Ranma the Prophetess

by ejhawman

Updated 7/7/10. Final epilogue.

24. Invasion

Chapter 24: Invasion

Foreword: Yes, it's back. Going to try to push through to the end.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Kidnapped!" There was horror in Usagi's voice. "They got everyone?"

"Most of them," Ranma said. "Akane and Ukyo are with me."

"Will they be coming for us?" Now she sounded frantic over the phone. Ranma could imagine her looking around as if youma might jump out of the walls. Which, for all he knew, they could.

"I don't know. I haven't checked yet. But we don't have a moment to lose. We have to meet right away. Our usual places aren't safe - we'll have to meet at a park..." He gave them an address, then hung up without waiting for acknowledgement.

Next he dialed the Nekohanten and quickly explained the situation. "Are you guys safe? Any strange people coming around?"

"No more so than usual," Cologne said. "But I take it we should move quickly."

"I think this will be it. We have to go, ready or not." He gave them the same address as he gave Usagi and hung up.

"Let's go," Akane said, making for the door.

"One second," Ranma said, and hit the kitchen for a glass of cold water. Seconds later, Ranma-chan met them at the door. "Gotta see if there are any more surprises coming our way."

They were just leaving the residential streets when they ran into a familiar face. Ryoga turned the corner, apparently in a hurry, and quickly hid behind it from something or someone coming the other way. He darted his head out to check the street, then looked behind himself. He seemed a bit startled, then delighted, to see Ranma and his companions coming.

"Ranma! You've got to help me! She's after me again!"

Ukyo drew her spatula. "Is it a youma?" She and Akane came up behind him, ready to ambush whatever was after him.

They did not have to wait long; a feminine figure soon came up the walkway, with Ryoga ducking further out of sight. Ukyo swung her spatula as the figure came around the corner, knocking the victim senseless. Ukyo then looked at who it was.

"Kodachi...? Oh! I'm so sorry! I thought you were a youma..." She tried to help the younger Kuno up, checking to see if she had a concussion.

"A youma? Were you heading for a battle?" Ryoga asked.

"Our families have been kidnapped," Akane said. "Happosai joined up with the Dark Kingdom and told them everything about us."

"Kindapped?" Ryoga sounded disgusted. "Those cowards! Let me come with you! They should PAY!"

"Be my guest," Ranma said, and she and Akane resumed their march to the meeting spot.

"What about Kodachi?" Ukyo asked. "Will she be okay?"

Ryoga looked a little uneasy. "Definitely. I'd just as soon leave her behind..."

Ranma-chan cocked her head for a second, as if looking over the dazed gymnast to check her health. "Yeah. She's just dazed. We can't wait. Let's get moving."

"Wait, Ranma," Ryoga said, standing in their way. "I came here to see you. I just want to know one thing: Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you do it? Why did you help me? Why did you cure my misdirection?"

"You needed it."

"Dammit, Ranma!" Anger flared in his eyes. "Don't you understand how these things work? Don't you know we're enemies!"

Ranma blinked, then chuckled. She started walking again, and motioned Ryoga to follow along. "Enemies? Geez, you sound like I did something really horrible. Like I stole something from you."

"You did! All that bread in middle school!"

"That was open competition," Ranma reminded him. "I won fair and square. Not my fault you weren't stronger. I'd guess nowadays no one could stop you from winning."

"No one but you," Ryoga said. "You were the only one who could beat me then, either. Soon I'll be stronger, and then I'll finally beat you."

"Geez! Lighten up, you guys," Ukyo said. "Anyway, you should know Ranma well enough by now, Ryoga. You shouldn't take those old fights so seriously. It was nothing personal. It's just the way his father raised him. He treats everyone that way."

"I never saw you as an ENEMY, exactly," Ranma said. "More like a pest."

This earned a glare from Ryoga. "I'll make myself more than a pest..."

"Well, if you want to be a real enemy, you got some ways to go. The Dark Kingdom ... they're the real deal. You ought to focus on them."

"Oh, I will. I'll call a truce between us for now and fight with you. But I'm still looking toward our final match. Don't get killed before then."

"Deal," Ranma-chan said. *If I can keep it...*

Back down the street, unnoticed by the group, Kodachi Kuno opened her eyes and smiled. So, the Tendo family had been kidnapped? And Akane was resolved to rescue them? Her brother would be most interested in this.

She trusted he would hear of it on his own soon enough, and come running to offer his services. As for herself and her Ryoga-sama... she got up and began to follow at a discreet distance.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Magnetite watched his security monitor, seeing his targets leave the view of his camera. The phone tap he had left indicated they were heading not toward Furinkan or the Nekohanten, or even the Hikawa shrine, all p;aces he would have expected. It seemed they were a bit smarter than that, at least nowadays. They were heading to a park where he had no surveillance set up. He would not be privy to their gathering or planning.

Not that it mattered. He still had plenty of cameras covering the blocks around the portal. He was quite sure Sailor Pluto would see where it was, and the Senshi would move on it in force. Time to report to Queen Beryl on his progress.

He teleported into the audience chamber and knelt in submission. "It is done, my queen. The Senshi are taking the bait. They should be making their move before the end of the night."

"You are sure of this? They would be fools to attack so rashly."

"Humans are quite predictable, my queen. Take what they value and they will lose all sense of reason in their drive to recover it. They will not want to lose time with elaborate preparations. Their haste will be their downfall."

"Excellent." Beryl turned to her other surviving general. "Kunzite, your forces are ready to stop them?"

Kunzite bowed. "All are in position now, my queen. The Senshi will not make it out of the tunnel, whatever their strength."

"I hope you have sufficient reserves on the plains beyond," Magnetite said. "I would not put it past them to clear their way through, especially if they were to show more powers than we have seen."

"We can speculate all we like on what powers they may or may not have," Kunzite said, "but our own arsenal is comprehensive. Whatever they can do, we can counter it. And their mastermind, Sailor Pluto, has a known weakness we are now ready to exploit. I'm afraid your own forces will have no opportunity for glory for themselves."

"Do not bicker!" Beryl warned. "It would not do for us to fall apart in our hour of triumph. I do not care how it is done, I want you to bring me their heads! Do not fail me, either of you!"

Kunzite bowed again. "I will be inspecting my troops. I hope to give the Senshi a proper welcome." He faded from sight.

"I will be continuing my own preparations," Magnetite said. "Should Kunzite fail, I have means at my disposal that will surely succeed." He too teleported away.

Beryl cackled gleefully. "Soon... soon the guinzuishou will be ours, and Queen Metallia will be revived! HAHAHAHAHA!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The Senshi were somber as Ranma and Akane confirmed the story of the Tendos' and Saotomes' abduction. Sailor Moon was particularly sympathetic. "Your own mom and dad! It's so tragic! Just when you got to see her again, and now this!" She began to cry openly.

"That is tough," Jupiter said. "I almost feel lucky now I don't have a family to kidnap. But all of you guys..."

"Do you think they'll come after us next?" Venus sounded very worried. "Are our families safe?"

"I'm not sure they know about you guys," Pluto said. "But Happosai would definitely have told them about us in Nerima."

"They not come for us!" Shampoo said, speaking of herself and Cologne. "They afraid fight us!"

"I am sure they could have come with enough force to overwhelm us if they wished," Cologne countered. "They may yet do so if we are slow to respond. They are goading us into action. I know it may be hard for you to do this, but I would not recommend taking their bait. We should move around, perhaps stay out of Tokyo for a while, but otherwise continue to bide our time and gain power, and hope the captives are unharmed."

"You can wait here if you like," Akane said sharply. "I'm going no matter what."

"She shall not have to go alone," a new voice now spoke. Everyone turned to see the two Kunos now entering the park where they were meeting. Tatewaki was carrying the now-discharged Wishbringer sword, while Kodachi was in leotard and ribbon, with a pack full of other equipment for good measure. "Whatever travails she faces, she may count on the sword of Tatewaki Kuno to aid her."

"And where my Ryoga-sama goes, so go I," Kodachi added.

"And just how did you know I was in trouble...?" Akane asked.

"Surely you know. For my heart is ever attuned to you, such that any calamity that may befall you I shall feel your distress." Tatewaki took advantage of the opportunity to wax poetic. "That, and your sister was called out of class early and did not return by lunch. It seemed prudent to investigate."

"Figures you'd want to jump in on this," Ukyo said. She got close to Akane, her voice sinking to a whisper. "Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll buy it."

"Well, I can't really refuse your help under the circumstances," Pluto said. "And you have the Wishbringer with you. I take it you remember what I said about it."

"Indeed. The Blue Thunder of Furinkan High stands ready to wade through an army of demons to rescue his true love's family!" His eyes showed he was envisioning earning great credit as a suitor with her father. "I shall even overlook our quarrel for the time being, Saotome. Just point me toward the enemy and I shall make them rue the day!"

"Well... you know these guys are a world-wide problem," Pluto reminded him. "Their generals can teleport short-range. For getting around the world, they use portals." She moved to their Tokyo area map, which Cologne had brought and laid out on the grass, and pointed to a location. "Their Tokyo portal is going to be fixed in the back of a restaurant there for the next few days. They're not trying to hide it."

Tatewaki smiled. "I assume they are expecting us, and have this portal well defended."

"An army on the other side, yeah."

"And it leads to some nether realm beyond mortal ken?"

"Actually, no. The other side is... well... pretty remote, but technically still on Earth."

"If it is still on Earth, then it is a small matter to any military mind. If a bridge cannot be forced, one must find the means to cross the river elsewhere."

"More like an ocean than a river..."

"Much the same. Where, exactly, is this enemy stronghold? I should pursue them to the ends of the Earth if necessary!"

"Well, basically... the North Pole."

"Truly?" Tatewaki asked. "This is no time for jest, Saotome."

Akane noticed the faces of the Senshi and Amazons. She looked to Ukyo, who also was stonefaced. "Seriously?" she asked. "They're at the NORTH POLE!"

"'Fraid so," Ukyo nodded.

"Ranma checked it out months ago," Jupiter said. "We've been planning this for a while."

"A while. And I guess your plans were to sneak through this portal."

"Well, actually... no," Pluto said. "We had our own way..."

"Your own way? Let me guess. You're Sailors. You have a ship."

Pluto looked quizzically at Akane, then at the other Senshi. "Ya know... that would make sense. We SHOULD have a ship."

"So you DON'T have one? Great! So how were you going to get to the NORTH FREAKING POLE!"

"If they have not one of their own, Akane," Tatewaki said, "the Kuno family will supply one. Our own family yacht will easily get us to Alaska in a week, and we can charter dogsleds from there." He gave Ranma a smug look. "No doubt you would have had to come begging to me in any event."

"To you? Heh. Not a chance."

Akane's face was filled with dismay. "A week! Do you realize what could happen to them in a week? There has to be some faster way to get there."

"Well, if you must be there overnight, we can take the Kuno family jet..."

"That would likely be a crash landing, if we even get that far," Kodachi pointed out. "A Learjet is not exactly made for such harsh conditions, and there are no landing strips at the North Pole."

"Some sacrifices must be made!" Tatewaki insisted. "Some risks must be taken! It is ever the way of the warrior. I would not fault you, dear sister, if you chose to remain behind." He glared at her with a grin, which she returned, refusing to back down and allow him to go forth unbothered.

"Ahem," Cologne now cleared her throat. "Our plans called for something a little safer, though more... specific to the Senshi."

"Specific? How do you mean?"

"We were going to teleport," Ranma said.

"You can do that?" Akane was amazed. "Like the generals do? When did you learn this?"

Now Luna spoke up. "They can't do it as freely as the generals do, but if they combine all their powers, they can travel anywhere in the world. And surely beyond, as their powers grow."

The Kunos now looked askance at the cat. "Another Jusenkyo curse?" Tatewaki asked Ranma.

"No. I... don't really know what they are."

"Hmm... no matter. Very well, then, if you can teleport, we shall cut off the head of the serpent. Take us to their king." He moved to take Pluto by the waist, but she dodged out of the way.

"Ummm... that's we, as in us Senshi," Moon said. "You martial-arts type guys stay here."

"We can barely do it ourselves," Mercury said. "Taking passengers is just impossible right now. We weren't even going to practice this move for a while..."

"I was going to try to distract their youma at the portal," Tuxedo Mask said. "We can help keep pressure off that way."

"Well, there's more of us now," Akane said. "So we'll just go in that way."

"A two-pronged assault!" Kuno was sounding less than enthusiastic. "But I cannot be a mere diversion! I shall lead our forces through all the enemy's ranks to the very gates of Hell!"

Pluto sighed, rubbing her temple. "Yeah, just don't take on too much at once. We'll have to meet you guys at the tunnel exit."

Shampoo went up to Akane and handed her a Chinese sword. "No kill youma, but can make them hurt," she said, taking her own maces to hand. "Is better than fist."

Ukyo hefted her spatula. "Let's have fun storming the castle!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Mousse extended his claws, then retracted them again. He looked to Kunzite and tried to smile with a face now less expressive than usual. "Yeeeeesss... this ought to work great," he said. "Saotome will never knew what hit him."

Kunzite admired his handiwork. His dear departed Zoicite's work on converting humans to youma was not in vain: now Mousse had been imbued with dark power, transforming him - at his request - into a more feline being, walking on two legs but with a tiger's head and paws. He seemed certain Sailor Pluto would be unable to fight him in this form.

"You know to target Sailor Pluto first," he said. "After that try to get Sailor Moon apart from the others. When you first see her she may be a decoy - wait until she throws her tiara or uses her wand. Take her alive - the Queen has something special planned for her. Kill the rest."

"If Shampoo is with them, she's mine," Mousse insisted.

Kunzite regarded him coolly. "Very well. Just be sure to bring me Sailor Moon." He looked to the other youma assembled here in the tunnel, also catlike in form. "Follow his orders. He knows the enemy better than any of us."

The senior youma looked in disgust at the human usurping her duties. "As you command, my lord."

"Stand ready," Kunzite said, and withdrew to the mouth of the tunnel. The Sailor Senshi would have to come this way to get to their loved ones, and if Mousse's claim of Sailor Pluto's weakness was accurate, their most effective member should be neutralized.

As to Mousse and his demands... Kunzite considered allowing it. Possibly. It wouldn't impact the Dark Kingdom's campaign to allow him his prize. On the other hand, once he got a taste of the world under the Dark Kingdom, he might well react as other humans would, and become an enemy. So it would be all the better if he did not happen to survive this little encounter...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"This is the spot," Artemis said. He and Luna had checked the address out during the day, making sure the portal was still there, as Ranma had predicted. It was now past midnight, and all the shops along the street were shuttered. Of the Neriman martial artists present, all were in their usual combat gear save Shampoo, who was dressed up as Sailor Moon.

Tuxedo Mask produced a rose, which he used to pick the lock on the shutters, then on the door. Within the dining room beyond were several human-looking workers cleaning up and closing down for the night. They all stopped their work to look at the newcomers, apparently breaking and entering into their store. "I'm sorry, we're closing down-" the floor manager began.

"Surrender, and we shall spare your lives!" Tatewaki Kuno said.

"These may be civilians," Tuxedo Mask cautioned. "They might not know of the Dark Kingdom's presence here."

Akane gestured to an unnatural-looking patch of darkness against the back wall. "Doesn't that look a little strange to you...?"

Kodachi did not waste time. She spun her ribbon, unleashing a flurry of black rose petals, then threw packets of powder into the mix, creating a toxic cloud. The workers began to cough, but quickly recovered as the twirling ribbon stopped and the cloud dispersed.

"They're not human," Kodachi pronounced confidently. "That concentration of knockout gas should have dropped a herd of elephants."

The manager grimaced, knowing the game was up. She and the other workers began changing into less-human looking forms. "Sailor Moon! You won't escape us this time!"

The group did not give them time to finish their transformations. Tatewaki led the way. "ONE HUNDRED BLOWS!" Suddenly his sword became a blur, chi projected along the edge and flying outward in arcs that cut through walls and tables... and youma bodies. Heads and arms began flying around gorelessly.

Akane paused to watch one youma body fumbling around for its lost head. "It's like a zombie movie!"

"Then you know what you have to do!" Ukyo yelled. "Dice them up!"

As the Hundred Blows attack paused, an intact youma threw several small blades at Tatewaki, hoping to prevent him from doing it again. Shampoo and Ukyo interposed themselves, catching the blades out of midair and throwing them back at the attacker. She began to dissolve in a cloud of sparks, slain by her own weapons.

"Woah," Ukyo said, impressed. "They're vulnerable to their own missiles! This just got a whole lot easier!"

Tatewaki took the time to swing in great arcs through the dismembered youma around the dining room. The Wishbringer's wishes were long used, but the sword retained a basic magical charge that allowed the elder Kuno to disrupt the binding dark energy that gave live to the youma. The air was soon filled with dust, leaving the restaurant empty of bodies.

Kodachi twirled her ribbon again to generate a wind to clear the air. "So much for their front line."

"Now... Into the breach!" Her brother leapt straight into the black patch and disappeared.

"The others should be making their move around now," Luna said. "I just hope they do as well as this..."

She joined the others in jumping into the portal.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Venus looked at her watch. "It's time."

"I'm psyched." Jupiter cracked her knuckles.

"The time has come at last," Mercury said somberly.

"I was born ready," Pluto said.

"Too late to back out now, anyway," Uranus observed.

"Rei-chan..." Sailor Moon came up to Mars and whispered conspiratorially. "Have you kissed Yuuchiro yet?"

This brought sweatdrops all around. "What made you think of that?" Mars asked.

"Well, if you die, you'd regret -"

"I AM NOT GONNA DIE!" Mars exploded, looming over Moon, sending her flying onto her backside.

"You're so mean! I was just worried about you!"

"Hmph! That's a laugh!"

"No one is gonna die," Pluto said tiredly. "Not if we do this like we planned."

She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. She had gotten good readings of this battle, and a good idea of the layout of the Dark Kingdom's subterranean warrens, before Happosai had gone over. Now, all was darkness; and not just the sort of uncertainty Happosai brought. It was more like that early battle against the time-manipulating youma. No doubt there were more where she came from, and now that they knew about her and her powers, they were being used to their fullest.

They had moved back to the Hikawa Shrine for the jump, and were gathered in the tiled courtyard in front of Rei's quarters. They now joined hands in a great circle and summoned their powers, fixing their destination in mind.

They all called it together. "SAILOR TELEPORT!"

The wintry chill and dimly lit night of Tokyo disappeared. They felt briefly numb, as if their bodies weren't even there, then feeling returned, similar to before but much more intense: the Arctic cold and unlit darkness of the North Pole.

Sailor Moon shivvered. Sailor fukus were hardly made for this environment. "It's C-C-C-COLD! How can you guys stand it?"

"Pipe down!" Mars chided. "Keep your mind focused and you won't feel it!"

"Our powers can keep the cold at bay," Uranus said. "Focus on channeling it to keep warm."

"We might be able to survive in space," Neptune speculated. "This cold should be nothing to us."

They could see nothing through the darkness and blowing snow. Mercury summoned her visor and linked with her computer, doing a scan of the area. "We're in a gap in their formation," she said. "They'll sense us in a few seconds!"

"No time to waste, then," Pluto said. "Where's the nearest group?"

"That way!" Mercury pointed the way.

"Let's start cleaning this place up. DEAD SCREAM!"

The firing commenced in earnest.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Kunzite was just inside the mouth of the tunnel leading to the Tokyo gate, keeping an eye on the false Sailor Moon and her unpowered allies, noting their progress. The forward youma were weak, meant only to absorb the initial attacks and allow Kunzite to get some basic information on their enemies - how many Senshi there were, how many allies, what powers they had. Based on what he saw, he would be able to choose which youma teams to send forward as they advanced on his position.

Right now, there seemed to be only allies attacking; the Senshi themselves had yet to show. *They are coming in waves. Smart, but not surprising... they will need more to survive this day.* One of the martial artists attacking drew his eye: it was the powerhouse that had killed his Zoicite!

*So, he survived my attack. Tougher than I thought. But he isn't showing nearly as much power as he did then. Has he actually gotten weaker? Or is he merely holding back?* No matter. This time he would leave the boy dismembered. Let him come back from THAT.

He moved on to the others, checking their abilities. *That sword the one boy has ... it has power! Where would he have found such a weapon? Some Moon Kingdom artifact that didn't fall into our hands? Perhaps Magnetite should have gone searching for things like that. One more shortcoming to chide him for...* But he would not worry about his rival's fortunes now; in defeating the Sailor Senshi here, he would assure his ascendancy over all others in Beryl's and Metallia's eyes.

He projected his thoughts to one of Mousse's team, a youma designated to recieve communications from him. *They are about to reach your position. The Sailor Moon with them has not used any powers; she is the decoy. Make sure she dies.*

*As you command, my lord,* the youma thought back.

Kunzite chuckled. That would be one less bit of confusion on this battlefield. But he was quickly distracted by a flare of power on the snowswept plains behind him.

*A teleport!* He extended his senses over the plain, finding the Senshi amid the blizzard. As he watched in horror, they began unleashing their powers against youma teams on the plain, moving unerringly from one to another, systematically clearing the area.

Kunzite smiled briefly in admiration. An excellent use of tactical surprise. But it could have been better: they could have gone straight to Beryl or Metallia. Out here, they gave him time to react properly.

He began a chant, spreading his hands to unleash dark power, seizing control of the weather. Within seconds the winds had calmed, the clouds thinned; the night was now clear and bright, allowing the youma teams remaining to see the Senshi wreaking havoc in their midst. He sent a broadcast to the teams: *The Senshi are among you! Kill them!*

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"WORLD SHAKING!" A ball of golden energy sailed out of sight over a rise. Uranus concentrated, adjusting the path of her projectile slightly as Mercury had indicated. Seconds later, Mercury reported four youma dead at a range of over half a mile.

"Next group should be over there..." She began pointing out a direction. Then her directions were suddenly less necessary: the snows stopped and the clouds thinned, allowing moonlight through while being just enough to diffuse and reflect it, providing maximal night lighting.

"Looks like we've worn out our welcome," Pluto said, surveying the landscape.

There was a large ice cliff to one side, some hundreds of yards away. Dark clouds or smoke seemed to be rising above it. "Is that the Pole itself?" Sailor Moon asked. "Cool! It figures there'd be a big mountain here!"

"There shouldn't be," Neptune pointed out. "There's no land here. We're floating on the Arctic Ocean..."

Mercury hit a few buttons on her computer. "It is on the location of the pole. It's a crater. The other side goes all the way down to the sea floor... there's tunnels down there..."

"I know," Pluto said. "I think it's pretty recent. The Dark Kingdom must have made it all."

"You said you knew your way around in there?" Mars asked.

"Some parts. The places we'd want to go. Although I was kinda counting on catching them unawares..."

"Too late for that," Uranus said, beginning to walk toward the cliff. "Let's go."

"The tunnel to the Tokyo gate is back that way," Mercury said, pointing in the other direction.

"The main enemy is THIS way," Uranus said, jerking her thumb toward the cliffs.

"We have to link up with the others!" Mars said.

"They won't be any help."

This got all the Inners angry. "I'm not leaving anyone behind," Sailor Moon said. "WE'RE going back for them."

"You go back if you want," Uranus said. "We can deal with Beryl. Right, Pluto?"

To her surprise, Pluto turned and started walking toward the Tokyo tunnel. "Have fun finding your way around down there."

Uranus looked at Pluto in shock. "You'd go with THEM! but your own family's this way!"

"And they'll survive for an extra hour or so. The guys back this way are my friends, too... and they won't do so well without our help."

"This is the best way to win!" Neptune pleaded. "You know it!"

She turned to give her fellow Outers an unsympathetic look. "This is my plan, guys. I'm sticking to it." And with that, she led the Inners away.

A minute later she looked back to see the Outers looking unhappy but following along. No doubt they would have some choice words later. *Well, let them be angry,* Pluto thought. *After this is all done, I won't have to deal with them anymore.*

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Mousse looked at the scene around him in fascination. The tunnel walls and the youma of his team were all in focus. Kunzite had not only given him the body of a cat, he had given him the eyes of one... eyes that could see properly. *The Dark Kingdom does take care of its own,* he thought.

His appreciation of Kunzite's generosity was cut short by his communication youma. *Mousse! New orders from Kunzite! The Sailor Senshi are this way!" She pointed to the far end of the tunnel, opposite the oncoming Neriman attackers.

"What? Why wold they be there? They have to be coming from the portal this way!" He turned back to the martial artists advancing up the tunnel. They were not yet in sight, but his Shampoo could be among them. Should he make his move...?

"Where is Sailor Pluto?" he asked the communicator.

"All the Senshi are on the plain! Kunzite-sama has ordered us to go! NOW!" The team began heading down the tunnel, looking happy to leave him behind.

"Ranma..." If Saotome was truly with them, then they way to secure Shampoo was there. Shampoo herself would surely not fall to the likes of these youma still in the tunnel. And they were now on guard against any tricks such as he could use. He would get Shampoo after making sure Ranma was dead. She could have no cause for complaint when he dunked her in the Spring to receive her rightful prize.

Mousse hurried down the tunnel, eager to fight Saotome. This time, he vowed, only one of them would walk away.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"HYAAA!" Tatewaki Kuno slashed his sword through the three youma before him, quickly reducing them to dust. The combatants remained on guard, but no further youma came to trouble them.

"They're gone..." Ukyo mused. "I don't like this. These youma seemed too weak somehow."

"Speak for yourself," Akane said, breaking out of the vines that bound her. Why did so many youma seem to prefer binding or throwing attacks? "These guys have given me plenty of trouble!"

"He's right, though," Tuxedo Mask said. "These ones we've fought so far have only had basic powers we've seen before. No new tricks."

"I think there were some a few yards ahead earlier," Ryoga said. "They're gone now. I think they moved back."

"Perhaps they have learned their lesson and fear to challenge us!" Kodachi said.

"Or they're massing for a larger attack," Ukyo suspected.

"Maybe Usako and the others have forced them to change their focus to them," Tuxedo Mask hoped.

"It matters not why," Tatewaki said. "The road lies open to us! Let us seize the day!"

"Not too fast," Tuxedo Mask said. "They could still have laid traps."

"I should expect no less," Tatewaki replied. "Let us test our mettle!" He gave his sword a mighty downward swing, projecting his chi along the edge, throwing a cutting wave of force down the tunnel. A trap in the ground several feet ahead erupted into a gooey substance, much like Ukyo's glue-batter.

Tuxedo Mask had somewhat more range. He threw dozens of summoned roses ahead, tripping more traps. Kodachi caught the idea and twirled her ribbon, sending her Black Rose attack forth to trip traps at farther range.

"We're clear," Tuxedo Mask said. "Let's go."

They made good time down the tunnel, until they say a humanoid figure silhouetted against a landscape of moonlit snow.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The Senshi were finding things, if not more difficult than before, at least a bit more complicated.

Fog suddenly appeared around them. Mercury had clearly done nothing. "Looks like they're taking a page from us," she said. The Senshi all held back apprehensively.

Moments later the fog ahead of them cleared a little, revealing Genma Saotome. He seemed to be suspended above the ground by chains at his wrists, keeping his arms spread. His voice seemed clear enough, coming across at least a dozen yards: "Ranma... child... help us..."

Sailor Moon blinked in worry. She turned to Pluto. "That's your father, isn't it? We have to go to him!" She started to run forward.

Mercury held her back. "Wait! It might be a trap!"

"It'd be a typical kind of trap..." Jupiter said.

"But what if it isn't?" Moon asked.

"I'll check it out," Mercury said, activation her visor, but Pluto waved her off.

"No need," she chuckled. She looked toward her erstwhile father. "Nice try, but I don't think so. DEAD SCREAM!" The shot struck the figure, which screamed as it briefly turned into a youma with insectoid features before turning to dust. The fog cleared immediately.

Four other youma were now revealed. They immediately scattered. The Senshi struck out with their attacks, Neptune tagging one, Jupiter stunning another, allowing Moon's tiara to bisect it. The other two dove into the hard-packed snow.

"As if that's gonna help," Pluto said, scanning the ground at their feet. She indicated the area right before them. "Uranus?"

"World Shaking!" The attack broke the snow cover, revealing the hiding youma. Neptune's follow-up turned both to dust.

Pluto now inticated a muontain ahead of them. There was a short rise leading to a dark spot - a cave mouth. "There it is. Shall we?"

When they got within attack range of the cave mouth Uranus tried to power up an attack, clearly intending to launch it inside. Venus interrupted her, grabbing her arm. "What are you doing? The others could be in there! We don't want to hit them!"

Uranus did not look happy at the interruption. "How long do you want to wait for them?"

"Mars? Aim just in front of the mouth," Pluto said. "Let's see if some steam draws them."

"Right. FIRE SOUL!" Mars' attack melted the snow in front of the entrance, raising a cloud of steam. Within seconds a group of feline-looking youma erupted from it, trying to turn the tables on the Senshis' attempt at surprise. They were soon locked in melee.

One youma in particular charged Pluto, wearing a familiar silk tunic. It got in Pluto's face and roared. "SAOTOMEEEE!"

Pluto casually poked him in the chest with her staff, knocking him on his back. "Mousse? Is that you? I'd have to say your looks have improved."

Mousse recovered quickly, bounding up and getting close to Pluto again for another roar. "Phew!" Pluto raised a hand to block her face, waving away the stink. "The change hasn't done anything for your breath..."

Mousse looked at Ranma-chan, dumbfounded. "You're not afraid?"

"Why would I be afraid of YOU?" Now Pluto took the initiative, grabbing Mousse by the arm and heaving him off of his feet. She put her Senshi-enhanced strength to use, spinning the transformed Amazon boy around and throwing him far into the distance.

Pluto looked around at the others to find they had killed several of the other youma and were chasing four survivors away. "Let them go!" she said. "They know they have no advantage against us now. Let's meet up with the others!" She headed up to the mouth of the tunnel, the steam cloud now gone.

At the mouth of the tunnel, they found a handsome ash-blond man in general's uniform. "You would be Kunzite, I take it?" Pluto said.

Kunzite eyed the Senshi, his scowl turning to a small grin as he saw their formation. Sailor Moon was in back, behind all other Senshi. Perfect. He heard footsteps coming up behind him - their unpowered allies, nothing to bother with.

"Hold, fiend!" Tatewaki Kuno said. "Thou art trapped! Thy evil is at an end!"

Kunzite could not help but laugh. "Do you really think it so easy to corner me?" Suddenly he was behind the Senshi, facing them. "I think not."

Suddenly he was behind the Nerimans. They quickly turned to face him, still ready to attack - as if such as they could pose a threat to him. In truth now they were his shields - the Senshi could not use their magics without hitting their comrades. "You may have fought well against our youma, but you will find I am a different matter entirely. You have no hope against me."

"Give us your worst!" Ryoga said, ready to charge. The other Nerimans stood ready to support him.

Kunzite quickly gauged the situation. All lined up, vulnerable to a single large attack. Sailor Pluto was with them; if Magnetite was to be believed, she would be able to see his attack coming - but there was one attack even she would be unable to defend against. It was his ultimate attack, requiring the bulk of his power, but it offered the most certain chances of dealing with the Senshi once and for all.

Now confident of victory, he indulged in a laugh. "Sailor Senshi! I should welcome you to the Dark Kingdom - but I'm afraid you won't be staying long. You are soon to find yourselves very far away."

"We're not going anywhere!" Pluto said, matching Kunzite's bravado. "YOU'RE going DOWN!"

"HA! Impudent fools!" He focused his gaze on Pluto. "Sailor Pluto, is it? I understand you have some ability to see the future. But your ability will do you no good! I will banish you to the Dimension of Random Time!"

"Dimension of Random Time...?" Pluto muttered. That sounded like an attack in her element - much like that early youma she had fought which manipulated Time.

Kunzite quickly confirmed it. "You might end up in prehistoric Africa, when dinosaurs still lived. Or maybe in Europe during a violent war..."

"You'd send me to such a screwy place...?" Sailor Moon began to look worried. She looked expectantly to Sailor Pluto.

Pluto grinned. This would be exactly the wrong attack to use against her. "Give me your best shot!"

Kunzite began gathering dark power in his hands, making signs and motions to shape it. The Senshi began to charge their attacks, their allies began to rush him from the rear - all too predictable. He first unleashed a power blast, knocking the Senshi off their feet, then teleported behind them, putting all of his enemies on one side of him.

Sailor Pluto, of course, recovered her feet first, and reoriented on his new position. He didn't give her time to do anything: he quickly charged up dark power again and unleashed his banishing attack.

Pluto leapt out in front of Moon as the wave of dark energy hit, holding her staff parallel to the ground, extending her power to counter Kunzite's energy wave. She felt much the same temporal shifting as the earlier youma had done, but where those temporal flows were as streams, this was a tsunami. "Sailor Moon..." she said through clenched teeth. "It's powerful... have to hold it off..."

"Hold on!" Moon tried to be supportive. All the Senshi were pinned down by the attack, barely keeping their feet.

Pluto concentrated with all her might, summoning her power to counter Kunzite. Within seconds it was clear it was a direct battle of strength - a battle she could not win. The Dark Kingdom general's magic reserves were at full - hers, all of the Senshi's, were not as great to begin with, and partially expended by their battles. It was only a matter of time before she lost her grip on the present and they were swept away.

The original Lady Pluto might have held out for as long as she could, perhaps, sacrificing herself to hold Kunzite while the other Senshi got out of the way of the attack. Ranma Saotome had been trained differently. She began looking for a different way out, tugging this way and that at the temporal forces assailing them. She soon had an idea. "Hang on! This is gonna get rough!"

"What's happening!" Mars shouted. This did not sound good at all to her.

Pluto began twirling her staff in what appeared to be a standard staff kata. The wave of force began to feel different, shifting this way and that, rotating along the axis from them to Kunzite. They all yelled as they were swept off their feet into darkness.

Kunzite was astonished that Pluto could warp his attack. He wasn't sure what the new pattern of energies was at first glance, but with his opportunity at hand he had to risk taking it. He leapt toward Sailor Moon, reaching out for the wand she held closely.

He hadn't quite made it when the darkness reached out and swallowed him along with the helpless Senshi.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Magnetite was just finishing another round of the attunement chant when he felt it. A moment of vertigo, nausea, a wave of panic, then a wash of energies that bloomed into a sharp pain, first in his head and then throughout his body. It was mercifully brief, the energies dissipating within seconds, leaving a fuzzy, muffled feeling.

He steadied himself by force of will, avoiding faltering, finishing the chant, then turning to one of his workbenches, checking some of the resonant crystal apparatus there. It was immediately clear that something had gone wrong. There were indications of a chaos of magical energies everywhere; he could make out traces of spatial distortions, resonances at all the portals set up in their caverns and about the plains. Then he remembered Beryl, monitoring the battle through her crystal ball - she would be much more affected than he.

He was somewhat drained from his attunement chanting; he walked to the audience chanber rather than teleporting. The crowd of youma was thinner than usual, many of their number having joined the battle. He quickly made his way before the throne.

Beryl indeed did not look well. "Queen Beryl-sama - are you all right? I felt an energy wave..."

"Kunzite..." she managed in a ragged voice. "He tried his ultimate attack. The Dimension of Random Time..."

Magnetite's blood ran cold. "Sailor Pluto...? Was she with the Senshi?"

"That witch!" Beryl hissed. "It was her! She did something with that staff of hers - reshaped the energies of the attack..." She extended a hand toward her crystal ball, trying to summon an image, but got only static. "Everything is scrambled around here. I need to know what is happening! Find out where they are!"

"At once, my Queen," Magnetite said, turning to leave. He gestured toward the youma. "Come! We must search the area! Check with all portals! Scour the tunnels! Find them!"

He headed out of the audience chamber, thinking furiously. At best, Kunzite's attack could have worked, and they would not have the Senshi to worry about any more. At worst... they could be down here in these very tunnels right now.

Magnetite picked up his pace, hurrying back to his lab. If the Senshi were down here, he could manage the youma to deal with them. But he had to make sure the Time Key Staff was secure. The last thing he wanted was for Sailor Pluto to get her hands on it - it would still work better for her than for him.

If he could keep it in his hands, it would be necessary when he faced her. He would need the advantage it would provide in fighting in her own element. Then he would be able to deprive the Senshi of their greatest asset. With her gone, and the staff in his control, the others could not stand against him. It would be easy to get the guinzuishou from Sailor Moon's hands. The battle would be won at last.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

From Arctic cold, she was now in a blazing furnace. From the dark of a months-long polar winter, she was staring into the sun. She screamed in pain, desperately shut her eyes, brought up an arm to shield them, and writhed in pain on dusty ground.

Sailor Jupiter had the distinct impression she had fallen into Hell.

Gradually the pain subsided; she began to realize her flesh wasn't actually being consumed. She stopped screaming and writhing. She sat still for several minutes, waiting to be sure she was all right. When her sensations stabilized, she was still very hot and sticky. She gingerly moved her arm away from her eyes, getting used to the light.

When she was able to look around, she found she was on a dirt road in the middle of an urban area. There were people starting to converge on the area, African by their appearance. Some children spoke to her in some gobbledeygook African language.

She smiled sheepishly. "Ummm... Hi! I'm Sailor Jupiter! Have you guys heard of me?"

More unintelligible comments. Some finger pointing. She was suddenly conscious of how strange she looked compared to them in rough linen or leather clothing. "Ah... I'm not from around here..." She wondered who she could ask for directions around here. She was pretty sure very few Africans spoke Japanese.

Part of her wanted to spend more time with the children, establishing some kind of understanding through the language barrier, but she had a battle to get back to. Or maybe she did. Kunzite was trying to banish them through time, wasn't he? Had Ranma blocked him? It would be really weird if she had landed several years back in time. If she went far enough back... she could see her parents! She might save them!

She got up and dusted herself off. "I gotta go! Remember... be good and stay away from any youma!" She waved and skipped off down the street.

"I *would* have to end up in Timbuktu," she muttered under her breath. She got some distance down the street before taking to the low rooftops of the neighborhood to get a commanding view of the area.

There were some taller buildings in one direction, presumably the business district. But then she realized that told her nothing. As far as she knew, the only people in Africa who spoke Japanese were Reika's archaeological team. The only other language she knew even a smattering of was English, and she had no idea if that was spoken by many people here.

She sighed and sat down heavily, completely at a loss. Here she was, lost in Africa, possibly years in the past. The other Senshi (and Ranma's friends) might or might not be here. She didn't know what they used for money around here but it sure wouldn't look like the yen she had. It was almost enough to make her cry.

No. She would not cry. She was tougher than that. She was a Sailor Senshi. She would find a way through. She would go looking for her friends. And for some indication of the date. There might be little chance of finding anything, but she couldn't think of anything else to do.

No, there was one thing. She had her communicator watch. They had done tests on range and found they could get good reception anywhere in the Tokyo prefecture. If anyone else was in the same city, she would be able to reach them. "This is Sailor Jupiter! I'm okay! Is anyone there?"

She tried for several minutes with no success. At best, the others were not awake yet; at worst, they were not even in this time period. Hopefully they were, if not close by.

With nothing else to do, she started hopping roofs again, heading downtown. She couldn't think of what else to do but search at random, for one of her team or an enemy who might lead her to a portal. Ten minutes later, something did hit her. She was looking up at the sky lazily when she saw it. Or rather, didn't see it.

"Clouds..." she whispered. "No clouds. No clouds! Yeah!" She searched around and saw a suitable junkpile. "SUPREME THUNDER!"

The bolt did little to affect the junk; she had put no real power into it, she just needed something to draw attention. The locals might be bemused, but any of her team would know it was her.

She stood on the rooftop waiting for several minutes before she saw a figure bounding across the rooftops at her level. It was still too small to make out, probably over a mile away, when it stopped as if looking around.

Jupiter prepared to fire another bolt when she suddenly realized it might be a youma. Eep! She should have thought of that before firing the first shot! Well, she might be able to handle *one* youma. She moved over to another rooftop with a small second story to hide in and fired off another bolt.

The figure started moving in on her. When it got into range she recognized to figure with the huge backpack: Ryoga. She waved him over.

"Hey!" Ryoga greeted her. "Have you seen anyone else?"

"There's no answer on the communicator," she said. "Do you know where we are? You've been all over the world, haven't you?"

Ryoga shook his head. "This is one of the few places I haven't been. Never spent much time in Africa. But I'm used to being lost. Downtown areas are usually good to check. If this is a capital, they'll have an embassy."

Jupiter's eyes widened. She was impressed with Ryoga's ability to handle himself in unfamiliar situations. "I hadn't thought of that! But what if it isn't a capital? Do you speak any African languages?"

"Usually English is pretty good anywhere," Ryoga said. "It's the language of business, mostly. And that looks like the business district..." He looked toward the skyscrapers in the distance.

"Well, it's a start," Jupiter said resignedly. "It's a long way back to Japan..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Venus woke up underneath a clothes rack. She looked up dumbly for a few seconds, wondering why she had landed in someone's closet. Then she heard the voices.

It sounded like she was in a store. She turned her head to the side. Yup, a clothing or department store. Clothing racks for a couple of yards, then an aisle. People walking around.

She guessed her fuku would draw stares. She detransformed and got up, working her way between the coats above her, hiding among them and peering out between the hangers.

It seemed like a normal store. A bit low class. Shoppers of all races, more African types than she remembered ever seeing in London. Christmas season promotions in English.

She quietly eased out between the clothes and between the racks, keeping low, heading for the changing rooms. She couldn't resist grabbing a few things to try on.

Once in a booth, she opened her watch and thumbed the all-call. "This is Sailor Venus, reporting in. I'm all right. Any Sailor Senshi, please respond."

After a few minutes of this, she decided she might be the first of them to wake up. More likely the others were out of range, but she would try again later. For now she needed to find out where she was exactly.

After trying on the clothes for about ten minutes, she returned them to the racks - they were tacky anyway, she decided - and headed out the front door. No one gave her a glance. Out on the street, she took in the neighborhood.

It looked suburban, downtown but not central. Low buildings. Daytime, still winter, lots of people and cars. Signs in English. Thank Kami - or maybe Ranma - for small favors: at least here she spoke the language.

"So just where is 'here', exactly?" she wondered. She started wandering down the street. It didn't look much like London, or any English town, she guessed. Possibly American. She looked for a newspaper stand or vendor.

She eventually walked past a parking lot, providing a clear line of sight into downtown. There were some tall buildings there - taller than any she had seen before, not that that was saying much; you couldn't build very high in earthquake-prone Japan and the British weren't in the habit of building very high.

One big black boxy thing drew her eye. She was no judge of height from distance, but it gave the impression of being just about the tallest building in the world. In fact, she realized it probably was. She snapped her fingers repeatedly. "That's ... that's... dammit, I should know this... Ah! The Sears Tower! Yes! I'm in Chicago!"

The crest on a passing police car confirmed it. She kept walking around, looking for a newspaper or magazine stand. Kunzite was supposed to have banished them through time; Ranma had tried to block him. How well had he done?

Soon enough, she found what she was looking for, a paper stand. The date was unchanged from the morning. She remembered well the time zone changes flying from Tokyo to London and back; accounting for that, she might have lost - or would it be gained? - no time at all. It looked as if Ranma had done very well indeed.

Next up: the other Senshi. She made her way to an alley and opened her watch. She kept her voice low. "Sailor Venus to any Sailor Senshi. I'm okay. No enemies around. Is anyone there?"

She kept trying for several minutes, with no success. Ranma had told her that the communicators would work across the greater Tokyo area, but not much beyond that; if they had landed in other cities, or countries, she would be out of luck.

"And if they're in other TIMES, I'm REALLY out of luck..." she sweatdropped. She couldn't dismiss the possibility. In fact, she wished they had gone back at least a few months. Then it would be possible to get back home again in a few days, and they could use the time to gain strength.

Well, nothing she could do about that now. She was in Chicago, of which about all she knew was it was a land of gangsters. She would almost be tempted to go looking for crimes to bust, if only she didn't have this war to get back to.

A wail of sirens in the distance drew her attention. Well, okay, maybe it wouldn't hurt to deal with ONE pack of crooks.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Uranus perched on a rooftop, looking at the street below. She had found herself in an alley an few minutes ago, and had spent some time looking around. Everyone on the street seemed to be Indian.

She looked out over the low roofs around her. India was known for its poverty, and this part certainly lived up to the image. It was a shantytown, the buildings makeshift. The one Uranus was on right now didn't feel too steady, but it was one of the few two-story structures in the area.

There had been no sign of any other Senshi so far, no response on her communicator. She knew she might have to go it alone. She didn't like the odds: if all the others were out of commission, she couldn't take on the whole Dark Kingdom by herself.

Assuming she could even get there. There was no guarantee, from where she was standing, that there was an easy way to get back there. As far as she knew, the only quick way was the Tokyo portal, which was at least as far from India as the North Pole itself.

It would be hard enough not speaking the local language. She hoped there were a lot of English speakers around here. Few Indians spoke Japanese, and she had been brushing up on her English in hope of getting an automotive licence in the US or Europe when she turned 16.

A movement across the low rooftops caught her eye. Someone was roof-hopping, someone with martial arts skills. It looked to be Sailor Moon - no, the pigtails were too short and wide; it had to be - what was that Chinese girl's name? Shampoo. She jumped down and headed on an intercept course.

The two were quickly face to face. "Hey! Have you seen anyone else?"

Shampoo shook her head. "We is alone?"

"Maybe. Let's look around. There might be more of us. Your people don't have any radios or anything to talk with?" She indicated her watch.

Another shake. "Not think we be alone."

Uranus wasn't impressed by this. In the confusion of battle, especially with the numbers of people involved, it would have been a miracle if they had all stayed together. The Nerimans should have prepared better. "I guess I shouldn't have expected more from an ad hoc group. Well, we can still look around. I don't want to leave anyone behind when we go back to Japan."

"Is portal," Shampoo said. "Ranma say many big city have one. Maybe one here."

"Or maybe a hundred miles away."

"We find out." Shampoo hopped off toward a more built-up part of town.

"I guess we will," Uranus said, following after her. She wanted to find out just where 'here' was.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Neptune found herself falling to a surface that was softer than ice, harder than snow - in fact it felt... carpeted? The whiteness around her wasn't snow, but paper. As the papers settled down, she found she was in what looked to be an office.

Office workers were all looking at her, startled by her sudden appearance. They all seemed to be westerners. "Christ! Where'd you come from?" one of them asked in English. "And why's it so bloody cold?"

"Are you Sailor V?" another one asked. "I thought your stuff was orange..."

Ah. She had heard Venus had been operating in London some months ago under the name Sailor V. "I am with her team," she said slowly. Her English grades, like the rest of her studies, were good, but she was still only in junior high, after all. She wasn't quite conversational yet.

A woman in severe gray suit came out of a side office. "What's happened here? Did someone trip over a desk? Who turned off the heater?" She looked Neptune up and down. "And you. What are you supposed to be? Some Sailor V knockoff?"

"She says she's with V's team, ma'am," the young male intern said. "She just appeared out of thin air. We all saw it."

"Out of thin air? What have you been drinking? People don't just show up out of thin air!"

"Demons do," Neptune said. "I was... fighting demons - they sent me away."

"I think we ought to call the police, ma'am," the secretary said. "Sailor V was connected to Interpol. They might want to know if there's trouble her type can handle."

"Is there trouble?" the manager asked.

"There may be," Neptune said. "Someone may have followed me."

She was escorted down to the office lobby and waited half an hour for a couple of officers to show up. They were escorting a woman in a dark business suit. She went right up to Sailor Neptune. "You are a friend of Sailor Venus?" she asked in Japanese.

"I am Sailor Neptune. We both just joined the main team in Japan recently. We were invading the Dark Kingdom..."

"Is she all right? Did she have any injuries when you met her?"

"Well, I can't say how she's doing just at this moment, but she was fine when we got separated. Why? did she have to leave London because she got hurt?"

"Something like that," the woman said. That sounded to Neptune like it was a private matter. "Well, you can call me Katrina. I'm with Interpol. V-chan... Venus ... considered me like a big sister."

Neptune bowed. "Pleased to meet you, Katrina-san."

"Are you alone? Or is there a chance Venus is in London right now?"

Neptune remembered her communicator watch. She held it up to Katrina. "We use these to talk. If any of the other Senshi are in the city they will hear." She keyed the all-call. "This is Sailor Neptune. I am in good shape. Any other Senshi, please respond..."

After a few minutes of silence, she closed the watch. "If the others are here, they can't answer. Also, we had some allies with us that didn't have these watches or any way to contact us. If any strange people show up around here speaking Japanese..."

"I'll get the local police on it. Let's go." She led Neptune out to a waiting police car, both of them getting in back as the police got in front. Neptune looked about as they rode, recognizing London from common pictures and travel brochures.

Katrina had a radio which she used to contact her superiors and warn them to be on the lookout for any Japanese speakers who mysteriously appeared. She then gave directions to their driver. "We're going to a place we think the youma have been using as a base," she told Neptune. "We know we don't have the weapons to take a youma down ourselves. How about you? Can you handle them?"

"I've defeated several," Neptune admitted. "They've been getting around the world by means of portals... passages to their central base. Do you know if they have been coming from someplace in the city?"

"We've been staking out a warehouse they seem to come from, with no one else going inside first. We suspected they were coming from somewhere else."

"The North Pole. That's where their main base is. We were attacking it -"

They were interrupted by a squawk from the radio. Katrina answered it. She had to tell the person on the other end how to ask for a name in Japanese. "Ukyo Kuonji," was the name that came back.

"That was one of them," Neptune confirmed. "She had a large baker's peel she used as a weapon, and threw sharpened spatulas. She dressed in ninja gear."

Katrina asked for the location and had the driver change course. "Might as well get all of you in one place," she said. "It's a big break you showed up. We were getting worried about how we would handle them."

Neptune was slightly worried herself, knowing the other Senshi might be anywhere, fearing some of them might already be dead. She put thoughts of failure out of her mind. Right now, her own situation was looking good - she had local help, was getting reunited with a member of her (extended) team, and knew where to go to get back to the battle at hand. She hoped more of the others were doing as well.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Mars found herself lying face down on grass. She got up and looked around. The grass was cut - an athletic field, she saw. It was still night, still wintry cold, though not arctic. Electric lamps provided light to the area, and told her she hadn't moved (too far) in time. The light showed a hill covered in trees at one end of the field, buildings in European style at the other.

She started walking toward the buildings. They were in symmetical layout, with a bridge in the center that resembled a famous one in Venice she had once seen pictures of. Beyond it was a very tall bell tower; instead of a traditional square tower with bronze spire, it was a circular fluted column, improbably tall, capped by a dome. It seemed almost blatantly phallic.

She walked straight through campus, under the bridge, into the atruim under the bell tower and around the area from there. This late at night, only about every third ceiling lamp was lit. She managed to find a bulletin board near one. For all that the school looked European, the notes tacked to the board were in standard Japanese. The crest on one official notice claimed it was "Ohtori Academy".

She did notice some of the posts were as recent as a few days ago; she had not gone back in time far, if at all. She keyed her communicator watch, sending out messages for any other Senshi in range, though she wasn't sure she should expect a response; she wasn't surprised to get nothing in a few minutes.

Mars was still trying when she noticed someone coming into the atrium from the same direction she had. The figure stepped into the light from the nearby lamp. It was a girl, looking about the same age as her, in robe and slippers, as if she were on her way to the restroom. She had raised her hands in some strange sort of gesture, but as she got closer, she quickly dropped to her knees, bowing to the ground, crossing her arms over her head in a posture of submission. "Please! Don't hurt me! I surrender! I'm not with them anymore!"

This caught Mars off guard. The girl was frightened of her. She tried to calm her down, adopting a soothing tone. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm one of the good guys. I'm Sailor Mars." She moved toward the frightened girl, only to stop short.

There was a strange feeling about her, a suspicious aura. The girl fairly reeked of magic. mars guessed her purple hair didn't come from a bottle. "Who are you? Who are you, really?" she asked pointedly.

"Himemiya. Anthy Himemiya. Please! I'm trying to keep them away!"

"You're talking about the Dark Kingdom, aren't you?" Mars guessed.

Anthy nodded. "I've kept them away! I never wanted to hurt anyone!"

Mars considered the situation, then came to a decision. "Well, why don't we get out of this chill? There are a things we ought to talk about."

Anthy looked at her with a dumbfounded expression for a moment. Then her face brightened up in a smile. "Oh... okay."

Mars followed Anthy to one of the student dorms. She had a feeling this strange girl could give her some answers.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Tuxedo Mask stood perched on top of a high-rise apartment. There was no mistaking the city below him: Hong Kong. He prayed either Shampoo or Cologne had landed here with him. They would be able to get him around the city.

Failing that, he could only guess where to find Japanese speakers. His main worry, of course, was for Usagi. If she were here, or really anywhere outside of Japan, she would be at a complete loss. His instinct was to find her first, and get her to safety.

Right now, all he knew was that he was here. He could stay where he was and hope one of the others managed to find him, or he could look around, for other Senshi or any youma that might be in the city.

He began dropping down the balconies, floor by floor. In his experience, if there was trouble to be found, it would find him. He would give it plenty of opportunity.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Kunzite went flying into a crowd of people. When he managed to pick himself up he was chagrined to see none of them looked like Sailor Senshi. In fact, none of them was female, or young.

He got up and looked around. He was in a bar somewhere - signs in Russian. The bar patrons he had flattened were getting up, sounding angry; some of their friends nearby, not caught by his flight, were also moving in.

"&You'll pay for that!&" "&Get him!&" Fists and bottles came flying. Kunzite couldn't dodge most of it, and was soon buried under a press of bodies intent on making him bleed.

Here he was, severely weak due to his using most of his available power to deal with the Sailor Senshi, in fact losing even more power than he'd bargained on due to that witch with the staff taking control of the effect and drawing out even more power than he'd intended to use, and now he was beset by a bunch of angry bar patrons. Well, they were only human; they couldn't take much punishment. He projected a wave of force. "Away, lowly creatures!"

The humans went flying. Had he more than a fraction of the power he usually commanded, the walls of the bar would be painted red with blood and gore - lucky for his assailants he was in bad shape; they would all live, and he didn't have time to finish them by mundane means. He didn't even have the strength to teleport away. He ran out of the bar on foot, into the cold afternoon.

He recognized downtown Moscow, within half a mile of where the local portal should be situated. He headed that way. He would need to recuperate, and probably the portal itself would be disrupted - meaning he would have to reopen it himself, costing more energy. He would not be in any shape to face the Sailor Senshi quickly.

Then again, they might not be in much better shape. And they seemed to be getting scattered. If they were all in different places, he would have the advantage - one on one, he could easily overwhelm any of them. His need to rest was only a minor delay; he could defend himself - barely - right now, and in no more than two hours he would be strong enough to decisively win against one of them.

No Muscovite interfered with him on his way. A pity, almost. There were no Sailor Senshi handy, and he felt like killing someone. He wished one of these humans would give him the slightest excuse.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Moon found her arms confined to her sides. She was in a rolled-up rug, hot and suffocating. She began to buck and squirm. "Yaaahhh! Let me out! Let me out!"

She only succeeded in using up air. She didn't quite pass out; though the air was tight, and her chest constricted, there was sunlight coming from the end of the rug beyond her head. She kept shouting when she could spare the energy, but no one seemed to notice.

After a small eternity she felt herself being lifted up and carried. She tried to shout and buck again, but the carriers didn't stop for a few minutes. Eventually, the rug was set down and unrolled. Sailor Moon continued spinning around after clearing the rug, her roll ended only by a wall.

She sat dazed against the wall for a few seconds. When her eyes could focus again she saw a pair of bearded men in dusty white robes staring at her from the other end of the room. Their eyes were bugged out. One of them tried to speak something she didn't recognize.

She quickly got to her feet and then in their faces. "Watch it, you bozos! Couldn't you tell I was inside that thing!" Her anger seemed wasted; they were looking up and down at her as if she were a genie from a bottle.

"Well, I guess I can forgive you for the rough treatment. Just tell me where I am and I'll be on my way."

The men gave no sign of understanding her. One of them said something that sounded like "ouri". The two men began to advance on her, arms reaching to grab.

She kicked them both in the face, knocking them over, and quickly darted between them out the door. She turned back and pulled down an eyelid at them. "You guys should learn better manners! I hope all the guys here aren't like you!"

She headed out into the heat of the city. The buildings were generally white or tan, the people largely in all-covering silken or linen robes, men in white, other figures in black, though some people of both sexes were in other generally drab outfits. At a guess, she had to be in some Arabian city.

"Well, it's better than the North Pole," she mused. "Why couldn't their hideout be in the desert around here? It would be a lot more comfortable in these Sailor fukus than the Arctic."

Several men were drawn to looking at her; looks too similar to those given by the men she had just knocked out. She jumped up to a low rooftop, hoping to get away from any danger.

She looked out over the city, having no idea where she was - she wasn't even sure any class at school had covered this part of the world. Not that she would have paid attention. "I guess I ought to read up..."

She knew she had to find the others. Especially Tuxedo Mask. They might have been caught by the Dark Kingdom, or thrown to some far time like Kunzite had said he was going to do. But how was she going to find them if she didn't know where she was?

The more she thought about things, the more her spirits fell. She didn't know exactly where she was, other than the Middle East. She was pretty sure no one here spoke Japanese. There MIGHT be a portal here - but she had no idea how to find it, if it was here at all. There might be youma lurking around, possibly ready to ambush her at any time. And none of her friends seemed to be around.

She had to find them. But how? What if they had ended up sent to different times, as Kunzite had said he would do? What if they were dead?

Tears came to her eyes. "Ami-chan... Rei-chan... Mako-chan... Minako-chan... please be alright. I know I'm not as strong as you... but... I have to be..."

But she didn't think she could be if Tuxedo Mask was lost. Withuot him, she didn't know what she would do. She didn't think she could go on.

She sat down heavily on the rooftop, at a complete loss. Right now, all she could think of to do was wait. She didn't have Ami's genius or Ranma's vision. She would just have to hope one of them would come through somehow.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Mercury held up a hand against the glare. It had suddenly become uncomfortably warm and bright. She could hear urban noises around her. She slowly moved her hand away from her face, eyes lidded.

She was in an alley somewhere; the buildings on either side shaded her. Beyond the end of the alley, the street was in direct sunlight, painfully bright. She stayed where she was for a few minutes, adjusting to the light and heat.

When she felt ready to move, she first checked her communicator. No luck. Maybe the others were still unconscious, maybe not in range. Well, she had another tool to check to make sure.

She summoned her computer and activated her visor. She did an energy scan of the area. There was a knot of chaotic magical energies around her and a larger one less than two miles away. *Maybe it's a residue from the transport effect,* she thought. She wasn't sure what Ranma had done, but if it had disrupted the temporal port Kunzite was trying, it could have left energies like that. She would need more data to know for sure.

First things first. No pings from Senshi communicators. She checked for satellite signals, not sure if she might get any - she did; GPS was up. She checked her position on a global map.

"Sao Paulo, Brazil?" That seemed a strange place to land. She checked newsfeeds - no change in date. She wasn't about to chalk that up to sheer luck.

The possibilites were exciting to think about. "If Ranma managed to deflect the temporal vector of Kunzite's attack to a spatial orientation..." She ran through some calculations. It seemed easily possible Ranma's disruption had scattered them all around the area of the Dark Kingdom's crater - and if that area was dotted with portals to other parts of the world, the spatial disruption effect would be drawn to them, and anyone caught in them would likely get thrown through one or another of them.

So. The group had probably been scattered all over the world, but not through time, at least not more than a few hours. She couldn't ping the other watches without a massive boost in signal, which would require equipment she didn't have. Or possibly she could pirate some satellites and transmitters, but that could hours of work, and the Dark Kingdom was still out there, probably searching for them.

The magical disruption might cover her from detection for a while. Her best bet was to head toward that other locus of magic and determine if it really was a portal. If so, then she could at least find the others quickly.

Now with a clear goal, she set out across the city of Sao Paulo, hoping everyone else could hold out.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Pluto flailed about, falling a short distance and landing on her backside. Her staff went flying from her grip; she reached out and grabbed something irregular, holding on while the world spun.

She opened her eyes. She was on a balcony, holding an ornate grillwork that served as a railing. She didn't have a headache, just dizziness and fuzziness. Time-sight didn't work, of course, but that might clear up later.

The balcony door was open; there was noise from the room inside. Someone came to te door - a man. A very naked man. "Oh! I didn't order any other girls. Is this going to be charged extra?" he said in Japanese. "Hmmm. Cosplay. Sailor Senshi. I think I could get into this..."

The man was dangerously close, sinking down onto his knees. Pluto lashed out with a classic boot-to-the-head manoeuver, sending him flying. A feminine cry came from within the room.

Pluto got up, still a bit unsteady, assuming a defensive stance. The man lay still on the ground. Neither he nor the woman on the bed turned into a youma. The woman was as naked as the man, babbling in some strange language.

She looked about the room. Her staff was on the floor of the balcony, twisted into an S shape and smoking; liquid silver seeped out of cracks in its tungsten skin. So much for that one - she would have to pick up a few regular steel or bronze bars somewhere.

She turned to the interior of the room. A door was open - the bathroom, as it turned out. There were no youma about, and without her staff, or her time-sight, masculine strength would be more useful. She detransformed, turned on the shower, and held her head under for a few seconds.

A male Ranma Saotome walked with increasing steadiness back to the balcony and looked out over the cityscape. He recognized Bangkok - his father had brought him here to check out the local martial arts experts last year. Judging from the decorative facade on the building he was on, it had to be a brothel. Much higher class than the ones his father had used then. Ranma, of course, had only seen the training halls his father had taken him to - still enforcing his policy of not allowing him any distractions from the Art.

The girl on the bed had picked up a phone, no doubt calling in the bouncers. She probably didn't speak Japanese, unlike her client, and neither of them would know anything he wanted to learn anyway. He jumped down to the street and began walking in a random direction.

He found it hard to put into words just what he had done with Kunzite's attack; all he knew for sure was that it was the only thing he could do that didn't lead to a completely black future. Going back over it, he decided if he had to describe it, he had twisted the thrust of Kunzite's attack into a different direction. It had felt like some other directions he could try to go in were blocked or channeled somehow, like being trapped between two walls. It figured the one direction he could go was... out.

Out across the world. The vortex had jumbled everyone about, then gotten attracted to several points around the area - he suddenly snapped his fingers in realization. "The portals! They had a bunch of portals there..."

The martial artists had come in through the Tokyo portal; it made sense that there would be others there as well. They had attracted the vortex, funneling people through them. He had the distinct impression of being shoved through a narrow tube before landing here. There had been no one with him - the others had all vanished in other directions.

So, he was alone in Bangkok, no staff, no help. There would still be a portal somewhere about the city, if only he could find it - his sense of direction probably couldn't be trusted, given his recent dizziness. But that was clearing up, and he was sure he would eventually be able to get visions again.

The fact that he seemed to have landed some distance from the portal was actually encouraging. It meant any guard youma at the portal, if they had noticed him passing through - if he were lucky, they hadn't - would have to search a wide area for him, and in male form they wouldn't find him. The others, wherever they had landed, would be in similar circumstances: safe for the moment, unable to go anywhere. So he, and they, had time to get some rest and recover energy. He decided to rest a bit before changing back and trying to get any visions.

Settling in on a suitable rooftop, he sat in lotus position and began to meditate. Already the fuzziness in his head felt like it was clearing. Before long, of course, he was snoring.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Cologne found herself in a parking lot outside a McDonald's restaurant. It was still night, but warm. The cars were mostly not Japanese models. A news rack near the door to the building was empty, but claimed it sold the Sydney Morning Herald.

So. Australia. Her English was good enough to get around, at least. But her more esoteric senses would be more useful for the moment. She headed out along the street, looking for a nice quiet park.

It took a good fifteen minutes to find a suitable spot. Once she did, she began to meditate, focusing on chi flows in the area. Her range would not be that far, but she should get some idea of what was going on.

She soon saw there was a darkness to the local chi, a taint recognizable from Tokyo when the Dark Kingdom had been undertaking major operations. There was a definite presence here. She headed off in what seemed to be a direction where the dark energies were stronger. It would probably be a youma, possibly a portal.

She couldn't actually kill a youma, of course. But she had a great many tricks up her sleeve. She wouldn't have to kill a portal guardian to get past it.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"There is no sign of the invaders, my Queen," Magnetite reported. "Some of our youma have shown up scattered in the tunnels. My instruments also detected no residual traces of temporal displacement. It seems Sailor Pluto was entirely successful in diverting the banishment into a spatial teleportation."

"Then where are they now?" Beryl demanded. "If they are not here, where are they?"

"The teleportation effect reacted with our portals in the area. The Senshi, and some of our youma, were sent through. I believe, however, that no more than two invaders went to any one place."

"So now we face a war on a dozen fronts instead of just one!"

"A dozen fronts that all have choke points, my queen. I will station what youma we have at the portals to ambush them as they come through."

"Send them through! Have them search for the Sailor Senshi! We know the cities we are invading better than they will. We should have the advantage there!"

"Unfortunately, my queen, the portals were badly disrupted by the passage and the distortion effects," Magnetite said. "They will be impassable for at least another hour. After then, however, I believe we can expect them to try to force their way through. And we shall be waiting for them..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Note about timing: for purposes of this fic, I am holding to a fanfic convention, once predominant in Ranma, SM, and crossover fics, that the events of both series begin in the spring of 1992. Strange to think how long ago that was...

This means, among other things, that cell phones of the time are bulky and unheard of for school kids to carry. It also means the Sears Tower is at this time still the tallest building in the world.

As to the action: As interesting as it might be to bring in elements of popular anime of the time (Slayers, Evangelion, Rouroni Kenshin, etc.) I have decided such a far-ranging crossover deserves a mega-fic all its own. Here, I will just include a couple of the more plausible ones available on Earth at this time - Utena and GSC.