Ranma opened his eyes as the first warm rays of the sun trickled through the stain glass windows. When Ranma got up he blinked his eyes several times and wondered where he was since this room obviously wasn't his bedroom back home. First off the room was far bigger then his cozy room back home. The walls here were made out of carve dull reddish/orange stones with granite flooring. There were several gothic arched windows on the wall to his left and the windows were made up of multi-colored stained glass that was arranged in simple geometric patterns. All of the furniture in the room was masterfully carved out of mahogany. Finally the bed he was sleeping in was at least king-sized with a very soft and warm fur comforter.
As Ranma looked around the room he suddenly remember where he was. He was in the third finest bedroom in the Musk Palace and the best room that had been available for use. The first and second best bedrooms belonged to King Tso and Herb respectively. According to Herb, Ranma's station as the Warlord demanded nothing less then the quarters he was given.
The reason why Ranma was currently staying at the Musk Palace was simple: the Musk needed him here. Ranma's rebirth and then his arrival in the Musk territory were creating major shocks to the Musk people and their society. If Ranma had just taken off after going through the armory yesterday the Musk might have been thrown into complete chaos. So out of duty to his subjects, Ranma had remained here instead of going back to Juuban. Good thing that Setsuna had filled out that absentee from school because of mystical adventure form for him.
Ranma turned to look at the grandfather clock to his right and then said, "Okay what do I have to do today? Oh yah, I've got about 70 minutes to change and eat breakfast before my briefing with King Tso on the Musk's current strengths, weakness, and other vital information. That briefing goes on till lunch and after a quick lunch break I'll have a two hour class with Herb on the battle commands that the Musk use. Then I'll need to go down to the armory to help retrieve several items that have a separate security system protecting them. After I'm done with that is dinner where I'll have to deal with petty nobles jockeying for political clout."
Without meaning to Ranma let out a small groan of frustration before he continued to talk to himself. "'It's good to be the King' my foot. If it wasn't for the fact that King Tso cares so much about the Musk people's welfare I'd almost swear that he's trying his hardest to become a figurehead while shoving the job of ruling on me. At least I should be able to get some practice in after dinner." Then with a little grumbling Ranma got out of bed and got ready to face the day.
About an hour or so after the sun set a haggard Ranma dragged his feet back into his room and plopped down in one of his chairs. Ranma had been left mentally and physically exhausted by today's activities. What made the whole situation worse for Ranma was that until the enemy attacked all he could look forward to was a constant repeat of today. The practice time that Ranma had managed to get wasn't that bad. Actually it was a blast for Ranma since Herb had started to teach him the basics of flying. What really been draining was the meetings he had been in for most of the day.
To Ranma's surprise he suddenly heard Usagi's voice saying, "Long day huh." Ranma immediately started looking around his room to try and find Usagi. Since his communicator wasn't on the only way he could hear her voice was if she was in the room. After a few seconds of searching he spotted Usagi leaning against the wall in on of the corners of his room.
Ranma wondered why Usagi was in his room and he said, "So Usagi, what brings you to this neck of the woods? Don't get me wrong because I'm happy to see you here, but why are you here? You're supposed to be in Tokyo coordinating with Setsuna for the city's defense and on the Moon trying to get everything ready if we need to evacuate people to the palace."
Usagi sighed and shyly said, "I'm here right now so I can prepare the Moon if we need to use it as an evacuation point. You see, I need to tell you something about the restoration spell that is needed to restore the Moon's biosphere because I'll need your help." Seeing the confused looked on Ranma's face made Usagi wish she didn't have to talk to him about this. But common sense, as much as Usagi wish it didn't, dictated that Ranma needed to be aware of how to restore the Moon. As embarrassing as this was, it would be far better Ranma knew what was needed ahead of time instead just springing it on him in the middle of a crisis.
Somehow Usagi was able to gather her courage and said, "Please understand Ranma that this is difficult for me to say and very embarrassing. There's a hidden chamber under the palace with a large altar like platform inside. That altar is connected to the magical ley lines of the Moon and it is used to activate and maintain the Moon's biosphere. However, the altar can only use by the royal house providing a specific type of energy. This energy is the life generating energy released through sex." By the time Usagi had finished saying this, her entire face was red from embarrassment.
It was a good thing that Ranma had already been sitting down because otherwise he would have fallen on his rear when he heard Usagi's announcement. At the moment Ranma was really wishing that he had either misheard Usagi or that she had made a mistake. With a wary tone Ranma asked, "Is there any other type of energy that this altar can use?"
Usagi slowly shook her head and said with her eyes diverted away from him, "No Ranma. I've read every bit of information that I could find on the altar and its counterparts on the other worlds. I've even talked to Setsuna about the altar. The fact is that no other type of energy possesses the necessary subtle properties to be used by the Altars. In fact the Altar's job is collect, refine, and magnify that energy so that it can be injected into the ley lines. Also, it needs to be hetero because that's the only type of, you know, that can lead to new life."
All Ranma could think when he heard Usagi's explanation was that he should have expected something like this to come up. Things had been going far too well for him the past few months so obviously fate was preparing to send a major curve ball his way. Ranma then nodded his head and said, "Well thanks, I guess, for telling me this Usagi. Hopefully things won't come to that."
Usagi walked closer to Ranma and their eyes locked onto each other. She then said in a shy tone, "Ranma let's be reasonable. We both know that things will come to that in this upcoming fight. Oh we say that the fight won't get that bad to ease our friends' fears, but we know our luck isn't that good. As of today the number of missing people is over 200,000 people. Even the local authorities in Tokyo realize that something big is going to go down soon."
"Dear can, oh this is so embarrassing." Usagi seemed to have lost the courage to say whatever it was that she wanted to tell Ranma. However, before Ranma could ask Usagi what she was trying to say she managed to find her confidence again. With flushed cheeks the princess whispered, "C-can I see you, you know, in the buff? I don't want to embarrass you or do this, but I'm afraid that if I don't get used to the sight of you like that before hand that I'll waste time when we need to restore the biosphere do to surprise." Then Usagi's cheeks somehow became even redder as she continued on. "T-to be fair I'll let you see me as well."
For a minute Ranma sat in his chair completely unresponsive to the outside world as he tried to sort out his thoughts. This was not what Ranma wanted in his relationship with Usagi. He wanted to romance her as she deserved, lovingly, tenderly, with respect, and giving her as much dignity as he could. Was that really too much to ask for? Apparently it was. However, Ranma could understand where Usagi was coming from and so his said, "How do you want to do this?"
Usagi looked around the room and then back to Ranma before saying, "C-can we do this in the bathroom with you being in your female form when we undress? It will be easier for me to take off my clothes if, well, if there aren't any 'guys' in sight. Besides if we take a bath during this time it will be easier to deal with then if we're just standing around looking at each other."
Ranma nodded his head and got out of the chair. He then offered his arm to Usagi like they were going out for a walk. Even though there was a tiny part of Ranma's mind that was dancing for joy at the thought of seeing Usagi's body and the majority of his mind was nervous at what was going to happen, he still wanted to try and be a gentleman about the whole thing. Usagi grabbed Ranma's arm happy that he was apparently trying to make the best of this situation.
When the two entered the lavish bathroom that was attached to Ranma's bedroom Usagi grabbed a glass of cold water that was sitting on the sink and splashed Ranma. Obviously Usagi, even though she was extremely nervous about this whole thing, had been preparing for this. Since Ranma couldn't think of any words that would make this situation any better he immediately started to undress. At first Usagi was stunned seeing Ranma undressing before her, but then she remembered why she was here and she started to strip as well.
Once both of them were in their birthday suits Usagi turned on the water faucet for the bathtub and climbed inside. Usagi then turned to Ranma and said, "Get in here Ranma. The water won't be warm enough to trigger your curse for a few minutes. If I can't get used to your male form when that happens I'll be in serious trouble when we use the altar." Since Usagi was calling all of the shots Ranma nodded his head and got in the still mostly dry tub.
The couple quickly started talking about what had happened to them since they had talked yesterday. Not only did it allow them to share vital information like the fact that Ryoga and Mousse had been issued Palm Blasters, but it also put them more at ease with everything then if they had been silent. In fact, Usagi had become so involved in the conversation that it wasn't until she had to stop and turn off the faucet that she realized that Ranma was back to his male form.
Things became a little difficult for Usagi after she had made that realization about Ranma's form. Luckily Ranma was able to help calm her down by using some very carefully chosen words. After that, the two of them broke out the bars of soap and started to scrub themselves. Once Usagi and Ranma finished their bath they got out of the tub and dried themselves off. As soon as Usagi finished dressing she gave Ranma a quick peck on the cheek and then teleported out of the bathroom. That kiss was the only physical contact that occurred between the two of them after they had entered the bathroom.
On exactly 6:06:06 PM the following day the normal buzz of city life was destroyed by a massive series of explosions that racked the Special Wards of Tokyo. Pandemonium reigned in the streets as the shocked citizens of the various wards reacted to suddenly finding themselves in the middle of a war zone. The explosions weren't just haphazardly placed throughout the wards. Rather the sites of the explosions were carefully chosen to isolate the wards from the rest of Japan. Every road, rail line, dock, airport, and most of the utility lines that led out of the wards were destroyed. This had been done by suicide daemons that had been specially created for this purpose.
Before any police or firefighters could start to respond to the explosions the Hanyos started their offensive. The Hanyos attacked in groups of 7-10 Hanyos and there were almost 10 times that many lower class personal monster summons in the groups. If one was to look at the Hanyos' troop locations on a map that person would see that the Hanyos had encircled the wards only stopping at the ocean front. Over all it was a relatively simple plan involving a blitzkrieg assault that would force the citizens of the wards to retreat into each other thus causing even further chaos.
The immediate loss of life in those first few minutes of the attack was horrific. Everything and everyone in the wards became part of a mystical shooting range where the Hanyos seemed to be trying to outdo each other in the number of kills they or their summons racked up. There wasn't any sort of resistance along the initial massacre line because everyone was too busy trying to run and hide to try and defend themselves. Unlike the people living in Juuban, the people living on the edges of the wards were not used to supernatural confrontations. Even the people living on the edge of Nerima were panicking since they had never been involved in the chaos that could be found in the center of the ward.
What made this massacre even worse was the fact that for the first few minutes no one outside of those under attack knew that this was even happening. The emergency frequencies and lines were congested due to all of the explosions and the Hanyos killed the police too fast for an emergency message about the attack to be sent. Also, the Mercury Computer's sensors didn't have nearly enough range to detect the Hanyos from their current location.
Setsuna was the first person outside of those under attack to find out about the attack thanks to her being at the Time Gates. She immediately teleported back to Juuban flipped opened her communicator and said, "The enemy is attacking! They've formed a circle around all of the wards and are pushing inwards. No resistance has been formed yet. Casualties are rising fast!"
Immediately all of the scouts started rambling like chickens with their heads cut off; even Neptune and Uranus were rambling. The rambling was understandable since all of the Scouts previous battles were more like skirmishes in a gang war with the bad guys. This on the other hand was a real battle with an actual army attacking.
Luckily Usagi was able to quickly regain her calm and she started issuing orders. "Rei head down and defend Ota, Ami you've got Setagaya, Minako report to Suginami, Makoto hurry over to Itabashi, Huraka go to Kita, Michiru defend Adachi, Hotaru time to make your debut in Katsushika, and I'll head over to Edogawa. Before you head over to Setagaya Ami I want you to contact Mousse and Ryoga to get them to go defend Nerima. Setsuna, your job is to coordinate our defenses with the Japanese government so go alert them of the attack if their not already aware of it. Everyone, unless I counteract something that Setsuna says you are to treat everything she tells you as a direct order from me."
"Also Setsuna, I want you to contact Ranma and tell him to bring his troops over here NOW. Tell Ranma that I want him to divide his troops into two groups with one group being twice as big as the other. The smaller group is to transport into central wards and start preparing defenses there. The larger group is to be divided into small groups to assist in the defense and evacuation of the outer wards. Now let's move out and remember that people's lives are at stake here!"
Emperor Akihito in the middle of a friendly conversation with the Prime Minister of Japan when Setsuna teleported into the room. Naturally the Prime Minister was shocked at her sudden appearance inside the secured room. However, the Prime Minister's shock increased even more when he saw that the Emperor's bodyguards hadn't reacted at all to Sailor Pluto's arrival. What the Prime Minister didn't know was that the Emperor had previously ordered his guards to not immediately point their guns at anyone who magically teleported into certain rooms of the Imperial Palace.
Setsuna gave the Emperor a quick and yet still respectful bow before she immediately started to speak. "I'm sorry to inform you Emperor Akihito, but the Special Wards are under attack. As I speak every Sailor Scout along with the Moon Princess is heading out to try and slow down the enemy's advance. However, we are spread too thin and sadly most of the Scouts can't teleport by themselves. This means that many of the outer wards will be undefended by a Sailor Scout for at least 10 minutes due to the distance between the closest teleportation rings we've managed to set up and the encroaching battlefront."
"The Jovian Paladin has been notified about the situation and is mobilizing his subjects to come to our aid. Unfortunately he said that it will take him at least 15 minutes to mobilize his troops and to prepare the teleportation gates that he'll be using to bring his troops over here for use. I've been instructed by my princess to act the coordinator between the Scouts and the Japanese government so that we can work together towards our common goal of protecting the people."
While Setsuna was briefing the Emperor on the current situation the Prime Minister was busy contacting the Minister of Defense. Even though the government of Japan did not officially recognize the existence of the Sailor Scouts the Prime Minister knew better then to doubt Sailor Pluto's word about the attack. If the Scouts were saying than an attack was occurring then an attack must be occurring. As soon as he heard the Minister of Defense's voice on his cell phone the Prime Minister said, "We have Code Tsukiyomi. I repeat we have a confirmed Code Tsukiyomi in the outermost of the Special Wards."
Just because the Japanese government officially denied the existence of all supernatural phenomena didn't mean that the government hadn't attempted to figure out a way to defend Japan against supernatural foes. Sure the vigilante supernatural defenders that always cropped up to combat those threats did a wonderful job in keeping those threats minimal and out of the public eye. However, the Japanese government also knew that there was a chance that the vigilantes could be defeated by the supernatural foes they battled. Code Tsukiyomi was the government's codeword for any scenario in which the Sailor Scouts were either killed or were being overwhelmed by supernatural foes.
At its heart the plan to deal with a Code Tsukiyomi was very simple: launch every missile and explosive ordinance you can find at the monster and pray that the monster is destroyed. Now the Prime Minister and everyone else who knew about Code Tsukiyomi knew that the government's response plan wasn't that great of a plan. However, it was the best that could be done considering the circumstances. Surprisingly it is actually very difficult to discreetly funnel into a project that most of the public would believe is complete hogwash. Also, the fact that the Japanese government hadn't been able to get its hands on actual useful samples of malevolent supernatural beasts meant that the most the government had to work with was observation and conjecture.
When the Prime Minister finished making his call he then turned to face the Emperor and the minister said, "Your Imperial Highness might I suggest that you come with me to a secure facility? If you or your family should be lost in this battle it would be a serious blow to the Japanese people."
Emperor Akihito closed his eyes and said, "Gather my wife and my family so that they can be taken to a secure location. I will be remaining here in the palace." The emperor then opened his eyes, looked strait at the Prime Minister, and continued on. "My father did not abandon the palace during the fire bombings of WWII and I will not abandon the palace now."
The Prime Minister nodded his head and let the subject drop. If the Emperor had decided to remain then that was the Emperor's right. Then the Prime Minister looked at Setsuna before saying, "Sailor Pluto, will you please follow me. We will be better able to coordinate our defense and counterattack at the facility."
Before Setsuna responded to the Prime Minister she turned to face the emperor and said, "Good luck your highness. Just so you know the Sailor Scouts have a backup plan of transporting everyone to a safe location if the enemy cannot be stopped. If things reach that point please consider joining in the evacuation. Many of the people will be terrified and your presence would calm them down."
The Emperor nodded his head and calmly said, "I shall consider your proposal Sailor Pluto. However, for the moment my place is here in the palace where by my presence here I can fortify the citizens' moral. If I should not survive this conflict I trust that your Moon Princess will be able to insure the survival of my subjects until they can return to their homes."
Setsuna nodded her head and turned to face the Prime Minister. In her no nonsense tone she said, "Well then. I believe we have to moving there isn't a second to lose."
Ranma calmly walked beside Herb, who was wearing his usual dragon armor, in his senshi form as the duo headed towards a balcony. When they reached the balcony both boys looked down at the troops standing below them. There were over six thousand of the best troops the Musk had to offer standing at attention for Ranma. Each of them had been outfitted with the best weapons and armor that could be found in the armory.
As Ranma stared out at the army he tried to think of something that was appropriate to say. These soldiers were willing to risk their lives for people that they had never met just because he asked them to. At the very least he should say something that showed just how grateful he was that they were doing this. However, no matter how hard Ranma tried he couldn't think of anything to say. Finally he prayed to Nephrite's spirit asking his past life's father for the words to say.
Thankfully Nephrite seemed to be listening in the afterlife because Ranma suddenly found the words to say. In a confident tone Ranma called out, "For millennia the mighty dragon of the Seiryu Legion has slumbered in this valley waiting for the day when its strength would be needed once again. Well, that day has finally arrived."
"In the east a large army of creatures has risen up and is attacking the people of Tokyo. These creatures seem to desire only one thing: the death of every man, woman, and child that they can find. Our allies the Sailor Scouts can't hope to defend the city against the vast number of creatures that are attacking. The leader of the Sailor Scouts has asked us to aid the Scouts in defeating these monsters. Even though the odds are not in our favor we shall come to the Scouts assistance. With our honor and our training we shall prevail!"
A thunderous roar of approval rose from the assembled troops letting Ranma know that his words had been the right ones. The troops then immediately about faced and started marching towards the teleportation devices that would open the gates that they would use to get to Tokyo. Before heading over to the teleportation pads themselves, Ranma and Herb locked eyes with each other. Silently each prince sent the other the simple message of watch your back. They both knew that things in Tokyo were about to become hell on Earth.