The Light Hawk War

By: Chaos Lord

Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to their respective owners. The concepts dealing with the Time Gates the Ultimate Good and Evil and the Forbidden belong to PacMan.

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Chapter 9

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It was quiet in the Saotome home. As she sat and drank tea with one of her new houseguests, Nodoka Saotome worried about the fate of her son and his wife. Three days, they had only been gone for three days, but, for a mother whose son was off to fight in a war that he might not come back from, they felt like an eternity.

Nodoka's worry was so evident that it was plain even to her guest. "Don't worry Auntie, he'll be back."

Nodoka looked up at her guest, "Thank you." Realizing that she was being a poor hostess Nodoka tried to lighten the atmosphere. "So, Akane, how are you?"

Of all those manipulated by Tokimi Akane had fared the worst. For a person who builds their entire identity upon their accomplishments, like Akane, the realization that all of said accomplishments are nothing compared to that of others is devastating indeed.

********* Two Months Ago

"You're sorry? You haven't seen sorry yet you bastard. You have fun with your little floozy while she lasts Ranma. Because one day she'll be gone and you will _beg_ me to take your sorry ass back."

As she ran from her home a part of Akane Tendo could not believe she had just uttered those words. But that disbelief was buried under so much pain and rage that it went unnoticed by her. With each passing second Akane placed more distance between herself and her home. Where she was going she did not know but one thing was for certain, she did not want to be at the dojo. With each foot that pounded upon the asphalt Akane could feel all her pain and all her rage throb like an open wound.

For a time, pain and rage was all that the distraught young woman felt. Then a new sensation entered in her consciousness, cold. Through tear-filled eyes Akane could see that she was now on her knees before the grave of her mother. This caused the tears to fall even more, "Oh Mommy," she sobbed. "I don't know what to do any more. She sat there for who knows how long, sobbing her heart out as she reviewed her life. As more and more images of her life appeared before her, Akane came to the conclusion that every thing she had told herself was a lie. Was she a great martial artist, no. Could she cook great meals for those that she loves, no. "I can't even keep the man I love."

Before she could sink any further into despair Akane heard a very familiar sound coming from beside her, crying. Looking to her left, Akane saw a girl in a similar pose as her. The girl was wearing a pretty sundress that looked like it was well worn. As tears made their way down the girl's cheeks Akane's heart went out to the poor soul. "Why are you crying," she asked the girl.

At hearing Akane's voice the girl jumped in surprise. Quickly whipping hr tears away the girl put on a proud front for the older lady. "My Mommy died." The girl's brave front only lasted several seconds and then the tears began to fall once more.

Seeing the girl' tears, Akane pulled the child into a tight hug. It was her hope that it would help ease her pain. Akane just held the child in her strong arms as she continued crying, her own pain being placed on the back burner for the child in her arms.

Finally the girl pulled away from Akane, "Why were you crying? Did your Mommy die," the little girl asked in concern.

"Yes she did. A long time ago," Akane said sadly.

"Does it still hurt?"

"A little. It will always hurt some but as time goes by it'll become easier to deal with and you won't feel as bad anymore."

"Really," the girl asked, the disbelief at the statement was clear in her voice.

"Yes, really," Akane with a smile. She turned to look at her mother's grave. "I'll always miss her, but at least it doesn't hurt as bad." Wanting to change the subject she asked, "So what is your name?"

"Akane."

Akane turned to look at the girl in shock but her shock was only increased by the girl's absence. Looking around the cemetery, all Akane could find of her young companion was the crumpled grass where the girl had been sitting.

*********

Since then, Akane had felt better about herself. Not ready to face the bad memories created over the last year in the Tendo home, Akane went to someone she had hoped would not turn her away, Auntie Saotome. She had approached the home of her ex-fiancé very timidly, the words she had uttered fresh in her mind. But the reception she had received was not what she had expected. Instead of anger or malice, the kindly Saotome matriarch greeted her with open arms. So Akane trained, whether it was martial arts or so-called "feminine jobs", Akane put her all into everything she did. While she was not progressing anywhere near as fast as Ranma would have, she was progressing. Why just this morning she managed to make edible biscuits. Before she could ponder on her life any further her thoughts were interrupted by the soul-wrenching scream of the Saotome's other houseguest.

At hearing the scream both Akane and Nodoka rushed upstairs. Upon reaching the room where the Saotome's houseguest resided Akane kicked the door in. What they saw had them worried. Ever since Setsuna attacked Ranma, everyone agreed that she needed help. The problem with putting Setsuna in some sort of mental care facility was that they could not guarantee that Setsuna wouldn't spill the beans about the Senshi. Having her live at any of the Senshi's houses was a no go for the same reason, so Nodoka stepped forward and offered a solution. Setsuna would live with her and Genma, who WOULD be returning to his home, and her friends would take turns helping out. It was Nodoka's belief that since Nerima was pretty immune to weirdness, a woman running around proclaiming to have knowledge of the Sailor Senshi's identity would not even receive a second glance. This belief was backed up by the other Nerima guard.

Setsuna was curled up and she was rocking back and forth. As she did so Akane and Nodoka could see that she was muttering something. Very carefully Nodoka crept forward, her concern for the woman before her at odds with her worry that Setsuna might lash out at her. While she had made no violent moves since her attack on Ranma, there was no telling what she would do. Upon reaching Setsuna Nodoka could make out what the obviously distraught woman was saying.

"She's dead. She's dead. She's dead. She's dead. She's dead."

Gently placing her hand on Setsuna's shoulder Nodoka kneeled down beside Setsuna. "Setsuna, who's dead?" She had a good idea about who she meant, but she held out hope that she was wrong. Because if she wasn't it meant horrible consequences.

Since she came to live at the Saotome home, Setsuna has said little. In fact, the two that caused her to speak the most were Usagi and Yosho. The reason why both were able to receive any response was that they were unrelenting in their pursuit. Setsuna slowly turned her head up to look at her hostess so that she could look the woman dead in the eyes. "Usagi."

*********

They might be plentiful and they might be unstoppable, but the one thing that the Wraiths were not was gravity defying. They had about the same physical prowess as a normal person. This worked greatly in the Sailor Senshi's favor. After Hotaru left to do battle in Tokimi's palace, their original plan was useless. Sailor Mercury noticed the Wraith's shortcomings and devised a new strategy. It was much like the old one except instead of a group hiding behind Hotaru's Silence Wall, they rest on the top of a building at the edge of the battle zone. This plan was even more vital since all the big guns were inside the palace and the Senshi had to keep their strength up for the long haul.

For one Makoto Kino, also known as Sailor Jupiter, the battle she was fighting in was one of the easiest in her long career. As she defeated more and more opponents, a strange euphoria entered her being. In her battles against the forces of darkness Makoto has been thrown into countless dense objects. Yet here she was, in their longest battle to date, and she had yet to be even tossed, let alone thrown. After destroying a particularly large group of Wraiths, Makoto took a quick breather. As her hands were on her legs she could feel an odd sensation course through her body. To her it felt like there were millions of the most disgusting bugs and other creepy crawlies all over her body. Standing up, Makoto hoped against hope that this sensation did not mean what she thought. When the large beam of black energy exploded from the top of Tokimi's palace that hope died a quick death.

"What the hell was that," asked a shocked Shiro Yamada. When the Juraian Royal Family went into the palace to do battle, Azusa ordered the guards to stay back. Since they could not go in and protect their charges the guards went to help their Senshi allies. Their help was welcomed among the Sailor Senshi, especially by those among the Senshi who were in love with members of the Royal Guard.

"The Silence Glaive Surprise," Makoto answered grimly. Both of them knew what it meant for Hotaru to use such a dangerous attack; things weren't looking well for their friends inside.

"Are you sure?" Shiro hoped she was wrong and it was just someone's random attack. The Juraian Royal Guard never witnessed Saturn's attacks since they were just too powerful. But they were told everything they needed to know about them, mainly if she starts whipping those bad boys out a good retreat may be in order.

"Yeah, I am. I can feel it," and feel it she did. Unlike the other Senshi, Sailor Saturn didn't have an element at her beck and call. What Saturn had was more abstract than the elements but no less potent, she had Death and Rebirth. Normally she used her powers that were an extension of the Rebirth portion, her healing and the Silence Wall. But her actual attacks used the Death aspects, and for the life aligned Sailor Senshi this Death was an ill magic indeed. "It's no wonder people feared her back then," she thought. "That felt awful." Before she could think on it any further a group of Wraiths attacked once more.

Makoto and Shiro battled the Wraiths side by side for several minutes. Despite the length that Makoto was fighting she was that tired. The training she and the others had received from Ranma had helped greatly, allowing them to tap into resources they had not known was there. Then she faltered.

At the same time as Makoto fell to the ground, a beam of the purest white streaked heaven word from inside of Tokimi's palace. Makoto was lucky that Shiro was there, for as soon as the beam of light shone from the palace, the Wraiths surged on their position.

As he fought the Wraiths, Shiro looked back to the woman he had grown to love. "Makoto, what's wrong?! You've got to fight!"

When the shaft of light appeared Makoto knew one thing, Usagi was dead. Though Usagi had ordered them to stay back, Makoto couldn't help but feel as if she had failed her friend and sovereign. Through the haze of grief generated by Usagi's death, Makoto heard Shiro's voice cry out to her. Opening her eyes, Makoto saw that the man she loved was in trouble. At that moment, all of Makoto's grief and feelings of uselessness was transmuted into a singular emotion, RAGE.

After dodging one of the Wraiths, Shiro began to feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Looking towards Makoto he saw something out of legend. All across her body writhed electricity. Her eyes were no longer visible, in their place was pure power with little sparks of electricity coming out of them. Above her formed a large black cloud that continued to grow in size, all the while it lit up as lightning coursed through it.

In her life, Makoto had known anger, and was very familiar with the emotion. It has been her companion in many a battle and in general it had served her well. Today though, her anger soared to heights that she could never even conceive. This anger had an unusual effect upon her powers. Makoto was able to control both electricity and plants. Normally the two were not very helpful to one another but on the planet Jurai, where trees are alive, they were very cooperative. Whenever Makoto uses her lightning powers a small cloud appears overhead to generate extra energy for the Senshi of Jupiter. On Jurai, the Space Trees are an integral part to the planet's weather control processes, and when they heard Makoto's subconscious cry for power, they were more than willing to generate a VERY large lightning cloud, just for her.

Shiro stood several feet away from Makoto and watched the whole scene in shocked awe. In their training both the Senshi and the Guards witnessed the power of the others attacks. What Shiro just saw Makoto do was something that he had thought her incapable of. She just never seemed able to channel that much energy at one time. Before he could question what his eyes had just shown him Makoto slumped down to the ground. Rushing to her aid Shiro could hear her sobbing uncontrollably, and instead of trying to find out what was wrong with her while the Wraiths were still out there and could attack, Shiro picked up Makoto and headed for the nearest rooftop. Once there, Shiro tried to sit Makoto down but she would hear nothing of that and remained latched to his person. Sitting himself and his delicate cargo on the rooftop, Shiro said, "Makoto, what's wrong?"

"Usagi . . . its Usagi . . . sob. Oh God, she's dead!" After that, what little control she had been able to muster to speak failed her, and she continued crying.

*********

Usagi Tsukino was known for many things. She once ate her body weight in Ice Cream. She's the best friend anyone could have. But despite all the things she was known for, there was one that she wasn't, waking up. Unless there was a major emergency that called for her immediate attention Usagi would take a while to wake up. The reason for this, she liked sleeping. To her, sleep was the ultimate form of escape. When asleep all of her worries went away, so she got bad grades, so she was spacey and had a hard time understanding much of what Ami said. In the blissful lassitude of sleep none of that mattered.

This is the reason that she was groaning at the moment. It seems as if someone had the gall to wake Usagi up in the most heinous manner imaginable, sunlight. When a person uses sound to wake up another, it is about 50% effective. But when sunlight is used it is nearly 100% effective. Only when someone has a blanket that has not been taken away does this not work. Unfortunately for Usagi, she had no blanket and was struck dead on by the warm rays. As she lay on the soft bed, Usagi tossed and turned, vainly trying to escape the horrible fate of consciousness. With a groan of disgust, Usagi allowed consciousness to win this battle, but vowed that she would prevail when next they met.

Opening her eyes, Usagi quickly came to the conclusion that she was not in her room. The realization removed any trace of sleepiness from her thoughts and the keen tactical mind of Sailor Moon came on full force. She was standing in the middle of an open area in the middle of a thick forest. Covering the ground was pine needles of a thickness that the ground was soft and springy. On one side of the clearing there was a large path that headed deeper into the forest. Seeing that she was in no immediate danger, Usagi relaxed her guard a little. "Where am I."

From the forest came a deep and ancient voice, "So. You are finally awake. I was beginning to think you were going to take root."

Usagi spun around but was not able to find the source of the voice. "Wh . . wh . . who's there," she asked fearfully.

"There is no cause for alarm, young sapling. No harm shall befall you in this place." From the darkness of the forest emerged what could only be described as a walking tree. At about 25 feet tall, there was no doubt that the creature was tall, but his narrow stature only emphasized his height.

Had it been any other time in her life Usagi would have completely freaked out. Screams and frantic running would have been par for the course. Today though, something was different. Instead of fear, Usagi was filled with an intense sense of peace. Inside her broach, the Silver Crystal was pulsing warmly in time with her heart. In its own way, the Crystal told her that the creature before her meant her no harm and the words that it had spoken where true. "What are you," she asked with a voice filled with child-like curiosity.

"I. Am a tree herder. It is the job of we to safeguard these woods and others like them all throughout the galaxy," the pride he felt at this statement was evident in his voice.

"Wow," Usagi said in awe. "Where are we?" If she was alive then she needed to know where she was so she could return to her friends.

"You are in my forest in the kingdom of Heaven."

"Heaven?!" Usagi looked down at her fuku but saw no signs of any damage. It was at that moment that the memories of what had transpired at Tokimi's palace flashed through her mind. "I'm dead?"

"That remains to be seen young one. Come with me, I shall escort you to our lord. He shall have all the answers you seek."

"Before we go, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"What's your name?"

"My name, little sapling, is Fangorn, and I am to be your escort for your journey."

"Well, hello Fangorn, I'm Sailor Moon. It's good to meet you," Usagi said with a smile. She couldn't help it, he just seemed so gentle and old, like a grandfather.

Fangorn gently picked Usagi up and placed her on his 'shoulder'. "You and your exploits are well known to us Usagi Tsukino." Once Usagi was secure in her place Fangorn turned and began to walk down the path in the woods.

To say Usagi was shocked would have been an understatement, "You know who I really am?"

"Indeed, little one. Our lord has a vested interest in you and yours. Since many who live in Heaven hail from your Earth, we have our own form of news. As our lord has an interest in you so do I. Though I know not why He is so keen on you, he is."

Usagi didn't ask anything more, as she was trying to process the information she had received. What her thinking worked out was that A, she was dead but didn't feel like it, B she was in Heaven but it didn't look like Heaven, and C where was Hotaru? Before Usagi could ponder this final point any further the darkness of the forest gave way to intense sunlight. Shielding her eyes from the glare. As her eyes adjusted to the light Usagi gasped in amazement. What lay before her was a mix of every fairy tale kingdom imaginable. Some areas looked like something right out of Arabian Nights, while others looked to be inspired by medieval legends, and even her own Japanese legends and fables were represented here. In the exact center of this sprawling metropolis was a castle that was a dead ringer for the Cinderella's Castle, except much bigger.

"Behold, young one, I give you the grand city of Elysium," announced Fangorn, proudly. Reaching up he gently took hold of Usagi and placed her on the ground.

When her feet once again touched solid ground Usagi was still in awe at the city before her. After several seconds of just standing there Usagi began to feel a presence in front of her. Taking her eyes off a particularly beautiful ziggurat, Usagi looked to the throng of people going about their daily business. For a while Usagi saw nothing that told her what the presence, but then the crowd began to part. Out of the parted crowd walked a man with short blonde hair and a gentle face. For clothes he wore a white polo shirt tucked into a pair of black dress pants. Over his shirt was a denim jacket that ended at the man's waist. The man's hands rested comfortably in the pockets of the jacket. He walked with a confident stride and, unlike the others around him, his brown shoes kicked up no dust.

The man continued walking towards Usagi, and all the while he greeted all those around him, as if he knew every single person around him. Continuing his steady pace, the man did not stop until he was right in front of Usagi. It was at this moment that Usagi noticed that Fangorn was kneeling.

"Fangorn, haven't I told you that is not necessary," the man's warm voice asked with a tired sigh.

"Hmm. It would be improper to do otherwise milord," Fangorn said respectively. "Now if it would please you my lord, I would go and tend my trees."

"Of course my friend. I have kept you long enough as it is. I would like to thank you for keeping Miss Tsukino occupied for me." The unnamed man then turned his head to look Usagi dead in the eye. "She didn't give you much trouble did she," he asked humorously.

"Hm hm hm," chuckled Fangorn. "No my lord, that she did not," he replied with a warm smile in Usagi's direction. "I bid you both a good day." With that he turned and lumbered back into the forest.

"Ah Fangorn. Never I have I met a more stubborn tree," the man mused to himself as he watched Fangorn disappear into the forest. Turning back to Usagi he said, "Now, we haven't been properly introduced yet, have we? You of course, are one Usagi Tsukino, a resident of Tokyo's Juban District, who in her spare time likes to be Sailor Moon, champion of Justice. I, am God."

"No you're not," Usagi replied with utter clarity.

"Oh? What did you expect? Long flowing robes and a beard."

"Well, yeah."

"Not another one! Ever since that Ten Commandments movie came out every one thinks I look like Charleton Heston. I'm really starting to hate that guy." In an instant he was on his knees looking heavenward, "Damn you Charleton Heston. Damn you to hell." In the next instant God was back on his feet, not at all looking like he had just been in his knees cursing a famous actor's existence. "You see, my name is God, it has been ever since I came into existence. I built this place so that all on your world and a select group of other worlds could have a place to go upon death."

"Um, I'm sorry to interrupt. A friend of mine died at the same time that I did, but she wasn't there when I woke up. Can you tell me where she is?"

"If you are referring to young Miss Tomoe then I have some bad news for you. You see, she has been sent to Hell."

*********

"WHAT?!! What did I do that sent me to Hell," Hotaru asked morosely.

"What makes you think you did something wrong, Hotaru?" His soft and gentle voice was not like one would expect coming from a denizen of Hell.

"Isn't that why people are sent to Hell. They do something really bad and get sent to Hell where they meet Satan himself to be tortured for all eternity." By the time she finished tears were streaming down Hotaru's cheeks. Just last week she had begun her studies on Christianity at school, and the one thing that it made very clear was that Hell was NOT the place one wanted to find themselves at their time of judgment.

The man placed his hands on Hotaru's shoulders and looked her dead in the eyes. "The first thing you must do Hotaru is throw out all you learned from the religions about Hell. Hell is not a place of eternal torment. In fact, most of it is like your Earth, full of happy people living out their lives just as they would before they died," he said with a soothing voice in an effort to stop the girl's tears.

"But what about there," Hotaru asked as she pointed to the balcony and its hellish scene.

"That is the Hell of mythology. That, and others like it, are where all the truly evil people go upon death. People like Hitler, Jack the Ripper, and the person who plays Barney go there so that they may receive the punishment that they richly deserve. For the most part though Hell is full of people just like you. Good people who are innocent and pure."

"Then why are they here, Mr. Satan?"

"First of all, don't call me Mr. Satan. That guy is an idiot. No, you may call me Lucifer. Next, the answer to your question is a long and difficult one. And I owe it to you to tell it in full." Sitting back in his chair Lucifer gave a tired sigh. With a wave of his hand the darkness of the hall gave way to soft light. Upon the bare stone walls appeared beautiful tapestries each depicting part of a much larger story.

Hotaru gave a yelp of surprise as something ran across the back of her legs. Turning around quickly Hotaru saw that where there was nothing but hard floor there was now a beautiful chair with cushions of the finest silk. Sitting in the chair Hotaru gave a relaxed filled, "Ahhhh," as she luxuriated in the chair's comfort.

"Would you like anything before I start?"

"No I'm fine, thank you."

"Okay, now lets see. You know that Tsunami, Tokimi, and Washu are from another universe, correct," Lucifer asked Hotaru, already knowing the answer.

"Yes," she answered with a nod of her head.

"Good. Now the first thing you need to know is that upon its conception every universe comes with a kind of instruction manual. This "manual" tells the intense energies that are created during the initial universal explosion what to do with themselves. When their universe was created it did not come with a manual. Instead, the energies manifested a kind of consciousness. It was that consciousness that slowly figured everything out. Each time it realized a need for a control, like a constant for gravity or light, it would create a power to do so, thus came about the Gods and Goddesses.

*********

"You mean like Washu and the others," Usagi asked in curiosity. After explaining to her that Hell was not a bad place to go, just different, God offered to take her on a tour of his kingdom. As they made their way among the crowds of Elysium, God wove the tale of what was REALLY going on.

"Yes, exactly like them. You know how each of them has a title, which is what they represented in our home. Now where was I? Ah yes, now I remember. For millennia these beings of great power lived out their existence in harmony with one another, for they knew that each was just a small part of a much greater whole. Though they had each other they knew they needed something more. Some of my brethren found planets with sentient life that they nurtured, while others created life in their image and their ideals. The last remnants of these peoples are the Juraians."

*********

"Of the primary deities needed by our home, Tokimi, Tsunami, and Washu were the last three to be created. Upon their creation, there was much fuss made by the lesser deities. You see each God and Goddess had a certain power, and a fixed amount of what you know as Light Hawk Wings. What was special about the three sisters was that they came into being at the same moment and each had ten Light Hawk Wings. Never before had there been anyone that powerful, for the longest time the scale had been from three to nine. Out of all of the others there was only one with nine. Since the sisters had the greatest power they were made de facto leaders."

*********

As he was guiding Usagi through Elysium God made a critical mistake; he stooped in front of an ice cream vendor. In an eye blink Usagi was ordering the largest ice cream cone God had ever seen. As Usagi walked away gleefully, God felt his wallet cry out in agony because it knew it would be paying for Usagi. Buying a small vanilla cone for himself and paying for Usagi, God followed the happy girl so he could continue his story. "Ready to listen some more," he asked in bewilderment as she was eating her ice cream so fast it didn't have time to melt.

"Mhh hnn," Usagi mumbled, as her mouth was currently full of sugary goodness. To make sure her guide got the right message she also nodded her head vigorously. If there was one thing Usagi liked more than ice cream it was a good story, and the one God was telling was very good.

"Riiiiight. Well, as I was saying, my people lived with Tokimi, Tsunami, and Washu as their leaders for quite a long time. Then one day, the universal consciousness that brought all the Gods and Goddesses into being found a need for two final creations. One of light. The other of darkness. Appearing at the same instant, they were brothers and loved each other as thus. The brother of light was I, and the brother of darkness was Lucifer. Now I don't want you to confuse darkness with being evil, my brother is just as good as I, there always must be darkness where there is light. Remember, the universe abhors a lack of balance, the greater a good you create it will create an equally strong evil. That is why the Moon Kingdom fell.

Upon our creation the others were there to meet my brother. They were shocked at our power, and since we each had twenty Light Hawk Wings, we were, with much reluctance on our part, made leaders of the universe. Unlike the others, we had no desire for followers, so we went out among the people to do good and ease suffering. For fifty years our job was a simple one, then problems began to occur. They crept upon us slowly, forming a pattern that no-one was willing or able to recognize, someone was preparing for war."

*********

"Now that was not a concept that was well known in our universe," said Lucifer. "Whenever tensions between planets began to increase to a point where war may become a possibility, one of the Gods or Goddesses stepped in to solve the problem. Some cultures were more militaristic than others, but none ever waged war upon another. Each one of us knew one simple truth, everything in the universe has a place. Then, one hundred years to the day after God and I appeared, warfare was upon us all."

*********

"They were on us in an instant. An army of creatures that existed naturally, but perverted almost beyond recognition. They struck first at Tokimi's people, and while they put up a gallant fight her's were the first of many to pass into the void. Once Tokimi's people were out of the way, the army set their sights on the lesser deities and their followers. We were horrified at the carnage created by this army, but what scared many of us even more was that our fellow Gods and Goddesses were dying as well. Finally, Lucifer and I went out to try to stop it ourselves. We barely made it back in one piece," God said in a fear-tinged voice.

"Why," Usagi asked fearfully. She knew that if there was something that scared a man that could wield twenty Light Hawk Wings she would have no hope against it.

"After making our way through an army of misshapen figures, we reached the mastermind behind the whole ordeal, Melkor. All across his body he wore white armor that had deep channels dug into it. Through these channels flowed red energy like the slow beating of a heart. On his head he wore an ornate helmet whose top looked much like the Egyptian god Anubis. Instead of jewels in the jackal head there were red lights that grew brighter each time the channels sent energy to them. What truly disturbed us was the fact that the face plate had no eye holes just two large white ovals where eyes should be."

*********

"The bastard just floated there above the killing field. As we approached him a set of armored wings flew in and floated at his back. We asked him his name and why he was perpetuating a war against those who are innocent? He told us his name was Melkor and that he and his army were just the natural forces of entropy. God and I knew that he was full of it then, he didn't feel like anything the universe had ever produced. So we attacked him, bringing our full power to bear. Power great enough to punch a hole in the fabric of the universe was thrown at him, and it did no damage. He then threw an attack at us that was comprised of an energy that I hadn't seen before or since."

*********

"Luckily, Lucifer and I managed to survive, though if it had been anyone else they would have died, and we bid a hasty retreat. As soon as we reached the others we told them of what Melkor said and his power. It was then that Lucifer proposed something rather drastic, evacuation."

"What do you mean by evacuation," Usagi asked.

"He suggested we take every one that we could and leave our universe, forever. In our first fifty years of existence, my brother and I had experimented with the full breath of our powers. One of the things we fiddled with was manipulation of the fabric of universes. In doing this we found other universes, and more precisely we found this universe. Since any prolonged absence on our part might have caused an uproar, we never left, but we remembered where it was for future reference."

*********

"When I said that, hoo boy. You should have seen everyone's reaction to the very idea of leaving their homes. Finally it got to the point that Tsunami, TSUNAMI, miss I'm the nicest person in the universe, orders God to look into the future."

"How," Hotaru asked inquisitively. Ever since she first met Sailor Pluto time has been a great fascination to her. Time travel, predestined paradoxes, temporal causality loops, they all fascinated her to no end.

"In our home universe, the fabric of space-time was much more malleable than it is here. Anyone with enough power can warp gravity sufficiently to see what is coming down the road. My brother and I are different though. Along with our Light Hawk Wings, I was given the ability to hear the future, while my brother can see the future."

*********

"So you can see the future with out gravity," asked Usagi.

"Yes. Think of it as focusing differently," God replied. "You know those pictures on your world that require you to change the way you look at it to see the real image, well that is what I do. But all I see is images, when Lucifer uses his ability he can hear what I am seeing.

So, I did as Tsunami requested, and what I saw still disturbs me to this day. I saw the death of our entire universe. I guess I looked so spooked that I didn't have to say a single thing, the others just left to get what ever they could bring.

Unfortunately, Melkor somehow got wind of our evacuation scheme and sent his entire army against us. Lucifer and I were unable to defend the others, since we had to keep the portal to this universe open. The one that had the most followers still alive at the time was Tsunami, so she was chosen to lead her people through our portal. It was believed by all that since hers was the most powerful and plentiful of the remaining peoples, they would fare the best in their new home. Since their sister was going, Tokimi and Washu followed for protection, bringing with them what little was left from their now dead peoples.

The others led Melkor and his army away from the portal, but they never made it back. We waited as long as we could but then we felt it. We felt what I saw happen, our universe began to die. In the short time Lucifer and I had left, we did what Tokimi, Washu, and Tsunami had done, we saved a part of our universe. But unlike the others, we actually managed to save our universe's very consciousness. After our rescue I was the first through the portal, as I was the one with the consciousness, though upon reflection I wish Lucifer had gone first," he said gravely.

"Why," asked Usagi.

"You know how I said that Lucifer can hear the future? Well sometimes, when what happens in the future is loud enough, it breaks through his mental blocks. One time this happened was right before Lucifer stepped through the portal, and what broke through was the Noize."

*********

"What's the Noize," asked Hotaru. Although she was wondering whether or not she really wanted an answer, given the pale and dreadful expression on Lucifer's face.

"When my brother saw the future, he only saw the universe's destruction. The Noize is the sound that a universe makes as it dies. Everything at one moment cries out in pure terror and pain. Past, present, future, all collapse, and you don't realize that the awful sound in the Noize is your own voice screaming back at you," Lucifer finished gravely.

"That's horrible, "Hotaru exclaimed. "How do you deal with something like that?"

*********

"He didn't. Not for a long time at least. The Noize drove him slightly insane."

"How insane," asked Usagi grimly. She needed to know if there was another high-powered potential threat out there.

"Nothing dangerous, but he was definitely different than he was before. Some days he would be the calm brother that I love. Others he would go on long rants, where he announced what we all knew, that we had not seen the last of Melkor. Finally he decided to go against a direct edict that we both laid down, no direct intervention. The only one of the surviving deities that was exempt from this was Tsunami in so as it pertained to her people."

*********

"But I went too far and I freely admit it. But looking back, I don't regret my decision," Lucifer stated with resolution.

"How did you go too far?"

"You know of the fight Tokimi, Washu, and Tsunami got into right?"

"You mean the one that we were fighting in," asked Hotaru.

"Right. Well, at the same time they were having their little squabble, I created one between God and I. Like Tsunami and Washu, we believed that the mortals of this universe might hold the key to an inevitable battle against Melkor. Where my brother and I differed though, was in how we should utilize said mortals. God believed that we should mainly leave them to their own devices, and only give gentle pushes when it was ABSOULTLY necessary. I believed, and I still do, that we should take a more proactive approach when dealing with them."

*********

"How do you mean proactive," asked Usagi.

"He felt that we should give advice, enter into contracts for power or wealth and other things that mortals could use to aid them. After a while, it seemed obvious to me that nothing would stop Lucifer I relented and suggested a test of our own."

"What kind of test?"

"Well, we choose a single planet with intelligent life, and that would be the only planet we would interfere with. This met Lucifer's needs and minimized our impact upon others. I told him to pick the world that we would test, and at random he chose Earth."

*********

"Our final act was to make this micro universe that we reside in. We used the consciousness of our original universe as a control mechanism for our new one. We then split up to create our own realms. The one I created was Hell, a place were all who share my ideals could go upon reaching death. While my brother created Heaven, the galaxy of pacifists.

After getting our realms set up, we began to watch your world develop. But we did not just sit idly by. In two separate investigations, my brother and I searched for a new power, one that might allow us to defeat Melkor."

*********

"After many years of searching, I found what I had been looking for. The power I sought came in the form of two sisters. Each was the physical manifestation of a certain type of energy. One represented the ultimate light in the universe; this sister was very nice and accommodating to guests. The other represented the ultimate darkness in the universe, unlike her sister she only tolerated my presence and she had about her a slightly skewed sense of humor."

*********

"It turns out that these sisters had been aware of us ever since we first entered their portion of the omniverse."

*********

"What's an omniverse," asked Usagi.

"If you think of an entire universe as a gum ball, then the omniverse is the gum ball machine that holds them all."

"Ohh," replied Usagi.

*********

"They had been waiting to see if we were worthy enough to meet them, and apparently we were. My brother and each gravitated to the sister that was the most like us, and I went with the dark sister. We talked a while until she told me that the reason I was talking to her was that I had been found worthy to use the power of darkness. The only thing that limited the amount of power I could have was the Light Hawk Wings that I bore. But still, the small amount of power that I gained was astronomical. Have you ever tasted pure power, Hotaru," Lucifer asked as he leaned in close to said girl.

"No, I haven't, but my Senshi transformation sure is a rush," Hotaru replies with a grin. For a girl as weak as Hotaru, the power boost of the Senshi transformation was a heady feeling indeed.

"Well, take that feeling and multiply it a million fold. I swear, for a while there God and I were as high as kites. It was during this time that God looked in on Earth."

*********

"What I saw was amazing, where before humans were only on Earth, now they were all over their solar system. There was a group on Earth's moon that was using magic, and powerful magic at that. Though those on the moon were very powerful and very good, they didn't have the oomph that my altered mindset thought they should have, so I made a talisman for them. It was made of the purest white gemstone that I had ever created, and then I infused it with as much properly aligned good as I could. I then made myself known to them and entrusted my gift to the purest of the white magic users on the moon.

*********

"Do you know what happened next," asked Lucifer with a big smile.

Hotaru shook her head, "No."

"Thinking that the woman who got the talisman was their God's chosen one, the people made her queen. Queen!" At that Lucifer just burst out in wild laughter. After several minutes of laughter, Lucifer eventually got himself under control enough to see the look of shocked disbelief on Hotaru's face. "What," he asked as he searched himself for anything on his person out of the norm.

"Are you telling me that the Silver Crystal, the Senshi's most powerful weapon, was created by God while he was high," Hotaru asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Ain't it great," Lucifer said with a big grin and a chuckle.

"So what did you do about it?"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. Why, you may ask, well since he broke his rule about non-interference, I got to do the same. Having enough sense not to create something like the crystal while I was not running on all cylinders, I waited. And let me tell you something Hotaru, I am a very patient man.

For a hundred years did I wait until fate presented to me the perfect opportunity. That opportunity came in the form of the newly created Senshi of Saturn, the very first Sailor Saturn. When whoever came up with Saturn's powers was thinking up ideas, they must have been out of their gourd. Every Senshi's powers are grounded in a certain element, or the manipulation thereof, even Pluto who is the mistress of sound follows this basic precept. The only Senshi who doesn't follow this pattern is you. Do you know what the peaceful life-loving people of the time gave to Sailor Saturn, the power of death and life. Can you believe it? Some of the most powerful abstracts and they just created a solider to wield them."

*********

"What do you mean by calling them abstracts," asked Usagi after walking around an old woman whose arms were full of groceries.

"Death and life, like time, are concepts that cannot be detected with any of the five senses. Oh sure, there are those who are more aware of certain abstracts, like your friend Setsuna, but you wouldn't know of its existence if there weren't things like aging. It is only through their effects upon us and others can we prove that they exist."

*********

"Along with the Senshi of Saturn, the architects of the Senshi also created a weapon to use. It was a beautifully crafted weapon with but one purpose, wiping out all life on a planet."

"You mean the Silence Glaive, don't you?"

"Precisely. Originally the Glaive's most powerful attack was one that would just destroy all life, even microbes, on any world that it was pointed at. That wasn't good enough for me."

"Not good enough! What more did you want it to do," Hotaru asked incredulously.

*********

"Provide balance. You see Usagi, everything in the universe must be balanced, otherwise very bad things can happen. When I created the Silver Crystal, I created a tremendous force for good, and that tipped the balance in good's favor. Lucifer knew that and decided to use the Silence Glaive as a catalyst to bring light and darkness back into balance."

"How?" All this about balancing good and evil was making Usagi's head spin. For all her life, Usagi was taught to believe that evil was something bad to have in the world. Ever since she became Sailor Moon, Usagi had that same idea rammed home by both Luna and the circumstances of her adventures.

*********

"Do you know what my brother created when he made what you call the Silver Crystal? He made a magnifying lens designed specifically to gather and focus the ultimate good in the universe. The only limits placed upon the crystal's power are how much energy the user can handle and said user's imagination. Unfortunately, the people that he gave the crystal to are not that creative, meaning that they are really no fun. So I decided to steal the Silence Glaive."

"You stole one of the most powerful weapons in the Senshi's arsenal because the Serenitys were boring," Hotaru deadpanned.

"Yeah I did, and what I did to it after I stole it is why it is so deadly now. I made the Silence Glaive into the Silver Crystal's sister. It became a focusing lens for the ultimate darkness in the universe. Like the crystal, it has the same limitations, with one additional limit; only two people in the entire universe can wield it. You and me. And only you can use the Silence Glaive's full potential."

"Why would you do that. And how can I be one of the two people to use the Glaive if I wasn't alive when the first Saturn came to be?"

*********

"When I created your crystal I was not thinking straight and I ended up creating an insanely powerful weapon that had no control on who could wield it," God admitted in an ashamed voice.

"But I thought only the Serenitys could use the Silver Crystal," Usagi whispered as she clutched her broach and searched those around her for any signs of a potential thief.

"After I gave them the Crystal, those that I gave it to put a spell on it to ensure that only they and their descendants could use it. Unfortunately, that spell is not like the one on the Silence Glaive and any being with sufficient power and knowledge can undo the spell, which would mean that Crystal is theirs to do with as they pleased. The only group that you fought that did not meet that characteristic was Alan and Ann," God said grimly.

Usagi stood in shocked silence as the crowd around her went about their daily lives. Inside, she went over all the close calls that she had had with her enemies and the Crystal. In an instant, all those close call became a million times closer than she would like.

*********

"After making the Silence Glaive the weapon that it is today, I gave it back to the people of your solar system. When I returned the Glaive I went in the form of my brother, so that the superstitious people of the time would except it. I also made sure to say exactly the same thing that he had said when he gave them the Silver Crystal, so that he would look foolish to those who thought outside of the box."

"Why would you want to do that to your brother," Hotaru asked in confusion?

"It's part of the code that all brothers live by," Lucifer sad in a solemn dignified voice, "I could do nothing less. Besides," he said in a conspiratory tone, "it was really fun." Lucifer's tone and visage then grew very somber, "Unfortunately, like my brother before me, my tampering had consequences that I had not foreseen. Before I had stolen the Glaive, the Senshi of Saturn was always looked upon with some dread by the life- loving peoples of your solar system. But after, you were treated with outright hostility by many and you became very reclusive, which only added to the people's lack of trust in you. And for that you have my deepest apologies." Lucifer then reached out and took Hotaru's hand in his own, "You must understand that none of that was my intention, and I have often cursed myself a fool for bringing so much pain into your life."

Hotaru placed her other hand over Lucifer's, "I know. You were just trying to right a wrong made by your brother. So there is nothing to forgive, right," she said with a sunny smile.

"Uh . . right," Lucifer uttered as he sat back in an effort to regain his composure. "Where was I again?"

*********

"Your brother had given the Silence Glaive back," Usagi said as she helped God back up. "Who knew that God could trip," she thought.

"Right. Well, for a long time peace was the way in your system, as the Serenitys created their Moon Kingdom. It was truly a beautiful sight to behold. While my brother and I can terra form a planet with great ease, that your ancestors managed to create stable habitats on each one of your planets with only their limited knowledge is, to this day, astounding. But unfortunately, the people of the Moon Kingdom rejected their darker natures entirely and gave rise to a much greater evil than what resides in the heart of man."

"Metalia," Usagi said in a whisper. Of all her opponents, Metalia and her servants were the ones who left the greatest fear and malice in Usagi's heart. It was because of them that something truly great was whipped from the pages of history.

"Precisely. Though guile and subterfuge, Metalia was able to gain allies among those not happy with Serenity's reign. Their leader was the head of a noble house from Earth, and with an army of youma and corrupted humans they laid waste to the peaceful kingdom."

"Why didn't you stop them? You have to power to stop a million Metalias, so why didn't you do it," Usagi asked angrily. If she had the power to do so she would have rid the universe of that distasteful creature.

*********

"Though the fabric of time is less malleable here than in our home universe, my brother and I can still see a good ways into the future. The future I witnessed was not a wholesome one. Within one or two generations, laws would be passed limiting people's beliefs and actions. After a short time, all that makes humans so chaotic would have been stripped bear. It would have only been a matter of time before all of humanity would have been extinguished. All my brother could do was to open our doors to those who wished to remain. So upon their deaths billions flooded into Heaven and Hell, where they were made welcome by their fore bearers.

But the downfall of the Moon Kingdom heralded the finding of a power unlike any seen in the universe. God and I became aware of this power by way of the Sisters that gave us our power over good and evil. They showed us the energy signature of this power and gave us a warning to avoid angering those who wield that power."

*********

"A great many years passed before anyone used the power, until one day a man named Nergal learned how to harness it."

"What's so good about this power," asked Usagi. She had a hunch that her companion was talking about the Forbidden but she did not want to voice that belief until she was sure.

"Well for starters, there has never been an energy that could slice through every barrier, both that of energy and solid matter, that was placed in its path. But even more unique about it is the fact that unlike every other form of energy that is available to Humankind, it is completely internal. With magic, you have to channel a type of power through you, be it good, evil, or elemental. This means that the level of power that a person can support is not dependent on the energy source but the amount of energy that they can channel. With the power you call the Forbidden, the power is already there in each and every human, all they have to do is find it."

********

"Isn't Ki the same way," Hotaru asked.

"In that it originates from a person, yes. But to use Ki you must be in excellent physical condition and in tune with yourself. A child in a wheelchair could access the Forbidden with the proper knowledge. Also, there is one glaring difference between Ki and the Forbidden, only Humans can use the Forbidden."

"Why?"

"I don't know, but that was what was told to me by the sisters. But the Forbidden is part of the reason you're here.

When the Silver Millennium was destroyed both Heaven and Hell were thrown into chaos. It wasn't until many years later that everything was reaching some semblance of normalcy and God and I could take stock of everything. What we saw on Pluto shocked my brother and I deeply. Apparently, among the confusion of the Moon Kingdom's fall, Tokimi was able to get a foothold into your friend Setsuna.

Through her, Tokimi was able gain access to the Time Gate. With the Gate Tokimi found out that all of you would be reincarnated, and that as you were coming to power both Tsunami's and Washu's knights would be on Earth. She knew that if those two groups came together they would be a threat to her. Upon further investigation, Tokimi found that only one person would bring them into contact, Ranma Saotome."

*********

"Ranma? Why Ranma," Usagi asked in confusion.

"When you look at the flow of time, everyone's past is clearly visible. Who their parents are, why they got together, these questions are easily answerable all the way back to the beginning of time. In Ranma's case though, it seems as if he appeared out of no-where. Oh sure, you can trace his past now, but when you look at it, its unthinkable that someone like Ranma was ever created. It is almost like some other agency created Ranma for some purpose."

*********

"Well, when Tokimi saw what Ranma would do she used her servant D3 to take control of as many people in Ranma's life as possible."

"D3," asked Hotaru.

"Oh, he was that large head that Mihoshi killed with her gun," Lucifer said with a smile. That was not something he had foreseen, but it was a pleasant surprise none the less. "Through D3, Tokimi was able to amplify all of people's more negative aspects in relation to Ranma. It was her hope that one of these people would do what we prevented her doing, kill Ranma. To help Genma with his task, Tokimi made many subliminal suggestions to him, hoping Genma's enhanced stupidity would get the boy killed. Unfortunately for her Ranma, survived everything thrown at him and only got stronger. Then Tsunami did something that I never thought she would do, she broke the rules of their test by giving Ranma Light Hawk Wings."

*********

"But what really pushed Tokimi over the edge was when she found out that through her attempts at killing Ranma, she only supplied him with the energy that she had so feared, the Forbidden. I think that the only thing that kept her from killing Tsunami was the fact that she didn't know it was Tsunami that helped Ranma gain full control of the Neko-ken." As they were walking through the most peaceful park the Usagi had ever seen, God stopped at the edge of a beautiful crystal-clear lake. "It's such a shame," God said sadly, as he looked out over the lake's placid waters.

For a moment Usagi considered asking what God was referring to, but instead she decided to let him speak in his own time. Instead she just stood next to the man, and like many such times before, she was humbled by the sight of nature's subtle perfection.

"Before He came to us, Tokimi was such a gentle person. She was so full of love for others that she was a joy to be around. To see her the way she is now . . . Sometimes I think the greatest tragedy inflicted by Melkor was what happened to her."

*********

As Lucifer sat in silence, Hotaru began to feel uncomfortable with the oppressive atmosphere that suddenly appeared in the room. Deciding to break her host out of the funk he had placed himself in, she asked, "So, why was I sent here?"

For several moments it seemed as if Lucifer had not heard Hotaru's soft-spoken question, and then he once more looked at Hotaru's sitting form. "A safe-guard that I placed into the redesigned Silence Glaive. Should you ever be struck down by Light Hawk power you will be sent instantly to a place of my choosing."

"So when Tokimi blasted me," Hotaru prompted.

"You ended up here. That is correct." Lucifer the looked off into the distance. He stayed like that for several seconds and then stood abruptly.

At Lucifer's quick motion Hotaru bolted out of her chair and stood in a ready stance with the Silence Glaive. Though she saw no one else in he room, Hotaru remained on guard. Casting an eye to Lucifer, Hotaru tersely asked, "What?"

"It is time for you to go back. Your friends still have need for you," Lucifer evenly replied.

"Go back? But hasn't the battle been over for a while?" By her reasoning, Hotaru had been in Hell for at least an hour and a half, although she had no idea how long she had been there prior to waking up.

"In this micro universe that my brother and I conjured up, time is almost as malleable as it was in our old universe. That means I can slow down time in this room while everything else runs at normal speed. That being said, I must send you back," with that Lucifer raised his arm and pointed his palm at Hotaru.

Before Lucifer could do anything, Hotaru felt a need to ask him something grip her heart. "Wait!"

Lucifer lowered his arm a little, "Yes," he asked, his voice tinged with confusion.

For a moment Hotaru's will floundered, but whatever had her would not release its grip that easily. "Can I come back sometime," she asked. Though a large part of her wondered why she would be interested in returning to Hell.

Lucifer's eyes took on a look of happiness, "You are welcome whenever you want to return. Now that you know of this place, just withdraw the Silence Glaive and think about me. It will do the rest."

A small smile graced Hotaru's face, "Thank you."

"You are more than welcome my dear," with that, Lucifer once more pointed his palm at Hotaru. From his upturned hand lanced a beam of pure dark power. Even after Hotaru disappeared, Lucifer stood motionless as he gazed at the spot she had vacated with unblinking eyes. As he lowered his arm, Lucifer whispered, "Until next time."

Before Lucifer could make a move he felt a presence that he had not felt for many a year. In the middle of the long hall appeared a pinpoint of white light. In but a moment the light exploded into a luminous white portal. Out of this portal stepped his brother. God had a light smile on his face as he said, "Hello Lucifer."

"You," responded gruffly. He then turned and walked back to his throne. After sitting back down in his throne, Lucifer addressed his still smiling brother, "Why have you come here?"

God walked over to where his brother was sitting and conjured up a decidedly comfortable looking recliner. As he plopped himself and extended the chair's leg, God cheerfully replied, "So that we can watch the final act of this little drama."

Lucifer looked at his brother incredulously, "What makes you."

Before Lucifer could say any more God produced a bag of popcorn and held it in his direction. "Popcorn?"

For several seconds Lucifer's eyes darted between his brother and the bag of popped corny goodness. With a growl of defeat Lucifer ripped the bag from his brother's hand and ate some of the contents inside. Then, any pretense of gruffness disappeared as he moaned in delight at the perfect taste of what was in his mouth. After downing that, Lucifer asked, "Hey, do you have any," before he could finish God was handing him a bottle of Coke.

So, with Cokes in hand and bags of popcorn in their laps, God and Lucifer sat back and watched the final battle of a silent war that had begun over twenty thousand years ago.

*********

Looking at the space that once was occupied by Usagi and Hotaru, Ranma was filled with shock and rage. His entire body shook with this all consuming rage. Rage directed at a singular individual, Tokimi. "Why," he whispered.

"Why," Tokimi asked in mock confusion. "What ever do you mean by why," she asked, her voice full of fake innocence.

"Enough of these games Tokimi! Answer his question, why did you kill those two. They played no part in this test of ours," Washu demanded of her sister. Of those in the hall, seeing Tokimi the way she was now affected Washu the most. It pained her greatly to see how far her sister had fallen, and it hurt even more to know that reason was no longer an option.

"Don't be naive sister. Has living with these mortals for the past twenty thousand years dulled that keen mind of yours," Tokimi asked condescendingly. "Of course they had to die. First that little Saturn bitch kills Tarou. Not one of my favorite followers, but a you take what you can get. Since little Hotaru killed Tarou, her life became forfeit. As for Serenity's brat, well, she interfered in our test directly. Her blast, weak as it was, distracted Xander long enough for yours and Tsunami's knights to kill him. So SHE involved herself in our test. And anyway, their deaths hurt Ranma, which is all that better," she finished with a malicious grin.

"What did I ever do to you," Ranma asked.

"In the beginning, the only reason for your death was so that the Tsunami's people and Serenity's people would never meet and form an alliance. But soon, it became a crusade. I tried everything that I could conceive of to deal with you. BUT YOU WOULDN'T JUST DIE! And so, because of your inability to be a good little boy and die, those whom you care for the most shall be made to suffer." With that she shot out two blasts of power, one at Tenchi and his family, the other at Mihoshi.

As the twin beams streaked to both his new family and his beloved wife, Ranma stood frozen in horror. When the beams hit, the information coming from his eyes was spilt, and Ranma saw the results as if looking at a split screen T.V. Tenchi and company were reasonably all right, only the quick reflexes of Tenchi and Ryoko allowed those in the beam's direct path to be protected. Those who were not behind them were assaulted by rubble from the floor and the beam's leakage, but luckily all appeared to be okay. The scene that stopped the mighty warrior's heart cold was the beam that went to Mihoshi. Though Tokimi's aim was off and the beam only struck the floor right in front of Mihoshi, the power of the explosion lifted the blonde-haired woman off her feet. As she arced through the air towards the Hall's far wall, Ranma felt as if time had slowed, and the whole scene looked like some sick slow motion movie.

And the small breeze that began to pick up went unnoticed by all.

For Mihoshi Saotome, her pain was two fold. First, there was the pain of the flesh as she was bombarded with searing razor-sharp debris. Then, there was the pain of the spirit, for as she flew she could feel her husband's pain, and that only amplified the agony she felt at the knowledge that she would once again be separated from the one she loved. Only this time, it would be she who entered death's cold embrace. As her head impacted against the metal wall, her last thought was a sorrowful, "Oh Ranma." And then, there was nothing but blackness.

If you had asked Ranma Saotome, "When did you ever experience the greatest emotional pain," two weeks ago he would have answered Jusendo. On that day, as he held the old and dead body of his former fiancé Akane Tendo, Ranma felt a sorrow that was unbearable. Now though, he reached out through the bond he and Mihoshi had formed not three days ago and found, nothing. At that, Ranma Saotome, best martial artist on Earth and killer of a god, was truly defeated. As he stood rooted in place, Ranma was nothing but a void. For the first time in his life, Ranma welcomed death with open arms. But a part of him would hear nothing of that, for he had one further task left to him, revenge. His whole body was then filled with the need to make the one before him pay for her transgression against his family. Ranma looked up at his next victim and roared, "TOKIMI!"

Said goddess smiled maliciously down at Ranma, "And now you know, little man. That pain you feel is the pain of total loss. A pain I am all too familiar with. Tell me something Ranma, how does it feel. How does it feel to know that all of your near misses and triumphs over adversity have resulted in this? How does feel to know that this is all your fault," she asked with a whisper. Tokimi then pulled herself up to her full height, "And now I shall do what others failed to do for me. I shall bring an end to your torment, forever." With that Tokimi pointed her left arm at Ranma and fired a blast powerful enough to split a planet asunder.

When the beam of death struck its target everyone was blinded by the blast of light. As Tenchi and crew tried to adjust their eyes, all they could hear was the psychotic laughter of Tokimi. Once they could see again, despair filled their ranks. All that was left of Ranma Saotome was a deep crater and a thick cloud of debris.

Then they felt it. A power of amazing intensity and startling familiarity. It even caused Tokimi to stop her laughter as all eyes turned to cloud of debris. The cloud, which should have begun to dissipate, was blown to the center of the crater by a strong wind that formed in the enclosed hall. Once all of the cloud was condensed into a ball roughly the size of a human, it exploded outwards as it was carried by hurricane force winds.

Like the others, Ryoko was blown back by the intense winds, but because of her enhanced constitution she was able to regain her bearings quicker. Climbing out of the pile of bodies, Ryoko cast her eyes towards the source of the blast wave. "Look," she shouted as she pointed at the crater.

All eyes turned to look at what Ryoko saw and gasps of surprise were abound. At the exact center of the circular crater and level to the ground floated a changed Ranma Saotome. In place of the Light Hawk armor that he had been previously wearing he was now adorned in his regular clothes, though they were colored the same as the armor. With his head back and his eyes closed Ranma tried to gain some measure of control over the vast energies suddenly at his disposal. Finally, he lowered his head and opened his eyes to pierce Tokimi with a glowing golden stare.

As this was happening, those who were watching the proceedings were treated to two more unexpected sights. To the right of the crater erupted a pillar of black fire that screamed darkness to all who could feel its power. At the same moment, a pinprick of light exploded into a set of slowly spinning symbols. In the same instant, the black pillar flared up and from the symbols blasted down a beam of pure white light. When the darkness and light receded, they left in their wake the kneeling forms of Hotaru and Usagi. With grace and poise, both girls rose in unison and faced their opponent with weapons drawn.

Meanwhile, all this went unnoticed by Ranma, who was trying to keep his energies under control, Tokimi saw it all. She had felt the power that caused Usagi and Hotaru's return and cursed the brothers for their interference. Never one to let some old anger to go waste, Tokimi yelled at her seemingly unkillable foes, "WHY WON'T YOU DIE!!" With that she once again shot a huge wave of power.

THAT Ranma did noticed, and he reacted with instincts that he didn't know he possessed. Before the beam could reach the three warriors it impacted against a spherical barrier of Forbidden. Ranma began to walk towards his opponent, all the while he was stepping on nothing but air, "No Tokimi, you're wrong. I'm not the reason all this happened, you are. You let your grief eat you up, and because of that, billions have paid the price. So, I will grant you your wish," with that he pulled his right arm back and formed four golden blades of Forbidden filled with the blue of Ranma's Light Hawk power. Blades formed Ranma flung his hand forward and launched the blades at their victim.

Seeing the blades of death hurtle towards her, Tokimi utilized all ten of her Light Hawk Wings and created a barrier that nothing could penetrate. Nothing except the blades, that is.

When the Forbidden struck the Light Hawk shield it caused a unique reaction. Instead of just slicing through the Forbidden caused the Light Hawk shield to implode violently and both the Light Hawk energy from the shield and from inside the blades struck the goddess with tremendous force. But Tokimi was not called a goddess for nothing, and the attack didn't kill her. Before she could issue any sort of response, Ranma yelled, "Tenchi, now!"

Though they were shocked by what they had seen, when Ranma yelled Tenchi and Ryoko poured all their power into their swords and flew through the hole that Ranma's attack had created. Their aim was true and the couple plunged their swords deep into Tokimi's chest. Tokimi made no noise as their attacks made their way home. All the defeated woman did was look Ranma in the eye, and with a tear traveling down her cheek, she whispered, "Thank you." And for the first time in twenty thousand years, Tokimi was at peace.

Ranma did not even wait until Tokimi had completely vanished into the ether to rush to his wife's side. What he found made him burst into tears. As he gathered his wife into his arms, he found not the blood-matted head that he expected, only the soft breathing of the most important person in his life. He pulled Mihoshi even closer to him and enveloped her in a tender embrace as he opened his mind to her's and found the sweet dreams that he had seen many times over the past three days. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Ranma looked up to see the smiling face of Tenchi, "She's alive Tenchi," Ranma whispered with joy.

"I know Ranma, I know," though how she survived was a mystery to Tenchi. He had seen her flight and subsequent impact, and was positive she should be dead. He had even used his heightened senses and they had told him that she was dead, yet here she was, quietly sleeping in her husband's arms. "Let's go home."

Ranma looked back down at his wife's serene face, "Yeah. Home," and with that Ranma gave into the blessed grasp of unconsciousness.

********* Author's Notes: Well, there you have it, another chapter done. I know that many of you are asking, "Why is there so little action," well this story was never about the action but the people. I also wanted this chapter to answer some questions people may be having, like who the brothers are, well now you know. The reason God and Lucifer could interfere with the fight was that, effectively, Usagi and Hotaru are their knights.

Now some of you might think that I have fallen into the trap of creating a God-like Ranma. Well I didn't. The Forbidden as Ranma wields it is not very powerful when compared to the power of Ultimate Good, Ultimate Darkness, or to a lesser extent, Light Hawk Power. Those let the users destroy planets and rip open holes in the space time continuum. The main bonus of the Forbidden is that there are only a hand full of things in the Omniverse that are immune to it. With the Forbidden you can null pretty much any type of power, as Ranma uses it. Right now Ranma is as strong as he will ever be it will just take years for him to properly understand how to fully utilize its energies. Also, each person who can wield the Forbidden has a certain affinity for one of the four primal elements. Ranma's just happens to be Wind, thus his ability to walk on air.

Now there are several things I need to point out. One is about the Noize, several months ago I wrote Strike Fiss and gained his permission to use it for my story. If you would like to read more about the Noize I suggest reading both Sailor Moon AR and Seven Knights. Both are excellent stories and I highly recommend them. Another point is about Usagi's reappearance in Tokimi's chamber. That was a direct rip of Sephiroth's entrance in Kingdom Hearts. Check it out it is awesome.

If there are any more comments or concerns you may contact me through the normal channels and I will attempt to answer you in a timely manner. Thanks to all you who have held out this long I hope you have enjoyed the ride.

Chaos Lord King of the Wicker People