Hey, readers.  Shampoo here, being forced into doing some crap I don't want to,
which is a feeling I'm REAL familiar with lately.

What?  Why the hell are you staring at me?  "Baby talk"?  What the hell is that
crap?  I speak perfectly good Chinese, thank you, and the translation is also
good, since it's not like any of my predecessors were narrating in English.
Don't be stupid.

Anyway, like I was saying, I showed up to kill off that bitch, or I guess
bastard, Ranma and then found out he was really a guy, and really my husband to
be, and that's really annoying, and it's all really the fault of my stupid
great-grandmother.  Then, as if my day wasn't bad enough, those idiots Pink and
Link showed up with their new undead friend, who... well, anyway, I'm going to
have to serve those two cretins for a year.  Yay.

In addition to providing me on a silver platter, Chris is also dancing to the
stupid twins' tune by fetching the mitamas of those plant monsters for them.
About the only thing he ISN'T doing for them is mooning over Akane Tendo - that
one's pretty much his own little thing.

Checking in with the supposed main character, Ukyou has been a busy little
bitch.  A little too busy, actually, since she's having to deal with the
consequences of going nuts and breaking Hayato's spine a bit back.  Not only has
Hayato vanished after talking with that youma Tethys, but Sailor Pluto is still
after her because Ukyou's gonna destroy the universe or some crap.  I say: give
Ukyou to me.  After I'm finished working out some frustration, the universe will
be totally safe.  Promise!



			      C&A Productions Presents

                          A Work of Blatant Self-Insertion


                                   Hybrid Theory


                               Chapter 11: Papercut



	"Okay, Ran, so we sneak around the bastard's blind side and then
infiltrate the Compound of Evil."
	"...the what?"
	"His Compound of Evil.  From the blind side."
	"Ranma, that's an apartment build-"
	"It's... a... Compound... Of... Evil!"
	"Ooookay.  And then the 'blind side' would be... the back?"
	"Right.  Now we have to be careful, and make sure we sneak around all
the guards.  Like that one there.  Watch him."
	"Ranma, that looks like a superintendant.  Who's taking out the trash."
	"That's only what he WANTS you to think!  Trust me, Ran, this guy's
tricky.  You can't take your eye off him for a minute, or trust what he says, or
believe what he wants you to believe!  And he wants you to believe that's a
superintendant."
	"Sure, stud, sure.  Whatever you say.  It'll make better copy anyway."
	"You got it.  Now, we gotta find some way to make it to the top floor
without settin' off any alarms."
	"What about the fire escape?"
	"Feh.  Too easy.  And he's gotta have it bugged- hey!  Ran!  Get off
that!"
	"Doesn't look bugged to me.  No alarms, either."
	"...well, be more careful from here on in.  We're dealing with a master
of deception here."
	"Gotcha.  Hey, I'm on your side.  That bastard wrecked my camera, after
all."
	"Wrecked your camera 'cause he's afraid of the TRUTH!"
	"Ranma, the superintendant, I mean guard, is looking this way."
	"Quick!  Act normal!"
	"..."
	"Yeah, just like that.  Try to look like you're confused and don't know
what's goin- hey, stop dragging me!"
	"Take it from a pro, stud: keeping away from the authority figures - and
guards - is the best way to get your story.  Or perform a thrilling rescue.  Or
both!"
	Ranma only allowed Ran to drag him a few steps up the stairwell before
pulling his hand free and sliding in front of her. Man, she had a grip. Ranma
snuck forward, putting all his years of experience under the tutelage of Genma
Saotome to use. Ran followed him at a sedate pace. He couldn't help but feel she
wasn't taking this seriously.
	Of course, she hadn't seen Chris in action as much as Ranma had. There
was no way Ranma was letting that smug undead jerk get away with... whatever
diabolical plan he had for Shampoo. Not that he particularly liked the psycho
Chinese chick. But damn, nobody deserved to be that guy's prisoner!
	Plus, it gave Ranma an excuse to kick the jerk around a little. Ranma
smirked as he thought about the epic battle to come. He was pretty sure that he
had the guy's measure. He had seen all his new techniques the other day, and
spent the last three coming up with what he figured would be perfect counter-
arts.
	"Uh, Ranma, we're on the twelth floor. You can stop climbing now."
	Ranma jerked to a stop and cast a look over his shoulder.
	"I knew that... I was just... making sure that there were no surprises
up above."
	Ran seemed about to reply, but then apparently decided to just shake her
head. The pony-tailed journalist simply gestured for him to follow and
backflipped from the stairwell, her skirt rippling behind her, and landed in a
light crouch on a nearby balcony. Ranma shrugged and followed her. Of course, he
did so with a triple axel reverse spin and single-foot landing, but there was no
need to go into that.
	Ran rolled her eyes at him for some reason. "We should be quiet," she
whispered. Ranma nodded. "Now, exactly who was it you were here for?"
	"My Chinese fiancee," Ranma explained as he stepped past her. "She
should be in this place somewhere." He paused. "Hey Ran, are you going to stand
there all day?"
	"Uh... yes... I mean no. I mean... Chinese fiancee?"
	"Yeah, it's this cute psycho chick that I'm supposed to be married to
because I beat her up and she saw me naked or something. I never really
understood what the old troll was talking about."
	Ran stared at him. Seeing she had nothing important to add, Ranma turned
back to peeking in the windows. The first window was the bedroom of those twins,
who were thankfully sleeping. Ranma moved on quickly. The second window was his
target. It was hard to miss her, as she was lying on the floor. Of course, Ranma
didn't know why she wasn't just sleeping on the comfortable-looking bed less
than a meter away. Also, he didn't know why she wasn't wearing anything.
	"Ranma!"
	His head bonked against the window pane and he rebounded with a muttered
curse. He turned to glare at Ran, rubbing the scalp where she had hit him.
"What?"
	"She's naked!" Ran pointed out in a loud hiss.
	"I noticed," Ranma said, rolling his eyes.
	"Well... it's not very polite to stare then, is it?" Ran crossed her
arms and huffed.
	"Fine." Ranma leaned back. "That's going to make rescuing her pretty
annoying, though. I mean... even I might have trouble fighting Chris with my
eyes closed."
	"Well, take your shirt off then!"
	"What? She's naked, so I have to be too?"
	Ran turned crimson. "N-no! You idiot!" She stammered. "For her!"
	"I don't think she likes me that way..."
	"For her not to be naked!"
	"Oh. Right. Good plan."
	Ranma turned towards the window, taking off his shirt. He simultaneously
noticed three things: first, that the window was now open. Second, that Shampoo
was now standing in the window with an annoyed frown. Third, that her fist was
approximately two centimeters from his nose and approaching rapidly.
	When Ranma shook the stars out of his vision he noted absently that the
guardrail had prevented him from flying into the abyss. Also, that Shampoo was
yelling something at him in Chinese. Once she noticed he was paying attention,
she spat in his direction and slammed the window closed.
	"Huh?" Ranma said. He got up and began to check to make sure his nose
wasn't broken. For a girl, Shampoo could punch.
	"She said, even if you are her husband, you don't get marital
privileges. More or less. She used more colorful words."
	"You speak Chinese?"
	"Among other talents you have yet to discover, stud."
	Ranma shrugged and walked over to the window. It appeared Shampoo had
locked it. Oh well. He used one of the tricks Genma had taught him and had it
open in seconds. As he worked, Ran began to ask him questions.
	"So... exactly what kind of a relationship do you two actually have?"
	"She wants to kill me. I want to never see her again. Her grandmother
wants me to marry her. The undead jerk wants her to serve him..." Ranma put a
diabolical emphasis on the word 'serve', just to get across the point.
	"Uh huh. I think I need the whole story on this one, Ranma."
	Ranma was about to respond, but was distracted dodging Shampoo's three
strike combination.
	"She's telling you that you never learn."
	"I figured as much." Ranma muttered as he continued evading Shampoo's
assault. The crazy bitch was still screaming at him, but Ranma ignored her mouth
and concentrated on slipping in under her attack, sliding along the edge of the
window, and landing easily inside the room. It took Shampoo a moment to notice
he was no longer in front of her. She spun on him with a kick, which he blocked
this time. "Hey Ran, tell her I'm here to rescue her, will ya?"
	"If you think it'll help, stud." Ran shrugged as she leaned against the
windowsill and began to speak to Shampoo. Shampoo paused, obviously surprised by
Ran's fluency. Ranma sighed and released her leg. Then she kicked him in the
groin when he let his guard down. "She says she doesn't want your help."
	"I figured as much," Ranma wheezed as he rolled around on the ground for
a second.
	Ranma recovered quickly, however. He kicked to his feet and stretched
his arms. He had figured Shampoo wouldn't come along quietly. That's what the
rope was for. Ranma grinned and snapped a length of it free from the coil on his
belt. Shampoo raised an eyebrow, as did Ran.
	Then the lights turned on.
	"Ranma, why exactly are you in my condo molesting Shampoo?"
	"Hah!" Ranma spun in place. "Wouldn't you like to know!" He pointed
accusingly at the undead jerk. The jerk was standing in the doorway, dressed in
jeans, a leather jacket and gloves. Ranma was all ready to say something
impressive when Shampoo kicked his knees out from under him. Ranma recovered
admirably. His face only touched the carpet for a second before he sprang to his
feet, this time facing Shampoo.
	"You are NOT making this rescue easy!" he shouted. He tossed the rope to
Ran. "Here. You deal with her or something." Ran caught the rope and stared at
him like he had grown another head. Ranma was too busy spinning to face the
treacherous Chris to deal with her, however.
	Chris was smirking and placed his hands on his hips. "So... it's a
rescue, eh?" Ranma allowed his body to relax. Chris stretched forth his hands
and cracked the knuckles theatrically. "Well, Ranma, then you leave me no
choice." Ranma began to wiggle his fingers in anticipation. Oh yeah. This was
what he was waiting for. "No choice... but to ask you to leave peacefully."
	"Aww, man!" Ranma slumped. "Not this again!"
	"Well, if you don't leave, I'm going to have to call the cops." Chris
shrugged apologetically. Ranma's eye twitched.
	"But... you're an evil undead body-stealing monstrosity that forces
young girls to serve your diabolical purposes! You CAN'T call the cops!"
	"I am also the evil undead body-stealing montrosity that owns the legal
lease to this condominium. And you are the brave young hero that is breaking and
entering in the middle of the night to try and kidnap one of the residents."
	"Hate to break this to you, stud, but he has a point."
	"You stay out of this!" Ranma snapped peevishly. "And aren't you
supposed to be tying her up?" Ranma pointed accusingly at Shampoo, who was
lounging at the foot of the bed and buffing her nails.
	"Uh... maybe later."
	Ranma turned his head as a sleepy voice yelled loudly from the next
room. "Shampoo! That noise is waking us up! I don't care who's causing it, beat
them up and get them out of here, over!"
	Shampoo obviously recognized the voice. Ranma froze. Then he remembered
that Shampoo didn't understand Japanese! She was still confused...
	Then Ran was saying something to her. Shampoo looked at Ran, then at
Ranma. She grinned. It was not a pleasant grin. Ranma suddenly decided that he
had, perhaps, not thought this plan out as much as necessary. Ranma glanced at
Chris, who was waving cheerfully at him, the undead jerk.
	"Don't think I won't be back!" Ranma shouted as he dodged the thrown
bed. It tore through the wall behind him with a collosal crash. Ran eeped and
briefly skidded over the top of it before landing with an 'oompf' on the
balcony. Ranma flipped over the angry purple-haired girl's next few strikes and
landed outside the condo proper.
	"Now look what you've done, Ranma. Poor Shampoo's going to freeze
tonight, and it's all your fault," Chris called out in a sing-song voice.
	"Oh yeah... well... I bet they revoke your lease for that! And then
let's see you call the cops on me next time!" Ranma didn't wait for Chris's
response before bounding down the fire escape. Ran paused on the balcony to
shrug apologetically to everyone inside before following him.
	Ranma led her a few blocks away. They stopped on a bridge over one of
Nerima's many canals. Ran leaned on the railing next to him and patted him on
the back.
	"Cheer up. Sure, you were utterly humiliated and didn't accomplish a
single thing you set out to do, but at least you weren't flattened by a flying
bed."
	"Uh... thanks." Ranma turned around and leaned back on the railing. "It
just pisses me off. I know that jerk is up to something. Ukyou would have known
how to get it out of him, I think." Ranma paused. Ran didn't have anything to
add to that, so they stood together in silence for a few moments.
	"Hey, Ran..."
	"Hmmm?"
	"Thanks, by the way."
	"You already thanked me."
	"No. I mean, for helping me find him."
	"It wasn't hard." She shrugged.
	"Yeah, well... it was something I couldn't do," Ranma admitted ruefully,
rubbing the back of his neck.
	"Uh... you're welcome then."
	"Oh, and I almost forgot in all the excitement." Ranma reached into his
pocket and pulled free a tiny red and yellow box. "This is yours."
	"Mine?" Ran took it. "It's... an instant camera?"
	"I promised I'd get you a camera back." Ranma explained. "And I keep my
promises."
	"I..." Ran looked down at the little box, and then she began to grin.
"Ranma, this is a five hundred yen disposable camera..."
	"Yeah, it's not as big as that clunky old thing you had before." Ranma
pointed out proudly. "Plus it has a clip for your belt, so you won't drop it
like your last one."
	Ran gave Ranma a strange look for a moment. Then she grinned. "I guess
it is almost as good." She began to chuckle. "When you look at it like that."
	"See. Never doubt the word of Ranma Saotome!"
	"Don't worry. I won't."

*

	"You look troubled."
	Pluto looked up from her magazine. She was about to tell the waitress
that she was fine when she stopped. Whoever this woman was, she was no waitress.
At least not for this restaurant.
	"Perhaps I can help you ease your mind," the mystery woman said calmly.
Pluto examined her more closely as the woman slid around behind the tiny cafe
table. She was tall, with smooth Roman features. Her most striking feature was
her hair. It was a deep purple, and styled into two wild locks that zig-zagged
through the air in stark defiance of gravity. She wore a wine colored dress
jacket and a long yellow sash. "You must be carrying great burdens. Perhaps the
cards can show you the path that lies before you?" The woman stretched forth her
hand and suddenly a long, decorative card appeared between her fingertips.
	"Ah, a fortune teller," Pluto said with a wry chuckle. "I'm afraid I
don't have much in the way of money." It was true. As Setsuna, Pluto earned a
modest living by working on and off in the fashion industry. It was enough to
afford a home and the ability to move about pretty much as she pleased. She just
wasn't in the habit of carrying money around with her.
	"You've already done more than enough to earn my help." The fortune
teller glanced at the other chair and then at Pluto. Pluto gestured for her to
sit. As she sat she removed a tarot deck from her sash. "I never really bothered
to learn the origin of the tarot deck. I have always just felt a sort of
connection to it." She began to shuffle the cards in a slow, deliberate manner.
"Something about the many facets, each representing the same thing in different
ways. They're like masks we place on the future, you see. The cards, I mean. The
key is to look behind the masks. Reveal what is beneath and hidden."
	She dealt a single card onto the table. "The Empress. This is your past.
Interesting. I did not know that." Pluto wondered what she meant. She'd never
bothered to study the various myths regarding fortune-telling. It all seemed so
irrelevant when you could simply turn your head and see the way the world would
unfold for the next ten thousand years. After aeons of resisting that
temptation, playing at knowing the future simply didn't appeal to her. "This
next card is your present. Death. Hmm. Ominous but not entirely bad. It means
change and transition, or so I've been told." The woman pushed the two cards
forward on the table. "But this isn't what you're interested in, is it? The next
card is the future." The woman drew a card and held it between her fingers for a
moment before placing it on the table. "The Tower. Now that is dangerous.
Disaster looms." Pluto smiled wryly.
	"But I think we can be more specific then that, no?" the fortune teller
drew another card and held it up. She gestured and the card began to spin about
a corner on the tip of her index finger. "This is the source of your trouble."
The card fell to the table. "The Hermit. Some people think that it is a male
card, but I've always preferred to think of it as female. It is associated with
wisdom, after all." Pluto chuckled along with the woman. "And here is another
card for you. Hmm... the Devil. And see how it lies next between the Hermit and
the Tower. A great battle, I think? And next is... The Sun. Ah, a revelation. A
message? I think so. You are worried about a message of a great battle, a wise
woman and a disaster." Pluto slowly lowered her teacup. The woman waved her hand
across the table, and suddenly the faces of the cards had changed. "I begin to
see what you see. Look, there is the Fool, the Lovers and still, and always, the
Tower. Compassion has misled you, and now disaster seems even more certain."
Pluto reached out and plucked the Fool card from the table. Her eyes had not
been decieving her. On the card was a picture of her. Or, more accurately, a
picture of Sailor Pluto.
	"Who are you?" Pluto whispered.
	"I came to help you." The woman gestured and the Tower card rose from
the table and began to spin idly in mid-air. Pluto looked at it. She had seen
the card before. It had been the picture of a great stone turrent, cloaked in
shadow and being shattered by a lightning bolt. Now it looked almost the same,
except the cloak of shadows was a black coat and the lightning bolt was an
outstretched silver weapon. Hidden in the shadows of the card was a face Pluto
knew well. "Four months ago, I began to have nightmares." The fortune teller
reached down with one manicured finger and halted the motion of the card with a
gentle touch. "I did not know what they meant. Until I read a story in the
newspaper about a great battle. But even then I did not come here." Pluto's
eyes met the mystery woman's and some shared fear passed between them. "I knew
another was here, one whom the message was meant for. I thought she could handle
it. A few days ago, I sensed a power like I never have. I suspected that there
had been a confrontation. But the dreams did not go away. So I came."
	"Who are you?" Pluto demanded as she leapt to her feet. There was a loud
clatter as her chair landed somewhere behind her. The other patrons were staring
now, but Pluto didn't care. Her hand was already gripping her transformation
wand.
	"I am a friend, perhaps the only one you have." The fortune teller
stretched to her feet, The Tower gripped firmly between two fingers now. "I am
Rose." She gestured sharply and the card burst apart in a flash of startling
purple light. "I am here to help you do what must be done."

*

	Tsubasa spotted Ukyou before she spotted him. This wasn't unusual.
Tsubasa was very good at not being spotted when he wanted to be. What was
unusual was that he wasn't even trying to conceal his presence. Ukyou was
striding briskly out of the high school, barely paying attention to her
surroundings.
	Tsubasa could have ignored her and moved on. He wanted to. But... he
remembered that day a few years ago well. Ukyou had stood up for him, had
defended him when no one else would. She deserved at least some closure. She
deserved at least an explanation.
	"Ukyou!"
	Ukyou's head turned slowly in his direction. Her expression was not
kind, but neither was it cruel. It was... oddly neutral. It was like she didn't
even recognize him. A second later she put lie to his thoughts.
	"Ah, Fungus," Ukyou said evenly. "I knew it was a mistake coming back
just yet..."
	Tsubasa frowned. He didn't know where she had picked up that nickname
for him, but he didn't like it. It reminded him too much of the catcalls of the
other boys. It reminded him of being chased down the street by outraged women
with cries of 'freak' and 'pervert' echoing in his ears.
	"Coming back?" he asked slowly. As he approached, he self-consciously
smoothed out the pleats in his skirt and adjusted the bow in his hair. He had
put a good deal of effort into his outfit today, and he wanted Ukyou to
appreciate it.
	"To Nerima," Ukyou responded. "If not to Furinkan. I should have known
I'd run into someone."
	"I see..." Tsubasa did not, really.
	"No, you don't." Ukyou glanced away from him. "You don't know why I ran
away that day. You don't know why I haven't come back yet. I have... things on
my mind."
	"Okay..." Tsubasa sighed. He looked down and began to grind his toe into
the ground. "Listen, Ukyou, I need to talk to you."
	"Fungus, I'm not really..." Then she paused. Her head quirked to the
side and her eyes gazed off into the distance. "Wait. Check that. I do need
someone to talk to."
	"Huh?"
	"Come with me," Ukyou ordered as she reached out and grabbed his wrist.
Tsubasa gasped as she leapt up, carrying him roughly into the air. Her long
black coat rippled and snapped in the wind for a second before she alighted atop
a phone pole. Without pausing for an instant she was off again, bouncing over
the wall of the school and landing on the tip of a tree. Then a third bound took
them to the roof of the school. Tsubasa collapsed to his knees as she released
him and began to rub his wrist ruefully. "The door's locked," Ukyou said as she
returned from checking it. "We can talk without anyone overhearing us up here."
	"That's good..." Tsubasa said as he shifted to a more comfortable
position. Ukyou stretched and sat down next to him, eyes staring across the
expanse of Nerima towards the distant high rises of Tokyo. His heart ached at
the sight of her. She was so beautiful. Her hair had grown longer, her bangs now
reached down to almost cover her eyes. She was still dressed in the same dress
shirt and slacks combo she had favored back at their old school. Her thick
ponytail hung down to the small of her back, a stray hair here and there caught
idly in the breeze. She no longer carried her spatula. Instead, a long staff was
slung in a simple harness over her shoulder.
	But those weren't the big changes. The big change was her face. It was
still as pretty as ever, but now seemed to have grown cold. Her expression
seemed carved of stone. Her beautiful brown eyes, once so full of passion, now
focused icily on whatever was before her.
	"Do you mind if I go first?" Tsubasa snapped out of his reverie at her
words. She sounded tired. Like she hadn't slept in days. Now that he looked, he
could see the dark lines around her eyes. "I've been debating things in my head
for the past four days. Tossing ideas around. But there's a point where your
thoughts just begin to travel in circles, you know. Even if you do have two
perspectives on the same thought. It helps just to say it out loud. It's a kind
of magic, isn't it? Speaking it makes it real, somehow. Acknowledging it to
another human being. Even one who has no idea what you're talking about."
	Tsubasa blinked in confusion. Ukyou didn't seem to be talking to him,
really. She was more addressing the world, and he just happened to be the only
part of it paying attention.
	"Do you know the name of this high school?" she asked suddenly.
	"Uh, no?"
	"It's Tomobiki," Ukyou pointed out. "I'd heard stories about this place.
Tall tales, really. Stories about aliens and demons and boys with the worst luck
in the world." She gestured idly down towards the thinning crowd of students.
"None of them are true. At least, not in this world."
	"Ukyou, what do you mean...?" She held up a finger and stalled him.
	"But not all the stories are untrue. There are children running around
this city with the power to shatter steel, summon lightning and run like the
wind, literally." Ukyou was saying that as if Tsubasa should be surprised.
"You've met the Sailor Senshi, haven't you?" Tsubasa frowned as he thought about
them.  He nodded, but Ukyou had already started speaking again. "They're going
to save the world, you know. In the most literal sense of the word. In fact,
there is a lot of that world saving going on. I met a young man the other day
who can summon fire from his fingertips. He'll save the world, because that's
what his family does. In America there is an airforce captain named Guile who's
going to save the world. I haven't met him, but I have seen some of his...
contemporaries about. I even fought one of them to earn some spare cash last
night." Ukyou fingered her arm gingerly. "Lots of people are saving the world
these days."
	Ukyou paused and her voice became bitter.
	"I am going to destroy it."
	"What?" Tsubasa gasped.
	"So everyone keeps telling me." Ukyou reached out and laced her fingers
through the chainlink that surrounded the roof of the school. "Two days ago, I
went to consult an old gypsy woman. She predicts the future for money, you see.
I know she's legit. I've seen her guide one of those heroes to the monsters that
prey on mankind again and again. Not really a world-saving hero, this Ayaka, but
a hero nonetheless. She fights demons and ghosts for money.
	"The gypsy was afraid of me. She recognized me the moment I walked into
the room. She even tried to run away." Ukyou clenched her hand into a fist.
There was an ear-piercing shriek as the metal links crumbled and tore in her
grasp. "I intimidated her into telling me what I wanted to hear. I'm not proud
of it, but it confirmed what I had already heard from other people."
	"What did you hear?" Tsubasa said with a gulp. Ukyou no longer looked
indifferent. Her eyes had narrowed and her icy gaze had intensified. The air
around her had filled with a palpable cold, and Tsubasa found himself rubbing
his shoulders and shivering. Clouds began to form in front of his lips.
	"You don't pay attention, Fungus," Ukyou pointed out idly. "I'm going to
destroy the world. Literally. I am the end of all things, according to every
psychic I have sought out. It's written in the stars. It's in the cards. It's
even at the bottom of a teacup." Ukyou drew back her hand, tearing more of the
chainlink free as she did so. "What none of them have been able to tell me is
why."
	"Why?"
	"Why I'll do it. I don't want to destroy the world. I don't care about
the world! All I care about is... myself, my friends... Why would I do it?"
Ukyou leapt to her feet, her voice a cold hiss. "It can't have been me. There's
some mistake. Or there is something out there I'm not aware of. Some series or
video game come to life that I don't know about yet. Something that can produce
something so horrific that it will make me want to destroy everything..." Ukyou
ran a hand through her bangs and her voice and expression returned to normal.
"But I can't think of anything that bad. No matter who writes the story, there's
always a happy ending. The hero always triumphs over evil in the end. Unless
Manabe is writing it... but since I detect a significant lack of anthropomorphs
and nearly naked chicks with swords in this world, I doubt he's involved."
	"Manabe?"
	"A storyteller." Ukyou looked up. "One of many. I learned a lot about
this world from them. More than I should. It turns out some of the fairy tales
were true. And I have to learn which ones. I have to figure out what it is they
do to me, to turn me into what everyone else sees. I have to prevent it. I'm
going to figure out what is wrong and fix it, Fungus."
	"Fix it?" Tsubasa had finally heard enough. He stood up, smoothing his
skirt and shaking his head. "Are you even listening to yourself, Ukyou? You're
not making any sense."
	"Only because you don't know the whole-"
	"NO!" Tsubasa cut her off angrily. "I think I know what you're talking
about. You're afraid of the future. You've seen it somehow, and it's not turning
out the way it should. Am I right?" Ukyou nodded mutely, her expression stunned.
"And you think you're going to fix it? Are you even listening to yourself? Can't
you hear it in your tone?" Tsubasa stepped away from her. "You think this all
revolves around you somehow. You see enemies everywhere, and when you don't see
them, you're making them up." Tsubasa's voice caught. "I remember that day we
first met. Do you?" Ukyou paused... then slowly shook her head.
	"You saved me from the boys at school," Tsubasa reminded her. "They
hated me because of what I am, you see. Everyone I've ever met has. I'm used to
that. But that doesn't mean it didn't hurt when they caught me outside of a
disguise and beat me bloody. But you stepped in, out of the blue, and drove them
away." Tsubasa sniffed and rubbed his nose. "I thought you were a guy then. I
thought you were just protecting me because you didn't know I was, too. I
thought you'd turn on me. But then you showed you knew, that you'd seen through
my disguise. You even gave me advice that day, on how to look more like a girl."
	Tsubasa reached up and brushed a bothersome tear from the corner of his
eye. "I liked you then. I only fell in love with you later. When I learned the
truth about you. And learned that you didn't save me because you were like me.
You saved me because it was just the right thing to do at the time." Tsubasa
couldn't halt the flow of tears anymore. "The boys at school never harassed me
again, Ukyou. They were afraid of you, I think. But you never tried to... to FIX
them. You just did the right thing. You didn't expect it to turn out well. You
just wanted to help me, and wanted nothing in return.
	"But you've changed."
	Ukyou flinched. Then her expression grew angry and she turned to shout
at him.
	"I have not changed!" Ukyou screamed in his face. Even her anger was icy
now. He felt the air about him chill further. "I am the same girl I've always
been!"
	"No, you're not!" Tsubasa shouted back into her face. Ukyou opened her
mouth but Tsubasa spoke first, cutting her off. "You won't shout me down, Ukyou.
I loved you once and I think you deserve to know this. So I won't let you
intimidate me into stopping. The only way you'll stop me is to attack me. And
will you do that, Ukyou? Will you break my spine, just because I'm telling you
the truth?"
	That cut the wind out of her sails. The temperature returned to normal
and Tsubasa noted that even the air seemed to have grown brighter. Ukyou backed
a step away from him.
	"I would never attack..." Ukyou trailed off.
	"Would you?" Tsubasa shook his head. "Ukyou, I watched you that day you
took Ranma to see his mother. You were -playing- with those people. You didn't
have to. You just did. Did you want to 'fix' their lives as well? Is that what
you wanted?" Tsubasa didn't wait for a response. "I've seen you with your
friends. You order them around like a general. You control them. You never tried
to trick people before like that. Oh, you've always wanted things... but you're
straightforward about it. And now you want to fix the world. What makes you
think you're going to do a better job with it than you did with Ranma and his
mother?"
	Ukyou's face was as frozen as a statue. The wind rippled her long coat
about her ankles, but otherwise she was a study in stillness.
	"I loved you once, Ukyou. But I don't love you anymore. You're not the
person I fell for. This is goodbye, Ukyou. You'll never see me again."
	Tsubasa didn't look back as he walked away. He refused to brush the
tears from his cheeks. His makeup was probably ruined, but he didn't care. It
hurt so much, but it felt so good too. It felt right. He knew his heart would
always ache for Ukyou, but maybe he had helped her, in his own way.

*

	Kusanagi lounged in the tree, impatiently waiting for that little worm
to show his face so he could pound it in.
	The TAC milled around below, doing whatever it was they did.  It
involved a bunch of cops surrounding the building.  Like THEY'D make a
difference.  The scientist lady, Matsudaira or whatever, kept checking the
readouts on her equipment, but didn't look concerned, so Kusanagi wasn't
concerned either.  At least these guys seemed just as interested in keeping
Momiji alive as he was.
	Of course, they might have been more concerned if they could hear the
sounds of battle that he could from inside the faux-fairytale castle. Normally,
Kusanagi would have been in there taking part in the fun, but that old fart
Kunikida had asked him to wait outside until the target emerged, or they were
convinced he wouldn't show up.
	Kusanagi yawned.  He knew the target would show up.  Nobody hunting down
mitamas as religiously as this little worm and his friends were would pass up a
chance for two in the same building.
	He perked up a bit as the sounds of combat ceased.  That had been quick.
But then, the worm was good enough to give Kusanagi trouble, so that was to be
expected.  He moved from his lounging position to a pre-jump crouch.  The TAC
could handle those two girls they were so interested in.  All he really cared
about was his rematch with the little worm.
	And there he was.  First the worm, walking out of the building.  He
looked exactly the same as Kusanagi remembered, except he was wearing a jacket
and gloves now.  He was rubbing one of his wrists idly.  Had he gotten hurt?
All the better.
	Behind him were those girls the TAC wanted.  Riiiight, he'd forgotten
they were sexy identical twins.  They were arguing back and forth in Chinese
over some crap.
	And... somebody ELSE stepped out behind them.  Kusanagi took a look.
Then he took another look.  A nice, looooong look.  Man, she was hot.  Long,
purple hair delicately framing the face of an angel which was marred only
slightly by the spatters of green blood across her cheek.  Her nearly skin-tight
Chinese pantsuit flattered her figure, and man, it was a figure that deserved
flattering.  Why couldn't Momiji look a little more like that?
	She was even carrying a sword.  Which was also splattered in green
blood.  Whoops.  Looked like those twins had gotten ANOTHER flunkie to help them
hunt down the aragami.  She might be trouble-
	The floodlights switched on with an electric hiss, transforming the
early morning darkness into blinding light.  The three girls shielded their
eyes.  The worm didn't even flinch, but he looked surprised.
	Kunikida was holding a megaphone to his lips.  "STOP RIGHT THERE!" he
commanded, his words punctuated by the clack and clatter of dozens of small arms
(and one really big arm held by the crazy TAC chick with the pink jumpsuit)
being readied.
	Kusanagi didn't feel the need to step in -quite- yet.
	The worm paused for a long moment, but didn't raise his hands or
anything.  Finally, he spoke.  "The TAC.  To what do I owe the pleasure?"
	The old man lowered the megaphone. "Your actions are in direct violation
of the authority of the Japanese government.  You are ordered to surrender the
mitamas you have collected and come peacefully with us."
	One of the twin girls was whispering to the worm.  She pointed right at
Kusanagi.  That was right, those two could detect mitamas, just like Momiji.
Well, no use hiding now.  Kusanagi casually dropped from the tree and strode
forward with his hands in his pockets, his trenchcoat flapping behind him.
	The worm smirked a little bit.  "I see.  However, Mr. Kunikida, it seems
you have a slightly bigger problem, as it appears we are joined by a rogue known
to hunt aragami outside the authority of the Japanese government, and who is in
possession of no less than seven mitamas.  That would make him three sevenths
more of a problem than me, wouldn't it?"
	"Don't try and change the subject," Kunikida growled.  "If you know that
much, you know Kusanagi is working with the TAC."
	"No I'm not!" Kusanagi snapped.
	"Shut -up-," the old man hissed sideways at him.
	"Tsk tsk, Mr. Kunikida, such intellectual dishonesty.  If he's 'working
with you', it's only because you choose to ignore his blatant flouting of the
Japanese government's authority.  After all, I don't see his TAC uniform, nor do
I believe he carries any credentials authorising his actions."
	"I've got all the credentials I need right here," Kusanagi informed the
worm, snapping one of his forearm-blades.
	The worm spread his hands, smiling broadly.  "So, if you can let one
mysterious stranger helping you out slide, why not two?"
	The black-haired TAC chick that had the hots for the old fart spoke up,
her tones clipped and businesslike.  "An important difference is that Kusanagi
has been destroying the aragami.  His vigilante actions, while not exactly
approved, appear to have no ulterior motives.  Your group, on the other hand,
seem somewhat more suspicious in your actions."
	The worm sighed.  "I don't suppose a protestation of my innocent
intentions would do, huh?"
	"Perhaps we'll give you a chance to explain your intentions, and if we
are satisfied, you might even go free," Kunikida said, rubbing his chin.
	"Well, then, let me propose a compromise.  If you name a place and time,
Mr. Kunikida, I'll be happy to come speak with you.  But given that Kusanagi
already destroyed one of the mitamas before, I'm afraid I would be... how shall
we say... unwilling to turn those I've collected over to your custody at the
moment."
	"That is unacceptable," Kunikida said gravely.
	"Does that mean I can beat him up now?" Kusanagi said loudly.  "Like,
are you finished blabbing yet?  He's not gonna surrender, you know."
	The black-haired TAC chick glared at him.  "-Some- of us operate within
the bounds of the law.  We are required to at least give them a chance to
surrender before we open fire."
	The worm began to lean back, opening his mouth to talk to the hot twin
chicks.  Though they definitely weren't as hot as that other girl, who mostly
looked bored and annoyed with all the talking.  Kunikida wasn't an idiot,
though, he never took his eyes off the worm.  Even as one of the twins opened
her mouth to respond, the old man brought his hand up sharply.
	Kusanagi barely hear the gentle 'phut' of the two snipers firing.  The
worm's eyes widened, he spun too fast for a human eyes to follow, his hand
twitched up... and he hesitated, not sure which twin to protect.  Just the
slightest fraction of a second, but it was enough.  The twins made a slight
exclamation of pain (and then said "over" for some reason) and slapped the sides
of their necks in perfect synchronisation.  One of the twins' eyes widened, and
she reached towards her waist.  She frowned and fumbled with her skirt for a
second, but the tranquilliser was very quick, and before she could do whatever
it was she was doing, both twins collapsed in a heap.
	"Shit!" the worm swore in English.  He looked back at the TAC, and there
was none of the relaxed arrogance of his earlier expression.  "You sneaky little
bastards."
	"We have to be, when dealing with people as powerful as you," Kunikida
noted with a hint of pride in his tone.  "Do you wish to surrender now?"
	"Please say no," Kusanagi piped up, cracking his knuckles.
	"I think..." the petulant worm said, eyes narrowing, "that you all
should be more concerned with Momiji.  She's been kidnapped, and being held in
this same building.  Isn't that your first priority?"
	"Oh, Momiji is fine," Matsudaira smiled cheerfully.  "We know where she
is, and all her vitals are perfectly normal."
	The worm stared at her for a moment, then slapped his forehead.  "Oh,
right, you bugged her!  I totally forgot about that!  No wonder you got here so
early."
	Kunikida exchanged a look with Kusanagi.  Kusanagi shrugged.  Wasn't his
problem if the TAC had lame-ass security for their plans.
	"Take Pink and Link.  Go!" the worm barked sharply over his shoulder at
the hot babe.  She looked at him, looked down at the unconscious duo, smiled and
crossed her arms.
	"They boss.  You no boss," the babe said in heavily accented Japanese.
	"Shampoo, you're being annoying," the worm said, his voice a mixture of
annoyance and amusement.  He turned back to the TAC, and drew a long strip of
black cloth out of somewhere.  Hey, that looked kinda familiar, somehow.
Where'd Kusanagi seen one of those before...?
	"Kusanagi, take him NOW!" Kunikida snapped.
	Well, he didn't need to be asked twice.	 Kusanagi launched himself
forward, his other blade snapping to readiness.  The worm wasn't even paying
attention; he was wide open.  He was doing something with the cloth - it was a
ribbon, actually - spinning it around his body.  Rose petals, black (?) rose
petals were scattering everywhere.  Was that supposed to be some sort of attack?
Maybe the guy was a little light in the boxers or somethiiiiiiiiing...
	Kusanagi slammed his hands over his mouth and nose, crumbling to his
knees as his vision doubled and his balance deserted him.  He vaguely noted the
hot chick collapsing to the ground out of the corner of his eye.  A loud
clatter behind him indicated the TAC's rent-a-guns weren't faring much better.
	The worm stepped past Kusanagi as he tried to cough whatever poison it
was out of his lungs.  Some of the TAC soldiers were still up, but the worm was
doing something; a bunch of shouts and thumps.  He looked up through teary eyes
to see the worm snapping the ribbon back into his hands, threading it between
thumb and forefinger.
	Wait a minute.  That girl.  The one that had been helping out the twins
first.  That was HER technique.
	He no longer had doubling vision, and the vertigo appeared to be wearing
off somewhat, so Kusanagi began to rise to his feet.  He could still win.  The
worm looked down at him, and shook his head.  "Damn MADMs," he noted.
	"'Madame'?  Are you calling me gay or something?" Kusanagi growled.
	"Nope."  The worm's fingers flashed; something white flew from them.
Kusanagi swore, tried to dodge, but his limbs were still rubbery and he was at
point blank range.  A sharp pain exploded in his chest, immediately followed by
an eerie numbness which rapidly spread across his body.
	Kusanagi toppled forward, his limbs frozen.  He wanted to swear, to get
up, to struggle, to rip the worm limb from limb.  He even tried transforming.
But all he managed to do was drool a bit.
	Out of the corner of his vision, he could see that goddamn obnoxious
worm picking up one of the girls.  Kusanagi rolled his eyes furiously at him.
Why couldn't he MOVE, goddamnit?  The worm walked right past him after he'd
collected all three of his companions, and stopped for only a moment.  "Better
luck next time," he called cheerfully.
	Oh, that was IT.  No holding back from here on in.  No "waiting" for the
TAC to "talk" with the little fucking worm.  Next time, he was a dead worm.

*


	The soft wood felt cool underneath Ukyou's fingers. It was almost
summer, but in this wood a bit of the winter still lingered. That was the way of
wood. It echoed. Echoed with the warmth of lost life, and the cold of lost days.
As her fingers traced a path along the whirls and knots of the floor a fine
trace of white frost formed.
	Cold. When had everything become cold?
	Ukyou rose to her feet, adjusting the fall of her coat as she did. The
dojo was exactly as she remembered it. A quiet, comtemplative place that belied
the chaos that existed within this household. It was a good place to practice
your skills, to focus on the perfection of your own chi. So why had she spent
the last four days picking fights in dark pits with hundreds of screaming men on
all sides? She and Aaron knew that fighting would gain them new skill with their
chi, the focus on the 'wind' and 'void' that Ono had recommended for them.
	"Oh my, Ukyou... I didn't even know you were here."
	"I'm sorry, I came in uninvited," Aaron said to Kasumi without turning.
He took a deep breath and tried to assure Ukyou that this was for the best. She
couldn't run away from Akane and Ranma just because she was scared of what they
would think of her. And he couldn't continue to pretend that running around
tracking down psychics and fighting people in poorly lit-pits surrounded by
hundreds of screaming men was what they needed to do.
	"Can I get you something?" Kasumi asked, her voice becoming proper and
controlled again. Ukyou chuckled. Kasumi sounded so sweet and kind. But was that
all there was to her? Ukyou wasn't so sure anymore. This world, it was alive in
a way she had somehow forgotten. Hayato, Tsubasa... both had surprised her. Not
by being strange, but by being human. How badly had she misjudged everyone
around her because she 'knew' about everything Aaron knew?
	"Kasumi..." Aaron asked as he turned. "Can I ask you a serious
question?"
	"I... suppose," Kasumi agreed with a blink. She was taller than Ukyou,
and wore a modest but attractive dress. She looked so feminine... so
archetypically Japanese, that for a moment Ukyou envied her. Then Ukyou sighed.
She was not like that, and never could be.
	"I want you to tell me what you really think about me, Kasumi." Aaron
continued intently: "Don't hold back because you think you'll hurt my feelings,
either. I need to know..." If you are really human, too, Aaron didn't finish.
	"I'm not sure what you mean, Ukyou," Kasumi said in surprise.
	"Never mind," Aaron waved the question away. "It was just... never mind.
Tell me, where is everyone?"
	"Father is in the family room, reading the newspaper," Kasumi replied
brightly. She sounded relieved that Aaron had let up on his previous question.
And maybe that was proof enough that there were layers underneath her housewife
persona that Ukyou and he had never guessed at. "Nabiki is gone for the day
again." Here, Kasumi almost frowned. "She's been absent from school the last few
days. She only comes home at night to pick up supplies and then leaves again the
next morning. I've no idea where she has gone." Kasumi sounded worried, and this
caused Aaron to worry. Nabiki had no reason to skip classes at all. It was
something he and Ukyou would have to check into later. Perhaps it was time to
stop seeing Nabiki as an enemy... "Ranma is off with his mother again, looking
to track down his father. Akane is, I believe, up in her room studying."
	Ukyou suppressed the surge of disappointment. So Ranma wasn't available.
It wasn't just him she had come back to talk to, after all.
	"Could you go tell Akane I'd like to speak with her?" Aaron requested as
he strode across the dojo to the pile of mats. He kicked up onto them and sat
facing the eldest Tendo daughter. She nodded and agreed to his request before
striding briskly from the room.
	Aaron spent the next few minutes mentally preparing himself for what was
to come. Ukyou and he had royally screwed up with Akane. Things had been said,
and not said, that needed to be addressed. Ukyou didn't like the idea, but
admitted that it needed to be done.
	The fact was, Ukyou had really grown to like Akane over the last few
months. She was so... genuine. Akane's friendship was one of the few shining
sparks in what had grown to become a harsh and bitter darkness. Ukyou wasn't
willing to resign herself to the idea that the damage that had been done between
them was irreparable.
	Aaron looked up as the door to the dojo whished open almost soundlessly.
His senses had grown sharper the last few days. He could focus and hear the rasp
of Akane's breath, and wasn't sure if he was imagining the sound of her heart
beating. If he wasn't, then the girl was nervous. When she stepped in, her
demeanour almost confirmed Aaron's suspicions.
	Akane was dressed in a simple blouse and overall/skirt combo. Her black
eyes focused on Ukyou for a second, then looked away. She began to toy with one
of the long forelocks that fell in front of her ears. Her forearm was still
covered in the practice weight Ukyou had gotten for her. Aaron smiled. He
wondered for a brief moment if Akane knew how beautiful she was. Then he noticed
the tiny creature that was sliding around at Akane's feet.
	"Akane... is that Hayato's pet octopus?" Ukyou asked slowly. As if to
answer her question the creature slid out from behind Akane's feet and hissed at
her. Since when could octopi hiss?
	"Yes," Akane said with a sigh. "I found him in Hayato's hospital room.
After he disappeared."
	"Disappeared?" Ukyou said with a blink.
	"Somebody destroyed his room and Hayato vanished. Only little Patoratsyu
here was left. And he hasn't been exactly talking about what happened." Akane
sounded relieved somehow. Aaron frowned, wondering why. Then it hit him. Akane
suspected that Ukyou had done something!
	"Akane, you can't believe I would do that to Hayato!" Ukyou gasped out.
Then she paused. Why shouldn't Akane believe it?
	"I don't know," Akane sighed and walked towards Ukyou. The octopus
followed her, but kept a suspicious eye on Ukyou. "Ukyou, I don't know what to
believe anymore. Things keep getting more complicated. I wish it could be like
it was at the beginning..."
	"If wishes were fishes..." Aaron chuckled. "Akane... we can deal with
Hayato later. Right now, I came here to talk to you-"
	"Did you?" Akane said quickly, cutting Aaron off.
	"Hmm?"
	"Ukyou... I have to ask you a question."
	"Anything, Akane." Aaron nodded. Ukyou didn't like this. This wasn't
right. But Aaron and she had talked about this on the way over. It was time to
stop hiding and treating these people like pawns on the board that was her life.
Akane, Ranma... everyone, they were people. They weren't characters in her drama
or bit players in her story. It was time to start treating them like people.
	"Do you love Ranma?"
	Ukyou started, stunned by the question and the look in Akane's eyes. She
sounded so sad, almost lost. Her eyes quivered slightly as they stared into
Ukyou's. Aaron opened his mouth to respond, then stopped. It wasn't his place to
speak about this. He didn't love Ranma.
	Ukyou reached up to her heart, placing a palm over it she listened
briefly through Aaron's senses to its steady beat. She thought for a moment
about Ranma. Then she smiled. "Yes, Akane. I love Ranma."
	"I knew you did," Akane sighed. She looked away. "I could see it in the
way you looked at him, when you knew he wasn't paying attention."
	Ukyou supposed a normal girl would have blushed at this point. But she
wasn't a normal girl. She didn't feel embarrassed or ashamed by her feeling
about Ranma. Even Aaron's distaste for sex had only helped to crystallise her
feelings. Without tying her emotions to his looks or gender, Ukyou realised that
she had grown beyond infatuation for Ranma.
	"Ukyou..." Akane turned back to her and looked her straight in the eyes
again. "You have all of Aaron's memories, right?" Ukyou felt that feeling of
foreboding returning. But Aaron nodded silently. "You know what is going to
happen... what would have happened to me and Ranma in the future if you hadn't
shown up, isn't that right?" Now Aaron felt it too. Akane was proving the point
Tsubasa had rammed into their head this morning. These people weren't pawns.
Still, he nodded again.
	"Ukyou... did you want to become my friend just so that I would never
end up engaged to Ranma? Did you want to prevent us from falling in love? Is
that the only reason?" Akane's eyes sparkled now with nascent tears.
	Ukyou flinched as if slapped. She opened her mouth to protest. Akane,
I'm your friend. I believe in you. I want to be with you. I want to hear your
laughter. I want to share your pain. I want to make your life better. I've grown
to care more about you than I ever would have imagined possible. Not a day goes
by that I don't wonder how you are. Not a sleepless night has passed in the last
four days that I have not wanted to call you up and say I'm sorry. I can't
imagine a world where I don't get to see you smile. That's what she wanted to
say. But she couldn't. Because that wasn't what Akane had asked.
	"Yes," Aaron answered for her. His voice was cold. "I manipulated your
friendship to bring me closer to Ranma and cut you out of his life." Aaron
paused. "And I'd do it again, if I had it to do all over."
	This time it was Akane who reeled back. Now she was crying. Ukyou lifted
up her hand to comfort her, but realized what cold comfort her words wold be
now.
	"You... really did... just manipulate me?"
	"Yes," Ukyou admitted. Her voice too was cold. But not because she
didn't care. Because if she allowed her emotions to show in her voice she would
break down. "Akane... I'm sorry."
	"Sorry you did it, or sorry you got caught?" Akane shouted. Now she was
angry. She wiped the tears off with the back of her wrist. Ukyou just looked
down, unable to respond to that. Her silence was all the answer Akane needed.
	Aaron's newly heightened senses heard her storm out of the room. The
dojo door slammed shut in her wake. Akane was sobbing, her heart racing as she
fled across the covered walkway into her home. Aaron wanted to get up and follow
her. He wanted to explain that there was more to it than that. He felt like the
hero of a bad teen romance now. Watching the tragedy unfolding, but unable to
say the few simple words that would make it all right.
	Why? Why couldn't he just get up and explain what he and Ukyou really
thought about Akane?
	Unable to answer that question, Ukyou finally picked them up and walked
out of the dojo. They had one more confrontation today. Then... maybe then she
could see if she could help Nabiki, and Hayato. Or at least, she could make sure
that things didn't get worse.

*

	"My Queen... You summoned me?"
	"Yes, Zoicite," Queen Beryl hissed sharply from behind her crystal
globe. As always, she was tracing her fingers slowly through the air about the
orb, tapping into some sort of arcane commands that Zoicite could not as yet
comprehend. "I wanted you to report to me on the status of your search for the
Ginzuishou."
	"Ah..." Zoicite had enough self control to keep from gulping and
sweating. That did not mean he wasn't nervous. "You can be certain I understand
the urgency of your request, My Queen. However..."
	"In other words, you still haven't found it," Beryl hissed dangerously.
Zoicite resisted the urge to talk further. Beryl was in one of her moods, and
inviting further pain would be foolhardy. "Zoicite, you know how important
discovering that crystal is to us. With Nephrite gathering large amounts of
energy, we need the crystal soon. Without it, all the energy in the world can
not serve to revive Empress Metallia. I can not afford to fall behind schedule
with her resurrection!"
	Zoicite winced as Beryl's voice reached a particulary shrill note. "Yes,
my queen. It is only that I can seem to find no trace of the Silver Crystal."
	"I will not suffer your excuses, Zoicite!" Beryl screeched. "You must
succeed. If you do not... I will have to find someone more capable of
succeeding."
	Zoicite let that ominous statement hang in the air. He felt a drop of
sweat drip from his armpit and run along the inside of his uniform. So far,
Beryl had not raised a hand to harm him or pronounced some other form of
punishment, but neither had she ordered him out of her presence. With nothing
better to do Zoicite knelt before her, his face on the flagstones of the dark
cavern Beryl used as a throne room.
	"But I have decided you deserve another chance," Beryl informed Zoicite,
her voice having calmed much in the long silence that had passed between them.
"I shall deliver the energy Nephrite has gathered for her this evening. When I
do, I will ask her for some clue that can help you in your search."
	Zoicite ground his teeth. Nephrite. That damnable man had become Beryl's
pet ever since he had taken over Jadeite's old job. It almost made Zoicite wish
he had lent more support to the dead fool, so that he would be alive now to
continue to keep the heat off him!
	"My queen... before you dismiss me," Zoicite stood up slowly. "I do have
some interesting news to report."
	"Oh?" Beryl raised a dark red eyebrow. Her voice, however, was
incurious.
	"While I have been searching for the Ginzuishou, I have begun to
discover some strange things..." Zoicite looked up and locked eyes with his
queen. It was an audacious manouvre. Such direct looks could be considered a
challenge. But Zoicite was nothing if not audacious. "For instance, did you know
that there are far more monsters in this world than we first thought?"
	"Monsters?"
	"Yes..." Zoicite raised his delicate white-gloved hand and snapped his
fingers. A cyclone of pink rose petals sprang into being behind him. "When we
first managed to breach the seal on our prison, we had thought that all the
youma and monsters of the solar system had been sealed away behind Queen
Serenity's magic." Beryl nodded, though her eyes had flashed with anger at the
mention of her old nemesis. "But I have seen things out there across the world."
Zoicite snapped his fingers again and an image formed amidst the blossoms. It
was a tall regal man, with pale skin, short spiky hair and dangerous red eyes.
"This is a creature called a... vampire. He has used his power to block out the
sun over a small portion of this world. And there are others." Zoicite snapped
his fingers again. This time a picture formed of a large, ape-like creature with
a bat-like face. It was facing off against a quartet of girls in skimpy sailor
suits. "For instance, I have discovered why the Sailor Senshi have not been
opposing Nephrite. They seem to be busy fighting some other form of monster that
appear to be transformed humans-"
	"Why should I care about any of this?" Beryl asked sharply, cutting
Zoicite off. Zoicite managed not to wince, but he lost enough concentration that
his illusion faded away. "Whatever monsters have risen in this world without the
Moon Kingdom to police it, they will be like chaff before the scythe that is
Metallia! None of them matter, once she can unleash her might."
	"Yes..." Zoicite coughed into his fist. "But... I think that this may be
the key to Nephrite's success."
	"What?"
	"These creatures just happen to conveniently show up as soon as Nephrite
takes over Jadeite's duty? Not to mention how Jadeite was killed by humans with
powers we little understand... but these same humans have not so much as shown
up to bother Nephrite."
	"What are you saying, Zoicite?"
	"Nothing, my Queen." Zoicite bowed. "But I just find it strange.
Nephrite claims that his method of attack is to locate beings with the highest
potential energy and release it, then gather the total. It just seems strange to
me that he would focus on normal humans, when there are beings like those
martial artists or monsters like that vampire out there. Why would he aim so
low?"
	Beryl had nothing to say to that. But her eyes had narrowed dangerously.
It was impossible to tell if she was annoyed with Zoicite for raising this
topic, or Nephrite for the implied sins Zoicite was laying at her feet. It was
time to sweeten the bait a little.
	"I would never think to suggest that Nephrite were incompetent, my
Queen. In fact, he is very intelligent and capable. He has always been the most
independent-minded of your generals, as you know. He is quite capable of running
his own affairs well, and in fact has often expressed to me a desire to improve
the organization of our own forces... pending your approval, of course." Zoicite
resisted the urge to smile. Beryl's hands had stopped their constant motion. "I
just would like to know what sort of arrangement Nephrite has with these other
powers that exist.  Certainly, he must have some contact with them, for these
monster that aren't youma to be so occupying our former enemies. Perhaps he even
plans on bringing them here, to swell our own ranks for the coming war? If so,
he has been doing so in private... I have heard nothing of this plan. I only
mention this because if he has, then I am sure you would know and could direct
me to their positions. Perhaps one of them can aid me in the search for the
Silver Crystal."
	Zoicite bowed, mainly to hide his grin. He heard Beryl clear her throat.
	"You are dismissed, Zoicite."
	Zoicite nodded and stood up, getting one good look at Beryl's dark
expression before vanishing into a swirl of rose petals. He materialized in his
own chambers a fraction of a second later. Unable to resist the urge, he rose
his fingers to his lips and laughed softly to himself.
	"You play a dangerous game, Zoicite."
	Zoicite turned with a wicked smile and addressed his paramour. "Oh,
don't worry about me, Kunzite." He strutted over to the tall general and ran a
finger through his long, platinum-blonde hair. "Beryl will not destroy Nephrite
on the strength of my rumors and innuendo."
	"Still..." Kunzite gathered Zoicite into his arms and the smaller
general lay his head against the larger's chest, listening to the soothing sound
of his heartbeat. "Remember that we are all on the same side. Nephrite is
succeeding where Jadeite failed. Every mote of energy he brings us brings us
closer to our ultimate goal."
	Zoicite frowned. Kunzite was beautiful, powerful and excellent in bed,
but he could be such a stick in the mud when he put his mind to it. "Oh don't
worry so much. I needed to draw some heat off myself. Nephrite is just so
prominent now that he makes a good target."
	Kunzite began to run his hand along Zoicite's back. "I understand. And I
too find his recent smugness a little annoying. I think he is beginning to
forget which of us is the stronger." Zoicite nodded. "But you have a youma
keeping an eye on him, and until he actually makes a move that could be seen as
treason, I suggest not trying to undermine his position. He is high in the
Queen's esteem, and you do not want him as your enemy now."
	"You would protect me..." Zoicite murmured into Kunzite's chest.
	"Yes..." Kunzite lifted up the smaller general's chin and kissed him
gently on the lips. "Always."

*

	"Crescent Beam!"
	The thin line of light traced a path across the warehouse. It punched
through three of the shambling creatures in a row. They moaned, barely
acknowledging the smoking hole in their chests. They managed to take three,
maybe four more steps before a wave of golden light exploded out from the hole,
washing over their bodies and leaving nothing behind but a fine ash. Just like
the last ten.
	"And hopefully the next... oh, three hundred or so," Minako muttered to
herself in disgust as she ducked back behind the crates. The tarps protecting
the huge wooden boxes rustled as she pressed against them. She heard the distant
drip of water, leakage from the rain outside. But under all of it was the
constant sound of the things. Their feet shuffled across the floor. Their hungry
voices moaned wordlessly. Their dessicated claws scrambled and raked across
anything they came across.
	Minako wasn't used to this kind of fight. Ever since she had donned the
mask of Sailor V, champion of justice and fashion sense, she had spent her time
dealing with two type of foes. Either they were common criminals, terrorists and
mobsters... or they were the youma monsters of the Dark Agency.
	"Artemis is so getting an earful about this when I get back home," she
muttered as she leapt up onto another pile of crates. A quartet of zombies had
just turned the corner, and even with her enhanced speed and strength, Minako
did not fancy getting into close quarters combat with those things. For one
thing, they were strong and deadly. More importantly, they were disgusting.
Their skin was the color of rotten fruit, and was wrinkled and pulled taut
across their skulls. They wore the clothes they had died in, many showing signs
of their violent deaths.
	Truth be told, despite how much she protested about it, Minako had
really grown to like being Sailor V. She was a heroine, adored by the people at
large and at the same time saving those who couldn't save themselves.  What
little girl didn't want to feel like a magic princess, able to deal with evil
using her pure heart? But the evil she was used to was nothing like this. She
stretched forth a finger, aiming carefully. It took two shots, but all of the
monsters were disintegrated by the energy of her Crescent Beam.
	This was mopping up. Whatever evil had befallen these poor people,
Minako was too late to stop it. All she could do was lay their poor souls to
rest. That didn't sit well in her stomach. She should be able to save people.
She was a champion, not a soldier. This was heroism, not war. Wasn't it?
	"They just keep coming," Minako moaned as she adjusted her glasses. They
may have looked like an ostentatious opera mask, but they had the power to see
far away things and also reveal the true form of her enemies. Through them she
saw another ten of the creepy dead guys wander into the building. "Just what are
they, anyway?"
	"They are called ghouls."
	Minako didn't shriek, even though every instinct she had was telling her
to. Whoever had just said that, they had the creepiest voice she had ever heard.
It was smooth, like velvet... no, smooth like blood. It trickled into your ears,
and flowed into your mind, drowning out all other thought. She turned slowly,
trying to hide her fear.
	The man who was sitting there was no less intimidating then his voice.
He was tall, and rapier-thin. Even though he was lounging idly on the edge of
the stack of crates Minako had ascended to, his very presence screamed violence.
A wide brimmed red hat was perched jauntily atop his head and thick, lustrous
curls of black hair flowed out from under it. His pale face was thin, and his
eyes were hidden behind a pair of mirrored sunglasses. She couldn't make out
much of his body, because he wore a thick red leather trenchcoat that flapped
and snapped about him like a living thing, barely restrained from striking out
at her.
	"They're the product of inferior vampires. Barely stronger than humans,
but much harder to kill. Normally they perish when their master does, but this
type seems remarkably resilient to that." He stretched out a hand, and Minako
gasped. He was carrying a Gun, a capital-G gun. It was silver and huge, at least
as long as her forearm. He idly aimed it and there was a deafening concussion as
the weapon fired. Minako barely followed the path of the bullet, saw it smash
through a crate across the warehouse and into the cluster of ghouls on the other
side of it. The ghouls exploded. This wasn't the clean death of her own magic,
but far more violent and bloody. "Still, they are just ghouls. You, now... you
are something new. I have never heard of a you before. And I've heard of most
things."
	He was looking at her, and although she couldn't see his eyes, she
couldn't help but feel like he was staring right through her flesh and into her
soul. Minako backed up a step.
	"I am Sailor V, the champion of justice," she declared once she was sure
her voice wouldn't shake.
	"So the papers tell me." The man tipped back the brim of his hat with
the barrel of his gun. "But I am not interested in the who you are. I am
interested in the what you are."
	"Why should I answer your questions?" Minako shouted. Her initial fear
was beginning to wear off. And while she still felt like a rabbit sitting in the
shadow of the wolf, she was Sailor V, damnit! She wouldn't be scared of this
guy!
	"A valid point." The man flowed to his feet. Minako had underestimated
how tall he was. "My name is Alucard. I am... a hunter of the things that hunt
mankind. Call my interest... professional curiosity."
	"A hunter of... some sort of champion, like me?" Minako frowned. There
was no way this guy was a hero. Not with the bad news vibes he was giving off.
"Yeah right, and next thing you'll want to sell me the docks over Madison
County."  Wait, was it 'docks' or something else?  Not important.
	Alucard quirked his head to the side. "Excuse me?"
	While he was distracted, Minako reached up and touched her glasses. She
wanted to see what this guy's true form was. If he was human then maybe she'd...
	"MY GOD!" Minako fell backward and scrambled away from the horror.
	"Hmmm? What is it? Are my fangs showing?" the monster before her took a
step forward. It wasn't a man. It was a cloud, a cloud of eyes and teeth and
crawling insects. Ten times ten million eyes stared unblinkingly at her, all
around her, from all sides. There was no escaping those eyes.
	"Get away from me!" Minako held her hands before her. Normally she would
have called on her Crescent Beam, but somehow she sensed, she knew that wouldn't
be enough. No single beam of light would shine brightly in that darkness. Her
hands quivered. "What are you? What kind of monster are you?"
	"The worst kind," the man-creature said with the same care you would
describe your shirt.
	Minako reached down, towards her heart. She had to find the power to
fight this thing. It was inside her, she had to believe that.
	"You are frightened, champion of justice?" the horror took another step
forward. She sensed more than saw a hand reaching out from the darkness. "Don't
worry, I am under strict orders not to kill you. At least, not permanently." It
paused dramatically. "Tell me... 'Sailor V', was it? Are you... a virgin?"
	Even as he said it, the power of her glasses faded and she saw once
again the man standing over her. Her heart skipped a beat. Somehow, she felt
even more in danger now than when she had seen his true form. She reached her
hand up to her heart and clenched it into a fist. She sensed a slumbering force
there, greater than her current power. It was waiting... waiting for a threat
grave enough to need it. Well... she needed it now!
	"LOVE..." she stretched out her palm and suddenly a floating golden
heart appeared rotating over her palm. Alucard shaded his eyes. "AND BEAUTY..."
Minako rolled backward, spinning her arm in a cirle and drawing a line of golden
hearts in the air. As she completed her retreat the golden hearts cascaded into
each other, becoming a brilliant orb of light. Alucard began to smile.
	"Yes... let's see what you can do, champion of justice..."
	"SHOCK!"
	Minako thrust her hand forward, pouring all her desperation and courage
into a single strike. The blazing golden ball shot from her hand like a
miniature sun. Alucard threw his arms wide and began to laugh. He wasn't even
trying to dodge it! The world erupted in a blaze of light when the orb struck
and Minako was forced to shield her eyes.
	"That was most entertaining!"
	Minako's eyes snapped open. He was still alive? Sure enough, the monster
in the shape of a man was standing at the edge of the crate. He was chuckling,
completely uncaring of the basketball-sized hole where his heart used to be.
	"In fact..." Alucard stepped forward, but his voice seemed groggy now.
"That was quite a bit more entertaining..." He fell forward onto one knee, the
tarp bending beneath his weight. "Than I-"
	Alucard's voice cut off as he slumped to the side. Minako lowered her
shaking hands. She had won?
	"Master!"
	Minako snapped her eyes up as a new person entered the scene. The first
thing Minako noted was that she was female. Her skin-tight police uniform and
envy-inducing attributes left that fact abundantly clear. The next thing Minako
noted was that the girl was armed with a rifle that was almost as large as she
was. The third thing Minako noted was that she had red eyes and fangs.
	"Another one?" Minako activated her glasses again... but they only
showed the same young woman. She turned them off before she had to watch her
cradle the form of Alucard protectively in both hands. Minako had once heard
that there were some images that could drive men mad, and wasn't willing to test
how close Alucard's true form was to those images.
	"Master... wake up..." The police girl didn't seem to have noticed
Minako yet. She looked desperate and sad. As Minako began to watch her struggle
with the body, she even began to cry. They were tears of blood. "This is
nothing, Master! Regrow, transform... you know you can... I know you aren't
dead..."
	Minako wanted to say something. But she heard shouts and gunfire from
below now. She looked down. Men in uniforms with automatic weapons were
streaming into the warehouse, mowing down the ghouls with military efficiency.
Minako's eagle eyes caught the insignia on their uniforms. It was the same as
that of the young woman cradling Alucard.
	For the first time since she had seen him, Minako began to wonder if
attacking Alucard had been the right thing to do. She saw the girl look up at
her. Their eyes met.
	"I'm... I'm sorry?" Minako breathed. Then she leapt away. The girl
didn't follow.

*


	The cafe was full of the scent of cigarettes and the tiny noises of idle
conversation. Kusanagi wrinkled his nose at the scent. Sometimes his enhanced
senses worked against him. Still, he was able to pick out the old man quickly
enough. He was hunched over his table, reading a newspaper and sipping on some
tea. The table he was in was near the back. Kusanagi shrugged, adjusting his
coat, and strode over to him.
	"Yo, old man. I'm here."
	Kunikida looked up over the rim of his paper. His expression was
intense, with narrow eyes and furrows gracing his brow. Even his wart seemed
intense somehow.
	"Kusanagi. I'm glad you could make it."
	"Momiji told me to meet you. Said you had something urgent to talk
about?"
	"Yes." The old man stood up, dropping some bills on the table. "But not
here. The walls have ears, you know." Kusanagi raised a set of eyebrows. "Walk
with me, would you?"
	Kusanagi shrugged and followed the old man out of the cafe. The streets
outside were close to deserted. The wind today was warm and soft. Kusanagi
looked up at the bright yellow sun. Summer. The world was filled with the
promise of summer now. It would only be a few more days. Well, not by human
reckoning. But Kusanagi could feel a much older calendar moving, even in places
like this, where men had sealed the earth beneath cement and chemicals.
	"Are we being followed?" Kunikida asked after they had walked a few
blocks. Kusanagi glanced at him, about to make some comment about how paranoia
must have crept up on him in his old age, but the look on the old man's face
told Kusanagi this was no laughing matter.
	"No, we're not," Kusanagi answered after taking a few minutes to
casually glance around the streets they were traveling.
	"Good. Listen, Kusanagi. I barely know you, but I feel as if I do."
	"What are you talking about?"
	"Kaede..."
	Kusanagi glanced at him sharply. The old man would raise that specter.
Just the mention of her name was enough to fill his heart with bittersweet
memories.
	"You loved her, didn't you. By the end, I mean? It wasn't just a job for
you anymore."
	"I..." Kusanagi growled and slapped his hand against the wall, barring
the old man from walking any farther. "What makes you think I want to talk to
you about this?"
	Kunikida was not intimidated. His gaze was level as he stared into
Kusanagi's eyes. "I wanted to know the truth, Kusanagi. From your mouth. I need
to know if I can trust you."
	"Trust me?" Kusanagi pulled his arm back, flecks of broken concrete
falling away from the handprint he had left in the wall. "Why should I care if
you trust me?"
	"Because I need you to protect Momiji," Kunikida told him softly.
	Kusanagi blinked, unsure how to react to the sadness in the old man's
voice.
	"What are you talking about?"
	Kunikida didn't answer right away, instead he began to walk away down
the lane. The old man's trenchcoat rippled and flicked at his ankles, his hands
having been swallowed by his pockets. He was hunched over like this was the
middle of winter. Kusanagi took a few seconds to catch up to him.
	"I don't think I can trust anyone else," Kunikida started explaining
without prompting. "Don't get me wrong, I trust all my own people without
hesitation. I hand-picked them. But they won't be enough."
	"Enough?" Kusanagi chuckled. "Come on, old man, you're beginning to
worry me..." Kusanagi had never really trusted the TAC. At least not to do
anything right. But over the last few weeks, he had begun to see that they were
decent enough people... for humans.
	"Last night I was visited by some people from the government. They had
all the right papers and IDs. They confiscated copies of all of my files."
Kunikida paused. "All of them. Everything we had about the Aragami, the
Kushinada project, even the files we started on those mitama thieves." Kusanagi
grunted at the mention of them.
	"So... those aragami that were posing as members of your government are
dead now, aren't they? They were killed by those thieves." Kusanagi still felt
sore about that. Sure, things had worked out well enough. Both Momiji and the
little girl had survived without harm, and the aragami had been killed. Or, more
accurately, they had been taken.
	"I don't think that this was the aragami," Kunikida said softly. "The
information they wanted... it was information that the aragami would have
already had. No, I think someone else is poking their nose into our affairs.
Someone with the political clout to do basically anything they want. I tried to
track them down with my contacts on the inside, but all my leads dried up... or
vanished when they asked too many questions."
	"Vanished?" Kusanagi said, frowning.
	"I don't like this. I smell something dangerous," Kunikida said while
tapping his nose with one finger. "That's why I need to know... did you love
Kaede?"
	"What does that have to do with anything?" Kusanagi growled out. He
didn't like to think about Kaede. It hurt too much to think about Kaede.
	"Because if you do, then we have something in common," Kunikida
announced. "I loved Kaede. She was like a daughter to me. Losing her that
night... I still can't sleep at night because I dream about her. I won't lose
Momiji like we lost Kaede. It's not fair to either of these girls, just because
they were born the Kushinada, that they have to die."
	Kusanagi remained silent as Kunikida turned to face him.
	"Will you do it? Protect Momiji, if I'm not able to? Will you do it for
the memories of Kaede?"
	"Yes..." Kusanagi said thickly.
	"Take this then," Kunikida reached out and handed Kusanagi a small
silver box. "It's a beeper. Don't worry, I don't plan on tracking you with it.
But if you ever hear it go off, then things have gone down. If you hear it, I
want you to come as quickly as you can and take Momiji away. Somewhere safe.
Out of Japan if you have to."
	"I... okay." Kusanagi took the device and slipped it into one of his
interior pockets.
	"But if I do call you, you can't trust anyone. No one in Japan. Not
anyone abroad either. The Americans have been acting oddly lately. They've
stopped asking us for reports about the aragami incidents. The Chinese are
behaving strangely as well... everyone seems to be caught up in this." Kunikida
turned and began to walk away. "Those martial artists out there... they're
nothing compared to what I sense is on the horizon. I think there are monsters
worse than the aragami in this world, Kusanagi. Monsters that won't hesitate to
kill Momiji if they think it will eliminate the competition." He drew a breath.
"Protect her."
	Kusanagi nodded, even if Kunikida couldn't see it. He watched the old
man disappear around the corner. His hand reached into his coat and pulled out
the beeper he had been given. Kusanagi knew the old man better than he knew just
about any other human being, except Kaede... He had seen him raise the blue-
haired girl from an infant. He knew that Kunikida never worried without reason.
	"Worse monsters?" Kusanagi grinned. "I don't believe they know just how
bad I can get. But if you're right, old man, I guess I'll get to show them."

*

	Pink stroked the mitama softly.  It felt warm to her touch, and she
imagined that she could feel the life welling inside.  It was definitely
something... special.  But if it was trying to talk with her, she couldn't hear
it.
	Both her sister and Chris had been surprised when Pink insisted that she
get the latest two mitamas.  But it was only fair, since Link had gotten two
beforehand: one from the jellyfish-creature on the boat, the second from the
aragami they had tracked down and slain in the sewer.  Of course, up until
today, Pink hadn't shown that much interest in the mitamas.
	That last fight had changed her mind about them.  She had watched,
fascinated, as the two government bureaucrats had transformed into monsters
before being efficiently cut down by Chris and Shampoo.  They had been different
from the earlier monsters, for they wore the bodies of humans.  What had they
been originally: human, or aragami?  Chris said the mitamas couldn't possibly
control human-level minds, so it suggested those two had been willing
collaborators who received power in exchange for helping the plant creatures.
	Power, indeed.  Though they had stood no chance against Chris and
Shampoo, those men-turned-monsters had clearly been more than human.  As well,
she remembered that other: that man, Kusanagi.  He had been strong; strong
enough to fight toe to toe with Chris, and he had those mitamas implanted in
him.  Seven of them, Chris had said, supporting what Pink and her sister had
sensed.
	Could anyone unlock that sort of power?  Pink smiled in anticipation.
There didn't seem to be any reason why not.  Ordinary humans, with the power of
these mitamas, had a shortcut to the sort of power that Shampoo had, and more.
Of course, Pink and her sister were far from ordinary.  And the mitamas were, at
some level, still plants.  There was no plant in the world they couldn't
improve.  All it would take was time to unlock the mitamas' secrets.  And they
had plenty of that.
	She looked up, intending to draw her sister aside for some experiments
on their new acquisitions.  Link was there, of course, tending to her tiny herb
garden on the windowsill.  Pink almost opened her mouth to call out to her, but
something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and without knowing
quite why, she looked in that direction instead.
	Shampoo was lounging on the other side of the room, reading a magazine.
That wasn't unusual - well, aside from the surprise of seeing that imbecile
actually READING anything - but something about the scene seemed odd.  After a
moment, Pink realised what it was: the magazine was Japanese.  Shampoo didn't
know that language, as she'd made abundantly clear.  But she was squinting at
the pages, as if trying to make them out.  As Pink watched, the purple-haired
girl brought something up to her eye, looked through it at the pages before her,
then put it down again and resumed squinting.
	What was that?
	Shampoo had noticed Pink staring; she put down the magazine, looked at
her warily.  As always, Pink felt a mixed thrill of fear and joy at seeing her
hated nemesis this close, knowing Shampoo would kill them at any opportunity,
but also secure in the knowledge she could not.  Pink loved pushing at that,
giving her needless little orders, shivering in thrilled delight as the hatred
grew in Shampoo's eyes even as the girl obediently performed whatever degrading
task was required of her.  But, for now, Pink pushed that feeling aside,
standing up and walking to her servant.  The mysterious object was still hidden
in Shampoo's hand.  "What are you doing, Shampoo, over?"
	Shampoo's eyes were flat.  "Reading," she answered shortly.
	"I see," Pink nodded.  She let her gaze travel downwards.  "And what are
you holding in your hand, over?" Link was looking at them now, but said nothing.
	Shampoo's hands twitched, but her face remained calm.  "It's none of
your... it's nothing important," she amended.  "Just a trinket from home."
	Pink's smiled widened.  She knew that the Joketsuzoku had more than a
few 'trinkets' of great power; tales of some of them were legendary, and added
to the warrior women's village feared reputation.  "It was helping you read
that, wasn't it, over?"
	Shampoo licked her lips, casting her eyes around.  But the meddling old
woman wasn't there to intervene: she and Chris were out on the roof, having one
of their talks.  Even so, the ever-so-slight appeal for help caused Pink's soul
to sing with joy.  She was right.  That WAS what it was.  It had to be.
	A moment later, Shampoo reluctantly confirmed her hopes.  "Yes."
	"Let me see it, over."  Shampoo's face was still calm, but her eyes
blazed with hate as she handed over the 'trinket'.
	In fact, it did sort of look like a trinket.  It was a small loop of
highly polished black stone; bigger than a ring, perhaps about as big as a
large hoop earring.  Examining it, Pink saw that it was in fact two loops of
stone, joined together by some unknown mechanism.  The two loops were stuck as
solidly together as if welded, but as Pink touched it, she found she could
rotate the front one without severing the connection.  Chinese characters were
inscribed on the back hoop at intervals: English, Japanese, Spanish, and other
names of languages.
	Link had come to them now, and she was looking at the item, but her
expression was a perplexed frown.  Didn't she realise?  Pink felt like laughing.
She looked at Shampoo.  "Tell me how it works, over."
	Shampoo stood up.  "I don't know.  I'll go get great-grandmother to tell
you."
	"Stay right there," Pink purred.  No chance she'd let Shampoo go fetch
that annoying old woman to take back their village treasure. "You may not know
how it was created, but you know how to use it.  Tell me.  That's an order,
over."
	Shampoo sat down again slowly.  "It's the Stone of Acclimation," she
explained reluctantly.  "A device to help travellers from our village in the
outside world.  Twist it to align with what language you desire, and when spoken
through, it can translate your words... to a certain extent.  It's more a
learning tool than anything."
	"And?" Pink prompted.  "How were you reading with it, over?"
	"Put it to your eye, look through, and it will seem to cause any writing
to become Chinese."
	Pink grinned.  "Any writing?  It doesn't need to be Japanese?" Shampoo
shook her head.  "Excellent.  Stay put, then, Shampoo.  I'm going to borrow this
for a little while, over."
	"What is it that's so important, Pink?" Link asked her.  "You're way too
pleased about this to be just taking away Shampoo's toy, over."
	"Of course I am," Pink responded.  "Don't you remember, Link?  Our dead
friend keeps that extensive library of journals with him, over."
	Link's eyes lit up, and she looked over at the small pile of Chris's
possessions in the corner of the room.  As the dead man didn't sleep, he hadn't
bothered to occupy one of the bedrooms.  "Of course.  Now we can read them,
over."
	"Now -I- can," Pink said smoothly.  "Link, you're going to have to make
sure to keep him away until I can look through these, over."
	Link's good cheer fell away extremely quickly.  "Me?  I don't want to
talk to him.  You do it, and I'll read the journals, over."
	"Now now, sister, that doesn't make any sense, over," Pink chided.
"He's talking with the old woman now.  Wait until he comes back in and keep him
busy as long as possible."  She held up a finger to stifle Link's protest.  "It
has to be you.  If I do it, he'll know we're up to something and investigate.
But he trusts you.  If you go talk to him, he won't dare to offend you, over."
	Link obviously wanted to protest, but couldn't.  She knew it was true.
Chris wanted them, especially Link, to like him.  It was one of his weaknesses.
"All right," Link finally said.  "But what am I supposed to talk to him about,
over?"
	Pink shrugged.  "Whatever you want," she said cheerfully.  "He'll
listen.  Tell him you hate him less now that he's gotten us mitamas, over."
	Link frowned.  "I'd rather not say that, over."
	"Then think of something else.  That's your job, over."
	Her sister nodded and strode out of the room.  She'd do her best.  She
might not like Chris, but that only meant she would want to know his secrets as
much as Pink.  Knowledge, after all, was another form of power.
	Pink moved towards the large backpack in the corner.  She kept an eye on
Shampoo; but true to the letter of her order, Shampoo was staying put.  Pink
resisted the urge to giggle with glee at this chance which had fallen into her
lap.  She'd wondered, so much, about what Chris could possibly be writing in
those journals so much about.  Well, now she'd find-
	She froze as she touched the bag.  A metallic clank?  Damn!  She'd
forgotten about that Jyusenkyou water the dead man had also been carrying.
Jyusenkyou... Pink shuddered.  Even for this, even for power, she wasn't sure if
she'd risk sticking her hand in that bag.
	Fortunately, she didn't have to.  Reaffixing her grin, she turned and
beckoned Shampoo over.  After all, what were servants for?

*

	Chris leaned against the balcony, staring up into the starry night sky
of Tokyo.  Ahhh, that anime starry sky of Tokyo.  He was pretty sure the real
one wouldn't be quite so... vivid.  But then, maybe it was.  How would he know?
He'd never been to the real world's Tokyo.  Or maybe dead people could see
through smog.  Or maybe Sailor Moon had cleaned up all the city's pollution in-
between episodes.  Though that wouldn't really explain why he could see stars in
the backdrop of one of the most brightly-lit cities in the world.
	Cologne was gone; off to see Ranma, or so she said.  His talk with her
had been, once again, a little disappointing.  Really, she didn't know that much
about the Musk or Phoenix that she hadn't revealed in the manga; they WERE
legends to her, and not much more.  She knew even less - essentially zilch -
about any other legendary things he knew to exist.  Not even a tale of the long-
lost matriarchal Moon Kingdom.
	The old bat had sure picked HIS brain with enthusiasm, though.  Not that
that was a problem.  Talking about Ranma, and Sailor Moon, and Blue Seed and
Street Fighter and so forth helped gel their plotlines and detailings in his
brain, and also jarred a few factoids to the surface that he'd forgotten up
until now.  Such as the fact that one of Bison's supersoldierette "dolls" was in
Japan somewhere (or at least was FROM Japan, making it a reasonable assumption).
He wondered what she was doing; what the whole Street Fighter plotline was
doing, in fact.  Probably being troublesome to somebody.
	His arm itched.  He swore under his breath and scratched at it.  Talking
with Cologne, he'd been able to forget about the constant irritation, but now it
was back with a vengeance.  Taking off the jacket he now wore constantly, he
looked at it, his nose wrinkling in distaste.
	It wasn't exactly zombified rotting-flesh-falling-off-the-bones, or
anything like that.  But even a casual viewer would have noticed something very
wrong with the deathly pale skin that was dotted with sores and the splotches
characteristic of congealed blood.  Even more unusual, when compared with the
still-fairly-pristine shape of the rest of Sentarou's body.  Or was it pristine?
It was so hard to tell until the outward signs happened; he only knew the
feeling, the RELIEF he'd had other times he'd entered a fresh body and only then
realised how horribly hollow and... liquid the previous one had been.
	But it wasn't itching.  Only the arm was.  He remembered when he'd
fought that super-aragami, throwing the baton, that strange jolt that had run up
that arm, and the spectacular results it had had.  That had to be what had done
this.  But what, precisely, had he DONE?
	"So that's why you're wearing that.  I should have guessed, over."
	He supposed, for someone else, it might have been hard to tell the
difference between Pink and Link, especially without even looking them in the
face.  But he could hear the distaste, the veiled (and sometimes not-so-veiled)
hate in every word Link spoke to him.  "What would you like?" he said with a
sigh.
	"Well... in fact, I suppose I want to talk to you about that, over."
She walked up to the railing, and pointed at his arm.  "You should come to the
lab with me, over."
	Chris raised an eyebrow.  He'd almost forgotten that, technically, Pink
and Link were supposed to be looking for a way to help his condition.  Had she
actually stumbled onto something?  Hard to believe... but she must have found
out SOMETHING, to seek out his company.  So...  "Lead on, then."
	The "lab" was not so much an actual laboratory as another condo Chris
had purchased with Kodachi's trust fund (and other inheritance-type monies).
Like their dwelling, it was on the top floor; more convienient, and he didn't
really want it TOO far away lest Pink do anything uns-ensible to the other
residents.  Link was apparently in a hurry; not bothering to go through their
dwelling and down the hall, she simply hopped from balcony to balcony to get
there.  Chris followed, a little pleased even now with the ease at which he
could.
	Once they were safely ensconsed in a side room (a little less plant-
choked than the rest of the condo), Link sat down and gave him a serious look.
Not that that was much of a change from her usual perpetual frown.  "So, I see
that your arm seems to be decaying faster than the rest of you.  Did you do
anything unusual with it, over?"
	He shrugged.  "When I fought the aragami on the ship, I used this arm to
throw the baton through it and use your herbicide.  It was a really powerful
shot, as you saw."
	Link nodded knowingly, as if that confirmed her hypothesis.  And then
said... nothing.  Actually, she seemed to be hesitating.
	"Sooo... you discovered something?" he said hopefully.
	Link opened and closed her mouth a few times.  "It's... nice weather.
For growing things, I mean, over."
	Oooookay.  Was she reluctant to tell him because it was an awful, awful
truth?  That didn't really make much sense, given who this was.  But what else
could it be?  "Uh...well, if you're a little hesitant to have this talk, why not
get Pink to explain what it is you found?"
	"NO, OVER!"  She waved her hands at him.  "Pink's... uh... too
impatient.  She'll take shortcuts and muck the whole thing up.  I'm just
collecting my thoughts, over."
	Chris leaned back.  "Okey-dokey.  Well, collect away, and I'll wait."
	Five minutes later, he got a little tired of waiting, and informed her
as much.
	"Ummm... okay.  Well, basically, you see, that your arm is rotting
doesn't surprise me, over."
	He nodded, gesturing for her to continue.
	"Annnnd that's because... well, I've done a lot of research into various
methods of preserving human corpses, over."
	"And you found something?" he asked, trying very hard not to let
impatience show through in his voice.
	"Well... yes and no, over."
	"So what's the yes?"
	"There's plenty of ways to preserve corpses.  Probably thousands.  Some
of them even work, over."
	It was getting harder to keep calm.  He liked Link and all, but this was
being pointlessly annoying even for one of the twins.  "So what's the upshot of
that?  Spit it out."
	Link stared at him for a moment, then sighed and shrugged.  "I've given
up looking into it, because it won't help you at all no matter what I do, over."
	"What!?  But you just said you found-"
	She held up one finger, taking on a lecturing tone.  "There are many
ways to preserve human corpses, yes.  But you aren't one.  Well, I suppose you
ARE, but only in the same sense that both you and a normal human corpse are
lifeless objects made of chemicals.  In that sense, you share about as much in
common with a rock, over."
	"So why can't you preserve this body?"
	"Because you're the one destroying it, over."
	"Well, the arm sort of gives that away.  But maybe I can try and hold
back a bit more in fights..."
	She shook her head.  "That isn't it.  You seem to be under the
impression that it was the powerful martial arts strike that prematurely rotted
your arm.  But that's only half the truth, over."  She stood up, pacing back and
forth in front of him like a university professor trying to explain an
especially difficult problem.  She'd lost all the hesitation in her voice, too,
he noticed.  "It's like this: from my observations and the results of the tests
Pink conducted, I can tell that whatever's happening to your bodies has little,
if anything, in common with what happens with natural decomposition.  It's
superficially similar, but that's all.  Your bodies, as soon as you inhabit
them, in fact seem to go into a sort of temporary stasis.  They don't rot at
all, over."
	He held up his arm.  "Sooooooooo...?"  He thought he knew what she was
getting at, but might as well get it from the horse's mouth.
	"Yes, that.  That's not natural in the slightest.  But... it's not just
doing martial arts that causes it.  Even if you never did anything out of the
ordinary, you'd rot.  You start rotting from the moment you start moving.
Walking, looking at things, breathing.  It all adds up over time, everything you
do that makes that body unnaturally move in any way also breaks it down.  The
only difference is that your more superhuman feats break it down faster.  Surely
you've noticed: from what you told us, Kodachi's body took almost a month to
rot... and when did it finally do so?  Right after you got into that fight with
the algae aragami, over." She spun and pointed at him.  "But in this body,
despite the fact you say it's even stronger than Kodachi, you've been fighting
repeatedly.  Your arm may have been hastened somehow, but the rest of your body
isn't as far behind as it looks.  I've been watching, and I doubt it'll last out
the week, over."
	He leaned back in his chair.  It did make sense.  In a cripplingly
depressing sort of way.  "So... no solution?"
	"Even if you don't fight, your bodies will always break down, though it
will take much longer, over."  Link shrugged.  "But beyond that, I can't really
help you.  Any preservatives I use will be ineffectual.  Even some sort of
process with replacing your limbs with animate vines wouldn't likely work.  Even
if you could control them somehow, the rest of your body would still decay until
you had to leave it, over."
	Chris rubbed his chin and stood up.  "I see.  Well, I have to thank you
for making the effort, Link.  I guess I'll-"
	Even as he turned towards the door, she was suddenly in his way.
"That's... not all I've been researching, over!" she blurted.
	He blinked.  What was WITH her?  "Oh?" he said out loud.
	"I want, um, er, your... professional opinion of what I've discovered
about the mitamas, since you know so much about them, over."
	He shrugged.  "Sure.  Least I can do, though I've pretty much told you
most of what I know."
	She led him out of the room and into her section of the lab.  He didn't
need to be told what WAS, precisely, her section of the lab, because moving into
it was like stepping into a different room entirely.  Pink's portion of the room
was chaotic, with a jungle-like plethora of plants scattered haphazardly
fighting each other for light and attention.  Noxious fumes hung visibly in the
air, and everything felt wild and aggressive.  It was the very picture of a mad
scientist's (botanist's) garden.
	Link had a smaller portion of the room to herself.  But it was HERS, no
doubt about it.  Perfectly square, with every plant in a separate pot and
nothing co-mingling.  Nor was there anything random about their placements:
flowering plants were here, leafy ferns there, creeping flesh-eating vines just
so.  There was nothing sickly-looking, deformed, or in the process of being
consumed by a larger plant.  Even the mushrooms (which weren't plants, the
pedantic bit of his mind pointed out) grew in picturesque mushroom shapes in
their carefully climate-controlled nurseries.
	The very centre of Link's space, directly beneath the skylight, was the
predictable home of the mitamas.  A small, spotlessly clean table held them.
One was by itself, in a small dish.  The other, presumably the first she had
gotten, had obviously been experimented on more.  It gleamed in the loamy soil
of the small glass-enclosed terrarium into which it had been placed.  Some small
plants and shoots grew around it, though none touched the mystic blue seed.
	Link wasn't even looking at him, now, but instead staring at her two
specimens, a thoughtful frown on her face.  "I've discovered a few things," she
began.  "First, the mitama are not inherently hostile to humans, over."
	"Not really, no," Chris agreed.  "But lions aren't inherently -hostile-
to humans either."
	Link nodded absently at his comment.  "In fact, it seems that they act
almost entirely on instinct.  Their own, or the instinct of their host species,
whichever happen to be more dominant.  While not unintelligent, their
intelligence doesn't seem to work in quite the same way ours does, over.
	"What's interesting is that when in close proximity, their power and
awareness seems to be heightened.  It becomes something of a collective
consciousness, working together in symbiosis, over."
	Chris nodded.  That fit with the way Kusanagi's multiple mitamas
worked... not to mention Momiji's ability to detect them, and her own ability to
synch herself with Kusanagi later in the series.
	Link tapped her fingers on the table.  "I've found that, by putting them
together within a plant's structure, their intelligence and capability expand
dramatically, and they can use human language apparently instinctively.  Of
course, at that point they quickly become... excited, and I've had to abort the
experiment, over."
	"Well, I'm glad it didn't get away and start wrecking the neighbourhood,
anyway," he grinned.
	"There was no chance of that," Link said a little indignantly.  "I had
several safety measures in place after the fiasco at the ship, over."
	"Safety measures including 'keeping Pink away from it'?"
	She gave him an odd, sidelong glance.  "Yyy-es, something like that,
over."  She tapped the glass of the terrarium.  "Still, I've been making a lot
of progress with communicating with these two.  They have a sort of memory, and
they're starting to recognise me as an individual entity, over.  I think pretty
soon I'll be able to properly talk with them, find out more about what they
know, where they're from, what their history is."  She turned to Chris with an
excited frown on her face, which caused him some cognitive dissonance, but as
usual he ignored it.  "What their CULTURE is.  And where they've been hiding all
this time, so no one even suspected they existed, over."
	"That's pretty interesting," he nodded.  "But what did you want my
opinion on, precisely?"
	Her excited frown became a... well, it was sort of a regular old frown,
really, and she stared blankly at him.  "Uhh... well, that is, over... your
opinion... of..."
	He sighed.  Should have known.  "Okay, what is Pink doing?  Is she
trying to kill Shampoo?  I'll just remind you that if she does something stupid,
Shampoo can defend herself, and that can only end badly.  For you."
	Link tried very hard to force an enormous grin onto her face, but
succeeded only in looking like she was eating something extremely sour.  "W-what
are you talking about?  Pink's not up to anything, over!"  The beads of sweat
running down her forehead didn't help her already shaky attempt at sincerity.
	"Of -course- not," Chris drawled.  "But I think I'll mosey on over and
take a look to make sure everything's fine, okay?"
	Before Link could come up with another excuse, he walked over to the
door, kicking away a few of the more aggressive plants as they attempted to
devour/poison/fertilise him.  As he made his way into the hallway, he listened
carefully, but surprisingly didn't hear much in the way of brutal violence.
Maybe Pink hadn't sprung her trap yet.
	It didn't take him long to find Pink. He immediately looked around, and
felt vastly relieved to see Shampoo sitting near the corner of the living room,
looking kind of pissed off but otherwise seemingly not harmed or threatened in
any way.  In fact, Pink looked almost benign, sitting studiously reading a book.
The only thing that was odd was the strange monocle-like thing she was reading
through.
	Though, wait a sec, that book looked familiar.  He took a step into the
room, opening his mouth to ask what was going on, but at that moment Pink looked
up and saw him.  She smiled.
	"This Rumiko Takahashi bitch is a complete hack, over."
	Chris froze.
	"I mean, 38 volumes, and my sister and I only appeared ONCE, while this
bimbo - nice description, by the way - was in practically every one?  Didn't she
realise what true entertainment value was, over?"
	Now he recognised the book.  And the five other ones strewn about her
feet.  "But... you don't read English..." was all he could think of to say.
	Pink's smile was like a shark's.  She raised the black stone monocle-
thing.  "I do now, over."
	"But... where..."
	Tossing the journal aside, Pink stood up.  "I'm certain you wondered
about how Shampoo gained a semi-competent mastery of the Japanese language in
such a short time, didn't you, over?  Or maybe you didn't."  She laughed
shortly, tossing the monocle to the ground at his feet.  It spun around twice,
as he stared blankly at it, before coming to rest.  "Well, there's your answer.
Plot fiat.  Did Takahashi never write about it?  I told you - what a hack,
over."
	Chris looked up, looked at her face.  Those journals contained
everything.  His nearly encyclopediac knowledge of the Ranma manga, and every
detail he could dredge from his memory about all the other series' he knew to
exist, and many he only suspected did.  He'd written them during weeks of work
in the dead of night, when living people sleeped, trying to capture his memories
before the inevitable creep of time washed the details away.
	It was a treasure trove of knowledge more valuable and dangerous than
the most powerful ki blast, killer plant or power armor.  He knew that more than
anybody, because both he and Ukyou had used that power to attain their goals.
But in the wrong hands (and he wasn't so sure that didn't include Ukyou), that
kind of knowledge could cause any amount of disaster.
	You could kill the Sailor Senshi and doom the world.
	You could find the Battle Dougi and become an invincible fighter.
	You could unleash ancient horrors from their tombs.  Blue Seed's Susano-
oh... King of Fighter's Orochi... without the specific mix of circumstance and
opposition necessary to seal them back up again.
	You could wreak such havoc on the world there could be no recovering.
	Pink was smiling.
	She knew.  She knew exactly what things she could do with what she had
just learned.
	He took one step forward.  Pink had to... she had to... his hands were
clenched into fists, though he couldn't remember when he'd done so.
	It was PINK.  She was utterly selfish.  No, selfish was too small a
word.  She was sadistic, enjoyed hurting people, was willing to kill anyone who
got in her way or just happened to be around when she was in the right mood.  He
knew that from the manga and from living with her for weeks.  She was no genius,
but she was plenty clever enough to use any advantage that fell into her grasp.
And worse, she was manipulative, and with the knowledge he had let fall into her
hands, she could manipulate a great many people.  A great many POWERFUL people.
Just like Ukyou.
	Chris realised he was holding one of the batons in his hand, now.  He
heard Link's startled gasp from behind him.  Shampoo was watching him with the
fixed intensity of a tomcat watching a bird fall from a tree.  And Pink... Pink
was still smiling.
	"Oh dear, it seems you're a little upset, over."  She shrugged
cheerfully.  "Sorry about looking through your things... sometimes my curiosity
gets the best of me, over."
	He took another step forward.  His finger rested on the hidden switch
that would cause the spikes on the head of the baton to extend.
	She couldn't be trusted - no, it was worse than that.  She couldn't be
ALLOWED to have this.  Couldn't be.  Could not.
	Pink's smile never wavered.  "You look like you have something on your
mind.  Maybe we can talk it out.  We share so many things in common, now, over."
	He liked her... liked her as a CHARACTER.  It was different in reality.
You could admire someone from a distance, and still despise everything they
stood for.  You could admire the resolve of a soldier on the other side as they
charged your trench, and still fire the shot that cut them down, because it was
the right thing to - no, it was what you HAD to do.
	"But you know what's even more amusing about these journals?  It's the
stuff that hack writer DIDN'T know, over."  Pink picked up one, flipped to a
page, casually ran a finger down it.  "Pink and Link, Volume 28, twin sisters,
hate Shampoo, blah blah blah... but there's something very important you didn't
know, over."
	Link was beside him, now.  He glanced over almost involuntarily.  Her
expression wasn't what he expected.  Panicked, he'd expected.  But she was
horrified.  And not at him.
	"NO!" she shouted at her sister.  No 'over'.
	"Link, Link, Link," Pink said smoothly, still smiling, "Now that we know
all our friend's secrets, isn't it only fair that he knows ours?"
	It was the wrong thing to do.  Listening was the wrong thing to do now.
He knew that.  But it was like watching an onrushing train, unable to turn away.
"What... secret?"
	Pink turned to him again and spread her hands in a gesture very similar
to his own.  "You were wrong in your description of us.  Link and I are not
sisters, over."
	"What?"
	"We aren't sisters... but we are TWINS, over."  Seeing his expression,
she laughed lightly and walked across the room.  Reaching his opened backpack,
she gingerly tapped it with one foot, eliciting a metallic clank from the
canteens of Jyusenkyou water inside.  Then she quickly moved a few steps away.
	Jyusenkyou water?
	"Come on," she said, striding arrogantly back towards him.  "Didn't you
wonder why it was so easy for me to accept all this?  You're intelligent enough
to put two and two together, over."
	They were so scared of Jyusenkyou water.  They wouldn't go near it.
	Pink stopped barely a meter away from him.  "Oh, are you still not
catching on?  It wasn't obvious?"  Her tone became mocking.  "'Link's pain is my
pain, over'."
	She was tricking him.  "That's ridiculous," he snapped.  "When could it
have happened?  When you were kids-"
	"Approximately one year old, actually.  From what I've been told."  Pink
tapped her chin thoughtfully.  "You see, our village has long used the waters of
Jyusenkyou for various botanical experiments.  It has quite interesting effects
when used to water plants.  Usually children aren't allowed on water-gathering
trips, but Mother was poor and couldn't afford to have us watched.  Not that
there was an 'us' then, over."
	He didn't need to be told more: the scene was easy enough to picture,
and so... Takahashiesque.
	Pink looked up at him and laughed again.  "You still don't believe?
Silly boy.  You thought your comic book told you everything?  You didn't know
about Shampoo's little toy.  You didn't know about Link's temper.  Lots of
little things you probably weren't told.  And with such... minor... characters
as us, how could you possibly expect that our lives would be so fleshed out and
robust as, say... Ranma Saotome's, over?"
	Link stepped forward, almost pushing him to the side.  "Why are you
TELLING him this!?" she shrieked in her sis... in Pink's face.  "You know what
will happen if we, if one of us..."
	"That's precisely why I am," Pink said calmly.  She stared into Chris's
eyes.  "We were one year old.  Of course we don't remember a thing.  How could
anyone tell, from that age, who was real and who was a shadow?  But Chris... ah,
yes, Chris.  Chris would never do anything to harm YOU, Link.  You're... an
innocent, over."  Her smile nearly split her face.  "Victims of the Spring of
Twins, which are mostly small animals, of course, don't usually endure very
long.  There's excellent reason for that, you see... even though water won't
reserve the effect, if the original perishes, the copy can't sustain.  But you
probably guessed that.  Another thing your comic didn't tell you, though, is
that the two can't move too far away from each other. Outside of a certain
range, the magic weakens, and the false twin fades away forever, over."
	He stared, wanting to say something, but couldn't.  Pink stepped past
her twin, standing right next to him.  Her hand dropped to casually caress the
head of the baton.  "So, Chris, am I really enough of a... 'capital V villain'
to risk Link's life?  Over such a little thing as this?  Just over a little...
knowledge, over?"
	He remembered Link frowning, lecturing Pink.
	He remembered her joy, showing even through that perpetual frown, when
she realised he'd beaten Shampoo.
	He remembered her swearing a blue streak, comically stalking back and
forth, stamping her foot.
	He remember how animated she had become, talking about the mitamas.
	Pink was right.  He couldn't.  Just like with Akane.  No matter what the
reason, having seen her, known her, looked into her living eyes and seen the
person inside, he couldn't kill her.  Couldn't even risk it.
	Pink took the baton from his nerveless fingers and moved back two steps
to stand beside Link.  "I didn't think so.  You're a good boy, over."

*

	"So... that's it then?"
	Aaron kept Ukyou's hand from shaking as she took the letter from the
table. Ono watched her. His expression was grim and his eyes were hidden behind
the glare of his glasses. Ukyou looked away, unable to meet his accusing gaze.
	"I can't continue this, Ukyou. Not if you're going to use my teachings
for such violence..."
	"I understand..." Aaron stood up. Truth be told, he didn't believe that
he needed Ono's teaching anymore. Ever since he had revealed the existence of
the five chakra techniques, Aaron had been having more success helping Ukyou
enhance her skills without him. It helped that, in a very real sense, Aaron
understood the concepts behind the five element theory of martial arts much
better than Tofu Ono. He still didn't know why, but he did.
	"I don't think you do, Ukyou!" Ono snapped as he stood up. Aaron started
involuntarily. Ever since he and Ukyou had met the man, they had never seen him
so upset. Not even after the fight... "You need help. Real help. Professional
help."
	"I don't need a psychiatrist," Ukyou informed him coolly. No shrink in
the world could solve her problem.
	"You need more than that, Ukyou. You need to stop using this power of
yours. It is hurting you, and I don't just mean your body. I think it's doing
something to your mind..."
	"You talk like I've had a choice..." Aaron cut Ukyou off. She had had a
choice. She could have accepted her loss to Hayato. It had been her choice to
fight him all-out. Nothing would have been lost there but her pride. Ukyou felt
a brief stir of resentment, but it was empty fury. Aaron was right, and he
refused to be blustered into silence anymore. "Maybe you're right, Ono." Ukyou
leaned over the table, tapping her fingers on the wood next to Ono's hand.
"Maybe I am doing damage to myself, permanent damage that will never go away. I
think I'm beginning to accept that now. That choices have consequences. But I
can't leave this alone. This power... it is the cause of my problems and I
think, maybe, the solution."
	"As long as you continue to explore it... I can't be your mentor."
	"Is this the end of everything between us then?" Aaron asked, his voice
cool.
	"It is if you want it to be, Ukyou."
	"I don't want it to be, Ono. You're... the most mature friend I have. I
thought we were becoming close, in our own ways. But I just can't do what you
ask. This world... it is turning its back on me. If the only way I can survive
is to use that power, I will."
	"Ukyou..." Ono stood up. "I think you need more time to think about
this."
	"So this is the end?"
	"My door is always open for you when you need me. But..."
	"Thank you..." Ukyou said sincerely and strode out of the room.
	Forget needing him for his teaching. She would miss him for... him. But
she wouldn't cry over him. It had taken her all night to work up the courage to
come back here after yesterday's disaster with Akane. She still had to find
Ranma. And if Ranma turned his back on her...
	Ukyou wouldn't cry over Tofu Ono.
	Aaron sensed the figure in the door to Ono's clinic before they sensed
him. He had recognized that his own affinity for the Void chakra could enhance
his senses, and had been working on that. Just like Ukyou had drawn on Aaron's
knowledge to enhance her Wind chakra. She had proven how much that had enhanced
her fighting abilities the other night when they had fought E. Honda in that
pit. Of course it still hadn't been a very easy fight, but Ukyou had won.
	Aaron, however, could sense the power of the person in the doorway. They
radiated it through the walls of the clinic like a miasma. It curdled the blood
in Ukyou's veins. Aaron had never experienced anything that he would have ever
described as 'evil' before, but this power made him want to use the term. Was it
some new enemy, drawn to Ukyou and him by that damn prophecy? Or perhaps an old
enemy?
	For a moment Ukyou and he considered just ducking out the back. But
Aaron knew they could only duck this confrontation for so long. He just hoped
that if there was a fight, he could lure them away from the clinic. Destroying
their ex-mentor's livelihood once was enough for them both.
	"I knew if I waited here long enough, you would return."
	Ukyou stopped in her tracks as she rounded the corner. That voice... no.
She looked across the reception area. It was Hayato. He was standing, arms
crossed and face uncovered, his frame blocking out the doorway. He had changed,
and not just his clothes. His eyes were dangerously narrow, and his posture like
that of a restrained hunting cat. Light glinted off the golden ornament he now
wore around his neck, some sort of stylized crescent and lightning bolt.
	"Hayato... you're..."
	"Walking?" the boy sneered.
	That wasn't possible. Ukyou knew his spine was broken. Even the martial
artists of Ranma's caliber didn't get up from things like that! And she knew
that he had been crippled. She knew because everyone had told her. She knew
because she had done it. She had felt the bones shatter under her heel. Even
now she could recall the feeling.
	"Don't look so surprised, Ukyou." Hayato stepped into the room. "I told
you this wasn't over between us. I told you I would find a way to defeat you,
and I have."
	"No..." Aaron shook his head. He should say he was sorry. He suspected
it would do no good, but it was still the right thing to do. Except something
was holding him back. Something even he didn't want to admit.
	"What, not going to apologize? Plead for understanding?" Hayato lashed
out with one hand, crashing his fist through a wall with enough force to leave a
basketball sized hole. "Aren't you even going to pretend you feel sorry for me!?
Don't think just because I am walking that the injury you inflicted on me wasn't
real. Don't think this washes away your crime!"
	"Pretend to feel sorry..." Aaron said coldly. That was it. He could say
he felt sorry to Hayato, but it would be an act. Telling Hayato he felt guilty
about what he and Ukyou had done would be another lie, another facade. But it
was time to abandon facades. The truth was he didn't regret the act of it. Nor
did Ukyou. They regretted the consequences, but not the crime. In fact...
	They had enjoyed it.
	Ukyou recoiled from that thought. But it was the truth.
	"Hayato, I can't say anything to you that would make up for what I did,"
Aaron admitted. "And I suspect nothing I can say will stop you from attacking
me."
	"Attacking you?" Hayato grinned. "I am going to kill you, Ukyou. This
isn't about honour anymore. What is between us now is not the honour of martial
artists. What is between us now is a much older law. The law of vendetta!"
Hayato began to chuckle and raised his hands. "What is between us can only end
in death."
	Aaron nodded. A part of him, and a larger part of Ukyou, thought that
perhaps they deserved this. But the far larger part refused to accept that. He
would not roll over anymore. Ukyou refused to accept death. They would fight, if
it came to that.
	"I will not kill you," Ukyou informed Hayato. She meant it. No matter
what... there would be no killing. Aaron agreed. That was a step he would never
take. No matter what. There were some lines that could never be crossed. If it
came down to it, she and he would die first.
	Or so they believed, honestly and truly. But they had to believe that.
Otherwise...
	"No, you won't kill me." Hayato stretched his neck, producing an audible
crack. Aaron felt the dark aura around him intensify.
	"Can we do this somewhere else?" Ukyou asked suddenly.
	"Why?"
	"Because you want to fight me, not all my friends. If you attack me
here, trying to kill me, they will step in."
	"Hmmm... you're right." Hayato stepped to the side and gestured at the
door. "Fine. Lead me to the place you want to die, Ukyou Kuonji." Ukyou raised
an eyebrow. "Forgive me if I don't feel like turning my back on you."
	Ukyou nodded wordlessly. Hopefully Aaron could sense if Hayato grew
impatient and attacked them from behind. Though he seemed more interested in an
honest confrontation. Ukyou stepped out of the clinic, leading him down the
street. There weren't very many places she could think of that would make a
good, private battlefield. She might have to lead him out of Nerima and-
	Aaron reacted an instant before the explosion. His leap carried them
above the blast. Ukyou took over, already focusing her chi into her Wind chakra.
She rode the shockwave like a skydiver, gaining altitude and sliding over to a
nearby lamppost. Ukyou caught the hanging light in one hand and swung around it
like a gymnast before perching atop the pole.
	"Hayato!"
	"That wasn't me." Hayato informed her. He was standing next to the
crater, completely untouched. Ukyou frowned at the vague shimmer in the air
before him. Aaron focused his senses on it... but it collapsed to his feet
before he could see much. And the residue it left on the pavement looked like
nothing more than water.
	"Then who..."
	"Soul Spark!"
	Aaron dropped backward, plummeting through the buoyant air as a flashing
ball of scintilalting green and yellow light passed above him. Ukyou spun them,
landing in a combat crouch, her staff now held out next to her.
	"Rose?" Aaron murmured, having recognized the voice a bit - and more
importantly, what the voice had said.
	"Hmm. You've heard of me."
	Aaron narrowed his eyes, focusing in on the voice. She was standing on
the top of a nearby building. Her ridiculously coiffed hair was twitching
slightly in the air. Her long yellow shawl was wrapped about her shoulders,
covering the top of her double-breasted wine coat. She stood with one hand on
her hips and the other fingering the trailing edge of her shawl. How had he
missed her? His senses had been on high alert ever since he had first felt that
dreadful aura back in Ono's clinic.
	"In a manner of speaking." Aaron stood up. "I take it from your
introduction that this isn't a social call?"
	"No." Rose stepped idly off the edge of the building, floating
gracefully to the ground. A wave of dust pulsed out from her feet as her heels
tapped down on the sidewalk. She pulled her hand from her hip, and was holding a
long tarot card there. Aaron couldn't make out what was on it. "I've seen your
fate in the cards. It is time someone put a stop to that."
	"Wait just a minute!" Hayato stepped into place between Ukyou and Rose,
his arms thrown wide. "What do you think you're doing?"
	"I am going to kill that girl behind you," Rose said calmly. As she
spoke, she elegantly unfurled the shawl she wore, revealing that her coat only
came halfway up her breasts. The rest of her torso was covered in some sort of
skintight purple spandex leotard. "Step aside, boy. I don't want to hurt you."
	"Oh no... Ukyou is MY enemy! I won't let you take my vengeance from me!"
Hayato growled. "I gave up everything for this fight!"
	"Do as she says," a new voice interupted them.
	Aaron had sensed Sailor Pluto's arrival before she spoke. Now she had
stepped out of the thin crowd that had gathered. She leveled the business end of
her time key staff at Hayato. So that was it? Pluto couldn't kill Ukyou on her
own, and had found help. Would they have to fight their way through every
psychic on Earth before they could dispel this damned prophecy?
	"Sailor Pluto..." Hayato hissed, his voice taking on an odd quality.
Aaron glanced over at him sharply. When had Hayato learned that name? "Damn
it... I can't risk..." He reached up and fingered the medallion around his neck.
"Ukyou, do not die on me." Hayato looked over his shoulder at her. "If you do, I
will have to take out my anger on your friends!"
	With that he leapt up, practically vanishing from view. Aaron didn't
bother to follow his escape. Nor did Ukyou try to follow him. Instead she backed
up, placing both Sailor Pluto and Rose in front of her.
	"I'm sorry that this has to be done," Rose said as she stepped forward.
Aaron could see a green glow begin to form along the edge of her skin. That
would be her Soul Power. He searched his memories, recalling all of Rose's
moves. He wasn't exactly sure how far she was up on the Street Fighter food
chain, but he knew it was definitely a tier or two above E. Honda.
	"So... two on one?" Ukyou replied coldly. She didn't relish her chances
if such were the case. After her last confrontation with Sailor Pluto, she had
almost fallen unconscious. The Guardian of Time must have done something to her,
because Ukyou could not recall even a single blow being landed in that 'fight',
but yet the damage had come close to putting her out.
	"If needs be," Rose started walking forward. "But I doubt it will come
to that!"
	Aaron didn't feel the attack coming, and only Ukyou's honed reflexes
allowed them to dive aside. The spiraling green vortex of energy skimmed along
the edges of her shoes, but she rode the impact and used it to propel her into a
handvault. She spun in mid-air, watching as Rose drew her shawl back, the green
energy fading from it as she finished her attack. Damn... she was fast. And for
some reason, Aaron couldn't focus on her moves.
	Rose gracefully spun on her heel and charged after Ukyou. She would
catch them coming down at this rate. Ukyou stabbed her staff down, using it to
vault away again. Rose's shawl whipped out in a brilliant green and yellow arc
just beneath her.
	They needed breathing room. With a single motion, Ukyou drew spatulas
from her coat and let fly. Rose waved her scarf before her, contemptuously
batting the weapons from the air. But it allowed Ukyou to get her feet under her
again.
	Aaron frowned and rushed forward. Ukyou slipped her hands along the
length of her staff. Rose was much better at ranged combat than close in. If
they could get under her guard, keep her off balance... that was their best
chance.
	Rose saw them coming, and ran forward to meet them. This time Aaron saw
her draw back her scarf. Ukyou ducked. The psychically enhanced fabric passed
within a hairsbreadth of her head. Her staff skipped along the ground just
before she slashed it up. The blow was aimed at Rose's midsection. Rose wasn't
there to receive it.
	Ukyou cursed and finished her follow through. Aaron could feel the
pressure of the wind as Rose flipped over them. He still couldn't 'sense' Rose.
Ukyou captured the momentum of her swing, using it to spin them about without
halting their forward momentum. The world tilted as she allowed her legs to fly
out from under her. Her controlled fall kept the gypsy woman's leg from striking
her as it thrust through the air.
	Ukyou caught herself and Aaron snapped up their legs. With a triumphant
cry he locked their knees around Rose's calf. The gypsy was pulled off balance,
and Ukyou used her hands as a pivot, tossing her into the air. Ukyou dug her
fingers into the pavement and spun in place, pulling her legs under her again.
	Rose was directly above them, quickly recovering her balance. Aaron
gripped their staff in both hands and thrust it up with all their might. The
blow hit true, catching Rose in the gut and propelling her further into the air.
Ukyou was already leaping to follow up.
	Even as Ukyou rose into the air, Rose somehow recovered. Her shawl
flashed down, glittering with emerald light. It hit the side of Ukyou's face
with the force of a battering ram. Black starbursts flared in her vision and
for a moment Ukyou felt like her head had been caught in a vice. She barely felt
herself slam into the ground with enough force that she dug a short trench in
the pavement.
	Aaron let his instincts take over for a second, rolling to the side.
Even as he did so he heard the ground explode where he had been. But where was
Rose? He spun to his feet, trying to shake the dizziness away.
	Rose caught them from behind. They screamed out in shared pain as the
edge of Rose's scarf parted the back of their coat.  The blow hadn't cut their
skin, but it felt like it had. Ukyou staggered forward even as Aaron lashed out
behind them with their staff. He felt it connect, but from the way it bounced he
knew that the strike had been blocked. Ukyou used the time his desperate strike
had gained them to push them into a forward roll.
	She skidded to a halt on the edge of the sidewalk, her foot digging into
the gutter. Rose was flying across the pavement towards them, a wake of dust
behind her. Aaron didn't even have a chance to ready the staff before Rose
was upon them. Gracefully Rose spun her hand forward, her shawl forming another
vortex of psychic force.
	The window of a shop yielded to them as they flew b