Good day, and welcome to Otaku Theater. Today's presentation is the nearly universal disclaimer. *ahem* Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi. No money is being made from this, of course. (Which is kind of a pity, as I'm a college student and could use it.) Please don't sue me. I have about 32 cents to my name and it's in Elbonian currency. Find previous chapters @ My Homepage: http://www.angelfire.com/anime/Slacker Tannim's site: http://tannim.anifics.com/index.html ****************** All the Small Things--Chapter 7 A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 Crossover By: Slacker (rheins@pmt.org) ****************** Haruka crouched in the undergrowth, her weapon held loosely in her right hand. She knew her enemy was close by. All she had to do was wait and she'd have her revenge. She smirked as she flipped her weapon to full auto. She eased a branch of the bush she was hiding behind out of her line of sight with the tip of her weapon. She grinned. Wearing bright red was NOT a good idea in the woods. Not that she was going to tell her enemy that. Oh, no. Not a chance. Not until well AFTER her vengeance was complete. *PHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUT PHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUT* A stream of paintballs shot towards the spot of red and impacted with a series of splats. Haruka's grin grew into a smirk as she stood and walked over. "So, Ranko, who's gonna beat who?" Haruka called. There was no reply. There was no movement from Ranko at all, in fact. Haruka's brow furrowed. "Ranko?" Haruka started to move a bit quicker. "Ranko? You there?" "Ranko?" Haruka dropped to the ground beside the still figure, then dropped her paintball gun to reach out and touch it. She received no response. She slowly rolled the body over. And revealed Ranko's shirt, pants, and a red wig tied to a bundle of sticks and grass. Behind and to both sides of her, Haruka faintly heard several somethings hit the ground. "Ah...Dammit!" Haruka managed to utter before the paint grenades went off. Above her in a tree, well out of the grenades splatter range, Ranko grinned and considered. "Add humiliation to insult?" Ranko paused. "Ah, why the hell not." *PHUT* Haruka had to fight to keep from screaming in frustration as the paintball hit her in the facemask. Ranko chuckled, then went to get her teammate out of the other tree. Haruka glowered at Ranko as she landed in front of her. Hotaru climbed off of Ranko's back and giggled. "You never said anything about grenades." Haruka ground out. "Hey, it was Hotaru and me against everyone else. You think I wouldn't have given us an edge?" Ranko smirked. "At least you didn't catch one in your chest like Makoto did. Turns out Hotaru's got an arm on her." "You cheated." Haruka snarled as Ranko started to put her clothes back on. "Losers call it cheating. Winners call it 'effective use of unconventional tactics.' Deal with it." Ranko retorted as she finished closing her shirt. "Shall we go?" Haruka opened her mouth to retort with a suitably nasty reply, but stopped when she noticed the look of pure joy on Hotaru's face. Haruka had no compunctions about ripping Ranko a new one, but there was no way that she would destroy Hotaru's fun to do it. "Yeah, let's go." Haruka grumbled. *********************** Haruka was fully expecting to see the rest of the group waiting for them when she stepped out of the woods. However, she wasn't expecting to see most of them with the majority of their bodies presented in Technicolor. Makoto was the worst, with a red stain the covered the entirety of her front. Haruka glanced over at Ranko. "Let me guess. Hotaru had LOTS of grenades." She commented wryly. Ranko just grinned evilly. "Thought so." Haruka shook her head. As Haruka got closer, she was met by knowing looks from the rest of the girls. Everyone except for Setsuna just looked at her, then at each other and nodded. Haruka grinned ruefully. "I swear I'll pay you back for this." She muttered out of the side of her mouth, still grinning. "Bring it on." Ranko calmly challenged, a small smile playing across her mouth. Haruka just snorted. "Ranko? Could I talk to you for a second?" Setsuna's voice rang out from where she was leaning against the van. "Yeah! I'm comin'!" Ranko called as she jogged over. "Whaddya want?" Ranma asked as soon as she got close to Setsuna. "The Amazon contingent is on its way to Tomobiki. I presume the rest of your fiancees and foes are a short ways behind." Setsuna announced calmly. Ranma paled, and then narrowed her eyes. "I won't ask how you got that information. Can I use your cell?" Ranma asked. "I need to make a call." Setsuna handed it over wordlessly. Ranma flipped it open and rapidly dialed a number. "Jun? Yeah, it's me. Is Ichiro there? Damn. Listen, tell him that those options we discussed are going to have to be put to good use. Yeah, Tomobiki's shot already. Thanks, Jun. Give your kids a hug for me." Ranma slapped the phone shut and handed it back. "Well, that's that." "Who was that?" Setsuna asked, raising an eyebrow as she replaced her phone in her purse. "An old friend who owed me a favor." Ranma replied. "And that's all I'm going to get?" "And that's all you're going to get." Setsuna considered for a few seconds, then nodded. "I can live with that. Shall we go play some more paintball?" "'We'? Are you getting involved?" Ranma asked. Setsuna simply lifted her paintball gun in response. Ranma grinned. "Excellent." ****************** "How the HELL does she do that?" Ranko grumbled, as she plopped down under a tree next to the rest of the girls. "Got you too, eh?" Haruka asked from her spot by Michiru. "Yeah. Didn't even see her." Ranko leaned her head against the tree. "It was freaky. She shouldn't be able to do that!" "Do what?" "YAAAA!!" Ranko screamed and whirled to face Setsuna. "That! How DO you do that?!?!" Setsuna let a ghost of a smile flicker across her lips. "I have my ways. Now, however, it's getting dark. We should be getting home." Ranko blinked, then stared at Setsuna's facemask. "Setsuna? Just how did someone nail you?" Setsuna's voice was dry as she answered. "Usagi tripped." ****************** Setsuna glanced into the rear-view mirror, then to the passenger side of the van. "My, I wasn't expecting everyone to be asleep THAT quickly." Ranma didn't even look up as she spoke. "I'm not. I'm just REALLY good at faking it. Learned in my classes." Setsuna shot her a look. "You only pretended to sleep through your classes? What about your grades? To be quite frank, they suck." "Hey, I managed passing grades after being stuck in China for three years. Cut me some slack. Besides, I only slept through classes I didn't need. Hell, I know English BETTER than our teacher." Ranma retorted. "Yes, I suppose being dragged all over the place by that useless moron you call a father would enable you to learn a great deal." Setsuna acknowledged. Ranma sat up and looked over at her with a flat look. "Look, my pops is an idiot. I'll admit that. But, he's also one of the best fighters you'll ever meet. The techniques he invented are so potent that not even Happosai wanted to mess with them. He invented training methods that, while totally insane, were VERY effective. So, while he is a moron, he's not useless." Ranma paused for a few seconds, and then continued. "Heck, he makes a GREAT paperweight." Setsuna started to chuckle. "Yes, I'll admit that. Genma Saotome would make a great paperweight." In the very back of the van, Ami smiled slightly. She'd been trying to do some research on Ranko, but had run into several snags. Namely, Ranko had NOTHING to trace her by. Her history was squeaky-clean. No fighting in school, no missed classes, no troubles of any kind, nothing. Ami just plain didn't believe that from what she knew of Ranko. Now, she had a name to look for. Soon, she'd know just who Ranko really was. Setsuna glanced at the mirror and caught Ami's little smile. Setsuna smiled as she subtly jerked the van a little. In the back seat, Makoto's sleeping form slumped against Ami. And then proceeded to wrap an arm around her and snuggle her face into the side of Ami's neck. Ami rapidly began to turn several shades of red. Ami glanced at Makoto, than realized just WHERE she'd have to push to move her. That resolve was tested when Makoto began to kiss the side of her neck and mumble, giggling every so often. "Iria-chan...." Makoto sighed, then fell silent. Ami blinked. ****************** Tendo dojo. Nabiki leaned back in her chair and listened to her spine pop. She smiled to herself. Soon, her biggest moneymaker would be back. It had been two weeks since Cologne and the assembled fiancees had departed for Tomobiki. They should be back at any time. The sound of a throat clearing behind her made her smile grow larger. She turned and smiled at Cologne. "So, how pissed was he that you found him?" "We didn't." Cologne did NOT look pleased. "What?" Nabiki's smile vanished in a flash. "He wasn't there. Apparently, someone warned him that we were coming. So he disappeared." Cologne started to glare at her. Nabiki shrugged. She hadn't thought he could make an escape with the time he had, but she was flexible. "I owed it to him. Suffer." "You seem awfully calm about this." Cologne remarked. "I'm your best bet of finding him again. What are you going to do to me?" Nabiki grinned. "I could give you explosive flatulence." "Excuse me?" Cologne just smiled and continued. "Given that your information was incorrect and Ranma was NOT in Tomobiki upon our arrival, I believe you owe me your services until he is located." Nabiki narrowed her eyes. "Try again. I told you his CURRENT location. I made no guarantees as to how long he would be there or where he would go next. In addition, I was paid to warn him when his hiding place was discovered. That means if you want me to discover where he is currently, you'll need to convince me to find him." Cologne raised an eyebrow, then reached into one of her sleeves. She pulled out something and tossed it on Nabiki's desk. It impacted with a dull *thunk*. Nabiki casually glanced over at it, then did a rapid triple- take. Her eyes widened. "Is that gold?" She attempted to casually ask. The fact that it came out as a squeak kind of ruined her attempt, however. "Yes. I believe that will be enough to ensure your best efforts at hunting down Ranma?" Cologne asked needlessly. "If it proves to be real." Nabiki managed to get out. "It is. Just find him. Quickly." Cologne commanded as she hopped over to the open window and exited silently. Nabiki eyed the rather large nugget of gold resting on her desk. ****************** The Neko-hanten "Great-grandmother talk to Mercenary Girl, yes?" Shampoo asked as soon as Cologne entered the restaurant. "Speak a civilized language, girl. I'm not up to listening to you slaughter a language." Cologne commanded. "But you have to admit, it makes the others underestimate me." Shampoo remarked in their village's dialect then mumbled under her breath. "And it's not like you've ever bothered to tutor me in the damn language or anything." "That is true." Cologne answered in the same tongue. She decided to ignore the mumble. "However, their opinion will no longer matter if we don't find Son-in-Law in the next few months. It's almost been a year since I became involved, remember." "I remember. Don't worry. With Nabiki on it, we'll find my husband soon." Shampoo calmly replied. "We'd better." Cologne declared. "If we don't, the only other option will be to offer him full membership in the tribe." "But-" "Don't 'But' me, child! I will have him in the tribe! I will take whatever steps are necessary, even offering him full Warrior status!" Cologne snapped. "The Council will never approve that!" Shampoo protested. "Don't be stupid. I trained you to think. Try to use that training. Remember, the Council is fully aware of just WHO killed Saffron and how. Given the choice of never getting him in the tribe or offering him full Warrior status, which do you think the Council will take? Hmmm?" Cologne settled into a chair. "Face it, blood of my blood. They'd drop your claim like it was a pile of donkey manure to get him." Shampoo slumped against the wall, tears wetting her cheeks. Cologne moved over and embraced her gently. "There, there, child. We'll find him. Besides-" Whatever Cologne was about to say was cut off as someone opened the door and stepped in. Cologne didn't even bother to look up as she snapped, "We're closed! Can't you read the sign?" "I apologize, Honored Elder. However, Potion was most explicit about what would happen to me if I failed to deliver her message as rapidly as possible." A melodic voice answered. Cologne jerked upright, leaving Shampoo to wipe her cheeks off and compose herself. Cologne regarded her visitor. She looked like a small girl dressed in a light green shirt and matching pants. Her iridescent green hair, slight body (under two feet tall, in fact), and the way she seemed unable to stay in one place for more than a few seconds all clearly spelled out her true nature. "You're one of Potion's transformed hummingbirds, aren't you." Cologne stated. "Yupyupyup!" The girl paused in her exploration of the underside of one of the tables long enough to hand Cologne a small gem. Cologne regarded it coolly. "Are you supposed to wait for an answer?" "Nuh-uh!" "Then...shouldn't you be returning?" Cologne asked pointedly. The girl stared at her for a few seconds, then gasped and took off running. As she exited the building, a pair of wings emerged from under her shirt and carried her off. Cologne sighed. Potion's hummingbirds were wonderful messengers, but their attention span was almost non-existent after they had finished their tasks. She turned her attention to the gem in her hand. A quick application of chi unlocked the message held in it. An image unfolded in the air above it. A feminine figure, enshrouded by her robe to the point that it was hard to determine even that much, bowed towards Cologne. Cologne sighed internally. Potion and her blasted 'mysterious mage' impressions. "Greetings, Elder. I hope this finds you in good health." Cologne sighed again and settled in for a long wait. Whenever a message from Potion began like that, it meant she was about to pontificate. "I am sending this message to you in order to alert you to a vision I had recently. As I was exploring the far reaches of the Spirit World, at a great danger to myself I should add, I happened to meet a spirit......" Cologne set the gem on a table and went to get some tea for herself and Shampoo. She decided to brew it the long way. She'd have the time before the message got to the point. It takes at least two hours to PROPERLY make tea, in Cologne's opinion. She decided to take a bit longer. She carried out two cups when she had finished, giving one to the busily cleaning Shampoo. On the table, the image was saying something about 'facing the Gates of Perdition and Evil Incarnate.' "Why can't she include a fast-forward feature on those things?" Shampoo muttered. Cologne shook her head. "I don't know. But it's been a few hours. She should be getting to the point soon." "....And that was when the TRUE form of the vision made itself clear!" The image announced triumphantly. "Finally!" Cologne sighed. "The vision was simple: A stallion changed into a warrior with an old soul. He faced a great darkness, ancient and evil. At his right side walked a woman of great power and knowledge. At his left, a child who could destroy all that is. Behind him, a group of warriors, prepared to give their all to defeat the darkness." Potion's image paused. "To be perfectly frank, I don't know the exact meaning of the vision. I tried to find out more, but failed. All I could discern was the fact that it involved you. Also...whoever the horse warrior is, his heart and soul belongs to an Amazon." Cologne and Shampoo shared a look and a smile. Perfect. For all of her other faults, Potion NEVER got a vision interpretation wrong. Ever. Ranma was theirs. ****************** Setsuna's house. Ranma dropped into bed and sighed. The last two weeks had been fun. He was with people who didn't try to kill him, manipulate him, or force him into things. Admittedly, he wasn't enjoying the MASSIVE load of schoolwork Setsuna was shoveling onto his shoulders, but she was also tutoring him in the material. Heck, she made it fun. She managed to find a way to relate everything he was learning to martial arts, in one form or another. Most evenings were spent closeted in her office, either going over his lessons or planning what to do next in the Senshi's training. In addition, she was sparring with him on a regular basis, usually every morning before he woke up Haruka. And she was good. VERY good. She could probably give Cologne or Happosai a decent workout. Of course, he was better. Even so, he couldn't wait to see the looks on the Nerima crew next time he fought them. In addition, his first students had been getting better at a nearly unbelievable rate. In fact, if Setsuna hadn't explained just WHY they were learning so fast, he'd have been slightly worried. She said that his teaching was making them remember what they had learned in their past lives. Hell, he hadn't even known that past lives existed. You learn something new every day. And every night, for that matter. For the last two weeks, he had experienced intensely vivid dreams every...single...night! It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that the same guy kept showing up in every last one. And he was really annoying. What kind of a person named himself 'Nemesis', anyways? Ranma blinked. He was standing in an empty courtyard. Looking up, he could see the Earth hanging in the sky. He sighed, then dropped to the ground by the simple method of doing the splits. He ignored the leg that shot over his head and snapped his right fist back as hard as he could. A deeply satisfying *crunch*, a labored in-drawing of breath, and a pained squeak resulted. Ranma got to his feet, adjusted his pants and turned around. Nemesis was standing in a slightly hunched over stance, trying not to wince. "Damn, that felt like it must have REALLY hurt." Ranma happily noted. "Where-" Nemesis coughed, then started again. "Where the hell did you get brass knuckles?" "It's MY dream, buddy. You do the math." Ranma lifted his right hand and adjusted the brass knuckles. "And you almost ALWAYS open with that kick from behind me." "Right. Mind if I lay down and try to remember how to breathe?" "Not until I get some answers." Ranma firmly answered. "Ah, forget it." Nemesis shook his head and straightened out. "Nice punch." "Thanks. I suppose you're going to attack me now?" "Am I getting that predictable?" "Yes." Ranma answered flatly. Nemesis shrugged. "Oh my. That's a bad thing." Ranma blinked, and Nemesis vanished. Ranma immediately wrapped himself in the Umisen-ken and reached out with his chi, but found nothing. Ranma smiled slightly. This was going to be...fun. To anyone watching, the fight would have been extremely dull. A shimmer in the air here, a flicker of shadow there, and a variety of attacks shooting out at apparently random moments. Ranma was having the time of his life. Nemesis was faster than he was and a nastier fighter. Ranma was quicker at devising new tactics and had almost a decade fighting against one of the dirtiest fighters on the planet. And fighting against Happosai and Cologne had taught him a few tricks, too. He almost never used them, but what the hell. It was a dream. Might as well have some fun. "Happodaikarin!" *BA-BA-BOOM* "CHAOS LANCE!" *KA-ZAKT* "Aura blast!" *THOOM* "CHAOS FLARE!" *FWOOSH* "You know, this really isn't doing it for me. It's rather boring, in fact. What do you say we just go hand to hand?" Nemesis called from a shadow. "Works for me." Ranma said, dropping the Umisen-ken. Nemesis smiled and stepped out of the shadows. Both of them grinned. "Let's rock this place." Nemesis stated. Ranma let his body do the talking for him. He rushed towards Nemesis and arced into his near-trademarked leap kick. Nemesis slapped his kick to the side and responded with a punch to Ranma's back as he passed by. Ranma hit the ground rolling and came out of it in a ready stance facing Nemesis. Nemesis left him no time to attack again as he charged in, leading with a flurry of kicks and punches. Ranma deflected a left jab, blocked the follow-up right cross, and used the roundhouse kick that followed as an opportunity trap his leg and nail him with a quick shot to the side of the knee. Nemesis responded by ignoring the leg-hold and took advantage Ranma's immobilized left arm with a nasty jab to the face. Ranma gritted his teeth as he felt his nose reduce itself to several pieces from the blow. Ranma dropped the leg-hold and jumped back. Nemesis fell back a bit as well, favoring his hurt leg a little. Ranma reached up and shifted the position of his nose back into something close to what it should be. Nemesis raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't that hurt?" "Only the first three or four times." Ranma replied lightly. "Well, that's true." Nemesis allowed, before running at Ranma. Ranma faded back, and let Nemesis throw his punch. Then he dropped to the ground, slammed his left leg into the back of Nemesis' calves and whipped his right leg around and into the front of his thighs. Nemesis dropped back, rolled with the impact, untangled his legs while rolling, and flipped to his feet just in time to have Ranma perform discount dentistry via a spinning back kick. Nemesis hit the ground, then quickly rolled to the side to avoid letting Ranma rearrange his face with a knee drop. He continued the roll to gain distance, then regained his feet. He turned his head to the side and spit a few small, white objects into his hand. He raised an eyebrow, then tossed the teeth over his shoulder. "Okay, now I'm angry." Ranma simply smirked and charged. His quick punch combo was easily deflected, the follow-up kick and knee strike was as well, but the punch to the side of the head landed nicely. Ranma slipped his head to the side to avoid a fast jab, and responded with a palm strike to the sternum. That earned him a snap kick to the knee. He slid back to get out of range, then dashed in. He wove to the outside of a left punch, slapped the elbow up with his left hand, and unloaded an Amaguriken-level set of punches to the ribs. A series of loud snaps resulted. Nemesis responded to the assault with a side kick to Ranma's sternum. The force of the blow sent Ranma skidding across the courtyard. Ranma clutched at his chest as he stood and tried to ignore the fact that he could FEEL several ribs shift as he moved. A quick inspection with his fingers revealed the damages: Cracked sternum, eight broken ribs. Ranma thought ruefully. Nemesis charged in. Ranma quickly shunted the pain to the back of his mind and tossed a quick right jab, then a left. Nemesis caught both and held them under his arms, immobilizing them. Nemesis drew his head back slightly in preparation for a head-butt, but Ranma beat him to the punch by slamming a quick couple of head-butts in, followed by giving Nemesis a savage knee to the groin. That earned Ranma a head-butt to his already broken nose (which hurt like hell), but also made Nemesis let him go. Ranma and Nemesis drew back and studied each other. "Hey, your nose is broken again." Nemesis taunted. "So is yours." Ranma called back. "What?" Nemesis reached up to his face and felt his nose. "Well, damn. You know, you usually aren't this nasty in a fight." Ranma shrugged. "Usually, I don't need to be. Kuno, Mousse, Ryoga, none of them are actually dangerous enough that I NEED to get mean. Besides, you can take it. They can't." "What makes you think I can take it?" Nemesis asked calmly. "The fact that you're not coughing up blood. The punches to your ribs should have punctured your lung. Considering the fact that I FELT them do just that, I'd say you can take some serious punishment." Ranma coldly stated. "Good call." Nemesis acknowledged, then dashed towards Ranma again. Ranma simply smiled and sank into a ready stance, favoring his ribs. ****************** Hotaru snapped awake in an instant, then shot a glance around her room. Something was happening. She could feel it. Something weird. She could feel some kind of familiar energy, but couldn't remember where she had felt it before. She was about to get out of bed when the feeling abruptly faded. She sat up, slightly alarmed by the sudden cessation of the sensation. "What was that? Maybe I should tell Setsuna-mama?" Hotaru wondered and then realized what time it was. "Two in the morning? It can wait." If Hotaru had actually managed to follow the emanations to their point of origin, she would have been surprised at how close the source was. About twenty feet from her, in fact. Ranko's room, to be precise. If she had actually entered Ranko's room, she would have been VERY surprised. You don't usually see someone twitching and jerking as a corona of black energy cocooned them, after all. ****************** Ranma snarled to himself as Nemesis charged in. The fight was about to get really nasty. With his ribs more or less reduced to free-floating lung puncture devices, he had five minutes left, tops. He narrowed his eyes. Nemesis started with a nice, simple left jab. Ranma responded with a move that was anything but nice and simple. "FIERCE TIGER OPENING GATES BLOW!" Ranma slapped both of Nemesis' arms out wide and slammed a foot to his sternum. Taking advantage of the opening, Ranma stepped in and drove his stiffened hand into Nemesis' stomach. "WELCOME GATE IRON FAN FINGERS!" Ranma was careful not to use full power behind his blow. He just wanted to win the fight, not kill. As Nemesis staggered back from the fierce assault, Ranma finished with the third move in his combo. "ASSAULT OF THE ENRAGED BEAR!" Ranma slammed two ponderous overhand strikes into Nemesis' collarbones, resulting in distinct cracking noises, followed by a hard strike to each side of the face, and culminating in a hammer fist to the forehead. The front kick to Nemesis' right hip wasn't supposed to be in the technique, but Ranma never could leave a technique unmodified. Nemesis flew back and hit the ground limply. Ranma sank to the ground. "Heh. Said it once, said it a thousand times. 'Ranma Saotome-" "'-Doesn't lose.' Yeah, so I've heard." Nemesis' voice interjected. Ranma snapped his gaze to where Nemesis SHOULD have been contemplating all the pretty stars. He was getting up, seemingly unharmed. "H-how?" Ranma stammered out. "Think about it. You said it yourself." Nemesis smirked, than continued. "All of this is just.... Come on, work with me!" "A dream." Ranma breathed. "Finally remembered that, did you?" Nemesis sarcastically drawled. Ranma glared at him as he stood, pain forgotten and removed in a heartbeat. "You haven't figured it out, have you." Nemesis stated. "Figured out what?" Ranma demanded. "Why I'm here. In your dreams, that is. Why I keep pestering you. Think about it. Yeah, I know it's a difficult task. Do it anyways." Nemesis commanded. Ranma glared at him. "What the hell are you talking about?" Nemesis began to walk around Ranma, talking all the while. "It's really fairly obvious, if you bother to put together all the facts. All those dreams you have of fighting youma. Your blackouts. Why your life is such a chaotic hellhole. Who am I. Think. REMEMBER." The last word was spoken with intense command. Nemesis stalked towards Ranma until he was standing face-to- face with him. "Why do I know you? THINK, Ranma. Why do I remember how Genma tied you to the back of a train to teach you to run faster? Why do I know what it felt like when you broke your arm the first time you tried to roof-hop?" Nemesis dropped his voice to a harsh whisper. "More importantly, why do you remember what Venus looked like at night? Why can you remember the way Queen Serenity looked when she let her hair down? Why do you remember Beryl? Prince Endymion? Kunzite? Arik? Ella? Rianna? Ice? Why can you remember the passcodes to bypass the Royal Palace's security system?" As Nemesis spoke, images ripped through Ranma's mind like jagged saw blades. People, places, things, occasions, none of them his, yet he knew all of them. He reached up and grasped the sides of his head. Nemesis continued even as Ranma started to shake his head in an attempt to make sense of the images. Finally, Nemesis reached out, grabbed Ranma's head, and forced him to meet his gaze. "THINK, damn it! REMEMBER!! Our Queen is in danger! How do you know me?! How do you know my fighting style?! WHO AM I?!" Nemesis finished in a scream. Ranma stared into his eyes like a deer facing headlights. He couldn't blink, couldn't turn away as those eyes gazed into his soul and ripped out memories of another soul, another being to lay them out where all could see. "Who am I?" Nemesis whispered softly. Ranma slowly opened his mouth. Slowly, he spoke in a thin, faint voice. "You are Nemesis. The Senshi of Chaos. Bodyguard to the Royal Family. Protector of Queen Serenity. Son of Arik. You are...." Ranma's voice trailed off. Nemesis nodded. "I am...." Ranma swallowed, then hesitantly continued. "You're...me." Nemesis smiled widely as he released Ranma's head and stepped back. "Finally." Nemesis began to laugh loudly, throwing his head back and letting loose with a series of deep, full-body guffaws. He abruptly broke them off and stared at Ranma with glee in his eyes. "Do you know what this means?" Ranma just stared at him in confusion and shook his head. "It means it's time to wake up. I'll see you later." Nemesis smiled and waved, then faded away. ****************** Ranma's eyes shot open and she snapped into a sitting position in her bed. The black energy that was rapidly fading away never even registered on her mind. Her dream had already faded from her memory, but something important had happened in it. She could feel it. She could also feel that she wasn't going to get back to sleep tonight. Ranma shot a glance at the clock as she climbed out of bed. Ranma walked over to the dresser and pulled out a shirt and pants. As she pulled them on, she began to plan what to do for the rest of the night. She shrugged on her shirt and was ready to exit via the window as usual when a thought hit her. She shot over to the mirror and stared at her reflection. Ranma had to pinch herself repeatedly before she realized that she was indeed awake. She slowly started to take stock of the changes. She was taller. Much taller. She could probably look down on her un-cursed form, in fact. A rough estimate put her at about 5'8". Her hair had lengthened to midway down her back and was still in the pigtail, which was kind of puzzling, as it should have grown out of it as the hair grew. Muscle tone was a bit better, flexibility seemed to be a little higher, and sense of balance was still exactly right. Muscle mass had increased, but she still somehow managed to convey a look of fragility. Her breasts seemed to be the same size, but on the larger frame they didn't seem quite so unusual. Added to the slimmer face, slightly thinner frame, and overall leaner look provided by the last vestiges of baby fat disappearing, and it was likely that anyone from Nerima would have to take a second look to be sure it was her. In short, she had gone from "very cute" to "stunningly beautiful." "Oh, man. Kuno'll NEVER leave me alone now!" Ranma groaned, then froze. Her voice wasn't the same either. It had deepened. Judging from her (rather limited) knowledge on the subject, she put it at somewhere between her former soprano and a mezzo-soprano. A sudden fear gripped her and she ran for the kitchen. It seemed to take forever for the water to warm up in the kettle, but it finally did. She grabbed the kettle and rapidly returned to her room. She stared at the kettle for a few seconds, then steeled herself and dumped it over her head. A familiar tingling washed over her and he sighed in relief. Or he would have, if a sudden pain hadn't made him double over. Apparently, his un-cursed form had gained some size too. And shifting into too-small boxers REALLY hurt. Faintly, he could hear a series of rips as his clothing decided that it didn't want to hold together anymore. As his boxers finally gave away, Ranma dragged in a deep breath and whimpered slightly. Ranma groaned as he slowly and painfully rose to his feet, shedding the rags of his clothes as he went. This time, it was easier to see the changes that had occurred. The most obvious was his height. Rough estimate put him at 6'2", which was a good two inches over Kuno and Mr. Tendo. His musculature was a bit more defined, but wasn't insanely bulging. His face was thinner, which gave it a more chiseled look and made it look more refined. He had the obvious increases in reach, stride, and center of balance, but no need to adjust his balance, which was downright weird. It was like he'd put on a massive growth spurt, with no advanced notice, no sudden hunger, and no need to get used to it. Bluntly, he'd gone from "handsome" to "grade A prime beefcake" in the space of two hours. "This...is weird." Ranma murmured in a baritone. Ranma grabbed a blanket from the bed and wrapped it around himself, and then wrapped himself in the Umisen-ken just for good measure. He carefully walked out of the room, across the hall, and into the bathroom to get a glass of cold water. Ranma reached for the cup and was about to fill it when the door opened. He immediately leapt to the ceiling and re-cloaked himself with the Umisen-ken. He started to silently swear as Setsuna walked in. Then he had to fight off a nosebleed as he realized what she was wearing. It was lacey. And small. And sheer in a great many places. And he was in just the right place to remove what few concealing properties it might have had. Ranma screwed his eyes shut and tried to erase what he had just seen from his mind. He did not need another woman pissed at him. He did not need another person wanting to kill him. He did not need to know that Setsuna's hair color was natural. He REALLY didn't need the last one especially. Below him, he heard Setsuna fill a glass and drink it, then fill it again. She silently stood there for a few seconds, then began to mumble to herself. "Damn it, Setsuna! Get a hold of yourself! She's your student! No matter how much you want to go in there, rip off her clothes, and have mad, passionate sex, you can't give in!" Setsuna began to thump something against the wall. Her head, if Ranma was any judge. And he was. However, her next words nearly made him lose his grip on the ceiling. "I must not seduce Ranko. I must not seduce Ranko. I must not seduce Ranko. I must not cover her in honey, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream just so I can lick it off. I must be good. I must be in control. I will not seduce Ranko." Setsuna drew in a deep breath, then let it out. "Okay, I can do this." Ranma breathed a silent sigh of relief as Setsuna opened the door and left. He opened his eyes and started to climb down from the ceiling. Luckily, he didn't let go of the Umisen-ken. Setsuna walked back in, this time wearing a robe. Ranma froze. Setsuna pulled a compact umbrella out of her pocket, opened it, then reached outside the door and grabbed something. Ranma had just enough time to wonder what was going on when the bucketful of cold water hit him. "Next time you hide, remember to hold your breath." Setsuna said with a smile. She tossed him a thermos then turned and walked out. Ranma wondered as she climbed to her feet and chased after Setsuna. She dumped a portion of the hot water in the thermos over her head, and adjusted the blanket. Setsuna calmly strode down the hallway and into her room. When Ranma walked through her doorway, he caught several articles of clothing. In his face, to be precise. "Those should fit you." Setsuna informed him. "Ah...right." Ranma said, trying to juggle the clothes without losing the blanket around his waist. "Could you...you know...turn around or somethin'?" Setsuna raised an eyebrow. "Whatever for? After all, I changed in front of you. Turnabout seems fair to me." Ranma just narrowed his eyes slightly. "Just do it! Please?" "Oh, all right. But you REALLY need to loosen up." Setsuna commented as she turned. Ranma sighed in relief and quickly dropped the blanket and got dressed. The clothes fit him nearly perfectly. Not his usually colors, but that was okay. Why did it seem right to wear a black shirt and pants? And the silver scrollwork on the shirt and pants seemed to fit him, too. "Okay, I'm done." "So I noticed." Setsuna remarked. Ranma looked over towards her. She still had her back turned and was staring at...a mirror. A mirror that he could see her in. And if he could see her, then she could.... "Nice butt." Setsuna casually complimented. Ranma started to blush. "You seem to be taking this pretty well." Ranma commented in a desperate attempt to change the subject. "I've seen almost everything over the years, Ranma. Besides, you're not the first person to suddenly go through a massive growth spurt in this house." Setsuna calmly answered. Ranma snapped his head around. "Then you know what happened to me?" Ranma asked, a bit desperately. "Yes, I do." Setsuna replied, as she walked over to a blanket-covered freestanding mirror. "Brace yourself." "Wha-?" But Ranma didn't managed to utter anymore, as Setsuna uncovered the mirror and he saw himself. Black pants, black shirt, silver scrollwork patterns embroidered up the sides of both the pants and shirt, and on his forehead.... A sigil etched itself in ebon flames. An upside-down crescent moon. Ranma stared at it. He slowly walked forward and touched his hand to the mirror. He traced the sigil's image. The memory hit him like a freight train. Flash. Jump to the left. Avoid the lightning from the Chaos storm overhead. Jump over the Cat, fist to the spine as I go. I smile at the sound of bone shattering under my fist. Roll under its death-strike. Kick off the rock spire to my left, avoid the creeper plant vines. I laugh as the vines snag the body of the Cat. I climb the wall to my home. I slip in the entrance. He's there. My father. He greets me with a smile and a hug. "Hello, Arin. How was your day?" I am four years old. Flash. I place the last rock on the grave of my father. As I ponder the grave for a few moments, I wonder at the lapse in the omni-present Chaos storms. It's as though Nemesis itself mourns with me. I turn and walk away. I never look back. In my brain, I can hear his voice. "One day, son, I will die. On that day, I want you to grieve. Then move on. Don't worry about what might have been, only what will be. You can't change the past. Bury me and move forward. Never look back. Ever." I pick up my pack and put it on as I walk. I already know my goal. My father's ship. With it, I can get off-planet. I have a mission. I can feel the pull. My Princess has been born. She needs me. I will go to her. Nothing will stop me. I am seven years old. Flash. I kick the panel in rage. It is totally destroyed. I cannot repair it. Very well. I will launch without it. After all, I don't need artificial gravity. I walk down the hall to the cargo bay. Once there, I prepare my meal from the small amount of supplies left. I will be ready to take off tomorrow. Hopefully, the ship won't break up upon exit. It holds everything I have left of my father. Flash. I can feel it. A shining beacon to my senses. The Ginzuisho. I weave the spell to teleport to it. As my vision clears, I see her. My Queen. Father was right about her hair. It was a ridiculous sight. I open my eyes to her aura and am humbled. Father was right about that, too. I kneel and present myself. I am eight years old. Flash. I close my eyes and center myself. I must focus. The Elders aren't to be taken likely. I can feel my Queen arrive overhead. There are others with her. Very well. I can deal with that. I walk up the tunnel and into the Coliseum. Uranus and the rest of the Elders are waiting for me. In my memory, I hear my father's words. "At times, you will face opponents stronger than you. Tougher than you. Faster than you. Smarter than you. In order to beat them, you must have a greater drive to live than them. You must be willing to go farther, fight longer, and endure more. You must never even CONSIDER losing." I speak. "Uranus!" Flash. My ribs hurt. I can't see out of my left eye. I can feel internal bleeding. It's hard to breathe. I reach over and rip the top off of a bench. Uranus takes an astonishing amount of damage before she goes down. Mars does too. I hope neither of them are seriously hurt. I walk over to my Queen and bend over her hand. I have to force back the blackness when I straighten. After she dismisses me, I take Pluto's hand. A shock runs through me at the contact. To cover for my surprise, I state something trite about her hair. I barely make it to my room before I pass out. I am eleven years old. Flash. I watch my Princess fall to her knees. I force myself to wait. After a few seconds, I go and comfort her. As she runs off, I turn to address my Queen. I am thirteen years old. Flash. I land on the dusty soil of Mimas and ensure nothing has revealed my presence. I can feel Sailor Jupiter. I slowly unwind the chain from my left arm. By the time I find Jupiter, the chain is more red than silver. I am sixteen years old. Flash. I wave goodbye to my mother from my position on my father's shoulder. We're going to go train. Flash. I laugh with my charges as Mercury cuts through the brawler's guard like one of her knives goes through steel. Three seconds later, the man is, appropriately enough, out cold. I gather our winnings and lead the way out of the town and into the Jovian wilds. Flash. I laugh with my friend as I win another okonomiyaki. Flash. I see the surprise on my Queen's face when I present her daughter and her bodyguards. Flash. I scream as my father throws me to the cats again. Flash. I stare down at the black-haired bundle in my hands. Briefly, the sigil of Saturn flares on her brow. Flash. I feel my body changing as I surface from the spring. A single glance is all I need. My scream fills the air. Flash. I stare at the sun from the balcony of my room. Something is wrong. Something has disturbed the prison. Flash. I prepare myself for Herb's attack. Flash. I glare at the red-head across the table from me. There's something behind her green eyes that I don't like, don't trust. Serenity won't listen to me, however. Flash. I balance on the blade and hold my mother to my chest. Below me, I hear the sea, around me whispers the wind. I am at peace. Flash. I stand on the surface of my planet and scream in rage and pain as my own power rips it to pieces. Flash. I hover in the air and scream in rage and pain as my attack freezes and shatters Saffron. Flash. I stare up at the sky. I can no longer see the Earth. The entire sky is black. Mettalia is free. I can feel my Princess' life drain away. I can feel my Queen prepare to cast a final spell with the last of her life energy. I have failed. I have failed. I have failed. Flash. I am the heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. I am Sailor Nemesis. I have many fiancees.I have one who completes my soul. I have many enemiesI have many enemiesIamRanmaIamArinFLASH *STOP* I am...myself. I am...whole. Darkness. ****************** Ranma opened his eyes. A face met his gaze. A very familiar face. "Hi. How's the head?" Nemesis asked calmly. Ranma groaned. "What the hell happened to me?" "I'd guess that you received one too many memories at once. Getting a couple of decades worth shoved into your skull in a few seconds has to hurt." Nemesis answered as he sat down in a chair that appeared from nowhere. Ranma sat up and looked around. As far as he could see, there was an unending gray fog. He looked down. Ground of the same color as the fog met his eyes. "Wait. You'd 'guess'? I though you knew everything." Ranma sarcastically remarked. Nemesis snorted. "Yeah, sure. You know better. Or at least you should. Idiot." Nemesis retorted. "I'm you. A little older, a little more experienced, but still you. You know what I know, I know what you know. No more, no less." Ranma slowly stood up and sat in a chair. He wondered for a second where the chair came from, then dismissed it as unimportant. "So, why am I sitting here talking to myself?" Nemesis grinned. "'Cause schizophrenia beats being alone." Ranma acknowledged the point with a nod of his head and an answering grin. "So what do we do now?" "Well, finding out what happened while we were gone would be a good idea. The Senshi are in Eternal forms. They shouldn't be. Not this soon. And we have to find out what happened to Beryl and Metallia. And finding whoever's in charge of the attacks on our Queen and killing him or her sounds nice." Nemesis paused. "However, one 'To Do' REALLY stands out. We need to check on someone." Ranma looked puzzled for a few seconds, then he realized what Nemesis was talking about. He smiled then slowly shook his head. "Man, that is going to take some getting used to." Nemesis shrugged. "At least you're not in denial." "Kinda hard to be in denial about something I can remember in photographic detail." Ranma answered. He frowned at the darkness surrounding them. "So, how do we get out of here?" Nemesis smiled enigmatically. "How do YOU think we get out of here?" Ranma smirked. "You don't a have a clue, either." "Nope!" Nemesis cheerfully replied. Ranma shook his head, then winced and rubbed his cheek. "Why the hell does my cheek hurt?" Ranma muttered angrily. ****************** Setsuna sighed and continued to lightly slap Ranma's cheek. "Come on, wake up." She smiled as Ranma groaned and began to stir. "Finally." Ranma opened his eyes and blinked repeatedly. He sat up slowly and started to rub his cheek, grumbling. "Why the hell were you hitting me? Crazy chick." Setsuna twitched. "'Crazy chick'? You are going to pay for that." She mumbled under her breath. Ranma suddenly felt an unexplainable chill, but shrugged it off as he stood up and walked towards the door. Setsuna gracefully rose to her feet as well. "Where are you going?" Ranma grinned. "I'm going to check on someone. Wanna take a guess who?" "I don't need to. She's asleep, you know." Setsuna commented. Ranma just grinned and walked towards the door. As he went a wave of black energy rippled over him, transforming him to Nemesis. He walked into the hallway and strode down it like he owned it. As he went past the bathroom, he paused. "You know, Uranus, I'm pretty sure that you should probably wear clothes when you go to get a drink. Oh, you still have that birthmark on your shoulder. Cool." Nemesis waved as he continued his trek. Haruka burst out of the bathroom, hastily wrapping a towel around herself as she went. "What is he doing here?" She demanded of Setsuna. Setsuna just glanced at her and walked past. Michiru, hearing the noise, opened the door of Haruka's room and leaned out. "What's going on out here? What is *he* doing here?!" She hissed towards Haruka. Haruka just mutely shrugged and followed Setsuna and Nemesis. Setsuna paused at Hotaru's doorway. Haruka and Michiru joined her and looked in. Inside, Nemesis was standing over Hotaru as she lay sleeping. She had kicked off her covers and was shivering slightly. He smiled, and gently drew the blankets up to her shoulders and tucked them under her. He leaned over, brushed the hair away from her face, and cupped her cheek. The sigil of Saturn glowed briefly on her forehead as he drew his hand back. "Setsuna, what is going on? What is he doing here?" Haruka softly demanded. Setsuna smiled slightly as she answered. "It's simple, really. He's tucking his daughter in for the night." End Chapter 7 TBC..... ****************** Author's notes I had a LOT of fun with this chapter. I particularly enjoyed the "stream of consciousness" flashback sections. I've always enjoyed writing in that style. Cliffhanger? Sure, why not! Heck, I LOVE those too! As always, ANY C&C is appreciated! Heck, I even read flames! Ja Ne! Slacker (rheins@pmt.org) Alpha draft: 06/15/01 Beta draft: 07/26/01 And, just for reading this far....AN OMAKE! "Okay, I'm done." "So I noticed." Setsuna remarked. Ranma looked over towards her. She still had her back turned and was staring at...a mirror. A mirror that he could see her in. And if he could see her, then she could.... "Nice butt." Setsuna casually complimented. Ranma started to blush. Setsuna snickered and turned away, then gasped as a pair of arms wrapped around her waist. "Same to you." Ranma whispered in her ear, then began to nibble on her earlobe. Setsuna gulped as his hands began to wander. "Mad, passionate sex sounds like a good idea right now, you know." She stammered out. "Mmmm-hmmm. Too bad this is just an Omake." "Damn author." "Yup." OMAKE #2! (Just 'cause you guys are special! This one was written by Tom Ladegard. Blame him, not me. Or something.) Ranma's eyes shot open and she snapped into a sitting position in her bed. Or at least tried to. The black energy that was rapidly fading away never even registered on her mind. Her dream had already faded from her memory, but something important had happened in it. She could feel it. She could also feel that she wasn't going to get back to sleep tonight. While the previous feeling was somewhat vague, almost mystical, this one seemed to come from a more definitive source. Maybe it was her lack of clothes. Or the silk cords fastening her to the corners of her bed. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the look on Setsuna's face as she sat on the edge of the bed, dressed in something that seemed mostly to be lace and imagination, and in a quiet voice announced, "Remedial Sexual Education pop quiz."