Drakar knelt before his Prince-Brother, Calador. "" "" "" "" "" "" "" *********************************************************************** Based on stuff that's not mine *********************************************************************** Written by Cyclone *********************************************************************** W H I R L W I N D P R O D U C T I O N S *********************************************************************** presents *********************************************************************** T H E L U N A R K N I G H T S *********************************************************************** Author's Notes: Not really much to say here except to say that Ryouga's finally lost enough to stay gone for a whole episode. Enjoy the 'fic and tell me what you think. A note on pronounciation: Branaugh is pronounced brawn-NOW. Lathian is pronounced lay-THEE-en. *********************************************************************** Episode Five--Awakening Ranma whistled as he wandered around the Juuban District. After the mess had cleared up at the shrine, it hadn't been as hard as he feared to escape the girls. He still wanted to know how he knew about the Senshi's identities, but he had a feeling that the answer to _that_ was something beyond his grasp at the moment. He was basking in the glory of the morning sun and glad to smell the smell of spring... even though spring smelled like sweat, allergies, and car exhaust. He wrinkled his nose. *I need to get out of the city. Even up at the shrine, I can smell the fumes.* It should be noted that Ranma was basking in the weather while sauntering nonchalantly along a fencetop and was also attracting a considerable crowd of onlookers. He considered his situation. He knew the Senshi's identities, but they hadn't done anything to keep him quiet yet. Even if they did, he'd just chalk them up under his "Want to Kill Me" list. But then there was Ami, aka Sailor Mercury. He wasn't sure why, but he knew she was very important... and not just because she was a Senshi. He felt drawn to her somehow, and he didn't know why. Drawing even more stares, he flipped off the fence and continued to explore the district. Later... His aimless wanderings eventually planted him in front of a house... and with no clue as to where he was. He glanced around, puzzled. *Where am I? Damnit, I can't believe I pulled a Ryouga.* He was about to pick a random direction to go when the front door of the house in front of him opened. He turned. "Ami-san?" "Ranma-kun! What are you doing here?" "I, uh, got lost." He scratched the back of his head, embarassed. She giggled. "I thought it was Hibiki-san that was supposed to get lost." His face reddened a bit. *Kami, why can't Akane laugh like that?* "Ah, well, call it a fluke," he replied. She smiled and shook her head, "C'mon. I'm heading for the shrine, anyway. Besides... we need to talk." He blanched. *Uh oh.* "Um, lead the way." Elsewhere... Akane lashed out with a crescent kick, which Makoto deflected and countered with a throw. Akane somersaulted and landed on her feet, her back to Makoto. She spun into a high roundhouse just as Makoto charged her. The brunette ducked and tried to sweep Akane, who jumped over it just in time. They had been sparring for the past hour. Akane had gone to Makoto's place for a visit while Rei and Grandfather Hino repaired the damage to the shrine. They seemed... unwilling to accept her help after she had hammered a nail straight through the wall and into a tree a meter away on the other side. Makoto considered herself one of the best martial artists from Juuban, and she was right. Akane subconsciously knew she was one of the _worst_ martial artists from Nerima, and this too was correct. Despite this, the two were roughly equal in skill. It was all a matter of the standards used for comparison. "Time out!" Makoto called. "I think I'd better get started on lunch." "Right," Akane replied with a friendly smile. "Need any help?" "Sure, Akane, thanks." Back to Ranma and Ami... "How did you know?" He mentally stumbled. Of all the questions he was expecting, that was not one of them. "I..." he sighed. "I don't know how I know. I just... _knew_." "Oh." She was silent for a moment. Then she asked, "Can we trust you not to tell anyone?" "Of course. Telling anyone would only put you in danger, and I, for one, don't want to do that." She had the peculiar impression that he wasn't referring to all the Senshi. The two walked on in silence for a while. "Hey." "Hmm?" "Have you had any... strange dreams, lately?" He was long in answering. "Yeah, why?" "What were they about? Were... _we_... in them?" From the emphasis, it was clear who she meant. "...yes. We were fighting... something. You were there, all of you, along with some... friends... of mine." "I see." She paused. "Umm, are you hungry?" "No," he replied, but his stomach growled, betraying him. She giggled. "Come on. Let's go get something to eat," she said, grabbing his hand. He let her lead him onward, "Okay." Meanwhile... The two girls coughed as they made their way blindly out of the kitchen. They both took deep breaths once they cleared the green smoke. Akane was almost in tears, "I'm sorry, Mako-chan. You were making such a wonderful lunch, and I ruined everything!" "Aw, c'mon, Akane, it's not that bad. I'm sure everything'll be fine once the smoke clears. Meanwhile, let's just go out to eat. I know just the place. It's got food, games, and good music." The blue-haired girl smiled faintly, "Okay, let's go!" Later... Makoto managed to cheer up her new friend by the time they arrived at the Crown Arcade. They were about to walk in when Akane suddenly grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her to the side. "Akane, what is it?" "It's... Ranma. I saw Ranma in there." "So?" "...he's with Ami." Makoto just _stared_ at her. "Akane, you're overreacting. _I'm_ the boycrazy one, remember? Not meaning to put her down, but Ami's too shy to even _try_ and start anything with a hunk like Ranma." *...even if they _were_ making goggle-eyes at each other back at the shrine...* Makoto silently added. Akane's face reddened. "I... I guess you're right." They entered, and Ranma waved to them, "Akane! Mako-chan! Over here!" Makoto whispered to Akane, "See? What'd I tell you?" Akane nodded, and they went over to join the other two. Makoto sat next to Ami, leaving Akane to sit next to her unwanted fiancee. Much later... Ranma and Ami were walking through the deserted streets of Juuban. The four of them had spent the entire day hanging out and enjoying each other's company. Akane had decided to go and help Makoto clean up her house and especially her kitchen, despite protests from both Ranma and Makoto. The argument ended rather swiftly when Akane blindsided Ranma with her mallet again. Currently, Ranma was walking Ami home. After all, it was dangerous for a girl to go around alone after dark, right? Suddenly, the street in front of them erupted, revealing a three meter tall (that's about 10ft for the metric-impaired) demon. It looked very different from a Branaugh. Its smooth skin was the color of dried and mottled blood, and its eyes glowed menacingly. It only had two arms, and a pair of batlike wings sprouted from its back. They heard a voice echoing loudly in their minds, "Your interference will cost you, human. Pity this little girl has to die as well." Not turning away from the demonic being in front of him, Ranma said under his breath, "Go. Call the others and transform." She didn't move. He turned and yelled, "GO! GET MOVIN'!" That broke her paralysis, and she ran. Unfortunately, the demon decided to use the opening and struck Ranma with the back of its hand, knocking him back. He coughed up some blood and thought, *This... is gonna be a looong night...* Later... "FLAME SNIPER!" The demon laughed off the fire-based attack. Again, it spoke telepathically. "Fool! I am _immune_ to heat and fire. I _am_ a fire daemonite!" *A... _fire_ deamonite...* thought Sailor Mercury. "SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!" The demon roared at the impact of the freezing blast. The roar echoed throughout the whole district, shaking the very foundations of the buildings closest to the battlefield. It turned to face her. "You will PAY, puny human!" It raised one arm and launched a ball of flame at Sailor Mercury. "Ami! Look out!" Ranma launched himself at the blue-haired Senshi, knocking her out of the way of the fire blast. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough to get out of the way himself. "ARGH!" He staggered and almost collapsed, when the sigil of Earth again flared on his forehead. He stood straighter, apparently ignoring his wounds. He snarled at the demon quietly, "By your actions, you have endangered innocent and defenseless people. This is a crime that _cannot_ be forgiven! WINDSINGER!" He extended one hand to the sky, and a sword appeared in his hand, the sword of Sir Terra. "TERRA DRAGON POWER!" A tornado descended upon him, obscuring him from view. When the tornado cleared, he stood, garbed in the by-now-familiar armor of Sir Terra, Lord of Air and leader of the Lunar Knights. "CYCLONE BARRAGE!" The demon howled under the assault, slammed and ripped apart by the biting winds. Sir Terra collapsed under the strain while the demon dropped to its knees. Despite the onslaught, the demon slowly began struggling back to its feet... ...until a bolt of energy lanced out and skewered it. Out of the darkness strode a large humanoid figure. They all eyed him warily. It was Syphon Danaali. He glanced at the dissolving corpse of the fire daemonite and said, "Not bad." He seemed thoughtful for a moment. "Would you be willing to ally yourselves with my people against the Branaugh? That," he gestured toward the dissolving remains, "was one of the Branaugh's lesser minions known as daemonites, created by mystic rites and infused with some of the lifeforce of its creator." He extended a hand, "I understand this is your custom?" Sailor Moon, the default leader, replied, "Umm, well, we'll have to think about it." He withdrew his hand, "You do not trust me. I can understand, since you have encountered some fugitives from our world." "'Fugitives'?" asked Sailor Venus. "Fugitives. A pair of escaped criminals. We have been hunting them for quite a while now." "But we ran into three of your people before we met you, all of them... quite a bit hostile," remarked Sailor Mars. Syphon chuckled, "Oh, him? That would be Captain Vekan. He tends to get a little... overzealous at times. He was fighting a Branaugh when you ran into him. He thought you were working for them." *I don't like this,* thought Mars. *Too many coincidences.* Sailor Moon frowned. For some reason, she felt she could trust the Lathian cyborg. She finally replied, "All right. We'll work together. For now, anyway." Syphon nodded, "That is all I ask. Until next time, then." He vanished back into the shadows. Sailor Mercury spun and knelt by the fallen Knight. She bit her lip as she ran a medical scan with the Mercury Computer. She breathed a sigh of relief when the scan reported no life-threatening injuries. "How is he?" asked the lead Senshi. Sailor Mercury turned to face her. "He's stable. The magic's healing him already, though without Saturn, it'll take days at least." Two of the Senshi, Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter, remained on guard. Despite the alliance Sailor Moon had agreed to, neither was willing to trust the Lathian just yet. Sailor Venus worried about these new enemies and idly wondered if the other Knights would awaken. "Oh, man... anybody get the number of that truck?" Sir Terra's voice came from behind them. Sir Terra glanced down at himself, "Wha-...?" Then he remembered. He looked at each of the Senshi present, one at a time. Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus, and, finally, Sailor Mercury. "I... I remember..." *********************************************************************** Ranma Voiceover: Now that I've finally awakened to my true identity... Oh, come on! Don't deny it! You _knew_ I was Sir Terra! Anyway, now that I've awakened, our friend in the tuxedo will have some questions. Not to mention I'll have to meet all the other Senshi. Be there for the next episode of The Lunar Knights: "Remembrance." *********************************************************************** Author's Postscript: Wow! For once, Ryouga's infamous sense of misdirection actually keeps him out of a whole episode! Seriously, things are going to start heating up, now that the first Lunar Knight has fully awakened. This is Cyclone, signing off.