Eezoon
Chapter 3 – POWER! Eezoon's gift
The next few weeks were rough on the girls as they trained hard everyday, and most were making progress, even Usagi. Although she couldn't be called graceful yet, she could be called almost coordinated. They got attacked a few times and even Lina by was worn thin by now. They got attacked at least once a day as they approached Krimzon. Haruka now sported a new scar on her cheek. They could only hope the town it was still there.
Slowly but surely they made it to around where the city of Krimzon would be. As they got closer the amount of enemies fought and avoided went up proportionately. They were hidden among brush on a cliff that over looked the city. What they saw sickened them. Hotaru gagged and vomited, while Michiru held her hair. Usagi's expression hardened to the stone cold furiousness similar to that of a monarch past millennia ago.
They saw people being whipped and beaten to within an inch of their life by undead, carrying large barrels of slop to feed the masses. Screams of agony filled the air. Ranma saw there was one person hanging dead, skinned alive. Once what was a beautiful castle and surrounding village, was now mostly burned down; not anywhere decent enough to call shelter. People caught falling asleep were whipped and kicked. There were dead bodies that weren't bothered to be cleaned up laying around on the ground amidst all the beating and pointless slaving. Even women and children.
It was all Ranma could do to contain himself from bursting into a flame of fury.
"Wait here. I will signal when I determine who is the mastermind of all of this."
Ranma promptly disappeared from human senses.
"I didn't know he could do that." Lina remarked.
"How will we know his signal?" Michiru asked.
****
The death and suffering was suffocating. It was then he heard a cackling laugh that made the shackles on his neck rise.
Ranma made towards that direction, to finding a person sitting upon a throne of scorched skulls. The demon looked Gorilla with tar covered fur and bloodshot eyes. It looked menacingly strong. It seemed to sniff the air for a moment before standing defensively.
"Who's there!"
Ranma chose that moment to appear He abruptly shot a ki blast through the roof of the dilapidated building, hoping the others caught the meaning.
"Who are you?" The mazoku asked, wary of the unknown challenger.
"I'm your killer." Ranma spat, never thinking in his life he would desire to kill something so fully.
The demon seemed taken aback before letting out a deep chuckle. "Foolish sorcerer. You will fall like all before you." With that he grasped his fist and slammed it down into the floor. Ranma merely stood there letting all the debris bounce off of him like a steel statue, all the while staring with unmerciful eyes at the mazoku.
"Your mistaken if you think I'm a mere sorcerer." Ranma slowly started walking towards him while speaking. "I'm a martial artist, warrior, god-slayer, mage, and most recently," Ranma calmly stated, "a god."
The mazoku scoffed. "You? A god? Don't make me laugh. I sense some sort of power... but you are mortal."
"Don't believe me? Let's start from the top."
Ranma blurred and suddenly the demon went flying through the wall, only to get caught outside with a roundhouse to the face. He skid in the dirt. The fighting between the undead and the others took pause to turn an eye towards the fight. "That was martial artist and warrior."
The demon growled and charged him. Ranma casually bobbed and weaved around his attacks before doing a pirouette, gracefully spinning and bring his fist up almost casually. "Hiryou Shoten Ha!"
The demon flew up into the air… feeling at odds with the clashing spiritual energies. Suddenly, "Mouko Takabisha!" The demon caught a face full of painfully sweet confident energy that made him want to metaphorically heave. He teleported out of the twister to behind Ranma, only to catch an elbow to the face.
"That was me as a god-slayer. And this is me as a god."
Ranma's angelic form burst forth from him, wings spread, cat-like ears slicked back in an aggressive manner, and in a rough stance. The mazoku was confused now and tried to enter the astral plane and attack there. Ranma's angel seemed to start to blend in like a chameleon before disappearing all together. Screams seem to resonate through the area, and suddenly a tear in reality formed, the gorilla demon falling out, arm gone and spewing a black miasma. Ranma's angel hovered out, hands held in a clawing position. That was when Ranma walked up and picked him up by his throat.
"Things like you don't deserve to live." As Ranma's anger rose, the air around him seemed to darken, and sparkling blue eyes became dark black. He reached up to one his ears, removing an earring. Suddenly Ranma's form-distorting cloak disappeared, and his shirt became a silver silk with gold frogs. His bracers were simple, gold and smooth. The pants were purest blue of silk. Marks hidden before became visible on his face, a yin-yang on his forehead, two opposite halves like tear drops under his eyes. A staff formed in his grasp from the earring. It was a simple staff; long and slender silver, topped with ring with a 3-D yin-yang ball hovering around inside of it. Black energy began to crackle up and down the staff, making sizzling sounds. The mazoku looked down at his enemy for the first time with true fear for his existence. He felt sizable dark power much greater than his own.
Ranma didn't know what came over him, but he felt cold flow over his heart like a glacier, the air thicken around him like a molasses as he wished to inflict more and more pain to this demon for his atrocities. It became more and more appealing to him as the darkness thickened around him. He brought the staff in a whistling arc, chopping of one leg and listening to the demon scream as his stump spewed a dark miasma. His eyes became more feline, ears more pointed and his skin paled as his demon side began emerging. His shirt became gray with black frogs, and his pants also turned midnight. Another whistle and another scream. It came down to a only a head connected to a body. That was when Ranma dropped him. He stepped on the demon and twisted.
"Die you filth." Ranma raised his staff and brought the butt down to piece through the mazoku's chest. The demon seemed to dissipate with a lingering scream. His battle had taken them near his allies and every one of his allies in battle swallowed, never seeing this side of the god as he stared at the dissipating demon coldly. Slowly color returned to his skin, light returned to the air, and color to his eyes. Ranma's clothes regained their radiant colors while his angel slowly relaxed, turning to look more cute and beautiful, and less like an angel of feline death. Then it's ears twitched, and it made a slashing motion towards a building. The angel hissed angrily. Ranma reflected it's mood with a frown.
"Someone powerful was watching and got away. I'm not that good about astral plane travel yet. Blame it on being born human."
At this point all of the undead began running away…. In the same direction, likely the one they came from before this city. Lina wasn't letting them get away.
With a, "Dragu-Slave." another crater was formed, and 90 percent of the undead were returned to their graves.
With this city destroyed, Lina persuaded them to go south to the city of Sairag to gain a new ally in Syphiel.
"You want to what?" Ranma looked at Lina curiously.
"Summon your power. The Dragu-Slave draws its power from Ruby Eye Shabraningdo, and currently is the most powerful attack I can safely use in my arsenal at the moment. Problem is, when it comes down to it, it won't work on his lords and definitely not himself. It's like asking him to hit himself. Doesn't do a thing."
Ranma tilted his head thoughtfully before nodding with understanding.
Lina continued, "So if I could summon your power for an attack, It would probably equal, or even more power than a Dragu-Slave."
"Okay… so how do I give you power?"
Lina tapped her chin, gathering her words. "Well, I can draw from you if I have an understanding of your nature and character. Then I can find you on the astral side, and tug on your astral power. I have to have a decent understanding of the nature of the power and it's owner I'm drawing from. I've been around you long enough… I think I can do it. Just let it go when you feel the tug. Technically, part of you inhabits me during the spell, so you will know the intentions and heart of anyone summoning your power. So you can control who uses your power, in case you were worrying."
Ranma nodded, although he still didn't fully understand.
"I'm going to try to feel your astral power now." Lina closed her eyes and thought about Ranma, good and bad, bright and dark, picturing him in her minds eye. After a few minutes she felt him generally, but still didn't have a bead on him yet. She furiously thought about what she was missing. Then she remembered he had multiple forms. She quickly envisioned the terribly beautiful angel that was Ranma's astral form and suddenly she saw it in her minds eye. She imagined the feeling of Ranma's aura and… An unnatural blue moon, glowing with radiant energy over a lake dark as oil, the moon reflecting beautifully off of it as it gently rippled. She found her imaginary self floating in the water of midnight, basking in the glow of the blue moon. It felt very similar to the Lord of Nightmare's power. She almost got lost in it like the Lord of Nightmare's power, which was why it was so hard a power to control.
Ranma felt like someone was trying get in and swim in his aura. He had to resist throwing her out; he wasn't sure what could happen to her if he did that. It was then he felt like someone was trying to pull on his aura like when Hinako-sensei drained him, but on a much smaller level. He felt like he was in two places at once, feeling like he was in her body and soul as suddenly she was bathed in his aura and presence.
"Eezoon Flare!"
A confident blue blast of energy went flying like a kamehameha from Dragonball with black and white swirling around in it. It streaked across the field for a over a mile and exploded upward in pillar of energy, destruction and fire as far as the eye could see.
Lina was slightly out of breath and shaking a little bit. That was a lot of power. His power was a lot more manageable than the Lord of Nightmare's power, so she could summon a lot more. That was probably a fourth as powerful as a Giga-Slave. With that, she might be able to even fell Xellos with one shot! Maybe not kill, but definitely take him out of battle.
She flexed her arm and gripped her bicep. "Lina Inverse, the greatest Sorcery Genius ever!" With that almost Kodachi like laugh erupted from her throat. It made Ranma distinctly uncomfortable.
Ranma felt a familiar type of dark presence approaching.
"We have company…." Ranma said, cutting through her laughing.
Lina immediately sharpened up, her eyes narrowing. "I think they can sense any major use of your power, but then again you could probably see that 200 miles away."
"I've heard something of you." Ranma startled a little, but hid it well. He had sensed his presence, but not the exact place. Ranma was still new to his higher senses. Lina and Ranma turned to face the new figure.
The figure had blue tinted white hair that that was moderately short, and two locks hung on either side of his face. He wore blue tinted shades and had cool eyes. His expression was flat. The new Mazoku's clothes consisted of a blue vest and white pants, covered up to the knee with shin guard. He wore a sky blue robe that hung freely from his waist with box-shaped shoulder boards that where dark blue underneath and on the outside of the sleeves. White gloves with bulky cuffs were worn upon his hands and had metal knuckles. A white clasp held the robe on across his neck, and similar clasps where on the outside of his arm just below the shoulder boards, across his robe's back, and at the ankle of his over-sized blue boots.
"You are an enigma., " he stated solemnly. "Who are you?"
"Someone you don't wanna fuck with," Ranma spat cockily.
"Is that so…"
"Hey, don't you supposed to give your name first?"
The Mazoku's chuckled seemed to scare the world into silence. "They call me Wizard."
Lina searched her head for the name and drew a blank. "Just another high class Mazoku? Whoopity Doo," the sorceress said sarcastically.
The figure actually smiles, "Oh you won't find me as easy as the others before me, Dragon Spooker. I am the newest general of Deep Sea Dolphin." His teeth began to show in his smile as he saw her pale and tense.
"I didn't know they could make more… doesn't that cost a lot of energy? You Mazoku have to give a portion of yourself to create another being."
The demon nodded slowly. "But we've come up with methods to get more power."
Lina suddenly remembered the torture at Krimzon. That was what they were doing. Collecting all the negative energy. This could be bad. They have been strengthening, while the dragons and dragon lords have been being killed.
"Oh god…" Lina gasped.
"What?" Ranma asked, never taking his eye of the demon.
"They have been torturing people and gathering all the energy from their despair and pain. That is what Mazoku feed off of – the destructive feelings in one's heart."
Ranma blinked slowly before comprehension donned on him. The air around him began to get heavy like molasses, his eyes became feline, ears getting pointy, and nails getting longer. The deity's eye color started to dull but not yet holes of black. Ranma held off some of his anger for a moment.
The demon looked taken aback before narrowing his eyes at the newcomer. "That's quite the energy you are putting out there. Sure you don't want to help us?"
"As if I ever would help scum like you." Ranma coldly responded. The demon seemed amused by his response.
Suddenly the mazoku was blind sided by blue death and a gold dragon with a bow tied to it's tail sailed by.
The demon spun and growled. "DIE!" The demon raised his head abruptly in a sharp upwards motion and a geyser of scalding water hit the dragon full-on, making it fall over into the trees.
"FILIA!" Lina screamed.
"DYNAST BREATH!" Lina screamed as she caste a spell from another of Ruby-Eyes lord. Instantly ice crystallized on him, and for a moment he seemed captured.
Then he seemed to walk through the ice like it was just a projection, not a physical impediment. "Pitiful."
Ranma went into a tense horse stance and suddenly his angel screamed from him, ferocious like a tiger. It flew towards the demon, claws first. Ranma found that his angel was far better at dealing with these beings who resided primarily on the astral plane. That was probably because his angel was the same. The demon looked confused and smirked. It couldn't be hurt by physical attacks.
Pain exploded in the Mazoku as his arm was removed from his person. He screamed and grasped the gaping hole spewing darkness.
Suddenly he faded out and there was a scream. Ranma was a blur as he rushed back to camp were he left the girls to relax and recover from that day of travel and training.
"Raywing!" Lina quickly followed.
They got there to find Haruka broken and bleeding, and Michiru's face covered in blood. She laid sprawled face down. She was conscious, facing the mazoku and swing her arm desperately.
"Please let her go! Please! I'll do anything….You can have me instead!" How the former senshi longed for her power! She felt entirely helpless. The other girls warily stood around the enemy, who was holding Hotaru captive.
Ranma took a step forward.
"Ah, ah, ah! One more move and this little girl is good as dead. Better yet… perhaps I'll curse her."
"Elmekia Flame." A calm voice cut through the tableau, engulfing the mazoku in spiritual flames many more times than a human could produce with the same spell.
Ranma took that chance to land a flying kick to the demon to get it away from the helpless girls. It smashed through many trees, carving a line through the forest.
Lina quickly concentrated, muttering random words, still trying to find a set of words for the spell.
"EEZOON FLARE!"
Again a pillar of fury formed, an ethereal scream cutting through the air before stopping.
Ranma eyed the crater, searching with his senses for any leftover trace. "He's gone." The god slowly let the tenseness drain away.
Lina quickly ran to the felled girls, pushing the others out the way. She reset Haruka's arm, which woke her up with a scream, then set her leg with a grating sound punctuated with another scream. The other senshi flinched. She place one hand on each appendage and began healing. Haruka felt the pain go away, but it still felt off. She tried to move her hand after Lina finished, and felt a sharp pain.
"Careful. I'm not powerful enough in white magic to heal you to one hundred percent." Haruka nodded.
Lina stood and turned to find the black haired, former hostage, Hotaru with her hands on the green haired senshi's head, pulsating white. Lina's lips pursed to say something in her confusion. Ranma cut her off.
"She is not using 'magic'. She is gathering ambient chi and channeling it, accelerating the healing process. Michiru's wounds are mostly superficial."
The god knelt beside Haruka. He laid his hand on her arm and she almost jerked away. He felt her uncomfortable with male touch. He shifted female, and she slowly relaxed. "Any reason you fear a man's touch? Besides the fact you like girls?"
Haruka's eyes looked dark for a second before looking away. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Restore."A weaving and curvy pattern of bright white covered the blonde's body before disappearing. Haruka moved her arm to feel no pain and everything was in place.
Ranma sprouted and wings and flew off, shortly returning with a dragon, starting to look like a lobster with it's third degree burns. It was unconscious. He repeated the spell with the dragon.
Ranma stood and walked towards a tree, turning it into sawdust with a punch.
"You girls are just turning into a liability! And it will be awhile before we find somewhere safe we can drop you girls off."
"If there is even such a thing..." Lina mumbled sadly.
The girls dropped their heads. That was when a rumble was heard. "Make them priestesses and then they could use your power."
The dragon shrunk in form to form the dragon girl they were all used to and she sat up slowly.
"What?"
"Make them priestesses."
"If this was an option before, why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't think it was possible. You aren't from this world… I thought things might work too different. But then I saw Lina-san cast a spell with your power….."
Lina tapped her foot muttering to herself in thought before nodding. "I guess that makes sense."
"We should do it as soon as possible. Could it be done tomorrow?"
Filia nodded.
The party found an area filled with dirt, and Filia set them to work grinding up blossoms from trees.
"Why are we doing this again?" Usagi asked.
"To make the magic circle."
"Okay," she said in a way that made it obvious she really didn't understand.
"You need something recently living to make the circle. Something recent enough to still have wisps of spirit to it. We need the circle to be on both the physical and the spiritual side. It is so we have a common area find each other to travel together in the spirit world."
"What do you mean? Won't we end up there together," Ami asked.
Filia shook her head. "No. The astral plane works by different rules. Sometimes when you are asleep, your spirit travels through the astral plane. Are dreams an organized place? The astral world is the same. But the methods of travel are different. If you will yourself enough to go somewhere, you will go there. That is why we must have a common area that exists on both sides. The magic circle I make from the recently living blossoms will exist on both sides."
Ami nodded.
Filia dusted off her hands of the ground blossoms. "Of course, your sleep has to be magically induced to make sure you are actually in the spiritual realm, and not your own mind." Filia frowned lightly. "Though when I did this to become a Fire Priestess, someone else who already found the dragon led me to him. I have no idea how we will find Eezoon."
"Well you said that since Lina can channel Eezoon's power, we could channel. Maybe she knows how to get to him."
Filia's frown turned into a smile. "Why yes, you are quite right. I should find her now."
Filia began walking through toward the two sparring in the distance. Ranma called a halt to their sparring, letting Lina catch her breath.
"Eezoon-sama, I think we can use Lina to find you on the spiritual plane."
"What? Why?"
"You know how he looks like on the other side, I imagine. That means you could probably get us there. I had someone who had been there before lead me. As of right now, you are the closest person to knowing how to get there."
"But I don't want to become a priestess. Do I look like a priestess type to you? I won't be worshiping anybody." Lina's brows furrowed with her last sentence.
"You don't have to become a priestess. You just have to lead us to where we need to go."
"Um…. I guess that's alright."
Filia began walking back and paused. "Although you might find some advantages to it. You could cast holy magic. You will probably be more powerful than me with it. You would truly be something to strike fear into demon lords." With that she continued walking away without looking back.
Lina frowned before her expression became thoughtful.
They all stood around a white colored circle with an 9 pointed star. Each point also had a circle around it.
"Remember," Filia began, "Don't forget this circle. When you fall asleep focus on coming to the circle. Imagine yourself there, and there you shall be."
Filia stepped into the middle of the circle. "I need you all to pick a corner and sit comfortably. You will fall asleep in whatever position you are in."
The girls all gathered into circle and sat on each point. Lina grumbled the whole time, while the senshi looked anxious to get their power back. Ranma sat on a rock outside watching them quietly.
Filia raised her hand and whispered. "Sleep."
Usagi found herself in a ice cream shop. No one was there. She thought there was something she should remember, but it could wait. There was so much ice cream. She ate and she ate. When she cleared out the counter she went around looking for the freezer. She found a metal door with an odd 9 point star on it. It tugged at her memory, but she'd worry about that later. She went inside squealed with the number of ice cream containers. She looked for a flavor she had never tried before. This place was as huge as a warehouse! Most of it was all flavors she had before, a hundred of each. A gray container caught her eye. It was a different color than the others. She went up to read the label, to see what flavor it was, but there was no lettering. She picked up the container and reached to open it when she saw a 9 pointed star inside a circle. Each point of the star had small circles around it.
She had flashes of battles, remembering screaming the first time she killed a troll, blood spilling all over her. She fell to her knees, trying to frantically wipe the blood off her school uniform that was dirty from days of days of traveling and sleeping in the dirt. She remembered a club jabbing her in the back painfully as she laid with the ground harshly on her face. She heard the other girls screaming for her to get up to move, but her eyes were locked with the troll's. She realized she was powerless. There was no moon crystal to call on, no transformation. She was human. Plain human. It had never really realized how normal people felt, confronted with demons and negaverse creatures until now. Utterly helpless. She suddenly found herself shielding her eyes a bright light consumed the creature. She looked up afterwards to find a smoldering creature and a red head holding her hand out to her, the other hand holding a sword dripping with foul green blood. And she remembered.
I will no longer be helpless. I want the power to save my friends. I can't do that if I can't even protect myself. But to do that, I must find this place.
The world bent around Usagi.
Minako was giggling, finding herself in bishie heaven, gorgeous men of all skin tones and color surrounding her, serving her grapes, and fanning her. She had two, strong men massaging her feet and two practicing with swords fighting a couple of yards in front of her. As she finished the grapes she noticed a pattern on the bottom of the tray. It tugged at her memory. Memories of skeletons moving on their own, with rusty swords and armor. She blinked to find the men serving around her dead. She looked around but didn't see anyone that could have done it. They laid bleeding upon the floor, cut in several places; one of them even headless. She screamed, and huddled in the chair, searching frantically for what killed them. She knew it was still there, watching her.
Usagi stumbled around a little as she found herself in a field surrounded by trees, although everything was in black and white. She looked around. She saw Filia standing watching her intently, waiting for her to get her bearings, if that were possible in a world of thought and emotion. She blinked and then Filia was a dragon, about 5 times her size. She edged back.
"Calm down. It is me, Filia. I've forgotten you've never seen me fully dragon before. This is how I really look. My 'human' form is merely a incantation."
Usagi paused and looked her deep in the eyes. She walked closer while looking her in the eyes. She gave the dragon a sharp searching look before smiling and nodding. "Yep, eyes match the voice. Hi, Filia."
"Hello."
Usagi looked around. "Where are the others?"
"Probably still stuck in their own dream worlds. They probably haven't realized they have somewhere to be yet. You can go get them, now that you realize you are sleeping."
"How?"
"Just imagine where you want to go, and you'll go there. Will and Belief is all on the Astral plane."
Usagi nodded.
Hotaru fell down, drastically out of breath as she could no longer find the strength to run. She desperately crawled from the formless creatures chasing her in the distance. She crawled behind a tree and tried to calm her frantic heaving breathing. She heard the foot steps come closer as hunched over. Tears ran down her face as she cursed her weak body.
"Hotaru?" A friendly and concerned voice called. The voice filled with fear, "Hotaru!" Hotaru looked up to find Usagi standing over her. "Please help me… I can't run anymore…"
Usagi gripped her scepter tightly as she stared down toward the young senshi's stalkers, her lips making a tight line. Realization hit her as she looked down.
"Scepter?" She whispered in confusion. Filia's words echoed in her head 'Will and Belief is all on the Astral plane'.
Usagi spun around gracefully with her limbs extended, shortly pulling them in for a tighter and faster spin. She decided on an appropriate attack she made up this moment.
"Moon Nightmare Elimination!"
White spread out from her scepter filling the whole world with white, leaving them standing in a world of white.
Hotaru sniffled as she looked around in awe. She hugged the tall girl's legs. "Thank you Usagi.. Thank you so much…."
Usagi had a gentle smile as she patted the short girls had. "It's okay. Anything for a friend." The former Senshi of the Moon's smile became playful as she said, "You forgot what we came here to do already? Let's get the others."
Usagi and Hotaru stood roadside on a race track cheering on driver number 61, Haruka Tenou. After collecting her cheer and doing her interview for winning the world cup, she walked over to her friends, camera flashes following her. She smiled at Usagi.
"I didn't know you were into racing… I'm glad you're here."
Usagi shook her head with a sound of negative. "No, we're not, but we'd always come to support you."
Hotaru smiled a secretive smile. She spoke absently, "Aren't you forgetting something?"
Haruka looked at her questioningly. "Forgetting something, what do you mean?"
Hotaru looked at Usagi and shrugged.
Usagi's smile broke. "Uhmmm…" How to make her remember…."Lina Inverse."
Haruka looked at her funny. "You mean that anime series on TV?"
Usagi's eyes widened with confusion. That should have reminded her right away.
Hotaru just rolled her eyes. "Just come on, Haruka-papa." She took her surrogate parent's hand and started walking. "I'm not surprised its so hard to pull you from one of your greatest dreams."
"Dream?"
Hotaru merely shook her head.
Usagi followed and the world faded to shades of gray, and then to white.
Michiru was in her element as she played her solo, live on TV. Ever since the Japanese violin competition, she had been getting offers to join orchestra's and after this show there would be TV shows asking for her to be a guest. She loved music, and she was happy to share her love with the world. She noticed something move out of the corner of her eye on stage. It was her love, and daughter and…. the princess? She saw the princess motion for her to come. She wanted to shake her head, but she was in the middle of playing. If she didn't start focusing again soon, it would start affecting her play.
Hotaru jogged out onto stage and bowed to the crowd. She then turned to Michiru. "There is an emergency."
Michiru stopped playing and looked at her, whispering quietly. "Can't you guys handle it?"
Hotaru shook her head. "No, end of the world and all that. We need you Michiru-mama."
Michiru eyed her daughter. "You sound quite calm for an emergency."
Hotaru grabbed her hand. "Just come on."
Minako saw shadows flashing outside through the silk curtains of her mansion. She heard a blood curdling scream of something inhuman. She saw a figure reach for the window and open it. The curtains moved back to reveal…
"Usagi!"
Sailor Mercury sat amongst the remains of the Imperial Library. After searching the Moon, they found it deep underground, buried but in tact. The amount of knowledge storied in these archives was immense! She picked up another Holo-Book and read more on the scientific evaluations of magic.
We have found after much study of magic that it has something to do with the astral realm. We know it exists, proving it through magic, but our mission is to scientifically prove its existence with our physical world. So far we can only observe its affects on the physical world.
She skimmed through their observations, but with no conclusive evaluations. She picked up another holo-book.
We believe the astral plane is a dimension behind our reality. We believe it is a simpler realm, perhaps somewhat related with dimensional theory. There has been previous theory by a Stevon Hawkwing that in the formation of the universe only 3 dimensions folded out, and there were many microscopic, on the level of quartz. However, whether these smaller dimensions exist is still under question, but we believe the astral plane is the representation of one or possibly two of our three dimensions. In that sort of situation the plane would work differently than ours, or perhaps appear so. However, it is believed that the soul exists on the astral plane, so is it possible to 'define' a soul if we discover how to see and perhaps utilize the astral plane with technology.
The next book was on the first discoveries of the astral plane scientifically. She reached to pick it up when she heard an awe filled voice.
"Wow. This looks like Silver Millennium design," Minako remarked. "But I don't know what this stuff is on the shelves."
Michiru commented, "They are books. They are holographic."
Everyone nodded.
Ami stopped short of activating her book. "What are you guys doing here?"
"You've seemed to forgotten some things…."
Rei laid snuggled to her man's side, sighed with contentment. The room was in a grand palace, the highest building in Crystal Tokyo. The ceiling was high and had a mural of the senshi saving the earth on it. The fire place was large and imposing, made by the worlds greatest sculptors. The floor was of marble, with black and white swirls in its grain. The royal bed had a canopy of the sheerest silk of white and the supports and frame made of cherry wood that didn't seem so much cut into that design, but formed into it. The bed was covered with fluffy sheets with the base color red and with a swirling design of vines with the color of flame yellow. The sheets were made of silk that molded to the body.
Her eyes snapped open with an awed voice. "Wow!"
"Oh my…." Michiru muttered as her eyes came to rest on the bed. She turned sharply and stood directly in front of Hotaru, blocking her view. "Um… I think you're a little too young to see this."
Hotaru clucked her tongue. "Michiru-momma, I'm not a child!"
Usagi pushed her way through her gathered friends to get a view. They reluctantly moved out her way. The former princess's jaw dropped as she saw her good friend laying in bed with her man. The young princess's lips quickly became a straight line and her face lacked any sort of humor.
Rei sat up, holding the sheet to herself to ensure she stayed covered as she blushed. "W-What are you doing over there?" She stammered.
She saw Usagi's pop out from the crowd and the girls expression led her to believe she was far from amused. Rei looked at her lap, looking extremely guilty until she remembered. "I can explain…," she began before pausing. "Hey… Wait a second. What are you doing over there? You were just right…."
Rei lowered the sheets to find a blonde princess with her thumb in her mouth with her arm around her naked waist.
Everyone's eyes became wide and the awake and real senshi of the moon's ears turned red and she abruptly turned away sputtering. "R-Rei?"
Michiru covered her face with her hand exasperatedly, looking at the scene through her fingers. Hotaru glanced over her shoulder and covered her mouth with her hand at what she saw. Haruka quirked an eyebrow appreciatively at the Shinto priestess, while Minako gaped before muttering, "Figures with as much as they bicker…."
Ami finally gathered enough wits to get to the original point. "Um…. Put on some clothes and come with us. This is a dream and we need you elsewhere…." The former senshi of ice quickly shuffled out into the hall.
Memory flashed through Rei's head. "Oh. I remember now." She blushed some more. "Sorry." She gave a nervous chuckle.
****
Makoto was in a heavy battle on the beach; her friends had yet to arrive. It would be just her luck on her vacation that she'd run into something she couldn't handle. She gathered her last vestiges of power and sent it the demons direction. "Jupiter Oak Revolution!"
Lightning of a thousand storms pummeled the creature of darkness, but it stood calmly, absorbing the electricity like a lightning rod. The senshi of Jupiter gasped as she used the last of her strength and collapsed to her legs. The demon seemed to delight in her distress as it approached her leisurely. Makoto refused to give this monster the gratification of seeing her cry.
"Moon Nightmare Elimination!"
White light spread throughout far as the eye could see, filling the black haired girl's vision.
"Hi, Makoto," giggles from young girls went though the air, "Have any good dreams lately?"
Now that all the girls were gathered they found themselves at the magic circle they made while awake. The sorceress was already there.
"Lina? How did you get here without help?" Usagi asked.
The sorcery genius gave them a pointed look. "I am a sorceress. Of course I'd have an understanding of the astral plane although I normally don't travel around here voluntarily. Unlike you girls, I realize that there are dangerous things here, and prefer to stay within my own mind and domain. Normal people are lucky that there are such things as protective spirits. You girls probably won't even remember this trip."
Filia shook her head ruefully. "Never you mind that," she turned to Lina. "Why don't you lead them to Eezoon? "
Lina frowned. "Okay. This is gonna be awkward. Everyone hold hands."
The world wavered and they found themselves falling into water. The girls let go of each other's hands to swim to the surface. They all looked up to find a vibrant blue moon hanging over water as dark as a new moon. They heard Lina speak.
"This is very similar to the Lord of Nightmares, although she had a yellow lightning storm and a pure white sky, but the water was still this dark. It was much more chaotic and made less sense."
"Where do we go from here?" Ami asked. Everyone's head swiveled finding no land or something to hold on. Just infinite water. "I'm not sure…"
They all swam for what felt like hours before they began to tire. Filia flew through the air looking for land and circling back, her wing strokes getting weaker by the moment. They heard Lina gasp out sarcastically, "Figures we'd drown. It feels like that when you channel his power."
One by one they began dropping under the surface, the others would try to follow to save them only to get swallowed by the waters themselves. Their worlds went black.
Usagi saw a yellow light on the edge of her vision, she opened her eyes to take it in. There was a roaring campfire and there was a young Ranma going through kata. She looked around to see her friends rising as well. She stood and brushed the dirt off of her uniform and walked towards the campfire and gasped as her feet stepped in something wet. She looked down to see a puddle, hidden by shadow. The only indication of its existence was the moonlight reflecting off of its waters. She heard Lina swear behind her.
"Damn! It figures." The sorceress looked up at the sky to find that vibrant blue moon. "Nothing is ever how it seems in the realm of the spirit. It is all point of view and metaphor."
Usagi looked down at the puddle realizing it looked familiar. It was the same as the waters they almost drowned in, if they were several orders of size smaller. "Wow."
Hotaru didn't waste time looking around and went straight for the young boy. "Eezoon," she called hesitantly. The young boy paused on one foot with one knee held up in the middle of his kata. He turned his head. "Eezoon? I'm Ranma."
Hotaru's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She turned a questioning look towards they approaching Filia, who was now in human form for convenience. She frowned with thought before speaking.
"These girls are looking for something. Could you help them?"
The boy dropped his upheld leg and turned to face them. "Big brother said you were coming. The boy turned a direction. "Follow me."
Filia paused behind the group. "I think it is no longer my place to follow. You continue on."
"But what do we do from here?" Motoko asked.
"Its different for everyone, and every god. I can help you no further."
Lina turned to face the dragon girl. "Yeah, I should probably leave as well. I'm not here to become a priestess. You continue on." Lina turned to follow Filia when a black panther strolled leisurely out the woods between her and Filia. Lina stopped short. "Um… Filia…."
Filia turned to see the big cat facing down Lina. It didn't appear to be hostile. Filia opened her mouth, before closing it to choose her words. Then she spoke, "It seems you are invited to stay."
Lina screamed, "But I don't wanna stay!" She stomped her foot and the panther gave a warning growl. Lina shirked back in fear before she realized she was a powerful sorceress. What did she have to fear? She leaned forward challengingly, looking into its eyes. They were the same vibrant blue as Eezoon's eyes. "Eezoon?" She asked questioningly. The cat shoved her towards the others with its head. Lina whined in protest. "But I don't wanna!"
The girls followed him to a clearing with a wooden board on the ground. He stopped and stared at it. The girls gathered around it, wondering why he only stood staring lifelessly. After an indeterminable amount of time he pointed. "In there."
Ami bent down to examine the wooden board. She tried to lift it, but she lacked the strength to do so. Makoto offered to help, "Let me get it." The dark haired girl got a good grip and lifted it, it came up about a foot before it fell into a hole they didn't notice before. They heard it land on the bottom with a wet thump. There was no light to see into the pit and they could make nothing out. Without warning the edges of the hole they stood around started sliding off like mud, taking them with it as they all let out squeals of surprise.
"Owie," Usagi rubbed her sore rear. She never understood why it was she always landed on when she fell.
She looked around trying to see something -anything- but to no avail. Until beady yellow circles began appearing all around her, she heard the other girls gasp. It didn't take her long to realize they were eyes. Cat eyes. The air filled with sounds of hissing and yowling from the cats. They didn't sound friendly. Before the girls could do anything, they found themselves assaulted by the cats, nothing but invisible claws and teeth. Usagi ran, like she imagined the others were doing, and ran into the damp wall of the pit. She huddled against it, trying to shield herself from the onslaught. Scratching. Biting. Hissing. Scratching. It did not stop. Only one thought went through her mind in a repeated loop.
Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop.
And suddenly, as quickly as it began, it the pain stopped. Ami opened her eyes to find herself in a dojo. She examined herself to find no wounds from the previous onslaught. She shuddered in memory and couldn't find it in herself to move from her fetal position. That is when she noticed there were meaty thumping noises of flesh against flesh and flesh against wood behind her. She quickly peaked over her shoulder to see Eezoon, and female Eezoon sparring in a flurry of a likes she never saw in her life. She couldn't follow them so much as follow blurs and listen for impact. Before she realized it, she was sitting and watching quietly. They eventually stopped and she took the time to examine the details of the dojo. It was pretty old and had lots of patchwork down on it. The shrine had the old kanji for ice, not a deity, spirit, or concept on it like usual. Her henshin stick was sitting propped before it. She gasped and stood, walking towards it, paying no mind to the twins. She reached for it but was stopped by the dual voice.
"You wish for power. The power we have. The power we have shrived for and the power we have been given."
They stood on either side of her, and she felt cornered. She turned around to find the cat-like angel she saw from before hovering, gazing into her eyes. She found she couldn't look away as she felt its gaze strip her bare. She felt shame, before quickly suppressed it and met the stare. The angel smiled. "You are strong."
"But that pride is a hindrance to the power you seek. You must not fight it or force it; you mustn't fight me. My will is the will of the indomitable. You cannot own it, you cannot overcome it. The only path to share my power is to surrender to it. You must surrender your identity, and become me."
Goosebumps riddled her skin and with a start she realized she was naked. The angel brought a hand with soft fur on its backside and long nails that were almost claws to her chin and ran it over her cheek.
"Are you willing to surrender everything for me?" The musical voice of the angel whispered. Ami started to shake her head before she became aware she was shaking with the affection of that simple caress. She felt the extreme desire to swallow her being whole. It was she was like suffocating in molasses. She couldn't find the air to speak or breath. The angel repeated. "Are you willing to surrender everything for me. Mind, body," Ami shivered at thought of giving that - one of her valued possessions - to anyone, "and soul?"
Ami cried and nodded. She didn't understand why she was crying; whether it was in joy or sadness or fear.
She was dying.
She somehow was lowered onto the floor gently, supported incomprehensibly with the same hand that the angel held her cheek with. She didn't make a move of her own. She was just a doll to be controlled, to be played with, to be touched or thrown.
Hands caressed her whole body with love, affection, and over whelming desire. She couldn't tell whether it was just the six hands of the three she saw there, or many more. No part of her was left untouched and there was nothing she could do about it; would do about it. She saw male Eezoon hovering over her, and felt something pressing to get inside her. She did not protest and waited in simple anticipation.
Her world exploded in white, or was it sparkles? She burned to her core, becoming flame. Did she explode or implode? She felt like she was being consumed. Pain and pleasure mingled indescribably. She felt in the middle of her being, rather than saw, the form of her henshin stick. A clawed hand reached into her being and grasped it, changing it. She felt thoughts not of her own. Something about design and abilities, but she was too lost to care. She felt like she had no physical body; that it was just a shell that she was trapped in and now she was free.
Filia stood amongst in the center of the circle, keeping an eye on the girls until they awoke. She looked over at Ranma, who appeared to be daydreaming. After a time she sat down and meditated, waiting for them to awake. What seemed like hours later, in an explosion beams of color shot into the sky. Frosty blue, yellow, purest white, hot-coal red, electric-blue, earthy green, sea green, light violet, and pitch black all shot into the sky as far as the eye could see. She saw their figures float in the beams, ignoring gravity. As quickly as it started it stopped, and the girls landed gently on their feet. In eerie unison, they turned and looked as one at Ranma.
****
Ranma met their gaze from his perch, and saw in that look an unspoken devotion. He realized he owned them; he could do whatever he pleased with them. They were his playthings; objects he owned. They knew it and found contentment in that fact. He felt nauseous with shame. He knew of their experience within him on the astral plane, but that was only representational, for the astral plane did not follow the rules or even form of the physical world. What you saw or felt there was only interpretation in relating it to the physical world. To him it felt more like they invaded his aura and spirit, and he swallowed them whole before ejecting them, part of him attaching to their soul like a spandex suit. It was like he held them all in a hand, and he could to whatever he pleased with them. They were his for as long as he would exist.
Filia watched Ranma's expression turn dark before he got up and walked into the woods. She turned to look at the girls who lowered their heads submissively, with content and secretive smiles on their face.
"Is it done?"
Ami snapped out of their eerie unison and daze first. "I-I think so."
Filia shook off the awkward feeling she had about the whole situation and decided to ask them to try out their new powers.
"Do you know what you can do, yet?"
Ami shook her head, unsure. "I feel… I feel something, but I'm not sure what would happen if I used it."
Lina lifted her sleeves. "Let's see what I can do now." She turned toward the rock Ranma was sitting on. In her mind she felt the water of midnight just under her feet, waiting for her to fall back and embrace it and bask in the vibrant moon's light. Now she didn't have to search for it, it was always there waiting like the embrace of a lover. She let herself fall in and felt power flood her. It was addictive. With a wave of her hand, her shadow shifted and streaked to consume the rock. When the shadow receded, the rock was gone without a trace. Her shadow flickered around her on the ground, and it seemed like shadows flickered across her body as if she was walking through a canopy of trees at noon. She became darker and darker, although she stood in an opening with nothing blocking the light until you could hardly see her. Filia began to get worried. "Lina!"
Lina blinked and stopped channeling power, coming out of the water in her mind, suddenly feeling cold and alone. She shivered. "I… almost drowned."
Filia blinked. Lina started pacing, thinking about what she felt. After a few minutes she stopped suddenly. "I guess its kind of like when I use the Lord of Nightmare's power in like how it is so much I can lose control of it. However this power is addictive and wants to absorb me, not explode and destroy everything in chaos."
Lina turned towards the other girls. "Be careful not to channel too much power. If you start feel like you're loosing yourself, cut it off."
Usagi quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" Usagi fell into the power. A flash of white went over everyone like a shockwave, and the aches from their journey disappeared as it passed through them. Grass around Usagi seemed to grow before their eyes and a white mist seemed to bubble out of Usagi in her white ethereal glow. She gasped and everything disappeared.
"I see what you mean."
Rei let herself go to the power, feeling it wash over her like rapids. She gathered it in her hands and it made a ball of red hue with flames flickering it from it, making it look like a flaming red tear drop.
Each girl tried her powers, Ami's was ice, Minako's was air, Makoto's was electricity/lightning, Hotaru's was sound, Haruka's earth, and Michiru's was water. Usagi's was Light, and Lina's was Shadow.
Filia frowned. "Your power is 'holy' by definition… its source being a god, just as black magic is from mazoku… but each of your invocations are different. I wonder why?"
"That's because their spirit acts as a lens to direct my power. Their element and personality affects it."
Everyone jumped at Ranma's voice, they hadn't heard him approach, nor expected him. "Well, if that's the case," Lina began, "Can the girls still use your power for other elements?"
Ranma tilted his head in thought, accessing his spiritual and dimensional physics knowledge given. "I-I think so." This situation was not exactly accounted for.
Lina turned to Ami, seeing how she seemed to be the most adept for magical ability. "Try to make the ball of light I tried to teach you earlier, except feel Eezoon's power, not ambient energy."
"Light which burns beyond crimson flame, let thy power gather in my hand! LIGHTING!"
A ball of light formed in her hand. Slowly a blue hue crept over it. Ami blinked.
"Apparently you can… although it'll still have your tint on it." Ranma turned to walk away, "I'm going to go train."
Ranma started to walk away and paused. His eyes noticeably widened. "Incom-"
BOOM!
"-ing."
A Filia was on the ground under a demon wolf with its huge maw being held at bay with a large spiked club. The wolf foolishly picked her thinking she was an easy target, but Filia was a seasoned war veteran that ran with the best. Using her dragon strength she tossed it off of her. She became a glowing figure that reformed in the shape of a dragon in an instant. A furrow was carved into the ground as a beam of blue streaked towards the recovering beast. It reared its head and let loose a furious roar that dissipated the beam like so much dust. Filia immediately took flight and took shots at it as it ran dodged looking for another target.
Ranma started to move ever so slightly, and the girls felt their hackles rise as the moonlit waters in the edge of their consciousness became choppy and restless. Before Ranma could move Lina held up a hand and said, "Wait! I think we should try our new abilities."
Ranma started to object but Lina's look became pleading. Ranma realized that look was foreign to her face and felt shame again at what he had done to them. He crossed his arms. "Fine. But if things start to get hairy…."
Lina nodded absently as she accessed the scene. "Girls, lets attack and try out our new powers."
Makoto popped her knuckles and made a fist. "It'd be my pleasure." She charged at the beast, fist crackling with electricity. Makoto felt her body flood with power and she felt lighter, faster, and stronger.
She swung with a haymaker that the wolf dodged to the side with a quick shift of weight and a push with its paws. Makoto felt inspiration flow to her in the moonlit waters she embraced and spun with her momentum to smash the beast in its face. It roared as it got fried and flew back.
Ami stood in its path and didn't think she could move fast enough to avoid it. She raised her arm in a hard mid-range block, and Eezoon's power responded to her need without thought. A mist swirled and made a rough partial and jagged sphere shape that solidified into a wall of ice that made cracking sounds as it grew thicker. The mazoku slammed into the wall and landed shakily on its feet. As if it was an after thought, he roared, releasing a red beam that struck Makoto unawares. As the beam hit her, a blue light rippled over her body with the impact and she flew back and hit a tree with the same ripple effect.
The beast had barely steadied itself when it heard a rumbling. It looked around to see a short blonde haired girl with a cocky smirk with her feet planted in horse stance and her hands in front of her like they were gripping something heavy. She lifted the imaginary object and a huge block of stone that was held by a dim yellow hue came out of the ground and hovered above the blonde's head. She reared back like she was going to pitch a fast ball and the chunk of earth followed her motion as she pitched, spiraling towards the shadow wolf. It howled loudly, and it made everyone cringe with its volume. As if an invisible object hit the earthen ball, it broke into pieces that the demon let bounce of his hide harmlessly. It charged at the shocked blonde only to have a elegant looking girl with green hued hair land in front of him that held a green-blue ball of light between her hands. She looked as if she was trying her hardest to squeeze it into oblivion since the muscles in her arm tensed. The air became a swirling mist flowing into her hands as she brought them forward in a flourish. A geyser burst forth from her hands and sent the demon end over end.
Hotaru gave a swipe of her hand, and a sonic shockwave threw the monster toward Lina. The demon managed to get its feet under itself and tried to stop, digging its claws into the dirt as it skid towards Lina. It watched in fascination as the sorceress they all knew by name seemed to be standing in a deep shadow. She appeared to get larger as her shadow followed the grabbing action of her hands. Suddenly he couldn't move, being held by hands of shadow. Minako blew a kiss toward Ranma before blowing another kiss toward the creature….that manifested as a gust that was bigger than a "bom di wind" spell. The demon canine slammed, spine first, into a tree and gave a howl of pain.
When the demon woozily regained its senses it stared into sharp blue eyes that promised his demise. The blonde girl held her hand towards him and it was like looking down the barrel of a gun. Wispy, gentle , harmless light whisked through the air like innocent looking smoke from incense towards him. Where the wisps touched the demon, that place ceased to exist. The demon was quickly … annulled.
The girls let out a cheer as the demon dissipated into nothing. They turned to look for their lord, only not to find him anywhere.
On a branch at the tree line a figure watched impassively. His smile turned into a frown as the battle went on. His gripped tightened on his staff and he was just preparing to turn when a voice startled him.
"Who are you?" A steely accusing voice questioned.
The figure turned to face its confronter and actually opened an eye. "That's…. a secret!"
It pushed away from the tree in a jump only to get caught by his shirt as soon as his feet left the branch. Now the other eye was open.
"You think you are going to get away that easily?"
Suddenly the figures jovial expression turned unexpectedly ugly. It was a face that displayed true anger in a way no human could. "Do you think you can catch me that easily?"
His staff streaked at Ranma's head from the side opposite his free hand. It stopped centimeters from his head. The figure looked to see a redhead with wings held his staff still. "Do you think I'm so weak?"
The figure kicked Ranma's elbow, making him drop, and he viciously yanked his staff free. He landed on the ground below Ranma, seeing no concern on his enemies face, just calculated cold. It almost startled him to see such an expression on something other than a Mazoku. The figures face made a smile, but it was not the type that meant any good. He raised his staff and a thick beam of power flew towards Ranma.
Ranmas eyes widened in surprise as he was hit dead on. When the light cleared, he had lost track of his enemy. While Ranma didn't budge, it did feel like Ryoga hit him, and that surprised him. That guy was no ordinary guy. That shot would have seriously wounded the girls even with their new abilities.
Ranma jumped out of the tree and walked out of the trees towards the girls.
"How did we do, Eezoon-sama?" Minako said with a blush, her eyes on the ground.
Ranma beat back the shame, and smiled. "You girls did great."