As she and her sister followed Herb through the cascading rain, Makoto couldn’t help but admire the woman in front of her. Herb had been beaten, stabbed, poisoned, and yet she still moved with a grace and power that Makoto could only dream of possessing. There was also the fact that the man/woman was exotic and gorgeous in both forms to heighten her admiration.
Her thoughts were interrupted a few times as they came across Musk warriors, either alone or in pairs. Makoto watched in awe as Herb moved to disable each one with a minimal amount of effort. Before then, she had only seen her parents move with such skill. To be honest with herself, she had to admit that she found it thrilling, despite the danger of the situation.
Up ahead, Herb cursed as she looked around one corner. Turning back to Makoto and Siofra, she whispered, “There are too many warriors ahead to handle easily. We’ll have to take a secret route through the oldest part of the fortress in order to get around them.” Makoto and Siofra both nodded in agreement and Herb brushed past them as she led them back a short ways. Makoto kept glancing over her shoulders, hoping that they wouldn’t be seen.
When they came to a dead end, Herb slowly traced a finger along the junction lines of a series of bricks, drawing the outline of an elongated eye. She gripped the outline and pulled. To Makoto’s immense surprise, seams formed in the stone and the traced pattern emerged with a click. More seams suddenly appeared and moments later a doorway stood open before them, revealing a dust-filled and darkened corridor.
“Hurry, get in.” Herb ushered them into the tunnel quickly before pushing the eye back in. Moments later they were plunged into total darkness.
Makoto felt a moment of panic seize her, but she fought it down as she stretched out her hand. Cold stone greeted her touch and she, as well as the others, began to feel her way down the hall. She whispered a small prayer that there were no traps or sudden drops, or she would be very unhappy afterwards.
After a few minutes of careful movement, the silence began to get to Makoto. “Will anyone be able to find us here?” She whispered.
“No, only the royal family even know of this passage’s existence, and only I know how to get inside.”
Makoto caught the subtle hint in Herb’s voice. ‘He’s trusting us with something that not even his own people know.’ “What is this place anyways? A secret escape tunnel?”
“Of a sorts. It was designed for Shen Long by her husband. Part of the pact she made when she agreed to marry him was that he would provide her a place where she could be alone whenever she wanted.”
“Oh.” Makoto couldn’t help but go silent at that response. It seemed like Shen Long hadn’t been exactly willing to marry, but it was difficult to imagine how they could have forced her. Not to mention there was the fact that a pact had been made. Perhaps it was a political marriage of some kind. Makoto shook her head in the darkness to clear her thoughts. At that moment, the wall vanished from her touch and she let out a panicked yelp.
“Don’t worry,” Herb’s voice cut through the darkness. “I believe we are now in the Queen’s private chambers.”
“So now what?” Makoto found the wall again and continued looking around.
“Now we need to hope that the rumors are true and that she had another exit from this place.”
Makoto froze and let out a small groan. “Great… our chances to get out of here and find my parents are based on rumors. Lovely. And we can’t see a thing.”
“Hold on, I’ll fix that.” Herb and Makoto both looked in the direction where the voice had come from. “Close your eyes.”
Moments later, the room was lit as bright as if the sun was shining. Even through their closed eyelids, the light was painful for a few moments. Makoto blinked rapidly as she tried to ease her eyes open. When she finally succeeded, her jaw very nearly hit the floor.
The room’s circumference was a little over a hundred feet, and an intricately carved statue of an eastern dragon took up almost every inch. It’s long, sinuous body coiled all about the wall, it’s four legs stretched out to grasp at stone spheres. The most impressive thing about it, however, was the head. It seemed to stare at all three occupants of the room with a judging gaze. The effect was awe inspiring, as well as somewhat frightening. Even Herb was not immune to the effect as she stretched out a hand to gingerly touch the statue.
“Is that…?”
Herb nodded slowly. “This is the true form of my ancestor, Shen Long.”
Makoto looked over to see Siofra pulling on her goggles and examining the statue closely. Glancing up, she instantly regretted looking as she was temporarily blinded. “What is that light anyways?”
“I call it a Nova Flare. It works off of… well, it’s a bit technical to give the specifics, but in its simplest form, it’s meant to light up a large area at night or in a cavern. Unfortunately, it won’t last that long… the power output seems to be too strong for the crystals I use, so it burns out fairly quickly.”
“Shi-chan… ever since you’ve been having those online chats with Brianna… you’ve gotten a bit… scary.”
“What are you talking about?” The redhead blinked innocently.
“Do I need to remind you about the blender you reworked for ‘more power’? You know, the one that achieved orbital velocity?”
“A small design flaw.”
“How did you hide that from the guards when you were captured?” Makoto glanced over at Herb and noticed a small frown on her face.
Makoto again felt panic gripping her just as it had back in her cell. She tried to think of something, anything that could distract Herb from that dangerous line of questioning, but she just couldn’t come up with anything. Fortunately, Siofra had an answer.
“I wasn’t captured.”
Herb blinked with a confused look on his face. “Then how did you get in Makoto’s cell?”
Siofra answered matter-of-factly as she continued examining the statue. “I’m very sneaky when I want to be.”
That answer seemed to satisfy the former prince and she went back to her own examinations. A feeling of relief came to Makoto, but with it came a gnawing guilt. She really hated deceiving Herb, even if it was for everyone’s good. She didn’t realize that Herb had seen the miserable look on her face before she turned back to the statue, nor did Makoto notice a hint of betrayal come to the Musk warrior’s eyes.
Herb felt a twinge as Makoto turned away. It was obvious that she was hiding something, and it bothered the former prince that after sharing this family secret the brunette would not be willing to trust her. As she looked away from Makoto and towards the head of the statue, she became aware of something on the edge of her senses. Long moments passed as she tried to tell what had intruded on her awareness. The more she focused, the more she felt her eyes drawn to those of the statue. As she studied the dragon before her, its gaze seemed to become more and more alive. Slowly, the sound that had first grabbed her attention became louder and recognizable: A heartbeat.
Moving as if in a dream, Herb stared in fascination as the stone eyes of the statue rolled up as if they were eyelids. Revealed beneath them were the living eyes of a dragon, the slit pupils boring into her own with an intensity that made her knees feel weak. Shadows shifted along the wall as the entire dragon’s form began to move, sliding with silent grace as the creature detached itself from the wall. Reality seemed to fall apart as distances became fuzzy and the room’s walls vanished into fog. Despite how closely she had been standing to the statue a moment ago, the dragon seemed to take several seconds to encircle her, the stone scales rippling in a strange, hypnotic dance.
Strangely enough, Herb felt no fear as the dragon circled its long, sinuous body around her. Instead, she felt as if an aged matriarch gazing down at one of her unruly children was judging her. Everything she had done, both good and bad, flashed through her mind, as she looked up into the dragon’s eyes. After several intense moments that seemed to drag out forever, Herb felt as if the judgment had finally been passed.
The dragon uncoiled from around her as its form rippled oddly. As Herb watched, it seemed to collapse in on itself as if a black hole had formed at its center. After a few moments, a woman stood before him. She was lovely and somewhat terrifying as well, her movements as she stepped forward spoke of incredible power restrained by an even more incredible will. Her gaze held Herb fast as her mouth moved, but no words issued forth. Despite her silence, Herb felt as if she understood what the woman was saying, and that she somehow approved of the former prince.
Reaching out, the woman grasped Herb’s hand and raised it so that it was held parallel to the floor. As she held onto Herb’s hand with a grip like steel, the dragon-woman began to back away from her. Herb’s eyes widened in shock as the lady’s forearm seemed to detach from the rest of her. Unable to stop herself, she let out a startled cry.
Makoto and Siofra jumped, their hearts leaping into their throats. Spinning around, their eyes darted all over, trying to find whatever had made Herb cry out like that. “What is it?!”
Herb stared down at her hand, confusion and shock written all over her face. The two Kinos’ gazes followed and both of their eyes widened in surprise at what they saw there. In Herb’s hand was an oddly shaped weapon, with a one-foot blade and an equally long hilt. No part of it seemed to be made of metal. Instead, the whole thing radiated a sense of living power that Makoto couldn’t explain.
“Wh-where did you get that?” The brunette asked as she found her voice.
Herb looked at her, a bit wild-eyed. “Didn’t you see the dragon?”
“The statue? Of course I saw it. Siofra and I have been looking at it for a while. Was that sword hidden in it or something?”
“Hidden? What? Makoto, the statue moved! It’s alive!” She pointed towards the stone figure, but her jaw dropped when she realized that it was in exactly the same place that it had been. “It… it… it WAS alive…”
Makoto began to get worried as she stared at the confused woman. “Herb… it hasn’t moved since we got here.”
“But it did! It changed into a woman and then… her arm became…” Her voice trailed away as she looked at the weapon in her hand again.
Before Makoto could say anything else, Siofra interrupted. “It is possible that Herb was the subject of an astral projection or some other form of illusion.” The redhead looked closely through her goggles, first at Herb and then at the sword. When her gaze fell on the blade, a gasp escaped her. She clenched her hands together and began to bounce up and down excitedly. “Holy cow! Holy cow! Holy cow!”
Makoto stared at her sister with an incredulous look on her face. ‘I wonder if I’m going to go crazy next.’ Out loud, she said, “Uh, sis… you’re starting to scare me again…”
“That’s dragon bone!” She waved her finger excitedly at the blade. “And the hilt is dragon scale! Weapons forged from dragon parts are really really really rare! I’ve never had the chance to look at one! This is so cool! And that’s dragon script on the edge there! Oh, wow! And it was written by a dragon too! This is just so cool!”
Herb and Makoto started to back away just a little further “Uh, sis… you’re really scaring me now.”
Siofra blinked and looked up at her with a sheepish expression. “Sorry about that.”
Herb looked down at the strange, glowing blue lines that seemed to almost hover over the blade. “This is the language of dragons?” Herb asked as she tried to read the writing without success. “What does it say?”
“It’s kind of odd, but it’s just one word. Heritage.”
Makoto blinked in confusion. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I haven’t the foggiest idea.” Siofra continued before anyone could interrupt, “But I think this sword may just we need. Fauntleroy has got some serious defenses when it comes to physical assaults, but dragon-forged weapons also have a mystical aspect to their attacks, so there’s a good chance that Heritage here will bypass those defenses.”
Herb felt a smile coming to her face. “Yes, that would make sense. This weapon is my birthright, and Shen Long has given me her blessing. We WILL succeed!” She turned and knelt before the statue for several long moments before standing and slipping the blade into her belt. “Let us go.” With a sense of renewed confidence that just bordered on the edge of arrogance, she walked to the part of the wall that was framed by two of the statue’s claws. As she moved to follow, Makoto could finally make out a human-sized passage that was partially hidden there.
Much to Herb’s surprise, this tunnel was shorter than the last one and opened up into the treasury. What shocked her even more than that was how poorly guarded the treasury actually was. During an attack, there should have been at least five guards at the door and two inside. Instead, there were only two guards outside, both of whom were easily rendered unconscious. As she made certain that there were no hidden warriors, she noticed that the Kaisufuu was missing from its place next to the Chiisuiton. Her ire rose as she wondered just how much damage Fauntleroy had done to his people. “There will be an accounting for this,” Herb grumbled under her breath as she checked one more time for guards outside the treasury before signaling Makoto and Siofra to follow after him.
Herb’s growing anger slowly began to turn to confusion and then awe as they approached the outer gates. At first it was just one or two warriors, but soon they were coming across entire squads of six or more Musk and youma who had been rendered unconscious. Makoto and Siofra easily recognized the signs of their mother’s handiwork as they moved past the fallen warriors.
“I had no idea…” Herb muttered under her breath. “Your parents are incredibly skilled.”
Makoto nodded a bit numbly. She had never really seen her parents in action before, except in sparring, and it was obvious that they had always been holding back. Sounds of fighting nearby snapped her out of her thoughts when suddenly a nearby wooden wall exploded in a hail of splinters and a figure came flying through the debris. The person flipped around in midair and landed perfectly on its feet while grumbling about damn cheap shots. It took everyone a moment to recognize who the figure was.
“MOM?!”
Ukyou spun around at the cry. A look of intense relief came across her features as she wrapped her arms around her daughters. “Mako-chan! Shi-chan! I was so worried about you!”
Makoto hugged her back in shock. “Mom? How did you come flying through that wall?”
“Don’t worry about that, are you all right?”
“Yeah, we’re fine. So’s Herb.”
“Not when your father gets a hold of him, he’s not.” Ukyou glanced over at Herb and gave her a critical look. “All right, that’s it. I’m going to talk with the Jusenkyou guide about getting that spring renamed. ‘Drowned Young Girl’ my ass… more like ‘Drowned Supermodel’.” As her mother turned back to look at her, Makoto saw her don the dread ‘Disappointed Mother’ gaze. “You, missy, are in it deep. We are going to have a very serious talk after this is over.” Her glare shifted to Siofra. “And you too. You are both sooooo grounded.”
Movement from the wall brought Ukyou’s attention back to the fight as she gently pushed her daughters behind her and drew her combat spatula. “Hold that thought,” the Kino matriarch ordered as she watched a red-and-gold-scaled drake emerge from the cloud of dust. When a purple wurm joined it, Ukyou drew her daikatana and handed it to Makoto. “I’ll take the red one, you take the purple one.”
6 hissed a challenge as Jane coiled to strike. Makoto felt that this was the only chance she’d have to stop the fight before anyone got hurt. “WAIT!” Everyone, even Herb and Siofra, paused and looked at Makoto as she slowly set the sword down on the ground. “We don’t have to fight.”
“Mako-chan! What are you doing?!”
“Jane!” The wurm eyed her warily, as did the drake, but Makoto could tell that she had their attention. “You have to decide if it’s worth the cost. Is Fauntleroy’s vague, unfulfilled promise worth destroying so many lives?”
Jane’s eyes went to the daikatana on the ground and then slowly tracked back to Makoto. “I was ordered to make sure that no one interfered with Lord Fauntleroy’s fight… if you swear to do nothing, I will not fight you.”
Ukyou gaped as 6 let out a startled cry. “38! What are you doing?”
The wurm rolled her eyes as she gave a baleful glance at the drake. “What does it look like I’m doing? He told us to make sure no one interferes. So as long as they don’t bother him, we don’t have to do anything. And to be honest, I’m getting sick and tired of following him around everywhere.”
6 glanced back and forth between Ukyou and Makoto. She brought one of the claws on the leading edge of her wing to her mouth and nibbled on it nervously. “If they agree, so will I.”
Ukyou blinked in surprise. “Mako-chan… what the hell’s going on?”
“Errr… long story, mom. But as long as we don’t start a fight, they won’t attack us.”
Ukyou cocked an eyebrow. “We are REALLY going to have to talk later. For right now, though, I promise not to interfere unless someone else does first.”
Makoto felt relief wash over her like a wave as the drake and wurm nodded in agreement. A bit of dread crept into her when she noticed that Jane’s enormous mouth was moving like she was talking, but no words emerged. The subtle fear turned to confusion when 6 gave Jane a wide-eyed stare before gaping at Herb. After a moment, the drake shook her head as if to clear it and Jane slithered her way to Makoto.
“Well,” Jane commented, “we might as well go watch the fight and see if you guys become lunch or if we become refugees.” She waved her head towards her long back. “For this one time, I’ll let you ride if you want.” 6 turned a shocked look at Jane, who rolled her eyes at the drake. “If you keep making that face, it’s gonna stick that way. Look, it saves time and effort this way, so screw it.” She turned back towards the others. “Well?”
Makoto crawled up onto the wurm’s back, followed immediately by Herb. A subtle blush came to the brunette’s face as she felt Herb’s hands grip her hips for support. She didn’t dare to look back and see whether the woman’s face was as flushed as hers as she fought down her embarrassment.
Ukyou, however, noticed both of them. ‘I am so glad that Ranchan isn’t here right now or he’d kill Herb …’ She suppressed a small chuckle as she helped Siofra mounted the wurm next. ‘I think my Mako-chan has finally found a boy she really likes. I just wish she could have found someone a bit younger, but oh well. At least he’s a prince. Or a princess, depending on the water.’ A giggle almost managed to escape her as she imagined Herb in her cursed form riding off into the sunset with Makoto. Sliding on behind her younger daughter, Ukyou held her close, grateful that neither of her babies was injured or worse.
Jane glanced at her back to make sure that everyone was securely on board. As she looked at Makoto and Herb, she saw the redness of their skin and couldn’t repress a smirk. She didn’t know much about human relationships, but she knew enough to tell that two of her passengers were very much interested in each other. Turning back around, she gave 6 a nod and together the two pseudo-dragons sped towards where Ranma and Fauntleroy were having their battle. Musk warriors and youma who had gathered in a semi-circle to watch the fight parted to make way for the wurm and its passengers.
Makoto noticed that most of the youma seemed to recognize her on sight, despite the fact that she wasn’t in her Senshi form. She could also see the fear in their eyes as they moved to hide behind buildings, walls, or Musk warriors. Their actions gave her a queasy feeling as she wondered just why some people actually seemed to like being feared. Trying to fight off the sickening sensation in her stomach, she turned to see where her father and Fauntleroy were locked in combat.
To the amazement of everyone present except Ukyou, Ranma didn’t even seem to be breaking a sweat. Fauntleroy, on the other hand, was having the hardest time hitting the redhead as she danced across the rain-soaked terrain, dodging and weaving and generally making an ass out of her opponent. Herb in particular was stunned by the results. He had lost to Fauntleroy easily on two different occasions, but Ranma didn’t even seem to be bothering to go all out. The fact that the redhead had her hands in her pockets as she bounced around helped support that theory.
As the party approached, Ranma seemed to notice their arrival and a smile crossed her face. “They all right?” She yelled out as she ducked under a vicious haymaker.
“Yeah,” Ukyou called back, “You can quit playing with him now.”
“Great! This was getting real dull real quick.”
Fauntleroy glared first at Ranma and then at the new arrivals. When his gaze fell on 6 and 38, his eyes narrowed dangerously. He turned back towards Ranma as the redhead crossed her arms and, for the first time since their fight began, a serious expression came to her face.
“Look, loser,” Ranma said evenly, “You’re tough, and you can probably take a dozen ki attacks and not notice them, but when it comes to aura techniques, I’ve figured out that you’re a wuss. You don’t stand a chance. I was just keeping you and the Musk busy while Ucchan tracked down our daughters. Now that they’re safe, why don’t you just agree to step down, go back to Jade, and let Herb have his people back, hmm?”
Sneering haughtily at the redhead, Fauntleroy bent down and pulled a dagger from an ankle sheath and held it before him in a skilled grip. Gasps of shock came from Makoto, Siofra, and Herb as they instantly recognized it. Makoto and Ranma took a bit longer, but when they did realize what it was, their eyes both narrowed dangerously.
“Aura magic doesn’t have any effect on cold, dwarven steel, mageling… and I’m going to use that little brunette b!$#’s dagger to gut you!”
Makoto saw her mother’s head snap around to look at her in surprise. Ranma, however, just grew perfectly still. The temperature of the area, already chilled by the rain, seemed to drop another ten degrees. “Fauntleroy, I was just going to beat the crap out of you for what you did to the Musk. But for what you just called my daughter, I’m going to break you.”
“Brave words, mageling, but let’s see how well they stand up to reality!” Fauntleroy charged towards Ranma, intent on gutting him right from the start. As the blade sunk into his opponent, he started to think he had succeeded. When the rest of him passed through he realized it was only an afterimage. Breaking his momentum and turning as fast as he could, he slashed the blade through where he was certain Ranma had dodged to. Empty air greeted his thrust and irritation began to build inside of him.
“Too slow, dirtbag,” a voice growled from behind him. “Panda Wakes Up Grumpy.”
Fauntleroy spun in place, ignoring the strange phrase only to plow head first into an invisible barrier. Pain flared throughout his face as he bounced off of the shield and landed on his backside. As he started to rise, Ranma raised her arms over her head. Bringing them down, she cried out, “Hammer Strikes the Fool!”
A magical ball of kinetic energy plowed into Fauntleroy’s head, smashing him into the ground with sufficient force to form a small crater. Reeling from the impact, it took Fauntleroy a few moments to regain his feet. As he did, he wiped a trail of blood from his mouth. “You’re infantile pranks have only served to enrage me further, mageling,” he growled as his eyes began to glow blood red. Sinking his hands into the ground, he groaned with strain as he brought forth an enormous boulder and hoisted it over his head. “I’m going to crush you!”
Ranma said nothing as she started to run in a circle around the angry man. Before she had completed a single circuit, she cried out, “Splitting Cat Hairs!” Makoto blinked as suddenly a dozen copies of her father were running in a quick circle around the obviously confused man. “Angry Hive!” A barrage of small magical spheres seemed to emerge from all around the circle to impact on Fauntleroy, creating massive bruises all over the powerful man’s body. Suddenly all of the duplicates vanished and there was only one Ranma standing before him.
“Now I have you, mageling!” Fauntleroy screamed as he started to throw the boulder.
“Pervert Breaks Pride,” the redhead uttered in a calm voice while pointing at him.
Laughter threatened to overwhelm Makoto as she watched the almost comical expression on Fauntleroy’s face. His muscles visibly shrank and suddenly the rock he held over his head was far too heavy for him to lift. She had to admit that the names her father used for his spells were rather unusual, but she could recognize, from Brod’s teachings, the simple Shield, Force Ball, Magic Flail, and Weaken spells, though the Splitting Cat Hairs one was new to her. It also didn’t quite feel like magic. “Hey, mom? What’s with those techniques, anyways?”
“Well, dear… your father could never find someone willing to train him. His ego got in the way of how they thought a proper apprentice should act, so he had to teach himself by observation. Since he was basically coming up with them on his own, he felt he should name them himself.”
“Okay, I’ll buy that… but why THOSE names?”
A look of nostalgia crossed her mother’s face. “Memories, dear… good and bad ones.”
Makoto’s attention was brought back to the fight as she watched Fauntleroy slowly drag himself out from underneath the boulder. She felt a grudging admiration for his strength and determination, but she really hoped he’d quit soon. She watched him slowly hold one hand over his head and call out for his ‘surprise’. Makoto and the others braced for some kind of attack, but they were all shocked as one of the Musk simply threw a kettle towards Fauntleroy. Only Ranma and Herb recognized the object as the kettle-like Kaisufuu.
Fauntleroy snatched the artifact out of the air and held it over his head. “Just a short time ago, I found out about a nice little toy that the Musk have had in their possession for centuries. Do you know what this is?” The arrogant man asked with a sneer.
Ranma nodded with a smirk. “Yeah, it breaks the lock that the Chiisuiton puts on a Jusenkyou curse. Other than that, it’s worthless.”
Makoto’s eyebrow quirked as Fauntleroy’s laughter echoed around them. “You FOOL! It doesn’t just break the lock on Jusenkyou curses, it frees ANY cursed transformation!”
Ranma stifled a yawn as he directed a baleful glare at the man. “Your point being?”
Confusion ruled Makoto’s thoughts as well, until something 6 had mentioned in the dungeon came to the forefront of her mind. Horrified realization lent her voice power as she screamed, “HE’S A REAL DRAGON!” Instantly, Ranma reacted, crossing the distance between her and Fauntleroy in mere moments. Those precious moments, however, were enough for Fauntleroy to upend the kettle and send a small stream of steaming water cascading down his head. A tremendous shockwave blasted from where he had stood, knocking everyone but Ranma and Ukyou off of their feet. As the air cleared, Makoto could see that where Fauntleroy once stood there was only a thirty-foot dragon.
Covered in brown scales, the creature towered over Ranma as it grinned down malevolently. A pair of backward pointing, spiraled horns adorned its head and enormous wings stretched from its back. Oddly enough, a rather large backpack and sword were strapped between those wings and on the ground at the dragon’s feet were the shredded remains of Fauntleroy’s clothes. “Yes… I am a real dragon… and for the absolute gall you showed in DARING to attack me, I am going to give you a taste of what awaits the wizard who sealed me within that wretched body!” Fiery embers surrounded his muzzle as Fauntleroy’s reared his head reared back. When his head came down, a torrent of flame came flooding across the distance between him and his redheaded nemesis.
An anguished scream of horror was the only sound Makoto could make as her father’s body vanished amidst the burning onslaught. Herb felt her own heart stop for a second as the blazing flames blasted over Ranma and began to melt the rock around where she once stood. As the brunette turned away from the sight and buried her face in Herb’s chest, the former prince could only numbly wrap his arms around her. Tears moistened his shirt as Makoto’s anguish sought to overwhelm her.
As she turned her head away from the sight, Herb’s gaze passed over Ukyou and Siofra. Much to her surprise, neither of the girls seemed to be upset. There was even a hint of a smile on Ukyou’s lips that absolutely confused Herb. Turning back to the flames, her eyes widened in surprise at what she saw. “Makoto, look!”
Stunned, the brunette was unable to stop herself from following the command. What she saw caused her jaw to gape as her tears changed from anguish to relief. As the inferno subsided, Ranma’s form was still quit easily visible and intact. The hiss of rain changing instantly to vapor provided an eerie counterpoint to the unharmed woman.
Brushing the remains of her old clothes off, she was standing in only her mage suit. She grumbled something under her breath that sounded to Makoto like, “Let’s hear it for the Champion of Heat Resistance.” Raising her voice, the redhead continued, “I’ve got a surprise or two of my own, lizard-boy. Thanks to the fact that pressure points wear off, a little pill I took as a teenager pretty much makes me immune to fire. So feel free to try that again, though I am going to have to kick your ass a little harder for ruining my good shirt.”
The shocked look on the dragon’s face lasted only a moment before it was replaced by a sneer. “Fine, mageling… I will try it again.” The vicious sneer on Fauntleroy’s face was replaced by burning embers as he roared forth another wave of fire. As the flames once again obscured her from view, Ranma learned an important lesson. No one could see her, but she couldn’t see them either. That fact was made obvious when Fauntleroy’s tail swept through the torrent and smashed into the side of the redhead’s skull, knocking her senseless and throwing her over twenty feet to slam back-first against the outer wall of the Musk citadel.
Cracks spider webbed through out the stone as first Ranma, and then Fauntleroy’s heavily armored skull plowed into it. Rearing back for another hit, the dragon slammed itself head first into the redhead, embedded her further into the wall. As he pulled away from the second strike, Fauntleroy watched Ranma’s body slide slowly to the ground before collapsing in a heap. “What is that, mageling? No boastful words? I thought you were going to break me?” The dragon slowly raised its claws over its head in preparation to disembowel the redhead.
As his claws descended towards Ranma’s prone form, Ukyou launched herself at the dragon’s side, her daikatana replacing her battle spatula as she brought the enormous blade down towards the monster’s neck. Her trajectory was intercept by Jane as the purple wurm collided with the weapon master.
“What are you doing?!” Ukyou yelled as she brought the daikatana up to block a fanged lunge.
“I told you I couldn’t let you interfere!” Jane replied. “Lor-“
The wurm was silenced as Fauntleroy reversed the direction of his swipe to smash into the back of her head, propelling the wurm through the air to slam into Ukyou. Jane collapsed on top of the weapon master, unconscious, as 6 just stared at the dragon in fear. “W-why did you hit 38?”
Fauntleroy leveled an angry glare at the red and gold scaled drake. “She betrayed me. You have both turned against me. I know that little ninja-wannabe made you doubt me. ME! And how else could she be standing there next to you if 38 didn’t let her out?” Fauntleroy began a slow, determined walk towards the cowering drake, all four of his powerful legs rippled with barely restrained power as he took each step. “And to think that I was actually thinking about finally living up to my promise, but now… now I’m glad I hadn’t. You would have betrayed me the moment I fulfilled your desire, just like my other forty-eight wives.” An evil smirk crossed the dragon’s face. “And now I’ll make sure you never have a family of your own.”
“No!” Makoto cried out as stepped away from Herb and Siofra. Reaching out to tap the power of the storm that still raged overhead, she called down twin bolts of lightning. The jagged electricity arced towards the dragon as Fauntleroy arced his wings over his head, forming a barrier around him. To Makoto’s horror, one bolt deflected off the wing and plowed straight into a startled 6, dropping the drake to the ground, stunned. The other arc of lightning rebounded and impacted only a foot away from where her sister and Herb stood. The two women were blasted off of their feet. Siofra came to rest near Ranma’s fallen form while Herb landed bonelessly at Makoto’s feet.
Fauntleroy’s mocking laughter echoed through her ears as Makoto stared in shock at the aftermath of her spell. She barely even noticed as the dragon slowly began making his way towards her. Fortunately for her, his attention was dragged back to Ukyou as the weapon master finally freed herself from underneath 38. Dashing across the distance between them, she took an expert swipe at the back of his leg. The blade had little effect, other than a shower of sparks, but it did redirect the dragon’s wrath, leaving Makoto enough time to think of something else to try.
Cursing in frustration, the brunette cast about desperately in her mind trying to remember anything about her Senshi spells. She knew that the Supreme Thunder Dragon would at least be able to hurt Fauntleroy, but with her pen gone she couldn’t recall the spell’s formula. She knew the basics, that she would pull down the power of Jupiter, focus it through her tiara, direct the energy towards her opponent, and use her will to give it form and amplify it. The problem is, she couldn’t remember exactly HOW to do it. If only she could remember… reaching out, pulling on the power…
Suddenly Makoto felt like the biggest moron on the planet. If she could reach out to tap into the storm, maybe she could stretch herself further and tap into Jupiter. She knew the power was there and she just had to touch it. Closing her eyes to help shut out any distractions, she reached out with her sense, seeking the link that she had taken for granted as Sailor Jupiter. Sweat started to bead up all over her body as she cast about, forcing herself to continue searching through the ether of space for her one hope. Suddenly, off on the edge of her senses, she felt it. Her patron and home, the world given to her so that she might guide and protect its moons: Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Thebe, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Leda, Himalia, Lysithea, Elara, Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, Sinope… A small sweatdrop formed on the back of her head as she remembered just how much of a migraine she’d had trying to coordinate the sixteen colonies.
As she felt her strength starting to fade from overextending herself during her astral projection, she stretched out her will to grab a hold of the power she knew flowed around and through the gas giant. Reaching through the layers of hydrogen, sinking her will through the raging clouds that covered the world, she found the power she sought and grasped it.
Intense, unbelievable pain tore through her body as a shattering scream ripped itself from her throat. Faint wisps of smoke curled from her body as she collapsed to her knees, her breath coming in sharp, ragged gasps as she was brutally forced back into her physical body. ‘#$*&! That felt like I grabbed a live wire… what did I…” Suddenly she realized that was exactly what she had done. She had reached out to tap the raw energy of the planet Jupiter. What she needed to do was to find a converter, something that would allow her to adapt the power to something she could use. A faint memory of spending countless hours staring at a beautiful aurora slowly came to her mind. She could almost feel the texture of the balcony rail on which she had leaned in her former life while gazing out across her inhospitable world. There was a castle there, a citadel that served both as her home and a conduit through which she could gain access to the planet’s incredible power. She needed to contact her castle.
The determined brunette struggled to her feet through the pain as she stretched herself out again. The trip was easier this time, since she knew where to go, but she still knew that she didn’t have much time. The process was so much easier as a Senshi. She had never really considered just how much she took those abilities for granted. Now, though, she understood. Heading for the planet’s polar region, she found the aurora that her memories spoke of and began her search. It wasn’t long until she found the crystalline structure that had been her home so long ago. A small smile crossed her face as she psychically touched it and began to draw forth its power.
A single word echoed through her head as she did, “Intruder!”
Sudden agony raced through her body like fire. The level wasn’t as intense as before, but it still wracked her body with pain. Fighting through the anguish, Makoto tried desperately to keep going, keep drawing power. She couldn’t understand why the castle refused to acknowledge her and the torturous pain made it to where she couldn’t really think clearly. She felt a strangely familiar presence approaching her and a small duplicate of her Senshi form appeared in a glowing bubble. “Intruder,” it said in a fairy-like voice.
Recognition slowly came to Makoto as she gazed at the being. “Guardian Jupiter?”
The small humanoid merely pointed at her. The pain increased and Makoto let out another scream as she felt her astral form starting to slowly break up.
“Intruder.”
Fighting through the pain, Makoto tried to reason with the Guardian. “I am Sailor Jupiter.”
“Negative. Jupiter’s uniform is not present. You are an intruder.”
“My pen was destroyed! This is my natural form!”
That seemed to give the little creature pause as the pain scaled down. “Scanning… Genetic drift detected, but ancestry confirmed. Welcome, Princess. It has been a long time.”
Makoto breathed out in relief. “I need to access Jupiter’s power.”
“Confirmed. Authorization for bypassing of normal procedures acknowledged. Quantity desired?”
“I need enough to cast the Supreme Thunder Dragon at full power.”
“Negative. Scans indicate that much power is too much for your current form. Only with the buffering of your Senshi uniform is it safe to channel that much power.”
“Dammit! Override! This is important!”
“Override confirmed.” The Guardian said in a sad voice. “Routing power, bypassing autonomous systems. Goodbye, Princess.”
Before she could respond, Makoto found herself slammed back into her physical body. The shock only lasted a moment as her eyes flew open and she could feel the energy flowing through her. The power of an entire world was at her command and as her gaze fell on Fauntleroy’s body she knew exactly what to do with it.
Dull awareness mixed with an odd buzzing in her extremities as Herb slowly recovered from the lightning bolt that had struck so close to her. As she shook her head to clear it, the buzzing sensation slowly became worse. A small fear of permanent damage came to her, but as she looked up she realized the source of the odd sensation. A few feet away from her, Makoto’s body was levitating a few inches from the ground, surrounded by an eerie corona that crackled with suppressed electricity. The scent of ozone hung heavily in the air as the aura around the brunette grew stronger and brighter.
A few moments later, awe gave way to alarm as Herb watched Makoto’s body begin to twitch and writhe within the corona. While the strange smile on her face seemed to indicate that she wasn’t in any pain, the burns and bruises forming on her body gave away the truth. “Makoto!”
The brunette’s eyes, glowing with an unearthly power, twitched spastically as they turned to gaze at her. Herb was stunned by the longing look she saw there, and for a moment she was without a voice.
“Too much power,” Makoto’s voice seemed to buzz like an overamped speaker, “enough to finish.” Her eyes jerked back towards where Fauntleroy was still fighting Ukyou to a draw. “Sorry. Liked you.” Herb watched as her teeth clenched tightly in concentration.
The only thing the former prince could do was watch as the corona grew and Makoto’s body suffered. To Herb’s sensitive eyes, Makoto’s personal aura was quickly being consumed by whatever power she had called upon. At the rate it was going, Herb knew the strange energy would kill her. The only way she could survive is if her own aura was strong enough to prevent itself from being devoured. Standing up, Herb knew what she had to do to protect the girl who had tried so hard for his people.
The Musk warrior held up her hand at the edge of the corona and focused her aura. Stretching it forth, she sought to penetrate the field and shield Makoto’s aura from the power around her. There was a sudden backlash that knocked Herb completely off of her feet as the corona shoved her away. The former prince growled as she stood back up and approached Makoto. Reaching up with her arm again, this time she tried to push her hand physically into the field. Pain flared down her arm as electricity crackled through the corona. Pulling her hand back in pain, she stared for a moment at the faint wisps of smoke that came from the nearly numb appendage.
A look of grim determination crossed her face as Herb decided on a course of action. Flaring her aura into a protective field around her, she stepped into the field. The electricity crackled around her as she breached the corona and a dull, throbbing sensation began to fill her entire body. Her aura held up as she moved to stand right behind Makoto, though she could feel the energy eating away at it. Stressing her willpower, she stretched the aura out to encircle Makoto’s, trying to buffer her quickly waning ki. To Herb’s shock, there was a tremendous backlash and she found herself sailing out of the cloud to collapse several yards away.
Groaning as she picked herself up, the only thing that Herb could come up with was that the strange energy field wasn’t forming around Makoto, but was in fact being channeled through her aura. There would be no way for the former prince to provide a buffer in that way. The only thing to do was…
Herb walked with a determined gate and pushed her way into the corona again. Extending her aura once again, she willed it to partially encircle Makoto’s once again. This time, however, she didn’t try to seal it off. Instead, she sought to fuse with it. Herb had ki to spare and could throw around unfocussed balls of it all day long without really feeling it. But what she was trying now would push her abilities to their limit and maybe beyond. Creating destructive projections or defensive barriers with ki was simple, but channeling it so that one person’s aura could join with another’s without damaging either was so incredibly difficult as to be nearly impossible.
As their auras slowly joined, Herb could feel Makoto fighting back instinctively. The only thing she could think to do was to slowly wrap her arms around the brunette’s waist and hold her close, a position that helped enforce the bond while at the same time providing comfort. Slowly Herb felt Makoto’s struggles quiet and begin to gradually accept her. As their auras mingled, odd sensations began filling both of their hearts while the power of Jupiter raged around them.
Herb felt the loneliness that she knew so well echoed by the young girl in her arms. Few could or would be friends with the prince of the Musk, unless they were trying to curry favor with the throne. Only Mint and Lime had truly proven loyal, if a bit lacking as far as intelligent conversation. Makoto had known a similar loneliness. Her size and strength, inherited from parents who she had barely known, caused her to be ostracized by most of those her age. The few that had tried to be her friend had often hoped to use her to bully others or protect themselves from bullies. Only those four girls had actually opened up to her with no expectations in return.
Makoto felt the depression that had so recently come to fill Herb’s life. The former prince’s inability to protect her people, the curse which had done so much damage to the way his people thought about him, and finally the choices he had to make which could lead to so much death among those who had place their faith in him. She also felt his determination that echoed with her own as they both came to the same decision separately. To sacrifice themselves so that others might live.
The most surprising thing to Herb came from the desperate need she felt buried within the young woman. The overwhelming desire to have a family that filled her had not been diminished by the return of her parents or the new sister she had welcomed into her heart. The young brunette had been forced to shove her wants into the background when she found her old destiny brought forth as Sailor Jupiter and Herb could feel the terrifyingly strong need warring with her sense of duty to her beloved Princess. Herb also could tell that Usagi would want nothing more than for her friend to be happy, and it was because of that fact that Makoto had not told her leader of her desires. She feared the loss of duty as much as she feared never having a family of her own, and the conflict was tearing her apart.
To Herb’s amazement, she felt a similar need growing in her own heart; the want not just for a legacy, but also for a family to love began to fill her as well. Subconsciously, her arms began to hold the girl closer, more fondly as she felt her chin come to rest gently on the brunette’s shoulder.
6 slowly waved her head back and forth as she finally shook off the stunning effects of the lightning strike. Her eyes blinked wearily a few times before going wide at the sight before her. A field of incredible magical power surrounded Herb and Makoto as they held each other in an almost intimate way. Suddenly Makoto’s arms came up to point to where the drake could see Fauntleroy smashing a stunned Ukyou away.
“Imperial Thunder Dragon!”
To the drake’s amazement, a spell similar in shape to the one the brunette had tried to use on Fauntleroy the night before formed around the girl. The size and power of the magical construct, however, dwarfed its predecessor as it barreled across the battlefield to slam into the dragon with a bright flare and tremendous blast that blinded everyone who was watching.
Herb blinked, drained and tired as her thoughts slowly became her own once again. Looking at the young brunette who rested in her arms, the Musk warrior felt a fond smile come to her face. The smile turned into a blush as she noticed the ashen remains of Makoto’s clothes fall to the ground, destroyed by the spell she had cast. Removing her cloak with one hand, she spread it out as she carefully laid the unconscious girl on top of it. Wrapping the rest around Makoto to protect her from the rain and to shield her modesty, Herb gently brushed her hand across the brunette’s cheek. She knew that, despite the nasty look of the bruises and minor burns that showed on the girl’s face, she would be fine. Rising to her feet, Herb looked away towards where Fauntleroy had been.
To her horror, the dragon was still there. Herb had been sure that the spell would annihilate the dragon completely, but that was obviously wrong. Horror turned to relief when she realized that Fauntleroy wasn’t moving. Her weary senses stretched out for a moment and she could tell that the dragon still lived, though he was only barely alive. Stepping away from Makoto, the former prince drew forth the sword he had taken from Shen Long’s statue and made his way towards the dragon’s fallen form.
Standing over the once mighty beast, Herb felt just a moment of regret as he brought the sword up into a classic two-handed decapitation pose. He had spent much of his life wanting to see a true dragon, and now he was going to have to kill it. The regret vanished as memories of all the pain Fauntleroy had brought washed through her mind. “Goodbye.”
The bone blade’s descent was halted as powerful claws wrapped themselves around Herb’s hands. The former prince’s eyes widened as Fauntleroy slowly rose from his prone position, lifting her completely off the ground. “I don’t think so, princess.”
A.N.:
You can blame James for this cliffhanger. It’s his fault, not mine.