Disclaimer: Don't own Ranma ½ or Sailor Moon, and this is for my own entertainment. If one character vaguely resembles a pokemon, please don't shoot.
Jerry Unipeg-I guess I'm writing this just for you as no one has left reviews for the last few chapters I placed. Oh well.
Twelve Totems of the Stone Clan One Half:
Ifor's story
The next morning, Ifor awoke suddenly to see Ranma and Genma on either side of her in offensive stances. She wondered why they would do that, when she realized that she was still wrapped around the young Chinese girl. In japanese, "Please calm down. Something happened last night that may change things. Ranma, can you get some hot water to making?" "Sure."
At that moment, Xian Pu groaned, speaking mandarin, "Aiyah, Ifor, what are we doing here? What are those two doing here?" "Xian, do you remember last night?" The girl nodded. "Well I brought you here to be safe…aaand…I have been travelling with them ever since I met them at Jusenkyo." Ifor got up and sat on a box next to their sleeping spot. Keeping her eyes on the Amazon, she motioned to Ranma for the kettle. The vessel was just warm enough and she poured a surprisingly small amount onto her hand. The shorter, male Ifor was now sitting before her.
"Airen! Itsyounowwecangohomeandimsohappywecanhavelotsofbeautiful-daughtersand…" "Whoa! Xian Pu, remember what I said last night? I have much to do and finding my parents is one big thing. I am too young to marry, yet, and have to grow up some. I'll tell the truth, the idea of going to your village scares the pee out of me. Can I suggest that we be friends and see how things go in a few years?"
Xian Pu looked at Ifor and then at his companions, then visibly deflated. "Airen, you are right. Plus you saved my life and sanity last night when you defended me. Are you really a cat spirit?" Ranma came to sudden attention, saying "C-ccat, where?" Ifor replied, "Calm down Ranma, there aren't any around. I don't know what I am any more, I was a male Wiccan. And Xian Pu, before we go any further, This is Saotome Ranma and his father Saotome Genma. Ranma was the girl and Genma was the panda at the tournament. This is Xian Pu." The two martial artists mumbled their greetings at the belated introduction. "Now, if you would excuse me, I just don't feel right wearing a dress as a boy, back in a moment."
A few minutes later, Ifor was dressed in a fashion similar to Ranma, and they all sat down on the floor to eat. Ranma was the first to speak, in only slightly mangled mandarin, "Shampoo, would you be willing to travel with us and take some time to see if this is what you truly want. We are going to Japan soon and will try to contact his family, his mother, from there. His mom might have something to say about who marries her child."
Xian Pu sat back and looked into Ifor's large hazel eyes for a few moments. She started to speak, then closed her mouth and looked down at her hands. The young Chinese girl spoke softly, "Yes, maybe I should take your advice, you haven't been responding like most males would. I should find out why, though. I think that I really like you and wish for you to like me in return. You act older than most males."
That night, Xian Pu quietly left the building and found a pay phone. She tapped out a long string of numbers and waited for an answer.
Another month later, three girls and a panda were walking south through Tokyo toward the Nerima ward and Genma's friend's dojo. There was a light mist that defied any intention to stay in their uncursed forms. The red headed girl was berating the panda, drawing attention to the group. Shortly, Ranma and Genma were distracted from their argument by screams and explosions from a nearby mall.
When they arrived, an odd sight greeted them. A horribly misshapen female demon was battling a group of girls in skimpy fukus. There appeared to be a number of injured people lying about at risk of being hurt further by the battle going on. The energy bolts flying back and forth convinced the group that it might be best to just evacuate the wounded and let the girls take care of the monster. They each started carrying people clear of the battle zone. Ranma cried out that the demon was a chi vampire and that the people would die unless it was killed quickly. Ifor flew up in eagle form and changed to a mastodon at about five hundred feet. The demon never knew what hit it.
Where the four fuku clad girls had been setting up another magical barrage against the demon, there was a slightly stunned young mastodon lying in a cloud of demon dust.
"Its another one!" shouted the one that had been addressed as Mars. "Mars Firebird Soul!" "Venus Crescent Beam!" "Wait!" shouted the other two girls, too late. The animal disappeared in the conflagration caused by the two attacks combining. When the dust and debris cleared, a badly burned and bleeding mastodon lay twitching on the ground. The smell of scorched meat hung in the air.
Mars said, "That should have dusted it. What's going on?" The blue haired girl shouted, "Because it isn't a youma. You're getting trigger happy. Look!" The creature started to shrink, becoming a nude, young girl with severe burns and cuts over most of her body.
At that moment two other young girls leapt to the girl and the lavender haired one picked her up, the red head shouting, "You bitches, couldn't you see she was helping you? If she dies, I swear you will pay!" The lavender haired one added, "You kill my airen, the Amazons will follow you until you are dead!" The blonde with the odangoes answered, "I'm sorry, please let me see if I can heal her." She then spoke in a regal voice, "Mars! Venus! Apologize now with no excuses!" The two quietly apologized to the three girls while the one called Moon brought out a scepter and asked the lavender haired girl to set the girl on a park bench and stand back.
The blonde girl moved the scepter in a circle, saying, "Moon Healing Escalation". A white beam surrounded the small girl and she jerked, arching her back. A portion of the beam seemed to be absorbed, while the rest of the energy bled off in a pyrotechnic display. Ifor looked up weakly, "Why were those girls killing me?" and lost consciousness again.
Xian Pu spoke, "Yes. Killing my airen is not a good thing. Why should I not attack the ones who hurt him…her." The one who the others called Moon replied, "I'm so very sorry that we attacked your friend. We have had a constant series of attacks recently by youma stealing people's life force and have had precious few allies in the fight. These monsters want to take over the world and they don't care who gets killed or hurt."
The blue haired girl entered the conversation, "I'm Sailor Mercury and I was wanting to know how your friend made that transformation, please. Most shape shifters that we've come in contact with have been evil. My computer does not sense any dark energy associated with her. There are very powerful magic auras surrounding her, that panda that was here for a bit and you," pointing to Ranma. At that moment, police sirens could be heard in the distance. Sailor Moon said, "Can we meet somewhere else and talk? None of us want to be bogged down by the police, right?" Xian Pu picked up Ifor into her arms and jumped to a nearby store roof and headed south. Ranma said quickly, "I'll trust you two. Don't betray us. We are going to the Tendo dojo in Nerima, should we move on before you get there, they will know how to find us. I'll make sure of that, okay?"
"Sailor Mercury and I will be there at sunset, tomorrow, if there are no youma attacks." Ranma leapt to the rooftop and followed the other two girls into the distance. As the four sailor scouts leapt in the opposite direction, Moon asked, "How can they do that? We have to transform and are only a little faster and stronger than that." Mercury replied to the others, "I think that they may be master or even grandmaster level martial artists who have the ability to bind their own and ambient life force to their will. Also, that young girl had more than one transformational phase. The mercury computer showed a North American eagle transforming into the mastodon about five hundred feet up. She hit that youma with the force of a five hundred pound bomb and was only stunned, not killed." Mars said, "Then maybe she does belong to the Dark kingdom!" Mercury replied, "No! There was no trace of darkness in any of them. The computer actually had a classification for the two older girls and the panda. They are all entry level technomages, and it was technomages that created us so long ago in the silver millennium." Moon nearly stumbled on hearing that, "What about the young girl?"
Mercury looked at her computer mid leap, "She appears to be an untrained immortal mage of the Stone Clan by her tattoos. There is little in the database about them beyond identification, that they wield the 'Eldritch Power', capital E and P, and are the children of Gaiea. I also don't think any of us could really have killed her, she would have healed by morning anyway." Sailor Moon did fall face first to the roof at that. Getting up with an embarrassed look, she said, "So her power comes from the earth, like Mamo-chan's?" "Probably from whatever world she might be on," replied Mercury.
"Well, we need to convince them to be allies, somehow," said Moon in her Princess Serenity mode. Mercury's face darkened, "Princess, that brings me to something disturbing that I just found out about your own powers. If you had tried to heal one of the technomages, they might have become our mortal enemies. Fortunately, the mage just ignored it and rejected the coercion spell woven into your healing spell. I was able to identify it because she separated it out and accepted the healing part only." They had arrived at a temple and detransformed. "Coercion spell, what's that? asked Usagi. "Its mind control, just like some of the spells Queen Beryl used to enslave the generals, like Jadeite. It is woven very tightly into your healing spell and sets up the recipient to be a loyal vassal of the Moon Kingdom and you in particular." They walked into the residence portion of the temple and into what appeared to be a large western style living room.
Usagi's face suddenly went through a range of emotions from shock to disgust to fear to anguish, as the full implications of what Ami said were assimilated. "Oh my! What have I done to you, my friends?" She collapsed onto the couch, staring ahead. Usagi had performed that damned healing spell on all of her friends, some, several times. She hiccuped once, then broke down sobbing uncontrollably. "Ami, I'm just as bad as Beryl, or mistress 9. I want us to be a team because we're friends, I don't want you to do this because of some spell that I cast on you!" Suddenly, Ami started glowing and a weight on her soul disappeared that she didn't realize was there. The senshi bond was still there, but it was perceivable as more of a warmth than as anything binding. Luna had been standing in the doorway, her cat jaw dropped. When the light formed around the princess of Mercury, she said, "Usagi, what have you done, you are the leader, and must remain so." "Luna! You knew? How could you?"
"Ami. Please call all of the scouts to meet here, now. Rei and Mina, I want your friendship and trust because you 'are' my friends. You are released from that damned coercion spell!" The true princess had emerged. The two girls glowed and collapsed for a moment in relief and all three girls hugged Usagi in an outpouring of loving friendship, finally free of the tainted healing spell.
After a few minutes, Usagi caught sight of Luna staring at her and her demeanor changed. Energy swirled around her, falling into her, and she stood as the untransformed queen. "Luna, you have a lot to answer for. Why does my healing spell have the compulsion incorporated, and did my mother have anything to do with this?" "Princess, we were trying to ensure that you would be able to restore the kingdom when the time came. I felt that Queen Serenity would agree. It has worked in our favor so far…"
"So! You did this on your own. Behind Mother's back! Henceforth I will always question your advice and I hope we don't all suffer from this broken trust." At that moment Makoto, Hotaru, Michiru, Haruka and Setsuna walked in. Setsuna said, with hesitant suspicion in her voice, "What's this about Luna and broken trust, Princess?"
"Setsuna-chan did mother…Queen Serenity or any cat advisers ever perform a healing on you during the Silver Millennium?" "Why…yes, Luna and the queen both had to help me after a lab explosion a few months before the end." Usagi glared at Luna before speaking, "I just want to be your friend, all of you. I want us to be friends working as a team toward a common goal. I don't want your cooperation because of a spell bending your free will, so, I free you all from any compulsion spell that may have been cast to bind you to my or my mother's will."
Even with the afternoon light, flashes could be seen in the living room window from outside. Setsuna opened her eyes to see the others surrounding their princess and friend, all speaking at once, all crying with joy. She closed her eyes and took an internal assessment. The geas that she willingly took as guardian of the time gates was still there, as was the now passive link to the royals, however, she felt more in control than ever before. Crystal Tokyo was a bad idea, especially since it involved flooding the earth with a 'healing' spell at the start of the Crystal Millennium.
Setsuna spoke up, "Princess, you've freed us all. Crystal Tokyo will not happen, but maybe something better will come. We have an ice age to prevent in a few years. Just know that I am here to help in any way that doesn't interfere with my geas to the time gate."
Ifor was dreaming that she was riding a very comfortable roller coaster and began to snuggle against a very warm, soft pillow. When she cracked her eyes open, she realized that she had her face jammed into Xian Pu's ample cleavage. "Airen, do you like what you see? I know I like what you were doing in your sleep." "Xian Pu, I'm still underage in most countries of the world to consummate our 'marriage' without signed parental consent. Remember, you promised to be my friend first and we will wait until I'm sixteen with my mother's permission or eighteen without. If we agree that it won't work between us, I'll marry you and give you a female child. Then we can use the divorce loophole in the laws to restore my freedom and spare your life and honor in the tribe." Xian Pu held the brilliant child in her arms just a little tighter. She was coming to love this complication that had entered her life. He or she seemed much older than his or her years.
The panda had caught up with the three girls a while before and they had left the rooftops in the target ward of Tokyo known as Nerima. Ifor had just realized that she was nude and naturally insisted on being clothed. The full body blush glowed through the now light burns and she grabbed the clothes that were handed to her and ran into the public bathroom at the park that they found to make themselves presentable. Her scream could be heard almost all the way back to the Juuban district. Ranma smirked, "I guess that she found out that her hair is gone." The water in the tap was sufficient for the change and the small group hurried toward the Tendo dojo.
