AN: I wish to thank the people at the Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku, for helping me with this story, especially pointing out the flaws in the last scene. I also wish to thank my Beta Reader for her help and patience in my many rewrites of said scene. Thank you to all of them.
RANMA DARK MOON
CHAPTER FOUR
AN UNEASY ALLIANCE
Rei's Grandfather's Temple: after the Youma attack
The Senshi arrived at the temple and quickly led their guests to their meeting building. Quietly slipping into the small building in the far corner of the temple, they looked at each other and nodded in confirmation as to the thoughts they knew that they all shared. They would have to stay in their Senshi forms and thus risk being exposed, incase things went sour. These newcomers, especially Dark Moon, were obviously to powerful a potential threat to not take every precaution.
'They're learning.' Uranus thought with pride. 'I've been teaching them well.' She continued to think. Then thinking of the ease that Dark Moon had disposed of those soldiers and the way her companion had done the same to the Youma, she thought 'But obviously not well enough. And how did she do that to me?' she said thinking of that fear attack that had paralyzed her. Then Dark Moon entered the room, and Uranus shivered in fear, more so then the other Senshi, who only stiffened in her presence. 'Damn.' Uranus thought, 'That focused attack might have left me more susceptible to the blanket area attack. The others hardly moved, but me? I'm shacking like a leaf.' She thought as Dark Moon stepped into the room, holding hands with the man who destroyed the Youma and leading the young woman and the old woman. 'THIS SUCKS!' Uranus thought darkly as she shivered. Neptune reached out to hold her had, calming her shaking slightly. Dark Moon looked at her like she was staring into her soul and said
"I'm sorry. I had no idea that after a concentrated Fear Flare, you'd be super susceptible to it. I don't know when or even if it will ever wear off. You have my sincerest apologies. I should have never done that. It's just, it's that it's so hard for me to control myself now. Especially my temper. I was already angry, and then you spoke, upsetting me even more, and I took out all my misplaced anger on you. I humbly apologize." Dark Moon said bowing to Uranus, shocking all the Senshi with her apology, and by the looks of it, all her allies too.
Straitening from her bow, Dark Moon turned to Moon and asked "Now what did you want to discuss with us?"
Getting over her shock of her apologetic dark twin, one who looked nothing like her, Moon said "You said you were looking for answers, we may have them for you, if we knew your questions. And I have a question of my own. Why are you, the Princess of the Dark Moon Kingdom, willing to side with us?" Moon asked looking at her dark counter part.
"Dark Moon Kingdom, eh? Name probably fit's them to a tee. As to why I'll help, I'm not really their stupid Princess, my cursed form was, and now it's decided I'll be it. And she's slowly taking over." Dark Moon said.
"Eh?' Moon asked in confusion.
"I'll explain that." The old woman said. "But first, let's sit, shall we?" She asked of Moon, who went
"Oh! Of course! Please sit wherever you like!" Moon said waving to the wide open floor.
After they sat, the old woman started "Ranma was born a boy you see."
"WHAT!" Came the shout from the whole room.
The old woman winced and said "Please refrain from screaming, now where was I, ah yes, you see Ranma was under a Jusenkyö curse, a water based curse that made her, for that is what she is now," Cologne said looking at a wincing Ranma "a male when splashed with warm water, and a female, the cursed form, when hit with cold water. Now in a battle with the Phoenix God of the Phoenix people…" The old woman started when Pluto interrupted with,
"You don't mean Saffron do you? She was the one who reverted him into an infant?" She asked shocked.
"Yes, she was." The old woman said, continuing with "You seem to be most knowledgeable."
"Who's this Saffron?" Saturn asked.
"An immortal being with immense powers, and delusions of Godhood. He leads a small tribe in China, and was reverted into an infant in a fight with someone I couldn't lock onto. No wonder I couldn't lock on to the other combatant, it was Dark Moon. And I thought it was from having enough energy being thrown around that it leveled the mountain. I should have know better though." Pluto said, getting angry at her self. "Continue please, Miss…" Pluto said questionativeilly to the old woman.
"Cologne is as close as you'll get in Japanese to my real name. Just call me that. This is my Great Granddaughter Shampoo, in your langue, and that is Ranma's best friend and eternal rival Ryoga." She said pointing to a Ryoga who nervously waved and said
"Hi there."
"After Ranma's fight with Saffron, something magical started to happen." Cologne continued. "Her male side started to die, and very painfully at that. At the same time her female side was being infused with potent magical energy, the cause of the male side's demise. So I was going to lock her in her cursed form, but before she could take the potion to lock herself as a female, her male side died, and this happed to her." Cologne said, waving her arms at Ranma. "We did not know of the cause, but when Ranma saw one of your battles on the news this morning, she instinctively knew that your enemies held some answers for her, so we came down here, in hopes of getting some answers. And it seems that her cursed forms power is from the enemy's leader's daughter, and that they think she's her. Probably due to the way her aura's changed. And with you calling her Dark Moon, I'm assuming that she has some relationship with Sailor Moon? We answered your questions Miss Moon, or who ever you really are, time for you to start answering ours, like what is her relationship to Miss Moon?" Cologne asked.
"I'll answer that." Pluto started. "We recently became aware of another reality, where the Moon Kingdom never fell, and had turned to evil. There is no other word for what they are now."
"What is this Moon Kingdom?" Ranma asked.
"Ah, it was a Kingdom that ruled most of this galaxy many millennia ago. It fell and these girls are the reincarnated protectors of that Kingdom, while Sailor Moon was the Princess of the Kingdom." Pluto said.
"And you? You said these girls, what about you?" Cologne asked.
"I am the only survivor of the Moon Kingdom." Pluto said, showing no emotion.
"You've lived for thousands of years? No way! Even Ki masters can't do that! Let alone look so young when doing it!" Ranma exclaimed.
"Ranma," Pluto said, looking into her eyes. "There is something you must understand. Do to the very nature of our powers, we are near immortals. We can be killed in battle, or by injury, but natural causes will not kill us, and once we reach some where in our early twenty's we stop ageing. You should accept this, for if you really are the inheritor of this Dark Moon's powers, you are the same. You will never grow old, never get sick, and have to watch all those you love die of old age. It is a very lonely existence, one which these girls have yet to realize, but they and now you will have to." Pluto said, showing regret in her voice and face.
Ranma sat there stunned at that proclamation. Pluto then continued "Well this alternate realties Moon Kingdom, which I've named the Dark Moon Kingdom, never fell, and turned to conquering all of that reality long, long ago. This version of Serenity, their Queen, is the most evil and vile woman I've ever seen. And she is looking for her Daughter, and is convinced you are her. These attacks on Juban were here to draw you to this place, so you could lead the spear head on the conquering of this reality in her name. I don't know what she'll do with your denouncement of her. And I can't look at it very easily, you don't even want to know what I had to go through to get the little information I have." Pluto said with a sigh. "If I had to guess, she'd either think you're a threat that must be eliminated fast, or just pissed at her and she'll send a few Senshi to drag you home to her for punishment for defying her will. Either one is bad for you Ranma. And I could be totally wrong too. She could decide something else about you." Pluto finished.
In another reality: in Pluto's private laboratory: at the same time
A few minutes after the queens note reached Setsuna and Ami, Ami kicked Setsuna out of their shared part of the lab, screaming "I'll do it myself, seeing as you've only got one thing on your mind!"
And so, Setsuna was here in her private lab, looking through something no one knew she had made yet. She planed to tell the Queen about it when she finished it a few hours ago, but their new orders superseded the order to make this. Thinking 'I'll tell her majesty about it when I get back with the Mistress.' She turned it on and used it, justifying it as a test run. Couldn't not test it before showing it to her Majesty.
It was a viewer, designed specifically to view the reality they were invading, seeing as the Gates of Time were almost useless for that task, and the portal they made to Juban, was, well it was just a portal. So she turned it on and quickly found her Mistress.
She was following those weak ass versions of themselves into a secluded building. As she watched enthralled with the change of how different her Mistress now looked she heard the proclamation, she wasn't her Mistress!
'How can this be!' she thought in a panic. Then watching, and listening, she understood. Her Mistress was possessing this person. She had already become dominate before, especially seeing as how this person acted when confronted with the soldiers and the Youma, given the survivors description of the encounter, but she was not yet totally dominate in her new host!
'Well,' Setsuna thought to herself 'I had better wake up my Mistress, and help her become the dominate one in that body. Unless,' She thought to herself 'this new person can be an even better Mistress!' She thought, squirming with excitement. 'She can suppress my Mistress, she can be cold and ruthless, I'll evaluate her, before making any rash decisions.' She thought getting excited at the thought of having her old Mistress back, or maybe even having a new Mistress, one that was similar to her old one, but just different enough to spice things up.
So Setsuna continued to watch this Ranma, person, to see if she was worthy of being her new Mistress, or if she'd have to force awaken her old one, if she could. At any rate she had decided that no one should know of this discovery about the Princess. It could lead the Queen to do something, rash, that could harm her Mistress, either one. So she closed her self into her lab for the next three days, studying and examining Ranma, a potential new Mistress.
Tendo house: late afternoon
"Kasumi!" Ranma cried entering the door way to the house. "Have I got a treat for you!" Ranma called out.
"Yes, Ranma? You got the autographs?" She called out. Coming it to the room, she stopped and asked, "Who are your friends Ranma? They look, familiar some how." Kasumi said puzzled.
"You were right Ranma, she would be able to figure it out." Michiru said in awe. As the other three Outers nodded.
"Let's get in side, and we'll talk then." Ranma said to Kasumi, who just nodded and went to the living room.
As Kasumi sat down on the couch, Ranma handed her a group photo of all the Senshi, signed by them all. Kasumi squealed in delight, and then Ranma said "I didn't just bring home that photo Kasumi, I brought something else too." Ranma said slyly.
"Ohh, what else could be better then this?" She asked in a daze over her new prized possession.
"Oh, how about some Senshi themselves?" Ranma asked in a toneless voice. Looking up fast, Kasumi stared at Ranma, then looked at the four females that had followed Ranma home, she had suspected something like that, then pushed it out of her head as impossibility.
"You mean?" Kasumi asked going wide eyed.
"Yep. Meet the Outers. At least that's what they told me the press and other people call them." Ranma said. Kasumi on the other hand heard nothing past 'Meet the Outers.' This was a Senshi fangirls dream come true! A private meeting with the more recluse of the Senshi, all four of them at once, in their normal guise.
"I will not faint, I will not faint." Kasumi said out loud over and over again. Finally snapping out of her mantra, she stood and asked, "Would you ladies care for some tea? And Ranma, Thank you." She said, going to make the tea.
"I like her." Setsuna said as Kasumi left to get the tea.
"Yeah. She's the only one in the whole house that gives a damn about me. She sees me as a younger sibling." Ranma said to Setsuna.
"Ah yes, your family isn't a very caring one for you, is it?" Setsuna replied, thinking back on the discussion they had of Ranma's daily life.
As Kasumi came back with the tea and served it she asked "Ranma, not that I'm not grateful to have the chance to meet them, but why are they here? You didn't just bring them here to see me, did you? And what happened in Juban? Did you find anything out?"
"Yes she did, and if you turn on your T.V. to station 36, in a minute and a half, you'll get the start to your answers." Setsuna said with a small smile.
Kasumi turned on the television to channel 36, then watched a segment on news about birth rates, then the stations Senshi tracker came on. "And today we witnessed what might have been the birth of a new Senshi. We heard her referred to as Dark Moon by the Mysterious Pluto. Who is she? And what is her relationship to the young leader of the Senshi, Sailor Moon? We aim to find that out. So please join us in our showing of this Dark Moon and some her friends. And some of this showing is not suitable for young children, we will give thirty seconds for you to escort them out of the room, if desired." And with that almost the entire fight, and all of Ranma and Co's parts were aired on national television.
"Ranma cried out "That's so stupid!" when she saw herself transform on television.
"You think you've got it bad, you should see us." Haruka said from across the room, as close to Ranma as she wanted to be at the moment. She was still feeling the after effects of that Fear Flare. Though it did seem to be slightly lessening, which was a great thing in her mind.
"Well that was certainly, interesting." Kasumi said. "So what happed next?" She asked.
"We met at their meeting place, and we talked. Seems I'm indirectly the cause of an, how did you put again?" Ranma asked Setsuna.
"An interdimensional conflict." She said for Ranma. "You see Miss Tendo, it seems that Ranma has inherited another realities Sailor Moon's powers. And this realties Senshi, are not very nice. It seems that Sailor Moon's Mother, the ruler of that place, has sent an invasion force to find her Daughter, and conquer this reality. I trust you can keep this a secret? Ranma and the others said you were to be trusted." Setsuna said looking into Kasumi's eyes.
"Oh, my. No, no one will here a word of this from me." Kasumi told Setsuna.
"Good. As to why we came, well originally it was to be just me, but Ranma said you'd love to meet as many Senshi as possible, and we were the free ones. So we all came. Ranma's afraid that her welcome here will be worn out tonight when the others in your family and her parents find out she's permanently a she, so we came incase she needs some where to live. Our house is huge, and it would be no problem to take in Ranma." Setsuna said to Kasumi.
"Oh yes. I didn't even think of that' I hope daddy doesn't try to marry you again." She said to a Ranma who looked sick at being reminded of that.
"He had better not, if he wants to keep breathing!" she yelled hotly.
Tendo house: later that night
"Ranma!" Akane called out "What kind of perverted game are you playing? You're no more a Senshi then I'm a fish!" She yelled into the house as she came in. She had seen the news on the train coming back, and she was pissed that Ranma would play such a dirty and mean trick on the Senshi.
"Yes son, while it is very manly to try to be near those girls, the way you did it leaves much to be desired." Nodoka called out.
"Is she for real?" Haruka said aloud. Ranma just nodded. "Hoo, boy, I feel sorry for you." She said as Ranma just nodded again.
As they came in the living room, they found a female Ranma, Kasumi, Cologne, and four strange women, all spread out around the room.
Genma was the first to act saying "Boy! Change back right now!"
"Who are the new Fiancées Ranma?" Nabiki drawled out.
"New Fiancées? How many will you get? Pervert!" She yelled, coming to punch him in a right cross.
Akane's, and every one else's who just came into the room surprise was complete when Ranma stood up into the charging attack, burring her fist into Akane's gut, saying "I will no longer be your stupid punching bag Akane." Then twisting her fist in Akane's gut, she punched up, sending Akane flying back.
You could have heard a pin drop, it was that quiet afterwards. Then Soun, using his Demon Head attack, screamed at Ranma "Why'd you hurt my baby! Apologize to her right now!"
"Yes, apologize to your Fiancée, then change back!" Genma yelled.
"They're right, you're not being very, manly, at this moment." Nodoka said, fingering her katana.
"Apologize? To her? She attacked me! I just defended my self! I could have done much worse to her, and I just might, if she ever tries that stupid stunt again!" Ranma yelled back. "And I can't change back! Ever again!" Ranma continued to yell. And as she did so, her tightly wound control, that she worked so hard to get so she could interact with them, on her Fear Flare, just dropped.
As the wave of fear washed over the room, every one hasted to get away from Ranma.
Haruka thought 'Ah, shit, not this again.' As she started to shiver. She knew she had to get Ranma out of here before things went really bad.
Haruka called the other Outers over to her, and said, "We've got to get her out of here now, before she vaporizes the place."
"Yes, if I knew it was this bad, I never would of let her come back here." Michiru said, wincing at the yelling.
"She's got to get out of here before…" Setsuna started, when she was clocked by an small table that Akane had thrown.
Then Ranma was over by Akane, and decked her with a right cross to the jaw. Akane went down, and Ranma was about to hit her again when Haruka caught her wrist. Ranma' eyes were wide and unfocused, and she looked blankly at Haruka, and looked like she might attack her, when recognition set in. Haruka breathed a sigh of relief when Ranma calmed down, and the Fear Flare dropped again. It was hard to get this close to Ranma when it was so high, but it had to be done before she killed the girl.
"Come on, we're out of here Ranma." Haruka said to the room. "It was very, unpleasant, meeting all of you." She said as the four strange women, Cologne and a subdued Ranma left.
They stood there stunned after they left, until Nabiki asked in some slight confusion "Ah, what just happened?"
"Well dear sister, you all finally managed to do it. You all drove Ranma away form this mad house! And me from it as well!" Kasumi said in a harsh tone of voice. Then she ran out the door hoping to find them.
They were easy to spot. They were just a few houses down, by a large car. As Kasumi came up to them, she heard one of the woman say, "Yes I'm sure I can help speed up your moving of your restaurant to Juban. The paperwork should be ready by late tomorrow."
Kasumi came up to them, and as they noticed her, she nervously asked "You wouldn't have room for one more, would you?"
Haruka looked at Kasumi, grinned and said "Couldn't take that nut house any more? I don't blame you, and I was only in there for five minutes with those jerks. It's all right with me, how about you?" she said, asking her roommates.
After they all gave their affirmative, Haruka said "Looks like you're in. have anything you need to get?" she asked Kasumi.
"No, not if I have to step back into that house to get it." Kasumi said with a bitter sigh.
"Well get in then." Haruka said opening her door. "Looks like tomorrow Setsuna and Michiru are going to take you two on a shopping trip."
"Oh, no, I couldn't ask, you're doing so much for me already…" Kasumi stuttered getting into the car, when Setsuna laughed saying
"Dear, I'm filthy rich, and Michiru is not that bad off herself. We can afford to get you some new clothes. And I haven't gone on an all day shopping trip in years. I'm looking forward to it, so let me spend some of my money, ok?" She asked laughing as Kasumi nodded while they drove out of Nerima.