He could feel it surging through him, like it always did. But this time, he could see it, directly ahead and filling his field of vision. A blue-green planet, and the golden tide cascading from it to him.
The power.
More than he could possibly channel through his human body, even when transformed. Suddenly, like a mighty river or the trunk of a great tree, it branched into two streams, the second flowing past the edge of his vision to somewhere... someone else.
Somehow, his power was dividing, for what need or purpose he didn't know. But he wanted to. And, as if in response to his wish, he heard a voice. A beautiful female voice filled with love so tangible it was almost physical. "My son," it began. "What troubles you?"
"What's happening? Why is the power dividing?" he wordlessly asked with thoughts permeated by concern.
"Your heart spoke true when you realized the power, MY power, was more than you could possibly use. So, I wish to offer another a position as your apprentice. A squire to your knight." Then the warmth changed a bit to become more of a motherly concern. "With your permission, of course."
He considered the offer for a moment. It would be intriguing to have a student to teach, to be joined by a fellow warrior who would share the burden he bore alone. But he could only wonder why? And his parents were long dead and buried. How could this disembodied voice be his mother? But he knew, with certainly equal to his puzzlement, that she was.
"I am the mother of you all. My blood is in the winds, rivers, oceans, lakes, and lava flows. My body is the mountains, canyons, deserts, and plains. I have many names, one of which is Earth."
And then, he knew.
"Excuse me, sir. Will you please put your seat back up? We'll be landing at Tokyo soon." A young woman's voice asked, displacing the other's.
The handsome, black-haired college student blinked. Then he stared for a few moments as one reality swept away contact with another, leaving only memories in its wake. "Sure," he replied as he leaned forward and pressed the lever to move the seat up. Glancing to his right out the window, he saw the expanse of the Pacific rising up to meet him. He smiled then, basking for a moment in the glory of his Mother.
He knew a girl would be waiting for him... Usako. It had only been a few weeks, but he could sense the longing in his girlfriend's heart that steadily increased with each phone call they had exchanged.
***
Ranma 1/2 Honor and Love
(Yet Another) Ranma/Sailor Moon Crossover
Episode 09: A Flash of Silver
By Kevin D. Hammel
Ranma 1/2 is property of Rumiko Takahashi. Publication Rights are held by Viz in The US and Shogakukan in Japan. Sailor Moon is property of Naoko Takeuchi. Publication rights held by Kodansha Ltd. in Japan and Mixx Entertainment in the US. My purpose is to honor these creators and their works. No infringement intended.
***
Two teenaged girls craned their necks looking for a specific passenger to enter the lobby from a gate at Narita Airport. The one with auburn hair saw him first, by virtue of her slight height advantage.
She excitedly announced the discovery to her friend, "Usagi-chan, I see..."
The shorter blonde cut off her friend with a shout of, "Mamo-chan!" as she flew across the lobby toward the dark-haired college student.
His speculations on the meaning of his dream came to an abrupt end upon hearing the cry of his girlfriend. The young man's face lit with a smile as he dodged a few slower-moving passengers to reach his, "Usako!"
Suddenly, a suitcase seemed to materialize in Usagi's path, sending her flying the last meter or two into Mamoru's arms. With a more emphatic reprise of her name, Mamoru caught Usagi, and each held the other for a while. Words weren't needed to communicate their feelings about the moment, or each other.
After many pounding heartbeats, Usagi let Mamoru go, then spoke to her love with unaccustomed gravity. "Mamo-chan, a lot's happened since you left." As she continued, she glanced at Naru, "And Naru-chan here is a big part of it."
Naru flushed a bit at her friend's mention of her role in recent events. "Usagi-chan, lets find a place with just a little more privacy to discuss this, okay?"
"Sure!" Usagi enthused.
"But first, I need to pick up my luggage," Mamoru said as he pointed at the stairs to the baggage claim area.
The three friends headed downstairs to pick up his bags, and then catch a train home.
***
In the living room of the Saotome house in Juuban, Ranma, his mother, and the three Tendou sisters gathered after their Sunday morning meal.
"Mom, I need to talk to you, " Ranma said as he walked over to her, the three Tendous watching his every move... hearing his every... "Let's go outside."
"Certainly, Ranma." Nodoka replied, and then followed her son out the door.
When he heard the door close, Ranma turned around. "Mom..." he began with a swallow. "Yesterday at school, a really nice girl gave me some tips on how to attract guys." He closed his eyes... it was hard to continue. His lip trembled as he struggled with what to say next. A warm embrace lessened his anxiety. He opened his eyes to see tears flowing down his mother's face.
"Ranma..." she whispered, "I NEVER intended..."
Ranma nodded and shook his head to show his understanding. "Pop had my head all screwed up when it came to girls, mom. And you figured out a way to try an' fix that. So, 'Kikuko' went to school... And studied hard... And made new friends... And likes the way things are going right now. The problem is... Ranma NEVER did any of that. Please don't forget I'm a guy. Or did you decide you wanted a daughter, Mom?"
"No, Ranma. I didn't want a daughter." She closed her eyes as she scanned her mind for what to say next. Opening them again, she continued, "Well, that's not quite true. I would love to have a daughter, but you are my son. I want you to be the man amongst men Genma promised me."
"Huh?" Ranma asked, puzzlement plain on his face.
"When you were little, your father, and you, made an agreement with me that he would raise you to be a 'Man Amongst Men' or else both of you would commit seppuku. Even you marked the contract... with a handprint."
"What?!" Ranma shouted in disbelief. "Of all the hare-brained screwball ideas!"
"Don't worry, Dear. I destroyed the document after you called me from Osaka. I've seen you around Makoto-chan, and I think Genma's promise has been fulfilled."
"But what about Kikuko?" Ranma asked, noticing his mother's carefully schooled expression waver a bit at the name.
"What about Kikuko, Ranma? We talked to the principal and, given your curse, it was agreed that this would be how best to proceed. It is much harder for you to change from a girl to a boy in a normal situation." She looked straight into her son's eyes, waiting for a response. "Do you hate your curse that much?"
Ranma shook his head in the negative as he responded. "I use to, but I have my reasons to... live with it."
Nodoka smiled knowingly. "Like your alternate identity. What's it like to change like that? To be a Sailor Senshi?" Nodoka asked. Ranma flushed a bit, and then pride crept slowly onto his face. It was a feeling Nodoka gladly reflected.
"It's hard to describe. When I'm transformed, I can feel Io and her power inside me. It's really hard to say any more about it mom." He paused for a few moments as he considered what to say next.
"I remember the dream I had..." Ranma continued with a somewhat distracted look as he recalled his meeting with his patron. "Io actually came to me in a dream, just after I came home."
Nodoka smiled knowingly and nodded. "That was the night you came to my room in your pajamas. I knew you were shaken by something, Ranma."
Ranma smiled and bobbed his own head. "Yeah, that was the night. Then I transformed for the first time the next night. I didn't want to hide anything from the other Sailor Senshi, even my curse."
His face became ashen as he continued, "But two of my friends don't know my secret... And now ANYTHING I say will hurt both of 'em," Ranma added with eyes downcast.
"It's going to be hard for you. I don't want you to fully become a girl, but I don't want you to disgrace our family either with hasty actions. We'll need to take this slowly and care..."
A distressed and confused Ranma took a few steps back, and then ran inside.
"Ranma!" the boy's mother shouted as she ran after him into the house.
Nabiki looked on the scene, unobserved from a nearby window. She shook her head as she considered the ramifications of the sudden revelation Ranma wanted versus Nodoka's careful approach. If Mrs. Saotome got too careful, she wouldn't even have a son at the end of her training.
The middle Tendou daughter stared thoughtfully at the space occupied by a mother and child only moments before. Things like this never used to bother her. Was this new concern for others part of the price she had to pay to be a Sailor Senshi? Of course, if she had REALLY changed, she wouldn't be listening in on private mother-child conversations.
But it was just too much fun to know what they said, rather than guess. Besides, knowledge like this always ended up being worth a few yen.
One question remained, however. Now that she knew, what would she do? Did she really care how this bizarre little soap opera turned out? Yes she did, somehow she knew she had to do something. With a sigh, she shut the window, then walked upstairs to the room she shared with her sisters.
Nodoka stood for a few moments, considering what to do. She slapped her forehead as she realized she had other chores to attend to today. She went into the house to prepare for the cross-town journey that duty, and the Tendou sisters, needed her to perform.
At the edge of the solar system, an observer took note. There were a few things Charon and the Neo Senshi would need to fulfill their destiny. A thought, a concealed connection, and it was done.
***
Sailor Mercury studied the device of her transformation carefully. Another set of measurements went into her pocket computer to be analyzed. Slowly, the spots were growing. In twenty-six days, the pens would be white, if current trends were maintained. It was quite possible that she would be powerless by then. Her power decrease seemed closely tied to the white on her pen.
She needed to discover the source of the disturbance, and had only scant weeks to discover it. How much power would they have if, no WHEN they discovered the source of the disruption?
Just outside Mercury's apartment, Usagi pushed the buzzer by the door.
Muted footfalls answered the summons, and then the door opened a crack to reveal her friend and teammate. "Hi, Ami. Is your mom here?"
"No, she isn't. She pulled a long shift today," the girl replied, then looked over her friend's shoulder to see a familiar face that had been absent for a few weeks. "Welcome back, Chiba-san." She looked at Naru as she continued. "There are some things you need to know."
"So everybody tells me," Mamoru replied. "Care to elaborate, Ami?"
"Yes, I would." Ami flushed for a moment, and then stepped back, clearing the doorway. "Please, come in."
After Ami had fulfilled her duty as hostess by providing a plate of cookies and four glasses of lemonade, she sat down at the table to join her guests.
Washing the last of his cookie down with a swig of lemonade, Mamoru spoke. "Okay, so what's the story, Ami-chan?"
Naru and Ami both turned to face the young man. Taking advantage of the distraction, Usagi shoveled all the remaining cookies onto her plate, eliciting a giggle from Naru.
"Uh... I thought you guys were done with 'em." Usagi sheepishly offered.
"I think we were, Usagi-chan." Ami replied with a small smile. She turned to Naru. "Naru-chan, perhaps you could discuss your new abilities with Chiba-san?"
Mamoru shook his head almost knowingly. Maybe that's why the power was being channeled to another. "Callisto... So you must be the Senshi of one of Jupiter's moons?"
Naru offered a quick nod in response.
"Are there any more new Senshi, Usako?" Mamoru asked, with a puzzled smile.
"Let's see... Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Titan, Triton, and Charon. That makes seven... at least so far," Usagi replied as she counted the Neo Senshi off on her fingers.
"Seven? I don't remember Senshi of moons before. I wonder why there are some now?" he asked with a puzzled expression.
"I dunno," Usagi replied with a shrug of her shoulders. Her look became a lot more serious. "And all the others have a problem too."
"And the eight planetary Senshi are having a strange drop in their power levels," Ami added with a sober expression. "I just completed my latest analysis and it looks like all our pens will be white in twenty-six days." She closed her eyes as she almost whispered, "I calculate we'll probably be powerless by then too."
Mamoru listened carefully as the situation was laid out before him. "I see," he said at last. He wondered if he should mention his dream? No, that was for when he actually knew what it meant.
Noticing Mamoru's distraction, Usagi probed a bit, "Mamo-chan, what are you thinking about? Has something happened to you, too?" she asked worriedly.
"We'll talk about it later, Usako. Let's wait until I know for sure what's going on, okay?"
"Okay, Mamo-chan," Usagi replied, slightly disappointed.
After that, there was nothing more to do, except for Usagi to scarf down the rest of the cookies. But they didn't taste as good as they had before the conversation started.
***
Ranma looked at her reflection in the mirror. She had never really had a room, let alone a mirror, before coming home. The girl who looked back was both familiar and strange. She put a hand to a cheek, noticing softness to both that was still hard to accept. Then, she extended that same hand to the mirror's glass surface until the hand and its reflection touched at the border of fantasy and reality.
The girl in the mirror cared about school, but still was a martial artist. Though it wasn't a school day, she wore her Juuban High girl's uniform. And she actually liked the way it looked on her. The girl had friends and a mother who loved her. She was also a Sailor Senshi, and had sent more than one horrible creature back to the Hell that spawned it.
But inside, she was also a boy who was concerned about the lie that was Kikuko, and how it might change him. He felt that if he pretended to be a girl much longer, there would only be... her. That Ranma would become the lie, or maybe just memory of what she had been. And she couldn't be for Mako-chan what her heart wanted to be if... she became Kikuko for real.
But her mom was being just like Pop used to. Mrs. Saotome thought she knew what needed to be done. Ranma looked away from the mirror and down at her body. What had been so strange just a few weeks ago had become normal. A whole year like this, and...
As she looked up at the mirror again, her resolve was crystal-clear in the reflection. One of the Tendou girls, Nabiki, appeared behind her. Ranma turned with such speed that the Tendou sister hopped back. "What are you doin' in here?" the redhead snarled at the taller girl's invasion of her privacy.
"Gee... Uh... Kikuko, I thought about what I could do to help. Akane and I wanted to invite you to spend some time with us. I think there are some things," she leaned in close to continue with a whisper, "you might not want to talk about with your mom."
"Yeah, ya got that right!" Ranma answered. She looked thoughtful. "Let's visit Mako-chan. I need to talk to her too!"
Nabiki smirked in response. "I really should charge for it, but I figured you'd say that. Makoto invited all three of us to visit her place to... uh... talk things over. You game?"
"Okay. Sounds like a good idea. I'll go!"
After bidding Kasumi goodbye, the three girls went to visit their friend.
***
With her own house in capable hands, a woman on the sunny side of middle age labored now to care for another dwelling. Slowly exhaling, she celebrated finally reaching the last room. A decade ago, 'their' would have described it, but now 'his' was all that could be truthfully used. The other word had vanished into a painful night ten years ago.
The bed was a bit of a mess, sheets and blankets in that confused melange men inevitably seemed to leave in their wake upon waking. It was a simple matter to restore the bedding to its proper position, as nearly automatic motions did the work for her. A minute or two, and it was done. Taut, perfect bedclothes now covered the bed, again ready to pass inspection of the most discerning eye.
She stepped back to look at her handiwork in its proper context, but something was missing. Time for a bit of dusting to perfect the picture. As she worked on a bureau, the woman noticed a framed photograph that had fallen behind it. She reached for the picture, wanting to restore it to its proper place.
As she pulled it from where it had been hidden, she could not suppress a gasp as its contents were revealed. The scene preserved must have been a couple of decades old, as the march of years had muted the pigments slightly. A coating of dust further obscured the image trapped beneath the glass. The four people pictured had certainly changed, two were older and two were... absent. But the memories summoned were undiminished; colors as bright as any she had seen on the train and bus ride out to the city's fringe decorated the image in her mind.
It had been so perfect back then. Idyllic was a word to describe it, revealing human memory as imperfect as the photograph. One had lost pigments to time; the other highlighted the good memories and dimmed the bad.
It was so much simpler, then. Before the Master's sudden arrival, and his equally abrupt disappearance. No child to complicate and enrich her life. No lump of ice to chill her heart for a decade in the wake of the child's departure. Before 'their' had recently ceased to describe her own room, though he had been gone for those same ten years.
As she pulled herself from recollection, she noticed the world had begun to shimmer. The soft sound of a woman crying then entered her perception. Realizing what she had done and was doing, she wiped her face with the sleeve of her kimono. Her mask again in position, she returned the frozen memory to its hidden resting place. She would have to freshen up before going downstairs.
In the hallway, a man turned away from the open doorway of his room. He had not dared touch the photo after it had fallen, years ago. It was just too painful. He wondered, for a moment, if there was any chance of completing the puzzle that was two shattered families with the pieces that remained.
Ranma's marriage to one of his daughters would do just that. But was there another way? It was something that he had never considered.
***
Boy, was he tired. Sundays were supposed to be a day to rest up from all the stress of the week, but he'd taken the opportunity to spend the afternoon with his girlfriend. They had gone all around the district and had a great time. So feeling spent like he did now was well worth it.
He was so weary, he just collapsed on the bed. Sleep quickly after that, as fatigue from the day's activities claimed his consciousness and awakened him to dreamtime.
Never had a dream felt so immediate or so real. As far as he could see, and all around, were stars shining in a velvet backdrop. There were so many of them, not the tiny sample of the few brightest that survived the blaring lights of the city, but all the stars. The Milky Way was aptly named, and could easily be seen as a cloudy band of even more distant suns.
A woman's voice behind him caught his attention. Turning, he gasped as he saw the Earth-Moon system as he had only imagined it. And the voice seemed to be coming from Earth itself.
"Greetings, my son," the woman seemed to say.
"Who are you? And where are you?" he asked the unknown speaker.
"I am your mother, and the mother of all who roam my surface, my son. I have searched for a noble heart and soul to assist my Prince in his struggle against the Darkness."
"So, did you find the guy you were looking for?" He asked.
Laughter somehow filled the void around him. The chuckles weren't insulting or demeaning, but full of joy alone. "Of course. I found you."
"M... me?" he asked after swallowing for a moment. A faint golden glow emanated from the planet, bearing with it a flurry of tiny particles that went from a gray cloud, to snowflakes, to silver flower petals as they drew closer.
Then, the petals encircled him and the light filled him with a warmth he had never experienced before. Just as suddenly as he had been engulfed, external feelings became internal. And he was changed, inside and out.
***
The three Tendou sisters joined Ami, Haruka, Kikuko, Makoto, and Naru at the Saotome home for morning practice. It seemed that neither Usagi nor Minako could pull themselves out of bed, again, so it was just the usual group. Still, such a collection of super-powered schoolgirls was bound to attract trouble.
With a hum then a deafening crash, a lightning bolt impacted in the center of the street. And in that moment, predawn darkness became noontime for a few instants. As their vision returned, a blue bubble expanded to become far larger than any they had previously seen.
Taking advantage of the sensory overload to transform in privacy, eight Sailor Senshi stood ready to face their opponent.
"Wonder why there's only one this..." Sailor Io started to say, then choked on the rest of her sentence. "Wow, that thing's HUGE!" She continued after regaining her composure. "Must be the size of four of the others!"
And it was just as the small Sailor Senshi described, sort of like four of their previous, tentacle-wielding opponents welded together.
Charon blinked a few moments as her friends became rainbow colored with a digital number on each brightly-hued person. The readings changed rapidly as her teammates scrambled to attack the creature.
A psychedelic Sailor Europa appeared suddenly before her sister. "Nice shades, Charon!" she shouted with an admiring smile before turning and running to join the others.
As Europa ran off, the numbers attached to her increased. Must be range in meters, Charon thought. Now, how do I control this thing? Unbidden, a phrase popped into her head. "Enhancement off," she whispered, causing all of her teammates to regain their familiar colors, but a bright red blotch in the center of the creature disappeared too. "Enhancement on," was probably a better choice for most combat situations.
Mercury studied Sailor Charon with a thoughtful smile. The girl was wearing a pair of wrap-around mirrored sunglasses that became transparent for a moment, then mirrored again. From a gold earpiece on the Sailor's left side, a delicate silver wire extended to provide voice pickup. We'll have to compare notes later, she thought as her visor materialized.
Now, Charon thought, if only I had an attack. Suddenly, her face brightened. Perhaps she had finally learned enough to advance her skills.
A shout split the pre-dawn gray as a new Sailor Senshi leapt down from a rooftop. She wore a dark blue skirt with a big green bow on her chest, and two ribbons trailing behind. She hit the ground running in her dark blue dress shoes.
"Ganymede!" Io and Jupiter gasped in unison.
Sailor Ganymede thought of her battle spatula and, like in her dream, a version materialized in her hands. With a shout, she swung at the monster, then dodged metallic shards as the weapon shattered on the creature's tough hide. "Hope my fists are up to it, jerk!" she shouted as she assumed a wary stance.
"Who's she?" Callisto asked Io, who was jogging into battle to her right side, with Europa on her left.
"That's Sailor Ganymede. Ma... Jupiter gave him a Henshin pen only a few days ago, then he took off with it."
"HE?" Europa asked incredulously. "Uh, Io-chan, He's a girl, just look!"
The trio of Senshi caught up to the girl, arraying themselves to both sides of their new teammate.
"Sailor Ganymede?" Callisto asked.
"Duck!" Io shouted.
A second later, all four girls hit the ground to avoid a tentacle.
"Yeah, what's it to you?" Ganymede asked as she sprung back to her feet.
"I'm Sailor Callisto, and these two girls are Sailors Io and Europa. We're the Senshi of Jupiter's Moons."
"That's really great, Callisto-chan, but I think we need to do something about this thooof..." Ganymede had the wind knocked out of her as she went flying across the street, regaining control in time to flip to a soft landing. "Hey, I'm not gonna let some monster try to stiff me!" she shouted as she ran up to the other three Senshi, who had ducked and were taking their feet again.
"So, Uranus-chan, another monster came to visit us. I think we should teach it a lesson."
"Uh... yeah, Titan-san." With that, the tall blonde Senshi raised her arms with a cry of "World Shaking!" and launched a ringed globe of energy at the beast accompanied with a Flash Point attack from Sailor Titan.
Both Senshi were heartened by a loud splat as the attacks hit. The creature quivered for a moment, a hole yawning at the point of impact.
"Oh, we did it! We should try again!" Titan enthused, feeling a few years younger than her nineteen.
"Uh huh!" Uranus agreed as both Sailors prepared a new attack.
Mercury looked over at Charon, who was at the center of a cold, black conflagration. The Neo Senshi had a terrifying smile on her face as she pirouetted once, then raised both hands and shouted, "I call upon the power of Charon to hasten your departure from this plane. Let this be your... Death Knell!"
Mercury sucked in a breath as... something... grew between Charon's upraised hands. To the unearthly accompaniment of a banshee's keening and the toll of an unseen chime, a pure black fireball finally escaped the Senshi's grasp. The attack sped toward the creature, sucking light, heat, and life from the air as it passed. After a black explosion, the beast's body again quivered, but could not shake off a huge hole in its side.
Europa had heard her sister shout, and then saw her attack. "Maybe it was better when she couldn't do anything in battle," she whispered with a shiver.
"Come on! Let's hit 'em again!" Callisto shouted as the four Senshi combined their attacks producing a maelstrom of fire, water, and ice that chewed up the monster even more. Creature bits showered the new team with organic rain. And at that point, something began between the four of them.
"Who put YOU in charge, Callisto?" Europa asked as she wound up for a new attack.
"We're the Senshi of Jupiter's moons. I think we make a great team." Callisto answered with confidence.
"Yeah!" Europa agreed as she tossed a "Pressure Wave!" in concert with her teammates' Tempest Flare, Meteor Swarm, and Ice Storm.
"All right!" Io shouted as the sum of their four attacks rent a new hole in the monstrosity.
"I dunno 'bout any of this stuff," Ganymede said as she ducked another tentacle-swipe.
"Again! We've got it!" Callisto shouted. Her training had helped the Neo Senshi a lot, but she was breathing heavily as she prepared to support her teammates in another attack. Just after hitting it again, she slipped in a pool of the creature's ichor. That was the opening the horror needed to grab the orange-clad girl and begin to crush the life out of the self-appointed leader of the group.
Their destruction begins with this girl's death. She seems to be the leader of this pack of Neo Senshi vermin. Her elimination will make our victory even easier, a distant sentience thought.
Ganymede came to a decision as she shouted, "Callisto!" Maybe she cared about the other girls after all.
A flash of silver announced a new arrival on a rooftop. It was a young man dressed in black. Unlike Tuxedo Kamen, he was dressed in the manner of a bygone era, more like an outlandish Spanish colonial Don. He wore a black vest with silver embroidery over a white shirt with flowing sleeves. His tie was a silver bolo closed with a rose-shaped clasp. A black cape with silver lining hung behind him. A strip of silver cloth with two eyeholes that was tied behind his head guarded his identity. Closely tailored black pants and boots and a black, flat, wide-brimmed hat decorated with a silver cord completed a picture.
The dashing young man glanced at the small card that held a flowery speech, then tossed it aside with a shout of, "Callisto!" echoing Ganymede's cry. He then hurled a silver rose at the arm's base. With an explosion of silver flower petals, the tentacle broke loose, dropping Callisto.
"Gotcha, Callisto-chan!" Io said as she positioned herself to catch the plummeting Senshi. The redhead became red-faced as she set the taller girl down.
"Thanks, Io-chan!" Callisto said as she hopped out of the smaller girl's arms.
"Awww... It wasn't nothin'," Io said, and then looked down to draw an imaginary pattern on the street with a green-clad toe.
But Callisto's attention was elsewhere, as her eyes locked on those of her heroic savior. She could feel the warmth of a furious flush on her face, and even more heat between the two of them.
"Thank you, kind sir!" she shouted as she gave a slight bow, then looked up to lock her eyes anew with her benefactor. She was in Heaven for a few moments, and then abruptly plunged into Hell.
Suddenly, she ripped her eyes away, and buried her face in her white-gloved hands. "Umino!" Callisto... Naru... whispered. And her love for her classmate clashed with her gratitude and admiration for this handsome new man... as her heart was torn in two. "Umino..." She whispered again.
"Guys! We're in the middle of a battle!" Sailor Charon shouted, as she studied the creature's wound. Her analysis paid off as she spotted a weakness. Excited by her discovery, she whipped her entire body around to look up at the new arrival. "Hey, Rose-boy!" The Neo Senshi shouted, "How about throwing a few of those posies in the cut just below that busted tentacle?"
The Silver Rose tossed a single flower at the indicated spot. It had multiplied sixteen fold by the time it impacted on the creature. A silver flash announced sixteen direct hits.
Horribly weakened by the other attacks, the monstrosity began to disintegrate. With a resounding splat that echoed down the street, the monster collapsed into the predictable pile of sludge. "Next time you need me, I shall be there, Sailor Callisto," he said with eyes locked on the distraught Sailor Senshi. With a wave, he turned and was gone.
"Wow, he's dreamy," Jupiter whispered, caught up in the romance left in the mysterious stranger's wake of silver petals.
"Yes, he sure is," Mercury answered. "In fact, I estimate his coefficient of dreaminess at 0.87!"
Callisto, who had been struck dumb, finally whispered another trembling, "Umino. Oh, no. I... I'm so sorry." Tears fell as she considered the plight her sundered heart had put her in.
"Girls..." Io said at last as she shook her head back and forth in puzzlement. Her actions provoked a sad chuckle from Uranus, a questioning expression from Callisto, and an embarrassed blush from Jupiter.
Io stopped shaking her head, as concern announced itself on her wrinkled brow. That guy fought the monster and he was still a guy... His outfit was even goofier than hers was, but he was still a guy. She closed her eyes, not wanting to let her emotions show. But a tear squeezed from each corner of her tightly closed eyes betrayed her.
Jupiter, her face still flushed, directed a question to her friend. "Io-chan, what's wrong?"
The small sailor's eyes snapped open; they were just a little red. Pent up tears fell as she spoke. "H... He's a GUY, but he still gets a magical attack? It just ain't fair."
Jupiter enfolded the small girl in a hug, her flush becoming evermore pronounced by the second. "Io-chan. I don't care what you look like, you're still a darn good fighter." She let go to take a couple of steps back to appraise the other girl. "'Sides, Sailor Io needs to be a great martial artist, and you're the best I've ever seen."
Io's chest swelled a bit at the compliment, her tears forgotten. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Finally she smiled, just a little. "Thanks, Jupiter."
Callisto scratched her head; Kikuko was sure a strange girl. Could her aversion to the new warrior be because he was a guy? "Whatever," she whispered as she shook her head.
Charon just stared at the somewhat bizarre scene, which was soon disturbed by the distant wail of sirens. "Let's get inside!" she shouted while running to the side of the building, followed by the other girls.
Ganymede leapt to the roofline and ran off. Still a bit dazed, the remaining girls filed quietly into the Saotome home.
***
(End)
Well... Thanks to Robert "Kenko" Haynie for his suggestion on a new warrior to add to the mix. I was going to write more, but decided that this was a good place to stop this chapter. Of course, I'm sure the question of WHO that masked one is on your mind. It isn't? Well, it's on Naru's.
Thanks to William Dix, "Kenko", Mike Koos, Andrew Norris, and Chad Walker (I hope I didn't leave anybody out) for pre-reading! This crew really helped a lot, any mistakes that remain are my responsibility.
Note that in this third iteration of Episode 9, I added a scene and removed all references to the 'Jovian Guard'... for now.
Finally, I have returned to this story.
Thanks to the people who offered FFML C and C. Rhea Seraph (AKA John Biles) and Rebeka Thomas offered some good suggestions. Dave Roeder did an in depth grammatical deconstruction. Douglas Mac Dougall made some great grammatical suggestions as well as offering some pointed comments that made me step back for a moment (actually a period of months) from this story. I have to say that I won't be able to 'repair' all he suggested, but am thankful to him for pointing them out. I AM trying to do some of what he suggested, as a perusal of this revision will reveal.
Thanks for reading, and I hoped you enjoyed the story!
Please let me know what you think!
Kevin D. Hammel
December 28, 2000
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khammel@anime.sobhrach.com
kevinsff@pacbell.net
http://www.fanfic.net/~khammel/
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The power.
More than he could possibly channel through his human body, even when transformed. Suddenly, like a mighty river or the trunk of a great tree, it branched into two streams, the second flowing past the edge of his vision to somewhere... someone else.
Somehow, his power was dividing, for what need or purpose he didn't know. But he wanted to. And, as if in response to his wish, he heard a voice. A beautiful female voice filled with love so tangible it was almost physical. "My son," it began. "What troubles you?"
"What's happening? Why is the power dividing?" he wordlessly asked with thoughts permeated by concern.
"Your heart spoke true when you realized the power, MY power, was more than you could possibly use. So, I wish to offer another a position as your apprentice. A squire to your knight." Then the warmth changed a bit to become more of a motherly concern. "With your permission, of course."
He considered the offer for a moment. It would be intriguing to have a student to teach, to be joined by a fellow warrior who would share the burden he bore alone. But he could only wonder why? And his parents were long dead and buried. How could this disembodied voice be his mother? But he knew, with certainly equal to his puzzlement, that she was.
"I am the mother of you all. My blood is in the winds, rivers, oceans, lakes, and lava flows. My body is the mountains, canyons, deserts, and plains. I have many names, one of which is Earth."
And then, he knew.
"Excuse me, sir. Will you please put your seat back up? We'll be landing at Tokyo soon." A young woman's voice asked, displacing the other's.
The handsome, black-haired college student blinked. Then he stared for a few moments as one reality swept away contact with another, leaving only memories in its wake. "Sure," he replied as he leaned forward and pressed the lever to move the seat up. Glancing to his right out the window, he saw the expanse of the Pacific rising up to meet him. He smiled then, basking for a moment in the glory of his Mother.
He knew a girl would be waiting for him... Usako. It had only been a few weeks, but he could sense the longing in his girlfriend's heart that steadily increased with each phone call they had exchanged.
***
Ranma 1/2 Honor and Love
(Yet Another) Ranma/Sailor Moon Crossover
Episode 09: A Flash of Silver
By Kevin D. Hammel
Ranma 1/2 is property of Rumiko Takahashi. Publication Rights are held by Viz in The US and Shogakukan in Japan. Sailor Moon is property of Naoko Takeuchi. Publication rights held by Kodansha Ltd. in Japan and Mixx Entertainment in the US. My purpose is to honor these creators and their works. No infringement intended.
***
Two teenaged girls craned their necks looking for a specific passenger to enter the lobby from a gate at Narita Airport. The one with auburn hair saw him first, by virtue of her slight height advantage.
She excitedly announced the discovery to her friend, "Usagi-chan, I see..."
The shorter blonde cut off her friend with a shout of, "Mamo-chan!" as she flew across the lobby toward the dark-haired college student.
His speculations on the meaning of his dream came to an abrupt end upon hearing the cry of his girlfriend. The young man's face lit with a smile as he dodged a few slower-moving passengers to reach his, "Usako!"
Suddenly, a suitcase seemed to materialize in Usagi's path, sending her flying the last meter or two into Mamoru's arms. With a more emphatic reprise of her name, Mamoru caught Usagi, and each held the other for a while. Words weren't needed to communicate their feelings about the moment, or each other.
After many pounding heartbeats, Usagi let Mamoru go, then spoke to her love with unaccustomed gravity. "Mamo-chan, a lot's happened since you left." As she continued, she glanced at Naru, "And Naru-chan here is a big part of it."
Naru flushed a bit at her friend's mention of her role in recent events. "Usagi-chan, lets find a place with just a little more privacy to discuss this, okay?"
"Sure!" Usagi enthused.
"But first, I need to pick up my luggage," Mamoru said as he pointed at the stairs to the baggage claim area.
The three friends headed downstairs to pick up his bags, and then catch a train home.
***
In the living room of the Saotome house in Juuban, Ranma, his mother, and the three Tendou sisters gathered after their Sunday morning meal.
"Mom, I need to talk to you, " Ranma said as he walked over to her, the three Tendous watching his every move... hearing his every... "Let's go outside."
"Certainly, Ranma." Nodoka replied, and then followed her son out the door.
When he heard the door close, Ranma turned around. "Mom..." he began with a swallow. "Yesterday at school, a really nice girl gave me some tips on how to attract guys." He closed his eyes... it was hard to continue. His lip trembled as he struggled with what to say next. A warm embrace lessened his anxiety. He opened his eyes to see tears flowing down his mother's face.
"Ranma..." she whispered, "I NEVER intended..."
Ranma nodded and shook his head to show his understanding. "Pop had my head all screwed up when it came to girls, mom. And you figured out a way to try an' fix that. So, 'Kikuko' went to school... And studied hard... And made new friends... And likes the way things are going right now. The problem is... Ranma NEVER did any of that. Please don't forget I'm a guy. Or did you decide you wanted a daughter, Mom?"
"No, Ranma. I didn't want a daughter." She closed her eyes as she scanned her mind for what to say next. Opening them again, she continued, "Well, that's not quite true. I would love to have a daughter, but you are my son. I want you to be the man amongst men Genma promised me."
"Huh?" Ranma asked, puzzlement plain on his face.
"When you were little, your father, and you, made an agreement with me that he would raise you to be a 'Man Amongst Men' or else both of you would commit seppuku. Even you marked the contract... with a handprint."
"What?!" Ranma shouted in disbelief. "Of all the hare-brained screwball ideas!"
"Don't worry, Dear. I destroyed the document after you called me from Osaka. I've seen you around Makoto-chan, and I think Genma's promise has been fulfilled."
"But what about Kikuko?" Ranma asked, noticing his mother's carefully schooled expression waver a bit at the name.
"What about Kikuko, Ranma? We talked to the principal and, given your curse, it was agreed that this would be how best to proceed. It is much harder for you to change from a girl to a boy in a normal situation." She looked straight into her son's eyes, waiting for a response. "Do you hate your curse that much?"
Ranma shook his head in the negative as he responded. "I use to, but I have my reasons to... live with it."
Nodoka smiled knowingly. "Like your alternate identity. What's it like to change like that? To be a Sailor Senshi?" Nodoka asked. Ranma flushed a bit, and then pride crept slowly onto his face. It was a feeling Nodoka gladly reflected.
"It's hard to describe. When I'm transformed, I can feel Io and her power inside me. It's really hard to say any more about it mom." He paused for a few moments as he considered what to say next.
"I remember the dream I had..." Ranma continued with a somewhat distracted look as he recalled his meeting with his patron. "Io actually came to me in a dream, just after I came home."
Nodoka smiled knowingly and nodded. "That was the night you came to my room in your pajamas. I knew you were shaken by something, Ranma."
Ranma smiled and bobbed his own head. "Yeah, that was the night. Then I transformed for the first time the next night. I didn't want to hide anything from the other Sailor Senshi, even my curse."
His face became ashen as he continued, "But two of my friends don't know my secret... And now ANYTHING I say will hurt both of 'em," Ranma added with eyes downcast.
"It's going to be hard for you. I don't want you to fully become a girl, but I don't want you to disgrace our family either with hasty actions. We'll need to take this slowly and care..."
A distressed and confused Ranma took a few steps back, and then ran inside.
"Ranma!" the boy's mother shouted as she ran after him into the house.
Nabiki looked on the scene, unobserved from a nearby window. She shook her head as she considered the ramifications of the sudden revelation Ranma wanted versus Nodoka's careful approach. If Mrs. Saotome got too careful, she wouldn't even have a son at the end of her training.
The middle Tendou daughter stared thoughtfully at the space occupied by a mother and child only moments before. Things like this never used to bother her. Was this new concern for others part of the price she had to pay to be a Sailor Senshi? Of course, if she had REALLY changed, she wouldn't be listening in on private mother-child conversations.
But it was just too much fun to know what they said, rather than guess. Besides, knowledge like this always ended up being worth a few yen.
One question remained, however. Now that she knew, what would she do? Did she really care how this bizarre little soap opera turned out? Yes she did, somehow she knew she had to do something. With a sigh, she shut the window, then walked upstairs to the room she shared with her sisters.
Nodoka stood for a few moments, considering what to do. She slapped her forehead as she realized she had other chores to attend to today. She went into the house to prepare for the cross-town journey that duty, and the Tendou sisters, needed her to perform.
At the edge of the solar system, an observer took note. There were a few things Charon and the Neo Senshi would need to fulfill their destiny. A thought, a concealed connection, and it was done.
***
Sailor Mercury studied the device of her transformation carefully. Another set of measurements went into her pocket computer to be analyzed. Slowly, the spots were growing. In twenty-six days, the pens would be white, if current trends were maintained. It was quite possible that she would be powerless by then. Her power decrease seemed closely tied to the white on her pen.
She needed to discover the source of the disturbance, and had only scant weeks to discover it. How much power would they have if, no WHEN they discovered the source of the disruption?
Just outside Mercury's apartment, Usagi pushed the buzzer by the door.
Muted footfalls answered the summons, and then the door opened a crack to reveal her friend and teammate. "Hi, Ami. Is your mom here?"
"No, she isn't. She pulled a long shift today," the girl replied, then looked over her friend's shoulder to see a familiar face that had been absent for a few weeks. "Welcome back, Chiba-san." She looked at Naru as she continued. "There are some things you need to know."
"So everybody tells me," Mamoru replied. "Care to elaborate, Ami?"
"Yes, I would." Ami flushed for a moment, and then stepped back, clearing the doorway. "Please, come in."
After Ami had fulfilled her duty as hostess by providing a plate of cookies and four glasses of lemonade, she sat down at the table to join her guests.
Washing the last of his cookie down with a swig of lemonade, Mamoru spoke. "Okay, so what's the story, Ami-chan?"
Naru and Ami both turned to face the young man. Taking advantage of the distraction, Usagi shoveled all the remaining cookies onto her plate, eliciting a giggle from Naru.
"Uh... I thought you guys were done with 'em." Usagi sheepishly offered.
"I think we were, Usagi-chan." Ami replied with a small smile. She turned to Naru. "Naru-chan, perhaps you could discuss your new abilities with Chiba-san?"
Mamoru shook his head almost knowingly. Maybe that's why the power was being channeled to another. "Callisto... So you must be the Senshi of one of Jupiter's moons?"
Naru offered a quick nod in response.
"Are there any more new Senshi, Usako?" Mamoru asked, with a puzzled smile.
"Let's see... Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Titan, Triton, and Charon. That makes seven... at least so far," Usagi replied as she counted the Neo Senshi off on her fingers.
"Seven? I don't remember Senshi of moons before. I wonder why there are some now?" he asked with a puzzled expression.
"I dunno," Usagi replied with a shrug of her shoulders. Her look became a lot more serious. "And all the others have a problem too."
"And the eight planetary Senshi are having a strange drop in their power levels," Ami added with a sober expression. "I just completed my latest analysis and it looks like all our pens will be white in twenty-six days." She closed her eyes as she almost whispered, "I calculate we'll probably be powerless by then too."
Mamoru listened carefully as the situation was laid out before him. "I see," he said at last. He wondered if he should mention his dream? No, that was for when he actually knew what it meant.
Noticing Mamoru's distraction, Usagi probed a bit, "Mamo-chan, what are you thinking about? Has something happened to you, too?" she asked worriedly.
"We'll talk about it later, Usako. Let's wait until I know for sure what's going on, okay?"
"Okay, Mamo-chan," Usagi replied, slightly disappointed.
After that, there was nothing more to do, except for Usagi to scarf down the rest of the cookies. But they didn't taste as good as they had before the conversation started.
***
Ranma looked at her reflection in the mirror. She had never really had a room, let alone a mirror, before coming home. The girl who looked back was both familiar and strange. She put a hand to a cheek, noticing softness to both that was still hard to accept. Then, she extended that same hand to the mirror's glass surface until the hand and its reflection touched at the border of fantasy and reality.
The girl in the mirror cared about school, but still was a martial artist. Though it wasn't a school day, she wore her Juuban High girl's uniform. And she actually liked the way it looked on her. The girl had friends and a mother who loved her. She was also a Sailor Senshi, and had sent more than one horrible creature back to the Hell that spawned it.
But inside, she was also a boy who was concerned about the lie that was Kikuko, and how it might change him. He felt that if he pretended to be a girl much longer, there would only be... her. That Ranma would become the lie, or maybe just memory of what she had been. And she couldn't be for Mako-chan what her heart wanted to be if... she became Kikuko for real.
But her mom was being just like Pop used to. Mrs. Saotome thought she knew what needed to be done. Ranma looked away from the mirror and down at her body. What had been so strange just a few weeks ago had become normal. A whole year like this, and...
As she looked up at the mirror again, her resolve was crystal-clear in the reflection. One of the Tendou girls, Nabiki, appeared behind her. Ranma turned with such speed that the Tendou sister hopped back. "What are you doin' in here?" the redhead snarled at the taller girl's invasion of her privacy.
"Gee... Uh... Kikuko, I thought about what I could do to help. Akane and I wanted to invite you to spend some time with us. I think there are some things," she leaned in close to continue with a whisper, "you might not want to talk about with your mom."
"Yeah, ya got that right!" Ranma answered. She looked thoughtful. "Let's visit Mako-chan. I need to talk to her too!"
Nabiki smirked in response. "I really should charge for it, but I figured you'd say that. Makoto invited all three of us to visit her place to... uh... talk things over. You game?"
"Okay. Sounds like a good idea. I'll go!"
After bidding Kasumi goodbye, the three girls went to visit their friend.
***
With her own house in capable hands, a woman on the sunny side of middle age labored now to care for another dwelling. Slowly exhaling, she celebrated finally reaching the last room. A decade ago, 'their' would have described it, but now 'his' was all that could be truthfully used. The other word had vanished into a painful night ten years ago.
The bed was a bit of a mess, sheets and blankets in that confused melange men inevitably seemed to leave in their wake upon waking. It was a simple matter to restore the bedding to its proper position, as nearly automatic motions did the work for her. A minute or two, and it was done. Taut, perfect bedclothes now covered the bed, again ready to pass inspection of the most discerning eye.
She stepped back to look at her handiwork in its proper context, but something was missing. Time for a bit of dusting to perfect the picture. As she worked on a bureau, the woman noticed a framed photograph that had fallen behind it. She reached for the picture, wanting to restore it to its proper place.
As she pulled it from where it had been hidden, she could not suppress a gasp as its contents were revealed. The scene preserved must have been a couple of decades old, as the march of years had muted the pigments slightly. A coating of dust further obscured the image trapped beneath the glass. The four people pictured had certainly changed, two were older and two were... absent. But the memories summoned were undiminished; colors as bright as any she had seen on the train and bus ride out to the city's fringe decorated the image in her mind.
It had been so perfect back then. Idyllic was a word to describe it, revealing human memory as imperfect as the photograph. One had lost pigments to time; the other highlighted the good memories and dimmed the bad.
It was so much simpler, then. Before the Master's sudden arrival, and his equally abrupt disappearance. No child to complicate and enrich her life. No lump of ice to chill her heart for a decade in the wake of the child's departure. Before 'their' had recently ceased to describe her own room, though he had been gone for those same ten years.
As she pulled herself from recollection, she noticed the world had begun to shimmer. The soft sound of a woman crying then entered her perception. Realizing what she had done and was doing, she wiped her face with the sleeve of her kimono. Her mask again in position, she returned the frozen memory to its hidden resting place. She would have to freshen up before going downstairs.
In the hallway, a man turned away from the open doorway of his room. He had not dared touch the photo after it had fallen, years ago. It was just too painful. He wondered, for a moment, if there was any chance of completing the puzzle that was two shattered families with the pieces that remained.
Ranma's marriage to one of his daughters would do just that. But was there another way? It was something that he had never considered.
***
Boy, was he tired. Sundays were supposed to be a day to rest up from all the stress of the week, but he'd taken the opportunity to spend the afternoon with his girlfriend. They had gone all around the district and had a great time. So feeling spent like he did now was well worth it.
He was so weary, he just collapsed on the bed. Sleep quickly after that, as fatigue from the day's activities claimed his consciousness and awakened him to dreamtime.
Never had a dream felt so immediate or so real. As far as he could see, and all around, were stars shining in a velvet backdrop. There were so many of them, not the tiny sample of the few brightest that survived the blaring lights of the city, but all the stars. The Milky Way was aptly named, and could easily be seen as a cloudy band of even more distant suns.
A woman's voice behind him caught his attention. Turning, he gasped as he saw the Earth-Moon system as he had only imagined it. And the voice seemed to be coming from Earth itself.
"Greetings, my son," the woman seemed to say.
"Who are you? And where are you?" he asked the unknown speaker.
"I am your mother, and the mother of all who roam my surface, my son. I have searched for a noble heart and soul to assist my Prince in his struggle against the Darkness."
"So, did you find the guy you were looking for?" He asked.
Laughter somehow filled the void around him. The chuckles weren't insulting or demeaning, but full of joy alone. "Of course. I found you."
"M... me?" he asked after swallowing for a moment. A faint golden glow emanated from the planet, bearing with it a flurry of tiny particles that went from a gray cloud, to snowflakes, to silver flower petals as they drew closer.
Then, the petals encircled him and the light filled him with a warmth he had never experienced before. Just as suddenly as he had been engulfed, external feelings became internal. And he was changed, inside and out.
***
The three Tendou sisters joined Ami, Haruka, Kikuko, Makoto, and Naru at the Saotome home for morning practice. It seemed that neither Usagi nor Minako could pull themselves out of bed, again, so it was just the usual group. Still, such a collection of super-powered schoolgirls was bound to attract trouble.
With a hum then a deafening crash, a lightning bolt impacted in the center of the street. And in that moment, predawn darkness became noontime for a few instants. As their vision returned, a blue bubble expanded to become far larger than any they had previously seen.
Taking advantage of the sensory overload to transform in privacy, eight Sailor Senshi stood ready to face their opponent.
"Wonder why there's only one this..." Sailor Io started to say, then choked on the rest of her sentence. "Wow, that thing's HUGE!" She continued after regaining her composure. "Must be the size of four of the others!"
And it was just as the small Sailor Senshi described, sort of like four of their previous, tentacle-wielding opponents welded together.
Charon blinked a few moments as her friends became rainbow colored with a digital number on each brightly-hued person. The readings changed rapidly as her teammates scrambled to attack the creature.
A psychedelic Sailor Europa appeared suddenly before her sister. "Nice shades, Charon!" she shouted with an admiring smile before turning and running to join the others.
As Europa ran off, the numbers attached to her increased. Must be range in meters, Charon thought. Now, how do I control this thing? Unbidden, a phrase popped into her head. "Enhancement off," she whispered, causing all of her teammates to regain their familiar colors, but a bright red blotch in the center of the creature disappeared too. "Enhancement on," was probably a better choice for most combat situations.
Mercury studied Sailor Charon with a thoughtful smile. The girl was wearing a pair of wrap-around mirrored sunglasses that became transparent for a moment, then mirrored again. From a gold earpiece on the Sailor's left side, a delicate silver wire extended to provide voice pickup. We'll have to compare notes later, she thought as her visor materialized.
Now, Charon thought, if only I had an attack. Suddenly, her face brightened. Perhaps she had finally learned enough to advance her skills.
A shout split the pre-dawn gray as a new Sailor Senshi leapt down from a rooftop. She wore a dark blue skirt with a big green bow on her chest, and two ribbons trailing behind. She hit the ground running in her dark blue dress shoes.
"Ganymede!" Io and Jupiter gasped in unison.
Sailor Ganymede thought of her battle spatula and, like in her dream, a version materialized in her hands. With a shout, she swung at the monster, then dodged metallic shards as the weapon shattered on the creature's tough hide. "Hope my fists are up to it, jerk!" she shouted as she assumed a wary stance.
"Who's she?" Callisto asked Io, who was jogging into battle to her right side, with Europa on her left.
"That's Sailor Ganymede. Ma... Jupiter gave him a Henshin pen only a few days ago, then he took off with it."
"HE?" Europa asked incredulously. "Uh, Io-chan, He's a girl, just look!"
The trio of Senshi caught up to the girl, arraying themselves to both sides of their new teammate.
"Sailor Ganymede?" Callisto asked.
"Duck!" Io shouted.
A second later, all four girls hit the ground to avoid a tentacle.
"Yeah, what's it to you?" Ganymede asked as she sprung back to her feet.
"I'm Sailor Callisto, and these two girls are Sailors Io and Europa. We're the Senshi of Jupiter's Moons."
"That's really great, Callisto-chan, but I think we need to do something about this thooof..." Ganymede had the wind knocked out of her as she went flying across the street, regaining control in time to flip to a soft landing. "Hey, I'm not gonna let some monster try to stiff me!" she shouted as she ran up to the other three Senshi, who had ducked and were taking their feet again.
"So, Uranus-chan, another monster came to visit us. I think we should teach it a lesson."
"Uh... yeah, Titan-san." With that, the tall blonde Senshi raised her arms with a cry of "World Shaking!" and launched a ringed globe of energy at the beast accompanied with a Flash Point attack from Sailor Titan.
Both Senshi were heartened by a loud splat as the attacks hit. The creature quivered for a moment, a hole yawning at the point of impact.
"Oh, we did it! We should try again!" Titan enthused, feeling a few years younger than her nineteen.
"Uh huh!" Uranus agreed as both Sailors prepared a new attack.
Mercury looked over at Charon, who was at the center of a cold, black conflagration. The Neo Senshi had a terrifying smile on her face as she pirouetted once, then raised both hands and shouted, "I call upon the power of Charon to hasten your departure from this plane. Let this be your... Death Knell!"
Mercury sucked in a breath as... something... grew between Charon's upraised hands. To the unearthly accompaniment of a banshee's keening and the toll of an unseen chime, a pure black fireball finally escaped the Senshi's grasp. The attack sped toward the creature, sucking light, heat, and life from the air as it passed. After a black explosion, the beast's body again quivered, but could not shake off a huge hole in its side.
Europa had heard her sister shout, and then saw her attack. "Maybe it was better when she couldn't do anything in battle," she whispered with a shiver.
"Come on! Let's hit 'em again!" Callisto shouted as the four Senshi combined their attacks producing a maelstrom of fire, water, and ice that chewed up the monster even more. Creature bits showered the new team with organic rain. And at that point, something began between the four of them.
"Who put YOU in charge, Callisto?" Europa asked as she wound up for a new attack.
"We're the Senshi of Jupiter's moons. I think we make a great team." Callisto answered with confidence.
"Yeah!" Europa agreed as she tossed a "Pressure Wave!" in concert with her teammates' Tempest Flare, Meteor Swarm, and Ice Storm.
"All right!" Io shouted as the sum of their four attacks rent a new hole in the monstrosity.
"I dunno 'bout any of this stuff," Ganymede said as she ducked another tentacle-swipe.
"Again! We've got it!" Callisto shouted. Her training had helped the Neo Senshi a lot, but she was breathing heavily as she prepared to support her teammates in another attack. Just after hitting it again, she slipped in a pool of the creature's ichor. That was the opening the horror needed to grab the orange-clad girl and begin to crush the life out of the self-appointed leader of the group.
Their destruction begins with this girl's death. She seems to be the leader of this pack of Neo Senshi vermin. Her elimination will make our victory even easier, a distant sentience thought.
Ganymede came to a decision as she shouted, "Callisto!" Maybe she cared about the other girls after all.
A flash of silver announced a new arrival on a rooftop. It was a young man dressed in black. Unlike Tuxedo Kamen, he was dressed in the manner of a bygone era, more like an outlandish Spanish colonial Don. He wore a black vest with silver embroidery over a white shirt with flowing sleeves. His tie was a silver bolo closed with a rose-shaped clasp. A black cape with silver lining hung behind him. A strip of silver cloth with two eyeholes that was tied behind his head guarded his identity. Closely tailored black pants and boots and a black, flat, wide-brimmed hat decorated with a silver cord completed a picture.
The dashing young man glanced at the small card that held a flowery speech, then tossed it aside with a shout of, "Callisto!" echoing Ganymede's cry. He then hurled a silver rose at the arm's base. With an explosion of silver flower petals, the tentacle broke loose, dropping Callisto.
"Gotcha, Callisto-chan!" Io said as she positioned herself to catch the plummeting Senshi. The redhead became red-faced as she set the taller girl down.
"Thanks, Io-chan!" Callisto said as she hopped out of the smaller girl's arms.
"Awww... It wasn't nothin'," Io said, and then looked down to draw an imaginary pattern on the street with a green-clad toe.
But Callisto's attention was elsewhere, as her eyes locked on those of her heroic savior. She could feel the warmth of a furious flush on her face, and even more heat between the two of them.
"Thank you, kind sir!" she shouted as she gave a slight bow, then looked up to lock her eyes anew with her benefactor. She was in Heaven for a few moments, and then abruptly plunged into Hell.
Suddenly, she ripped her eyes away, and buried her face in her white-gloved hands. "Umino!" Callisto... Naru... whispered. And her love for her classmate clashed with her gratitude and admiration for this handsome new man... as her heart was torn in two. "Umino..." She whispered again.
"Guys! We're in the middle of a battle!" Sailor Charon shouted, as she studied the creature's wound. Her analysis paid off as she spotted a weakness. Excited by her discovery, she whipped her entire body around to look up at the new arrival. "Hey, Rose-boy!" The Neo Senshi shouted, "How about throwing a few of those posies in the cut just below that busted tentacle?"
The Silver Rose tossed a single flower at the indicated spot. It had multiplied sixteen fold by the time it impacted on the creature. A silver flash announced sixteen direct hits.
Horribly weakened by the other attacks, the monstrosity began to disintegrate. With a resounding splat that echoed down the street, the monster collapsed into the predictable pile of sludge. "Next time you need me, I shall be there, Sailor Callisto," he said with eyes locked on the distraught Sailor Senshi. With a wave, he turned and was gone.
"Wow, he's dreamy," Jupiter whispered, caught up in the romance left in the mysterious stranger's wake of silver petals.
"Yes, he sure is," Mercury answered. "In fact, I estimate his coefficient of dreaminess at 0.87!"
Callisto, who had been struck dumb, finally whispered another trembling, "Umino. Oh, no. I... I'm so sorry." Tears fell as she considered the plight her sundered heart had put her in.
"Girls..." Io said at last as she shook her head back and forth in puzzlement. Her actions provoked a sad chuckle from Uranus, a questioning expression from Callisto, and an embarrassed blush from Jupiter.
Io stopped shaking her head, as concern announced itself on her wrinkled brow. That guy fought the monster and he was still a guy... His outfit was even goofier than hers was, but he was still a guy. She closed her eyes, not wanting to let her emotions show. But a tear squeezed from each corner of her tightly closed eyes betrayed her.
Jupiter, her face still flushed, directed a question to her friend. "Io-chan, what's wrong?"
The small sailor's eyes snapped open; they were just a little red. Pent up tears fell as she spoke. "H... He's a GUY, but he still gets a magical attack? It just ain't fair."
Jupiter enfolded the small girl in a hug, her flush becoming evermore pronounced by the second. "Io-chan. I don't care what you look like, you're still a darn good fighter." She let go to take a couple of steps back to appraise the other girl. "'Sides, Sailor Io needs to be a great martial artist, and you're the best I've ever seen."
Io's chest swelled a bit at the compliment, her tears forgotten. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Finally she smiled, just a little. "Thanks, Jupiter."
Callisto scratched her head; Kikuko was sure a strange girl. Could her aversion to the new warrior be because he was a guy? "Whatever," she whispered as she shook her head.
Charon just stared at the somewhat bizarre scene, which was soon disturbed by the distant wail of sirens. "Let's get inside!" she shouted while running to the side of the building, followed by the other girls.
Ganymede leapt to the roofline and ran off. Still a bit dazed, the remaining girls filed quietly into the Saotome home.
***
(End)
Well... Thanks to Robert "Kenko" Haynie for his suggestion on a new warrior to add to the mix. I was going to write more, but decided that this was a good place to stop this chapter. Of course, I'm sure the question of WHO that masked one is on your mind. It isn't? Well, it's on Naru's.
Thanks to William Dix, "Kenko", Mike Koos, Andrew Norris, and Chad Walker (I hope I didn't leave anybody out) for pre-reading! This crew really helped a lot, any mistakes that remain are my responsibility.
Note that in this third iteration of Episode 9, I added a scene and removed all references to the 'Jovian Guard'... for now.
Finally, I have returned to this story.
Thanks to the people who offered FFML C and C. Rhea Seraph (AKA John Biles) and Rebeka Thomas offered some good suggestions. Dave Roeder did an in depth grammatical deconstruction. Douglas Mac Dougall made some great grammatical suggestions as well as offering some pointed comments that made me step back for a moment (actually a period of months) from this story. I have to say that I won't be able to 'repair' all he suggested, but am thankful to him for pointing them out. I AM trying to do some of what he suggested, as a perusal of this revision will reveal.
Thanks for reading, and I hoped you enjoyed the story!
Please let me know what you think!
Kevin D. Hammel
December 28, 2000
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khammel@anime.sobhrach.com
kevinsff@pacbell.net
http://www.fanfic.net/~khammel/
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