"I'm getting a reading coming from... there!" Mercury pointed upward and to a figure standing on top of a building.
For the past hour the Senshi had been looking for Sailor Neptune. After Ranma had escaped, Sailor Moon managed to reach the others and tell them about the distressed Senshi. Soon after they realized the aquamarine-haired Senshi was nowhere to be found. She wasn't answering her communicator and the last time any of them had seen her was when she was in the park.
Right now they had regrouped to plan what to do. The streets had been deserted as people saw the Senshi looking everywhere and decided it would be a bad idea to be caught in the middle of a fight.
They all turned to the place Mercury pointed at and groans escaped them. Why was it that Negaverse agents always appeared in the worst possible moments? Standing tall was a scantily clothed woman. That in itself wasn't so unusual. But the fact that the woman had white glowing wings on her back and some kind of markings on her skin made them recognize the threat.
Pluto took a good look at the woman, who was currently staring at them all, and decided things were definitely getting complicated. She couldn't feel anything from the Time Gate, which meant this person was directly interfering with her link to it. It almost seemed like a chaos convention with the number of people appearing that placed in danger the future of Crystal Tokyo.
"Let me guess. 'She's a danger to the future of Crystal Tokyo.'" Sailor Jupiter sarcastically said. Her answer didn't come from the Guardian of the Gates of Time, though.
The woman jumped off the roof of the building. Everyone watched in awe as she slowly descended as if floating down. There was something regal emanating from the woman as she landed in front of them all. "I am Lea." She said in a seductive voice. Now that she was closer to them they could see her hair was a bluish gray color. Her eyes were a red similar to Setsuna's own, though Lea's seemed to glow every now and then. There was also an unearthly beauty about the woman, who seemed to be in her twenties.
The inner Senshi protectively surrounded Sailor Moon, just as the outers prepared an offensive formation. They didn't think introductions were needed. It was obvious they were facing another agent from the Negaverse.
Lea smirked as she saw the Senshi prepare for a fight. *It seems like the rumors are true. They really are trigger happy.* And with that in mind she prepared herself to face them.
"What? No stupid speech?" Her answer came when she was attacked by a short haired blond wielding a very uncomfortable looking sword. Uncomfortable for whoever let the steel penetrate his or her skin. Lea jumped back from the attack and watched carefully as the attacking Senshi easily recovered from the attack. *It seems like it's a magical weapon.* She traced her gloved fingers through her midsection and looked at them, careful to keep her attention on the Senshi as well. Her suspicions were confirmed as she saw blood smeared on the tips of her fingers. *And she didn't even touch me.* She thought calmly.
Sailor Moon watched in despair as Sailor Uranus attacked Lea. She was really getting annoyed with the outers' tendency to attack anything that wasn't a Senshi. That particular behavior was mostly displayed by Uranus and Neptune. The winged woman had done nothing to provoke them aside from insulting their speeches. Even if she was angry for it she couldn't try to kill someone for something as insignificant as an insult. "STOP!" She commanded.
Everyone was startled by the sudden command coming from their leader. Even Uranus stopped her assault, though she still held an offensive stance with her sword at the ready. Pluto frowned. "Princess, that woman will destroy our hopes of a peaceful planet if we don't deal with her." She turned back to Lea, who was giving her a serious look. "We have to destroy her before she destroys us."
Lea ignored the bickering that followed between the Senshi as she studied the green-haired woman. Her red eyes glowed a little as she saw more than her physical appearance. *So it was her.* Her fists clenched tightly as her features changed from an expression of amusement to one of anger. She cupped her hands in front of her, a small sphere of fire forming slowly. "So you were the one. You're gonna die!" She yelled as the sphere became more concentrated, the size of a baseball.
Pluto saw as this Lea suddenly changed her demeanor and started preparing some kind of attack. She couldn't feel much of a magical buildup, so she smirked as she herself prepared to blast the woman. "DEAD SCREAM!" She cried out as she threw a powerful blast at her opponent.
A magical blast Uranus was lucky to jump out of the way of in time. "Watch where you throw those!"
Lea saw the attack approaching and smiled. She had to admit that blast was very strong. *Just not strong enough.* She thought as she thrust forward with her hands, the small sphere of fire sent at the green-haired Senshi.
Both attacks made contact and for a moment it seemed like they would cancel out each other. "PLUTO! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Sailor Mars yelled as she rushed for her companion and was barely able to tackle the Senshi of Time out of the way of the fire attack, which had all but obliterated the Dead Scream in its path. She could understand Pluto's overconfidence, though. Lea's attack didn't have much in the magical department. *But the spiritual energy used...* She shivered as she saw the attack pass harmlessly by their side and continue on towards an abandoned four story building.
Pluto turned angrily on her fellow Senshi. "What are you doing?" She asked with ice in her voice. She was a little impressed with the fact that her Dead Scream was ineffective against Lea's blast, but she was sure she could handle such a weak attack. A huge explosion made her cover her face.
The Senshi in general had to duck for cover as a huge explosion sent chunks of concrete and metal at high speeds. Sailors Mercury and Venus were unlucky enough to get hit by the flying debris. The three of them fell to the ground completely unconscious. Sailor Moon watched horrified as Lea smirked. Pieces of building crashed with some kind of energy shield in front of her. The only effect the explosion had was making her hair flutter with the strong winds.
Pluto decided that she had to reevaluate her opinion of that attack when she saw the results. Where before stood a four story building now there was only a five feet deep crater. She bit down a cry of pain as she clutched at her injured shoulder. Something had hit her there, making her almost lose consciousness. Uranus was by her side in an instant.
Jupiter saw Mercury and Venus down and lost it. Even if she hadn't been intent on attacking this woman from the beginning the sight of her downed companions threw her over the edge. "Jupiter, no!" Cried several of the conscious Senshi. *She's too strong to fight her one on one.* Pluto thought just as Jupiter reached the enemy.
Lea watched in amusement as one of the Senshi charged her in a fury. She leaned back in time to avoid a right hook and delivered a punch of her own to the unprotected Senshi's midsection.
Jupiter felt as the air exploded from her lungs with the force of that attack. *Damn, I did it again.* She thought as she waited for the finishing blow. To her surprise it didn't come. She opened her eyes and looked at Lea, who was patiently waiting for her to recover her breath. Taking advantage of it she lashed out with a heel kick.
Lea was surprised by the Senshi's reaction. So surprised, in fact, that she did no attempt to dodge the attack and received the kick full on the ribs. She felt the high heel the girl was wearing nearly brake one of her ribs and the burning sensation on her skin told her she was badly cut. She couldn't help but double over from the intense pain she felt.
Jupiter pressed on her attack with a knee to Lea's face and charged for an attack. "JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!" The attack hit Lea just as she was hitting the ground. The Jupiter Senshi turned to Uranus with a grin that almost said 'you're next.'
Lea fell to the ground smoking from the attack. She cut Jupiter's celebration and Sailor Moon's scolding words when she got angry and powered up. "YOU DOG!" She levitated off the ground and straightened, looking directly at her attacker with red glowing eyes.
Jupiter didn't even have time to blink before Lea was already on her. Her world exploded in pain when she received an uppercut that almost broke her jaw and neck and sent her flying up in the air.
The other Senshi watched in despair as Lea followed her up and reached her only to deliver a two handed smash down. "GO TO HELL!" She let lose with a powerful blast of energy. Flying around the falling form of Jupiter she let lose with nearly a dozen blasts, all of which reached their target just when she was rebounding off the floor.
The resulting explosion wasn't as spectacular as the last, but either way created a sonic boom that sent all the standing Senshi tumbling back. "JUPITER!" They all cried as they saw their fallen friend be pummeled so mercilessly.
The Senshi got up and quickly attended to the injured ones and sighed in relief when they noticed even Sailor Jupiter was breathing. All but Pluto and Uranus, who were staring at Lea with murdering glares.
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Michiru blinked as she suddenly regained consciousness. "Where am I?" She asked herself as she stared at the desolated landscape. She was currently standing in a hill that overlooked what seemed like ruins of some kind. She felt a familiar presence suddenly appear next to her. Without turning away from the ruins, which for some reason attracted her attention, she said. "Okasan. Where are we?"
Kakurine looked down at the ruins without emotion. "We are inside the soul of the entity."
Michiru took a step forward. "The original Sailor Neptune."
Kakurine shook her head. "The Sailor Neptune. You never really were a Sailor Senshi to begin with." She started walking forward, intent on reaching those ruins. "We must find the very essence of the spirit. I'm spending a lot of energy in keeping us here, so I'll need your help in the fight."
Michiru kept pace with her mother. "But I don't know how to fight aside from being a Senshi. I wouldn't know where to begin." She sounded genuinely scared. What if she couldn't help her mother? Was her mother in danger for helping her like this?
Kakurine smiled at her. "Don't worry, Michiru-chan. Your father saw to it that you knew how to fight." Seeing her daughter's disbelieving stare she continued. "Remember all those hours he spent playing with you?"
Michiru continued walking as she remembered back to her first memories. Memories of happier times, when her parents spent most of their time with her. She remembered how her mother always read to her stories about gods and powerful mortals. Different worlds where a powerful warrior defeated deities that would destroy all of reality if not stopped. Names like Gelakleva came to mind.
She remembered how her mother also taught her a game where she had to make lights of different colors. She smiled at the memory of her satisfaction when she managed to form a rainbow.
Her father teaching her how to dance. How she enjoyed imitating the man that was the greatest in her whole world. It seemed like he could do anything.
Most of all she remembered the pride and love evident in the brown-red eyes of her mother, and in the blue-gray ones of her father. She felt as a tear made its way down her cheek. "I'd forgotten about that."
Kakurine shook her head. "You didn't forget. The spirit we are about to fight tried to block those memories."
"But why would it...?" She suddenly stopped as it made sense. Her mother's games. Her father teaching her different steps for a complicated dance. It all made perfect sense. She smiled mischievously. "That's what you call a normal childhood?"
The priestess shrugged. "Considering I don't have any parents and Ranma's life could be anything but normal..."
They walked for another fifteen minutes, the time it took them to enter the ruins. Mother and daughter headed down the streets and into what appeared to have been a palace. It was as if they were being called in. The buildings were all nearly gone, hidden by the vegetation that was slowly swallowing them.
The walls and floor of the castle seemed to have been decorated in a time long past, now nothing but dust and plants adorned them. All that was needed was a little imagination and they could see a palace full of activity and richly decorated. People making their way hurriedly as the day's activities seemed to never end.
Walking down a great hall they stopped in front of a huge wooden door, which was in much better shape than the rest of the stuff. "Are you ready?" Kakurine asked.
Michiru nodded, knowing whatever they were looking for was just beyond this last door. With a mighty push she opened the door to reveal the throne room. She gasped in surprise as the room seemed to be new. Red carpets covered the floor, long flowing curtains hanged from the walls and covered the windows, richly decorated armors and weapons gave the room a feeling of both wealth and power. And in the center of it all was a person.
Michiru's eyes narrowed as she studied the Senshi of Neptune. Aside from some minor differences it was like looking in a mirror. "You made it at last." The Senshi said in a cold voice.
Kakurine and Michiru stepped into the room. "We've come to give you some well deserved rest." Kakurine said. "The eternal sleep awaits you."
Neptune smirked arrogantly. "I think not." And with that water started pouring from the walls and floor. It all flowed to the Senshi and she formed huge waves with it that all were directed at the other women with the obvious intention of hurting them.
Michiru followed her instincts and took a step closer to her mother. She watched in awe as the water boiled and was turned into steam before making contact with them. There appeared to be some kind of red barrier that covered the both of them from the raging waters. She then turned to see Neptune and saw the Senshi eyeing them both hatefully.
"What are you?" She snarled. "All the other mergings are nearly complete, yet this host is still too strong. You shouldn't even be able to be here, and much less challenge my power over the environment inside my very soul. WHAT ARE YOU?!" She finished as yet another furious tidal wave crashed against that defensive wall. It evaporated instantly.
Kakurine smiled, even though Michiru could see sweat forming from the exertion of keeping the barrier up. "Let's see. There are monkeys that evolved into men and monkeys that didn't. Just as well, there are men that remained men and men that evolved into something else. Do you really think humans are the ultimate form of evolution?" She finished in a demeaning tone of voice.
Neptune growled. "It doesn't matter. You should have remained outside. There you had a good chance of killing me. Now you and your daughter will die and I will finally take control over this body." She smirked nastily. "I doubt you can defend yourself from both the environment and me at the same time."
Kakurine kneeled and concentrated further. Both Michiru and Neptune saw as the barrier expanded and grew to almost the size of the room, keeping the water out. "Michiru." The priestess said, her eyes shut tight in concentration.
Michiru nodded and turned to her counterpart, which was smiling demeaningly. "And just what are you supposed to do?" Michiru didn't answer as she prepared herself to dance like her father had taught her.
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Sailor Moon stood in front of her comrades, intent on protecting them. "Why are you doing this?" She asked as she motioned for Uranus and Mars to help the wounded just as Saturn was already doing. Both obeyed, even though they were obviously itching to get a piece of Lea. Sailor Moon also wanted to avoid a repeat of what happened to Jupiter.
Lea smirked. "You little girl. I didn't start this. It was your little friend that attacked me first." She said extending her hand forward for Moon to see the blood that still stained her fingers.
Sailor Moon nodded, yet the frown didn't leave her features. "I understand that. But why are you here? Why did you attack my friends so viciously?"
Lea crossed her arms and looked at the Senshi with a sideways glance. "And why not?" She challenged. "I have as much a right to be here as you do. As for your friends I was just defending myself. They're lucky I didn't kill them for their insolence."
"You don't belong here!" Pluto yelled as she struggled to release herself from Uranus' grasp. "You will destroy everything we've worked so hard for!"
Lea turned her attention to the Senshi of Time. "I'm not done with you for what you did to my daughter." Then turning back to Sailor Moon. "I think I will let you all go just this once. I can see the ones that attacked me are still immature, so I won't hold her actions against you."
Moon didn't relent. "We'll have to fight you if you do anything dangerous to our future."
Lea smirked. "Then let us hope that we don't cross paths again. You and I both know you weren't fighting at your strongest. Neither was I." And with that she turned around and flew over the building she originally descended from.
Sailor Moon knew the woman was right. The Senshi were tired from fighting first the demon tree and then that man in the park. But she was disturbed. Even if Lea was right she still took out four of them with a single attack. It seemed like the Senshi had a new enemy, one that needed to be taken very seriously.
She sighed and turned back to help with the others. She inwardly hoped that Michiru was alright, wherever she was.
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Sailor Neptune was one of the greatest fighters in Serenity's court. She was one of the Sailor Senshi, powerful soldiers trained for any kind of combat. Enhanced to surpass any kind of weapon or technique. Even if she wasn't the best fighter of the Senshi she was one of the best. She was strong, powerful, fast.
She landed on the floor once again.
Michiru assumed another fighting stance and waited for her opponent to stand up. She had been fighting her counterpart for five minutes and was still untouched and breathing normally.
Neptune eyed the girl she had considered as weak before this fight. Every move she had used to fight hand to hand had been ineffective to say the least. Michiru seemed to flow through her attacks, yet landed powerful punches and kicks that even the magically enhanced Senshi was starting to fear for the strength behind them. If it wasn't for her Senshi powers she would be nothing more than a bloody piece of unrecognizable flesh.
Magical blasts had been even worse. All her attacks were water based, and it seemed like Michiru was prepared for that. She just covered herself with a shield very much like Kakurine's. A red energy shield that evaporated the waters on contact.
Both women squared off again, studying each other. On the sidelines Kakurine was still in a kneeling position, her forehead tattoo flaring brightly. "Michiru-chan, you have to finish the fight."
Michiru nodded slowly as Neptune laughed. "You do understand what that means, don't you? It means you have to kill me." She sneered as she prepared another attack. "I know you. You don't have what it takes to take a life. You're weak. And there's only one thing that happens to the weak, just like back in my time." With that she jumped forward and threw a punch with all the power she concentrated.
The fist landed on Michiru's waiting palm and the power was countered by the red glow covering her entire arm. She non-Senshi glared hatefully at her counterpart. "You forced me to kill innocent people just to satisfy your ambitions. Right now you are trying to kill me and my mother." Her features softened somewhat, yet her eyes glowed an unearthly red color. "I may not have the heart of a killer, but I do recognize one when I see it." She cocked back her other fist. "Rest well." She punched the Senshi of Neptune with all her might.
Neptune's head exploded back with the force of such a strong spiritual and physical blow. The beheaded body fell limply to the ground, which in turn changed to match the rest of the ruined city.
Michiru lowered her head as tears formed in her eyes. Even if she believed Neptune deserved to die it still hurt to be the one taking her life. "Michiru-chan." She heard the softly spoken name and turned to enter the awaiting arms of her mother, crying on her shoulder. Kakurine patted her daughter's back. "You did what you had to."
"I know."
Suddenly the world vanished just as it had appeared.
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She opened her eyes to the sight of the abandoned building once again. Her head was resting on something soft and warm. "About time you woke up." Came the teasing voice she knew so well.
"Otosan!" She cried as she jumped to her feet and almost tackled her father in a crushing hug.
Ranma was startled by the reaction, but either way reacted accordingly and placed his arms around her. He gave Kakurine a wondering glance and she smiled at him. "She spent the last years being influenced by someone else. Now that she's herself once again she feels insecure. It's natural because she lost part of what she felt. It'll pass."
Ranma broke the embrace and stood back a step to examine his daughter. She blushed a little with the examination. "You're right." Ranma said. "She seems a little younger, and almost as pretty as her mother." This earned him a smile from Kakurine and a playful punch from Michiru. The pigtailed martial artist smirked. "Heh. Hardly felt that, girl. You've been seriously slacking off."
"Why you!" Michiru sent several of the attacks she used on Neptune. Or at least tried. She found her body strangely lethargic, almost as if she was underwater.
Ranma laughed as he dodged some of the attacks, and caught Michiru's wrists with one hand. "You're forgetting two things there, Mi-chan. First, I'm the one that taught you the basics of martial arts. You'll have to do more than that to give me any challenge."
"And two?" She asked when her father remained there smirking. His smile was very pleasant, yet exasperating at the same time.
"Your body isn't ready to execute those moves." Kakurine answered. "You could do them in the spirit world because even our bodies weren't physical. You'll have to train if you want to last at least one second against your father."
Ranma smiled, happy that he was able to distract Michiru from whatever had her so shaken. "I can help you with that, I you want." His smile widened even more when he saw his daughter nod enthusiastically. It seemed like some of him had passed on to her.
Michiru turned to her mother and asked. "What about the color lights?"
"Color lights?" Ranma asked confused.
Kakurine smiled secretively and answered. "You should be able to use them now that I removed the seal."
Deciding that he would know when the time was right, Ranma released his daughter and asked. "Would you like to know my mother?"
Michiru turned to her father as if he had grown another head. She eyed him for a moment and came to the conclusion that he was being serious. "I would love to." She answered.
"Would you like to spend some time with us?" Kakurine calmly asked. Though it was obvious she was excited about spending time with her only daughter.
Michiru thought about it carefully. *It would be best if I learned to use my power before revealing Setsuna what happened. I don't know how she'll react to this. And Haruka?* She sighed at that last one. Setsuna she didn't really care. Now that her mind was free of Neptune's influence she could remember all the things Setsuna did and made them do in the name of Crystal Tokyo. But Haruka... she wasn't sure anymore, about how she felt. *What if that was all Neptune's influence?* The question scared her, for the answer could destroy what she believed made her happy.
"Michiru-chan?" Both her parents asked when she spaced out.
She shook her head. "Sorry, Okasan." She smiled. "I want to be with you. To regain those years we lost."
Ranma turned serious. "Those years are lost, daughter. But we can always make up for them."
Michiru nodded, deciding it would be best not to worry. She was reunited with her parents, learned she wasn't human and killed the spirit of Sailor Neptune in just a few hours. She needed time to assimilate what had happened.
Ranma smiled and opened the door. The family walked out and headed for the hotel Nodoka was in.
As they walked Michiru couldn't help but smile. Even with all her insecurities she felt safe. She felt as if nothing could go wrong with her father to protect her and her mother to give support.
She blinked as she thought there was a building across the street just yesterday.
END PART 4
Author's notes: Can't believe I got it finished so soon, again. Anyway, I seem to be winding down from the writing frenzy I entered. It was good while it lasted.
Anyway, what do you think? The Senshi were defeated, even if they weren't at their strongest, and Pluto seems to have pissed off several people. What will happen next?
You'll just have to wait and see. |
