Chaos Crescendo

Chapter 1

 

Author’s Note on Timing: The Sailor Moon aspect of this story will be based almost entirely on the anime and will start between episodes 33 and 34. Essentially there will be a one day delay between the arrival of Venus and Tuxedo Kamen’s final battle with Zoisite. For the Ranma ½ aspect, this is under the heading of ‘Continuation’, based approximately 15 years after the Saffron Incident.

 

 

 

            In Juban, five girls walked down the street to the mall. Usagi, her curiosity piqued, began pestering Makoto. “You never really mentioned your parents before. What were they like?” She ignored the hushing motions Rei was making.

 

            “Well, I don’t remember them real well, to be honest. They died when I was five and I was raised for a while by my aunt and uncle. What I do remember is how loving and gentle my mom was and how safe I always felt with dad.”

 

            Usagi scratched her head. “Why did your dad have such a heavy umbrella?”

 

            Makoto shrugged. “I never asked him. At the time, it seemed the most natural thing in the world. Mom used normal umbrellas and dad used that one. It wasn’t until after the crash that I realized just how strange the umbrella was.”

 

            “Your dad actually used that thing?” Usagi was flabbergasted.

 

            Makoto nodded as a small smile crept onto her face. “He could carry it one handed and he rarely went anywhere without it. Dad always was kind of strange. For one thing, he was pretty paranoid about getting wet. I think he had hyperphobia.”

 

            “Hydrophobia,” Ami corrected her automatically.

 

            “Yeah, that. As bedtime stories, they would tell me about some of the crazy stuff that supposedly happened to them when they were teenagers. You’ve probably heard them, too. The urban legends about Nerima? Mom and dad supposedly had a hand in that. I wouldn’t really believe them except for how dad could swing that umbrella. I remember one time there was a boulder or something. I don’t remember why it was there or what all was going on. All I can remember is dad swinging the umbrella at it and the rock just shattered.”

 

            The girls whistled in appreciation. “Man, he was strong.”

 

            Makoto nodded and smiled. “Mom was no slouch either. She could put my dad in his place with just a look or a single word, especially in the kitchen, and could she ever cook! She told me that she used to be pretty bad, but that she practiced a lot and got to be very good. That’s what inspired me to work so hard at cooking and taking care of the home.” Her smile slowly faded. “But I guess that being strong or nice or a great cook doesn’t matter when the plane you’re on takes a nose dive into the ocean and explodes. You know, if he did have a fear of water, dying at sea is morbidly ironic.”

 

            The girls all fell silent as they continued walking towards the mall. The silence unfortunately gave Usagi time to think about Tuxedo Mask. He had been injured and bleeding when Venus had managed to free the Senshi from the trap into which they had fallen and Usagi was very concerned about how he was doing.

 

 

 

            In the Dark Kingdom, Beryl was glowering at her crystal ball. She was obviously upset over something, so when Kunzite and Zoisite were summoned to her presence, they were understandably nervous.

 

            “You summoned us?” Kunzite spoke calmly, trying to hide his inner tension.

 

            “Yes. An unexpected complication has arisen. What is left of Nephrite’s and Jadeite’s youma are losing power without their lords. Kunzite, I want you to take them and use them to find out the Sailor Senshi’s identities. If they are destroyed, it will not matter since they will not survive for too much longer anyways. You may use your own youma as well, but remember that they are far more valuable than the others.”

 

            “Of course, Beryl,” Kunzite bowed and vanished.

 

            “Zoisite, you are quickly running out of time. You are to gather the remaining Rainbow Crystals quickly or suffer my wrath.”

 

            Zoisite gulped and nodded before vanishing in a flurry of flower petals.

 

 

 

            After a full morning of shopping Makoto’s mood had increased dramatically and the friends all sat together at the ice cream parlor. Ami was the first to note that shortly after sitting down for ice cream Makoto had returned to a subdued state. “Is something wrong?”

 

            Makoto smiled a little. “Today’s just been a day for thinking about my family. I never told you guys about her, but I had an aunt that showed up every now and then. She never really got along with my dad as I remember it. I think she blamed him for something or other because of the looks she always gave mom.” Makoto scratched her head as she thought it over. “I think she was mom’s cousin and that she didn’t approve of her marrying dad. I actually remember her a bit more clearly than mom and dad because, even though she was Japanese, she had red hair. But anyways, when she was around, auntie was always really fun and she would always take me out for ice cream.” Makoto pointed her spoon at Usagi. “And she could beat you at eating ice cream.”

 

            Usagi blinked for a moment and then got a disbelieving look on her face. “No way! I’m the best at eating ice cream! And if your aunt ever shows up, I’ll prove it!”

 

            Makoto shook her head slowly as she looked down at her full bowl. “She can’t show up, Usagi. My aunt and uncle said she was on the plane with mom and dad. I was told they were going to China to try and cure some weird problem dad and auntie had.”

 

            Once again, chatting dropped off to nothing because everyone was afraid of touching off another bad memory. Makoto used her spoon to play with her ice cream a bit before excusing herself from the table. She made her way over to the ladies’ room.

 

            Once inside, Makoto leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. It wasn’t that her friends’ concern bothered her. The reason she wanted a little time alone was simply because there was nothing that they could do. And she couldn’t really explain to them that it wasn’t just that her parents were gone that bothered her. It was the fact that they had left her behind. She walked over to one of the sinks and stared into the mirror, trying to find something wrong with her that would cause her parents to not want her to be with them. ‘Even if I had died with them, at least we would have been together.’

 

            Makoto splashed some water onto her face as she gazed into the mirror. It hurt a lot, even after all these years. She started to dry her face off when a familiar tingling sensation occurred. The screams that shortly emerged from the ice cream parlor confirmed her feeling. Taking a quick glance around to make sure she was alone, she held up her transformation pen and cried out, “Jupiter power, make-up!”

 

            In a dazzling display, her clothes were replaced with the uniform of Sailor Jupiter, defender of love and justice. She charged out of the bathroom and into chaos. People were running and screaming everywhere. Jupiter could just make out her friends trying to get someplace where they could transform safely, but the panicked crowds were making it difficult.

 

            The reason for the panic was obviously the eight-foot tall woman that looked like she was made from a banana split. Makoto would have laughed if it weren’t for the fact that she knew these things could be very deadly. ‘Let’s see, I’m supposed to pose, make a speech about love and justice, and then pose again. $#%^ that, I’m not in the mood.’ Without announcing herself, Jupiter bolted across the room and let the youma have it with a vicious haymaker. The youma staggered back a few steps only to be caught by in the head by a crescent kick that threw it completely off-balance. Stars exploded in its vision as two fingers punched through its right eye.

 

 

            Unseen in the distance, Kunzite slapped his forehead. He had forgotten that Nephrite’s youma really had no sense of self-control. It was supposed to wait until a large number of people had come in to eat the ice cream that was laced with a tracing compound. That way, when the youma began its attack, Kunzite could narrow down whether the Senshi had eaten there that day and hence lower the likely number of suspects. Instead, the youma had watched the one blonde girl with the strange hairstyle gorge herself on ice cream and attacked. He was just grateful that Beryl had specifically informed him that these youma were expendable.

 

 

            Jupiter took a step back as the monster clapped one hand over its ruined eye and roared in pain. It took a wild swing at her with its other hand, which she merely ducked under. As she did, she reached up and caught its arm while twisting inside its reach. She yanked down hard, breaking the appendage over her shoulder as she used a judo throw to put it on the ground.

 

            The youma left a dent in the floor from the impact. Jupiter started to smirk when the youma began to cover its injuries in ice cream. Her eyebrow shot up in curiosity until she realized that the monster was healing itself.

 

            Sporting a perfectly functional arm again, the creature charged at her and tried to give her a bear hug. Jupiter surprised the monster by going vertical, using her long legs to propel her up and out of the monster’s grasp. She flipped over it and landed easily, then turned her momentum into a vicious spin kick that sent the monster smashing through the ice cream counter.

 

            As the monster struggled to rise, it found Jupiter’s fist intercepting its face repeatedly. It attempted a feeble block and felt whatever youma’s have for bones break as magically amplified punch after punch rained into it. Once again, the arm fell limp at its side as it finally managed to get to its feet. The youma’s standing moments were short lived as a powerful uppercut slammed into its chin and propelled it further into the back of the store.

 

            Jupiter shook her somewhat numb hand. Hitting the youma had hurt a lot more than she figured it would. “Stop bruising my knuckles!” She growled at it as she sent a thrust kick into its midsection. The youma howled in pain as Jupiter found a broken part of a machine and started to use that to hit the monster repeatedly over the head. The creature tried to block a few times, but Jupiter’s strikes just blasted through its defenses.

 

            When she finally felt like she had successfully vented her frustration, Jupiter stepped back. “My planet, Jupiter, bring the storm, dark clouds, and thunder…” Lightning crackled around Jupiter’s body. “Supreme Thunder!” Arcs of electricity crashed into the youma’s body as it cried out in agony. As the lightning dissipated from its body, the creature collapsed into dust.

 

            With a smile on her face, Jupiter turned towards her friends. She hesitated when she saw the stunned expressions on their faces. “What?”

 

            “You just beat that youma single-handedly,” Rei answered.

 

            Ami nodded and commented. “And in a surprisingly brutal yet efficient manner.”

 

            Jupiter shrugged as she headed off to find a safe place to change back to Makoto. “I just needed to vent a little.”

 

 

            A short distance away, Kunzite brooded. The youma had acted prematurely and only one Senshi had shown up. He went through a mental inventory of the youma he had in reserve and frowned as he tried to come up with a plan that they could follow through on. A slow smile spread over his features as an idea came to him.

 

 

            Makoto and friends were checking out a new perfume shop that had opened in the mall. Ami didn’t look all that interested in the selections, but Minako and Usagi were busy checking out every scent they could while Makoto and Rei were more conservative.

 

            After a few minutes of sampling an enormous variety of scents, one of the shop workers approached with an odd looking bottle of perfume. “Would you girls care to try this special blend? It’s said that a woman can win the heart of any man with just a whiff of this scent.” The shop worker tried to hide a malicious grin and mostly succeeded.

 

            Rei’s evil sense kicked in as the woman spoke and she became extremely nervous, especially at the strange smile the woman was sporting. Usagi had almost instantly begun to reach for the bottle when Rei grabbed her arm. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Usagi.” Rei tried to send her a few subtle hints, but Usagi was as oblivious as ever.

 

            “Waaah! You’re so mean! You just want to get all the men for yourself! You’re so selfish!”

 

            Rei completely forgot about the evil presence as her eyebrow twitched. “Who’s selfish?”

 

            “Rei-chan!”

 

            “WHO?”

 

            “REI-CHAN!”

 

            “I’ll show you selfish!”

 

            “See! Told you!”

 

            The shop worker’s own eyebrow began twitching as she watched the two girls yell at each other. “That’s it! I’ve had enough of dealing with you pathetic peons!” Everyone in the store turned to stare at the woman as she suddenly grew in size and morphed into a monster with nozzles for hands and a bubbling tank on its back. Everyone in the store began to scream and run.

 

 

            Kunzite’s head impacted repeatedly on the wall next to him. “No wonder Jadeite and Nephrite always failed! They had idiots working for them! That fool youma didn’t even manage to spray one victim with that special perfume. Once again, I won’t be able to track whether the Senshi have been here yet or not.” Kunzite stopped and rubbed his forehead, hoping desperately that Zoisite was doing better than him.

 

 

            Makoto barely managed to duck under a stream of vapor that blasted out of the nozzle. She glanced behind her to see where it impacted and nearly froze. The wall was melting quickly. “ACID!” She cried out as she dove for cover. Her friends all chose similar maneuvers. Only Ami managed to not only get out of the way, but to also find a place out of sight to transform. The youma discovered her presence just as a Bubble Spray managed to cover the area in a thick fog that drastically hampered the youma’s acid attacks.

 

            The rest of the Senshi used the cover to transform as well. As the fog cleared, the youma found itself surrounded by five rather angry young warriors of love and justice. It tuned out Sailor Moon’s speech as it tried to figure out what to do first. It never managed to come up with an answer because a stream of fire shattered the tank on its back, sending it to its knees in agony. It barely even noticed the Moon Tiara cutting through its torso as it turned to dust.

 

            “Two in one day. Is that a record for you guys?” Venus asked.

 

            “Pretty much, unless you count those twin youma we took on that one time.”

 

            Mercury had a perplexed look on her face. “Why are they using the older type of youma against us?”

 

            “Maybe they’re doing spring cleaning and tossing out all their old youma?” Venus suggested. The other Senshi all looked at her like she had just grown another eye.

 

 

 

            Makoto sighed as she waved goodbye to her friends and entered her house. It had been a long day of shopping and fighting youma and she was ready for a break. As she walked through her house, she looked around for a moment, noting how empty and lifeless it was. She felt a familiar tightness in her chest as loneliness struck her again. It took her a minute to notice the flashing light by the phone and she checked her answering machine.

 

            A soft, almost effeminate voice played from the machine. “Hello, Makoto-chan. This is your uncle. We were wondering if you would mind us dropping by for a visit. Please call us back and let us know if it is all right. I hope you are doing well. Goodbye.” The machine beeped. Makoto smiled to herself. She may have moved away from her aunt and uncle, but she loved them dearly. Also, there was the fact that she had an idea forming in her head. She needed to plot out a few things with her uncle before he came to visit, but it would make a great joke on her friends. She picked up the phone and dialed.

 

 

 

            Makoto met with her friends at school. They all noted that she seemed much happier than yesterday. “How are you feeling?” Usagi asked as she eyed Makoto’s lunch.

 

            Makoto handed it over without even really thinking about it. “Great! I got a call from my Aunt and Uncle Kenzan, and they’re going to be coming to visit me after school today!”

 

            Usagi bounced happily. “That’s great! Can we come too?”

 

            Makoto nodded, still smiling. ‘There’s the hook.’ “Sure! They’d love to meet all of you.” Something seemed to occur to her and a small blush appeared on her face. “There’s something I have to warn you guys about. It’s um… kinda embarrassing…”

 

            “What?”

 

            “Well, Uncle Kenzan… he… er…” Makoto rubbed the back of her head while trying to figure out just how to explain what her uncle was like. “Well, he… kinda… likes… uhm…” She finished what she was saying with a mumble. ‘There’s the line,’ she thought to herself.

 

            “What was that?” Usagi asked as she leaned in closer to try to hear well.

 

            Makoto’s blush increased. “I said… he sometimes likes to cross-dress.” She saw the looks forming on her friends’ faces and she waved her hands wardingly. “He’s not like that! He’s completely devoted to Auntie, it’s just that… well, he was raised funny. And he does a real good job of impersonating a woman. I just wanted to warn you guys in case two ‘Aunts’ show up.”

 

            Usagi stared in shock for a moment before shaking her head. “Come on, no guy can look that much like a woman.”

 

            Makoto just smirked. ‘And sinker.’ “Say that after you’ve met him.”

 

            Usagi humphed. “I will.”

 

            Much to Usagi’s disapproval, lunch was about to be violently interrupted. As a youma, apparently made out of what used to be the jungle gym, charged a group of students, Usagi and Makoto scowled at it. Looking towards each other, they nodded in unspoken agreement and transformed. Luckily no one happened to be looking their way as the light show came and went.

 

            Sailor Jupiter sent a blast from her Supreme Thunder plowing into the youma as it reached for one of the fleeing students, knocking the monster back a few feet and away from the boy.

 

            Sailor Moon went through her pose routine. “School is a place for boring learning, not youmas! In the name of the Moon I will punish you!”

 

            “What she said,” Jupiter growled as she sent another bolt of lightning into the monster. She frowned when the monster wasn’t knocked back this time. It flung an arm at her and a barrage of sharpened steel pipes nearly impaled her against the school wall.

 

            A cry of Bubbles Spray announced Sailor Mercury’s introduction to the fight as she blanketed the entire area in a dense fog. The youma began throwing pipes around in random directions until a stream of light from Sailor Venus’s Crescent Beam cut through one of its arms, severing it neatly.

 

            As the fog slowly lifted, the youma cried out in pain. Before it could make a move, Moon threw her Moon Tiara at it. The magical boomerang sliced the youma in half at the waist, returning to Moon’s hand as the youma turned to dust. “Well, that was easy!” Sailor Moon commented happily.

 

            “I agree.” The other three Senshi turned towards Mercury as she typed away at her computer. “That youma was far weaker than most of the others we have fought. I am beginning to suspect that Venus’s earlier comment about the Dark Kingdom ‘throwing out their old youma’ may indeed have some truth in it.”

 

            “If these things are so weak, why is the Dark Kingdom bothering to attack us at all?” Jupiter asked in confusion.

 

            “I believe a phrase that could fit this is ‘the Golden BB’. It is a term used by the military, typically the American Air Force, to indicate a lethal amount of damage from a weapon that should normally have been worthless, such as a handgun bringing down a jet because the bullet happened to strike a weak point in the armor over a vital part of the aircraft.” When Mercury saw that only Venus had even remotely followed her, she sighed. “The Dark Kingdom is just hoping it might get a lucky shot in.”

 

            “Ooohhhh,” Moon nodded in understanding. An idea occurred to her and she brightened up. “Speaking of lucky, this means school’s cancelled for today! LUCKY!” Sailor Moon’s three friends and fellow warriors facefaulted.

 

 

            A short distance away, Kunzite wasn’t even bothering to watch the fight or its result as he savored at the banana split in front of him. He was now confident of three things. The first was that the youma, the weakest of the batch he had received from Nephrite, did not stand a chance. The second thing was that all of the ‘expendable’ youma would end up the same way. The third was that he would have to make sure that at least some ice cream shops survived the Dark Kingdom’s invasion.

 

 

            Unknown to its residents, in a distant corner of the Dark Kingdom a portal was forming. Light cascaded in a swirling cone for a moment as three figures emerged. Once they stepped completely out of the gate, the light vanished, plunging the immediate area into almost total darkness.

 

            “Crap! Where the hell are we now?” A gruff male voice grumbled.

 

            “Take it easy, we’ll figure out where we are,” a woman’s voice attempted to sooth the male’s.

 

            Two yellow, slightly glowing eyes appeared near where the voice had originated. The eyes suddenly shrank as a tiny cry of “Eeep!” escaped. The eyes vanished and scurrying noises could be heard as a youma, glowing bright red and looking generally unpleasant, walked by.

 

            No sound other than the clicking of the thing’s clawed feet could be heard as it passed through the area and left. Once it was safely gone, the woman’s voice spoke again, though much quieter. “Looks like you got the ‘hell’ part right. We’ll have to hide out until you can set up another portal. Just take your time and get it right. I want to get home in one piece.” The woman’s voice seemed to make some odd squeaking noises and cooed softly.

 

            A while later the man’s voice came again. “It’s no good. Something’s blocking me. We’ll have to get out of this castle first.”

 

            The woman sighed. “Any ideas on how to do that?”

 

            “Yeah, I’ll ask that guy over there.” The woman looked over towards where the man had indicated and saw a uniformed figure with blonde hair tied back in a ponytail.

 

            “Are you crazy? He could be a wizard or demon or something.”

 

            “Look, if he tries anything, I’ll handle him. If not, then we can get out of here.”

 

            “Quit being so pig-headed!”

 

            The man froze. “Don’t call me that,” he said evenly.

 

            “Then quit acting like it, you jerk,” the woman responded defensively, but there was a trace of regret in her voice.

 

            “I’ll take care of it,” the man responded gruffly. With that he turned and started walking towards the gray-uniformed person.

 

            A short distance away, Zoisite was glaring at the Rainbow Crystals he had managed to acquire. He drummed his fingers while trying to come up with a plan to get the others that would not go against Beryl’s orders not to kill Endymion. ‘I could always kill him and claim it was an accident,’ he thought darkly. His musings were interrupted by a voice behind him.

 

            “Where’s the exit?”

 

            Zoisite wheeled around and stared at the man. He was dressed in clothes that had obviously seen a lot of travel and he was rubbing the back of his head, which was covered by slightly wild-looking black hair. Zoisite considered attacking him, but he realized that there was no way this was a normal human. Most of the Earthlings didn’t even know the Dark Kingdom existed, and far fewer had the power to come here. Since neither he nor Kunzite had kidnapped anyone recently, it became obvious that this was merely a youma in human disguise. ‘Must be one of Beryl’s specials. She’s the only one with male youma.’ Zoisite pointed in the direction the ‘youma’ had come from. “Down the hall, third door on the left, down that hall, the front gates will be on your right.”

 

            “Thanks!” The man turned around and walked back the way he came.

 

            Zoisite just shook his head. “Even Beryl’s youma aren’t very bright. Imagine getting lost in your own home.” He turned back to the Rainbow Crystals.

 

 

 

            It was the normal time for school to be over with, and except for Usagi, who had yet to show up, all of Makoto’s friends sat around her living room, waiting for her relatives to show up. They had informed Rei of the visit and she had taken some time off from her shrine duties to show up. Makoto had just finished giving her the same warning she had given the others when the doorbell rang. She bolted to the front hall and opened the door. Ami, Rei, Minako, and Artemis couldn’t see who was at the door yet, but they sat waiting in eager anticipation.

 

            They were shocked when an attractive but extremely effeminate man with brown hair and a beautiful woman with black hair stepped into view and hugged Makoto. Both adults had their long hair pulled into ponytails. Minako smirked to herself a little as she eyed the man. ‘He’s pretty good at it, but he’s obviously a guy.’

 

            Makoto led her relatives into the living room and introduced them to her friends. “These are my friends,” she said as she gestured to each one, “Mizuno Ami, Hino Rei, and Aino Minako with her cat, Artemis. Guys, this is my Aunt and Uncle Kenzan.” The man and woman bowed in greeting and the girls all stood to return the favor.

 

            As the two visitors sat down across from the younger girls, Minako leaned over to Makoto. She whispered, “I told you no man could look that much like a woman.” Makoto snickered for a moment and nodded her head towards her aunt. Minako looked and noticed that the woman was pulling out a compact.

 

            The woman let a single tear roll down her cheek as she checked her makeup. In a teary female voice, she cried, “And I thought I did such a good job, too.” Minako blinked and stared, as did her two friends and her cat, as Makato’s relative stood up gracefully and dashed off into the bathroom, boo-hooing the whole way.

 

            Minako looked panicked as she stared after her. “What? Huh? Is she gonna be all right?”

 

            Makoto’s uncle nodded cheerfully. In a beautiful and caring woman’s voice, ‘he’ said, “He’ll be fine. He just hasn’t had a crowd to perform for in quite a while.”

 

            “HE?” Makoto tried to control her laughter at her friends’ reactions, but she failed miserably. To her friends’ shock, a few moments later the ‘aunt’ emerged from the bathroom. ‘She’ was wearing a ninja-like outfit that left little doubt to the fact that ‘she’ was a ‘he’. The girls’ and the cat’s jaws hit the floor at this revelation. Their eyes slowly turned to the one that logic dictated was the ‘aunt’ and watched ‘him’ rise gracefully. ‘He’ entered the bathroom and emerged a few moments later in a kimono. As she sat down again, the now revealed aunt smiled and handed the clothes she had been wearing to the man along with the long strip of cloth she had bound her chest with.

 

            Makoto smiled like the Cheshire cat as she got her laughter under control. She turned with a knowing grin towards her friends and an ‘I told you so’ glint in her eyes. She motioned towards the raven-haired man as she spoke. “This is my uncle, Konatsu.” Konatsu smiled and waved to the girls. Makoto gestured towards the kimono-clad woman. “And this is my aunt, Kasumi.”

 

            “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Kasumi greeted them.