The Dark Lords of Nerima, Chapter Eight [Ranma/SM crossover]

[claymade]

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2 or Sailor Moon in any way, shape or form. All associated characters, trademarks, etc. are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and Naoko Takeuchi. I'm just telling some stories about them.


(previous chapters can be found here)



Chapter Eight: Holding On



Sitting in the shade of a large tree, picking occasionally at her lunch, Mizuno Ami stole glance after glance across the schoolyard, wondering what the group of girls clustered over there were talking about.

Normally, in such a situation, she would have just chastised herself for being nosy. Then she would have finished her food, and spent the rest of the lunch period with her head buried in a textbook, study distracting her from such intrusive curiosity about other people's business.

This time, however, there was an added twist. Although the bulk of the conversation was unintelligible from where she was sitting, she did manage to catch the occasional outburst. One of which had contained the words "Sailor Senshi."

She took a deep breath, then let it out again. Even after nearly a month of fighting youma, she still found it hard on occasion to connect her day-to-day existence with the idea that she herself was Sailor Mercury, one of the mysterious warriors of love and justice that her classmates talked about in such awed voices. Sometimes it felt so alien to her--like Sailor Mercury had to be some other girl, someone distinct from Ami the boring bookworm.

And yet, knowing what her classmates' subject of discussion was, she found herself straining to hear more. She stole another glance. A few of the girls seemed to be laughing derisively, while others were just shaking their heads in apparent disbelief. Ami frowned trying to interpret the information. That wasn't the usual reaction to discussions about the Senshi.

At least... she hoped it wasn't. Certainly that hadn't been her experience of such conversations, but--

"They're probably talking about that weird boy Chizuko saw on the way into school."

"Aaah!"

Ami jerked in shock, the motion almost sending her lunch flying through the air. Barely catching it in time, she whirled her head around to see who had spoken so unexpectedly.

The thick glasses of Usagi's friend, Umino Gurio, peered back at her. Seeing who it was, Ami began to get her breathing under a bit better control. She had heard of Umino's reputation for popping out of nowhere with some random fact, gossip or rumor that the odd boy had somehow managed to ferret out. She had even observed him doing it to Usagi a few times, in the weeks since she had been drawn into the orbit of the friendly blonde girl. This was, however, the first time it had happened to her.

"I noticed you were watching them talking," Umino clarified helpfully. "Chizuko has been telling everybody that same story all day today. She thinks it's the funniest thing ever."

By then, Ami had managed to compose herself enough to realize the implications of what Umino had just said. "You... noticed?" she asked hesitantly, hoping she hadn't been too transparent in her... well, spying.

Umino shrugged, completely oblivious to her discomfort. "Well, sure. It was kinda obvious, the way you kept staring over at them."

The blue-haired girl flushed embarrassedly, hanging her head a little. Then, after a moment, she glanced back up. As long as Umino was here... "What boy is she talking about? And... what does he have to do with the Sailor Senshi?"

Umino's face split into a wide grin. "Well," he began. "It actually is pretty funny..."



**********



For a few, long seconds, the scene at the Tendo home remained frozen in place. Mousse watched the attacking youma carefully, taking in the details of her new form. The ghastly, corpse-like body. The dark robe. The strange, wings-outstretched headpiece with the dark red gem at its center.

The hidden weapons master smiled humorlessly. If nothing else, she would be a lot easier to attack looking like this than as a little girl.

He kept a tight grip on the chain that held the Darkmistress' arm away from Ryouga. At the same time, he prepared himself to dodge if she decided to target him instead. His ribcage protested violently at the thought of rapid movement, but he silenced it with only a small grimace.

Then, on the floor, he saw Genma's prone body stir a little bit out of the corner of his eye. An added measure of hope filled the nearsighted martial artist. If the older martial artist could re-enter the fight... If they could triple-team this monster...

Without warning, the Darkmistress lifted her unchained hand. Not even bothering to look down at Genma, she discharged a burst of crimson lightning into the heavyset martial artist, plowing him back in a furrow through the floor.

Immediately, Mousse wrenched at the chain connecting them, trying to off-balance the enemy. Simultaneously, his other arm swung around to hurl a half-dozen throwing knives from his sleeve. The Darkmistress spun into a crouch, slipping underneath the blades, then leapt to the side as Ryouga's fist crashed down where she had just been.

With a snarl the lost boy lunged after her, raining down punches with ferocious intensity. The Darkmistress gave ground under the assault, parrying, weaving between the attacks, while at the same time disentangling the chain from around her wrist.

Ignoring the protests of his body, Mousse thrust his arm out sharply, a long battle spear extending out of his sleeve. Grabbing hold of it, he twirled it into a throwing grip and hurled it at the enemy youma.

The Darkmistress ducked low under one of Ryouga's punches, then launched herself away, backflipping her body so that she was horizontal in midair as the spear hissed centimeters above her. Then she grabbed the weapon, whipping it over her head and planting the spearhead in the floor. Using it as a vault, she slammed both her feet into Ryouga's face, sending him flying backward while she completed her flip.

Still in midair, she pulled the spear free and hurled it right back at Mousse. The hidden weapons master dove headlong out of the way--but even then he barely made it in time. He let out a short cry of pain as his body landed.

Pulling himself back to his hands and knees, he looked up... to see that the Darkmistress was already targeting him, that accursed lightning building around her hands, a smile spread across her face.

Then she fired. Mousse's eyes widened as the crimson energy bore down on him, desperately willing himself to dodge. But his body was too sluggish, too unresponsive--

--and then a yellow-and-black blur tackled him from the side, the two boys tumbling end over end as the Darkmistress' attack tore through the wall behind where they had just vacated. They righted themselves quickly, Ryouga to a light crouch, Mousse only to one knee, clutching at his side.

Angrily, the Joketsuzoku warrior drove his fist into the floor. This is absurd! he thought, in utter frustration. As injured as I am... I'm barely more than deadweight against an enemy like her!

Even as he tried to come up with some way to make up for his handicap, he caught some movement to his right. It was the other youma, Beneda, creeping over to them. She looked as terrified as anyone Mousse had ever seen, arms shaking slightly, but she managed at least to speak. "Wh- what should we do?" she asked Ryouga, her voice shaky. "What can we do?"

Ryouga licked his lips, his gaze never once straying from their opponent. The Darkmistress, for her part, was regarding the three of them amusedly, expectantly. Residual flickers of lightning were still arcing between her fingers as she and the lost boy sized each other up.

Then Mousse saw Ryouga's jaw set. "I'm going after her," he murmured in an undertone. "Beneda, you grab Kasumi. Mousse, you find Mr. Tendo, and then grab him and Mr. Saotome. Get them someplace safe. And then..." His lip twisted into a pained look. "Then... find Ranma."

Mousse glanced over at the creature facing them, then back to Ryouga. "Are you really sure you can last that long against her? Alone?"

The lost boy snorted, almost convincingly. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "You just hurry. Ranma'll be pissed if I've already beaten her before you get back."

The hidden weapons master took one more look at the enemy. "Yeah..." he said at last. "Yeah, I'll hurry."

Ryouga nodded--then burst out of his crouch, hurtling toward the Darkmistress in a blur of speed. The youma's hands shot out, unleashing twin bursts of lightning at him, but he angled to the side at the last second, diving into a roll that, in turn, became a leg sweep.

The Darkmistress jumped over the low attack, but Ryouga sprang after her, managing to grab her by the arm and slam his shoulder into her chest. His charge plowed them both through one of the kitchen walls, and out of sight.

Instantly, Mousse was running for the hallway. Dashing through one of the doors, he sprinted as fast as he could in his injured state for the family room, looking all around for signs of the Tendo patriarch. Even as he searched, he could hear the sounds of violent combat coming from the adjoining rooms--loud crashes, battle cries, the sizzling sound of the Darkmistress' lightning.

In a matter of seconds, Mousse located Soun--lying unconscious, half-embedded in one of the exterior walls. Quickly, Mousse flung him over one shoulder, and began to race back toward the kitchen.

A sudden flare of his danger sense was his only warning. He checked his run, leaping backward--and the next instant, the lost boy's body came crashing headlong through the wall and into the hallway, right where Mousse would have been. "Ryouga!" the nearsighted martial artist yelled.

Ryouga, for his part, scrambled gamely back to his feet. "Don't worry!" he shouted back. "I think I'm starting to get the hang of her tech-"

His sentence was cut off as the Darkmistress shot through the hole his body had created, slamming her fist into Ryouga's face with enough force to drive his head into the far wall. She followed that with a punch to his gut, doubling him over. But he managed to trap her arm before she could retract it, pulling her into a head butt. Then, grabbing her, he hurled her bodily back into the room they had come from.

Only then did he turn to Mousse. "Go on!" he yelled. "Get out of here!" Then, without waiting for a reply, he charged in after the Darkmistress.

Mousse obeyed, grimly aware that every second counted. He knew that the best chance for killing this thing was to bring more fighters as quickly as possible. Still, even as he resumed his run toward the kitchen, he felt an apprehension building in the pit of his stomach, as he heard the sounds of combat resume once more behind him.

An apprehension that--one way or another--it would all be over by the time help finally arrived...



**********



Most people in the world can, by and large, be relied on to have a roughly similar set of things that would make them nervous. Most people would agree that facing down a deadly, energy-draining monster from another dimension would make them nervous. Most people would also agree that merely skipping school would make them much less nervous than that.

Mizuno Ami was not most people.

The blue-haired young girl was perfectly capable of keeping her composure even in the midst of a pitched youma battle. She had proven it time and time again. But now she was glancing furtively from side to side, hoping desperately that no one she knew saw her as she engaged in something she had never--ever--even considered doing before in her life.

I suppose this is what comes with the duties of a Sailor Senshi, she thought philosophically. It didn't do much to quell the feelings of guilt gnawing at her, though. Still, she continued to remind herself of what the stakes were in their fight. If there was something to this rumor, it ought to be investigated.

But even so... She sighed, shaking her head. Skipping school!

She would have liked to have done this after school, of course, but there was no telling how long the boy would remain where he was. Especially if he attracted other attention before then...

Still, if everything went right--if the boy was still in the same area that Umino had told her he was in--she hoped that she could make it back before the lunch period was over. She increased the speed of her already-hurried walk, continuing to glance around, searching.

Then she rounded a corner... and there he was.

She had known essentially what to expect, and yet still found herself unprepared for the sight. The boy looked older than her, probably in high school, but his current circumstances more than robbed him of any dignity the age difference might have afforded.

He was wandering up and down the block, apparently at random. Wrapped around him was a makeshift sandwich board, of the kind often used to advertise stores or sales. In this case, however, the message it held was much more interesting. The front side read simply, in large black text: "SAILOR SENSHI, I MUST MEET WITH YOU." And the back, visible when he turned: "I HAVE IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE YOUMA."

He continued to walk his meandering route, often drawing amused glances and even snickers from the passers-by. But he continued on, a forlorn expression on his face. That, combined with his dark-ringed eyes and pasty complexion, gave him a particularly woeful look.

"So I see you heard about this too."

Ami whirled, heart thudding in her chest... and saw who it was that had spoken, belatedly recognizing the voice as she did. "Rei!"

Clad in the uniform of her own school, with her long ebony hair cascading down her back, Hino Rei cut a compelling figure, as usual. Ami found it... a little bit intimidating, to be honest--the air of conviction, of decisiveness, that often seemed to blaze around the girl who had so recently awakened as Sailor Mars.

Taking a calming breath, Ami nodded. "Ah, yes. A... friend of mine at school mentioned it. I thought it should be looked into." She spoke tentatively, feeling out the conversation as she went. Since Rei went to a different school, Ami had much less experience with the new Senshi than she had with Usagi, and most of what she did have had been in the context of their "Senshi meetings."

But here there was no Luna to mediate, no Usagi take the center of the conversation. No script, no routine. It was simply Rei and her, and she was having to improvise.

I wonder what she thinks of me? Ami asked herself wistfully. Someone as forceful and confident as she is... I must seem so... pale to her.

Rei, for her part, was now looking intently at the boy. "I see..." she said at last. Then she turned back to Ami. "It could be a trap, of course."

"I considered that." Seeing the chance to slip into the relative comfort of lecture-mode, Ami jumped at it. "But it doesn't fit with our enemies' tactics so far. Jadeite has always favored complicated plans, and concealed traps that highlight his own cleverness in setting them up. I don't think his pride would allow him to resort to something so..." She trailed off, trying to think of a polite way to describe the boy's efforts.

"...pathetic?" supplied Rei bluntly. "Well, you've faced him more than I have, so I'll trust your judgment. Still, I'm surprised you didn't bring meatball-head along, just in case."

Ami flushed a little. "I... didn't think it was necessary," she told the other girl. It had been enough of a moral struggle for her to skip school herself. Contributing to Usagi neglecting her studies even more than she already did was where she drew the line.

Together, the two girls left the main street, making their way to an isolated spot where they could spend a moment without being seen.

"Mars Power, Make Up!"

"Mercury Power, Make Up!"



**********



The Darkmistress watched, smiling a predatory smile, as the human circled her warily.

His allies had already fled; locked in battle with this one, there had been little she could have done to prevent it. But it was of little consequence. She only really needed one prisoner to interrogate... and this one would be perfect.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the human darted in on the attack, fists blurring. The punches led to a kick, which led in turn to a jump spin kick, each one punctuated by a fierce battle cry.

Not as subtle as the fat one was... she thought, as she deflected his blows. But he more than makes up for it in ferocity. The bald human had attacked her with more skill--but there had been a hesitation there as well, an instinctual reluctance to put himself at risk. A fatal flaw that it had been child's play to exploit.

This one, though... The Darkmistress licked her lips hungrily with her decaying tongue. This one was a creature of battle. He threw himself at her relentlessly, beating on her defenses with astonishing strength. She smiled, giddy in spite of herself. The strong ones were always the most delicious to destroy. To see their strength, their wills, their very souls ruined beyond repair... it was like taking a priceless, irreplaceable work of art and smashing it to pieces.

Weathering the human's assault, the youma watched patiently for her opening. And soon enough, she found it. Her fist lashed out triumphantly, the human's guard too far out of position to be able to stop it...

She had time for a split-second of surprise when he didn't even try. They each slammed their fists into each others' faces in a simultaneous exchange of blows, each of them sent reeling away by the impact.

A laugh escaped the Darkmistress' lips. He intentionally took a hit, simply for the chance to strike at me at the same time... she thought, impressed. Quickly, though, she regained her balance, looking over to where the human stood.

He was already back in his stance, watching her. He rubbed his jaw a little, gingerly, but otherwise showed little sign of pain from the attack. In fact... he seemed remarkably unhurt on the whole, considering how much she had been beating on him.

"I see..." she said lazily. "So that's your power. A resistance to damage that lets you wear your opponents down, while you wait for them to make a mistake."

The human only glared in reply, beginning to circle her again. The Darkmistress began circling as well, the two of them watching each other intently. She had to admit, it was a deviously simple strategy. Between his durability and his phenomenal strength when his attacks did land, it would be a challenge to outlast someone like that in straight hand-to-hand.

She smirked. Tempting... but I don't have all day, she thought. Time to try something different.

The Darkmistress crossed her arms in front of her, hooking her fingers like claws, red lighting beginning to build around her hands. The human tensed, obviously prepared to dodge around her energy blasts.

But this time, she had something a bit more effective in mind for him.

Bending her power to her will, she focused it, molded it. Soon the red lightning stretched all along her forearms, forming a crackling, pulsating pair of gauntlets. Then she looked over at the human, making a small beckoning gesture.

Growling, the human obliged, charging toward her with a vicious punch. The Darkmistress deftly parried--

--and the instant their arms touched, the human cried out in pain, the gauntlets discharging magical energy into him with a bright crimson flash and a delightful sizzling sound.

He attacked with his other arm, only to have her casually repeat her defense, with the same results. Angrily, he launched yet another high punch at her--then suddenly changed it to a low kick at her leg instead.

But the Darkmistress was not taken in by the feint. She dropped to one knee, meeting the kick with her arm, triggering another burst of crimson energy. Then, as the human staggered back, off balance, she swung with her other hand, driving her gauntlet straight into his stomach with all her might.

The human screamed as her power engulfed him, his body convulsing, thrown backward into and end-over-end roll. The Darkmistress cackled madly at the sight, rising to her feet and stalking after her prey.



**********



For what seemed like the millionth time this morning, Gosunkugi made his way down the block that he had chosen to stage his little demonstration on. For what seemed like the millionth time, he struggled over his lack of success, wondering if he should try his luck somewhere else. But for what seemed like the millionth time, he decided against it. This was a nice, busy street, and his plan depended on word-of-mouth spreading. Besides, what if he moved, and the Senshi showed up at the old location?

Still, the needs of his plan notwithstanding, the number of people watching was making this a more agonizingly embarrassing experience with each passing minute. For someone who had spent most of his life completely unnoticed, he was now having that reversed in a truly miserable way. He had lost count of the number of disbelieving looks that he had gotten from the endless passers-by.

This is stupid, he thought dejectedly. There's no way someone like me could actually do something like this. I should just--

"Excuse me?"

Gosunkugi turned... and abruptly, his jaw dropped. His eyes bulged. It was them.

It was them.

It was them!

He stood there like an idiot, gaping, unable to say a word. Every single speech he had planned out in anticipation of this moment had evacuated his brain completely. Had he ever really believed that this would happen?

Except it had.

"Um, excuse me?" the red-wearing Senshi--Sailor Mars!--repeated.

Even then, Gosunkugi couldn't quite formulate a reply, caught up as he was in the moment. They were here! They were real, and beautiful, and magical, and... and...

...and short.

It was this realization that first began to nudge him out of his rapturous trance, back into reality. The Sailor Senshi in his imagination had been goddess-like beings of eldritch power and unfathomable wisdom. But there was something incongruous between that idea, and the fact that he had to look slightly down to meet their eyes.

They're... younger than I am... he thought, a little unsettled. In fact, they didn't look any older than fourteen.

And he was going to ask them to kill a monster?

But then he shook himself. Didn't people always say that appearances could be deceiving in magic? Maybe... yes, maybe this was just the guise that the Senshi chose to take on, as a sign of their pure and innocent hearts!

Anyway, they were starting to give him some very strange looks, and he knew he needed to say something. "Um, Senshi!" he exclaimed. "I... I have come... with a warning! Which is very important... which you must hear... which I must tell you...."

Even as he babbled, he realized that they were beginning to draw a crowd in earnest. It formed a ring around them, hushed whispers coming from all sides, wondering whether this was actually the real thing.

Sailor Mars glanced around at the situation forming, pursed her lips, then turned back to him. "We need to take this someplace else," she said crisply. "Somewhere they can't follow." Before Gosunkugi had a chance to react, she pulled his sandwich board off of him, handing it to Sailor Mercury. Then she picked him up, slung him over her shoulder, and leaped up into the air.

They landed atop a nearby building, then began roofhopping for a little while, until finally they came to a stop. Sailor Mars then deposited the hyperventilating boy on the roof they were currently standing on. "Your sign claimed that you had information about the youma?" she asked him.

Gosunkugi gasped for breath, still in shock over what had just happened. But eventually, he managed to recover himself enough to speak. "Y- yes..." he stammered out, steeling himself to give what was probably the most important message of his life. "I... I found one! A youma! Not here... but hiding over where I live, in Nerima! And... and even worse, she's got a whole bunch of dangerous fighters protecting her!"



**********



Ryouga half-ran, half-staggered through what remained of the hallways of the Tendo home, wracked with pain from the damage he had taken. All hope of offense had been abandoned; his only remaining thought was survival.

A flash of his danger sense made him dive for the ground, just as a crimson bolt of energy ripped through the air at him from behind. He was not quite fast enough to avoid it. The attack hit him in his left shoulder, ripping a scream from between his clenched teeth as he was knocked forward, skidding across the floor.

Grimly, he tried to fight his way back to his feet. His left arm wasn't responding well--numb, twitching spasmodically. Still, he managed to get one knee under him. Then both of them. Then--

Then he felt the Darkmistress' fingers on his head, digging into his hair and hoisting him up by it. Before he could react, she used the grip to smash him facefirst into one of the hallway walls. Switching hands, she did the same with the opposite wall. Finally, she drove him facedown onto the floor, pinning him there with her knee. "Got you..." she said victoriously.

Ryouga struggled to throw her off, but he was too weak, had too little leverage. The Darkmistress ignored his efforts, continuing to talk. "I'll admit, you gave me quite the workout... but now you're mine. We're going to have so much fun together, human. So many of your allies' secrets to uncover. And so much time to do it in..."

The lost boy twisted his head, trying to look over his shoulder at the creature on his back. "Like hell!" he snarled. "I'd never tell a freak like you anything!"

At that, the Darkmistress began to laugh hysterically, as though he had just said the funniest thing in the world. "Oh, it's been so long since anyone has been foolish enough to say that to me..." she said amusedly. "But you will break. You all break, in the end."

Ryouga made an awkward swing with his right arm, trying to hit her, but she caught his wrist and pinned it back down by his head. Then she leaned in even closer, her putrid breath hot on his cheek. "I promise you, human," she whispered. "By the end of the first week of torture, you will be ready to give me every secret you ever knew for my promise to kill you and end your suffering."

The lost boy glared, gathering as much of his strength as he could. "You want a secret?" he asked. "All right, try this one! Bakusai Tenketsu!"

He stabbed out with a single finger of his trapped hand, giving the floor a sharp tap. Instinctively, the Darkmistress turned her head to see what he was trying to do--

--and howled, as she took the explosion of wooden shrapnel right in the face. Immediately Ryouga twisted, breaking out of her hold and slamming his elbow around into the side of her head.

The Darkmistress staggered away, off-balance, clutching at her eyes. But Ryouga grabbed her by the collar of her cloak, wrenching her back toward him--right into a punch with his other hand.

He did not let up, not for a moment. Each blow led into the next as he pounded away at her with every bit of his remaining strength. He knew full well that this opening was his last chance. He attacked and attacked and attacked, each desperate blow driving his foe farther back. Soon he had her up against a wall. And then, with a devastating kick, he sent her crashing through it and into the Tendo yard.

Quickly, he followed her through the hole, and gave a fanged smile at the sight that met his eyes. The Darkmistress was on her feet... but only just, staggering as she tried to collect herself from the savage beating she had received. The lost boy laughed; the tables had turned.

Still, he wasn't about to take any chances. Gathering himself, he charged toward her, accumulating as much momentum as he could for a finishing blow. He raised his fist as he raced toward her, swinging it around in a deadly attack aimed right for the head of--

--Akane!

The instant before his punch landed, the Darkmistress' form blurred... and suddenly it wasn't the youma standing there. It was the youngest Tendo, looking up at him with terrified eyes as the attack hurtled toward her.

There was no time whatsoever for any kind of conscious thought. Ryouga acted purely on reflex, twisting his arm away. It ripped past her ear, missing by millimeters as the lost boy stumbled, thrown completely off-balance by the maneuver.

Completely off-balance... and wide open. "Akane's" face twisted into a sadistic smile, as she latched both her hands around his throat, hoisting him up into the air and channeling a huge surge of crimson lightning into him.



**********



Sailor Mars frowned. "And you say this youma is just operating openly?" she asked. "What is she doing? Draining energy?"

Gosunkugi shrugged uncomfortably, the question giving him an uncomfortable reminder of just how little information he had actually gathered about the situation before running off to find the Senshi. "Well... she didn't look like she was doing anything like that..." he said, hoping his uncertainty didn't show. "Mostly she was just... talking with a bunch of those fighters. Probably getting them to help out her side."

"A youma recruiting humans? By talking with them?" There was a distinct note of skepticism in Sailor Mars' voice, one that made Gosunkugi wilt a little, his mind racing fruitlessly for some way to convince them.

"Are you sure she was really a youma?" Sailor Mercury asked gently. "Maybe she was just... someone dressing up? Like cosplay?"

"No!" protested Gosunkugi. "She was a youma, I'm certain of it! She had green skin all over, and her hair was all shiny metal, and--"

He broke off suddenly, realizing that his words had had an unexpectedly profound effect on the Senshi. Their eyes had widened in almost perfect unison, exchanging a quick, startled glance before looking back to him. Even then, he could tell that their minds were elsewhere, following some thought or memory he was not privy to. From the dark look on Sailor Mars' face, he very much doubted it was a pleasant one.

Sailor Mercury spoke up, her face more reserved and difficult to read. "Yes, that... does sound like it could be a youma. Do you have the address that you saw her at?"

Gosunkugi nodded furiously, not fully understanding what had just happened, but in no mood to question it. "Yes! Yes, I do! Right here!" He thrust a piece of paper toward them that he had prepared earlier, with not just the address, but also a convenient map that he had drawn, complete with a large "X" signifying the target.

"Thank you..." said Sailor Mercury, accepting it. Gosunkugi felt a small thrill course through him as their fingers touched. He could hardly believe any of this. He had done it! He had actually done it!

Sailor Mars spoke up again. "And the humans that are living there... you say they're helping the youma?"

"Yes! Well... partly." Gosunkugi was hasty to amend himself. "The family that owns it are good people. I can't imagine Aka-- any of the Tendos helping an evil creature deliberately. They must be misled somehow." Then he scowled. "The one you really have to watch out for is Saotome. I wouldn't put anything past him, and he's the most dangerous one there."

Sailor Mars frowned. "Why single him out?"

"Because that's the kind of person he is!" Gosunkugi said, clenching his fist. "He's all about being powerful, and rubbing his strength in other people's faces, and stealing the things that are most precious from you, and then not even appreciating them!" His eyes blazed as he spoke.

The two Senshi exchanged glances, neither looking particularly convinced. "We'll certainly look into this," Sailor Mercury said diplomatically. "Thank you very much for bringing it to our attention."

Gosunkugi nodded eagerly. "You're welcome!" he said. "Just please, do it quickly. Their kind of evil... it needs to be dealt with!"



**********



Ryouga screamed, convulsing, as the currents of crimson magic ripped through his body. The pain was unimaginable, like nothing he had ever experienced. On and on it went, without any sign of ceasing.

He swung out at his foe, but his blow glanced off--he no longer had the strength to hurt her. He could only thrash around, trying futilely to escape her grasp. Then, after what seemed like an eternity--he could not have said how long it actually was--the lightning stopped, and he sagged limply.

Slowly, agonizingly, he managed to raise his head, inch by inch, to look her in the eye with a bloodshot, murderous glare. He realized that she was breathing hard; the sustained attack had evidently drained her.

The Darkmistress looked back, an expression of mild shock on her face. "You are a resilient one, aren't you?" she asked. "What does it take to put you down?"

Ryouga gave her no reply. She shrugged. "Not that it matters. I'll enjoy finding out the answer. Scream for me some more." And with that, she gathered her strength and unleashed her power once more.

And the lost boy did scream, clutching with both his hands at the Darkmistress' arms, trying to dislodge them. But he could not. He screamed and clawed and writhed, and over all of it he could hear his tormentor's mad laughter.

But then, in a last, sudden flash of desperation, he had an idea. Grabbing the youma's arm with one hand, he reached behind his head with the other, ripping free a bandana. With a simple thought, the piece of cloth straightened out into a razor-sharp blade.

Then he stabbed it straight through the Darkmistress' wrist, and twisted it.

The youma let out a howl of agony, flinging him violently away. His body skipped three times before finally sliding to a stop. Slowly lifting his head, he saw that his enemy was doubled over, clutching protectively at her skewered limb. Heh, he thought vindictively. Looks like she can't take it as well as she can dish it out...

Still, he knew that it would not last forever--and he could barely move anymore, let alone fight. I have to think of something... he told himself, looking doggedly around for something, anything he could use. She's going to be after me any second now... unless...

But there was still a chance, he realized. One last, crazy chance. It would most likely fail, but it was the only thing he could think of.

Gritting his teeth, pulling himself to his hands and knees, he began to crawl.



**********



The Darkmistress cradled her arm, staring down in disbelief at the now-limp piece of cloth that now hung out of both sides of her wrist, as she tried to fight back the excruciating pain. That... wretch! she thought furiously. Exploding floors, bladed fabric... What will the creature use next?

Straightening up, she turned over to where her foe had landed. He was down on all fours, crawling obliquely away from her. "Where do you think you're going?" she snarled, raising her uninjured arm and beginning to gather her lightning to it.

The human took a long look around him, then turned to face her, pulling himself up to one knee. "Shut up, freak," he managed to rasp out.

The Darkmistress' eyes flashed at his impertinence. "I will make you suffer for wounding me, human. You will suffer like no one has ever suffered before, for as many years as I can possibly keep you alive."

But he only snorted. "You don't scare me," he shot back. "Go on! Take your best shot!"

"Gladly!" Her face twisting into an expression of pure hatred, the Darkmistress fired down at the kneeling human, the bolt of lightning raging toward him.

He did not even try to dodge, merely crossed his arms protectively in front of himself. The blast caught them dead center, smashing them back into his chest. His body was plowed viciously into the ground, his path gouging out a long furrow in the earth, sending dirt flying through the air. Until, at last, he was slammed full-tilt into the pond in the middle of the yard, the impact creating a huge geyser.

The Darkmistress laughed at the destruction, feeling some amount of control return. She strode toward where her opponent's path had taken him, as water rained down around her. "So, human," she sneered, as she approached the lip of the ruined pond. "Do you still think--"

But suddenly she broke off, her eyes bulging in disbelief.

The human was gone!

Her mind raced, trying to comprehend it. One moment she had had him at her mercy, the next he had simply vanished into thin air! How had he done it? Invisibility? Teleportation?

The latter possibility caused her to whirl around, hand outstretched, red lighting crackling in her palm. But there was no sign of an attack from behind. She spun back and forth, her every move tense and alert, looking up and down, searching for where her foe could have gone. But it was all utterly fruitless.

Turning back to the remains of the pond, she noticed and oddity: the torn remains of the human's clothes were still there, floating scattered about the surface of the water. It puzzled the Darkmistress. If he had left, why leave his clothes behind?

Perhaps... perhaps she had overestimated his resilience, and accidentally killed him? But no, it was only youma whose bodies disintegrated immediately upon death. Humans didn't do that.

Then again, they didn't really have any proof that these interlopers were actually human themselves...

Either way, she knew she had lost her chance to take any prisoners. Enemy reinforcements were no doubt on the way, and she was in no shape for another battle like that last one. A pained grimace crossed her face, her currently-useless hand sending throbs of unbearable agony up her arm. Slowly, she turned and began to walk away.

She had been denied today. But there would be a reckoning. Even as she walked, she was planning out the force of youma that she would lead against these vermin to wreak her vengeance.

Playtime was over.



**********



Back in her civilian form, Rei glanced over at Ami, wondering--not for the first time--just what the blue-haired girl was thinking.

She had grown quite accustomed to her other teammates, even in the short time since she had awakened. Luna she felt she understood quite well, and calling Usagi "obvious" was something of an understatement in her opinion.

But Ami... she was still very much an enigma. Quiet, calm, reserved... but incredibly intelligent. There were depths to her that Rei had not yet been able to fathom. And that unsettled her, just a little--while intriguing her at the same time.

How does a genius like her see the rest of us? the dark-haired girl mused. I wonder if it's something I could even understand.

Abruptly, Ami looked up. "I knew that it was dangerous to just let her run off like that," she said, self-recrimination in her voice. "I should have said something more! If she's hurt anyone else because we didn't chase her..."

Rei sighed. "We made the best decision at the time," she said, trying to be reassuring for Ami's sake. To be honest, though, she was plagued with her own memories of that showdown. The youma's cruel sneer, the cold, gleaming blade pressed right up against the child's throat...

She shuddered. "Anyway, we can only go forward," she told the other girl firmly. "We need to tell Luna and Usagi the information that boy gave us. We'll figure out the next step from there."

"Yes..." Ami agreed. Then she glanced over at Rei. "Although I think he might not have been very... objective... in some of what he said."

A wry smile crossed Rei's face. "I agree..." she replied. "Still, it doesn't matter. We'll find out the truth for ourselves soon enough. And there's one thing, at least, I am sure of."

The Senshi of fire turned, looking out across the city, toward Nerima. "This time, that youma won't escape."

[mondu_the_fat]

very nice.

Then she would have finished her food, and spent the rest of the lunch period with her head buried in a textbook, study distracting her from such intrusive curiosity about other people's business.

I find the bolded part akward to read, but can't pinpoint what's wrong with it, exactly.

Most people in the world can, by and large, be relied on to have a roughly similar set of things that would make them nervous.

"by and large" isn't needed, since it already means "most"

[Daniel Jess Gibson]

very nice.

I quite agree.

Then she would have finished her food, and spent the rest of the lunch period with her head buried in a textbook, study distracting her from such intrusive curiosity about other people's business.

I find the bolded part akward to read, but can't pinpoint what's wrong with it, exactly.

It's a tense shift and ambiguity to the number of curiosity about other people's business. is it singular or plural?

study distracting her from such intrusive
studying distracted her from such an intrusive

might read better.

Most people in the world can, by and large, be relied on to have a roughly similar set of things that would make them nervous.

"by and large" isn't needed, since it already means "most"

I beleive Claymade is correct. Most refers to people, by and large refers to having the set of things.

most people can usually be relied on is another way of saying what Claymade said.

[claymade]

very nice.

I quite agree.

Thanks!

I find the bolded part akward to read, but can't pinpoint what's wrong with it, exactly.

It's a tense shift and ambiguity to the number of curiosity about other people's business. is it singular or plural?

Good catch! I'll fiddle around with that and get it to flow better...

"by and large" isn't needed, since it already means "most"

I beleive Claymade is correct. Most refers to people, by and large refers to having the set of things.

most people can usually be relied on is another way of saying what Claymade said.

Indeed, the latter meaning was what I was shooting for. However current version, the way it is, is indeed more ambiguous than it could be.

I'll probably use something more like the supplied alternate version. Cleaner, and less comma-y too--better all 'round.

Thanks very much for the corrections!

[Nadrek]

Well done.

Ryoga innovating during the fight was good - in particular, it would be interesting to see if one of Mousse's metal weapons driven through her charged gauntlet and wrist ends up discharging her own attack into her own body.

The use of a piglet curse to escape was very good.

Given the amount of time that Ryoga used up, I'd expect Ranma or Cologne to appear while the "Darkmistress" is still walking away - walking certainly isn't very fast. Even Dr. Tofu might notice her.

Gosunkugi was well played, and now we can get further into the Dark Lords of Nerima being, you know, Dark Lords in the eyes of the Senshi.

[claymade]

Well done.

Thank you!

Ryoga innovating during the fight was good - in particular, it would be interesting to see if one of Mousse's metal weapons driven through her charged gauntlet and wrist ends up discharging her own attack into her own body.

Hmmm, yeah... Magical attack physics are usually a bit loosey-goosey, so I guess I could see it going either way... Although she may have some degree of "your own power doesn't zap you" immunity--I mean, she can certainly have it flowing all along her arms without a problem...

The use of a piglet curse to escape was very good.

Heh heh heh... I've been waiting for a long time to pull that one...

Given the amount of time that Ryoga used up, I'd expect Ranma or Cologne to appear while the "Darkmistress" is still walking away - walking certainly isn't very fast. Even Dr. Tofu might notice her.

Perhaps... although you gotta figure that as soon as she clears the compound wall, she's going to change back into some cutely innocent form like she started out in... Granted, Cologne or Tofu could probably see through it, but they don't have a particular reason to be in the area of the Tendo dojo... Unless Ranma shows up right as she's leaving, before she's had the chance to blend away into the surroundings, it'd be pretty hard for him to catch up with her...

Gosunkugi was well played, and now we can get further into the Dark Lords of Nerima being, you know, Dark Lords in the eyes of the Senshi.

Long time in coming, but it's finally getting there...

[Cheb]

And here I hoped the Senshi would arrive in time to witness the youma-bashing... (or was it Ryouga-bashing?)
I guess i took a wrong turn at the fic list?

[claymade]

And here I hoped the Senshi would arrive in time to witness the youma-bashing... (or was it Ryouga-bashing?)

Well, they were bashing away at each other pretty mutually, although if you had to pick one, I suppose Ryouga probably got the worse end of that fight...

Anyway, yeah, the Senshi were a bit too geographically distant to make it to this particular fight. Don't worry, though--as the chapter ending implies, they're definitely on their way to join the thick of things!

[juandelacruz]

Another great chapter.

I'm getting this feeling that the Sailor Moon timeline will be accelerated with the other Senshi awakening and joining Mercury, Mars, and Moon earlier; the Darkmistress seems to be as powerful as any of the four generals, but a lot more vicious. I look forward to the battle royale. Will Beryl be notified of this mysterious and dangerous third force?

Turning back to the remains of the pond, she noticed and oddity:

There's an extra "d" there.

[claymade]

Another great chapter.

Thanks!

I'm getting this feeling that the Sailor Moon timeline will be accelerated with the other Senshi awakening and joining Mercury, Mars, and Moon earlier; the Darkmistress seems to be as powerful as any of the four generals, but a lot more vicious.

Their relative strength will be made a little clearer in the next chapter, actually. As far as the Generals go, she could, in fact, probably hold her own tolerably well against Zoiscite... but then, he's easily the weakest of them in terms of raw combat ability. Any of the other three would pretty much obliterate her in a straight-up fight, with the required effort ranging from "moderate" to "non-existent" as you go from Jadeite to Nephrite to Kunzite. Beryl herself would squash the Darkmistress like a bug.

I look forward to the battle royale. Will Beryl be notified of this mysterious and dangerous third force?

Heh heh heh... Glad that the anticipation is percolating. As for Beryl... well, we'll have to see...

There's an extra "d" there.

Thanks! Good eye!