men. They are soon in melting pieces)

Ryo: Heero, get in here quick!

(Ryo gestures to an elevator shaft. Heero quickly gets up and scurries away while the glowing blue bullets make holes in the poorly built walls. Ryo closes the elevator door and the two let out a sigh of relief. Heero presses the button to go up)

Heero: (in the opposite corner as Ryo)...um, Ryo?

Ryo: Yeah?

Heero: The floor's melting.

(Heero gestures toward the glowing red ground beneath Ryo's feet. Ryo yelps, and begins to dance around. Once he notices this isn't stopping the hole in the floor from expanding, he cuts a hole in the roof and jumps out of it, racing ahead of the elevator. He reaches the top floor and waits until Heero arrives)

Heero: Can't you just take that thing off!?

Ryo: Sorry, I gotta keep this warm for Ash.

Heero: Ryo, the odds of us finding Ash from here are a million to zero.

Ryo: That's unfeasible.

Heero: So is our finding Ash. Now come on, let's go steal a ship or something.

(Heero and Ryo rush down the hall, shooting or decapitating any soldiers they find along the way. In exchange for life, they have one pantless red man lead them to a hanger. They find it to be empty, most of the guards having gone in search of the two escapees. Heero knocks out their guide and they enter)

Heero: Hey, looks like they towed my gundam here!

(Heero jumps into the cockpit)

Heero: Alright! It still works! Looks like they repaired it! And they put in a new fuel tank!

Ryo: I guess they were planning to use it.

Heero: The hand is still a bit melted, but otherwise it's fine!

Ryo: Alright then, let's get out of here!

Heero: ...damn. It's still out of fuel.

Ryo: (sigh) Leave it to Ash's men to forget something like gas.

Heero: Don't worry, I'll just siphon it from one of these other ships.

(Heero finds a plastic tube and siphons some fuel from a craft that appears to use the proper kind. His work is suddenly interrupted by the sound of doors flying off their hinges. Misty and Brock march into the room, backed by an enormous brigade of soldiers)

Brock: Troublemakers, huh? Seize them!

(Brock motions the army to attack. Ryo doesn't even bother to draw his swords. The guards open fire on him. Ryo uses his hand to reflect the shots [quite accurately] into other men's faces. The remaining men quickly notice this isn't working, and rush at him. The foremost soldier draws a knife and raises it to Ryo's face. Ryo grabs the man's arm, which begins to sizzle and drip. The soldier screams in agony, and tries to pull free. Ryo throws him at Brock, who bats the oncoming corpse aside. The remaining guards meet their fate in a fury of scorching punches and blazing kicks. Having dispatched this insult, Ryo glances at the leaders)

Ryo: Hey, aren't you Misty and Brock, Ash's personal guards?

Brock: Yes, but the master has no need for us at the moment, what with the impending rematch with Frieza, the fool. So we came to oversee the operations of our remaining military installations. Unfortunately for you, you crashed right in the front yard of the biggest one. Now come along, give yourselves up, and we might let you live.

Ryo: I didn't come this far to surrender to the likes of you!

Brock: Your skills are admirable, Samurai, but you're out of your league. This is your last chance to give up.

Ryo: Sorry, no deal.

Brock: Too bad. Charizard, go!

(Brock tosses a pokeball and a Charizard emerges. Ryo hops back and gets into his fighter stance)

Brock: Charizard, Fire spin!

(A torrent of flame erupts from the dragon's mouth. Ryo is consumed by the attack, which fades after a moment. Ryo emerges with a confident grin)

Ryo: Is that the best you’ve got?

(Brock and Misty are shocked. Brock gets pissed)

Brock: Grr. Kill him!

(The charizard swallows Ryo whole. Brock smirks)

Brock: Well, he wasn't so tough.

(The charizard suddenly explodes, spewing flame and gore across the bay. Ryo emerges from the source, his white armor covered in a light flame)

Heero: Hey, watch it! I'm pumping gas over here!

Misty: He seems to like fire. Well then, let's see how he handles this!

(Misty deploys a Vaporeon)

Misty: Aurora beam!

(A beam of ice-plasma leaps from the screaming beast. It comes within a foot of Ryo and evaporates. Ryo digs his foot into the ground, kicks up a chunk of floor, and smacks the melting heap into Misty's pokemon, which instantly begins bubbling, seething, and crying in agony. Within a moment, it explodes in a watery splash)

Misty: What the!?

Brock: Misty, he's too strong for ordinary pokemon. Let's skip right to the big guns.

(Brock and Misty each toss a pokeball. From one emerges a Mew; from the other a Mewtwo)

Ryo: Ha! I killed an army of those on the way over here!

Brock: Mew, Mewtwo, Fusion!

(The pokemon fuse to form Twomew! Ryo draws his swords)

Ryo: Big deal! I can take this!

(Ryo runs headlong at the Twomew, only to be reminded of its telekinetic abilities)

Ryo: (Frozen before the beast) Oh right...

(Twomew tosses Ryo around, slamming him through walls and into ships, which explode. Ryo can only watch helplessly as he gets battered. Heero can only watch as he blasts the thing with his new beam rifle, which was apparently designed to neutralize its psychic abilities. But before Heero can finish it off, Brock fires a ki blast at the suit, and turns away before noticing that it didn't do any damage. With the creature’s powers gone, Ryo takes it upon himself to incinerate it)

Ryo: Flare up now!!!

(The inferno flare rips through the helpless Twomew, destroying it, then continues on into Misty and Brock. They crawl out of the crumbled stone wall they have been launched into, looking quite pissed)

Brock: Grr! Alright, time to get serious!

(Brock and Misty power up. The ground cracks and the general area quakes)

Ryo: Uh oh.

(Brock draws a sword and Misty detaches an extendible trident from her wristband. They both fly at him, approaching from opposite directions. Ryo draws his swords and spins, countering both attacks. A blazing fury of fighting ensues. Brock makes a blinding slash at Ryo's neck. Ryo blocks, then parries, but fails, as he struggles to hold back Misty's thrust. Ryo high kicks Brock's face and smacks Misty with the hilt of his sword. They both fall back, but immediately counter. Ryo blocks Brock with his arm plating, but Misty cuts his cheek. This goes on for about five minutes. Brock jumps back and swings at Ryo's feet, while Misty stabs with her trident. Ryo jumps and bounds off the wall, descending over Brock's head. Ryo prepares to drive his blade through Brock's head, hoping for an early end to the battle. Brock swats Ryo's attack away, complementing this with a roundhouse kick to Ryo's temple, sending him flying into Misty. Misty is unprepared for this, and is smashed through a wall)

Misty: Hey, watch what you're doing!

Brock: Oh watch it yourself!

(Brock fires a sizable energy ball toward the two. Ryo jumps to a side, allowing the ball to slam into Misty's torso. It explodes, sending Misty flying backwards. She gets up, face scorched)

Misty: (anime style rage) WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!!!!!

(Misty unleashes a spray of fire)

Brock: AHHHHH!!! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!!

Misty: I WAS RIGHT THERE, YOU IDIOT!!!

Brock: (regaining his poise) Well, why didn't you dodge?

Misty: BECAUSE YOU CRUSHED ME AGAINST A WALL!

Ryo: Rage of Inferno!!!

(Ryo takes advantage of their bickering, and uses his strongest attack. The twirling, white-hot beam of fire screams as it arches toward its targets)

Brock: Uh oh...

Misty: Aquatic rage!!!

Brock: Poke-beam!!!

(Brock and Misty quickly counter with attacks of their own. Misty telekinetically rearranges the atoms in the air to form water, then launches it at high speed in the form of a beam (all in a split second). Brock gathers the spiritual energins of various dead pokemon (including the freshly dead ones Ryo killed), and manifests them into a devastating "Mother of Pearl" colored beam. The three monumental forces crash. The room lurches at the sudden release of power, and rumbles frighteningly. The ground cracks; the visors on the docked aircraft shatter; bits of roof break off. A power struggle ensues. Ryo's Rage of Inferno pushes on the combined attacks of Misty and Brock. For two minutes, the battle rages. The walls begin to melt from the resulting heat. Sweat pours down the warriors' faces. The beams battle, their meeting point pushing back and forth. Suddenly, a monstrous beam of plasma descends upon Ash's friends from Wing Zero's buster rifle. They keep up an aural shield, but the ground around them begins to vaporize)

Misty: Brock...I...can't keep...(grunt)...I...

(Brock doesn't wait for another word. He jumps out of the line of fire. Misty, unable to keep up her defense, is consumed by the flames)

Misty: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!

(The young girl is flung back, surrounded by the swirling torrential inferno. She lets out a chilling scream as flesh vaporizes, bone becomes ash, and Ash becomes stupider. Brock faces Ryo, standing about 10 feet away, breathing heavily)

Ryo: You...coward! You would just let your friend die to insure you safety!!!??

Brock: You are strong, Samurai, but your heart is weak.

Ryo: No, my heart is strong, and my cause just, and that’s why I will defeat you!

Brock: No, Samurai, I wi-

(Brock is suddenly crushed by Wing Zero’s foot)

Heero: You see Ryo? It’s that easy.

Ryo: Aw, that was no fun...!

(Heero’s gundam is lifted into the air and thrown backward, sending it skidding across the floor, as Brock rises out of the crater he formed, looking immensely pissed. Immediately, Brock unleashes a full power energy blast unto the Gundam, slowly breaking off its armor. Ryo rushes from behind and strikes. Brock halts his attack on Heero, and quickly twirls around, sword drawn, to parry. He blocks one sword and dodges left to avoid the other. Ryo swings horizontally with one sword, and stabs with the other. Brock ducks and attempts to parry, but is stopped by Ryo’s defense and kneed in the face. The battle goes on. Steel meets steel with fierce velocity, sending sparks in all directions. Though Brock is skilled, he is no match for Ryo. In an attempted jump slash, Brock finds Ryo’s sword through his chest. Ryo withdraws it and watches Brock breathe his last)

Brock (straining to talk): (Cough) Very good, (cough) but don’t think Lord Ash will fall so easily. You, nor even Frieza can imagine his might! (begins coughing up blood).

(Ryo drives his blade through Brock’s skull, assuring himself it’s dead. Wing Zero stands up again, and Heero gets out)

Ryo: Well, that was a good warmup. Thanks for the help.

Heero: Don’t mention it, though I don’t think I’ll be able to help you with Ash.

Ryo: Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered.

Heero: ...Ryo, are you sure you still want to do this? You look like you had a lot of trouble with those two, and, not that I’d know, but I have a feeling Frieza and Ash are in another league all together.

(Ryo gives Heero an insulted look)

Heero: Listen, all I’m saying is maybe you should consider leaving this to Frieza, and just watch.

Ryo: I can’t do that, Heero. This armor was forged to vanquish evil, and it’s my responsibility to see that it does its job. I can’t stand by while evil has its way.

Heero: I understand. But if you want a shot at all, we’d better hurry. Frieza’s probably landed by now.

(Wing Zero blasts the door to the underground bay off, and carries Heero and Ryo onward, in search of their destiny)