The Dark Lords of Nerima, Chapter Fourteen [R/SM cross]

[claymade]

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2 or Sailor Moon in any way, shape or form. All associated characters, trademarks, etc. are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and Naoko Takeuchi. I'm just telling some stories about them.

Author's Note: Yay, fukufics is back from the dead! This was already posted to ff.net whilst the site was in the midst of downtime, so I'll be a bit more limited than usual in terms of the really large-scale structural changes I can make--not wanting to induce cognitive dissonance in the people who read the old copy. Any more localized goofs that you guys call me on, though, should still be correctable, plus I can always try to contextualize problematic areas in future chapters.



(previous chapters can be found here)



Chapter Fourteen: Making Plans



Even before he fully regained his awareness, the soft, steady thrum of the medical pod began to filter into Jadeite's hearing, irritating him on a subliminal level with its constant droning.

Slowly, the General pried his eyes open, blinking as he took in his surroundings. As the sound had indicated, he was currently flat on his back, encased in the glowing cylinder of a body-sized regenerator. Dark energy washed up and down its length, bathing his body in its magic.

He tried to make a slight movement, and was instantly rewarded by an explosion of agony ripping through his entire body. The pain nearly sent him back into unconsciousness, and he had to fight to get himself back under some semblance of control.

In his shattered state, it took him several minutes to remember the circumstances that had led to his current condition. Images from the disastrous battle in the Nerima ward began to filter back to him, bit by bit, all the way up to his galling, inexplicable... defeat.

He had no memories after that, of course. And for a while he tried to piece together what had happened in that blank period. How had he gotten from the middle of a hostile battlefield back to a Dark Kingdom medical bay?

He lifted his head slightly, prepared this time for the pain. He needed to learn more about the current state of affairs, needed to find out his situation.

The first thing that he saw was not reassuring.

The Darkmistress was standing near his bedside, her back to him. She seemed to be lost in thought, brooding over something only she knew. Jadeite noticed that the white headpiece she always wore was no longer on her forehead, but rather held in her hand. She was running her thumb along its white, wing-shaped outline, occasionally tracing the dark red gem at its center as well.

After a few moments, the youma spoke. "You shouldn't try to move. As badly as those humans beat you, it will be quite some time before the damage is fully healed..." Slowly, she turned her head to look over her shoulder at him, giving him a venomous look. "...sir."

Jadeite met her gaze, seeing as he did that her face and throat were covered by severe burns, making her corpse-like visage all the more nightmarish. He could see that her right arm was burned as well, and he did not doubt that her robes concealed even more of such damage.

"You do not seem to have escaped unscathed either..." he managed to croak out. Even mere speech was unbelievably painful for him, but his pride would not allow him to keep silent, no matter how bad his injuries.

The youma's face darkened. "This is nothing," she hissed back. "I have already received all the healing sorcery I require for this... trifle." To underscore her point, she reached out and picked up a bulky medical device off a nearby table, crushing it effortlessly with her burned hand.

It was a none-too-subtle reminder of where the balance of power now lay between them. Jadeite knew--galling though it was to admit--that if the Darkmistress wished, she could easily kill him and pass it off to Queen Beryl that he had died fighting these new interlopers.

So why had she let him live? Even more inexplicably, why had she arranged for his healing?

Not questions that someone like him could bring himself to ask directly, of course. Instead, he probed into surrounding matters. "The battle..." he forced himself to say. "Was it...?"

"A complete defeat," was the Darkmistress's flat reply. "With not a single confirmed casualty in either enemy force. You were brought back by three of my Inquisitors, who only survived because the enemy knocked them out, and didn't even bother killing them."

A crushing, inescapable dismay settled in Jadeite's soul. It was even more catastrophic than he had imagined. "Then our fates hang by a thread. A debacle like this will not be easily forgiven. Queen Beryl's wrath will be--"

"Beryl doesn't know."

Those three words stopped Jadeite cold, upending all his thoughts in a single instant. Queen Beryl had always possessed a near-omniscient knowledge of his every failure, his every misstep, no matter how small or out-of-the-way they had been. He had been so used to it... that he hadn't realized a crucial difference between now and all those other times.

This time, the head of Queen Beryl's spy network and secret police had just as much to lose as he did.

"You covered it up?" rasped the Dark General, incredulity tinting his voice. "The entire fight?"

"It wasn't that hard," the Darkmistress replied dismissively. "If it had happened in the Juuban area it might have been a problem, but Nerima is far enough from the main portal that we don't usually send many teams out that way. And the humans themselves aren't making much of the battle either. That ward appears to have a... reputation... for such incidents, and I doubt that this will generate enough interest to come to Beryl's attention in any recognizable form."

The reality of what was going on was still sinking in for Jadeite. "But... there are others who know as well. I informed my clerical youma, Alimora, that I was going to join in the battle, so she--"

"Yes, it occurred to me that you might have mentioned something to her," interrupted the Darkmistress. "However, soon after you were brought back to the Dark Kingdom, she had a fatal accident in one of the lift tubes. There were also a few youma who managed to catch sight of you as you were being brought here, but we conducted routine searches of their dwellings, and happened to discover anti-Beryl propaganda hidden in each and every one. They were, of course, executed on the spot."

"Of course," echoed Jadeite. "And the Inquisitors who brought me here? The three survivors?"

The Darkmistress gave him a flat look. "What survivors?"

Jadite nodded. So, she wasn't even trusting her own servants with the secret of what had happened during the battle. Whatever else could be said about this youma, she covered herself well. Which left only one witness left remaining. Him.

However, he wasn't overly worried. In fact, he was beginning to suspect why she hadn't killed him yet.

"So then..." the Dark General said. "You have bought yourself some time. But your deception will not last long. You've lost a full dozen of your most elite agents. Do you really think you can prevent the Queen from discovering that--or from being suspicious when she does? No, I think that your failure will soon become as apparent as..." He paused. "Well. As apparent as the burns on your face."

The youma's lip twisted at the mention of the most inescapable evidence of her defeat. He wasn't telling her anything she didn't already know, of course. But this inward-circling dance had to be played out, step by step.

"Beryl will find out," the Darkmistress admitted. "Eventually. However, if the interlopers are crushed before that time, she can be presented with a victory, and not a defeat."

"Perhaps..." said Jadeite. "But considering the ease with which a mere two of these new enemies tore through your forces, I have to wonder whether you can succeed. The Black Section functions tolerably as a secret police... but it hardly has the numbers or the resources to fight a full-fledged war. That seems a task better suited for, say... one of the Army divisions."

The Darkmistress locked her gaze to his own, allowing him to see the hatred in her eyes, roiling beneath her thin shell of civility. "Well it seems to me, General," the youma hissed softly back, "that you have just as much to lose in this situation as I do."

And there it was. Jadeite's suspicion had been exactly correct. The Darkmistress knew that she would need help in order to exact the vengeance she craved against these astonishingly powerful humans. But she also knew that if she went to any of the other Generals she would be bargaining from a position of utter weakness.

Jadeite, however, had been placed in the exact same situation as her by the events of the battle. They had common cause... and common leverage over each other, mutually implicated in the same piece of blackmail.

Despite the horrible pain he was in, the Dark General gave a thin, humorless smile. "Certainly," he responded, meeting the Darkmistress's hate-filled gaze with one of his own. "It would be my great pleasure to assist you in any way I can. You can rely on the full support of me and my forces in dealing with this threat."

But only until I have no further use for you, added Jadeite silently--knowing that the Darkmistress was unquestionably thinking the exact same thing.



**********



Luna took a deep breath, wincing a little at the flash of pain that shot through her. She hadn't been seriously injured from her unexpected flight, but she was still a bit bruised, something her body seemed to delight in reminding her whenever she tried to make any big movements.

Still, she had to admit that the relative break it offered had been nice. Usagi had actually been fussing over her for a change, hard though that was to believe. All the girls had been frantic with worry when they found her sprawled out on the rooftop, and they had insisted that she rest and not push herself.

So yes, it hadn't been all bad. But their enemies were still out there--more so than ever--and after a good night's sleep, the Senshi had regrouped at the Hikawa Shrine to plan their next move against the steadily worsening odds they were facing.

The moon cat looked around the room at each of the girls. She could see that the events of the previous day were weighing heavily on each of them, though they showed it in different ways. Usagi was fidgeting in her seat, glancing back and forth fretfully. Ami's head was bowed in thought, and she wore a frown on her features. Rei was standing a little bit apart, staring off into the distance, her thoughts clearly elsewhere.

Knowing that no one else would break the silence, Luna cleared her throat. "Before anything else..." she said to her dispirited charges. "You should know what a good job you girls did yesterday. We were outnumbered like we've never been before, and we still managed to hold our own. Even more importantly, we all made it through safely. I'm very proud of all of you."

"But those new guys... they were really scary!" blurted Usagi, looking to her fellow Senshi for support. "Did you see the kind of stuff they were doing? I couldn't hit them at all, and the one guy just grabbed my Moon Tiara and used it himself!"

Rei nodded. "For once, I agree with meatball-head," she said. "And that last fighter... he had my back, and I didn't even realize it until after he'd already attacked. If he'd wanted to, I'm sure he could have killed me instead of paralyzing me like that."

Luna let out a heavy sigh. Indeed, that older fighter was one of the most troubling aspects of the picture. Even beyond his successful sneak attack, if the ease with which he had taken down Tuxedo Kamen had been any indication, the moon cat wasn't even sure why the man had felt the need to flee.

But the Senshi were all looking to her, so she pushed her fears to the background. She had to be strong. "We'll figure out a counter for him," the moon cat said firmly. Then she turned to Ami. "Usagi mentioned last night that you had scanned Rei with the Mercury computer. Did you learn anything about that paralysis attack that he used?"

The blue-haired Senshi nodded. "Yes. Although..." she hesitated for a moment, then plunged forward. "I don't think that it actually was an attack."

Seeing the puzzled expressions of the other members of her team, she hastily amended herself. "I mean... yes, it was certainly being used to attack Rei and Tuxedo Kamen, but..."

Taking out the Mercury Computer, she punched a few keys on it, then turned it around to show them the screen. It displayed a human outline, with flowing blue lines running through it, which Luna recognized as the flow of life energy through the body. There were various other indicators and readouts as well, most of them incomprehensible to the cat.

"This is the reading I took from Rei," Ami explained. "The effects that were detected on her body seemed... familiar to me. So I researched it last night, and in the end I confirmed my suspicions. The symptoms are exactly like ones that I once read about in a book on high-level acupuncture and acupressure theory." She frowned. "This is a medical technique."

Rei's eyebrows went up a little, even as Usagi's eyes went wide. "Wow!" the dumpling-haired girl said. "You know about that kind of stuff, Ami?"

The young genius blushed a little, uncomfortable with the vociferous praise. "W- well, I am studying to be a doctor like my mother one day..." she explained hurriedly. "So it's only natural that I try to learn about different kinds of treatment whenever I can..."

"But how can you be sure that his knowledge of it had anything to do with medicine?" asked Luna, still trying to grasp the whole of Ami's assertion. "Being able to paralyze people like that would certainly have combat uses as well."

Ami shook her head. "The paralysis is only one part of it. According to what I read, it's used to immobilize limbs, so that things like breaks and sprains can be more effectively treated. When fully applied, there are a number of other effects, such as numbing pain for the affected areas and loosening the nearby muscles."

"That was the key. None of those secondary effects would be particularly useful in a battle... but I detected them all in Rei. That man didn't use the technique like a fighter would... he used it like a doctor would."

The Senshi digested that for a moment. Then Usagi cocked her head to one side. "So... what does that mean?"

"Nothing yet," replied Ami. "But it's another piece of information. It may not fit right now, but it could help us piece together things once we learn more."

At that, Rei took a deep breath. "Well," she said slowly, her expression growing even more pensive. "If we're talking about details that don't make much sense on their own... there's something else that you all ought to know."

"It happened inside the alley, so you couldn't really see it from where you were standing, but... when I shot that last Fire Soul... I wasn't aiming for the enemy I ended up hitting. I was trying to get that youma, but the fighter with the bandanna, he just... threw himself in front of the flame to protect her."

"No way!" exclaimed Usagi, shocked. "Are you serious? Why would a bad guy do that?"

"It's not that simple, Usagi," Luna sighed, trying to think of the best way to explain things to her somewhat-naïve charge. "Things aren't always so black and white. Even 'bad guys' can sometimes be kind or honorable, according to their own standards, but it doesn't mean that they aren't still dangerous."

The blonde Senshi didn't look too convinced, so Luna went on. "Besides, he might have had a reason for what he did. She could have been part of their strategy somehow."

"That's what I thought at the time..." agreed Rei. "But then that older fighter didn't hurt me, even though I'm sure he could have if he'd wanted to. And then we found out that you were still alive too, Luna. I'm not sure exactly how it fits together, but... I don't think what he did for that youma was just for the sake of their plan."

Luna bowed her head, replaying the moment where the bandanna-wearing fighter had launched her through the air. She had to admit, the odds for that kind of perfect trajectory for minimizing damage were extremely slim. Maybe there is more to them than we've seen yet... she thought.

Eventually, the moon cat looked back up. "No matter what, we shouldn't let down our guard," she said firmly. "Everything else aside, they were the ones who attacked us first."

Then her expression softened a little. "Still, we should definitely try to talk with them. If there's any chance that we can come to some kind of understanding... If there's any chance that we can avoid a two-front war..."

She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't need to. All of them, even Usagi, could see how ugly that would become.



**********



Ryouga propped his head up, resting it on his arms. He felt a little silly, lying there on his stomach while everyone else was sitting or standing, but after his stunt the previous day, Doctor Tofu had told him in no uncertain terms that he would paralyze him from head to toe if he left his bed again without the doctor's explicit permission.

Not that he really felt up to doing so. His little excursion into the city had not been at all good for his wound--the pain was wracking him, and he felt as weak as a newborn.

Still, at least his fever had gone down to the point where the hallucinations had stopped. The dream where he had been running away from a giant fire-breathing ostrich with Ranma's head had been particularly disturbing.

Most of the other members of their little defensive force were scattered around the room Tofu had given him. Akane was sitting a little to his left, glancing over worriedly at him every now and then, while Ranma sat directly across from him, his right arm still in its sling.

Ukyo and Shampoo, of course, had lost no time in positioning themselves on either side of him, each watching their rival warily. Mousse, for some reason, was standing a little bit removed from the rest of the group, leaning against one of the walls. His arms were folded deep into his voluminous sleeves, and a taut, unreadable expression was on his face.

And to Ryogua's right sat Beneda, who was the cause of this meeting in the first place. She was looking nervously back and forth at all the assembled humans, and the lost boy knew that the coming explanation could not be easy for her.

Eventually, she cleared her throat. "Um..." she said. "Well... Most of you already know at least some of this, but... I... wasn't really being honest when I told you about my situation. I was... trying to manipulate you, trying to use you so I could get back into favor with the Dark Kingdom." The words hung lamely in the air, too simple and straightforward to match the magnitude of what they entailed.

There was a short, strained silence, before Akane took pity on her and gave her some guidance. "Why don't you just start from the beginning," she suggested. "Tell us how it really happened."

Beneda nodded. "All right. It all started out similar to what I said. I really was part of a trap for the Sailor Senshi. Except... it wasn't because we were afraid of the Senshi trying to kill us for being youma. It was because we intended to take over this world, and because the Senshi are the only group opposing that. Or, well, they were the only group... until you picked a fight with the Dark Kingdom too."

Ranma grinned wolfishly. "Well that's not something to blame yourself for. If they're trying to take over the whole world, we sure as hell would have ended up fighting them sooner or later anyway."

"I suppose so." Then the youma hung her head. "But you definitely wouldn't have ended up fighting the Senshi, though. That part was... all my fault."

Ryouga spoke up at that. "But they did attack you, didn't they? Later on, when you faced them the second time?"

"Technically, yes..." Beneda's voice dropped to barely-audible levels. "But... only after I attacked them first. Before you got there. And... I also told them that we were all out to rule the world ourselves."

"Oh." There wasn't much that could be said to that. Ryouga found himself replaying the encounter once more, with that new information added, and the clarity of hindsight was a painful thing. He realized that he had almost beaten up a bunch of girls over completely false pretences. And even worse, girls notably younger than him--looking back, he doubted whether any of them were even out of middle school. A queasy feeling swept through him, one that had nothing to do with his injury.

Still, at heart, Ryouga wasn't the sort of person who let himself get too tangled up in "might-haves" or "could-have-beens." He believed in walking forward. The fact of the matter was that he thankfully hadn't ended up hurting any of them, which went a long way toward calming his troubled thoughts.

...well, true, he had knocked Tuxedo Kamen around a little, but the masked man wasn't a girl, so he didn't count. Men were supposed to just shrug that sort of thing off, in Ryouga's opinion.

"So then, if we just explained the way things actually are to the Senshi, you think they'd leave us alone?" asked Ukyo.

"Or even better, we could join forces!" added Akane. "If the Dark Kingdom is coming after all of us, then we should team up and fight them together!"

The youma hesitated. "Explaining might convince the Senshi that we're not a threat to them," she agreed. "But... they wouldn't be able to help us very much. Not against what's coming."

Shampoo frowned. "What monster-girl mean?" she asked, sounding puzzled. "Sailor girls is already fighting Dark Kingdom for while now, yes?"

"You don't understand," Beneda said, shaking her head. "The Senshi haven't lasted this long because they can actually fight the Dark Kingdom off. They've lasted this long because the Dark Kingdom can't find them. They strike out of nowhere, and they disappear just as quickly. They can't be identified or tracked; their disguise magic is so advanced that even Queen Beryl herself can't crack it. If they weren't in their Senshi forms, you could walk right past them on the street and never even recognize them as the same people."

"But we don't have anything like that," supplied Ukyo, a look of understanding darkening her features. "We've already shown ourselves."

Beneda nodded. "Yes. Believe me, if General Jadeite ever figured out who the Senshi actually were, and where they were operating from, he'd drop an entire battle group of youma on their doorstep as fast as he could."

"And since he can hunt us a lot easier than them, you think that's what he's gonna do here?" Ranma asked.

"Of course he will!" was Beneda's response. "You have to realize what you've done, Ranma! You beat a Dark General! They can't possibly let a loss of face like that go unanswered! He'll throw youma at you by the scores, by the hundreds if he has to, but he won't stop until he's killed you all!"

"All right. All right." Ranma raised his uninjured hand in a calming motion. "Don't worry. We just need to come up with a plan, that's all. There's gotta be a way to beat this."

"But how?" asked the youma. "The odds against us are... unbelievable! You and Ryouga barely beat Jadeite by himself! How are you going to beat him when he comes back at the head of an army?"

A lopsided grin crossed Ranma's face. "Yeah, sure, there's a lot more of them than us," he admitted. "And sure, a hundred youma might beat us in a straight fight. All that means is that we won't give 'em a straight fight."

The pigtailed fighter began to gesture widely with his uninjured hand. "See, if the other guy's more powerful than you, you don't just charge in and try to take him head-on. Only a total moron--" Ranma's eyes flickered briefly over to Ryouga as he spoke, prompting the lost boy to glare back. "--would fight like that. If you want to win, you gotta be sneaky in how you attack. You gotta take advantage of the other guy's weaknesses. And if you've got weaknesses of your own, you gotta find ways to avoid those. Or even better, you can actually turn... them... into..."

Ranma's voice trailed off, his eyes losing their focus slightly. Then his eyebrows furrowed in thought. Then a speculative expression crossed his face, followed by and grimace of distaste, followed by a wry smile. Then he turned back to Beneda. "Hey..." he said. "So the Senshi... From what you told them, they must think we're some kind of... evil masterminds or something, right?"

Beneda nodded shamefacedly... but Ranma's grin only widened. "All right then, listen up," he told the assembled group, as he leaned forward conspiratorially.

"I got an idea."



**********



The Darkmistress paced up and down the length of the medical bay, her thoughts consumed with her plans to kill the upstart humans who had shamed her so.

Jadeite lay in the healing pod off to one side, but she tried to ignore him as much as she could, addressing him only when her strategies veered into an area that required his input or consent. It galled her that she had to pass up a perfect opportunity to kill him, but her need to kill these new upstarts was even greater.

"If you only want to search with scanning teams disguised as humans, then you'll have to supplement my youma with some of your own," she informed the General at length. "Transformation is just too rare a power. I can't spare enough who have it from their other duties."

Jadeite grunted. "Very well," he said. "I will provide whatever youma are necessary to make up the difference. We can't risk our prey bolting before I can send in the main strike force."

Which was, more than anything else, the weakest link in their plan. In order to keep the location of the Juuban portal secret, they couldn't send any large, untransformed troop movements through it--not in broad daylight. Nor were temporary portals much of a solution either. Opening enough of them for long enough to deploy an army into Nerima would have been a taxing feat even had Jadeite been at full strength.

The corpse-like youma's lip twisted, as she considered the delay that could create between discovery and attack. Worse, she knew that they would get only one shot at it. There would be no way to conceal a maneuver of that size from Beryl, even for her. One way or another the Queen would know. The only question would be whether they could lay the humans' heads at her feet to placate her.

Or, failing that, whether she could shift enough of the blame onto Jadeite to avoid death herself. She had kept him alive for more than just the army that he commanded.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. "What if we moved the army through the portal beforehand?"

Jadeite shot her a scornful look. "And where would we hide a force of that size? Or are we to risk open conflict with the JSDF on top of everything else springing up to assault us?"

"Hardly," the Darkmistress spat back. One of Beryl's standing edicts was to avoid direct encounters with the human armed forces until they had Metallia's direct support once again. Even this sortie they were planning--hit and run though it was--would dangerously push the limits of that command. "The Black Section has many contacts in the human world, General. I could easily command some of my deep-cover agents to arrange the use of some large warehouses."

Jadeite pondered the suggestion. "Yes..." he said at last. "That might be worth considering. I could set up a fake training exercise to serve as a cover, and begin moving them out under the cover of night. It would certainly allow for a faster response, without compromising the location of the Juuban portal itself."

So glad you agree... was the Darkmistress's contemptuous thought. Aloud, she said, "Then we should begin as soon as possible. Before we face these upstarts again, I want to have at least seven hundred youma ready for immediate attack."

A vicious smile split the youma's face. "And then we will see how well the humans fare..."



**********



Usagi sighed, her shoulders slumping as she listened to the back-and-forth planning of Luna, Rei and Ami.

She was used to hating the lifestyle of a Sailor Senshi. That feeling had been her constant companion since the first time she had taken up her transformation brooch and rushed--however falteringly--to Naru's rescue.

Most of the time, that dislike was born out of fear, the panic that seized her at the thought of facing the Dark Kingdom's deadly servants. But now, though the fear was definitely still there, there was also an unpleasant feeling of gnawing uncertainty to deal with on top of that.

When fighting youma, it was at least clear what she should do, even if her fear made it hard. It didn't take a genius like Ami to know the response when faced with a monster trying to drain the life from your friends and neighbors. Nor was there much call for sympathy when the youma was eventually reduced to dust, especially since said youma had usually almost killed them a few times before that happened.

But these new bad guys... If they even were bad guys... Usagi scratched her head, trying to figure out how she felt about it all. Enemies that had attacked them... but also didn't kill Luna when they had the chance. Enemies that said they were trying to take over the world... but also were doctors, healers. Enemies that insulted her figure... but also sacrificed themselves for one of their servants.

It was all too confusing. Luna had said that even enemies could be kind in their own way, according to their own principles, while still needing to be stopped. But Usagi didn't want to fight someone who could jump in front of a fireball for someone else.

If they have that much kindness in their hearts, then there has to be a way we can work things out without killing each other, she thought. There just has to be!

Clinging to that decision as her compass, she tuned back in to the ongoing discussion. Ami was the one talking at the moment. "...still need more data before we can make any real decisions like that," the blue-haired girl said. "That should be our first priority. Until we do that, we're operating blindly."

"All right, then," Rei agreed. "How can we find out more about them?"

"We have four main leads right now," answered Ami. "First, the location that Shampoo gave us, since we never ended up reaching it yesterday. Second, the Nekohanten itself. Third, the other restaurant that Gosunkugi mentioned--Ucchan's."

"Hmmm..." Rei frowned in thought. "We can cover more ground if we split up, and we'll probably be less conspicuous that way too. I can go back to the Nekohanten, since I was the one who talked with Shampoo last time. I might be able to get some more information out of her."

Usagi's gaze ping-ponged back and forth between her other teammates, as she tried to figure out what to do. "Why do we have to go alone?" she pleaded anxiously. "Isn't there supposed to be safety in numbers?"

"Not if you're trying to avoid attention, meatball-head," Rei shot back. "Still, you should probably take Luna along with you, just to make sure you don't mess things up."

"I'm sure Usagi can handle herself just fine," Luna interjected, ignoring the blonde girl's violent shaking of her head. "She can look into this Ucchan's place. A public restaurant should be safe enough. And I should probably be the one to investigate the actual hideout that Shampoo mentioned, since I'm the smallest and least noticeable."

Rei, meanwhile, turned back to Ami. "Wait. You said that we had were four leads, but that was only three."

"Ah, yes..." the young genius said. "The last is probably one that I should handle. I talked with my mother last night, to see if there was anything she could tell me about this kind of medical acupressure. She hadn't had much first-hand experience with it... but she did tell me about an old friend of hers, who apparently knows a great deal on the subject. In fact, she said that he was the one who gave her the book that I found the technique in."

"I just thought... if I could talk to him myself, I might be able to learn more about what to expect when fighting someone like that. Maybe there are ways to counter the paralysis, or other things we'd need to watch out for."

"It's definitely worth investigating," agreed Luna. "All right, then. We know the next steps we need to take. Let's set out first thing after school tomorrow. And no excuses, Usagi."

Yes, reflected the blonde girl glumly. She really hated being a Senshi.



**********



Ryouga blinked. "That's your plan?"

"What?" Ranma demanded defensively. "You got a better one, pork-chop?"

Which was, of course, the problem. He didn't. Short of the Tendos and everyone associated with them going completely on the run, living the rest of their lives as fugitives from the Dark Kingdom, his rival's plan was the only one they had that could protect them from the overwhelming odds they faced. And, thinking through it, even Ryouga was forced to admit that it might actually work.

That didn't mean he had to like it, though.

Beneda, on the other hand, was looking at them like she was questioning their sanity. But in the end she simply shook her head, evidently choosing to go along with them. "It won't be that easy, though," she cautioned. "We'd have to make it all look good, like an actual ritual. And we'd need a real magic artifact of some kind, too. If they scan it, it has to be giving off a magical signature."

"Great-grandmother have many magic thing at Nekohanten!" suggested Shampoo excitedly, backing her Airen's plan without hesitation. "She no notice if one gone. Shampoo think."

Even Akane, to Ryouga's mild dismay, seemed to be on board with the idea. "Well," she said. "If we're trying to put together something that looks magical, I know someone who might be able to help with that part too."

"See?" said Ranma. "What'd I tell ya? We can make it work. It'll just take a little doing, that's all."

Ryouga grumbled a few choice words under his breath. "Fine, fine," he growled at last. "We'll go with your plan. Just don't blame me if the whole thing falls down around your ears."

"Actually," Ukyo put in. "I'm more worried about staying alive until we can put the plan into action. It's going to take a while to get all this stuff together, and all the details worked out. They're going to be looking for us, you know. Both the Senshi and Dark Kingdom."

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, I know. We'll have to figure something out to hold them off while we're getting ready. If it comes down to a fight I ain't too worried about the Senshi--heck, we even got them outnumbered--but those Dark Kingdom types are some nasty pieces of work."

"Well, if it's any consolation, you probably won't need to worry about Jadeite himself for a while," Beneda told them. "Even with healing magic, broken bones take a long time to heal, much longer than tissue damage. If you crushed him as badly as you say, he should be laid up for at least a week or two." Then the youma hesitated. "The Darkmistress, on the other hand... I didn't see what happened to her."

"Maybe one of the Senshi got her?" suggested Akane hopefully.

"That we should be so lucky..." replied Ranma. "Nah, she's probably still out there. Someone that twisted wouldn't die so conveniently." The pigtailed fighter shook his head, then turned to Beneda. "You weren't kidding about that illusion thing of hers, though. I saw a lot of dirty tricks when I was running around on my training trip with Pop... but that one's dirtier than any of them."

Mentioning the Darkmistress prompted Mousse to look up sharply, while Ryouga glowered at the memory of the illusion's use on him. "It's the kind of thing only a coward like her would use," the lost boy bit out, his eyes flashing. "Just a cheap cheat."

"But she is smart about how she uses it," Ranma warned. "She doesn't just throw it at you whenever; she waits until she can really take advantage of it. A big attack, one that'd leave you off-balance if you pulled it. Plus, even after she uses it, it's still a pain fighting a copy as perfect as hers is. Even if you know in your head that it's a fake."

"That seems to be a hallmark of hers," observed Mousse darkly. "When she attacked us at the dojo, she probably used the disguise of a little girl for a similar reason. I think she knew that most human fighters would have trouble going truly all-out against what seemed to be a child--if only on the level of instinctive reactions."

Beneda nodded. "And it's even worse, since her illusions can appear as whoever her opponent cherishes the most." She turned to face Ranma. "It must have been especially difficult for you to fight against..." Then she frowned, an expression of mild curiosity crossing her face. "Actually, I don't think I saw that part of the fight. Who did she turn into for you?"

Everything came to a screeching halt.

Slowly, moving with eerie unison, Akane, Ukyo and Shampoo all turned their heads to look at Ranma. The pigtailed fighter, for his part, turned white as a sheet and began to inch fearfully away.

"Well, Ranma?" asked Akane at last, smiling a very deliberate smile. Her tone of voice was probably intended to be calm and unconcerned, but it failed spectacularly at those goals. "Aren't you going to answer her question?"

"Ummm..." Ranma managed.

"Don't be so tense, Ranchan," put in Ukyo, her gaze locked onto Ranma with burning intensity. "It's not a big deal. We're just curious, that's all."

"Yeah... Well... You see..." Ranma inched a little further away, glancing frantically around as though for a means of escape.

"Shampoo want know too," added the Joketsuzoku girl firmly, a predatory gleam in her eyes. "Is too, too important to learn all about enemy power. Yes?"

"I didn't... I mean... It wasn't..." The Anything-Goes heir was growing increasingly flustered... until suddenly his eyes lit up with a flash of inspiration. "Pop! It was Pop that I saw!"

Silence greeted his words. Finally, Akane spoke. "You saw your father," she repeated flatly.

"Yeah!" Ranma fired back, his tone defensive. "That Darkmistress chick... she probably picked up on our deep an' loving family bonds of--"

"Hah!" Shampoo shot to her feet. "Is obvious what truth is! Violent-girl and Spatula-girl want force Airen not say who he is seeing!"

Ukyo immediately sprang to her feet as well. "Oh, that's rich!" she shot back. "You just keep telling yourself that, sugar. I don't think you'd like to hear the actual truth!"

And then Akane was on her feet herself. "W- well it's not like I wanted to know for that reason!" she protested. "I just wanted him to answer Beneda's question, that's all!"

Ranma snorted, crossing his arms quickly and looking away. "Yeah right, like I'd ever have a dorky tomboy like you showing up in something like that!"

"Ranma you jerk!" A large wooden mallet was suddenly procured out of nowhere, and immediately swung toward Ranma's head. The pigtailed martial artist yelped, leaping backward out of the way. Akane continued to charge after him, swinging with every step, chasing him all around the room. In no time at all, Shampoo and Ukyo had joined the pursuit, each shouting at Ranma to "just tell her that it was me you saw!"

Beneda watched the unfolding rampage, her eyes wide, her jaw hanging open. At length, she turned to Ryouga. "Does... this sort of thing happen often?" she asked uncertainly.

"Feh," was Ryouga's grumbled reply. "He's just lucky that I'm laid up... insulting Akane like that..."

But as it was, he had to content himself with watching the chase, and adding another entry to his list of things to beat Ranma up over once he regained the ability to stand.



**********



Hours later, long after the ruckus had died down, Beneda stood waiting in the lobby of Tofu's clinic.

Her mind was still a complete jumble, filled with conflicting emotions, along with a general sense of unreality. She could never have imagined that this would happen to her--that she would actually throw in her lot with a group of humans. But it had happened nonetheless. She had done it. She had come clean, and somehow they had still accepted her.

She was one of them now.

That thought filled her with an impossible warmth that she had no words to describe. She was only just beginning to come to grips with the fact that the shame and the fear of discovery that had plagued her up to this point were now things of the past. It was as though a hundred-pound weight that she had grown used to carrying had suddenly been taken away. She had nothing left to hide.

Which, in turn, meant that one more confrontation was in order.

Behind her, she heard the door to the clinic open. Tofu had closed his practice temporarily in light of the situation, so she knew that there was only one person the new arrival could be--the person she had called Ucchan's to request this meeting with.

"Well hello," came Nabiki's voice from the doorway. "If it isn't my favorite agent of darkness... How are you doing, Beneda?"

Beneda turned, keeping her face calm, and looked Nabiki straight in the eye. "I'm doing very well," she said honestly. "Better than I ever have before, in fact."

"Well good for you!" Nabiki said, smiling. "I hear that you had a little bit of excitement yesterday..."

The youma gave a small nod. "More than you know," she said. Then she took a deep breath. "I told them everything, Nabiki."

The middle Tendo's eyebrows went up a little. "Everything?" she echoed, sounding surprised.

"Yes," Beneda said. "The things you were holding over me. The things you never even guessed. Everything. Whatever it is you wanted to blackmail me into doing... you can't make me do it."

There was a moment of tense silence. And then Nabiki did the last thing Beneda had expected her to do.

She laughed.

It wasn't even the malicious, condescending laugh of a victor to the vanquished--that much Beneda might have expected, if the mercenary girl still had a trick up her sleeve. But this was actual, genuine laughter, as though Beneda had just told an uproariously funny joke.

Finally the laughter died down into chuckles, and Nabiki addressed her again. "You're absolutely right," she admitted. "I don't have any blackmail left on you anymore."

Beneda watched the still-smiling girl warily. "So..." she said at last. "If you can't force me to do what you want... why are you so happy?"

"Because..." Nabiki said, as she walked past Beneda, patting the youma briefly on the shoulder as she went by. "...you've already done it." The human girl winked, then walked on out of the room, leaving an utterly flummoxed Beneda in her wake.



**********



Akane huffed loudly as she jogged down the sidewalk, mentally replaying the events of the earlier scuffle as she ran. Honestly! she fumed to herself. What a jerk! What an absolute jerk! So what if I'm not...quite as feminine as those other two? He doesn't have to rub it in like that!

And I absolutely don't care one bit who it was that he saw!

It was only when she reached her destination that her anger began to abate, as it gave her something new to focus on. I'll show him! she promised herself. I can be useful, at least. When she arranged this bit of assistance for Ranma's plan, even he would have to admit that...

Well, knowing the jerk, he probably still wouldn't admit that she had been any help. But it would be true, and she would know it, and he would know it. Even if he wouldn't say so.

Walking up to the front door of the house, Akane knocked, then stepped back to wait. There were several seconds of silence, and then she heard someone coming up to the door. A moment later, it swung open. And a moment after that, Gosunkugi's eyes bulged as he saw who it was that had come calling.

"A- A- A- Akane!" he stuttered, white-faced, taken completely aback by the development. "Wh- wh- what are y- you doing here?"

"Hello, Gosunkugi," she replied, smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry for showing up so suddenly, but there's something I need to ask you. You know a lot about... magic stuff, right?"

Gosunkugi's response was mostly incoherent, but there was a definite nod of the head somewhere in it, so Akane forged onward. "Well, the details still haven't been worked out completely... but something's come up with Ranma, and I was wondering if you might be willing to lend a hand with it? I think you could really be a big help."

Her words seemed to be having a profound effect on the boy; he couldn't seem to nod fast enough. "That's great!" she exclaimed. "Thank you! Can we go inside to talk about it more, though? It's probably not the sort of thing that we should discuss out here."

Gosunkugi turned a bright red, but quickly opened the door wider to allow her entry. Akane began to step through... and then paused, catching a tiny flicker of movement out of the very corner of her eye.

She turned quickly, trying to locate the source... but could not find anything. Her eyes swept back and forth, but nothing in the street or the surrounding houses seemed in any way out of place.

"A- Akane?" came Gosunkugi's worried voice from behind her. "Is everything all right?"

She continued to search for a few more seconds, before shaking herself and sighing. "Sorry," she said. "All this must be getting to me. I'm starting to jump at shadows..."



**********



Kodachi the Black Rose peered around the edge of the wall that she was hiding behind, watching as the boy with the dark shadows under his eyes let the Tendo girl into his house. She let out a small sigh of relief as the door finally shut behind them. That had been too close; she had almost been discovered.

Still, the fruits of this afternoon's excursion had been most interesting indeed. It had only been by chance that she had come across the filthy peasant, but she had immediately begun trailing her, waiting for her to drop her guard and give Kodachi a chance to attack--in all fairness, of course.

But this... this was even more intriguing. So her rival was seeking magical assistance in a matter to do with her darling Ranma. There was, of course, only one possible conclusion that could be drawn from such a conversation.

That harlot was trying to enchant Ranma's affections!

Kodachi felt righteous anger burning inside her. How dare she do something so despicable? If such a spell existed, it was obvious that the Black Rose was the only one who should be using it!

Then a smile began to creep across the gymnast's face. But I am wise to your game now, little tramp, she thought ominously. And I will not allow you to get away with it...



**********



Night had fallen over Nerima ward, bringing with it a blanket of relative quiet. The streetlamps provided their tiny islands of illumination, but apart from them, darkness laid claim to the surroundings.

For the twelfth time since he had snuck away from Tofu's clinic, Mousse glanced over his shoulder, searching for any signs that he was being followed. He found none. He continued to walk swiftly through the city streets, until at last he arrived at the Nekohanten.

Without wasting any time he slid open the door and ducked inside. The place had long since closed, and was now dark and silent. He threaded his way through the empty tables like a white-robed ghost, until he reached the back rooms.

Cologne was sitting there, her back toward him, reading one of her ancient scrolls by the light of a single, flickering candle. She did not acknowledge his presence, but Mousse knew that she had been aware of him since before he set foot in the restaurant.

The ancient master continued to study the parchment, letting the silence stretch on, until Mousse spoke. "Saotome--and the rest of them--have learned that Beneda was deceiving them," he announced, speaking in Chinese.

"Have they, now," was Cologne's neutral response.

"Yes," said Mousse. "Because she told them. She confessed everything, after Hibiki was hurt protecting her."

"I see." Cologne's voice didn't change any, but her tiny shoulders seemed to slump just a little, as though she were suddenly weary. "I suppose it is too much to hope that son-in-law's reaction to this was the pragmatic one?"

"He's still bent on protecting her, if that's what you mean," replied the hidden weapons master. "They all are."

"Unfortunate..." Cologne unrolled the scroll some more, reading further. "Though not unexpected."

"Saotome has a plan," Mousse pressed on. "A crazy, half-baked one, but he's determined to go through with it."

A soft breath, too heavy-hearted to quite be called a chuckle, escaped Cologne's lips. "Of course he is," she said. "So tell me, what has son-in-law come up with this time?"

` Mousse told her.

A long silence greeted the explanation of the plan's nuances. Finally Cologne spoke. "That is... impressive," she said. "He's actually managed to come up with something even more theatrical than his ridiculous 'time traveling Happousai' plan."

Mousse winced at the memory of their ultimately-successful yet calamity-fraught attempt to get Pantyhose Taro's name changed. "Should we stop this somehow?" he asked.

"Stop it?" said Cologne, in a thoughtful tone of voice. "No. No, I don't think so. However, it would be best if he made a few slight modifications to his plan. Suggestions which you will present to him as being your own."

The hidden weapons master hesitated. Then, gathering himself, he asked the question that was on the tip of his lips. "These 'suggestions' that you want me to give Ranma... are they part of your plan to fight the Dark Kingdom... or part of your plan to kill Beneda?"

In an instant, the atmosphere of the room seemed to become ice cold. Slowly, very slowly, Cologne turned away from her scroll to look at Mousse directly. "And why, pray tell," she asked, with deliberate calm, "do you find that distinction so important?"

Mousse shrank under her gaze, but did not back down. "Beneda gave us that confession of her own free will," he answered defensively. "I was there in that alley. I heard what she said. She sounded--" He paused, memories flashing through his mind of her huddled frame, her broken tone of voice. "--sincere."

Cologne's eyes narrowed. "That is not your judgment to make, Mu Si," she snapped. "It is against Joketsuzoku law to allow a monster like that to--"

"I know!" Mousse snapped back. "I know the Joketsuzoku laws!"

Strained silence fell once more. Then, abruptly, Cologne turned back to her scroll. "I will tell you this much," she said at length. "This advice I send through you will give son-in-law--and all those with him--their best chance of surviving the immediate future. However, that does not change the fact that his youma must be... dealt with."

"I see," was Mousse's neutral response.

"And if you will not fulfill your duty," Cologne went on, "there will soon be many more who will have no such reluctance."

Mousse's eyebrows shot up. "You mean--?"

"Yes," Cologne told him. "We will soon be receiving reinforcements."



**********



Ranma sat atop Tofu's clinic, gazing out across the darkened city as he kept watch, alert for any signs of their enemies. Since Ryouga had to stay here, where Tofu could treat him, the doctor had opened his clinic to the other defenders as well. It was, Ranma had to admit, certainly more spacious here than Ucchan's.

The pigtailed fighter chuckled to himself, reflecting on the events of the past day. To think that the deception that had gotten them into this mess would be the key to getting them out of it. It was, ultimately, a fortunate thing that Beneda had planted that idea in the minds of the Sailor Senshi.

"Saotome."

"Gah!" Ranma sprang to his feet, whirling around in a fighting stance, cursing himself for his distraction. His heartbeat began to slow again, however, once he realized who it was that had come up behind him.

"What the--? What are you doing out here, Mousse?" Ranma asked, trying to quickly reestablish his composure. "It ain't your turn on watch 'till morning."

"I... wanted to talk with you," the nearsighted boy replied. The night shadows made reading his expression impossible. "There is something you need to know. Our focus so far has been on defending against the Dark Kingdom and the Senshi... but you mustn't forget Cologne."

"I haven't," Ranma assured him. "We'll need to settle things with her eventually. It's just that the Dark Kingdom is the big threat right now."

"Cologne's threat is about to get much bigger," warned Mousse. "She's sent for the rest of the tribe, Saotome. All the warriors they can spare. They'll be here the day after tomorrow."

Ranma's eyes widened. "How did you find out about--?"

"Don't ask me that," interjected Mousse sharply. "It's not an answer that would do anyone any good. Just believe me when I say that it's true."

The pigtailed fighter hesitated for a few moments, then nodded. "All right man," he said. "Thanks for the tip."

Mousse grunted, then turned and walked away. He reached the edge of the roof, before pausing and glancing back over his shoulder. "Saotome..." he said. "This plan of yours... do you really think it will work?"



**********



Meanwhile, in Gosunkugi's bedroom, the scrawny boy was having trouble containing his excitement. His dark-ringed eyes fairly danced with glee. It was perfect! Too perfect!

With this new turn of events, he could do more than just feed the Senshi information! He could actually help them in their fight, by sabotaging Saotome's scheme from within! The pigtailed fool and his evil monster would never know what hit them!

**********

Meanwhile, deep within the Kuno mansion, Kodachi was training furiously with her ribbon, spinning it this way and that, in preparation for the battle that she knew was coming.

Do you think you can steal my darling Ranma from me so easily, you little minx? she thought. I will do whatever it takes to ruin your little... magic plan... and then steal its power to claim Ranma's heart for my own!

**********

Meanwhile, in Ami's house, the blue-haired girl was double-checking the plan for the following day. The goals were all set--Luna investigating the hideout Shampoo had mentioned, Rei returning to the Nekohanten, Usagi checking out Ucchan's, and herself trying to learn as much as she could from her mother's friend.

She just hoped that this "Doctor Tofu" could shed some light on their mysterious attacker, and the techniques that he used...

**********

Meanwhile, in the darkened Nekohanten, Cologne sat brooding over the recent events that Mousse had described to her. She had hoped that it would not come to this... but that had turned out to be an old fool's hope.

And so she was left with a law to be enforced... and a choice to be made.

**********

Meanwhile, off in the Dark Kingdom, the Darkmistress was reviewing the latest report on the troop movements. A vicious chuckle escaped her lips as she did so.

I defy you to show your faces again, humans, she thought bitterly. For when we find you, we will bury you under a flood of youma that this world has not seen since the fall of the Silver Millennium!

**********

Back atop Tofu's clinic, Ranma regarded Mousse's question with disbelief. "Of course the plan is going to work," he said, sounding affronted that Mousse would even suggest that his brilliant idea could fail.

"I mean... what could possibly go wrong?"

[Spokavriel]

Dropping "What could possibly go wrong" in is overplaying it. At least for ending the chapter. Its too much of an oh brother factor especially with Ranma.

Kick off the next chapter going back to the roof. Leave this one with the declaration of the hordes of Youma and you still have an effective series of cliffhangers. The "What could possibly go wrong" is just that one bit too far that makes me wonder if there is any point to coming back and seeing how the plans turn out.

[yakumo fujii]

I thought this was a really good chapter.

I would have liked to see Genma's reaction to Ranma's incredible victory, given his previous pessimism. Cologne similarly didn't seem to have any reaction to it which seems a bit odd to me.

[claymade]

Dropping "What could possibly go wrong" in is overplaying it. At least for ending the chapter. Its too much of an oh brother factor especially with Ranma.

Kick off the next chapter going back to the roof. Leave this one with the declaration of the hordes of Youma and you still have an effective series of cliffhangers. The "What could possibly go wrong" is just that one bit too far that makes me wonder if there is any point to coming back and seeing how the plans turn out.

One of the problems with doing it that way is that I've already established all those five threats in the preceding scenes--it's only the "frame" of Mousse's question that gives me an actual framework/justification for revisiting them yet again to drive them home, without it being just randomly tacked on. Thus, there's no way I can hold the rest of the rooftop scene 'till the next chapter, since the question needs to be answered in this one to close the "frame" off.

Plus, I didn't really want it to be merely--or even primarily--a "will they survive" type cliffhanger. We've had a couple of darker chapters recently; I specifically wanted this one to end on a less-serious note, while promising Ranma-style chaos as being on the way.

I thought this was a really good chapter.

Thanks!

I would have liked to see Genma's reaction to Ranma's incredible victory, given his previous pessimism. Cologne similarly didn't seem to have any reaction to it which seems a bit odd to me.

Rrrrgh, very good point. I wanted to work Cologne's reaction into this, but it just didn't fit well without being too much of a divergence from their conversation there. (Mousse, in fact, didn't specifically bring it up in the part that was shown.) I'll try to work it in next chapter, here's crossing my fingers. (Basic gist: she's very proud of her son-in-law on a personal level... although she's nevertheless still very much aware that A) she's still facing a massive army B) that Jadeite wasn't anywhere near the strongest General, and C) that Jadeite's a gnat next to the planet-killing demon goddess that's really behind all of this.)

Similarly in Genma's case, he realizes (correctly) that incredible victory or no, ultimately they're still more or less as spectacularly outnumbered as they were before--and two of their best fighters are now injured to boot. So his perspective on the matter isn't likely to change all that much from what's already been seen.

[Spokavriel]

Given the way you painted Genma already in the story why isn't he already doing all he can to try to get them to flee? Perhaps even attempting to find the Senshi to surrender to them since they are the only ones who from what he heard came out somewhat healthy from the fight.

[claymade]

Given the way you painted Genma already in the story why isn't he already doing all he can to try to get them to flee? Perhaps even attempting to find the Senshi to surrender to them since they are the only ones who from what he heard came out somewhat healthy from the fight.

He does know that the Senshi aren't as powerful overall as the DK, so it's doubtful whether he'd try to surrender to them. He definitely was planning to take another crack at convincing Ranma--like he mentioned he was going to do after his last one failed--but it just hasn't happened yet.

Although I should have clarified in my earlier post that it was specifically in regard to Jadeite's defeat that that event wasn't going to particularly change his mind about the feasibility of things. As for Ranma's new plan, however... that we've yet to see his reaction to.