Taneth knelt before lord Dolgoth’s throne wondering why he had summoned her. She had come as soon as she received the summons, but that had been almost fifteen minutes ago. He had not said a word since she had entered the throne room.
“Taneth,” said Dolgoth suddenly, snapping Taneth out of her thoughts.
“Yes my lord.”
“I have a job for you.”
Taneth waited for more, but Dolgoth said nothing else. Hoping she wasn’t being presumptuous, Taneth spoke. “What would you have me do lord?”
Dolgoth remained silent for a few moments longer. “I need you to find the remaining stones that bind our brethren in their prison.”
“I thought Matoshi was searching for the stones.”
“Matoshi is dead.”
Matoshi dead? That came as a surprise. Taneth had never liked the man, but she respected his strength and fighting prowess. To learn that he was dead meant that they were up against powerful opponents. “If I may ask my lord, how did he die?”
“The Sailor Scouts defeated him in battle. Now they have one of the stones.”
The fact that the Scouts had defeated Matoshi was a bigger surprise than his death. Taneth had thought that if anyone could have done it, it would have been the boy. She would have to be careful not to underestimate the Scouts in the future.
Dolgoth began speaking again. “I want you to use your elemental warriors to find the stones and destroy our opposition on Earth.”
“It will be as you say. I will not fail you my lord.”
“You had better not.”
Taneth rose and bowed once again before leaving the throne room. Once in the dark hallways that honeycombed the Palace of Shadows, she made her way quickly to her private chambers. Her quarters were not very large or elaborately furnished, but she preferred simplicity to elegance. Some might call her beautiful but for the fact that she spent no time on her appearance. Her straight brown hair was cut short so she didn’t have to deal with it, and her face never showed a hint of make-up. Her clothing consisted of baggy pants tucked into boots and a loose fitting shirt. All of it was in the same slate gray and chosen simply for freedom of movement.
Once in her chambers, Taneth went to the back wall and placed her hand on one of the stones. The wall shimmered and faded revealing a room about fifteen feet square and empty save for three pure white pedestals and one jet black pedestal set up in a square pattern. Each of the three white pedestals had a different object on it. On one was a large piece of obsidian in the shape of a man. On another sat a large glass teardrop, and a whirlwind swirled above the third.
On the black pedestal sat a burned out candle. Upon catching sight of the candle, Taneth grimaced. She had loaned Matoshi her fire elemental and he had managed to get it killed. But he was dead and now Taneth could extract revenge on the one who had destroyed Inferno. Smiling to herself, she moved to the pedestal with the obsidian figure and began reciting the words that would bring it to life.
“Come on Ranma. It’s not that bad. I thought the dress looked nice on you.”
Ranma turned his glare from the red dress hanging in his closet to Akane. Last weekend had been the beginning of summer break and Ranma (as Ranko) had spent almost the entire week with his new friends. All that week they had been trying to get him into a dress and yesterday they had finally succeeded. After seeing Ranma in the dress, Akane had decided to buy it for him. Luckily no one else in the house knew it was in his closet.
“If its not that bad than why don’t you wear it?”
“Because its your dress. I think you should wear it when we go to see everybody today.”
“I’m going as a guy today, remember? It’s bad enough I had to wear it as a girl. There’s no way I’m wearing it as a guy.”
“You know you could have avoided this entire dress incident if you had just told them about your curse. Maybe you should-“
“No!” shouted Ranma cutting off Akane. “They don’t need to know about my curse.”
“Stubborn as ever,” muttered Akane.
That’s what I keep telling him, said the voice in Ranma’s head. Ranma ignored it. He had talked to the stone at length during the week, but the only thing he had been able to learn from it was why it could talk. Apparently each of the stones had the soul of a powerful wizard imbedded in it and that was why it was able to communicate. Unfortunately that was about the extent of the stones knowledge. It didn’t even remember its name.
“Come on,” said Ranma shutting the closet, “we’re gonna be late if we don’t leave now.”
Ranma and Akane left the dojo and began heading toward the restaurant where they had agreed to meet the Scouts for lunch. Today they were meeting in Nerima and Ranma used the walk to analyze his (or rather her) relationship with his new friends. From day one they had treated him just like any friend. They had taken him shopping, to the movies, to lunch, and once they had even tried to take him to the public baths. He had eaten dinner with both Serena and Rei’s families, and even though he didn’t really enjoy the shopping all that much he still enjoyed the company. The biggest thing he had noticed, though, was that they had never mentioned his being a Scout. They had chosen to respect his wishes and accept him just the way he was, and that was the rub. They had accepted Ranko, but they hardly even knew Ranma.
Today would be the first time since the park incident that he would meet the Scouts in his true form. Ranma wondered what would happen if they ever found out that he and Ranko were the same person. He figured they would sooner or later, but he preferred to put it off for as long as possible. He tried to tell himself that this was because too many people already knew about his curse, but deep down inside he knew this to be a lie. The real reason, as the stone had said, was because he was scared of what would happen if they ever found out. Ranma became aware that they were nearing the restaurant and he pushed his introspection aside.
The restaurant was a small place chosen because it was away from any of the places where Ranma’s enemies usually looked for him. Upon entering the establishment, Ranma found that the Scouts and Darien had already arrived. Making their way between tables, he and Akane went over to sit with their friends.
“How’s it going guy’s,” greeted Serena who, without waiting for a reply, began introducing Ranma to people he already knew.
“It’s nice to meet you all,” he said.
“Hey, where’s Ranko?” asked Lita.
“She had something important she had to take care of,” lied Ranma. He caught Akane’s look from across the table and shook his head slightly.
“That’s too bad,” remarked Darien. “Anyway, we haven’t ordered yet, but now that you’re here we can get started.” Everyone ordered their food (Serena and Ranma together ordered almost half the menu) and then began talking about unimportant things while they waited for it to arrive. At least it was all unimportant up to the point where Amy asked why Ranma’s family was living with Akane’s.
“Um…” said Ranma turning bright red. He noticed that Akane was also turning red.
“It’s um… because…” said Akane.
“It’s because Akane’s my fiancee,” said Ranma in a rush. This statement produced gasps and looks of surprise around the table.
“It wasn’t our choice,” said Akane hurriedly. “Our parents made the engagement.”
“That’s right,” said Ranma backing up Akane’s statement, “it wasn’t our choice.”
“But do you two love each other?” asked Mina.
Both martial artists looked at each other and flushed a deep crimson. Luckily they were saved from answering by the arrival of the food. As soon as it was in front of them they began stuffing their faces. Seeing that this was obviously an uncomfortable subject, the Scouts also began eating.
Amy decided to try and change the subject to something more enjoyable. She used the first thing that popped into her head. “What’s Jusenkyo, Ranma?” she asked.
Ranma almost choked on his noodles. “What do you know about Jusenkyo?” he demanded as soon as he got his breath back.”
Amy was a little taken aback by Ranma’s harsh tone. “Nothing really. That’s why I asked. The old lady said that-“
“What did the old ghoul tell you?”
“Like I said, nothing.”
“Good,” said Ranma settling down a little. “The only thing you need to know about Jusenkyo is that it’s a cursed place you should never visit. Ever.” There was a sense of finality in Ranma’s voice, and Amy chose not to push for more information. The rest of the meal was consumed in silence. “So,” said Ranma when everyone had finished, “I was told you wanted to talk to me about something.”
“Well,” said Serena a little hesitantly, “the old woman said that you were the Dragon, and-“
Serena was cut off by Ranma’s fist hitting the table. “Is Cologne bound and determined to tell everyone my secrets?!”
“Will you be quiet and listen,” snapped Akane. “They have something important to tell you.” Ranma opened his mouth, but than shut it again. These were his friends and he shouldn’t be yelling at them. “I’m sorry,” he apologized.
“That’s okay,” said Serena. “Anyway, the old woman said that you were the Dragon, but she also told us that I was the Phoenix.”
Ranma’s jaw hit the table. Of all the things he had thought they would tell him this wasn’t one of them. “You sure?” Everyone at the table nodded and Ranma sighed. “Personally I think the old ghoul is losing it. I’m not some reincarnated warrior here to save the world from demons. I’m just a martial artist.”
“But what if it’s true?” asked Akane. “Life has been a little stranger than normal lately.”
“Yeah, but most of the strangeness in my life at the moment doesn’t stem from demons.”
“Well I believe the old woman,” said Serena, “and she told me that the only way to destroy the demons was to work together.” Ranma ground his teeth together. He couldn’t believe this was happening to him. “Please Ranma,” pleaded Serena, “for the sake of the Earth.”
Ranma was beginning to feel slightly agitated. It was like an itch right between the shoulder blades. He decided it was because of his present set of circumstances and put it from his mind. Looking at the faces around him, he knew he couldn’t say no to their plea. In his mind he swore that he would get the old ghoul for this if it was the last thing he did. “Okay,” sighed Ranma, “I’ll help you.”
Serena let out a shout of joy and threw herself across the table to hug Ranma. “I knew we could count on you.”
“Yeah, whatever,” muttered Ranma under his breath. “So where do we go from here?” The itch was getting stronger, and Ranma began fidgeting in his chair. He noticed that Serena looked a little uncomfortable as well.
“I’m not sure,” said Serena. “Does anybody else know?” Her question was met with silence.
“Well, I have an idea,” said Amy. “The old woman said that you had to learn from each other right. So I propose that you two…” Amy trailed off realizing that Ranma and Serena weren’t listening.
The itch between Ranma’s shoulder blades was becoming unbearable. He didn’t understand where his agitation was coming from. He noticed that Serena was fidgeting in her chair almost as if she felt the same itch. For some reason the feeling was familiar. Ranma thought about it for a moment and than suddenly it clicked. It was the feeling he usually got when someone was about to attack him, only more intense. Now he knew exactly what was going on. He stood up and opened his mouth to give warning, but the roof being ripped off of the restaurant got the point across much better than he could have.
Through the hole where the ceiling used to be, Ranma could see a huge man made out of black stone. He stood about forty feet high and he had the roof of the restaurant in his two mighty hands. With a great heave, the stone man hurled the roof far into the distance. Then he brought up a giant stone fist. “Scatter!” shouted Ranma as the fist came crashing into the restaurant. Everybody threw themselves aside as the fist slammed into the place they had been standing and proceeded to go through the floor.
“What the hell is that thing?” shouted Mina.
“I have no idea,” answered Ranma, “but it looks like where gonna have to deal with it.” The stone man brought its hand back up and Ranma began shouting orders. “I’ll draw it away while you guys transform. I don’t know how were gonna deal with it, but I think its gonna take all of us to do it.” As the creature prepared to strike again, Ranma gathered his chi. The stone man brought its fist down once again, and Ranma met it with a blast of force. The blast was able to stop the punch and even throw the creature back a few feet, but it didn’t appear to do any damage. Shit, thought Ranma as he ran out the front door to try and lure the creature away from the Scouts.
The stone man had apparently decided Ranma was a bigger threat than the others were, and he followed him as he burst out the front door and ran down the street. “That’s right ugly, come and get me!” The creature brought its fist down again and Ranma was barley able to dodge. Unfortunately the impact of the punch sent chunks of pavement everywhere and one such chunk hit Ranma in the back of the head. He wasn’t out, but he was stunned. The creature saw this and it raised its hand for the finishing blow.
As the hand came down, however, a large mace connected with the arm sending the blow off course to land a few feet from Ranma. Looking around, he saw Shampoo and Mousse standing on a nearby roof top. “What are you guys doing here?” shouted Ranma as he got back to his feet. “Did the old ghoul send you again?”
“No. Shampoo not sure how, but Shampoo able to sense ainen and Sailor girl in trouble. Shampoo come help.”
“Same with me Saotome,” said Mousse. “I don’t know how or why, but it seems that we’re linked.” Mousse didn’t seem too happy with that particular idea.
Suddenly someone tackled Ranma as another fist slammed into the ground where he had been standing. “Better watch what you’re doing, honey,” said Ukyou from on top of Ranma.
“You to U-chan?” asked Ranma as he stood up.
“Yep, and I brought Ryoga with me.”
As Ranma began once again running up the street the other Nerimians fell in along side. The stone man once again gave chase. “Can’t you shatter that guy Ryoga?”
“I already tried, but the damn things protected somehow. It has no breaking point.”
“Great,” said Ukyou. “So what’s the plan Ran-chan?”
“We’re gonna keep that guy busy until the Scouts get here. Then we’re all gonna hit it at once.” Upon finishing this sentence, Ranma turned and charged the giant stone man. He avoided its punch and used its arm as a path to its head. Behind him he heard Ryoga began a Shi Chi Hokodan. Ranma reached the head and delivered several powerful kicks and punches to the creature’s face. Not only did the creature not even flinch, but Ranma managed to hurt his hands and feet on its tough hide.
At that point Ranma decided that a direct attack was probably not the best idea. He took a running leap off of the stone mans shoulder and landed on top of a building. Out of the corner of his eye Ranma saw Ryoga launch his chi blast at the creature. The stone man took the blast full in the chest, but all the blast did was push the creature back a few feet. There wasn’t even a crack in its smooth black hide. This is gonna be a problem, thought Ranma.
“Burning Mandala!” shouted someone to Ranma’s right. He looked and saw Sailor Mars standing on a nearby rooftop surrounded by several flaming rings. As he watched, the rings shot forward and struck the stone man in the head. The stone man simply brushed the smoke away and turned to face Mars.
As it did this a blast of lightning and ice struck the creature from behind. The two blasts didn’t even budge him. They did, however, manage to draw its attention to Sailors Mercury and Jupiter. Ranma searched for the others and found Moon, Venus, and Tuxedo Mask standing in the middle of the street. Akane was with Ryoga and the others on the opposite side of the stone man.
Ranma saw Sailor Moon began to power up her scepter and he went to join his fellow martial artists. He stood next to Akane as he watched Moon began to unleash her attack. “With any luck this should be over and done with soon,” he said. The others all gave him skeptical looks.
“Moon Scepter Activation!” shouted Sailor Moon as she launched her crescent shaped blast at the monster. The blast struck the creature in the chest and it roared in pain, but it didn’t disintegrate. It brought one hand up to place where Moon’s attack had struck it and it turned its rock hard gaze on the pony-tailed Scout.
“Damn!” exclaimed Ranma. The others rushed to help Moon, but a hand on his shoulder stopped Ranma. Turning around he saw Akane.
“You can’t beat this thing like you are. It’s too powerful. You need to become Sailor Sol.”
“No!” shouted Ranma. “We don’t need Sailor Sol. I can take care of this just fine.” Ranma saw that the other Scouts and his fellow martial artists were slowing the creatures advance on Sailor Moon, but that was all. The thing seemed to be invincible.
Akane grabbed him by the collar and turned him back around to face her. “Listen to me Ranma. You can’t beat that thing as you are. As a Scout you’re faster and stronger. As a Scout you might have a chance.”
“I’m not a Scout!” snapped Ranma.
“For once in your life swallow that damn pride of yours! Others need you right now and they don’t need your arrogance. No one will think less of you, I promise. Please Ranma.”
Ranma looked into Akane’s eyes and saw the truth of what she said. The only chance everyone had was him. Ranma looked around and saw a public pool beyond the stone man. Sailor Moon and his henshin wand were to the creature’s right. Ranma slowly nodded his head. “I’ll do it. But I need you to get the wand from Sailor Moon and get it to me at the pool.”
“Thank you Ranma.”
Ranma smiled. “Go! Now!” Ranma shoved Akane toward Sailor Moon and charged the stone creature. As he ran he let out a wordless shout. As before, he dodged one of the creature’s punches and used its arm as a pathway to its head. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Akane had reached Sailor Moon.
As he reached the creature’s head, Ranma gathered his confidence and pulled on his internal energy. Using the stone mans nose as a springboard he jumped straight up into the air above the monster’s head. Twisting in mid-air Ranma fired his chi blast. It hit the creature in the back of the head and Ranma used the force of the blast to launch himself toward the pool.
As he flew he saw Akane get the wand from Sailor Moon and turn to face him. With all her strength she hurled the wand straight at Ranma. She wasn’t strong enough though, and Ranma saw that the wand would fall short. Stretching one hand toward the wand, Ranma reached for it with his mind. The wand disappeared from where it was flying through the air and appeared in Ranma’s hand when he was about three feet above the pool. Then, clutching the wand tightly, Ranma hit the water and he became she.
None of the people fighting the monster (except Akane) understood what was happening. The Nerimians were all wondering why Ranma had purposefully dunked himself in cold water. The Scouts were all wondering what he was doing with Ranko’s henshin wand. Even the stone man seemed stunned by Ranma’s blast. The pool waters grew still and everyone exchanged questioning glances. Then suddenly the pool erupted in a geyser of sparkling light and water. Out of that geyser a single figure emerged. As the Sailor of the Sun stepped from the geyser to the edge of the pool sunlight struck her fuku sending brilliant rays of gold everywhere.
“Um… What’s going on?” asked Sailor Moon.
Before Akane could answer Sailor Sol began to speak. “Destroying good restaurants. Making large potholes in the street. Attacking my friends. These things are unacceptable. In the name of the Sun I shall destroy you.” As she finished her speech a small smile crossed her lips. Suddenly a massive aura surrounded Sol. Everyone could feel the energy crackling in the air as the aura around Sol grew larger and larger.
The aura suddenly flared and Sailor Sol charged toward the stone man with a wordless roar. She was moving so fast that Akane had a hard time following her movements. When she reached the creature, Sol shot straight up into the air. From high above the creature, Akane saw the aura flare once again. “Final attack Super Nova!” shouted Sailor Sol as she unleashed all the energy she had gathered in one massive blast. The blast was so bright Akane had to shield her eyes. It ripped down the center of the stone man and then exploded in a blinding flash of light and sound. Heat washed over her making it seem as if she were in a desert.
As the light dimmed and the heat receded Akane uncovered her eyes. Smoke filled the air in front of her and debris littered the ground. All that remained of the stone man was a large crater in the middle of the street. In the center of the crater stood a very tired looking Scout. As the smoke dissipated, Akane saw that everyone seemed relatively unharmed. They were all staring at Sailor Sol with looks of total confusion. Akane took a step toward her. “Ranma…”
Sol held up an unsteady hand and Akane stopped. “Don’t.”
“How…how…?” Mercury couldn’t finish her question, but everyone knew what it was.
Sailor Sol looked right at Mercury. “Jusenkyo,” she answered in almost a whisper. Then she turned and ran.
“Ranma! Wait!” shouted Akane. She made to go after Ranma, but she was already gone.
Sailor Moon came to stand next to Akane. “Did what I think just happen really happen?” Akane nodded. “Oh.”
Everyone began gathering around Akane. “So Ranma’s a Sailor Scout,” said Ryoga. “He looks kind of funny in that skirt, but he’s incredibly strong.” The other Nerimians all nodded in agreement. None of them seemed too perturbed by what had just happened. Strange things always happened around Ranma and they had gotten used to it. The Scouts were a different story.
“How did Ranma turn into Ranko?” demanded Sailor Mars.
“There is no Ranko, only Ranma,” answered Akane. If anything the Scouts looked more confused. “Look, it’s like this,” Akane explained to the Scouts about Jusenkyo and the curse that it had placed on Ranma. When she was done none of them looked too convinced of her story. Looking around, she found what she needed to convince them, a bucket of water.
As she brought the water over to where everyone was gathered, Mousse, Shampoo, and Ryoga began backing away. She wondered idly why Ryoga was worried about getting wet. She picked the water up as if to throw it, and Shampoo and Mousse tried to run. They weren’t quite fast enough. The Scouts all gasped as a sopping wet cat and duck crawled out of the clothes Shampoo and Mousse had been wearing. “There, now do you believe me?” All the Scouts nodded.
“So that’s why Ranko was so against wearing a dress,” commented Venus.
“And that also explains why she was so set against being a Scout,” added Mercury.
“Yep,” agreed Akane. “And that’s also why she ran. I think Ranma’s afraid of what you’ll think of him now that you know he’s cursed.”
“Why would we think any less of him now?” wondered Serena. “He’s still the same on the inside.” All of the Scouts nodded in agreement.
Akane shook her head. “You know that and I know that, but Ranma doesn’t think that way. He thinks that the curse makes him less.”
“I don’t know how he could possibly think less of himself as a girl,” commented Jupiter. “The amount of power he just unleashed was incredible. No one else here could have done that.”
Akane nodded and turned to stare off in the direction Ranma had gone. As she did she saw that Ryoga was returning Shampoo and Mousse to normal with water from a thermos. She wondered briefly what Ryoga was doing with a thermos of hot water, but she had more important matters to think about. “We need to find Ranma and talk to him before he does something stupid. Unfortunately he has the tendency to do stupid things often so we have to hurry. We’ll split up and meet back at the dojo in three hours.” Everyone (including, surprisingly, Mousse and Ryoga) nodded and took off in separate directions. Or, at least, almost separate directions. Mousse went with Shampoo even though she didn’t want him and Ryoga had to go with Ukyou to avoid getting lost.
As Akane hurried down a street she prayed that they would find Ranma before he decided he didn’t want to be found.
Ranma could hear the sound of water near by. It wasn’t the sound of running water, but more like the sound of small animals playing in still water. It was like a pond. Opening his eyes Ranma saw that, indeed, he was sprawled out in front of a small pond. Surrounding the pond were various trees and off in the distance Ranma thought he saw some children playing on swings and monkey bars.
A park, he thought. I’m in a park. How the hell did I get into a park? Ranma tried to get to his feet so he could get a better view of his surroundings, but he found that he was incredibly weak and he crashed back to the ground. Memories came flashing back into his head. The battle with the stone man, his transformation into Sailor Sol, the massive amount of energy he had unleashed, his flight from the Scouts. Everything after he fled was a blur.
That energy blast I created drained me. That’s why I’m so weak. But how did I get here and how did I manage to change back into a guy. Looking around from where he lay, Ranma spotted his henshin wand lying in the grass a few feet away. Forcing himself to his knees, he crawled over to where the wand lay and picked it up. It was a strain to sit instead of lay down, but Ranma was beginning to feel better. His strength was slowly returning.
Turning the wand over in his hand, Ranma studied it. It was a brilliant gold and sunlight reflected off of it causing it to shimmer brightly. At the end of the wand was a star and in the middle of that star there was a yin-yang. Ranma chuckled at that and wondered if the wand really knew him so well. Sitting in the sun was making Ranma feel stronger. It was almost as if the sun was replenishing his lost energy. That thought made Ranma shudder. He still didn’t like the idea of being a Sailor Scout, even if it did give him unbelievable power. Of course, he reasoned, some of that power might have been there because I’m the Dragon. Ranma didn’t like that anymore than he liked being a Scout.
Sighing to himself, Ranma made the wand disappear. He wasn’t sure how he did this, just as he wasn’t sure how he knew that the wand would return to him when he needed it. I still don’t know what I’m gonna do about the Scouts. By now I’m sure they all know about the Jusenkyo curse. This is just great, I’m sure they all think I’m some kind of freak.
“Excuse me,” said a voice snapping Ranma out of his dark thoughts.
“Huh,” said Ranma spinning around where he sat. That action almost put him flat on the ground again. He was still pretty weak. He hadn’t heard anyone come up behind him, but standing there looking at him was a tall woman with long dark green hair.
“I’m sorry,” said the woman, “I didn’t mean to startle you. It’s just that you looked troubled and I thought that maybe I could help. My name is Setsuna,” said the woman extending her hand.
“Huh? Oh! My name’s Ranma,” he said taking Setsuna’s hand.
“It’s nice to meet you Ranma.” Setsuna sat down on the grass next to Ranma and made herself comfortable. “So tell me what’s troubling you.”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“You’d be surprised at what I would understand.”
Ranma looked into the woman’s eyes and saw that they were a lot like Colognes. They seemed to hide infinite knowledge, but at the same time they seemed to harbor thousands of secrets. “Maybe, but I still don’t think you’d understand all of my problems. Half the time I don’t understand them.”
“I think you understand more than you think you do. Maybe if you talked your problems out with someone you’d come to see this.”
Ranma snorted. “My problems are also my secrets. I prefer to keep both to myself.”
“All secrets are reveled sooner or later. Sometimes it’s better for everyone if they are reveled sooner.”
Ranma eyed Setsuna out of the corner of his eye. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but she seemed familiar somehow. Maybe it was the look of complete trustworthiness on her face. The only thing that kept him from telling her everything was his innate stubbornness. “Do I know you?” he finally asked.
Setsuna smiled, “We have never met in this life.”
Those words made Ranma’s spine tingle. He had already heard more than he wanted to about past lives. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that maybe our souls met in another era.” Setsuna turned away from Ranma and stared off into the distance. “I have to go now,” she said standing up, “but I will leave you with one piece of advice before I do. Trust the Scouts, they’re your friends. Trust your friends.”
Ranma was too startled to say anything, and before he could get his voice back a strong wind rose forcing him to close his eyes. When he opened them she was gone. “What the-? Where-?” Ranma stood up and spun in a circle trying to find the woman, but she was no where to be found. That’s strange, he thought. I wonder how she knew about the Scouts. I wonder if she’s dangerous. As he stood there he realized that he was much stronger than he had been upon waking up. So now what do I do?
Ranma’s choices of what to do became severely limited when he heard a voice from behind him. “There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.”
Ranma stiffened at the sound of Serena’s voice. Turning around he saw her coming towards him along a stone path. He could have sworn that path hadn’t been there a minute ago. “What do you want?” he demanded.
Serena stopped a few feet away from him. “I just wanna talk. You left before I could say anything earlier.”
“Maybe that’s because I didn’t want to hear what you had to say.” Ranma had to force his voice to be harsh.
“That’s not a very nice thing to say to a friend.”
“I’m not your friend. Ranko’s your friend.”
“And your Ranko so that makes you my friend too.” Serena moved a little closer to Ranma. “You’re not two different people, Ranma. You’re one person with two different bodies. I made friends with what was here,” she said reaching out to put her hand over Ranma’s heart. She than moved it up to Ranma’s face, “Not what was here.”
Ranma could only stare at Serena. He had never before met someone with such a big heart. The majority of the people he knew were always out to get him in some way or another. No one had ever reached out to him like Serena was now.
“The others feel the same way I do Ranma. Akane’s worried about you. Please come home. Please continue to be my friend.”
Akane was worried about him? That came as a little bit of a surprise. But at the same time it also made him feel warm inside. Maybe there had been someone else who had reached out to him. Maybe he had just been to blind to see. The words of the woman came back to him, “Trust the Scouts. Trust your friends.”
“Please Ranma.” Ranma looked at Serena and nodded. A large smile blossomed on her face. “I knew if I had faith in you you’d come around.” Serena held out her hand. “Come on Ranma. Everyone’s waiting.”
Akane looked up hopefully as Lita entered through the front gate of the dojo. She caught Akane’s eye, though, and shook her head. She hadn’t managed to find Ranma either. That meant the only one still out looking was Serena. Akane hoped desperately that she was having more luck than any of the others had.
Darien came over and sat down next to Akane. “Don’t worry, I’m sure Serena has found him and their on the way here now.”
“I hope your right.” Everyone (except Ranma and Serena) who had fought the stone man earlier in the day was standing around talking. It had been decided that the Nerimian martial artists would work with the Sailor Scouts should any more problems arise, and now everyone was eager to get to know everyone else. The Scouts had revealed their true identities and the Nerimians had told their stories. Now everyone was getting along great, but Ranma’s absence made conversation somewhat subdued.
It had been almost four hours since the defeat of the stone man. Akane had set a three-hour time limit on the search for Ranma, but everybody had looked longer. Serena would be the last one to return. The sound of people arguing drew Akane out of her thoughts. She turned to see Ukyou and Shampoo facing each other and shouting loudly. Judging from the somewhat depressed look on Mousse’s face and the confused ones on the Scouts, it wasn’t too hard to figure out what was happening.
“Will you two shut up!” shouted Akane. “You can decide who gets to marry Ranma after we find him.” Ukyou and Shampoo passed glares between themselves and Akane, and then stomped off in opposite directions. Akane sighed. “Honestly, you’d think they’d be more worried about Ranma than themselves.”
“Um…Akane,” said Mina as she came to sit beside her and Darien. “I thought you were Ranma’s fiancé?”
“I am.”
“But they said that they were Ranma’s fiancé.”
“They are.”
Mina looked very confused for a moment. “How can someone have three fiancés?”
“It’s very hard to explain, but Ranma does. And of course three doesn’t count the numerous suitors he has. And they come from both sexes.” Mina was looking more and more confused. “I told you Ranma’s led a very weird and complicated life. Someday maybe I’ll sit down and explain some of the more interesting parts.”
“I think I’d like to hear about Ranma’s life,” said Darien. “I think it would make even mine look boring by comparison.”
Akane smiled. “Ranma’s life makes the world seem boring.”
Darien chuckled and opened his mouth to say something, but the front gate exploding cut him off. As it did he threw himself over Akane to protect her from flying chunks of gate. When all the debris had settled to the ground, everyone looked to see who had caused the explosion.
Standing in the middle of where the gate used to be was a woman dresses all in gray with short brown hair. To her left was a tall man dressed all in black like a ninja. Long thin blades protruded from each of the man’s forearms and curved back to almost touch his shoulders. To the woman’s left was another man who was slowly twirling a long staff with blades set at either end. He looked tall, but his features seemed to be constantly flowing making it hard to tell. The only things that stayed in place were his pale blue hair and body suit.
“What do you want?!” demanded Darien.
The woman swept her gaze across the people assembled here slowly. “I have come for the stone. I know it’s here somewhere.”
“We won’t let you have it!” shouted Rei.
“We’ll see.” The woman turned to her two companions. “Cyclonis, Aquarius, destroy them.”
