All prior chapters are stored at my homepage:
http://www.angelfire.com/anime/Slacker
And, you can also go to Tannim's site:
http://tannim.anifics.com/
Disclaimer: I own NOTHING. No, seriously. I'm college student.
I literally own nothing. Among the many things I do not own are
Ranma 1/2, which is owned by Viz, Rumiko Takahashi, and several
large corporations who could grind me under their heels. I also
do not even come CLOSE to owning Sailor Moon, as their mini-
skirted likenesses are owned by Kodansha, Naoko Takeuchi, and
whichever American company has decided to buy the rights to it so
they can slaughter the translations. (Cousins? *snort*)
Anyways, just read the fic. Please?
******************
All the Small Things--Chapter 8
A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 X-over
By: Slacker (rheins@pmt.org)
******************
Setsuna's house
"HE'S WHA-MMMPHH!" Haruka's scream was cut off by a black-
gloved hand covering her mouth. Nemesis moved his face in close
to Haruka's.
"Sssshhh. You'll wake her up." Nemesis softly whispered,
holding an index finger over his lips. He jerked his head
towards the hallway. "Out."
Haruka slowly backed into the hallway. Michiru and Setsuna
stepped out as well. Nemesis stepped out and softly closed the
door behind him. He glanced at Setsuna.
"How's she sleeping? Any dreams? Nightmares?"
Setsuna shook her head. "No. She sleeps like a baby.
Why?"
Nemesis frowned and muttered. "Her precognition has
altered."
"What?" Haruka asked.
"Her precognition has altered. Every Chaos mage has some
kind of precognition. My father knew the exact time, place, and
method of his death since the moment he was born. I'm a
psychometric. Mara always dreamt of her next kill. It never let
her sleep well." Nemesis explained.
"Errr...'Mara'?" Michiru queried.
"Saturn." Nemesis snapped his fingers a couple of times.
"Hotaru. You know, my daughter?"
Haruka blinked. "Her name was Mara?"
Nemesis grinned. "Yeah, rolls off the tongue, don't it?"
"This is fascinating, really it is. However, I'm a bit
more interested in this 'father' bit." Michiru interjected in a
calm voice.
"I am her father. She's my daughter. It's that simple.
I'll begin training her to use Chaos soon." Nemesis responded
calmly.
"Like hell you will. You'll keep your overly-violent,
psychotic, sociopathic self away from her." Haruka hissed.
Nemesis' eyes grew hard and his voice became flat. "She is
my daughter. You will not keep me from her. You have no idea
how to instruct her in her magic, no idea how to deal with her if
she starts to lose control of it, and have absolutely no concept
of the most basic aspects of Chaos magic itself! I *will* see her
and I *will* train her. I am your only option. Besides, do you
*really* think you can keep me from her? If you try, I'll show
you just why the Queen of Saturn was so terrified of me."
Haruka audibly gulped at the absolute seriousness of his
voice. Nemesis smiled cheerfully.
"Well, I guess that settles that! I'll see you later!" He
happily stated. "Oh, and Uranus? I'd go see a doctor if I were
you. You seem a bit...pale."
As Nemesis vanished into the nearest shadow, Haruka tried
to make her voice work again. Finally, she succeeded.
"Rather...intense, isn't he?"
Setsuna slowly nodded. "Yes. It's one of his trademarks
in both the past and now. You should never get between him and a
goal. Actually, he's not that bad once you get to know him. You
just have to get past the outer layer."
Haruka and Michiru stared at her. Disbelief was written
across their faces in bold lines. Setsuna shrugged.
"I never said it was EASY to get past his outer layer."
She calmly stated as she walked past them and went back into her
room. She shut her door and started to slip off her robe. She
paused,
then continued getting ready for bed.
As she hung up the robe, she spoke. "Are you going to
stand there all night? Or do you have a reason for being here?"
Nemesis chuckled a bit as he stepped out of a shadow. "No,
I'm not going to stand here all night. I have more important
things to do."
"Like what? Go threaten some kittens? Maybe terrorize a
few kindergarteners? Wait, I know! You could hunt down Hello
Kitty and hang her from the Tokyo Tower!" Setsuna sarcastically
drawled.
"Um...you're pissed at me, aren't you."
"Gee, smart man. You caught onto that in a flash. What
the HELL do you think you were doing?" Setsuna demanded.
"Hey, she wants to keep me from my daughter. At least I
didn't do anything to her. Yet." Nemesis said nonchalantly.
"Anyways, there was a different reason I came back here."
"And what would that be?" Setsuna asked, crossing her arms
over her chest. "And why won't you look at me?"
Nemesis paused in his study of the walls. "Um, you're not
wearing any clothes. Could you pull on a robe or something?"
Setsuna glanced down at herself. "I'm wearing plenty.
Besides, you've seen me in less. Repeatedly. Just WHY did you
feel the need to frequently teleport me to random locations
around the Palace without my clothes?"
"I thought you could use some loosening up."
"Well, now YOU could use some." Setsuna retorted as she
reclined on the bed. "So what did you want?"
"Just came to tell you I'm gonna be gone for a bit."
Nemesis replied.
"Oh? Where are you going?" It wasn't so much a question
as a flat demand for an answer. Setsuna had perfected that trick
years ago.
"The Moon." Nemesis soberly answered.
Setsuna nodded. "I see. When will you be back?"
"Won't be for a bit." He reached up and tapped his temple.
"Got a lot of memories to work out, you know."
Setsuna smiled faintly as Nemesis walk into a shadow and
disappeared. Then she rapidly got off the bed, got dressed, and
moved down the hall. When she reached Haruka and Michiru's room,
she opened the door, leaned in, and spoke in a flat, commanding
voice.
"You two. Get dressed. Get the other Senshi. Rei's
shrine. Now." She started down the hall, then paused and leaned
back in. "And for the love of the goddess, can't you two ever
keep your hands off of each other? Show some discipline!"
Haruka and Michiru scrambled out of bed and raced into the
hall.
"Setsuna, how the hell are we supposed to get the others?
It's 3 AM! How are we supposed to explain that to their
parents?" Haruka demanded.
Setsuna paused. "They have communicators for a reason, you
know. Don't worry about Rei; I'll wake her up. Now, get
cracking. It's going to take you a while to wake *some* of them
up." The emphasis in her voice left no doubt who the "some" was
referring to. "Make sure you bring Hotaru."
Haruka grumbled and headed back towards her room to get
dressed. Michiru went to Hotaru's room to wake her up. Setsuna
waited until she was out of sight then teleported to Rei's shrine.
Once there, she calmly walked into Rei's room.
"Wake up." Setsuna commanded, then pulled Rei's blankets
off. Rei came up swinging wildly. Setsuna simply moved out of
the way and let her get tangled in her sheets. Rei hit the
ground in a heap.
"Lovely night, isn't it?" Setsuna calmly asked. Rei
groggily got to her feet.
"What are you doing here?" Rei demanded as years of
practice allowed her to quickly banish the last remnants of
sleep. Setsuna smiled widely.
"Senshi meeting. I need to give you lovely people some
information!" She cheerfully announced.
Rei proceeded to get very worried.
******************
Nemesis looked around at the empty plain he was standing
on. Above him hung the Earth. Below him was dust. Around him
was nothing but the empty vista of the Sea of Serenity. It was
the last part that was angering him.
"This isn't right. The spells maintaining the Palace
should have ensured that *something* would still be here." He
muttered as he walked towards the other side of the plain. "What
the hell is going on?"
It took three trips across the plain before Nemesis noticed
what had been bothering him since he arrived on the Moon.
"Wait a second." He jumped a few feet in the air. "Earth-
normal gravity. The spells are still here. That means the
Palace has to still be here. Now, where is it?"
Nemesis walked over to a boulder and sat down. As he
pondered, he idly rubbed a hand over the surface of the rock. It
took a few seconds for what his fingers were feeling to filter
in.
"Smooth rock." He froze. "Smooth rock? On the Moon?"
He jumped to his feet and stared at the boulder. It looked
like common moon rock, but he couldn't deny what his fingers had
felt. It could only mean one thing.
"An illusion. Of course. I'm an idiot!" He slammed the
palm of his hand into his forehead a few times, then paused.
"And now I'm abusing myself. I really *am* an idiot."
He shook his head, then sat down and closed his eyes. He
let his breathing slow as he reached inside himself for his
power. He took the power and turned it *in*, then *out* in the
flow pattern that would enable him to pierce the illusion. He
opened his eyes and his breath caught.
"Dear Goddess. It's a total ruin." He slowly walked into
what had once been widely considered as the center of the Solar
System, detailing the damage as he came to it. "Grand Pavilion,
gone. Wishing Tower, toppled. The Palace...crumbled. Beryl and
Metallia were thorough, I'll give them that much. Hmmm, the main
courtyard is still intact."
He walked through the destruction until he reached his
goal: the Throne Room. Or rather, what was left of it. The
destruction was almost total. The only thing that remained were a
few of the pillars that once lined the walls. Nemesis slowly made
his way towards one that had snapped off and was resting at an
angle on the broken base. He stopped a small distance from it.
"Here. Here's where she did it." He slowly sank to the
ground, anguish in his eyes. He reached out and ran his hand
over the surface of the pillar.
"Why didn't you listen to me?" He asked in a soft voice.
"It would have never happened if you had. I wouldn't have failed
you."
Nemesis sat and stared at the pillar for a while, then got
back on his feet. "Well, I won't fail you this time. I swear
it. No matter what I have to do, I will protect your daughter."
He reached over and slowly pulled the black leather gloves
off of his hands. He tucked them into his waistband, then slid
his right thumbnail across his left palm. A little pressure, a
little Chaos, and a few words were all it took to create a thin
crimson line on his hand. He held his bleeding palm over the
pillar where his Queen had died to give him and all her people
another chance.
"By my blood and power, I swear I will protect her. I swear
it by my name and my heritage. I will not let her come to harm.
My blood before hers, my life before hers." Nemesis let three
drops of blood fall onto the pristine white of the pillar. As
soon as the third drop hit, he felt the effects as his Oath
settled on him.
Nemesis gazed at the bloodstained pillar for a few more
seconds, then pulled on his gloves, turned, and walked away.
Behind him, a translucent female form briefly shimmered into
existence by the pillar. Sad blue eyes gazed at him from below a
brow adorned with a golden crescent. A pale hand briefly rested
over the blood, then hesitantly reached out towards Nemesis'
back, but dropped back.
"I'm sorry, Arin. But it had to be this way." Queen
Serenity whispered to the empty air as she faded away.
******************
"Setsuna, it's three-thirty in the morning. Why are we
here?" Makoto grumbled as she tried to get Usagi to stop sleeping
on her shoulder. She wasn't very successful. Setsuna sipped at
her ever-present cup of tea before speaking.
"Because there's several things I need to tell you. And
I'll tell you only once. So sit down, shut up, and listen.
Now." The tone of Setsuna's voice managed to even remove Usagi
from her state of slumber.
Setsuna waited until she was certain no one was going to
ask any stupid questions, then dropped her bombshell. "Nemesis
wasn't fully awake before. Now he is. He has all his memories,
all his powers. He's going to need a little while to adjust, but
after that, he's going to be back completely."
There was silence for a few seconds, then the room exploded
in a babble of voices.
"He WHAT?"
"What did you say?"
"Are you joking?"
"Damn it, Setsuna! This isn't funny!"
Setsuna held up a hand and frowned. "I'm not done. I also
closed the Time Gates last night."
"I thought they were always supposed to be closed." Ami
interjected.
"No, Ami. I mean 'closed' as in 'sealed'. For roughly the
next thousand years, give or take a few decades. As of right
now, the future is closed to all of us. I can see a little ways,
but not far." Setsuna said in the same voice one would use to
announce the end of the world.
"Why?" Ami managed to ask through her shock.
In response, Setsuna held out her hand, palm up. A single
glowing strand appeared above it, parallel to the floor. "This
represents the time stream. It's a single, continuous flow.
Every so often, branches will split off." A few glowing threads
split from the main body. "These represent possibilities that
could be. Usually, they either peter off or rejoin the main
stream. At certain times, there are several equally possible
futures. For example, your final fight with Beryl." The strand
split into several equally bright sections, which proceeded to
darken until only one was left. "It happened at all of your
major fights. Ail and Anne, Rubius, Wiseman, Nephrenia, Galaxia.
Each time, only a few major possibilities were foreseeable."
Setsuna paused, then continued. "And then, Nemesis awoke.
And this happened to the stream."
Everyone gasped. In Setsuna's hand the strand
was...ripping itself to threads.
Setsuna continued in a too-calm voice. "He's introduced
thousands, even millions of equally possible paths. All of them
lead to roughly the same destination, Crystal Tokyo, but none of
them can be predicted. They're too wild. The only thing the Time
Gate is good for now is a few days and over a thousand years
away. My personal precognition is better than that for the close-
range predictions. And viewing the myriad of timelines was making
the Gate unstable. As such, I sealed it until the time stream is
calm again."
The room was silent for a few seconds as the Senshi
pondered the implications. Finally, Ami broke the silence.
"Setsuna, this might not be the time for it, but I have to
know. I've asked this before, now I'm asking again. Who is
Ranko?"
"What do you mean?" Setsuna calmly responded, banishing
the illusion hovering in her palm.
"Setsuna, I made it a policy to do a complete background
search on all new students after the Ail/Anne incident. Ranko's
past is too perfect. There's nothing there. It's been created,
I can tell. Plus, I checked on her fighting style. Anything Goes
is only practiced by two families on the planet. She claims that
Genma Saotome is her father. That makes sense, since the Saotome
family is one of those that use Anything Goes. However, Genma
Saotome has no daughters. Now, the Satori clan does have a Ranko
listed in their records, but no one in the clan has ever heard of
her. So, Setsuna, who is she, why is she here, and why are you
letting her lie to us?" Ami's voice was flat.
Setsuna smiled slightly as she spoke. "Good work, Ami.
Very good work."
"Who is she, Setsuna. I'm not joking here. I've been
burned too many times to let someone I don't know stay this close
to us." Ami continued in an emotionless voice.
Setsuna smiled again.
"She's Nemesis." Usagi's calm voice stated.
Everyone froze. Setsuna sat her teacup down and slowly
spoke.
"What makes you say that, Usagi?"
"It's the only thing that makes sense. She shows up,
Nemesis shows up. Nemesis is injured in a fight, we find her in
a pool of blood. You wouldn't let us take her to a hospital,
she's fine the next morning. And I feel like I know her. It has
to be. She's like the Starlights, isn't she." Usagi's voice was
filled with complete conviction.
Setsuna stared at Usagi for several long minutes. "My
Queen, sometimes I wonder how I ever could have doubted you.
However, Ranko is *not* like the Starlights."
"Then what is she? I'm not joking either, Setsuna. I want
to know everything you know about her. Now." Usagi said with
unbelievable intensity. "I care too much about all of you to
risk you being hurt just because of some secret. Please trust us,
Setsuna."
For several long moments, there was utter silence in the
room as everyone tried to deal with the changes in Usagi. She
wasn't whining, or pleading, or begging. She was stating her
reasons in a calm, rational manner and acting with maturity. In
short, she was acting like a queen.
While the rest of the Senshi tried to wrap their brains
around the surrealness of Usagi acting like the Queen she was,
Setsuna began to hope for a miracle to get her out of having to
explain certain things.
And then, she received one.
******************
Nemesis smiled as the last set of doors slid open silently.
The armory had been the most heavily protected and sealed part of
the Palace. Which was why it was still in perfect condition. He
had to clear a rather large pile of rubble off of the secondary
entrance, but at least everything was still there. And since
everything was still in working order, he hadn't wasted the
effort.
Nemesis moved further into the building, past the racks of
swords, spears, axes, shields, and other, more esoteric, weapons.
He continued until he reached his goal: a simple, gray door set
into an out-of-the-way corner. He palmed a hidden latch,
revealing a keypad. He tapped in an access code and the door
slid open. He moved into the small room beyond the door and
waited until the door had shut behind him. A thin red beam of
light emerged from a corner and ran itself over his body, then
shut off. In the corner of the room, a hidden panel set into the
floor opened silently.
Nemesis walked over, reached into the opening, and
depressed a hidden switch, ignoring the fancy display panel inset
in the bottom of the hole. A small door swung open on the wall to
the left of the one he entered by. He counted to three and walked
in, ducking under some mono-filament wire as he came.
"Well, nice to see Dad's security still works." Nemesis
commented as he surveyed the room. It wasn't much to look at.
Just four bare gray walls, a marble floor and ceiling, a screen
of some kind on one wall, and a chair by the screen. Nothing that
seemed to merit any kind of security.
Nemesis walked over to the wall with the screen and looked
it. Inset into the wall was a small plaque with the simple
statement of "Deus". Below the plaque, someone had used red
paint to scrawl "ex Machina." Nemesis chuckled.
"Still there. Good. How are you doing, Deus?" Nemesis
asked conversationally.
"I've been fine. Bored as hell for the last few millennia,
though." A deep, resonant voice answered. "My only companion
was cryo-tubed. You know how boring that conversation gets after
the first three thousand years?"
"Cryo-tubed? Who the hell managed to get in here?"
Nemesis asked, looking around.
"Your daughter's little friend. On the chair." Deus
answered.
"Farow's still alive? Luna won't be pleased to hear that."
Nemesis chuckled as he moved the chair over to the screen. He
shifted the cryo-tube out of the chair and sat down. "All right,
Deus. I need a run-down of your resources."
"Power reserves are down to 28% of normal, computing has
the same loss. My entire information net is down except for a
terminal in Juban and the Mercury Computer. I'm so desperate that
I've been analyzing the data I get from the Senshi's
communicators. I've been intercepting radio and TV signals for
the last several decades and have been analyzing them, as well."
Deus reported.
"Why the loss in computing and power?"
"The solar panels have been failing steadily."
"So why didn't you fix them?"
"I didn't have authorization to. Remember, I can't access
certain parts of my programming without permission. Otherwise, I
would have rebuilt the Palace by now." Deus said, annoyance
evident in his voice.
"Well, fix them. Concentrate on rebuilding your facilities
before anything else. Your power and information gathering
facilities should be highest priority." Nemesis commanded.
"Oh, thank you for instructing me on how to repair myself."
Deus sarcastically responded.
Nemesis lifted an eyebrow. "Problems, Deus?"
"No, Dave. I can detect no problem. It must be human
error." Deus calmly announced. Nemesis twitched.
"Don't do that."
"Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer true...." Deus began to
sing in a distorted tone.
"Damn it! Stop that! It's creepy!" Nemesis yelled. Deus
chuckled.
"But, Arin, I feel fine now. Really I do." Deus continued
his normal deep voice. Nemesis glared at the screen.
"You done? I have things I need to do, you know."
"What do you need?" Deus asked, instantly all business.
"You said you had access to the Mercury Computer? Has it
been in its default recording mode?" Nemesis asked as he moved
the chair closer to the screen.
"Yes, since Mercury became active again. She's also been
entering regular reports. I've analyzed all the data from it.
Would you like me to summarize?"
"No. That takes too long. I'm in a hurry. Just pump it
in." Nemesis decided.
"Do I need to remind you of the possible side-effects of a
direct computer to brain connection?" Deus asked rhetorically.
"No, you don't. But Ice had the Mercury Computer wired
straight into her brain for three-fourths of her life with no
adverse side effects whatsoever. So don't try to scare me. Just
get me a neural net, a mouth guard so I don't bite through my
tongue, and the relevant data." Nemesis commanded impatiently.
"Very well." A panel next to the screen swung down,
exposing a thin wire mesh hanging on a hook behind it. Nemesis
took the mesh and stretched it over his head, shifting it a bit
to get the proper positioning.
"What do you define as 'relevant'?" Deus asked, as his
screen began to flicker.
"Anything having to do with the Senshi's battles. Anything
having to do with any enemies, allies, or possible problems. All
the data on the Senshi. Attacks, power levels, fighting styles,
the works. Basically, if it relates to the Senshi in any way,
it's relevant. And get me all the data on the Queen and her boy-
toy, too." Nemesis answered as he settled himself more firmly in
the chair. He reached over to the open panel and removed a mouth
guard. After placing it in his mouth, he gripped the arms of the
chair and issued a simple "Hit me!"
The raw data hit his brain like a sandblaster. Beryl, Ail
and Anne, the Black Moon family, all of them rushed into his
brain in a tsunami of information. Faces, names, attacks,
friends, foes, even pets filled his minds eye. Distantly, he was
aware of a splintering sound as his hands spasmed and destroyed
the arms of
the chair.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the data flow
stopped. Nemesis sat in the chair, gasping for breath.
"Okay, that was stupid." He groaned. He lifted his hands
and slowly picking the splinters out of his palms.
"I warned you. By the way, it appears as though the
settings I had for you are no longer accurate. I had to fix them
on the fly. Sorry about the headache." Deus apologized.
"Headache? What heada-YAH!" Nemesis doubled over,
gripping his skull. "Migraine! Major, big time migraine!"
"That one. I told you not to try a direct link." Deus
gloated in a satisfied voice.
"Oh, shut up." Nemesis groaned, then froze as a piece of
data floated to the top of his brain. He growled under his
breath, headache dismissed in an instant. "Those...bitches!"
"What is it?" Deus asked worriedly.
"Galaxia." Nemesis snarled out as he stood, grabbing the
cryo-tube as he went. "Uranus and Neptune must *PAY*!"
"Oh...dear." Deus muttered as black energy played over
Nemesis' form and he vanished. "That is not good."
******************
All the Senshi whipped their heads around as a loud boom
sounded outside the temple. Setsuna sighed softly in relief.
She knew that sound. Nemesis tended to be noisy when he
teleported via his Senshi powers. Which was why he almost never
did it.
The Senshi jumped when the door was suddenly opened and a
figure stepped into the room. Nemesis' pleasantly smiling face
wasn't what they expected to see, however. He tossed Hotaru a
canister roughly eighteen inches long and six inches in diameter.
She caught it with a confused look. Nemesis grinned.
"I figured my daughter probably missed her old playmate.
So I decided to bring him to you." He paused, then turned to face
Haruka and Michiru. "Uranus, Neptune. Could I talk to you
outside for a second? It's fairly important."
Setsuna lifted an eyebrow as Haruka and Michiru followed
Nemesis out the door. "That's quaint. He's learned manners.
Wonder what brought that on?"
Usagi stared at the frost-rimmed canister that a bewildered
Hotaru was holding. "What is that?"
"Not what, who." Luna answered in a puzzled voice.
"That's a class four cryo-tube. It's designed to survive
anything and still keep the inhabitant alive. I promise you that
there's someone intelligent and important in there. Otherwise,
that level of protection wouldn't have been used."
Hotaru opened her mouth, but whatever she was going to say
was cut off by the cryo-tube beeping loudly. She dropped it with
a small gasp of surprise and moved away from it when the beeping
stopped and it started to hiss. The end of the tube irised open,
letting a white mist spill out. The mist rapidly disappeared,
leaving nothing behind.
Luna slowly started to ease forward. She crept closer to
the tube, stopping about a foot away. She paused, then sneezed.
Repeatedly.
Artemis started to laugh. Luna glared at him while trying
to restrain another sneeze.
"What's so funny? A-A-ACHOO!"
Artemis grinned in that special way that only cats can
manage. That is to say, with all the arrogance in the world
added to a healthy dose of mischievous glee. "Think about it.
Small cryo-tube. Obviously an intelligent being inside.
Saturn's playmate. And you're sneezing. Do that math."
Luna twitched. "Oh, no. Not him. Please not him. Nemesis
is bad enough! I don't need HIM, too!"
"Who's 'him'?" Hotaru slowly asked. "And why did Nemesis
give that tube to me?"
"Ill tell you later." Setsuna calmly answered, sipping her
tea. She sat the teacup down, then spoke in a lyrical, flowing
language that seemed to tug at the Senshi's memories. There was
a pause, then a response from the tube in the same language.
Luna groaned when she heard the voice. Setsuna smirked at the
reply.
"Still vain as ever, I see." She remarked before
continuing to speak in the unknown language. After a few minutes
of conversation, chanting emanated from the tube. After a few
seconds, the chanting stopped.
"I'm not coming out."
Everyone jumped at the new voice. It was a light tenor,
with an undertone of humor and mischief in it. Artemis
snickered.
"Aw, why not?" He teasingly asked.
"Have you *seen* what a cryo-tube does to my fur?" The
voice demanded.
"Hey, I had to go through it. Live with it. It'll settle
down soon enough. Get your butt out here, you vain little wuss."
Artemis commanded.
"No. Not a chance."
"Saturn's out here. Don't want to look like a wimp in
front of her, now do you?" Artemis asked with a snicker.
"You play dirty, you know that?" The voice answered after
a pause.
"Yup!" Artemis gloatingly replied.
"Fine. I'm coming out. Laugh and die." The voice
muttered.
Everyone looked on in curiosity as the tube rocked back and
forth a few times. Finally, something popped out of the end. It
was about the size of a small dog, was a reddish-brown, and
looked like a giant puff-ball. A pair of hazel eyes gazed out
from one end.
"It's a hairball." Minako stated in a calm tone.
"I am NOT a hairball! I am a FOX! Damn it! I *knew* I
should have stayed in that blasted tube." The last was
muttered.
"Um...where did you come from?" Hotaru slowly asked,
hesitantly reaching out towards the self-proclaimed fox.
Frankly, she didn't see the resemblance.
"The Moon. Duh." The fox turned to give Hotaru a scathing
glance, then froze. "Mara? It's you!"
Hotaru froze in shock as the fox jumped towards her and
started to babble happily while swarming all over her.
"IthoughtyouwereoutpastPlutoandfiguredyouwouldn'tgetbackint
imeandsowewerescrewedsoIgotinthetube,butyou'rehere,whichmeanswemu
sthavewonandwhereArinandwhere'sSerenityandwhathaveyoubeendoingand
whyareyousoYOUNG?" He froze in place on Hotaru's lap and stared
at the rest of the Senshi. "Why are all of you so young?"
"Beryl won." Setsuna informed him calmly. "I'll tell you
all about it later. Now, introductions are in order. Everyone,
the fuzzy ball of energy is Farow. He used to be Saturn's pet
and familiar. He's another one of Arik's experiments. He's a
modified fox. Some other DNA mixed in. We're not sure what Arik
put in to make him so annoying, though."
Farow grinned widely under his puffed-out fur. "That's
natural. Like your hair."
Makoto stared at the hyper-active bundle of fur. "Why did
Hotaru have a pet fox?"
"All magical girls should have a cute, furry, talking
mascot!" Farow proudly proclaimed. He paused and looked
around. "Hey, where's Arin?"
"He's talking to Uranus and Neptune." Setsuna replied.
"Oh, they must be in trouble, then. He never does that
unless he's *really* pissed." Farow said confidently.
Setsuna paused in the middle of taking a drink from her
tea. Her brow furrowed. "Wait. Oh, dear. Ami, is the Mercury
Computer on?"
Ami nodded, still staring at the fox sitting in Hotaru's
lap. He was currently cleaning himself in an attempt to smooth
down his fur. It wasn't working too well. "Yes, of course."
"How often do you turn it on?"
"I don't think I've turned it off, actually. Why?"
"Nemesis had some marks across his forehead. There's only
one thing that I know of that makes those marks. Check to see if
your records have been accessed." Setsuna calmly instructed.
"How did you know I-? Never mind. What am I looking for?"
Ami asked, opening the Computer.
"Access from someone named 'Deus'. I don't think he'll
have bothered to hide it."
Ami typed rapidly for a few seconds. She finally looked
up. "Found it. Whoever he is, he went through everything! How
did he get into the Computer?"
Setsuna nodded. "Knew it. Deus is the AI running the
Moon's central computer. 'Central' is one of his terminals.
Arik programmed him, so he has a few...quirks. Nemesis must have
visited him to get information on what he missed. Wait, you said
ALL your data was accessed?"
"Yes, that's what it looks like. All my journals, all my
reports, looks like everything." Ami answered in a distracted
voice, still typing on the Computer.
Setsuna slowly, carefully, asked her next question. "Was
your data on Galaxia accessed?" She spoke with the voice of
someone who already knew the answer, but was hoping she was wrong.
"Yes, of course. I already told you that. Everything.
Why?" Ami responded, looking up. "Is it important? Setsuna?"
Setsuna was slowly turning chalk white. And given her
tanned complexion, that said a lot. She dropped her teacup,
leaped to her feet, and sprinted for the door. "He's going to
kill them!"
The Senshi stared as Setsuna ran through the door, nearly
ripping it off its runners in the process. There was something
inherently *wrong* about Setsuna running anywhere. It was even
more wrong to see actual worry on her face. The fact that there
was fear in her eyes...gave them the shivers. Because of that,
it took nearly four seconds before anyone reacted.
"'Kill them'?" Ami slowly said. Her eyes went wide. "Oh,
no. Haruka, Michiru! Galaxia!"
At her words, a connection clicked. Everyone surged to
their feet. Not surprisingly, it was Usagi who led the dash to
where Nemesis was 'talking' with Haruka and Michiru. It wasn't
hard to figure out where it was taking place. It was the
direction with the sounds of flesh meeting flesh, flesh meeting
wood, and trees swaying as people were slammed into them.
As they got closer to the sounds of fighting, Setsuna's
voice screamed out clearly.
"DON'T! SERENITY FORGAVE THEM!"
The silence that followed her scream seemed unnaturally
loud. The Senshi ran through the underbrush towards the source.
They emerged into a clearing to see Setsuna crouched over two
still forms. She sat back on her heels and sighed in relief.
As they moved towards her, Setsuna spoke. "We need to keep
Nemesis away from these two for a while, if at all possible.
He's going to need some time to calm down."
Usagi gasped when she reached Setsuna's side. Both Haruka
and Michiru were transformed and both of them looked like they'd
been put through a meat grinder. Haruka's nose looked to be
broken and both of them were covered in bruises.
"Why did he do this?" Usagi demanded.
"They attacked you several times, betrayed you, killed two
members of their own team, one of whom was Nemesis' daughter,
and, to top it all off, their plan failed. I'm surprised he
didn't kill them instantly." Setsuna calmly replied. "As it is,
Haruka has a broken nose, and I'm not sure of what Michiru has.
Ami, scan them, if you would."
Ami's fingers flew over the keyboard. "Well, there are
extreme amounts of bruising on both of them. Haruka has a broken
nose and several green fractures on her ribs. Michiru has
several green fractures as well, along with a broken tailbone.
Other than that they're fine. No permanent damage whatsoever."
Setsuna nodded. "It appears as though he was teaching them
a lesson. A very rough, very painful lesson. Help me carry them
to Haruka's car."
*****************
Setsuna closed the door on Hotaru's sleeping form. It had
taken a while, but Hotaru had finally fallen asleep with her
newly-declared "cute mascot" resting at her feet. Both
Haruka and Michiru were in their respective beds with herbal
salves to reduce the bruising and aches. Their beds would
probably have to be burned to get rid of the smell, but that was
no concern of hers. Haruka's nose was back to its normal
position and Michiru had to be laid on her stomach because of the
broken tailbone. That was going to annoy her for the next
several weeks. Setsuna made sure both of them were still asleep
then continued down the hallway to her room.
Setsuna shut her door behind her then flipped on her
lights. Ranma was sitting on the bed dressed only in his
standard white muscle tee and black pants, cradling his head in
his hands. Setsuna ignored him and slipped out of her suit and
into her nightclothes. Once that was done, she sat in the chair
by the bed. Idly, she noted that Ranma's black and silver shirt
was resting in a heap in the corner of the room.
"Problems, Ranma?"
"I'm him and he's me, but we're still *we*!" Ranma snapped
out in a near-frenzied tone. "I nearly killed Uranus and
Neptune! If you hadn't have stopped me, I would have!"
Ranma lifted his face out of his hands and met Setsuna's
gaze with haunted eyes. In a tortured voice, he whispered.
"What have I become?"
Setsuna watched as Ranma buried his face back in his hands.
She sighed softly, then started to speak.
"You've just had over half a century of memories shoved
into your brain, on top of that your body rebuilt itself
overnight, and that's not even mentioning the fact that you've
just discovered you have a daughter. Under those conditions, I'm
surprised you're not curled into a ball and screaming." Setsuna
calmly stated.
Ranma groaned again. "Thanks for reminding me. I'm a
father. I'm not READY to be a father!" He froze. "Oh damn."
"What is it?" Setsuna asked quickly.
"I just remembered how she was born in the Silver
Millennium." Ranma started to curse in a soft monotone.
"And how was she born in the Silver Millennium?" Setsuna
casually asked.
Ranma snorted. "Didn't tell back then. Not gonna tell
now."
"So, what do you remember of the Silver Millennium?"
Setsuna asked, as she moved out of the chair and sat next to
Ranma.
Ranma sighed and lifted his head out of his hands again.
"Bits an' pieces. It's all there, hoverin' just outta reach. I
can see portions, but if I try to bring them out...they slip
away. All I know is, I got this feeling that somethin' ain't
right. But I don't know what. It's like an itch that I can't
scratch."
Setsuna reached up and placed a supporting hand on his
shoulder. "Don't try to force them. You'll just hurt yourself.
I've seen the results of people trying to force mental blocks,
and it's usually not pretty. Just let them come as they want
to."
Ranma ground out a rough laugh. "Be a lot easier if I
didn't have this sinking feeling that I'm forgetting somethin'
important. And it's right there, on the edge of my brain. Just
barely out of reach. ARGH! I HATE that feeling!"
Setsuna raised an eyebrow. "Well, it's not going to come
if you try to force it. You should get some sleep."
Ranma stood up and started to walk towards the door.
Setsuna narrowed her eyes then spoke.
"Maybe we should figure out a reason for your growth spurt
before tomorrow morning."
"Got it covered." Ranma said with a wave of his hand. His
form shivered, wavered, and shrank down to his 'normal'
appearance. "Simple glamour. But...I will need clothes."
Setsuna stared as Ranma walked over to her closet and
pulled out several of her suits. "What are you doing?"
"Getting some clothes. I have nothing to wear. Except
that black and silver shirt and that's a bit obvious, don't you
think? Might as well hang a sign on my back telling everyone I'm
Nemesis. So I'm borrowing some of yours." Ranma was turned away
from Setsuna, but she could still hear the smile in his voice.
"Man, you have a *lot* of these suits. Don't you ever get sick
of them?"
"I have other clothes!" Setsuna snapped defensively.
"Oh, yeah? Where?"
"Over in the- Oh, no. I'm not going tell you. You can
wear the suits. You leave the rest of my clothing alone."
Setsuna instructed in a firm voice.
Ranma chuckled as he walked for the door. As he opened it,
Setsuna spoke once more.
"Ranma. I know you. I knew you in the past. I assure
you, you would not have killed Haruka and Michiru. If you had
truly wanted to kill them, your first blow would have done it.
Now, stop beating yourself up over it." Setsuna's voice was low
and firm. Ranma blinked a few times, then spoke hesitantly.
"Th-thanks, Setsuna. Somehow, that makes me feel a lot
better." Ranma softly shut the door behind him and walked to his
room. Suddenly, he smiled softly and spoke. "I have a daughter.
I have a daughter. I'm a Daddy. Wow."
Ranma walked closed his door, changed clothing and sexes,
then laid on the bed and slept the sleep of the dead, still
smiling happily.
******************
Setsuna surveyed her students with a critical eye.
Amazingly, all of them were still awake and were at least
pretending to pay attention. Even Usagi had managed to correctly
answer several questions. She nodded to herself, then spoke.
"All right. Class is done for today. I've decided to
forgo your session with Ranko for today, but it will be moved to
tomorrow. So, all of you make sure to get lots of sleep tonight.
Now, shoo." Setsuna made a shooing motion with her hand and
watched with amusement as Usagi, Minako, and Makoto nearly
teleported out of the house. Rei and Ami didn't move nearly as
fast, but they didn't linger, either. Haruka and Michiru stiffly
got to their feet and slowly walked out of the room, followed by
Hotaru, who was carrying Farow. The fox had draped himself
around her shoulders and seemed insanely pleased with the state
of affairs.
Ranma waited until the room was empty, then stood and
walked over to Setsuna. "Why'd you cancel the session?"
"We're going shopping. As you pointed out, you need new
clothes." Setsuna pointed out.
"Oh. Wait, 'we'? Why can't I go by myself? Don't you
think I can pick out clothes?" Ranma asked indignantly.
Setsuna eyed Ranma skeptically. "You own how many pairs of
the exact same Chinese outfit, again?"
Ranma was silent for a few minutes. "Okay, you got a
point. Fine. Let's go shopping. But none of those girly
stores, got it?"
Setsuna nodded slightly. "No girly stores. However, you
WILL be getting a variety. That is non-negotiable."
Ranma suddenly had a sinking feeling.
******************
"SETSUNA! HIIII!!!"
Ranma stiffened as the insanely happy voice cut across the
noise in the clothing store like a chain saw goes through butter.
Warm butter. Warm butter that had been left outside in Georgia
all day. In late July. "Oh, please not them."
Ranma slowly turned to look at where Setsuna was looking at
some blouses. Sure enough, Usagi was there, babbling like mad.
Unsurprisingly, the rest of the Inners were with her. Ranma
slowly edged out of sight behind a rack of clothing. He heard
Setsuna saying something, then the whole mob of girls trooping
off. He breathed a sigh of relief. Having the Senshi meet him
in male form wouldn't be a good thing. Not at all.
"I told you it was a mistake for you to immediately change
into the Chinese outfit and grab hot water. I told them I'd meet
them in an hour at the food court." Setsuna's amused voice
drifted to him from the other side of the clothing rack. Ranma
silently groaned to himself. She was going to gloat for a long
time about this.
Ranma walked around the clothing and eyed the clothing he
was surrounded by. "Setsuna, I'm in the middle of the girl's
clothing section. We've already got me clothes that'll go with
girl form, my guy form, and both. Why are we still here?"
Setsuna looked at him then lifted an eyebrow. "You have no
lingerie. That is something we need to fix."
Ranma blanched and started to wave his hands. "Nuh-UH!
Not a chance! No girly stuff! No!"
Setsuna grabbed his hand and started to drag him along,
ignoring his words. Finally, she spoke. "Haruka and Michiru
will have noticed you have *no* female undergarments. You need a
sports bra, at least. Or do you enjoy having your breasts bounce
all over the place during a fight? Just think of it as an
athletic support for your chest. Also, as you know, panties are
necessary during a certain part of the month. Unless you'd
rather we get tampons?"
Seeing Ranma's mute head-shake, Setsuna continued. "You
don't have to *wear* them. After all, you can prevent that from
happening by staying a guy those three days. But we do need to
get some. It's called-"
"-Building your cover." Ranma interrupted. "Fine. But
you ain't gonna get no frilly stuff."
Setsuna snorted. "That would be almost as suspicious. I
know just the thing for you. They have boxers that are designed
for women. Snug in the right places, but they're still boxers.
They're a fashion statement. I ordered some for you. Was I
correct in presuming you'd prefer those rather than actual
panties?"
Ranma nodded enthusiastically. Setsuna finally stopped in
front of a lingerie store. She pushed him down on a bench and
dropped all her packages on his lap.
"Hold those. I'll be right back."
Ranma groaned loudly as Setsuna walked away. A few people
walking by shot him amused glances. An old man who had seen the
whole exchange walked over and patted Ranma's shoulder.
"Don't worry, son. It's worth the annoyance." He grinned
at Ranma. "Oh boy, is it worth the annoyance. The right
packaging can make anybody look better. You lucky dog, you."
Ranma stared in bewilderment at the back of the old man as
he walked away. "Wha?"
Ranma puzzled for a few seconds about the man's words, then
shrugged and decided to ignore them. He started to mentally
review katas in his head to pass the time. He was up to his
fifty-second kata when a feeling washed over him. It felt like a
red-hot nail had been dragged across his nerve endings.
"Oh, crap." He whispered, then stood up. He strode
towards the lingerie store, juggling the packages to a better
position as he did. He walked through the door of the shop,
paused for a few seconds, then turned and walked straight for the
dressing rooms.
"Excuse me, sir? Sir? Sir! You can't go back there!" A
saleswoman grabbed his arm. It didn't slow him down, but it did
get several odd looks. Ranma stopped and shrugged her off.
"My wife's back there. Out of my way." Ranma curtly
declared, then walked on. He reached his destination, pulled
open one of the doors, and stepped in. A half-naked Setsuna
stared at him in disbelief.
"We need to talk." Ranma announced in a flat voice.
"It could have waited until I was finished!" Setsuna hotly
announced.
"No, it couldn't have. Someone just used Chaos to
teleport. It felt like transportation, not a personal jump.
There were several of them. Call the Senshi. Tell the Outers to
have Saturn heal them. Have them all meet me on the roof in ten
minutes. We've got some ass to kick, would be my educated
guess." Ranma finished in a nearly gleeful note.
Setsuna nodded. "What about my packages?"
Ranma sighed, then bent over and shoved the packages into
the shadows under the bench. "There. They're all in your
closet."
Setsuna nodded and rapidly got dressed. "Any idea who or
what we'll be fighting?"
Ranma shook his head as his form rippled and changed into
Nemesis. "Not a clue. Just that who ever 'ported them in did it
fast and hard. Otherwise, I never would have felt them. The
roof. Ten minutes."
Setsuna watched as Nemesis sank into her shadow, then
pulled out her communicator. "Ami? You're not going to enjoy
this...."
******************
"I can't believe they'd attack on the one day Setsuna let
us out early." Sailor Moon groused from her position on the edge
of the roof. She had been most upset with that fact, and had
grumbled about it for the last seven minutes. The rest of the
Senshi were just waiting for the rest of the Outers to show up.
Pluto was standing by one corner of the building surveying the
surrounding area. At the sound of feet climbing the fire escape,
everyone's eyes shot towards the top of the fire escape ladder.
Uranus climbed over the edge of the roof, then turned to
help Neptune and Saturn. Saturn looked a little winded from the
climb and the healing she did to Uranus and Neptune, but she was
regaining her wind. Uranus surveyed the group once everyone was
on the roof. She smirked a little. "So...why are we here
again?"
"I told Pluto to call you. We've got guests. Several of
them." Nemesis announced from the roof of the stairwell.
Several of the Senshi jumped at the sound of his voice, the
notable exceptions being Saturn and Pluto. Nemesis jumped off
the roof and looked around. "Where's pretty boy and the fox?"
"Mamo-chan's in Hokkaido on a school trip." Sailor Moon
answered quickly.
"Farow stayed at home. Said he was worthless in a fight,
anyways." Saturn chimed in.
Nemesis nodded, then commanded. "Be quiet, all of you.
Listen."
The Senshi all listened for a few seconds. Nemesis lifted
a hand and dropped it.
"There. Did you hear it?"
Mercury blinked. "It sounded like...a roar of some kind?"
Nemesis nodded. "That's the hunting roar of a Nemesian
Cat. One of the top three on the food chain of Nemesis. Don't
know how they got here, but they're very nasty. Now listen
carefully. Those things are big, mean, and ugly. On top of
that, they're totally invulnerable to Chaos magic. However, I
can get them to chase me pretty easily. So, get to the nearest
park. I'll piss them off and lead them straight to you. After
that, all you have to do is shoot straight." He clapped his
hands together and grinned. "Should be a fun fight!"
"I think your definition of 'fun' doesn't match ours."
Mars dryly remarked.
"That's because I'm insane." Nemesis gleefully announced.
He shot a glance towards Uranus and Neptune. "Now, take care of
my daughter while I'm busy, okay? Don't try to kill her *this*
time, got it?"
Mercury blinked. "Daughter? What daughter?"
Nemesis just laughed and jumped off the roof of the
building. The Inner Senshi and Saturn turned to look at Pluto.
She looked back calmly.
"Not now. We have other things to deal with. I'll tell
you later. Now, we have a park to get to."
The Senshi nodded, unable to argue her point.
******************
Pluto stood patiently in the middle of the park. Nemesis
had been baiting the Cats for the last ten minutes. He'd stopped
broadcasting his progress after the second one started following
him. Suddenly, her waiting was broken by Nemesis' voice over her
communicator.
"Pluto. Situation report. They're all following me. I've
removed one of them from the picture. However, there are seven
left. And they've been altered. Larger and faster than I
remember. They don't seem as smart, though. Or as tough. I'm
coming down the street to the east of your current location. Get
ready. They're right on my tail."
Pluto snapped into motion as soon as Nemesis' voice faded
away. She whirled around and started to snap orders. "He's
coming and they're right behind him! Get ready! He'll be coming
down that street! Mercury, as soon as he's clear of the targets,
throw a Shabon Spray. After that, everyone pick a target. You
should be able to figure it out from there. Just keep hitting
them until they die. There are only seven of them, so double up
when possible. Let's *go*, people!"
Mercury paused for a few seconds to ask a question. "What
do these things look like?"
Pluto shrugged. "I've never seen one. However, from the
little bit Arin talked about them, I believe they're fairly
large. About the size of a Saber-Tooth Tiger."
Mercury nodded. "Okay, that won't be too hard to deal
with."
With the ease born of long experience, the Senshi moved
into positions and waited. Within minutes, they heard screaming,
crashes, and the sounds of general mayhem coming their way.
Everyone tensed. Seconds later, Nemesis sprinted around the
corner at an insane speed. He jumped and ran along the wall of
the building for a few seconds when he couldn't make the turn.
As soon as he hit the ground, he sped up again.
"THEY'RE ON THE WAY AND THEY ARE *PISSED*!" Nemesis
bellowed at the top of his lungs. Seconds later, he hit the
ground in a slide and went through their line. The Senshi all
started to gather their powers in preparation. Then what was
chasing Nemesis came into view and all thoughts fled their minds.
"Oh, holy kamis...." Mars whispered.
They were cats. Sort of. They resembled your common big
cat like a child's toy tank resembled a M1-A1 Abrams. That is to
say, small, weak, and pitiful. All of the cats were colored the
same jet black. Each of them had a mouth full of needle-sharp
teeth. All had the same insane gleam in their red eyes. The six
legs each possessed ended in long, wickedly jagged claws. And
every last one of them was at least twelve feet tall at the
shoulder. And they all looked very, *very*, *VERY* angry.
"HIT THEM!" Nemesis screamed from behind them. They
rapidly recovered and started with the plan. Mercury covered the
area with her fog and all the Cats were hit in the Senshi's
initial energy barrage, knocking them to the ground. The lead Cat
received several hits, in fact. The Senshi prepared for another
round as Mercury's fog dissipated. Then...they were met with an
unpleasant sight.
The Cats were getting up. And the only change the assault
seemed to have caused was they looked even angrier, if possible.
Nemesis swore loudly.
"They're resistant to Order, too. Saturn! Wall! Now!"
Nemesis ground out. Saturn rapidly obeyed before the Cats came
any closer. The sight of the Cats clawing and snarling at the
invisible barrier in their way did nothing to reassure the
Senshi. Nemesis growled.
"This...sucks." He stated flatly. "We have to go hand
to...paw, I guess. And you're not ready. If you have weapons,
use them. If you don't have weapons, try to hit them in the
joints. Those are about the only things you can hurt from the
outside with your hands or feet. Your magic will only piss them
off. Use it to keep them off balance while you fight. Use the
fastest attacks you have. Try to cripple them so the weapon
users can finish them off. Never stay still. Saturn, as soon as
you drop the wall...Silence Glaive Surprise them. We can always
hope. You won't get a second shot, so make sure the first one
hits."
Nemesis paused and turned to Venus. "Oh, yeah. I got
something for you."
Venus looked startled. "For me?"
Nemesis nodded and reached behind him. Slowly, he drew out
a large crystal broadsword. "Found this on the Moon. Figured
you'd want it back."
Venus caught the sword when he tossed it to her and held it
reverently. "My sword.... Thank you."
Nemesis nodded slightly. "It belongs to you. I can't
think of a better time to present it. Now, let's do this.
Saturn...drop the Wall."
The Wall dropped, the Cats charged, and the battle was
joined. Saturn threw a Silence Glaive Surprise and caught the
lead Cat straight on with it, causing it to more or less
vaporize. Then the Cats were on them, and there was no more time
for plans.
By unspoken consent, Nemesis, Saturn and Pluto all took a
single Cat, allowing the other Senshi to team up on the rest.
Mars and Mercury danced around one, slashing at it with ice and
fire and flesh when the opportunity presented itself. On
another, Jupiter and Venus moved in a whirlwind of striking
hands and feet, and the flashing of a crystalline blade. At the
third, Neptune fought with a lethal grace that belied her
appearance. And at the fourth, Uranus used her sword and fought
at Moon's side with a savage intensity. Moon was using her
Scepter to great advantage, darting in to strike at the Cat's
knees, then darting back out. The clumsiness that was nearly her
trademark was conspicuously absent from her movement.
Meanwhile, the last three Cats were being entertained by
Nemesis, Saturn, and Pluto. Saturn was strangely elegant as she
worked on literally slicing her opponent to ribbons with the
blade of her Glaive. Pluto was systematically crushing the bones
of any part that came within reach of her Staff. And
Nemesis...was going insane. Unable to use a weapon, unable to
hurt the Cat with his magic, and already tired from killing one
Cat earlier in the evening, he had fallen back to a tried and
true strategy: Hoping his Chaos would keep him alive long enough
to kill his enemy. His shirt was well and truly ruined, mostly
due to it no longer being there.
Distantly, he heard a Cat's death roar, coupled with the
sound of a uniquely-shaped pole arm blade sliding home. He
grinned, slapped a paw to the side, accepted a swipe from
another, and drove his fist into the knee of the first paw. A
satisfying *CRACK-CRUNCH* emitted. The Cat screamed in pain and
slammed a paw into the side of his skull. The blow threw him a
few feet, where he skipped, rolled, and bounced back to his feet.
He jerked his head to either side rapidly, popping his neck
loudly then rushed back into the fight. Out of the corner of his
eye, he saw Saturn heading over to assist Neptune with her foe.
And then, it happened. All it took was a single wet leaf
on the freshly-watered lawn. Then a single boot-heel carrying
the entire weight of a Sailor Suited Warrior for Love and Justice
landed on it. And the leaf slid, dropping Sailor Moon to the
ground like a sack of bricks.
Jupiter reacted with the speed, devotion, and utter
disregard for her personal safety that had earned her Princess'
utter trust in times past. She dove for Moon and shoved her out
of the way. Just in time to have her back laid open by four
razor-sharp claws, instead of Moon's chest. At her scream of
pain, all motion on the field seemed to freeze for one, fatal
second.
And Nemesis screwed up. He turned to look at where the
scream had come from. And then realized just how stupid that was
when a razor-tipped paw slammed him into the ground and pinned
him there with bone crushing force. Lying there, he had a perfect
view as the Cat standing over Jupiter started to rear a
paw back to strike Moon, who was staring at the massively wounded
Jupiter in shock and horror.
And he realized: he couldn't stop it. He couldn't even
slow it down. The screams of the other Senshi were whispers on
the wind as he accepted the only way he could fulfill his oaths
to his Queen. In the fractions of seconds available to him, he
reached deep inside himself, past all his skills, all his
knowledge, all his techniques. He reached deep into the dark
portion of his mind that was no longer his. The mentally blocked
and walled part of his brain that held his greatest fear. The
part he had reinforced with his magic as soon as he had
remembered how. And with a mental twist, he broke the locks, and
ripped down the walls. And the Neko-ken came howling out,
screaming to kill, rend, and destroy.
And everything went...crimson.
To be continued......
******************
Author's Notes:
Sometimes, I even hate myself for writing cliffhangers.
Then I realize: I *LIKE* cliffhangers. And instantly, I
feel better. Of course, I usually receive a wide (and rather
inventive) series of death threats after one, but that's pretty
cool, really.
Anyhoo, my writing time hasn't improved much, as you can
tell. I don't really have anyone to blame. Except my evil
professors. Or something. It certainly wouldn't have ANYTHING
to due with the Voiders. Of course not.
BTW, Mage? You realize this means you owe me a certain fic
about a certain Dream, right? I'm looking at my Inbox now. Heh.
Thanks go out to all the people who gave me ideas to use in
AtST. Included in that blanket statement are Kenko, MageOhki,
Brian Randall, ALL the Void regulars, my pre-readers, and many,
many people I have undoubtedly forgotten. Sorry 'bout that. My
memory sucks.
Well, I guess now people can start nagging me about Chapter
9. *sob* Does it NEVER end?! Wait, why am I asking you guys
that? Bah, never mind me. It's too late for me to make sense.
Oh, just one last thing. While I know it's pretty
egotistical of me to hope for fanart, I just can't help myself.
On the off chance someone is bored enough to waste their time on
fanart for AtST, I'd love to see it. (Because my ego could
always use extra armor.)
Ja Ne!
Slacker
Alpha draft 11/06/2001
***********************************************
STUDENT: Master, what is the secret of a popular fanfic?
MASTER: Child, the secret is simply this: You must serve the fans.
STUDENT: So the secret is fanservice?
MASTER: You begin to learn, grasshopper.
After finishing a story:
If you liked the story, drink a bottle to celebrate.
If you disliked the story, drink two bottles to cheer you up.
If you're apathetic, then drink till you care, dammit!
(From a Slayers drinking game.)
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