Kevin D. Hammel wrote:
A Fist Full of Tendous
Chapter 01: Never Trust a Ripped Codex
By Kevin D. Hammel
A fanfic crossover involving 2 fanfics (diced and separated), a dash
of Ranma, and a pinch Sailor Moon.
Ranma 1/2 is property of Rumiko Takahashi. Publication Rights are held
by Viz in The US and Shogakukan in Japan. Sailor Moon is property of
Naoko Takeuchi. Publication rights held by Kodansha Ltd. in Japan and
Mixx Entertainment in the US. My purpose is to honor these creators
and their works. No infringement intended.
This story is a bit out of continuity of both of the fanfic series it
combines. Also, if the names "Children of Fire" and "Honor and Love"
mean nothing to you, here there may be spoilers. If they DO mean
something to you, you just might enjoy the story, maybe...
***
This place was hot, noisy, crowded, polluted, and BIG. In fact it was
really, really big. A lot bigger than where she came from. Big is
good, the girl thought as she walked among the stalls in the bazaar.
She was of course, a short person.
And someday when all the fighting was over, and all those pesky Senshi
dealt with, all this space would be... hers, or at least theirs. But
first, she had to prove herself. She would use her head, not her
fists. She'd show her big sister that there was more to her than...
whatever.
Her disguise was perfect... The clothing was classy, yet functional.
It consisted of a deep purple skirt and jacket combo over a white silk
shirt. A pair of knee-high gray socks and black hiking boots completed
the outfit. The bullwhip coiled around one shoulder provided a
perfectly matched accessory, to finish off the outfit. All
archeologists used one of the arcane weapons, after all. And right
now, in this chaotic market in crowded Cairo, she was an archeologist.
The young woman stopped at an intersection of sorts. Four rows of
stalls converged, with four tides of humanity trying to flow four
different directions at once. She stood firm, adjusting her nearly
opaque black glasses as she surveyed the three directions she could
go. Which way to turn? There had to be some cool magical book or
artifact somewhere. She'd seen more than enough of those historical
documentaries on the VCR working with Margaret back in Japan.
This idea may seem stupid to the reader, but bear in mind that had she not
been abducted by the Dark Kingdom, Akane would have been living in a neighbour
that had regular visits from travelling magical artifact salesmen.
Like the one she had watched about that great Archeologist. What WAS
his Name... Nebraska Smith? Ohio Gozaimus? Oh well, the name didn't
matter. What was important was that it showed that these places like
this bazaar were loaded with incredible magical artifacts and tomes.
But where were they? She knew what she was looking for would be down
one of those aisles. The girl tapped her left foot in frustration.
Decisions like this were really...
"Pardon Me, Madam. May I be of service?" A voice oozed from behind
her. She turned to see a rumpled, elderly man. His eyes and wrinkled
face spoke of all kinds of bizarre arcane knowledge. Or at least over
exposure to the sun, which was very easy around here. The girl shook
her head as she wiped some sweat off her brow. This guy just had to
have something for her. After all, that's how it worked on TV.
And in fanfic.
The young woman gave her most imperious look, and then realized it
wouldn't show through the glasses. Frowning slightly she replied,
using textbook Arabic provided by a small spell. "Perhaps, good sir.
I'm looking for magical..."
"Shhh..." the man replied, holding a finger to his aged lips. "Come
with me," he said with a bow. "Miss..."
"Fff... Florida Thomas." The girl replied. A slight flush of victory
showed her pleasure in coming up with a convincing name for an
archeologist so quickly.
The man big-sweated, arched an eyebrow, then bowed. "Very well,
Miss... Thomas. Follow me."
As Florida followed the merchant, she noticed two heavily built men in
dark suits and fezzes shadowing her at a discrete distance. The young
archeologist-wannabe smiled thinly. She MUST be onto something now.
***
The young woman followed her guide through the maze of humanity. Soon
the pair, and their mysterious escorts, left the bazaar and walked
down unnumbered dim, narrow, twisty streets. Finally, they came to an
unmarked doorway on a street full of... unmarked doorways.
The man stopped then turned to his customer. "This is my shop, Madam
Thomas." He unlocked the door, then bowed while opening it with a
flourish. "After you..." He said, grandly motioning toward the
doorway.
Florida was collected, cool, and not a fool. "No, after YOU." She
commanded in a voice that Big Sister would be proud of.
"Very well, then." The man said before entering the doorway, the young
lady following.
The room was dark. First only a match lit it, then a flickering lamp.
Florida took off her shades. Nobody in here would recognize her
anyway. She sniffed the musty air. It fairly reeked of old paper and
bindings, as a quick glance around showed ancient manuscripts
everywhere. Stacked, on shelves, and in overflowing boxes. Books as
far as the eye could see, which wasn't very far in the tiny room that
barely qualified as a closet. A very large closet, to be sure, but...
Florida's keen senses detected the two men in fezzes silently entering
the room. A scarcely discernable click betrayed them drawing two guns.
With almost inhuman speed, Florida spun around to face the invaders.
A lightning-fast foot sweep had both her opponents down in a flash.
After that, a freak wind somehow blew them both out the door and
across the alleyway. Fortunately an overfull fruit cart prevented
serious injury to the two men, but not serious indignity, as they got
covered with a melange of melon pieces, smashed vegetables, and
various fruit juices.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Her host shouted. "Those were my bodyguards, you
imbecile!"
Actually, I think her action fully justified. If they pulled guns they're
lucky she went so easy on them. Presumably they intended to at least rob her,
if not worse. And "her" should not be capitalised.
"How was I supposed to know?" Florida spat. "They looked pretty
suspicious to me... and they had guns!" Turning and stomping out the
door, she easily hefted both huge, dazed men up and set them on their
feet. Waiting a few seconds for the woozy pair to regain their
bearings, she gingerly let go. The girl didn't want to make the
debacle any worse. "Sorry, guys..." She sheepishly said, with what she
hoped was a winning smile.
I'd lose the "what she hoped" because you say she smiles less successfully
later.
Both men shrugged and leered at her with stupid-looking grins, as
sticky red, orange, and green streams ran down their faces. Maybe
their brains had been knocked out of their heads, as if they had any
before, Florida thought. With an audible 'humph!' she turned on her
heels again and strode back into the shop.
The two guards and the proprietor watched the girl's actions open-
mouthed.
"So sorry." She apologized again with a less successful attempt at a
smile, then her face became dead serious. "Now, where are the books?"
"My shop is full of them. What sort of books are you looking for?" The
man asked, already deciding that getting this customer out of his shop
was a very good idea. Lost profits were infinitely preferable to lost
lives. Especially his own.
"I was looking for something on dimensional gateways. You got any
books on that subject?" The young lady asked, with hands on her hips.
She was already getting a bit irritated, and it showed.
The proprietor began to sweat, then tried to look thoughtful as he
mentally walked through the shop's inventory. His mouth substituted
for legs, arms, and eyes as he went through his stock inside his head.
"Well... I DO have a very rare and valuable codex that I just might
part with." The elderly man said as he turned, then used a rusty key
on a corroded lock closing a decrepit chest. He couldn't get it to
work. A moist breeze on his neck revealed his customer just behind.
"Let me." Florida said. The man moved out of the way, then she broke
the lock clean in half with a loud, bell-like snap. With a smirk she
dropped the two pieces into the dumbfounded storekeeper's outstretched
hands. Then flipped back over the counter again.
The man brought an ancient, hide-bound volume to the counter. A corner
of the cover was ripped off, leaving the title as "The Big Book of
Dimensional".
And you'll note that she did indeed find exactly what she was looking for.
"Perfect." Florida whispered, the looked up. "How much?"
"Well... how about..." He shrugged his shoulders as he pulled a wild
number out of the air. "Twelve thousand dollars American?" He hoped he
hadn't priced it too high. She would bargain, no doubt. But a huge
profit was in the offing anyhow.
Florida Thomas considered the offer for a millisecond. She KNEW this
was it. Everything was perfect. The old shopkeeper, the dusty store,
the men in fezzes, it all added up... this had to be the place to get
the book she was after. "Do you take..." She reached to pull a small
leather bag stuffed in her belt out. "Diamonds?" she asked as she
opened it, the sparkle from the bag reflected into all the eyes in the
room, including Florida's own big purple orbs. "You like?" She asked
the shopkeeper, who could only nod yes. Dumping a small fortune into
his hands, she took the book and turned to leave. On the way out, she
tossed each member of the fez patrol a sizable rock.
Walking a short distance down the roadway from the merchant's, Florida
found a dark passageway between buildings. After carefully looking
both ways, she entered the alleyway, and disappeared a few moments
later.
Ahem. She can teleport across the world? If that's the case, what does
she need the book for?
***
Back in her room at home, the girl who had been Florida just a short
time ago sat in contemplation of her handiwork. Bedding had been
tossed against the wall in a jumble to provide a large open area on
the floor. In the center of that clear area, she had just finished
inscribing a circle that would serve as the focus of her spell.
The girl studied the book again, and then swallowed. She was going to
help out by using her head, and earn her rank back. That would show
Big Sister that she COULD use more than her fists. And maybe help
Mother out too.
"Ooh, a spell circle!" came a voice from behind. "Don't tell me you've
decided to take up another Art, Little Sister."
The girl looked up from the book, to glare a little at her sister.
"Laugh all you want, Big Sister, but I've just found a way to open a
portal to another place besides Tokyo..."
"Do tell, " The older girl taunted. "And how did YOU do it when mom
hasn't figured it out yet?"
"Simple, I bought this really neat book in Cairo." She said as she
thrust the book at the older girl.
"The Big Book of Dimensional... Uh... where's the rest of it?"
"Not to worry, there's enough here for me to cast a spell that will
open a dimensional portal." With that, she snatched the book back from
her sister, and began to chant.
After a few syllables, the circle began to glow, and then a myriad of
multicolored flames began to burn inside a cylinder described by the
markings on the floor.
The younger girl looked down at the book again. "Okay, the portal is
set. I just need to see where it goes." Closing the book, the girl
stood.
"Sister dear, I thought you were going to use your head... not LOSE
it. Who knows WHAT will happen if you step in that circle?"
"I read the book, so I'm not worried. I'll show you!" With that, she
stood and prepared to enter swirling maelstrom.
Another, older, voice entered the room. "Girls? What's going on here?"
The younger girl turned from the edge of the circle to see an older
woman. "Mom! I just opened up a dimensional portal. Look!" She turned
to face the flames again, took a single step forward, and was gone.
Then all heck broke lose as the whole room was filled with the
multicolored, cold flames.
When the cold fires receded, the room was empty again. Only a few
minutes later, the flames built again, and a set of shapes
materialized from within... but that would be getting ahead of things.
Uh...hmm. Presumably those must be from the third universe.
***
Six people materialized in a green field strewn with huge, monolithic
stones. The rocks were laid out in a great circular pattern, too
orderly to be nature's work alone. Winds whistled and the sun threw
great shafts of light down through cloud cover on the strange scene.
Three of the people were girls dressed as Sailor Senshi. There was
purple-skirted Sailor Titan, black-skirted Sailor Charon, and cyan-
skirted Sailor Europa. Only a few meters away stood the other group,
also of three people. One of the others was a green-haired girl
wearing a filmy green dress that was clearly not made for the current
weather conditions. A shorter, black haired girl wore a purple
business suit while holding a tattered book in her right hand. For
some unknown reason, there was a bullwhip coiled around her left
shoulder. Finally there was an older black-haired woman dressed in an
elaborate gown.
It was the older woman that drew the three Sailor Senshi's attention.
A cry of, "Sailor Senshi!" arose from the throat of the purple-clad
girl. That shout was immediately followed by a rushed, ineffective
blast of wind from said girl. The three Sailors were sent scrambling
for cover behind a nearby rock.
The normally imperturbable face of Sailor Titan was... perturbed. "No,
it can't be." She whispered.
Sailor Europa looked with concern at her teammate. "I think it was. I
really think it was. But WHY would they attack us?"
Punctuating the Senshi's last statement, an unnatural blast of wind
blew through the rock behind which they were huddled. A shower of
stone fragments showed just how serious their opposition was.
"No matter WHO she looks like, they're trying to kill us." Sailor
Charon stated, then swallowed. She turned to Europa, "Why not try a
pressure wave on 'em?"
"Bu... but what if she's..." The small Senshi stammered.
"First of all, how could it POSSIBLY be her? She's dead, and has been
for ten years... But I do want to get to the bottom of this." She
looked thoughtful before continuing, "I think I'll try to do
something." With that Sailor Charon reverted to her civilian guise,
Tendou Nabiki. Instead of her Sailor Senshi fuku, she was wearing a
Juuban High School woman's uniform. She untied the ribbon, then un-
buttoned her shirt. She shouted "Truce!"
Not hearing a response, she took off the shirt, then re-buttoned it.
Next, she thrust a dead branch through the arms to make a crude flag.
Shouting "Truce!" again, she thrust the flag over the rock. A new
blast of wind broke the branch cleanly in two, and the shirt just
vanished. As she shook her head, she tied her broad uniform ribbon
around her chest. At least she would wear SOME clothing besides
underwear.
"You dope! What do you think you're doing? That was a flag of truce!"
rang out one of their opponents' voices.
"Well, what do you expect? Who knows what kind of evil Sailor Senshi
tricks they might be up to?" A younger voice responded.
"I don't think they're out to get us... really." The girl responded to
the other, then shouted, "OKAY!"
Sailor Titan looked concerned, "You know, those two sound just
like..."
"Us." Nabiki finished. She looked at both her sisters; "You two have
real attacks, so you can cover me, got it?" She asked in a loud
whisper.
Both her teammates nodded in agreement, and all three girls stood to
peer over the rock. About twenty meters away, three other heads peeked
over another boulder to look back at them.
Nabiki waved the broken stick again and called out, "Truce!"
>From behind the other outcrops came a voice that might be her twin's,
"We meet at the center."
Figuring it was better to be a fully dressed, and much stronger Sailor
Senshi than a normal girl, Nabiki transformed. "I'm not going to let
that lose wind cannon get a good shot at me." Charon stated after the
light show.
"Good luck, Charon... Sister." Europa offered as her sister walked to
meet their opponent.
"Thanks... Sis." Charon replied in a confident voice edged with just a
touch of doubt. She turned, stood, then moved to meet the young woman
who was already making her way across the grassy expanse between the
stones.
As the Sailor Senshi approached the other girl, Charon noticed
something. Except for differences in hair and eye color, both being
green, her opponent was her twin. When they were less than a meter
apart, each girl just stared at her opposite of a few moments.
The Sailor Senshi finally broke the silence. "I'm Sailor Charon."
"I'm... call me Tourmaline." The other girl replied.
Because, after all, that's my name.
Charon held back a bemused smirk as she continued, "The older woman
looks familiar. We'd all really like to talk to her." Her eyes
narrowed, as she continued, "Actually, you look familiar too... Does
the name 'Tendou Nabiki' mean anything to you?"
"Nabiki..." the other girl whispered. After swallowing, she continued,
"Anyway, why would you want to talk to... the other woman?"
"Because, she looks familiar to us. And, I think you DO recognize the
name Nabiki, right?" Charon asked with a raised eyebrow.
Tourmaline felt a little strange, almost like something was out of her
control. But of course that was impossible. "Uh... maybe I do. I'll go
get my people and you get yours. Okay?"
"Okay." Charon replied.
Both girls walked gingerly backward, neither letting the other's eyes
out of sight for even a moment. After a brief but tense period, they
both tripped over rocks at the same time, falling backwards. In a
flurry of activity, both girls were hurriedly escorted back to cover
by their respective entourages.
The younger girl in Tourmaline's group could be heard to laugh and say
"Who's the dope now, Tourma-chan?"
"Well, if you went out there, there might be someone we wouldn't want
dead... dead."
"You actually think one of those Sailor Senshi could take me?"
"I don't know, but I don't want to attack those girls." After a pause,
she spoke again, "Let's move out."
Sailor Charon again spoke to her group. "I think we should go out to
meet them..."
Her two sisters nodded in mute response.
With six pairs of wary eyes searching for any stray movement, the two
trios cautiously approached each other. Not unexpectedly, the Sailors'
shock showed clearly through their disguise fields... Like most
things, actually. Of course the other three didn't worry about such
trivialities. Finally, when the two groups were less than a meter
apart, both stopped. Each of the Sailor Senshi could sense something
odd about the other three women. It was hard to put a finger on it,
Feldspar hardly qualifies as a woman.
but something about them felt off. Sort of like when they were near
the monsters back home.
Sailor Titan spoke first, looking at the older woman. She was
concerned about the fact that the others had immediately attacked, but
felt she had to find out more about her. "Excuse me, but..." with a
light show washed out by the blaring sun, she reverted to her civilian
form, Tendou Kasumi. "You look just like Mother. And your children
look like my sisters."
"Sailor Titan!" Europa shouted, "WHAT are you doing?"
"What I need to do, Europa-chan." Kasumi replied. "She has to see me,
not a Sailor Senshi."
The older woman blinked twice, then asked the question her own heart
forced her to, "I heard the other Senshi ask about 'Tendou Nabiki', do
you have any questions about similar names?"
"Yes, about Tendou Kasumi. Do you know her?" Kasumi asked, with eyes
locked on the woman. If her opposite even flinched, she would know.
Kasumi's careful study was quickly rewarded, as the woman tensed for a
moment, the relaxed. "I believe I recall hearing of someone with that
name... long ago."
Kasumi closed her eyes as she considered whether to continue the
verbal game of cat and mouse. After a few tense moments, her eyes
opened to study the woman anew. "My name is Tendou Kasumi..." She
said, her voice trailing off.
The woman looked sad as she continued. "I once had a daughter with
that name, but she disappeared ten years ago." Her look became a bit
more serious, "Do you girls live here?"
"Heck no!" Charon tartly answered... "We had just finished a battle in
Tokyo and, somehow, ended up here. In fact, she said, narrowing her
eyes accusingly, we just fought off some... creatures that also shot
first and asked questions later." She accused, forgetting her own
suggestion to Europa.
The short girl with black hair in the purple business suit looked
angry, as an intangible wind began to blow through her hair.
"Creatures... Creatures? Why the only creatures I see here are three
evil, despicable, rotten, louse-ridden, Sailor..."
"Put a cork in it, Feldspar!" The girl who called herself Tourmaline
shouted to the shorter girl.
The shortest of the Sailors seemed to have reached her boiling point
as well. Much like the unseen wind surrounding Feldspar, a fine mist
of ice crystals and a few wisps of fog began to form around her.
"Creatures? Who are you calling Creatures?" She began, sounding
"Creatures" shouldn't be capitalised the second time.
distressingly like Feldspar.
"Please, no fighting." Kasumi requested.
"She started it!" Europa and Feldspar chorused, then looked a bit
embarrassed as their battle auras deflated.
Nobody spoke for a while. Finally, the older woman broke the silence
after looking thoughtful for a few moments, "Ah, reciprocity!"
The five girls answered with huh or what.
Needs quotation marks.
She looked at the shortest of her companions as she spoke, "That's why
this is NOT a good way to summon a dimensional portal, Daughter.
Somehow, this technique creates a rift in a 'reciprocal' universe,
pulling a analogue for each person who enters from the other universe,
then transporting both to the third." Looking up, she gestured at the
Uhn.
large stones surrounding them, "I'm not surprised we ended up in a
circle of standing stones. It's not Stonehenge, so I'm uncertain
exactly were we are."
"where we are". Well, standing stones of that type are typical of
England, and to a lesser degree France so she could surmise that they
were in some kind of analogue of Europe.
"Wow," Sailor Charon said, speaking for all of the children.
The youngest daughter, Feldspar, perked up. "So we just get rid..." A
look at Europa froze her voice in her throat. There was something
strange about the girl. "Nothing." She concluded.
"It's going to take a while to come up with a counter-spell or ritual
but until then, we need to stick together. One thing puzzles me,
though." Her gaze focused on Kasumi, "Why would you end up here
instead of me?"
"Our mother's dead," Kasumi quietly answered. "I had to take her place
ten years ago."
The older woman frowned slightly, then nodded once in understanding,
and sympathy. "This must be tough for you girls..."
I'd suggest "difficult" rather than "tough". More ladylike.
Three affirmative nods provided mute assent.
"My names is... Moonstone and... where we're from, I was your mother,
"name"
Kasumi. SO, for a little while, I'd like for you to... think of me as
your mother."
The three girls didn't seem too thrilled with the offer. It's hard to
accept someone who wanted to kill you a few minutes ago as your
mother, but their hearts conflicted with their rationality.
"better judgement" perhaps?
Charon finally spoke, looking askance at her double, "Why the weird
names?"
"I doubt YOUR name is 'Sailor Charon'!" Tourmaline shot back.
With a nod, Charon reverted to her civilian guise. "You're right, my
name's Nabiki." She shivered slightly, as it was windy and the uniform
ribbon didn't provide much protection for her upper torso.
Tourmaline, realizing the faith girl had shown, nodded once before she
Missing word. That is, incidentally, way too much faith for Nabiki to show.
spoke. "We gave up our old names when we... moved to another country.
But when I was young, my name was Nabiki... too." Looking at her
opposite, she caught a glimpse of what she might have been...
The smallest girl looked at the last Sailor Senshi, "I'm Feldspar, and
my name was Akane." She looked down for a moment, then up again.
"Sorry 'bout how I acted earlier." She said, stealing a glance at
Nabiki for a moment.
Europa reverted to Akane, then looked at the girl who might be her
twin, except for a much more muscular body and deep purple eyes. She
looked a little hurt as she spoke, "Well, everybody tells me that I
think with my fists first, so... I guess I understand."
"But..." Nabiki stated with a glare at Feldspar, "You owe me for a
shirt."
"Oh, that..." Feldspar stated, then pulled a small pouch from her
belt. Withdrawing an emerald this time, she tossed the rock at a wide-
eyed Nabiki. "Keep the change." She said with a smirk.
Nabiki easily caught the stone, then stared at it. Soon, the
glittering gem entranced both her sisters as well.
Feldspar had to smile at the girls' reaction to common, garden-variety
gemstones.
A low humming in the distance attracted the group's attention. A huge
silvery object could be seen moving slowly toward them. The six people
sought cover and watched the leviathan fly overhead.
Humming? Dirigibles used internal combustion engines and propellors and so
presumably sounded pretty much just like a plane.
Nabiki recognized it from her history books... "Where the heck are
we?" She asked. "Or... should I say when?"
Moonstone nodded her head, "Nabiki-chan, you're right, that's a
dirigible. The last one was scrapped more than 50 years ago."
In some universes, at least.
The shining craft had strange markings on its tail, resembling a red
white and blue bull's-eye on its rear stabilizers. Clearly visible on
its side was the airship's name, which consisted of a Roman character
and Arabic Numerals: R-107.
Those don't need to be capitals.
Sheer amazement captured the attention of the entire group until the
ricochet of a gunshot off a nearby stone broke the spell. All six
ducked, three as they whispered transformation phrases...