Insertion Part 31: The Final Battle by Sean D'Anna ===== Ranma stood in the throne room with Hanna and Washuu. The young prince and princess were not in the room with them. "So, you are the boy who has been dragging my daughter across the galaxy," said the woman calmly. Ranma blinked and looked at her for a moment. "Hey. Wait a minute..." "I should put you to death for that," continued Serenity as she looked at the trio for a moment. "However, you have saved my kingdom." "Huh?" said Hanna in surprise. She had been hanging her head waiting for her death sentence. "Hold on! I've been trying to get rid of her!" said Ranma defensively. Serenity stopped and looked at him for a moment in surprise. "Pardon?" "I haven't been dragging your daughter anywhere lady! She's been dragging me!" replied the boy curtly. "Insolent fool!" cried one of the guards that stood around them angrily. "Cool off," said Ranma as he turned his head and threw the man across the room without touching him. He then turned back towards Serenity. "Look. I was trying to bring her back the whole time. Those crazy senshi of yours kept trying to kill me every time I tried!" "Did they?" asked the woman as she gave him an even gaze. "You're damn right they did! Do you have any idea what we went through to get her back here? Those crazy bitches kept trying to kill us!" Serenity smirked very slightly. She'd never seen anyone with enough gall to call the senshi a group of 'Crazy Bitches'. "My understanding is that you attacked them, however, my daughter seems to like you for some reason," she replied as her smirk fell away into a scowl. "I haven't figured that out either," muttered Ranma as he scratched the back of his head for a moment. "It seems she has become quiet enamored with you. I wonder about many things, what is your relationship with my daughter?" Ranma paused and looked at her for a moment. "Huh?" "She's quite adamant, from what I understand, she believes you to be some sort of hero. Destined to rescue her from her captors," said the woman, as she looked him up and down for a moment. "Hero? Me? I guess so. I mean, I did save the moon and all," he replied dumbly. Hanna snorted in disgust. "I knew it, the pervert." "So, it is true then. You and my daughter..." "Hey! I didn't touch nuthin!" cried the boy, as he finally seemed to get where she was going. "I behaved myself the whole time!" Washuu coughed into her hand. "Well, maybe not the whole time," admitted Ranma. "I didn't do nuthin to your daughter though." Serenity breathed a small sigh of relief. He seemed sincere. "Look lady. I've got things to do. I'm trying to get home, I didn't want for any of this to happen," he said as he looked up at her. "Home?" muttered Serena as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Yeah. Look, I ain't from around here. I got stuck on Earth a while back when I ran into your daughter. Things just sort of got worse from there," he said sheepishly. "That would explain a lot," admitted Serenity. She secretly became very worried. Was it possible that there was an entire planet of beings able to fight against her senshi? "Can I go now? I'm glad your kingdom is saved and all, but I've got things to do back home," said the boy, as he looked her in the eye again. "How do you plan to do that?" inquired the queen. "I'll find a way," said the boy calmly. "I was planning on helping him with that," said Washuu as she gave him a small wink. "Who are you?" asked Serena as she looked at the woman for a moment. "Washuu, the greatest scientific genius in the universe!" exclaimed the woman proudly. Serena smirked, she doubted if the woman could match some of the scientists on Mercury. "Highness," said Jupiter as she strolled into the throne room. All of the other senshi save Pluto and Saturn walked in behind her. She paused when she noticed the trio standing in front of the woman. "You!" Ranma turned and narrowed his eyes at her for a moment. "Hello." "What is he doing here!?" demanded Jupiter as she moved into a combat stance. The other Senshi quickly followed suit. All of them had angry scowls on their faces. Ranma turned and lowered his left arm. A compartment opened up inside the forearm and a long slender rod slid into his hand. In an instant a blade of red light appeared from his lightsaber. He pointed it at Jupiter and frowned. "You owe me an arm, lady." "That's enough!" commanded Serenity. Ranma snorted and glanced back at her, shutting down the blade and returning it to the inside of his arm. "Your Highness?" muttered Jupiter as she looked at the woman in shock. "You're in danger!" exclaimed Mercury as she stepped foreword. "I asked him to come before me," replied the woman as she looked at them coldly. "You will all refrain from any hostility. This instant," she said firmly. "But..." stammered Neptune dumbly. "Who is this guy?" muttered Mars as she stared the boy down. "He has saved the kingdom, and will be granted a full pardon," said Serenity as she looked at them. "As will his friends." Hanna passed out on the ground where she stood. Uranus stepped back in shock. "What?" "You heard her," said Ranma as he turned to face the queen again. "Thanks." She nodded at him and turned to the throne again. Ranma was about to turn to walk away with Washuu and Hanna when he paused. An odd sensation started on his right wrist. He looked down and saw a small crystal protruding from just below his hand. It glowed and he felt an unusual sensation sweep across his body. "What? I'd almost forgotten you were there..." Before he finished muttering another, more urgent, sensation swept across him. "What the hell is that?" he exclaimed. Everyone in the room turned to look at him. "What is this force?" gasped Serenity as she swooned on her throne. Overhead, the ceiling exploded inward, raining a shower of debris down on them from above. Floating in mid air, was Valdis. A sphere of energy covered his body and he glared down at the group from above. The steel supports bent and warped downward from his entrance and he glared at them all madly. "Well. It seems I am victorious after all," said the man coldly. "Valdis!" cried Uranus as she started to rush foreword. The other Senshi followed just behind her. The man merely chuckled and raised his palm, throwing them into the wall on the other side of the room and restraining them there. "Heh. Pathetic." Ranma stepped back as the man floated into the middle of the room and landed between him and the queen. "You! But...you died!" "You don't believe that pathetic explosion was enough to destroy me do you?" asked the knight coldly as he turned to look at the queen. "Well, it seems you've lost. I will take control of the moon, and then the entire galaxy." She staggered to his feet and stared him down coldly. "I shall never allow that!" "You can't stop me," he replied as he raised his hand. A ball of power formed there and he blasted it at her. "No!" snarled Ranma angrily as he dashed foreword and intercepted the blast. Serenity put up her arms defensively and screamed. She paused when nothing happened and slowly opened her eyes. They went wide as she saw the boy standing in front of her. "How can this be?" Ranma was holding the ball of power back with his hands. He was straining and struggling to keep his grip on the ground as the ball of power pushed against him. With a grunt of effort he tossed the ball upward, it exploded into the ceiling, sending another shower of debris into the room. Washuu realized that it might be a good time to hide and pulled Hanna over to a corner nearby to where the senshi were pinned to the wall. "Impressive, most impressive," commented Valdis. "You haven't seen anything yet," said Ranma as he growled at the man. "You can never match my power," said Valdis as he floated off the ground and rose into the air. Ranma narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself. "He can fly. Can we do that?" He looked back at where the queen was sitting, she was obviously still in shock. He looked back up again to see the man preparing another blast. "Sink or swim, Ranma." He slowly rose from the ground and blasted upwards to meet Valdis in the air. Unfortunately, he pushed a little too hard and slammed into the ceiling, creating another shower of small stones from the crater he had made. "Ouch." Valdis laughed out loud as he saw this and tossed the ball of power in his hands up at him. Ranma dove suddenly, narrowly missing the energy ball. It exploded, covering more of the ground below in large stones. "Damn," muttered Ranma as he floated wobbly in the air for a moment before seeming to catch on. "Okay, I think we got it." "Who are you talking too?" said the armored man. "None of your business!" cried Ranma as he blasted foreword and slammed his fist into the man's armored gut. Valdis lurched and tried to counter with a blow of his own, Ranma had moved away though. He paused and glared at the boy for a moment. "I felt that. That shouldn't be possible." "You're goin down," said Ranma coldly. The pair seemed to vanish in thin air, appearing at various points in the room locked in combat. "That's not possible!" gasped Jupiter from her place on the wall. The other senshi were to shocked to speak as they watched the battle above them. Uranus turned her eyes away in disgust. "He was only playing with us all this time!" Ranma and Valdis appeared high above them again, locked in a contest of strength. After a moment, they exploded apart, both of them streaking down to the ground again. Two huge craters were created in the floor where they had landed and they stood squatting and glaring at each other for a long time. "What kind of power is this?" muttered Serenity as she looked at the young boy who was fighting off Valdis, and the power of the Silver Imperium Crystal. She slowly rose to her feet and looked at them as they faced off. "This isn't possible!" Finally, Valdis spoke. He was still squatting inside the crater he had made in his landing. "The ground...it is hard." Ranma nodded his head, and squeaked a reply. "Yeah." "We will continue our battle, but not do that again," said the armored man "Right," agreed Ranma as he started to stand upright slowly. Valdis charged and they met in mid air again. +++++++++++ "Damn it! We can't overpower him!" said Carrot as they fought off Valdis. "We're barely able to keep up with him using the Kaio Ken! At this rate, we'll tire out before he will! He's got twice the power we do!" "We're more skilled though, we can beat this guy!" said Ranma confidently. "Not the way we're going now. We need a plan," said Dan. "We need help. We've gotta release those Senshi!" said Carrot angrily. "How?" said Ranma. "Pissant! I need some of that power you've got," said Carrot as he moved them away from the armored man. +++++++++++ "What is he doing?" grumbled Valdis as he noticed the boy building a chi blast. "Pathetic!" snarled the man as he noticed how under powered it was. "It's not for you," said Ranma coldly. "What?" muttered the dark figure as he saw the boy throw a the white ball of energy down at the senshi. The women screamed, or closed their eyes and waited for the end. It exploded across them and they were engulfed in a huge flash of light. "What are you doing fool?" snarled Valdis as he looked at the boy. "I never liked them," said Ranma with a rough sounding snort. "Is that so? You're strong, perhaps you would join me then?" said Valdis as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Naw, I'd rather die," said the boy with a snort. "So be it," said the man. "World Shaking! Deep Submerge! Venus Love Me Chain! Mars Fire Arrow! Aqua Illusion! Thunder Wave! " cried all the Senshi at once. Valdis snorted as he turned and was struck by the brunt of the attacks. He was thrown through the roof and outside. ++++++++++++ The light faded from around the senshi and they stood in defensive positions, unable to do anything against the attack. "What happened?" muttered Mercury as she looked at her hands for a moment. "We can move!" "What was that?" stammered Jupiter. "I feel so...refreshed," said Neptune in wonder. "Worry about what he did later," said Uranus as she glared up at the battle. "He's obviously in trouble. He wouldn't have freed us if he wasn't." "Attack him!" cried Mars angrily. +++++++++++ "What happened?" muttered Serenity as she looked over and saw Ranma staring at his wrist. The boy paused and smirked at her for a moment. "Is it over?" "No, we've just managed to piss him off," said the boy with a small frown. "I've got an idea, but I need them to distract him while I build enough power to pull it off. I also need them to lure him to an area of the palace you don't mind losing." "Losing?" stammered Serenity in shock. "Think you ladies can handle that?" said Ranma as he turned towards the Senshi. "How much time do you need?" asked Uranus coldly. "I'm not sure. You'll need to spread out so he can't pin you down that way again. Hit and run, don't try and take him out. You're not powerful enough." The women all nodded grimly and rushed towards a nearby exit. Serena rushed into the room with Endimyon beside her. A large group of guards entered as well. "Your Highness! Cried one of the men in panic." "Mother!" cried Serena. "Serena! Are you all right?" "What's happening?" said Endimyon as he rushed to the queen's side as well. "I've got to go, there's not much time," said Ranma as he shot into the air and out one of the holes in the ceiling. Pluto walked out of the shadows and frowned. "What are you doing here?" snapped Serenity as she looked at the woman. "Get out there and help them!" "I cannot," said Pluto calmly as she returned the queen's gaze. "Why not?" growled the woman as she glared at her. "He is the anomaly I have been feeling. He is from the future," replied Pluto calmly. "What?" said Serenity in shock. "The reason I am unable to see him, is because our futures' are directly related. I cannot witness this battle," she replied coldly. She vanished into a porthole and looked back at Serenity. "I do not believe he will lose." The queen nodded and looked out through one of the holes in the ceiling. She gasped when she noticed a bright light overhead. "What is that?" +++++++++++++ Nearby, in a large courtyard of the palace, the battle raged on. Valdis slammed his fist into Mercury's gut and she was thrown back across the surface of the moon, bouncing along the ground as she rolled. "You're no match for me. Give up this pathetic battle," snarled the man as he glared at the women. They were all sprawled out across the ground, many of them were having trouble moving. "How much more time does he need?" grumbled Neptune. "We must give him as much as he needs," said Uranus as she struggled to rise to her knees. "He is our only hope." Her tone was almost disgusted as she said this. ++++++++++++++ In the air above them Ranma floated with his eyes closed. "More time! We need more time!" "They're still holding out," said Dan as he opened one of their eyes for a moment and allowed them to peek. "The crystal is helping us, but its still taking to long," commented Carrot. "Come on, we need more!" "I wish I could help!" said Pissant. "You can, keep a watch out for him. If he notices this we're screwed," said Ranma. "He's right, you need to be our eyes, we can't waste concentration watching the fight," agreed Carrot. "Right!" said the voice. ++++++++++++ The senshi were on their last legs, they were beaten and tired. They stumbled over one another, all trying to fight as best they could. A voice rang out across the courtyard, calling out to all of them. "Evil power who threatens my family and friends! I cannot allow this travesty to continue! On behalf of the entire galaxy! I shall punish you!" "Highness?" muttered Mars in shock. "No. Serena!" gasped Uranus as she looked up from her place on the ground and saw the young princess. The girl was dressed in a senshi uniform and stood on top of one of the walls with a cold scowl on her face. "I shall protect my one true love, and defend my home to the death monster!" Valdis turned towards the girl and laughed out loud. "Who might you be?" "I am Sailor Moon! You're going down Asshole!" screamed the girl as a wand appeared in her hand and she thrust it foreword. A blast of pink energy slammed into the armored man's chest, throwing him back a bit. The other senshi looked at one another for a moment in shock at the girl's words. They then rose to their feet, all of them had determined looks on their faces. "We will not be defeated!" cried Neptune. "You already have been!" snarled Valdis as he waved his hand. An arc of invisible energy threw all of the girls back. Serena screeched and landed on her behind. Suddenly a new voice echoed across the area. "That's all I need! Get the hell out of there!" The senshi looked up and gasped. Valdis slowly turned his head and growled. "What is this?" He paused when he realized that the sun was unusually large. His eyes narrowed and he staggered back in shock. "Impossible! You're nothing to me! See how powerless you truly are!" Ranma merely nodded as he glared down at the dark clad figure. "Roger that. Genki Denma!" The huge orb of power over his head was the size of a three-story building, it rocketed down and slammed into Valdis. The man grabbed the ball of power and tried to push back, he was slowly pushed into the ground though, and grunted in effort as he tried desperately to escape. It was too late though, and the ball exploded, taking about a fourth of the huge palace grounds with it. He screamed in pain and was engulfed in the light. Ranma sighed and hung his arms in pain. He slowly floated to the ground to where the senshi were standing and watching the explosion in awe. They had barely managed to move far enough away in time. "What was that?" gasped Uranus. "Soul Bomb," replied Ranma with a smirk on his face. He looked incredibly tired. Serena rushed up and grabbed him in a rough hug. "You're safe!" Ranma looked down at her for a moment and chuckled. "So, you're one of these crazy chicks now?" "Um. Yeah. Mom sort of passed it down to me, about ten minutes ago," she said sheepishly. "Great. Let's get back," said Ranma as he started to stagger back towards the palace. "Right," agreed the senshi. Ranma suddenly lurched foreword with a shocked look on his face. The senshi jumped away and gasped. Valdis had appeared with his fist in the boy's gut. "No way!" cried Neptune in shock. "Begone!" snarled Valdis as he waved his free arm and threw them all across the ground. "Didn't work," muttered Ranma as he leaned against the man's armor. "That hurt. You're going to pay for that," snarled Valdis as he shoved the boy to his feet and backhanded him in the face. Ranma sailed across the surface of the moon and slammed into the wall of the palace. He went through it and staggered to his feet again. "No!" he muttered in horror. "I don't have anything left to throw at him!" Serenity stood up on her throne as the boy was sent crashing through the wall of her throne room. He stood up and looked at her, panic clear in his eyes. "She said you wouldn't lose," muttered the woman to herself. "I'm not dead yet," said Ranma as he turned to face the black armored figure as he walked through the hole in the wall calmly. Ranma searched around the room desperately, looking for anything that might help him. "Your attack was strong, but the power of the crystals protect me from any harm," said the man coldly. Ranma narrowed his eyes at the man and frowned. "That's it! We've got to get them away from him somehow!" Valdis snorted. "You are to weak to defeat me. You can barely stand, and you have no power left." Ranma looked up at the ceiling, and smirked. It was a long shot, but it might just work. Valdis snarled and charged at him, rather than counter, Ranma started to take hits as he backed away. "So, you've given up?" snarled the armored man angrily. "No, and you fell for it," said Ranma with a cold smirk on his face. "HIRYUU SHOUTEN HA!" Valdis was thrown into the air violently, he struggled against the wind that tore through the ceiling above him and into the sky. He jerked to a stop suddenly and screamed in pain from inside the whirlwind. The man looked down and saw a steel beam that was jutting through the ceiling jutting through his chest. "I feel nothing, the power of the crystals protects me from..." Ranma appeared just in front of him with a cold smile on his face. The boy grabbed the two crystals and pushed off of his chest with his feet, ripping them free of the armor. "No!" gasped Valdis in horror. He jerked violently and slumped foreword, hanging dead where he was speared. The whirlwind died down and Ranma fell from the ceiling and landed on the floor flat on his back. He chuckled and opened his palms, which now had all three crystals in his grasp. "Got ya," he said before he passed out. Serenity stood up from where she was and staggered over to his side. "Is he...?" Washuu walked up next to her and smiled as she looked at the readout on the screen of her computer. "No. He's just exhausted, the fall didn't even break anything." The queen nodded and stood up with a relieved smile on her face. "I see." +++++++++++ Somewhere, deep in space... "So, Valdis has failed us?" said the cloaked figure as she stood in front of a crystal ball and frowned. "It is of little consequence. The power of the Silver Imperium Crystal has been weakened for eons to come by the battle, and the Moon Kingdom's defenses will take years to repair completely," said a voice from all around the figure. "So. That means that it will be ripe for the picking," said the cloaked figure with a smirk forming on her face. "Valdis and his army have served their purpose. Now it is only a matter of destroying Serenity and her Kingdom forever," said the voice. "Soon, I shall rule all," said the cloaked woman as she removed her hood. "No Beryl. I shall rule all," corrected Metallia from the shadows. "As you say," said the woman placidly as she bowed her head a little. +++++++++++ Ranma woke up several hours later in a soft bed and groaned as he sat up. "Man. That was really cool." He looked around and frowned when he saw Hanna sitting in a chair looking at him thoughtfully. She nodded to him and frowned. "I still hate you." "That's nice," he replied as he stood up and noticed that he was only wearing a pair of boxers. "Serenity says she's going to send you home. You're well enough to go anytime you like," said the woman with a small thoughtful looking smile on her face. "Thanks to that crystal of hers." "Took it back did she?" said Ranma as he looked at his palms for a moment. "Of course. There was some speculation on why you had it in the first place," said Hanna with a small shrug. "Back to the shipping business?" said Ranma as he smirked at her and noticed she was wearing what appeared to be a military uniform. "No. I'm piloting the personal transport of Princess Serenity from now on." "A promotion then. Good job," said Ranma with a small smirk as he got dressed. "I suppose. They won't let me use my ship anymore," she said flatly. "It's being put in a museum somewhere on the other side of the moon." "Good," said Ranma with a nod. "Where's Washuu and the Princess. I should say goodbye at least." "Washuu left for Mercury. Serenity sent her there. Seems she's a professor at some famous science academy, and a lot of Mercury's scientists went there. I haven't heard too much more about it." "Good for her then," said the boy with another nod. "Ranma. I'm glad you're going home and all. You've earned it, but if I ever see you again. I'm going to kill you," said the woman as she looked up at him. "Roger," said Ranma with a small salute. ++++++++++++ "So, you're leaving?" said Serenity as she looked at the boy for a moment. He nodded and smirked as he saw Serena and Endimyon standing off to the side. "I've got to get back. I was sent here while fighting a powerful monster. I can't just leave it there." "So, you are a defender of your world then?" asked Serenity with her eyebrow arching slightly. "That's right. I protect the Earth, ten thousand or so years in the future," replied the boy with a smirk on his face. "I see. I wish you luck on your journey," said Serenity as she held up a small bottle of liquid. "To return to your own time, take this liquid and say the words Klatu Verata Nictu." Ranma blinked and looked at the small vial. "You're kidding right?" "No. Use it and you will return to your own time wherever you are at the time," said the woman with a small nod. "Using it here wouldn't be a good idea then," said Ranma to himself. He looked up at her and smiled for a moment before he bowed. "Thank you for your help." He turned and walked out the door and into the hall. "Wait!" Ranma paused and turned to see Serena rushing up to him from the throne room. "What's up princess?" "You're sure you can't stay?" said the girl with tears starting to form in her eyes. "Yeah. Sorry," he lied. "I've got friends counting on me back home. I have to go," he said with a gentle smile. "I was hoping..." muttered the girl to herself. "Who knows, ten thousand years is a long time Serena. Maybe we'll meet again?" said the boy as he looked at her for a moment. "I...I know we will!" exclaimed the girl. Ranma had to hold back a chuckle. That was uncannily accurate. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll make a great queen one day!" It was a lie, but he didn't feel like telling her that she'd die before that day came. As tempting as it was for some of them. "You think so?" said the girl. "Yeah," he said with a slightly nervous tone to his voice. The girl rushed up and grabbed him around his neck, kissing him full on the lips for a long moment. He blinked in surprise when she broke it and shook his head. "Huh?" "For good luck! Goodbye!" she said as he turned and rushed down the hall with tears in her eyes. "...my love..." she whispered to herself as she rushed for her room. "What the hell was that about?" muttered the boy dumbly. ++++++++++++ In the Museum, Ranma smiled and nodded at the curator for a moment. "You say you left something inside?" asked the stuffy looking man after a moment. "Yeah," said Ranma as he watched the ramp come down. "This isn't on display yet?" They were inside a large underground hangar with various other ships lining the wall. Most of them older military models. "No. It won't go on display for a few more years yet," said the man with a chuckle. "We'll keep it as is for a couple of years. Then after the government releases the full report on the battle we'll put it up when we create a new wing on the museum." "When's that supposed to happen?" asked Ranma as he looked at the man. "About five years from now, they're still looking at plans for the new additions. Government takes forever to decide these things. You know how it is," said the man with a shrug. "Great," said Ranma cheerfully. He walked into the ship and pulled out the small bottle of liquid. He downed it and looked around. "You sure about this?" muttered Ranma inside their head. "Course. I know that movie by heart! Not even I could screw this up!" said Carrot cheerfully. "Klatu Verata Nict...Achoooo!" There was a flash of light inside the ship, and the boy was gone. +++++++++++ A year later, Beryl attacked and destroyed the Moon Kingdom. +++++++++++ TBC... Next Time: The Return!