Souls of Fire #3: Symphony of Fire Ranma 1/2 VS Sailor Moon Written by Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@NYChotmail.com) http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/sm/index.html Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi. Ranma 1/2 and characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. Proper licenses belong to respective properties and characters. The manga has precedence over material in the anime. This file can be freely distributed so long as it appears in its complete form and proper credit. No part may be reproduced for monetary gain without permission from the author. ---------------------------------------------------- Inner Sanctum, Crystal Palace Sleep was not easy to come for Neo Queen Serenity as she lay on her vast bed, alone in the silence of the night. She stared upward, toward the ceiling, and wondered how so many things could go wrong this early in her rule. However, the thought was shaken as the reflection she saw herself in on the crystal ceiling vanished, transforming into a dark, hooded shape. The queen's eyes widened immediately when she realized who it was. "Death Phantom!" she gasped. "You are Neo Queen Serenity," the shade said, eyes illuminating under the darkness of the rust-blue hood. "Excellent." Serenity puzzled over the odd remark for a moment, then brushed it off. "What do you want?" "We will meet again in three nights hence," Death Phantom said, and Serenity knew well enough that it was not a request. "In the crystal garden of your very palace I will wait for you. There is much to discuss." "Why should we wait for three days?" asked the queen. "What is your game, Death Phantom?" "Consider this," he warned. "If any other than yourself are present in the garden at this same time of the night as that date, then the lives of your precious citizens cannot be guaranteed. Bring no weapons nor allies. I will be waiting in three days." "Wait!" she cried, just as the shade transformed back into her own reflection. --- Rec Room, Mishima Heavy Industries By the time Shizuka lead Ami into the recreational room, very few people occupied it, as many drifted off to their own quarters for the night. Even though it seemed a bit early to turn in for Ami, she realized, by glancing at the wall clock, that Shizuka was actually taking her time in putting away her groceries. Not that it was totally unenlightening to Ami. The girl was a priestess of Genbu, she learned, one of the four factions that made their home in the abandoned Shrine of the Four Gods. The disguised soldier was severely tempted to tell Shizuka more about the fate of her missing friends and comrades, but thought better of it; although Sailor Mercury knew the answer, Ami Mizuno did not, and telling Shizuka would likely not win any favors. One thing was certain; Ami determined that Suzaku, the fire god, was the rival of Genbu, the water god, which probably explained the reason Shizuka readily attacked Mars at the Hikawa Shrine. And while Mars seemed to have a little trouble keeping up with the girl, Shizuka herself admitted she was a terrible fighter, now that her talisman no longer function. Ami hardly believed her; anyone walking around with two swords tied to their belts had to be at least a little competent. Near the back end of the rec room Ami spied the one person occupying the room, her back toward the two girls, facing the large television set displaying the late night news. Propped on the seat next to her was a long naginata, with an equally long thick leather strap hanging loosely from the head to presumably the other end of the staff. The girl tied her hair in a pony tail, tied off with a green ribbon, contrasting with her violet combat dress. She wore a brass necklace around her neck, linked in chains, but Ami could not tell what was hanging off it. "Kanna," Shizuka said, "you're still here?" She turned around, and Ami caught a glimpse of the large amethyst crystal hanging off the necklace. "Oh, you brought a friend?" "This is Ami Mizuno," the priestess introduced. "Ami, this is Kanna Rajura. Some people call her the 'Crystal Spider.'" 'Crystal Spider,' Ami repeated in her mind. That name sounds vaguely familiar. "Pleased to meet you." She held out her hand, and Kanna accepted, shaking strongly. "So Ayame actually let you in?" began Kanna. "You must be of some use to her, then." "Pardon?" "Not just anybody gets into the compound," she elaborated. Kanna shrugged. "Well, I guess we could use some extra bodies around here." "Ami's a teacher," Shizuka said, volunteering information. "Master Higure brought her." Kanna nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I guess there's more people to match wits with, then." She turned toward Ami. "Not a whole lot of geniuses on this boat, if you catch my drift." She nodded. "By the way, why do they call you the 'Crystal Spider?'" Ami was starting to get a good idea where she heard the name from. "It's such an odd name," she added quickly, realizing that if Kanna was anywhere near as smart as she claimed to be, she would pick up on the idea. But it turned out that Kanna was thinking far from any past incident. "Well, it's mainly because of this thing," she answered, holding up her necklace for Ami to see. Ami peered closer at the amethyst, and realized there was a crystallized silk spinner spider encased within. "That's an interesting piece of art." "It's belonged to my family for generations," Kanna continued. "None of us know why it's any special, but I always wear it. So when I was growing up kids knew me as the girl with the weird necklace." She shrugged. "Boys thought it was odd that I wasn't scared of spiders like most other girls, so they called me the spider lady, and all kinds of spider names. And as I got older they got more creative about it, and eventually 'Crystal Spider' stuck. I kind of like the sound of it, actually, so that's why it's that." "Beautiful but dangerous," Shizuka commented. Kanna gave the priestess a look. "Hey, I didn't mean it THAT way!" Ami nodded. There was no doubt in her mind that this was the same girl that was linked to the house bombing on the day Death Phantom's presence was detected. The couple mentioned something about a crystal spider when they were treated at the hospital, but no one could, or would, give any information. And here she was, the criminal responsible for the destruction. Kanna Rajura must be brought to justice for her crimes, Ami knew, but she also realized that now wasn't the time nor the place to bring her to the court. "So where's everybody else?" asked Shizuka. Kanna shrugged. "Well, I wasn't paying attention or anything... but I heard Kuno was going to try something tonight. I'd be surprised if he succeeded where Pantyhose failed." "'Pantyhose?'" echoed Ami, confused. "Yeah, that's his name," Kanna replied with a nod. "The poor bastard... well, maybe he deserves it because he is a bastard." All three girls heard a loud hiss. From the ceiling above the voice of the mercenary Shion said through a speaker, "Shizuka, would you mind bringing our guest back to the control center?" "Well, I guess the tour's over," the priestess of Genbu declared. Turning toward Kanna she said, "You can go back to playing the stock market, or whatever you're doing." "It was a pleasure to meet you," Kanna said toward Ami, bowing slightly. "The same," replied Ami, nodding quickly. --- Internal Security, Crystal Palace "Three energy spikes, sir," one of the security techs said, leaning over his seat. Sailor Venus approached the man quickly. "Where?" At the monitor on the security guard's console a map of the city appeared, with three flashing, red dots at certain locations. "They're forming a perfect triangle pattern centering the palace. If I'm not mistaken, it is likely the enemy is making a move against us." "It's an invitation," Venus realized. "The three points are spread too far apart from each other, and the palace, to harm it directly." She pointed a gloved finger at one point, near the sea, in the mountainous region. "That's where I'll be. Ask Mars and Jupiter to handle the other two." "What is it?" asked the tech. "That one in the corner is generating a larger energy field than the other two," she explained, "so I'm betting that one is the leader, and the other two are flunkies." --- Sea Coast, Northeast of Crystal Tokyo It took less than half a second for Sailor Venus to materialize at the coastal region, and she was glad to learn that her assumption had been correct. Standing opposite her in a relaxed manner, his back toward her, was a tall man dressed in a kendo training uniform, his wooden sword slung at his waist. He stared upward at the stars, just at the edge of the cliff that Venus knew fell nearly straight down to the rocky shoals below. The waves crashed up against the rocks, creating a strange hypnotic, soothing sound in the otherwise quiet night. "Excuse me?" she started, instantly getting a reaction out of the kendoist. "Shhh!!" he hissed, turning his head back toward her angrily. "Do you not hear the calling from beyond the sea, woman?!" "It's just the sea...." "Woven in a sea of beauty," he interrupted, "the song of the maiden ocean spirits carry to my ears. 'Tis a rhythm that may soothe the beast, or enlighten the knowledgable." He turned around fully, and drew his bokken, gripping it with both hands, and taking several practice swings before him. "Would you be the maiden warrior that is the championed leader of Crystal Tokyo's devoted defenders?" "Yeah, I guess that's me," Venus replied with a nod. "Who are you?" "I am the one without peer!" he thundered. "The rising star of the fencing world! The sound of my voice strikes fear in the hearts of my enemies! My peers call me the Azure Wind of Tokyo University! Tatewaki Kuno, age twenty-two." "O-kay," Venus said, uncertain if she found the right guy. "So you're challenging me to a duel? I don't really have a fair sword." "The weapon is but a deception to the perception of one's true skill!" Tatewaki replied, holding out his bokken in a ready stance. "You would do well to prepare to pay for your crimes!" Only a fraction of a second passed as Venus realized that the match had begun, and she was quite unarmed. The kendoist thrust rapid jabs with his wooden sword in a blinding speed that it took all of the soldier's concentration to avoid them all. She knew she was getting pushed back, and into a wall, but there was little she could think to do in order to avoid that. The moment Venus felt the wall behind her she leaped straight up, forcing Tatewaki to smash his bokken into the stone cliffside. Pushing herself off the wall she somersaulted over the kendoist, quickly summoning her Venus energy sword, and landing on her feet. Turning, she suppressed surprise when Tatewaki pulled his bokken out of the cliffside undamaged, leaving several large holes in the rock. "Defend yourself, scoundrel!" the kendoist shouted, committing himself to another fury strike. This time Venus was ready, as she arced her blade to parry each blow, but it was as if Tatewaki's strokes were unaffected, as he pressed on with the same fury. She dodged to the side, opening Tatewaki's side for an easy counter blow, and took advantage of it, driving a well-placed kick in the kendoist's side. Tatewaki, knocked out of his attack, quickly recovered from the recoil, and resorted on the more conventional swings. Venus took the opportunity to swing the battle in her favor, making wide cutting arcs and forcing Tatewaki to parry, as he overcompensated the strikes due to the light trails from the energy weapon. She was surprised the bokken remained in working shape despite the punishment it went through. But apparently Tatewaki was learning about his opponent just as fast, if not faster, than Venus was learning about him. Instead of going for a dedicated parry as usual, Tatewaki thrust his bokken in quickly between arcing hits, and Venus moved her head out of the way in the nick of time. However, even though the weapon never touched her she felt the attack tear a cut into her right cheek. As she realized it was starting to bleed Tatewaki pressed his attack, making several more dedicated thrusts, this time landing good hits on her right arm-- her sword arm. She lost hold over the weapon's existence as the bruises dominated her mind, and Venus staggered back defensively, her left arm supporting her injured right arm. Taking in several desperate breaths, she realized over the sting of the hurting spots that Tatewaki had stopped completely, but remained ever-ready to strike again. "With defenders as weak as you," Tatewaki said coldly, "is it a wonder that opponents skilled in the war arts can beat you so easily?" "Then you don't know us Sailor Senshi very well, do you?" Venus countered. "You say you're going to hit me with that justice of yours, but it's more vengeance than justice." "Such shall it be to deceivers as you!" Tatewaki said angrily. "How dare you interfere with the lives of my family in such manner as I cannot recognize my own father? What right have you to dominate the minds of this Earth with your will, and remove their way of living?!" "You're not making sense!" complained the soldier, stalling for time as she tried to think of a way out of the mess. "Fighting only creates more problems in the world! The only way to prevent it is to talk out the problems, and find a solution both parties can agree with." "How naive do you believe I am, woman?!" he roared. "Though I would hate my father so for the atrocities he has committed, he is still my father. What you and your sorceries have done... were they asked for? Were they necessary?! Why?!" "Because I'm a soldier of love and justice," she replied, finalizing her plan. "I fight for the good of the people, against those who would bring harm to the Earth, and the rest of the universe. My name is Sailor Venus!" She pointed out her right index finger against all the pain protesting in her mind. "Crescent Beam!" A ray of energy caught Tatewaki by surprise, and nothing he could do could deflect a simple attack such as that. He took the blow squarely in the chest, throwing the kendoist back and off balance. In the second of weakness Venus followed-up with the remainder of her plan. Quickly she summoned an energy chain into existence, and flung it at the dazed attacker. The chain encircled Tatewaki many times, binding him securely, but he refused to release his grip on the bokken. Gritting his teeth in anger, Tatewaki charged before the chain could encircle his legs and feet completely. Venus rolled to the side quickly, mentally telling herself, "That was not part of the plan!" and allowing Tatewaki to continue. But continue he would not, as the chain finished binding the kendoist in mid-charge. Tatewaki fought against the bindings, but fell forward, his bokken caught on the ground. His momentum carried him further, however, and the bokken served to fling Tatewaki into the air. Venus turned her eyes away as Tatewaki flung to his death plunge over the edge of the cliff. --- He had no idea how long he had lay there, with the sea lapping against his back as Tatewaki lay broken on the rocky sea coast. Struggling to keep his eyes open he tried in vain to remember where the black prism shard had gone, but somehow he remembered it was hidden in the handle of the bokken. No matter, it was useless, he thought. How long ago had it been when he discovered that the prism crystal that Wiseman gave him served to augment his already fantastic skills? How long ago had it been since he and Kodachi left the Kuno estate for the last time? How long had Kodachi been standing next to him? "I... failed," he croaked. "Please, Brother," she pleaded, "please hang on!" "Finish it..." he requested, feeling the energy draining from his body. "Take my... heart...." For a moment the girl's eyes sobered up from her sadness. "What... what are you...?" "In death, my life... serves purpose...." He lost feeling in his legs, feeling nothing of the rocks they lay on, nor of the bent bones. For that matter, he realized, he could not feel himself at all. "Dear Sister, live on." Tatewaki Kuno would neither see her reaction, nor know of what his fateful battle would bring for the future of the world. --- Venus picked up the wooden sword, and found it to be a little heavier than she expected, as the handle end was weighed down artificially. She had little time to think of it as she paused to look over the edge, unable to take her mind off the tragedy she witnessed herself. Down below, many several meters, she could make out the prone body of the kendoist Tatewaki, and that of a second, a girl, apparently. Any speculation as to her relation to the kendoist disappeared as Venus realized she was drawing out his heart crystal, black lightning crackling out of her right palm, sourcing from a Deathbuster star. The heart crystal glowed with a high intensity, suggesting it was of a superior purity. The girl stared upward, catching a glimpse of Venus with sadness in her eyes. However, the sadness was soon replaced with scorn when she realized that the reason Tatewaki was dead was because of her. "YOU!!" she screamed, her voice carrying over the lap of waves against the rocks. "You shall rue the day you crossed paths with Kuno!" In a shift of blackness the girl vanished with the heart crystal, leaving the corpse of her fellow Fenril Knight alone in the darkness of night. Venus sighed wearily, and suddenly the sound of the ocean took on a whole new meaning to her. "They're never going to stop now," she realized. --- Ami's Apartment, 10th Street District Ami collapsed on her bed wearily, holding the black prism shard in her hand over her. It was a fragment of the Black Crystal, she had no doubt about that. If there was a sign that Death Phantom was involved, this was it. Each of the Fenril Knights, she learned, carried one of these shards on their person, in order to travel in a teleporting fashion similar to the method the Sailor Senshi used nowadays. Like the standard way, all one had to do was visualize the location in order to get there, which was why Higure had to physically bring her in the first time. Ami suspected that the shards were also a means of tracking, therefore it would do her no good to break her routine now. She guessed that if she went into the Crystal Palace it would immediately blow her cover. Still, having the shard should give some kind of positive benefit on the whole situation. Realizing the lateness of the hour, Ami nevertheless set down the shard and produced her communication mirror out of its hiding place. In a few short moments she was connected to Neo Queen Serenity's Inner Sanctum viewscreen, where a tired monarch stood waiting. "Ami, I am glad you are well," she said, sounding tired. "They've invited me to continue visiting them for the time being," she reported. "So far, I've been able to determine that a suspect of the bombing a couple weeks ago is among them. Her name is Kanna Rajura, and she is called the 'Crystal Spider.' I recommend you put someone on this." "I see." The queen nodded. "While you were gone the others have been rather busy. Two separate attacks, one this afternoon, and one which concluded a short time ago. In the first attack a strange young man with a pantyhose sash attempted to steal a heart crystal; Mars and Jupiter thwarted him." "There was talk of someone named 'Pantyhose' in the Fenril compound," Ami said, nodding. "Venus handled one of the Fenril Knights, while Mars and Jupiter disposed of decoy droids," continued Serenity. "However, during their duel the Fenril Knight was slain, and his heart crystal taken by another." "In other words, they're possibly willing to sacrifice each other for their mission," noted the disguised Sailor Senshi. "I've received a shard of the Black Crystal from them; they use it to teleport at will. What I find strange is if the Fenril had this option available, why didn't he retreat?" Queen Serenity shook her head. "We do not know the answer, but I will have people search the body for such a shard." A greater sadness fell in her eyes. "My dear friend, I continually fear for your safety. Please do no more than you must, for I have no wish to lose more people in this struggle, even if it is on the side of our enemy. The time of war has passed." Yes, Ami thought, nodding. All everybody wants is peace and happiness, and while the Fenril Knights were still running around, with the backing of Death Phantom, that peace was in jeopardy. --- Control Center, Mishima Heavy Industries "Dead," Ayame repeated, still shocked that she would be announcing this fate on any under her roof. "Dead, dead, dead...." Save Shion, the only other occupants of the control center was Kanna and Shizuka, as Kodachi had long since locked herself into her quarters. Kanna looked down toward Shion as she stood next to his seat, a worried look on her face. "Face it," Shizuka said, trying to calm down the leader, "everybody's got to die sometime...." "Shizuka," Kanna warned, "don't...." "I mean, it's nothing to look forward to," she continued, trying to amend her mistake, "but... well, oh...." She pounded her foot on the ground. "Damn me." "Just shut up," Ayame ordered coldly, betraying no emotion. "Just... shut... up." "What I want to know is why he didn't come back," Shion voiced. "He should've had the prism on him; he could've avoided his fate." "Tatewaki's a warrior," Kanna replied, "and he's very proud. No, he'd never back out of the fight even if he was losing. Unfortunately, I don't think he's the only one." "Then we're just going to have to change that, won't we?" Ayame said. She eyed the Crystal Spider. "I want you to use that much-flaunted brain of yours and find a way to make our attacks more effective. I want to see some good results tomorrow, before the negative morale sets in." "Tomorrow?!" Kanna said, gasping. "That soon?!" "There's a reason I'm the king and you're the prime minister, Kanna," the leader replied. "You're supposed to be the smart one; you figure it out. I want to see no less than five heart crystals on my desk by this time tomorrow, or you're going to take the fall for this problem, understand?" Remaining silent, she nodded. "I'll see what I can do, but I'm not promising anything." "And while you're at it, see if you can fix the 'proud attitude' we've got in our people. I never want to hear of a blundering mistake like this again. Ever." --- Archives, Mishima Heavy Industries The Next Day Despite it being a school day, Ami managed to pull enough strings to get off duty that day, as she wished to delve more into the Fenril command structure. Now that the first casualty of war occurred, finding a way to stop the conflict would be much more difficult. More than ever they needed to find out what drove the Fenril to the point where they would sacrifice their lives for their cause. Ami needed to find out before the other sixteen forfeited their lives on whatever plan Death Phantom set them up for. Although it was still early in the morning there was one person up and about, if one could call it that. Sitting with her head down in her folded arms at one of the desks was Kanna Rajura, who obviously had not gone to sleep since Ami last saw her. Within arm's reach was her polearm, obviously providing her some sort of comfort by its mere presence. Unexpectedly she burst full awake as Ami got closer. "Oh, it's you," the Crystal Spider said with relief, her hand retracting from her weapon. "Didn't think you'd be back this soon." "I have the day off," Ami replied. "You look like you could use some sleep." Kanna nodded. "Yeah, I guess so... but things come up, you know." Ami pointed to the papers on the desk. "What were you doing that required you to stay up all night?" "I just got asked by the boss to figure out a way to counter a morale problem," she answered with a fake laugh. "I'm supposed to be a miracle worker or something." Shrugging, she added, "I guess it was coming." "What was?" "One of my friends died last night, at the hands of the Sailor Senshi. Not a whole lot of people know about this yet; we're leaving that up to his sister, who's holed up in her room. In the meantime, I'm supposed to get things done by tonight." She stared at Ami with her tired eyes. "I can't do everything at once; it's nothing like in the stories." "Is there any way I can help?" Ami offered. "I doubt it," answered Kanna. She ran her hand down her face. "Actually, there is something you can do." Reaching down to her belt, she produced a business card. "Order some nice flowers and send them there. The room number's on the back." Ami accepted the card, and read the title. "It's for a friend in the hospital?" Reluctantly, she nodded. "I wish I could apologize to them in person... I wish I'd done it sooner. But I never gave it a second thought, that I could've killed him. I never realized how much trouble I caused him until after... my other friend... died...." "Why aren't you going to see your friend?" Kanna laughed wearily. "His wife would kill me." --- No sooner had the two finished their conversation Kanna gathered her papers and weapon, and walked out, likely heading for the control center, of which Ami had no access to without another accompanying her. Left alone in the archives, she glanced at the card again, wondering what to do. Seating herself at a desk, Ami got the impression that Kanna realized the error of her ways, and was trying to make up for it. It was a step in the right direction, but it was still a far cry from changing her goal, whatever that was. She mentioned that the man hospitalized in the bombing was her friend, but implied that his wife was not. Perhaps one reason the recovering couple refused to give Kanna's name directly was because of some kind of old obligation, something that transcended 'just friends.' It was a wonder that the wife was kept quiet the entire time. And still, the flowers had to be ordered. Kanna was emotionally vulnerable at the moment, and she was likely not the only one. Perhaps now is the time to try and sway views, Ami thought. The best way to do that, however, was to gain their trust. Perhaps the Crystal Spider was a good start. She decided to wait to see how Kanna's plan would pan out, and in the meantime she decided to order those flowers. --- Control Center, Mishima Heavy Industries "So what's this supposed to be?" Shizuka asked as she rummaged through the equipment laid out on the table before her. She picked up a large tube-like rifle, which could have been a water gun if the designer wished it. "Oh, that's a new Deathbuster weapon," Shion answered, leaving his seat to personally handle the weapon. "We didn't have the model on hand, but we built it using the specs I found in the computer. I call it the Fire Buster Mark Three." "'Mark Three?' What happened to the other two?" The mercenary shrugged. "Beats me, but this one is a definite improvement over the other models. While the original could only extract heart crystals and spew fire, this one has an ice option on it." He adjusted the nozzle, and Shizuka heard a distinct click to know the weapon locked in place. "Observe." Throwing up a tennis ball-sized iron ball Shion aimed the fire buster and fired. A jet of clear liquid fired from the end of the star-shaped nozzle, catching the ball in its deadly stream and quickly freezing it in ice. When it landed the ball completely shattered into a million pieces. "Damn," Shizuka said in awe. "Remind me why I want to use the FIRE buster part again?" "Well, the fire uses up a lot less energy," Shion explained. "The ice mechanism eats up a lot of energy, but not nearly as much as the heart extractor. That one is an energy hog, and unlike the stars it draws on the same power plant as the rest of the buster." "Because the star drew upon the user's spirit energy, of course," she said in understanding. "The fire buster's power plant also draws upon the user's spirit energy, but in a much more efficient manner. The engine is so sophisticated it's a wonder it's technology made in the Nineties. I swear if I ever meet this Eudial person, I'll kiss her." "Don't get your hopes up," Shizuka replied, seizing the fire buster from the mercenary's hands. "This is no good replacement for my shotgun, but considering the firepower the Sailor Senshi are packing, I think I'm going to need this." Glancing back at him, she added, "While I'm gone will you look after Thanatos? I think he's getting sick." Before Shion could reply Kanna made her entrance as the double doors slid before her. She ducked under slightly allowing the polearm slung on her back to clear the top of the door. "Well, good morning, everybody." She raised a cup of coffee in greeting. "Ayame's still sleeping," Shion informed her. "She gave me charge of the situation in her absence." "Don't you ever sleep?" "I could ask the same about you." Kanna sighed. "Well, geez.... By the way, Master Higure's friend, Ami, is here. She's in the archives for your information." "Really," Shion said, nodding. "I didn't think she'd be back so soon. At this rate I could see her much more often than Hokuto." "Don't get your hopes up," Shizuka warned. "Well, anyway," the tactician Kanna said, "I want you to rouse the following people, so the plan goes like this...." --- Pantyhose Taro carefully watched the activity around the control center, watching those such as the Femme- boy and more come and go. Not once did the leaders call him in, considering him still under punishment. No matter, he thought as he walked down the hall. I've got ways to make things happen, too. --- Internal Security, Crystal Palace "According to Mercury," Mars said, "each one of the Fenril Knights is likely carrying a Black Crystal shard with them wherever they go. Since each shard gives off a negative energy spike all we have to do is look for those spikes." "I'm working on it," the technician said, busy typing away at his console. "I'm cross-referencing the information the passive scanners picked up during the Black Moon invasion with our current readings. It should take a few minutes." Mars nodded. The numbers of the Sailor Senshi were dwindling, with Mercury gone and Venus recovering from her strangely powerful wounds and bruises, all gotten by a wooden sword. Venus refused to let go of her opponent's bokken, holding it as in a death grip in her bruised right hand. All of this left only herself and Jupiter to fend against the supposed sixteen other Fenril Knights still running around, and it was looking to be terrible odds. She wanted to propose a way to augment their defense forces, unwilling to make a repeat disaster of the first Black Moon invasion, but she knew Neo Queen Serenity would refuse to ask their past selves for aid again, in fear that doing so would alter their time in a terrible way. She wanted to believe fixing the problem in the past would solve everything, but Mars knew just as well that even with knowledge of the future they still could not prevent the Black Moon invasion, nor could they beat Death Phantom's cunning even if they managed to do so with their younger forms. "I've got one," the technician said, breaking her train of thought. "There's a point in the 10th Street Market. Wait, there's another one... and another...." Like stars twinkling into existence as the night ascended to its zenith negative energy spikes appeared, one after another, all over Crystal Tokyo. Sailor Mars balled her fist angrily, realizing that her worst fear was coming true. There was no way two of them could beat thirty-plus enemies. "The bulk of them have to be droids," she realized. "I'm going out; inform Jupiter and Venus what's going on!" --- Nerima District, Crystal Tokyo Ranma Saotome wished he recognized the place he walked. Merchants sold their wares to the early risers that morning, each all smiles as they made their business transactions. Wood-framed structures were replaced by opaque crystal, matching the rest of the crystal covering Tokyo. Everything appeared bright and cheery to the martial artist, but it served only to make him feel all the more unclean. "'Take a walk,' she said," he grumbled, thinking about what Kanna told him shortly after he received news of Kuno's demise. "It shouldn't be bothering me." However, it did. Ranma never gave Tatewaki Kuno much thought whenever he made himself known to him, but there seemed to be an irreplaceable void in his wake. He thought back to the old days, when Kuno would challenge Ranma over the most insignificant of things, even something as ridiculous as his own cursed girl form. He wondered how the others were handling it. Kuno was never the best fighter, he thought, but he was never one to give up. If that's the kind of fate that awaits us, was it worth fighting over? --- 10th Street Market, 10th Street District Shizuka thought she would get used to the weight of the fire buster as she carried it, slung over her shoulder, through the street. She ignored the stares she drew from the early risers, completely focusing on her mission at hand. While she hardly liked the task set before her Shizuka trusted Kanna knew what she was doing, if only because Shion trusted her so fully. She tried to push the thought of her snake out of her mind; such trivialities could get someone like her killed. Now certainly wasn't the time to die; Mizuki would kill her, wherever she was. In any case, it was better than being useless, like Ryoga Hibiki was. The priestess stopped in her tracks, however, when Sailor Mars appeared further down the street. "You!" Mars exclaimed. "Oh, it's the prostitute," Shizuka said insultingly, unslinging her fire buster. "Figures you'd be the one I'd meet first." Mars grimaced. "Didn't think to bring one of your flunky droids, did you?" "Hah, she's right!" The priestess adjusted the nozzle of the fire buster slightly. "I'm getting a really good reading on that heart crystal of yours!" Mars leaped out of the way just in time to avoid the fire attack, and Shizuka cursed her luck. She turned to adjust her aim, but hesitated for a moment. Taking advantage of it Mars threw a Burning Mandala in her direction, and it was all for the priestess to do but flame the incoming fireballs. Silently, she cursed Kanna for sticking her in a market, looking around at the numerous pedestrian bystanders at each side of the street. "Dammit, Kanna, why here of all places?" she hissed. It was one thing to distract the Sailor Senshi by raining fire on the crowd, but Shizuka was unsure as to how she could control the flame well enough for that. Cursing for the fourth straight time, she threw the fire buster over her shoulder and ran. Behind she heard Sailor Mars giving chase, and it was a wonder to Shizuka that she could keep up with heels. Everywhere her eyes turned there was more people, staring and watching her and Mars go by, typical of stupid people. They had no idea of the danger they were in, and yet they stood there like idiots. Shizuka wished they knew how much trouble she was going through just to get them out of the way. She spied a subway entrance, and despite her best judgement she jumped in, and people scattered. She raised her fire buster and shouted, "Everybody scram! Or I'll blow us all to Hell!!" Satisfaction settled in as she pushed her way further into the subway, and bystanders flooded out in panicked droves, buying her at least a little time to plan as they got in the way of Sailor Mars's entrance. Spying a subway car at the stop Shizuka ran to the control car, and lowered the buster menacingly. "Pull out, now!" she ordered, and the driver was quick to comply. No sooner did the subway train began its retreat into the tunnel Sailor Mars pushed her way in. Shizuka assessed the situation quickly, finding that there were still people trying to run from the crazy woman with the gun. It wasn't nearly enough time to formulate a plan, she realized angrily. "Eat buster!" Shizuka yelled, throwing flames with her fire buster. A ring of fire burst around Sailor Mars, creating a blazing wall between Shizuka and her enemy. Mars threw fireballs of her own, but they served only to fuel the firewall, and in the meantime it was growing smaller by the second. Shizuka rotated the nozzle. "Steaming hot! I do love boiling roaches alive!" The liquid ice compound surged from the end of the buster, and in desperation Mars blew up a hole beneath her, allowing herself to fall under and avoid both the closing of the ring and the ice burst. The stream splashed over one of the crystallized walls, icing it over with another layer. "There's nowhere to go!" Mars realized, leaping out of the hole the moment the fire ring dissipated. "Like bloody hell!" Shizuka hissed, firing more bursts of liquid ice. The soldier of fire ran an arc around Shizuka, and her shots completely missed and iced over more sections of wall. She cried, "What're you doing?! You want to make the whole place collapse on us?" Snarling in frustration, instead of aiming directly at her enemy Shizuka sprayed ice on the floor, creating a quickly spreading sheet. Mars jumped over the spread as it came her way, and summoned a fire snake to throw at the priestess. Quickly switching the nozzle back Shizuka threw flames at the incoming attack, but it was only a decoy as Mars's foot landed in her face. As the gun clattered beside her Shizuka felt Mars standing over her, and, to her dismay, people applauding her. Didn't they know how... no... forget it, she thought. "It's over for you!" the senshi informed her. "Well, pish-posh," snorted Shizuka. "You don't know me well enough for that." She smiled maliciously, as her spiel bought time for her to fish out a set of steel cards in her left sleeve. With a quick flick of her wrist, and too late for Mars to react, Shizuka threw three cards toward the wall section that was iced over. Each made its mark, embedding into the wall and creating quickly growing cracks. As the rumbling and cracking was underway Mars turned toward Shizuka with anger in her eyes. "You!! Why?!" Without giving an answer Shizuka flipped backward and knocked Mars over, sending her over the priestess's body. As she grabbed the fire buster sections of wall and ceiling began to collapse, now that the support was buckling beneath it. Shizuka had no intention of being around when it finished, and if Sailor Mars was smart enough, she would hasten her leave as well. Shouldering the buster, she reached to grasp the prism shard tied to her belt, but she saw that there were still people retreating from the subway-- those that were blissfully cheering Sailor Mars on earlier. Cursing her luck Shizuka unshouldered the buster and adjusted the nozzle, spraying a sticky substance at a section of the ceiling that was about to collapse over the entrance, allowing them time to leave. Amidst the chaos around her Shizuka's eyes caught two young children huddling in the corner, obviously separated from their parents during the panicked evacuation. Realizing Mizuki would berate her for cursing so much Shizuka rushed to their position. There was little time to act as the ceiling, breaking out of the sticky spray, collapsed over her. --- Control Center, Mishima Heavy Industries "What just went on there?" Ayame asked as she viewed the main monitor, which currently displayed an aerial view of Cyrstal Tokyo and the target points. A large blinking red circle appeared near one of the points. "It seems to be some kind of an explosion," Shion said. "I'll direct one of the watchers over there." Ayame waited patiently as the small spy robot made its way to the devastated area. The main viewscreen opened a small window to the side, displaying the watcher's viewpoint. From the looks of it, the street collapsed on itself, with stone and crystal broken in rather large chunks. A nearby subway entrance was completely blocked, and many spectators were surveying the damage. "Who was there?" she asked. "Wait, let me check...." Shion ruffled through the notes Kanna had given him. "It's... oh man, it's Shizuka." Ayame cursed silently. Was this part of Kanna's brilliant plan? Why did the gods decide it didn't have to be a droid that got busted? "Recall her immediately or... at least get her to say something!" Frantically the mercenary pushed aside Kanna's notes and cleared the prism switchboard. Finding the switch that controlled Shizuka's prism, he flipped it. Nothing happened. Angrily, Shion flipped the switch several more times in rapid succession, even though he knew it would do no good. Grinding his teeth he vented his frustration by pounding the console. "Dammit! These things don't work when you want them to!" He jumped out of his seat, pushing back his jacket sleeves out of habit. "I'm going to get her!" But Ayame stood in his way. "Shion, forget it." "Why should I? Doesn't her life mean anything to you?" "Of course it does!" she vented angrily. "The fact is, alive or not, there's nothing you can do to help her. I need you here. If anyone else knew that you lost your cool over people dying then I'd lose face, too. And if that happens, none of us are going to survive, with people like Pantyhose Taro eating us up from the inside." Balling up his fists, Shion wanted nothing more than to push his way past her, but realized the truth in her words. Defeated, he returned to his seat. "She'll be back," he decided, unsure if it was delusion or fact. --- Front Gates, Crystal Palace "Who would've thought that just walking out the front door would be so easy?" Pantyhose Taro said to himself as he spied the gates of the Crystal Palace. He turned to the one beside him, his co-conspirator after a fashion. "All you have to do is enter as part of one of the tour groups, and do your thing." Silently, the weary-eyed Ryoga Hibiki nodded. "It's the only way," he told himself. Taro nodded. If there was any way to take up the reigns of leadership from the bat bitch, it was to take out Neo Queen Serenity in the comfort of her own home. After all, it wasn't himself that was going to throw his life away in a suicide attack. --- Ucchan's Okonomiyaki, Nerima District Ranma entered the restaurant unconsciously, as he did every other day for lunch back in the old days. His eyes brightened when he discovered that some things never changed at all. "Ranchan!" Ukyo greeted cheerily, in pleasant surprise. "What're you doing here?" "Heya, Ucchan," he said, waving. Curious customers turned to look, each greeting the martial artist in their own way, with nods and hellos. Although Ranma did not know most of them, he figured it was a way to score points with the chef-- be friendly with her friends. None of them were likely aware of the maliciousness that Ukyo was capable of, and if they did, it was likely a good thing she was almost always happy. Or, at least, appeared to be happy; she made it a point to not display anything but that face to a paying customer. "Oh, I've been around," he answered cryptically. "Off training and all...." Ukyo put on a more serious face. "But you were thinking about what the old man said, weren't you?" "Yeah, I guess," he admitted. "Truthfully, Ranchan," she said, "even when I'm doing all this wonderful business, and Konatsu's cooler than ever...." "Where is he, anyway?" Ranma interrupted. "Oh, he's out buying supplies," she answered. "But that's... well... everything's sort of conflicting with what the old man said about this place." "You mean about Crystal Tokyo?" The chef nodded. "There's no wars, no conflicts, no disease, no disaster, no... nothing. In fact, I'd say, excepting what you guys are doing, this place is perfect. Let someone else handle the saving the world stuff, if it's even necessary anymore. Actually, I don't see any way this peace could ever end." "I had the same thoughts." "Akane came in here once or twice; she was surprised to see I was back. She told me about you two breaking up over this...." She leaned closer and whispered, "I know I'm the last person you want to hear this from, but you have to go back." "Even if I did, things won't be the same as they used to be," Ranma complained quietly. "Too many things changed while we were gone. Your way of life is still here, but I don't have one... if I ever had one." "Looking for your niche?" "That, and," he shook his head, "Kuno kicked the bucket last night." Ukyo's eyes widened. "You're kidding." "That's what Ayame's been saying," he continued. "And Kodachi's not been seen ever since; she's hiding in her room, doing who-knows-what." "How are the others taking it?" "As well as it could be, I guess." Ranma shrugged. "I'm not sure what to think anymore. Kanna just told all of us to walk it off and think about it." "And that's why you're here, eh?" Ukyo tsked. "Not going to order?" Ranma snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, yeah. Get me the same thing." In a flash Ukyo began working the magic of her trade, mixing up a new pitcher. "I don't think there's a reason to fight, really. I mean, if deaths like what happened to Kuno mean anything, it's that war and battle isn't something we should be desiring, is it?" "Maybe," he considered, "but martial arts is a way of life. This big threat must be in our imaginations." --- Inner Sanctum, Crystal Tokyo Although it seemed an easy task to heal Sailor Venus's wounds under the light of the Silver Crystal, it was still physically taxing on Neo Queen Serenity. As she replaced the artifact on the pedestal she turned to a nearby mirror, and stared at herself, realizing for the first time how weary she was. She imagined it to be just as taxing, if not more, on the three Sailor Senshi, now that they had to deal with thirty different targets at once. Jupiter notified her that many of the negative energy points on the map were single droids, each just as easy to beat as the last, and no sign of the Fenril Knights themselves. However, since it was a three on thirty, Queen Serenity knew they were getting heart crystals all the same. It was only a matter of timing that her senshi caught them and returned the heart crystals quickly. So far they met success. On the other hand, she lost complete contact with Sailor Mars, who disappeared after going after the first negative point alone. The queen knew there was the possibility that she was engaging in a heated battle with a Fenril Knight, and decided to wait it out. Most of her worry, however, fell in Mercury's lap. She disappeared into the heart of darkness early in the day, and while Serenity knew she had to keep her communications at rather inconvenient times she wished she knew what Mercury was doing. --- Although the general alarm was sounded throughout the Crystal Palace word had not yet reached Neo Queen Serenity that an intruder was present. Ryoga Hibiki easily avoided or bypassed the security guards, as they were ill-suited for their jobs. "That's what happens when people get too complacent," Ryoga said, shoving aside another guard as he continued into the halls. He wished they presented much more of a challenge, and something in the back of his mind wished someone would stop him. He had no idea where the inner sanctum was, nor did he care to know; Ryoga knew he would get there somehow. Fate had a way of getting him to the wrong place at the right time. --- Rec Room, Mishima Heavy Industries Ami was surprised to see that the rec room was quite deserted, considering that the day was still young and everyone had long since gotten up and left. Seated at one of the tables was Kanna Rajura and Shion Kagami, with the latter having his head down, buried in his arms, looking quite asleep, and possibly drunk, considering the drained glass next to him. Kanna sat back with her right leg propping up her left, reading some of her notes in a thin yellow folder. The only other occupant was Mousse, who was sitting in front of the television set, playing some sort of fighting-type video game now that a console was hooked up to it. He was so engrossed in his game that he failed to notice Ami's entrance. Kanna raised her eyes over the folder's level, and nodded in greeting. "Hey there." "Would you mind if I join you?" Ami asked, making her way to the seat opposite Kanna's. "Go right ahead." Quickly and quietly she pulled out her seat and sat down, settling herself in just as Mousse vented his frustration at the game and threw the controller on the floor. "What's wrong with him?" she asked. "He's trying to practice so he can beat Shizuka when she comes back," Kanna answered, as Mousse was making his way to their table. Ami shook her head, then pointed toward Shion. "No, I meant him." "Oh." She closed the folder and set it down on the table, just as Mousse pulled the seat opposite Shion backward and leaned over the top, sulking. "There's no way anyone could be that good," he muttered. "Well, some of us are better doing some things than others," Ami said, trying to cheer him up. "Perhaps you are better than her at some things." "Yeah, that's true," he admitted. Mousse peered at Ami carefully, holding the rim of his glasses out a little. "Say, do I know you?" "Mousse, this is Ami Mizuno," introduced Kanna. "And Ami, this is Mousse." Ami offered her hand, and Mousse shook it. "A pleasure to meet you." "Heh, another girl," the weapons master noted. "Any other guy would think it'd be Heaven down here in Hell, don't you think?" He glanced in Shion's direction, and was disappointed to see that he wasn't paying him any attention. "Right...." "You were playing that game a little while ago?" Ami said. "Yeah, you play those?" asked Mousse. "Ever notice how much Dreamcast controllers are unsuited for fighting games?" "If you would like, I may be able to help you," she offered. "I'd like to see that," Kanna admitted. She glanced at Shion. "Oh, stop sulking already." "What's wrong with him?" asked Mousse, repeating Ami's earlier question. "Lose his stomach?" The Crystal Spider shook her head. "More like lost his girl." "She's not my girlfriend," Shion muttered lazily. "Cool, an automatic response!" exclaimed Mousse. "Let me try!" "Who?" asked Ami. "Well," Kanna said, leaning toward Ami conspiratorially, "neither of them like to admit it, but I think Shion and Shizuka like each other." "Yeah," agreed Mousse. "We're taking side bets on how long it'll take before they admit it, much less go out." He produced a notebook. "So far the bet's looking in favor of three years." "Something happened to Shizuka, and we don't know what yet," Kanna explained. "Ayame's really pissed, but she won't show it. She wants to believe we think she's cold, but we know. Shion, on the other hand, can't work anymore." She shrugged. "Poor guy deserves a break after working non-stop for two weeks; he needs to get out more." "Not to mention it's only hours after Kuno died," Mousse added. "We should be taking bets how long it'll take for Ayame to crack." Ami nodded. From the brief times she saw Ayame she appeared too young to carry the reigns of leadership of something as desperate as the Fenril Knights. In the short time she knew any of them, for that matter, they appeared to be pleasant sorts; these were people from everyday walks of life. She never met this Kuno, therefore the impact of his demise did not affect her in a harsh way, while the others seemed to be taking it well. Shizuka, on the other hand, Ami knew personally, having talked to her a great deal only a day earlier. It was unthinkable that such a naive girl would be the next to die in what would likely be a long string of deaths-- seventeen, if history repeated itself. For that matter, these people did not consider themselves anything in relation to the ancient Nemesian civilization; as far as they knew they were there. Ami wondered if Higure knew more about the subject, but thought better of it, remembering to not arouse suspicions. "I heard Kodachi's got his heart crystal," Mousse said, instantly jerking Ami's attention back to the conversation. "Even if she does, I don't know what she could do with it," Kanna replied. "I don't have any idea why Ayame wants those things, anyway." "Beats me." The weapons master turned toward Ami. "I'll bet you haven't a clue what we're talking about. We don't, either." "Who's Kodachi?" she asked curiously, unwilling to give them the information she knew. "Kuno's little sister," answered Mousse. "She's probably what Ayame's going to turn into if this bad luck streak keeps going." --- 10th Street Subway Terminal, 10th Street District Shizuka wished she could blame her problems on the subway, but knew that everything that fell around her was her fault. She sat up in place, and leaned back against the fallen chunks of stone and crystal, satisfied that, while the two children, a boy and a girl that appeared no older than ten, were scared stiff, but unharmed. That was more than you could say for yourself, she told herself, rubbing the sore on her back. "Bloody hell, what a mess," Shizuka noted, her eyes turning toward the rubble. "I'm scared," the boy said, the younger of the two children. "Hi there," the priestess said, but the girl would have none of it. "You're a bad lady," she said, obviously more in control of the situation than either the boy or Shizuka had. "You killed Sailor Mars." "Killed, huh?" She laughed. "I doubt it." Shizuka pointed further toward the rubble, and sure enough, Sailor Mars was lying on the ground, face down, looking as if she'd seen better days. "You're still here?" Mars said, struggling to get on her knees and off the ground. Although bruised, Shizuka was amused to note that the soldier of fire still had her fiery wit intact. "I'd say the same to you." "Now you're in big trouble!" the girl declared, giving a mean look to the priestess. "C'mon, Sailor Mars! Beat that bad guy like you did in...." "What's you're name?" Shizuka asked, interrupting the fanboyish remark. "Ai," the girl answered. She pointed to the boy. "That's my brother, Masa." Masa shirked away from Shizuka. "Oh, I see," she realized. "I'm the bad guy. Okay, I'll play the bad guy, all right." She turned toward Sailor Mars. "Well, how about finishing it?" "You've got to be kidding," Mars replied. "Even if we did continue the resulting battle would bury us even further, maybe for good. And it's not fair to these kids, either." "Exactly." She pulled the fire buster from her back. Turning the nozzle a bit, she pulled the trigger, and a small spark burst near the star-shaped hole. "Good, still works. At least that's one less dressing-down for the day." "We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you," Ai said. Ignoring the remark, Shizuka turned toward Sailor Mars. "I don't suppose your teleport-thingy can take multiple people, can it?" Mars shook her head. "I'll bet you can't do it, either." "So that leaves us at square one; all we have to do is wait for someone to dig us out." "Why don't you start digging?" "Do I look like I do physical labor?" Shizuka shook her head. "The entire point of being a summoner is to get other people to do the work for you. Thanks to you and your queen, I can't even do that anymore." "So who in the world are you, anyway?" asked Mars. "If you're a summoner priestess... there haven't been any of your type around for a thousand years." "And I wonder who's fault it is." "Summoners are evil," Ai voiced. "All they do is send their monsters against people and kill them. They eat children for breakfast." "You're not a nice person, you know that?" Shizuka informed her. "I could send the boogie men after you so they can eat you at night." The girl retained her defiant stance nonetheless. Shizuka turned her attention toward the boy, Masa. "Hey, little guy...." "My mommy said not to talk to strangers," he said defensively. "Well, that's good advice," she conceded, "but consider that you'll never meet new friends if you just keep to yourself. After all, they were strangers before you met them, too, right?" She reached to her belt, and pulled up the thin rope with her prism shard tied to it. Gently she slid the crystal out of its loop, and held it out for Masa. "You see this? It's a magic charm." "That looks nothing like what my mom got me at the shrine," Ai said. But this time it was Sailor Mars who hushed her. "Ai, it's good that you're looking after your little brother, but you don't have to do it by yourself. I'm here. I'll protect you and your brother." And you're probably wondering what I'm getting at. "Anyway, this protects you from the boogie men. While you're holding it, you'll become brave and make the bad things go away." "But you're... you're a bad person," the boy said. "Bad people aren't bad because they want to be," she replied. "Sometimes they're really good people that others think is bad. Have you studied history? In the past good doctors went to places less fortunate than us, and the people there thought they were evil. But it was not their intention to do evil; they had all the goodness in their hearts, and the best intentions to help these people." She pressed the crystal into his hand. "Hang on to it, Masa... you'll see that everything isn't so bad." For a moment the priestess caught a glimmer of hope in the boy's eyes. She sat back, still under the watchful gaze of Ai, and sighed. Mars dragged herself over to Shizuka's side, and leaned back against the wall. "That's a shard of the Black Crystal," Sailor Mars said. "What're you planning?" "What did it look like?" Shizuka replied. "The kid needs a confidence boost. Besides, it's useless to me now that I cracked it." Mars raised an eyebrow. "You like kids, don't you? Not a lot of people talk the way you just did." "Kids are smart, but you need to reason with them on their level. Can't talk to them like adults until they become adults. Fascinating, aren't they?" "You seem different than the last time," Mars said. "And you still didn't tell me who you are." "Really? I'm Shizuka, the demon hunter of Genbu. I used to hunt demons for a living, if you didn't catch that the first time." "Demon hunter?" echoed Mars, surprised. "You're lying," Ai accused. "You know, kid," Shizuka told her, "that flap of yours you call a mouth will get you in real trouble someday. Just want to point that out." "Yeah," agreed Masa. "Give the lady a chance," he pleaded with his sister, clutching the cracked prism tightly. "I used to live at the Shrine of the Four Gods, where the Gate of Heaven was," she continued. "But I guess you already know that." Mars nodded. "Yeah, we know all about that." "How unfortunate, that with the Gate sealed the way it is so are the powers I draw upon." Shizuka shook her head. "Of course, since you're attached to the ruling queen your skills still work." "That's not why they work," the senshi replied. "Yours aren't working because...." "Because I'm evil, huh?" finished the priestess. "That's not what I...." "No wonder kids like Ai are so judgmental." "Am not!" said girl complained. "Are too!" countered Shizuka. "Am not times two!" "Are too times infinity!" "Golly, you're such a kid yourself," Mars decided, groaning inwardly. Pulling her back to the subject at hand, she said, "If you're a servant of the people as you say you are, then why are you fighting us?" You're so hoping to get as much information out of me, aren't you? "If I told you, it'd be completely selfish and self-serving. From what I've seen I have no place in a world like this; despite what my job says I'm so self-centered the world implodes around me because of it. I want my job back." Mars blinked. "What?" "You heard me; I want to go back to hunting demons again. I never made a career out of pulling rabbits out of my hat because I like hunting." "There's no need for that...." the senshi of fire began to say, realizing that Shizuka knew this fact just as well. "So what are you doing?" asked Masa. "Nothing much, really," Shizuka answered. She reached into her pocket and produced a deck of playing cards. "Well, while we're waiting, how 'bout I show you some of my tricks?" "Street magician, huh," Mars said, sighing. "I guess it beats doing nothing." "Diversion, not hobby." She handed the deck to Ai, who looked as if she refused to touch them. "Look, kid, it's just a deck of cards." She fanned them out and held them for the girl to see. "There aren't any boogie men here; they're just normal cards I got at the grocery store. All I'm asking is to cut the pile, okay? Nothing dangerous about it." Silently, Ai took the deck, and did as instructed, handing it back without another word. Shizuka sighed, then turned to Masa as she shuffled the deck. "Now, Masa, here's how it's going to work...." --- Inner Sanctum, Crystal Palace Neo Queen Serenity waited patiently, her head low as she relaxed herself while standing before the Silver Crystal. She had little time to wait as the wall to her left burst into pieces, revealing a large hole and the one who caused the destruction. Huffing and puffing, Ryoga stared downward, and while he could not see her face he knew he was staring upon the monarch of the world herself. "You're one of the Fenril Knights," she said, without turning to face him. Although he hardly understood what the term meant, it hardly bothered the martial artist at all. Nothing else could. "Finally, I've found you. The only way to make things right is if I kill you." He sounded none too pleased with the prospect of slaying the world monarch, but there was no reason to be. Balling his fists, he spread his legs and braced himself for final impact. "Shishi... Hoko...." It was then that Neo Queen Serenity raised her eyes, but not on the martial artist, but on the Silver Crystal. "...DAN!!" Anyone looking in the direction of the Crystal Palace could see the telltale red column of frustrating energy, shattering spires and raining crystal all over the city. Those who were not paying attention before had ample reason to stare now as Ryoga Hibiki's desperation strike launched the grandest ki force the people had ever seen. --- Ucchan's Okonomiyaki, Nerima District Ranma and Ukyo were among those in the Nerima market area standing in the streets at the spectacle. While many had no idea what it meant, both of them knew enough the significance of the blast. "Shishi Hokodan?!" Ranma gasped. "What the...?!" "It's coming from the Crystal Palace," Ukyo added. "You mean Ryoga's there?!" They watched as the ki burst descended from the sky, blotting out the afternoon sun completely, bathing everything in hellish red light. Like a meteor on final descent debris kicked up everywhere, throwing more crystal, wood, and stone everywhere. Both Ranma and Ukyo ran back into the restaurant, and hid behind the counter, each fervently hoping it would all go away. --- Control Center, Mishima Heavy Industries "What the hell is that?!" Ayame cried when the main viewscreen picked up the Shishi Hokodan. Behind her, standing against the wall nearest the entrance, Pantyhose Taro snorted. If only they knew, he thought. --- Inner Sanctum, Crystal Palace Shielding herself with the magic of the Silver Crystal, Neo Queen Serenity regretted not having prepared for the unexpected force of the expected attack on her. The light of the crystal absorbed much of the impact of her attacker's ki energy blast, but not enough that it could cancel it out completely. She hoped the damage that would surely follow was minimal, and no one lost their lives. On the other hand, the attacker, who she was certain was one of the Fenril Knights, was unaffected; he was standing there, barely clinging to life, but otherwise was unharmed by his own attack. When the attack concluded Neo Queen Serenity, cupping the Silver Crystal in her hands, lowered the field around her, and surveyed the damage. With the Fenril at the epicenter she found herself five meters under where the floor used to be in the chamber, digging into the layer of foundation that threatened to eat at the protective shell over the old Imperial Palace. Already she saw that the crystal was growing over the newly revealed foundation stone, preserving the damage as well as the pristine states. The ceiling, as well as all the floors above it, were gone, clearing the way for the afternoon sun. "How dreadful," she said unconsciously, thinking of her people. "It'll only get worse," the attacker said, having no hint of malice in his voice. Rather, it sounded quite sad and remorseful. "May I have your name?" Serenity asked. "Know that you'll die by the hands of Ryoga Hibiki, and that you killed him and his happiness as well. It can't go back to before ever again... I am unworthy of this existence." "Why do you say this, Ryoga Hibiki?" "I found my happiness with my one true love, Akari," he continued, his voice cracking at the mention of her name. "I woke from a long nightmare, being apart from her for so long, only to find that she was different. No, she's never different; Akari's always Akari, no matter what. I changed. I changed, and I was unworthy of her love, because I'm dirtier than before." He raised his eyes sadly. "The standard of people changed during the nightmare. No longer am I simply messed up, I'm a disease." "There is no reason you should believe that," Neo Queen Serenity replied gently. "It is true that the standard of people has raised with my ascension; I will not deny it. I believe, however, that no one is 'unworthy' to live on this Earth. If you feel this way I am truly sorry." "I don't need your sympathy," Ryoga said quietly. "I believe what I have done with this planet is true and correct. For each direction taken, however, some people are left behind. A difference in opinion is what divides humanity, and drives conflict. It is sometimes unavoidable, and unfortunate." "It was not long ago that we faced this type of terror. A splinter group of humanity chose to leave this Earth, and later returned to conquer it. They were no more evil than the nature of humanity; even as misguided as they were they were good people, and ones I regret we could not work together with. Many died needless deaths, as such comes when humanity comes to blows." "Ryoga, please understand that you are a good man, just as those who came before. My task is to look after the well-being of my subjects; you are just as important as they are. If you are truly unsatisfied with living under my rule...." She trailed off, unsure if she should consider the alternative option. "I don't belong in the living world," Ryoga said simply, gathering up more energy as ki lightning crackled around his arms. "I'm worthless to the others as well. The only way to end the fighting is if you die." "Why would you come to such a conclusion?" she asked. "Because Pantyhose Taro said so," answered the martial artist. "Because this is the only way I can help." "Your life is precious, Ryoga," insisted Serenity. "Your comrade, this 'Pantyhose Taro,' is only trying to make you guilty enough to throw your life away. Does it satisfy yourself that you are a tool? No, you are no tool; you are a human being. You have just as much right to live as he does." "It's not... without Akari...." "Ryoga," she said gently, watching the ki increase in intensity. She had no doubt the next blast would cause even more destruction. "Your happiness is important. Akari's happiness is important. She would be sad to learn that you died. Is that what you wish to happen? Do you want to make her sad?" He shook his head, lowering his eyes to the ground shamefully. "I want her to be happy." "Allow me to help you," the queen offered. "If you would submit to the light of the Silver Crystal, you would have the chance to make Akari truly happy. If you love her so, and she loves you so, then there can be nothing more happier than you two being together. It is entirely up to you; I am certain you know the alternative, and the consequences, of your decisions." Ryoga nodded slowly. --- Ucchan's Okonomiyaki, Nerima District Although the shower of crystal ended with destruction in its wake, Ranma and Ukyo managed to get out of the smashed restaurant, both glad to have barely missed the large chunk that demolished the entire front wall and stopped at the counter. Up and down the street large shards of the Crystal Palace demolished the market, and the people began to filter back into the streets cautiously. Most, however, were still in fearful hiding, and for good reason. "Ryoga did all this," Ranma said. "Who thought the kid had all this in him?" Ukyo said, knowing it was a dumb question. Their attentions, however, were torn from the devastation to a bursting cloud of lightning down the street. The two martial artists ran down the street, dodging chunks of crystal as they went, to get a closer look. They made it just in time for Sailor Jupiter, the soldier of wood and lightning, shatter a droid into a million pieces. "Wow," Ukyo whispered in awe. "Oh my god, Ayame's going to be mad," Ranma said, noting that the demolished droid was holding a heart crystal, which Jupiter seized. The sparkling crystal disappeared in her hand, quickly flying off behind her to its owner. The sailor-suited girl wiped her brow, obviously taxed from her work. She stopped, her attention grabbed, and to Ranma and Ukyo's surprise, she turned toward them. "Great, more of you," Jupiter said. Ranma jumped back in surprise. "Eh... eh... er... no, it's not like that...." "What's the big idea?" the okonomiyaki chef shouted. "I thought you people were supposed to be protecting us!" She waved her arms around in a wide circle. "You see what they did to this place? My store's a mess!" "Finally, the real Fenril Knights," the senshi said to herself. "Two against one looks about good." "I'm not here to fight," Ranma insisted, backing away further. "What the hell is a 'Fenril Knight,' huh?" demanded Ukyo. "Why do you keep calling my friends that, you people?!" "You guys are definitely giving off negative energy spikes from the shards of the Black Crystal," Jupiter informed them. "But you're not getting away, not after what you guys did to the palace!" "HEY!!" Ranma shouted angrily. "What the heck are you doing?" "Supreme Thunder!" she cried, sending forth a bolt of lightning from the heavens. Ranma jumped out of the way, and Ukyo did the same, but while the martial artist was trying to get away the okonomiyaki chef was heading toward the senshi, pulling her combat spatula from over her shoulder. "Supreme this!" she cried, raising her weapon over her head. Jupiter rolled to the side, forcing Ukyo to crash her spatula's flat against the ground. She pulled her leg in a roundhouse and swept Ukyo off-balance, but not off her feet, as she was partially ready for such a retaliation. Ukyo leaped backward, tossing three spatula-darts in Jupiter's direction, but she dodged them easily. "We're going to need a much larger order for you," the chef spat, wishing she had the rest of her combat equipment handy. "You're not bad yourself," Jupiter admitted, taking in deep breaths. "Hey, you two, cut it out!" Ranma shouted, standing between the two combatants. "There's no reason we should be...." His words were interrupted by a loud rumbling that shook the earth. Smoke appeared from down the street, along with the sound of crushed crystal. Three sets of angry red eyes wheeled into view, each running on a set of tank treads. Painted jet black, the newcomers were metal monstrosities, vaguely having the shape of men. The arms, always pointing forward, were equipped each with a cannon with utility option, for multiple usages when it was necessary. Their faces resembled death's heads, strangely smiling, and their eye sockets contained red, malevolent eyes. The lead GAIA wheeled forward before its brethren, and a voice issued from within its soulless shell. "Ranma, Ukyo... we're falling back now." The voice, Ranma knew. "Kanna?" "So I'm welcome?" Ukyo said, surprised. "Yeah," answered Kanna. "Forget the senshi; there's something more important to take care of." "Right," Ukyo said, nodding, sheathing her combat spatula. She eyed Jupiter carefully, who was watching the exchange with a certain fascination. "For a while, I thought I could live under your rule, but you guys are no different from thought police. Anyone that thinks differently from your views are branded as traitors. My friends... branded the name as the Fenris wolf that betrayed the gods. They're my friends, and no matter what, I'll defend them and help them. I won't forget this." "Neither will I," Jupiter promised. "Ukyo..." Ranma said, realizing that Ukyo was turning away from her life. In that moment, he finally understood and accepted why he chose to fight. --- 10th Street Subway Terminal, 10th Street District "There was a farmer that had a dog, and Bingo was it's name-o," Shizuka, Ai, and Masa sang, forcing Mars to cover her ears in disgust as the priestess sang off- key. She was likely doing it on purpose. She had to admit, however, that Shizuka was doing a pretty good job keeping the kids' minds off their perilous situation. Waiting for them to finish the song, Shizuka huffed a few breaths, obviously tired from her entertainment spree. "Whew... that was too much." "You sure have a way with kids," admitted Sailor Mars, almost forgetting that the priestess was an enemy. "There could be a future for...." "I don't think so," she interrupted. "You still don't get it, don't you? I...." A loud rumbling interrupted Shizuka in turn, and the children started to worry again. From the ground nearby a drill bit emerged from the ground, and the priestess recognized the GAIA-underground variant Mishima machine, URANOS, as it emerged from the hole it created. Where GAIA had two cannons for arms, URANOS had drill bits, in addition to the larger one attached to its back. "Shizuka!" Kanna's voice exclaimed. "You're alive!" "Well, duh," Shizuka replied. "What took you so long?" "Well, a lot's happened, really, but it'll have to be explained later. We need you to come back." "I'm not leaving," Shizuka said. "Not until you dig the rest of the way out, at least. "Why?" She turned toward the two kids. "Call it a favor, or call it a good turn, whatever. I'd rather see the sun than crawl in a tunnel." Sailor Mars had no reason to blink at this. How could such a basically-good person be so nasty? "Thank you, lady!" Masa exclaimed. "You're going to have to thank me some other time," Shizuka replied seriously. "Where I'm going, I'm probably going to end up hurting you." The boy offered the cracked prism in his hand. "Lady, this'll help you. I don't need it anymore." Smiling softly, Shizuka accepted her crystal shard back graciously. "You look after your sister, too, eh?" Ai grimaced. "He's too young." "So are you!" Masa pointed out. As URANOS began its work drilling a way to the surface, Sailor Mars was left to her own thoughts. --- Control Center, Mishima Heavy Industries A reason to fight, Kanna thought, was the only one necessary in a battle of this nature. No doubt, losing all twenty-six droids and no heart crystals would hurt, but it was worth the full cooperation of all warriors under Ayame's command. It all went so perfectly, and more was yet to come. ---------------------------------------------------- Author's Notes Stay tuned for more. --Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@NOhotmailSPAM.com) http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/index.html