Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction / Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Why Sailor Pluto Hates The Bet ❯ Episode 12: True Colours, part II ( Chapter 13 )

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is the property of Takeuichi Naoko. Ranma belongs to Takahashi Rumiko. Evangelion belongs to Gainax. The Bet concept and the accompanying cast and background of Mimir's Well belong to Metroanime.

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"Why didn't we take the bus?" Asuka asked. Her face was red, and she was breathing hard. The group was now three days into their journey. The land around them had grown rocky and barren save for the occasional patch of grass and a few forlorn trees growing here and there. The mountain was forest-crowned, but they were at present only at its skirt. The forest's border was about a mile ahead of them, and in the deepening twilight, they could just make out the first tree-shadows in the distance.

"Well?"

"Training,"

Luna and Artemis had become exhausted long ago. Artemis was sprawled out on Ukyou's shoulder, and Luna on Asuka's. Asuka grimaced as she forced her legs to keep moving. Ranma and Ukyou continued onward, neither one of them so much as sweating after a long day of traveling across a difficult countryside.

It was a short time later, at the very border of the woods, that Asuka collapsed. Luna's startled squawk drew the attention of the others, who turned back in alarm, thinking perhaps that they were being attacked. Ranma looked at the fallen red-head, her expression unreadable. "... I'm fine," Asuka said, gritting her teeth as she struggled to rise.

Ranma and Ukyou exchanged glances.

Asuka became aware of a hand on her shoulder. She looked up. Ukyou.

"You should have said something earlier, sugar. You're not in as good of physical condition as either Ranma or I. You shouldn't expect to be able to match our pace."

Stubbornly, Asuka insisted that she was fine, and once more struggled to rise. Ukyou's eyes softened at that. "... I think I'm getting tired. Hey Ranchan, do you think you can find a good place to camp around here?"

Ranma started, seemingly surprised by Ukyou's request. "Er... sure." In short order, a suitable site was located. As they began setting up camp for the evening, Asuka glanced towards Ukyou. Although it didn't show in her expression, there was gratitude in her eyes.

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Ranma 1/2: WHY SAILOR PLUTO HATES THE BET

by P.H. Wise

Episode 12: True Colours, Part II

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Come, let us go, you and I. The evening hangs beneath the sky like a corpse euthanized upon a table (1). ... On second thought, let's try that again.

The moon hung low in the sky, bathing both land and clouded sky in silvery light. Asuka and the moon-cats lay asleep in the tent that had been hastily erected at the edge of the woods, while Ranma and Ukyou sat together on a rocky outcropping that overlooked the land below.

They sat in silence for a long time, neither wanting to break the spell of the moonlit night. A faint breeze rustled through the leaves of the forest behind them, carrying with it the smell of life and of growing things. ... In the end, it was Ranma who spoke. "Hey Ucchan," she began. Ukyou stirred at her side, turning to look at the albino pig-tailed girl. "Mmm?"

"After training so long ta get revenge, why'd ya give it up just like that?"

Ukyou blushed. "Well..." she paused a long moment. Ranma looked at her expectantly, and at length, she continued. "The one I wanted revenge against was Genma. You were my best friend, Ranchan. All I ever really wanted from you was to know 'why.'"

Silence hung between the two for a few moments before Ukyou continued. "I'm glad that part of my life is over. Having your father decide that you now have to play the part of a son isn't much fun."

Ranma grimaced. "How would you have liked a Jusenkyou curse, then?"

Ukyou gave Ranma a sidelong glance. "It really bothers you that much?" she asked.

Ranma's grimace only deepened. "I'm a guy, now and forever. I'll never be a girl."

Ukyou quirked an eyebrow. "You look pretty female from where I'm sitting, Ranchan."

Ranma's expression darkened. "I'm a GUY, Ucchan. Didn't you just say how it ain't fun to have your pop decide that you're male all the sudden? How do you think I feel with being stuck as a girl?"

"Don't be a fool, Ranchan."

"A fool!?" anger was now plainly evident in Ranma's voice and expression. "I'm stuck with some damn gender changing curse, and you call me a fool for worrying about it!? What if I start liking frilly crap or shopping or boys or somethin' like that!?"

Ukyou's expression hardened. "Look at yourself, Ranchan. Are you a guy or a girl?"

Ranma clenched her fist, her pale features now flushed red with anger and frustration. "I'm a GUY."

Ukyou whapped her upside the head.

"What was that for!?"

She shook her head. "Look at yourself. Maybe it won't be once we get the kaisuifuu, but right now, your body is 100% female. You. Are. A. Girl."

Ranma shut her eyes, turning away from Ukyou. She knew that she couldn't deny what Ukyou was saying, but that didn't mean she had to like it. "No way am I gonna start actin' all girly."

"Who are you?"

"Huh?"

"Who are you?"

"What do you mean, 'who am I?' I'm Ranma Saotome!"

"Damn straight."

Ranma frowned, trying to figure out what exactly Ukyou was getting at. Another silence fell between them as Ukyou turned to look directly into Ranma's crimson eyes. "Does Ranma Saotome like 'frilly crap?'" she asked.

Ranma shook her head, snorting derisively.

"Does Ranma Saotome like shopping?"

Again, Ranma shook her head. "No."

"Is Ranma Saotome attracted to guys?"

"Of course not!"

A satisfied smile flashed across Ukyou's face. "You," she said, "Are Ranma Saotome. So whether your body happens to be male or female, BE Ranma Saotome."

Ranma stared at Ukyou, finding herself at a loss for words. "Ucchan..." she managed after a moment.

"I haven't seen the male Ranma in a very long time," said Ukyou, leaning in so close to the other girl that their lips almost touched. "But I really like the female one."

And that was when she kissed the pig-tailed girl.

Ranma's eyes widened in shock. She felt the urge to kiss back, and not a second after she acted on it, Ukyou broke the kiss and stood up. Smiling coyly, the okonomiyaki chef turned and walked back to the camp, leaving a stunned Onna-Ranma in her wake.

*********

Queen Beryl peered into her crystal ball, her hands steepled carefully in front of her mouth so as to save on the cost of animation. Akane (AKA Endymion), now clad in a VERY flattering set of armor that bore no small resemblance to a plate-mail bikini, lounged in the dark queen's lap. In between exchanging kisses and heavy petting with her brain-washed boy... er... girltoy, Beryl managed to give a few orders.

"Roseite! Blue Thunderite! I command you to appear before me!"

The two generals appeared before their Queen's throne, the one in a swirl of red rose petals, the other in a swirl of black. "What does the Dark Queen command?" asked Roseite, doing her best to prevent her brother from doing something stupid... like speaking aloud.

Beryl gestured towards the image displayed within the crystal ball, which showed the progress that Ranma and company had made up the mountainside. "I have learned that the unawakened Senshi called Ranma Saotome is on her way to retrieve an ancient weapon of the Silver Millennium. We cannot allow such a powerful weapon to fall into her hands. I command you to go forth and destroy the Sailor Suited Evangelion unit before it can be retrieved."

Roseite bowed low, and Blue Thunderite brandished his boken. Lightning flashed somewhere behind him, reducing an unfortunate youma courtier to a pile of ash. "To prove my love for the peerless Queen Beryl..." and that was as far as he got before Roseite jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.

Endymion stirred in Queen Beryl's lap. "Beryl-chan," she said huskily, "If it's so important that this Sailor01 be destroyed, I think I'll go along as well, to ensure that these two meet with success."

Beryl nodded her approval, though she was privately a bit disappointed to see her personal girltoy depart. A moment later, Endymion, Roseite, and Blue Thunderite vanished in their respective swirls of flowery matter.

**********************

** A FEW DAYS LATER **

**********************

Onna-Herb was alone in the steaming hot spring, stretched out on her back and allowing the water to carry her. This was one of the very rare times in which she could allow herself to relax completely, and she was enjoying every moment of it. The dragon-princess' enjoyment of the moment would probably have been lessened had she been aware that one of her retainers was peeping on her.

Hiding behind a small tree that grew in the courtyard around the spring, Mint watched the nude (and very female) figure of his master. `Herb-sama is so regally beautiful,' he thought, staring with wide-eyes. Herb's discarded clothing was close at hand - some three feet distant from Mint's position. So engrossed was the beast-man in his peeping that he failed to notice the presence creeping up behind him. One sharp blow to the head later, Mint was sleeping like a baby, albeit a baby with a bleeding head. ... On second thought, maybe he wasn't sleeping like a baby at all.

Ranma was careful to lower the now-unconscious beast-man to the ground without making a sound. Once that was accomplished, she peered into the hot spring at the bathing Herb, grinned, and then quickly scooped up the dragon-spawn's clothing and tossed it up to Ukyou, who was standing on the wall of the courtyard, who in turn tossed it over the wall. "Finally found you you bastard," whispered Ranma. She and Ukyou exchanged glances. They each nodded, and with that, leaped into battle.

Ukyou hurled a half-dozen throwing spatulas at the unsuspecting dragon-princess even as Ranma leaped up into the air to deliver an AT-field enhanced jump-kick. But Herb was no mere thug to be taken out so easily. The faint whistle of the spatulas moving through the air gave her all the warning she needed. The statuesque platinum-blonde shifted her weight ever so slightly to avoid the spatulas (and to make it look EASY), and then quickly gathered her chi so as to blast the approaching albino pig-tailed girl into tiny particles.

And then, in mid-flight, Ranma pulled up her own shirt and flashed the dragon-spawn. Herb's eyes widened in shock, and one of the veins on her forehead began to throb. The chi she was gathering dissipated... and then Ranma's enhanced kick struck home. Herb went FLYING backwards, out of the spring and clear through the wall of the resort, her passage carving a long trench in the ground and throwing up a tremendous dust-cloud.

"Not bad Ranchan, but why'd you flash her?"

Ranma smirked confidently. "She's looking for the Kaisuifuu, right? An artifact that can unlock locked curses? So I'm betting she's probably a Jusenkyou victim..."
Ukyou raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm impressed."

Ranma's confident smirk widened into a full blown grin. "What else would ya expect from the best?"

And that was when Herb blasted them both. The flaming ball of chi unleashed by the dragon-prince detonated violently directly between the two martial artists, sending them both tumbling in opposite directions. Completely naked, the Neo-Princess of the Musk literally GLOWED with power. "You'd be well advised to pay more attention to your opponent, woman,"

Clambering to her feet, Ranma quickly pulled off her shirt and thrust her chest forward into Herb's field of view. The Musk Princess' eyes widened at the sight of Ranma's ample bosom, and she quickly looked away. Quite satisfied with her excellent (as she saw it) use of psychological warfare, Ranma gathered heavy ki around herself, made visible as a sickly green aura. With the cry of, "SHISHI HOKODAN...!"

...

...

Absolutely nothing happened.

Ranma's aura fizzled and went out. She stared at her hands in shock. `Of all the times for it not to work...!'

"Ranchan, look out!" Ukyou's warning came just in time to save Ranma from taking one of Herb's ki-blasts to the face. The wall behind the Saotome childe didn't fare quite so well. The ensuing explosion rocked the resort to its foundations and sent shrapnel flying everywhere. The cloud of dust thrown up by the explosion obscured the scene for a few moments - moments Herb spent looking for her clothing and not finding it. This did not improve her mood. Power flaring around her, she began to levitate, albeit somewhat unsteadily. "Don't you have any decency!?" she yelled to the pig-tailed girl. "Put something on!"

Ukyou leaped from the wall (opposite the side that had been destroyed), swinging her combat-spatula down in a mighty arc. Herb bobbed to the side, and the blow struck the hot spring instead, sending up a terrific splash, and leaving a sizable impact crater behind. Ukyou had barely recovered from the missed blow when Herb began firing off volleys of chi-blasts. Cart-wheeling and flipping out of the way, the okonomiyaki chef soon found herself atop the same wall she had started from. "Let's get out of here, Ranchan!" she yelled. "We need a plan!"

At that moment, Ranma leaped at Herb from behind. Herb caught the pig-tailed girl by the shoulder and used her own momentum against her to throw her bodily into the wall that Ukyou was perched atop. As the dragon-spawn Princess began to power up for a massive chi blast, Ranma gulped nervously. "Yeah... I think we better go. Saotome secret technique...!" And with that, Ranma vaulted up and over the wall, with Ukyou following close behind, pausing only to scoop up Herb's clothing as they went. At the ruined hot spring, Herb descended to the ground and glared angrily after the fleeing martial artists.

********

Ranma and Ukyou came running back to their camp about an hour later, their exhilaration finally fading from them as they dashed down the forest trail. When they arrived at the camp, they were confronted by a very angry red-head, and an equally angry pair of moon-cats. Ranma and Ukyou's good mood died in an instant.

"I hope you have a good explanation for this," said Asuka, glaring balefully at the two girls.

Ukyou and Ranma exchanged glances. Although she couldn't put a finger on why exactly, the thought of Asuka challenging her on this matter... or rather, the thought of Sailor Mars challenging her on this matter annoyed Ukyou to no end. "Since when did we answer to you, sugar?" she asked. Ranma nodded her agreement.

Asuka gaped at the pair, her face flushing a red to match her hair as she struggled for words. After a moment, she opened her mouth to speak, but Luna got there first, and probably prevented the fire-haired Senshi from saying something that she would have regretted. "You may not answer to us, Ukyou," the moon-cat began, "but Ranma certainly does." She turned her disapproving gaze towards the albino pig-tailed girl and began to pace back and forth.

"How do ya figure?" asked Ranma.

It was Artemis who spoke up. "Even if you haven't awakened yet, you ARE a Sailor Senshi."

Luna nodded her agreement, and took the opportunity to jump in. "You therefore have a responsibility to Asuka, Artemis, and myself."

"You shouldn't have gone off without us," said Artemis, his expression darkening considerably. "The Sailor Senshi are supposed to be a team. What if something had happened to you? Do you think Mars is ready to face someone like Herb on her own?"

"Hey!" Asuka interjected, glaring at the white moon-cat, "I could easily kick the dragon-princess' ass! Unlike this unawakened idiot, I can already use MY senshi powers! Not to mention, I have Sailor02!"

Ranma's expression hardened, and she glanced at Ukyou as if for guidance. Ukyou shrugged. After a moment, the pig-tailed girl spoke. "What the hell gave you the idea that I'm a Sailor Senshi, unawakened or not? And what's a Sailor Senshi, anyways?"

Asuka frowned. "Weren't you paying attention all those times you listened in on our Senshi meetings at Akane's house?"

Ranma shook her head. "Nah, I was doin' that more to annoy Akane."

Asuka facepalmed. She took a moment to regain her composure (such as it was) before speaking. "... The Sailor Senshi are the reincarnated Princesses of the ancient moon-kingdom. They're magical warriors with a high destiny!"

Luna spoke up then. "The sigil that you've manifested on your forehead proves it. You ARE one of the Sailor Senshi."

A look of horror on her face, Ranma took a step back (and closer to Ukyou). "No. I don't believe it for a second! It ain't true! Just being a girl at ALL is bad enough!"

Asuka grinned evilly. "It's true, wonder-girl, and if you think about it, it DOES explain some things about you..."

"I AM NOT A REINCARNATED PRINCESS FROM SOME TEN THOUSAND YEARS DEAD MOON KINGDOM!!"

Asuka's grin only grew wider (and eviler). "How did you know it was ten-thousand years dead, wonder-girl? No one told you that."

"Shut up! It ain't true!"

Ukyou shook her head and sighed. "Ranchan, close your mouth before you stick your foot even further in."

Ranma glared.

***********

** LATER **

***********

"Are you sure this is the place, Luna?" Ukyou asked. She, Ranma, Asuka and the moon-cats had reached a small break in the forest - a meadow - that lay before the entrance to a system of caves. Unfortunately, there was also a large demon standing guard at the entrance to the caves, bat-winged and cloaked in bands of inky darkness. Although they had taken Herb's clothes, a thorough search had revealed no sign of the map. This meant that they had only Luna and Artemis' spotty memories of the location to go on. At Luna's answering nod, Ukyou frowned. "This could be a problem."

"No it won't," said Asuka, "Let's go kick its ass! Mars power! Make up!" With the command words spoken (although no one could really be sure whether it was the `mars power' or the `let's kick its ass' part), flames erupted from her body and her clothing vanished, leaving her momentarily nude before the flames coalesced into her senshi fuku.

Before anyone could stop her, Sailor Mars charged the demon, and with a cry of "Fire... SOUL," let loose with a tremendous fireball.

The blast of flame struck the demon head-on... and had little in the way of a noticeable effect. Smoke rising from its body, the demon turned to face the one who had attacked it.

"HALT," it intoned. "WHO SEEKS TO ENTER THIS PLACE MUST FIRST PASS THE THREE TRIALS."

"You can take your trials and shove them up your ass!" yelled Mars as she prepared another fireball. "FIRE SOUL!"

The demon took this fireball head on as well, and this time actually seemed to be injured by it, with minor burns appearing across its mottled hide. It roared angrily, and its glowing yellow eyes narrowed dangerously. "INTERLOPER," it said as it formed a ball of purest darkness in the palm of its right hand, "DIE."

Mars reacted a split-second too late - the creature threw the ball of darkness at her, and though she attempted to dodge, it still managed to clip her across the shoulder. The force of the impact sent her spinning crazily through the air, only to hit the trunk of a nearby tree with a tremendous crack.

As Mars slid ungracefully down the tree's trunk to the ground, her transformation fading away and leaving behind a very bruised Asuka, the demon turned towards the others. "WHO SEEKS TO ENTER THIS PLACE MUST FIRST PASS THE THREE TRIALS. WHO SHALL BE YOUR CHAMPION?"

Ukyou and Ranma exchanged glances. After a moment, Ranma stepped forward. "Do your worst," she said.

The demon's eyes narrowed, and a smile of pure malevolence settled onto its face. "LET THE TRIALS BEGIN."

********************

A SHORT TIME LATER *

********************

Ranma faced the demon alone, its massive bat-winged, shadow-wreathed frame towering over her like storm-clouds over the hills. "ARE YOU PREPARED?" it asked. She nodded. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE TERMS?" Again, she nodded. "VERY WELL," said the demon, whose voice was by now growing quite hoarse from talking so much in caps, "THE FIRST TRIAL BEGINS."

Asuka, Ukyou and the mooncats watched fearfully as the demon held forth its hand, and Ranma did likewise. As one, the pig-tailed girl and the demon cried aloud, "JANKENPON! PON PON PON!"

"HAHA!" Ranma exulted, "Stone beats scissors! I win again!"

"DAMN YOU! YOU MAY HAVE BEATEN ME AT THE CHALLENGE OF JANKENPON, BUT LET'S SEE HOW WELL YOU DO AT KARAOKE!"

Ukyou, Asuka, and the mooncats promptly facefaulted.

*********************

**** STILL LATER ****

*********************

~YOU HAVE PASSED THE FIRST TWO TRIALS, MORTAL. NOW LET'S SEE HOW WELL YOU DO AT MARTIAL ARTS SCRABBLE."

As Ranma prepared to do battle with the demon, Asuka turned towards Luna, an incredulous look on her face. "Ok, what idiot designed these challenges anyways?" she asked.

Artemis snickered, and Luna shot him a dangerous look.

"... what? What does that mean?" asked Asuka, suspicion growing in her expression.

Artemis snickered again. "NOT A WORD, ARTEMIS," said Luna.

Asuka's expression went quickly from suspicious to something more along the lines of, `you HAVE to be kidding me' as she looked at Luna.

"... OK," said Luna, hanging her head in shame, "So I was just a little bit drunk at the time..."

"And the demon?"

If it had been possible for her to melt into the ground at that point, Luna would have done so. "He said he'd lost a bet," she supplied helpfully.

Asuka shook her head in dismay. "Kami-sama save us all."

******************

*** EVEN LATER ***

******************

At long last, with every challenge completed, the demon stepped aside and allowed Ranma-tachi(2) to enter the caves. They passed through the entrance, and once their eyes had adjusted to the change of light, the group stood for a moment awestruck by their surroundings.

The caverns stretched on endlessly, it seemed, with fluted columns of stone growing out of the ceiling some seventy feet above them, and others seeming to flow up from the ground in ribbons of watery stone. The walls seemed almost polished, and deposits of gemstones of various kinds were actually visible in the walls, floor, and roof. It was these gems that provided the illumination - although the gems themselves varied in colour from greens to blues to reds, purples, and everything in between, and although they each glowed in the colour appropriate to the individual gem, the illumination in the cave was white light - a kind of reverse prism affect.

The humans and moon-cats journeyed for about an hour in these caves, going ever deeper and into ever more spectacular caverns, until they came at last to a vast cylindrical chamber of stone. The roof in this chamber was some one hundred meters above, and the chamber's radius was about eighty meters. The floor was made entirely of purest crystal, and beneath, locked in a crystalline slumber, lay Sailor01. Naturally, the presence of such a ridiculous looking thing spoiled the entire affect of the cave. In any case, resting above Sailor01's crystalline tomb was a small pedestal, upon which rested a kettle in a stone bowl of steaming water.

"Finally, the kaisuifuu!" Ranma crowed as she rushed forward to grab the kettle from its pedestal. She stopped short when an all too familiar platinum-blonde woman descended from above, her body wreathed with energy.

"Did you really think it would be this easy, woman?" asked Herb as she landed between Ranma and the open water kettle. "You will not touch what is rightfully mine."

Asuka frowned. "Wait a minute, how did you get in here, anyways? Didn't you have to get past the demon?"

Mint and Lime stepped into the chamber then, cutting off any chance of escape. "We used the side-door," said Mint.

Asuka began to grind her teeth.

"Alright," said Ranma, dropping into a combat stance, "If I gotta beat ya to get to the kaisuifuu, then I guess I'll just have ta beat ya."

Ukyou stepped up next to Ranma, drawing her spatula as she moved into a combat stance of her own. "I'm with you, Ranchan!"

Herb's slitted eyes flashed in the gem-light of the chamber. To the eyes of everyone in the chamber, she seemed simply to vanish from her position and to reappear directly in front of Ranma. Still worse, she appeared with her fist slammed into Ranma's stomach. Caught totally off guard by the speed of the dragon-spawn's attack, the Saotome childe doubled over, the force of the blow sending her sliding backwards some five meters, for all that she remained standing. "Ranchan," Ukyou cried in dismay. Wasting no time, the okonomiyaki chef charged the dragon prince, swinging her combat spatula for all that she was worth.

Without even turning to look, Herb caught the incoming spatula by the topmost part of its shaft, just below where the spatula head actually began. With a seemingly effortless ease, she tore the weapon out of Ukyou's hand, and then slammed it, handle first, into Ukyou's chest. It hit her with a terrible crack, and she went down like a puppet whose strings had suddenly been cut.

At the sight of her best friend (and maybe more) being smacked down so casually, Ranma's eyes widened. All at once, the glow of the gems was no longer the only source of light in the chamber. Her eyes began to glow an evil, undying red, and strange geometric energy patterns began to form around her hands. "Alright Herb, this time for real!" cried the Saotome childe as she brought her hands together. When the twin peculiar energy patterns met, a torrent of pure destructive energy poured forth, aimed directly at the dragon-princess.

Herb WOULD have dodged, but Sailor Mars chose that moment to transform. With a cry of, "MARS POWER, MAKE UP!" the redheaded girl's clothes vanished as flames erupted around her, leaving her momentarily nude before the flames once more coalesced into her senshi fuku.

Instead of dodging, Herb stared at Mars with narrowed eyes, the vein on her forehead bulging considerably as she yelled, "Don't ANY OF YOU HAVE ANY MODESTY!?"

That was when Ranma's particle beam hit her. She screamed in pain as the sheer force of the blast threw her forty meters across the chamber and some three feet into the far wall.

"Kusoyaro..." growled the dragon-princess as she clambered out of the impact crater she had left in the rock wall. Her own eyes began to glow as she gathered chi into herself. "Mint, Lime, take care of these others. Saotome is MINE."

And with that, she unleashed a massive blast of chi.

As Herb and Ranma dueled in a manner that would have made any super saiyajin envious, Sailor Mars attempted to keep both Mint and Lime occupied long enough for Ukyou to recover and join the fight. Still weak from the blow she had received, Ukyou struggled to rise, but found herself as of yet unable to do so.

"FIRE SOUL!" cried Mars as she sent a fireball Lime's way, who was forced to dive for cover. A moment later, Mint's cry of, "Rouga Ryuusei Dan!" gave Sailor Mars some small warning - enough warning to start frantically dodging the dozens of ki-charged knives that the wolf-man had thrown at her. She was for the most part successful, though she took several glancing blows, and by the end, was bleeding from several nasty gashes. "Chikishou," she hissed as she charged the wolf-man. "Akuryou..." she began, drawing forth a Shinto ward from subspace and flinging it at the wolf-man, "Taisan!"

The ward flew straight and true, despite the fact that paper should not technically be able to do such a thing. When it struck Mint, it burst into flames, its burning embers scattering over the wolf-man. Yelping in pain, he dropped to the ground and began rolling frantically to extinguish the fire before it could do any serious damage.

That was when Lime slammed Mars from behind, shoulder first. Thrown heavily to the ground, she rolled three times before she finally came to a rest. Lime would have moved to finish her off then, had not Endymion, Roseite, and Blue Thunderite appeared in the air some thirty meters above the conflict in their respective swirls of flowery matter.

"Sailor Senshi! You will not awaken Sailor01! I'll see you dead first," cried Endymion, a harsh expression on her face. All eyes immediately went up to the newest arrivals. All eyes, that is, except for Herb's, who took the opportunity to blast Ranma when she wasn't looking. "A... Akane!?" Ranma exclaimed, disbelief obvious in her voice. "Akane-chan?" asked Sailor Mars. "Tuxedo-Mallet-sama?" asked Luna. "Can I feel your breasts?" asked Mint. "Me too! I want to feel them too!" said Lime, "You can't feel them unless I get to!" And that was when Herb's blast hit Ranma. The ensuing explosion rocked the cavern, and several large rock formations fell from the ceiling only to be narrowly dodged by Mars, Lime, Mint, and the newly recovered Ukyou.

Blue Thunderite gazed down at the assembled group for a moment. When his eyes came to rest upon Ukyou and Sailor Mars, they widened in surprise. "Such ferocity... such warrior spirit..." he murmered. "Very well then!" he said as he descended towards the two, "I challenge you fair ladies to a duel. If you defeat me, I shall permit you to date with me!"

Mars and Ukyou looked at him, nonplused. "... Excuse me?" asked Ukyou.

Herb smirked confidently. "Lime, Mint, stop staring at those women's breasts and retrieve the Kaisuifuu. This... I COMMAND!"

(Somewhere out there, The Emperor of Cobra sneezed.)

Mint and Lime immediately sprang to their feet and raced towards the pedestal, only to be caught in a blast of black lightning, courtesy of Endymion (who had actually been aiming at Ranma). The two beast-men growled up at the floating Dark Kingdom generals. "Don't interfere with Lord Herb's commands!" they yelled angrily.

Herb stood there a moment, watching the dust of the explosion he had caused clear, waiting to see some sign of her enemy's fate. The sign came all too soon - in the form of two glowing red eyes peering hatefully out of the clearing dust.

******** A FEW SECONDS EARLIER ********

That blast had taken more out of her than she cared to admit. Grimacing, Ranma clambered to her feet, trying to ignore the pain in her arm and in her abdomen. She coughed up blood.

`More...' thought Ranma, `I need more power! I HAVE to beat her!' Terrified of the thought of losing this last chance to reclaim her manhood, Ranma reached deep within herself.

Two powers she found there, one like unto the wind, and the other like a whirlpool of blood, of slashing blades, and of death. After a moment's hesitation, it was the latter that she seized. And then...

******** THE DARK KINGDOM ********

Queen Beryl's eyes widened in surprise as a sudden influx of dark energies nearly knocked her off of her throne. She quickly glanced towards Ayanami's prison, and nearly laughed aloud when she saw the cracks forming in its side... and perhaps of more immediate benefit, the portal behind which the seven shadows was sealed... had begun to open.

**********************************

As Ranma strode towards Herb, a terrible dark power began to radiate from the albino pig-tailed girl, and her eyes shone blood red, with occult symbols whirling within their scarlet depths. For no discernable reason, a highly symbolic purple energy cross appeared over the mountain. Not that anyone in the caves could see such a thing.

Luna's eyes widened. "RANMA, NO!"

The two moon-cats exchanged glances. "Is this as bad as I think it is?" asked Artemis. Luna could only nod faintly.

Sailor Mars leaped to avoid a bolt of black lightning that Blue Thunderite had sent her way. "What the hell is this!?" she exclaimed.

Luna turned towards the senshi of fire. "Sailor Mars, you HAVE to get to Sailor01 and activate it! It's our only hope!"

"What about Ranma!?" she cried as she dodged one of Blue Thunderite's sword strikes.

"... That isn't Ranma anymore."

"What!? What do you mean that isn't Ranma!?"

"Ranma has become Ayanami. Asuka, you HAVE to activate Sailor01."

"... Right," she said, turning and dashing towards the glowing section of crystal directly above Sailor01's entry plug. "Ukyou, take care of this dummkopf!"

Endymion smiled down at Ranma. "Ah, THERE you are," she said as she began gathering black energy in the palm of her hands. "Ranma Saotome," she cried as she flung a terrific blast of black lightning at the pig-tailed girl, "DIE!"

The lightning stopped some three meters away from Ranma, splashing harmlessly against an invisible barrier. Her eyes and Endymion's met, and in that moment, Endymion knew fear.

"Roseite, kill her," said Endymion.

"With pleasure."

Moving with lightning speed, Roseite blurred as she darted towards Ayanami/Ranma, a whip of dark energy flashing out towards the albino pigtailed girl.

It never got close.

Ayanami disappeared. She then reappeared directly in front of Roseite... with her hand inside of Roseite's chest cavity. Roseite's eyes went wide, and she screamed in horror as, for one terrible moment, she and Ayanami were one. And then her body burst apart in a shower of LCL that splattered noisily on the cave floor.

Everyone save Mars stopped at that and turned to stare at the floating figure that had so casually destroyed a General of the Dark Kingdom.

Blue Thunderite was the first one to react. In an instant, his attraction to Mars and Ukyou vanished from his mind. Leaving Ukyou, whom he had been dueling sword to spatula, forgotten, he charged the creature that had destroyed Roseite. "SISTER!" he shrieked, his voice shrill with fury.

Ayanami turned to face the charging kendoist General. A dark smile spread across her face as she formed pentagular ball of dark energy and flung it directly into Blue Thunderite's chest. It struck him dead center, and in an instant, the second general of the Dark Kingdom was reduced to a shower of LCL.

Endymion, Ukyou, Herb, Lime, Mint, and the two moon-cats' jaws all dropped open slightly.

Mars, in the meantime, had reached the glowing crystal formation. Frantically she reached for the controls to activate Sailor01. It was then that she realized that Ayanami/Ranma had translocated to directly in front of her, and was even now glaring down at her disapprovingly.

Ayanami gathered a tremendous ball of dark energy and flung it into the ground. Mars barely had time to scramble out of the way before the blast hit where she had been standing seconds before. It was only then that she realized that the blast had not been aimed at her. With a sinking feeling of horror, she looked down just in time to see the blast strike Sailor01 dead on. The Sailor Suited Evangelion detonated violently, shattering the crystal floor around it, and sending Sailor Mars flying into the wall. She hit the wall hard, slid down to the floor, and lay very still.

It was then that Ayanami/Ranma turned towards Herb, her blood-red eyes shining with ever new hatred. Without a word, the demon-queen stalked towards the dragon-princess, dark power coiling around her like a serpent. Herb stood her ground, gathering all the chi that she could manage. The kaisuifuu stood forgotten in the center of the chamber as the two prepared to do battle.
Ayanami/Ranma thrust forth her hand, and a wave of pure destruction poured forth, streaming towards the defiant dragon-princess, who answered it with a massive chi-blast. The two blasts met in mid-flight... and without any contest whatsoever, the wave of death snuffed out the chi-blast and bore down on Herb. Herb's eyes widened in shock, and at that moment, Mint and Lime leaped in front of her, holding their arms out to shield their prince. "MASTER HERB, RUN!" cried the beastmen. As the wave of death struck them, the two beast-men burst apart in twin showers of LCL that splattered over their lord's clothing, and with their deaths, the energy dissipated. Herb's entire body shook with a helpless rage. Silently, she sank to her knees, unable to come to grips with what had just happened.

Ayanami smiled as she walked casually towards the dragon-spawn. Death was at her right hand, and madness in her shadow. Without a word she approached, like a pale, silent wraith.

"That's far enough, Ranchan," Ukyou said as she stepped between Ayanami/Ranma and the dragon princess, brandishing her combat spatula.

Ayanami/Ranma turned her gaze to Ukyou. Her eyes narrowed.

"This is bad, Luna. This is VERY bad."

Luna shook her head in disbelief. "It can't end this way. There HAS to be something we can do...!"

It was then that her eyes fell upon the kaisuifuu. Luna's eyes lit up with hope. "Of course...!" she cried as she raced towards the kettle, with Artemis close behind, albeit slightly confused.

`This is it,' thought Ukyou as Ayanami/Ranma slapped the combat spatula out of her hands with a casual ease. `I'm dead.' Ayanami/Ranma reached for the okonimiyaki chef, and Ukyou felt the creature's power flow over her... and in that moment, a star was born. A chime sounded, and a brilliant blue light appeared in the air directly between the two. Ayanami/Ranma hissed and flinched away from the pure watery light, and Ukyou stared in amazement. There, floating within easy reach, was a senshi transformation pen.

Distantly, she thought she heard Sailor Mars whispering, "Masaka... Sailor Senshi...?" but none of that really clicked in her awareness. As if in a dream, she reached for the pen. Her hand closed around it, and in that moment, Kuonji Ukyou spoke a phrase that seemed strangely familiar, though she knew that she had never spoken it even once before in her life.

With a cry of, "NEPTUNE PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!" Sailor Neptune was reborn.

Luna and Artemis worked desperately, trying to push the Kaisuifuu off of its pedestal and towards the battle. They lacked the strength to do so. That, however, did not stop them from trying.

Ayanami/Ranma lunged for Sailor Neptune, sending forth an intense volley of black lightning, but she leaped back and out of the way. Where the lightning struck, the stone of the cave was simply ERASED. "DEEP...!" began Sailor Neptune as a ringed sphere of watery magic shimmered into being between her hands, "SUBMERGE!"

The ringed sphere lanced out at Ayanami/Ranma and splashed harmlessly against her barrier field. It was then that Ayanami finally spoke. *NOT GOOD ENOUGH, SAILOR SENSHI,* it said, with a voice that shook the very foundations of the mountain. *NOW... DIE.*

Ayanami brought her hands together, and from between them sprang another deadly blast of energy. Knowing that she could not escape, Neptune clenched her eyes shut and whispered a quick prayer.

"SILENCE... WALL!"

Neptune's eyes opened wide as Ayanami's particle beam met with the power of Saturn and was stopped in its tracks.

"OAK... EVOLUTION!"
"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!"

"WINK CHAIN SWORD!"(3)

The three simultaneous attacks bombarded Ayanami from all sides, forcing her back and away from Neptune. The Sailor Senshi had arrived.

Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Jupiter leaped into action, attacking Ayanami with a vengeance. Blasts of magical energy flew between the senshi and the demon-queen, and Ayanami roared in fury. She lashed out with a volley of black lightning that sent Mercury flying into the pedestal, smashing it to pieces and knocking Luna, Artemis and the kaisuifuu to the floor.

Mercury scrambled to her feet, favoring her right leg now over her left. She watched the fight with an analytical eye, taking careful note of its progress. "LOVE-ME CHAIN!" cried Venus, sending a glittering chain of golden hearts flying towards Ayanami, who swatted it away without much trouble. Mercury nodded in a seemingly satisfied manner, and then called out, "Attack plan A!"

Immediately, Jupiter and Venus dropped back. "SHABON SPRAY!" Mercury called, summoning forth a thick, cold fog. Although the fog did not piece Ayanami's barrier field, it did conceal enough of the area for the plan to move forward. A moment later, with a cry of "Sparkling Wide Pressure!" Sailor Jupiter sent a ball of electricity flying at Ayanami from behind.
The demon-queen whirled around, focusing her barrier to block the attack. It struck the barrier violently, and lightning crackled and writhed through the air like a crazed animal. "VENUS LOVE-ME CHAIN!"

With her barrier directed to block Jupiter's attack, Ayanami was caught off-guard when Sailor Venus sent another chain of glowing golden energy-hearts her way. The chain quickly lassoed the demon-queen, and Venus was quick to draw it tight. "Gotcha!"

"Everyone get back," said Saturn as she raised the silence glaive. Venus extended the length of her chain, but did not release it. The others dove for cover.

"Silence Glaive..." Saturn began, even as Ayanami gathered her own power to shatter Venus' chain. "SURPISE!"

The Silence Glaive descended, and Ayanami screamed. And then there was Silence.

The ensuing explosion atomized the whole of the mountain over their heads. The harsh light of day shone down on them suddenly, and yet in that moment, the light of day grew dim. Ayanami stood before Saturn, and though the Silence Glaive had bisected her from hip to shoulder, she grinned. Dark energy coalesced around her, healing her wounds and strengthening her further. Her eyes glowed like twin stars, and around her grew a tangible aura of evil and dread. Waves of pure and unadulterated evil washed across the world as, in the dark, secret places long since forgotten, where things had learned to walk that ought to crawl, seven pairs of malevolent eyes sprang open.

Ayanami brought her hands together once more, sending forth a terrible beam of destructive energy that met a hastily erected Silence Wall. Power crackled violently between the demon-queen and the Chinmoku no Messiah.

[As for Saturn vs Ayanami, Saturn has a couple options:

1) drop the glaive, die, and wipe out Ayanami. This would probably work

2) use lesser powered attacks in an attempt to find the narrow range that will both break through the AT field and not vaporize Ranma at the same time. This is unlikely.

3) use lesser powered attacks (and block counterattacks) in a war of attrition pitting her energy reserves against Ayanami's. This is uncertain.

4) bop Ayanami over the head with the Silence Glaive, KO-ing her. This is improbable.

5) get in close enough to try her healing trick. This has never been used against spiritual illness, though, but might be rather interesting.]

[Hotaru's healing trick:

It might do either A) bolster his 'immune' system, along the lines of weakening the evil power. It might push the power out of his system, temporarily improving attack potential at the cost of drastically shortening endurance; if it acts along the lines of Tarrant's "healing" - a not entirely implausible concept - it might destroy (diminish) demonic power and possibly Ranma's lifeforce at the same time.]

It was then that Herb rose to her feet. She would NOT allow her retainers to die in vain. She would avenge their deaths, and she would do it NOW. "Ki Ryu Tou," she intoned, and a blade of pure chi flashed into being around her arm. She leaped at Ayanami, a wordless roar of fury on her lips.

... the sword of Chi shattered into a thousand pieces as it struck Ayanami/Ranma, who causally caught the dragon-spawn by the throat... and then began to squeeze.

As Ayanami turned her attention towards the princess of the Musk, Saturn made her move. Dashing forward, she caught Ayanami's head between her hands. Crimson eyes met purple, and Saturn's hands began to glow...

Meanwhile, Luna had finally regained enough presence of mind to jump up onto Sailor Mercury's shoulder and whisper fiercely into her ear, "Mercury! The kettle!"

Mercury looked down at the kettle, and then back at the battle. After a moment's hesitation, understanding flashed in her eyes. She grabbed the Kaisuifu, and with all her strength, flung it at Ayanami.

The kettle struck Ranma's barrier and exploded in a shower of water and metal fragments. The metal did not pass through the barrier.

The water, however, did. As Hotaru's healing power surged through Ranma's body, doing battle against the spiritual sickness that had taken root there, the waters of the kaisuifuu washed over them, and Ayanami screamed in agony.

When the water struck her, Herb's flesh rippled, shimmered, and CHANGED. A very male Herb fell to the floor and rolled away from the demon-queen and the Senshi of Ruin, coughing weakly.

And as for Ayanami...

The moment the water struck her, Ranma's sigil - the symbol of Uranus - flared to life on her forehead. She shrieked in a mixture of fury and terror as her body disintegrated, leaving behind only the floating sigil in its wake. The dark power of the demon-queen arose then, coalescing into the form of a young woman made of purest darkness, save only for the undying red of her eyes.

The floating sigil flared brilliantly, and Ranma reappeared in the same place she had disintegrated, and she was greatly changed. The pale blue flowed out of her hair, leaving a vibrant cherry-red in its place. Her pale white skin suddenly fleshed with healthy colour, and the red of her eyes was instantly washed away by a brilliant shade of blue. A transformation pen appeared in the air in front of her, and she fainted.

Ayanami gave Ranma's fallen form a contemptuous glance, and in her hands, a pentangular ball of shadow began to form.

"DEEP SUBMERGE!"

"FIRE SOUL!"

"OAK EVOLUTION!"

"LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!"
"AQUA RAPHSODY!"

The attacks of the sailor senshi blasted against Ayanami's barrier, and she whirled towards them. With a wordless cry of fury, the demon-queen loosed her attack at the Senshi, blasting each of them into what little remained of the far wall. And that was when Saturn spoke, and though it was little more than a whisper, it rang out with the clarity of a silver bell.

"Death..." she intoned, streams of purple energy gathering around her in a violent swirl.
Reborn..." the energies began to gather around the Silence Glaive's blade, twisting and writhing like a living thing as streams of black joined them as Saturn floated into the air. "...Revolution."

Ayanami turned to face Saturn, and though she screamed, there was

only Silence. All over the world, sound ceases as The Silence descends, if only for a moment. There came a great blinding flash of light, and then a thousand ribbons of pure death and destruction lashed out from the Silence Glaive, each of them piercing Ayanami's form through the chest before continuing onwards to cut vast swaths of devastation into the surrounding woodland, ending the existence of everything that they touched.

Ayanami looked down at the ribbons piercing her form, and a look of disbelief crossed her face for an instant... and then she was gone. In that moment, the dark power of the demon-queen quite simply winked out.

The other Senshi stared at Saturn in awe as she slowly descended to the ground. For a long moment, no one spoke.

And then Neptune ran to Ranma's side, detransforming as she did so. She cradled the pig-tailed girl's head in her lap, staring down at the results of the transformation in wonder. "She didn't... become male?"

Herb, meanwhile, rose to his feet, his slitted eyes narrowed. Gathering chi into his hands, he approached the fallen pig-tailed girl and prepared to finish her off. And that was when he came face-to-blade with the Silence Glaive.

For one very long moment, Herb stood his ground, meeting Saturn's gaze with his own, neither of them willing to budge. Tension crackled between them like lightning as Herb silently sized up the Senshi of Ruin. "Don't," was all that Saturn said, but the look in her eyes left no room for doubt: if he touched the pig-tailed girl, he would die.

At last, the dragon-prince looked down at the fallen Saotome-childe. "This is NOT over, Saotome," he said, and then turned and walked away.

A moment later, Ukyou became aware that one of the Senshi who had aided them - Saturn - was staring at her. She turned, and the mix of love and longing that she saw in the girl's eyes tore at her heart.

"Michiru-mama... Haruka-papa," Saturn whispered.

A temporal gate snapped into being a short distance behind Mercury, Venus and Jupiter, who quickly turned and walked towards it. Mars, finally recovered, stared at the other Senshi with a peculiar expression on her face. It was the look of one who felt that they SHOULD know something, but could not for the life of them recall what it was.

"Come on, Saturn," said Mercury as the others stepped through the portal. "It's time to go."

"Wait!" cried Artemis. "Sailor Mercury? Sailor Jupiter? Sailor Venus? And... Saturn? Where are you going? Why didn't we know about you being awake?"

Mercury and Saturn were the only ones outside the portal at that point, and it was Mercury who answered. "There's no time to explain it right now. We'll talk later." She smiled softly. "It's good to see you again, Luna, Artemis. I'm glad the two of you weren't changed."

Mercury and Saturn stepped through the portal then, which immediately vanished in a flash of light.

And so at last, Mars, Luna and Artemis gathered around Ukyou. Ranma lay unconscious, her head in Ukyou's lap.

Mars frowned. "Is wonder-girl going to be ok?"

Ukyou looked down at Ranma, smiled, and then passionately kissed the pig-tailed girl. To her delight, she found that the kiss was returned, albeit weakly. Mars sputtered in shock, and Luna and Artemis just shrugged as Ranma opened her eyes and smiled. "I'm back," she whispered.

**************

It was some two weeks later when Ranma, Ukyou and Asuka finally returned to the Tendo home. Nabiki, Kasumi, Soun and Genma stared as Ranma walked through the door, much changed, but not male. Genma shuddered uncontrollably, not at all comfortable with how much Ranma now resembled Nodoka when she and Genma had first met. No, this was not a good sign at ALL. For the panda-cursed martial artist, the feeling could only be described as `having someone walk over your grave.'

The family stared in silence for a long moment before Kasumi finally spoke up. "Oh my. What happened, Ranma-kun?"

Ranma smiled. "It's a long story..."

END EPISODE 12

------------------------------

1 - This line is from a poem. Unfortunately, the name of it escapes me at the moment. If anyone cares to let me know, it would be appreciated.

2 - Ranma-tachi: Ranma and company. Ranma's group.

3 - Wink Chain Sword is one of Sailor Venus' attacks in the manga.

Comments? Criticisms? Do you like it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know!

Let's keep it civil, please. Flames will be laughed at. MSTies will

also be laughed at, but in an entirely different manner than flames. 8)

stillwell_phw@hotmail.com

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