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-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
-- File: pt1.txt
It's funny the things that come to mind
when you think you're dying...
~~Flashback~~
-A while back
The need to unburden himself had been
growing for a long time, yet he'd always
managed to resist the temptation.
But Ranma couldn't deny it any longer.
He needed help.
The fight at Atlantis had shown him
just how careless he was getting.
They would never have been able to
capture him had he been paying proper
attention to his surroundings.
Next time he might not be so lucky.
And of all his friends, Erin alone might
be able to understand this emptiness
inside of him that he could feel
growing larger with each passing day.
There was also the matter of Ishtar.
What the hell was he going to do with a Rune Weapon anyway?
~~End Flashback~~~
"Irony is the Axis of the Universe."
-AAnn proverb
And now...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Private Bet #10: Chapter III
by Shade
Disclaimer: Yo ho, Yo ho, A Disclaimer's life for
me! Argh maties, we be using these characters
that be belonging to other people cause we're too
lazy to come up with our own!
"We can proceed about our business."
You can go about your business.
"Move along."
Move along, move along.
~~~~~~~
Part 3: The Season of Light.....
~~~~~~~
-Ever Have One Of Those Days?
"This is Go Takarada of Action 5 news,
coming to you live from Juuban's
commercial district where the
Sailor Senshi have just blown
up an entire city block!!"
Upon seeing his chances for fame and fortune go
up with a bang, Takarada was naturally more then
a little upset. His dreams of an early retirement
had vanished when that Sailor Senshi had blasted
his story to kingdom come.
"Only moments ago a battle was being fought between
the Sailor Senshi and a mysterious armored figure
who had saved them earlier from a horde of evil
youma. But the reason behind their sudden attack
against their rescuer is a mystery, could it be
that they're afraid of a little competition?!"
{Goddamnit! So much for my "Knight Hawk" exclusive!!
Maybe I can play up the fact that the Senshi are
responsible for all of this destruction. That's sure
to make at least the six o'clock news.}
Nothing could have survived that blast.
And since he was a pragmatic sort...
"Or have these so called Defenders of Justice finally
turned to the Dark side? We will continue to
cover this alarming situation of "Magical Girls Gone Rogue"
with further updates to follow!"
Scruples and Takarada were like oil and water.
And his cliches *sucked*.
Meanwhile his assistant continued to keep the camera
rolling, not noticing that a stray bit of shrapnel had
killed the transmitter beaming the signal to the station.
Perhaps it was better that way.
~~~~
The Inners could only stare as the settling
cloud of dust and rubble started to reveal a scene
of total devastation. While ground zero was still
shrouded from view, what they could see wasn't very
encouraging. Pluto's attack had left nothing but
rubble in its wake, every structure in the blast
zone had been completely totaled.
Apparently the Senshi of Time had never
heard of a little thing called "overkill".
Shock set in.
It started as a pulling emptiness in the pit of the
stomach followed by a glazed over look in the eyes
of those who had seen their hopes raised and then
cruelly shattered. There were no tears, not yet at
any rate. It had all happened too fast, their minds
just couldn't accept what they had just seen.
So for now, a blessed numbness settled over them.
~~~~
It was times like this that made Urd wish
she was allowed to curse. Even at her most
vindictive she had only wanted to teach that
impudent jerk a lesson, not kill him.
"Mara's going to pay for this."
What a waste. Come to think of it,
that guy hadn't been really that bad.
He probably hadn't meant to grab her like
that and he *had* been trying to protect her
(no matter how misguided that protection might have been).
"I think there's someone still alive in there!"
An excited cry from her left derailed the goddess's train of thought.
"Huh?!"
Urd stared at her younger sister and the strange device
that she'd produced out of (their) Father only knew where.
"Skuld..when did you-? How-? He's still-? What?!"
"It's pretty faint, but I'm definitely getting a
life force reading. There wasn't anyone else
there when it blew, so it's gotta be him!"
"Before you start celebrating sis, you might want
to think about *them*."
Urd gestured toward a exhausted looking Pluto and
the struggling Uranus and Neptune.
"Oh...right."
Her cheery expression dampened slightly upon being
reminded about the precariousness of the present situation.
But that was easily fixed!
"Skuld, put the bomb away."
Urd didn't even have to bother looking,
she knew by now how her younger sister's
line of thinking worked.
"Spoilsport."
Reluctantly the petite little goddess removed her finger
from the detonater switch and tucked it back into one of
her many subspace pockets.
"Relax, just leave everything to your big sister."
Skuld's complexion turned blue upon hearing that dreaded statement.
"Now I'm worried."
~~~~
-From the Journals of Erin Tarn
"What is the true measure of a hero?"
I have asked that question many times over the years.
There have many responses, yet not one of them
is ever alike. Each individual holds themselves
to a different standard in their heart.
But Saotome's answer managed to surprise me.
For several minutes after I asked him that
Ranma remained quiet, staring into his cup of tea
as if it was showing him something from the past
that he could not forget.
I shivered when he met my gaze again.
To this day I wish that I had left well
enough alone. There was such pain in his
eyes, more then any person should ever be
forced to bear. For a moment I was nearly
overwhelmed by this glimpse into his very being.
So many shadows. I could not even begin to
imagine what had done this to him. It was
the first time he'd ever dropped his guard
so completely in front of me. I guess that
this was the first time it finally sunk in
that Ranma was just as human as the next
person. He just hides it better then the
rest of us.
Even as the realization hit I could see
the barriers falling in place once more.
The window into his soul vanished as if
it had never existed in the first place.
But the new awareness that I had of him
did not leave me, things had changed
between us. We were still friends, but
now there was distance between us that
could never be bridged.
Then he gave me a small sad smile.
"A real hero is someone that doesn't screw up."
"What do you mean?", I asked him. His answer
didn't make any sense to me at the time. Surely
he didn't think that such perfection was possible,
and I told him so.
"We all make mistakes, that's part of being human."
But it didn't seem to help. The somber expression on
his face didn't waver, he was dead serious.
"A true hero can't afford to be wrong. Not once. Not ever."
So that was it.
In a softer tone I asked him,
"What happened to you, Ranma? It's been two years
since I last saw you. But it seems that more time
has passed for you then me."
I didn't expect him to answer me, but he did.
"I'm tired Erin. I'm just so tired..."
He turned to look out the balcony, his
friend's home was cozy but by no means
small. It afforded an excellent view
of the surroundings and the setting sun.
The sunsets of Lazlo are one of the most
beautiful sights one can see on Rifts Earth.
Part of that attraction is being able to
actually relax and enjoy it, secure in the
knowledge that the City of Learning is one
of the safest places in North America.
But Ranma had no eyes for the glorious natural
spectacle taking place outside. His thoughts
were turned toward the past.
"I've seen too much evil....
Too much cruelty...
Too much hate...
Too much pain..."
His voice was empty, and his
eyes had a haunted look in them.
"And always Death. It follows me like a shadow,
never ever going away. So many friends,
people I cared about, have died because of me.
No matter what I do, they die....and all I can
do is find the bastards responsible and make them
pay. But it's never enough. It won't bring them back."
There was nothing I could say,
simple words of comfort couldn't
help him. It just kept spilling out of him,
like a dam that had been finally breached
and would not stop till it had run its course.
"I hate having to kill. But I've become
damned good at it. Too damned good.
And the worst part of it is that I'm
beginning to not give a damn anymore."
The tears in his eyes refused to fall.
But I could see his body quivering like a bow
that had been drawn too tight from the pain
he sought to keep in control.
"Ranma..."
I was sure that he was being too hard on himself.
The Ranma I knew wasn't a killer, the only time
he ever took a life was when defending himself
or others. He took no pleasure in it, he simply
did what had to be done.
"I've done a lot of stuff over the years that I'm not
proud of, Erin. All of it was in the cause of what's
supposed to be right, battling evil and injustice.
But the dividing line between the two has become so
blurred now that there are times when I can't help
but wonder who's side I'm really on.
"Wha..what?!"
I couldn't believe my ears, but I could
see that he wasn't lying. The pain was
being replaced by an empty expression
in his eyes, and it scared me.
Ranma had always been so strong, the person
that could be counted on when things got bad.
But now he was here before me, on the verge
of burning out both emotionally and mentally.
Never had I felt so helpless, it hurt so badly
to see him like this.
"I don't know who I am anymore and I'm starting
to think that I never did. There's so much darkness
out there and the best we can ever hope to do is
check it in a bloody stalemate. I can't go on like this,
there has to be another way!!"
"You can't save everyone."
"I know. I thought I could make a difference,
but nothing's really changed. Sometimes...
I feel like just giving up."
When I heard that I just couldn't help myself.
I'd never been so angry, and I slapped him. Hard.
*CRACK*
I regretted my action almost immediately.
Ranma's face was *much* harder then my hand.
It felt like I had struck a steel wall.
"Erin!?"
The dark emptiness clouding his eyes vanished
and was replaced by a shocked and hurt expression
directed at me.
Of course, I wasn't exactly keep much track
of all the details going on as I was rather
upset at the time.
"Now you listen to me, Ranma Saotome! Don't you
DARE take that defeatist attitude with me!!
Just because you're not perfect doesn't make
you a failure! You say that you haven't made a
difference. Well, take a good look at me Ranma!
YOU saved my life!! And not just once, but several times.
Hell, you helped save this entire planet from total
annihilation at *least* twice!! I'll be damned before
I repay that debt by letting you snivel in fear like some coward!!"
He went from shocked and confused to just plain angry.
I have admit I'm not exactly sure what I was thinking
at the time. When I look back now all I can do is shake
my head in disbelief. Ranma can have that effect on a person.
"-What- -did- -you- -call- -me-?"
The glare he shot at me was hot enough to vaporize a SAMAS.
For once I was glad about that little quirk Saotome had
about not hitting women. I suspect that if anyone else had
said that to his face they would have had trouble trying to
pull their ankles out of their tonsils. I'm not saying
Ranma is a violent person, for a person his age he
possesses a remarkable sense of self control. But
he has very little tolerence for fools or troublemakers.
Anyone stupid enough to challenge his sense of honor falls
into *both* catagories.
So what did that make me at that moment?
Hmmm...Better not explore that line of thought any further.
"A coward. If you're not one, prove me wrong!! Damn it,
after everything that's happened you just want to throw
it all away?! I thought I knew you better then that!!
You may not care about what happens to you anymore
but your friends care!! *I* care!!"
There. I had said it. Now all I could do was brace
myself for the coming explosion. He had every right
to be angry. But I wouldn't back down. I believed
every word I had shouted at him. The universe would
be a much darker place without Saotome in it.
"...I..."
His mouth stayed open but nothing more came out.
A mask seemed to slide over his emotions
and I could no longer tell what he was thinking.
Somewhere along the line Ranma'd finally
managed to pick up an effective poker face.
It was a little *too* damn effective if you asked me.
"Ranma?"
Finally he seemed to snap out of his little trance.
"Erin..."
Despite myself, I flinched. His voice sounded so soft,
and it was filled with an emotion I had never heard in
it before. I was truly afraid at that moment, convinced
that I'd failed and he was going to let himself be beaten
by the ghosts of his past.
"Thank you. I needed that."
All I could do was blink.
I couldn't even manage a decent "Huh?",
you could have knocked me over with a
feather at that moment.
Then he smiled. A actual honest to goodness,
heart stopping, "Hoo boy! I *REALLY* wish
I was forty years younger!!" smile.
(*Ahem*, sorry about that. But it's just not fair!
Why couldn't he have been available when *I* was
looking for a man?! -Erin)
I smiled back as the Ranma that
I remembered finally returned.
"So why don't you sit down and tell me what
you've been doing since we last met."
"It's a long story."
"Those are the best kind."
I started to brew up another pot of tea.
If he said it was going to be long that
meant it could take four or five days
before he finished.
Heh, but at least his stories were never boring!
~~~~~~~
-All Present and Accounted For
{Let's see...that's 24 charged Energy-clips,
one slightly used Mantle of Displacement,
53 Class IV type fusion blocks, 247 socks
that don't match, duct tape, 6 modified Kittani
Sentry Turrets, that old HI-80 laser rifle he
insists on dragging around with him, couple of
spare parts for who knows what, one really beaten
up copy of the Book of Five Rings, more duct tape,
and....}
Ishtar was busy taking inventory of the other
items that resided with her in the dimensional
pocket. There wasn't much else to do here and
Ranma was always putting stuff here and forgetting
about it. So it was left to his partner to keep
track of what he collected. It was not a job
of the faint of heart, there was stuff scattered
about as far as the human eye could see.
{Geez, where the heck does he find all of this junk?!}
A pair of white silk panties drifted past her position.
{And what the hell is *THAT* doing in HERE?!
It was followed by several other female undergarments
ranging from "Skimpy as Hell" to "Guaranteed Nosebleed".
Ishtar could only recognize about half of them as having
belonged to certain "acquaintances" of her partner.
(He is *so* dead when I get out.}
That was when the explosion hit.
*KABOOM*
The dimensional pocket shuddered violently
as its connection to the real world was
briefly thrown out of alignment by the
raging maelstrom.
[OOOF!!!]
The startled weapon was hurled into a pile of old scrolls
and assorted knicknacks. She bounced off of
a very patched up suit of light body armor
and went into a uncontrolled spin.
[AAAAAHHH!!! WHAT'S GO-GO-GOING-NG-NG O-O-ON-N?!!!]
Thinking quickly, Ishtar erected a TK(TeleKinetic)
field around herself. It brought her to an immediate
halt. Fortunately whiplash wasn't something she
had to worry about, so the sudden stop was annoying
instead of painful. Once the sword's position was
stabilized within the protection of the field,
Ishtar's attention turned toward the cause
all of this. Somehow she just knew that her
partner was the cause of all of this.
[HEY! What's going on out there?!]
There was no response.
[Ranma?]
Now she was beginning to get worried.
[Ranma?!]
Something was wrong. She should have
gotten some kind of response, even
if it was only a mental brush off.
The only reasons why she wouldn't be able to
contact him would be if he was unconscious,
inside a psionically shielded area, or...
...or...
...if he was dying.
[Ranma!! I swear that if this turns out to
be a false alarm and all my worrying is
for nothing I'm gonna KILL YOU!!!]
~~~~~~~
-Ouch
{.....}
Darkness. Void. Pain.
{!}
Sensations that had become all too familar to him
since he'd fallen through the looking glass.
{?}
Especially the last one. Physical pain had always
been a part of his life ever since he could first
remember. Ten years of training had taught him the
hurts that could be inflicted by fist, feet, and words.
Rismoth had introduced him to the agonies of weapons
both ancient and modern as well as the horrors of magic
and psionics. But it wasn't until after his Transformation
within the heart of the Cosmic Forge that he learned
the true meaning of Pain.
{!?}
The disorientation he felt started to fade as
his mind eased its way back into consciousness.
It wasn't a very pleasant trip.
{....Did anyone get the registry number of that Star Destroyer?}(1)
Memories of the fight started to return.
It was accompanied by a splitting headache,
his brain felt like was going to explode into
a billion bloody pieces any second. This was
on par with his first(and only) hangover in the
"Experiences I don't think I'm gonna survive;
Just let me die already!!!" department.
{Damn it, I can't believe I got my
ass kicked by a girl....*again*.}
He cursed softly, then groaned as the effort
made his head hurt even more.
What kind of an attack was that anyway?!
And more importantly...could he learn how to do it?
{Well, I'm not going to be doing much of
anything if I don't get up soon.}
Ranma's first attempt to rise proved futile.
Something heavy was pinning him down and
for some reason he couldn't lift it off.
{Huh?!}
He should have been able to move whatever
was lying on top of him, it wasn't *that* heavy.
{What's the matter with me?! I feel so weak...exhausted....}
He couldn't see a thing either, and it was
then that he realized his tatto's power had
expired. But that didn't make any sense,
like all experienced martial artists his body
kept precise track of time's passing, and according
to his internal clock he'd been unconscious for
only a few minutes. The magical enhancement
should have been good for at least another hour.
Something was wrong here.
{Okay, no need to panic. First thing to do is find
out exactly what I've got left to work with and
then go from there.}
A quick but through internal check of his status
wasn't very encouraging. His power reserves were
*much* lower then they should have been. Even
taking into account the extra energy needed to
activate his tattoos, it still didn't explain
why most of his available PPE was missing.
In his current condition he just *might*
be a match for that Tux-boy jerk.
{Magga cammara(2), I haven't been this wasted
since taking on that Nightlord bastard....}
Just thinking about it brought up a whole bunch of
really bad memories. His stay there had nearly cost him
his life, his sanity and his soul. Mind and spirit
had both eventually recovered from that horrific ordeal.
But without Erin Tarn and Ishtar, he would never have
been able to find the will to keep on going. He owed
them both a debt that he would never be able to fully repay.
But there was no magic in the Universe that could fully heal
a broken heart. Ranma would carry those scars till the day he died.
Which, if things kept going the way they were, might be sooner
then expected.
{Damn it all!! I can accept dying for a good cause!!
BUT I REFUSE TO GET KILLED BECAUSE OF SOMETHING THIS STUPID!!!}
In his anger Ranma found the strength to move.
A surge of raw power snapped through his muscles as
he strained to shake off whatever was pinning him down.
For a moment nothing happened.
Then there was a creaking groan as
the pieces of roof began to shudder
and give way. A loud crash sounded
as the remaining debris collapsed
on either side of him.
{I'm free!}
But the effort had cost him dearly. Ranma
could barely find the strength to stand up.
He was forced to lean heavily on the remains
of what had once been a wall. Even with its
support he stumbled twice.
{Kuso!}
Gut wrenching nausea struck as he finally
reached a more or less upright position.
The unlucky Knight had to fight the reflex
to drop to his knees and puke his guts out.
His sense of balance was going crazy, the world kept
dipping and swaying and spinning and twirling
with the occasional loop-dee-loop for good measure.
The low pitched drumming that some sadistic
musician was beating into his eardrums wasn't helping
him either. And it was getting a bit chilly for some
reason...
{Wa-wa-wait a sec. Why is it so drafty?}
Ranma looked down. His body was bruised
and battered, but still in one piece.
His Cosmic Armor on the other hand...
{!!!}
Now that was a totally different story!
All he could do was look down in disbelief
at a lot of bare skin that *wasn't* supposed
to be exposed.
There also seemed to be a lot of little black bits
of material scattered all around the area.
In fact that debris looked *awfully* familar...
{*GACK* Th-tha-that's my ARMOR!!!}
She had blown up his armor.
She had blown up his *COSMIC* armor.
But that was supposed to be impossible!!
A Cosmoknight's armor was one of the best protections in
the Multiverse. That wasn't just an idle boast, it was a fact.
Not only did it possess the innate resistance to energy that
Ranma himself had, it was also capable of sustaining an
incredible amount of abuse from practically any source *and*
repairing that damage within a few minutes.
Although some attacks were able to penetrate his armor,
the sheer power needed to completely *destroy* the suit
was on a scale that was simply mindboggling!
{How in the Forge's name did that woman *DO* that?!}
Ranma shuddered to think of what could have happened had
he not been in his Cosmic form. Those dark fragments
scattered across the ground would probably have been
bits and pieces of *him* instead.
As it was, enough of the blast had still gotten
through to leave him damn near helpless. Right now
all he was running on was plain old fashioned
guts and stubborn determination.
It wasn't enough, and Ranma knew it.
{Shit! I really underestimated her. Gotta get
outta here fast, I need time to let my body
pull itself back together.}
Speaking of which, why hadn't his
healing factor kicked in already?
Unless...
{Uh oh.}
He couldn't feel the telltale tingle that
was the usual indicator of his armor putting
itself back to rights like it was supposed to.
Nor was his own body recovering at its normal
rate, while Ranma could sense some life returning
to the most damaged areas it was taking *much*
longer then it should have.
That was an even more horrifying and unwelcome
discovery then the amount of damage the blast
had caused. Getting severely injured wasn't
normally that much to worry about, it happened
to him all the time. But not being able to
recover from those injuries in a few minutes,
now THAT was a problem!
{Okay, *now* it's time to panic.}
~~~~
-The Deadliest Emotion
Sailor Pluto slowly sank to her knees in exhaustion,
without the Time Staff as a support she would have collapsed
totally. Her reserves had been virtually depleted by the
enormous energy requirements of the "Chrono Trigger" technique.
It was easy enough to make a hole in space-time and direct
the resulting flood of wild quantum level energies at the enemy.
Usually no more then a few seconds of exposure were needed to assure
complete and total annihilation of the target(s). The hard part
was *closing* the tear before it got out of control and ended up
wiping out all existance within several hundred kilometers.
And she hadn't used this attack in almost a thousand years,
because it reminded her of...Ran.
Even a millenia later her memories of him remained dark and
bitter. She hated him more then anything in the Universe,
there were simply no adequate words capable of describing
the sheer burning rage she felt whenever she remembered
the man who had gained her trust, stolen her heart, and
then cruelly betrayed her.
Because of his treachery a kingdom had fallen. Everything
that she had fought for, all that she had sworn to protect
with her life and honor, gone. Her ruler and fellow Senshi
dead, along with over a billion innocent souls. But what
he'd done to her personally had been far, far worse then
mere death. That would have been a blessing compared to
the fate he had inflicted upon her.
Ran had left her alive, the only surviver of the once
proud Silver Millenium Empire. For that alone she would
have seen him writhe in agony within the deepest pits of
the Abyss for all eternity.
Trapped within the Corridor of Time and helpless to intervene,
all she had been able to do was watch the horror repeat
itself again and again as the currents of the Timestream
flowed endlessly before her. It was enough to drive a
lesser person completely insane, but she had been denied
the easy escape of madness. Instead, her shame and guilt
had grown until she now loathed herself almost as much as
she hated her betrayer.
Setsuna had learned her lesson well. Love was a fantasy
for fools and dreamers, she was neither of those anymore.
Ran had destroyed her illusions, all she had left now was
this last attempt to make amends. By ensuring the security
of the future Crystal Millenium Empire she sought redemption
for her one fatal lapse in judgement. It was her self-imposed
penance. She would not fail Serenity a second time. One way or
another this threat to the Princess and the future would end,
no matter the cost.
A single lonely tear ran down a face that might as
well have been cast in marble for all the emotion
it showed. Only her crimson eyes did any trace of
emotion escape the control that had cost her so
much to learn.
"No matter the cost..."
~~~~
-Be Afraid. Be *VERY* Afraid.
*CRASH*
"What was that?!"
"It came from over there!"
The Inners snapped out of their
trance-like states as if awakening
from a bad dream, right now they
were willing to grasp at any straw
of hope no matter how slim it was.
"Can you see anything?!"
"No, there's too much dust!"
"If he's hurt *I* get to nurse him back to health!"
"In your dreams Venus! He'd be in even worse
shape afterwards!"
"You're one to talk, Jupiter! As I recall you
*flunked* First Aid training!"
"Um, guys we have to *find* him first. Besides,
I'm studying to be a doctor anyway..."
"Hey! I have dibs!!"
"No, I do!!"
~~~~~~
-Say It With Flowers
The Universe had an unwritten law concerning Ranma Saotome
that was similar in nature to the one it had concerning a
certain blonde Galaxy Police detective. Although the wording
of that law was quite long and tedious, what it boiled down to
was "The given odds for any event happening are no longer
applicable when said individual is involved".
Case in point. Having already sustained considerable damage
to his person from Sailor Pluto's attack, Ranma was now
practically helpless and it looked more and more likely that
he would wind up being fussed over by pretty girls yet *again*.
This had happened quite often back in the Three Galaxies and on
Rifts Earth...and Wormwood...and the Forgotten Realms...
and...and...well, you get the idea. Let's just say that
Saotome was no stranger to the horrors of being nursed
back to health! It would be faster (not to mention *safer*)
for him to tend to his own injuries, and if Ranma could
have had his way that's just what he would have done.
Unfortunately for him, Fate loves to kick a guy when he's down.
It's one of her little quirks that tends to send most sane beings
running if they know what's good for them. Which is why people
tend to stick with Destiny, who is kinder and much more reliable.
So it was cruel twist of Fate (pun intended) that the first
person to spot him was none other then the only person there
who was willing and able to deliver some serious payback.
{There he is!}
Yes, Tuxedo-Cuckoo was just determined to make an already
lousy day for Ranma even worse. But then again, Mamoru Chiba
could never be accused of any of those silly things like
fighting fair, respecting rules of engagement, or not
taking advantage of a clearly incapacitated individual.
After all, the best opponents to hit were those that
couldn't hit back.
Of course he just *had* to use the one item in his rather
tiny arsenal which was capable of actually doing anything.
The rose throw was cliche, annoying,
and an otherwise stupid looking attack.
But it worked.
"YES!! I got him!!!"
Tuxedo Kamen would have jumped up and down in glee
if he could have found a dignified way to do so.
"You did WHAT?!!"
Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus obviously didn't share
his feeling of accomplishment. The two Senshi made that
very clear when they kicked his shins with all of their
strength.
"OWWW!!"
Then they got *really* violent.
Sailor Mercury sweatdropped before running
out to hopefully fix the mess the Caped
Blunder had made of things. Minako and
Makoto would be right behind her as soon
as they finished venting a little post-battle
stress and she wanted some time to attend her
patient alone. There was no telling *what*
further calamities might occur when those
two tried to help.
Mercury was so caught up in trying to avoid attracting
attention from the others while making the best possible
speed that she completely missed Sailor Saturn's silent
presence following right behind her.
~~~~~
-Oro?
Saotome normally liked roses. They were pretty, smelled good,
and *really* useful for when he was in a pinch involving
women. But he didn't enjoy it when one was hurled at his
body with the intent to maim or kill.
And he *really* didn't like it when that rose turned
out to be a surprisingly effective projectile weapon
against him.
{SONAVABITCH!! I should have kicked his ass when I had the chance!!}
Ranma jerked backwards in agony as the razor sharp stem
sunk deeply into his already weakened flesh just past his
collar bone. On a scale of one to ten, this rated a solid
seven on the Saotome Pain-O-meter. It felt like he'd just
been hit by a Hyper Grav-Cannon round, even though the actual
injury was insignificant. It was the enchantment placed on the
flower that was now draining into him which was doing the real
damage. Flashes of red and white briefly obscured the badly wounded
Knight's rapidly blurring vision as his sorely taxed body fought
a losing battle to stay upright and conscious.
"Some...vacation...this is..."
{And to think that the Forge said this was going
to be a good chance to relax and unwind. I should
have seen this coming....}
Ranma teetered, then he slowly started to collapse.
The last thing he saw before everything went black
was a generous amount of tanned cleavage.
Okay, so even Fate can be merciful once in a great while.
~~~~~~~~
-From the Frying Pan to the Breakfast Platter
"Whoof!"
Urd had to scramble to catch the young man as he fell.
She hadn't been expecting him to suddenly come crashing
down onto her like that. At least he was lighter then
he looked.
"*This* is your very cunning plan?! Just run in and grab him?!!"
The sad thing was, Skuld had been expecting some kind of
harebrained stunt from her older sister. Just not *this* crazy!
"It worked didn't it? So stop complaining and give me a hand here!"
Under other circumstances Urd would have enjoyed having a young
man's head pressed firmly against her ample bosom, but right now
she was too busy trying to keep her balance while holding onto
the unconscious stranger. He wasn't that heavy, but it was all
dead weight, which made holding onto him clumsy and uncertain.
On a more positive note, she was learning more about him now
then during the entire time he had been wearing that strange
armor. A pity that it wasn't *all* gone, part of his helmet
and some scattered half-melted bits that had apparently avoided
the worst of the blast were still obscuring most of the important
parts. But the goddess had still gotten a good look at him before
he'd passed out on her.
Urd *liked* what she saw.
Lean and tight in *all* the right places, not rippling with
bulging muscles in every possible direction like most of
the Asgardian Patheon, but definitely packing some serious power.
She was willing to wager that if this guy were patched up and
cleaned up a bit he would be quite a treat for the eyes,
among *other* things...
{Hmmm. Maybe I should just let him *work* his debt off.}
Her thoughts were interrupted by a warm stickiness
soaking through the front of her garments.
Puzzled by this strange (but oddly familar)
sensation, she took a moment to look down.
The first thing that came to mind was "What a mess".
The second one was "Belldandy's going
to have her work cut out for her trying
to get *this* stain out".
And it was one of her favorites too!
She gave the offender an annoyed look.
"You're going to owe me big time for this."
Fortunately Ranma was in no condition to answer her.
His shoulder continued to bleed like a leaky faucet
as the embedded thorns tore deeper at even the
slightest movement.
{Don't you *dare* die on me!}
The brief feeling of possessiveness was
noted and logged for later contemplation.
Right now she had bigger things to worry about.
Like getting the heck out of there before
something *else* went wrong.
It looked like it was time for
"Urd's Super Duper Clever Distraction"(tm)!
"Uh oh."
Skuld eyed her now glowing sister nervously.
This was going to be *bad*.
"Hey, look over there!!"
Urd pointed at a spot that coincidently
happened to be the exact opposite direction
from where she was currently standing.
~~~~~~
-Masaki household (Where Truth Is Stranger Then Fiction)
Washu snorted in disbelief.
"Oh c'mon! What kind of two-bit
idiot would fall for that old gag?!"
"Where? Where is it?! I wanna see!"
Ryoko, Minagi, and the recently recovered
Ayeka all craned their heads in an attempt
to get a glimpse of what everyone was making
such a fuss about.
*KA-BOOM*
The greatest scientific genius in the
universe facefaulted onto the living
room floor and started twitching.
Ask a stupid question...
~~~~~~
-Ready. Set. Run away!
"Urd, that was so...STUPID!!"
"Hey, don't fix it if it's not broken."
"And what's *that* supposed to mean?!"
But her big sister wasn't paying attention,
instead she seemed to be looking for something
in the rubble.
"Oh c'mon...they can't *all* have been destroyed."
Then she spotted it.
{Bingo!}
Not the most ideal focus for a tranport,
but since this was an emergency it would do.
Urd grabbed her little sister, secured her
unconscious passenger, and got ready to skedaddle.
"Hang on, we're getting outta here!"
The young goddess blanched as she
listened to the chant that her older
sibling was using.
She wouldn't!
Anything but *THAT*!!
Not the "Official Heavenly Sake Hangover Instant Transport" spell!!!
"Wait! Wait!!"
Skuld shouted frantically as she
struggled to escape before it was
too late.
"...She who parties and gets away,
lives to get drunk another day!"
Divine power surrounded them
as the platinum bombshell
finished her casting.
"Aaaaa-"
*Insert Spiffy Goddess Special Effects Here*
The trio vanished in a swirl of white light.
So did several scattered bits and pieces
of what appeared to be random junk.
~~~~~~~
-There's A Nice Bridge In Brooklin Available For A Reasonable Price...
The still smoking remains of what had once
been a deluxe television set tipped over with
a loud *Crash*.
Everyone that was still there turned back around.
"..."
A long silence followed.
Jupiter was the first one to recover
and point out the obvious.
"They...disappeared!!"
A brilliant deduction by Venus followed.
"Gah! She tricked us!!"
A red faced Mercury closed her eyes and wished
that the ground would just swallow her up.
She was NEVER going to live this one down.
{I-I can't believe *I* fell for that!!}
Could things possibly go any more wrong right now?
Emergency sirens blared as a swarm of
patrol cars came rushing toward the scene.
{Of *course* they could...}
Since all the monsters were gone
Tokyo's finest had decided that
*now* was a good time to show up.
"Hey guys! Did we miss anything?"
"Whoa! What happened here?!"
Sailor Mars and Sailor Moon looked
at the other Senshi curiously. They
looked rather surprised to see the two of
them there. Okay, so they were a *little*
late. But the situation seemed to be under
control. It wasn't anything to make a big
fuss over, right?
"WELL IT'S ABOUT BLOODY TIME YOU TWO SHOWED UP!!!"
Sailor Moon might not be so hot as a fighter.
But she knew how to grovel at a level that
put the "Crouch of the Wild Tiger" to shame.
"AAAHH!! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll never be
late again!! Just stop making those scary faces!!"
Fortunately Mars managed to stop herself before she
followed her first instinctive reaction of hurling
spirit wards at the terrifying apparitions looming
over her.
"We can assign blame later! Let's just get out
of here before something *else* happens."
That was when it started to rain.
"Doh!"
~~~~~~~
-Heaven on Earth (Or The Next Best Thing)
"Keiichi, you might want to back up a little bit."
"Why's that, Belldandy?"
"I'm afraid that Urd used one of the more esoteric Holy magics."
Keiichi looked properly horrified as he sprang
back from the television screen, he remembered
the *last* big spell that Urd had attempted.
It had taken two weeks for the antenna to fall
off of his forehead. He still broke out into
cold sweats whenever he saw a flyswatter.
Still, even that couldn't prepare him for what came next.
Three small sonic booms shook the temple in quick succession.
Urd, Skuld, and some half-naked guy who was bleeding like
crazy from a nasty chest wound came crashing out of a
large crystalline gate that appeared directly in front
of him.
A moment later the gate imploded back into
the nothingness it had originated from.
Its passengers were deposited almost
exactly where Keiichi had been sitting
before Belldandy's warning.
"Wh-who is this?!"
"He's the one that saved Skuld's sorry tush,
not that you could tell by looking at him now."
"I said I was sorry for going out alone!
Hey! Where's Banpei?!"
A small downpour of robotic parts dropped on Keiichi.
"Ow! Ouch! Hey! That hurts!! Quit it!! Ow!!"
"Banpei-kun!!"
Crying with relief, the petite goddess grabbed
all of Banpei's components and disappeared into
her room in record time.
"Don't worry my precious!! You'll be as good as
new in no time!!"
"Uh..."
Morisato rubbed a sore spot on his nose where
a gear had bounced off, he should have known
that Skuld would be Skuld.
~~~~~~
-Tendo Household (We Lower Your Property Values For Less)
To the casual observer everything
appeared to be normal.
Genma, having already disregarded his son's
warning to "Get off your lazy butt and find
an honest job for once in your life",
was playing shogi with Soun on the porch by
the koi pond. Naturally both of them were
cheating like crazy, resorting to lame
tricks that even their much dreaded
master would have been ashamed to use.
Pathetic, but perfectly in character for those two.
Meanwhile, Kasumi was doing the chores
which the so called "men" of the house
seemed to think were beneath their dignity
or simply beyond their intellectual capacity.
Again, nothing out of the ordinary.
Or so it seemed...
A closer look revealed that the eldest
Tendo daughter was doing something that
could be considered slightly odd for her.
Kasumi was *singing*.
"I've been looking for this emotion,
Pure feelings hidden inside of me."
A genuine glow of happiness seemed to
emanate from her as she twirled through
the house with broom and duster in hand.
"The harder I chase my dream..."
There was a light spring in her step,
as for the first time in her life
the willowy beauty let herself picture
a future where the family she took care
of would be her own.
"...the more I experience the time for smiles and tears."
It might be a little difficult at first
for her younger sisters to take over
the running the household once she was gone
but Kasumi was sure that they would be
up to the challenge.
"I know that, but..."
A small feeling of doubt arose.
Did she dare to leap into the unknown?
Could she afford *not* to try?
Would there be someone waiting to catch her on the other side?
Or would she find herself falling forever, helpless and alone?
To risk it all, or not at all.
"...sometimes I want to be more like myself and feel the wind.
I want to find the future of no one else but me."
For a long time Kasumi had been following
a safe and mundane road in life. Now the
way to a new path was being offered to her,
one that promised to turn her entire world
topsy turvy but at the same time tempted
her with a chance to fullfill a deep
heartfelt longing which had remained
buried and nameless for a very long time...
~~~~~~~
-The Cure Can Be Worse Then The Disease
"Move him over to the futon."
Belldandy was relieved to see that her
older sister had already started to apply
a compress in order to slow the bleeding.
Even if she did look less then thrilled about
having to use the small remaining part of her
robe that hadn't already been splattered as
a makeshift bandage.
{Darn it! I'm a Goddess of Love, not a field nurse!!}
Urd glared at the nearest conscious target
for her irritation.
"Make yourself useful and hold him down.
I need to pull this stupid flower out
of him."
Keiichi gave her a funny look in return.
Hold him down?!
She had to be kidding!
Just *look* at him!
He felt like a twig compared to this guy!
"Do I have to do *everything* myself?"
Morisato sighed in defeat, his head
bowed in shame at having to surrender
so easily.
It was sad but true, he was a weenie.
"I'm coming."
~~~~~~
-Exactly 1 minute 32 seconds later (Or It Simply Sucks To Be You...)
Keiichi Morisato, perhaps the most lucky (or
unlucky depending at how you look at it) guy
on Earth, was currently regretting that he'd
never taken the time to exercise and workout
more.
"AAAAAAAA-"
He was also wishing that he had taken skydiving lessons.
*CRASH*
"-AAAAAAA-"
It was a good thing that the wall he went
through was actually nothing more then a
flimsy screen divider, otherwise someone
might have gotten hurt.
*CRASH*
"-AAAAA-"
Well, it was only *two* screen dividers.
*CRASH*
Uh oh.
"-AAAAAA-"
*CRASH*
Oh dear.
"-AAAAAAA-"
*CRASH*
[How do I get into these messes?!!}
~~~~Two Seconds Earlier~~~~
"Be careful, this is probably going
to hurt him a bit. Be sure to brace
yourself, he's kinda strong."
Urd had an infamous talent for understatement.
~~~~Back To The Predicament At Hand~~~~
"-AAAAAA-"
*CRASH*
This was so unfair! The most perfect woman
in the world was in love with him and he
was going to die a virgin!
"-AAAAAAA!!!"
*squish*
The realization that he wasn't dead started to
slowly sink in. With that matter settled,
he proceeded to try and identify the puzzling
incongruity here.
{Squish?}
That was funny, he didn't remember
putting such soft cushions in this room.
And warm too. How odd.
For some reason they reminded him of
Belldandy but for the life of him he
couldn't figure out *why*.
They even smelled like her. A subtle
perfume of fresh baked cookies and
spring flowers that he never got tired of.
"Keiichi?"
Uh oh.
A feeling of dread and foreboding(tm)
started to creep in.
{Kami-sama wouldn't be that cruel...}
In retrospect, it was a *really*
bad idea to open his eyes.
~~~~~~~~~
-Furinkan High (Where The Quality Of Education Is The *Least* Of Your Worries)
The lunch hour had come and gone. But
she *still* couldn't find him anywhere.
To say that Nabiki was more then a tad peeved
by this was like saying Tatewaki Kuno was only
slightly less intelligent then your average cucumber.
Ranma had been gone *far* too long for any "reasonable"
explanation. And despite Kuno's loud and pompous speech
about how he'd "driven off the craven coward like the
sniveling peasant trash he was", any student with more
then two brain cells to rub together knew better then
to listen to him. Naturally the male students on campus
bought every word of it.
Even despite the fact that Kendo-boy was
currently unable to stand up straight without
immediately going cross-eyed and clutching
at the Kuno family baubles.
{Where *is* he?}
And while she would never admit it (even under oath),
she was starting to worry about him. He didn't
seem like the type to up and vanish like that
without a word to anyone else.
Something was up.
And whatever it was, she was going to get to the
bottom of it. There was her reputation to consider
after all. *Nobody* pulled a fast one on Nabiki Tendo.
It had been awhile since she'd faced such a difficult
puzzle and Nabiki could feel her insatiable curiosity
start to lick its chops in anticipation of the challenge
to come.
{I must be out of my mind...}
Ranma might be attractive but was he *really*
worth the headaches that seemed destined to
accompany him?
{Who am I kidding? Like I'll ever
get another opportunity even remotely
close to this one?}
Nabiki was not a fool.
"Kyyaa-*thump*-oww!!"
Her sister on the other hand...
"Give it up already, Akane! You're never
going to be able to accomplish a double
spin kick somersault-flip with a butterfly
open hand strike after just seeing
Ranma use it this morning!"
The judges were out on that one.
"If he can do it, so can I!
I'm a martial artist too, you know!!"
Nabiki could feel a headache coming on.
{Sis, you only shout that out to the
entire world every couple of hours.
Maybe you should say it a little louder,
I think a few people in Antarctica haven't
heard you yet.}
Why the heck was Akane so upset anyway?
Just because someone else had *finally*
done something about the morning spectacle
and given Kuno-chan a much needed lesson
in humility? Or was little sister jealous
about no longer having the attention of
the entire school anymore?
She tried to shake off the smug sensation
produced by that line of throught, but her
efforts weren't very effective. There was
just something deliciously ironic about Akane
being upstaged by *Nabiki's* prospective fiance'.
{Well, as soon as I *find* him....}
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
{Watch out Saotome, you've just met your match.}
And she always played to win.
What she forgot to figure into her calculations
was that even fools can be dangerous under the
right circumstances.
~~~~~~~
-The Stuff Dreams (And Nightmares) Are Made Of
Cosmoknights rarely dreamed.
Their minds were restructured by the Cosmic Forge
during their initial transformation into an efficient
configuration that didn't require much to continue
functioning. Most Knights could go for weeks or
even months without rest, suffering only minimal
reductions to their performance and efficiency.
"Sleep" for them usually consisted of nothing
more then a few minutes of simple meditation
where the poisons and stresses that have been
built up by activity were purged by their
unique metabolism. They possessed a mind-body
relationship which in some ways surpassed even
that of the dreaded Phase Adepts.
It was this control which enabled them to access
so many of their unique abilities. Their power
of flight was governed by pure will, a Knight
merely had to concentrate and his body followed.
Similarly their FTL capability was a product of
mental discipline and focus. Through meditation
a Cosmoknight's absolute mastery of each and every
cell of their body enabled them to temporarily
transform from matter to pure Cosmic Energy capable
of surpassing even the most powerful hyperdrive.
One of the side effects of such rigid discipline
was an inability to naturally achieve the REM state
necessary for dreaming under normal circumstances.
It was extremely difficult to relax their self control
long enough for theta waves to be produced, the closest
thing to real dreams that most Knights ever experienced
was a kind of "Zen" state where their consciousness
received orders and information from the Forge.
This particular situation was far from ordinary.
Ranma's ravaged system was busy trying to overcome
the effects of Sailor Pluto's attack that had
irradiated his body with dangerous and unstable
quantum level energies. The effect was compounded
by the raw magic leaking from Tuxedo Kamen's
sloppily enchanted bit of foliage. Even the
considerable protection granted by the Cosmic
Forge had never been intended to defend against
such an unusual combination like this.
All it had been able to do initially was keep the
damage from spreading further, but nothing could be
done about the ice cold fire that screamed down
every nerve cluster as millions of living cells
were torn asunder, only to regenerate in whole,
only to be ripped apart once more. The cycle of
death and rebirth repeated itself without any
end in sight, only the unceasing pain was constant.
Even the strongest will could remain in control for
only so long under these circumstances.
All that was required was the smallest
slip to achieve the necessary conditions.
That chance came when his body, instinctively sensing
that further measures were needed, slipped further
into unconsciousness in order to initiate a desperately
needed healing trance.
Ranma dreamed.
Through a haze of pain and delirium, he dreamed.
~~~~~~~
-Governer Ryga's palace (Firefight In Progress)
<BGM: Mad Machine (Bubble Gum Crisis)>
The Imperial Forces were putting up one heck of a fight.
But then again, the rebels wouldn't have it any other way.
The hatred between the two sides ran too deep.
"Squads 1 and 2 take point, clean out
those hallways and make sure those Imps
didn't leave us any nasty parting gifts."
His sergeants nodded and signaled their
teams to advance, the troops used whatever
scant cover was available as energy beams
and solid slugs hissed and screamed back
and forth between the lines. Their efforts
were only successful part of the time. Several
unlucky rebels were hit on an exposed front
or flank. Very few of them got back up afterwords.
War hadn't gotten any prettier
in the future, only more efficient.
"Squad 4, form up and protect the Resistance
Leaders, we didn't come this far just to lose
them to some stupid private with shit on
his boots."
The squad's soldiers started to carefully pull back,
each person laying down covering fire for the next
as they regrouped behind the front lines. A fresh
squad quickly moved to replace their positions,
though not without suffering casualties in doing so.
"The rest of you, let's kick some Legionnaire ASS!!"
"YES SIR!!!"
General Skythe possessed that rare mix of charisma
and brimstone which his troops would gladly follow into
Hell itself if he asked them to. Having lost his wife
and only son to the Kreeghor's brutalities,
Dennis Skythe had dedicated his life to destroying
the Empire. He was a hard man, but fair in his own way.
"So which position should I cover, Grandpa?"
Skythe's lower jaw smacked painfully onto the
cold permacrete floor as he did a double take
at the sight of his 16 year old granddaughter
standing next to him wearing worn combat fatigues
and shouldering a laser rifle like she had been
born for it.
"Hsi-Feng?! What the hell are you doing here?!
I told you to stay back at the base!!"
Heads were going to roll when he found out
who was responsible for this mixup!!
"There's no way I'm staying behind
during a major engagement like this!"
Scratch that, he should have known that the
little mule of a brat would try something
like this on her own. She had her mother's
features, but she'd gotten her damned
pigheadedness from him.
Dennis rued the day he'd been forced
to assume responsibility for raising her.
How the heck anyone back then had expected
him to know diddlysquat about taking care for
a little five year old girl in the middle
of damn intergalactic civil war was beyond
even his comprehension. He'd done the best
he could of course, but as she'd gotten older
Hsi-Feng had turned into a complete tomboy.
Hell, she could use that rifle she was
carrying better then most of his troops.
That *still* didn't excuse her being
here though!!
"You little...don't you realize how
dangerous this is?!"
{I swear that when this is all over
I'm going to tan her little bottom
so hard, she'll be standing for a month!!}
Although even that probably wouldn't stop
her from pulling another harebrained stunt
like this.
{Goddamnit! I'm getting too bloody old for this!!}
"By all rights I should have you thrown in solitary
with nothing but bread and water!! But-"
"But you can't afford to detail any soldiers off
from securing the palace to escort me back to base,
now can you?"
He glared at her.
"You knew."
Hsi-Feng stood her ground as she faced his
his stormy expression. They both knew it was
an empty threat, but he still had to try and
save face in front of his men. There really
was no good reason for him to send her back.
She was just as qualified, if not more so, as
any of the other soldiers to be there.
"Just a logical guess."
A flicker of grudging admiration
crossed his face, his granddaughter
might have many faults, but a coward
she was not. The girl was going to give
him a stroke one of these days.
Unexpectedly Skythe felt a
pang of sorrow in his heart.
Where had all the time gone?
He could barely see any traces of that cute
little tyke who had laughed so happily at
her "Gwamps Skytights" in this hardened
young soldier.
For fifty years he'd been fighting in this bloody war.
During that time his duties had cost him many things,
but none of them were more painful then seeing the
only family he had left denied the chance to
experience more in life then just the battlefield.
Maybe...
Maybe it was time to start thinking about Hsi-Feng's future.
But first he had one last promise to keep.
Only when K�tarthkl�ppe was dead would he finally be
able to lay the ghosts of the past behind him. It had
taken over a decade of searching, but at last the
bastard who had murdered his son was going to pay.
"Stay close to me and for once,
try to keep out of trouble!"
"Don't I always?"
She smiled back at him. For a moment
he caught a glimpse of that little
girl he remembered in those laughing
gray eyes.
A renewed sense of certainity filled him.
This was why he was fighting, for Hsi-Feng
and all the others like her that deserved
better in life then this.
"ATTACK!!"
~~~~~~~
Floor by floor they cleared the governor's palace
of Imperial scum. It was hard and bloody work,
the butcher's bill was going to be far too high
when all of this was over. They were winning,
slowly but steadily. It was only a matter of time.
But every minute that the battle continued increased
the grim toll for Rebels and Imperials alike.
{Damn this war and damn the people who forced
us to fight it in the first place!!}
Skythe hoped Ryga was pissing himself right now.
With all of the exits sealed off and the sky
being watched by Rebel forces, there was no
escape for the tyrant.
He and Hsi-Feng had split off from the main group,
taking a small band with them to search for the
governor while the others finished mopping up the
remaining spots of Imperial resistance. It was a
tricky business, they might be winning but their
hold on the palace was far from secure. The Imps
were still fighting for every meter of ground that
they took, but there was an increasing sense of
desperation in their resistance. The Rebels had
cleared most of the main halls, but there were still
occasional groups lurking around that they'd missed
during the initial sweep.
To add to their headaches an occasional automated
defense system would still pop out in areas that
the rebels had already secured, they had few options
except to always watch their backs. And until their
electronic-countermeasures teams went through this
place there was always the danger of stumbling upon
a makeshift mine or bomb.
Dennis let his reflexes take over as he led his
troops through each room. There was no time for
hesitation, no time to think, not if he wanted
to stay alive and in one piece. Rather then
suppress the fear which rose up in him, he put
it to work for him. Everyone got scared, the
trick was not to let it cripple you at a critical
moment. All of his senses were keyed up, on the
alert for even the slightest hint of danger.
It was that alertness which saved his life.
Just as he was about to head back down one of the
previously checked side passages connecting to the
heart of the palace Skythe caught a flash of movement
in the shadows.
He rolled to the side, while a quick snap shot took out
the trooper lurking behind a lifesize crystal statue
of the governor.
The acrid smell of ozone from his plasma charge
burning through the air had just reached him
when a "colonial" laser rifle blasted from his
near right to take out the Imperial lacky who had
been drawing a bead on him from the *other* side of
the statue.
Hsi-Feng's shot burned through the other Imp's faceplate,
which mercifully obscured the graphic demise of the being
wearing it.
Skythe spared a moment to give his granddaughter
a look of irritation. That shot of hers had
been much too close for comfort.
"How about a little warning before you fire that damn thing?"
Hsi-Feng shrugged carelessly.
"Sorry, there wasn't any time."
But the impish gleam in her eyes indicated
that she wasn't the least bit contrite.
"Humph!"
Turning away, he performed a quick search but found
nothing of any real importance. It seemed that they'd
just caught a pair of stragglers from the main enemy body.
But where had they come from? The only ways out
led back to the main hall where they had come from.
Skythe and his men had already searched this exact
same room just a few minutes earlier...
Click.
"What the...?!"
One of the wall panels slid *inward* at his touch.
"So that's how they got here."
Hsi-Feng ran a finger along the rim of the entrance
then tapped the butt of her rifle lightly against
the dark blue crystals that were revealed.
A thoughtful frown crossed her face.
"Looks like psynetic shielding. That would
explain why nobody picked this up earlier."
Skythe nodded in agreement, that was what
he had figured too. Of course Ryga would
have taken precautions against supernatural
as well as technological forms of detection.
"It figures, vermin will always have
bolt holes handy in their nest."
Her expression said it all.
"Let's flush this rat out."
~~~~~~~
-Smoke And Mirrors
Ryga's office turned out to be actually easy
enough to find. They simply looked for the
biggest room overflowing with extravagent and
gaudy displays of wealth and power.
But when they burst inside,
the surprise turned out to be on them.
The first thing that hit them was the smell.
The misma of recent death was strong,
nearly a tangible presence in the room.
It was a stench of fear and suffering
that could only be described as...Evil.
Then they saw it.
Or rather, what was *left* of it.
The ghastly sight in front of them was enough
to cause even professional soldiers to recoil
involuntarily.
Ryga K�tarthkl�ppe, merciless tyrant of
Rismoth, butcherer of countless millions,
the most despised individual in this region
of space, was dead. Murdered. And it did not
look like his end had been a quick one.
The taste of bile rose in Skythe's throat,
even in his most vindictive moods he'd never
imagined anything remotely close to *this*.
"Bloody hell! What's going on here?!"
~~~~~~~
-A Knife In The Dark
Guard duty is almost always a boring job,
sorta one of those near universal constants.
What most people fail to understand is that
boring is a *good* thing. It's on those rare
occasions when something exciting happens
that trouble starts.
Unfortunately, the unlucky rebels who'd been
assigned to sentry duty inside of the main
computer control room inside the palace didn't
share this sentiment.
"Damn, I'm bored."
"Would you shut up already! It's not like your
complaining is helping the time pass any faster,
you know."
"Okay then, let's talk about something
else. How do you think the others are doing?"
"Better then we are, that's for sure."
"I can't believe we got stuck with standing
watch back here. Man, we're missing all the action!"
"That suits me just fine. Getting killed
ain't exactly high on my list of things
to do."
"Where's your sense of adventure?"
"Where it belongs, safely buried
beneath my sense of self preservation."
"Are you a man or a mouse?"
"Squeak squeak."
"Oh very funny. What do you do for an encore?"
That question would never be answered,
because at that moment the two sentries
finally sensed the presence behind them.
As they turned their plasma rifles were
just starting to drop into firing positions.
But when they saw who it was they hesitated
for a fatal second.
"You?!"
The sounds of a blaster firing twice in
quick succession drowned out any further speech.
Both guards dropped like sacks of wet cement,
steam rising from the gaping holes in their chests.
Their faces frozen in expressions of surprise and
horror.
The killer regarded the corpses briefly,
then dismissed them from any further concern.
All too easy.
A dark gloved hand reached out and
pushed the body slumped across the
communications board to the floor.
Sensitive fingers lightly skimmed over the
decorative red runes that seemed at first
glance to be nothing more then standard
Imperial bureacratic artistry.
But those who had built this device always
had more then one purpose in mind for
everything they designed.
One simply had to know where to look.
The symbols for "Fate" and "Destiny"
were found and pushed down into the board.
*Click*
His efforts were rewarded by one of the console
heads sliding back, revealing a previously hidden
control panel.
It didn't take long to punch in the proper access codes,
sending out a prearranged set of commands out into a part
of the continent that most people considered the middle
of nowhere.
The figure slipped back through the concealed entrance
once the green light indicated a successful transfer.
His job here was almost done. Ryga had been successfully
disposed of. The signal he'd been instructed to deliever
during the Rebel attack was even now being sent.
All that was left for him was to tie up some loose ends.
The rest was up to the Empire.
~~~~~~~
-Elsewhere
Tucked securely inside a concealed bunker,
obscured from long range electronic sensors
by the high metallic content of the surrounding
mountains, a compact and extremely powerful
pulse transmitter started to power up.
Within mere seconds it reached full capacity
and began to beam a series of carefully modulated
signals out towards deep space.
~~~~~~~
-High Orbit, Rebel Fleet
"Commander, I just picked up a short high frequency transmission burst from the planet."
"Source?"
"Unknown, it was too quick for me to get a lock.
It wasn't using any encryptions that I could
recognize either."
"Strange..."
"If it weren't for the fact that the burst itself
was on such a high energy wavelength, I would have
thought it was just random electromagnetic static
from the mop up of the planet. But there was
definitely a delibrate pattern embedded in it,
so that rules out any natural cause."
"Hmmm. It's probably nothing, but we'd better inform
the Admiral anyway. Tania, patch me through to the Hopebringer."
"I'm on it!"
~~~~~~
-Phaseworld, The Seel's Whails
(BGM: The Cantina [Star Wars: A New Hope])
It wasn't what she'd expected.
Instead of being a dark and dirty
vermin hole, the place was warm,
well lit and almost cozy in a
weird futuristic sort of way.
"*This* is a Spacer bar?"
"What, you thought they'd be hanging
out in some kind of sleazy dump like
in the movies?"
"Well to be honest, yes."
"Actually, that's often the case.
But the owner of the Seel's Whails has
a full set of house rules that she's
good about enforcing. Plus, this is
one of those rare places where a
civilized being can get a decent
drink for a reasonable price and
not worry about getting a blaster bolt
or a vibroblade in the back, so the
patrons tend to try and keep it that way.
"I see. So who is "she"?"
"Miss Rairruk."
"Does Miss Rairruk have a first name?"
The guide shrugged.
"If she does, she ain't telling."
Katrina's eyes widened as she spied what
was hanging on the wall behind the main bar.
Resembling a high-tech samurai, the empty
Warlock Combat Armor silently watched over
the rest of the room. Suddenly those last
few statements made a whole lot more sense.
"Oh my."
If even *half* of what she'd heard about
the Warlock Marines was true then things
were probably going to get *very*
interesting soon.
~~~~~~
Their entrance had not gone unnoticed,
many sets of eyes had come to rest on the newcomers.
The pair didn't look like regulars, the man
might be from the Center but his companion
was most certainly not.
It wasn't her exotic good looks, or the way she was
dressed, or even the fact that there was a Millenium
wand hanging from her belt along with several of the
more dangerous techno-wizard devices.
She just didn't have the "feel" of a Spacer.
This meant she was either a potential
client or *really* stupid. After seeing
her deliver a nasty but effective kick
to the crotch of an overeager pilot with
more liquer in him then common sense,
those watching revised their opinions accordingly.
Noting that the rather large male humanoid
failed to stir from where he lay in a curled
up fetal position after several minutes,
the majority of the patrons wisely decided
to turn back to their drinks and other forms
of exotic stimulants. It was obvious that
this one could look out for herself.
Those remaining were mostly hoping for some
work to come their way. Most of them didn't
care who they worked for, as long as they
were paid on time.
But there were always exceptions to the rule.
A pair of hooded eyes paid very
close attention to the unusual woman...
~~~~~~~~~~
Their contact announced his presence with a
low whistle of admiration accompanied by his hands
clapping in respect. It wasn't often that he'd seen
such a commotion dispatched with so little fuss.
"Not bad. I must admit that I was
rather worried when you two showed
up as you did."
"Oh?"
Katrina assessed the man before her carefully.
A mop of black hair flecked with traces of silver,
enough wrinkles to give his face character, and
his brown eyes had the mark of combat experience.
He wasn't young, but given the level of medical
science available here that meant nothing. It was
interesting to note how well he seemed to blend in
with his environment, her gaze tended to slide off
of him if she didn't concentrate.
"You're not exactly the type of gal that
blends in with the local scenery. We've
been keeping tabs on you since the Central
Checkpoint."
It spoke well for her credentials that she could take
care of herself so easily. If she really was one of
Ranma's *intimate* friends, that would explain a lot.
The captain's taste in women was the stuff of minor
legend in the Rebellion.
Lt. Nicholas Croaker even had a few credits
of his own in the "Saotome" lottery that had
started up a few years ago. Wagering on who
would be his next conquest was common but
small potatoes, the bookies had learned the
hard way not to give anything but token odds
on that. The real money was in the "Who he'll
finally end up with" pool. The odds were long,
*very* long. But the potential payoff for the
winner was incredibly lucrative, at last check
the pot consisted of enough credits to buy an
entire planet!
Putting his dreams of a wealthy retirement aside
for the moment, Croaker gave his full attention
to the woman before him.
"My name is Katrina Sun. I..I..."
Flustered, Katrina berated herself silently as she
struggled to ask what had suddenly become a most
difficult question.
Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves,
she plunged ahead.
"I'm looking for..."
He raised a hand to interrupt her.
"You want to know about Ranma."
"How-how did you know?"
"These days *everyone* wants
to know about him. Ever since
he disappeared..."
The look on her face was absolutely priceless.
"He's gone?!"
Nicholas nodded. She must have come from
somewhere *really* out of touch if
she hadn't heard about this until now.
"Just up and vanished somewhere among
the Rim systems a couple months ago.
Nobody's seen a trace of him since.
Not even his friends, and if *they*
don't know then it's a pretty safe bet
that Saotome doesn't want to be found."
Seeing that Sun was still stunned by the news,
he tried to clarify his words.
"Not that I can blame him. That poor guy
has got so many death warrants on his neck
that even if they ever catch him, they'll
never be able to agree on how to execute him.
He's probably just taking a vacation away from
it all. I know I would if I were in his shoes."
"Death warrants?!"
He was just about to answer her when all
conversation inside the bar came to an
abrupt halt.
The Guide had been waiting patiently behind the
pair as they conversed, wanting them to finish
quickly so that they could pay him and he could
get out of there.
He turned to see what was the trouble
while praying that nothing was wrong.
Then he froze as his eyes went wide
at the sight of someone he had always
hoped never to see in person.
"Oh shit, not him!"
~~~~~~
-The Scales Turn
Against all the odds, White had somehow
managed to rally and now stood poised on
the brink of total victory.
His forces had been scattered across the board,
and were now left in a last ditch defense that
was just waiting to be swept away.
"It seems that I underestimated you yet again."
His opponent had been very cunning in utilizing
Ranma to cover a devastating counter offensive.
It was amazing how much trouble even a replica
of that boy could do.
Thoth contemplated Black's next move, his long
fingers dangling over one of his few remaining
pieces as he searched for a way to at least
make his opponent pay a heavy price for victory.
{So few options left...}
"But wait, what's this?"
An opening? Yes, there was a single avenue
of attack offered...There!
His dark knight struck down White's
defender like an angry bird of prey.
"Gotcha!"
The repercussions would soon be
felt throughout the Multiverse.
Things were never going to be the same.
~~~~~~
-Rismoth System
Tania had been half-right. That transmission *had* been
purposely sent. But there were no hidden messages contained
within it, the transmission itself *was* the message.
In an asteroid belt similar to the one that
had hidden the Rebel invasion force from
detection, the signal that the Untamed
Stallion's sensors had briefly picked up
was finally received.
Communication lasers quickly spread the word
to others waiting impatiently behind the
shielding asteroids.
It was time.
-End Part 3
*$*$*$*$*$*
(1)For those of you who are wondering;
Yes, he *did* actually collide into one before.
It was an Impstar II. (Imperial class II, 1.6 km in length. Ouch!)
(2) Translates as: "By the stones"
Bonus points for anyone who gets this reference
*$*$*$*$*$*$*$*
Author's notes: Oopsie, this was originally planned to be released way back
in April. But the almighty Muse of writing has no respect
for deadlines. I must also admit that having to focus on school
and work doesn't help matters any either.
I didn't intend to break this up into two parts, but since I'm going
offline for a month and the second half is only 30% finished, this was
how it ended up.
My apologies to those who wrote to me and got no response, netaddress
lost some of my mail and when I complained to their service dept. they
told me that the data was unrecoverable. -_-'
Let's not even get into the eternal struggle between Windows and Netscape
that's been haunting my cpu...
Oh well, time to start working on the other PBs for a change.
-Shade