Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and it's characters are the product and property of Rumiko Takahashi and Viz video.
The Juuban Incident
Chapter Ten
By Michael Fetter
Stories in Crystal Tokyo were somewhat unique as they were also counted as history. The many tales of the Sailor Scouts were written down sometime after Neo Queen Serenity ascended to the throne. Chibi-Usa wasn't certain who wrote them up, but they quickly became the most widely known stories in the peaceful kingdom. They were the kind of stories kids were read when it was time for bed. It became a form of hero worship for quite a number of children including Usa herself.
That's what made some of this trip so hard for the little girl. She knew her father would marry Usagi, but that Ranma person was just so pretty. The moment she ran into Mamoru's apartment she knew the redheaded trollop must be using her feminine wiles to seduce her father. The fact she was more mature and less grating than Usagi had nothing to do with it. Nope.
After the disastrous encounter, resulting with her father scolding her for being rude, Usa decided she needed to take action and to get help from her friend Hotaru. The two of them together should be able to unravel that terrible vixen's spell from Mamoru's mind. This might even be why Sailor Pluto sent her back in the first place. Not to just train with the past Scouts, but to defend them from the unseen enemy!
A rumbling carried over the city as Usa posed dramatically at the edge of the Tomoe residence walkway.
With her pure, innocent heart, she would save the future, and her parent's marriage, from the vile sorceress, who dareth to ensnare the noble heart of the prince of Earth!
Usa thought over that for a moment. "If I had a bokken to point at the moon that would have been a lot more dramatic." She shrugged and made her way to the door, unheeding the foreboding nature of the shadows clasped about the home. An owl hooted ominously and then fell over dead. A tree branch fell to the ground with a terrible snap like a bone breaking.
Still, Usa smiled cheerily and knocked on the door.
"What can we do though?" Usa pondered as she waited. "If she has Mamoru in her clutches and the Sailor Scouts can't fight her, then maybe she's gained control of them too! I will have to be clever. Maybe I can devise a clever trap and lead her into it."
Low screams of anguish rose with the wind.
"Perhaps I will have a fight and be defeated. Then after a training trip I will return and take her by surprise, thus ensuring love and justice for the future. I wish Hotaru would hurry so she could help me figure it out."
Usa stared at the closed door with irritation. Where was that weird redhead that usually answered? Hotaru said she was going to be home tonight. "Maybe," Usa reached out for the handle and gave it a little turn. The door creaked open, ominously.
As if noting her surroundings for the first time, Usa jumped closer to the wall and peeked into the house cautiously. This was just like those bedtime stories after all. The hero's enemy always strikes out at the hero's friends when it was apparent that their plans were being interfered with. Could Ranma have beaten her here?
The ominous shadows inside were darker than her crayola markers. And the old, musty smell of places taken over by evil villains was certainly ominous. Then there was the ominous swing of a few portraits without the help of wind. Not to mention that strange tingly feeling Usa was getting from the house. It was all so . . . ominous.
~
As Ranma glared at the Sailor Scouts and balled up her fists, her eyes began to glow pure silver. "Let's rumble."
About six months ago, a young man's life was suddenly taken away from him. A training trip of ten years was wasted in a single act of stupidity on his father's part, and now Ranma had nothing but this lie. He went from a man with goals of becoming the greatest martial artist ever to a know-nothing, weak, little girl. He fought this change as hard as he could, but a few days ago he had given up that struggle as well.
Ranma may not have looked like a man, but he believed that it didn't matter. No matter how red his hair, how big his chest, he was still a man. The body was just a covering that he had yet to shed. He would be a man again, he would.
Then it all came crashing down. Ranma hadn't really thought about what his life had become until a few days ago. First was Ami's rejection and it made him realize he wasn't a man anymore. What did it matter what he thought if no one treated him like he wanted? Men dated women, but not him. He was a girl and that was all there was to it. A girl engaged to a guy. Mamoru.
Kuno had died; something that was at least partially her fault. If Ranma hadn't hit him, Kuno might have been well enough to run from Mistress Nine. Then the cats showed up and Ranma had frozen. She didn't want to believe that she needed help, but what else do you call it when an Amazon, another girl, has to save you from a pair of stupid daemons? Ranma wasn't a man anymore; she was a weak, stupid, scared, little girl and she would die that way.
The following days had become a blur. Ranma moved and spoke, but it was like controlling a puppet with its strings cut. She was removed from the world, set aside like trash. Ranma bowed to the roles of a woman, bowed to her father's rejection of her worth, and bowed to the man she was engaged to.
When the Sailor Scouts showed up, it had been the kick in the ass she'd needed to wake up. Ranma finally looked at the world again. She was not hiding from what she was, and she was not going to be forced into the role the world had made for her; Ranma was going to accept the changes, adapt, and like a true Anything Goes master, improve upon them. She wasn't going to be the step stool of life, no one tells her what a woman is, she was going to tell them!
Sailor Moon swallowed nervously and took a step back. This was not how previous confrontations with the redhead had gone. Something was definitely different. She was angry with Ranma for stealing her Mamo-chan and hurt that one of her own Scouts had turned traitor. Why had Mercury joined forces with Ranma? Hadn't Pluto just told them that Ranma was evil? She had to be destroyed. So then, why?
Standing beside Ranma, Sailor Mercury gave her friends the harshest glare she could come up with. They were being stupid, acting like cattle while Pluto herded them in the direction she desired. Couldn't they see that? What had Ranma ever done to warrant this sort of treatment from anyone? The redhead was a little rough, but she was also kind and caring if anyone gave her a chance. But Mercury could admit that the Sailor Scouts had been getting a bit trigger happy, ready to believe people were guilty first.
As Ami Mizuno, she couldn't allow this to continue. As Sailor Mercury, she had a duty to protect the innocent. She hated fighting against her princess, but the girl beneath the Sailor Moon costume, had lost her sense of justice. Sailor Moon had become the enemy she had been trying to destroy.
With Ranma's words, the Sailor Scouts and martial artists had fallen into combat stances. At an unheard signal everyone spread out and went in for the kill. People on the sidelines could feel it in the air. It was electricity mixed with a heavy weight. This was going to be Ranma's final battle with the Sailor Scouts. One way or another, these fights were going to stop now.
Clenching his jaw, Mamoru allowed his Tuxedo Mask costume to appear and went straight for Sailor Moon. He hoped he could talk sense into her. "Mercury," he called out to the defector. She could help him deal with Moon hopefully. Sailor Mercury nodded and followed after him.
Sailor Mars watched her princess engage Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Mercury. She pushed the betrayal from her thoughts and glared at the glowing redhead, the real enemy. "Looks like it's just you and me, bitch," she growled.
Ranma smiled and lifted into the air, somehow carried by the silver power in her aura. "You've had this coming, little girl." She cracked her knuckles and primed a blast as Mars did the same.
Yes, this would end tonight.
~
Several blocks away from the fight between Ranma and the Sailor Scouts, Pluto had entered the world with a swift slash of her Key Staff. It is the focus tool of her powers. Time was something like a predator that curled within the shadows. Tread carefully and you can escape it for a time. Step on it's tail and you will find yourself bitten.
Since before the fall of the Moon Kingdom, Pluto had kept herself out of sight of both Time and Space. Within the Time Gates her image never crossed the snakes field. From there she could watch and protect time. From there she could bring the Moon Kingdom back through subtle nudges.
Sailor Pluto, guardian of the Time Gates, was like a god, all knowing and ever present. She had one mission in her life, peace. Peace that affected all peoples the way her queen once had. It took many years of fighting and legislating before the people could be made to work together. In the end, it was a utopia. The queen was powerful, but the people trusted her to use that power to protect them and they in turn loved her.
Millennia of planning, of watching, of waiting, all of it for peace.
Taking a deep breath, Pluto focused on the darkness creeping about the streets. A presence was formed without even disturbing the wind. Like a cockroach creeping out of the cracks, this had been one of the flaws in Pluto's plans. She had not expected something like this and would not have to deal with it if not for the contemptuous redhead.
"I've been waiting for you," Pluto said to the shadow separating itself from the dark alleyway.
A little girl, maybe twelve, grinned nastily at Pluto. She was dressed in a dark purple Sailor Scout uniform and carrying a huge pole arm with a deadly blade at one end. "Then you have been waiting for your death," the young girl returned.
A daemon by the girl's side grinned maliciously, rows of sharp teeth filling its large maw. Like the others, the daemon was human in shape, but it had the influence of a teddy bear. Soft fur and button eyes were distorted with shoelace stitches and steel claws.
Sailor Pluto set herself for battle. Staff forward in a blocking position, she kept her eyes locked on the young girl. "I will kill you if I must, Saturn."
"You'll try," the girl smirked. The daemon clenched its hands, but Saturn held up her hand and took a step forward. "No. I will take care of this. I could use the practice."
Sailor Saturn, Pluto mused, whose power rivaled that of the queen. The little girl deceptively held enormous power that was destined to be used to destroy the world. Back in the Moon Kingdom when people were living on nine planets, this news was terrifying, but there was hope that it would be some other world that people could evacuate from. Now there was only the Earth. Pluto had to assume that it was this world Saturn would destroy. With Pharaoh Ninety awaiting to be released from his seal and Saturn's power the only one capable of opening it, the prophecy seemed to be moving in an effort to prove itself.
But Pluto was the guardian of the Time Gates. She knew the future, knew thousands of them. Like she had done in the past, Pluto would nudge the time stream in her direction once again. She aimed her staff at the girl. "Dead Scream."
Dark Saturn did not lose her grin as she moved her glaive in front of her. "Silence Wall!"
Black energy exploded around a purple wall that seemed impenetrable as the area outside of it was ripped apart by Pluto's attack. Sailor Pluto looked away as the dust blasted over her and then readied another attack as soon as it settled. She was surprised when the young girl rushed out of the dust cloud and jabbed at her stomach with the bladed head of the glaive.
Tilting her Key Staff to the left, Pluto allowed the attack to glance off to the side and threw a kick into the girl's stomach. Her leg was met by the glaive and she used the solid block to twist about the other way with a hook kick.
As the two fought, darkness and solitude, the area about them began to tremble. Unlike other structures or weapons, the Silence Glaive and the Key Staff were more than real. The street they stood on only existed here, composed of a single energy.
The two weapons existed beyond that, beyond the scope of modern science. Each universe held a Key Staff and a Silence Glaive and each of the weapons was interconnected. These weapons would not bend under pressure, nor would they tire from use. Time and Silence were not lucky creations of a certain universe like the planets of the solar system, they were absolute. Time existed for everything. Silence, pure Silence, existed in the nothing. The two would always clash just as they would exist together.
Sailor Pluto arched backwards beneath Dark Saturn's next swipe and brought her staff down hard upon the glaive. Dark Saturn's arms almost buckled, but the girl pushed at her magical energies and sent Pluto into the air.
Dark Saturn landed several yards from her opponent, breathing harder than she had been. She took a moment to assess Pluto and was satisfied to find the woman also feeling the drain of their fight. "You're strong for an old woman."
Sailor Pluto scowled and held up her staff again. She hadn't bee able to use much magic with Dark Saturn keeping the distance so close. The little girl had not fired any offensive spells yet. Maybe she didn't know any. "Dead Scream."
"That was good," said Saturn. A building behind her hand collapsed when Pluto's blast bounced off of her magical barrier. She grinned, sharp teeth flashing. "Do you think you can stand up to one of my attacks?" She didn't give Pluto the chance to respond when taking the glaive with both hands and aiming it at the green-haired Scout. "Silence Glaive Surprise!"
Pluto looked on in horror as a black ball of energy quickly began to expand to encompass more than just the street area. She crossed her arms, waving the Key Staff. "No-!"
Blackness. There was Silence.
~
"You're going down this time, you redheaded tart!"
Ranma glided into the air as Sailor Mars rushed forward, the air about her steaming from the energy of her attack. Months ago she might have been surprised by such a thing, but their continued confrontations had hardened Ranma's nerves. Raising a hand, she felt power and knew instinctively how to use it. White energy reflected the fire attack with ease that made Ranma smirk like a child would upon crushing an annoying insect.
Kicking Sailor Mars away, Ranma lifted a ball of silver energy and imbued it with her hate giving it a red sheen. "You like fire so much, Sailor Mars? Let me turn up the heat. Ha!"
The blast leapt forward giddily like a heat-seeking missile. Sailor Mars crossed her arms defensively.
Over to the side, Ranma's Amazon protector was rushing forward to crush Sailor Jupiter under one of her bonbori. "Shampoo kill bimbo cheerleader!"
Jupiter was one of the more competent fighters in the group. This was no where near Shampoo's level of knowledge, but the fight was evened out with her magical enhancement. The two traded blows in a flurry of motion until Shampoo caught her by the chin with her heal.
Taught never to hesitate in battle, Shampoo leapt forward quickly to take advantage of Sailor Jupiter's temporary grogginess.
"Venus Love Me Chain!"
The Amazon screamed as she was pulled out of the air and tossed into the side of a building. People in the nearby buildings screamed and started rushing for the exits. Police sirens could already be heard rushing for their fight.
Jupiter sighed in relief while watching the shifting rubble. Magic or no, she hadn't been certain if her head would have been crushed by the Amazon's blow. She turned to see Sailor Venus blasting away her opponents with a Crescent Beam. "Thanks, Venus."
The other Scout spared her a nod then returned to her fight with the two older girls.
Running swiftly around Jupiter's flank, Ryouga had his umbrella reared back then thrust it forward, catching the Scout in the stomach. She flew off in the same direction Shampoo had gone and he smirked cockily as the building buried the girl as it collapsed. No one was stronger than him! "You should pay attention to the fight! Ha!"
Ryouga wasn't sure why he was fighting, only that it was for Ranma. He knew she was a sweet young girl and that these Scouts had been terrorizing her. Bullies were bullies as far as he was concerned, and deserved to be treated like the garbage they were.
Shampoo had a clearer idea of why she was fighting; though it was not as selfless as her great grandmother's notions. This was a battle against powerful opponents. As an Amazon, who had trained her whole life to find and protect the Artifact, this was the true test of her mettle. If she were worthy of defending the Artifact and bringing about the great matriarchal nation of before, then she had to prove herself here, defeat the enemy of the ages. Shampoo's blood burned to crush her foes and come closer to the perfect power of the Artifact.
Already out of the building before it fell, Shampoo whistled at the damage Ryouga had caused. "Aiyah, lost boy is good." He grinned at her and then readied a new attack when a bolt of electricity blasted the wrecked building out of Jupiter's way.
The distraction had cost Sailor Venus. Her two opponents, both girls a few years older than herself, had rushed forward while her Love Me Chain was still wrapped about the Chinese girl fighting Jupiter. Venus had been lucky to the shorter, stronger girl away, but the other with the large spatula had her pinned.
Ukyou strained to hold her spatula through the Scout's arms. The girl was strong and already her battle spatula was beginning to bend under the pressure. "I'll make okonomiyaki out of you tramps!"
"Don't you know that girl is evil?!" Venus implored while doing her best to shake the pony-tailed girl off. She only needed a few more seconds to snap the weapon.
Ukyou braced herself and glanced up once at her partner in this fight. Pulling hard, Ukyou held Sailor Venus still for a few seconds. "Now, Akane!"
Hands bowled, Akane pooled energy together like a burning star. "For Ranma-san! Furious Bullet!"
Venus gasped as she was suddenly released and staring down an energy blast, something she thought normal humans could not create.
Sailor Mars rubbed at her sore jaw and ignored the scream followed by a large blast on her right. She had one enemy in her sight and she refused to give it up. Spinning to create numerous balls of fire, she tossed them at the floating enemy with a snarl. "Mars Burning Mandala!"
Ranma's grin widened as she simply held her hand up and an energy field protected her again from Mars' attacks. "Weak." She delighted upon seeing the girl's face burn with anger. Ranma was not usually malicious, but this the Sailor Scouts had coming. Pulling one hand back, Ranma shot out an upper cut that was yards away from connecting. "Moon Crystal Eruption!"
Almost snickering, Sailor Mars had a taunt ready to fire when she found a huge line of crystal spikes rushing towards her. The sprouted ten feet tall just beneath her feet and nearly skewered her in her attempt to dodge. "AAAHH!"
Following the girl into the air, Ranma descended overhead with a hard kick that left Mars buried a foot into the pavement. "You lose!"
Sailor Mars screamed on the way down and grunted on impact with the ground. Her body felt like a massive bruise, but she wouldn't give up. Not until one of them was dead.
Tears in her eyes, Sailor Moon tried to ignore the sounds of fighting as she faced her own opponents, people she had once called allies and friends. "Mamoru, Ami, how could you?!"
Tuxedo Mask was unrepentant. He held up a rose between two fingers and pointed at his once girlfriend. "You've gone too far this time, Usagi! Attacking an innocent."
Ami nodded in agreement and prepared an attack she hoped she would not have to use. "Can't you see what you're doing is wrong?! I know seeing Mamoru with another girl has hurt you, but that's life! You can't blame Ranma for your failed relationship!"
The blonde refused to hear it. She shook her head violently and sobbed. "I didn't fail! You two have been brainwashed. Mamoru and I were meant to be together!"
Tuxedo Mask shook his head. "That was a lifetime ago, Usagi. People change."
"No!" Sailor Moon stomped on the ground, causing several cracks to sprout from her foot. Her anger gave way to new power she hadn't used since fighting Beryl and a white gown spilled over her form.
Reaching down, Usagi grabbed a hold of Rei's shoulder, a white light surrounding the girl for a moment. "Mars, take care of them."
Mars wanted to protest, but Usagi wouldn't hear it. She would not fight Mercury and Prince Endymion. They were the ones she wanted to win back and it was obviously Ranma's fault they were acting like this at all.
Ranma noticed her change in opponents and readied more powerful energy to fight off the stronger Scout. "Give it up, Sailor Moon. I'm not in the mood to deal with a bunch of brats. I might do something you'll regret."
Usagi looked over once to see Mars distracting Endymion and Mercury. She pulled out her wand and twirled it through her fingers before aiming it at Ranma. "I'm Sailor Moon. I triumph over evil and that means you! Moon Scepter Activation!"
Already prepared to defend herself, Ranma pushed both palms forward and a light as pure and silvery as Moon's lanced across the area. "Brilliant Lunar Eclipse!"
Sailor Moon saw her attack engulfed by the oncoming energy. She closed her eyes and prayed. "I can't lose."
Ranma saw her blast was stronger, but Moon's energy was also cutting through it. A little shot wouldn't hurt her though. Not like this. "Then let me teach you how!" Ranma screamed with determination.
The Moon Princess flinched when Ranma's energy reached her. Ranma also tensed when the thinner blade of energy impacted her chest. Both girls were shocked to see the energy pass through them without any harm.
Swallowing deep breaths of air, Usagi felt her chest and found only the rapid beating of her heart. "What?"
Ranma slowly settled to the ground as she stared at Usagi. The pull, the strange feeling she'd been getting ever since the curse, the pull she'd tried to ignore, had finally defined itself. Ranma wasn't sure if she should be happy or upset with this revelation. There were tugs at her very soul from various directions, but the most powerful one stood just in front of her. Chaotic blue eyes gazed searchingly into Usagi's soft brown ones. "It's you," Ranma breathed.
"Look out!"
The spiritual moment was cut short by a rumbling sound closing in on their fight. The Moon Princess looked about her quickly, finding police cars and peace officers standing on the sidelines. Her friends and enemies had stopped battling and stared all in the same direction. It was not at the power struggle between herself and Ranma, but something beyond them.
The ground began to shake and Usagi found herself staring at a nightmare formed of purple energy heading in their direction. Thinking only of saving the lives of others, she stood before the people and held up her wand. "Moon Scepter Activation!"
The purple energy wave continued around the princess and she cried when innocents were caught in the blast. She couldn't drop the field while there were still people behind her though. "Scouts, I need your help!"
Those on Ranma's side stared at the clashing energies for a few moments before the realized the Scouts' magical field was still collapsing. "She can't hold that for much longer," Mercury said urgently.
Ranma nodded and ran forward to add her own power. She glanced briefly at the Scouts and wondered at the change of attitude they showed now. Bringing both hands together, Ranma released her energy. "Brilliant Lunar Eclipse!"
Blackness. Silence.
A few moments later the world returned with all of the sounds of the city at night. Wind brushed at the pulverized area and over the bodies of several unconscious magical girls.
Some blocks over after running from the strange attack, Uranus pulled out her Space Sword and nodded to her companion. "Let's check it out."
Neptune agreed and followed quickly.
~
Blearily, her eyes opened and she tried to make out the details of her surroundings. Her head hurt and with the heavy shadows it was hard to tell, but she might have been in a basement. Things buzzed and beeped and whatever she was laying on was hard and cold like steel. Her back hurt as did her wrists and ankles that had been strapped down.
The darkness felt thicker for a moment then a young girl stepped out into the low lights of Dr. Tomoe's laboratory.
"Mistress." Dark Saturn stood still and hung her head while waiting for a response. A tall redhead came into view dressed in a tight dress that glittered green.
"What happened?" Mistress Nine growled out lowly while looking the younger girl over for damage.
The younger one looked up and she could tell it was Hotaru Tomoe, her friend. The girl's voice was different though, colder and steadier. "Pluto escaped, but she shouldn't be a problem for us anymore."
Mistress Nine stared at the turned Scout and frowned with disgust. "You are still weak. You've barely tapped into Saturn's power."
"I'm sorry, Mistress Nine."
A man walked closer to Dark Saturn and looked her over with a smile. He pats her cheek with fatherly affection then considered administering a shot of daemon essence. "Yes. By my guess we only have a third of Saturn's power under our control. It will take time for the daemon essence to complete corrupt her being."
The woman scowled. "There is no time for this. The time to release our master draws near. Dark Saturn must be at full power for my plans to succeed."
"Then I have a suggestion," the man moved Dark Saturn onto one of the tables and attached the daemon power I.V. to her arm so her healing process would be hastened. Dr. Tomoe turned to Mistress Nine with a wide grin. "After Dark Saturn has healed you could enter the body and over power the last of its defenses."
"I need power for that, doctor," Mistress Nine reminded him, but sounded intrigued nonetheless. It had been her original intent to take Saturn's body for herself until Ranma's power had made itself known. The daemon body she used now was less than satisfactory, but it allowed her to cross planes.
"And I have the perfect candidate." Tomoe smiled and turned to Chibi-Usa who had been watching all of this with terrified eyes. There were various sharp implements around her and known of them looked pleasant. "Her heart crystal will do nicely."
Mistress Nine glanced over the pink-haired girl's body and smiled wickedly. "Excellent."
~
It was gone.
Uranus had seen explosions before, caused a number of them herself, but none of them had been like this. It was like a part of the planet had been sliced off, leaving a smooth cut that extended for as far as the blast had reached. On the edge of the blast, buildings were partially destroyed with semi-circular openings on their sides.
Pulling at a ground pipe, Uranus examined the severed edge and felt its texture. Smooth and cool, like it had been manufactured that way. The sight caused Uranus' to shudder and wish that the area were not so quiet.
She tossed the metal away when Sailor Neptune walked in her direction. "Find anything?"
Uranus shook her head. "The area is a total loss. Whoever Pluto was fighting, their power skewered everything from existence. I haven't even found any debris." She noted the object in Neptune's hand. "What does the mirror show?"
Grimacing, Neptune folded her arms about herself. "Darkness. Endless, unstoppable darkness."
The moon was high over head, it's light crashing down on them like it would never do if there were still a city standing here. Even the clouds had been pushed back in a rough circular shape though the winds were slowly correcting that.
"Pluto might still have escaped, right?"
Neptune grimaced. "I'm . . . not sure."
"Damn." Uranus tried kicking at something. It helped her to think. "We need that pure heart crystal. We need it now."
"Yes."
~
Swans danced in silvery streams while shadowed by the Earth overhead. Drops of water jumped upwards until they hit a white barrier that sang bass melodies in time with the movements of the planets. Ranma could stare upwards, beyond the magical barrier, and almost fall past the Earth, Venus, Mars, and roll about the sun.
Everything was so clear and steady, the stars held their shine and spied upon the galaxy from afar. But the universe was so hollow, filled only with a small number of planets and moons. The feeling of nothingness mirrored Ranma's soul and it strained her chest to be in the midst of it. She thought the planets must be uncomfortable without something to embrace them.
"Don't head that way, my queen," a dapper young man in formal armor spoke, "you'll fall too high and then what good would you be?"
Dutifully, Ranma returned to the moon and the creek. She was important here, helping the kingdom turn as she willed it. The man by her side was tall, with short black hair, and handsome, youthful features. She brushed aside a few long strands of golden hair from her eyes and smiled at him. "Where is my king, page? Has he returned from the war?"
The boy nodded. "The king has returned and would meet you in your chambers, your majesty."
Smiling brightly, Ranma lifted the hem of her large skirt and walked for the palace. She stopped and stared at the stream for a moment. "Page, pick up nine stones from the edge and bring them with you."
"Any stones?"
"No," Ranma smiled and pointed about the area. "Gather those on the edge that hold off the water keep passerby's dry."
The page knelt by the stream and began to pluck several stones from their confinement. As each was removed, a little more water began to spill out onto the grass. When he finished choosing nine stones, the page was standing ankle deep in water and the level was rising. Ranma took several steps back to keep herself out of the water and smiled beautifully at the boy. "Come along."
The Moon Palace gardens were magical in their splendor and sculpture. Paths wound about grooves of trees and flowers, all leading back to a central statue that Ranma could not yet see. She forgot about it easily as the palace began to shine a light silver blue.
"You stop, thief!"
Ranma's heart skipped a beat and she thought someone had called her the thief. But these were her gardens on her palace. Who would call her such a thing? "Who dares?!"
A young boy rushed about the path with something cupped in his hands. When he noticed the queen he smiled and hid behind her legs. "Can't get me now!" he crowed.
"Oh?" Ranma reached down to grab his collar. The boy looked at her surprised and his face quickly turned to anger.
"You faker!" The boy accused. "Always pretendin' and never doin nuthin ta help. Who died and made you queen?!"
"Boy!" An old man with glasses called. He waddled into the area with smug arrogance, sneering at Ranma before calling to the thief once again. "What did you get?"
"It's not for you neither, oyagi!" the little boy screamed, holding his hands closer to his chest. A light seeped between his fingers though he wanted to block them out. "Look what you did! It's gettin out! Now I'll never remember!"
The man growled angrily and ran after the boy as he left the path. Ranma wanted to know what the light had been, but the boy had faded and she could not leave the path.
Ranma continued her walk to the palace, passing by more exotic plants of red and blue. In an area of roses a group of girls were having an argument. She never liked them, always complaining about the snails that wanted to eat their roses. Ranma never saw the snails and thought the girls were foolish.
Arriving at the entrance, a man walked out of the door and grinned brightly at her. Ranma's heart fluttered with affection and she raised a hand to lace her fingers with his. "My king, how goes the war?"
"It is a constant battle," the man answered with weary eyes, "but I have come upon a solution to save us all."
"Have you?"
He pulled her close and she could stare up into his dangerous blue eyes. The reflected her image that was not hers alone. In one she found the red-haired girl and another had an elegant blonde woman. His eyes always held love for people she did not know. But he held her hand, pulled her close to his body, stared at her with his eyes. What was in them was unimportant so long as he returned to her.
"You are my soul," the man said. "Without you I cannot exist. Even with this battle, I need only think of you and I will keep fighting. Together we are unstoppable."
Ranma frowned in confusion and turned her head to rest it upon his chest. She couldn't feel the beat of his heart and wondered where he must have left it. "I don't understand, but you are my king and my heart. Every beat of life more precious than the last."
"Then let me save us," he whispered. The black pigtail of his hair fell over his shoulder and onto Ranma's hand held against her husband's chest.
"Please," she said urgently.
Slowly his hands came around and he took hold of her neck. He brought her around to face him and she thought they would kiss. The coarse hands grew tighter and the thumbs began to press into her throat. "Together," he kissed her on the lips, "until death do we part."
Someone shook her shoulder lightly.
Ranma opened her eyes to see Mamoru leaning over her. His clothing was torn in places and his face was smudged with dirt. "What happened?"
Sighing in relief, Mamoru sat back and smiled faintly. "You collapsed after expending so much energy."
Ranma sat up and looked around the area. She was lying down on her back in a living room she didn't recognize. Her friends were sitting on one side of the room licking their wounds and glaring at the other side. The Sailor Scouts were mostly tired, but not badly hurt. Most of them were drained by the defensive shield they tried to help Sailor Moon maintain.
Noticing the look she was getting, Sailor Moon held up her hands. "We won't attack you."
Sailor Mercury smiled and finished checking over the other Scouts. Her computer relayed a number of statistics about their injuries, none of which were serious and most already healing. "I convinced them that something is wrong and they were being deceived."
"What do you want?" Ranma wasn't sure about the blue Scout. She had sided with Ranma during the fight, but it seemed like a rather sudden decision to the redhead and she wasn't sure what to make of it. Sailor Mercury closed her computer and released the magic field surrounding her to something Ranma recognized. "Ami?"
Akane and Ukyou were just as surprised and a little hurt by the truth, but kept quiet to let Ranma deal with the matter.
Sighing, Ami rubbed at her temples and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure yet, but I think Pluto has been trying to manipulate the Sailor Scouts ever since she learned about you." She stared at Ranma seriously. "No one should be able to defeat a daemon other than the Scouts because their bodies are not entirely physical. It requires large amounts of astral power that Sailor Moon has in her attacks. She should have been the only fighter with that much purification magic."
Ranma followed along, mostly, but she was still confused. "What has that got to do with anything?"
Trying to explain, Ami opened her computer and keyed up a graph that displayed power signatures. The visual didn't help Ranma much, but it focused Ami's thoughts. "You also have that power, only on a much larger scale. The only person in our history with that power greater than Sailor Moon would be the queen." Ami grinned at Ranma jokingly. "You're not a reincarnated Moon Queen though, are you?"
Obviously needing to vent, Akane released a red aura that Ranma smirked at and glared at Sailor Mars while talking to Ami. "Why don't you get back to the part where you were trying to kill Ranma-san?!"
Ami nodded and tried to think of how to approach this. "Do you remember what I told you about the two factions of the Sailor Scouts, Ranma?"
"There are the Inners and the Outers," Ranma said after a moments thought.
The girl nodded. "That's right and the two of us are sort of competing. The Outers don't play by the same rules though," she finished with a hint of irritation. When asked, Ami went into a little detail about the Sailor Scouts dealings with the Outers. Ranma might have been caught in a few daemon attacks, but a number of them happened away from her even at the same time. The Sailor Scouts had been pressured to run around the city trying to fight the daemons sometimes without the full team.
The Outers had been particularly brutal when it came to dealing with the daemons and more than callous about handling the heart crystals.
Tuning out most of the conversation, Usagi stared at the man seated next to Ranma. "So does this mean I get my Mamo-chan back?"
"Shut up, you meatball head," Ukyou hissed. The Sailor Scouts had done away with their magic on Ami's insistence and the group found out how young they all were. It made it hard to treat them seriously.
Ryouga passed out during the transformations as the girls were briefly naked before their street clothes returned.
"Aiyah, Shampoo like hairstyle," Shampoo whined while tugging at her own hair.
"Ranma, are you okay?" Mamoru asked when he noticed how quiet Ranma was being. She turned to stare at him and he could feel the warmth dying in her eyes.
"Mamoru," she muttered darkly, "you were with them. In the beginning." Ranma glared at the nervous boy and wondered if he had been toying with her from the beginning. "You were that idiot that got in the way of my fight."
"It's Tuxedo Mask," Mamoru winced.
Sniffing, Ranma stood up. She felt weak and her legs wobbled for just a moment. "I don't care. I'm not doing this anymore."
"Ranma-san?"
Ranma turned to look back at the group of fighters. Akane was concerned and getting ready to follow, but Ranma held up a hand to keep her back. "I'm not acting like a girl just because people expect me to. If there is a cure for my curse, I'm finding it." Her eyes darkened when they fell upon the unconscious Ryouga. "But something tells me I won't find it."
Fists at her sides, Ranma opened the door and found herself in the Cherry Hill temple grounds. That made sense with Rei in her priestess robes.
Usagi ran after her and caught Ranma by the hand. "Wait, you can't go!"
Ranma yanked her hand away and put her face right into Usagi's, cowing the girl. "Why not?"
"Your power. It could help us fight Mistress Nine and whatever her plans are," Mamoru answered for the flustered Usagi.
Shampoo and the rest had followed Ranma to the yard. Though a little skeptical about the Sailor Scouts, she nodded to Ranma. "Is Artifact. Is purpose to stop bad mens."
Clenching her jaw, Ranma shook her head. "Forget it. I'm tired of dealing with you brats. You say you fight for love and justice, but I haven't exactly seen a whole lot of that. Let's say I give ya my power, then what? You've got more bang to go around wiping people out if they get in your way?" She sneered right at Sailor Mars. "I don't trust you." Before the others could object Ranma closed the argument. "I'm going to China to look for a cure for my curse."
"Curse?" Ranma's fiance asked.
The redhead smirked and turned her back to him. "Sorry, Mamoru, but I can't be engaged to you. I'm a guy."
"I knew it!" Rei cackled and was quickly pushed into the background.
Confused, Usagi turned to Sailor Mercury with her computer out. "Ami?"
Studying her readings, Ami agreed. "It's possible. It would explain some of the strange readings I get from her, but she still-" she was cut off by the previously unconscious Ryouga rushing through the crowd to stare at Ranma.
"A guy?" he asked with his lip trembling.
Shampoo pats him on the shoulder. "Is too too bad, lost boy, but you find other fish, yes?" Absently, she noted how strong the boy was, especially during the fight.
Akane stared at her silent friend. She wasn't quite ready to allow herself to believe Ranma's proclamation. Boys were perverts after all. "Ukyou?"
The chef would need her spatula to pick her jaw off of the floor in a few minutes. "Ranchan?"
The redhead was about to leave again when she was held back again. "Ranma wait!"
"What is it, Ami?"
Ami blushed, recalling a scene in the park. "Is this like your father, the panda? Can you change?"
Ranma shook her head sadly. "No. I've been stuck like this ever since it happened."
"I think I know why." Ami looked over her readings again to confirm her suspicions. "Your power. It comes from a pure heart crystal. The crystal must be connected to the Moon Kingdom's magic and it is interfering with your curse."
"So yer sayin that this crystal insida me is cancelin the magic of my curse and lockin me in this girl's body?" Ranma asked, receiving a nod from Ami in response. The others seemed a little uncertain of how to feel over the news. They wavered from joy to finding one of the pure heart crystals and sadness for what it has done to Ranma.
Biting her lower lip, Ranma asked the next logical question. "Can it be taken outta me?"
Another nod was all Ranma needed to start smiling wide enough to make her face look like it was splitting in half. "Well, that's great!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down. "When can we get it outta me?! How long does it take? Does it hurt? I don't care; I can handle some pain."
"Hold on, Ranma. Calm down." Mamoru grabbed her shoulder, looking a bit apologetic. "I don't think you understand the whole situation."
"Oh, man you're not still thinkin about marryin me are ya? Cause it ain't gonna happen." Ranma scowled at the older boy who did not flinch or drop his serious expression.
Usagi stepped forward, coming between Ranma and Mamoru unconsciously. "He's right, Ranma. Removing a heart crystal is very serious."
Agitated, Ranma tried to hurry things along. "I toldja I ain't afraid of a little pain. I do anything to get rid of this girl's body."
"Like give up your life."
Ranma blinked at Rei, who looked at her seriously, arms folded over in her priestess robes. "What?"
"Unfortunately that is the only result of removing a person's heart crystal Ranma." Ami spoke softly.
It had been so close Ranma could have tasted it. She'd almost given up hope of ever finding a cure. It had taken Ami only a moment to figure out how her curse worked and how to fix it. All her hopes had risen only to be crushed by this last revelation. Ranma could die honorably to save someone's life, but this death would serve no purpose. Her life seemed like one set of hardships after another and it just wasn't fair. Ranma didn't want to live the rest of her life like this, but she wasn't about to take the coward's way out. Couldn't somebody cut her a break?
Ranma's bottom lip started to quiver as she turned back to Usagi. "B-but you're Sailor Moon." She pleaded with her eyes. "Don't you know how to fix stuff like this?"
"Ranma." Usagi placed a hand on the redhead's forearm. "You're not sick or possessed. You're just an ordinary, healthy girl. There's nothing I could do to change that."
"No!" Ranma tore her arm away, tears beginning to spill out of her eyes. "I'm not a girl! I'm a guy dammit!"
"Ranma, we're sorry." Minako stepped out of the crowd to embrace the trembling redhead.
"NO!" Ranma shoved Minako away violently, toppling the blonde over in Makato's direction. "I'm a guy and I'm gonna find a way to be him again!" she screamed, stumbling out of the temple, uncaring of where she was heading as she began to run, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Poor girl, er, guy." Ami said.
Thanking Makato for helping her back to her feet, Minako looked at Usagi for guidance. "What now?"
Firming herself after drying away a tear, Usagi grabbed Mamoru by the hand and began dragging him in the direction of Rei's temple. "Ranma wants to be a guy again then that's what's going to happen."
"How?" Makato questioned, hoping Usagi had an idea for how to pull this off.
"I don't know yet." Usagi grimaced and entered the temple. "Maybe Luna or Artemis could help us figure it out."
Nodding, Ami followed. "It's a start anyway."
~
It was strange. Ranma had been stuck in the body of a girl for a half year already and Genma still thought of the redhead as his boy. For ten years he trained the boy to be the best. Genma wasn't the best father and sometimes his training methods weren't practical, but he did care for the boy. He respected the boy more than he had any other person because of his skill in the Art and as a person. Despite all of the terrible things Genma made Ranma do, the boy was still a good person. He wondered what would have happened if Ranma had trained under the Master. Happousai would probably have a hard time taking him on one-on-one and no doubt Ranma would have become a police officer at least.
Genma sat silently most days when thinking of the past. They were shadows that flitted over his eyes and darkened the days. He was such an old fool.
Opposite of Genma at the go board, Soun was crying over the pictures he'd bought from his middle daughter. Ranma and Mamoru must be getting along if they're walking out of a Chinese restaurant hand-in-hand. The girl looked happy while Mamoru was thoughtful. Things seemed to be going better than he expected. He couldn't wait for some pictures from today's date Akane said Ranma would be going on.
Tears streaming down his cheeks, Soun smiled brightly at his friend. "We should hold the wedding once summer starts. I'm sure that would be enough time for a handsome man like Mamoru to put the moves on your girl, Saotome."
"Uh, if you say so, Tendou," Genma growled lightly. The boy would never give in to something like this. Genma did want the schools united, but he also wanted Ranma to be a man. It was a tall order considering. Keeping a fake smile on his face, Genma turned away from his emotional friend. "Yes, the schools must be joined. It is all the boy can do now."
Everything was lost. Genma knew that the moment he told his son to marry another man that everything was over. Even if Ranma some how chose to go along with Genma's plans, they would be dead the moment Nodoka learned what happened.
In all honesty, Genma expected the boy would commit seppuku without the need of a contract. Handing Ranma over to Mamoru was just making it easier for the boy. Genma had been doing the boy a favor.
Soun returned to the Go board with a bottle and a pair of glasses. "Shall we celebrate with sake, Saotome?"
Nodding, Genma accepted a glass. When news of his son's passing returned to him, Genma would also do the right thing. He didn't want to go before Ranma and prove his shame. He stared at the glass and tapped it against Soun's. "Indeed, Tendou. Indeed."
~
God, Ranma wished she had realized what a stupid girl she'd been acting like long ago. "I've been wasting time," she muttered darkly to herself. "I should have kept training. There's obviously more to these powers than I know and I haven't even been trying to train myself with them. I'm lucky they worked at all."
She scowled at the idea of needing luck. Ten years training with her father should have made her skilled, not lucky. Luck was for losers.
"What I should have done was gone back to China and gotten myself a cure. I don't need these powers and I definitely don't need this girl's body."
Ranma felt like ranting and that was what she did. She continued in this vane for two blocks before finally losing steam. She liked things better in a fight. You didn't to think, just act. Decisions were made as they were necessary and fighting skills were adapted to more easily than trying to think up ways without seeing what she was working against.
She had seen however. Whatever the Sailor Scouts were fighting, what they mistook her for being, was powerful. Ranma didn't know the full extent of the damage caused by the energy wave, but by the reactions of the others it must have been massive. People had likely died in that attack and all she had been able to do was defend a very small portion of them.
Sailor Moon hadn't done much better, but Ranma knew she had more power. She also knew she belonged to Sailor Moon and that frightened her.
When Ranma first felt those tugs at her soul, she thought they were the beginnings of love, having never felt it before. As the tugs became more numerous and extending towards the Sailor Scouts she thought it was a heightened danger sense of some kind. But it wasn't survival that had been driving the pull, but need. Ranma felt like she needed to be with them. It was strong now that she understood and it was painful to walk away like this. But Ranma needed time.
What did this 'Artifact' want her to do? Give up her life. "Not much of a life anyway," Ranma thought sadly. Her father gone, mother missing, and she was expected to live as a girl; it was killing Ranma to live like this. She'd felt despair on the lonely travels with her father, but never like this. Perhaps it would be better just to give herself to Sailor Moon. A sacrifice now would be honorable as it saves 'his' life and the lives of others when Sailor Moon's powers were upgraded.
She just needed a little time to herself and decide.
"Wasn't as hard to find you as I thought it would be, red."
Ranma glanced up to see two Sailor Scouts that she didn't recognize. Feeling as tired and weak as she was, Ranma wasn't ready to put up any sort of a fight, but she brought up her fists anyway. "What do you want? Or you those Outers the other Scouts were talking about?"
"You've heard of us?"
The redhead took a deeper fighting stance as the two Scouts moved in closer. "By reputation alone. You're the ones who held Jupiter's heart crystal and didn't give it back."
"That's not quite true," Neptune interrupted with a guilty voice.
Ranma narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, but it would've been if-"
"If it was pure," Uranus finished. There was no hesitation in the Scouts voice. Uranus knew it would be the same as murder and felt the ends would justify the means. "Sometimes, Ranma, sacrifices have to be made to save lives."
Scowling, Ranma began searching for the power she had before. Her body was already taxed by what it had done and was finding it difficult to summon the magic. She tried to stall for a while longer, but couldn't keep the bitterness out of her tone. "What sacrifices have you made?"
"Many," Uranus answered.
"How many were yours?" Ranma asked angrily. They all knew the answer to that one though.
Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune moved in.
End Chapter Ten
* * *
The last chapter will be posted a few days after this one so I can finish revising and editing it. Finally, this series will have reached its conclusion. Throw a party, stamp a coin, start a holiday because it will soon all be over.
Send C&C to jehtek@hotmail.com
Or visit my website at www.geocities.com/jehtek
Ja ne.