I fixed a few minor things, nothing really earth-shattering...  If
everything works all right, I'll put it up on my WWW page soon.

*************************************

   Lines Of Destiny

   A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2  Crossover

   By Louis-Philippe Giroux
   <Phoenix@upc.qc.ca>

   Thank you for all your comments!  Keep'em coming!
   C&C is always welcome!!!

   Sailor Moon was created by Naoko Takeuchi and Ranma 1/2 by Rumiko
Takahashi.  Please don't sue me.

   The latest versions of the previous chapters are always the ones on my
WWW page at http://www.upc.qc.ca/~phoenix/lines/lines.html


   Chapter 9

   The dreams came quickly for Akane, for they started almost as soon as
she fell asleep.
   She found herself unable to understand what was going on.  She felt as
if she was falling down, or was it falling back?  Or even up?  She couldn't
tell.  Ghosts of images were dancing around her, though she couldn't make
heads or tails of them.
   The whirlwind of images was suddenly lost in a bright light which seemed
to come from everywhere.
   It all stopped.  There was only darkness now.
   And then, she woke up...

   "Wake up, Prince Kanma," said a familiar voice.
   Kanma opened a sleepy eye, only to glare at the friend and personal
servant who was currently standing at the door of his bedroom.  His voice
came out as a growl.  "I thought I told you I wanted to sleep in today,
Dain."
   Dain looked remorseful, but only for a few moments.  "But Prince Kanma,"
he said innocently, "you wanted to know when your sister, the Senshi of
Saturn, would return.  She has just done so."
   _That_ brought Kanma awake faster than a pail of cold water over the
head.  "Rika's here?"  Dain nodded affirmatively.  "Why didn't you tell me
so?  I'll be over in a couple of minutes.  Don't let her leave!"
   Dain shook his head.  "I don't think anyone in the Palace would dare to
try and stop her if she wanted to leave.  I think she sometimes only comes
back to see you, Kanma."
   Kanma flashed a grin at Dain.  The servant was a dear friend to him.
They had been together for a long time.   "Go tell her I'm coming," he
said.  "Let me get changed and I'll be right there."
   Dain nodded and left.  Kanma quickly got out of bed and dressed as fast
as he could.  It had been a while since he had last seen Verika and he
always relished the chance to talk to her when she swung by.
   He ran out of his room and nearly collided with a short figure waiting
just outside.  "Verika?" he spluttered, while trying to regain his balance.
   Verika, also known as the dreaded Sailor Saturn, grinned.  "Miss me?"
she asked sweetly.
   Kanma, a full three heads taller than her, scooped his sister up in his
arms and whirled her around.  "By the Great Rings, it's good to see you
again!"
   Her feet once more on the ground, Verika smiled ruefully at her brother.
"No one's done that to me in a long while; at least not since I became
Sailor Saturn..." she trailed off, her eyes lowering to the ground.
   Kanma suddenly felt sorry for his sister, and not for the first time.
Since her nomination, people tended to shy away from her.  They were afraid
of what she was.  He shook his head slightly; even their parents had become
scared of her.  The ones who still spoke with her without some amount of
fear could be counted on two hands.  He tried to change the subject a
little.  "So, to what do we owe the great honor of your visit, Princess
Verika, Honored Senshi of Saturn?" he asked in an exaggeratedly snotty kind
of voice.
   Verika giggled.  She loved it when her brother acted like those stuck-up
royal court types.  "My, I was merely doing a routine report, Prince Kanma,
First Knight of Saturn," she replied in the most stuck-up voice she could
come up with.  Both siblings sniggered  for a while, drawing a good number
of worried looks from the people walking in the corridors.
   Kanma looked at his sister thoughtfully.  "It must get pretty boring out
there, sometimes," he said.
   She winced slightly.  "Yeah, it kind of is."
   He noticed her reaction.  "What happened?"
   She looked as if she was struggling to decide whether to answer or not.
"Well..."  She sighed dejectedly.  "There was a plague on one of Neptune's
colonies.  Seeing as I was in the area, the Council of the Seas, asked me
to come and see if I could take care of it."
   Kanma's face showed puzzlement at his sister's tone of voice.  She was
usually more than happy to use her healing powers.  "From the look on your
face, I take it something went wrong."  At that moment, Verika buried
herself in her brother's chest.  Kanma was shocked to hear her sobbing.
  "Kanma, when I got there," she said, sniffling, "over half the population
refused to let me heal them!  They said they'd rather die from the plague
than let the 'Senshi of Death and Destruction' touch them!"
   Kanma hugged his sister.  "Oh, Verika, I'm so sorry..." was all he could
say.  That kind of public response didn't happen very often, but even once
was considered too many.  He struggled to find something suitable to
console her.  "Then they were jerks, sis.  They couldn't even get your
title right."  Not an ideal reply, but it would have to do.
   The Senshi of Silence smiled thinly at her brother's answer, swallowing
a few sniffles.  "It's not all that bad, though.  Gokuu dropped by a few
times."
   Kanma rolled his eyes.  Gokuu was a young Jovian of Kanma's age with a
rather unusual talent.  He could teleport almost anywhere he wanted.
Eventually, that is, since control was one of the things he lacked.  He had
come to Saturn once to seek a mage's help with his ability.  Kanma had
managed to help him gain a decent amount of control before the young jovian
had left the ringed world a few months later.  Since then, he periodically
visited Kanma and Verika, but half the time it was accidental.
   Kanma wanted to know how he did it and he wasn't the only one.
Teleportation was a technique which required amazing amounts of energy.
The Senshi, having access to a planet's worth of Mana, could do it, and a
few high-level mages could do it on their own, but Gokuu could it without
any seeming effort at all.  Kanma shook his head.  "Was it on purpose or
did he lose control again?"
   Verika snickered.  "I was talking with Sailor Pluto when he teleported
in for the first time.  I think he actually startled her."
   Kanma's eyes widened slightly.  "From what I heard about her, I would
think that was impossible," he said.
   "So I believed myself," she said, "but when Sailor Pluto is startled,
you tend to notice it.  She didn't talk about it much, but I think she
simply can't track him."
   Kanma grinned.  "All the more reason for me to find out how the guy does
it."
   His sister shook her head.  "Anyway, the first time was probably a
mistake, but he came by regularly after that.  He's a nice guy.  A bit
dense, sometimes, but nice, nonetheless."  Verika decided to switch the
tables around.  "So, how are things on the home front?"
   "Not that bad.  I've been working at the forge a little more than usual,
lately.  One of the minor royalties on Terra wanted a couple of special
staffs made.  One that heats things and one that freezes them.  It took me
two and a half months to finish them."
   She blinked.  "It took you over _two months_ to make two staffs?"
   "Not exactly," he said.  "The staff themselves were nothing.  It's
imbuing them with magic that takes time.  I sent them to Terra over two
weeks ago.  I was planning on going there in the next few days to see if
everything's working fine."
   "Why don't you just use the ICA?" (Interplanetary Communications Array)
   "If there _is_ a problem, I want to be there to fix it," he said
nonchalantly.  "It'll also get me away from Mother and Father for a while,"
he added in a lower tone of voice.
   Verika looked inquisitively at her brother.  Kanma usually wasn't that
much at odds with their parents.
   His expression turned sour.  "Mother and Father are getting desperate.
They tried to get me married again last week," he said, with a certain
amount of disgust in his voice.  Verika burst out laughing.  Kanma turned
sideways and gave her the Evil Eye.  "It's not funny, Verika!"
   "It is to me," she said, trying to choke back her laughter.  "So who did
they throw at you this time?" she said, amused.
   Kanma grunted.  "Lady Ayellin from Neptune.  She's a simpering fool,
like the rest of them.  It's not fair, Verika.  All I want is someone who
has _some_ spirit!  None of the girls, pardon me - ladies - our parents
present to me to have any kind of backbone.  I mean, look at Sailor Mars,
for example, or Sailor Jupiter.  They've got spirit.  Is it too much to ask
to have a wife who won't fold to every demand?"  His sister was no help;
she'd gone back to snickering.  *Well, if nothing else, at least she
stopped moping,* he thought.
   It was about at that time that both siblings noticed how close they had
gotten to the throne room.
   Verika sobered almost instantly.  She quickly transformed into Sailor
Saturn and reached out in her pocket dimension, pulling out the Silence
Glaive.  "Well, time to make my report," she said.  "Then I have to go back
out-system."
   Kanma looked at the massive weapon in appreciation.  *I wish there was
some way I could analyze that thing,* he thought.  The power contained
within the Glaive was absolutely unimaginable.  Legends said it was the
only object whose power could make the user on par with the legendary
Ginzuishou.  What his sister had said then hit home.  "Why do you have to
leave so soon?"
   "A meeting with Sailor Pluto."  She snorted.  "You'd think the Guardian
of Time would have a more flexible schedule..."
   That said, they both walked inside the throne room.  The Hall of the
Rings was an impressive room, the ceiling reaching almost eighty feet,
supported by massive columns of coloured stone, chandeliers hanging from
every possible surface.  At the far end of the room, two elegant thrones
sat there, one of which Kanma would one day inherit.
   Currently sitting on that throne, were King Koruan and Queen Lissik, the
rulers of Saturn.  Kanma noticed a slight tightening of their features when
they looked at his sister.
   "Welcome back, Sailor Saturn," said Queen Lissik.  Sailor Saturn bowed.
The Queen turned towards Kanma.  "Kanma, could you dress in something more
appropriate?" she said crisply.  "What you wear does not befit one of your
position."
   Kanma looked at what he was wearing and sighed.  In his rush, he had put
on his forge-working clothes when he had gotten out of bed.  Kanma liked
those clothes, but his parents absolutely hated them.  Throwing a flat look
at his parents, he held out his hand.  "Mjollnir!" he said, and a staff
appeared in the offered hand.
   The staff was as tall as he was, and consisted of a metal rod with what
looked like a stone hammerhead at the top and a short spike at the bottom.
The hammerhead itself looked like it was made out of stone, and stood about
one foot long.  One side was flat, while the other had a pointed,
multi-faceted edge.  The sigil of Saturn was engraved on the side of the
hammerhead.
   He held the staff in front of him and whispered: "Knight Guard Power!"
   An intense purple light surrounded him, and when it faded, it left
behind Kanma decked in his Saturn Knight armour.  The armor itself was
simple enough.  The top part was made up of a simple half-plate armour,
silver lined with gold.  He wore silver armguards that reached up to his
elbows and he wore black pants padded with silver-and-gold shinguards.  The
sigil of Saturn was easily visible on the chest plate.  A flowing gray cape
was attached to the shoulderguards.
   Kanma looked at his mother, a sarcastic smile on his lips:  "Is this
better, Mother?"
   The Queen nodded stiffly.  She was about to address Sailor Saturn when
King Koruan spoke up.  "Kanma, how many times have I asked you to replace
that staff of yours with something a bit more respectable?"
   "Lots of times," deadpanned Kanma.  The King frowned.  Kanma rolled his
eyes.  "This is perfectly suitable staff," he said, in tones of a
long-debated argument.  "I'm a Warrior-Mage, like most of the Saturn
Knights.  We all have ornamental staffs of some kind.  The designs vary
individually, you know that."
   "Yes I do," replied the King, "but yours looks more like a giant hammer
than a staff and that just doesn't inspire respect.  Couldn't you at least
choose a better ornamental head?"
   "I like hammers," replied Kanma defensively.  *Not to mention how much
I'd like to introduce Mjollnir to you up close and personal sometimes!* he
added silently.
   It looked as if a heated discussion was under way when Queen Lissik
interrupted.  "I think we have more important things to do than listen to
your arguments again," she said, looking pointedly towards Sailor Saturn.
   Kanma and Koruan both grumbled, but agreed to settle this later.

   After Sailor Saturn was done with her report, she and Kanma moved out of
the throne room and went strolling around the palace.
   "I can't believe they dismissed you like that," grumbled Kanma.  "They
didn't even ask how you were feeling or anything!"
   "They only see the Destroyer, not the Healer or their daughter," replied
Sailor Saturn flatly.  "You get used to it after a while."
   Kanma put a gloved hand on her shoulder.  "Well, I promise I won't end
up like them, no matter what happens."  When he saw her brightening, he
added: "You do get my messages when you're training out there, don't you?"
   "Yeah, I do," she answered.  "They're the only things that keep me from
going crazy sometimes."
   They spent a few more moments in silence.  Sailor Saturn then announced
she had to leave.
   Kanma hugged her tightly.  "I hope you'll be able to come back soon,
Verika.  I miss you terribly."
   "I'll come back as soon as I can," she promised.

   Shortly after his sister's departure, Kanma headed back to the throne
room.  He suddenly felt the need to get away for a while, and going to
Terra to check on his things seemed like the perfect excuse.  Too bad his
mother insisted on coming with him.  She had insisted that she had
diplomatic business to take care of there, but Kanma didn't like the glint
she had in her eye.  She was up to something and he didn't know what.
   As they reached the teleport gate, the two High Mages standing guard
started gathering their energies.  As they reached the end of the
incantation (Kanma could see the flows of power around the two mages), the
Gate flared to life and mother and son stepped through.
   They came out of the gate's twin in Terra's Royal Palace.  Kanma was
about to make his way out of the palace when his mother grabbed his arm.
"You could at least greet the King and the Queen before you leave.  You
_are_ royalty, and it's basic courtesy," she said, keeping his arm in an
iron grip.
   Kanma looked at her and started sweating.  She had _that_ glint in her
eyes again.
   "I just want to have a look around first, Mother" he said nervously.  "I
promise I'll see them before I leave, okay?  I just want to see something
first."  His mother looked at him for a few more seconds before nodding and
releasing him.  As she left towards the throne room, Kanma eyed her
suspiciously.  He didn't really have anything to do in the palace, but the
way his mother was behaving unnerved him.  *What is she up to this
time?...* he wondered.
   He stopped in front of an observation window and looked outside.  The
sky was different here.  It was bright blue here, whereas it was faintly
purplish on Saturn.  There was also a lot more vegetation here than there
was on Saturn.  Trees abounded everywhere, a lushious coat of greenery
which contrasted with the ever-present crystal spires of Atlantis.  He
looked at the sky again and noticed that the Moon was fully visible, even
if it was the middle of the day.  He tried to remember the last time he'd
come to Earth.  He had come twice in his life, but he had been only two
years old the first time.  He'd come back when he was nine and had been
introduced to Princess Akana and Prince Endymion.  He dimly remembered
thinking that Akana acted way too much like a boy.  He shook his head.  It
had been far too long since his last visit on Terra.  Maybe his parents
were right; maybe he *was* a bit too reclusive.  His thoughts were brought
to a sudden halt when he heard a loud "WHAT!?" coming from the throne room.
He frowned and made his way there.
   The guards let him enter without any preambule.  When he went inside,
the first person he noticed amidst the small crowd present was his mother,
closely followed by the two figures standing on the crystal thrones just
beside his mother.  He knew them from previous diplomatic visits when they
had come to Saturn: King Endymion and Queen Layla.  As he moved closer to
the throne, his gaze then slid off toward the figures who had previously
been hidden by a pillar.
   His eyes widened slightly when he took all present into account.  If he
remembered the color schemes correctly, he was standing front of Sailors
Terra and Venus, Newer and Elder both present.  There was also a young man,
decked in black and silver armour standing near New Terra, whom he
recognized to be Princess Akana  *Okay, if anything else, she definitely
doesn't _look_ like a boy!  She's almost... cute,* he thought.  Standing
tall and proud, Akana indeed looked more attractive than she ever had.
   Then again, maybe her Senshi outfit had something to do with that.
   Giving himself a mental slap for being such a pervert, he turned to look
at the young man was standing besides her.  Wearing the same kind of armour
as King Endymion, he quickly recognized him as Prince Endymion.  The
analytical part of his mind quickly remembered the rather odd naming scheme
the Lunar and Terran Royal families used.  On the Moon, which was a
matriarchal society, the First Daughter was always named Serenity, while on
Terra, a patriarchal society, the First Son was always named Endymion.
That particular naming scheme had been adopted by a few other kingdoms as
well.  Kanma privately thought it more confusing than anything else.
   He quickly came back to the situation at hand.  Judging by her posture
and attitude, which he could qualify as looking annoyed, New Terra had
probably been the one to cry out, but why?  King Endymion noticed him
before he could voice his query.
   "Ah, Prince Kanma.  How nice to see you again!" said the elder Endymion
jovially.
   The tone made Kanma's hackles rise almost immediately.  It was the exact
same tone of voice his father used when he was about to present him with a
potential fiancee.  Despite his subconscious' warning to get as far away
from here as he could, Kanma bowed respectfully.  "Warrior-Mage Kanma,
First Knight of Saturn at your service, King Endymion."
   The King glanced at New Terra, who was being subtly restrained by the
Elder Terra on one side and by his son on the other.  Looking back towards
Kanma, he smiled again.  "I was told you had business on Terra, Kanma.  Is
that true?"
   The Saturnian Prince frowned at his mother before answering.  "Yes, your
Majesty, I do.  I need to go to Mount Phoenix to see if they're having any
kind of trouble with some magical items I provided them with a few weeks
ago."
   "Good!" said King Endymion.  "Then you wouldn't mind accompanying my
daughter there, would you?"
   Kanma blinked and stole a quick glance at New Terra, who looked slightly
angrier than before.  He was starting to get an inkling of what was going
on (or so he thought).  "If I may inquire, why does your daughter need to
go there for?"
   "I need to seal a diplomatic alliance with King Szechuan.  Dark times
are brewing here and despite the fact that they're one of the smallest
countries on Terra, the Mount Phoenix people possess powerful magic which
could be of aid to us.  Akana, pardon me - New Terra -, is to go there and
see if there isn't any way to form an alliance between our kingdoms.  Since
you're going there anyway, I thought you might provide escort for my
daughter."
   Kanma blinked.  "Escort, your Majesty?  Pardon my question, but what
does a Sailor Senshi need an escort for?  Why don't you just teleport
there?"
   King Endymion's face suddenly became serious.  "Mainly because this is
to be a secret mission.  There isn't anyone outside this room who is to
know about this; too many spies abound this day.  There has been an
increase in youma raids, recently.  Some of the filthy creatures have even
gotten as far as this palace."  The King and Elder Terra suddenly both
smiled sadistically.  "Those same youmas are now extremely sorry piles of
ash," said Elder Terra.  Resuming his earlier expression, the King
continued: "Normally, I would send my son on such a diplomatic mission, but
he's expected at a ball tomorrow on the Moon.  If he didn't go, it would
raise too many suspicions.  As for the teleport, I could always send my
daughter there, but they don't have the means at Mount Phoenix to send
people back by teleport, so she would have to come back on her own."
   Kanma was about to speak, but was preceded by New Terra.  "I don't need
protection, Father," she said in a curt, yet strong voice.  "I'm quite able
to defend myself.  I can go to Mount Phoenix without the need of a..." she
glanced at Kanma "... chaperone," she finished.
   The King stared at her for a few seconds, almost scowling.  Elder Terra,
a woman with brown-reddish hair who stood barely an inch taller than her
younger counterpart, spoke up.  "New Terra, you need to learn that despite
being a Senshi and a princess, you're still a subject of Atlantis, just as
I am.  When your King says something, you obey."
   New Terra scowled, but finally nodded.  New Venus approached New Terra
and whispered something in her ear.  Kanma couldn't quite make it out, but
noticed that it left the redhead blushing slightly.  "Venus!" she
exclaimed, sounding scandalized.
   New Venus smiled innocently.  "Don't be so quick to reject his company,
Terra.  Besides, who knows, you might need his help in defending yourself
if something happens."
   New Terra scowled at the young Venusian.  "Me?  Need help?  You seem to
keep forgetting I'm a lot stronger than you!"
   New Venus lost the smile, if only for an instant.  "Only if the other
Senshi are around, and you know that as well as I do.  Your powers aren't
of much help when you're alone."
   New Terra looked as if she'd been reminded of something she didn't like.
"I still have the Psi-Techs," she protested weakly.
   "Which don't work quite as well when we're not together, sister," piped
in Prince Endymion.
   New Terra looked around, but seeing no support among the current crowd,
folded.  "All right, I'll go with him," she said in a resigned voice.
   *My, what an enthusiast!  She sounds as if she'd just heard her death
sentence,* thought Kanma sarcastically.  "If his Majesty so wishes, so it
shall be done." he answered out loud, bowing.  *What the hell is Akana's
problem anyway?  We haven't seen each other in nearly ten years!  She can't
possibly be still holding a grudge for whatever might have happened the
last time I visited.*

   Soon after, Kanma and New Terra found themselves standing in front of
the teleport gate.  Standing behind them were both Endymions and Queen
Lissik.
   "Have a safe trip and bring me back that alliance, okay?" said King
Endymion, hugging his daughter.
   "Father, you're embarassing me!" the redhead hissed through her teeth.
Disengaging herself, she turned to her brother.
   "Come to the ball tomorrow evening if you can.  I'm sure Princess
Serenity already misses you," said the younger Endymion.
   Terra grimaced.  "I hate balls and you know that.  But..."  she
faltered, "I guess I _do_ miss the Princess.  It'll be nice to see her and
the other Senshi again as well."
   She turned to Kanma.  "Are you ready to go?"
   The Warrior-Mage nodded.  *I was ready hours ago,* he thought
sarcastically, but refrained from saying it out loud.  This was the first
time that Sailor Terra had addressed him in a civilized manner since he'd
arrived and he found her more companionable that way.
   Besides, she _was_ cute when she wasn't angry.
   The two High Mages guarding the teleport gate started to activate the
portal, and soon, Kanma and Sailor Terra were transported almost halway
across the globe in the wink of an eye.

   Both youths reappeared at the edge of a small mountain.
   Kanma nodded in satisfaction.  "Yep, that's the place all right!"
   Sailor Terra looked at him sideways.  "You've been here before?"
   Kanma shook his head.  "Never," he said.
   "Then how can you be sure that this is the right place?" asked the redhead.
   Kanma looked at his companion with a wry smile.  He idly noticed he
stood almost a full head taller than Sailor Terra. "When I got the contract
for the staffs I made for them, I got pictures and schematics of the place.
This mountain matches the pictures exactly."
   "You're a weaponsmith?" asked Terra, a bit surprised.
   Moving towards en entrance, he answered: "I prefer to think of myself as
a blacksmith, rather than a weaponsmith.  I could make weapons all the time
if I wanted to, but I don't all that often, really.  Usually, I limit
myself to magic pendants, amulets, rings, tools and such, because weapons
have a tendency to end up where they can cause a lot of trouble."  He
paused.  "There's _is_ one magical weapon I'd really like to put my hands
on, if I could analyze it, though."
   "Which one?"
   "The Silence Glaive."
   At the mention of the weapon, Sailor Terra's thoughtful look turned into
a scowl.
   They were soon greeted by a guard, who, upon learning their identity,
led the inside the mountain.  They came to a stop in a large room where
they were told to wait.  They didn't wait long as they were soon joined by
Szechuan himself.  Szechuan was a very large individual who looked like a
cross between a man and a bird.  His hands and feet sported bird claws
instead of fingers and he had a pair of large, golden wings protruding from
his back.  His face had a distinctive avian look, up to the two
feather-like tendrils hanging from his foreahead.  It was also worth
noticing that the room's temperature increased significantly as soon as the
bird-man came in.
   "Ah!" said Szechuan with a smile.  "We seem to be having some important
visit today!  Atlantis' Princess and Saturn's First Knight.  To what do I
owe this visit?"
   While Kanma was trying to ignore the fact that Szechuan was more than
twice as tall (and massive) as he was, Sailor Terra spoke.  "King Szechuan,
I am here on behalf of my father, King Endymion, to seek an alliance with
your kingdom to help repel the increasing youma attacks."
   Szechuan's hawk-like eyes narrowed slightly.  "Direct, aren't you?
Yes," he said in a deep, low voice.  "I know what he means.  We've been
having some attacks here as well."  He grinned slightly.  "They stopped
attacking us after I incinerated the first few waves."  Szechuan drew
himself up.  "Very well, I'll be glad to talk with you concerning an
alliance, but first," he said, turning to Kanma, "I would like to know why
_you_ came, Prince Kanma.  Surely you didn't come here on behalf of
Atlantis?"
   Kanma grinned as he shook his head.  "No, your Highness," he said.  "I'm
only here to see if you've had any problems so far with the Gekkaja or the
Kinjakan."
   "We haven't had any problems with either of them.  In fact, why don't
you go see for yourself while the Princess and I finish discussing the
terms of our alliance?" said Szechuan.
   Kanma bowed.  "I'd be glad to," he answered.  And with that, Kanma
turned around and left through a passage which led deeper into the
mountain.  He eventually came out of the tunnel into a vast cavern.
   From what he'd heard, all of Szechuan's people lived inside or around
the mountain.  They couldn't just draw enough energy from the mountain
itself.  That was the main reason he's been asked to build the Gekkaja and
the Kinjakan (or so he'd been told).  One staff which froze anything it
touched (the Gekkaja) and another one capable of producing incredible
amounts of heat or fire (the Kinjakan).  The two staffs already possessed
awesome power, but he would never see their true power himself.  The
enchantment he'd cast over the staffs was a very complicated one; he'd
needed the help of two High Mages to complete it.  The purpose of the
enchantment was in itself fairly simple: if they were used properly, the
Gekkaja and the Kinjakan would keep increasing in power over time.  He had
made some calculations and he estimated that they would reach their maximum
potential in about a thousand years, but he would be long dead by then.
   With the two staffs, Szechuan's people could now regulate the
temperature inside of the moutain as they wished and thus, expand their
living areas.
   Kanma walked around the cave, watching some of the installations inside
the mountain being built.  He saw people scurrying about their tasks like
oversized ants.  He finally arrived at a guarded room where, after a
careful verification of his identity, he was promptly admitted.  Once
inside the room, he finally saw the two items he'd traveled halfway across
the system to check up on.  The Kinjakan was basically a rather short,
red-gold staff topped with a large, ornamental hoop.  The Gekkaja was
similar to the Kinjakan, except the staff had a bluish white tint and it
had a crescent moon blade instead of the hoop on top.
   He slowly took the Kinjakan in his hands, letting himself feel the power
contained within the staff, a power which had taken him quite a while to
create.  With it, almost anyone with the proper skills could generate
almost insane amounts of heat or flame, no magical ability needed.  The
reverse was true with the Gekkaja.
   He turned around when he heard someone coming inside the room.  He
smiled when he saw who was there.  "Soy!  I haven't seen you in a while!
Has life been fair to you lately?"
   The newcomer smiled.  A full head shorter than Kanma, Soy was a small
person, but his wits and intellect more than compensated for his lack of
physical height.  Soy was one of Mount Phoenix's most competent mages and a
person whose suggestions had tremendouly helped Kanma when he was building
the two staffs.  He had also developed an unhealthy obsession with Kanma's
love life, or lack of one, an obsession which drove Kanma insane at times.
  "Yes, it has been fair, Kanma," he said.  "Although I can't help but
wonder what you're doing here.  I was minding my own business when a guard
told me you'd dropped in virtually unannounced _and_ in company of one of
the Senshi."  He suddenly grinned: "She's a cute one isn't she?"
   Kanma found himself blushing, much to his acute embarassment.  Soy's
grin widened even more.  "She's _not_ cute," he muttered, trying to save
some dignity.
   Soy wasn't fooled for an instant.  "Sure, Kanma, she's not cute at all.
That's why your blushing as hard as one of Lord Szechuan's fire blasts ."
He snorted good-naturedly.  "Don't lie to me, boy.  You've got it bad for
her; I can see it _radiating_ all over your face!"
   Kanma shook his head violently.  "No it's not her...  It's...  It's her
outfit!  Yeah, that's it, her outfit!"  He nodded violently up and down,
trying to get his point across.
   Soy shook his head in disappointment.  "You _do_ know that you're
letting a beautiful girl get away from you, don't you?"
   Kanma relaxed and waved the matter aside.  "It doesn't matter.  The
Sailor Senshi rarely marry anyway, so I wouldn't get very far with her..."
His eyes widened when he realized what he'd just said.  He looked at Soy,
who had a grin that threatened to tear his face in half.  "No, wait!  I
mean..."
   "So!..." said Soy triumphantly.  "You were considering _marriage_ , were
you?"
   Kanma buried his face in his hands.  Things were not going well.  He had
better change the subject now, before things got worse.  "Um...  Soy?  I
didn't come here to discuss my love life, you know."
   Soy's eyes became serious, but the grin never left his face.  "Ah yes,
you wanted to know if we've had any problems with the staffs, right?"
   Kanma nodded, not trusting himself to speak, lest he put his foot in his
mouth once again.
   Soy shrugged.  "We've started using them to condition the temperature in
the caves, but they've worked according to specifications so far, so
there's no need to complain.  Would you like a demonstration?"
   "Sure!  Maybe I can even give you a few tips," said Kanma.
   Soy sported an mock-offended look.  "Don't you think we know what we're
doing?"
   It was Kanma's turn to shrug dimissively.  "I didn't say that.  But I
_was_ the one who built the staffs,  I know them better than anyone."
   "Then let's test them, shall we?" said Soy.  He took the Kinjakan and
tossed the Gekkaja to Kanma.  They then headed out to a large section of
the cave that was being developed where they proceeded to conduct some
tests.

   Roughly half an hour later, Kanma and Soy were walking around in Phoenix
Mountain's underground network of caves when Sailor Terra and King Szechuan
met up with them.
   "Are the negotiations already finished?" asked Kanma.
   Terra nodded.  "We'd better go now.  If we hurry, we might be able to
reach the nearest teleport gate before sunset."
   Kama turned to Soy.  "Well, looks like it's time for me to go.  I hope
we can meet again soon."
   Soy nodded.  "Same here.  It was nice to finally meet you in person
instead of always using the ICA," he grinned.  "If we ever have any
problems with either of the staffs, I promise I'll let you know."  He
leaned forward conspiratorially.  "I'll be really disappointed if nothing
happens with her, Kanma," Soy told the young Saturnian.
   Kanma threw a panicked glance at Terra to see if she was listening, but
fortunately for him, she'd already moved out of earshot.  He turned back to
Soy, who had a smartass grin plastered all over his face again.  *One day,
I'm gonna get you for this Soy...* Kanma thought.  "Ha ha," said Kanma
flatly.  "I don't remember _you_ having much success at romance either,
Soy!"
   The other mage was unruffled.  "I got married last month, Kanma."
   Kanma was about to throw a rather pointed comment in the fray when he
realized that Szechuan was still watching them, amused.
   "Don't mind me," the bird-man said.  "I rather enjoy seeing you two
argue.  It's a wonderful relief from court life."
   Kanma managed not to redden in embarassment.  "Um... yes, well...  I...
have to go, yes!  Akana'll be waiting for me at the exit."
   "Already calling her by her real name?" Soy taunted.
   "Shut up!" Kanma nearly cried in exasperation.  He took a mock-swipe
with Mjollnir at a laughing Soy, who ducked.  Kanma sighed and turned to
leave when Szechuan put a massive, clawed hand over his shoulder.  Kanma
stopped and looked inquisitively at the bird-man.
   "I never did get the chance to thank you properly for the two staffs you
created for us.  If you ever need a favor from us, feel free to ask.  My
promise on that," said King Szechuan solemnly.
   Kanma bowed deeply.  "Thank you, you Majesty."  He then turned towards
the caves' entrance and quickly ran to join Sailor Terra.
   A few moments after Kanma was out of sight, Szechuan frowned slightly.
"I hope they won't try to cut across the Jusenkyou Springs," he mumbled.
"I forgot to warn them about that place."
   Soy, who had heard Szechuan's remark, waved his liege's concerns away.
"Don't worry.  That place radiates enough magic that Kanma will feel it
before he comes too close enough for it to matter.  I'm sure he'll have
enough sense to stay away from the Springs."

   When Kanma reached the entrance, he noticed that Terra wasn't there.
Looking around, he noticed she was already far down the slope.  He shook
his head. *She didn't even bother to wait for me!*  He considered simply
running down the slope, but decided instead he wouldn't give Terra the
satisfaction of knowing he'd rushed after her.  He concentrated and
whispered: "Aerwan Sandalphon."  A light green aura surrounded him.
Satisfied that his spell was holding, he proceeded to leisurely fly down to
Terra's position.
   When Kanma was but a foot or two behind her, Terra turned around,
frowning ever so slightly.  "If you can fly," she told him, "Why don't you
just lift us to the teleport gate?  It'd save a lot of time, you know."
   As soon as Kanma touched the ground, his aura winked out.  "I could
_try_ to fly us both there," he shrugged, "But I'd probably drop us both
along the way.  Flight spells work well enough when you're the only one
flying, but the second you add someone, the magic requirements become
almost unbelievable."
   Terra eyed him for a second, then turned back to watch the road ahead of
her.
   "So," said Kanma, trying to start a conversation, "Did you reach a
satisfactory agreement with King Szechuan?"
   "Yes," she answered absently.
   *My, what a conversationalist,* he thought wryly.  He tried another
subject.  "Excuse me if I seem to pry, but I noticed that back in the
throne room, New Venus said something about your abilities not being that
great when you were alone.  I was under the impression that you were
supposed to be the strongest Senshi next to my sister."
   Terra wore an unreadable face.  "Your sister, the Bringer of Silence?"
   Kanma frowned.  "I don't relish people using that title.  It gives a
wrong impression."
   Terra shook her head.  "I'm sorry, I was just thinking.  I can assure
you I meant nothing disparaging.  As for my powers, both you and Venus have
part of the answer.  Yes, I am the strongest after your sister, but only if
other Senshi are present."
   Kanma blinked.  "How come?"
   "My power is rather different from the other Senshi's.  I work either as
a living amplifier or as a focusing lens for the other Senshi's powers.  If
I'm in physical contact with any of them, or if I'm hit with their attacks,
I can either focus or magnify the effects.  With another Senshi, I become
nearly unbeatable; alone, I lose much of my fighting potential."  She
paused for an instant.  "I probably wouldn't be able to survive amplifying
your sister's power, though.  I'm not sure I even _want_ to know what would
happen if I tried, either."
   Kanma grunted slightly.  "I guess the results wouldn't be pretty."
After a small pause, he raised an eyebrow.  "You sure have a strange
power," he commented.  "What about those 'Psi-Techs' you mentioned, then?"
   Terra smiled without seeming to realize it.  "The Psi-Techs are a set of
single and dual psychokinetic techniques my brother and I made up to take
advantage of our inborn psychokinetic potential."
   "You're _both_ psychokinetics?"  Kanma said, surprised.  "I thought only
the males of the Terran Line had that talent!"
   She smirked.  "You were wrong, then.  While it's true that all the males
like my brother and my father have a high psychokinetic potential, the
talent also emerges in the females of the line, but at a much lower degree.
The Psi-Techs are techniques that siblings of the same generation usually
develop to control their talents.  My father and Aunt Yonagi have their own
set of Psi-Techs, for example."
   Kanma quickly identified "Yonagi" as Elder Terra, the sister of King
Endymion.  While the Senshi all had titles, most people knew their real
identities.  Except for Sailor Pluto, of course.  "What kind of
techniques?" he asked, becoming more and more interested.
   "Defensive and offensive techniques.  Shields, flight,illusions, pure
telekinetic force blasts, other things like that.  My brother has this
really weird one that allows him to create roses at will."  She shook her
head.  "I _still_ don't understand how he manages to create flowers out of
psychokinetic energy, but since he found out how, he's been showering
Princess Serenity with those roses..."  She smiled.  "At least it makes her
happy."
   Kanma blinked.  "Wait a second here.  Did you say earlier that flight
was one of your powers?  Why don't you fly under your own power then?"
   Terra's smile faded slightly.  "Do you remember the comment my brother
made just after I spoke?"
    Kanma tried to remember.  "Something about the techniques not being as
effective when you were alone?"
   "Exactly!" Terra said, sounding like a teacher congratulating a
five-year-old.  "I can only use a fraction of the techniques when I'm
alone, since my psych potential isn't that high.  The same is true for my
brother, although he can use a wider variety of techniques, due to a higher
natural talent.  Together, our potential is much higher.  On an
hypothetical scale of fifteen, I would rate three, my brother seven and
together, we'd rate fifteen."
   "How efficient are they?"
   Terra smiled sadistically.  "Remember how Father mentioned youmas had
gotten as far as the palace?"
   "Yes...?"
   "Father and Aunt Yonagi used their own Psi-Techs to blast them out of
the sky.  Together, they're stronger than several of the Elder Senshi.  The
problem is that those techniques require a lot of concentration, so they
can't do anything else when using Psi-Techs."  She walked a few seconds in
silence, the spoke again.  "My brother doesn't have _all_ the advantages in
the family, though.  We both possess healing abilities like your sister's.
I'm stronger than he is at it, although I'm still a lot less powreful than
your sister.  I can use my power whenever I want, but Endymion's only seems
to work when he's in great stress.  She turned to Kanma.  "So what about
you, mighty Warrior-Mage?  What kind of talents do you have?"
   Kanma was a bit miffed at the patronizing tone she used to answer his
initial question, but answered her anyway  She'd told him a lot about her
powers and basic courtesy demanded something in return.  "II'm fairly good
in hand-to-hand combat and I'm also rated as a mid-level mage.  My
elemental spells aren't as powerful as a Senshi's Mana, but I have a wider
variety of spells, as they're not all made for combat."
   Terra interrupted him.  "You said you're a mid-level mage?"  She shook
her head.  "I must admit I've been slacking a lot in my magic studies,
seeing as I can't do any by myself.  I've been wondering how you rate a
mage's ability.  'Mid-level' sounds awfully vague."
   Kanma smiled.  "It is.  Our rating comes from roughly how much magic
energy we can pull in a single spell.  Usually, if you can pull off enough
energy to perform a teleport spell, you're considered a high-level mage.
If you take offensive and defensive spells for example, a low-level mage
can set off a fireball and create decent shields.  A mid-level mage is
anyone stuck between the two," he said wryly. "Just like me."
   Terra frowned slightly.  "But the mages at the palace, there are _two_
of them at the teleport gate and they're supposed to be both rated as
High-level.  I thought you said a single one could do teleportation spells?"
   "Protection against exhaustion and security," answered Kanma.  "If you
only had one mage standing guard, each teleport would leave him pretty
exhausted.  Using two mages reduces the strain on each of them so they can
perform several teleports in a row if necessary.  They usually don't,
though."
   "So how strong are you?"
   "Just under the limit of being able to teleport on my own.  If I
_really_ wanted to, I suppose I _could_ do a teleport on my own, but the
strain would leave me wasted for a day or two."  He paused for a moment.
"That, of course, is assuming I'm in top shape and 'fully charged', so to
speak.  If I was wounded, a teleport would kill me fairly easily."
   Terra nodded.  "I see..."
   Kanma didn't want to stop here.  Terra had been moderately fun to talk
with and he preferred conversation, rather than stony silence.  "When you
explained the Psi-Techs, you mentioned that most of your techniques were
done together, Endymion and you.  Isn't it hard to synchronize?"
   "Not at all.  A side-effect of the Psi-Techs is that when we're
executing one, Endymion and I can completely read each other's mind for a
very short while.  Synchronizing is easy after that."  She paused.  "When
we first synchronized, we connected so deeply we ended up seeing through
each other's eyes, even though we still had control of our own bodies.
That was _very_ disconcerting."
   Kanma boggled.  "Can you exchange bodies?"
   Terra shook her head.  "No, we aren't strong enough for that"  She
paused.  "Not that we actually ever tried, that is..." she added.
   Kanma tried to imagine sharing his mind with someone.  He shuddered,
definitely not liking the idea.  He was too much of a private person.
"Does that mean that if you and your father linked, you'd be able to read
each other's minds?" he asked in curiousity.
   "Feh!  I couldn't synchronize with Father any more than my brother could
with Aunt Yonagi."
   "Why?"
   "That's the way it works.  No one's ever really been able to find out
why.  We just know it can't be done with people from different generations
and it's not for lack of trying."  She paused for a few moments.  "There's
a semi-permanent effect to using Psi-Techs on a regular basis," she said at
last.  She looked at Kanma, as if she was weighing the consequences of
telling him.  She sighed.  "Oh well, you'd find out sooner or later.  My
brother and I share a mental link as a result of Psi-Tech training.  So do
Father and Aunt Yonagi, for that matter.  The link allows for near-constant
low-level mutual empathy and limited telepathic conversation.  I suppose
that if we didn't use any Psi-Techs for a few years, the link would fade,
but right now, I can sense him in the back of my mind.  I can guess that
he's at the Moon at this time.  I can also feel his stronger emotions,
which right now are... impatience - probably about seeing Princess Serenity
- and..."  Terra frowned and stopped walking.
   Kanma also stopped.  "What's wrong?"
   Terra made a shushing gesture and suddenly froze, glowing a faint blue.
Not knowing what else to do, Kanma waited for Terra to come out of her
trance.  Looking around him, he noticed he was starting to hear the faint
buzz which indicated there was a source of magic nearby.  A strong source,
according to the buzz.  Turning back to Terra, he saw she was still in her
trance.  He unwittingly started to stare at her, admiring her legs, the
form-hugging, short-skirted outfit and...  *What am I doing!?* he thought,
shocked.  *I'm thinking like a pervert again!*.  He shook his head.  Sailor
Terra had a wonderful figure, true, but that damn outfit was far too
distracting.  He gave a mental snort.  *I bet the outfits were done that
way on purpose.  Distract the enemy, then strike!*  He then noticed that
Terra had stopped glowing.  He forced himself to look as neutral as he
could.
   "So what was _that_ all about?" he asked.
   Terra frowned.  "I'm not sure.  The distance is too great to have a
clear conversation with Endymion, but I was able to find out that he's
worried the Guardians aren't there."
   Kanma tried to remember.  "The Four Guardians?  You mean Prince
Endymion's bodyguards?"
   Terra nodded.  "It isn't rare for them to leave for a few days at a
time, since my brother can take care of himself nowadays, but thay've been
gone for three days now and we haven't heard a word from them.  My brother
was expecting them to be at the ball on the Moon, but they aren't there
either.  I think he's starting to worry, and to be truthful, so am I.
Kunzite, especially, is usually more responsible than the others.  He would
have left a message by now."
   Kanma shrugged.  "From what I heard about the Guardians, they seem to be
able to take care of themselves if need be."  They continued walking.  "Uh,
Terra?" asked the young mage after a while.
   "What?"
   "You said I'd find out sooner or later that you and you brother shared a
link."
   "Yes," she said, annoyed.  "I said that.  So?"
   Kanma shook his head.  "Why are you so sure I would've found out?"
   Terra stopped walking and looked at him as if he'd just asked a _very_
stupid question.  "How long do you think I would've been able to hold off
any of what I've been telling you for the last hour with us being engaged
and all?"
   Kanma, however, hadn't stopped walking, so the second he heard the word
"engaged", the First Knight of Saturn proceeded to perform a textbook
faceplant on the road before him.  He quickly recovered, however.
"ENGAGED???" Kanma screamed in surprise.  "Where in Saturn's Great Rings
did you get the idea we were _engaged_ of all things?!"
   Terra looked at him as though he were an idiot, then narrowed her eyes.
"They told _me_, but didn't tell _you_?" she asked in a dangerously low
voice.
   "Tell me what!?"
   Terra was seething now.  "They told me of the engagement today when you
and your mother arrived.  Weren't you aware of that?" she asked, a peeved
glint coming into her eyes.
   Kanma swore loudly.  "So THAT'S what it was all about!  I was wondering
why Mother was acting so weird in court..."  He trailed off, looking at
Terra, who seemed about to commit murder (being the only other person in
the area, Kanma quickly surmised he would be the target of Terra's ire).
He said the first thing that came to mind.  "And I wanted a spirited girl,
too..."  he trailed off, realizing that _that_ particular response wasn't
the best one at the time.
   Terra closed her fist in anger.  "It's not you I'm mad at, Kanma.  It's
my _parents_ I'm angry with."  She looked at him wearily.  "Do you _swear_
you had _no_ idea we'd just been engaged?"
   Kanma waved his hands.  "I swear!  I swear!!  They didn't tell me a
thing!" he said in a nearly panicked voice.  Calming down, he spoke before
he could think.  Again.  "Not that I'd mind being engaged to you," he said.
"You're cute when you smile."
   The anger drained out of Terra's features as fast as water in a
scorching desert and a faint blush crept up her cheeks.  "What did you
say?" she asked softly.
   Kanma froze.  "Err...  I mean..." he stuttered.
   "Well, well well," a deep voice boomed.  "What do we have here?"
   Kanma and Terra both spun around in surprise at the sound of the voice.
Coincidentally, both were thinking the exact same thing at that moment.
*How the hell did he get so close without me knowing?*
   Terra reacted first.  "Kunzite!  What are you doing here?"
   *Kunzite?* Kanma thought quickly.  *The leader of Endymion's bodyguards?*
   The white-haired man sat upon a rocky outcropping, arms crossed and was
looking at them with a mocking smirk.  He was wearing a grey military
uniform with a flowing cape.
   Terra repeated her question.  "What are you doing here?  Endymion was
starting to get really worried!  He couldn't find you anywhere!"
   "Don't worry, Princess," said a man with a long, blond ponytail coming
up behind Kunzite.  "He'll see us soon enough."  He was also smirking.
   Terra frowned.  "Are you all right, Zoisite?"
   Meanwhile, subconscious alarms were starting to blare inside Kanma's
head.  Terra didn't seem to care, but Kanma was growing increasingly
worried about the Guardians' appearance.  Something was.. off about them
and it worried Kanma.
   Sailor Terra frowned again.  "Answer my question!  What are you doing here?"
   "Actually, we were looking for you, Princess Akana," said a deep voice
from behind them.  Spinning around, they saw yet another Guardian.
   Terra's eyes narrowed slightly.  Kanma hoped it was because she was
starting to get suspicious.  "You were looking for me, Nephrite?  Why?"
   "We have a very special message to deliver," said a fourth Guardian,
walking beside Nephrite.
   "What message, Jadeite?"
   "The Queen wants you dead," answered Kunzite, still smirking.
   *Definitely not right, something's wrong, wrong, wrong...* thought Kanma
frantically, eyes darting from Guardian to Guardian.  They were all smiling
and those smiles looked... malevolent.  *Can't Terra see it?*
   Terra looked at Kunzite, incredulity painted all over her face.  "The
Queen??  What in the world are you talking about, Kunzite?"
   "Let me elaborate, Princess," said Nephrite.  "What Kunzite means is
that Queen Beryl wants you dead.  She considers you a very dangerous
threat."
   Terra visibly relaxed, although Kanma didn't.  She frowned slightly.
"That was a very bad joke, Kunzite."
   Kunzite kept smiling.  "It's no joke, Sailor Terra."
   Terra threw up her hands in exasperation.  "Kunzite, Beryl wants us all
dead; she's been like that since the beginning of the youma invasions.  I
doubt she would've sent you to relay _that_ message."
   Zoisite grinned, showing perfect teeth.  "Oh, but she did.  And now,
we're here to kill you."  Before Terra could react, Zoisite pointed a hand
forward.  "ZOI!"
   The blast knocked Terra backwards, stunning her.  Jadeite came up and
was about to release a blast at point-blank range when Kanma, apparently
neglected by the Guardians, swung Mjollnir in a wide arc and nailed Jadeite
in the middle of the stomach.
   As soon as Jadeite collapsed in pain, Kanma grabbed Terra and quickly
ran in the forest.  He heard Kunzite's mocking voice.  "You can't escape
us, boy.  Your days end today!"
   Kanma was trying to make headway between the compact trees when Terra,
whom he had laid down beside him, finally regained her senses.
   "Owww...  What happened?" she moaned.
   "That maniac Zoisite shot you!" Kanma said, frustrated.  He gave up
trying to clear the branches ahead of him and simply pointed Mjollnir
forward.  "SHIRAK TABRIS!" he yelled, and a massive shock blast cleared all
the vegetation in front of him.
   Terra hesitated to her feet.  "I don't understand.  What's wrong with
them?" she said, clearly confused.  Kanma didn't answer.  He grabbed her
hand and dragged her in the opposite direction of his blast.  "Hey!  Don't
you want to go the _other_ way?!" she asked, confused.
   Kanma shook his head.  "No, I just want them to _think_ we went that
way.  Maybe it'll fool them for a few minutes."  Seeing a dense patch of
bushes, he nearly shoved the still dizzy Terra into them.
   "Hey, watch it!" protested Terra.
   "Be quiet and keep still!" hissed Kanma.  He concentrated and whispered:
"Tasaran Ramiel".  Both Kanma and Terra began glowing a soft blue.
Seemingly satisfied, Kanma turned to Terra once more.  "It's a cloak
spell," he said in a low voice.  "It should keep us safe for a while."  He
shook his head.  "Why didn't you put up any defense?  Didn't you see they
weren't acting normal?"
   "That's easy for you to say," she hissed in a low voice.  "I've grown up
with these guys since I was six years old.  They're like brothers to me."
Her eyes narrowed.  "They'd never attack me," she said stubbornly, "They
wouldn't."
   "Well, sorry to disappoint you, but they did."  He thought for a second.
"Could they have been brainwashed?  They sounded as if they were in Beryl's
camp now."
   Terra's head jerked up.  "I don't think it's possible, but..."  She
never got the chance to finish as Zoisite suddenly appeared in front of
them.
   Kanma's mind whirled in shock.  *He can teleport?!  Damn!!...*
   Zoisite grinned sadistically.  "Nice try, Saturnian, that little
diversion actually worked for a few seconds."  He shot his hand forward,
shouting "ZOI!" at the same time as Kanma brought Mjollnir to bear while
shouting "MURITARI ZERUEL!" as fast as e could.
   The blast exploded between both parties against a glowing shield
stemming from Mjollinr's hammer head.  Zoisite blinked once and it was
enough for Terra to spring into action.  Getting up in the blink of an eye,
she kicked Zoisite as hard as she could in the stomach.  Kanma and Terra
quickly fled while Zoisite was groaning in pain on the ground.
   "Nice to see you fighting at last," said Kanma, while they were rushing
through a deep forest.
   "Shut up!" answered an angry Terra.  "You aren't the one fighting people
you've trusted for so long!"
   "Wait! Stop!" hissed Kanma, digging his heels in the ground.
   Terra nearly ran over him.  "What's wrong _now_!?"
   Kanma was frantically looking left and right.  "It's close," he said,
"Way too close for comfort..."
   "What are you talking about?"
   "A really large source of magic.  Nearby.  Chaotic magic," he said in an
oddly distracted tone, considering the circumstances.  "We came too close!
We gotta go back!" he said and started to trace back their steps when
Nephrite and Kunzite suddenly appeared as well.
   "No more running, boy!" hissed Kunzite.
   "This way!" shouted Terra, grabbing Kanma buy the cape, pulling him in
the direction they were originally heading.
   "No!  Not _that" way!" shouted Kanma.  He had a fraction of a second's
warning as a glowing V-shaped blade nearly took his head off.  Ducking, he
aimed Mjollnir toward the two Guardians and cut loose once more.  "SHIRAK
TABRIS!" he yelled and a shock blast hammered Kunzite and Nephrite into the
ground.  Kanma went running after Terra, sweat glistening on his forehead.
*I can't keep tossing spells all day!  I'm gonna run dry soon if this keeps
on!* he thought.  He found Terra standing at the edge of a clearing.
Puzzled as to why she wasn't moving, he quickly caught up with her.
   "What is this place?" he heard her ask incredulously.
   Kanma finally saw what she was talking about.  Before them were
scattered dozens, maybe even hundreds of small, harmless-looking  springs.
His feeling of dread increased when he realized that the springs were
generating the chaotic magic he was feeling.  Terra shook him out of his
daze.
   "Come on!" she said.  "We gotta find a way to go back to Mount Phoenix!
King Saffron'll help us!"
   Kanma nodded absently, still watching the springs warily.  Cutting
across the field would mean coming close to those pools.
   They made their way across the field and were nearing the springs when
the four Guardians appeared around them.   The grins were gone and they
were now all scowling.  "This has taken far too much time.  We end this
now!" shouted Kunzite.
   "Kunzite!" shouted Sailor Terra in a pleading tone.  "What about your
oaths to Endymion and my parents?"
   The plea went unheeded as Kunzite and Jadeite attacked Kanma, while
Nephrite and Zoisite attacked Sailor Terra.
   She leaped out of the first strike, landing barely a few paces from one
of the springs.  "Psi-Techs!" she shouted.  "Psi-Blade!  Aura Shield!"  A
glowing blue sword appeared in her right hand and her body was suddenly
covered with a bright blue aura.   Zoisite didn't waste time as he launched
a storm of crystal shards towards Terra.  The shards never impacted as they
were all stopped short by the aura.  This didn't stop Terra from wincing,
though.
   "Nephrite!" she yelled desperately.  "You're my best friend!  Don't _do_
this!"
   For a brief, sweet moment, Nephrite's attack wavered, but sadly, it
didn't last.  She had barely had time to recover from Zoisite's attack when
Nephrite finally moved in, shouting: "Orion's Spear!"
   Terra parried the blow from the glowing spear just in time with her
sword.  Three swift strikes later, Zoisite joined the fray with a crystal
sword.

   Kanma wasn't having much luck either.  As soon as his two opponents
fired blasts of energy towards him, he brought his cape in frot him, while
whispering: "Sokerial Gaghiel!"  The silvery gray cape... rippled...  for
lack of a better term.  When as the blasts touched the cape, they suddenly
vanished, only to be sent back straight at the attackers.  Kunzite dodged
his own blast, although Jadeite was felled by his own.
   Kunzite dashed at Kanma, a wicked-looking energy blade forming in each
of his hands.  The Warrior-Mage was hard-pressed to keep the blades at bay,
parrying with Mjollnir's shaft.  He soon saw an opening and belted Kunzite
a good one in the face with Mjollnir.
   Too bad it didn't have any real effect.  Kunzite's eyes glowed and Kanma
was suddenly blasted backwards by an unseen force.  As he landed painfully
in the ground, he got up just in time to hear Sailor Terra trying to plead
one last time with her attackers.
   "Nephrite!  Zoisite!  Please remember!  Don't do this! Endy..."
   Kanma could only watch in horror as Zoisite finally broke through
Terra's defense and impaled her in the gut with his crystal sword.
   "NOOOOO!!!" he howled in despair, and he rushed to her aid.  He hadn't
taken two steps when he was blasted from behind.  He collapsed on the
ground, his back smoking from the massive energy blast a recovered Jadeite
had struck him with.
   "This is for striking me with your hammer," said the short-haired Guardian.
   Kanma groaned as he opened his eyes.  He felt as if someone had burned
the skin off his back.  Blinking, he saw Terra collapse on her knees,
vomiting blood.  He could barely utter a word as he saw Nephrite take her
by the neck and drop her unceremoniously in one of the springs.  He felt
someone come up behind him.
   "And this," snarled Jadeite, "Is for injuring me with my own blast!"  He
lifted Kanma by the front of his armor and gut-punched him, releasing
another massive blast, this time in Kanma's chest.
   Kanma was in a world of pain as he was dropped on the ground.  He had
never known he could hurt so bad.  He nevertheless managed to hear Kunzite
approach his position.
   "It's over.  He's as good as dead, Jadeite, so stop playing with him,"
said the leader of the Guardians.
   "We have to go now.  Queen Beryl is waiting for us to begin the invasion
on the Moon Kingdom," said another Guardian.
   A third one laughed.  Kanma recognized him as Zoisite.  He had the most
annoying laugh.  "The Prince will be _so_ happy to see us again!"
   Kanma heard the soft sound of teleportation as the four Guardians vanished.
   He tried to rise, but the darkness claimed him.

   Kanma woke up again, still in pain.  *How long was I out?* he wondered.
He then remembered what the Guardians had said just before they had left.
*There's going to be an invasion.  I have to warn them!*
   He thought for a moment.  Terra was most likely dead and he was in no
condition to go anywhere.  Kunzite had been right.  He would die before he
could even go back to Mount Phoenix.  The only reason he was still alive
was probably his superior constitution.  Working in a forge had had _some_
benefits.
   He took a deep breath, which he immediately regretted, the pain in hs
chest flaring up.  *Probably broken ribs* he thought.
   He finally realized he had only one possibility left.  Concentrating
despite the pain, he recited a spell, athough it came out as a croak:
"Larion Quorilath Armisael" he said.  His body suddenly flared up in a
blinding white light and all his pain vanished.  Kanma blinked twice,
thinking about what he had just done.  His teacher in magic had warned him
countless times about that spell.  It would _temporarily_ heal any wound
and make anyone over twenty times as strong as they usually were, but it
came at a very expensive price.  Every minute the spell was used shaved 15
years off the caster's life span.
   Kanma quickly got up and looked at himself.  The front of his armor had
been melted and he was bleeding from several deep gashes in his chest.  He
was disgusted when he saw that one of his ribs was sticking out of his
chest.  It was even more disturbing to realize that it didn't hurt, at
least for now.
   Remebering about Terra, he looked inside the spring where he remembered
Nephrite dropping her and saw that the pool was now a dark red.  Steeling
himself, he closed his eyes and plunged his hand in the pool.  After a few
seconds of flailing, he pulled Terra's body out of the pool.  Finally
opening his eyes, Kanma confirmed what he had been dreading.  Terra was
well and truly dead.  *King Endymion's gonna kill me,* he thought numbly.
   He looked around him.  Already, he could feel the sacrifice spell
running its course.  He would die in less than four minutes if he didn't
shut off the spell and he wouldn't live much longer if he tried to go
anywhere without it.  He sighed.  *What a lousy way to die...* he tought
bleakly.  He absently noticed that the arm he had used to pull Terra out of
the spring was seriously starting to itch.  He scratched it, puzzled.  *The
sacrifice spell should have suppressed any form of physical disomfort...*
   Kanma quickly shook himself out of his musings.  He had more urgent
things to do than wonder why his arm was itching.  He had to warn _someone_
about the oncoming invasion, if it was the last thing he would ever do (and
it probably would be).  He took Mjollnir in his hands and started chanting
the teleportation gate spell he had heard somany High Mages say.  In
ordinary circumstances, as he had told Terra, the spell would threaten his
very life or kill him outright.  It didn't matter anymore.  The sacrifice
spell was giving him the energy he needed to open the teleport gate.
   Nothing else mattered.
   However, no matter how much energy the sacrifice spell gave him, he
wouldn't be able to reach Saturn.  He'd have to settle for the Moon
instead.  Prince Endymion and the other Senshi were supposed to be there.
More importantly, they could call his sister.  "Sinuralan Tasarak Krinawi
Leliel," he chanted, and he felt the power draining from him.
   Kanma collapsed on his knees as the gate opened in front of him.  He
could feel the sacrifice spell taking its toll.  He had to find someone
before the spell took his life.  Staggering through the portal, he looked
at the sight in front of him.
   Destruction was everywhere.  He could see the Moon Palace in flames,
youmas running everywhere and a great black cloud hovering over everything.
   "I'm too late," he whispered.
   He barely felt the final step of the sacrifice spell taking hold.
   Closing his eyes, he never noticed the blast of silvery light that took
his soul.  Unbeknownst to the late Warrior-Mage, part of the blast had time
to travel through Kanma's teleport gate before it collapsed.  The
reincarnation wave washed over Terra's recently deceased body as well as
over the pool which would be known from this day forth as the Nyannichuan.

   Akane woke up with a start.  Wildly, she looked around, half-expecting
to see men in gray rushing at her, weapons in hand.  The only thing she saw
was Ranma lying on his futon besides her, sleeping soundly.  She took
several deep breaths to calm herself.
   *Get a grip on yourself,* she thought.  *It was just a dream.*  But as
seconds became minutes, she found out she could easily remember most of her
"dream".  *Why did it feel so real?*
   She tried to remember what had happened before she had gone to sleep.
She remembered Rei offering to jar some memories.  The images that had
followed.
   The same images as in the dream.
   *Does that mean that the dream was... a memory?* thought Akane,
confused.  She forced herself to breathe clamly again.  *What did Rei do to
me?* she thought.  *It felt so much like I was there, in person.*  She
shook her head.  She'd been a _guy_ in the dream.  That just wasn't
possible.  She looked at the sleeping Ranma and revised her opinion.  She
wasn't sure what to think anymore.
   A few minutes later, she considered waking Ranma, but decided she might
be fretting over nothing.  She finally decided it had all been only a dream
brought on by stress of the wedding, the move to Juuban and the start of
university.
   Yes, it _had_ been a dream.  After all, why else would she have dreamt
of Hotaru, Ranma's female form, Jusenkyo, Saffron and mysterious gray men
in such a extravagant setting?
   As she laid down once again to try and fall back asleep, something
disturbing came back to her.  If it had been a dream, why had she not
awakened earlier?  She clearly remembered the part when she had been hunted
by the... the Guardians.
   She remembered... Jadeite's final blast.
   She...  he...  _she_ had hurt.  There had been blood everywhere.  She...
he... had fainted from shock.
   And woken up again.
   _In_ the dream.
   *What kind of dream is it when you don't wake up even if you're in
pain?* she wondered.  Troubled, she fell back asleep, promising herself to
have a talk with Rei in the morning.

 <End of Chapter 9>

 Author's notes

 - So, did everyone catch the blatant Evangelion references?  ;)

 - Nephrite's attack:  Orion's Spear.  I didn't invent that particular
attack.  I read it somewhere before, but I don't remember where, sorry.
I've never seen the anime, so I don't have any idea how Nephrite usually
attacks.  I know he does it with the help of stars, constellations and
such, but I don't know the *exact* attacks.

 - About the Four Guardians.  I used the manga history for this.  For those
who don't understand, in the manga, Endymion had four bodyguards: Kunzite,
Zoisite, Nephrite and Jadeite.  The same four who were portrayed as the
Dark Generals in the anime.  In the manga, they were converted to evil
against their will by Beryl and Metallia in the past, but were "freed" in
the present (their souls were freed, at least).  To this day, Mamoru still
has four stones representing his four guardians.  He even talked to them
through the stones once (this is in the manga again).

 - Yes, the Guardians could have killed Terra and Kanma much more quickly,
especially the four of them together.  Heck, Kunzite nearly killed the
Senshi by himself in the anime, I've heard.  So what happened?  Let's just
say they were freshly converted, so they weren't "putting their hearts into
it," as it were.  There were still some shreds of resistance left.

 - All right.  You may not want to hear this, but it will be a while before
I go back to writing some LoD.  I swore to myself that once I was finished
with this chapter, I would resume work on Point Of No Return (a good
revision is in order, as it's been far too long as I've last touched the
fic) and write the first chapter of Differing Powers, my Ranma/Wheel Of
Time crossover (which I will *NOT* post on my Web site because I don't feel
like attracting too much copyright attention on that one).  After that, the
pattern will probably be one chapter of each story, in succession.

   Until I get writer's block again, that is...  ;)

**********************
* The Phoenix Reborn *              Jordanite and Mystical
**********************                  Freak at Large

Louis-Philippe Giroux
Phoenix@upc.qc.ca

Phoenix's Den at http://www.upc.qc.ca/~phoenix/phoenix.html