Hotaru's hand opened and the Silence clattered against the earth, forgotten. Her world had narrowed to Ranma's body and the now barely rising chest. Each step brought forth a galaxy of pain, both from the blow Pluto landed, and the sheer effort the Death Reborn Revolution took to begin, although she didn't remember actually deciding to cast it. A weak cough erupted from her mouth and frothy blood dripped down her uniform.
Ami watched Saturn slowly limp back to the boy's body. Her computer's sensors locked onto him and multiple damage warnings sprang loudly to life.
The computer's klaxon jarred Rei back to reality. She frowned at the area Saturn had thrust her Glaive into. 'I could have sworn there were two people standing there when she started that weird attack.' Banishing the thought, she leaned over Ami's shoulder to sneak a peak at the computer.
Ami's fingers flew over the keyboard, teasing fact from data, and truth from suspicion. Her eyes widened as a second alarm sprang to life. Her head snapped up and she stared at Saturn's hands with an almost unwholesome intensity.
Hotaru stumbled next to Ranma's body, half-sitting and half-falling into the wet earth by his side. A moment passed while Hotaru just stared at his face. A small smile crept up as she reached out and gently stroked the undamaged half of his face. Closing her eyes, Hotaru reached deep down into her power, searching for what Xellos had called her 'birthright'. Jagged spikes of agony threatened to break her concentration, but she forced her way though. After what felt like an eternity, the purple glow snapped into being around her hands. Hotaru slowly ran her hands down his face, gently tracing his cheekbone and jaw before slipping them under his shirt to massage his chest.
Ami's mouth fell open as she watched Hotaru's ministrations. A gasp of surprise escaped her when she saw the light burst forth from Hotaru's hands and flow into the boy's body. His injuries seemed to melt like wax before the sickening crack of bones snapping back into place rang through the clearing like a shot. Ami couldn't force her jaw to work as she watched the boy's wounds fill in and vanish. A quick glance at the Mercury Computer showed the damage alerts vanishing one after the other.
Hotaru could feel the strain of healing so many serious wounds at the same time wash over her. Forcing herself to stay awake, she slowly closed the wound in his leg. That done, she slumped bonelessly across his stomach.
Makoto snapped out of her staring session and quickly leapt across the clearing. She stumbled on a smoking branch, tossing her arms out wide to catch her balance, and her hand closed on a piece of cloth. Her head snapped around and her eyes widened, it was a scrap of orange cloth. Rubbing it between her fingers, she felt the ridges that were in the senshi skirts for some reason. Cupping her hands next to her mouth, she started shouting. "VENUS! WHERE ARE YOU? IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, SAY SOMETHING." The echoes faded and she strained her ears, trying to catch a snippet of sound, but was met with naught but silence.
Ami and Rei heard Makoto's yells and a nod passed them before Rei shot off into the devastated park. Ami gazed in the direction for a moment, an unreadable expression on her face. She sighed and turned back to the two kids and nearly jumped when Saturn's violet eyes locked onto her own. Hotaru finally broke the silence. "I'm sorry."
Ami's eyebrow rose in question. "Sorry for what?"
Hotaru just rolled her eyes. "For not stopping Uranus and Neptune myself, for letting him get involved, for not being able to stop your friend from running, and lastly, sorry for letting Pluto leave.
Ami fidgeted a bit, unused to dealing with situations like this alone. Finally she gathered her courage and spoke. "So... what is he? I scanned him, but didn't come up with a match in my database."
Hotaru gently laid her cheek to rest on Ranma's chest. "I don't really know. And neither does he. But he doesn’t seem to really care either way. As long as we're together, he's happy."
A voice called out from the bushes behind Ami. "He's a Xenomorph. Well, I'm pretty sure at least." Ami started to type on the Mercury Computer, but the voice continued. "Don't bother Mercury, you won't find anything. The files were placed under Royal Seal before they were destroyed."
Ami frowned. "Wait, if they were sealed then destroyed, how do you know about them?"
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(Posted Mon, 10 May 2004 18:10)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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