Disclaimer: You know the drill it’s all not mine and I’m not pretending it does.

Thanks too all you reviewers out there.

Chapter 13 – Dark Reunion

Nabiki burst into the Neko-Hanten panting. The aged Matriarch of the Amazon’s came to her and said, “Child what is wrong?”

Nabiki caught her breath and as she did so a pink mist flowed into the room. The mist cleared and she was staring at two women. One she recognized as Neherenia and the other was a strange girl wearing a black and red sailor fuku. The first thing she said was, “Who the hell are you?”

The girl glanced at her and then suddenly she was dressed differently. The vibrant red headed girl wearing blue jeans a black shirt and a black cap was obviously Ranma. She wondered why she hadn’t noticed it before, but she just flew at the girl and hugged her tightly. As she squeezed she realized the full truth of the matter and said, “Neko-Chan! You’re a Sailor Senshi? Where have you been?”

“Kinda busy fighting bad guys Nabiki-chan. Why?”

Nabiki ended the hug and said, “Oh my god we need your help! You see there’s this Dark Lady and two other guys. They did something to Ryouga, Ukyou, and the Kunous. They’ve been fighting with Ranma, Shampoo, Akane and that Shinnosuke guy. I don’t think they are doing so well against them and so I came here to get help from Cologne.”

“Whoa, Nabs slow down.”

Nabiki said “Oh god Neko-Chan I’m just so glad to see you. It’s like someone answered a prayer.” Nabiki couldn’t help herself and hugged Ranma again. Ranma found herself hugging Nabiki back and then they kissed.

It was brief and sweet and yet it was the most intense thing Ranma had ever felt in her life. The kiss ended and Ranma sat there with a glazed look in her eyes. Nabiki blushed and then cleared her throat. She stepped back a few feet and her Ice Woman persona went on full force. Ranma saw it and thought, If she was good enough she’d be perfect to learn the Hiryu Shouten Ha! Maybe I should take some time to train her. Ranma mentally added, and Neherenia and my Gymnastics teammates. Oh man they are going to be so worried! I better contact them as soon as Nabiki tells me what’s been happening.

Ranma stopped her train of thought as Nabiki told her the tale. When it was over she motioned to Neherenia and said, “I’ve got to go help. Neherenia you follow with Cologne and Nabiki. Come as fast as you can.”

Ranma transformed and Sailor Angerona shot out of the Neko-Hanten and using her Nemesis enhanced speed to arrive at the Tendo Dojo in mere moments. The scene was one of destruction and despair. Kunou wearing his black Samurai armor had knocked Akane out and was starting on Shinnosuke. Her teammates from the Juuban Gymnastics team were down to Kaede and Aiko against Kodachi. Genma was desperately trying to keep Ukyou from killing Shampoo. The only good sign was that her male counterpart was apparently holding his own against Ryouga despite the fact that the lost boy was enveloped by a thick black thorny vine.

Angerona looked towards the middle of the carnage and gritted her teeth. There stood Wiseman, Prince Diamond and the woman Nabiki said was calling herself Black Lady. They surrounded a dark black crystal that oozed with the corrupted power of Nemesis.

Angerona took all of it in and her plan of action came to her immediately.

She moved and to all appearances she was a black blur that slammed into Kunou Tatewaki with vibrant red claws slicing through his black armor and his sword. She withdrew her claws and sent him flying with the Amaguriken. From there she dove in and knocked Ukyou on the back of the head with a kick. The chef went down and Angerona used the momentum of her kick to send herself soaring into Kodachi. The black haired gymnast was taken down moments after that.

Angerona was helping Kaede and Aiko to their feet and deciding her next course of action when the black Crystal in the middle of the yard glowed. She felt the power from it ooze out into the yard and into the participants that she had just taken out of the battle. She turned towards the disgusting thing and launched a powerful Moukou Takabisha laced with Nemesis power at it.

The crystal just seemed to absorb the blast and so Angerona ran towards it at top speed with her claws extended. Prince Diamond stepped in her way pulling out a blade of black power. She cut into his blade at high speeds, but he was able to block her blows. She continued to attack with her claws keeping his sword busy and sneaked a kick in past his guard. Her foot impacted with his face and the man was sent flying. Her danger sense screamed at her and so she jumped to the top of the Black Crystal just in time to avoid the powerful energy blasts that came from Wiseman and Black Lady.

From her vantage point on top of the large crystal she was able to survey the battle scene and she gasped as Kunou was about to sever Shinnosuke’s head. This time she would be too late, even a blast of Chi would not get there in time.

The sword fell in slow motion and in her anger and outrage she tapped fully into the power of Nemesis slamming twin sets of claws into the dark crystal she was perched on top of. The pure unspoiled energy of Nemesis reacted with the tainted black crystal and it exploded in a shower of obsidian falling down onto the three people below who were responsible for this atrocity.

Angerona fell towards the ground with a tear in her eyes as Kunou’s deadly blade reached its mark. She landed among the black crystal shards and stared in astonishment as she realized that Shinnosuke still retained his head. Kunou’s sword was being held back by a piece of hard wood wielded by an ancient Amazon master. Then a blast of black energy slammed into the man and Angerona knew that Neherenia had joined the fight as well.

With her guard down Angerona was hit by three separate blasts of energy and she flew across the yard. The searing pain laced through her, but she ignored it and ran back towards its source with a cocky grin plastered on her face. Now that Cologne and Neherenia were here she could completely concentrate on the three Black Moon Family members without worry. She glared at them and then she attacked. Three energy blasts came at her again, but she slipped past them and poured nemesis energy into her bright red claws and her own body turning her Amaguriken into a deadly slicing machine.

Prince Diamond was unlucky enough to miss his blocks as Angerona’s speed went up. His side colored with the brilliant red hue of blood and the man fell to the ground. Black Lady quickly backed away with fear in her eyes and Wiseman followed close behind her. Angerona growled and tried to pounce on Wiseman, but his cloak seemed to be placed on insubstantial mist. The man was two feet in front of where she though he should have been and he just looked at her and sneered. “You can not defeat me so easily.”

He held out a hand and said, “Black Lady with me.”

The woman moved towards him as Angerona attacked him again and met once again with insubstantial mists. In the meantime Black Lady had moved close enough to touch him and was holding her hand out to him. Angerona realized that he planned to teleport away, cursed and sent twin strikes towards the hands. The first set of claws passed through Wiseman’s hand as if he did not even exist, but the other claw easily severed Black Lady’s hand at the wrist.

It wasn’t enough to stop them though, Wiseman simply grabbed hold of the bleeding stump and the two disappeared. That left Angerona staring at empty space once again with Wiseman’s voice saying, “For the first time you have truly aided my cause Ranma Hitoshirenu. You have killed the one person who may have been able to stop Doom and completely turned the other to my side with your final blow. When next we meet it will be in Juuban and you will have to go through all of my servants to destroy me.”

Angerona gritted her teeth in frustration and turned to see the end of the battle. Cologne was in the air and about to knock Ryouga on the back of his head when the lost boy disappeared. All of the other combatants for the Dark Moon Family were gone as well including Ukyou.

Angerona sighed. They had won, but the cost of had been dire. The yard was scattered with debris and destruction, including a vast number of small black crystal fragments. The koi pond was a great muddied mess of a thing and the Tendo home itself was missing one entire wall. The Tendo Dojo had taken the worst beating of all and could hardly be called much of anything other than debris.

A voice spoke to her and she looked down to see that Prince Diamond had not disappeared. He was sitting up and staring at her with awe. She slowly walked towards him with anger and death in her eyes, but he held up his hands and said, “Peace,” he coughed up some blood and then he smiled wanly at her and said, “I am dying, nothing will stop that now.”

Angerona relaxed sending her claws away she approached him cautiously. He was pale and his blood was leaking to the ground past clenched fingers on his side. He spoke to her with reverence as he said, “Understanding has come to me too late. Only after your powers pierced my side did I understand. I felt the true nature of Nemesis only after it bit me.”

Diamond laughed at the irony in that statement and then he coughed some more. He recovered some and he whispered to her, “Alas, it is too late for me, but I now know the truth. Wiseman, he turned my family away from the true ideal a long time ago, but you. You are Nemesis. You are the Queen that I should have been seeking all along.”

Angerona stood close to him now. This man had made her what she was of his own volition, had conspired with Wiseman to conquer and perhaps destroy the planet and yet now, now Angerona felt sorry for him. He and his family had not been bound to a contract, but instead they had been bound by lies and deceptions. Diamond looked up at her and said, “I know where the Ginzoushou is and I believe Wiseman has always known. The one called Black Lady carries it within her. She is key to his plans whatever they may be.”

Diamond coughed some more and Angerona tried to send Nemesis energy into the man and heal him, but she was unskilled in that use of her powers. It only made him cough and sputter some more. He started to fall back, but Angerona caught him and as she did so he looked at her and said, “It is too late and your strike was lethal. At least I die in the embrace of my true Queen the avatar of Nemesis.”

Those were his last words. Angerona allowed him to slip back onto the ground and then she sent Nemesis energy into his form. It consumed him and there was nothing left.

Angerona stepped away and towards a small group of onlookers. She smiled at them and tried her luck. “I am Sailor Angerona avatar of Nemesis, who do I have the pleasure of meeting.”

Ranma Saotome stepped forward and examined her ears for a moment. He didn’t flinch and seemed happy about that fact and put his hand out saying, “Ranma Saotome, practitioner of Anything Goes Martial arts.”

Ranma pointed at an unconscious panda and said, “That there’s my father, Genma. He’s uh not normally a Panda though it’s a curse.”

Angerona stepped towards the fallen Panda and tried her healing arts again. This time the power of Nemesis flowed easily and he awoke. She stepped to each of the other combatants and Ranma introduced them in turn.

As she finished Neherenia, Nabiki and Cologne approached her. They took her off a short distance away from other prying ears and eyes. Angerona transformed into her civilian guise and the ancient Amazon held up a piece of paper. Ranma gritted her teeth in fierce anger as she read the words. “My dearest Angerona also known as Ranma Hitoshirenu, my apologies for not continuing to speak to you in person, but there are things that I must do.”

“If you wish to confront me again I will somewhere in Juuban. There the Dark Lady will erect another crystal and the Sailor Senshi will try to stop us. To get to me you will have to go through my new servants and the Sailor Senshi.”

Ranma growled and ripped the paper into tiny pieces and cursed. She stared at Ranma Saotome with anger as well and gestured to the destruction that was all around her, “All of this, it’s our fault. If we hadn’t wanted to be male all the time; if we had just been able to accept what I now accept none of this would have happened.”

Tears came into her eyes and then Nabiki yelled at her saying, “Cut it Neko-Chan! You came here and saved their lives. For all we know this Wiseman guy and his flunkies would have conquered the world already if it wasn’t for you. You can’t live your life wondering ‘What if’ you have to accept the consequences of your actions and deal with them!”

Ranma smiled at Nabiki and said, “Thanks Nabiki. I needed that I guess that I was just feeling sorry for myself.”

Cologne said, “It happens to the best of us daughter. Come let us start cleaning up the mess that has been made.”

The four women went back to the rest of the group and began to help rebuild. Some time later the Juuban Gymnastics team had to head off to their houses. They bid tearful goodbyes to their returned captain and Ranma said, “I’ll try to be in school tomorrow. We’ll talk more there.”

She sighed and Nabiki said to her, “You going to tell them the truth?”

Ranma shrugged, gestured towards the remaining people cleaning and said, “Some people are rather suspicious. It seems odd to them that Sailor Angerona disappeared and Ranma Hitoshirenu just happened to come here at the same time.”

Nabiki snorted and looked at Ranma, Akane and said, “While others are blissfully unaware. Oh wait, here comes daddy.”

Soun Tendo approached the two girls and said, “Uhm Ranma er…”

“Hitoshirenu.” Ranma provided.

“Yes, Miss Hitoshirenu. I would like to extend my apologies for the way I treated you when you were last here. I allowed my friend to bring me to anger and I did not consider your feelings. While you, you came here to my house and are helping us to rebuild after this attack and Nabiki tells me that you were instrumental in contacting the one called Sailor Angerona.”

Tears streamed down his face as he said, “For helping to save my babies you will have my eternal gratitude and for helping to rebuild as well. If there is anything clan Tendo can do for you, please name it.”

Ranma thought about it for a moment and said, “You are welcome,” she looked at Nabiki slyly for a moment and said, “As for the favor you owe me, I’ll put it on your tab and collect later.”

Soun looked a bit surprised and saw a mercenary gleam in Ranma’s eyes. He backed away with a bit of fear, but he did not back away from his promise. Ranma chuckled and then watched as Genma approached her as well. The fat and balding martial artist spoke to his friend for a moment and then he said, “I have decided, you are worthy to be allowed into clan Saotome, with a different first name of course. What do you say to that boy,” he corrected himself, “er girl!”

She stared at him intently and said, “I like my first name, it’s who I am. I sure ain’t going to be no ‘Orchid Girl’ and ‘Wild Child’ just ain’t me either. I’m a ‘Wild Horse’, always have been and always will be. You think about that old man and then you come back to me. Until then I guess I’ll just have to be Ranma Hitoshirenu.”

Genma sputtered and spat, but he didn’t seem willing to dispute what the girl had said. Finally he just stomped off leaving her to stare at his retreating form. She laughed and said, “Who would have thought a few words could do that, eh Nabiki?”

The brown haired Tendo girl said, “You learn quickly don’t you Neko-chan?”

Ranma sported a cocky grin and said, “Hey, it’s me.”

Ranma Saotome approached the pair. He was nervous and somewhat sweating as he stammered, “Uhm look uh”

“Ranma my name is Ranma okay just get over it already,” The cat girl said with exasperation on her face.

The young Saotome said, “Right, look Ranma I’m sorry for what I said to you before. I’m sorry about what I guess I did to you. Really it’s my fault and I’m taking responsibility for it.”

The cat girl’s anger at the boy started to dry up. Her primal self seemed to agree with the idea and was letting it go. Perhaps the other mates were unsuitable anyway. She looked at Nabiki and felt something pull at her. She smiled at Ranma and said, “Yeah well I forgive you, but don’t expect any more freebies you hear me.”

She smiled at him and felt herself almost purr as she said, “One more thing that would be lots and lots of fun. Perhaps we can have a little match later this week after I have dealt with my other problems. We can have it at the Furinkan soccer field.”

Ranma grinned back at her and said, “Yeah that would be alright I guess.”

He walked off and she said, “You know Nabiki. He’s probably thinking to himself right now; thinking that Ranma Saotome doesn’t lose. Maybe that’s why it was so easy to forgive him. After all I’m going to love wiping that cocky grin off his face.”

Nabiki thought about that and said, “Can you really beat him?”

Ranma thought about it and said, “With Nemesis on my side assuredly. Without it I don’t know, he’s stronger than I am, but I’m quicker, plus I have the Neko-Ken. It’ll be a nice diversion after all of the seriousness is done.”

Neherenia approached the two and said, “Sorry Ranma, but we must get home now if you wish to be in school tomorrow.”

“Thanks sis. I’ll see you around Nabiki.”

Nabiki smiled at that and then looked around the yard. Seeing no one else in her own family watching she said, “One more thing Neko-Chan.”

Ranma stopped and said, “Yeah, what is it?”

Nabiki came very close and pressed herself against Ranma. She placed her lips at Ranma’s ear and said, “A long time ago I promised to tell you what person other than you would be a girl and still be interested in other girls?”

Ranma felt sweat falling down her neck and butterflies in her stomach. Nabiki could feel the other girl’s tension as she nodded in affirmation and then Nabiki said, “I would be interested and maybe when this is all over I’ll show you what I mean.”

Nabiki placed another kiss on Ranma’s lips and said, “I’ll see you around Neko-chan.”

---

Late that night Usagi and Ami walked away into Rei’s shrine. There they met up with the rest of the girls. They welcomed her and Minako said, “What is Mamoru’s condition?”

Usagi sighed and prepared herself, “Bad, his ribs all have multiple fractures and one of his lungs was punctured. The other lung was badly bruised and his spine was shattered. The worst…the worst is….”

Usagi couldn’t continue as she burst into tears. Rei caught her and tried to comfort her as Ami said, “The worst is the fact that he has fallen into a deep coma. In fact he has lost the ability to perform his own bodily functions. A machine is currently keeping him alive and the doctors suggest that he may never wake up again.”

Makoto gasped and said, “How, we just saw him in the future. He was alive and whole, he ruled the entire planet with Usagi at his side. How can that be possible?”

Ami said, “Either it is only a possible future or all hope is not lost. I will look into it on the Mercury computer.” She pulled out a computer and started typing on its keyboard. As she did so she said, “Oh no, there is a high level of dark energy downtown at this moment.”

The girls didn’t hesitate and transformed into their Sailor identities. They traveled to the disturbance and found a small black crystal growing near a massage parlor. Standing at the crystal was Black Lady. She stared at them and said, “Ah there you are I’ve been expecting you.”

Sailor Moon saw her and cried out, “Usa! We love you!”

The other girl laughed at that and said, “Love! You love me, then where were you when I received this!” She held up the stump of her right hand and the Sailors gasped. Moon cried out, “How! How did you receive that?”

Black Lady threw down a piece of dark crystal and all of the scouts were drawn into a vision…Sailor Angerona had an evil snarl of anger on her face and she was swinging a set of vibrant red claws. The girl had a mad look in her eyes as she said, “I’ll kill you! Kill you and all of the Senshi! Everything must die!” The claw descended and Black Lady screamed in pain and anguish…

The vision ended and the scouts yelled out, “No!”

Black Lady just sneered at them said, “If you truly love me you will protect me from such a violent and evil woman when she comes for me. If you love me you will find where I am staying and protect me.”

With those last words Black Lady disappeared. Usagi just said, “Oh my god how could she do that? How could she do that to Usa?”

Mars looked angry and said, “How else she betrayed our trust, she took us in to her masters in the Black Moon family and now she is betraying them as well. She’s like a mad dog, and you know what they say about mad dogs?”

“A mad dog in the hand is worth two in the bush?”

Mars practically slapped the girl and said, “No they have to be put down. I say we deal with Sailor Angerona the same way we deal with all of these other creeps, including the ones that hurt poor Tuxedo Mask. I say we should destroy them in the name of the moon!”

The rest of the group chorused, “In the Name of the Moon!”

Author’s Notes: A bit shorter than previous chapters, but I think it needs to be left here for the moment. The next chapter will be more about regrouping and reorganizing for the final confrontation. That means only two or three more chapters plus an epilogue. Let’s see if it really is that short I have this feeling that it won’t be…