Heir to the Empire
By Ozzallos
A Fukufic (currnetlyofflinandbeingugradeddotcom) Production
Part V
The Neko Han Ten was by any measure one of the more successful restaurants in the Nermian suburb of Tokyo, Japan. Not only did it sport fine Chinese cuisine, but more often than not was the site of some of the most incredible martial arts battles this side of the Pacific. It was also a bonefide tourist attraction for those wandering through the prefect, famous not only for the food, but beautiful waitress often found serving its patrons.
There was no doubt that the restaurant was a profitable venture, and today, that establishment was host to some of the most bizarre visitors it had seen since the opening nearly three years ago. Some would no doubt scoff at the very suggestion, as the Cat Café had seen everything from demons to phoenix people frequent its doorstep, and on any other day, they'd be correct in their assessment.
Today was not that day.
The lunch rush had ended and now the only occupants were a great deal stranger than your average pork bun-headed assassins. First there was Cologne, the diminutive matriarch of the Joketsuzoku Chinese Amazonian tribe, cracking her third century of life. Beside her sat her great granddaughter Shampoo and fiancé-hopeful Mousse, the best Joketsuzoku martial artists of their generation. It only got stranger from there. Across from the establishment owner stood magical girl guardians Uranus and Neptune, otherwise known as the lovers Haruka Tenou and Michiru Kaiou. As if to top that, the Senshi of Saturn stood next to them in as her alter ego Hotaru Tomoe. She could destroy entire worlds. Pushing the envelope of disbelief was Setsuna Meiou, the Princess of Pluto and Guardian of Time itself. Finally, there was Ranma Saotome. This in itself was decidedly not strange. The Heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts was a frequent visitor of the restaurant, after all. If it wasn't getting conned into taking Shampoo out on a date or battling the aforementioned Amazonian elder for a cure, it was stopping by for free food… Only today he was a she and allegedly Serenity reincarnated, Queen of the Silver Millennium, Mother of Sailor Moon herself.
Needless to say, the Neko Han Ten was closed for the rest of the day.
"Demon not supposed to know Amazon wu-shu!" Shampoo blurted, earning a nod from her largely unwelcome, but ever-present companion Mousse.
"Of course not, child." Cologne waved the obvious aside. "The Joketsuzoku do not traffic in demons," She turned to her guest to drive the point home. "Nor do they train them, but if the son in-law says they know it…"
"It did."
Cologne considered the silver haired girl carefully. It was an outlandish possibility, but doubting the martial arts prodigy in front of her was even more outlandish. "…Then we must consider where such training took place."
Michiru leaned forward from Ranma's side, her sea-green locks rippling with the motion. She eyed the elder suspiciously "And why, exactly, should we take the word of a disciple of Beryl? It wouldn't be the first time your 'goddess' has conspired against all that is good and just."
"As we know that yours looks to enslave humanity?" Cologne cast the Senshi a hardened look.
Ranma rolled her eyes. "Talkin' about me, remember?"
Cologne blinked. She was finding it incredibly easy to forget that the son in-law in front of her was potentially humanities greatest enemy. Not that it was hard. The Saotome just didn't possess the disposition to commit even a fraction of the crimes Amazonian legend held. The old woman sighed. It was nearly as ludicrous as a youma knowing Amazon wu-chu, but…
"Suffice to say you have only my word." She continued, and challenged flashed through the eyes of Ranma's entourage.
"Which…"
"…is good enough for me." Ranma cut Haruka's rebuke off at the source. Uranus made no attempt to disguise her displeasure. "So how do they know it, then?"
"There exists an even more disturbing question." Cologne shook her head. "Why does your youma share many traits with those of The Rite?"
"The Rite?" Hotaru queried and Cologne frowned. She wasn't looking forward to detailing such intimate knowledge to even Ranma, let alone the guardians of Serenity.
"The Rite is a test all Amazon females must take." She began, looking at Shampoo. "There is no set age, but once one is of sufficient skill, it is their duty to present themselves before Beryl as a measure of worth."
Ranma turned back to Setsuna. "Didn't you say Beryl was dead?"
"Toast." The Senshi of Pluto commented, earning a scowl from Cologne.
"You don't kill a goddess." The matriarch bit back and Setsuna simply shrugged. "Regardless, it is a trial by combat in which a demon is summoned for the initiate to dispose of. Defeating it earns one the right to ascend to Beryl's side."
"Didn't seem to work out for you." Haruka pointed out with a malicious smile and Colognes gaze narrowed on the dishwater blonde sharply.
"I dispatched two of them." She growled. "My place, however, is with the tribe."
"Sure you did." Haruka's smile widened, incensing the Elder further ...which wasn't a good idea in Ranma's opinion, but she had never been one to listen to good ideas either, and took pleasure in the fact that she wasn't the only one that took pleasure in goading the old bat.
"I have the demon crystals to back my words," Cologne retorted. "Where as you only have the wit of a rank amateur."
Haruka's face contorted with anger, but her climb to fury was abruptly cut off by Setsuna. "Demon crystals?" The Senshi cocked her head. "These wouldn't happen to be pink glowing crystals…?"
Cologne watched the green haired woman carefully. Next to Ranma, she was by far the most dangerous of the group. "Yes?"
"May I see them?"
The Amazon elder studied the Senshi's impassive mask a moment before turning to the purple haired girl at her side. "Shampoo, my spear." The teen nodded and disappeared into the back room, only to return a moment later with a large, double bladed spear in hand. She handed it to her great grand mother, who set aside her cane in favor of the weapon. "No less than five of our clan has ascended with the help of this weapon." She held it forward. "You may look, but not touch."
Setsuna Meiou studied the ordinate weapon and the two pink crystals imbedded in the flat of the spearhead, one on each side. Icy dread began to seep into her as her vision traced the primitive glowing cut of the crystals.
"Do you even realize what these are?"
Cologne looked from her to the spear. "Demon crystals, of course. They are the proof that an Amazon---"
"They're souls." Setsuna cut her off, shaking her head.
"Impossible." Cologne folded her arms. "And what would a guardian of Serenity know of such matters anyway?"
Ranma found her eyes drawn to the stones as well and she nodded. Something about them was resonating with in very being. "I'd listen to her if I were ya…"
Cologne stared at the martial artist, then to Setsuna, who continued. "Those are pure heart crystals, the physical manifestation of a demon possessed soul."
"No." Cologne returned, but with far less certainty. The green haired one she could dismiss. Son in-law however, wouldn't lie to her, and she seemed to trust this one implicitly. It was at that moment the Elder began to share Setsuna's icy dread. "Because if what you're saying is true…"
"Your test is the defeat of enslaved souls." Setsuna finished with certainty.
The world around Cologne began to crumble, and she desperately sought an even footing. "I.. I.. No… The Joketsuzoku don't enslave souls."
"But Beryl would." Hotaru inserted, taking yet another hammer to Colognes world view.
Mousse and Shampoo watched Cologne's expression falter, then solidify before their eyes. "No. You have no proof."
"They can reverted back to their physical form easily enough." Setsuna pointed out, causing the matriarch to blink. "That should tell you if we're lying."
"And how would you do that?"
"By resurrecting them." Pluto replied in utter seriousness. "Hotaru?"
The slight girl looked at Pluto with shifting eyes and a pensive expression. "Not at the moment." She answered cryptically. Setsuna gave her a queer look, then noted the nervous expressions worn by Uranus and Neptune.
"Right." She shook her head. She'd be sure to ask them about just who Saturn had resurrected later, as she was apparently inside her six hour recharge cycle. That only left one person. Setsuna turned to Ranma. "Normally, we'd have Hotaru do it, but under the circumstances," she cast another edgy stare at the pensive trio. "You're the only one with rez ability at the moment."
"I am?" Ranma blinked.
"She is?" The question came nearly simultaneously from the Amazonian trio.
Setsuna nodded. "You have the Ginzuishou and your daughter has performed the technique numerous times."
"Daughter…?" Cologne mused. It wasn't quite a smile, but by the look on her face, she was clearly intrigued. After all, she thought the girl Shampoo had reported on was insane. Maybe not after all?
Ranma looked to the elder, then back to Setsuna with a scowl. "That Odango-baka ain't my daughter… But if she can do it, so can I." She paused a moment before summoning the stone into her hand on reflex. She looked upon it, then the Amazons, whose eyes were a fraction wider than before. "Er… Okay, now what do I do with it?"
Setsuna smiled at her lifelong friend patiently. "From my observations, you use the Ginzuishou as a power focus and concentrate on the life force within the pure heart crystal. From there, try to manifest a physical body."
Cologne arched an eyebrow at the Senshi. "Manifesting a soul back onto the physical plain is not a task for amateurs, woman. You ask a lot, even of somebody as formidable as Son in-law."
Setsuna smiled grimly. "Let's just say I have a couple thousand years confidence in her abilities." She turned the smile on Ranma, who simply stared. The amount of confidence and certainty this woman had in her was unbelievable. "Ready?"
Bolstered by the person who had somehow rapidly become a valued friend, Ranma nodded and stared into the rock. She tugged on the power reservoirs discovered only weeks earlier within her and concentrated it, focusing like a magnifying glass into the shimmering stone. She reached out with her senses and found the pink crystals and the life force within. That was it. Now to let loose… Ranma Saotome uncorked the glowing white power within her and it gushed forward, blasting across her being and very soul. For a moment it was too much to comprehend, but she rapidly found focus and pushed it into the Ginzuishou. Power cascaded through the crystal, magnifying in potential as she sought her goal.
Ranma's new found power peaked, and her entire world went white.
"…taken heavy damage. I'm not sure how much longer we can hold Centari." The Senshi of Neptune reported, her three dimensional image distorted occasionally by sub-space static. Queen Serenity stared at the disembodied face floating in the holo tank before her. The image rocked as something large seemed to jar the warship on which Sailor Neptune stood, rolling it violently. Sparks cooked off behind her and she winced. "We're doing a fair job of cutting them down as the clear the gate, but that's not going to last, your Highness."
Serenity nodded as the image crackled. "Do whatever it takes to hold the line, Michiru. We can't allow the bastards in system."
The Admiral of the Queens Second battle fleet smiled grimly. "We'll make our stand just outside of Proxima. I'll pop the airlocks and take them myself when the time comes."
When the time comes, the ruler of the Silver Millennium noted bitterly, not if. Her champion was out numbered out gunned and loosing ground, but even so would not yield. Serenity gave the image a final thoughtful look. "God speed, Neptune."
"And you, Serenity-chan. Adrassil clear."
The image blanked out, replaced immediately by a tactical plot covered with numerous lines, dots and red. Lots of red. Serenity turned her attention back to the remainder of the crown bunker, which was alive with the ordered chaos of war. A young man in full uniform stepped to her side. Prince Endymion, she recognized. "The Second, Forth and Seventh fleets are heavily engaged. We've lost contact with the First and Eighth. Tactical is counting a fleet of nearly two hundred vessels inbound, not counting what Terra is throwing up. Civil defense is reporting youma combat landings all across our southern hemisphere."
She was just about to probe the officer for more information when Setsuna strode across the room and over to her. "Saturn just silenced Phaelon."
The Queen barely kept the shock from playing across her face as she swore mentally. Phaelon had been a core world of fifteen billion. Now it wasn't much more than scattered atoms, and Serenity knew that the situation had to have been beyond dire to push the Senshi to the extreme edge of her power.
"I want answers and I want them now." She ordered without emotion and Setsuna did her best to comply.
"We're looking at a mass sacrifice network." The Senshi of Pluto began without preamble. "Intelligence is estimating the liquidation of three quarters of Earth's population. Reports on the colonies are still sketchy, but given the forces arrayed against us…"
"It's bad." The Queen finished and Setsuna nodded. Bad was a massive wormhole junction appearing inside Earth's orbit, disgorging demonic forces. Bad was the simultaneous strike against nearly every world of her empire, overwhelming even her formidable forces. The mass sacrifice of her subjects to fuel an otherworldly strike force? No, this was well beyond bad. "Who?"
By now the remaining Senshi had collected around their Queen, minus the Outers who were off world and more than likely fighting their own last stands. Sailor Mars took the question, having just gotten off the com array with central intelligence. "Everything we have is pointing to Senator Beryl."
This time Serenity couldn't keep the shock from her face. "There's got to be some mistake." Mistake or no, the intelligence arm of the crown was the best in the business. If they said Beryl…
"Tell me about it, your Highness." Mars groused, "If I hadn't seen the files myself, I wouldn't have believed it either."
Even Pluto blinked, checked by the thought. "She wasn't your biggest fan, granted, but a mass murderer?"
"One thing is for certain, she's going to burn for this." Rei said, earning astonished looks. "Whoever she made the deal with to sacrifice that many billions of people in order to conjure up a force this large is only going one place when it's time to pay up."
Even as the group began to contemplate the traitorous turn of events, the moon heaved around their sub-surface command bunker, sending half its staff to the ground. Dust filtered throughout the air as supports buckled, but held. Another crash and the bunker shook once more.
"STATUS REPORT!" Serenity's Chief of Staff roared above the rumbling, and officers rushed back to their stations.
"Those were nukes." Endymion said to nobody in particular, only to be confirmed moments later by their staff.
"The enemy fleet has cracked our orbital defenses!" One of the younger officers called out from across the room. "I've got nuclear detonations all across the surface!"
"Dammit…" Serenity growled, only to have her cursing cut off by an active com from the holo tank.
"We're not going to be able to hold Luna Rey much longer, your Highness!" The woman with cobalt blue hair hollered through the open channel. "The youma are advancing along the Sea of Tranquility, taking out anything in their path! Goddamn nukes are falling like rain out here!"
The Queen ground her teeth together. "Have your forces fall back, Mercury. I'll rally what's left of the 501st rendezvous to you as a delaying action until we can assemble something more substantial."
"Understood!" Mercury's image wavered with static. "We'll need air support to cover -"
Mercury's holographic image distorted wildly before being engulfed in a blinding flash, then static. The room stared on in shock as a distant rumble reverberated through the structure. Jupiter was the first to speak, looking up from her own command panel. "Gigaton range detonation. We just lost all of Luna Rey."
Serenity stood in shock for a minute that seemed to stretch on for years. How had she not seen this coming? Her empire was falling, world by world and now the enemy had landed on her doorstep. And Beryl of all people! She just had lunch with the senator less than a month ago! Another rumbling throughout the bunker's structure snapped her back to reality. Her forces were outnumbered, outgunned and out maneuvered. Surprise had been total and nearly half of her total star-born forces had been destroyed in their slips. Hell, she and the Senshi had been attending a goddamn royal ball when the first reports trickled in.
Setsuna Meiou watched her friend's face go from shock to absolute stone as she turned to face her. "Chronos protocols. Now."
The Senshi's mouth dropped. "The Gates are still only in phase two, Senny. We can't even backstep if the kingdom--
Serenity took the stunned woman's hand, warmth and pain spreading across her face. "We don't have a choice anymore, Set-chan."
"But what will I do when I get there?"
"You'll know." She replied softly, a single tear tracing down her cheek. "Go. Beryl and I have a date." Setsuna stared at her best friend carefully and assented with a solitary nod. It felt like a death sentence. The monarch turned her back on the green haired guardian and her slight frame glowed stiffened, glowing with authority. "Andrew! I want the 502nd Strike, 80th Landstraad and what's left of the Alpha to rendezvous at Sinus Amoris. We'll make our stand there."
The Senshi watched their queen expectantly as she glowed with power and vengeance. Any trace of the motherly figure they had known since her child's birth was gone, and they all knew what was coming next. Venus pulled a glowing crystalline blade from its sheath.
"Venus, Mars, Jupiter, on me!" She bellowed and the Senshi took her flanks as the blast door to the surface ground open. The light of high intensity warfare flickered down the corridor.
"I'm coming too!" A blonde princess yelled, racing to Serenity's side. The Senshi smiled as their friend and princess joined them. Under normal circumstances, she would keep Usagi locked up and safe to continue the royal line with Endymion, who now stood at her side in full combat armor. Today was the exception to that rule. It was all or nothing, and her mother couldn't help but to be filled with pride at her daughter's determination.
"Of course you are, Moon." The silver haired monarch looked over the men and women around her and smiled grimly. "Beryl started this fight. Let's go finish it."
With those final words, Setsuna Meiou watched the last champions of the Silver Millennium and their Queen stride from bunker's safety and out to face their destinies.
Ranma Saotome bolted upright, covers sliding off her body with the movement. A pair of hands moved to restrain her and she struggled at first, her brain still coursing with adrenaline and firing on pure reaction.
"What! Where? The youma!" Ranma gibbered wildly, and Setsuna's face came into view.
"Snap out of it, Senny! They're gone!" The martial artist struggled a moment longer, then paused as the words filtered through her brain. Beyond the Guardian of Time were the Outers and Cologne, waiting curiously. Setsuna took her chin gently and directed her attention back to her face. "What do you remember?"
Ranma paused as the weight of centuries pressed down upon her, with one century in particular dancing around in her head like a smoldering flame. "I remember it, Set… I remember the Moon…" Her eyes widened as the full realization slammed home. "Oh my God… I lost everybody…"
Cologne watched the scene with morbid fascination. The only time she had seen her son in-law this terrified was when he was covered in cats. And exactly who had he lost? She stared as Ranma curled up into a ball and Setsuna pulled the silver haired girl in to her embrace as the sobbing began in earnest.
"I killed everybody! I never saw it coming!" Ranma wailed, her eyes now flowing steadily with tears. "Why didn't you tell me!"
"I… I couldn't." The green haired Senshi explained softly. "You wouldn't have believed me anyway."
"God, I'm sorry… I'm so sorry!" She wailed and buried her face into Setsuna's breast. Michiru stepped to her side and knelt to her side.
"It's not your fault, your Highness…" Neptune stroked the Queen's silver hair and the sobbing faltered. It was enough for the remaining Senshi to gather around the woman who was simultaneously the embodiment of hope and despair.
"You couldn't have known, Serenity-chan" Uranus joined her lover and Setsuna, wrapping her arms around the grieving woman. Hotaru remained silent, but added her presence to the show of support with her own hug.
Cologne stared on in awe. There was no doubt. Couldn't be any doubt that this was the Serenity of legend. Her own damned son in-law, the goddess of the moon. The matriarch scowled internally. The universe had a seriously perverse sense of humor. She watched the women support the silver haired girl and shook her head. So Ranma Saotome, heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts truly was The Great Enemy. But how much of an enemy still shared a portion of doubt in her mind.
She had only a half hour earlier resurrected two of her Amazons who where even now recovering as her great grand daughter and Mousse watched over them. Potion, a warrior she had known well and Wax, a warrior from before her time. The former seemed to be sleeping peacefully. The latter was still twitching and incoherent. She suspected severe psychological trauma, but whether that was from the resurrection or something more insidious had yet to be determined. Be that as it were, the enemy she knew wouldn't have even bothered to bring them back, and the Saotome she knew wasn't that enemy even if the proof was plain as day. Cologne frowned, this one translating from her minds eye to her face.
Something was seriously amiss.
The Rite had her Amazons fight a summoned evil to prove their worth to Beryl. When the evil was defeated, they would return the demon crystals to the alter and await judgment. Only they weren't demon crystals at all. They were returning possessed souls to the alter, and those souls were apparently other Amazons who had taken the rite themselves. A deep chill crept through the Elder's body as horrible realization took her within its grip. The green haired woman couldn't possibly be right… Because if she was… If Ranma wasn't the evil they had been preparing for for so long…
Cologne shook the thought aside as Ranma gently broke the embraces around her and regained her footing. "I… um, thanks…" The silver haired girl began shakily, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Need some time to think about all this… Alone."
"But…"
Setsuna held up a hand, staying Michiru's objection. If their Queen wanted time alone after all this, she would damn well get it. They watched as Ranma Saotome-Serenity sauntered out of the Neko Han Ten, Cologne especially.
Both were going to need some time to sort out what was left of the shambles called their lives.
Stars.
Ranma Saotome stared at them from the rooftop of the Tendo dojo, studying each one as she had many nights before. Tonight was different, however. She had always felt an affinity for those distant stars, which would explain why the roof had become her favorite place to unwind over the last three years. In reality, they had accompanied her everywhere she went, whether it be out here or some isolate region of china where the only roof over her head was the trees and the night sky.
Tonight, they were her stars.
Every last one of them as far as the eye could see. Her empire. Or what was left of it. Part of her wanted to violently refute those facts. She was a guy and a martial artist, not the queen of a dead empire, let alone a mother.
Her memories told otherwise.
With the resurrection of Cologne's Amazons, that fragile curtain separating one life from the next had been torn open and the memories flowed easily now. Coherency left something to be desired, but they were there. She couldn't deny it now, even if she wanted to, and God, she wanted to. It was better to deny it all than face her crumbled legacy. More tears threatened to engulf her, and Ranma blinked them away furiously. The Senshi… They were her children just as much as her own daughter was. The rebellious faction in her mind tried to explain that fact away, only to buckle under the weight of a millennia's worth of experience. There was no explaining any of it away. She remembered the birth of Usagi just as clearly as she remembered anointing Ami Thereisa Senshi and Guardian of Mercury. Ranma shook her head clear of another overwhelming set of memories, and her eyes fell upon the moon.
Home.
Her previous study of the Earth's ever present companion had always been cursory at best, but now she took in the glowing disk with new eyes. The brilliant jewel that had once been the seat of her kingdom was scarred, pot marked with craters. The martial artist remembered vividly the day she had walked out of the bunker and into hell itself, as an unending tide of youma laided waste to the peace she had worked so hard to build. Demonic starships stretched from one end of the horizon to the other as they dueled with the remnants of her fleet, miniature suns flaring in the night as they engaged in an orgy of mutually assured destruction.
It had taken everything one of those otherworldly starships had to bring Jupiter down, as it dumped megatons of ordinance down upon her position. Prince Endymion died upon Beryl's arrival, shortly followed by her daughter, having taken her own life as she fell upon Venus' sword. Her last guardian died as youma swarmed over the weaponless Senshi's position. That left Beryl and her. The youma were inconsequential to that final, desperate battle, and she had nothing to lose. Even in those last moments, she had relented, sealing the traitorous senator away instead of sentencing her to the damning fires that undoubtedly awaited her. Was it out of pity she didn't finish the woman off?
Definitely.
Even in that last moment, she could tell her political rival was nothing more than a puppet. Maybe time would break that hold, but she had other things to worry about. Things like securing the future. Ranma remembered using the last of her life force to gather her guardian's souls and project them forward in order to protect the survivors of the apocalypse. The puppet master was still out there, after all, and Pluto would know what to do. She always had. She had even sent the cats forward to help out. Ranma paused, jolted from her self loathing with that last thought.
What the hell was she thinking?
The silver haired girl shook her head, doubting the judgment that had prompted her to send felines into the future where they would continue to pester her, but relented. She remembered them too, and Setsuna was right. She couldn't ask for a kinder pair of souls to help her guardians out… Even if they were cats.
The rooftop thunked and Ranma found the rails of a ladder had been propped against the edge with the face of Akane Tendo bobbing up above the roofline shortly after. Her face flashed with concern for a moment, then irritation as she stepped full up to the rooftop.
"You're missing supper, baka."
Ranma blinked and couldn't help but to smile a bit. "Thanks, Akane. Think I'll just stay up here for a bit."
Akane tilted her head. Ranma… forgo food? Something was amiss and she came to entirely the wrong conclusion. "Look, idiot, I didn't touch it tonight so come down and eat it already."
Ranma couldn't help but to chuckle now. "Just got a lot on my mind right now, is all."
Akane considered the silver haired girl laying down in front of her and shrugged, taking a seat next to her. "The Senshi?" Ranma nodded silently and Akane rolled her eyes. "Some heroines they turned out to be. The guardians of love and justice couldn't even beat you." The youngest Tendo failed to notice Ranma's frown as she continued. "Heck, even I could give that bumbling Sailor Moon a good pasting."
Ranma bolted upright as her patience snapped abruptly, startling the girl next to her. Akane stared into those blue eyes as they flashed with anger.
"Don't ever talk about my daughter like that again."
Akane stared at her fiancé with wide eyes, trying to play back her words, only to have logic intercede. There was no way Ranma had just called Sailor moon… She watched as her expression softened. "Though she is a bit clumsy, isn't she?" The youngest sister didn't dare reply. This was getting entirely too weird. Ranma sighed. "Looks like we'll have to hit the training hard until she remembers."
"You're… Not serious." Akane stuttered and watched Ranma's face turn serious.
"I…" She paused, as if trying to pick the right thought to express. "Hell, I don't know… I don't even know who I am anymore, 'Kane."
"But you just said that Sailor Moon…"
Ranma stared at the incredulous Akane and hung her head. "She is."
The Tendo boggled at the claim. Ranma, man among men and the best martial artist in half of Tokyo had just admitted that Sailor Moon- her heroine -was her daughter! Which of course was totally impossible given their relative ages. "Look Ranma… I don't know what that stupid rock has done to you, but…"
"Ain't a stupid rock, Akane." Ranma's flashed with warning once again, and once again, Akane was taken back. Somehow she had gone from knowing the person next to her to tripping over landmines left and right. It wasn't their usual insulting, but ultimately friendly banter either. "That's 'stupid rock' represents the sacrifice of few billion people, so don't even start."
"A few billion…?" Akane breathed softly and stared into Ranma's hardened features. Like so many other things, it just didn't make any sense, but the martial artist was dead serious about everything she said.
"Yeah, I…" She paused again, reconciling memories and a personality that was simultaneously foreign and intimately hers. "Look, I'm everything they said I was. I'm a goddamn magical girl queen, Akane… Hell, I even had a kid…"
"But… how?" Akane asked quietly. It was the only thing she could do beyond call her a liar right to her face. And she was tempted. Sorely tempted. All this talk was absolutely ludicrous, but she could see Ranma was absolutely convinced …Just as she had been convinced that she had been a girl nearly a year ago after getting a hard knock on the head.
"Beats the hella out of me, but I always have been. She's me and I'm her…" Ranma shook her head slowly.
"Who?"
"Queen Serenity. Her. Me." Ranma said in a somewhat disoriented tone, as if she wasn't sure herself. "We're the same…"
Akane just shook her head. "Look, just turn back to a guy and it'll be okay."
"That'd probably make it all worse at this point." Ranma dismissed the suggestion outright. "Last thing I need is a few thousand years of female memories in a guy's body." She shivered at the thought and Akane stared in disbelieve at how easily her fiancé dismissed reverting back to her birth form. The pigtailed girl seemed to think about it a moment longer and nodded. "Maybe you're right…" Akane was filled with the sudden swell of hope. "Food sounds good right about now."
The youngest Tendo nearly face planted straight off the roof.
Down stairs, the family stared at the martial artist, who picked over her food calmly. That was odd, but not necessarily noteworthy in and of itself. The method by which she was doing it was highly irregular, as she was doing so in a precise and discriminating manner; A far cry from the inhuman appetite they were used to. Not to mention the boy was still a girl and apparently had no problem with the fact, if Akane's attitude was any indication. This, of course, put Genma out. Not only was the boy a girl, he was slacking on his training if his eating was an example. Sloppy. No guard. No way to switch into a rapid offense. The grip was all wrong. Damn sloppy. Time to bring the boy back to reality. The father's grip switched suddenly and shot towards Ranma's plate.
Tik-tik-tik-tik-WHAM!
The shock reverberated throughout the table and Genma pulled back in shock, his chopsticks now mere smoldering matches. Ranma held the severed portion in her own chopsticks and favored her father with a rather displeased expression.
"Show the master some respect."
Genma blinked and Nabiki produced a crooked smile from the far edge of the table. "Kind of full of ourselves now, aren't we?"
Ranma arched an eyebrow. "Me? Naw. My cooking ain't that good."
Kasumi's mouth opened, slightly startled, and the rest of the family simply stared at Ranma. She had just called Kasumi a master? "Um.. uh, you're too kind Ranma-kun."
Ranma shook her head. "Uh-uh. You bury most of the crown chefs hands down."
Akane cocked her head and Nabiki couldn't help but to repeat the pigtailed girl's words. "Chefs of the crown?"
Ranma was about to elaborate, but closed her mouth. "Er, never mind."
"Son, I think it's time you change back to your normal self." Nodoka inserted, earning Ranma's undivided attention.
"Not likely, Mom." Everybody at the table's jaw dropped. Ranma, the manly son who rarely disobeyed his mother now outright denied her request. "Got some things to sort out before that happens."
"Like how you're supposively the queen of an empire?" Akane prodded, expecting to incense Ranma. Instead, she received an amiable nod for her trouble.
"Exactly."
"Queen of an Empire, Saotome?" Nabiki shot a skeptical look toward the pigtailed girl, who shrugged.
"Boy, what the hell has gotten into you!" Genma stood up, glowering at his son.
Another shrug and Ranma took bite of his food. "A millennia's worth of memories."
"It's unmanly to go around in your female body on purpose, Son." Nodoka added. "I insist you change back now."
"Goddamn queen of the galaxy and I still can't get any respect around here…" Ranma mumbled under her breath.
"You're not queen of the galaxy!" Akane blurted, apparently having heard the introspective. "I swear, do we have to knock you on the head to change you back like last time!"
"You think I asked for the job!" Ranma bit back, her patience beginning to wear. "Hell, I didn't ask for it the first time, let alone the second!"
"Boy, change back
now!"
"You can't marry
my Akane like that, Ranma!"
"I insist you
change out of that unmanly form!"
Ranma's eyes twitched with each demand and finally her patience expired. "You want a manly form! Try this!"
The room flashed with white light and by the time their eyes had adjusted, both the Tendo and Saotome contingent stared in stunned awe. Ranma had not disappeared, moved or even bothered changing back into her 'manly form'. In fact, the only thing that had changed was her wardrobe, which had they known better, was now full Silver Millennium ball room dress. The sleeveless white dress flowed over Ranma's body, wrapping around her neck and accentuating every curve. A beautiful jeweled choker adorned her neck and cascading earrings glistened down the sides of her face. Her silver pigtail had grown out to a full length ponytail, ending near the small of her back and tied off to a silver ring. Even her forehead was adorned with a golden upturned moon.
"Oh… Oh my!" Kasumi stared, taking in the stunning beauty with wide eyes. The illusion was marred only by the angry visage of a severely pissed of Ranma.
"I mean come on people!" The silver haired girl fumed. "My entire life is martial arts training hell! I have a gender curse! I get attacked by phoenix birds! Is it really so hard to believe!"
The answer, was of course, rhetorical, and even if the family had one to provide, the best they could manage was watching the girl turn on a crystal heel and stalk out into the summer night.
"Stupid family… " Ranma grumbled as she stomped down the sidewalk. It wasn't the grumbling that earned her nearly as many stares as her current state of dress, which was collecting numerous gawkers. The light tick of crystal heels clicked with her discontent. "Stupid engagement… Stupid fiancée…"
"My pigtailed Empress!" Ranma's eye twitched once again as the vaguely familiar title found her ears. "Wait up, your majesty! It is I, your most noble warrior, Tatewake of house Kuno!"
Ranma stopped and waited for the boy to catch up. Might as well, she thought. He'd pester her until he had either explained his presence or she punted him into the horizon, one of the two. Even as she watched him approach, that familiar feeling of dread washed over her. Not only was he still running around with the house blade tied to his side, his regular bluish gray hakama had been replaced with a black silk version. He was getting almost the same number of stares as she was, all things considered.
"You have proven most difficult to find this day, your Highness," Kuno stopped at her side, catching his breath. "But fortunately you are already dressed for the occasion!"
Ranma sighed. She already had too many people calling her 'your highness', let alone a nut case like Kuno. Even so, he-- Her thoughts stopped suddenly as his words played back in her mind. "Waitaminute… What 'occasion'?"
"A dinner affair of one worthy such as yourself, my Empress." Kuno explained, earning a queer look from the martial artist queen.
"Dinner? You ain't trying to take me out on a date, are ya?"
"Of course not, your Highness!" Kuno looked positively horrified at the suggestion. "My station as your loyal retainer would not allow such a breach of protocol!"
"Er, right." Ranma commented, contemplating the turn of events. While she would be more than happy to return to her dish back at the dojo, that was an impossibility at the moment and she was hungry. "Just dinner?" The Kuno nodded happily. "Alright, let's go then."
No sooner had she given her assent then a limousine pulled up to the curb. A chauffeur exited the vehicle and opened the doors for both Tatewake and herself. She climbed in only to find yet another surprise waiting for her-- Kodachi Kuno, the black rose, also in full ballroom dress. It was an odd clash, part of Ranma's brain noted absently as she settled next to the woman. Her white dress versus Kodachi's silken black gown. The sister gave her a slight smile and inclined her head.
"Your Highness. A pleasure to see you again." Doors closed and Ranma felt like she had just stepped into the twilight zone.
"You ain't gonna try and poison me again, are ya?" Ranma asked warily and a sufficiently horrified look occupied Kodachi's face.
"Heaven's no! And I apologize for any past misunderstandings." She took Ranma's hand into a black velvet glove. "Had I known you were royalty, I would have surly believed your claims of not wanting my stallion Ranma. Fetching he may be, but he is far below the station of one such as yourself."
"Er… Yeah." Ranma replied intelligently. Who would have thought that being the Queen of an Empire would be a 'get out of Kuno free' card? If only it worked that way with her family…
"Indeed, we have both underestimated her Eminence on a great many things." Tatewake replied, and both siblings nodded in agreement. Small talk continued for the remainder of the ten minute trip, and Ranma was pleasantly surprised at how engaging the Kuno's could actually be when they weren't preoccupied with trying to either date or kill her. In between conversation, she would catch a glimpse out the window, seeing only enough to realize they had long since exited the Nerima prefect. Moments later the limo came to a stop and the doors opened. The trio stepped out and Ranma found herself just outside a mansion every bit as formidable as the Kuno's own.
"This don't look like a restaurant." She mentioned as they made their way up the lighted path, encountering the doorman. Tatewake paused before approaching, turning to the silver haired martial artist.
"If I may, you're Highness, what would your hereditary title be?" He asked politely.
Ranma was about to bite his head off with a sharp retort, but checked her response. What the hell. Might as well have fun with the whole thing if she was going to be wading waist deep in it tonight. "Queen Serenity of the Silver Millennium, House of the Moon."
Tatewake nodded, as if it were all a given and stepped up to the doorman, whispering in his ear. He flinched visibly and opened the door. Beyond the smartly dressed doorman was a stately ballroom with numerous guests already in attendance. It also look like something out of feudal Japan, as the men were all garbed in ceremonial hakamas or some other formal wear while the women wore mostly kimonos. What the hell was going on in--
"Tatewake and Kodachi of House Kuno!" The doorman bellowed and the idle din of chatter emanating from the room subsided as they turned to view the new arrivals. That was when it hit Ranma. He wasn't actually about to tell the room-- "Queen Serenity of the Silver Millennium, House of the Moon!"
Absolute silence reigned as the trio made their way past the doorman and down the red carpet where all eyes were fixed on them. More specifically, fixed on her. It only got worse as they made their way down the center of the room. Rank by rank of guests either fell to one knee or bowed formally to acknowledge her presence until the entire room had received her arrival in the same manner. Ranma's eyes were wide now as her head rotated on a swivel eyes wide. If Kuno's limo had been the twilight zone, the room she now occupied had to be some freaky alternate dimension where common sense had been rendered null and void. Not just null and void, she revised as another group kneeled. Stomped, spit on and obliterated beyond recognition. Part of her should have been used to such displays of reverence. Her memory told her it hadn't been the first time, but that had been a long, long time ago.
A lifetime ago, specifically.
"What the hell is going on here, Kuno!" She pulled Kuno down to her height, hissing into his ear. The only reason she didn't dispose of him outright were the witnesses. Something told her punting him through the roof in a ballroom setting would be inappropriate at the moment. Maybe she'd stomp on him later. Once they were alone.
Kuno seemed to take the matter in stride, as his insanity seemed to allow as of late. "An assembly worthy of one such as yourself, you Highness."
"But who?"
"Only all the most noble samurai houses of Japan." Kuno replied and Ranma's eyed bugged.
"WHAT!" It was all she could do to keep from shrieking in his ear.
"They have been looking quite forward to meeting you since my brother discovered your heritage." Kodachi supplied.
"It is an honor to meet you your Highness." An older gentleman with graying hair stepped up to the trio in full samurai formal, bowing. "I'm Yoshoto, my wife Naki," he gestured to his wife, wrapped in a beautiful purple and gold flaked kimono. "of House Toki."
Ranma desperately sought to keep her jaw from hanging open. Clan Toki's pedigree was without question. Akechi Mitsuhide, one of the most famous samurai in all of Japan just happened to descend from their line. She looked at him and his wife, forcing a smile. "Very nice to meet you, Toki-san."
It was going to be a long night.
"What did you say?"
Cologne stared into the familiar crystal ball, the centerpiece of the back room it occupied. From it stared and equally familiar, if not fondly looked upon face. Distorted eyeballs widened and the Elder suppressed a smile.
"Potion and Wax live." She stated with ineffable calm, satisfied in the way her words had rattled her counterpart back in China.
"But… How?" The crystal born voice returned in shock. Understandable shock, Cologne thought. Potion herself hadn't been that old. Maybe three generations. Wax, however… She predated both elders by at least a century according to the records she had on hand.
"Son in-law… resurrected them both." Cologne continued, purposely avoiding the hated name. The woman on the end choked.
"HE WHAT!" The elder at the other end of the curvature blurted, then reigned herself in. "What aren't you telling me, Cologne?"
The Matriarch sighed. She had been trying to spin this to the Saotome's benefit, but there were only so many ways to report the fact that her sisters in arms had just been returned to the land of the living by an ancient enemy. "She used the demon crystals."
Total silence followed the proclamation for a moment, a moment broken by her counterparts denial. "Impossible."
"They lay in my establishment as I speak." Cologne returned. "I assure you that--"
"Do you actually believe that the enemy would bring the priestesses of our goddess back to life!" The voice was practically shrill now.
Cologne shook her head. "I would not if they weren't already lying in the next room, Douche."
The distorted image snarled back at her. "Obviously the Enemy has corrupted your mind!"
"The Saotome child has done no such thing!" Cologne bit back angrily. She didn't like where this conversation was going. Not one bit. "The facts are--"
"That she has resurrected demons to hide amongst you, fool!" The crystal ball glared. "Kill them and dispose of the Serenity before she takes you as her slave too!"
"You cannot be serious! At least see them for yourself!" She said the words, but Cologne already knew they were falling on deaf ears. She just had no idea how deaf they were.
"So be it." The hysteric Elder lapsed into deadly calm. "By order of the tribal council, your status is hereby suspended until we can deal with the Serenity. After that, we will determine the level of your corruption and the appropriate punishment."
"I cannot stress enough the importance--"
"Good day Cologne, and may Beryl have mercy on your eternal soul." Cologne's eyes widened and the image abruptly faded out, the connection severed. The Elder sat in a state of shock for a good five minutes before regaining her sense. I've just been deposed, she realized, staring at the darkened crystal. They actually did it! And the fools have no idea what they're walking into out here!
The ex-Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku took to her cane and exited the room hastily. The fools wouldn't even listen to reason. She hadn't betrayed anyone and the evidence was right here before her. She entered the room where Potion still slept dreamlessly beneath her covers and Wax tossed and turned in unconscious agony. Shampoo took note of her great grandmother's arrival, but turned her attention back to the struggling woman. Cologne focused , probing both newly reborn women with every technique at her disposal, trying to pierce the illusion Douche insisted existed.
Nothing.
Damn them. Her brain raced through the probable set of outcomes, now that the boulder was truly in motion and rolling downhill. Her people would undoubtedly assemble an assassination squad or two to dispose of son in-law, then take me back for trial and punishment. Who knows what they would do to Shampoo and Mousse, let alone the rest of Ranma's family and the Tendos. Collaborators are, after all, obstacles, and everybody knows what happens to those.
Assuming they could kill the Saotome, of course.
She severely doubted it. Anybody who could resurrect two people in one day AND had Ranma's martial arts ability would probably decimate any squad they sent, and once Douche realized that, would revise her plans. No, she'd send in several squads to do the job. Eventually they'd get Ranma or his family by proxy. The attrition would be damn high though, she calculated, envisioning the bodies Ranma would leave in her wake.
And that wasn't even taking into account the magical girls.
What they lacked in skill, they more than made up for in power. If Ranma fell, Cologne was absolutely sure they would rain hell down upon the Amazon nation until nothing was left …Especially if the odangoed blonde really was son in-laws daughter. A chilling realization swept over Cologne as the full implications of an assault on Ranma came home to roost.
There wouldn't be one Amazon left standing.
The blonde and Ranma's green haired friend would exact terrifying vengeance, and both had more than enough power to do it. Douche had no idea just how thin the knife edge she was riding really was! One misstep and Amazons would be extinct in a matter of weeks, if not days. If Ranma really was the menace of legend, then it would be an uphill and very bloody battle. Even without the boost in power, Ranma had taken out Saffron, no small feat with or without help. Cologne considered the dilemma carefully. If the martial artist wasn't their ancient evil, then she'd have to step very carefully to not only ensure her survival, but that of her people's as well.
The Elder shook her head, looking into the now empty dining area of the Neko Han Ten where so many adventures had begun. This was going to take careful planning and methodic planning.
Setsuna Meiou's eyes popped open as a dull thud echoed from down stairs at irregular intervals. Her eyes adjusted from their bleary state and a quick reference to her chronometrically linked physiology told her the time was well into the AM hours. She slid out of her bed and stepped through the bedroom doorway, her senses growing more alert with each passing second.
Thunk-Thunk-Thunk!
Was that… The door? She made her way to the staircase when another bedroom door opened, one frazzle haired Haruka peeking out with an irritated expression. Behind her, Michiru yawned sleepily from the bed.
"Who the hell is that?" The Outer growled as the Mistress of Time walked past her.
"Come on, Set-chan… Know yer in there…"
Setsuna blinked, recognizing the muffled voice instantly. Her steps quickened down the stairs and her hand instantly found the front door now, unlocking it and swinging it wide. Before her stood a bleary eyed, but smiling Queen of the Silver Millennium.
"Heyas Set-chan, what are you doing here?" Ranma stared at her, scrutinizing her friend. Setsuna was practically knocked back a few feet from her breath, which reeked of alcohol.
She pulled the silver haired girl in. "You've got to be kidding… What the hell happened to you?"
"Me?" Ranma blinked, stumbling into the Senshi. "Aw, I just got pissed off at all of 'em and left the dojo."
Setsuna looked the martial artist up and down, noting the fine dress. "And apparently mugged a royal ball with a free liquor bar?"
"Yeah, they were swell…" Ranma swayed, rolling her words in time. "Kuno's a nice guy… Even his psycho sister."
"Riiight." Setsuna nodded, taking the girl under her arm to support her as they took to the stairs. She looked up to find Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru staring with wide eyes. She passed them with the staggering queen and burned a stare their way. "Not a word."
With that, Michiru and Hotaru simply nodded their heads while Haruka's face broke into a smile, grinning like an idiot. Setsuna and Ranma made it to the door when her words reached them.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
The Senshi of Time whipped her head around and shot her a look that promised great pain if she so much as breathed another word in their direction. Haruka made a show of zipping her lips and throwing away the key before retiring with the others back to their rooms. Setsuna scowled and nudged her best friend through the doorway, which she promptly closed. Ranma plopped onto her bed, still smiling. The Senshi rolled her eyes and sat down next to her. "You just had to go and get blasted without me, didn't you?"
Ranma frowned. "Sorry, Setsy… But they were sooo nice… I woulda invited you if I'da known…"
"Known? Who was nice?"
The smile returned to her face. "All them Samurai… better than pirates. Pledged their allegiance to me an' everything."
Setsuna blinked. "They what?"
Ranma started to chuckle to herself. "Hehehe… They think I'm queen of the world or somethin'..." She paused, thinking hard on the matter. "But I ain't… I'm queen of the goddamn galaxy!"
The green haired woman shook her head. There were very few reasons for Serenity to get blitzed and she could pretty much guess the one that had triggered this binge. Emotional stress and trauma? Naw, that wouldn't have anything to do with it. She gave her best friend a final look and sighed. "Well we just can't have that can we?"
"Have what?"
Setsuna rocked off the bed and opened her closet, pulling an ancient, highly decorated bottle that sloshed with a potent red liquid. She reached in the closet once more and found the two glasses that went with the bottle. It only took a fraction of her strength to uncork the bottle.
"Aaaahhhhh..." Ranma's eyes lit up as the red liquid slipped into the crystal chalices. A part of her dim awareness recognized it immediately.
"We can't have you getting plastered alone." Setsuna finally returned to Ranma's question, handing her one of the glasses. "Mercury fire wine, circa 347 SM. That makes it, oh, just over fourteen thousand years old."
Ranma smiled that vague, buzzed smile. "Toast?"
Setsuna nodded. "To best friends."
Ranma's smile widened as she touched the glass to hers with a light 'ting'.
"Bestest friends."
Author's Notes--
I absolutely love this writing this fic, which would explain why I've belted anothr part out so quickly. It's late here so I'm just gonna wrap this up with a thanks to all the regulars, DCG and Yarrow especially. BTW; Fukufics is under site renovation. Don't ask me when it'll be back up, but it will.
Outro.