I don't own `em. Takahashi and Takeuchi do. I ain't making money off of `em. Please don't waste your money suing me, as I am poor. Another author DOES make a brief cameo in here. He knows about it and doesn't care, as he's already gotten his revenge. That means neither should you. (Of course, if you can't spot it, don't worry about it.) If you feel this overpowering urge to slam your head into a wall after reading this, it MIGHT be because you didn't read the earlier chapters. You can find them @ My homepage: http://www.angelfire.com/anime/Slacker Tannim's (absolutely wonderful!!) page: http://tannim.anifics.com/index.html ********** All the Small Things-Chapter 5a A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 fanfic By: Slacker (rheins@pmt.org) ********** Hikawa shrine "Can we get on with this? I want to go take a nap." a voice announced. Surprisingly, it wasn't Usagi. It was Minako. A chorus of agreement echoed from around the room. It had been four days since their last meeting, and the attacks had intensified. The current record was four times in one night. It had been set last night, as a matter of fact. "Sounds like a plan to me." Ami agreed. She was feeling the late nights just as much as the rest of them, and had actually fallen asleep in class yesterday. She still blushed whenever she thought about the teacher's expression. "So what do we need to cover?" Haruka asked from where she was sitting with Michiru and Hotaru. She shifted slightly in order to let Hotaru make herself more comfortable. It had taken less than five minutes for Hotaru to fall asleep on her shoulder. "This is just a progress report. So far, I haven't found any pattern in the attacks. I think I've come close a few times, but then something happens to throw off my calculations. Our enemies change tactics, powers, and appearances almost every time they attack. Quite frankly, I'm stumped. The only thing that confuses me more than the enemy is Nemesis." Everyone groaned at the name. Nemesis had shown up at most of the fights, but had stayed to the sidelines for the majority of them. He usually introduced himself by insulting their fighting skills at the top of his voice. It was when he didn't immediately start with the insults that they worried. It meant that he was taking the enemy seriously. Mamoru rubbed his shoulder and winced at the name. Usagi noticed and hugged him with a concerned expression. "Still bothering you?" Ami asked. "No. Just remembering." Mamoru replied. Everyone nodded as they remembered just HOW he had hurt his shoulder. ************* Two nights before Tuxedo Kamen crouched on the rooftop, a rose in his hand. Below him, the Senshi were fighting some sort of crab-like youma. They were slowly losing. Actually, this fight was going better than usual. They had managed to hold their own in the first part of the fight. It was only as the fight dragged on that they began to lose. They still didn't have the stamina to fight for much more than ten minutes at a time. Tuxedo Kamen tensed in preparation. He was just waiting for a good opportunity to provide a distraction in the form of one of his roses. "Hey. Pretty-boy." The voice came from behind him. Kamen froze. He slowly turned. "Nemesis." Nemesis smiled a tight little smile. It wasn't a happy smile by any means. "What the hell are you doing up here?" "I'm-" "Helping the Senshi?" "Yes." "By sitting up on a roof, waiting to throw a piece of foliage, while the Senshi do all the REAL fighting?" When it was put that way, Kamen had to admit that it sounded really pathetic. His voice was a bit subdued when he answered. "Yes." "You really want to help them in their fights?" Nemesis asked in a pleasant voice. "Of course!" Kamen's voice was indignant. "Well then, get your ass IN THE FIGHT!" Tuxedo Kamen had just enough time to flinch back before he felt Nemesis grab the front of his jacket. The Senshi stared in shock as Tuxedo Kamen flew over the edge of the roof and slammed into the back of the youma. "Hit it now, Sailor Moon!" Nemesis called in a sarcastic tone of voice from the edge of the roof. He turned and started to walk off. As he walked away, he looked at the rose in his hand and snorted. "Goddess, that boy was trained better than that. Guess that's the result of slacking off in training." He dropped the rose on the roof. His next step crushed the fragile blossom. He walked on, uncaring. ********* Mamoru had come out of that little incident with a dislocated shoulder and large amounts of bruising, but little else. Ami remarked that Nemesis HAD to have been aiming him when he threw him, or else he would have probably died on impact. Haruka growled. Every time they met, Nemesis had made jokes about either "Sailor Asshole" or something similar. Hotaru shifted a bit in her sleep. Haruka instantly froze so she wouldn't wake her up. Hotaru had been at every one of the Senshi's fights. It was strange. Nemesis almost seemed fond of her, taking time out of each fight to ask how she was, what her day had been like, and so forth. If Haruka didn't know better, she'd almost suspect he cared about her. But after watching Nemesis refuse to fight until Usagi was endangered, she'd come to the conclusion that he didn't care about anyone but the Princess. "Well, if that's all we need to talk about, then I'm going to go take a nap." Usagi announced as she stood up and started to walk to the door. "What? Don't you want to hear what I have to say?" A voice asked from the shadowed corner directly behind Usagi. "AAH!" Usagi screamed as she whipped around and unloaded a right jab into the shadow with a sharp *CRACK*, then stumbled over her own feet and fell on her butt. Setsuna walked out of the shadows, rubbing around her left eye, which was already swelling slightly. "Nice punch, but you need to work on the follow-up. And you shouldn't punch someone who's come to give you information. It...lacks class." "Information?" Ami perked up. "About what?" "Not what. Who." Setsuna answered as she sat down at the table, rubbing the area around her eye. When she dropped her hand, there was no trace of a bruise or swelling. Everyone instantly figured out who. Haruka was the one who voiced the conclusion. "Nemesis." Setsuna smiled as she accepted a cup of tea from Rei. "Precisely." "So what about him?" Haruka drawled. "Let's start with the planet first." Setsuna began. "Out of ten living creatures, animal, plant, or otherwise, on Nemesis, nine of them would try to kill and eat you." "Lovely place." Michiru chimed. "You haven't heard the best part. The tenth just wants to kill you. You survive only by being a better killer than the rest of the planet. Nemesis survived almost a decade." "I begin to understand why he's so nasty." Makoto remarked. "Good. He didn't have it much better off in this life, either." "What do you mean?" Haruka inquired. "Do you really expect me to answer that? And ruin what's left of my reputation?" "No, not really." Rei dryly stated. "Good. That means you're learning." Setsuna smiled behind her cup. "Now, let's talk about Nemesis the person. Ami, give me your computer." "What? Why?" Ami asked as she clutched her computer to her chest. "I need it to illustrate my next point. Now, may I have it?" Ami hesitantly gave Setsuna the Mercury Computer. Setsuna immediately began to type slowly on the keyboard. She appeared to be having a hard time. Finally, she growled and slammed the Computer onto the table. "Forget it. I never could type on that thing. Stupid keyboard." Setsuna grumbled. Ami started to reach out to reclaim her computer. Setsuna stopped her with a single look, then reached over and pressed a few buttons. "Computer. Voice address. Voice authentication: Pluto." Setsuna commanded. "Voice authenticated. Hello, Pluto." The Computer responded in a rich tenor voice. "It has a voice address system?" Ami whispered. A twitch started by her left eye. "It has a voice address system. IT HAS A VOICE ADDRESS SYSTEM!!! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT?!?!" "You didn't ask." Setsuna calmly answered. Makoto had to hold Ami back from trying to choke Setsuna, who looked at Ami and blinked. "How...quaint. You should probably calm down, Ami. I don't think your face is supposed to be that color of purple." Setsuna noted. When Ami showed no indication of halting her quest to massage Setsuna's throat, the Senshi of Time reached over and tapped the back of her outstretched hand. Ami promptly collapsed into Makoto's arms. "What'd you do?!" Makoto demanded. "Pressure point. It'll wear off soon." Setsuna informed her, then turned back to the Computer. "You might want to cut back her caffeine intake, by the way." "I've never heard of a pressure point on the hand that would do that." Ami mumbled from Makoto's lap. "There isn't one. There is one on the neck, though. The hand was to distract you." Setsuna informed her. Makoto quickly glanced at Ami's neck. Sure enough, there was a small red mark just above her collarbone. "Computer, open the Nemesis files. Play files 335 and 629." Setsuna commanded. "Unable to comply. Unauthorized personnel present." The Computer replied. "What?" Setsuna blinked. Then she shook her head. "Computer, full identifying scan of all present personnel." "Complying." The Computer sat quietly for a few seconds. "Setsuna, what's it doing?" Usagi asked. "It's running a full scan on all of us. DNA, spiritual aura, magical aura, synapse map, about fifty other scans that can't be explained unless you've got advanced degrees in physics, biology, and magical theory. You've changed a bit from the Silver Millenium, both physically and mentally. It has to re-catalogue you." She replied. "Scan complete. Present: Sailors Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Princess Serenity, and Prince Endymion. Errors detected. Queen Serenity: Deceased. King Endymion: Deceased. Updating databanks. The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen. Query: Sailor Saturn is active. Do you wish to activate the Silence Protocols?" The Computer finished. "No. Delete the Silence Protocols. They are unnecessary." Setsuna's voice was firm. "Setsuna, what are the Silence Protocols?" Michiru asked, not noticing that Hotaru was waking up. Setsuna turned to look at her. "What do you think they are with a name like that? They're a set of protocols designed to kill Sailor Saturn. They were deemed necessary. Most of them involved the destruction of one or more of the planets." "What would make something like that necessary?" Ami asked in a horrified voice. "The end of all that is. The Silence. Several prophecies spoke of it, and the fact that Saturn is the only one who could bring it. So, steps were taken, just in case." Setsuna's voice was matter-of-fact. "We weren't going to allow the Silence to happen. To that end, a series of scenarios were worked out. Thankfully, they were never necessary." "They hated me that much?" Hotaru whispered. Setsuna turned to look at her. Her voice softened as she answered. "No, Hotaru. They were scared of what they thought you represented." She seemed to consider something for a few seconds, then nodded. "Computer, open Council log #334519. Immediately." Setsuna commanded. "Yes, Pluto. Council log #334519 opening." The Computer responded as the air above it began to glow. A scene quickly appeared hovering over the table. A group of people were sitting around a large marble table. Setsuna started to name them. "Aria, Queen of Mercury." She was a small woman with brown hair and eyes wearing a light blue robe. She had the look of a scholar. "Taris, Queen of Venus." She was a blonde woman, with a figure that was...lush. (And wearing a dress that looked to be painted on.) "Endymion, King of Earth." He was dressed in the same armor that Mamoru occasionally used. His resemblance to his son was unmistakable. "I don't really need to introduce Queen Serenity, do I?" Serenity was wearing her usual white gown, and had a slightly troubled cast to her expression. "Keira, Queen of Mars." She had long black hair and violet eyes, and was wearing a form- fitting red gown. "Zeus, King of Jupiter. It's a hereditary name, by the way." He was a huge man with a head of fiery red hair and a beard to match. He was dressed in a battered set of forest green plate armor. "Vessa, Queen of Saturn." She looked the same as the last time they had seen her. "Haran, King of Uranus." He was a slim blonde man with light green eyes, and was wearing a formal tunic. "Lera, Queen of Neptune." She was a medium- sized woman with almost electric-blue eyes and hair, wearing an elegant green gown. "What? No ruler for Pluto?" Haruka interjected. Setsuna looked at her. "Of course not. The only one allowed on Pluto was myself. If anyone else tried to land, they were killed. No chances were taken in regards to the Time Gate." "Computer, begin play." Setsuna commanded. "Complying." As the Computer started to play, everyone turned to watch the recording. "So this is all we've got? By the Gods, some of these are ridiculous!" Jupiter demanded, waving a sheaf of papers in the air. "You requested that I develop a series of scenarios, Zeus. You never specified what type." Mercury responded in a calm voice. "Aria, you should have used SOME common sense! I mean, look at them! Most of those plans involve the willful destruction of at least one planet!" Uranus interjected. "Haran, those ARE the ones where I used common sense. The best estimates we have on Saturn's power put her at well ABOVE Nemesis!" Mercury's voice was insistent. "She's that powerful?" Neptune asked in a soft voice. "Lera, Nemesis has stated that Saturn has a greater power potential than he does. I believe him. These are the only plans that might stand a chance at stopping her should she go rogue." Mercury informed her. "Well, I'll just have to make sure she doesn't go rogue, then. Won't I?" A voice commented from the shadows behind Serenity. Everyone at the table stiffened, except for Serenity. "I was wondering how long you'd just stand there." Serenity's voice was calm. Nemesis smiled as he moved out of the shadows. He walked over to the table and snatched the papers that Jupiter was holding out of his hands and started to read them. "Setsuna, just how old is Nemesis? He's a lot bigger than the last time we saw him!" Usagi asked. "He's between twenty-two and twenty-five in this recording. And when did you see him before?" Setsuna replied. "He's got to be over seven feet tall!" Minako exclaimed. "Actually, he's six feet, five inches tall, weighs a little over four hundred and fifty pounds, can bench-press over three tons, and can run at just a little bit under Mach 1. Any other relevant information you want to know?" Setsuna responded. "He looks taller. And he shouldn't weigh that much, not at that height." Ami seemed puzzled. "His bones and muscles are a lot denser than an average persons. Side-effect of growing up on Nemesis. At least, that was the theory." Setsuna explained impatiently. Haruka opened her mouth to ask another question, but was interrupted by the recording. Nemesis was laughing his head off. "BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" *snort* *snicker* "What the hell were you smoking when you came up with some of these?" Nemesis asked the Queen of Mercury. "And why aren't you sharing?" "What is that supposed to mean?" she responded calmly. "That means that these plans are a joke. Mostly." Nemesis began to go through the stack. "Pathetic." Tossed to the floor. "Moronic." Toss. "Yeah, right." Toss. "Don't make me laugh." Toss. "This doesn't even deserve a comment." Crumpled and bounced off of Jupiter's head. "This one might do. If she was asleep, crippled, and deaf." As Nemesis continued, the stack of discards grew larger. A few were placed on the table, and dubbed "Barely adequate. *IF* you got lucky." As he neared the bottom of the stack, more were placed on the table. As he read the last paper, he stopped and stared at it. "By the gods." His whispered comment was horrified. "She's a six year-old girl! And you suggest...THIS?! I think I'm gonna throw up." Nemesis clenched his fist, and the paper burst into flame. He glared around the table. "I'm only going to say this once. Saturn is under my protection. You try to hurt her and I WILL take any steps necessary. The moment any of these plans are set into motion, I WILL know. And I...will...KILL...*YOU*! She has the same protection as the Princess and the Younger Senshi. And you all know how I deal with threats to them, don't you?" His voice was deadly calm. "Are you threatening us?" Neptune's voice was outraged. "I don't make threats. Ever. I make promises." Nemesis turned to leave. As he opened the door, he called over his shoulder "Oh, by the way, Vessa? How's Mimas these days?" The Queen of Saturn stiffened. Nemesis' laughter could be heard as the recording stopped. "Nemesis took, and takes, his responsibilities VERY seriously. Once he took up a job, he never quit it. Hurting, or trying to hurt someone under his protection was a quick way to commit suicide." Setsuna's voice was firm. "Computer, play recording 629." "Complying." They saw a well-lit corridor, with rich tapestries and tasteful statues lining the walls. A shadow detached itself and crept along the hallway. It regularly paused and checked for threats. Finding none, it slowly made its way to a door. Easing open the door, the shadow crept towards its target: the seven-year-old Princess Serenity. Slowly drawing out a thin knife, the assassin prepared to strike. "Easiest money I've ever made." He whispered. "I doubt that." The shadow froze as the voice spoke from directly above it. It looked up just as a ball of light flared into existence. The assassin was around six feet, two inches tall, with short brown hair and blue eyes. The hand holding the ball of light belonged to Sailor Nemesis. The assassin summed up his feelings with a simple and heartfelt "Oh, SHIT!" "Templar, right?" Nemesis said with a nasty smile. A whimper was his response. "Good. Let's...talk." Templar took off running. Nemesis jumped down from his mid-air perch and followed. A short while later, a scream sounded, only to be cut off by a wet gurgle. Nemesis walked into Princess Serenity's room, wiping off his hands and talking to himself as he came. "Well, that was messy. Guy was surprisingly good. I think he broke some ribs." He walked over to the princess and stroked her cheek after adjusting her blankets. He smiled and floated back up by the ceiling. The recording ended just as he turned off the light spell. "Nemesis would give people just enough rope to hang themselves with. Then he'd...take steps. We never did find that man." Setsuna's voice was quiet. "He had a sense of justice that was very...focused. There were only two things he held as important: the safety of his wards and doing his duty. He'd ignore any law, statute, or decree that prevented him from doing that. It's that simple." The Senshi all stopped to think about that for a second. "Playing record #335." The Computer announced. The recording appeared to be of the throne room of Queen Serenity. (Born out by the fact that she was sitting in the throne at one end.) A man dressed in a red robe was addressing her. He was extremely angry, as evidenced by his bright red face and the fact that he was screaming at the Queen. The Senshi's eyes popped at his language. "One of the Ambassadors from Mars. He's upset over a decision Serenity made involving the Younger Mars." Setsuna informed them. "What decision would cause that kind of an outburst?" Rei asked. "She decided to let Nemesis train the Younger Senshi. The Queen of Mars refused to let you 'suffer under that psycho'. So Nemesis kidnapped you. Serenity decreed that the Martians were not to attempt to find you." "Nemesis trained us?" Ami asked. "Yes. He trained all of you. And he taught me a few new tricks, too. Mostly by using them on me." Setsuna replied, just as the man wound down his diatribe. "Thank you, Ambassador, for that...colorful speech. Nevertheless, my decision remains unchanged. I will not entertain any more petitions to change it. Do you understand?" Serenity's voice was sharp. Her eyes promised pain if he answered 'No'. The man gulped and nodded. He turned and started to walk out of the room. As he walked he whistled a little tune. Rei paled as she heard it. "Something wrong, Rei?" Usagi asked. "That was NOT a nice thing he said." She replied. "What do you mean? He just whistled." Haruka protested. "Their language basically WAS whistling. It was really beautiful to listen to in large groups. The choirs were incredible." Setsuna explained. A chorus of understanding went around the room at her explanation. The Ambassador stomped out of the room, whistling the entire time. The view followed him as he turned right and stomped down the hallway outside the room. He was just about to turn a corner when an arm shot out of the shadows behind a column and grabbed the front of his robe. Nemesis emerged from the shadow and smiled a tight smile at him. "Can I talk to you for a second?" The Ambassador started to stammer something that sounded like a refusal. Nemesis nodded. "That's nice. Let's go in there." Nemesis dragged him into a room and shut the door behind him. He continued to smile as he blocked the door with a rather large divan. Nemesis turned around. "Let's make this quick. There's just a few things we need to cover. First, you've got a fairly large dagger under your robe. You know the rules against that. Second, it's an ENCHANTED dagger! That just makes it worse. Third, to take care of your main complaint, your princess is MUCH safer under my protection than anywhere else in this system. Fourth, Serenity doesn't know the nastier parts of Martian. I do. If you even think about calling her that again, they will NEVER find your body. Understand?" Nemesis could have been discussing the weather for the emotion he showed in his voice. The man gulped and nodded. "Good. Now listen closely: I swear to you, on my oath to Serenity, that no lasting harm shall be done to your Princess. In fact, by the time I'm done with her, she'll be in better health than you can imagine." Nemesis paused for a few seconds, and seemed to consider something. "Hmmm, I've got an idea. You go to Keira and tell her what I just told you. If she wants to argue, have HER come and complain about it to me personally. All right?" The Ambassador just stared at him. "I'll take your silence to mean yes." Nemesis commented. He turned and started to walk into a shadow. "Wait!" But the Ambassador's cry came too late. Nemesis had already vanished. "Great. Now how am I supposed to get out of here?" The man muttered, as he kicked the divan still blocking the door. Rei was snickering as the recording ended. "I remember that guy. He was such a...." She searched for a polite way to say it. "Pompous ass?" Setsuna suggested. "Precisely." Rei said crisply. "I remember him. I keep seeing him in this hat. You know what I mean?" Haruka asked. "Yeah! And the squid!" Rei excitedly responded. "And that thing! What was with that thing? What was it?" Haruka interjected. "I don't know! Hey, remember the SHOES?" Rei asked. Both of them broke down laughing. After a few seconds, Haruka stopped snickering, and looked at the puzzled expressions of the rest of the group. "Don't ask. One of those 'You had to have been there' things." She explained. "Riiiight." Michiru drawled. "Anyways, onto the next recording." Setsuna said, sobering up everyone nearly instantly. "This one was taken a few months after the one we just watched." The recording started with a familiar face screaming. "Damn it! Give me a status report!" It was the Queen of Saturn. She was sitting in a large, functional-looking chair in what appeared to be a command center of some kind. "Same as the last, my Queen. We STILL can't get anyone within range to monitor them, and our ships with ground-pounder capabilities are still two days out. King Zeus has informed us that his forces are busy dealing with a few unpleasant surprises the rebels left on Jupiter when they escaped custody." An aide informed her. "So we're just going to sit here and wait?! After those bastards invaded Mimas, killed every single person at the terra-forming station, and blatantly dared us to try to stop them? You expect me to just sit here and wait for TWO FUCKING DAYS?!" The Queen screamed. "No. I expect you to sit down, shut up, and not do a damn thing." A voice announced from behind her. Everyone whirled around. Nemesis was standing there, with a large group of young children. They were easily recognizable. "That's us when we were kids." Ami stated the obvious. "Of course. Who else would look exactly like you when you were that age?" Setsuna replied matter-of-factly. "How old are we here? And where's Makoto?" Ami asked. "You range from eight to twelve years old here. And, if you'd be quiet for a few seconds, you'd find out where Makoto is." Setsuna replied with a bit of a bite in her tone. Meanwhile, the recording continued with the Queen of Saturn standing and addressing Nemesis. "Why are you here? This is not in your jurisdiction. This is a matter between me, Zeus, and those rebels. Your assistance is neither needed or desired." Her voice was just a little warmer than liquid nitrogen. Nemesis glanced over at her as he answered. "Serenity granted me permission to train the Younger Senshi." "So? How does that relate to this matter?" She demanded. Nemesis pointed at the image of Mimas displayed on the viewscreen. "Jupiter is down there. She's the second to last of the Youngers. I WILL get her. I don't care who or what I have to go through." "Oh, really." the Queen of Saturn arched an eyebrow. She pointed at the children with him. "And do you intend to take them with you?" Nemesis snorted. "Of course not. They'll stay here. Mercury will be in charge. You can call her Ice. It's her street name." He patted the blue-haired girl's head fondly. "And what can she do? She's what? Twelve, at the most?" An aide scoffed as he reached over to poke her. "Ice is just a bit over twelve, as near as we can figure. As for what she can do? Ice, drop him. Softly." Nemesis calmly commanded. She responded with the speed of a striking cobra. Two fingers slammed into the man's leg, which collapsed underneath him. He pitched forward, and his throat received the same two fingers. She grabbed his collar with her left hand and put the knife that had appeared in her right hand to his now-abused throat. Her calm, reserved expression hadn't changed in the least bit. "That's what she can do. Ice is quite possibly the most intelligent person I've ever met. And one of the most resilient. She's been on her own in the Mercurian slums since she was five. You'll notice she's still in good condition, despite living in that hellish place for seven years. Trust me, she'll be able to handle anything." His voice was full of calm confidence. The Queen of Saturn nodded her head in acceptance. "All right. Will you grant me a small favor?" "Depends on what it is." "Carry a battle recorder. I've always wanted to see you fight with the kid gloves off." "Can't. The Chaos won't allow them to work, remember?" Nemesis' voice was faintly mocking. "It's Mercurian." She quickly replied. "Man, you're ready for anything, aren't you?" Nemesis shook his head. "Fine. I'll grab it before I go down." Ice broke down laughing. Nemesis shot her an amused glance. "Pervert." He commented as he left the command center. Ice just grinned. A few minutes later, a voice spoke up over the intercom. It sounded a bit shocked. "My Queen? Nemesis just left. He...um, well...walkedouttheairlock?" the voice finished in a rush. "Walked out the airlock?" the Queen arched an eyebrow. "Well, I suppose that's ONE way to avoid them detecting him teleporting down to the planet's surface." "HOLY GODS! Multiple jump signatures to port!" A man screamed from his station. "What?! Show them!" The command was snapped out harshly. "Who the hell is crazy enough to warp in this close to Saturn?" The viewscreen shifted sharply just in time to see a silver aura fade from around three large, graceful ships. The one in the middle was huge, easily twice the size of the other two combined. "That's the 'Serenity Ascendant.' Why would the Queen's flagship be here?" Saturn muttered under her breath. Unnoticed by all, the Younger Senshi subtly shifted to hide one of their members in the center of the group. Queen Serenity's image flashed onto the viewscreen. She had a look of barely-controlled rage on her face, and pure ice in her eyes. "Where is he?" she hissed. "Where is WHO?" Saturn inquired. "Nemesis. Where is that bastard." Came the snarled reply. "He just went down to Mimas' surface. We could try to get in contact with him-" Serenity cut her off. "Where are the children he had with him?" Her voice was a bit frenzied. "They're right over there." Saturn pointed towards the children. "Why are you so...upset?" "Hello, Mother!" piped a voice from the middle of the children. The rest of them groaned. <'Mother'? Wait, that means...Please let me be wrong. Please.> "Princess Serenity?" "Hiiiiiii!" The voice was insanely cheerful, despite the attempts to quiet it. "Oh, damn. What is SHE doing here?" Saturn muttered under her breath. "Arin said we were going on a trip! I'm having lots of fun! First we went to Mercury, then to Venus, and then to-MMMPH!" Her voice was cut off as a hand covered her mouth. The hand belonged to a younger version of Rei, who glared at the Princess and muttered something about 'giving her SUCH a pinch.' Saturn turned back to Serenity. "My Queen, I will ferry the Princess over to your flagship." "No, you won't. Nemesis told me to watch over the rest of the Youngers, protect the Princess, and wait here. The Princess leaving invalidates those instructions. You will not be moving her until he returns and instructs me in a different course of action." Ice's voice was flat. She spoke with the calm assurance of one who knew that what she stated was a fact. "And how will you prevent me, child?" Saturn waved one of her personal guards forward. "Get the Princess and take her back to Serenity." The man started towards the group of children, cracking his knuckles as he went. Ice moved to meet him. She punched out incredibly fast, only to have her hand caught by one of his hands, as his other hand grabbed the back of her shirt and lifted her off her feet. "What will you do now, little girl?" the man rumbled in a deep voice. "This." she reached up and grabbed his wrist. She squeezed a pressure point and his hand spasmed open. She dropped to the ground and slapped her open hand against his chest. "Cold snap!" He was instantly encased in a thin, super- hard, super-cold layer of ice. Ice turned and started to walk back to the group. She looked over her shoulder as she announced "As I already said, you will not move her. You have two minutes to defrost him before permanent damage is done." Saturn gestured to an aide. "Get him to the infirmary." She started to walk towards Ice, who dropped into a loose fighting stance, with a knife that looked to be made of ice appearing in her right hand. Saturn opened her mouth to speak and was prevented when a beeping started. "My Queen?" an aide hesitantly spoke up. "That's the tactical channel. It's from the planet. It's Nemesis. Audio only." "Put him on." The Queen commanded. There was a brief crackle, then Nemesis' voice came through. "I've got her. Little minx bit me! I like her already." They could hear the amusement in his voice. "Serenity is here, Nemesis. Seems a bit angry. Something concerning her daughter?" Saturn's voice was cheerful. "She is? Well...damn. I don't suppose you could lie to her and tell her I'm not here?" His voice was hopeful. "She's listening to this conversation." Saturn replied, a smirk on her face. Nemesis was silent for a few seconds. "Oh. Damn, again. Hi, Serenity. Lovely weather, isn't it?" His voice was carefree. "Oh, yes. Very lovely. I'm going to have you drawn and quartered, you know." Serenity's voice was pleasant. "Why would you want to do that?" Nemesis asked in a puzzled tone of voice. "You really need to ask?" "No, not really." Nemesis chuckled. "But before you do that, you might want to back a bit farther away from Mimas." "What? Back away from Mimas? Why?" Saturn inquired. "Well, I'm out-numbered, and I've got a kid in my arms. I can't fight at my usual level, or the kid will get hurt. So, I'm going to Absolve these bastards." Nemesis' voice was grim. Serenity turned white. "Absolve? You're going to cast Absolution?" she whispered in a trembling voice. She glanced off-screen and commanded "Get us back, now!" "Absolution? What kind of a spell name is 'Absolution'?" Saturn asked in a moderately amused tone. "You have my daughter on your vessel. You also have the Younger Senshi, several of whom are the only heirs of their planets. Move back. NOW." Serenity's voice was flat. "All right, all right. Pull back. What's the worst that can happen?" Saturn rhetorically asked. Over the speakers, they could hear Nemesis begin to talk. "You psychotic little morons have slaughtered 800 innocent men, women, and children. You've destroyed nearly priceless equipment, ruined 200 years of terraforming efforts, and, if I remember the broadcast correctly, called Queen Serenity a 'frigid, over-controlling bitch.' I resent that last bit. She's not frigid. I'm afraid you all have to die now." He paused, then continued. "In the next life, I hope you can find...ABSOLUTION!!" It started small. Just a tiny point of light on the surface. Nothing major, certainly nothing to worry about. Then it grew rapidly in an orgy of destruction. Tendrils of actinic fury lanced out and ripped huge chunks of the moon's surface out before they were re-absorbed into the main part of the quickly-formed dome. They could see atmosphere start to boil off as the dome flared and pulsed with power. The huge sphere of light rippled out to cover a third of the moon's surface, peeling back the solid rock like a tomato hit by a sandblaster. Then, it just vanished, leaving a huge crater, a desolate surface, and a now-dead world. The crater wasn't even smoking. "Holy...." the Queen of Saturn trailed off as words failed her. Behind her, there were a few thuds as legs gave out. Ice was more succinct in her response. "Fuuuuuuck meeeeeee." "Hmmm, maybe I overdid it a bit. Still, it's kind of pleasing in a purely aesthetic sort of way, don't you think?" Everyone whirled at Nemesis' voice. He was standing in a shadow in a far corner of the bridge, holding a small form in his arms. A small amount of brown hair could be seen flowing over one of his arms, offset by a pair of feet hanging over the other. "That's her?" Ice asked, motioning towards his burden. "Yup. Ice, meet Lana. She's the daughter of Jovian Supreme Commander Knight. She's your responsibility now." Nemesis walked over and placed the still form in her arms. She stirred as she was moved. Green eyes blinked open and met blue ones. Ice smiled. "Hi. I'm Ice. I'm gonna take real GOOD care of you." Her voice sounded very pleased in some obscure way. She was smiling widely as the recording ended. "Well, THAT was interesting." Haruka remarked dryly. "I just feel incredibly re- assured about him, now." Ami frowned slightly. There had been something about the way that her past self had grinned that disturbed her. It reminded her of Haruka, for some weird reason. "You didn't see Nemesis when he was in a bad mood. I once watched him back down the leader of the Royal Guard with one look." Setsuna informed them. "Of course, him in a good mood had...other potential problems." "Such as what? What could be worse than what we just saw?" Rei demanded incredulously. Setsuna pondered for a second, then nodded to herself. "He played practical jokes." "How could that be worse?" Hotaru asked. "You're about to find out." Setsuna replied, snapping her fingers as she spoke. "The baths." Everything went black. ******************** The Silver Millenium Sailor Pluto sighed as she shed her uniform with a thought and stepped into the hot waters of the bath. She leaned back against the rim and smiled as she felt her muscles start to loosen up. She had been running especially hard lately. Nemesis appeared to be deliberately trying to annoy her. If it wasn't sneaking the Princess down to Earth to meet with Prince Endymion, it was encouraging the Younger Senshi to raise havoc among the Royal court. She KNEW it was a mistake to let him train them. She couldn't fault his efficiency, they were EXTREMELY good at using their powers. However, they also showed some of his...less pleasant attitudes, as well. His rather harsh sense of honor, his absolute refusal to accept authority, his contempt for anyone who failed to live up to his standards, and, of course, his EXTREMELY odd sense of humor. But, she had to admit, it was rather amusing to watch the Younger Senshi go out to town. They partied with a flair that was almost unbeatable. They also applied the same flair to their fighting. "Don't just win, win with STYLE." seemed to be their motto in a fight. Even the Princess was able to hold her own (against the Army's hand to hand instructors no less), at least temporarily. Pluto chuckled as she remembered the expression on the instructor's face as the Princess ended her first session by throwing him against the far wall, then tripped and fell on her face as she walked out of the sparring ring. As she grabbed some soap for her hair, she considered the Younger Senshi as a whole. All of the Inners were very good at their job of bodyguards, and even worked well with the Outers, something that hadn't happened in quite a long time. She was certain that Uranus and Neptune were lovers, and it was possible they had a soul-bond. If they did, it was time for a party. Soul-bonding was extremely rare and whenever one was discovered, the Queen always threw a massive party. She paused in lathering her hair as a thought occurred to her. An image of a serious-looking boy suggesting she grow out her hair briefly flashed briefly across her mind, but she banished it quickly. She told herself, as she dunked her head under the water to rinse the soap out. She stood, slicking her hair back and waiting for the water to get out of her eyes. She felt a little tingle. She froze. Something felt...different. There was a subtle change in the air. She felt a draft waft over her body, as her ears registered the muted hush of a large crowd. She wiped the rest of the water out of her eyes and opened them. She was standing completely naked in the middle of the Throne Room. She blinked calmly, then rapidly used her powers to examine the last few hours around her bathing room. She could detect nothing, yet SOMEONE had obviously placed a teleportation matrix in her bathtub. The fact that she couldn't find anything meant that it was.... Her eyes narrowed, and she slowly searched the room for her target. There. Talking to a slim, white-haired man, facing away from her. She stalked towards the soon-to-be-dead victim. She pulled the Time Staff out of Un-space as she walked. She silently moved behind the person responsible and... *WHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAM WHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAM WHAMWHAMWHAM* "BAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKA BAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKA BAKABAKA!!!" Beat Nemesis over the head with the Time Staff, screaming the entire time. Once Nemesis was a bloody mess on the floor, she took a deep breath (doing interesting things to her chest in the process), turned, and started to calmly walk out of the Throne Room. "What are YOU staring at?" she snapped harshly at a young noble who looked to be in a state of shock. He fainted. Pluto sniffed and continued on her way. Nemesis' companion looked down at him. "All right, you win. Her hair color IS natural." His voice was faintly surprised. "Shut up, Artemis." Nemesis groaned as he stood up. "That woman can HIT!" "What insanity made you decide to DO that? Pissing off Pluto is not a good way to lengthen your life span." Artemis asked, shaking his head. Nemesis paused in wiping the blood of his face. He shrugged as he pointed to the center of the room. "The same kind of insanity that made me do THAT." "Huh?" Artemis turned his head just in time to see the Senshi, both Elder and Younger, get teleported into the center of the Throne Room. Naked, of course. "I left white hair by the teleport matrixes for them." Nemesis informed him. Artemis looked at him, his eyes going wide and his face pale. "Might I suggest running? And changing into a cat? You're harder to hit that way." Nemesis grinned as Artemis took his advice and ran like the hounds of Hell were after him. Which wasn't far off, actually. ************** "What the hell was that?!" Rei demanded, halfway in a panic. "That was a little trick I learned to do sometime around 3 AD. It allows you to share your memories with other people. It's useful in situations like this." Setsuna calmly replied. "He teleported us into the Throne Room butt- naked. Please tell me we got him back." Haruka stated in a too-calm voice. "You got him back. Or at least gave it a good shot. You waited until the next time he was in the public baths, then stole his clothes, and asked Queen Serenity to summon him." "Excellent." Haruka grinned. Setsuna continued. "He then walked to the Throne Room from the far side of the Palace, where the baths were located. Without his clothes." "He walked through the entire Palace buck- naked?" Makoto asked, incredulously. "No. He was nude, not naked. In order to be 'naked', you have to care. He didn't. Being raised by Arik, he had NO nudity taboo. He wore clothes because they let him hide weapons better and provided some protective properties." Setsuna sighed, then asked rhetorically, "Have you ever tried to embarrass someone with no sense of modesty, and no shame? It isn't easy." "I can imagine." Ami stated dryly. She opened her mouth to continue, but was interrupted by a beeping from the Mercury Computer. "Ah, man! Why now?" Minako whined as Ami grabbed the Computer and began typing like crazy. Ami went pale. "There are at least 20 individual disturbances." She whispered in a horrified voice. "Let's go." Setsuna's voice was flat. ****************** Tuxedo Kamen crouched on the edge of the roof and tossed another rose. It punctured the eye of one of the group of youma they were fighting. Of course, that only removed one eye out of four. All of the youma looked exactly the same. The easiest way to describe them would be to imagine them as an eight-foot tall humanoid Praying Mantis. They were insanely fast, and tough enough to be a pain. Kamen was using his roses to do pin-point attacks from the roof tops. They were surprisingly effective, having already accounted for seven of the twenty-plus youma. "Still hiding on the roofs, pretty boy?" a voice asked caustically from behind him. Kamen didn't even bother turning. "Actually, I'm providing support and precision fire." "Good. You've finally learned something. Sitting on a roof while killing an enemy is usually easier than getting in its face. Not as much fun, though." Nemesis commented as he walked over next to Kamen. He stared down at the fight. "This isn't right." Nemesis stated in a very unhappy tone. "What do you mean? We're winning!" Kamen replied irritably. "These youma shouldn't be that organized. They're using tactics. I've never seen a youma built like that with anything that even resembled a brain." Nemesis explained. "So they're different from what you're used to. Big deal." Kamen's voice was flippant as he tossed another rose. "They're being controlled." Nemesis smiled. "That means I get to have some fun. Stay here and keep up the...passable work. How many are left, by the way?" "Eight." Kamen threw three roses in rapid succession. "Make that seven." "Good. Stay out of my way when I find the leader." Nemesis commanded, as he jumped off the rooftop. *************** "Well, that was easy." Jupiter announced as the last youma went down. "Why were these things so weak?" "I'm not sure." Mercury replied. "They were testing us. Trying to find out more about our tactics and styles." Pluto stated. "That means someone was watching." "That's what Nemesis said, too." Kamen interjected as he landed next to Moon. Pluto's head snapped around. "Nemesis is here?" "He took off. Said something about having some fun." Kamen informed her, as he checked Moon for injuries. "Oh, dear." Pluto whispered. "What? Is that bad? Why is that bad?" Saturn asked. A block away from them, the top four stories of an office building vaporized in a gout of flame. The shockwave threw all of them to the ground. "That's why." Pluto groaned, after she spat the dirt out of her mouth. "Large scale explosions are Nemesis' idea of fun. At least he doesn't know the Dragon Slave." *THA-WHUMP* A smoking body slammed into the concrete in front of Venus. After a few seconds, it coughed, letting loose a small cloud of smoke, and spoke. "Anyone smell barbecue? Oh, wait. That's me. Heh." Nemesis started to chuckle as he rose to his feet. "That's one nasty little fellow. He's mine." "Who is?" Moon asked. "Him." Nemesis pointed down the street towards an approaching figure. "Of course, if you get a clean shot, take it. I'm crazy, not suicidal." "Right." Uranus started to grin. "And don't forget, I will survive ANYTHING you can throw at me. You hit me just for fun, and I'll make the training I put you through before look like a walk in the park." Nemesis cautioned, before turning and walking towards the figure. By this point, they could make out what the figure looked like. It appeared to be a man, dressed in a tasteful pinstripe suit, the kind of suit that subtly screamed "I'm expensive as hell!" It was also smoldering. He had short light black hair, dark eyes, and an average build. "Do you know what this suit cost?" he asked pleasantly. "More money than you'll ever see. I'm afraid I must insist you make reparations." "And how do you think I'll do that?" Nemesis asked, once he was close enough to speak normally. "Well, you could replace it. I've been thinking about getting one made out of leather. You look to have enough skin on you to make a decent start. I'll just take the rest from your little friends. I do hope they manage to stay alive during the skinning." The man responded, sounding positively delighted at the thought. "You don't want a leather suit. They get sweaty and chafe." Nemesis politely informed him. "Really? I guess I'll just kill all of you, then. Thank you for that little tidbit, though." Came the disappointed reply. "You're welcome." Nemesis cordially answered as he kicked a chunk of rubble into the man's forehead. "That hurt, you know." The man rubbed his forehead as he spoke. There wasn't a mark on it. "It was supposed to. I'm Sailor Nemesis. Senshi of Chaos, protector of Queen Serenity, bodyguard to the Royal Family, and one hell of a poker player. And you are?" Nemesis asked, casually dodging the blood-red blast the man shot at him. "Oh, I'm Augstyn. Soldier of the Imperial Roman Empire, Praetorian Guard, and extremely good at killing anything that annoys me. You annoy me, by the way." He replied, jumping back as Nemesis tossed a car at him. "Well, now that the formalities are done with, shall we begin?" Nemesis inquired. "But of course." As soon as Augstyn replied, Nemesis blurred into action. He slammed a kick into Augstyn's chest, sending him flying through the brick wall of a building. He quickly ran after the man. The Senshi stared at where the pair had been a few seconds before. A series of violent explosions resounded in the direction Nemesis had gone. "Did he just...exchange pleasantries with someone who wants to kill every last one of us?" Mercury hesitantly asked. "That's what it sounded like to me." Neptune slowly answered. Pluto opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a beeping coming from the red gem on her bow. She blinked and looked down at it. "The encrypted channel? How did he get THAT access?" she murmured as she touched the gem. "...amned thing working? Why the hell isn't this thing transmitting? Pluto, you there?" Nemesis' voice sounded. "I'm here. What do you want? And how did you get access to this frequency?" Pluto testily asked. "YOU gave me the access, remember? Anyways, the reason I'm using this is--WHOA, THAT WAS CLOSE! NICE TRY, MOTHER-FU--Ahem, I need you guys to get me a clean radius. This guy is good. And he just broke my nose. And three ribs. And dislocated my shoulder. So screw it. I want some vindication." Nemesis sounded almost happy. Pluto paled. "Vindication?" Her voice was a whisper as she turned towards the Senshi. "Run." "What? Pluto, what did you sa--OOF!" Moon started to ask Pluto to repeat what she said, but was cut off when Pluto dashed over to her, flipped her over her shoulder, and started running. "I said 'RUN'!" Pluto yelled, as she took off running. The Senshi shared a glance. No words were needed. They were all thinking the same thing and they knew it. Pluto was carrying Moon, who wasn't the lightest person on the planet. They still had a tough time catching up to her. "Pluto, *huff* why *puff* are *pant* we *wheeze* running?" Jupiter gasped out. Pluto showed no visible effort as she answered. "Nemesis is about to cast one of his 'Big Three'. Its name is Vindication. It's the first on a three-step scale. The next is named Absolution. That's what he used on Mimas. The most powerful is named Solitude. We suspect that's what was used to destroy the planet Nemesis." "What kind of blast are we talking about? How big?" Uranus asked, easily keeping pace once she had caught her breath. "I'm not sure. Let me check." Pluto tapped on her gem. "Nemesis?" "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?!" His voice bellowed a reply. "I'M BUSY HERE!" "How far do we need to be?" Pluto asked, unperturbed by his tone. "I'd recommend three blocks from my current position. YEAH, YOU LIKE THAT? HUH? YOU WANT SOME MORE OF THAT? WELL, COME ON YOU LITTLE--" His voice was cut off as Pluto quickly tapped the gem. "I think we've heard enough." Behind them, a HUGE fireball rose in to the air, leaving behind a corona of black smoke. The ground shook. "I REALLY hope we don't have to pay for that." Moon commented from her perch. "I really don't think they'll care about that in a few seconds." Pluto commented, as she ducked into an alley and tapped on her gem again. "We're clear." "Good. Let me get into a better position." Nemesis responded. "I'm there. Brace yourselves." It wouldn't be right to say they heard him begin. Even if Nemesis screamed at the top of his lungs, if would be doubtful that they would have heard it. Nevertheless, they KNEW when he started to cast the attack. They felt it in their bones. Their magic resonated with it. It skittered over their skin like a million spiders. Their instincts screamed at them to "RUN!" They concentrated on ignoring all of it. There was a huge flash, the ground shook, and car alarms went off. But there was no shockwave, no ear-shattering explosion. Just a flash, a tremor, and a gust of wind. Pluto slowly poked her head out, then walked out. She jumped up to the roof. The rest of the Senshi followed her, and sucked in their breath at the sight. What appeared to be an entire block was just...gone. Buildings were cut cleanly as if by a knife. Power lines sparked as they danced insanely over the ground. A perfectly circular section of Juban had been completely vaporized. "Kami protect us. How many people did he kill with that attack?" Mars whispered in an absolutely horrified tone. "None. Absolutely none. The bastard skipped out before it killed him. But he was seriously hurting." Nemesis said from behind them. They whirled. "WHY THE HELL DO YOU keep...doing...that?" Uranus' voice trailed off as she got a good look at Nemesis. He had a deep cut directly over his right eye, his nose was obviously broken, and his left eye was rapidly swelling shut. From the way he was holding his right arm over his chest it was obvious the broken ribs he had mentioned hurt, and his left arm was hanging loosely in its socket. His shirt had large rents all over it, and Mercury thought she saw a brief flash of bone through one of them. He looked like someone had been put him in a blender and hit 'Frappe'. He was nonchalantly leaning against a vent to his right. Mercury gasped and hurried over to him. "Hold still." She commanded. "Whoa! Not the aAAARGGH!" Nemesis screamed as Mercury touched his left arm and it shifted just below the elbow. She quickly snapped her hand back and stepped back. Her eyes had a mute question. He satisfied her curiosity. "Blocked a manhole cover doing Mach 1.8. Turned out to be a bad idea. Who knew?" Nemesis tried to shrug, but failed. "Actually, it's not so bad. It's annoying, that's all. The broken left femur is what I'm pissed about." "Broken...left...femur." Mercury repeated slowly. "Yup. Got it blocking a telephone pole. Or maybe it was that tanker. Whatever." Nemesis tried to shrug again. He still didn't quite manage it. His gaze sharpened. "Pluto. They need training. A lot of it, too. Either you take care of it, or I will. I'd suggest you start immediately. As in tomorrow." "We have school tomorrow." Mercury informed him calmly. "All the schooling in the world doesn't matter if you're not alive to use it. Just a little reminder." He smiled, showing lots of teeth. He looked down. "Saturn, what are you doing?" His voice was pleasant, almost kind. Saturn had walked over to him and had placed her hands on his stomach. "I'm going to heal you. Please don't move." Saturn replied, as her gloved hands began to emit a white glow. "Don't bother. Wouldn't work." Nemesis gently removed her hands. "Why not?" Saturn asked unhappily. "It's just the way my magic works. I can't be healed by outside forces. You'd just make it worse. Thank you for the thought, though." Nemesis smiled kindly at Saturn. He turned and more or less fell into the shadows, swearing under his breath the entire time. Pluto sighed as she looked up at the sky. "It's getting dark. Let's go to my house. It's the closest. You can call your parents from there and tell them you're staying over." ****************** Somewhere else. "I can explain, really I can." Augstyn babbled. He was a mess. Literally charred over a good 70 percent of his body, one eye gone, the bones in his right arm ground into powder, and occasionally coughing up blood from his punctured lung. The fact that most of his internal organs were the consistency of soup, or the multiple hairline fractures on his skull didn't appear to be slowing him down, but they still hurt. A shadowed form stared at him with glowing red eyes from its perch in a large, overstuffed Laz-E-Boy. (Just because you're evil doesn't mean you don't like comfy chairs.) This was the Master. If he had another name, he had never bother to inform anyone. He calmly watched as Augstyn babbled away. "You see, I knew we needed more data on the Senshi, so I thought--URK!" His voice was cut off by a hand closing around his throat. He was slowly lifted into the air and brought close to his Master's face. Augstyn nervously stared at the razor-sharp teeth that were well within biting distance as the Master started to speak. "That is just the problem. You 'thought'. I was under the impression that I had broken you of that habit. Of course, if you 'think' you understand more about my goals than I do...." his Master's gravelly voice trailed off. Augstyn frantically shook his head. He could feel his Master's claws digging into his neck. He tried desperately not to remember the time he watched the Master gleefully flay a man with those nails. "Listen to me, and listen well, little Augstyn. I have not spent all the time I have on this miserable little mudball to have my efforts ruined by you. I was already sick of this planet when your ancestors considered a bronze sword as the height of weaponry. "I hate this pathetic hellhole. I would like nothing more than to reduce it to random atoms floating through the void of space. But, until I accomplish my goals, I CAN *NOT*. If you EVER endanger my plans again, I will make you wish your great-grandparents had died at birth. Understand?" The Master's voice was coldly formal and flat. Augstyn nodded quickly, trying to ignore the obvious enjoyment the Master had at his terror. "Good. Now get out of my sight." He was tossed to the floor carelessly. Augstyn ignored the pain, ignored the broken bones, just scrambled quickly for the door. He had to get away. HadtoHadtoHadtoHadtoHadto! A chuckle sounded through the room after Augstyn had managed to pull himself out. "Good. Maybe next time he'll actually listen. Now, what should I do? Ah, I know. I'll go...exploring. London? I've had fun there before. Maybe it's time for Jack to come back." With that, the dark figure disappeared, laughing the whole while in a harsh, grating tone. ****************** "I can't wait to go to sleep." Minako commented as the group minus Mamoru (who had a test to study for) and the cats (Setsuna informed them that Ranko had an extreme allergy to cats), walked towards the door of Setsuna's home. Everyone absently nodded as they kept their full attention on Haruka, who was telling a story about their houseguest. "...So Ranko stumbles in, shirt ripped, pants shredded, and one shoe gone. Has a black eye, a split lip, and one massive bruise on her side. You know her only comment?" Haruka waited a bit to build suspense. "And I quote: 'I ran into an old friend. I was kicking his ass until he got lost. We got any ice?' That was it! She never mentioned it again!" Haruka shook her head in exasperation. "Man, she's come home just about every night with something. I don't know how she manages to keep herself clothed." They were halfway to the door when Setsuna froze and blocked the group from going any further with her arm. Haruka was about to complain, but one look at Setsuna's face halted her. "Setsuna? What's wrong?" Haruka asked in a concerned tone. "The door is open. And I know I closed and dead-bolted it when I left." Setsuna's voice was quiet. "So Ranko came home after a fight and didn't lock it. Big deal." Haruka negligently replied. "Ranko never uses the front door, remember? She always goes through her window." Setsuna reminded her. "Now, stay here." They watched as Setsuna cautiously advanced the last few yards to the door. When she got to it, she knelt down and touched her fingertips to the doorstep, then lifted them and rubbed them together. She motioned them forward. "What did you find?" Ami asked nervously. "Blood. Pretty good puddle, too. Smeared on the door handle, the pot where I keep the spare key, and the key. Key's still in the lock, too." Setsuna stood and commanded in a firm voice, "Follow me. Watch your backs, and be on your guard. It might just be a burglar who cut his hand. If it is, he's going to regret it." Unspoken, yet still understood by all, was the thought that it probably wasn't a burglar, though. Setsuna pulled open the left side of her jacket and reached in. What her hand was holding when it emerged made the other Senshi gasp and caused their eyes to pop. "That's a mighty big gun." Haruka calmly commented. (And ranked an 8.5 on the coolness meter.) "It's a Taurus Raging Bull. Fires .454 ammo of my own make. Trust me, you hit someone with this gun, they don't get back up." Setsuna informed them in an almost happy tone. "You do know that guns are highly illegal, right?" Makoto asked calmly. "Not if you have the right permits." Setsuna replied, as she pushed the door open with her foot. "Why do you have a gun, anyways?" Ami interjected. "Because it's not always practical to transform and hit my enemy with a Dead Scream. Now be quiet!" Setsuna commanded, then dashed into the front room, gun at the ready. She swiftly and silently followed the trail of blood through the room and up the stairs. The others followed her, though not as swiftly, and nowhere near silently. "This is just like one of those Bond films. Minako Aino, starring in: 'Lotsopussy'!" Minako loudly whispered. Haruka choked. Most of the other Senshi tried to illuminate the room with blushes alone. Hotaru was confused at their weird behavior. Older people were just weird sometimes. "That's 'Octopussy', Minako." Haruka finally managed to get out through her attempts to keep from laughing out loud. "Oh. Well, close enough." Minako flippantly replied. Haruka was about to say more, but was cut off when a hand was slapped over her mouth. Setsuna glared at her. "Do you mind? I can't hear anything over you people!" She hissed. "The blood trail goes to the bathroom. I'm going to check it out. You stay here. If I need help, you'll know. Just listen for loud booms." Setsuna started to stalk slowly down the hall. Haruka looked over at Michiru, raised an eyebrow, grinned, and followed her. The rest of the Senshi followed Haruka. Ahead of them, Setsuna silently groaned to herself. She slowly edged around the open door of the bathroom. There was a small form laying on the floor just inside the door. Keeping one hand firmly on her pistol, she reached over and switched on the light. "SON OF A BITCH!" The Senshi nearly jumped out of their skins as Setsuna bellowed an obscenity and ran into the bathroom. They quickly ran to the door and looked in. Setsuna was kneeling down next to a familiar red-headed female. The blood obviously belonged to her, as she was lying in a small puddle of it. "Ranko?" Haruka's horrified whisper sounded hideously loud in the sudden silence. Setsuna returned her pistol to its holster and slowly reached over to Ranko's still form. She could see that she was still breathing, which was a good thing. However, she appeared to be unconscious, which was a bad thing. As Setsuna's hand touched her, Ranko jerked a bit. "Wha? 'Suna? 'Zat you? Ya, 'tis. Good. Need a lil' help here." Ranko slurred out. "My God, Ranko, who did this to you?" Rei asked. Ranko snorted and chuckled weakly. "'m fine. Y' sh'd see th' other guy." She was still chuckling softly when she passed out. ****************** "I simply can NOT believe she won't take Ranko to a hospital! What's she trying to do, kill her?" Rei raged as she stalked around the living room, waiting for Setsuna to come down. "I'm sure she has a reason." Haruka pragmatically said. Haruka had to admit, Ranko could be REALLY obnoxious, but she grew on you. "What kind of reason could she have? Ranko has to have massive blood loss, could have internal injuries, and needs to be x-rayed at the very least! We should be out finding the bastard that did that to her and making him pay!" Ami nearly snarled from her seat by the window. Everyone stared at her. Ami was almost growling as she said that. Ami growling was NOT a usual thing. It was scary. "You can't find him. By now he's long gone. And even if you did, you wouldn't be able to hurt him. Not if he managed to hurt her like that." Setsuna announced from the doorway. "And just why aren't we taking her to the hospital? She needs medical attention!" Ami yelled. "Don't yell. Ranko's asleep." Setsuna calmly commanded as she walked across the room to a cabinet against the far wall. She opened it and pulled out a crystal-cut bottle filled with amber liquid and a large glass. She pulled the stopper out and filled the glass to the brim. She lifted the glass to eye level, and looked at it. "Bottoms up." Setsuna commented, then tossed back the entire glass in one shot. She winced, then poured another glass and downed it too. She replaced the bottle after pouring a third glass, then walked over to the couch and sank into it next to Makoto. Setsuna swirled her drink as she started to speak. Her voice was quiet and serious. "Ranko has...certain people after her. Because of that, I cannot take her to a hospital. It's also the reason she's so good at fighting. She's had a LOT of practice. In all likelihood, the person who did that to her was one of those people." "So let's find them and 'convince' them to leave her alone." Ami growled through gritted teeth. "If they did *that* to her, you wouldn't stand a chance. Trust me." Setsuna said softly. "I'll transform." Ami quickly replied. "It wouldn't matter." Setsuna sipped at her drink. "What do you mean, 'It wouldn't matter'?" Haruka asked. "Ranko could defeat you even if you transformed. Blindfolded. With both arms tied behind her back. Without breaking a sweat." Setsuna stated, looking Haruka straight in the eyes. "She's been holding back against you. A lot." "Has she." Haruka's voice was flat. "Oh, yes. If you attacked her in her sleep, she wouldn't even have to wake up to knock you out." Setsuna said, then drained the glass. "Setsuna-mama? Can I heal Ranko?" Hotaru asked hesitantly. Setsuna smiled tenderly at her. "No, Hotaru-chan. It's not necessary. Ranko just needs some sleep and a lot of food. I'd lay money on her being fine in time for school tomorrow." "Are you serious?" Makoto incredulously exclaimed. "I'm very serious. Ranko has trained her body to heal faster." Setsuna answered, as she moved over and filled her glass again. "I'd be careful how much of that you put away, Setsuna. Double-malt scotch will knock you on your ass." Haruka cautioned. Setsuna laughed. "Haruka, I couldn't get a buzz even if I wanted to. My powers ensure it. They don't let me get drunk. Although, I there are times I wish I could get drunk. Most I can manage is a bit relaxxed." She smirked as she mock-toasted towards Haruka. "Ever wonder why I never have hangovers? Bottoms up." "Well, that must come in handy." Minako commented. Setsuna just smiled as she sat down again. There was silence for a few seconds, then she spoke again. "He was right." "Who was? And about what?" Michiru quickly inquired. "Nemesis. He was right. You DO need training. We should start tomorrow." Setsuna glanced at her watch. "Make that today." "When are we supposed to train? At night, we have to deal with youma, and during the day we have school. I don't see how we can manage it." Ami calmly stated the facts. "Simple. You don't go to school." Setsuna responded. "WHAT?!" The room exploded into a babble of voices. Some of them (Minako, Makoto, Usagi) were excited by the prospect of no school, while the rest were protesting. Setsuna silenced them all by lifting her hand. "You didn't let me finish." She coolly stated. "I never suggested you stop learning. I merely suggested you stop going to school. I am fully licensed to teach well past a college level education. I could go to any college on the planet and get a job nearly instantly." She shrugged, "I had to do something while I waited for all of you to be reborn." "And how long would it take for you to set this up?" Haruka asked. "I already have. Why do you think I was making all those calls on my cell phone as we walked home? I start tutoring you tomorrow. Ami still has her juku after school, though." "How did you manage that?" Michiru incredulously asked. "There are some good things to being your school counselor. It allows me to assign all of you to a 'semi-independent study to show the effects of small-group tutoring on a wide range of students' at a moment's notice. With Rei, I just had to request that she be included to 'facilitate a wider diversity amongst the student ratio'. After that, it was just a matter of calling your parents and informing them of the great honor you had just received. Simple, really." Setsuna smirked a little. The Senshi all stared at her in amazement. Setsuna smiled as she stood, then spoke. "You should sleep now. We're going to start early tomorrow. I'm afraid none of us are going to be able to sleep upstairs, though. Ranko's nerves are too tightly wound right now to stay asleep if we went up there. Haruka, please show them where the spare bedding is. I have dibs on the couch." Setsuna calmly declared. "Why do you get the couch?" Minako demanded. "It's my house. It's my couch. It's the first time I've gotten sleep in the last week. *I* *GET* *THE* *COUCH*." Setsuna never raised her voice, but her tone made everyone take an involuntarily step back. "You get the couch." Minako squeaked. "Thank you." Setsuna smiled sweetly. Everyone gulped, then followed Haruka to get blankets and whatnot. ******************* Rei jerked awake. She glanced around hurriedly. No one else was moving. Everyone was sleeping on the floor in Setsuna's front room. Except for Setsuna who had sighed happily as she lay on the couch. And Hotaru, who was curled up in the highly comfortable chair. One of the bad things about being both a fire maiden and Sailor Mars was the fact that she was mildly empathic and was unable to turn her empathy off. As Sailor Mars, it meant that she could sense evil. As Rei, it meant that she was constantly being awakened by strong feelings. She had lost count of the number of times she had been jerked awake by someone arguing in front of the temple. And she could never manage to get back to sleep, either. After a while, she had almost gotten used to it, but the loss of sleep still left her grouchy. It wasn't anger that had jerked her awake this time, though. It was a feeling she was quite used to sensing whenever she arrived on the scene of a youma attack. It was fear. Soul-wrenching, gut-churning terror. Rei slowly got to her feet, staggered over to the light switch, and snapped it on, waking the other occupants of the room. She opened her mouth to speak over the grumbling, but was interrupted by a scream behind her. It came from upstairs. Rei started to snap around, but was shoved to the side by a green-haired blur. Rei stared in shock as Setsuna ignored the stairs and leapt to the second floor. Rei regained her footing, only to be shoved aside again. This time by Hotaru, who followed Setsuna's example and leapt to the second floor as well. Rei shook off her shock and rapidly ran up the stairs. The rest of the group followed en masse. They followed the screaming down the hall to its origin, the room at the end of the hall. Idly, Haruka and Michiru noted that it was Setsuna's room. Hotaru was standing in the doorway, her face pale. As the Senshi clustered around the doorway, they saw a sight that branded itself into their brains. Ranko was curled in a ball on Setsuna's lap, sobbing hysterically. Setsuna was cradling Ranko's head against her chest and making soothing noises while rubbing her back. Ranko had her arms wrapped around Setsuna, and showed no intention of ever letting go. Rei hesitantly began to enter the room, but was halted when Setsuna shot a glance at her. The glance was a clearly stated "BACK OFF!" She retreated to the doorway and watched helplessly. After a few minutes that seemed like days, Ranko's sobs began to ease off and she loosened her hold on Setsuna. Setsuna slowly eased herself out of Ranko's grip as her crying stopped and gently lowered her back onto the bed. Ranko shifted a little in her sleep as Setsuna pulled the covers back over her and tenderly tucked her in. Setsuna brushed the hair back from Ranko's face, then kissed the first two fingertips of her right hand and touched them to Ranko's forehead. "May the Goddess protect you from the demons of your own mind." Setsuna whispered softly, before standing and walking towards the doorway. None of the Senshi needed any prompting to go back downstairs as quietly as they could. Once they were back in the living room, Rei turned to Setsuna and asked in a calm, deadly voice, "Setsuna, what the HELL was that?" Setsuna ignored her and went over to the cabinet again, removing a now-familiar bottle and glass. She carried both over to the couch and collapsed into it. She poured and drank three glasses in quick succession, then lifted the now-empty bottle and gazed at it. "It's times like this that I REALLY wish I could get drunk." Setsuna's voice was wistful. "You don't realize how much you miss the little things like that until they're gone." Rei tried again, this time with a little more heat in her voice. "Setsuna, tell me what the HELL just happened. What did that to Ranko? She didn't even wake up!" Setsuna sighed, then opened her mouth to speak. Everyone leaned in close to listen as she spoke. "Ranko's not allergic to cats." And then everyone simultaneously fell over. Rei jumped back to her feet. "WHA-MMMPHH!" Rei's scream was interrupted by Setsuna's hand over her mouth. Setsuna's voice was ice- cold as she spoke. "Please don't yell. You wouldn't want to wake up Ranko, now would you?" Rei shook her head. Setsuna smiled a tight smile as she removed her hand and sat back down. She started to speak. "Remember how I told you how Ranko was an extremely GOOD fighter?" Everyone nodded. "It's because of her training. Ranko has trained nearly every waking hour since she could stand unaided. Almost sixteen years of intensive martial arts training. No breaks, no off days, no vacations. No mercy was shown, or asked for, because mercy did not exist in the training, or the trainer's heart." Setsuna paused, then looked around the room. "What I'm about to tell you is NEVER to be discussed. EVER. *I* tell Artemis and Luna, not you. *I* will tell Mamoru, not you. *YOU* will tell NO ONE. If Ranko brings it up, you can tell her I told you. Otherwise, do not mention it. Do you understand and agree?" Setsuna waited until she received agreement from everyone in the room before continuing. "Ranko's primary teacher in the Art was her father. To call the man an idiot is an understatement. The words simply do not exist to convey the pure stupidity of that...thing." Disgust dripped from her voice. "He cared about nothing but making his child into the best Martial Artist on the planet. He succeeded, but screwed her life over as a result." Setsuna paused and took a deep breath. "You need to understand, he was a wonderfully effective teacher, but his teaching methods were...deplorable. One of the methods he decided to use to teach his child was a technique known as the Neko-ken." As Setsuna calmly described the training for the Neko-ken, the Senshi's faces grew progressively paler. As Setsuna described the side effects, Haruka's legs gave out and she collapsed to the floor. As Setsuna explained how the Neko-ken actually worked, Usagi dashed to the nearest bathroom and became violently ill. After what seemed like years, Setsuna finally fell silent. As she tried not to faint, Ami absently noticed that a single tear was sliding down Setsuna's cheek. "That bastard DIES." Michiru stated in an enraged, hate-filled voice. Everyone in the room nodded in agreement. "No. You are not to try to find him. You are not to try to do anything to him." Setsuna coldly announced. "WHY?!" Rei screamed, "Because of your all-important time stream? Is that it? Will his death cause your precious Crystal Tokyo to not exist? Is that it?" In a flash, Setsuna was standing in front of Rei, staring into her eyes. Setsuna's eyes were literally glowing with rage. They looked like a preview of the flames of Hell. Rei gulped. "No, Rei. His death doesn't mean a thing to Crystal Tokyo now. His death won't affect any further major events. His death is entirely meaningless. However, none of you are going to take action against him, for one simple reason: He is *MINE*. I have millennia of experience on all of you. I can make his last hours into weeks. By the time I'm done with him, death will be a comfort." Setsuna hissed, in a tone that would make Satan himself think twice about crossing her. Rei collapsed to the floor as Setsuna turned away and tried to remember how to breathe. "Setsuna, how do you know about this?" Usagi asked from the doorway. Her face was pale, and tears were streaming from her eyes. Setsuna averted her eyes, and said nothing. "You were there, weren't you." It wasn't a question. Setsuna remained silent. "Setsuna?" Michiru's voice was aghast. "You could have stopped that? Why didn't you?" "I couldn't have stopped it." Setsuna answered in a small voice. "Bullshit. You could have stopped it, you just didn't. Let me guess: 'Sanctity of the time stream?'" Rei's voice was harsh and mocking. Setsuna whirled to face her. "Damn it! I COULDN'T! *I* told MYSELF not to! Do you know what happened the LAST time I ignored myself? Do you? Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that's what! I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE!" Setsuna cried. "You always have a choice, Setsuna." Usagi firmly stated. "Some choice. If I had stopped that attempt her father would have tried it again in a different place. That time, Ranko would have died." Setsuna responded in a haunted voice. "Setsuna, you should have done SOMETHING." Usagi's voice was earnest. "I did what I could. If Ranko hadn't gone through the Neko-ken, she would have died. If she had died, right now large portions of the planet would be irradiated craters." Setsuna rubbed her temples, then continued. "I've been protecting the Time Gate since Arik created it and put it on Pluto. I've been alive for so long that not even *I* remember just how old I am. None of you know what that is like. I did what I had to do. It doesn't mean I'm proud of it. End of discussion." Setsuna's tone indicated that the subject was closed as far as she was concerned. "Setsuna, this conversation is not over." Usagi stated. "Yes, it is. We can continue it after you've experienced something close to what I have." Setsuna laid down on the couch and prepared to go back to sleep. "And when will that be?" Minako asked. "Ask me again in a thousand years." Setsuna replied. There was silence for a few seconds. Then, Makoto broke it with a question. "So you're saying we've gotta wait until Crystal Tokyo?" Silence. "Setsuna?" Makoto walked over to the couch. She peered at Setsuna. "Setsuna? She's... asleep?" "Wow. That was fast." Usagi commented. "Trick I picked up from Hannibal's troops. Along with learning how to sleep lightly." Setsuna said, without showing any other signs of activity. "Now, go to sleep. School starts early." "Yeah, sure. Whatever." Haruka sarcastically commented as she and Michiru got comfortable in their sleeping bag. As the rest of the girls started to slowly fall back to sleep, Setsuna smiled to herself. ************* Michiru mumbled a little under her breath and shifted. There was a cold draft blowing down her and Haruka's sleeping bag. She tried to cuddle closer to Haruka, but slim hands slowly rolled her away. She batted them away. "You just haveta' be difficult don't ya, Michiru." A voice grumbled. Michiru sleepily nuzzled up to Haruka before something occurred to her. Her eyes snapped open and she whipped her head around. A hand was slapped over her mouth before she had a chance to speak, though. Michiru stared at the figure over her. Ranko's eyes twinkled as she lifted a finger to her lips in a silent instruction to stay quiet. She grinned mischievously. Then Michiru looked around the room and noticed that a window to the back yard was open, with the screen leaning against the wall beside it. Ranko grinned as she grabbed the back of Haruka's shirt and the hem of her panties. Michiru concluded. The group was treated to a loud, cheerful bellow from Ranko as she picked up Haruka and threw her. "TIME FOR A SWIM, HARUKA!" As Haruka flew through the open window, she had just enough time to notice Setsuna standing on the porch and saluting her with her customary cup of tea. Haruka drew in a breath for a scream just before she entered the ice- cold water of the pond. Inside the house, the Senshi snapped awake at the yell, adrenaline going into hands reaching for henshin pens instinctively. They stopped when they didn't see any enemy, just the tail end of Ranko's pigtail as she jumped out the window. Everyone felt the temptation to turn over and go back to sleep, but loud laughing from the back yard destroyed that idea. Everyone crawled out of their sleeping bags and stumbled over to the window and looked out. Ranko was standing in the middle of the yard, dressed in her usual red and black Chinese clothes, and mocking Haruka as she crawled out of the pond. "What's the matter, Haruka? You appear to be soaking wet. My, I wonder how that happened?" Ranko seemed to be enjoying herself immensely. Haruka growled, then winced. She reached down and made a few adjustments to her underwear before standing up. Ranko smirked as Haruka charged her. Ranko hopped over Haruka's fist (and her head), which left her back wide open. Haruka took advantage of the opportunity with a kick, only to have Ranko impossibly twist around in mid-air to dodge. Ranko's foot shot out and hit Haruka in the forehead with just enough force to sting slightly. Haruka instinctively jerked back and slipped on the dew-slicked grass, resulting in her impacting the ground on her butt. Ranko started laughing. "Real graceful, Haruka! Geez, I've seen pandas that fight better than you!" Ranko taunted. Haruka regained her feet, and the 'sparring' started again. Haruka continued to try to even touch Ranko, who stayed just barely out of reach the entire time. The Senshi stared in shock as Ranko bounced around the yard like a ping-pong ball on espresso, taunting Haruka the entire time. It was obvious to everyone that she was in no danger of Haruka catching her. "Now you see why I said she'd be fine? And why I refused a hospital? All she needs is a lot of food to replenish what healing herself took out of her." Setsuna announced from behind them. None of them even twitched. They were too busy staring at Ranko play with Haruka like she was a child. "I want to learn how to do THAT." Makoto said in a reverent voice. "All you have to do is ask her. She's already agreed to teach all of you. But I warn you, her training will not be easy. And once she starts, she won't stop until she's happy with you." Setsuna warned, knowing her warning would fall on deaf ears. "I don't care if she makes me walk through Tokyo naked as long as she teaches me how to do that." Makoto replied, watching as Ranko flipped Haruka into the pond. Setsuna smiled. ******************* "You gonna eat that?" Ranko asked Rei, pointing at the stack of waffles on her plate. Rei mutely shook her head. "Great. Mind if I eat 'em?" Without waiting for a reply, Ranko slipped them onto her plate, doused them with syrup, and proceeded to devour them. Usagi leaned over to Makoto and whispered, "Do I eat like that?" Makoto shook her head as she whispered back. "No, your manners are better." "Ranko, how much CAN you eat?" Hotaru asked with uncharacteristic bluntness. So far, Ranko had devoured several LARGE stacks of waffles, enough orange juice to float an aircraft carrier, and seemed intent on consuming an entire pig in the form of sausage. Ranko just smiled as she reached for more food. It took several heaping plates more before she pushed herself back from the table. She wiped off her mouth, then spoke. "As I was comin' in, Setsuna said ya all wanted to learn the Art from me. That right?" Everyone nodded, and most of them had eager looks in their eyes. Ranko pursed her lips. "You understand, I ain't gonna go easy on ya. And I was just playin' with Haruka this morning. Trainin' under me 's gonna be tough, and I won't stop 'til I'm happy with ya." Everyone paused, taken back by the absolute seriousness in her voice. Rei leaned forward as she spoke. "We would learn, if you would teach us... Sensei." Everyone echoed their agreement as Ranko glanced at them. "All right. You asked for it. The most important rule is contained in my style's name: 'Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu'. Roughly translates to 'Anything Goes.' States everything ya need to know. The only rule is this: Whatever it takes to win. Period. You are bound only by your own limits. And I'm gonna make those limits bigger." Ranko glanced around the table. "I ain't gonna lie to ya. It's gonna be rough. It's gonna be hard. Before the end of it, you'll wish I was dead. But you will learn. And you'll learn to MY satisfaction." Everyone gulped and began to wonder what they had gotten themselves into. Ranko smiled as she finished her speech. "We'll begin tomorrow. But first...." Ranko trailed off. Everyone leaned forward in anticipation. "We need to get some more food. I'm starving." Ranko announced firmly. There was a chorus of meaty *thuds* as several foreheads hit the table. Ranko grinned and stood. "A martial artist lives by his body. Your body lives by your stomach." Ranko turned and bumped into Setsuna, who had been silently standing behind her chair. Ranko noticed the cup of tea in her hands just a little too late. The full, steaming cup of tea. The full, steaming cup of tea that was now falling right towards her. Ranko froze in panic. Setsuna's hand flashed out, slapping the cup aside so that the tea missed Ranko, hitting Haruka instead. "AAAAAHHHHH! HOT!" Haruka screamed. Ranko ignored her. She was too busy looking into Setsuna's eyes. There was something there. A certain look in them. Ranko knew that look. Nabiki had it all the time. It was a "I know something you're hiding" look. It was a look that Ranko did NOT want to see. "Setsuna, can I talk to you?" Ranko asked, jerking her head to the door. Setsuna nodded agreement. Ranko followed her past, the now- muttering Haruka, through the living room, and up the stairs to Setsuna's room. Ranko wasted no time in small talk once Setsuna had shut the door. "You know." "Know? Know what?" Setsuna asked innocently. Ranko glared at her. Setsuna sighed. "Yes, of course I know. We can't talk about this now. There's something I need to do, so we'll talk later. I need you to pick up some things from the grocery store while I take care of my business. Take the girls with you." Ranko opened her mouth to protest, but was stopped by the look in Setsuna's eyes. Ranko knew that look, too. She had seen it in both her mother's and Kasumi's eyes. It meant "You will do it. Period." Ranko sighed. "Fine. We'll talk later." Ranko bit out as she turned, opened the door, and started to slip out. Setsuna's voice stopped her. "One last thing, Ranko. Pressure points wear off." "What?" Ranko asked as she snapped her head around. The room was empty. Ranko blinked. ****************** "Why are we getting groceries? We should be studying." Ami asked as she walked and studied the shopping list that had somehow appeared on the table when no one was looking. "Oh, lighten up, Ami!" Usagi exclaimed. "It's a lot better out here than stuck in the house learning stuff we'll never use anyways! It's such a nice day, too! Nothing can ruin it!" It's that kind of statement that nasty, vindictive gods live for. The kind of gods that make sure it rains during a picnic. Or ensure that all the snow melts just BEFORE you can build a snowman. Or, like in this case, make a youma attack occur just in front of you. (It isn't that the gods don't have a sense of humor. It's just that their idea of a good joke tends to drive mortals insane.) Everyone leapt for cover as a large, blue-scaled hand burst through the wall to their left. Everyone except for Ranko, that is. She just stood there, waiting to see what the arm was attached to. She didn't have to wait long. The youma quickly created a hole in the wall and stepped through. It was about six feet tall, and was covered in light blues scales. It had a slightly-unfinished look to it, as if its creator had tired of it before completion, with no ears, mouth, nose, or hair. It had claws, though. It showed this by extending them and taking a swipe at Ranko with its right hand. Ranko slipped around the blow and almost casually planted her right foot alongside its head, resulting in the head bouncing off the part of the wall that was still standing. She didn't even bother to take her hands out of her pockets. The youma staggered a bit, then attacked again. Ranko grinned a cocky smile, as she took her hands out of her pockets and spoke. "Let's party." The Senshi could only stare as Ranko proceeded to start to beat the crap out of a youma with her bare hands. (And feet. But they had shoes on them, so they don't count as 'bare', obviously.) Ranko lead in with a quick backfist to the temple, then a side kick to the stomach. (Or the youma equivalent, that is.) She stepped in, and released a jab to the face, followed by a crescent kick to the head. She ducked in under another claw-swipe and unleashed a rapid series of punches to the chest, letting a bit of Amaguriken-level speed creep in. The Senshi winced as the sound of breaking bones drifted over to them. Ranko jumped back and commented "I don't see what's so tough about these things. Ribs are softer than Ryoga's!" From the way she was grinning, the Senshi quickly realized the bones that had broken obviously weren't hers. Ranko sighed, then charged in, kicking. A slow claw-swipe was brushed to the side, allowing her to unleash several good hits with her knees to the youma's already-damaged midsection. Ranko stayed in close, brutally pounding anything that looked like it would hurt. She seemed to be having an incredibly fun time. "Should we transform?" Ami asked weakly. "Would there be any point?" Haruka sarcastically inquired. "I don't think so. Ranko seems to have it well in hand." Ami admitted. Ranko grinned as the youma fell back under her assault. It stumbled and fell to the ground. Ranko started to move in, then something caught her eye to her right. "What is she doing?" Makoto asked in a perplexed tone as Ranko vaulted over the railing into the street. "I don't know." Ami replied, in a puzzled tone. They quickly got their answer as Ranko reached down and grabbed something at street level. She lifted it, revealing it to be a manhole cover. She placed it on edge on the tip of her right index finger and began to spin it like a giant coin. "Those things weigh over a hundred pounds." Ami noted, in a dull tone. The youma struggled to its feet and started to walk towards the Senshi's hiding place. Ranko stopped the manhole's spinning and grabbed it with one quick motion. She threw it with a negligent flick of the wrist, much like anyone else would have thrown a Frisbee. It slammed into the side of the youma with a loud *CRACK* and a squishing noise. "I don't know why, but I just had to try that." Ranko commented as she jumped to the sidewalk. She jerked a thumb back over her shoulder towards the youma. "That's what the Sailor Senshi have to take down? And they have trouble? Sheesh." Ranko had quickly heard most of the stories about Juban's favorite urban legends. She decided not to discount them. She'd seen weirder stuff. But if THAT was what they had trouble defeating, they were pretty pathetic. "Yeah. That was a youma." Ami answered as she stood from behind her cover. "Usually they're harder to--LOOK OUT!" "Huh?" Ranko flipped around just in time to see the apparently-unharmed youma rush towards her. "How in the hell did it--" Her sentence was cut off as the youma grabbed her by the throat and threw her across the street and down the block. Ranko twisted her body and attempted to lessen the impact. She knew from experience that she was going too fast to try to prevent an impact. She slammed into, and through, some kind of fairly weak metal objects. She grunted as a pole of some kind stopped her head-first flight. Ranko admitted as she slid down the pole. She lay on the ground and concentrated on opening her eyes. She blinked them open. Right above her was a sign. She absently read it. <"Please deposit windshield squeegee back in holder." Huh. Weird. Hey, what's that smell?> Ranko sniffed once or twice. She was lying in a puddle of some liquid and there was a familiar odor that she knew she SHOULD recognize. She was trying to get her ringing head to function when it hit her. <"Windshield squeegee." Puddle. Smell. Oh, no. Please don't let it be what I THINK it is.> Ranko wrenched herself to a sitting position. The sight in front of her was what she had feared. The mangled remains of two gas pumps, still spraying gasoline everywhere. She was lying in a rapidly growing puddle of EXTREMELY flammable liquid. By some miracle, it hadn't ignited. Ranko's brain finally re-booted itself and reasserted its priorities. Ranko snapped her gaze across the street and located the youma just in time to see it throw the manhole cover towards her still-seated frame. Ranko started to scramble to get out the lake of gasoline. Even as she tried, she knew the outcome. It was with a fatalistic gaze that she watched the manhole cover skip off the ground directly in front of the gasoline. A single, solitary spark lit. Ranko stared at it as it seemed to slow to an impossible crawl as it drifted downwards. It touched. The Senshi were blown off their feet and into a wall as the gas station was vaporized in a massive fireball. They watched as a red-haired figure was covered in a wash of flame. "Ranko..." Usagi whispered in a tortured voice. A single scorched piece of red silk drifted down and landed in front of her. The End. (Yeah. Right. You think I'm THAT stupid? Not hardly.) TBC...... ****************** And with that, the *EVIL-NASTY* (TM) cliff-hanger makes it's return. I love being me sometimes. Thanks to my pre-readers, who helped (and help) me a LOT. Ja Ne! Slacker