Unlucky thirteen, huh?  I guess it figures it'd be my turn...

Uh, hey.  I'm Ryouga, but you don't really care about that.  Trust me, you don't
want to know me, because I am the lowest scum on earth.

...

Wait a minute... if I have authorial oversight perception... then...

I KNOW NABIKI TRICKED ME!

But I'm just gonna forget anyway.  Sigh...

Well, anyway, there are other people's lives who are almost as dark and hopeless
as mine.  Ukyou's one of them, as she basically spent most of last chapter
getting the living crap kicked out of her by Tethys.  But Tethys wouldn't kill
her until she made Ukyou use the Third Circle stuff, which allowed Ukyou enough
of a chance to eventually pull off a plan to defeat Tethys.  And then Ukyou
spared her life, which was probably a bad idea, I guess.  But it was nice!

Around the same time, this evil group of monsters called Chronos attacked the
Sailor Senshi.  They kidnapped two of them, but with help from that undead guy
Chris, Sailor Moon managed to escape.  So did Sailor Mars, but only by
abandoning her grandpa to the horrible monsters.  Man, I wish I'd been there to
help... but... well, anyway.

That wasn't the only bad thing happening.  This jerk called Vega showed up,
supposedly to look for Ukyou, but he seems to be interested in the Sailor Senshi
too.  And some really bad guys killed a bunch of government muckety-mucks in
England, and only a vampire girl and her, I guess boss, managed to escape them.

And to top it all off, Chris found out by accident about Ukyou's evil prophecy
thing, and figured out that that meant Ukyou had lied to him, and his ex-friend
Aaron wasn't dead, so he went to look for them.  He seemed pretty... uh... how
to put this... psychotic?  Man, Ukyou can't catch a break, and that's coming
from ME, here.

Which... is pretty much where we're at.  I guess things can't get much more
depressing, right?




			      C&A Productions Presents

                          A Work of Blatant Self-Insertion


                                   Hybrid Theory


                           Chapter 13: Points of Authority




	"It's been a long time, Aaron." the rotting corpse said, in defiance of
all natural law, as it stood before them.
	Aaron's eyes widened. Ukyou stepped back.
	"Chris?"
	Chris flashed across the room. Ukyou might have been able to dodge, or
even block. She might have been able to defend herself... if she had not just
been beaten half to death. As it was, all she could do was stare as Chris'
skeletal fist ran into her face. For a moment, the world went black and she felt
the wall behind her give way as the force of the shot knocked her from the
building. She skidded to a halt on the rough pavement, stinging her hands as she
grasped wildly in an attempt to slow down.
	Ukyou was just lifting her head up again when the wall to Usagi's house
exploded outward. She scrambled to the side, barely avoiding the refrigerator
that crashed to the street, spilling foodstuffs all over. Some inane part of
Ukyou's mind tsked at the waste.
	Ukyou pulled herself to her feet using a nearby mailbox, and stared as
the decaying body strode out of the hole it had created and into the street. He
was wearing a black leather jacket, T-shirt and jeans, all standard apparel for
Chris. But his body... it had reached a level of decomposition that bordered on
horrific. His glassy, milky eyes flicked towards her, but there was no emotion
in them.
	"You know," Chris said in a conversational tone, seemingly to himself.
"I really feel like a complete idiot. I mean, I knew you lied to Ranma. Lied to
Akane. Lied to yourself. But for some reason, I didn't think you were lying to
me."
	"Chris..." Aaron said slowly. "I think you need to calm down." He had
little hope it would work, but longshots were all he had at the moment.
	"Now, why would I believe you, when you told me that Aaron was dead?"
Chris continued, ignoring her. "Why? When I knew you were so dishonest?" The
corpse-boy snapped his fingers, his skeletal fingers producing a sickening
clattering noise. "Oh! That's right, now I remember! Because the alternative was
that Aaron, my BEST FRIEND, was lying to me." Chris' voice began to rise, an
angry hiss escaping through his non-existent lips as the words edged closer and
closer to shouts. "Lying to me, and leaving me to ROT! ALONE! In this GODDAMN
CORPSE!" By this time, Chris had closed to within a few paces of Ukyou. She
stood transfixed. Her mouth opened, but no words came out.
	Chris turned his head and regarded her. His voice lowered, and had taken
on a dangerous, brutal sort of calmness. "But silly me. I guess I was wrong. So,
Aaron, what do you have to say for yourself?"
	"I..." Aaron sighed and fixed Ukyou's eyes on those of the corpse body
that Chris inhabited like a parasite. "Nothing I can say will make it better.
The words 'I'm sorry' sound hollow even to me."
	"Just like you," Chris said, his face twitching as he tried
unsuccessfully to sneer.
	Ukyou bent forward as Chris rammed his foot into her gut. Pain raced up
and down her body as her already broken ribs reminded her of their existence.
She coughed and collapsed to her knees, dry-heaving and bracing herself with her
hands. Chris loomed over her.
	Ukyou's head snapped back as Chris' foot snapped up again and caught her
in the chin. The force of his blow lifted her from the ground. But as suddenly
as she started moving, she stopped. The jerk of the sudden stop sent sharp
spikes of pain through her neck as Chris' rotting corpse-hand clenched around it
like a vice.
	Ukyou gasped. She could still breathe. Chris hadn't tightened his grip
yet. Aaron began to focus, searching their body for some store of energy. There
had to be a wisp of it somewhere, didn't there? Wasn't there always enough
strength for one last defiant stand? There had been against Tethys. There had
been enough to force their battered body to walk back to Tokyo. But this time
the well was dry.
	The only power inside them now, was that Other power.
	Ukyou winced as Chris lightly slapped her with his non-skeletized hand.
"No, no, no. You don't fall unconscious that quickly."
	"Chris, it doesn't have to be like this..." Ukyou hissed. Her jaw moved
painfully. She thought maybe Chris had come very close to breaking it.
	"Doesn't it? You didn't answer my question. You do that a lot."
	Huh? What question was that? "Uh..." Ukyou said, her voice still coming
in a high-pitched squeak because of her half compressed trachea. "Could you
repeat the question?"
	The hand around her neck quivered and the pressure increased almost
imperceptibly. But you perceived a lot of things when they involved your air
supply. Chris' eyes closed, and Ukyou stared down at him through her half-lidded
eyes. Then his other arm vanished in a flash, and there was a metal shriek.
Ukyou hadn't even seen the strike, but she saw the mailbox sail off into the
distance. The sidewalk pavestones rippled like a pond in its wake, then exploded
up in a line of concrete geysers. Ukyou's jaw would have dropped, had Chris
not been supporting it. She watched the mailbox sail through a parked car like
it wasn't even there. The car's two halves remained perched in space for an
absurd second before gravity finally decided to notice there was nothing
connecting them and they collapsed in on each other. The mailbox didn't even
seem to slow when it disappeared into the wall of a house four blocks away.
	A shriek rose in the distance.
	Aaron frowned internally. He had felt that. Up until now, Chris was as
dark on his senses as any other dead thing. But... something inside of him had
reacted to that strike.
	Chris drew in a long breath, and let it out again. The sound of it was
oddly liquid, like he was gargling. "Pay attention this time," Chris ordered her
coldly. "The question is, 'Why, Aaron? Why would you do this to me?' Did you get
that?"
	"Do this to you?" Aaron said slowly. "No. Never mind. I don't have an
answer that will satisfy you. I did it because a part of me hates you, and
wanted you to suffer. I did it because a part of me is afraid of you, and wants
you to disappear from my perception. I did it because I was stupid and confused
and going through my own crisis. But none of that really matters. I did it to
you. It was wrong." Aaron sighed. "I can't take it back. I wish I could, but I
can't."
	"Wrong," Chris said in an oddly happy tone. "That satisfies me
completely."
	The next thing Ukyou knew, she was colliding with a wall. Her back
screamed at her. And it was only as she started to slide to the ground that she
saw the lamppost she had been hurled through topple neatly to the side. Well, on
the bright side, she hadn't really felt that. But again, Aaron had sensed
something during their near instantaneous flight.
	The lamppost stopped toppling. Chris was now standing under it,
supporting it with one hand. His hideous, grinning face stared at her as he
shifted his grip on it until he was holding it by the narrow end. Then he began
to line it up on his shoulder.
	"Aw, shit..." Ukyou groaned.
	Aaron focused, and he sensed the same sympathetic pulse form inside him.
With no more warning needed, Ukyou dodged... well, more accurately collapsed
quickly, and the lamppole snapped through the air over her head. There was a
cascade of crashes as the pole tore through the wall with enough force to send
the debris flying back. Ukyou spun around on her back and stared as the arc of
debris cut into the house behind her like a machine gun. Glass sprayed and
plaster exploded outward. A moment later, there were screams.
	Ukyou glanced to her left and right. People.
	Oh god. This was the suburbs. All these people were just coming home
for, or already at, supper. She had barely noticed them as they shrunk back from
her while she had been approaching. But now that they were screaming and fleeing
in all directions, she couldn't help but notice.
	"Chris, stop!" Ukyou yelled, turning to face him and holding one hand
up.
	"Stop? Why Aaron, can't you take it as well as you dish it out?" Chris
stepped forward, swinging the pole idly. "I heard about Hayato. Real Ukyou-like
response to a problem there," Chris said sarcastically.
	Ukyou's face flushed with a sudden surge of anger. She grabbed the
remains of the wall and levered herself into a standing position again. "Chris,
you have no idea what I've gone through, so don't talk. Maybe I'm not exactly
myself anymore, but that doesn't mean I'm not the same person. People change, I
guess." Ukyou couldn't resist the urge to sneer, just a little. "Look at
yourself, for instance."
	Chris' face darkened as he stepped forward. With a casual flip he tossed
the pole over his shoulder. Ukyou gasped as she watched it arc into the roof of
a house, and through that roof with barely a pause. Chris didn't even seem to
notice. His eyes were all on Ukyou. Ukyou only noticed how close he had gotten
when his backhanded slap sent stars spiraling across her vision.
	"Excuse me, bitch, but I'm not talking to you."
	Ukyou coughed as she reeled from the blow. Aaron had felt it again, that
brief surge from inside of them just before Chris struck. It had been much
smaller this time, but still there.
	Ukyou didn't care. Chris was a menace. If they didn't end this, more
innocent people would be hurt. She clenched her fist. She could find the
strength to fight back. They were still breathing. They didn't need to do that
for a few seconds...
	Aaron pounced on that idea with all his willpower. His mind boggled at
what Ukyou had been considering. He felt her anger. He understood it. But there
was no way he was going to let her give into it. Mostly because it wouldn't
work, and would likely just get them hit again. All they had to do was endure
until Chris came back to his senses...
	Which, really, should have happened a while ago.
	Because Chris, while he had always had a temper, had also always been
the kind of person whose temper flared strong, but briefly. Usually, once he
smashed his fist into some convenient inanimate object, he would calm down.
Besides, even he had to notice how badly Ukyou was hurt. He had to realize that
one or two more strong blows... and they might not wake up-
	"Aaron," Chris said sweetly, startling them out of their reverie.
"Please pay attention to me when I'm speaking to you." Then he swung his arm up
and rammed it into their stomach. Ukyou lifted off her feet and flew breathless
through the air, before she crashed hard onto the roof of a sedan parked nearly
four houses down. The roof gave way and Ukyou plummeted again, landing badly on
the car's steering column. She felt something in her hip crack.
	By the time the pain cleared away, they could hear Chris stepping next
to the car. The car rocked, and Ukyou gasped as she realized what Chris was
doing. She started to scramble, but the car was already in the air by the time
she got to the door. It flipped lazily through the sky and Ukyou could do
nothing but grab onto any purchase and fight the vertigo. The car landed with a
deafening crash, and Ukyou watched as plaster and glass flew by the window.
	Somehow, she had managed to remain in one piece. Miraculously, she
hadn't even taken a scratch. The car had survived mostly intact as well. With a
groan, she crawled out of the window above her. She stopped. Well, apparently
falling on the couch had broken the car's fall. Luckily, it appeared the young
couple cowering in the nearby corner had not been on the couch at the time.
	"Run," Ukyou gasped. They just stared at her. "RUN!"
	One of the walls exploded inward. Ukyou rolled off the car, shielding
herself from the blast of debris. She heard the couple scream in pain and
shock. "Knock, knock," Chris called as he strode into the house. Ukyou watched
as Chris' eyes scanned the room, passed over the couple without pause, and
stopped when they spotted her.
	Chris... didn't even see them. The young woman was lying on the ground,
a small pool of blood forming under her chest. The man was screaming and
clutching her. Chris didn't even notice they were there.
	This wasn't Chris.
	Not at his worst.
	Aaron gasped.
	"No..." Ukyou said slowly.
	The problem with epiphanies was that they always occurred at the most
inconvenient times.
	Aaron rose to his feet, and stared over the top of the wrecked car at
Chris. The undead boy's face twitched as he tried to smile again. Aaron could
feel it now. It was like someone had turned on the proverbial light switch in
his mind. The power radiated from Chris. The Other.
	The same power that had nearly turned him and Ukyou into monsters, and
Chris was using it. Of course he was using it. He had to be. How else could a
corpse walk around? How else could he steal the memories and powers of his
hosts? Chris had never had those abilities, to say the least.
	Chris was using the same corrupting power.
	And he was using it all the time.
	"Chris," Ukyou began, her voice suddenly hitching. "You... you're going
to kill me, Chris. If you don't stop right now. I'm going to die. Do you really
want that? Or is it already too late for you to care?"

*

	"Do this to you?" the being that looked like Ukyou repeated mockingly.
"No. Nevermind. I don't have an answer that will satisfy you. I did it because a
part of me hates you, and wanted you to suffer. I did it because a part of me is
afraid of you, and wants you to disappear from my perception. I did it because I
was stupid and confused and going through my own crisis. But none of that really
matters. I did it to you. It was wrong." It sighed. "I can't take it back. I
wish I could, but I can't."
	And that was it.  All that, all the pain, everything that had been done
since then, and all it came down to, for Aaron, was the same thing it always
had: apathy.
	He hadn't changed at all.
	Chris had always wanted to do this, just a little bit.
	"Wrong," he said, and meant it. "That satisfies me completely."
	Chris knocked the Ukyou-Aaron back.  They hit a wall and slid down.
They'd knocked over a lamppost, he noted idly.  Perfect.  He grabbed it, wound
up like a baseball batter.
	"Aw, shit..." it griped.
	He swung, but it dodged out of the way.  Aaron looked side to side for a
way to escape, then held up a hand at him.  "Chris, stop!"
	Chris sneered.  It wasn't even fighting back yet.  Did it think	he
wasn't serious?  He stepped forward, prepping the pole for another swing.
"Stop? Why Aaron, can't you take it as well as you dish it out?"  He paused,
remembering everything he knew 'Ukyou' could, in fact, 'dish out'.  Jadeite's
arm ripped off, Hayato's spine broken.  Chris had barely even hurt it yet.  "I
heard about Hayato. Real Ukyou-like response to a problem there."
	Ukyou - it was hard to think of it as being Aaron, he guessed, given the
body - stood up straight, and snarled at him.  "Chris, you have no idea what
I've gone through, so don't talk. Maybe I'm not exactly myself anymore, but that
doesn't mean I'm not the same person. People change, I guess." It... SHE
smirked. "Look at yourself, for instance."
	This old song and dance.  And making fun of his tragedy, to boot.  Chris
said a silent apology to many newsgroup debating opponents over the years.
Ukyou Kuonji WAS a fucking bitch.
	He discarded the lamppost and cuffed her across the face.  She'd had her
chance to tell him the truth before.  He wasn't planning to listen again.
"Excuse me, bitch, but I'm not talking to you."
	She stumbled back a bit, and he saw her face light up with rage, but
then she calmed down again, standing there, not even seeming to pay attention.
She didn't even attempt to defend herself, much less strike back.  Just like she
had been this whole fight.
	Did she think he was so beneath her?
	No.  HE did.
	But he was stronger than Aaron now.
	"Aaron," Chris said softly, causing it to notice him again, "Please pay
attention to me when I'm talking to you."
	He knocked them away and followed.  They'd landed on a car.
	A car?
	Heh.
	He'd wanted to try this sometime.
	He easily lifted the car with Aaron-Ukyou in it and hurled it away.  His
arm was itching at the edge of his consciousness, but he ignored it.  He'd deal
with it later.  He was still fine.
	The car had fallen behind a wall.  He casually strolled up to it, and
made himself a door.  "Knock, knock," he called as he walked in.
	THERE it was.
	"No," it said, and he could tell it was Ukyou again by her voice.  What,
did she think he was Ryouga or something, not to be able to find her again?
	And it still wasn't fighting him.  It was just staring at him.
	Well, he'd MAKE it fight back.
	It wouldn't be so smug when he was done.
	Not this time.  Not like the last time.  Not like when they'd met for
the first time in this world, and Ukyou (Aaron?) had taunted him and dangled her
knowledge and left him to ROT.
	It was talking.  "Chris," Ukyou said, a theatrical catch in her voice.
"You... you're going to kill me, Chris. If you don't stop right now. I'm going
to die. Do you really want that? Or is it already too late for you to care?"
	"Spare me the melodrama," he snapped.  "I've barely even touched you so
far."  She was hiding behind the car. He tossed it out of the way.  "You won't
even fight back.  Why not?  Because you know I'm stronger now than I was when I
beat you before?"  He grinned, knowing the REAL reason.  "Or are you waiting for
RANMA to save your little ass?  After all, he could probably beat Sentarou.  But
he won't.  He's occupied, I think.  You can't play damsel in distress for him
this time."
	Ukyou was still just looking at him, not even striking a defensive
stance.  "You really can't see what you're doing, can't you?  I know!
Everything seems so simple, doesn't it?  All those little problems you had
before you started-"
	He cuffed her again, and she stumbled back and fell down.  "Shut the
fuck up, Ukyou.  You think I can't tell it's you?  You HAD your chance to talk
to me.  I'm talking to HIM."  He glared down, feeling the anger build.  "You.
You goddamn little son of a BITCH.  Everything I've done for you, every time
I've supported you, every person I've defended you to... and you spit it back
in my face the first chance you get.  Did you have a good laugh about it?  You
always liked that, making people suffer, right?  That's what you always said."
He clenched his fist, and shooed away the itching again.  "Well,
congratulations, Aaron.  You win.  And here's your prize."
	"And maybe I deserve it," Aaron said.  It was definitely him; that
apathetic, uncaring, slightly mocking tone was oh too familiar.  "So what
happens next, Chris?  Do you just keep beating me until I'm dead?"
	As if he was even HURT.  He wasn't even trying to dodge!  "Funny.  But
not very."  He stepped over to it, and saw it flinch just a little.  He smiled.
"Kill you?  Maybe I should.  I mean, this is cathartic and all, but really, your
assholishness isn't the real problem here, is it?  Or maybe it is.  But it's
assholishness on a whole different level than you've showed me."
	"Chris, listen to yourself.  You're not even making sense.  You're sick.
You need help.  You need-"
	He wasn't even trying to sound sympathetic.  What, did Aaron think he
was an idiot?  He kicked his arm out from under him, which he apparently didn't
expect, and Ukyou's body flopped satisfyingly.  "Shut up.  Do you know how I
figured out it was you?"
	It paused for a moment, then said "No," in Aaron's cold tones.
	"It was a coincidence, really.  I was actually going to ask for your
help.  But Rei doesn't like you.  She told me about the prophecy.  And I asked
myself, no matter how much of a bitch she was, no matter how much she twisted
and used people for her own selfish ends, WHY on earth would Ukyou Kuonji want
to end all existence?"  It didn't have a reply to that.  But, of course, what
could either of them say?  "And then it came to me.  Do you remember the talk,
Aaron?  At Rob's?  Do you remember when we discussed what we'd wish for?"
	"Wishes?" Aaron said.  Then he looked up, Ukyou's eyes widening.
"Wishes?  That was just idle talk!"
	Chris smiled.  "No, I don't think so.  I think you took it very
seriously.  Too seriously."  He jerked it to its feet, since it couldn't be
bothered to do so and he wanted to look Aaron in the eyes.  "It made perfect
sense.  Ukyou would never destroy everything, never destroy this beautiful
world.  Why would she?  It was HER world.  It was what she knew!  It wasn't, to
her, a world that... 'shouldn't exist'.  She'd never take all the wishes away."
He held it up to his face, nose to nose, smiled as it flinched backwards.  "You
would.  YOU would, Aaron.  But I won't let you.  You'll never take the wishes
away from everyone.  I'm going to stop you.  Right here and now, if I have to."
	"Chris," it said, and it was Aaron again.  "You have to listen to me.
Even if you hate me, even if you think I am going to destroy the world, you have
to listen to just this: there is something inside of you.  A power that isn't of
this world.  And it's destroying you, piece by piece."
	Chris laughed.  "Welcome to last month, Aaron.  What, did Cologne tell
you about the Third Circle too?  I KNOW why my bodies rot.  But it hardly
matters now, does it?"
	"No, listen, not your bodies, it's destroying-"
	He shoved Aaron back into the wall.  He wanted to smash that glib little
mouth in.  But not yet.  In a moment.  He wasn't finished talking.  "No, YOU
listen.  I'm not going to kill you... at least not right now.  Why?  Because now
you know.  You know I'm going to stop you.  And I'm stronger than you.  I beat
you when I was Kodachi, and I'll beat you here when I'm Sentarou.  And do you
know why?  Because I WANT it more.  Because I want to be able to save this
world.  Save it from people like Susano-oh, and Queen Beryl, and Arkanphel...
and you." He smiled to himself.  It seemed so obvious now.  "Because that's why
I'm HERE.  A very wise person told me that things like me don't just happen by
accident.  And she was right.  I have a PURPOSE.  This world is going to tear
itself apart.  Unless I stop it.  And I can.  I have the knowledge, I have the
power, and most importantly, I have the will."
	He dropped Ukyou-Aaron, and stepped back.  The sun was shining down, and
he looked directly into it.  It felt good.  "I won't let what you promised
happen.  All the happy endings CAN still come true.  Everybody who wants to
dream can have it."  He looked down into Aaron's eyes.  "And do you know why?
Because I BELIEVE.  I believe in the perfect possible future."  He held up one
hand, clenched it.  "And I can bring it about.  That's what I'm here to do."
	Ukyou stood up straight, pushing off the wall, her fists finally
clenched.  She looked down at the ground, and Chris... FELT something.  It was
like a tuning fork, vibrating in time to something inside her.  Something
alien... something Other... and something oh so familiar.
	Of course!  Aaron had the Third Circle too.  Of course he did.  He WAS
Other.  Just like Chris.  That was the power.  The power they had, that could
destroy the world... or save it.  All that mattered was intent.
	It was still dormant, but he could feel Aaron reaching for it.  For
their last gasp.  It looked like there was no way out of this but for them to
fight it out.  Aaron just hated it too much.  Hated this freedom he considered
so wrong.
	Well, too bad.
	He raised his hand, and a baton slipped into it.  Spikes extended,
covered with glistening death.
	No paralysis this time.
	No rematch.
	It was time to get serious.
	Ukyou was still standing there, waiting for him to make the first move.
She hadn't drawn out the power yet.  Well, he wasn't waiting for them to get
ready.  He lunged forward and-
	And his arm was being held back.  Chris blinked.  What?
	Hey, it was Ryouga.  Standing there, holding his arm, looking grim-
faced.
	Where had Ryouga come from?  How hadn't Chris noticed him?
	"This fight is over."  Ryouga's voice was much colder than Chris had
ever thought it could get.

*

	"This fight is over," Ryouga informed the monster, his voice filled with
cold rage. The thing blinked at him, its eyes widening slightly. But Ryouga
didn't give it a chance to recover. He brought his free hand up with all the
force he could muster, and did his level best to take its head off.
	There was a sick ripping sound, and a crash, blended seamlessly into a
single sound. Ryouga watched as the thing fell through the hole the force of his
punch created for it in the wall. Ryouga then realized he was still holding the
thing's arm. He dropped it with a soft retch.
	He glanced over at the young woman standing opposite him. Was this
really Ukyou? First off, she was a she. That was new. But more importantly, she
was barely recognisable. Her face was covered in bruises and welts. Blood was
smeared across her features from a dozen small cuts. Her hair was matted with
it. A red welt encircled her neck, and her sopping wet clothes did nothing to
hide the bruises and cuts that covered her torso. Normally, Ryouga suspected he
would have passed out at the sight of her cleavage, but either the ruin that was
her body, or his own recent experiences gave him the strength to resist that.
	Barely.
	More importantly, Ukyou was almost dead. He was no doctor, but he had
seen enough battlefield injuries to know the signs. He guessed some or all of
her ribs were broken, and probably one of her arms as well. One of her legs
wasn't doing as much to support her as the other. Yes, Ryouga knew the signs.
One more attack... and Ukyou would be dead.
	Sometimes, deep down inside where he refused to admit it to himself,
Ryouga hated what Nabiki asked him to do. Like this afternoon. He hadn't wanted
to slaughter those monsters. But he had tried to turn off his emotions and obey.
	He owed it to Nabiki. He owed her everything.
	But this time, he was more than glad to step in. This time, he would be
saving a life. He glanced to the side, where he could see a man cradling his
wife? daughter? lover? It was hard to tell. But from the look of her she also
needed a doctor, and soon. This time he would save two lives.
	"Are you alright?" Ryouga said to Ukyou.
	"I..." Ukyou stumbled back and slumped against the wall. "I don't
know..."
	"Can you walk?" Ryouga asked insistently. "I don't think this house can
stay up much longer." As if to emphasize his words, the structure creaked
ominously. "I have to get them out of here..." Ryouga ran over and pulled the
man away from the injured woman. The man tried to fight Ryouga, but the young
boy simply overpowered him and then scooped up the woman in his arms. He didn't
like the way she was bleeding, but there was no help for it.
	"Yes, I can walk..." he heard Ukyou say. He nodded and dashed out the
way he had come. Then he felt something ping off the back of his head and
stopped. "This way, Ryouga." Ukyou said, gesturing out a hole through which the
street could be seen.
	"Right."
	Ryouga leapt free of the building, Ukyou stumbling after him. Once they
were on the street, Ryouga put down the woman and released the man. Now that he
was clear, he could hear the sounds of sirens growing closer. The police would
be here soon.
	"Where is the zombie?"
	Ryouga looked up as Nabiki stepped up to him. She crossed her arms and
stared down at him.
	"I knocked it away," Ryouga explained.
	"Good, now..." Nabiki turned to look at Ukyou. Then she paused. Ukyou
looked up at her through eyes half-closed by swelling. The young woman was
leaning against a utility pole, obviously all but out of it. Nabiki stared at
her, gape-mouthed. Ryouga watched her step lightly over to Ukyou. Then he
watched Nabiki lean down over Ukyou. Then he watched Nabiki fondle Ukyou's left
breast.
	He slapped his hand over his nose.
	"Do you do that to everybody?" Ukyou asked flatly.
	"You're a girl!" Nabiki accused.
	"Indeed." Ukyou grimaced. "That hurts. Please stop."
	Nabiki pulled her hand away as if burned.
	Ryouga spun as a crash and roar echoed up from down the street. He
stared as a fire hydrant arced into the air atop a geyser of water. With a
single motion he snapped his umbrella over his head, deflecting what few drops
came near him.
	A fraction of a second later, Ryouga's eyes flicked to the side as a
glob of water sailed past his left cheek. Then one hit at his feet. Cursing, he
jumped back, using the umbrella as a shield. He felt a dozen water balls pelt
off the bamboo in a matter of seconds.
	"Ryouga," a distorted voice echoed up from down the street. "I like you
and all... but mind your own business."
	"Fat chance," Ryouga shouted back.
	"Ryouga," Nabiki said stiffly. He glanced up at her. "Don't talk back to
him, okay. I do the talking here." Nabiki shifted to look down the street. "Hey,
whoever you are. I'm not sure what your problem is with Ukyou, but he... she
and I have a little unfinished business to discuss first. So why don't you come
back later?"
	Ryouga heard the response before Nabiki did. He was familiar with the
buzz of projectiles flashing through the air. With a snarl he stepped up,
placing himself and his umbrella between Nabiki and the attack. He felt
something much stronger than water bounce off the bamboo this time.
	Behind him, he heard a clack of metal on metal.
	He looked back, and saw the long metal arm of the lamppole plummeting to
the ground. Nabiki was standing directly beneath it, oblivious to her danger.
Not on his watch. With a growl he leapt back and spun sideways, catching the
pole with a kick that sent it spiraling off harmlessly into the middle of the
street. He landed facing Nabiki and grabbed her shoulders.
	"Are you okay?"
	"Look out, you..." Nabiki began, but cut off as Ryouga felt something
smack into his back. He blinked and reached around, brushing at his shirt. There
were a few tiny holes in it, and he thought he felt a little bit of blood. But
not really much at all. He looked back over his shoulder.
	"Uh, I should let you know," Ryouga said. "I'm basically
invulnerable..." he trailed off slightly. His back was burning slightly. Huh. He
shrugged it off and turned around again.
	"Ahhh, the Bakusai Tenketsu," the thing said, its distorted voice
partially drowned out by the geyser of water it was hiding behind. "Just to let
you know, Ryouga? Tough and invulnerable are not synonyms."
	"Heh." Ryouga moved his umbrella in front of him again. His back was
really burning now. It felt worse than when he had woken up two mornings ago and
realized he was still in that damn harness.
	And still being hit by rocks, too. Nabiki, apparently, did not believe
in 'rest breaks' for training.
	But by now, Ryouga was hardly able to concentrate, the pain had grown so
intense. His eyes began to water, and he blinked them rapidly, trying to see or
sense where the undead thing's next attack was going to come from. But it
appeared content to wait. Ryouga stepped sideways, as the pain began to creep
down his leg. He felt dizzy. He used his free arm to wipe the sweat from his
brow.
	"Ryouga?" Nabiki said, sounding annoyed.
	Ryouga wanted to respond, but couldn't seem to find the strength. His
leg suddenly gave out, and he fell to one knee.
	"RYOUGA!" Nabiki shouted, sounding concerned now. Funny. He could still
hear fine, even if his eyes had gone blurry. He could feel her grabbing onto his
shoulders and trying to support his weight. He realized he was going to topple
onto her at this rate. Moaning, he pushed Nabiki away from him. She made an
indignant noise as she stumbled back. Then he allowed himself to collapse to the
pavement.
	Ryouga heard the soft clap of footsteps as the figure began to approach
them at a gentle pace. "He'll probably live," the creature began. "I don't know
you what you have over him, Nabiki, but you should know better than to play with
the big boys."
	"Who are you?" Nabiki snapped in an agitated voice. "How do you know
me?"
	The creature laughed, a hideous liquid sound. "We've met before. I have
been Sheila, Roger, Greg, Takashita, Kodachi, and now Sentarou. You can call me
Chris." The creature chuckled and its footsteps stopped only a half meter away
from Ryouga. Which put it dangerously close to Nabiki.
	"Chris?" Nabiki said softly. "Wait, Kodachi..." There was a hesitant
step backward from Nabiki's position. "You're... the thing that attacked Ukyou
and... Ranma?"
	"That beat them, actually," the Chris-thing noted. "Last time we met, I
believe I left you bawling like a little girl." Then the thing's voice became
hard and dangerous. "Now. Get out of here. Before I do it again."
	Ryouga heard Nabiki choke. He felt his hands sink into the pavement. His
fingers dug small tracks in the rock underneath. He closed his eyes and grit his
teeth.
	No.
	No one would hurt Nabiki.
	Not ever again.
	Not while he was alive!
	"GET AWAY FROM HER!"
	The first thing Ryouga saw was Chris spinning on him in surprise. Then
his fist was burying itself in its chest. Almost literally, as the chest caved
in and it went flying across the street. Ryouga watched as the thing flew, its
ribs and sternum compressed inward like a pothole in his torso.
	Ryouga stepped forward. He felt the ground crack around his foot. He
held up his arms, and vaguely realized he was glowing bright green. The thing
was rising to a sitting position, not even stunned by Ryouga's strike. Ryouga
growled and bared his teeth.
	"Damn, must not have gotten as big a dose as I thought," Chris said in a
serious tone.
	"I guess not," Nabiki said in a sing-song tone. "Hurt him, Ryouga." She
paused. "Make him cry... 'like a bawling little girl' was his turn of phrase?"
	Ryouga dashed forward. The zombie shifted and blurred sideways,
appearing not even to move its feet. Ryouga spun, kicking into the ground with
enough force to create a small crater, and dashed after the retreating figure.
His world had narrowed down to a small green tunnel with only one thing on the
other end, the thing that had to be HURT.
	Then Ryouga paused, he saw the thing vanish backward through a blue
spray. Oh wait, the waterspout. It was about then that Ryouga remembered he had
dropped his umbrella a little while back.
	He kicked to the side, trying to put distance between him and the water.
Chris, however, was not about to let him. It had pulled a small ladle out and
was flicking it through the water as fast as it could with its one arm. Ryouga
managed to dodge the first three water bullets, but had no hope of dodging the
next five. He roared in impotent rage as they smashed and washed over him.
	Ryouga landed, bracing himself and closing his eyes. He reached up and
wiped the water from his face... wait, face?
	"Ryouga!" Nabiki yelled from down the street. "You idiot! Remember, we
used the soap earlier?"
	"Oh..." Ryouga blinked. "Right." He turned on the startled zombie. It
was just sort of staring at Nabiki. Somehow, this thing knew about Ryouga's
secret weakness... but not about the waterproofing soap Nabiki had purchased
from Jyusenkyou Magical Springs Products to counter just that.
	"How does she know about..." Chris said slowly, then trailed off into a
growl. "More of Ukyou's tricks!" It spun to face Ryouga. "Fine!" it hissed. "I'm
still ME! You could beat Sentarou, but I'm another story!"
	"Ryouga!" Ryouga turned his head and saw Ukyou staggering to her feet.
"Look out, he's about to..."
	Ryouga flicked his eyes back to the zombie. It was staring at him,
holding its fist next to his neck. A small broken teaspoon was in its hand.
Ryouga raised an eyebrow.
	"Oh..." it began, but Ryouga was sick of it talking. He grabbed it by
the shoulder and smashed it into the ground. Then he stepped down HARD on its
shattered chest cavity, almost putting his foot through. The creature didn't
pause, continuing to flail at him with an increasingly bizarre array of
weaponry. Ryouga recognized some martial arts rhythmic gymnastic stuff, and tea
ceremony stuff, but decided to cut it off before it could get much further. He
whipped off his belt, hardened it with a flick of his wrists, and set about the
grim work of removing its limbs one by one, starting with the legs.
	He flicked the gore off the belt, grimacing at the thing. It tried to
knock the belt-sword out of his hand, but he just poured on the strength and cut
straight through its block.
	"No, no! NO! You can't defeat me! You CAN'T!"
	Ryouga didn't reply and grimly raised the belt-sword. If decapitation
didn't work, then he would have to resort to more extreme methods. With an
inarticulate howl of rage the creature flicked its stump of an arm, sending a
spray of gore at him. Ryouga flinched back, preventing it from getting in his
face. Ryouga slipped back, and when he looked down the thing was crawling like a
worm away from him. Of course, his foot was still on a part of it.
	"I won't die like this! I! Have! A DESTINY!"
	"Sorry," Ryouga grunted and stepped forward, preparing to finish it off.
Then he saw a form slide between them. He glanced up.
	"No, Ryouga, leave him be," Ukyou said, holding her arms out to her
side. She was wobbling slightly.
	"What?" Ryouga blinked. "Are you serious?" he roared.
	"Indeed," Ukyou said in a voice like ice.
	"But that thing was trying to kill you!" Ryouga pointed behind her.
Chris was very slowly getting away. "It's a monster!"
	"No!" Ukyou shouted. "It's a human being! A scarred and damaged human
being. But he can be saved." Ukyou's voice suddenly went so low Ryouga had
trouble hearing her. "He has to be able to be saved..."
	"No, Ukyou," Ryouga growled. "I don't care. It's a menace. All the
people of this neighbourhood..." He trailed off. "I won't forgive it!"
	Ryouga began to step around her. Ukyou tried to intercept him, but moved
far too slow-
	"RYOUGA!"
	Ryouga snapped his eyes over to Nabiki, who had wandered over. "Let it
go," she said, smiling.
	"I..." Ryouga sighed. "Yes, Nabiki."
	Ukyou cast a sharp glance at Nabiki, but then nodded in thanks.
	"Just remember, Ukyou," Nabiki said, raising one finger. "You owe me."
Ukyou just raised an eyebrow. "Now let's get out of here before the police show
up."
	Ryouga took a moment to realize this was directed at him. He grinned
sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, then picked her up and leapt away.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ukyou turning back towards Chris.

*

	"Faster, over!" Pink shouted at her mount.
	Shampoo, with some difficulty, managed to give her a glare.  "If I
weren't carrying your fat asses and this stupid corpse, I could move a LOT
faster... 'mistress'."
	Pink glared right back.  "And I gave you an order, so obey your order
and move FASTER, over!"
	Shampoo growled something inarticulate, but her legs did pump a bit more
quickly as they leaped from building to building.
	Link was looking backwards.  "I think we're leaving the police behind,"
she observed.  "They're about three blocks back now, over."
	"Good, over," Pink grunted.  Stupid nosy Japanese police.  What business
of THEIRS was it whose body they were dragging through Tokyo?  Adon wasn't even
Japanese!  It was a good thing Shampoo had been sent by her slightly-less-
annoying-today old bat of a great-grandmother to fetch them; Pink was a LITTLE
concerned about the sheer number of armed officers that had been surrounding
them at that point.
	She was also concerned about what was ahead.  The police they saw were
no longer just the ones chasing them, but appeared to be in fact most of the
city's population of cops. Not to mention the significant contingent of Japanese
Self-Defence Force troopers that were swarming in.  But they were being pretty
cautious in their approach, so Shampoo was easily putting distance between them.
	The reason for the uproar was obvious, now - the whole block looked like
a disaster area.  Pink was impressed despite herself.  Even Shampoo couldn't
have done that much damage.  At least not very quickly.
	Pretty much everyone had fled the area, seemingly, except for some of
the wounded and possibly dead.  Pink dismissed them.  There'd be someone
fighting.  Another body in the street-
	Wait, that body was moving!  And considering what was left of it, it
shouldn't have been...
	"Wait!" she shouted at her mount and pointed.  "Over there, over!"
	As Shampoo grunted and changed directions, Pink noticed there was
another girl near Chris's remains - man, he was in bad shape, even compared to
what Pink had expected. Looked like they were just in time.  Hey, the other girl
was looking in their direction.
	She looked like crap too.  Slightly less so than Chris, but not by as
much as you'd expect, given that she was presumably still alive.  She definitely
wasn't a threat, Pink concluded after a moment of expertly sizing up the girl's
extensive injuries.  But who was she?
	Shampoo landed, and Pink lightly hopped off her shoulder.
	"Pink," the girl said, slowly.  It wasn't friendly-sounding.
	Pink quirked an eyebrow.  She definitely didn't know this person.  She
didn't recognise her from Chris's journals, either... but, then, at this point,
the girl's own mother probably couldn't recognise her.
	Behind her, Link also got down, followed by a thump as Shampoo dumped
the (stolen) travel bag that was now hiding Adon's remains.  Well, except for
his legs - stupid kickboxer was too tall, so they were sort of dangling out the
top.  But that had annoyed Shampoo even more than carrying him had, so it was
all good.
	Chris was thrashing on the ground.  He was shrieking and gurgling and
seemed, well, pretty much upset and deranged.  He was smashing his head against
the ground, thrashing around with the one stump of an arm that appeared to be
his only remaining limb.  Something disgusting was oozing out his ears.
	Pink heard her sister's retch and Shampoo's quick backsteps.  The girl
glanced at Adon's body, but said nothing.  Pink smiled, and walked right past
her, towards Chris.  A toe flipped his body over, and she saw the dead man stare
wildly at her from his sunken eyesockets.  Chris gibbered incoherently, his
stump waving at her.
	Pink grinned.  They were indeed just in time, it seemed.  "Poor, poor,
Chris," she said aloud.  "You just go to pieces whenever I'm not around, over."
	Chris gurgled, but Pink ignored him for the moment.  Turning, she
snapped her fingers.  Shampoo, holding a hand over her nose to ward off the
stench, saw the gesture and nodded.  She tore open the bag, revealing the body.
	The strange injured girl slapped her forehead, muttering "Adon," to
herself.  Innnteresting.  The girl was another Street Fighter character?  Not
one Pink knew of.  Well, she'd deal with her in a moment.
	Pink turned back to Chris, and gestured.  His eyes locked on her as she
moved, and she directed his attention to the body Shampoo dropped next to him.
For a moment, he fell silent, then the entire remains of Sentarou's body LUNGED,
and his spirit apparently lunged with it.  Instantly, Adon's body jerked to
(un-) life, its eyes shooting open and then closed again.  The huge martial
artist curled into the fetal position, wrapping his arms protectively around
itself.  Chris's shoulders quivered, and he shook and sobbed and made small
inarticulate infant noises.
	Well, he'd be all right.  Pink turned back towards the strange girl, who
had walked a bit away to sit down.  "Link, Shampoo," she called out, "Go delay
the police until Chris has a chance to recover, over."
	Link looked at her for a long moment, but Pink met her gaze stonily.
Link had won one today.  She realised that, and nodded and headed off with
Shampoo.
	Leaving Pink alone with the girl.  Well, and Chris, but he hardly
counted right now.  She stepped towards her.  "Hello there.  You know me, but I
don't know your name, over."
	"You're right, you don't," the girl replied flatly.
	Pink stepped towards her.  She almost fingered for something in a pouch,
but... not yet.  She was curious.  "So, who are you, over?"
	"Ukyou Kuonji," came the response.
	Now Pink was really curious.  She knew of Ukyou, of course.  But only
because she had been mentioned repeatedly in Chris's Ranma 1/2 journal.
Mentioned in stories, mentioned in biographies of others.  Even her fighting
techniques had been examined.
	But unlike seemingly every other character from that comic book, Chris
had said nothing about the character Ukyou Kuonji.  Pink wanted to know why
then, and now that the girl was before her, she wanted to know even more.
Especially since she and Chris had been fighting... and the girl had apparently
won.
	"I've heard of you," Pink smiled.  "But how have you heard of me, over?"
	"I've read unflattering things about you," Ukyou said icily, staring her
down with her cold grey eyes.
	Read...
	Of COURSE.
	"You're like HIM," Pink said triumphantly.  "You're from the other
world, aren't you?"
	There was a long pause before the next reply.  "Something like that."
	Pink stepped even closer to her, looking her up and down.  The girl
didn't flinch.  "But you're not dead.  How very curious.  I thought there'd be
more of you, but that they'd be like him, over."
	"If you want more details, ask Chris when he recovers," Ukyou said
shortly.
	Pink glanced at Chris, who was still huddled up, then looked back and
smiled slowly.  "So.  You're like Chris, but alive.  That's a good trick.  How'd
you'd avoid your power making the body rot away, over?"
	Ukyou frowned, obviously thinking.  "Using my power DOES cause my body
to rot away.  So I don't use it... all the time, or at all anymore."  The girl
adjusted her position, wincing slightly, and looked seriously at Pink.  "You're
Chris's... friend, aren't you?  By some definition of the term?"
	Pink grinned.  "Sure I am.  I like him a lot, over."
	"You would," Ukyou muttered.  "I don't have much hope that this is going
to change things, but I have to try, so... the power.  This 'Third Circle'
stuff, as Chris calls it.  It rots his body... but it also rots his mind.  You
have to find some way for him to continue 'living' without relying on it,
because otherwise he's going to go insane.  And I know, you might think you want
that, but when he's torturing you to death, you'll probably have second
thoughts."
	Pink paused, then glanced over at Chris.  He was still muttering softly
to himself, still shaking.  Obviously not listening.  Then she looked at Ukyou,
and broke out the smile she reserved for special occasions.  "Live without
relying on it, over?  That's impossible, silly otherworlder.  EVERYTHING Chris
does uses it.  Walking.  Talking.  Thinking.  We've been observing the effects
for weeks.  He can't escape it... except by replacing the body.  It's like a
buffer, you see.  He'll be feeling a LOT better, now, over."
	"I was afraid you'd say that," Ukyou said in a slightly despondent tone,
then turned her eyes back up to Pink.  "But there's one problem with your
argument: I'm just like Chris, and I don't have to rely on it."
	"Are you, over?" Pink chuckled.  She stepped until there was only a
hair's-breadth of distance between them.  "You're ALIVE.  I feel it.  You're
nothing like him.  You don't use the power, because you don't have to, over."
She smiled, and raised a hand to touch Ukyou's throat, feeling the beat of the
pulse there.  Silently, Pink willed the girl to step back, to flinch, to swallow
nervously.  After all, she knew Pink could kill her in a second if she chose.
	But the damn woman didn't move.  Her cold grey eyes could have been
staring at a smudge on the wall, for all the reaction she gave.  Pink tried to
match her gaze, but there was something... there... something unrelenting about
those eyes boring into her that even Chris's dead ones didn't match.
	She found herself several feet away and still backing up before she
stopped.  She snarled something almost Link-worthy under her breath.  What
reason did she have to back off?  She had all the power in this situation.
	She was in CONTROL.
	"You think you've got everything figured out.  But this reality isn't
just what you read about.  You don't know things as well as you think you do,
over."
	"I figured that out the hard way," Ukyou replied with a slightly
sardonic tone.  Her eyes were still boring into Pink, daring her to do
something.  "I suggest you take your own advice.  Don't begin to think that just
because you know what happened in a comic book, that you can get away with
whatever you want in this world."
	Pink felt her smile fraying.  "Don't get smart with me.  You know what I
could do to you, over." She looked around theatrically.  "Nobody could stop me.
No friends will help you.  You're completely at my mercy, over."  Beg, she
silently sneered at the girl.  Beg just a minor character like me for your life,
you high and mighty traveller from the 'real world'.
	Ukyou had the nerve to not even blink.  "I'm not afraid to die right
now.  Perhaps you'd be doing the world a favour.  But what you should ask
yourself is if you're prepared to deal with the consequences."
	A jolt of pain shot up Pink's toe as she kicked Ukyou in the gut.  But
the reaction was satisfying - the girl doubled over, gasping for breath.  As
Pink leaned over the helpless martial artist, she palmed a special little
something from her pouches.  "Well, Ukyou, I think the real question is: do you
want to deal with the consequences of continuing to annoy me, over?"
	That was when Ukyou looked up and smiled. SMILED!  Clutching her gut,
she once again met Pink's gaze.  Her eyes were no longer flat, but were filled
with a sort of almost manic intensity. "You're going to do whatever you want
anyway.  It doesn't matter what I do.  So get it over with, because I'm tired of
listening to you try to intimidate me."
	Pink inhaled once, then let it out slowly.  "I told you not to make
assumptions, over."  Grabbing a handful of hair, she jerked Ukyou's face up.
"You think if you live you'll just walk - well, maybe crawl - away from here and
ignore what I said.  You think this means nothing.  You still think of me like
I'm just a bit role in a story.  Well, you're wrong.  You're going to remember
me.  Every day for the rest of your life, you'll remember you met me, over."
	Ukyou probably wanted to make another clever comment, but Pink cut that
off by hurling the powder she had palmed in her eyes.  The sound of Ukyou's cry
of pain and her falling over were immensely satisfying.  "That's the Eyes of the
Black Lotus," Pink explained in a calm tone as Ukyou writhed.  "Made from the
nearly-mythical plant, as well as a few extra ingredients.  Don't worry," she
sneered, "it won't do any permanent... damage, over."
	Pink continued watching Ukyou twitch and moan in pain until it got
boring, at which point she walked over and kicked the still-huddled Chris in the
thigh.  "Stop sulking.  We've got to get out of here, over."
	Chris's head snapped up, the spike's of Adon's fiery hair flapping up
and down comically.  "Pink?"
	"Who else, over?" she smiled.
	Chris rose to his feet and looked down at his new form.  "Adon..." he
said softly.
	"You'll have to forgive me for getting ahead of things," Pink said
smoothly, "but I guessed you'd need this, over."
	Chris looked at her, his eyes blank as always.  "You did... of course
you did," he sighed.  "Never mind.  It'll do.  Thank you."
	Pink smiled at him, and patted him on the back, since Adon was too
stupidly tall to pat on the head.  "You're welcome.  Now, police are coming from
everywhere, so we should get out of here, over."
	"Police?" Chris repeated.  "But why..." He looked around, and Pink heard
a sharp intake of unnecessary breath.  "All this damage..."
	"Yeah," Ukyou said sardonically.  "It's impressive, the property damage
you can inflict when you put your mind to it, Chris.  Or, more accurately, when
you don't notice anything but me."
	Chris spun as if burned, and glanced at Ukyou for a moment before
turning sharply away.  The girl had gotten back to her knees, and was still
holding one hand over her eyes, wiping away the last of the powder.  Her mouth
was a thin, tight line, but she no longer seemed to be in much pain.  Pink
clucked to herself.  She'd have to readjust the formula.
	When Chris spoke, it was soft and measured. "I don't even remember much
of what happened after I saw you.  But I remember enough."  He stared down at
his body, and then his eyes flickered to the desiccated remains of Sentarou.
	"Chris, since you seem to be a bit more rational now-" Ukyou began.
	"Then you should realise we have to get out of here, over," Pink
finished smoothly for her.  No need for Ukyou to scare the poor thing.
	"Yes," Chris said slowly.  "Yes, we should."  He gazed around the
battlefield again, his eyes lingering on everything but Ukyou, whom he still
refused to look at.  "This is over for today.  But it isn't over between us.
I'll be watching for what you do.  Hopefully we'll never have to meet again."
He turned away. "Let's go."
	"Chris!" Ukyou shouted as he began to move away.  "Stop!  Listen to me
for just one second!"
	He didn't turn around; his voice was sharp, almost but not completely
hiding the edge of bitterness.  "You had your chance to talk to me."
	Ukyou almost looked like she was going to say something else, but then
her arm lowered, and her face became an expressionless mask.  "Goodbye."
	Chris just kept walking away.  Pink looked at Ukyou, and even though the
woman couldn't see her just yet, she smiled that special, secret smile at her.
	"Goodbye, Ukyou, over."

*

	"Minako!"
	Artemis was frozen. The car beneath him was warm, uncomfortably so. The
flames behind him were licking along the street almost at his heels. London was
a burning hell, and yet he stood frozen.
	The building in front of him wasn't intimidating. Even for a small cat,
it would have appeared almost humble. It was a simple two-story home in an
affluent section of the old city. He knew it well. Over the year spent living
here with his young ward, he had grown to love the place. He loved the smell of
Mrs. Aino's cooking that never seemed to leave the kitchen. He loved the soft
spot on the carpet near the TV where the family gathered for an hour or two each
night. He loved the people inside it.
	The door was hanging ajar. Bullet holes traced a rough line across the
front. One window was shattered.
	'Stay here, Artemis,' had been what she had said to him. She had been
frozen like him. Frozen in front of the shattered home. Then she had stepped
past him, her skirt swishing softly, and disappeared into the building.
	They never should have left. It had been foolish. But Minako was a hero.
She heard about the attacks on TV, saw the enormous zeppelins floating above
London. She had rushed off without hesitation, and he had rushed off with her.
	They had found an enemy Minako could not hope to defeat. Vampires. A
legion of vampires. A hundred, a thousand of them... dropping from the skies.
Armed with weapons that Artemis barely recognized, and clad in the symbols of a
regime that should have been scoured from the face of the Earth fifty years ago.
	Minako could kill them. Her holy golden light could pierce their hearts
and reduce them to dust. But there had been so many. They attacked in squads.
They threw grenades and used cover fire. Minako had been fighting a running
retreat ever since she had first announced herself. Artemis' side still hurt
from where a bullet had skimmed him when he had knocked her out of the way of
the machine gun fire.
	Then he realized that the vampires were destroying everything in their
path. Everything underneath those immense black airships erupted into flame and
chaos. He had realized that Minako's home was right in the path of those ships.
	Minako had vanished into the home almost five minutes ago. Four minutes
ago she had screamed. Artemis would have run to her. His mind told him that she
was in danger. But that scream... it had frozen him to the spot. Minako had
screamed for almost thirty seconds. Then he had heard her firing. And firing. He
had seen the lances of holy light tearing through the side of the house and
disappearing into the sky. Then silence.
	"Minako!"
	No response.
	Artemis gulped. He sprang from the toppled car. He landed lightly on his
paws and crept up to the doorway. His sensitive nose retreated from the nasty
smell inside. It was the smell of death. But he forced himself to keep walking.
He could hear her now. Hear her crying. She was alive. She needed him. He had
been too frozen by the horror to run to her, but he could at least creep up to
her.
	He found her in the living room. The place was a ruin. One wall had been
completely torn out, by either Minako's attacks or some other tragedy. She was
curled on the floor, fetal and sobbing. There wasn't a scratch on her. His eyes
drifted along the floor away from her...
	He didn't want to see it. But there it was. Two piles of dust, swirling
in the wind. Each almost touching her. They must have almost reached her when
some instinct took over and she started firing.
	"Oh, Minako... no.... no... I'm sorry..."
	Minako didn't hear him. She continued crying, the broken, hitching sobs
of sorrow and horror. Artemis pawed over to her. He wished he was human. He
wished he could wrap her up in his arms. He wished he could brush her tears away
with human fingers and draw her to him. He wanted to protect her. To seal her
away from the harsh world. It was the first time he had ever wished to be human.
	He placed a small white paw on her thigh. It was so small. She was so
big.
	"I'm here... Minako, it will be okay..."
	"No..." Minako said harshly. Her head lifted up and she stared down at
him. Her voice was cracking and hoarse. Her opera mask had fallen away
somewhere. Her eyes were unfocused and covered in liquid sheen. Her face was an
ugly mess from crying. "No... it won't be okay... they..."
	"Minako, we have to get out of here. The monsters are coming..."
	"THE MONSTERS TOOK THEM!" Minako roared. "They took my parents and made
me kill them!"
	"Oh, god... Minako, don't think that..."
	Artemis had seen the abominations. The victims of the vampires, those
they didn't shoot to death or tear apart with their bare hands. They rose and
walked and stumbled with hungry maws into the living. They weren't human
anymore. They couldn't be.
	"We have to destroy them..." Minako said slowly. Her voice was beginning
to sound less harsh now. The sobbing was beginning to trail off. "They can't get
away with this, Artemis."
	"We have to concentrate on getting out of here first..."
	"I can't do it alone..." Minako said. Her voice was drifting now. Her
expression was far away. "I'm going to need help."
	"Minako," Artemis pressed more firmly with his small cat's paw. He was
afraid for Minako now. Afraid in an entirely different way.
	"Get the others," Minako said, her voice still strangely absent. She was
talking in the musing way of a child conjuring fairy tales on a cloudy
afternoon. Talking like someone planning a picnic on a rainy day. "Sailor Moon.
The Moon Princess. The person we came here to protect. She and the others. We
have to do it together, Artemis. There are a thousand vampires out there, and we
have to kill every single one of them."
	"Minako, we can talk about this later..."
	But Minako wasn't listening. She was standing up now. Her wrist was
wiping away the tears in her eyes. Her eyes didn't seem to see anything that was
happening.
	"You have a way of talking to them. Go. Use it. Summon them here."
	"I..." Artemis looked up at her, and he realized argument was futile.
"It's... in the basement. I can contact Luna through there. You go upstairs,
pack some clothes. We need to get out of the city tonight."
	Minako nodded and strode away. Her Sailor V costume evaporated into
pink ribbons around her naked form for a moment, until she was clad in her
nightclothes again. Artemis said a silent prayer for her and then dashed
downstairs.
	To his surprise, Luna was already at the terminal. He had long ago used
his knowledge of the ancient Moon Kingdom to create a transmitter, one that
would send images to the nearest machine to Luna's spectral signal. He wondered
where Luna had found an out-of-the-way complex computer to receive the messages.
He guessed it didn't really matter.
	"Master Control!" The voice on the other end was frantic. There was no
picture of Luna, only the blank screen. The voice would have been inaudible to
human ears, but Artemis had advantages that humans did not. "Master Control,
respond please. This is an emergency!"
	"I'm here," Artemis said slowly as he stepped on the transmit button. An
image of Luna appeared on the screen. Like him, she was a small cat marked with
a golden crescent on her forehead. Only she was black where he was white. "What
is it?"
	"I need help! Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter have been kidnapped!
There are monsters called zoanoids attacking, and..."
	"Luna!" Artemis cut his old friend off. Even if he could barely remember
her, he knew he could trust her with anything. He flipped a switch, and the
usual projection would be replaced with his image on her screen.
	"Ar-Artemis?" Luna gasped, her voice partly shocked and partly relieved.
	"Luna, listen to me," Artemis said quickly. "I don't have much time." He
took a deep breath. "I have listened to you tell me about the other Sailor
Senshi, about the Moon Princess and about everything happening there. I know
things look grim... but you have to keep faith. You will prevail, somehow."
	"Artemis, you were Master Control all along?"
	"This is more important than that!" Artemis roared, and the cat on the
other end of the screen cringed back. "You have to survive without me for now.
Something terrible has happened, and this is the last order... no, this is the
last favor I can ask you."
	"Artemis?" Luna sounded concerned now.
	"Do NOT come to England!" he shouted.
	"What?"
	"London is in flames. Nazi vampires roam the streets. Everyone is
dying." He emphasized every sentence with a stamp of his paw. "Sailor Venus
almost died tonight. And even if the others came to help her, they would all
just die together!" Artemis ducked his head and spoke now in a strong, calm
voice. "We made a promise, a promise to someone I can't remember, but a promise
I plan to keep nonetheless. We will protect them. We MUST. You have to guide
them and keep them safe. One day, when Usagi has reunited the Ginzuisho, and is
fully matured into her power, she can come to this island and cleanse the
darkness from it. But until them, all she would accomplish is being eaten alive!
	"Luna. Keep the Sailor Senshi away from England, away from Europe.
Persuade them.  Trick them. Lie to them. Use whatever means you have to! But
they must NOT come here." He saw her about to protest, so he cut her off.
"Please. For me. For the Queen. And remember, I love you."
	He brought his paw down on the switch again, cutting off transmission.
	He slumped to the controls, exhausted.
	Luna would understand. She had to.
	Artemis' head snapped up as he heard the stairs creak behind him. He
turned around slowly. Minako was there. She was holding a daypack in one hand.
Her eyes bored into his. He knew instantly that she had heard every word.
	His only regret was that when she killed him, he wouldn't be there to
protect her.
	"Are you just going to sit there all night?" Minako said after a minute
of silence. "We have work to do." Artemis shivered. There was something gone
from Minako's voice. Something that had been there since the first day he had
met her. Something he had grown to love and hadn't even realized was there until
this moment, when he knew it was lost forever.
	"Didn't you hear what I..."
	"Of course I did." Minako turned around and slipped on her daypack. "You
were right. This place will eat them alive." She paused. "They're just little
girls."
	Then Minako climbed up the stairs and out of his sight.

*

	"Akane... I'm... I'm sorry... I..."
	"Doctor Tofu," Akane said and stopped. The line went silent for a few
minutes. Akane could hear the clatter as Tofu sat down suddenly. "I know it's a
big favor I'm asking, but we really need a place to go at the moment and I don't
know anyone else and-"
	"Akane," Doctor Tofu cut her off suddenly. "I really..." He sighed, the
sound becoming something distorted over the telephone line. "I want to help out.
But this is a little big for me, Akane."
	"It's... a little big," Akane said hollowly. She blinked. She wondered
who was chuckling, then realized it was her. "I guess you could say that. But...
I don't know what to do, Doctor-"
	"Akane!"
	The line went silent again.
	"Listen, I think that maybe you're a little too young for this kind of
thing, Akane." Tofu was beginning to sound calm and reasonable again. "These
girls, the Sailors? They sound like the kind of people this kind of situation
needs. But you're still a child, Akane. You shouldn't have to fight this kind of
battle. I know you gave your promise to help them, but you can't do that. Look
what happened to Ukyou. She got caught up in this-"
	"Thank you, Doctor." Akane hung up the phone. She stared down at the
receiver for a long moment. She simply couldn't think of anything else to do.
Yet, at the same time, she felt a burning need to do something. Anything. Action
had to be taken. Her friends, her family, the entire world was in danger, and
the longer they stayed here ignoring it, the closer everything got to the point
of no return.
	Why wasn't anyone doing anything? It was insane. Cologne was supposed to
be old and wise, but she was just sitting there on a rock, smoking a pipe and
chuckling as the people in the dojo spun around her in circles. Father was
arguing with Mr. Saotome, saying Ranma's father should go and 'rescue' his wife.
Mr. Tsukino kept saying that they had to contact some kind of authority, that
someone had to be responsible for fighting monsters other than his daughter. He
sounded a lot like Doctor Tofu. Rei was sitting in a corner, brooding.
	And Nabiki was gone. And Cologne had sent that girl Shampoo off to meet
some of Chris's friends. And Chris had vanished. Vanished looking for Ukyou. And
where was she? Where was Ranma?
	Akane walked back into the yard in a daze. She watched as everyone
continued bickering and shouting and not doing anything. Didn't they realize
that their lives were over? Akane did. She believed Chris. She hadn't before.
Not really. But then the monsters had attacked her home. Now she believed. She
knew they had to leave. After today, she would never see the Tendo Dojo again.
She knew that, and she had no idea what to do about it.
	Wasn't somebody supposed to have the answer here? Some adult?
	"Why aren't you people doing anything!"
	Everybody stopped. They were all staring at Akane now. She flushed.
	"And exactly what would you have them do, child?" Cologne rasped into
the silence. "They have no better idea how to handle this than you do. What in
their lives do you think has prepared them to deal with this?"
	"Then why aren't YOU doing anything?" Akane snapped, spinning to face
the old woman. "You're supposed to be wise, aren't you?"
	"I am doing something," Cologne smiled and took a long puff of her pipe.
"I'm thinking."
	"And that's doing us a LOT of good, isn't it!" Akane wasn't sure why she
was shouting. But it felt good to be shouting, so she continued. "Any minute
now, more of those monsters could show up and kill us all! We have to get out of
here!" Akane waved towards Usagi and Rei. "We have to find and rescue their
friends. We have to locate a safe place to hide for a few days, find some way to
slip out of the city without being noticed, set up new lives..." Akane trailed
off, the power behind her outburst fading as the enormity of the situation
reasserted herself.
	"Hmmm," Cologne said slowly. "I think you have put your fingers on
exactly what we have to do, child." The old crone nodded. "On the face of it,
your ideas are good ones. We should first get everyone here to a safe location.
Then deal with rescuing the others. Then we can deal with other matters."
	"It isn't that simple," Akane said, sighing. "I already tried to find a
safe place, and..."
	"Well then," Cologne said as Akane trailed off. "I think I can help with
that. As widespread as this 'Chronos' is, I doubt they know enough about me to
track my movements. Especially since I have... old friends that might be able to
hide a few families for a few days."
	Akane looked at the old woman for a long moment. "Why didn't you suggest
this earlier?"
	"Honestly?" Cologne shrugged. "It simply didn't occur to me." The old
woman waved her staff at the gathered families. "My concern, you must
understand, is solely with the safety of myself and my great grand-daughter. I
simply wasn't thinking much about your lives. But you are right, Akane. For now,
we are in this fight together and I will offer what assistance I can." The old
woman drew her pipe back to her lips, then paused. "After that, you are on
your own."
	Akane wasn't sure how to respond to that. Her father was, however.
	"We are not abandoning our ancestral home!" he thundered. Akane stepped
away from him as a dangerous aura radiated from his body. "Fourteen generations
of Tendos have spilled blood for this land and the honor of our name. I will not
crawl away into the shadows like a thief!"
	"And if you stay, then the fifteenth generation will get to spill its
blood for this land too. Which will be a great comfort to them in the afterlife,
I suppose." Rei sneered. "I will have to remember to say prayers to placate
their spirits whenever I am in the area."
	"That's too harsh, Rei," Usagi groaned.
	"It's the truth," Rei pointed out, crossing her arms.
	"Calm down, Tendo," Mr. Saotome said, cutting off her dad before he
could start another good rant. Ranma's father was the picture of collected
composure as he adjusted his glasses with one finger. "Remember, my old friend,
that this place will always be here. Someday, Ranma and Nabiki will return after
their years of exile. Stronger. Faster. Smarter. And they will reclaim this
land!" Genma clapped Akane's father on the shoulder and pointed off towards the
setting sun. "There will always be a Tendo Dojo! The strength of our children,
and our children's children, shall hold this sacred earth against all the
monsters of the world!"
	"You... you're right, Saotome!" Dad shouted, his eyes glittering with
tears. "Like Liu Bei at Chang Ban, we shall retreat for now, but like Liu Bei,
we shall have our Chi Bi!"
	"Huh?" Usagi blinked and rubbed the back of her head.
	Cologne chuckled. "Didn't Liu Bei die heartbroken, never having
fulfilled his dream of unifying China?"
	"Well, regardless..." Genma coughed into his fist. "We still have to
wait for Ranma to arrive, along with your granddaughter and that other boy..."
	Cologne looked up and, as if on cue, four figures dropped into the yard.
Akane recognized the purple haired warrior girl Shampoo, and also the two silly
ninja girls she was carrying that had, until recently, been her sworn enemies.
The final figure was a mystery.
	He was tall and Asian, but not Japanese. He was wearing not much more
than a set of blue boxer shorts and bandages around his wrists and ankles. He
also had fire-engine red hair that formed a raptor-like crest atop his head. He
also had cold, glassy, lifeless eyes.
	"Chris..." Akane said, sighing. She wasn't sure if she should feel
relieved... or disturbed. When Chris had departed he had been in a different
body. That meant... whoever this person was, that he had died. Was that why
Chris had left in such a hurry? Had he sensed the imminent collapse of his
previous host?
	"Ah, so that is what you two were up to," Cologne said dryly.
	"Relax, Rei, we're not here to hurt you," the new Chris said in a high-
pitched voice. It still sounded a lot like Chris, however. Akane glanced back
and saw Rei lowering her hands. She was still tensed up as if she expected an
attack at any moment. Akane could hardly blame her.
	"You recognize Shampoo, at least. And I am Chris, even if I look
different than the last time you saw me."
	"Oh... wow, cool!" Usagi shouted in glee. "That is one neat trick. I can
do something like that too."
	Akane spun and stared at the girl. Did she just say that- Oh wait. Usagi
couldn't possibly know what Chris actually was. Akane was just opening her mouth
to try and find a way to explain it when Chris himself beat her to the punch.
	"No, Usagi. You can disguise yourself. This is the corpse of a man that
was alive yesterday that I am wearing like a suit."
	"A shiny, pretty, superbly POWERFUL new suit, over!" the smiling twin
shouted happily as she hopped down from Shampoo's shoulder. Usagi blinked.
	"Uh?" the girl who was supposed to be the saviour of the world said,
tilting her head to the side. She hadn't quite stopped smiling yet.
	"So that's your secret!" Rei growled and strode forward until she was
nearly touching him. His new body towered more than a foot over her, and his
forearms were so thick with muscles they almost equaled her thighs, but Rei
stood so firmly, her eyes flashing so dangerously, that they almost seemed to be
nose to nose. "I knew it. I sensed it right away. You're not human, either."
	"Not anymore, no," Chris said softly. Akane glanced behind her and saw
that everyone's attention was now riveted on the confrontation in the middle of
the yard. Even Cologne was staring intently.
	"You're just another monster," Rei snarled. "You kill people, just like
those THINGS you warned us about." Sailor Mars thrust her fingers into his
chest, punctuating each word. "Why should we trust you, when you're no better
than them?"
	"Because I'm the ally you have," Chris pointed out in a flat,
uninflected tone. "And right now, you need all the allies you can get."
	"The Sailor Senshi don't make deals with the devil just because there
are bi-" Rei stopped. Not just trailed off, her words actually disintegrated
into a harsh choking gasp and she stepped away from Chris's new body as if
struck.
	"Rei," Akane stepped forward and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "Is
something wrong?"
	"NO!" Rei snapped and pulled away.
	"I see..." Akane didn't really believe her, but she knew there really
wasn't time to deal with that now. "I think what Chris was trying to say,
however, is that he isn't really a monster. He's..." She struggled for a few
seconds, trying to find the right words. "He's a human being trapped inside a
monster." Akane frowned. "I used to think like you did. I used to think he was a
bad guy, but he isn't. At least, not most of the time."
	Akane and Rei held each other's eyes for a moment, and Akane felt some
sort of understanding pass between them. It was something different than words,
something deeper. Rei knew that Akane trusted Chris and thought he would help
protect them, and Akane knew that Rei didn't really care about Chris. She cared
about something else. But Akane had no idea what that could be.
	Maybe when they had time to sit back and talk, Akane would get to the
truth. But for now, Rei seemed willing to accept what was going on.
	"Now that you're back," Akane said, turning back towards Chris, "we have
to start figuring out what to do. Did Shampoo tell you what happened?"
	Chris shook his head absently. "Akane, I need to talk to you."
	"Chris, we don't have much time..."
	"Please, Akane." he said sincerely. "Please."
	Akane paused. Then she nodded her head and gestured towards the dojo.
	Chris began to walk towards the dojo proper, and Akane followed. After
about three steps Chris spun in place and stared behind Akane. She glanced over
her shoulder and saw the smiling twin sneaking up behind them. The Chinese girl
looked past Akane and saw something on Chris's face that caused her to step
back. Akane looked back at Chris, but he was already moving again. Giving a
mental shrug, Akane followed.
	"Well, make this quick," Akane said once the door was closed. She kept
her impatience under control.
	"Akane, what you said back there... thank you. I'm..." Chris trailed
off.
	"Well," Akane coughed and flipped a long lock of hair out of her face.
This hair was really getting annoying. "I... don't want to sound like I... uh...
condone... no, that isn't the right word... it's just that I think killing is
wrong, and it IS. I just... I understand that you... that... uh... well... oh, I
wish I had paid attention when we were doing creative writing... uh..."
	"No, I understand," Chris said, holding up both palms. He hissed an
unnecessary breath in between his teeth. "I guess... I guess I'll just come out
and say it."
	Akane took a step back as Chris bowed gracefully forward, ending up on
both knees with his forehead pressed firmly against the floor. "Akane, please
help me."
	"Help..." Akane said softly. "How can I help you?"
	"What happened when I..." Chris started, then trailed off. "Nevermind."
He paused. "Something about this... this being dead or whatever. It's too much
for me. Something is happening to me. I'm afraid that I'm actually going to end
up the monster Sailor Mars thinks I am."
	"Chris..." Akane knelt down and grabbed his shoulder. "I don't
understand. And look at me when you talk to me, okay?" She added the last part
in as cheerful a tone as she could muster.
	Chris sat up, but refused to stand. So Akane knelt across from him. He
sighed. "Akane, I'll tell you honestly. I'm afraid. I'm afraid that I can't
control myself. That I won't... that I can't always think clearly. I don't know
if it's the rotting, or the Third Circle, or... well, it doesn't matter what it
is." He gnawed on a nail for a moment. "I can't trust myself. I need someone..."
	Akane waited a few moments for him to finish, then she sighed herself.
"Chris. I..." Akane thought back. She could have had this conversation before,
she realized. She could have seen something in Ukyou that would have pointed out
that there was something wrong. But Ukyou had cut her out of her life. And when
Akane had confronted her, Ukyou had raised a wall between them.
	Chris was no Ukyou. He had never been her friend. He had been her enemy,
once. But... But he was afraid. He was vulnerable and hurting. There was a part
of Akane that had never been able to stand idly by when other people were in
danger. And even as she realized that, Akane knew she was hooked.
	Chris might be a monster, or a man. But Akane wasn't going to let him
become one because she scorned the other. She wouldn't live with that on her
conscience.  She'd find a way to help him.  Somehow.
	"Akane... I know that I am asking you something I have no right to ask.
I am asking you to put yourself in danger. I am asking you to leave your family.
I'm asking you to give up on a normal life. But... I swear I am asking you this
because you are the only person I trust. The only person I believe in. I will do
anything. I will do anything you ask me to. I will let you guide me and teach me
how to live with this, until I don't have to live with it anymore. I don't
deserve your help, but I need it. I need you, and I'm sorry."
	"I..." Akane reached out and grabbed Chris by the shoulders. She stood
up, dragging him to his feet. "Chris, I think you put a little too much faith in
me." She began to chuckle. Because, what else could she do but laugh? It was too
big not to laugh a little. And laughing helped. It made the tension ease. She
let herself chuckle for almost a minute before she continued. "I can't promise
you anything, Chris. Once we're done... done with this. Then I can answer you.
But for now... I just can't think about all of it at once. Okay?"
	"Okay..." Chris said neutrally.
	"Don't get me wrong," Akane said, still chuckling. "I'm not saying
no. I'm saying... maybe. But first, come on. We have to go save the Senshi,
right? The only people we're missing now are Ukyou and Ranma." Akane paused.
"And Ran, I guess."
	"You're right." Chris straightened up, his voice taking on the same
commanding edge that Akane found more familiar. "But even with them not here, we
have to start planning. So, like you said, we should get started."

*

	Aaron woke up quickly. Ukyou was surprised at how much faster these
transitions were going. But Aaron knew that humans were incredibly adaptable
beings. The first time they had been forced to... integrate their psyches, for
lack of a better description, it had taken them hours. Over time, the process
was becoming more efficient, cleaner and faster. Heck, they hardly even jerked
and spasmed when they awoke anymore.
	Aaron wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing.
	They only opened their eyes for the brief moment necessary to confirm
they were in the hospital... and confirm that they could still see. Their vision
had been blurry ever since they had wiped that stuff out of their eyes. An
immense feeling of relief came over them both when they were able to see the
area around them. The thought of being trapped in darkness for the rest of their
lives... was not a pleasant one.
	Aaron wasn't surprised that the hospital was where they would end up.
Not only because the injuries they had taken today put all their previous
beatings to shame, but because the people he had been with before fainting had
been the police.
	It had been slightly surprising to see Kunikida there. It had taken
Aaron a moment to recognize the man, until he had spotted that distinctive wart
on the side of his nose. Aaron had even recognized the black-haired girl friday
that accompanied him, even if her name eluded him.
	Ukyou and he laid back in the lumpy hospital bed they had been placed
in, thinking to themselves. The whoosh and beep of the equipment formed a
monotonous soundtrack to their thoughts. Ukyou, immediately, began to grow
maudlin.
	Her thoughts were threatening to run in circles. She kept thinking about
how she had drawn these problems upon herself. How her enemies seemed to keep
growing in power, while she was standing still. How her one trump card was
turning out to be the one thing she could not dare use. How she had taunted
Pink...
	Aaron forced his own thoughts away from that self-destructive angle.
Though, that would be overstating the case. He could no more separate himself
from Ukyou's thoughts and feelings than he could will away his own identity. She
was always there, different and discernable but at the same time a part of him.
Their mind was like a picture, a drawing. He could see the various lines, tell
from the shape and texture and size which lines made up 'Ukyou' and which ones
made up 'Aaron', but if you removed one or the other, the picture ceased to be a
picture.
	It didn't really surprise him how used to this he was becoming. The
equilibrium he had reached with Ukyou's psyche was harsh and fragile, but
becoming almost the norm. It had been... the end of January when he had first
entered her mind. It was mid-July now. Seven months. Was that so long a time,
that he should be having trouble remembering what thinking used to be like
before he had been forced to share the process with Ukyou?
	Aaron grit his (Ukyou's) teeth and shook his head. There it was again.
Ukyou's emotions bleeding into his mind without him even noticing. He
concentrated; if he could not force them away, he could at least work past them.
	His first priority was determining exactly how bad off they were. He
focused his chi, surprised and pleased to note that much of it had returned.
Focusing on the Void Chakra was becoming second nature to him now. Causing the
invisible threads of his life to infuse the aura that surrounded his body, he
focused his attention inward and magnified his own self-perception.
	They were in bad shape. He started to list off their injuries, but the
process only threatened to make him as depressed as Ukyou, so he stopped. It was
better, he decided, to focus on the positives. For one, most of his chi had
returned. For another, the techniques and methods he had been trying to learn
from Tofu and Kyoko seemed to be having some effect. At least, he was pretty
sure he had been in much worse shape when he had fainted in the back of the
ambulance.
	His arms were barely injured, being covered mostly with superficial
wounds. He could probably move them with no problem, now that he was no longer
exhausted. His legs were also well off. His ankle was broken, but there were no
other major injuries down there. They hurt like hell, but would be fine. The
worst injuries were in his chest. Most of his ribs were broken, probably all of
them. His spine hurt, which was never a good sign. His heart was beating steady,
but his breathing was ragged and it took him a moment to pin down that the
reason was because one of Ukyou's lungs was badly bruised up. It was a miracle
the thing hadn't collapsed. There were a few other internal injuries, but no
bleeding. He checked thoroughly, aware that even a minor injury could lead to
major complications in time.
	His head was almost as bad as his torso. The blows he had taken hadn't
quite cracked the skull, but Aaron could feel tiny stress fractures running
along it. He redirected the healing flows of his body to there as best he could.
It was the most he had learned to do. In truth, he wouldn't heal much faster,
overall. But he could choose to heal a portion of his body much faster while
leaving the rest unhealed.
	Since there seemed to be no immediate life-threatening crisis, Aaron
focused his attention on their other problems.
	Chris.
	Now there... was a problem. Chris was now their enemy. Any hope of
reconciliation was gone. He had to accept that. The fact that it was very easy
to accept that worried him, but he moved on. Chris was dangerous.
	But that wasn't all that worried Aaron. What worried Aaron was how easy
it would be to blame Chris' insanity on that alien power. What had Chris called
it? The 'Third Circle'? As good a term as any. The Third Circle was a problem.
It twisted Chris, just like it had twisted Aaron and Ukyou. But it had not been
like an invader into their minds. Using it just seemed to make things... easier.
Touching it focused thoughts in such a way that things like consequences and
complications didn't occur to you. It was like the Third Circle was a lens, one
that reduced the world to simple black and white. And a portion of that
perception leaked into your normal mind.
	No... not leaked into your mind.
	That was the wrong way to think about it.
	The Third Circle didn't infect you like a cancer. It was more that it...
drew away portions of you. Aaron tried to remember exactly what it had felt
like, to lose himself into the clutches of that seductive force. After a moment,
he had it.
	Using the Third Circle was losing something small and warm and
wholesome, and filling that void with something huge and cold and awesome.
	And once that part of you was gone... did it ever come back?
	Maybe not. Ukyou had made some dramatic leaps in power, growing faster
and stronger. But every leap had been in the wake of one of those Third Circle
incidents.
	Aaron opened his eyes and sat up. The weight of such thoughts was
threatening to sink him into the depths of Ukyou's depression. He needed to
focus on something else. He needed a third party, someone he could talk to.
	"So, finally ready to admit you're awake?"
	Aaron started, jerking his head to the side. Kunikida was sitting in a
hard plastic chair not three feet away. He was wearing a brown trenchcoat, and
had a newspaper folded in his lap. Aaron cursed inwardly. How had he forgotten
the man's presence? Then he remembered that he had been focusing all his senses
inward.
	Aaron closed his eyes, and changed his focus with a thought. It was like
the world suddenly came into sharper relief. Things didn't become simple and
obvious, instead the world filled with startling detail. Scents became more
intense, lights brighter and sounds louder. Letting your senses grow to this
level was almost painful, but it was also beautiful.
	Aaron always needed a moment to regain himself, lest he lose himself in
the beautiful complexity of it all. He wished for the words to describe it, or
the skill to draw it. The artist in him wanted to let others experience it. He
had tried to explain the idea, the concept of it to Ranma, back at Justice High
School... but Ranma hadn't been able to understand.
	Oh well.
	Aaron noted as Kunikida stood up that there were more life forces
nearby. Sensing a life force wasn't like using your eyes or ears. Instead, it
was like a resonance in the heart. Every being, all life, seemed to be
connected in some inscrutable fashion. The movement of life through the world
acted like a spider threading upon the webs that connected everyone. If you were
sensitive enough, you could feel the vibrations of the world in that part of you
that was part of everything else.
	A good number of the life forces were clustered around the door. They
were human, though Aaron could tell little beyond that. One of them seemed to
be stronger than the others, and also something else. It seemed to be just More.
Momiji? Kusanagi?
	"Are you well enough to talk?" Kunikida asked as he sat down next to
them. He had moved his chair closer, and now sat on it like a boy, with the
entire thing backwards and his arms resting on the headrest.
	"Indeed," Aaron replied evenly.
	"Are you certain?" the man asked more seriously. "You seemed to be in
bad shape and..." Kunikida trailed off. "What... what happened to your eyes?"
	Aaron blinked. He looked deeply into Kunikida's eyes. The man wasn't
flinching back, but he looked surprised. Aaron slowly rose up his one useable
hand. "Could I have a mirror, please?"
	The middle-aged man nodded shortly and walked away to a nearby table. He
returned after a few seconds with a small hand mirror. Aaron grabbed the handle
and held it up in front of him. He didn't recoil from what he saw, but instead
stared into the mirror with a sort of shallow apathy. He opened his eyes wide so
he could get a good look. The eyes still looked human, but the shape and color
of the iris had changed drastically. Now they looked like some sort of six-
petalled flower, and were a black as deep as midnight. The pupil was nothing
more than a slightly darker shadow in the center of that black flower.
	"Black lotus..." Ukyou hissed, her knuckles turning white as she
clenched the mirror. The handle cracked ominously and Ukyou forced the image
away from her. So this was what Pink had meant. She grimaced. She had no one to
blame but herself. She had taunted Pink, all but dared her to do something...
and why?
	Because... because she was not taunting Pink... she was taunting
something bigger than Pink. That had been the thought in the back of her mind as
Pink had stood over her. That had been what had made her smile. 'Fuck you,
Destiny... get me out of this one, if you can!'
	Aaron and her both took a deep breath. They had survived. Despite
everything, they had survived. Tethys had not killed them. Chris had not killed
them. Pink had not killed them. She would live. And now, there was something
terribly wrong with their eyes...
	"A gift from my enemies." Aaron placed the mirror on the bed. "A
reminder that some things shouldn't be taunted. Despite these, I am still
human... if that is what you are wondering."
	"I see," the man said. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is
Daitetsu Kunikida. I run a special government investigation group called the
Terrestrial Administration Center." He flashed her an ID, but Aaron gave it only
a passing glance. He already knew Kunikida was legitimate, though he had thought
the man was interested only in the aragami. "Our task force deals with unusual
phenomena. So... dealing with you has become my problem."
	"I see..." Aaron nodded. "Well then, I suppose this is the part where
you either inform me I am under arrest, or you begin to pester me with questions
I probably don't have the answers for."
	Kunikida chuckled. He slipped his ID into one of his inner pockets, and
when he pulled his hand back out he was carrying a small notebook. He began to
read. "Ukyou Kuonji, age 16. Only son of Masamatsu and Yahiko Kuonji. Mother
died when he was one year old due to complications relating to surgery. Father
died six months ago due to cardiac arrest. No fixed address. Last legal
residence was at the Yuukari Private School for Boys. Other known residences
include the clinic of one Doctor Tofu Ono, chiropractor and general practitioner
with a focus on holistic medicine. No known aliases."
	He flipped the notebook closed. "You were also an instrumental player in
what has become known as 'The Narita Incident'. We also have several signed
affidavits about the fight you had with one Hayato Myoujin. Most of the
eyewitness accounts say you broke the boy's spine, a story that can be confirmed
by the hospital staff that looked after him until his disappearance a little
over a week ago."
	Kunikida placed the notebook back in his pocket. He was looking at Aaron
out of the corner of his eye, looking for a reaction. Aaron didn't allow any to
rise to his expression, though in fact he was mildly surprised with the amount
of information Kunikida seemed to display.
	"As you can see, we actually could arrest you, if we wanted to. We
probably even have enough that we could successfully prosecute."
	"Are you trying to intimidate me?" Aaron asked flatly. Ukyou mentally
groaned. All they needed was to be on the wrong side of the law.
	"A little bit," Kunikida said absently.
	"It won't work," Aaron informed him. "For one, I've stared death in the
face. I didn't buckle against more dangerous enemies than you. For another, I'll
let you know that you are basically inconsequential to me." Aaron raised both
hands in front of him. "These hands can snap metal bars." He balled the hands
into fists. "These fists can crack open stone walls." He let his hands fall. "I
can dodge bullets. I can shrug off all but the largest calibers, even if they do
hit." Kunikida was staring at Aaron, his eyes hard. "Normal systems of justice
only apply to me if I want them to."
	Aaron closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He consulted with Ukyou
briefly. The two of them agreed. "On the other hand, it is unnecessary. If you
want to arrest me, go ahead. I confess. I broke Hayato's spine. I did it in cold
blood, and not as an act of self-defence. I will not resist prosecution. If you
really think what I need is to be locked up, then go ahead. I won't fight you."
	"I..." Kunikida cleared his throat. "I don't think that will be
necessary."
	Aaron smiled thinly. "Then why don't we get to what it is you want me to
tell you?"
	Kunikida looked at Aaron seriously. "Very well." He stood up and walked
over to a table. Aaron had noted the folder there earlier, but not paid it much
attention. The thin-haired man flipped through the pages of it for a moment,
then pulled out a picture. He placed the folder down and walked over to Aaron.
	"Do you know these girls?"
	"Pink and Link?" Aaron said, surprised.
	"So, you DO know them?"
	"By reputation..." Aaron said slowly. "I've only ever met them once."
	"This afternoon?"
	"It's only been a few hours, then?" Aaron chuckled, but the action hurt.
"I would have have thought I'd be unconscious for days."
	"We were as surprised by that as you. It's barely midnight. We expected
you to be out for days, not hours," Kunikida admitted. "But if you
could answer my question... ?"
	Aaron nodded absently. "These two are botanists, herbalists really, from
a remote village in China. They have the ability to rapidly grow plants from
seed to maturity in a matter of moments. They also have access to a lot of
exotic and dangerous plants that you won't find listed in most encyclopedias.
Many of their plants can produce noxious and deadly poisons, some airborne. Some
of the plants have rudimentary animation and are capable of attacking people.
Others have much more exotic properties. For example, they have access to plants
that can cause complete personality changes, like a form of hyper-fast
brainwashing or very specific hallucinations."
	"Oh..." Kunikida blinked. Aaron knew why the man was so interested in
them, now that he had a moment to think about it. Ranma had told Ukyou that
Chris had been fighting the aragami. But Aaron had never thought about why. It
was obvious that Pink and Link must be pulling his strings, now. The only thing
that surprised him was how quickly Kunikida had leapt to that conclusion.
	"That one there," Aaron said, tapping the picture for emphasis. "Her
name is Pink, and she is the more dangerous of the two. She's a certifiable
psychopath. She specializes in poisons and is very good at them. I have her to
thank for my new eyes. The other is less dangerous, specializes in medicines
mainly. But both can be deadly if cornered."
	"Do you know anything else about them?" Kunikida insisted.
	"Such as?"
	"Do they animate their zombies with these plants?"
	"Zombies..." Aaron blinked.
	"It doesn't take a genius to put things together," Kunikida explained.
He walked over to the folder and flipped it open. He leafed through the pages
for a few seconds. "Here we are. Kodachi Kunou. Disappeared in February of this
year. She was spotted assisting these two. A few weeks later, one Sentarou
Daimonji vanished without a trace. Since then, the boy has been seen at several
of these girls' crimes, assisting them. His body was recovered from the scene of
your earlier battle, damaged almost beyond recognition. Strangely enough, the
body was largely damaged due to accelerated decomposition, much more so than
could be accounted for then in the time since his disappearance. The two were
also seen running down the streets of Tokyo with a third dead body just this
afternoon."
	The man spun on them. "Tell me... are they using the aragami to animate
these corpses somehow? Is that their secret?"
	"No," Aaron said softly. "The zombie you refer to is a distinct entity.
It is called 'Chris'. It has the ability to leap from one body to another. In so
doing, it gains all the memories and abilities of its new host."
	"What about this other girl?"  Another familiar face on a photograph.
	"Shampoo?" That was a good question. From what Aaron remembered, Shampoo
and the Chinese twins were mortal enemies. Aaron remembered something Ranma had
said about Shampoo showing up when he had come to visit Ukyou in Justice High
School. "I don't know what their relationship is. Shampoo is not a zombie, like
Chris. She is, however, about as powerful as me in the martial arts."
	"I see..." the man said softly, rubbing his short beard. "I take it
these people are your enemies?"
	"In a manner of speaking," Aaron said dryly. "We have... philosophical
differences."
	"Oh, really?" Kunikida grunted and walked over to Aaron again. He
stepped to the edge of the bed and loomed over her. "And who are 'you people'
anyway?"
	"You'll have to be more specific," Aaron replied. He knew what Kunikida
meant, but felt the need to buy time. Ukyou wasn't being much help, but he
wanted to at least seek her input before he revealed more than was good for
them.
	"You martial artists," Kunikida explained sharply. "Every time I dig
more into this, I come up with more questions. I keep locating more of you, and
it doesn't make sense. Most of you aren't even trying to hide yourselves, but
you were barely even mentioned in the papers or in any governmental reports
until four months ago. Its like you all just showed up out of nowhere one day,
but with complete histories, friends, family..."
	"And a thousand years of corroborating evidence," Aaron said, crossing
his arms. "We are what we seem to be, Kunikida. We are martial artists. We are
martial artists who are faster, stronger, tougher and better than any human has
any right to be. Depending on the person, we can leap tall buildings, fling
energy blasts, teleport and read minds." Aaron glanced up into Kunikida's
frustrated eyes. "We are your worst nightmare."
	"What do you mean?"
	"What you saw this afternoon was only a fraction of the destruction we
could cause." Aaron held up his hands, fingers measuring out a small distance.
"That was just two of us, and not even two especially strong ones. I wasn't even
fighting back, since I had been too injured by a previous encounter to put up
much of a fight.
	"We are meta-humans. We have powers that men were probably not supposed
to have. We are like ancient gods, striding about the landscape. No mortal can
hinder us, or keep us from our desires. The only opposition we face are those of
our own who would oppose our goals.
	"And there are a frightening number of psychopaths among us. Entire
armies of monsters and demons exist, ready to overwhelm normal humanity like
chattel. Thankfully there are also a larger number of heroes than normal among
us. There are people who will step in and protect the mundanes from the
predations of our more anti-social fellows.
	"But welcome to the world you never wanted, Kunikida. This world is a
world where you live only at the mercy of those of us who have the power. Law
and government and society only mean something to us if we choose to let it mean
something. For years, it seems that there has been a war going on under the
surface of your world. But now it is coming to the surface. And when it does,
the results are not going to be pleasant for those of you who live at the bottom
of the food chain.
	"This world is not pretty. It is not fair. There is no justice except
what someone likes me chooses to call justice. The only authority that matters
is the authority of the mighty."
	Aaron slowly fell back onto the bed. He felt drained. The entire speech
had somehow slipped out of him. He wasn't sure if it was even him who had been
talking. Ukyou wasn't sure if she herself hadn't said the words. But they struck
a chord within them. They seemed right.
	Kunikida was staring at her, his eyes wide, quivering.
	"You don't really believe that?" he asked slowly.
	"I do," Aaron said. "Trust me, I know how you feel. Even with my
strength, I'm still low on the food chain. Today, I nearly died because I had
stepped on the toes of people who are much stronger than me. These people still
want me dead. Frankly, I'm not even convinced I will live out the week. In my
condition, I'm a sitting duck. And there is nothing you could do to save me."
Aaron smiled, a thin, cold smile.
	"I'm just like you, Kunikida. We are both caught up in winds we can't
predict or control. We are the toys of the gods. The only difference is that I
know it."
	Aaron closed his eyes, and a moment later Kunikida left.
	In the darkness of his own thoughts, he and Ukyou mulled over their
outburst. It felt so right to them. All they wanted were normal lives. All they
wanted was to be left alone. This world, it seemed, would not let them. He
reached up and brushed his fingers against his eyelids. The future looked black.
	But Aaron would not become what it wanted him to become. He would not be
a pawn of prophecy. He would not be the enemy Chris wanted. He would not be the
hero Ranma wanted. He wasn't a monster, or a hero, he was a man.
	He would live his life by his own choices. He might not be able to
change who he was... but he would choose who he would become.
	"We are, who we choose to be," Aaron said aloud.

*

	Vega glanced idly over at the two Dolls. He considered asking them to
be more quiet, but they hadn't seen each other in such a long time that their
love-making was getting a bit enthusiastic. He rolled his eyes and decided to
let them have their fun.
	It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the beauty of it. It was two lovely
young women engaging in the second most beautiful act two people could engage
in, after all. But Vega had seen it all before. Personally, he didn't see why
Bison had bothered to twist their minds so that they all felt such feelings
towards each other. He knew, for a fact, that most of the Dolls hadn't been
interested in other women that way before Bison had begun to brainwash them.
	Oh well. To each their own. Still, Vega didn't wish to interrupt the
Dolls, because he knew that soon they would be unable to enjoy such a simple
pastime again. After all, it was rather hard to do so when you were dead.
	Vega stood up and walked over to the nearly naked man that was hanging
chained to the wall. Now this one was far more interesting. He was tall, for a
Japanese, with short black hair and a face that was crude, but not at all NOT
beautiful. Maybe with some polish and work, he could actually become someone
Vega would enjoy killing.
	Vega cupped his fingers around the young man's chin and tilted his head
up. His eyes were tired, half-lidded, but still alive.
	"Please..." the young man moaned. "Let me go... I have to... I have
to..."
	"Have to what?" Vega said eagerly. He let his hand drop, but the man's
head remained up. He was staring at Vega now. His eyes slowly grew more
lucid, and with the return of consciousness came a steady, smoldering anger.
Vega smiled, even if his victim could not see it under his immaculate white
mask.
	"I have to get out of here!" the young man shouted. "She's in danger!"
	Vega watched, fascinated, as the boy transformed again. There was a
flash, and a swirl of rose-petals shot across Vega's vision. He tried to see the
final moment, but as always, one particular petal passed directly before his
eyes, and when it was gone the young man was dressed in his costume again.
	Vega stepped back as the boy began to struggle. The chains clattered and
cracked as he strained them to their limits. His face, even hidden behind his
opera mask, was a study in enraged passion. His dapper tuxedo could not hide the
bulge and flex of his muscles as he strained against his bonds.
	"I have to save her! I have to help her!" the tuxedo clad youth was
shouting now. "Let me go, or so help me I'll..."
	"You'll what?" Vega hissed and raised one fist into the air. The light
caught just so on his claws, flashing a blinding glare into the man's eyes. He
winced back and Vega elegantly uncurled his arm and let the tip of the claws
rest humbly next to the man's neat little bowtie.
	The man's breath caught as he tried to draw his quivering neck away from
the razor-sharp blades. Vega played with him for a moment, allowing the tips of
his claws to draw closer and closer to his neck the further the young man tried
to withdraw. Vega stopped only when he saw true panic in his prisoner's blue
eyes. Then he laughed and pulled the claws back.
	He flicked a tiny drop of blood the tip of his claw had drawn away and
then strode back to his chair.
	"You bastard!" the young man Vega knew only as Tuxedo Kamen shouted.
"Why are you doing this?"
	"Why?" Vega flicked his hair off his shoulder with one hand before
looking back. "This is a game, 'Tuxedo Kamen', a game for the greatest stakes
there are."
	"A game?" Tuxedo Kamen's face furrowed in hate. "Is that all this is to
you, a game? What kind of monster are you?"
	Vega flashed back across the room and backhanded the boy once, sharply.
Thankfully, he had enough self control to use his unclawed hand. Not that he
cared if the 'superhero' lived or died, but spilling his blood would ruin this
beautiful carpet.
	"I am not a monster," Vega explained as the boy tried to recover from
the stunning blow. "Monsters are ugly, hideous things. They represent the worst
of our fears and desires." Vega stepped back. "I am an artist. No... more of
a connoisseur. I appreciate beautiful things."
	Vega walked back to his chair, to the vase of roses that was being held
on the side-table there. "Take this rose. Beautiful, is it not?" Vega held up
the long-stemmed wonder and walked back towards the boy. He could see the boy's
eyes flash. Vega smiled under his mask. "But it is also dangerous, as you well
know." He wondered if the boy would try to use a rose to escape again. It had
been so entertaining to shatter his petty dreams by slashing the flower from the
air, then dancing untouched through the shower of petals to deliver the knockout
blow. "All true beauty mixes such danger with such allure. The most beautiful
animals in the world are often the most poisonous. There is nothing quite so
compelling as watching a great cat on the hunt. 'Fearful symmetry' indeed, no?"
	"What are you talking about?" Tuxedo Kamen hissed painfully.
	Vega sighed. "You don't understand."
	"Lord Vega." Vega turned his attention to the third Doll. She had been
performing her task soundlessly and quickly while Vega had been talking. "I have
located the data you were looking for."
	"Oh, excellent, Marz," Vega said in satisfaction. "So, let us have the
good news then."
	"My sensors have managed to track down the cause of his
transformations," Marz explained as she typed on her laptop. She turned the
screen so that Vega could see it. On the screen there was a wireframe model of a
man. "I believe the transformations are being caused by some sort of external
stimulus. An energy wave, quite different than any conventional chi field I have
ever studied, projected from an outside source." As Vega watched, a silver line
floated in and struck the figure. The figure rotated and a black light overtook
it, then when it was gone the wireframe looked different. A small army of
numbers scrolled up and down the edges of the screen. "It acts like a trigger,
causing the power inside this man to activate in response."
	"So... that is it?" Vega mused. He turned his attention back to the man.
He was growling and shifting in his bonds again. "This one, then, doesn't have
much magic of his own?"
	"Well," Marz shifted in place. "If you believe in magic, I suppose he
does. He certainly displays a different energy form than I am familiar with, and
I am familiar with every waveform located in Shadowloo's archives. In fact, the
only reason I can even detect it with my equipment is because his waveform seems
to interact with his chi as a form of crude booster."
	"I see..." Vega agreed, even if he barely understood what she was
saying. He didn't really care about the science of the matter. He almost wished
Marz did not feel the need to prattle on so, but Bison had not been able to
strip her of as much human personality as he had his later subjects. "So he does
have magic?"
	"But not nearly as much as the external source," the Doll explained.
	"Who are you talking about?" the man hissed. "What are you doing?"
	"Oh, be silent," Vega snorted and kicked up, catching Tuxedo Mask
cleanly in the chin. A moment later his head fell down bonelessly and his
transformation reversed itself. "Those signals must be the way that our guest
can sense the danger he keeps mentioning. Perhaps one of those Sailor Senshi has
a signaling device that activates him as a sort of safeguard?" Vega had to
admire their genius, if that was so. Creating a human slave who was both
instinctively drawn to you in moments of danger and empowered by such moments
was a handy tool.
	"Yes and no," Marz explained. "I think that in actuality the waveform I
detected is a constant link between the two of them, that is only amplified by
certain conditions."
	"Oh?" Vega raised his voice slightly.
	"Yes. Now that I have narrowed it down, I can detect the waveform
itself. Or, at least, its influence on the natural chi fields. I can even sense
a number of similar waveforms."
	"Similar waveforms?" Vega prompted.
	"Yes," Marz explained. She pushed a button on her computer and the
screen now showed a veritable rainbow of colored beams radiating out from the
wireframe man on the screen. "Nine waveforms in total. They are all connected to
this man in some way. They all have a weak connection to each other, but all
seem to share the same connection to the strongest waveform." She tapped the
silver stream. "By triangulating off of his position and the strength of the
connection with the silver waveform, I believe I can track the physical location
of any of the others."
	Vega smiled. "Show me."
	The screen faded away, and was soon replaced by a relief map of Tokyo
and the surrounding suburbs. Vega leaned down. Seven dots, each a different
color.
	"I thought you said there were nine?"
	"There are..." Marz said slowly. "Two of them appear to have left the
Tokyo area, and are beyond my ability to track down with any precision.  One was
an incredible distance away. I would guess in another country. This dot here..."
she tapped the screen above a black dot. "This represents Tuxedo Kamen. Each of
the six others represents one of the other waveforms. I have assigned them
colors based on the frequency of the-"
	"Yes, yes," Vega waved away her tedious explanation. "These two are
moving."
	"Yes, they are approaching the edge of my ability to track them. They
appear to be heading in the same direction as the other two that left my
tracking range, however."
	"So that leaves... four Sailor Senshi still in play..." Vega said and
ran a finger along the edge of his claw.
	"Yes, if these are indeed the Sailor Senshi," Marz pointed out.
	"I believe they are," Vega said. "And they have true magic. I truly
believe that."
	"Master?" Marz sounded worried. "I believe our job was to locate and
capture this girl, Ukyou Kuonji?"
	"Hmmm..." Vega stood back up. "Yes. You're right. Bison entrusted us
with a mission, after all. We could hardly fail him."
	Marz sighed in relief. "According to Fevrier's surveillance, she is
being held at Tokyo General hospital and is not in the best of shape. She should
be an easy target for acquisition."
	"Acquisition?" Vega chuckled. "Tell me, Marz, does it bother you to do
this? To drag these hapless young girls off to the same fate you yourself
suffered?"
	"I..." Marz glanced at Vega, confused. "But serving Lord Bison is the
greatest joy I have, Lord Vega. I only barely remember my life before he took me
into his presence, but I know it was a shallow and hollow one. Bringing others
into his service is a duty, and a joy as well."
	Vega laughed. "Yes, it would be." He shook his head. "Bison wants
slaves. I wonder if this 'magic' is beyond even his ability to enslave? I
suppose there is only one way to find out."
	"Lord Vega?"
	"Nothing." Vega said, shaking his head. He clapped his hands.
Immediately, Fevrier and Satsuki ceased their lovemaking and turned their
attention to him. "Clean yourselves up. This afternoon, you go and fetch Bison's
newest toy."
	"Yes, Lord Vega," they said as one and began to untwine from each other.
He turned his back on the erotic display. He had to get rid of them for a time,
after all. It would hardly do to plan their murder with them present.
	He smirked as he stepped out of the room into his private bedchamber. He
slowly removed his mask and glanced at his pristine reflection in the mirror.
Vega did not want slaves. He was a connoisseur of great beauty. And when he
finally managed to kill Bison in their destined duel, it would be a thing of
beauty. This 'magic' - it was the key. Up until now, the psychopower that Bison
controlled would have trumped any weapon Vega could use. But now... now he had a
wildcard.
	It wasn't time to play his hand yet, however. Vega sat down in a plush
leather chair and gazed lovingly into his own reflection. It wouldn't do for
Bison to suspect just how 'real' this magic was until it was too late. It was
really a pity that the Dolls were so psychotically loyal to their true master.
They would report Vega's suspicious activity instantly.
	And after Bison had ordered the missing Doll Cammy terminated for merely
showing a spark of willpower, Vega did not believe he would be afforded much
compassion. Which made leaving the Dolls to go free a terrible risk.
	But that was the Game, wasn't it? And what fun would it be, if there was
no risk?

*

	Chris stopped digging and stepped back a bit.  He was, he guessed, about
half a kilometer away.  The sounds of the people in the village carried even
through the trees he was surrounded by; cars driving, a few whoops as school let
out, a snatch of laughter carried on the air.
	He hadn't learned its name, or asked where to find it.  He didn't have
to.  A village by Mount Minakami.  He knew what it was.  A "sleeper" cell, so to
speak, filled with once-people who had been turned to zoanoids by Chronos.  As
far as he knew, they were ignorant of their nature, probably brainwashed.  The
perfect trap to spring on an enemy, with the aid of a zoalord's absolute mental
control over all zoanoids.  And, of course, there were two zoalords in the
mountain.
	And yet, from here, it sounded so much like an ordinary place.
	He clenched his fist.  He could have laughed at the irony.  Yesterday,
he'd begged Akane to help him, to give him the benefit of her impeccably
aligned moral perspective.  He couldn't afford to lose sight of things like he
had with Ukyou.  Anger wasn't enough of an excuse.  Neither was stress.  It was
too dangerous for him to lose control, as he'd proven.
	Now, a day later, he was planning to eradicate an entire community.
	Of course, they were zoanoids.  But that was an excuse. He knew Sailor
Moon could heal them.  They no longer had to die, they were no longer doomed to
be hideous monsters under the control of Chronos.
	But really, they did.  Even if he brought Sailor Moon here, had her turn
them back to humans, what then?  Left here, Chronos would either just process
them again or, more likely, kill them all.  They liked the "kill them all"
solution to problems, generally.  And there was no way he could hope to feed,
shelter, protect or hide hundreds, maybe thousands of people.
	No, these people were doomed.  That couldn't be helped.  The only
difference was that HE was their doom.  He was the one planning their cold-
blooded murder, not Chronos.  But it was necessary.  Necessary to draw Chronos'
attention away, to hopefully have them send Team 5 to battle him, because he'd
make sure to send a message that nothing else could.
	Except a zoalord.  He didn't think either of them would come unless he
did more than destroy a village, though.  They tended to stay aloof.  He hoped
that was the case anyway.  He wanted their attention on him, but not their
PERSONAL attention.  Even with the weapon he had planned for this little
operation, he couldn't dream of defeating something like that.
	The mouse in his hand shivered as his hand clenched a bit.  He looked
down at it.  The creature had tried to escape several times, and he'd considered
using the knockout drug on it, but it was better to wait until the last moment,
just to be on the safe side.  Besides, there was no danger of it escaping.  He
was a martial arts death machine, and it moved in slow motion.
	A MADM, yes.  Even more of one with Adon's skills.  Thinking of that set
his teeth on edge.  He hadn't expected Pink to take initiative like that.  But
then, she'd surprised him before, so he should have known better.  He wondered
how she'd forced Link into accompanying her.  Still, at least Adon was
definitely not a good guy.  He could deal with it.  And Adon DID add a huge
amount of hand to hand skill to Chris's abilities, which could come in handy...
	Chris shook his head.  He was stalling.  He looked down at the shallow
pit he had dug in the earth, at the mouse he carried, at the large black bag
that would protect Adon's body from vermin while it was abandoned... and at his
own backpack, which contained his precious Jyusenkyou water, a small amount of
knockout potion for the mouse, and a huge dose of Pink's latest and most potent
batch of poison.  'Enough to kill any monster, over' she'd promised.
	He pulled out three canteens of the magical water.  One was Pantyhose
Tarou's chimaerical spring of yeti-riding-bull-carrying-crane-and-eel.  The
second, his other canteen of the spring of octopus, also used by Tarou in a
future that hadn't happened yet.  The third, the spring of Asura used by Rouge.
	Time to get started.

*

	"I'm sorry, am I supposed to care?"
	"Miss Teluno." Professor Yaragano sounded annoyed. He was towering over
her now, his palms flush against the desk. His jowls quivered with rage, and his
eyes flashed menacingly.
	Telulu yawned and inspected her fingernails. This man was doing nothing
but eating up her precious time.
	"You were admitted to this very prestigious academy based solely on your
work with botanical engineering," Yaragano growled. "What do you expect your
parents will say when they find out what you have been up to?"
	"I imagine they would be quite displeased," Telulu said nonchalantly.
	"I imagine so!" He gestured down at the folder in front of him. "In the
past three weeks, everything about you has changed. You no longer pay attention
in classes. You bully the other students, even your upperclassmen. Worst of all,
you are letting your responsibilities in my laboratory-"
	"Shut up," Telulu told him. The tone of her voice ended his prattling
immediately. "You are wasting my time." She stood up. "It is not my fault that
you were trying to take advantage of the advances I was making in producing
viable, edible fruit from normally inedible species of plants. The fact that
your reputation and project are falling apart without me to babysit your
mistakes is the result of your pride."
	Yaragano's face had turned red now, but Telulu didn't want to waste
more time with him. "Don't think you can bully me around like you used to." She
smiled malevolently, and something in her face drove all the wind from his
sails. "I'm not the same weak, naive little girl who was impressed by your
degree and age that I used to be." Of course, she was much more different than
he would ever know, but she was under strict orders not to reveal to anyone else
exactly how much more.
	"Miss Teluno..." he began weakly, trying to recapture the initiative in
their 'talk'. She cut him off by cracking her own palm against the desk.
	"Listen to me, you small-minded, pathetic little man," she snapped. "I
have no time for you. I have had my eyes opened to things you can not even begin
to understand. I am working directly for Professor Tomoe now." She smiled
again. "His projects... they will truly change the world. I can guarantee you,
that when we are finished with our work..." She laughed. "You won't care about
your petty little project." She turned and gathered up her bags.
	"If you have a problem with my behaviour, I suggest you take it up with
Professor Tomoe," she shot over her shoulder before leaving.
	Telulu was getting tired of this. Three weeks. Three weeks since
Professor Tomoe had... gifted her with the power and knowledge that had so
changed her life. Three weeks and she was still walking these same halls, still
dealing with these same pathetic humans.
	Where was the glorious destruction she had been promised? After the
Professor had lifted her from the ground where her transformation had left her
weak and confused, he had told her of the glory that was to come. His voice had
winnowed into her soul, explaining how the coming of Pharaoh 90 would wipe weak,
juvenile humanity from the world. All that would be left was the Silence. Cold,
pristine Silence without any life to mar the perfection of the Earth.
	She had walked away from her initiation into the Deathbusters a true
believer. But now her patience was wearing thin. Three weeks had passed, and so
far they had not made a single step towards their goal.
	What kind of crusade was this?
	"Telulu." A voice snapped her out of her reverie.
	Telulu looked back over her shoulder. She brushed a lock of green hair
out of her line of sight. Eudial was walking towards her. She was wearing the
same green and black school uniform with the plaid skirt that Telulu was, but
wore it with a bit more poise and confidence. Her red hair tumbled down her back
and her glasses glinted in the afternoon sunlight. Telulu glanced around, making
sure they were alone.
	"Eudial..." Telulu greeted slowly. Eudial smiled and walked straight up
to her... then Telulu's head rocked back as she was slapped with enough force to
send stars spinning across her vision. Telulu growled and turned a vicious glare
on Eudial, clutching her burning cheek with one hand. "What? You dare-"
	"Oh, be quiet," Eudial said with a sneer. "You deserve much more
than that." Eudial gestured to Telulu to follow as the elder girl started down
the hallway. She paused after a few steps and glanced back over her shoulder.
"Well?" Reluctantly, Telulu fell into step behind her. "You think this is a
game, Telulu?"
	"I'm not sure what you mean..."
	"I've been in the Deathbusters much longer than you," Eudial pointed
out. She never failed to point that out. Telulu glared at her back. "I know how
this works. We leave the Professor alone. You take care of your own problems."
She led them down the stairs, deeper into the hidden and forbidden secrets of
Mugen Academy. "Like that professor of yours. He may well call your bluff.
Professor Tomoe will be most displeased to have his work interrupted."
	"What was I supposed to do?" Telulu said heatedly. "That man was a
constant drain on my time and my work. How am I supposed to get anything done if
I must constantly pretend to be the same pathetic human I was-"
	"I don't care how you get your work done," Eudial cut her off. Again.
That was growing very annoying. "The fact is you do. We Deathbusters have to
keep ourselves from being noticed. At the moment we are few and weak. In time,
we will grow strong enough that we won't need pretenses anymore. Until then, I
suggest you use your talents to appease the humans."
	"Appease?" Telulu sneered. "Why should we? We are better than them!"
	"So?" Eudial paused in front of the door to their personal laboratory.
"Remember our plan. We must succeed in bring Pharaoh 90 to this world. To do so,
we must empower the Messiah of Silence." She opened the door and gestured for
Telulu to enter. "For now, the Messiah is too weak to take up her mantle. It is
her we must protect. Until she has gathered enough strength to summon our lord,
then we have to remain cautious and unobtrusive."
	"And how long will that take?" Telulu barked. "This world... it OFFENDS
me." She gestured towards the door. "Beyond that door, nothing but chaos and
shallow people concerned only with their own personal problems and minor
concerns. Living among them makes me feel dirty." She pulled her hand back.
	"So?" Eudial tossed her hair and smiled maliciously. "Learn to deal with
it. We have nearly two years, by the Professor's best estimate, before the
Messiah is strong enough for us to begin searching for the Talismans." Eudial
stepped deeper into the lab, her body partly disappearing into the shadows.
"Work on your old project.  Or find a new one.  Or spend your time watching
television. I don't care what you do, as long as it doesn't bother Professor
Tomoe. Or me."
	Eudial vanished and Telulu stared after her for a long moment. Then, she
sighed and stepped over to her own workstation. Eudial, much as she was loathe
to admit it, had a point. There was nothing Telulu could do until the Messiah of
Silence was strong enough. Maybe she was right, maybe she should just watch TV
or something to while away the long wait...
	"...attack at the idol singer auditions was prevented by one of the
contestants, a Ms. Momiji Fujimiya. Ms. Fujimiya was also involved in solving
the recent kidnapping case by the monsters known only as 'the aragami'. When
asked to comment on the similarities between the monster attacks..."
	Telulu's eyes narrowed as her hand slowly moved away from the small TV
set. She watched as the reporter went into a quick recap of the past few weeks,
the monster attacks, and the strange plant-like monsters known as aragami. She
raised a hand to her still sore cheek and smiled.
	"Well now," Telulu said. "Maybe... I don't have to wait so long after
all."

*

	ZX-tole kept his eyes closed. He hoped that if he did, the others would
leave him alone. Or at least, leave him out of their bickering. Of course, it
was hard to ignore them all when Elegen had his hand on ZX-tole's thigh. Again.
	Even after having it swatted off the first three times.
	ZX-tole wished he could somehow cross his arms more than they were
already crossed. He didn't know why, it just felt like the thing to do.
	"You're so tense..." Elegen murmured sweetly from far too close to his
ear.
	"..." ZX-tole replied.
	"He has good reason to be," Thancrus said obliviously. "It's about time
we got an actual fight again. I mean, this... whatever, killed an entire VILLAGE
full of zoanoids. This should be a battle."
	"Hmmm," Derzerb commented softly. Well, as softly as his enormous bulk
would allow.
	"Not like LAST time," Thancrus said with that familiar undertone of
whining that always put ZX-tole's teeth on edge. "Here I am, the best hand to
hand combatant on the t