just getting this out, will be moving tomorrow and it may
take awhile for the phone hookups to be done. (it's
scheduled, but in Phoenix (at least) schedules are rarely
kept by the utilities)
Featherbrite's Tale CHAPTER NINE:
Dark Kingdom Follies, OR
Nabiki Come Home?
Ranma 1/2 owned by Viz Video & Takahashi Rumiko. Various
other characters owned by various other authors. No
copyright infringement is intended.
"Magic is simply being able to do something the other guy
doesn't know how to do." - Ambrosius Merlin, Court Wizard
"If it's not nailed down, it's mine. If it can be pried
loose, it's not nailed down." Tandel The Lynx, high level
thief
"Our own heart, and not others' opinions of us, forms our
true honor." -Friedrich von Schiller
-----------------
Oberon's gaze swept the Court as he pondered the latest
materials that Ravenhart had smuggled in and he also
considered his options.
"Ravenhart, Lord Of Crows, I appoint you to scout out the
situation and find suitable allies. Remember that possessing
a mortal shell will allow you some protection against cold
iron and the inevitable anti-faerie wards."
The three eyed raven nodded, his mind already racing ahead
to deal with plots and possibilities. He'd stolen the items
and scanned these histories easily enough.
"Sigmund, you shall ready your orcs. Smedley," Oberon
pronounced the name with some distaste, "your goblins shall
also need to be prepared for work on the Mortal Plane."
The two figures nodded, shocktroops were always handy for
crowd control. Not to mention kidnappings, sword fodder, and
for dramatically giving the impression of hopeless odds. Not
to mention fetching and carrying.
Oberon's eyes widened less than the width of a 10yen coin.
Nobody but Ravenhart noticed. Ravenhart was sufficiently
interested that he searched about to find what had surprised
his lord. Zed was pouring fascinated over one of the stolen
magazines. Zed?!
"Zed, you will be the first one in. You will test the
waters for the others."
This brought a few startled exclamations from the UnSeelie
gathered together.
Everyone knew what a useless member of the UnSeelie Court
Zed was. In a group such as the UnSeelie, the scum rose to
the top. Raw power could circumvent it, but it tended to be
the more ruthless and focussed individuals in the higher
ranks. There were exceptions, of course. Ravenhart was a
skilled information gatherer, Krekke had his legions,
Lurking Horror was everything you'd expect from someone who
lurked at the bottom of swamps, and then there was Zed.
Even Greaket had possessed more drive and ambition than
Zed. Zed hadn't been enthusiastic about much of *anything*
since the UnSeelie Wars (around the time of the Pleistocene)
and when he was moved to action, glacial was the usual
speed.
Those seeing Zed now were seeing a Zed that hadn't been
seen since the formation of the UnSeelie Court. Slowly
energy was leaking back into his lanky frame and he pondered
the situation with an intensity that was surprising to most.
Zed understood Oberon more than most of the UnSeelie.
Boredom was a slow acting and bitter poison. It couldn't
kill a faerie, but it could make that faerie's life
thoroughly unpleasant. One reason that so many faerie of
*both* courts tended to be heavy drinkers. Zed knew Oberon
had had his flings with lovers from Makai and Faerie, but
mortal women had never appealed to Oberon for very long for
a simple reason. With a mortal's lifespan, you could turn
your back for a moment and your mortal lover had gotten old
and decrepit.
Zed's inclusion among the members of the UnSeelie Court to
take part of this latest diversion surprised some,
particularly the younger attendees.
Ravenhart was Lord Of Crows, and was one of Oberon's
greatest minions when secrets needed to be ferretted out.
Sigmund, the Orc Emperor, was a clever fellow who had a few
major faults such as a tendency to plan actions on too
little data. Smedley, the Master Of Goblins, had his own
dark powers and would have advanced far within the Court if
he hadn't had such a drinking problem. Zed was the Artist Of
Inconvenience, and counted fairly low among the rankings.
Some, particularly Ravenhart, remembered the Zed of old.
When Zed had gotten enthusiastic about the *last* project,
and had decided that the weather on that Mortal Plane was
too humid and sultry and wouldn't a nice cool breeze be
good?
A number of scientists on that Mortal Plane would have been
fascinated to learn that the reason all those mammoths and
other animals kept turning up in ice sheets was because a
Faerie Lord had gotten enthusiastic about getting a little
ice at the end of the Pleistocene.
-----Azabu Juuban, Tokyo--------
"Come on, little girl," the man with the dark shades wore a
polyster brown suit that had seen better days. Sometime in
the '70s most likely. "Don't give us any trouble and you'll
do fine."
"The oyabun will *not* like this," cautioned the larger
looking man with a frown. "He specifically said not to
bother Takeuchi-san when you brought the idea up."
"Hey, the boss likes results. We get good results, and
this'll allow us to get rid of that outsider. Besides, the
nice young lady wouldn't mind a little fun with me and my
friends, would she?"
"Oops! This is a bad time for an interview, isn't it?"
The four Yakuza thugs exchanged a look, then turned to the
mouth of the alley. On seeing two more young pretty women,
they fought between a smile and a frown.
"Well, ladies, you're all invited to a little party. I'm
afraid that camcorder, though, is going to have to go," the
Yakuza chunin slid the toothpick around in his mouth without
using his hands. A skill all slimy thugs had to learn early
in their training.
"Megumi Noguchi, here to interview Naoko Takeuchi on her
opinion of these new Sailor Starriors. We seem to have come
at a bad time?" The wannabe reporter glanced at her
camerawoman to see if she was recording all this.
The large one groaned and leaned against a wall. "Now we've
got the *press* getting involved?!"
"Shut up, Tiny!" The apparent leader snapped at his
subordinate. "We can handle three little girls, we can
handle them quite nicely, heh heh. Besides, what else could
go wrong?"
Tiny stiffened, knowing with a cold certainty that
statements like that were throwing a gauntlet down in front
in the Fates.
"Lowbred Worms that dare to threaten a chronicler of my
battles! Vile miscreants who dare to threaten Art!
Ill-dressed harbingers of poor hygiene!"
"I KNEW IT!" Tiny started beating his head against the
wall, doing more damage to the wall than his head. This had
been EXACTLY the sort of thing that had happened during the
"snatch the winged girl" plan.
"Unlucky Targets who interrupt my search for the Dark
Kingdom and provide me something to vent my Righteous Wrath
upon!"
"Are you getting this?" Megumi grinned at the sight before
her eyes. Kyoko nodded with her own grin as she filmed.
Leaping down from the rooftops was a girl in a seifuku,
ribbons trailing behind her shoulders like some imitation
wings. "I, Sailor Rose, shall punish you!"
Tiny winced, anticipating what his immediate superior would
say. Pleading with the heavens that he wouldn't actually say
*that*!
"What's a little girl like you gonna do, anyway? C'mon
guys, let's show her what happens to a frail little girlie
who decides to mess with US!"
Tiny vowed then and there that he'd find a different line
of work. He was big, he was strong, he could do construction
labor. There were branches of the Yakuza controlling the
construction industry down in Kansai. ANYTHING to get him
out of Enforcement.
"Battle of the cliche kings," muttered Naoko as she
watched. She'd have to get photos later of this 'Sailor
Rose' to include in her sketches.
Sailor Rose drew a gymnastics ribbon from out of nowhere.
"Know that you face the Outrider of the Star Kingdom
warriors! LIGHTNING RIBBON!"
<Zzzzzzzzappppppp!>
-------------------
Akane sighed deeply, looking at the newspaper article
depicting Sailor Rose's rescue of that manga artist who was
doing the "Sailor Moon 2: Kingdoms Of Moon & Stars" from
some criminal types.
"Something wrong, Akane?" Yoshinori Kitase looked across
the dinner table and tried to read the offending article
upside down. Vanilla, invited inside to get out of the rain,
merely looked faintly puzzled. "Your Dad and Mister Saotome
are out trying to track down Ranma again, so you can speak
openly."
"It's just..." Akane scooped a dumb-bell off the floor and
bent it in her hands a moment later. "Somehow I got this
incredible strength, and here Sailor Rose is doing the sort
of thing *I* always wanted to. To be the dashing martial
arts hero who uses her skills for good."
Vanilla nodded, following that much at least with her
rudimentry Japanese.
"Ah," Yoshi said after a moment. "You know that's kind of
dangerous, even with your considerable skill and that
strength of yours. Even with the extra training Vanilla-san
is giving you in her Amazon wu shu."
"Yeah, but I'd just want to..." Akane's voice trailed off
as she briefly imagined *Akane* as the dashing young
heroine, defending the weak, rescuing people (why did that
look like Yoshi-kun in her arms?) and vanishing mysteriously
in the night (with a dramatic flourish.)
Yoshi smiled a little sadly. "You know, Akane, I'll support
you in whatever decision you make."
Akane nodded. She knew she could count on Yoshi. He
wouldn't do anything she asked him to, but if she wanted
help on something - he'd bend his schedule to accomodate her
as much as he could.
Vanilla studied the surveillance device she'd crushed
earlier. She wished she could find some use for the things,
they were beginning to pile up. "Would be good training."
"Hmmm?" Akane blinked. "You're not actually suggesting I do
it, are you?"
"Vanilla suggest so. Why not? Is not just you, is Vanilla
too. We go, we fight, we train. Is path of martial artist to
seek always to improve skills. Akane very strong. Vanilla
have many skills. We go and try this, at least, yes?"
Akane shut her mouth. Well, if it were TRAINING, then she
could justify the time to herself. Her father, THAT was
something else altogether."O-Okay."
Yoshinori frowned slightly but banished it. "Akane, it's
dangerous, but if you're determined to do this, I'll try
making you a Sailor costume."
"You can sew too?" Akane blinked, amazed that here was
another skill Yoshi was pulling out of his hat.
"Vanilla good seamstress too. If act part, must look part,
yes?"
----------------
scene by Hitomi Ichinohei:
14/09/99 6:53:06
Isao sighed as he looked over the various reports that he
had received from the �investigators� connected with his
particular operation. Technically, there was nothing to go
after Genma for. He was trying to find the girl�boy, but
right at the moment, he couldn�t see how any of them could
find them. Sightings of Sailor Angel & Sailor Amazon in
Osaka, another unnamed winged warrior had also been sighted
there. Now this 'Sailor Rose' came into the madness.
There had to be a connection somewhere.
Given that Sailor Amazon had apparently seen the
kidnapping, and that Sailor Rose had obviously been left in
the Tokyo, and specifically, the Nerima area, the child had
to still be in the area. The real question was, was she
there to protect the boy? If so, why?
As hard as it was to stomach, the �Sailor Moon� series had
become part of the Yakuza�s information sources. They
could, of course, �persuade� the author of the series to
reveal her secrets, but it was unlikely that she knew much
more than them. Besides, attacking the chronicller of these
�Magical Girls� could very well lead to an all out attack on
them. Something the Oyabun was definitely against.
They already had enough trouble with the damn Amazons that
they had stupidly attacked.
The setup had been almost perfect. A new species to study
and learn about, making various reports to the scientific
literature, the Yakuza gaining a new form of smuggling, and
control over this resource. It had almost been too good to
be true that the father was enough of an idiot to sign over
his parental rights for mere money.
Obviously, it was too good to be true.
He himself, now had his neck on the line.
The Oyabun was being extremely cautious, ordering that
these Senshi were not to be interfered with if at all
possible. When the other families had heard about his
operation, and what it had done, they had become very vocal
about it. None of them, despite the advantages, wanted a
war of this nature, especially since it would reveal some of
the sources that the Yakuza had at it�s disposal.
After all, a show of force was hardly what they really
wanted since quiet infiltration was much more profitable.
Surveillance was called for, especially on the Tendo home,
but three of the four girls had now disappeared, and the
cost of the audio was getting very expensive for what they
were getting. Either they kept getting found and destroyed,
or there was more to that dojo that was apparent on the
surface. There were no real clues to be had there anyways.
No, quiet observation was called for, and the either the
identities of these Senshi, or of their contacts was the
priority. Not to challenge them. Dead heroes tended to
have people to avenge them.
However, Saotome was now safe, no matter how much it grated
at him. The Oyabun had decided that the money was an
acceptable loss in order to not deal with these Senshi.
Because of those damned heroes�
He had to get revenge somehow, and perhaps there was a way.
If that pool in China had changed the Saotome child into a
Sylph, then perhaps it would do the same to another. Perhaps
THAT was the connection between these "Starriors" and the
Saotome boy, those pools of sorrow had likewise empowered
these psuedo-Senshi. If it could do *them* maybe it could do
others, and this would be tested shortly. A minor thug would
take a bath, and in case there was some sort of mindset
required for the change to Sylph - others (including a few
unwilling victims) would be given the plunge.
Even so, Saotome still didn�t know about his release, and
so he may be able to use that to his advantage.
�I like the way you think.�
Isao spun around, looking towards the voice, and saw a
raven perched on the back of his chair. A raven with three
reddish eyes.�Who, or what are you?�
Ravenhart chuckled, �I am a messenger from the Dark King.
He is offering to assist you, however, Saotome Ranma is not
to be harmed. She is much in the Dread Lords thoughts and
heart. If you want to become an Oyabun of a very powerful
family, one with powers and assistance from us, we will help
to an extent. The Lady of Milord's heart is the price,
however.�
Isao�s eyebrow raised. He indicated a pile off to his
left. �You�re acting like if Saotome is really a girl, and
some sort of Princess in one of these manga.�
Ravenhart laughed heartily. �Yes. A Princess of the Fay,
and an important one to the Dark King. Do not concern
yourself with the Dread Lords wishes, just say if you will
accept the offer.�
Isao frowned a little. Either he accepted this unknown,
which could allow him to live and possibly to succeed beyond
his wildest dreams, or take his chances with the justice of
the Oyabun. No choice really. �I will accept.�
-----------------------
Nabiki watched with a certain horror from her vantage
point, slung over an ogre's shoulder like a sack of flour.
Said ogre was strong and tireless, and the two were just
barely keeping ahead of...
Nabiki wasn't quite sure *what* to call it, other than it
was apparently an UnSeelie.
"How can that thing MOVE that quickly!" Nabiki didn't
really expect an answer, Harold was not exactly a sparkling
conversationalist. "It doesn't even have any legs!"
"Magic," grunted Harold, shouldering aside a few boulders
at his best speed. "Oh crud."
"What?!" Nabiki yelped, only being able to see behind them
from her current position.
"Is slope, clear land, it move faster when get there."
Harold seemed to get thoughtful.
"It's catching up with us as it is!" Nabiki watched the
glob of jelly behind them, the way eyes and mouths seemed to
form and shift within its substance, the way the grass
looked to be stained yellow within it, and the nearly
mummified body of some bird that occasionally roiled to the
top. Even if these signs hadn't been present, it was obvious
that Harold was scared.
"Why is it after us?!" Nabiki didn't like to admit it, but
*she* was scared. She'd observed Harold's strength earlier
when he'd lobbed a few boulders at it. If it scared Harold,
then she definitely didn't want to make its acquaintance.
"Not after *us* - is after *you* Nabiki Tendo. If Harold
was alone, it would not bother with him."
Nabiki blinked as she realized that Harold was the only one
of the faerie she'd met to get her name right so far. "Why?"
"Mortal flesh, mortal soul, Harold has already explained
this." Harold reached the crest of the hill. "Nabiki Tendo
trust Harold?"
"Uhm, yeah, I guess..." Nabiki granted that she trusted the
ogre about as well as she trusted anyone outside her family,
which wasn't much.
"Then Nabiki Tendo ask driad for help." Harold lifted
Nabiki and threw her towards a group of trees, then stopped
and turned.
Nabiki, sailing backwards, got a good look as the ogre
fought the jelly. Only to get swept off his feet and pulled
under just before the trees obscured her vision.
---------------------
Shampoo struggled but it felt as if her body weight had
increased a hundred times. Even when she was able to make
the effort and could open her eyes, everything seemed so
bright and out of focus.
"<She will not steal your husband now, Rink!>"
"<I don't know about this, Pink.>"
"<Obstacles are for killing among the Amazons, remember
that. We're just dealing with her in terms of her own
culture.>"
Shampoo tried to frown but realized all she could manage
was a drool. Rink & Pink? Two girls from the Herbal Village
who'd always conspired to play pranks on her. Well, if she
could move, she'd show them not to mess with her.
Her sense of touch seemed heightened. She could feel the
jelly smeared over her dry lips, and smell the heady
fragrance from it.
"<Black lotus extract?>"
"<When you boil the leaves down a certain way, it can
produce a number of effects. This particular gel is a muscle
relaxant when rubbed in, but if ingested...>"
"<I saw how she went down. Seeing the vaunted Shampoo
collapse like a rag doll, what bliss!>"
"<This should keep her out of commission for awhile. So
what do we do now? I don't want to *kill* her, but I don't
want her stealing my promised husband.>"
"<Got an idea, Rink. Why don't you go check that hut over
there. We'll just take her down to one of the villages, pay
an innkeep to keep her sedated, then invite her to your
wedding when it is too late for her to do anything about
it!>"
"<Not perfect, but I suppose it could work.>"
Shampoo involuntarily licked her lips, then realized what a
bad mistake that was as numbess started spreading out from
her tongue. She felt herself lifted up as the footsteps
retreated and the numbness seemed to spread.
"<What a pity that while I was away, you happened to roll
into one of these springs and drown, eh Shampoo?>"
Shampoo felt the waters claim her.
---------------------
Kasumi startled, feeling a chill that momentarily caused
her to lose track of the current lecture topic. Guiltily,
she suppressed the feeling of dread and tried to concentrate
anew on the role of amino acids.
----------------------
Ranma had quite a bit on his mind and couldn't spare any
concentration for events going on in China,, even if he had
been able to notice.
The thing attacking him looked like a fanged skeleton with
glowing red eyes, cloaked in a tattered fabric that seemed
to actually be part of the creature.
The other students had scattered. One guy even going so far
to disguise himself as a mailbox.
Ukyo stood nearby, her spatula at the ready, disguised as a
boy.
The creature said something, but it was so incredibly
garbled that nobody quite caught it.
"Excuse me, what did you say?" Ranma wanted to know what
was going on besides the obvious "here's yet another monster
that's tracked me down."
The skeleton paused and garbled something again.
"I didn't understand that at all. Ukyo?"
"Not a clue."
The skeleton straightened to its full twelve feet in height
and and scratched its head. More incomprehensible garbling
followed.
Ranma called out to the crowd of hiding students. "Anybody
here understand this guy?"
There was a chorus of "no" from various parts of the
campus.
The skeleton howled in what was quite obviously
frustration.
Some boy with thick glasses came forward. "Maybe he just
wants to be friends! Hi, I'm Ken Narita, we come in
peace..."
The skeleton stomped on the boy AND the flower he had been
holding out, and began to seriously consider turning the kid
into a purple dinosaur. THAT would teach him to
underestimate the power of an Unseelie! No, some things were
too horrible for even a Skeletal Servitor to contemplate.
Instead he just sucked the offending noncombatant's
energies.
This was quite visible and produced a response.
"IT'S A YOUMA!" Cameras were brandished. This was, after
all, Japan.
The Servitor seemed to consider all the flashes to be some
bizarre attack. It responded by drawing all the energy out
of the nearby crowd, causing a massive fainting spell.
Abilities like this were why it had been chosen by one of
the Dark Lords, after all. Bypass all these "Dark Kingdom"
plots and go straight after the objective, then reap the
accolades of Oberon himself.
Ukyo felt Ranma grab her and leap out of the immediate
environs. A moment later the school's perimeter wall
exploded outward and the now-glowing skeleton gave chase.
"Pity that Pop can't show that thing his technique for
pulling signs out of nowhere."
Ukyo felt her bookbag growing warm and glanced into it
while Ranma continued to sprint. There was that "dragon's
pearl" glowing like someone'd slapped a spotlight on it.
-------------------------
Megumi Noguchi was cute and had an unusual trait in that
she was both slightly ditzy and fairly intelligent. She
habitually wore tight or revealing clothing, which furthered
the "ditz" image more often than not. When it came to a few
areas of endeavor, she was quite intelligent. As far as
anything else went, she was a complete klutz.
Kyoko Hiro was her counterpart in many ways. Slightly
dumpy, plain, and tending to wear loose clothing. In a few
areas, such as cosmetology, she was a complete and total
loss. Where Megumi preferred elegant food, Kyoko preferred
cheap and with a high nutritional base. Megumi was
responsible for keeping their battered old VW beetle
working. She was also as introverted as Megumi was an
extrovert. She was also a definite jack-of-all-trades who
was incredibly bad at a handful of skills such as what would
normally be considered traditionally feminine.
An odd couple, to be sure, but they had hit it off right
away. Then it became noticeable that together they seemed to
be slightly luckier. Then they got a LOT luckier.
Now one big break later, they were being courted by MAJOR
networks! With the new film of Sailor Rose coming to the
rescue of the Sailor Moon author, they had a reputation! Now
they were heading back to an Osaka TV station to apply, they
might even get past the usual intern crap and straight into
the high paying stuff!
"Thai food!"
"Aw c'mon, Megumi, that stuff gives me the cobbywobbles,
how about a nice salad."
"Who's the ace reporter and who's her sidekick?"
"..."
"I thought you'd see it my way." Megumi patted the
dashboard of the "bug" affectionately, as the horrible thing
would soon be part of her to-be-forgotten humble roots.
"Soon we can get a *real* car that doesn't require you
constantly scrounging parts. Something appropriate for a
rising media star!"
"...but I *like* my Blue Bomb..."
"Give it a rest, Kyoko, we..." Megumi was cut off as two
people went shooting past the hood of their car. Kyoko, of
course, slammed on the brakes. Followed a moment later by
the trunk being crushed under the foot of a really big
glowing skeleton. Both front wheels popped off and the
engine died.
"A youma?! ANOTHER youma!" Megumi was running down the
street as soon as the thought registered.
Kyoko spent a few moment mourning the "Blue Bomb" before
grabbing her camera with one hand, and her "anti-terrorist
kit" with the other. She'd spent years devoted to keeping
that car running.
Sailor Senshi or no Sailor Senshi. SOMEONE was gonna pay!
-------------------------
Lightning flared out in an explosion, flowing into Ukyo.
Unfortunately, Ranma was grounded at the time, as he was
passing through a stream of water caused by a lawn
sprinkler.
"This is Megumi Noguchi... DAMN IT Kyoko, can't you keep
up with me?" Megumi pointed down the street at a winged
figure. "One of the Starriors is down, I think it's Sailor
Amazon."
"Her hair is not the right color," said Kyoko as she
started filming.
Lightning crackled again, and a figure rode the bolt down
to the ground.
"Do I really need to make some stupid speech here? With
great power comes great responsibility, not to mention
fringe benefits." Ukyo posed dramatically in her blue
seifuku, oddly enough this was just the sort of "sailor
suit" she'd pictured herself wearing in her dream last
night.
"Good enough," groaned Ranma from her position on the
ground.
"Thanks sugar."
There was more incomprehensible garbling from the youma.
"Sailor... Sailor..." Megumi was trying to find an
appropriate name. They could always dub over it with the
real one later.
"Lightning? Storm? Valkyrie? Crackle?" Kyoko supplied
helpfully. "No, wait a minute, 'Storm' would get confused
with that girl in the American comics..."
"GO Sailor Valkyrie!" Megumi shouted out to the two facing
the youma. "Whip that youma!"
"The one that's smouldering a bit has pixie wings, so maybe
'Sailor Pixie' or 'Sailor Ponytail' or 'Sailor Dragonfly' or
something like that. Even though SHE isn't wearing a
seifuku."
"She's obviously an allied magical girl, it's close enough.
GO SAILOR PIXIE, YOU CAN DO IT!"
Ranma groaned. "'Sailor Pixie'?! Pixie?! Why, why me?
What'd I ever do?" Ranma thought for a moment, then lowered
herself back down to the ground. "Ucchan, if I get up that
camera crew will be able to see my face."
The UnSeelie garbled some more, what would have been a
really spiffy "maniacal villain" speech if he'd remembered
to pack a translation spell. This trip had been one bad
event after another, but now he could redeem the mission by
capturing the Princess directly!
"Okay, Lich, you're going down!" Ukyo gestured, her hand
coming up above her. Blue-white mist formed into a spear.
"HEART OF ICE SPEAR!"
The UnSeelie responded by raising a ward against Faerie
Magic.
As Sailor Valkyrie was empowered by Dragon Magic, this
proved rather less effective than was intended. The spear
solidified as a javelin of bluish ice, slammed through the
ward, then proceeded through the UnSeelie, a mailbox (which
disgorged a startled Tsubasa almost immediately), and three
machines in a pachinko parlor before it stopped. Leaving a
trail of ice, a frozen-in-mid-leap Tsubasa Kurenai, and a
disintegrating UnSeelie behind it.
Also an awful lot of pachinko balls which were scattered
all over the place. These, at least, were rapidly cleaned
up.
"Ranchan," said Sailor Valkyrie in a low voice as she
scooped up Ranma and leapt into the air, AWAY from the
unblinking stare of the camera.
"Yeah, 'Sailor Valkyrie'?"
"I *LIKED* that!" The new Sailor was grinning like a
maniac. Her battle-spatula had been transformed into some
halberd-looking polearm, but Ukyo was relatively sure that
once she transformed back, it would too. This was *cool*!
"I was afraid of that..." Ranma groaned and tried to keep
her face away from the camera. How embarassing...
--------------------------------------------
"You turned her into a cat?!" Rink could hardly believe her
sister was that cruel.
"Hey, how was *I* to know what these springs did." Pink
shrugged. If she had, Pink silently added, she would have
chosen Spring Of Drowned Piglet or Spring Of Drowned Snake
or Spring Of Drowned Pustulent Swamp Creature or even just
Spring Of Drowned Toad. It was a pity about the army of
Japanese who had descended upon Jusenkyo, otherwise she
could have gone back and tried mixing the various waters and
seeing what Shampoo turned into! "It beats just flat out
killing her, doesn't it?"
Rink looked at the angrily hissing animal in the "pet
carrier" and felt a flash of pity. "So *now* what are we
supposed to do with her?"
Pink entertained herself briefly with the idea of using a
grill to properly dispose of the hated figure of Shampoo.
Cat, properly prepared, could be quite a delicacy. "She's
only stuck as a cat when she's been hit with cold water, and
can switch back with hot, so she's still a danger..."
Shampoo paused in biting the bars of her cage to consider
this.
"How about some of that Formula 110 memory-erasing shampoo?
We can make her *forget* she was ever human!" Pink smirked
at the thought of Shampoo living off of a steady diet of
rats and roaches in some slum.
Thinking of the pink furred cat being taken in as a pet by
some farming family, Rink nodded. "Yeah, it'll take some
work, but I can go get the appropriate materials. Formula
110 isn't strong enough, but 140 might do the trick."
Shampoo resumed trying to find a way OUT of this mess. She
knew of Formula 140, and was not anxious to have her mind
completely erased (subject to a trigger). She yowled,
wishing that Kasumi or Ranma or SOMEBODY were nearby!
If only she could transform to Sailor Amazon! Shampoo
stopped. Maybe there was enough of that faerie magic stuff
left over that she could transform again. After all, she'd
transformed once in Tokyo, twice in the Faerie Realm, and
once at that shrine!
Shampoo was still straining as Pink opened the door and
reached into her cage.
----------------------------
Smedley, Master Of Goblins, looked over the uniforms Zed
had produced, and couldn't help but wonder about the
coloration. "Why red shirts?"
"Tradition," said Zed. "Besides, your goblins and Sigmund's
orcs won't be used for sneakery in this endeavor. Being
*more* visible is a plus when we're going for intimidating
for the faceless minions in this sort of thing."
"I suppose," allowed Smedley. Actually most of his troops
would look better if they *were* faceless. Goblins were not
reknowned for physical beauty, or hygiene, or pleasant
manners...
"Besides, you can always customize with the shoulder pads
and helmets and whatnot. You can always outfit the *real*
goblins with slightly better stuff. The conjured ones should
all have these uniforms though."
"I suppose..." Smedley had actually been hoping for
something spiffy like that Coalition "Dead Boy" armor, but
supposed that all the Faerie Magic (and especially the
gremlins) would play hob with their systems. But there was
something about the nearly form-fitting red shirts that
disturbed him.
------------------
The ring hissed as the hot metal hit the quenching waters.
F'nor had followed the instructions carefully, and Piroette
had been quite handy in providing some of the more difficult
to acquire materials.
F'nor considered the enchanted ring and spoke a Word that
echoed in his workshop like thunder. He nodded, pleased,
though no smile creased his craggy face. The dwarf valued
his dignity.
Master, what..."
"Apprentice! What is the 'Law Of Contagion'?"
"That's one of the basic Laws Of Magic, isn't it? 'Once
together always together'?" The apprentice, a much younger
dwarf looked at the ring with a puzzled expression.
"But...?"
"And what is the 'Law Of Similarity'?"
"Another one of the basic Laws Of Magic. 'Like begets
like.' But Master, I don't understand."
"So how does this deal with a ring made of human hairs,
knotted three times, essence-enhanced seven times, and
folded within a silver ring?" The craggy dwarf nodded and
examined the runes covering the thin band. "The hair of
black and of red, that's the changeling that that wind faery
adopted. A hair of both forms, merged together into one and
forming the master knot. The remainder of the hairs are of
various others associated with him."
"Not that, Master, why did you add those last three hairs?"
"Oh," F'nor shrugged. "Because a pretty girl asked me,
that's why. You get older you'll understand things like
that. They've got this second line of defense of the mortal
realms planned using these 'Starriors' (hmmph, still think
they should call 'em Faerkin! grumble mutter) so they've got
power flowing through the group with their 'Princess' as the
cap."
"And the hairs are invoked to be like the Threads of Fate,"
the young dwarf nodded, understanding this much. "All linked
through the Princess so that they can share each other's
powers. But what happens if something happens to the
Princess?"
"I think the appropriate phrase amongst the mortals is
'Game Over', pup. Now start with the chalk, I want a Circle
Of Third Mastery in the viewing room before lunch!"
F'nor chuckled as he looked over the ring. Seven was the
optimum number for an adventuring company, as any fool who'd
ever gone a-questing could tell you. And here was a questing
company in the making. It certainly brought back memories.
F'nor's chuckle died and he glared as SOMETHING started
messing with the perfection of his enchantment. No, his work
held, but one of the players had just been altered
significantly. This would bear looking into.
F'nor frowned as he further examined the ring. Red/black
binding unchanged. Green hair, blonde, black, brown and dark
brown, all unchanged. He frowned even further when he noted
the lavender hair was the altered one, and had become pink.
He'd strengthened the essence there enough that something
befalling the one represented by that thread affected the
thread itself. Well, whatever it was, it would *not* be
allowed to mar the perfection of his design.
---------------------
Ukyo smirked as the television set up in her little
okonomiyaki shop showed the newest footage of "Sailor
Valkyrie" and "Sailor Pixie" in battle against a youma.
There were too many customers for her to go to open
gloating.
"Who is Sailor Valkyrie? And what of this Sailor Pixie?"
The commentator looked gravely into the camera. "How long
have they been hidden among us, waiting for these vile
creatures known as 'youma' to appear? What is the connection
between the Tokyo based Sailor Rose and these other Senshi
based in our own Osaka? Where is Sailor Amazon? And what of
these other two mysterious seifuku-clad figures glimpsed
this afternoon patrolling the Nerima ward? Tonight on 'In
Depth Charges' we'll have our newest correspondent at
Channel 10 News, Megumi Noguchi, as she interviews Naoko
Takeuchi, creator of the Sailor Moon series and the new
Sailor Wars series."
The now-familiar-to-millions image of Takeuchi appeared in
a clip from the interview, as she explained that she had
been contacted by a spokesperson for the group and was
currently working out the series based on information she'd
been provided by that Sailor Agent.
The screen went to a "manga expert" who worked for a new
studio named "Gainax" that had come up with some wonderful
ideas for the next DaiCon SF convention. "We see here the
typical sentai series elements- each of the seifuku having a
different color, and embodying a different basic element.
Valkyrie wears dark blue and used ice, Amazon wore purple
and used wind, Angel wore white and used Holy or White
Magic, Rose's seifuku is black (which fits her stated
position as the Outrider of these real-life Senshi) and she
used lightning which could be air or earth, and we haven't
seen any of these others attacks though one is wearing a
white seifuku with red trim and the other is wearing a red
seifuku with white trim. The one called Sailor Pixie was
obviously caught unawares as she isn't wearing her seifuku
in this shot."
Kasumi winced as a video sequence showing Sailor Angel was
again shown.
Ranma doubly winced as another shot of him being carried to
safety by Sailor Valkyrie was shown.
Ukyo merely smirked some more at Ranma's expense. It wasn't
the revenge she'd planned, but it had a satisfaction all its
own.
------------------
Nabiki shook slightly, seeing scoured bones where a
vengeful UnSeelie had taken the escape of his prey out on
someone who might otherwise have survived.
Piroette, Princess of the Fey, looked about while warrior
elves held themselves ready. If *anything* remotely UnSeelie
approached, it wouldn't get very close.
"Why?" Nabiki stared at the remains, knowing that Harold
might well have lived thousands of years due to his fey
blood. Someone close enough to immortal for her standards
had just thrown his life away for her. She didn't
understand. She felt relieved, guilty, sad, and something
else she wasn't quite sure of.
"It was his choice," said Piroette simply. A quick hand
signal from one of the Wood Elves communicated that there
was no trace of the enemy nearby. "He could save himself or
you. He chose to save you."
"But WHY?" Nabiki couldn't believe how calmly everyone else
was taking it. Faerie didn't have an afterlife. Once dead,
they were dead.
Piroette, for her part, was having trouble understanding
this mortal's reaction. "Harold is no more. Why dwell on
it?"
Nabiki shook her head, several unpleasant things she'd read
about the faerie being driven home by the lack of reactions.
An alien morality, faeries tended to live in the Now, the
future was something to plan for, but the past was a memory
that faded quickly.
Most of the creatures around her now wore vaguely human
forms. They could never completely understand humans, nor
could a human ever completely understand one of the Folk.
The similarities were superficial, the differences vast.
They were the High Elves and Spirit Folk. The pixies were
stuck at a child's mental development level, the leprechauns
only slightly more developed, and the Wood Elves somewhat
like teenagers.
Even those that associated with humans for years, or those
closest to human such as the nymphs and dwarves and selkie
had that odd alien-ness that made the difference between
East and West seem piddling by comparison.
Straightening slightly, Nabiki gave an answer in terms that
she was sure they'd understand. "It's a human thing."
"Ah," Piroette accepted this, for humans were fascinating
bundles of contradiction.
Clapping her hands three times as she'd remembered doing in
church, Nabiki gave thanks for the Stone Ogre. "I think I'd
better get going before any more UnSeelie come calling."
"True," Piroette could see that Harold's death upset the
human for some reason. Perhaps it would be better not to
broach the subject of a faerie helper now. There would be
opportunities later. "I can have a Gate opened whenever you
are ready."
-------Nerima------------
"Another muffin, Akane?"
"I'm stuffed, Yoshi. Where did you learn to cook like
that?"
"Well, when Mom took her 'walk', I had to take over all her
duties and keep my GPA up. I ended up taking Home Ec since
that'd kill two birds, y'know." Yoshi looked a little
embarrassed but his eyes shone when he looked at Akane.
"Well, I..." Akane leaned forward, wanting to thank this
juku student for all his help.
Yoshi drifted closer, trembling slightly and seemingly
hypnotized by the look in her eyes. "I..."
"Uhm," Akane noticed they were almost touching. Just a
little closer and...
"Oh dear, look at the time," Soun rushed in. "Gee,
Kitase-san, you'd better get going. Thanks for dinner!"
Akane sighed, another moment ruined. And it was only 6pm...
AND on a Sunday.
----------------
Light flickered, and Nabiki tried to ignore the half dozen
multi-hued faerie that had "tagged along" for the ride. She
regarded the restaurant, crowded on a Sunday evening, the
smells of cooking okonomiyaki beckoning her within.
Squaring her shoulders and settling her pack, Nabiki
squelched the butterflies in her stomach and stepped within
the Osaka restaurant.
A QUICK GUIDE TO THE INSANITY OF FEATHERBRITE'S TALE: (for
those who came in late)
if you don't have a prev chapter: it's up mainly on
http://www.tass.org/fanfic/
--original? characters--
DI NA: grand-daughter of a spinach eating sailorman who
passed through the Amazon village (records indicate it was
after the death of his first wife and that he was on a
journey of self-discovery) and accidently acquired an Amazon
wife as a result. Is out to find/hunt down Ranma. Currently
working at the Juuban Nekohanten while avoiding another sea
trip.
ISAO: University Of Tokyo professor with ties to the Yakuza
(Japanese mafia)
KYOKO HIRO: Camera operator/student who works with Megumi. A
bit plain and slightly overweight, she is far more
comfortable behind the camera than in front of it.
MEGUMI NOGUCHI: young and pretty Journalism student with a
knack for running across various other students. Usually
accompanied by her camerawoman Kyoko.
NAOKO TAKEUCHI: RL writer of Sailor Moon. Appears herein to
the same role. Deals with Nabiki to get accurate details of
these new "Senshi" and chronicle them in the sequel to
Sailor Moon. (the divergent point for her manga is right
after the fight with Metal'la.) Also a licensed Pharmacist.
OBERON: King Of The Elves, Lord Of The UnSeelie. He's the
Big Baddie. Doesn't get along with his wife.
PIROETTE: Faerie Princess who has been interested in Ranma
for years now, and thinks a few decades of "sport" with this
mortal would be amusing at least. One of the shaping forces
behind the conflict and the "Star Kingdom" development.
RAVENHART: Lord Of Crows. Highest placed among the Five Dark
Generals.
SAILOR AMAZON: mysterious figure of the Starriors whose
magic is Wind or Air based.
SAILOR ANGEL: mysterious figure with the Sailor Starriors
whose magic is Holy or Spirit based.
SAILOR PIXIE: *very* mysterious figure known to shout that
*nobody* is going to get her into a seifuku under *any*
circumstances.
SAILOR RED: mysterious figure in a red seifuku and mask with
superhuman strength.
SAILOR ROSE: the Outrider of the Star Kingdom, the Black
Ranger figure who mainly works alone. Her magic is plant and
earth based.
SAILOR VALKYRIE: mysterious figure of the Star Kingdom
"senshi" whose magic is water/ice based.
SAILOR WHITE: see Vanilla.
SHAMMI: Nichieju Amazon. Considers herself a childhood rival
of Shampoo, even though nobody takes her seriously. Not
silly, like some of Rin Rin and Ran Ran's attacks from the
anime, her Martial Arts Housekeeping skills just aren't
enough to overcome her natural clumsiness. Was defeated by
Ryoga Hibiki in combat, now considers Ryoga to be her
husband and has dragged him off to a love hotel in Osaka
where neither will be seen for a few days.
TITANIA: Queen of The Elves, Lady Of Seelie. Has been known
to dally with mortals, among other things. Doesn't take much
of a hand in this story as she's busy with something going
on in another timeline altogether.
VANILLA: Chinese Amazon albino. Similar to the version in A
Very Scary Bet. (There's just something visually appealing
to the idea of Rei Ayanami as a Chinese Amazon.) Currently
friends with Akane Tendo after managing to convince Akane
this wasn't another vampire. Has no "Senshi" or faerie
powers, but is the martial artist known as Sailor White when
patrolling with Akane.
YOSHINORI KITASE: created by Hikaru Gosunkugi doing a
Reweave spell, which has altered his own past enough to make
Hikaru an entirely different individual. A juku student
whose Chinese mother abandoned her family years ago to make
a life for herself away from Japan. Dreams of becoming a
computer RPG designer/programmer/writer. Almost no combat
skills. Denies any romantic involvement with Akane.
ZED: Artist Of Inconvenience. Lowest placed among the Five
Dark Generals. Similar to Urd in that he has access to
*vast* amounts of power and not that much control.
-----------------------------------------
web: http://metroanime.home.mindspring.com/
mail: metroanime@mindspring.com
"Just as our eyes need light in order to see, our
minds need ideas in order to create."
-Nicolas Malebranche