Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Takeuchi Naoko, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC.

"Don't blame Ranma, please?" Kasumi said gently to her siblings. Genma still stood paralyzed in her room, and no one had the heart or cruelty to wake Soun. She wore nothing but a simple blue bathrobe belted at the waste. Her hair was a tangled mass of matted and knotted strands, another indicator of her activities only minutes earlier. Flushed with exertion and the afterglow of sex, Kasumi appeared somehow serene, not at all like her normally vapid self, and she was handling the situation remarkably well.

She glanced over to Ranma. He wasn't taking this too well. He'd snatched up his boxers and undershirt from her floor, so he wasn't naked, but his emotions were still very easy to see. Normally defiant to his core, Ranma simply stared at the floor, picking at his fingernails nervously. From the few conversations the pair had had on their unusual relationship, Kasumi knew without a doubt that Ranma would never marry a Tendo; most likely he would never marry anyone. He was the product of his father's training, a wanderer best suited for life on the road, unable to develop strong emotional ties such as those associated with a home and family.

Love… he loved them all, even Nabiki. Kasumi guessed he thought of the manipulative girl as en evil older sister. Akane, the first crush that could never be; it had been the realization that they would never work as a couple that had originally brought Ranma into her arms. So, how did he feel about her? Kasumi loved Ranma much as she once had Tofu, but Ranma just wasn't capable of that kind of deeper feeling. She was his friend, his best friend, and together they found release from the pressures of the world around them. If only he would ask, Kasumi would have married Ranma in a heartbeat. Alas, it was not to be.

Nabiki narrowed her eyes at Kasumi. She didn't blame her sister for finding a man— she was old enough to make her own decisions, after all— but why had she chosen Ranma? RANMA, of all people. Sure, he was easily controlled, and probably great in the sack, but the boy was engaged to Akane, her own sister. Not to mention a handful of less than mentally balanced martial artists. Not for an instant did Nabiki think Ranma had initiated the relationship. He didn't have the guts, simple as that. That meant Kasumi had seduced Ranma. The thought was scary, sort of like the idea of Kuno becoming a productive member of the human race.

"Big sister, I believe you, I really do, but I don't think that is going to save you or Ranma," Nabiki finally said. Akane had backed herself into a corner and was busily glaring daggers at both Kasumi and Ranma. Nabiki suspected she'd chosen that corner so she could include both Ranma and her sister in the stare of death without having to move her head. The youngest Tendo's anger was readily apparent as her aura slowly pealed the paint from the surrounding walls, but Nabiki could see twin tracks of tears slowly streaming down the girl's face, only to evaporate under the extreme heat of her anger. Any minute the girl could snap. If Akane was this bad, even including Kasumi in her anger, how would the others react? Amazons and their 'obstacles' didn't get along very well, and Ukyou had spent an entire decade training to kill, so she was obviously a threat, but it was Kodachi that really worried her. The girl wasn't as much a maniac as a true sadist with very limited views of the world.

Through various contacts and the extremely occasional visit to the Kuno estate, Nabiki knew what the Black Rose did for entertainment. She'd heard the screams of young women in torment, and once even a man, though the pitch had been so high that it could have been an unusual girl. With a shudder, Nabiki sidelined that entire line of thought, lest she find her mind in the gutter permanently.

Ranma finally spoke. "No one is going to bother Kasumi," he declared fiercely. He swept the room with one angry glare before returning to his previously position.

"Pardon me if I sound skeptical, Ranma, but what makes you think that? Do you plan to watch over her every hour of every day?" Nabiki asked. She was angry with Ranma; he belonged to Akane as far as she was concerned, but higher reasoning told her that he was as much a victim in this as anyone.

"'Cause no one has a right to dictate my life to me, and that includes who I sleep with," Ranma answered without looking up. "If I have to pound that into every single asshole in this town, I'll do it, and kami help anyone who doesn't get the message!"

Kasumi blushed, proud that she could elicit such a strong reaction without even trying. The blush heightened as Ranma continued.

"And don't you get no bright ideas, either, Nabiki." He finished, taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling.

Ranma awoke to hear a girl he presumed was Ami asking Kasumi whether or not he was her father. He opened his eyes just as Kasumi nodded an affirmative. He'd seen pictures, Kasumi sent him a small photo book every year, but none of them really did Ami justice. There was a slight resemblance to Akane, but Ami's face seemed less petulant to Ranma, and generally more relaxed.

"Um, hi," Ranma said when Ami turned to look at him. "This is gonna sound really lame, but I should get it out of the way. I'm really sorry for not being in your life all these years. If you hate me, I understand." Finished, Ranma heaved a great sigh and glanced at Kasumi. She smiled at him radiantly, nodding slightly, this time in approval.

Ami blinked, seemingly overwhelmed by the entire situation. Before she could respond, one of the two girls standing behind her spoke. "We're going to go now," she said, her eyes raking Ranma's form mournfully. "Thanks for the offer, though, Ms. Mizuno." The girl grabbed the blonde one and dragged her towards the door. Halfway there, the blonde seemed to relent, sagging into herself while following the black-haired girl.

"I'll be right back," Kasumi said. "Don't won't the soufflé to overcook." With that, the woman spun on her heel and left for the kitchen.

Nervously, Ranma looked at his daughter. She was a cute girl, still not fully matured, but most definitely a heart-stopper. He'd probably have to break a few perverted little teenage boys over his knee, too, Ranma thought. Just when he thought the girl would pull out a mallet and pound on him for a while, Ami slowly covered the distance between herself and the sofa. Ranma stood and caught the girl as she collided with him softly and wrapped her arms around his waist. Paternal instincts he'd never known existed kicked in and Ranma returned the hug, surprised to find tears in his eyes.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!!!" Minako squealed into the receiver of her telephone. She nearly felt Usagi cringe from the other side of Juuban. "You absolutely will not believe who I just saw! He was so… so… oh my gosh!!!"

Even a bubbly girl like Usagi has her limits. The third 'oh my gosh' had been it. "Will you please calm down and tell me what you're talking about?" she asked.

"Well, Rei and me went with Ami to her house, to study for that big history exam tomorrow, you know? But there was this guy asleep in the sofa in Ami's living room. I-I can't even begin to describe him, Usagi, he was THAT perfect. Okay, then Ms. Mizuno walks in and invites us to dinner with her and Ami's father, her real father. The man was Ami's father! Can you believe it?!" Sigh. "Why couldn't he be my father? ACK!!! Never mind, scratch that, then I couldn't date him. Gotta go, have to study! Bye-bye!"

Usagi hung her own phone up, her left eye twitching ever so slightly. Her right ear was filled with an annoying buzzing sensation and her mind tried to process Minako's hurried story. She could have at least let her say goodbye. Jeez, a test wasn't important enough to excuse being mean to your friends like that. Wait a minute… she said test. Test? Oh my gosh, the exam was tomorrow!

Awkward didn't even begin to describe the dinner she'd eaten with her mother and father the night before. On her way to school, Ami played the entire evening over within her mind. Ranma, her father, was a very sincere, open man, not at all like she had pictured her father to be. He came across as straightforward and blunt, but without the rudeness such an attitude normally carries. That he deeply regretted never before meeting her was also readily apparent. So why didn't she trust him?

Ami wasn't the type to hold a grudge, and from a rather short explanation from her mother, Ranma had been stuttering too much to understand, she got the impression that he had been in some sort of witness protection program or something. Why else would he need to leave so as not to endanger her or her mother? His arrival so soon after her mother discovering the big secret was too coincidental to be a random occurrence.

Why would he come out of hiding now? It couldn't be because she was one of the Sailor Senshi.

Further contemplation was cut off as her communicator started beeping. A demon attack, this early in the morning? Ami was afraid that all she and the others had learned from their previous enemies wasn't enough to prepare them for the current threat. Who ever heard of a monster attacking during school hours? It just wasn't done.

Parenting sucked. Ranma didn't actually know what all was involved in parenting, but he had the feeling that it sucked, anyway. Already he had the nagging feeling of worry about Ami's safety constantly eating away at him, but compounded with his guilt over practically abandoning Kasumi with child, Ranma was miserable. This couldn't be what it was like 24/7. At least he could distract himself by using various disguise and evasion methods as he followed his daughter to school.

He didn't have anything better to do, and Kasumi wasn't too sure when Ami would do her Sailor-whatever routine and go monster hunting. Ah, yes, something to think about. Sailor… Senshi, yes, Ami was one of the Sailor Senshi. Maybe she did do good, killing monsters and all, but the Sailor Senshi? It was embarrassing. He'd seen the hentai comics in the shops, the hentai movies, the hentai dolls, action figures, costumes… etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Now that he knew, the resemblances were uncanny, but somehow, through *shudder* magic, or something very like it, he'd been kept in the dark.

Really, though, as soon as he felt comfortable exercising his parental prerogative, Ranma intended to make Ami put on some baggy sweats whenever she transformed. Maybe he should just mention the idea to Kasumi and let her make Ami do it. Yeah, that'd be best.

Up ahead, Ami ducked into an alley, doing what appeared to be her best to be stealthy. Ranma sighed. Actually teaching them how to do their job was out of the question. If Ami was any indication, she and the other Senshi were so hopelessly weak and inexperienced that it'd be years before he could have them up to par with the average demon.

Ami shouted her henshin phrase and became Sailor Mercury, defender of love and justice, protector of the magical girl way, and daughter of a really pissed-off superhuman.

Ranma gagged as he watched Ami's twirl around in a vortex of pretty bubbles, magical water, and absolutely no clothes. Damn it, no wonder there was so much hentai shit floating around with the Senshi as the main theme. They were freakin' poster children for the porn industry. Kasumi wasn't going to like this at all.

Ami streaked across the rooftops, her strides lengthened and strengthened by the magic power granted to her by the transformation. The occasional intersection chose to impede her, but she leapt across them easily, catching the eye of salarymen by the dozen. She paid no attention to the way her skirt billowed out, giving all below her a perfect view of her trim, bikini panties. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was following her, something of immense power, but every time she turned to check, nothing made itself clear.

Shaking the feeling off as nothing more than anxiety and confusion over the reemergence of her father, Ami powered ahead. She arrived at the park— why was it always a park?— just in time to see Uranus fly bodily into a battered cherry tree. She remembered that tree, she herself had had a… run in with it the month before. Uranus picked herself up slowly, groggy and barely able to stand upright. Ami dashed over to the older girl and did a quick scan with her computer. No broken bones and no detectable internal damage.

With a nod and a word of encouragement, Ami joined embattle Senshi.

"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!!!" she shouted, forming a mystical harp of water in her hands. Plucking the strings sent forth great streams of high-pressure water, all of which the inhuman demon avoided with ease. The attack did, however, give her friends the time to pull back out of the creatures immediate threat range.

"You made it, Mercury!" Moon cried in relief. The demon, a humanoid mass of viscous fluids, had avoided or absorbed every single attack directed at it, and its speed was incredible, easily exceeding that of Uranus, whose sword had done her very little good when she attempted to make the battle up close and personal. Ami and her computer's ability to analyze weaknesses appeared to be their only hope.

"What's happened so far?" the Senshi of Mercury asked, using a preprogrammed hotkey on her computer to check her friends for injury. Makoto still wasn't able to fight, but she was present, her powers ready for sniper duty if the need or opportunity arose.

"We chased it out of the mall, but now that we're out in the open, none of our attacks can hit it," Rei announced. They were all momentarily backlit as Minako and Michiru laid down covering fire, keeping the demon at bay while Mercury was brought up to date.

Mercury nodded and began analyzing the demon's composition. A few moments later, as data began to pour into the device, Mercury shouted, "It's not a demon! It's a robot!" Or something very much like one, and much more advanced than the current technology of Earth should be able to produce. The black gelatinous substance that the covered the robot was an inert compound shot through with trillions of nanites, the purpose of which Mercury couldn't identify. At its core, a skeleton of ceramic polymer alloyed with an unknown metal provided a base for its locomotion and processing centers.

"How does that help us?" Uranus snapped, having just limped back in time to hear Mercury's announcement. Her sword, a glowing blade of light, hung at her side, clasped within knuckles whitened from a combination of anger and pain.

"I'm going to freeze it. Then everyone hit it with your most powerful attacks. If we can eliminate its armor, the odds may shift in our favor."

Ranma watched the battle, choosing to observe his daughter and her teammates in battle before interfering. That one with the short blonde hair could take a hit, it seemed, and all the girls, his daughter included, got a significant boost in speed and stamina with that perverted transformation they used. None of them could fight very well, though, and if not for the magical attacks they continually lobbed at the demon to keep it away, the Senshi would have been little more than demon-chow.

Well, he couldn't really expect a bunch of teenage girls with no real training to have even a basic grasp of tactics, but the common sense approach of not all standing in the same place should not have been ignored. If the demon had some sort of projectile attack, this problem could have been worse, but it didn't. The creature seemed happy to stalk its prey, the Senshi, until being forced back by a multitude of varying attacks. For over a minute this was repeated, until finally, Ami made her move.

With the distance between them so great, Ranma barely heard Ami call out, "Mercury Ice Bubble Blast!!!" He watched her pirouette a few times while an aura of blue energy and mist formed around her. Sure, some of his really powerful attacks took a second or two of preparation, but none of them made him look like an idiot and cut off his view of the fight like that.

The aura condensed in his daughter's hands, finally to be released as a wave of bubbles— yes, bubbles. With a groan of paternal shame, Ranma watched as the bubbles expanded, growing into an actual wave. The demon attempted to dodge, but was unprepared for the rapid expansion of the attack and by the time it could move, the wave crashed down upon it. Ranma couldn't see what effect the wave had until it passed by the demon and continued on, eventually impacting the ground and forming a sheet of solid ice the size of a football field. The creature engulfed in the… unusual attack was likewise frozen, unable to move as blasts of electricity, fire, water, various forms of yellow energy, including a giant heart, and a pink beam of energy hammered into it.

Ranma involuntarily winced in sympathy for the poor creature. That couldn't have felt too good. As the smoke and rubble cleared, Ranma was shocked to see that not only had the demon survived, but that the demon wasn't a demon at all. Nothing of its black body remained. Now stood a gleaming skeletal monstrosity, a creation straight out of at least fifteen different American sci-fi movies. At seven feet tall, maybe a little higher, the robotic thing looked pretty wicked, with foot long claws sliding out of sheathes within its forearms and long metal ribbed wings extending from its back. The wings couldn't possibly provide the ability to fly, not without some sort of inner membrane to provide for lift, so they were just another kind of weapon.

Now was the time to make himself known. If anything, the demon should be faster without the weight of its skin dragging it down, and with all sorts of sharp pointy things sticking out to impale his daughter, it was too dangerous to leave in inexperienced hands.

They were all reeling in shock from the robot's survival when it made another attempt to charge. Winded, each of them had thrown everything they could into that last series of attacks. That combined with pure shock, really made the robot's chances of carving them into small pieces much higher.

Venus let out a scream of fear as the robot bore down on them, and the Senshi as a group finally seemed to gather their wits enough to run, but it was too late. Then, a tree, a tree of all things, not a rose, struck the metal monster. Tree and monster went flying several dozen feet away from the Senshi. Mercury thought she recognized the tree as the same one Uranus had run into earlier.

Everyone turned to see the kami's gift to women dusting his hands off, a victorious smirk on his face. For three girls who knew just who that man was, the world seemed to come to a complete halt.

"Hiya. Looked like you all could use some help." His grin broadened as many of them nodded mechanically. "I guess you've already met my daughter, Ami. She's the one in the blue skirt," he said, pointing to Mercury. "Hey Rei, Minako."

To be continued.

Author's Notes: Good place to end it, don't you think? I'll try not to make the next chapter so emotional. There'll be lots of explosions, maybe another flash back scene, who knows? But it'll probably be worth reading, so stayed tuned. C&C welcome at dark_phoneix@hotmail.com

Webmaster: Larry F
Last revision: May 21, 2007