"All Ranma characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi, first published
by Shogakugan in Japan and brought over to North America by Viz
Communications. and are used here without permission or license. No
claims to the above copyright are made by the author of this work. This
work is for non-commercial use ONLY, and is produced for the enjoyment
of fans only. This work is the expression of the author and the
depiction of the Ranma 1/2 characters herein are in no way represented
to be a part of Ranma 1/2 as depicted by the original author and
copyright holder(s)."
Sailor Moon was created by Naoko Taeuchi.
A Different Viewpoint pt 32
opening animation: season 2
tune: "miracle romance"
a rising moon over a set of Tokyo skyscrapers.
a pair of green cat's eyes fade in, superimposed over
the moon.
logo in english background "Different Viewpoint"
kanji in foreground "Kenkai No Chigata"
<begin vocals>
"I'm sorry if I'm not gentle,
I can say that in my dreams,"
shows Johnathon walking from school, late afternoon,
Ranma fighting Kuno is seen in background,
"My thoughts are about to short circuit,
I want to see you so,"
Kasumi in the kitchen, looks at the clock and smiles,
"Moonlight makes me want to cry,
Midnight is too late to call,"
Johnathon buys a flower from someone who we
don't see clearly but looks kind of like a
cameo of Aeris from FF7.
"But I'm naive, what will I do?
My heart is a kaleidoscope,"
Kasumi passes Nabiki (who's on the phone) and
exits the Tendo-ke, grabbing a red umbrella
as she passes.
"Being led into moonlight,"
Kasumi gets to the gate seconds before Johnathon
does, he hands her the flowers, they walk out
together.
"We meet by chance many times over,"
Johnathon's arm is around Kasumi who leans into
him as they walk, sniffing the flowers.
Shampoo passes by on the "bicycle of death" in
the background, followed a moment later by
Mousse, who falls off the wall as Kasumi and
Johnathon pass by.
"The sparkling number of stars,
foretells the whereabouts of love."
Johnathon and Kasumi stop to look in a store window,
Akane is chasing Ranma in the background.
"Born on the same Earth,
A miracle romance."
Kasumi and Johnathon stopping at a cafe. He holds
her seat out for her.
"Do you believe?
A miracle romance."
Bewildered looks in the Tendo kitchen from the Tendos
and a panda.
"Do you believe?
A miracle romance."
Picture of stove. Several pots and pans. A note on
the front reads "Serve yourself. Out with Johnathon.
-Kasumi."
end opening animation
Akane asked cheerfully. "So, how should we team up?" She and Ranma
looked at Johnathon, while the Senshi looked at Minako.
Minako glanced at Johnathon. "You've got a knack for these kind of
things, Johnathon. Why don't you decide."
Johnathon shrugged. "Right. Lets see, there's, hmmm... OK.
Mercury with me again, in case I need to transform. Ranma, You're with
Sailor Moon. Akane will go with Jupiter." He looked at Minako and
Rei. "Minako, Rei, stay at the shrine. You need to recover and you can
back up anyone who needs it. Artemis, Luna, stay here and keep Kasumi
with you..." He looked up at the sky. It was cloudless. He frowned,
thoughtfully. "Well, you two scout for Youma pretty well as cats..."
Luna nodded. "We can handle ourselves, Johnathon. It's not going
to rain tonight."
Johnathon nodded. "You're right. Do as you normally would.
Kasumi-chan..." His wife looked at Luna and meowed a question.
Johnathon shook his head. "No! It's too dangerous!" Kasumi pointed to
him, then to Akane and Ranma with her paw. Johnathon shook his head
again. "We're all experienced martial artists! Kasumi you can't!"
Kasumi slowly nodded, then sat down, looking dejected. Johnathon went
over to her and squatted down. He slowly reached out and stroked her
head. "Kasumi..." <Why does she want to do this? She's always been
happy to say at home. So why now?>
Johnathon stiffened in realization. <Kasumi wants to be useful.
She's been feeling useless since she was stuck as a cat.> "Kasumi, you
aren't useless. Just because you can't take care of your family doesn't
mean..." He sighed. "I understand how you feel, Kasumi. Do you really
want to do this?" Kasumi was looking at him in astonishment, then
slowly nodded. Johnathon looked terribly torn. "Just promise me
Kasumi, that you'll be very, very careful. Just observe and warn
someone, nothing else, right?" Kasumi nodded again, looking
incredulous. Akane looked like she was about to go into shock.
Johnathon looked at Luna and Artemis. "Stay with Kasumi you two, show
her around, and keep her safe."
They both nodded and Artemis spoke, his words deadly serious.
"We'll keep her safe, Johnathon, I swear it." Everyone was quiet.
Johnathon strode back into the middle of the group. "OK, Luna,
Artemis and Kasumi will alert one of the other groups of anything they
spot. We set?"
Akane finally found her voice, sputtering in indignation.
"Johnathon! How can you agree to let Kasumi...?" Johnathon shot Akane
a look of worry, pain, and sheer terror that shut Akane up in mid
sentence. <He's terrified. Johnathon is scared out of his mind for
Kasumi, but he's letting her come along anyway. Why?> Akane looked at
her sister. <Sis want's to be helpful. She's feeling useless and
Johnathon understood that. Oh Kasumi, Oh Johnathon...> Akane sighed in
resignation and turned to Makoto Kino. "Alright Makoto. Let's get
going."
Makoto looked back at Akane. <What just happened?> She shrugged.
"Right."
The group broke up, each pair heading a different direction. Rei
and Minako took Luna, Artemis and Kasumi into Rei's room and got them
some hot water. After transforming, the three cats set out as well.
Minako sat wearily down on Rei's bed. "Hey, where are Yuuichirou
and your grandfather Rei?"
Rei blinked. "Oh? They are visiting a shrine outside of Tokyo.
The Masaki shrine I think."
Minako grinned. "Really? Then no one's going to suddenly pop in,
huh?"
Rei nodded slowly. "No, we're quite alone here."
Minako stood stiffly and brought out her transformation pen. "Venus
power, Make up!" She transformed into Sailor Venus with a flash.
Rei blinked in surprise. "Why did you transform, Mina? We aren't
facing any sort of threat."
Mina nodded. "No, but we recover faster in our Senshi form. This
way, if there's trouble, I'll be ready to deal with it."
Rei looked interested. "That's a good idea! How's it working?"
Venus stretched slowly. "It seems to be working. It aches less,
and I'm not quite as stiff. Hey Rei, transform too. I want to practice
a bit before these aches go away completely, so I remember what to focus
on."
Rei nodded. "Sure, can't let that beating you took go to waste,
eh?"
Minako smiled. "I'm pretty sure it won't."
Rei transformed and smiled back. "I feel better already. OK, what
do you want me to do?"
Venus turned to her and put her hands up into a guard position.
"Just attack me. I'll only defend."
Mars helped Venus practice her defense for awhile. The sparring
session with Johnathon had vividly shown her the holes in her defense,
and she concentrated on closing those holes. Mars got an attack through
occasionally, but that happened less and less as Venus utilized what she
had learned.
After half an hour, Venus called a halt. "That's enough for now,
Mars. I think we could use a rest in case something happens." Mars
just nodded, she was pretty tired after half an hour on the offensive.
Venus smiles. "How about a hot soak? That will get the rest of the
stiffness out."
Mars blinked. "I thought you wanted to stay as Sailor Venus so
you'd recover faster?"
Venus nodded. "Right. I didn't say anything about transforming
back, did I?" She started toward the bathroom, peeling off her gloves.
"Hmm, now where's the zipper?"
*********************************************
Eyecatch #1:
Kasumi sweeping, passes the Sailor Senshi in a "sentai"
group pose, then turns and bigsweats. Logo: "Different
Viewpoint"
*******************************************
Ranma and Usagi were walking along near the open air mall that had
been near the sight of the first Youma attack Johnathon had helped with
after returning from China. Usagi was pointing out the damage.
Ranma was unimpressed. "That's nothing compared to the damage Ryoga
or Shampoo do whenever they're on a rampage."
Usagi looked interested. "Who are they?"
Ranma explained. "Shampoo turns into a cat. She's the girl with
the purple hair."
Usagi nodded. "I remember!"
Ranma continued blithely. "Ryoga is just an idiot with no sense of
direction. He's real strong and all, but..."
Usagi interrupted him. "Wow, it's still so incredible. Shampoo and
Kasumi become cats, and you turn into a girl and..." She looked shyly
at Ranma. "Ranma, can I see your girl form?"
Ranma looked a bit startled. "What? Why?"
Usagi shrugged sheepishly. "You don't have to but, I'd appreciate
it. It's just, I'm curious about it. Luna turns into a girl now too.
It's kinda neat, like having a sister. I just wanted too, I don't know,
meet the original?"
Ranma was dubious. "Huh. You're just curious about what I look
like as a girl?"
Usagi shrugged again, apologetically. "Sorry, dumb, huh." She
sighed. "Never mind. I'm just being silly."
Ranma shook his head. <What the heck.> He walked over to a nearby
fountain and splashed his face. Ranma turned female and sat on the
fountain's rim.
Usagi stared at the short red haired girl sitting there. "Wow.
Ranma, you're really pretty."
Ranma shrugged, sighing. "Yeah, I know."
Usagi sat down next to her. "You don't sound very happy about it."
Ranma shrugged again. "Well, the only thing my good looks have
gotten me, is lots of guys attracted to me. I'm a guy! It's nothing
but trouble."
Usagi didn't know whether to giggle or be sad for Ranma, so she just
sat there and looked sympathetic. <What should I say? I'd love to be
that good looking. But if I had a curse like Ranma I'd be a good
looking guy. Then lots of girls would be attracted to me.> Usagi
giggled at the mental image. Then suddenly she thought of Mamoru's
reaction to her being a guy. <Would Mamoru-chan still love me?> Usagi
started to feel bad and looked at Ranma sadly. "I'm sorry Ranma. It's
not very funny."
Ranma shook her head. "That's OK, Usagi. I've gotten used to it.
It has taken a long time but I've realized there is nothing I can do
about my curse, so I might as well accept it." Usagi was about to reply
when they both heard screams and shouts coming from back toward the
mall.
They both shot to their feet. "Trouble." They said together.
Ranma and Usagi shot each other surprised glances, then shrugged and ran
in the direction of the sounds.
A large ebony figure was stalking through the crowd. It grabbed a
man and threw him aside like a doll as they approached. Usagi spotted a
television crew on the scene. They were beginning to film.
The pony tailed blond pointed the cameras out. "Ranma, you can't go
down there without a disguise."
Ranma paused. "But there are people in trouble!"
Usagi quickly activated her communicator. "A Youma, at the mall.
It's big!" She pulled out her disguise pen and tossed it to Ranma.
"Use this!"
Ranma looked at it in confusion. "What am I supposed to do with
this?"
Usagi put her hands to either side of the silver crystal, preparing
to transform. "Tell it to change you into a senshi!" Usagi began her
own transformation without further explanation. "Moon, crystal power,
make up!"
Ranma stared at the pen. <There is no way I'm wearing a fuku!> She
heard renewed screams from down in the mall. <Oh hell!> "Change me
into a Senshi." Ranma spoke the words resignedly before she could
change her mind. There was a flash and Ranma looked down at herself and
regretted it. <Long gloves, boots, short skirt... yup. Damn, I hope
Ryoga never sees me like this.> Ranma looked up and followed Sailor
Moon toward the creature.
It stood around ten feet tall, and was quite humanoid, although
featureless. Sailor Moon began a drawn out speech about how she would
punish the monster. Ranma shook her head in disbelief and charged
straight in. The creature grabbed a block of stone by ripping it from
the ground, and hurled it at Sailor Moon, interrupting her speech.
Ranma charged in and tagged it with a flying kick to the head. The
creatures head only moved a bit then snapped around to focus on Ranma.
Ranma blinked. <It's tough, like it's made of stone.> She dodged
its counter attack, a fast and powerful punch. <Better treat it like
Ryoga.> "Chestnuts roaring on an open fire!" Ranma struck hundreds of
times with punch after punch, slamming the same spot in the center of
the chest. Cracks started to form, and widen. Ranma grinned and bore
down harder. <It's weaker than pig boy. No problem.> Ranma was
surprised when the monster grabbed him, completely unfazed by the damage
to its chest. <Uh oh.> The monster threw Ranma into the air with
incredible strength, then started heading for Sailor Moon.
Ranma spun in midair, bracing for the impact, when he felt himself
grabbed and brought to earth gently by a tall man. Ranma looked up at
his rescuer. The man was putting her down on her feet. He wore a white
mask, a full black cape and a tuxedo complete with top hat.
"Tuxedo Kamen." Ranma blinked, remembering. "Um, thanks."
The elegantly dressed hero glanced down at the Senshi he had just
rescued and blinked in surprise. "Who are you?" Ranma was about to
answer when they both heard Sailor Moon's frightened yelp.
Tuxedo Kamen turned toward the cry and threw a rose, which cracked
into the monsters shoulder. The attack distracted it for a moment,
which allowed Sailor Moon to get out of reach.
Ranma started for creature again. "I'll tell you later." She shot
back at Tuxedo Kamen as she charged up to the stone like golem once
again. <OK, it doesn't feel pain, it's strong, tough and fast. Ha,
compared to Ryoga, it's nothing much.> Ranma felt her confidence grow.
<I can take this thing easy. Just gotta aim for the center of its
chest.> She stopped and built up the chi between her hands. "Hey
ugly! Over here!" Ranma shouted. The creature turned towards her and
she shouted. "Roaring Lion Bullet!" The chi blast crashed into its
weakened chest, blowing out its back and finally stunning the monster.
Sailor Moon turned at the sound of the chi blast and immediately started
winding up her final attack. Ranma started to charge the creature
again, but a hand restrained her lightly.
"Wait. It's over." Tuxedo Kamen announced, nodding at Sailor Moon.
Sailor Moon was just finishing up. "Moon princess halation!" The
swirling blast tore into the weakened monster and it crumbled.
Ranma whistled appreciatively. "Not bad."
Tuxedo Kamen nodded, then turned to face the red headed girl dressed
as a Sailor Senshi. "It's later. May I know who you are?"
Ranma turned towards him. "Ah, I'm... I'm..."
Sailor Moon ran over towards them. "Sailor Earth! We've got to go
help the others! There are two more monsters!"
Ranma and Tuxedo Kamen both turned to Sailor Moon incredulously.
"Sailor Earth?" They said together, then looked at each other again.
Sailor Moon shook her head. "There's no time. Listen!"
Her communicator was talking with Makoto's voice. "It's definitely
a Youma. But it's made of fire! We can't hurt it!"
Ami's voice followed. "Ours is physical enough, but it's cloaked
itself in a large sphere of darkness.
Suddenly Johnathon's voice broke in. "Mars, Venus, come to the
super market. Sailor Moon, you and Ranma go help Jupiter!"
Jupiter's voice came back. "We're in the park, hurry!"
******************************************************
Johnathon released Mercury's wrist. "You should go to the park as
well. I'll hold this things attention until Venus and Mars arrive."
Mercury protested. "You can't fight it alone!"
Johnathon nodded. "I know, but you're needed. It's probably
setting the park on fire as we speak."
Mercury nodded reluctantly. "You're right. Just be careful!"
Mercury ran off at top speed and Johnathon considered his opponent.
<I can't see him, but I bet I can hear him.> The field of darkness
moved toward Johnathon. <Before we showed up, the creature was draining
people with bolts of darkness. As soon as Mercury tried to blast it,
the creature used this darkness globe to conceal itself. Now all the
people it wants to drain are behind me. So it has to come through me to
get them.> The darkness moved in swiftly. <Mercury said the darkness
probably will drain me, but I have to get in close to hear it. I can't
be making noise either.>
Johnathon took a couple of steps back. <I've got to let it come to
me, but can I survive the energy drain long enough? Spread out, its
probably diffuse, and anyway, those people aren't running away fast
enough. I've got to try.> He nodded grimily. "Fine, let's do it."
Johnathon stopped moving, going into a firm stance before the darkness.
His right fist went into his left palm with a smack and he closed his
eyes. <How does it go? Oh yeah.>
As the darkness overwhelmed him he focused on his chi, ignoring the
drain with an act of will. <Draw strength from the earth.> Johnathon
pictured energy flowing from the ground below, filling him.
<Draw strength from your strengths.> Johnathon pictured the
positive elements in his life. Ranma, Akane, the other Tendos, Kasumi,
especially Kasumi, and her love for him, Shampoo, his love for Kasumi.
He drew upon the feelings generated by those things.
<Draw strength from your problems.> Johnathon pictured his cursed
form, Jusenkyo, Kasumi becoming a cat, Shampoo becoming a cat,
Cologne... He let all of those things go, the energy expended in worry
flowing instead into strength.
<Draw strength from the past.> Johnathon remembered the greatest
moments of his life and drew strength from them as well. The last image
he pictured had the most power, Kasumi's face at their wedding.
<Draw strength from the future.> Johnathon imagined the future.
Kasumi cured and at his side. Ranma and Akane, all his friends...
Shampoo safe, the Senshi saving the world once more. There is nothing
we can't acomplish!> He made himself believe it, but felt himself
getting weaker and weaker. <It's not enough. Its draining me too
fast!> Johnathon concentrated. <A shield of my chi. Resist the drain,
resist!> Johnathon continued to stand motionless, focusing all of his
will to resist the cold drain of the darkness. Then, he heard it. <A
foot step!>
Johnathon's ears swiveled toward the sound, a second step, and a
third fixing its location in his mind as it approached. As the creature
was almost to him, Johnathon's claws came out and he pounced. He clawed
into a tough leathery surface, ripping with all of his remaining
strength. Johnathon tried to overbalance the Youma at the same time.
He felt a powerful hand grab him around the neck. Johnathon desperately
ripped into the arm that held him as he felt his energy drain away.
With an errie howl the hand threw him away, not appreciating the damage
it was taking. Johnathon landed just outside the darkness with a crash.
He tried to stand. <So weak. I can barely move.> Johnathon forced
himself to his feet anyway. <I can't go through that again.> The
darkness wasn't moving. <Did I do it? Was it enough?> The crowd was
taking the opportunity to get away. <That's a good idea, actually.>
Johnathon staggered away from the darkness. <The people are getting
away, and I need time to recover.> From behind him the darkness started
forward again, gaining speed slowly and heading straight for his back.
Johnathon sensed it and forced himself to move faster.
He heard a familiar voice off to his right. "Whisper! Close your
eyes!"
Johnathon recognized it. "Sailor Venus!" He suddenly remembered
their talk earlier and shut his eyes tightly.
Venus pointed at the darkness and shouted. "Venus, Heavenly,
Flash!"
Johnathon turned his head away, but he could still see the light
shining brightly even though his closed eyelids. As the light vanished
he opened his eyes and looked. The darkness was stopped, and now
started going in the opposite direction. He headed toward Sailor Mars
and Venus.
Venus turned to Mars. "Get ready to fire!" Sailor Mars nodded and
Venus grinned and began her new attack again. "Venus, Heavenly,
Flash!" Johnathon turned away as a wide burst of light cut into the
dark sphere, illuminating the Youma.
Mars spotted it and began her attack. "Burning Mandala!" Her flame
struck the Youma before the dark could again reclaim it, and the monster
vaporized with an errie scream.
Venus looked at Mars and grinned, holding up two fingers.
"Victory!" She looked over at the tall cat-man. "Hey Whisper, pretty
cool, huh? Whisper? Johnathon!" The half-cat had collapsed
unconscious at her feet. She bent over and checked. "He's breathing,
and... his pulse is slow, but strong. He's just drained." Venus
announced, relived, then looked up at Mars.
Mars nodded, then frowned. "We can't leave him here... and where's
Mercury?" They looked around.
Venus blinked "The fire creature. Johnathon must have sent her to
help."
Mars nodded. "That makes sense. We'd better get there too."
Venus shook her head. "We can't help against a fire monster. Let's
get Johnathon back to the shrine, before someone spots him."
Mars looked torn but nodded. "You're right." She activated her
communicator. "Mercury, do you need assistance?"
Mercury answered immediately. "I'm coming up on the creature now...
How's Johnathon?"
Mars answered quickly. "Unconscious, but the Youma's toast."
Sailor Moon's voice came over. "Take him to safety. Ranma and I
have this Youma covered. Mercury, put out those fires!"
Venus nodded and grabbed Johnathon's shoulders. "You heard her.
Let's go."
Mars nodded in response and took his legs. "Let's hurry." They
started heading for the shrine.
Venus hefted the cat-man. "He's pretty light for being so tall.
I'll carry him, you can go ahead."
Mars shook her head. "And do what? Fighting fire with fire won't
work. We'll stay together."
Venus nodded. "That's probably best." The two Senshi hurried
toward the shrine, careful to carry their burden smoothly.
Akane put down the two kids she had rescued from the fire creature
and told them to run. She turned around to see Jupiter launching
another ineffective lightning attack. <At least she's distracting it,
but we need help.> She looked helplessly around. Half a dozen small
fires were slowly spreading in the creatures wake and it wasn't
stopping.
Just then she heard a voice. "Destroying our beautiful park?
Ruining the fruits of nature? Mother Nature herself may forgive you,
but I never will!"
"Sailor Moon!" Akane shouted happily. The Senshi of the Moon
struck a pose and began to windup her signature attack. Energy lanced
out at the monster, who sidestepped and began to throw balls of fire in
her direction. A black cloaked figure in a tuxedo leapt to the rescue,
carrying Sailor Moon clear of the attack.
At the same time, a Senshi with red hair in a pig tail charged the
creature. "Leave this to me!" The girl shouted.
Akane blinked in shock. "Ranma?" <Dressed like a Sailor Senshi?>
If things hadn't been so serious she would have started laughing out
loud. Ranma charged into close range with the fire monster and it
attacked her immediately. Ranma dodged effortlessly and started running
circles around the flaming entity. <Not circles, a spiral.> Akane
thought.
Sailor Mercury had come up on Akane's right and had dropped a heavy
mist over the fire monster's path, dampening the flames. She and Sailor
Moon looked like they were looking for an opening.
Akane shouted to them. "Wait for the tornado!" They glanced at her
incredulously. Akane nodded. "The monster's about to take a trip. Be
ready when it hits the ground!" They nodded in agreement and turned
back to watch the creature. Akane glanced back at the fires, and was
happy to see that they were almost out.
Sailor Jupiter had run over to join Sailor's Moon and Mercury. "Who
is that? What's going on?"
Before Sailor Moon could answer, Akane shouted. "Look!" They did.
Ranma had just finished the Rising Dragon Ascension. The tornado
created was quite impressive to say the least. The fire creature's
flames were nearly blown out, and the winds tore it from the ground. At
the apex of its assisted flight Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury began
their individual attacks, timing them to hit together. The fire
elemental, weakened and falling out of control, never reached the
ground. It was snuffed out like a candle in a rainstorm halfway to the
earth below. The tornado died and Ranma, looking a bit tired, jogged
up.
Sailor Moon, Mercury and Jupiter cheered. "Alright!"
Tuxedo Kamen stepped out of the shadows and politely clapped. "Very
nicely done, ladies." He turned to the leader of the Sailor Senshi.
"Sailor Moon, please introduce me to "Sailor Earth.""
Sailor Moon giggled. "Sailor Earth, meet Tuxedo Kamen."
Akane blinked and started to giggle. "S-Sailor Earth. Ha ha ha
ha!" She nearly doubled over with the force of her laughter. "R-Ranma,
you do look cute in that short skirt!" Akane couldn't stop laughing.
Ranma threw her a disgusted look. "Oh quit it. This was not my
idea."
Sailor Moon shrugged. "Well, you do look cute in a fuku..."
Jupiter took a good look. "That's Ranma? Ha Ha ha hahaha ha!"
Mercury nodded seriously. "I had assumed so. Her cursed form does
bear a resemblance."
Jupiter and Akane just laughed harder. Tuxedo Kamen looked
confused.
He glanced at Sailor Moon. "Is there something I'm missing?"
Tuxedo Kamen peered back at the red haired girl. "Ranma?... Oh! I
understand!" He coughed, slightly embarrassed. "Um, nice to meet you,
Ranma. I've heard a lot about you."
Ranma sighed at his fiancee's antics and nodded to Tuxedo Kamen.
"Yeah, great. Sailor Moon, how do you reverse this thing anyway?"
***********************************************
Eyecatch #2:
shot of a brick alleyway. faded ad in background reads
"Different Viewpoint". Happosai sneaks in from right,
unfurling an ancient scroll. SD Sailor Senshi run over
him going left to right. SD Kasumi sweeps him up into
dustbin, then exits right. SD Ranma cast lean into
right side of screen, grinning, SD Senshi do same on
left side. SD Johnathon (catman form) lands on garbage
can lid from above, grins.
***********************************************
Later, at the Hikawa shrine, Johnathon woke to the concerned faces
of Sailors Venus and Mars.
"Johnathon? Are you feeling alright?" Venus asked in a concerned
tone.
The half-cat slowly got into a sitting position. "Yeah, I'm feeling
OK. You beat the Youma?"
Mars nodded. "Toasted. Last we heard, the fire elemental was
beaten too."
Johnathon's ears perked up, and he looked at the stairs. "They're
back." Coming up the stairs were the rest of the Senshi, Akane, Mamoru
Chiba, Ranma, and the three cats. Seeing everyone in normal clothing,
Venus and Mars dropped their transformations as well. Kasumi ran up to
her husband, looking worried. Johnathon petted her fondly on the head.
"I'm fine, Kasumi, just a little tired."
Minako and Rei looked curiously at Ranma. "Ranma? Is that you?"
Minako blinked. "So that's what your transformation looks like.
Rei whistled appreciatively. "Red hair. I wonder how she'd look in
a Sailor fuku?" Ranma blushed red and Akane, Usagi and Makoto all
laughed.
Ami reassured the short red head. "You look very nice in a Sailor
fuku, Ranma."
Ranma sighed. "Why me?"
Minako giggled. "I'm sorry I missed it!"
Ami walked over to Johnathon. "You fought that Youma by yourself,
didn't you." She said in a disapproving tone.
Johnathon shrugged sheepishly. "People were in danger." He looked
over at Ranma. "Sailor Fuku, huh?" Ranma shot him a murderous glare.
Johnathon held up his hands defensively. "Never mind, ignore me."
Johnathon glanced at his own hands, still covered in black fur. "Ah, I
think I'd better change back as well."
Luna looked around at the group. "It's likely to be quiet for the
rest of the night." She reported.
Artemis nodded. "There's no sense of threat any more."
Usagi looked at the cats. "So, have you figured out what's
happening? Why were there more Youma tonight?" The cats glanced at
each other worriedly, then looked back at Usagi. They both shrugged
helplessly.
Ami spoke up. "I may have a theory."
The group headed into the shrine so Johnathon and Ranma could change
back to normal, and to let Ami explain her theory. In Rei's room Ami
summoned up her computer and brought up a holographic map of the city.
Ami began imputing the sights of recent Youma attacks.
When she had finished she pointed to the map and began to explain.
"As you can see, the Youma have been appearing in just a few places at
first, slowly spreading out. At the same time the number of Youma has
been increasing steadily. Always appearing in the same few areas,
however."
Usagi shrugged. "OK, if you say so, but what does it mean?"
Ami tapped a few keys. "The Negaverse, actually."
Usagi blinked and the room went quiet. "But, we beat the Negaverse,
right?"
Ami frowned. "We defeated Beryl, and Metalia, yes. This must be a
new threat from there."
Makoto looked curious. "How do you know?"
Ami tapped some more keys. "Here is every spot the Negaverse used
the last time to teleport into our dimension." She hit another key.
"And here are the sights of the recent Youma attacks."
Johnathon blinked. "I get it. They are using the same doorways?"
Ami nodded to him. "I believe I know why the numbers of the Youma
are increasing as well."
Luna jumped up to get a better look at the computer. "Go on, Ami."
Ami sighed and nodded. "As far as I can tell, the barrier that
separates the dimensions is weakening. Our foe has only so much energy,
and teleporting from the Negaverse takes a lot of it. But the barrier
is weakening from the constant traffic and it gets easier and easier
each time for them to come."
Minako looked worried. "You mean we're going to keep getting more
and more Youma?"
Ami nodded again. "I'm afraid that's what it looks like." Ami
tapped her keyboard for a few moments. The map went down and a graph
popped up. "Our enemy has been coming in during natural weak periods.
The barrier ebbs and grows in strength a little every day. The next
week point will come at... 10:37 tomorrow night."
Minako looked interestedly at the graph. "You said the barrier is
weakening. How long until it's gone?"
Ami looked grim. "At the present rate of reduction, the barrier
will drop for a period of approximately... one and a half minutes to two
minutes... in one week." Ami brought the map up again and a dot
flashed. "Here." She pointed to the outdoor mall. "After that, it'll
get worse."
Ranma looked puzzled. "A minute or two? That's not so long."
Ami peered at him seriously. "That's how long they'll be able to
come through. How many Youma can walk through an open door in a minute
or two?"
Ranma gulped. "Oh."
Usagi's voice was quiet. "How can we stop this?"
Ami looked back at her. "I don't know."
Mamoru Chiba spoke up. "I remember some things from the Negaverse.
The dimensional barrier naturally regenerates. It got a little easier
to teleport to a well used spot, but unless it was always being used it
slowly got harder again."
Ami nodded in agreement. "You're right., something is keeping the
dimensional barrier from regenerating."
Usagi sighed in relief. "That's it then! We find out whatever is
keeping the barrier from regenerating and blast it!"
Ami blinked in mild surprise. "That should work, if we do it soon
enough. Unfortunately there is no such thing on Earth. It would be
putting out an energy that we would have already detected."
Makoto shuddered. "You mean it's in the Negaverse?"
Ami nodded worriedly. "There is no other answer. To stop it, we
have to go to the Negaverse and and destroy whatever is keeping the
barrier from regenerating."
Rei whistled in dismay. "This is not good."
Usagi's face became serious. "Then that is where we have to go.
Ami, can you locate this thing when we get to the Negaverse?"
Ami nodded. "Yes, that shouldn't be a problem. If we go, we should
go as soon as possible."
Usagi nodded back. "OK, lets..."
Ami interrupted. "The best time would be when the barrier is
lowered tomorrow night. That way we'll be at full strength when we get
there." She bit her lip. "But that will mean several Youma will enter
this dimension as we leave."
Ranma grinned. "That'll be our job. When you five go to this
Negaverse, we'll stop the Youma."
Minako looked worried. "It will be just the three of you
against..."
Ami hit some keys. "At least five Youma."
Ranma shrugged. "Do we have a choice?" There was silence at that.
Johnathon spoke up. "We don't, but I think we can get some help."
Ranma smiled. "Ryoga, sure, he's good for that kind of thing.
We'll kick some serious butt!"
Johnathon nodded. "We should get the others as well. We can't
afford to screw this up." He looked at Usagi. "We'll return tomorrow
night, before dark preferably to make final plans. We should return
home and get some rest. You girls should rest up too."
Usagi smiled in agreement. "That's fine, Johnathon. We'll be
expecting you."
Johnathon picked up Kasumi and everyone said their good-byes. The
four from Nerima headed for the late train home. The train ride was
quiet. It wasn't until the walk home that the conversation began again.
Ranma asked. "So we bring Ryoga and Ukyo?"
Johnathon nodded. "And Shampoo and Mousse, if they'll come." He
paused. "And Kuno, Kodachi and Cologne. This is bigger than personal
squabbles."
Akane swallowed. "What do we tell them?"
Johnathon shrugged. "That demons are invading Tokyo, what else?"
Akane gulped nervously. "I was afraid you were going to say that."
Johnathon grinned. "Don't be glum. We're going to save the world!"
Ranma rolled his eyes. "Oh boy."
When they got to the house everyone headed for bed. The next day
was going to be a long one.
ending animation "Equal Romance" by DoCo
Kasumi and Johnathon walking along a street at night,
with fitful illumination from the streetlamps. End
credits are displayed at the top half of the screen.
About three quarters of the way through the end
credits, Kharonian Chase Scene (ie all major characters,
incl a number of cameos) goes rushing by, accidently
splashing Kasumi and Johnathon.
Close up of neko-Kasumi and Johnathon (catman)
exchanging glance. Johnathon shrugs. Both join chase
scene, Johnathon waving to Sailor Jupiter as they do.
End credits finish rolling as crowd disappears
into distance.
Thanks go to MetroAnime for the song and dance!
Please send all C&C to tagan1@pacbell.net. It's why I write!
The previous chapters of this story can be found at:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/1449/