Hey all,

I'm posting this to the list for Jeffrey.  Send all comments to him at samashta@hotmail.com

Thank ya,

Anand

----------------------

***********
Progeny Chapter Five
By Jeffrey Vasquez

Disclaimer:

Based on the series Sailor Moon. All characters copyrighted by
Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, and Kodansha.

The characters of Ranma � are the express property of the most
benevolent queen of comedy, her Highness, the revered Rumiko
Takahashi and Shogokukan. I am in no way claiming, or even pretending
to own these characters.

The rest belong to me.

*********
Hikawa Jinja

Rei seethed.  She bubbled, and frothed in her frustration; and with a
very
good reason.  She had been trying to contact both the Inner and the
Outer
Senshi all day long, but every time she tried something went wrong.

Someone would barge in on her in the bathroom, or hang around her at
lunch; and when she was lucky enough to get through to someone, the
exact same thing would happen.  It made her want to pull her hair out
until she was bald.

There was one person left to try.

She didn't like the prospect of talking to Her.  She could be as clear
as
mud sometimes, and yet still make Rei feel very stupid in the process.
Sailor Pluto just had that way about her.

Checking her surroundings, she found the coast clear and signaled
Setsuna.  There was a moment of silence, and then Setsuna's voice came
through the small watch on Rei's wrist.

"Yes, Mars?"  Her voice always seemed so devoid of life.

"Setsuna, I had a vision last night." She answered pointedly. "I need
everyone to meet me at the shrine this afternoon."

"And what exactly is it about this 'vision' that pertains to us Mars?"

Rei made an interesting face at the belligerent question and shook her
head.  Why was it she felt like she was invading Pluto's "Me-time?"

"A man."  She said simply.

"A man." Setsuna's voice replied dryly.  "Was he handsome?" The tone of
her voice said it all.  Rei had taken her away from whatever she had
been
doing and was subjecting her to trivialities.  Rei did her best to
restrain the
flagging remains of her temper.

"I'm not sure." She said as icily as her hot anger would allow.  "But he
said that his name was 'Ahbrim Ur.'" There was a sudden squawk from
the other end of the telephone followed immediately by a loud crash.

A great deal of scrambling could be heard through the open line, before
Setsuna's voice responded to Rei's statement.

"What was that name again Rei?"  The Senshi of Time's voice was
strained  and sounded rushed.  Rei was numbed, and almost fell over from
the shock of Setsuna calling her by name, rather than referring to her
as "Mars."

"Ahbrim Ur."

A lengthy string of epitaphs flew through Setsuna's mind and somehow
made their way into Rei's not-so-virgin ears (she'd used a few of the
curses herself when dealing one on one with Usagi).  It was strange
though, to hear such expressions flowing from such a refined mouth.

". . . REI!" The Senshi of Pluto yelled through the communicator. "Are
you listening to what I'm saying!"  That was a first too.  Setsuna had
never
screamed that Rei had ever heard of.

Rei's attention flew back to the matter at hand.

"Gather the others. As quickly as you can!"

"What the Hell do you think I've been trying to do all day!" Rei yelled
back in exasperation.

"Are you finished yet?" Pluto asked cynically.

"No!"

"Too bad for you then.  I have important things that must be done before
I
can join you.  Be watchful, and above all else, DO NOT engage Ur until I
arrive."

"What! You can't be serious!  What if he attacks someone?" Rei couldn't
believe her ears.

"Let him." Setsuna's voice was cold.

"WHAT!"

"Do not get in his way Mars.  Neither you, nor Usagi, nor any of us for
that matter are ready to face Ur on our own." There was a brief silence.
"I'm not sure if we are ready to face him as a team." Rei swallowed
hard.
"Gather the others Rei.  I'll be there as soon as I'm able."

"I'll do what I can, Setsuna."  Communications closed, and Rei was left
feeling small and very alone.  Small wonder too.  Any being capable of
scaring Sailor Pluto was bad news.

*********

Ranma alighted next to Ami as she read from a large, heavy, black book.
She jumped slightly at his sudden appearance, upsetting her backpack a
little.

"Sorry for making you wait."  His voice was a little strained, and
his face held a very cute expression of contrition.  He set about
cleaning
up the spilled contents of her pack.  Ami fought the emotions that were
rapidly building in her heart, the last thing that she needed right now
was
to fall in love with the boy.

Love meant love letters, and that was definitely something that she didn
't
need right now.

She looked up at him as he stood and found herself staring into his
eyes.
There was a fresh sense of loss there that coincided with Usagi's
account
from earlier in the day.  Ranma smiled delicately, and held out his hand
to
her.  She allowed him to help her to her feet, and bent to retrieve her
book
only to find that Ranma had beaten her to it.

She looked over at him questioningly as he hefted both her pack, and the
heavy medical book that she had been casually studying from.  He
shrugged distractedly and mumbled something about making it up to her
for being late.  A coy smile graced her lips that caused them both tense
to
blush uncomfortably.

Ranma broke the heavy silence first and motioned for her to lead the
way,
so Ami obliged him and started walking toward the school's main gate.
They exited the grounds in silence and continued on until Ami decided to
break the impasse.

"So how was your first day at Juuban?"  Ami asked as she floated along
the side walk next to Ranma.

He looked at her with a guarded expression, and then shrugged
nonchalantly.  "Okay I guess.  A bit on the quiet side from what I'm
used
to, but okay."

Ami looked at him sideways, brushing her hair behind her ear to get a
better look at him.  "'Quiet?'" She inquired.

Ranma smirked, relaxing a bit more.  "Yeah.  By now I would have had at
least four or five challengers going after my head."  Ami's disbelief
must
have been written all over her face, because Ranma puffed up like a
wounded rooster.  "It's true!  If it wasn't a guy after me because he
thought I stole his girl, it was a girl after me because she thought
that we
were engaged!"  His indignation caused Ami to break out into a fit of
giggles, which in turn elicited a number of grumbles from Ranma.

She could readily see Ranma in the middle of a chaotic mess; men on one
side and would-be girlfriends on the other, and poor innocent Ranma in
the center of it all.  The whole scene caused her giggles to give way to
laughter, which was made worse by Ranma's constant attempts to
vindicate himself. The pair walked while Ami desperately tried to halt
her
giggles. Unfortunately, every time she looked up at the boy, another fit
of
laughter assaulted her. By the time Ami had gained control over herself,
sufficient to apologize anyway, they were at the Saotome home.

Ranma made his goodbyes gruffly and started through the gate, only to be
brought up short by a penitent Ami.

"I'm sorry Ranma."  She started to giggle again, but stifled it at the
sight
of Ranma's irritation.  He started to pull away again.  "Let me make it
up
to you.  I need to go visit some friends, but afterwards we could go out
for
ice cream or something."

Ranma looked back at the girl skeptically.  The utterly cute look cut to
the
bone, and melted the ice that was forming on his heart.  He was silent
for
a moment, trying to think of an excuse not to go.  Ami saw him waffling
and smiled genuinely, but couldn't hide the dejection in her
countenance.

"I'll understand if you don't want to go."

Her voice took on a note of disappointment that immediately set off
alarms in Ranma's head.  He started babbling frantically, not really
paying
much attention to what he said.  The only thing that mattered was that
she
was smiling again.

As they were walking towards the Hikawa Jinja, Ranma wondered how
she had maneuvered him into going to visit her friends with her.

*********
With the sun barely hanging above the horizon, a solitary wind blew
through desolate streets in the lower part of the Juuban ward. Somewhere
nearby a dog's barking echoed gauntly, and was soon joined by another.

The desolate mood of the neighborhood would have unnerved Youta
Fumikake, if he hadn't been so drunk.  The five shadows that detached
themselves from the walls of the alley would have driven him screaming
in any available direction too, had he been sober.  As it was, he could
barely lift his head without the world spiraling hopelessly out of
control.
The shadows coalesced into five blurred shapes, yet in his stupor he
could
tell very little about them.

In a moment of uncanny clarity, Youta remembered something that his ex-
wife had said.  It had been one of the last things that they had said to
each
other.  One of the larger blurs asked one of the smaller blurs a
question.
The smaller blur motioned with one of its hands nonchalantly.

"Youta.  Your drinking will be the death of you yet."

He thought it strange that one memory would stand out among the
clouded fuzz of all the rest. But then again, he thought it truly
appropriate
when the large figure tore his throat out.  He remained conscious only
long enough for the other figures to join in the feast.  His last
thought was
of how thankful he was that the alcohol had numbed the pain.

*********

Indra looked up from the gored body of the human that they had dined on.
It was an appetizer for what was to come, which made the leader of this
Rhakshasa scout party very hungry.  Sadly though, they would have to be
disciplined in how they feasted.  Ur had made it quite clear that this
was
to be a silent mission, and Indra knew enough about the man's power to
be wary of crossing him.

Indra himself was an impressive figure, standing over six and one half
feet
tall.  His broad shoulders carried a Siberian tiger's head that looked
both
noble and nightmarish to the few humans that had been unfortunate
enough to lay eyes on him.

"Dispose of the remains.  Prepare yourselves to leave."  His gruff voice
left no room for argument, not that anyone would have been stupid
enough to challenge him.

Agni, a small red eyed woman smiled intensely.  Flames burned where her
teeth should have been.  A whip of white flames appeared in her hands
which she snapped at what remained of the corpse, igniting it.  Within
moments it was nothing more than grey ashes floating on a fetid wind.
She smiled seductively at her leader.  Hope - or some twisted thing akin
to
it - lit her eyes.

Indra took no notice.

"Split up.  We look for a base of operations."  He looked at each in
turn,
holding their gaze until each bowed their heads meekly.  "No
confrontations, no killing."  He looked directly at the large man to his
right. "Is that understood Karttikeya?" A deferring nod was his only
response. "Good. Return here within an hour's time."

The group melded once again into the shadows, and all was as it had
been.

*********

Ami was in bliss.  Her libido was floating on a sugar high because the
young man at her side had just confessed that he thought that she was
cute.  Her logic centers on the other hand were quite incensed.  If the
brain
was just going to ignore their input, then they weren't needed any more.
Perhaps if they were to go on strike, the brain would learn to
appreciate
them more!

Not bloody likely.

Sometimes Senshi of Mercury wasn't oblivious to the conflict that was
being waged within her.  Her heart and mind fought for control of the
sensations that coursed through her, to no avail.

She couldn't believe that she had invited him to the meeting!  What
was she supposed to do with him while she and the others discussed their
business?  She wracked her brain for a solution.  After a few moments of
fruitless pondering she looked up at Ranma.  She hoped that he would
understand it if she asked him to wait for her at the ice cream shop.
She
watched his handsome face for a time, lost in his casual grace, when she
saw something white descending out of the afternoon sky towards them.

********

Marut was young by Rhakshasa standards.  He measured his life in
millennia instead of epochs, but he had still impressed the Maharajah of
his clan enough to earn a place as a forerunner.  He had mastered the
winds, taming them and yoked their impressive powers to serve him,
further impressing Siva and Kali - the leaders of the Hunt.

It was his mastery of this element that allowed him to catch a scent
that he
had not smelled in a very long time.  Actually it was a pair of scents
that
he had come to despise more than any other in existence.

The reason for his hatred rested in a scar that ran from the crown of
his
head to the tip of his clavicle.  Rhakshasa are shape-shifters by
nature,
having no true form of their own.  But for Marut, one constant could be
found in any of his forms.

His fingers brushed against the long scar that marred him in the eyes of
his
people, and he cursed the day that Aramas and Mercury were born.  He
wasn't sure how they had survived the fall of the Moon Kingdom, but he
smiled eagerly as the scent grew stronger.  They wouldn't survive for
much longer.

*********

Ranma sensed Ami tense slightly and looked up to see a powerfully built
figure falling from the sky towards them.  Reflex took over as he shoved
Ami one way and propelled himself in the opposite direction.  A
hurricane
force wind blasted the pair far from each other.  Windows up and down
the block were shattered by the detonation of the thunder clap that
followed in the blast's wake.

Ami flew through the now hollow plate glass window of a small caf�,
while Ranma was tossed head over heels into the now chaotic traffic of
the afternoon rush.  In a dazzling display of aerobatics, Ranma righted
himself and skillfully avoided an oncoming bus as it bore down on him.

The figure roared in a blind rage as he crashed into the sidewalk,
spraying
those unfortunate enough to be in the vicinity with a deadly barrage of
concrete shrapnel.  Ranma could only watch in horror while a small boy
was mowed down by a tiny stone projectile as it passed through his
chest.
Time slowed as the boy's body suddenly went limp, and turned to face
Ranma.  The sad, forlorn, expression that adorned the boy's cherub-like
face, was seared into Ranma's soul. He would never forget the face, nor
the way his limp fingers released themselves from his mother's
protective
grasp.

"NOOOOOO!" Ranma screamed in denial, and threw himself at the figure
that was now rising from the crater in the sidewalk.  His battle aura
raged
about him like an angry blue bonfire.

*********

Ami pulled herself off of a young woman who had caught the brunt of her
fall.  The poor girl had been attempting to help a young man that
intercepted a large amount of glass from the exploding window.

Her first instinct was to treat the wounds around her.  But the sound of
Ranma's guttural scream brought her back to the more pressing danger.
She needed a place to change and contact the rest of the Senshi.  But
first,
she needed to find a way to get these people out of the line of fire.

She needn't have worried.  The sight of the creature rising out of the
crater outside the window was enough to send those still able to walk
fleeing for their lives.

It stood over seven feet tall, and was leanly built.  There was no doubt
in
her mind that the thin arms on the creature were strong enough to kill
with
one blow.  Its head was anything but human; swathed in a blue, silk,
turban and veil, leaving only the feral eyes visible.  There was no time
for
her to call the others.  She was needed out there.  Martial Artist or
not,
Ranma was no match for a monster.

She tapped her earring twice, sending a general distress signal to the
others before dashing toward the bathroom.  She hoped that she would
be on time to save Ranma.

********

Ranma flowed in a deadly dance with his opponent.  No quarter was
allowed; that was made ruthlessly clear to Ranma the moment this
bastard showed himself.  People were dying around him, so Ranma pulled
out all the stops.

There were no battle cries, no warnings for his assaults.  His opponent
didn't deserve them. Amaguriken strikes were coupled with Mako
Takabisha, sending an onslaught of pain into his foe.  There was no
beauty to this dance.  It was cold and vicious.

Ranma prayed that Ami was okay, that he hadn't been too late in pushing
her.  That's the last thing that he needed: another death on his hands.
If
she was hurt, Ranma was going to make sure that this jerk paid for it.

The civilians around him began to move away from ground zero, with the
exception of the dead boy's mother.  She knelt cradling her son's
lifeless
body, as silent tears fell down her cheeks.  The sight of her grief
distracted
Ranma for a crucial instant, allowing the killer to send him flying
through
a brick wall.

"HAHAHAHAHA!  Aramas, you puny weakling!"  The thing's voice
floated through the hole that Ranma had made.  It was vile and
definitely
inhuman, reminding Ranma of crude oil and vomit for some reason.
"What has happened to you?  You handle that child's body with no skill
at
all!"

The taunt enraged Ranma to no end.  The bastard had him confused with
somebody else and now he was dogging his skill as a martial artist.  It
was
too much to take.

He threw himself out of the hole with all the speed that he could
generate,
surprising the creature yet again.  His battle aura flared white with
his
rage, driving the thing away from him.  Had Ranma seen where the
creature was herding him, he would have pulled up short.  But his
outrage
blinded him to anything but his opponent.

A solid kick to the silk robed torso sent the creature flying through
another
brick wall, causing the upper reaches to shudder and quake.  Ranma
looked at the wall in surprise and then horror as it began to topple
toward
the grieving mother and her dead son.  He didn't think, he only moved,
rushing toward the woman with every ounce of strength and speed that he
had.

**Please let me make it in time!**

*********

Sailor Mercury exited the caf� just in time to see the wall fall on
Ranma
and a woman.  Ranma was shielding her body the best he could, in an
attempt to take the weight of the cascading bricks upon himself.  There
was a loud boom as the wall met the pavement, and an immense cloud of
dust rose, choking and blinding Mercury.

Silence reigned supreme for a very long moment, causing Ami to worry
about her new friend.  The dust began to settle intermittently, but
there
was no sign of movement.  She activated her visor and began scanning for
life signs among the debris near where she had last seen Ranma.

Movement could be heard from the direction the wall had come from,
forcing Ami to stop her search prematurely.  She prepared herself for an
attack, but what she saw made her want to run in terror.

The monstrosity that stepped from what remained of a cutlery shop
numbed her mind.  Blades, cleavers and other bladed instruments
protruded from its body.  The silken robes lay in tatters about its
shoulders, and the turban had fallen from its place concealing its head.

A cold emerald eye looked out at her from the spotted face of a Cheetah.
The other eye was covered by a wooden patch.  The grotesque scar that
ran from the top of the beast's skull down to his clavicle was pulled
and
twisted by the cat-thing's snarling muzzle.

In all her battles, among all of her foes, this one terrified her the
most.
The way the blades protruded from seemingly mortal wounds, futilely,
made Ami want to vomit.  Evil poured from it in sickening waves as it
began to stalk her.  When it spoke, Sailor Mercury felt her heart clench
in
dread.

"Hullo Mercury."  It purred.  "Do you know how long I've dreamt of this
moment?"  It punctuated its question by drawing a foot long cleaver
wetly
from its shoulder and tossing it away.

"I've longed for the chance to play with you and Aramas again, after the
memory that you left me of our last encounter."  He motioned to his
scarred face and growled through a very unfriendly smile.  "I think that
I will let Aramas watch as I 'play' with you.  That way I can break his
spirit utterly before I feast on your hearts."

Ami's throat clenched painfully in a reflex to keep her from becoming
sick.  Her mouth was dry, and she tried desperately to work moisture
back
into it.  Her legs wobbled weakly and she fought against the urge to
fall to
her knees and weep.

*********

Marut inhaled deeply, savoring the smell of abject terror that hung
sweetly
in the air.  This moment was even sweeter than he had imagined. That
human fool Ur would reward him for bringing back a broken Senshi and
her champion to be interrogated.  His status among the forerunners would
grow, to possibly even surpass Indra.

The thought made him giddy; insomuch that he failed to notice the air
pressure around the fallen wall build up.  Both he and Mercury turned
when the mountain of brick and mortar erupted in a violent, deafening
roar.

Ranma stood in the center of a cyclone clutching the woman that he had
saved tightly to his chest. His eyes were glowing with an ethereal
whiteness.

A few bruises adorned his face, and his school uniform was shredded and
dusty.  But the look in his eyes promised death to the being responsible
for
the pain in the woman's soiled, tear-streaked eyes.

"Where are you, you stupid ^&%$$#!"  The grit that floated about him
obscured his vision effectively, but it wasn't enough to blind him.  He
gently lowered the woman to the ground and boldly made his way out of
the rubble toward the towering figure of Marut.

Marut smiled in anticipation.  "Come little Aramas!  Let the game
begin!"

Ranma coughed loudly.  "<Cough!>  I . . . <Cough!> . . . don't know who
the Hell this Aramas guy is pal!  But let me tell you  something,"
Ranma
coughed again as he exited the cloud of dust, the words systematically
dying on his lips as he got his first good look at Marut.  "I'm...
ran...
ma.... sao... tome."

Ranma's face conveyed a depth of fear that few humans can ever reach.
It
was a look that tore at Sailor Mercury's heart to see, and sent a jolt
of
ecstasy through Marut.

The standoff lasted for a long time, more than a few minutes, but no one
made a move.  Ranma gibbered in fear. Marut laughed at the irony of the
situation, and Ami, for one of the first times in her life, had
absolutely no
idea what to do.  She wanted to unload on the monstrosity, but Ranma had
maneuvered himself into her line of fire.  She couldn't move, lest she
draw attention to herself.  All that she could do was wait until the
thing
went for Ranma and then blast him.

Ranma's face took on a glassy expression, as if his mind had shut down.
Marut looked quizzically at Mercury and then back at Ranma, who had
crouched down on all fours.  His pig-tail stood erect, as if someone had
stuck a wire in it.  Ranma looked at Mercury with absolutely no humanity
in his eyes.  He meowed once at her before looking up at the towering
monstrosity.  The blank look was replaced with the all-too human emotion
of hatred.

The Rhakshasa looked back at Mercury for a moment and then burst into
a terrible belly laugh.  It was a horrid sound that roiled in the air as
if
alive.  It made Ami feel dirty just listening to it.  The laugh ended
abruptly, forcing Ami's gaze to rest fully on the beast.

He smiled once for each of his opponents.

"Play time's over."

********
Hikawa Jinja

Rei had tried to tell Usagi about her vision, but the ditz wouldn't
listen to
a word she had said.  Every time the shrine maiden opened her mouth to
say something, the meatball head would cut her off with some new drivel
about Ami's new boyfriend.

Who cares if he called her Serenity or not!  She had information about a
new enemy, and all the blabber mouth wanted to do was speculate
about romances!  It rubbed her raw, and the inane chatter that was
building between Minako and Usagi was boiling her blood.

Makoto, Luna, and Artemis watched Rei's face twitch.  Michiru, Haruka
and Hotaru noticed it too.  The first warning sign.  Her lips pursed,
and her fists clenched violently.  Sign number two.  Makoto took the
opportunity to move closer to the door, followed closely by the three
Outer Senshi, just in case they needed to make a hasty retreat.  Luna
and
Artemis took refuge beneath a table, hoping to get clear of the blast
zone.

Rei's face changed from her usual rosy color, to a deep, angry red.
Final
stage, explosion immanent.  The inconspicuous trio did the best to
shield
their eyes from the upcoming onslaught.

"WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME!"

Minako and Usagi paused in their avid discussion on the finer points of
various boys and their more memorable attributes.

Minako looked at Rei and smiled.

"Did you say something Rei?"  The entire room except Usagi and Minako
planted their faces on the floor.

When Rei recovered, her face was beet red, and she was quaking with
barely restrained anger.  One thought ran through her mind. **Mina-
chan is a friend.  Friends do not kill friends.**  She repeated her
mantra
until she was satisfied that she wouldn't strangle Minako the moment she
opened her eyes.

She inhaled deeply, and opened her mouth to tell everyone about her
vision but was immediately cut off as an alarm sounded from the
communicators that the Senshi wore.  Makoto tried to raise whoever had
sent the signal, but could get no one.  That was a bad sign.

She ground her teeth in irritation as her friends rose and began running
out
of the room.  She hoped that it was Ahbrim Ur, so that she could really
vent her frustration.

*********

Marut teleported in front of Mercury, grabbing her by the throat and
lifted
her one-handed from the ground.  He applied a little pressure to slowly
sever the flow of air to her lungs.

She struggled vainly, hitting his arm and kicking his in various
sensitive
areas on his body, but his iron grip did not relent.  The memory of
Itamu's
assault this morning rose to her mind, causing her to panic.

An enraged yowl alerted the Rhakshasa to the assault an instant too late
as
Ranma-neko slashed out with surgical precision.  Marut screamed in
agony as his right arm was cleanly severed at the elbow.  By the fires
of
Kan Matar! Where had that come from?  It couldn't have been Aramas.
The boy was little more than a husk!

He whirled on his attacker and blanched as the Hunter suddenly became
the Hunted.  Ranma-neko stalked the Rhakshasa warily, intent on one
thing and one thing only; the monster's death.

Watching for any move that would telegraph an attack, he circled around
to where the Isis/Mercury/Ami person lay.  She was coughing harshly,
trying to regain her breath.  The unclean-thing was hurt, angry and
dangerous.  He had to guard the Isis/Mercury/Ami person; protect her,
keep her safe.

Nothing else mattered.

He watched the unclean-thing move back at his approach, still clutching
the stump where his arm had been.  There was desperation and deep
seeded fear in its eyes, but it made no move to attack.

It would die soon enough; it was outside the cycle, and therefore didn't
belong.  It was the way of things, and it knew it.

The Isis/Mercury/Ami person pried the severed forearm from around her
throat and tossed it weakly aside.  A good sign.  Ranma-neko couldn't
smell any taint in her which relaxed him as he approached her.

She looked at him worriedly, he could smell her concern as she reached
out to touch him.  He moved into her extended fingers, allowing them to
brush solidly against his face and through his pelt.  It felt good to
have her
touch him, and he purred happily as she tentatively continued.  The
Akane
person was gone, and Ranma-neko wanted the void that she left behind to
be filled again.

The bliss was interrupted as the Tainted One began to prepare an attack.
The air grew heavy around them and Ranma-neko could feel nature bend
against its will.  He hissed in anger at the Twisted One's actions. It
was
time to end this before the Isis/Mercury/Ami person got injured more.

He could smell more of the Tainted, along with the Shining Ones from the
Isis/Mercury/Ami person's litter.  They were all watching, waiting for
the
other to act.  Well, Ranma-neko really didn't like waiting very much.

Time to finish this.

********

Marut watched the sickening display of affection play out before him,
through the haze that had enveloped his sight.  He was going die here,
that
was evident.  His shell had been too badly damaged by the unexpected
assault, and his essence was dissipating rapidly.  He needed to find a
new
shell if he was to survive, but that wasn't likely to happen.

He could feel Indra not far off, along with the others.  He knew that
they
wouldn't assist him, and if he had any real chance at survival Indra
would
have gutted him right off.  It was the end and he had lost his chance at
vengeance, along with any hope for the future.  He had gambled and lost.

The scent of the Senshi floated to him on an errant breeze.  It was an
added blessing that he was going to exploit.  If he couldn't be a hero
in
life, then let him be a martyr with his death.

By taking out the Senshi, he secured the way for the Hunt to truly
begin.
His name would be praised and lauded, while Indra and Kali were left to
the fickle sands of time.  He began gathering his energies for one last
devastating blast.

Aramas hissed at him in a very feline manner, causing Marut to laugh
insanely. **How appropriate that I be killed by the form that I have
adopted.** The irony left a sour taste in the Rhakshasa's toothy mouth.

********

Sailor Moon and the other Senshi arrived in time to see Ranma leap at
the
ravaged monster with inhuman grace and speed.  What happened next
caused Sailor Moon to bend over and lose her lunch, and just about
everything else that she had eaten earlier in the day.  Mars and Venus
followed suit, purging their stomachs.  Jupiter watched in fascinated
horror as Ranma literally tore the monster to ribbons.  Neptune buried
her
face in Uranus' shoulder, and poor Saturn's face went white.

A small explosion rocked the street, upsetting a large cloud of debris
that
concealed Ranma and whatever remained of the creature.

"RANMA!"  Mercury's voice croaked painfully.

She jumped to her feet and immediately activated her visor, searching
for
life signs in the dust cloud.  She found the woman that Ranma had saved
earlier, and a few other people that had been caught in the initial
melee.

But of Ranma, there was no sign.

She tried desperately to call out for him again, which the others soon
picked up on.  Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus began helping the injured,
along with Saturn and Neptune, while the others helped Mercury search
for Ranma.

Luna and Artemis were the first to discover Ranma's battered body.  It
had been blown through two concrete walls, before it had been stopped by
a thick, industrial freezer door in one of the restaurants.  The massive
dent
in the large metal door caused Artemis to whistle in amazement.

It was a miracle that the boy had survived at all; but from the way that
he
was breathing, this Ranma kid had barely even hurt himself.

The former advisor to Queen Serenity looked down at the boy's youthful
face in shock.  Nothing could have prepared her to come face to face
with
this ghost from her past.

Artemis checked him over carefully, and confirmed his initial
assessment.
A couple nasty bruises and a few minor contusions were the extent of his
injuries.  He looked up from the boy and into Luna's tearful eyes.

"He's going to be okay Luna.  There weren't any serious injuries."

He chuckled wryly.  "Although the idiot's going to be feeling his lumps
for the next week or so." Luna nodded her head numbly, not taking her
eyes from Ranma's quiet face.  "I'll go get the others."  Artemis made a
move toward the large opening in the wall, and then paused.  "Hey Luna?"

She looked up at the white cat distractedly.

"He finally mastered it."

Luna's blank, questioning, look caused Artemis to smile roguishly.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten that too!"  He teased.  The angry
expression and the spiky scent warned Artemis not to push his luck.
"The
Cat Fist. He mastered it!"  Luna got a horrified look on her face as the
memory slammed into place.  "You owe me a date, AND two cases of
Martian Trout." He tilted his head up to one side, and with one eye
closed
pondered the bet once more.

Luna got an extremely bad feeling about where this was going.

"Since Mars is barren now, I will be appeased with. . . hmmm," There was
a look of distinct horror in Luna's eyes.  She had a dreadful feeling
settle
in the pit of her stomach.  He smiled rakishly.

**Here it comes!**

". . . A KISS!"  Luna's eyes shot wide, and then narrowed dangerously.
The growl the rumbled in her throat let Artemis know right away that he
had crossed the boundaries of propriety . . . again.

He quickly hopped through the hole in the wall, leaving a fuming Luna to
watch over the unconscious form of his long lost friend.  His long lost
son.
A large happy grin was fixed to his feline mouth.

He silently hoped that Aramas lived through this; he still owed Artemis
money from an old bet.  It would be just enough to  help him pick out
some nice flowers for the date!

********

Luna snorted at Artemis' back.  A kiss! Indeed!  The very thought
intoxica. . . ahem!  Nausiated her.  She tore her gaze away from the
departing feline and allowed it to settle on the young man's sharp,
handsome features again.

She noticed that he hadn't changed a bit from the boy that she raised.
His
roguish features were still handsome, his body still trim and powerful.
And he still refused to brush his hair.  She had changed his diapers,
and
watched him grow into manhood, only to die a horrible, yet heroic death.

And yet here he lay, whole and alive.  It was her fondest dream come
true.

She padded over to his face and began cleaning the dust from it. First
with
her paws, and then with her tongue.  The effort roused Ranma a bit.
Luna
smiled hopefully, waiting for him to recognize her.  She had waited
millennia to hear his voice utter "Mama Luna" again.

What she got instead was a blood curdling scream.

********
Musk Palace

Ahbrim Ur stood, resolute like the statue he had been not long ago, lost
in
the dancing flames of an ornate, brass brazier that stood next to the
warlord. Marut's impulsiveness had cost the Hunt greatly.  Not in power.
Certainly not; Marut had been a drop in the bucket for the Hunt.

No, he had lost them the element of surprise.  The Senshi knew of his
re-awakening, but not of his army's.

It was unfortunate that Marut had lost his life in the conflict.  Had
the fool
survived, he would have personally skinned him alive.  There were ways
to retrieve his soul, before it was lost to them, and Ur contemplated
pursuing an example for the benefit of his troops.

A small sigh escaped him, defining exactly how upset he truly was.

All was not lost.  If they laid low for a time, lulling the Senshi into
a false
peace, then the lost ground could be recovered.  Marut would be written
off as a fluke or a rogue.  It was possible, but tedious; taking more
time
than he wanted to contemplate.  He had already waited a small eternity
for
this moment, and he had little desire to wait any longer for his
retribution.

Sadly, it looked as if that was all that he could look forward to.

He turned to Indra and Kali emotionlessly for an instant before
returning
his gaze the flames of the brazier before him.  Kali's head resembled
that
of a black panther, but her body was one hundred percent woman.  Every
sensual curve hinted at pleasures that men would die to experience; and
from the hunger that hid behind Kali's jade eyes many men had already
been devoured by their desires.

"Choose another to replace Marut." His voice resembled grinding stones
or the quiet shifting of continents.  "Continue to scout and make
reports
back to me regularly."  He turned on the creatures slowly.  "And be sure
that you are not seen this time."  Kali nodded solemnly and motioned for
Indra to leave.

"Will there be anything else Lord?"  She purred seductively.

Ahbrim Ur made no sign of recognition at her efforts to tempt him. "Yes
Kali.  You may begin the Hunt on the Musk and the Amazons.  Send a
group to Phoenix Mountain as well."  Kali smiled hungrily and bowed.

"As you will Lord." she bowed.

"Kali."

The Rhaksha paused in her bow. "Yes Lord?"

"Retrieve the dissenter.  Have the idiot brought to me the moment he has
a new body."  Kali bowed again and turned to leave.

Ur watched her lithe form slink from the room.  He had no intentions of
falling prey to her deadly charms; the desires of the flesh had died in
him
long ago.  But the view that she offered was enjoyable, from a perfectly
aesthetic point of view.  The Rhakshasa had a style and symmetry that
was attractive.

He resumed his statuesque stance, and continued planning his conquest of
Terra.  All thoughts of Kaili, the traitor, and the Senshi were set
aside, in
light of new battle plans.

********

End Part Five

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