Legend Of Ranma

Disclaimer: How LONG ago was it?!

< >: Thoughts and telepathic communication

Chapter 10

Bad Time to be a Senshi

Part 1

Phoenix Mountain...

Saffron smiled as he sat on his throne and contemplated. Recently he had felt a surge of power emanating from across the time stream and knew that it was connected with the TriForce of Power that he had in his possession. Apparently, the attack on the Hyrule Knight and the TriForce of Courage had triggered a response that he had not foreseen. The Phoenix God had felt it with his part of the relic, but he had also sensed something... similar to it.

He looked down at his right hand and studied the artifact. He knew that the solid triangle at the top represented his portion of the TriForce, and that the lower, empty triangle on the right was Link's. So that left only the remaining triangle on the left. From what he had been able to discern, whatever had caused that huge surge in temporal energy had something to do with that missing portion.

The deity grinned. He had been wondering how to get a hold of that final piece after he had taken the Hyrule Knight's TriForce of Courage. Now it seemed that he would have a chance of getting the entire thing. The first piece had made him a full god. The second piece would put his ranking higher than most of other deities in Heaven. The final piece... he couldn't even imagine of the possibilities, for they were too mind-boggling.

However, after receiving the TriForce of Power, Saffron was consumed by an overwhelming desire to possess the other parts. And he would let no one, not god nor mortal... nor Hylian, stop him from achieving his goal!

----------

Link lay on his futon in the Tendo guestroom and sighed. Flittering beside him was his fairy companion Navi.

<You're innocent, Ranma. This was all a frame-up!> The little sprite said.

<Yeah, but I have a feeling that those girls aren't going to let me have a chance to prove it to them. The way I saw it, they take their orders from that green-haired one... what was her name? Oh yeah, Sailor Pluto. I wonder why she has such a big grudge against me?>

<Yeah, well we don't exactly have a telephone to Hyrule and... whoa!> The Hero of Time bolted up into a sitting position and looked down at his right hand. The TriForce of Courage glowed brightly. Ranma knew that the only reason why it would react in this manner is because one of the two other parts of the relic was being used. However, he could not sense that the TriForce of Power was being utilized, which meant that...

"Zelda."

Suddenly, Link had the feeling that things were going to get more serious in the near future.

----------

The very next day...

"Class, I'd like for all of you to meet a new transfer student. She will be joining us as of this day. Please introduce yourself."

"Hello... my name is Yohko Mano."

Link's eyes widened as he recognized the Devil Hunter. On his shoulder and invisible to everyone but her partner, Navi was also surprised. They had not expected to meet up with the 108th Youma Destroyer so soon.

As for Yohko, she smiled as she gazed upon her new classmates and noted that there were some very good-looking boys, but she soon found herself staring at one particular boy who was sitting near the back of the room. He was a tall, exotic-looking person with eyes that seem to sparkle. There was just something about him that reminded her of the Hyrule Knight, though in her mind, she thought that to be utterly ridiculous. Nothing could compare with that total hunk, but still... he wasn't half bad.

----------

Lunchtime, the front grounds of the school...

"Hi! My name's Yohko Mano. Can I sit with you?"

"No problem. My name's Link Kintaro."

<Cute.> Both thought at the same time.

----------

Phoenix Mountain...

Saffron was getting anxious. He had just felt his portion of the TriForce react to the actions of its other parts and it wouldn't be long before he would have the entire relic in his possession.

The ruler of Phoenix Mountain figured that the easiest way to draw out the other two parts was to cause another disturbance. He knew that the Hyrule Knight was still alive and kicking somewhere, though he was keeping his presence well hidden from the TriForce of Power. However, like all heroic types, the Phoenix God was quite certain the pointy-eared hero would appear when innocents were threatened. That would also draw those fools the Sailor Senshi as well, and if both sides were to come into conflict again, then he may be able to say goodbye to a few annoyances in his bid for ultimate power.

<Hmm... why don't we turn up the heat? >

The TriForce of Power began glowing on the back of his hand as Saffron added his own Phoenix energies.

----------

Ranma had been enjoying his lunch with the Mano girl when he started hearing sirens blaring towards the school. Two fire engines and several police cars sped by in a big hurry.

At that moment, Yohko's ring glowed with an eerie light and Navi began flitting about.

<Navi, what's up? > Ranma asked as he started to get tense.

The fairy was very nervous as she replied. <Ranma, we have to go. >

<What? Now?>

<I'm sorry, but I sense great evil and I think the Hyrule Knight is going to have to make another appearance.>

<I'm not sure if I'm up to this! And if we meet up with those Sailor Senshi...>

With a quick glance to his hand, Ranma noted that the TriForce of Courage was glowing slightly, confirming Navi's suspicions. Ranma winced as he looked up to give Yohko an excuse for leaving her so abruptly, but by that time, she was already long gone.

----------

A few minutes later...

At times, Yohko really HATED her duties as the Devil Hunter, especially when it took her away from cute boys. Having already transformed into her Devil Hunter outfit and with her Soul Sword in her hand, she arrived at the scene of the carnage, which was the shopping district of Juuban. Then she stopped suddenly when she saw... them.

Both lizards were letting loose with gouts of fire and the entire area was blackened and scorched from their attacks. One monster was gliding through the air and resembled a gigantic snake, though it had two forelegs up front. Though it did not have wings, it somehow kept aloft and was raining down streams of flames. On the ground was huge beast that resembled an iguana. It too was letting loose with fire blasts from its maw. When the police and members of the JSDF tried to shoot at it, it simply curled into a ball and rolled about, crushing anything in its path. The authorities were simply no match for King Dodongo and Volvagia.

At this point, the Devil Hunter knew that she would need help.

----------

"TRIFORCE TRANSFORMATION!"

----------

A temple on Cherry Hill...

Rei suddenly sat up from her fire reading and called in her fellow Sailor Senshi.

----------

Nearing the outskirts of Jubaan, a certain scouting party from Hyrule also started making their way toward the disturbance when several of the Gorons sensed the presence of their age-old nemesis.

Things were going to reach their boiling points when all sides converged.

----------

A crowd of people screamed and scattered like ants, as they found themselves in the path of King Dodongo. The giant iguana opened up its huge maw and began to inhale as it powered up to let loose another fiery blast. The monster had already reduced a city block into a smoldering ruin. Just as it was about to let loose with pyrotechnic gouts of death, something struck hard against the side of its head and caused it to pause in its rampage. Turning toward the direction where the unexpected interference came from, the beast gazed upon a squad of tanks from the JSDF, which were firing a barrage of armor-piercing shells at it. However, the rounds were not able to penetrate the huge lizard's thick hide and Dodongo simply scrunched up into a ball and rolled toward the irritating metal insects.

The soldiers had to abandon their tanks as the enormous beast came rolling at them like a living, horizontal avalanche. The monster crushed whatever got in its way and several of the war machines were flattened into steel pancakes. Once King Dodongo stopped rolling and uncurled its body, it continued on its mission of mayhem.

High above, the ancient dragon known as Volvagia was making short work of whatever was thrown against it. Attack helicopters and fighter jets had been sent in to kill it, but they were easily swatted aside like bothersome flies. Bullets and rockets proved ineffective against its scaly hide, and every time the lava lizard opened its mouth and spewed out destructive bursts of hot gases, the helicopters and jets would explode like lit firecrackers and were sent crashing to the ground. So far, military and civilian casualties were at a minimum, but they would soon skyrocket if something were not done.

----------

Sailor Moon gulped as she and the Inner Scouts came onto the scene and saw what was causing the massive destruction. The Devil hunter was trying her best to fend off the beasts, but they kept on coming. One swat from Dodongo's right claw knocked the Mano girl away, causing her to tumble to the streets and into unconsciousness.

"And we're supposed to fight them?!" The leader of the Senshi exclaimed as she witnessed the two monsters rip and burn another city block to the ground. This wasn't like anything they had faced before and the stakes were never this high.

"We have to do something or there won't be anything left! Come on!" Rei cried out as she began running toward King Dodongo, as it began nearing a shopping mall.

"Wait up!" Ami called out as she and the others followed. The quiet member of the Senshi was surprised to see Sailor Mars charge recklessly into battle, as she was usually more disciplined, being a Shinto priest. However, the situation was dire and immediate action was needed before all of Tokyo went up in flames.

----------

"Shouldn't we help them?" Sailor Saturn asked as she, Neptune and Uranus Pluto stood nearby on a rooftop.

Neptune was about to agree with her younger comrade but Sailor Pluto held out her Garnett Rod and shook her head.

"But why?"

The Guardian of Time took a deep breath before replying. "All this is because of the Hyrule Knight, and I’m certain that once we destroy him for good, then the future of the Crystal Tokyo will be assured. He will appear, that much I am certain. Once he does, then we shall finish him... permanently."

Hotaru did not like the way the normally quiet Senshi of Time was sounding. She had seen Setsuna in her intense moods before, but since the loss of the Time Gate, her heart seemed to have hardened to the consistency of tempered titanium. "But what about that other person... Saffron?"

"We will deal with him as well, but the Hyrule Knight is our top priority right now. His attack on Princess Serenity’s daughter cannot be forgotten nor forgiven as that act has shown his true colors. These monsters and those others are all his doing. They appeared when he did."

"We don’t have real proof that he’s behind all this." Neptune interjected.

"You SAW him attack Rini, Michiru. What other proof do you need? He was just pretending to be our ally, then he turned on us!" Uranus was eager to mix it up with the Hyrule Knight. She was convinced that once he was eliminated, then the Time Gate and their weapons would be fully restored.

"But what about Usagi and the others? They need help!" Saturn watched in fear as the Inner Senshi were losing ground against their monstrous adversaries.

"We will help them when they need it, but remember that our weapons and powers are limited now. We'll save our strength when our true enemy appears." Pluto said with confidence.

----------

Phoenix Mountain...

Saffron chuckled as he continued to watch the battle unfold on his mystic viewing portal. As he had expected, the so-called Guardian of Time was so certain that the Hyrule Knight was the cause of their misfortunes that she was now blind to the truth. Through the TriForce of Power, the Phoenix God was already aware of the ancient pact between the Moon Kingdom and Hyrule. Using that treaty, he had now caused a rift between the two sides and that in turn had caused the Sailor Senshi to be substantially weakened. Not that their combined powers meant anything to the TriForce, but getting rid of minor annoyances always helped things along.

He snorted as he watched the Senshi of Time with disdain. As far as he was concerned, Sailor Pluto was nothing more than a hypocrite. Then again, beings with godlike powers tended to bend and break the rules then make up new ones to suit their superiority over lesser beings. It had been a simple matter to turn her against the bearer of the second piece of the TriForce. That would make things so much easier when Saffron took possession of it and the TriForce of Wisdom, which he sensed was nearby.

<Now all the minor cast members are here and ready to play out their meager roles. The only person missing from my little drama is the star. Ah, and there he is!> Saffron smiled as he saw that Link was approaching the scene of the carnage. He felt a slight twinge of pain in his temple, then dismissed it as a minor ache as he watched the scene.

----------

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Sailor Mars screamed as she barely evaded another fiery blast from King Dodongo. She had just found out that her Flame Sniper Attack was useless against the lizard's scaly hide. The flame arrow had bounced off without any effect and any other attacks were just as ineffective.

The other Senshi were discovering that their powers were also having no effect on the giant iguana and its flying counterpart. Mercury's freezing powers weren't strong enough to overcome their fiery abilities and their thick, scaly hides deflected electricity and light energy as well. Sailor Moon continued to whine as she ran around frantically to avoid being roasted.

It was at that moment that Mars tripped over something or rather someone, and fell hard on her bottom. She saw that she had come across the unconscious body of the Devil Hunter. Looming over them was the past bane of the Goron's existence as it prepared to barbecue them.

"BURNING MANDALA!"

The rings of fire bounced off the lizard's scaly hide, and the Senshi of Fire braced for the end.

"IF YOU CAN'T HURT THEM FROM THE OUTSIDE, THEN TRY FOR THE INSIDE!"

Mars looked up and saw a figure stand on the fire escape of a nearby building. The newcomer made a spherical object appear and pulled the top. The fuse became lit as he tossed the object toward King Dodongo, just as he was about to exhale another gout of flames. The monster suddenly shut its mouth as something was thrown into its gullet. It took on a puzzled look as it reflexively swallowed. Then...

KA-BOOM!

The massive body of the beast shuddered as a muffled explosion rocked its insides, causing it to fall on its belly. The impact caused a massive depression in the pavement as Link leapt down toward it with his Biggoron's Sword raised high over his head then brought it down in a wide arc. Edged Hylian steel cut into the beast's skin near its snout, causing King Dodongo to let off a thunderous cry of pain. As it had done so before, the giant brute curled up into a ball and began rolling toward its opponents. Link quickly swept up Mars by the waist and swerved to the right. The enemy of the Goron's rumbled by, crashing into another building and leveling it to the ground.

Before the Senshi of Fire could react to what was happening, she was immediately thrown to the side as Link dodged gouts of flames that came down from above. Apparently, Volvagia had spotted its old enemy and was now intent on taking revenge on the Hero of Hyrule. The Hylian barely had time to bring up his newly repaired Mirror Shield to deflect the searing blasts being emitted by the dragon.

Things were getting hot.

----------

Just a few blocks away...

The scouting party from Hyrule, who were currently using glamourie spells to hide their true appearances, began nearing the place where the battle was taking place. In the lead were the disguised Gorons, who of course, were well acquainted with the likes of King Dodongo and Volvagia. Their scout leader was an old friend of Ranma's during his days on Hyrule. He was a burly Goron by the name of Dio, who never turned down an opportunity to eat or get into a brawl. (1)

He had a bit of an impatient streak and wasn't above taking chances. However, he had been selected to be the team leader, due to his courage and ability to take charge in dire situations. The Gorons began to pick up the pace, and as they got within one block of the carnage, they immediately dropped their disguises and began brandishing various implements which caused blunt trauma, such as heavy maces, clubs and staves.

Behind them, the Zoras also getting ready for battle. Among the fish-people of Hyrule was a childhood friend of Princess Ruto. Mizu (1) was considered tall by his race's standards and quite handsome. He was very proficient with various water spells and an expert with the spear and trident.

Bringing up the rear were several Gerudo Thieves and members of Zelda's Royal Guard. They had decided to hold back in reserve in case the others needed backup.

----------

"AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!"

WHANG!

Volvagia reeled after being struck by Link's Megaton Hammer. But before the Hero of Hyrule could follow through with a blow that would crush the dragon's skull, Navi cried out a warning.

"LOOK OUT LINK!"

Ranma had started to turn about when he saw someone leaping down toward him with a sword held up high.

----------

"URANUS! WAIT!" Pluto cried out, but it was too late.

Sailor Uranus had gotten impatient and decided that while her objective was distracted; she would finish him off. One well-placed slash from her Space Sword and Crystal Tokyo's future would be assured. With that in mind, she powered up all the energy she could into her weapon and leapt down from the roof.

The enchanted blade came down toward Link's head, but it would not reach its destination as a mass of Goron-forged steel came up to block. Ranma brought up the Megaton Hammer in time to block the blow. The heavy head of the Goron weapon collided mightily with Uranus' sword. Magical energies crackled against one another as the two surfaces made contact, then...

SNAP! WHABOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

In that instant, Uranus's eyes widened in horror and disbelief as her most powerful weapon broke in two! With Zelda's removal of the sword's original enchantments, the temporary recharge by Pluto was insufficient to counter the sheer force of the weapon that was designed to shatter dragons. A heartbeat later, the hammer's head continued in its arc and the tomboy senshi was thrown backward by the impact. Fortunately for her, Link had not swung at full force. Even the protection afforded by her Sailor outfit would not have prevented her body from being pulverized. However, she now had four broken ribs and a severe concussion as she landed hard on the ground twenty meters away.

"SAILOR URANUS!" Sailor Moon cried out as she and the Inner Scouts witnessed the event with horror and confusion. Sailor Pluto and Neptune leapt down toward their fallen comrade, leaving Saturn on the roof.

It was at that moment that King Dodongo took the opportunity to let loose a blast of fire at Link's back.

"LINK!"

Time seemed to slow down as the fairy came between the monster and her Life-Friend. Focusing all the power she had at her disposal, Navi erected a protection spell to deflect as much of the flames as she could. However, she knew that this was the end as both she and Link were about to be engulfed in a huge inferno.

At that moment, a huge wave of water suddenly appeared out of nowhere and intercepted the attack, causing huge clouds of vapor to appear. At the same time, several large boulders began rolling onto the scene, colliding with King Dodongo and knocking it off-balance. The boulders immediately uncurled themselves to reveal huge Goron warriors as they stood in front of the Hyrule Knight to protect him. A moment later, the Zoras appeared after finishing their water spells, and joined the ranks of their stone allies.

Link was more than surprised to see Gorons and Zoras on Earth, but he didn't complain as he also prepared to fight alongside his friends against the two monsters as the battle began to reach its climax.

---------

On Phoenix Mountain, Saffron smiled as he watched the battle. It was all going according to plan.

To be continued...

Author's notes

Yeah, I know I'm a stinker for leaving you hanging like this, but this chapter was getting so long, that I decided to break it into two parts. With the new ideas popping into my head and several computer crashes, I've been really stressed over finishing this. In any case, part 2 will be the conclusion to this battle and I assure you that the Outer Senshi will soon REALLY regret their actions. And what is Saffron's ultimate plan? Well, that's going to be revealed... eventually.

(1) I decided to use some of the characters suggested by my readers. Dio and Mizu were Rictor Yagami's idea.