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Sailor Ranko: The Harder They Fall: Chapter 15, The More The Merrier.
by
Rebecca Ann Heineman
Ranma 1/2 and the characters therein are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. Based on "Sailor Ranko" by Duncan Zillman and "Twice in a Millennium" by Kevin D. Hammel.
I don't own these characters. Please don't sue me, kill me or put me under twenty-four hour surveillance.
The soldiers approached the park from the north and west sides and stopped their vehicles at every corner of the park as they encircled it. No one dared to enter the park itself since the center was covered with a lake of fire from the residue from the incendiary bombs. The men from the Tokyo Tower detachment jumped out of their trucks and held their weapons ready for any sign of trouble.
The lead sergeant cocked his rifle but kept the safety on. "Men, be on the lookout for iguana like creatures that should be about two to three meters tall. If you see one, blast it." He waved his men to follow as they slowly walked the perimeter of the park staying on the pavement of the street. They were warned that the monsters could burrow and they didn't want to give the things a chance to come up from under the ground and take a victim.
The Sailor Senshi which comprised of Sailors Venus, Moon, Io, Neptune and Uranus were not enlightened about the creatures habits or descriptions so they ran straight into the park avoiding pockets of fire as they zigzagged towards the nest. A few minutes passed as the girls slowly edged their way to the smoldering depression and scouted the ground for any sign of life.
Sailor Venus was the first to say something. "Well, I guess we're late. Nothing left but a smelly pile of ash." Venus coughed, as did the other Senshi. The smoke was dying down but the fumes were very toxic to normal people. The Senshi's magic powers allowed the girls to breath the fumes without passing out; it didn't prevent the magic users from feeling ill.
Sailor Neptune cast a small "Deep Submerge" spell to create some water to put out the flames. She jumped back as the flames erupted since water mixed with napalm caused the fire to increase in intensity instead of being doused.
Sailor Io felt danger from below their position. "Girls, I think the nest is directly below us." She took a step away from her position and shouted her magic spell. "Lava Blast!" She threw a ball of lava at the ground causing a small explosion. The ground shifted and sank a meter. "Uranus! Could you give me a hand?"
Uranus took a position next to Io. "World Shaking!" She hit the ground hard with her spell and the ground collapsed even further. Uranus smirked, "Don't worry Io. You're not the only one with a single spell." She patted the smaller dark haired Senshi on the back and waved the others to join them.
Io's eye twitched a bit. She thought, "Yeah, I know only a single spell, but let me see you do a Hiryu Shoten Ha or a Bakusai Tenketsu."
Sailor Venus whistled to the group. The others turned to face her as she stomped on the manhole cover she was standing on. The cover popped up off the ground and she held it above her head. "Hey guys, why not use the back door instead?" She smiled. The other senshi gave innocent looks at each other as they realized they should have checked for an obvious entrance instead of blasting everything in sight.
Sailor Moon stood at the rim of the sewer tunnel entrance peering down into the black depths. She pulled out her scepter and held it firmly in her hand. "Ready to crack some eggs?" She jumped down into the darkness without thinking about what she was jumping into.
Neptune extended her arms to try to catch her impulsive princess. "Moon! Don't!" She waved her arms in circles as she lost her balance and fell in headfirst after her highness. Uranus leapt down after her beloved.
Tuxedo Mask appeared out of nowhere and jumped down after Sailor Moon. Venus tossed aside the manhole cover nonchalantly with her Senshi strength. Sailor Io and Venus both shrugged as they saw they were left behind and jumped down as well.
Sailor Moon whined as she attempted to feel her way around using her scepter as a blind man's cane. "Why is it so dark down here?" She was in a large sewer tunnel; square in shape that was four meters across and four meters high. There was five centimeters of standing water on the ground and the place smelled, well, like a sewer.
Sailor Io produced a ball of glowing hot lava in her hand for illumination. "Maybe because we're in an underground SEWER tunnel." Io held her nose with her free hand and tried not to throw up from the stench.
Venus gagged from the odor of the stuff she was stepping on. The description of the substance would cause most readers to projectile vomit immediately. "EWWW!" She stepped out of the gunk and told herself to transform again at the first opportunity to get the gooey material off of her shoes.
Io looked down one direction of the tunnel and then the other. She pointed in a direction. "This way." She carefully walked down the tunnel where her danger sense told her not to go. The five Senshi and the caped masked man went single file into the darkness with only Io's red glow giving them light to see by.
They traveled for a short distance before coming to a stop at a section of wall that was pushed into the tunnel from where the mother Godzilla was digging and had crushed the tunnel shut. Io and Moon examined the tunnel with the yellow-skirted Senshi giving her opinion. "I sense that something is behind this pile of rocks. We need to get through."
Tuxedo Mask knelt down a little and looked into a small opening that went through to the other side of the shattered concrete. The tunnel wasn't completely sealed off, but the hole was far too narrow for anyone to crawl through. "Io, could you hold your light right here please?"
Io moved next to the hole and held her light near the narrow opening. "Here you go. Be careful, my lava's hot."
Tuxedo Mask moved back as the heat had surprised him. He looked in the hole and saw a green reptilian eye staring back at him. "Oh boy." The eye blinked and moved away. There was a muffled roar from the other side of the debris. The caped man turned to his future wife, "Moon, there's something alive in there."
"No kidding." Io muttered. She took a look and saw nothing but darkness. She heard digging coming from the other side and it set off her danger alarm. "Everyone! Get back!" She ran past a frightened Sailor Moon and grabbed Venus's hand to drag her away with her. Uranus and Neptune took attack stances and backed away. Tuxedo Mask lifted up Moon and jumped to safety as the concrete debris began to shudder from an unseen force.
Sailor Moon had little hearts flying from her head as her big strong man was carrying her away. "Oh Tuxedo Mask!" She swooned.
Io and Venus took positions behind Neptune and Uranus and watched the two lovebirds run behind them. Venus clasped her arms together and felt romantic vibes. "Oh, how I wish I had a boyfriend who would carry me off like that!"
Io dropped her head in shame. "Why did I agree to be a Senshi?"
There was an impact on the barrier. A growl was heard and something large struck the concrete again causing a chuck to fall out onto the floor of the sewer tunnel. Uranus held her hands ready to cast her spell. "World..."
Neptune held her stance. "Deep..." Io tossed her ball of lava into the newly formed opening and it bounced and splattered in the tube leaving a red halo. The face of a baby Godzilla was clearly visible staring back biting the gravel. It was trying to use its claws and teeth to scrape the edges of the hole to get to the Senshi. It was moments away from to digging its way out.
Uranus and Neptune both sent their attack spells right into the face of the three-meter tall lizard blowing it to small pieces. The resulting shock caused the rest of the debris to clear away leaving a one and a half meter wide opening to the far side. A loud rustling was heard as numerous creatures stumbled around from being startled from the loud bang from the Outer Senshi's magic. Io threw several balls of lava into the pitch blackness to use them as makeshift flares. The girls saw that the tunnel went on for only a few meters more and then became a giant underground cavern.
Io leapt through the hole, flipped and landed on the concrete ledge. A hatched egg sat near the small ledge that remained before the concrete floor stopped and blackness began. She sensed creatures below her but not anywhere near the ledge. She created several more balls of lava and tossed them everywhere below. She took a step aside as Uranus and Neptune crawled in and stood on the five-meter long length of remaining tunnel.
Below them was an awesome sight, the floor of the hollowed out chamber was covered with over one hundred Godzilla eggs in various states of hatching. The ground was in full motion as the surface was alive with reptilian flesh ebbing and flowing in a sea of life. Dozens of beasts growled and snapped at each other as they feasted on several unlucky eggs that didn't hatch in time before their staving siblings decided that they couldn't wait for a meal. Venus, Tuxedo Mask and Moon joined the group and the five girls nodded to each other in agreement. They formed a line and cast their spells.
"World Shaking!"
"Deep Submerge!"
"Lava Blast!"
"Moon Gorgeous Meditation!"
"Crescent Beam!"
The magic attacks lit up the cavern like a professional fireworks display. A dozen creatures were felled and another dozen were stunned. Eggshell fragments went flying everywhere and the ground shook. The entire chamber was unstable to begin with and the magical explosions didn't help. The girls held onto each other as the ledge they were standing on collapsed under them.
Sailor Venus cast out, "Venus Love Me Chain!" She threw her magic at the ceiling and grabbed Sailor Io's hand and the two of them swung across the cavern to safety. They made it two-thirds of the way across before the ceiling that held the magic chain broke and the two girls plummeted into a pile of broken eggs.
Uranus and Neptune landed on a rock outcropping next to two hatching eggs. Uranus punched one baby in the jaw and tripped the other one in the knee to knock it off the ledge to its friends below. Neptune called out to the Princess of the Moon who had fallen below somewhere. "Sailor Moon! Where are you?" The lava that Io had thrown for light fizzled out and the light from the magic attacks was fading rapidly. Neptune had a difficult time seeing anything as the room plunged once more into darkness.
"Oh my head." Io rubbed the bump in her head and slid off the unconscious body of Sailor Venus. She took stock of how badly up the creek she was as she heard growls from at least six directions. "Oh boy. Thunder Hammer Strike!" She threw a ball of ki at the nearest creature that was only standing two meters away and blew it backwards into its friends. The light from her ki flashed in the room stunning the other beasts as they reeled back while their eyes adjusted to the sudden temporary brightness. Io grabbed Venus under her arm and jumped into the air to a ledge she had caught a glimpse of in the instant she was able to see.
Neptune saw the cowering form of Sailor Moon from the sudden light that Io provided. She jumped down next to her leader and scooped her up and jumped back while Tuxedo Mask threw roses on some very shocked babies' noses as a distraction. Neptune returned to the ledge with Uranus and the tall blonde Senshi finished pummeling the last baby and kicked it down to the floor of the nest.
Io landed on a narrow ledge of another broken sewer tunnel entrance. Venus groaned in her arms. "Are we there yet?" Io patted Venus' face to awaken the former Sailor V. Venus stood up are shook her head to force herself to full alertness. Venus was pissed off and she pointed her finger at the bottom of the nest. "Crescent Beam Shower!" She sent a solid beam of magic and cut down five babies in a single attack.
Io was pleased with what Venus was doing. The room was perfectly lit from Venus' magic. "Keep it up. I can see perfectly while you're doing that." Io picked out a target and threw her magic at it. "Lava Blast!" A baby exploded in a red ball of flame.
Neptune, Uranus, Io and Moon had no problem picking out targets and wasting the man sized lizards as Venus cast her beam over and over again to dispose of targets and light up the room. The nest became a killing floor as the creatures scrambled around to find an escape but found none. Tuxedo Mask watched over his fiance with pride. The girls felt good since they finally had the situation under control. It was a refreshing change of pace.
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Sailor Jupiter was keeping watch from the passenger seat of the speedboat that she and Neo Sailor Moon were in. She scanned the surface of the water looking for any debris from a crashed helicopter. She saw arms flailing in the water in the eerie moonlight directly ahead. "Moon, slow down. I think they're over there." She pointed out the people in the water.
Neo Sailor Moon pulled back the throttle and slowed the boat to only a few knots in velocity. She coasted the craft until it was only a few meters away from a very waterlogged Senshi of the Sun. She cut the throttle and turned to the four people in the water. "Hey guys! Need a lift?"
Sailor Sun had had enough of being drenched and holding an injured man above the surface of the water. She only tolerated the water since she had strained her magic powers to the breaking point and without sunlight to recharge, she couldn't teleport. "Funny." She kicked her booted feet to propel herself to the edge of the boat. "Can you pull this guy out? He probably got a concussion."
Sailor Jupiter bent down and grabbed Alain and pulled him out of the water and placed him in the back seat of the boat. Paul and Philippe swam next to the boat and tried to get in. Jupiter waved them off. "You can wait until the harbor patrol picks you up." She turned to look at several boats that were approaching and would be at their position in a few minutes.
Sailor Sun ducked under the water and burst out like a fish and landed on the boat. "If it's ok, I promised them a quick exit." She reached over and pulled Paul out of the water. A moment later Philippe was in the boat.
Philippe ducked down as low as he could go. "Remember your promise."
Sailor Sun grimaced. "Ok. Ok. Just wait until daybreak will ya!"
Jupiter asked. "Anyone else we need to pick up?"
Philippe answered. "No, just us. Can we go now? I'd like to get some dry clothes."
Neo Moon needed no more prodding. She hit the throttle and the craft lurched forward and then turned the boat back to whence they came. "Yeah!" She felt good driving this antique boat. It was much more fun to drive than the 30th century hoverbike she had back home.
Sailor Sun concentrated her ki and dried herself leaving her with a thin coating of salt on her body. She brushed off the dust from her fuku. "I'm so glad I don't have to wash this thing." Sun sat next to Jupiter since the French took the entire back seat.
The gas giant Senshi scooted aside to give some room the star Senshi sharing the narrow seat. "Well Sun, how did you kill that one?" Jupiter pointed her thumb towards the rear of the craft where the explosion was.
"Oh... Uh..." Sun fidgeted. Philippe shot her a glare of death. "I... Uh..."
"Well? Did you use Solar Flare or was it a new spell?" Jupiter was curious if Sun's power had grown again. She was hoping that Sun could help her grow her powers.
"Yeah, it was a Solar Flare attack. Yeah... That's it!" Sun twiddled her thumbs. She was so glad Akane wasn't in the boat. She would've spotted her lie a kilometer away.
Philippe watched the red haired Senshi carefully. He was going to teach her how to tell the story they had agreed upon better. He had to make sure that the Senshi were blamed for the explosion in the bay because if the nuke was blamed on the French, it would be very embarrassing. Philippe's job was to prevent France from being embarrassed at any cost. Besides, it was the red-head's fault anyway.
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An attack helicopter was patrolling the areas near the park. It flew just over the rooftops in an effort to spot anything unusual. The pilot was attracted to a group of smoke plumes and building damage in a street south of the park. The pilot radioed in his finding. "Base, I've spotted a giant carcass about fifteen blocks south of the park. It's a real mess down there."
The street was covered in Godzilla parts and chunks of burnt flesh that were expelled when the beast exploded. The monster was laying face down and spread-eagled flat with a the spine completely destroyed by some sort of laser beam. The wound was burned and charred with the head of the massive creature absolutely shattered. The chopper circled around the body. The pilot noticed something unusual about the carcass. "Base, are there men at the location already? I'm seeing movement around the body."
The operator at the Tokyo Tower command center turned to his companion. "Do we have anyone at this location." He pointed to a dot on his monitor showing a map of Tokyo.
The other operator shook his head. "Not that I know of. Everyone is currently at the park or on patrol. Maybe one of the patrols is there." He got on his radio. "Any patrol in sight of a Godzilla carcass directly south of Shiba Park?"
Patrols started to report in with all of them saying that they are either in transit or in a rescue operation. None of the patrols reported being near a dead creature.
The helicopter pilot saw the side of the monster fall over exposing the ribcage and gave him a clear view of the interior of the smoldering mound. The entire chest cavity was filled with eggs and baby Godzillas. The creatures streamed out in a mass procession and in moments the street was filled with ravenous children. "Base! I have a sighting! Send in troops to my location and have them fully armed!"
"Say again?"
"The street's covered with reptiles. I count at least fifty, maybe even a hundred of them. They are littering the street directly south of the park at a distance of fifteen blocks. There is no way you can miss them. I need support. Request permission to engage." He powered up his chain gun and checked the status of the weapon to begin firing.
The operator hit a few switches on his console. "Can you give me a camera feed?" A moment later, the view screen had a shot for the nose camera of the helicopter and it showed a scene right out of the movie "Aliens". Hundreds of three-meter tall babies covered the street and were moving in a herd toward the south away from the soldiers.
The operator dropped his coffee cup from his hand. "COMMANDER!"
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Sailor Mercury sat next to her resting teammate. "What you did was very brave Mars."
"Wasn't nothing. You'd of done it if you were in my place." Mars twitched under her blanket. She was very uncomfortable being half-naked on a stretcher.
Mercury nodded in agreement. "Yes, you're right. We've already given up our lives before. Why do we have to suffer like this?" She petted the hair of her friend.
Mars smiled. "It's a living." She lifted her head and took a look around. They were in a corner behind a communications truck. Mercury had moved the stretcher to a more private location so that Mars could heal without anyone bothering her. Mars asked her guardian. "Hey, could you check if anyone is looking?"
Mercury moved her head from side to side. "No one's looking at us right now. Why?"
Mars pulled the blanket over her head to hide her body. A moment later a hand stuck out holding a henshin stick. "Mars star power! Make up!" The blanket lifted in the air and spin around as Sailor Mars transformed under it. She landed in a pose in a fresh set of clothes and her make up was freshly applied. Mercury caught her as she collapsed from her still existent injuries.
Mercury gently put her friend back down on the stretcher. "Why'd you do that?"
"I'm not lying on a bed with my backside exposed in a command center full of perverts." Mars said matter-of-factly.
"You've got a point." Mercury put the blanket back on her companion as she once again was lying on her stomach to let her burns heal from the magic of the transformation.
The men around her started shouting orders and vehicles drove off in a hurry. The activity around them was obvious that something big was happening. Mercury got up to investigate. "Wait here."
Mars mumbled. "As if I'm going anywhere."
The Mercury princess peered around a corner and overheard conversation fragments. "Apache two and four, approach from the south." "They're still in a group." "They're converging near Pine Furniture Emporium." "We've spotted them!" "Hold your position." "Keep them bottled up." "We'll be ready to strafe in five minutes." "Don't rocket them unless they're going to breach the perimeter." "Give us another minute to stabilize the M-60s." "I said, hold your position!"
Mercury pieced together that the baby Godzillas must have escaped. She emerged from her hiding place and entered the mobile command center. The operators looked at the Senshi and ignored her since they were in crisis mode. Mercury looked at the monitors and saw scenes of troop movements, aerial views and a mass of creatures approaching a street corner.
Mercury's mind clicked. She ran out of the truck and jumped over to Mars' stretcher. "Mars, I've got to go!" Without another word she jumped to the rooftops and out of sight.
Mars watched the dust cloud that remained of Mercury's departure settle. "What was that for?"
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"What's that noise?" Ukyou held her battle spatula at the ready. There was a sound of a helicopter flying overhead. It was followed by a growl that came from everywhere.
"Shampoo no know. Maybe you hungry? Shampoo no bring ramen today." Shampoo sensed something wrong and fell into an attack stance and took mental notes of her surroundings.
Konatsu pulled out his short sword in one hand and a throwing star in the other. "That's not the mistress' stomach. I sense at least five... Uh... Opponents coming from outside."
Ukyou reached for the communicator. She dialed Sailor Io's extension. "Io here."
"Io, we've got a problem. I think something's here with me."
Sailor Io was busy dealing with the group of baby Godzillas below her. "I'll send someone there. Io out." Sailor Io jumped to avoid a baby's breath weapon. "Lava Blast!" Another baby came from behind her and bit at her. Io dropped her communicator in her surprise and threw a ki blast to stun her newest attacker. The blast hit the wall showering the tunnel opening with pebbles and threw Io and her communicator down into the nest. Io had only one thing to say. "Shit!"
Ukyou pocketed Sailor Sun's communicator. She hadn't heard Io's colorful vocabulary. "I've called the cavalry."
Shampoo focused her attention to the outside as well. "Shampoo feel maybe ten outside. No, now fifteen." She turned to Ukyou after having seen her call in the Senshi. "Shampoo know you have connection with Senshi. Is Ukyou Senshi?"
Ukyou focused on the sounds that were getting louder and spoke in sarcasm, "Yeah, I'm Sailor Mars."
"Shampoo knew it! Change now." Shampoo had a look of glee.
"Sorry Sugar. My skirt's at the cleaners. I'm just as normal as you and Konatsu." Ukyou instantly regretted making that remark. She was comparing herself to a cross-dressing kunoichi and a girl who changed into a cat.
The three warriors spun to the left as a dresser drawer fell over. Ukyou called out a challenge. "Who's there? Show yourself."
A growl replied and a slithering sound followed. Another growl was heard from the other side of the darkened store. Shampoo held her Chinese sword out at the ready and her bonbori in her other hand as a shield. "Shampoo no think opponent is man."
Ukyou gripped her spatula tightly. "Get around the Senshi in the bed. We have to protect them. Konatsu, do you have a flashlight or anything we can shine on our guests?"
Konatsu put his star back in his pocket and pulled out a small penlight. He turned it on and flashed it into a dark corner. There was a crash and he shone the light on an overturned trashcan that rolled on the floor. He followed the sound with the light until it hit a dark green leather curtain. Konatsu squinted his eyes and got a good look at the rough texture as it slowly moved. "Mistress, look over there."
Ukyou turned her head to look as an open mouth filled with sharp teeth lunged at her. Ukyou spun her spatula and smacked the baby in the head knocking it aside. She twirled her body around and sliced the head of the creature clean off as she completed her three hundred sixty degree dance.
"Aiya!" Shouted Shampoo as two creatures lunged from the shadows to kill her. She jumped in the air and planted each foot on each monster to distract them. She landed behind one and stabbed her sword in its back. The baby twisted in pain and pulled the sword away from Shampoo's grip. The Amazon jumped back and pulled out her second bonbori to protect herself from the attack of the baby's partner.
The main entry of the store was rattled as several creatures hopped in like kangaroos through the broken windows. The street was filled with the three-meter tall iguana rejects.
Konatsu jumped on the ceiling and stuck there as the 'curtain' in front of him jumped to where he was standing. Konatsu fell off the roof and planted his short sword into the creature's neck and sliced the throat quickly. He kicked the beast away while retracting his blade. He leapt into the air and did a flip between a group of three animals and led them toward the front door away from the other girls.
Shampoo sensed another creature behind her to add to the two she was already facing. She judged that her martial arts skill was not enough against several of these things at the same time and she couldn't run. She saw that her sword was going to be difficult to remove from the impaled Godzilla and she flipped in the air to avoid the teeth that closed where her leg once was. Shampoo bounced off the head of the creature and jumped near the bed. "Ukyou, we can't stay! We must retreat!"
"We have to protect them!" Ukyou held her spatula like a shield as four more creatures came from where Konatsu was defending but wasn't anymore. A Godzilla growled and lowered its head as it tried to figure out how to bite Ukyou around her metal shield. Two of the Godzillas took an interest in the bed the girls were trying to defend and moved around the chef to check it out. "Konatsu! I need your help!"
Konatsu fell from the ceiling again right on top of one of the two Godzillas. He slit its throat and its friend smashed the kunoichi with its tail sending him flying. The injured Godzilla spurt blood from the wound and convulsed as its body fell onto a bedroom mirror shattering it. The other creature sniffed its dying friend and turned to hunt Konatsu.
Ukyou took a second to watch the creature hunt her kunoichi and she threw a pair of spatulas at the tall beast. One bounced off its dorsal spine while the other imbedded into the neck. The creature yelped and used its claw to pull out the utensil. The monster turned to face Ukyou and its backside glowed blue.
Ukyou went pale. "Shampoo! They can breathe!"
Shampoo was busy dancing around three hungry Godzillas and was tiring fast. "Shampoo can see they breathe. Shampoo want to make green lizard stop breathing." She saw an opening and struck one on the neck with her bonbori to stun it. The creature fell unconscious on the floor. Shampoo flipped backward to avoid a bite and landed on the Senshi's bed. She kicked a second Godzilla in the head causing it to bite its own tongue making it roar in pain.
Shampoo took a moment to see what Ukyou was talking about. She saw the one creature raising what looked like a battle aura and was deeply inhaling. Ukyou was busy fending off a pair of creatures with her spatula. Ukyou jumped in the air at the precise moment the glowing baby breathed a ball of flame at the okonomiyaki master. Ukyou held her spatula out to stop the flames from reaching her and her giant baker's peel started to glow red from the heat. Ukyou dropped her weapon the moment the fire stopped and she unsheathed her katana and sliced the monster's head off with a single stroke. Ukyou held her sword above her head and stood on one leg in a battle stance.
Shampoo glanced downward and saw the glint of silver from the Silence Glaive. She hopped off the bed and grabbed the Senshi weapon and jumped back onto the bed. A Godzilla was sniffing Sailor Pluto who just woke up with a surprised look on her face. Shampoo made a downward swing with the blade of the Glaive and chopped the head off the Godzilla dropping the body part right on Pluto's stomach. The Senshi pushed the head off of herself. Shampoo kicked the body away and stabbed another Godzilla in the chest. The Glaive sliced the creature like a warm knife through ice cream and she had no problem removing the blade from her victim to face another opponent.
Sailor Pluto knew she only had one shot before she would pass out again from her previous injuries. She saw a group of three Godzillas getting close to Konatsu who was getting back up to rejoin the fight. He was slithering away from the trio of monsters. "Dead Scream." She whispered as a bolt of magic flew from her hand and incinerated the three instantly. Pluto rolled her eyes into her head and fell backwards into her pillow and she was out like a light again.
Ukyou heard the sound of the magic attack. "Pluto!" She took a step forward to see if the Senshi could join in the combat when a bedroom mirror went flying and struck the chef to the ground.
"Ukyou!" Konatsu screamed as he jumped over a bed to approach his mistress. A Godzilla got in the way and tried to bite the kunoichi. Konatsu threw a star at the beast, which bounced off of its thick skull. The creature breathed at the ninja and he had to retreat to avoid getting scorched. The furniture behind him caught fire and lit up the room. The three warriors got a good look at how bad the situation was. There were over twenty babies in the store and the fire attracted more from the crowd in the intersection outside.
Shampoo had another two more Godzillas to deal with. "How many ugly lizard are there?" She spun the Silence Glaive over her head as if she had been born to use it. She drew from her skill of years of weapons training and became at one with the Silence Glaive. Shampoo cut open one beast and the other tried to use its breath weapon on the Amazon. She used the rear end of the Glaive to force the monster's mouth closed and it caused the fireball to explode right in front of the lizard's face. It shook its head in surprise as the head then became detached from the body in a follow up swing.
Ukyou slid out from under the mirror and swung her katana into the chest of another baby. She rolled on the floor to avoid the inert beast from landing on her. She jumped up and charged two others that came too close to Shampoo. She sliced the ribcage of one and continued the swing into the fleshy part of the neck of the other. Both creatures fell to the ground. Ukyou concentrated her skill and swung the katana again hitting her next mark. She was so focused on the two remaining beasts in front of her that a third jumped her from behind.
Ukyou was shoved forward as the three toed feet dug into her back. Another beast knocked off the one that had Ukyou pinned and it jumped on her in its place. It pressed hard on Ukyou's back to keep the girl down. The chef screeched in pain and struggled to free herself or move into a position to strike with her blade. The Godzilla that stood on her was almost in glee as it lowered its head to feast on the chef's leg. It bit down hard on her left leg below the knee and snapped it cleanly off. It lifted its head to chew down on the meal. Ukyou screamed in agony and dropped her katana.
The beast never got another chance to attack the chef again. Konatsu was enraged and instantly appeared next to Ukyou. He aimed his short sword and swung the blade halving the neck in two killing the beast that dared to harm Ukyou. Silently, he lunged at another monster with the blade and made wild swings to keep it away from the one person who mattered more to him than life itself. He wasn't going to let them anywhere near the only person he truly loved.
Shampoo wanted to rush to Ukyou's aid. She couldn't abandon her post since another five more creatures came in the front entryway. She poked one with the blunt end of her staff and stabbed another when she pulled the weapon back. She kicked away a third beast and twirled her body with the blade pointed outwards to ward off the rest from her position.
Ukyou reached up to her hair and pulled off her bandanna. She flipped her body over and tied the cloth around her wound to stop the bleeding. She didn't feel any pain since the shock numbed her leg. She knew she only had moments before she was going to be out of commission.
The fire sprinklers came on over the back of the store where some furniture was on fire from previous breath weapon attacks. The fires were doused in moments sending the room back into a dimly lit state.
Konatsu swung wildly keeping four monsters at bay. He couldn't find an opening to send in a killing blow to reduce their numbers. One snapped at him and he plunged his ninja sword into the beast's skull. He pulled it out as the reptile shook its head in reflex snapping the blade in half. Konatsu stared at the six centimeters of metal protruding out of the hilt and gulped. He jumped out of the way as two heads collided where he was. The ninja saw a glint of steel from the back of one of the four. He bounced off of one Godzilla and stuck to the ceiling and crawled just above the injured monster with a sword in its back. He fell and grabbed Shampoo's Chinese scimitar and yanked it out. The creature fell when the wound was ripped open by the kunoichi's action. Konatsu spun around and sliced off a claw from creature behind him.
The spatula girl finished tying her tourniquet and grabbed her katana just as a creature started sniffing at the human blood on the ground. She lunged the blade into the creatures chest right into the heart and kicked with her right leg to get rid of the body. Ukyou used her free hand to lift herself up on a single leg. Her adrenaline rush gave her superhuman strength to carry out her mission. She lifted the stump of her left leg to help keep the blood pressure from bursting her makeshift bandage. She hopped twice to get away from the bed to lead the creatures with her blood as bait. "Over here you bastards! Here's lunch! Get it while it's fresh!" She tripped and fell. She struggled to stay awake since the blood loss was already beginning to affect her.
Several Godzillas turned to the chef's challenge. The smell of blood was overpowering and they moved as a unit towards the prey. Shampoo took the opportunity to waste the last three beasts around her.
Outside of the store, there was the sound of helicopters and gunfire. A street fight broke out and a helicopter gunship began a strafing run. The Godzillas that were huddled outside of the furniture store fell like dominoes. The rest scattered in every direction.
Ukyou saw her life flash before her eyes. Five beasts grouped around her and she swung at one lopping its head off while another bit down on her other hand severing several fingers. Ukyou closed her eyes and she dreamed of Ranma as she slipped away.
Konatsu came from the side and kicked with all his might knocking the beasts into each other. One turned to snap at the ninja while another two were shish-k-bobbed from a Glaive strike. Shampoo yanked out the weapon and the remaining two monsters jumped back and ran out of the store into the chaos in the street.
Rockets were fired into a group of Godzillas and explosions burst everywhere. Chain gun fire followed with the prehistoric screams of mini dinosaurs dying. Shampoo shot a glance at Konatsu as he tended to Ukyou's fresh wounds. The Amazon ran back to the bed and dispatched the last creature who dared approach the Senshi ignoring the pain she felt from the dozens of cuts she had on her own body.
The room quickly cleared out as the Godzillas panicked and explosions echoed outside. Shampoo was in a beserker rage hunting down each and every creature that caught her eye. Every ten seconds a Godzilla would jump into the store to avoid being shot only to be disemboweled by a skilled Amazon warrior.
Konatsu patched up Ukyou's hand with a piece of fabric from his cotton shirt sleeve. He paused for a moment to throw a star into the chest of an injured Godzilla that tried to get up. He lifted up Ukyou's severed leg and covered the stump with his entire shirt. "Please don't leave me." He begged Ukyou, the gods and any other being that would listen to his prayers. Konatsu was never more frightened before in his life.
Ukyou gasped. "Ugh..." She gripped her kunoichi's hand and squeezed it tight.
"Stay awake Ukyou. Please stay with me." Konatsu pleaded. He once again checked his location to ensure that they were in no immediate danger. Shampoo was running around like a mad woman shouting battle cries.
The intersection was a war zone. Soldiers were converging from all directions and were blasting with rockets, RPGs, M-60s and a jeep mounted anti-tank weapon. Godzillas were running and jumping in all directions. Some tried to charge the soldiers but were mowed down by dozens of M-16s firing explosive rounds.
The street was littered with the bodies of dozens of giant lizards. A helicopter flew down the street with a chain gun and filled two struggling creatures full of lead reducing them to perforated goo.
Sailor Mercury gasped at the carnage below her. She was perched on a rooftop and saw the Pine Furniture Emporium where her friends here hiding. She jumped down into the street and ran as some soldiers fired on her by mistake. She jumped into the open window frame and held her hands ready to cast an attack spell.
Shampoo sensed the new arrival was human before she was about to chop her up. It saved Mercury's life since the Amazon was in kill first and shoot later mode. "Who there?"
"I'm Sailor Mercury. I've come to help."
"Help spatula girl. She hurt." Shampoo pointed the Glaive to a corner near the bed she was guarding. "Aiya!" She jumped off trailing her purple locks behind her as she turned another Godzilla baby into ramen.
Mercury ran over to Ukyou and examined her hand and chest. "She's hurt really bad. Oh god." She noticed that Ukyou was missing half of her leg. Mercury bit her lip and looked at Ukyou's pale face.
Ukyou grabbed Mercury's hand. She lifted her head to see the Senshi still safe in bed surrounded by dead lizards. "I.. We... F-Fought..."
"Don't speak Ukyou." Mercury checked the bandage on the leg.
"G-Good..." Ukyou stuttered and fell. Konatsu dropped his head down and prayed.
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Sailor Sun gasped and fell to the floor of the speedboat. She felt a cold chill in her soul. "Ukyou..."
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Sailor Io's blood ran cold. She shuddered from her position next to Sailor Venus and paused her attacks. "No..."
Author's Notes: Please review my story. It makes me feel oh so happy and keeps me from building a freeway off ramp in your back yard.
Last edited on January 25th, 2007