The Best of Times...
By Ozzallos
A Fukufics (dotcom) Prodution
Part 7
"On difficult ground, press on";
"On encircled ground, devise stratagems";
"On death ground, fight"
--Sun Tzu
"On fiancée ground, run. Run like hell."
--Ranma Saotome
Happosai
rubbed the knot on his head as the world slowly crept back into existence. Damn
that woman can sure dish out the punishment! But it had been worth it. The
perverted master pulled out a frilly bra from the folds of his tunic, admiring
the pink lacy garment. He replaced the bra and pulled out a pair of similarly
shaded panties. Very nice. And the woman herself was entirely worthy of
such garments. "I gotta remember to reward the boy for picking a woman
with such an outstanding taste in underwear," he though merrily. "All
my training must be finally rubbing off on him... Now if only he would wear
something this nice," he lamented as he rubbed the panties against his
face.
But there was a problem.
Where the hell am I?
That was the question of the moment as Happosai took stock of
his surroundings, a dense forest framed by an angry, overcast sky. It sure
wasn't Nerima, Juuban or even
Happosai boggled. Not exactly the sort of retaliation he was
expecting. Energy blast, sure. Vacation? Um, ok... He oriented on the stone
faces and was about ready to begin his walk when a strong power signature
closed rapidly on his position. It took less than a second to assess its threat
potential and sidestep the inbound assault with apparent disinterest.
“GOTCHA YOU LITTLE LEPRECH--!”
The spiky white-haired youth shot out of the tree line, flew by
the old pervert and plowed face first into the ground. The kid hopped up from
his crash landing, coughing dust. He shook the impact off and faced the old
gnome. “I'm gonna get my wish if it's the last thing I do!”
Happosai arched an eyebrow. Wish? Since when was I giving out
wishes? The youth tensed and this time Happi didn't bother to dodge. Instead,
he brought his pipe to bear and casually deflected the youth's attack,
painfully redirecting it into a nearby tree. “Tsk, tsk! You're gonna have to do
better than that, you little twerp!”
The Master took stock of the young boy and his appearance,
which was odd to say the least. Well, not necessarily odd, just that he hadn't
seen the style in generations... Teen trend combined with.. Ninjitsu styling?
In
“Hold on, m'boy.”
The youth paused momentarily, staring at the old gnome. “You
gonna give me my wish?”
Happosai scritched his chin thoughtfully. “Possibly, possibly.
What's you're name, anyway?”
The boy considered him warily. “Jiraiya. Who wants to know?”
“Name's Happosai m'boy, and I need some information.” The old
Master smiled.
“I gotcher information... For a wish.” Happosai sighed. The boy
had a one track mind.
“What makes you think I have a wish to give?”
“Yer a leprechaun.” The spiky-haired boy rationalized with a
shrug. “It's your job.”
Happosai blinked. Didn't he need a pot o' gold or something to
do that? The Master brushed the youth's misinformed mythology. “Ok, then,
what's you're wish?”
Jiraiya's eyes glimmered. “Chicks!”
A smile crept across Happosai's face. The kid may have the
attitude of Ranma, but this one may have potential. “I think we can come
to some sort of an arrangement. Where you from?”
“Konoha, of course.”
“NOW WHERE AM I!”
Ryoga spun around with a panicked look in his eyes. There was
good reason for that look. One moment he had been trudging through downtown
“Excuse me, Miss... Do you...”
Sensing his presence for the first time, the woman spun around,
the unrestrained breasts within her fuku swaying with the motion. This was not
to mention the flash of forbidden naughty bits that were exposed as the skirt's
hem rose on the spin. “YOU!” Rage illuminated her eyes like twin shafts of
divine light.
?Me? Ryoga took a step back reflexively while holding his nose
that tried to explode bloodily. Like Ranma, his senses concerning feminine fury
were finely honed... and like Ranma, he tried desperately not to look at the
jiggling mounds of female flesh before him.
“I know who sent you!” The woman hissed and brought a heart
tipped staff to bear on the lost boy. “First those insane idiots, then the
pervert troll and now an assassination attempt!”
“Um, I don't--”
“I've seen hell because of you people!”
Something tugged at the back of Ryoga's psyche with those
words, but he couldn't for the life of him remember why. The answer came soon
enough. “RYOGA HIBIKI, PREPARE TO DIE!”
Somehow, he just knew this was all Ranma's fault.
Mamoru Chiba, otherwise known as Tuxedo Kamen
clutched his side with one arm while the other gratefully took a bag of ice
from a concerned looking Usagi Tsukino. The lumpy bag was immediately applied
to black eye. A sigh accompanied the action, an action that only diminished the
concern radiating from his girl friend slightly. Each throb of pain forced him
to recall the very, very tragic tale that led to his beatdown at the hands of
some guy unimaginatively named 'Prince R'.
It was all going well until he had attempted the punch, only to
have it intercepted by the previously unknown Prince. That's when it all went
horribly wrong. Sure, the arrival of the weird little youma had given the
escalating conflict pause, but only momentarily. The Prince himself seemed to
take great delight in watching the troll bounce around after Sailor Pluto and
relieve her of her undergarments, but that lasted only moment. Even as Kamen
himself stood distracted, the Prince whipped around and completed the move Tux had
started, nailing the only male Senshi with vicious right cross that sent him
into the nearest wall.
Quite literally into the nearest wall.
Where Tuxedo Kamen's punch had been borne of reflexive anger,
Prince R's retaliations was calculated and precise. The stranger's counter
attack didn't allow Kamen any time to formulate a battle plan as two more fists
burned in through the dust and pulverized his face, depriving him of any real
sight. Next came the machine gun to his gut, as if a thousand fists had decided
they would try to find a home inside his stomach. All at once. There was enough
coherent thought left in his adrenaline drenched brain to unleash a veritable
bouquet of high explosive roses, all of which seemed to flow around the
Prince as his attacker stepped inside his non-existent guard one more time and
unleashed a devastating energy attack at point-blank range.
The next thing he knew he was trying to sit up from within his
very own smoldering crater... That was until he felt the heat of a glowing blade
at his throat. It looked like it was carved from wood, but the glow had an
undeniable lethality emanating from it. Tuxedo Kamen dared not move. The next
words he heard beyond the pounding of his own heartbeat were burned in his
head...
“When next we meet, you best be a Man among Men.”
Chiba Mamoru stared at the crumpled rose, then to the worried
Usagi. Man among men. Did men use roses as their main weapon? Did they stand at
the back of the battle and snipe their targets with those said roses? Mamoru looked
at his future wife once more and decide that changes needed to be made...
...After he could walk again.
The tall woman's black fuku wavered in the
dawn breeze as she stared into the valley below. The horizon glowed a pinkish
hue, but the ageless Senshi's attentions were focused elsewhere. Even as the
rising sun banished the last vestiges of night from the painted desert below,
her vision focused on the great walled city below. No force had assailed those
walls in the memory of any of its occupants, a fact that was about to change.
Her gave swept across the valley floor and onto the glinting cloud of dust at
the other end, slowly moving like a tide to wash over the impregnable city. The
fortress itself was still quiet. Sure, they knew of the force arrayed against
them, perhaps the largest in the region, yet it didn't change the facts... The
last army to attempt such a feat had been dashed and bloodied against their
walls.
The rays of dawn cut through the sky and the army began to
circle the fortress. Setsuna consulted her internal clock. Right on time. There
was little tactical value to the maneuver, but its commander was obeying his
instructions to the letter. The army halted and slowly the cloud of dust they
had created blew across the horizon.
The Commander of the Israeli Army pressed a horn to his lips
and blew, its trumpeting echoing around the canyon.
“Dead Scream.”
The battlements shattered in a flash of light, creating an
avalanche that began tearing chunks out of the walls of wholesale, replacing
the departing cloud of dust with one of it's one. Within minutes, the breaches
were substantial enough that the foreign contingent could begin their assault,
pouring through the rubble and getting down to the business of sacking an
impregnable city.
The Senshi of Time nodded with satisfaction. The Walls of
Ranma tossed restlessly in his sleep... The visions continued.
...She snuggled below the bearskin covers and melted into the
Scotsman's embrace, totally prepared to make the most of what would be their
last night together. He was, of course, totally confident on the outcome of
tomorrow's battle as any noble Scotsman would be, but Setsuna Meiou was the
mistress of time and knew the future. She wanted desperately to stave off
tomorrow, but there was destiny to consider. After tonight, destiny would
snatch her lover from her arms. She mounted him once more and the two rocked
away in the night, hoping to drowned out the the reality that she shouldn't
even be there loving him, let alone expose herself to world to such a degree.
But she was lonely... So lonely.
Morning came all too quickly and Pluto watched as her lover
mount his horse, clad in armor with a traditional Scottish claymore strapped to
his back. She stayed behind, watching from the walls as his company departed
down the cobblestone path, young maidens in tow. Soon, her lover would be dead
and entangled in a quest of immortality that would only end in a pool of blood
and beheadings, which in turn would jeopardize her mission. Now it was time to
let him go from her arms and into the arms of destiny.
And once again she would be alone...
The pigtailed boy shifted uncomfortably...
...A fine layer of dust drifted from the ceiling as the bunker
rocked again, the result of the dull thuds shifting the earth above it.
Everything occupying the ground above the structure had been reduced to
component rubble as tens of thousands of pounds of ordinance were dropped on
the city. Black clad officers braced at their stations another five hundred
pound bomb detonated atop their position. Luckily there was three feet of rock
between them and the resultant detonation. No, it would take more than a mere
daylight bombing raid to shatter the last remnants of the Third Reich's command
structure... Or kill its leader.
Three hundred feet may have been enough to protect against the
allied attack, but it wasn't enough to protect the various functionaries,
generals and one Adolph Hitler from The Mistress of Time itself. The air
shuttered inside the bunker and one of the more alert SS trench coats whirled
around, bringing a machine gun to bear on the fuku-clad Senshi. Setsuna looked
upon him with pity and willed time to slow down. Other guards reacted now, but
their movements were far too slow for the green-haired woman who was now moving
well in advance of real time. The heart-tipped staff she bore flared with power
and the next thing the bunker's occupants saw was a soldier torn in half by a
formless blur. The machine guns cackled in the troopers futile attempts to his
the blur, while the officers began to pull their own sidearms in a futile
effort to hit something. In the end, both soldiers and officers did end up
hitting someone in the small confines of the bunker... Each other. Those that
weren't cut down by the blurring flare of power managed to hit their own in the
gun storm of flying bullets. Five minutes later, only one man stood alive
within the structure.
“I told you I would be coming for you if you continued this
nonsense.” Sailor Pluto's gaze bore into the cowering mustachioed man. She took
a step forward, and kicked a bullet ridden chair from her path. The leader of
the German war machine nodded, his hand floated down to his belt, and the gun
that waited there.
“And I told you what would happen to you if I had to come
for you.” Another nod, this one accompanied by the sound of pistol sliding out
of its leather holster. The Senshi twirled the Key of Time around menacingly
and took another step forward. There was no mistaking the lethal intent in her
eyes... and more.
The gun came up slowly...
...To his chin...
The gunshot jarred Ranma from his fitful sleep and he bolted upright for the
second time that night. Tonight, he was alone save the disquieting memories
that refused to give him any measure of peace. As if the Sailors last stand at
Mars hadn't been bad enough... Just what the hell was this woman! Ranma sent a
hard fist into his futon and cursed silently.
He was in dire need of answers, and it has time to get them.
Chibi
Book bag in hand, Chibi walked along the sidewalk while
admiring the beautiful day, when somebody stepped out in front of her. Somebody
she knew. Somebody with menacing blue eyes and red locks of hair.
“BWAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH—MMmf!”
No sooner had the laughter erupted from her lips, that a hand
slapped across her mouth which in turn was accompanied by a fairly annoyed
look. The best Chibi could do was blink in surprise before she was whisked into
the redheads' arms and suddenly found herself on a nearby rooftop seconds
later... Specifically, the very edge of the rooftop.
Chibi
Ranma's eyes narrowed sharply on the girl. “You know who I am.”
“Uh.. heheh.. Yeah?”
The redhead stepped forward, glowering. “My name.”
Chibi
Ranma nodded. “Now how do you know that name?”
“Um, I'm from the future?” The pink haired girl produced a weak
grin.
“Wrong answer.” Ranma stuck out a finger and poked Chibi,
sending her off balance ever so slightly. Her curls bounced around as she
flailed to regain her balance on the ledge. “You know stuff about me. Specific
stuff. How?”
The girl regained her balance and gaped at the redhead with
wide eyes. “Ican'tsaypleasedon'thurtmeIwasonlyhavingfunIcan'ttellyouyet!”
Ranma arched an eyebrow skeptically as Chibi nearly lapsed into
sobs. “Alright! Alright!” Damn my weakness for womanly sobbing, Ranma thought
with a sigh as Chibi seemed to regain some semblance of composure. “Ok then...
Lets talk about the dreams I've been having.”
“I really shouldn't...”
Poke.
“Eeeeek!” Chibi squealed as she teetered on the ledge of the
building once more.
Ranma withdrew the finger. “I really want to know about
the dreams.” There was no mistaking the tone of her voice. It wasn't a request
she was making.
“Ok! Ok!” Chibi
Ranma blinked. “The sword?”
“You made a wish!” Small Lady supplied quickly, fearing yet
another poke. “The sword is fulfilling that wish quite literally!”
Ranma considered this new information and swore beneath her
breath. “Dammit, I don't wanna know the life and time of Setsuna Meiou! I don't
want to know she kicked dictator ass and I sure as hell don't want to know
anything about her love life!” The redhead shivered as she remembered
the pleasure quite vividly. It hadn't been with just one partner, and it sure
as hell wasn't helping that she was wearing her girl body at the moment. One
thing was for certain, however... After a few centuries of practice, saying
that she was skilled was an understatement. Ranma growled and shook the
memories away. She had been battling them all morning, and fortunately for her,
there was an equal number of unpleasant memories to draw from... Like the
unending, nearly insurmountable loneliness of her post.
Ranma pulled her from the ledge, bringing Chibi nose to nose. “More.
I want more information about what's happening.”
“I caaaaan't!” Chibi nearly whined, grating against
Ranma's nerves and sympathy.
“Why not?”
“Don't make me mess up the future, please Uncle Ranma!” Now she
was whining and Ranma let her go on reflex. Damn the crying! “If I tell
you too much, it'll change things!”
The words 'Uncle Ranma' all but begged to be explained, but
Ranma passed on it in a sheer act of will power. Her life was already bad
enough. The last thing she wanted to do was screw up the future as well.
“Alright, alright. Stop yer cryin'. I won't ask. Just stop teasin' me, kay?”
The tears evaporated instantly “Thank you, Uncle!” Ranma
endured the crushing hug, thankful that it wasn't yet another fiancée glomp.
Ranma sighed. “Yeah, yeah. Off to school with you.” With that,
she stepped off the roof and disappeared from the ledge.
Chibi stood there for a moment, recovering when sudden
realization hit her...
...Like how in the world was she suppose to get down?
Ranma gave himself a final check before stepping
onto the dojo property, ensuring there was no Sailor paraphernalia remaining on
his person before twisting the doorknob and admitting himself back into the
chaotic roller coaster known as his regular life. The Saotome mentally
congratulated himself. He had gone an entire day without a Setsuna retaliatory
event. Sure, there was the standard fare with the fiancées that she had already
set in motion, but nothing new. The only thing he could glean from this was
that his own countermeasures were working as advertised. Ranma was getting to
know his opponent intimately- he cringed at the sudden mental picture. Bad choice
of wording -and knew how smart she was. Set-chan had to know it by now
which meant things would likely be coming to a head sometime in the near
future.
The martial artist smiled. He was itching for a direct
confrontation, as opposed to all this sneakin' around. But by the time he was
done with her, she would be more than willing to stop sulking in the shadows.
Ranma stepped into the house and clutched the only remaining piece of Sailor
paraphernalia on her person, a paper square.
“Hey Kas-chan! Catch!” Ranma flipped the small square through
the air at Kasumi, who had just set down a dinner plate. A delicate arm snapped
up, catching the the square in midair, a testament to her father's original
conditioning of his daughters. Kasumi blinked and looked at her catch. Eyes
widened. A jaw dropped. Nabiki watched the reaction from across the room and
walked over to Ranma. Kasumi was still frozen, but a slight 'mewing' could be
heard from her person.
“You broke my sister, Ranma.” Nabiki stared with increasing
wonder at the reaction. Kasumi's eyes were still locked unflinchingly on the
square, mouth hanging open. She stepped over to the entranced girl and looked
at the find herself. It was a photo with writing scrawled across it. “To
Kasumi, a sister of love and justice...” Nabiki blinked. “Love, Sailor Moon?”
“OH MY!” Kasumi exclaimed in a most un-Kasumi like squeal. She
hopped around the table with more energy than anybody had seen in years, and
Ranma was crushed for the second time that day. “Thank you, Ran-chan!” Two
kisses landed themselves on each of Ranma's cheeks and she pulled back to stare
at the glossy photo once more. “How in the world did you get this?”
“Oh, I have my secrets.” Ranma grinned and Nabiki was instantly
at his side.
“Not from me, you don't.” An hand latched onto Ranma's arm and
Nabiki proceeded to drag the pigtailed boy upstairs and into her room. The door
slammed shut and clicked with the lock. “Spill it, Ranma. I want your source.
Ranma?” It took her a moment to notice that Ranma was now completely frozen his
reactions similar to Kasumi's as he took slow stock of Nabiki's room. “What,
haven't you ever seen of Prince R?”
Ranma had seen Prince R before. He had just never seen Prince R
in such... quantity. It was like he had entered the twilight zone and that
twilight zone was inhabited by parodies of himself, who happened to be the
boy-toy idol of Nabiki Tendo. It was even creepier than Akane's room. “Uh,
heh... You're a Prince R fan?”
“No, I just have his pictures up her because they match my
bedsheets.” Nabiki replied testily. “Unlike you, he's suave and
sophisticated... And a total hunk.” Nabiki smiled dreamily for a brief moment,
before it was submerged below her game face. “Where'd you get the autograph,
Saotome?”
“Can't tell ya.” His eyes flicked from wall to wall.
“I'm sure you could if I told certain people about your cross
dressing habits.” Nabiki countered, applying pressure.
“Nope.” Ranma crossed his arms, affecting a cool demeanor.
Truth was that he was sweating bullets on the inside.
Nabiki cast a icy glare at him. It was worth a try. Besides,
everybody already knew she occasionally blackmailed him into dress-up photo
shoots anyway. It was a weak threat at best. “Ok then, how about a deal then?”
“Deal?” Ranma asked warily, not all that happy at the prospect
of shaking hands with the devil's accountant again.
“Sure.” Nabiki smiled. A shark couldn't have done better. “You
can work off your debt by providing me with autographs.” Ranma winced. “And a
bonus if you can get me a Prince R autograph.”
The pigtailed boy rubbed his head and groaned. This was not
happening...
Yumei Ikari-Ranma smiled as she joined her sisters
in arms, the Sailor Senshi for the night meeting. Well, most of them were
sisters in arms. Haruka and Michiru weren't on speaking terms with her... Or
each other, ironically. Both women sat on opposite sides of the room, glaring at
each other. Yumei-Ranma could barely suppress a smile. As amusing as the little
cold war was, there was something that amused her even more...
Setsuna Meiou sat off to the side, trying her best to look calm
and collected, which might have fooled the average person. Unfortunately, she
wasn't around average people and Ranma noted the difference straight away.
While her condition wasn't nearly as bad as the Senshi's last meeting, the
results of Ranma's handiwork were showing in that her normally meticulously
styled green hair was frazzled. The bags under her eyes told the story as well.
Even her dress was more conservative in nature. Yumei Ranma wasn't much better
from Setsuna's attentions, but unlike her, she floated on the high of payback
as Ami called the meeting to order.
The cobalt blue haired girl glanced nervously at the Outers as
she coughed politely, gaining everybody's undivided attention. “I've been able
to analyze the data from the other Mercury Link.” The Senshi watched intently
as she set her link to the Mercury super computer on room's central table. She
pressed a small button and the unit's holographic display came to life, the air
above it shimmering into the visage of a long wire frame tube that flared open
at both ends. “This is a model of the wormhole the youma are using to gain
access to our universe. The different colors represent the numerous subspace
bands the hole drops through before exiting the other side.”
“You would know all about the other side, wouldn't you, Haruka?”
Michiru's glare bore down on the Senshi of Uranus who's eyes widened at the
implication.
“I had nothing to do with that!” Haruka protested. “He
kissed me!”
Sailor
“Now listen here!”
“He is quite a catch, 'Ruka-chan.” Yumei added with a
sweet smile, which earned a withering glare from the Senshi. Not that she had
time to follow up on it.
“Damn straight!” Minako piped up in a mixture of awe and venom.
“And damned if we'll let you take the first straight hottie to come along in
ages!” Some of the other Inners nodded in agreement. Yumei's smile broadened.
“Yes, I'm sure he won't mind you warming his bed tonight,”
Michiru stated with considerable frost. “Because it sure won't be mine.”
“Um, guys...?” Ami attempted to break the angst. “About the
wormhole?”
“It's obviously already been taken care of.” Michiru grumbled,
staring straight at Haruka.
“WHAT WAS THAT!” Haruka stood up, stalking over to the person
who was rapidly becoming her ex-girlfriend.
“I think you know exactly what--”
“ENOUGH!”
Setsuna's delicate china cup full of tea hit the end table with
enough force to put crack in it. “I have had a very bad week and the
last thing I need from you children is to be bickering over that asinine
pervert Prince R, let alone watching you draw straws as to who gets to screw
him!”
It was an even better emotional breakdown than Yumei-Ranma ever
could have hoped for in front of the Senshi, and she desperately fought off the
maniacal cackling that would have normally accompanied her victory. As it was,
she would just have to settle for the stares and massive rounds of sweatdrops
rolling off the heads of the remaining Sailors. The Uranus-Neptune cold war was
icing on the cake.
“Uh, right.” Ami commented, scratching her head with
embarrassment. “The different subspace bands are what would prevented us from
forcing our own entry into the pocket universe, but now that we've been able to
map out an open portal, we can duplicate the route in ourselves.”
“Ok, so we can get in now...” Usagi observed, and Ranma
followed up on her unspoken question.
“...but what's on the other side?”
“This.” Ami tapped another key, the rainbow colored tube was
replaced by a large bubble with what appeared to be a floating island taking up
most of its volume. The hologram rotated slowly and zoomed in on the island.
“An island?” Hotaru asked quietly, to which Ami nodded.
“Exactly. The island itself takes up roughly half the pocket
universe, but that's not the interesting part.” Ami explained as the hologram
continued to zoom. Seconds later, structures could be seen on the island
surface. At it's center was a large spiky ball, whose incandescent rainbow
coloration stood out from the rest of the structures.
“Why aren't I gonna like the interesting part?” Rei grumbled,
and Setsuna stepped forward.
“Because what you are looking at is a leftover.” Pluto stated
in a matter of fact tone, credibly covering her earlier lapse.
“Leftover?” Makoto mimed skeptically. Yumei and half the other
sailors shared that skepticism. Ranma had seen leftovers. Normally they weren't
stored in a pocket universe. Nor did they produce soul eating demons. Well,
unless it was Akane's cooking, the martial artist-turned-Senshi ammended. That
stuff was capable of anything.
“Leftovers.” Setsuna confirmed. “From the data we've obtained,
this facility was built by our dearly departed friend, Mistress 9.” Her voice
was heavily laden with sarcasm.
“Gone, but not forgotten.” Moon commented dryly, and Ami
continued for Pluto.
“It looks to be a giant manufacturing complex,” She reported as
the hologram cruised above the surface of the island, focusing on the
buildings. “And from what has been coming through the portholes, a giant youma
manufacturing complex.”
“You've got to be kidding...”Minako breathed. Ami nodded.
“From what we've seen so far, I think it's safe to assume their
primary export is youma.” Ami continued. “Big youma, small youma, super
youma...”
“Youma chicken, stir fried youma, youma steak...” Yumei
dead-panned, counting the dishes off on her fingers.
“Uh, yeah. Pretty much.” Ami said with indifference, while the
rest of the Senshi looked at the redhead with slight incredulity. “Pluto and I
pretty much agree it's still in the first stage of activation, since the volume
of demons coming through has been steadily increasing.”
“Nine is still alive?” Hotaru whispered, to which Usagi put a
comforting hand on her shoulder. The Senshi of Saturn had good reason to be
worried. Mistress 9 and in turn Pharaoh 90 had made the girls' life a living
hell.
“Not a chance.” Pluto waved the possibility aside. “Her time
line is dead. Check it out myself. This...” She gestured to the hologram. “is a
contingency.”
Ami picked up on the blank looks and explained. “We believe
that Mistress 9 had other projects in the works should her primary plans using
Pharaoh 90 fail. As it is, we believe the complex was programmed to go live
pending direct orders or...”
“...her death.” Haruka finished, and both Ami and Setsuna
nodded.
“Scorched earth.” Yumei stated, earning another round of nods.
“That's what we were thinking.” Ami replied.
“It gets worse.”
All eyes shifted back to Setsuna. “You've undoubtedly noticed
this...” She gestured to the spiky orb at the island's center. The mercury link
interpreted the movement, and zoomed in on the structure. “This just happens to
be the the power source of the pocket universe.”
“We aren't going to like this, are we?” Chibi
“Unfortunately, no.” Ami replied. “It's a reactor. A reactor
comprised of entirely pure heart crystals.”
The room let loose a collective gasp. “How many...?” Usagi
asked in a hushed whisper.
“Approximately eight thousand.” Ami replied in a similarly hushed
voice.
Usagi's reaction was totally unexpected. “WHERE THE HELL
DID SHE GET THEM ALL!” The future Princess was on her feet now, gaping at the
hologram, then turned to Setsuna. “I thought we were successful in preventing
these sort of incursions! What the hell have we been doing all this time!”
Pluto understood her reaction all to well. The loss of life
that reactor represented was simply... staggering. After all, you had to go
through a lot of people to find just one pure heart crystal, let
alone...“I've done some... research, you Highness.” For some reason it seemed
more appropriate to call Usagi by her official title given the gravity of the
situation. “There was no way we could have covered all the bases.
The Princess continued staring. “So what do we do about it...?”
Rei asked in a hushed voice.
“Simple. We take it out.” Yumei-Ranma stated, an edge of steel
accompanying her proclamation. Even through the act she had been engaged in,
there was no way she could ignore her code, and mass murder demanded decisive
action.
“Oh?” Haruka raised a skeptical eyebrow. “And just how do you
propose we do that? Can't exactly glass the place from the inside, remember?”
“Actually, that's exactly what we were planning on doing.”
Attention turned back to Ami. “Setsuna managed to locate a stash of weaponry
sealed in stasis... It's contents include a few boxes of small arms, some power
armor- weaker than our suits -a few plasma artillery pieces and...” She paused,
her eyes shifting nervously, “...one tactical Elerium warhead.”
“You mean we have a nuke?” Sailor Venus squealed.
“Would have loved to have found that sooner...” Moon growled, a
sentiment most of the Senshi shared. None of them could count the number of
time when they would have loved to have stuffed an original honest-to-god
“Well, we have it now.” Pluto pointed out, to which Usagi only
nodded. “Still, it's not going to be as easy as setting a timer and shoving it
through the wormhole. If we want to destroy everything, we have to destroy the
PHC reactor.”
“Which is protected by an extremely powerful energy
shield.” Ami added and the Mercury link added a transparent bubble around the
reactor to the hologram. Some of her audience groaned. She couldn't blame them.
It was about to get even better. “Which means... we have to go in, drop the
shield, plant the bomb and get out before the timer runs down. A Death Reborn
at point-blank range should do the trick.”
“Through a universe full of super-youma, right?” Michiru
commented with something less than a question.
“So where is this nuke?” Yumei asked casually, setting her
glass of tea on the table after a sip.
“Under the table.” Pluto comment just as casually, and Yumei's
eyes widened. She pulled the cup back very slowly. Ami stepped over and
removed the Mercury link from the surface, folding it up with a light click.
She pulled the lacy table clothe up and there it was, plain as day under the
table's glass surface. The weapon was about the size of a backpack and the
shape of a smooth silver oval.
“Smaller than I was expecting.” Haruka observed, and Ami
nodded.
“That represents approximately one gigaton's worth of
fire-power.” The cobalt haired Senshi elaborated. “Twenty grams of Elerium 115,
no radioactive bi-products. It'll wipe out everything in the pocket universe,
provided we take the shield out first.”
“I still can't believe the
“Had em and used em.” Yumei-Ranma interjected, drawing on
Setsuna's memories of the Kingdom's last stand involuntarily. “Got really nasty
toward the end.” Pluto nodded with agreement as the exact same images were
conjured within her mind's eye as well. Apparently their memories were still
more complete than the rest of the Senshi. A look passed between the two, and
for the briefest moment, total comprehension existed between the two women.
They had both seen the bloody end of an era, and it hadn't been a pleasant
experience.
“How does it work?” Usagi asked, leaning over the device.
“Voice activated.” Ami replied. “Simply feed it the armament
codes and set a timer, that easy.” The girls looked at each other expectantly.
After a minute, Ami spoke first. “You do have the codes, don't you?”
Moon blinked. “Why would I have the codes! I'm a princess, not
a queen or a general!” She turned to Pluto with the same expectant look.
“Don't look at me.” She held up her hands. “Not to worry,
however. The cats will have them.”
Yumei's eyes widened suddenly. “Artemis, Luna...?” Usagi
called, and the two cats padded into the room. The redhead otherwise known as
Sailor Nova watched the cats cross the room, then pause. Their eyes turned on
her.
“I don't believe we've been introduced,” The black cat said
politely, hopping up on the table in front Yumei. “I'm Luna and this is
Artemis.” The white cat followed, inclining his head gracefully.
“Of course, we know who you are.” Artemis stated, smiling. “We
were under the impression that none of the Queen's Own made it forward. Do you
remember us?”
Oh, Yumei-Ranma remembered them alright. She only had Setsuna's
memories stuffed into her head sideways, and with them, the knowledge of Queen
Serenity's advisers. There was, of course, only one problem with this equation.
They were cat advisers. Anybody who knew Ranma Saotome could have
predicted her next response with absolute clarity.
Yumei sat frozen, fear pooling in her eyes. “Maybe she doesn't
remember us...” Luna commented, leaning forward with interest. Another minute
of silence ground by.
“Um, Yumei?” Usagi nudged her body guard, slightly concerned by
her frozen state. She was looking for a reaction, and unfortunately got one.
“Cu...Cu...Cu...” Yumei began to stutter, eyes locked onto the
felines.
“Starts with a 'C'?” Makoto queried cheerfully.
“How many vowels?” Rei inquired.
“Is it bigger than a pound of butter?” Minako asked, and
suddenly found all eyes on her. “What?”
All eyes, except Yumei's, of course. “Cu... Cu... CATS!” She
burst and attention promptly returned to her as she backed up on to the couch
she had sat at. Her tea cup fell to the floor and both felines winced at the
proclamation. “Talking Cats!” The redhead amended in horror, as if it
were somehow relevant to the terror coursing through her brain.
“Uh, yes?” Luna confirmed the fact that they were indeed cats.
“DAMN CATS!” Ranma bolted upright as some unseen gears shifted
in her brain, diluting the mixture of fear with a healthy dose of hate. The
cats in question were now backing up.
“You don't suppose she's still angry about that prank we pulled
on the guards that night when...” Artemis commented as he slowly backed away.
Luna's whiskers twitched as she mirrored his movements. “God, I
hope not...”
The fact that they were talking cats was perhapses the only
thing that kept Ranma rooted in place and not running for the hills.
Unfortunately, the irrational fear was quickly being replaced by another
emotion altogether as she stepped of the couch, stalking the retreating
advisers. “I HATE cats!” The other Senshi began to back away as the redhead's
temper spiraled out of control. They had all seen what she could do and weren't
looking for any piece of it.
All but two of them.
Moon attached a light hand onto Yumei's shoulder in an attempt
to restrain her friend. “Um, they're
Yumei-Ranma turned on Usagi suddenly, and the blond found her
captured in the redhead's incandescent gaze. “No they're not! They're CATS!”
She hissed and Usagi's eyes widened. “They say they're your friends, but
they're not! One minute you're petting them and the next you'll find yourself
wrapped in fish sausage and served up for dinner!”
“Wrapped in...” Setsuna's attention suddenly focused.
“Scheming, maniacal, diabolical CATS!” Ranma confirmed,
whipping back around to the cats in question. The ghostly blue visages of ki
blades formed along Yumei's knuckles, rippling to life. “Ain't no cats gonna
serve me for dinner again!”
“What the hell are those!” Haruka stared incredulously at the
energy weapons forming at the girl's hands.
“Usagi, step away from her.” Setsuna ordered and transformed
without the usual stylistic flare. The action surprised the princess enough
that she did step away from the redhead, who continued to advance on Artemis
and Luna.
Makoto interposed herself between Yumei and the cornered cats.
“Now look, Yumei, i'm not so sure...”
“Dead Scream.”
The line of energy flashed across the room and hit Yumei dead
on, blowing her into and through several interior walls before exiting the
building entirely. The other girls simply stared in disbelief as Sailor Pluto
completed the attack and calmly stepped through the smoldering hole she had
just created and into the outside air. Usagi was right on her heels.
“Why in the world did you do that?” She yelled, unable
to believe such an escalation had taken place. Sure, Yumei could rub people the
wrong way, but... “I'm sure we could have--”
“'Yumei' is not who she seems.” Pluto stated with a demeanor
that hovered just above sub-zero temperatures. She stepped over the burning
remains of a couch and into the outside air. A trench smoking rubble indicated
the redhead's departure vector. “He's been playing us all this time!”
“He?” The rest of the Senshi were recovering from the sudden
shock, filtering outside to watch the impending fight. Ami's face was similar
to that of Moon's. “What are you talking about! You didn't have to--”
Pluto paused in her advance down the smoldering trench. “Yumei
Ikari is actually Ranma Saotome, one of the largest chaos generators I have
ever encountered.” She explained without turning around. The Senshi scanned the
trench for her victim. ”If Crystal Tokyo is to survive, he's going to have to
be eliminated.”
Usagi's thought process was suddenly racing, Yumei's warning
jumping like lightening through her brain. “But can't we--”
“No.” Setsuna replied tersely, cutting off the princess
mid-sentence. “You don't realize how dangerous this person is. We can't risk
having a loose cannon like him running around.”
“And who made you judge, jury and executioner again?” A female
voice asked from the smoke. A glowing redhead stepped out of the charred, black
trench, ready for war.
“Queen Serenity.” Setsuna replied, her voice devoid of
emotion.
“Oh that's right, Miss 'fifth in line to the throne of Pluto'”
Ranma commented sarcastically, wiping a trickle of blood from her lip. “But I
don't recall mass murder being part of her agenda.”
Pluto blinked. The girl shouldn't have known that.
“What?” Usagi yelped in horror. Her eyes went from Pluto to
Ranma and back.
“I've only done whatever was necessary to protect Crystal
Tokyo.” Sailor Pluto replied. “You, on the other hand, are not only a force
that may destroy it, but you've betrayed every person here.”
Moon was beginning to feel like her head was on a swivel as she
stared back at Ranma now. “Is that true?”
Ranma's glow faded slightly. “Yeah it is. Ya deserve the truth
I guess.” The redhead retrieved her thermos from weapons space and uncapped it.
“My real name is Ranma Saotome, heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial
Arts.” As if to punctuated the fact, Ranma upturned the thermos over her head
and produced a black-haired boy with blue eyes.
“You've gotta be kidding...” Rei breathed softly. “He's a
hunk!”
Makoto blinked. “He's a Starlight?”
“He's Prince R!” Minako proclaimed, stars in her eyes.
“He's Prince R!” Michiru and Haruka gasped simultaneously.
“Oh God, my head hurts.” Ami moaned while Chibi unsuccessfully
suppressed a giggle.
“But... Why?” Usagi asked as the group's sudden realizations
began to dog pile her.
“Ask her why.” The glow around the now male Ranma increased in
intensity. “Ask her why she's made the last three years of my life a living
hell. Ask her why I had to put us through all this just force a
confrontation!”
“Because you'll destroy everything I worked so damn hard for!”
Setsuna's screamed as she blew her top. “DEAD SCREAM!”
This time Ranma was ready for it, and slid out sideways to
avoid the lethal ray of energy. If he hadn't been moving so fast, the Sailors
would have notice a hard-edged smile. Finally, it was time to end this farce
and her meddling. Ranma cut in and delivered three hard kicks to Setsuna's
midsection, followed by a roundhouse to the head. The Senshi's fuku armor did
it's job and absorbed most of the impact before the ki blast hit seconds later
at point blank range.
“Möko Takabisha!”
The blast impacted Setsuna hard, blasting her back into the
section of temple they had just exited. Like Ranma before, she tore a hole
through the walls and suddenly found herself in the shrine courtyard. Sailor
Pluto shook it off and looked up just in time to find Ranma airborne above,
twisting into what was sure to be devastating combo.
“Space Sword Blaster!” Ranma had just enough time to perform an
aerial twist and avoid the inbound blade of light that sliced past him. He
landed off target and Setsuna rolled out, recovering into a guarded stance
beside a transformed Sailor Uranus.
“Neptune planet power, make up!” Michiru's sea green hair
floated in the air as her transformation processed. The light show faded and
Sailor Neptune stepped up beside Pluto and Uranus. “I think a little bit of
payback is in order, don't you, hun?”
“Definitely.” Sailor Uranus growled. The joke had been on them,
and they weren't happy campers at the moment.
“Three against one!” Minako whined as the trio readied their
next assault. “I'm won't let you hurt the cutie! Venus power, make up!”
“Same here!” Rei yelled. “Mars power, make up!”
A sweat drop rolled off the side of Ranma's head as the two
Inners took up flanking positions at her back.
“You've got to be kidding...” Ami groaned, rubbing her temples
once more.
“Do something, Moon!” Hotaru called to the blond, who stood
dumbfounded with Makoto. Chibi Usa cackled from the sidelines.
Ranma glanced at his escort. “No offense, but this is between
me and her.” Pluto's gaze narrowed on the martial artist, and she nodded at her
Outers, who in turn took a step back. This was a private vendetta.
“Chronos Typhoon!” The Time Key twirled in her hands and
a gust of lethal wind blew forth as Setsuna took the offensive. Ranma was
already in the air and over the attack, twisting into another devastating
aerial combo that promised to hurt if it connected. Setsuna wasn't about to let
that happen. She concentrated and local time slowed around her. She
side-stepped his landing and renewed her own offensive with the staff, whipping
it through a graceful attack that could only be obtain through centuries of
practice. To everybody else, the Senshi seemed to suddenly speed up and to
anybody else, the technique might have proved decisive. To Ranma Saotome,
however, she was finally a challenge. The pigtailed boy avoided a few more arcs
when suddenly Setsuna's staff bit hard against a solid object, sparks
shattering down it's length.
The the Staff of Time just met the Staff of Ascension.
Pluto pulled back suddenly in the face of the lethal new
threat. “Forgot about this, huh?” Ranma smirked, twirling his own weapon around
now. The two circled one another menacingly.”Stop screwin' with my life and you
can walk away with all yer bones unbroken.”
“You're the one who won't be walking away, Saotome.” Setsuna
growled and dropped back into a fighting stance.
“ENOUGH!”
Ranma and Setsuna paused in their initial lunge as the enraged
female voice rolled over them, both removing their eyes from one another ever
so carefully to find the source. Across from them stood Sailor Moon, fully
transformed and totally pissed. Silver Millennium power washed over both
combatants, ensuring their undivided attention.
“Sailor Pluto, you will stop this nonsense right now!” The
furious girl ordered in a tone that could not dare be disputed and it was one
of those rare moments when there was no question as to whose daughter she was.
“I don't know what all you've been doing to keep Crystal Tokyo going, but it
doesn't sound befitting a soldier of love and justice! From now on, any
decisions you make go through me first, do you understand!”
Setsuna nodded involuntarily. “And as for you, Yumei, Ranma or whatever your
name is... I don't appreciate being deceived and manipulated!” Ranma began to
protest weakly only to cut off. “No, hush! Now after what we've been through, I
have to wonder if you really are our ally!” The smoldering glare that swept
across their persons would have been enough to reduce them to cinders outright
if it had actual substance. “Now both of you will stop fighting and apologize
to each other!”
They both stared at Moon in disbelief.
“Apologize..?” Setsuna gasped.
“To her!” Ranma twitched.
“NOW!” Sailor Moon growled, a slight glow of menacing power
accompanying the order.
Ranma looked at the black fuku clad women standing across from
him. He ground his teeth down. “Sorry.”
“Yeah. Sorry.” Pluto replied, her tone equally forced. Neither
of their faces said they were sorry.
“Better.” Moon frowned. “I'll deal with you both later.”
both Setsuna and Ranma shivered at the thought. The bumbling blond apparently
could be quite the disaplinarian when nessisary. “For now, we have better
things to fight than each other.”
“Um, about that...” Ami said tentatively, not exactly eager to
earn the ire of her Princess at the moment.
“Hmm?” Usagi arched an eyebrow.
“The Mercury Computer is saying that at our current force
levels, we only have a 32.8 percent chance of success.” She replied softly.
“Damn.” Usagi whispered. It was a sentiment shared by everybody
present. “Not that we have much of a choice.”
Ranma stared at the group in front of him. In the past month he
had infiltrated them, manipulated them and outright lied to them, all in the
name of payback. Yet somehow they had become his friends, he realized. I may
not be Sailor Nova anymore, Ranma thought to himself, but that doesn't really
change a thing. There was his code as a martial artist to consider and he'd be
damned if he'd let them go in alone, screw the odds.
“How long until we go?”
A small smile crept to Usagi's face. All eyes turned on Ami. “I
can have the exact path into the pocket universe nailed down within the week,
say, Friday.”
Ranma nodded and hopped up to the shrine's rooftop. “Where you
going?” Pluto asked, a small measure of hostility leaking into her voice.
The martial artist turned his back on the Senshi below. “To
call in some favors.”
Friday morning. The dew was still standing on the
grass as the Senshi waited for their adopted twelth team member. The suns' rays
crept over the shrine walls while monks went about their business, all but
oblivious to the Sailor's business.
“He ditched us.” Haruka stated in a grumpy tone. “Might as well
leave without him.”
“Ranma will be here.” Pluto replied, earning her a skeptical
look. “I may not like him, but if there is one thing I do know about him, it's
that he always keeps his word. It's one of the things that makes Saotome so
damn dangerous.”
“Damn right.”
The new voice drew the sailors attention, and they found its
owner balanced lightly on the outer shrine wall, wielding the Staff of
Ascension. Beside Ranma was a boy of approximately the same type, clad in a
faded yellow tunic and matching tiger striped bandanna. To his left, an ancient
looking woman balanced on a staff who nodded graciously at the Senshi, flanked
by a younger woman and her scimitar. Her long purple hair floated in the
morning in the breeze. On the elders opposite side was a white robed young man
sporting coke bottle thick glasses. To Ranma's left stood a girl with long,
dark pink hair who "meowed" a greeting. The blue and white school
uniform and fangs were her distinctive features.
“Who the hell are they?” Michiru wondered somewhat
sarcastically. An “Oh shit” from Pluto was her reply.
“Ranma?” Moon left the question hand, earning her a lopsided
grin.
“Ladies, I'd like to present to you the Nerima Wrecking Crew.”
Authors notes;
As you can see, I've been steadily winding up the tension here
as more plot comes to bear. I know this has been a funny pissing match from the
beginning, but I've also intended there to be a point to it all from the
beginning as well. Hope everybody can hang with my writing style, as you've
been a great audience so far. Two more parts to go.
Elerium-115; An element that, when bombarded by certain
particles, produces graviton waves and large amounts of energy. It is not found
naturally on Earth.
Ukyo, Akane; These two weren't included in the final scene as I
don't consider them major players, especially when confronted with a universe
of super youma. Even if they somehow were powerful enough, I judge that neither
has the killer instinct nessisary to be a credible force in the coming
engagement.I've heard arguments for and against, and am rolling with this one.
Special Thanx to Delta-Theta, my part-time Sailor-Moon
database, TriMatter and the FukuFics crew, as always.
Assault on the Wormhole begins.