Twisted Crystal
Chapter 2, Part 2
Friend or Foe?
Usagi, Naru and Gurio stood over-looking a graveyard, leaning on a fence, they all started down into the yard below. They had been walking around town to cheer up Naru but she still seemed tragically down. They didn't really know what had brought them to the graveyard, but they were there staring down thoughtfully, that is until Gurio interrupted.
"Graveyards give me the hibee jibees! All that silence! No computers! Let's go walk over there along the water. I can tell you how that bridge was built!" he said hopefully. Usagi and Naru didn't seem to take any notice of him. They just continued to stare.
"I wonder if Nephlyte can see me right now. Oh, Usagi, I miss him so much!" Naru said longingly. Tears began to form in her eyes.
"It's okay, Naru-chan. Don't cry," Usagi said softly.
Gurio didn't seem to notice the girls and continued his babbling, "Hey, I have a brilliant idea! Instead of going to that movie, why don't we go to the Insectaserium and look at bugs! Yeah! It'll be bodacious! If we hurry, we can get there in time for snake feeding!" he exclaimed. Usagi glanced at him. Then looked around.
"Hey!? Where's Naru?!" she asked.
Naru made her way through the graveyard slowly, sadly.
On a roof top above, a young purple haired warrior and a dark haired, masculine companion stopped dead on the roof top. They peered down over the heads of Usagi and Gurio and into the graveyard where Naru was walking.
"Look there, Ranma. Is Mousse."
Ranma looked down and nodded as he saw Mousse wandering around the graveyard, apparently without his glasses, for he seemed to be talking to some tombstone. He glanced up and looked around, sure enough his glasses were planted on his forehead.
"Looks like we've hit a dead end," Ranma said. "Let's go back that way and avoid the trouble." He turned to go a different way, but Shampoo put a hand on his shoulder. Ranma turned.
"Oh Shampoo, I love you!" Mousse cried out as he jumped forward and wrapped his arms around Naru.
"Umm.. you're squeezing me too tight!" Naru gasped.
"Hey! What are you doing to my friend? Can't you see that she's going through a major emotional experience?" Usagi called out. Mousse turned and lowered his glasses.
"And who're you?" he asked. Then he looked down and released Naru. "Oh, I'm sorry, Miss."
"Yeah, well you better be sorry. She just lost someone very close, Mister." Usagi's eyes narrowed.
"Look, it was just a misunderstanding," Mousse said quickly. "Calm down."
"Oh, I miss him so much.. He never held me like that," Naru said all teary eyed.
There was a swirl of the wind and a dark voice spoke, "Can't you forget Nephlyte?" Everyone twirled around as Zoisite appeared in a flowery storm. Usagi backed away slowly and cautiously.
"You knew Nephlyte, too?" Naru asked expectantly.
"That loser? He got what he deserved," Zoisite said with a twisted smile.
Naru's memory flashed back to his death, a familiar figure stood over them. It was the same that she was staring at now. Anger surged through her as her eyes narrowed. "You're the one! You attacked Nephlyte!" she gasped.
"You do remember!" Zoisite said, almost pleased. "Appropriate that I should run into you in a graveyard," he laughed.
Usagi's bag began to glow brightly, she was some distance from the others now since she had begun to slowly back away as Zoisite appeared, she needed to be out of sight before she could change to Sailor Moon. She looked down to her bag. "What's that light?"
"Usagi! That's the Rainbow Crystal alert!" Luna called out to her.
"Hmm? What's that?" she asked.
"I don't have time to explain the wand, just get it out!" Luna yelled.
"You're talking about this?" Usagi asked as she pulled her Crescent Moon Wand out of her bag. Sure enough the Wand was beeping and flashing.
"That beeping means that the Negaverse is near by, and they're after a Rainbow Crystal!" Luna shouted.
"Well, obviously, Luna. I mean the Negaverse is right there!" Usagi said pointing her wand to Zoisite. Luna glanced over and shook her head.
"Just call the scouts for back up and change already! The Crystal must be in him!" Luna said looking to Mousse.
"Ohh.. this means I'm going to miss the Sailor V movie," Usagi whined.
"Shampoo! That's her!" Ranma shouted grabbing her by the arm and pointing to Zoisite. Shampoo nodded and suddenly had her two large bonbori in her hands. Ranma had always called them the "big heavy beach balls on bamboo sticks".
"We get back you fighting, ok, Ranma?"
"What about Mousse?" Ranma asked. Shampoo shrugged and hopped forward, over the side of the building. Ranma dropped down off of the roof, but followed at a much slower rate.
As the two approached, Zoisite held up a crystal. Mousse seemed to step back in awe. But Naru stepped forward.
"That's the rock! That's the crystal that destroyed Nephlyte! Give it to me!" she demanded.
Naru pushed her way forward, but Zoisite tossed her aside. Shampoo glanced at Ranma and he looked to Mousse.
"Now hold on just a moment," he said firmly. "I don't know who you are, but you can't just go pushing younger people around. I won't allow it." Mousse stepped forward and pushed his glasses firmly against his nose.
"It's you I want, fool. Welcome to the Negaverse." Zoisite pointed his crystal at Mousse.
"Huh?"
"Stop right there!" commanded a voice. Everyone turned and saw Sailor Moon standing firmly a few feet from Zoisite. She pointed to the crystal in his hands.
"What now?" Zoisite asked.
"Sailor Moon!" Naru gasped.
"It's her again!" Ranma shouted. Shampoo only nodded as her eyes glance over at the Sailor Scout.
"You're not getting that Crystal as sure as I'm Sailor Moon. I fight for my friends.. and you're not one of them."
"You'll get a fight, all right. Comin' at ya, Sailor Girl, as soon as I get that crystal!" Zoisite promised her. Then he tossed his crystal toward Mousse and it hovered in the air, suspended by the powers of the Negaverse and a dark light enveloped him. "Zoy!" The crystal flared.
"What she doing to Mousse?" Shampoo asked softly.
"He must have a crystal too! What's going on here?" Ranma shouted. Shampoo's eyes narrowed and she held her bonbori in a fighting stance then flipped forward into the graveyard and stood beside Sailor Moon.
"Shampoo deal with this. Stand aside, Sailor Girl," she said. Shampoo whipped a bonbori forward and swatted the Dark Crystal out of the air. The light around Mousse shattered, but his crystal was lost. It soared through the sky leaving a streak of orange.
"The Crystal's going away!" Sailor Moon shouted.
Zoisite gasped, "Where is it!?" She levitated high above the ground to try and find the lost Crystal.
"Come back here. Give Ranma his Crystal," Shampoo demanded. She bounded off after Zoisite who was searching for the Crystal from high above.
"Woah.. what's happening to him!?" shouted Naru looking up to Mousse from the ground.
Ranma watched in shock as the light vanished from around Mousse leaving a familiar, yet totally nasty duck in it's place. Mousse was no longer anything recognizable as one person. His powerful legs were those of a duck, and great white wings arched from his back. His body was covered in feathers and a bill snapped on his face.
"Woah.." Ranma said in awe. "I bet that doesn't feel good."
A deep, dark laughter emanated from within the duck-boy. Thick glasses peered down at Sailor Moon. Ranma spotted Shampoo a bit in the distance shouting and jumping high enough to get a good swing at Zoisite, but as he had witnessed before, that girl was nearly impossible to hit. Mousse lifted his fists into the air and the feathers of his wings filled with knives as he squawked loudly.
"I gotta do something," Ranma sighed. "I can't stand being so useless!"
Mousse twirled around and rose into the air, a great spiked ball on a chain crashed down toward Sailor Moon, shattering a tombstone as she leaped for cover. The knives flashed as Mousse pulled in his wings around his body.
"Stop it, you! Leave her alone! Don't you know anything about a fair fight?" Naru demanded. Mousse's eyes narrowed and his glasses shined in the sunlight as he turned his attention to the interloper. The knives flew forth and she let out a long scream. Out of nowhere Gurio dashed forward and pulled Naru out of the line of fire, much to everyone's surprise. A huge scythe on a chain hurled toward Sailor Moon and a scream came from somewhere telling her to get out of the way, but the attack would surely hit her.
Though the inevitable was avoided as a brave, caped man in a tuxedo had grabbed her and darted out of the scythe's way as it shattered another tombstone. Ranma shook his head and lunged forward.
"If it's a fight you want, Mousse! Fight me! I can take you anytime!" Ranma cried out. He pulled his fingers into a tight fist and pushed himself high into the air. He hit Mousse high over the graveyard, but his speed was lacking, and his attack failed. Mousse easily blocked all of his punches and tossed him aside. Ranma fell to the ground hard.
"Tuxedo Kamen, you saved me," Usagi gasped. Tuxedo Kamen landed firmly on the top of a tombstone and glanced around. He held Sailor Moon firmly in his arms as he balanced himself skillfully atop the small monolith. Zoisite caught sight of Tuxedo Kamen, while fending off the Amazon. He then turned and glared at Shampoo.
"I don't have time to play, girlie." He drifted nearer to Tuxedo Kamen. Shampoo, forgetting momentarily her duty to retrieve Ranma's crystal, rushed to Ranma's aid.
"Ranma.. You okay? Mousse no hurt you?" she asked softly.
"Score one for me, Zoisite! I win the second crystal." Tuxedo Kamen called out. Sailor Moon gazed up at him, her eyes shimmering with affection.
"You, there! Bird-boy! Get him! Cape-boy, here, thinks he can stop us," Zoisite commanded. The transformed Mousse turned his attention to the figure on the tombstone. With a squawk, a huge spear attached to a chain lunched out of a torn sleeve. It arched forward, though, Tuxedo Kamen was able to swiftly hop from the stone to safety, Sailor Scout in hand. Knives again lined his wings and then as the wings contracted around him, the knives shot forward. Tuxedo Kamen, releasing Sailor Moon, pulled forth his cane and began twirling it about his body, deflecting all of the knives. They fell harmlessly to the ground.
Sailor Moon looked beside her as she stood on her own two feet and noticed a tiny star locket on the ground. "What's this?" she said picking it up. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as another figure approached.
"Mako-chan!" Luna called out.
"Makoto!" Sailor Moon echoed. Makoto was rushing forward to meet the battle.
"Makoto, change quickly!" the cat shouted. As she ran, Makoto pulled her Jupiter pen out and transformed instantly. Meanwhile, Tuxedo Kamen was holding off Mousse with his cane as the duck-boy easily kept his distance, continuing to hurl huge objects at his opponent.
"Mousse!" Shampoo shouted. "You stop this right now!" she demanded. Mousse turned and looked at the Amazon. His motions slowed and suddenly his attack halted. She stood with her arms firmly planted across her chest, glaring at him. "What you think you doing?"
"Wak!" he managed to quack.
"Now, Sailor Moon! Change him back!" Sailor Jupiter shouted.
"What do you think you're doing!? Get me that crystal!" Zoisite demanded. Mousse blinked a few times then turned his attention back to Tuxedo Kamen who had time to take his place beside Sailor Jupiter. Out of Mousse's torn sleeves appeared a huge sword in each. His eyes narrowed behind those thick glasses and he charged forward. Makoto backed away slightly, then stopped and closed her eyes.
From her hands shot forth an incredible blast of electricity. The charging duck-boy was suddenly nothing more than a charred body and smoke. With a quiet "Wak...", Mousse stopped dead in his tracks and could only stare.
"Moon Healing Activation!" Sailor Moon cried out, twisting the Crescent Moon Wand around her thin frame. Moon dust shot forward, leaving behind a torn and broken young man with cracked glasses and long black hair. What had once been his long white robe was now nothing more than a chunk of cloth, loosely strung about his body. Mousse collapsed on his face.
Despite herself, Shampoo rushed to his side and cradled him in her arms. "Aiya... Mousse... why you go and do that?"
Tuxedo Kamen stepped forward and held the orange Rainbow Crystal firmly in his hand. "Catch you later, loser!" he shouted to Zoisite. Then he turned and dashed off, his cape twirling around his back.
"Hey! That's mine!" Zoisite shouted.
"I didn't see your name on it anywhere," Tuxedo Kamen shouted over his shoulder.
"Queen Beryl isn't going to like this..." Zoisite vanished from sight.
"No! My crystal! Come back here!" Ranma shouted rushing forward. He slowed down to a stop when he realized it was hopeless. Looking around he realized that it was only he, Mousse and Shampoo left in the necropolis. The Sailor Scouts and their two little friends had vanished along with Zoisite and Tuxedo Kamen. "This is getting to be too much." He looked down at Mousse and wondered if he would still be plagued by his Jusenkyo curse. Somehow he doubted it. Somehow Ranma could guess that Mousse had just exchanged his martial arts prowess for freedom from his duck body.
Further away, Sailor Moon, Sailor Jupiter and Luna stood looking over the three humans in the graveyard. Luna looked up at Sailor Moon and asked, "Sailor Moon, did you see who got the crystal?"
"I sure did. And look at what he left me," she said fondling the star locket in her hands delicately. "This star locket.. there's something familiar about it."
"They got you, too, huh?" Ranma and Shampoo turned around to see Ryoga standing behind them. He was looking down at Mousse with a frown spread across his face. "You know, Ranma, this is all too odd. You and now him?" he said nodding toward Mousse, lying on the ground in pain. "Two cursed people of incredible martial arts skill? You don't think I'll be next, do you?"
"Now, how would I know, Ryoga?" Ranma asked. "Don't bother me, right now, okay, man?" Shampoo tugged on Ranma's sleeve gently. "Now, what? I'm trying to think of how to get my crystal!" he shouted. He turned and looked into Shampoo's eyes. Ranma could see the fear in her purple eyes.
"Ranma... what if Shampoo next?" she asked.
"Come on.. now cut it out. If they got you, who'd protect me from him?" Ranma asked nodding up to Ryoga.
"This is no time for your stupid jokes, Saotome!" Ryoga snapped at him. "I'm leaving town. With my sense of direction it should be easy. That woman'll never find me out there in the wilds of Japan."
"That's not like you to run from a fight, Ryoga." Ranma looked up at him, though he didn't seem to care about his injured pride.
"I've waited so long to get rid of P-chan, but I can't say goodbye to my skills. I'm nothing without my strength and agility," Ryoga said. "How can I win if I can't even fight? I've got to get away and train."
"Suit yourself, man," Ranma said. He turned back to look at Mousse. Ryoga turned away from the three and walked off into the distance.
"You think he be back?" Shampoo asked softly.
Ranma laughed slightly. "With his sense of direction, if he wants to get to the wilds of Japan, he won't even make it out of this graveyard. Come on, Shampoo... let's get Mousse out of here."
Later that day, Usagi, Gurio and Naru were sitting in the park, together again. Naru had just finished wrapping a bandage around Gurio's arm, a result of a battle wound he had received while rescuing Naru.
"There you are, Gurio. Sure it's not too tight?" she asked smiling.
"No, it's perfect, thanks," he answered wincing in pain.
"Hey," Usagi commented, "That's Nephlyte's."
Naru nodded slowly and closed her eyes. "I know, but he'd want me to use it to help Gurio. He saved my life. Beside's Nephlyte lives in my heart, just like all my closest friends."
Gurio laughed slightly, an awkward embarrassed laugh. Usagi broke in, "Aww, that's beautiful, Naru." Then, casually forgetting her two friends, Usagi glanced down into her palm and flipped open the locket. It began to play soft beautiful music and her eyes filled up with tears.
"Oh, Usagi.. that's gorgeous!" Naru said glancing at the locket. "Was it a gift?" she asked.
"Uh huh," Usagi said wistfully. "Once.. long ago.."
Chapter 1, Part 1 - Jupiter Comes with a Hiryu Shoten Ha!?
Chapter 1, Part 2 - Jupiter Comes with a Hiryu Shoten Ha!?
Chapter 2, Part 1 - Friend or Foe?
Index
("Twisted Crystal" is a story which revolves around the well designed characters of "Ranma �" and "Sailor Moon".)
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