Souls of Fire #4: Electrical Burn 

              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.  

---------------------------------------------------- 

Control Center, Mishima Heavy Industries 

  Ayame tapped her foot in disappointment as she 
glanced at the console where Kanna was seated at.  On 
the main viewscreen she saw the retrieval of Miranda 
in progress, who was the only one with enough luck to 
not encounter a Sailor Senshi at all.  Shampoo had a 
run in with Venus, Shizuka with Mars, and Ranma with 
Jupiter, and the rest of the twenty-six droids sent 
out were completely wiped out.  

  And none of them returned with a single heart 
crystal.  

  "What do you have to say for yourself?" she asked her 
master tactician.  

  "You wanted me to retrieve at least five heart 
crystals, but you never added the criteria that they 
must be brought back," Kanna replied smartly.  "On the 
other hand, you'll find the true intent of my plan 
most pleasing."  

  "You wasted my robots for retrieval," Ayame said.  
"You wasted my droids for nothing.  Why did you spread 
them out so thinly?"  

  "The droids are expendable," answered the Crystal 
Spider.  "Your robots are expendable.  The humans, 
however, are not.  They are far more powerful than your 
machines can ever be, be they technological or magical 
in origin.  They need a reason to fight, and the will 
to stick to their decision.  I simply made it so with 
our biggest doubter."  

  "Ranma Saotome," Ayame realized.  

  "In the process I managed to wring back Ukyo Kuonji 
as well," she added proudly.  "The droids were not 
positioned in haphazard locations; they were placed in 
areas where they could lead the Sailor Senshi on a 
trail to the specific targets."  

  "You got them attacked on purpose."  

  "You got it.  Of course, there was much risk 
involved, and some unforeseen events, but more or less 
everything is going according to plan."  

  "I hope the mage bomb at the Crystal Palace was part 
of your plan," Ayame hoped, realizing there was a good 
chance that Neo Queen Serenity was taken out.  

  But Kanna shook her head.  "That wasn't my idea, it 
was Pantyhose Taro's."  

  "Pantyhose Taro?  How...?"  

  "Someone as sneaky as he would surely get suspicious 
of my plans, so I counted on him doing something.  Did 
you ever notice that Ryoga Hibiki was missing from the 
compound?  It was Taro, of course.  The explosion was 
what Ryoga did."  

  "So we lost another," the leader realized.  

  "I sincerely doubt we've heard the last of Neo Queen 
Serenity," Kanna added.  "Ryoga is lost to us, for 
sure, whichever way it went, and we can deal with Taro 
later; he still serves a useful asset.  All we need to 
do is wait for one of my pawns to execute the next 
phase of my plan."  

  "And that is...?"  

  The tactician offered a knowing smile.  "You'll see, 
and you'll be very pleased with the results."  

  After all, it was no accident that the four ended up 
where they were.  

--- 

Inner Sanctum, Crystal Palace 

  "Your Highness!" Venus exclaimed, the moment she 
appeared at what was left of the inner sanctum.  

  She stared down at the five-meter deep crater in the 
center, where Neo Queen Serenity stood, unhurt, with an 
unconscious young man at her feet, his aura clear of 
impurity as far as the soldier of love could tell.  

  "Sailor Venus," the queen said softly, "see to it 
that this young man, Ryoga Hibiki, is given proper 
care.  I will be quite busy channeling energies to 
restore the city with the Silver Crystal."  

  Venus nodded carefully.  She knew using up so much 
energy to restore the city's damage would drain a lot 
out of the queen and the Silver Crystal, likely opening 
her up to more attacks.  Yet, Queen Serenity knew what 
she was doing, and she had complete trust in her 
people.  

  If only she could say the same thing about herself.  

--- 

10th Street Subway Terminal, 10th Street District 

  The drilling robot model called URANOS burst through 
the collapsed rubble, sending those people digging from 
the outside into a panic and running.  The machine 
pulled itself out through its own hole, and rolled off 
to the side, allowing the light of the afternoon sun to 
reach those that were buried alive moments before.  

  Ai was the first to be lifted out of the hole, in 
Sailor Mars's hands, and she pulled herself out the 
rest of the way.  Soon her little brother Masa 
followed, and by the time Sailor Mars poked her head 
out she saw the two running to their parents, happy.  

  She couldn't help but smile.  "It's things like this 
that make this job worthwhile."  

  Down in the hole, Shizuka shouted, "Damn, yeah."  She 
cursed painfully.  "Now I don't have to pretend I'm not 
hurt."  

  "You can't get up anymore?" asked Mars.  "You really 
should see a doctor or something."  

  Mars frowned in disappointment that Shizuka was none 
the least surprised that she knew she was really hurt, 
what with shielding the kids from the collapse.  She 
herself had numerous bruises, but nothing too serious, 
thanks to her training, but on Shizuka's own admission 
she was not physically fit for this type of damage.  

  "What's going on?" Kanna asked through the URANOS, as 
Sailor Mars dropped back into the hole.  

  The darkness of the tunnel consumed her once more.  
She looked toward where Shizuka was leaning against the 
wall, her head tilted back, eyes closed, and a strange 
grin on her face, as if she was thinking of something 
rather amusing.  

  "I'm no doctor," Mars admitted, "so I'm not sure if 
it's such a good idea if I move you."  

  "Well, that's swell," the priestess said, chuckling.  
"Prisoner of war, incapacitated.  I really hope 
Thanatos gets fed while I'm gone."  

  "Thanatos is your...?"  

  "Pet boa constrictor.  He ate something bad yesterday 
for dinner."  

  The light of the sun blotted out as URANOS dropped 
back down into the hole.  "Shizuka?  What's wrong?"  

  The priestess laughed softly.  "I've fallen and I 
can't get up."  

  Mars turned toward the death's head seriously.  "She 
needs to see a doctor.  Leave her with me, and I'll 
take care of her."  

  "I don't think that's a viable option," Kanna 
replied.  "We'd get in big trouble for that."  

  "She's hurt!" the senshi insisted.  "I don't know 
what you guys've got, but I promise that Shizuka will 
get the best treatment."  

  "Kanna... my back hurts, and it's getting hard to 
move my legs," Shizuka added.  "Go back and tell the 
others what happened.  Tell them I'm okay, and that my 
prism's fractured.  Tell them that we can't fight with 
these civilians around...."  

  The death's head's red eyes glowed in compliance.  
"Okay, we'll let this go for now."  Kanna directed her 
attention to Sailor Mars.  "You can take her to your 
doctors, but for only as long as it take for Shizuka 
to recover.  No funny business, okay?"  

  Without waiting for an answer URANOS dropped back 
down into its original tunnel, and as soon as it was 
gone the hole collapsed on itself, stopping any chance 
they could figure out where the hidden Fenril Knight 
base was.  

  On the other hand, Mars thought, Ami would likely get 
that information to us anyway.  

  And here she was, the original initiator of the 
entire conflict, Shizuka Minazuki.  While Mars did 
promise to get her the best of attention, it also 
occurred to her that they could learn more while 
holding this girl in captivity.  

--- 

Control Center, Mishima Heavy Industries 

  Ayame leaned over Kanna's seat like a hawk.  "I hope 
you know what you're doing.  It looks to me like you're 
making stuff up as you go along."  

  From Shion's console the mercenary said, "At least 
she's okay."  

  "I'll admit it wasn't part of the plan," Kanna said, 
turning away from the console as the URANOS went back 
to automatic.  "I'm certain the Sailor Senshi know the 
possibilities of what they have in their hands.  On the 
other hand, we've also got a foot in the door."  

  "I don't understand," Ayame admitted.  "Explain."  

  "False sense of security.  So long as they hold her 
they'll think they have a chance to stop us, either by 
putting her in front of themselves as a shield, or try 
to turn her.  Shizuka's too good for that."  The 
Crystal Spider folded her arms.  "Beside that, I've got 
what I wanted.  I got Shizuka, too, to clamor in favor 
of removing the civilian population."  

  "THIS was part of your plan?" Shion yelled.  "I 
wasn't looking forward to looking after the snake for 
a couple weeks, but now you're suggesting we remove all 
the people, too?"  

  Ayame nodded, finally understanding where Kanna was 
going with all of this.  Turning toward Shion she 
ordered, "Summon the Wiseman.  We need to talk."  

--- 

Inner Sanctum, Crystal Palace 

  There was little time as Neo Queen Serenity and 
Sailor Mars exchanged their stories, and soon Jupiter 
and Venus arrived to join them, each having taken care 
of their appointed tasks for the moment.  

  All four of them stood in the partially-rebuilt 
crystal chamber, where progress was done only to seal 
the holes in the wall and ceiling, but the crater 
remained.  A layer of crystal was layered over the 
crater, leaving the floor beneath the four hollow, but 
no less sturdy.  The Silver Crystal rest on a new 
pedestal, similar to the one destroyed in Ryoga's 
superior Shishi Hokodan attack.  

  "Ryoga is resting in one of the guest chambers," 
Venus reported.  "He's probably going to end up 
sleeping it all off until tomorrow; he sure used up a 
lot of energy, but the doctors say he'll be fine."  

  "Allow him to take his time," suggested Neo Queen 
Serenity.  "When he wishes to return home, permit him 
so."  

  "The city's a disaster," Jupiter said, taking her 
turn.  "Everything within a thirty kilometer radius of 
the palace's been hit by the debris, but any injuries 
are minor.  Only the buildings suffered major damage, 
and work crews are busy cleaning them up now."  

  The queen nodded.  "It appears we can no longer keep 
news of the threat from the people now.  I will have to 
address them on the matter later."  

  Sailor Mars took her turn.  "The doctors are trying 
to examine the girl I brought in, Shizuka, but she 
doesn't want them touching her.  She's holding on to 
that fire buster of hers like a doll, and won't part 
with it.  Even though I didn't get a good look at it, 
it looks almost exactly like the Deathbuster weapon 
Eudial used."  

  "So they really are using Deathbuster weapons," 
Venus said.  "The question is, where did they get them 
from?  I thought we destroyed them all."  

  "So did I," agreed Mars.  "Otherwise, I think we can 
hang on to Shizuka for a while; she doesn't look like 
she'll be moving around much.  We're keeping her in the 
palace."  

  Queen Serenity nodded.  "In any case the reason is 
not as a human shield.  It is for her protection as 
much as our own when the people discover she is one of 
the enemy responsible for the damage."  

  "In any case I think we need to be a little tighter 
on security on the palace from now on," suggested 
Venus.  "From what the guards say Ryoga just walked in 
with the tourists, and nobody could stop him.  I 
suggest we limit the amount of visitors until we can 
put an end to all of this."  

  "In the event of an emergency I have ordered the 
installment of backup generators," Neo Queen Serenity 
revealed.  "If worse comes to worse, we can shield the 
palace by fueling the barrier with these generators 
instead of your own powers.  Unfortunately, it is not 
enough to protect the entire city."  

  "Not that shielding the whole city'd help," Jupiter 
pointed out.  "The Fenril guys are based in the city, 
too, and all we'd be doing is closing ourselves in with 
them."  

  "What about Ami?" asked Mars.  

  "She has not communicated, and will not communicate 
until later tonight."  

  "So what can we get off this Fenril Knight we 
captured?" asked Venus.  

  Mars shook her head.  "I don't think we can get a lot 
out of her; she's the type that talks to pass time, 
but I did get some information out of her."  She turned 
toward the Silver Crystal.  "For one thing, she was 
fixated on her summon beasts, which I think means they 
are after the Gate of Heaven and its dimensional 
weapons."  

  "The Kami Plane?" both Jupiter and Venus said, 
surprised.  Neo Queen Serenity only nodded, slowly.  

  "Apparently, they don't know, and I'm not going to be 
the one to break the news to her," the soldier of fire 
finished.  She shook her head.  "I kinda feel sorry for 
them, really...."  

  "Don't you think we should try to tell them?" Jupiter 
wondered.  

  "I doubt they'd believe us," Venus answered.  "If 
they hear it from us, they won't listen and go on.  
When they find out for themselves, they won't be 
happy.  Either way, the result isn't going to be 
pretty; they're probably going to keep attacking no 
matter what we do."  

  "In their desperation to force open the Gate of 
Heaven," Neo Queen Serenity said, a certain sadness in 
her voice, "many more may suffer.  Even if there is 
little or no chance for success, we must inform them."  
She turned to Sailor Mars.  "I leave it up to you."  

  "Me?"  

  "This Shizuka may be more partial and open to 
suggestion coming from you.  If she cannot be convinced 
of the danger, then it may be up to Ami to deal with 
the situation.  The fact is, we do not know how they 
plan to force the Gate open."  

  "But we can't drop it on her, not this soon," Mars 
suggested.  "She's still pretty closed-up, so it'll 
take some time."  

  "Pray that it does not take too long," the queen 
hoped, "for when that time comes it may be too late."  

--- 

Rec Room, Mishima Heavy Industries 

  "No, you're hitting the buttons too early," Ami 
instructed, watching Mousse try to execute her lesson 
in 'Fighting Games 101.'  "Take it at a slower, more 
rhythmic pace."  

  Mousse winced, the effects of his mistake reflecting 
off the lenses of his glasses.  "Great, I'll never beat 
her at this rate!"  

  "It takes time and practice," the disguised senshi 
told him.  "You don't get good at these kind of games 
overnight.  It is much like your physical martial art 
in that sense."  

  "Right," he scoffed.  

  "Perhaps if you look at it as a form of training, 
much like your art, maybe you can find the drive to 
learn."  

  Before the weapons master could come up with a 
response the two were no longer alone in the rec room, 
as Miranda Kusao barged in, unannounced.  

  "Hot damn, you're STILL playing that?" she shouted, 
her voice carrying across the room.  

  "Where've you been?" Mousse asked, looking over his 
shoulder.  "Everybody was gone when I woke up."  

  "Early birds, man," Miranda said with a shrug.  

  Ami took in the features of the newcomer as she 
turned to face her.  She appeared about the same age 
as Mousse, and possessed hair just as long, but more 
frazzled at the edges compared to the weapons master's 
clean cut.  She dressed in a plain, baggy, blue battle 
dress, tied off loosely at the waist with a simple 
belt.  Miranda wore rubber gloves going up nearly to 
her elbows, and matching boots that extended over her 
kneecaps.  The edges of her skirt were short enough 
that Ami noticed she was wearing a black body suit 
underneath, likely of much better material than 
rubber.  

  Her most noticable feature, however, was her pair of 
red, demonic eyes.  While the possibility existed that 
it was due to contact lenses, something in Ami knew 
that they were the real thing, and that alone set her 
apart from the others in that she could sense fear 
radiating from them.  

  "Hitched up with a new girl?" Miranda teased, 
playing with her hair in a bored fashion.  

  "Oh, this is Ami Mizuno," Mousse introduced.  "Kanna 
says she's a substitute teacher."  He turned toward 
Ami.  "That's Miranda Kusao, Cinder's star-- and may I 
add, only-- pupil."  

  "Heh, jet that, teach," the martial artist said, 
flicking a thumb backward.  "This ain't kiddie stuff 
you're looking at, so how'd you get in?"  

  "Pleased to meet you, all the same," Ami said, 
ignoring the girl's rudeness.  "Mr. Furui invited me 
to come and go as I please."  Mentally, she made a note 
to find out who this 'Cinder' was, if he or she was 
already taking on a student.  

  "Gosh, and Ayame let you?"  

  "So what's going on?" asked Mousse.  

  Miranda shrugged.  "I don't know, those commander- 
types are keeping to themselves, but I heard from Taro 
that Hibiki jumped ship on us.  I don't care; I won't 
miss that spineless wuss.  Oh, and Kuonji's back."  

  "He left, huh?" Mousse said.  He nodded to himself.  
"I guess it was bound to happen sometime."  Looking 
back he asked, "Where's Shampoo?"  

  "Probably in the gym, making a good punching bag out 
of a dummy droid mockup of Sailor Venus.  At this 
rate, I won't be surprised when the next of us leaves, 
one way or another.  It's getting crazy."  

  Ami nodded in consideration.  The Fenril Knights were 
not nearly as cohesive as she originally thought, and 
they were losing faith in themselves as more left their 
number.  Perhaps this was another point in her favor; 
fifteen-- if you subtract the three heads, twelve-- 
was starting to generate better prospects for battle.  

  But any ideas would have to wait, as she would have 
to relay what went on in the compound to the queen 
later.  

  She felt a tug at the back of her mind, and Ami 
knew that something bad was happening, and it was 
happening within the compound.  

  Turning toward Mousse, she suggested, "Keep 
practicing, I have something to do."  Standing and 
turning toward Miranda, she added, "Again, it was nice 
to meet you."  

  Quickly, she left the rec room, and her sense told 
her to turn right.  Whatever was going on, it was 
important.  

--- 

Wiseman's Chamber, Mishima Heavy Industries 

  Sometimes it seemed to Wiseman that he was back 
assuming his role he served to Prince Diamond on 
Nemesis-- that of an advisor.  In a strange sense, he 
thoroughly enjoyed such a position, and the benefits 
were threefold.  One, all attention was on someone 
else, and thus he had time to spend on his own 
machinizations.  Two, the leader often relied on his 
advice, which made him or her very controllable.  
Three, it felt good to be needed.  

  It was a good sign that, upon his initial arrival to 
the Mishima compound, Ayame instantly took up the 
reigns of leadership, giving life to the uprising all 
by herself.  She possessed an energy Wiseman no longer 
had, not since before his transformation on Nemesis.  

  She, too, possessed the drive necessary to push on to 
the end, even without Wiseman's help, when the 
eventuality finally passed.  

  He levitated in the air, showing no signs of 
weakness, and neither did Ayame, who stood up straight 
and proud, with her back to the door.  Unlike other 
times she was alone, and standing on her own feet, with 
her own will as support.  

  She is indeed strong.  

  "I need to ask you a favor," the leader said, getting 
directly to the point.  

  "Indeed."  Wiseman's ethereal hands waved around the 
crystal ball in his lap.  "Understand that favors are 
at the costs of others in turn."  

  "Yes, yes, I know," Ayame replied, nodding.  "Kanna 
managed to engineer the idea that it would be better to 
remove the civilian population from Crystal Tokyo, so 
we may attack the Crystal Palace without fear of 
tripping over our toes."  

  "I see."  Wiseman chuckled to himself quietly.  
Prince Diamond's people also had a problem with this, 
feeling that the civilian population would only get in 
the way of the true goal.  "What do you have in mind?"  

  "We want the simplest thing possible," Ayame said.  
"We want you to move the entire civilian population of 
Crystal Tokyo to Nemesis's capital city, Darkhold.  The 
palace should be exempt of this."  

  The old wizard nodded.  "Such power is only provided 
by the power of the Black Crystal.  It will require an 
enormous amount of energy."  

  "Forget that part, we've already got that covered," 
Ayame assured him.  "We need to know it can be done.  
We'll have the energy ready to channel to your Black 
Crystal by tomorrow night; I've got the technicians 
busy working on an energy funnel already."  

  "I see.  The price is the service of two of your 
warriors, Cinder and Sypha."  

  The leader blinked in surprise.  "W-why?!  They're 
our most powerful warriors!"  

  "And such is the reason why I require their services 
on Nemesis," Wiseman continued, ready to throw the 
conversation in his favor.  "Two more Sailor Senshi, 
Uranus and Neptune, are beyond the solar system at the 
moment, but they are poised to return in a matter of 
days.  They are the Sailor Senshi's greatest warriors, 
each easily twice the match of the ones you have fought 
here on Earth."  

  "So you're taking two of our finest," Ayame realized.  

  "We will keep them busy from our staging ground on 
Nemesis," continued the old man.  "I will prepare the 
Black Crystal for the energy funnel by tomorrow night; 
you will have your wish carried out, Ayame Mishima."  

  For a moment Wiseman considered asking about Kanna's 
ulterior motive for this drastic measure, but decided 
against it.  Time would tell if this gamble of a plan 
would work out.  

--- 

  Ami watched as Ayame exited the unmarked room, taking 
a brisk walk as she went, as if in a hurry.  She 
turned to look at the door, peering suspiciously.  

  There was no doubt in her mind that was where the 
negative energy was coming from, and it was far 
greater than that of each of the Fenril Knights 
themselves.  

  As soon as she was certain that Ayame was gone and 
not coming back Ami stepped in front of the door, and 
eyed the security key lock to the right.  Taking out a 
duster she lightly dusted the panel, finding which 
buttons had been pressed recently.  

  She remembered that, before Ayame went in, she pushed 
six buttons, but only five of the buttons had been 
pressed, which made one of them a repeat.  Thinking 
back more, Ami tried to remember the hand movements, 
but drew up a blank.  

  Deciding it was worth the risk Ami tapped the hidden 
switch behind her left ear, allowing her scanner to 
form over her eyes.  Using its functions she analyzed 
the depression scheme, calculating the last time each 
button was pushed.  Finding the sequence quickly Ami 
slipped on a clean glove, deactivated her scanner, and 
input the code.  

  At least now she could get to where she wasn't 
supposed to be.  

  The double doors slid open quietly, opening up the 
hall to the inky blackness within.  Ami gasped in 
surprise at what she saw inside, as it was the last 
thing she thought she would find.  

  Death Phantom's pin-point light eyes peered down at 
her, piercing her soul.  

  "What do you want?" he asked, in the voice Ami could 
never forget.  

--- 

Ukyo's Quarters, Mishima Heavy Industries 

  The okonomiyaki chef lay stretched out on the cot 
that served as a temporary bed, her arms folded behind 
her head, staring up at the ceiling.  The nearly 
empty chamber once belonged to Ryoga, she knew, and he 
never had any possessions to leave behind.  In a sense, 
it was almost as if the underground resistance was 
trading one martial artist for another.  

  For a moment she wondered about Konatsu, and leaving 
him alone again so suddenly.  The restaurant was a 
mess, that's for sure, and it was the only thing that 
was needed to get Ukyo to snap.  It was one thing to 
live in a perfect utopian society, but it was another 
to lose one's livelihood due to the blatant 
totalitarian attitude of the world's enforcers.  

  She could not forgive them for branding her friends 
and acquaintances as traitors of the state, not when 
they had not done wrong.  Ranchan himself had done none 
of the despicable acts the evening news put so much 
attention on, but he was blamed by association.  Even 
her own association with them bought her a brand of 
treachery without justification.  

  A low chime indicated someone was at the door.  Ukyo 
reached to the box next to the cot that served as a 
makeshift nightstand, and pushed the lock control on a 
remote control key.  

  Double doors slid open to the sides, and Ranma 
Saotome entered her life once again.  

  Sitting up on the cot, she forced a smile on her 
face.  "Hiya, Ranchan!  What brings you here?"  

  "Well... I was just seeing how you were, that's all," 
he answered nervously.  "I couldn't help but thinking, 
though...."  

  "Did we do the right thing?" she guessed.  "Of course 
we did!"  

  Ranma raised a hand to object, but kept quiet.  "It 
wasn't that, really.  I was wondering if it was... 
okay for you to leave your restaurant and everything."  

  "Ranchan, you gave up everything because you hate 
this world government, and I needed to do the same," 
Ukyo replied.  "We all had to make personal sacrifices 
to get here."  

  "Yeah, but Ryoga's gone, and I have a pretty good 
idea who's behind that," the martial artist said, 
clenching his fists.  "Whenever I find that bastard 
Pantyhose Taro...."  

  Another chime sounded, and Ukyo switched the door 
open again.  

  "Well, if it isn't the spatula girl," Shampoo said 
in greeting.  She turned toward Ranma.  "What's taking 
so long?!"  

  "Shampoo!" the chef exclaimed.  "What're you doing 
here, giving me a welcoming party?"  She turned to 
Ranma.  "You're not throwing a party in my room, are 
you?"  

  Ranma shook his head defensively.  

  "Sitting back lazy on the job!" the Chinese Amazon 
accused.  "It's YOUR turn to cook!"  

  "Cook?"  

  "Well... uh... Ucchan, it's like this," Ranma said 
with a nervous chuckle.  "Y'see, nobody wants to eat 
Kodachi's food, everyone is pretty much a mediocre 
cook and cooks for themselves...."  

  "And Shampoo is the one stuck serving everybody!" she 
finished.  She grabbed Ukyo by the arm.  "From now on 
you're on kitchen duty!"  

  "Oh great," she muttered, getting dragged away by 
her old nemesis, "I came here to fight, and I get 
delegated kitchen duty."  

  "Well... we all gotta do our parts," Ranma said, 
shrugging.  

--- 

Kodachi's Quarters, Mishima Heavy Industries 

  The brotherless girl sat in the corner of the dark 
room, with all lights turned off.  Not even that, 
however, could stop the illumination that bothered her 
eyes so much, not because of the light, but because it 
reminded her of the now-lost Tatewaki Kuno.  

  The heart crystal belonging to the now-dead kendoist 
levitated in the air over the Deathbuster star now 
lying on top of the nightstand, easily removed from 
Kodachi's palm.  She gazed at the light through dry 
eyes, for she had long since cried out all the tears.  

  There was no longer a need to cry.  

  Uncurling herself Kodachi stood up, and approached 
the heart crystal slowly, thoughts of her dead 
brother dredging up as she went.  She remembered the 
first time she recognized his face, as a little girl.  
She remembered each and every fight she had with him, 
over the most insignificant of things, and each time 
they made up.  She remembered his laugh, his smile, 
his flair, his skill....  

  And now, she would never forget those memories, and 
Tatewaki Kuno would live forever.  

  Seizing the heart crystal from its suspension Kodachi 
felt nothing in her hands as she held it; the crystal 
was as light as a feather.  Gazing into the light, she 
hesitated, but found new strength to go on as she 
finally remembered how Tatewaki died.  

  A slow, dishonorable, treacherous death, in a duel 
won unfairly by the enemy.  

  "On my dear brother's name," she vowed, "I will find 
that woman who stole her ill-gotten trophy of battle, 
the wooden sword of Tatewaki Kuno, and destroy her.  
When that sword is back in Kuno hands, only then can 
he rest easy!"  

  Opening her mouth wide, Kodachi Kuno swallowed the 
heart crystal.  

--- 

Ami's Apartment, 10th Street District 

  Ami collapsed on her bed, thankful that she got 
through the day at the Mishima compound relatively 
well for a spy.  

  She knew her work was not done, however, as she 
slipped the communication mirror into her fingers and 
opened its magic to communicate with Neo Queen 
Serenity, who was waiting anxiously.  

  "Ami, we have reason to believe that the Fenril 
Knights may be planning on forcing open the Gate of 
Heaven," the monarch said quickly.  "There is little 
time to act.  You must find the means by which they are 
going to force the Gate open, for I fear they have the 
means."  

  Ami blinked, speechless.  "They... they can't!"  

  "We are attempting to work on a means to counter 
the threat, but we may not be able to stop them," the 
queen added.  "Sailor Mars has brought in one of the 
Fenril Knights, Shizuka Minazuki, and we are attempting 
to reason with her."  

  "You have Shizuka?" Ami said.  "Does she know?"  

  Queen Serenity shook her head.  "We also have a 
reformed Fenril in the palace, recovering.  However, 
their numbers may not dwindle fast enough.  They may 
complete their plans soon."  

  "Oh, there's something else," Ami voiced.  "I trailed 
their leader, Ayame, to a sealed-off room.  I managed 
to get inside, and Death Phantom was there."  

  The monarch's eyes widened.  "What happened?"  

  Ami shook her head.  "I have no idea.  I opened up 
the door, and even though he didn't look surprised to 
see me, he also had no idea who I was.  He asked what 
I wanted... and I asked him to show me the future."  

  "Then?"  Ami could see her friend's excitement.  

  "He showed me Crystal Tokyo, demolished.  After that, 
he told me to leave."  She paused to catch her breath.  
"Do you realize what this means?"  

  "Death Phantom is up to his old tricks again," Neo 
Queen Serenity concluded.  "Thinking you are one of his 
pawns he is showing you exactly what you want to see."  

  Ami shook her head.  "No, it's much more significant 
than that.  In the past Death Phantom could see through 
our magicks as easily as if it were a veil.  Now, 
though, he can't tell the difference.  There's 
something wrong with him."  

  "He should not have survived in the first place," 
the queen pointed out.  "We thought the Silver Crystals 
should have destroyed him, but his reappearance proved 
otherwise.  It may be possible that he did not escape 
completely unscathed."  She turned her attention back 
to Ami.  "Please, Ami, refrain from taking such risks 
again.  If you encounter Death Phantom a second time 
the results may not be the same."  

  "I understand," Ami replied with a nod.  "But now 
that I have the access code I may be able to find the 
way the Fenril Knights are planning on opening the Gate 
of Heaven.  If I have to I'll expose myself to destroy 
it."  

--- 

R&D, Mishima Heavy Industries, 
The Next Day 

  Early morning, Ami knew, was the best chance to get 
things done without anyone noticing.  

  She made her way through the halls, to the area where 
a security code was required to enter the rest of the 
compound.  The elevator would only go up or down a few 
floors with no access key, and it required a card key 
to access the other floors, therefore Ami had to rely 
on the stairs.  

  She stopped her descent down the stairwell when she 
hit the first door with a security lock on it.  She 
was tempted to type in the access code she had, but 
stopped, remembering that it was Ayame's own code, and 
it would definitely look suspicious if she herself was 
the one who entered.  

  Ami switched on her scanner, and tried to find any 
sequences in the panel, but it appeared that no one 
had touched this door for over a thousand years.  She 
produced her palm-top computer, extending a jack at its 
end into a terminal port at the bottom of the button 
pad.  Utilizing her more advanced machinery Ami easily 
hacked through the Mishima central computer, and it 
spit out the access code of a former employee.  

  Committing the code to memory Ami put her equipment 
away and typed in the code with her gloved fingers, 
sighing with relief when the lock accepted the code.  

  Peering into the new hallway Ami was surprised to see 
there were no security cameras at all; it was quite a 
bit of overconfidence on the side of Mishima for this, 
as it made her job easier.  

  Quickly she raced down the halls, looking for door 
markings that would indicate a special importance.  In 
her mind, Ami rationalized that Mishima would make 
their most important developed merchandise in a less- 
obvious location-- namely, among the rest of the 
mundane equipment.  

  However, the trend did not follow when Ami noticed 
the double doors at the end of the hall were wide 
open.  She quietly made her way there, noting with 
puzzlement that someone left it open on purpose, 
sticking a wooden plank between the two doors on the 
floor.  

  Peering inside she found the area devoid of people, 
and unoccupied due to the darkness.  Not willing to 
risk turning on the lights, Ami stepped within.  

  This development chamber was far larger than any of 
the other ones, and likely covered many of the lower 
floors.  Ami stared over a catwalk railing, seeing that 
the bottom was well over a hundred meters down.  She 
turned her eyes to what was being worked on that was so 
huge, and gasped.  

  The monstrosity was a giant mechanical creature that 
vaguely resembled a suited knight.  Standing over 
seventy meters tall it severely dwarfed Ami many times 
over.  From the looks of it the giant machine was not 
yet completed, but Ami knew stories well enough to know 
it was a mecha, straight out of television anime.  

  "What're you doing here?"  

  Ami jumped in surprise, turning left toward the 
source of the voice.  Ascending stairs up to her level 
of the catwalk was one of Ayame Mishima's right-hand 
men, Shion Kagami, holding a flashlight in Ami's 
direction.  

  "Sh... Shion?" she blurted.  

  "Geez, it's you, Ami," he recognized.  "How'd you 
get in?"  

  Quickly racing for a cover story, Ami answered, "I... 
well... just walked in because the doors were all open, 
and...."  She hoped there were more open doors.  

  Somehow, luck played on her side.  Shion sighed.  "I 
guess so... but please don't tell Ayame I've been doing 
it, okay?  It's a major pain in the ass to keep opening 
all the doors like that...."  

  Ami nodded.  She gestured toward the mecha.  "That... 
what is it?"  

  "Isn't it impressive?" Shion said proudly.  The 
mercenary folded his arms, and focused the flashlight 
on the mecha.  "Ayame wasn't too happy that I was 
getting this built, but I couldn't resist.  It's got no 
power plant yet, so when it's finished it'll just be a 
life-sized model."  He chuckled.  "For now."  

  "You're a fan of mecha anime?" she asked, gaining 
confidence.  

  He nodded.  "This is my favorite one of all time, 
Neue Ziel.  I mainly wanted to see how it would look 
like in person, and the eggheads never disappointed 
me a bit."  Shion sighed.  "I don't think it'll ever 
fly, realistically.  It's way too heavy, and it was 
meant for space combat."  

  "I see."  Well, that was one reason to be fortunate, 
Ami thought.  A monstrosity that huge would be a 
difficult opponent to destroy.  

  "Well, while we're here," he continued, "I may as 
well show you the power plant the eggheads finished a 
little while ago.  It'll never get used for the Neue 
Ziel, but you may as well know while you're here."  

  Shion beckoned Ami to follow, and he lead her down 
the catwalk whence he came.  They stopped at an 
elevator car, taking it all the way down to the bottom, 
allowing Ami to take in the scale of the nightmarish 
Neue Ziel.  

  But her attention was quickly torn away when she 
saw the engine.  It was not nearly as large as Neue 
Ziel, as it was a cube roughly nine meters in length.  
Cables and tubes ran to diagnostic equipment strewn 
around all over the place.  Sitting on top of the cube 
was what appeared to be a perfect sphere, with lines of 
cracks running down in what Ami imagined would reveal a 
flower pattern once opened up.  

  She knew it to be a flower pattern, because the 
spheroid device was a Mekani void-ripper.  

  "What's wrong?" Shion asked, and Ami realized she 
gasped out-loud.  
 
  "N-nothing!" she replied quickly, trying to recover 
from her shock, but failing miserably.  

  "Scary, isn't it?" he continued.  "I could go through 
so many descriptions how something so perfect in shape 
could be frightening.  It's a monument of the regime of 
order, just like the spires of the Crystal Palace.  No 
imperfections mar it, no randomness at all, and no 
chaos element."  Shion waved his arms about grandly.  
"The penultimate evolution of the machine is perfect, 
rigid order.  It's a wonderful thing, to work as 
efficient as possible, but it also loses the flair of 
being unique."  

  "What are you saying?"  

  "I'm saying that this engine mirrors Crystal Tokyo, 
and the Earth, for that matter."  Shion removed his 
glasses, and held them out before his eyes.  "It is 
where the individual thought and personality is 
obliterated in favor of harmony.  It is where order 
takes precedence of chaos.  It is where the sheer 
randomness is taken out of the equation, because all 
variables are controlled."  

  "That's not true," Ami countered.  "The people of 
Earth are free to express themselves, but not to the 
point where it interferes in the lives of others.  
Every day is a day full of new experiences; it's not a 
matter of repeating the same routine over and over 
again.  And while order exists to keep the people 
harmonious, some randomness still occurs; just like 
the attack on the Crystal Palace yesterday."  

  Shion snorted, apparently unsurprised that Ami knew 
of the incident.  "Well, whatever.  I can't argue for 
extended periods of time on an empty stomach.  Care to 
join me for breakfast?  We've got a new cook, Ukyo 
Kuonji."  

  "I'd like that," she answered, thinking that leaving 
sooner would be best.  After all, she was certain she 
was already suspicious enough to Shion.  

--- 

Infirmary, Crystal Palace 

  Although it took much effort to remain awake during 
the entire period, Shizuka Minazuki was aware of what 
was going on around her.  

  She clutched onto the fire buster more tightly, the 
last working device she had on her.  Shizuka rolled to 
her side, glancing at the fractured black crystal 
prism lying on the desk across the room, away from her 
bed, and knew her only chance of easy escape was gone 
before she thought of it.  

  Over the night the priestess of Genbu had a terrible 
time sleeping, and every once in a while picked up on 
the conversations that the Crystal Palace personal 
doctors were talking about outside, as they always left 
the door open, to Shizuka's annoyance.  She had no idea 
how they found out, as she was resisting all 
examination quite fiercely, but the doctors mentioned 
that she was bleeding internally, and there was very 
little they could do to help.  

  She wanted to curse her luck, and curse a few more 
times, but realized the futility of such things; Mizuki 
would berate her if she tried, wherever she was.  

  The only way they could have examined her was if they 
did it while she was asleep... knocked out with drugs, 
or whatever....  

  "Your Majesty!" she heard one of the doctors 
exclaim.  "What are you doing here?"  

  "Is the patient awake?"  she heard-- she guessed the 
queen herself-- ask, in a gentle tone.  

  A moment later the doctor poked his head inside for 
a second.  "I think it'll be okay, but keep it limited 
for now."  

  Shizuka rolled back onto her back, and was thankful 
the mattress was very comfortable, as it helped relieve 
the pain in her back.  She watched as Neo Queen 
Serenity, decked in blinding white robes, entered, 
followed by Sailor Mars.  Shizuka already had a pretty 
good idea where this was going.  

  "So you're Neo Queen Serenity," the priestess said.  
"Sorry, if I could kneel before you, I would, but the 
doctors say I'm not going to live long enough-- tough 
luck for you."  

  "I'm glad you're in high spirits," Mars replied 
neutrally, and Shizuka was unsure if she was amused or 
pitying her.  "How're you feeling?"  

  "As well as anyone can be when they're dying a rather 
slow death, what else?"  

  "Your name is Shizuka, of Genbu, correct?" Neo Queen 
Serenity asked.  

  She nodded quietly.  

  "Shizuka, your life is important," the monarch 
continued.  "The doctors can no longer help you, but 
there is a way to save you."  

  "Like you saved Kuno?" Shizuka shot back, visibly 
wounding Serenity.  "He died a lot quicker, but you 
made no move to help him."  

  "That was different," Mars countered.  "Your friend 
had no inclination to try and save himself if he had 
one of those Black Crystal shards like you do."  

  "Oh, that's the funny part," the priestess said.  "He 
didn't have it on him when he died, but he had to have 
it when he went to duel your Sailor Venus.  You have 
the body; you find it."  

  Mars drew up a blank stare, realizing that Shizuka 
was right about the shard.  

  "I am truly sorry about your friend," the queen 
offered, "but it cannot be helped anymore.  We can help 
you."  She held up the Silver Crystal in her hands.  

  Shizuka peered at the shining crystal, unable to lean 
forward in bed to get a closer look.  "Oh swell, I'm 
placing my life in the hands of a bauble."  

  "With your permission, I would like to heal your 
injuries with the crystal."  

  "But what's the catch?"  

  "There is no catch.  You will be free to do whatever 
you please."  

  "So you're saying that I could be healed in seconds 
than weeks, if I wasn't going to die.  Did your 
priorities change all of a sudden, and I became much 
more important?"  

  "We wouldn't have offered you this unless we were 
certain your life was in danger," Sailor Mars assured 
her.  "We had no idea that your wounds were that 
serious."  

  "So now we're at a funny dilemma."  Shizuka snorted, 
holding the fire buster up with nozzle toward the 
ceiling.  "Since I'm bleeding internally, and there's 
nothing the docs can do to help, you can't keep me for 
weeks on end and crunch all the information out of me 
like you hoped.  On the other hand, I rather value my 
life, and you want to use the bauble to fix my little 
problems.  But then, that's probably the same bauble 
that took out everybody on Earth, so what's to stop you 
from changing me into one of your drones while you're 
at it?"  

  "We promise not to do anything like that," Mars 
replied convincingly.  To Shizuka's ears she sounded 
quite sincere.  "If you don't want to change, that's 
up to you, but what's important right now is seeing 
that you don't die.  We won't let you die."  

  "No, of course not," Shizuka muttered, lowering the 
fire buster with the nozzle end facing toward Neo 
Queen Serenity and Sailor Mars.  "If I die there's no 
way you can stop us from blowing your city to Hell.  
Yet... I'm sitting here, at an interesting position.  
I'll die anyway, and I can take both of you out with 
me.  Wouldn't that be a treat?"  

  "You would not do that," Neo Queen Serenity replied 
calmly.  "Mizuki would be sad."  

  For the first time Shizuka lost her perceived verbal 
advantage.  She blinked in confusion as the queen's 
words settled in her mind, tossing it about like the 
dryer at the Laundromat.  She tried to say something, 
but all that would come out was nothing, instead 
mouthing the words, "How did you know?"  

  A sudden chill ran down her spine, and ran through 
the rest of her body, up her arms and through her 
legs, and Shizuka found that she could no longer keep 
her grip on the fire buster.  It fell to the ground 
at the side of the bed, clattering against the crystal 
floor and rolling a little.  Neo Queen Serenity's eyes 
appeared much sadder than they had before, and somehow 
Shizuka realized what she was trying to say.  

  "Damn you," she hissed, fighting against tears that 
formed against her will.  "Damn you and your Silver 
Crystal...."  

  Sailor Mars was apparently surprised at the sudden 
turn of events, but Serenity only moved closer, 
offering a shoulder to lean on quietly.  

  "Damn you, damn you, damn you," she repeated, each 
successive statement growing progressively weaker as 
she collapsed on her own feelings.  

--- 

  Silently, the queen of Earth and Sailor Mars walked 
the empty halls of the palace, still being magically 
reconstructed by the crystal growth, and the supports 
designed to train the growth in certain directions.  
Neither spoke a word as they finished their business 
with Shizuka, who collapsed unexpectedly to news 
completely out of ears to Mars.  

  Shizuka was in no mood to be healed completely, as 
she only agreed to be healed enough such as to stop her 
internal bleeding, and put her out of danger.  The rest 
of the healing process was up to her, if she wanted to 
be helped at all.  

  "You didn't tell her anything I didn't hear, did 
you?" Mars asked her friend carefully.  "From what it 
looked like Shizuka figured everything out just from 
mentioning 'Mizuki.'"  

  Neo Queen Serenity nodded.  "That she did.  This girl 
may know more than she lets on, and that makes her more 
formidable an opponent."  

  "Which makes it all the more important that we make 
her an ally," Mars replied.  "She has to know a lot of 
things we don't.  What I wonder is if her Fenril pals 
know this, too."  

  "I am under the impression that they are unaware of 
this apparent fountain of knowledge," Serenity said.  
"Had this been the case they would be unwise to allow 
her to roam free as she did."  

  "Maybe.  But what'll we do about her now?"  

  "Continue visiting her, but not too often," the 
queen suggested.  "It will take time before we can 
convince her to side with our cause.  For now, allow 
her time to think through the recent events.  She is 
no danger to us."  

--- 

Control Center, Mishima Heavy Industries 

  Shion barged into the chamber alone, where the only 
occupants were, as usual, Kanna and Ayame.  "Well, you 
can lay your worries to rest, Ami can be trusted."  

  "You've got to be kidding," Ayame replied.  "I 
thought you said she snuck into the R&D."  

  "She did."  The mercenary held up a folder.  "First 
of all, I left certain doors open on purpose to see if 
she'll come in.  Not only did she come in, but she 
lied and actually hacked one of the security doors with 
an old access code.  Rather sloppy to use that code, 
but I commend her for not using one of ours."  

  "Typically I'd think that means you CAN'T trust 
her," Kanna pointed out.  

  "She's a fellow hacker," Shion replied, as if that 
alone would answer any question.  When both girls drew 
blank stares he explained, "She's got the guts to go 
into places where she's not supposed to be.  She's got 
a curiosity edge, too.  And when she got caught in the 
act, she backpedaled onto the obvious... the doors were 
all open."  

  Ayame waved her arms in confusion.  "Is this another 
of your 'honor among thieves' things?"  

  "I'm not a thief," the mercenary corrected, "I'm a 
hirable professional.  Anyway, I had a little chat with 
her over breakfast, and it turns out Ami knows a good 
deal about computers, electronics, and the rest of the 
whole shebang.  Everything guys like me need to know.  
Best of all, she's smart."  

  "The more the reason to be wary," Kanna said dryly.  
"She could easily pull the plug on us."  

  "The fact is, she didn't."  

  "Not yet."  

  "Enough," Ayame decided.  "Shion, do you trust her?"  

  He nodded.  

  "Kanna, do you trust her?"  

  She shook her head.  

  "That's good enough for me, then."  Ayame turned to 
consider the split in her two closest advisors.  "You 
see, that means one of you is right.  Furthermore, it 
means I really do have to listen to both of you, and 
that each of you have differing thinking.  Do you 
understand why I trust you both completely?"  

  Both nodded.  

  "As for our Ms. Mizuno, relax your watch on her, but 
keep an eye on her.  I don't expect her to do anything 
drastic, but just in case wipe the old access codes, 
and re-encrypt our own codes."  

  "Well, there's only a finite number of combinations 
in a keypad lock," Shion pointed out.  "She's bound to 
get where she wants if she wanted to."  

  "That's why I want you to implement new security 
measures," Ayame replied.  "Ones that are not readily 
apparent, and that cannot be toggled with simply a 
key pass."  

  "Where is Mizuno now?" asked Kanna.  

  "She should be at work," answered Shion.  "Why?"  

--- 

Ami's Apartment, 10th Street District 

  The disguised soldier of water squelched her 
disappointment as she gazed into the mirror, finding 
that the queen was away from the Inner Sanctum.  She 
tapped certain locations on the mirror, inputting a 
recorded message.  

  Placing the mirror steady on the night stand Ami 
stared into it.  "Your Majesty, I'm sorry that I was 
unable to communicate this in person, but I have 
discovered that the Fenril Knights are planning on 
powering a Mekani void-ripper.  They do not appear to 
have the energy to run it, which is why they are after 
the heart crystals.  It appears they will be unable to 
work it for quite some time, therefore I believe it is 
safe to wait and see for now."  

  "However, I am attempting to find a means to destroy 
the void-ripper without compromising my cover.  It 
seems that the triumvirate leaders are suspicious of 
me, so I may be unable to do anything for now.  This 
may be the last report you hear for a while if this is 
the case; I don't want to risk drawing more attention 
to myself than I have to."  

  "Please leave the door open for me, and wish me 
luck."  

--- 

Infirmary, Crystal Palace 

  Ryoga Hibiki felt as if he woke from a terrible 
nightmare, for the second time this month.  

  "I'm... I'm alive?" he stuttered, looking around the 
room occupied only by himself.  He patted himself down, 
unsure what to think.  "It's... it's NOT a dream!  I'm 
alive!"  

  "I remember now," he thought aloud.  "The queen used 
her magic crystal on me...."  

  He turned to the nearby sink and mirror, jumping out 
of bead and almost slipping on the polished crystal 
floor.  Gently he turned on the faucet, allowing cold 
water to run.  Cupping his hands Ryoga gathered the 
water, and splashed it on his face.  

  Staring back into the mirror, he decided, "It's not 
a dream!"  

  Quickly, he turned to the nearby showering hose, and 
flicked it on.  Holding it over his head, Ryoga felt 
the cool stream of water soak him, and he did little to 
contain his excitement.  

  "I'm free...!" he yelled.  "I'm FREE OF THE PIG!!"  

  Dropping the hose Ryoga danced and skipped about 
gleefully, throwing his arms out in victory.  However, 
now that his feet were soaking wet he slipped on the 
floor, and was sent flying through the wall.  

  Landing on his back, the pain of crashing into the 
next room did little to contain his excitement, and 
Ryoga resumed his victory dance.  

  "Hey, shut up!" complained Shizuka, still lying in 
bed.  

  Feeling his thunder stolen, Ryoga did a double take.  
"Sh... Shizuka?!"  

  "They got you, too?" she snorted.  

  "Doesn't it feel great?!" he cried, opening his 
greatest smile in years and pressing his face into 
the priestess's.  

  "Egh, don't you ever brush your teeth after you 
eat?" Shizuka commented, pinching her nose and waving 
her other hand like a fan.  

  "This Silver Crystal thing is wonderful!" he decided.  
"Akari was right, I DO feel better!"  

  Pushing Ryoga's face away, Shizuka stared at the 
martial artist intently.  "Eh?  You actually switched 
sides?"  

  "There's no side to switch!" he replied.  "I don't 
feel depressed anymore; that's good.  I don't have to 
deal with the pig anymore; that's good.  And best of 
all, we can share all this with the others!  Ranma can 
go back with Akane, and...."  

  "Hold it, Skippy," she ordered.  "I only let them 
stay long enough to fix my bleeding."  

  At the news Ryoga stopped in his tracks.  

  "I'm planning on healing the rest of it the old 
fashioned way, if I can," Shizuka continued.  "And 
under no circumstances am I going to get myself 
'purified' by the light.  After I recover I'm going 
back to Ayame; I'll just have to let her know you're a 
traitor, and then she'll come after you and kill you."  

  "Y... you're not serious...."  

  "How well do you know Ayame?  I know her better, and 
even then, I don't know her enough.  So MAYBE you'll 
get away scot free, and maybe you won't."  

  Suddenly the weight of reality anchored Ryoga down.  
He had forgotten about Ayame Mishima, and the weapons 
she had under her power.  "I'll take my chances.  I'm 
going back to Akari, and you let Ayame know that."  

  Shizuka shrugged.  "Suit yourself."  She rolled over 
onto her side.  "You still have your prism?"  

  Ryoga nodded, reaching into his pocket to produce it.  
"Not sure what I can do with it."  

  "Let me see."  Without a word Ryoga handed the 
prism to the priestess.  "So when are you leaving?"  
she asked, holding up the prism to the light.  

  "Oh, I don't know... I was thinking about leaving 
sometime this afternoon.  If I hurry I can make it to 
Akari's by tonight."  

  "Provided you remember how to get there."  

  "I think I know where it is."  

  "Really."  She handed the prism back to Ryoga.  "So 
anything you want me to tell the others when I get 
back to them?"  

  "Yeah," Ryoga replied, accepting the prism back.  
"I need you to tell Ranma that I've found my answers.  
If he wants his, he ought to get himself purified by 
the crystal.  Akane's probably missed him too long."  

  "I see."  

  Ryoga eyed the hole he made in the wall.  "Well, I'd 
better start getting ready to go.  Who knows how long 
it'll take to get there."  

  "Unless, of course, you don't have that poor 
direction sense anymore," Shizuka pointed out.  

  A flash bulb went on in Ryoga's head.  "Hey, you 
might be right!"  

  He stumbled back into the room whence he came, 
leaving Shizuka alone to her devices.  Ryoga noted 
that the crystal was already beginning to grow over 
the hole he made; strange, but efficient, and makes a 
whole lot of sense, he thought.  

--- 

  Unknown to him, however, the crystal prism he carried 
was fractured.  Shizuka held up Ryoga's perfect, intact 
crystal up to the light once more, satisfied that there 
were no imperfections on its surface.  

  Good, she thought, this is one way to guarantee a 
quick escape, if necessary.  There's no reason to 
summon the Dragonfly now.  Now lets see if I can do 
some good work while I'm here.  

  She tried to get up, but the pain shot up her spine 
once again.  Shizuka only had herself to blame for 
declining to heal herself completely.  

  "Then again, maybe not."  

--- 

Control Center, Mishima Heavy Industries 

  The eyes of all three members of the triumvirate 
turned toward the door in surprise as Kodachi Kuno 
entered, commanding attention by mere presence.  She 
stood confidently, and maintained her proud stance as 
her boots clomped against the metal stairs.  

  She dressed entirely different from her usual formal 
kimono attire, favoring a much more looser training 
suit for kendoists.  At her left side was a sheathed 
sword, one which Ayame knew belonged to her deceased 
brother.  

  "Kodachi," the head of the triumvirate said, "are 
you okay?"  

  "Oh, never better, Aya," Kodachi replied, her voice 
carrying the same confidence as she held herself.  "I 
never felt more certain in my life."  

  "You know, Kodachi," Kanna voiced, "maybe you should 
rest a bit longer.  After all, your brother...."  

  "My brother's sword is in the hands of the Sailor 
Senshi," she snapped.  "It is my duty to bring that 
weapon back, for his sake."  

  "Revenge?" Shion wondered.  

  "Kodachi, please," Ayame said, "you were once my 
mentor, even my superior.  For that, you have my 
friendship, and my respect, but I'm your superior now.  
I could order you to stay... heck, I could force you 
to stay if I wanted to."  She nodded toward Shion.  

  "But I'm not talking to you as your superior, but as 
a friend."  She placed her arms on Kodachi's shoulders, 
and she made no move to remove them.  Staring into her 
eyes, Ayame tried to convey her concern efficiently.  
"You can't go out looking for revenge.  Your brother 
was way stronger than you; he always was, and the 
Sailor Senshi bat him aside like he was nothing.  If 
you go now I might lose you.  I've lost my uncle to 
them already; I wasn't fond of your brother too much, 
but I lost him, too.  I don't want to lose any more 
people I care about."  

  Kodachi fixated her gaze back intently.  "Aya, here 
is how it works.  My soul has become one with my dear 
brother.  With our combined power we can defeat the one 
who slayed him mercilessly, the one they call Sailor 
Venus, their leader."  She brushed off Ayame's arms 
and drew her sword, forcing her to take several steps 
back.  "With this sword my brother inherited, and I 
in turn, I will recover his honor!"  

  To the others' surprise she spun the sword almost 
effortlessly in a vertical circle several times, much 
like a flag, then took several practice swings, each 
with the precision of an expert.  Raising it up high 
Kodachi brought the blade down quickly, and Ayame felt 
the rush of wind blast pass her, created by a vacuum 
strike only a master swordsman could pull off.  

  Ayame froze in place, speechless.  

  "Ayame?!" Kanna shouted.  "What's wrong?"  

  "Damn, did you see that?" Shion gasped.  

  "It's him," Ayame realized.  

  Quickly sheathing the sword, Kodachi folded her arms 
intently.  "Are you satisfied?"  

  She nodded.  "Kodachi... I'm sorry I doubted you....  
Perhaps you can beat them, after all.  But that's 
neither here nor there."  Ayame placed an arm around 
her friend and motioned toward the main viewscreen.  
"You see, we've already got the next operation planned 
out, and maybe we could use your help after all."  

  "I care not of your deeds and misdeeds," Kodachi 
said in clarification.  "My only drive is to avenge my 
brother."  

  "Well, the more you understand what's going on, the 
better," Ayame pointed out.  "Most of all, we need to 
work as a team.  You taught me that, and we're going to 
stick with it."  

  "This is not a petty rhythmic gymnastics competition, 
little Aya."  

  "I can't believe Ayame's letting her belittle her 
like that," Shion muttered, shaking his head.  

  "It runs deep with friends, four-eyes," Kanna 
replied.  

  "The event may be different, but the situation is the 
same," Ayame countered.  "Each one of us must succeed 
at each target point.  Everybody needs to complete the 
goal to ensure our chances of success.  Failure is not 
an option, and it never was.  We have a deadline to 
fill, so all the mission points must be completed by 
midnight."  

  Unlatching herself from Kodachi Ayame turned toward 
Shion.  "Is everybody accounted for?"  

  The mercenary nodded.  "Almost.  Higure is still out 
doing his usual thing.  Sypha and Cinder have already 
left for Nemesis, so we can't count on them for a 
while.  Shizuka's still being held, and we don't know 
when she'll come back.  We gained Ukyo, but lost Ryoga.  
I tried bringing him back via the switchboard earlier, 
but something's blocking the prism's signal."  

  "Likely the emanation from the Crystal Palace," 
Kanna offered.  "It's power is greatest there, so it's 
likely to blot out anything counter to its own energy.  
This won't matter to Shizuka much since her crystal is 
fractured."  

  "Interesting," Ayame considered.  "So if any of us 
gets into the palace we can't use the prisms to 
escape?"  

  "It'll likely start working again if you leave the 
premises, or maybe it extends a little beyond the 
gates," the Crystal Spider conjectured.  

  On the main viewscreen the chief engineer, Taydome, 
appeared.  "Sir, we've completed adjustments on the 
energy funnel, and are waiting to finish our prelim 
tests.  However, we can't guarantee the funnel will 
actually work...."  

  Ayame nodded.  "Then we're just going to have to go 
at it based on the simulations alone; there's no way 
to field test it, so we're going to have to trust that 
it'll work as advertised."  

  Nodding, the image faded out.  

  "Gather our people," Ayame instructed.  "We need them 
ready by tonight, so the sooner we brief them, the 
sooner they get ready, and the sooner we finish the 
mission."  

--- 

Rec Room, Mishima Heavy Industries 

  Upon her entrance into what seemed to be the most 
popular of the compound's rooms, Ami was disappointed 
to see that it was very empty.  Considering it was 
after the dinner hour the room was usually full with 
those Fenril who needed to kill time; now, however, 
where seven or eight might occupy it at the same time 
there was only one.  

  The old man, Higure Furui, sat alone at one of the 
tables, deeply into a game of Solitare.  While Ami did 
see him on occasion at the school, the observer often 
set aside time for idle chat anymore, as he was 
constantly watching for people, much as he watched over 
her before inviting her to the compound.  So far he 
had not approached anybody as far as Ami knew.  

  "Mr. Furui," Ami greeted.  

  Looking up from his game, the old man smiled.  "Why 
hello, Ms. Mizuno."  He waved toward the seat to his 
right.  "Make yourself welcome."  

  Nodding, she pulled aside the chair and seated 
herself quietly.  "Is there something wrong?  I don't 
see anyone here, and usually everybody's here."  

  "They are planning a complex operation once more," 
Higure informed her.  "The advisor, Kanna, has proven 
that her idle time was not for waste; her previous 
operation was a complete success."  

  Ami nodded, unsure as to the reason yesterday's 
attacks-- most all ending in failure-- could be seen as 
a victory.  "I haven't seen Kanna lately... I wanted to 
tell her that the flowers got delivered."  

  "Flowers?"  

  "She asked me to send flowers to her friends that got 
caught in an explosion a couple weeks ago," she 
explained.  "I just wanted to let her know, that's 
all."  

  "I see."  Higure nodded.  "Then earning her respect 
is one of your occupations.  A wise choice indeed; the 
one known as the Crystal Spider would make a valuable 
ally."  

  "What do you mean?" Ami asked, puzzled.  

  He shook his head.  "It is nothing.  Some of our 
number are becoming restless, and some even question 
the leader, Ayame, and her competence.  To them it 
appears that all she can do is direct, but it takes 
great skill to direct a production such as this."  

  "So someone's trying to undermine her position?"  A 
possible internal conflict could be advantageous.  

  "The most vocal would be Pantyhose Taro, Shampoo, and 
Sypha, all of which are too proud to remain on such a 
short leash.  The problem with Sypha has been dealt 
with for now; however, Pantyhose Taro and Shampoo 
cannot be dismissed as easily.  It is a known fact that 
Pantyhose Taro could not gather support around himself, 
and his treachery is known.  Shampoo, on the other 
hand, could raise support for her own position if she 
so chooses."  

  Pantyhose Taro again, Ami thought.  The one known as 
Sypha was unknown to her, but Shampoo, she knew, was 
one of the warriors Sailor Venus fought at the 
beginning of the conflict-- the one who appeared to 
complement Mousse's abilities.  Since that was the case 
perhaps it would do well to bolster Shampoo's position 
in the ring.  

  On the other hand, Ami had no idea what Kanna's 
standing was with Ayame or Shampoo.  The Crystal 
Spider fancied herself a master tactician, that much 
she knew, and it was likely for good reason.  If this 
plan would go through, it would be important to know 
where Kanna's loyalties lay.  

--- 

Northwest Hydroelectric Plant, Crystal Tokyo 

  Ranma had to hand it to Kanna; when she wanted things 
done her way, she made it so.  

  The hydroelectric plant was nothing more than a 
glorified dam, set up since Neo Queen Serenity rose to 
power, in order to save the planet's resources.  As a 
bonus it provided a wonderful water recreational area 
for anyone who liked boating in calm waters.  

  Water, he thought.  Cold water.  If only there was a 
nuclear plant, I would've taken that one gladly.  

  Yet, there was no such thing as nuclear power plants 
anymore, as they were deemed too hazardous for the 
environment, and the planet as well.  

  The northwest plant was but one of three primary 
power stations that fed electricity into Crystal Tokyo 
and its neighbors; much power was needed in order to 
compensate for the lack of nuclear power.  The other 
two, the wind-powered northern plant and the new, 
experimental magic engine western plant, were in the 
capable hands of the others.  

  Of all the people Ranma had to be partnered with, he 
wished it hadn't been Kodachi Kuno.  

  She glanced over the catwalk railing, standing beside 
Ranma, and stared down into the deserted plant.  
Laughing quite loudly, Kodachi said, "The forced 
evacuation of the entire employee segment!  If this 
were not the means by which to summon the guardians of 
Crystal Tokyo...."  

  The martial artist shook his head.  It certainly beat 
being partnered with Pantyhose Taro.  

  He held up the object he had been carrying the entire 
trip, a cone-shaped steel object with no apparent 
orifices.  According to Kanna they need only be set in 
the vicinity of the primary power engine; the energy 
funnel set up elsewhere would draw the power through it 
as a remote beacon.  Ranma had no idea where the 
funnel was being set up, but it was not his problem.  

  "Let's get this over with," he decided.  

--- 

North Wind Plant, Crystal Tokyo 

  "Everything the wind fans collect in terms of power 
from this artificially-breezy area," Mousse explained 
to Shampoo, "is collected in a central generator, 
which in turn pumps the power to the city."  He held 
up the cone beacon.  "All we need to do is place this 
there and we're through."  

  Shampoo nodded.  Even though she knew all this 
information thanks to Kanna's briefing, she could not 
help but stare in wonderment at the rows of collector 
fans set on the high mountains.  Thanks to the magic of 
climate control, in this localized area the wind was 
constantly blowing, providing constant power that 
rivaled that of the hydroelectric plant.  

  Both Chinese martial artists dashed through the rows 
of fan towers toward the central structure which 
housed the plant's main generator.  Against the force 
of wind most people could not bear to keep on their 
feet, but intense training paid off.  

--- 

Western Magic Plant, Crystal Tokyo 

  The newest of the three plants supplying power to 
Crystal Tokyo the western plant housed the experimental 
magic engine, a structure the size of the mainframes of 
old and housed in a building no larger than a large 
warehouse.  This new engine, a combination of magic and 
technology, draws upon the ethereal weave that 
permeated throughout the world, and was virtually 
unlimited in source.  

  Miranda suspected the designers had little idea 
where they were drawing the power from, but paid it no 
mind as she tossed the cone beacon toward the engine, 
allowing its bottom surface to stick to the side 
without a hitch.  

  She glanced to her partner, Pantyhose Taro.  "Well, 
that's that.  All we need to do now is wait."  

  "I doubt it," the older martial artist replied.  "I 
bet you ten to one that the Sailor Senshi are going to 
come the moment we start pumping energy to the funnel."  

  Nodding silently, Miranda knew Taro's words to be 
true, even if she hardly liked the creep.  When it came 
down to it Kanna wanted the six best available warriors 
to look after the plants, and Taro happened to be one 
of them.  When nobody else wished to go with him it 
left Miranda to that honor when Mousse and Shampoo 
stuck together, and Ranma and Kodachi paired up, even 
though the martial artist knew that none of them liked 
each other enough to pick favorites like that.  

  They just didn't want to get stuck with Taro, like 
she did.  

  As for the funnel, Kanna told them that it was up to 
Ukyo and Hokuto to look after it; Ukyo was upset that 
she was considered weak, and Hokuto wondered why she 
should bother, believing her esper powers were no 
substitute for fighting ability.  The Crystal Spider 
suspected that the Sailor Senshi would rather look 
toward the power plants, and therefore the funnel would 
not be smothered in any way.  To be on the safe side, 
however, the funnel was set up away from the Mishima 
high-rise.  

  However, since the funnel was more important than 
the beacons, the warehouse was also equipped with a 
sizable number of Mishima robots.  Miranda wished Kanna 
hadn't wasted the initial batch of droids on the 
previous day, as she wished some were still around to 
help outnumber the Sailor Senshi when they came.  

  Shrugging, she muttered to herself, "Sometimes you 
just can't get things to go your way."  

--- 

Control Center, Mishima Heavy Industries 

  "Kanna, a moment of your time?" Ayame purred, walking 
to her seat.  
 
  "What?" she asked.  

  "About Taro... I hope you know what you're doing," 
the leader said, a hint of worry in her tone.  

  Kanna smiled.  "Oh, worried that he'll usurp your 
position.  Don't worry, I think it's safer to have him 
actually doing something than doing nothing.  It's 
when the cunning are quiet when you should worry."  

  Ayame couldn't help but smile.  "Always one step 
ahead of me, eh?"  

  "Well, the trick is to be one step ahead of everybody 
else, particularly the ones you don't trust," the 
Crystal Spider corrected.  "Right now we need to 
maintain the illusion that we don't know what he's 
been doing behind our backs."  

--- 

Inner Sanctum, Crystal Palace 

  "I felt the negative energy again," Mars informed 
Queen Serenity.  "They're much larger than the ones we 
detected yesterday.  In fact, our computers aren't even 
picking them up."  

  The queen nodded in understanding.  "With each 
passing day it appears our enemies are becoming more 
ept in their attacks.  Nevertheless, they will be 
expecting us this time.  Where are they?"  

  "There's three of them," the soldier of fire 
replied.  "Each of them are coming from the three main 
power plants that pump electricity into the city.  They 
may be trying to cut all power to the city."  

  "Then I leave it up to you, Jupiter, and Venus to 
guard these facilities."  

  Mars bowed, then exited quickly.  Neo Queen Serenity 
shook her head sadly, knowing that, despite the stress 
and fatigue of watching over the city almost twenty- 
four hours a day, the Sailor Senshi would not let down 
their guard, not while the Fenril Knights were still 
at large.  

  It was a fault in the city's protection, she knew, 
that the seventeen Fenril Knights could have easily 
overwhelmed the senshi by numbers alone.  However, it 
is the reason they did not do so already was what 
interested Serenity even more.  

  In fact that was the sole reason she allowed Sailor 
Mercury to proceed with her idea in the first place; 
the Fenril Knights did not appear to follow toward any 
certain goal.  While now they had a good idea what 
they were after what was still unknown was the ends of 
their means.  They were likely to be severely 
disappointed when they found out about the state of the 
Kami Plane, but Serenity knew it would not stop there, 
not by a long shot.  

  She glanced into a nearby mirror.  Only one more 
night before her 'meeting' with Death Phantom; she knew 
it would be a trap, but if there was any way to get to 
the bottom of things it was getting that information 
from the head himself.  

  The queen thought back to her ultimate encounter with 
Chaos in the Cauldron.  It was there she learned that 
the Children of Chaos were attracted to the light; in 
this case, the Silver Crystal, and the world it 
protected.  They were born of darkness; the light was 
something they could never have, never touch, never 
experience.  That same situation worked in reverse as 
well; Serenity could never feel the darkness, but was 
attracted to it nonetheless.  

  Darkness and light were the two opposing forces that 
defined one another, and for a moment Queen Serenity 
wondered if her dream that was born from Earth's great 
utopia was simply that.  

  "As long as the Silver Crystal shines," she said to 
herself, "so shall there be the darkness to oppose it."  

--- 

Nanjo Heavy Industries, Crystal Tokyo 

  Perhaps it was a touch of irony on Kanna's part, but 
the fact remained that the energy funnel, a large 
machine that vaguely resembled an actual funnel on its 
back, was set up and ready to go on top of the high- 
rise office building belonging to one of Mishima Heavy 
Industries' former rivals.  

  Placed across the industrial area of Crystal Tokyo 
the office building was no different than that of the 
Mishima office-- completely deserted.  Since the three 
big heavy industries conspired to create the base which 
Ayame Mishima used to her will it was no surprise that 
this company, too, was without an apparent owner, and 
therefore the structures could not be auctioned off 
as easily.  In fact, the former CEOs of the three rival 
companies had enough foresight to tie up their holdings 
in the banks for years to come.  

  Ukyo sat with her back against the funnel, holding 
her combat spatula tucked in her folded arms, allowing 
the head to lean off to the side.  She watched Hokuto 
Takemasa, the reclusive esper, stand and stare up at 
the stars above longingly, her traveling cloak blowing 
in the wind.  

  "Do you really think they'll come?" the esper asked.  

  "Feh, I doubt it," Ukyo snorted.  "The trick is we're 
not going to be obvious until the funnel starts sending 
the juice to Nemesis."  

  "I was just thinking..." Hokuto said.  "I've not had 
much chance to see what Crystal Tokyo... and the rest 
of Earth... was like.  I would have loved to travel to 
the places I visited before, but it's just not the same 
doing it with this prism than with the shadow stream."  

  "You're that anxious to enter the shadow stream?" 
wondered the chef.  "You sure you aren't addicted to 
that power of yours?"  

  Ukyo knew well enough the answer, however.  It was a 
no-brainer to know that Hokuto was not called a Shadow 
Weaver for nothing.  Being an esper was only a part of 
her heritage; the other half was the manipulation of 
the shadow stream that existed in the void between 
planes.  She remembered well enough what Hokuto could 
do with that shadow, and it made her extremely 
powerful indeed.  

  Yet, while she retained her psychic powers Hokuto 
almost never used them by themselves while growing up, 
and therefore was severely hurt now that planar access 
was completely shut to Earth.  Ukyo was still wary, 
however, keeping her mental guard up in case Hokuto 
got the idea to probe her mind.  

  Not that it was the least of her dangerous esper 
powers.  

  "It could be our fates that we fight this battle," 
Hokuto continued.  "Perhaps we are destined to battle 
with those who fight in the light, and we are destined 
to stand in the shadow of that light.  If death is what 
awaits us, then I accept."  

  "Don't mind me, but I prefer to live while I can, if 
I were you," Ukyo said, shrugging.  

  Money, greed, profit... they were considered 
undesirable traits in a merchant of Crystal Tokyo.  It 
was against the okonomiyaki chef's nature to look at 
her business any other way; preparing the best food 
she could offer was only part of the joy she got out of 
running the restaurant.  It was a surprise to her that 
money still existed in a utopian society, but it was 
good nonetheless.  The problem was, however, profit was 
a non-issue; Ukyo was the odd-girl out in the business 
district for thinking in terms of money.  

  It was too unnatural, but she thought she could be 
content with her own success.  

  Contention, however, would not come.  Starting with 
Akane's brief visits to her restaurant Ukyo felt an 
undercurrent of doubt that living the rest of her life 
as a restaurant chef was her path, especially when she 
knew many others who were putting themselves in the way 
of danger.  Their reasoning was sound on a basic level, 
as the world changed too much overnight to bear.  And 
yet, Crystal Tokyo was a nice place to live in.  

  On the other hand, it was terribly boring.  She 
thought back to the old days, when she first arrived in 
Tokyo, where Ranma, Akane, Shampoo, and the rest added 
a certain lively element to her life.  Each one of them 
made her days special, and there was never a dull 
moment to complain of.  It was the best time to be 
alive, she realized.  

  She grew up with them to adulthood, never a dull 
moment... until the world changed overnight.  

  Fundamentally, Ukyo, too, was dissatisfied with the 
state of the world.  

  Kuno died fighting for what he believed in, and while 
Ukyo was never particularly fond of the swordsman for 
all his bumbling charm, she vowed to ensure that his 
sacrifice would not be in vain.  Something will come 
out of the uprising against Neo Queen Serenity's rule, 
she knew, but that outcome would depend on the efforts 
of a small handful of people willing to sacrifice their 
lives for billions.  

  No, Ukyo decided, this has nothing to do with what I 
want.  

--- 

Wiseman's Citadel, Nemesis 

  "They are coming," Wiseman informed the two standing 
before him, the robed Cinder, and the sorcerer Sypha.  
"Intercept them, and dispose as you will.  They must 
not be allowed to reach Earth."  

  Both nodded in understanding, and in a bright flash 
of light they transformed into ethereal fireballs, and 
rocketed upward through the ceiling to meet their 
enemies, Uranus and Neptune, on their own terms.  



---------------------------------------------------- 

Author's Notes

  Stay tuned for more.  Action will be delivered in the 
next chapter for those of you wondering at the lack of 
action in this part; it is particularly due to the fact 
that much needs to happen before the battle actually 
began.  


--Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@NOhotmailSPAM.com) 
http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/index.html 

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