[Ranma/Xover][FanFic] Kingdom Come - Part 2
Cynthia Johnston
Arrrgh! The worst thing is, Nabiki thinks this is easy...
You try to grant a wish, Nabs. Oh, yeah; extortion doesn't count,
so don't even think 'bout it.
Centauress Productions
Present:
KINGDOM COME
Part 2: Well, this is
just part of what a
goddess does for a
living, Now that you
mention it............
"....aaaaaAAAAAT?" Cindy finished as Urd drug her out of the
BFTV screen in the electronics store, much to the surprise of the
other customers.
"Sheesh," the platinum haired bombshell groused. "So he changes
sex when he's splashed with water. Is it that bad a problem?"
The younger woman paused. "Actually, no. He went to a place
called Jushenkyo, right?"
"Un," Urd answered. "You know of it?"
Cindy just gave an enigmatic grin. "Let's get to the location."
About a half-hour later, the group of five was standing in front
of the gates. Cynthia read the sign. "Tendo School of Anything-Goes
Martial Arts. Students and visitors ring bell, Challengers to rear
door." She blinked. "Uh, how can I read this?"
Belldandy smiled benignly. "It's called 'The Gift of Tongues.'
Language can't be a barrier, so all deities have the ability to speak
in the native language of the person they're talking to."
Skuld rang the doorbell. A kind voice called out, "One moment."
Everyone stared at Belldandy, as if accusing her of throwing her
voice.
Before she could reply, the gate opened. The young woman who
stood there could be mistaken for the grey-haired goddess, her entire
body seemed the same except for the hair color and lack of markings.
"Please enter," she said, smiling sweetly. And what can we do for
you today?"
Urd took charge. "Actually, it's what _we_ can do for _you_,"
she purred. "We're looking for Kasumi, Akane and Nabiki Tendo, and
one Ranma Saotome."
The woman beamed. "Why, I'm Kasumi. The others are in the dojo,
please follow me." Bemusedly, they complied with the request. A
moment later, the four goddesses and Keiichi were standing in the
doorway, amazed at the display of sheer talent.
Akane, the girl in the yellow gi, was a very strong fighter.
Her punches and kicks ripped through the air with hisses, and upon
connecting with the walls and ceiling - she was also jumping quite
high - they would pulverise the wood as if it were wet cardboard.
Ranma, however, was amazing. Even as Akane would throw a punch,
the red-headed girl would shift, ever so slightly, and the strike
would miss. Then she would blur, and the dark-haired girl would
suddenly be in stitches.
"Ranma, do-do-don't ti-hahaha-tickle!" Akane gasped. "This is
su-p-p-posed to be a sparring practice."
"Well," Nabiki noted with a wry grin, laying down her camera,
"I do have to say that you are doing a _lot_ better, Akane."
"Yah, Akane," Ranma grinned cutely, "your not so much of a
total clutz now." She mock pouted. "Now, if only we could teach you
to cookurrk!"
Akane leaned on the gigantic mallet, under which the redhead was
buried. "What was that about my cooking, Ranma?" she enquired
sweetly. She noticed the five visitors. "Hello. Can we help you?"
Urd walked up to her. "Akane Tendo, right?" she asked sweetly.
Akane nodded warily. "And you are?"
Urd looked around. "Urd Megami. Can we go to a corner?"
Akane humphed. "Might as well."
Skuld walked over to Kasumi. "Miss Kasumi, I'm Skuld Megami. I
need to speak with you."
Kasumi smiled down at Skuld. "Would you like to talk in the
kitchen? I think we have some ice cream."
Skuld grabbed Kasumi's hand and drug the bemused housewife into
the house.
Belldandy walked over to Nabiki. "Then you are Nabiki Tendo.
Hello, I am Belldandy Megami; and this is my fiancee, Keiichi
Morisato. Can we talk?"
Cindy pried up the mallet, and drug out the redhead. "So, by
elimination, you're Ranma Saotome. I'm Cynthia Johnston Megami."
Ranma stood slowly. "Are you a fiancee?" she asked warily.
The young goddess laughed softly, her sigil briefly flaring as
information made itself known to her. "No, _Mister_ Saotome, I'm
not a fiancee. I'm a goddess."
Electrocution would get less reaction than that. "_=NANI=_!!!!"
the red-head screamed, causing dogs to howl a block away. Then
she settled down. "Wait a minute. Mister? You know about me?"
*Gotta be a rival, or a dojo challenger.*
Cindy grinned. "I've never heard of you before today, Ranma.
As a goddess, I'm kinda new to this. But rest assured, what I'm
about to tell you will make you very happy."
Ranma had a wary look in her eyes. "So, what do you want to tell
me?" In the background, Skuld's voice intoned, "Wish Granted."
-==- -==- -==- -==-
As Skuld was inhaling the bowl of triple fudge brownie ice cream,
Kasumi grinned at her.
"So, _Megami-sama_, why are you here?" the eldest Tendo
daughter asked.
Skuld gagged momentarily. ">kaff,kaff< Um, I'm here to grant
you a wish."
Kasumi smiled. "That is a new one. Most of the time, everyone
comes to see Ranma. So why me?"
The child-like goddess raised an eyebrow. "Well, Kasumi-san,
you have given so much to this household, and yet you ask for nothing
in return."
The homemaker sighed. "I've been so used to taking care of my
family, I really don't..."
Skuld snorted. "Sure, you don't have dreams. _Everyone_ has
dreams. What you have here is a chance to _fulfill_ one of them."
She got a conspiratorial look on her face. "So confess. what's your
greatest dream?"
The older woman sighed. "That's a good question, Skuld-sama. I
have always dreamed of being skilled at the Arts. But I'm not that
good."
Skuld prompted, "Why not, Kasumi? I mean, you are the eldest
daughter of Soun Tendo, Master of Tendo-ken Anything Goes."
Kasumi laughed. "Sure. So all I have to say is, 'I wish I were
as skilled at the Arts as I am at housework?'"
As Skuld began to spin slowly in mid-air, Kasumi realized that
she _might_ have just made a hasty wish.
-==- -==- -==- -==-
"What was that?" Ranma asked the blonde haired girl.
"Oh, that?" Cindy laughed. "That was Miss Kasumi Tendo being
given her greatest wish."
Ranma digested this. "Oh, okay th...a _wish_?!?" Her eyes
bugged out. "You mean?"
Cindy got a slightly peeved look. "I'm a goddess. I'm their
sister. Soooo,..."
Ranma glanced at Nabiki. "Oh, geeze..." Her goddess had just
rose into the air, and began to twirl in place.
-==- -==- -==- -==-
Nabiki stared hard at Belldandy. "So," she asked calculatingly,
"You say that I get _one_ wish?"
Belldandy nodded. "That's right. I will grant your one true
desire. That's why I'm here."
Nabiki tapped the side of her head, musing. "I've always wanted
to.... No, that would be..."
"Silly?" the goddess finished. "Not at all. Wanting to be able
to be liked for yourself _isn't_ silly. Neither," she added as the
Tendo girl sat stunned, "is wanting to be able to stand up to the
madness that occurs here."
Nabiki drew a breath. "Soooo," she drawled slowly, "being able
to read minds is a gift then?"
Keiichi snorted. "It stunned me at first," he quipped.
Nabiki rolled her shoulders in a slow shrug. "Okay, I wish that
I were able to stand up to the madness here in Nerima, and that
people would like me for myself."
-==- -==- -==- -==-
Ranma muttered, "My stupid curse..."
Cindy sat crosslegged on the tamai. "So that's the thing, huh?
You're frustrated at it."
Akane shouted out "YOU BAKA!" from somewhere behind the pair.
The redhead ducked her head like a turtle. "That's it. I don't know
why _everyone_ thinks that it's so easy being half a man." A blue
aura surrounded the clenched girl. "It just burns me up." She drew
a deep breath, and shouted, "I JUST WISH EVERYONE IN NERIMA HAD A
CHANCE TO KNOW WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO CHANGE SEX LIKE _I_ DO!!!"
Eyes widened around the room, as both Urd and Cindy rose into
the air...
-==- -==- -==- -==-
Akane grinned at Urd. "So for my wish," she put her mouth by
the goddess' ear and whispered. Urd smiled and nodded sagely before
she rose into the air.
======================================================================
Commercial Break:
======================================================================
Belldandy is standing in a strange room. She turns toward the
fourth wall and smiles cutely.
"Hello, I am the goddess Belldandy. But outside of Heaven,
noone recognizes me. So that's why I carry this..."
She twists her hand, and a small card formed of light appears in
her hand.
"This works anywhere. It's the Deity Express Card. And in an
emergency, it doubles as a flashlight. So even when your travel
partner is _him_,"
She points to a confused Ryoga, who's asking a lesser god, "Is
this Nerima?"
"You'll still have hope. The Deity Express Card. Don't leave
Heaven without it. Kami-sama's orders."
======================================================================
Ranma looked around as Cindy touched back down, and said, wide
eyed, "W-wish granted." The redhead walked over toward the koi pond
in the yard, and drew a bucket of water.
Nabiki and Akane, as well as their visitors, were in shock.
The middle goddess recovered first.
"Oh, my. Did I hear that wish right?" Belldandy whispered.
Ranma stalked Akane with a wicked gleam in her eye. "Oh, Akane-
chan," she chortled, falsely sweet, "do you still think _I'm_ a
pervert?"
Akane broke from her paralysis. "Ranma," she muttered, her
throat desert dry, "you wouldn't..."
With a wild cry, Ranma did. "Take THAT, Akane-KUN!"
The water splashed both his intended target, and the goddess
that she was standing beside. Akane, now male, looked down at _his_
new body. He was a little broader in the chest, and now had a
more chisled look to himself. He grumbled slightly, then looked
sheepishly at his red-haired fiancee. "So now I know," he began.
Urd blazed, trying to get a handle on his new situation. The
body he now wore was still attractive, but seldom was _he_ attracted
to himself. He urked, then asked Belldandy in a small voice, "Could
you please call the Almighty?" before fainting away.
-==- -==- -==- -==-
The large group was sitting at the table a moment later. Since
Cynthia still had her cellular phone from when she was a mortal,
Belldandy had called for the entire group and verified the situation.
She cleared her throat to gain everyone's attention. "This is a
rarity," she began, "that a wish that has been granted that affects
so many people." She glanced at Cindy, who was unable to make eye
contact with anyone. "It seems that my sister, while granting this
wish put a literal interpretation on the wish itself."
Cindy recited without looking up. "Ranma wished, and I quote,
'I wish _everyone in Nerima_ had a chance to change _sex_ like I do.'"
She mumbled quietly. "I thought she meant the entire population,
including visitors."
Urd laughed. "Sis," she snorted, "that was just a slight bit
overboard." She turned to the families. "She's new to this."
"That's true," Cindy added. "This is my..." Without warning,
she fainted, much to the surprise of all present.
)( () )( () )( () )(
Cynthia looked down at herself. She was as she began, earlier
that day. Tall, older, and somehow less than she was. She took it
in without rancor. A normal human, with all it meant, was no burden
of responsibility other than what _she_ made it to be.
"Well," she said to herself, "this is interesting." She looked
around, noting several points of light in the distance; they
sparkled in myriad colors and strengths. Somehow, she found herself
drawn toward them.
As she approached, she saw they were jewels. Amethysts in
multitude, surrounding a whirling dance of gems. Garnet and sapphire,
amber and chalcedon. Emerald. Ruby. Golden beryl. Blue Garnet.
Then to the center where a trio of stones rested. A diamond,
a marbled onyx, and a strange golden opal. The pull felt stronger
now, attracting her toward the center. She tried to slow herself,
yet couldn't impede her progress an iota. She reached the center,
and all progress halted.
"Now what?" she asked the empty space. "What am I to do?"
She closed her eyes, more in exhaustion than fear.
-Now you decide, child,- a voice whispered. -You must choose.-
"Choose what?" she inquired of the voice.
-You must choose the destiny,- the voice insisted. -Open your
eyes.-
Cynthia did. In front of her stood three images. One was her
goddess self. A child with long blonde hair and mystical garb, and
amethyst markings on her brow. She had a shy, gentle smile on her
face; fire of righteousness in her eyes, and an aura of
understanding.
The second image was another of herself. This image was also
a teen; yet she was everything the other was not. Where the first
was well dressed, this one wore a tattered uniform. Her hair was
ragged and matted with blood, and she wore a grimace of pain on her
face; her eyes were pits of despair, and her aura was one of
revenge. On her brow was the same marking, yet this one was in
silvery light.
The third image was one of herself, as she now stood. An adult,
with no markings, clothed in a guard uniform; her eyes were sad,
yet showed that there was still hope. There was a faint aura of
need, and a incompleteness that tugged at the heart.
Cynthia held herself still. "These are my choices?" she
questioned.
-Yes,- was the simple reply.
"That is not fair," she answered. "Faith, hope or destiny?"
She extended her arms out from her sides. "What good is one without
the others?"
-Those are your choices,- the voice insisted.
"THEN I CHOOSE THEM _ALL_" Cynthia yelled. "I cannot choose any
_one_; for without the others, there will be nothing."
-So be it then.- With that, the images combined; moving like
smoke, they formed a single image.
The girl who now stood there wore a whole uniform that combined
the mystical garb with a chestplate of white cloth. As she watched,
the cloth turned golden, with amethyst trim. The marking was a
pale amethyst under each eye, and golden on the brow. The image's
eyes opened, and Cynthia saw the determination there. Her aura
radiated power; pure, simple, and yet also restraint. The image
reached out to the gem-dance, and pulled the opal, and a single
amethyst.
-Take them,- the voice said, now commanding. -This is the
destiny you chose, so now we must proceed.-
Cynthia reached out, and grasped the jewels. In a flash of
energy, she found the girl had disappeared. She looked at the
gems, and gasped.
Where there had been two gems, there was now one. It was the
opal, which now had in it's heart a starburst of amethyst. The same
starburst that she somehow felt on her own brow. Her hands were
encased in golden gloves, and the uniform the other wore was now her
own. She inspected herself, and could see that she was now her young
self she was before she found herself here. Whatever was happening,
she was near to the conclusion of it.
-When the time is right,- the voice insisted, -you will find
the one who is your compliment. The moon to your sun. The serenity
to your tranquility. The spirit and soul to your heart and strength.-
The last image was one of a crescent, glowing in silver,
over a quartered circle of platinum.
End part 2------------------------------------------------------------
Authors Notes:
Cindy is sitting at a booth, with Akane, Skuld, and Minako.
MINA:(Grimacing) Shee, that was a ripoff. Not one scene
with any of the Sailor Moon Gang.
AKANE:(Depressed) Yeah, and nobody knows what my wish is...
SKULD:(Slurping a milkshake) But, you have to admit...
CINDY:(Also with milkshake) That whatever happens...
GROUP: It sure ain't dull! (Laughs)
AKANE: So what's up for next time?
CINDY: Well, next is my diary.
MINA:(Gaping) Really?? You're gonna let them see that?
SKULD:(Choking on the milkshake) Kak-koff! ARE YOU
kah-NUTS?????
CINDY:(Cooly) Calm down. It's not the whole thing; just
a few pages. (She reaches for her purse, and pulls
out a card that's glowing like a miniature sun.) So,
who's ready for some new clothes? Dad gave me an
allowance.
(A bolt lances out from the heavens, striking the card. We
see the card dim, from a 'gosh, that's bright,' to a
'so that's a firefly?' level)
CINDY:(Looking upwards) Verrrrrry funny, Dad.
(FADEOUT)
This is a project for fun, so as much as possible, I want to
entertain as well as humor people. In that spirit, I hope that you,
the readers can enjoy this fic.
Special thanks to that Ornstead feller, who's work with Mirrors
Multiplied kinda inspired me to do a little more serious spin on the
idea. Hey, 'Saber, no offense; I just wanted to see it done this
way as well. Your work is _excellent_, and the ideas for expansion;
well, let's just say it together...'we're not worthy, we're not
worthy,...'
So until next time,
Ja Ne!!
Centauress
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