SMARTALECK PRODUCTIONS Destiny By arun Prolouge This is a Ranma 1/2 - Sailor Moon crossover with certain aspects of Ramayana. Disclaimers: Rumiko Takahashi and Shogukkan own Ranma and the cast members of Ranma 1/2. Rumiko Takahashi is one of the most brilliant people to walk on the face of this earth. We the fans of the anime world are forever indebted to her for giving us Ranma and co. Thank you Rumiko Takahashi for bringing laughter back into our lives. Naoko Takeuchi, Toei animation and KODANSHA, owns sailor Moon and its characters. I do not own the characters of both these shows, nor do I even pretend to own them. This work of fiction is but a tribute to the above anime shows. Guys: *....* indicate thoughts. In the first and second chapters <...> indicates Japanese and "..." indicates Chinese. In all the other chapters, the reciprocal is true. *********************************************************************** The Silver millennium... In one of many tropical forests of earth, an area that would later be known to humans as the Gangetic plain millennia into the future, a termite mound stood tall and proud with its spires reaching to the star studded evening skies above. The mound stood surrounded by lush green trees in all their glory. If one focused his attention on his senses, he could hear the roar of the Ganges the background. Even then, the river would be barely audible over the soft, persistent hum that seemed to permeate the air. The hum was as unnatural as anything ever could be and yet at the same time it seemed to be the most natural thing in the world. It brought peace and a sense of longing to one's heart. The flora seemed to revel in the clearing sprouting shoots and growing denser than anywhere else in the forest. The fauna too seemed to be possessed by the unnatural peace. A peace, which made their genetically imprinted fear of predators and the like to disappear into thin air. Birds with feathers of every hue hid from the relentless fury of the sun on the branches of the trees that littered the edges of the clearing. They sang and made merry with their mating calls and beautiful songs. Yet, their voices never drowned out the hum. A monkey suckled its young while sitting on a branch. It had a vacant dreamy expression on its face. Another member of the clan was grooming a male who seemed to be the ruler of the troop. More prowled the grounds pausing infrequently to pick a fruit or two that had fallen from the tree and ate it. Still others ate mud from a corner of the clearing to satisfy their body's salt requirement. Presently a sambar with its kid walked into the clearing. It bleated once in a while as it continued its search for its clan. A tigress had stalked them the other day and had singled out its kid for a meal. The others had fled and yet she had remained. Her maternal instincts had been too strong and she had given in to them. Putting herself between the young tigress and her kid she had faced off with the mistress of the jungle. The tigress was a tad young and inexperienced. After a standoff that lasted all through the morning the tigress had finally abandoned the hunt and had went off in search of greener pastures. During the course of initial stalk and the subsequent standoff the clan had disappeared and mother and child were left to fend for themselves. Now they stood their survival dependent upon nature's mercy, which was miserly at the best of times. The kid was tired from the long march across the grasslands and the forest and it bleated in a tone that any mother would have recognized at once. Immediately the sambar halted its march and the kid headed towards her udder. Dinner served! The flow of adrenalin decreased and the sambar relaxed. The clearing seemed so peaceful to her primitive mind that she dropped all pretences of being on the guard. She settled down and ruminated whilst her kid tugged heartily at her udder. A tigress and its three cubs marched into the clearing through one of the footpaths that the animals had created. The great predator of the forests yawned and stretched her back before she rested her body on the soft grass covered ground. The kittens immediately began fooling around. The tigress swatted gently with her massive paws when one of her kitten tried to get her into the game. With her head neatly tucked, away between her legs she eyed the sambar speculatively. The sambar too locked eyes with the meat-eater. Normally her self-preservation instincts would have kicked in and she and her kid could have made fast tracks but something the likes of which her primitive mind could not comprehend prevented her. A sense of peace and love permeated the air and quenched the raging fire that was her fear. Still wary of the newcomer she refused to let her eyes wander away from the predator. There was more at stake than just her life for her to carelessly ignore the predator. The tiger too seemed content to remain as she was with her eyes locked on the young ruminant mother. It too was concerned about its kittens. The maternal instincts of a mother could not be over ridden even by the sanctity of the clearing. Presently the hum whose pitch had been rising slowly but steadily for the past decade or two began to reach a crescendo. The whole clearing glowed and a small breeze picked up. The monkeys became agitated and began to chatter as they jumped up and down at their positions. The tigress stood up and the kittens duly stopped playing and took their positions behind her. Mother would protect them from whatever was happening. The sambar for her part stopped her mastication and stood up. Her kid bleated confusedly while trying to reach for her udder. She nudged the kid to her side and they stood staring at the shadows under a tree. The pebbles that rested under the tree began to rise into the air. A sphere of pure energy flickered in the midst of the floating pebbles. The sphere began to throb and ballooned before exploding in a burst of light. When the blinding light finally died away it revealed a man and a woman of ordinary appearance with an air of sanctity about them. The man had the tan of one who wandered frequently into the sun. His brownish complexion was what one would expect of an inhabitant of the topics. He carried himself with an air of purity about him. The man was dressed in the hide of a tiger, which covered just so that his modesty did not suffer. His face was handsome to look at though it was marred by a thin scar that ran from near his right ear to just an inch above his lips. The scar was almost invisible, as age had done a good job of covering it. In his hand, he clasped a Trident made of gold. The weapon glowed with an aura of white as though it was a living being by itself. The man had unbraided hair and a moustache that made his face look all the more handsome in a rugged kind of way. A snake, a member of the king cobra species was coiled around his neck. Its head stood tall and proud with its hood proudly stretched out. The man did not seem to mind it nor did the woman who stood by him. The woman for her part was dressed in a piece of silk that covered her nether regions. The silk was so thin that it was effectively transparent. As a result any observer could get a glimpse of her nether regions if he so desired though the act would have been 'injurious to his health' if one took into account the not so pleasant looking obsidian crystal in one of her arms. She remained uncaring with a detached look on her face as to the well being of her partner. The snake, worshipped in that part of the world remained erect, tasting the air once in a while. The hisses that it made went unnoticed by both the man and the woman. A parrot stood perched on the woman's right shoulder. It would tilt its head once every couple of seconds or so and examine the termite mound. To any observer the bird would have seemed almost human when one took into account its unnatural curiosity. The woman had an earring on her left ear. A diamond of the first water hung precariously from the earring seemingly floating in mid-air though it was connected by very thin lines of gold that were strengthened with lines of power. A necklace of sorts nestled on her breasts with beautifully carved pieces of jade of the type they called the imperial jade ornamenting it. Her nipples, which would have been visible to the naked eye, was hidden behind two star shaped pieces of jade that protruded from the aforementioned necklace. Similarly, her nether region was covered by a belt of gold studded with diamonds and jades of the finest quality. Even without her expensive ornaments, the woman would have looked as pure and beautiful to the naked eye as a clear sky is at night. Anyone who observed her in her present condition would have thought that she was devoid of ornaments of any sort for such was the effect of her persona on one's senses. Her body was lithe and had fat in all the right places. She was sensuous with a vaguely oriental look about her. The woman looked at her husband and looked at him with love written all over her face. At some unspoken signal, they both turned towards the termite mound and addressed it. "Raja Chola, thine penance has been heard in the astral plane and it has not been found wanting. I have come here to grant thee three boons as a gift for thy penance. Extricate thyself from the mound and claim thine reward." The man spoke softly without rushing through any part of his speech. All external sounds seemed to fade away when he spoke and an unfelt breeze carried it so that it was clearly audible to anyone within the clearing. Having spoken thus the man waited while Raja Chola extricated himself from the termite mound. A soft hum, different in tone from the one before emanated from the mound. Cracks appeared on it and it glowed golden as Raja Chola used his ki to destroy the mound that had protected him from the elements for so long. The cracks widened and pieces of the mound fell off. Raja Chola arose from the ruins of the mound with naught a cloth on him. Dust covered his body from head to toe providing a small measure of modesty to the yogi. If looks ever were deceiving, Raja Chola's certainly did. Though he looked like a man in his mid-twenties, he was much older than that. In fact, he had been doing his penance for the past three hundred years if his knowledge of math served him right. Raja Chola smiled in spite of himself. *I have done it. We will have our revenge Anita.* Raja Chola allowed a small smile to form on his lips. Even though his very being screamed at him to tear them apart as revenge for the sin their kind had committed against him, he was indeed glad to see them. He had always respected Shiva though he hated their kind. Chola knelt and bowed until his beard touched the ground. "Oh most sweet, kind and wonderful Lord of destruction hast thou finally found my unworthy being worthy enough to bear witness to thy majesty as well as thine lady's." he said humbly. The man smiled. Shiva, for that was the God's name raised his hands in blessing and spoke. "Arise, O Phoenix! Thine prayers had indeed been found worthy as thine self." Chola smiled. "Praise to thee lord of destruction." Chola began to sing in praise of Shiva and Meenakshi. Both listened captivated by the melodious song until it ended. Shiva smiled at Raja Chola. "Thine meditation has been the most powerful ever Raja Chola and it had been felt by all in Heaven. We are very pleased to have a devotee like thee and have thus decided to grant thee three boons. Ask and all will be given to thee." Raja Chola raised his head and looked into Shiva's eyes. Hiding his joy under the veil of sanctity that he wore, Raja Chola spoke. "My first wish is that I be made an immortal, O sweet Lord of destruction!" Shiva did not seem surprised by the wish. In fact almost everyone he had granted boons to had asked for the same. A glint of a smile came to his face. "Ye know very well that immortality cannot be bestowed on a mortal as a boon unless he had a trace of godliness in him." he said trying to hide his mirth. If Chola was disappointed his face did not betray him. "Then my Lord, I ask that I cannot die unless I am killed by someone else." Shiva looked at his wife and she squeezed his hands in support. He gave her a loving look and turned towards the yogi. "Very well, Raja Chola. I grant thee the first boon." Raja Chola smiled inwardly. He would not be able to ask for the third boon he had planned on asking but it did not matter as long as he got this one straight. No one would be able to kill him and as long as he lived he would seek vengeance for the sins they had committed against him. *Soon my love I will send all those who destroyed our happiness to hell and may they rot there for all of eternity.* Memories of what had happened brought back his unquenchable anger and his muscles rippled as his body tensed as it drove back the tidal wave that was his anger. "As my second boon O sweet Lord of destruction, I ask that no one, he or she be a God or a Goddess or an Ashura or a mortal or an animal or a spirit be able to kill me." Shiva nodded and granted the second wish though it meant that Chola was pretty much immortal in the eyes of the world from then on. He had been close to reaching that goal on his own before but then he would have been killable. Now that was not possible in the normal sense. *Just one more and we will have our revenge, Anita.* "As my third boon, O sweet Lord of destruction, I ask that I be granted power over all that lives and that I made king to the Ashura's." asked Chola silently praying that he be granted that wish. "Thine third wish is unique Chola," said Shiva not taking his eyes of him. "It is, O sweet Lord of destruction." "Is that what ye wish for Chola?" asked Shiva hoping that he had misheard or even misinterpreted it. "Yes O sweet Lord of destruction." replied Chola. Shiva nodded and raised his arms in blessing. Power flowed from the palm of his hands into Chola who received it. The power sent white-hot tendrils of pain shooting through his body. Chola bore it joyously for it signified that the long awaited time for revenge was at hand. In the palace of Queen Serenity, the sleeping queen shifted in her bed as the same nightmare played itself repeatedly in her mind. Throughout the moon kingdom, every magician who had sufficient power had the same nightmare, a nightmare in which the kingdom was destroyed and the people slaughtered as though they were pack animals. *********************************************************************** Two years later... In the plains of Mars... Queen Serenity looked at the battle from her command post. She chided herself for having been a fool and for having let the plague of destruction come upon her people. She shuddered unconsciously as images from the outer planets played themselves in her mind over and over again. Scenes of wanton destruction, rivers flowing crimson with the blood of innocents and people slaughtered by the thousands. The luckiest ones had only their guts ripped out while the others were torn apart and left to scavengers. In the worst scenarios, they had been skinned alive and then parts of their body eaten as they watched with their very own eyes. Most of them died of shock alone. The ones that opposed the hordes and the ones that surrendered the meted out the same treatment. She suppressed another shudder as the death of Sailor Mars replayed itself once more in her mind. Her close friend and advisor had been raped, sodomized and then skinned before being devoured alive by one of the raiding monsters. She and the other Sailors had watched her suffer from less then a few hundred yards away. She had never felt more helpless in her life. Helpless because she herself had been engaged in a battle to the death with another one of the monsters so that she might be spared from the same fate. By pure luck, they had managed to force the monsters into a retreat on that terrible day in the plains of Saturn. And it was by that very same luck that they remained alive. Whatever those monsters were they were phenomenal fighters the likes of which no one had ever laid eyes upon. She clutched her fists in anger. She had failed her people. Her kingdom was supposed to be one of peace and love but scarcely two decades had passed since she had founded the kingdom and the rivers ran crimson throughout the kingdom. She knew as well as all the other weary souls that defended the citadel that they were fighting a lost cause. The kingdom was done for she had realized that much when Saturn had fallen. If the enemy had shown the tiniest shred of humanity, she would have been content to give up her kingdom so that her people may live but the enemy had not. Day and night they killed and pillaged destroying everything and everyone in their path as they followed the commands of their leader assuming that they had one. Even though the war about to end she still did not know anything about the enemy. Like the plague they had emerged one day at the borders of her kingdom and like the plague they had spread far and wide spreading death and destruction everywhere they went. In fact, she had never seen the face of the enemy leader. All that her forces had faced where those six- handed, human look-alike monsters that ripped everything in their paths to shreds moving at speeds that even the sailors found impossible to maintain for long. *Kami, What will happen to my people? Why didn't I realize the serious nature of the threat when I first heard of it a year and a half back?* As much as she wished that all would have been well if she had responded correctly twenty months ago, a part of her mind knew that it would not have had the least effect on the outcome. She wiped out the lone tear that had somehow found its way into her right cheek. She would not cry... She could not cry... For the sake of her people, she had to put on that strong act for that was one of the few things that her people now clung onto. She pulled herself together and looked again at the scenes of battle that was raging on a thousand yards from where she stood. She could hear the chanting and could feel the huge collection of magical energies that was taking place in the background. *This gamble must work or...* She found herself unable to think clearly through the haze of fear that clouded her mind. There were so many people who had yet to live their life to the fullest. So many people who did not know what it feels to hold the warm flesh of one's child in their arms or to be in love. For their sake, she would make this gamble work. Serenity, Queen of the newly found Silver Millennium, solemnly swore to herself that she would defeat the hordes for the sake of the children and tightened her fists until she heard her knuckles pop. Then she took a deep breath to clear her mind and walked into the clearing where the mages were preparing for what she hoped would be their first blow against the enemy. If things worked out as had been planned, the blow would also be the coup de grace. If not humans would become the latest addition to the extinct species list. She reached the site within a few minutes. *It will not be long now. I can feel the energies gathering and soon we will be rid of this threat and peace will reign once more.* Thought she as she looked about the site. A hundred of the empire's strongest surviving magicians including her had gathered there to cast a spell that would send the enemy and his army into limbo. She sat down and the others shifted their positions to accommodate her into the circle. They never stopped their chanting and energy levels began to increase more rapidly than before. A few minutes passed and everyone stood up to cast the spell. *Just two or three more minutes and the decisive moment will upon all of ...* Her thoughts were interrupted by a shriek to her left. She would feel some of the magic going away and she realized that one of the monsters was upon them. She focused on the Ginzishou and concentrated a little bit harder to neutralize the loss. Shrieks began to increase in frequency as one after another the magicians fell to the monster. Soon she heard of the clashing of weapons and the ear- splitting bangs of explosions as the lunar guard came to the rescue. However, the damage had been done by then. Her last gamble had failed and her people would perish. Just when she had all but given into despair, she felt a presence. A being of pure love entered her mind. *Who are you?* *I am everything and nothing child. I am here to comfort you. Do not despair child there is a way to defeat your enemy for now though he will return in the future.* *He will comeback and kill us all in the future then.* Replied Serenity choking back the emotions that threatened to break through the calm mask that she wore over her face. *No child, when the evil comes again we will be ready and it will be defeated forever.* *Then tell me what I must do to defeat him now?* *You will be able to defeat him child but there will be price to pay, you will die if you what I ask you to do.* Serenity hesitated but for a moment. There was too much at stake for her to refuse the boon. If she must die so that her son, Freon, may live than so be it. *I will do whatever is necessary to save my people.* She replied mentally to the being. Though she could not see her inside her mind she realized that the being had nodded. *Concentrate child, concentrate on yourself. Look deep inside of you and tell me what you find.* Serenity concentrated and looked into herself. She found a throbbing mass of yellowish blue light. She realized it for what I was. *I can see my soul.* Replied Serenity in awe. She had never realized that she could one could see their own soul. She again felt the being nod. *Good, now focus yourself onto the Ginzishou and let the magic from all of nature flow through you.* Serenity complied and immediately felt phenomenal amounts of power coursing through the Ginzishou. She realized that her body was being used as the channel while her soul was the focusing lens. She realized too that she would not survive the process. She also realized that the Ginzishou was acting as a reservoir until she demanded that all the energy be released. She felt everything and nothing around her. She felt the fear and the pain from her soldiers and those who where dying or fighting for their lives. She felt the hate and the thirst for destruction that clouded the mind of the monsters whom she realized where Ashura's, the anti-Gods. She felt the love and peace and the power that was the being and realized that it was God. Though she felt her body weaken from being subjected to the huge amounts of energy, she felt strangely happy and content for the first time in her life. The power grew until the Ginzishou was having trouble containing it and then she willed it to do its job. The ground shook and hurricane force winds rose as the mana and the ki that had been stored were released. She was at the epicenter of the explosion of energy and with her as the center, the energy spread across the cosmos sending into limbo all the Ashura's as well as their king. Her ki and mana spent in trying to control the power and her body near death due to channeling so much energy she collapsed in a heap onto the floor. She could hear faint voices, which she deduced, were from members of the lunar guard. She did not care what they said for she was happy as long as God was by her side. She felt his soothing touch on her mind ridding her body of its pain and she heard him whispering into her ear. *Sleep child, I will take care of you.* And she slept. *********************************************************************** Author's notes: This is going to be a long story and it might even a year or more to complete. I got this idea while I was reading Alan Harnum's 'Waters Under Earth', which is one of the finest pieces of fan fiction writing you will find on the net. I thought why not combine certain aspects of Ramayana (the Indian epic, literally meaning the story of Rama) and combine it with a not so usual Ranma and Sailor moon crossover. For the record Ashura means Anti-God. You like? You no like? Tell me. The story is hosted at the following sites: 1. Mine (http://samrtaleck.anifics.com) 2. Lady cosmos (http://www.crosswinds.net/~ladycosmos/) 3. Rakhal's Penultimate Ranma Fanfic index (http://www.rakhal.com/FFIndex/lstmain.html) 4. FFML archives (http://miniarchive.dyndns.org:123/cgi-bin/MiniArchive.exe) 5. Mediaminer fanfic archives (www.mediaminer.org/fanfic) I would like to take this oppurtunity to prostrate myself in front of my pre-readers. Thank you, guys! This couldn't have been possible without all of you: jakub [jpilecki@poczta.onet.pl] Kaz [kazblah945@aol.com] Madcat [madcat08@hotmail.com] Brain [bmccullough@nucles.com] James Merritt [j.merritt1@home.com] Philip Penty [plainswaker@hotmail.com] Nathan Shuker [rezantis@hotmail.com] Zero [shinzero@home.com] Hints for you readers from the author: Hint #1: Arun does not write to a schedule, he really has to spend a lot of time with his psychiatrist. Hint #2: (for those out standing critics out there[;)])Call Arun anything you want in your mail provided (though he won't) he has the right to call you by these same names. Arun appreciates constructive negative comments and he really loves the positive comments. Its the 'Go to hell you mother F***ing Freak of nature' and such that he hates. Please send me your negative comments though I would be most grateful if you would tone down the I hate you part a little. Hint #3: The truth is out there, hey, don't ask me where but is out there since Fox 'spooky' Mulder says so. Hint #4: There is no hint #4. Hint #5: Read the author's rants section if there is one. It would clear some of yer questions as well as create some totally unrelated ones.