Dragon Ball Z/ Sailor Moon/ Ranma ½ fanfic.
 
"Past, Present and Uncertainty."
 
By Julian Soullard (e-mail: jnsoullard@hotmail.com)


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	Chapter 11: Same dog, but with a different collar.


	The portal disappeared once Arlakk stepped outside. In front of him, 
a group of Raiders were waiting for his instructions. The sorcerer 'humph'ed 
at the thought. Raiders... whoopee... not exactly his first choice for foot 
soldiers, but since Eron had already produced a few, might as well give them 
some use. Even if that meant being disposable punching bags for the 
defenders to use. At least they would live their purpose and get the enemy's 
attention.

	Heh. Eron... he could still remember the expression on his face when 
the Lord told him that the mission wasn't in his hands anymore.

	"Very well," Arlakk told the Raiders, "Go ahead and do whatever 
you're suppose to do."

	And so the chaos began. Something all the residents of Juuban were 
strangely getting used to by now. While screams from the victims and roars 
from the cat creatures began to grow, the necromancer took a seat on a 
nearby bench, crossed his arms in front of his chest and lowered his hat. If 
any of the defenders were going to show up, he'd sense it soon enough. 

	Quite true. Arlakk didn't even got the chance to take a breath 
before a huge amount of power approaching his position at great speed 
triggered his senses. A blast of golden light dashed right towards the 
Raiders.

**********

	"There!" Mercury stated, "That's where the explosion went off!"

	Along with the young genius, Venus and Tuxedo Kamen were tagging 
along, making it to the entrance of the park where only smoking remains of 
Raiders were left scattered everywhere. What did just happen? They got here 
almost right after they heard the explosion. Minako was the first one to 
raise her sight.

	"Up there!" she said.

	Indeed. Up in the sky, two figures were floating, staring at each 
other while exchanging some words. One was Arlakk. It was easy to recognize 
him with that black cape, huge hat and cryptic scepter. The other figure was 
also dressed in black and the girls immediately knew who it was. Trunks had 
shown up, dressed in his old Super Saiya-man outfit. A typical Zorro costume, 
except for the lack of cape and hat as well as torn sleeves from his shirt. 
Not surprisingly, he had powered up into Super Saiyajin. Although, unlike 
last time, they couldn't see him wearing a sword. 

	"It appears that your friends are already here." the sorcerer 
declared.

	"I don't care." Trunks said dryly. "I'm here to see you and you 
alone."

	"So you said before they arrived." Arlakk confirmed, "Now, where 
were we? Ah, yes. You said something about not wanting to fight me, isn't 
that right?"

	"That's correct."

	"Really? Well I'm quite curious in finding out why."

	"I want you to deliver a message." Saiya-man explained. "I want you 
to go back to your boss and tell him to stop sending his lackeys. Tell him 
that I'm tired of this little game. If he wants to fight, let him come in 
person. Because when he does, I'll be waiting here for him."

	"You want me to deliver your challenge to my Lord?" the necromancer 
inquired with a grin.

	"You heard me."

	"Heh..." Arlakk began, "Heh heh heh. Heh heh heh heh heh! Ha Ha Ha 
Ha Ha Ha Ha!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!"

	Even if they didn't knew him much, everyone agreed that Arlakk was 
more the serious, silent, cryptic kind of guy. So, to see him burst in such 
laughter did cause some surprise among the defenders. Nevertheless, the 
sorcerer seemed genuinely amused by what Super Saiya-man might have said. The 
girls couldn't imagine what it could be, but one thing was for sure: 
Arlakk's laughter, which spread among the streets of Juuban like a highly 
developed cancer on an old man's body, sent shivers down their spine. 

	Eventually, the Necromancer stopped laughing. Trunks didn't look 
amused though.

	"Oh... That was rich..." Arlakk said as he took back some air, "I 
don't remember when was the last time I laughed so hard. Actually, I don't 
remember when was the last time I even laughed."

	"I see I'll have to persuade you to take me seriously." Saiya-man 
declared, far from sharing the joke.

	"My foolish friend, you really have no idea on how powerful my Lord 
is." the invader pointed out. "You should consider yourself lucky that 
you're not facing him. You would lose before the match even began. My Lord 
wants to have some fun. I would be quite boring for him to make things as 
simple as arriving and winning, wouldn't it? Besides, I'm quite anxious to 
see what you can do, now that you've decided to show your true colors, Son 
Goku."

	"Have it your way then." the masked hero stated, as he braced 
himself, "And the name is Super Saiya-man now."

	"No difference to me. But let's not forget about your friends." 
Arlakk added, as pulled out a small leather pouch from his belt, "Since you 
want to keep this fight just between the two of us, I'll give your friends 
something to entertain themselves with to make sure they don't interfere."

	The necromancer opened the pouch and five small white objects fell 
to the streets below. Trunks looked confused. Where those things teeth? 
	Before they met the ground, Arlakk was already chanting some arcane 
words and moving his hands in odd ways. 

	The five objects fell a couple of feet away from the three defenders. 
And soon, something began to sake from below. Mercury thought that an 
earthquake was about to occur, but realized that she was wrong as five 
skeletons arose from the ground right where each tooth had fell. Regardless 
of looking very dead, they were looking rather active, and most of all, 
anxious to cause some death. Otherwise they wouldn't be equipped with swords 
and shields, now would they?

	"It's incredible the things you can accomplish with a few Dragon 
teeth these days, isn't it?" Arlakk declared, "Now... shall we start?" 

	"Certainly." Saiya-man responded, as yellow energy began to flow in 
his right hand.

	Without saying another word, he launched the blast directly against 
his opponent. Within inches of being touched, the necromancer disappeared in 
thin air causing the attack to disappear in the horizon. Trunks raised an 
eyebrow. This was unexpected. Even though magical energy was still somewhat 
confusing to him, he was quite sure that Arlakk didn't had what it takes to 
dodge that attack. Still, he could sense where his enemy was right now.

	"A contingency spell placed upon myself." the sorcerer explained 
from Trunks right, "It triggers a teleportation technique seconds before 
getting hit, regardless of how fast the attack itself is."

	"So, you're planning on just dodging?"

	"Wrong again." he pointed out, while casting another spell. "I have 
other tricks as well. Shadow Lord!"

	After saying those words, Arlakk's body suffered a transformation. 
Since he always wore black clothes, it was impossible for Trunks to imagine 
that he could get any darker. Yet, he was proved wrong as he witnessed how 
his adversary became nothing more than a black silhouette. Arlakk had 
attained the substance of a shadow. But what concerned the Saiyajin hybrid 
the most was that he couldn't sense him anymore. The sorcerer was right in 
front of him and yet he couldn't feel his presence. 

	The shadow charged at him and Trunks grinned. Magic or not, Arlakk 
was as fast as any normal human. There was no chance in Hell that he'd be 
able to lay a punch on him, so he went for the first blow instead. With 
blinding speed, Saiya-man appeared in front of the sorcerer and sent his 
foot against the adversary's face.
	Second big surprise of the day: his foot passed right through him 
without causing any damage. It was just like trying to hit smoke. Taking 
advantage of the surprise factor, Arlakk's right hand suddenly took the form 
of a knife and hurled it against the Saiyajin hero. Trunks barely had time 
to dodge due to the uncomfortable position he was in. The knife grazed his 
left side, giving a new opening to his shirt.

	Saiya-man pulled back to rethink his strategy. Maybe he wasn't able 
to touch Arlakk, but this one didn't seem to have any problems touching him. 

	"There's no way you can touch me." Arlakk told him, "My physical 
body is in the Astral Plane, a completely different plane of existence. As 
long as I'm in this form, no physical attacks can harm me. Plus, you won't 
be able to feel my presence either since I'm technically not here."

	"Thanks for the interesting lecture." Trunks replied sarcastically, 
"But don't think that I'm left without options."

	"I sincerely hope so."

	In the meantime, Venus, Mercury and Tuxedo Kamen were having 
problems of their own. The skeleton warriors weren't exactly mighty 
opponents. Actually, compared to the Raiders, they were kinda slow. 
Nevertheless, their were five of them against two Senshi and one tux dressed 
hero. But most of all, each time they got hit an fell to pieces, all of the 
bones magically got back together and formed a new skeleton. Sometimes the 
undead warrior lacked an arm or a leg, if this one had been destroyed 
previously, but the creature went on with the assault regardless of that 
little hindrance. 

	Much to Tuxedo Kamen's grief, his roses didn't seem to cause any 
damage at all. The skeleton in front of him, which resembled more a walking 
rose bush by now, seemed to have problems assimilating the word 'pain'. 
Which wasn't a big surprise considering he was already dead. Ergo, Mamoru 
took out his trusty extendible cane and used it as a weapon which gave more 
satisfactory results. 

	"We're getting nowhere like this." Venus stated, "Those things don't 
get tired of falling to pieces."

	"Jupiter Oak Evolution!!" 

	All of the skeletons raised their shields in order to block the 
incoming attacks, but it didn't help much. Human bones of all kind were sent 
scattered everywhere.

	"Eternal Sailor Moon, Sailor Jupiter!!" Mercury said relieved. 

	Help had finally arrived. And not a moment too soon, as the bones 
began to gather again. Only this time, instead of five skeletons, all of the 
pieces gathered in one huge mass, forming only one monster. The defenders 
progressively raised their eyes as the creature began to take form in front 
of them, each bone contributing in its own way. 
	Now, what could only be described as an improvised giant skeleton 
spider, stood threateningly in the streets of Juuban. Its legs, all six of 
them, where a strange mixture of tibias, femurs, humerus, radius, kneecaps 
and cubitus that made it look grotesque, especially through the eyes of a 
scholar like Ami where there was no logical way in making such an impossible 
contraption able to bend or even move. Asides that, more bones had gathered 
in twisted ways in order to form a pair of giant arms (or at least they tried 
really hard to look like arms). All of the five ribcages made the main body 
and the skulls where either at the center or, for the less fortunate who got 
their late, used like a crude substitute for a mace along with a few 
shoulder blades and any other left over bone. 

	"Well, at least our enemies are trying really hard to look more 
original." Venus commented.

	This was her cue. Eternal Sailor Moon pulled out her scepter.

	Moments before that, Arlakk had managed to keep his enemy at the 
defensive. By means of his Shadow Lord spell, the sorcerer grew several 
shadow tentacles with razor sharp extremities out of his body. To make his 
attack more efficient, he constantly moved out of Saiya-man's sight by 
merging with other shadows in nearby buildings and then reappearing in 
another place. As long as there'd be shadows, he could use them as portals 
or could even animate them into any object he thought of.

	Trunks was getting a run for his money. Not only he couldn't sense 
any of Arlakk's attacks, but he also had to keep his eyes open for every 
shadow near him which represented a potential threat. As if things weren't 
complicated enough, Arlakk constantly hid himself inside the city, which 
made ki attacks an impossibility, considering that he could accidentally 
blow up a building and kill several innocent people.

	[I'm sure that my blast can hurt him.] he thought, [Arlakk must know 
this too, that's why he's keeping the fight inside the city. All I need is 
one clear shot.]

	About five dark daggers came out of a shadow from his left. Trunks 
quickly raised his hand and produced a medium size energy sphere which 
literally swallowed the missiles. He then dismissed the sphere... just to 
get himself clobbered over the head seconds later by a huge hammer shaped 
shadow the size of a car. Our hero crashed on the street face down. 

	Immediately after, a dark tentacle came behind a trash can and 
curled around his left ankle, hurling the victim against a brick wall. Now 
came another flurry of daggers, which Saiya-man dodged by taking the sky. 

	[Damn it!!] he cursed. 

	From his bird-eye view, Trunks saw how several black dots from all 
around Juuban began to gather into a dark sea. Suddenly, two giant shadow 
hands came out of darkness and grabbed the time traveler as if he was the 
neck of a bottle, leaving his head as the only part free. 
	As he felt his body being squeezed like a tooth paste tube, Trunks 
quickly realized that the Shadow Lord spell also gave Arlakk a lot of 
strength.

	Yet, the necromancer's joy didn't last long when Saiya-man increased 
his power and cover himself with a yellow aura, therefore distorting the 
pair of hands that held him captive.

	Arlakk was about to launch another attack when something caught his 
attention. He grinned. 

	"At last, the one I've been waiting for is here." he said. 

	He swiftly moved towards the place the Senshi were fighting just in 
time to witness how Eternal Sailor Moon was preparing to obliterate his 
skeleton monster with her final attack. Arlakk simply snapped his fingers. 

	Usagi raised her scepter.

	"Star Light Honey Moon Therapy... Hey!"

	The rest of the Senshi knew Eternal Sailor Moon's attack well enough 
to know that a "Hey" wasn't part of their leader's 'before-killing-the-enemy
-while-doing-a-funky-dance' speach. Something went wrong, and as all of the 
defenders turned around to see what it was, no one could believe their eyes.

	Usagi was being held in grappling technique by... her own shadow? 
It seemed impossible at first, but what they saw was undeniable: Eternal 
Sailor Moon's shadow apparently got tired of lying on the ground and decided 
to come up and play with her owner.

	Tuxedo Kamen, being the first one who snapped out of it, quickly ran 
towards his girlfriend to help. But just as he did, the giant skeleton 
spider made itself notice by cutting his path with a brutal vertical smash 
from its mace, forcing Mamoru to draw back. It became quite clear that the 
monster wasn't going to let anyone interfere between Eternal Sailor Moon and 
her shadow.

	"I'll handle this!" Jupiter declared, "Jupiter Oak Evolution!!"

	Hundreds of small green energy bolts cut through the air and crashed 
against the skeleton's 'legs'. Although an effective attack, there was 
simply too much of a monster in order to be affected entirely. Part of the 
body fell, but the rest didn't sit down and wait for another assault. 
Several swings, thrust, stabs and blows were delivered to the defenders, 
putting them to the defensive. That gave the fallen bones enough time to 
head back to the main body.


	Not far behind, Eternal Sailor Moon was having problems of her own. 
For starters, her shadow had an arm around her neck. That was quite 
uncomfortable. Secondly, her aggressor was stronger than her. That was quite 
inconvenient, and rather unfair from Usagi's point of view. And as if that 
wasn't enough, Arlakk chose that time to materialize in his shadow form in 
front of her.

	Having the defender's broach so close, ready to be taken without an 
obstacle, made the necromancer's hands drum. He had a moment of doubt. 
Getting the broach or dealing with Super Saiya-man? Surely the golden spiky 
haired warrior was starting to wonder why he wasn't getting attacked lately 
and, if not attended to, could interfere with the Senshi's fight and send 
his plans off balance. But the broach... so close... No. If Lord Kyristan 
found out that he was giving priority to his own interests instead of the 
mission he would be taken out of the operation just like Eron.

	"Deal with her." Arlakk ordered to his shadow minion, "But don't 
kill her. I need her alive for the time being."

	And with those final words he left back to his fight with Super 
Saiya-man.

	Although a little relieved by not having to worry about Arlakk, 
Eternal Sailor Moon was still in a difficult position (literally speaking). 
The air in her lungs was running out, and if she didn't do something soon, 
all would be lost. 
	As she tried to brake her hold free, Usagi remembered again that she 
had a strength disadvantage. In her desperation, she took a firm grasp on 
her scepter and swung it back where she hoped her alter ego's head would be. 

	The shadow let her go and stumbled back while grabbing her aching 
head. Something was wrong here... physical attacks weren't suppose to hurt 
her... unless... of course. That scepter had magical properties. This was 
problematic.


	By that time, Trunks got another round against the necromancer. Much 
like before, he had to stay focused on dodging incoming shadow forms, which 
only frustrated him more. As for Venus, Jupiter, Mercury and Tuxedo Kamen, 
more blows, swings and attacks of the sort came their way, keeping them away 
from Eternal Sailor Moon. It was quite easy to realize now that Arlakk had 
planned this invasion very carefully. He had the strongest fighters fending 
for themselves, completely on their own, while he kept the rest occupied 
with the skeleton spider. Mamoru hated to admit it, but the sorcerer's 
strategy was working pretty well. 

	"Flame Sniper!!" came a shout, and a flaming arrow with it.

	Part of the skeleton fell down again... not that it was something 
new that day, but it gave the defenders enough time to pull back and get a 
breather. Mars quickly made her way towards her friends.

	"Could anyone give me a short briefing session?" she asked.

	"Well," Mercury began, "We're facing a giant skeleton spider able to 
rebuilt herself, Usagi's busy fighting her own shadow and Trunks is taking 
on Arlakk."

	That was brief. But it also explained why Rei's spiritual senses had 
gone wild earlier. She could feel so much... death... hatred... agony coming 
from the battle field. Being a medium, she'd always been sensitive to spiritual 
energy and sort, but getting such strong spiritual readings was 
unprecedented. Not only from the giant skeleton (who, by the way, got his 
act together by now) but the whole area felt enchanted by a dark magic as well.

	"I'm going to try something." Mars declared, "Try to go and help 
Eternal Sailor Moon when you get the chance."

	"What are you planning to do?" Venus inquired, "We've already tried 
everything."

	Mars pulled out one of her ofudas instead of answering, then began 
chanting some words. Before the skeleton monster got the chance to deliver 
another blow, the piece of paper was thrown directly at his face (skull?). 
Then, the most unexpected reaction happened. The monster stopped dead(??) 
on its tracks. One could see that its arm shook a bit, trying to complete 
the attack, but some force kept him paralyzed. The rest of the defenders 
looked at Mars in awe.

	"Hurry up!" the Fire Senshi told them, as her fingers were 
intertwined in a Shinto praying stance, "I don't know how long I'll be able 
to hold him! Get Usagi here!"


	The moment his creation had stopped attacking, so did Arlakk. He 
could feel someone messing around with his magic. And that person was using 
the exact kind of power that made the necromancer sick.

	[A priestess?] he wondered, as if the mere word sounded like an 
insult, [This is unexpected. I have to make my move fast.]

	Unfortunately, Arlakk had his hands full with Super Saiya-man. The 
best he could do right now was getting through with him and then head for 
the other defenders.


	The shadow had Eternal Sailor Moon in front of her. The girl looked 
exhausted after dodging all the blows sent her way. The creature still 
couldn't understand how someone as clumsy as Usagi had actually *managed* to 
avoid all of her attacks. But that was about to end... although not in the 
way she though it would.

	"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!!"

	The water based blast hit the shadow right in the back and sent her 
splating against a wall like a wet tissue. The monster painfully turned back, 
only to get a front seat view of how the other attacks, courtesy of Sailor 
Venus and Jupiter, were inches from getting to her. It was all over.


	Rei could feel how the skeleton monster was about to brake lose from 
her spell. The huge mace began to move slowly where she stood, still unable 
to hit her, but getting closer little by little. To worsen things a bit, the 
Shinto priestess felt herself weakening. This was the first time she ever 
tried to use her priestess abilities in such a way. Sure, she knew all about 
exorcism and banishing evil spirits, but she didn't get the chance to 
practice on live (or dead, in this case) subjects very often. Bottom line, 
she wouldn't be able to hold this creature any longer. 

	As she finally fell on her knees, exhausted, the skeleton didn't 
hesitate in delivering a savage vertical smash to the immobile victim. But 
before the mace made it all the way down, Eternal Sailor Moon's attack came 
blazing like a ray of hope, hitting the monster at the center of his being 
and sending him back to whichever dark dimension he came from.

	Mars had just enough strength to raise her head and look at her 
friend.

	"What... <pant!> took you so long?" she asked.

	"Sure, you're welcome." was Usagi's reply.

	
	His monster had been defeated as well as his shadow minion. Just 
like he feared, the intervention of the priestess sent everything off course. 
This was a lost battle. But maybe he could still take care of Super 
Saiya-man before it became too late. The shrouded hero flew as high as 
possible, but that would be of no help. There was no possible way for him 
to escape. 
	Trunks stopped in mid air and spread his fingers next to his face 
with his palms facing back at him. When Arlakk realized that his enemy was 
right in front of the sun, it was too late.

	"Taiyoken!" 

	Everyone who happened to be looking at the fight, and even those who 
weren't, felt as if the sun exploded. Light came from everywhere, 
practically swallowing all of Juuban. A generic scream came out of peoples 
mouths as they raises their arms to shield their eyes. But no scream could 
compare to Arlakk's yell, who was at the center of the blast. Such blast 
wasn't meant to cause any damage really, but given the sorcerer's current 
form, Trunks believed an intensive light could do more damage than any ki 
attack.

	And he was quite right as he witnessed in satisfaction how Arlakk 
fell like a brick towards the streets bellow. The Tai Yo Ken even caused a 
secondary, not expected, but none the less convenient, effect. The Shadow 
Lord spell had been dismissed completely, reverting the sorcerer back to his 
normal physical form. Learning Ten Shin Han's technique from those Budokai 
clips hadn't been a waste of time in the least.

	He still couldn't see a thing, but Arlakk knew he was going to crash 
on solid pavement if he didn't do anything soon, so he quickly pulled out 
one of his flying spells. This operation had been a failure. Heading back 
to Dominia turned out to be the only option left. 

	"I'll have to take this priestess into consideration now." Arlakk 
declared, "But today's battle is already lost. Victory to our cause!"

	The sorcerer disappeared when Saiya-man was already half way there 
to get him. This only added a few more zeros to the right to the hybrid's 
growing frustration rate. He really felt like screaming it all off. And he 
did...

	"Damn it!!!!" Trunks yelled, as his battle aura began to grow, "Are 
you planning to always run!?!?!? Fight me!! Fight me NOW!!! Let's get this 
game over with NOW!!!!"

	The echo bounced a few times from street to street until it finally 
died into a tombstone silence. He waited a few moments for an answer, still 
floating in the air, but it never came. People from below began to exchange 
words and send curious stares to the flying hero, but Trunks paid no 
attention to them. He was tired of this. He was tired of these villains, he 
was tired of this world and he was tired of how difficult his life had 
become since he set foot in this dimension. He wanted to get this over with. 
He wanted to just get it done, head back home and then forget that it all 
happened. 

	Reluctantly, he flew back to his apartment without even paying 
attention to the Senshi and tux dressed hero that were looking at him with 
concern. 

	[Trunks...] Mars thought, [This is getting worse with each day. Now 
he doesn't even look at us.]

	As she turned around to see Makoto, she realized that the brunette 
had her back facing them and was already leaving as well. 

	"Let's go." she said with determination, but one could sense a trail 
of sadness in her words, "We've got nothing more to do here."

	[<sigh>... This isn't working...] Rei realized, [We have to find a 
way to make them talk to each other.]

**********

	The day after the fight, Rei, Usagi, Ami and Minako were gathered 
at Crown's. The topic of discussion was rather obvious. Especially if you 
realize that Makoto Kino wasn't present. 

	"Have you tried calling him?" Usagi asked hopefully. 

	"There's no answer. Either the line's busy or he never picks up the 
phone." Rei told her. 

	Her friends let out a sigh. It had been two days since Trunks' 
identity came to the surface, but the tension in the air since then made it 
seem as if months had passed. The Saiyajin hybrid decided to work on his own 
from now on, completely ignoring the Senshi and focusing only on the enemy. 
For the girls, it came as a shock to see him act this way. They still had 
the memories of that friendly guy they met three years ago. This behavior 
was not from the Trunks they knew.

	"This is so exasperating!!" Minako growled, making emphasis on her 
words by violently putting down her glass of water, "Why do men have to act 
like such jerks when they're afraid of facing a girl?!?"

	"I don't know." Usagi responded honestly, "But we can't let this go 
any longer than it already has. It's horrible, you can see it in his eyes. 
He's suffering so much because of this."

	"And so is Mako-chan for that matter." Ami added, "This must be like 
a nightmare for her."

	"I say we go to his apartment and confront him." Minako suggested 
openly, "We can get things sorted out in a couple of minutes for sure."

	"I agree." Usagi backed her up, "We have to talk to him and clear 
things out."

	"Do you think he'll talk to us?" Ami asked doubtfully, "He has been 
rather distant since he reviled himself. If I'm to judge from the way he's 
been acting, I would say that the last thing he wants is talk to us. Last 
time it didn't go so well."

	There was a moment of silence. Even Usagi, the eternal optimistic, 
felt the seriousness of her friend's words. What if Ami was right? Were 
those Trunks' intentions? To isolate himself? No, that couldn't be possible. 
People couldn't change like that even after eight years... could they? She 
tried to find some certitude in her decision, but as much as she tried, she 
couldn't deny the fact that Trunks was a complete stranger to them now.

	"We have to give it a try at least." their leader spoke, "We can't 
just sit around and wait for him to make the first move."

	"Usagi is right." Rei validated, "Trunks may be overreacting to 
Haruka and Michiru's threats, but he's not like that really. I've been 
hanging around with him enough to know that. He must feel confused, rejected, 
maybe even scared. So he's defending himself the only way he knows: locking 
himself in a shell. He may be a determined warrior, but he's still not very 
good when dealing with people. He must think that if he focuses only on the 
mission, and forgets about the rest, he can pull through."

	"I see you've become a real Trunks expert." said a voice coming from 
behind.

	"Mako-chan!" Usagi said surprised, "We didn't see you coming."

	"Why do I get the feeling that you didn't want me to come here in 
the first place." she stated, as she gave Rei a cold glare. "So, is this 
another one of your little secrets, Rei? Something that you 'might' have 
told me... eventually?"

	As if the Trunks problem wasn't enough, some tension had grown among 
the Inners as well. Surely everyone felt a little disappointed with Rei at 
the beginning for hiding the time traveler's presence from them, but they 
all understood that she didn't mean any harm by doing so and that the 
situation itself didn't leave her with much choice. Makoto, however, had 
shown an incredible ability to hold a grudge. She barely even spoke to the 
priestess, and when she did, it was only to criticize her like now.

	"Mako-chan, it's not what you think." Usagi stated in Rei's defense, 
"We thought that..."

	"Fixing all this Trunks situation without me would be for the best?" 
she interrupted, "You don't have to worry, Usagi. Trunks and I are something 
from the past. We may have had something three years ago, but that's not the 
case now. I did pass though a bit of a shock when I first saw him, but 
that's over now. There's no need for you guys to worry about that anymore. 
I'm already over it."

	All of Makoto's words had 'denial' written in subtitles. This 
situation certainly made everyone act in strange ways. First, Trunks acting 
cold, now Makoto contradicting her own feelings. Something that was very out 
of character for both.

	"Besides," she went on, "There's no big problem really. He's 
fighting on our side, isn't he? I say we let him fight his way and we'll 
fight our way."

	Everyone remained quiet after those words. What could they actually 
say to her? Fortunately, Ami came up with a plan to change the discussion.

	"By the way," she began, "Regarding last fight, Usagi, you told us 
that while you were fighting, Arlakk ordered his shadow minion *not* to kill 
you, is that correct?"

	"Huh? Well... yeah, he did." the leader validated, "It's still 
strange though. It's not that I *want* him to kill me, but... why didn't he 
when he had the chance?"

	"That's strange." Rei added, "Since we're always on their way it 
seems illogical for them not wanting to kill us. Unless... they have 
something else in store for us."

	"Like what?" Minako asked. 

	"I'm not a psychic, you know." the priestess told her as she 
narrowed her eyes.

	"Yes, you are." Minako said convinced, "You do fire reading, right?"

	"Oh... right." she admitted as she sweatdroped. 

**********

	"Kasumi, did you see where Ranma went?" Akane asked her big sister.

	"I'm sorry, Akane, I haven't seen him since breakfast." the woman of 
the house told her, "Have you tried the Nekohanten or Uchan's?"

	"I have." she said, "But no one seems to know where he is right now."

	"Well, don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back for dinner."

	"Yeah... I guess. By the way, Kasumi... have you seen Ranma act a 
little weird lately?"

	"Well, no, not really. Not more than usual, that is." her sister 
answered.

	"It's just that... It seems as if he's avoiding everyone lately. 
He's rarely at home any more."

	"Don't worry, Akane, I'm sure he's fine."

	"Worry? Oh, no, I'm not worried." Akane spontaneously declared, 
"It's uncle Genma that should feel worried, not me. Ranma has been missing 
his sparing lessons lately."

	"Yes, of course." Kasumi said. Akane didn't knew how to interpret 
that answer.

**********

	"Is everything ready?"

	"Yes, Master Eron." Arna responded. "All Raiders have been prepared 
for the attack. I'll send them through the portal when you give me your 
command."

	"Good, I'll need something to keep the defenders busy while I handle 
Super Saiya-man." the scientist declared, "Arna, you'll stay in the Outpost. 
You'll have to coordinate the portals so that the Raiders only attack the 
Sailor Senshi. I'll only take five with me.

	"Yes, sir."

	"Very well. Let's go."

**********

	Ranma Saotome jumped from rooftop to rooftop. This was a rather 
normal way of transportation for him back in Nerima. And, even though the 
current buildings were a lot higher than the ones back home, this didn't 
stop him from doing the same in Juuban. 

	[What exactly am I doing here?] he asked himself, [I'm just asking 
for trouble.]

	Truth be told, Ranma was getting a little frustrated of just 
standing still while doing nothing. Sure, he promised not to get involved 
in all this invasion thingy. After all, Trunks made a real good point last 
time by telling him that the Master of Tomorrow could easily track him down 
and hurt anyone near him in the process. The martial artist had to agree 
with that. Getting Akane mixed up in one of 'those' situations didn't sound 
appealing. 
	But that wouldn't happen if Ranma had a costume and a Super hero id, 
right? 

	Okay... so *maybe* Trunks said to get rid of the Son Goku costume. 
Actually, the hybrid's exact words were "please keep this costume away from 
me". So... if Ranma wore it, the costume would be away from Trunks, wouldn't 
it? Technically speaking of course.
	Besides, what were the odds of something happening right now, with 
Ranma being in Juuban.

	When he heard a loud explosion, the pigtailed boy wished he hadn't 
thought of that. 

**********

	Eron impatiently taped his foot on the floor and drummed his fingers 
as he watched his Raiders going through the well known "crush whatever you 
see" routine. 

	"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" he said, "Show up already."

	And he got his wish granted. In a matter of seconds, a speeding form 
covered in a yellow aura flew with blinding speed towards him. Eron let out 
a deep breath. Now he only hoped that the Sailor Senshi would show up soon 
as well. 

	Courtesy with the villains was over in Trunks' book. Without even 
stopping, he flew between the five Raiders creating a sonic boom of such 
magnitude that sent the monsters crashing like rag dolls against the walls. 
Then, when he reached Eron, he slammed his open palm against the victim's 
chest, pushing him back until he had him pinned against a building.

	"What a warm welcome." Eron managed to say after he got his breath 
back, "Love the new outfit, by the way."

	"Shut up and listen." Saiya-man ordered, "I'll make this simple for 
you: If I hear you say at least one word of that phrase you use to bail out 
each time, I'll put a hole through your chest. Did I made myself clear?"

	"You made your point colorfully but clear." 

	"Now, I have some questions which need to be answered."

	"Yes, I thought as much. So, ask away."

	This was weird. Eron was being too cooperative. But Trunks couldn't 
afford to hesitate now. Not while being in a position of strength.

	"What are your people looking for in this dimension?" he began.

	"Oh, so you know we're from another dimension." Eron realized, 
"Congratulations. You're certainly smarter than you look. In any case, as 
you might have noticed, we're here to collect Essence Spheres."

	"Why?"

	"Because it's what we do." he answered, as if the question was the 
stupidest thing to ask, "We go from dimension to dimension and snatch 
people's Essence Spheres."

	"Elaborate on that." Saiya-man told him, as he raised the energy 
in his hand to sound more convincing.

	"Very well." the scientist said, "Our Lord 'eats' people's Essence 
Spheres to increase his power. Not that he really needs it in my opinion. I 
guess it has become more of a hobby for him than anything else."

	"Who is your Lord?" he went on, "Tell me his name."

	"I'm afraid I can't do that."

	"Do I have to remind you that I can put a whole in your chest?"

	"Go ahead." Eron said defiantly, "Whatever you can do to me is 
nothing compared to the punishment my Lord will give me if I tell you his 
name."

	"Why the big secret? I doubt I'll find him in a phone book." 

	Eron couldn't help himself from laughing at that reply. This didn't 
make Trunks feel any confortable. The scientist was acting too calm about 
all this. Even when his life was at stake.

	"Very good reply." Eron congratulated, "I'll have to add that one to 
my list. If you don't mind, of course. Anyway, I am forbidden to speak his 
name unless necessary. I'm afraid that's all I can say. Now, next question."

	Trunks narrowed his eyes. Eron's audacity really bothered him. It 
made things look as if *he* was in charge of this conversation regardless of 
the threat on his life. 
	Before he got a chance to formulate another question, a few familiar 
presences appeared near the area.
	Eron grinned. Phase two of his plan was about to start. 

	Just like he expected it, Arna opened several portals around the 
battlefield, therefore giving access to more violence driven cat monsters. 
The Senshi began to defend themselves and Saiya-man had a moment of doubt 
as he quickly looked at them.

	"They might need your help, you know?" the Master of Tomorrow 
commented.

	"They'll manage." he said with new determination, as he turned 
towards his prisoner, "Right now, I'd prefer we go on with our little chat."

	
	"There's too many of them!" Eternal Sailor Moon declared, "I can't 
get enough time to send my attack!"

	"Deep Submerge!!"

	"World Shaking!!"

	Two blasts, one blue and the other yellow, cruised through the 
battlefield, disposing of any enemy that was dumb enough to interpose them 
or just could get the chance to run away. Sailor Uranus and Neptune had 
arrived to assist the Inner Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen.

	"Eternal Sailor Moon! Now!" Uranus yelled.

	Usagi nodded in response and prepared her attack. Considering the 
amount of present Raiders, she decided to hit the very source of the 
problem: one of the portals that were near. If her theory was right, all of 
the cat monsters came from one single place. Therefore, by attacking one 
portal, she would be also attacking all of the Raiders that were waiting 
on the other side of the gate.

	"Star Light Honey Moon Therapy Kiss!!"

	The white feathered blast blazed in front of her, destroying a 
couple of Raiders while quickly making its way towards the portal. Just 
like she thought, all the hideous screams coming from inside the portal 
proved that her theory was right. Something she would probably brag to Rei 
in the near future.
	However, an unexpected secondary effect happened as well. Far away, 
although not far enough to escape the eye, Eternal Sailor Moon's attack 
could be seen coming out of a building. Everyone stopped what they were 
doing at the moment to take a look at that strange phenomenon. The building 
was about a mile away, but the powerful blast came out from one of the top 
floors as if it were a beacon, making it impossible to miss regardless of 
the distance.

	Eron's eyes went wide as plates. *This* was *not* a part of his plan. 
If Eternal Sailor Moon shot one of the portals and her blast came out of a 
building, then it wouldn't take the defenders long to realize that *that* 
building was really...

	"Their hideout!" Sailor Neptune declared, "That's where their 
hideout is!!"

	The Outpost had been discovered...

	Completely ignoring the fight, Uranus and Neptune jumped out of the 
battlefield and ran like the wind towards the building. The Inner Senshi 
didn't get the chance to say or do anything about it as the remaining 
Raiders demanded some of their attention.

**********

	"What the Heck was that!?!" Ranma shouted as he covered his eyes. 

	A couple of blocks away from where he stood, a bright light exploded 
out from a window of a building without giving a warning. 
	Even though Ranma wasn't a local, he could recognize Eternal Sailor 
Moon's final attack easily. What he didn't understand though, was *why* on 
Earth was that attack coming out of a building when the fight was taking 
place about a mile from there.

	"I don't know what's going on here..." he said to himself, "But I 
plan to find out."

	And with those words, he went towards the building which was 
probably full of answers.

**********

	"Damage report, now!!!" Arna ordered as she tried to get her staff 
back on track after the attack occurred.

	"All of the Raiders near the portal have been terminated, ma' am!" 
one of her men reported, "Sections 5 to 9 are heavily damaged and we've also 
lost contact with Master Eron!"

	Arna was a smart girl. Maybe a lot of people would argue this after 
finding out that she loved someone as Eron, which seem to contradict 
anything with the word 'smart' in it. But nevertheless, Arna was a very 
competent person and knew the importance of using all the necessary 
information before taking an important decision.

	"Do we still have radar capabilities?" she asked.

	"Yes, Ma'am."

	"Then tell me the defenders' position." she ordered, "Maybe this 
isn't as bad as we think it is."

	"Subjects Alpha, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are in section K-09. Subjects 
Alpha-7 and 8 are in sector L-06. Ma'am, subjects 7 and 8 are heading right 
towards us!"

	This *was* as bad as she feared. The defenders were on to them. 
There was no choice left.

	"Prepare the portals to head back to Dominia." she declared, "Code 
Red! All personnel prepare for evacuation. Arm the self destruction program. 
We can't let the defenders take the Outpost!"

	"Yes, ma'am!! Three minutes to self destruction and counting!!" 

	The alarms went off in every part of the Outpost. Men and women ran 
from one side to the other looking for the nearest emergency portal. With 
all the commotion, no one seemed to noticed a certain blue dressed martial 
artist sneaking inside the building. 

**********

	Time was the essence now. Eron had to pull the final part of his 
plan before more unexpected developments occurred. He hoped that Arna took 
the proper measures for this crisis. Now it was all up to him.

	"So, you don't plan to help them?" he asked.

	"Like I said, they can handle it." Saiya-man responded.

	"But what if they couldn't? Would you help them then?"

	"That's none of my business. I'm not going to let you weasel out of 
this one!"

	"You lie."

	"What?" 

	"You would gladly take a bullet for any one of them." the scientist 
explained, "All of you do-gooders have the same stupid weakness. And I can 
prove it!"

	There was no time to ask. There was no time to think about it. 
Faster than Trunks could imagine it, a black beam came out of Eron's ring 
and headed towards the Inner Senshi. No... it was heading towards Sailor 
Jupiter.

	Eron felt how his aggressor's hand released his chest. Yes... an 
obvious reaction.

	Seconds never seemed so long to him. He didn't remember running so 
fast in his life. He called upon all of his strength just so he could get to 
Makoto before the blast did. And yet, he found himself competing side to 
side against the dark bolt, barely gaining an advantage of a few inches with 
each stride. 

	The Thunder Senshi turned to her left after taking care of another 
Raider. She thought she heard something. Saiya-man suddenly appeared in 
front of her. He tried to reach to her with his hand but suddenly stopped 
with a jolt of pain, as if someone had just back stabbed him. Then, he fell.
	All happened so fast that Makoto couldn't even start to question 
what was going on. She instinctively held on to Trunks' unconscious form 
before he hit the ground and noticed that his golden hair had turned back 
to its not-so-natural black color.

	"Wha..." she babbled.

	There was something else. Something bright right by the hybrid's 
torso. Makoto looked at it in horror. An Essence Sphere. No, Trunks' Essence 
Sphere. It all became clear now. By trying to save her, Trunks got his 
Essence Sphere ripped out of his body.
	She tried to say something, but the shock made her swallow all of 
her words. His body felt so cold in her arms. Dead.
	
	The cryptic silence in Makoto's head came to an abrupt conclusion 
by Eron's loud voice.

	"Now!" the scientist yelled, "Get me that Essence Sphere!!"

	The Raiders obeyed their master. Eron's plan had been completed, now 
there was only the harvesting left. With no exception, all of the cat 
monsters abandoned their previous adversaries and headed for the Thunder 
Senshi.


	In the meantime.

	"We're almost there!" Uranus declared.

	Thanks to the magical speed their Senshi forms provided them with, 
the two Outers were only a few block away from the enemy's hideout. But 
before they got any closer, a word made them hit the brakes.

	"Fireball!" 

	The flaming object caused a medium size explosion once it reached 
the ground and put an end to the duo's race, but fortunately didn't manage 
to hurt them. Once the smoke cleared, Arlakk appeared descending from the 
sky.

	"You again??" Neptune declared not very happy.

	"Yes, me again." the necromancer responded.	 


	End of Chapter 11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Author's notes:

	Would you look at that... another cliffhanger... =P

	What will happen to Trunks? Or more exactly, his Essence Sphere? How 
will Neptune and Uranus deal against Arlakk? In what kind of mess has Ranma 
gotten into this time?

	Find out in Chapter 12...