A/N: Definition of FanFic: FICTION (a non realistic story) made by a FAN (an ardent follower and admirer) of another person's work, using that person's ideas to make an original story. As such, the only thing that the FAN owns is their respective original story and original characters; NOT the object(s) of their FANdom.
This has not yet been beta'd.
High up on the top of a mountain in China, a young girl in a travel cloak watched a battle between two men, the events of which would have an impact on the entire world. She watched as the younger man was struck by devastating blows, and winced as he desperately tried to pull himself back to his feet. She looked at him sadly for a moment, before the look turned to one of determination as she held out a small object in her hands that began to glow with a warm light. For a moment, the downed fighter began to glow as well, and in the next instant an explosion rocked the entire area.
When the dust died down the girl quickly made her way down to the battlefield, where the person she was looking for lay unconscious. Picking the person up, she quickly adjusted her grip as she quickly leapt away from the area. Moments later, three people arrived, two men and a girl who were scouting the area. Quietly slipping away, the cloaked girl nodded to herself.
"There's no going back... Now, that village was around here somewhere..."
Usagi Tsukino gasped as she clutched her chest, her friends around her straightening as a wave of powerful magical energy washed over them. It was a surprise to them when she suddenly transformed into her princess form.
"What..? That energy..." Usagi, lost for words, simply stared at herself.
"What was that?" Makoto asked, "Usagi-chan, what happened?"
"I don't know." Usagi replied, "That power, it just...resonated with my and the Ginzuishou's own magic! And the way it felt! It was like..."
"Like something very important that's missing." Minako finished softly, surprising everyone further. "You felt that way too, Usagi-chan?"
As Usagi nodded Rei spoke up, "That power was familiar. It felt similar to your own, Usagi."
"More than just similar," Ami spoke as her fingers flew about her Mercury Computer, "I just ran a scan, and that magic, it was moon magic!"
"That can't be!" Makoto shook her head, "Chibiusa went back to the future, so there shouldn't be anyone else that can use moon magic besides Luna and Artemis, and they're still at Minako-chan's place from the sleepover last night!"
"Ami-chan, can you tell where that wave came from?"
"Sorry, Usagi-chan, I couldn't get a lock on it for some reason. All I can say is that is came from somewhere in China."
"Ack." China was one of the only places in the world that they were specifically banned from going to. According to Setsuna China was full of users of ancient earth magic and techniques, and were hostile to foreign magic users.
The other place they were banned from entering was a place in Japan called Nerima. Setsuna wouldn't say why, though.
After a moment, Usagi sighed, "We'll leave it be for now. I'm try asking Michiru-san if she can use her mirror to find out who was using that magic. At the very least, we might be able to see who it was."
"I can do as fire reading as well," Rei said, getting to her feet, "Come on, let's see what the Great Fire can show us."
"A good idea Rei. If you don't mind, I shall watch as well."
Everyone jumped and spun around to find Setsuna Meioh behind them. "Setsuna-san! Why do you always do that!?"
"I'll admit I do it because it's hilarious to see you jump like that," Setsuna smiled lightly before becoming serious, "However, right now, I would also like to see what light the Great Fire can shed on this situation."
"You felt it too?" Ami asked, "Can't you use the Time Gates to find out where that magic came from?" However Setsuna shook her head.
"Something is interfering with the Time Gates so that I cannot get a lock on what caused that power wave. However, what I can say is that whatever happened has profoundly changed the future, and has almost completely changed the existence of Crystal Tokyo as we know it. I cannot see anymore than that, however."
"What!?"
"How can that be?" Makoto asked, "I thought that there were no more major enemies that we had to face before Crystal Tokyo came to be! Now we have another to deal with?"
"Who says it's an enemy in the first place?" It was soft, but everyone in the room turned to Minako as they heard it.
"What do you mean?" Rei asked, "Whoever they are, they're a threat to Crystal Tokyo!"
"And so that automatically makes them evil? Doesn't that make us evil by thinking that way? You don't even know who or what it is, and you're already labeling it as an enemy!"
"How can you say that?" Makoto gaped, shocked, "We've been doing our best to make Crystal Tokyo a reality!"
"I know that," Minako frowned, "However, we can't just go labeling everything that changes the world an enemy. At the very least, we need to find out the situation before throwing labels around. Otherwise, we're no better than the enemies that we've defeated."
Everyone thought about it for a moment, and at the same time couldn't help but marvel at Minako and how much she had matured from before when they had first met. While she wasn't as exuberant as she used to be, she had truly shaped up to be the leader of the Inner Senshi that Usagi could rely on as Princess.
"She's right," Usagi agreed after a moment, "We have no right judging someone we know nothing about. Besides, whatever it is that's stopping Crystal Tokyo could just be some misunderstanding. For now, let's see what Rei can tell us."
Everyone sat quietly as Rei called upon the Sacred Fire. After a few moments everyone gasped as the Fire roared, growing bigger and brighter until it filled half the room, yet burned not the building. In the center of the Fire an image appeared, this one much clearer than the other times it produced one. It was an image of a young girl, much younger than them, around Chibiusa's age. They all had the same initial thought.
"Beautiful... She's beautiful!" Usagi gushed. And she was. With silver-red hair that flowed down to her knees and was adorned with flowing ribbons, and ocean blue eyes the young child was very beautiful. They all watched as she appeared to be running, from what they could not see. They all held their breath as a mass of darkness engulfed her, before the darkness was pierced by dazzling golden-silver light as she came back into view.
"Look! On her forehead!" Blazing for all to see was twin silver crescent moons, a single one of which on her forehead signified Moon royalty. The twin crescent were surrounded by a golden symbol that was similar to the sun, all three of which seemed to banish the darkness for a long moment as the girl seemed to take up a fighting stance against it, only for the darkness to return more powerful, engulfing her once again, the Great Fire disappearing with a roar.
"That...that can't be..." Everyone turned to Setsuna, who was looking where the Fire was in disbelief, "There's no way she...she wasn't... I need to go investigate this." Before anyone could get a word in she had powered up and disappeared.
"What was that about?" Makoto looked at where Setsuna had been before shaking her head, "Forget about that, who was that girl? She was a member of Moon royalty!"
"Yeah, there's no doubt about that, especially if Setsuna-san's reaction is anything to go by" Ami noted as her fingers once again danced about the Mercury Computer, "And judging by those twin moons, she's extremely powerful for such a small child. That magical burst we felt all the way from China was easily on par with Moon's power when using the Ginzuishou. Combine that with the signal her power gave off, and we're looking at a direct relative. That girl could easily be Usagi-chan's younger sister. I'm looking for any files on her as we speak, but I'm coming up with nothing so far."
Rei glanced at Usagi, a pensive look on her face, "That girl, she was in danger. The darkness was trying to devour her. It looks like whatever it was, she was fighting it, but it looks like she can only delay it for so long. What do you think, Usagi?"
Usagi came out of the daze she was in. "That girl, I... I know her. It's like seeing her is ringing all kinds of bells in my past memory, but I just don't know why! But, Mother never mentioned me having a sister, and yet... seeing that image of her being chased by the darkness, it's like my very being is compelling me to save her, to take her away from anything that would hurt her! I just, can't explain it! Did you feel that way too, Mina-chan?"
Minako, who looked like she had seen a ghost blinked. "What? Oh, sorry, Usagi-chan, I didn't hear you, I was just..."
"It's okay, you're not the only one shocked." Rei spoke as she got up, leading the group back into her room.
With a frustrated sigh Ami put down the computer. "It's no good. I can't access anything about the Moon royal family. All the information is locked with encryption and security so advanced I can't get near it."
Usagi sat down beside her on the floor. "Did you manage to find out anything at all?"
"The only thing that I found was the phrase 'Goddess of Twilight.'"
CRASH
"Oh my god, Minako-chan are you alright!?" Minako blinked, and then looked down at her hand that was now bloody, glass and juice all over her hand and the floor. "Crap! S-sorry, Rei-chan!"
"Don't worry about that, let's get you bandaged up!"
"What happened, Mina-chan?" Usagi hovered around her as Ami finished treating the wounds.
"It...it's nothing, Usagi-chan. Look, sorry you guys, but I have to go home. There's some homework that I still need to finish. I'll catch up with you girls tomorrow, alright?" Before anyone could respond she was out the door and headed down the shrine stairway.
"That was unusual," Rei noted as she finished sweeping up the remaining glass, "I haven't seen her act like that in a long time, not since..." The room went quiet for a long time, the mood dampening noticeably.
"I think..." Usagi looked out the window, towards the shrine stairs, "I think Mina-chan is still hurting deeply. It's been almost a year now since her mom died. Even though they didn't have the best relationship with each other, and no matter what Minako says, she's still her mom. She just hasn't been the same. Maybe I should ask her to move in with my family again..."
"I'll try asking again, as well." Makoto agreed, "I've lived alone for most of my life, and well, sometimes it can leave you thinking about things that you would rather not. Minako-chan needs her friends right now, even if she thinks that she will be fine dealing with everything herself."
"We shouldn't push her, though," Ami pointed out as she brought out a few school books, "We should just be there for her when she needs us, and treat the same as always, while showing her we care."
"That's right." Rei nodded, before giving Usagi a questioning look, "Didn't you have homework you needed to finish as well? An essay you said was due tomorrow?"
"AHH! I totally forgot about that! I haven't even started yet! Ami-chan, please help me!" The others just sighed. Some things never changed.
"I'm home." Minako spoke as she entered the door of her apartment, tossing her bag onto a chair.
"Welcome back, Mina!" Artemis jumped onto the chair near her, along with Luna. "How was everything?"
"It was fine. Luna, you should probably head home now, there are some things that Usagi-chan is going to need to fill you in on, and I'm going to he heading to bed soon." As she spoke, Minako hung her jacket up and opened the door up again for Luna to exit through.
"Did something happen? I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I was asleep for most of the day." It was an interesting site, Minako thought, to see the black cat blush as she admitted that fact.
"We think that we've discovered someone from the Moon Kingdom. Usagi-chan can give you the details."
"Alright, have a good night then Minako-chan."
The moment the door was closed Artemis looked at Minako with a worried look, "Is everything all right, Mina? Usually you wouldn't rush Luna out so quickly."
Minako sat down at the table, a slightly distressed look in her eyes, "Artemis, I've never brought it up before, because wasn't really a big deal, but your memory of your life during the SM is much better than Luna's, isn't it?"
"That's right," He replied, the look in her eyes putting him slightly on edge in worry, "Although not as complete as Setsuna's, I wasn't actually dead when Queen Serenity sent us into the future to be reincarnated, so most of my memories came along with me. In fact, the same should apply to Hotaru-chan, since she was also alive when we were sent to be reincarnated. Why? As you said before, it's not really much of a big deal."
"There's something that I really need to know. Earlier, there was a huge wave of magical power that Ami-chan tracked to China. Rei-chan did a fire reading to try to find out more about what caused it, and the Fire revealed a child, a little girl who was being chased and attacked by the darkness. She was very pretty; had red-silver hair and ocean blue eyes. More importantly though, is that she had twin silver crescent moons on her forehead!" She almost jumped in surprise as Artemis leapt onto the table to look her directly in the eyes, staring at her with an uncharacteristically stern expression.
"Are you sure about that?" He questioned, "Certain that the girl had twin crescent moons on her forehead? Not a single crescent, or even triple crescents?" Upon her confirmation, Artemis nodded to himself, "There is only one person who fits that description, and if what you said is true we need to find her as soon as possible."
"You know who it is? Who is she?"
"If it's the girl I thinks it is, then she is the Second Princess of the Moon, the Little Princess, the Child of Grace, the Goddess of Twilight, Usana S.A. Serenity. Although for you, I think the title that has the most meaning would be, 'Your Goddaughter.' And if what you say is true, then we need to find her as soon as possible, because she is in great danger!"
The moment Ranma awoke, before he even opened his eyes, he knew something was very wrong. His whole body felt completely different, as if he were a completely different person. It was a different feeling from when he was in his cursed form, and yet what worried him was how his mind was reacting. Slowly, he opened his eyes and sat up, blinking as he looked around.
The first thing he noticed was that he was in a room in what appeared to be a log cabin, on a rather comfortable bed. The second thing he noticed, which he paid much more attention to was the long strands of silver and red hair that fell into his face. Grabbing a strand, his attention went from the hair to his hands. He immediately noticed how much smaller and more delicate looking they were than his normal cursed form, and quickly began to examine his whole body, suppressing the panic that was beginning to rise up inside. His bust was almost nonexistent, gone from well endowed to less than what he frequently made fun of Akane for. He was also much shorter that he was before. "Wha...what happened to me..?" Even his female voice had changed, coming out soft and bell-like even in her panic.
"You've awakened, child."
Ranma looked to the door as a familiar old woman entered on a staff, followed by two much younger women that he quickly recognized as amazons. "Old Ghoul! What's going on? Where am I? What happened to me!?" He tried to get out of the bed, only to fall over. Before she hit the floor however, the amazons with Cologne quickly moved to catch him, gently setting him back onto the bed.
"Calm yourself, child. You have been unconscious for three months and your body is severely weakened. This is the Joketsuzoku village; you were brought here by a friend of the amazons. As for what happened, I cannot say for certain, however I have an idea of the results. What is the last thing that you remember?"
"That I remember..?" Ranma went silent for a moment as he focused on trying to recall what had happened, then it all came back to him. "I remember now..."
The battle with Saffron.
Ranma's body had nearly been broken by Saffron's unrelenting strength and flames. Only the fact that his friend's lives were on the line kept him from giving in to the pain. Giving it everything he had just to get back to his feet, he inwardly begged his body to cooperate, to give him the strength he needed one last time, to save those that, although he would never tell them, were important to him.
You have the power to save them.
That's when he heard it. The voice, one that was very familiar, that seemed to come from within his heart.
'I can save them? I have the power?'
The power has always been within you, it is your birthright. However, as you are now, you cannot access it.
'I can't access it!? Then, what good is it? If it's always been my power, then how do I use it? I gotta save them!'
...If you choose to unlock your power, it will also unlock who you really are. You will no longer be 'Ranma Saotome'. You will change completely, and there will be no going back.
And yet...this change is who you truly are. It is the you that has been forgotten, the you that has been hidden away from you.
'...This change'll let me save my friends, right? And you say it's something that's always been a part of me? Then I'll do it. I'll do whatever it takes to save 'Kane and the others, even if it means 'ceptin strange deals from outta nowhere.'
Then, simply say the words, the ones that come from your heart.
And he did.
The last thing he recalled was an insurmountable power that filled his very being, along with pain that coursed through his body. He remembered the power exploding forth, striking down Saffron, along with everything else in the area before everything went black...
After Ranma finished his retelling, the room was quiet for a long moment as Cologne nodded to herself while the other amazons looked at Ranma with great respect, apparently having understood the conversation, "I see...to give up who you are, in exchange for a chance to save your friends. Admirable, child. Know that your friends and the Tendo girl made it back to Nerima not long after your battle. The powers you gained, or rather, the inheritance you unlocked allowed you to save them as well as yourself."
Ranma, who had calmed down considerably after recalling what happened smiled in relief, "Good. Woulda been a waste if it had been for nothin." Then he looked seriously at Cologne, "What's happened to me? My body feels completely different, and..."
Cologne gestured to the two girls beside her and they both nodded and exited the room. Once they did, she moved to sit down on the bed near Ranma, "I will not mince words with you, child. As you are aware, you have undergone a great many changes. From what we know, these changes are a result of the true power that has always been hidden within you being unlocked. In doing so, your curse has been lifted, and you are now in the form that you were born with, as hard as it may be for you to believe."
Normally, Ranma would have panicked. Normally, he would have claimed her crazy and denied everything she had said. However there were two things that stopped him from doing so.
The first, was that while Cologne had always used tricks to try to get him and Shampoo together, she had never actually lied to him about anything, and had many times been there to help him out of a serious spot. To be honest, she was one of the few people he actually held respect for, especially as she was one of the people whom actually taught him.
Second, and probably the most damning of the two was that he, or rather, she, could feel the truth in her words. It was a feeling that she had never felt before, as if everything about her had suddenly been corrected. She felt, for the first time in her life, whole.
"...I...believe ya." Ranma responded finally. "I can feel it. It's like this is how I'm 'posed ta be.. But... What does it mean? How did this happen?"
"As for how it happened, child, I am unsure, although I have my suspicions. As to what it means, however, I can tell you that. As it turns out, who you truly are is very much connected to the Joketsuzoku and the true purpose of our existence. Although I must say, you are taking this rather well child."
Ranma laughed hollowly, "My life is always screwed ta hell thanks ta pops. The fiancees, getting sold for food, the curse... It just doesn't surprise me too much. I'll admit I had my parts, but findin' out I've been a girl this whole time... Well, it kinda explains why he was always going on 'bout being a 'Man among Men.' After everything else... honestly, I wouldn't put it past him to have had something to do with this." The room was quiet for a moment before Ranma shook her head, "Anyway, what did you mean by what you said about being connected?"
"It is the most ancient of our stories, passed down from mother to child, from elder to elder for over four thousand years. It tells of our history, how our people came to the earth, of our greatest failure, and our greatest of duties."
Ranma's eyes widened a bit as she mentioned the coming to earth part, but she stayed silent and nodded for Cologne to continue, which she did. "Long ago, before our current civilization, there existed an era known throughout the galaxy as the Silver Millennium. It was an era where the whole solar system was inhabited by people, and each planet had its own kingdom. These kingdoms were very powerful, and all united under the banner of the Moon save the Earth, who was too war torn and divided to join. Each planet save Earth also had a princess. These princesses were trained to become very powerful magical warriors whose duties were to defend the solar system, and to protect the Moon Princess. The Joketsuzoku are descendents of Venusians, more accurately descendents of the Royal Guard."
Ranma nodded as she took in what she was told, then thought for a moment, "...But then, what happened? If this Moon Alliance had all that power, what happened to it all? And how did you all come to Earth?"
"As you are well aware, great power brings great enemies." Ranma nodded as her eyes narrowed, listening closely, "Our records aren't very informative on how it came about, but a powerful magic user by the name of Beryl launched a surprise attack using dark ones known as youma. They came from the Earth, and were quick to strike at the moon. The Moon Alliance was horribly outnumbered, and even the princess warriors, known as Sailor Senshi, were unable to combat all of them. In the end, the Moon Queen used a sacred artifact she owned to kill the dark ones and seal away Beryl. Then, using the last of her power and giving up her own life, she gathered the souls of the Senshi and others who died on the moon and sent them into the future to be reincarnated, along with advisers who would awaken them to their power and heritage when the time was right."
Ranma bowed her head in a moment for the fallen warriors and queen. While she didn't know them, she was a Martial Artist, and a Martial Artist's duty was to protect those who were too weak to protect themselves. Dying while fighting against overwhelming odds, to protect your planets was a worthy cause in her opinion. "No matter when or where, it looks like there's always somebody out to get ya when you've got power. That's a sad way for the alliance to go, though. Still, where did you guys come in, and what does this have to do with me? I feel like I'm missing something."
Cologne got up and began walking about the room, "As I mentioned, we are descendents of the Venusian Royal Guard. They protected the Royal Family although eventually the princess, the Senshi of Venus became powerful enough to not need an escort. However, there was one more that they protected. Some time before the fall of the SM, the Venus Royal Family was charged with the most sacred of tasks, the well-being of an infant, a baby goddess. Her exact heritage was a well kept secret that only the Royal Family knew, but all of the palace staff was aware that the child was of the Moon Royal Family.
"The child goddess was raised as part of the Venus Royal Family, the Senshi of Venus being named her godmother in fact. By this time, the Venusian Princess had matured into a fine young woman, and took to the role like a fish to water. The Royal Guard's primary duty became to watch over the young child and escort her wherever she went, although she was not often allowed to leave the palace."
After a moment, Cologne sat back down on the bed, a somber look on her face, "When the great evil struck, the Royal Guard was charged with taking the young child away to the moon. At the time, it was not known that the moon had been struck first. When they arrived by teleporter the battle was still being waged, and the Little Princess ran towards the palace in search for her godmother who had last been on the moon. However, instead of finding her godmother, she found Beryl herself."
Ranma gasped, and couldn't shake the chill creeping up in her heart for some reason. "...Beryl killed her?"
She was surprised when Cologne shook her head, a fierce look of pride in her eyes "No, when the Royal Guard caught up to her, they found her locked in magical combat with Beryl, matching her technique for technique! Our records say that she had no combat training or experience, and instead matched Beryl's formidable magical prowess with sheer magical power, piercing through the evil one's spells with just untrained magic and determination!"
As Cologne spoke Ranma was picturing it in his mind, and was doing it with extreme ease. She couldn't help but grab her chest as image after image of a young child not over the age of twelve in appearance jumped and rolled, her silver-red hair swirling around her as she returned spell with her own blasts of simple yet overpowered magic, until the child's eyes widened in shock as-
"-She was stabbed from behind." Ranma whispered, tears coming to her eyes unknowingly.
Surprised, Cologne nevertheless nodded, "That is correct. At a point where she actually held the advantage for a moment, she was struck from behind by one of the evil one's minions, and died before the Royal Guard could save her."
For Ranma it was like something had pierced her own heart, the pain resonating throughout her body for a long moment before it went away as Cologne rubbed her back, something that she would not have allowed had she still been male.
Nonetheless, she reluctantly welcomed the feeling as Cologne moved slightly closer and continued, "It was almost immediately after that our records say the Moon Queen sacrificed herself. Afterwards, the remaining Royal Guard, knowing that both the Princess of Venus and the Little Princess would be reincarnated in the future returned to Venus, however there was nothing left of their home world that could be restored. Thus, our ancestors, who were very few in number came to Earth, the only planet with people remaining, and settled here on these very same lands. To this day, our people have awaited the day that either of our princesses returned, sworn to protect them as we have done so in the past, and keeping alive as many Venusian traditions as we could, although many have been lost in the three thousand years that we have waited."
The room was quiet for a long moment while Ranma absorbed everything, her mind whirling as it began to piece things together, a conclusion beginning to form that she was hesitant to believe. Contrary to what most people believed, even before her recent change, Ranma was not dumb. Ignorant of many things, yes. Prone to doing stupid things, indeed; however the first (and probably only) girl she had knowingly befriended as a child had spent far too much time educating a then him on a broad amount of subjects during her training trip with Genma.
Ranma sighed to herself, the thought of her first true friend bringing a small smile to her face as she let herself forget her current dilemma for a moment. No one was aware of their friendship, or that she even existed for that matter. They had first met about a year after Ranma's training trip began, while Genma was 'learning from the local masters' of the town they were in. She was a bit older that 'he' was , and had the most unique hairstyle he had ever seen. Ranma, who had been starved of interaction with any other children had been more than eager to make friends with her, even if the girl had been a little strange. She had felt familiar, so that meant that they would be great friends, right? And she was so nice and fun, so different from what pops said girls were like- that could only be a sign, right?
So what if she insisted that she see to his learning, it just meant that she was worried about his education.
And so what if she had him learn how to sing; it just meant that she wanted him to have a variety of skills. A martial artist has to know many different things, and she taught him a lot!
So what if she occasionally referred to him as a girl, he was adorable as a little kid! And, so what if she got him several dresses, or taught him Lunarian Ballroom Dancing and how to read the Lunarian language; those dresses came in useful after Jusenkyo (even if Genma promptly got rid of them shortly after discovering them), and-
… And...
…
…
…
"...But...she's...that's not..." Cologne watched, intrigued, as Ranma struggled to say something until the young girl finally seemed to gather herself, "...Cologne," Said older woman hid her surprise at the use of her actual name from Ranma of all people, "I...I'm coming to a conclusion, one that can't possibly be right, so I'm gonna ask. What...what was the name of the Little Princess?" 'Please, don't let it be what I'm thinking...'
Instead of answering right away, Cologne got off of the bed and took hold of Ranma's hand. Helping her to her feet, she escorted Ranma over to a full sized mirror next to a dresser and gently pushed her in front of it. "Not 'was', child, 'is', for the name has always been yours, in past, present, and in future."
Ranma gasped as she took in the image that looked back at her with same shocked eyes.
A small girl that couldn't be any older than twelve, with ocean blue eyes. Beautiful silver-red hair that flowed in waves down to where it curled ever so slightly just below her knees; adorned with flowing ribbons. Silky smooth skin that had no marks or scars where Ranma knew once had been. Her clothes had been changed, no longer the red and black outfit that she had worn on a daily basis. Now she wore a one-piece yellow silk dress; an orange sash around her waist that draped down to her knees just like her hair.
And yet, even with all of the changes, the one that retained her attention the most were the twin silver crescent moon that now adorned her forehead. "This... is me..."
"I must admit," Cologne said softly, "When I was first told that you were the Little Princess, the child goddess that we had been awaiting for so long, I was more than a little skeptical, even though it was coming from a source of complete truth. However, as I look at you now, I can feel the naturalness of your form. Shampoo will be disappointed, but there is no doubt that this is how you were truly meant to be."
"...I know." And Ranma did. She had no doubt at all that this was her true form. There was just no describing how complete she now felt. What bothered her was how she ended up as a boy, and a certain girl who seems to have been in the know the entire time. "I can feel it. I don't have any of the memories of the past, but I can feel the truth. But, I can't accept it. Not yet. Not 'till I find out how this happened, and talk to Mom and Pops. We gotta lot to talk about. As things stand, I can't fulfill any of the marriage contracts, and that needs to be taken care of as well. And finally, there's also the contract that Pops and I made with Mom. There's no way I can be a 'Man among Men' anymore."
"And what do you plan to do if your mother enforces that contract, child?" Cologne questioned, "Needless to say, we Joketsuzoku will not simply allow you to commit seppuku, Princess."
"I'll decide once I get an explanation." Ranma replied, before moving back to the bed and sitting down with Cologne's help. "I'll head back to Nerima as soon as I get back my energy. I got a feeling I'm gonna have to beat the truth outta Pops."
"Aw. And after all the work I did to teach you how to speak properly, here you are, reverting back to how the panda raised you!" Both Ranma and Cologne turned as teenage girl entered the room, looking at Ranma with eyes that sparkled with mirth, "Am I going to have to give you a spanking again?"
Grabbing her backside in phantom pain Ramna glared lightly at the now laughing girl while Cologne watched with growing interest, "Am I to assume that the two of you know each other?"
"Yeah," Ranma responded without looking over to her, "And I'm willing to bet that she's the 'friend of the Amazons' that you said found me."
Cologne nodded as she watched the girl move over and give Ranma a warm hug. What surprised her most was Ranma reciprocated the hug, completely at ease with the female's close proximity. It was as if the girl had completely bypassed Ranma's anxiety towards female affection.
"I thought so," Ranma pulled slightly away from the hug to look at the girl. "When I put the dots together from everything that's happened, I knew that you had something to do with it. You knew the entire time that I was...am...a girl as well as who I really am, didn't you? It clicked in my mind when I think about all the girlish things that you've been teaching me from the beginning when we first met and when I saw the crescent moons on my forehead. Just like the crescent moon on yours. I trust you; I've always trusted you more than anyone else I've ever met. Please tell me you haven't been using me for your own purposes, like almost everyone else in my life, Sacchan."
Both women were shocked to see the tears falling down Ranma's face as she looked at her friend and said girl just deepened their hug as she responded, "Don't worry, I'd never do that, not to you. Well, at least not without telling you, anyway." She smiled as Ranma gave a small watery laugh, "I did meet you on purpose, and you're right that I did know that you were truly a girl the entire time. I just couldn't say anything or do anything else about it before, without risking changing the future too much. But now, I can act as I want, and can introduce myself to you how I've always wanted to."
Giving Ranma another warm squeeze she moved away. There was a flash as the girl known as Sacchan was enveloped in a pink light, and Ranma felt a sense of anticipation. When the light died Sacchan was still there, but instead of the shirt and shorts she wore before, she now wore a long pearlescent dress, a crescent moon on her forehead, her pink hair billowing softly. Smiling softly, she took Ranma's hand in her own and inwardly laughed at how much taller she was than the shocked silver-red head, "You have always truly been my best friend, regardless if you were a boy, but I've waited a long time to meet you as you truly are. I am the Third Princess of the Moon, Princess Usagi Small Lady Serenity, and on behalf of the Serenity line, I greet you, Second Princess of the Moon, Princess Usana Soleili Athanasia Serenity."
A/N: I'm a big fan of Ranma fanfiction, and the ones I like most tend to be crossed with Sailor Moon. Felt like trying my hand at one. There's another one that I've got in my mind that might pop up sooner or later also.
Till next time!