This Fanfiction is a non-profit piece for entertainment 
purposes only.  If you think that I created Ranma 1/2 or 
Sailor Moon, then on behalf of Rumiko Takahashi and Naoko 
Takuchi, I will hunt you down and punish you in the name of 
the moon!

            Twin Dragons under Moonlight
                         Chapter 5

      Sometimes, destiny is not what is meant to be...


      Ranma grunted as he leapt from the fence to the 
sidewalk below.  Despite the fact that he had grabbed a 
fresh change of clothes, it was painfully obvious that he 
had been hurt recently.  Blood soaked bandages covered his 
arms and a few smaller ones were on his face.  He ignored 
the startled looks of the other pedestrians and continued 
walking towards the Hikawa shrine.  When he reached the 
gate he decided to wait a few moments to catch his breath.  
He was fairly certain that he had beaten everyone but Rei 
here, so waiting a few moments at the gate wouldn't be a 
problem.  No sooner had he leaned against one of the 
imposing stone pillars and closed his eyes than he heard 
someone call his name.  He spun and fell into a fighting 
stance before he even realized that he knew the voice.
      "You scared me to death, Ranma!"  Makoto placed one 
hand on her chest as if to try and slow her heart back 
down.  Ranma relaxed and leaned back against the pillar.
      "Sorry..." he muttered.
      "You're hurt!"  She gasped when she finally noticed 
the bandages.  "Let me see if I have something a bit 
cleaner for those bandages..." she said as she searched 
through her bag for anything that could be used.
      "Ferget about it.  Just go inside and see if Rei's in 
there will ya?"
      "What about you?" She stopped her search and looked 
at him curiously.  "Doesn't that hurt?"
      "I'll be fine, just do it will ya?"  He said, 
exhaustion finally creeping into his voice.
      "Geez, it's not like someone died," Makoto said in a 
huff as she started walking through the gate.
      "That's exactly what happened!"  Ranma snapped as he 
looked away.  Makoto stopped dead in her tracks and turned 
slowly to face him.  She could now see that the pained look 
he had was not from his wounds, but from something much 
worse... Grief.
      "I'm sorry," she whispered as she bowed her head.  "I 
didn't know."
      An uncomfortable silence settled between them.  
Several moments passed before Ranma finally spoke.
      "It's alright..."
      Makoto jerked as if she had been shocked awake.  
"What happened?"  She asked.
      "I'll tell you guys when everyone's here... Just go 
inside."  Ranma slowly leaned himself back against the gate 
and looked out at the street again.
      Makoto nodded and proceeded back up the stairs.  When 
she was halfway to the top, she looked over her shoulder at 
Ranma.  His head had rolled forward as if he was asleep on 
his feet.  She fought the urge to rush back down the stairs 
and try to comfort him as she resolutely continued into the 
shrine.

      Usagi peeked around the lamppost she was hiding 
behind and watched as Makoto walked into the shrine.  
Although Ranma had told her to stay at his house, she 
decided that she would get Luna and follow him to the 
shrine.  Although she had lost sight of him when he started 
to roof-hop, she knew where he was going and had dashed 
there.  She had arrived just in time to witness the 
exchange between Ranma and Makoto.  Luna poked her head out 
of the duffel bag that Usagi was carrying and frowned.
      "What are you doing, Usagi?"
      "He's going to be mad at me." Her voice quavered as 
she ducked back behind the questionable concealment of the 
lamppost.  "He wanted me to stay at his place while he told 
everyone else.  He thought it'd be safer for me."
      "Trust me, Usagi; you'll be a lot safer with the rest 
of the Senshi with you.  He'll understand if you tell him," 
Luna said comfortingly as she ducked back into the bag.  
"Now go!"
      Usagi swallowed hard and stepped out from behind the 
lamppost.  Her heart gave a nervous flutter when she caught 
sight of Ranma again.  She almost turned and ran, but she 
shook her head and took the first step towards the shrine.  
When she was maybe a meter away from him, his head snapped 
up and his blue eyes fixed on hers.  Her heart seemed to 
leap into her throat as she lost herself in his eyes.
      "I thought I told ya to stay put," Ranma said in a 
level tone.  
      "I'm sorry Ranma, but I couldn't take being alone 
anymore," her voice sounded small and timid, even to 
herself.  She broke eye contact with him and looked at her 
feet.
      "I wanted you safe!  I made sure he didn't know about 
that place, so you turn around and risk yourself just to 
have some company?!"  Ranma demanded as he stopped leaning 
against the wall.  "What would you have done if Chiba had 
attacked you on the way here?"
      Usagi bit her lower lip and tears began to flow 
silently down her cheeks as she looked up at him again.  
Ranma's expression softened considerably then and he spread 
his arms wide.
      "Uh, hey I'm just worried about ya.  You've been 
through a lot this mornin', I just... You know..."  He 
trailed off when he noticed that Usagi didn't seem to be 
listening to him.  Without any warning, she lunged forward 
and clutched onto his shirt before she buried her face in 
his chest and began to cry in earnest.
      "I want them back!  I want them back!  I want them 
baaa-aaack!!"  She wailed, her voice only slightly muffled 
by Ranma's chest.
      Ranma looked around nervously, as if he expected a 
mallet wielding fiancee to come out of nowhere.  When 
nothing happened, he slowly placed his arms around her and 
patted her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.  Usagi 
gasped as she felt his strong arms encircle her.  Suddenly 
she felt safe and protected, as if nothing on Earth could 
harm her as long as she was in his arms.
      ::Is this too fast?  Do I really want to?:: she 
thought briefly before she stopped caring about that and 
just enjoyed the security of Ranma's arms.
      For his part, Ranma still felt a bit embarrassed 
about hugging her like that in public, but for some reason 
he didn't mind.  He looked down as her crying slowly 
tapered off into a contented sigh.  She felt so slight, so 
frail in his arms but he knew that she was made of tougher 
stuff than that.  He had seen her in many fights, quite 
often diving in to save one of her friends without any 
consideration of her own safety.
      "You know, if Mamoru saw this, he'd be pissed," 
Ryouga's voice jerked Ranma out of his thoughts.  His head 
snapped around and he saw that Ami, Minako and Ryouga were 
standing there.  Minako had one hand over her mouth as if 
she was trying to keep from giggling while Ryouga had a 
slightly amused expression on his face.  Ami was blushing 
furiously and she had one fist in front of her mouth.  With 
a feeling of dread, he turned his head to look the other 
way and found Makoto and Rei standing there, looks of anger 
were on their faces.
      "No fair, Usagi!"  Rei said.
      "Yeah!  You've already got Mamoru!"  Makoto chimed in.
      At the mention of that name, Usagi burst out crying 
again.  They shared a startled look as Ranma returned his 
attention to the crying girl in his arms.
      "He's not my Mamo-chan anymore!  I want my old Mamo-
chan back!"
      Ranma winced at the volume of her cries and sent a 
withering glare at Rei and Makoto.
      "Ya know, I almost had her calm again.  Help me get 
her inside, and I'll tell ya what's goin' on."

      "The wind is rustling about," Haruka said softly as 
she stared out the window of the house she shared with 
Michiru.
      "Oh?"  Michiru asked mildly as she poured some tea 
for her.
      "It's ominous, like a storm is about to break."
      "The storm has broken," Setsuna said as she 
approached the table.
      "When did you get here?"  Michiru asked as she stood 
to get another teacup for Setsuna.  "Tea?"
      "Please.  I have some important news for you two.  
The players in this game have changed."
      "What do you mean by that?"  Haruka asked as she 
turned her attention to Setsuna.  She didn't respond until 
after Michiru had returned with another cup and had begun 
pouring the tea.
      "Mamoru has changed sides, and Small Lady is..." she 
paused as she fought to control her voice.  "She is no 
more."
      "Dead?"  Michiru gasped.
      "Worse than dead, it's as if she never existed now," 
Setsuna said sadly.
      "But, we can remember her!"  Haruka protested.
      "True, because she came to a time from before she 
existed.  All that there is of her existence is our 
memories."  She gave them an intense look as she sipped her 
tea.
      "Did this happen because Mamoru joined the Death 
Busters?"  Michiru asked.  She heard a slight clinking 
noise.  When she looked down, she saw that it was because 
her hand was shaking as she held her teacup.
      "I believe so, yes." Setsuna calmly sipped at her 
tea.
      "Damn it!  How could this have happened?" Haruka 
demanded as she crossed her arms.
      "I don't know yet, but I will find out," Setsuna said 
as she took another sip of her tea.
      "So what does this mean for our mission?" Michiru 
asked.
      "The mission hasn't changed, but you both have a 
decision to make.  You can continue the way you have in the 
past, or you could join forces with the Inner Senshi and 
face the enemy together."  Setsuna looked into their eyes 
and could almost see their reluctance.
      "I take it that you have a preference?" Haruka 
smirked a bit.
      "Yes, but it still has to be your choice.  I cannot 
force you to do things my way.  That can only lead to 
disaster." She took one last sip of her tea before she 
placed her cup on the table.
      "Heh," Haruka flicked her hair back with a toss of 
her head.  "Why should we join up with them?  They're so 
weak in comparison.  They're children!"
      Haruka and Michiru nearly jumped out of their seats 
as Setsuna slammed her fist against the table, spilling her 
tea.  "Those 'children' have been fighting almost 
constantly for over a year against various enemies.  Those 
'weaklings' have defeated beings that have rent asunder the 
Time Stream.  They have looked down the throats of the 
hounds of Hell and yet they fight on!  Most of them have 
even sacrificed their lives to defeat the evil that claimed 
the Silver Millennium when it returned to ruin this era!  
While they may lack the individual power that each of us 
has, they more than make up for it in spirit and teamwork."  
Setsuna's eyes flashed with anger, betraying the calmness 
in her voice.  
      "Have you forgotten who risked her life to save you 
from Kaolinite, Michiru?"  She asked the green haired girl 
in front of her.
      "N..no..." Michiru stammered her reply.
      "And you!"  Setsuna said sharply to a chastened 
Haruka.  "Did you forget who ran to help you even though 
you had threatened to kill her and even took away her means 
of transforming?  Risking her life by facing the enemy as a 
normal girl, and winning?"  
      "Of course not..."  Haruka said softly.
      "Keep that in mind when you make your decision.  Talk 
to them, you might be surprised by what they have to say.  
Neither they nor myself will stop you from choosing your 
own path; they respect you enough to let you try to do 
things your own way."  Setsuna stood and walked towards the 
door.
      "Think about it, but don't choose right away.  
Decisions made in haste are never fully thought through," 
she smiled mysteriously before she opened a portal and 
stepped through.
      "I'm going for a ride to think about this," Haruka 
said as she stood to leave the table.  Once she was gone, 
Michiru gazed at her reflection in the spilt tea and 
sighed.
      "The sea is very stormy today..."

      Endymion threw open the door to his apartment and 
stomped inside in disgust.  Everything was going according 
to his plan when Ranma had interfered!  He slammed the door 
behind him with enough force to cause a picture of himself, 
Usagi and Chibi-usa to fall from its place on the wall and 
shatter on the floor.  A crack ran down the middle of the 
picture, separating Usagi and Mamoru, while the glass that 
covered Chibi-usa's image was so spider webbed with cracks 
as to make her unrecognizable.
      "My lord!"  Mimett screamed from the couch, "Help me, 
I beg you!"
      "What is this?"  Endymion asked when he saw Mimett 
tied up on the couch.
      "Ranma was here!  He gave me a message to give you 
and then he tied me up.  Please, untie me!"
      Endymion snarled and with a wave of his hand, a beam 
of energy cut her bonds.  "Now, what was his message?"
      "He said to watch your back, because someday he is 
going to be there and he won't pull his punches," Mimett 
said as she rubbed her reddened wrists and ankles.
      "Call the professor.  Have him release another daimon 
now!"  Endymion snapped as he walked into the bedroom.  "We 
need to strike again while they are still off balance."
      "At once!"  Mimett bounced over to the phone and made 
a quick call.  After speaking with the professor for a 
moment, she put her hand over the receiver and called over 
to Endymion.  "My Lord?  He says that he anticipated that 
and had released several."
      "Excellent.  How many are still out there?"  Endymion 
sighed as he lay down on the bed.
      "He says that his sensors indicate that one is still 
on the loose."  Mimett passed along after a brief pause.
      "Tell him to prepare some quarters for me.  My home 
is no longer secure."  He rubbed his temples as he tried 
again and again to remember where Sailor Moon lived, but 
failed miserably.  He thought for a moment and then grinned 
evilly.
      "If I cannot attack directly, then an indirect attack 
shall have to suffice," he laughed aloud.  "Ranma Saotome, 
you may have found a way to block my memory of where she 
lives, but you failed to protect all of her friends!" He 
laughed aloud.
      "My Lord?"  Mimett asked nervously as she entered the 
bedroom.
      "We'll see how long Sailor Moon continues to fight 
once her friends begin to die, one by one!"  Endymion 
laughed as dark energy began to play across his skin.  
"First, I need to relax and then gather my strength for 
this..." he said as he reached out to Mimett.

      "Now, would you mind telling us just what the hell is 
going on?"  Rei demanded once she had closed the door to 
her room.
      "To be blunt, Chiba's gone bad and tried to kill me 
an' Usagi.  He caused Chibi-usa to just fade out like a 
ghost or somethin'.  The bastard's got four really mean 
daimons workin' for him and his stupid roses explode now," 
Ranma growled, ignoring the gasps of shock and half 
screamed protests that followed his words.  He looked 
around the room to gauge their reactions.  
      Makoto looked angry more than anything else and Rei 
had turned as white as a sheet and was leaning against the 
door for support.  Ami had her brow furrowed, whether in 
thought or anger, he couldn't tell.  Minako looked like she 
was about to be sick and was clinging to Ryouga's arm like 
a life preserver while he glowed a sickly green color as 
his aura betrayed his emotions.  His scowl alone would have 
been enough to cause most people to back away, but with his 
aura flaring he looked positively frightening.  After a few 
minutes, a painful silence fell over them, punctuated only 
by a few soft sobs that escaped from Usagi.
      Rei sank to the floor in shock.  "The last time I saw 
him, I could feel something... evil... about him.  I had no 
idea it would be like this."
      "Something evil?"  Ami asked as she raised one hand 
towards Makoto to silence her.  "What do you mean?"
      "Last night, when you guys were heading off for 
dinner, I felt something sealed away in him, something 
malevolent.  I thought it was some bad memories from the 
Silver Millennium that were starting to resurface."  Rei 
shook her head ruefully before she turned to look out the 
window, at the ceiling, anywhere except straight at Usagi.
      "Bad memories?  More like memories of being bad!"  
Ryouga said with a snarl similar to Ranma's.  Like his 
friend, he did nothing to conceal the emotion from his 
voice.
      "That's it!"  Ami snapped her fingers.  "That's what 
was sealed away, it has to be!  Usagi," she turned and 
gently took Usagi's hand and held it, "did he say anything, 
anything at all that would help us figure out how this 
happened?"
      Usagi looked up in thought, but quickly shook her 
head.  "No, I'm sorry.  All he really said was that he 
finally broke the seal on his powers."
      "That's not much to go on," Ami sighed as she pulled 
out the Mercury computer.  "Maybe there's a clue in the 
historical files..."  Her voice trailed off as she began 
typing rapidly on the keyboard.
      "I dunno if these things would be of any use, but 
Pluto seemed ta think that they would be dangerous in his 
hands.  I blocked his memory, but that was before I knew 
all of you guys were involved in this," Ranma said as he 
offered the Guardian Stones to Ami.
      "How did you get these?" Ami gasped as she took the 
stones and placed them next to the Mercury computer.
      "I kinda snuck into his place and stole them.  Mimett 
was in there, but I managed to evade her and escape," he 
rubbed the back of his head as he remembered exactly how he 
had escaped.
      "What do you mean by that?"  Makoto asked.
      "I disarmed her and gave her something to think 
about..."  He shrugged as he leaned back against a wall and 
began to absently pick at his bandages.  Usagi gently 
restrained him, but he pulled his hand away.  She put her 
hands back in her lap and stared intently at the floor.
      "I felt somethin' when I picked those things up.  It 
was like those things were sad," Ranma said after a moment 
of thought.
      "Unfortunately, only Mamoru knew how to get the 
spirits bound inside them to respond to his questions," Rei 
shook her head and passed one hand over the stones.  She 
closed her eyes for a moment before she frowned and jerked 
her hand away from the stones.  "I can feel it too, along 
with a strong sense of betrayal."
      "Do you think you might be able to unlock them long 
enough for us to get some answers?" Makoto asked as she 
leaned forward excitedly.
      "I'm not sure..." Rei slumped back and started to 
massage her temples.  "Maybe one at a time.  The feelings 
they are emitting are very strong.  If I try to get them 
all to respond at once... Well, who knows what could 
happen?"
      "So basically, we're back at square one again?"  
Minako asked sadly.
      "I'm afraid so," Ami sighed as she continued to 
refine her search through the computer's files.  "It 
appears that the Central Computer on the moon had very 
little in the way of organization, it's almost as if 
someone dumped all the data from every terminal in the 
kingdom into it at once."
      "Considering how quickly Beryl's invasion took place, 
I wouldn't be a bit surprised if that's exactly what 
happened."  Makoto said as she clenched her fist in anger.  
"Once again she's coming back to haunt us!"
      "Moon?" a bewildered Ranma asked, "What the heck are 
you talking about?  There ain't no computers on the Moon!"
      "Actually, there is.  There used to be a civilization 
that thrived on the moon and most of the other planets in 
the solar system.  The only planet that was not part of 
that kingdom was Earth.  The people of the earth then were 
just..."  Ami paused and looked apologetically at Ranma, 
"Well, too violently unpredictable.  Also, their lifespan 
was extremely short in comparison.  The average citizen 
from the Moon Kingdom could live for several thousand 
years.  It would have made assimilating them into the 
kingdom very problematic, so it was decided early on to let 
Terrans, well... Grow up."
      "Huh?"  Ranma and Ryouga blinked in confusion as they 
tried to reconcile what they were hearing to what they had 
been told all their lives.  "Wait a sec!  How long ago was 
this?" Ranma demanded.
      "Several eons, at least," Rei said with a distant 
smile as she remembered what the desert canyons of Mars 
looked like at sunrise.
      "You make it sound like you were there," Ryouga 
chuckled.
      "We were," Minako said as she placed her hand on his 
knee.  "In our past lives anyways.  When the Silver 
Millennium fell, our Queen sacrificed her life to send our 
souls into the future, to give her people a second chance 
through her daughter, her lover from Earth and her 
bodyguards."
      "Ok, you're Sailor Venus," Ryouga said to Minako, who 
nodded in agreement.  "Then the others are?"
      "Sailor Mars, Jupiter, Mercury and Sailor Moon," She 
replied as she pointed to each one in turn.
      "Then, Sailor Moon is...?"  Ranma asked, his eyes 
widening as he looked over at Usagi who continued to stare 
at the floor.
      "Her Royal Highness, Princess Serenity," Rei said 
seriously.  The room fell silent for a brief moment before 
Ranma suddenly let out a long, low whistle.
      "Then Chiba was her lover in the past?" he asked.
      "And in the present, until very recently..."  Makoto 
said softly.  She winced when she noticed that Usagi had 
flinched at the mention of his name.
      "So how did Chibi-usa fit into all of this?"  Ryouga 
asked.
      "She is... was, my daughter from the future."  Usagi 
whispered.  Ranma opened his mouth to say something when he 
suddenly noticed the tears streaming from her eyes.  He 
clamped his jaw shut and instead placed a comforting hand 
on her shoulder.  She smiled at him as she placed her hand 
over his and stars seemed to dance in her eyes.
      It was at that exact moment that Artemis decided to 
stick his head out of the bag that Minako brought him in to 
say something.  Unfortunately, Ranma saw him out of the 
corner of his eye.
      "Ahhh!!!  C-c-cat!!!"  He screamed as he scrambled to 
the far end of the room and slammed against the wall.
      "Artemis!"  Minako scolded him, "I thought I told you 
to stay in there!"  She disengaged herself from Ryouga and 
picked up the bag.  "Geez, curiosity deafened the cat..." 
she muttered under her breath as she opened the door to 
leave the room.
      "Isn't that supposed to be curiosity killed the cat?"  
Makoto asked as she tried to pry Ranma away from the wall 
with Usagi's help.
      Minako looked over her shoulder and grinned.  "Not 
this time..."
      "Now wait just a second!!!"  Artemis screamed after 
Minako closed the door behind her.  Everyone in the room 
sweat dropped as they heard Minako begin to yell at him as 
she walked away from the room, Artimes' indignant replies 
were nearly drowned out by her voice.
      "Did that cat just talk?"  A wide-eyed Ryouga asked.  
The girls nodded as Ranma finally sat down again.
      "We have got to do something about your fear of cats, 
Ranma!"  Rei snapped.  "We can't have you freaking out like 
that all the time!"
      "I can't help it!" Ranma yelled as he snapped back to 
his feet.
      "So the high and mighty martial artist can't even 
deal with one cute little kitty cat?" Rei yelled as she too 
got to her feet and proceeded to try and stare down Ranma.
      "Stop it!  Both of you!  This isn't doing us any 
good!"  Makoto said firmly as she placed herself between 
them and pushed them both out to arms length.
      Inside her bag, Luna shook her head and sighed.  
Things sounded like it had gone from bad to worse and she 
could not do any kind of damage control without Ranma 
freaking out.  Very cautiously, she peeked out of her bag 
and saw that Ranma had his back to her and was arguing 
loudly with Rei while Ami and Makoto did their best to calm 
them down.  Usagi had sat back down again and was hanging 
her head.  Luna reached out with one paw and tapped on her 
leg.
      "What is it, Luna?" Usagi asked, her voice sounding 
nothing like her usual bright self, but more like she did 
after the first time Mamoru had dumped her.
      "I need to talk with Rei," Luna whispered.  Usagi 
nodded as she stood and picked up Luna's bag.  With 
purposeful strides, she walked right into the middle of the 
argument, snagged Rei's arm and dragged her out of the room 
before she had a chance to protest.  After Usagi had 
slammed the door behind her, all activity in the room 
halted.
      "She do that often?"  Ranma asked.
      "No, it's usually the other way around..." Makoto 
said in a stunned voice.
      "Hi!  Did I miss much?"  Minako asked as she walked 
back into the room.  She looked around puzzled as they all 
sighed and shook their heads.
      "Not really, Minako... Not really..." Ryouga grumbled 
sourly.
      "I'm going to see if I can borrow Rei's kitchen.  I 
think we all need a snack right about now," Makoto declared 
as she walked to the door.  Just as she was about to open 
it, Usagi flung open the door and barged into the room, 
knocking Makoto over, and grabbed Ranma's arm.
      "Come on!  One of our friends is going to try 
something to help with your fear of cats!"  She said 
excitedly as she yanked on his arm.
      "Hey!  Take it easy!"  Ranma hissed as he pulled his 
arm out of her grip and gingerly held his hand over the 
wound from Endymion's exploding rose.
      "OhmygoddidIhurtyou?DoyouneedapainkillerandIcan'tbeli-
eveIforgotaboutthat!I'msoorry!!!" She fell to her knees 
beside him as she fussed over his injured arm for a moment 
before she finally broke out crying.
      "I'll be ok Usagi!  Just stop crying, please!"  Ranma 
winced.  "What were you saying about a cure for my fear of 
cats?"
      "Oh yeah!" She brightened instantly.  She gently took 
his hand and gestured for him to follow her.  "Come on!  We 
got this idea that just might work!  Let's go, Ranma!"
      "Ok, ok!  Hold your horses!"  Ranma smiled a little 
at how quickly her mood changed as he allowed her to drag 
him from the room.
      "Are you alright, Mako-chan?"  Ami asked as she knelt 
next to her.
      "Sure, just as soon as the little birdies stop 
spinning around my head..."

      "In here Ranma," Usagi said as she opened the door to 
the room where the sacred fire was burning.  Ranma stepped 
in and looked around.  He frowned as he caught sight of Rei 
in her miko's robes kneeling in the center of the room.
      "What's she doing here?"  He growled out the 
question.
      "This is my Grandfather's temple after all," Rei 
sniffed.
      "Oooh!  Knock it off, both of you!"  Usagi snapped.
      "OK, OK!" he half yelled as he stepped the rest of 
the way into the room.  "What do ya want me to do?"
      "First, lie down in front of me, your head pointed 
towards the sacred fire," Rei said as she gestured to the 
spot in front of her.
      "So, what now?" Ranma said impatiently as he lay down 
on his back in front of Rei.  Usagi knelt on the other side 
of him.
      "I want you to close your eyes and meditate. Just 
relax," Rei said soothingly. Ranma grumbled a little, but 
did as she asked.  Rei beckoned to Luna once she was sure 
he was relaxed.
      "How's this gonna help me with my fear of cats?" 
Ranma asked suddenly.
      "It's kind of like an exorcism," Rei lied smoothly as 
Luna approached Ranma's head on silent paws.
      "Do not worry, Ranma," Luna said softly and 
soothingly, "I will not hurt you."
      "I'd feel better about this if I could see you, you 
know."
      "All in good time, Ranma," Luna said as she stopped 
next to his head. She slowly placed her forehead against 
his and gently probed his mind with hers. The crescent moon 
on her forehead glowed slightly as she slowly worked her 
way into his psyche.
      "Just open the door for me, Ranma. Let me see what 
terrors lurk deep in your soul so that I may purge them," 
Luna crooned to him.
      Reluctantly, Ranma lowered his mental defenses. Rei 
watched with a strange sort of detachment as the minutes 
ticked by.  Usagi was fidgeting nervously and even reached 
out towards Ranma a few times, but snapped her hand back 
before she would touch him.  Eventually, Luna pulled away 
from Ranma and sat down wearily.
      "Did it work?" Usagi asked, not quite able to 
suppress the excitement in her voice.
      "Let's find out," Luna said, her voice as tired as 
she looked. "Sit up, Ranma, and open your eyes."
      Ranma sat up slowly and opened his eyes, expecting to 
see another priestess in the room with Rei and Usagi. His 
eyes widened when he saw Luna, but he didn't feel the 
terror.
      "I'm sitting next to a c-c-c-cat, and I'm not 
screaming..." He stuttered slightly. "Did I fall asleep? Is 
this a dream?"
      "No, it's not a dream," Luna responded.
      Ranma jumped and latched onto the ceiling. "The c-c-
c-cat talked!"
      "Come down from there, Ranma!" Usagi called up to 
him. Ranma let go of the beam he was holding onto and 
twisted nimbly to land on his feet.
      "I'm... not afraid of you... I'm not afraid!" Ranma 
began dancing around the room in joy.
      "Oh, Ranma!" Usagi leaped to her feet to give Ranma a 
hug, but instead found herself dancing with an ecstatic 
Ranma.  Usagi blushed as Ranma twirled her around the 
floor, a strange warmth covering her heart.  For a brief 
moment, she found herself forgetting her worries and her 
sorrow and just drank deep from the sense of Ranma's 
presence.
      "Well... Not exactly..." Luna said cautiously from 
where she sat. Ranma and Usagi froze mid-step.
      "I was able to get him to not be afraid of Artemis 
and myself, or any Mao for that matter. But, I was unable 
to completely eliminate his fear of cats. It's just too 
deep in his psyche."
      "That is because I had already placed the means 
within him to deal with this very problem."  Setsuna said 
as she entered the room.  "The Neko-ken was too much, even 
for me to deal with."
      "Huh?"  Ranma peered closer at Setsuna, and for the 
first time noticed her eyes.  "What a sec!  You were that 
old woman, weren't you?"
      "That's rude, Ranma!"  Rei snapped.  Setsuna held up 
one hand to forestall any additional comments.

      "He is correct though, Rei.  The first time he saw me 
I was disguised as an old woman.  I couldn't stand to watch 
his father train him in that horrid technique any longer.  
Unfortunately, I was too late."
      "Why didn't you do something sooner?"  Usagi asked 
quietly.
      "I didn't realize what he was doing until it was too 
late.  I did what I could for him afterwards, but it was 
not sufficient."  Setsuna hung her head slightly.
      "Don't get yerself down about it.  I mean, ya did 
what ya could, right?"  Ranma said, "Besides, without the 
Neko-ken, I'd be stuck in China living with the amazons 
there."
      "Amazons?"  Rei blinked a few times.
      "Ya know, the old Ghoul's people," Ranma said.
      Usagi was staring at Setsuna's face and frowning.  
"The neko-ken isn't the only sad thing you're thinking 
about, is it?"  She asked softly in a voice full of 
compassion.
      Setsuna gave a wan little smile.  "Of course not.  
I'm terribly sorry, I didn't see this coming."
      "We already went over this," Usagi said gently as she 
took her hands.
      "We really need to figure out what happened to Mamoru 
though," Luna said as she leapt up onto Usagi's shoulder.
      "That's why I'm here," Setsuna said.  "I discovered 
the answer using the Time Gate."
      "Let's go back to where the others are," Rei said as 
she stood.  "They deserve to know as well."
      Artemis poked his head through the door.  "Is it safe 
around him now?" he asked nervously.
      Ranma shot a hard glare at Artemis before he shook 
his head.  "How many more talkin' c-c-cats do you guys have 
running around this place?" he asked no one in particular.
      Usagi and Rei giggled as they filed past Artemis with 
Setsuna and Luna.  He shook his head and walked up to 
Ranma.
      "I don't think we've officially met," Artemis said as 
he looked up at Ranma.
      "Yeah, well..."  Ranma grinned as he picked him up by 
the scruff of his neck.  "You're the little furball that's 
always hanging around Minako, right?"
      "My name is Artemis!" he snapped.
      "Yeah, yeah.  C'mon, let's get back to Rei's room."

      Setsuna looked over the gathered Inner Senshi, 
martial artists and moon cats and took a deep breath to 
compose herself.  "Endymion's father was known as Rithallex 
the Conqueror.  He was an ambitious man whose ruthless 
battle tactics and skilled diplomacy allowed him to conquer 
the entire earth by the time he was in his thirties.  His 
son, however, inherited none of his good traits."
      "No way!"  Usagi screamed in denial.  Her outcry set 
off the rest of the Senshi who began to barrage Setsuna 
with their own questions.
      "Let me finish, please." Setsuna said as she lifted 
one hand in an attempt to quiet them down.  Once they had 
subsided, she continued.  "Although Rithallex was ruthless 
in battle he had a sense of honor and fair play about him.  
While his tactics were brutal and his use of power cruel, 
he had to be admired for being able to keep that many 
nations of people all under one government."
      "But Queen Serenity was doing much the same thing, 
but with several planets full of people!"  Rei protested.
      "That is true, but she inherited that kingdom.  Also, 
the Moon kingdom grew and expanded over many, many years.  
The use of magic to facilitate communications and 
transportation also helped considerably."  She smiled a bit 
ruefully.  "That is beside the point.  When Endymion was 
born, Rithallex tried to conquer the Moon Kingdom.  He 
failed miserably when his army came in contact with a 
company of the Royal Guard under the command of Sailor 
Venus."
      "I don't recall that..."  Minako said as she petted 
Artemis.
      "Of course you don't, your mother in the Silver 
Millennium was Sailor Venus at the time.  After that 
defeat, he apparently contented himself with running his 
empire and raising his son.  Many of the people that 
surrounded him were very cruel people, and more often than 
not, they would take over Endymion's education while 
Rithallex was brutally crushing a rebellion.  It was during 
one of those uprisings that he learned something very 
important."  She paused then for effect.  "He learned that 
if someone from the Earth were to marry someone from the 
Moon Kingdom, the terran would gain the lifespan and 
possibly even the magical powers of their mate.  He became 
obsessed with the idea of becoming a nearly immortal king 
on Earth.  However, the prospect of also ruling the Moon 
Kingdom at the same time was too tempting for him to 
ignore, and thus he paid court to Queen Serenity once her 
husband had died in a terrible accident."
      "Of course, the Queen refused his proposals, quoting 
an ancient law forbidding intermarriage between the moon 
folk and the terrans.  As for Endymion, the education he 
had received from the various courtiers had molded him into 
a monster of a man.  To cross him was death and worse than 
death.  Then, on the day his father died, he changed 
overnight into the man you remember falling in love with," 
Setsuna said directly to Usagi.  "It is my belief that he 
had the mages from his father's court seal away his evil in 
order to lull the Queen into a false sense of security so 
that she would relax that law.  Quite frankly, he arranged 
for your first meeting with him."
      "But... What about his generals?  They were good men 
until Beryl forced them to be evil!"  Makoto protested.
      "Yes, there is another story behind that.  You see, 
they were the leaders of four different resistance groups.  
Powerful warrior magi that were no strangers to battle.  
When they learned of Endymion's apparent change of heart, 
they resolved to insure that he didn't follow in his 
father's footsteps, or return to the way he was as a youth.  
They became his most trusted friends and bodyguards, much 
like the Senshi were to the Queen and then the Princess."  
Setsuna sighed as she picked up Kunzite's stone.  "They too 
were fooled.  But Endymion made one fatal mistake.  His 
favorite concubine was not told of his plan and she became 
insanely jealous.  The rest, as they say, is history."
      "You mean all this time, deep in his heart all he 
wanted from Usagi was her lifespan and her power?!?" Rei 
demanded as she shot to her feet.  "This is unforgivable!  
I'll tear him to pieces myself!  I'll shove a Burning 
Mandela so far up his ass that flames will shoot out of his 
ears!"
      "My, how pungent," Setsuna said mildly.
      Usagi dashed from the room, tears streaming from her 
eyes as the bitter truth hit home.
      "Hey!  Usagi!"  Ranma yelled as he leapt to follow 
her, knocking Setsuna out of the way when she attempted to 
stop him.  The other girls stood as if to follow, but 
Setsuna called for them to stop.
      "Now is not the right time to go after her.  She 
needs to get it out of her system."
      "Why didn't you stop Ranma then?"  Makoto asked.
      "Do you honestly think I could stop him without 
transforming?" She asked in an acid tone.  "You saw how he 
pushed me aside."  She rubbed at her arm and visibly calmed 
down.
      "Now, did Ranma remember to ask you to look up 
information on armor for him and Ryouga?"  She asked Ami.
      "No, I'll get started right away...  I just need a 
minute to finish writing this search engine." Ami hummed as 
she typed rapidly on the computer while Ryouga and the 
girls sweat dropped.
      "You wrote a search engine from scratch?" Rei 
demanded.
      "What's a search engine?" Ryouga asked as he 
scratched the back of his head.
      
      Tears clouded Usagi's vision as she ran, but she did 
not slow down.  Even when she stumbled and almost fell down 
the stairs that led to the temple.  She thought she heard 
Ranma following her, but she continued to run.
      Ranma shook his head as he tried to force his 
battered body to move faster.  He failed to notice when the 
bandages around his arms became unraveled as he leapt over 
the wall surrounding the temple in an effort to cut her 
off.  He swore when he landed, the pain from the impact 
getting the better of him for a moment.  When he looked up, 
he saw that Usagi had already crossed the street and was 
still running.  He leapt to follow, not noticing the blood 
that dripped from his arms and left a glimmering trail of 
red in the air as he ran.

      Haruka frowned slightly as she gunned the engine on 
her motorcycle, speeding through a turn as she tried to 
work things out in her mind.  Too often she had looked at 
the Inner Senshi as weak obstacles to her mission.  Now 
Setsuna had forcibly reminded her that they had sacrificed 
a lot more than she ever had.  She swore as a car right in 
front of her suddenly slammed on the brakes.  She swerved 
around the car and swore again when she saw Usagi running 
across the street, ignoring the traffic.
      "Dammit!"  Haruka screamed as she desperately 
downshifted the bike and hit the brakes at the same time.  
She felt tires lock up and knew that in a moment, she would 
be thrown from the bike and there would be nothing else 
that she could do to stop the bike from crushing Usagi.
      Just as the bike began to pitch wildly, she saw Usagi 
disappear in a red blur.  Before she could even wonder what 
had happened, a strong arm wrapped around her waist and 
lifted her from the out of control bike a split second 
before it hit a telephone pole and exploded.  Her stomach 
was left behind as she watched the street shrink below her.  
      Without warning, she hit a rooftop in a heap of 
tangled limbs with her rescuer.  She ripped the helmet off 
of her head as she struggled to sit up.
      "Are you alright Ranma, Haruka?"  Usagi asked 
worriedly.
      "Keep it down, ok?"  Ranma grumbled as he sat up.  
Usagi frowned at him as she punched him in the arm.
      "You had me worried!"
      "I had you worried?"  Ranma asked in disbelief.  
"What about us when you ran outta the temple bawling your 
head off?"
      "I'm sorry," Usagi said in a small voice as she 
twiddled her hands in her lap.
      "Hey, we're all worried about ya, considerin' what 
happened..."  Ranma clamped his mouth shut as he looked at 
Haruka.
      "It's ok, Ranma.  She knows who I am," Usagi said.
      Whatever Ranma was going to say in reply was drowned 
out by screams from the street below.  They rushed to the 
edge of the roof and looked down.  In the middle of the 
street there was a daimon that looked like it had a 
crossbow for a hand chuckling evilly as it stood over a man 
who was frantically crawling backwards in an attempt to 
escape.  Several other people lay still nearby, unconscious 
or dead, they couldn't tell.
      "Damn, when it rains, it pours."  Ranma muttered as 
he vaulted over the edge.
      "We'd better take care of this," Haruka said as she 
pulled out her henshin pen.  "Uranus Planet Power, Make 
Up!"
      Usagi nodded and held up her brooch.  "Moon Cosmic 
Power, Make Up!"
      Meanwhile, Ranma had engaged the daimon.  He had 
surprised it with his first attack, but he found himself on 
the defensive as it fired arrow after arrow at him from its 
crossbow like arm.  He swallowed hard when he saw one of 
the missed arrows bury itself to the fletching in the side 
of a car.
      "Nyah!  Missed!"  Ranma taunted as he began to gather 
his ki.  The daimon smirked at him as it seemed to blur 
before it disappeared.
      "Above?"  Ranma looked up just in time to get the 
daimon's foot in his face.  He rolled away and its arrows 
slammed into the concrete as it tried to get a bead on him.
      "Stay still and die!" it snarled as it fired again 
and again at the desperately dodging Ranma.
      "World Shaking!"  The words meant nothing to the 
daimon, but the ball of yellow energy that slammed it 
across the street definatly got its attention.  It looked 
up in the direction the attack came from and saw two 
figures outlined in the morning sun.
      "Who dares?" it snarled as it took aim.
      "Guided by a new era, Sailor Uranus acts with grace!"
      "Knock off the speeches and let's kick its ass!"  
Ranma yelled.  "Mouka Takabisha!"  His ki blast slammed 
into the daimon, spoiling its shot.
      "That's not fair!"  Sailor Moon cried.  "I didn't get 
to do my speech!"  She frowned as Sailor Uranus leapt from 
the rooftop and engaged the daimon in hand to hand.  She 
followed her down, her rod at the ready in case she could 
get a clean shot.
      Ranma held his arm as he watched Uranus fought toe to 
toe with the daimon, raining down punches on it.  He took a 
deep breath before he leapt in just as the daimon managed 
to trip Sailor Uranus.
      "My turn!"  He grinned cockily as his ki flared.  
"Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken!"  The battered daimon flew 
backwards into a parked car from the force of the attack.
      "Moon Spiral heart attack!"  Sailor Moon launched her 
attack at the downed daimon, hoping to end the fight 
quickly.  The daimon dived out of the way at the last 
second, leaving the heart shaped attack to explode against 
the car.  Ranma covered his eyes to protect them from 
shrapnel and couldn't see the daimon taking aim at him.
      "Look out!"  Sailor Uranus cried as she leapt towards 
him, her whole body extended in a vain attempt to push him 
out of the way.
      "Too late!"  The daimon laughed as it took the shot.
      Sailor Uranus tackled Ranma, but did not stay to see 
how he was but rather leapt at the daimon again.  Unnoticed 
behind her, Ranma lay still.
      "World Shaking!"  Her attack hit the daimon straight 
on, sending it right at Sailor Moon.  Sailor Moon screamed 
and she swung her rod at the daimon as hard as she could 
with both hands as she squeezed her eyes shut.  There was a 
sickening crunch as the rod caved in the side of the 
daimon's head.  Its body fell at her feet and twitched for 
a moment before it faded out and revealed a crossbow.  She 
stood there and looked at it before she suddenly looked up.
      "Oh no! Ranma!"  She screamed as she dashed to where 
Ranma still lay on his side.  Sailor Uranus followed her 
over and knelt next to him looking for any additional 
injuries.
      "Don't die on me Ranma!!  Don't you dare!"  Sailor 
Moon screamed as she rolled Ranma onto his back, tears 
rolling down her face.  Sailor Uranus frowned when she saw 
the bloody mess that was Ranma's arms and the bloodstains 
on his shirt.  Ranma began to struggle to sit up.
      "No!  Keep him lying down!"  Sailor Uranus said 
sharply as she pushed against his shoulder.
      "Uranus?  What?"  Sailor Moon asked in confusion.  
Sailor Uranus pointed solemnly at his chest.   When Sailor 
Moon saw what she was pointing at, she let out another 
scream.  One of the daimon's barbed arrows was impaling him 
just below his ribs.  It was angled upwards into his chest 
though, and that made Sailor Uranus even more concerned.
      "Ohmygod!  Ranma!"
      "How bad is it?"  Sailor Uranus asked Ranma as she 
placed one hand on what little of the shaft was protruding.
      "Dunno...  Just pull it out, will ya?" Ranma through 
clenched teeth as he squeezed his eyes shut.  His eyes 
snapped open as he felt his hand being picked up.  He 
looked on in amazement as Sailor Moon held his hand in both 
of hers, seemingly calm again.
      "Don't worry, Ranma," she said softly.  "I'll make it 
all better."
      Ranma only had a moment to consider the changes he 
saw in Sailor Moon before all he knew was pain as Sailor 
Uranus pulled the arrow out of his chest.  He wanted to 
scream in agony, but somehow a sort of calmness overcame 
him.  He clearly heard the metallic clinking as she tossed 
aside the arrow and could feel her binding the wound.  For 
some reason he couldn't quite focus on any one thing for 
very long.  She said something that went unanswered.  
      ::Maybe she's talking to me...:: he thought 
sluggishly.
      He opened his mouth to say something, but all that 
came out was a wet sounding gurgle before he coughed up a 
spray of blood.
      "Damn!  It punctured his lung!"  Sailor Uranus swore 
as she held her hand against the wound.  "He's dying."  She 
couldn't let herself feel anything.  It was a war, and 
people died in wars.  His agony she could ignore but the 
sudden look of pain, the soul rending anguish that covered 
Sailor Moon's face she could not bear.
      ::No way..:: Ranma thought as he blinked his eyes.  
::I don't feel bad enough to be dying...:: He looked over 
at Sailor Moon, an apologetic look on his face.  His vision 
seemed to blur and she now seemed to be wearing a flowing 
white dress as she knelt next to him.  She gently lifted 
his hand to her face and placed her cheek against it.  
Ranma gasped suddenly as all of the pain seemed to leave 
his body.
      "I won't let you die, Ranma," she whispered as she 
began to glow.
      Sailor Uranus gasped in shock as she watched Sailor 
Moon, no, the Princess, begin to glow a blinding white.  
Ranma's wounds slowly closed, leaving behind healthy, 
unblemished skin.  He coughed long and hard, blood 
trickling from the corner of his mouth until finally he 
relaxed and breathed easily, seemingly asleep.  The glow 
around Princess Serenity faded as she transformed back into 
her normal self and collapsed across Ranma's chest.  Sailor 
Uranus reached out for her before she paused and drew back 
with a soft smile.   Usagi was smiling as she clutched to 
Ranma's chest.
      "I told you that I wouldn't let you die, Ranma..."  
She whispered before she too fell asleep.
      Sailor Uranus looked around the street and saw that a 
few people were beginning to venture into the area.  She 
scooped Ranma and Usagi into her arms and leapt off, 
grateful for the enchantments that made her stronger and 
faster.

      Sailor Uranus sighed as she climbed the last step 
leading to the Hikawa shrine.  Even though she was 
transformed, the combined weight of her passengers was 
taking its toll on her.  Moving as quickly as she could, 
she hurried to Rei's room.
      Without pausing to knock, she opened the door with 
one foot and strode in.  She almost fell over backwards 
from the concerted yells of the Inner Senshi.
      "Usagi!!!" Minako, Rei and Makoto screamed at once as 
they rushed to ease her off of Sailor Uranus's shoulder.
      "Ranma you idiot!  Wake up!"  Ryouga yelled as he 
leapt to his feet.
      "Oh my," Ami said as she held one hand up to her 
mouth.  Setsuna remained silent as she watched the Inner 
Senshi take Usagi off of Uranus's shoulder and then bowed 
their thanks to her.
      "Are they alright?"  Luna asked as she walked up to 
Sailor Uranus who was putting Ranma down.
      "Yeah.  Buns here managed to heal Ranma after we got 
into a fight with another daimon.  She exhausted herself 
with the effort though."  With a flutter of rose petals, 
her Senshi uniform faded and was replaced with her riding 
outfit.  "Damned thing nearly killed him."
      Silence fell over the room as Haruka's words sunk in.
      "He almost died?"  Rei managed to squeak out as she 
sunk down next to Usagi.  Ami crossed the room and examined 
Ranma briefly.
      "He doesn't appear to be hurt at all," she said as 
she looked up at the rest of the gathered Senshi.  "A few 
of his old scars are gone as well."
      "Well?"  Setsuna asked Haruka.  "Have you decided?"
      Haruka shook her head.  "No, I still need to talk to 
Michiru about this.  But," she paused as she looked at the 
other girls.  "I think it can work.  You didn't tell me 
that Ranma and Ryouga were working with them!" She accused.
      "You didn't ask, did you?"  Setsuna said with a faint 
smile.  Haruka chuckled as she left the room.
      "What was that all about?"  Minako asked Setsuna 
while Rei and Makoto saw to it that Ranma and Usagi were 
comfortable.
      "I posed a question to the Outer Senshi earlier this 
morning.  You'll learn more about it later."  She turned to 
leave.
      "Wait!"  Ami said as she looked up from the Mercury 
Computer.  "I think I found something that may work for 
their armor, but I want to find out what you think of it."  
She turned the computer so that Setsuna could see the 
screen.
      "That'll do, Ami.  That'll do."  Setsuna said after 
peering at the data for a moment.  She straightened and 
left the room.  The others gathered around the computer and 
gazed at the slowly rotating image of a suit of armor on 
the screen.  Lines would point to various sections while 
text scrolled listing capabilities.
      "Wow that looks cool..."  Minako breathed as she 
began to imagine what Ryouga would look like wearing it.
      "Where can we find it?"  Makoto asked as she eased 
away and sat back down.
      "According to the computer, we should be able to find 
some in what's left of the underground armory on the Moon," 
Ami said as she tapped at the keyboard again.  "According 
to the central computer there, at least a quarter of the 
armory is still intact, so we should have little difficulty 
finding two complete sets."
      Rei snorted as she flopped back and put her hands 
behind her head.  "That's if Usagi ever wakes back up."
      "She's worn out, Rei," Ryouga growled.  "Give her a 
chance to rest."  He crossed his arms and leaned heavily 
against the doorframe.
      "He's right, you know," Ami said as she closed the 
computer.  "Usagi has been through so much this morning.  
Personally, I find myself surprised that it took this long 
for her to fall asleep."  She smiled gently at Usagi's 
sleeping form.
      Rei snorted and looked away.  Ryouga snarled and 
pulled away from the wall, ready to rip into Rei but Minako 
gently restrained him.
      "Don't worry," she whispered.  "If she wasn't acting 
like this, then I'd be worried."
      Ryouga shot her a confused look before he leaned back 
against the wall.  He glanced around the room and saw that 
each of them had silently busied herself with something.  
Ami was typing away at her computer again with a frustrated 
look on her face.  Makoto had slipped out of the room, but 
his sensitive nose caught a faint aroma that nearly made 
his stomach rumble.  Rei was busy with a brush and a few 
slips of paper, mumbling under her breath with every 
stroke.  His eyes finally came to rest on Minako.  She 
seemed to be just sitting there, watching the others work 
industriously towards one end or another.  She caught his 
eye for a moment before she looked away sharply, but not 
before he clearly saw the tears she was desperately trying 
to hold back.
      "Uhm," Ryouga swallowed hard and blushed as he leaned 
towards her.  "You wanna go for a walk or something?"
      Minako looked at him with an expression of profound 
gratitude as she stood and took his arm.  "Lead on!"  She 
said cheerfully, although it sounded a bit forced.
      "Maybe you should lead, we still want to find you two 
later,"  Rei said acidly before turning back to her 
calligraphy.  Ryouga just turned a deeper shade of red as 
Minako stuck her tongue out at Rei before leading him 
outside.
      Once they were safely outside, Minako leaned her head 
on his shoulder.
      "Thanks."
      "Uh, no problem."  He rubbed the back of his head.  
"What was wrong with you back there?"  He jerked his thumb 
back towards the house.  Minako looked away and blushed as 
she mumbled something under her breath.
      "What was that?"  Ryouga asked as he cocked an ear 
towards her.
      "I felt out of place," she sighed as her shoulders 
slumped.  "Everyone else was busy doing something useful, 
but I didn't have any skills that could have possibly 
helped."
      "You gotta be joking," Ryouga said with a laugh.
      "Am I?  Rei was busy making spirit wards, Makoto is 
cooking our lunch and Ami was busy researching... 
something.  I... I have nothing to contribute...  I'm 
useless..." she sobbed as she hung her head.  Ryouga felt a 
great swell of pity for her as he placed his hands on her 
shoulders.
      "Nonsense," he said.  "You might not have had 
anything to do back there, but I've seen you in a fight.  
You always seem to have a plan when it comes to a fight and 
stuff.  You might not have anything to do at the moment, 
but you are hardly useless."
      Her heart was in her eyes as she looked up at him.  
His lopsided, nervous smile barely revealed one of those 
cute little fangs.  She smiled and dashed her tears from 
her eyes as she raised herself ever so slightly on her 
toes.  She leaned slightly towards him and closed her eyes 
and waited patiently.  Ryouga's eyes bugged as he realized 
that she expected him to kiss her.  He looked quickly to 
his left and to his right before he leaned closer to her.
      Minako shuddered with anticipation when she felt 
Ryouga's shadow cover her face.  She puckered slightly when 
she felt his breath.  Ryouga began to sweat nervously as he 
leaned closer and closer.  He stopped suddenly and looked 
about with only his eyes.
      "What is it?"  Minako breathed.
      "It almost feels like we're being watched..." he 
muttered.  Wordlessly, they both looked over each shoulder 
in an attempt to catch whoever was spying on them, but they 
saw nothing.
      "Must have been my imagination," Ryouga chuckled 
nervously.  When he looked back at Minako, she was 
patiently waiting again with her eyes closed in silent 
anticipation.  His heart leapt into his throat as he slowly 
placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned forward.  
Minako blushed deeply and shivered slightly as his touch 
sent an electric thrill through her.

      He was maybe an inch from her lips when they heard a 
rather loud sneeze.  Ryouga and Minako froze and they both 
slowly turned their heads to look towards the bushes lining 
the porch.  Rei, Makoto and Ami were crouching there, 
watching.  Rei and Makoto each had a finger under Ami's 
nose, who was blushing furiously.  Ryouga's eyes rolled 
into the back of his head before he fell over backwards in 
a dead faint.  Minako gasped as he fell and then stomped 
towards her friends and began to berate them soundly.
      "Damn it, I was so close!"  She shouted at last.
      "Don't blow an artery, Minako," Makoto said as she 
waved her hands in front of her as if to ward off her 
shouting friend.
      "Are you sure you want to rush into this?"  Rei 
asked.
      "Are you ready to take precautions?" Ami asked 
seriously.  Makoto and Rei stared at her in astonishment 
while she looked away and blushed.  Minako's jaw dropped 
before she looked back at the comatose Ryouga and her face 
turned the same shade of red as her ribbon.

      Ranma shook himself awake.  He felt sore and 
physically drained.  He blinked a few times and looked 
around the room.  His eyesight still seemed very blurry, 
but he was able to focus on Usagi's peaceful face right 
next to his.  He sat bolt upright then and looked around 
quickly.  He was alone, save for Usagi, and they were on a 
futon in Rei's room at the temple.  He started patting at 
his chest when he realized that he did not hurt anywhere.  
He wrenched his shirt open and stared at his chest for a 
moment.  Right where the arrow had pierced him he saw some 
flesh that was slightly pinker than the rest.  A quick 
inspection revealed that the rest of his wounds had been 
healed as well.
      "Well I'll be..." he said in an awed whisper.
      He froze as Usagi stirred slightly next to him before 
she rolled over and clasped her arms around his waist and 
laid her head in his lap with a contented sigh.  He looked 
around in a near panic as he thought about what the others 
would say if they saw them like that.
      "Why me?"  He muttered as he tried to gently 
disengage from her.  Without warning, she tightened her 
grip and curled her legs against his back.  Ranma stopped 
moving when he heard her start to mumble in her sleep.
      "Don't leave me..."
      He wasn't sure if she was awake or asleep anymore, 
but he didn't want to take any chances.  He was still 
sitting there with that embarrassed look on his face when 
Rei and Makoto re-entered the room.
      "Cuddling up to a new guy already?"  Rei demanded of 
the sleeping Usagi.  "How fickle can you get?"
      "It ain't like that!"  Ranma protested, turning a 
bright red.  "She's still asleep."  He spoke in a much 
gentler tone then.
      Rei ignored him as she stalked up to Usagi and lifted 
her head by her ear and shouted, "Rise and shine!"
      Usagi jerked awake with a startled cry.  "Rei!  What 
did you do that for?"
      "You needed to get up anyway," Rei said as she let go 
of her ear.  "Ami found some armor for Ranma and Ryouga and 
we have to get it from the moon."
      "The moon?"  Ranma asked incredulously.  "How are we 
gonna get there?  Hitch a ride on a rocket?"
      "No, we'll just teleport there."  Rei said as she 
crossed her arms.  Usagi rubbed at her ear as she pouted.
      "You didn't have to yank on my ear you know."  She 
complained.
      "Wait a sec!"  Ranma said before Rei could respond.  
"What armor?  I don't need no armor.  It'll just get in my 
way."
      "What!"  Usagi shrieked as she grabbed the front of 
shirt.  "What do you mean you don't need the armor?  Have 
you already forgotten what happened to you earlier?  You 
almost died!"
      "I got careless.  It won't happen again."  He 
shrugged.
      "Careless?  Is that what you call it?"  Usagi 
demanded as she shook him a little.  "What if it happens 
again and I can't heal you in time?  There won't be a next 
time!"
      "It's a chance I gotta take!  The armor would slow me 
down too much."  Ranma protested as he tried to free 
himself from her grip but was unable to muster the 
strength.
      Usagi's face seemed to cloud over.  Great tears 
welled up in her eyes as she pouted at him.  "Please?  Wear 
it for me?"  She asked in a quavery little voice.  "I won't 
ever forgive myself if you or Ryouga gets hurt in the 
future."
      Ranma's will wavered then.  "Uhh...."  He hemmed and 
hawed for a moment until one glistening tear ran down her 
cheek.
      "Oh hell, I'll probably regret this, but I'll wear 
the stupid armor if it'll make ya happy."  He grumbled as 
his head drooped in defeat.
      Her face cleared instantly as she engulfed him in a 
hug.   "More than you can imagine," she whispered just loud 
enough for him to hear.
      "Uhm, anyway," he tried to ease her arms from around 
him, "Where's Ryouga?"
      "He's outside, kissing the dirt at the moment," Rei 
smirked as she tossed her head.
      "Huh?"
      "Minako wanted him to kiss her, but I guess we 
interrupted," Makoto said with a little blush of her own.  
"Minako and Ami are trying to wake him up.  I have lunch 
ready for everyone, and I'd hate for it to get cold."

      Haruka paused as she entered the house she shared 
with Michiru.  She could hear Michiru playing a poignant 
melody on her violin.  She silently removed her shoes and 
followed the music to the source.  Haruka smiled to herself 
when she saw Michiru standing in the middle of one of the 
rooms wearing a flowing powder blue dress and playing her 
heart out on the violin.  Her eyes were closed as she 
expertly pulled the bow across the strings and continued 
that heartbreaking song.
      "Something happened, didn't it?"  Michiru asked 
without ever opening her eyes.
      "How could you tell?"  Haruka asked as she plopped 
into a chair.
      "I couldn't hear your motorcycle, but I heard you 
open the door."  She stopped playing and looked at Haruka 
as she pulled the violin away from her chin.  "What 
happened?"
      "There was another attack," Haruka said.  "The daimon 
wasn't after heart crystals, it was just killing people.  
Damn thing nearly killed Ranma as well."  She practically 
spat out that last.  Michiru gasped as she slowly sunk into 
another chair.
      "If that wasn't bad enough, it had to happen right in 
front of Usagi.  I thought she was going to lose it when it 
looked like he wasn't going to make it.  She did something 
then that I never dreamt was possible."  Haruka leaned back 
in her chair and looked at the ceiling.  "She healed him 
completely."  Michiru gave a long, low whistle as Haruka 
described the seriousness of Ranma's injuries. 
      "Is that all?"  Michiru asked.
      "No, she's the princess."
      "What?!?"  Michiru asked in shock.  "Say that again?"
      "Usagi is the princess.  When she healed Ranma she 
changed before my eyes, right into what I remember what the 
princess looked like."  Haruka said softly as she closed 
her eyes to better enable her to envision what she had 
seen.  "The power I felt just then was like nothing I had 
ever felt before."  She lifted her head and looked deep 
into Michiru's eyes.  "I've made my decision.  We may have 
our mission, but we also have an older and much sterner 
duty."
      Michiru nodded.  "Protect the life of those in the 
Royal Family, even to the expense of our own.  Are you 
sure?  She is the most flighty girl I have ever seen."
      "That may be true, but I know what I saw and what I 
felt."  She grinned then.  "Too bad it cost me a bike to 
find out."
      Michiru glared at her for a moment before she 
laughed.  "You're just impossible, you know that?"
      "I'm hurt.  So, what's for lunch?"
      Michiru gaped at her before tossing a cushion in her 
face.

      "Don't we have to wait for the full moon or 
something, Luna?"  Usagi asked as she and the others picked 
their way through the wooded park in search of a properly 
secluded area.
      "Don't worry, you all have gained a lot of strength 
since that first trip.  I don't think you will have a 
problem, even with all the extra weight."  Luna said 
encouragingly.
      "So we're just baggage now?"  Ryouga asked sourly.
      "Lighten up, Ryouga," Minako chided him.
      "Could be worse..."  Makoto said as she lifted a 
branch out of her way.
      "How?"  Rei asked as she untangled her hair from a 
branch for what seemed like the tenth time.  "I'm amazed 
you can walk through this and not get tangled up!"
      "Well, it could be raining," Ami said with a sly grin 
at Ranma and Ryouga.  Both of the boys winced and then 
laughed.
      "You were about the last person I woulda expected to 
tease us," Ranma chuckled as he ducked under a branch.
      They all laughed for a moment and then proceeded in 
silence.  When they stopped in a very small clearing, the 
girls pulled out their henshin rods and got ready to 
transform.
      "Moon...  Hey!"  Usagi shot an angry look at Ranma 
who had grabbed her hand.

      He ignored her complaint and looked seriously at 
Ryouga.  "You ain't never seen them transform, have ya?"  
He asked bluntly.
      "Well, no."  Ryouga admitted.
      "You'd better look away then," Ranma advised.  "I'm 
not sure we wanna carry ya all the way to the moon."
      "That's not funny, Ranma!"  Ryouga snapped as he 
crossed his arms.
      "It's yer nose bleed, pig butt."  Ranma shrugged as 
he let go of Usagi's hand.  "Just make sure you watch 
Minako, I'm sure she'd get a thrill out of it."
      "That's uncalled for!  Minako is not that kind of 
girl!"  Ryouga almost yelled as he held Minako's arm 
defensively while she blushed a deep red.
      "Should we not just transform while they are 
arguing?"  Ami asked in a low voice.
      "Nah, it's more fun this way," Makoto grinned as she 
raised her henshin rod.  "If you two are quite done, why 
don't we get this show on the road?" she asked the arguing 
martial artists with just a bit of an edge in her voice.
      "Fine with me," Ranma said as he stood back and 
smirked at Ryouga.
      "Mercury Star Power..."
      "Mars Star Power..."
      "Venus Star Power..."
      "Jupiter Star Power..."
      "Moon Crystal Power..."
      "Make Up!"  The girls yelled as one.  There was a 
dazzling flash of light that forced Ryouga to squint a 
little as he watched Minako undergo her transformation.  
His eyes went wide when he saw that her clothes had 
disappeared and she was twirling what looked like a 
gymnasts' ribbon made out of stars.  He blinked once and 
then stared even harder when he realized that no matter how 
hard he looked, he could only make out her outline and her 
eyes, the rest was covered with a multihued, shifting 
light.  A trickle of blood escaped his nose as his 
imagination supplied the details for him.  After she 
twirled the stars around her for a moment, they seemed to 
explode outwards.  Involuntarily, he lifted his arms in 
front on his face and when he looked again; Sailor Venus 
was standing in front of him with one hand reaching above 
her head.  The stars that had disappeared a moment earlier 
flowed back to her outstretched hand and coalesced into the 
Crystal sword.    She slashed the sword in front of her 
twice before she struck a pose with it.
      Almost absently, Ryouga wiped the blood from his nose 
even as his face continued to turn red.
      "See?  What'd I tell ya?"  Ranma gloated.
      "At least he didn't pass out," Sailor Mercury said.  
      
      "Shall we get going, or are we going to have to leave 
you and Ryouga behind?"  Sailor Mars said impatiently.
      "We're going, we're going!"  Ranma said as he threw 
his hands into the air.  "Uhm... What do we need to do?"
      "Just hold you're hands out to your sides and close 
your eyes," Sailor Jupiter instructed as she moved to stand 
next to Ranma.  With a brief nod, Ranma and Ryouga did as 
they were told.  They felt a small-gloved hand grasp each 
of their hands and a feeling of weightlessness overcame 
them.  The air around them seemed to seethe with an 
unnatural wind.  Without any kind of warning, their feet 
left the ground, but they felt no sense of motion.
      "This is eerie," Ryouga complained.  "Can we please 
open our eyes now?"
      "Alright, just don't let go," they heard Sailor 
Mercury advised.
      "Don't crush our hands either!"  Sailor Venus said as 
well.
      Cautiously, Ranma opened one eye.  He then opened 
both eyes wide as he looked around.  They were already 
miles above the surface and rising quickly, a rainbow like 
tail followed them as they effortlessly reached the upper 
atmosphere within seconds.
      "Oh man....  I'm not seeing this..."  Ranma said as 
he swallowed hard.  A quick glance around showed him that 
Sailor Jupiter was on one side of him while Sailor Moon was 
on the other.  He looked over at Ryouga and saw that the 
lost boy was looking around in much the same way.  
Absently, he noticed that Sailor Venus was on one side of 
Ryouga while Sailor Mercury was on the other.  The slightly 
pained look on Mercury's face indicated that Ryouga wasn't 
quite being as gentle as he really should. 
      "Ease up, Ryouga.  Yer gonna break Ami's hand like 
that."  Ranma said.
      "Just shut up Ranma," Ryouga said in a slightly 
pained voice.  The look of relief on Mercury's face 
indicated that he had relaxed his grip, somewhat.
      Ranma smirked then blinked and looked around in 
amazement.  In the brief amount of time that he was talking 
to Ryouga, they had left the atmosphere and was racing 
towards the moon at an astounding speed.  He looked down 
and saw the Earth shrinking far below him.
      "I think I see why yer a bit nervous, Ryouga," He 
said softly as he looked up and concentrated on watching 
the landscape of the moon draw closer with every second.
      Faster than he believed possible, they were skimming 
over the surface of the moon.  Despite their speed, they 
were not kicking up any moon dust in their wake.  Finally, 
they came to a stop and landed softly at the edge of a wide 
open area.
      "Where on the moon are we now?"  Ryouga asked as he 
looked around, still unwilling to let go of either Sailor 
Venus's or Sailor Mercury's hands.
      "Mare Serenetas," Sailor Mercury replied.
      "Say what?"  Ranma asked as he turned to look at her 
sharply.
      "The Sea of Serenity," she replied evenly.
      "Why didn't ya say so before?"  Ranma demanded as he 
let go of Sailor Moon's and Sailor Jupiter's hands.
      "She did, in Latin," Ryouga said as he looked around 
the moonscape, an awed expression on his face.  "I don't 
see anything though."
      "It's an illusion that's been in place for thousands 
of years to protect the remains of the palace from being 
observed."  Sailor Mars said as she led the way.  "We 
should be able to see the ruins soon."
      "Sea of Serenity, huh?"  Ranma mumbled to himself as 
he followed Sailor Mars.
      Sailor Mercury tried to pull her hand away from 
Ryouga, but not only did he not let go, he failed to even 
notice that she was trying to pull free.  With a resigned 
sigh, she activated her visor and began scanning for the 
armory as they walked.
      They had not gone far before broken pillars wavered 
into view like solidifying mirages.  The ground changed 
from the slightly pitted grey to gleaming white marble.  
Ranma and Ryouga looked around in wonder at the broken 
shell of what had once been a grand palace.
      "Whoa...  This is freaky," Ranma said as he laid one 
hand on the single unbroken pillar.  Images seemed to flood 
his mind as he stood there.  He saw flashes of banquets and 
battles, revelry and slaughter.  With a startled oath he 
snatched his hand from the pillar, but the images continued 
to bombard his brain.  After a moment, it was over.  He 
stood trembling as the Senshi spread out, searching for the 
armory.
      He examined the pillar closely and found a hole on 
the other side with jagged cracks that radiated out from 
it.  He peered into the hole and saw that the darkness 
inside of it was not from shadows, but rather from long 
dried blood.  With a shiver, he turned away.  His eyes 
clouded with tears as he realized that the visions he had 
had a moment ago had not been the disconnected scenes he 
had originally thought they were, but more like a fast 
forward replay of something that had happed eons ago.
      "You bear a far gentler soul than even you would 
admit to yourself," a faint voice seemed to whisper in his 
ear.  Ranma turned towards the voice and saw a wavering 
image that slowly solidified into a regal appearing woman 
with platinum colored hair done up in the same style as 
Usagi.  Ranma squinted slightly and found that he could 
still see through her if he tried.
      "Who...?"  He asked before he coughed slightly.  "Yer 
a ghost, ain't ya?"  
      The apparition nodded sadly.  "I am... Was, Queen 
Serenity.  Who are you, warrior?"
      "Ranma Saotome, of the Anything Goes School of 
Martial arts," Ranma said proudly as he hit his fist 
against his chest in a kind of salute.
      "I sense a great deal of pain and a feeling of 
betrayal from my daughter.  What has caused this?"  She 
asked softly as she drifted towards him.
      Ranma scowled for a moment before he quickly told the 
ghost about what had happened that day.  When he had 
finished, phantom tears were running down her face.
      "Then everything was my fault.  If I had not 
permitted her to see Endymion, she would have only suffered 
for a short time before she got over him.  I was blinded by 
the hope that the son was a better man than his father..."  
She looked away, her face conveying eons of sorrow.
      "Don't blame yourself.  Blame that bastard Endymion 
fer foolin' you and tryin' to seduce your daughter!"  Ranma 
said earnestly.  "Hell, he had everyone fooled!  But we're 
gonna make him pay fer hurtin' Usagi."
      "Thank you, Ranma Saotome, for helping me see the 
truth of this.  Why did you come here?"
      "Ryouga 'n I have been trying to help the Senshi 
fight off daimons and stuff.  Sailor Moon is insistin' on 
making us wear some kind of armor since we keep getting 
hurt."
      "That would be the course of wisdom," She nodded.
      "We don't really need the armor," Ranma insisted.
      "Oh?"
      "The path of a true martial artist is fraught with 
peril," Ranma quoted.
      The ghost sighed.  "But the path of the truly foolish 
is even more perilous, and right now you seem to be walking 
the path of the fool rather than the path of the martial 
artist."
      "Hey!"  Ranma said indignantly.
      "Which is more foolish, dying for a cause or fighting 
for a cause?"
      "Dyin' of course," Ranma replied instantly.
      "By refusing to wear the armor, you are making 
yourself vulnerable to becoming a fool twice over.  Once 
for dying and a second time for not taking a sensible 
precaution."  Queen Serenity's ghost hovered close then and 
looked deeply into his eyes.  "The Senshi are protected to 
a degree by their magic.  You don't have that advantage."
      Ranma flinched as he recalled what it felt like when 
Sailor Uranus pulled the arrow out of his chest.  "Alright, 
I'll wear the stupid armor."  Ranma sighed as he glanced 
over to where the others were.  "Don't you want to talk to 
them?"  He asked.
      "No, it would cause her too much pain to see me again 
so soon after her loss," Queen Serenity's ghost said 
quietly as it faded away.      
      "Sleep well, your Majesty," Ranma whispered.
      "Fight hard, Ranma Saotome," her disembodied voice 
whispered.
      Ranma stood there and stared at the pillar until a 
soft voice interrupted his musings.
      "I see you met our queen," Luna said as she placed 
one paw against the pillar.
      "How long have you been there?" Ranma asked as he put 
one hand over his rapidly beating heart.
      Luna looked up at him with a feline smile.  "The 
whole time.  For someone who spent his whole life learning 
how to fight, you are a rather soft touch."
      Ranma shrugged.  "I ain't no softie, I just couldn't 
let her keep berating herself over that."  He grinned and 
cracked his knuckles noisily.  "Now I've got another reason 
to kick his ass!"
      "Come along then, the sooner we clear the rubble 
blocking the way into the armory, the sooner we can go back 
to Earth."  Luna said sternly before she turned and started 
walking to where the others were carefully moving pieces of 
rubble under Sailor Mercury's direction.  "It looks like 
you're strength is needed as well..."  Luna trailed off as 
she watched Ryouga lift a gigantic piece of rock and almost 
casually tossed it to one side.  "Then again..."  
      Ranma laughed as he joined them in clearing away 
enough rubble to reveal an opening just large enough for 
one of the girls to squeeze through.
      "I'll be right back," Sailor Mercury said as she 
slipped easily inside.
      "Be careful!"  Sailor Moon cautioned.
      Silence was her only answer.  Most of them waited 
patiently, but Sailor Moon kept shifting from one foot to 
the other and otherwise fidgeting enough for all of them.
      "Will you knock it off?"  Sailor Mars complained.
      "I'm worried, she hasn't said anything since she went 
in there!"  Sailor Moon said worriedly.
      "Don't worry, Mercury knows what she's looking for 
and we don't.  She'll let us know if she needs help."  
Sailor Jupiter said soothingly.      
      "But..."  Sailor Moon said as she looked again at the 
opening.
      "No buts!"  Sailor Mars said in an exasperated tone.
      Ranma and Ryouga shared a worried look.  "Are you 
sure you guys saved the Earth a few times already?"  Ranma 
asked nervously.  "You guys fight almost as much as Ryouga 
and me."
      Sailor Venus sighed.  "It's a burden we have to bear.  
I'm surprised that we all haven't gone deaf from their 
constant wrangling."
      "That wasn't nice!"  Sailor Moon complained.
      "True, though," Sailor Jupiter laughed.
      Sailor Mercury squeezed her way back out of the 
crevice holding two pairs of ancient looking metal bracers.
      "That was quick," Sailor Jupiter commented with a sly 
look at Sailor Moon as Sailor Mercury handed a pair to 
Ranma and to Ryouga.
      "Put these on, please, and we'll see if they still 
work."  Sailor Mercury opened her computer and began to 
type rapidly as the boys replaced their plain leather 
bracers with the metal ones.
      "How do these things work?" Ranma asked as he 
tightened the ancient bracer on his arm.
      "Well," Sailor Mercury said a little uncertainly, 
"the files said that they were activated by the fighting 
spirit of the men that wore them."
      "Fighting spirit, huh?" Ranma said as he examined the 
ancient bracers on his arms.
      "Sounds like our ki..." Ryouga said thoughtfully, his 
thick brows knit together.
      Ranma nodded and closed his eyes in concentration. 
His battle aura flared around him suddenly and seemed to 
drain into the bracers on his arms. With a brilliant flash, 
the old magic in the bracers was re-awoken.
      Tendrils of magical energy snaked its way up Ranma's 
arms and wrapped around his body. His clothing began to 
glow and quickly changed into a suit of white armor. The 
armor covered him from head to toe, and on each shoulder 
pad was the symbol of a crescent moon, along with a single 
small one on the left side of the breastplate.
      "Hey!" Ranma's voice sounded oddly muffled from 
within the helmet, "This thing restricts my movement too 
much!"
      "It looks impressive, though," Sailor Moon said as 
she inspected the armor.
      "I don't care how impressive it looks, I can't fight 
if I can't move!" Ranma complained.
      "Let's see," Sailor Mercury tapped at her computer, 
bringing up old historical files. "Here we go. Ranma, think 
of the parts of the armor you want to remove while 
channeling your ki into the bracers again. They should 
remember the form for the next time you use them."
      Quite suddenly, the bulk of the armor surrounding 
Ranma disappeared. All that was left were the hip-guards, 
breastplate, the left shoulder pad and the bracers. The 
sudden lack of armor revealed a sky blue shirt with full 
sleeves and a flowing pair of pants colored in a gray so 
shiny it was almost silver. Several flaps of sky blue 
material flowed from under the hip-guards as well.
      Ranma smirked as he dropped into a stance, "Oh yeah, 
much better!"
      "Show off," Ryouga said before he began to channel 
his ki into the bracers. His bracers seemed to suck in the 
light around him, and the magical energies that formed his 
armor appeared dark, almost menacing. When the light came 
back up around Ryouga, he was revealed to be in jet-black 
armor with golden trim, much like a mirror image of 
Ranma's. Ryouga's sleeveless shirt was a dark, shimmering 
blue and oddly enough the dark purple pants were tied about 
the calves in Ryouga's usual fashion. The remaining 
shoulder pad was on his right side, along with the small 
crescent moon sigil.  
      "I ain't gonna make no stupid soundin' speeches," 
Ranma grumbled as he inspected his armor.
      "Any reason as to why they are different colors?"  
Sailor Venus asked, not entirely pleased with the darkness 
of Ryouga's armor.  Sailor Mercury sighed as she struggled 
to come up with a way to tell her without giving offense.
      "It has to do a lot with their emotional state of 
mind," Sailor Mercury ventured to say.  "Ryouga is driven 
more by his personal angst and his anger than anything 
else.  The black doesn't mean he's evil, just... well..."
      "Depressive?"  Ranma asked pointedly.
      "To be short, yes."  She nodded.
      "Let's just go home," Ryouga said with a sigh.
      Without another word, they joined hands again and 
sped off back to Earth.  Although the trip was still 
unnerving, Ranma found himself watching the Earth grow 
larger and larger in wide-eyed fascination.  Never in his 
wildest dreams did he think that he would have ever seen a 
view quite like this.  It was well after dark when they 
arrived back in the secluded clearing.  With a brief wave, 
they split up and headed back to their homes.

      Endymion's mouth twisted into a tight smile as he 
watched his target's house.  He had left his samurai 
quartet back at the professor's and taken a daimon formed 
from a ninja uniform.  He and his daimon had waited 
silently until the lights in his target's room had been out 
for over an hour.  Now was the time to make their move.  As 
silent as death they slipped from shadow to shadow.  Luck 
was with them, her window was open to let in the night 
breeze.  They leapt through the window and waited as their 
eyes adjusted to the darkness.
      "Go," Endymion whispered as softly as he could.  
"Kill her."
      The daimon lunged forward... and fell on its face, 
its foot tangled in the cord for the lamp.  His target 
sprang from the bed, throwing the blanket at him in an 
attempt to blind him.  He yanked the offending material 
away from his face and drew his sword.  He smirked when he 
saw Minako facing off with him holding the crystal sword 
tightly in both hands.
      "Give it up," he advised her as the daimon regained 
its feet.  "You can't win against both of us."
      "We'll see, won't we?"  She said with confidence in 
her voice she didn't really feel.  Her henshin pen was 
still on the desk behind Endymion and the daimon.  She 
wasn't sure how she had managed to summon the crystal 
sword, but was grateful for it.
      The daimon threw about a dozen shuriken at her and 
followed with a blindingly fast slash with a blade that was 
embedded in its arm.  Endymion was slightly surprised when 
Minako not only managed to block the shuriken, but also 
dodged the daimon's attack with a backwards leap.  She then 
rebounded off of the wall and cut the daimon lightly across 
the back before she made a diving slash at Endymion.  He 
parried quickly and took a step to one side to get a better 
angle.
      Minako shifted to a one handed grip and stepped away 
from him.  Although to him it seemed that she had shifted 
styles to deal with two enemies, she was groping 
desperately with her other hand for her henshin pen on the 
desk behind her.  Endymion slashed at her face several 
times and then feinted low in an attempt to get past her 
guard, but Minako was moving her sword with a speed and 
skill that would have made Kuno take note.
      The daimon had nearly worked its way over to her side 
and was about to leap at her when her door burst open, 
slamming it against the wall.  Endymion and Minako swung 
their heads to see who had entered.
      "Don't worry, baby!  Daddy's here!"  Mr. Aino said 
with as much bravado as he could muster as he brandished 
his golf club at Endymion.  Minako nearly froze.  It was 
practically her worst nightmare, her parents getting 
involved in one of her fights and could possibly discover 
her secret.  Now she was faced with a decision, continue to 
fight as she was, or transform and blow her cover forever?
      "Oh, please," Endymion snorted as he casually lopped 
the head of the golf club off.  While her father distracted 
him Minako snatched her pen off the desk, leapt in front of 
her parents and made her choice.
      "Venus Star Power, Make Up!"
      Endymion grimaced in chagrin.  Not only was his 
daimon next to useless, but now she had transformed and 
would be much more difficult to fight.
      "You haven't won yet, Sailor Venus," he snarled.
      "Maybe not, but I don't intend on giving up!" she 
shouted right back, ignoring the gasps from her parents.
      Endymion thrust his empty hand at her and her 
parents, causing them all to be shoved away from him by an 
unseen force.  The wall at the other end of the hallway 
collapsed as they were slammed into it.  Sailor Venus grit 
her teeth against the pain and stood to face Endymion and 
his daimon as the walked into the hallway.
      "Get out of here," she said in an undertone to her 
parents.  "I'll explain later."
      "But..."
      "Just go!"  Minako shouted as she dashed towards her 
enemies, swinging her sword in wide strokes.  Endymion 
dodged them easily and wondered just what she was trying to 
accomplish.  Then he saw her parents as they scurried away.
      "So, you sought to distract me to give them time, is 
that it?  Too bad.  Daimon, kill them!"  He shouted.
      Without letting up with the sword, Minako held out 
her left hand.
      "Venus Love me chain!"  She cried out and hoped.  
Sure enough, the golden heart linked chain appeared in her 
hand and she snapped it at the daimon like a whip.   The 
chain wrapped around its leg.  With an almost casual flip 
of her wrist, she sent the daimon flying into another wall.  
It was almost deja vu for Sailor Venus as she pointed the 
tip of the crystal sword at the prone daimon and yelled, 
"Venus Crescent Beam!"
      The yellow shaft of light slammed into the daimon's 
back, cutting deeply and causing it to shriek in pain.  
Endymion took advantage of the distraction and made a quick 
thrust.  Sailor Venus dodged, but not quite fast enough.  
His thrust opened a shallow cut low on her left side.
      "First blood is mine!"  He laughed as she winced in 
pain.
      Sailor Venus stumbled back and then focused 
everything she could through her sword for her next attack.
      "Venus Crescent beam shower!" She yelled her mantra 
as she swung her sword in Endymion's general direction.  
Neither of them was prepared for what happened.  The 
ceiling was ripped off of the house as hundreds of 
thousands of little beams of yellow energy formed along the 
arc of her swing.  Endymion barely managed to cast a 
shielding spell in front of himself before they hit him, 
but the force of the attack hitting his shield flung him 
backwards through the wall and out into the street where he 
shattered the windshield of a parked car.  The daimon 
wasn't as lucky.  It didn't even get a chance to scream 
before the attack pulverized it. 
      Sailor Venus stared in shock at the ruined upper 
floor of her house.  An entire corner was open to the 
outside now.  She cursed when she heard the timbers of the 
house groan in protest.  She dashed down the stairs and 
checked to make sure her parent's were no longer inside and 
then ran outside.  Her father's car had a shattered 
windshield, but there was no sign of Endymion.  Exhausted, 
she fell to her knees.  She barely noticed when her parents 
walked up to her and started asking her too many questions 
all at once.  There was a tremendous noise as the house 
finished collapsing behind her, but she barely noticed.
      "Mom, Dad...  I guess I have a lot to tell you..." 
she sighed as she transformed back to normal.
      "That may have to wait."
      Minako turned her head and wasn't too surprised to 
see Sailor Pluto approaching them from the shadows.
      "What do you mean, it may have to wait?"  Mr. Aino 
demanded.  "Our little girl is fighting these, these things 
and has been doing it for who knows how long without saying 
a word; and you say the explanation may have to wait?!?"
      "Yes," Sailor Pluto said in that extremely neutral 
tone that she knew irritated people to no end.
      "What now, Pluto?"  Minako asked tiredly.
      "We have to get you somewhere safe so that you can 
recover," Sailor Pluto said as she helped Minako to her 
feet.
      "Wait!  Where are you taking her?"  Ms. Aino asked.
      "You don't need to know.  Why don't you two go back 
to England for a while?  You shouldn't get too involved in 
this."  Sailor Pluto started to move away from them before 
she looked over her shoulder at them.  "Don't worry about 
Minako; she can take care of herself as you have seen.  
Just tell the police that she is staying with some friends 
while you go to London and your house is rebuilt."
      "But..."
      Sailor Pluto gently put Minako down before she turned 
to glare at the Ainos.  "Do you really enjoy endangering 
your daughter?  If you stay within reach of her enemies, 
she will never be certain that you are safe.  Believe me, 
it is a lot easier to fight without that particular 
distraction."
      "We might never see her again!"  Mr. Aino complained.
      "Pray that you do...  Because if you don't, it means 
that our world is doomed."  Sailor Pluto turned and walked 
away, pausing only to help Minako back to her feet.
      Mr. and Ms Aino stared after them until they heard 
the wail of the police sirens and other emergency vehicles.
      "Do we trust her?"  Ms. Aino asked softly.
      "Do we have a choice?" he countered as he wrapped an 
arm around his wife and prepared to face the officers that 
came running towards them.

      Ranma yawned as he stumbled down the stairs.  He had 
barely gotten himself settled into his futon when he heard 
someone knocking at the front door.
      "I'm comin'," he called as he reached the foyer.  He 
could hear Ryouga stumbling down the stairs as, without 
even checking at the peephole, he flung the door open.  
Setsuna, Minako and Artemis were waiting at the doorstep.  
When Ranma saw the blood staining one side of Minako's PJs 
he shook himself fully awake and gestured for them to come 
inside quickly.  As soon as they were inside, he slammed 
the door closed.
      "What's going...  Minako?  Are you all right?"  
Ryouga asked as he finished running down the stairs and 
hurried over to her.
      "I'm fine, Ryo-chan.  It's just a scratch."  She 
slumped into a chair.
      "Endymion attacked her at home this evening," Setsuna 
said gravely.  "Artemis sent out the alert and warned the 
rest of us.  Makoto should be here soon since she doesn't 
have to convince any parents to let her go.  Did you blank 
the shrine out of his memories?"
      "Yeah.  Made sense to me since Usagi's always 
spendin' time there," Ranma said as he shook his head in 
disbelief.  "Wait a sec, you said Makoto's comin' here?"
      "Yes.  Ami should be along as well, although I am not 
certain he even knows where she lives."  Setsuna paused and 
looked around the living room.  "This house should be large 
enough, since Rei and Usagi don't have to move in.  
Fortunately, there are sufficient rooms upstairs for 
everyone to have their own."
      "Wha-what?!" Ryouga asked, his eyes nearly popping 
out of his sockets.  "You mean... they're moving in?"
      "Yes."  Setsuna replied simply.
      Ryouga flushed as he thought of everything that could 
possibly go wrong, and then spaced as he realized that 
Minako really was going to be living in the same house as 
him.
      "It's a dream come true..."  He whispered, oblivious 
to Ranma's amused look and Minako's blush.
      "If yer done daydreamin', maybe ya should go back to 
bed," Ranma said as he jerked his thumb towards the stairs.
      "But," Ryouga protested before he changed his mind 
with a shrug and headed towards the stairs.  "See you 
tomorrow, Minako," He said with a wave before he 
disappeared upstairs.
      "Now that that's done," Ranma muttered once Ryouga 
was gone.  "We need to take a look at that cut of yours," 
he said to Minako.
      "It's not that bad," she protested.
      "Not bad my foot!  It's bleeding too much to not 
bandage."
      "He's right, we should take a look at it," Setsuna 
said evenly as Ranma left the room.  He returned a minute 
later with the first aid kit.
      "Now as fer why I had to get Ryouga outta here, lift 
yer shirt," Ranma said as he leaned over her.
      Minako blushed a deep red.  "No way!" she protested 
as she crossed her arms over her chest.
      Ranma slapped his forehead.  "I didn't mean it like 
that, just lift it enough fer me to bandage that cut of 
yours."
      Somewhat reluctantly, Minako lifted her pajama top 
just enough for Ranma to be able to clean and bandage her 
cut.  Ranma worked quickly and in just a few minutes, he 
was cleaning up the first aid kit and preparing to put it 
away.  It was then that he noticed that Setsuna had 
departed.
      "That's eerie," he grunted as he stood.
      "What?"
      "The way she disappears like that.

      Endymion staggered into Professor Tomoe's lab.  His 
armor was scored deeply in many places and smoke still 
wafted from underneath a few of the plates.
      "Things did not go as you had planned," The professor 
stated simply before he turned back to his workbench.
      "You noticed," Endymion said dryly before he raised 
his voice.  "That daimon you gave me was next to useless!  
Now they are alerted to this tactic and it won't work 
again!"
      "Then what do you propose we do about it?"
      "Make your daimons smarter!  As it is they can barely 
comprehend the simplest of orders," Endymion snapped as he 
sat on a pipe.
      Professor Tomoe turned and gave him a slow, steady 
stare.  "It took years of valuable time and effort to get 
the daimons to their current level.  I have been refining 
them as we go along, but we are running very short on 
time."
      "There must be something," Endymion said as he stood.  
"The Sailor Senshi are even now organizing and preparing 
for our next attack and it won't take them too long to 
start a serious search for this place."
      Professor Tomoe threw his head back and laughed.  
"You overestimate their intelligence now!  They have 
already been to this house and not realized the truth that 
lies under the facade built above."  He continued to laugh 
for some time, ignoring Endymion's pacing.  Finally, he 
turned to his workbench and placed both hands palm down on 
the smooth surface.
      "There is one way, but it does hold a danger," he 
said softly.
      "What is it?"  Endymion demanded.
      "Infusing a daimon into a human being.  The human's 
intelligence will be used by the daimon, but the daimon 
will be physically weaker than the others.  Also, it will 
be unable to steal the heart crystals that we need."
      Endymion held his chin as he looked up in thought.  
Suddenly he laughed.  "What if, professor, I tell you that 
I know where there is a human with an already high physical 
prowess?  One that is nearly on par with Ranma?"
      Professor Tomoe's glasses gleamed as an insane smile 
spread across his face.  "The resulting daimon fusion would 
be significantly stronger than its host and it will have 
the intelligence you desire.  Who is it?"  He asked in a 
husky whisper.
      Endymion smirked as he crossed his arms and leaned 
back against the wall.  "Let's just say it's the last 
person they would ever expect to see..."

      Minako yawned and stretched as she slowly woke.  She 
had fallen asleep in the overstuffed chair the night 
before.  A coarse wool blanket had been draped over her and 
she now wrapped it around herself as she followed the 
sounds of Ranma and Ryouga sparring out into the backyard.  
Even though she was half expecting to see Ami and Makoto 
watching them, she was surprised to see that Rei and Usagi 
were there as well.  She clutched the blanket a little 
tighter around her shoulders as she stepped out into the 
slightly chilly air.
      "Good morning, Minako!"  Usagi said brightly as she 
gestured for her friend to join her.
      "'Morning," she yawned, "why didn't you guys wake me 
up when you got here?"
      "You looked like you were sleeping very well and we 
all know how rough your night was," Ami said.  She held up 
a suitcase for Minako.  "Here, we managed to find some 
decent clothes for you and we hung up school uniforms in 
the closet upstairs."
      "Thanks," Minako said with a short bow before she 
took the suitcase and opened it to look inside.  Slowly, 
she reclosed the suitcase and looked over at her friends.
      "This...  Is every bit of clothing any of you ever 
borrowed from me," she said evenly.
      "Well," Usagi said as she began to fidget, "yeah, but 
you need them back now, right?"
      Minako laughed as she stepped back into the house to 
change.  When she returned the boys had stopped sparring 
and headed for the gate.
      "Where are you two going?" Rei asked.
      "To the park," Ranma replied.  "The old ghoul is 
going to train with us some more today."
      "Wait up!  We're coming too!" Makoto said as she 
scrambled to her feet.

      They found Cologne waiting impatiently for them at 
the park.
      "There you are," Cologne said as they approached.  "I 
had thought for a minute that something had happened to you 
two."
      "We just found a different place to stay," Ryouga 
said.
      "A lotta junk's happened over the last week, not much 
of it good."  Ranma grumbled as he clenched his fist.  "At 
least the techniques you showed us last time helped a lot."
      Cologne cast her ancient gaze over the group and 
sighed.  "Are you fit to train Ranma, Ryouga?"
      When they nodded their readiness she led them out 
into the middle of the clearing and they began their 
training in earnest.

      Endymion pulled the brim of his hat lower as he 
stepped off of the bus in Nerima.  He gestured curtly to 
his cloaked companion as he started walking briskly towards 
the Tendo Dojo.  The residents didn't seem to take much 
notice of them as they worked their way through the morning 
crowds.  When he was nearly to the Dojo, he spotted his 
quarry on the opposite side of the street.
      "Perfect." he smiled as he crossed the street and 
began to follow her.  The Professor needed someone strong 
and somewhat intelligent for the fusion to work, and Akane 
was now the unwitting prime candidate.
      He ducked quickly into an alleyway and cursed his 
carelessness when Akane suddenly turned around.  After a 
few moments, he cautiously peeked out and spotted her.  He 
could afford no witnesses to take word back to Ranma and 
the Senshi.
   "When she's alone, or with one easily eliminated person, 
I will strike."  He chuckled to himself over the irony that 
was going to play out soon.

      Kasumi sighed as she looked at the newspaper in her 
hand one more time before she knocked on Nabiki's door.
      "Come in." Nabiki said.
      Kasumi entered the room and sat on Nabiki's bed 
before wordlessly handing the paper to her.
      "What's this?"  Nabiki asked as she took the paper.
      "It's the newspaper from Juuban that you subscribed 
too."  Kasumi's voice was in that extremely level tone she 
used when she was doing her best to remain calm.
      Nabiki caught the tone in her voice and immediately 
looked at the paper.  Her eyes widened as she read the 
article before she jumped out of her chair.
      "I gotta go, Kasumi!"  Nabiki said as she dashed to 
her closet and grabbed a jacket. 
      "Akane said she was going to Ukyou's this morning," 
Kasumi said as she stood as well.  "Shall I tell Father or 
Mr. Saotome?"
      "No,"  Nabiki said after a moments thought.  "I'll 
send Akane and Ukyou, they're more stable."  She pulled the 
jacket on and started walking briskly to the front door.
      "Are you going too?"  Kasumi asked as she followed 
Nabiki down the stairs.      
      "I might, if nothing else I can help keep Akane and 
Ukyou from killing each other," she paused and put a 
finger on her chin in thought.  "Besides, someone's going 
to have to pay for his hospital stay."
      "Good luck!" Kasumi called as Nabiki put her shoes on 
and ran out the gate.
      "What's going on?"  Soun asked as he and Genma came 
in from the dojo.
      Kasumi thought quickly before she spoke.  "Nabiki got 
some news and she has gone to take care of something."  She 
brushed her hands on her apron before she turned and walked 
into the kitchen.
      Soun and Genma looked at each other and shrugged 
before they pulled out the shogi board.

      Ukyou had just opened her shop when Akane walked in.  
She had to cough to cover her gasp of surprise on seeing 
Akane this early.
      "Hi Akane, what can I do for you today?"  She asked 
in a very level tone.  She already knew what Akane's 
response was going to be, but she also knew that one wrong 
word could set Akane into a fit of rage and that was rough 
on her restaurant.
      "Hi Ukyou," Akane sighed as she slumped into a stool 
at the counter.  "Can I get a special please?"
      Ukyou blinked a few times.  She was expecting Akane 
to demand to know where Ranma was and then stomp off.  
"Sure hon, just a second."  Deftly, she prepared the 
okonomiaki and served Akane
      Akane merely stared at the food for a while without 
touching it.  Ukyou shook her head before she walked over 
to the door and flipped around the closed sign.  "Ok, 
what's wrong Akane?"
      "I can't find Ranma," Akane said listlessly.
      "No-one can find him, hon." Ukyou shrugged.  "I've 
been looking everywhere I can think of, but it's like he 
dropped off the face of the earth.  Heck, even the school 
lost his transfer papers and the secretary that helped him 
moved out of the country.  It's almost like someone with a 
lot of power is hiding him from everyone in Nerima."
      Tears began to well up in Akane's eyes.  "I... I just 
want a chance to apologize to him.   The last while seems 
like it was covered in a haze, but everyone keeps telling 
me how terrible I've been acting."
      "There is that," Ukyou said as she tapped her chin 
with one finger.  "You want to know what was really odd?  
Shampoo hasn't been out looking for Ran-chan."
      "Say what?" Akane asked sharply, suddenly sounding a 
lot more like her old self.
      "Shampoo has barely been out of her restaurant since 
Ranma disappeared.  She'd make an occasional delivery but 
that's about it.  Cologne, on the other hand, has been 
leaving town every weekend and doesn't seem to be showing 
any concern about the fact that Ran-chan is gone."  Ukyou 
paused and took a deep breath.  "I think she knows where he 
is."
      Before Akane could respond, Nabiki burst into the 
restaurant and ran up to them.
      "Akane, Ukyou!  I found him!"  She gasped out as she 
put her hands on her knees and tried to catch her breath.
      "Ranchan?"  Ukyou asked hopefully.
      Nabiki nodded, still too out of breath to talk much.
      "Where is he?"  Akane asked, hope singing through her 
voice.
      Nabiki sat on one of the stools and held up the 
newspaper.  "I'm feeling generous today, so I'll be happy 
with just a glass of water and a deluxe."
      "I'll pay for that deluxe, Ukyou!"  Akane said 
excitedly as she dug into her purse.
      "Two deluxes, coming up!"  Ukyou said as she rapidly 
made the okonomiaki and served Nabiki.  No sooner was the 
plate in front of her than she held the paper out to them.
      Akane snatched the paper and began reading the 
headlines aloud as Ukyou looked over her shoulder.
      " 'Mysterious Martial Artists Battle Demons in 
Juuban, bystanders describe tremendous physical feats.'"  
She looked at Nabiki, "You think he's in Juuban?" she 
asked.
      "Keep reading," Nabiki replied before she took 
another bite of her food.
      "'Eyewitnesses report that once again the valiant 
Sailor Senshi has received help from a pair of young men 
who appear to be highly skilled martial artists...'" her 
voice trailed off as she lowered the paper.
      "He's in Juuban..."  Akane whispered.
      "And he's fighting demons," Ukyou said as she 
shouldered her battle spatula.  "Well, you coming, Akane?"
      "Huh?"  Akane said as she seemed to shake herself out 
of a reverie.
      "I'm going to Juuban to help Ran-chan fight those 
demons!"  Ukyou declared.
      "Didn't you read the whole article?  You might want 
to reconsider the fighting part," Nabiki said flatly.
      "I read enough," Ukyou declared.
      "I don't think so," she said as she grimly turned the 
page and showed them a very grainy photo that showed the 
moment that Ranma took an arrow in the chest.  "They aren't 
even sure he survived that, although they said in the 
article that the Senshi carried him off."
      "All the more reason to go and help!"  Ukyou declared 
while Akane almost numbly held the newspaper and gazed at 
the photo.
      "If they could get through Ranma's defenses like 
that, imagine what they would do to you!"  Nabiki snapped.  
"Right now, he doesn't have any distractions.  If he did, 
he'd probably be dead.  Right now the most important thing 
is to make sure he's aright."
      Ukyou slumped against the counter as the truth in 
Nabiki's words finally sunk in.  "So, how do you think he 
got involved with those Sailor Senshi people?"  She asked 
in an attempt to change the subject.
      "The usual, I suppose.  Ranma probably just happened 
to be there when a fight broke out.  You know he won't sit 
out of a fight like that."  Nabiki laughed before she took 
on her most serious look.  "Ladies, I don't want either of 
you to get hurt trying to help him.  Just make sure he's 
alive and well and then we leave him alone."
      "What's your stake in this sugar?"  Ukyou asked 
bluntly.
      "That's for me to know."
      Ukyou turned back to Akane.  "Well, Akane?  Do you 
think we should at least go and say hi to Ran-chan?  See if 
he wants to come back?"
      "Well, I do want to see him again..." She trailed off 
as a man wearing a dark cloak and a broad brimmed hat slid 
the door open.
      "We're closed," Ukyou said.
      "I'm not here to buy, I'm here with an offer for 
Akane Tendo," he said in a soft, yet intense voice.  As he 
stepped inside a smaller cloaked figure could be seen 
lurking just outside of the store.  Akane straightened in 
her chair, the voice was familiar somehow.
      "What is it?"  Akane asked despite herself.  Nabiki 
frowned to herself as she moved away from the man.  
Something about him just felt wrong.
      "I know where Ranma is, and I offer to take you to 
him."  His eyes glowed red from under the shadows cast by 
his hat.  Akane half stood before she was able to fight the 
compulsion enough to remain seated.  The stranger's eyes 
flashed a brilliant red and Akane's hair stood on end as 
she continued to resist his power.
      Ukyou gasped when she saw his glowing eyes and the 
effect it was having on Akane and brought her battle 
spatula to bear only to have it slapped out of her hands by 
the other cloaked figure.  
      "Leave Akane alone!"  Nabiki yelled as she threw a 
chair at him.
      In one smooth movement, he drew a sword from under 
his cloak and cut the chair in half.      
      The distraction allowed Akane to break completely 
free of his power.  With a sharp kai, she leapt forward and 
punched him solidly in the face, knocking his hat off.  She 
gasped as recognition set in.
      "You!"
      "Enough games, you are coming with me, Akane!"  
Endymion snapped as he backhanded her with enough force to 
knock her out.  He shook his hand a few times as she fell, 
amazed at her ability to resist his ability to dominate 
people's minds.  He looked over at Ukyou and licked his 
lips as he threw Akane over his shoulder.  The figure next 
to him pushed back its cowl and revealed a yellow skinned 
somewhat feminine face.
      "Maybe I should take you as well.  A younger 
plaything would be a welcome change."  He turned back to 
Nabiki and glared.  "You, however, will die."
      Nabiki backed up a few steps.  ::Now would be a good 
time to run,:: she thought nervously.
      "I'd rather die," Ukyou declared as she jumped over 
the counter and retrieved her battle spatula.
      "That can be arraigned.  Daimon!  Kill them!"  He 
commanded.
      Ukyou didn't wait for the yellow skinned daimon to 
finish removing its cloak.  She slipped one hand into her 
blouse and pulled out a bag of flour and threw it at them.  
The interior of the restaurant filled with billowing white 
clouds of flour.
      Endymion cursed as he began to cough on the fine 
white powder.  He spun as he heard the crash of shattering 
glass and moved cautiously in that direction.  A moment 
later the cloud cleared enough to reveal that one of the 
windows had been shattered and there was no sign of Ukyou 
or Nabiki other than a few drops of blood near the window.
      "No big loss," he said to himself as he hefted 
Akane's weight.  "I have what I came for.  Find and kill 
them both before they can find Ranma."  He said to the 
daimon who leapt off in pursuit.

      Ukyou panted as she carried Nabiki along the 
rooftops.  "I think we lost it,"  she said finally as she 
looked over her shoulder again before putting Nabiki down.
      "We need to find Ranma and tell him what's happened," 
Nabiki said as looked around to get her bearings.
      A loud crashing sound interrupted them.  Both girls 
spun around and saw the yellow skinned daimon approaching 
them and licking its lips in anticipation.
      "Run!"  Ukyou said as she hefted her spatula.  "I'll 
lead it away from you!"
      "Good luck!  I'm going to go warn my family," Nabiki 
said as she ran for a fire escape ladder.  The daimon moved 
to follow Nabiki, but stopped as Ukyou stepped between 
them.
      "You're going to have to go through me!"  Ukyou 
declared as she threw a few of her small spatulas at it.
      The daimon dodged the spatulas and charged at Ukyou 
who turned and ran.  ::I have to buy Nabiki some time and 
get to Juuban!::


      Hotaru peeked around the tree she was hiding behind 
and saw that Ranma and Ryouga were once again training with 
the strange old woman.  She also saw that Usagi and the 
others were sitting nearby talking and otherwise watching 
the boys train.  Hotaru frowned slightly when she noticed 
that Chibi-usa was not with them.
      "Where could she be?" She asked herself as she 
screwed up her courage and walked over to where the girls 
were sitting.
      "Hi Hotaru," Usagi said as she patted the turf next 
to her.  "Have a seat."
      "Thanks.  Uhm, Usagi?"  Hotaru fidgeted a bit as she 
asked her question.  "Where's Chibi-usa?  I haven't seen 
her in a while and..." She trailed off as she was suddenly 
engulfed in a hug from Usagi.
      "I'm really sorry, Hotaru," Usagi whispered in a 
choked up voice.  "Yesterday... Yesterday Chibi-usa got 
very, very ill."
      "I've got to visit her then!  Is she at your house in 
bed?"
      Usagi began crying then, and was too choked up to 
speak.  Minako moved over and gently took Hotaru's hand.
      "Hotaru," Minako said softly as Ranma, Ryouga and 
Cologne broke from their training and approached the girls.  
"Chibi-usa is... going to be missed."
      Hotaru's eyes grew wide as her meaning slowly became 
clear.  She too, began to cry as she clung desperately to 
Usagi.
      "I'm all alone again," Hotaru sobbed.
      "No, you're not, Hotaru.  We're all here for you," 
Minako said.
      Hotaru apparently hadn't heard as she broke free from 
Usagi's grip and tried to stumble away only to be caught up 
in a hug from Ryouga.
      "Take it from me, kid.  Being friendless is about the 
worst thing that could ever happen to anyone.  Don't turn 
it down when it's offered to you in good faith," he said as 
slowly rocked her back and forth.
      "But, Chibi-usa..."
      "I'm not saying to forget about her," Ryouga said 
gently.  "But rather remember her fondly, as we all do.  
Remember her kind heart, her smiles and her laughter.  Use 
those memories as your pillar of strength during your 
darkest days.  Thanks to Chibi-usa, you met all of us, and 
I for one am grateful to her for that."
      Hotaru looked up into his face and saw only concern 
there.  She clutched his shirt and wept, but no longer 
struggled to get away.

      It was midmorning by the time Ukyou reached Juuban.  
It had been touch and go with the daimon following her, but 
she gained some time by jumping on top of a train and 
riding it into Juuban.  She didn't waste any time in her 
search and she began roof hopping as she hunted for likely 
placed for Ranma to be staying.  More than once she passed 
a building that showed signs of recent repair or fresh 
patches of pavement on the streets.
      "Kinda feels like Nerima," she said to herself as she 
hurried along.  As she leapt up to the next rooftop, she 
saw a number of trees off in the distance.
      "A park, it's the kind of place Ranchan would 
practice at."  Ukyou grinned at her luck before she 
continued roof hopping in the general direction of the 
park.  Almost as soon as she reached the park she was able 
to hear what sounded to her like a fight between Ranma and 
Ryouga.  She wasn't quite prepared to see six girls 
watching them train under Cologne's guidance though.
      "Ran-chan!"  Ukyou yelled as she ran up to them.
      "Ucchan?  What are you doing here?  How'd you find 
us?"  Ranma asked wearily, fully expecting her to try and 
glomp onto him.
      "You're hurt," Ryouga said as he pulled off one of 
his bandannas and tied it over a cut on her upper arm.
      "Nabiki showed us an article from a Juuban newspaper; 
they had managed to get a picture of you fighting a demon 
yesterday."  She poked him in the ribs a few times.  "You 
don't look like you got an arrow stuck in you at all."
      "Was that enough to make you come running over to 
Juuban, or was there something else?"  Cologne asked.  The 
girls gathered around them as well as Ukyou began 
recounting what had happened earlier that morning.
      "This weird guy came into my restaurant and attacked 
Akane, Nabiki and I.  He was wearing armor and he had a 
sword.  He also seemed to have this strange power over 
Akane for a moment, but she resisted him.  He took Akane, 
but I managed to escape with Nabiki."  Ukyou said as she 
sat down.  "Nabiki split off and headed for the dojo while 
I led his pet demon this way.  It won't be long before it 
gets here."
      "Endymion," Ranma snarled, "It has to be."
      "Go home, Ukyou. It's a lot safer there," Ryouga said 
in a grim voice as he adjusted one of the bracers on his 
arms.
      "But I want to help Ran-chan!"  She protested.
      "Not this time, child," Cologne said grimly.  "These 
foes are too far beyond your skills.  Even Ranma and Ryouga 
have a difficult time fighting them and their skill is 
tremendously greater than yours.  Go to the Nekohanten and 
tell Shampoo and Mousse to be on their guard, this Endymion 
may try to attack one of them next.  Then go to the Tendo 
Dojo and tell them that I am looking into the matter.  Do 
not mention that Ranma is here."
      "You didn't call him son-in-law..."  Ukyou gasped.
      "Uh oh, looks like you're follower just caught up 
with you," Ryouga interrupted as he pointed at the daimon 
that was rapidly approaching.
      "Scatter!"  Ranma barked as he charged the daimon.
      "Get Hotaru outta here Granny!"  Ryouga roared as he 
too leapt at the daimon.
      Cologne grabbed Hotaru's hand and ran into the woods, 
dragging the taller girl behind her.  Out of the corner of 
her eye, she saw the other girls had split up and run into 
the woods, except for Ukyou who had drawn her battle 
spatula and was charging the daimon as well.
      "Go home, child," Cologne said as she let go of her 
hand.  "I have to stop Ukyou from being a fool."
      Without waiting for a response from Hotaru, Cologne 
spun and moved as fast as she could towards Ukyou.  Before 
she could get close the daimon ploughed head first into the 
ground between her and Ukyou, courtesy of a throw from 
Ryouga.  Cologne jumped backwards as the daimon surged to 
its feet and slashed at her with an arm that ended in a 
large circular saw.
      "Dammit Ucchan!  Get outta here!"  Ranma yelled as he 
kicked the daimon in the chest.  With a vicious looking 
smirk, the daimon jabbed at him with its buzz saw arm.  
Ranma bent over backwards to avoid the spinning blade and 
lashed out with a foot at its knee.  Although he couldn't 
put much into it, he managed to cause it to stumble.  
Before the daimon could recover, Ryouga had grabbed its 
buzz saw arm with one hand and had snapped his belt out 
with the other.  With a deafening yell he brought the ki 
charged blade down as hard as he could.
      Ukyou blanched and backed up a step as purplish blood 
sprayed from the maimed daimon.
      "You'll pay for that!"  It screeched as it grabbed 
Ryouga by the throat and lifted him off of the ground.
      "Put him down!"  Ukyou yelled as she charged with her 
battle spatula high overhead.  With a mighty yell she 
brought it down on top of the daimon's head.  To her 
chagrin, the daimon seemed unfazed by her attack.  Ukyou 
backed up a step and stared at the daimon head imprint on 
her spatula in confusion for a second until Cologne roughly 
tackled her out of the way.
      "Foolish girl!"  Cologne snapped.  "You cannot hope 
to defeat one of these.  Not even a combined Full Shi Shi 
Hokkoudan could take one down."
      "But Ryouga..."  Ukyou protested and was silenced by 
a roar of pain from the daimon as a shaft of yellow light 
cut off its other arm.  Ryouga dropped heavily to the 
ground and was dragged away from the daimon by Ranma as a 
gigantic pink heart burst out of the trees and smashed into 
the daimon.  Ukyou covered her eyes for a moment to protect 
them from the bright light as the daimon screamed and 
disappeared.
      "Go home, Ucchan," Ranma said in a tired voice as he 
helped Ryouga to his feet.  "Warn the others and then stay 
home.  It's safer in Nerima."
      "Do it," Cologne ordered as she hopped over next to 
Ranma.  "Or do you really want me as your enemy?"  She 
spoke in a low, threatening voice.
      Ukyou's shoulders slumped and her spatula fell from 
her hands.  "I get it.  You hate me, don't you Ranchan?"
      "Dammit!  That ain't it at all!  I just don't want ya 
gettin' hurt tryin' to fight those things!  You saw how 
little your attack did!"  Ranma yelled as he waved his 
arms.  "The Ghoul wouldn't even let Shampoo come to help.  
Do us a favor and go home!"
      Ukyou opened her mouth to protest again but collapsed 
unconscious as Cologne idly tapped a point on her neck with 
her staff.
      "I'll take her back to Nerima and insure she doesn't 
return.  I'm sorry your allies didn't show themselves after 
the fight, but they have their reasons I suppose."  Cologne 
said as she sat on the turf.  "You should leave as well."
      Ranma and Ryouga nodded before they left.  Cologne 
sighed and reached into her robes and produced a small 
bottle of shampoo.
      "I'm sorry, Ukyou, but it's the only way to prevent 
you from coming back here."

      Professor Tomoe looked over his latest masterpiece 
and giggled with glee.
      "Perfection!  Absolute perfection!"  He laughed as he 
held up a daimon egg that was colored a deep crimson 
instead of the usual white.  He turned to the form strapped 
down to the table and laughed again, ignoring the frantic 
pleas.
      "Don't worry.  Soon you will understand the purpose 
behind being brought here...  Soon, you will be mine to 
command!"  He laughed as he pressed the daimon egg against 
his prisoner's forehead who screamed in indescribable 
agony.  A red light burst from the egg as it slowly sunk 
into the skin and left a ruby oval on the forehead like a 
third eye.  An explosion of force hurled him away from the 
slab, but he continued to laugh as his newest warrior rose 
from the table and then kneeled before him.
      "What is your bidding, my master?"  Akane asked.  As 
she looked up at him the light coming from the ruby in her 
forehead dimmed until her face was once again lost in 
shadows.





Ben Bradley
http://www.okami-san.net

"Never give up on your hopes and dreams, for the moment you do is when they
are forever out of your reach" ~Ryouga Hibiki, A Feather in the Wind

"I thought that the blood was supposed to rush elsewhere..." ~Ami Mizuno,
Twin Dragons under Moonlight

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