That's Not What Happened Prologue (revised) History: Original Draft on Sunday, August 26, 2001(FFML release) Revised Draft on Monday, August 27, 2001(RAAC release) Revised Draft on Friday, September 7, 2001 (For release in Ranchan Total Cross Out) A Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon Super and others Crossover By Oberon Ffml_use@hotmail.com "So why are we still handing around here. Let's go kick some daemon ass." A short innocent looking girl with blue announced. Normally this would have caused looks of scrutiny and surprise from the blue haired girl's four female companions but recently they had learned to expect this sort of language from the girl. "We have to finish the fight," said one of the blue haired girl's companions as all five girls looked toward a ruined high rise in the distance. "To save Chibi-Usa," replied another. "And to save Hotaru" added the one beside her. "We are the Sailor Soldiers of love and justice" proclaim the tallest of the group. "Everyone" prompted what appears to be the leader of the group as she whirled around to face the others. A leader for all appearances to be a teenage girl with twin odangos of blonde hair held in two tight buns on each side of her head. Knowing exactly what their leader had in mind, three of the four girls nodded and raised their right hand into the air with their fingers spread. "Mars star power." shouted the girl with long hair that is dark as night. "Jupiter star power." shouted the tallest. "Venus star power." shouted a blonde woman with straight hair down to her waist. "Moon cosmic power." shouted the lead as she opened a heart shaped compact to reveal a similarly shaped crystal. "Make Up!" the four shouted simultaneously. In a flash of blinding light that obscured intricate choreography, four soldiers of love and justice replaced the four school girls that was their previously. Standing on the broken high way looking utterly ridiculous in their parody of a schoolgirl's uniforms the four soldiers stared at the only one among them that had not transformed. That is ridiculous from the perspective of the blue haired girl that is now receiving the attention of the transformed teenagers. "No way are ya gonna get me in that outfit again." said the blue haired girl as she leaped on to one of the light posts then on to the next light post heading in the general direction of the ruined high rise. Following the lead of the blue haired girl, the others also started their short journey toward what was once Mugen academy. As they approached what was once the premier institution of education in Japan, leaving clouds of duck in their wake, Mars gasped and suddenly stopped. The pause of that one girl in turn caused the others to stop as well and look toward their companion. "Mars" asked the Sailor Moon out of concern. "I suddenly felt dark energy." stated Mars. As if on cue a black translucent shell of energy erected over their intended destination. "Come on." urged the girl standing the lamppost, somewhat egger for the upcoming battle. Resuming their dash for headquarters of the Death Busters, the anxiety of the other four girls rose but they remained unwavering in their mission to save their friends and the prevention of the Silence. At last the girls reached the source of the evil that had been terrorizing Tokyo. Out of habit, the four magic girls looked toward what were the brains of their group to bypass the force field. The blue haired girl, once known as Mizuno Ami or Ami-chen to the others, looked back at them and shrugged. "What are ya looking at me for?" replied the blue haired girl. Without warning the doors and windows of Mugen academy bursts open and outpours a river purple fluid, which takes on human form when it touches the ground. Unlike their counterparts these monster had no trouble passing though the barrier and immediately went to work on the Sailors. Falling like rain from the sky the purple creature's first wave was able to knock the Sailors off their feet. Acting to survival instincts the Sailors released their attacks. Jupiter was the first to destroy the dozens of creatures near her with a Sparkling Wide Pressure. "Crescent Beam." Venus blasted the monsters closest to her. "Burning Mandala." intoned Mars as she extended her right hand toward the monsters and shot forth rings of fire. "Mouko Takabisha" shouted the blue haired girl in mid air as she was able to avoid the raining daemon's initial assault. Even before the blue haired girl finish the focus phrase for her attack a ball of blue light have already gathered in her palm. With practiced ease the girl, send the ball of ki toward the river of daemons. The ki blast flew from the palm of the girl and into middle of the daemon army and instantly vaporized those too close to the blast radius leaving a smoking a hole on the street which were instantly covered by the second wave of daemons that replaced those who were destroyed. The battle raged on as senshi and martial artist unloading attack after attack on the ranks of the enemy but with no visible result. For every daemon their attacks destroyed, two others emerged from pool of purple liquid to replace its banished comrade. "There's too many." Commented the blue hair martial artist as he released another blast of ki. "We can't stop." Replied Jupiter her released a blast of her own. "We have to save Chibi-Usa." Added Mars as she once again used her Burning Mandala attack to destroyed a squad of daemons but this time it also stopped the attacking daemons from going after Sailor Moon, who some how managed to trip during the battle. Final with Mars holding off the daemons' advances, the leader of the Sailor Soldiers magically retrieved her specter and prepared her attack. "Moon Spiral Heart Attack." Sailor Moon released an enormous blast of energy that banishes all daemons from the battlefield. Alas, their efforts were futile as quickly Sailor Moon's attack cleared the battlefield a second wave of daemon is already forming in front of the heroines. As the second wave of daemons hit the ground and take on humanoid form the Sailors knew that they had to come up with something soon or the Silence will cover the world. However, literally for the life of them the heroines were unable to come up with a single way to get though the barrier. "It's no use." voiced Jupiter as she looked toward the forming horde of daemons. "What can we do?" asked Sailor Moon in response. "I wonder how deep that barrier goes." asked the blue haired girl to no one in particular. The question was just the blue haired girl thinking aloud; not expecting her musing to be answered the girl was surprised when the others looked toward her. "Let's find out." said Jupiter as she readied another electrical attack. "Sparkling Wide Pressure" shouted Jupiter as she again extended her hand to deliver her attack. Unlike the previous times that Jupiter used her attack, the ball of electricity was not intended for the hordes of daemons but rather the ground immediately in front the Sailors. When the ball of electrons met the ground, a hole was blown though the street revealing a utility shaft underneath. The girls first looking at the hole in the ground then at each other, they nodded with the understanding that will have to craw among power lines, rat and other vermin in order to by pass the barrier. "Fire Soul." Mars guided her attack in a wide ark as she destroyed the closest daemons that now surrounded them. Looking up from the hole the other girls now found that the daemons had them surrounded in every direction while they were preparing themselves for their repulsive task. "Mouko Takabisha" shouted the blue haired martial artist as she cleared a line of daemons with a ki blast. "Moon Spiral Heart Attack." Sailor Moon once again destroyed an army of daemons in a wide perimeter. Not wasting any time and allow the daemons to regroup the blue haired girl dashed toward the hole even as Sailor Moon was finishing her attack. Suddenly she stopped when she heard the scream of the girl that she came to know as Usagi, alias Sailor Moon. The sudden screams of their leader stopped the first of the girls from jumping into the hole that Jupiter had created. Turning around they saw a hand coming out of a hole in space firmly gripping the neck of Sailor Moon. Quickly rushing to Sailor Moon's rescue, three Sailor Soldiers and one martial artist tried to pull Sailor Moon back from the hole to no avail. Even with the blue haired girl's ki enhanced strength and the other's magically endowed powers they watched helplessly as Sailor Moon continue to slip from their fingers and into the hole. There efforts became completely wasted however as the regrouping daemons chose that moment to attack. Rushing toward the girls in a pool of purple liquid the daemons didn't stop until they soaked the feet of the girls in their liquid body. Coiling up the girls' legs then wrapping themselves around the girls the daemons sacrificed themselves to release a charge of purple electricity, which had the effect of shocking the girls into releasing their leader. The sailors and martial artist was blown outwards from their position by the electrical shock. They landed on their behinds a few feet away and watched in horror as the hand pulled Sailor Moon completely through the hole. "They have her." stated Mars in shock as she watched the hole in which Sailor Moon had disappear to closed. All the while, the others can only look on with both fear and sadness in their eyes as each worried for their captured leader. Acting on orders from their mistress the daemons receded into the rubble. In a few moments, they disappeared from the street all together. Retreating further from the Sailors, the purple liquid flowed upwards from the feet of the barrier, completely covering it and reinforcing it. Standing on top of each other like statues of purple gelatin the daemons readied themselves for any attempts to breach their stronghold. In the sky to the far right of the Sailor's, a helicopter approaches. On board the helicopter are the three outer senshi: Sailors Neptune, Uranus and Pluto. Their intensions were not that different from the other senshi on the ground. The outers did intend to prevent the Silence but the methods they intend to employ are drastically different. To them saving the world was more important than the death of a single innocent. Perhaps they were right, perhaps the sacrifice of little Hotaru was required this day. Perhaps the only way to avoid the Silence is with a single cowardly act. Moreover, who is to say that they were wrong? It is far better to be haunted by a guilty conscience than to be at peace with their honor intact but dead along the rest of humanity. Besides the innocent little girl, Hotaru was in fact Sailor Saturn the Sailor Senshi of Destruction. In the minds of the outer senshi, Sailor Saturn was every bit as dangerous as the Silence. With her final attack Sailor Saturn have the power to destroy the world. If some how they manage to derail the Silence only to have Hotaru awaken as Sailor Saturn then all their efforts were in vane. For once Sailor Saturn awakens her only mission is the destruction of the world. If that is not bad enough, Hotaru has in her position Chibi-Usa's pure heart crystal. In order to save Chibi-Usa the only course of action is to kill Hotaru. Therefore, what can they do...? As Sailor Uranus pilots the helicopter closer to their former place of education, she notices the barrier around their destination. "What's that?" she asked her two companions. "That's no simple barrier." stated Sailor Neptune who sat beside the pilot. "I wonder if we could get though that hole." Sailor Uranus referred to a star shaped opening on the barrier. A hole intended for the beacon to call forth Master Pharaoh 90, the master of the Death Busters and the source of the Silence. The hole was a blatant flaw in the fortress's defenses and an irresistible target for those that intend to intrude. This fact did not escape the current leader of the Death Busters, Mistress 9, and was probably set up with a secondary purpose of being a trap. Unlike Mistress 9, the outer senshi either did not suspect their intended route of entry is a trap or ignored their suspicions all together. In any case, the outer senshi showed no external signs of fear as their helicopter flew toward the barrier. They were certainly surprised, however, when the daemons that surrounded the barrier leaped from their position and started tearing apart the helicopter. In the blank of an eye, the daemons wrapped themselves on the helicopter then started to emit a wave of electricity, shocking the helicopter's occupants and destroying its electrical equipments. Mere moments after the attack begin the helicopter went up in a ball of fire. On the ground the inner senshi and one martial artist had not yet recovered from the shock of loosing their leader then they watched the explosion of a helicopter over head. Looking at the blinding explosion in the sky then at small maintenance tunnel the blue haired girl came to a decision. Before the others could react, the blue haired girl made a made dash toward the barrier. "Don't do it Ranma." Yelled Venus in an attempt to dissuade the blue haired girl from both bodily harm and doing what Venus knew she had in mind. "Great, as if one apocalypse is not enough." Mars commented as she stared at the Ranma's retreating form. "What are we going to do now?" asked Venus. "The only thing we could do... Keep those daemons off her back." replied Jupiter without looking back at the other Sailors. "We're running out of time." thought Ranma as he made his way toward the barrier. "If we can't stop 'em, I'll never see Akane again." Looking deep within Mercury's mind Ranma searched for the only thing that had the power to breach the barrier. With substantial concentration, Ranma's mental search yielded what he had wanted. "I just hope I wouldn't loose control like last time." Ranma thought grimly. Running toward the distance where it would be possible for what he had in mind, Ranma triggered daemon's defenses. The daemons leaping at Ranma, they intended to destroy him as they had destroyed the helicopter. Seeing the descending daemons Ranma readied his ki blast but before he could act, a chain of hearts coming from behind him had already dispelled the incoming daemons. Not even turning to acknowledge his defender, Ranma continued his mad dash toward the barrier. When a second wave of attacks came from the daemons, Ranma did not even avoid them or ready an attack. This time, rings of fire from Mars' Burning Mandala vaporized Ranma's assailants. As Ranma came closer to his destination, the daemons doubled their efforts to deter him. In the next wave the number of attacking daemons doubled, this time it took Crescent Beam, Burning Mandala and Sparkling Wide Pressure to destroy the attackers. Final Ranma was in position for what he had in mind. Seeing that the other girls are now in defensive position around him, Ranma began his chant. "Lord of the Darkness and Four Worlds," a mysterious wind blows though the air. Ranma frowns in concentration. "I beseech thy fragments," the mysterious wind picks up strength, freely blowing the hair of the girls. Already the stress of casting the spell is tempting Ranma to abort, not really a good idea because he does not know how to do that safely. "by all of the power thou possesseth, grant the heavens' wrath to my hand," the area around the girls darken and black energy begins to gather in Ranma's hand. Ranma wants to scream aloud as the headache from the intense focus and stress. "unleash the sword of dark, freezing nothingness," the power in Ranma's hand continues to gather. Ranma ignores the pain in his head as it becomes blinding, he proceeds toward the next phrase in the spell knowing that stopping know will have dire consequences. "by our power, our combined might, let us walk as one along the path of destruction:" the energy in Ranma's hand becomes critical. He feels his body go numb as he realizes he is loosing consciousness. "LAGUNA BLADE!" with the final phase a blade of black energy appears in between Ranma's hand as he blacks out. T.B.C. pending... Author's Notes: This came to me as a read another story with similar premise but it was moving too slow for my taste. So, what do you thank of it so far. Is a tasteless? Unoriginal? Uninspired? And dare I say it "has potential"? What ever it is C&C is begged for. Sent it to ffml_use@hotmail.com. P.S. I'm looking for pre-readers if anyone is interested. That's Not What Happened Chapter 1(Part 1 of 2) (revised) History: Original Draft on Monday, August 27, 2001(FFML release) Revised Draft on Tuesday, August 28, 2001(no release) Revised Draft on Friday, September 5, 2001 (Ranchan Total Cross Out release) A Ranma 1/2 , Sailor Moon Super and others Crossover By Oberon Ffml_use@hotmail.com "LAGUNA BLADE!" with the final phase a blade of black energy appears between in Ranma's hand as he blacks out. A few days earlier... Ranma in the guise of Mizuno Ami meditated on the floor of Ami's bedroom. He could have sat there for days, or hours or minutes but he could not really tell. Usagi's voice had come though Mercury's communicator some time ago but he ignored it. After that her phone had not stop ringing ever since. "Doesn't that girl ever give up." thought Ranma. Refusing to be distracted by the annoying attempts to gain his attention, Ranma refocus his efforts on the task. What he needed was somewhere in the mind of Sailor Mercury, all that was required was to know where to look. Ever since that day Ranma had realized a great deal of knowledge was sealed away in Mercury's mind, even to Mercury herself. In that brief and critical moment when he fought with the Von, the mental barrier that kept the truth from Mercury had weakened to allow Ranma a brief peep. The truth that Ranma saw was knowledge too dangerous even for his liking. Sure learning the Chestnut Fist was dangerous; he could have easily caused permanent damage his hands. Certain the Amazons considered the Chestnut Fist dangerous; why else would they keep it such a closely guarded secret? Then there was the Mouko Takabisha, an attack that uses the user's own life force as a weapon. When forcefully flaring one's own life force then concentrating it into a small area, one little mistake and his heart will explode. However, all this, the Chestnut fist and the Mouko Takabisha is nothing compared to the power of the Laguna Blade and the consequences that comes with it in a miscast. As Ranma had learned earlier a miscast not only mean the death of its cast but also damnation for the rest of humanity. The last time that he used this spell the world was only saved from eternal nightmares due to the compassion of Sailor Moon and the power of the Mystical Silver Crystal, and for that Ranma was eternally grateful to the girl. It was stupid of him really, to attempt to cast a spell with no knowledge of its purpose or requirements that it will place on his body. On the bright side, the enemy was defeated and Ranma found something that could potentially be the answer he had be searching for so long. That is what Ranma is doing now. Meditating and putting the memory techniques Genma taught him, no matter how unintentional it was, into good use. However, searching in the mind of a being that had been dead for thousands of years was not what those techniques was designed for. To say that Genma was an incompetent sensei was not that far the truth, his teachings of instant recall during battles had served Ranma well in the past but this time it is failing him utterly. To think, in order to learn this technique he had sit in a room full of those people who called themselves "Trekies" talk on and on about something call Star Trek just so he could learn how to recall trivial details. Giving those hard-earned techniques one more shot, Ranma tried once again to break into the library inside his head to no avail. Every time he was able to hold on to a tiny morsel of knowledge it just slips away leaving him to wonder what is it that he thought he found. With the final failure Ranma realized that their must be something actively keeping him away from what he wanted to find. "Maybe one of those damn cats knows something about it. I heard Usagi said they could do something call the Lunar Mind Meld." Ranma thought as he pulled himself out of the meditative trance. Returning to a somewhat more normal state of consciousness Ranma finally notices that the phone is ringing off the hook. Standing up Ranma gave his muscles a stretch then reached for the phone on Ami's desk. "Mizuno residence." Ranma announced. "Oh hello Usagi... You want me do you a favor?" Ranma paused giving the girl's request some thought. "Sure as long as I don't have to transform again... Alright I'll be there in five... No really I'll be there in five minutes." Ranma hanged up the phone then left the house after putting on something worm. Mugen Academy... "Wow! So many students are here even though it's cold and snowy. They must by study-aholics." commented Usagi on the organized mob of students outside Mugen Academy. "They're totally different from you." Mars teased their sleep-aholic leader. "Don't remind me." shouted Usagi in response to her friend's jab at Usagi's own ineptitudes. "Sure ya want to go in with me? It'll be a lot easier for me to go in alone since none of us have a pass." Ranma asked trying one last time to dissuade the others. "Hmm." nodded the others in unison. Turning around Ranma looked toward the building that the others think is the headquarters of the Death Busters. Inside Mugen Academy... In a crowd of hundreds, five students from Juuban try to blend in but they were doing a terrible job. For all their efforts, it was quite easy to tell them apart from everyone else. The most obvious thing that set them apart was that fact that everyone else was in cram sessions mode while the five was chatting. Their strange behavior when compared to the other students was probably what drew Viluy Yuri to the small group. At first Viluy was curious as to why those students could be so casual on the eve of the hardest exam in their life. Viluy, like every other members of the Witches 5, was also very competitive and jealous of other people's abilities. How could those students act so casually while mere moments from what will be literally the last test of their lives? They must know something that she is ignorant of, thought Viluy. Parting the thong of students the way an intercontinental ballistic missile parts the clouds, Viluy Yuri homed in on the small group. Approaching the small group, the crowd parted to reveal the back of a short blue haired girl. There was only one person that would fit the girl's description and Viluy was certainly surprised to see her here. Especially when Viluy hacked into the pre-high school exam registry specifically looking for her and found that she had not applied. Immediately suspicion rose in Viluy over the girl's sudden appearance at Mugen. Viluy knew, as a matter of fact that the dictatorial clerk at the exam registration office would not make exceptions for anyone. There was simply no way that Mizuno Ami can take this exam after the deadline for registration had passed. Seeing it as her duty as a Death Buster, Viluy approached Ami intending to find out why she is here. "Are you Mizuno Ami?" asked Viluy to the back of the blue haired girl. The girl did not respond. "Are you Mizuno Ami?" Viluy asked again. This time the girl did turn around to face her but only after some signals from her friends. "Oh, were you talking to me?" the girl responded completely without tact. At this point, Viluy was pissed. "How dare this girl walk in here and ignore me. Who does she think she is?" thought Viluy but did not let any of it show. Putting on a false smile Viluy continued. "My name is Viluy Yuri and I was just wondering are you Mizuno Ami, the girl that always takes top marks in the nation wide exams?" Viluy asked without any of the malice in her thoughts. "Sorry for ignoring you Viluy-san but I was just... distracted... yea that's it distracted." Ranma lied. He was not distracted, he just had not gotten used to having someone unexpectedly call her Ami. Sure, over the last few months he had learned to respond when teachers and parents call him Mizuno Ami but when it came to some stranger calling him by that name in a public area it always catches him off guard. Worse than that, whenever this happens he had to come up with some excuse for ignoring that person and we all know that Ranma is not the best of politicians. "You must be Mizuno Ami." Viluy continues her act. "I have wanted to meet for so long." "Why's that Viluy-san." Ranma asked. "I have always wanted to meet the person who had the same score as I on the last exam." continuing her cat and mouse game with Ranma. "Oh! Took top marks!" Usagi butted into the conversation, exclaiming to an event that she thought was impossible for anyone besides Ami. "Who are you?" Viluy asked out of politeness. Instantly, Usagi was embarrassed to be in the presence of some one so smart let alone some one who asked her who she was. "I'm not worthy to have my name mentioned." Rubbing her head dumbly, she tries to shrug away from the white haired girl's attention. "As Ami's friend you must be an intelligent student. What are your best subjects?" she asked Usagi. "An afternoon nap and lunch break." Usagi replied with her face red with embarrassment. "You're good at jokes!" said Viluy. "Ami this is good timing. I have something to show you. Come with me." Before anyone could object, Viluy had a firm grip on Ami's arm and started to drag her away from her friends. It was the perfect plan, isolate Ami away from her friends and she could easily get her tongue to slip. Not wanting to blow his cover, Ranma allowed the strange girl to drag him away. Perhaps the others can search the building without him. Viluy had brought Ranma to the basement of Mugen Academy, which also served as a laboratory for the science club. In the dark and ominous basement, Viluy brought Ranma in front of a domed shaped device that generated a mist which covering the table it was situated upon. "What is this?" Ranma inspected the device with curiosity. "It's a mini sized universe, which the science club created. It's it beautiful?" replies Viluy with amusement. "Oh" said Ranma suddenly loosing interest in the device. He never did have a head for scientific stuff let alone listen to an explanation he had no hope of understanding. "You don't sound euphuistic Ami. I thought you of all people will be interested in experiments of this caliber?" "It's not that Viluy-san. It's just that I'm really nervous about the exam." Ranma lied badly again. His facial expression gave it away even before the absurdity of his lie. "No doubt she's trying to snoop around. I'll just have to get rid of her before I take everyone's pure heart crystals." Viluy thought. "Tell me Ami, how much longer are you planning to play dumb?" said Viluy now sure that Ami was one of the Sailor Senshi. "What are ya talking about?" Ami asked confusedly. "There's no longer a need for formalities betweens us Ami. Let's show our true colors." "Wha... What?" Ranma stammered, not knowing what to do or exactly what happened. Is Viluy coming on to him or does she suspect something? Ranma tries to back away from the girl but finds his way block by the table with the mini universe. "Come on Ami I know you're a Sailor Senshi, your act to cover it up is pathetic really." Closing in on the kill Viluy intended to force Ami into transforming. "Go on Ami transform." she paused "And take your medicine." Viluy snared as she shed away her school uniform to reveal the attire of a Death Buster. Before Ranma could recover, Viluy extended her hands toward Ami and started her attack. "Magic Buster" she shouted while sending a blast of electricity toward Ranma. To her amazement, the other girl was able to jump over the attack at point blank range, avoiding it all together by leaping into the air. Even though Viluy had not expected the other girl to be able to avoid her attack, Viluy was nevertheless able to angle her attack he intercept her target. Thinking that she had hit her target for sure Viluy did not even react when she heard the shout "Meteoroid Kic..." just before she was knock unconscious. T.B.C. Author's note: Here's the first part of chapter one. Part 2 should be along shortly. I bet you never thought you'll ever read another chapter of this story again with not so soon. By need for pre-readers still exists so if anyone's interested... By the way you probably noticed that this scenes in this story is written out of sequence. Just wanted to try something new. Let it be known that I do have an original bone in my body. As always C&C is welcome. Many thanks to my pre-reader Saotome Genma Saotome_Genma@hotmail.com And Vampire vamp.666@wanadoo.fr That's Not What Happened Chapter 1 (part 2 of 2) By Oberon Ffml_use@hotmail.com Ranma watched with embarrassment as Viluy roughly threw away her own school uniform. "Will it ever end?" he shouted silently. Here he is, stuck in a girl's body, and girls are still throwing themselves at him. "Can it get any more perverted?" he wondered. Trying not to look at the girl, who he had no doubt was naked, Ranma danger sense suddenly flared. Though years of "Ranma prepare to die." Ranma reacted with trained instincts. Making an impossibly high jump into the air, he was actually relieved to see that the girl, Viluy, was not naked but rather in an outfit as ridiculous as Mimet's. Ranma did not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the girl is part of the Witches 5, the energy blast she was trying to hit him with was a dead give away. The witch appeared to be surprised but that did not stop her from trying to change the trajectory of her blast to intercept Ranma. Angling her arms upward, Viluy's Magic Buster missed Ranma by mere inches. "Wow! That was close!" thought Ranma. If Viluy had angled her attack a little steeper, he would have been deep-fried. "But it's too late for you!" he grinded, realizing he would be in range for a counter strike before Viluy could fire off another Magic Buster. "Meteoroid Kick" Ranma announced aloud his attack. In one swift blow to Viluy's head, Ranma send his opponent flying toward the wall. With a loud thud that corresponded to Viluy's head smacking into the wall, Viluy was at least temporary sent to lala land. "And to think, not so long ago I would had trouble hitting girls. Oh well, at least we know for sure this is the nest of the Death Busters." Moving around the ruined laboratory Ranma decided to ignore the bell that signified the beginning of the exams and opted for a detailed search of the basement. Viluy awoke some time later with a blinding headache. It was the not the kind of headache that was associated with a hang over, not that she would know what that felt like. It was certainly not half as pleasurable. No, it was the kind of headache if her head collided with a solid conceit wall and the wall cracked into a spider web. Now that Viluy saw the state of the wall, she realized it was exactly that kind of headache. Picking herself off the floor Viluy stood up weakly trying to regain her balance while her eyes could barely focus. "I get you for this you little twit. I tried to be nice but now you're gonna get it." Viluy vowed to herself while shaking her fist at the concrete above her. "Ouch" suddenly overwhelmed by the dizziness. "As soon as I get some Aspirin and an ice pack." "The waves are becoming restless and the ocean is getting wild." Michiru spoke cryptically while unconsciously mimicking Setsuna's usual senseless drivel. That is saying a lot considering Setsuna's usual drivel gives more glimpses into the future than the predictions of the best psychics on their best days. However, unlike Setsuna's rambling there was at least one person, besides the speaker, who understands what is being said. "Michiru, you feel it too?" Haruka confirmed her lover's feelings on the state of the world. "Yes. Something strange and unexpected is coming." "There's a ghostly and horrifying energy circumventing in the building..." Haruka suddenly whirled around feeling strange in the air. "...I've felt it a long time. I'll find out what's in here this time." Haruka vowed to discover why she and Michiru were drawn to this school in the first place. "Do you want to go down stairs?" "Yes. We need to face whatever is there..." Deeper and deeper the two outers went and deeper and deeper into the heart of the Death Buster. Finally, with no more stairs to descend and no more hallways to run through, the duo came to a door. It was not the inviting kind of door with the words "This way to unimaginable earthly pleasures" written in big neon letters. No, this is the kind of door that is titanium reinforced and requires a digital ID card to open. So, why were two students with student IDs able to open this so-called secure door with a swipe of their identity cards? With a gentle push on both sides of the double doors from each senshi, the door opened to reveal a pitch-black room. Inside the room was an atmosphere that obscured the floor with a yellow acidic looking mist. Walking deeper into the throne room of Mistress 9, the two outer sailors saw the master of the Death Busters herself. Atop a short flight of stairs sat Mistress 9. On her throne and with a small contingent of stuffed animals behind her, little Hotaru looked every bit like child ruler in a bad mood. With a gasp, the outers realized who the little girl was. "Messiah of Silence!" Michiru exclaimed. "The ultimate root of evil! We'll get her this time!" Haruka shouted in declaring their intensions. Hotaru's face was hidden in the shadows while the shadows themselves danced around her. With a teddy bear in her arms, Hotaru did nothing to distort the outers' perception of her character. Realizing this was there best opportunity to correct the mistake they made earlier in letting Hotaru escape, the outers charged into action. "Stop!" the outers heard someone familiar yelled from behind them. Turning around, Haruka and Michiru confronted the person that had interrupted their mission. Standing proudly before the two outers was one of their most hated individual. Ranma Saotome presently in place of Mizuno Ami was not the favorite of the outers for a very simple reason. It was Ranma's direct interference with the outers attack on Sailor Saturn that allowing the Messiah of Silence to escape, this alone was a sign of evil in the eyes of the outers. As anyone in their position would understand, stopping Haruka and Michiru's attack on Hotaru again only further support the misconception that Ranma has allied himself with the forces of evil. "Touch one strand of hair on her head and I'll hunt ya to the ends of the earth." Ranma promised the two outer senshis. It was probably not in Ranma's best interest to have said that, but he said it anyway without thinking first. Proving once again that Ranma's condition of sticking his foot in his mouth is quiet permanent. Ranma's little threat also proved to the outers that without a doubt he is working with the Death Busters. "You fool! She will destroy you when she brings about the Silence." said Haruka emotionally. "Ya can't be sure of that." Ranma countered. "She's just an innocent girl who is being used by the Death Busters. So what if she is Sailor Saturn, the soldier of destruction and all that, she's still a little girl. Even the soldier of destruction can choose her own path. There's no way that she would destroy the world for no good reason." showing every bit as much emotion as Haruka. "Stop trying to confuse us with your lies! We could see right through you!" shouted back a belligerent Haruka who was itching to teach the arrogant baster a lesson. And if he should some how get hurt in the fight then so be it, it will just mean a few weeks in the hospital for Ami once they get rid of Ranma. Having exhausted all words of piece and persuasion in their last meeting, what it has comes down to is a confrontation between two martial artists. "Who ya calling a liar ya unisex sissy!" Ranma replied in anger. "Come on you body stealing parasite, let's settle this right here, right now." Haruka challenged the Martial Artist. Giving the tall girl a confidant smirk Ranma moved into his usual fighting stance. "Come and get some." "Any time bitch." Haruka readied herself in a kenpo stance. Seeing this might endanger the success of their mission Michiru tried to stop the fight between Haruka and Ranma. Putting a hand on the shoulder of her lover, Michiru reminded her life mate why they where here. Through some unspoken link that only exists between two people in love, Haruka knew what her partner was trying to convey to her. Shifting her gaze to her beloved, Haruka gave Michiru a small nod to signify that she understands and is ready. Without saying a word, the two lovers sudden turned around and started to make a run for the Bringer of Silence. "Cowards." Ranma swore to himself as he saw what the two were doing. Jumping from his position, Ranma leaped over the older girls and landed between them and Hotaru. Turning around Ranma returned to his stance intending to deter the two from reaching and killing the little girl Hotaru. "Stay right there!" he tried to command the outer senshis with an unspoken threat. "Found you at last!" said a fourth voice from the doorway, instantly sky rocking the tension in the room. Viluy appeared in the room. After waking up from the beating she received from Ranma, Viluy had spend almost half an hour searching for the aspirin and ice pack while trying to hunt down the person how had beaten her. The nurse's office turned out to be a bust as the nurse herself was out to lunch and had locked away the supplies. Busting down the supplied cabinets got her as far as the ice pack but she had accidentally melted the plastic wrappers around aspirin. Pissed and in extreme pain Viluy decided to find then make the Mizuno girl die slowly and painfully. When professor Tomoe confronted her on why she had not began her mast crystal harvest she actually told him to fuck off. He was certainly pissed at her insubordination but she was even more pissed at Ami. So after flipper the professor, Viluy continued her search for Ami while cursing her name every other step. Now that Viluy had found her in the basement, she did not even care that her boss was in the room or about the two other Mugen students and just starting blasting. "Magic Blaster." Viluy shouted in one swift as motion she threw away the ice pack that comforted her bruised face then extended her hand toward Ami. Unfortunately, in her raged mindset, Viluy failed to realize that Haruka and Michiru were in the way of the blast. Equally unfortunately were Haruka and Michiru who had done nothing to provoke Viluy but was blasted never the less. Falling on the ground, there bodies twitching from Viluy's Magic Buster, the two outers received no sympathy from Ranma as he prepared to face Viluy. "Die!!!" Viluy shot widely at Ranma. This time the distance between them actually worked to her advantage as her rapid berserk shots kept Ranma at the defensive. "Shit." Ranma swore while narrowly dodging another shot from the insane and probably brain damaged witch. "Stop dodging!" Viluy fired another round. "If only I could get close enough. Arrr!!!" Ranma screamed, the latest volley actually managed to glance his leg while he was dodging in med air. Landing on the ground while still twitching from the electrical attack Ranma saw that Viluy was already preparing another attack, and this time he would not be able to avoid it. "Mouko Takabisha" Ranma threw his ki blast at Viluy hoping it would distract her long enough to recover. As Ranma fired off his ki blast Viluy also fired her Magic Buster. The electrical attack and ki ball collided closer to Viluy than to Ranma. The concussion force resulted from the explosion defected the trajectory of the Magic Buster into the wall and knocked Viluy off her feet. Taking the opportunity, Ranma charged the berserker attempting to subdue her before she has the opportunity to retaliate. With every ounce of his ki he could muster Ranma pushed his burning muscles into overdrive hoping that it will be enough. Viluy was thrown off the ground but it did not take her long to recover. In less then 1.5 seconds after being knocked down Viluy was getting ready to attack again. Just like last time Viluy was not fast enough. Just as she was about to fire, Ranma was already upon her. "Kachu Tenshin Amagouriken." Viluy heard her opponent shout just before her opponents arms disappeared and Viluy felt herself pummeled by unseen forces. In Viluy's insane state of mind, she was able to ignore completely the pain from the blows. If not for the concussion force of the blows and the short distance between her and Ranma, Viluy would have fired. That soon became impossible when one of the blows knock her arms out of firing position. With the last blow, Viluy was once again flying though the air. Ranma was in terrible pain. After executing the Chestnut Fist his arms felt like unresponsive dead weights. Unresponsive, but it did not mean he did not feel the protests of his over exerted muscles. The rest of his body was not very happy either, his leg feels like it would barely support him and he felt like he would asphyxiate at any moment. "It least she's in a worst shape." Ranma mused. Falling to his knees Ranma thought that relaxing his muscles a bit will allow him to recover but as the seconds ticked by the pain only increased along with increased difficulty in breathing. "HA HA HA HA." Viluy's the laughter got Ranma's attention. "You fool! The nanites I programmed are stabbing into your body and soon only your heart crystal will remain." The witch laughed again at Ranma's plight. "Now die!!!" screamed Viluy as she prepared one more dose of nanites to finish the job. It was probably the stupidest action Viluy ever performed in her life. It probably had a lot to do with banging her head on the wall earlier or it was just her over confidence in her own technology. Whatever the case Viluy did not notice the crack in her nanite control gauntlet as she fired the final blast. Viluy really should have checked the integrity of such a delicate device before firing, especial after it had been though such a tough battle. As it is, Viluy's attack backfired and her nanites turned on their own creator. Those nanites that were not part of the malfunction were left without an intelligence to direct its actions and ceased functioning while still inside the bodies of Ranma and the outers. "It's sad really. All that techno stuff and it couldn't even take a good old fashion ass kicking." Ranma smirked but then he seems to realize what is happening to Viluy. Viluy could do nothing but lesson to Ranma as the nanites decomposed her body to nothingness. "I'm sorry." Ranma added just before Viluy's body vanished completely. Like all action adventures in the spirit of India Jones, the throne room started to crumble just as the villain was defeated. Stone arches and concrete started to fall on the ground as the room shocked violently with the formation of a portal behind the Messiah of Silence. A cloud of falling debris obscured the swirling vortex of darkness as it quickly shucked in the mountain of stuffed animals even as it lifted the Messiah along with her throne into the air. When the cloud cleared enough for Ranma to see through, Hotaru was already disappearing into the vertex. Not wasting another opportunity to rescue Hotaru from the clutches of the Death Buster, Ranma tried to enter the vortex before it closes. Running toward the closing vortex at the top speed that his tired and abused muscles would allow Ranma used all his remaining energy to make one critical jump for the vortex. Alas, our story would have had a completely different ending if he had made it. In one possible scenario would be that Ranma was killed on the other side of the portal as he was still too weak from the Magic Buster. In another scenario, the Death Buster would have been unprepared for Ranma's arrive though the vortex allowing Ranma to rescue Hotaru. In any case, these talks of what it would have been are irrelevant seeing as to the fact that Ranma fall face first on to the ground only foots away from the portal. With the last of his energy spend Ranma could only watch as the portal closed before him. T.B.C. Author's note: it has been brought to my attention that unisex and sissy could not exist in the same insult but I think it could, and here is why. If think of muscularity and femininity as two opposite extremes then unisex would be between the two extremes. Now according to definition "sissy" is some a man who acts or looks like a woman, this is an obvious reference to Haruka's crossdressing. The insult is not that Haruka is unisexed but rather it is an assault on her femininity and sexual orientation, for a sissy is still a man. Thanks to my pre-reader Saotome Genma Saotome_Genma@hotmail.com P.S. I'm no longer looking for pre-readers, one is enough in my opinion. But if I were to increase the number I currently have I already have someone in mind. If my need should expand beyond 2 pre-readers I would make another announcement. Thanks to pre-readers Saotome Genma Saotome_Genma@hotmail.com And Vampire666 That's Not What Happened Chapter 2 Revised History: Written on September 1, 2001 Revised on September 5, 2001 By Oberon Ffml_use@hotmail.com When it comes to Setsuna a lot people thanks she is uncaring and may be even callous or cruel. However, to the people who know her best, Setsuna is one of the most caring of individuals. On the other hand, when most are asked to describe Setsuna bluntly, the words "has a stick up her ass" are most commonly used. That is not true, until recently. "We're sorry Setsuna; we let the Messiah of Silence escape again." Michiru apologized. For the most part Michiru walked away from the debacle at Mugen with some minor scratches and a set of ruined school uniform. WAMP! The sound of flesh hitting the wall got the attention of the two talking outer senshis. Well they were not exactly talking; more like one was apologizing while the other could not do anything but listen. "Damn it! We would have had her if Satan's leech haven't interfered." Haruka growled with her fist still attach to the wall. "At least we found their nest." Michiru said trying to calm her lover. "Yea? What good is that? The next time we show our faces there they'll be waiting for us with a legion of daemons." Haruka countered. "Hmm... May be the next time we could try to sneak in while they're distracted?" suggested Michiru. "That may not be an option. The silence is coming; the Witches 5 will no doubt make their move soon. We can't wait for them to make a mistake." "Then we have to move NOW. We could use one of the school functions as a cover." Michiru made her way to a stand by the door where the daily mail kept for later reading. Going though the small stack of junk mail Michiru came to what she was looking for. With a conveniently place letter opener, Michiru took the school newsletter out of its envelope and began to skim though its pages. "There's a student gathering tonight. We could get in with the crowd." With a nod, Haruka signified her agreement to Michiru's plan. Giving Setsuna one last look, Haruka tried to reassure the Senshi of Time. "Don't worry Setsuna; we'll get her this time. And if Ranma interferes we'll sent him back to the hell that he spawned out of." Closing the door behind them, Setsuna could still hear Haruka and Michiru's conversation as they walked down the hall. "Being used as a human soccer ball had got to hurt." commented Michiru to pass the time. "Yea but I'm sure having that thing stuck in her... in her... you know... have got to hurt more. Hmm... I wonder how that thing could fit inside." "I wonder how she got it out." Thinking it over for a moment Michiru then gave her partner a dirty smile, the kind of smile that promises something naughty later on. "Want to try something like that tonight?" she asked to the astonishment of her lover. After a short pause, a similar smile appeared on Haruka's face. "Nay, I'm not into that." said Haruka teasingly. "Come' on, it'll be fun." Michiru said playing along. "You know me Michiru, I'm never cared much for homemade dairy products." replied Haruka with a lewd smile. (It's a reference to the slang, "Turning the brown butter." which in itself is a reference to something else. If you don't know what that something else is email me at ffml_use@hotmail.com and I'll be happy to explain.) "Ooo!! I love it when you talk nasty." Setsuna wanted to scream for all she was worth but the full body cast made that impossible. "Damn you Ranma, you're screwing everything up." Just the effort from curse alone is enough to cause pain in her abused jaw. "You're so going pay for this!" already Setsuna was playing ways of torturing Ranma once she is better. Usagi's voice had been coming though Ami's communicator for the past half an hour but Ranma ignored it. It is not that he is ignoring it on purpose but he just does not have the strength to respond. After barely managing to drag him self out of Hotaru's former throne room, Ranma had to practically craw around Mugen Academy looking for the other inner senshis. It was really a wonder that Ami's mother did not interrogate him or the others when the other girls carried him back to Ami's house. It would have been a real disaster if Mizuno-san had forced him or the other girls to come up with some plausible lie to explain Ranma's state. Beside it would not feel right for him to lie to Mizuno-san especially after she took a sick day from the hospital in order to look after him. Lying on Ami's soft comfortable mattress Ranma used first ki to repair the damage left by Viluy's nanites. Checking the states of his health Ranma signed. "Sorry Usagi, it's gonna be a few more hours before I could even move. You're gonna have ta take care of this one without me." Inside Mugen Academy... In mass, the students of Mugen marched like zombies to the tune of Witch Cyprine's command. "Devote your heart your heart crystals to the Death Busters." Cyprine repeated her hypnotic message repeatedly. "Soon I'll take my place at the side of our great master." she cheered inwardly as the plan proceeded perfectly. "In a few minutes their will be more than enough heart crystals to satiate the Messiah. I'll be the master's favorite for sure." Cyprine could not help but laugh at the thought of her alone reaping the reward of their triumph. "HaHaHa. Yes. Yes. That's right, with the pure heart crystals the Death Busters will rule!" this time aloud so that all present could share in her joy. Unbeknownst to Cyprine the Sailor Senshi in civilian form managed to infiltrate the crowd. Lurking behind the support columns the sailors watched futilely as thr population of Mugen walked, not of their own free will, toward their doom. They knew that it would be impossible to free the enslaved students unless the witch is defeated. They also know that to attack the witch now is suicide, that and it would most likely lead to the death of the students they were here to protect. So they waited, waited for the perfect time to strike without endangering the students. However, the sailors also know that they could not wait too long, for any moment now the witch will start harvesting the heart crystals. Before the opportunity attack arrives, the students were in position for Cyprine to harvest their pure heart crystals. "Yes that's it. Devote your heart crystal to the great Messiah!" commanded Cyprine. One by one, the students released their heart crystals to Cyprine's control. Floating though the air the heart crystals moved toward the statue of the Messiah even as their owners lay dying on the ground they once stood on. "Ah, the senshi are here. Good we could finish this before dinner time." With a snap of her fingers, Cyprine summon an intense beam of red light over the statue of the Messiah. "My darlings, entry of non-students into the building is not permitted." As the beam of light struck the senshis the inners where wrapped in an energy bubble which lifted them into the air. Phasing though the domed shaped roof the bubble left Cyprine alone in the ceremonial hall. "Everyone, please donate your pure hearts." Cyprine added as she began to leave. What Cyprine was unaware of was that a small portion of the ex-student body was unaffected by her hypnotic commands and among them is Haruka and Michiru. "Upstairs?" asked Haruka. "Yes." Michiru replied. Phasing through the floor the inner senshis found themselves in an office overlooking the city. "Where are we?" asked Sailor Mars. "Welcome Sailor Senshis." Cyprine said interrupting Mars. Whirling around on her leather chair from behind the desk, Cyprine faced the people responsible for the downfall of her predecessors. With her head resting on her left hand and legs crossed, Cyprine began her introduction to the Sailors. "How do you do? I am Cyprine, the last member of the Witches 5. Hmm... I see we're one short. Call your friend, I want to finish you off all at the same time. Don't worry I'll wait." "We can't call Ranma. He's still hurt." Usagi said while getting on her feet. "We'll just have to do our best without him." Rei agreed. "Let's transform." Makoto urged the others. "Jupiter Star Power." Makoto shouted with her hand extended above her. "Mars Star Power." shouted Rei as she duplicated Makoto's action "Venus Star Power." duplicated the actions of the two previous Sailors "Moon Cosmic Power." Usagi shouted her transformation phrase as she glided her hand over the Mystical Silver Crystal inside her broach. "Make up!" the four Sailor Soldiers shouted the final phrase of their transformation simultaneously. After the momentary light show, four Sailor Soldiers for love and justice replaced the four teenage schoolgirls. "In the name of the Moon the Sailor team will punish you!" vowed Moon as she finishes her transformation. "I was so hoping I would be able to finish you off all at once but I guess I'll just give Mercury my undivided attention once I'm finished with you. She's that Mizuno girl isn't she?" Cyprine challenged the Senshis never fearing her disadvantage in terms of numbers. "Foul villain, I'll never allow you to harm our friends. Burning... Mandela!" Mars shot rings of fire toward Cyprine. The rings of fire struck true to its mark, shatter the windows behind Cyprine while leaving a cloud of black smoke after the explosion. "Did I do it?" not believing that she was able to vanquish the enemy with one hit but happy that her opponent seems to have been vaporized in the attack. To Mars' chagrin, a pair of lights, one red the other blue, appeared though the dense smoke. The pair of lights sailed though the space between itself and Mars, smashing into her before she realized they were even there, knocking her into the wall. "Sailor Mars!" the other soldiers reacted in concern. Before Mars could recover from the initial blow, another red orb of energy was sent toward her. With all her strength Mars moved out of the way of the red orb, hit the ground a few feet away, barely avoiding the red orb as it exploded behind her. Looking up, Mars saw another orb of energy heading her way. Grunting from the effort Sailor Mars leaping off the ground, barely avoided the blue orb of energy by inches as it sailed pass her destroying the furniture beside her. "Sailor Mars!" the others shouted as they ran towards their comrade. Above them Cyprine looked as she prepared another attack. Of the three concerned girls, Venus was the only to spot Cyprine floating in mid air. Seeing as her friends had completely forgotten about their enemy, Venus acted to cover their backs as Jupiter and Moon rushed to the side of Mars. "Venus Love Me Chain." Venus sent a chain of energy toward Cyprine, ensnaring her in its iron like grip. "You can't get away!" said Venus thinking that she had Cyprine secured in her magic. "If you thank that. You're mistaken." countered Cyprine without the slightest of doubt. Cyprine was right. A blast of energy from Venus' left knocked her off the ground, effectively freeing Cyprine. "What?" Venus could only wonder what happened as she hit the ground. The other senshi gasped, before them stood two Cyprines. The one on the lift had blue hair the one on the right had red but besides the difference in hair color, the two were identical. The two stood in a pose with their hands touching; the blue haired Cyprine had her right arm extended to her twin while the red haired Cyprine had her left arm extended. The two Cyprines raised their arms above their heads while their hands were still joined. They spin in a circle; right became left, left became right, front became back and back became front. While they span their arms became further intertwined, becoming more complex, changing the space of the office. What was once an office with shattered windows was now a vast field of stars. When the spin was completed, the blue haired Cyprine was in front of the red haired Cyprine, obscuring her. They stepped apart, revealing the red haired Cyprine. "I'm Cyprine." The blue haired one announced. "I'm Puchirl." announced the red haired one. "One is two." said Cyprine. "Two is one." added Puchirl. They raised the staffs that each held, causing them to glow. "One or two, there's no difference!" Jupiter challenged the duo to prove her wrong. "Take this. Sparkling Wide Pressure!" she tossed a ball of electrons toward the two. Cyprine swung her staff to counter the attack while Puchirl followed suit. Their staffs met at the space between them causing the staffs to glow even brighter. "These things have no effects on us." the two announced as Jupiter's attack was absorbed by the staffs. Swing the staffs to above their heads, Pichirul and Cyprine counter attack. The purple blast of energy released by the two staffs easily sent Jupiter flying. With Jupiter temporary stunned, Pichirul and Cyprine turned toward their next closest target: Sailor Moon. Taking to the air, Pichirul and Cyprine each fired an orb of energy at the panicking Sailor Moon. With her wild flapping arms and random body movements during an attack situation, Sailor Moon was able to avoid the blue orb in her usual fashion. Jumping into the air at opposite direction of the blasts, Sailor Moon was swatted into the ground by the red orb even as the blue orb missed her. "Arrr!" Moon screamed as the pain of the blast almost made her cry. Standing in a pose Cyprine and Pichirul began to taint their recovering enemy. "The Sailor Scouts are just running!" Cyprine said with the same smirk on her face as her twin's. "How disappointing!" Pichirul added. Elsewhere in Mugen Academy... "Look professor, I have one of the Sailor Senshi." Kaolinite boasted as she phased into the security office of the Mugen holding the unconscious form of Chibi-Moon by the Sailor's left feet. "With her pure heart crystal we'll be able to satiate the Messiah's appetite." Kaolinite fully expected a word of praise if not a dedication of love when she presented her potential lover with Chibi-Moon. "Look Kaolinite, Look. Cyprine is just about to finish those meddlesome Sailors." Tomoe never looked away from the monitor showing an event that unfolded elsewhere. "Damn you Cyprine. I hope the Sailors kill you slowly and painfully." Thought a brooding Kaolinite while still holding on to Chibi-Moon. Back where the action is... "They're too strong!" admitted Jupiter. "We've go to do something different." suggested Sailor Moon. "They just keep absorbing our attacks." Venus commented. "Then we'll just have to beat them with our fists." said Jupiter as she smacked her fist into her palm. "The warm up is over!" Cyprine continue to taint as she held lovingly on to her counterpart's shoulders. "Here comes the real show!" announced Pichirul while holding on to the small of Cyprine's back. "Your deaths will be so beautiful when we hit you with our true power." Pichirul and Cyprine said together. "You can't intimidate us!" cried Mars. "That's right." added Venus. "Burning... Mandala." "Crescent Beam." The two Sailors fired their attacks simultaneously. "You fool!" said Pichirul and Cyprine as they moved their staffs into position to absorb the two attacks. The instant Venus and Mars' attack left their caster's hands Jupiter and Moon took off running at different direction. For Jupiter her mission was to use the moment Cyprine and Pichirul spent absorbing the two attacks to get close to one of them. Then while avoiding their counter attack, because there was no way she could be fast enough to get their before they too action, distract them long enough for Venus and Mars to physically attack one of them from behind. As Jupiter took off toward the enemy, Moon ran off to the side and disappeared into the darkness. She was not running away because of cowardice, far from it, she had a role to play in the battle and that role demands the greatest of stealth on her part. As expected Pichirul and Cyprine's glowing staffs absorbed the Crescent Beam and Burning Mandala just like all previous attacks. Like before, once the attacks were absorbed the duo again raised their staffs above their heads and fired at the approaching Jupiter. The huge ball of energy sailed from the two staffs toward Jupiter and if it had connected, serious injury would no doubt be the result. As the ball of purple energy that was almost twice as deadly as the ones before approached, Jupiter maintained her run at top speed. Jupiter new that she could not stop or slow down for the smallest of hesitations at this point will mean even greater danger for her and her friends. With the destructive energy closing in on Jupiter, both parties became more certain of the result. Cyprine and Pichirul both had absolute confidence in their abilities with very good reasons. First, they were the last and the strongest members of the Witches 5. How is it possible that these weak opponents, the same ones that they had on the run earlier, have a hope of defeating them? Second, at such a close range there was simple no way for Jupiter to avoid their attack. Thus, in the minds of the two villains, the only possible outcome was that Jupiter would be struck down by their attack. Equally confident in one's own abilities was Jupiter but unlike Cyprine and Pichirul, she did not have a good reason to be so confident. Her only reason was that she could not afford to doubt her abilities, especially when her friends' lives were on the line. She was not given the luxury of doubt. To quote the words of a little green creature, Jupiter had only two choices: "Do or not do, there is no try." When the moment of judgment came, it was Cyprine and Pichirul that was surprised. Just before the energy connected with Jupiter, who was expecting the attack, she made an impossibly fast jump into the air and flipped over the energy. Using their close proximity Jupiter extended her leg toward Cyprine while she was still in mid air from avoiding the jump. With one fluid motion, Jupiter managed to avoid the energy and connect with Cyprine. A grunt of pain was all that Cyprine was able to give off as Jupiter's movement sent both of them into the ground. Cyprine had never expected Jupiter to be able to avoid their attack, it was simply impossible. That is irrelevant now; all that is important was the pain on her face where Jupiter's foot had made contact and what she would do to Jupiter to get even. She never got the chance; before she could recover, Jupiter has already started to pound into her body. She manages to get on her feet, but Jupiter never stops raining punches and kicks on to her body. Battered and bruised, Cyprine could only give ground as she got her ass whipped. When Jupiter took out Cyprine with a flying kick to the head Pichirul was already moving to defend her double. Raising her staff into the air Pichirul had planned to knock Jupiter off Cyprine with an energy orb but that was interrupted when two fists met the back of her head as she turned to attack Jupiter. Mars and Venus, after having completed their attacks moved to join Jupiter in the melee. Taking off in a mad dash, they saw the impossible as Jupiter leaped over the energy ball and kicked Cyprine in the face. Taking care to allow the energy to pass in the space between them the two senshis used the momentary distraction to get close to Pichirul. Seeing that Pichirul had her back to them, the two senshis took advantage of the situation; each simultaneously threw a punch at the back of Pichirul's head. The force of Mars and Venus' punch was enough to sent Pichirul stumbling forward but not enough to knock her out. Before Pichirul was able to respond, the two senshis continue to exploit their advantage. With double tackle to the back of Pichirul's back, the two senshis sent her flying toward Cyprine. "Sailor Moon, now's your chance!" Jupiter shouted as she delivered one last uppercut to Cyprine that sent her crashing into Pichirul. Jumping out of the darkness where she was waiting to ambush the duo, Sailor Moon was at point blank range when she delivered her attack. "Moon Spiral Heart Attack!" When the blast cleared only the Sailors where left standing. "Dusted" Sailor Moon proclaimed as she pointed her fingers at where Cyprine and Pichirul were moments before. "That's it. Now we're pissed." Pichirul's voice came from above, interrupting the sailors' little celebration. The Sailors' look up and to their horror floated Cyprine and Pichirul who looked liked they have had better days. Their cloths were scorched and their hair was undone. They were obviously injured in the blast seeing as how Pichirul was barely holding on to her staff and blood was flowing out of Cyprine's nose freely, although that could have been from Jupiter. Before the Sailors could even gasp a column of energy struck the ground around them, the resulting explosion sends them flying into different directions. The force of the explosion tore through their sailor fukus and burned their skins as it propelled the Sailor Senshis through the air. To say that Ranma was no awareness of the feelings of others is slander. Indeed, he could feel the pain of others especially that of Usagi. He could feel their desperation as their situation turned from bad to worse. He could feel them scream out as the latest volley of fire torn into their skin. Above all, he could feel this irresistible need to go to them. How can he feel these things; neither he nor Mercury is psychic. Is he simply imagining it? No, this is too real for a simply trick of the imagination or guilt. This is something that is actually happening. He could feel a pull in their general direction. He could almost hear their scream as they were blasted. The burning pain on their skin is as real as it were his own skin that was being burned. Could it be the bonds of family, Ranma mused. Is it the kind of bond between a mother and her child? Is it the kind of bond that enables one to feel the other's distress? He would not know. His mother had never been a very large part of his life. At any rate, Ranma had to keep thinking of other things to keep the urge to go to the others from becoming all consuming. As people who know Ranma know this is an uphill battle. The urge was getting worse now. Without any particular deep thoughts to occupy his mind, Ranma could not control his feelings or to be more precise Mercury's feelings. Intellectually, he knew that going to the aid of the others would be suicide while in his current condition. He simple exhausted too much ki and overworked his muscles to be able to deliver a decent punch. With mobility only possible half an hour ago, Ranma thought he would only do more harm than good. "But if I transform..." the situation is desperate enough and Ranma was never one to ignore the cry of the needy. "I wouldn't be at full strength. It'll have ta do, besides they need me." Reaching into the place where Ami kept her henshin rod Ranma had a firm grip on the magical tool. "You want to go to them don't you?" a voice asked from across the darkened room nearly scaring Ranma to death. "Wha... What?" Ranma stuttered in a panic. Sitting up on the bed, Ranma confronted the voice. Looking at the women holding a teacup in the doorway, it took Ranma a moment to realize it was Ami's mother. "Got'a stop doing that." Ranma thought inwardly. It is not that Ranma had trouble recognizing Ami's mother but for some reason something about the women always throws him off. Every time he looked at Mizuno-san he always takes notice of her odd appearance instead of recognizing who the woman was. "May be it's the blonde hair." Ranma concluded. "With your current power, you are not strong enough face the coming Silence." Ami's mother said. "You know?" Ranma asked with some fear. "Does she know about me?" he asked himself. Walking though the doorway that was the only source of light in the room, Mizuno-san approached her daughter's bed with a look of supreme confidence. Her mood was not exactly what Ranma would have expected for someone who was about to confronting his or her daughter on the subject of vigilante justice. This is especially suspicious if the daughter was the vigilante. Sitting on her daughter's bed beside Ranma, Mizuno-san offered the cup of tea to the blue haired girl. "I know you can't help but feel your friends' distress but right now you can't do them any good. You must have faith in your friends' own abilities to overcome their troubles." Seeing that her daughter was not taking the tea but rather eyeing it suspiciously, Mizuno-san tried to alleviate her wayward daughter's fears. "Don't worry, it's just something to help you sleep." she said while moving the teacup closer to the blue haired girl. Close acquaintances of Ranma knows that he is one of most trusting person in the world and two years living with Nabiki did not change that much. Perhaps it was his childhood or it could just be his naive nature but for the life of him, Ranma could not differentiate between lies and truth. Completely ignoring Mizuno-san's odd behavior Ranma accepted the tea from Mizuno-san's hand. Taking a sip from the cup Ranma found the dark brew bitter but surprising refreshing. Giving her daughter a knowing smile Mizuno-san continued. "You must be ready for tomorrow. For now your friends can take care of themselves." Sitting up from the mattress Mizuno-san turned to leave but then suddenly stopped. She reached into the pocket of her robe and retrieved something. "Oh yea, almost forgot. You'll need this in the morning." she said as she handed the object to her daughter. Taking the object from Mizuno-san's hands, Ranma examined it. It was only a small obsidian rock with intricate carvings but Ranma recognized it instantly. "This is the..." Ranma look at the stone with astonishment. "Yes." Mizuno-san replied, not appearing to have the intent of offering any explanations. "But..." Ranma asked not noticing Mizuno-san leaving the room. "Finish your tea, dear. You could just leave the cup on the desk when you're done." She said as the door closed, returning the room to darkness that it once was. "She's tough." Venus said in between coughs. "I thought we had her." said the smoking Jupiter. "Are you alright Sailor Moon?" Mars asked their leader in concern. "Lunnna, just five more minutes." Their fearless leader muttered in reply. "HaHaHaHa!!!" Pichirul's evil laughter sounded over them. "Let's finish them." Pichirul voiced her and Cyprine's intent. Cyprine did not respond. Raising their staffs into the air, they readied another attack. Instead of instantly discharging their energy, they opted for building their attack into greater intensity. "Wake up Sailor Moon!" the three senshis shouted in unison. "WAKE UP!" they shouted once more but Sailor Moon still did not respond. "Sayonara." Pichirul said cheerfully. By this time, the duo had build two balls of energy each approximately two meters in diameter. With their attacks readied, Cyprine and Pichirul decided to finish the senshis off sooner rather than later not wanting a repeat of the last round. "SAILOR MOON!" the senshis shouted one more time. Their latest attempt managed to stir the unconscious Sailor Moon. Seeing that they were final able get through to their leader, the Sailors continue their wake up call. "SAILOR MOON!" they repeatedly shouted. It was too late. As Sailor Moon begins to awaken, Cyprine and Pichirul began launching their attack. Even as the shouting for Sailor Moon continued below, Cyprine and Pichirul released the barely contained energy of the staffs. The two fat balls of energy left their staffs and descended on the Sailors. "SAILOR MOON!" they shouted one final time. "Crisis... Make Up!" a bright flash of white energy marked Sailor Moon's transition into Super Sailor Moon. In the short time it required Sailor Moon to transform into Super Sailor Moon, the twin boulders of energy are already meters away. Moon saw the incoming energies and realized that she would not have time to perform the Rainbow Moon Heart Ache attack. With the safety of her friends on the top of her mind, Moon had to improvise. Pushing all her energy into the palm of her hands, Super Sailor Moon poured the energy into two rivers of power. The energies released by Moon were just in time to meet the giant twin balls of energy. The two powers collided, white met blue and red. For a moment, neither energies gave ground but soon the power of the Holy Grail was able to over power that of Cyprine and Pichirul. The power of the Grail reversed the trajectory of the two orbs and sent them flying back to their casters. Cyprine and Pichirul had never expected their attacks to be used against them. They thought it would finish the Sailors off for sure. They had the Sailors on their knees, unconscious and weakened. They had an overwhelming amount of energy invested into their attacks, attacks that would have easily overpowered any of the Sailor's resistance. However, the one thing they did not fact in was the power of the Holly Grail. To their horror, the Grail was indeed as powerful as the professor had claimed. As their own blast approached them, Cyprine and Pichirul could only scream. In the most horrifying event of their lives, even Cyprine was able to get out a sound through her shattered jaw. Their screams of fear suddenly ceased as they were vaporized by their own attacks. The death of the two witches caused the statue of the Messiah to shatter. With their container broken the pure heart crystals held within the statue burst forth. Like a shower of light, the crystals returned to their original owners, reviving them. "Well Kaolinite it would seem that the little Sailor will be useful after all." said Tomoe while looking away from the monitor. "We did it." Venus cheered. "Barely." Jupiter added. "Everything has turned back to normal." said an exhausted Sailor Moon. "Look!" Mars shouted as a black hole appeared before them. "What's this hallway?" Venus asked. Appearing through the black hole is the image of a darkened basement. Presumably another part of the Death Buster's head quarters. "Can we get to the other side." Mars asked. "Let's see." replied Jupiter. Picking up a random piece of debris on the floor, she chucked it through the hole. When they say it bounced off the floor on the other side of the black hole they got their answer. "This must be the Death Buster's nest." "Stop it! Stop it! Chibi-Moon!" Sailor Moon shouted in plea. Rushing forward, she tried once again to go to the aid of her daughter. Slowly a hand of pure energy expended from the lamping form of Hotaru. The claw shaped hand reached into the chest of Chibi-Moon, passing through her chest cavity without resisted. Chibi-Moon screamed in pain for a moment, her hand instinctively reaching for the energy that was violating her. Her scream lasted for no more than a moment as her heart crystal was ripped from her heart. "I'm here." Ranma announced to the girl on the other side of the communicator. The panicky voice of Usagi can be heard coming from the communicator. It accrued to Ranma that not everything went will last night; at least they are fine. Clearly Usagi is frightened and irrational at the moment. "Hay, slow down. I can't make out a word you're saying." The other end paused for a moment then continued. "What! They stole Chibi-Usa's heart crystal? And they turned Hotaru into a Death Buster?" A moment of hysteric crying passed. "You can count on me, Usagi. I'll meet ya at the shrine." Refreshed after a night of sleep Ranma began his preparation for the final confrontation with the Death Busters. To Be Continued Author's Note: Well, I know some of you still thinks that you'll will never see another chapter but here it is. It took longer than expected due to the increase amount of time that I spent with it and I got lazy. What I am interested in now is to what you think when this is finished. Specifically what you will think if all the scenes were written in chronological order instead of Pulp Fiction style. I feel that it is necessary to explain to you about Setsuna's current state. As you can see, she got beat up real good. I know that something of you are thinking this is going to one of *those* stories. The kind that has Ranma beating on the outers or the outers beating on Ranma because neither one can understand the other's point of view. Well let me tell you this: it's not that kind of story. B.S. some of you might say. I would counter that you should look to the previous chapter for contradicting evidence. Let me point them out for you. First, if Ranma had beaten up Setsuna, Uranus and Neptune would have said something about it when they confronted him in the basement. Second, if Ranma had beaten up on of their own there is no way the inners will still be buddy buddy with him. As always C&C is welcome at ffml_use@hotmail.com Many and great thanks to my pre-readers Genma Saotome Genma_Saotome@hotmail.com And Vampire vamp.666@wanadoo.fr