Standard Disclaimer Applies.

Note: You may recognize that I've deliberately paralleled Episode 40 (even using some lines straight out of it). (Can you catch the 'Alien vs. Yakuza' reference? Haha.)

Song playing… "Dive for You" by Boom Boom Satellites.

Edit 8/2/09: I was unhappy with the flow of this chapter so I've re-edited it. Also, you may have noticed that I've re-titled chapter zero so it's no longer "Prologue" but chapter one, "Feels Like Goodbye".

. . .

Chapter Three

Face to Face

. . .

"Why's it have to be just before quitting time?" a voice groused.

"Seems something alien attached itself to the fuselage during the return flight."

"Huh? You're not suggesting an alien or something is stuck to it…?"

The two mechanics froze as the elevator descended deeper into the Terminal's underbelly. They turned towards the other, their faces mirror images of apprehension at the implication of the words.

"You don't think…?" the one with the beard asked.

"No, no!" the one without the beard said quickly, "It's probably nothing!"

The elevator's metal doors creaked open and the two men gulped unconsciously before stepping tentatively into the spacious basement.

Their inspection was clean and almost over until they halted upon sight of a curious object. Its tumor-like body was the size of a baby elephant, its skin made of a dark, fleshy material; its thick veins were rooted to the powerful, rumbling generators: the Terminal's energy source.

"What the hell do you suppose that is?" his voice quaked. "Ohhhh no…this is reminding me of what happened four years ago…"

It moved suddenly, like the pulsing motion of a beating heart.

The men blanched. They glanced at each other and in a telepathic agreement, raced back up the elevator, panicked words echoing behind them.

"Oh, hell no! That's it, I'm quitting!"

. . .

It was to be an undisturbed day, Gintoki mused as he relaxed on his couch, his trusty comic book covering his face as a physical barrier from the world. While others labeled his lifestyle as a sign of sloth, he would happily engage in it, embracing regularity and the humdrum beat of his daily life. Of course, it was also to an increasing frequency that he would not have his wishes so easily. The number of times he dozed his days away were equal to the number of times he was called upon by Fate to save strangers and friends, underground civilizations, next-door neighbors, or the world.

This was the mindset he held when it was broken by the sound of hurried feet pounding towards him. Knowing that the disturbance would probably bring bad news in one form or another, he merely sighed.

"Oi, oi, Shinpachi, what's the rush?" he asked, the words mumbling from beneath the book. It was only when he didn't hear a response that Gintoki lifted the comic from his face and sat up, catching the furrowed look of his Yorozuya companion.

Without answering, Shinpachi grabbed the television remote and flipped to the news channel.

"…a mysterious larva-like creature has been found in the Terminal's underground chambers," News anchor Ketsuno Ana reported live against a backdrop of the Terminal. "Sources say they have yet to confirm if it is a living alien or not. This brings to mind an incident four years ago when a parasitic alien caused an accident involving a ship…"

"What do you think of this, Gin-san?" Shinpachi asked, watching the screen with rapt attention.

Gintoki remembered the 'incident four years ago' with crystal clarity; after all, they were involved in it. The parasitic alien that almost destroyed Edo, the presence of Umibouzu, the alien-hunting celebrity – who, incidentally, was also the father of…

"Kagura-chan's coming tomorrow..." Shinpachi began, a trace of anticipation in his voice despite the serious context. He turned his questioning eyes to the older man. "An alien in Edo? Now? Do you think they're related?"

The silver-haired samurai adopted the younger man's concerned look. It certainly was food for thought, what with Kagura's scheduled arrival tomorrow. And, after all, it was not every day when an alien of such magnitude decided to make Edo its new abode. "Maybe…it seems too much of a coincidence," he said finally.

Onscreen, the anchorwoman pressed the earpiece against her ear and gasped at the information fed through; she faced the viewers. "I've just received news from inside the terminal! It's been confirmed, the mysterious creature is an alien–" She stumbled and the camera lurched. "What was that?" she asked, startled. "Citizens of Edo, we've just been hit with some kind of earthquake…"

A deep, throaty rumble reverberated from within the Terminal.

The camera zoomed in to reveal a crevice splitting up the tower's side as people escaped below. Screams and shouts could be heard as Ketsuno Ana accosted one of the running employees. She shoved her microphone to his mouth, "Sir, can you tell me what's happening inside?"

"Didn't you hear, lady?!" he cried, his eyes swiveling up to the tower. "The alien is–"

Another ear-splitting roar sounded, the ground shook again, and then no more. The screen blanked into ominous nothing.

The television displayed a cheerful 'We'll be back after the technical difficulties are fixed' sign from the studio; Shinpachi and Gintoki stared at the screen in unease.

Without a word spoken between them, the duo was on the street and heading in the direction of smoke.

. . .

"I'm sorry for the short delay…can everyone see it? What is this sinister creature? It looks like…a snake with wings – a dragon! A burgundy dragon!" the camera caught sight of the creature shooting out of the Terminal's mouth and tracing figure eight's in the sky.

"There it is!" Ketsuno Ana reported, her voice reaching hysterical levels.

Her cameraman paused. "Ah, Ketsuno-san? We're not on air now."

"Keep the camera rolling and record this! We'll play it later at the studio." She said hastily, just before the blaring of sirens cut her off and a stream of police cars flowed past. One car screeched to a halt and out stepped a sandy haired twenty-four-year-old.

"I just don't understand suicidal people," Okita tutted, shaking his head forlornly at the remaining anchorwoman and her cameraman. "These people must have a death wish since they're still here, right, Hijikata-san?"

Said commander took a deep drag of his nicotine stick and blew into the air; he looked as if he wanted to be anywhere else but there. "It's dangerous, get out of here."

"It's the Shinsengumi – the guardians of Edo! The Shinsengumi armed police have arrived on the scene! We'll be fine now." Ketsuno Ana continued to narrate to an invisible audience.

"Well, we gave you a warning," Hijikata said, clearly devoid of any concern for the media civilians. He nodded to Sougo.

Okita drew out his trusty speakerphone, shoved a hand into his pocket, and proclaimed in a lazy tone, "Alien, you're completely surrounded. Give yourself up quietly. Your mother back home is crying. She didn't raise you to be this kind of alien. Right, Mom? Say something."

"Just a minute!" The anchorwoman steamed, "Didn't you guys already use the same exact tactic four years ago?! It was useless!"

"Hey, hey, you can't judge it without even seeing it," Okita defended, "It's different this time."

Kondo stepped out of a patrol car, bedecked in a lime-green costume that was a cross between a hippo and a plate of spaghetti. "Do you know what your father said just before he died? Until the very end, Daddy cared only about you!" he said tearfully, raising his voice in a ridiculous imitation of a woman's and pointed an accusatory finger-noodle at the gargantuan alien.

"How is this any different?! All that's changed is the costume! You're even using the same lines as before!"

Okita assumed a deeply thoughtful expression. "Hijikata-san, this doesn't seem to be working. The alien is ignoring us."

Instantaneously a vein throbbed on the vice-captain's forehead. He ferociously grabbed Okita's speakerphone and roared, "Oi! Alien! You have the balls to ignore me? Why don't you come down here and we'll settle this, yakuza – I mean, man to alien? Alien! I'm talking to you!"

"Threatening the alien isn't working, idiot, can it even understand you?" Gintoki said as his motorscooter eased to a stop. He watched impassively as the monstrous creature settled itself around the terminal's body like a coiled wire.

"Danna," Okita greeted in surprised, "Where'd you come from?"

"I don't know what we can do, but we came to help," Shinpachi got off the vehicle to view the carnage, only to stagger back in shock. "It's huge!" The alien snaked a grip to the top of the tower, bellowed, and opened its mouthful of teeth to release a fiery ray into the sky.

"Th-th-that's a dr-dragon, right? Oi-oi, th-that's a dragon," Gintoki stuttered nervously. He grabbed Shinpachi's shoulders and shook him violently, "Do you see that? That's a dragon!"

"Get a hold of yourself!" Hijikata barked. He closed his eyes and took another long drag of his cigarette, as if breathing in the fumes could conjure a bright plan. "Well," he said after a few moments of silence, "I suppose we could give it offerings."

"Of what? People? Food? Money? Livestock?" Gintoki asked, smacking a hand to his face.

"I vote for people," Okita chimed in. "Hijikata-san. You first."

The vice-chief's retort fell on deaf ears when a large spaceship appeared in the sky, traveled over their heads and approached the captured terminal. The vessel's engines hissed as it hovered over the alien, just out of reach of the scorching flames.

Then a dot of a figure dropped out of the ship, freefalling to the monster.

"What the…" Hijikata squinted into the distance; his eyes widened and the cigarette in his mouth fell to the ground, forgotten.

"Is that a person? I'm positive. It's a…a woman?" Ketsuno Ana clarified and directed her cameraman to the figure. "Yes, a woman! A lone woman has just appeared from an unidentified aircraft and is falling straight at the alien dragon! I repeat, a woman with orange hair is falling…"

. . .

Kagura felt the wind whipping around her as she dropped, the alien mere miles from her. She let her body relax as she prepared to pull the parachute. In three…two…one… She ripped the string from its cord and the multicolored fabric spread its wings, slowing her descent.

The alien dragon caught sight of her and let out an enraged cry. It spewed fire at her, but missed their mark.

She cut her parachute loose and her fall quickened; she curled her body into a roll and landed safely on the monster's midsection, halfway up the Terminal. She surveyed her surroundings quickly and gripped her umbrella. Kagura raced up the dragon's lengthy dark burgundy stomach while continuously firing at its scales to agitate it. It worked; the dragon shifted, loosening its body from the Terminal as it breathed out embers.

This building's going to break if I don't take care of this soon, the Yato girl thought, noting the cracks in the metal plating as she charged up the top.

She ducked just in time to sidestep sparks of fire; the alien was getting angry enough to risk injuring itself to kill her. Kagura viciously stabbed with her umbrella between the scales into its soft flesh and pumped bullet after bullet. The dragon shrieked in pain; its body slackened and moved unsteadily.

Kagura leapt off its back and swiftly jumped from falling debris to falling debris until she reached the terminal's rim. She drew her umbrella into an attacking stance and gazed at the alien from behind her orange goggles.

It peered at her through pearly, slitted eyes and drew its thick lips to expose a sea of sharp teeth.

Kagura returned the smile, baring her own set of whites.

. . .

"That was Kagura-chan! Gin-san, that was Kagura-chan, right?!" Shinpachi said, his tone split between happiness and dread.

Gintoki couldn't speak. The only sensation he could feel was the sudden rush of panic thumping in his veins. He whipped around, startling the cameraman. "Give me your camera."

Ignoring the man's protests, the perm-head peered through the lens and max-ed the zooming feature to the top of the tower. Now if only he could find her…

"The news channel's visuals are working again!" Shinpachi announced, watching the small TV screen from within the police car as they clamored around him.

Gintoki growled; there was too much smoke, he couldn't see a thing! He toggled the camera's buttons impatiently until the dust settled. He could clearly see Kagura – her knee-high boots, black shorts, red, long-sleeved cheongsam shirt, sandy cloak, pink-orange-hair, violet parasol…

And the unmistakable smile on her face. There was no doubt about it, she was having fun.

. . .

The alien's tongue shot out of its mouth like a whip; she cart-wheeled out of the way and it roped an antenna instead, crushing the piece between its teeth. The tongue motioned for round two but Kagura was already dodging it, propelling into the air like a trapeze artist and raining successive rounds from her umbrella.

The spray of bullets hit one glittering eye and blood gushed forth. Without relenting a second, Kagura released another volley and rendered the beast blind.

Pushed to desperation, it swiped aimlessly at her with a huge claw but her body twisted safely away in acrobatic arcs. The Terminal groaned suddenly; stressed from the dragon's weight. Kagura felt the miserable pang of shame – she had let the fight drag on too long, toying with the alien, merely to fuel her own amusement. Pappy was right; harnessing her Yato blood was perfectly justifiably, but only if she maintained control – she couldn't let it carry her away during the battle. It was the fundamental law of combat: carelessness leads to injury, or worse, death.

Another swat and Kagura stowed the thought away for another time. With a final shout, she raced up the dragon's head and sliced its neck in one clean move; but not before it breathed its last, lighting the night in a scorching blaze like an arrow shot from the sun.

. . .

The blinding light had forced them to shield their eyes and when the fight was over, they were left groping and coughing in the dark smoke, wondering what had happened on baited breath.

They didn't have wait long.

"Sorry about the alien," called out a sheepish voice. "I let it escape here by accident, sneaky bastard."

The dust settled just enough to see a cheeky smirk Gintoki knew he had missed.

. . .

End Note: I apologize if you're bored – I find action scenes to be ironically bland – but this action-filled chapter needs to be written in order to further set the stage. (I hope it didn't seem too rushed because I was certainly impatient to get it out of the way.) I'm unsure if I did okay in writing this…Oh, and this is around six pages long. Whoa. Haven't written that much for one chapter in a long time – which might be a little sad, depending on the opinion. :)

Comments, questions, or ideas are love!