Process of Elimination -- Chapter Ten -- Part B
Disclaimer: The primary colors in this story are from Takahashi, Viz
(Ranma 1/2), Pioneer (Tenchi Muyo!), and Kitty Films, Naoko Takeuchi
(Sailor Moon).
Additional tinting provided by: Takada Yuuzou, and Kodansha (3x3
Eyes), and Takada Yuuzou, and A.D.Vision (Bannou Bunka Nekomusume
Nuku-Nuku). The easel is mine. That's all.
Notes: Diverges from Ranma after volume 24, continuation for OAV 2 in
the Tenchi universe (well, one of them). Nuku Nuku is from the OAVs,
not TV. Sailor Moon occurs, well, at some point in the series, but
it's something of an alt anyway. 3x3 Eyes diverges before OAV2. This
fic uses the bizarrely vague 'Pick One!' scenario. Enjoy.
-----------------------------
"It was a battle between titans. On the one hand we had monstrous,
inhuman beasts, and on the other, we had guardians that were willing
to throw attacks at _us_ for the sake of fighting their enemies. And
on top of this, the Chinese government was so afraid of the monsters
near us that they launched nuclear missiles at us... and what could
we do?"
Asagari Ken -- Interview for G.N.N., Old Terran Year 2005, July 27th.
Ryouga wasn't certain what had tipped him off, other than a prickling
at the back of his neck, but he was on his feet in an instant,
shouting, "Aino-san! The chains! Spread people out!"
This time, however the rounded black monstrosities that burst from
the ground did not rend the crowds apart mercilessly. Instead all
three converged upon Ryouga, casually slashing at whatever was in
their path.
"Well, shit," Ryu drawled, flexing his newly healed arm, and fading
from sight after hunching over.
Mousse snarled, weaving his chains at the reavers as Minako
frantically shoved people to clumsy safety with her own barrier of
linked hearts. Ryouga stepped backwards quickly, drawing the
advancing reavers away from the refugees... if they wanted to make
it easier for him, he wouldn't complain. From across the street,
using his vantage on the shop's roof, Ray leveled his rifle at one
of the reavers and unleashed a barrage of glowing green fire at it.
It staggered briefly, but quickly resumed the rush towards Ryouga.
He braced himself, having no clue how he would face three reavers at
once, when a pair of arms wrapped about him, and hauled him fiercely
upwards. "Hey, Ryouga," Ranma announced conversationally. "Nice new
friends you got there."
Ryouga rolled his eyes, grumbling, "We don't have time for this, Ranma."
"Right," he said. "Want me to drop you here?"
For a half-second, Ryouga looked down to the reavers, who had quickly
wheeled on Mousse as the next target. "Yeah," he said, instants
before Ranma let him fall the six meters to the nearest reaver.
Ryouga snapped one of his wrist cloths into a blade-like projectile
even as he fell, slamming it into the area over the creature's eyes
as he landed.
The monster's carapace was oddly slippery, despite its jagged hide.
He slipped to one side, only barely able to avoid a lashing claw,
and leapt to the ground, spinning with all of his strength.
The cloth blade claimed one of the reaver's supporting legs, and he
kicked the bulk of the creature away from him before it could fall,
spurting the thick yellow ichor they had for blood as it tumbled.
Glancing quickly to the other reavers, Ryu and Mousse both harried
one, while Ranma chased the other, two blades of glowing blue energy
at the ready. Across the street, Ray finished swapping his batteries
and opened fire on the reaver that Ryouga had kicked to the top of
the pile of rubble. Deciding to leave it to Ray for the moment,
Ryouga joined Ryu and Mousse.
For his part, the Chinese boy had thrown his chains in a different
fashion, entangling one limb at a time, then the chains together.
This baffled the reaver, which gave Ryu the openings to score power
blows along its side, and Mousse threw a barrage of the small
needles he employed for that purpose at the creature's eyes,
enraging it.
It all seemed so odd... the reavers had been so dangerous last time,
and now they were little more than sitting ducks, barely able to
fight back. Something was wrong.
Something was very wrong.
***
Warned only by a yelled, "Jupiter oak evolution!" Ranma teleported to
one side, watching a flurry of golden leaves slice through the space
he had occupied a moment ago, slashing the reaver viciously, and
pinning it against the side of the rubble.
"Something is wrong here," he said aloud, shooting a glance towards
Ryouga in time to catch his apprehensive nod.
Casting out with his senses, Ranma found what he had expected quickly
-- the reavers weren't simply attacking one place at a time. "Crap!"
he swore, loudly. "Ryouga! I gotta go!"
The lost boy nodded quickly, turning his attention to the reaver he
had wounded and yelling, "Take care of it fast!"
Ranma nodded back, teleporting away again.
***
Ryouga staggered back, frowning. The second Ranma disappeared, all of
the reavers simply sunk through the ground, vanishing. "What the
hell was that?" he asked, trading equally confused glances with
Mousse and Ryu.
Turning back to survey the refugees, Ryouga frowned. Some people had
been wounded, others killed... but so few. He wasn't pleased about
it by any extent, he wanted as few people to die as possible, but...
but what were the reavers doing? Simply arriving, putting up a
half-hearted offense, and then running away again?
"They're feeling out our defenses," Ryu surmised. "They want us to
use whatever tricks we still got on them so they knew what we can
do, I bet."
Mousse nodded thoughtfully, glancing at Makoto and Minako as the
girls drew closer. "You're probably right," he noted. "What we need
to do is make sure we don't use anything we've got until we _have_
to. It seems to me that they now know one more of our attacks," he
broke off momentarily, jerking his head towards Makoto, then
continued, "and since they know more, they're backing off until they
can figure out a counter for it."
Makoto blushed deeply, dropping her head in embarrassment. "I'm
sorry," she said softly. "I didn't know..."
"I wouldn't worry about it," Ryouga said, sighing. "If we didn't do
anything new, they would probably have stopped holding back so much.
If they were going all out, I don't know if we would have gotten off
that easily."
"True enough," Mousse muttered. "We need some new tricks, and badly.
Let's just be glad we managed to cripple two of them, eh?"
Minako brightened instantly. "I've still got some tricks left!" she
announced.
"Good," Ryouga said, nodding at Ray as the man hopped down from his
perch and approached them. "Let's get the crowd moving again. They
might come back."
***
Pacing tensely, Nuku frowned, wishing that Ranma would take her with
him to help -- she knew she was able to fight! She didn't fight very
well the first time she had met Ranma and Yosho, but then, she also
remembered that she had nothing to fight for.
Now, however, she had a lot to fight for, Washuu and Ran-oh-ki
included. Ran-oh-ki perched atop her head, and batted at her to gain
her attention. By reflex, her ear sensors raised, and Ran-oh-ki's
whiskers brushed against one of them, transmitting the information
she needed to hear.
Not stopping to think about it, she dashed to Washuu's side, sweeping
the woman into her arms and leaping away moments before the threat
Ran-oh-ki had warned her of arrived. Setsuna was bowled over,
knocked clear of the monster and swearing as she rolled to her feet.
Landing a good fifteen meters away, as more reavers surfaced, Nuku
set Washuu down, the scientist struggling madly to reach the
terminal that still remained near the reaver. Well, if Washuu wanted
the terminal saved, Nuku would do everything she could to do just that!
Bouncing away easily, leaving Washuu where she was set down, she
leapt at the reaver, knocking aside a lashing claw with one elbow.
The reaver reeled, and she ducked underneath it, springing upwards
with all the force she could muster and slinging her fist ahead of her.
The monster was launched upward, carapace creaking hideously from the
sound of the impact, while Nuku stared up after it in satisfaction.
"Nuku-Nuku can fight too," she announced proudly, as the reaver
slammed into the ground a few meters away, generating a crater and
inciting the refugees to a panic.
Washuu stared, her terminal dissolving into thin air, as Setsuna
gestured at the reaver with her staff and said something so quietly
that Nuku's sensors were only just able to pick it up. "Dead
scream," she whispered, launching a bolt of malevolent maroon force,
crackling with electricity to impact against the side of the reaver,
knocking it over and leaving it to twitch, largely unmoving.
It was only left for a moment before two beams of green fire
converged on it from a pair of Marines, the rest focusing on the
remaining pair of reavers. "Okay!" Nuku chirped, taking a page from
Ranma's book and grabbing Setsuna. "Let's stop the others!"
Setsuna's yelped protests went unheeded as Nuku cleared the line of
refugees, landing in a slide. The woman with her was let go to
stumble, and Nuku launched herself into a spin-kick that clipped the
reaver, sending it flying across the courtyard to crash loudly into
the trees lining the park. Nuku herself was unbalanced and tumbled
to the ground, providing a makeshift crash pad for the unbalanced
Setsuna, while Ran-oh-ki tumbled free a few paces further.
Righting herself, the woman yelled, "What's wrong with you? Your
entire family is insane!"
Nuku ignored the comment, pointing towards the reaver.
Rolling her eyes, Setsuna targeted it, along with yet another pair of
green lasers. "Dead scream," she whispered again.
***
Usagi knew what to look for, this time. It troubled her that she
could sense it so easily, but Ranma was right, one way or another.
It was the same power as the Ginzoshou. "They're coming," she whispered.
Rei nodded knowingly, pointing to a spot in the street. "There," she
said, then pointing to another, "there," and pointing to a third
spot, "and there."
Cologne frowned. "Let's move everyone, then," she instructed them,
glancing at Mamoru.
The man nodded, glancing around and yelling to the refugees,
"Everybody! Stop moving and clear this street out!"
The others joined him in short order, though the crowd was reluctant
to part as they had ordered initially. Rei produced a small number
of ofuda, biting her lip uncertainly. "Any moment now," she
whispered, nervous.
Usagi offered her a reassuring smile. "We'll make it," she assured
her friend and fellow warrior. "Just--"
But there was no more time for further words, as a trio of the
monstrous black creatures emerged from beneath the ground, all of
them converging on her. Mamoru charged the first, sword at the ready
and armor fully formed about him, while Eric fired at the same creature.
Cologne hesitated, unsure, and mumbled, "We might need a little help,
though."
Usagi nodded, feeling oddly... slowed. She could sense Hotaru at her
side, restless, but not moving to engage the reavers that charged
languidly towards her.
The motion crawled, losing more and more of its speed, until Cologne
was raising her staff at a snail's pace to deflect a molasses-speed
strike. Mamoru dodged away from a claw slowly -- too slowly -- and
Usagi was eerily aware of all of the minutiae of the effects on the
claw as it failed to pierce his armor, instead flinging him
backwards forcefully. The tails of his cloak lazily snapped in the
breeze of his passage as he sank into the concrete wall awaiting
him, and bounced back, landing face-first and sliding a short distance.
Rei caught a claw with an ofuda moments before it stabbed into her,
launching her over the crowd, blood trailing from her crumpled form
as she flew beyond the range of Usagi's peripheral vision. And yet,
more prominently than any of those details, which Usagi _knew_
should effect her much more than they had, more strangely apparent
even than Michiru's failing retreat, magical energies flowing
ineffectually from her fingertips to batter against the reavers...
something nagged at a corner of her mind.
Something... there was something there. Hotaru remained, seeming not
to be slowed down in the slightest, and regarded Usagi curiously.
Eric ejected a battery from his rifle, sliding another into place
before the first struck the ground, yelling something that Usagi
couldn't hear as he fired continuously at the third reaver.
But then it was too late, and the scene was frozen, three reavers
regarding her with their unblinking, sinister eyes, claws twitching
and scrabbling against the ground as though the reavers were
embarrassed, unsure of what to do with her.
***
Crystal. Something in the crystal.
What was it? What was it that baffled it so? Was that crystal the
key? It was similar, and surely a token of the mistress's powers,
but was it for it? Or another?
Thoughts projected into the flesh-being that carried the token.
Through that token, it could reach her mind, but slowly,
reluctantly. She fought against it, somehow, resisting its attempts.
Still, there were two answers.
Destroy her and devour the crystal, integrate that token into itself
and increase its capacity... yes.
Goal decided, it moved into motion again.
***
Rei's vision was nothing more than a black field with dizzied blurs
of color and sparkling motes of white light swimming through it. The
monsters were strong -- monstrously so. She couldn't breathe, though
she was aware of herself hurtling through the air. It hurt... lines
of fiery pain traced themselves through her chest, hot moisture
dribbled freely from her lips.
That wasn't right. She wasn't supposed to drool. But it was hard, so
hard to remember through the veil of pain and disorientation, what
she was supposed to do.
Her senses flickered and vanished briefly, and she found herself
sitting, without pain, without clothing, and utterly alone.
A field of small white and yellow flowers stretched as far as she
could see, distant hills providing contours to the area, and far
further mountains topped with pale snow. She tried to speak, but
words wouldn't come, until a figure she recognized stole the desire
to do so from her.
Serenity smiled softly, standing in her regal dress, offering Rei a
mournful glance before kneeling at the girl's side. "You've fought
well, haven't you?" she asked.
Rei blinked away tears. Fought? She had, but not well -- she was
useless, ultimately, unable to do any real damage against the threat
that had attacked.
Understanding was readily apparent on her face, and she smiled sadly.
"You think you've not done enough yet?"
Rei shook her head.
"You would go back and fight further, then?"
She nodded quickly, tears spilling across her face; she couldn't
abandon her friends, after all.
"Then there is... perhaps, one thing that may remain. If you can
reach it, in the old palace on the moon, there were once four swords."
Rei blinked in confusion, as Serenity's gaze grew distant. "To each
of the senshi, each of the guardian knights of the realm we took
from Jurai and made our own..." She smiled, one hand gently wiping
away Rei's tears. "Flamberge was lost before even I sent you
forward. But it would not serve you well anyway.... On the moon, in
the old palace, Sanglamore remains.
"If you can retrieve it, it may be of some small aid to you. Now,
child," Serenity said, frowning gently, and drawing Rei's face
close. "If you wish to live, you must take the power to do so into
yourself, where it will do you the most good."
Rei nodded in understanding, preparing herself to return to the battle.
***
Ranma reacted without thinking, simply pitching his body in the path
of the girl that was hurtling down the street. He flung himself
backwards to cushion her landing, and swore loudly when the girl
lolled in his grasp, eyes fluttering weakly, blood trailing from her
lips. The crowd parted easily for him as he drifted downward,
swearing further and already ablaze in the healing blue flame that
Tsunami had gifted him with.
"Come on," he grumbled, feeling the girl's life force waver
uncertainly. "Come ON!" He threw more power into the flame, sinking
to his knees and focusing the whole of his being on making it
enough. "I'm not going to let you die!" he yelled. His head swam
with the effort, and he tried not to think about the barrier that he
was still maintaining to cordon off the radiation. "Don't die," he
pleaded. "I can't handle more people dying..."
The girl twitched, curling closer to him, as though to draw more of
the blue flame into herself. Still focusing, Ranma gritted his
teeth. "Come on," he swore, shifting forms and converting mass to
energy.
Without warning, the girl moaned weakly, raising her head despite the
unsteady wavering of her life force, and hugged Ranma tightly. Ranma
bit back her protests, remembering how Tsunami had healed her, once.
Perhaps that was more efficient, and indeed, after merely a few
seconds, the flickering flame of her life was restored to what it
should have been.
Ranma drew away from her, dazed, rising to her feet with the still
unsteady girl. Rei wobbled, and flushed furiously. "I'm sorry," she
said after a moment.
"You lived," Ranma stated simply, lifting her into the air and
teleporting, trying to dismiss the ordeal from her mind.
***
Usagi felt herself moving backwards -- being moved backwards, really,
by Michiru, though Hotaru remained where she was, as the reavers
advanced simultaneously.
What was going on? What were they doing that kept her from doing
anything? She _knew_ that she was supposed to fight them, but
instead, all she could do was stare vacantly. Why?
A claw pulled back, the sound of air parting around it audible,
ominously loud and slow, the point aimed for her chest, and then the
claw shot towards her viciously, moving at an appreciable speed
despite the slowness of the world about her.
The claw was halted at the last possible instant, the same figure in
the red robes, holding her left hand towards the reavers, right arm
curled supportively about Rei.
The right hand attracted her attention, though she couldn't discern
why. A gem glinted from the wrist of that arm, and Usagi felt her
hand drawn inexplicably towards it. Yes, a voice assured her from
the depths of her own mind, she needed to touch that gem. That would
set things right.
Her hand rose slowly, as a slowly blurred swarm of claws lashed at
the barrier of force separating them from the creatures.
And then, while Rei wobbled unsteadily away, there was contact, as
Usagi's fingertips brushed against the brilliantly glowing green gem.
***
Two beings stared at one another across a great distance, though
there was nothing else in that place but the two women. Both were
female. Both bore regal expressions. Both were clad in pristine
clothing. One blonde, with long locks of hair flowing to her ankles,
in a white gown, the other with turquoise and aquamarine hair fanned
out behind her, waving slowly in an unseen wind, in immaculate robes.
The blonde woman bowed her head, unable to meet the other's eyes.
"I... I made an error, I think," she said at length.
"Mistakes are made," the somewhat younger appearing woman answered,
offering a sympathetic smile.
"I thought you hated us."
"Then that was your mistake. I never stopped loving you, merely that
my power in some spheres is... limited."
Raising her eyes, the blonde whispered, though it was heard easily
across the distances of that non-place, "I wish to atone."
"There is nothing to atone for," the younger woman answered, shaking
her head. "If it's about leaving me... I forgive you."
"There must be something I can do?" the regal blonde pleaded.
"I cannot ask you to cast aside what you fought so hard for."
Tears brimming in her eyes, the blonde dropped to her knees. "I no
longer want what I fought for. I was foolish and blinded. What I
fought for is a thing become corrupted by time and powers greater
than I had imagined. I wish to allow my successors, who fight so
hard and so valiantly, to create a future that they desire, not the
one I thought we wished to have."
"Then you must break the bonds that tie you and yours to that path."
"I... yes. I will do that. It is the least I can do for you, Tsunami."
"Welcome home, Amatera Omiki."
***
Usagi was vaguely aware of the Ginzoshou on her chest, as the power
constructing it... rippled... and then it revealed itself, shining
brightly. Ranma ignored her, struggling to maintain her barrier,
though Usagi was dimly aware of her hands rising, her right hand
never leaving contact with Ranma, and gliding up the redhead's arm,
until a hand rested on each shoulder.
A feeling of finality flowed through her, as the Ginzoshou on her
chest, the crystal that was the key to so many of their plans,
crumbled to dust, and then something finer, and then... nothing.
And with that, the lethargic slowness that had occupied her mind so
much of the time vanished, allowing her to gasp, feeling the power
flow from her to Ranma. Not the crystal's power, anymore, but solely
her own.
That power manifested itself, violently, and suddenly, and the
glimmering barrier of wavering force on the horizon shifted
instantly, no longer blue and shifting, but solid gleaming white,
one large black streak across it, and smaller white planes of force
standing as attendants to the monolithic structure.
Ranma staggered, turning male again, and smiling grimly. "That's the
stuff," he whispered, stepping away from Usagi and vanishing. He
reappeared less than a half-heartbeat later, sword in hand, and
grinned savagely at the reavers. "You lose," he announced, drawing
the massive blade.
Hotaru, once again able to move, dashed across her field of vision,
tending the fallen Mamoru as he climbed to his feet unsteadily. The
reavers, perhaps denied the Ginzoshou, erupted towards Ranma in a
mad frenzy of slashes, all rending claws and sudden movement.
Mindful of the refugees, Ranma rose into the air above them,
slinging his sword over his shoulder.
***
Washuu and Setsuna turned in tandem to watch as the barrier rippled,
becoming more stable and shifting forms. Setsuna obviously didn't
comprehend the change, but Washuu was unable to hold in a gasp at that.
"What?" Setsuna asked sharply, turning to look at the scientist. "Is
the barrier going to fall?"
"No," Washuu said quietly. "That's... that's a Light Hawk Wing."
"What's that?"
"Ah... think of it as a very primal forcefield, I suppose. They're
monstrously difficult to create; they take more power than most suns
can provide," she mumbled. "So who summoned one here? Ranma would
destroy himself if he tried to channel that much energy so soon."
"That much power?" Setsuna asked apprehensively, staring at the barrier.
Turning her attention to her computer, and instigating a new bevy of
tests, Washuu mumbled, "They're easier to maintain than to summon,
but still... Who has that kind of power?"
Setsuna said nothing, merely frowning and looking vaguely disturbed.
"Is something wrong?" Washuu asked.
"Do you know that feeling, where you've planned and worked for
something, and some unknown factor comes in from nowhere and
destroys all of your hard work and planning in a heartbeat?" Setsuna
asked nervously. "I have that feeling that something went dreadfully
wrong."
Snorting, Washuu replied, "I call it 'the Mihoshi factor'."
***
Needing only a minute of Hotaru's aid, Mamoru grunted sourly,
leveling his own blade the reavers, and attacking one from behind
while they waved their claws at Ranma in agitation. Faster than he
could react, the monster wheeled about, a pair of savagely barbed
claws swinging towards his midsection.
They were deflected by a faint blue forcefield, and Ranma admonished
him from nearby, "Careful. They're faster than they look."
Mamoru stared at the boy floating at his side, and blinked. "Why did
you help me?" he asked, uncertain.
"You kill reavers," Ranma answered simply, taking his sword from his
shoulder.
A glimmering of understanding reached through the layers of anger he
held for Ranma -- it was exactly as Cologne had said. "Okay," he
allowed. "I'm still not happy about you threatening Usagi, but I
think I understand."
"Great, let's get to work," Ranma responded, teleporting behind the
reaver immediately before Mamoru.
Ranma's great sword cleft easily into the reaver, and he spun,
leaving Mamoru against the weakened reaver by himself. Eric finished
slamming the third battery home and leveled his rifle at the same
reaver Mamoru was fighting.
Not looking directly at the beam of light, Mamoru set into the
damaged reaver, his blade only just barely able to wound it.
Weakened by the prodigious gash that Ranma had already inflicted,
the reaver was able to struggle weakly, and nothing else before it
finally stilled.
In that time, Ranma had already slain another reaver at the cost of a
sizable gash to his shoulder, and the third was destroyed messily
though Hotaru's silence glaive surprise. Ranma grunted, one hand
deflecting the wayward wash of acidic blood, then standing uneasily.
Hotaru charged the boy, grabbing onto him excitedly and dropping the
glaive at his feet. "Ranma-san!" she exclaimed happily. "I knew you
could come and save us! It was really weird, and it got all strange
when the monsters came, but you showed up and made everything better!"
Ranma stared at the girl who had latched onto him with no small
amount of confusion. "Um," he managed after a moment. "Yeah. That's
my job."
He grimaced suddenly, nudging Hotaru out of the way momentarily to
allow him to sheathe his sword. "Yosho," he grumbled. "I need to
check for anyone else who's in trouble."
"Wait," Usagi called out, climbing to her feet tiredly. Mamoru dashed
to her side, sheathing his sword and helping her up.
Ranma frowned expectantly. "Yeah?" he mumbled.
Raising her eyes to meet his, she asked, "You... you were mad at my
gem, right?"
"Uh..." Ranma managed, confused. He scratched his head nervously,
while Hotaru released him, watching him curiously. "I don't know...
there's something about that... where did it go?"
Usagi gazed down at her chest, where the crystal had once been.
"It... Serenity told me... 'I release the seal I put on you, and ask
that you seek your own future'," she quoted faithfully. "I don't
know why it was taken away, but..." She smiled oddly, shaking her
head and glancing at the white barrier of force. "I'm willing to
trust her. There are other answers, aren't there?"
"I guess," Ranma allowed, frowning. "I'm, uh... sorry about that. I
didn't mean to scare you there... just was wondering why you were
using the reaver's power."
She shook her head quickly. "The crystal's been destroyed," she
declared. "I don't think we'll ever see it again."
"Well... okay, I guess." Shaking his head, Ranma mumbled, "I should
check with Yosho."
"Can you take me with you?" Rei asked, finally able to stand steadily.
"Why?" Ranma asked, frowning.
"I need to get something..." she said, glancing at Usagi, and biting
her lip nervously. "Serenity told me that there was a weapon I we
could use on the moon."
Ranma stared at her for a long, silent moment, considering, then
nodded. "You make fire, right? I guess something else might come in
handy. So you just want me to take you there?"
"Er... if it's not too much trouble to fly me to the moon," Rei
mumbled, bowing her head.
He strode to her side, and extended a hand to her. "I can manage
that," he said confidently. She accepted his hand nervously, and he
grabbed her about the waist gently, nodding at Usagi, and again at
Mamoru before disappearing.
Glancing at Cologne, who stared, seemingly lost in thought, Mamoru
allowed, "I might have been a little quick to judge him."
Usagi smiled at him warmly, repeating Cologne's words from earlier,
"'Our lives depend on all of us combining our strengths and working
through this together.' I'm glad, Mamo-chan... I don't think we
should be mad at him. We need his help, and he's a good person at
heart. I can feel it."
"Of course," Cologne commented absently. "Teamwork is instrumental."
He nodded, sighing, "Of course."
***
Staring fixedly at the display on her visor, Ami admitted that she
was completely baffled. "Maybe they're too scared?" she asked Yosho.
"Or maybe whatever they're doing, they don't see a need to come any
closer," Yosho muttered. "What if they use another phase shift,
while they're beneath us?"
Haruka stiffened instantly, glancing at the Marines who stood a short
distance away, watching as the first of the packed sea of refugees
began to move. "Can they?" she asked worriedly.
"They wouldn't," Yakumo assured her. "They're afraid of what happened
the last time they did that. It scares them, and they know that they
could put themselves at risk of me again. I think they're really
scared of me. And something that Ranma did."
As if summoned, the boy appeared in the air a short distance away,
carrying Rei with him. He set her down, frowning. "Why aren't the
reavers attacking?" he asked, confused.
"We were just asking that," Yosho noted. "How are you, Ranma?"
"Fine," he allowed, glancing at the barrier of light momentarily.
"The reavers are running away," Ami said, frowning darkly. "Do you
know why?"
"Not really," Ranma answered, scowling. "But I'm not sure how to feel
about that, either. Rei wants to go to the moon to look for some
weapon for herself there."
Rei nodded, admitting, "I don't know where it is, though. Serenity
told me... that it was in the old palace on the moon. If anyone can
get there, I think it'd be Ranma-san."
"I've been there before," he allowed.
"What?" Ami asked, confused.
"We need to know the way to the old palace on the moon to get the
weapon, and she called it 'Sanglamore'," Rei managed.
"Oh." Letting the confused expression fade from her face, Ami studied
her computer thoughtfully. "I think I can find an answer for that,"
she allowed. "The old palace on the moon... there!"
Ranma stared at the screen intently, then nodded. "Okay," he said,
standing, "my partner knows where that is. Hell of a long way from
where I went last time." Turning to Rei, he asked, "Are you ready?"
She nodded apprehensively, and Ranma took her hand, bearing her
upwards, and then vanished.
Yosho frowned thoughtfully. "Sanglamore?" he asked Ami.
Shrugging helplessly, the girl admitted, "I don't really know what it
is, but if it can help, I can't complain."
"Agreed," Yosho allowed, turning back to look across the refugees.
"We should get ready to move soon."
***
Ranma used the coordinates that his partner had suggested, holding
Rei close and prepared to leap back instantly should anything go
wrong. She didn't notice, peering about the lunar surface in
confusion. "I don't see anything," she protested.
"Down," Ranma mumbled. "It's all covered by dust. A hell of a lot of
dust. Hang on. Ran-oh-ki can sense something... there we go."
Jumping again, he found his eyes and hearing taxed, surrounded by an
impenetrable and inky darkness.
He was aware of the proximity of the floor beneath him, though. He
frowned, thinking, and focused for a moment, releasing one hand from
around the girl. She shifted against him slightly, sending waves of
soft noise echoing about, though they could only report the floor,
since there wasn't enough air to convey sound beyond the bubble he
had taken with him.
Holding his hand aloft, and focusing carefully, he summoned a ball of
bluish energy, not grasping it to create a sword. It floated over
his hand, shedding a soft, blue light on everything beneath them,
granting it a somehow... special glow, making the entire place seem
somehow fantastic, despite the fact that it was only a box-like
room, filled with fallen pieces of rubble and coated generously with
dust.
"Wow," Rei breathed out, while Ranma set her down and glanced around,
raising his arm to shed more light across the room. "I think I know
what this room was."
"What's that?" he asked, transferring his spare gem from his wrist to
his ear.
"This was an antechamber. There's a guard room... a storeroom for
weapons down that hall," she explained, pointing. She moved to take
a step forward, but Ranma pulled her back. "What?" she asked,
turning to look at him expectantly.
He pointed to the dust she had kicked up, which had risen slightly
above her ankles. Leading her away, she watched as the bubble of air
he maintained drew away, leaving the swirling dust to fall straight
down. "Stay close. In fact, let me carry you -- I don't know if you
can survive too far away."
She nodded eagerly, taking his wrist and glancing behind her
fearfully. "I didn't realize... I thought there would be air here,
still."
"Nope," Ranma answered, furrowing his brows. "And I think if there
was, it would have gotten bad. Pops told me about how air trapped in
deep caves can turn poisonous..." he trailed off, sighing. "Never
mind. Let's go to this little guard room of yours." He hefted her,
simple in the reduced gravity of the moon, and drifted above the
several-inch deep sea of dust.
The hallways were alternating worked stone and some kind of tile,
though Ranma couldn't tell what it was. He had the vague sense that
Ran-oh-ki would have loved to eat one, and resisted the urge to
smirk at that. They were there for a reason, after all. "Where
next?" he asked, glancing around, his light brightening with a
thought and illuminating the long hall to the end. Doorways darkened
the columns at regular intervals, and Rei stared for a moment before
pointing at one midway down, on the left.
Ranma obligingly drifted in that direction, stopping before the door
and setting Rei down. "Huh," he muttered, eyeing the solid-looking
door. "What next?"
"Well," Rei said, studying the door closely, frowning in
consternation, "the only way through, as I remember it, is to find
the key... the captain of the guards normally carried that with her."
"Great," Ranma mumbled, "so, where's the key?"
"I don't know," Rei admitted. "I... I think Minako... no, who Minako
was..." She winced, rubbing at her forehead. "Well, they should be
where... where... I'm not positive, actually."
Ranma grunted, tapping once against the door to sound it out. It
didn't give when he pushed against it, either, even when Rei
attempted to throw her strength into it, kicking up small clouds of
dust with her movements. "Wait," Ranma said, motioning her back.
"This is stupid."
"Do you have a better idea?" she asked, upset.
"Kinda," he grumbled, phasing through the door. He only stepped
halfway through it, leery of taking the bubble of air with him, and
leaving the girl alone in the vacuum. Summoning another ball of
light to his right hand, his left still with Rei, he glanced around.
Deciding he knew enough, he stepped back to her side, releasing the
secondary globe of light. "Okay, ready?"
She nodded, impressed with his solution. "That will help a bit," she
admitted, as he teleported the pair of them into the room.
"So," he asked, looking through the rows of furniture that had
collapsed to dust long ago, "what are you looking for, exactly?"
Rei pointed at a far corner of the room, saying, "I think it's
something over there."
"What, you've been here before? How do you know anything about all
this stuff, anyway?" Ranma asked, raising his hand to increase the
radius of the light as they approached a massive stone coffer.
"I... I think I was here in a former life," Rei explained hesitantly.
Ranma frowned, stopping before the stone coffer, and setting Rei
down. "This it?" he asked.
She nodded, struggling with the lid, manageable only due to the lower
gravity. Ranma tapped his feet impatiently as the lid slammed into
the dust opposite the container, not kicking up any, thanks to its
distance from the protective air around him. Rei peered inside,
retrieving a long sheathed weapon from its depths.
The scabbard was green, worked through with yellow slashes to denote
something, though what that was, was completely beyond Ranma. The
blade itself was very fine as she drew it, unblemished despite
resting where it had for countless years, not nearly the length of
the Tetsusaiga, but longer than Mamoru's short blade, or Haruka's.
"This... this is Jupiter's weapon," she said, frowning. "But why did
Serenity tell me to get it?"
"Probably because she thought it would work better against the
reavers," Ranma answered, having no clue who Rei was referring to.
"If that's it, we should get back. Ran-oh-ki tells me that
everything's okay for now, but I don't like being this far away for
long."
Rei sheathed the weapon, which vanished from her fingertips in a
dazzling gout of sudden flame, then nodded, frowning. "Yes."
"Wait," Ranma protested, staring around the room in confusion. "Where
did the sword go?"
Rei made a confused noise, and produced it from the same brief flash
of roiling flame again. "I'm not sure where it goes," she said,
fascinated, "but we have other things that will go away and come
back when we need them, too."
"I guess if the Tetsusaiga can change sizes, I can't complain," Ranma
grunted, lifting Rei off of the ground again. "Let's get going."
He teleported them in near the upper level of the glowing barrier of
force, causing Rei to gasp and clutch him tightly, sending her sword
away at the same time. He smirked, shaking his head. "Look at the
refugees," he noted, pointing.
Fascination overcoming fear, Rei managed to pry herself away from him
enough to look as he had instructed. Indeed, the line was crawling
along from the harbor ever so slowly. "Wow," Rei managed, surprised.
"Does that mean that we'll make it?"
"I hope so," Ranma grumbled. "Where to next?"
"I... I need to ask Mako-chan if I can use her weapon, Ranma-san."
***
Ryouga nearly jumped as Ranma appeared just as suddenly he had
vanished, bearing the girl in the red skirt -- Rei -- with him.
Ranma set the girl down, glancing around uncomfortably. "Yo, Ryouga.
I guess you handled those reavers okay?" he asked cautiously.
"Yeah," Ryouga grunted, walking over some of the building's rubble to
stand closer to Ranma. "Once you left they all ran away."
The other boy blinked, furrowing his brow in consternation. "Running
away," he spat. "I _hate_ it when they run away."
Ryouga took a half-step back before he could stop himself. "Ranma?"
he asked worriedly.
Ranma shook his head, sighing, "Running away means they're up to
something, Ryouga."
"Yeah, we guessed that. We think they're just feeling out our
defenses, waiting to see what new tricks we've gotten."
"Probably," Ranma agreed, nodding. "By tonight, we'll probably be
headed out of the city, and we can talk this over with Washuu and
Yosho -- a whole hell of a lot's happened, and it's not all good."
"I know exactly what you mean," Ryouga sympathized. "We're going to
start heading up the road to tighten the coverage on the refugees.
Can you still find us once we start walking?"
"Uh..." Ranma frowned, blinking. "Yes," he said after a moment. "As
long as you have a radio, Ran-oh-ki can tell me where you are."
Ryouga nodded tersely, unsure of what else to say before blurting
out, "Hey, Ranma? When this is all over, you want to spar?"
Ranma stared at the other boy in confusion. "What?" he asked after a
moment. "Spar? We fight all the time, Ryouga."
"We did," Ryouga admitted. "But we never tried just sparring. I
think... it would be good. Make sure your skills aren't slipping
from your powers," he managed, grinning.
Ranma snorted, smiling faintly. "Okay," he said, glancing at Mousse
as the bespectacled boy approached, "and you too, I guess. 'course,
I'm still going to win, but why not?"
"Oh, that's okay," Ryu drawled, "once you're done beating them into
the ground, I'll show you how a real martial artist fights."
Ranma burst into laughter at that, nearly falling to his knees, and
clutching his stomach as he did so. Ryouga was unable to resist, and
managed a laugh of his own, echoed more strongly by Mousse. Ryu
feigned confusion as long as he could, but burst into a wide grin
shortly.
Recovering, Ranma rose, wiping at his eyes and shaking his head.
"Okay, we'll all spar if we got time tomorrow, deal?" he asked.
"Sure thing," Ryouga replied, grinning. Sobering slightly, he added,
"It'll be good for all of us, I think."
Ranma nodded, his smile fading. Rei approached, somewhat subdued,
carrying a sword Ryouga hadn't seen before. "What's that?" he asked her.
"This is... this is Mako-chan's sword," she answered, studying it
with no small amount of fascination. "Serenity called it Sanglamore,
but Mako-chan says it was called the Glint Blade... I don't know why
they have different names, though." She drew the blade to allow
everyone to see it.
Ryouga frowned, studying it. It was a tachi, as far as he could tell,
the edge stunningly razor perfect by his keen eyesight. But for all
of the sword's craftsmanship... "Will it work on a reaver?" he asked.
Ranma nodded, reaching towards the blade, his fingers hesitating
centimeters away, as a sudden flurry of writing electricity crawled
across the blade, enveloping it in a crackling envelope of power,
snapping towards the boy's hand hungrily. He drew back his fingers,
raising an eyebrow. "If electricity bothers them, then I guess so,"
he allowed.
Rei's eyes widened as she stared at the blade in fascination. "Wow,"
she managed after a moment, sheathing it carefully.
"Right," Ranma mumbled, furrowing his brow in thought. "I should take
you back, in case we get attacked again."
Rei nodded quickly, saying, "Please, Ranma-san."
He took her hand and lifted her gently, nodding at Ryouga and the
other boys. "I'll see you guys later." And then he vanished again.
"Damn," Ryu muttered. "I've seen that a bunch of times, and it still
freaks me out."
"What's that?"
"Just disappearing like that," he said, shaking his head. "Anyway,
let's start moving, before we run out of refugees to protect."
"Right." Ryouga glanced to Makoto and Minako, standing on the
opposite side of the street with Ray.
***
Rei bowed politely to Ranma as he set her down, leaving after a quick
survey to check that everyone was okay. Cologne, Usagi, and the
others were walking alone, not keeping pace with the crowd. Eric was
walking on the opposite side of the street, Michiru at his side, and
Hotaru sitting on his shoulder comfortably while Michiru bore the
glaive for her.
Usagi turned to face Rei, smiling warmly. Rei returned the smile,
noticing that something in Usagi's demeanor seemed... different.
Subdued, somehow. "Did anything happen?" she asked worriedly.
Shaking his head, Mamoru answered, "No, thankfully. Did you find what
you were looking for?"
Rei nodded, hefting the oddly light sword in one hand. "Ranma-san
took me to it, and Mako-chan said I could use it... but I don't
really know how to," she admitted quietly.
Mamoru frowned, thinking about that. "Funny," he said, scratching his
head. "I don't know how to use a sword, either, but I could use this
one..."
Usagi brightened, and offered, "Maybe you could teach her, then?"
"I suppose... Could anyone else teach her?"
Cologne turned to look over her shoulder, and noted, "There are
plenty of people in my village who know how to use all manner of
weapons, and are more than willing to teach a woman of strong will."
"Er... how far away are we from your village, anyway?" Rei asked,
glancing at the seemingly endless procession of skyscrapers.
"I would guess only a few days by car, much longer by foot," Cologne
answered, shaking her head. "I'm uncertain. Even after the refugees
are moved, it will most likely take some time."
"I don't know," Rei said, staring at the sword. "I... it's like I can
remember how to use a different sword... very similar to this one,
though." She shook her head, looking at Usagi and Cologne.
Cologne shrugged, turning her attention forward, while Usagi offered
the other girl a hopeful smile. "Well, maybe it won't be that much
of a worry, Rei."
***
Ranma reappeared adjacent to Washuu as the scientist consulted some
data or another through her terminal, Setsuna sitting nearby,
looking winded. Nuku was sleeping against the same tree they had
napped against earlier that day, Ran-oh-ki resting in her lap.
Frowning, Ranma noticed the corpse of a slain reaver, not terribly
far away. "Hey," he called out, causing Washuu to spin in alarm.
She rolled her eyes, mumbling, "Will you _stop_ sneaking up on me?"
"I'm not sneaking up on you," he said defensively.
"Right, right..." The redheaded woman sighed, banishing her terminal
and rising to her feet. "Are you okay, Ranma?"
"Fine," he assured her, staring at the slain reaver. "Why didn't you
tell me you were attacked?" He glanced to his partner momentarily,
realizing that Ran-oh-ki would have been aware of it, and yet had
chosen not to notify him.
"You don't have to be the one who deals with every single threat,"
the scientist muttered, staring at Ranma levelly.
"I can try," he countered. "I need to do everything I can. How many
people were hurt?"
"None," Washuu answered, smiling. "Your daughter is much more capable
than you gave her credit for. She and Meiou stunned them long enough
for the Marines to kill them."
As Ranma watched, a large truck backed up to the dead reaver, Marines
jumping out to chain the corpse to the rear and haul it away, more
Marines emptying sandbags onto the spilled ichor. "Oh," he said
quietly. Sighing, he folded his legs beneath him, floating at a
level slightly lower than Washuu's waist. She smirked, and summoned
a cushion from somewhere, sitting across from him. "I... I... that's
good," he said finally, unsure why something about that bothered him.
"Yes it is, Ranma," Washuu said confidently. "According to the
numbers, very slowly, we're winning."
"Are we?" Ranma asked, frowning.
One of Norris's men glanced over from the radio, though Norris
himself was absent. "Not entirely," he warned. He stared at a sheet
of paper for a long moment before looking up and continuing, "We're
still losing civilians with each encounter, so until we manage to
move them all to safety -- and we can be sure that they'll be safe
-- I wouldn't say we were 'winning'."
"Hush, you," Washuu growled, turning to look at the officer over her
shoulder. He ducked his head apologetically, and focused his
attention elsewhere.
"He's right though," Ranma said quietly.
"You need to be more confident," Setsuna countered from her position
on the ground, looking upwards tiredly. "It's far from perfect, but
I have a feeling that we're going to pull through this, which is
more than I can say for how I felt yesterday."
Ranma grunted wordlessly, watching the refugees stream past, as ever
more of Norris's Marines returned to the park bearing truckloads of
supplies and larger vehicles as they prepared a convoy. Norris
himself was at another rickety table someone had set up, which
explained to Ranma why he hadn't seen the man before. He was poring
over what looked like maps, likely planning the exact route to
Cologne's village.
Deciding that Norris could manage things on his own, he fell silent,
simply thinking and monitoring whatever reavers were nearby. Six...
low underneath the city, moving slowly. Likely trying some new trick
-- perhaps destroying everything beneath the city so it would
collapse. He frowned, and Ran-oh-ki mewled softly in his sleep, one
ear twitching as his sensors scanned... but the reavers weren't
devouring things beneath the city, they were simply waiting.
For what, he wasn't certain, but he'd already killed more than six
that day alone. So what were they up to? Waiting for reinforcements?
He frowned, dropping his head as he considered.
***
Setsuna waited impatiently, a lump of nervous apprehension knotting
itself up tightly deep within her. She tried to distract herself
watching the people that walked past her to their theoretical
safety. Washuu had retrieved the device which she had said wound
ensure that the reavers were chasing them, instead of the refugees,
and was waiting for their safety to activate it.
Ryouga's team had arrived, the other boys taking up silent positions
near Ranma wordlessly, while Makoto and Minako set nearer Setsuna,
managing some idle chatter. But that idle chatter was painfully
obviously just that. Ranma himself hadn't roused to do much more
than nod at the other boys, losing himself in thought quickly,
meditating in his position over the ground. Washuu tended to sit
near him, watching silently, though more often she was consulting
her terminal to look for some bit information or another.
Eventually, however, Usagi arrived with the rest of her team, all of
them looking bone weary, and the sun only just touching against the
mountains in the horizon. Still, people were moving, and they were
that much closer to being finished with the affair.
Rising to her feet and smiling faintly, Setsuna approached Usagi
before the girl could reach her. "Usagi," she greeted her. "I had
the strangest feeling that something had gone wrong."
Usagi smiled at that, an odd, sardonic smile. "Well... changed,
maybe. I don't know about gone wrong," the girl said.
The knot of apprehensive worry tightened further. "What happened, Usagi?"
"Setsuna... the Ginzoshou... it's gone," Usagi explained reluctantly.
Setsuna stiffened, clutching the staff in her hand tightly. "Gone?"
she asked quietly. "What do you mean 'gone', Usagi?" She hadn't even
realized that she was trying to menace the girl before her until
Mamoru growled at her, moving protectively to stand in front of her.
"Why are you worried about the Ginzoshou?" Usagi asked curiously.
Groaning, Setsuna shook her head. "Usagi," she explained very slowly,
"we need it in order to establish Crystal Tokyo. If we don't have
the Ginzoshou, then it can never come about!"
"Why do we need Crystal Tokyo, Setsuna?" Usagi asked again, her
curious eyes trained firmly on Setsuna.
"Because it's the way things are supposed to be!" Setsuna exclaimed.
"You sure are working hard to make sure it happens, aren't you, Setsuna?"
"Of course I'm struggling to make sure that Crystal Tokyo comes
about! Have you forgotten? That's my job!" the woman snapped.
"No," Usagi said very quietly, shaking her head. "Your job is to
protect the time gate, and to serve me, right?"
"Of course! And you tasked me with ensuring the eventual creation of
Crystal Tokyo."
"Did I?" the blonde asked seriously.
"Yes, in the future..." And then, in a very quiet voice, eyes wide
with surprise, Setsuna managed, "Oh. I see..."
Sighing sadly, Usagi said, "I never told you to do that, Setsuna.
Serenity... when the crystal broke, she said that maybe things
should be different."
Setsuna's apprehension was not full-blown fear. "What do I do now?"
she asked helplessly. Never before had she felt so lost, so alone....
"Maybe it's time for us to look, Setsuna. What do you think, Mamo-chan?"
"Maybe," he said doubtfully. "I think that's a long way away, though.
For now we should probably just worry about getting ourselves safe,
shouldn't we?"
She turned to look at him, and frowned. "Of course," she acquiesced.
"But it doesn't hurt to think about things, does it?"
Mamoru bowed his head, sighing. "I guess you're right. I'm sorry. We
never really talked about how things were going to be, did we?"
"Well then," Usagi announced cheerfully, smiling at him and Setsuna,
"isn't now a good time to begin?"
***
Ranma roused himself from his meditations, staring at the last few
stragglers as they were herded through the Gate, and followed by a
number of the positronic laser carrying Marines. Lagging behind the
Marines, and pausing in the twilight of the then-vanished sun, a few
men stared about, hesitant. The light of the glowing white barrier
of force remained, bathing the courtyard in a pale, nascent glow.
Norris strode to the Gate, Patterson at his side, along with the man
who was taking care of the radio for him previously. He talked with
the men in low voices, most of them nodding and walking towards the
gate, but two stayed behind. "I... I should stay and fight with
everyone else who's fighting," one of them said, loudly enough for
Ranma to hear. The other shook his head sadly, walking to safety.
Studying the man who remained for a long moment, Norris nodded.
"Okay, if you're sure," he announced, motioning the last rush of
normally armed Marines through the Gate. "Go ahead and stand with
the defenders."
Washuu sighed, climbing to her feet and stretching, which captured
the man's interest as he approached. She ignored him, walking
swiftly to the still gleaming arch of metal, and fiddled with a
panel for a moment. A moment was all it took, and the image of
Australia, and the last few people still looking backwards, vanished
in a brief haze of sparks and light, and then nothing more than
Renmin Park.
Drifting near Washuu, and ignoring the newcomer for the moment, Ranma
asked, "What next?"
Taking a moment to smile encouragingly at Ranma, Washuu turned her
attention to the Gate. "Well," she said, touching a small row of
buttons in quick succession, "you've shown me that the reavers are
too smart to leave this here," she said. "The phase shift trap
proved that. Leaving something like this would be too much of a
risk, so I'll take it down and we'll take it with us."
"How long will it take to remove?" Norris asked worriedly. "I don't
like the idea of staying here any longer than we have to, even if we
have less people to look out for now."
Washuu turned to look at the man, raising an eyebrow as the entirety
of the gleaming expanse of metal folded itself into a single disk,
no more than twenty centimeters across and five thick. "Not long,"
she observed. "It's calibrating it that takes time."
"Then... I suppose we're ready to leave," Norris said, frowning.
"Miss Hakubi, I'm a Navy man, and I'll manage the Marines to the
best of my ability, and you'll not find a better tactical aide than
Patterson, and Pavel is a genius with the numbers... but it looks
like you're in charge of this motley crew."
Washuu sighed deeply. "I blame Noriyasu for this. He was in charge of
things-- Okay. Since I'm in charge, let's get moving as quickly as
we can." Approaching the defenders, Ranma still attending her from a
few centimeters above the ground, she yelled, loudly enough for the
forty-six Marines standing behind them, "Okay, everyone, do I have
your attention?"
Ranma surveyed them visually, remaining silent as all of them nodded
their confirmation. "Great," Washuu said enthusiastically, "we're
going to do the best we can, and we've got a long way to go before
we find more allies, but if we work together, we can all make it.
Everyone, I want you to stay in the teams you worked in today
already, until we get to the village, that's the teams we're going
to use. I don't have much more to say other than that I'm sure
you're very tired, but hopefully, we can sleep along the way."
There were mumbles of agreement, and Washuu smiled, adding, "Let's
make sure we all grab some form of provisions, load up, and get
moving, okay?"
Not hungry at the moment, Ranma merely attended Washuu, frowning
while everyone did as they were told, finding their way into the
various assembled vehicles of the convoy. He remained at her side,
calculating in his mind. "Hey," he said after a moment.
"Yes?" she responded, turning to look at him.
"You didn't sleep the entire time you were working on the batteries.
You stayed up late last night working on the batteries for those
lasers, didn't you?"
She frowned at him dubiously. "If I say yes are you going to knock me
out again?"
"Maybe," he admitted. "We all need to be in good shape and well rested."
"That goes for you, too," she countered, placing her hands on her
hips. "And I am in charge here."
He crossed his arms over his chest, not backing down.
After a moment, she sighed, and grumbled, "I'll sleep when we're
moving out, with the proviso that you do, too."
Nodding, he said, "That's fair."
"Come on, before all the good seats are taken."
He followed her, Nuku trailing him, to eventually sort themselves
into a hijacked tour bus, half of the seats missing. Ranma sat down
in the empty space near the back, leaning against the wall after
setting his sword to one side. A figure sat across from him, raising
his head to blink tiredly at Ranma, who dimly recognized him.
"Yakumo?" he asked.
"Ranma," he returned levelly, nodding, eyes flashing with some
momentary insight, though he remained silent on it.
The engine rumbled to life, the rag-tag convoy slowly moving out,
while Nuku curled up at Ranma's side, wrapping her arms about him
and falling asleep nearly instantly. Washuu smirked, noting, "You
promised you would sleep, Ranma."
"I'm not going anywhere with Atsuko hanging onto me," he mumbled.
"Better be doubly sure," she said, throwing a blanket from a supply
box over Nuku, and taking another for herself. Ranma frowned as she
smiled haughtily before mimicking Nuku, resting against him and
shortly dozing off.
Ranma sighed, glancing at Yakumo. The man merely shrugged, moving a
blanket aside to reveal Ami asleep at his side, head resting in his
lap. "Seems to be going around," he commented.
The boy laughed softly at that, mindful of waking the sleeping girls.
"So," he said after a moment, "what's your story."
Yakumo's eyes flickered momentarily, and after a moment he said, "I
used to be a human. Now I'm... well. I lost that."
"You too?" Ranma asked, surprised. "Are you masu?"
"Wu," the man answered briefly. "A zombie, really."
"You look better than in the movies," Ranma observed.
"I'll be sure to file with zombie rights activists to complain,"
Yakumo drawled. "What about you?"
"I used to be human too," Ranma answered. "But... well, I asked you
first."
"I don't like to talk about it," Yakumo said levelly.
Sighing, Ranma looked away. "Sorry for asking."
Yakumo growled, shaking his head. "No, I mean... okay. See, I was
just fine, until I met this girl, and I would have died if she
hadn't turned me into a... well, you know," Yakumo mumbled. "Not
like I can hold it against her, though."
"I know what you mean," Ranma said after a moment. "The same exact
thing happened to me."
Yakumo heaved an exhausted sigh. "What's the world coming to, eh?
Immortal women with more than one face who change what you are and
make you fight monsters...."
Ranma raised an eyebrow at that. "Immortal? I don't know..." he
looked at Washuu thoughtfully. "Sometimes she does look like a
little girl... or at least she used to."
For a long moment, Yakumo said nothing. Blinking, he shook his head,
admitting, "I guess I got off pretty lucky. I mean... I only have
this mark, really." He thumbed a headband off his bangs, revealing a
Chinese character Ranma didn't immediately recognize on his
forehead. "You got the eyes and the ears..."
"And the fact that I float, where most people walk," Ranma noted. "Or
teleport around, or make glowing swords of energy."
"Hey," Yakumo protested, "I summon demons."
There was another extended moment of silence.
"Okay, well, I can't do that," Ranma admitted. "You seem like a nice
guy, though."
"For a horribly inhuman monster," Yakumo commented mildly.
"I could say the same about myself. And she doesn't seem to mind,"
Ranma noted, nodding at Ami.
Yakumo flinched. "Well... she's a nice girl, but she's not Pai," he
mumbled. "And you got yourself two girls, so who's talking?"
"Atsuko's a cyborg who's decided that she's my daughter, and Washuu's
from another planet," Ranma returned.
Again, there was an extended moment of silence.
"Okay, you win that round," Yakumo chuckled softly. "Where are you from?"
"Japan. Spent a bit of time in China training, but really, all over,
I guess."
"You don't say?" Yakumo asked.
"I do," Ranma answered, looking over his shoulder through the bus's
low window at the city receding in the distance, glowing barrier of
light still visible. He frowned slightly, then examining the girl
and woman that were both clinging to him. "I can do this," he mumbled.
"Hmm?"
"Nothing," Ranma said, shaking his head and focusing. After a
heartbeat, he managed his attempt, his double floating slightly over
his head. Yakumo stared, eyes widening. "Don't worry," Ranma added
quickly, speaking from his male-body. "It's just another me."
She teleported away, leaving Ranma to shiver faintly. How eerie, to
think of something that _was_ him as something else... "Another
you?" Yakumo asked incredulously. "How many are there?"
"Just one, but I can split in half," he said conversationally.
"You win that one, too." There was a moment of silence before Yakumo
spoke again, commenting, "I can't die."
Furrowing his brow, Ranma thought. "I'm pretty sure I can, but I've
never tried it before. You win that one."
Yakumo chuckled again. "You know, the reavers hate you," he noted.
Ranma grinned. "Good for them."
"I thought you'd say that. They're scared of you, too."
"How do you know?" he asked, intrigued.
"Well..."
***
Ranma teleported to the point that the barrier had been erected from.
The soldiers guarding it had already been summoned back by Norris,
and from there, sent through the Gate to Australia, but the barrier
remained, centered and focused on the gem she had left behind.
She frowned, leaning forward to study it. Not the one she had left
behind anymore. Where it had once been stark cobalt, it was now
white, luminous like a pearl, with only faint hints of blue. "Hmm,"
she mused, reaching carefully forward to grasp it. It was warm in
her hands, and the wall of light nearly instantaneously collapsed,
folding into a small bubble that enclosed her. She frowned at that,
studying the gem, and feeling a vague tug that warned her that
someone else needed it.
Teleporting to a point above her otherself, she studied the ragtag
fleet of busses and cars as it rode away from the city, still
clutching the gem in her hand. The bubble of power faded, leaving
her with only her eyesight in the darkness. She shook her head,
turning her attention to the jewel. The white had faded in
intensity, leaving the jewel a milky bluish-white, faint auras of
both white and blue radiating from the sphere.
The blue was simply a faint nimbus, while the white was a flaring
spike, pale as it was even in the darkness. It speared into the
night, like the needle on a compass. Ranma frowned again, following
its guidance to another bus, which she phased through easily.
While all others than the driver were asleep, two remained awake,
staring at Ranma's sudden arrival in astonishment. "Who are you?"
the man asked cautiously, one hand on his sword.
"Ranma," she answered, smirking. "I guess you wouldn't remember."
"I think I do," the blonde answered quietly. "Hotaru-chan explained
that to me, at least. And I saw you earlier today... What did you
need to come here for, Ranma-san?"
Ranma held the gem out, frowning. "I know we got off to a bad start,
but... when you grabbed my shoulders when the reaver was attacking
us, you did something. This used to be one of my gems. I've never
seen it white before, and I don't want to wake up Washuu to ask her
about it, so I wanted to know if you knew anything. If you weren't
sleeping, anyway."
Usagi took the proffered gem, smiling. The white aura flared
brighter, shedding soft illumination over the three of them. "I
don't know," she said absently. "It's... it's not quite like the
Ginzoshou... Mamo-chan? What do you think?"
The man frowned, plucking the gem from her fingers and holding it
between them while he studied it closely. "I've never seen a stone
like this," he admitted. "I don't know what to make of it."
Usagi turned to Ranma, and asked, "What do you plan to do with it,
Ranma-san?"
Ranma tapped at the gem on her ear, smiling softly. "Don't need it,"
she said. "And something tells me I can't use it anyway. Keep it, if
you think it'll help. It let you make that barrier, right?"
The girl nodded, frowning. "I... I think I did... but I needed your
help to make it into a white wall... then it was easy to leave it
that way."
Mamoru raised an eyebrow, commenting, "Do we really need a
replacement for the Ginzoshou? Aren't we trying to change things?"
"That's true," Usagi admitted. "You should hang onto it then, Mamo-chan."
The man's eyes widened in surprise. "Me?"
"Yes," she said, still smiling. "If it's important, I'm sure it will
come in handy."
Ranma shrugged, levitating towards the roof of the van. "I gotta go,"
she said, "I'll probably see you later. Thanks for making the wall
that stopped the radiation, that helped a lot, since mine was
wearing me out."
Usagi nodded at him, eyes bright with happiness before Ranma
teleported away.
-----------------------------
Author's notes:
The pre-readers have been sacked. No one has yet dared brave this fic
for grammar and spelling. Thanks to Slacker, Bjorn, Ginrai, and
MageOhki for general impressions on the flow of the chapter.
[End, Process of Elimination chapter 10]