[Ranma/Xover][FanFic] Kingdom Come - Part 4
Cynthia Johnston
Hi again! Seems to me we've met before. Weren't you the one who was
friends with.....
Centauress Productions
Presents:
KINGDOM COME
Part 4:
Trouble always seems
to start just when
you want to sit down
to eat...........
"Party of fourteen?" the purple haired girl asked.
"Yes," Cindy replied. The group of people, who also were the
island's greatest protectors, were joined by Ranma and Akane. When
they had made their plans, the two had been present; everyone had
thought it would have been an insult not to include them.
"Me Shampoo," the waitperson informed them. "Follow to table,
please."
"Shampoo?" Cindy jerked in shock. "Nyu T'shan Phu?"
Shampoo looked closely at the girl. "Yes," she said guardedly.
"Who you?"
The blonde haired girl grinned. <A member of the tribe,> she
said slyly in Chinese. <Known as Nyu Su Ni.>
Ranma glared at the goddess. "Was that what I thought you said?"
Cindy laughed. "That I'm a Amazon? Yep."
Shampoo gaped at the shorter girl. "Sunny? That you? You so
young!"
Akane facefaulted. "SUNNY?" she screamed. "HOW CAN THAT BE?"
Cindy looked at the shocked group. "That would be because of..."
"Me," a familiar voice finished. Cindy straightened. "Welcome,
young one," the voice continued as the goddess turned slowly. "And I
see that you are more powerful than before."
"Elder Kuh Lon," Cindy said formally, "I have not expected to
see you in this city."
Cologne squinted at the young goddess. "And I you," the wizened
woman answered. "Can you explain why I sense such power from you?"
Cindy bowed. "You may, Elder," she responded. "But may we sit
at your table and eat?"
Cologne nodded, and led them to a large corner table. "Child,
I would enjoy a meal with you." She yelled over her shoulder, "Mu
Tsu! Help T'shan Phu with the food!"
Cindy grinned. "Mu Tsu's here as well? Have they..."
Ranma cut in to the conversation, at the same time as most of
the Juuban crew. "EXPLAIN THIS!" they chorused.
Cologne glared. "My grandniece is her mother. So she is my
great-grandniece," she instructed them.
Ranma buried his face in his hands. "Not more of them," he
moaned. "That makes what, ten?"
Akane laughed ruefully. "Twelve," she corrected him. She
turned to Cindy. "Why didn't you tell us?"
Cindy tugged her ponytail. "Because," she admitted sheepishly,
"I forgot about it."
Cologne rapped the deity lightly on the head. "Young one," she
admonished, "you have yet to explain your aura."
Cindy shrugged casually. "That's simple," she sighed. "I'm a
goddess now."
Shampoo, who was carrying out the first course of their meal,
dropped the tray. "Su Ni goddess?" she gasped, the bowed. "T'shan
Phu so so sorry she not respectful to goddess."
Cindy facefaulted, and answered without lifting her head.
<T'shan, I'm still Su Ni, the one who had the Birth Curse.>
Ranma cocked his head. "How can you talk Chinese?" he asked.
"I can barely understand the basics."
"Mother taught me how," she admitted. "And having T'shan visit
meant we could practice _both_ languages."
^Like, fer sure,^ Shampoo said in English, causing the teens
to laugh. ^Totally wicked.^
"But," Cindy continued, "she kinda' got used to slang. Go
figure."
Ami surprised everyone by asking, "What did you mean by 'Curse
of Birth?' I caught that much."
Cindy blanched. "Um, can I get back to you all on that one?"
Usagi pressed the issue. "No, Cindy; what does it mean?"
The young goddess hung her head as she stood. "It means," she
responded, "that I was born with the wrong body." She ran out of the
restaurant, sobbing gigantic tears. Usagi chased after her.
Ranma jumped to his feet. "I'll follow them," he told everyone.
"They might get into trouble." He left, not noticing the Juubanites
bigsweating.
-=- -=- -=*=- -=- -=-
Usagi caught up with Cindy a few moments later. The pair found
themselves in a small park with a pond at it's center. Cindy was
standing with her back toward her twin.
"Why did you follow me?" she asked.
"Cindy," Usagi answered, "I need to know. What exactly is 'the
Curse of Birth'?"
Cindy dropped to her knees. "I... It's difficult to explain,"
she admitted. "But it's also very easy to show you."
Usagi puzzled this out. "What? How can it be easy to show me?"
The goddess' shoulders shook. "Splash me," she admitted. "Then
you'll see."
Usagi complied. As the droplets of water hit the deity, her
body altered. In the limited light, all Usagi could tell was that
her 'sister's' hair color had changed, and that instead of a lithsome
body, she seemed more compactly muscled.
Cindy spoke quietly in a slightly deeper voice. "This is how I
was born, and why I was considered 'Birth Cursed.' Look closely."
Usagi approached warily. She knew about the wish that had been
made, and had a slight idea of what she would see. As she circled
around to view her sibling's face, she asked, "Cindy?"
The other person raised _his_ head, bringing his features into
the light. A slightly squarer chin, harder lines, and cat-slitted
amethyst eyes, framed by a long mane of mahogany-red hair.
"This is amazing," Usagi admitted. "You look like a masculine
version of me, Cindy. So this is what being 'Birth Cursed' is about
then; having the wrong sex?"
The young man nodded. "More or less," he said, cheering up
slightly. "But it isn't just that. I was born male, but even then
Auntie Kuh Lon could tell I wasn't supposed to be that way. She
treated me as a female; with her tribe, that means as a equal."
Usagi whistled. "So then..." she prompted.
Cindy shrugged his shoulders. "So I joined the tribe, and
earned the respect of the other _women_ there. By proving myself to
them, I was given the chance to make myself fully female."
Ranma appeared beside the pair. "Nyannichichuan," he interjected.
"A special variety," Cindy admitted. "It is Nychesunichichuan.
The Amizonians have had many women who have fell into the particular
spring, that its effects are of a permanent nature. As so many
womens' souls are trapped in it, it's like being born female; one
splash and you find that you're female in body, forever. Dunked,
you become female in habit; Drunk, you lose any masculine memory you
ever had."
Ranma shivered. "And you wanted this?" he asked warily.
Cindy nodded. "Belive it or not, yes. I was splashed, then I
swam in the spring. I didn't want to lose everything, so I never
drank from it. I _do_ have some good memories of being a man." He
hung his head. "Few though they are," he murmured. A twinge of deja
vu passed through him, and he began to remember...
-===FLASHBACK===-
Princess Serenity was talking with a red-haired girl by the
Crystal Pillar, the centerpoint of the Moon Castle, as Tranquility
approached. The two seemed to be in good humor, laughing at a small
joke that the princess had told the other girl. Tranquility walked
over, her own face breaking into a smile of it's own.
"Hello, Trrranquility," the new girl greeted, her cat-ears
bobbing lightly, "It's a pleasurre to meet you."
Tranquility returned the greeting. "And a pleasure to meet you
as well. You are to be the Shieldsman, then?"
"Yes," the girl replied. "My name is Nekomimi."
"Cute," Serenity cut in. "Who thought of it?"
Nekomimi frowned, her tail lashing lightly. "Your mother and my
grandmotherrr," she mock-growled.
"_Luna_ saddled you with 'cat-girl' as a name? And your mother
approved?" Tranquility asked bemusedly. "I thought that sort of
thing..."
Serenity laughed. "Sister, is it so bad as 'Serenity' or
'Tranquility'?"
Tranquility laughed ruefully. "Actually, not really, when you
make _that_ comparison, sister."
"It's not so bad," the half-cat girl admitted. "I have some
good memories..."
-==================-
Cindy looked up from where he was kneeling. *Funny,* he mused,
*but I think that this is kinda familiar.* He shrugged his shoulders,
and got back to his feet. "Hey, you two," he asked, "can we get
to somewhere we can get some hot water?"
Ranma gave him a tilted-head, 'what-do-you-mean?' look. "Why?"
he asked.
Cindy glared at him. "Do you _really_ like staying in your
'cursed' form?" he enquired.
Ranma nodded. "Oh-kay," he answered. "We're closer to Uchans.
Let's head there."
About ten minutes later, the trio walked into the front door
of Ukyou's restaurant. They found a booth, and slid into it.
Ukyou saw them and waved. "Hi, Ranchan, Usagi, Sei-chan!
What can I get you?"
Ranma and Cindy's stomachs growled in a rumbling duet, and
Usagi's answered. "Three specials," they declared together.
"And a glass of hot water," Cindy added.
Ukyou brought them a cup from the teapot she had on one side of
the grill. "Here you go, Sei-chan," she greeted. "You got wet?"
Cindy splashed his hand, and winced at the welt the hot water
left on her skin. "Yep," she responded. "It's a pain, but that's,"
she jerked a thumb at Ranma, "what he wanted. The old 'walk a mile'
wish."
Usagi's brow furrowed. "Walk a mile? What do you mean, Cindy?"
The goddess concentrated. "The saying goes, 'Before you judge
another man, you must first walk a mile in his shoes.' What Ranma
wished was a variation on that." She gave a sly smile. "Sooooo,"
she drew out, "that's what I visualized from him."
Ranma nodded. "That sounds right. It's just that people think
I want to be like this." He paused, confused. "Have we talked about
this before?"
Cindy sweated. "Um," she hedged, "we might have. Why?"
Ranma chewed on his bottom lip. "Because," he explained, "I
feel like we've seen each other in the past."
Usagi fidgeted. "Nope," she cut in. "Never. Haven't had a
talk like that. Nonono."
The pigtailed martial artist was about to respond when he began
to get nervous. Cindy noticed, and asked, "Ranma? What's the
matter? Is something wrong?"
He shook slightly. "I'm n-n-not sure," he stuttered.
Ukyou was walking back to the table with their specials, when
the door opened, and all hell broke loose....
========================================================================
COMMERCIAL BREAK
========================================================================
It's the moon, about ten years after the assult that destroyed
the kingdom. Setsuna and Skuld are standing on the surface, looking
at the desolation. Suddenly, Skuld spots something on the ground.
"Look," she says to the green-haired girl, "It's a Twix bar!"
Setsuna takes it from her. "Share it?" she asks the young
goddess. At the others nod, she opens the package; suddenly, she
points out to the horizon. "Look!" she yells. "Isn't that Queen
Selene?"
Skuld takes off, yelling, "Where? I don't see her."
Setsuna scarfs both bars while yelling, "Keep looking!"
The screne changes to an empty wrapper, and superimposed is;
EVEN IN THE WRECKAGE OF THE SILVER MILLENIUM; TWIX MEANS:
TWO FOR ME...
none for you.
========================================================================
AND NOW; BACK TO THE SHOW!!!!!!!!
========================================================================
The door blew inward, shattering glass in a wide arc. In the
confusion, a glass of water was splashed on Ranma, turniing him into
his female form.
The intruder gave a feline roar. It stood at an easy eight foot
tall, on it's hind legs. It was also easily identifiable as female,
yet also showed most aspects of a panther; it's dark fur covered the
entire body, and the ears, eyes and tail were felinoid as well.
Ranma froze solid in the booth. "c- c-," she stuttered softly.
The cat-being turned to the four women who stood there. "Gr-rr-
eetings from Lord Diamonnd," she hissed. "I am your doom. Pr-rr-
epare yourselves, princesses."
Ranma was getting really nervous, when a thought surfaced.
/Let me owwww-ut!/
Ukyou was preparing to fight the monster, when Cindy grabbed her.
"Uchan," she whispered, then stopped. On the cook's brow was a
glowing mark. It was the sigil for the planet Mars, enclosed in a
sheild shape. Suddenly, a wild hope arose in her. *I was the
princess-leader of the Sheildsmen! And Ukyo is Ares!!* she realized.
*But then,* she glanced over her shoulder quickly. Sure enough,
the redheaded girl also had a gylph shining on her brow.
Sun, in sheild. The mark of Apollo.
She made a decision. "Ucahn," she repeated, "Whatever happens,
just yell out the first thing that comes into your head, 'kay?"
Ukyou, confused, shook her head like a dog that had been dunked.
"What the heck do you mean, sugar?"
Cindy couldn't wait any longer. "SUN GALACTIC MAKE-UP!" she
yelled, thrusting her hand in the air.
Ranma jerked in her seat. The voice called again. /R-rrr-anma,
those a-rrr-e the Prrr-incesses! This is the time to let go of yourrr
fear! Let ME OWWWWWT!/
Cindy rose into the air, a shilouette of golden energy on which
were set her amethyst eyes. From the pendant, golden ribbons shot and
began to circle the girl. In the forhead area, the starburst
reappeared, sheading a violet stream of energy that mixed with the
golden ribbons to form a cocoon of energy. The cocoon burst, and
Sailor Sun appeared in her uniform. A breastplate of golden cloth
formed; and the sigil of the Sun, a twelve pointed starburst, drew
itself into existance around the golden opal with an amethyst heart.
Two final, wide ribbons of light streaked from the jewel, and
slammed into her back; then white wings sprouted and grew from the
entry points. Sun touched down and put her hands on her hips.
"I'm ready, hairball."
Usagi shot her a look as she raised her locket. "MOON GALACTIC
MAKE-UP!" she screamed.
Ranma came to a decision. "A- A- Appolo Def-f-ender Power!"
she managed to stutter, slamming her fists together.
A memory-shard sparkled in Ukyou's head. "Ares Defender
POWER!" she declared, mimicing the redhead's actions.
End of part 4
-==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==-
Scene: Sun, Moon and Ares are leaning against Hikawa temple.
ARES: Kinda' subtle, huh, sugar?
SUN: Well, the battle is going to be hard to bring from
memory onto the page, so I'm going to take a
short break.
MOON: Don't take too long, sis.
(FADEOUT)
Well, part 4 in the 'net! Still can't get ahold of
Skysaber, so I'll assume that he's writing mare of Mirrors, (Slobber,
drool,) and wait for him to get ahold of me.
Ja Ne!
Centauress