(previous part attaches here)

A barbed purple javelin of dark power 
formed in one hand as the life essence
invested the last of its remaining 
energy reserves into a final weapon which 
would ensure that it would have the last laugh.
The effort nearly caused him to pass out, he had
exhausted much of his power in a short span of time.

Perhaps it was not strong enough to slay the demon 
hounding him.....

....but it was more then enough to kill one of *them*.

His viperish gaze focused on the little girl cheering his 
pursuer on. Yes, he would have his revenge on them all.
They would suffer with that innocent�s blood haunting 
them till they died. Somehow Malach�te found the strength 
to burst into evil laughter.

Ranma looked up back toward the general, then he turned 
his head to see what the maniac was looking at.

The cute blue haired girl with the two ponytails.

Sickening comprehension struck.

�You bastard!!�

It was an instinctive reaction beyond any conscious 
thought, one second he was holding the Rune 
weapon in hand, the next instant Ishtar was being
hurled toward Malach�te.

�You fool! You�re too late!!�

The villain�s throw was fast and true. 

Even as four feet of enchanted silver alloy plowed 
into his gut and through to the other side till
the blade was buried hilt deep within his abdomen 
and pinned him back against the wall like some 
winged insect in a bug collection , even as gouts 
of dark green blood spouted forth from the mortal 
wound, even as the outraged soul inhabiting the weapon 
started to fry Malach�te from the inside out,
that cursed missile was still heading straight 
toward Sasami.

Ranma found himself in a race against Death.
There was no time to think, no time to plan,
no time to regret. It was just him, the girl, and 
that weapon speeding toward her.

Even moving at full speed it was going to be close. 
Too close.

Time seemed to slow down as he shot 
down the street like a Boom Gun round.

The expressions of horrified realization appeared 
on the Senshi�s faces first. Jupiter even began to 
move in a vain attempt to either get the girl out of
the way or block the spear herself. She was too 
far away and she�d never make it in time, but still 
she tried anyway.

Sasami watched the javelin coming with the same 
look that little rabbits give to hunters with automatic 
rifles.

�Tsunami!!�
~~~~~~~~~
-Masaki Residence

�No! Azaka, Kamidake!!�

Even as the words left her throat Ayeka 
knew it wouldn�t be in time. But she couldn�t 
just sit here helplessly either while that madman 
murdered her sister!

�Yes ma�am!� 
�Yes ma�am.�
~~~~~~~~~

Ryoko steeled herself for a extra long teleport.
It was feat she�d never attempted before, her 
range was normally within eyesight and even 
then hadn�t gone beyond a few miles.

{Don�t do it.}

[Washu?! Sasami�s in trouble!! It�s the only way!!!]

{Even you can�t make it. You know I�m right Ryoko.}

[Damn you Washu! I have to do something!! 
How can you be so heartless?!!]

{I�m just as worried as you are my dear, 
but I have some faith in that one.}

[You�re trusting some guy in a metal suit with Sasami�s life?!]

{Just as you trusted a simple schoolboy to rescue you from Kagato.}

[That has nothing to do with this!!]
~~~~~~~~
-Juuban

Oh man....
This was going to hurt.

Ranma didn�t even have enough time to raise his
arms to block when the spear hit his chest plate 
and kept on going through. Fiery pain registered 
from the point of entry as first one rib,then a 
second snapped under the impact. His flesh was 
considerably tougher then the average human�s 
(or the average bulletproof vest) though and
the shaft�s head quickly became lodged deep in 
muscle tissue, stopping far short of the armor 
protecting Ranma�s back.

 As injuries went, it looked much worse then it 
actually was. Sure it would probably have 
incapacitated or possibly killed even a minor 
supernatural being, but he�d had worse. Getting 
eaten by a Demonshark, now *that* had been bad.

Bio-regeneration was already starting repair the 
damage and had begun to eject the supernatural weapon 
from his body. Even the broken ribs would 
reknit themselves back together in a few minutes. Still, 
the trickle of crimson dripping from his front where the 
rest of the javelin stuck out drew the attention of 
everyone else like a magnet. 

�Red blood.�

Sailor Venus didn�t even realize she 
had spoken out loud, or that her thoughts
were running along similar lines to the
others present. If this being was human,
then what? How much of Sailor Pluto�s 
warnings had been true and how much just 
myth and legend? Did they really want to 
fight someone who�d just saved their eggs
from the basket? 

Mercury took particular note of where 
the scarlet drops fell, she would get a 
sample for later analysis. Her suspicions
about the truth of their rescuer would be 
confirmed one way or another.

Skuld took one look, turned green, and passed out.
The sight of any sizable quantity of blood always did 
that to her. She was still young for a goddess and the last 
big war between Good and Evil had been long before 
her time.

Urd was still struggling with an inconvenient 
(not to mention embarrassing) predicament.
Somehow or the other she seemed to have become
entangled in what seemed to be every extension cord
in the store�s window after she popped out.
For the moment her garments were still within the 
bounds of decency (for her anyway), but her struggling 
was making it more and more of an iffy thing.
~~~~~~
-Masaki Household

�Oh dear.�

�She appears to have fainted.�

The two loyal guardians gently used 
their telekinetic powers to arrange 
their charge more comfortably on the couch.
~~~~~~~
-Juuban again

Malach�te had thought he�d known what 
pain was before. Now he was finding out
what the word truly meant. The accursed
blade was searing his innards to ash, its 
magic inhibiting his body�s healing and 
kept the wound open and bleeding. Worse,
gravity was tugging his upper torso down 
onto the razor sharp edge, slowly tearing
the cut open even farther. All the while the
spirit inhabiting the weapon struck out with
a intangible force that set his nerves screaming 
in agony as it overloaded his neural pathways.
The most horrible thing of all was that the 
vengeful Ishtar had frozen his vocal cords,
making it impossible for the general to even 
scream.

The dying villain grasped the sword�s handle
in a vain attempt to pull it free of himself. A 
moment later he found out why that wasn�t 
such a good idea. The surge of searing psychic 
energy nearly blew his arms off, leaving his 
hands blackened and curled into bony claws.

[How dare you hurt my Ranma!! Fry you unholy 
piece of *big censor here*!!!]

{Ishtar! That�s enough! Finish him!!}

A white glow started to form within the 
core of the weapon�s silver blade in 
response to its owner�s command.

The horrified Malach�te could only look
down helplessly at the tremendous charge 
he sensed the sentient weapon was building up.

Then there was a blinding flash of light as 
Ishtar released the holy power she had called 
forth directly into his body. Malach�te was 
consumed in an instant, his head arching back 
in denial even as flesh and bone was reduced to dust.

A small thunderclap sounded as
the life essence was banished back 
to the shifting darkness of the Negaverse,
leaving the Rune weapon as pristine and 
untouched as it had been the day it was 
created.
~~~~~~~~

With the death of its creator the summoned 
Psi-lance dissolved back into nothingness it
had been formed from, making it easier for 
both Ranma�s body and armor to start fixing 
themselves. Within a minute two small pops 
signaled that his ribs had just reset themselves,
and the hole torn in his armor had shrunk noticeably.

{Geeze, that stings! Stupid bad guy 
just has to go and fight dirty! What a jerk!!}

Without even bothering to look up Ranma held up 
his hand to catch the returning Rune weapon.

[Are you all right Ranma?]

{I�m fine. We�d better see to those girls though, 
they were getting worked over pretty rough by
those creatures before I arrived. No telling 
how long they were fighting or what kind of injuries
they sustained. Those monsters threw everything 
but the kitchen sink at me.}

[How horrible, they�re just children!! The poor 
dears must have been so frightened.]

Ranma was just glad that his partner�s maternal insincts
seemed to have been awakened, if she had seen those girls 
as women (and hence unwanted competition) things probably 
would have gotten ugly very quickly. 
~~~~~~~

Turning to face the wide eyed little girl he�d 
shielded earlier, Ranma bent to one knee in 
order to meet her on equal terms. Children 
had always been a wonder to him, perhaps 
because he�d never really had much of a 
childhood before the responsibilities thrust
upon him by first his father and then later 
on by the Alliance and the Forge. 

�Are you alright? Did those creatures harm you?�

Sasami silently shook her head. Awe shone in 
her eyes as she looked back at the helmet of
the one who had protected her life with his own,
trying to find the nonexistant eyeholes in it. Nor 
could she see any opening for the mouth or nose,
both areas were well armored since such a feature 
was unnecessary for a Cosmoknight. It was like 
watching one of her sister�s guardians speak, the
words came from his direction but there was no 
indication of how it was being done.

Seeing that she was indeed uninjured, Ranma got 
up and turned toward the rest of the girls.The 
gathered Senshi looked rather nervous when the 
Knight strode toward them with sword still in 
hand. They hadn�t realized just how big he really 
was until now. The armored figure towered over 
even Jupiter, and although he held his weapon in
a nonthreatening way they had all witnessed its 
lethal cut.

Ranma really wished that he could reasssure them of his 
intentions but time was running short. The authorities 
would be showing up soon now that the danger was over 
and he had no wish to still be here when they did arrive. 
Besides he didn�t have any clue as to who these girls were.
He�d seen and heard of some people who liked to dress up
for a fight, but why skimpy school uniforms? 

A red rose chose that moment to become 
embedded in ground in front of him.


<Tuxedo Kamen�s annoying theme music begins to play>

�Where the cause of justice is imperiled, so shall the forces
of righteous come to protect the good and the innocent. Do
not lose hope Sailor Senshi, for Tuxedo Kamen has arrived
to aid your struggles against this abomination.�

A large sweatdrop formed on the back of Ranma�s helm,
it was matched by the one hanging from Ishtar�s hilt.

[You have got to be kidding me. That overdressed jackass 
should take a good look in the mirror before calling someone 
else an abomination!]

{I don�t believe this, *two* poetic idiots in one day. Who
does that clown think he is? Where the heck was this 
Tux-baka when the real threat was present?!}
~~~~~~~
<Insert Highlander theme>

�Mwahahahahaha!!�

�I think all that power is going to the Bard�s head.�

�I told you this was a bad idea!�

�Eyecatch?�

�Eyecatch.�
~~~~~~~~~
(Bonus)Eyecatch #4

(Mihoshi is dressed in white shirt 
and pants and holding small metallic 
cylinder in her hands.)

(The blue energy blade emerging from it
reveals that she�s holding a lightsaber.)

(Shampoo lands next on her right, oufitted in an 
Iczelion battle armor and produces a purple 
Beam Saber.)

(Sailor Venus lands on Mihoshi�s left, a wave 
of her hand summons a yellow Psi-sword.)

(Devil Hunter Yohko comes running and stops 
next to Shampoo, her Soul Sword at ready.)

<All four proclaim>: �All for one and Ranma for all!�

(P.O.V. changes to see who the four girls are facing.)

(Akane in her gi wielding a oversized 
wooden bokken is revealed. A very 
*large* sweatdrop pops up on her head.) 

(She silently forms the words; 
�You have *got* to be kidding me!�.)

(Four slashes later Akane is just holding a 
small wooden stub in her hands.)

(Akane: �That�s it! I quit!�)

(She starts to stalk off only to 
be knocked off screen by the familar
�Ranma 1/2 with a twist� logo.)
~~~~~~~~~
<BGM: Imperial March, The Phantom Menace Version
(in full Doby Surround Sound(tm))>
-Somewhere deep in the Heart of the Trans-Galactic Empire

The first sign that trouble with a capital *T* was coming was 
the sixteen Raptor starfighters that screamed through space a few 
kilometers ahead of a mile long Imperial Battle Cruiser and it's 
fifteen smaller escort ships. The giant war machine looked like 
some giant archaic alien bladed weapon from the distant past, 
a deliberate choice meant to strike fear into the hearts of those 
who dared to resist the might of the Kreeghor. Although this 
choice in design left the vessel with several very *obvious* 
structural weak points, it was still quite an impressive sight 
to behold. Aside from its white running lights the entire cruiser's 
hull was dark grayish blue-black, a far departure from the customary 
bright blood red and absolutely hideous greenish orange that were the 
Fleet's traditional colors.(2) 

The infamous dark ship's registry was known and dreaded 
throughout the Empire and the Free Worlds.

INS 1027-NC443 Dark Impaler.

Standing at the front of the bridge, Captain Jarenz gazed out into 
the dark void between the stars, the small flare of the capital defense 
patrols the only illumination visible nearby. He was a cold hard man and
his subordinates moved with the extra caution that visceral fear gave them. 
The Ironclaw despised incompetence among his men and his preferred method 
of punishment ensured that there were never any repeat offenders.

An aide walked across the bridge, his stride controlled but with a 
nervous reluctance visible to the watchful observer. In the Empire, 
the old saying about "killing the messenger" was often taken 
at face value.

"My lord, we have just received word that the Rebels 
have launched an all out assault on our base in the 
Ristmoth system. Shall we prepare an intercept course?�

Bracing for an explosion, the petty officer started scoping 
out potential routes of escape....just in case.

Whatever reaction he had been expecting, it wasn�t the 
amused chuckle that was his superior�s reply.

�So, they�ve finally mustered enough of a 
backbone to begin their long delayed offensive 
against us.�

�Ah...sir? Your orders?�

�Remain on course, they are 
not our concern. I have my orders
from the Grand Admiral himself,
the location and capture of Ranma 
Saotome is the only mission of any 
importance to us.�

�But our base?! All the troops stationed 
there will be slaughtered without reinforcements!!�

A cool glance made the aide realize he 
had overstepped his bounds. But the
Ironclaw demonstrated unexpected 
restraint as he returned to his 
contemplations of the stars.

�The Emperor has something
special planned for the Rebellion. You 
would do well to learn your place in the 
grand scheme of things if you wish to 
continue serving the Empire.�

The implied threat of that last 
statement was enough to send the 
trembling Silloutte scurrying away.

Captain Jarenz tightened his bionic 
hand into a eager fist. Soon, he 
consoled himself, soon he would
accomplish what the others had only 
dreamed of. Then the ghosts that 
haunted him would finally be put 
to rest at last.

�It is only a matter of time now.....�

The Dark side was no longer in check.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(1) Give yourself a pat on the back if you 
figured it out before the Bard does.

(2) Don't ask, just don't ask *Shudder*

*$*$*$*$*$*

Handy guide to modern science:

1. If it's green or wiggles, it's biology
2. If it stinks, it's chemistry
3. If it doesn't work, it's physics

Murphy's Saving Grace:

The worst is the enemy of the bad.

First Rule of Superior Inferiority:

Don't let your superiors know you're better then they are.

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