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Hotaru motioned for Usagi and Mamoru to take a seat. "This conversation won't be easy to hear." The three of them sat under the shade of a tree. The Senshi of Silence decided to be direct to the point. She knew her princess could take the news now that she had recovered her real self. "My princess, the reason why I'm changing is because of my return to my real age."
Usagi's reaction was to simply lift an eyebrow. "Your real age? You mean you're my age as well, right?"
Hotaru nodded. "Yes. We were born only a couple of days apart. From the day I was born it was my sworn duty to protect 'you' and follow your commands."
"Don't you mean defend the Serenity family?" Asked the blonde.
Mamoru answered that one. "Actually, the Senshis of Saturn were pledged to protect a Serenity in particular. Hotaru's mother was the protector of the Queen, while Hotaru was supposed to protect you." He turned to their growing friend. "Isn't that right?"
Hotaru nodded. "And that seems to be the reason why I was reborn so weak." At the confused looks she became a target of, she continued. "Hinako detected and removed a spell placed on me to lower my power. It had the side effect of making me so physically weak that my aging stopped and I had a really bad health."
Usagi had a sinking feeling in her heart as she said. "And the person to put such a spell on you was my mother." It wasn't a question. She knew few beings were stronger than the Senshi of Saturn.
Hotaru nodded. "Why? I don't know. Hinako said she recognized the Queen's handiwork." A few minutes of silence followed that statement.
Mamoru finally turned all around to make sure they were out of earshot from anyone and whispered. "I think the Queen feared for her position in power."
Usagi and Hotaru leaned forward. The first asked. "Fear? From whom?"
The prince of Earth looked at her sternly. "From you." He silenced any protest by placing his hand over her mouth. He gulped knowing Usagi would get back at him somehow, and she was very imaginative. "Think about it. The historians said you had the most potential for full use of the Serenity power. Saturn could beat her mother in combat from the time she was twelve and was pledged to support any path you took. Our marriage would ensure the union of the Moon and Earth, two planets with the most powerful warriors of the galaxy. Add to that Saturn and you've got enough resources to overthrow the present Queen." He removed his hand from Usagi's face as he finished.
Usagi nodded. "But that doesn't mean I would do it. I love my mother and would never betray her." She realized what Mamoru was getting at and her gaze fell to the ground. "She didn't trust me, did she?"
Hotaru came to the rescue of her friend placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We don't know that, Princess. What Mamoru says is only a supposition, nothing more."
Usagi smiled faintly with the reassurance and reached up to touch Hotaru's hand. "Call me Usagi, Hotaru. I need a friend more than I need a servant." She looked up at the features of the most powerful Senshi. "I need my old friend back." Both girls smiled widely as they knew, deep inside, that things would turn out fine.
Mamoru cleared his throat to get their attention. "Either way. What do we do? Artemis, Luna and most of the Senshi might still be loyal to the dead Queen."
Saturn's features sobered instantly. "I wouldn't worry about that. The inners have their loyalty well placed on Usagi." She noticed as the princess smiled at the way she referred to her. "Pluto has her own agenda, even if she swore to protect the Serenitys. I can bet her agenda doesn't include going against Usagi right now." She added with a smirk.
Mamoru nodded and Usagi blushed a little at the implications. The Nova Family supported Usagi, and Pluto wouldn't go against Ranma since they were lovers. The thought of the way Ranma and Setsuna were around each other made the blonde blush harder. It was obvious they didn't spend all their time together talking. "What about Uranus and Neptune?" Asked Mamoru.
Saturn shrugged. "I really don't know. If they don't recover their past selves they are wild cards. If they do, however..." She let it at that, letting her companions know to whom those two were really loyal to.
The three of them turned their attention back to the building. A heated argument was taking place right now. "Let's hope for the best." Usagi said with a smile that Hotaru and Mamoru found strange. It seemed like some of the characteristics of Usagi's reincarnation were still in her. Princess Serenity never smiled so carefree. Turning to Hotaru, she said. "Would you mind if I took a look at you? I may be able to do something to accelerate your aging."
Hotaru considered it for a moment and nodded. *I don't want to be receiving weird looks forever. If Usagi can make this happen faster then it will be all over.* They both stood up and Usagi lifted her hand in front of herself and closed her eyes in concentration. Mamoru watched entranced as the pair started to emanate a silver light, and Hotaru's form grew even more.
Usagi was sweating already with the exertion. She knew the kind of power needed to accelerate this process, and knew she would be completely drained when she was done, but either way she continued pumping energy into her friend. She owed it to her after what her mother did.
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"What do you mean she's Usagi's age?" Asked a perplexed Michiru. She cared for Hotaru as if she was her daughter. Now to know that her little girl was really only a couple of years younger than her was a real shock.
Artemis nodded. "She was attacked by the Nova Family and the Queen herself had to intervene and drive the dark ones out of the system. Hotaru was badly wounded and it took nearly all of the Queen's energy to save her life."
Luna continued for the other cat. "I believe the Queen's magic hasn't stopped working and Hotaru has finally recovered from the ordeal."
Ami heard the whole thing and asked with a confused expression. "What kind of an attack can last through a reincarnation?"
Luna and Artemis looked at each other and turned to the Senshi of Mercury. "Nova herself attacked Sailor Saturn. Queen Serenity protected the Moon from her evil purposes and saved everyone." Artemis said in a reverent voice.
All the present Senshi looked at each other. Hearing Artemis' version of things they immediately noticed the contradiction with Mercury's memories. Something was terribly wrong here.
A beeping started to come from Ami's purse and everyone turned to it with a look of shock. They were supposed to be done fighting till the foundation of Crystal Tokyo. "Great." Haruka said as she took out her henshin pen. The others followed suit.
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Usagi collapsed back into Mamoru's embrace as the process was finished. She was incredibly tired, but a huge smile adorned her features. "Welcome back, Saturn."
'Saturn' stood before the couple. She looked at herself and then covered her exposed body from sight, a furious blush on her cheeks. She should have known that the clothes of a little girl wouldn't fit her when she was fully-grown.
Mamoru did his best not to stare, mainly because the object of his love was in his arms, but either way failed. He was rewarded with a slap, though it wasn't really hard. "Mamo-chan!" Scolded a tired Usagi. She didn't really mind, because it was an accident. But she could see Hotaru was very embarrassed by the situation.
"Stop playing around and come with us! There's a dark force attacking the people downtown!" Yelled Mars as she exited the shrine after the others.
Before Usagi could protest, Saturn shook her head. "You're too weak to go." She had transformed into her Senshi form, and was now glad to be clothed.
Usagi stood straight and gave her friend a look that said 'don't mess with me.' Both Saturn and Mamoru groaned but either way helped Usagi go downtown.
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The 'dark force' consisted of four figures that did what all the other Youma should have done from the start. The best energy you could obtain for evil purposes was that of fear and life. Fear when the victim knew it was doomed, life when it's life was taken. Which was precisely what was happening.
The Senshi arrived to a horrible scene. Dozens of corpses were scattered everywhere. Horrible testament to the cruelty of the four killers. Three actually, for one of them hadn't even lifted a finger during the whole time. The three actually attacking people were clad in blue armors of an alien design. They seemed human but something simply wasn't right about them. Maybe it was the fact that they were completely identical to each other, maybe because they didn't seem to touch the ground as they walked. The fact was they were all laughing as the pile of corpses continued to grow. People ran screaming in fear just before the threesome moved impossibly fast to intercept them. Things didn't look good in general.
The fourth person was wearing a gray armor of the same kind. He was a little taller than the others and looked a lot heavier. He had a cold smile on his features as he eyed the arriving Senshi.
"Mercury?" Asked Mars as she looked in shock at the massacre. Never before had they faced against such a foe.
Mercury read the numbers on her computer and paled. "They aren't Youma. We are facing the sources of the dark energy." The others considered this, not liking the implications. This went entirely against the modus operandi of their usual foes.
They were about ready to make one of their presentations when something caught everyone's attention. Even the three destructive people had stopped as a single female figure walked to them. "What is the meaning of this?" Asked Princess Serenity as she stood fearlessly in front of the four aliens. Her expression was hard, mostly because of the slaughter taking place.
One of them took the time to wipe the blood off his face and sneered. "Hey, pretty girl! You don't seem to be afraid of us."
Serenity frowned. "Answer my question." The Moon mark on her forehead seemed to glow a little more as she said those words.
This fact didn't go unnoticed by the fourth figure, who suddenly remembered what it meant. "Get her!" He ordered. He wanted to take advantage of the fact that the foolish princess was alone. Her guard seemed to still be in a state of shock and they hadn't moved to protect their ruler. *Too bad for them.* He thought with a smile. The energy the Princess of the Moon would let out when she died was enough for their purpose.
The three guys in the blue armors looked at each other and shrugged. They all charged at the still unmoving blonde girl. As they neared her, they could see as she closed her eyes and started to turn around. They leered in glee at the prospect of killing her.
"LOOK OUT!" Yelled each and every of the present Senshi at the same time. They couldn't believe they hadn't moved to protect the Princess, and now it was too late. They saw as one of them gained the advantage and ever so slowly cocked an arm back. His fingers suddenly grew into knives and he delivered the final strike.
To touch nothing but air. The man's eyes bulged out as he saw his claw go through an illusion of a retreating blond girl. "What the...?" He didn't finish that thought as the ground beneath him exploded. Out of the resulting hole came a blur that stopped in front of the attacker. Pain filled his senses as he felt a sharp object pierce through his chest. He was lifted off the ground with ease.
The others watched in fascination as this happened. One moment the trio was about to kill the Princess. The next the attacker was impaled by the weapon of a mysterious woman wearing the uniform of a Sailor Senshi. She was a huge woman of nearly 6'5" with black hair. Her frame was very feminine yet powerful. Any other feature was blocked by the blood tainting her. It was as if she was bathing in the blood of her impaled victim, who she held firmly over her head as she held her weapon with one hand. "You bitch!" Yelled the impaled one with much more force than anyone in that position should be able to muster.
"Silence." Said the woman in a cold voice.
The other two got ready to attack her as the impaled one continued with his angry ranting. "I'll see you dead, bitch." This was much calmer as he reached for the shaft of the weapon.
"Glaive." The woman continued. Everyone's eyes widened at this. Particularly the impaled one, who was seeing his life pass before his eyes. It wasn't everyday that you were in the receiving end of an attack by the Senshi of Death. Suddenly the trio realized who their enemy was. "Surprise." A huge blast of energy left the tip of the Silence Glaive, which was imbedded in the unfortunate alien. Needless to say there wasn't much of him when the immense ray of energy finally relented.
Silence was the only thing that followed the complete elimination of the murderer. The aliens had their jaws on the floor. Sure, they had heard of the power of Saturn, but never had they witnessed one of her attacks. That Silence Glaive Surprise was strong enough to obliterate a small planet.
The Senshi were shocked to see the real Sailor Saturn for the first time in this life. She was power made flesh both in appearance and in the strength of her attacks. Their shock only increased when one of the remaining two in blue armors simply fell forward, completely motionless. His expression was calm while his eyes were completely empty of life.
The third and last surviving member of the trio turned to his superior. "What's happening?" He asked more than a little distressed. The man in the gray armor, for his part, had his eyes fixated on a roof across from the place of the fight. A look of pure and uncontrolled fear was directed towards four figures standing there. It should be impossible, for they were supposed to be dead, but there they were. They emanated that same frightening dark power that scared so many all those millennia ago. He knew now that it had been a mistake to come to this planet, even if the reports said the Silver Millennium was over and the House of Nova perished during its fall. "Master?" Asked again his subject, but he didn't hear him. His attention was fully concentrated on the two figures dressed in black.
He surprised everyone by falling on his knees and lowering his head until it touched the ground. "Please, forgive me!" He pleaded of his enemies. He knew his life was over from the moment he came here, but maybe Razt would be merciful enough to kill him fast.
Up on the roof, Serenity and Endymion in their royal appearances looked down in surprise. "Someone you know?" Asked the princess of her two companions.
Ryoga smiled as Hinako answered the question. "Just some of Alpha Centauri's foot soldiers. They would be completely useless if they weren't able to regenerate." She turned to her brother and said in an emotionless tone. "Do it quickly. Mother said dinner would be ready shortly."
Ryoga nodded as he walked forward with a spring in his step. He seemed like a happy little kid on his way to buy candy. He jumped off the roof of the three-story building as if it was the most natural thing in the whole world. Now most of the present people didn't find that unusual, being able to do it themselves, but when Ryoga landed and a ten feet in diameter crater appeared under him they did a double take. Without losing his stride, Ryoga walked towards the guy in the blue armor.
"He's going to kill them, isn't he?" Asked Mamoru as calmly as he could. He had heard from Ranma the tales of how Ryoga fought, and he was expectant to see if all he said about his brother was the truth. He didn't really like the prospect of killing them in cold blood, but as he looked around at all the corpses of innocent people he felt the desire to finish them off himself. The only thing that held him back was that the princess was still weak and he had to protect her.
Hinako nodded without turning from what she knew would be a bloody scene. She always found Ryoga's fights to be interesting in a sick way. "Yes, he is. I suggest that if you don't like blood you leave now. Ryoga can get very... creative."
But even with her warning they both stared at the scene. Ryoga was to be one of their allies, and they wanted to know what he was capable of. This was their chance.
Down on the street, Saturn watched as Ryoga closed in on the remaining invaders. She nodded to him as their gazes met and she started walking away from the soon to be massacre. She walked in the direction of the rest of the Senshi completely dropping her guard. Ryoga would take care of them and there was nothing that could be done about it.
Each of the Senshi had different reactions to the way things were happening. Mercury was busily working on her computer to try and scan Ryoga, which only frustrated her. She was receiving nothing but an 'UNKNOWN ENERGY' message. Venus and Jupiter were looking at the boy in fascination as he walked forward purposely. They both had found him to be first class boyfriend material. The fact that he was also from the 'past' helped too. Mars was watching things with an increasing sense of dread. Her senses got nothing but a dark power that made Metallia's seem like the one of an innocent child. Neptune had her sight fixated on Saturn as she walked towards them. She was still out of it as she stared at her 'little' girl. Uranus was intently watching Ryoga, waiting to see what he was capable of and study his weaknesses so she could take him out.
Ryoga smirked as he got within fighting range. The blue armored man matched his opponent's smirk as he launched an attack with his right claw. He was glad the Senshi of Silence wouldn't be his opponent. He would become stronger killing more people and then he might have a chance at escaping.
The attack was slower than anything Ranma had ever thrown at him. The strength behind the blow was something to sneeze at. And even then, the claw penetrated Ryoga's midsection and impaled him from side to side. Blood flowed freely from the wound and dripped ever so slowly from the points of the enemy's claw. "I got you." He said with an evil smile.
The Senshi watched in shock as Ryoga was defeated with a simple attack any of them would have evaded or blocked. "That's the best the Novas have to offer?" Haruka asked no one in particular. She simply felt the need to mock the jerk out loud.
A female voice from up on the roof caught their attention. "Dammit, Ryoga! I told you not to play with them. Mother said to be back for dinner within the hour."
To everyone's amazement, particularly the guy in the blue armor, Ryoga turned to her with an annoyed expression. "I heard you already. I just want to work off some pent up frustrations." He turned to his attacked with a sweet smile. "Now where were we?" He asked teasingly as he reached forward with both his hands. He was moving as if the fact that he was bleeding from a mortal wound was nothing.
The blue armored man felt strong hands take hold of his right arm and neck. The next was simply too painful to register as he screamed in agony and wished it all to end.
Ryoga smiled evilly and with little effort ripped the arm off the body with a spectacular explosion of blood that completely soaked him. The scream of pain was music to his ears as he released his hold on the neck and got the arm out of himself.
The others could see as Ryoga ripped off the arm with a casual movement. He then proceeded to get the arm out of him and the wound closed instantly, as if he had never been hurt in the first place. At the sight of this Venus bent over and threw up, not used at all to seeing cruelty in its purest level.
Ryoga laughed as he used the arm as a baseball bat and slashed off the guy's left leg. "You know what I love about you guys?" He asked conversationally. "You can take a lot of punishment before you die." He stomped on his left knee, making it as thin as a sheet of paper with a sickening noise.
By now the guy's screams of pain had turned into pure uncontrolled fear and anguish. He had never faced such a monster before, and all he wanted was for the torture to end. He even exposed his neck for a killing blow, so excruciating was the pain he was suffering. Ryoga smiled as he took the hint and dropped his new arm toy. He bent down and picked the guy by the top of the head. "You want me to finish it?" The guy's eyes pleaded him to end his suffering. "Very well. Though it is more than you deserve after you killed those little kids." He ripped the head off and squashed it between his hands. He dropped something completely unrecognizable to the floor next to the now headless body. Snorting in disgust at the remains, he palm striked the chest of the corpse. An explosion was the result, and a red stain was the only thing left of the once proud soldier of Alpha Centauri.
By now Venus had fainted, Mercury had dropped her computer at the readings she got. "No one is that strong. It's impossible." She muttered over and over again. Jupiter watched in shocked horror and wondered how long she would stand against someone that strong. Not that she ever intended to fight that monster, she wasn't that crazy. Mars' state of mind was completely indescribable. Uranus was livid. She had come very close to being the one fighting Ryoga, and most probably be squashed like an insect.
Ryoga walked to the kneeling soldier and asked. "What are you collecting energy for?"
The guy answered without a second thought. "We're preparing an invasion to expand our dominion."
Ryoga snorted and turned away from him. "Coward. Tell your people not to come here again if they don't want their little weak empire to turn into a black hole. I'll see to it myself if they come even half the distance to this galaxy ever again." He said as he started walking towards his sister.
The guy in the black armor didn't question his orders or his good luck. He vanished in thin air, intent on getting the hell away from this sector of the Universe.
As Saturn reached the outers, she lowered her head and said in a hesitant voice. "I'll understand it if you don't want me around anymore."
Neptune shook her head vehemently. "What are you talking about? You're still Hotaru no matter what you look like." She said as she reached out to embrace the now taller Senshi. She was quite surprised to be giving support to someone that was so much taller than she was. Hotaru let a small smile light up her features as tears threatened to come out of her eyes. She had expected the kind of rejection she always found during the Silver Millennium. She might be the strongest of the Senshi, but no one can live alone forever. She didn't know how Haruka would take things, but Michiru accepting her was more than she dared hope.
Ryoga smiled as he stopped a few feet from the Senshi. "Hey squirt! Wanna go out for dinner on Friday?" Seeing Hotaru smile and nod he continued walking. "Pick you up at eight." He said casually as he jumped to the roof. "Let's go. I'm starving." He said to Hinako as he continued walking in the direction of the house.
Hinako smiled teasingly at the unmoving forms of princess Serenity and Endymion. "He was merciful today. I guess he must be hungry." And with that she gave chase to her brother. Both brother and sister didn't seem to notice the stares they got from every witness of the fight as they hurried home.
Back down, the Senshi surrounded the only corpse left complete. "What happened to this guy?" Asked Haruka as she knelt down and looked for any signs of injury. She found absolutely none.
Mercury had recovered herself enough to start typing on her computer. She did a complete scan of the body. "It seems like all the internal organs failed at the same time, preventing any kind of regenerative abilities from happening. He died without even knowing what happened."
"Ranma." Whispered Saturn. The others look up at her with questioning glances. It seemed like for the moment they had forgotten about her sudden change. She took the hint and continued for everyone to hear. "I think it was Ranma's work. When we lived in the Silver Millennium he was always looking for the way to kill without pain. His experience told him how bad torture could be." She made an effort not to turn to Haruka at that comment, but all the others did. Uranus felt betrayed by her companions. They knew her from a long time and yet they doubted her. She would never torture for the sheer pleasure of it. She wasn't sure if she could torture someone in any case.
Mercury reminded everyone that they should leave the scene and they all started roof hoping. Mamoru and Usagi joined then quickly. As they went, the conversation continued. "But how did Ranma attack that man? We didn't see him anywhere."
Saturn shook her head. "I don't know. Even back then Ranma would always surprise us with his creativity for fighting. Who knows what he has been able to develop over thousands of years."
Neptune turned to Saturn with a knowing expression. "You admire him." It wasn't in any way a question.
Saturn nodded. "We were all born with magic powers that give us an advantage over other humans. Our abilities come to us naturally."
Mamoru finished for her. "But Ranma doesn't have any magic. What he's achieved has been gained with effort." He smiled faintly as he jumped down to the yard of the shrine. "It has been that way since I met him in the Academy."
Makoto, after they all detransformed, said hopefully. "I'm really looking forward to him teaching me." And for the first time she meant it without interest in a guy. Pure martial arts in her mind.
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Ryoga and Hinako entered the house to find Nodoka waiting for them at the dining room. "Sorry we're late, mother. Pig-boy didn't finish those idiots fast enough." Hinako said dismissively.
Ryoga smiled triumphantly. "You're just jealous because it was my turn to fight. You always take longer trying to show off." Hinako's returning smile didn't contradict his words. In fact, all it did was confirm the statement.
Nodoka coughed lightly on her hand to get their attention. When she was sure the two were done teasing each other, for the moment, she said. "You let one of them leave." It wasn't an accusation.
Ryoga nodded seriously. "News about our survival will travel fast. Things are happening according to schedule." He sat down and prepared to start eating when he noticed the look his mother was giving him. "What?"
Nodoka pointed towards his bloodstained clothes. "Go clean yourself before we start eating. Sometimes you're just so careless." Ryoga made a face, but either way complied and left the room grumbling.
Hinako giggled at the scene and turned to her mother. "Where's Ranma and Setsuna?"
Nodoka allowed a faint smile to show. "They said they would be going out to dinner and then out on some business. We should expect them back by the end of the week."
Hinako looked at her mother with an amused smile. "You do realize it's Tuesday, right?" Nodoka nodded as her expression remained unchanged. It had taken a long time for her, but she had finally accepted Ranma and Setsuna were meant for each other. Ranma had returned to the world of the living outside of his martial arts. That was something they had all lost hope of. She was taken out of her contemplation as Hinako continued. "Ryoga asked Saturn out on a date."
Nodoka's lifted an eyebrow at that. "I take it she's her real age then?"
Hinako nodded. "And as impressive as we remember her. I'm not surprised Ryoga is interested."
"Shut up! She's just a friend!" Snapped Ryoga as he entered the room now on clean clothing. He had a frown on his face and menacingly stared at Hinako.
Nodoka didn't react as Hinako smirked and answered back. "Yeah, right! That's what Ranma used to say. Give it up, brother. You know you really like her."
Ryoga's eyes started to glow with energy. "Hinako." He said very slowly as he clenched his fists.
Nodoka calmly stood up and headed to the kitchen. "Take it to the kitchen, you two. I'll keep dinner warm till you're done."
Before Hinako could protest Ryoga had already taken hold of her arm and slung her over his shoulder. She found herself being carried towards the dojo by a very ticked off Ryoga. She laughed as she said. "Did I hit a nerve?" She knew very well the following fight would be quite serious and would hurt like hell. To both of them, she was no slouch herself. But she either way loved having the advantage over her brother, and right now she had the advantage.
"Shut up! You're one to talk. How many boyfriends have you had in the last two thousand years?" Ryoga asked trying to spite her as well. He wanted to get back at her, and he knew the right buttons to push.
"RYOGA!" Bellowed Hinako as she levitated to her feet and glared at him. It was a sensitive spot for her.
Ryoga smirked evilly as he leaned forward and asked. "Did I hit a nerve?"
Needless to say Nodoka had to keep dinner warm for a long time that evening.
END PART 5
Author's notes: Well thats part 5 for you. Sorry to my prereaders, but I've decided to post whatever I have as soon as I finish it and then correct any mistakes the readers find. Patience is a virtue, but not a virtue I possess in great amounts. Again, I'm sorry.
How did you like this chapter? I'm covering what happens to some of the NWC in Part 6, as well as explaining more about the history behind the Novas and the Senshi.
See you in part 6! |
