And this time we have new and entertaining stuff at the webpage! Visit our 
site at http://www.bladeandepsilon.com for Hyrbid Theory omake comics done 
by me, a spiffy new guide to characters appearing in Hybrid Theory and... 
well, that's just about it.

Oh yes, and maybe you can read the fic as well.

-----------------
Epsilon



-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
-- File: hybridtheory07.txt


			      C&A Productions Presents

                          A Work of Blatant Self-Insertion


                                   Hybrid Theory


                                 Chapter 7: Carousel



	"The sky over the Narita airport was clear that night. The stars shone
down from the heavens - what few could be seen through the omnipresent glow 
of
Tokyo's nightlife, that is. The moon was but a slit, tainted a sickly yellow 
by
the thick layer of smog that hung over the city. The waters of Tokyo Bay 
were
calm tonight, almost glassy. Only the gentle sound of the tide relentlessly
lapping on the shore gave lie to the seas' seeming idleness. In the sky 
above,
there was no whine of jet engines. All traffic into and out of the airport 
had
been halted earlier that day, to deal with the 'terrorist threat' against 
the
nexus of global traffic.
	"The masses came in droves that night. Hundreds of officers from the
Tokyo police were standing guard over the various entrances to the airport,
their blue uniforms contrasted by the drab greys of the official security.
Dozens of fit young men walked the perimeters of the fences surrounding the
massive ocean-abutting runways with flashlights in hand, searching out any
threat. And the last of them wore dark green, armed with weapons of war 
usually
not seen in the placid Japanese isles. These few tens of members of the 
Japanese
Self Defence Force were not on patrol or barricade duty, but were instead
waiting next to their armored personnel carrier to be rapidly deployed to 
any
threat that might appear."
	Click. Click. Whirrr.
	"And time ticked on.
	"As the sun set, the forces of order had finished securing the
battleground. Then it was just the long wait. There was nothing to break the
seeming monotony except the occasional polite refusal of entry to the 
curious or
the foolhardy. The image in the sky had been like the foot that overturns 
the
anthill, and it seemed all the crazies had wandered out that night. The 
chief
operations officer had been fielding calls all day from 'demon hunters' and
'concerned citizens' that wanted to assist in the 'battle to come'. Always 
for a
price. They were told politely - but firmly - that this was none of their
business.
	"The general consensus, after all, was that this was some large scale
hoax. Perhaps, at worst, a warning of a massive terrorist operation. But 
nobody
really believed any of that. This was Japan. Things like that just didn't 
happen
here. Certainly nothing so ludicrous as a magical man challenging a brave 
young
hero to a duel to the death over his lady love."
	Click. Click. Whirr.
	"Hmm. Note to self: Use less flash bulbs. I think they saw me that
time... oops, yeah, best move on!"
	Ran Hibiki dashed from her hiding place, her mini-recorder bouncing
against her vest as she sprinted across the tarmac. The police gave chase, 
but
they were no match for her speed and youthful vitality, just like they 
hadn't
been a match the other ten times they had spotted her so far today. She 
didn't
really blame them: you didn't grow up in the most violent school district of 
all
Tokyo without getting in pretty good shape. You especially didn't spend your
time documenting the frequent and spectacular brawls of her neighbourhood 
(and
running away from those who objected to that documentation) without learning 
to
be quick on your feet.
	Once she had safely left the well-meaning but misguided police behind,
Ran slowed down and started looking for a better place to hide. There was no 
way
she was going to miss the fireworks tonight. And she didn't doubt there 
would be
fireworks for one second. She smiled, remembering some of the spectacles 
that
she had witnessed at her own Taiyo High School. When you saw people summon
lightning from the ground, light each other on fire with their kicks, leap 
two
stories into the air and other such things with casual ease... the idea of a 
man
in the sky holding a pretty girl hostage to provoke a young hero into a 
final
duel became a lot more plausible.
	Ran leapt up onto a convenient outbuilding to get herself a better
glimpse of the area. It was almost midnight, and she figured that was when 
the
excitement was most likely to start. She reached down to the recorder strung
around her neck and flipped it back on. Now, where had she been?
	"The entire airport seemed to be holding its breath. An unnerving quiet
had descended upon the place, settling over the plaza like a funeral shroud. 
The
mist began to roll in from the..." Ran paused. She had never seen mist roll 
out
of a building before. She took a few quick pictures, hoping the flash didn't
give her away. Still, something didn't feel right. She reached up to the 
zoom
and twisted it, bringing the distant figures of the SDF troops into sharper
focus. "They're... they're falling asleep?"
	Ran watched, unable to fathom what she was seeing, but that was
definitely what was happening... and all the police seemed to be falling 
asleep
as well. She panned her camera in a wide circle, and everywhere she watched 
the
rent-a-cops and soldiers were toppling over on their feet. A few more 
pictures
of that later, she began to wonder what could be causing it. Then she 
remembered
the one constant companion of all the falling guards. The mist.
	Unease suddenly clenching her stomach in a clammy hand, she peered over
the edge of the outbuilding she was standing on. The mist, a viscous, almost
black morass, had risen to the very edge of her perch. She eeped and backed 
away
from the edge as the noxious miasma lapped at the corners of her station 
like a
dark sea. She could feel something about that mist, something inherently 
wrong.
In her job, she had developed almost by necessity a 'sixth sense' for 
danger,
and it was screaming at her now, sending that muted electric tingle up and 
down
her spine.
	"I never..." Ran spoke aloud and then frowned at the quaver in her
voice. She cleared her throat and when she next spoke it was in the firm 
tones
of the Professional Reporter. "The evil mist seemed to come from nowhere.
Crawling across the tarmac and along the edges of the airport like a thief 
in
the night. Where it went, brave men and women fell silent, their bodies 
toppling
over in the darkness and their weapons scattered uselessly about their
unconscious forms. It appeared that, whatever force had chosen this day for 
this
meeting, it was not going to let the good intentions and valiant heroics of
mortal man prevent the confrontation that was happening this night."
	Ran spoke a bit more into her recorder. As always, the sound of her own
narration calmed her. She was the Professional Reporter. She existed outside 
the
conflicts, above them, beyond them. Hers was the voice and the eye of the
everyman, and she would be there, no matter how dangerous the situation. She 
was
in no danger here. She wasn't even involved. She just observed.
	After an interminable time spent crouching on the top of the little out-
building, Ran watched as the mist began to recede. She followed its progress
with her camera, and watched it retreat back into the hangar where she had 
seen
it first emerge. Reflexively she glanced at her watch. Five minutes to 
midnight.

*

	Tethys would have grinned, had she still had a mouth. Her eyes did
narrow in pleasure as she watched the mist slowly retreat into the huge blue 
orb
hanging in the air before her. To her right, Jadeite watched the display 
without
emotion. His good hand rubbed absently at the stump of his left arm. To her 
left
was the human girl, hanging from the ceiling on a simple rope. The three 
youma
assassins floated in the air behind her, affecting bored expressions. Tethys
almost wished they could see her smile. It might have put them on edge.
	With this, there was going to be no chance of failure. All the energy of
every human in this pitiful 'airport' had been collected here, for their 
use.
For his use. And Tethys had prepared another special surprise, one that even
Jadeite didn't know about, just in case.
	"Is it ready?" Jadeite said once the mist had ceased its flow.
	"Yes," Tethys said with a nod.
	"And our prey?"
	Tethys waved her hands over the orb, causing it to resonate and pulse
with eldritch energy. She flicked her fingers delicately and precisely, 
pulling
on the subtle strings of magic that connected the orb to the space around 
it. In
short order the center of the orb became clear, and through it one could see 
the
world outside the cavernous building that Jadeite had chosen as his sanctum.
	Four figures were visible through the window in space. One was that
damnable bastard Ukyou. He walked in a steady stride in front of the other
three, his long black coat flapping behind him. One of the others Tethys
recognized from that morning, except he had changed his clothes to something
more fitting, and walked with a red bamboo umbrella propped on his right
shoulder. Tethys chuckled a bit at that. As if an umbrella could save him 
from
her power.
	The other two, Tethys did not recognize. One was a girl, shorter than
all the others, with long hair. She wore a yellow uniform of some sort. The
final one was dressed in a red shirt and black drawstring pants. He was the
tallest boy there, and strode near the front with Ukyou, talking to the lead 
boy
animatedly. Tethys wished that her scrying extended to sound.
	"Four of them," Grape pointed out unnecessarily.
	"I recognize three of them," Jadeite hissed. "But not the girl." He
frowned and shook his head. "It is of no matter. They aren't important. If 
they
have any energy to them, we'll turn them over to Queen Beryl. The truly
dangerous one is the lead boy." He tapped the image, causing ripples to 
spread
across it as if he had touched a pond. Which, in a way, he had. "I've seen
enough. How soon until they get here?"
	Tethys glanced at the filaments of eldritch energy wrapped invisibly
around her outstretched fingers, and did a few quick calculations. "A matter 
of
minutes. It looks like they'll be right on time."
	"Good," Jadeite grinned ferally. He placed his right palm on Tethys'
sphere and began to concentrate. Tethys quickly released her connection to 
the
node before he painfully ripped it from her. The image went dark, but the 
pulse
of the orb did not quiet. Instead it began to grow louder. A circle of blue
light emerged from it for a moment, then retreated. A moment later this
repeated, but with a larger circle. Then the light in the room dimmed, and
Jadeite screamed.
	Tethys watched as the sparks of unholy light leapt from the node up
along his arm. The stolen energy here was not being stored for 
transportation to
the Dark Kingdom: it was being channeled, straight into Jadeite's body. His 
back
arched, twisting to the point where a human would break. His mouth opened, 
but
instead of sound, an awful white light emerged. Sparks shot along the length 
of
his body, and for a moment Tethys feared for his life. Then it ended, so
suddenly she felt a moment of vertigo.
	"Heh." Jadeite grinned and reached up with his good hand, curling it
into a fist. "This is perfect. Come along, it's time to greet our guests."

*

	"They're asleep."
	Akane nodded as Ukyou stood back up. The police officer at her feet
looked almost peaceful where he had fallen. Ukyou looked through the chain 
link
fence at the others and nodded her head once. Ranma and Ryouga both looked 
at
each other and leapt up with a deceptively simple push. They both easily 
vaulted
the five meter fence and the meter of barbed wire on top of that. Akane 
watched
this and gulped. But she set her face and leapt herself. She only made it 
half
as high, but her hands caught in the links of the fence easily enough.
Navigating the barbed wire was a bit tricky, but when Ranma offered to help 
she
nearly kicked him. So she made it over with only a small scratch (or ten).
	"So what now?" Ranma asked as he walked towards the tarmac.
	"Jadeite will play his hand soon," Ukyou pointed out as she pulled her
spatula from the harness on her back. "There isn't much we can do except 
wait
for him to do so. This is a big place, and we don't know where he's keeping
Nabiki. Just remember the plan."
	Nabiki. Akane's pulse quickened. She had never really gotten along with
her sister, but she loved her nonetheless with the fierce loyalty only 
siblings
had. She couldn't help picturing Tofu lying unconscious and vulnerable in 
that
hospital bed. The thought of Nabiki in that position, or worse... it ate at 
her
inside. But she was determined not to let that show. Everyone else here was
ready for battle, and she would be too.
	"We have company!" Ranma shouted as he spun to face the end of the
runway. Akane glanced in that direction sharply. At that end of the asphalt, 
the
surface gave away suddenly to the choppy ocean. And out of that ocean 
crawled...
THINGS. They couldn't be called human, even if they did affect human form. 
They
were nothing so much as human-shaped blobs of water. Ryouga growled beside 
her
and she heard him unfurl his umbrella.
	"They're no threat to us," Ukyou pointed out with a wave of her polearm.
	"That's easy for you to say," Ryouga muttered, almost too low for Akane
to hear. She dismissed the odd boy's comment almost as soon as she heard it.
	"Where are those girls, anyway?" Ukyou growled as she looked across the
tarmac. "Well, we'll see how they like this. Remember the plan, Ryouga."
	Ukyou stepped forward, reaching into her coat with one hand. The moaning
horde of water-men slowly approached, but Ukyou didn't look worried. Once 
they
were within two meters she snapped her hand out, sending a spinning grey 
packet
into the air above them. Almost simultaneously Ryouga snapped his hand 
forward,
launching a spinning projectile after the packet.
	The buzzing shuriken-like weapon ripped the packet to ribbons. A cloud
of grey smoke exploded out in all directions. It quickly fell among the
shambling golems, obscuring them from Akane's vision. As the dust settled 
the
sound of shuffling slowed, then stopped altogether. When the last of the 
cloud
settled, Akane stared out into a small army of perfectly still grey statues.
	"Quick drying rubber cement," Ukyou answered their unspoken question.
She raised her hand and ran it through her bangs. "Just add water."
	Ukyou stared at the still figures for a moment, making sure that none of
them started moving. Then she smirked and turned towards the airport. With a
gesture for them to follow, she walked further out onto the tarmac.
	"I hope that isn't the best you can do, Jadeite!" Ukyou cried into the
darkness.
	The response was almost immediate. Akane felt it. It was like someone
had run a livewire up her back and stabbed it into her neck. She spun in 
place,
suddenly on edge. And she saw them coming.
	Akane had never seen a jumbo jet up close before. Oh sure, you saw them
all the time on TV. But you never got an appreciation for how BIG they were
until you saw one in person. And considering that one was rolling straight
towards them, Akane felt a sudden satisfaction with having seen one quite 
close
enough, and no desire at all to take a closer look.
	"This old trick," Ukyou grunted. "Ryouga, could you do the honors?"
	"What?" Ryouga cried out in shock. "Are you nuts? I'm strong, but not
that strong!" He pointed to the accelerating airliner. Akane had to agree. 
No
human could be strong enough to stop one of those in its tracks.
	"You don't have to stop it," Ranma piped up happily. He grinned and
shook his head. "I get what Ukyou means. Ryouga, you just have to stop its
WHEELS." Ryouga blinked at this. Ranma sighed, then reached over and tapped 
the
shorter boys umbrella with one finger. Suddenly Ryouga's eyes widened, 
before
his face settled into a feral grin.
	"Heh. Of course, why didn't I think of that!" Ryouga spun in place and
drew back his umbrella with one hand. With a ferocious snap of his arm, he 
sent
the ungainly weapon spinning forward like a top. Somehow the weapon flew in 
a
perfect graceful arc, its top spinning so fast it produced a loud hum like a
buzzsaw. But it didn't just sound like a saw. With deceptive ease the edge 
of
the umbrella sliced through the strut of the airliners front wheel. The 
weapon
reversed course a fraction of a second later, but it was still almost 
crushed as
the front of the airliner collapsed into the ground with a thunderous boom.
	Ryouga reached out with one hand and caught his weapon, stopping its
spin with uncanny ease. The airliner ground forward, a sea of sparks 
erupting
from under its nose, for a few more seconds before friction overcame 
inertia.
	"You're more resourceful than you appear," Jadeite's voice boomed out
from behind them. Everyone spun to face the waves of Tokyo bay. Jadeite was
floating a few meters above the now choppy water. His left sleeve was pinned 
to
his side, but his right arm was gesturing grandly. Akane tore her arm away 
from
his empty sleeve with some effort. Beside him floated a woman only barely 
more
human-looking than the water-men from before.  Her night-black hair stood
sharply against her pale blue skin.  Her clinging outfit too was blue, 
leaving
only a golden wire headdress and a small golden symbol under one eye 
contrasting
her favoured colour. And those eyes...Akane shivered a bit.  The woman had 
no
mouth, no nose, no recognisable facial features whatsoever... except those
glowing red eyes, staring at them with undisguised malevolence.
	"And you're too predictable for your own good," Ukyou shouted back.
"Where is Nabiki? What have you done with her!"
	"She's alive," Jadeite almost purred in an amused tone. "Perhaps not for
long, but she is alive." Akane felt her temper flare. A white hot rush of
emotion that blotted out all thought.
	"You bastard!" Akane roared and charged forward. Ranma and Ukyou reached
out and restrained her, or she would have leapt from the end of the airstrip 
to
reach him. She struggled half-heartedly against their grips. "That's my 
sister!
If you harm a hair on her head, I'll break you in two!"
	"Are all humans like you so spirited?" Jadeite mused. He tossed his
head. "It doesn't matter. The girl lives only so long as I let her live."
	"Don't think you can make us surrender by threatening her," Ukyou
pointed out in a calm voice. She gestured with the hand that wasn't 
currently
holding back Akane. "As Akane just pointed out, you hurt her and we hurt you
right back." Ukyou stepped away from Akane and left the task to holding 
Akane
back solely up to Ranma. Akane was breathing deeply, forcing back her anger, 
so
Ranma had no trouble preventing her from doing something stupid.
	"I'm in control of this confrontation!" Jadeite roared suddenly, his
eyes brightening with furious mania. "Don't think you can talk me into
surrendering my advantage! I'll destroy you and all your little friends-"
	"And your little dog, too," Ukyou said with a loud yawn, cutting Jadeite
off yet again. "I've heard it all before, from much more eloquent speakers 
than
you."
	Jadeite growled and clenched his fist. A strange purple light flared
between his fingers for a moment. Then he let out a long breath and smiled.
"You're trying to anger me into making a mistake again," Jadeite purred as 
he
floated back in the air. "It won't work this time."
	"It doesn't have to," Ukyou explained calmly, spotting something over
her shoulder. "I was just stalling for time, you see."
	"Stalling for..."
	"Hold it right there!"
	The new voice rang across the airport, sharp and clear. Akane turned and
saw three figures standing in the nearby shadows. They were short, and had 
the
obvious figures of young women. As the light from the moon overhead slowly
drifted across the field it illuminated them one by one. They were all 
girls, in
color-coded short skirts and body-hugging white leotards. Each was standing 
in a
slightly comical pose, arms and legs akimbo as they stared with fierce
determination towards the nearby confrontation.
	"Airports are places where people come to meet loved ones, not to fight
for their lives! For spoiling this purpose I, Sailor Moon, will-"
	"NOW!" Ukyou shouted.
	Akane glanced over her shoulder only long enough to see Ukyou and Ryouga
dashing forward, their arms blurring as they launched their buzzing 
projectiles
towards the floating figures. Jadeite gasped and raised his hand, almost too
late. A few of the weapons slashed through the fabric of his uniform and 
drew
blossoms of red in their wake, but the remainder of the attacks bounced
harmlessly off a hemisphere of yellow force. The youma woman next to him was 
not
quite so lucky. She screamed as a half-dozen of Ukyou's spatulas caught her 
in
the chest and sent her spiraling into the harbour.
	But Akane couldn't afford to waste any more time watching the battle.
She hated it, but she had another, more important job to attend to. Ranma 
was
running beside her, keeping step easily as they approached the trio of 
startled
young girls. Akane didn't waste any time locating the one with the short 
blue
hair.
	"Sailor Mercury!" Akane called out quickly.
	"Oh... yes..." the girl stammered, her eyes shifting from the battle
behind Akane to the martial artist in front of her. A trinity of explosions
erupted in the silence, but Akane refused to turn her attention away. "You 
seem
to have me at a disadvantage..."
	"No time for introductions," Ranma pointed out, looking over his
shoulder at the battle. "We're all on the same side here, though."
	"Wait, I think I remember you..." the blonde-haired girl with the
ridiculous dumpling-style ponytails gasped.
	"Whatever," Ranma dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "You and...
uh," he looked helplessly at the tall brunette.
	"Sailor Mars," Akane offered. "Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars are supposed
to help Ukyou and Ryouga fight Jadeite."
	"Wait a minute," Sailor Mars growled, stepping forward. "We don't just
take orders from anyone-"
	"Please!" Akane stepped in front of her, throwing her arms to her side.
Ukyou had warned her that Sailor Mars would be the most obstinate. "Those
monsters kidnapped my sister! I need your help if I'm supposed to save her. 
You
have to agree to help us, and we don't have time to come up with a different
plan!" Akane could feel wetness on her cheeks and inwardly cursed herself 
for
crying. Yet she couldn't stop herself. She had already lost... no, she 
wouldn't
lose any more of her family!
	"I think we should listen to them," Sailor Mercury said softly as she
stepped up beside her partner.
	"Yeah." Sailor Moon walked over and patted Akane on the shoulder. "We'll
help you save your sister. Sailor Moon stands for love and justice! Saving
families in need is what I do best."
	"Thank you," Akane breathed.
	"Besides, I want to introduce myself to that hunk in the trenchcoat,"
Sailor Moon giggled.  "We never really got to talk before..."
	"Can't you ever stop thinking about boys!?" Sailor Mars berated her.
	Akane and Ranma shared a long glance.
	"Uh huh," Ranma coughed into his hand. "Yeah, you can do that later." He
paused and glanced at the short-haired girl. "We need your computer thingie. 
It
can tell us where they've hidden Nabiki, can't it?"
	"Uh, yes..." Sailor Mercury nodded. "It should be able to locate her."
The other two Sailor Senshi nodded to each other and dashed from the small
cluster to help Ukyou and Ryouga. Immediately the number of explosions 
behind
Akane increased. Sailor Mercury reached up and tapped her right earring. 
With a
synthesized hum, a visor of some clear blue material materialized across her
eyes. Akane blinked when she realized the girl was holding a small 
pocketbook-
sized device. Where had she gotten that from?
	"Let's hurry," Ranma grumbled. Akane glanced at him and saw his eyes
continue to glance in the direction of the battle. The boy hadn't liked 
being
told to go with Akane. Ukyou had been insistent, however. And her argument 
about
how he lacked a convenient projectile attack had finally won him over. But 
that
didn't mean he liked it. Akane was kind of resentful herself. She didn't 
need a
bodyguard.
	"I think I've found her, over in that direction," Mercury raised her
hand and pointed. Akane was already sprinting before she finished. Ranma 
caught
up with her a moment later. A few seconds later, they were joined by the 
blue-
haired Senshi as well.

*

	"Fire Soul!"
	Rei raised her hands in front of her, concentrating the energy she felt
burning inside her. The power sparked, then ignited at the tips of her 
fingers.
With a mental push she launched the ball of flames across the air, only to 
watch
it impact harmlessly on the force field that Jadeite had erected. The man 
kept
his arm extended and she saw him wince as the fire dissipated around the orb 
he
had created.
	"Keep it up!" the boy, Ukyou, shouted as he dashed to the side and
launched a series of his shuriken-like weapons with one hand. Jadeite 
shifted
his aim, deflecting the weapons with his shield once more. It hadn't taken 
them
long to figure out that their enemy couldn't maintain the shield and launch 
his
energy attacks at the same time.
	Sailor Moon launched her own attack in the wake of Ukyou's distraction.
The glowing yellow frisbee streaked like a comet through the air. So far, it 
had
been the only attack Jadeite seemed unwilling to meet head on, and this time
proved no different. The man growled and seemed to flicker, then vanish into 
a
haze. The discus passed harmlessly through the air before cycling back to 
Sailor
Moon's waiting hand.
	"Watch it," Ukyou shouted as she tackled the so-called leader of the
Sailor Senshi from behind. Usagi screamed as she was thrown to the ground, 
and
Rei saw a blast of pink lightning flash through the air above the duo. A few
meters away the ground disintegrated in a hemisphere of light, the explosion
loud enough that it drowned out Usagi's panicked cries for a few moments.
	"That was fast," the other boy grunted as he leapt towards Jadeite's new
position. His hand snapped up to his forehead in a blur almost too fast for 
Rei
to follow and came away with a dozen of those yellow bandanas he wore.
	"He teleported," Ukyou said as she got off the suddenly quiet Sailor
Moon. Rei glanced down at the blonde and saw her giving the boy a dreamy 
stare
from her position on the ground.
	"I thought he couldn't do that in the middle of a fight," the boy
growled as he spun the bandanas in his hands. They began to buzz, then hum 
as
they became spinning disks in his hands. The Dark Kingdom general was just
standing with his arm held loosely at his side, smirking down at them.
	"I guess the boy doesn't know everything about me," Jadeite reported
calmly.
	"Let's not get caught up in talk," Ukyou warned the other boy in a voice
that was both cold and hard. He pulled the starstruck Usagi to her feet and
pointed at the bandana-wielding boy. "Remember the plan."
	"Plan?" Rei snapped.
	"Just keep him occupied," Ukyou stepped forward, his coat flapping in
the breeze. Jadeite only smirked, then thrust his palm forward. Rei could 
feel
the mystic energy gathering before the strike, but still could hardly move 
in
time. Ukyou, however, moved in a flash. The lightning struck the ground and
exploded under the leaping boy's feet. Ukyou flipped, riding the shockwave 
with
the skill of a dancer before landing gracefully a few meters away. Jadeite's
follow-up shot was aborted when several of the other boy's spinning bandanas
cut through the air, forcing him to pull his arm back. Rei shouted herself,
summoning another blast of Martian fire from her fingers. Once more it was
absorbed by his shield.
	"We'll never beat him like this!" Usagi cried, apparently having
recovered herself. Jadeite teleported away from another swarm of Ukyou's
miniature spatulas as if to demonstrate her point. Rei closed her eyes and
breathed out, focusing her energy inward. She could feel his magic 
permeating
the air around them. Flowing like a river through the entire airport. She 
felt a
sudden pulse in the flow of that river, like a stone hitting a pond.
	"Over there!" Rei shouted as she spun to face the reappearing general.
She was already charging her Fire Soul attack once more, but Jadeite was 
faster.
His magical energy lashed out at her like a striking snake, and Rei cursed 
as
she threw herself to the side. The heat of the explosion rolled up her legs, 
and
the concrete rubbed harshly against the flesh of her arm as she landed hard
enough to knock the wind out of her.
	"Careful!" the other boy suddenly appeared over her. He was thrusting
his red umbrella with inhuman speed, so fast that all Rei saw was a red 
blur.
Then she felt and heard a thunderous boom and the world around her shook. 
She
screamed and clutched the boy's legs, as they seemed to be the only stable
things in the world. The boy only grunted, and slowly pulled back his 
umbrella.
Rei stared up and saw that he had unfurled the bamboo and used it like a 
shield
to absorb Jadeite's follow-up. "This guy's faster than he was this morning," 
the
boy warned his friend.
	"Indeed." Ukyou cocked her head to the side and stared up at him. "Well,
we still have the advantage."
	"Not for long!"
	Ukyou noticed the attack too late. Rei had once seen a firehouse used to
put out a fire, and had been impressed by the sheer force of the white 
water.
But this stream of water was easily ten times as large as anything man had 
ever
harnessed. It wasn't a stream, it was a virtual river of destruction. Ukyou
disappeared in the white foam, his cry cut off by the overpowering roar of 
the
torrent.
	"Ukyou!" Usagi cried in sudden despair.
	"Who?"
	Ryouga and Rei turned and saw that this was no longer four on one. The
blue-skinned woman from earlier was floating above the ocean now, flanked on
both sides by huge, spinning waterspouts. She gestured with one hand, and
another torrent blasted out with pinpoint precision at them. Ryouga yelped 
in
shock and dismay and leapt to the side, barely avoiding the pulse. Rei tried 
not
to stare as the water tore a trench nearly a meter deep into the concrete
runway.
	"I can take this one," Rei shouted as she pulled her hands before her.
She frowned as she reached for the energy that was within her. The fire 
within
had dimmed considerably since the battle had started. It appeared that there 
was
a limit to how much magic Sailor Mars could call upon in one battle. But it 
was
still more than enough to see her through this.
	Rei didn't even see the attack coming. It blasted into her back with a
force stronger than anything she had ever felt. For a moment her world 
dissolved
into a cloud of white-hot pain and echoing explosions. The real world 
returned
slowly, and only with frightening effort. She was on her hands and knees,
gasping for breath. She couldn't feel the asphalt under her hands, or 
anything
at all besides the burning agony on her back.
	Her ears were filled with a high pitched whine. She tried to stand, but
her balance deserted her and she ended up sitting down hard. The world lost
focus, everything doubling then trebling. Rei stuck out her tongue and bit 
down
on it, hard. The sweet pain caused her vision to snap back into focus. A few
seconds of concentration later and the whining in her ears dimmed until she
could hear the echoing explosions once more.
	Rei staggered into a half-crouch, glancing over her shoulder. It became
clear that the only reason she hadn't been finished off was because Ryouga 
and
Usagi were drawing the attention of the enemy. The girl and boy weren't able 
to
do much but dodge frantically as Jadeite and his youma took potshots at 
them.
Yet somehow they stayed one step ahead of the attacks, Ryouga moving with a
grace and agility that seemed the total opposite of Usagi's frantic and 
clumsy
leaps and dives.
	"Are you okay?" a voice whispered into her ear. She felt an arm wrap
itself under her shoulder and pull her fully to her feet. Rei looked to the
side, seeing Ukyou's drenched face. The boy was wincing slightly, but seemed
able to move.
	"I think," Rei frowned. She focused her attention inward. She could feel
the burns on her back and knew they were bad. Some instinct told her that 
the
wounds weren't life-threatening, however, and that given time the magic of 
her
costume should repair the damage. "I can still fight!" she hissed. That was
true: Rei could still feel the magic of Mars burning in her soul.
	"Good," Ukyou grunted. "They must think they KO'd us with those hits, so
they're ignoring us. This is a perfect chance to end the battle quickly." 
Ukyou
stepped away from Rei, but remained close as the girl swayed on her feet for 
a
moment. "Charge up one of those wards of yours," Ukyou ordered briskly. "If 
we
can get it on Jadeite, they should disrupt his control."
	Rei bristled at the commanding tone, but reached down and extracted one
of her ofuda wards from her storage pocket. Ukyou had a point: this was a 
good
chance to catch Jadeite unguarded. Working swiftly, Rei spun the ward in her
hand, channeling her chi and the magic of her patron into it at the same 
time.
She acted partly on pure instinct, and partly with the calm certainty that 
only
came from years of dedicated training. One short chant later and the ward
snapped in her hands, an aura of fire flickering briefly along its edge 
before
it became as stiff as a sword.
	"I can't get up to him to use it..." Rei started and was cut off as her
words suddenly became a small cry of panic. The ground had disappeared from
under her feet and she felt a sudden rush of vertigo. Then she realized that 
the
boy had grabbed her in both arms and then leaped. Rei pulled in her breath 
as
they almost flew into the air. As a Sailor Senshi, she and the others could 
make
impressive leaps, but this boy put them to shame.
	"Stop daydreaming!" Ukyou hissed. Rei snapped her eyes forward and saw
that they were approaching Jadeite with startling speed. The air around them
screamed, but Jadeite couldn't see them coming. Grinning fiercely, Rei 
pulled
back her hand, channeling the last bit of mystic energy into the ward.
	"Akuryu Taisen!" she cried as they passed within inches of the floating
man. Rei's hand darted out, neatly affixing the paper to the back of his 
jacket.
As they descended Rei flipped her head back, throwing her luxurious black 
hair
out of her way as she looked back at the man. He screamed and plummeted 
towards
the pavement. Jadeite shouted something in some strange dialect, and waved 
his
arms, but his eyes widened when nothing happened. He landed badly, one of 
his
legs turning at an unhealthy angle under him. His yell of pain was strangely
satisfying.

*

	Ranma wasn't even breathing hard when the cavernous hangar came into
view. Akane was still in the lead, but he could have easily outdistanced 
her.
Behind him the other girl in the embarrassingly short skirt followed.
	"This is definitely the place," Sailor Mercury called out. "She's been
affected by some sort of magical field, and is only a few meters from a 
massive
energy source."
	"Good," Akane shouted back over her shoulder. Her long hair snapped
behind her as she ran full tilt towards the shadowy entrance. Ranma frowned 
as
they approached. He could feel something, something dangerous from that 
place.
It was that same noxious feeling he had felt from back at the temple. On top 
of
that, he could feel the familiar electric tingle on the back of his neck.
Considering the battle was now hundreds of meters away, that shouldn't have 
been
the case. That was, unless...
	"Akane, duck!" Ranma put on a burst of speed and slammed his palm into
the small of Akane's back even before he had finished yelling. He saw the
shadows twitch and suddenly a long green tendril emerged from them, almost 
too
fast for Ranma to follow. Almost. His head cocked back and the tendril 
passed
harmlessly through the divot formed by the angle of his jaw and neck without
touching him. Akane tumbled to the pavement in front of him, a shocked gasp
escaping her lips. He could hear the girl behind him stagger to a clumsy 
stop.
Ranma almost snorted. It was apparent this Sailor Mercury didn't even have
rudimentary martial arts training.
	"Well, what do we have here?" an amused feminine voice emerged from the
shadows. Ranma flipped backwards as the tendril beneath his chin jerked
suddenly. He completed an elegant backflip, feeling the pressure of the air
displaced by the sudden whipping of the bark-like weapon. When he regained 
his
feet it was just in time to see the tendril vanish back into the shadows.
	"He's fast," a different voice pointed out.
	"I'm the best," Ranma grinned. He slid his legs apart, snapping his arms
out in a complex pattern as he settled himself into a northern horse stance. 
Out
of the shadows stepped three feminine figures. Each was clad in a variety of
foresty colors, wearing skin tight leotards with silly floral motifs. The 
lead
one was the shortest, with straw colored hair and a purple leotard. Her left 
arm
seemed to be made of intertwined branches that Ranma figured was the tendril 
he
had seen earlier. To her right was a taller woman with long black hair and a
green leotard. The other one came in on the leader's left, with a single 
lock of
red hair in an otherwise purple head and a light yellow leotard. "Normally I
don't like hitting girls," Ranma pointed out with as much arrogance in his 
tone
as he could summon, which was considerable. "But considering you gals ain't 
even
human, I'll make an exception."
	His eyes and mind were already working, flickering over the new
battlefield intensely. He memorized the angles and distances to the door, 
the
walls, the nearby cart full of abandoned suitcases and everything else he 
could
see with practiced ease.
	"You three are between us and an innocent young woman!" Sailor Mercury
shouted as she stepped up beside Ranma. "I won't let you prevent us from 
saving
her. I am Sailor Mercury, and in the name of the planet Mercury, I shall 
punish
you!" The entire speech came complete with silly poses.
	"Don't sweat yourself with these three," Ranma spoke softly. "You and
Akane go in there and help Nabiki. I'll handle them by myself."
	"Isn't he confident?" the tallest of the youma women noted with a
chuckle.
	"We're going to kill all three of you, boy," Purple-suit said with a
slash of her wooden arm. "We thought we were going to miss out on the
excitement, but thankfully you walked right into our trap."
	"Ranma, I can help with this..." Akane began but trailed off when she
saw Ranma's expression.
	"You go and save Nabiki," Ranma said, his voice suddenly serious. "Once
she's safe, you can come back and help me." He smirked, his voice taking on 
its
usual taunting tones. "I even promise I'll leave one of them conscious for 
you."
	Akane nodded and grabbed the short blue... bluette? Whatever. She ran
with Sailor Mercury towards the hangar.
	"Stop them!" the leader hissed. Yellow-suit leapt into the air, pulling
back her hands and causing a number of small red objects to appear between 
her
cupped palms. Ranma was already moving. Two long strides carried him over to 
the
baggage cart. His leg lashed out, kicking one of the heavier looking 
suitcases
into the air. He flipped in its wake, his other leg coming up in an arc. He
caught the bag in a perfect soccer kick and sent it spiraling into 
Yellow-suit.
The youma cried out in pain as the alligator skin suitcase crashed into her
cheek. The orbs in her hand fell down among her allies. With twin screams 
they
leapt away as the orbs exploded in a series of staccato bangs. Ranma landed 
in a
crouch and whistled when he saw the crater her aborted attack had caused.
	"Now, ladies." Ranma languidly flowed to his full height. "I thought we
had a date."
	"Fine," Purple-suit shouted. "Get him first!"
	The three came at him with speed that would have been impressive to a
normal person. But they faced Ranma Saotome. He faded to the left, avoiding 
the
leader's suddenly expanding arm as it punched a neat hole in the metal cart. 
A
series of bomblets followed. Ranma was already in the air. The flames licked 
at
his feet as he flipped gracefully.
	His feet came down on top of the branches that made up the leader's arm.
She gasped and began to retract them. Ranma dashed forward, light-footing it
along the length of her arm. He frowned as a wave of vertigo suddenly hit 
him.
His foot almost slipped... but Pops had trained him to fight on a greased
tightrope hanging over a canyon in the middle of a windstorm. He could now 
see
Green-suit with her arms extended, projecting waves of disorienting energy
outward. He snorted and continued running, barely missing a beat.
	The end of the woman's arm came up quickly and Ranma was ready. He
backflipped, transferring all his momentum into a single perfect kick that
caught her dead on the chin. He didn't pause to see what happened to her. As
soon as his foot hit the ground he was pushing himself toward Green-suit. 
Her
eyes widened and she leapt backward, but too slow. Ranma pushed free of the
ground, soaring into her fist-first. Green-suit's stomach gave and her 
entire
body folded over his fist.
	He landed, his hands curling into the fabric of her leotard. He spun
around, dragging her with him. He could see Purple-suit dragging herself out 
of
the dent in the metal wall Ranma had knocked her into. Beyond her, 
Yellow-suit
was holding her hands down, building up a shot but obviously unwilling to 
strike
while Ranma was so close to her friend. Ranma grinned.
	"Catch!" he yelled and flung the youma at Yellow-suit. The woman cried
in panic and dodged to the side, and Ranma was already sprinting to meet 
her. He
had to shift his trajectory slightly as Purple-suit shot her thorn-arm at 
him
again. But he ducked under the attack with barely a thought. Yellow-suit saw 
him
coming. Using one hand, she launched a cloud of cherry bombs at him.
	Ranma flipped forward. The blasts tore up the pavement. The hot wind
brushed against his face and the acrid smoke tickled his nostrils. Then he 
was
past it. His leg shot out, coming down in a vicious axe kick. The 
woman-thing
gasped and tried to throw up her arms to protect herself. Ranma came down on 
her
forearm with enough force to shatter stone. He heard a sharp crack, then 
pushed
away from her. The smoke of her explosions hadn't yet settled, and Ranma 
skipped
back through it, disappearing from the vision of all three enemies for a
precious fraction of a second.
	When he emerged he saw Green-suit slowly and shakily regaining her feet
and Yellow-suit collapsed on the ground clutching her broken arm. 
Purple-suit
was dashing towards him, pulling back her distorted "arm" of thorns for a 
punch.
Ranma almost laughed and slowed down enough so she could catch him. Her 
attack
came in fast, the air cracking in the wake of her strike. Ranma leaned to 
the
side and it flashed past his cheek without touching him. His counter did not
miss. She staggered back, the breath knocked out of her by his knee. He
stepped forward, twisting his entire torso at the hips and caught her 
straight
on the chin with the ball of his hand. This time when she hit the metal wall 
of
the hangar, it buckled and gave. Razor sharp bits of debris were thrown out 
in a
blossom of destruction as the youma punched a hole straight into the hangar.
	Ranma turned, pirouetting on one toe, to face the other two. He assumed
his northern horse stance again. The two youma backed away from him, their 
eyes
wide and quivering in fear. He didn't blame them. Man, he envied Ukyou if 
she
got to do this kind of thing all the time. He stretched one hand forward and
made the ancient 'come on' sign.
	"Come on, don't run away yet!"

*

	Tethys focused her magic behind her, skimming across the water as fast
as she could. Jadeite was trying to stand again, but his legs was turning 
under
him badly. She could see the strange paper on his back fluttering and 
sparking
as the Dark General tried to gather his energy. The edges of the paper were
beginning to burn, and in time he might have overwhelmed the ward, but time 
was
one thing he did not have.
	Tethys gestured, drawing on the magical connection between her and the
water and one of her waterspouts collapsed across the runway. It formed a
makeshift barrier between Jadeite and the four humans, enough to prevent 
them
from taking advantage of his weakened state.
	"Master, are you well?" Tethys crooned as she landed beside him.
	"Of course I'm not!" he roared back. "Get this thing off my back!"
	She nodded, slipping around behind him. Her hands reached out and
grasped the edges of the ward. Immediately she felt a terrible heat 
radiating
out from it and hissed in pain. Her fingers wanted very badly to release it, 
but
she refused to listen to her survival instinct. Instead she clenched 
tighter,
focusing all her energy into her limbs. She could see the barrier she had
erected slowly dissolving as she lost the strength to maintain it, but that 
was
of no importance. Sparks began to leap from the ward, blasting up the length 
of
her arms. She screamed then, as the pain grew, but refused to let go. She 
would
not fail him!
	Finally there was a loud rip and Tethys staggered backward. The ward had
come free in her hands, and it immediately vaporised in a flash of silver 
light.
But Tethys collapsed to her knees. She was almost spent, and could even feel 
the
edges of her being starting to unravel. She focused her mind, trying to hold
onto the sense of herself. She was determined not to end up a pile of dust 
like
so many of her sisters, but she felt so weak...
	Jadeite didn't even thank her as he floated to his feet. But she didn't
expect him to. That wouldn't have been the Jadeite she had grown so... fond 
of.
The four humans spread out, their faces mixes of anger and a bit of fear. 
All
except one. The boy Ukyou was circling to Jadeite's left, holding that 
bizarre
polearm of his. His face was completely void of any kind of feeling, making 
it
impossible to read. Tethys wished for a moment that she had put her whole
strength behind her earlier attack. She had thought the strike she used 
would be
enough to knock the boy out. And it would have, if Ukyou were a normal 
human.
	Tethys watched as Jadeite fired a few more of his eldritch lightning
blasts at them. Ukyou and the muscular boy were closing on him rapidly, both
their weapons coming up for attacks. Sailor Mars was kneeling on the ground, 
but
still building up for her Fire Soul attack. Even Sailor Moon was stepping
forward with a frown on her face, her magic gathering for the deadly Moon 
Tiara
attack.
	Tethys had no choice. It was now or never. Even as she began to lose
consciousness she reached out, her arms stretching forward and catching the
metaphysical strands of energy she had laid in wait for this moment. She 
began
to chuckle, then laugh at the irony. She could feel the aggressive energy
flowing from all the humans in waves. Well, she had planned for that. With a
harsh tug she pushed the last of her energy into her magical trap. She
collapsed, her eyes closing slowly. She might die here, but these humans 
were
finished.

*

	Akane could hear Ranma fighting the youma-things outside, but forced
herself not to pay too much attention. She had a much larger problem to deal
with.
	"How do we get her down?" Akane wondered aloud.
	Nabiki was hanging from the ceiling. Akane thought her sister would have
been mortified to realize that her skirt left nothing to the imagination 
from
this angle, and suppressed a sudden surge of the giggles at the thought. She
forced herself to focus. She could see the rope tying Nabiki to the rafters, 
but
there was no obvious way to get up there to her. She wondered briefly how 
they
had even gotten her up there in the first place. Then she remembered these
maniacs could fly.
	"I'm not sure," Sailor Mercury said slowly. She was looking up at the
sky through her transparent visor; odd figures seemed to keep appearing on 
the
inside of it. Her fingers were moving quickly over the pad on her miniature
computer. "But that orb next to her is very fascinating. Its like a giant 
energy
pump of some kind. I think it's directing energy to someplace. If I can get 
a
better reading, I can figure out exactly how it works and then..."
	"That's great," Akane interrupted the rambling girl. "Can you leap high
enough to get to Nabiki?"
	"Hmm?" Sailor Mercury looked over at Akane as if just remembering she
was there. "Oh, I'm sorry, no." She gestured with her computer. "It's a bit 
too
high for me. Maybe there is a ladder or something else we can use to get up 
to
the rafters?"
	Akane nodded and began to look around. She kind of liked the blue-haired
Senshi. She seemed practical and intelligent, qualities which Akane could
admire. Akane walked away from her a little bit, peering into the shadows of 
the
hangar in the hopes of seeing something that could help her reach her 
stranded
sister.
	Her search was interrupted by a loud crack from behind her. She spun and
saw one of the youma women smash through the metal wall with enough force 
that
it sent fragments spinning off in all directions. The disturbingly human 
figure
collapsed on the ground in a heap. Well, she guessed Ranma was doing well. 
She
was about to turn back to her search when she heard a sharp gasp from the 
Sailor
Senshi.
	"Oh no... this isn't good!" the girl cried. Akane looked over to see her
looking back up at that floating blue orb. Her mouth had fallen open, and 
she
was staring at it in obvious shock.
	"What's going on?" Akane called over.
	"This orb, it's not an energy pump... it's an energy trap!" Sailor
Mercury cried back.
	"What?"
	"Someone just accessed it remotely, triggering a hidden function..."
Mercury began to rapidly tap at her computer. "It was dormant, but now it's
drawing in energy again!"
	"Drawing in energy?" Akane frowned and walked towards her. "That doesn't
sound good."
	"It isn't... the magic is limited to only one type of energy, but..."
Sailor Mercury snapped her head to the side, looking out the hangar doors. 
"Oh
dear, I think Ranma's in trouble."
	"What?" Akane blinked. "But he was winning..."
	"This device, its absorbing all the aggressive energy in the area, just
like the kind Ranma was channeling! Its... drawing away all his strength!" 
She
turned her eyes back to Akane, and they were wide with fright. "Whatever you 
do,
don't get angry!"
	"What are you talking about..."
	Then she saw a figure fly through the hole in the wall again. But this
time it wasn't a youma. Ranma smashed into the floor like a sack of 
potatoes. He
groaned and pushed himself up with both hands. But Akane could see the 
energy
leaking from his body. It looked like a thick vapor, flowing from his entire
form and up into the sky. She followed the path of the vapor and saw it 
vanish
into the orb.
	"Ranma! Don't fight it!" Akane shouted.
	"What?" Ranma looked up at her blearily. "Are you crazy? I'm not about
to surrender!" he shouted, and Akane saw the vapor around him begin to flow
faster as Ranma tried to fight the drain.
	"Not so tough anymore, are you?" one of the youma women said as she
stepped into the hangar through the open doors. Akane slid into her favored
kempo stance, trying to force her anger down. The woman was cradling one 
arm,
and wore a yellow leotard with floral accessories. Behind her walked a 
taller
woman with long black hair and a green outfit.
	"Hey, Grape, are you okay?" the other called to the third woman, who
was thankfully still lying on the floor. The woman didn't rise or make any
response.
	"Guess not," the yellow-suited one said with a shrug. "But that's okay;
she isn't dead or she'd have dissolved already."
	"Yeah," the other responded. "Hey look, he's getting up again."
	"Heh," Ranma smirked and stood shakily on his feet. His body swayed
dangerously as he tried to raise his fists, but couldn't seem to get them up
past his waist. "You're not taking me down so easily. I don't know what you 
did,
but it isn't going to work on me a second time."
	"Oh shut up and die already!" the shorter youma roared and thrust out
her good hand. Ranma stumbled back as a swarm of tiny red beads launched 
from
her palm. But he wasn't able to dodge.
	Akane threw her arms in front of her eyes as the explosions rocked the
hangar. The light turned the whole world red for a second, and she could 
hear
the blasts echoing in her ears long after they stopped. Cautiously she 
lowered
her arms. Ranma appeared to have leapt back at the last second, but he had 
still
caught the brunt of the blast. His entire shirt was burned off, leaving a 
nasty
looking red and black burn on his chest. His pants had escaped the brunt of 
the
damage, but scorch marks swirled up his neck and onto his face. He was 
moaning,
lying spread eagle on the concrete.
	Akane wanted to run to him, but she remembered the monsters were still
here. She turned her eyes back in their direction, just as the smoke from 
the
attack was clearing to reveal them. She heard more than saw Sailor Mercury 
step
up beside her. The petite girl seemed to bring an aura of calm with her
presence, and Akane breathed a little bit easier.
	"Just two more pests to go," the tall youma informed her partner
laconically.
	"Let's finish them quickly then," the shorter one grinned visibly
through the half-mask covering her face. Akane gasped as she thrust her palm 
at
them and another cloud of cherry bombs flowed out. She backed up a step, 
knowing
that there was no way she could leap away from the attack in time. Not to
mention the fact that Sailor Mercury was slower than her. Gritting her 
teeth,
Akane stepped forward, determined to absorb as much of the assault for the
smaller girl as she could.
	"Shabon Spray!"
	Akane felt a sudden cold rush and goosebumps leapt up along her arms. A
thick mist settled in front of her, a fog so thick she couldn't see more 
than a
few meters in front of her. But she did see the small bombs spin harmlessly 
past
her, a few even bouncing without effect off the front of her martial arts
gi. Akane turned her head and say the blue-haired Senshi slowly lowering her
hands to her side. She smiled at Akane's startled expression.
	"I wasn't sure that was going to work, either," she explained with a
shrug.
	A string of mild curses drew Akane's attention back to the problem at
hand. She could see vague shadows walking through the fog towards them. She
squinted, trying to make out what was happening, but no mater how she 
focused,
the fog was impenetrable.
	"They're coming this way," Sailor Mercury explained as she consulted her
computer again. "We had better make a run for it."
	"No!" Akane shouted back, then winced as she felt her legs begin to
buckle underneath her. Akane took a deep breath, forcing her flare of anger
back. "I mean... we can't abandon Nabiki or Ranma here. Those monsters will 
kill
them."
	"You have a point," Sailor Mercury sighed. "But I don't have an attack
powerful enough to hurt them. Maybe if Sailor Moon was here..." the girl 
trailed
off.
	"Well, she isn't," Akane pointed out pragmatically. She raised her fists
in front of her in a boxer's stance. "I can fight them."
	"But if you draw on your aggressive energy-"
	"Then I'll have to fight them without getting mad," Akane pointed out.
She could see the duo approaching now, their bodies fading eerily into view 
as
they exited the thickness of the fog.
	"There they are," the short youma snapped.
	"They didn't even run," said the tall one, sounding surprised.
	"I'm not going to run from you," Akane affirmed.
	"You should have," the tall one cried as she charged forward. Akane
gasped as the distance between them vanished. She raised her arm, absorbing 
a
punch with her forearm. Pain shot up the length of her limb and she could 
almost
feel the bones vibrate in shock. She staggered back, her eyes fixing with 
the
black eyes of her opponent. Akane saw only glee and malice in those eyes.
	The creature smiled, the fabric of its mask twisting with the expression
beneath. It drew back its arm slowly. It was mocking her. Akane breathed 
out,
and punished it for its arrogance.
	Her free hand came up and grabbed the thing just above the elbow. She
stepped forward, twisting the youma's arm, causing it to make a sharp squeal 
and
forcing its entire body spin away from her. Akane followed up quickly, 
lashing
out with her leg and catching the thing in the back of its suddenly exposed
knees. She released her grip on the monster as it flipped into the air and 
came
crashing down on its back.
	Some instinct warned her to back off, so Akane was already backpedaling
when the other youma struck at her with a wild haymaker. The thing moved so
fast! She saw the fog part in the wake of its punch. A bit of resentment at 
not
being able to finish the first youma was strangled stillborn as Akane forced
herself to remain calm.
	The fallen youma floated to her feet and Akane backed up a few more
steps. She could feel Sailor Mercury behind her now, but the girl seemed at 
a
loss for what to do. The two woman-things split up, circling around them in
different directions. Akane tried to shift to keep them both in view, but it
became harder with each passing second.
	"Little maggot," the tall brunette hissed as she stretched her arms out
to her sides. "We'll teach you to challenge your betters." Akane frowned
slightly, but resisted the urge to retort. Then the first wave of vertigo 
hit
her like a freight train. Akane reeled, her vision doubling for a moment. 
Before
she could regain her footing, another wave of dizziness flowed over her. She
gasped and staggered back, colliding with Sailor Mercury and sending the 
other
girl sprawling.
	Akane felt an intense flash of static from her danger sense, and spun
her head. She saw a blurry form rushing towards her, and grunted. Another 
wave
of vertigo slammed into Akane and she staggered, just in time for the 
youma's
fist to collide with her face. Her mouth opened but her voice refused the 
scream
as pain blossomed across her cheek and temporarily blotted out all thought. 
She
felt herself slam into something hard, but the pain and increasingly
disorienting vertigo prevented her from identifying it.
	"Akane! Are you alright?" Sailor Mercury said from somewhere nearby.
Akane shook her head, trying to clear it and focus on the other girl's 
voice.
But it was impossible. Everything kept doubling or trebling, then snapping 
back
into focus only to have changed its position radically in the meantime. 
Akane
could even see the waves of energy that were doing this to her, but could do
nothing to prevent it. Her stomach roiled as she forced herself back to her
feet, standing in what she guessed was a half-crouch.
	"Uppity human!"
	Akane threw herself backward, away from the voice. But the attack came
from behind. She screamed as something rammed into her back hard enough to 
bend
her backward. She felt her feet leave the floor, and for one terrifying 
instant
floated in a world with no up or down, only slowly fading pain. Then she
collided with the ground, skimming along it painfully. She squeezed her eyes
shut, tears leaking unbidden from behind her lids. Frustration welled up 
within
her, but she fought it back as best she could. She couldn't get angry! 
Nabiki
was depending on her! It didn't help that both those monsters were laughing 
at
her.
	Akane pushed herself up on her arms, her eyes still squeezed tight.
Thankfully the nauseating disorientation seemed to have stopped. Akane felt
hands settle on her shoulder, and almost lashed out, but she forced herself 
to
remain calm.
	"Akane? Please be okay..."
	"Sailor Mercury..." Akane allowed herself to be helped to her feet. She
opened her eyes to try and look at the girl, but immediately the vertigo
returned. The blue-eyed girl's face distorted and doubled in Akane's eyes, 
and
Akane could feel her legs betraying her again. "I can't fight them..." Akane
admitted ruefully.
	"Of course you can't," the voice of the green-garbed youma rang out from
somewhere nearby. "Surrender to the inevitable, and maybe we'll make your 
death
short and painless."
	"But I wouldn't count on it," the other added with a malicious chuckle.
	"We have to get away from here," Sailor Mercury was saying as she guided
Akane with her arms. Akane closed her eyes shut in frustration, not caring 
that
she could feel the strength seeping from her limbs as she began to let her 
anger
surface. A sharp breath later, Akane was pushing her pain back again. She 
had
just noticed... the vertigo had vanished again. Akane blinked her eyes open
again, confirming what she guessed. The youma's magic only affected you if 
you
saw it!
	"Sailor Mercury... can you see through this?"
	"What?"
	"Can you see through it? You seem to be able to move around. Does your
magic protect you?"
	"My visor screens out the distortion waves the youma is producing,
yes," Sailor Mercury said. Akane nodded and suddenly pulled herself from the
other girl's grasp. She stepped forward, her eyes clenched shut, but her 
strides
steady. "What are you doing?"
	"You have to be my eyes," Akane said as she slid into her most defensive
kempo stance.
	"Oh look," the green-clad woman's voice rang out from in front of her.
"The little warrior wants to continue fighting."
	"I guess I'll just have to beat her to death then," the other said from
Akane's right with a hint of amusement in her reply. Akane shifted herself 
to
face to the right, and she heard the youma's footsteps suddenly hesitate. 
Akane
grinned, but forced herself to remain calm. She focused her thoughts inward,
trying to forget the outside world. Her sister Kasumi had once told her how 
she
got through most of her chores by just letting her body move, without really
thinking about what she was doing. Akane tried to follow that advice now.
	Akane heard the footsteps speed up again, becoming a steady beat. A run!
Akane stepped back, raising her hands to her face. The blow sneaked in under 
her
guard and caught her in the stomach. Air exploded from her mouth as her 
lungs
emptied all at once. The soles of her feet slipped and skidded as the force 
of
the blow knocked her back. She managed to retain her balance, however.
	"Akane!" Sailor Mercury shouted.
	"A little warning next time..." Akane hissed with a chuckle.
	"I don't know what to do." Sailor Mercury sounded ashamed. "I don't know
the first thing about fighting."
	"Don't let your confidence waver!" Akane shot back as gently as she
could. "You know how to do this." Akane raised her arms again. She could 
hear
the youma circling to her left, and she did her best to follow it using just
her ears. Thankfully the concrete here echoed nicely to the woman-thing's
footsteps, at least. "I believe in you. I trust you won't let me down." 
Akane
breathed out, hoping that worked.
	"I'll... I'll try..." the girl said as she stepped up behind Akane.
Suddenly the youma's footsteps changed beats, speeding up again. Akane 
forced
herself to calm down. There was nothing she could do unless- "To your left!"
	Akane waved her left arm in a wide circle. She felt something strong
glance off her arm, then back away. Akane smiled.
	"Now in front!"
	Akane nodded and stepped back, feeling the air in front of her swish.
	"Your legs!"
	Akane hopped, and as she did so she snapped her foot forward. She was
rewarded with a sharp crack and the feel of flesh striking her heel. A 
moment
later there was a dull thud as the youma struck the floor. But that didn't 
last
long, Akane could already hear it clawing its way back to its feet.
	"I can't win at this rate..." Akane pointed out. She tried to remember
more about the monster-woman. She had been cradling her left arm, and Akane
hadn't felt her attack with that arm either. Maybe Ranma had crippled it
earlier? Akane hoped so...
	"She's coming back!"
	Akane could hear that for herself, as the youma screamed loud enough to
wake the dead as it charged. Akane gulped and shifted to her right. She had 
to
take it down in one good shot. She would only have the one chance.
	"It's leaping!"
	"Which direction!"
	"To your left- No, straight above!"
	Akane dived to the side and felt the thing pass through the air behind
her. The ground cracked and Akane heard the Senshi scream. She dared not 
open
her eyes to see what was happening, and almost cursed as her anger rolled up
from her stomach again. Then Sailor Mercury was shouting that it was behind 
her.
Akane caught herself as she landed and pushed herself forward, tumbling as 
best
she could. She did it badly, and lost control of her spin half-way through. 
With
a startled yelp she smashed into the metal wall and something sharp dug into 
her
side.
	Her frustration was getting harder to bottle up. It was building like a
pressure cooker, threatening to explode. Akane couldn't hold it back for 
long.
But for now, she maintained control. She winced and reached down to her 
side.
Something sharp and cold had torn a small gash in her side, and it was 
sticky
with blood. Her fingers rolled along it... it was a strip of metal. A very 
sharp
strip of metal. Akane frowned, and quietly palmed it as she raised herself 
to
her feet again.
	"You're okay!" she heard Sailor Mercury sigh in relief.
	"This one is pretty tough," the short youma commented as Akane heard her
closing in.
	"Just finish her off quickly," the taller one barked. "You're
embarrassing us."
	"I don't see you helping much!"
	"Shut up, I'm the only reason she hasn't knocked you reeling yet."
	"Feh. I'll show you. This human is no match for me!"
	Akane heard the creature running towards her again, the footsteps
echoing lightly in the giant hangar. Akane tensed and pushed her back to the
wall. It gave her less room to maneuver, but also gave the creature less 
room to
attack her.
	"High right!" Akane blocked, deflecting a palm strike with her forearm.
	"Low left!" Akane snapped up her knee, absorbing a kick with her shin.
The force sent an exquisite spike of pain through her body, but she ignored 
it.
	"Your head, in front!" Akane ducked and felt her hair snapping as the
creatures hand passed through it. But seconds later she heard the shriek of
tearing metal, and smiled. There was a moment's pause, and Akane could hear 
the
metal twisting as the monster tried to pull her arm free.
	"Now I have you!" Akane shouted and thrust forward with the palmed metal
shard. For a moment, she felt resistance, then the creatures skin gave as
Akane's weapon plowed through. A sickeningly warm wet fluid spurted over her
hand. Flecks of the foul-smelling liquid struck Akane's face. The creature 
gave
a sharp gurgle of pain, but Akane refused to relent. Nabiki, Ranma...even 
Sailor
Mercury's life depended on this. She pushed her legs against the wall and 
thrust
with all her might, bracing the metal fragment with both hands. She roared,
letting her rage lose for a moment, focusing the power behind it into her
strike.
	The wall behind her tore apart as Akane flung the creature from her. She
staggered forward, feeling a lot of her strength ebbing away. She bit back 
the
rage, damming the flow. A moment later the creature hit the floor in front 
of
her with a loud crash. Akane dropped, placing her hands on her knees and
breathed deeply. The monster did not rise.
	"Hou-housenka..."
	"I think your friend isn't going to be able to help you, anymore..."
Akane grinned. She opened her left eye a sliver, and saw the world had 
returned
to normal. The last of the mist was drying up, and the youma had dropped her
arms. Whatever she had been doing to produce those waves, she had stopped. 
She
was backing away, casting glances between Akane and the rapidly approaching
Sailor Mercury. "This isn't possible! You're just a human! You don't have 
any
magic in you at all!"
	"I may be just a human," Akane forced herself to stand up straight and
curl her hands into fists. "But you seem to have underestimated humans!"
	"No!" the monster roared and raised its arms. "I'll tear you apart!"
	"Try it," Akane bluffed. She didn't have anything left in her. She
couldn't have fought to save her life. But somehow, she felt exhilarated! 
The
creature before her would likely beat her silly even without her magic 
vertigo,
but Akane didn't care. She laughed, and something in that laugh caused the 
youma
to back up a step. "I'm not going to wait all day!"
	The monster took one last look at her, turned, and fled. Akane breathed
out, not sure how she felt about that. On the one hand, the thing was
escaping...
	Akane's eyes snapped wide as a ball of purple light streaked out from
the shadows and caught the fleeing youma in the side. The thing gave a 
horrified
yell as the ball collided with its body. Akane stared, unable to believe it 
as
the youma's body seemed to... unravel as the ball advanced. An endless 
instant
later the ball exploded outward, sending a ring of dust and wind that blew
Akane's long hair back and forced her to cover her eyes with her arm. When 
she
dropped her arm, there was nothing in front of her but a scorched circle in 
the
ground.
	"Where... who..." Akane stammered.
	"Over there!" Sailor Mercury pointed. Akane watched as a woman stepped
out of the shadows. She was dressed much like the other Sailors, in a 
bizarre
skin-tight fetish costume with an embarrassingly short skirt. But somehow 
she
wore it with an unstated dignity and grace the other girls lacked. It didn't
hurt that this was obviously a full-grown woman, with agate eyes and 
perfectly
coiffed green hair that tumbled to her waist.
	"Who are you?" Akane asked softly. The woman didn't respond. Instead she
lifted one hand, leveling the strange key-shaped staff she carried. Akane
tensed, but realized a moment later that the woman wasn't pointing it at 
her.
	"Dead scream," the woman whispered. Akane gasped. A ball of indigo light
bulged from the tip of her staff, before blasting forward like a rocket. 
Akane
tried to follow the attack with her eyes, but it moved faster than she could
see. She turned her eyes only in time to see the explosion, and watch it 
clear
to reveal a scorch mark in the floor. Akane took a moment to realize that 
mark
had been where the wood-armed youma had fallen earlier.
	Akane snapped her eyes to where she guessed her own opponent had fallen.
She paled a little at the sight of the frighteningly human-looking youma 
lying
on the ground. The strip of metal Akane had used was sticking grotesquely 
from
its stomach, purple blood oozing up around it. Akane looked down, seeing her
hands covered with the substance, and felt a wave of repulsion. She barely 
heard
the third whispered attack, and only looked up when the explosion had ceased 
and
left a mercifully sanitary ring of scorched concrete.
	"Wait, who are you? Why are you helping us?" Sailor Mercury shouted.
Akane saw the woman walking calmly from the hangar. She paused, staring back
over her shoulder at the young Senshi.
	"I'm not here to help you," the woman replied in a level voice. "I'm
here to clean up this mess." And with that she walked out of the hangar. 
Sailor
Mercury looked about to chase after her, but it was just then that Akane's 
legs
decided to give out on her. With a worried gasp, the blue-haired girl ran 
back
in Akane's direction.

*

	Ukyou slipped backwards, her arms quivering as she tried to maintain her
grip on her spatula. The creeping numbness was emptying her limbs of 
strength, a
sensation which she was already familiar with. She refused to panic, even as 
the
chi exited her body in a visible cloud of blue vapor. When Ryouga took two 
steps
in front of her before going down like a pole-axed steer, she still didn't
panic. She snapped her weapon down, burying the edge into the concrete and
leaning against it to keep herself upright.
	When she saw Sailor Mars crumble to her right, the long hair of the fire
Senshi pooling around her head, Ukyou began to worry a bit. Human beings 
were
vulnerable to the energy draining traps of the Dark Kingdom, but didn't she
remember that the Sailor Senshi were immune? Ryouga was still struggling,
clawing at the flattop, the cloud of vapor only growing as he growled and
cursed. A few moments later, his struggles ceased.
	"Sailor Moon, he's using some sort of energy drain..." Ukyou called over
her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she looked back and saw the girl swaying 
in
place. Her skirt billowed around her legs as she staggered back a few steps. 
The
magic frisbee slipped from her nerveless fingers, clattering to the ground 
as an
unremarkable golden tiara. The girl's other hand reached up and clutched at 
her
temple as she squeezed shut her eyes. "Sailor Moon! Stay with me!"
	"What... but I feel so sleepy..." the girl murmured groggily.
	"Don't give in! You're stronger than their magic!"
	"I..." Sailor Moon opened her eyes, steadying herself with a shake of
her head that sent her long pig-tails whipping. "I think I can stay up..." 
the
girl gasped. "What happened to the others?"
	"They almost fell victim to his magic,"  Ukyou pointed out, unable to
keep the relief out of her voice.
	"You mean the one which is making him glow like that?" the girl pointed
out with a gulp. Ukyou spun her attention back to the floating Dark General, 
and
felt the first real tremblings of fear since she had arrived. Everything had
been going so well up until a few seconds ago...
	Jadeite threw his head back, cackling insanely as the blue vapour of chi
energy flowed into his body. A halo of purple light was flickering and 
pulsing
around him, his limbs stretched out and his body shaking as if struck
repeatedly. Ukyou shifted her grip on the spatula, pushing herself more 
upright.
This was much too Second Stage Final Boss for her tastes. And Ukyou was 
still
weak; not collapsing weak, but she could barely keep herself propped up. 
Most of
her chi must have been gobbled up by the trap.
	"This is magnificent!" Jadeite crowed as he bent forward. The flashes of
energy around him ceased, but his hair and clothes rippled in an invisible
breeze. "I never guessed there could be so much power in such small 
vessels." He
stretched his hand forth, arcs of white-hot lightning snapping between his
fingers like an electric ladder. "It's exhilarating... my body can hardly
contain it!"
	"Can you still fight?" Ukyou called back to Sailor Moon over her
shoulder.
	"Y-yes..."
	"Good," Ukyou grunted. She stepped forward, pulling her spatula up in
front of her. Her legs felt like rubber bands, her arms like lead weights, 
but
she managed to pull together enough strength to stand upright and unshaking.
Jadeite only grinned.
	"I would have been so disappointed if the two of you had fallen with
your friends," Jadeite purred. "The two biggest thorns in my side. I would 
have
hated to kill you both in your sleep."
	"I'll hold him down," Ukyou called back as she took a few steps forward.
"You get that magic frisbee of yours ready-" Ukyou snapped her mouth closed 
as
Jadeite vanished in a blur of energy. She felt a tingle from the back of her
neck, and was just turning her head when Jadeite reappeared behind her. She
watched, able to see his attack coming, but unable to move herself in time. 
The
world felt like it was filled with molasses, and her leaden limbs pulled her
sluggishly through it. His palm thrust right into her back, a ball of light
floating at the ball of his thumb like a soap bubble. She didn't even get a
chance to scream before it exploded.
	Her world was white and painful for a timeless instant. Then she felt
her eyes open, and became aware of the strange vertigo of flying upside 
down.
Ukyou groaned, her back aching fiercely as she tried to spin herself to 
correct
her course. The sudden collision with the chainlink made her scream in pain. 
Her
voice was mainly drowned out by the repeated pangs of metal wires snapping.
Space spun about her and the ground rushed up to greet her, blasting the 
last of
the air from her lungs.
	Awareness beyond the pain returned reluctantly. Ukyou groaned while
struggling to free herself from the blanket of metal her crash had wrapped 
her
in. In the distance she could hear the explosions of Jadeite and Sailor Moon
fighting. A part of her wanted to just lay back and let the Senshi handle 
this.
It was her battle. But that part of her was the part she had begun to 
associate
with Aaron. And she wasn't about to let his personality overwhelm her own.
Gritting her teeth she channeled her chi with as much focus as she could,
ripping the metal segments from her. It didn't matter how logical, or 
sensical
or proper it was to let Sailor Moon fight the villain she was destined to
defeat. She had sworn to not sit back and let the world pass her by like 
Aaron
had been so content to do, and she meant to live up to that promise no 
matter
how stupid it turned out to be.
	There were some principles more important than logic.
	"... believe in your own power, Sailor Moon, and you can defeat any
enemy," a new voice rang out across the tarmac as Ukyou stumbled forward. 
Ah,
that would be Tuxedo Mask, or Kamen, or whatever he was called in this
continuity. She scanned the air, easily spotting the flapping black cape of 
the
tall man as he stood atop a convenient floodlight. Jadeite was saying 
something
back now, but Ukyou was too far away to hear it. How far had that blast 
thrown
her? An exploratory probe revealed that the explosion hadn't burned through 
the
back of her coat: it seemed the leather had saved her from more severe 
damage.
	Ukyou's attention snapped back to the outside world as a bellow of pain
pealed across the airport. She was just in time to see the dark cape of 
Tuxedo
Whoever falling to the ground. Floating next to the floodlights was a 
grinning
Jadeite. Aaron couldn't help but roll Ukyou's eyes at this. At the very 
least,
Jadeite had made the mistake of getting Sailor Moon mad at him by attacking
her fantasy crush.
	"You monster!" Sailor Moon screamed as she reached down to retrieve her
tiara. "How can you do that to people?"
	"With ease, apparently," Jadeite laughed. Ukyou had stumbled close
enough to be able to make out his words, even if he wasn't shouting them.
	"I won't forgive you..." Sailor Moon shouted through a choked sob. "In
the name of the moon, I shall punish you!" The moon senshi stepped forward,
pulling her enchanted tiara to her side. Energy began to stream out of her 
body,
a steady blue mist. That wasn't right... "MOON TIARA..." Sailor Moon began 
her
shout, but for some reason her tiara wasn't transforming. Her words had also
begun to take on a slurred sound. "...ACTION!" The girl flung her weapon
forward, but it was nothing more than a spinning metal decoration. Jadeite
slapped it from the sky with contemptuous ease.
	"What's the matter, feeling weak?" he laughed.
	(She's losing her energy... but why?)
	Ukyou frowned at the unbidden thought from Aaron's half of their psyche.
She couldn't doubt his conclusion, however. Sailor Moon had already fallen 
to
her knees. Jadeite didn't seem inclined to let the girl recover, either. He 
was
already gathering a ball of energy in one hand. Ukyou cursed silently, 
forcing
back an annoyed frown, and dashed forward with as much of her chi as she 
could
muster. Jadeite laughed and launched the ball at the unmoving girl, shouting
"Die!"
	"Sailor Moon!" she cried. The girl looked back over her shoulder. Ukyou
grabbed her as she sprinted past. A wave of heat rolled along the back of
Ukyou's jacket as the ball passed within centimeters of her. The explosion, 
when
it struck the ground lifted both her and the blonde into the air. Ukyou was 
much
better prepared this time. She rolled with the shockwave, letting it lift 
her.
Somehow she came down on both feet. The tarmac skidded by underneath her as 
she
tried to slow their momentum without jostling Sailor Moon right out of her 
arms.
	"Are you okay?" Ukyou asked once they had stopped. She cast a nervous
look over her shoulder, but Jadeite had vanished.
	"Soo, sleeeppy..." the girl in her arms murmured. Ukyou frowned
slightly, resisting the urge to shake the girl. "I can't stay awake..." her
voice trailed off as her eyes slid closed.
	"Damn..." Ukyou cursed. There was no way she could carry the girl. She
had lost far too much chi to keep herself mobile. There was always the
possibility of tapping into Aaron's chi... no. No. That was stupid. It would 
do
more harm than good.
	"Don't you two make a cute couple?" a voice purred practically in
Ukyou's ear. She snapped her head back instantly. Her reward was a sharp 
crack
and a muffled curse, followed seconds later by the sound of someone 
collapsing.
A vicious grin bloomed briefly on her face, but she was already moving 
before
she had a chance to enjoy the small victory. She hated to admit it, but her 
only
hope was keeping Sailor Moon alive long enough for her to recover and finish 
off
the Dark General.
	Decision made, Ukyou stopped long enough to gently lay the girl on the
ground, then stepped quickly away. Jadeite was rising to his feet, a scowl 
of
annoyance on his face.
	"You wanted this to be between you and me from the start," Ukyou called
out in her most mocking tone.
	"Yes..." Jadeite hissed as he rubbed his nose. "Sailor Moon is a
nuisance, but no real threat to me. You..." He reached over and touched his
stump. "I have much more to pay you back for."
	"Good, then you have to catch me first!"
	Before she had even finished the phrase Ukyou had sprinted past him. The
ground flashed by under her feet, the air snapped and roared as she forced 
her
way through it at speeds man was not meant to reach. There was an instant's
warning before Jadeite appeared in front of her. His hand snapped out in a
backhand. She threw herself back, the palm of his hand flashing scant
centimeters from the tip of her nose.
	The next thing she knew, Ukyou was flying backwards. Her ears rang and
her eyes refused to focus. What had happened? Then she recalled the 
spherical
blast of energy that had erupted from Jadeite's hand. Even as she recovered 
her
senses, she cursed inwardly. It appeared that he had learned to compensate 
for
her speed by attacking with blasts she simply could not dodge.
	Somehow Ukyou got her feet under her again before she landed. The soles
of her shoes hissed as they skidded across the tarmac. She snapped one hand
down, her fingers digging small trenches in the pavement as she slowed 
herself
down. She licked her lip, and tasted the sharp copper tang of blood. She 
wasn't
fast enough. She had lost too much chi. The lingering beat in the back of 
her
mind beckoned her, but Ukyou frowned and rejected his help. She would live 
or
die on her own.
	A tinkle on her back later Ukyou was leaping skyward. The ground beneath
her disintegrated in a massive ball of light. Rubble showered away from it,
producing a sound like a downpour as small stones collided with the 
pavement.
The smoke cleared, and Ukyou looked down to see Jadeite smirking up at her 
with
his hand extended. She snatched her spatula from her back and flipped it in
front of her, driving it down like a spear as she descended.
	A blur of distorted light later and Jadeite was gone. The blade of her
weapon dug into the crater as she landed. Ukyou grunted and landed a split-
second later. The sky to her right blurred and a sound like air popping out 
of a
corked bottle hit her ear. Her hand shifted on her spatula. A microsecond 
later
she snapped it up, ripping loose a bit of concrete as she dragged the weapon 
in
a tight spiral. The air around her flared with light, oven-hot air flashing 
past
her cheeks. Her spatula shuddered and waved as it absorbed the brunt of the
attack.
	Even before the blinding flashes of the light blast's aftershocks wore
off, Ukyou was moving. A cry escaped her lips and she shoved herself 
forward.
Jadeite's confused face came into focus in front of her for a moment. Then 
she
heard the air exit his lungs violently, followed a moment later by the
satisfying quiver of her spatula that informed her she had hit home. She 
blinked
the last of the afterglow from her eyes as Jadeite landed several meters 
away.
	"You'll pay for that..." the man hissed as he rose to one knee.
	"Send me a bill," Ukyou shot out. She winced. That hadn't been very
witty. Oh well, they couldn't all be winners.
	Jadeite roared and vanished. Ukyou sprang forward. Her hair snapped in
the air as she looked back over her shoulder. The Dark General materialized
behind where she had been standing, cursed, and vanished almost as quickly.
Ukyou snapped her feet forward, digging into the pavement. With all her 
might
she flung herself sideways. Moments later, the air she had been about to 
enter
filled with blistering heat and light. She pulled her spatula in front of 
her,
deflecting the blinding light away.
	The ground touched her feet again and Ukyou let her sneakers skid along
the pavement for a precious second to reduce her momentum. Then she was 
leaping
again, this time backward. Jadeite appeared in the air in front of her, 
roared
something and thrust his palm at her. Pink lightning flashed from his palm. 
She
had only moved her weapon halfway there when the blast ripped through the 
air
in front of her and collided with her stomach. Pain dissolved the world into 
a
white haze, and she heard someone screaming. Only when her back smashed into 
the
tarmac did she realize it was herself.
	She couldn't wait to recover, and was already kicking herself to her
feet. But the sound of Jadeite fading in to her right filled her ears. One 
arm
raised desperately to block, and was rewarded with a blistering wave of 
heat.
She forced down a squeal of pain as the shockwave sent her skidding across 
the
runway. Her eye opened slowly and she hissed as the throbbing scorches that
extended up her forearm. The fabric of her coat had been entirely burnt 
away.
	Clenching her teeth, Ukyou ignored the pain and thrust her spatula down.
It caught in the concrete. The metal shaft bent as Ukyou slid into it, then 
she
kicked down, propelling herself up. The entire weapon became an improvised 
pole-
vault, snapping from the earth as she soared into the air. The ground 
exploded
under her again, and this time she could hear Jadeite's curses over the 
sound of
concrete vaporizing.
	Jadeite recovered quickly, his arm flashing through the air so fast it
appeared as nothing more than a blur to her eyes. She pulled her spatula in
front of her, and somehow deflected a blast of pink plasma. The blow sent 
her
reeling, and her graceful landing turned into an undignified collapse on the
hardtop. While she was waiting for the world to stop spinning a jackboot 
rammed
into her gut with enough force to drive all the air from her lungs. Her eyes
snapped wide as she rocked forward, right into the increasingly bright glow 
of
Jadeite's hand.
	Ukyou had thought she knew pain before, but this time the blast drove
all thought, all sanity from her mind. For an agonizing, endless moment 
there
was nothing but the echoes of pain and the roar of the explosion. The only 
pain
that had ever compared to this was the pain of Aaron's fatal accident. And 
for a
moment, she thought she WAS dying. Then the pain slowly released its 
clutches on
her mind, and the world returned.
	One hand stretched out and clawed at the blasted earth. Finding
purchase, she levered herself into a sitting position. A moan escaped her 
lips.
This was just great, she had just finished over a week in the clinic, and 
this
guy was threatening to put her back in a coma. She opened her eyes, 
wondering
why everything seemed to have a reddish tinge. Then she realized that was 
the
blood seeping into her eye. With a sigh she rubbed the back of her good hand
against it, clearing her vision.
	Jadeite was floating a few meters away, his head thrown back and his
entire body shaking as he laughed like a madman. A sharp, cold beat of anger
welled up in Ukyou's heart. She pushed herself to her knees. That bastard 
was
laughing at her. He was enjoying her torment. She knew that he had been 
holding
back, playing with her like a cat. She rose slowly to her feet. It was just 
like
the other one. Just like Chris. Beating her without caring about her. She 
spat,
a gob of blood striking the pavement.
	She leaned down and picked her weapon off the ground. Who cared about
morality? She was taking that fucker down! A silent plea later and Aaron's
previously marginalised presence returned with full force. With a roar, she
dashed forward, dipping into the well that was Aaron's chi. And for a 
moment,
there was no pain, no crippling numbness that slowed her.
	Her attack came in low and without warning. She drove her entire weight,
and all the energy she could muster, into one spear with the blade of her
spatula. Jadeite's laugh cut off into a scream of pain as the long blade bit
into his side. Blood sprayed out, some of it falling on Ukyou's face. His
floating saved him from a deeper wound as Ukyou's attack sent him careening
through the air. If he hadn't, that attack would have sheared all the way 
into
his spine.
	Ukyou huffed, taking a few steps forward. Aaron focused his attention on
Jadeite, who was growling and raising to his feet. They both felt refreshed 
and
powerful. It was like fighting at full strength once more. Like all the 
damage
and fatigue of the last half-hour of fighting had simply vanished. Even the
world around her seemed clearer than it had before. Edges of people and 
objects
seemed cleanly defined. She could see the energy around Jadeite as he 
gathered
it, like lines of force pushing inward. But no matter how good it felt, 
Aaron
knew they couldn't afford to draw on this chi for too long. Already it must 
be
burning up their body, and they had barely recovered the last time they had 
done
this.
	"You FOOL!" Jadeite snapped his head up, his eyes literally burning with
energy. "You think you can defeat me?"
	"Indeed," Aaron breathed, then flashed forward. Ukyou readied their
spatula as the world flashed by. She could almost see the speedlines as the
airstrip blurred past. Jadeite only laughed and vanished. Aaron could see 
the
lingering afterimage of his body for a split-second.
	They skidded to a stop, and Aaron threw them to the right. Somehow
Jadeite had anticipated them. He appeared right in their path. Ukyou swung 
out
with the spatula, but his hand blurred and a hemisphere of force blasted the
attack away. A moment later she gasped as his hand shot out and clutched 
around
her throat. When the hell had he gotten so fast?
	"You should have stayed down," Jadeite hissed as he pulled them closer.
Ukyou tried to swing her weapon at him but he cast it a glare and lightning
leapt from his pupils. Her hand spasmed as the blast struck her wrist and 
the
weapon clattered to the hardtop. Aaron was already lashing out with their 
other
hand, the burned one. It collided with Jadeite's gut. "That hurt," Jadeite
informed them.
	Aaron's eyes widened for a split second. Pain exploded across his body
as Jadeite roared and pushed a corona of lighting into them. He could see 
the
lightning arcing through his body, leaping from limb to limb. White 
afterimages
burned themselves onto their retinas and Ukyou forced their eyes closed, but
even that didn't keep the blinding arcs from flaring through her eyelids. 
Aaron
became dimly aware of their feet rising off the ground. The pressure on his
throat eased all at once and he gasped in air, only to have it pushed back 
out
by his scream a second later.
	Then the lightning faded, and they opened their eyes. Nearly twenty
meters below them, the tarmac was a pockmarked ruin. Aaron brought their 
line of
sight up, and saw Jadeite smirking while he hovered just out of arm's reach.
Ukyou hissed and struggled to swing at him, but invisible bands of force 
kept
her in place.
	"You know, I think its time I repaid you for this," he smirked as he
waved his stump at them. Ukyou gulped and felt her left arm jerk out to her
side. Both her and Aaron struggled, pulling in the remainder of her strength 
and
all of his, but it was no use. Whatever magic Jadeite was using, it was 
beyond
their ability to counter. Jadeite stretched his hand out and gently, almost
reverently, wrapped his fingers around their forearm. Light began to gather
along the lines of is fingers. "This... is going to hurt a lot."
	Ukyou screamed as his fingers clamped into a fist, with her arm still
held between them. Her fingers twitched once, twice, then fell limp. He 
released
her... and the arm fell numbly to her side. For a moment she wondered why it
didn't hurt more. Then she dreamily realized she must be in shock.
	Her eyes focused on the laughing Jadeite. He thinks he's won, the part
of her that was Aaron pointed out. This was the part of the story where the 
hero
made the ultimate comeback. Where he found the last reserves of strength and
guts, and drew on powers he didn't even know he had. This was the part of 
the
story where the hero called upon the secret trick his sensei had taught him, 
or
the clever tactic he'd come up with at just this last second. This was the 
part
of the story where despite all the odds against him, the hero managed to 
perform
a miracle.
	Ukyou was beginning to realise... she was no hero.

*

	Pluto leaned down, her fingers deftly locating the pulse of her
Princess. The girl was drained of energy and had fallen asleep, but would be
fine. So far she had confirmed that all the Sailor Senshi and their 
unexpected
human allies were all right. That ended her first priority. She looked 
across
the airstrip towards her second priority.
	Ukyou was being slowly but surely overwhelmed by the power of the Dark
General. Sailor Pluto gripped her staff tightly as she watched the man hit 
her
with another of his spherical explosions, sending her skidding across the
runway. Instinctively she raised the business end of her staff and sighted 
where
Ukyou should land. It would be so simple to catch the young woman off-guard.
One 'Dead Scream' should be all that was required to finish her off.
	Yet again Pluto hesitated. The girl was fighting valiantly, drawing the
man away from Sailor Moon. It was obvious she was fighting the good fight, 
just
trying to save her friend. She wasn't even emitting any of that frightening
energy that Pluto remembered like nothing else.
	As the two continued to battle, Pluto let her mind drift. She had to
remember why she was here. Her job was to safeguard time itself, and this 
Ukyou
Kuonji was the greatest threat it had ever faced!
	Those few who knew about the Gates of Time and Sailor Pluto's special
connection to them tended to think that Sailor Pluto could foresee the 
future.
In truth, she was no more precognizant than anyone else. In fact, she was
specifically forbidden from looking forward in time by a promise she had 
made to
a woman who had once meant more to her than life itself. If she could have
looked forward in time, she could have foreseen the tragic end that would 
befall
that woman and her glorious silver kingdom. It was a testament to her 
respect
for her Queen that Sailor Pluto had never broken that vow in the millennia 
since
her death. Never except once.
	She recalled the first night she had woken up screaming in her bed. Oh,
she spent a good deal of time in the Gates of Time. In fact, a part of her 
was
always there, in that elusive neverwhen. But she also had a home, a career, 
a
life outside of her stewardship. That, too, had been part of her promise to 
the
Queen. "What use is a Guardian of Time, who forgets the very thing she is
guarding time for?" the Queen had once said to her. And she had been right.
Being grounded in the real world, enjoying its simple pleasures, acting like 
any
other mortal... it all kept her mission tolerable. Without it, she guessed 
she
might have gone insane. She might have become the kind of being she was 
sworn to
oppose.
	But she was digressing. She watched as Jadeite planted his foot in
Ukyou's stomach and unleash a blast point blank into her face. Sailor Pluto
winced. She really wished no ill will to the girl. It was obvious she did 
not
know what she was destined to become, not yet.
	That brought back the dream full force. Pluto shivered and clutched her
arms around her breasts as the horrific images played themselves back in her
mind. The images were vivid and indelible, which stood to reason as Sailor
Pluto had woken up with them screaming from her lips every morning for the 
past
three months.
	"...I send you these images as a warning!" she could hear the temporally
distorted voice which was still unmistakably her own. "You must not allow 
the
events you see before you to come to pass!" In her mind's eye she was a 
young
woman standing beneath a bank of clouds, three circles of light rotated 
around
her body, the symbols that marked them rendered illegible by the speed of 
the
rotation. "This is the final moment of our universe! And of hundreds of 
others
besides!" The woman was clad in skin-tight black pants wrapped about the 
ankles
with cords, her torso was covered in a turtle-necked skin-tight white shirt 
and
over that she wore a long black trench-coat which was blown back and flared 
in
an unseen wind. Her sleeves were rolled up and both arms were reaching out
towards the heavens. On her left arm five parallel scars glowed with 
eldritch
light, on her right arm a tattoo of some kind snaked up to disappear under 
her
sleeve. A power radiated from her, a power that Sailor Pluto could neither 
place
nor understand. "The woman before you is Ukyou Kuonji. She has given herself 
to
the darkness inside her! She prepares to battle a force of evil like none 
you
have ever seen, a force without a face or a name! Their battle will tear our
world apart!" Now Sailor Pluto saw the woman's face, and it was undeniably
Ukyou's face, though a bright light flared from her forehead, and there was
something terribly wrong with her eyes. "I know this because I have already 
seen
it! I am the last survivor, and soon my small bubble of reality will fade 
away
and my very being will be torn to shreds. You must stop this battle from
happening. Do whatever is necessary! Damn the Queen's laws! Damn your own
morality! Prevent this, or it all means nothing!"
	And from the clouds descended another human figure, but this one Sailor
Pluto could see no details of. All she could feel was a terrible, 
mind-numbing
WRONGNESS radiating from it. Ukyou looked up at this horror made flesh, and
smiled. And as Ukyou smiled, her hands reached up and clutched a dreadfully
familiar weapon that had not been there before, and Pluto felt her intention 
to
strike... Then the dream was ripped from her, becoming nothing but a flare 
of
static and pain as her future self was torn apart. Sailor Pluto only felt a
distant echo back through the streams of time of what happened to her
counterpart, but what she felt made her blood run cold. For her other self 
was
not killed, or destroyed. She simply ceased to be. Her, and everything else. 
For
a horrifying instant she knew what it was to feel absolutely nothing. Then 
she
always woke up screaming.
	Sweat was forming on Sailor Pluto's brow as she forced the sensation
away. But something had snapped her out of her reverie. She could feel it. 
The
strange energy, that unplaceable power. Ukyou was attacking Jadeite again, 
and
it appeared she was tapping that 'darkness within' the future Sailor Pluto 
had
warned her about. Instantly the Time Key snapped up in her hand, and she was
about to unleash her magic when Jadeite easily knocked aside Ukyou's attacks 
and
grabbed her about the throat. Sailor Pluto sighed in relief.
	It appeared Jadeite was going to finish off the girl for her. That was
good. It was small comfort to know that she would not have to step in and
deliver the killing blow herself. Technically Ukyou was still an innocent, 
and
imposing such a harsh sentence for uncommitted wrongs went against 
everything
the Sailor Senshi stood for. Maybe she was fooling herself by thinking that
sitting back and doing nothing was any better than actively helping Jadeite 
do
the deed, but it was the kind of self-deception she could live with.
	Besides, it wasn't as if she couldn't finish Jadeite off the moment he
finished with her. And if somehow Ukyou did survive, then she would be weak 
and
in no condition to fight the Senshi of Time. Sailor Pluto smiled. This 
looked
like a perfect win/win situation.

*

	Akane dropped the tarp she had found over Ranma's unconscious body
before turning back to the Sailor Senshi. An unexpected side effect of her 
fog
attack had triggered Ranma's curse, and now Ranma was not only covered in 
light
burns from the waist up, she was also not decent. Sailor Mercury had been a 
bit
nonplussed seeing Ranma's cursed form. Akane had tried to explain it away, 
but
the blue-haired girl was still giving the unconscious former boy a lot of 
weird
looks when she thought Akane wasn't looking.
	"Did you find a ladder?"
	Sailor Mercury returned her attention to Akane with a blush. Akane
rolled her eyes. For someone who was supposed to be the reincarnated 
princess of
a magic kingdom, the girl had a hard time accepting the supernatural.
	"No, I'm sorry, I don't think there is a way up to the rafters," Mercury
explained with a contrite grimace. Akane sighed and walked over to pat her 
on
the shoulder. It was hard to remain mad at the girl; she seemed to obviously
mean well. An explosion rang outside and Akane took a quick peak out the 
door.
It was impossible to tell what was happening at the battle proper from this
distance.
	"Don't worry about it," Akane sighed and sat down slowly. Her legs still
felt like someone had filled them with rubber bands. Most of her chi had 
already
been drained away by the orb floating up next to her sister. She shaded her 
eyes
with one hand and looked at Nabiki hanging up there. Her eyes were open, but 
the
girl was staring sightlessly across the hangar. The thought of Nabiki being
awake enough to see what was going on gave Akane goosebumps. For some 
reason,
she didn't want her sister to have seen her fight earlier. Akane had already
used Mercury's powers to help clean the blood off her hand, but she still 
felt
soiled. "We'll figure out some way of getting her down."
	"Hey, is there anyone in here?"
	Akane thrust herself to her feet and almost immediately regretted it.
The world swayed as a dizzy spell threatened to send her toppling back to 
the
floor. She clutched the wound in her side, the sharp pain bringing back 
focus in
an instant. Sailor Mercury had stepped protectively in front of her. The 
gesture
both annoyed and relieved her. She may not be in much shape to defend 
herself,
but she still had her pride.
	"Whoa! I come in peace!"
	The girl in the door was short, maybe about as tall as Sailor Mercury.
She had black hair cut short in front, but had a large bouncy ponytail. She 
was
wearing what looked like a blue and white school uniform, covered by some 
kind
of blue... vest?  It looked almost like a lifejacket. In her right hand, she
carried a very large and expensive-looking camera.
	"Who are you?" Sailor Mercury called out cautiously. She had relaxed,
but not completely. Akane dared not allow herself to relax. From the feel of 
her
chi, the tension was the only thing keeping her standing.
	"Uh, my name's Ran Hibiki..." the girl gulped. "But that isn't
important!" She stepped forward, pointing frantically over her shoulder. "I 
know
you two are the friends of that guy in the trenchcoat. You better get out 
there
and help him, he's in a lot of trouble!"
	"What... Ukyou?" Akane stepped around the Senshi, her voice trembling.
"What do you mean, in trouble?"
	"The blonde in the black suit is torturing him to death!" she cried.
"Normally I just try to stay impartial... but... this isn't a very good end 
to
the story? You know?"
	"You're a reporter?" Sailor Mercury said with a slightly disapproving
tone from behind Akane.
	"Of course!" she smirked and sucked in her gut, thrusting out her chest.
"Well..." she deflated. "Not really. I'm just a reporter for the school
newspaper at Taiyo High..."
	"Never mind that!" Akane barked. The others stared at her for a moment
and she forced herself to calm down. She could see the wisps of chi leaving 
her
hands from her brief temper flare. "What do you mean torturing he... him to
death!" Akane frowned, she had almost let Ukyou's secret slip in her haste.
	"Well, it looked like your friends were winning but then they all sort
of collapsed. The only ones left standing were this Ukyou guy and the chick 
with
the blue mini-skirt. But her and the guy in the tuxedo who showed up both 
went
down and then it was just Ukyou versus the evil floating head demon guy!" 
Ran
burned through the words almost faster than her mouth could keep up. She 
waved
her camera around as she narrated, forcing Akane to duck back to avoid being
struck. "I got some really great shots. But I thought this Ukyou guy was 
going
to make a comeback, you know? But he didn't, and the blonde just kept 
blasting
him around. Now he's hanging him up in the air and shocking him and... 
and..."
	"It's okay," Sailor Mercury said soothing. "You did the right thing and
came to us for help."
	"But how are we supposed to do that?" Akane cried, tears of frustration
leaking from her eyes. "I can barely stand, and you said yourself you don't 
have
any offensive techniques."
	"I know..." Sailor Mercury tapped her earring, summoning her visor
again.
	"Wow! Could you do that again? I'd love to get a picture!"
	"Uh... no time now..." Sailor Mercury blushed and stammered. "I have to
see something." She pulled out her mini-computer and tapped on it. "It's 
just
like I thought. The orb up there is feeding its power directly to Jadeite, 
even
as it drains power from everyone else. If we could destroy the orb, Jadeite
would lose all his extra power, and everyone else would probably get theirs
back."
	"How do we destroy it?" Akane sighed.
	"I don't know..."
	"Destroy what?" Ran piped up.
	"That orb up there," Akane gestured.
	"Oh that thing..." Ran stepped past the two of them. "Hmm. Pretty high
up, but I think I can hit it."
	"What?" Akane blinked. But Ran wasn't listening to her. The girl had
reached into the lining of her blue vest and pulled out several pages of
newsprint. She smirked and snapped her wrist, the floppy pages flickering 
rigid
between her fingers.
	"I call this my Extra Edition!" Ran cried as she wound up and spun, the
pages flashing from her finger tips and buzzing like shuriken. Akane stared 
as
the papers spun through the air, passing neatly through the orb and 
disappearing
into the shadows of the rafters. Several metallic clangs informed her they 
had
hit the ceiling. For a moment, the orb hung in the air unaffected. Then a 
trio
of perfectly parallel lines appeared along its flawless surface. Slowly the
sections of the sphere began to drift apart. "Piece of cake!" Ran cried
excitedly. Her camera flashed as she took a few pictures... and then the orb
exploded.
	"Nabiki!" Akane cried. She watched as a humanoid figure flew across the
hangar in the wake of the explosion. She dashed after it, knowing she was 
too
weak to catch it. But she was proven wrong. Even as she sprinted she could 
feel
her strength returning. A gleeful grin spread across her features and she 
poured
all her chi into her legs, focusing her energy on her speed. She arrived
underneath her sister in plenty of time to catch her oddly limp form.
	"I'm sorry!" Akane could hear Ran calling. "Nobody told me it would
explode!" Akane shook her head, not really caring about that at the moment. 
She
laid Nabiki gently on the floor and stood back up.
	"Come on," she called out. "We have to go help Ukyou!"

*

	Ukyou barely realized she was falling until she heard Jadeite's yelp of
surprise. Everything seemed to have taken on dream-like qualities, and she
couldn't even feel the vertigo as the scarred battlefield rushed up to 
embrace
her. Aaron felt the same dizzy shock, but refused to embrace death so 
easily. He
had died once already, thank you very much. With a burst of renewed strength 
he
snapped their good arm down and used it to absorb the force of the landing. 
It
still sent a painful vibration through their body, but nothing more.
	A moment later he heard a thud, and looked up. Jadeite had landed only a
few meters away, and was lying prostrate, with half his body in a small 
crater.
Aaron frowned as he stood up. He could feel strength returning to them: in 
fact,
he could see it. A blue mist rippling into their body, filling their limbs 
with
vitality again. It took a few seconds for his pain-fogged brain to realize 
that
someone had reversed the flow of Jadeite's trap. All the energy he had 
stolen
was being returned.
	Ukyou smiled, and if she could have seen her own smile, she might have
hesitated then. With a mental shrug she released her tap on Aaron's chi... 
and
almost immediately collapsed screaming to her knees. Aaron gave a mental 
start
and then tapped into that dangerous power again, and once again their senses
filled with that wonderful clarity. The pain seemed distant and unimportant 
now.
They could acknowledge it, but they could move despite it. Ukyou cast a 
quick
glance at the wreck which was her left arm and winced. No wonder she was in 
so
much pain. She didn't even know if that would ever heal properly.
	But more important things were happening. Jadeite was getting back to
his feet. Ukyou and Aaron turned their attention back to him.
	"My power..." Jadeite gasped as he stood up shakily. "All that wonderful
power..."
	"Heh." Ukyou stepped forward, flexing her good hand and grinning again.
Jadeite looked up at her and his face paled at what he saw. Good. Let him be
afraid. "You made a classic villain mistake, Jadeite."
	Ukyou dashed forward, and the world literally flowed around her. She
didn't need to even think, her feet blasted across the ground at speeds even 
she
hadn't thought possible. Jadeite was five meters away one instant, and the 
next
she was sailing past him. Aaron had lashed out, burying their fist in his 
gut.
The man screamed, carried on the momentum of their blow for a fraction of a
second. Then Ukyou stopped. There was no screech of dust, she simply stopped
moving with the same ease that she would cease a leisurely walk. Jadeite did 
not
stop, he flew fast and far, tracing a lazy parabola into the hard pavement.
	"You should never swallow an energy field larger than your head."
	Ukyou laughed as she ran forward again. Jadeite hadn't even climbed to
his knees before she reached him. Her kick struck him in the jaw and sent 
him
flying straight into the air. Aaron curled their hand into a fist, watching
with fascination as Jadeite flowed into the sky. He seemed to be moving in 
slow
motion. But he only watched for a second. His fist drove punishingly into 
the
man's sternum, right where the ribcage connected. There was a loud crack.
Jadeite tried to scream, but couldn't.
	Jadeite was driven back through the air by Aaron's punch, and Ukyou took
off after him. To her surprise she flitted past him as he floated sluggishly
through the sky. She smiled, then turned and spun their leg up into the 
small of
his back as the man passed. His body folded backwards, and she saw blood 
fleck
from his mouth. Then Aaron laughed and drove their fist in a tight arc, 
catching
Jadeite on the back of the neck with both knuckles extended. There was a
snapping sound and Jadeite's head flopped forward like a ragdoll. That last 
shot
should have paralyzed him from the neck down for at least a while.
	The momentum caught up with the body as Jadeite flopped to the ground
again. Ukyou took a long deep breath, feeling better than she had since this
whole fight began. The monster shaped like a man lay face-first in the 
shattered
concrete. Time seemed to have returned to normal as well. She ran her good 
hand
through her bangs, the joy of beating him filling her like a pure light. Out 
of
the corner of her eye, she spotted her spatula. An impossibly quick duet of
leaps later she was standing back over him with the weapon in her good hand.
	"Are you still awake, Jadeite?" she purred down at him. Aaron probed out
with one foot, nudging him over onto his back. His eyes were wide and 
staring,
flickering back and forth between her and the rest of the world. His mouth
opened and closed. "Good. I wouldn't want you to miss the coup de grace." 
She
snapped the edge of the spatula along the ground, drawing a series of 
sparks.
	"No... please..." Jadeite whimpered.
	Ukyou smiled down at him and raised the spatula over her head. One
perfect slice later and this bastard would be dead. It would be so easy. And 
it
would feel so good to finally finish something. To win!
	"Please, have mercy..."
	"You, who are without mercy, now plead for it?" Aaron laughed as he
quoted. "I thought you were made of sterner stuff!" Yes, it would feel so 
good
to kill Jadeite... so...
	"No..." Ukyou allowed the weapon to fall to her side. "I can't... I
can't kill you..." For a moment Jadeite's eyes filled with relief.
	"But I can," a new voice caught Ukyou's attention. She leapt back as a
ball of purple magic flashed in from the near distance and caught Jadeite 
full
in the chest. The man let out a silent howl as the ball seemed to... unravel
him. Ukyou could see, with her enhanced senses, the very fabric of his being
dissolving at the touch of the time-based attack. Then there was a burst of
violet light. When the afterimages faded from her eyes, all that was left of
Jadeite was a scorched circle in the shattered airstrip.
	"Sailor Pluto," Ukyou said without looking. She looked up in time to see
the woman raise her staff to face them. Aaron tensed their legs.
	"Don't think you can escape me this time," Sailor Pluto said in a
disturbingly conciliatory voice. "I have to end this here, you see. It is 
the
only way."
	"You won't even explain why?"
	"You know why," Sailor Pluto replied sadly. Her red eyes locked with
Ukyou's for a moment. "You just resisted it yourself. Your power... it can 
not
be allowed to be fully unleashed."
	"My power..." Aaron frowned.
	"I'm sorry!" Sailor Pluto cried, tears literally streaming from her
eyes. "Dead scream," she whispered the attack. Ukyou pushed backward, 
wishing
for that mysterious speed from before. Maybe it came, or maybe it didn't. 
But
the sphere of deadly magic closed with her so fast she could barely move. It
only barely registered that she would never dodge it in time. Then Aaron 
snapped
her battle spatula forward, launching it like a trident. He watched, 
fascinated
as the weapon began to unravel... then exploded in a flash of light. Ukyou
landed a meter away, breathing heavily.
	"You only delay the inevitable," Sailor Pluto pointed out. Ukyou reached
up with her good hand and rubbed at her lip. It came away slick with blood,
blood she could feel pouring from her nose as well, and god knew where else.
She didn't have any time left. There was no escaping this. She almost 
laughed at
the injustice of it all.
	"Charge!"
	Pluto didn't know what hit her. Then again, Ukyou wasn't sure either. It
looked like a giant plunger with little muscular legs and a giant toothy 
maw.
The Senshi of Time shrieked as it collided with her with enough momentum to 
send
her and it tumbling to the ground. Ukyou blinked as the Senshi began to 
wrestle
with the two pairs of dainty arms that had extended from the thing's body.
	"Oh, right..." Ukyou sighed and slapped her forehead. "I should have
known he would show up."
	"Get off me!" Sailor Pluto cried as she kicked up, driving Tsubasa off
her. The cross-dresser smashed into the ground, his costume breaking apart 
with
the force of the impact. There was a few muttered, and unladylike, curses as
Tsubasa freed himself from the damaged bodysuit. He was wearing a frilly 
pink
dress with taffeta trims and had large ridiculous bows tied into his well-
groomed hair. He also looked mad enough to spit a devil.
	"You lay off my darling Ukyou!" Tsubasa warned in a feminine shriek.
	"Who said I was yours?" Ukyou grumbled and tried to cross her arms. Pain
flared up her left side, reminded her that she was critically injured.
	"You can't stop me," Sailor Pluto said as she flowed gracefully to her
feet.
	"No," a voice interrupted the Senshi as a hand clasped onto her
shoulder. Pluto turned to see a very steamed-looking Akane with her other 
hand
cocked back. "But I can!"
	Ukyou almost cheered at the ridiculous look on Pluto's face just before
the punch hit home. The force behind it sent her flying nearly five feet. 
Sailor
Mercury was walking up behind her, her expression much more fretting. 
Another
girl, one who looked vaguely familiar but who Aaron couldn't immediately 
place,
was following her. She raised a camera to her face and took a few snapshots.
Then it clicked in Aaron's mind. Even as Pluto was climbing to her feet 
again,
Ukyou could see the others approaching. Sailor Moon led them, with Mars and
Ryouga following. In the back she could see the tall figure of Tux-boy.
	"Sailor Pluto?" Sailor Moon asked, her voice contained no malice, only
gentle curiosity. "Why are you attacking my friend?"
	"No... I never wanted it to be like this..." Pluto hissed as she
stepped back. She was virtually surrounded on all sides by Ukyou's allies. 
Once
again Ukyou repressed the urge to laugh in relief.
	"You wear the same costume as us, and you said you were our ally."
Sailor Moon asked gently. "If so, you don't have to fight this boy, he's our
friend and..."
	"Ukyou is not your friend!" Pluto snapped out. "He will be the death of
you all!"
	"Damn it, Pluto!" Aaron snarled. "Stop being so goddamn cryptic
and just tell me what's going on!"
	"I see now..." Pluto sighed and stepped back. "It can't be helped. You
are too well-protected for our duel to continue." Pluto waved her staff in a
short, but intricate pattern. Aaron watched as she vanished, seemingly to...
fold sideways into space. It was fascinating.
	"My god, Ukyou, your arm!" That was Akane. Ukyou nodded and looked down
at the bloody mess of her arm. She certainly hoped it looked worse than it 
was.
But she was safe now. So thinking, she released her tap into Aaron's 'chi', 
and
let the pain and darkness claim her.

*

	The air was crisp, the wind off the waters of Tokyo Bay making him shrug
a little deeper into is coat. He sighed and pulled the binoculars away from 
his
eyes, rubbing the fatigue from his face with the back of his other hand. He
really hated stakeouts. Especially ones taking place so close to... well, he
didn't know how to describe it. He pulled the binoculars back to his eyes 
and
watched some more.
	Things seemed to be winding down. They were carrying the boy in the
trenchcoat off the field now, obviously all preparing to disperse in 
different
directions. The one in the tuxedo had already vanished; to where, he wasn't
sure. He grunted and spat into the grass next to him. He wasn't prepared to 
deal
with this kind of thing. But, he had made a promise to an old friend, and 
that
promise he was keeping. Even if this was going to be the last favor he ever 
did
the man. There came a point in your maturity where the prospect of getting
involved with people who could casually blast holes the size of Minis in
concrete was no longer exciting.
	So thinking, he reached into his pocket and flipped out his cell phone.
A single button press later and he held it up to his ear. The other end 
didn't
even ring, there was just a click as it was automatically picked up.
	"Kunikida?"
	"You were right."
	"I see..."
	"It's over now."
	"How did it go?"
	"I think the good guys won."
	"That's a relief."
	"Its not going to be cheap to clean up the place, however."
	"I see... I guess I'll have to deal with that."
	"Glad I don't have your job."
	"Did you get it all?"
	He looked to the side at the camera mounted on a tripod. The red light
that indicated it was recording was still humming strong. Just like the 
other
three cameras nearby.
	"Yes."
	"Good. I'll pick it up first thing in the morning."
	"I'll meet you at the diner. You owe me a breakfast special for this."
	The man on the other end laughed.
	"I do, I do. Thank you..."
	"Don't mention it. Just don't ask me to sit out in the cold again for
you, okay?"
	"I won't. You're... a good friend."
	"Yeah. Well, I think you're going to need good friends."
	He hung up the phone, watched a star fall in the southern sky, and said
a silent prayer that this wasn't, as he expected it would be, just the tip 
of
the iceberg.



				To Be Continued...


Author's Notes:


Blade: Well, once again we're updating with less than half an hour to go 
before
we're late, so these will be short.

Epsilon: Not that there's much to say.

Blade: Hey, did anybody else notice this entire chapter, except for the last
bit, was one giant fight scene?

Epsilon: That's because this chapter and Chapter 6 used to be one chapter, 
until
we realised it made Chapter 6 'OMGWTF!!!?!' huge.

Blade: Anyway, that'll be the only time THAT happens for, like, awhile.  At
least not for five more chapters.

Epsilon: Yeah, all future chapters will contain at least TWO fight scenes!

Blade: Rejoice!  Also, for those concerned by the disturbing lack of me in 
this
chapter, worry not, I'm just in transit.  Also, I wasn't in the fight scene.

Epsilon: Maybe all the EXP Ukyou earned here will give her a level up so 
she'll
beat you next time.  After all, she has the double EXP advantage!

Blade: Bah.  Akane, Ran and Ami did all the real work.

Epsilon: But Ukyou was still conscious!  She gets experience just for that!

Blade: Also big gougy scars on her arm.

Epsilon: It's a character flaw!  She bought it for more EXP!

Blade: Okay, that's roleplaying geekery for now.  So, anyway, see you next 
time!
And, on that note, it's time for our next chapter preview!

Epsilon: YAAAAAAAY!  (run around flailing arms like Kermit the Frog)

Blade: You know, every time I watch the Daily Show, I want to see Jon 
Stewart do
that.  "It's the Daily Show, with our very special guest, John McCain!
YYAAAAAAAAAYYYYY!"

Epsilon: ...right.  Next chapter, then, will not have Daily Show jokes.  But 
it
WILL have this!





	The figure above her was mainly hidden in the shadows, but was still
clear to an alert viewer. She was spread-eagled. bracing her limbs against 
the
beams in Akane's ceiling. Her long ponytail dipped down over her shoulder 
and
she was wearing a loose white t-shirt and tight blue jeans. Her skin 
appeared
remarkably pale, but that might have been the light. Chris. He... she... it 
was
back. Akane opened her mouth to scream for help... then snapped it closed.
	Maybe it was the weariness, or the sincerity of the note, or Akane's own
recent thoughts about building bridges with her sister... but Akane remained
quiet.
	"Hi," the dead woman above her whispered in Kodachi's voice. "Mind if I
come down?"



		Hybrid Theory Chapter 8: Pushing Me Away

































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