The Dark Lords of Nerima, Chapter Twenty-Three [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.


(previous chapters can be found here)



Chapter Twenty-Three: Wrapping Up



Jadeite limped through one of the Dark Kingdom's rocky tunnels, making his way toward Queen Beryl's throne room. His mind was racing, trying to think of what he would say when he arrived. He knew full well that his life would unquestionably hinge on it.

Worst was that he didn't even know all of what had happened. By the time he had made his way back to the location where his army had been fighting, he had found it deserted. No youma, no enemies, nothing but a wide swath of destruction torn into the city. The disappearance of the Dark Lords' army was easily explained by the destruction of their dimensional key... but had they really obliterated the entire youma attack force before that? Jadeite shuddered.

Either way, it was imperative that he report to Queen Beryl quickly, to explain the situation to her in a way that cast him in a favorable light. He planned out what he was going to tell her, trying to think of every possible contingency depending on how much she had already learned.

All too soon, the doors of the throne room came into view. The Dark General didn't feel ready, but this was hardly something one could be truly ready for. Steeling himself, he pushed the doors open and hobbled inside.

At his entrance, a low murmur coursed through the throng of youma that customarily surrounded Beryl's throne when she held court. Just as quickly it was cut off, leaving only silence. Then the sea of youma parted, opening a path from where Jadeite stood to where his ruler sat.

Nor was Queen Beryl alone. Kunzite, Nephrite and Zoisite were all standing near her, while Marceat, the youma subcommander of the attack force, knelt trembling at her feet. So... Jadeite thought. There were some survivors after all. This will be interesting.

"Jadeite." The Queen's voice was as cold as ice, and she fixed him with a look as hard as steel. "I understand that you have been busy, of late."

The Dark General swallowed, hard. How much did she know? He couldn't even begin to guess. In fact, given Marceat's presence, the Queen might know even more than he himself did, concerning the ultimate fate of the youma force. Still, he had to say something.

He drew in a deep breath, his ribs flaring in agony as he did. "Yes, your majesty," he replied. "I had been monitoring the new enemies that your Darkmistress had been fighting against, in case she needed any assistance from the Army. We discovered that they were about to initiate a ritual that would have given them access to an unbeatable army. Knowing that we had little time, we took immediate countermeasures."

"Countermeasures?" echoed Queen Beryl. She rose from her throne and began to walk toward Jadeite. "Youma charging through the streets of Tokyo in broad daylight? An entire battalion of your forces completely annihilated? And you, one of my Generals, beaten to the point where you can barely stand?" She made a disgusted gesture in his direction. "These were the results of your countermeasures?"

"Yes, your majesty." Jadeite kept his reply simple and unflinching. "Because they were all necessary for the victory we achieved. And because failure would have been immeasurably worse."

His gaze flickered briefly back and forth, but he did not see the Darkmistress anywhere, and he decided to take advantage of her absence. "Concerning the battalion that was lost, I had given it to the command of the Darkmistress while I went on with the DD Girls to defeat the enemy leaders at their stronghold. I cannot imagine what errors in leadership could have destroyed the entire force in the short time it took us achieve victory."

Beryl pursed her lips. "According to what I have been told, the Darkmistress left the battle herself not long after you did. Even now, I am unable to contact her."

"I see." Jadeite kept his expression neutral. "Well. I am certain she had her reasons for fleeing the battle like that, your majesty." The Dark General tried to put just the tiniest hint of emphasis on the world fleeing.

"Just as you, no doubt, have an explanation for your pathetic condition?" was Beryl's caustic reply.

"It was a fierce battle, your majesty," Jadeite responded. "I was pitted against the most powerful warriors these foes had to offer, and I emerged victorious over all of them... though not without some damage."

At that, Nephrite laughed. "He's right about how dangerous those enemies were," the brown-haired general put in. "After all... one of them managed to bloody even the 'invincible' Kunzite, didn't she? And when she was already exhausted, no less!"

Jadeite blinked, surprised by the unexpected support. But then he noticed the vindictive smirk that Nephrite was directing toward the other two generals, and he understood. Something had happened between the three of them, and right now Nephrite was more interested in striking against their positions than Jadeite's.

Zoisite's response was a seething, poisonous glower, while Kunzite contented himself with an impassive stare. The Queen ignored all of them, her attention never wavering from Jadeite as she regarded him with the dispassion of someone deciding whether to pull the legs off an insect. Then, at last, she spoke. "And these foes... they are now completely defeated?"

Jadeite met his queen's gaze, looking her in the eye and putting every single shred of conviction and belief that he could muster into his words. "Yes, your majesty," he said. "There is not the slightest doubt in my mind that their threat has been completely and utterly eradicated."

"Mmm." Beryl regarded him for a few more seconds, then let out a soft hiss. "If so, then I suppose you have fulfilled your duties, General. However ineptly. As for the loss of the battalion..."

The Queen made an offhanded gesture in Marceat's direction. Streams of fire burst from her fingertips, twisting through the air to converge on the cowering youma. The air was rent by tortured sounds that were almost recognizable as screams, as the youma was immolated by Beryl's magic before finally crumbling into dust.

"...that was clearly the fault of its commander at the time." Beryl's eyes narrowed. "And when she deigns to show her face, I will have to inquire of the Darkmistress why she was so negligent as to abandon it to such hands."

It was all Jadeite could do not to sag with relief. He was still alive. The Queen's wrath had settled on another target. And even better, it seemed as though the Darkmistress herself would soon be facing Beryl's displeasure. "Then, if your majesty permits, I will go and attend to my troops," he said. "I will no doubt need to restructure them, in light of the recent losses." And—more important—he needed desperately to get off his feet and back into a medical pod.

Beryl nodded, and the general turned to hobble out. He had almost reached the chamber's exit when the Queen's voice stopped him. "One warning, Jadeite."

Jadeite turned back around, and Beryl continued a note of threat in her voice. "Do not ever come before me again in such a disgraceful state. No matter the opponent, my generals are not to be so easily humbled... and I will not tolerate such a poor display from you a second time. Do I make myself clear?"

His throat dry, Jadeite licked his lips. "Yes, your majesty," he replied. "Perfectly clear."



**********



Hours later, Queen Beryl sat in her chambers, her face bent into a frown as she considered the events that had so recently transpired, and how much was still mysterious about them. This was not helped by the similarly mysterious absence of the head of her spy network and secret police.

Eventually, however, her brooding was interrupted as she detected a youma approaching the door to her room. Her eyes narrowed, but she spoke with a level voice. "Enter."

For a moment there was no response. Then the air in front of Beryl glowed, a form taking shape there. So this youma, whoever she was, had the power of short-range teleportation. Not nearly fast enough to be practical in a combat situation, but good for a flashy entrance. This unexpected arrival was trying to make an impression.

The glow resolved into the bowed and kneeling form of Modra, leader of the DD Girls and second-in-command to the Darkmistress. A smile that had something to do with satisfaction but nothing to do with good humor spread across Beryl's face. "Excellent. Perhaps you can shed some light onto your superior's ill-advised absence."

In reply, Modra raised her head, and Beryl saw that the youma's forehead was now adorned with the winged-outline headpiece that had belonged to the Darkmistress. The Queen raised an eyebrow. "Ah. I see that she has finally overstepped her abilities, then. Tell me, youma. Was it by the hand of those 'Dark Lords'... or did you see an opportunity?"

"The Dark Lords, your majesty," answered Modra. "She seems to have been killed before we defeated them."

Beryl's lip twisted. "Then they saved me the trouble," she said. "And you... you have succeeded where she failed. The Black Section is yours—for the time being."

"Your majesty is gracious," replied the youma, bowing her head once more.

The Queen rose from her seat, walking over to where Modra knelt. "You now bear a heavy responsibility," she said, reaching down to grasp the youma by the chin and twist her head up so that Beryl could look at the headpiece. "And you now bear an artifact of great power as well. I suggest you train yourself in its use, as the Darkmistress did."

"Of course, your majesty."

"Then if there is nothing else, you may proceed with your new duties," Beryl continued. "Jadeite's breach of our secrecy is most troubling. Direct your deep-cover sleeper agents in the human press and law enforcement to spread as much misinformation about it as possible, to keep the truth of the issue confused. Also, I will require a thorough investigation of this Nerima region as well, to ensure that this threat is truly past."

Modra bowed. "Yes, your majesty," she replied. "We will confirm the Dark Lords' defeat, just as we have already confirmed the death of the traitorous youma that was aiding them."



**********



With a small murmur, Beneda slowly pulled herself up off her makeshift bedroll and into a sitting position, blinking sleep out of her eyes. After a few moments she got to her feet, stumbling a little bit due to the unfamiliar balance of her body, and then looked around.

Early morning light spilled through a nearby window into Doctor Tofu's clinic. Her eyes caught on that window, focusing on the faint reflection of her face that she could see in the glass. It was not a face she was accustomed to seeing there. Her skin was pale, not her usual green shade. Her hair was still silver, but soft, flowing, no longer metallic.

It was the face of a human.

Tentatively, she raised a hand to her cheek, her fingers touching, exploring, as she had done so often since her transformation. Even now, it still seemed so unreal, the stranger's face staring back at her. This body felt so much softer, weaker, more vulnerable than she was used to. She knew, of course, that she was ultimately far, far safer posing as a human, but she didn't feel that to be the case.

Even so, her youma body was not completely lost. All it would take would be a splash of hot water to turn her back to her original form. While that fact might pose an added risk of discovery, Beneda knew that in her heart of hearts, she was relieved by the incomplete nature of the transformation. Her youma body was part of her identity, and knowing it still existed, in some sense, helped her keep a grip despite all the tumultuous happenings.

Stretching, the newly-human girl stepped around the still-sleeping forms of the Joketsuzoku warriors that she was sharing the room with. The army had scattered after their "dispelling", going to ground in various hiding places across the city. Many were hiding at the Nekohanten, of course, and Ukyo was also putting up quite a few at her restaurant, while others had simply disguised their tribal origin and procured lodging in various hotels. But many had also come here to the clinic—the wounded in particular.

The ones sleeping around her bedroll had only minor injuries: smaller cuts and gashes for the most part, which had been already tended to. She tiptoed around them, moving out into the hallway, and from there up the stairs to the room that held the more serious cases.

This room, too, was filled with cots and bedrolls, but the women on them were a much grimmer sight. They were all heavily bandaged, some of them even missing limbs. Doctor Tofu was sitting in the midst of them, much as he had been when Beneda had last seen him. The patients had all been stabilized, but he still watched over them, ready to respond to any complications that might arise.

She had to clear her throat before Tofu registered her presence—a clear sign of just how tired the man was. While Beneda had been helping with the less serious cases, he had been fighting non-stop for these women's survival all the previous day and into the night, using procedures and treatments that were far beyond anything he had yet taught her. He had still been doing so when he had ordered her to bed, and it looked as though he himself had not slept at all since then.

"Doctor Tofu, sir," she said. "You should really get some rest. I can at least take a shift and observe them for you."

The doctor frowned in thought. Then he nodded. "Yes, I think they are stable enough now that we can do that. I'll only need to be asleep for an hour, at the most. Be sure to wake me if there are any changes in their condition."

"Of course," was Beneda's immediate reply.

Tofu raised one hand to his mouth to cover a yawn, checked all of his patients one last time, and then headed for the door, giving Beneda a grateful pat on the shoulder as he left. The sometime-youma, for her part, sat herself down right where he had been sitting, focusing her eyes on her new charges with dutiful intensity.



**********



"Unbelievable..." murmured Loofah, stroking her chin in thought. "So the light of the Moon Kingdom has not been completely extinguished, as we had all assumed."

The four members of the Joketsuzoku council were seated once more in one of the upper rooms of the Nekohanten, with Altine's glowing image again projected into the air at the center of the table they were gathered around. All the elders were looking at the hologram, digesting the implications of what it had just confirmed.

"That seems to be the case," agreed Cologne. "Everything fits. The names they bear, the powers they display, their appearance to counter the Dark Kingdom..."

"And you believe that this 'Sailor Moon' is herself the Princess?" pressed Loofah.

"You heard yourself what Honored Altine told us," Cologne replied, shrugging. "The girl's very name aside, the tiara she wields is a perfect match for an ancestral weapon of the Moon Kingdom, traditionally bestowed upon the heir to the throne. The conclusion seems obvious."

Soap slammed her fist into the table. "This is exactly what we need!" she said, her eyes gleaming. She had been working all night, treating the wounds of the Joketsuzoku warriors who had not been sent to Doctor Tofu's, and this was the first opportunity she'd had to safely leave for Council business. But any weariness she might have felt had been burned away by the news Cologne had brought them.

"We were worried about Kunzite?" she went on. "Against the might of House Serenity, he'd fare no better than a two-bit conjurer! Beryl? She would fall just as easily! Even Metallia herself would not be out of reach!"

"Are you certain of that?" asked Loofah. "I know what we have learned from Honored Altine... but if this child is of Serenity's line, we have seen little of the power one would expect. From what Ke Lun says, her son-in-law alone held the girl off without much trouble."

"That is because she has yet to find herself," replied Cologne. "At present, she does not even understand who she is—or the weight of the birthright that she bears."

"Then she will have to learn it, if she is to be of any use to us," rejoined Loofah. "Against the enemy we face, nothing less will do."

"Indeed." The Matriarch now entered the conversation, causing all heads to turn toward her. "The girl must be allowed to grow into her power—if she is, in fact, who we suspect her to be. Battle will draw it out of her... and she will doubtless face many battles in the days to come."

The ancient woman swept her gaze across the other elders. "For our part, we must recover our own strength. This clash has left us weakened. We must heal our wounded and re-train our tribe to face this threat. When the time comes, and the Princess is ready to confront her destiny, we must also be ready to support her."



**********



A few days later, Eludin glanced back and forth as she walked down the sidewalk of the human city. As a recent recruit to the Black Section, this Nerima investigation was the Inquisitor's first mission into the human world, and the youma was determined to carry it out to perfection.

Her disguise was in place: a tall, curvaceous woman dressed in a tight brown suit. She wore the human form with the ease of long practice, having trained with it extensively in anticipation of one day getting such a chance. She walked with confident, purposeful strides, while in her hand she carried a human-style notebook. It was useful for jotting down information on anything she learned in a way that fit with her cover identity of Suzuki Sumiko, freelance journalist.

Already she had "interviewed" more than a dozen people, trying to surreptitiously gather information on the foes that the Dark Kingdom had so recently fought. The results had so far been underwhelming. She had yet to find anyone who had met the enemies in person, and had gotten only fragmented, contradictory hearsay about the recent battle.

Up ahead, she saw two young male humans walking down the sidewalk toward her, of about school age. She hurried in their direction. The Dark Lords had been posing as students themselves during their stay in this world, which meant that these two might prove particularly useful to question.

"Excuse me?" Both of them looked up from their conversation at her words, their eyebrows going up a little when they saw who was addressing them. To aid in getting information, Elidun had specifically designed her disguise form to target the sexual impulses of human males, and the reaction of the two teenagers suggested that her research had not misled her. "My name is Suzuki Sumiko, and I'm doing a piece for the Daily Yomiuri on the... altercation that took place near here a few days ago. Do you two know anything about what happened?"

"Oh, sure!" replied one of the boys, the one with tousled, light brown hair. "We know about that. Some kind of army of monster women, a big battle or something. Our school got wrecked too, and we had to cancel classes while it's getting repaired."

"Well, I heard the whole thing was blown way out of proportion," added the other boy, his hair black, and a bit straighter. "Just a bunch of marital artists dressing up and going on a crazy vandalism spree. We see that kind of thing all the time around here."

"No, I don't buy it," replied the first boy. "Seriously, Daisuke. Everyone I've talked to who actually saw it for themselves says there were way too many of them for it to be anything like that. And we've never had that much damage from a martial arts fight before, not even close!"

Daisuke made an unconvinced noise. "There's a first time for everything, isn't there? Besides, Hiroshi, you really think a whole army of monsters just popping up right in the middle of Tokyo is any more believable? Not to mention that nobody even found any bodies when they arrived to check out this 'war' of yours."

"That's not proof!" Hiroshi shot back. "I heard that those kind of monsters just turn to dust when they die!"

The other boy rolled his eyes. "Right. Of course. How convenient. And next you'll be trying to tell me again how the Sailor Senshi are real too."

"They are!"

Sensing that this would go on for a while if she let it, Eludin broke into their argument, trying to steer the conversation back in the direction she wanted it to go. "Well, regardless of whether it was real or fake, I'd like to know more about the people involved. Do you know anything about a certain Saotome Ranma?"

Both of the humans looked surprised at the name. "Ranma?" Hiroshi asked. "Sure, we know him. Heh, figures that he'd be mixed up in this somehow."

The disguised youma suppressed a smile. Perfect! "Really?" she asked, with outward calm. "Why would you say that?"

"Oh, he's always getting involved with weird stuff like that," Hiroshi volunteered. "Big battles, secret techniques, magic items, that kind of thing. Happens all the time."

"Yes, I see..." Eludin jotted several notes down in her notebook. Clearly the Dark Lords had spent their time here trying to obtain the sorts of artifacts that had almost let them bring through their army to this world. Fortunate that the Dark Kingdom had learned of their aims in time. "How long have you known him?"

"Not long, I guess," answered Daisuke. "He just showed up out of nowhere one day in class. He'd been off in China or something before that, but then he moved here, into the Tendo place."

"Mmm, yes..." murmured the youma, writing down some more notes. "The Tendo family..."



**********



About a half-hour later, Eludin stood outside the outer wall surrounding the Tendo compound. She had always intended to investigate here, one of the first places they had fought the Dark Lords, and after talking with the two boys, she had made her way here. She hadn't gotten anything further out of them; it had become obvious during their conversation that they had only been familiar with the innocent façade of this Ranma's cover identity, and were completely ignorant of his darker true motives.

But here... by all accounts this had been one of their main centers of operations, the place where the Darkmistress had first fought them. If there was any place to check, this would be it.

From behind the outer wall, Eludin could hear hammering, people moving around, the sounds of repairs being performed, doubtless related to the damage from the Darkmistress's attack. She walked up to the gate and knocked as loudly as she could. For a long while there was no response, and the youma began to suspect that her knock had been swallowed up by the noises inside.

She raised her hand to knock again, but just before she could, the door opened to reveal a short-haired young girl of about the same age as the boys she had interrogated earlier. "Hello!" she said pleasantly. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yes, in fact," replied the youma. "My name is Suzuki Sumiko, and I'm doing a piece for the Daily Yomiuri. Do you know anything about the strange events that took place a few days ago?"

At the question, the girl's face bent into a troubled frown, and she raised one hand to her forehead, as though experiencing a sudden headache. "I..." she began, then paused. "That's... I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me. It's just... strange. People have been talking about what happened then, but I don't remember anything about that day. It's all just... a blank."

Eludin's eyes lit up. Now this was more like it! "Blank, you say?" she asked, trying not to let her excitement show through.

"I know, I know, it sounds like I'm crazy," the girl said, starting to wring her hands a little. "But I'm not, I swear!"

"Of course not," soothed the Inquisitor, eager to see what else she could coax out. "Do you remember anything from before that? Anything about someone named Ranma?"

"Just... bits and pieces..." the girl said, shaking her head as though trying to clear it. "It's all so... so blurred over the past few months, right up until a few days ago, when everything suddenly became clear again. There... there was someone called Ranma, I think. He was... my fiancé? But... why would I have a fiancé? I didn't even know him before then!"

"I see, I see..." said the youma, furiously writing the information down in her notebook. "Please, tell me more..."



**********



When she finally left the Tendo home, Eludin was wearing a satisfied smile on her face. It was obvious what had happened here: the Dark Lords had obtained a place to operate from in this area by bewitching this family and passing Ranma off as the girl's lover. A clever plan indeed. But now the spell was broken as a result of the caster's removal from this dimension.

As she walked away down the sidewalk, her path crossed with yet another human, going in the opposite direction. It was another female, this one wearing her hair done up in a pigtail. Next to her trotted a small black animal of the human world—a "piglet", Eludin believed it was called. Figuring the girl to be as likely a source as any, the youma moved toward them as well.

"Excuse me," she said as she approached. "My name is Suzuki Sumiko, and I'm doing a piece for the Daily Yomiuri. Do you happen to know anything about the altercation that took place a few days ago?"

"You mean the big fight?" The girl and piglet exchanged glances, then looked back at the disguised youma. "Oh no, we definitely don't know anything about that! We've heard what everyone's been saying, of course, but we didn't actually see anything for ourselves. 'Cause, you know, we weren't anywhere near the place when it happened!"

"I see..." Yet another dead end. Unfortunate, but hardly unexpected. Asking random passersby was definitely a long shot, not likely to bring her any closer to an understanding of the enigmatic Dark Lords and what their true nature had been. She tried one last question, however. "Well, are you at all familiar with a Saotome Ranma?"

"Saotome Ranma?" asked the pigtailed girl, scratching the back of her head. "Well, I guess I kind of know him. I mean, I'm in the same class as he is, for one thing. And of course, everyone around the school knows how amazing he is at martial arts. Plus there's how good-looking he is, and not to mention—ow!" The piglet had, for some reason, chosen that moment to bite her in the ankle, cutting off the stream of praise.

The girl glared down at her pet, who glared right back up at her. Then the human turned back to Eludin. "Anyway, it's kind of strange, now that you mention it. No one's seen or heard anything from him since the big fight you were asking about. He just seems to have dropped off the face of the earth."

Eludin nodded resignedly. The same story she had heard everywhere else. She was beginning to suspect that this was as close as she was ever going to get to the truth of these foes. If so, they would go down in the annals of the Dark Kingdom as inexplicable bogeymen, terrifying figures that had appeared out of nowhere, and come within a hair's breadth of destroying them all.



**********



"...and that was all I could determine with any degree of certainty. The Dark Lords are clearly gone, all their enchantments now broken and void. But beyond that, the information is fragmented and contradictory. For instance, some people actually claim that, far from being allies, this Ranma and Ryouga were bitter enemies, but this seems difficult to believe given our own experiences with them. Perhaps it was simply a misunderstanding of those watching, or else part of their cover."

Jadeite watched as Eludin described her findings, trying to ignore the constant pain from his body. The healing magic was having an effect, but it would be quite some time before he was at full strength again. What made it even worse was that all this information he was suffering to hear could hardly be trusted. As co-conspirators, Modra had asked him to attend Eludin's "official" debriefing... but she had doubtless made certain beforehand that the report would not contain anything she did not want him to know.

The Inquisitor flipped through her notebook some more. "Interestingly enough, there was one of his fellow students who was actually perceptive enough to realize that this Ranma was, in fact, an evil sorcerer. He didn't seem to have had much success in convincing anyone else of the truth, though."

"Fascinating," Jadeite said through gritted teeth, hoping to hurry this farce along. "At any rate, since your investigation has found nothing that would indicate the Dark Lords to still be a danger, we can move on to other, more pressing matters."

Eludin blinked. "Um, sir..." she began tentatively, fearful of him even though she was technically under Modra's command, not his. "I wouldn't say that my investigation is anywhere near complete at this point. Today was just a preliminary survey of the area; there's still quite a bit more detail that I could—"

"Perhaps we did not make ourselves clear," intoned Modra, leaning in closer. "Your investigation has. Found. Nothing. The battle we fought has been confirmed as a glorious, complete victory for the Dark Kingdom, due to the heroic efforts of myself and General Jadeite, and you are satisfied that no more attention needs to be paid to it."

The lower-ranking youma licked her lips and bowed deeply. "I understand, mistress. Yes, that is exactly my opinion. Please forgive my momentary foolishness."

A dismissive gesture was Modra's only reply, and Eludin scuttled away. Modra waited until she was gone, then turned to Jadeite. "And with that, we close the book on the Nerima encounter. There is no need for any deeper inquiry that might reveal... problematic details. Particularly about the final battle, and the role of the Senshi in it."

The Dark General nodded. "A glorious victory for us, as you said. And as promised, you will have the full support of my army division in consolidating your new position as the head of the Black Section."

"You are too kind, General," the youma purred. "This arrangement will work out so much better for both of us than the pointless antagonism that my predecessor held toward you. I look forward to our future together."

"As do I," responded Jadeite. It was an utter lie. He didn't like the idea of leaving anyone else alive who knew the truth about what had actually happened at that school, and he doubted that Modra felt any better about his continued survival. But neither of them could expose the other without revealing themselves, and so they were in stalemate for the moment.

I must think of a way to kill her without arousing suspicion, thought Jadeite. But that was a problem for another day. This youma was hardly a true threat to one such as him, and now that he had ensured that the final report to Queen Beryl would be an altogether favorable one he wanted nothing more than to crawl back into his healing pod, secure in the knowledge that the Dark Lords, at least, had been dealt with.



**********



"The Saotome Secret Technique," Ranma said, his voice taking on a solemn, lecturing tone, "is founded on the tenets of 'motion', 'contemplation', and 'opposition'."

"Or in other words," interjected Akane, "running away to buy yourself time to think about how to attack your enemy."

The pigtailed fighter rolled his eyes, ignoring the commentary from the peanut gallery. Around him, the main room of the Nekohanten was packed with Joketsuzoku warriors sitting and standing everywhere, many of them wearing slings, bandages and other medical aids. Many of them were looking curiously at Ranma, as the young warrior held forth on the events of the recent battle.

Most of their small defensive force was there as well: Mousse and Ryogua were sitting at one of the tables, while Akane and Beneda—in her human form—were standing behind Ranma's chair. Shampoo and Ukyo were seated at his feet. They were all there in response to a summons from Cologne, though the old woman had yet to show her face.

"Anyway, the problem with fighting the Dark Kingdom is that they're too powerful for us to hit head-on," Ranma continued. "But at the same time, they had our number. We'd already picked a head-on fight with them, and they weren't going to stop coming until they'd taken us down. We needed to change the rules, to make the fight happen on our terms."

Then Ranma leaned back in his chair, spreading his arms out wide. "So we gave 'em what they wanted to see. Everyone thought that we were some kind of Dark Lords? Well, we could make that work for us."

"So what now, Saotome?" asked Mousse. "We've thrown them off our trail, all right. But they're still out there. What's our next move?"

"Well..." hedged Ranma. "I'm still working on that part. 'Contemplation', remember? I think the Senshi have the right idea, though. If you have some way of hiding your real identity you can do all kinds of hit-and-run stuff without an army chasing you down afterward."

The pigtailed boy got to his feet, pacing thoughtfully back and forth as best he could in the limited space available. Then he looked up. "We wait a while, of course. Let the heat die down. Make sure they don't connect it back to what happened here. And we'll need disguises."

Ryogua let out a bark of laughter. "Oh, this I have to see. What, you're planning to put on a mask and dress in a tuxedo too?"

"Hell no." Ranma shuddered, then added under his breath: "Besides, who knows what ideas Pop and Mr. Tendo would start to get if I put one of those on." Then he spoke up again. "No, I'm thinking... ninja masks! We put those on, and whenever the Dark Kingdom tries to sneak out and do one of their energy-draining things, we find 'em and stomp down. Hard."

"Not a bad plan, son-in-law." Cologne's voice came from off to the side, causing everyone in the room to turn and look at her. "Not a bad plan at all. However, there are other considerations at work here, hence why I called you all here. For the present, we must allow the Sailor Senshi to fight this battle themselves."

A startled murmur ran through the room at that statement. Ranma frowned. "What? Why?"

"Because doing so is their duty, their destiny... and most important of all, their crucible. It must form them into something far greater than what they are today, if we are to have any hope of ultimate victory." Cologne looked Ranma straight in the eye. "Make no mistake, son-in-law. The fate of this world will one day rest in their hands. The only question is whether they will be ready to hold it."



**********



"...but I couldn't land a hit on her, and then she just blasted me to the ground. I was sure I was done for then. She was talking to me about how she was going to torture me to death... but right before she started, Mousse showed up and attacked her!"

Beneda looked around as she spoke, at Ukyo, Shampoo, and a handful of Joketsuzoku warriors she didn't recognize, all of whom were listening to her recount the final battle against the Darkmistress. The room had broken up into smaller conversations like this one after Ranma and Cologne had finally finished arguing over the best course of action regarding the Senshi and the Dark Kingdom. Ranma himself was off leaning against one of the walls, his face looking troubled and deep in thought.

The sometime-youma continued her tale, trying to do the fight as much justice as she could. Soon enough, she was approaching the climax. "...and they were both standing there, facing each other. The Darkmistress had made a sword out of her lightning, but Mousse had pulled out a sword of his own. It was an amazing weapon, on a different level of workmanship from any sword I'd ever seen."

Overhearing this, Ranma glanced up, suddenly interested. "Hey, hold on a sec," he said. "Tell me more about this sword. I don't remember him using anything like that on me when we fought." In fact, the pigtailed boy seemed almost insulted that Mousse hadn't used such a deadly weapon against him.

"Yes, Shampoo want know more also," added the Chinese girl, sounding somewhat puzzled. "Shampoo not remember any sword like that from Mousse either."

As one, all their heads turned to look across the room, to where the hidden weapons master was standing. Beneda noticed that he had gone completely rigid, and was looking back and forth with a trapped look in his eyes. But he coughed, then reached into his sleeves. "It's not all that special," he said, pulling a sword out and tossing it through the air to Ranma. "Take a look at it, if you want."

Ranma caught the weapon and gave it a few experimental swings and twirls, then held it in front of himself and ran his fingers along the blade. "Well... it's all right, I guess..." he said, sounding a little disappointed. "Not really anything to write home about, though." Beneda blinked, momentarily at a loss for how to reply.

Because the sword Mousse had thrown to Ranma wasn't the sword he had used to kill the Darkmistress.

She turned to look at him, but the hidden weapons master was not meeting her gaze. Beneda hesistated... but whatever his secret was, she had only learned of it by his saving her life. "I... uh... really?" she said, turning back to Ranma. "Well, I don't know that much about swords, of course. It definitely seemed impressive to me, though."

"Ah well." Ranma tossed the sword back to Mousse, who slid it back up his sleeve. Now the hidden weapons master did meet Beneda's gaze, and she could see fervent gratitude in his eyes.



**********



Wringing his hands, Gosunkugi paced back and forth in his room, surrounded by his latest batch of voodoo dolls. He couldn't believe how wrong things had gone—although he had to admit, things could also have gone far worse.

The most distressing complication, of course, had been Akane unexpectedly returning to Furinkan to help Ranma. She wasn't supposed to have been anywhere near his booby trap when it had gone off. Fortunately, she had escaped without any serious harm. Unfortunately, so had Saotome, along with the evil monster he was harboring.

And now the youma had a disguise, one that had fooled even the Senshi. In the end, all his efforts had accomplished exactly nothing. He was right back where he had started.

Still... Gosunkigi paused in thought. Being back where he started meant he still had all the same opportunities as well. The Senshi were still out there, of course, and Ranma still didn't know it had been him who had led them here to begin with. His youma might be hidden from them now... but he could reveal the truth to them once more, just as he had done then.

A smile slowly spread across the pale boy's face, and he immediately began planning out exactly what he would tell the magical warriors. It had to be just right, to best convince them of the evil that still lurked in Nerima!



**********



Late that night, Mousse sat alone on the roof of the Nekohanten, brooding as he looked out across the darkened city. He should have been resting, recovering from the wounds he had sustained in the recent battle... but he had been having difficulty sleeping, of late.

After all this time, why did I use that sword now? he wondered, knowing that he would have no better answer than any of the previous times he had asked himself the question. It seemed so right at the time. A truly evil foe, an enemy I was absolutely determined to kill at any cost. And it is still by far the most potent weapon in my arsenal. Was that the reason?

Or was it because I thought using that sword to save someone else would somehow make up for what I did that night three years ago?

Reaching into his sleeve, he pulled out a sword. It was a Chinese jian blade—this time the real sword he had used at the end of his fight. He ran his palm down the white sheath, then grabbed hold of it and began to draw the blade. It pulled free so easily, the steel gleaming in the moonlight, its edge still razor-sharp beyond any of his other blades.

And there, staring back at him, was a single symbol, engraved into the weapon's hilt. The character for the number "four".

He slammed the blade back into its sheath, and shoved it back up his sleeves in the blink of an eye, removing it from sight. Then he bent over, burying his head in his hands as his breath shuddered in and out.



**********



Step by step, Luna walked down the sidewalk alongside Ami, Rei and Usagi. Each step sent a jolt of pain ricocheting around in her tiny skull, and she mumbled a few choice words under her breath that she hoped none of the girls overheard.

Her battle against that pig had been grueling enough on the whole, but the animal just had to finish it off by attacking her crescent mark. Just having the symbol covered up by a pair of band-aids had reduced her to a speechless state before she had met Usagi and the blonde girl had removed them. Having the spot bashed repeatedly had given her a splitting headache, one that she knew from experience would plague her for days to come.

Biting back a sigh, she continued to walk, and eventually their destination came into view. "You girls had better transform," she advised them. "He only knows you in your Senshi forms, and it would be best if he didn't connect them to your alternate identities."

The three girls nodded, and they proceeded to find an out-of-the-way spot in an alley where they could invoke their transformation magic without being seen. A few seconds later, Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury emerged, and made a beeline for the house of Gosunkugi Hikaru.

They found him in the same place as last time: in his room. The young man didn't seem to get out all that much. Sailor Mars rapped on his window, causing him to spin around. His eyes lit up eagerly, and he opened the window to usher them inside as fast as he could.

"You came back!" the pale boy exclaimed. "This is perfect! I was just trying to think of how best to get in contact with you again!"

"Yes, we wanted to check up on you, and make sure you were all right," replied Luna. "I saw you run out of Furinkan, but then you disappeared."

"You... saw me?" asked Gosunkugi, fumbling a little. "Er. Yes, well... That was... what I wanted to talk to you about! You see, I snuck into the school when I heard that Ranma had taken it over, to see if there was any way I could help defeat him!"

"That was very dangerous," said Sailor Mercury, a note of reproach in her voice. "If they'd found you all on your own, you wouldn't have had any way of defending yourself!"

"Sailor Mercury is right," agreed Luna. "You could have very easily gotten yourself killed doing that. And not just by Ranma and his minions either. If Jadeite hadn't been in so much pain when you hit him, he probably would have killed you himself for getting in his way."

Gosunkugi puffed out his chest a little. "I don't mind risking my life against the likes of Ranma if it means helping the Sailor Senshi," he declared. "Anyway, you have to listen to what I learned in there, about what actually happened when you broke that bowl! You see—" He paused, as something belatedly sank in. "Wait a minute... What were you just saying about... Jadeite?"

"Jadeite," Luna repeated. "He was the one you crashed into when you were running out of the school. Don't you remember it?"

"I... I... I..." Gosunkugi spluttered, his eyes bulging with barely-concealed terror. "I remember hitting someone, but... but that was... I hit Jadeite? But he's one of the generals of the whole youma army!"

Sailor Mercury frowned. "That's right," she said. "How did you know that?"

"From Bene—" The boy shook his head. "I mean... from what I overheard them talking about in Furinkan when I was spying on them. He was... one of the main people they were worried about."

Sailor Moon nodded. "Yeah, he's really tough!" she said. "When I fought him once at the radio station, he was so strong I couldn't even do a thing against him! I guess you're lucky he was already so injured when you clobbered him."

Gosunkugi swallowed hard several times, before finally managing to speak in a weak voice. "When... when I hit him... he wasn't... too badly hurt... was he?"

Luna thought back to the event in question. "In all honesty," she said. "I can't really think of a time I've ever seen another living being in the kind of agony he was in. Between all the broken bones and the other injuries he'd sustained, I can't even imagine the kind of pain that must have put him through."

Then the moon cat glanced over at the boy, who looked as though he were mere seconds away from becoming violently ill all over the carpet. "Oh, but don't worry about him coming after you," she said. "Since you were coming out of the school when you hit him, he probably just thinks you were one of Ranma's men. And since they're all gone now, he won't be looking for you either." She paused. "Anyway, you said you had something to tell us about—"

"Completely destroyed!" shouted Gosunkugi, with a voice that made everyone in the room jump. "When you broke the bowl... you... you probably thought that it just banished the Dark Lords back to their home dimension, but what actually happened is that they were all obliterated! Based on... uh... what I saw of their ritual, there's no way they could have survived the spell failing. Being sent back without their artifact would rip them into tiny, tiny pieces, and kill them so dead that they couldn't ever, ever, ever possibly come back!"

The Senshi all blinked. "I... see..." said Sailor Mercury tactfully. "Well... thank you for passing that information along."

Gosunkugi nodded in reply. It was all he could manage, as he held his head between his knees and hyperventilated.



**********



Soon the Sailor Senshi left, leaving Gosunkugi alone in his room. The second the girls were out of sight, he dashed over to his closet, swung the door open and shut himself inside. There he sat, curled up into a little ball, eyes twitching left and right as he tried to watch every shadow simultaneously.

What had he done? He had grievously hurt one of the Dark Generals, an evil sorcerer of such arcane might that even the Sailor Senshi had admitted being unable to stop him! Worse, that sorcerer was also in command of an entire army of fell beasts!

If there was one thing that Gosunkugi was certain of, it was that Jadeite could never, ever be given the slightest reason to suspect that the Dark Lords were still alive. Having the Senshi fight Ranma again was absolutely out of the question. If it got back to the General that the Senshi were fighting in Nerima again...

No, Ranma and his youma would have to be left alone. After all, everyone deserved a chance, didn't they? Who was to say, really, that even an evil creature like her couldn't still turn over a new leaf if she wanted to? It was certainly possible!

And so—congratulating himself on his magnanimous decision—Gosunkugi proceeded to spend the rest to the day cowering in that closet.



**********



Now back in their civilian forms, the Sailor Senshi walked along, conversing as they did so. "And you say this okonomiyaki restaurant is really that good?" asked Rei skeptically.

"Yep!" responded Usagi with an enthusiastic nod. "It's gotta be the best okonomiyaki I've ever tasted! Besides, the owner of the place is one of the ones that that Gosunkugi guy said was connected with Ranma somehow, and I want to make sure she's okay too."

Brooking no further dissent, the blonde girl hurried onward toward this "Ucchan's" place, the rest of the team following in her wake with varying degrees of enthusiasm. By the time they got there Usagi was almost drooling with anticipation. Even Ami had to admit that she was feeling quite puckish after all the walking around they had been doing, and she was looking forward to sampling the restaurant's wares herself.

"Welcome to Ucchan's!" was the exclamation that greeted them as they walked in. A girl looked up from behind the grill. Her eyes focused on Usagi, and a smile brightened her features. "Oh, hello again Usami!"

A puzzled expression crossed Usagi's face, but then her eyes widened in remembrance. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Oh, right, Usami. Yeah, that's me!" Ami coughed discretely, while Rei favored the blonde girl with a flat stare.

"Well, come right in, all of you!" said the girl behind the grill, cheerfully bulldozing past any awkwardness. "Have a seat and give me your order. I'll have it ready for you in a flash."

The three girls did just that, taking seats around the grill and telling Ukyo what they wanted. "So, are you still looking for Ranma, kiddo?" the chef asked Usagi, after she had begun to prepare the food. "It's strange, actually. No one around here has seen him since the big ruckus a few days ago."

"Really?" asked Rei, her face a picture of innocence.

Ukyo nodded. "Yes. And that's not the only odd thing that's happened either. Ever since then it's like... my mind is clearer, somehow. Like waking up from a dream." She raised one hand to her forehead, as though fighting off a lingering headache. "I think I was even having blank spots... whole days when I couldn't remember anything... but I never even thought of that as strange until just recently."

The incognito Senshi all exchanged quick glances. So, Ranma had been affecting her mind as they had suspected. Who knew how many others had been similarly enslaved to his diabolical power? Ami suppressed a shudder at the thought of how close they had all come to being conquered by such a despot.

"Well, I'm just happy you're all right now," broke in Usagi. "You know... I, uh, heard that Sailor Senshi were part of all the battles and stuff that were going on. Probably it was them that straightened everything out!"

The older girl laughed. "I wouldn't be surprised," she said, as she took the finished meals off the grill and gave them to the girls. Ami raised the food to her lips, the mouth-watering smell hitting her first. She took a bite, and immediately realized that Usagi's description of the taste had been no exaggeration.

The girls began to devour their food in earnest, while Ukyo looked on with a satisfied smile. "Either way," the chef continued. "Here's to the Sailor Senshi! Wherever they are."



**********



Kuno Tatewaki was rarely at a loss for words, but here, standing just outside the closed door to his sister's room, he found himself without anything he could say. He raised his hand to knock, then lowered it again. This was not a situation he had ever expected to find himself in, but knowing what he now knew, he had no other choice.

At length, he took a deep breath and simply opened the door. The room inside was dark, the only light slanting in through the doorway from the hall outside. Even in the dim lighting, however, Kuno could see that the room was in shambles. Kodachi's belongings had been thrown everywhere, as though a whirlwind had struck, and the walls bore long scars where she had shredded them with her ribbon. Kodachi herself could only barely be seen, a small silhouette curled up in a ball on the other side of her bed.

Kuno stepped into the room, walking around the bed to where he could see her more clearly. What he found did not surprise him. She was rocking back and forth slightly, cradling a book tight to her chest. With her body wrapped around it he could not see the title, but he nevertheless knew which one it was. A well-worn children's book that he was very familiar with as well.

He stood over her for a moment, his sister showing no recognition of his presence. Then he lowered himself down, sitting beside her. "Saotome's new acquaintance told me about your battle," he said at length. "About the enemy you were fighting... and about what the demon did to you."

Kodachi's body went rigid at the words, but she did not look up. Her brother waited a moment for a response that did not come, then continued. "The real her would never have done anything like that to you. You know this. She... loved you very much." He looked away, then continued in an even quieter tone. "She loved all of us."

Still Kodachi made no reply. For a long, long time they simply sat there, together in the darkness, in the silence. Then, at last, Kuno rose to leave, wondering whether his words had accomplished anything in the slightest.

"Brother..." The word was barely above a whisper, but it stopped Kuno in his tracks. He looked back down, to see that Kodachi was now looking up at him. "...thank you."

The kendoist shuffled his feet, suddenly uncomfortable. But he had to say something in reply. "Will you be all right?" he asked.

Kodachi laughed. It was a pale, weak, tear-stained shadow of her usual laugh—but it was a laugh nonetheless. "Of course," she told him, rubbing an arm across her eyes. "I will be fine. I simply need to convince my darling Ranma to abandon that Tendo girl, and prove to him my undying love."

Her grip on her mother's storybook tightened, as she clutched it closer to her chest, her next whispered words so quiet as to be barely audible.

"And then we will live happily ever after..."



**********



Beneda leaned back in her chair, looking out the window of Doctor Tofu's clinic into the night sky. "Hard to believe it's all over," she murmured, half to herself, and half directed over to where Ranma, Ryouga and Akane were sitting nearby. "We actually pulled it off."

With the completion of Ranma's plan everyone's attention had turned to resting and recovery from what they had gone through. Repairs to the Tendo home were proceeding apace, as well as to the school they had so unceremoniously "borrowed".

Everyone was also recovering on the personal side as well. Ryouga was up and around again, showing little sign anymore of being hindered by his wounds. The other fighters had healed up as well, though some of the cuts Zoisite had given Mousse had gotten infected by the boy's subsequent dip in the sewer. Doctor Tofu was currently treating him for that as well.

Aside from Mousse, Shampoo and Cologne, though, the Joketsuzoku army had mostly pulled out of Nerima for the time being, heading back to China to heal, train and prepare away from Dark Kingdom eyes. Loofah had promised that they would inflict an even greater toll on their enemies when it next came time to match their strengths.

And so, with the tides of war receding temporarily on all fronts, she was left here. Alive, against all odds. And with a new life ahead of her. A life as a human.

She still found that thought unbelievably surreal.

"So..." she began, gesturing vaguely with her—human—hand. "When you're not fighting against ancient empires from before your civilization's recorded history... what is it you humans do?"

Ranma, Ryouga and Akane traded glances between themselves. "Well," Akane began. "There's school, of course. And eventually a job. And there's after-school clubs, and hobbies, and doing things with friends. And then there's dating, if you have a boyfriend..." Her voice trailed off, and she suddenly looked a bit uncomfortable. So did both Ranma and Ryouga, now that Beneda noticed.

"There's, uh, martial arts too!" added Ranma, putting that topic behind them as quickly as he could. "We've got all kinds of styles around here you could check out if you wanted. Like Martial Arts Tea Ceremony, or Martial Arts Figure Skating, or Martial Arts Takeout Delivery. I even heard that the Principal is trying to get the guys from the Martial Arts Building Repair dojo to help out with the school."

"In the end, it's different for everybody," Ryouga concluded. "The world has all kinds of things a person can experience. We'll show you."

Beneda shook her head in wonderment at the bewildering possibilities spread out before her. "I... I would like to find a place. A role here. Somewhere I can fit into things, like I did before."

"Well, I may be able to assist you with that," came a voice from off to the side.

The four of them turned around, to see Doctor Tofu enter the room. "This is just one possibility for you to consider," he said. "But it's one I've been giving a great deal of thought to for the past few days. I truly believe that you possess a talent for the medical disciplines, Beneda. If it's something that you desire... I would be willing to take you on as my apprentice."

The other three humans' eyes widened, and Beneda realized that this was a great honor that the acupressure master was offering her. Just as well, then, that the choice was such an easy one to make. "I... yes!" she managed to get out. "Yes, that... It would be perfect, sir. Thank you!"

The doctor smiled. "Fair warning: this will be difficult. Even though I may not look it, I can be a hard taskmaster. But I believe that you have what it takes to accomplish what I will ask from you."

Beneda thought back on the events leading up to this moment, the events that had taken her from a lowly foot soldier in Jadeite's army to a friend of the interdimensional conquerors known as the Dark Lords of Nerima, and a giggle rose unbidden to her lips. "Well," she said. "It can't be worse than trying to take over the world again, at least..."



**********



Her arms crossed, Modra waited alone in a narrow stone tunnel connecting one section of the Dark Kingdom with another. The new leader of the Black Section strained her ears, waiting for the telltale sounds of footsteps that would indicate the approach of the youma she wanted to speak with.

Minute after minute of silence went by, and Modra began to tap her foot impatiently. But then, at last, she heard the sounds she had been listening for, drawing closer and closer. A quick smile crossed her face, and she began to walk toward the footsteps. It seemed that her information had indeed been accurate.

She rounded a bend in the tunnel, and the other youma came into view. "Ah! Thetis!" Modra said, as though the meeting had been complete coincidence. "What a pleasure."

The other youma watched her with a guarded look. Modra, for her part, had to fight back a sneer. Thetis had the ability to take on a human form, in her case a woman with long, hip-length blue hair and a short blue dress. But—unlike most youma with that power—she used it near-constantly, even when she was in the Dark Kingdom. Perhaps she thought doing so would make her more appealing to Jadeite, who she had long been infatuated with.

Whatever her reasons for it, Modra found it revolting and unnatural, but she let none of those feelings show. She wanted the deviant to trust her, after all. "And how is her majesty doing today?" the winged youma continued.

Thetis smiled. Her favored position serving the Queen directly was a source of great pride to her, and Modra began by playing on that. "Her majesty is doing quite well," she replied, preening a little. But then her face fell. "I only wish she would relent on her displeasure with General Jadeite losing so many of his forces—even though he fought so bravely!"

Perfect, Modra gloated to herself, but to all outward appearance she only nodded in sympathy. "It is unfortunate," she said. "I fought alongside him myself against those Dark Lords, and they were terrible opponents. It was only due to his power that we were able to win at all." She sighed. "If only he had some competent assistance. I would not want to see one of my allies destroyed because he was forced to rely on such idiotic, low-ranking youma to carry out his plans."

It was obvious from watching Thetis' face that the words had struck their intended target. "Yes..." she hissed. "You are correct about that much. Trash like that does not deserve to hold a place at General Jadeite's side if they fail him so consistently. If only her majesty would assign me to assist him!"

Modra gave the other youma an appraising glance, making a show of stroking her chin. "Hmmm..." she mused. "Now that you mention it... there is a way you might be able to help the General. It would require going behind the Queen's back, just a little bit, but I'm sure she would understand once she saw the results." She paused. "And Jadeite himself would doubtless be... appreciative."

It was almost pathetic how Thetis' eyes lit up at the bait Modra was dangling in front of her. "Tell me!" she demanded.

"Of course, of course," Modra replied. "But you must tell no one else that I aided you. I am, technically speaking, overstepping my bounds with this." Not that Thetis would need much prompting to act as though it was entirely her idea in front of her beloved General.

Modra had, in fact, come up with an energy-draining scheme that played to Thetis' abilities. The Black Section leader had known that she would never be able to resist the opportunity to rescue the object of her adoration from his current political difficulties. Modra's plan would put Thetis right at Jadeite's side... and right in the path of the Sailor Senshi.

You lovestruck fool... thought Modra contemptuously from behind her smile. You think you will succeed where every youma before you has failed? I know better. You're no match for the Senshi, and they'll kill you just like they killed all the others. And then your precious General Jadeite will have to explain to the Queen why one of her personal youma was killed assisting him... without her orders.

This, she knew, was the way to deal with Jadeite. Not directly, but with subtlety, with as many invisible daggers as she needed, chipping away at his political standing in ways that could not be traced back to her. Soon enough he would fall, taking the secret of their mutual disgrace with him to the grave. And most importantly, he would not even realize who had done it to him.

No, you will not kill the Senshi, thought Modra, black hatred roiling inside her as she relived the memories of her disgrace. Not you, not Jadeite, not even the Queen. They are mine to deal with. When that day comes, I will exact my vengeance on them all... and especially on my "savior", Sailor Mars.

Then the leader of the Black Section leaned in closer to the eagerly waiting Thetis. "You see, something in the human world has come to my attention," she said. "Something I think you can use. A cruise ship, in fact. It's old and derelict, but if you applied your particular powers it would make an excellent trap to siphon life energy off of any humans you could get aboard it..."



**********



Several nights later, Ryouga lay sleeplessly on his bedroll in the guest room of the Tendo home, listening to the irregular, barely-audible thumping that was coming from above. To most, the sounds might have been mysterious, but Ryouga knew exactly what they were, and could visualize in his mind's eye exactly what was taking place on the roof above.

For a while he simply ignored the sounds. But eventually he realized that he was too restless for sleep anyway. Muttering to himself, he climbed to his feet, stepped over Genma's softly snoring body, and made for the door.

This, he knew, was probably foolish. He estimated that he had a better chance of ending up in Osaka than actually reaching the source of the noise. But then, he also knew from experience that he would eventually end up lost again one way or another. At this point both the Dark Kingdom and the Sailor Senshi had been completely fooled, Beneda was safe at Doctor Tofu's, and the consequences of his getting lost would be... not so dire anymore.

He ended up meandering on a leisurely tour of the Tendo compound, starting in the guest room and reaching, by turns, the bathroom, the kitchen, Nabiki's room, the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom, Soun's room, back to the guest room, Akane's room, the kitchen, the dojo, and finally the living room once again.

After that, he finally found himself outside, in the yard next to the pond, staring up at the night sky. The pale moon illuminated everything in faint, spectral light. Turning in a full circle, he caught sight of the source of the soft thumping noises.

Ranma stood perched atop the house in a fighting stance, on the highest point of the roof, balancing on the precarious edge it formed as though it were a wide sidewalk. As Ryouga looked on, the pigtailed fighter launched himself down the roof's length, his hands and feet lashing out in intricate, blindingly-fast combinations, repelling imaginary enemies coming at him from every angle.

The lost boy felt a flash of jealousy as he watched the fluid movement and incredible precision with which Ranma performed his kata. The lost boy's style of fighting was dangerous in its own right, but it was a brutal and direct thing, cobbled together from whatever disassociated bits and pieces he could pick up on his constant travels, then honed in countless fights against human and animal foes. And—while he still hoped to beat Ranma one day—he knew that in terms of this artistry, it was one area in which he had virtually no chance of catching up to his rival.

Eventually, Ranma finished the kata, then glanced down to where Ryouga stood. "Couldn't sleep either?"

The lost boy nodded his head in agreement. Ranma made a single leap, arcing through the air to land next to the lost boy. "Yeah, I had a lot to think about," the pigtailed fighter went on. "Figured a little practice might clear my head."

"Did it?" asked Ryouga.

"Not really." Ranma sighed. "I dunno. What do you think about Cologne's plan, P-chan?"

Ryouga shot him a brief glare over the P-chan crack, but then responded with a shrug. "Well, she says that the Senshi need more experience if we're going to win this, and she knows more than any of us about that kind of thing. I don't exactly like the idea of leaving those girls to fight alone for now, but Cologne seems to think they can handle it."

"Mmm..." A pensive frown crossed Ranma's features. "Yeah, I know she thinks so. I'm just worried she might be wrong this time. Did you notice how she was talking about the Senshi, Ryouga? How all those elders were talking about them? They see the Senshi as..."

His voice trailed off, and he waved his hand toward the heavens. "I don't even know what they see them as. Heroes? Goddesses?" He shook his head. "I'm not even sure they honestly believe those girls can lose this."

The lost boy let Ranma's words sink in for a moment. The Joketsuzoku certainly tended toward this sort of instruction-by-fire in the first place. His own experience with their teaching methods had consisted mainly of Cologne smashing a giant boulder into him over and over again until he had figured out the Bakusai Tenketsu. How much more faith would they place in the abilities of figures that their tribe had revered for untold generations?

He swallowed. "So... what do we do?"

"I'm not sure yet," replied Ranma. "Just... keep your eyes open, for now. Cologne says they need to get experience? Okay, fine. They can get that fighting youma. That much, we've seen they can handle. But against the likes of Jadeite..."

The name prompted Ryogua to think back to their own fight with the Dark General, and he nodded in grim agreement. "He's out of their league. If he makes a move himself, we'll need to find some way to help them. Quietly, without the Dark Kingdom or the Senshi or Cologne realizing it."

"Pretty much," agreed Ranma. "Besides, we've got unfinished business with Jadeite ourselves... and it's something I'd like to see through to the end."

[Pusakuronu]

That seems to tie up everything quite nicely. The Gosunkugi bit was particularly well done.

Also, Mousse's sword has a 4 on it? That seems to imply some connection to Sailor Jupiter, whose symbol is a fancy four. Considering that she hasn't appeared yet, I'm looking forward to seeing where you are going with this.

[claymade]

That seems to tie up everything quite nicely. The Gosunkugi bit was particularly well done.

Thanks, glad you liked!

Also, Mousse's sword has a 4 on it? That seems to imply some connection to Sailor Jupiter, whose symbol is a fancy four. Considering that she hasn't appeared yet, I'm looking forward to seeing where you are going with this.

Ah, I should have clarified that better. It's not a western "4", but rather the Chinese character for the number four, i.e. this symbol. Thanks for the catch!

[Wyrd]

I have the nagging feeling that I should recognize that sword. Then again, it could be completely original and just bear a coincidental resemblance to a sword from a different story.

[claymade]

I have the nagging feeling that I should recognize that sword. Then again, it could be completely original and just bear a coincidental resemblance to a sword from a different story.

Hmmm... Well, I didn't design it with any conscious relationship to any particular sword in anything else, though I definitely could have been subconsciously influenced.

[Fellow Sufferer]

If wonder if "4" on that sword symbolizes Death, as it's wont to in Eastern tradition.

One thing that stood out to my eyes is that this chapter is a little fractionary - unlike previous ones, it takes place across several days, and only things relevant to "wrapping up" are worthy of mentioning - so the usual level of detail is lowered. Perhaps it's just my own feeling of letdown from previous tight-packed action chapters, but imho, difference is substantional.

While I think that things ended a little too tidy for the NWC, I can't argue with the fact that there are presented reasons for that tidyness.

[claymade]

If wonder if "4" on that sword symbolizes Death, as it's wont to in Eastern tradition.

Hmmm, interesting hypothesis...

One thing that stood out to my eyes is that this chapter is a little fractionary - unlike previous ones, it takes place across several days, and only things relevant to "wrapping up" are worthy of mentioning - so the usual level of detail is lowered. Perhaps it's just my own feeling of letdown from previous tight-packed action chapters, but imho, difference is substantional.

Yeah, it is certainly jumping all over the place. I don't really know how much I can do about that, though, since I do need to wrap up all these different loose ends, and yet I don't want to pad things with superfluous events either. Do you have any suggestions for parts that seemed particularly broken up to you?

While I think that things ended a little too tidy for the NWC, I can't argue with the fact that there are presented reasons for that tidyness.

If it helps, don't think of it as "ending" tidily for the NWC, but rather as them experiencing a temporary island of tidiness in between periods of imminent doom...

Thanks for the C&C!

[Fellow Sufferer]

Yeah, it is certainly jumping all over the place. I don't really know how much I can do about that, though, since I do need to wrap up all these different loose ends, and yet I don't want to pad things with superfluous events either. Do you have any suggestions for parts that seemed particularly broken up to you?

Well, short of trying to jam all of it into one day (an impossibility, I'm afraid), all I can think of is to try to consolidate various factions' viewpoints into more massive textblocks. While in previous chapters such back-and-forth worked as a tool to keep tension high, now you could try to wind the pace down a little, perhaps? I'm really of little use as far as being helpful in such matters go (English is my second language), so my input in such matters is understandably limited.

If it helps, don't think of it as "ending" tidily for the NWC, but rather as them experiencing a temporary island of tidiness in between periods of imminent doom...

Hmm... Perhaps it was just my knee-jerk reaction, then. My feeling was that the chapter ended on a relatively high note - with Ranma anticipating a rematch with Jadeite (somehow I keep seeing him grinning confidently while doing so). Granted, he didn't see just how overwhelming Kunzite and Nephrite were, haven't battled against a whole army of youma himself; moreover, in this scene the POV is Ryouga's, and Ranma will naturally try to appear tough in front of his rival. But still, it probably wouldn't be amiss to through in some words about needing to get stronger for the hard times ahead, at least.

Thanks for the C&C!

You're welcome ^_^.

[claymade]

Hmm... Perhaps it was just my knee-jerk reaction, then. My feeling was that the chapter ended on a relatively high note - with Ranma anticipating a rematch with Jadeite (somehow I keep seeing him grinning confidently while doing so). Granted, he didn't see just how overwhelming Kunzite and Nephrite were, haven't battled against a whole army of youma himself; moreover, in this scene the POV is Ryouga's, and Ranma will naturally try to appear tough in front of his rival. But still, it probably wouldn't be amiss to through in some words about needing to get stronger for the hard times ahead, at least.

Oh, you're quite right in that this part of things is indeed ending in a rather tidy place. (A necessity, I'm afraid, for what I want to do with the sequel and how I want to get there.) All I was trying to say with my response to that was just that it might help to view said tidiness in the context that--while tidy--this isn't actually "the end" in the overall sense, just a transition to the next part, and things will devolve back into chaos once again when it hits.

[PCHeintz72]

Sigh... I'm way behind on my reading, could not get to this until now. Likewise, my comments for 'The Return' should be tomorrow.

Comments are on the copy posted to FanFiction.NET, not to the copy here, since it was posted so fast.

I did not read any comments in this thread due to lack of time. So others may have made these same statements/corrections/comments.

The ancient woman swept her gaze across the other elders. "For our part, we must recover our own strength. This clash has left us weakened. We must heal our wounded and re-train our tribe to face this threat. When the time comes, and the Princess is ready to confront her destiny, we must also be ready to support her."

An inherent problem would be their connection to Ranma, and their part int he battle that is known to the senshi.

Already she had "interviewed" more than a dozen people, trying to surreptitiously gather information on the foes that the Dark Kingdom had so recently fought. The results had so far been underwhelming. She had yet to find anyone who had met the enemies in person, and had gotten only fragmented, contradictory hearsay about the recent battle.

Considering her part, I am surprised they did not immediately target Nabiki Tendo...

"Yes, I see..." Eludin jotted several notes down in her notebook. Clearly the Dark Lords had spent their time here trying to obtain the sorts of artifacts that had almost let them bring through their army to this world. Fortunate that the Dark Kingdom had learned of their aims in time. "How long have you known him?"

You know... that actually makes a scary amount of sense.

"You mean the big fight?" The girl and piglet exchanged glances, then looked back at the disguised youma. "Oh no, we definitely don't know anything about that! We've heard what everyone's been saying, of course, but we didn't actually see anything for ourselves. 'Cause, you know, we weren't anywhere near the place when it happened!"

I'm surprised the 'we' comment did not set off warning bells in the youma.

"Because doing so is their duty, their destiny... and most important of all, their crucible. It must form them into something far greater than what they are today, if we are to have any hope of ultimate victory." Cologne looked Ranma straight in the eye. "Make no mistake, son-in-law. The fate of this world will one day rest in their hands. The only question is whether they will be ready to hold it."

This, I did not expect, nor do I care for... it is a form of cop out. They have proven they can take on senshi, take on some of the best the Dark kingdom can throw at them... and this is the prognosis...

Instead of letting them bumble through to learning what they need to know, the Amazons and NWC could be helping them, guiding them, even learning from them... could find their peace and make a truce with them... this... comes across as a cop out... or in the words of Delenn from Babylon 5 'the problems of others, are not our concern'.

Gosunkigi

Mispelled his name.

The incognito Senshi all exchanged quick glances. So, Ranma had been affecting her mind as they had suspected. Who knew how many others had been similarly enslaved to his diabolical power? Ami suppressed a shudder at the thought of how close they had all come to being conquered by such a despot.

I'm still convinced this is the wrong take on things, but whatever.

And there's after-school clubs, and hobbies, and doing things with friends. And then there's dating, if you have a boyfriend..."

This statement is being made by *Akane*?

No, you will not kill the Senshi, thought Modra, black hatred roiling inside her as she relived the memories of her disgrace. Not you, not Jadeite, not even the Queen. They are mine to deal with. When that day comes, I will exact my vengeance on them all... and especially on my "savior", Sailor Mars.

Bummer... and here I thought she had a good solid plan in place... oh well.

"Pretty much," agreed Ranma. "Besides, we've got unfinished business with Jadeite ourselves... and it's something I'd like to see through to the end."

Ah.... now this alleviates some of my concern with the direction the chapter was going.

Good stuff. Look forward to more... It is annoying that people are talking as if this was the last chapter... I fully expected this to be the end when I started reading it.

[claymade]

Sigh... I'm way behind on my reading, could not get to this until now. Likewise, my comments for 'The Return' should be tomorrow.

No worries, thanks for taking the time to C&C!

An inherent problem would be their connection to Ranma, and their part int he battle that is known to the senshi.

Indeed, indeed. Their ultimate plan will be able to work around that fact, though.

Considering her part, I am surprised they did not immediately target Nabiki Tendo...

Well, she was heading toward the Tendo place, but the D.K. haven't particularly encountered Nabiki as a prime source as opposed to any of the Tendos.

This, I did not expect, nor do I care for... it is a form of cop out. They have proven they can take on senshi, take on some of the best the Dark kingdom can throw at them... and this is the prognosis...

Instead of letting them bumble through to learning what they need to know, the Amazons and NWC could be helping them, guiding them, even learning from them... could find their peace and make a truce with them... this... comes across as a cop out... or in the words of Delenn from Babylon 5 'the problems of others, are not our concern'.

Well, to your point, they will eventually be back to assist the Senshi in their fight when the time for secrecy is past and they're ready to reveal their tribe's continued existence. For now, though, they're keeping things on the down-low as they recover, and wait for the opportune time to make their one shot at a surprise return strike when it'll count the most.

Mispelled his name.

Thanks, good catch!

This statement is being made by *Akane*?

Well, she's just rattling off what she knows human girls do in the abstract. She breaks off when what she's actually saying and its personal ramifications catches up with her.

Good stuff. Look forward to more... It is annoying that people are talking as if this was the last chapter... I fully expected this to be the end when I started reading it.

Yeah, there's still the epilogue to go...

Thank you very much for the suggestions!