Kibou no Hikari by Kokushoku Karasu (Black Raven) Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Takahashi Rumiko. Sailor Moon belongs to Takeuchi Naoko. I believe you know the rest. Chapter One: Veil Lifted. "..." : Japanese {"..."}: Chinese <...> : Thought [...] : Written stuff Created: 09/25/2001 Rewrite: 04/26/2003 (>2nd) Updated: 04/27/2003 ---------- About a month after the failed wedding: "Are you sure you'll know her when you see her?" "Trust me, I'll know the princess on sight." The brown cat replies. "After all, I was her advisor all those years ago." "And yet we've been at this for almost eight months, and we haven't found her yet?" The girl, who can now clearly be seen as having short blue-ish black hair, and wearing a Furinkan girls' uniform. "Okay, okay, so she's hard to find. But I'll still recognize her if I see her." The cat says. "You've said that hundreds of times, Masami." The girl retorts, looking bored. "Look, it's our obligation to find the princess, she's your princess too, not just mine." Masami retorts. "You said it would be easy to find her, but have we even seen the slightest trace of her?" ----- Elsewhere: Ranma scowled, as once again, the ladle lady managed to drench him, changing him into female form. The redhead grumbles to herself. ----- "Masami, do you think Ranma would have gone through with it?" The blue haired girl from earlier asks. "I don't know, you've seen how he reacts to a cat, any cat, so I wouldn't exactly be able to go near him." Masami replies. Akane stops dead in her tracks, with a look of dread on her face. "You don't think he could be...." Akane trails off, not wanting to finish. "Gay? I doubt it." Masami says. "That's not what I was saying!" Akane exclaims. "Y-you don't think h-he could be the p-p-pri-princess, do you?" Masami laughs. "Him? A princess?" Masami falls over laughing. "I'll believe that when I see it!" The cat guffaws from the ground. ----- Meanwhile: Something felt off, something in the air, something that told her that something was going to happen, and soon. She was quite some distance from the dojo, as he had taken a walk to think, and she was still using the time to think. Those thoughts mostly revolved around the events of a month previous. And why she was relieved that the curse hadn't been cured. Ranma couldn't figure it out, but as far as she or he could tell, he was relieved that the curse hadn't been cured. It's almost as if part of her wants to be a girl, or is a girl. That made the redhead understandably nervious, and confused. In addition, there were those dreams she had been having recently, where she couldn't explain. So, she wandered around, lost in thought. She wasn't sure where she was when she heard it, but she heard a battle cry, one she hadn't ever heard before. Or if she had, it didn't seem familar, and it wasn't anything like the usual ones she heard. Which is what caught her attention. Just a few fractions of a second before the world around her exploaded in pain, and she flew meny feet back into a wall. Ranma removed herself from an imprint that looked much like her, and barely had time to dodge an incoming punch, that would have hit her head, but she luckily managed to dodge it. Whatever was attacking her looked vaguely female, and humanoid, but something in the back of her mind prevented most of the usual girl is attacking me reflexes from kicking in. But, the attacks continued to come in, fast and furrious. She was barely dodging most of them, blocking most of the rest, but some were getting through the redhead's defenses. Those that got through felt like Ryouga's strongest hits. "MOUKO TAKABISHA!" Ranma launched her ki blast at point-blank range, in hopes of gaining room to manuever. The attack did grant her the room to manuever, but it also left her open while she executed it, resulting in a punch to her face and a second to her abdomin. Ranma asks, as she executes an unanounced Amaguriken attack, which her assailant quickly manages to counter. ----- In China, Amazon village: In the heart of the village, built underneath the council hall, was a secret chamber. It's contents mostly unknown, except in legend. One of the contents of this room was an anchaint scroll, with powerful magic imbued in it, preventing it from showing it's age, or being opened, until the time was right. Right now, the three oldest elders where looking at the scroll, which was glowing. They had all felt it, the seal would be broken soon. Meaning it was almost time, almost time for what the Amazons were waiting for. Waiting, watching, for over four thousand years. {"It's almost time."} One comments. {"Yes, the time is at hand."} Another comments. {"She is being reborn."} The third says. ----- Back in Nerima: CRACK! She feels her rib crack, or even break. Something in the back of her head tells her that losing isn't an option, and it isn't her father's training. Had anyone been watching, they would have seen something flickering on the redhead's forehead, too briefly to be made out. But, the monster was the only thing that was nearby, or could see, but it paid it no mind. Something in the back of her mind was saying 'transform', there were words that flittered just below the surface of her concious mind. Actions that went with those words also passed through her subconscious. Had she been looking in her right hand, she would have seen something flicker there briefly for a second. The monster landed a blow that sent her flying again, and snapped the redhead's left arm. "I won't lose to the like of you!" Comes from Ranma's mouth, unbidden. The mark that had been flickering on Ranma's forehead finally shone with full luminosity, revealing a circle with a dot in the center, the sigil of Sol. And, even as the mark glowed a golden yellow, a small pen-like object seemed to appear in Ranma's hand. She raised it into the air. "Sol Star Power, MAKE UP!!" The monster, feeling the power surge, briefly pauses, confused. Then when the surge clears, it sees the redhead standing in front of it, with a change of clothes. But that didn't matter to the monster. "SOLAR BEAM!!" The redhead calls out, her attack strikes the youma, sending it flying. The attack actually hurts the youma, unlike the physical attacks. She closes in and kicks the youma, breaking whatever passed for the youma's ribs, she uses a quick Amaguriken, and every one of the punches penetrate the youma's defenses, further pummeling it. Sailor Sol holds her hand out to the side, and a viscious polearm appears out of nowhere. She twirls the gliave a few times, to get a feel for it's balance, then slices the youma in half with it. The youma, falls in two different directions, and becomes dust. The redhead colapses, and falls to the ground, the glaive vanishing along with the sailor fuku, to be replaced with Ranma's normal clothing. ----- Masami felt a disterbance, and informed Akane, who transformed. By the time they arrived on the scene, all they found was a redhead, who looked badly beaten up, and some scattered dust. And lots of destruction. "Looks like there was a battle here." Masami comments. "Better check on the redhead, see if she's alright." Sailor Terra goes over to the redhead, who's face down on the ground, and carefully turns her over, only then to realize the identity of the redhead. She takes a quick look around herself, and detransforms. "Ranma?" Akane asks. No response. ----- "Will he be alright, Tofu-sensei?" Akane asks. "In about a week, or so." Doctor Tofu answers. "Barring any more fights like whatever did this to him." ----- In the other room: Ranma returned to consciousness. She opened her eyes, or rather eye, as her right eye was swollon shut, and she winced from the light. "Will he be alright, Tofu-sensei?" She hears Akane ask from the other room. "In about a week or so." She heard Tofu-sensei reply. "Barring any more fights like whatever did this to him." She managed to get up, with some difficulty, and limp over to the door. "Ranma, you shouldn't be up." Tofu-sensei admonishes. "How long?" Ranma asks. "You've been out for a few hours." Tofu-sensei replies. "Oh, and Ranma, you shouldn't change until your bones have had time to heal." The redhead looks at her arm, which is in a cast, her ankle is bandaged with a pressure wrap, the kind used for sprains, and her breathing, which she just now realized was labored, was because of cracked, fractured, or even broken ribs. "Almost anyone else would be laid up for months from your injuries, but I'd say it'll take you a week or two to get over those." ----- "Just what happened, anyway?" Akane asks. Ranma leans against a wall to support herself. "Well--" "RANMA!! PREPARE TO DIE!!!" Ryouga bellows his traditional battle cry. Ranma dodges out of the way, barely. ----- Elsewhere: "I still don't believe how she could have lost something like that." Rei mutters under her breath. Usagi's and Hotaru's expressions turn to sheepish ones. While, like the other 260 meetings before that, Setsuna is bashing her head against a wall. Said wall has been long since modified to take a lot of punishment from said senshi of time's non-senshi form. The reason for this being that she lost her timestaff, five years ago. And still can't find it. While Ami scans on her computer, but still can't find the crystal, it's as if it's behind some kind of shielding. Nor could she detect the timestaff, not that she had been able to before, nor could she detect the glaive. "So, where are we looking this week?" Makoto asks, with a bored expression on her face. "Well--" Ami starts, when her computer beeps. She looks at the readings. She aborts whatever she was going to say, and types quickly on her keyboard. "I've got good news, and bad news." That was enough to get Setsuna's attention. "What?" She asks, hopefully. "The good news is, that my computer just detected the Glaive, for a few seconds." Ami starts. "I was only able to narrow down where the Glaive is to somewhere in or near Tokyo before it disappeared again." Everyone groans. ----- Nerima: Ryouga makes a lunging punch at Ranma, and he manages to hit the redhead's face, with a lot of force, sending Ranma flying into the wall. "Pretending to be a helpless girl won't help you this time, Ranma." Ranma's cheek was stinging from the force of the blow Ryouga inflicted. "Ryouga-kun, Ranma's in no condition to fight!" Akane exclaims. Only to be ignored by Ryouga. Ryouga picks up his umbrella, and goes over to Ranma. Akane pulls her mallet out of nowhere, and hits Ryouga with it, sending him flying via mallet express. "Whoa." Ranma comments, shading her eyes from the sun, as she watches Ryouga's flight path. Ranma says to herself. "If you didn't tease Ryouga so much, this wouldn't have happened." Akane says darkly to Ranma. "Somehow I doubt it." The redhead mutters, as she winces from the pain caused by moving. Akane shakes her head, and wonders, again, what's with boys. Or if she will ever understand them. Or even understand why Ranma and Ryouga fight all the time. Ranma, meanwhile, is becoming increasingly aware of every step between Tofu-sensei's office, and the Dojo. ----- Later, at the Dojo: Akane carries the injured redhead inside the house, she had been carrying the redhead for the last few blocks, much to Ranma's consternation. But Ranma wasn't going to voice her complaint, as raising Akane's ire now, might mean a looong stay at Tofu-sensei's office. So, she chose not to annoy Akane. "Akane you're--" Kasumi starts, then catches sight of Ranma. "What happened to Ranma?" Kasumi asks, shocked. "A demon." Ranma says, still being held in Akane's arms. "Oh my!" Kasumi exclaims. "Do you want a bath now, Ranma-chan?" Kasumi asks. "Tofu-sensei said he shouldn't change until after he gets better." Akane says, carrying Ranma up to the guest room. ----- Later that evening: Ranma lies in bed, thinking back to the fight earlier in the afternoon, but for some reason, she can't remember how the fight ended, only that she had been badly injured, and then nothing. After being told Tofu-sensei's instructions, and the entire list of Ranma's injuries, Nodoka had told Genma to leave Ranma alone, and not even sparring with Ranma was allowed until Ranma got better. On the one hand, that pleased Ranma, because even she didn't want to fight in her condition. But on the other, she didn't like being treated like an invalid. The redhead yawned, and closed her eyes. Sleep was quick to overtake her. ----- "You don't think he was attacked by a youma, do you Masami?" Akane asks the brown cat. "It's possible, but from what you've told me, he'd probably be able to beat almost any of the youma we've faced, and he'd recover in less than an hour." The cat replies from Akane's desk. "What if we have to face it?" Akane asks. "Don't worry, remember, you're faster and stronger than Ranma when you're in senshi form." Masami reassures. They hear a sound at the window, it's P-chan. Masami ducks into a corner, not wanting the pig to see her. "P-chan!" Akane exclaims, hugging the pig to herself. "You're soaked." Akane observes. Masami takes that opportunity to leave via the open window. Akane sees Masami leave, but thinks nothing of it, after all, Masami has this hangup about being seen, even by P-chan. ----- She teleported to the north pole. She was here for a similar reason to the others, she was here to fight the dark kingdom. But, she knew that there were more than just the four currupted bodyguards in Beryl's grasp, there were four more, not Endymion's, but someone elses, hers. That's what made this was personal. They had betrayed her, whom they were sworn to protect. After all, one doesn't spend a year held prisoner by the dark kingdom, and not learn anything. She knew the others would have quite a challange ahead of them, but she couldn't help. In order to protect them, she would have to leave them on their own. While she had to face her former bodyguards, should she find them. After only a little while of searching, she found one, Argonite. Before the betrayal, he taught her the sword, and was one of her childhood playmates, although well over a decade older than herself. She drew her sword forth from subspace. "Child, you don't think I taught you everything I know, do you?" Argonite says, as he drew his sword. Which still bore the markings of house Sol's royal guard. The two combatants charged, metal clashed, sending out sparks in all directions. "Impressive, you managed to block that one, but can you block this?" Argonite asks, as he once again charges. The sound of metal striking metal resounds through the air, and ki begins to flare. Again and again, blows are parried, blocked, deflected, and dodged faster than most could follow. Lunges dodged by the narrowest of margins. swipes parried and blocked. Thrusts met with air, or parried. Energy builds up between the two combatants, ki or magical, or a combination of same can't really be told, the energy reaches critical mass, and exploads, sending both combatants skidding appart. Argonite holds his sword in blocking position, then fires an energy blast with his free hand. She barely dodges the blast, responding with an unanounced Plasma Shock. Which Argonite dodges. Argonite looks around, trying to find the redhead, but is unsuccessful, the steam getting in the way, somewhat. He feels a dull pain in his chest, as the steam clears, he realizes that Sailor Sol is standing in front of him, still in thrust position, with the sword.... Argonite follows the path of the sword with his eyes, and realizes that the pain he felt was in actual fact, a sword that had punctured his lung. The fog that had been around for so long, he wasn't even aware of it, fades. "Hikaru, you did well..." Argonite starts. "I knew--" He coughs up some blood. "--you would surpass me one day." He continues. "The others left allready, they took Mitsuchi...." Argonite's eyes close, his body begins to glow, then vanishes, leaving behind his sword, uniform, and royal guard transformation item. "NOOOOOO!!!!!" Sailor Sol screams to the heavens. ----- Ranma bolts upright in bed, then winces as her ribs remind her that she shouldn't be moving. She puts her hand over her chest and tries to calm her ragged breathing. Without much success. This was similar to those dreams she had been having for the last year, but it was far more vivid. Although it did seem odd that she could remember the dream so clearly. ---------- End chapter one: Author's notes: Finally progress in this one, started nearly two years ago, and three unworkable versions. This timeline seems more open than the others, and with fewer timeline related problems to work out. I can't really say more about that. Website: www.tentacle.net/~awk E-mail: awk@tentacle.net 04/27/2003 484 lines