Insertion Part 50: The Return of Hope by Sean D'Anna ===== Angela kneeled before Belldandy, a frustrated frown on her face as she lowered her head in shame. "I've failed." "Yes. I know," replied the goddess with an unusual amount of calm in her voice. "You tried your best." The angel looked up in surprise at this. "What? I..." "We must prepare, as a new demon enters the fold, so must a new god be born, in order to retain balance." Angela gaped at her in shock. "But..." "There is nothing that can be done, you are not the first to fail," replied Belldandy calmly. "I see," said the angel with her frown deepening. "Rise Angela, the new goddess of Vengeance," said Belldandy as she put her hand on the woman's shoulder. "But I failed!" said the angel. "Yes, but you did try your best," replied Belldandy. "Your service to us over the past fifteen hundred years has been flawless until now." "Fifteen hundred years?" said the woman dumbly as she stared at the goddess. "Only two of you are new here remember?" said Belldandy with an amused looking smile. "The other has been here for some time." "Vengeance?" muttered Angela as she looked up at the goddess. "A negative emotion?" replied Belldandy as she smirked at the woman. "I always thought so..." said the woman with a frown on her face. "Vengeance is more than revenge, it can be righteous and noble as well. Not all Vengeance must end in death," said the goddess as she turned away. "I see..." said the new goddess as she stared at her feet. When she looked up again, three markings adorned her face. Small triangles set up to form a larger one on her forehead. "Do not concern yourself with him any longer. The lords of hell will not attack until Ragnarock, and that is some time away I think." said the woman calmly. Angela frowned at the thought. "When they do come, I'll be waiting for them." "Yes, you will. The world is ready for a goddess like you as well. The death of the hellspawn has brought a new hope to Midigard. A light that could benefit from your power." "A new hope?" muttered the Goddess in confusion. "Yes, the Silver Imperium Crystal has been released from the evil that once held it. Soon it will be in the hands of someone who could bring about a new age," replied the Goddess calmly. "A righteous quest, and a need for your blessing. It will not be an easy battle, and they are still..." "They aren't strong enough," said Angela as she nodded at this. "No, they are not," confirmed Belldandy with a sad looking smile. "I'll do all I can," said Angela with a firm resolve forming on her face. "I know you will, that is why you were chosen," said the Goddess as she left the new deity and walked out of the room. ++++++++++++++ Ranma glared up at Hild with a rough sounding snort, Carrot stood beside him with his arms crossed over his chest. "What do you want?" asked Ranma. "Why did you call us again? We were just acclimating," said Carrot. Hild smiled at this, they were still as fearless as ever. It was rather refreshing actually, normally her minions cowered before her fearfully. They would fall in line soon enough, after a little experience. It wasn't something she wished to deal with just yet. "Well?" snorted Carrot. "You are the perfect demon for the job," said Hild to herself. "There's two of us you know," snorted Ranma. "No there isn't, that's all in your mind," said Hild calmly. Ranma and Carrot looked at each other and blinked. They both gave a small shrug and turned to look at her again. "I have a job for you two, it'll get you out of my hair for a while," said the Queen of the Damned as she frowned at them. "There is a new hope for humanity." "You want us to kill it?" asked Carrot with his eyebrow arched. Ranma didn't look like he thought that was a very good idea, and Carrot obviously didn't care for it much either. "No. I want you to help it in fact," said Hild calmly. "Help it?" muttered Ranma dumbly. This was a surprise to the both of them. "To put it simply, we aren't getting much inflow these days." The demoness stood up from her throne and walked between them. "Humanity is slowly dwindling away. Midigard was once a prime source for souls. Other worlds have life that either don't have souls, or are ruled in such a way that we don't get much inflow from them. There are also the other demon lords to consider, they take a large chunk of that from us. We usually only get overflow from them. We're falling behind, and that is unacceptable." "So you want us to save the world, in order to increase production," said Carrot as he nodded in understanding. Hild waved her hand, and a ball of power with Usagi's image in it appeared there. "You are to help this one, once she receives the Silver Imperium Crystal. When she has performed her task, you are to destroy her, and prevent her from uniting the people." "Use her to destroy the threat, and then destroy the possibility of Crystal Tokyo," said Carrot with an understanding nod. "Yes. You do understand," said Hild with a smirk growing on her face. "Midigard will fall into a lull for a while, but soon the tribes that have already formed will flourish, and become independent nations. Leading down the path of destruction once again." "Meaning production will return to normal," said Carrot with an understanding nod. Ranma growled, he didn't like this at all. "You are a demon, and you can't interfere directly any longer, but you man help clear the way, and help her in other ways." "What's that mean?" said Ranma in confusion. "We can't kill the other us ourselves, but we can make sure she gets the chance," simplified Carrot. "Excellent," commented Hild. "I thought you weren't going to send us back to Earth?" said Carrot as he looked up at her and frowned. "I lied," said the demoness calmly. "Sooner or later you would have been sent back, if not for this, then in a few hundred years. Just to keep things on track." Ranma and Carrot looked at each other for a moment. They both shrugged and looked back at Hild. "Sure," replied Carrot. "It wasn't a request, it was an order. Now go!" snapped Hild angrily. The pair vanished in a flash of fire. She sat back on her throne again and sighed. The one would be able to keep the other in line. That was one of the reasons she put them together that way. Carrot could ensure that Ranma didn't cling to his humanity and those stupid noble feelings he still harbored. It also seemed that they hadn't quite realized that they were more than just partners now, they were a single being. +++++++++++++++ Whether or not it was a coincidence or not, neither would ever know. A flash of light and a pillar of flame appeared on the surface of the planet at the exact same time. One a goddess stepped out of, and the other a demon. Ranma turned his head in surprise and frowned. Angela did the same. "You!" the cried in unison. Ranma crossed his arms over his chest and chuckled. "Well, well. If it isn't our old friend." Angela stepped back and growled. She hadn't changed much in appearance, but Ranma now looked like his old self again. "What are you doing here demon?" "I've come to help Usagi become Sailor Moon again. You?" The angel narrowed her eyes at this. "I doubt that." "Well, you can doubt all you want," snorted Ranma as he shrugged his shoulders and started walking. "Where do you think you're going demon!" cried Angela as her spear appeared in her hand. "I'm gonna go find Usagi. Put that thing away, I'm a full demon now. You can't kill me anymore." Angela frowned at this, but complied. "If it meant my own death, I'd do it in an instant!" "But you don't know if it will mean your own death...wait a minute. What do you mean 'your own death'?" said Ranma as he looked back at her. He smirked when he noticed the new markings on her forehead. "Oh! You've been promoted too! Congratulations." "Stuff it," she snapped in retort. "I'll destroy you one day. Count on that, it's just been delayed." "Man. What crawled up your ass?" snorted Ranma as he looked over the horizon. "Where is she anyway?" "None of your business," snapped Angela. "Dan was never this pissy before," snorted Ranma as he crossed his arms over his chest and frowned at her. "Well, I'm not him," said the woman sharply. "I figured that out," said Ranma as he brushed her off. "I know two of you, but the third one eludes me. She obviously knows who we were though." "It's none of your business," said Angela coldly. "Fine, be that way. There's Hotaru," said Ranma as he nodded his head. In front of them, Hotaru was being lead towards a small village by Mamoru. "Tux boy," said the demon calmly. "He's taking her somewhere. I'll bet I know where too." +++++++++++ Hotaru frowned as she glanced at the buildings all around her. She could feel the people inside looking at her, watching her from within the shadows. Fear was the most prevalent emotion she was picking up from them. "Where is she. We don't have time to waste. It won't take them very long to figure out where this is," said Hotaru coldly. Mamoru frowned as he glanced back at her. "I know." "Usagi!" called Hotaru as she stopped following him and turned towards one of the buildings. "Usagi, come out! I know you're here!" She actually found herself surprised by the woman's appearance. Her senshi stood all around her, scowling at her. "What do you want? I thought I made it clear that you and your demon friend are not welcome here," said the blind woman calmly. "I've brought you something," said Hotaru as she pulled the folded cloth from behind her back. "My sensei gave his life, so that he could get it back from them." Her words spoke volumes of respect for the dead man. "Did he?" asked the woman calmly as she waved her arms. The senshi dispersed from in front of her allowing her to move forward. "What is this rock?" "It is the Silver Imperium Crystal," said Hotaru calmly. "The ultimate force of power on this planet." "That isn't possible...my daughter..." "Your daughter is dead," said Hotaru without a hint of emotion in her voice. Usagi froze and reached out slowly with her hand. "No..." "You cry for her?" snorted Hotaru in disgust as she shoved the crystal into the woman's hand. "She was my child..." muttered the woman in horror. "No. She was his child," corrected Hotaru. "She never had the choice," retorted Usagi. "Regardless, she was evil, and you knew she had to be destroyed," said Hotaru calmly. "I'd have used this to kill them myself, but I don't know how." Usagi looked at her and frowned. "With this...I can..." "You can become Sailor Moon once again. In fact, the Black Lady no longer prevents you from using your powers. You can finally face that thing, in a fight where you have a faint hope of winning. However, I'm not just going to give it to you. I want something in return." Usagi frowned at her. "So...what is it that you want?" "I have heard that this crystal can raise the dead." "I don't know much about it," admitted Usagi. "You know enough," growled Hotaru. "Very well," said Usagi as she raised it over her head. "I believe I already know what it is that you want." Hotaru nodded and stepped back. ++++++++++++ "She's using it already?" muttered Ranma as he approached the scene from nearby. Angela was taking up the rear, a hateful scowl on her face as she kept up with his lazy stroll. "That's stupid. Ranma will feel the energy released...why would she? Is she trying to heal the world? It would only be destroyed again!" "No. She's not using enough power for that," commented Angela. Ranma gasped as he suddenly fell to his knees. "What the?" "What is it?" muttered Angela. She backed away in horror as his body began to fade slowly away. "What? No!" She suddenly realized what was happening. Ranma slumped face first into the dust, and vanished from sight. Angela staggered back, and fell on her rear. She suddenly felt very weak. "What has she done?" +++++++++++++ Usagi gasped in horror at the figure that now lay on the ground at her feet. He was nude, and curled up in a fetal position. A black and gold aura surrounded his body as he lay there breathing slowly. Unfortunately, it was a face she would never forget. Lying in front of her in the dust, was Ranma Saotome. "You tricked me!" she sputtered in horror as she looked at Hotaru. "No," said the woman calmly as she shook her head. "He is not Ranma Saotome. Not the man you know." "I can see it!" snapped Usagi as she pointed at him. She paused suddenly and realized that she could indeed see it. She slowly waved her hand in front of her face and gasped. "I can see again!" "So it seems," said Hotaru with a small nod. Usagi looked down at herself, she was once again dressed in a familiar uniform. The guise of the Sailor Senshi barely covered her form. "I...have returned..." The four senshi all fell to their knees around her. Looks of shocked awe on their faces. The group turned towards Ranma Saotome and glared down at him hatefully. "What of this one?" asked Jupiter. "If you touch him, you deal with me," said Hotaru coldly. The figure in the dust groaned painfully and slowly staggered to his feet. "What the hell just happened? Where am I?" He blinked as his eyes began to focus, Usagi's blue eyes glaring at him hatefully was the first thing he saw. "Ouch." He clutched his head and staggered into Hotaru. The woman supported him for a second before he regained himself. "Where are my clothes?" "You don't have any yet," chuckled Saturn as she looked him up and down. "Why is Sailor Moon here?" he grumbled as he glanced around and found all of the Senshi staring at him in the nude. The younger girls were staring with a mixture of hatred and embarrassment. Usagi just looked angry. "Hey lady. I ain't done nuthin yet," he grumbled irritably as he glared back at her. He regained his balance finally and flexed his arms. Everyone present gasped as his clothes seemed to appear all around him, covering his body like a liquid. It was the familiar Chinese dress of his youth, a red shirt and black silk pants, both fitting him loosely. He gave a rough sounding snort as he inspected his apparel and frowned at them. "I didn't need you to revive me you know. I was on my way to help already. I was sent by Hild to assist you in destroying Ranma." "Hild?" muttered Usagi dumbly. "The Queen of Hell," said Ranma calmly. "I'm a demon." Usagi gasped at this. His eyes were glowing with a golden green tint as he looked back at her again. "Why would..." He winked at her and wagged his finger. "Now that...is a secret." "In any case, I was told I can't interfere directly any longer. There are rules against that," said Ranma with a frown on his face. Usagi looked at him skeptically. "I suppose I should believe you. For now anyway." Ranma paused as he got an odd look on his face. "What the?" He glanced around at those around him and frowned. "Just a moment." A flash of green light was all they saw after that as he teleported away. +++++++++++++ Ranma Saotome was staring down at a dusty spot in the middle of nowhere. "What the hell? What's going on?" Carrot was somewhat disturbed as well. "How the hell did you idiots get here?" Dan scowled angrily. "Just fuckin great! Can somebody explain this?" "No," snorted the female voice hatefully. "Oh dear," muttered Pissant. They all paused as a flash of light appeared before them. "This is a fine mess," snorted Urd as she looked at the sheet of paper in her hand. "How the hell did this happen?" "Urd!" the all cried at once. The goddess looked at them. "Hello. We've got a major problem here." "No shit," grumbled the pigtailed boy. "Somehow, the most unlikely scenario we could possibly think of has occurred," snorted Urd. "We didn't predict it, as impossible as that sounds." "Would you explain this scenario to us then?" snorted the boy angrily. Urd frowned at him. "No one has ever tried to resurrect a demon before. Not in a literal sense. Usually, it doesn't work, because most forms of resurrection are useless on someone who's been dead long enough to become a demon or an God." "So?" snorted the boy. "So. When they tried to revive you, the doublet system kicked in. We can't have an imbalance, so rather than destroying one of you, or overriding the crystal. It just shoved you both together, taking the easiest route." "What does that mean Urd-sama?" asked the boy as his tone changed dramatically. "It means you're a mess," said the Goddess with a sigh. "You've got no real classification. To put it simply, we don't know what to do with you. The best option, would be for you to kill yourself. Then you should all return to normal." "As you wish," said the feminine sounding voice. It changed dramatically once again. "I don't think so." "What?" gasped Urd dumbly. "Kill myself? Yeah right!" "You must be the demon talking," said Urd. "But, we aren't really a demon anymore are we?" said Carrot calmly. "We're a man again." "No you aren't," said Urd coldly. "You'll never be a man again. Part of you is connected to the Yggdrasil system, and the other part is linked to the dark power of hell." Ranma smirked at her suddenly. "So. We're neither a god, nor a demon any longer? We're something completely different? Something completely new?" Urd suddenly looked very uncomfortable at the look she was getting. "This isn't a good thing," she ventured. "Says who? You? You're just trying to get yourself out of trouble," said Ranma calmly. "I think I'll stay this way for a while." His face suddenly changed. "The hell we are!" "You can't kill all of us," he replied to himself. "Besides, we've got a job to do. Help Usagi become Sailor Moon again. That was your mission wasn't it?" The angelic half of him nodded slowly. "Well, we all want the other Ranma dead. Who's strong enough to kill us now?" said the other half calmly. "You still can't interfere directly," said Urd calmly. "We can't?" muttered Ranma as he frowned at her. "We're stuck in a mortal body. We can die, and we can fight." "You think that a mortal body would last ten seconds with the power of a god and a demon inside it? No. That's just a shell to hold you all together. You were resurrected though, so you are alive, and you can be killed. You're hardly a mortal though," said Urd calmly. "So, you're not even sure if you can kill us," said Ranma calmly as he looked at her. "There's a way, it's just a matter of finding it," said Urd calmly as she crossed her arms. Ranma frowned at this. "That doesn't sound very fun." "Regardless, it must be done," said Urd calmly. "Ready?" Ranma shot forward, lashing out at her as she tried to charge her power. "No!" Urd gasped and moved out of the way barely in time. "You're afraid of something aren't you? I'm too much like you aren't I?" Ranma glared up at her. "You were born a goddess, but I wasn't, and I'm half demon and half god like you." "It means nothing, you're dangerous. You're not like me," she snapped in reply. "You're right, I'm not," agreed Ranma. "I think I'm gonna stay this way too." "You can't," said Urd firmly. "You can't stop me," he replied with a shrug. With that, he vanished once again. +++++++++++ Usagi was standing with Hotaru at her side when Ranma appeared again. "I'm baaaaacccckkk!" he said cheerfully as he spread his arms. "Whole, complete, and totally..." His speech was silenced as he promptly decked himself in the face. "Ouch!" he cried dumbly. "What the hell?" muttered Akane as she stood up from where she had been sitting nearby. Ranma was struggling with himself in the middle of the street. The meeting within the town suddenly came to a stop as everyone stopped to look at the man fighting with himself in the middle of the road. "You asshole!" "How dare you speak to Urd-sama that way!" "Ingrates!" "I figured you assholes would be happy to see us!" "Fat chance loser boy! I'm gonna kill us!" "No way are we gonna get stuck with each other again!" "Please stop fighting!" "Gah! Why'd you have to bring the whiny boy back with ya?" "Stuff it dark boy!" "That's enough!" cried Usagi angrily as she stood over him and stared down. Ranma looked up at her and blinked. He was pulling on his pigtail, and punching himself in the face repeatedly. Finally, his struggles weakened and he stood up. "Huh?" "Who are you?" snapped Usagi as she pointed at him. "I'm Ranma Saotome of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts! I'm the real Ranma Saotome!" he cried triumphantly. "I've come back from heaven and hell to make sure that dumbass fake me goes down!" Everyone looked at him and blinked. "But...I'm not allowed to fight him directly. I can only help you," he said sheepishly. "What?" gasped Hotaru as she looked at him in shock. "Sorry Hotaru. It's the rules. Once I became...what I am...I became unable to interfere directly." Usagi blinked and looked at the dark haired woman. "Who is this? I was expecting that man you had with you before." Hotaru frowned. "That was him. He was just..." "In my larval stage!" said Ranma proudly. "I was a hellspawn. A sort of maturing demon." "You weren't mature yet?" said Usagi dumbly. "That's right. That's why I was able to fight Ranma still, but since I...um...matured..." "You can't anymore. Is that it?" grumbled Hotaru. "Um. Right," said Ranma sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "Damn. I might as well have left you dead!" snapped Hotaru as she glared at him. "You won't be sorry," said Ranma with a strange glint in his eyes. "Not by a long shot." +++++++++++++ "This is not good," commented Ranma as he glared at Tochi and Ryoga angrily. "We're being killed off." He was sitting on his throne with a laptop closed on his lap. "That's an understatement. That thing has managed to destroy most of our strongest fighters single-handedly," commented Tochi. She was standing in front of him with a smirk on her face, looking more amused than anything else. Ryoga merely stood silently off to the side, staring at nothing. Ranma frowned as he tapped his fingers on the top of his laptop. "I'm going to locate the crystal and go get it, after that we should be able to revive Chibi- Usa at least." "What of Kuno and Hotaru?" said Tochi. "Losing Mistress Nine wasn't particularly bad. We'd have needed to destroy her sooner or later anyway," commented Ranma coldly. "I'll admit we may have to revive her, depending on how bad our situation is, but it may not be necessary." Tochi nodded at this, not bothering to comment. "We must destroy this hellspawn," snarled Ranma coldly. "It has been a few days," commented Tochi. "He's been very quiet." "Too quiet," agreed Ranma. "I also haven't been able to get any readings on the Crystal as of yet. Whoever has it, isn't using it." "Right," grumbled Tochi to herself. Ranma's laptop beeped. He smiled and flipped it open. "Well, it seems someone has used the crystal at last." "Shall we go?" asked Tochi. "No. Summon Ryu Kumon. We'll send him in to investigate." Within five minutes time the man was kneeling before them. "What is it?" he asked calmly. "I want you to go and scout," he said calmly. "Your orders are simple, assess the situation, and do not engage. You're on an information-gathering mission, not a combat one. If you're spotted, come back immediately." "Right," said the boy with a frown on his face. He bowed and turned towards the door. +++++++++++++ "So. Now what?" asked Sailor Moon as she frowned at Ranma. "Do you expect us to charge them head on?" "No. I expect them to come to us," he replied with a smirk on his face. The senshi didn't like the sound of that. They shuffled about uncomfortably. "Ranma will see the energy released by the crystal. I doubt if he'll be unable to track it. When he does, you'll be ready for him." "What? That's suicide!" cried Mamoru. "Not with me here it isn't," said Ranma coldly. "What good are you going to do us?" snapped Akane. "You said you can't fight!" "No. I can't, but..." "But?" said Hotaru doubtfully. "You can," he replied calmly. "You're stronger than you realize. That Crystal is a very powerful ally, and I'm a powerful ally as well." The others didn't like the look he had given them at all. It was one of supreme confidence, but also had a dark edge to it. "I do not think that there will be another chance," said Usagi calmly as she looked at her friends and family for a moment. "Well. Shall we begin?" asked Ranma. "Begin what?" asked Akane nervously. "Your training of course," he said calmly. +++++++++++++ Four hours later... Ryu Kumon frowned as he looked at the group that was standing in the middle of the street in the decimated town. "Senshi." They didn't appear to be doing anything but standing there. He frowned and pressed one of the buttons on his watch before speaking into it. "I've found the source. The Senshi have the crystal." "Most unfortunate," commented Ranma from the other side. "What are they doing?" "Reading, all the young ones have some books," said Kumon. He paused. "Wait. There's something else..." "What is it?" asked Ranma calmly. "It's another Senshi...no! Two of them!" said the man as he ducked a little lower behind the destroyed wall he was using as cover. "What?" commented Ranma in a sort of calm surprise. "Two new Senshi...both of them older than the ones we know," said the man. "One...blonde...I think it's Usagi." "Sailor Moon," growled Ranma from the other end. "And the other?" "It looks like...no way!" Ryu ducked behind the wall completely. "What is it?" "It's Mistress Nine! She's betrayed us!" snapped Ryu. "Definitely not good," said Ranma calmly. "Why would she though? Unless..." There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment. "Return to base. Our plans have changed." "Sir?" muttered Ryu dumbly. "Come back, there's nothing more that can be done," said Ranma. "As you wish," grumbled the man as he shut down his connection. "Well, it seems that you've outlived your usefulness, Ryu," said a dangerously familiar voice. "Huh?" said the man as he jumped to his feet. Ranma Saotome stood over him with a cold scowl on his face. "Sir?" "Heh. I'm through with you Ryu," said the boy calmly. The battle-scarred man realized something was definitely wrong immediately. "Oh shit." The Ranma in front of him was younger than the one he knew. A ball of red power was in his hands and he smirked down at the man evilly. "Goodbye." Ryu never even got the chance to scream. He was vaporized in a small burst of power. "Damn, they know about Hotaru," grumbled Ranma as he scowled at the scorched portion of the ground where Ryu had been. +++++++++++++ "Return to me my child," said Hild coldly as she summoned Ranma Saotome to her. The boy appeared to her, standing in the middle of her throne room once again. He slowly turned and smirked at her. "Hello again." "What has happened?" she inquired calmly. "Nothing of any importance," he replied calmly. "Oh?" she said as she arched her eyebrow slightly. "When were you planning on informing me that you'd become merged with a god?" "Never. I knew that you already did know," he said with a small shrug. "Release her to me, she may be valuable when we storm the heavens." "I don't think so," said Ranma calmly. Hild's smirk faded. "What?" "You're not getting her away from me," he said as he glared at her for a moment fearlessly. "Impudent little..." started the demoness. "You think you can command me?" he snorted in amusement. "I'm not a demon anymore. You can't order me around. Not that you could in the first place." "You're nothing but a servant. I could destroy you with a thought," she said coldly. "Release the goddess to me, and I may forget this impertinence." Ranma smirked at her coldly. "No. Go ahead and destroy me. If you can." He vanished into thin air, leaving her frowning at where he had been. "Most interesting," commented Hild to herself. +++++++++++ Ranma blinked at where he found himself next. Clouds billowed around the tall spires of heaven. He was floating in the middle of the place glancing around in confusion. "What? How the hell did I end up here?" "Who are you?" snapped a voice from behind him. He slowly turned to see Belldandy glaring at him with a ball of power in her hands. "Ranma Saotome," he replied. "I'm not quite sure how I got here. I think I overdid it when I teleported out of my meeting with Hild." "I see," replied Belldandy as she scowled at him. He frowned when she didn't lower her energy ball, and several scores of angels appeared around him. "Um. Could you stop that?" "What do you want here?" she asked firmly. "Nothing. I told you it was an accident," he said calmly. "How do I...ah..." A grin formed on his face as he realized all he had to do was teleport away again. "You're not going anywhere until you..." said Urd as she appeared in front of him. He promptly slapped her across her face. "Give it up already!" Belldandy blinked at this. "Jeez, for goddesses you sure are irritating," snapped Ranma as he put his hands on his hips. "Look. I like how I am right now, and you ain't doin nuthin to me. So give it up already!" He paused as someone started screaming obscenities inside his head. "Well...most of me likes it anyway." He was forced to grab his right hand in order to prevent it from choking him. "Cut it out you crazy chick!" He vanished in another flash of light. +++++++++++ "Okay. We're gonna settle this before Ranma we have to fight Ranma and his goons," said Carrot as they appeared in the middle of a barren desert on the Earth. "Fine by me," said Dan with a small shrug. "Crazy chick," grumbled Ranma irritably. "You're going to do like Urd-sama says and separate us!" cried the woman. "Quit shouting," commented Pissant. "We can talk about this like gentlemen...and ladies." "I oughta..." growled the woman hatefully. "He did correct himself," commented Carrot. "You stay out of this! How could you traitors do this to me?!" snapped the woman as she spoke to her two original companions. "We're used to it," said Dan with a shrug. "You're the one who was all gung-ho about killing the evil demon and all. I was just havin a little fun." "Who the heck are you anyway?" snorted Carrot. "We don't know you do we? You've been hell bent on destroying our ass ever since we met you." "Do you have any idea the humiliation I've had to endure because of you?" she snapped hatefully. "No," replied Carrot. "Does the name Ranko Saotome ring any bells?" she growled. "Yeah...but what has that got to do with..." Carrot paused. "I'll be damned..." "What is it?" muttered Ranma in confusion. "You've made a laughing stock out of me! Acting like some ditzy schoolgirl! The humiliation I've had to endure!" "Very tragic story! Whoever drown in spring, take body of young girl!" said Carrot cheerfully. "Argh!" snarled the woman as she tried to choke him again. Carrot pulled their arm away from his throat again calmly. "Cut it out." "You and that damn Ranko of yours! It was disgusting!" "I only did it when Mom was around," commented Carrot. "Or when I thought we might get free food...or when I wanted to tease some loser guy who kept hitting on us...or that one time when we stumbled into that store that sold used panties...or..." "Shut up!" snarled the woman as the arm reached for their throat again. Carrot bitch slapped the whole lot of them. "I said stop it!" "What's your name anyway?" asked Ranma. The woman seemed to back off a bit. "I am...Xianfu." "Xianfu? What are you? Some kind of Amazon?" snorted Carrot. "I am not one of those man hating lesbian freaks!" snapped the woman in retort. "Sorry, the name threw me off," said Carrot with a shrug. "What a tomboy," snorted Ranma. "Every girl who practices the art is a tomboy or an Amazon to you?" she snapped in retort. "Basically," said Carrot with a shrug. "If they're any good at it anyway." "So. Now what?" asked Ranma dumbly. "Now you'll all do as I say, and kill yourselves so we can get back to normal!" snapped the woman hatefully. "We aren't going to kill ourselves," snorted Carrot. "Traitors!" she snapped. "But...that would hurt," whined Pissant. "Don't look at me. I don't care," said Dan with a shrug. "I ain't gonna do it," said Ranma. "Nope, no way," commented Carrot. "Die!" she cried as she tried to choke them once again. "This could get annoying," said Dan. "You're tellin me?" snapped Carrot as he held the arm back again. +++++++++++ Usagi frowned at her old outfit. "I never realized how short this was before..." She brushed at the skirt on her fuku and blushed. "Why do you think I followed you around so much when we were younger?" asked Mamoru with an amused sounding chuckle. "Pervert," she said weakly as her blush flushed some more. "Let's not forget child molester," commented Ranma as he appeared before them. "How are things going here?" "Well enough," said Usagi with a short nod. "Good. We attack in two hours," said Ranma calmly. "Attack?" muttered Usagi in confusion. "I will not!" "We have no choice," said Ranma calmly as he turned to look at the tower in the distance. It was barely visible, but with the city mostly wiped out, it was easy to see a fair distance away. "Ranma sent a spy, and he knows you have the Silver Imperium Crystal and Sailor Saturn." "So, surprise is gone," said Akane as she stood up from where she had been resting. No one else had noticed her, as she was behind a small boulder nearby. "It's worse than that," said Ranma calmly. "How could it be any worse?" snorted Mamoru angrily. "He's going to destroy the entire planet," said Ranma as he turned to smile at him. "What?!" cried the others in shock. "Quite simple really. It was his plan from the start," said the boy as he glanced at all of them in amusement. "He's been terraforming Mars for the past fifteen years or so. I suppose he's been putting it off until that project was finished. Rather than face you, armed with that crystal and the senshi of death and rebirth, he'll destroy the planet and move on." "What? Why?" gasped Usagi in horror. "Because he knows that you have a chance," replied the boy calmly as he glanced at her. "He's on the defensive now. We're going to have to go get him. Otherwise, he'll just destroy the planet from orbit." "He can do that?" muttered Akane dumbly. "I'm going to do something about that. It's your job to make sure he doesn't escape," said Ranma as he looked at them for a moment. "Once Ranma is destroyed, I'll make sure that those starships aren't a threat anymore." "How are you planning to do that?" asked Mamoru. "That is a secret," said the pigtailed demon god calmly. "Don't worry. I'll handle everything once he's gone. As long as I'm only assisting in the fight, I can do a lot. I can't kill him for you though." "Right," grumbled Akane angrily. "You'll see," said Ranma as he vanished again. +++++++ "Are we ready?" asked Ranma as he smirked at Tochi. "We can leave any time," said the woman as she glanced at him with a smile on her lips. "Good. We should leave at once then," he said calmly as he stood up from his throne and started walking. "Ryoga. Come with us." The boy said nothing as he unfolded his arms and followed after them. "You're to make sure no one stops us from escaping. I'll allow you to remain behind, to be destroyed with the planet," he looked at his son-in-law and frowned. "Give my regards to my daughter when you meet her. I'm sure she'll be pissed I'm abandoning her." For the first time in almost twenty years, Ryoga had a faint looking smile on his face. His eyes gave away nothing but hatred though. "Perhaps we should work on a replacement," said Tochi as she put her hand on her lover's shoulder. "Maybe," he replied as he stepped onto an elevator. Ryoga stopped in front of the doors. "Make sure no one gets by," said the pigtailed man as the doors closed. Ryoga turned away from the doors in order to stand guard. +++++++++++ The six senshi stood together in front of the doorway to the building. High above, a starship was preparing to take off on the rooftop almost forty stories above them. Mamoru was taking up the rear with Akane at his side. He was dressed as he hadn't been in years. A tuxedo and mask, with a dangerous looking rapier at his side. "Why are we here?" he snorted in disgust. "We've come a long way to die." "Because he wasn't lying," said Sailor Moon calmly. "How do you know? I bet we can't trust him," said Mamoru. "For all we know, he's leading us into a trap." Hotaru frowned at him, but didn't argue. "He is," said Akane. "Ranma would have prepared for us." "How right you are," said Ranma as he appeared behind them with the same insane looking smirk on his face. "However, if you want to save the world, you have to continue forward. Sorry, that's just the way things are." "Right," growled Mamoru. "What the hell ever happened to 'You can do it Sailor Moon! Believe in yourself!'?" said the boy as he glanced at Mamoru for a moment. "I grew up and realized that sometimes it takes more than believing in yourself to survive." "How cynical," snorted Ranma. "You just wanted an excuse to grab some fourteen year old in lewd ways." "That is enough!" snapped Usagi. "For the first time in fifteen years, I believe we can do this!" "You're right, you can," said Ranma calmly. "Not because you're Sailor Moon, or because you believe in yourself either." "Why then?" muttered Jupiter nervously. None of the new senshi had spoken much, far too afraid to say anything during the trip here. "Because you've got me on your side," said Ranma calmly as he winked at her. "I can give you more than a confidence boost...if you're willing to trust me a little." He turned towards Akane and frowned slightly. "You did once." "Look what it got me," she replied harshly. "Point taken," he said with a small shrug. "Things are about to heat up. I suggest you prepare yourselves." They steeled themselves and strolled into the building. Ryoga Hibiki stood in front of the elevator, a harsh looking scowl on his face as he stared them down. The group of travelers moved into a combat stance waiting for the battle to begin. Ryoga strolled forward for a moment and simply stared at them for a moment. His face turned into a hateful snarl. "They're on the top floor." He stepped aside and pushed the button on the elevator. The doors opened and everyone stared at him for a moment. "What are you waiting for? Go get that bastard!" snarled Ryoga hatefully. "Um...don't you work for him?" asked the young senshi of Mars. "I was enslaved by his daughter. When she died, I was free..." He hung his head in shame. "I knew I wasn't strong enough to beat him anymore, so I just went on as I always did. I could never get the nerve to face him. Now, I'll die anyway." Akane paused and glanced around. Ranma was gone. "Where did?" "Let's go," said Sailor Moon firmly. ++++++++++ Ranma floated in deep space, staring at the starship in front of him calmly. He was far to small for the ship's sensors to pick him up. Or rather, for them to care about. He smirked to himself and waited patiently. "I hope you believe down there. This won't work very well if you don't." +++++++++++++ Ranma stood on the ramp to his starship and frowned. Tochi was beside him, staring at the group who rushed out onto the deck to meet him. "What? You got by Ryoga so easily?" "I am Sailor Moon, and..." started Usagi. "I know who you are. Please don't start that again," snorted Ranma as an aura of gold energy burst to life around him, changing his hair as well. Usagi snorted as she steeled herself. This was really going to hurt. "Just destroy them and be done with it, don't bother playing with them," said Ranma as he looked at Tochi. "Right," said the woman as she started to transform. Ranma seemed to vanish into thin air, moving far to fast for the senshi to follow. He appeared with Hotaru in his grip, holding her over the edge of the roof. "Pathetic. You might have stood a chance if you had trained a little, if only enough to unlock at least your super forms." "Silence Glaive Surpr..." muttered Hotaru quietly. Ranma snapped her neck and dropped her off of the edge. "No!" cried Usagi as she and the other senshi rushed in to attack. The golden lizard monster that had once been Tochi appeared in front of them and hissed, driving the young girls back. Sailor Moon watched in horror as it started to take them apart easily, separating them and singling them out with only a few well placed slashes. "This isn't going well. We aren't going to survive!" snapped Mamoru as he moved up behind her. "As I'm sure you've figured out, you'd have died anyway," said Ranma. "I was just on my way to give the order to destroy this pathetic world!" He appeared in front of the pair, grabbing Mamoru by his neck almost casually. He tossed him over his shoulder without so much as batting an eye, and the man plummeted off the edge of the building. "No!" muttered Usagi in horror as she tried to move after him. Ranma grabbed her by her shoulders and stopped her. "I am glad, that you decided to die with some dignity though," he said to her quietly. "I'd much rather do this, than something so impersonal." "Usagi! The crystal! Use the..." Akane's cries were cut off as Ranma simply waved his hand at her. She slammed into the door they had entered through and slumped down to the ground as it bent inward. "Yes. Use your precious crystal!" snarled Ranma as he swat it out of her hand. She was shaking so badly that she was barely holding onto it anyway. His hands gripped her body again as he pulled her back into him and glared into his eyes. "So. My one time lover, how does hopelessness really feel?" he said with his cold smirk growing into an insane looking grin. Usagi shuddered in revulsion, the memory of his violation playing in her mind again. "No...get away..." she whimpered pathetically. Ranma suddenly released her and was thrown back when something struck him from behind. "Flare Arrow!" cried the senshi of Mars as she managed to get a shot in, despite being busy from her battle with Tochi. The dragon thing was holding the limp form of Sailor Mercury in her claws, and her muzzle was frozen shut. Jupiter was under one of her feet, struggling weakly. Akane was lying still where she had landed, her eyes squeezed shut and tears flowing down her face. Ranma's final words to her were echoing in her mind, something he'd whispered to her right before she'd noticed he had vanished. "You've got to believe in me, if I am to help you." "I told you not to play with them!" snarled Ranma as he shoved his palm out towards Mars. She sailed into the air, and vanished over the ledge with a terrified scream. The dragon roared at him, shattering the ice mask that Mercury had created before she passed out. It squeezed the girl in her claws and she made a sickening crunching sound. Blood exploded from her head, out of her mouth, nose, eyes, and ears. "Kill them!" snapped Ranma. He paused as he heard something quiet, and strangely familiar. "What the?" "Darkness beyond twilight..." ++++++++++ Ranma floated in space smirking to himself as the words came to him, the will for it to happen. "Crimson blood that flows, buried in the flow of time is where your power grows! I pledge myself to conquer, all the foes who stand, against the mighty gift bestowed, to my unworthy hand!" He smiled as the red energy seemed to burn around him like an aura. "Well, goodbye." He chuckled and pointed his palm at the starship. +++++++++ "Energy reading sir!" cried one of the men inside the ship. "What?" growled Kuroi as he spun around. "Where?" "Outside the ship!" exclaimed the man in alarm. "It's...it's growing at an alarming rate!" "What is it?" snapped Kuroi angrily. "On screen!" He frowned as the image came to them. Ranma Saotome was floating outside the ship, grinning madly as an aura of power flickered around him. "Betrayer!" snapped Kuroi in horror. It was already too late though. ++++++++++++ "...Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power that you and I possess! Dragon Slayer!" cried Akane as the ball of energy forming in her hands exploded suddenly, shooting into Ranma's chest as he backed away with a look of shock in his eyes. "This can't be!" he cried in anger. He tried to push the energy away as it began to eat through is skin, burning him away slowly. "I can't be defeated by you! I'll destroy everything!" He roared in anger as he felt himself impact into the side of the starship that would have taken him off of the planet. "So close!" he muttered as his power failed, the impact with the ship breaking his concentration finally. He shot through the other end of the ship, carried by the beam of the spell and into the distance. Finally, a huge explosion of power surrounded him, and he felt his body vaporize before his senses disappeared forever. Tochi's jaws hung open as she watched her lover die. The innards of Sailor Jupiter fell out of her maw as she gaped at the impossible; a mere human defeated Ranma. A human who had discovered a new kind of power. Something she'd never felt before. "What was that?" she growled as she turned to face the girl with a snarl on her lips. Akane scowled at her. "Magic." Tochi backed away as she noticed Usagi rise to her feet as well. Inside her mind, Kuroi's dying scream filled her senses, disorienting her for a moment. "What? Kuroi too? This is...there's no way!" When she looked up again, it was already too late. "Dragon Slayer!" cried Akane hatefully as she finished the spell once again. Tochi roared as the spell consumed her, and finally destroyed her. Akane gave a small laugh before she passed out. +++++++++++ In the orbit of the planet, Ranma smirked as he looked at the debris that floated around him. There was little left of the starship. "I win." He vanished with a smirk on his lips. +++++++++++ Usagi struggled over to where the crystal was lying on the ground. Taking it into her hands, she held it gently to her bust. "It's over. Kami...at last, it's over!" Akane woke up slowly, sitting up and muttering to herself about how much pain she was in. "Your hair?" muttered Usagi. Akane blinked and felt her head for a moment, unsure of what she was talking about. "Huh?" "It's...white..." muttered Usagi as she stared at the girl. "It's temporary. Besides, that's a good look for you," said a familiar voice from all around them. "Huh?" muttered Akane as she staggered to her feet. Ranma appeared in front of them, the only two survivors of the battle. "Well. You've won," he said to them. "How did you..." muttered Akane as she looked at her hands. "I'm more than an demon Akane," he said as he eyed her for a moment. "I'm something completely new. Something not even the gods were expecting." She frowned at him in confusion. "What?" asked Usagi. "I'm the first Mazoku," he said with a small chuckle. "The first?" muttered Akane. "Well, I'll see you around, you've got a world to heal, and some friends to bring back to life," said Ranma as he glanced around at the death that surrounded them. "You might want to go pull your friend off that ledge. She believed before you did Akane," he said as he pointed towards the edge of the building. "Huh?" stammered Akane. Usagi blinked and rushed over to where he had pointed. Peering over the side, she saw the senshi of Mars clinging to the ledge with a painful expression on her face. "Mars!" cried Akane as she reached down to help pull her up. The young girl grabbed her, and within moments she was on the rooftop again. "Well, that was certainly interesting," chuckled Ranma as he started to walk off. "Wait! Where are you going?" asked Usagi as she stepped towards him tentatively. "I've got something to find," he said with a small scowl on his face. "I'm hoping I was wrong about something, but I'd like to be sure." "Oh. Thank you," she said as she gave him a deep bow. "You're the second most powerful thing on this planet now Usagi, under me that is." He looked at her and smirked again. "Well, maybe not." He glanced at Akane for a moment. "At any rate, you've got a world to build. What do you think you'll call this place after you rebuild it, your highness?" She blinked at him. "What?" "Neo Queen Serenity. I asked you what you were going to call this place once you rebuild it?" he asked her calmly. "I...I don't know?" she muttered in confusion. Apparently what he'd just said hadn't sunk in yet. "Crystal Tokyo has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" he asked Akane. "Wait...you mean?" said Usagi dumbly. "Don't leave your friends dead too long Usagi," he said as he vanished. "Right," said the woman as she looked at the crystal resting in her palm for a moment. She raised it over her head, and closed her eyes as the power washed over her. "Come back! Heal the world!" she whispered to herself as the energy spread out across the surface of the entire world. From space, Ranma smirked as he watched. "So, now it begins." ++++++++++++++ TBC... What? This isn't the end?! No way no how! Bwahahahahahaha! Dark stuff should be mostly over now, but what is it that Ranma's looking for?! And how the hell can I keep this going from here? You'll just have to wait! P.S. Yes, I know it's called the Dragon Slave in the Slayers. However, Lina Inverse mentions that the name degraded from Dragon Slayer over the course of time. Meaning what exactly? That this is the past in the Slayers Universe? Well...maybe...maybe not. Heh. Sorry to those of you who wanted the collective to stay separated, but I wanted this arc to end.