Attached find the latest chpater of Hybrid Theory.

One year! One year of continuous updates!

----------------------
Epsilon



-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
-- File: hybridtheory14final.txt

The problem with young people nowadays is that they have far too much time 
on
their hands, and no attention spans at all!

Hmph. When I, the young and beautiful Cologne, was growing up, we kept 
ourselves
busy! Going outside and getting fresh air, exercising AND studying. Why, we
would have thought nothing of reading through books ten times the size of 
this
entire fanfic to date. Plus we remembered what we read! None of this needing 
to
drag an old woman out of her sick bed in between chapters so she can tell 
the
slower readers what they should already know.

Take, for instance, the entire running rivalry between Chris and Aaron. The 
main
characters, remember them? I bet you expect me to tell you all the details
leading to their fight last chapter. Well, I am not here to make your life
easier. Struggling to overcome adversity makes us stronger. Suffice it to 
say
they really didn't like each other and Chris beat Ukyou/Aaron almost to 
death. I
swear, that girl should really learn to start avoiding this kinds of things. 
Has
she gone two chapters without being beaten nearly to death yet? You know I 
never
would have been in that kind of situation.

Then again, I am not insufferably rude to everyone I meet.

What?

I assure you, I know how to handle myself. I know that I was rendered 
insensate
by that crude supervillian poseur Gyro, but how was I to know, when he 
claimed
to have the power of a god, he was telling the truth? Thankfully all the 
young
ladies I was escorting failed to die and that girl Sailor Moon showed him 
that
it is foolish to underestimate the so-called 'weaker sex'.

Now, to once again bring the easily distractiable readers up to date, don't
forget that Tethys is still alive and is now exploring 'humanity', while 
this
young boy Vega, who would be nice enough if he could stop killing people, 
has
arrived with his brainwashed all-girl commandos to kidnap Ukyou.

*sigh*

I guess it really is a curse, to be living in interesting times.



			      C&A Productions Presents

                          A Work of Blatant Self-Insertion


                                   Hybrid Theory


                              Chapter 14: Don't Stay


	Kaorinite placed the serving tray down on the bedside table. The little
brat was ignoring her again. Her face was buried in her palms, and she was
trying very hard to keep in the shadows of her lamp-filled room. Oh. She 
must
have had another 'episode'. Kaorinite smiled.
	"Hotaru," Kaorinite said, keeping her voice as smooth as silk. "Your tea
is ready." Hotaru continued to ignore her. That was all right. Kaorinite had
spent the last two years learning which buttons to press. "Your father is 
out of
town today, so I guess when he comes back, I'll tell him you were refusing 
to
eat again?"
	The little girl shifted slightly. There were twin flashes of white, not
quite enough light to see her eyes, but enough to tell she was glaring.
Kaorinite smiled and stood up, crossing her arms under her ample cleavage.
Being reminded how much growing up she had yet to do was another one of
Hotaru's pet peeves.
	"Just leave it," Hotaru said, her voice hoarse.
	"You know I can't do that," Kaorinite said in her most mockingly
apologetic voice. "You have a habit of not doing things that are good for 
you.
And I'm stuck making sure you do."
	The girl shifted in place, but made no move to approach the tea set.
Kaorinite just continued to smile mockingly and waited. Hotaru would break. 
She
always did.
	Of course, it was just a little demeaning that she had to find these
small pleasures in breaking the spirit of a little girl. She would have much
preferred to be helping the Professor in his research, or even just 
tormenting a
human or two to death. But Professor Tomoe had asked her, her specifically, 
to
look after his daughter.
	There was nothing she would not do for the Professor.
	Moving slowly, Hotaru eased out of the shadows. She was slight and
frail, and short in that way that only children on the cusp of puberty are. 
Her
shoulder-length black hair reflected the half-dozen dim lamps, and her 
violet
eyes were glaring at Kaorinite with brimming hatred.
	Kaorinite waited until Hotaru had poured herself a cup of tea before
dropping the next bomb. "By the way, Hotaru, the school called today..." She
trailed off meaningfully. Of course, the school had not called. They never
called. Hotaru was the daughter of the headmaster AND owner. She could 
probably
have burned down a building, and they wouldn't have called.
	Hotaru froze like the proverbial deer in the headlights. The tea kept
pouring, until it began to leak over the edge of her cup. With a small gasp 
the
child dropped the cup, kettle and all. It made a surprisingly loud crash in 
the
unnaturally silent room.
	Kaorinite didn't pause. She just tsked and leaned down to start cleaning
up. She was half finished before Hotaru started speaking.
	"Kaori... what... did they say?"
	"Hmmm? I don't really recall off hand. More of the same, I suppose."
Kaorinite stood up. "I wrote it all down."
	"Wrote it down...?" Hotaru gasped. There was real terror in her voice.
Kaorinite allowed what could have been mistaken for a sympathetic smile to 
grace
her features. "W-why...?"
	"So I can give the message to your father," Kaorinite explained matter-
of-factly. "Really. I can't keep concealing these violent outbursts of yours
from him forever, Hotaru." She flicked a hand through her luxurious hair. "I
swear, the trouble you put your father the Professor through. Do you know 
how
busy he is, looking for a cure for your condition? If it wouldn't break his
heart to hear about how you keep mistreating your classmates, I never would 
have
agreed..." She trailed off into an artful sigh and shook her head.
	It was really a fine art, carving away at a child's feelings like a
surgeon. The trick was to make it seem like none of it was done out of 
malice.
Only when Hotaru was convinced that she was the one in the wrong would her 
self-
loathing grow. The self-loathing would feed the presence inside her. The 
very
presence that created her violent outbursts, and their accompanying amnesia. 
It
was really a vicious, and perfect, cycle. But then again, the Professor was 
a
genius, and he knew exactly what a nascent little Messiah of Silence needed.
	Hotaru was close to tears now. Kaorinite turned away slightly, looking
for a garbage can. "But this is really too much. I think it's time you 
stopped
treating your father so cruelly, wouldn't you agree?"
	Hotaru was about to start begging, Kaorinite could see it in her eyes.
Then all the lamps went out. Kaorinite blinked, and felt her skin shiver as 
a
sudden cold breeze filled the room. She flicked her eyes towards the window, 
and
saw the white lace curtains fluttering like ghosts in the breeze. And
silhouetted behind the curtains was a menacing figure. He was upside down, 
only
the torso visible within the sunlit rectangle. His arms were crossed in an X
over his chest, with three long thin shadows extending from his right hand. 
As
the curtain rippled in the breeze, the shadows occasionally cleared away to
reveal the silver glint of three metal claws.
	"Who's there?" Kaorinite hissed, sliding in front of Hotaru. She heard
the girl gasp and fall back on her bed.
	With patient grace, the figure slid into the room. He landed in a soft
crouch on the black carpet, his arms extended out to either side. The open
window now let in enough of the afternoon sunlight that the lamps were no 
longer
necessary. Kaorinite narrowed her eyes and sized him up.
	He was tall, which was obvious even in his crouch. His body was covered
in taut, lean muscle, all the more obvious as he wore no shirt. A tattoo of 
a
snake curled around his torso and arm, with the head resting just above his
heart. His entire face was hidden behind a simple white mask, featureless 
except
for the eyeslits and a strange rune beneath his left eye. It wasn't any 
mystic
symbol that Kaorinite was familiar with, however. The man slowly rose to his
feet, his soft brown ponytail flicking in the breeze. Once he was fully 
upright,
Kaorinite could see he was wearing some sort of ritual costume she vaguely
recognized as European.
	"My apologies for interrupting," the man said in an elegant, cultured
voice. He had a European accent, but spoke Japanese flawlessly. "Allow me to
introduce myself..." He slid his right arm across his chest and bowed 
deeply. "I
am known as Vega. It is truly a pleasure to be in the presence of such 
beauty."
	Kaorinite sneered. If this intruder thought flattery would stall her
wrath, he was greatly mistaken. She eased herself into a more comfortable
stance, and slowly let the limits on her magic release. Behind her, she 
could
feel her hair begin to whip and snap. For now, it appeared to be just the 
result
of the wind.
	"What are you doing here?" Kaorinite demanded.
	"Ah," Vega held up one finger. "Allow me to check one thing first. I
wasn't expecting two of you." He reached into his red sash and withdrew a 
small
black object. She saw his ice blue eyes flicker down towards it. "It appears
that you, my flame haired beauty, are not the one I am looking for.  That 
is...
delightful." He looked up at her, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks and his
voice growing... hungrier. "That child is but a budding rose, but you... you 
are
in full bloom.  Your perfect beauty demands to be plucked, now, before it 
can
fade away."
	"What..."
	Vega vanished.
	Kaorinite barely had time to register this before pain exploded across
her cheek. She screamed, but her voice was overshadowed by the crash the bed
made as she smashed through it. A hand rose involuntarily to her face and
touched the tender flesh as she lay briefly in the wreckage. Then she 
snarled
and opened her eyes, using her other hand to prop herself up. Vega was 
standing
where she had been, his arms crossed as he chuckled at her. She could hear
Hotaru gasping somewhere nearby.
	"Get up," Vega said pleasantly, his mad pinprick eyes boring into hers.
Kaorinite allowed a smile to cross her face again. Pathetic human. He was 
fast,
but had no idea what he was up against.
	Kaorinite exploded to her feet and thrust her hand at him, screaming and
focusing her magic. Like a wave of lava, her brilliant red hair erupted from
behind her and swept into him. He had just enough time to blink in surprise
before he vanished under the mass of her magically expanded tresses. A 
second
later there was a tremendous crash as she hurled him through the wall.
	Her hair shrank back and Kaorinite began to laugh. Vega was lying
against the wall of the other room, which had been dented by his impact. But 
he
was still. Kaorinite raised her hand, ready to follow up, when she heard a 
small
gasp.
	"K-Kaori?"
	Kaorinite turned and glanced at Hotaru. The girl was huddled in the
corner, her eyes wide and focused on the woman who, up until now, she had
thought was only her governess. Well, this would be inconvenient. For two 
years,
she and the Deathbusters had worked meticulously to keep the truth from the
still-developing Messiah.
	Unfortunately, it appeared someone else knew of their plans. Someone had
sent that man. Well, she would make him talk. He would experience exquisite 
pain
for upsetting Professor Tomoe's carefully prepared timetable. She glanced
back...
	He was gone.
	Kaorinite frowned and spun in place. There was no sign of him.
	"Kaori... you... you're protecting me?"
	"Hush, child!" Kaorinite snarled and looked back at her. "Of course
I'm..."
	"LOOK OUT!" Hotaru screamed, pointing behind Kaorinite. Kaorinite
blinked. When had Hotaru developed those vivid crimson freckles? And why did 
her
chest sting so?
	She glanced down slowly. The blades that emerged from her left breast
were slick with blood. It dripped from the tips in a steady, inevitable 
manner,
forming a dark pool on the carpet. Kaorinite tried to gasp, but found her 
breath
escaped her. She felt a soft pressure on her shoulder. Her eyes flicked to 
the
side and she saw the white mask of Vega as he began to whisper into her ear.
	"So beautiful, isn't it? The colour matches your hair. Sad that I am
forced to cut our dance so short, but my new charge and I must be off soon." 
He
chuckled, and Kaorinite's eyes returned to Hotaru's face. The girl's eyes
quivered in fear and horror, and in that moment Kaorinite found herself 
loathing
the brat more than she ever had before. She was... she was... for this brat? 
For
HER? She wanted to scream against it, but she couldn't breathe and 
everything
was so cold...
	"When you see all my other lovelies in the afterlife, be sure to give
them my regards," the voice whispered in her ear just before the darkness 
filled
her vision.

*

	Pink glared at Akane's back.  The group of them were moving steadily
through the woods away from the mountain.  There had been some Chronos 
patrols
around, but they were so disorganised and panicked that they had been easy 
to
slip by.  The old woman and Sailor Moon were still unconscious, and being
carried by Shampoo and Akane respectively.
	Every time she saw Akane still walking, Pink almost felt like attacking
her.  Or something.  Anything.  Why did she have to be alive?  It had all 
been
going so PERFECTLY!  They'd rescued the precious Sailor Senshi Chris was
convinced were important, they were going to escape, and Akane was 
oh-so-nobly
sacrificing herself to make it all possible.
	When Pink got to the rendezvous, she would have told Chris about it.
The dead man would have been horrified; even heartbroken.  But it would be 
done.
Akane, that girl whose opinion he'd been obsessing over ever since they'd 
gotten
to Japan, would be dead.  Nobody could blame Pink for it, either.  There was
simply no downside.
	But somehow, Shampoo - Shampoo, ALWAYS Shampoo! - and Sailor Moon had
ruined everything, and Akane was still alive.
	Worse yet, she was... changed.  Neither had talked about what had
happened in Mount Minakami, but it was obvious that whatever had happened 
had
affected them deeply.  Shampoo and Akane walked in silence, their eyes far 
away
and yet simultaneously focused sharply, as if they could see some 
destination in
the distance that was invisible to the rest of them.
	Of course, it seemed everyone had been oh-so-deeply affected by Sailor
Moon's display of sheer power.  Pink's lip curled.  She'd even caught her 
twin
looking at the unconscious girl in.... awe? wonder? reverence? More than 
once.
Pink had thought better of them... well, some of them.  That light that had
washed over them, that feeling of... of SOMETHING...
	Power.  That's what it was.  Power, plain and simple.  Anybody could
inspire awe if they had enough to back it up.  Pink spitefully crushed an 
insect
under her foot.  To that bug, SHE had been a terrible, vengeful god.  Sailor
Moon wasn't some pure and holy saviour.  She was a girl, a klutzy stupid 
girl.
Who had power.  But anybody could have power, if they knew how.
	Not that Pink wasn't impressed by the show.  Like the others, she had
felt the force of the titanic struggle above.  She'd heard Sailor Moon's 
plea
for aid, and the sheer force of it had even made her want to help.  Briefly.
She'd watched as Sailor Mercury and Jupiter had raised their little wands 
and
given their own power to the effort.  And she'd seen that light, that
overwhelming light.
	They'd walked out of the mountain without incident.  There had been a
patrol of what was probably zoanoids once, but were now nothing but stunned
humans, staring blankly at the wall as they group moved past them.  Pink
chuckled darkly.  Too much 'purity' for them to handle all at once.
	She tore her eyes away from Akane's back and towards the only other
person who could keep herself staring at the unconscious bimbo in awe.  At 
some
point when Pink hadn't been looking, Sailor Mars had transformed back to her
civilian self. She was still holding the wand, though.  Every now and then 
she'd
stare at it and mouth something to herself, before quickly turning her eyes 
to
anything other than Sailor Moon.
	It had taken Pink three attempts to overhear what she was saying.  "Why
couldn't I...?"  Pink had noticed, of course, that when Rei tried to offer 
her
power up to her precious princess, it hadn't come.  But in the midst of the
other events, she hadn't thought about it.
	Rei obviously had.  Every movement she made, every nuance of her face
shouted as to her shock, shame, and fear.  Pink smiled secretly to herself.
Just more proof there was no such thing as 'purity' the way idiots like the
Sailor Senshi believed in it.
	There just wasn't.  Pink knew better.
	A movement caught her attention from the corner of her eye just as she
saw Akane and Shampoo swing around and begin to draw back into defensive
stances.  But they almost immediately relaxed as Chris walked into view.  
The
new body she had given him was, Pink noted with approval, still in fairly
pristine condition.  It was covered in dirt, and a few twigs and leaves were
stuck in the fiery hair, but there was no actual damage that Pink's 
practiced
eyes could see, and no sign of rotting.
	"Well, I see you made it," Chris said.  His tone was slightly inquiring,
but mostly filled with relief.
	"Yes," Akane said immediately, "but we need to get out of here quickly.
Chronos won't be distracted for long."
	Chris nodded.  "Let's walk, then."  He fell into step beside them, but
his glassy eyes kept wandering over to Sailor Moon.  Pink almost laughed at
that.  Just like everybody else, Chris couldn't tear his eyes away from her 
for
more than a minute.
	Of course, that meant he wasn't paying attention to Pink, which wasn't
acceptable.  She stepped up her pace slightly, drawing up to behind him.  
"We
didn't see those Team 5 zoanoids you talked about, so I suppose your side of 
the
plan worked too, over."
	He was forced to crane his neck back a bit to look at her.  His eyes
were typically unreadable as they stared down at her - that body was so TALL 
-
but his expression was neutral too.  Very carefully neutral.  "Yes, it 
worked,"
he said shortly.  "But what happened with you guys?"  He looked at Sailor 
Moon
again.  "I can guess the 'what', but I don't know the 'why'."
	Akane didn't reply for a long moment, so Sailor Mercury jumped in.
Probably because she was feeling useless and wanted to reassert her role as 
the
team's exposition expert, Pink thought to herself with a smirk. "After we 
were
rescued from our cells, we were confronted by someone called Reichmann 
Gyro."
	Chris swore suddenly and hit a tree, causing it to splinter.  "Damn it!
I'm sorry.  I though you'd be safe from them.  They don't normally act
personally."
	"They?" Mercury inquired.
	"Zoalords," Chris explained.  "There are two of them in the mountain.
They're the leaders of Chronos, the upper council.  They're also 
unbelievably
powerful, far more than even Team 5."
	"Well, I can believe it," Makoto said, punching a hand into her first.
"That guy laughed off all of our attacks.  If it weren't for Akane, we might 
all
be goners."
	Akane gave Makoto a weird look.  It wasn't angry precisely, more...
stern, like a parent glaring at a child who had spoken out of turn.
	Chris, meanwhile, had turned his attentions to Akane.  Pink's smile
didn't change, but once again she felt hatred for the ought-to-be-dead girl
swell.  "Akane?" Chris repeated.  "I thought Sailor Moon had done 
something..."
	"Sailor Moon did," Akane explained.  "I just helped."  She looked at
Shampoo, and the purple-haired girl nodded, as if understanding something.  
Pink
ground her teeth, wondering not for the first time what had actually 
happened up
there.  She'd have to force the story from Shampoo as soon as possible.
	"Sailor Moon summon glowing silver stone," Shampoo said shortly.  "Help
from friends, she blew away Gyro-monster."
	"Right..." Chris said slowly.  "I guess that could happen.  Very lucky
you got away.  I'm sorry.  Obviously I should have planned this out better."
	"Yes," Akane agreed.  After a moment, she added, "But we all learn from
our mistakes."
	"So what now, over?" Pink spoke up, drawing Chris' attention back.
"We've rescued them, but we're going to have to go somewhere with them."
Suddenly, she felt her twin's eyes on her back, and she felt a surge of bile 
in
her throat as she remembered the promise Link had extracted from her.  
"Maybe we
should leave Tokyo for awhile.  There's some other places to go where we 
could
hide these people from Chronos, over."
	"Maybe..." Chris said.  "We'll talk it over when we get back."

*

	Akane glanced up at the overcast sky. It would probably rain soon. The
sun was dipping below the clouds now, turning the western heavens a 
brilliant
crimson. Beside her, Usagi was sitting on top of a small dumpster. Akane 
shook
her head as the girl gave a squawk before sliding off and onto the dirty 
alley
floor.
	"Are you okay?" Akane said, without looking.
	"I'm fine..." Usagi murmured petulantly. She stood up, rubbing her
backside. "Why do we have to wait here, anyway?"
	"Because Chris and Cologne need to make sure that the area is clear
before we head over." Akane nodded towards the end of the alley. Just 
beyond,
barely visible through the metal mesh fence and the piles of garbage, a 
small
building was visible. It was an abandoned Chinese restaurant that Cologne 
had
led all their families to before they had started out on their quest to 
Mount
Minakami.
	Almost two days ago. Akane shielded her eyes as the first drops of rain
began to fall. It seemed like a lifetime ago. She looked over at Usagi. It 
had
been a lifetime ago.
	"Usagi?"
	"Hmmm? What is it, Akane?"
	Akane glanced around. Pink and Link were at the opposite end of the
alley, arguing with each other. Ami and that new girl, Makoto, were a little
closer, but both were crouched under one of the only available pieces of 
cover
as the rain started. Rei was up near the fence. The only person within 
earshot
was Shampoo.
	"Usagi..." Akane coughed. "I've been meaning to ask you, about... what
happened... at the mountain."
	"Huh?" Usagi blinked and looked at her. Then her expression slowly faded
from vapid to sympathetic. "Oh. That. Well... I don't know exactly what 
happened
myself, Akane..."
	Akane held up a hand, silencing her. "Why... isn't really important
right now, Usagi." The blonde blinked, and Akane continued before she got 
any
more confused. "I just want you to promise me... that you won't tell anybody
about what happened."
	"Won't tell anyone... but why?"
	"It's just..." Akane struggled to find the words. She had never been a
poet, so how could she explain it? The feeling... the finality of death? It 
was
like nothing anybody ever experienced, and Akane just couldn't think of
anything that felt or seemed quite the same. So, as usual, her mind shied 
away
from it. Already the entire experience was growing hazy in her memory. She 
knew
that she had felt something... something BEYOND, but her mind could no 
longer
hold what that something was anymore. It was like smoke: the harder Akane 
tried
to hold on to it, the more it slipped away. "I can't explain it, Usagi. I 
just
don't want everyone to know." Akane looked up. The sky had filled with a 
fine
drizzle now. "I don't want that to be how everyone... defines me."
	"Okay..." Usagi said. It was clear she didn't understand.
	"Just do it to me as a favor, okay?"
	"Uh-huh!" Usagi nodded her head rapidly. "Anything to help out a friend,
Akane!"
	Akane smiled and clapped her on the shoulder. But when she looked down,
the first person's eyes who she met was Shampoo. The purple-haired girl 
smiled
and nodded as well. Of course, they had already come to an understanding, 
but it
was nice to see that Shampoo still understood.
	Two blurs landed in the center of the alley. Akane didn't flinch. Her
danger sense hadn't even twitched. Chris and Cologne stood up, the former 
much
taller than the latter in his still-unblemished body.
	"The coast is clear," Chris said in Adon's distinctive nasal voice.
	"Are you sure?" Akane asked as she slid down from the dumpster. The rain
was making her long hair damp now, and it lay limply on her shoulders. 
Annoyed,
Akane pushed it away.
	Chris smiled slightly. "Cologne is."
	"There are no zoanoids hiding in wait for us to lower our guard this
time," Cologne assured everyone. The only signs of her injury that remained 
were
a darkening of the skin around the side of her face, no worse than a 
sunburn.
Apparently Cologne knew a thing or two about those healing techniques Dr. 
Tofu
was supposed to be teaching Ukyou.
	"Well, let's not wait here any longer." Akane started towards the
building, gesturing for the others to follow. "We'll catch cold if we stand
around in the rain."
	Chris stepped aside as Akane brushed past him and took up the rear as
everyone crossed the street. They were about halfway across when Akane heard
someone snap their fingers loudly. She turned back just in time to see Pink
smirk and hear her declare, "Of course. It's the Nekohanten, over!"
	"Excuse me?" Cologne asked her. Everyone else just gave her mildly
annoyed glances, except Chris, who sighed in a long-suffering fashion. Pink 
just
shook her head, waving aside everyone's looks. Akane shrugged and stepped up 
to
the door.
	She had barely set her fingers on the knob when the door flew open.
Suddenly someone was dragging her inside! They swallowed her up in a 
bearhug!
Akane reacted without thinking, driving her knee into that of her attacker 
with
as much force as she could. In a second she was free, as the figure arced 
across
the room and impacted with the wall.
	"Well, that's Akane, all right."
	"Nabiki?" Akane looked to the side. Nabiki was sitting at one of the
tables, drinking tea and nibbling on some cookies. That boy, Ryouga, was 
next to
her, using his huge backpack as a seat with his bamboo umbrella balanced on 
his
shoulder. He was staring out the window at the rain, a frown on his face.
	"Is he alright?" Mrs. Tsukino asked mildly. She was near the kitchen, a
tea set and plate of cookies balanced in her hands. Akane followed her gaze 
to
see her father slowly sliding out of the Soun-shaped dent he had created in 
the
wall.
	"Dad!" Akane gasped and ran across the room. She grabbed her father and
cradled his head in her lap. His eyes didn't seem to want to focus on 
anything,
and he was moaning slightly and clutching his... uh... Akane looked away.
	"Akane..." he said in a squeak. "I'm so glad you're safe..."
	"Yeah..." Akane coughed. "Sorry about that, Dad."
	"Let me have a look at him," Mrs. Mizuno said as she shooed Akane aside.
The blue-haired woman examined her father while Akane stood back, feeling 
more
embarrassed than anything else. While she did, everyone else started gasping 
and
running up to hug each other. Ami walked up and stood next to Akane, giving 
her
mother a slight smile. Akane looked at the girl for a long moment.
	"Aren't you... going to say hi?" Akane asked in a whisper.
	"She's busy," Ami pointed out, a slightly wistful look in her eyes.
"I'll give her a hug when she's finished with your father."
	"I... yeah..." Akane nodded. She looked around and wandered away. Dad
would find her as soon as he could walk again. Kasumi had taken over serving 
tea
now that Mrs. Tsukino was busy hugging and crying over her daughter. Mr. 
Tsukino
was satisfied to be looking stoic as he gazed on lovingly. They actually 
looked
to have calmed down quite a bit, thankfully. Chris was standing opposite 
Ryouga
and Nabiki, with Pink at his right hand and Link having left him to sit by
herself at one of the tables. Mr. Saotome was sitting in one corner, rubbing
his neck nervously as Mrs. Saotome sat next to him, chatting amiably with 
him in
a one-sided manner as she polished a katana. Rei had wandered away from
everybody else, as had Makoto. Cologne had vanished into the back, leaving
Shampoo to guard the door. Akane went over to join her.
	"So... now what we do?" Shampoo asked once Akane was next to her.
	"I wish I knew," Akane said slowly. "We can't hide here forever. And we
can't confront Chronos directly. Usagi can beat one of those zoalords... but
twelve?" Shampoo nodded and gripped the pommel of her sword. "Making sure 
Usagi
is somewhere safe until she can master that crystal is the most important 
thing,
I guess."
	Shampoo just nodded. Akane glanced back at the group.
	"...don't worry about a thing, Dad!" Usagi was saying happily. "I can
handle myself against these monsters. No sweat!" Akane winced and began to 
walk
back in. She believed in Usagi, in Sailor Moon, but that didn't mean she 
needed
the girl getting an unrealistic idea of what exactly was going on.
	"Right, Da," the little boy standing next to Mr. Tsukino piped up. Akane
recognized him, knew he was Usagi's brother, but couldn't remember his name.
"Usagi is a for real superhero."
	"That's right," Usagi said, chuckling as she reached down and ruffled
his light brown hair. "Your big sis is a genuine saviour and everything!"
	"Of course," the boy said in a mockingly sweet tone as he pushed her
hand off, "you're more of a second-rate superhero. I mean, you run around in
like a ballerina costume and everything and use love powers." The boy made a
sick face. "Yuck. If only I had a big brother like Ukyou. Now there's a 
man's
man! He'll break your spine just for looking at him funny!"
	Chris burst out laughing. Akane winced. Usagi's eyes narrowed and she
placed her hand on her brother's head, ruffling his hair with perhaps a 
little
bit more friction than last time.
	"Is that right, twerp?"
	"Yes it is!" The boy made an attempt to grab his sister's arm, but she
somehow avoided that. "I can't help it if you're such a girly wuss! Who 
wants to
be a hero like that? I want to be like Ukyou when I grow up!"
	Usagi blinked. "I certainly hope not..."
	"Quite so," Mrs. Saotome broke in primly. "Ukyou is a delinquent and a
bad influence. Not to mention he lacks manners, respect and common 
courtesy!"
	Akane took one look at the boy's star-struck eyes and sighed. "I think
you're having the opposite effect..."
	"Well," Mr. Tsukino interrupted with a soft clearing of his throat. "It
doesn't really matter, either way." He clapped his daughter on the shoulder.
"Everything should be okay now. You don't have to fight the monsters 
anymore."
	"Huh?" Usagi said in confusion. The man's declaration had grabbed the
attention of everyone else in the room as well. "What are you talking about,
Dad?"
	"Well," the man cleared his throat nervously, obviously not comfortable
with all this attention. "It appears that I was right. The authorities are 
going
to help us out... just not our authorities."
	"What are you talking about, Mr. Tsukino?" Akane asked directly.
	"Actually, that sounds like my cue!"
	Everyone turned and stared as the front door slammed open. Standing in
the doorway was a girl, who obviously knew everyone was paying attention to 
her
and didn't mind one bit. She reached up and flicked her long blonde hair off 
her
shoulder, causing her star-shaped earrings to jingle in the light. Her eyes 
were
smoldering crimson and her lips were curled in a delicate smile. She wore a
tight, shoulderless, low-cut red dress with a hemline that barely reached
halfway down her thighs. She stood with one hand on her right hip, and 
allowed
everyone in the room to get a good look before she started speaking.
	"I guess my sense of timing is just too perfect..." the girl started in
a slightly American-accented voice.
	"Actually, you had us wait outside..."
	"SHHH!" she turned and made shushing gestures to someone outside. Akane
blinked. That couldn't have been the voice she thought it had been.
	"Can I come in now? It's cold, and..." the familiar voice said.
	"No!"
	"But..."
	"NO!"
	"Fine..."
	The girl turned back to everyone, and struck her pose again. "As I was
saying..."
	"You're Sakura Yamazaki," Pink said with a yawn. "So what does the CIA
want with us, over?"
	Sakura stared at Pink. "But... how... who?"
	"Wouldn't you like to know, over?" Pink replied, smirking. Chris gave
her a long look, to which Pink responded with an exaggeratedly innocent 
shrug.
	Sakura gave the Chinese twin a glare and then shook her head slightly.
She closed her eyes, struck her pose again and started to open her mouth.
	"Heya, doc! What you doin' out here in the rain?"
	That had not been Sakura's voice, Akane noted.
	"The young lady asked me to wait outside while she introduced herself,"
the voice which Akane was now sure was Dr. Tofu's responded.
	"Oh. Really?" Ranma's female voice replied. "Well, forget that. I ain't
waiting out here for some chick to finish talking. We'll catch cold before 
she's
finished!"
	Akane's eye twitched, though only about half as much as Sakura's did.
	"Hey, move it, would ya?" Ranma asked needlessly as she shoved Sakura
aside and stepped into the room. "Hey guys."
	"Where have you been, boy?" Genma demanded loudly.
	"Uh..." Sakura said, standing beside the door with one finger raised.
	"None of your business, Pops!" Ranma snapped.
	"You will respect your father, boy!"
	"Yeah, right..."
	"Father? Boy?" Mr. Tsukino said.
	"Uh..."
	"IT'S A TEMPORARY CONDITION!" Nodoka screamed as she grabbed the tea
from Kasumi and flung it at Ranma. Ranma blinked and her head snapped back 
as
the kettle bounced off her forehead before the ceramic broke apart and the 
hot
tea splashed over him.
	"Well, now I've seen everything," Ami's mother said mildly.
	"It really is quite cold out there, I hope you don't mind if I come in
and... Oh hi there Ka-K-Kas..."
	"Oh, no you don't!" Sakura snarled, then slammed her fingers into
Dr. Tofu's forehead with a meaty whack. A small paper ward hung rigid in 
front
of his face for a second, before the doctor fell back out of the door like a
toppling statue.
	"So, now that I've saved all your lives... AGAIN! Maybe you'll let me
speak..." Sakura hissed in a tone that brooked no argument.
	"By all means," Ami said, gesturing for her to start.
	Sakura nodded and, once again, assumed her pose. She glared at everyone,
daring them to interrupt her. No one did.
	"My name is Sakura Yamazaki, and I am the answer to your prayers."
	"Eh, I've seen hotter."
	Ranma yelped and ducked as the girl flung a chair at him.
	"If you are QUITE finished," Sakura said, then sighed. "Fine. I'll make
this short." She held up one finger in the air. "I have been sent to this 
city
on a special executive order directly from the President of the United 
States. I
am hereby authorised to offer every single person in this room asylum with 
the
United States government, effective immediately."
	A short silence filled the room.
	"That's right," Mr. Tsukino said, sighing. "This girl found us while you
were gone and offered us all safe haven. So, it all works out for the best.
Right, Usagi?"
	"Wait a minute!" Akane interrupted before Usagi could respond. "How?
Why? What is going on here?" She glanced at Sakura. "Do you even know what 
it is
we're running from?"
	Sakura made a show of buffing her nails on her dress before responding.
"Oh, of course I do, Akane Tendo." Sakura smiled smugly and flicked her eyes
across everyone in the room. "Chronos. A conspiracy of monsters that has
infiltrated the highest offices in almost every nation in the world. A
conspiracy so wide-ranging and so powerful that for most people, confronting 
it
is nothing less than a death sentence." She flicked her hand through her 
hair
again. "But I... am not like most people.
	"It's been almost three months since I pretty much started saving the
world single-handedly," she explained without a hint of self-deprecation. 
"You
see, I am a trained spiritualist, with senses far more advanced than most of 
you
can imagine." Akane glanced at Rei, who seemed not to be paying attention. 
"It
was only a matter of time before I started discovering the zoanoids that 
worked
for my superiors. Of course, as the youngest active field agent of the CIA 
ever,
it didn't take me long to convince my supervisors of their existence.
	"From there, I spearheaded the US's secret war against Chronos. One
zoanoid at a time, we've been cleaning house. Zoanoids and... other things."
Sakura tossed her head and stared at the ceiling. "I would have to say the
turning point was when I personally saved the President's life from Chronos
assassins in a dramatic battle in the Oval Office. I'm up for a 
congressional
medal of honour for that one.  You DO know what that is, right?
	"But the most important thing, to you..." Sakura looked down and
pointed, sweeping her hands across the gathered people. "America is perhaps 
the
only nation in the world that is now free of Chronos control. If, no, WHEN 
those
monsters come, they will find us a people ready and willing to defend
ourselves." She lowered her arm to her side. "Of course, we can't fight 
these
kinds of battles with JUST my dazzling abilities. That is where you come in. 
In
exchange for safe haven and political protection, the US needs people that 
can
help them defeat Chronos."
	She looked at Usagi. "People like Sailor Moon, who can transform
zoanoids back to human form."
	She looked at Ranma. "People like Ranma Saotome, who can fight monsters
with his bare hands and win."
	She looked at Chris, and her eyebrow raised as she smirked. "Even people
like you, whom most would call a monster, but who we can and will help."
	She stepped forward and opened her arms wide. "So, you can see why this
is such an important opportunity. If you come with me to America, you will 
be
safe. Your families will be protected. You will gain full American 
citizenship
and be paid and treated well for your service. And your service will be in 
the
noblest cause of them all! Together, we will save this world from the 
monsters!"
	Sakura's voice reached a crescendo before dying off suddenly. The entire
room was silent in the wake of her speech. But that didn't last long.
	"Count us out, over," the Chinese twins said in eerie unison.
	Akane glanced at them. At some point during the speech they had
gravitated back towards each other. Chris was standing slightly behind them, 
his
expression unreadable. But he was staring at her. As his glassy eyes met 
hers,
he looked away sharply.
	"It's obvious we're going!" Mr. Tsukino said sharply. "This is exactly
what we need, Usagi. You'll be safe, and we don't have to worry about 
Chronos
anymore."
	"I don't know, Dad..." Usagi said softly.
	"Well, it's a nice speech," Akane picked up as Usagi trailed off. She
turned back to Sakura. "Your plan will do a lot of good for America. But 
what
about Japan?"
	"Japan?" Sakura said, her voice dropping slightly.
	"You know what I mean." Akane stepped forward. She knew everyone was
paying attention to her, but didn't really care. "Who is going to stay here 
and
protect Japan? These monsters are everywhere, and without people here who 
know
the truth, Japan is ripe for the plucking. If you take all of us away, who 
will
stand up to the monsters?"
	"Well..." Sakura reached up and pinched at something immaterial in front
of her nose. "You aren't the only people in Japan who can fight this..."
	"But, I am guessing that you plan on making this offer to as many as you
can," Cologne said. "I'm right, aren't I? This is just a particularly good
catch. But if you've been at this for any length of time, you've already 
been
finding people and smuggling them out of the country for weeks, if not 
months."
	"The old troll is right, we can-ow! What did you do that for, I was
agreeing with you, ya crazy old bat! OW!" Ranma rubbed at his forehead and
glared at Cologne. The old woman smiled at him and shrugged.
	"I see..." Sakura sighed and nodded. "To tell you the truth... I can see
your point. And, I do sympathize." She folded her arms under her impressive
cleavage. "My mother is Japanese. This country is part of my heritage. More 
than
that, it has a place in my soul." She closed her eyes. "But fighting Chronos
here is a losing battle. The Americans have weapons, troops, and resources 
that
the Japanese simply don't have. There are a lot of people like you that live
there already, martial artists and psychics that they are recruiting to the
cause one by one. America, quite frankly, stands a chance. Even if you 
alerted
everyone in Japan... I don't think this country can survive a war with 
Chronos."
	She looked up, and Akane saw a deep, passionate determination in
Sakura's eyes. "When I say America is planning to save the world, I mean it.
They have to save themselves first, but then they will start to bring the 
fight
to Chronos. We will free Japan, and all the other countries. I will MAKE 
them do
the right thing, if I have to."
	"I believe you will," Akane stepped up so that she was within arms reach
of the blonde girl. "But this country is my home. There are things here that
need to be saved." Akane turned back and looked at Chris as she said that 
last
sentence. "I, for one, plan on staying here."
	"I won't hear of it!" Dad yelled, dashing up from the back of the room.
Akane dodged his attempt to grab her in a bearhug of fatherly love, but 
didn't
manage to avoid him altogether. "Akane! We have already decided. It is SAFE 
in
America! You'll be safe there!"
	"I can't live with just being safe," Akane informed him placatingly.
"Dad... I've seen what kinds of monsters Japan is facing now. I can't run 
away
from that now. I have to fight and protect people, here. In America... I'll 
just
be one person. Here, I can make a difference!"
	Dad paused and looked into her eyes. Akane stared into his, willing him
to understand. She couldn't tell him that... that she had died. That she had
come back. That SHE had come back. There had to be some reason for that. 
There
had to be a purpose, a reason that she had not been allowed to move on to
whatever fate awaited her. And she knew that whatever that purpose was... it 
was
not in America. She had brought something back with her, and whatever that
was... it didn't feel RIGHT to leave Japan with it.
	"I..." Dad sniffed, and his eyes began to blur with tears. But they
weren't his usual tears. There was no hysteria or despair in his face. He 
was
smiling as the tears traced paths down his cheeks one drop at a time. 
"Akane...
I understand." He nodded. "You do me proud, my daughter." He pulled her into 
an
embrace, but not one filled with fierce possessiveness. It was gentle and
intimate, in a way Akane had almost forgotten her father could be.
	Akane realised she was crying as she hugged her father back. She almost
relented there, in his arms. The enormity of what she was doing almost 
crashed
down upon her. She knew that it was very possible this would be the last 
time
she saw her father. She could die. But death no longer seemed so awful 
anymore.
Because Akane knew that there were some things more important than death.
Because she knew that, if she tried hard enough, she could win no matter 
what
Sakura said about her chances.
	"Yeah, I'm staying behind, too," Chris said as he stepped away from the
wall. "I wish you the best of luck, Miss Yamazaki. But I can't be tied down 
to
one country right now."
	"I'm staying, too!" Usagi declared proudly.
	"No!" Mr. Tsukino said at almost the exact same time that Akane did.
	Akane pulled free of her father and walked over to the ditzy girl. Usagi
was smiling at her, and her eyes were filled with so much hope and... 
respect?
Usagi respected her? The idea that Usagi was looking up to her made Akane 
feel
uncomfortable.
	"I know what you're going to say, Akane," Usagi said in a calm, clear
voice. "But it isn't true. I'm not too important. I am just a girl, like you
are. And I believe we can win this battle, just like you can. Would you deny 
me
the opportunity to help the people I have come to love here?"
	"No..." Akane said, grimacing. So this was what the expression 'coming
back to bite you in the ass' meant.
	"Young lady, I can't accept this!"
	"Dad..." Usagi turned back to her father, and touched the side of his
cheek. His mouth opened and closed for a few moments as he gazed into his
daughter's eyes. Slowly, the fight drained out of him. Usagi just gave him 
an
infectious little smile. "It's okay, I know you're worried. But you don't 
have
to be. Just trust me. It will all turn out okay. Nobody has to be 
sacrificed.
Especially not the entire nation of Japan."
	"I..." Mr. Tsukino reached up and his hand twisted futilely in the air
an inch from his daughter's cheek. "I just love you too much, Usagi. You're 
my
little girl. You can't be the saviour of the world. You're just the same 
girl
who kept your mother and I up all nights when you were teething..."
	"I love you, too," Usagi drew him down and embraced him. She whispered
something into his ear, and the man seemed to crumble into her. It was 
amazing
that she could support his weight. After a moment, Usagi released him into 
the
arms of her mother. The woman leaned over and pecked her daughter on the 
cheek.
	"I love you," Mrs. Tsukino said. "Promise me you'll be safe."
	"Everyone will be safe," Usagi replied with a voice that made you
believe it was the truth.
	"Well, uh..." Ranma coughed and shrugged. "I'm stayin' too, ya know? I
mean, I believe in all this stuff Akane said. But, really, all my friends 
are
still here and I need to help 'em out."
	"I suppose that includes that Ukyou person as well," Mrs. Saotome said
in a level tone.
	Ranma turned to his mother, scratching the back of his head. "Aw, Mom,
didn't we already talk about this?"
	"Yes... we did," Mrs. Saotome walked up to him, her eyes narrow and her
stride brisk. "I still think that Ukyou won't do anything but get you in
trouble. He is nothing but a bad influence."
	"Mom, don't be like that..." Ranma groaned. "Ukyou isn't..." Ranma
stopped talking as his mother pressed a finger against his lips.
	"But you are determined... and I understand how you feel," Mrs. Saotome
said softly. "I just wish you weren't going to be leaving me so soon... not
after we just found each other again."
	"Ah... don't get all mushy on me, Mom," Ranma stepped back and rubbed
his neck again. "It's not like this is goodbye or anything. I'll still, ya 
know,
write, or visit... or something, when I have time..." Ranma slowly trailed 
off.
Perhaps he was embarrassed, perhaps he had nothing more to say, perhaps it 
was
the deathgrip Nodoka had with his other hand that was slowly turning his 
fingers
white.
	"You WILL write, won't you?" she said pleasantly.
	"I..." Ranma gasped and tugged futilely at his hand.
	"Not like how your father promised to write, I mean." Mrs. Saotome
smiled in a vapid, malevolent way. "You really will write, and visit?"
	"Ah! Ah!" Ranma began to nod frantically. "I'll write! I swear!"
	"Good," the kimono-clad woman said and released his hand. "Now give me a
hug."
	Akane, feeling a bit embarrassed, turned away as the two embraced. She
glanced at Shampoo, who was mainly ignoring everything that was happening 
around
her. Except she kept casting annoyed glances at the door. Akane blinked and
followed her gaze. Dr. Tofu's legs were still sticking in through the 
doorframe.
	"Can Shampoo just kick him out or drag him in?" Shampoo said to Akane
with a grumble. "It annoying watching rain make him only half soggy."
	"Oh, drag him back in," Sakura said, waving her hand. "He's coming,
whether he knows it or not." She jerked a thumb in Kasumi's direction. 
"After
all, she is coming."
	"Yes," Soun said, sighing and stepping away from Akane. "I'm just glad
my other two daughters will be safe with me. They don't have any reason to
stay..."
	"Actually, Daddy," Nabiki cut there father off and rose to her feet. "I
won't be coming with you."
	"W-what?" Soun gasped. "But... but you can't..."
	"Take care of myself?" Nabiki smirked. "Like Akane can? Is that what you
were about to say?" Nabiki shook her head. "You've always been a 
short-sighted
man, who didn't realise that power doesn't just come in the form of a fist."
Nabiki walked up to him. "I'm not going to America, because I CAN take care 
of
myself. I have unfinished business in this country."
	"Oh..." Dad backed away from her, his expression briefly fearful. Then,
in a flash, he began to smile. "Oh. I see." He chuckled. "You just want to 
stay
behind to be with your fiancee. I can certainly underst-"
	"Shut up!" Nabiki growled. Soun blinked, and everyone else turned to
stare at the confrontation. "This has nothing to do with Ranma. In fact, if 
I
never see him again, it will be too soon." Nabiki turned away and started
walking towards her table, where Ryouga waited patiently.
	"Nabiki..." Dad took a deep breath. "Are you walking away from me? From
your family duty?"
	"Yes, Father, that is exactly what I am doing."
	"I won't allow it!" He pointed firmly at the floor in front of him. "I
may let Akane endanger herself and leave my sight... but hers is an 
honourable
goal! You are walking away from your family's honour, and I won't allow 
that. I
am your father and you are still a child... you will obey me!"
	"Make me," Nabiki shot back, not turning around. Soun opened and closed
his mouth for a moment. Nabiki continued before he could recover. "What kind 
of
honour would you have me follow, old man? Ranma is a jerk, and a 
sex-changing
freak..."
	"Hey!" Ranma and Nodoka shouted in unison.
	"...and I would marry him for... what? To carry on the dojo?" Nabiki
gestured around, towards the walls covered in peeling old wallpaper. "Look
around, old man. There isn't a dojo anymore! There is no ancestral home, and 
no
ancestral honour either. If you want your precious heir so badly, put your 
faith
in Akane. I, for one, have had enough of this family!"
	"Nabiki, you don't mean that..." Kasumi said, her voice catching.
	"Don't think I don't, Kasumi," Nabiki shot back. "It's about time all of
you started opening up your eyes. This isn't a world where we can afford to 
be
soft or oblivious. And all running and hiding is going to do is make you 
stay
that way." Her eyes turned to Akane. "At least Akane, I can respect." She
flipped her hair and smirked. "I just came here because I wanted to pick up 
my
stuff, anyway. Come on, Ryouga. We're leaving."
	"But it's still raining..." the boy said. Akane thought he looked very
sad, especially when he was looking at Nabiki.
	"That's what your umbrella is for," Nabiki shot back as she stalked over
to the door.
	"Nabiki!"
	Akane's sister ignored her father as she waited for Ryouga to meet up
with her. Then, with a soft click, they were both gone from sight.

*

	"Why do we have to keep them separated, over?"
	"Because," Chris whispered back, feeling that phantom headache coming on
again, "if we don't keep Tofu and Kasumi apart, he'll... well, you KNOW what
he'll do."
	"Exactly!" declared Pink with a smirk.  "That's his only character
trait!  I want to see it!  Come on, it'll be fun, over!"
	"No," he grated.  "Go bother Shampoo or something; that's what I gave
her to you for."
	"And don't think I don't appreciate it," Pink nodded.  "But what have
you done for me	LATELY, over?"
	Chris gave her a withering look, and Pink raised her hands in mock
surrender before striding from the common room with a light laugh.  Chris 
shook
his head.  She liked knowing about the manga WAY too much.  You'd think that
someone who found out they were apparently a fictional character would be
bothered, at least somewhat.  But Pink, it seemed, was no ordinary nutcase.
	He glanced over to the other side of the room.  Akane and a still-soggy
Dr. Tofu were sitting across from each other at one of the dusty tables, 
having
a conversation.  Despite his best intentions, Chris sidled a little closer 
to
them.  He was just a bit curious as to how Akane planned to say goodbye.
	"-are you trying to say, Akane?" Tofu was saying.  He was still rubbing
absently at the lump on his head.
	"I'm saying that, ever since I was a little girl, I've always looked up
to you, Doctor Tofu.  You were the only man - no, the only boy I've ever met 
who
I really thought was an adult.  I guess I've just sort of... well, I did 
have a
crush on you for years, and I just couldn't tell you about it."
	"..." was Tofu's response.  Chris couldn't really figure out his
expression; it was sort of blank, like he was trying to figure out how to
respond without either hurting her feelings or encouraging them.  For his 
own
part, Chris was a bit surprised.  Akane'd never confessed her feelings in 
the
manga.
	But, then again, this was a different Akane, wasn't it?
	Akane chuckled a bit.  "I know exactly what you're thinking, doctor.
You're looking for the way out of this, aren't you?"  She smiled up at him.
"Don't worry about it.  It was just a schoolgirl crush.  You'll always be a
friend, but I don't think I'll ever see you in quite that way anymore."
	"Well, um..." Tofu cleared his throat.  "I'm glad you... told me about
that, Akane.  I know you've grown up to be..." he paused, obviously 
carefully
choosing his words,  "...an attractive young lady..."
	Akane started giggling again, but suppressed it with one hand while
waving the other at him.  "No, no, I think you've got me all wrong.  It's 
not
YOU, Doctor Tofu.  It's me.  I'm just not the same blushing schoolgirl that 
had
a crush on you.  You understand?"
	Tofu smiled a bit whimsically.  "Not particularly."
	"It doesn't really matter."  She patted Tofu on the shoulder.  "Listen.
All I want you to do is work up the courage to ask my sister out sometime.  
I
think you and her will make a good couple... really, you've got lots in 
common."
	Doctor Tofu laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head.  "Well...
I guess taking relationship advice from a sixteen-year-old isn't the 
strangest
thing I've done in my life!"
	"No, probably not."  Akane smiled, a little sadly, and stood up.  "I'm
certain we'll say goodbye again before you leave with Sakura, but I want to 
wish
you all the best of luck.  Someday, when this is all over, we'll all..." She
paused, and looked out one of the windows for a moment.  When she spoke 
again,
it was slow and thoughtful.  "Some day, we'll all sit down, talk about all 
of
this, and laugh.  All of us."
	Tofu didn't have much to say, and Akane pushed away from the table.  She
didn't seem surprised to see Chris.  As her eyes fell on him, she quirked 
her
head to the side and walked past, towards the kitchens.  Chris shrugged and
followed.
	They passed through the kitchen where Kasumi and Mrs. Tsukino and Nodoka
were all preparing dinner and chatting.  It looked good, and Chris's lips
twitched.  Eating was definitely one thing he missed about being alive.
	Akane led him back to the pantry, which was empty except for a musty
smell Chris could barely notice and what looked like an ancient bag of 
potatoes
spreading roots in the corner.  Once they were inside, she turned around and
looked at him, crossing her arms.  "So, where are you planning to go now?"
	"There's a school called Ohtori Academy.  I want to speak to a man
there, so that's my next destination."
	"What about the Sailor Senshi?" she asked.  "They're staying in Japan.
Are we just going to leave them here?"
	Chris considered that.  "No, that'd be too dangerous.  They should come
with me, get them out of Tokyo and away from Chronos until this blows over a
bit."  He paused for a moment.  "You said 'we', not 'me'.  Is that 
significant?"
	Akane nodded, and Chris felt a vast wave of relief wash over him.  "But
I have conditions, if you want me to come along," she said seriously.
	"I told you I'd do whatever you wanted me to," he replied.  "I meant it.
Anything.  Ask."
	"First off," she said, holding up a finger, "we have to find a safe
place for the Sailor Senshi.  I have a feeling you're going to be moving 
around
a lot, and that's not going to be good for them."
	Chris nodded.  They were kind of young to be trekking all over Asia on
foot, fighting god-knows-what.  Of course, Akane was young too, but she was 
a
MADM and thus much tougher.  Besides, he needed Akane.  "I'm not sure where, 
but
we'll find someplace.  Japan's a big country, and if not here, maybe 
somewhere
in China."
	"Maybe..." Akane said noncommittally.  "But beyond that, are you really
serious about doing anything I say?"
	He stepped forward, and tried to look her in the eyes, WILLING her to
understand what this meant to him.  He needed her.  He needed her moral 
centre.
Without it... he thought back to the slaughter of the Chronos village, and
shuddered.  "Akane, I know it's strange, but I really feel I need your help.
NEED it.  I can't think of someone else to turn to.  And because of that, 
and
because I'm taking you away from your own life, and because I trust you, I 
swear
on everything I hold sacred I will do my absolute best to do whatever you 
ask me
to do."
	The reply was short and simple.  "Don't kill."
	He paused.  He knew what she meant, of course.  He almost immediately
wanted to protest, remind her about the rotting, remind her that it wasn't 
his
choice.  But... he had figured she'd make a condition like that.  If that 
was
the price of her help... maybe it was twice as good for him.  "All right," 
he
said.  "I won't."
	She smiled and nodded.  "Good."  She reached over and tugged absently at
a strand of her long hair.  "By the way, when do we leave?"
	Chris shrugged.  "I figure I'd wait for Sakura to come back and pick up
the others, so everyone can have some time with their families."
	"Good," Akane repeated.  "I'll have to get Kasumi to cut this before she
goes."
	He raised an eyebrow.  He'd only really just started to get used to
seeing 'long-haired Akane', as he'd once thought of her.  It was sort of 
ironic,
her breaking off her attraction with Tofu then getting her hair cut, as 
she'd
grown it out to try and attract him in the first place.  Reversed order from
the events of the manga that would never happen. "Oh?  What made you decide 
to
do that?"
	Akane tugged at the lock again, stared at it with an unreadable
expression.  "This is the kind of style a schoolgirl wears."

*

	"No, really, Mom, I'm cool with sleeping on the floor, really."
	"Nonsense!" Nodoka replied, chuckling to herself as she pushed Ranma
along the floor. Ranma sighed and started actually walking. Besides, his 
heels
were getting rug burn.
	"Fine, whatever." Ranma shook his head. He was not looking forward to
tonight.
	"Don't sound so enthusiastic," Nodoka chided him sarcastically. "I'm
sure this Shampoo girl is a nice person and the two of you will have a 
lovely
time together."
	"Mom, she's tried to kill me, repeatedly."
	"That reminds me of how I met your father..." Nodoka sighed. "And now
you two are betrothed. So it is very important for you to spend at least 
some
private time with each other."
	"All she'll do once we're alone is try to kill me again!" Ranma
complained loudly.
	"Well, put that training of yours to good use then!" she replied
cheerfully.
	"Besides, Son-in-law, I have it on the best authority that Shampoo will
not attempt to kill you tonight."
	"AHH!" Ranma screamed and began to wave at Cologne, who remained perched
on his head despite his best efforts. "Where did you come from?"
	"China," Cologne explained. "And I am going to be spending tonight
keeping two mischievous young girls from interrupting you, so I expect my
efforts not to be wasted, eh, Son-in-law?" She nudged him in the shoulder 
with
her staff.
	"You're both crazy!" Ranma shouted as they shoved him in the doorway.
The door slammed closed in his face. He heard them yell something 
encouraging
through the wood and then their laughter receded down the hallway.
	There was a long, metallic rasp behind him. Ranma felt his pigtail
levitate away from his neck. Maybe, if he didn't turn around, she wouldn't 
be
there.
	Not that he was scared.
	Just... uh... just that he didn't like hitting girls.
	Ranma stood there for almost a minute. The rasping continued, slowly
driving a spike into his mind. He gritted his teeth, but it didn't go away. 
He
closed his eyes, but it didn't go away. He covered his ears... okay, then it
became softer, but still didn't go away.
	Finally he sighed and turned around.
	Shampoo was sitting on the single-width cot, running a whetstone up and
down the length of her wickedly curved Chinese sword. She looked up at him 
and
narrowed her red eyes. "Hello," she said evenly.
	"Wow... fancy meeting you here," Ranma grinned and rubbed the back of
his neck. His pigtail refused to settle down.
	"Stupid," she said, hefting the sword. "Catch!" she grunted and hurled
it towards him. Ranma's eyes widened and he clapped his hands together,
capturing the blade with only a few centimeters to spare. He blinked, and 
slowly
lowered the blade.
	"Uh... don't you need this for the killing?"
	Shampoo gave him a disgusted look. She shifted in place, the hem of her
short Chinese dress riding a bit up her thigh. Ranma started looking at 
other
things, until she rose to her feet. "No, it for provoking."
	"Provoking?" Ranma shifted his grip on the sword so he had one hand
free. "Uh... provoking what? I ain't gonna attack you." Ranma was beginning 
to
think that the chances of tonight turning into a mad struggle for survival 
were
growing slimmer. He wondered why he felt disappointed.
	Shampoo glared at him and stalked straight up to him. Ranma backed up,
but the door got in the way. Soon, she was standing only a half-meter away 
from
him. She stared into his eyes, her red eyes flashing like little flames. 
"Yes
you do." She gestured at her chin. "Counter-attack! Right here!" Ranma 
raised
one eyebrow. "Or Shampoo hit you!"
	"Uh... no?" Ranma attempted.
	The purple-haired girl sighed and slumped a little bit. "Fine. No have
to hit hard." Shampoo paused and looked at him again. "Hit here..." she 
gestured
at her chin. "Fast as you can."
	"Oh, I can do that without hitting you!" Ranma said, grinning. He leapt
up, bounced off the ceiling with one hand and landed across the room. 
Shampoo
stood still for a moment, then slowly turned to look at him. "See, watch!" 
Ranma
said as he lifted up the pillow on the cot. He flipped it in the air and 
swung
Shampoo's sword in a flashing arc. The pillow exploded as he neatly bisected
it. Ranma grinned and narrowed his eyes. Then the sword became a grey flash, 
a
whirling tornado of metal around him. He finished with the sword held at his
side, and every single feather in the pillow drifted to the ground, neatly
divided in two.
	"Stupid!" Shampoo threw up her arms. "Now we no have pillow! Why not
just hit Shampoo?"
	"Uh..." Ranma started to scratch his neck, but realised he was holding
the sword in that hand and decided against it. "I guess I just don't want to
muss up that pretty face," Ranma said with a shrug.
	Shampoo rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Whatever. Give back sword."
	Ranma flipped it towards her and she caught it easily. He watched her
for a second to see if she would come at him but instead she just leaned it
against the wall. Ranma nodded and walked over to the corner and sat down.
	"You can have the bed," Ranma nodded towards the cot. "I'm used to
sleeping in awkward positions."
	Shampoo gave him an odd look and walked over to the bed, before sitting
down again. Ranma looked away again, since her hemline was riding up again. 
"You
learn Tenshin Amaguriken, is right?"
	"Huh?" Ranma blinked. "Amaguriken?" He paused. "You mean... that
chestnut in the fire thing?" He quirked his head to the side. "Yeah. Ukyou
taught me it."
	Shampoo nodded. "You fast. Strikes too fast for Shampoo to even follow."
	"If you say so," Ranma shrugged. "I just found out today that was the
point of all that." He grinned. "Course, I guess I would have thought the 
idea
of training that way was stupid if Ukyou told me that was the goal."
	"Ranma strong, fast, tough... more than Shampoo," the girl said evenly.
"Shampoo no beat you, no matter how many time she try."
	"Well, yeah..." Ranma grinned. "Don't feel bad. I do that to a lot of
people."
	"Lot of people no have to marry you."
	"So... uh... I'm sorta gettin' the idea you ain't into this marriage
thing as much as your granny wants you to be, huh?" Ranma said, chuckling
nervously.
	Shampoo ignored his question. "Great-grandmother realise you no come
with us. You no like Chris. And twins no leave him."
	"Uh..." Ranma sighed. He guessed that Cologne had probably figured it
out pretty easily. After challenging Chris eighteen times so far tonight 
(and
being turned down nineteen 'just in case') it had been pretty obvious the 
two of
them had... issues to resolve. "Guess not." Ranma shrugged. "I'm not really
ready to settle down yet, I suppose. Not that I don't think you're cute, in 
that
exotic, emotionless killer way, but I just don't think I need to be thinking
about girls is all."
	Besides, girls just tied you down. Ranma needed to get together with a
girl who wouldn't get in his way and could maybe follow him on his 
adventures.
Some girl who wouldn't want him to stay home and do all that responsible
boyfriend stuff. Somebody like Ran, maybe.
	Ran?
	Ranma shook the thought aside.
	"Stop complimenting me," Shampoo told him flatly.
	"Uh..." Ranma shrugged. "You have fat calves."
	She threw her sword at him again, and he caught it. "Hey!"
	"No insult me either, stupid." There was a brief pause as Shampoo
readjusted her hair. "You staying in Japan. She look for you later," she
continued matter-of-factly.
	"Uh... okay," Ranma replied. "But you don't want to marry me or nothin',
right?"
	She gestured for her sword back again. Reluctantly, Ranma handed it
over. Then she leaned forward and thrust it so the tip hovered a millimeter 
in
front of Ranma's nose. "Shampoo use this to cut her heart out before she 
marry
you."
	"Well..." Ranma smiled thinly. "At least it's sharp."
	Why was every girl he knew a psycho?
	"But..." Shampoo pulled back, settling her sword on her shoulder neatly.
"Shampoo no can do anything. Was tricked into promise."
	"Well, that isn't right..." Ranma said. He frowned and smacked his fist
into his palm. "I know! I'll just never agree!"
	Shampoo's eyes narrowed happily and she leaned back against the wall,
smiling like the c... dog who ate the canary. "Good," she said. "Just no get
married, or Shampoo have to kill wife."
	"Oh..." Ranma blinked. "I'm cool with that, I guess."
	Shampoo nodded, reached up, grabbed the collar of her dress and pulled
it off. Ranma's eyes bugged out. She wasn't wearing a bra. He snapped his 
eyes
shut.
	"What are you doing!?" Ranma screeched. "I thought we weren't getting
married!"
	"Keep down, stupid," Shampoo said. Ranma felt something soft slap into
his head. "Wrap this around head if no want to see."
	Ranma inched his eye open. She had thrown her dress at him. He groaned
and tossed it aside, still keeping his eyes closed.
	"You like doing this, don't you?"
	"Yes. Don't forget, Shampoo still hate you. Your fault all this
happened." There was a pause. "And also your fault Shampoo sleep in bed 
filled
with feathers. Stupid."
	Ranma sighed. It was going to be a long night.

*

	ZX-Tole flung another hunk of machinery away. Behind him, he could hear
the crack and groan of shifting rubble as Derzerb and the few remaining
Gregoles continued to dig through the destruction. At least Derzerb was no
longer complaining that the work was 'beneath him'. Telling him that they 
needed
to pitch in because nearly half the zoanoids in the mountain had suddenly 
been
transformed back into normal humans hadn't worked, but slapping him down 
just
once had.
	ZX-Tole kept his own doubts to himself. The blast had nearly gutted the
mountain, practically breaking it in two. Even Commander Gyro could not have
possibly survived something so apocalyptic. But Doctor Valkus seemed 
convinced
that the commander was still alive underneath all this rubble. So they dug 
until
they found him, or his corpse, one of the two.
	"I found something!" a Gregole yelled from nearby. ZX-Tole dropped the
concrete slab he was carrying and jogged over. The Gregole was pointing down 
at
the twisted wreckage, and ZX-Tole's segmented eyes immediately saw the human 
arm
pinned beneath a large chunk of metal. He snorted and crossed his arms as 
best
as his huge carapace would allow him. "It's a human arm. The commander would
have been in his battle form. Just pull it free and take it to all the other
corpses. Doctor Valkus wants to study them..."
	"Yes, sir," the Gregole replied crisply. He knelt down and began to
pull on the arm. ZX-Tole was half-turned around when the hand jerked to life 
and
grabbed onto the Gregole's wrist. The unfortunate zoanoid only had a chance 
to
gasp... before its body spasmed once, sharply. Its body curled so far back 
that
ZX-Tole heard its spine snap like a twig. Blood gouted from its mouth before 
the
creature fell back. ZX-Tole backed up a step.
	Then he felt it, the overwhelming presence in the back of his mind. He
groaned as the telepathic force pushed at the inside of his brain with so 
much
force he thought his skull would crack. He knew what the force wanted, and 
with
a roar he reached down and tore free the last of the wreckage that covered
Commander Gyro.
	The commander lay still for a moment, his naked human body covered in
numerous small cuts. Then his eyes snapped open and he sat upright as if he 
had
been spring-loaded. He reached out and snapped his hand around ZX-Tole's 
wrist,
his fingers pushing so hard it made the chitin there turn white from stress.
	"Did you see it!?" Gyro gasped in awe.
	"See it?" ZX-Tole replied in a quavering voice. He had never seen a
zoalord's full power. But considering what the commander was doing to his
normally impervious armor in just his human form... "Is there something 
wrong?"
	Gyro turned his head slowly, his strange inhuman purple and yellow eyes
boring into ZX-Tole's red segmented ones. He grinned. "The crystal..." the
commander said slowly. "That magnificent glowing crystal..." He began to 
grin.
"It was stronger than me. Stronger than any zoalord!"
	"That's impossible..." ZX-Tole began, but the man cut him off with a
wave of his hand and a stinging psychic rebuke.
	"No, I saw it..." He smiled, his eyes flashing. "It was so beautiful...
it almost destroyed me!" He laughed. ZX-Tole was beginning to wonder if the
commander had perhaps lost it. The idea did not comfort him. Zoalords were
terrifying beings, the closest thing to a zoanoid god. The idea of an insane
god-being made his stomach twist in knots.
	"You think I'm mad, but I'm not," Gyro explained, his voice suddenly
cool and collected. "I'm more sane than I have ever been." This time, his 
smile
was dark and serious, filled with malicious glee. "I've finally found the 
thing
I've been looking for all these years. The one power that can defeat a 
zoalord."
This time, his laugh was brief, but dangerous.
	"Go. Tell Valkus that he doesn't need to spy on me anymore." Gyro stood
up. "I'll open up all my files to him. I'll reveal every bit of my secret
research." He laughed. "What does the guyver unit matter anymore? When there 
is
a crystal like that in this world, after all?"
	ZX-Tole had no idea what the commander was talking about, but he was
just as glad when the man released him. He walked away from the closest 
thing he
had to a god, and worried.

*

	Telulu walked up the stairs, shifting the files she was carrying from
one arm to another. The house was quaint, almost prosaic. She certainly 
wouldn't
have pictured it as the home of the leader of the Deathbusters. The door at 
the
end of the upstairs hallway was open, so she strode briskly inside.
	Or that was the plan. She stopped in mid-stride at the sight which
greeted her. The room was destroyed. The bed was shattered. One of the walls 
was
missing entirely. Plus, of course, the bloody corpse on the floor.
	"Kaorinite?" Telulu said, disbelievingly.
	"Yes."
	Telulu looked up and saw the Professor standing at the far side of the
room. His body was only partially revealed in the shadow-casting light of 
the
lamps in the room. His face was entirely concealed in dark shadows, except 
for
the silvery gleam of his glasses and the flash of his teeth.
	"Kaorinite is dead," the Professor declared grimly.
	"Worse, they took the child," Eudial said as she stepped in through the
hole into the other room. She was carrying a jury-rigged scanning system 
which
consisted of a long television antennae wand and several other common 
household
items.
	"Child?" Telulu asked.
	"The Messiah," Professor Tomoe informed her. His voice shifted and
cracked, wavering from mania to deadly earnestness. "Somebody attacked us 
where
we were most vulnerable and stole our most precious commodity!"
	"I see..." Telulu said. "Well... that isn't so bad, then."
	There was a long silence in the room. The Professor turned towards her
slowly. Eudial did so less theatrically, but her shocked expression told how 
she
was feeling.
	"What... did you say?" The Professor's voice was nothing but calm now.
	"While losing the Messiah of Silence is a blow to our plans," Telulu
replied, her voice confident - she adjusted her glasses with one hand while
she held out her file-folder with the other - "I've been up all night doing
research, and I believe I have discovered another way to allow us to draw 
master
Pharaoh 90 into our dimension.
	"You see, the Messiah is the only one who can access the power of the
Holy Grail... but I propose that we don't need the Grail at all. Any
sufficiently large concentration of spiritual energy can serve as the proper
beacon. My scan of the bio-etheric current through the plant life around 
here
shows a marked increase in the quantity of ambient spiritual energy..."
	"You must be joking," the Professor said in an odd, gentle voice. It was
like he was talking to a child. "You want to use plants to summon Pharaoh 
90?"
	"That oversimplifies my proposal..."
	Telulu gasped and staggered back as the Professor slapped the papers
from her hand.
	"Your proposal is meaningless," the Professor told her in a strong
voice. "I'm certain you believe in it. But the plan for the Messiah WILL 
work.
Your theory is nothing more than a hypothesis. It is untried, untested and
unproven." He stepped forward, just enough so that his face remained in 
shadow.
He lifted his arms up, spreading them like wings. "It is more obvious to me 
now
than ever that we are vulnerable. I was right to keep our operation hidden. 
We
have strong enemies, who are more ruthless than I imagined." He titled his 
head
back. "She is not dead... I would know instantly if she were. So there is no
reason to abandon our timeline. All our resources must be directed towards
rescuing her."
	Telulu bowed her head and knelt down. She began to recover her papers.
She had to admit that the Professor was, technically, right. She had no 
actual
proof that her theory was correct. He knew the Messiah was their one sure 
way to
succeed. But still, she had stumbled upon something. Her research had proven
that there was something immense and powerful beneath the land of this city. 
How
could she ignore it?
	"I see you are still hesitant to believe in me, Telulu," the Professor
said softly. He patted her on the shoulder and she looked up into the 
gleaming
reflection of his eyes. "Very well. I see that your heart is not in this, 
and I
understand."
	The man looked over at Eudial. She stood up straight, and smiled.
"Eudial, I will entrust you with the responsibility of locating the 
Messiah."
	"You can count on me, Professor!" she replied crisply. She flicked a
long red lock over her shoulder and smirked towards Telulu.
	"I too, will be devoting most of my time to the search," the Professor
continued. Then he turned towards Telulu again. "To you, Telulu, I delegate 
the
Daimon Project."
	The Daimon Project. Telulu frowned. They had still not found a way to
mass-produce Daimon in this world. Pharaoh 90 had been able to send only a
handful of his children to Earth to pave the way for his coming. For the 
most
part, the Professor had been spending his time working on that very same
project. Normally, Telulu would have been overjoyed to work on it.
	But she knew what it was: busy work. They didn't trust her anymore.
	"I will do my best..." Telulu said softly.
	"Excellent." The Professor nodded and stepped past her and out of the
room. "I will be in my lab."
	Telulu finished collecting her research as the leader of the
Deathbusters strode away. There was a click as Eudial stepped in front of 
her.
Telulu looked up into the senior Deathbuster's menacing scarlet eyes.
	"You should know, that just because I'm going to be busy being the
Professor's right hand, that doesn't mean I won't be keeping an eye on you."
	"I will succeed in the task that has been set before me..." Telulu
forced out from between clenched teeth.
	"See that you do." Eudial strode around her and out of the room.
	Telulu rose to her feet, clenching and unclenching her fist.
	Then she smiled.
	She looked down at her research.
	The Professor had told her to locate a way to mass produce Daimon. He
had never told her how she should work on that project. Her smile widened.
Perhaps... there was more than one way to prove her theories were correct.

*

	"That's it... relax. Don't try and force it. Just let it flow
naturally."
	Aaron nodded as Akira cupped her hands around the glass. Her breathing
was deep and even. Aaron could feel her chi flowing around her body, 
radiating
out from her in waves. Her aura was deep, but hard to decipher. He was 
beginning
to learn that a person's mood was often reflected in the quality of their 
chi,
but Akira's wasn't easy to discern. While he watched, the girl created a 
tiny
but intense ball of white light between her hands.
	The leaf in the water twitched, then steadily rose. The water began to
dribble over the rim of the glass. Ukyou reached in and pulled the glass 
away.
Akira's eyes snapped open.
	"Water," Ukyou explained. Akira nodded, but her face was still confused.
	"How did you do that?" Matsudaira asked, her voice awed. She wasn't even
looking at the two of them anymore. Instead, her eyes were locked on the 
screen
of one of the high-speed cameras she had set up.
	"You'll have to be more specific, Matsudaira," Aaron responded.
	"The water. You created more of it!"
	"Not really..." Aaron picked up the glass again. The water level had
returned to almost normal. "The chi Akira produced is water-aspected. It
interacted with the water in the glass like pumping air into a balloon, 
causing
the liquid to expand. But, as the chi... evaporates, the water returns to 
its
normal state."
	"Fascinating..." Matsudaira muttered.
	"As for you..." Aaron turned his attention back to Akira. "The water
aspect means that you have an affinity for health, vitality and change. Also
good for social interaction and adaptation."
	"Okay..." Akira frowned and picked up the glass. "I still don't see how
this is supposed to help me."
	"Well..." Aaron ran a hand through his bangs. "Your aspect is more
supposed to be a guide than a straightjacket. The idea is to identify what 
your
strength is, as well as your weakness. For instance, earth is the aspect
opposite water and thus probably your weakest trait. Earth is all about
resistance and stability. It's up to you how you want to work with that
knowledge. You can train to emphasize your strengths, or shore up your
weaknesses. You can even go for a more well-rounded regime, like Ranma has."
	"Ranma..." Akira grumbled. "I don't think I'll ever catch up with him."
	"I know the feeling." Ukyou smiled. For some reason, Akira had taken an
instant dislike to Ranma. Every time they were in the same room together, 
the
girl kept giving him the evil eye. Ukyou attributed it to their first 
sparring
match, where Ranma had simply outclassed Akira in almost every way.
	"Hey, people!"
	The three of them turned to see Ran and Ranma walking down the park path
towards them. Ukyou felt a surge of jealousy at how close Ran was to him. 
Ranma,
for his part, didn't seem to notice. He was lost in thought. A rare 
condition if
there ever was one.
	"Ah, I see Ukyou is using her magic water trick on you," Ran said once
she was a little closer.
	"You tried this, too?" Akira asked. She was deliberately not looking at
Ranma.
	"Nah, not my cup of tea," Ran said, waving her hand dismissively. "All
this serious martial arts stuff I leave to you guys. I just want to be able 
to
keep up enough to get all the pictures." As if on cue, Ran's eyes drifted 
over
the equipment Matsudaira had set up. "Oh. My. God." She squealed in delight 
and
ran over to crouch beside it. "Is this the Nokia test bed model? And is that 
a
five function auto/manual zoom? And..." Her eyes sparkled and she touched 
one of
the components in awe. "A complete Swiss-crafted timing modulator with
integrated computer-assisted shutter control?"
	"Uh... yes..." Matsudaira blinked.
	"They aren't even supposed to be MAKING these yet!" Ran cooed. "You HAVE
to tell me where you got it!"
	"Actually, I have no idea..."
	"Well, that won't do!" Ran stood up and thrust a finger under the brown-
haired scientist's nose. "I've been looking for a replacement for my old 
model
for too long. And if you have access to state of the art equipment, then I 
must
find out how!"
	"Well, it's something to do with military clearance..." Matsudaira
coughed into her hand. Obviously she was not comfortable being the one at 
the
RECEIVING end of a barrage of questions.
	"Military, huh?" Ran rubbed her chin. "Now, most people would think of
that as a challenge. But then again, most people can't offer you the kind of
things I can."
	"Things you can..."
	"Like exclusive info on the martial artists of Tokyo!" Ran leaned
forward, thrusting her face right next to the frazzled woman's. "You want to
know how these people function, right? Well, I can get you access to some of 
the
best this city has to offer. Not just Ranma and Ukyou, but the greatest 
fighters
of the Tokyo high school system! But wait, there's more!" She stepped back. 
"I
also have extensive files on all the fighters across the globe. I am your 
one-
stop shop for all the latest information on the underground circuits and the
exclusive tournaments!" Ran smirked and crossed her arms. "Now isn't that 
worth
just one little piece of cutting-edge military-grade photographic 
equipment?"
	"Well..." Matsudaira adjusted the cuffs of her labcoat. "If it were up
to me, I would say it is. But I was told in no uncertain terms not to..."
	"Ah, c'mon!" Ran threw up her hands in disgust and walked a few steps
away. "You're going to let something like rules hold you back?"
	"Leave the poor woman alone," Aaron chided Ran. She rolled her eyes and
sat down next to Ranma. He was grinning like a loon and shaking his head.
	"As it is, I'm already breaking a few rules," Matsudaira pointed out.
"You aren't even supposed to be out in public. Especially given that you 
aren't
fully recovered."
	Ukyou glanced briefly at the crutches that had allowed her to come out
this far. Three days of healing, and she still was hardly able to even walk 
on
her own. If it hadn't been for the techniques she had learned from Doctor 
Tofu,
she probably still would have been bedridden. But even after all her 
training,
she was still years away from being able to recover half as fast as Ranma 
did
from even minor injuries.
	"We can't train all-out if we're stuck inside," Aaron explained. "It's
bad for the furniture."
	Matsudaira chuckled. "I guess not. And if I want to see more of this chi
in action, I have to let you train, right?" The woman smiled. She looked
remarkably kind when she smiled. "Besides, what Mr. Kunikida doesn't know 
won't
hurt him."
	"Ah, you guys don't have to worry anyway." Ran began to flip a pen
between her hands. "Those girls, the Dolls? They don't seem that interested 
in
attacking Ukyou at the moment."
	"What makes you think that?" Ranma asked.
	"The fact that they followed us here and then split?" Ran replied with a
shrug.
	"Followed us?" Ranma gasped.
	"Yeah, didn't you guys notice?" Ran looked around, raising an eyebrow.
As everyone shook their heads, Ran whistled. "Well, I can understand in 
Ukyou's
case. They haven't been coming within a city block of her. But they've been
following all of us around ever since that confrontation three days ago." 
Ran
stretched and yawned. "I guess they're doing standard information gathering. 
You
know, trying to figure out our habits, our strengths and weaknesses."
	"Why didn't you tell us this sooner?" Ukyou snapped.
	Ran blinked. Then she paused and tapped her lips thoughtfully. "Guess it
didn't occur to me to be concerned." She shrugged. "I mean, it's not like 
I'm
one to object about other people prying into my life, huh?"
	"Maybe we should be getting out of here, then?" Akira said. She looked
distinctly uncomfortable. Aaron reflected on how easy it was to forget the
unassuming girl was even there. She had a tendency to fade into the 
background
when you weren't paying attention to her.
	"Nah." Ranma waved her down. Akira gave him a slight glare, but didn't
protest. "The four of us can handle those three. They know better than to 
attack
us out in the open."
	"I guess," Aaron mused. He still rose to his feet. "I just don't like
the idea of having an enemy out there and not being able to confront them."
	"Once you get better, you'll be able to help us track them down, Ucchan.
No worries."
	"That isn't what I meant, Ranma." Aaron sighed. He glanced up at the
mostly clear sky. Summer had arrived. The wind was brisk but warm now.
	"Well..." Ranma rose to his feet and started stretching. "We should
begin training, right? You up to sparring yet, Ukyou?"
	"No."
	"Oh." Ranma turned to Akira. "Well, since I know Ran is going to turn me
down, I guess that leaves you?"
	Akira rose to her feet. She dusted off her leather pants and adjusted
her slightly oversized motorcycle gloves. Then she looked up at Ranma and
nodded, her short brown hair bobbing with the motion.
	The two walked out and assumed stances, before they began to strike at
each other. Aaron watched, his eyes critical. He could feel their auras 
flaring
and snapping about their bodies. He closed his eyes, and could still feel 
the
energy flowing about him.
	"Matsudaira, maybe you can help me out."
	"What?" There was a click as the woman adjusted something on her
equipment. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."
	"I need you to help me out."
	"Oh. Yes. I see." She paused. "But how? I'm not able to fight like they
are..."
	"I want you to quiz me."
	"Quiz you?"
	"Ask me questions. The topic doesn't matter. Obscure trivia. Science.
History."
	"Uh, Ukyou, that sounds more like school than training," Ran said
briefly. "I thought you and Ranma were avoiding the whole school thing."
	"It is training." Aaron opened his eyes. "Of a sort. You see, the way
I figure it, chi has got to be good for more than just making us strong and
fast, right?" He gestured towards where Ranma and Akira were still sparring.
Ranma was flowing elegantly around all of Akira's attacks. Gouts of dirt and
grass exploded as Akira's missed shots ripped up a bit of the landscape. 
"I'll
never catch up with Ranma on pure physical ability. I know that now. Not to
mention the people who are better than Ranma out there." He clenched his 
fist.
"But suppose chi can also enhance other talents? I've already met people who
seem to be more amazing prodigies than they have any right to be. Guys who 
can
disguise themselves as pretty much anything. Girls who can do things with 
plants
that would amaze botanists. What if they were ALL using chi?"
	Aaron lowered his hand. "I've already grown good enough that I can sense
minute changes in my own chi. I want Matsudaira to quiz me so that I can see 
how
channeling my chakras affects how quickly I can learn, retain and remember
information. Maybe I can unlock a whole new study of the principles of 
chi..."
	"I don't know..." Ran tapped her lips and shrugged. "If it was possible,
you'd think somebody would have thought of it by now, right?"
	"Maybe." Aaron sighed and sat down. "But it's all I have." He pointed at
Ranma, who had just sent Akira flying across the small clearing they were 
using
as practice. "I can't be as good as Ranma. Not quickly enough for it to
matter. Too many people want me dead, and they keep showing up with too much
strength for me to fight." He smiled. "But so far I've been able to outthink
them, and... with a bit of luck, I survived. But maybe if I concentrate on 
my
own strengths, I can compensate for my body's weakness."
	"That sounds logical," Matsudaira agreed with a nod.
	"I just wish I was still on speaking terms with Doctor Tofu." Ukyou ran
her fingers through the grass. "He would have been a great help in 
developing
this new field of study. He probably would have enjoyed it too."
	"Ah, don't worry about him, Ucchan," Ranma called as he helped Akira to
her feet. "He's probably half-way to the States by now."
	"Oh. Well then... the WHAT!?" Ukyou stood up too quickly and her body
protested the ill-treatment with many small painful flashes.
	"Didn't I tell you guys?" Ranma said, blinking.
	"No..." Ukyou said slowly.
	"Yeah." Ranma shrugged. "It's the reason I've been able to go pretty
much where I want the last few days. Mom and Dad, the Tendos, Tofu... and 
uh..."
He snapped his fingers a few times. "You know, those people who the Sailor
Senshi are related to?"
	"The Sailor Senshi's families..." Aaron blinked.
	"Yeah, I don't know their names. Anyway, they all went off with this
chick from the CIA."
	"Whoa, whoa," Ran held up her hand. "Back up, stud." Ukyou glared at
her. "First, what exactly is going on? And second, why didn't you tell us 
about
it?"
	"Well, because it wasn't really important, was it?" Ranma sat down and
rested his chin on one fist. "I mean, I can live without Pops just fine. And
it's not like I ever really got attached to any of the Tendos, or even knew 
the
Senshi's folks at all." He shrugged. "I guess I just got distracted with
guarding Ukyou. I'm the only one who can stay with her at night, after all."
	"Why?" Ran asked, then immediately amended, "I mean, why did they
leave?"
	"I never really got the scoop on that," Ranma shrugged. "Apparently they
pissed off somebody pretty important and the CIA was offering... uh... 
what's
that word for when people give other people a safe place to stay?"
	"Asylum?" Matsudaira provided.
	"Yeah, that."
	"So, Akane and everyone are gone?" Aaron felt a slight pang at the
thought. Not that he would have protested them leaving. Akane deserved 
better
than the kind of life that being a friend of him would give her. Aaron and 
Ukyou
had too many enemies. There were too many battles they had to fight. Akane 
would
have fought them willingly... but he and Ukyou had treated her like dirt for 
her
friendship.
	"Nah. Akane was going to help out that Chris jerk."
	Ukyou's jaw dropped.
	"Tell me you just didn't say that."
	"Chris?" Matsudaira frowned. "You mean, the same animating intelligence
that has been raiding the aragami lately?"
	"Uh... I guess." Ranma scratched the back of his neck. "I just know he's
a cowardly bastard who won't even give me a man-to-man fight. Why Akane 
would
want to hang around with him is beyond me. But hey, chicks are crazy."
	Ranma looked up, obviously wondering why everyone else present was
glaring at him. Ran hit him first. He glared at her and rubbed his brow, but
there was no real anger behind his expression.
	"Akane went with Chris..." Aaron clenched his fists. His knuckles turned
white. That wasn't good. Chris was... Chris was dangerous. Akane had no idea
what she was getting into. She would just be playing into his hands. He 
wanted
to leap to his feet, to charge off. He didn't know where he would be going, 
or
what he would do when he got there. Yet he needed to do it. Akane was 
getting in
over her head. Chris had something inside him, something dark and
uncontrollable. A worse darkness than the one inside he and Ukyou. He rose 
to
his feet, ready to order everyone to get ready to move out...
	No. Ukyou looked down at the dirt. Akane wasn't a fool. She had the
right to make her own decisions. Chris was still capable of reason. He might
still be saved. Maybe Akane could help him? It was clear he wouldn't let 
Ukyou
come near him as anything but an enemy.
	"Ukyou?" Akira brought Aaron's attention back to the outside world.
	"I..." Aaron sighed. He consulted Ukyou and they agreed. There was
nothing they could do about Akane. But Ranma, on the other hand. "Ranma. 
Think
hard. I want you to tell me everything that happened."
	"Uh, okay..."
	And so Ranma told them.

*

	Tethys hated eating.
	It was such a disgusting practice; to actually physically devour your
food. She picked up another takoyaki ball and placed it in her mouth, 
savouring
the taste of the expertly-prepared morsel. She hadn't even had a mouth for 
most
of her existence. It was only since she had merged herself into Hayato's 
shell
that she had developed it.
	But eating allowed her to regain energy without having to drain it from
humans. True, absorbing the life essence of human beings was more efficient 
and
faster. This method, however, had one major bonus.
	Tethys smiled and thanked another customer. He smiled back, took another
circumspect look at her breasts and paid for the meal before wandering off 
to
eat it. Tethys shook her head and popped another takoyaki into her mouth.
	The real benefit was that it didn't draw attention. Here she was, in the
center of one of the greatest concentrations of humans in the entire world, 
and
they weren't even noticing her. Well, no more than they paid attention to 
any
other attractive woman in a slightly revealing vendor's outfit. She resisted 
the
urge to sneer. She was even getting more business than Hayato ever had.
	Her eyes scanned the crowd, all these little people unaware of the wolf
that was standing in their midst. Yet, even so, they looked scared. People
walked in hurry. Their eyes darted into every shadow. Whenever they bumped 
into
each other, they would jump back and stood stock still. They were afraid.
	Hayato had never remembered his world being like this. In the Japan he
knew, people generally walked around without fear. But that had changed. His
world had changed. Tethys knew why.
	The monsters.
	They were always in the news now. Battles between beasts and humans with
the strength of beasts that destroyed buildings, shopping plazas and even 
entire
neighbourhoods. Stories from across the oceans that were even more 
frightening,
of cities, mountain ranges... even entire countries losing contact with the
outside world. Filtered stories from those who had fled of 'demons' and
'vampires' and 'zombies' that were slowly settling into all the minds of all
these little people.
	There would be a war soon.
	The humans would find out about the Dark Kingdom, or some other enclave
of monsters. Or maybe another one of those enclaves would attack in force... 
and
there would be war.
	And the humans would be ready. They already had the martial artists.
People like Hayato and Ukyou who could fight monsters. And the Sailor 
Senshi.
	Tethys frowned and popped another ball into her mouth. She could no
longer ignore it. That had been what she had felt. The Silver Crystal 
reborn,
the legendary Ginzuishou active once again. She had been alive once to feel 
the
harsh light of that magnificent weapon. She knew that it alone had defeated 
an
entire army of youma, every general in its army, its leader and their 
invincible
goddess Metallia with one fell swoop.
	Against the power of the Ginzuishou, the Dark Kingdom would perish
again. With the Ginzuishou and all the soldiers that humanity could muster
from the ranks of martial artists, they would be crushed.
	Yet they were continuing as if nothing was wrong. Hayato had pointed it
out to her, when she had run into Nephrite. He hadn't even recognized her. 
He
wasn't even aware of what was really going on. She could see it in his smug
eyes. She had followed him, and watched him gloat over stealing the life 
force
of a single human. She had almost laughed at the pitiful harvest his plan 
had
yielded.
	The Dark Kingdom was stuck in an old war, playing a hand that was
already doomed to lose. Even in her present state, with what little she had
learned and all she had mastered of human strategy, Tethys alone could 
probably
destroy the Dark Kingdom...
	Her hand stopped. She stared down at the takoyaki ball in between her
fingers. She really hated eating. It was so... so human. She threw the ball 
into
her mouth and smiled.
	Then again, these did taste really good.

*

	Fevrier knelt and bowed her head. She knew exactly the angle her head
was supposed to be at in relation to the floor. Her right fist was planted
exactly the proper distance from her left knee. She had stopped before even
entering the room to adjust her hair, so that not a lock was out of place. 
Her
posture and pose were perfect.
	Vega wasn't even paying attention to her. He leaned back in his chair,
one hand elegantly rolling a glass of wine while the other stroked the end 
of
the armrest. It was impossible to read his expression behind his white mask, 
its
only feature being the mark below his eye. But his eyes could be seen. They 
were
not focused on Fevrier, or the other two Dolls that were in the room.
	They were focused on the girl in the corner. She had been here three
days, and the only time she had stopped crying was when she was feeding 
herself
or sleeping. Her constant whining - which ranged from barely audible sobs 
and
moans to ear-splitting wails and plaintive cries for her 'Papa' and every 
nuance
inbetween - annoyed Fevrier. Vega would not let Fevrier or her sisters
discipline the brat. He just kept watching her. Marz had told her, when they
were alone, that she suspected that Vega was not planning on taking the girl 
to
Lord Bison at all.
	Not that Fevrier could blame him. The girl was not a suitable candidate
for their ranks. To be a Doll was to be perfect. To be a Doll was to be 
chosen.
You were the elite. Hand-selected, molded by the most intense training, 
driven
by the most cutting edge technology and fueled by the greatest force in
existence; all these things were what made a Doll. Few could withstand the
demands. There was no 'acceptable' level of performance. Every Doll either
achieved their goals, and achieved them perfectly... or they Washed Out.
	Fevrier had known a girl who had Washed Out... but such things were best
not thought of.
	"Lord Vega," Fevrier said meekly, her head bowed still. Vega turned his
eyes towards her. He did not bid her speak, but she did so anyway. "We have
collected the data on Ukyou Kuonji's new allies. Marz has compiled the
information, and we know everything there is to know about Ukyou, her 
friends
and this Japanese paramilitary unit, the Terrestrial Administration Center."
	"I see..." Vega said with a sigh. He swirled his glass absently.
	"We finished our data collection almost two days ago. As it stands, we
have waited three days since our initial assault."
	"I see..."
	"If you would forgive me..." Fevrier did not cringe. Her expression and
posture remained perfect. Her voice remained exactly at the most pleasant 
tone
and pitch. Perfection was something lesser beings sought. It was what a Doll
WAS. "Can I ask why we have not initiated a new assault plan? We have more 
than
enough data to pull off a successful extraction. If you would assist us, we
would not even need to requisition supplies from any of the local Shadowloo
cells."
	Fevrier had not wondered why Vega had ordered her and her sisters not to
contact any of the local cells. It was a common command, since Vega often
traveled in his civilian identity and went to great lengths to conceal his
connection with Shadowloo activities. Fevrier just wished it wasn't required 
in
this case. Shadowloo was a global syndicate, which could provide a 
staggering
level of hardware and human resources in any large city. Having access to 
any of
that would have made her job much easier.
	"The assault will wait for now," Vega informed her. Fevrier did not
question his decision, she only nodded. But Vega started to explain himself
anyway. "Don't think I don't sense your impatience. But I know of things 
that
are happening that you do not. There are plans in place that a rash action 
could
disrupt." He was looking at the girl again.
	"Yes, lord..."
	"Marz." Vega snapped his fingers. The blue-haired doll snapped to her
feet with an affirmative shout. "Are you certain that girl is one of 
these...
Sailor Senshi?"
	"Not one hundred percent," Marz noted cautiously. "The girl has the
exact same effect on the chi around her as the Senshi do, however. If my
readings are correct, she has a great deal of 'magic' to her, if such a 
thing
exists."
	"I see..." Vega swirled his glass again. "Then why hasn't she manifested
any special abilities?"
	Fevrier looked over at the girl. She was sitting in the corner. Her eyes
kept drifting across the room. Her face was stained by tears. She was in one 
of
her quiet moods, but still hiccuped in sorrow every now and then. Fevrier 
did
not break her perfect composure to frown at her, but nonetheless felt vexed. 
The
girl was upset over nothing. She wasn't even being mistreated. Vega was 
treating
her practically like a princess. She had full freedom of movement within the
suite... just not to anywhere outside it.
	"I don't know, Lord Vega." Marz hesitated. "Perhaps we should contact
Thailand. The scientists there are better suited to the sort of exhaustive
testing you require." The girl's eyes widened slightly at the word testing.
	Vega stood up slowly and started walking towards her. He let his glass
fall from his fingers, and Satsuki caught it without a sound. Satsuki did 
almost
everything without a sound, however. He stopped less than a meter from the 
girl.
She cringed away from him. His face was still hidden by his mask, and now 
his
back was to Fevrier.
	"Lord Bison is occupied at the moment and not to be contacted." Fevrier
looked up. Disregarding the fact that Marz had suggested contacting the lab, 
not
Lord Bison, the news was still strange.
	"You have been in contact with him then, sir?"
	"Yes." Vega chuckled. "He contacted me yesterday. Remember that powerful
transmission two days ago?"
	"The one from the doomsday cult?" Marz asked for clarification.
	"Yes." Vega reached out and ran a hand through the girl's dark hair. She
shied away from him. "Bison seems to think that the cult has access to a
superior form of genetic science. And considering their transmission came 
from a
floating fortress in the middle of the ocean, and that they were immediately
besieged by the American naval fleet, he decided to investigate the 
matter...
personally."
	"Ah." Marz nodded.
	"Of course, he also plans on checking into some other matters soon
after." Vega looked back at Marz. "Like how he has lost contact with all the
Shadowloo cells in Britain, and so forth." He chuckled. "I suspect he will 
be
unavailable for quite some time."
	Marz nodded and knelt down again. Vega did not want them to contact Lord
Bison. Fevrier could read him like she could a book. He may have trained 
them,
taught them all they knew of fighting... but he was not their true master.
Lord Bison had taught them to look for the signs. He had always suspected 
one
day Vega would betray him. Vega did not know they had their own ways of
communicating with their master. Ways that did not require Lord Bison to 
have
access to mundane lines of information. Ways that involved their connection 
to
Lord Bison's very life force through the power of his Psychodrive.
	"And you, little mouse..." Vega crouched down. He reached out, and this
time he ran the stiff blades of his claw through her hair. So gentle was the
metal caress that not a single strand fell. "What secrets do you have locked
inside you? What will it take to unlock them? Perhaps something more than 
mere
imprisonment, then..."
	"Leave her alone..."
	Fevrier turned without much surprise. The boy on the wall hadn't moved
in almost a day. He was in his 'mundane' form. His clothes lay in tatters 
about
his frame, and he was naked from the waist up. His physique was moderately
impressive. It was not the hard, lean muscle of a martial artist, but still
showed signs of superb conditioning. Now those finely maintained muscles 
were
criss-crossed with scars and fading bruises. His chin was slowly raising, 
and
his hard blue eyes fixed on Vega's back.
	"Back away from her, you monster!" Mamoru hissed. He had been more vocal
ever since they had returned from their mission and... it had happened. 
Fevrier
wasn't sure how to describe it. The boy had simply opened his eyes and 
suddenly
transformed, but not in the manner he had before. Instead of a top hat, 
domino
mask and formal wear, he had morphed into an elaborate and archaic set of 
armor.
Marz had been alarmed by the sudden rise in his power level. Fevrier, being
cautious, had rendered him unconscious. He had transformed back shortly
thereafter. Marz had explained that someone had apparently been trying to 
tap
him for magical power, or perhaps he had been trying to transmit it, but
couldn't be sure. Either way, Fevrier did not regret her decision.
	Ever since, Mamoru had been more vocal. He constantly insulted and
goaded Vega, or made demands of him. Fevrier did not know why Vega tolerated 
his
presence. Perhaps he found him amusing. Perhaps he realized that if the girl 
he
had kidnapped Washed Out, then he would need the boy to find another. But 
Vega's
patience could only be pushed so far. He had given the Dolls leave to work 
out
their frustration on the boy whenever they felt like it. Since that amounted 
to
whenever he tried to talk to them, he had learned to stay quiet with only 
them
in the room.
	"What business is it of yours, boy?" Vega stood up and began to walk
towards the bound prisoner. The boy gritted his teeth, and as usual there 
was
the soft groan of his ropes straining to hold him. Fevrier looked and saw 
the
little girl's eyes staring at the boy. They were filled with shock and 
worry.
	Of course. Fevrier had caught the two of them talking often when she
walked into the suite. She had shooed away the girl and punished Mamoru, but
they were always at it.
	"It's my business to stop monsters like you!" the boy reared back his
head and, with a loud gurgle, spat at Vega. The glob of spit struck the side 
of
Vega's mask and began to slide down. Vega paused.
	Fevrier and the rest of the Dolls moved back.
	Vega reached up and touched the offending substance. He flicked it away
with graceful, elegant disdain. His voice was calm and measured when he 
spoke.
"To touch this mask, is like unto touching my face." He reached out, his 
fingers
hovering mere millimeters from Mamoru's face. "So... did you really just 
intend
to spit in my face, boy?"
	"Yes." The boy smiled. "I don't back down from monsters like you."
	"So be it."
	Mamoru screamed as Vega lowered his hand almost casually. The cuts he
left in the boy's chest were shallow but savage, and bled freely. Then Vega
proceeded to disassemble him. It was like a hypnotic dance. Vega moved with 
a
grace and beauty that made his violence, his cruelty seem almost like art. 
The
blood that spurted from Mamoru showered out, and Vega bobbed and weaved 
through
it so that not a single drop touched him. He was laughing.
	Fevrier raised her hand, ready to signal Satsuki to go prepare suitable
arrangements for disposal-
	"STOP IT!"
	Fevrier saw the girl running before she collided with Vega, of course.
But she had been ordered to not harm the child. A Doll was perfect, and 
obeyed
orders perfectly. She did not interfere as the girl rammed all her 
eleven-year-
old mass into Vega's legs. It was not enough to knock Vega more than a step, 
but
it did cause him to stop.
	He looked down. The girl was clutching onto his legs. Her arms were
shaking and she was barely standing. She was crying, of course. Vega could 
have
removed her with ease. He wouldn't even have had to hurt her.
	He didn't.
	"Stop hurting him! Stop!" she cried.
	"So... the mouse reacts to something after all." Vega stretched his arm
over her. His claw hovered above her head. Drops of blood slowly dripped 
from
the tips of the blades to splatter in her hair.
	"Please! Please stop hurting him!"
	"Hotaru!" Mamoru gasped. Fevrier looked at him in some surprise. He was
still alive, even if he could barely lift his head. "Get away... from 
him..."
The strength was draining from his voice.
	"Please, mister... don't hurt him!" The girl was shaking even more
violently now. "He's the only one... the only one here... the only kind..."
	"Do you have something to ask me, little mouse?" Vega's voice was
kind. The girl looked up at him, and didn't flinch away as drops of blood 
fell
on her pale, tear-streaked cheeks. "Just ask me, little mouse." He gestured 
at
the boy on the wall. "Ask me."
	"Please stop hurting him." Hotaru gasped. "I ask you to please stop
hurting him."
	Vega paused.
	"No."
	Fevrier did not even see him move. There was just a flash and suddenly
Vega's claw was buried up to his fist in Mamoru's stomach. The boy screamed. 
He
continued to scream as Vega laughed, a high-pitched, joyous laugh. Then Vega
twisted his claw, and the boy's scream grew louder.
	"STOP! NO!" The girl began to pull and bang at Vega's shin. He ignored
her, still laughing and continuing his grim business. "You're killing him!" 
The
girl was screaming now, her voice louder than it had ever been before. 
"Please!
PLEASE! Don't do this! I'll do anything! Oh god, don't kill him because... 
don't
kill him... not like..."
	The girl's voice was dissolving into chokes and sobs now. "Not
protecting me... not again... please don't... oh... no... not again... not
protecting me..."
	"Lord Vega!" Marz screamed, a second too late.
	Vega was blown back. He sailed over the heads of the Dolls. Fevrier
shielded her eyes. The girl had just erupted with some sort of strange 
force. A
bright field of burning scarlet energy surrounded her. She was standing, her
back hunched. Her breathing was slow and deep. Her eyes flickered with red
light. Fevrier reached down and pulled her pistols from their holsters. She
heard Satsuki draw her sword.
	Vega grabbed them both by the shoulder. Fevrier looked over her
shoulder. He was unharmed. He did not even have so much as a scorch mark. He
said nothing, but his eyes told them to wait and watch.
	The girl was turning towards them. Her eyes were flickering crimson and
her hands were twisted into claws. She was smiling. The scarlet dome still
surrounded her, and on her forehead flashed a small purple symbol, like an
inverted 'h' of some kind.
	"Hotaru..." Mamoru groaned. He was staring at the girl, his expression
full of shock and something else... Awe? Fear? Pride? Then his eyes rolled 
back
in their sockets and his voice rattled once before he slumped in his 
bindings.
	For a long moment, the silence in the room reigned supreme. The girl's
face seemed to be twitching, her smile seemed to fade and reappear. It was 
as if
two people were trying to form entirely different expressions on the same
face. Then, as suddenly as if someone had flicked a switch, the light around
Hotaru vanished. She slumped forward to her knees. But her eyes flashed 
around
to stare at Mamoru, and her face filled with horror.
	"NO!"
	She leapt to her feet with more speed than Fevrier would have given her
credit for. Her hand slapped over the vicious, mortal wound in the boy's
stomach. Fevrier shook her head at the futility of it. Even Aprile, the best
medic Fevrier knew, would have been able to do nothing for such an injury.
	When the light began to leak from between Hotaru's fingers, Vega's hands
tightened their grip on Fevrier's and Satsuki's shoulders. The pressure 
quickly
passed from uncomfortable to painful to nearly bonebreaking. Neither Doll so
much as changed expression.
	The light was soft and white, and it flowed out from Hotaru. It started
small, just a bauble of translucent energy. Then it began to expand, 
exploding
out in concentric waves of energy. The light creeped first up Mamoru's 
stomach,
then his chest, then slowly across his entire body. Fevrier could see Marz
typing frantically at her computer.
	Finally the girl gave a small whimper and collapsed. The light faded
from around Mamoru gradually, as if reluctant to cease its work even with 
its
master no longer commanding it. When it cleared away, Mamoru was healed.
	Not completely. His body was still covered in shallow scratches, and a
tiny bruise could be seen where Vega's claw had entered him, but all his 
serious
injuries were gone. He was unconscious.
	"See to the girl."
	Marz leapt to obey Vega's order. She crouched beside the girl, took her
pulse and checked her breathing. "She's exhausted." Marz looked up at Vega. 
"Her
body is entirely drained. She has the minimal level of energy to maintain
autonomic functions..." Marz checked her computer. "She should live. Her 
energy
is recovering, if slowly."
	"Excellent." Vega stepped forward. "Now... now I know what I need to
do."

*

	Vega watched the girl. She was pretending she was asleep. She was hoping
he had forgotten about her. Vega had given her every indication that he had. 
But
unless she started acting soon, his plan would fail. The Dolls were
enthusiastic, but even they couldn't spend all night with their love-making. 
He
needed her to move before they finished...
	Vega smiled to himself. Hotaru was standing up. She kept flicking her
eyes about the room. She couldn't see Vega, of course, but then she was a 
little
girl. A useful little girl, but still a child.
	She trod lightly over to the wall. Mamoru was hanging there still. He
had only regained consciousness once since this afternoon's little drama, 
and
then only briefly. Hotaru leaned down by his leg and her little fingers 
began to
work at the clasps on his bindings. They groaned softly in the dark, but the
girl started as if they had been a cannonshot.
	"Hotaru..." Mamoru said softly. Maybe he hadn't been as asleep as Vega
had suspected he was.
	The girl shushed him. She leaned down and began to undo his binding
again. "Be quiet. You have to get out of here," she whispered harshly.
	Mamoru nodded in the darkness and waited. Hotaru finished with his right
leg and moved quickly to his left. Her fingers moved more deftly the second 
time
and soon the boy's legs were free. Hotaru looked up and stretched, but her 
tiny
fingers could not reach the bound boy's wrists.
	Hotaru gave a little gasp as Mamoru's legs suddenly encircled her. She
looked up into his face and he smiled, his teeth flashing white in the 
darkness.
With a long groan the boy strained and struggled, steadily lifting Hotaru 
upward
with just the strength of his legs. His body sunk and the bindings on his 
wrists
creaked dangerously as he placed all his weight and hers on them.
	Reaching the wrists, the girl began to quickly work on his left hand.
Vega shook his head. He could see where this was going. It took her a minute 
to
get his wrist free. Then she yelled out as Mamoru suddenly arced down the 
wall.
He lost grip on her and the frail girl landed harshly on the plush carpet
(recently cleaned). Mamoru cried out in pain and concern as all his weight
suddenly fell on his other wrist.
	But Vega had to give him credit. He snapped his free hand down and was
suddenly holding one of his roses. With a deft flick of the wrist he shot 
the
flower upward and it cut him free. He fell with some grace to the floor.
	"Get out of here!" Hotaru whispered harshly as she rose to her knees.
	"Not without you..." Mamoru extended his hand towards her. The girl
reached her own hand up hesitantly, but paused. It was time for Vega to step 
in.
	Vega fell from the ceiling like an avenging angel. The boy didn't even
have a chance to react before he was kicked away from the girl. The window
behind him broke apart spectacularly as Mamoru flew through it and onto the
balcony.
	Vega landed elegantly next to Hotaru, his arms spread to his side.
Mamoru was climbing to his feet. Even as he did, rose petals flashed around 
him.
In a second, he was clad in his tuxedo and top hat. In one hand he held a
gentleman's cane as if it were a sword. Vega tilted his head. He could hear 
the
Dolls coming.
	"Get away from her, monster!" Mamoru roared.
	Vega stood up slowly, and calmly extended his left arm towards the
petrified girl's neck. Mamoru went still.
	"Run away, boy," Vega offered.
	"I'm not leaving without Hotaru!"
	"You are not leaving with her unless you challenge me," Vega said with a
grin. "We both know how that went last time."
	"This time will be different!" Mamoru stepped half-way into the room,
his eyes determined behind his domino mask.
	"Ah ah ah!" Vega gestured for Mamoru to stop, which the boy did. "Since
you were such a insignificant challenge last time, I think I shall change 
the
terms of this fight. First, I shall defeat you without moving from this 
spot."
Vega raised his left hand slightly. Hotaru bent back her chin to keep the 
tips
of his claws from digging into her flesh. Even so, they brushed against the 
skin
of her neck with enough force to turn the flesh white. "Then I shall fight 
you
with just my right hand." Vega curled said hand into a fist.
	Mamoru's eyes widened in shock and horror. So the boy had guessed the
game, then. Vega had meant every word of his pronouncement. Truth be told, 
he
wasn't even sure he could defeat the magically empowered young man with such
harsh limitations. But that was not the point. The point was that if Vega 
was
hit, jostled even the slightest bit... the result could only be bad for poor
Hotaru.
	Vega grinned. He could hear the Dolls charging up the hallway now, and
so could Mamoru. A part of Vega wanted the boy to accept the challenge. He
wanted to test himself, not just in the fight against Mamoru, but his 
control
over his left hand to prevent all his work with the girl from going to 
waste.
	"Choose quickly, Mamoru Chiba," Vega said eagerly. "In moments, it
shall all be academic."
	"You monster..." Mamoru backed away, one step. His eyes turned to
Hotaru. Vega glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes.
	"Leave me," Hotaru pleaded stiffly, trying not to move her chin as she
talked. Brave words, but only words, Vega knew. Her mouth said one thing, 
but
her eyes pleaded for him to save her. Vega had seen such pleading too often 
in
the eyes of others to mistake the look for anything else. The girl wished 
for
mercy.
	Mamoru might have done the stupid, heroic thing, but Vega distracted
him. Mamoru spun and caught the black disc that almost slammed into him. He
blinked as he saw that it was not a disc at all, but a small black notebook
computer with the Shadowloo winged skull emblazoned on it. Vega had been 
keeping
it tucked in the back of his sash until now, but the Dolls were almost here.
	"All my data," Vega told him. "All my hideouts. I expect you to come
back for her, after all."
	"Why are you..."
	The door crashed inward. The three Dolls had dressed hastily, but were
all prepared for combat. Fevrier led them, her pistols already drawing a 
bead on
Mamoru. Satsuki came in behind her, her body partially vanishing into the
shadows as she ran. Only the light glinting off her blade made seeing her
possible. Marz was about to charge, but she paused when she saw what Mamoru 
was
holding. Her mouth widened.
	Mamoru took one look at Fevrier's pistols, then he stepped back. With a
deceptively simple push of his legs he vanished from Vega's sight. Fevrier
cursed and stared down at her guns.
	"What is the matter?" Vega said calmly.
	"Jammed..." Fevrier replied in disbelief.
	"Then clean them more thoroughly in the future!" Vega snapped angrily.
"After him. You're letting him escape!"
	"Yes, Lord Vega!" Satsuki and Fevrier cried out as they ran onto the
balcony. They both vanished upward, leaping after the boy. There was a 
chance
they would catch him. There was a chance they would learn everything that 
Vega
had done from him. Fevrier would figure out that her guns had been 
deliberately
jammed... even if Vega had used a scrap of cloth from Hotaru's dress to do 
it.
	Vega caught Marz's shoulder as she charged past. She turned to look at
him.
	"He has your computer."
	"Yes, Lord Vega."
	"He knows too much. Kill him. Kill anyone he talks to. This is your
maximum priority." He paused. "I expect to either hear of your success when 
you
return, or be reporting your death to Bison."
	Marz stared at him for a second. She understood the order. Vega rarely
gave it, but it was his authority to do so. He released her shoulder and the
blue-haired Doll leapt away into the darkness. He watched out into the 
darkness
for a moment, chuckling softly to himself.
	Those Dolls, they were too dangerous to have around for what he had
planned. Hotaru was not destined to become the latest of Bison's slaves. She
would instead be the key to his undoing. Bison was the greatest challenge, 
the
one force that Vega could never have bested. But perhaps, with her magic, he
could even the odds. However, the Dolls would never have allowed that. 
Already
they were on the verge of reporting his activities to Bison.
	That wouldn't have done. It would have ended the game too soon. Vega had
served as Bison's toady for too long to let the game end like that. But the
battle of wits was about to end. The true, final battle would soon begin.
	And oh, what a glorious battle it would be. It, and all the beautiful
battles to come.

*

	Kusanagi heard the bike approach before he saw it. The roaring engine
sent pigeons scattering in all directions, and the mutt from three doors 
down
began to bark and whine. Then the motorcycle skidded around the corner. The
rider was bent over the controls, the entire weight of his machine 
threatening
to spill over at any second. His leather-clad knee skimmed along the 
pavement,
leaving a black streak across the road.
	A car that had been innocently taking some salaryman home screeched as
the driver brought it to an abrupt halt. The bike skimmed along the road, 
and
the edge of the rider's skull-adorned helmet came within centimeters of the
car's grill. Then the bike righted itself and shot down the street again.
	Kusanagi smiled. It was a nice bike. He had never been much into
machines. But he understood the appeal of motorcycles. He had never really 
had a
use for them, since he could get around town much faster on his own... but 
he
had always wanted an excuse to ride one.
	The rider reigned in his bike like a horse, pulling it around in a
complete one-eighty in order to park in front of the house. Kusanagi raised 
an
eyebrow as the boy kicked down the stand and shut the machine down.
	With a single leap Kusanagi sprung from his tree and across the road to
land in front of the rider. The boy started when Kusanagi dropped down in 
front
of him. Kusanagi grinned as his long red trenchcoat fell down behind him. 
The
boy had fallen back into some sort of martial arts stance.
	Kusanagi chuckled and rose up to his full height, which put him at least
a head and a half taller than the rider. He couldn't have been much older 
than
fourteen, and had the figure of a little boy. His tight leather biker gear
creaked slightly. Kusanagi crossed his arms.
	"And what are you doing here, kid?"
	"Who the hell are you?" the kid demanded in a gruff voice.
	"Just a friendly neighbour," Kusanagi explained. "I just thought someone
like you seemed a little out of place in this neighbourhood." It was true, 
to
some extent. Kusanagi wasn't really a neighbour. To be so, he would have
required a home. But he had spent so much time in this part of Tokyo that it
felt more like home than anywhere else. This was where he had watched over
Kaede. This was where he now watched over Momiji, so that she wouldn't 
suffer
the same fate as her sister.
	"I'm here to see a friend of mine," the kid explained.
	"Which friend?" Kusanagi smirked and crossed his arms.
	"None of your business, carrot-head," the kid said with a growl.
Kusanagi felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. It was like the kid 
was
surrounded by an invisible aura of menace that he could feel in his gut. But
Kusanagi didn't let scary things he couldn't see slow him down.
	"Now get out of my way," the kid demanded.
	"Are you gonna make me, pipsqueak?"
	"I don't want to hurt you..." The kid shifted forward a bit. "...but I
will."
	"Akira, Kusanagi!"
	Both turned to look as the newcomer exited the house. Kusanagi sighed.
It was Kunikida's new 'houseguest'. She was dressed in a long black 
trenchcoat
and baggy black pants, contrasted by a thin white t-shirt.
	"Ukyou..." the kid turned towards the houseguest and seemed to calm
down. "You know this jerk?"
	"Indeed." Ukyou sighed and ran a hand through her bangs. "Akira, this is
Kusanagi. He's a... friend of Momiji. You know, the girl who lives here?"
	"Oh..." Akira turned to face Kusanagi. His mirrored visor stared into
Kusanagi's face for a long moment, and Kusanagi found himself suddenly 
feeling
uncomfortable. "Ohhhh..." the kid said meaningfully. He shook his head and
shrugged.
	"What 'ohhh'? What do you mean?" Kusanagi snapped.
	"Nothing." The kid turned to Ukyou again and reached under his neck to
undo the straps on his helmet. "Listen, Ukyou, we need to talk..." With a 
clean
jerk, the kid removed his helmet. He shook his head, letting his short brown
hair flow free. He smiled, his pretty face lighting up and...
	Whoa. That was no dude.
	"You're a chick!" Kusanagi yelled, pointing accusingly at Akira.
	"Uh... yes..." Akira backed away from him.
	"For cryin' out loud!" Kusanagi threw his hands into the air. "Aren't
any of you people normal?" Ukyou raised an eyebrow at his comment, but 
didn't
respond. Akira just sort of looked down at her feet and shuffled them. 
"First
that Ranma girl is actually a guy, and then you turn out to be a girl, and 
now
the biker kid is a girl and... augh!"
	"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Kusanagi," Kunikida said as he
stepped outside. He was chuckling to himself. "These martial artists seem to 
be
an eccentric lot by nature."
	"I don't know why you put up with them..." Kusanagi growled and crossed
his arms again.
	"They needed my help," Kunikida sighed. "Anyway, I suggest the three
of you come inside." He grinned reassuringly. "After all, Momiji made 
cookies!"
	"Yay, cookies!" Akira cheered and dashed inside.
	Kusanagi blinked. "'Yay, cookies'?"
	"Akira is a complex girl..." Ukyou explained with a little smile before
she turned to follow her friend. Kusanagi glanced at the old man, who could 
only
shrug.
	Momiji had indeed made cookies. She was standing over the stove, placing
the last of them in a small paper-lined basket when Kusanagi made his way 
in.
She looked over at him and smiled. He paused, his breath catching 
temporarily.
Damn... why did she have to look so much like her sister? It made his heart
hurt. Momiji then turned and started towards the table... and her feet 
caught on
something, and then she was falling.
	Momiji screeched as she plummeted and Kusanagi couldn't help but
chuckle. That was the Momiji he knew. Kaede would have never fallen like 
that.
Of course, he could have caught her, but then she wouldn't have fallen with 
her
skirt flapping about in the breeze and he would have lost a perfectly good
chance to peek at her panties. It was then that Akira shouted and sprung 
into
action. Kusanagi stared as the black-clad girl moved like a flash, her hand
reaching out and... catching the basket of cookies. Then she snapped the 
basket
back, catching a small black morsel that had been sent flying. And then 
another,
and another. Her free hand shot out in the other direction, snapping bits of
cookie from the air with lightning-fast precision.
	Momiji collided with the floor face-first. She lay on the ground,
backside thrust into the air, her skirt spilling hopelessly down her body. 
Oh,
she was wearing the little penguins today.
	"Thanks..." Momiji said with a groan.
	"Not a problem..." Akira said with a sigh, then she looked down at
Momiji... and froze. Her eye twitched, and the basket fell from her suddenly
nerveless fingers. The sound of the basket striking the floor caught her
attention and she stared down at the spilled contents in horror. "Ah! No! 
Five
second rule! Five second rule!" In another flash Akira bent over and quickly
began to pluck the spilled cookies from the ground and place them in the 
basket.
She sighed once she was finished and reverently placed them on the table. 
Momiji
slowly picked herself up. The cookies were black as charcoal, but a quick 
sniff
and a tiny bite proved that they were edible... if not spectacular.
	"So?" Momiji said as she sat down across from Kusanagi.  Well, except
Ukyou. Ukyou seemed to be distracted by the papers she was reading. Kusanagi
glanced at them out of the corner of his eye and saw they were all printed 
on
the TAC's stationery. He also saw a few folders marked 'secret' or 
'classified'
sitting next to her.
	"Not bad, princess." Momiji blushed and clasped her hands together. She
really did look cute when she wasn't trying to be all serious.
	"But I can't take all the credit. Miss Ukyou helped me out a lot..."
	"I didn't do anything," Ukyou responded quickly. Kusanagi looked at her,
she was staring mainly down at the papers. Then he blinked.
	"What the hell?" He reached across the table and grabbed Ukyou's chin
and pulled her face up to look him in the eyes. Yep. They were definitely 
black
little flowers there instead of the usual human iris.
	"Do you mind?" Ukyou snapped, knocking his hand aside.
	"I thought you were human," Kusanagi said accusingly.
	"She is," Kunikida reported. "According to every test Matsudaira could
run on her, Ukyou here is one hundred percent biologically human. The shape 
of
her eyes seems to be some sort of strange scar tissue or allergic reaction."
	"Mmm... cookies..." Akira announced as she threw two more into her
mouth. Everyone turned to stare at her, as the girl had already put five 
others
in there. She closed her lips with some difficulty and began to laboriously
chew. Her blissful look never left her face, even when she began to choke 
and
turn blue as something went down the wrong pipe.
	"I'm glad you like them..." Momiji grinned absently, sweating just a
little bit.
	"Just like mom used to make," Akira explained. "Mind if I have more?"
Momiji nodded needlessly as Akira had already started piling more onto her
plate.
	"Where did Mr. Ranma go, anyway?" Momiji asked as Akira began to
annihilate her plate. "I made so many because of him..."
	"He and Ran are out exploring some leads for me," Ukyou explained. She
didn't sound happy about her statement for some reason.
	"Leads?" Kunikida asked pointedly
	"I told you about the Sailor Senshi leaving town?" Ukyou explained. "And
their families. I wanted them to check up on some other people I know that 
are
involved with those girls." Ukyou tapped her fingers on the table absently. 
"If
Chronos is involved... I want to know how much they know."
	"Chronos?" Momiji asked.
	"Never mind," Kunikida said a little too quickly. He looked
significantly at Ukyou, who slowly closed her mouth instead of explaining.
Kusanagi raised a set of eyebrows. They were keeping something from Momiji? 
He
frowned.
	He had never really trusted Ukyou. Kunikida seemed to trust her, though
why was beyond Kusanagi. She was dangerous, and her enemies apparently even
more so. He thought it was stupid for the old man to let her stay in his own
house. But when Kusanagi had asked about it, the old man had just said 'This 
is
the only place where I can keep it secret', and refused to explain.
	"Oh!" Momiji sprung to her feet. "I forgot! Does anybody want some tea?"
	"Yesh pwease," Akira managed to say as she pounded on her chest to try
and drive down some more of the cookies she was eating.
	Kusanagi stood up, shaking his head. While watching the kid try and
choke herself to death was amusing, this was all getting a little too 
domestic
for his tastes. Hanging around the house was just no fun without that guy 
Ranma
to rib off of anyway. He began to turn to make an exit. Maybe he would come 
back
a little later and finally get around to seeing just what that 'martial arts
prodigy' could do when he wasn't sucker-punching you.
	There was a harsh clatter as Ukyou stood up suddenly. Kusanagi looked
back over his shoulder at her. She was staring at one of the walls. Kusanagi
turned his gaze in the same direction but only saw the spice rack. Then he
heard it. Gunshots.
	"You hear it, too?" Ukyou asked.
	"Yeah..." Kusanagi stepped around the table and began to roll up his
sleeves.
	"Hear what?" Kunikida asked, concerned. The two girls were also blinking
at the standing duo.
	"A battle..." Ukyou explained. "It's getting closer!"
	"A battle..." Kunikida blinked. Then he leapt to his feet. His chair
clattered to the floor behind him as he sprinted over to his trenchcoat. He
began to fish in his pockets.
	"What's going on?" Akira said somberly. She was standing now too. Momiji
hadn't yet risen to her feet, but her expression was becoming more serious 
by
the second.
	"Four blocks away... no, three and a half..." Ukyou cocked her head to
the side and closed her eyes. "Four life forces, powerful ones. Whoever it 
is,
they aren't holding back."
	"Martial artists?" Kunikida said as he pulled his cellphone from his
pocket. "But you heard gunshots. I thought you people didn't use guns."
	"Some of us do. Like that Doll from the other day." Ukyou said and
stepped forward. Then she stopped, wincing. She reached down and clutched 
her
side.
	"You're still not recovered," Akira pointed out.
	"I know..." Ukyou sighed.
	"I'll protect you!" Akira shouted and sprinted from the room.
	"Wait!" Ukyou held up her hand, then let it drop with a sigh. "Kids
these days..."
	"I think she can handle herself." Kusanagi said with a shrug. "She
seemed pretty tough."
	"Kusanagi!" Momiji yelled as she stood up. "You go out there and help
her right now!"
	"Hey, this sounds like one of those martial arts things..." Kusanagi
threw up his arms. "I'm strictly concerned with aragami hunting. Which is 
what
keeps you alive, in case you've forgotten, princess."
	Momiji glared at him, her cheeks puffing out as she held her breath. He
sighed. If he didn't do anything, she would be giving him that look all 
week.
	"All right, all right..." Kusanagi walked over to the window and flipped
it open. "Did anybody ever tell you you're a brat, Momiji?" Kusanagi smirked 
and
chuckled, leaping away before the girl could start screaming at him. It was 
just
too easy to get a rise out of her. Not like Kaede-
	Don't think about that.
	Kusanagi leapt onto the roof and scouted the area. It didn't take long
to spot the fight, although it was more of a chase. A single man was dashing
along the rooftops, his long black cape flapping like a flag in the bright
afternoon sunshine. Behind him were three girls, all dressed in skintight 
black
bodystockings. Kusanagi leered. He wouldn't have been running from three 
girls
that looked like that and...
	Oh. The redhead in front was shooting at him.
	Well. Whatever, then.
	The man in black had reached their street and he leapt again. It was an
impressive leap, and probably would have helped him clear the entire street. 
It
was just that about halfway across the redhead leveled one of her pistols 
and
fired again.
	The bullet must have grazed him. He gasped in pain and spun out of
control. With a painful-looking crash he fell just short of one of the 
houses on
the other side of the road. Kusanagi bunched his legs and leapt, flashing 
across
the distance to land next to the guy.
	He was tall, and wearing a tuxedo and top hat, of all things. He was
also wearing a domino mask. He had landed sprawled out on the lawn, but was
trying to regain his feet. The shoulder of his outfit was ripped open, and 
an
ugly red line ran across his exposed flesh. Kusanagi glanced across the 
street.
	The redhead was standing there, calmly leveling her weapons. Kusanagi
had never been afraid of guns. His partially aragami physique could shrug 
off
trauma that would kill a human being, and he regenerated much faster from 
such
severe injuries. But the girl wasn't aiming at him.
	Then she staggered back, dropping one of her pistols. Kusanagi's eyes
flicked, following the path of the acorn that had knocked her weapon loose.
Akira was standing in the street, her hair billowing around her head in the
breeze. She did not look pleased.
	"Hey!" Akira shouted. "Why don't you pick on someone who can fight
back?"
	The girl glanced at her. She was a bit taller than Akira, and much
better developed. Not that this was saying much, considering Akira 
apparently
hadn't 'sprouted' yet. Even so, she couldn't have been over seventeen years 
old.
But her eyes... they weren't the eyes of a girl. They were the eyes of a 
killer.
	"Satsuki, Marz... deal with her," the girl said quickly.
	Akira ducked suddenly. Another of the girls, a brunette this time,
seemed to materialize from the shadows. A silver flash was all Kusanagi saw, 
and
a few strands of hair were suddenly floating in the air above Akira's head. 
The
tree she had been standing beside toppled over, cut cleanly.
	Akira spun on her heel, and suddenly her duck turned into a leap as she
came up foot-first and caught her opponent square in the chin. The older 
girl
flew backwards, losing her grip on the old-fashioned sword she was carrying. 
But
another girl leapt down behind Akira, her elbow coming in steep and catching 
the
biker chick off-guard. With a cry, Akira fell to the ground.
	Kusanagi was about to run over, when he heard the gunshot. Acting on
instinct, he threw himself back. He felt the bullet roll along the edge of 
his
chest and hissed in pain. A small geyser of dust exploded from the grass 
behind
him, and the front of his shirt shredded in the wake of the bullet's 
passing.
	He glanced up, and saw that the girl had retrieved her other pistol. She
was also leaping down from the rooftop, and suddenly both guns were blazing.
Yelling a choice curse, Kusanagi leapt backward. The ground he had been 
standing
on shredded.
	The girl landed on the ground. Then she stepped sideways and cartwheeled
off a tree, still firing with both weapons. Red flashes followed in the wake 
of
her motions, and Kusanagi saw roses seemingly sprout up in the wake of her
steps. He glanced back, and saw tux-boy flinging a steady stream of the 
flowers
at her.
	"Idiot!" Kusanagi shouted as he took cover behind a car. The windows
exploded around him, showering him with glass. "Get out of here!"
	"I'm not going to run away from people trying to help me!" Tux-boy
explained as he dived to the side. Without Kusanagi in the open, pistol 
bitch
had turned her attention back to him. Kusanagi growled and flexed his arms. 
With
a painful jerk his blades tore free of his forearms.
	"Just stay down! I'll handle this!"
	Kusanagi leapt over the top of the car. Bullets whizzed by him as he
rolled forward. He kicked sideways, but not fast enough to avoid a bullet 
that
tore a gouge along his side. Green blood flashed out behind him in an arc as 
he
charged. He was roaring at the top of his lungs. The girl met his charge 
with
one of her own.
	They met in the street. She leapt up and Kusanagi responded in kind. Her
feet flashed up and she struck him in the chest, kicking away. He fell back. 
She
flew up. Her pistols trained straight downward. Kusanagi caught the oncoming
ground with one hand and pushed it away.
	The pavement tore apart. She fell back down, vanishing behind a geyser
of dust.The veins in Kusanagi's arms bulged. With a roar he launched himself
through the dust.
	The girl was caught off-balance. She had been trying to slip sideways on
him, but he barreled into her with a flying bearhug. The air exploded from 
her
lungs and she skidded backwards along the ground. Kusanagi latched onto her
waist and grit his teeth as some of the skin was rubbed off the arm trapped
under her.
	Kusanagi had caught one of her arms, pinning that gun uselessly to her
side. The other was free. Her pretty face was twisted in a grimace of pain 
as
they came to a stop. She still managed to swing her other hand around and 
place
the barrel of the pistol against Kusanagi's forehead.
	A rose appeared, its stem sticking straight through the barrel. The
girl's eyes widened. Kusanagi grinned. With a roar he stood up, then flipped
backward. The woman had time to gasp before he drove her face-first into the
pavement.
	Kusanagi let go slowly and rose to his feet. "Thanks," he shot towards
tux-boy. He wasn't sure if he could have survived a headshot, and was glad
enough that he hadn't been forced to find out.
	"Anytime..."
	Kusanagi turned to see how the other fight was going.
	Akira wasn't doing well. The blue-haired chick was keeping her busy, but
the real problem was the brunette. She kept appearing on Akira's blind side,
striking whenever it appeared that Akira was gaining the upper hand. The 
biker
girl was forced to abort her attack, and just narrowly avoid being gutted. 
Then
her other opponent would step in and deliver a punishing strike.
	Kusanagi stepped forward, ready to put a stop to that-
	"Kusanagi! Behind you!"
	Momiji's warning came a second too late. With a pain-filled roar,
Kusanagi's entire body jerked forward. A geyser of green blood erupted from 
his
chest. He gasped for air and fell forward onto his knees.
	He was able to turn and stare incredulously behind him. The girl was
still standing. Granted, she was hunched over slightly, and her face was a 
mess
of bruises and small cuts, but she was still holding her gun as steadily as
ever.
	What did it take to put these people down?
	Tux-boy tackled him from the side, and Kusanagi was pushed out of the
path of another bullet. The girl hissed, but Kusanagi wasn't about to let 
her
get off a second shot. Ignoring the pain he leapt sideways, pulling tux-boy
along for the ride.
	Behind him he heard Akira cry out in pain. He glanced over and saw her
staggering back towards the house. She was clutching her left shoulder, and
blood was oozing between her fingers. Her luck appeared to be running out.
	"Go help the girl!" Kusanagi yelled at tux-boy as they landed behind
another car.
	"But you're injured..."
	"I'm fine!" Kusanagi grunted and clutched the hole in his abdomen. "I
can survive something like this a lot better than she can." The boy looked 
at
him skeptically. "Go, damn you!"
	Tux-boy frowned, but nodded. He dashed away, sprinting only a few steps
ahead of a barrage of gunfire. Kusanagi carefully took off his trenchcoat. 
He
frowned at the hole in the back of it. He really, really liked this coat.
	He dropped it on the ground and stood up. He glared at the girl. She was
about to see what kind of a terrible mistake she had made.
	"Okay, bitch." Kusanagi growled. He clenched his fists and grit his
teeth. "It's time to put you down!" Kusanagi threw back his head and let his
power release.
	His body exploded. Blue fire surged from all seven of his mitama. His
shirt disintegrated as his muscles suddenly expanded and great, bony spines
erupted from his back and sides. His green hair whipped about in the wind. 
His
shoes were torn apart as his feet became nimble claws. He roared in relief 
and
excitement.
	The woman only stared at him for a moment. Then she started firing.
Kusanagi grinned and slid sideways. She might as well have been throwing
sticks, as he completely encircled her before the bullet even reached his
previous position. The girl paused, and he let her notice him before he 
struck
back.
	With a roar he thrust his fist at her. A bolt of blue lightning flashed
from the mitama on the back of his hand and straight into her chest. The
explosion threw her back with enough force that she crashed through a 
concrete
wall surrounding someone's house.
	"Kusanagi?" Momiji gasped. Kusanagi turned and saw the others all
staring at him. Kunikida and Momiji were both standing in front of their 
house,
with nearly identical shocked expressions on their faces. Ukyou was standing
behind them, but her expression was only a dark frown.
	"This is just my battle form," Kusanagi explained, mostly for Momiji's
sake. He turned and started to walk towards the other two girls. They had 
both
turned away from Akira and settled into combat stances in front of him. "You
two had better give up. I can't completely control how much damage I dish 
out
in this form." He raised a hand, clenching and unclenching his fist. "I've 
never
killed a human before. But don't think I won't start now."
	"Satsuki," the one with blue hair said as she started to circle right.
"I will give you the time to deal with him."
	Then with a roar she charged. Kusanagi shrugged and flashed forward. His
knee caught her in the chin, and she floated backward for a moment before he
thrust his palm into her face. Grabbing her around the skull, he continued
running along the street. Her body flapped in the air behind him until he
reached a large tree. With a roar he bound forward and cracked her head 
against
the tree with enough force to nearly shatter the trunk.
	Kusanagi's elation was short lived. Even as he released the blue-haired
girl's head, she sprang to life again.  She snapped her arms and legs around
him, pinning his limbs to his side. He stared in shock. She was ramming her 
own
arms into his spines and blades. Already blood was beginning to run as his
battle-form cut at her.
	"Are you insane?" Kusanagi growled. "I could tear you apart without even
trying!" But Kusanagi hesitated, because unless he WANTED to tear her apart,
there was no way for him to escape her vicelike grip. Even as he realized 
this,
he looked behind him.
	The brunette had appeared soundlessly there. She was already swinging
her wickedly sharp sword in an arc that would neatly bisect his neck. But 
her
teammate was holding him so tight she couldn't possibly avoid killing her 
too...
	Kusanagi had a moment of terrible realization. They were willing to die
to kill him. He closed his eyes, realizing he had been caught flat-footed. 
Even
if he tore free of her grip, it would be too late to prevent the other 
girl's
blow. He said a silent prayer to whatever gods would listen, that he would 
find
Kaede waiting for him in the afterlife.
	Kusanagi never got there.
	He opened one eye, unsure why he wasn't dead. Then he saw the brunette
completing her swing, but with most of the blade gone. The rest of it was 
stuck
point-first in the soft loam nearby. Kusanagi blinked, and then he saw a 
tiny
spatula quivering in the bark of the tree.
	He glanced over to see Ukyou giving him a thumbs up. He also saw Akira
standing just behind the brunette, her entire body bent forward.
	"Take this!" Akira screamed as she stepped forward and thrust with both
hands. Her palms collided with the brunette. Blue light exploded in the wake 
of
her strike, and Kusanagi could swear he saw a flaming blue skull in the 
flash.
The next thing he saw, the brunette was skidding down the street.
	Then Akira turned her attention to the girl still holding onto Kusanagi.
"Allow me," she offered in a cheerful tone. She grabbed the girl by both
shoulders and somehow twisted her limbs so that she was forced to let go. 
The
blue-haired girl screamed out as Akira practically wrenched her arms out of
their sockets. With his arms free, Kusanagi reached up and grabbed her head,
then brought his own forehead down with as much force as he could.
	The collision hurt a little, but it caused her legs to loosen. With a
stiff cry Akira tossed the girl back, and she landed sprawled out on the 
road.
Her uniform had been torn in many places by the razor-sharp spines of 
Kusanagi's
battle form. Akira was breathing hard, but there was a nasty little smile on 
her
face.
	"Marz, Satsuki, withdraw!"
	Kusanagi turned around in shock. The redhead was not only still
standing, she was running away. He growled and stepped forward, about to 
pursue.
	"Kusanagi, stop!" Ukyou shouted. He glanced at her.
	"Why?"
	"You can't chase them down like that!" Ukyou gestured around the
neighbourhood. "If you start attacking her all out, you're going to tear 
apart
half of Tokyo!"
	"So?"
	"People will get hurt, you moron!"
	Kusanagi paused.
	"They'll get away..." Akira pointed out. Already Marz and Satsuki had
gotten to their feet and were leaping away. Kusanagi boggled. What would it 
take
to keep them down?
	"Let them..." Ukyou crossed her arms. "I suspect they'll be back." She
turned to glance at tux-boy. "They haven't finished their mission."
	Tux-boy looked at Ukyou for a moment. "Are you Ukyou Kuonji?"
	"Yes..."
	The man in black sighed and slumped a little. "Good." He stepped forward
and reached into his cape. "I need your help. I need you to help me save a
little girl."
	Ukyou's face was expressionless, but she nodded solemnly.

*

	"...once I eluded the Dolls, I went to ground for a few hours.
	"I was trying to find Sailor Moon. But for some reason, I can't seem to
find her. I've never really had a problem doing so before. I've always felt
connected to her... even more so since I felt her call out for help a few 
days
back. But, it just didn't matter how I looked, Sailor Moon was gone."
	"Sailor Moon left town a few days ago," Ukyou explained. Akira glanced
at her again. Ukyou was standing at the window, staring out into the street. 
Her
back was to everyone else in the room.
	"Left town?"
	"I'll explain later, Tux-boy. Continue."
	Akira sat back and tried to absorb the story. It seemed so strange, like
everything else that she had learned about since meeting Ukyou. Magical
warriors? He looked so normal now that his fancy clothes had faded away. He 
was
wearing a sweater and pants borrowed from Mr. Kunikida that were slightly 
too
large for him. Which was better, Akira supposed, than walking around in the
shreds of his pants and no shirt. Momiji was still blushing when she looked 
at
him.
	"I decided to come here because Vega and his Dolls have been talking
about you a lot. They've apparently been sent here to capture you for some 
sort
of experiments..." He trailed off, but Ukyou didn't even react to his
announcement. "And since you've helped out the Sailor Senshi in the past, I 
knew
I could trust you to help me."
	"So..." Kunikida leaned forward and lit a cigarette. "You want us to
help you rescue this girl, Hotaru, I take it?"
	"Yes! Of course I do!"
	"We have to help him out, Mr. Kunikida," Momiji stated firmly.
	"I don't really think this is our problem at all." Kusanagi frowned. He
was leaning against the wall, his hands laced behind his neck. His shirt 
hadn't
been replaced since he had transformed back from his 'battle form', but he 
was
at least wearing his trenchcoat again.
	"How can you say that, Kusanagi?" Momiji asked in shock.
	"I'm just saying that this isn't our problem!" Kusanagi barked. "I'm
here to protect you, princess, and to destroy the aragami."
	"But it's a little girl, and she needs our help!"
	"No!" Kusanagi pushed off the wall. He pointed at Ukyou's back, but she
didn't even glance at him. "She needs their help!" He turned to face Momiji, 
and
held up one clenched fist. "These martial artists ain't like normal people, 
and
they ain't like aragami either. Ukyou said it herself: normal people have no
business getting involved in their battles. The only thing you would 
accomplish
by stepping in, Momiji, is getting yourself hurt!"
	"Kusanagi..." Momiji's voice was soft, almost wounded.
	"Damnit, old man!" He spun on Kunikida in a fury. "How could you get
Momiji involved in this foolishness?"
	"We don't have much choice..." Kunikida leaned back in his chair and
puffed on his cigarette for a moment before continuing. "This battle, or one
just like it, would have found its way to us eventually. There are forces at
work here that run deeper than one little girl."
	"He's right, Momiji," Ukyou spoke up suddenly. "Kunikida, you should
stay out of this fight. We'll deal with the Dolls. And Vega."
	"Ukyou, you're still injured!" Akira stood up suddenly. "You shouldn't
get involved."
	"I don't think I have much choice." Ukyou shook her head. "I can't leave
Hotaru with that maniac, much less with Bison. They are playing around with
forces that are far more dangerous than anything they can imagine."
	"How dangerous?" Kunikida asked seriously.
	"Apocalyptically dangerous. End of the world dangerous."
	"You're exaggerating," Kusanagi scoffed.
	"I wish I were." Ukyou shook her head. "Either way, Ranma and Ran are on
their way back. Once Yaegashi finishes hacking that computer Tux-boy 
brought, we
can track down Vega."
	"I don't think you quite know what you're dealing with," Kusanagi said
with a sneer. "Those three chicks aren't just tough, they're suicidal. Even 
I
couldn't knock them out."
	"That's because they're more than just martial artists." Ukyou walked
towards the table. "While you were fighting them, I examined their auras. 
They
aren't like normal human auras. They're tied together somehow, and drawing 
their
life force from some sort of outside source." Ukyou sat down, grimacing as 
she
bent her legs. "With a normal martial artist, you damage them enough and
eventually they run out of chi, or life energy, to continue fighting. But 
every
time you damage one of the Dolls, they just draw in more power like a 
sponge.
I'm not even sure if it's possible to knock them out."
	"What are you saying?" Akira asked pointedly.
	"She's saying what I already knew." Kusanagi sighed and walked away from
the group. "If you want to stop them, you're gonna have to kill them."
	"Well..." Kunikida stroked his beard and sighed. "It would be
regrettable, but if it is necessary..."
	"NO!" Ukyou punctuated her outburst with a stiff strike to the table.
The wooden table bounced in place. "We aren't going to kill them!"
	"Why not?" Kusanagi shrugged. "They're suicidal, and want to kill all of
you. Or worse."
	"Because they're victims... they're just..." Ukyou stopped. She closed
her eyes.
	"No. It's deeper than that." Ukyou's voice had taken on a strange
intensity. Akira, and everyone else, grew quiet as she spoke in a soft but
forceful manner. "I just won't be a party to it. Not to save my life. Not to
save Hotaru's. Murder is the ultimate sin. Killing in self-defence? Killing 
to
protect? These are justifications." Her eyes opened, and Akira saw more fire 
in
her gaze than she had ever seen before. "It's too easy to justify murder. 
One
life to save your own. One life to save another. Then where next? How many 
steps
down the road to hell do you have to walk before you say 'I've gone far 
enough'?
Because I don't think that there is any turning back. I don't think 
innocence,
once lost, can ever be regained.
	"You have to draw a line. A bright shining line and say, 'This far, and
no further!' I refuse to compromise myself, by allowing myself to commit 
murder,
no matter how justified. That is my bright shining line. That is the one
boundary I will not cross. Not just because I think it's the right thing to 
do,
but because I need to. I won't pretend I'm a perfect person, I've done 
plenty of
things I'm not proud of. I can't take them back. I've already compromised 
too
much of myself. Not one step further."
	Ukyou looked up at Kusanagi. The orange-skinned man was gazing at her
intently. His expression was not condescending, or angry, or joking like all 
the
other times Akira had seen him. He looked impressed.
	"Okay," Kusanagi nodded and stepped back over to the table. "You've
convinced me. I'll help you out." He looked over at Momiji, who was watching
Ukyou with a slightly awed expression. Akira felt the way she looked. "But
Momiji stays out of this."
	"Agreed."
	"Wait-"
	"Don't argue with them, Momiji," Kunikida said sternly. "Remember that
you have your own responsibilities. As the Kushinada, your duty is to 
protect
the people of Japan from the aragami." His voice and face softened 
considerably
before he continued. "I know you want to help, but you can't save the world.
Part of being an adult is realizing that there are some problems that you 
simply
can't solve. If you keep trying to pick up every victim, eventually you'll 
be
carrying so many people on your back that their weight will drag you down 
with
them."
	"It's just... unfair..." Momiji sighed and cupped her chin in both
hands. Ukyou smiled a little at that.
	"Life usually is," Kusanagi said. He was trying to sound gruff and
cynical, but his tone was too gentle to carry it off.
	"That still leaves us with what we're going to do," Akira pointed out.
	"She's right..." Tux-b... er, Mamoru said into the silence that followed
her statement. "The Dolls won't give up. They've been hounding me 
relentlessly
for over a day now." He frowned and clenched his hand into a fist. "This is 
just
like Vega! That monster wanted this to happen!" His knuckles turned white. 
"I
should have stayed and fought!"
	"What do you mean?" Ukyou asked directly.
	"Vega and the Dolls, they've been at odds with each other for days."
Mamoru gritted his teeth, his words coming out in a hiss. "He keeps trying 
to
get them out of his way, so he can do whatever it is he has planned for 
Hotaru."
He stood up with a yell. "I should have seen it! He LET me go! He gave me
something that the Dolls can't possibly return to him without. He wanted 
them to
come after me. He knew I would come to you. He wants us to fight them to the
death! He planned it all! Monster!"
	"Calm down, Mamoru!" Ukyou barked. Mamoru didn't seem willing to calm
down, he kept shaking with anger and guilt. Akira stood up slowly, drew back 
her
hand, and slapped him. He gawked at her.
	"You won't do anybody any good if you can't think straight," Akira
said. "So you walked into your enemy's plot?" Akira slowly began to sit 
down.
"Earlier this year, someone kidnapped my brother. To save him, I took 
control of
his old gang and went out looking. I was angry, and let my anger get control 
of
me. I fought a lot of people, let the violence between the gangs escalate. I
didn't realize I was playing right into the hands of the person who had
kidnapped my brother." She sighed and rested her chin on her hands. "I'm not
proud of what happened. It took a good friend of mine to tell me what I was
doing wrong, how I was working for the enemy even as I tried to thwart him." 
She
looked up at Mamoru again. "But I learned something. In these kind of
situations, you have to stick together. Together, as friends, we can defeat 
Vega
and do so without killing the Dolls."
	Mamoru paused, looking down at her. Then he smiled, an act which lit up
his face. Akira saw Momiji blush out of the corner of her eye. She smiled 
back
at the young man, but her smile was small and shy.
	"You're right." He shook his head and sat down.
	"Then it just remains to decide how to deal with the Dolls without
killing them..." Kunikida said. He pulled his nearly vanished cigarette from 
his
mouth and snubbed it out in a small bowl.
	"Well..." Momiji tapped the table. "If they're drawing on some sort of
outside energy source, why don't you just shut off their connection to it?"
	"Heh." Ukyou shook her head. "Simple and elegant. I like it." Then she
frowned slightly. "The problem is how. The source of their energy is the
Psychodrive... and forgetting that I don't even known where that is with any
more precision than 'Thailand', it's also guarded by Bison, the other nine
Dolls, and the rest of Shadowloo."
	"Maybe there's a way to do it on this end?" Mamoru suggested.
	"If Sailor Moon were here, maybe." Ukyou ran a hand through her bangs.
"Basically what Bison did to them was take normal girls and brainwash them, 
then
fill them with his own energy. Sounds like exactly our errant moon 
princess's
cup of tea." She looked at Mamoru. "I don't suppose you have any way to
unbrainwash people in your bag of tricks?"
	"Not that I'm aware of..." Mamoru laced his fingers together. "Granted,
my memories of Tuxedo Kamen are still vague, but I don't think I have any
mystical powers like that."
	"Brainwashing?" Akira asked.
	"Yes." Ukyou nodded. "Pretty sophisticated stuff too."
	Akira frowned. Her mind flashed back to the beginning of the year. She
remembered Roy and his friends attacking her and that absent, savage look in
their eyes. Even after they had been driven off, the American students had 
still
been enemies. But later, Batsu and his friends had fought them and driven 
the
evil from them somehow. And Ms. Kyoko and her friend the teacher had also 
been
dangerous. But nothing Akira could do could snap them out of it, not until 
Batsu
and Kyosuke showed up looking for Hinata.
	Kyosuke.
	Kyosuke, whose brother had been behind the brainwashing.
	Kyosuke, who knew a lot about what had been going on, but always played
things close to his chest.
	Nobody else had questioned how it was that only Batsu and Kyosuke seemed
able to knock people back to their senses just by defeating them. Akira had
always found the idea strange. But now that she thought about it...
	"I know someone who can help." Akira stood up. "If someone is
controlling these girls against their will, I know someone who can put an 
end
to that."

*

	Fevrier held up her hand. It was shaking. She took a long breath. She
could feel the power inside her. Every cell of her body was singing. Even 
her
hair hummed with the invisible force. It was pure, awesome and magnificent.
	If she didn't get control over it, she would die.
	Fevrier released her breath. The hand began to shake less. It wasn't
good enough. Her body ached. The beating she had received at the hands of
Mamoru Kusanagi would have crippled, even killed a normal person. Only the 
power
had kept her from crumbling under the assault... the same power which would 
rip
her apart unless she mastered it.
	Fevrier closed her eyes and concentrated. The Psychopower. It was pure.
It was unfiltered, unrestrained aggression. It was passion and power to a 
level
that was inhuman. This was both its blessing, and its curse. Psychopower was
unrivaled power, as much more potent than chi as chi was more potent than 
human
muscle alone.
	But the human body was not designed to handle it. Even Lord Bison could
not stand to channel too much at once, lest his body disintegrate under the
strain. Fevrier and her sisters had been altered, perfected, so that they 
too
were able to channel that power. But they were nowhere near Lord Bison.
	Fevrier opened her eyes. Her hand was still. She would have smiled, but
the instinct had been so thoroughly eradicated that it was easy to repress.
	Opening their bodies to so much of the Psychopower at once had been
dangerous. But Vega's orders had been clear. The young man known as Tuxedo 
Kamen
had to die, regardless of the consequences. She curled her hand into a fist. 
The
amount of Psychopower she had been forced to absorb should have killed her. 
All
the scientists had told her that she should have fallen apart long before 
that.
	The scientists were fools. They thought that Fevrier was the last of a
failed series. Dolls incapable of manipulating the Psychopower at the level 
that
Lord Bison wished. They were obsessed with their experimental new toys. But
Fevrier had just proven them wrong. She was perfect. Her body could handle 
more
than they thought.
	"They're moving."
	Fevrier glanced up as Satsuki faded out of the shadows nearby. The
Japanese Doll was still shaking slightly. Satsuki was another of the old 
guard,
and hadn't even drawn in nearly as much as Fevrier had been forced to in 
that
battle.
	"Where?" Marz asked. The final Doll of their task force was sitting in a
chair nearby. Her torso, arms and upper thighs were covered in bandages. The
bleeding had stopped, however.
	"They've split up into two groups," Satsuki explained. "The girl Akira
left with the primary target. The others remained at the house and took an
unmarked white van to another location, a warehouse by the waterfront."
	"Why didn't you follow the primary target?"
	"Because that wasn't the primary target," Fevrier said as she stood up.
"It was a ruse."
	"So I suspected."
	"Prepare yourselves." Fevrier held up her arm again, the red gauntlet
that covered her entire forearm glinting in the light. "We'll attack while 
they
think we are chasing their deception."
	"Is that wise?" Marz asked, but she was also standing up. "Our bodies
haven't recovered entirely from the last combat. Our battle abilities are 
not at
one hundred percent."
	"We will do it." Fevrier looked into her sister Doll's eyes. "Vega is up
to something. He sent us out after the boy, knowing full well we would 
encounter
resistance we couldn't overcome." She lowered her fist. "But he 
underestimates
us. We will accomplish our mission because we are perfect! Once we are 
finished,
then we shall report Vega's activities to Lord Bison."
	The other two Dolls nodded. A second later, the room was empty but for
a curtain blowing restlessly in front of the open window.

*

	"The sun had set, and not a soul could be seen walking the streets of
this forgotten corner of Tokyo. The city lights glowed faintly in the 
distance,
and flickering pools of light descended from the unreliable street lamps. On 
all
sides nothing but black, windowless, uninviting warehouses loomed. The air 
was
damp, and the daylight heat was now fading away.
	"The building was modest, like any other around it. Outside, you
couldn't have told it from any of the others. Inside it was practically 
empty,
except for a pile of boxes covered in a tarp in one corner. The only other
object of note was the large white van parked in the center. It could have 
been
a scene from any of a thousand other warehouses, anywhere in the world.
	"But it wasn't. In this room, an epic battle was about to be waged. A
blow that would be struck in silence and darkness would be made against the
predatory forces of the underworld. Shadowloo, a criminal cartel so large it
astounds the imagination, was after something here. But the government of 
Japan
was not about to let them have it. Brave law enforcement officers, working 
with
concerned citizens, were preparing for a confrontation with this enemy.
	"The tension in the room was reaching a fever pitch..."
	Ran sighed.
	"Man. This is so BORING!"
	She threw up her hands in frustration and leaned back in her chair. She
was already balancing it on the back two legs, and the shift only further 
threw
off her balance. With a small eep Ran began to pinwheel her arms and kick 
her
legs in a futile attempt to regain her center. But her years of martial arts
training via observation deserted her and she tipped backward-
	Ranma grabbed her arm and she came to a halt. Ran stared down at him. He
was smiling and shaking his head, his deep blue eyes flashing. Ran grinned 
back
at him.
	"Well?" Ranma asked.
	"Well what?"
	"Thank you, maybe?"
	"Hey. I had it under control." Ran put on a mock pout.
	"You did?" Ranma's smile turned into a grin and his eyes began to
flicker mischievously.
	"I will have you know, stud, that I have trained long and hard at
looking like I wasn't in control so that I- ACK!"
	Ran should have seen it coming, but was still caught off-guard when
Ranma released her. The back of her head collided with the concrete floor 
and
she cried out in pain. Ranma was laughing at her. Well, two could play at 
that
game.
	Ran rolled over and made an exaggerated moan. She grabbed the back of
her head and curled partly into a fetal position, moaning and groaning all 
the
while. She even managed to squeeze out some crocodile tears. Ranma stopped
laughing instantly. He was suddenly standing over her, his own chair 
clattering
to the floor.
	"Ran?" Ranma gasped out. "Aw, man. I didn't mean to really hurt ya!
C'mon Ran... it ain't that bad, is it..."
	"I think..." Ran groaned. "I think you broke my... medulla oblongata..."
	"Ah shit! Not your oblong!" Ranma began to wring his hand in worry.
"Quick, someone get that doctor chick over here and..."
	Ranma trailed off. Perhaps it was because Ran's tears were no longer
faked, but instead caused by her overwhelming case of the giggles. She 
turned
over and watched as his face went from shocked, to annoyed, to bemused in a
matter of moments.
	"Geez, Ran," Ranma said as he offered her his hand. "Don't go scaring me
like that. I thought you might be really hurt."
	Ran let him pull her to her feet. She also made sure to stagger forward
as she did so, forcing him to catch her in his arms. "I was hurt, you 
dumbass."
Ran felt her chest pressing against his. He was warm. His scent was much
stronger here, when she was next to him. "I'll be lucky if I don't have a
bruise there and..." Ran trailed off. What was that smell? It was... soft. 
It
tickled at the back of her memory.
	She looked up into his face, and he was looking down at her. His cheeks
were slightly flushed. Ran felt heat rising in her own.
	"If you two are QUITE through..."
	Ranma and Ran shot apart. Ranma started whistling off-key and rubbing
the back of his neck, trying to look nonchalant. Ran, for her part, gave 
Ukyou a
glare.
	Ukyou was sitting at the small table set up behind the van. She and
Mamoru were playing a game of cards. But her new black lotus eyes were 
staring
expressionlessly, fixed totally on Ran. She resisted the urge to smirk or 
stick
her tongue out. There wasn't anything really hostile about the way Ukyou was
looking at her. It was just... uncomfortable to be stared at like that. It 
was
like Ukyou was peering straight into her soul, but just didn't care. Getting 
new
eyes had only upped the creepy factor of her gaze.
	"You don't have to stay if you don't want to, Ran," Ukyou explained.
"I'm certain you have school tomorrow."
	"And miss this story?" Ran chuckled. "You're getting a little
transparent, Ukyou." She held up one finger and waved it at the girl. "I 
gave
you a chance. In fact, I gave you a lot of chances. Three days worth." Ran
winked at the girl. "No use getting jealous now."
	"Jealous of what?" Ranma asked obliviously.
	"Nothing, Ranma," Ran responded easily. "Just girl talk."
	"Oh. Right." Ranma shrugged. Ran chuckled and shook her head. Whenever
Ranma wasn't being annoyingly pig-headed, he could be endearingly dumb. 
Really,
he and her made a perfect couple. The only thing Ran had to do was decide 
how
best to break the news that they were dating to him. Ranma, she figured, 
needed
a light touch.
	"I think Miss Kuonji wants you to at least keep the noise down," Mamoru
said with a shrug. He placed a card on the table. Ukyou, without even 
looking,
picked it up, shuffled her hand, and placed down her cards.
	"Gin."
	"How do you do that?" Mamoru asked with a sigh.
	"I cheat," Ukyou replied matter-of-factly.
	"I can't help it if I'm bored out of my skull." Ran retrieved her chair
and sat back down at the table. "I've gone three days without a major scoop. 
The
anticipation is getting to me, is all."
	"Ran, this isn't about a newspaper story," Ukyou explained calmly as she
began to deal out the cards again. Mamoru stared down at the cards on the 
tiny
table for a moment, then sighed and picked up his hand anyway. "Lives are at
stake."
	"I know that, Ukyou," Ran replied a little sarcastically.
	"If you're really bored, tell me more about what you found out this
afternoon."
	"What's there to tell?" Ran shrugged. "We couldn't find any of them."
	"Could you be more specific?"
	"Well..." Ranma broke in as he sat down opposite Mamoru. "We went to all
the addresses, and none of them were there. The racer chick, the violinist 
or
the little kid."
	"I know where Hotaru went..." Ukyou said slowly. "But the other two
Outer Senshi..." Ukyou frowned slightly. "They shouldn't even be awake yet.
Chronos would have no reason to attack them. Are you certain it was only 
four
girls that Chris took with him when he left?"
	"Uh... if you mean four besides all the ones from China and Akane..."
Ranma paused and looked down at his fingers for a moment. "Yep. Four of 
'em."
	"What about you, Tux-boy?"
	"Could you please stop calling me that?" Mamoru asked plaintively.
	"Force of habit," Ukyou said with a shrug and continued without pause.
"Did Vega mention anything about the other Senshi while he was holding you?"
	"I think he did..." Mamoru frowned. "Apparently the device that the
Dolls built for him detected nine Senshi, only eight of which were in the
country. He never mentioned anything about going to check on the Outer
Senshi..."
	"Well, if he did, there is little we can do about it for now..." Ukyou
sighed. "Isn't that right!"
	Ran blinked as Ukyou suddenly whirled in her seat. Her trenchcoat flared
out and her hands flashed out from under it. Spinning silver flashes crossed 
the
room and embedded themselves in a shadowed corner of the warehouse. The tiny
sound of their impacts echoed in the silence for a moment. A figure faded 
into
view, standing in the corner. Her body was exactly in the middle of the 
cluster
of throwing spatulas.
	Ran watched the figure stepped forward, It was one of the girls from the
hospital attack. She was still dressed in a skin-tight black bodysuit. On 
her
arms were a pair of red, open-fingered gauntlets that covered her entire
forearm. She was also wearing a tiny military cap on top of her short brown
hair. There was a hiss as she drew the katana she was carrying sheathed on 
her
back.
	How had Ran failed to notice her? She glanced at Ukyou, who was standing
but still using the back of her chair for support.
	"Stealth compromised... Proceeding with mission. Primary target
acquired!"
	The girl gave a shout and charged forward. Ranma was already running to
meet her. There was a clatter as Mamoru rose to his feet, and in a swirl of 
rose
petals (rose petals?) was suddenly clad in a top hat, tuxedo and opera mask. 
He
was about to follow Ranma when Ukyou grabbed his arm.
	"There are still two more..." she explained.
	Ran watched him nod in understanding out of the corner of her eye, but
most of her attention was riveted on Ranma. Her fingers twitched. She wished 
she
still had her camera.
	Ranma had reached the Doll with amazing speed, but she was not caught
off-guard by his charge. She crouched and thrust her hand at the ground. A 
plume
of smoke erupted around her. Ranma cursed and barreled through it, but the 
Doll
had already leapt high into the air. She came down at his back, her sword
glistening in the electric lights. Her blow didn't even come near Ranma, as 
he
continued out from under her at full speed.
	With a cry, the boy flipped forward. His feet caught the wall and he
spring-boarded back at her. The girl landed. Her eyes turned to him. His 
fist
caught her solidly in the side of the face. She didn't even cry out in pain 
as
she was driven off her feet.
	Ranma caught himself with one hand and cartwheeled past her. Her hand
flashed up and Ran saw a half-dozen tiny daggers leave her palm and start
speeding towards Mamoru.
	Acting on instinct, Ran kicked the table. The plastic object flipped
forward and caught Mamoru in the back of the knees. He cried out and toppled
over, but the throwing daggers passed harmlessly over his head. Ukyou 
stepped
neatly to the side, avoiding his collapse.
	As she did so, Ukyou's hand flicked upward again. Her own shuriken-like
weapons flew up into the rafters. Ran followed their path, and saw two more
black-clad figures leaping apart. They fell the two stories from the roof,
landing in graceful crouches. One had vivid fuchsia hair, while the other's 
was
a sharp blue. Otherwise, they were practically identical, in build, outfit, 
and
expression.
	Mamoru rose to his feet. He was now holding a cane in one hand, almost
like a sword. Ran slipped into her own combat stance. Even if Ukyou's senses
were more acute than hers, Ran noted with a grimace, Ukyou was still too 
injured
to fight. Ran would have to help keep her alive.
	"Main priority objective is also present," the blue-haired girl noted to
her companion as she stood up.
	"Excellent. We can complete both objectives at once," the redhead
replied. "Satsuki, Marz..." The leader drew a pair of pistols from behind 
her
back. "Keep the others busy while I deal with the primary target!"
	"I don't think so!" Ranma roared. He was already airborne, his body
flipping in a neat arc as he flew over the leader's head. The girl snapped 
her
guns up and fired, but Ranma was already landing. With a cry, he burst 
forward
and sunk his fist into her gut. Her entire body buckled over his fist, but 
her
expression did not so much as flicker.
	Even as their momentum carried them forward, the leader swung up her
hand and pistol-whipped Ranma. He cried out in shock and stumbled to the 
side.
She continued flying straight and smashed with a deafening bang into the 
boxes
at the back of the warehouse.
	"Ranma!" Ran dashed forward. As she did, she reached into her bulky vest
and drew out a few spare papers. With a flick of her wrist she snapped them
straight, and another flick sent them flying after the redhead. The Doll 
looked
up, but didn't even flinch as the sheets flashed past her on all sides. She
might have been right not to worry, if Ran had been aiming for her.
	With a creak, the boxes the redhead had crashed into began to groan.
Her head snapped up and her eyes widened. Ran grinned. The cables that had 
been
holding the boxes in place made wild cracking sounds as they whipped through 
the
air freely. The boxes, already shaking from the redhead's impact with them,
didn't need much more convincing to start tumbling out of their neatly 
arranged
piles. The girl had only enough time to throw her arms over her head before 
the
entire mass washed down on her like an avalanche.
	"Hah! Take that!"
	"Ran!"
	The air exploded from Ran's lungs as she was tackled to the ground, She
heard the whish of more throwing daggers flashing over her head. She looked
down, half-expecting to see Ranma. Instead it was Mamoru who was rising to a
crouch over her. He turned and grinned down at her.
	"One good turn deserves another, hmm?"
	"Thanks!" Ran laughed and flowed to her feet.
	Ranma was busy nearby, dueling the blue-haired Doll. He was flowing
with amazing grace, his body dancing around her blows. Even as he did, his 
limbs
flashed forward and struck her. Her body would jerk and snap backward with 
each
blow, but she was simply not going down. It was eerie, as the only sound 
from
their battle was the meaty thunk of Ranma striking her. Ran could see from 
his
expression that it was beginning to unnerve even him.
	"Akira..." Ran looked over to see Ukyou speaking into a small walkie-
talkie. "Tell Kusanagi it's time."
	Ran's attention was wrenched away as Mamoru gave a war cry and suddenly
met the brown-haired Doll in mid-air. His cane met her sword with a metallic
ring and sparks flew between them. They passed each other, their weapons
flickering in an intricate exchange before their paths diverged. Even as 
they
landed, the two immediately turned and sprung back into the air, directly
towards each other.
	But just as he prepared to strike, Mamoru was suddenly blinded as the
Doll threw a smoke bomb in his face. He gasped, and his defense fell. Ran 
cursed
and drew back her hand, snapping taut another paper. But she wouldn't be 
fast
enough, that ninja Doll was lightning-quick and her blade was already arcing 
in
towards the boy's abdomen...
	Then the wall exploded. The shockwave was enough that Ran was knocked
off her feet. The world tumbled end over end before she found purchase and
halted her roll. She glanced up, but the air was empty. She heard a 
masculine
groan from nearby and turned to see Mamoru getting to his feet. He was 
clutching
his stomach, and an angry red line traced its way down his chest. But the 
cut
was shallow, and while bloody, was far from life-threatening. It didn't take 
her
long to find the ninja Doll, who had been blown further into the warehouse 
by
the blast.
	"Hey, everybody!" a new voice roared. A figure strode into the room
through the hole that had been blown through the wall of the warehouse at 
floor
level. He was inhuman. It wasn't just the orange skin and green hair: his 
body
was simply not human. Huge overlapping blue plates covered his shoulders, 
and
green bony spines emerged from his back to form a fork over his head. 
Wickedly
curved green blades emerged from his forearms, and even his elbows had 
dangerous
looking spikes thrusting from them. He was naked from the waist up, and 
three
small blue objects glowed eerily from the center of his breast, matching the
ones he had on each palm. The cuffs of his pants had been torn to shreds, 
and he
was standing on two clawed feet. "Time for round two, isn't it?"
	With a roar, the newcomer flashed forward. Ran blinked, and missed his
entire charge. All she saw was Ranma's and Mamoru's opponents go flying. 
They
both collided with the back wall with enough force to leave a huge dent in 
the
concrete, before falling to the ground less than a foot from each other. The
monster landed a few feet away from them, grinning. His sharp teeth flashed 
in
the light.
	The Dolls got up. They rose in silence, their expressions not changing.
	He roared again, and snapped his hands out. Blue lightning exploded from
the gems on the back of his hands and caught both girls in the chest. A 
titanic
concussion drove all sound from the room and caused Ran's skirt to flap 
madly
around her legs. She was able to brace herself and keep from being sent 
flying.
	When the dust cleared, the orange-skinned monster was standing where he
had been. A five meter wide section of the back wall had simply vanished. 
The
Dolls were lying in a crater his attack had melted into the floor, black 
scorch
marks radiating outward from their bodies. Their body-stockings had been
partially disintegrated by the blast, with only barely enough left to 
preserve
their decency.
	The Dolls got up.
	One had blood leaking from the corner of her lip. The other couldn't
open one eye. But they both moved with the same ease. The monster growled, 
and
flashed forward again. Ran literally didn't see him move, just saw him 
suddenly
materialize with his fist embedded in the gut of the ninja Doll. His palm 
came
up and caught her in the chin, and she was sent flying outside. The other 
Doll
was moving to strike him from behind, but the monster simply vanished out 
from
under her fist. He appeared behind her and his knee came up and caught her 
in
the side. Her body bent in a way Ran thought the human body wasn't supposed 
to.
Then his fist smashed into the back of her skull and she flew out of the
building to crash into the body of her companion.
	The Dolls got up.
	"Oh c'mon! This is insane!" the monster growled.
	"Kusanagi! Back off!" Ukyou yelled.
	"I have them..."
	"You're going to kill them at this rate!" Ukyou shouted back. "Don't you
have any control at all?"
	"I can hold back..." Kusanagi replied, but his voice sounded unsure.
	He looked back suddenly as the Dolls charged him. He snapped his arms
up, his wicked blades coming into ready position. Then he snarled, closed 
his
eyes and vanished. Ran gasped, half-expecting to see the two girls suddenly 
cut
in two. Instead she heard a metallic clatter as Kusanagi landed on the van
behind her. The Dolls carried through their attack, but without a target 
they
stumbled to recover.
	"Their bodies are still absorbing Psychopower..." Ukyou said as the
Dolls regrouped. "No matter how fast you injure them, they compensate with 
more
power. We can't defeat them with brute force."
	"We can," Kusanagi replied with a snort. "You just have to kill them."
	"We can defeat them without killing them," Ukyou said in a way that made
you believe her.
	The Dolls had walked over to the fallen crates, and with a series of
slashes from her sword, the ninja doll freed their leader. The redhead 
slowly
climbed free of the wreckage.
	"That's what you're here for, right, Kyosuke?"
	Sometime during the commotion Kyosuke and Akira had stepped through the
hole into the building. Akira had obviously ridden here on her bike, as she 
was
still wearing her helmet. Kyosuke was looking as dapper as ever, his white
school uniform pristine even with the jacket unbuttoned. He strode towards 
Ukyou
purposefully, adjusting his thin glasses easily with one hand. He was as
handsome as Ran remembered, with his refined features and well-trimmed blond
hair.
	Ran remembered the time she had asked him out, only to be gently but
firmly turned down. She sighed and shrugged.
	"You must be Ukyou," Kyosuke said evenly, his voice pitched so as not to
carry far. He was addressing her, but his eyes were on the Dolls. The three 
were
spreading out, but obviously unwilling to make the first move. Ranma and 
Mamoru
had fallen back to the van, and both held themselves in front of the others 
in a
wary posture. Without a word, Akira stepped up and placed herself between 
the
two guys, forming a wall between the Dolls and everybody else.
	"Indeed." Ukyou replied in a near whisper. She glanced at Kyosuke's face
but then back at the Dolls. "Akira tells me you can unbrainwash people."
	"Akira thinks highly of my abilities."
	"I need to know if you can or not," Ukyou said in a voice like frost. "I
don't have time to be coy. Those girls are victims of mind control. If we 
don't
find some way to break it, they will literally fight us until we kill them."
	"I see... that is serious..." Kyosuke frowned and stood up straighter.
"But I'm not being coy. I know a thing or two about how to break the spells 
my
family uses to temporarily control others. But this... this might be out of 
my
league."
	"I don't have time for it to be out of your league," Ukyou informed him.
"Listen... I'll explain to you how they are connected to the power that is
controlling them. If you know how it works... can you undo it?"
	"I can certainly try..." Kyosuke raised both hands and cracked his
knuckles.
	"Ranma, Akira, Mamoru!" Ukyou shouted. "Keep them busy, we need time!"
	"You heard the lady..." Mamoru said as he stepped forward. "We best-"
	He cut off as Akira stepped forward and barred his passage with her arm,
	"You're injured. Stay out of this." Akira's tone of voice brooked no
argument.
	"But..."
	"Ranma and I can handle this," Akira insisted, her voice echoing from
under her helmet.
	"Yeah, take a breather, Tux-boy," Kusanagi called down playfully. "If
things start going bad, I'll just step in and mop up anyway!" Everyone gave 
him
a quick glare and his expression turned to one of honest confusion.
	Just at that moment, the Dolls burst into action. Everyone dove for
cover as the redhead started firing. But Ranma and Akira both rolled along 
the
ground and started sprinting towards the Dolls, who were closing fast. Ran 
rose
up from behind the overturned table.
	"Take the redhead, Ranma!" Akira shouted. "I have the other two!"
	"Right!" Ranma agreed.
	The redhead gestured with two fingers towards Akira and then turned her
full attention on Ranma. Her companions nodded, then broke off to close in 
on
Akira.
	Ran clenched her fists and observed. She didn't really want to get
involved anyway. She was the impartial observer. She shouldn't even have
interfered in the first place.
	But dammit, these were her friends. Ranma and Akira, Kyosuke and even
Ukyou were all people she liked. But she wasn't as good a fighter as any of
them, and she knew it. So Ran forced herself to breathe, and watched. And
waited.
	Ranma approached his opponent more cautiously this time. She bounced
back, both guns blazing. Ranma danced between the bullets. His body was 
barely
moving as he avoided her attacks. One shot he eluded just by tilting his 
head to
the side.
	But the Doll was making it hard for him to close. She moved with nearly
as much grace as him. He chased her up against the wall, but she only ran
straight up the side of the warehouse. She never missed a beat, her guns 
always
tracking on Ranma's position. But Ranma followed her, his own feet moving so
fast he practically flew up the side of the building.
	The Doll pushed off, spinning herself into a headfirst dive towards the
floor. Even as she did, she laced her guns behind her back and fired up at
Ranma. He responded with an elegant backflip. The fabric of his shirt 
rippled in
the wakes of the bullets as they traced paths around his spinning body. But 
he
landed without a scratch on him. The Doll had to tumble forward when she 
reached
the ground, and then Ranma was upon her.
	Ran stared. She hadn't even realized that Ranma could move that fast. It
wasn't the blinding, impossible-to-follow speed of Kusanagi, but it pushed 
that
boundary. Ranma's face was a mask of concentration, his forehead gleaming 
with
sweat.
	He caught the redhead as she rolled to her feet. His hands flashed out,
and suddenly she was disarmed. Her guns went skittering across the concrete
floor. Seeing her chance, Ran yelled and sent a paper flying. It caught one 
of
the guns dead-centre, slicing it in two. She looked and saw that the other
was now stuck to the floor by a red rose.
	After that, Ranma simply took the Doll's defenses apart. She obviously
wasn't as good at hand-to-hand, and it showed. Ranma caught both her arms 
and
with a twist of his wrists, flipped her onto her back. He drove his knee 
into
the small of the redhead's back and twisted both arms behind her until Ran
could see her shoulder bending at an unnatural angle. Her legs kicked 
feebly,
but she was pinned, and from her expression, she knew it.
	Only then did Ran realize she had completely forgotten about Akira.
Feeling guilty, she turned towards the other battle.
	It was obvious what the Dolls' strategy was. The blue-haired Doll would
attack Akira directly, while the ninja Doll would sneak around and attack 
her
from her blind side when her defense slipped. Except Akira wasn't even fazed 
by
this tactic. Every time the brunette would come in with her sword, Akira 
would
snap around with a backhand or sidekick and send her flying.
	The blue-haired Doll didn't fare much better. She tried to charge in
and attack Akira while she was distracted, but Akira must have guessed her 
exact
move. With a twist of her body, Akira would flow away from the strike. Then 
her
body would uncurl and drive a devastating blow into the Doll, sending that 
one
flying too. Akira would then resume her stance, and calmly wait for the two 
to
approach her again.
	This happened three times while Ran watched, until finally the blue-
haired Doll made a major mistake. She punched with too much force and was 
thrown
entirely off balance. Akira grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward. Her 
leg
came up and pummeled the girl along the side five times, then Akira flipped 
her
into the air. With a cry, Akira followed her up and struck. She was moving 
so
fast, Ran could see flashing after-images of her body as she lashed out with
more punches and kicks than Ran could count. A final blow sent the Doll 
hurtling
straight down, where she collided with her partner.
	The two Dolls fell together in a heap. Akira plummeted down on them like
a meteor, hitting them in the back. Even as she did, her fists drove down on
either side of them like pistons. The ground cracked as Akira's blow turned 
the
floor into another crater, and cracked again as Akira pushed her fists into 
the
concrete. It took Ran a second to realize that Akira had just pinned both of 
the
Dolls, one under the other.
	"Could someone give me a hand here?" Akira called out.
	There was a light tap as Kusanagi landed beside her. He nodded and
reached down. Sometime during the fight he had changed into a more human 
form.
The spines and blades and shoulder pads were gone now. He helped Akira drag 
the
two Dolls to their feet, and both were soon holding one in a firm, 
unyielding
grip.
	"Score one for the good guys!" Ran said before she whooped and bounced
into the air, swinging her fist victoriously.

*

	Aaron was missing something.
	He kept trying to pin it down, but it was elusive. Whatever it was, it
kept fading away when he tried to recall it exactly. It was like a name that 
you
had on the tip of your tongue. He knew it was there, he knew it was 
important,
but he just couldn't put the concept into words.
	And he knew that if he didn't, something was going to go horribly wrong.
	The trouble was that his line of thought kept getting distracted. Ukyou
and he were still reeling from the psychological blow of finding out that
Chronos was here. The Guyver plotline... it was too dark, too awful. There 
was
no way that it could have co-existed with the same kind of world that 
spawned
Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon.
	Heck, there was no way that Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon should have co-
existed, when they thought about it. How could no superhuman martial artists
have shown up for the entire five years of Sailor Moon? And Street Fighter, 
and
Rival Schools... heck, with them and King of Fighters and a dozen other 
series
out there. None of it should have turned out the way it did.
	And, in fact, it wasn't.
	Here they were, watching characters from four different series'
interact. Vega had kidnapped Sailor Saturn. It was like someone had just 
taken
as many series as they could and put them in the same world, without taking 
any
time to phase them together. And now.. they were busting up against each 
other.
The whole thing was tearing itself apart. Plotlines and characters were 
being
sent off in strange new directions.
	Aaron's knowledge of everything that had come before, all his precious
knowledge of the manga, and anime and video games... it was almost useless 
now.
How could he predict the future, when things were interacting in such
unpredictable ways?
	And still, he was forgetting something. Something important.
	Kyosuke took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was
attractive, in a refined and intellectual way. Ukyou wasn't exactly blushing 
and
fawning over him, since Aaron had forced her to repress those instincts. But
even so, he wasn't unpleasant to look at.
	Aaron looked away, and found himself finding Ranma. He was standing near
one of the holes Kusanagi had blown in the building, with Ran at his side.
Ukyou's eyes narrowed, but her anger was short-lived.
	She wanted to get up and walk over to him. She wanted to tell him
everything. She wanted to confess what was in her heart... but how could 
she?
Her heart was divided. Ukyou loved Ranma, but Aaron emphatically did not.
	"I think I can do it," Kyosuke said without much conviction.
	Aaron turned his attention back to the young man. He had replaced his
glasses and was looking down at the papers Aaron and he had been using.
Together, they had been hashing out the basic arithmetic of mind control. 
They
had been at it for over an hour, and Aaron was feeling mentally exhausted.
	"Are you certain?" Ukyou looked into his eyes. "We might not get a
second chance."
	"I'm as certain as I ever will be." Kyosuke tapped the papers. "I can
use the spell to sever their connection to this outside energy. If what you 
told
me is accurate, their entire psychology has been custom built... a long and
complex system of brainwashing above and beyond anything my family has ever
attempted.
	"The key is that the energy in their bodies is Psychopower, which is
really just Bison's own chi amplified to inhuman levels. They feel such a
fanatic loyalty to Bison because their life force is tied to his. His will 
has
essentially turned them into extensions of his body, with no more freedom 
than a
hand or a foot. By severing that connection, we should force their own will 
to
take over."
	Kyosuke placed one hand on the table, and his voice became hard and
serious. "The problem is, that this will only sever them from the 
Psychopower.
They've been so conditioned to obey Bison that their own wills are weak. It 
is
likely that even after I break the connection, they will continue to follow 
his
commands."
	"We'll worry about that bridge later," Ukyou said, waving her hand. "For
now, we just have to break them free of Bison. We can worry about helping 
them
rediscover their humanity later."
	Ukyou stood carefully. She grabbed her crutches and started over to
where they were keeping the prisoners. Kyosuke followed her wordlessly. He
didn't comment about her weakness, which she appreciated.
	The Dolls were all tied up in the center of the warehouse, far away from
anything they could have used to escape. Tux-boy, Kusanagi and Akira were 
all
standing guard, and Ukyou had personally searched them all for hidden 
weapons.
Finding all the items hidden on the brown-haired Doll had been quite a 
chore,
but Aaron's senses had finally discovered them all. The Dolls sat silently,
their expressions stoic and unconcerned. Ukyou wondered how much of their
humanity was left. She didn't have time to babysit them until they were 
capable
of their own decisions, and at the same time couldn't just let them loose
because they would just return to Bison.
	And... Bison would kill them. Somehow, Aaron knew that he would.
	"Do it," Aaron ordered with a nod at the girls.
	"Everyone, stand back a bit," Kyosuke said as he gestured for more room
around the Dolls. "I've never tinkered with this technique before."
	Everyone stepped back a respectful distance. Except Ukyou. Aaron just
opened his senses as wide as he could, trying to take in everything that
happened.
	Kyosuke walked up to the three of them, and placed his hands on their
foreheads one at a time. As he did a thin, invisible trail of chi formed 
between
his fingers and their foreheads. It was small, and impossibly complex... a 
mix
of wind and water and void chi in some sort of helix shape that Aaron 
couldn't
quite see clearly. It was sinking directly into the Doll's heads, rooting 
itself
in the center of their Wind Chakras.
	Aaron could see the Psychopower reacting already. To say the Dolls were
connected to it was a misnomer. The Psychopower was not being beamed 
directly
into their skulls like some sort of laser. Instead, the power just seemed to
permeate the area around them. It had taken Aaron a moment to figure out 
what
was happening, but when it became clear he only got more worried.
	The Psychopower was everywhere. It flowed through the world like an
ocean... and like an ocean it was full of constant waves. And all those 
waves
flowed across the world from over the sea, from Thailand, from the 
Psychodrive.
	But in most cases, the Psychopower was weak, barely noticeable. Around
the Dolls, it grew stronger. Their bodies were actually acting like tiny
Psychodrives, gathering and enhancing and transmitting the venomous chi.
	Kyosuke gestured abruptly and the chi helixes he had been forming
briefly sparked into visibility with a phosphorescent flare. The Dolls all
screamed, and the Psychopower around them seemed to waver... then it simply 
fell
away. Like watching a tide recede, the dark chi sunk into the depths of the
earth until there was no more there than normal.
	Ukyou began to grin. Then the redheaded Doll fell over. Her eyes were
glassy. She wasn't breathing. A second later, her companions collapsed one 
by
one.
	"What?" Tux-boy shouted.
	"What's going on!" Kyosuke roared.
	Akira knelt down beside them, and her hands touched the blue-haired
Doll's neck. She looked up, her eyes quivering. "No pulse..." she breathed.
	"Oh no..." Aaron dropped his crutches. That was what he was forgetting!
Bison... Bison had done more than give them a fraction of his power. He had 
tied
their very life force to his own. Without him, without the Psychodrive and 
the
power it would provide them with... "...they'll all die," Ukyou said slowly.
	"All this for nothing!" Kusanagi growled. "You should have just let me-"
	"Shut up!" Ukyou roared. She staggered over and knelt down next to the
blue-haired Doll. "I won't let this happen!"
	"Ukyou..." Akira sounded concerned.
	Aaron placed both hands over the Doll's heart. He began compressions.
Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. He stopped and tilted her head back and began 
to
breath into her mouth. He repeated that again. And again.
	"Ukyou, that won't help..." Kyosuke said slowly.
	"Shut up and help me!" Aaron roared. He would not lose them. He would
not be responsible for this. They would live!
	Wordlessly Mamoru knelt and began to do CPR on the redheaded Doll.
Akira started on the last one. Aaron stared down at Ukyou's hands as they 
went
through the motions of keeping them alive.
	He could see it. The chi in their bodies, it was so feeble. The best
doctors in the world could not have saved them. No amount of medicine could 
undo
the damage done to their souls. With such a small life force, they simply 
would
not survive. But he refused to give up. His hands keep pushing. The brain 
could
survive what... two minutes without oxygen? Five?
	He had to keep them alive until some solution could be found. He had to.
There had to be some way of bolstering their life force. Like a transfusion
would keep the heart pumping...
	Ukyou looked up at Mamoru. He was back in his civilian identity. He was
wearing almost the same clothes as that one episode, the time in Sailor Moon 
S
when he had been forced to use his own life force to keep Chibi-Usa alive 
after
her heart crystal had been stolen. Aaron's eyes narrowed.
	"Mamoru!"
	"What?"
	"You have to save them!"
	"Huh?" Mamoru looked up at them. His expression was confused. "Me? But
how?"
	"You have it in you!" Aaron barked. "Your magic. You can bolster their
life force with your own. Share with them a bit of your chi, enough to keep
their hearts beating!"
	"What are you talking about?" Mamoru frowned and stared down at the
chest of the girl he was trying to save. "I have no idea what kind of power 
you
think I have... but I don't have it!"
	"Yes you do!" Aaron roared. But his mind was saying something, something
about the moon cats and... he ignored that part of his memory. He needed 
this to
work.
	He wouldn't let it not work.
	It had to work.
	"You can do it, Mamoru!" Ukyou snapped out her hand and grabbed him by
the wrist. Something inside of Aaron stirred. He stared up at her. "Find it 
in
yourself! Somewhere in that swiss cheese memory of yours is the secret to 
saving
their lives!"
	"You don't think I wish I knew?" Mamoru roared back. His eyes glistened.
"These girls will die because of me! Because their death was more useful to 
Vega
than mine! I don't want them to die, but I just can't do anything about it!"
	"Yes! You! Can!" Ukyou and Aaron roared as one.
	They needed it. They needed it to work.
	It could work.
	It would work.
	It will work.
	"Do it, damn you!"
	Mamoru's eyes widened, and Ukyou gasped. Something seemed to ground
through her. For a moment, she felt light-headed, as if she were falling. 
Aaron
mind reeled back... There was something there, for a moment, just a moment. 
It
was so huge, so profound...  It was like seeing the face of God. And then it 
was
gone.
	Ukyou blinked, and only realized someone was holding her when she heard
Akira shouting her name. She shook her head clear, and pushed herself free 
of
the smaller girl's grasp.
	Mamoru was kneeling in front of her. His eyes were staring upward at the
heavens, and his face was filled with a sort of religious awe. A soft golden
glow was fading from around his body, the same golden glow that was sinking 
into
the bodies of all three Dolls.
	And they were breathing.
	"What happened?" Aaron asked.
	"I don't know..." Kyosuke knelt down next to Mamoru and began to examine
him critically. "You were yelling at Mamoru to do something, and then 
suddenly
the two of you exploded with this blinding golden light." He looked back at
Ukyou. "I don't know how to describe it. It felt so... strong. So full of 
life
and energy. But at the same time... it felt wrong, too."
	Aaron opened his mouth to say something, but his voice failed him.
	What had happened?
	Had Mamoru done it?
	Yes. That had to be it. He must have found his secret power. Aaron
smiled. That was the only explanation. Tux-boy must have found that part of
himself after all. Trust a Sailor Moon character to come through like that 
when
the chips were down.
	"They'll live?" Ran asked.
	"Yes...  I think they will," Ukyou responded with relief. Mamoru had
obviously fainted, but he looked okay. It appeared that everything had 
worked
out. They had won.
	Everything would be fine now.



				To Be Continued...



Author's Notes:


Blade: One chapter more to halfway!  Woo-hoo!

Epsilon: Yep, it actually looks like we almost might finish this!

Blade: Provided they don't release any more KOTOR games, since we've dropped
from five chapters ahead to two!

Epsilon: But... the HK-47!

Blade: I know... I know.  Also, Mission.  I should totally introduce Mission 
in
Hybrid Theory, don't you think?

Epsilon: Right.  All we have to do is come up with is some completely 
logical
and non-asinine reason for characters several thousand years before "a long 
time
ago in a galaxy far, far away" to show up.

Blade: Hmm... hey, we have Sailor Pluto!  What else is she good for if not 
deus
ex machina?  She can totally hire them to kill Ukyou.  Except Carth.  Carth
sucks.

Epsilon: Well, yes.  Carth could get killed.  Pluto can blame it on Ukyou, 
and
then all the Jedi will go "screw this Revan shit" and charge over to destroy
Ukyou, Dark Lord of the Grill.

Blade: Then we can have the Jedi versus the Aragami versus the Vampires 
versus
the TAC versus the Americans versus Chronos versus the Dark Kingdom versus 
the
Deathbusters versus Shadowloo versus a small cute kitten!

Epsilon: And then, just when things can't get any worse... BROLLY shows up!

Blade: And it'll be the best fanfic EVAR!

Epsilon: We are teh awesome!

Blade: We're so awesome, we can totally write author's notes without saying
anything about the story!

Epsilon: Let us consult our Jedi prophecies to see what will happen in 
Chapter
15.

Blade: "One who will bring apathy to the Force"?  Huh.

Epsilon: Also, this!



	"You children," Vega said, laughing in a slow, refined manner. "You
always think you know everything." He shook his head, then raised his clawed
hand into the air and gestured them forward. "I think this will be a 
glorious
battle. Don't you?"
	Ukyou opened her mouth to respond, but she suddenly stopped. She turned
slowly, her eyes widening. Ranma watched her mouth the words 'not now' as 
she
turned. Then Ranma heard it. A loud, repetitive chopping sound. Growing 
louder
every second.
	No. Not louder.
	Closer.
	Ranma stepped back and shielded his eyes as the helicopter burst up from
the side of the building. The wind tore at his shirt and he felt his pigtail
snapping, occasionally flailing back and slapping him painfully on the back 
of
the neck. The others had all turned and stood in shock as well. The 
helicopter
was small, no larger than a large van. It was pure white, and spun 
gracefully in
place so that it presented its side to them.
	There were four women in the helicopter.
	"Deep Submerge!"
	"Soul Spark!"
	"Dead Scream!"
	"Ukyou!"
	Akira tackled Ukyou to the side. A moment later three balls of light
slammed into the roof where she had been. An explosion ripped up the roof. 
Wood
and shrapnel flew in all directions. Ranma stood his ground, deflecting it 
with
a hundred perfect jabs. Nearby, Ryouga just frowned as the debris bounced 
off
him.
	As the echo of the explosion died down, Ranma could hear Vega laughing.
His face was turned skyward, and his arms were spread out as if he were 
trying
to embrace the heavens.
	"This is just too perfect!" Vega laughed again.


		  Hybrid Theory Chapter 15: Easier To Run





























             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'