Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ Reflections of Ruin ❯ Gathering Dark ( Chapter 13 )

 

The world was lit only by a terrible red light.

 

Sailor Mars stood in the midst of Tokyo, but it seemed as though the whole world, red-lit as it was, had been turned to stone. Even her friends: Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus, Sailor Jupiter: all stone. “The Silence is almost here...” she heard herself say, and the words sent a thrill of terror through her heart.

 

The Silence.

 

A hundred black tornados were tearing through Tokyo, rending building, street, flesh, and bone. Men, women, and children shrieked silently as their stone bodies were torn to bits. Fires were burning uncontrolled. Soon, all Mars could see was rubble, save only for herself and her friends.

 

A light shone from behind her, and she turned towards it.

 

A girl was standing there, silhouetted against the darkness. Her outline looked like a Sailor Senshi, and she held a glaive before her. As Mars looked at the weapon, the chill of the grave passed over her soul, and she shivered. “Who are you?” she asked.

 

The figure seemed to see Rei for the first time, and gave a start; she stepped forward, and though she spoke, there was no sound.

 

*Sorry about this.*

 

“Wait, Saturn, no!” she yelled. “You can't!”

 

The figure resolved, no longer a silhouette, but Sailor Saturn in truth. She looked up, and Rei followed her gaze. Above them, a red star shone in the night sky, and even as Rei watched, it grew larger and larger.

 

... it was writhing.

 

Saturn hefted the Silence Glaive, and a woman stepped out of her shadow - a woman with a black star on her forehead, a cruel smile, and long, long dark hair that fanned out behind her like a cloak.

 

“My father comes,” the woman said, and her voice rang with a mixture of fear and desire.

 

The star grew larger, descending through the atmosphere. The flames of reentry dissipated, and its horrible mass unfurled in the skies above Minato-ku.

 

“Saturn, no! PLEASE, you can't destroy the whole world!”

 

Saturn met Rei's desperate gaze. “Find me another way,” she said.

 

A black tornado swept over Rei; she screamed, and even as she felt her body break apart, Sailor Saturn brought down the Silence Glaive, and the world faded into darkness.

 

Rei came back to herself with a start. She looked about in panic, but quickly calmed down when she saw that everyone was unharmed. Well, relatively speaking. She was in the subway station, and Usagi and Ranma were both still talking with their parents. Rei watched Ranma uneasily. The vision was getting worse, and she was starting to see it even when she wasn't asleep.

 

Her previous happiness vanished like summer dew, and in spite of the warmth of the subway station, Rei shuddered.

 

--------------

 

Reflections of Ruin

by P.H. Wise

A Ranma/Sailor Moon/Cthulhu Mythos Crossover Fukufic

 

Chapter 13 - Gathering Dark

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma. I don't own Sailor Moon. Please don't sue me. I'm not doing this for profit.

 

--------------

 

Ami Mizuno frowned. She wouldn't normally frown in a situation like this - watching a happy family reunion (two of them, actually), but watching Ranma and her parents interact, some things just seemed downright strange to her. Genma and Nodoka Saotome both clearly loved their daughter, but at the same time... why did they call her `son,' and `boy?' Why did Akane refer to Ranma as `he?' Ranma was clearly a girl - if she weren't, there's no way she could have hidden it from the rest of them. And for that matter, she was a Senshi. Ami had done her research: in her searching through the records from the Silver Millennium available to her through the Mercury Computer, she knew that men who bore a planet's Sailor Crystal did not become Sailor Senshi, but ended up in the same position as Tuxedo Kamen. Ranma, by definition, could not be a boy. And yet...

 

She seemed so masculine.

 

“Why don't you introduce us to your friends, my son?” Nodoka asked.

 

Ranma nodded. “Uh, sure!” She gestured towards Ami. “This here's Ami.” She pointed at Rei, who looked troubled. “That's Rei.” She gestured to each of the other Senshi in turn. “That's Usagi, and I think those are her folks. Uh, that's Makoto, and that's Minako.”

 

Ami bowed. “Mizuno Ami desu. Douzo Yuroshiku,” she said politely.

 

Nodoka smiled warmly. “Douzo Yuroshiku,” she replied, and then looked to the other girls (none of whom had noticed that they were being introduced).

 

“Minna,” Ami called, “Come meet Ranma's parents.”

 

The other girls looked up, and introductions were made all around. Usagi's parents joined in, and they and the Saotomes were soon talking amiably.

 

Ami gave Ranma a thoughtful look. “Ranma-kun,” she said, and the others blinked at the suffix. “It's true, isn't it? You really were raised as a boy.”

 

But it was more than that. There was a difference there that Ami couldn't put her finger on. Haruka might cross-dress, but even she didn't feel like this.

 

Ranma nodded. “Yeah. I know I might be a girl now, but...” she trailed off.

 

Might be a girl now? That was a very strange choice of words. While the other Senshi might not have caught such a thing, Ami did, and it brought with it further questions. “It's more than just that you were raised as a boy, isn't it?”

 

The others looked at Ami, confused. “Ami-chan?” Usagi asked uncertainly.

 

Ranma grew nervous, and put a hand on the base of where her pigtail would have been if she'd been wearing her hair in one. “Uh, nope? Why would there be anything more to it than that? I'm obviously a girl, right? Always have been.”

 

She was lying. Ami could tell as clear as day. And yet... it seemed so absurd. Yet... Ami considered it from Ranma's point of view. If she herself had been born a boy and somehow been transformed into a girl, she'd probably want to put the whole thing behind her, too - if she ever managed to get over it at all. Compassion welled up in her. “I'm sorry, Ranma-kun. I shouldn't pry, but, you're coping far better than I would in your place.”

 

Ranma's eyes widened, and she stared at Ami, finally understanding exactly what she meant. After a moment, Ranma nodded. “Thanks,” she said, and meant it.

 

Ami smiled.

 

--------------------

 

Meanwhile, in the Death Buster nest in Mugen Gakuen, Mistress 9 stood before a vast statue depicting a winged, robed figure bearing the Silence Glaive in its hand: the Messiah of Silence. She looked up at it and frowned slightly.

 

The statue stood off to the side in the room she occupied: a vast summoning chamber, inscribed with esoteric runes and patterns in a concentric spiral at the center of which was the black star of the Death Busters.

 

The door opened, and Eudial strode in, a pure heart crystal in hand. Even as the red-headed woman approached, Mistress 9 held out her hand; the heart crystal flew across the room and came to rest in that same hand.

 

Mistress 9 swallowed it. “Mmmmm,” she moaned, savoring the taste of the crystal heart as it dissolved, its power flowing out into hers, adding to her own. The pleasure of it was nearly orgasmic. Her hair and flesh both writhed in response, and she thought of Ranma. “Wow. I forgot what that was like,” she said, her cheeks flushed. She felt briefly guilty for having such a `perverted' reaction, but she quickly suppressed the feeling.

 

“The Heart Crystal is to your liking, then, Mistress 9?” Eudial asked.

 

Mistress 9 nodded. “It's fine.” A pause. “Eudial, this statue doesn't look like her.”

 

Eudial looked up at the vast, winged statue, then at Mistress 9. “Perhaps a little remodeling is in order?” she asked.

 

“Maybe,” Mistress 9 said. Another pause. “I've been thinking about it for a while. If I know Ranma, she's not going to give up. She could be a problem.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“I think we're going to need some... assistance, against her. Until she can be convinced to take her rightful place with me.”

 

“We have all the Daimons we could possibly need,” Eudial said, raising an eyebrow.

 

Mistress 9 shook her head. “Daimons won't do it. We need someone who can fight Ranma on his own level.” His own level? The thought filtered across the back of her mind and then vanished.

 

Eudial laughed madly. “I suppose you have someone in mind?” she asked.

 

Mistress 9 grinned.

 

--------------------

 

It was about three in the afternoon, but the day wasn't terribly warm. It was too late in the season for that. It was autumn, and the world was winding down. Soon, the long, cold winter would fall, and who can say if spring would come again afterwards?

 

The subway station was only a few degrees warmer than the outside air, crowded, and smelled strongly of unwashed human beings. Several hours had passed since the girls had first arrived at the subway station. There within, Nodoka and Genma stood near the entrance, facing Ranma. The other girls were close at hand, watching the parting.

 

“My son,” Nodoka said, “We've talked about it, your father and I have decided that we're going to go to Nerima and stay with the Tendos until things calm down.”

 

Ranma blinked. “Er...” she said intelligently.

 

Nodoka smiled indulgently. “Of course, you don't have to come if you don't want to. You have friends here, after all.” Her expression grew more serious. “And I expect you to rescue Akane-chan.”

 

Ranma nodded, determination in her eyes. “I will.”

 

Usagi stepped next to Ranma and met the red-head's gaze. “We will,” she said.

 

Ranma nodded. “We will,” she echoed.

 

Genma looked irritated, but Nodoka smiled. “I'm glad you have friends you can count on, my son,” she said. “But your father and I really must be going if we're to reach Nerima before nightfall.”

 

Nodoka seemed troubled for a moment. Then she embraced her neo-daughter. “My son, I fear you will be tested in the days ahead as you never have been before. Be strong.” She released Ranma and stepped back.

 

An uncomfortable look crossed Genma's face, and he smiled very faintly. “Make me proud, boy,” he said, and nothing else.

 

As one, they turned and departed.

 

Ranma stood rooted in place, staring after them. “Mom. Oyaji,” she whispered. For a moment, she felt horribly, terribly alone. Then the other girls moved up around her, and she knew where she belonged.

 

They stood like that for a minute before Ami asked, “Ranma-kun, are you all right?”

 

Ranma nodded slowly, and looked around at the other girls. Her friends. “... I will be.”

 

About that time, a strange procession came into view, making its way down the stairs into the underground. There were about a dozen men and women all in pale robes. They walked in pairs, one man and one woman each, and each pair carrying a box between them.

 

Ranma and the other girls moved to get out of their way, and ended up next to Usagi's parents.

 

“Who are they?” Makoto whispered, eyeing the group suspiciously.

 

The procession made its way down the stairs and into the subway, where they were greeted by the man in charge of the shelter. They began to talk.

 

Ikuko spoke up, having overheard Makoto's question. “They're priests,” she said. She used the English word, and not the Japanese one.

 

The eyes of each of the girls went to Usagi's mother. “Priests?” Usagi asked.

 

“They're a part of a foreign church called...” Ikuko thought for a moment, trying to remember the name. “The Esoteric Order of Dagon.” She smiled. “They've been very kind, opening their doors and providing food, water and clothing for us.”

 

“Oh, we're in for a treat today, everyone!” The man in charge of the shelter announced. “As a gesture of good will, the Order of Dagon has brought us a rare, rare delicacy. I'm sure we'll all enjoy our first taste of Mermaid's flesh!”

 

A murmur went through the crowd at that. There were legends about Mermaid's flesh. Supposedly, it had the power to confer immortality upon those who partook of it. Nobody believed that, of course, and most of those present didn't believe that it really was mermaid's flesh, but they appreciated the gesture.

 

Usagi exchanged uneasy glances with her friends. “I... I don't think we should eat that, minna,” she said.

 

Ranma nodded in agreement, though her grumbling stomach voiced an objection of its own.

 

“Don't be ridiculous, girls,” Ikuko said, moving towards where they were even now beginning distribution of the food. “I'm sure it's perfectly safe.”

 

“Wait,” Usagi said, but Kenji and Shingo moved to join Ikuko in the line. She looked at the boxes full of food and frowned deeply. She got a really bad feeling when she saw the ... fish? Whatever it was. Something clearly was not right here, and yet... and yet... She shook her head.

 

All too soon, the food had been distributed to everyone present, and they all sat down to eat, occasionally voicing thanks for the kindness of the Church of Dagon. A few minutes later, Ikuko, Kenji, and Shingo came back over to Ranma and the others and sat down.

 

“My, that was good,” Ikuko said, and Kenji and Shingo were quick to voice their agreement. She looked at Usagi. “You missed out, Usagi.”

 

Usagi opened her mouth to speak, but at that moment, about a dozen yards away, a man stood up, clutching at his stomach. “Ugh...” he said, grimacing, and held up his hand.

 

The flesh of his hand visibly bulged before his very eyes.

 

The man began to scream, and soon, the screams of others joined him: the transformations had begun.

 

Ikuko fell to her knees.

 

“Mama?” Usagi asked.

 

“Usagi...” Ikuko said, tears in her eyes. Her flesh rippled and bulged grotesquely. “It hurts...!”

 

The shelter erupted in sheer pandemonium. Some simply fell over and died, but most of them changed. Shiny, slippery, green-tinged skin quickly replaced whatever natural skin colours the people might have had.

 

“Mama!” Usagi yelled, gathering her mother up into her embrace. She could feel her mother's body shifting, changing against her, and those same changes were reflected in the crowd around them. She let her mother sink to the concrete floor, stood up, and turned to face the priests of Dagon. “Whatever you did, stop it!” she yelled.

 

The twelve priests of Dagon cast off their hoods, and Usagi nearly wretched at the sight of their leader: in the place of hair, a thousand awful, grasping, mouthed tendrils grew out of his head. His forehead was strangely narrow, his nose, flat, and his eyes bulged fishlike, never blinking. The others shared similar features, some more normal looking than others, but all marked by a subtle inhumanity. “You should have eaten with the others, girls,” the high priest intoned. “If you'd survived the transformation, you could have lived on as our servants. But now, I'm afraid we'll just have to get rid of you. You understand, I'm sure. Can't have you telling the other shelters about this.” He grinned. “Not that they'd believe you. But some might. Enough to cause trouble.”

 

“Kusoyaro!” Ranma hissed, rising to her feet, her aura manifesting itself visibly around her.

 

“Minna!” Usagi yelled. “Transform!”

 

Each of the Senshi produced their respective transformation device.

 

“Moon Cosmic Power!”

“Mercury Star Power!”

“Mars Crystal Power!” - Ami and Usagi were both visibly startled by the altered transformation phrase.

“Jupiter Crystal Power!”

“Venus Crystal Power!”

Ami and Usagi recovered from their startlement, and then, all at once: “MAKE UP!”

 

Light flooded the subway station as, in a wash of fire, ice, wood, metal, and purity, the Sailor Senshi transformed.

 

“Government shelters are for the protection of the citizens, not for...” Sailor Moon trailed off. While the others had waited for her to make her speech, Ranma had not. Half of the priests were already unconscious, with the other half trying in vain to avoid the red-head's strikes. Clearly, whatever these priests were, they weren't fighters. Frantically, the High Priest had not been expected armed resistance of this sort. Even as the last of the other priests fell to the ground, unconscious, the High Priest uttered a word of power and stepped through the far wall of the shelter, his body vanishing into the concrete.

 

Sailor Moon sweatdropped.

 

But it wasn't over. The humans in whom that dire transformation had begun were no longer recognizable as such. Now utterly changed, their forms suggested anthropoids, but with vaguely fish-like heads with prodigious, bulging eyes that never closed, and palpating gills on the side of its neck, they were clearly only distantly related to humanity now, if at all. Green-gray, shiny, slippery skin glistened beneath the artificial lights of the subway station.

 

The transformed mass went wild, pouring out of the subway station and into the streets, slime dripping from their jaws, howling wildly as they ran.

 

“MAMA!” Sailor Moon yelled, and tackled the creature to whom the remnants of her mother's clothing still clung. “Minna, don't let them get away!”

 

Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus dashed to position themselves between the remaining monsters and the exit, and the beasts roared their defiance at the Senshi.

 

“Sailor Moon? What now?” Mars asked.

 

Moon rose to her feet, and the creature that had once been her mother snarled, pivoted, and rammed its terrible clawed hands into Moon's stomach.

 

“Sailor Moon!” the others yelled.

 

Blood leaked through the newly created holes in her fuku onto the monster's claws. Moon stared into the creature's eyes, and there within, saw no trace of her mother. “Mama,” she said desperately. “I'll save you!”

 

And then Ranma was there, beating the creature down in a whirl of kicks and punches. It proved surprisingly resilient: it roared, and slashed at Ranma with its powerful claws.

 

Powerful the creature might have been. Strong it might have been. But for a martial artist of Ranma's caliber, it might as well have been moving underwater. She evaded the punch with ease, grabbed the creature's arm, and using its own momentum against it, flung it bodily into the far wall.

 

Usagi took a step forward, bleeding badly but not caring. Her power flared around her in an intense aura of pink energy. There were perhaps twenty of the monsters still inside the shelter, with many times that number having escaped. She held out her hand. “Moon healing... escalation!” she yelled.

 

Nothing.

 

“Moon healing escalation!” There was a note of desperation in her voice.

 

Somewhere in the arctic, the crescent moon wand glowed fitfully.

 

“Usagi-chan...” Mars whispered. The gem on her tiara began to glow. One by one, the other Senshi's gems began to glow.

 

Usagi's pink aura coalesced around her hand. “Moon healing...” energy crackled around her, and all at once, the crescent moon wand appeared in her hands. The Ginzuishou wasn't fitted on it anymore, but there it was nonetheless. “ESCALATION!”

 

Buoyed up by the power of the other Senshi, the healing magic surged forth across the Lost Souls, bit by bit, undoing the spell that had transformed them with backwards mutterings of dissevering power. The glow of power faded, and there they were, human, naked, lying there unconscious on the concrete floor of the subway station, with Shingo, Kenji, and Ikuko among them. Not just the creatures, but the priests too - in the wake of Usagi's healing magic, their features no longer held the Innsmouth look, but seemed... normal.

 

“Thank God,” Sailor Moon whispered, and fell flat on her face, blood leaking from her uniform.

 

“Sailor Moon!” the others yelled as one, rushing to her side.

 

Ranma knelt down by Sailor Moon's side.

 

Oh, hell. That was a bad injury. That kind of belly wound was usually fatal. But... but hadn't Usagi just shown that it was possible to reverse that sort of thing? Did she deserve to die for that?

 

No. Usagi wasn't going to die. Ranma wouldn't let her: he had his heart set on it now, and Ranma Saotome never loses when it counts. Acting more on instinct than any kind of definite knowledge and guided by dim dream-memories of another life, Ranma placed her hands on the wounds and began to concentrate, willing them, somehow, to heal. She felt power begin to flow out from her, and a soft, purple light filled the room.

 

Before her very eyes, Usagi's injuries began to heal, each of the punctures undergoing in seconds what should have taken weeks or even months. Soon, there was no sign that she had ever been injured at all, save only for the blood and the finger-sized holes in her fuku.

 

The other Senshi stared at Ranma in amazement.

 

“Ranma-chan,” Usagi said, her voice full of wonder.

 

Ranma blushed.

 

----------------------

 

“Where on earth am I now?”

 

Ryouga wasn't sure, but wherever it was, things were bad here. Whatever city it was, it was in ruins. Devastation lay about him as far as the eye could see: some buildings still stood, but most were smashed beyond recognition. Off in the distance, he could see a vast swath of ice that stretched away into the horizon.

 

Whatever had happened here, he was sure that it was probably Ranma's fault.

 

Still, he couldn't go pound Ranma into the dust for whatever had happened just now: he needed to get back. Akari was waiting for him, after all, and when there's a pretty girl waiting for you at home, the desire to get there tends to be much more pressing.

 

He knew that Akane was missing in the wake of the storm. She'd been in Minato when it had hit, and her parents were getting frantic. Indeed, that had been the reason for this journey - to try to find her, and if she needed rescuing, to rescue her. But now, at last, he was heading back home. At least temporarily, before he set out again. To be honest, he hadn't really expected to find her. He'd more expected to find Ranma, and then for Ranma to find her.

 

He certainly hadn't expected to round a corner and find her in her Furinkan high school uniform in the middle of the street, holding a bento.

 

“A... Akane-san?” he asked, totally surprised.

 

She turned towards him, smiling sadly. She looked like she'd been crying. “Ryouga-kun?”

 

“Akane-san, what are you doing here? Where's Ranma?” Ryouga grew angry. “If that coward left you out here...” he punched a fist into the palm of his hand.

 

Akane ran to him and threw her arms around him.

 

Ryouga stared in shock. “A... Akane-san...”

 

“Oh Ryouga-kun, it was so horrible!” she began to cry.

 

“What happened, Akane-san?” he asked, gently returning her embrace.

 

“It was Ranma,” she said, her voice a near whisper.

 

Ever willing to believe the worst of his friend, Ryouga's blood began to boil. “Ranma... damn you!” He stepped back and looked Akane in the eye. “What did she do, Akane? What did that miserable pervert do this time?”

 

Akane stared at the ground. “She... she...” She grew more distraught, crying so hard now that she couldn't even complete her sentence.

 

Rage burned within Ryouga's heart. Ranma would PAY for this. But first, he had to make sure Akane was safe. “Akane-san, do you have anywhere where you're staying? Somewhere I could make sure you get back to?”

 

Ryouga didn't notice the ever so faint victorious smile that graced Akane's lips.

 

“Yes... yes...” she looked up at him, eyes full of tears. “I'm staying at Mugen Gakuen. It's... safe. Do you think you could take me there, Ryouga-kun?”

 

Ryouga nodded. “Of course I can,” he said. He turned and began to walk westwards. “Follow me, Akane-san!”

 

“Ryouga,” Akane said, sounding irritated.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Mugen Gakuen is this way.” She pointed east.

 

“I knew that.”

 

Akane grimaced. This had better be worth it, damn it. An hour later, somewhere near Hokkaido, Akane began to grind her teeth. An hour after that, her patience finally snapped. “GIVE ME YOUR PURE HEART CRYSTAL ALREADY!” she shouted.

 

Ryouga blinked. “What?”

 

Akane blushed. “Uh, what I mean is...” She sighed. “Oh forget it.” She chanted a few words in Latin; even as she spoke them, they appeared writ in black script floating around her. Finally, the power of the spell gathered, she pointed at Ryouga and spoke a single word: “Sleep.”

 

Instantly, he collapsed, sound asleep.

 

Grimacing, Akane picked up the Lost Boy, slung him over her shoulder, and teleported back to Mugen Gakuen.

 

This had BETTER be worth it.

 

----------------

 

Mercury dismissed her visor and shook her head sadly. “There are already almost a thousand of the dark power signatures that correspond to these... creatures, scattered across the ward. This wasn't the first shelter they infected. And we have no idea how many more teams there might be...”

 

Ranma clenched her fist. “We gotta stop `em from doing it ta anyone else,” she said determinedly.

 

“I agree, but I don't know that we can do much if this is as large a scale operation as I suspect it is. They're... they must be planning to use these transformed people as shock troops. They're making an army. Individually, these creatures are no match for any one of us, but en masse...” Mercury shook her head.

 

Venus spoke up. “We have to at least stop them from infecting the other two shelters here.” She looked at each of the Senshi. “Sailor Moon, I think we should split up into groups of two. I'll go with Mercury to the shelter at the Crown Game Center. Jupiter and Mars can go to the other one.”

 

“What about me?” Sailor Moon asked.

 

Venus glanced at Sailor Moon's family, who, though they had not yet regained consciousness, had at least been covered in blankets.

 

Moon looked at Kenji, Ikuko, and Shingo. “Right,” she said. “I'll make sure none of those monsters come back here. Ranma can stay with me. Right, Ranma-chan?”

 

Ranma rolled her eyes.

 

“Anyways,” Venus said, “Let's go.”

 

The others nodded, and they dashed up the stairs, and out of the subway station, leaving Ranma and Sailor Moon in the subway with the group of still unconscious, recovering victims.

 

--------------

 

The choices we make. The chances we take. Mistress 9 had taken many chances in going outside of her sanctum to retrieve Ryouga, but if all went according to plan, he could prove very useful to her before the end. She lowered him easily to the floor of the summoning chamber, placing his body directly over the black star of the Death Busters in the center of the chamber. Outside, night was falling; there was no moon.

 

Choices made, chances taken. Yes, this would do nicely. And besides that, it was time to start taking concrete steps towards the summoning of her father.

 

Even as she thought of it, a thrill of fear/desire shot through her. Yes, it would work. And then, when all the world was laid out at her feet, Ranma would come, and take her rightful place at her side.

 

“Eudial,” Mistress 9 said, glancing sidelong at the red-headed scientist.

 

“Mmm?”

 

“Now.”

 

Eudial threw a large switch on the far side of the room. Deep underground, vast engines began to churn, building a combined charge of electricity and dark magics. A deadly purple glow began at the outer edge of the spiral, and slowly, began to flow inwards. The symbols around the spiral lit up as the light passed them, shining with eldritch power.

 

Ryouga stirred, shook his head, and sat up. “Where on earth am I now?” he asked. Then he took in his surroundings, and his eyes widened. “Akane-san! What's going on?”

 

Mistress 9 turned towards Ryouga, and her hair writhed in the air behind her. “I need your help, Ryouga-kun,” she said, her voice saccharine-sweet. “You don't mind, do you?”

 

Ryouga tried to move, only to find himself held securely in place by an unseen force. “Akane-san, what's happened to you?” he asked disbelievingly.

 

“I woke up, Ryouga,” she said, watching as the energy spiraled towards the Lost Boy. “I'm not a shy, sweet, helpless little girl anymore. I'm my father's daughter, now. And soon, you'll be a brother to me. Think about it, Ryouga. We'll be family. Wouldn't you like that?”

 

Ryouga grit his teeth, and the sickly green of his depression aura took shape around him. “Damn you, Ranma,” he hissed. “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” The aura surged wildly. “SHI SHI HOKOUDAN!”

 

The blast of green-tinged heavy ki splashed against the barrier that held him in place. The barrier distorted visibly as his power clashed against it, but soon, all too soon, it recovered from the blow.

 

“How many more times can you do that before it reaches you, I wonder?” Mistress 9 asked.

 

As it turned out, he could do it three more times. Three blasts. Three near-successes. But each time, the barrier recovered just before it might have collapsed.

 

And then, as his despair grew, just as the deadly purple light was nearly upon him, he shouted, “PERFECT SHI-SHI HOKOU...” he cut off in mid sentence, and his shout became a scream of agony. The portal between worlds was opened, for a split second, and the will of a vast, incomprehensible OTHER was focused upon his frame.

 

A distortion appeared in the air above him, beyond which could be seen a horrible, writhing, globular mass. A Daimon egg descended through the portal, and sinking with interminable slowness, settled upon Ryouga's brow, and burst open in a splash of pink goo.

 

Though Ryouga tried to struggle, the will of Pharaoh 90 held him fixed in place. The unformed Daimon mass poured down his throat, and he screamed.

 

Eudial laughed madly, her grin threatening to split her face in twain, and Mistress 9 drank in Ryouga's despair like a fine wine. At last, Mistress 9 turned, and both flesh and hair writhed and shifted as she gathered her power. The great statue of the Messiah of Silence began to glow, and she spoke:

 

“Come to me, students of Mugen Gakuen. The time is come. Your master is calling. Your purpose is at hand! Come!”

 

And all across the city, the students of Mugen Gakuen heard the call, dropped what they were doing, and began walking towards the school. Children and teenagers alike flowed into the streets, hundreds strong, each of them moving inexorably towards the Infinity Academy, none of them able to resist the power that called them now. Even those that had been changed - even those whose forms were no longer human could not disobey. Like the children of Hamelin, they went.

 

Across the ward, Haruka and Michiru both looked up in surprise. They were in the midst of unpacking in their new home when the call washed over their minds, and though their status as Senshi protected them from the compulsion, they felt it and knew what it wanted from them nonetheless.

 

“Did you feel it?” Michiru asked.

 

“The Death Busters are making their move,” Haruka said.

 

“And you intend to stop them?” Setsuna asked, stepping into the room.

 

To their credit, the Outer duo only jumped a little bit at the sudden unexpected voice. Once they had recovered from their startlement, they nodded as one.

 

“Yes.”

 

“How?”

 

Haruka grimaced. “We can at least gather information. Find out what they're doing. Come up with a plan.”

 

Setsuna nodded, and looked both women in the eye in turn. “Be careful, Haruka. Michiru. This is a delicate time. One misstep here could spell disaster. Don't do anything rash. Watch. Gather information. Then come back, and we can plan our next move.”

 

Michiru nodded, and after a moment, Haruka did too.

 

And in the subway station, Ranma, sitting next to a finally conscious Ikuko Tsukino, did not hear the call. For her, the message was something quite different:

 

“Ranma... help me...”

 

The voice was faint, but it was clearly Akane's. Ranma looked up, but there was no sign of the girl. She let her senses expand, flowing out across her immediate surroundings.

 

No trace. Not even the faintest glimmering of Akane's ki.

 

Had she imagined it?

 

“Ranma, please... help me...”

 

This time, an image came along with the plea: Mugen Gakuen, silhouetted against the night sky. Ranma rose to her feet.

 

“Ranma-chan?” Usagi asked. “What's wrong?”

 

“It's Akane,” Ranma said. “Usagi, she needs my help. I have to go to her.”

 

“Wait! We'll call the others. Go as a group. You shouldn't go alone!”

 

“There's no time!” Ranma said fiercely. “She's calling for me. Sorry, Usagi, but I gotta go ta her. Now.” She turned and dashed away. Even as she went, the uniform of Sailor Saturn flowed out over her, unveiling her, giving her strength.

 

“Usagi?” Ikuko asked questioningly. “Your friend is one of the Sailor Senshi?”

 

Usagi rose to her feet. “Ranma, wait! We can help you! We can call back Mars, Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury and all go in together!” She looked down at Ikuko. “Mom, I...”

 

It was too late. Ranma was gone.

 

A hundred casual comments. All the times she'd found her daughter's room empty late at night. The occasional unexplained bruise or cut. A hundred missed clues suddenly clicked into place within her mind. Ikuko met Usagi's gaze levelly. “You have some explaining to do, young lady,” she said.

 

END CHAPTER 13