(CONCLUDING FROM PART TWO)
 

                   THE POCKET DIMENSION THEATRE


(Minor snip)
        "Akane? That you?" Shampoo called from her perch. 
        "Yeah, Shampoo! Is that your Mashin?" Akane called back.
        The black cougar finally decided to speak, in its echoing 
metallic
whisper. "SO, TORA...YOU HAVE AWAKENED AS WELL."
        "YES, SABLE. IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN AFTER SO LONG, MY
FRIEND."
        The other Mashin snorted. "I SUPPOSE," it said dryly. 
        Akane and Shampoo dismounted, and met near the two Mashin.
"Aiyah...Mashin know each other?" Shampoo asked.
        "INDEED WE DO," Tora said. "A LONG TIME AGO, WE SERVED
TOGETHER AS PART OF A UNIT. IT HAS BEEN AGES SINCE THE
MEMBERS OF OUR UNIT HAVE SEEN ONE ANOTHER."
        "THE OTHERS HAVE AWAKENED, I BELIEVE," Sable added. "I CAN
SENSE THEM..."
Shigeo: hell, I can smell them.

        As if on cue, a white crane appeared overhead, emitting a 
piercing
cry. The crane slowly lowered itself and landed near the others. A
white-robed figure somersaulted from the large bird's back, and
landed near the girls. 
Ash: And the votes are in! (Holds up placard) [8.9]
Miyuki: [9.0]
Mason: [8.9]
Robot: [8.7]
Shigeo: [6.0]
Everyone but Shigeo: (Don't ask. You don't wanna know)
Shigeo: (Roadkill.)

        "Is Mousse," Shampoo said rather unneccessarily. She looked at 
the
crane. "Mashin perfect for Mousse. Both bird-brain."
        Despite herself, Akane giggled. Even Tora chuckled. Mousse and 
Sable
remained indifferent. Sutran lowered its head, and stage-whispered,
so to speak, to Mousse, "THESE ARE YOUR FRIENDS?"
        Mousse nodded. "What can I say?" he replied, shrugging. 
        The ground began to shake slightly. "Aiyah...what that?" Shampoo
asked. "Is earthquake?"
        Akane shrugged. "Doesn't feel like one," she said.
        Mousse peered into the distance, where a large purple dustcloud 
was
roiling. "I think we've got--INCOMING!" he shouted as he leaped onto
Sutran's back. The white crane lifted into the air and began
circling. Akane and Shampoo jumped onto their respective Mashins,
which moved to a safer location.
        Moments later, the dustcloud settled, and in its place stood the
largest brown boar any of the three humans had ever seen. Tora gave a
loud mechanical sigh. "YOUR ENTRANCES WILL BE THE DEATH OF US
SOME DAY, KJATA."
        Kjata chuckled. "AT LEAST NOBODY CAN SAY I'M NOT A MOVER
AND SHAKER," he quipped.
        Everyone, including the other three Mashin, facefaulted. Ryouga
leapt down from the boar's back, and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about
that, guys. I tried to talk him out of it, but he's a little 
pig-headed."
        "Just like yourself, hmm Ryouga?" Akane said, pointedly turning 
her
nose up and looking away from the lost boy.
Miyuki: isn't that kinda OOC for Akane?

 Ryouga sighed, his shoulder slumping. 
        Something giggled from above them. "OOOH, I LIKE THIS BUNCH
ALREADY," a feminine voice chimed. "LOTS OF FUN POTENTIAL HERE."
M&M: oh no! Run Away! Run Away!

        "Hey now...what kinda strange thoughts are goin' through that 
metal
head of yours, sweetie?" Ukyou said to her Mashin. 
        Akane gave a low whistle. "Now that's impressive," she said.
        Kjata snorted. "SURE, JUST BECAUSE SHE CAN *FLY* WHENEVER
SHE WANTS TO," he huffed. 
        The silver fox stretched out her paws and landed. "WHAT CAN I 
SAY,"
Plata commented as Ukyou hopped down from her back. "WHEN YOU GOT IT,
FLAUNT IT."
Ash: gah.

        "So, we've all found Mashin now?" Ukyou asked.
        "Where's Ferio?" Ryouga wondered. "Anyone seen him?"
Mason: and whatever happened to his southern accent?

        Ukyou nodded. "We buzzed him on the way here. Looks like he came 
up
dry."
        "Maybe if that Mashin of yours hadn't divebombed me," came a 
voice
from behind the group. They all turned to see Ferio approaching,
obviously winded from running. "Well, at least someone had some
luck..."
        Any replies were cut off by a strange, high-pitched droning 
sound.
The humans held their ears. "What *is* that?" Akane asked.
        "Shampoo not know, but sure loud," the Amazon said.
        Mousse fished around in his robes for something to plug his ears
with.
        "IS THIS--?" Tora asked.
        <*HUMANS FROM THE OTHER WORLD,*> rumbled the loudest, deepest
voice
any of the Magic Sentai had ever heard. 
        "OH CRAP. IT'S THE BOSS," Plata sighed. 
M&M: Alright! Maybe he'll put that Plata in her place!

        "The...boss?" Ryouga said.
        <*YOU HAVE SUCCEEDED IN AROUSING THESE FIVE MASHIN
FROM THEIR SLUMBER IN THE SACRED RESTING GROUND.
HOWEVER, YOU MUST NOW PROVE YOUR WORTHINESS TO WEAR
THEM INTO BATTLE, OR YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO LEAVE
HERE WITH THEM.*>
Mason: or leave at all.

        "OH, C'MON, DO YOU *REALLY* HAVE TO DO THIS EVERY SINGLE
TIME WE GET NEW PILOTS?" Kjata groused.
        <*_S_I_L_E_N_C_E_!*> bellowed the voice. <*DO NOT FORGET WHO
IS IN CHARGE HERE.*>
Ash: wow. Now there's a vocal effect.

        "OKAY, OKAY, I GET THE MESSAGE," the boar complained. The
humans grew sweatdrops. 
        <*YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES TO PREPARE,*> the voice continued,
<*AND THEN THE TEST COMMENCES.*> The whining noise ceased.
        "Test?" Akane asked. "What test?" 
        "What the hell *was* that?" Ryouga wondered.
        Tora frowned. "THAT WAS OUR LEADER. WHENEVER NEW
WARRIORS APPEAR,
Ash: why do I get the feeling that this leader/boss will have red and 
black 
armor and ride a skateboard?

SEEKING TO WEAR US, A TEST COMMENCES TO DETERMINE THEIR
WORTHINESS."
He turned to address the other four Mashin. "COMBAT FORMS," he said. 
        The six humans watched in awe as the group of Mashin began to
transform. Tora and Kjata went through very simple, anime-esque
conversions. Sutran underwent a similar transformation, only in a
much more graceful way. Sable cloaked its transformation in shadow,
while Plata simply flowed into her new form, like liquid metal.
Ash: Sugoi!
Mason: Kakkoii!

        "Aiyah! They turn into robots!" Shampoo gasped.
        "Nice trick," Ryouga said.
        Where an assortment of animals had stood before, now stood five
giant robots, each with a shining sphere in the center of its chest.
The yellow robot loosely resembled an armored Samurai, with the
exception of the tiger head resting upon the chestplate. The robot
held a large katana. Next to that stood a massive, heavily armored
brown robot built somewhat like a Sumo wrestler. The jaw of the
boar's head on its chest swung open, and locked into place. It
grasped the tusks and detached them, pulling them free with a loud
clanking sound. The humans gasped as an enormous length of heavy
chain attached to the tusks emerged from the jaw, much like a
manriki-gusari. 
Ash: very TransFormers.

        The black robot standing beside them resembled a ninja, complete
with a total lack of features upon its metal face. It held a simple
black saber in a loose grip. A stately, slender white robot with
folded wings stood slightly behind the black robot. This one simply
held something that resembled a cross between a torch and a
flashlight. 
Mason: what good is that going to be in a fight?
Ash: appearances can be decieving.

        The final robot was the most impressive. Sleek and silver...and
female. Very female, from the slender frame, to the curves, to the
flowing mane of silver hair.
Shigeo: (nosebleeds)
Miyuki: Hentai! (Mallets Shigeo)
Shigeo: Itaii....

 A weapon appeared in her hand. She frowned at it, and it rearranged 
itself to
resemble Ukyou's naginata.

        "SHOWOFF," rumbled the brown robot. The white robot smirked at 
the
silver one.
        The silver robot shrugged. "LIKE I SAID, WHEN YOU GOT IT, FLAUNT
IT."
        Ferio, Akane, Ryouga, Mousse, and Shampoo grew sweatdrops. Ukyou
giggled. "Y'know, Plata...I think we *are* gonna get along great," she 
said. 
Mason: Be Afraid.
Miyuki: Be very afraid.

        "JUST BECAUSE SHE HAS METAL MAGIC, SHE HAS TO SHOW UP
THE REST OF US..." Kjata grumbled. 
        "I THINK WE HAVE A MORE PRESSING MATTER THAN PLATA'S
VANITY," Tora
put in. "NAMELY, PREPARING OUR HUMAN FRIENDS FOR THIS
BATTLE." It turned and looked at Ferio. "YOU HAD BEST STAND CLEAR," it
advised. "THINGS ARE GOING TO GET ROUGH HERE." 
        Ferio nodded, and moved to a safer location (he hoped) within 
the
canyon. The Magic Sentai looked around, blinking at each other.
Suddenly, their faces registered alarm as their bodies were engulfed
in colored beams of light. 
Ash: (Kirk voice) Scotty.... three to.... beam.... up.

        When their vision cleared, they each found themselves hovering 
in an
odd vortex, able to see nothing except the empty desert and the other
Mashin standing around.
        "DO NOT BE ALARMED," Tora's voice said to all of them. "EACH OF
YOU ARE WITHIN YOUR MASHIN. ACCLIMATE YOURSELF TO THE
MIND OF THE MASHIN. UNITE WITH THAT MIND. IN TIME, YOU WILL
LEARN ALL ASPECTS OF HOW YOUR MASHIN OPERATES IN COMBAT
FORM. WE WILL GUIDE YOU THROUGH THIS TRIAL
BATTLE, TO FAMILIARIZE YOU WITH THE USE OF A MASHIN IN
COMBAT."
        <*THE TEST BEGINS NOW*>, the voice of the Leader boomed. 
Mason: aww man. Just when it was getting good.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Technical support information provided for 
Packard Bell laptops and notebooks:
"Close cover before striking." 
Mason: isn't this the same sort of thinking that created Wonko the Sane?
Ash: I dunno. I think it was toothpick wrappers, actually.

---The Eternal Lost Lurker
"My name is Don Roberto de Lurker. I am the
world's greatest fanfiction writer. I have written
more than 1,000 pages of fanfiction. 
--Okay, maybe not."
EternalLostLurker@worldnet.att.net
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Garden/9502
All: heh.

"Having your humble pie and eating it too means
never having to say you farted." 
--From the book of Minako-isms
Miyuki: (to Shigeo, and bares teeth) Don't even think it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Ash: well, what did you think?
Mason: Cool, but I'm sore about the Lurker cutting it off when it was
getting good.
Miyuki: Not bad. The Lurker is taking this story in new directions,
without causing it to lag.
Shigeo: I didn't get it.
Miyuki: What are you still doing here?
Shigeo: annoying you.
Miyuki: Nani? Shine! Birdbrain! (Hair stands on end, hisses at Shigeo)
Ash: Well, I'd better end this quick, bye all!

(Fade to back)


                                                                  

"...But cats are sneaky," I added.
She tossed her head, raised a paw and studied it.
"There are certain pleasures to be had in lurking."
"For cats," I added.
"...and certain knowledges gained."
"Such as...?"
 Snuff and Graymalk from,
     A Night In The Lonesome October


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