(in Japan, a few days later, the Scouts have recovered from their injuries. With them are Mamoru and the Outer Scouts)
Mamoru: Usagi! I'm glad you're okay...
Usagi: We are.
Ami: I just wonder...the people who saved us, they must be other superheroes also capable of transforming. It just seems so familiar...
(as she thinks, the All-Stars arrive)
Junya: ...it just dawned on me! Y-you guys...one of the inspirations was us, the Super Sentai!
Rei: Super...Sentai?
Ami: Oh! Now I remember!
Minako: So do I!
(Ami stares at Minako in surprise)
Ami: How did you—
Minako: I became Sailor V in an attempt to be like the Sentai...I didn't know at the time it would become something greater!
Junya: Wow, you guys have—oh! (he's about to keel over in fanboy squee, but Jason puts one hand on his shoulder)
Jason: Don't die on us, man! We'll need to figure out a strategy to defeat some of Mykan's enemies!
Junya: You mean the Ranger-based ones? I know what you mean! (nods excitedly)
(Atsushi looks at Hiroya)
Hiroya: It's almost hard to believe that we're in the presence of something...different.
Atsushi: I'd almost agree, but eh. I've seen worse.
(Sean nods)
Sean: Okay...I think it's high time to explain what's going on.
(he sits down, and as he, the Legendary Rangers, Christopher, and Jason tell the Senshi what's going on...)
(cut to Rika)
Rika: Ugh, these chapters...can't they just...gah. I can't give up.
So previously, Lita and LINO still traversed through the Forest Temple. Also, they managed to defeat the Poe Sisters.
We now move on with...
Chapter 9: Showdown with Phantom Ganon
When LINO and Lita arrive, they find that the keyhole's a lot different from the different keyholes. And remember when they found that special key? It proved to be useful as it opened the door. Right after some talk about LINO assuring Lita that, yes, this is it.
In the chamber, they see six familiar paintings. Somehow, this just reminds me a bit of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds with the painting motif. Even though the game came out several years after the fanfic was completed. Anyway, the area becomes closed off, and someone is there.
You have three guesses as to whom, and the first two don't count.
Then enter Phantom Ganon, and he's on a(n armored) horse. Oh, and we get a typical villain description or whatever. I'd like to imagine that it also is accompanied by a Versus Character Splash thing, too.
So phantom!Ganon rides right into the painting, and the first thing they would need to do is to dismount him from the horse. Which makes me wonder why they can't really shoot him even though he's still on the horse, but whatever. They try to shoot, but to no avail, as he just curbstomps the duo by blasting them with energy attacks.
Eventually, this frustrates them, but LINO realizes one thing. There are two phantom!Ganons, and remember how Meg was able to clone herself in the last chapter? He can do that now. He tells Lita to turn around, she does so, and they shoot at the real phantom!Ganon. Who is pissed.
Oh, and you know how they managed to figure out which one was the real one?
- One of the two images would turn around before reaching the end of the painting.
- One of the images is a lot brighter than the other one. You know, to make itself a bigger damn target.
- The real one can fight back. The other does not.
Yeah. I'm pretty sure they can tell by the bright colors alone.
Usagi: W-wow...
Rei: So he has the power to warp reality...but...
Ami: That can't be good! You guys think we should, well...hide?
Minako: What? Are you crazy?
Ami: Mykan knows we're still alive. He also knows that the All-Stars are here...no doubt he'll try to attack us all until we die.
Minako: ...
Usagi: Ami's right. While we remain in hiding, we can think of other plans to defeat Mykan and save Rika.
Mamoru: ...Usagi...you mind if I help?
Usagi: I don't mind.
Rei: Did you just—?
(Usagi nods)
Usagi: In the past, I was so worried about Mamoru, how many times he was brainwashed, how many times the villains kept our love apart. But now we're older, we can do this. Together.
Sean: And with plenty of time to pull it off.
(he is deep in thought)
Rika: So after shooting the phantom, undercut by the exposition, the enemy falls off his horse. This forces him to change his strategy, and so just beating him straight-up isn't going to work. Especially not since he's using a ball of energy to strike at them, where they have to strike back. You know, to knock him out or incapacitate him in some fashion before they wail on him.
Yeah, I've played a bit of some Zelda games to know where this shit is going.
But Lita tries to use the Jupiter Thunder Crash attack to strike the phantom down, but to no avail. They've used everything they have, but just not quite. And that would be the part where, after phantom!Ganon tries to strike with his dark magic, LINO strikes it right back at him, and Lita strikes several blows when incapacitated.
Who would have thought?
After the barrage of curbstomps, phantom!Ganon isn't that willing to give up. By using the Super Ghostly Staff Charger, he knocks LINO and Lita out. Or so he thinks. Because they wake up and stand up right after.
- "If Phantom Ganon had any real eyes, you can bet your boots they'd widen so much that they would fall out."
(Rika does a double facepalm)
This again? I mean, granted, I shouldn't be surprised at this point with Mykan's...odd choice of words here. But this is probably the second time to ever encounter something like this.
So it all comes down to this. One final fight to decide everything for this temple. And it's...
...
...............................
...that moment where each member tries to deflect phantom!Ganon's energy ball until it hits one of them. I am not kidding. And so, after a while of this crap, Lita uses one big force to vine-whip the energy ball into submission. Kind of. This shatters the staff, and phantom!Ganon knows he's very well fucked.
Lita fuses her Jupiter Thunder Crash attack into LINO's Master Sword, and he slashes a powerful slash attack, defeating phantom!Ganon once and for all—oh, wait. It gets better, for Ganon himself tells his phantom double that he has outlived his usefulness, and so he'll be banished to Hell the gap between dimensions.
After a scene where we see phantom!Ganon banished and Ganon himself warns Lita and LINO, cut back to the outside of the temple, where it just looks bleak. Just when the horde of mooks are ready to kill them all, they stop and burst into ashes. Which means that the Forest Temple, yes, has been conquered.
You would think this means the end of the chapter, maybe just a short scene of them relaxing. You'd be wrong.
For now we get a lot more scenes. Here, LINO sees Saria...who apparentally is dead. But she tells Lita everything about herself. And apparentally, even though she's his childhood friend, she couldn't love him. O...kay...
Anyway, Saria gives Lita the Forest Medallion, reawakening her powers officially as the Sage of Forest. After that, enter Sheik. Gee, I wonder who Sheik actually is. (Really, considering that there are a lot of elements taken from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, it shouldn't be surprising.)
After a scene where Sheik teaches LINO how to play the Minuet of Forest and scoots off, the temple crumbles, and LINO and Lita exit safely. And so, the chapter ends with Ganon picking Volvagia as the new head general, and everyone trying to return to their normal lives. Oh, and the people who were held hostage? They're rescued and ordered to rest for a week.
As the Scouts work at the cafe, Lita steps outside, and she tells LINO (who joined her) about how she doesn't think she'll be a good sage. He tells her not to worry. I will say this. Had everything not been fucked to hell, what with the characterizations and everything, that would have been a decent scene. But...what can you do?
Chapter 10: One Strike, and You're Out!
So yeah, it's time for another obligatory filler chapter. And you know something? I probably won't put out much effort into this one, since...yeah.
This chapter is the typical "a villain tries to steal people's energy for Ganon's schemes, which have been rather inconsistent as hell, but the Scouts and LINO—mainly LINO—defeat the foe/Monster of the Week" chapter. Basically, Sammy's trying to practice his softball skills, but he doesn't do so well, and he's teased for it.
Of course, leave it up to Volvagia to try to make Sammy's dreams come true by...well, you should know this already. In the guise of a softball coach, he teaches Sammy on how to throw the perfect swings. And we get this.
- "The man, who was really Volvagia in disguise, looked at the bat closely."
By the way, anytime the dude is disguised...we actually get this. Coupled with the really obvious "different name" thing (seriously, his name's "Vega Volcan" in this incarnation)...it just not only makes me wonder why he's making things obvious, but also, slams our heads over the fact that, yes, he's in disguise, and don't we know it.
Oh, and Volvagia does bicker with Morpha, the resident Water foe. It's about like the whole "villains fighting over themselves" in Lightspeed Rescue, only slightly more boring.
And it turns out that the energy isn't necessarily stealing, but rather making it grow and warping Sammy into someone pretty damn awful. As in, he becomes very obsessive over practicing. But eventually, he serves his purpose, as the obligatory Monster of the Chapter, Dodongo, knocks Sammy unconscious.
By the way, the fight goes as such. Mina tries to strike at the foe, but to no avail. He unleashes fireballs, knocking the group down until Amy uses her Mercury Ice Bubbles attack, freezing the fireballs—wait. I get that water beats fire, but freezing fire? What?
Anyway...Mina summons a huge-ass sandstorm to blind Dodongo, and Raye uses a charm to immobilize the foe. Serena uses the Moon Tiara to slice the monster's tail off...and yes, LINO uses his Master Sword to slash the foe, defeating him.
I am not going to dignify the umpteenth time LINO saves the day.
And so, the chapter ends with Volvagia's flames disappearing and Morpha mocking his ally. Oh, and Sammy's team does win after all. Yawn.
(a few minutes later...)
Sean: Okay, Sailor Scouts. You can stay here for now. But if you decide to leave here for any reason, we'll need to assign bodyguards.
Ami: Of course! And do you think we can disguise ourselves so Mykan wouldn't know who we are?
Sean: That may be a possibility.
(then Mao has a plan of her own)
Mao: Speaking of disguises...we'll need to have five people patrol Japan and gather information on Mykan's forces. Those five people also will need to be disguised.
So who's up for the challenge?
(Michael, without hesitation, steps forward)
Michael: I will.
Mako: Really?
Michael: Yeah. Our family changed forms multiple times in the past, it'll be easy for me to adapt to a new form for a while.
Xander: Hm...I'll join!
Hikaru: As will I.
Tori: I think I recovered quite enough to do this. (smiles)
(Dan thinks it over, and then...)
Dan: What the hell. I'm in!
Mao: Excellent. Hikaru, Michael, Dan, Xander...here's the catch. (with a hint of a sly smile) You guys will need to become female.
(Dan sports a huge "WTF?!" face, Hikaru just nods a little, Xander blinks, and Michael...has no expression whatsoever)
Dan: Mao...have you lost it?
Mao: Trust me, it'll all make sense. Now you'll get special powers based on the Sailor Scouts themselves as well. You guys will be an all-new team.
Sean: And the reason why is because only women can be Sailor Scouts. And no, there will not be a Sailor Earth. We'll need to think of new codenames for you guys.
(Dan then slowly nods)
Dan: I see now...it'll be really fucking strange, but if that's what it takes to save the world...
Tori: And what about me?
Sean: We'll need to also create a new look for you. Minako and Mako will be able to help you with that.
Tori: Thanks. (smiles)
Mao: Okay, let's plan some more, guys. Tomorrow, we'll need to enable the first part into action.
Will Rika survive the next two filler chapters? What will the chosen quintet do? And will Mykan's forces be stopped?
The light of the moon is the message of love. So find out next time on the next Rika Liveblogs Vs. Sailor Moon Legend of Zelda!
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