Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Two Wallets ❯ Cybelle ( Chapter 67 )

A Tale of Two Wallets

(An Altered Destiny)

Written by Jim Robert Bader

Proofread by Shiva Barnwell

Terry Bogart brushed the sweat from his brow as he finished laying down the last of the roof tiles. It was good, hard work keeping the Tendo place repaired on a regular basis, but it was steady work, and Terry enjoyed every chance he got to visit with Ranma, Kasumi and the others who regularly made use of the dojo. They were basically nice people who loved the art and appreciated its teachings.

Terry had been training all his life to be the best that he could be, the same as Ranma, and while he had a few years on young Saotome he was very impressed with the kid and thought him well on the way to being one of the best all around martial artists, even going by the standards of the elite circles that Terry worked in. There was a focus and dedication to Ranma that was very rare in young people of his generation, an intensity that Terry felt himself when he was locked in battle against a superior enemy and forced to use all of his knowledge and skill to keep his title as the King of All Fighters. Terry enjoyed trading points with Ranma talking about the special techniques of their respective schools as only two men who shared a basic liking and respect for the discipline could. In the month or so that he had been working in Nerima he had seen Ranma improve by quantum leaps, and that was not even taking into account the kid's complex relationship with two fascinating and unusual ladies, one of them a very good martial artist even by Terry's estimation.

Hard to believe that Ranma had learned his craft from a Master like Saotome Genma, who did not impress Terry over all as much more than a fat slob who knew something of the art and very little of its inner nature. He had seen Genma training his son in their morning sparring sessions and thought the man was a bully pretending to play drill sergeant, constantly berating his boy and making fun of the fact that Ranma was cursed sometimes to turn into a woman.

A very vivacious and attractive young woman at that, as even Terry had to admit with some reluctance.

Terry wasn't sure what to make of Ranma's curse. He was no stranger to magic or the paranormal, having encountered both in his travels, but altering one's sex while maintaining the same personality was something very…disturbing to Terry's outlook. Terry liked and appreciated the strong points of women and had no qualms with a good woman fighter, but being a woman was not one of his personal fantasies, and he was sometimes in awe of Ranma's ability to cope with the psychological strain that he was undoubtedly under.

A good thing for him that neither of the ladies in his life seemed to mind all that much his constant switching of genders, but that was another subject Terry did not feel like broaching.

He began to put away his tools, satisfied that the repair work would last until the next time somebody got a bit too energetic in a sparring match. He straightened up, intending to walk towards the ladder when a wave of icy fire washed over him, causing him to stumble and nearly lose his balance.

"What the hell?" Terry gasped in a rare display of profanity on his part. He whirled about as he sensed the source of the peculiar emanation was arising from the Furinkan Financial District, not all that far away-in point of fact-from the place of his employer. As he scanned the horizon he began to make out something that to ordinary eyes would not have been visible, but which for him stood out almost like a neon beacon.

A black pillar of flame had erupted over one portion of the Furinkan area, and as he looked upon this ominous sight Terry felt a chill run down his spine, for somehow he knew Ranma was involved…and in the blackened shape of the pillar he thought that he could perceive the face and form of a smiling woman…a woman whose smile was more chilling by far than the demented laugh of Kuno Kodachi…

"Great Grandmother," Kachu hailed as she and her husband approached the area presently occupied by the three Elders (two of whom looked anything but Elder, but Kachu was willing to make allowances for their unusual condition).

"Hello, Kachu dear, Son-in-law," Lotion acknowledged the pair without turning her gaze from the exterior of the building, "I had a sense that you would be drawn to this place, the same as I was, only in your case it makes more sense as this is the sort of thing for which you've had special training."

"Hello, sister," Kasumi flashed a smile to her near-twin, "You're just in time as there seems to be some kind of a problem for Kodachi-chan and our sisters."

"A problem, sister?" Kachu turned and studied the building, then extended a hand and felt along the invisible edge of something before them.

"What is it?" asked Tofu as he gazed at the space before them rather than turn his eyes on Kasumi, "It's…like there's some kind of haze in front of that building…"

He started to take a step forward when Kachu's arm intercepted him, and in what-for her-was an unusually soft voice she said, "No, Airen…it would not be wise for you to risk yourself against this barrier. I sense strong magics at play here…dark sorcery, the kind that all but screams of the demonic."

"Demonic is the word for it," Cologne said grimly, "This is the handiwork of Cybelle the Sorceress, an old enemy that we have encountered once before, who has made her return to seek vengeance against Saotome Genma and your father."

"My father is in there?" Kachu said with some alarm, "And where is my mother?"

"With any luck she's with him," Happosai replied, "Cybelle laid her trap well and they walked right into it like babes to the slaughter. I just hope nothing bad has happened to any of those cuties that are with them."

Kachu leveled her C'hi Chi, which suddenly appeared in her hand, then pointed it at the barrier, saying, "If my parents and sisters are within there, then it is my duty as Hunter of the Dark to go in there and confront their enemy! The evil I sense within fairly cries out for the taste of my vengeance…"

"Yes, well, it may not be enough to penetrate this barrier, child," Lotion remarked, "You would exhaust yourself to no avail trying to bring it down. What is needed here is an alternate source of spiritual power…"

"Then maybe we can fit the bill there," a feminine voice declared from directly behind them.

Cologne turned slowly around and then her indigo eyebrows climbed nearer to her headline as she murmured in a low voice, "Oh my…!"

Nabiki's Journal Resumes:

My head hurt as I slowly regained consciousness, aware that my joints were aching and that my feet were feeling like lead as I seemed to be hanging in space for no rhyme or reason. It took a moment to clear my vision, and then I realized that it was not just my imagination that was creating this impression, for I was dangling by my wrists, which were cuffed to an overhead bar, and the reason I was feeling so heavy was because of weights that were attached to my ankles. I was dangling over a floor that seemed smooth and featureless in a dimly illuminated room, and I was not alone in my condition, for out of the corner of my eye I saw Shampoo and the others were hanging there beside me.

"Uncomfortable?" a voice said, and I turned to see a woman standing there whom I had never looked on before, but whom instantly I knew was an enemy to my family and loved ones, for her smile as much as said that she enjoyed inflicting pain, and would do so freely.

My impression of her was that she was not very tall but she was extraordinarily good looking with long blonde hair that framed a face of ageless beauty. Her manner of dress was outlandish, some fancy costume that looked like a ludicrous fashion statement, yet which somehow looked good upon her and managed to convey that she was a presence to be reckoned with, far more than any business suit could ever do on a "power" executive. Her eyes were tawny gold, and on her face and forehead I saw peculiar markings that looked like slashes or tattoos of some manner or other. When she smiled I saw her fangs, and for a moment I had a brief impression that she was some kind of a vampire, only I was to learn shortly that she was much worse than a mere blood sucker. Without knowing it right away I was having my first face-to-face encounter with an honest-to-the-kami half-demon, only nominally human in face and form but emanating from a place far more diabolical than some neighboring province.

"Now that you're all awake," she said, "Let's get right down to business."

"Who are you, lady?" Ranma demanded, "What the heck are you…"

"I'll ask the questions, Sweet Cheeks," the woman replied with a nasty leer in his direction, (to which I unconsciously bristled), "But since you asked, the name is Cybelle, Demon Sorceress, First Level."

"Momma!" I heard Atsuko cry as the sound of chains rattling indicated a brief struggle on her part, "What are you doing? Let us down from here you…"

"Uh-uh-uh!" Cybelle the Sorceress tched with a wave of her finger, "That's no way to talk to your mother, At-chan! I must say that I'm very disappointed in you, siding with the Mortals against your own flesh and blood, and for what? So you could try and court a man who failed to win twenty years ago, in spite of your best efforts?"

"That's not the point and you know it!" Atsuko replied to the sounds of more chains rattling, "You were gonna kill my Ryo-chan! No way was I gonna let you sacrifice my son to increase your power level…"

"Kill my own grandson?" Cybelle pretended shock at the concept, "You wound me, my dear! Nothing could be further from the truth this time. Oh, and while we are on the subject, how are you doing, Ryoga-dear? I'm your grandmother, in case you were wondering about that part. Don't bother to ask me how I know it's you…you look just like your grandfather did when I first met my Razor-kun. He'd be so very proud of the young man that you've turned into, if he wasn't lost somewhere, probably getting into who-knows what kind of trouble..."

"You're my grandmother?" Ryoga asked in clear astonishment at the concept.

"Ryoga-kun?" I heard Akane ask in wonder.

"Aiyaa," Shampoo seconded, "Stupid lost boy no just Oni son but also grandson of demon?"

"How oddly fitting," Kodachi added in, firming confirming my suspicion that we had all been taken and imprisoned together.

"More than you know," Silk added from some place where I could not see her.

"What's your game this time, Cybelle?" Comb growled, "If you're not out to sacrifice Ryoga, then what are you up to?"

"Why, I should think that was obvious, even to a clod like you, Comb-san," Cybelle replied with disdain evident in her tone, "Ryo-chan's the key to my newest plans for freeing myself from the shackles imposed upon me by that damnable pervert, Happosai. Him and this boy-Matrix, who is the Nexus I was after so long ago…and how very pleased I am to meet him after so many frustrating years dreaming of this moment."

"You wanted my son twenty years ago," Nodoka said calmly, "You didn't get him then, you won't succeed this time."

"We'll see about that," Cybelle noted huffily, "You think you're so smart, 'Doka-san, but what if I were to tell these others the truth about you? How would that make you feel?"

I blinked my eyes at this. The truth about Nodoka? What was there to know about Ranma's mother that wasn't obvious just by looking? I really started to wonder what sort of game this lady was up to at the moment, and how exactly the rest of us fit into the pattern, all the while knowing in my heart that I really was not going to enjoy knowing the answers…

"Well?" asked a blonde haired girl who sported a pair of long odango ponytails that gave one the odd impression of a giant walking rabbit, standing next to six other odd looking girls, all sporting Sailor fukus "Do you think we can help or not?"

"Forgive my ignorance," Cologne asked as she turned to confront the new arrivals, "I know little of the local environment, but…who are you people?"

"Who cares?" Happosai lunged forward as he cried out, "SWEEEET!!!"

He didn't get more than a meter before Cologne's staff rapped him on the back of the head, knocking to the ground at least partially stunned. She rolled her eyes towards the heaven and murmured, "Why me, my sacred ancestors…?"

"Must be something about his karma," reasoned Sasuke.

"I am Sailor Moon, the Champion of Justice!" the lead blonde declared after a momentary pause in which everyone present (except Kasumi) sweat-dropped, "And these are my friends, the Sailor Scouts…!"

"Hello, Mako-chan," Kasumi said brightly, "Haruka-chan. On my…you must be Ranma's cousin, Tsukino Usagi. How very nice to finally meet you."

"Ah…huh?" the blonde stammered, as if somebody had just read from the wrong script.

"You…know who we are?" Makoto stared at the milder looking of two twins with astonishment.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kasumi apologized, "Wasn't I supposed to tell? I must say, those costumes aren't very practical, and the skirts ride so high…why, everyone can see your legs right up to the area of your panties. They're not very modest…but I suppose it isn't my place to complain about such things."

"Uh…" the blonde exchanged puzzled looks with her companions, and a couple of them very self-consciously made the effort to tug their skirts down.

"Never mind all that, dears," Lotion said in a smooth manner, "You were offering to help out a moment ago. Do I take it your offer is still standing?"

"Er, yes," the blonde made an effort to get things back on track as she said, "We are the Sailor Senshi, warriors of Love and Justice…"

"Fine," Lotion turned to Kachu and said, "I suggest you coordinate your efforts with these ladies of power. Have them focus their energies on a specific point in the shielding, then strike the barrier with your weapon and it might create enough of a gap to admit a few of us through there."

"Understood, Great Grandmother," Kachu nodded, "I will craft the spell at once, and together we shall force it to yield under our combined efforts."

"Excuse me!" a male voice hailed out to them as Terry Bogart came running up to join them, having just jogged a mile in under four minutes.

The magical girls all swiveled their heads to take in the new arrival, then the tall one (who was indeed Makoto) remarked, "Wow, he's just like my old-MMMPH!"

"We know already!" the dark haired one beside her growled.

"Would you give it a rest for once?" said the other blonde holding her hand over the taller girl's mouth.

"Why, hello Bogart-san," Kasumi said brightly, "Have you come to help us out?"

"If I can," Terry replied, turning to look at the building before remarking, "What the heck is causing that? I could see it all the way from the Tendo place…"

"Never mind," Cologne told the handsome young warrior, "Nice of you to volunteer. We could always use more cannon fod-ah…skilled warriors on our side. We'll skip the basics for now and just say that the one inside that lair is a very dangerous enemy who intends us no good, and in order to free our loved ones we must brave this stronghold of evil and confront the demon within."

"Sounds like a standard plan to me," said the tall blonde in the fuku costume, who exchanged knowing looks with her green-haired companion.

A shorter fuku-clad girl whose cropped black hair made her resemble Akane in no little degree stepped forward with a portable calculator in one hand, tapping in commands as she studied the barrier through her blue visor before saying, "I believe that I know where the weakest point is on that barrier. If we concentrate all our forces and strike at that precise point in one massive discharge…"

"I get it," the blonde with the odangos smiled, "That'll be no problem for us, right guys?"

"Right!" the girl with long dark hair beside her nodded, "Say the word and that barrier is toast!"

Lotion nodded, seeing the rescue party take shape as she turned to Kachu and said, "Have you chosen the spell that you wish to use yet, child?"

Kachu nodded, "I am ready, Great Grandmother," and with that she ban to spin her C'hi-Chi while chanting, causing the air to hum as she slowly summoned up her spell, her voice rising above that of a murmur as she set her spell into motion…

Shampoo's Diary Resumes:

Aiyaa! I never realized that Ryoga's grandmother could be so much scarier than my great grandmother! The ease with which we had been captured was as nothing in dismay to what that Demoness seemed capable, and as I dangled there beside my husband and wife I began to wonder if maybe we had not all taken on far worse than that which mere warriors are equipped to deal!

I looked upon a face that seemed fair to the eyes, yet hinted at such malice and duplicity that I came to believe that the rumors of my mother once facing down a demon sorceress were not only true but grossly understated. This Cybelle was both cunning and formidable, an adversary worthy of my great grandmother and certainly on a level of menace for which I had not been adequately prepared. She seemed to take great delight in our state of helplessness, and spared nothing in consideration of blood, including both her daughter and grandson in her taunting and torments.

Of course the one who evidenced the most upset at learning the identify of our true foe was Kuonji, who thrashed against her bonds and cried out, "You stupid jackass! What have you done to my ant and my father?"

"You mean Akira-chan?" the demoness replied, "Why, I've done remarkably little towards him, other than play with his fatherly concerns towards you, his much-beloved only daughter. Kuonji-san has been the perfect pawn for my manipulation, and all because you renounced your womanhood at such a tender young age, for which he blames himself-by the way-seeing as he helped cause your basic alienation."

"What are you saying?" Ukyo gasped, "Are you saying this is all my fault…?"

"Oh no," the demoness replied with false solicitousness, "I'm saying you're only partially to blame here. I'm the other half of the cause that you should be blaming, for which I gladly and with pride take credit. It's what Demons do, you know…exploit human weakness, take advantage of your basic doubts and anxieties, play upon your general paranoia and overall appeal to the devils of your worse nature. It all boils down in the end to the concept of free will an choice…you make your own mistakes…we just help you to make them."

"So, what's the deal with the lawyers?" my husband asked, "How are you involved with them?"

"Oh, do you like that?" the Demon flashed a smile, "I thought it was rather clever myself. People always assume that lawyers are naturally allied with the forces of Hell, so why not make it official? This firm is my creation, by the way, though it's nominal founder thinks he's the one who came up with the concept for the Combat Legal Firm. I'm just the silent partner who made the original suggestion."

"How did you do it, Cybelle?" Silk inquired, "I thought Happosai had sealed you away in your tree for all eternity…"

"Eternity is an awful long time, even by the standard of most demons," Cybelle replied, "I just found a few loopholes around the charms he set that allowed me to work my will upon the mortal world. It was simplicity itself, really, once my tree's roots dug down deep enough to interact with an underground cable line, giving me access to the vast networking system that humans have constructed."

"Let me guess," my husband's mother mused, "You discovered the internet."

"Marvelous system, isn't it?" the demoness flashed a huge grin, "You can go most anywhere in the world without having to leave the comforts of your own home. It really is quite amazing the things you can buy and sell over the wires, once you gain enough access to hack into personal databases and steal encrypted files, alter a few numbers here and there and siphon off enough surplus on various accounts to fill up several Swiss accounts. From there it was just a simple matter of surfing and networking to achieve goals we demons could even begin to dream about during the Middle Ages. It's been so much FUN overall, I can't begin to tell you!"

"In other words," Silk replied, "You've been come a Networking demon."

"It figures," my mother noted rather unpleasantly, "I always thought the blasted machines were accursed."

"Only if you use Microsoft," I heard Kodachi say, though I'm not sure if I understand the reference."

"Take the combat lawyers for example," the demoness continued as if she had not been interrupted, "Do you know how much it costs to earn a legal degree these days? Most kids aren't lucky enough to have rich parents, and many of them take out huge loans that they've got to reimburse after graduation. That means they're willing to work dirt cheap to pay back their debts working in the Junior Bush leagues of major partnerships, which is why this firm was able to recruit so many young kids who were desperate enough to be willing to join a firm that's also part dojo! The Temps and Gofers here learn to break boards with their legal briefs, do damage to your Habreus Corpus, and you should see what they can do with a good subpoena! Since they represent clients who are not exactly the women's choir league (if you take my meaning), you can bet they have to be tough cookies who can stand their own alongside the Yakuza!"

"You fiend!" I heard my mother exclaim.

"Hey!" Atsuko called out, "That's my mother you're dissing, Comb…so if anybody here's got a right to diss her it's me!"

"But I don't understand," Ukyo said, "Why does my father have to do with any of this?"

"Why nothing," the demon sorceress smiled, "Except that it was my suggestion that he hire the legal services of Jun Mun Lun in the first place! It was easy to do, given the fact that he was so worked up about you pretending to be a man and renouncing your womanhood, he even got the notion that you were thinking about dating other women for real, and not just for appearances."

"But…" Ukyo hesitated.

"Granted, I can see why any gal might want to fall for a bishonen hunk like you," the demoness leered, "But let's face facts, honey, we both know it's all a pretense and the real reason you were put on this earth was to make babies."

"Ah…" I heard Ukyo's tone grow heavy, and by that tone I realized that the Demoness had failed to perceive something significant about the Chef, which implied that she was not as infallible as she was pretending.

"But I digress," the demoness lifted a hand and the shadows surrounding up partially fell away to reveal a heavyset man whose scraggly beard made him appear none-too-healthy, "Why don't we call your father up and have him explain for himself why he was desperate enough to heed my temptations. Say hello to Daddy, 'Ucchan.'"

"Dad!" Ukyo said in alarm, only to receive no reaction from the man, who stood where he was as though he were nothing more than a statue.

The demoness touched the man's chin and turned his head towards Ukyo, then suddenly she jerked that head sharply to one side and created a loud cracking noise, which made it appear as though his neck had been broken.

"DAD!" Ukyo cried in understandable dismay and horror.

But the thing that pitched to the ground proved not to be her father after all, as I realized by examining it closely and the way it moved in an unnatural manner. The head came away from the shoulders and bounced for several meters, proving to be nothing more than a thing of plastic as the rest of the body itself made a hollow noise upon landing.

"Oops, sorry," the demoness grinned, "That wasn't the real one. I was just teasing you, never you mind…"

Kuonji began thrashing for real as she fought against the chains that suspended her, like the rest of us, over nothing, "YOU BITCH! You do that again and I'll…"

"You'll what?" the demoness sneered, "Whack me with that spatula of yours? Forget it, Hon, you're just an amateur…this is the real thing!"

She waved a hand and the light parted to reveal another figure, this one looking remarkably like Ukyo, only much older and larger with broader shoulders. Her face was not exactly handsome, but fair to look upon, being care worn with years and set in a hard grimace. Her eyes were open but gazing at nothing, from which I took to mean that she was in a trance of some peculiar nature and only vaguely aware of her surroundings.

"Aunt Yumi?" Ukyo gasped, "But…why…?"

"She doesn't hear you," the demoness chanted musically, leaning against the broad-shouldered woman as she grinned, "She only hears and sees what I want her to hear and see…she's effectively in a sensory state of my own creation, and she believes that she is here to obtain justice and redress the wrongs done to your family by this fellow…"

She turned as another light shown down on us, and there was my father-in-law tied to a chair and looking as if he had been severely beaten.

"POP!" my husband cried out.

"Husband!" said my mother-in-law, Nodoka.

"Gemmi-chan!" cried Atsuko in almost the same breath.

"Thought you'd recognize him," the demoness leered, "Though frankly I don't think he's ever looked better. Never did know what you see in him, my dear. You were instructed by me to seduce him in order to have his child, instead you threw your lot in with him, only to have him betray you in the end when he chose Nodoka. Truly appalling, but I suppose that was your father's influence."

"If you've hurt him, then you're going to have to answer to me, Grandmother!" said Ryoga in a most surprising tone of menace, given that he was still having trouble accepting that Saotome Genma was, in fact, his father.

"Was that a threat, Grandson?" Cybelle asked, "My word…you do have potential! With a little training you might even make a passable demon, not that I intend to let you do me any hurt, even if you are almost as cute as your grandfather."

"You like playing games with people's lives?" Akane growled as if just beginning to comprehend that this demoness was not your average sort of Mousse-level nuisance.

"Of course I do," the demoness replied as though the question was so silly that it actually surprised her, "You people with your petty, brief lives are like toys for me to amuse myself with. It's what demons do after all, at least in my particular career field. But you shouldn't think I'm the one entirely to blame for everything that's bad in the world. I only make the suggestions, pull a few strings, create an elaborate web of lies to convince you to ignore your better judgement. I appeal to the darker side of human nature, the part that doesn't like playing by the rules and wants to indulge itself in all sorts of forbidden pleasures. It's the same darkness that exists in each of you, and I shape it to my needs and purposes. You give me strength just by heeding the call of those anti-social impulses that you each have, and I delight in making you jump through my hoops. I'm what you might call a Maestro of Manipulation, but if it weren't for your weak human wills grasping at easy solutions and quick short cuts, I'd have nothing to work with, so don't try to pretend with me that any of you are innocent, because I certainly know better!"

"Sounds pretty sick to me," Ranma growled, "Using Ucchan's father like this…"

"You said it, Ranchan," Ukyo agreed, "It's sick, perverted and twisted!"

"Why thank you," Cybelle smiled, "What a nasty thing to say. And as your reward why don't I show you your real father?"

Again a portion of the world became illuminated, and there was a man much like the mannequin sitting behind a desk gazing out at nothing with a vacantness that even Kuno Tatewaki could never match.

"Dad?" Ukyo's tone sounded hesitant, "Dad? It's me! Snap out of it!"

"All in good time, my dear," Cybelle replied, "And now for the real man of the hour, the one who made all of this truly possible, I give you the last of our playing contestants!"

Once more a light shone down, and there was my other father-in-law, Tendo Soun, suspended from a cross-like object by miniature spatulas that pinned him by his martial arts gi and held him immobile.

"DAD!" Akane cried.

"Daddy!" my wife also shouted.

"Soun-chan?" I heard Aunt Silk's voice quaver with emotion.

"Ah, music to my ears," Cybelle grinned as she cupped one pointed ear with a hand, "And speaking of which, I suppose I should get the fun started for real, now that everybody's reacquainted with one another. You know, I really haven't hurt anyone so far…no one important (Saotome here doesn't really count, of course, and I'm not the one who whacked him around, eh Yumi-chan?). I've been having so much fun with everybody that I almost forgot that I brought you all here for a reason."

"I was wondering when you were going to get back to that," Nodoka noted.

"Quite so," the demoness waved a hand as though to concede the point, "I've been quite remiss as a hostess, and it's against the Villain code not to blab all about my great master plan and all that. Can't be having me go against type, but first…why not indulge in a little harmless torture, just to set the right mood in full swing?"

"You mean other than listening to the sound of your voice?" my mother asked in a low tone of menace.

"Precisely," Cybelle grinned, contemplating Soun, who was glaring back at her, obviously fully able to understand all that happened, "You know, the problem with having people hang around in a dungeon is that you come to expect certain things. Why, some are even offended when they're not actually tortured, like this!"

She pulled out some small manner of music box and started it to playing, and what emerged from the foul contraption was some sickly-sweet sounding music with foreign words that sounded something like, "It's a Small World After All…" being repeated over and over.

"You fiend," was Soun's only response to this most peculiar form of torment.

"I try in my own way," Cybelle smiled, putting away the music box before pulling out a square-shaped cap with a long tassel, "To begin with, I first became aware more than twenty years ago that a new Nexus was to be born to the humble residents of a simple Tokyo suburb. The plan then was simple enough, arrange for my daughter to become the mother to the Nexus, then wait the appropriate number of years until the boy was old enough to be manipulated to my liking. Had I been successful, then I would have been the first demoness on my rung of the Ninety-Nine Hells to own one. Unfortunately you could even do that much right, my little directionless Potato-spud. You wound up having the older brother to the Nexus, whose connection with him was as intangible as it was confusing."

"What did Dad ever see in you, Momma," Atsuko growled in low menace.

"Could have something to do with that Love Potion I fed him," the demoness remarked, "Though I like to think it was my natural charms that won him over. Anyway, it occurred to me that the situation might be salvageable after all if I were to obtain possession of both boys, with which I could craft my master spell to strengthen the bond between them so that I could use one to control the other. Being of my flesh and blood, Ryoga-chan is the perfect vessel by which I can work my will upon the mortal plane and increase my market share over the whole planet! With both brothers at my side I would be pretty darn near invincible, and I might even be able to-oh, say-rule the world from this quaint little corner of Asia? You have to admit, it is an intriguing proposition."

"And what does that have to do with Ucchan?" Ranma growled in suspicion.

"Why, not much at all, really," the demoness shrugged, "Although the idea of mating you to her has its attractive qualities. I'm not so sure about this apprentice Lore Master you're currently affianced to…they tend to be a lot more trouble than they're worth to manipulate, even though this one does have a nasty streak that's worthy of a demoness."

"Huh?" my wife remarked, "What are you talking about?"

"You think I don't know about you and your whole emotionally wracked clan?" the demoness smiled at her in a way that made me bristle, "You guys are a bunch of walking basket cases, from Mister Weepy over here to that walking case of volatile hormones you call your little sister. You have a tendency to be pretty manipulative and petty yourself at times, hiding your emotions behind that intellectual mask the way your older sister hovers in a hazy cloud of perpetual bliss that filters out all negative emotions, and channels them to that Devil Hunting Amazon sister."

"You take that back about this one's Nabiki!" I cried out in protest, no longer able to restrain my temper.

"Ah yes, and let's not forget about the inflatable bimbo," the demoness said as she was clearly addressing me in tones most insulting, "Her I can understand you wanting to shack up with, young Saotome, even if she is Comb's nuisance offspring. At least around her you'll never be short a warm pillow."

"You just wait, lady," Ranma growled, "I'm gonna pay you back for saying that stuff about Shampoo and Nabiki!"

"Oh, I'm so scared," the demoness said mockingly, "Tell you what, I'll let you have both of them, after I'm done working them over a little to make them more…shall we say…agreeable to my way of thinking…WHAT THE DEVIL???"

The demoness turned her head to gaze off into the inky blackness that surrounded us, and suddenly a portion of that blackness opened up to form a kind of window to the world outside. We saw Kachu spinning her C'hi-Chi about her head as it gathered bright, silvery fire about itself while a group of strangely dressed women standing behind her linked hands and seemed to be glowing like a rainbow.

"Who the hell called on those guys?" Cybelle's mocking tones were suddenly quite serious and angry, "Like Hell I'm gonna let a bunch of second-rate Magical Girls cut into my action! This is the sort of thing Beryl usually has to put up with, but not me! I'll show those second stringers what a real Dark Kingdom princess is like and-WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE???"

The focus on the window abruptly shifted to take in Tofu, Happosai and Great Grandmother, and there was my husband's friend, Terry, standing next to Kasumi and someone else I could not identify… a woman whose hair was half white on one side, half black upon the other.

"Shirokuro?" I heard Atsuko gasp.

"What?" Ryoga replied, "You mean my dog?"

"No," Atsuko murmured back, "I mean my familiar."

All at once Kachu brought her weapon forward and thrust it at the transparency, and it was instantly disrupted so that the image fell black again while Cybelle staggered from the impact.

"Ow!" she shook her head, her eyes suddenly glowing intensely, "That hurt! Someone is going to pay for this! I have half a mind to sue!"

"Sounds like you're about to have your hands full with the cavalry," Aunt Silk mused softly.

"We'll see about that," Atsuko growled, "My people have had time enough to recover, I'll have them give your people a warm reception…"

The barrier shattered from the impact of Kachu's weapon-thrust, and suddenly a gap was created in the invisible curtain large enough to drive a truck through.

"Quickly everyone!" Lotion cried, "Before the rift can reseal, we must be across that threshold!"

Terry led the way, followed closely by Happosai and Cologne. A figure darted past them, only half seen by the naked eye, as Lotion and Kachu hurried through the gap, which already started to close behind them.

The magical girls all staggered to their knees, the force of keeping the gulf open proving too difficult even for their combined might as the barrier began to reassert itself against their best efforts. One of them, however, realized that the rift was about to close, and she forced herself to stagger forward rather than fall on all fours like her comrades.

"Jupiter…what are you doing?" cried their blonde-haired leader.

"I must…rescue my Senpai!" she cried, and suddenly the antenna-like protrusion from her tiara flashed lightning, striking the gap to hold it open a few more seconds. With all the remaining strength that she could muster she lurched forward and tumbled through the portal, just seconds before it closed behind her.

"JUPITER!" her companions cried, but the sound was muffled by the curtain that was sizzling at her backside, encouraging the tall girl to push on forward in spite of the great desire of her limbs to fail her at this instant.

Fortunately for her a pair of hands reached out to grasp her extended arms and pull her through the remaining distance, and then the doors at the front of the building closed on her, sealing them in as she found herself being supported by a very manly presence.

"Are you all right, Miss?" asked Terry Bogart.

"F-Fine…" replied Kino Makoto, who felt her heart beating slightly out of its normal rhythm, "Uh…thanks…"

"No problem," Terry moved away, "That was a pretty reckless thing to do. You might have been crushed by the force of all that energy."

"I'm…ah…tougher than I look," Makoto blushed a bright crimson, then suddenly remembered another and said, "I came here looking for my Senpai…"

"Your friend is this way," Kachu said with characteristic grimness, "Follow me into the foul lair of this demon stronghold."

"We may not have much time," Tofu said, "Whoever's behind all of this undoubtedly knows that we're coming."

"Indeed," Cologne said gravely, "Then let's not keep Cybelle waiting any longer than we have to."

"Excuse me," Kasumi asked the astonished looking receptionist, "But which way to we go to find Mrs. Hibiki Cybelle?"

Head turned in unison as the party chorused as one, "KASUMI???"

The receptionist was so flustered that without meaning to she pointed at the right panel rather than the one she was usually supposed to direct guests to.

"Thank you," Kasumi said, "You've been most helpful. Shall we be going everyone?"

"You shouldn't be here, child," Cologne said carefully, "It could-and probably will-be dangerous for you."

"Oh, but I want to help," Kasumi replied, "Kodachi's here, along with my family. They're counting on us to rescue them, right Sasuke-chan?"

"Of course, Mistress," Sasuke replied, giving the tall girl a wide-eyed stare of his own that had nothing to do with the thought that someone besides himself was actually thinking of the welfare of his Mistress, Kodachi.

Another form, unseen by mortal eyes, studied the girl in silence and arrived at its own conclusions. Leaving the party it made its way through the lair of the enemy by phasing through the walls themselves as though it were a mere shadow, following a trail that would lead it unerringly to its own Mistress and Master, thinking that the party would provide an excellent diversion for its attempted rescue, but dreading in its heart the inevitable confrontation that would occur when it confronted Cybelle again, but such was the lot of a humble familiar.

Of one thing Shirokuro was most certain, though, in this party of oddly mismatched players, her former Mistress had undoubtedly bitten off a bit more than she could chew, which gave him some hope that she and her true Mistress and Master might somehow be able to survive to see another sunrise…

Continued

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