Here is the twelth installement of Hyrbid Theory.

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



-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
-- File: hybridtheory12final.txt

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, OVER!

It is only fitting that I, the beautiful, brilliant, stupendously talented
herbalist Pink, should be doing this narration, over.  After all, it was 
last
chapter that I discovered this was all based on a comic book (and video 
games
and crap) anyway!

So, discovering that this is all a written story based on them instead 
bothers
me not at all, over!  Am I your favourite character?  I should be!  I have 
risen
above one-shotdom to a position of true grandeur befitting me.  Well, I'm on 
my
way, anyway.  I'm the real main character now, over!

But, speaking of the OLD, boring main character, now that nobody likes her
anymore (including the readers! HA! Over!), she's pretty much been moping 
around
and getting her ass kicked.  That guy she crippled (Haya-whatever) was going 
to
do it, but then Sailor Pluto and her new ally Rose stepped in to do it even
better!  Except they got driven off by Ukyou's friends when Hayato gathered 
them
up with his new magic water powers, since he wants to kill Ukyou himself.  I
like the cut of his jib, over!

In England, Sailor V killed some vampire guy.  Wait, in England, over?  Who
cares?  I'm nowhere NEAR England, so it's probably not important, over.

So, back onto events concerning ME, which should concern YOU, because 
they're
obviously the most important ones, over.  Some world-spanning conspiracy of 
god-
like beings and their uncountable hordes of monsters, called Chronos, was
watching us or something.  Now they're going to go kidnap the Sailor Senshi, 
so
Chris and Cologne and MY SLAVE, Shampoo, went to stop them, over.

Sailor Senshi?  Bah! As if anybody cares about those third-stringers when 
they
could be reading about me, over!  But don't worry, my adoring public: I'll 
be
doing stuff this chapter too, promise, so pay attention, over!

OR ELSE. OVER.


			      C&A Productions Presents

                          A Work of Blatant Self-Insertion


                                   Hybrid Theory


                              Chapter 12: High Voltage



	Harold Kramer had to die.
	He was a nobody, really. A businessman on a trip to Japan, traveling
first class on the Pacific overnight. He looked like he had a bit of wealth 
to
his name, the kind of wealth that came from hard work rather than noble 
birth.
His suit was expensive and in the latest fashion, but not by the right 
designer
to indicate he came from old money. He was constantly jabbering into his 
cell
phone, despite the stewardess politely insisting he turn it off. He was rude 
and
dismissive to the woman, who was simply doing her job.
	But all this wasn't why he had to die. He had to die because he was FAT.
	Fat, and sitting next to Vega.
	Vega held up his arm and rubbed it. He had been forced to keep it on his
lap for the duration of the flight, and now it was sore. But being sore was
better than touching the rolls of Harold Kramer's flesh. Huge, fleshy folds
covered in fat-sweat and the remains of his many meals enveloped the armrest
the two of them shared. Vega smiled, wondering if the fat dead man knew that 
his
vocal insistence on having a window seat was signing his own death warrant. 
It
was ironic, in that poetic way Vega so enjoyed, that his own focus on 
creature
comforts would be Harold Kramer's undoing.
	Vega turned his eyes away from his victim, idly scanning the rest of the
plane. It wasn't hard to spot the two Dolls that accompanied him on this 
flight.
Fevrier was sitting three rows down, glancing idly at a copy of the 
in-flight
magazine. She didn't look like anyone out of the ordinary, nothing 
remarkable
about either her simple traveling dress or her short glossy red hair. Then
again, she was trained in the art of not drawing attention to herself. She 
would
have stood out much more in her black body-stocking uniform with the guns at 
her
hips, but they were traveling incognito for this trip. Marz was even further
back, packing away her laptop and getting ready for landing. She had dark 
purple
hair, which did stand out slightly on the plane, despite how much she was 
trying
to look like a simple office woman.
	Vega rolled his eyes and returned his gaze to the front of the cabin. He
didn't know why Bison insisted he take along two of the Dolls for what 
seemed
like such a simple operation. Vega had trained all of Bison's little 
pretty-girl
super-soldiers so that any one of them could have probably carried out this
mission. And if they couldn't, then Vega himself was here.
	Ah. Now the seatbelt sign was flashing. Vega smiled, a secret little
smile. Soon, his misery, and that of Harold Kramer, would be over. He 
reached up
and brushed at his long blonde hair, using the elegant gesture to conceal 
the
act of plucking one perfect strand. It pained him to so mar his immaculate
coiffure, but Vega could not stand to actually touch the noxious man that 
some
damnable computer had seen fit to place him next to. That left precious few 
ways
to kill him.
	Well, precious few ways to kill him without letting anyone else in the
plane know about it.
	Vega's heart began to pump more rapidly. That was the trick, wasn't it?
Oh, he could kill the corpulent social parasite with ease. His claw was 
hidden
among his luggage, and it would gut the slob with far more swiftness than he
deserved. But if he did so, Vega would be noticed. Then he would have to 
kill
everyone on the plane. It would be an inelegant and tedious job, and he 
wasn't
sure if either of the Dolls could pilot the behemoth they traveled in to a
landing. But, more importantly, it would put an end to The Game.
	Vega sighed as the pressure changed. He flicked his hair in a short arc,
looping it around Harold Kramer's fat neck. They had begun their descent.
	He caught the hair between two fingers and pulled it tight. The slob's
hand reached up and brushed idly at his neck. He had no clue what was about 
to
happen. Vega smiled and let the pressure ease. He could kill the fool slowly 
or
quickly. But garroting could be a messy and loud business if Vega went the 
slow
way.
	That would be just as bad as gutting him. Everyone would know. They
would know that this young noble, the only surviving son of a long line of
Spanish dukes, was a killer. The police would descend upon his home and his
life. Not that Vega feared them. More, he feared an end to the chase. How
exciting it was, to know that he was a killer, a feared assasin, yet noone 
else
except those he chose knew it. It was intoxicating.
	Vega jerked his hand into the walkway. He timed it perfectly, such that
the sound of the lowering landing gear concealed the sound of Harold 
Kramer's
neck snapping. Vega heard it, however. He also heard his hair snap. He 
sighed.
Such a waste. He dropped the hair onto the blue carpet, wanting nothing more 
to
do with it.
	The landing after that was uneventful. Vega waited patiently for the
rest of the passengers to disembark before he even got out of his seat. He
adjusted the collar on his suit - his was from the right designer - and 
glanced
back at Fevrier and Marz. They had, of course, waited for him. He was their
commander. They would do anything he wanted.
	Vega gestured idly at his things. They were in the overhead, along with
the effects of the late Harold Kramer. Vega would have them burned. All 
except
his claw.  That would merely have to be sterilised.
	He noticed the stewardess going to talk to the dead man just as he was
leaving the plane. He wondered idly if the woman would put two and two 
together.
She couldn't help but remember the beautiful, charming stranger that had 
made
her job such a delight during the flight where Harold Kramer had done his 
best
to make it such a hell. Maybe she would tell the police enough that they 
would
have a solid lead. Maybe...
	Vega smiled. Maybe The Game was up? Had he finally slipped?
	"Marz."
	"Yes, Vega?"
	Vega hit her. Not hard. It was more a poke really, and came and went so
fast that the pathetic people that walked about the terminal only saw her
stumble.
	"Yes, Don Alvaro?"
	"Better," Vega said, smiling and patting her reassuringly. Vega was a
name whispered in the underworld. Don Alvaro was a name spoken openly in
airports. "Find me the name and address of my stewardess. I feel in the mood 
for
a seduction." Or perhaps... well, he'd see what he felt like later.
	"Don Alvaro!"
	Vega looked to the left and saw Satsuki walking towards them. She was
dressed in the manner of a Japanese teenager, her dark brown hair spilling 
down
her head in a messy bob-cut. Ah yes. The Doll who had alerted him to the
strangeness here.
	"Satsuki," Vega purred. He took her hand and brushed her knuckles with
his lips. "I see the months away from me have not dimmed YOUR lessons."
	Satsuki blushed and stood there nervously as he rose up from his bow.
Vega stifled the urge to laugh. It always surprised the other members of
Shadowloo that Vega would spend such much time being polite and seductive to 
the
Dolls. After all, he was their immediate commander. He could have just 
ordered
them to pleasure him. He could order them to commit suicide, and they would 
do
so without hesitation, though Bison would perhaps be vexed. But what fun was
that? Better the chase. He had even ordered them never to give themselves to
him, under any circumstances. It made the moment of their surrender to his
charms all the sweeter.
	"My lord, I..." Satsuki looked around. Vega raised an eyebrow, before
realizing she wanted to tell him something best said in privacy. Vega 
gestured
for her to lead on. They walked out of the arrival area, the four of them 
easily
bypassing the security of the Japanese. Once they were alone in the 
morning-dim
corridors of the airport, Vega indicated she should speak. "My lord, I have 
news
about those you have come to deal with."
	Vega didn't yawn. He smiled and ran a finger along her cheek. He gazed
meaningfully into her doe-brown eyes.
	"Speak..." he said slowly.
	"The... boy... Ukyou. He is really a girl."
	"A girl?" Vega backed up a step from her. That was unexpected. He could
see Marz entering that information into her laptop out of the corner of his 
eye.
"How do you know this?"
	"She is staying at a school in a different section of Tokyo now. She has
been spending the last two days recovering in the infirmary. Since the 
infirmary
windows are not as well-guarded as those of the clinic she was staying in
before, she can no longer hide her true gender."
	"So... this girl was going through a great deal of trouble to be seen by
the world as a man?" Vega raised one hand and began to undulate his fingers
slowly in the air. "I wonder why?" His words contained genuine curiosity.
	"Also, Rose and her companion Sailor Pluto have made no attempt to
attack her since she arrived at this new location."
	Vega nodded. Rose was probably the real reason they were there. A quirk
like Ukyou Kuonji was notable, but not really important to Shadowloo when 
there
were more important matters to pursue. Like the missing Doll, Cammy. But 
Rose
had once defeated the 'Almighty Lord Bison', and her actions were noted with
great interest. For her to go out of her way to kill such a small-time hero 
drew
all kinds of the wrong attention.
	"What of the others?"
	"The Sailor Senshi?" Satsuki looked slightly uncomfortable. She had been
ordered by Bison to observe Ukyou Kuonji and her friends, and had been doing 
so
for almost a month now. It had been Vega who had ordered her to observe the
Sailor Senshi. To Bison, magic was a curiosity. To Vega...
	"I have learned only a little about them. They do not register on any of
our scanners. I have learned a great deal about the man, however. This 
Tuxedo
Kamen is a powerful martial artist, but seems to have some other power that 
I
can not identify. I tracked him back to the address of his civilian 
identity..."
	"Yes, yes..." Vega waved dismissively. "Perhaps he is as good a place to
start as any." Vega turned and began to walk down the hall. "Satsuki, 
Fevrier,
put on your working clothes. I want you to find this Tuxedo Kamen and bring 
him
to me. And Marz..."
	"The address you wanted, Don Alvaro?" The purple-haired Doll handed him
a slip of paper. Vega smiled.
	"Yes. Thank you. I think today I shall entertain myself. You keep an eye
on Bison's little girl who likes to pretend she is a man." Vega heard their
acknowledgement of his orders, but didn't bother responding. Soon enough he 
was
alone in the basement of the terminal with his thoughts. He adjusted his
immaculate suit again. Yes. This city, Tokyo, would prove most entertaining.
	In the dark, his laughter echoed long after he had vanished.

*

	'To Whom It May Concern,

	I saw your ad in the paper.  I am the "spiky-haired loser who's looking
for a former master with a big scar on his chest and also for a demon with
stupid palm-tree hair who wanders around killing people or something, over". 
  I
am on my way to the meeting place you suggested and will arrive shortly 
after
you read this.  I also do not like jokes.  This had better not be one.

				Adon.'

	Link stared at the letter, her fingers gripping it so tightly the paper
began to tear at the edges.  Her twin was smiling at her.
	"See, Link?  I told you he'd answer, over."
	"Yes, he did... over," Link answered mechanically.  She couldn't take
her eyes off the letter.  The reply had been almost immediate.  They'd just 
put
the ad in the Thailand papers yesterday, after scamming money off of Chris 
for
'communications home'.  Adon had read it, replied, and apparently left on 
the
same day.
	Just like Pink had said he would.  Because he existed.
	"What's your problem, over?" Pink said, waving a hand in front of Link's
face.  "You look like you swallowed one of my experiments.  Well, one of my
tamer experiments, over."
	Link growled something inarticulate, crumpled the paper into a ball,
remembered to say "over" after her growl, and then tossed the telegram into 
the
trashcan.
	Pink rolled her eyes. "Geez, why the big reaction?  Is it really that
shocking to you that the information from Chris's books was right?  It's
obviously how he found us too, over."
	"The fact that his information was correct is the PROBLEM," Link
snapped.  "This information is about... COMIC BOOK characters, over!"
	"Well, actually, spiky-haired loser is from a video game, over."
	"Like that matters!  The point is..." Link paused.  What WAS the point?
The idea that she was, in some other universe, a character in a comic book, 
made
her feel... wrong inside.  It was like reality had suddenly plummeted out 
from
beneath her feet, and she was still experiencing vertigo.  "The point is 
that
this doesn't make sense, over."
	"Oh?"  Pink grinned.  "Seems to make sense to me.  Adon wants to find
those losers, so when we waved the bait in front of his face, he came 
running
like an idiot.  All the people in Street Fighter are idiots, running around 
in
circles like a rat with a leg cut off, over."
	"No, not Adon, I don't really care about him.  It's... it's more..."
Link struggled to articulate what she was feeling.  She felt like she was in
freefall, and couldn't find anything to cling onto.  But her twin wouldn't
understand.  Pink obviously ACCEPTED the idea of this 'comic book' reality.
In fact, she seemed to be thrilled with it, and her newfound knowledge of 
it.
And she wasn't wrong - Link, too, felt the thrill of knowing that apparently 
the
whole world was playing a game, and only they knew the rules.  There were so
many uses, so many things to find, so many things they could DO.
	So why did that make her feel so disoriented?
	Pink's smile lost some of its smugness, and her voice took on a note of
concern.  "Okay, it's more than Adon.  So what's wrong with you?  Whatever 
hurts
you hurts me as well, so you should let me in on the secret, over."
	Link glared at her.  "Obviously, what's affecting me ISN'T affecting
you, since you seem so damn happy with everything, over."
	Pink's eyes flashed for a moment, then she shrugged exaggeratedly.
"Then wallow in your self-pity if you like.  You're probably just angry that 
I
believed Chris's secrets, and I was right, over."
	"I don't care about that undead abomination's secrets!  It's your fault
we're mixed up with that -thing- in the first place, over!"
	"Oh, so you don't like Shampoo waiting on us hand and foot, over?"
	"I'd rather she was just dead!  But we can't do that NOW, can we, over!"
	Pink smiled.  "Patience, my dear twin.  Good things come to those who
wait, over."
	Link wasn't mollified.  "Good things like getting killed in turn by that
stupid old woman, over?"
	"She's -old-.  She's just a small pebble in the road, over."
	"I'm not willing to wait-" Link cut off as the loud crash from outside
echoed through the building.  "What is he DOING out there, over?"
	Pink walked over to the window and glanced down towards the street.
"Interesting.  I wonder who that is, over."
	"Who what is, over?"
	"Who that is who is associated with the van Chris just smashed onto its
side.  I don't see enough to figure out who they could be, over."
	Link felt her forehead throbbing again.  "Not everything in the world is
about his stupid comic books, over."
	Pink turned back and smiled.  "You're wrong.  Everything IS.  But we'll
have to talk about it later - he's leaping up the building along with the
annoying old bat, over."
	After a few moments, Chris stalked in from the balcony.  His arm had
gotten worse, Link critically noted: it was now obvious even to a casual 
glance
something was seriously wrong with it.  It was not yet as decayed as 
Kodachi's
body had been when it was discarded, however.
	That old woman was hopping along behind him.  She looked very grim and
serious, a big change from the normal expression of smug amusement at 
everything
that her great-granddaughter had also inherited.
	There was something seriously wrong, at least to Chris.  That was
obvious.  His dead eyes revealed nothing, but everything else about him
practically screamed it.  What could it be?  Link couldn't remember ever 
seeing
the undead man looking so... off-balance before.  Her frown lightened almost
imperceptibly.  Maybe he didn't know the world as well as he thought.
	"Where's Shampoo?" Chris asked, looking around the room.
	"She's manuring the gardens with her bare hands, over," Pink offered
with a smirk.
	"Call her back."
	Link almost thought Pink was going to push the point that Shampoo was
THEIR servant, but they were not Chris's... but she didn't, and simply 
called
out loudly to Shampoo to clean up and come here.  Pink must also have 
noticed
how upset Chris was - not the best time to test the bounds of their
relationship.
	Chris paced back and forth impatiently while waiting for Shampoo to
arrive, rubbing absently at his rotting arm and muttering to himself.  
Shampoo's
great-grandmother sat on her staff, unmoving and seemingly perfectly calm,
though still looking very serious.  What had the two of them seen down on 
the
road? Link frowned with impatience.  Chris had better tell them the truth.
	Shampoo strolled into the room, wiping her hands off with a towel.
Chris saw her and promptly snapped back to attention.  "All right then," he
said.  "Cologne, please translate for Shampoo."
	The old woman nodded.  Pink was staring at Chris with an intrigued
smile.  Nobody but her, Link and Chris knew what Pink had found in those
journals.  Was Pink wondering if this was some new tidbit Chris hadn't 
written
down?  Probably.  Link felt her stomach churn a bit.
	A moment later, her fears came true.  "I'm going to make this quick,
because we don't have a lot of time," Chris began.  "In essence, there is a
huge, world-spanning conspiracy of... hmm, let's say monsters.  But monsters 
who
look exactly like men, who are MADE by altering men, and who in their human
guises control every aspect of government, every military, every major
installation of any kind in the world.  The monsters are called zoanoids, 
men
who have been engineered to change into vicious killing machines.  The
conspiracy, the organisation behind it all, is known as Chronos."  He held 
up
his hand to forestall comment.  "I'm sorry, but I don't have time to answer 
any
questions now.  Just take my word for it.  The reason for this is two-fold.
First off, they have been watching this building, and it's obviously because 
of
us.  They must be looking for... unusual people.  They are utterly ruthless, 
can
call upon hordes of killing machines, control the police, and would think
nothing of blowing up this building or even this entire neighbourhood if 
they
thought we were a threat.  We have to get out, now, and hide from them.
	"But that's not all.  Unfortunately, they've also found out about some
other people, and as we speak, are planning to attack them.  I have to go 
stop
them, but they've sent some of their most powerful monsters, and it's not 
going
to be an easy fight.  Time is of the essence, so I have to leave as soon as
possible."  He looked around at them.  "Any questions?"
	"Sure," Pink said.  "What makes these people they're going after YOUR
problem, over?"
	Chris sighed.  "First off, I'm the only one who can do something about
it.  More importantly, the people they're after are the Sailor Senshi, a 
group
of, uh, I guess you'd say holy warriors who are destined to save the world, 
and
I'm not talking about sometime when they grow up, I'm talking about NOW, as 
in
they are in the process of saving the world as we speak.  Unless they get
captured by Chronos.  Which is why I'm not going to let that happen."
	Pink grinned, and gave a meaningful look at at Link.  Link felt more
nauseous.  Of course, she knew everything Chris had written down about those
Sailor Senshi.  This was just as important as he said it was.
	Shampoo, after Cologne translated for her, merely shrugged
unconcernedly.  "Okay," she said in Chinese.  "So you've got a problem.
Whatever my mistresses want me to do is what I'm doing, I guess."  She 
glanced
idly at them.  "Well?"
	Pink smirked at her.  "It's your problem now too, because you're going
to be helping him, over."
	Shampoo shrugged again.  "Whatever.  Monsters?  I can deal with that."
	Cologne translated the exchange to Chris, who frowned.  "Shampoo, these
monsters aren't as weak as the aragami.  You might be in over your head."
	Shampoo cocked an eyebrow at him once she was told the meaning of his
words.  "That may be, but it isn't you who gives me the orders, corpse."
	Pink broke in before Cologne said anything.  "As she says, it's we who
give her orders.  And I have just as much to lose as you do if you fail to 
save
these world-savers, so take her help.  I'm sure she'll be good for 
something,
over."
	Chris sighed.  "Maybe you're right.  But I assume Cologne will want to
look out for her great-granddaughter's safety, and I don't want to leave you 
two
alone..."
	Pink smiled again.  "I wouldn't worry.  You took out the ones watching
the building, right?  So if we get out of here quick, no problems.  You'll 
need
the help, but we can get out of here on our own, over."
	Of course, Pink WOULD want him out of here.  What she had planned for
Adon wouldn't work if he was around.  Link felt her frown deepen.
	Chris looked appealingly at Cologne.  "Well?  What do you think?"
	The old woman sucked on her pipe for a moment.  "Precisely how dangerous
are these 'zoanoids', boy?"
	"They come in many levels of danger.  The weakest, the cannon fodder-"
	She broke in sharply.  "Precisely how dangerous are the ones you will be
facing TODAY?"
	"The Hyper-Zoanoid Team 5..." he paused.  "Dangerous.  Hmm. The
strongest of them has armor sufficient to protect against a tank shell with
ease, can regenerate from damage, can fire blasts with enough power to smash
holes straight through buildings or set forests on fire, and is generally
equivalent or better to even a strong martial artist in strength, speed,
endurance and skill.  The other four, not as strong as him, are each 
specialised
in a certain area: one is immensely strong, one can fly and produce 
incredibly
powerful electrical shocks, one is a living artillery battery that can fire
guided missiles, and the other is as fast and skillful as, probably, let's 
say
Ranma, and he has swords that cut through anything with ease.  They are
experienced at working together, and the leader is an intelligent tactician 
and
strategist.  They will have as much support as they need, especially if they
have any time to summon it.  In short, they are very, very extremely 
dangerous."
	Shampoo's great-grandmother puffed on her pipe again for a long moment,
then put it down.  "Well, I suppose I'll have to come along to make sure you
don't screw up, then, boy."
	Chris nodded.  "Very well.  In that case, we'll need a place to meet up
afterwards.  Can't be someplace they're likely to have seen us... ah yes.  
Meet
me where we found Sentarou.  I know, I know," he said apologetically to 
Link,
"but it's the only place I can think of that you've been to and I'm pretty 
sure
Chronos wouldn't know anything about.  You can hide in the trees pretty 
easily,
too."
	Pink laughed suddenly.  "Sure, sure, no problem.  Good luck saving the
world, over."
	Chris gave Pink a worried look, then shrugged it off.  "Then Cologne,
Shampoo, grab whatever you need and let's get going."

*

	Rei placed the phone back on its cradle, sighing to herself. Normally
she would have been happy to suddenly discover that she had the entire 
afternoon
to herself. But something... didn't feel right. It wasn't that unusual for 
Usagi
to be held back after school. It wasn't even that unusual for Ami to have to 
go
to cram school, though having to cancel because of some sort of 'emergency 
test'
was something that neither Ami nor Rei had heard of before. But, being Ami, 
the
shy blue-haired girl had called in to cancel their meeting.
	Rei realized she had begun to feel weird then, but had shaken the
feeling off. The way she had seen it, it would have been a good chance to 
get to
know Makoto better. Maybe the two of them could have gone off to the mall
together and watched the boys walk by. Not that Rei would have really 
admitted
that was what she was doing, but she knew Makoto well enough that as soon as 
the
idea of going to the mall was raised, the topic of boys would be also.
	But now Makoto had cancelled as well; apparently because she needed to
go downtown to deal with some sort of emergency concerning her parents' 
estate.
Rei shivered, the little hairs on the back of her neck stirring. Most times 
like
this she would have gone outside, done some sweeping. Something nice and
mechanical that didn't require thinking very much, so she could clear her 
head
and try to puzzle out what was bothering her. But even that wasn't an 
option.
She glanced out her window at the work-crew that had descended upon the 
shrine
this afternoon. Apparently there was some sort of gas main that needed
maintenance. Thus, the Senshi couldn't have held the meeting here even if 
they
had all been available.
	"Grandpa!" she called over out of her open doorway. "I'm going out for
the afternoon." She paused, waiting for a response. "Grandpa? Oh, never 
mind...
old coot probably can't hear me..."
	Rei sighed and stepped into the hall. She couldn't help but feel a hint
of worry about Grandpa. Ever since they had pulled that Rainbow Crystal from 
his
heart a few weeks ago, she had felt a nagging in the back of her skull about
him. She knew that all the other 'holders' had lost something when the 
crystal
was removed. For instance, as soon as they had managed to get the last 
crystal
out of that Urawa boy, he had lost his ability to see the future.
	Rei frowned and turned on her heel, now heading for the center of the
shrine... and the sacred flame. She had been putting off examining that 
boy's
'vision' long enough. She didn't know why. It wasn't like she had ever 
really
liked, or even trusted, Ukyou. But somehow the idea that Ukyou was the real
enemy just struck her as wrong. Also, the idea that Ukyou was really a girl.
	Rei chuckled. At least it had been amusing to see Usagi's reaction to
that little verbal bomb.
	The sacred fire's chamber was as pristine as always. Rei smiled at the
soft glow of the well-oiled wooden floor and the pleasant smell of cherry 
that
permeated the room. She slid across the floor, glancing at the large bonfire
that was kept perpetually lit in this room. In the past, Rei had tried to 
use it
to gain access to visions of the future... but her visions had always been
cloudy and unreliable. The closest she had ever gotten to actually seeing 
the
future was when she had successfully predicted that it would rain 
tomorrow...
not really a feat, considering it was also what all the weathermen 
predicted.
	Rei knelt in front of the flame, clasping her hands in front of her. She
tried to will away that ominous sense of foreboding, but it had been growing
more and more pronounced ever since she had hung up on Makoto. Rei forced 
her
eyes closed and concentrated. She could feel her heart beating, the steady
rhythm of her life force. Her center. The source of her energy, her chi... 
she
breathed in, gathering all her power there even as she chanted the mantra 
that
focused her will.
	When Rei opened her eyes, she did not see the future she was looking
for. There was no image of Ukyou, or of some terrible battle or the horrid
silence that followed... instead, she saw a man. He was tall, built like an
olympic weightlifter, with black skin and short, curly grey hair. He had a
strange lump on his forehead. He was walking towards her, clad in the same 
blue
uniform all the humans-turned-monsters she had been battling lately had 
worn. He
grinned at her and suddenly...
	Rei gasped and feel back. What had that been?
	"Rei Hino?"
	Rei glanced up. As she turned her head she felt as if the whole world
was moving in slow motion. Somehow she knew what she would see behind her.
Seeing the man there only confirmed her fears. Her heart was running like a
rabbit as the huge man stooped to step into the sacred chamber.
	"It is you," the man said in a gravelly voice. "You look just like your
pictures." He stepped into the room, and a loud crack accompanied each of 
his
footfalls. Rei stood up slowly. "You are going to come with me. You can come
with me the easy way, or the hard way." He grinned. "Personally I hope you 
chose
the hard way. I've never had a chance to fight a 'Sailor Senshi' before, and 
I'm
looking forward to seeing what you can do."
	Rei reached down, gripping her henshin wand. That man, he had mentioned
the Sailor Senshi... He knew! He knew her identity already. She opened her
mouth-
	"Go ahead and scream," the man said, chuckling. As he did his body began
to bulge and distort. "No one can hear you." Suddenly his shoulders 
exploded,
great gouts of flame erupting along the length of his body. Rei shielded her
eyes. "We made sure you were all alone." Huge bulges of grey skin emerged 
from
the flames, which now consumed the man-monster's whole body. Rei backed up a
step, raising her henshin above her head. "You see... you can't win, little
girl. We know everything about you."
	"Mars Power, Make Up!"
	By the time Rei completed her own transformation, the beast had finished
his. He resembled nothing so much as a humanoid rhino, complete with horn 
and
thick, wrinkled skin. The floor cracked and split under the weight of his
massive frame, and the tip of his horn was tearing a gouge in the ceiling as 
he
walked forward. Rei stepped into her favorite pose and pointed a finger at 
him.
	"I don't know who you monsters are, but I am Sailor Mars, champion of
love and justice. I will not forgive you for defiling this sacred sanctuary 
with
your evil!" The monster only laughed at her. Rei growled. She would show 
him.
	"Fire Soul!" Rei grinned as the flaming sphere formed at the tip of her
fingers. With a wish she sent it forward, spiraling and growing in size 
until it
hit the monster. Rei's grin widened as the magic exploded against him and a
pillar of flame briefly concealed the creature-
	Its hand reached out of the flame. Then the rest of its body followed.
Its movements were ponderous, but deceptively quick. And it was emerging 
from
the flame without so much as a single char mark or a speck of ash on its 
body.
Rei backed up a step.
	"Heh. I told you, little girl, we know everything about you. You and
your friends can't hope to beat us! We are much stronger than any regular
zoanoid!" The monster opened its mouth, and Rei saw a faint red light 
flickering
deep down its throat. "I am a member of the Hyper-Zoanoid Team 5, Derzerb! 
And
you are mine!"
	Rei's eyes widened and she leapt to the side. A jet of flame erupted
from Derzerb's mouth, washing across the length of the sanctuary. Rei landed
roughly, but well away from the creature's flame. She rebounded to her feet 
as
quickly as possible.
	"I hope you have more tricks than that," Derzerb said, and his laughter
seemed to shake her bones. "We're supposed to take you girls intact, but 
nobody
said anything about me not being able to play first..."
	"Whatever you are, I don't care how you resisted my attack! I will
defeat you!" Rei just wished she felt as confident as she sounded. 
Especially
considered she now knew why she had felt so strange all day. This was a 
trap.
But not just for her. They had been separated... weeded out. She needed to
defeat this thing quickly. Oh gods, she prayed silently, please let Usagi be
alright until she could get to her!

*

	Ukyou hissed, resisting the urge to tense up as Kyoko probed at her
side. The nurse glanced up at her, her eyes flashing briefly over her 
glasses.
Ukyou grimaced and looked away sharply, distinctly aware of the fact that 
she
was naked from the waist up. Why did Kyoko have to act so much like a
stereotypical naughty-nurse from a thousand schoolboy fantasies? Ukyou was
trying very hard to see people as deep, emotional beings and not as the one 
or
two note jokes that Aaron recalled from his years of fandom... but Kyoko was
making it hard. Plus, it was really making Ukyou uncomfortable.
	"It seems to be healing up nicely," Kyoko said in her sultry voice as
she leaned back, arching ever so slightly, and smiled at Ukyou. "I really 
don't
think it needs another treatment."
	"Humour me," Aaron drawled out, turning his full attention back to
Kyoko. He found it funny that he was more comfortable being naked in Ukyou's
body than she was, especially in this situation. Not that he didn't consider
Kyoko attractive: she certainly had the body of an attractive woman, and her
face was very mature and could have been considered alluring, but Aaron just
didn't think of her in a sexual way. Aaron had been the closest thing to a
complete and total asexual human being before his death, and much of his
attitude had carried over despite Ukyou's obvious teenage hormones.
	"If you say so," Kyoko laughed a bit and gestured towards the bed. "Then
assume the position, young lady." Aaron obliged, laying facedown on the 
hard-
stuffed bed. Kyoko leaned over and laid her hands on Ukyou's back. "I'd 
almost
think you enjoyed this."
	"Actually, I'm just using it as practice," Aaron pointed out.
	"Practice?" Kyoko laughed. "For what?"
	Aaron didn't answer right away. He was too busy focusing his chi. He
focused on his void aspect, trying to pin down that ethereal energy that was 
the
chi of balance and perception. He could feel Kyoko's fingers rubbing along
Ukyou's flesh and as he focused the sensation seemed to grow more acute. 
Then at
some point he began to feel the energy of Kyoko's technique. He could feel 
the
chi flowing from her fingertips, lacing into Ukyou's flesh in gentle lapping
waves. He closed his eyes, willing away all the other sensations of the 
world.
Now he felt the foreign chi sinking deeper into Ukyou's body, moving with
patient purpose through the layers and veins of her physique until it came 
to
the injured ribs. There the energy began to collect, and...
	And what? Aaron frowned. He focused, drawing his attention deeper,
trying to block out everything but the chi he could barely sense at the edge 
of
his soul. But the more he focused, the less clear it grew. It was like 
trying to
glimpse the shadow in the corner of your eye. He could feel the sweat 
dripping
from his brow as he pursued the elusive chi through the fields of his
consciousness. Time slowed to a crawl as Aaron fought with his own
limitations... and ultimately was defeated.
	"Damn..." Aaron said, panting to catch his breath as the real world
returned in full force to his senses. Ukyou reached up and rubbed her face 
with
both hands. She absently noted that her hair had grown so long that the 
bangs
now fell far down her face. She guessed that stood to reason, since she 
hadn't
bothered to get a trim since this whole mess had started.
	"I must admit," Kyoko said, reminding both of them that she was still
there. "I have never seen someone react so... strongly to one of my massages
before."
	Ukyou sat up slowly, trying to look nonchalant as she reached for her
shirt. "Actually, I'm trying to focus my senses. Honing them to the point 
where
I can feel exactly what you are doing to me when you use that theraputic
technique of yours."
	"Trying to steal my secrets?" Kyoko said in an amused tone, tapping a
pen against her chin.
	"Not at all," Aaron picked up the conversation while Ukyou quickly
pulled on her shirt. "My previous teacher was also a doctor. His techniques 
of
healing are very similar to yours. His aren't quite so immediate, however."
Aaron stretched up one arm and touched the ribs that had been broken only 
two
days ago. "He could have healed this, but it would have taken him days. You
managed to do most of the work in minutes." Aaron chuckled. "You aren't 
quite as
well-rounded as he is, however. You're very good at fast healing, but not 
quite
so good at long term care."
	"I don't know whether to feel complimented or insulted," Kyoko mused,
mainly to herself. She stood up and walked across the warm little nurse's 
office
to her desk. "If your teacher is a doctor, why did you come here for help?"
	"That... is a long story," Ukyou said coldly.
	"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."
	Ukyou rolled her eyes. Kyoko never meant to pry, despite doing it
constantly since Ukyou had arrived at her office. Granted, a little 
curiosity
was to be expected, but Ukyou had already made it quite clear she didn't 
want to
'share' with the nurse.
	It wasn't like Ukyou didn't think she wanted, even needed, to talk. It
was just that she couldn't seem to make herself comfortable around Kyoko. 
The
woman was much too... sexually charged. It kept putting Ukyou on edge, and 
made
it hard to look past that.
	Ukyou finished buttoning up her top as Kyoko left to answer a knock at
the door. Ukyou ran a hand through her bangs and slid off the bed to go and
stare out the window. The grounds of Justice High School stretched out below
her, pristine and immaculate. Also huge. How could such a large school 
campus
exist in the middle of a city so desperate for space as Tokyo was?
	"Ukyou, you have a visitor," Kyoko called out cheerfully.
	Ukyou turned quickly, half-expecting to see Ranma or Ran. Both of them
had come to see her daily since the fight. But it was still a bit too early 
for
Ranma to be here unless he was skipping school, and Ran rarely came around
unless it was with Ranma. So she wasn't really surprised when it turned out 
to
be neither.
	The girl who walked into the room was short, a little shorter than Ukyou
herself. She was also underdeveloped, with a physique that more resembled a
young boy's than an adolescent girl's. She was tomboyishly pretty, however, 
with
a long messy bob cut and a cute face. She was wearing a camouflage t-shirt 
and
tight leather biker pants. A leather jacket was tied securely about her 
waist.
Ukyou knew her, or more accurately Aaron did.
	"Akira," Aaron piped up with a half-smile. "I expected you to be
taller."
	"You-you know me?" Akira Kazama stuttered, blinking. She suddenly looked
like she wanted to turn around and slink out the door, and the only thing
preventing her was how terribly impolite that would be.
	"I know a great deal about you," Aaron shrugged and crossed his arms. He
leaned back against the windowsill, enjoying the play of the breeze outside 
as
it toyed with Ukyou's long hair. "I'm a little surprised to see you, 
however.
You never struck me as the gawker type. Gan or Edge, sure. I've gotten a lot 
of
people showing up to pay their respects the last few days, but you were one 
of
the last I expected to meet."
	It was true. Aaron had met a surprising number of the Rival Schools'
cast since he'd taken up temporary residence in Kyoko's office. Of course
running into the students and staff of Justice High School was to be 
expected,
but the visits from the kids of other district schools had been surprising.
Apparently Aaron had underestimated how influential Ran's stories were in 
this
part of Tokyo.
	"I'm sorry if I disturbed you," Akira said, bowing awkwardly. "I can
come back later, if you..."
	"No," Aaron waved her objections aside. "You obviously came here for a
reason, and it wasn't just to gawk."
	"Umm..." Akira titled her head to the side and rubbed her chin ruefully.
"If you say so."
	Ukyou rolled her eyes and stepped away from the window. "Come on. Let's
walk together."
	"Walk together?"
	"Yes, it's too stuffy in here..." Ukyou cast a meaningful look at Kyoko,
who was leaning forward eagerly on her chair. "And the walls have ears."
	"Hey, I would never snoop into student affairs!" Kyoko protested
indignantly.
	"But I'm not your student," Ukyou said with a smirk. "So that makes it
okay in my case, indeed?"
	"Of cour- I mean, no!"
	Akira giggled a bit as Ukyou walked across the room to the door. She
made to grab her coat, before remembering that she had been forced to 
dispose of
it. The battle with Rose had burned too many holes in it for it to be of 
further
use.
	Akira fell into step beside Ukyou as she made her way down the halls.
There were still plenty of students in the building now, even though school 
was
out. It always gave Ukyou and Aaron a bit of cognitive dissonance, since he 
was
so used to schools being virtually deserted once classes ended, and Ukyou 
was
used to the opposite. But moving through the throngs of Justice High 
students
was no problem, as they all parted neatly to allow Ukyou to pass.
	Ukyou smiled as she remembered why. On her very first day she had been
visited by Hyo Imawano, the president of Justice High's student council. The 
two
of them had gotten into a long discussion. It had started out well enough. 
He
had accused her of being a freeloading inferior glory hog, and she had 
accused
him of being a pompous self-deluded hidebound sociopath, and they had
degenerated from there into increasingly shrill and vulgar profanities. 
Ukyou
had enjoyed the whole encounter a great deal. Mainly because it had been a 
good
outlet for the frustration she had been feeling for months, but also because 
it
had just felt GOOD to reduce Hyo from his usual solemn, samurai-movie 
resolve to
childish namecalling. Especially when he considered her a 'guest' and 
wouldn't
lift a hand (or sword) to harm her.
	Apparently nobody in the entire school, including all but three of the
staff, had ever stood up to Hyo before. It had given her a reputation and a
great deal of unspoken respect.
	She was just glad that she had popped into the Rival Schools' part of
this universe when its own timeline seemed to be 'on hiatus'. She had half-
expected to have been dragged along for the ride as either Hyo, or later 
Kurow
Kirishima, attempted to take over Japan by brainwashing the fighting 
students of
the Tokyo high school system. It had only taken her a few quick questions to
learn that Hyo's plan had been foiled only a couple of months ago, right 
around
the time she had fought Jadeite...
	"What's wrong?" Akira spoke up suddenly, reminded Ukyou that she was
there.
	"Oh, nothing..." Ukyou sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I just
remembered something that happened a..." Ukyou blinked. Had it really been 
so
short a time ago? It seemed like years had passed since that climactic 
battle,
but in reality less than ten weeks had crept by. "Anyway, it's nothing you 
need
to worry about."
	Ukyou and Akira walked in silence for a few more minutes. They left the
building and began to walk out into the grounds. Ukyou led Akira on a 
circuit of
the school, circling back until the large empty lot behind the school could 
be
seen. In a few months, they would begin to build a new part of the campus on
that lot. A few months after that, Akira would have a dramatic confrontation
with her brother in the construction site... and Ukyou wasn't sure if the 
boy
would survive the battle.
	"What did you come here for?" Ukyou said as she leapt up and sat on the
top of the wall, still looking out over the vacant lot. Akira hopped up 
beside
her, easily reaching the top of the ten foot tall wall. She stood on the 
thin
strip of concrete, shading her eyes from the afternoon sun. Her hair blew 
softly
in the breeze.
	"I wanted to talk to you..." Akira said slowly. "But I'm not sure why,
and I'm not sure about what."
	"Oh?"
	Akira shrugged. "Ever since I started reading about you... I've felt...
compelled to do something. Even when you did bad things, I still couldn't 
seem
to blame you." She paused. "I think it's because my brother is the leader of 
his
own gang. He means well, and he does his best to protect me... and even Edge 
and
Gan have good hearts deep down inside. But they do bad things. They steal
things, worthless things, they vandalize property, they even get into 
fights.
They've never done anything serious... but they could."
	"Ah." Aaron nodded. "You're afraid that your brother may end up 'falling
to the dark side' as it were? Like I did."
	"I'm not saying that!" Akira turned suddenly and crouched beside Ukyou.
"You must have had a good reason for what you did-"
	"I didn't," Aaron said sharply, cutting her off. "I did a very bad
thing. I can't make excuses or apologies for it. And now my actions are 
going to
come back and haunt me. And I deserve it." Aaron looked away from Akira. "I 
was
stupid, and I made mistakes. Does that make me a bad person? Maybe because I
know what I did was wrong, it means I'm not." Aaron laced his fingers 
together
and rested his chin on them. "But maybe it does. Because I knew they were 
bad
things before I did them, too. I knew they were bad, and I did them anyway.
Sometimes I don't know why I did. But I did."
	"I..." Akira shifted position and sat next to Ukyou, but trailed off.
	"I'm sorry, Akira," Ukyou said into the awkward silence. "I'm not a hero
or a role-model. I don't know what to do about your brother..." Ukyou cocked 
her
head to the side and decided to play a hunch. "I also don't know how to help 
you
out with what you feel inside."
	"What? Me?" Akira's hands fluttered nervously. Ukyou cracked a smile at
how comical that looked in her huge biker gloves.
	"You want to fight too, don't you?" Ukyou glanced at Akira out of the
corner of her eye and saw the smaller girl blush. "Ever since you fought to 
save
your brother the first time. It's gotten into your blood somehow. The thrill 
of
it. The power and the rush of winning and losing, living or dying on your
strength and skill alone. I can see it in your eyes. My friend Ranma has 
that
look about him, and you do too."
	"No way!" Akira shouted, suddenly more forceful then she had been since
Ukyou had first seen her. Her hands curled into fists. "I'm just a normal 
girl.
I like bikes, maybe, but I'm not a fighter like my brother!"
	"It's a bad thing to lie to yourself," Ukyou said philosophically.
"Before long, you find yourself lying to everyone else as well. In this 
world,
we are who we are and we can't really change that. I could no more stop 
feeling
the way I do than I could cut out my own heart, and you can't stop your own
feelings either. Dreaming that we are people we aren't, or people that we 
used
to be and aren't anymore, can only lead to ruin. If you ever want to live 
with
yourself, you have to learn to stop trying to be someone else, and learn to
start being who you are."
	"You... aren't talking to me, are you?" Akira said slowly, calming down.
	"Not really." Ukyou stretched her neck. "I'm sorry I said what I did
earlier. It's not right of me to burden you with my amateur psychology."
	"No. I don't mind... really." Akira smiled. "I guess what you said does
sound right." She reached up and clutched her shoulders before gazing out 
over
the vacant lot again. "I do feel restless. Like I'm just waiting for 
something
to happen. It's as if this life I live now is just a waiting room, and the 
life
I will live is rushing towards me. I don't know whether I should be excited 
or
afraid."
	"That's up to you," Ukyou said slowly. "This is just part of growing up,
I guess."
	"You sound like you're not my age, too," Akira accused with a laugh.
	"Indeed... heh." Ukyou nodded and scratched her temple. "I keep
forgetting. I was forced to grow up so fast... I feel like I'm almost forty
years old. Like I've lived two lives."
	"I guess so," Akira hitched up one leg and placed her hands on her knee.
"In a way I envy you. A few months ago was the first real adventure I've 
ever
had. I met so many people, and learned so much. You... you seem to be having 
a
constant adventure."
	"It's not all it's cracked up to be," Aaron pointed out ruefully.
	"I'm sure it isn't," Akira agreed, deeply serious.
	Aaron opened his mouth, then closed it again. Akira was a nice girl. She
didn't deserve a lecture on how horrible Ukyou's life had been. So instead 
they
sat in companionable silence again. When Akira broke the silence her voice 
was
calm, confident. Her shyness had vanished sometime during their 
conversation.
	"Ukyou..."
	"Indeed?"
	"When you did it, when you hurt that boy I mean, can I just ask why you
did it?"
	"I'm not really sure..." Ukyou said honestly. "I can only say I did it
because I wanted to. Because I enjoyed it. I was in the middle of a rush, a 
sort
of bloodlust, I guess.... except it's not really the right way to describe 
it."
	"Oh?" Akira turned her head and regarded Ukyou again. "How would you
describe it?"
	Ukyou frowned. Well, Aaron was supposed to be such a great writer. He
would have to fiqure out a way to explain the feeling. "I felt... free," 
Aaron
told her, and Ukyou nodded along. "That's it exactly. I felt like I was 
free. I
had stepped beyond my normal life. I didn't experience fear, or pity or 
regret.
When I step beyond myself, I exist in a state where everything is pure:
beautiful and terrible, but so unimaginably real. Like someone wiping the 
fog
from a mirror, I saw much clearer than I ever had before, and I loved what I
saw. I lost myself in the ecstasy of the fight." Ukyou frowned and added, 
"But
the reason I am afraid now is because when I think back on it, when I 
totally
lost control... I liked it."
	"Ecstasy of the fight..." Akira shook her head. "I'd never really say I
ever felt that way before. When I fight... I'm afraid and excited and a 
thousand
other things. Every moment of the battle is a struggle against myself as 
much as
it is against my opponent."
	"It's like that for me most of the time, too," Ukyou admitted. "It's
just when I tap..." She had been about to say 'when she tapped Aaron's chi' 
but
Akira would have no idea what she meant. "There is a power inside me. A 
power
that I don't think anybody else has. Something special. When I tap that 
power is
when I feel that way."
	"You mean you've felt that way before?" Akira said, sounding surprised.
	"Yes..." Ukyou rose her head from her hands. "Before and since. In my
fight against Jadeite, and the fight with Rose."
	"Did... anything bad happen?"
	"Bad?" Ukyou looked at Akira, perplexed. "Aside from me being beaten
half to death?"
	"No..." Akira rolled one of her hands in the air, looking for some words
to express what she was trying to say. "I mean. Did you do anything during
either of those fights that you regret now?"
	"Not really..." Ukyou paused. "I mean. Rose beat me pretty soundly even
when I tapped my full potential, and Jadeite had basically already been 
beaten
when I got the full effect. All I did was hit him when he was helpless..."
	"And you don't regret that?" Akira sounded surprised.
	"Huh? Should I?" Aaron scratched his chin. "I mean, Jadeite barely
qualified as human. And he was Evil with a capital 'E'. And I spared his 
life in
the end. I could have killed him..."
	"Spared his life?" Akira turned her eyes away and gazed down at the
ground. "What did you do to him?"
	"I broke his neck..." Aaron said slowly.
	"You mean you crippled him, just like you did Hayato?"
	Neither Aaron nor Ukyou had any response to that.
	"Are you sure that's all you've ever done with this power?" Akira asked,
her voice taking on a sort of solemn excitement.
	"Those are the only times I've ever felt that way..." Ukyou mused aloud.
But it hadn't been the only time she had ever used that power. She had first
tapped into Aaron's chi during the first fight against Jadeite's minion at 
the
Cherry Hill Temple... "No. Wait. I used the power a few other times. But I 
was
drained of my normal chi at the time..." Aaron closed his eyes and rubbed 
his
temples, trying to recall that first fight. "I... I did sort of brutally 
attack
that monster. But... it was a monster..."
	"It was?" Akira prompted.
	"And then I did that thing to Sailor Moon..." Aaron opened his eyes.
"Then there was the fight with Chris. I was using the power during most of 
that
confrontation. And I just couldn't let go of my anger. Everything else 
seemed to
drift away but the fact that Chris was hurting me... hurting me deep down 
inside
and challenging who I was..." Ukyou had taken over narration somewhere along 
the
line. "I never... I never even considered his feeling. I just... he was a
monster..."
	"Ukyou? Who is Chris?"
	"No..." Ukyou stood up suddenly, almost lost her balance. "That can't be
right." But the more Ukyou and Aaron thought about it the more it began to 
make
sense. In every confrontation which involved that unnamed power, it had 
gotten
progressively worse. First justified anger, than unjustified... then 
righteous
punishment, then meaningless brutality... it was a steady progression. How 
could
they have been so blind? How could they not have SEEN it before?
	"Ukyou?"
	"Akira! I could kiss you!" Ukyou shouted. Akira's eyes snapped wide and
she almost tumbled off the wall. Ukyou laughed and caught her before she 
fell.
"You opened up my eyes."
	"I did?" Akira said, obviously confused. Ukyou smiled down at her and
lowered her safely to ground level.
	"Yes. I can see it now..." Ukyou said, hopping down. "This power inside
me... it hurts me. It always has. But I've only ever seen what it did to my
body. I never considered what it did to my mind!"
	"I'm... glad I could help?" Akira said nervously, rubbing the back of
her neck.
	"And what if the effects linger?" Ukyou mused. "That would explain why
I've gotten so callous lately. I mean... I used to care a lot more. I'm 
pretty
sure I should have felt sorry about what I did to Hayato..." Aaron shook 
their
head. "No. That doesn't explain it all." Akira just stared at them. "I 
actually
did a lot of shitty things before I started using that power. No... I can't 
just
blame the power for it. That's the easy way out." Aaron frowned and looked 
up at
the sky.
	"But it makes too much sense to ignore it," Aaron admitted aloud. "This
hidden potential. Whatever it is... it's damaging my mind. I can't use it."
	"Come again?"
	"I'm sorry, Akira," Aaron turned and bowed slightly. "I was talking
mainly to myself the last few minutes."
	"Oh..." Akira shrugged. "I guess you're entitled."
	"Heh." Aaron shook his head. "But I can't thank you enough." He turned
and gestured for her to follow him as he started back towards the school. 
"It
seems I'm not nearly so smart as I allowed myself to believe. First the 
Fungus,
then you... It appears that not listening to people has been my problem all
along. Well, that's about to change. If I can't be the hero, I can at least 
not
be a monster."
	"Can... can I help?" Akira said slowly.
	"You..." Ukyou looked over her shoulder at Akira. "No, Akira. I can't
ask you to fight these battles with me." She stopped and suddenly grabbed 
the
smaller girl by the shoulder. Akira's eyes widened. "Listen to me. Your 
brother
is in great danger and needs you much more than I do. Not now, but soon, he 
is
going to run afoul of a monster of a man named Kurow. You have to be there 
for
him now, protect him. I can't take you away from that."
	"My brother... wait, what are you talking about?"
	"Come with me. I'll tell you everything I know as we walk back. I have
some phone calls to make."

*

	Chris scanned the school, shielding his eyes unnecessarily from the mid-
afternoon sun. It certainly didn't look like anything was happening. There 
were
no soldiers surrounding the place. Instead a single unmarked black van was
parked outside the entrance, partially blocking it off. The entire place 
seemed
to be deserted, however. Not a single soul could be seen on the grounds, and 
the
windows of the school reflected too much of the sunshine for him to see 
inside.
The parking lot where all the teacher's cars should have been parked was 
also
deserted, except for another unmarked black van.
	Chris sighed. Well, it wasn't like Chronos really grasped the concept of
'subtle' when it came to their operations. Then again, since they controlled 
the
media... and the police... and the government... they didn't really have to.
	No explosions yet, though.  Hopefully that meant the battle hadn't
started, and the vans meant it also probably wasn't over already.  He 
glanced
over: Cologne was sitting calmly on her staff as usual, and Shampoo was
sharpening the edge of her sword with a whetstone.  He'd made it clear that
killing the enemy was not only an option, but practically a necessity on 
this
mission: it looked like her weaponry reflected that.
	"They're here, all right.  I don't know where the Senshi might be,
though.  Do you notice anything, Cologne?"
	The old woman shook her head.  "I sense nothing unusual."
	He looked back at the school.  "Then they probably haven't transformed
yet.  In that case, let's move.  If you notice anything that's a clue to 
them -
the zoanoids and the Senshi will likely be the only ones in the school - 
just
change directions and I'll follow."
	Without waiting for a response, he leaped from the building down to the
street.  There were a few trees within the grounds of the school; he leaped 
over
the wall into the midst of them, hoping they provided enough cover so they
wouldn't be noticed approaching.  It was almost summer, and a few of the
school's windows were open: only on the top floor, though.  Irksome.  
Climbing
up there with his huge backpack full of clattering canisters of Jyusenkyou 
water
would be a pain to try to do quietly, even though that's probably where the
Senshi were being led to in order to prevent easy escape.
	No help for it, then.  There was a fire exit door on the side of the
school.  He ran up to it, then looked back at Shampoo.  Motioning with one
finger to his lips, he made a gesture at the lock.
	The Chinese girl paused for a moment, then sauntered forward and
casually shoved her sword through the lock.  It did make a small sound not
unlike that of a sword sliding into a sheath, but nothing compared to 
breaking a
window.  Nodding to her, he walked up and pried the door open.
	Inside was a stairwell, of course, which was just what he wanted.  He
ran lightly up the stairs, reaching the third and final floor in seconds.  
He
paused for a moment to listen at the door, but heard nothing.  Carefully 
opening
the door a crack, he peered down the hallway, but it was deserted.
	Slipping through the door, he dashed down the corridor, pausing to peer
briefly into each classroom that he passed.  Or at least that was the idea, 
but
in fact he never got past the first one.  Inside, he saw the bodies of 
several
students splayed across their desks, their eyes vacant and horrible wounds
gaping through their school uniforms.
	"Well, if you had any doubts of what I said..." he whispered, letting
the sentence trail off.
	Cologne frowned, while Shampoo looked faintly nauseated.
	Had they already done this to the Sailor Senshi?  No, they planned an
"extraction".  They had to be wanting to get their hands on the Senshi's 
unusual
abilities to study.  So the girls had to still be alive, for the moment.
	Moving forward again, he resumed checking out the various classrooms.  A
few were deserted, but most contained at least one, if not several bodies, 
both
students and teachers.  His lip curled.  More of that lack of subtlety.  
And, oh
yes, that unremittant evil.
	To his mild surprise, there didn't seem to be anything on the third
floor.  He was about to head towards the stairwell when he felt something
tapping his shoulder.  He looked over at Cologne.
	"Something's happening outside," she hissed.  "I sense violent energy."
	He swore.  "What direction?" he began, but Cologne was already moving
off to the nearest window.  He followed. A quick flash of the old woman's 
staff
shattered the window soundlessly.  Well, that would have helped in getting 
in,
if he'd known about it.  Putting that aside, he followed her as she leaped
through the opening created.
	As he was falling through the air, he took a second (about exactly that,
actually) to look around, but didn't see anything in the immediate area.
Cologne landed and started running towards a large outbuilding that he
immediately recognised as a gymnasium.  His second choice for an ambush 
site...
and one that made the slaughter of the schoolchildren even more pointless.
Bastards.
	As they reached the door to the gymnasium, he flicked out a teaspoon and
snapped the padlock, then yanked the door open, hoping the hinges were 
decently
oiled.  Not enough time to be subtle here, though.
	Emanating from the entrance came the welcome, relieving sound of Usagi
Tsukino protesting, "-go of me, you creep!"
	He held up a hand to Cologne and Shampoo.  The Hyper-Zoanoid Team 5 were
probably in reserve in case the regular ones failed - he wanted to take them 
off
guard.  Had to wait a bit longer.  For the moment, he looked inside: he saw 
the
gym floor, but a long string of bleachers were blocking his view of Usagi 
and
whoever was assaulting her.  Of course, it would be blocking their view of 
him,
too.  He slipped inside, glancing around to see if any Chronos soldiers were 
in
eyesight, then upon seeing the coast was clear for the moment, creeped up to 
the
bleachers to get a better look.
	At the far end of the gymnasium, there was a large set of open double
doors.  About a dozen Chronos soldiers were standing there as guards.  In 
the
exact middle of the floor was...
	ZX-Tole.
	Well, he'd expected that.  The giant humanoid rhinoceros-beetle-like
leader of Team 5 was standing in the middle of the floor. His chitinous 
hands
swallowed up Usagi's shoulders and most of her arms, holding the loudly
protesting girl (she had transformed, he noticed) nearly three feet off the
ground.
	There were no other hyper-zoanoids that he noticed.  Though there was a
naked man near ZX-Tole and Usagi, sitting on the floor and looking dazed.  
Odd.
	He couldn't splash ZX-Tole with the Spring of Octopus water he was
holding without risking hitting Usagi as well.  But ZX-Tole was the one 
member
of Team 5 he was sure he couldn't defeat.  Damnit.
	Thankfully, the hyper-zoanoid didn't appear to be doing much of anything
at the moment.  His glassy, emotionless insectile eyes were staring at the
ceiling.  Receiving psychic instruction from one of the Zoalords?  Possible. 
  In
any case, it gave Chris a chance to get the advantage of surprise.
	He tossed the rest of his bag to Shampoo.  "Take care of this.  I'm
going to get their attention.  If you get a chance in the confusion, take 
Usagi
and get the hell out of here."
	Cologne started translating in a low voice, but Chris was already
focusing his attention back on the hyper-zoanoid.  Tucking the Spring of 
Octopus
water into his pocket, he threaded a ribbon through his fingers.  He didn't
expect to impress ZX-Tole and his armored carapace which could absorb hits 
from
gravity wells much with his batons or teaspoons, but if he could lure the
hyper-zoanoid into giving up Usagi and fighting him, he could hopefully hit 
him
with the water.  And hope it worked.
	Where were the other Senshi?  And the rest of Team 5?  Well, no time to
worry about that now.  He leaped up, touched off the bleachers, and soared 
into
the air directly above Usagi and ZX-Tole.  His ribbon lashed out, curling 
around
the zoanoid's conveniently prominent beetle-like forked horn.  Plunging to 
the
ground, he yanked on the ribbon with all his might, hoping to pull the 
massive
monster off-balance.
	It almost worked.  ZX-Tole staggered back a step before bracing himself
with one foot, causing the gymnasium floor to crack.
	"Heh heh," the hyper-zoanoid laughed in his insectile buzzing voice.  "I
knew you'd show up sooner or later."
	Knew he'd show... oh, ZX-Tole must think he was Tuxedo Mask.  How
insulting.  Even as he thought that, ZX-Tole yelled "GET HIM!" and the 
zoanoids
at the door began to transform.
	Five of them went down instantly, caught in mid-transformation by his
hurled batons.  "Not quite," he informed ZX-Tole dryly.
	He really, really wished either of his learned combat styles included a
strong hand-to-hand weapon, or even proper training in how to fight with 
fists.
But hindsight was 20/20.  ZX-Tole was turning, hopefully providing an
opportunity.  Flicking out a teaspoon into his fingers, he dashed in fast 
and
low, driving the utensil into the back of his knee at the chitinous joint,
where it... promptly snapped like a toothpick while not doing any noticeable
damage.  Aw, shit.
	ZX-Tole kicked backwards, catching Chris with his deceptive speed and
sending him flying back into the bleachers.  Well, he'd figured he couldn't 
beat
the hyper-zoanoid leader.  But he'd at least gotten his attention.
	As he climbed out of the shattered bleachers, ZX-Tole had completed his
turn to face him.  He'd also shifted his grip on Usagi, and was now holding 
the
Sailor Senshi by the wrists with one chitin-covered hand, letting her dangle 
off
the floor.  His other arm was pointing at Chris.  "Hah!" he rasped.  "Your
pathetic flowers are- huh?  Who the hell..."
	Usagi meanwhile, had gone from panic to joy.  "Yay!  Somebody's here to
save - hey, who're you?"
	He dusted himself off as he returned to his feet.  "Just your wandering
friendly neighbourhood dead guy.  So, ZX-Tole, Chronos has stooped to 
sending
you out to kidnap little girls?  How... pedestrian.  Aren't you bored?"
	The hyper-zoanoid paused, quirking his head to the side.  Then he
laughed/hissed.  "Oh, it's just one of those... martial artist things."  The
central horn on his head slid back, revealing the glowing crystalline 'eye'
underneath.  "Well, we have enough of your kind already, and I don't need 
YOU in
one piece."
	This, Chris decided, would be a good time to dodge, and accordingly did
so just before the flashing arc of lethal red light sliced out and smashed 
into
the remains of the bleachers, reducing them to ash in a huge explosion.
	Since he didn't believe in wasting movement, Chris aimed his dodge to
take him towards the group of remaining zoanoids, who were... well, they 
weren't
quite clapping and waving flags, but they didn't seem eager to rush into a 
hyper
zoanoid's line of fire, either.  That was okay - Chris brought the fight to
them.  Also the line of fire.
	They were all Ramotiths.  Cannon fodder.  Hairy monkey-bat cannon
fodder.  Chris treated them as such.  Of course, being as he was the one 
doing
the fighting, he actually DID get to see all the blows he was landing, 
instead
of just flashing through them and then watching them all slowly crumpling 
into
piles of dissolving goop.  But the effect was much the same, except for the
'slowly dissolving' part, since just after he'd passed through them, 
ZX-Tole's
next blasts ripped out the front of the gymnasium and disintegrated their 
bodies
in a cascading series of explosions.
	Sailor Moon screamed "My god, you destroyed your own people!"  Well,
that was an expected sort of response from her, Chris guessed.  ZX-Tole, for 
his
part, continued to ignore her, opening up the pod on his arm to reveal the
triple-bank of organic lasers there.  He promptly used them to take another 
shot
at Chris, who barely got out of the way in time.
	He wouldn't be able to keep this up forever - or even for long.  And ZX-
Tole was being very careful not to let Sailor Moon out of his grasp.  Well, 
he
was the smartest of Team 5 by far, too.
	Chris landed near on a relatively smooth portion of the shattered
landscape that used to be a gymnasium, prepared to move again... and then 
heard
a distinctive whine in the air.  Oh.  Shit.
	He jumped forward towards ZX-Tole, hoping that Gaster had been erring
on the side of caution with his shot.  His gamble paid off as the staccato
explosions of the artillery hyper-zoanoid's liquid missiles ripped apart the
ground behind him.  Of course, that brought him into reach of ZX-Tole, who 
swung
out his massive fist and knocked Chris back again.
	Thankfully, being dead, Chris was neither dazed nor stunned by the blow,
even though it had caught him straight on the temple.  But the 
hyper-zoanoids
wouldn't know that, so he tumbled when he reached the ground and sprawled 
out on
his back, feigning being stunned.  One of them would make their move, and 
that
would leave them vulnerable... hopefully.
	A whine in the air answered the question of "whom".  The missiles were
coming from above, and annoyingly in all directions.  For a split second, he
followed the vapour trails back and saw Gaster's crimson demonic face 
leering
from a hole in the ceiling before he was forced to spring back to life and 
roll
away from the missiles before they impacted.
	ZX-Tole was between him and the main doors, so he rolled towards one of
the side doors.  He couldn't kill ZX-Tole, but he was pretty sure he could
destroy Gaster if he could go mano-a-mano with the artillery zoanoid.  
Gaster
was continuing to fire, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, since it 
would
obscure ZX-Tole's view of him.  He feinted to the side towards ZX-Tole, 
hoping
Gaster would lead his path with the missiles, then made a mad dash for the 
door,
so he could get outside and-
	And there were twelve missiles streaking in through the ceiling, the
holes in the wall, the shattered remains of the main doors, converging on...
well, given the blast radius of a single missile, they were pretty much
converging on "the entire half of the gymnasium".  Chris had just enough 
time to
think that that was a pretty bad thing before-
	Before there was a streak through the air, and a half-dozen missiles
exploded harmlessly above Chris's head, the rest detonating a relatively 
safe
distance away.  Cologne landed in front of him.  Chris spared a nod for her
before resuming his mad dash, smashing through the side door.
	Out of the corner of his eye, he barely saw a flash of red light arc
out... and then bank to the side sharply, cutting yet another chunk of 
gymnasium
wall out.  Wow.  Cologne had those mad wind ninja skillz, no doubt.  Not 
that he
had HAD any doubts.
	He leaped up, found purchase on a windowsill, and leaped again, reaching
the roof.  Gaster was turning to face him.  The crimson hyper-zoanoid was
raising his arms, bulges on his forearms pulsating as the nozzles on his 
wrists
opened.  That meant... yes!  Chris smirked as he saw that the enormous,
distended sacks of flash on Gaster's shoulders contained only crater-like
pockmarks.  No missiles left, which left only the sprayers on his forearms 
as
conveyors for his explosive liquid stores.  For at least a few moments.
	Chris charged, and let fly with several batons, but Gaster managed to
blow them out of the air, leaping backwards.  The roof, Chris noted, was 
filled
with holes, making footing treacherous, and it also creaked dangerously as 
he
put his weight on it.  That was to be expected too, he guessed.
	Back to Gaster.  Best to goad him into an attack.  Chris poured on the
speed, flashing up to the hyper-zoanoid as fast as he could and waiting for 
the
telltale signs of an oncoming liquid spray.  One hand dropped to his pocket,
grasping the canteen of Jyusenkyou water.
	The artillery zoanoid wasn't entirely stupid.  He whipped his arm around
as if delivering a backhand, pouring out a thick wall of explosive liquid.
Chris took a step and then leaped straight up as straight and true as only a
martial arts death machine could.  Mentally crossing his fingers, he ripped 
the
top off the canteen and turned Gaster's trick against him, holding his thumb
partially over the opening and whipped his arm across his chest.  A sheet of
cursed water splashed out.
	Gaster had enough time to look up.  His distorted, only vaguely human-
like bat-face twisted into an approximation of confusion as he saw the water
approach him.  Then he became an octopus.
	Chris breathed a sigh of relief.  He hadn't been absolutely sure that
would work.  But it had.  Gaster hadn't turned into a cute little octopus 
like
Hayato's pet: it was a big, ugly, sea-dwelling sort of thing, with flailing
suckered tentacles and big bulging eyes that had a distinct sense of, well,
continued and now acute confusion.
	Chris put an end to the confusion in the most decisive way possible by
putting his foot through Gaster-pus's brain.  Three times, just to be sure.
Then he punted the slimy remains away and dropped through one of the holes 
in
the ceiling.
	Sometime while he had been occupied with Gaster, Sailor Moon had somehow
escaped - or, more likely, been helped by Cologne - from ZX-Tole's grasp, 
and
was now being hustled by Shampoo out of the room.  Still in the middle of 
the
gym, the old woman and the leader of the Hyper-Zoanoid Team 5 (4?) were 
facing
off.  All of ZX-Tole's laser eyes were exposed and glowing with terrible 
energy.
There seemed to be so many MORE of them when seeing them in person, as 
opposed
from the comfortable distance of a TV screen or comic book page.
	As he landed, the zoanoid rasped, "If you think you're going to get away
with her, you fools obviously have no idea what you are up against.  Nothing 
can
prevent our victory!"  The laser eyes' glow intensified.  ALL of them
intensified, and Chris could now feel a little of that 'terrible violent 
energy'
in the air himself.
	Well, this was hardly any better than them succeeding at kidnapping
Sailor Moon, so he sprang into action.  Once again mentally crossing his
fingers, he hurled the canteen and its remaining contents at ZX-Tole.
	One of his insectile arms changed trajectories and blew the canteen to
vapour with a flash of scarlet light.  Well, so much for that.
	But the distraction proved enough for Cologne.  Even as the Jyusenkyou
water vanished, she flashed forward almost too fast for him to follow, her 
staff
snapping out in a circular motion.  Then ZX-Tole was flying backward, his
enormous bulk tearing an equally enormous hole in the wall.
	That seemed to be about it for the gym: a ominous-sounding rumble
emanated from the structure, and progressively larger chunks of the ceiling
began crashing to the floor.  "Run!" Chris snapped, taking off after where
Shampoo and Usagi had gone.  ZX-Tole was definitely a fight that could wait 
for
another day.  Or never, with any luck.
	They fled the collapsing building, leaping over the wall and to the roof
of a nearby building and then the next and the next.  All the time, his mind 
was
racing.  There had been only two of Team 5 there, and only Usagi.  There was
only one conclusion he could draw.
	After they'd cleared about five buildings, he held up his hand to stop
their flight, and looked over at Sailor Moon, who Shampoo was still 
carrying.
"Wait.  Usagi.  Where are the other Sailor Senshi?"
	"They're... hey, wait, how do you know my na- I mean, the name of that
beautiful junior high school student who I have no relation to and-"
	"Usagi!" he broke in.  "There is no time for this - there's more of
those things, just as strong, attacking your friends.  Where.  Are.  They!?"
	Sailor Moon stared at him for a few seconds, looking faintly intimidated
- at his tone, his demeanour, or his rotting arm, he didn't know.  Probably 
all
three.  "I- I don't know..."
	"Don't you have some sort of Sailor communicator or something?"  Did
they have it at this point in the series?  He couldn't remember...
	She snapped her fingers.  "Oh yeah!"  Shampoo chose that moment to drop
her in an undignified heap on the rooftop.  "Ow!  You people don't act much 
like
heroic saviors!"
	He sighed.  "I'm sorry, but those things killed every single student and
teacher that were still in your school.  They are not nice, so at the 
moment, I
can't be taking time to be nice either, understand?"
	"K-killed?"
	"Killed.  Violently."
	"Chris, you're frightening the poor girl," Cologne pointed out.
	"She performs better under pressure," Chris explained shortly.  "Usagi,
your friends' lives are in danger.  We need to act as quickly as possible."
	"Ri... right."  Usagi fumbled her communicator out from... somewhere.
She began to tap wildly at the buttons.  "Ami!  Mako-chan!  Rei!  Come in!
Somebody, anybody!"
	There was a hiss of static from the tiny credit card-sized device, and a
voice he vaguely recognised came through.  "Usagi..." the voice groaned.  
She
sounded like she was in pain, confirming his fears.
	"Mako-chan, where are you?  We'll come help you!" Usagi cried.
	"No!  Usagi, stay away!  They're too strong!"
	There was a sudden, violent electrical crackle over the line, and Sailor
Jupiter screamed.  So, Elegen at least was there.  Thinking over it, Chris
realised how perfectly suited Team 5 was to specific Senshi.  Elegen was 
immune
to Sailor Jupiter's thunder attacks, and his incredibly powerful electrical
field would prevent her from using hand to hand attacks against him.  
Derzerb
was impervious to flame and most everything else, making him easily able to 
take
out Sailor Mars.  And that left Thancrus for Sailor Mercury.  Could he use 
those
eel-like antennae of his to find her through her sight-obscuring mist?  Even 
if
he couldn't, Ami had no offensive capability worth mentioning at this point 
in
the series. It would only be a matter of time.
	Usagi was screaming for her friend through the communicator, but got no
response.  Damn it.  "Was Rei going anywhere that you knew of today?"
	"We were all supposed to meet at her shrine," she said absently, looking
up at Chris with a shell-shocked expression.
	He put a hand on her shoulder.  She recoiled away in horror, and he
realised too late he had used his rotting left arm for that purpose.  But he
pressed forward.  "All right.  Usagi, you need to point us to the temple so 
we
can get there as soon as possible.  If we can at least rescue Rei, that's
something.  We can save Ami and Makoto later.  Chronos won't kill them yet, 
but
we need to move NOW.  Can you do it?"  Of course she could.  Usagi always 
rose
to the needs of the moment.
	And she did.  Usagi stared at him, then stood, rubbing tears from her
eyes, and pointed imperiously into the distance.  "That way," she said, with 
the
voice of a queen.

*


	"So, why was Akira rushing out of here in such a hurry?"
	"Hmm?" Ukyou was leaning against the chainlink wall that surrounded the
roof of Justice High School. She flicked a hand through her bangs, brushing 
the
hair away from her eyes before turning to look at Ran. "She's rushing to try 
and
find her brother. He's in danger..." Ukyou crossed her arms. "I forgot that 
he
left right after Hyo's little failed coup attempt." Ukyou glanced over her
shoulder at the main gate of the school. "I hope she finds him."
	"Brother in trouble?" Ran perked up. Her reporter-senses were tingling.
	"If you want, I can tell you all about it. Later." Ukyou turned her
attention back to Ran. Ran shrugged, considering that as good as a promise 
for
an exclusive interview. She stretched slightly and walked further across the
roof.
	"So, why exactly did you cal me? You never bothered to do so before."
	"Indeed..." Ukyou shrugged, absently cracking her knuckles. "Actually I
called you and Ranma. You just got here first because you live closer."
	"Heh." Ran grinned. "I knew it. And I bet he's rushing over here as we
speak." Ran shook her head and walked over to the chainlink. "He'd drop
everything to come help you out, if you asked. You know that?"
	Ukyou gave Ran a long, unreadable stare, but said nothing. Ran chuckled
to herself. Ukyou must think her expressions were hard to decipher, but Ran 
was
beginning to get into her head. That cold look meant she didn't really want 
to
talk about the subject; at least, not that she would admit to herself.
	"He really likes you. You're probably the best friend he has," Ran said,
chuckling. "Too bad he doesn't have a clue that you're in love with him."
	"I..." Ukyou sighed. "Okay, Ran. You're right. We need to talk about
that." Ukyou shifted her stance. "I'm not blind, Ran. I saw how you and 
Ranma
were..." Ukyou searched for the right word for a moment, waving her hand in 
the
air. "...interacting."
	"Well, if you don't want to pussyfoot around, I guess I don't either,"
Ran said with a smirk. "I like Ranma. A lot. He's cute and endearing in a 
dumb
jock kind of way." Ran adjusted her vest. "I think he likes me, too."
	"Good for you," Ukyou replied in a cold tone.
	"You still haven't admitted that you like him. Much less how much you
do."
	"It's... hard for me." Ukyou said, suddenly sighing. The ice melted from
her voice as she continued. "A part of me really loves Ranma. It has for... 
over
a decade now. I'm not sure what true love is, Ran. Or even if it exists. But
this is a feeling I know is as close to true love as I will probably ever 
get.
The funny thing is... I can't really explain why. I mean... he's attractive, 
but
for some reason that means less to me than it probably should. He's kind and
loyal and honest, in his own way... but is he really something that special? 
I
don't know if he is or not. I'm beginning to realise I barely know him at 
all."
Ukyou crossed her arms over her breasts. "And maybe that's part of it. I 
want to
know about him. About what he really is. I want to laugh with him and cry 
with
him and spend the rest of my life trying to understand him." Ukyou chuckled
wryly. "It sounds so stupid when I say it out loud... but I can't help the 
way I
feel."
	"It... doesn't sound stupid," Ran admitted. She was a bit taken aback by
the sudden intensity in Ukyou's voice. Her tone was so calm, so warm and 
casual
but at the same time there was a power there. Listening to her talk was like
stepping into a strong current.
	"Yes it does," Ukyou argued half-heartedly. "Believe me, I know." Ukyou
looked up at the sky, but her eyes were closed. "Because a part of me can't 
help
but see it as that." Ukyou frowned. "Love is an illusion to that part of me. 
A
word society made up to make us all feel like we aren't just animals, 
rutting in
the dark. Love at first sight? Love everlasting? Fairy tales. Wishes. 
Nothing
but a thin veneer we put on lust and desire. And when the lust runs dry, and 
it
ALWAYS runs dry, what happens to love then? It fades away." Ukyou grimaced 
in
disgust. "And the thought of it disgusts me. Sex. Is that the big excuse for 
all
the pain and idiocy? It makes me sick, thinking that us humans waste so much 
of
our lives obsessing over such a trivial thing."
	"That... is a real big load of crap." Ran chuckled. Man, for a minute
there, she had almost felt sorry for Ukyou. Ukyou blinked her eyes open and
looked at Ran in startlement.
	"What did you say?"
	"Oh please." Ran rolled her eyes. "Is that your big excuse for not
telling Ranma how you feel?" Ran stepped away from the chainlink, shaking 
her
head. "I've seen some people stuck up about sex, but you take the cake."
	"It's more than that..." Ukyou hissed. "You don't understand-"
	"Oh, I understand," Ran cut Ukyou off, chuckling. "The thing is, you
don't." Ran spun to face Ukyou, hands on her hips. "What your real problem 
is,
is fear."
	"Fear?" Ukyou's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You think I'm afraid to tell
Ranma how I feel? You don't have a clue."
	"Oh yeah?" Ran said, smirking. "Prove it, then. He's on his way here.
When he gets here, tell him."
	"What?" Ukyou blinked.
	"Tell him how you feel." Ran paused and ran a finger along the side of
her neck. "No. That's too much. How about just asking him out on a date?"
	"A... date..." Ukyou said slowly.
	"Yes. Just a simple date." Ran smiled maliciously. "It's just a single
date. Maybe dinner and a movie. No sex need be involved."
	"I..."
	"Heh. I thought as much." Ran walked up to Ukyou and poked her between
the breasts. It was easier to do so now that Ukyou hadn't bound them up. "I 
tell
you what: You ask him out on a date, just one date, and I'll back off. But 
if
you don't do it... I'm going to. And if he says yes... well." Ran smiled. "I
guess you have noone but yourself to blame then."
	Ukyou stared into Ran's face for a long moment. Ran pulled her finger
back, shaking it to try and work out a sudden chill. Ukyou opened her mouth 
to
respond...
	"Hey, there you two are!"
	Both girls turned at once to see Ranma standing in the stairwell. He
stepped out onto the roof, smiling like a loon. Then he stopped, suddenly 
moving
self-consciously. He glanced nervously over his shoulder, then patted 
himself
down.
	"What? Is something going on that I should know about?" Ranma said,
rubbing the back of his neck.
	"Nothing much, stud," Ran said, smiling and walking over to him. "Ukyou
and I were just talking about girl stuff."
	"Oh..." Ranma glanced at Ukyou, then back at Ran. "Whatever. I keep
forgetting Ucchan is a girl."
	Ran saw Ukyou wince slightly out of the corner of her eye. She smiled.
"I think Ukyou has something she wanted to ask you, though."
	"Well yeah," Ranma said with a grin. "She told me on the phone that we
need to find Sailor Moon so we can take care of this Hayato guy. Personally, 
I
don't see why..."
	"No. Not about that." Ran glanced down, seeing that Ranma was still
carrying his phone on his belt. "Isn't that right, Ukyou? Didn't you have
something you wanted to ask Ranma?"
	Ran took an involuntary step back at the look Ukyou was giving her. It
was a look of such pure, cold hatred that Ran could feel it at the bottom of 
her
gut. For a moment, Ran was sure Ukyou was going to attack her. Then she saw 
the
young woman visibly relax, her fists uncurling and her body slumping.
	"No, Ran." Ukyou sighed. "I..." Ukyou ran a hand through her bangs. "I
guess I don't have anything to say."
	Ran opened her mouth, about to say something teasing. Then she stopped.
For some reason, she felt bad. But she shook off the feeling. If Ukyou 
didn't
want to fight for Ranma, she wasn't going to lose any sleep over it. 
Besides...
it's not like she planned to marry the guy. Ranma was fun and all, but they 
HAD
just met. Maybe if Ukyou decided to get over whatever her problem was, they
could have a proper competition.
	Suddenly, Ran felt she was looking forward to that.
	"We have important things to discuss though," Ukyou pointed out, her
voice suddenly all business. "We do need to go find Sailor Moon, Ranma. 
Because
that is the only way we can save Hayato."
	"Save him?" Ranma said, blinking. "But the guy is trying to kill you!"
	"Indeed," Ukyou nodded. "And Hayato has every reason to do so. I
destroyed his life. I don't blame him for wanting me dead." Ukyou frowned.
"Nonetheless, I have to save him."
	"Save him from what?" Ran asked leadingly.
	"I never told you about the Dark Kingdom, did I?" Ukyou asked. Ran shook
her head. "Hmmm. Well, to make a long story short, they are ancient monsters
that want to take over the world. Jadeite, the guy I fought at Narita, was 
one
of their leaders."
	"I see..." Ran nodded, pulling a pen and notebook from her vest. "So,
they have a reason to want to get back at you, since you killed one of their
leaders?"
	"I didn't kill him!" Ukyou snapped, then sighed. "Sorry. But... Pluto
killed Jadeite. Uh, Sailor Pluto, that is. You were there."
	"I'm guessing that the Dark Kingdom isn't the kind of group that splits
hairs on that kind of thing," Ran deadpanned.
	"You're right, they aren't." Ukyou nodded. "I'm guessing that they've
been waiting for a chance to get back at me, and Hayato offered them a 
perfect
chance."
	"How so?" Ranma prompted, leaning against the chainlink and crossing his
arms.
	"The Dark Kingdom can... turn human beings into youma, a type of
monster." Ukyou paused. "I'm not sure if that's what they've done to Hayato, 
or
something else. But I remember him mentioning Queen Beryl: that's the ruler 
of
the Dark Kingdom. He must have struck some sort of deal with them to 
overcome
the damage I did to him." Ukyou's voice took on a melancholy air. "I can't 
blame
him. But I can't... let him do this either."
	"Especially since he wants to kill you," Ranma pointed out. "Listen. I
can see why you have mixed feelings, but c'mon. The guy is a jerk, Ucchan. 
If we
have to beat him down, we do it."
	"Ranma... nevermind." Ukyou rubbed her neck absently. "We won't have to.
Sailor Moon has the power to undo whatever the Dark Kingdom did to Hayato. 
If
they turned him into a youma, she can heal him. If they did something else, 
I'm
sure that she can save him."
	"And what makes you think I want to be saved, Kuonji?"
	Ranma reacted first. He was already launching himself into the air,
pirouetting... but not fast enough. A sudden wall of water washed over them. 
Ran
felt herself slam into the fence, the metal links pressing painfully against 
her
cheek. She opened her mouth to scream but only swallowed water.
	As suddenly as the water had come, it was gone. Ran fell to her knees,
coughing and gasping. She glanced out and saw that Ranma hadn't been as 
lucky as
her. The blast had sent him spiraling over the fence and plummeting three
stories to the school grounds below. He had formed a small crater upon 
landing.
But she could see him stirring.
	"You didn't think I would give you too long to plan, did you?"
	Ran turned her attention back to the roof. Hayato was standing in the
center of the wide rooftop, his arms crossed and his ugly face sneering. 
Behind
him a swirling disk of water flickered in the afternoon sunshine. Ukyou was
getting to her feet next to Ran.
	"Hayato..." Ukyou said slowly. "This was very stupid. Do you realize
that this school is full of people as strong, if not stronger, than Ranma?"
	"Of course I do," Hayato said, cocking his head to the side. "I can
sense their energy. Like the bouquet of a fine wine, it drifts around this
entire building."
	"Then why would you be stupid enough to think-"
	"Shut up."
	Ran blinked. Somehow Hayato had crossed the roof without her noticing.
He was now standing next to Ukyou, his hand wrapped around her throat. She
coughed and clutched at his wrist.
	"I did this because I wanted to prove I could kill you anytime I wanted.
No one can stop me." Hayato smirked, an ugly, dangerous smirk. "And no one
will."
	Ran pulled a newspaper from her vest, snapping it rigid with a flick of
her wrist. "Put her down..."
	Even as she spoke Hayato spun and flung Ukyou. Ran's eyes widened and
she dove for the girl, but her fingers fell short as Ukyou impacted the 
upright
whirlpool and vanished. Ran grunted as she skidded along the ground. Then 
she
felt Hayato's boot on her back.
	"You don't think I'm foolish enough to fight her here?" Hayato said,
laughing. "I have a special place just perfect for her demise." Hayato 
leaned
down and whispered into her ear. "Make sure you get her friends together and
come looking for her. In about a half-hour, she'll be dead. But I would hate 
to
see you all lose the chance to bury her."
	Ran tried to buck Hayato off of her, but was rewarded with a stunning
kick to her side. The air exploded from her lungs and she rocked back, 
clutching
her ribs. Hayato laughed and walked across the roof, stepping idly into the
portal. Ran wanted to scream, but was too busy trying to catch her breath. 
Then
Hayato, and his portal, were gone.

*

	Rei didn't even notice the wall giving away, nor did she notice hitting
the hard tile of the shrine's courtyard and skidding across it. She didn't 
even
notice crashing into the tree that finally halted her momentum. She was too 
busy
feeling the aftershocks of Derzerb's casual backhand.
	She groaned, trying to get her legs to work. A string of mild curses
escaped her lips. She had underestimated him. She had been doing so well,
dodging madly, hoping to slowly wear him down... only he had suddenly 
laughed
and then with a casual flick of his arm had nearly killed her. If he had hit 
her
in the head, instead of in the back, she wouldn't have been alive right now.
	Somehow Rei found the strength to rise to her feet. She used the tree as
a brace, but that wasn't important. She was on her feet. She could still
fight...
	"Heh, you're still awake!" Derzerb's gravelly voice shouted out across
the courtyard. Rei looked up, glancing through half-lidded eyes at her 
opponent.
The monster casually stepped through the wall, as if the thick oaken planks 
were
mere paper screens. "Can you do that again? This will get boring if you go 
down
too quickly."
	"Monster..." Rei spat. She noticed that there was a bit of blood on the
ground afterwards. "I can..." Rei grimaced as a sudden spasm ran up her back 
and
her legs almost gave out. How was she supposed to fight like this?
	Rei felt the ground shake beneath her. Her attention shifted back up to
the huge grey-skinned monster. He had already crossed half the distance 
between
them, his head held down so that he very much resembled a charging rhino. 
Rei
reached down, forced the strength back into her legs, and lept.
	The tree exploded. Not just fell over: the trunk literally burst into a
thousand splinters flying in all directions. Rei cried out as one flashed 
past
her face and drew blood. She twisted in mid-air, kicking off one of the
surviving upper branches as it flew through the air. She landed badly, but
managed to roll with it and put precious distance between her and the beast.
	And the monster was laughing. She shook the dizziness from her head and
rose to a combat crouch. Derzerb was shaking off the splinters of the tree 
like
a dog shaking off water. His massive body twisted so he could glance at her.
	"I wonder if you can do that again?"
	"Damn..."
	Rei had to face it: there was nothing she could do here. Derzerb was a
monster unlike any she had ever faced before. He had even ignored her wards 
when
she had tried to use them earlier. And at this rate, the injuries he had
inflicted with that one casual blow would take her out long before he even
worked up a sweat. Rei glanced around. They were in the open, and she knew 
she
was faster than him... not much, but maybe enough...
	"Ah. Thinking of running away, I see."
	Rei glanced back at the monster, almost guiltily. The rhino-like
creature was stalking towards her slowly, his footsteps leaving small 
craters in
the once-pristine shrine grounds. It was impossible to tell what kind of
expression his mockery of a human face was trying to form, but she could 
hear
the smirk in his rumbling voice as he spoke.
	"Foolish girl! You don't realize the enemy you face, do you?" The
monster raised one hand and snapped his huge fingers. Rei frowned, wondering
what he was up to. Then she heard the sound of one of the shrine's doors 
opening
behind her.
	Rei knew what she would see before she turned. A part of her told her
not to look. A part of her already knew how things would go next. But like 
the
victim in a horror movie, Rei found herself turning around anyway.
	"Grandpa!" Rei shouted. Rei had never really seen her grandfather as
small. She was aware of how short he was, but he had always seemed so... 
large
and powerful to her eyes. Now, as he rested in the grasp of a hideously 
grinning
gorilla-like creature, he looked very small indeed. He looked so small and
frail. A thin trickle of blood flowed down his scalp, but Rei could see his
chest rising and falling.
	Derzerb laughed again, a gravelly sound that sent chills down her spine.
"You didn't think we had forgotten about him, had you?" Derzerb said in the
closest thing he could get to a whisper. "We know all your weaknesses, 
Sailor
Mars. Certainly, you might be able to run. But if you do, we WILL kill him.
Slowly. Painfully." Derzerb chuckled. "I am so looking forward to our fight, 
I
would hate to think what I would do if you disappointed me." Rei turned on
Derzerb. Somehow, she could no longer feel her wounds. "There's no escape!" 
The
rumble of his laugh echoed throughout the courtyard.
	"Monster..." Rei hissed. But it seemed so small, even to her. She closed
her eyes, fighting back tears. She would not cry in front of that beast. She
would not give him the satisfaction! There had to be some way that...
	No. She couldn't defeat Derzerb. Even if she somehow destroyed that
other monster and grabbed her grandfather, he would slow her down when she 
tried
to escape. She wasn't that much faster than Derzerb, as he had already 
proven.
Plus she was injured.
	But she had to get away. Rei could not defeat this monster... but Sailor
Moon could. His impenetrable shell, his massive strength... all his 
advantages
would be like dust in the wind before Sailor Moon's ability to return him to 
his
human state. Rei opened her eyes, and looked at Derzerb again.
	He hadn't moved. He was standing in the courtyard with his arms crossed,
waiting for her decision. He was reveling in her agony. Maybe being turned 
back
into a human was too good... no. That wasn't the way. Rei let out a long 
slow
breath. She couldn't afford to let her emotions cloud her judgement here.
	Any of her emotions.
	"Come here, girl," Derzerb growled, gesturing with one giant hand. "Bow
at my feet, and maybe then I'll spare your grandfather."
	Rei turned her head, brushing a few stray locks out of her eyes as she
took a long look at her grandfather. The creature holding him saw her and it
raised one clawed finger up to the old priest's neck. And then Rei did cry. 
But
just one tear. She wiped it away with one finger.
	"I'm sorry."
	Rei didn't really remember the next few minutes. When she could see
anything else beside flashing memories of her grandfather, she was already 
on a
rooftop somewhere else in the city. She forced herself to a stop.
	Rei collapsed to her knees, unable to breathe. No. She couldn't let this
stop her. She couldn't let it be in vain. She rose up, orienting herself.
Somehow, in her rush, she had run in the correct direction. Rei looked in 
the
direction of Usagi's school. As she did she focused, the same way she always
focused when she was using the sacred flame. The focus that required you to 
put
aside all transient mortal concerns was what she needed now.
	Rei took off, faster than she even knew she could. She would get there
in time. She had to get there in time. Somehow the pain of her injuries had
faded away. Was this some power of her Senshi heritage, or just a result of 
her
focus? Rei didn't know, or really care. As long as it worked, she would be
grateful and leave it at that.
	Rei was probably only a few blocks away from Usagi's school when she
heard Sailor Moon call out to her. At first, Rei wasn't sure she was hearing
correctly, but a quick glance confirmed it. Sailor Moon was bounding across 
the
buildings towards her. Rei opened her mouth, but words failed her. Thought
failed her.
	"Rei! You're okay!" Rei stood like a statue as Usagi crashed into her
and enveloped her in a ferocious hug. "You escaped! Oh, god, I was so 
worried!"
	Rei felt the tears that fell from Usagi's cheeks as they dropped onto
her chest. She reached up with one arm and awkwardly patted the girl on the
back.
	"It's okay," she said, and was surprised at how calm and happy she
sounded.
	"Rei, the monsters... they attacked me at the school! They know who I
am!"
	"I know." Rei wondered who it was that was sounding so sympathetic
and... normal. It certainly wasn't her. But whoever was speaking was using 
her
voice, was comforting Usagi. Someone was making her go through the motions.
	Then Rei felt her heart skip a beat. It WAS her that was doing this. She
was acting like this was just the aftermath of another of their fights. She 
was
acting like she hadn't just sacrificed her grandfather to the monsters she 
had
sworn to oppose.
	Because if she didn't act that way, Usagi would know what she had done.
	And Usagi must never know.
	"I apologise for interrupting, but we can't stay here."
	Rei only realised there were other people present when the unfamiliar
voice spoke up. She looked up from Usagi's shoulder and saw them. There were
three of them.
	The leader was a boy, slightly older than Rei, with a messy bowlcut and
vaguely aristocratic features. He was dressed in a leather coat, t-shirt and
jeans and stood on the roof nearby with an air of impatient energy about 
him.
But there was something WRONG about him. Rei could see how pale his skin 
was,
and how glassy his eyes seemed... but there was something wrong about him 
that
went beyond that, and Rei wasn't sure she could pin it down.
	His companions seemed more normal. Well, at least the girl did. She was
obviously Chinese, with an extremely generous figure clad in a silk pantsuit
that was designed to do little to hide that fact. The only thing odd about 
her
was the sword she held casually in one hand. The little old... woman? Yes,
woman. The old woman that stood nearby was perhaps the oldest and most 
shrunken
person Rei had ever seen. But she was human. Even if Rei did feel her mystic
senses tingling in the old woman's presence almost as much as they did when 
she
was near her sacred flame.
	"That's right," Usagi pulled away from Rei suddenly and turned to the
boy. "We have to go help the others now!"
	The boy crossed his arms and shook his head. "No, we already know that
Makoto was defeated. Ami doesn't really have any defenses, and we can assume 
she
has already fallen as well."
	"But-"
	"I'm not planning to leave them, Usagi!" the boy said in a half-shout.
"We are going to rescue them. But we can't do anything now. Especially 
because
we don't know where they are."
	"Excuse me," Rei broke in. "But who are you? What is going on here?"
	The boy looked at her and bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry I didn't
introduce myself right away. I'm afraid this is a little confusing." The boy
rose up and Rei noticed that one of his arms was twitching spasmadically, 
but
he didn't seem to notice. "My name is Chris. And this is Shampoo and 
Cologne."
He gestured to the girl and the old woman in turn.
	Rei nodded her head. "And you already know who I am," she said, her
voice coming out a bit more icily than she would have liked.
	Chris's lip quirked up a little bit, as if at some private jest. "Yes,
well, we rescued Usagi from the attack on her and were coming to your place 
to
do the same."
	"I see."
	Rei's voice remained level. But inside, she felt a little bit of herself
die. It had... it had... Grandpa...
	But outside she remained calm and in control. No matter what, she would
NOT let her decision be in vain.
	"Anyway I know you probably have some questions about who we are, but
let's just say that we are concerned citizens who decided to lend a hand 
when we
heard about the attacks." The boy sighed. "Longer explanations will have to
wait. For the moment we need to get to a safer place than this, before 
Chronos
can find you again."
	"Wait a moment," Usagi piped up. "Where is Tuxedo Kamen?"
	"How should I know?" Chris barked in exasperation, throwing his arms to
the side.
	"Hey," Rei shouted, stepping between Chris and her princess. "She's just
concerned. If this Chronos is after us, it may be after him as well." Rei
paused, thinking. She hated to say it, but it was the truth. "They might 
also be
after Ukyou and a few other people that have helped us out on occasion."
	The boy visibly calmed down, sighed and rubbed his twitching arm
absently. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just under a bit of stress right 
now."
	"These discussions can wait until we have found shelter and safety," the
old woman broke in smoothly.
	"Also right," the boy said with a nod. "Follow me."

*


	Seras stumbled to her feet, her breath coming in short gasps, despite
the fact that she no longer had to breath.
	"Ah, Miss Victoria, I see you made it..."
	"W-walter?" Seras looked up. She didn't need to. She could smell the
blood. Walter's blood. She didn't know how she could tell it was his blood, 
but
she knew, in that deep secret part of her mind that she preferred not to 
think
about. Sure enough she could see him leaning against the wall. His right 
hand
was clenched onto the side of his neck, and she could see the blood pouring 
out
from between his fingers.
	"Oh, this?" Walter smiled. Sometime since they had parted ways in the
basement he had lost his monocle. His face looked even older and wearier 
without
it. Or perhaps that was because of how dramatically pale he was. "It's just 
a
flesh wound. Nothing to worry your pretty head over."
	"But Walter, there's so much blood..."
	"Heh." Walter winced, but his smile never faltered. "I've fought on with
worse before. I can do so at least one more time. I'm just not as fast as I 
used
to be. Didn't expect that young pup to catch me so off-guard..."
	"Walter, we have to get you to a doctor..." Seras moaned, clutching her
fist in front of her mouth. It wasn't just because she was worried about 
him. It
was also because she wanted to keep her mouth closed, to keep herself 
from...
thinking about the dark, thick liquid that was oozing between his fingers. 
But a
part of her couldn't stop thinking about it.
	"No!" Walter suddenly shouted. "Listen, we don't have much time. There
are two of them. They only slowed down because I collapsed the roof on them.
They should be here any second. You have to get to Sir Integra and protect 
her."
	"Protect her?" Seras blinked.
	"Hey, you two bitches!" a voice shouted from down the hallway. Seras
ducked involuntarily as the retort of a machine gun filled the air. 
Woodchips
and plaster flew around the corner as the bullets chewed apart the wall they 
had
taken shelter behind. She could hear the unsteady shuffle of the ghouls as 
they
stagger-marched down the hall towards them. "Is this what Hellsing does? 
Hides
and prays? Huh, fuck that, man! You two get out here and fucking die like 
good
little cows!" There was a burst of manic laughter. "I know you can hear me, 
old
man! Don't think I won't pay you back for what you did to my eye!" Another 
burst
of gunfire roared down the hall.
	"Miss Victoria... no, Seras..." Walter reached out with his free hand
and Seras stared at it. His sleeve had been torn off, and a vicious-looking
bullet wound was pumping blood steadily from his shoulder. "Sir Integra must
survive this day. She is strong and smart and powerful, but she isn't ready 
for
this..." Walter coughed.
	Gunfire roared again. Seras shouted and ducked around the corner. She
spotted a line of the undead steadily approaching up the hallway. Two 
figures
were standing in front of the pack. On the right was a tall, blond man in an
immaculate white suit. The other was a shorter man with a swarthy 
complexion. He
wore a snow-cap with an eye symbol on it, giving one the illusion he had 
three
eyes. Or it would have, had his left eye not been missing.
	"Oh, a she-bitch..." the shorter man said with a leer. "Maybe I'll pause
for some fun..." Then his words trailed off as the grenades Seras had rolled
down the hall came to a stop at his feet. He blinked.
	"Yan, you idiot!" the other shouted. Then there was a blur of white and
both of the men vanished. The line of ghouls behind them was gone a moment
later, torn apart in the explosion. The pieces of their ceramic riot shields
went flying in every direction from the force of the blast, some cutting 
into
the ranks of ghouls marching further down the hallway.
	"Walter, we have to hurry. I don't think that got them..." Seras said,
turning back to Walter. She paused, seeing that he was standing up again. 
His
face was calm, and showed no more sign of pain.
	"Seras, you got Alucard to safety?" Walter asked slowly. Seras nodded.
There was something about Walter's voice that was almost hypnotic, and she
couldn't work up the will to speak. "Good. Find Sir Integra and bring her to 
the
same location." He stepped towards the corner, his shoes clapping along the
hardwood floor of the Hellsing mansion. "She'll be with the Round Table. She
won't want to leave them. The men at the table represent the most powerful
nobles, businessmen and military leaders in England, and she sees it as her 
duty
to protect them."
	"Wait, Walter, you have to come with..."
	"Hush now." Walter said.
	"Damnit, Yan, stop being such a loudmouth!" the voice of the other
monster, much more sophisticated-sounding than the first, came around the
corner. "You were so busy talking you almost died, again!"
	"Aww, bro," Yan said, laughing maniacally again. "Don't spoil my fun!"
	"We don't have time to debate," Walter said, frowning. "You HAVE to get
Integra out of here. She has the strength to save England from what is 
coming.
But not now. She learned to rely too much on Alucard, but given time..." he
trailed off.
	"Walter, what are you saying?" Seras began to shake.
	"Do whatever it takes." Walter took another step towards the corner.
"Oh... and take this." He reached into his coat and pulled out a long black
gun. It looked like the one her master used, but slightly different as well. 
"It
was meant for Alucard, but with him indisposed..." He grimaced and a sudden
spurt of blood flew from between his fingers, drawing a long line across a
portrait on the wall. "Damn... just take it, Seras! Take it and go!"
	Seras lurched back as Walter shoved the weapon into her chest. She
stumbled and dropped her own machine gun, struggling to catch the massive
handgun as it bounced off her breasts. By the time she had regained her 
balance,
Walter had stepped fully around the corner. He dropped his hand from his 
wound,
and Seras saw flashes of silver unraveling between his hands. She took a 
long
look at the vicious bite wound on his neck and gulped.
	"Heh. Hey, old geezer! Not so mouthy now, are you?" Yan shouted from
around the corner. "I was planning on finishing you off slow, but your blood
tastes like shit. I want a taste of that girl you're hiding. And maybe when 
I'm
through with her, I can rape that whore you call a master, huh?"
	"You will never lay hands on Sir Integra," Walter said slowly. He
glanced over at Seras meaningfully. She stepped back, shaking her head.
	"No," she mouthed silently. She wouldn't leave him. He was in no
condition to fight. Not against two vampires. She had to help. Her fingers
tightened around the handle of the huge firearm in her left hand.
	"Oh, come now," the other voice said, sounding bored. "Is this the best
you have to offer? Where is Alucard? I came here to have my match against 
the
best there is!"
	"Go ahead," Walter taunted, but his eyes slipped in Seras' direction
again. "I'm the only opponent you need to fight tonight."
	That was when Seras hand went slack. She almost lost her grip on the
gun. Before she knew it she was dashing down the hallway, blinking away 
tears.
Walter had always been so nice to her. He was the only one, the only one 
that
treated her like she was still a human being. The only one that didn't seem 
to
care if she drank the blood or not...
	Behind her there was a single gunshot. A second later this was followed
by the thump of something falling wetly against the floor.
	Seras was already several hallways away, but her superhuman senses heard
this anyway. She kept running, and soon found herself in front of the doors 
to
the round table room. Normally she would have knocked, but Seras didn't 
waste
time on that. Drawing on strength she didn't even know she had, she brought 
up
one foot and smashed in the door with a single boot. The door crumbled and
clattered inside. It was nearly five centimeters thick and had a core of 
solid
steel.
	"Victoria!" Integra Hellsing shouted as she stood up. Behind her the
long table of the meeting room stretched. The twelve members that held most 
of
the reins of power in England sat in their chairs, each holding a pistol. 
They
looked like men. Not giants of industry, or commanders of armies, but just 
men,
holding pistols. And under their stoic faces, Seras could smell their fear.
	Sir Integra was the only one who wasn't afraid. She strode forward, her
black suit causing her form to blend partially into the shadows of the room. 
Her
long blonde hair billowed around her head, and her eyes flashed behind her
glasses. "You'd better have an excellent reason for doing that," Sir Integra
growled as she stepped up to Seras.
	"Yes." Seras looked into Sir Integra's eyes and saw that there was no
fear there. There was only determination, and rage. Rage at what had 
happened to
her men? Rage at Seras for breaking the convention's last line of defense? 
Rage
at her own impotence? Seras would perhaps never know. But she knew, looking 
into
those eyes, that Sir Integra would never abandon this room. She would fight 
the
vampires and their army of ghouls when they arrived. Fight them with only a
pistol and her courage. She would die defending these sick, fat cowards. 
"I'm
sorry, Sir Integra."
	From the way the other woman's eyes widened, Seras knew that Sir
Integra had guessed her intention. But Seras moved with inhuman speed, and
delivered a sharp rap with the butt of the black handgun to the side of her
commanding officer's head. The woman staggered to the side, her eyes rolling
back, and collapsed like a marionette with its string cut. Seras knew she 
would
be okay. She had been trained for years by the English police, and knew how 
to
subdue a suspect without inflicting permanent harm.
	"You there! What are you doing?"
	Seras looked up at the fat man who had shouted at her. She had already
lifted up Sir Integra with one arm. She flicked her gaze over the twelve men
inside. Only one of them wasn't staring at her in shock. He was taller than 
the
others, thinner and somehow more distinguished. He nodded at her when her 
eyes
paused on him. Somehow, that made her feel better.
	"Escaping." Seras told them shortly and began to sprint away down the
hall. She heard one of the men dash into the hallway after her.
	"Wait, come back here! What about us?"
	There was a single crack of a gunshot. Seras turned and saw one of the
round table members collapsing to the ground, his left leg missing below the
knee. Further down the hallway the two vampires stood. The one in white was
still pointing his antique-looking pistol at the man, smoke drifting from 
its
muzzle. His dark-clothed companion was laughing.
	"You all get to DIE!" Yan screamed, laughing hysterically. "But that's
not all! Let's tell them what they've won! Yes, you too have won a chance to 
be
slowly and brutally tortured to death by a pack of cannibal undead! And as a
take home prize, you get to rise as our new slaves and help us burn this 
fucking
city to the GROUND!"
	"Damn..." Seras paused in an intersection. The two brothers had noticed
her, and she was sure if she tried to sprint to safety that she would get 
shot
in the back. She had to get out of here...
	"RUN!"
	Seras blinked as three of the convention members jumped into the
hallway, pistols blazing. Seras recognized the tall one leading them. She 
didn't
wait to see what would happen. She dashed to the nearest window and was 
through
it a second later. She almost screamed as she plummeted three stories to the
ground, but her vampiric strength came to her rescue again as she landed
lightly, without so much as jogging the unconscious woman over her 
shoulders.
Seras then began to run, run away from the sounds of gunfire and screams, 
run
like the devil himself was on her heels.
	Because, maybe he was.

*

	"Damn, he got here early, over!"
	Link peered around the corner as well, and saw that Pink was correct.
Adon was a tall man, wearing little besides a pair of boxing shorts, a red 
and
blue armband on one arm, and tape on his hands and feet.  His ferociously 
red
hair jutted backward and forward almost like the crest of a bird, held out 
of
his face by a yellow headband.  If there was an ounce of fat on the man's 
body,
Link couldn't see it: all of his considerable amount of exposed skin seemed
filled almost to bursting with rippling, steel-hard muscle.  There was 
nothing
casual about his posture: he was here ready for and willing to take part in 
a
fight.
	In a word, he looked dangerous.  Extremely dangerous.  Every inch the
God of Muay Thai he was said to be.  And Pink planned to kill him?  Link 
would
almost have laughed, were her own welfare not so dependant on her twins'.
"Well," she whispered, "at least his back is turned.  But don't count on a
martial artist like him not noticing us for long.  I hope you have a plan,
over."
	"Of... of course I do, over!" Pink hissed back.  "You just watch.  He
won't be expecting the mandragora, and no matter how strong he is, that will
defeat him.  After all," she said, her usual smirk resuming, "I have it on 
good
authority even the mighty Ranma Saotome fell to it in Volume 29."
	Link rolled her eyes, and stepped back.  "Go ahead.  Just don't get
yourself killed, over."
	"You aren't going to help, over?"
	Link's lip curled just a bit.  "I don't want anything to do with this.
I'm here because I have to be, over."
	Her twin stared at her for a moment, then her expression hardened.
"Fine.  See if I care, over."
	Link peeked around the corner as her twin strode towards Adon.  The
martial artist noticed her almost immediately, of course.  As he turned, 
Link
got her first view of the face of the man they had come here to kill.  He
looked... well, like a bird.  His beady little eyes and sharp nose added to 
the
impression she'd gotten from his hair; Link almost expected him to have a 
beak.
But he had a mouth, a wide mouth twisted into what looked like a permanent
sneer, teeth bared more in challenge than greeting.
	Link chuckled a bit to herself.  What a cute couple Adon and Pink would
make, with those two ever-present smirks.
	Adon was speaking now.  "Who are you, and what do you know?"  His voice
was high-pitched, a hint of whining in it even as he was obviously being
threatening.
	"I'm Pink, over," her twin said, bowing slightly.  "And I'll tell you
everything I said I could.  But first-"
	Adon cut her off with a sharp wave of his hand.  "No 'but first'.  Talk,
or I'll break your arms."
	Pink gave him a disgusted look.  "You're in Japan.  Things work a little
differently here than in Thailand.  Patience and calmness... you know, Zen
stuff, over."  She took out a jar and began sprinking water around the area.
Link prudently pulled out a pair of earplugs.  She didn't want to be caught 
by
the mandragora herself, after all.  "So first," Pink continued, "We purify 
the
area like so, over."
	"Cut the crap," Adon snapped.  "You're no more Japanese than I am!"
	"Yes, but I am entranced by the beauty of... you know, their culture and
crap," Pink explained, throwing the rest of the water around.  "And now..." 
she
smiled slowly.  "EARPLUGS IN, OVER!"
	Adon stared at her as Pink pulled out a pair of earplugs and shoved them
in her ears.  Then she took out a handful of seeds and scattered them.  When 
the
small black seeds drifted to the ground, touching the water Pink had 
scattered
out previously, the small white human-shaped roots of the mandragora 
instantly
erupted all over the area.  Link hastily put in her own earplugs just as 
Pink
bent down and ripped one of the mandragoras from the ground.  Faintly, Link
could just barely hear the blood-curdling scream the root emitted at being
ripped up, but the earplugs blocked out the lethal effect that scream had on 
all
who heard it clearly.  Which would definitely take care of Adon...
	Except that sometime around then, Adon had apparently ripped off some of
the tassels attached to his headband and shoved them in his ears.  He was
glaring down at her twin.
	How on earth had he known to put earplugs in?
	Pink was staring at the martial artist, gaping open-mouthed.  That
didn't last long, however, as Adon then punched her in the face.  Hard.  
Link
winced, feeling an echo of her twin's pain as Pink skidded back along the 
grass
and crashed into the wall.  Before she had any chance to recover, Adon 
stalked
forward, grabbing Pink by the collar and jerking her into the air.  He 
cuffed
her across the face twice, knocking the earplugs out, and removed his own as 
he
began yelling something at her.
	Well, no matter how Adon had figured out the secret of what to do, best
to put a stop to that.  There was a mandragora which had grown near her.  
Link
leaped out at it, and Adon noticed the movement and spun, but he was a 
martial
artist, and his instinct was to strike a defensive position.  Which was his
undoing, since this time he didn't have a chance to put in earplugs before 
Link
tore the mandragora from the ground.  A moment later, Adon's eyes rolled 
back in
his head and he collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut.
	Of course, so had Pink.  Link removed her own earplugs and carefully
secreted them away as she walked over to stare down at the two bodies.  
Well,
this had worked out remarkably well.  Link ALMOST smiled.  Then she got to 
work.
	A few moments later, Pink raised herself to a sitting position, then
immediately groaned and raised a hand to her face.  Her eye was already 
swollen;
there'd be a nasty bruise there and on her cheek for awhile, Link guessed.
"Thanks, over," Pink grunted as she returned to her feet.  She kicked the
unconscious Adon in the side, then staggered from a combination of vertigo 
and
the fact the martial artist's side was probably as hard as stone.  "Stupid
spiky-haired loser!  How dare he! I'm going to enjoy watching him die, 
over!"
	"Maybe," Link said smoothly, "but not yet, over."
	Pink stared at her out of her good eye.  "What, over?"
	Link held up the other half of the mandragora antidote she'd mixed up.
"You said we didn't have time to talk about this on the way over.  Well, now 
we
have time, and we're going to talk, over."
	"Talk... about what, over?"
	Link folded her arms.  She'd been letting Pink take the lead in this
situation for too long.  But no more.  "You dragged me into this.  I don't 
want
to kill this man just to deliver that undead freak a new body, over."
	"You don't have to," Pink snapped back.  "I'm going to do it, over!"
	Link shrugged.  "It's almost the same thing.  And I won't let it happen,
over."
	"And what do you plan to do, over?" Pink sneered at her.
	"Give him this antidote and let him hit you a few more times before I
explain we were sent by Chris and lead the guy right to him.  I'm sure Chris 
can
tell our friend what he wants to know, and if not... well, I don't really 
care.
I can drag you out of the way, over."
	Pink blanched.  "Now... wait just... I'll kill him before you can-"
	"I'll just give him the antidote to anything you use.  You know I can,
my dear twin," and once again, Link almost smiled. "Since, after all, isn't 
that
what I spent much of our childhood doing for random strangers, over?"
	Pink stared at her for a moment, her fingers clenching and unclenching.
She looked down at Adon, plots obviously running through her mind, but Link
wasn't worried.  Pink had been working on the lethality of her poisons, but
given Adon was apparently stronger than Sentarou or Kodachi had been, Link
estimated he'd take at least thirty seconds to die.  Plenty of time to whip 
up
something.
	Finally, Pink stomped her foot.  "Fine!  What do you want from me,
over?"
	"Now we're getting somewhere," Link said.  "You told me about
Ryugenzawa, from Chris's journals.  Remember, over?"
	"Ryugenzawa?  That place with the giant animals and the guy who forgets
everything, over?"
	Link nodded.  "Precisely.  But it also had something called the Moss of
Life, which can heal any injury.  I want to study it.  So we're going there,
over."
	And that was true; she did want to study a plant like that.  It wasn't
the -whole- reason... but it was all Pink needed to know for the moment.
	Pink thought about it for a moment, then shrugged.  "Okay.  How do we
get Chris to go, over?"
	"That's your problem," Link said coldly.  "I'm sure you can think of
some way to convince him... you've been so good at that up until now, over."
	For a moment, Pink's eyes burned with hate, but that quickly died.
There wasn't much point, when it came down to it, to either of them holding 
a
grudge against the other.  "Fine, you win.  Now can I kill him, over?"
	Link turned away.  "Be my guest.  And then we haul him to where Chris
said?  Won't he be surprised. It's getting to be a regular body-dumping 
ground,
over."
	She could hear the smile in her twin's voice back in full force even as
the sound of her rummaging around in her pack for poisons rose ominously.  
"Oh
no.  You said it yourself - Chris's body is on its last legs.  And he's 
going to
go fight some sort of horrible monsters, over?"
	"Yes," Link said after a moment's thought, "that will probably
accelerate the process more than he wants, over."
	"Exactly.  I'm thinking he'll be VERY happy to see us.  So he'll owe
me another one.  Which ought to get us to that Ryugenzawa, over."
	"But do you know where he's going, over?"
	"Hee hee.  Don't worry.  I know EXACTLY where - and who - he's going to
go to, over."

*

	Chris landed lightly in the Tendo's backyard.  He looked around, but
still saw no evidence of surveillance placed on the dojo, and Cologne had 
also
said it seemed clear.  Guess the Tendo Dojo was still below Chronos' radar.
Which was good.  If they'd been spotted here, the Tendo family was all in 
the
same sort of danger that all of the Senshi and their families were in, and 
he
didn't want to feel responsible for that.
	All the more reason to conduct his business quickly.  Well, as quickly
as would be possible.  He hadn't really wanted to come here.  He didn't like 
or
trust Ukyou much; not only for deceiving him back then, but also from 
everything
he'd heard about her since, she had definitely turned into quite the 
not-nice
person.
	But he needed her here.  If they were going to rescue the kidnapped
Sailor Senshi, they'd need to raid Mount Minakami, Chronos' main base of
operations in Japan.  It would be incredibly dangerous and difficult, not 
only
because of the remaining Hyper-Zoanoid Team 5, but the fact that at least 
two of
the nigh-omnipotent zoalords, Reichmann Gyro and Doctor Valkus, resided 
there.
Carrying off something like that... it was beyond his abilities, even with 
his
allies.  Ukyou KNEW what they'd be up against in a way he couldn't explain 
to
the others, and Ranma's skills would be invaluable.  He didn't like it, and 
she
probably wouldn't either, but the fate of the world literally hung in the
balance.  They could work together this once, at least.
	He heard the others landing behind him as he strode towards the back
porch.  That reminded him he'd have to warn the Senshi about what had just
happened to their lives, too.  But later.
	Soun and Genma were on the porch, playing shogi, in a scene that might
as well have been straight out of the manga.  Or it was until they turned 
around
and stared blankly at the small army of colourfully-clad characters who had
descended upon their home.
	"Hi there, sorry to barge in, fate of the world at stake," Chris said
before they could question him.  "Where's Ukyou?"
	"I wouldn't know," Genma said, crossing his arms.
	"Fine, well, Ranma should.  Could you call him down?"
	"Ranma ran out when one of his friends called him on that... phone-thing
he picked up." Soun said, then turned back to Genma.  "By the way, Saotome, 
I've
been meaning to ask... where DID he get such a strange contraption?"
	"I don't know," Genma said, pushing up his glasses.  "But the ungrateful
boy refuses to let me pawn it, and I'll bet it's worth-"
	"Excuse me," Chris broke in, a little impatiently.  Just his luck,
neither of them here.  "Is Akane here, at least?"
	"Oh yes," Soun nodded.  "She's in the dojo practicing."  Then his eyes
widened, and he smacked a fist into his palm.  "Wait!  I know now!  Those 
two...
those are the Sailor Senshi girls that helped save my precious Nabiki!"
	The old man leaped to his feet and ran over to embrace Usagi and Rei,
tears predictably coming from his eyes.  Chris ignored him, and stepped 
close to
Genma.  "Look.  If anyone comes to the door and asks, make sure NOBODY 
mentions
any of us were here.  There's very dangerous people after those girls.  VERY
DANGEROUS.  Kill-you-dangerous."
	Genma began to sweat.  Visibly.  Very visibly.  "And you brought them
HERE?"
	"Like I said, fate of the world at stake.  I meant that literally.
We'll leave as quickly as possible to avoid endangering you, I'm just 
warning
you not to talk about it."
	Genma stared at Chris, recoiling a bit.  Well, he'd sure make certain
nobody put his hide in danger.  One step hopefully accounted for.  He turned
around, started heading towards the dojo.  Usagi seemed to be a bit taken 
aback
by Soun's teary affection.  Rei, on the other hand, almost seemed to not be
noticing.  Strange, but not very important.  Cologne was calmly smoking her 
pipe
on the rock by the koi pond, while Shampoo was standing at the wall, as far 
away
from the dojo as she could, looking grumpy.  That was right, she hated 
Ranma's
guts.  'Funny' turn of circumstances, that.  He wondered how Ukyou had 
managed
it.
	Putting that out of his mind, he stepped into the dojo.  The damage from
his battle with Shampoo had been repaired, unsurprisingly.  Akane was indeed 
in
here, dressed in her yellow gi and flowing smoothly through a series of 
violent-
looking katas.
	Actually, she was flowing VERY smoothly.  More smoothly than Akane
should have been, from his estimates.  Obviously the changed events had 
caused
her to train a lot harder - he guessed she was probably around... well,
Shampoo's level.  Surprising.
	As he gazed at her, Akane noticed him.  She finished her kata
nonetheless, and turned to look at him for a long moment.  Then she walked 
to
the side of the room, and grabbed a towel to dry the sweat off her forehead
before walking towards him.  "Hello, Chris," she said.  Her voice wasn't
hostile, at least: just a little questioning.  "Was there something you 
wanted?"
	"Actually, and unfortunately, yes.  There's a very big problem, and I'm
going to need help with it.  I was hoping you'd know where Ranma and Ukyou 
are."
	Akane looked down at the floor, and sighed for a moment before raising
her head up to meet his gaze again.  "I really... have no idea where Ukyou 
is.
We've... fallen out of touch."
	Damn.  Hoist by his own petard.  Of course, what Ukyou had done to Akane
was reprehensible, but he still could really use her help.  "Hmm.  Well, it
can't be helped, I guess.  How about Ranma?"
	"He said something about going to help Ukyou find Sailor Moon and then
rushed out of the house... like, about a half hour ago."
	Chris stared.  Then he laughed.  It wasn't quite a Kodachi laugh, but it
was still pretty hearty, enough so that he leaned against the dojo wall for 
a
moment for support.
	Akane blinked, then continued to slowly dry herself off with the towel,
giving him a "you are weird" look out of the corner of her eye.
	"I'm sorry," he said finally.  "It's just that's so ironic.  Since, as
it turns out, Sailor Moon is here with me, in the backyard."
	"Oh?" Akane said, walking towards the exit to the dojo.  "Is Sailor
Mercury here too?  I actually kind of wanted to see her again."
	His laughter ceased, and he spoke seriously.  "No.  That is in fact the
problem.  The Sailor Senshi were attacked by a huge, powerful, evil 
organisation
that wanted to kidnap them."
	Akane broke in at that point.  "You mean, a different one than the Dark
Kingdom?"
	"Considerably.  Let me put it this way: comparing the Dark Kingdom to
these guys is like comparing Kunou to, say, Jadeite."
	Akane raised an eyebrow as she slid open the door.  "In terms of how
dangerous they are, or how nasty they are?"
	"Both," he said grimly.  "I managed to save Sailor Moon, and Sailor Mars
escaped somehow, but the other two were captured.  And that's very bad."
	"Okay, what are these bad guys going to do with them?"
	Chris gave her the quick rundown on Chronos as she led him into the
backyard.  Or started to, until about his third sentence, where she froze, 
and
then swung around to stare at him with eyes that increasingly widened 
through
the rest of his explanation.
	As he finished explaining the horror that had occured at Usagi's school,
he was cut off by a loud clatter.  Both he and Akane turned to see Kasumi's 
back
retreating into the interior of the house.  A tray carrying tea - of course 
-
lay forgotten on the ground.
	He turned back to Akane.  "Anyway, you see this is a big, big problem.
I don't think, even with my allies, I can handle this alone.  I don't want 
to
risk leaving them in Chronos' clutches.  I didn't want to put you guys in
danger, but I didn't know who else I could turn to on such short notice."
	Akane gazed at Chris for a moment, then stepped around him and moved
towards Sailor Moon.  "I'm not strong, I'm not fast, I'm not brilliant," she
said, almost to herself, but loud enough for everyone to hear.  "But I owe 
you
for what you did for my sister.  I'm going to help you save your friends... 
and
your family."
	Usagi stood straighter, sort of shrugging off Soun without seeming to do
so.  Her stance... it changed.  Chris knew it was just her going into her 
Regal
Mode; aside from half an hour or so ago, he'd seen it plenty of times even 
in
the limited amount of Sailor Moon he'd watched, but in reality, and this 
close,
it was still impressive.  She hardly seemed like herself, really.
	She stepped forward and put her hand on Akane's shoulder; her face was
solemn, determined, and yet cheerful and radiant at the same time.  "Thank 
you.
But you're the one who really saved all of us back then.  Whatever help you
offer, I'll accept without hesitation, and be honoured for it."
	Akane blushed.  And then was almost dragged to the side as her father's
clutching grasp impacted her side like a missile.  "Akane!  I forbid you to 
go
out to fight evil murdering organisations of monsters that control the world
from the shadows!"
	"Dad..." Akane started, seeming even more embarrassed.  And then she
staggered again as Usagi, all semblance of dignity vanished, glomped onto 
her
from the other side.
	"But she prommiiiiiiised!" Usagi cried, tears streaming.
	At this point, Cologne coughed, not loudly, but in such a way that
everyone automatically stopped what they were doing to focus on her.  "As 
much
as I enjoy the emotional spectacle, children, I must point out that this 
girl
alone will not be able to make the difference in this struggle."
	Chris nodded.  "That's right.  We do have some time before we can rescue
Jupiter and Mercury, because it's a long trip to Mount Minakami.  However, 
other
matters demand more immediate attention."  He turned and affixed the two 
senshi
with a serious look.  "Usagi.  Rei.  I know you don't know me, and I'm not
trying to give you orders.  I'm just telling you the truth.  You, with our 
help,
have to immediately, and I mean -immediately-, go and rescue your families.  
And
by 'rescue', I mean you are going to have to take them from your homes, and 
they
are going to come here, and they are never going home ever again.  Neither 
are
you."
	They had nothing immediately to say to that, so he continued.  "You must
understand that your lives, as you knew them, are over.  Chronos knows your
identities, and they won't forget.  Your families will be leverage against 
you.
They hopefully haven't done anything yet because they were expecting to 
capture
you, but they WILL target your families.  Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but
soon.  There is nothing they will not do to get at you.  They will kidnap 
your
families, torture them, turn them into zoanoids, or kill them.  Whatever it
takes.  They have to vanish.  So does Ami's family.  And so do you."
	Rei gave him a long, expressionless look.  Then she turned around and
walked to the back of the yard.
	Usagi's expression was considerably more animated.  And wet.  "But... I
don't wanna vanish!  I was just about to ask Motoki out!"
	He wanted to snap at her, but tried to keep his temper this time.
Still, his voice had a edge of hostility even to him.  "Usagi.  Remember 
what
they did to the people at your school.  You can't let them near your family.
You understand, right?"
	Sailor Moon shook her head violently, her pigtails whipping about her in
an absurd fashion.  "No no no, I can't do this!  If I tell my parents about 
all
of this, they'll ground me for-"
	"Usagi!" Rei barked.  She still hadn't turned around.  "Stop being such
a crybaby and get ready to do what he says!"  Then she turned, stalking back
towards them.  "We'll disappear from here, but we can set up new lives 
somewhere
else.  We'll just have to be more careful, so they can't find us out again."
	Usagi seemed to be cowed by Rei, at least for the moment.  Chris nodded,
thankful the raven-haired priestess had lost her temper before he had.  "All
right.  That's step one.  Since Ukyou's actually looking for Sailor Moon, 
she or
Ranma should come to us soon; if nothing else, Ranma will come home.  Then 
we
can set out to save Ami and Makoto."
	"Ukyou is looking for me?" Usagi said, tilting her head to the side.
	"We don't need her help!" Rei snapped instantly.
	"Hmmm? From the way Chris has described this Ukyou, I for one would
think her help would be invaluable," Cologne pointed out, waving her pipe in
Rei's direction. Rei frowned at her.
	"Granny is right," Akane said with a sigh and crossed her arms. "Ukyou
may be... a bit of a bitch, but she's very good at winning. She also knows 
the
future, so she probably knows as much about this Chronos thing as Chris here
does."
	"The future?" Rei's eyes flashed. "You mean the future she is going to
destroy?"
	A long silence filled the Tendo's backyard in the wake of that verbal
hand grenade.
	"Rei! Don't tell me you believe that..."
	"Face it, Usagi, that boy was telling us the truth. He tried to warn us,
before we took his Rainbow Crystal." Rei tossed her head, her long locks 
flying
behind her. "He warned us that evil wanted to separate and destroy us. And 
we
dismissed his warnings. Just like you dismissed his warning about Ukyou."
	"Warnings about Ukyou?" Akane said loudly. Chris turned his gaze to her,
but remained quiet. For some reason, he couldn't think of anything to say, 
even
though he had a million things he wanted to say.
	"You haven't heard them, then?" Rei walked up to Akane. "Ukyou is going
to be the end of us. Of this world. Of everything. That's why Sailor Pluto, 
the
Guardian of Time, is after her. One day Ukyou will be fighting a terrible
opponent in the future and she will tap into some sort of dangerous power... 
and
when she unleashes it at full force, it will unmake everything!"
	"You can't be serious!" Akane insisted.
	"I can and I am," Rei snarled. "I don't see why we should place our
faith in someone who is destined to become our enemy!"
	"Ukyou would never hurt..." Akane suddenly trailed off. Rei frowned and
stepped closer to her.
	"You've seen it, haven't you?"
	"No. I have no idea what this whole destiny thing is-"
	"No. I mean... you've seen something about Ukyou. You've seen her use
it. The dangerous power Urawa warned us about." Rei nodded. "You don't have 
to
confirm it, I can see it in your eyes."
	Akane had nothing to say to that.
	But Chris did.  "You're serious?  Sailor Pluto and... that psychic guy,
whatshisname, told you Ukyou is going to destroy the future?"
	"Sailor Pluto didn't tell us directly," Rei said, her voice a little
calmer, but still smouldering with anger underneath.  "But she told us Ukyou 
was
the Enemy.  And she's been trying to kill Ukyou ever since we first met both 
of
them."
	"But... why?  I don't like Ukyou, but... what is she supposed to do?
Why?"
	"Like I said.  She gets into a fight against some opponent, and she's
got scars and tattoos and such by then.  The details don't seem to be 
important.
But what she does is... some sort of attack that unmakes the universe.  
Turns it
into complete nothingness.  The end of Time.  Whatever you want to call it."
	Chris stared.  This made no sense.  Ukyou was drunk with her power,
manipulative, selfish... but there was no reason for her to do that.  None 
at
all.
	Rei tapped her chin.  "He also said it was going to happen because Ukyou
gave in to some sort of force.  Something inside her."
	Something inside her...
	Unmaking everything...
	A memory suddenly snapped into Chris's mind, as clear as if it had been
yesterday, and not years and lifetimes ago.
	He remember walking back into the living room of the apartment he'd
shared with his girlfriend Jenn and Rob Kelk.  Aaron was on the couch, then,
watching the TV.  Super-deformed Oh My Goddess characters cavorted around it 
in
mildly amusing fashion.  Neither of them liked that series (to say the 
least),
but Rob had enthusiastically "encouraged" them to watch the Mini-Goddess
offshoot while Aaron was up for his annoyingly brief visit.  And, of course,
Aaron would watch pretty much anything someone turned on in front of him, 
rather
than argue, so that's what they watched.  It helped that it wasn't THAT bad. 
  At
least Belldandy wasn't in it much.
	Chris popped open the can of Coke, and sat down again on the couch.  He
shifted position to get the weight off his bad hip.  Mini-Goddesses was all
right.  But not so enthralling he wouldn't talk through it.  "You know, the
whole premise of Oh My Goddess was the first thing that pissed me off about 
it."
	"Everything pisses you off," Aaron said unconcernedly, leaning back and
closing his eyes.  He did that a lot.  Mostly to be annoying.
	"Well, consider - Keiichi got a wish.  A WISH, from the closest thing to
God that exists in that world.  Does he wish for peace for mankind?  For a 
cure
for cancer?  To be a god himself?  For anything even remotely useful?  No.  
He
wants an effing HOUSEMAID cum sex toy.  This is supposed to be a guy who
deserved a noble reward?  He's supposed to be the hero I support?  He's 
worse
than Tenchi."
	"Well, I suppose the wish could be given to worse candidates," Aaron
noted drily.
	"Yes, but it sure as hell could have been given to better.  'I want
someone to cook for, clean for, and screw me.'  I mean, seriously.  Even 
most
no-life geeks could pretend to something a little more meaningful."
	"Maybe that was the whole point.  Maybe the god of the OMG universe
doesn't WANT anything meaningful to happen, so the wishes go to useless 
dorks
like Keiichi, who wish for things so meaningless they will have no impact."
	"But WHY?  What's the points of wishes, then?"
	"I guess it's the only way to explain how the universe exists without
'D&D-style screw-you-over' wishes."
	Chris leaned back and took a gulp of Coke.  Aaron was fidgeting with
some little metal thing.  Not that that was unusual.  The man was never 
STILL.
"Yeah, well, if you gave ME a wish, I'd do something a little better than 
that."
	"Like what?" Aaron drawled.  "The ability to instantly create anime-to-
order whenever you envision it?  I can see how that would make the world a
better place.  I'm SURE you'd donate all your profits to meaningful 
charities."
	Chris affected a look of mock indignation.  Anyone else, that tone of
voice would've meant contemptuous insult.  But, after all, it was Aaron.  
Par
for the course. "Puh-leez.  For starters, if wishes exist, the supernatural
exists.  If the supernatural exists, the world has far less boundaries than
we've been led to believe.  So why waste a wish on something so mundane?"  
He
paused for a moment, thinking.
	Aaron broke in.  "The supernatural doesn't exist for a good reason."
	He countered immediately.  "The supernatural doesn't exist because it
doesn't exist.  There's no 'reason' for it, unless you've converted to a
religion lately."
	"I'm just saying the supernatural -couldn't- exist.  Not in a world..."
he waved his hand, searching for the right words, "Not in a world that makes
SENSE.  Not in a world that's -right-."
	"Interesting supposition.  How do you back it up?  Why couldn't a world
have the supernatural?"
	Aaron opened his eyes again and looked over at Chris for the first time
since the conversation started.  "That means there would have to be elves or
goblins or demons or mages or gods or martial arts death machines or 
whatever,
that were powers unto themselves.  That were MORE than people.  And not 
'more'
as in richer, or having more resources.  These beings would be WORTH more 
than
you or me.  Our opinions would suddenly not matter.  The entirety of society
would be dictated terms to by those who had the magic."
	Chris grinned.  "Really, that's only a macrocosm of the real world.  Our
opinions DON'T matter, here and now, in any significant sense if we don't 
have
resources or money or some other form of influence available to the 
privileged
few.  When was the last time a President of the US, or one of our Prime
Ministers, wasn't rich?  When was the last time an ordinary person changed 
the
world?  Only way I can think of is to assassinate people... pretty much 
anybody
can pull that off if they want to badly enough.  But even that isn't much of 
an
influence; you can just catalyse events that will sooner or later spiral out 
of
any control or prediction."
	"And you say making the god-kings of the world invincible would somehow
improve this situation?" Aaron countered, his voice taking on a solemn tone.
	"Heh.  It would CHANGE the situation.  See, the thing is, when one man
can truly become an island, society changes beyond recognition.  Because 
talent
isn't really hereditary, and nearly all the fantasies carry that thought.  
Sure,
the god-kings would be even more powerful.  But also more vulnerable.  In a
world like that, one man - or woman, or alien, or it, or whatever - CAN 
truly
make all the difference.  One being can come from rise out of the muck, 
through
talent and dedication and hard work, and change everything.  In a world like
that, EVERYONE can have wishes.  Of course," he added with a shrug,  "not
everyone will get them."
	Aaron leaned back on the couch again.  The little metal thingie had been
dropped off the coffee table, and he was still.  THAT only happened when he 
was
thinking seriously about something.
	Chris continued his earlier thought.  "Sure, I recognise that there'd be
huge problems with that world - it'd be NOTHING like ours, really.  And it 
would
be even rougher than ours on the people on the bottom.  But the 
possibilities!
The possibilities, the dreams, the wishes in that world would be so much
brighter, rise so much higher, accomplish so much MORE than anything that 
could
happen in reality.  It's selfish, but I'd prefer a world like that.  Where I
could shoot for something.  Something greater than a college degree, or a 
job I
can hold onto, or even publishing a book.  Where I could aim to do ANYTHING, 
and
know I had a chance of succeeding."
	"Good for you," Aaron said with even more than his usual lack of
anything resembling tact.
	Chris rolled his eyes.  His friend was taking this way too seriously.
"This isn't really a philosophical debate, dummy.  Lighten up.  Say YOU were 
in
a world like that.  What would you do with wishes at your fingertips?"
	Aaron opened his eyes, leaned forward, and ran a hand through his bangs
in that oh-so-familiar gesture.  When he spoke, his voice was deadly 
serious,
utterly calm.  "I'd make them go away."
	"Huh?"
	"If I had access to the power to make wishes, I'd use it to get rid of
all the other wishes.  I don't ever want to be in a world like that.  It
shouldn't exist."
	"Bah.  You're no fun."
	"Indeed," he said, and they turned back to watch Urd suckering the rat
into some inane scheme again.
	And in the reality he knew now, Chris blinked.  Rei was standing there,
staring expectantly.  It had only been an instant.  But it felt like hours.
	Ukyou was going to unmake the world?
	No.
	Not Ukyou.
	How could he have not figured it out?  How could he have been so STUPID?
Her cold demeanour.  Her far more brutal fighting.  Running her hand through 
her
bangs. Saying "indeed" all the time.
	She never acted like Ukyou.  He'd known that from the beginning.
	But he'd never put two and two together until now.  Why?
	Because she'd told him Aaron was dead.
	Which he was.  Dead like him.  But not like him at all.
	She'd LIED.  And Chris had believed her lies, because it wouldn't make
sense for Aaron to treat him like that.  Aaron was his best friend.
	But he had.
	Chris snapped out of his reverie at the sound of a shuffling step.  Rei
was backing away from him, and her angry confidence appeared to have 
half-melted
in the face of whatever she had seen in his expression.
	Good.
	His voice was perfectly calm, emotionless.  "Now you know what you have
to do.  You don't need me for the moment.  I have things to do."
	Cologne piped up.  "Where are you going, boy?"
	He turned around, walked towards the wall.  "I thought it was clear.
I'm going to find Ukyou.  I can handle that myself.  Nobody needs to follow 
me."
He let a little extra coldness bleed into the last part.
	Nobody said a thing to him as he leaped over the wall and to the nearby
rooftop.
	He was going to find Ukyou, all right.  And once he did...
	They would discuss the topic of wishes.

*

	Ukyou collided with something metal and thick with enough force to cause
it to bend. A gasp of pain escaped her lips and she slumped to the ground. 
She
blinked her eyes open and saw Hayato stepping out of a swirling disc of 
water.
He gestured absently behind him with the talisman around his neck and the 
portal
vanished.
	"Where are we?" Aaron said as he eased to his feet. Hayato seemed
content to let him regain his footing, but his eyes never wavered off Ukyou.
They appeared to be in some sort of construction site. Did Hayato just have 
a
thing for them? They were at the bottom of... whatever it was. Huge walls 
rose
up about them on all sides, a stiff salty breeze drifted down from the open
roof, tall spires of beams and girders rose in all directions, decked with 
half-
dimmed floodlights and the catwalks of the workers hung about with plastic
sheets rippling in the breeze, giving the impression that Ukyou had fallen 
into
a cavern of ghosts. In the distance, Ukyou could hear the electric hum of
powerful generators.
	"A suitable place for your demise," Hayato said slowly. "I looked long
and hard for it." He stepped forward and spun with his arms outstretched 
before
facing her again. "I knew that this battle had to be more than just a brawl 
in
the street. Such an epic end to our rivalry demanded an epic location."
	"Hayato..." Ukyou clenched her hands into fists. Her coat was missing,
and with it her collection of throwing spatulas. Her staff was missing as 
well.
In fact, she had none of her weapons. This was not good. "Hayato, is there 
any
of you even still in there?"
	"Hmmm?" Hayato quirked his head to the side.
	"Are you still even Hayato at all, or are you the youma that has
possessed him?" Ukyou shifted stances, trying to lower her profile as much 
as
possible.
	"Oh, I'm still Hayato," the ugly-faced boy said with a grin. "You see,
you were half-right. I am in league with a youma, but not one that still 
serves
the Dark Kingdom." He folded his arms across his chest. "She needs me. Not 
just
my body, but me. She wanted my techniques, my knowledge of the martial arts. 
So
we made a deal. She gives me back my body, and I give her all my experience 
and
training in return."
	"I see..." Aaron said softly, frowning.
	"NO, you don't!" Hayato suddenly shouted. Aaron could see him sprinting
forward, but Ukyou couldn't move in time to avoid his backhand. Her cheek
exploded in pain, and she found herself flying through the air again. 
Somehow
she righted herself and managed to land before crashing into another wall.
Hayato was still standing with his fist extended when he spoke next. "You 
think
you're smart, don't you, Ukyou? But you never realized the trail of enemies 
you
were creating." He chuckled. "How many people's lives have you destroyed? 
You
crippled me. You killed her lover. Because of these sins, both of us are as 
good
as dead."
	Hayato turned to face Ukyou again. "In a moment, I'll introduce the two
of you. But first, I get to have a bit of fun. That was the deal."
	Ukyou didn't wait for him to attack. She was already sprinting forward,
bent low to the ground, by the time he had started his second sentence. 
Hayato
smiled and leapt up, and Ukyou leapt to meet him.
	They met in mid-air in a flash of fists and feet. Ukyou was a vortex of
blows, striking mostly on instinct. But Hayato simply flowed and swayed 
around
her attacks, delivering stinging but undamaging counterblows. With a curse,
Ukyou kicked off him and backflipped through the air. She landed on one of 
the
platforms scattered about the cavern. Hayato had been knocked back by her 
kick,
but landed with equal ease on a platform across the center of the gaping 
cavern.
	"Heh. I can't believe it." Hayato shook his head. "I'm... even stronger
than before." He rose a fist up and slowly uncurled his fingers. "I guess
draining all those people dry gave me more strength than I thought it 
would."
	"Draining..." Ukyou gasped.
	"Heh. What did you expect?" Hayato spread his arms and laughed, but
there was no mirth in it. "She IS a youma. Draining humans dry is what she 
does.
I just didn't expect to have so much chi afterwards."
	"Hayato, what have I done to you..." Ukyou said slowly.
	"DON'T PITY ME!"
	Ukyou dove to the side, barely avoiding Hayato's flying thrust kick. His
blow snapped the wooden platform in two and he sailed past her, still flying
with the momentum of his cavern-spanning leap. Ukyou caught a girder and 
spun
about it like a gymnast before launching herself in the other direction. She
came to a rest on the floor of the chamber.
	Hayato was standing up on the floor almost thirty meters away. Aaron did
a few quick calculations in his head. Unless Hayato had been holding back, 
he
could reach them in a few seconds. He was much too fast for them. Not as 
fast as
Rose, but a bit stronger... They needed weapons. There was no way they could 
win
fighting barehanded.
	Hayato wasn't talking anymore as he charged them, his form practically
blurring out of view. His face was a mask of anger. Apparently Ukyou had hit 
a
nerve. But there was no time to consider that. Instead she dashed to the 
side,
leading him into the forest of steel beams.
	As Aaron had hoped, Hayato was forced to slow down to avoid crashing
into one of the beams at full speed. But still he pursued her relentlessly.
Ukyou sidestepped and backpeddled, always moving to place a barrier between 
her
and him. But he flowed through the forest with ease, and within three moves 
had
caught her with a kick. Ukyou collided with a girder, but didn't pause as 
she
rebounded into a flip over his head. His hand snagged her foot and then she 
was
crashing facefirst into the floor.
	"This is where pity gets you," Hayato insisted, tightening his grip on
her ankle. "Let's see how nimble you are after I break your leg." There was 
a
savage glee in Hayato's voice as he spoke, and Ukyou cried out as he twisted 
her
ankle viciously.
	Aaron focused through the pain and saw a discarded piece of cloth
nearby. With a desperate lunge Ukyou snatched it up and flipped, launching
herself into the air. Her ankle nearly snapped as Hayato refused to release
her... but a second later he let out a startled scream as Ukyou whipped the
cloth into his face. The blow hadn't really hurt him, just surprised him. It 
was
enough to get him to release her.
	Ukyou handsprung away and landed badly, her ankle almost twisting out
under her. Aaron frowned. Their foot couldn't take much more. Ukyou agreed 
with
him silently and limped backwards. Then Aaron spotted what he hoped would 
help
even the odds.
	"You little bitch," Hayato hissed as he stepped towards them. "I'm going
to enjoy this..."
	"I'm sorry, Hayato," Ukyou said slowly. "I never meant for it to end
like this."
	"Never meant..." Hayato's eyes bulged and he trailed off, choking on his
own rage. "NEVER MEANT! Don't give me your empty platitudes!"
	Aaron had focused his senses down to a pinprick, and sensed the motion
of Hayato's blow before it even started. The boy's punch rolled by in front 
of
her nose as Ukyou faded away, continuing on to shatter a metal pole into a
million splinters. Hayato winced and leaned back as the razor-sharp cloud 
drew
angry red lines on his face. Ukyou didn't. Closing her eyes and mouth she 
leapt
through the cloud, a dozen lines of pain etched across her body, then she 
was
clear.
	Hayato wasted no time pursuing her. Ukyou pushed everything she had into
her wind chakra, pouring on the speed. Aaron was her eyes, barking silent 
orders
that somehow allowed her to run at full tilt through the closely packed 
metal
girders, weaving and flashing within millimeters of collisions every moment.
Hayato was no longer running around the girders, but through. Aaron could 
hear
the metal snapping and tearing as he gave chase. Then Ukyou reached their
destination.
	They skidded to a stop, kicking up a dome of dust, and the sheets around
them snapped and cracked in the sudden wind. Hayato was upon them a moment
later. Ukyou ducked his first blow, but didn't even try to dodge his kick.
Instead she let the blow throw her into the air. She sailed up, blinking 
away
tears of pain as her stomach protested. But up here was where the toolbelt 
had
been.
	At the exact peak of their flight Aaron snapped out his hand and grabbed
the belt. Hayato frowned up at them, and as Ukyou plummeted he stepped 
aside.
Ukyou threw the belt aside. She now carried a screwdriver in each hand.
	"You think those little toys will help you?" Hayato said, laughing.
	Ukyou didn't reply. She stepped forward, spinning the tools in her
hands. Hayato twitched to the side as she stabbed once, then his forearm 
crashed
into her side. Ukyou winced, but her ribs didn't break. She slashed out with 
her
other hand and Hayato hopped away. Even as he did, Ukyou stepped back and
flicked both hands forward. The screwdrivers spun forward, buzzing through 
the
air at him. Hayato laughed and leapt up, the weapons flying under him.
	Good.
	Ukyou dashed after her projectiles, passing under Hayato. Aaron heard
him land lightly behind them. The ugly-faced boy was dashing after them a 
moment
later, and Aaron could feel the air pushing against his back as the boy's 
blow
came in. Then Ukyou ducked and Hayato's blow went wild. Her hand snapped out 
and
snatched a long metal bar. The bar which her flung screwdrivers had neatly
bisected a fraction of a second ago into the perfect length for a staff.
	Hayato's eyes widened as Ukyou spun to her feet and whirled the staff
around her. She pushed with her chi, capturing all her momentum in the 
swing.
The bar caught Hayato on the cheek and for a second his face distorted
comically with the impact, then he was flying away. He crashed into a metal
pole, snapping it like a twig. A second later, half the structure collapsed 
on
him. Ukyou couldn't help but appreciate the irony, since that wouldn't have
happened if Hayato hadn't been smashing apart the supports so wantonly.
	Ukyou spun the makeshift staff around her a few times, testing its
balance, then settled into a stance with the weapon held just behind her. 
The
metal pole had a spiral of thin metal around its entire length that cut 
lightly
into her hand, but beggars couldn't be choosers. After all, Aaron could 
still
feel the pulse of Hayato's chi from under the debris. This wasn't over.
	"Hehah," Hayato's laughter came out of the pile. "You are as clever as
you always were. I... urg... had hoped to be able to play with you more. 
But...
it appears my time is up..."
	Ukyou shifted her stance, moving back a few steps. Aaron could feel
Hayato's chi suddenly spike, so strong it almost gave him a headache. The
explosion didn't catch him off guard, and Ukyou was able to deflect the 
girders
and debris sent her way with a few elegant twists of her bar. For a moment, 
the
only sound was the loud hum of generators in the distance. Then a tremendous
splash as the bubble of water that had burst out from the center of the
shattered pile fell to the floor.
	As the curtain of water descended, Ukyou's new opponent was revealed.
She wasn't tall, but seemed to somehow have a presence to her that Ukyou
couldn't deny. She had short black hair that fell wetly behind her, and a 
tiara
with huge golden spines rising from its apex that gave her the illusion of
horns. Her eyes were red and glowed with infernal light, and her skin was 
the
color of the sea on a sunny day. Her face was beautiful, with soft flowing
lines. She was clad in a pair of skintight navy leggings, with the inner 
thigh
just below her crotch cut free. She wore a metallic blue breastplate that 
hugged
the curves of her chest, and barely covered anything else. At first, Aaron
thought the trio of quill-like horns that came out of her upper arms were
decorations, but then he realised that they were growing from her flesh. Her
forearms and hands were wrapped in strips of bright blue leather. Something
about her tickled at the back of Aaron's memory.
	"So... I guess you're my real enemy..." Ukyou said leadingly, hoping to
buy time.
	"Don't try to fool me, girl," the youma-woman said as she stepped
forward gracefully. "My name is Tethys. You killed the man I loved. I shall 
kill
you... no, I shall BREAK you!"
	"Tethys..." Ukyou frowned. "Wait... you're the youma that served
Jadeite!" She pointed at the youma-woman. "But I thought you died..."
	"Oh no..." Tethys chuckled. "An oversight that is going to destroy you,
I'm afraid."
	Aaron felt Tethys gathering power, and Ukyou knew the time for words was
over. She snapped into a defensive stance as the woman dashed towards them.
Tethys moved fast, and skillfully... but no faster or better than Hayato 
had.
Ukyou leaned to the side, avoiding her first punch and then cartwheeled away
from the rest. Tethys came after her, easily closing the distance, and Ukyou 
was
forced to resort to more dodging.
	But Aaron couldn't help but think there was something else. The youma
that Hayato had turned into was strong... still faster and stronger than 
Ukyou,
but no more so than Hayato had been. Maybe he had been watching too much
Dragonball, thinking that any transformation should involve a massive jump 
in
power...
	The thought cut off as Tethys finally managed to tag them with a sharp
kick as Ukyou's ankle briefly betrayed her. Ukyou staggered back, then lost 
all
track of time for a moment as Tethys stepped in and delivered a combination 
that
sent Ukyou spiralling to the ground.
	Thankfully she hadn't lost her grip on her makeshift staff. As Tethys
stepped towards their prone form, Aaron gauged her exact distance... then 
Ukyou
was up and spinning. Tethys was fast, but had already committed herself to 
an
attack. Ukyou's staff swung up and into the youma's waist... and right 
through
it without pausing.
	Ukyou barely had time to register this before Tethys' punch crushed her
nose. The blow drove Ukyou into the ground with enough force that it cracked
around her in a spiderweb. Ukyou gasped for air, blood flowing from her 
face.
Tethys picked her up by the collar with one hand.
	"Surprise," the woman said, grinning. Ukyou kicked up, only to feel her
leg pass through Tethys body. It was like kicking a lake, even to the point 
that
her leg came away soaked. "You can't hurt me, little girl!"
	Tethys smashed Ukyou against the nearest girder with enough force to
crack it in two, then proceeded to smash her against another, and another. 
Ukyou
began to scream after the third blow, and she couldn't even feel her back 
after
the seventh. She lost count after that. Finally, Tethys let her collapse to 
the
ground.
	Aaron reached out and his fingers clamped around the pole. Tethys had
been arrogant enough to drop them within reach of it. He could hear her
laughing, but chose to ignore that. Ukyou and he worked together, slowly
regaining their feet.
	"Come now, Ukyou," Tethys said smoothly. "Is this the best you have?
Where is that precious power of yours? The power that let you kill my 
master,
and destroy Hayato?"
	Ukyou choose not to answer. Instead she leapt back, away from the youma.
The blue-skinned woman hopped after them, easily keeping pace in mid-air. As
they floated backwards, Tethys took all the time in the world to wind up for 
a
haymaker. Ukyou snapped her staff up, and easily intercepted the clumsy
strike... only to have Tethys fist part around it like a rushing river. 
Ukyou
cried out in shock and pain and was smashed into the floor again.
	"Really, this is pathetic." Tethys stalked over as Ukyou struggled to
lift herself. A swift kick caught Ukyou in the ribs and she felt them snap
again, before she was lifted and sent flying into another pole. Somehow, she
kept her grip on the rebar. Though she didn't know why she bothered. "You 
little
bitch, don't ruin this for me," Tethys growled. "I want to humiliate you,
destroy you, defeat you utterly. Nothing less will satisfy me!"
	"You seem to be doing a good job of that," Aaron hissed as he used the
pole as a support to rise to his feet.
	"Not good enough!" Tethys roared and flashed forward. Ukyou threw
herself to the side, barely escaping another haymaker. "Come at me with
everything you have, Ukyou." The youma turned and regarded Ukyou coolly. 
"Use
that power you have. Fight me full out. Only when I defeat you at your peak,
will you truly understand that I have destroyed you. Only once your spirit 
is
totally crushed will I let you die!"
	Ukyou stared back up at Tethys. She rose up from her knees. Tethys was
faster than her... stronger than her. She was faster and stronger than even
Hayato had been originally, and Ukyou hadn't grown even to his level in the 
time
since their fight. She had been training, trying to master her chi using the
five chakra theory, but her progress had been so slow...
	But it didn't have to be. Aaron closed his eyes for a moment, and had no
trouble feeling that power inside of them. It didn't pulse, or do anything 
else
inviting. It was simply there. If they tapped into that power, they could 
become
stronger and faster. They could even exceed Tethys. Aaron knew this was 
true.
	It would only have to be for a moment. Just a few seconds. How much harm
could it do? And what choice did they have? Tethys would kill them, and 
there
was no hope that Hayato's human heart would sway her to mercy at the last
second. Tethys had dragged them to a very private battlefield. There would 
be no
cavalry charge this time. The only person who had a habit of finding Ukyou 
at
times like this was Sailor Pluto...
	And that was the fix, wasn't it? Aaron opened his eyes. He could see
Tethys lips curling expectantly. The youma-woman settled into a fighting 
stance
that exactly mirrored Hayato's. Ukyou and Aaron could tap into that power, 
but
what then? How many times would they have to make this choice, between death 
and
using that unnamed force inside of them? A force that, Ukyou now knew, had
tainted them somehow. Every time they had used it, they had come away a 
little
worse as a human being. How many times would they have to do that, before 
the
vision Sailor Pluto had seen came true?
	"No," Aaron said.
	"What?"
	"No," Ukyou said.
	"What do you mean, no?" Tethys growled.
	"I mean, I will not fight you with that power." Ukyou straightened
herself and eased into her combat stance. "I will not give myself over to
darkness like you did, Hayato. I am no hero, but I refuse to live if that 
means
I become a monster like you!" Tethys took a step back, obviously confused. 
"If I
must die, I will do so as a human being! So come on then and bring your best
shot. I will fight you. And if I die, then I died as ME!"
	Ukyou charged. Tethys' eyes quivered with rage, her lips peeled back
from her teeth. Ukyou wasn't sure what she was going to do when she reached
Tethys... but it became a moot point. With a gesture there was suddenly a 
wall
of water between them. Ukyou screamed as the wall crashed over them with the
force of a tsunami. She tumbled in the water for a second, before crashing
against the far wall of the chamber.
	Aaron coughed as the water receded. He rose up to all fours and heard
Tethys stalking towards them over the loud hum of the electric turbines. He
looked up and saw her raising one hand slowly into the air over her head, 
the
fingers curled into a bowl. As he watched, the water around them began to 
spin
and draw away. Ukyou rose them up to their feet as Tethys continued to work 
her
magic. The water continued to spin and withdraw, until it was a thin river 
that
spun around Ukyou on all sides about a meter away. Occasionally the water
snapped up in quick sheets, but it never splashed inside the circle Tethys 
had
created.
	"You say you won't fight me with your full power because you are afraid
of what it will do to you?" Tethys' voice was almost calm now. "Well, well,
well... Let us test that resolve of yours, Ukyou Kuonji. Your death will be 
all
the sweeter if I can break your will, force you to use that power, and then
defeat you anyway." Tethys chuckled. "I will make you die a monster."
	"Nothing can make me!"
	"We shall see." Suddenly Tethys snapped her fingers together... and the
river around Ukyou smashed inward. She tried to jump away, but her ribs
protested the sudden movement, then she was caught.
	Ukyou wasn't sure what was happening at first. The cascade of water
hadn't hit with any real force. It simply slammed in on all sides and she 
found
herself trapped in a pillar of water. She tried to step forward... and then 
was
thrown back as the liquid began to spin about her. She struggled to maintain 
her
balance as the entire pillar became a cyclone, twisting her about in 
currents
that would have put a whirlpool to shame. Her mouth opened involuntarily, 
and
water suddenly streamed into her lungs. Aaron clamped their mouth closed, 
but
too late. They had lost most of their precious air.
	Ukyou flailed about, but the current had carried her off the floor. She
was now floating in the cyclone, spinning so fast the vertigo was making her
nauseous. There was no purchase, no stable surface to grab onto. All she 
could
do was spin and clamp her hand over her mouth and nose, trying to hold in 
the
air. She felt herself growing dizzy, growing faint.
	Spots of darkness began to dance across her eyes.
	It was growing harder to think.
	She was dying.
	A part of her paused at this thought. A part of her wondered if that was
really so bad. Didn't it mean an end to all the pain, an end to all the 
constant
battles?
	But a much larger part of her roared in silent rage. She would not die!
Not like this! Not when there was so much left to do! She still had to 
redeem
herself for what she had done to Akane, and Ranma and everyone else. Aaron
railed with her, unwilling to accept this. They would NOT die here!
	The power rested deep in their shared psyche. Ukyou brushed her will
against it, not tapping in. The world around her was growing faint. She had 
lost
control of her mouth. The water was flowing freely into her lungs. She 
realised
that drowning really was like falling asleep.
	Aaron brushed his will against that power, his power. It was his
birthright, wasn't it? As his mind began to drift, as the world seemed to 
flow
away he felt like he was dreaming. How wrong could it be, to use a power 
that
was rightfully his? How much of a monster was he, that just using his own 
chi
made him into a worse one?
	The power remained untouched. They could feel their wills hovering at
the edge of it, almost there but not quite.
	And Aaron realized that his will was outside it. How could his will be
outside of that power, if it was somehow 'his'? As he felt the dream 
beginning
to give away to darkness at the edges, as he felt Ukyou and his own mind 
begin
to sink away, he realized that the power was not within HIM. It was BETWEEN
them, in some sharp cleft between his soul and Ukyou's...
	The power was not of him, not of her. It was Other. It was Outside.
	What was it?
	They had gone completely still. Only the spinning motion of the water
kept their body moving. They couldn't breathe. The world was dark. They 
would
die without knowing.
	No.
	Please no.
	Oh god, I don't want to die.
	For some reason they saw Ranma now, and Akane beside him. There was no
way to tell if this was their memory, or something from the anime, or just a
phantasm. Ranma and Akane were laughing, and they looked at them. They 
reached
out.
	There was something cold preventing Ukyou from reaching them.
	Cold...
	Wind and Void. Motion ceases. Cold.
	The answer...
	Suddenly their hand latched onto something. It was cold and sharp. There
were dozens of them, all around her. It was real, not a phantom. Their eyes
snapped open.
	Ice. There was ice everywhere. It was forming along Ukyou's skin. It was
swirling in the whirlpool around them.
	Without thinking about it, they shoved down with all their power.
Suddenly there was ice at their feet. Not much, but enough. It was purchase.
With a thrust, they kicked off the ice. Then they were free. The water 
parted
around them. The air of the construction site was cold against their 
waterlogged
flesh.
	They collapsed on the ground, vomiting water and swallowing the sweet,
beautiful air in ragged gulps. Their limbs quivered. Their strength was all 
but
gone. The cold chi had saved their life, but exhausted them. They raised 
their
head, hearing the footsteps approach.
	"You escaped," Tethys declared evenly. "But you still haven't used that
power of yours. I can tell." She raised her hands and water began to spin 
around
the youma in a tight spiral. "I will not let you escape with clever tricks!"
	Somehow, they found the strength to avoid the blast. It was shaped to a
point, exactly like Hayato's needle-weapon. The blast tore a hole in the 
floor.
Then they were flipping away, staying a centimeter ahead of the hundreds of
needle-tipped jets of water. They ran out of space, and ducked under the 
last
few.
	"Heh. It's useless to run..."
	With a wordless scream, they charged Tethys as she started her speech.
The woman cut off, but only chuckled and stood still. She didn't even move 
to
block as they swung their fist up at her cheek. The look of surprise on her 
face
as the blow sent her flying back across the cavern was priceless.
	"How the hell..." Tethys roared and reached up to touch her cheek. She
was too far away for Ukyou to see clearly, but she heard the youma hiss and 
saw
her hand withdraw. "Ice? Ice!" Tethys stood up. "You somehow froze me even 
as
you struck..." the youma speculated. "Heh. I guess you do have some fight in
you..."
	But they knew that wasn't true. Their knees felt like rubber. Their ribs
were screaming, they could barely stand on their ankle. There was no more
strength left to give. That had been the last of it. There wasn't enough chi 
to
force her aura to become cold enough for that to work again. If they had 
tapped
that Other power, focused all its strength into the blow... it could have 
frozen
Tethys solid. They knew it could have. It would have frozen her liquid body 
and
shattered her.
	Killed her. Killed Hayato.
	"Come on, Ukyou," Tethys raised her arms to the heavens. "It's time for
the end game!"
	There was a sharp crack of thunder, and then it began to rain.

*

	Akane glanced down the street. She was sure she had seen something, but
the street was empty. Still, the back of her neck was tingling, and that 
always
meant trouble. She glanced over at the quartet of people that was following 
her
and frowned.
	"Mr. Tsukino, I suggest you wait until we're inside," she suggested as
she pushed open the gate to her family's home. Mr. Tsukino looked over at 
her,
breaking off from the lecture he was giving his daughter. He was a 
middle-aged
man, his receding hair and his nose-pinching glasses adding nothing to his
average looks.
	"I'm certain you are a responsible young lady," the gentleman told her
in a short voice. "But this is between me and my daughter. I want to know 
why
she felt the need to keep these little superheroic excursions such a 
secret!"
	"To prevent exactly what is happening now," Akane guessed aloud. "Now
get inside."
	Akane didn't like to be rude, but she couldn't get that irritating
feeling to go away. So she shoved the man lightly to get him to move inside. 
He
stumbled into the yard, a look of adult shock on his face. Akane bowed her 
head
apologetically then gestured for the rest of his family to follow him in. 
Mrs.
Tsukino did so, the same shell-shocked look on her face that had been on it
ever since Usagi had transformed for them. The little boy (Shingi? Shogo?)
guided her in, holding one of her hands. He kept glancing at Akane with the
weirdest expression on his face. Usagi entered last, cradling her talking 
cat
(talking cat!) in her arms.
	"Thank you very much," the cat said as Usagi passed by Akane. Akane just
nodded and smiled thinly. She didn't know which was more weird, the fact 
that
there was a talking cat, or the fact that by now she accepted this as par 
for
the course. Usagi only nodded mutely, looking browbeaten. Akane might have 
too,
if her father had been lecturing her ever since they had left his home.
	"You're back."
	Akane glanced up as she closed the gate. Cologne was sitting on a rock
near the side of the house, smoking her pipe. It had been her who had 
spoken.
	"Everything went fine." Akane wasn't sure she believed that. "Where are
the others?"
	"Shampoo and the Mars girl retrieved Sailor Mercury's mother. They are
all inside, having some of your sister's hors d'oeuvres."
	"Woah, who's the old troll?" the little boy called out. A moment later
his head rocked back and he cried out in pain. When he bent forward again he
was rubbing at a red welt on his forehead and muttering.
	"Show some respect, boy," Cologne said in mock indignation. Or perhaps
real indignation, it was hard to tell with Cologne.
	"Did you just hit my son?" Mr. Tsukino shouted. Akane sighed. Just what
she needed.
	"Yes," Cologne answered calmly.
	"You apologise right now, or... or..." Mr. Tsukino waved his hands in
the air in frustrated anger.
	"Mr. Tsukino, you have to calm down," Akane insisted in a calm voice.
She placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "I know this is all hard to
accept, but if you don't take a deep breath and start thinking about what's 
best
for your family, you all might be in grave danger."
	"I am thinking about what's best for my family!" the man shouted, his
glasses practically vibrated off his nose as he shook in place. "This is 
insane!
Monsters? Evil conspiracies? My daughter, some superhero!?"
	"You should believe it," a new voice broke in. Akane saw Sailor Mars
step out of the house. Unlike Usagi, she hadn't bothered to return to her
civilian identity. "Because these monsters are real, and they will kill you 
to
get at Usagi."
	"Who are you?" Mr. Tsukino shouted and pointed at her. "How can you..."
The man trailed off as Sailor Mars suddenly changed back. Akane's eyes 
widened,
since this involved her costume turning into completely transparent pink 
ribbons
before her own clothing appeared. Then she was standing in rumpled shinto
priestess robes. "Rei? Usagi's friend Rei?"
	"Yes," Luna spoke up. "And Ami and Makoto, too." The cat leapt down from
her 'owner's' arms and paced up to the distraught father. "We wanted to keep 
you
out of the battles. But it appears that the enemy has decided to bring the
battles to you."
	"I can't accept this," the man said, but at least he wasn't shouting.
Akane noted that he was completely ignoring Luna's presence. "I have a job, 
and
there is the police..."
	"The police can't help us," Rei insisted.
	"Have you even tried?" the man shouted.
	Nobody in the yard could answer him right away. Except Akane. She
stepped up into his line of view and let a bit of her own anger leak through
into her face and voice. "No, we haven't," Akane snapped. "And you're lucky. 
The
police can't handle this. Even if they aren't in the pocket of these 
monsters,
there is nothing they can do!"
	"What do you know?"
	"I know people like them took my own sister," Akane hissed back. "The
police showed up there, too. They thought it was a terrorist threat, or 
maybe
even a hoax. All they did was end up as fodder for the magic that the enemy
wielded against us. In the end, my friends and I were what had to stand up 
and
save her." Akane stepped forward and the man stumbled back again, his eyes 
wide.
"You may not want to believe this, but you should. I don't want to believe 
this.
The fact is you are scared... not of the monsters, but for your daughter. 
You
can't accept that she may be in danger. I understand that. But you are going 
to
have to learn to accept it, because your daughter is a hero, a champion. I
haven't known her for long, but even I can sense that."
	"Akane, please..." Usagi interrupted Akane's diatribe with a soft hand
on her elbow. Akane released a breath and let her anger die out. Mr. Tsukino 
had
fled back against the wall of the courtyard and was staring at her in mute
horror, his glasses hanging askance on his face. "He's just worried about 
me."
	"I know, Usagi..." Akane sighed. The truth was, she really wanted to
lash out at someone, and the near-hysterical parent had been the most 
convenient
target. Her own worry hadn't died down, in fact it had grown increasingly 
more
potent.
	"I... I just don't want her to be hurt..." Mr. Tsukino said, sobbing.
His wife broke away from her son and rushed over to him. The two wrapped 
each
other up in their arms, clutching to their shared warmth and emotion. The 
woman
began to cry and somehow that turned Mr. Tsukino's sob into a steady stream 
of
tears. Akane watched as they embraced and shared the burden of their pain. 
She
tried not to envy them.
	"So, is that everyone?" Cologne said, drawing all the teenager's
attention. "Sailor Moon's family, Sailor Mercury's mother, Makoto has no
surviving family..."
	"What about you, Rei?" Usagi said, turning to her friend. "We should go
out and pick up your grandfather."
	"That..." Rei trailed off. "That won't be necessary, Usagi."
	"But... why not?"
	"Because... he is... he is already dead."
	Akane gasped, an action Usagi mimicked.
	"When did this happen, child?" Cologne asked.
	"When..." Rei stopped. "They killed him when they attacked my shrine.
They did it to show how cruel they were. When they threatened to do the same 
to
you, that's when I ran away, Usagi."
	"Oh Rei..." Usagi suddenly embraced her friend. Rei stiffened. "I...
no... your grandfather can't be dead! He can't!"
	"He IS!" Rei suddenly shouted. A quick shove sent Usagi sprawling to the
ground in an undignified heap. Usagi's face was covered in tears, but they 
had
stopped as the shock of Rei's shove caught her off guard. "He is dead, and
nothing we can do will change that!"
	"Rei, I'm sorry about..." Akane began to say as she stepped between the
two girls.
	"Everybody, look out!"
	Akane reacted first, spinning and grabbing Usagi before diving back.
Cologne's warning came just in time, as the walls of the compound suddenly
exploded inward. For a moment the air was filled with nothing but dust and
screams, then Akane was free of the cloud and rolling to her feet. She was
carrying Usagi in her arms effortlessly, but placed the girl down so she 
could
check out the rest of the yard.
	Rei had gotten clear of the blast, and was holding a small wand in one
hand. Cologne was standing further down, the two Tsukino adults standing 
behind
her, unharmed. Akane glanced about, where had the boy gone? She had lost 
track
of him during all the drama...
	"Heheh," a voice chuckled from out of the dust. Akane glanced up and
watched as a large group of men stepped into the yard. The dust was settling
down, so Akane got a good look at them. Most of them were dressed in body-
hugging blue jumpsuits, with strange helmets on their heads. The leader was
taller than any of them, with slicked-back greasy hair and a pair of thin 
black
sunglasses that partially covered the enormous puckered scar running down 
the
left side of his face. He wore a simple business suit. "Well well, it 
appears
that the mighty Hyper-Zoanoid Team Five has an overblown reputation, if they
couldn't capture four little girls!"
	"Chronos..." Akane hissed.
	"Hmmm," the man cocked his head in her direction. "You know about us?"
He smirked. "Too bad for you. I might have let you live, otherwise."
	"You won't harm anyone in this household, monster!" Rei shouted. Akane
saw a flash of light out of the corner of her eye, but dared not take her 
eyes
off the men standing in front of her. There were almost two dozen of them, 
by
her count. She clenched her fist and shifted into a better position to 
launch an
attack.
	"The child is right," Cologne said, pointing her staff at the man. "You
monsters have made a grave error, underestimating us."
	"Heh." The man smirked. "Like I care about you, old woman." The man
stepped forward, pointing at Akane. "I came for HER."
	"Me?" Akane said, surprised.
	"No, the one cowering behind you."
	"Uh... you mean me?" Usagi's voice sounded very small from behind Akane.
	"Yes." The man threw his arms wide. "I am Aptom, the leader of the Lost
Units." Aptom clenched his fist and snapped his head down to stare at the
ground. "Dyme was my brother. And you... you destroyed him!"
	"Dyme..." Usagi sounded confused.
	"The man we saved?" Rei spoke slowly. "But we turned him back into a
human!"
	"Of course you did," Aptom said with a sneer. "But we are called the
Lost Units because unpredictable mutations arose during our creation that 
cannot
be duplicated. Dyme could never be what he once was, because of you." Aptom 
rose
his shaking fist up to his face and snapped his eyes up to stare at Usagi. 
"I
asked them to let me put him out of his misery. I swore to him even as I 
killed
him that I would avenge his death!"
	"You... killed your own brother?" Akane hissed, disgusted.
	"He wasn't my brother anymore, just a HUMAN!" Aptom pointed at Usagi.
"Transform, you little witch! I want to enjoy killing you."
	"But boss..." one of the others suddenly spoke up. Aptom's fist swung
out and caught him in the chin. The man staggered.
	"Shut up," Aptom hissed. "You are here to handle the others, and that
alone." He turned his attention back to Akane and Usagi. "I would have come 
in
here by myself, but even I am not that strong. I was only lucky that my task 
of
spying on this 'Ukyou' led me straight to Sailor Moon!"
	Akane was about to shout something back, asking him what he knew about
Ukyou, when suddenly she realized Usagi was stepping around her.
	"If you have come for a fight, Aptom," Usagi said, her voice level and
proud. "You have come to the wrong place. I don't want to fight you. I can 
help
you... heal you. But I will not fight you."
	"Oh you'll fight..." Aptom sneered. "Or I'll slaughter everyone in this
dojo!" The greasy-haired man snapped his fingers.
	Akane backed up a step involuntarily as his thugs began to change.
Clothes split and hair sprouted along bulging muscles. Within seconds they 
were
a small army of hulking gorillas, gorillas with huge claws and fang-filled 
maws.
Akane shifted her stance, moving so that she could dash around Usagi.
	"You poor man," Usagi said, sighing. "Is your heart full of such
hatred?" The girl suddenly stood taller, prouder. "If you really want me, 
then
leave my family out of this! Moon Prism Power, Make UP!" Usagi thrust her 
hand
into the air, clutching her locket. Akane shielded her eyes as the girl 
vanished
in a expanding sphere of light. When the dazzle cleared, Usagi had 
transformed
into her Sailor Senshi form. "I am Sailor Moon, and in the name of the moon, 
I
shall punish you!"
	Akane wasn't sure what to think of the posing Sailor Moon went through
as she gave her speech, but Aptom apparently found it amusing. He held up 
his
own hand.
	"Now we can really begin this battle... Moon Prism Power, Make UP!"
	Akane stared as the man in front of her changed. Aptom's body seemed to
shrink and compress in on itself. His clothing went slack and crumbled 
around
his feet. Except they weren't his feet for long. For soon enough they were 
HER
feet. Somehow Aptom had transformed into a perfect mirror of Sailor Moon. 
Akane
blinked, but the image didn't go away. Every detail, every curve of Aptom's 
body
now resembled that of the sailor suited fighter. Even the costume was 
perfect...
or was it?  Looking closely, Akane thought there was something a little odd
about it. It looked... leathery.
	"Heh," the girl that had once been Aptom said as she struck a triumphant
pose. "Now you see why you can't beat me, Sailor Moon. I have the ability to
perfectly imitate the forms, and abilities, of all my opponents!" Aptom's 
voice
sounded just like Sailor Moon's, except that there was some sort of terrible
reverb to it that sent chills up Akane's spine.
	"Heh. How useless."
	"What, who's there?" Aptom shouted as he turned to stare into the
shadows. Akane followed his gaze. She had recognized that voice. What was 
SHE
doing here?
	Nabiki stepped out of the shadow between a tree and the wall. No, not
just walked, strutted. She was wearing a tight sweater and jeans, but walked 
as
if she were a queen.
	"To think, you have such a useful ability, and you use it on such a
worthless opponent," Nabiki said, chuckling. She began to slowly clap her 
hands.
"Bravo. You just made my job much easier."
	"Nabiki! Get back inside!" Akane shouted, waving wildly at her sister.
What was Nabiki thinking? She wasn't trained for these kinds of 
confrontations!
	"Oh no," Nabiki replied acidly. "This man has threatened my home and
family. It's only right that I step in and assist."
	"Girl, if you want to die..." Aptom began to hiss in her distorted
little-girl's voice. But Nabiki cut him off as she raised her hand and 
snapped
her fingers.
	"SHISHI HOKO DAN!"
	Akane gasped as a brilliant ball of green light arced out of the
shadows. Aptom had long enough to let her jaw drop before the blast struck. 
She
screamed and was sent spiraling over the wall. Akane stared. Her arm had 
been
blown clean off, and most of her chest as well. For a moment the entire yard 
was
silent. Then a figure strode out of the shadows.
	Akane barely recognised Ryouga. He didn't really look different. But
there was something about the way he walked, about his expression. Then it
snapped into place. The Ryouga she had met had always seemed filled with 
rage or
energy. The young man that stepped up next to Nabiki was a broken man, his 
eyes
those of a person who had lost all hope.
	"Ryouga, these monsters are annoying me. Remove them."
	"Yes." Ryouga stepped around Nabiki and pulled his umbrella free of his
pack. "I'm very sorry about this," he addressed the assembled zoanoids. 
"But...
I have to kill you."
	Then Ryouga sprung into them. Akane could only stare in horror as the
boy's first blow caved in the skull of one of the monkey-men. She heard 
Sailor
Moon gasp. But others were already moving. She saw flames arcing from her 
right,
immolating one of the beasts where it stood. A second later the 
purple-haired
girl Shampoo was dashing into the fray, her sword cutting a zoanoid in two. 
At
least the old woman wasn't bouncing into the battle as well.
	"Stop!" Sailor Moon cried. "Please stop! I can HEAL them!"
	Nobody was paying attention to her. Sailor Mars had run into the battle
now, her hands conjuring more flame to burn one of the creatures to a crisp.
Shampoo was smiling as she dodged two of the monsters and killed a third 
with a
flick of her bloody sword. But neither of them held a candle to Ryouga. He
simply moved through the ranks of the zoanoids like a lawnmower. He wasn't 
even
trying to defend himself, but the monkey-men's attacks seemed to bounce off 
him
without him even noticing. His face was grim, and soon the monsters were 
running
from him in a blind panic.
	"NO! STOP!" Sailor Moon wailed. "It doesn't have to be this way!" Then
the girl turned to Akane. "Make them stop! You have to!"
	That broke Akane out of her stupor. She nodded and ran forward. She
wasn't sure why she did it later, but she caught Ryouga's wrist and set 
herself
as firmly as possible. God! He was strong! His swinging arm nearly tore her
shoulder out of their sockets. But she stopped his blow short. He paused and
glanced at her. The entire battle had stopped. Everyone was looking at her.
Akane felt that this moment was somehow pivotal, and for a moment imagined 
that
the universe was holding its breath in anticipation of her next words.
	"You don't have to do this," Akane said slowly. She almost winced. She
knew she had lost the moment. She stared imploring at Ryouga, but the boy 
was
looking past her, at Nabiki. Akane looked over her shoulder and saw Nabiki 
was
just smirking.
	"We can't let any of them live," Nabiki said. "They'll just draw
others." Nabiki pointed at. Akane turned to see the last two of the 
monkey-men
fleeing down the street. Ryouga jerked his hand free and stepped forward,
dropping his umbrella. He pulled a duo of bandannas from his forehead. Akane
knew what was coming next. She had seen Ryouga use this trick against Ranma. 
She
knew the zoanoids wouldn't dodge.
	She turned away, trying to block the sound of the buzzing scream the
hurled bandannas made from her mind. She met Sailor Moon's eyes and saw the
sadness in there. Akane looked away. She had tried. She had tried to step in 
and
do the right thing. That was enough. Wasn't it?
	"Ah. Now that we're finished with that," Nabiki's voice broke into
Akane's thoughts. "I have a question for everybody here." Akane turned and
glanced at her sister, who was still smirking like she was the queen of the
world. "Where is Ukyou, pray tell? I SO want to have a talk with him."

*

	Tethys stood in the rain for a few moments, reveling in the feeling of
it against her 'skin'. Ah, this power was intoxicating. She knew now how 
Jadeite
had felt. But she wouldn't make the same mistake he did. Even with all of
Hayato's considerable chi, and that of the humans she had killed minutes 
before
confronting Ukyou, she knew she still had limits.
	But that was why she had made her deal with Hayato. If all she had
wanted was his power, she would have taken it. But instead, she was now 
sharing
his body. It repelled her. She knew that Kunzite forced many of his youma to 
co-
habit with human vermin, but she had always refused to even consider that. 
And
even they simply subsumed their human hosts, effectively overwriting the 
human's
personality with their own.
	Tethys, however, had been forced to let Hayato retain his mind. She
could feel him now. She couldn't sense his thoughts, but she knew he was 
aware
of every action, of every sensation of their shared body. But even if he 
existed
back in the depths of his own mind, he was a mute voice unless she allowed 
him
to speak. Their 'partnership' existed only at her leisure. Once she was 
finished
with Ukyou, Tethys would discard him like the trash he was.
	She watched as Ukyou suddenly started to leap. Her jumps didn't even
cover a third of the distance they usually did. The little girl was bouncing 
up,
bounding from platform to platform as she raced to the top of the cavern. 
Tethys
chuckled.
	She could have knocked Ukyou from the air, but she felt that what Ukyou
would see when she got up there would be even more demoralizing. Tethys 
raised
her arms and willed herself into the air. She floated leisurely after Ukyou,
easily keeping pace. She didn't get too close, since Ukyou appeared to have 
a
way to hurt her now.
	Soon Ukyou had reached the top of the cavern. Tethys' nemesis stopped
and stared out over the top of the wall, stunned.
	"Surprised?" Tethys said as she floated up into the air above Ukyou. She
gestured outward. Beyond her hand the ocean extended in all directions. The
shore of Japan could be seen, almost five kilometers distant. It was 
connected
to the structure they were in by a concrete bridge. In the other direction,
there was nothing but the unending waves of the Pacific Ocean. "I told you I
looked long and hard for this place."
	"What... what is this?" Ukyou gasped, clutching her side.
	"It is going to be called, 'The Ocean Cathedral', or some such
nonsense." Tethys shrugged. "I have no idea what purpose it serves for you
mortals, but for me, it is the perfect battleground."
	Tethys lifted her right hand and suddenly the swells of the ocean waves
doubled. The rain continued to pelt into the concrete. "As you can see..."
Tethys clasped her hand into a fist, and the ocean mimicked her action, 
crushing
the bridge in five fingers of water, each nearly ten meters thick. The
destruction was spectacular, and noisy. Tethys smiled, satisfied, as the
crumbled concrete sunk beanth the waves. "There is no escape."
	Ukyou turned to face her. The girl raised her fists, her face set and
determined. Tethys frowned. She still couldn't sense anything special about 
her.
Hayato had only felt Ukyou tap her unusual chi once, and only briefly. But 
he
knew it felt... different, somehow. Tethys was sure that her more refined 
senses
would sense the moment Ukyou decided to finally get serious.
	"You can't fight me as you are," Tethys hissed. "Why do you persist? Use
your power! I will crush you at your peak!"
	Tethys clenched her fists and shuddered in rage. Ukyou was mocking her.
The girl KNEW. She knew that no matter how this fight turned out, it was the 
end
of Tethys. Certainly she would destroy Ukyou, but then what? Going back to 
the
Dark Kingdom meant a death sentence. And it was only a matter of time before
Metallia, her real master, her creator, was unleashed. Then Tethys would be
wiped out like all the other chattel.
	This was it. This was what she had been working towards ever since
Jadeite had died. She would not let Ukyou ruin it for her!
	With a gesture Tethys caused the rain to condense and crash into Ukyou
from behind. The girl cried out in surprise and staggered. Then Tethys 
gestured
again, and Ukyou's head rocked back as a force like an uppercut suddenly hit 
her
without warning. Tethys began to wave her hands about, weaving the chi and 
magic
into a series of punishing blows. Ukyou rocked from one to the next, not 
even
able to so much as recover from one blow before the next struck her. Then 
Tethys
doubled her speed. Then tripled it.
	She heard one of Ukyou's bones crack and smiled at the sound. But it
wasn't enough. Why wasn't Ukyou fighting back? Tethys knew she could!
	With a final cry of rage Tethys pushed all her power into a final blow.
The strike knocked Ukyou off the wall and sent her plummeting back into the
cavern that had only recently been sunk into the ocean. The girl's body
plummeted limply the nearly six stories before colliding with the floor. 
Tethys
growled and floated down after her.
	The rain pattered down about her, and the machinery of the site hummed
on.
	Ukyou was on her feet again when she arrived. She could barely stand.
Her body was hunched, her right eye half-closed from the swelling of one of
Tethys' blows. Dried blood spilled from her partially shattered nose. She 
wasn't
putting any weight on her right foot, and her left arm hung limp.
	"She's all but dead," Hayato said to her in the silent reaches of their
mind. "Finish her."
	"No," Tethys hissed back, also silently.
	"Why? We can't break her. She will stand defiant against you until you
kill her. Look into her eyes."
	Tethys did as the boy suggested. She saw no defeat in those icy grey
eyes. They were cold, and tired, but not broken. They still defied her to
attack.
	"Once she is dead... I have no more use for you," Tethys informed him as
she raised her hand.
	"I know," Hayato hissed in the depths of her mind. "But I've become
enough of a monster for the purpose of revenge. I let you use me to kill the
workers of this place. Maybe she's right. Maybe it is better to die a man, 
but I
can't go back now. Kill her, then discard me and kill me too if you must."
	Tethys hesitated, unsure how to respond to that. There had been such
venom in Hayato's mental voice. But it hadn't been directed at Ukyou. Nor 
had it
been directed at Tethys. It was self-loathing, she concluded in startlement. 
How
could he hate himself? If there was any emotion foreign to the existence of
youma, it was that one. Even love, of a twisted kind, could exist in the 
Dark
Kingdom. But to hate YOURSELF?
	Tethys snapped out of her stupor as she saw Ukyou suddenly sprint away.
The girl ducked and rolled, then came up holding the iron shaft she had used 
as
a weapon. Tethys quirked her head to the side. Then she smiled.
	Perhaps Ukyou would draw this out further, after all.
	Tethys floated after her. She gestured, causing the rain to form into
orbs that pelted and battered at Ukyou. Somehow, Ukyou was dodging them this
time. She wasn't moving any faster, but she seemed to know where the blows 
were
going to come from now. And Tethys couldn't force the water to move faster
enough in turn to compensate. She shrugged, and doubled the number of orbs. 
This
time, Ukyou was sent spinning into the darkness.
	Tethys touched down as Ukyou came to rest near the edge of the room.
Here, the hum of the turbines was almost deafening. Tethys gazed idly at the
large generator that was half-embedded in the wall. She could feel the water
flowing behind that barrier, spinning the turbines that generated the power 
to
this place. How clever, she mused with a smile.
	"Tethys..." Ukyou said as she regained her feet. "And Hayato..." The
girl stood suddenly straight, her face wincing, but her posture perfect as 
she
adopted her fighting stance. "Let's finish this. Come at me, with everything 
you
have."
	"Are you finally ready to fight back?" Tethys said, frowning. She still
didn't feel anything different about Ukyou's aura.
	"Not the way you mean," Ukyou said. Then Ukyou was running towards them.
Tethys dodged the first blow of her pole-staff with contemptuous ease. She
responded with a backhand that sent Ukyou flying. But Ukyou bound to her 
feet
and came in again, but considerably slower. Tethys grinned and reached out,
catching the girl's staff with one hand. Ukyou tugged at it futilely, but 
Tethys
grew bored quickly and kicked her in the ribs. Ukyou gasped and collapsed to 
her
knees. She rolled away, though, spinning around behind Tethys.
	Tethys turned slowly, facing the girl. She hadn't felt any of the cold
aura that Ukyou had produced the one time she had been able to hurt her. It
appeared that Ukyou was all out of tricks. Tethys sighed. Such a waste of 
time.
She raised her hand and pointed it at Ukyou.
	"Goodbye, Ukyou..." Tethys said with a hint of melancholy.
	Ukyou suddenly shifted her grip on the staff. She was now holding it
like a javelin. Tethys clenched her fist, and a ball of water formed there. 
Then
Ukyou hurled the staff at her. Tethys didn't even flinch. The metal passed
through her chest without resistance. She grinned. Then she felt the staff 
stop.
She looked down, and saw it quivering between her breasts.
	"Goodbye, Tethys." Ukyou said.
	Then Tethys' world was pain. She screamed, the water in front of her
crashing to the ground. Her body twitched and spasmed. She saw a bright arc
flash from the tip of the pole to the ground. Another blinding arc ran up 
the
length of her arm before flashing away to hit a metal pole nearby. A shower 
of
sparks exploded over her shoulders.
	The generator!
	Tethys realized too late what had happened. Her hands reached down to
try and pull the pole free, but the blinding white flash of man-made 
lightning
knocked them away. She screamed again. The pain was intense, 
all-encompassing...
soon it blocked out all thought.
	She tried to absorb it, but this wasn't life force. This was artificial,
and it burned her very soul. She could feel the power run up and down her 
body,
and as it did she felt the massive chi within her hum in sympathy. Soon she 
was
losing control of even that. The chi flashed and roared, exploding out from 
her
skin in brilliant white arcs. She couldn't even hear herself screaming 
anymore.
She felt her body loosing cohesion.
	Then the pain stopped.
	Tethys collapsed to the ground, shuddering. She looked up, and saw Ukyou
standing over her. The young woman's body was smoking, and she was holding 
her
pole in one hand. Ukyou's body shuddered as she took a deep breath.
	"No... not even you... not now. Not ever," Ukyou said slowly.
	Ukyou had saved her life. Tethys wanted to laugh at the tragedy of it.
But she was too weak. Her mind was sinking away. All her power had exploded 
out
of her. She barely had enough to maintain her own life.
	And did she want to?
	A part of her accepted this. She knew she had lost. This was the way it
should be, that part of her said. She had lost to a greater opponent. It was
time for her to fade away. She smiled, and felt herself giving into that
impulse. Somehow, as she began to relase the last bonds on her very being, 
she
felt fulfilled...
	It was Hayato who saved her. With a roar, he pushed to the front of her
mind. She could feel the blistering power of his will and shied away from 
it.
His instinct to survive, his basic human desire to live, overwhelmed that 
part
of her. With a shudder and a sigh, she lay back. Her body changed, morphing
slowly back to Hayato's human form. It was still the same youma body, but 
when
he was in charge, it conformed to his expectations and not hers.
	But even he didn't have the power to move. Only to live.
	Then they were being lifted off the ground. It was Ukyou. She had
grabbed Hayato by the collar and lifted him into the air so his eyes were 
level
with hers. Tethys stared through Hayato's eyes into those of Ukyou. They 
were
cold. Defiant. Undefeated.
	"Remember this, Hayato," Ukyou said in a voice like ice. "Remember this,
Tethys. I won. I defeated you. You were stronger, and faster. You had more
tricks. You were my superior in every way. But I won." Ukyou let them drop. 
"I
didn't even go all out, and I still defeated you."
	Ukyou began to walk away, but as she did Tethys heard her say one last
thing over her shoulder.
	"When you look back on this day, remember that the only reason you still
live, is because I CHOSE to let you do so."
	Then Ukyou vanished into the darkness, leaving Tethys and Hayato alone
with each other.

*

	Ukyou thought she must have been making quite a spectacle of herself.
She couldn't imagine how awful she looked as she staggered down the street. 
Her
clothes were sopping wet, and on the one day she had decided to forgo chest
wrappings. Her nose was at least not bleeding anymore, and most of the blood 
had
been washed clean by the swim back to the mainland. Hitching a ride over the
mountains back to Tokyo had been difficult, but the capacity to grin and 
bear
the attentions of some lecherous salaryman had eventually seen her through.
	She winced as her foot came down badly again. Frankly, the first place
she should be going was to the nearest doctor. Kyoko might be able to patch 
her
up, as could Doctor Tofu. Plus, she knew Ranma and Ran would be looking for 
her,
and that going to those places would be the most likely way to find them.
	But, for some reason, she didn't feel like meeting Ranma at the moment.
It struck her as odd, but after her victory she felt strangely ambivalent. 
She
should have felt like celebrating. She had triumphed. Even if... at the end
there...
	But she didn't feel like celebrating. She had defeated an enemy, two
enemies, that she never would have fought, had she not been such a grade A
bitch. So why should she be happy about it? Perhaps the thought of trying to
explain her feeling to Ranma was why she wasn't rushing back to meet him.
	Besides, there was still Hayato's soul (or body, or whatever) to save.
If she fetched Sailor Moon now and brought her back to the... Ukyou winced 
at
the very thought of it. Who was building such a ridiculous thing as an Ocean
Cathedral three kilometers off shore from one of the most impassable cliffs 
on
the Japanese shoreline?
	Nevermind. That way lay madness.
	The point was that Usagi could heal Hayato, drive the youma out of him.
	And then... what?
	Ukyou shook those thoughts aside. Usagi's house was dead ahead. She
stumbled towards the door, heaving a sigh of relief. She could lay the 
entire
problem at Usagi's feet, she guessed. Aaron certainly wasn't being a help. 
Ever
since the adrenaline of the fight had worn off, he had been busy thinking 
about
other things.
	The first thing Ukyou noticed was that the house appeared deserted. The
front door was hanging ajar and the driveway was empty. But there was more 
than
that... the place felt deserted somehow. Aaron's attention returned to the
outside world as he tried to put a finger on that feeling, but it stayed 
just at
the irritating edge of his perception.
	"Hello?" Ukyou called as she stepped in front of the door. "Is anybody
home?"
	There was no answer. Aaron frowned and focused his senses, but he sensed
no life forces inside the building. Ukyou tapped the door open and stepped
inside. It was after school, though: Usagi could be with her friends. Maybe 
her
father was still at work. Maybe the brother at a friend's place. The mother
might have even gone out shopping. But why leave the door open?
	Aaron paused at the threshold. Why were they even considering this? It
was the quintessential horror movie mistake. The smart thing to do would be 
to
turn around, walk away and come back with a posse of friends. But... Usagi's
family missing? That sent warning bells peeling in his mind. If someone had
decided to get more serious than your standard Sailor Moon villain did, he 
might
not have time to get help...
	"Hello?" Ukyou called again as she stepped inside. She limped slowly
down the hall and finally came to the living room. She immediately noticed 
the
person sitting in the chair with his back to her. He had black hair and was
hunched forward, perfectly still. Aaron could sense... something about him. 
It
felt familiar, but he didn't know why. "Hello?" Ukyou called, louder this 
time.
	"I knew you'd come," the man said in an oddly distorted voice. Ukyou
blinked, running her good hand through her bangs. Aaron knew that standing 
here
was a bad idea. But... he was mentally exhausted, and couldn't come up with 
a
better plan.
	In a smooth motion the figure rose to his feet. One hand immediately
fell limp at his side, and Ukyou grimaced in disgust at the sight of it. 
Also
the smell, which hit her nostils at that point. It was sweet and sickly, 
like
meat that had been left in the sun. The figure slowly turned. He might once 
have
been a handsome young man, but he was barely recognizable as one now. His 
hair
still clung to his scalp, but much of his flesh was only doing so by force 
of
habit. His eyes were sunk under his brow, and were milky white and 
unreadable.
The lips had peeled back from the teeth, giving him the illusion of a smile.
Most of the rest of his body was hidden under a leather jacket, T-shirt and
jeans. Only his hands were exposed: the left was barely more than a 
skeleton,
and even the right had a long strip of flesh hanging from the index finger.
	"It's been a long time, Aaron."



				To Be Continued...



Author's Notes:


Blade: Brains... brainsssssss...

Epsilon: You're not actually a zombie.  Well, uh, not that type of zombie,
anyway.

Blade: Brrraaaaaaainnns.... are one of the few delicacies I have not 
tried...

Epsilon: Hey, do I have any attack names to put out?

Blade: Well, uh, no.  Which is good, since if Ukyou had yelled "ICE PUNCHU!"
while running at Tethys, you might not have hit her.

Epsilon: Don't be ridiculous!  We would have yelled it out in Pretentious 
Latin.
What makes you think Tethys understands Latin?

Blade: Her name is Latin.

Epsilon: Pfft.  (waves hand dismissively) Pure coincidence.  All evil 
diabolical
invaders from beyond space and time speak Japanese.  That's also what they 
spoke
millennia ago on the Moon.

Blade: It's also what they speak in the Jurai Empire!

Epsilon: That's why you know Earth's so damn backwards.  Only one small 
island
nation speaks Japanese.

Blade: Yep, Japanese is actually the One True Tongue that existed before the
Tower of Babel fell.  I'm pretty sure that's in Evangelion somewhere.

Epsilon: Along with an angel who blasted gospel music at a pubescent girl 
until
her brain broke.

Blade: Back on the subject of brains again, huh?

Epsilon: And on that note... UNGRACEFUL SEGUE!

Blade: Uh... readers with... BRAINS... will undoubtedly have figured out we 
have
nothing profound to say about the fanfic, and are even now, using their 
BRAINS,
to scroll down to what's coming up NEXT MONTH...



	Ukyou stood up straight, pushing off the wall, her fists finally
clenched.  She looked down at the ground, and Chris... FELT something.  It 
was
like a tuning fork, vibrating in time to something inside her.  Something
alien... something Other... and something oh so familiar.
	Of course!  Aaron had the Third Circle too.  Of course he did.  He WAS
Other.  Just like Chris.  That was the power.  The power they had, that 
could
destroy the world... or save it.  All that mattered was intent.
	It was still dormant, but he could feel Aaron reaching for it.  For
their last gasp.  It looked like there was no way out of this but for them 
to
fight it out.  Aaron just hated it too much.  Hated this freedom he 
considered
so wrong.
	Well, too bad.
	He raised his hand, and a baton slipped into it.  Spikes extended,
covered with glistening death.
	No paralysis this time.
	No rematch.


		Hybrid Theory Chapter 13: Points Of Authority




















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