Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A New Future 2 - First Blood ❯ Skirmish ( Chapter 9 )

This is an alternate history (both the world in general and the Senshi in particular) continuation for both Sailor Moon and Ranma 1/2, set in a world with no space exploration, personal computers, cell phones, or anything else requiring a transistor. The Y rating is for violence.

This was originally published by me under the name Anduril at Anime Addventures, with the only changes being a few corrections in spelling, punctuation and the occasional word choice. If you like the beginning of my story but think I've gone off the rails, or have your own ideas for a great branch-off, or think I'm taking too long to update and want to continue the story yourself, come to Anime Addventures and join in the fun!

I claim no ownership rights to any of the works of Rumiko Takahashi, Naoko Takeuchi, or anything in the GURPS Ogre and GURPS Tales of the Solar Patrol settings published by Steve Jackson Games. Everything else is mine.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sailor Mars snarled as yet another fireball exploded uselessly against the monster's covering of large blue-green feathers, the feathers as pristine and scorch-free after as they had been after the previous three attempts. It's not fair! the black-haired Senshi wailed, leaping back as the seven-meter thing whirled toward her on its two legs and charged, its head snaking toward her at the end of its long neck. This is the second monster immune to fire! Please, kami, don't let them all be like this!

Then a golden chain whirled in from the side and wrapped around the bird-snake's legs, only to snap almost instantly. The monster turned toward the blond Senshi five meters away, opening its short muzzle to expose blunt teeth as more fog poured out and over Sailor Venus, making her cough and wave her hand in front of her face even as the vapor faded away.

Venus fired off another Love-Me chain as she stepped back, shaking her head a little, and Mars fought down a scream of frustration even as she circled around to join her partner — what did that girl think she was doing?

Then the third wave of vapor from the monster enveloped the blonde and she wavered and abruptly fell backward onto her butt, and — started giggling?

Mars's heart went cold as Venus waved cheerfully at the approaching feather-covered thing, and it was lowering its head, its muzzle gaping wide — and Mars was there trying to pull Venus to her feet, with a perfect target, and suddenly the monster seemed to be breathing fire as her latest fireball exploded in the back of its mouth. It reared back, almost standing upright and taking two earthshaking steps back, neck laying back along its back, then lowered back to its apparently normal horizontal stance as its head again snaked forward and it roared.

“Wow, cool!” Venus enthused.

Mars groaned, again trying to pull the blonde to her feet. “Come on, Venus, we have to get out of here!”

Venus turned a somewhat vacant look at her black-haired partner. “Huh?”

 

On the roof of the building above the two Senshi, Vanguard took another quick look around and nodded — apparently only one monster, though the one over two stories high when it stood upright was quite enough. “Saturn, get down there and give Venus and Mars cover. Shampoo, go with her, help Mars get Venus out of there — but don't breath that smoke stuff that monster was putting out. If it's enough ta turn Venus into a giggling idiot, I don't wanna think what it'll do to a normal human.”

The two nodded and leaped down to join Mars and Venus, and Vanguard turned to Chibi-Moon. “Moon, I want ya ta distract it, give the others a chance ta get Venus outa there. If ya can, lure it over ...” The ponytailed redhead looked over the battleground again, then pointed across the street. “Over there, under those streetlights. Get it ta keep its head down, too, and that'd be great.”

Chibi-Moon nodded. “Gotcha, boss, consider it done!” The pink-haired Senshi stepped to the edge of the roof, then leaped to a streetlight, swung across the street to another, then dropped to the sidewalk. “Hey, Ugly, over here!” she called out.

Even as Chibi-Moon fired off her first attack, Vanguard turned her attention back to the four below her and nodded in satisfaction — the bird-snake was rebounding back with a shriek, blood dripping from what must have been some broken teeth, from an encounter with Saturn's Silence Wall. Then Chibi-Moon's pink hearts hammered home at the base of the thing's snake-like neck, and Vanguard couldn't stop from chuckling — as effective as that attack could be, she was sure glad that wasn't her attack, the embarrassment alone would probably do as much damage to her as the attack did to her target.

Still, as silly-looking as it was, the attack had accomplished its purpose as the monster whirled away from the four girls in front of it and strode toward the pink-haired Senshi off to the side. Move it, Ranma, or you'll be late for the party! Vanguard thought as she wrapped herself in the Silent Thief and ran along the roof to the corner and dropped silently to the ground behind the bird-snake — only to freeze as it whirled around, head weaving from side to side, searching. Its gaze passed over the cloaked girl crouching in front of it, and then another series of pink hearts hammered into the base of its long tail and the thing whirled again to start toward Chibi-Moon.

Vanguard glanced over to the other four, and sighed with relief as she saw Xian Pu and Mars pulling Venus into an alley, Venus singing a very bawdy song badly off-key, as a furiously blushing Saturn slowly backed up while keeping herself and her Silence Glaive between the other three girls and the monster. Good, they're safe. And Hotaru's remembered her training, at least ta holding the pig-sticker right — not something ya can always count on when ya get into real combat.

Still cloaked, Vanguard began running toward the monster, only to cartwheel to the side as it again whirled, its head whipping toward her. Even as she dodged its head followed her, until she leaped for a second floor fire escape even as yet another line of pink hearts smashed into its side. The beast ignored the fresh attack for a moment, head sliding along a little above the ground, searching, but on finding nothing it again turned back to Chibi-Moon, roaring as it stalked toward the girl.

Up on the fire escape, Vanguard paused and thought for a moment. Alright, it's got some way a' noticing targets besides sight — but it needs the target ta be moving, and probably on the ground, it didn't notice Usa when she used the light poles ta get across the street, an' didn't follow me up ta here. Right. Okay, Usa's almost got it in position, Ranma, so get a move on!

Leaping from the fire escape to the one the next building over, then to a streetlight, and another, Vanguard quickly got into position on the streetlight above where she'd told Chibi-Moon to lead the monster even as the pink-haired Senshi backed up past Vanguard's pole, again dodging the monster's head whipping forward on its long neck. Good, good, almost there ... Vanguard thought, oh, crap! Chibi-Moon had stepped back several more paces, the bird-snake following, when her foot cam down in a pothole and she tumbled backwards, instantly tucking into a roll for more distance.

Even as the beast strode forward, head thrusting toward the rolling girl, Vanguard threw herself out and down, dropping her cloak, and Mars and Saturn, charging across the street from where they'd been watching at the alley's mouth, gasped as their blue-skirted friend seem to appear out of thin air even as she landed right at the junction of the bird-snake's neck and body where its shoulders would be if it had any arms. Even as the beast reared, its head whipping around toward the new threat, Vanguard's glowing ki-claws flashed into view and she swung once, slicing across the top of the neck through the beast's vertebrae, and again across the bottom from side to side where she hoped its arteries would be. The pseudo-Senshi was awarded with a spray of blood tracking down the building beside them even as the beast collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut and the girl threw herself off and out into the street, rolling away from the dying bird-snake.

Rolling to her feet, Vanguard ran around the thrashing monster and up to Chibi-Moon. “Moon, are you all right?” she asked worriedly as she pulled the other girl to her feet, and Chibi-Moon nodded, staring wide-eyed at the thrashing beast dying yards away from them even as Mars and Saturn joined them.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” she gasped, still staring at the monster, and Vanguard followed her gaze.

“Not used ta the things ya kill sticking around, are ya?” she asked, and Chibi-Moon shook her head even as her face turned greenish as more blood sprayed across the wall, street, cars....

“And who are you supposed to be?” asked an also green-tinted Mars, and Vanguard grinned at her as Saturn stepped beside the ponytailed redhead and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Say hello to Vanguard, the Senshi's newest ally,” the Senshi of Destruction said quietly.

“V-V-Vanguard?” a voice stuttered behind them, and the four girls turned to find a pale and shaking Sailor Moon staring wide-eyed at her younger sister.