The disclaimer, practically every character here is NOT mine.  They all belong 
to their respective company.  I am using a lot of them, so I can't list them 
all.  Beside, I am gonna add more series to the story later on.  Don't sue me.  
You won't get a penny out of me.  Trust me, you won't.  For others, there are 
SOME characters I made up, but who cares?  I don't.


Ranma Crossover fanfic

first fanfic alert!!!
draft alert!!!
and...
Ah heck, read at your own risk.





STALLION

Chapter 5.

< A new hero?  Or a new headache? >


Part 1.




Inside the Nekohanten's kitchen, the Joketsuzoku matriarch was cooking up ramen.  
After she took a sip from the pot to make sure it was done, Cologne poured the 
content into a bowl.  She then shouted out through the counter.

"Shampoo!  One beef ramen!"

"Coming, great-grandma!"

The young Amazon skillfully caught the bowl Cologne threw, and set it down on a 
table.  She then frowned, trying to remember who ordered it.

"Who asked for beef ramen?  Oh, Shampoo remember!  MOUSSE!!"

"Yes, my love?"

WHAM!

"Don't call me that.  Now, deliver beef ramen to this place."

Mousse took the direction slip from Shampoo's hand, rubbing his now sore nose.  
He squinted his eyes to make out the letters on the paper, but couldn't.  Then 
he put his glasses back on and looked at it again.

'Much better.  Hmm, a temple?  That's weird.  Who orders ramen in a temple?  
Morisato something...(1)  Wait a sec!'

"Wait a minute!  There must be a mistake!  This is on the opposite side of 
town!"

BONK!

"Shampoo no make mistake!  We deliver ramen ANYWHERE now.  It our new promo!  
Stupid Mousse remember?"

"Oh, yeah...  I remember...  But I still say it's absurd!  What kind of 
restaurant delivers all over town?"

"Shampoo no care," Shampoo replied, shrugging off his protest, "Mousse is one 
who deliver, not Shampoo.  Shampoo only deliver ramen for airen now."

"That's the other thing!  Why do 'I' have to deliver this?"

CRACK!

This time it wasn't Shampoo.  It was her great-grandmother.

"It's your job because YOU agreed to take it!  Now stop complaining and leave 
already!"

"But, but..."

BAM!

This time it WAS Shampoo.

"No but!  You remember what Shampoo said if Mousse don't do delivery?  Shampoo 
no joke!  You want to see Shampoo's knife again?"

Mousse eeped and covered his crotch with his hands.  He now remembered how he 
got himself into this.  Shampoo had threatened to cut off "a certain part" of 
his anatomy if he didn't listen to what she said.

"No, no!  No need to bring that out again!  I am going!  I am going!"

"Good, go!  Or Shampoo change mind!"

The amazon male grabbed the bowl, put it in the delivery box, closed the lid, 
and ran out the door before she changed her mind.  She followed him out the door 
and shouted at his retreating form.

"Go fast!  That kid sounded too too hungry!!(2)"



After she finished shouting, Shampoo came back into the restaurant.  Cologne had 
gone inside the kitchen again to prepare for the upcoming dinner rush.  The 
purple-haired waitress also began to her preparations.  She wiped the tables, 
cleaned the floor, checked the dishes and put some hot water into the teapots.  
When she couldn't find any more chores to do, she finally decided to take a 
break.

Shampoo sat on a table, with her chin leaning on her arms.  There was nothing 
left to do before dinner time.  Normally she would visit Ranma to offer him some 
free food right about now, but she wasn't feeling up to it today, because she 
knew he would decline her gift again.  While all those rejections didn't stop 
Shampoo from her "free food" strategy, she was less enthusiastic about it these 
days.

Shampoo sighed.  She didn't know what to do. Ever since Jusendo, Ranma hadn't 
been himself.  He had changed, and not for the better either, at least in 
Shampoo's eyes.  He was getting along better with Akane, but Shampoo's own 
relationship with him was taking a downfall.  Her main tactic of "getting a man 
through his stomach" wasn't working well, but she had no alternative plan.  So 
at the moment Shampoo was at a disadvantage.  That spatula girl was still his 
best friend, and that the violent girl was living with him in the same house.  
Shampoo, meanwhile, was living apart from him and was busy with her job.  What 
was she going to do?

Shampoo heavily sighed again.  It was then when she noticed the teapot on her 
table.  She had just filled it with fresh hot water, so the tea must be ready by 
now.  She lifted the pot and began to pour hot liquid into the cup in front of 
her.

Tick!

With the loud noise, the cup broke, leaving a long crack on its side.

Shampoo sat there, frozen.  This was definitely NOT a good sign...



"Konatsu!  You done cleaning the grill?"

"Yes, Ukyou-sama!  I cleaned the counter, too!"

"Thank you!"

Ukyou closed her bathroom door after talking with Konatsu, who was preparing for 
the dinner shift in the restaurant.  Although he was somewhat DIFFERENT, he was 
very reliable.  In the things that he knew how to do, that is.  True, he wasn't 
a great cook, and he was TERRIBLE with money, but at least he worked hard, not 
to mention cheap.(3)

Ukyou opened the tap, and washed her face with cold water.  Today was a little 
hot.  She would have to work in front of a hot grill pretty soon, so she wanted 
to stay cool until then.

When she looked up, she saw herself on the mirror.  Looking at her reflection, 
wearing her usual attire, She sighed.  While her clothes were convenient and 
easy to move around in, it did not show much femininity.  Ranma called her cute 
before, but even Ukyou herself had hard time finding the "cuteness" in her.  How 
was she going to catch Ranma at this rate?

Earlier today, Ukyou had dropped by the Tendo Dojo to visit her fiance, only to 
find Ranma and the entire Tendo household gone.  She didn't know where they had 
disappeared to.  She even spied on the Nekohanten to make sure Ranma wasn't with 
that Chinese hussy.  She didn't check on the Kuno mansion though, knowing full 
well that there was no need.  Ranma would never go there of his free will.  
Besides, the place gave her creeps.

'Then where is he?'

Ukyou couldn't answer that question, but she knew one thing.  Wherever Ranma 
was, he was with Akane.

She heaved another sigh.  Ukyou didn't hate Akane.  In fact, other than Ranma, 
Akane was the closest friend she had in Nerima.  But with Tendo's engagement to 
HER fiance, some conflicts were bound to happen.  The already fragile friendship 
between the two took a dive when Ukyou crashed Akane's wedding.  Although she 
was just one of the MANY who sabotaged the event, Ukyou suspected that Akane 
still hadn't forgiven her yet.

However all Ukyou could do was to shrug it off.  She did what she had to do.  
She couldn't just sit idle and watch HER fiance marrying another girl, could 
she?  Ukyou had a valid claim on Ranma, and she wasn't about to give up on it 
yet.  Ranma was hers, and she would do everything she could to make sure of it.

Only if Ranma would get more sensible and listen to his CUTE fiancee...

"Ukyou-sama!  Should I open the shop now?"

Konatsu's voice shook Ukyou out of her trance.  She shouted back to the 
transvestite downstairs.

"Yes!  Go ahead!  I'll be right there!"

Ukyou washed her face once more to freshen up.  She would deal with her love 
problem some other time, right now she had a restaurant to open.

She lifted her face to look at the mirror again...

Crack!

...when it cracked.

Ukyou dumbly stared at the crack on her bathroom mirror.  Weird.  She got this 
thing only a week ago...



"Sasuke!!!  What are these dirty animals doing here?!?  Get rid of them this 
instant!!"

"I am sorry, Mistress, but they are just too many!!  I keep throwing them out, 
but more of them come back!!"

Kuno Mansion was not a friendly place.  Almost everyone in Nerima could vouch 
for that.  They had an alligator as a pet, for goodness' sake.

But that fact didn't seem to matter to these black cats, which had occupied the 
entire house.  In every corner of the house, there they were, the black furballs 
that kept meowing and growling.  The house of Kuno had become a very nasty mess.

The head of the house was not there to solve the crisis, since he was never 
there.  But the one who thought of himself as the head was.

"Sasuke!!  What's the meaning of this?!  Where had these ungodly creatures come 
from!?"

"Um, I don't know, sir.  They just came out from nowhere."

His current situation would have anyone puzzled, but Kuno Tatewaki had a logic 
that could fit ANYWHERE, in his mind at least.  He blamed this unholy 
circumstance on one very particular individual.

"Damn that Saotome!!!  He must have summoned his minions from hell itself!!  
Knowing he himself has no chance against the mighty Kuno, he plans to put his 
underlings to fight me instead!!  But the great Tatewaki wouldn't fall for such 
a trick!!  I will find and smite that dark sorcerer Saotome for his crime!!"

However, this remark didn't sit well with OTHER head of the house.

"How dare you mock my darling Ranma-sama!  He would never do anything of that 
sort!!  If anyone would bring these lowly things to wreck my house, it would be 
none than red-haired hussy of yours!!  No doubt she seduced these animals into 
creating a havoc here, so she may go and take Ranma-sama all to herself!!"

Of course, Kodachi and Kuno really didn't get along.

"You take that back!"

"I will certainly not!"

Outside Kuno Mansion, the sounds of battle were heard again, along with sounds 
of things breaking and bones cracking, added with occasional meows and hisses.  
The neighbor didn't pay much attention though.  After all, they were living in 
Nerima.




"Man, I am so hungry...  When is that ramen going to come?"

"Gee, you're hungry already?  I though you ate some vegis when you went IN the 
pot."

"How many time do I have to tell you?  I FELL in the pot."

"Whatever."

Morisato Keiichi was doing something that every man on earth could only dream 
of.  He was talking with a goddess, literally.  For him it wasn't unusual 
though.  After all, he was living with not one, not two, but THREE goddesses.  
What was so unusual about this time was that this goddess was NOT one of his 
house mates.  Keiichi was talking with Peorth.

It was very lucky for Keiichi that Peorth had dropped by, or he would have been 
the only man in history to cook HIMSELF.  The water was dangerously hot when 
Peorth appeared from a portal on the kitchen ceiling.  Although it took some 
time for her to turn off the gas, mainly because she was too busy laughing her 
guts out, but she had saved him nonetheless.

Keiichi's humiliation didn't end there though.  When he came out of the pot in 
his six-years old body, Peorth had been on floor for next fifteen minutes, 
holding her stomach and huffing from all the laughs.  Other than Belldandy, any 
goddess who entered Keiichi's life had caused him a major headache.  But Peorth, 
no, she was totally different.  She WAS a headache.

Ignoring the giggling goddess on the kitchen floor, Keiichi went to the phone to 
order a take-out.  He had some difficulties at first.  For some reason many 
restaurants were either closed or didn't deliver that day.  So he took a chance 
and called a ramen place that he had seen in an advertisement.  He freaked out 
when an attractive female voice answered the phone, but was relieved to find out 
that she was just a waitress.(4)

But there was a reason why this place was the last place he called.  The 
restaurant was on the opposite side of the city.  He knew it was going to take 
some time, but he had no alternative.  He was definitely NOT in the mood for 
another cooking attempt, and he REALLY didn't want to eat anything Peorth 
conjured up with her magic.  Keiichi might not be the smartest guy in the world, 
but he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.(5)

So there he was, sitting in front of the gate, with his mouth sighing and his 
stomach rumbling.

"Humans are so pitiful.  They have to make their own food."

A voice that suddenly came from behind startled both Keiich and Peorth.

"Siegel!?  Banpei, too?!  How long have you two been there?!"

"Ever since "man, I am so hungry.""

"Um, okay... then what are you doing here?"

"We are bored."

"Ah."

Then they went back to their sulking, except occasional rumbles from Keiichi's 
stomach.  Without the Norns, their house was just way too quiet.  Well, Banpei 
didn't talk actually.  Siegel was wishing her master would come back soon to 
play with her.  Peorth also didn't have anything to do without her colleagues 
there, so she kept her mouth shut.  Keiichi, well, he didn't mind this peace and 
quiet.  In fact he was enjoying it very much.

Living with the goddesses might sound like a dream, but Keiichi knew from his 
first-hand experience sometimes it WAS much like a dream, a nightmare actually.  
There was so many things going around that he forgot to appreciate some normal 
things in life.  While being bored wasn't one of his favorite activities, it 
meant a break from his everyday hectic life.  Basically he had nothing to 
complain about.

But keeping silent with all these people, um, a goddess and two robots, wasn't 
all that comfortable.  So Keiichi tried to break the ice with some conversation.

"Oh yeah, Peorth.  Why did you come here anyway?"

"Oh, nothing.  Just came to warn... um, I mean, just came to visit!  Ho-ho-
ho..."

But the slip didn't go unnoticed to the rest of the group.  Keiichi paled, and 
Siegel and Banpei rushed towards the goddess, who was now sweating furiously.

"What do you mean by that?!"

Peorth cringed a little at the robot-girl's yell, but kept her composure.  She 
had an image as a first class goddess, after all.

"That's confidential."

But Siegel didn't back down.

"There is something dangerous, isn't there?  That's why you are here, right?"

"I said it's confidential!  Didn't you hear what I said?"

"I heard what you said, and I don't care!  I want to know what it is!  I have to 
protect Skuld-sama!"

"I thought it was your metal boyfriend's job."

"He's NOT my boyfriend!!"

"Um... excuse me...  Is Morisato Keiichi here?"

A male voice broke the argument between a divinity and a machine, who blinked at 
the sudden appearance of this Chinese man.  He seemed to be looking for Keiichi.

Keiichi's eyes sparkled with expectation when he noticed the delivery box in the 
man's hand.  The implication of Peorth's words already left his mind, as his 
stomach demanded a meal that it has been waiting for so long.  With his hands 
out forward, Keiichi happily shouted.

"I am here!  I am Morisato Keiichi!!"

"Oh, there you are.  Here is your ramen."

Everyone sweat dropped as the delivery man took out a bowl from the box and 
handed it to Banpei.  The man didn't seem to realize his error though, and kept 
talking to the robot.

"I am sorry it took so long, but this place is too far from us, you know?  I'll 
just get the money and leave..."

His words trailed off when he accidentally grabbed Banpei's arm.  His eyes 
widened and his mouth started to shake, much to the others' confusion.  Then he 
yelled out loudly, surprising them.

"Oh my god!!  You are so skinny!!  Doesn't your mother feed you?!"

BAM!!

Everyone around had their heads on the pavement, including Banpei himself.  The 
man was either a complete blind, or a complete idiot.  But when Peorth slowly 
stood up, shaking her head, she was even more surprised to see the man glaring 
at her.

"So, there you are!!  How cruel can you be?"

"Eh?"

"Don't lie to me!!  It's so obvious!!  You don't take care of your children!!"

"Huh?"

"Look!!  This kid is so tiny!!  Oh no.  What does she feed you?  You poor 
thing!"

Keiichi blinked as the man was now hugging him.  What was going on here?

A bead of sweat was on the back of Siegel's head.  She didn't know whether to 
laugh or sympathize.  The man was apparently very passionate, but his intellect 
was very doubtful.  She raised her hand to scratch her cheek, being so confused.  
But the arm suddenly fell off.

"Eh?  Darn.  It must be broken.  Oh well, I am going to have to ask Skuld-sama 
to fix it..."

Siegel couldn't finish her sentence because the man was now looking at her with 
a horrified face.  His trembling finger pointed out to her and his mouth 
quivered.  Then he yelled out loud.

"Oh no!!  Her arm just fell off!!  We gotta take her to the hospital!!"

BAM!!

Once again, their heads in the dirt.

But when Peorth got back again, feeling the pain in her head, her face was met 
by the glaring face of the Chinese delivery man.

"You are a horrible mother!!  In fact, you are not fit to be a mother at all!!"

"Eh?"

"You should be ashamed of yourself!!  How could you treat your children this 
way!?"

Slowly the recognition dawned on her.  Peorth now understood what this man had 
been saying.  That brought the another expression on her face, the one Keiichi 
recognized and feared.

It was anger.

"You think I am their MOTHER!?  How old do you think I am!?!"

"Old enough to be a terrible mother!  In fact, you look like you just had a baby 
already!!"

Mousse's sight was really bad.  Even if he saw Kate Moss, he would think he saw 
Roseane.

SWOOSH!!

Unfortunately, even angry Roseane wouldn't stand a chance against this scorned 
goddess.

"YOU DARE!?!?!?!"

The residents of the temple took a step away from now flaming goddess.  This 
wasn't going to be pretty.



Back in the Nekohanten, Cologne was throwing out garbage.

Kaboom!!

The old woman blinked at hearing a loud explosion from far away.  She looked up 
to the sky in time to find a trail of flame flying through the air.

"That's weird.  I haven't heard anything about a fireworks display today..."




"Will you hurry it up?!?"

Washu grimaced at her daughter's yell.  She loved the girl, but Ryoko could be 
really annoying sometimes.

"It's almost done.  Stop nagging, Ryoko."

"I am not NAGGING!"

"Yes you are.  I understand that you are anxious about Tenchi, but hacking into 
a satellite system is not as easy as it sounds."

Everyone sweat dropped.  Actually, hacking into ANY kind of system didn't sound 
easy at all.

They were currently in Washu's lab.  When the TV news crew's transmission was 
cut short, Ryoko and Ayeka went crazy out of frustration, almost blowing up the 
entire living room.  Washu, not wanting to deal with Nurse Mihoshi again, locked 
each of them in a ice cube.  She later defrosted their heads so they could talk 
at least.

However Washu was now having second thoughts about that.  Ryoko and Ayeka's 
mouths hadn't stayed shut ever since they were freed.

"Hey!  You are SUPPOSED to be the GREATEST genius in the universe, right?  So 
what's taking so freaking long?!"

"Please, Washu-san!!  Tenchi-sama and Sasami might be in a serious danger!!"

"AHEM!!"

"Ah, screw you!!"

"Eh, I mean Washu-chan..."

Yes, Washu was REALLY having second thoughts.

At the moment she was hacking into one of the spy satellites in Earth's 
atmosphere.  Her logic was if the TV station couldn't show them what was 
happening, why didn't they see it for themselves?  After all, the greatest 
genius in the universe was there.  All she had to do was to find a satellite 
capable of the ground surveillance.  Then they would be able to watch over 
Tenchi and Sasami.  It was so simple!

However this didn't sit very well with Kiyone.  She was a GP officer after all.  
Even though this was the Earth, where her position was NOT acknowledged, a crime 
was still a crime.  Hacking was considered to be a very serious offense in the 
galaxy, and what Washu was doing right now could jeopardize the security of an 
entire country.  It was very hard for her to just stand there and watch Washu 
accessing a satellite system without proper authorization.  She was not stupid 
though.  She knew better than going up against Washu.  Sometimes keeping her 
mouth shut was the best strategy.

Mihoshi was a GP, too, but all the technological terms were making her dizzy.(6)  
So she was playing with Ryo-ohki at the corner.

Nobuyuki, on the other hand, was very disturbed.  He didn't know why, but there 
was something about a satellite system that really bothered him.

'Now, what is wrong with her looking for a satellite?  I mean other than legal 
stuffs...'

Then it hit him.  How many satellites in the world had such high-tech equipment 
like ground surveillance?  He knew he would regret this, but he just had to ask 
Washu.

"Um, Washu-chan?  Which satellite are you hacking into right now?"

"Hmm?  Which one you say?  Well, I don't remember its name.  But I know to whom 
it belongs.  Just a second."

When Washu typed some figures into her computer, a picture came up on the large 
screen over their heads.  It was a satellite and a list of its specifications.  
When Nobuyuki began to read the list, recognition came up on his face, which 
soon turned into one of horror.

"CIA!?!?  You are hacking into the CIA?!?!?"

"Why yes.  There aren't many organizations who have access to this kind of 
technology.  Pity, really."

"But wait a minute!!  What if we get caught?!  Do you even know what the CIA 
is?!?!?"

"Relax, Nobuyuki-dono.  I got it covered.  They will never catch me."

All of sudden, a loud siren went off, almost deafening everyone.  Nobuyuki was 
now in full panic mode.

"We've been caught!!  We've been caught!!"

"Calm down, Nobuyuki-kun."

Katsuhito was trying to calm down his son-in-law, but other members of the 
family were no help.  Especially Ryoko and Ayeka, who were still trapped in the 
ice, showed no support for their hopeful to be father-in-law.

"Way to go, WASHU!!"

"Washu-sa... er... Washu-CHAN!  What about Tenchi-sama and Sasami?!"

The rest didn't give Washu any headaches, but they weren't much better either.

"Oh my.  Did I do something again?"

"*sigh* No, Mihoshi.  It's not you, surprisingly..."

"Myah, myah!"

Despite all the full-blown chaos, Washu calmly analyzed the data appearing on 
the screen and came to a quick conclusion.

"Don't worry, we haven't been caught."

"Eh?"

"Like I said, nothing to worry about.  My computer just picked up their security 
warning signal.  It seems they have an intruder in the building or something.  
It has nothing to do with us."

This news calmed down Nobuyuki a little.  He was still puzzled though.  If Washu 
was right, it meant someone had penetrated into CIA headquarters.  Who would be 
capable of such a thing?



In CIA headquarters.

Sirens were going off everywhere.  Every agent present was busy searching for 
their uninvited guest.  They had no idea who this intruder was, where he came 
from, nor what he wanted.  What really disturbed them, however, was how easily 
he had penetrated into their main base.

Not to brag, but they had one of the best security systems in the world.  But 
this man apparently had found a hole in their security and took advantage of it.  
Until he triggered a sensor INSIDE the complex, no one in the security 
department discovered any suspicious activity.  Everyone in the building was 
ordered to look for the intruder, since they had no idea how many national 
secrets the man had successfully acquired so far.  There was no telling how long 
the man had been inside the building either.

Whoever this man was, they would have to catch him quick, dead or alive.

A group of agents kicked a door open.  It was their recreation room, which they 
found it to be totally empty.  They quickly ran to the next door, looking for 
their target.  Soon the room was empty, leaving only the sound of the siren 
still ringing inside.

Suddenly, the closet door opened to reveal a figure who stepped out of it.  He 
looked at his surroundings with confusion, as if he was looking for some sort of 
sign.  When he couldn't find any, he yelled out of frustration.

"Where in the world am I nowwwwwwww!!!"(7)



Back in Washu's lab, she was almost finished with her work.

"There it is!  Now it's done!"

"It's about time!"

"Quiet, Ryoko-san!  Do you want to have our heads frozen again?"

"Wow, it's ready?  Um... what is it again?"

"*sigh* Just shut up and watch, Mihoshi."

"I got some chairs from the dining room!"

"Good thinking, Nobuyuki-kun."

"Myah, myah!"

When her audience was properly assembled, with Ryoko and Ayeka also paying their 
full attention despite being trapped in their ice cubes, Washu turned and 
pressed a button on the panel.

"It's showtime!"

The screen brightened briefly, before showing the scene in the park again.

It showed an empty bench inside the park.

Everyone blinked.

Then Kiyone carefully asked the scientist, "um, where is Tenchi-san?"

Washu grinned as she answered, "I don't know."

BAM!

The answer put everyone on the floor, face first.  Ryoko stood up first, an act 
worthy of praise since she was still frozen, and yelled angrily.

"What do you mean you don't know, you freak?!"

"I said I was done accessing the satellite.  I didn't say I found Tenchi-dono 
with it."

It was Ayeka's turn to be angry.

"Well then don't just stand there!!  Find him!!"

"Are you sure?  This satellite is a really fabulous stuff, although it's nothing 
much compared to the one I used to have when I was in the Academy..."

Now both the demon-girl and the princess were doing their version of Soun-
demonhead.

"FIND HIM!!!"

"Alright, alright.  Geez.  Can't have any fun around here..."




Back in the park, time seemed to have frozen for the moment.

Everyone's attention was focused on this mysterious new arrival.  He had a white 
bandanna mask over his face, that had two eye holes and also kept his hair up.  
Around his body, he had a long white cape that went all the way down to his 
ankle.  The cape covered both his front and back, revealing only the line of his 
broad shoulder.

One question was on the mind of everyone present.

'Who is this guy?'

Not able to come up with an answer, they all just stared at him, dumbfounded.

When it was clear that he wasn't going to get a single word out of his audience, 
the man shrugged his shoulder and turned around to face the blue-haired girl.  
He bent down a little and spoke to Sasami in a very gentle voice.

"Hi, there, Little Miss.  Are you okay?"

Sasami, who was still frozen by fear, slowly lifted her face.  When she saw a 
pair of eyes softly looking down on her, she felt her own eyes beginning to heat 
up.  Then her tears suddenly burst out as she jumped into the man's arms wailing 
out loud.

"Waahhhhhh!!!"

"Eh?"

The man blinked.  A bead of sweat ran down the back of his head as the girl held 
on to him, crying her eyes out.  He just stood there for a while, then he slowly 
put his arms around the girl and patted her back tenderly.

However, his mouth wasn't all that tender.

"Gee, cut it out, will ya?  I didn't do anything to you.  Whatcha grabbing me 
for?"

Everyone grimaced a bit hearing his blunt words, but soon they smiled at the 
rather touching scene before them.  Whoever this man was, he didn't seem like a 
bad person.  While his manner of speaking left much to be desired, everybody 
could see the gentleness and caring in his treatment of the girl.  They had 
decided to leave the man alone for now so that he could comfort the crying girl.

All but one.

"I asked you a question.  WHO are you?"

The man in black uniform asked the man in cape again, this time irritation clear 
in his voice.

But the masked man just rolled his eyes and went back to patting the girl.  The 
man in uniform did not appreciate this though.

"Answer me, you conceited fool!  Or I will send you to hell, right after I kill 
that insignificant wench!"

His words brought out many angered reactions from people.  Tenchi fumed and held 
up his Tenchi-ken, and Minagi grasped her sword tighter.  While Tendo ladies 
were shooting daggers at him, Soun and Genma took a step forward.  The Senshis 
glared at him.  Urd gritted her teeth and Skuld swung her mallet a couple of 
times.  Even Belldandy frowned with a look of disapproval.

But the masked man didn't seem all that afraid of the threat, nor was he upset.  
He just took a glance at the man in uniform, and sighed.  The man then lifted 
one of his hand and quietly put it on the forehead of Sasami, who was still 
crying out loud.

"Waaaaaa..."

All of sudden the blue-haired girl's body slumped down in the man's arms.  
Tenchi took a quick step forward seeing this, but was stopped by Minagi's hand.  
He looked at his female friend with confusion, but understood her reason when he 
saw the man scoop up the girl in his arms and turned to Nodoka.

"Here you go, ma'am."

"Eh?"

"Would you look after this child until I deal with that jerk over there?"

Nodoka's eyes widened when she saw that the girl was now soundly asleep.  Then 
she smiled at the man as she gladly complied with his request.

"With pleasure."

"Thank you, ma'am."

When Nodoka took the girl from the man's arms, he turned towards the "jerk."  He 
casually stepped forward, paying no attention to his surroundings.  Quietly and 
confidently, he walked past people one by one.

Tenchi and Minagi wanted to say thanks to the man for saving Sasami, but they 
didn't get the chance as the man just passed by them.  He briefly paused to 
slightly bow his head to Minagi, who blinked at this.  What did he bow to her 
for?

Uranus tried to step in front of his path, having some questions, but when she 
did the man just took a step aside and passed by her.  A little upset by being 
ignored, Uranus turned back to yell at the man, but her mouth stopped when he 
waved his hand at her behind his back.  She blinked with confusion.  What was 
that for?

The goddesses watched from the side also.  Skuld didn't know how to react so she 
just stood there.  But Urd and Belldandy couldn't move even if they wanted to.  
There was some powerful force inside this man, and it was scaring them stiff!  
Both goddesses had felt something similar before though.  There was no doubt 
about it.  This man was the one they had been looking for...  They got stiffer 
when the man turned his head towards them, but was surprised when he winked at 
them, before he walked away.  Where did that come from?

Finally the man stopped, right between the monsters and the ladies.(8)

He swatted his long white cape to the side, and crossed his arms across his 
chest.  Now everyone could see underneath.

Inside, the man was wearing a silver breastplate over a black shirt with long 
sleeves.  He also wore a white pants that had a gold belt around the waist.  His 
hands were covered with long white gloves with gold linings, and on his feet 
were black boots with a metal plate on its ankle.(9)

While the ladies in the group were appreciating his fine features, the man began 
to speak up.

"Whatdaya you want?"

The summoner fumed at this fool's arrogant reply.  He hissed at the man again.

"You haven't answered me yet.  Who the hell are you?"

"Feh.  That's some attitude you have there, especially for someone who's asking 
a question."

"I am not asking you to answer my question.  I am ORDERING you."

The masked man, however, didn't look impressed as he smirked at the response.

"Heh, really?  What if I don't wanna answer?  Whatcha gonna do?"

"Then I am going to kill you FIRST."

The villain's rather threatening tone didn't affect the man in cape one bit.  He 
just stood there with a very arrogant grin on his face.  For a while, the two 
men just looked at each other, one glaring, and one smirking.  All the monsters 
and the creatures also didn't move an inch, as they waited for their master's 
orders to rip this prey apart.

Everyone gulped quietly and intently watched the scene in front of their eyes.

At THAT moment, the future of the Moon decided to show up.



"Stop!  You have terrorized people in their happy time, in the place of dreams 
and laughs, no less!  I'm the pretty soldier in training Sailor Chibi Moon. In 
place of the future moon, and in the name of my mother, I'll punish you!"

Sailor Chibi Moon stood proudly after she did her normal gesture and speech.  
After all, a hero had to have a trademark phrase if he or she wanted to look 
good.  Who wouldn't be impressed by her, especially with such a magnificent 
speech?

Many didn't, as they blinked and sweat dropped.  Who was this strange girl?

The Outer Senshis knew who she was, but they wisely pretended as if they didn't 
know.

The villain snorted.  In his eyes, this one was just another little fool who was 
unfortunate enough to appear before him.  She would have to be DEALT with later.  
He had another agenda in his hands right now.

Other than him, none displayed any kind of reaction, not wanting to embarrass 
the little girl.

But not everyone was so considerate.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH!!!!!"

Chibi Moon blinked as the man with the cape started to laugh his heart out.  On 
his mask she could even see some tears coming out of his eyes while the man 
tried to stand straight without much success.  He was too busy holding his 
stomach from laughing too much.

Whoever this guy was, he really got on her nerves.  She scowled and yelled 
angrily at him.

"What's so funny?!"

But the man's answer didn't come soon, as he was still trying to catch his 
breath from all that laughter.  He finally composed himself, only to laugh out 
aloud again as he began to explain.

"Hahaha!!  I mean, pheheheh, it's, kekeke, you, bwhahaha!!"

Chibi Moon glared at him.  This guy REALLY, REALLY got on her nerves.

"What?  What about me?"

"I mean, come on, heheh, in the name of, hahahah, YOUR MOMMY?!?  
BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!"

Correct that.  This guy REALLY, REALLY, REALLY got on her nerves.

Good thing she was glaring only at him.  If she looked around, she would have 
found the others who were trying to suppress giggles.  Even the Outers were 
convulsing from holding down too much laughter.  Saturn wasn't, but that was 
because she was too embarrassed for her friend.

Angrily, Chibi Moon retorted, "what's so wrong with that?!"

"Ah, come ON!  Your mommy?  What's she gonna do?  Spank me??  WAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!"

"Stop laughing!!"

"I.. heheh.. can't.. keke.. help.. haha.. it.. bwahahahaha!!"

The future Moon didn't like her current situation.  She finally got her chance 
to prove herself, but this man was ruining everything.  In front of all these 
people, no less, including the villain himself!!  She was so embarrassed.

The present Moon was about to face the same thing.



"Hey, YOU!!  Leave her alone!!"

"Huh?"

Now everyone's attention was on an another angry girl in a weird costume.  She 
was older than Chibi Moon, and had a strange hair style that had a bun with a 
long tail on each side of her head.

In other words, she was Sailor Moon.

The Inners were also there, but nobody seemed to have noticed them, nor did they 
wanted to be.  Right now they were slowly stepping away from their princess, not 
wishing to be put in such an embarrassing scene.

Sailor Moon was furious.  She had heard her future daughter's speech when she 
got here, and actually felt very proud.  Her little daughter from the future 
knew what it took to be a true hero.  But this rude man had to ruin the moment 
for both Chibi Moon and her.

If she thought about the situation, she would have kept her mouth shut.

But thinking was never Usagi's strength, both before the transformation and 
after.  The Senshi power couldn't help her with that.

"What are you, her mother?"

"Um, well, that is, not like that, but, eh......"

All the Senshi smacked their foreheads, seeing their princess getting caught in 
her own words, AGAIN.  Sailor Moon was now mumbling as she couldn't come up with 
an answer.  Fortunately, the man continued.

"Oh, I see.  You are her sister."

"Um, yeah, something like that.  Heheheh..."

Sailor Moon scratched her head, somewhat relieved that the man kindly got her 
out of the trouble.

"So that means you are gonna do a speech, too.  Right?  Well, come on!  Let's 
hear it!"

"Huh?  You want to hear my speech?"

"Oh, yes.  I wanna know if yours is as stupid as the last one, or MORE stupid.  
Bwahahahaha!!"

Cross that out.  The man was definitely NOT kind.

"Why you!!"

Almost instinctively she shook her fist at the man.  But the man's laughter 
suddenly died off when he saw the Moon Scepter in her hand.  His mouth gasped 
open and his eyes widened.

"That, that is..."

"Wha...?  Ah, this?  Well, this is..."

Before she could answer, the man broke out in an even bigger laughter.

"Bwahahahahahah!!!!  I was expecting just another idiotic introduction, but I 
guess you are gonna do full parade dance with that, too, huh?  
Wahahahhahahahah!!!!!!!"

A large vein popped out on Sailor Moon's head.  She had to restrain herself from 
using the power of her Scepter on this obnoxious man.  It was really tempting 
though.  Oblivious to her reaction, the man kept on teasing her.

"Oh, come on!  Let me see that dance!  You can do YOUR lame speech after that.  
What were you gonna say, anyway?  Wait.  Let me guess.  Since you are a bit 
older, you wouldn't call your mommy.  Instead, you would call your DADDY!!  
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!"

Yes.  It was REALLY tempting.

"Hey!!  I do NOT call my daddy!!  In fact, my speech is NOT lame at all!!  Ask 
my friends!!  Tell him, guys!!"

But their answer never came.  Sailor Moon blinked and turned to her back.

"Guys?"

All the Inners were looking somewhere else, whistling as if they didn't hear 
anything.  Sailor Moon blinked again a couple of times, then her eyes widened 
with understanding.

"You guys think it's lame too?!?"

Sailor Mercury, while fidgeting her fingers nervously, spoke up first.

"Well, it's not that we hate it..."

Continued Sailor Mars, "...it's just that we are not all that comfortable with 
it..."

Followed the tallest Senshi, "...we are not making fun of you or anything, you 
know?"

Then the Senshi of Love finished it, "...but we would like it if you would just 
skip it once in a while..."



"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"

Now everyone who had been watching this, minus Chibi Moon, was on the ground 
laughing their hearts out.  Tenchi was clutching his stomach, and Minagi was 
lying on her back, giggling uncontrollably.  Nabiki's face muscles were 
beginning to hurt from all the smirking, while Akane was covering her mouth, in 
a vain attempt to stop laughing.  Soun and Genma showed no such courtesy, as 
they were in full-blown laughter.  Even Kasumi and Nodoka, who were attending to 
the blue haired girl, were giggling.  Belldandy also smiled a bit wider than 
usual, while Urd and Skuld were leaning on each other, already losing control of 
their legs from all that gut-wrenching laughters.



The Inner Senshis sweat dropped when they saw their princess' reaction.  Tears 
were flowing out of her eyes, and she was covering her quivering mouth with both 
hands.  With trembling voice, Sailor Moon opened her mouth.

"My own friends thinks it's funny...  My own friends..."

The Inners could do nothing but just watch their princess.  They didn't know 
what to do.  Their princess looked as if she was going to cry...

But Sailor Moon wasn't the champion of justice for no reason.  She was strong.  
She wouldn't cry for something like this.  She would focus herself and...

"This is all YOUR fault!!!"

...and blame it all on that jerk.

"Huh?  What did I do?"

Confused, the man in cape answered when the girl in fuku pointed her finger at 
him.

Sailor Moon continued to yell, "YOU ruined everything!!  You ruined Chibi Moon's 
speech, and you ruined mine!!"

The man yelled back, "hey!!  It ain't my fault!!  It's your damn speech!!  Why 
should *I* get yelled at for YOUR stupid speech!?"

"It isn't stupid!!"

"I didn't hear it, but your friends seem to think otherwise.  So there!"

The man argued back, and even stuck his tongue out at her.  While all the Inners 
giggled a bit at this funny man, they wished he would stop bringing them into 
the picture.  They were already embarrassed as hell, both being seen with Sailor 
Moon and making her almost cry.

Sailor Moon fumed and took a menacing step towards the man when a hand grabbed 
her shoulder.  She looked back to find Tuxedo Mask standing there.  This made 
her feel a little better, as her destined spoke with his always calm voice.

"Sailor Moon.  We don't have time to deal with this guy.  There is something 
more urgent.  That evil man over there......"

"A cane?!  A CANE?!?  And is that a rose in your hand?  What are you, a 
florist?!  Wahahaha!!!!!"

The rude man, however, was ABSOLUTELY ruining her day.

"Hey, you!!  Can't you shut up for just a sec?!"

The dangerous tone of Sailor Moon didn't faze the man a bit, as he adopted a 
mock-scared stance.

"Oooh, I am so SCARED!!  What are you going to do?  Tell your granny to beat me 
with her walking stick?  Wahahahahahaaah!!!"

At this, even always coolheaded Tuxedo Mask got a little upset and stepped 
between Sailor Moon and the stranger.  But everyone else had to cover their 
faces in order to prevent themselves from laughing with the man.

"Hey, you.  Watch it, or you are going to get it."

"Wow, that was even scarier!  In whose name are YOU going to punish me?  Is it 
your brother, or sister, or maybe uncle?  Wahahahahaha!!!"

A deep scowl came up to Tuxedo Mask's face.  He didn't know who this idiot in 
the cape was.  But if he didn't stop anytime soon, he was in for something 
really painful.  His soul mate and future daughter was having the very same 
idea.

They were so into the argument that they forgot to watch their real enemy...



The villain fumed.  How dare these curs ignore him!?  But his face grinned when 
he realized that everyone present was now focusing their attention solely on the 
verbal brawl between the girl and the man.  If they ignored him, he would just 
have to teach them not to... by crushing them utterly!

His hands again began to glow, and so did the light in the air.  It spouted out 
more winged creatures, which then flew ahead...

...straight towards the man in cape and the girl in fuku...



"Look out, Sailor Moon!!"

Fortunately for Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury noticed the attack before it reached 
her.  The Inner Senshis ran in front of their princess and formed a protective 
line.  They also saw the other combatants, including the Outers, had engaged in 
an another battle when the monsters renewed the attack.

The Inners took their respective battle stance.  The Outers were too busy with 
their own fight to give help.  It seemed that only the Inners stood before the 
enemy and their princess.

"Mars Flame Sniper!"

"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"

"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"

"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"

The first group of the creatures were destroyed by the Inners' attacks.  But 
more of them showed up after the explosion had cleared up.  The Inners found 
that the land monsters also began to advance towards them.

Upset Mars yelled, "there are so many!  We are outnumbered!"

But Sailor Venus took charge and shouted out her orders.

"Mercury!  Jupiter!  Take care of the ones on the ground!  Mars and I will take 
care of the flying ones!  Sailor Moon, stop arguing with that man and start 
charging your power!  We need your help!"

"Okay!"

Hearing her friend's distress call, Sailor Moon turned away from the man and 
started to focus her power into her Moon Scepter.

Or at least she tried to.

"Whatcha you doing, kid?"

Through her gritted teeth, Sailor Moon barely answered to the cape man, "I am 
trying to charge my power into my scepter.  Now go away."

"Why?"

"Because my friends need me!  Go away, I said!"

"Hmm.  Does that REALLY work?  It just looks like a piece of stick to me."

"Focus, focus..."

Being ignored, the man in cape frowned a bit, but soon shrugged it off.  But he 
didn't stop talking, much to Sailor Moon's annoyance.

"Well, how convenient for you.  You just hafta meditate for a while."

"I am not meditating!  Focus, focus..."

"Geez, I thought you were focusing."

"I am!!  Focus, focus..."

"Then stop talking to me."

"I will!!  Focus, focus..."

"See?  You are doing again.  Come on.  Focus.  I wanna see what you can do."

"Focus, focus..."

When the reply didn't come, the man again shrugged his shoulder and casually 
continued to speak.

"I guess it's easy for you.  Just focusing and all."

"Focus, focus..."

"I mean, you just have to pretend you are doing something, right?"

The vein popped on her forehead, but she continued to chant, "focus, focus..."

"Wait a couple of minutes, and bam!  Your friends beat them all down.  All ya 
hafta do is to finish off the one who's still breathing."

The vein began to multiply, while she kept saying, "focus, focus..."

"Boy, I wish I had some friends like that.  You don't have to do anything.  You 
just wait and wait and wait..."

Now Sailor Moon was shaking with rage, but her mouth still mumbled, "focus, 
focus..."

"Well, but I guess you can't help it.  Hey, don't worry.  You can marry a rich 
guy, and just goof off like you always did.  I mean, it's not your fault you are 
useless..."

Finally she exploded.

"I AM NOT USELESS!!!!"

"Oh, you were still listening to me?  I thought you were focusing."

"I was, UNTIL YOU INTERRUPTED!!!"

"What did I do?  I was just talking to myself!"

"YEAH RIGHT!!"

Sailor Moon really didn't like this guy.  She would have to charge her power 
again... and use it on this guy!!

The man smirked at the now fuming fuku girl.  It was so fun to tease someone 
like her.

Then Sailor Moon realized something.  This man wasn't doing anything, while her 
friends were fighting their butts off!!  She practically screamed at him.

"Wait a minute!!  You bug me about being useless?  I don't see YOU doing 
anything?!"

"Huh?  What do you mean?"

She scowled.  This man was getting more annoying by the minute, no second!  She 
pointed her finger at him, emphasizing each words as she spoke out the obvious.

"YOU.  ARE.  NOT.  FIGHTING.  EITHER."

"I don't see why I should fight."

His answer confused her.  What did he mean by that?

"WHAT?!  Why not?!?"

"Why should I?  This has nothing to do with me.  Sure, that guy annoyed me a 
little, but he has nothing to do with me.  This is between him and you, not me."

"But, but, everyone else is fighting!!"

"So?"

If Sailor Moon didn't like the man before, now she HATED him.  He was doing 
NOTHING, while she and her friends were battling the monsters, and he didn't 
even feel sorry!!

"How could you?!  We ladies are fighting so hard, and you don't even feel bad 
about doing NOTHING?!  What kind of a man are you?!"

"Hey!  That has nothing to do with this!"

"Yes, it does!!  There are people in danger right now, and if we don't stop 
those monsters here, they will keep hurting more people!  We have to stop them!  
That's the right thing to do!"

Forgetting everything else, her mind was now focused on the man in front of her.  
Sailor Moon didn't know what was wrong with him.  She would make him participate 
in the fight even if it was the last thing she did.  She had said, and she 
believed that it was the right thing to do.

So she was surprised when the man began to laugh.

"Bwahahaha!!  That's a good one!!  Wahahaha!"

"Wha, what's so funny?!"

Then he took a serious expression on his face.  This startled Sailor Moon, and 
she stood frozen as the man began to speak.

"Right thing to do?  Kid, the only right thing to do at this situation is to 
take care of YOURSELF!  You have no obligation to save these people.  You don't 
know them, they don't know you, and they certainly ain't concerned about you.  
If you are in danger, you think they are going to save you?  They can't even 
take care of themselves!  Why do YOU have to stick YOUR head in the fire for 
them?  Those things ain't that much of problem to me, but I ain't fighting 
because I don't have to fight!  You shouldn't either!  All these people ain't 
worth your life, are they?"

But when the man finished his speech, Sailor Moon scowled.  She yelled, "I don't 
care!!"

"Oh?"

"That's right!  I don't care if it's dangerous!!  These people are important to 
me.  They need my help!  If I have power to save them, then I WILL use it, no 
matter the cost!!"

For a brief moment, the man's eyes twinkled.  But his attitude didn't change as 
he argued again.

"People forget easily.  Even the ones you've cared and loved will forget about 
you eventually, if you were to disappear today.  Those friends of yours might 
remember you longer, but that won't matter at all at the end.  That ain't their 
fault.  That's how all humans are.  Are you still going to protect such 
ingrates?"

All through the man's speech, Sailor Moon just stood there, dumbstruck.

He had a point, even though she didn't want to admit it.  Ever since she became 
Sailor Moon, she sometimes asked herself if all the danger and the pain were 
worth something.  But things began to happen around her just too fast.  Before 
she knew, she had found out that she was the reincarnated Moon Princess.

Shortly after she and her friends defeated the Negaverse, she briefly forgot all 
about being Sailor Moon.  But when those aliens came to earth, she had to become 
the champion of justice again!  Then she had to face the Wiseman, fight Mistress 
Nine, and compete with the Outers for the talisman.  After that she was still 
fighting against the Dark Moon Circus, and finally, Sailor Galaxia.

Luckily, Sailor Moon could survive through it all.  It was a little different 
with her friends, though.  Numerous times, her friends almost lost their lives 
by their enemies.  In fact, some of them had died a couple of times.  It was the 
power of the Moon Princess and her Ginzuishou that brought them back to life.  
But what if she herself had died?  No one would be able to revive her, nor her 
friends if they died with her.  Then what?

Sailor Moon still hadn't found an answer.  However, she had realized something, 
and it made her to disagree with the man.

"It still doesn't matter."

The man raised his eyebrow when he heard Sailor Moon's answer.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, it doesn't.  I don't care whether people remember me or not.  I don't care 
if my friends forget about me after I am gone.  Yes, it hurts me to say that you 
are right.  But I still have to protect them, regardless of that..."

"And why?"

Slowly, the Moon Princess turned to the man.  He was surprised to find such 
passion and wisdom behind her eyes.  She then answered the man with a very 
quiet, but clear tone.

"...because it doesn't matter whether they remember me or not.  It doesn't 
matter if people care for me or not.  Whatever you might think, they are still 
people whom I don't want to see dead.  Some of them are my very close friends, 
and I deeply care for them.  Yes.  I care for them.  That's all that matters."

Her voice was very soft, but it went through the man's heart like a spear.  He 
stood there, stunned.  His ears might have listened to the girl in front of him 
right now, but his mind was hearing the voice from the past...


- ...I don't care if you knew them or not!  *I* knew them, and *I* cared for 
them!!  That's all that matters!!... -


For a while, the man just watched the Moon Princess motionlessly.  But when the 
bewildered Sailor Moon tried to ask what was wrong, the man made a little smile, 
one that looked both glad, and sad...

Now even more confused, Sailor Moon asked him.

"Um, is there something wrong?"

The man shook his head rather sorrowfully, and answered.

"No.  Nothing's wrong.  You just made me sure of something, that's all."

"Huh?"

"Nothing.  Don't worry about it.  Well, I'll go help your friends now.  Had fun 
talking to you, kid."

"Huh?"

"Heh, I said don't worry about it."

The man turned towards the fight, and stepped away from Sailor Moon.  He briefly 
stopped in mid-step though, and left some last words, before he walked away 
again.

"But know this, kid.  Sometimes even when you really want it, and even when you 
DO have the power for it, your wish might not come true at the end......"



Minagi fought off the flying enemies in front of Nodoka, who was still holding 
onto Sasami protectively.  The little girl was still sleeping, heedless to what 
was happening around her.  In front of Minagi, Tenchi was also engaged in a 
battle as he swung his Tenchi-ken to push the monsters away.  He was standing 
between the monsters and Tendos.  Two men from Tendo house were also chipping 
in, throwing and kicking some of the monsters.  After another swing, Minagi eyed 
both the monsters and the winged creatures cautiously.  It was then when she 
noted the man in cape stepping towards the one of the women in fuku.

'What is he up to?'



Uranus was slashing her way through the monsters.  That bastard caught them off 
guard, and it was costing them.  Their defensive tactic still worked, with 
Silence Wall and the wind barrier by the woman up.  But their offense suffered 
greatly, and now they could barely protect themselves.

'And this is all that jackass-in-a-cape's fault!!'

After she knocked down the last one around her, the short-haired Senshi gritted 
her teeth, promising herself that she would make that idiot pay after this 
fight.  It was then when a sudden voice caught her by surprise.

"Excuse me!"

She felt a gush of wind passing by her, and there he stood, that cape wearing 
"idiot," with her Space Sword in his hand......

"Eh?"

Uranus looked at her hands to find her sword gone.  With the fire of hatred 
evident in her eyes, she yelled, "give me my sword back, you thief!!"

However, the man didn't even look back, and kept walking ahead.



The yell of Uranus did catch the attention of the goddesses, who also blinked as 
they saw the man, now a sword in his hand, walking towards the villain.



The man in uniform narrowed his eyes as he saw the mysterious man again stepping 
towards himself.

He thought to himself, 'what is he trying to do?'



The man in cape finally stopped in front of the monsters.  Above them, the 
winged creatures sounded their battle cries as they found a new target.  Then 
they began to descend towards him, much to Sailor Moon's horror.

"Watch out!!"

But the man didn't even flinch at her warning.  He closed his eyes, and lifted 
the sword up to his face.  Then he opened his eyes and shouted, "Death Scream!!"

"!!"

All the Senshis' eyes widened at hearing the trademark attack of one of their 
own.  The others' also gasped when they saw some sort of wave form around the 
man and spread out, destroying everything in its path, including the monsters 
and the winged creatures.



"!"

The black uniformed man felt his breath stop as he watched the wave wiping out 
his entire army.  All of his minions, all of his creatures just exploded one by 
one as the wave passed through each.  His mouth let out a word of shock when the 
wave also engulfed the two light balls.

"No!!"



Everyone stood there, shocked.  The wave which the man had created disappeared 
when it destroyed the light balls.  When it did, all the monsters and creatures 
around them just disappeared.  Around them, there was no corpse or any remain of 
their enemies.  Only the large crater in front of the man in cape spoke of the 
battle that took place here.

Even though they were glad that their enemies were gone, they couldn't help but 
feel a little uneasy.  They had been battling these monsters for quite a while, 
but this cape person had finished them all in mere seconds!  They knew that they 
were powerful, but this man was on a whole new level.  It was a good thing the 
man was on their side.

Or was he?

They didn't know for sure.  That was why they were beginning to fear the man.

When they slowly composed themselves, the guy in cape opened his mouth.

"Summoner."

"?"

"That's your nickname, ain't it?"

They were confused.  What was this man talking about?

But their question was answered by an expected outcry of the evil one.



"HOW?!  How did you..."

The cape man smirked as he saw the other one's reaction.

"I know all about you and your little gang.  I didn't think you guys could 
escape that seal, but I guess it was possible, seeing as you are here..."

"How did you..."

"Know you jerks?  Simple.  I knew you back then, and you knew ME back then.  Oh, 
wait.  I guess YOU wouldn't know me.  We probably never met.  After all, you're 
only a captain, ain't you?"

The villain's eyes widened and his mouth started to quiver.  Clearly he wasn't 
in a condition to speak.  Knowing this full well, the man went on.

"I did hear about you though.  What was your name... ah!  Tromine, right?  It 
isn't that often when you find a wimp who calls others to fight his own battle.  
But all of those wimps have one common weakness, you know?  Without their 
underlings, they got nuthing.  I bet even a baby could knock you down right 
now."

Tromine took a step back.  On his face, fear was clear.  He knew he was done 
for.  He had to get out of there.



Everyone took their battle stances again when they saw the man, who now they 
learned to be a guy named Tromine, put his hand in his jacket.  But he just took 
out a sphere and smashed it in front of him.  They were surprised when they saw 
a bright light appearing from the broken sphere.  Uranus quickly realized what 
was happening.

"He is trying to run away!"



The fuku-wearing girl was right.  It was his escape plan.  Hurriedly Tromine 
tried to step into the light, when he saw the man in cape suddenly disappear, 
only to appear right in front of him.

"Argh!!"

But Tromine could make a sound, as the man held him up by his throat with his 
right hand.  Grinning, the man spoke, "going somewhere?"

Then the cape guy held out his left hand towards the light, which began to glow 
red as the man's hand touched it.  Through his blocked airway, Tromine asked 
with some difficulty.

"Wha, what did you... do?"

"Oh, it's just my going-away present.  How can I just let you go, after all 
you've done for us?  Think of it as... your ride.  I use this method a lot, you 
know?  But I never use it myself, because this one tends to be a bit... rough."

Looking at Tromine's eyes widen with fear, the man smiled and added, "oh but 
don't worry.  It hasn't killed anyone... yet.  You should love it!"

Before he put his victim through his "ride," the man paused and added some more 
words.

"Oh, and if you DO survive the ride, don't forget to tell your boss I said hi.  
And tell him this too..."

For that brief moment, Trainer felt like he saw the violent anger in the man's 
eyes.  Heedless to the now trembling general, the man continued to speak in a 
small voice that only the man and Tromine could hear.

"...tell him that I won't let him lay a hand on Serenity's daughter..."

"!"

The general's eyes widened at hearing the name "Serenity."  His eyes quickly 
turned towards the group of girls.  If what this man said was true, that 
meant......

But before he could come to a conclusion, the magic circle began to shine more 
brightly, engulfing the general into itself.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!"

When the agonizing scream stopped echoing in the air, the light had died down, 
showing nothing left on its spot.




On the top of a tree, the robed figure had been watching everything since the 
beginning to the end.  When the man in uniform disappeared in the light, the 
figure grinned.

"Oh, I see HE is here.  But I don't think the OTHER one has awaken yet.  Oh 
well.  I could wait.  After all, I had some fun today!  Keheheheheheheh!"

Then the figure disappeared into the space, leaving not a trace behind.




Chapter 5 ends.



(1) After his disastrous attempt(Chapter 4) of cooking a meal himself, Keiichi 
had concluded that ordering a meal was definitely better than being a meal.

(2) Actually, he sounded weak because he had burn all over his body(again, 
Chapter 4).

(3) Truth be told, it was more like "worked free..."  -.-;;

(4) He got Belldandy first time, and he called Peorth the second time.  Although 
he loved the presence of the goddesses, living with three was already more than 
he could handle.

(5) He totally forgot that he had called the Goddess Relief Line TWICE, both 
times by mistake.

(6) The "technological" terms used here are things like "hacking," "satellite," 
or "system..."

(7) Please don't tell me you don't know who he is...

(8) There were some men there too, but the numbers speak for themselves...  ^^;;  
Shame on us guys...  Out of all those heroes, one even mentionable guy is only 
Tenchi...

(9) Imagine Ashram in "Record of Lodoss War," only with lighter armor and 
flashier clothing.