Part 4: Awakening
Standard disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and all elements thereof belong to Rumiko Takahashi,
Viz Video, et al. Sailor Moon, the Dark Kingdom, the Doom-Tree, Ail, Ann, and the Nemesians
belong to Naoko Takeuchi, DIC, and so on. Chang Delune, Isamu Delune, and the Delune Family
and history are property of their creator, me, David Gordon. Please don't sue me, I'm poor! Have
mercy! etc. etc.
A few days after the Cooan incident, Chang and Mina were at the mall to meet Usagi, Chibi-Usa, Rei,
Makoto, and Ami, who Chang jokingly referred to as 'the gang.' The pair were sitting in a second-
floor ice cream shop, looking down onto the first floor of the mall. Chang spotted Makoto coming
and waved. She looked up, waved back, and headed for the stairs. Chang grinned at Mina. "500
yen (about 5 dollars) says she orders a triple-scoop."
Mina smiled back. "No bet. Mako-chan's been kinda busy over the last few days: well, we
all have, actually," she finished. She thought, {After all, it was only yesterday that we beat and
cured the last of the Nemesis sisters. That battle on the bridge was brutal! If all five of us Senshi
hadn't combined power to blast the Scepter that Petz carried, we'd all have been sucked through
time/space! At least now we only have to worry about Rubeus himself. Ahh, almost done..}
* * *
Unfortunately, nothing was _ever_ easy where the Senshi were concerned. Rubeus, in his
spaceship, had picked up Chibi-Usa going to the mall with Usagi, and got out his last Droid,
Arachnia, to come with him to capture the girl. "Those wretched Sailor Senshi! They won't stop me
this time!" he ranted before he teleported them both inside the mall.
* * *
Chang suddenly felt something was wrong. He half-stood before he realized he'd done it,
then glanced over at Minako, who was looking a bit creeped out herself. "Mina-chan-" he clamped
his mouth shut as he realized how he'd addressed her. Fortunately, she didn't seem to be paying
much attention. Makoto hustled over to their table. "Hey, guys, is it me or are there some *majour*
bad vibes around here?"
A shout echoed through the mall. "ARACHNIA!!"
"(Sigh) It's not you," Chang lamented. "If I had to guess, I'd say the mall's about to be hit
by a monster attack. I'll hold it off, you two get out of here and warn everyone - and if there's
anything that people around here can do to call the Sailor Senshi, do it!" he ordered. As he turned
away, he noticed a startled look on the faces of both girls - {Was it something I said?} Chang
worried. He put it out of his mind as he leapt off toward the other end of the mall, where the
monster's voice had come from.
* * *
Mina giggled as she and Makoto ran to find a private spot to transform.
"What's up?" Makoto asked. "Normally it's _me_ who's cheery at getting to zap a
monster!"
"He called me 'Mina-chan!'" Minako enthused.
Makoto broke into a grin. "All right! Finally some progress for you, girl! Now let's nail
this sorry Droid and get you back to your date!" They headed for the loading dock.
Chang leapt and bounded to the atrium at the far end of the mall, which was largely
deserted. A fair number of people were cowering in storefronts, and _two_ figures were hovering in
midair in the gap between floors. The atrium was a two-floor ring around a fountain that occupied
the ground floor and a gap in the second floor that let walkers there see the fountain from above. In
that circle, visible to both floors, were a young man with red hair and a female figure with gray
skin and six arms. The young man was shouting angrily.
"I know she's here! I want that little pink-haired brat to bring me the Silver Crystal right
now! If she isn't out here in a few seconds, I'm going to start blasting!! ONE--"
Chang stopped suddenly as he passed a games store. Ducking inside (it was deserted) he
grabbed two boxes of billiard balls. "I hope this works," he muttered.
"TWO--"
Thinking back to his final battle with Happosai, Chang flipped the boxes into the air,
letting some thirty billiard balls fly free, and as they dropped, his arms became a blur. "TENSHIN
AMAGURIKEN BARRAGE!" he cried, swatting them like handballs as they came within reach.
Rubeus turned around. "Who in the- OOF! ARGH! AGH! OW!" he cried as he got hit by
several high-speed billiard balls and dropped to the floor.
"ARACHNI- " the Droid managed, just before it took about eight shots and also dropped,
landing in the fountain with a large -SPLASH.-
Chang didn't take any time to savor his success. "EVERYBODY GET OUT OF HERE
RIGHT NOW!" he yelled, and no one there needed to be told twice, especially not Chibi-Usa and
Usagi, who dashed for the door at top speed. The mall emptied in record time.
Rubeus _erupted_ up from the floor, *not* pleased. "HOW DARE YOU, YOU
WRETCHED SAILOR-- *who* in Nemesis are you?" he finished lamely as he saw a _male_
enemy who was _not_ Tuxedo Kamen.
Chang grinned at the young man. "Chang Delune of the Delune School of martial arts. And
you, sir?"
"I am Rubeus of the royal family of Nemesis. You are a foolish young Earthling to
challenge me."
Chang's grin got very insolent. "Really! Well, tell me, your highness, how does it feel
getting your butt whupped by an Earth commoner?"
"ARRGH!!!" Rubeus howled as he let fly with his energy sphere barrage. Chang dodged to
one side, but didn't realize the little balls were explosives until they blew up, the blast sending him
into the rear storage area of a sports store. He shook his head for a minute and got up.
{Ite (Ouch), didn't think those balls were bombs - Che! He didn't follow up! Does he really
think I'm done? Well, he'll find out different in a few sec-} He cut off his line of thought as he
caught a glimpse of motion out the rear window. Looking out, he saw the mall loading dock and
two familiar girls.
* * *
Minako stopped and panted for a second, having sprinted all the way to the loading dock.
"Boy.. am I glad.. that we get stronger.. in our Senshi forms," she commented, pulling her henshin
wand out of her Lunar Space pocket.
"No.. argument, Mina-chan," Makoto agreed. Without further ado, the two held their
wands up to the sky and chanted the familiar phrases:
"VENUS STAR POWER, MAKE UP!"
"JUPITER STAR POWER, MAKE UP!"
Back in the store, Chang stood flabbergasted and watched as Makoto was engulfed in lightning and Minako
was wrapped in light, then the two emerged as Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus, respectively. {Holy
geez, Mina's Sailor Venus! And her friend Makoto is Sailor Jupiter! I guess that's why they looked
at me funny for that 'call the Senshi' line.}
He shook his head and stepped back from the window as
rational thought returned. {Hold on a second... if those two are Sailor Senshi, what about their
friends? The blue-haired shy one, Ami Mizuno, could be Sailor Mercury, and-} His eyes widened
in alarm. {-that means that Usagi Tsukino is Sailor Moon! The hairdo is sooo obvious, how did I
miss it before-- THAT KLUTZ AGAINST A GRENADE-LOBBING WACKO!??! I have to
finish this fight *right now!*}
With that, he took off to the battle: an observer would only have seen Chang blur away,
leaving a few blowing papers in his wake, he was running so fast.
* * *
Rubeus turned to seek out the Rabbit, but jerked to a halt as two unpleasantly familiar
voices rang out from the mall corridor, on the main floor.
"Causing chaos in a public mall is unforgivable!" Jupiter began.
"As is disrupting the romance of those meeting there!" Venus continued, drawing an odd
look from Jupiter.
"In the name of Jupiter and Venus, we will punish you!" they chanted. Rubeus laughed.
"You can try, girls, but I didn't save this Droid for last because I like her looks! Now I'll -"
Rubeus was cut off in mid-rant as a blur from the upper level streaked into him, carrying
him across the gap and slamming him into the far wall, where the two stopped. Jupiter and Venus
gaped - the blur was _Chang,_ and his arms were moving so fast that they were only visible in
flashes, like frames from an old film! Rubeus was jerking back and forth like he was standing on a
live wire because of all the times he was getting hit.
"Wow, look at him go!" Jupiter said. Venus nodded.
"He saved Chibi-Usa from a Droid on his own that time a few days ago. I think Rubeus is
in trouble- oh no! CHANG, LOOK OUT!" she yelled as Droid Arachnia came at him from behind.
Chang was so wrapped up in taking Rubeus down that he ignored his danger sense, and the
Droid grabbed his arms and flung him up with great force into the wall. Stunned, he was caught by
the net of webbing that Arachnia flung at him, leaving him hanging limply in a web-bag suspended
from the mall ceiling. Still dazed, he watched as the other Senshi arrived, but had a hard time of it
against both Rubeus' bomb volleys and Arachnia's webs. Suddenly realizing what was going on, he
began struggling and wrenching at the net, but it held firm. "Oh, damn!" he cursed aloud. The
battle was moving away down the main floor of the mall, and none of the Senshi were near enough
to hear, let alone help him. "I can't use the Breaking Point on something this flexible, the net won't
tear, and I can't use the Mana Flare inside a man-made structure - and even if I could, I can't reach
the ground! I need a *sword!*" he swore.
"You could have one if you wanted," stated a female voice with a cultured British accent.
Chang jumped so hard that the net bounced on its tether. "YAAH! Where-" He looked down to see Serena's cat-
--Luna-- the inner voice said-
-looking up at him from the ground, a golden crescent moon symbol visible on her
forehead. Seeing that she had his attention, she continued.
"I wasn't sure before, but you've just confirmed it. You are the reincarnation of the
Guardian of the Moon, a warrior of the Moon Kingdom."
"What are you talking about!?"
"Look at your hand," Luna said. "*That* showed up when you spoke of a sword."
Chang looked at his palm, confused. "I don't-"
He stopped almost midword when he saw a silver crescent moon symbol glowing on his
palm. Words and memories surged in a confused tide in his mind, and he fell silent.
Luna kept speaking, in a calm, sure tone. "You _were_ reborn, after all! I wasn't sure you
would be - you weren't on the Moon when the final assault came. I can restore your powers and
memories, let you help the girls, but it will change your life forever. Will you let me?"
Chang' addled mind registered 'let you help', 'life will change', and '..let me?', but couldn't
put it all together. Still, deep down he knew he could trust this little feline. He nodded.
Luna shone a beam from her crescent to Chang's forehead. The Mind Link began, and for
the boy and the cat, the world faded to gray.
* * *
"My descendant," a man's voice echoed. "I have much to tell you." Luna and Chang looked
up in the grayness to see an older, silver-haired version of Chang appear. Chang recognized the
voice as his 'inner advisor' of the last few weeks.
Luna mouthed, "Lunar, Guardian of the Moon in the Silver Millenium."
Lunar went on as if he hadn't heard. "I was on a mission on the Earth, aiding a tribe of
female warriors who fought against the Dark Kingdom, when Queen Beryl and Metallia launched
their final assault on the Moon Kingdom. I have learned that someday, in a region known as Japan,
the children of the Moon Kingdom will be reincarnated. I cannot let them face the return of the
Dark Kingdom with no Guardian to aid them, so I have struck a bargain with the elder of the
Jokuzetsu, the amazon tribe. I will guide them to a place of seclusion and magic and until the
Moon's children are reborn, our family will remain with the tribe to aid them. In exchange, she has
taught me a way to link my mind with that of my heir, and my memories will be a dying gift when I
pass on. His will be added to them, given to his heir. And so it shall be passed down the
generations, until the Moon's children return. Train well, my descendant."
The image shifted to a different Delune, and another, and more piled one-on-another like a
movie on fast-forward. Finally, the image stabilized into a vision of Isamu Delune, Chang's father.
"Son," he said, "I have died. My heart was less than equal to all the strains placed upon it,
and my body has failed me. Still, it can be said-" and the image actually blushed, "That I died with
a smile upon my face, so do not grieve for me. I am only sorry that the family duties have been
passed to you so suddenly."
Chang muttered, "And I bet I know what you were doing when you died, you dirty old man."
Isamu's image finished, "But still, I know that even if the great day were to come, the
duties could not be in better hands. Farewell, Chang, my son. Isamu is dead. Long live the
Guardian of the Moon!"
* * *
The boy and cat returned to reality slowly. "Oh, Chang," Luna mourned, "I am _so_ sorry.
I had no idea..."
Chang looked down from the net. "Don't be, Luna: he said it himself. 'Do not grieve for
me.' He died happy and the mysterious destiny I've been so worried about is nothing more than
what I've done all my life: protect those I care for. Today is a _good_ day to fight!"
Still within the net, he raised one hand - his right hand, with the crescent moon on it - to
the sky and intoned, "MOON GUARDIAN POWER, HENSHIN!" (Henshin: change, transform)
The image of a full moon appeared behind Chang as for a few moments gravity lost its
hold on him, freeing him to drift in the air. His body turned luminescent and his street clothes
simply vanished. A moon-white shirt and long, loose pants of the same colour coalesced out of the
light, followed by a night-black sash belt that knotted itself around his waist. A black cloth cowl
mask appeared around his eyes and head, its only adornment a silver crescent moon on the
forehead. Chang's hair changed colour in a wave from root to tip, its normal brown giving way to
shimmering silver. The Moon mask's ties then bound his hair behind him in a ponytail, like
Jupiter's but longer.
Chang - now the Moon Guardian - stood there for a moment, then called upon his first power.
"SHINING MOONBEAM!"
From the crescent moon sigil on his palm, a beam of silver energy stabbed out, cutting
through the webs like a hot knife through butter. Chang dropped to the second floor of the mall and
ran to rejoin the fight.
* * *
Rubeus, Sailor Venus noted, was gloating again. {He has good reason to, this time,} she
thought despairingly. Mercury and Mars were stuck to the floor by webbing, Jupiter was hung by
her arms on the wall, Venus herself was pinned under a chunk of ceiling that Rubeus had blasted
down on her, and Sailor Moon, even with the recent arrival of Tuxedo Kamen, was in trouble. She
couldn't stay still long enough to use the Moon Princess Hallation, and Rubeus had already
deflected the Moon Tiara Action without much trouble. Venus thought, {We need a break pretty
soon or we're in deep trouble-} she cut off her thought with a gasp as Tuxedo Kamen got caught in
the blast of one of Rubeus' bomb volleys. Sailor Moon saw it, too, and turned to him.
"Tuxedo Kame-" she got out before getting caught by a volley of webbing that nearly
cocooned her. Rubeus laughed.
"At last! Now to blast the Cape-boy to Kingdom Come, and I've finally won! No one left
to keep me from-" he stopped speaking as a streak of gold whizzed by in front of his nose. "Yaah!
What the-"
The golden streak flew in an arc that took it around the foyer and up to the second floor of
the mall, where it was caught by a silver-haired young man in a white-and-black outfit. The streak
was revealed to be a crescent-shaped boomerang of golden energy, and the man was wearing a
black Zorro cowl mask with a silver crescent moon symbol in the forehead, where the Sailors'
tiaras had their gems.
"Watch who you're calling 'nobody', Nemesis scum." he stated flatly. Rubeus scowled at
the newcomer.
"Indeed. So who _was_ I calling a nobody?"
* * *
Chang paused for a second, then felt an answer welling up from deep inside him. "I stand
for love, honour, and justice! I am *Lunar,* the Guardian of the Moon, and I fight beside the Sailor
Senshi! In the name of the moon, I will vanquish you!"
Rubeus groaned. "More speeches! Droid Arachnia, kill this clown!"
The Droid charged through the air, growling incoherently, and Chang grinned as he judged
the angles. {Now I know why our style teaches the use of boomerangs,} he mused as he hurled
both his weapon and a cry:
"MOONBEAM BOOMERANG!"
* * *
Jupiter let out a small sound of despair as the boomerang flew just over the Droid. {Oh,
no, whoever this guy is, he missed-}
Suddenly she dropped to the ground, the webs tying her hands
to the railing neatly cut. She realized, {Hey, he _didn't_ miss! He meant to free me! This guy's
sharp!} Her grin widened as she ran across to free Sailor Venus and sounds of combat erupted
from the second floor. {I wonder if he's single?}
* * *
Chang was quite frankly in awe. {I knew-} he dodged the Droid effortlessly, {-from my
new memories-} he threw a wheel kick that bounced the Droid off the wall, {-how much being a
Guardian or Senshi-} he caught the bouncing Droid with an uppercut that sent it to the ceiling,
{-could do for someone, but the reality is so incredible!} He stood and waited for the Droid to
drop. {My speed, strength, toughness - all better than before!} As the Droid came within reach, he
backflipped, kicking it back to the ceiling. {My senses are sharper-} He heard the slight whistle of
air as Rubeus (finally reacting to his Droid getting hammered) fired at him, and leapt to one
side, bouncing off two walls to come to a halt behind Rubeus, on the far side of the atrium, as he'd
once seen Ranma do to Ryoga. He glanced down to see Jupiter lifting the rubble off Venus, and
grinned. {-and there's the magic too, of course.} "Over here!" he
called.
Rubeus spun around, eyes widening, but managed to keep from whining and fired again.
Chang's grin got wider as he dodged again and went over Rubeus' head, this time slowly enough to
be seen, landing back where he'd begun the battle. He grabbed the Droid and tossed it at Rubeus,
who turned around with murder in his eyes-
-just in time to get a faceful of Droid Arachnia. {Blech,} Chang thought. {Now there's a
kiss from hell.} Rubeus growled and threw the Droid behind him, where it found enough focus to
hover shakily.
Chang thought about his ancestor's powers, and shrugged. {Time for the big guns, I guess;
now or never!} He conjured the Moonbeam Boomerang into his left hand and aimed his right palm
at Rubeus as if for the Shining Moonbeam. He then held the Boomerang in front of the crescent
mark, blade outward.
"MOON-"
Rubeus paused in mid-throw of his bombs as he sensed a large power increase from this
'Lunar'.
"-GUARDIAN-"
Chang tensed. {This will take timing-} he thought-
"-HALLATION!" As he finished the attack call, he fired the Moonbeam into the
Boomerang, releasing it at the same time. For a moment, the energy built up between the palm and
the blade, then the boomerang launched forward, driven and charged with energy by the beam.
Rubeus, showing typical loyalty to his minion, frantically teleported out of the way. That was too bad for the
Droid right behind him, which was caught full-on by the attack and did the usual collapse-to-dust
thing.
Rubeus came out of his teleport already throwing his energy bombs, and Chang was
caught finishing his attack. Hurt and dazed, he flew across the room. Rubeus moved to follow up,
but was nearly fried by attacks from no less than four Sailor Senshi. He looked down to see four
Senshi free and Tuxedo Kamen pulling webs off of Sailor Moon, decided the odds were against
him, and warped back to his ship.
* * *
An obviously woozy Lunar wobbled over to the Sailor Senshi. Venus and Jupiter turned to
greet this mystery ally as he asked, "Is Sailor Moon all right?"
"She's fine. Thanks for saving us. Uh- who're you?" asked Sailor Jupiter, somewhat shyly.
Lunar looked at her strangely. "You mean you don't recognize me? I didn't think the hair
made _that_ big a difference," he replied. Now it was Jupiter's turn to look at Lunar oddly. He
looked back, then shrugged. "Okay, I obviously don't know everything about my new job. Let's get
somewhere private and change back!"
* * *
Chang rather expected an uproar after the battle, and he wasn't disappointed. In the
deserted loading dock, the Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen all made sure to keep an eye on him as they
arrived. Puzzled, he asked, "M- ah, Sailor Venus, what's the matter?"
She shrugged. "Our male allies have this habit of just showing up long enough to help us
and then vanishing. I guess we're expecting you to do the same."
Chang gave her a look. "No, I intend to be straight with you from the start - even if you
were keeping secrets from me," he replied. Sailor Venus stared at him.
"Huh?!?"
* * *
Minako was very curious about their new ally, so she kept a careful eye on him as they
prepared to reverse their transformations. {Still, I can tell that Mako-chan's even more interested in
him than me - and I'll bet I know why,} she thought wryly. {Her boyfriend kick again, though I can
see why she'd be enthusiastic about this one.} She looked over at Lunar as he spoke.
"Well, why don't we all change back at the same time?" He looked around, but no one
objected. "Okay, on three. One.. Two.. *Three!*"
* * *
Chang kept watching the Senshi as his transformation reversed itself by his mental
command. The expressions of shock on Makoto and Minako's faces rivaled any that he'd seen the
Nerima crew showing. {That could be trouble,} he thought worriedly. Usagi looked at him after
the change was done and giggled.
"Chang! I guess Luna was right when she said she thought you were special!"
Ami smiled and nodded, and Rei chimed in, "Hey, Chang, welcome to the club!"
Minako twitched for a moment, and Makoto wailed. "Awww, he's _Taken!_ How come I
never get the really good ones?!" Chang jerked around to look at her.
"'Scuse me?! I'm *taken?* As in, romantically? Uh-"
Minako cut him off. "Mako-*chan*..." Makoto sweatdropped and backed away. "...do I
butt in on _your_ boyfriend-hunts?" The brown-haired scrapper shook her head slightly. She
couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from Minako's wrathful face. "And YOU!" Minako whirled on
Chang, who recoiled but didn't - quite - retreat. "I've been going on dates with you for weeks, and
you tell me you didn't have a *clue!?*"
Chang stammered, but couldn't seem to find a reply. Minako didn't miss a beat anyway.
"And what about keeping secrets, Mr. Moon Guardian?! I didn't hear you mention this to me
before! Care to explain!?" _Now_ Minako paused, tapping her foot impatiently. Chang tried once
again to form a reply, but his body was still stunned by the display of female wrath. {Well, now I
know why Akane clobbers Ranma so often even though he's a far better fighter,} he thought.
Fortunately, he was saved from explaining personally. "Actually, Minako, he only just
found out right here in the mall," Luna stated as she walked around the corner. "I had to awaken
him with the Luna Mind Meld." Minako's expression lightened amazingly as her incredible mood
swings came into play.
"Oh, no! I'm sorry, Chang! I just thought - oh heck, thank you anyway!" With that, she
dashed up to him and grabbed him in a hug. While he was still looking down at her in surprise, she
lifted her head to kiss him. While she seemed to be aiming for the cheek or chin, Chang's head
position meant she got him full on the mouth.
Chang never was sure about how long they stood there, clinched and kissing. One thing he
_was_ sure of - the alarm he expected to feel about an Amazon-style come-on never appeared. {In
fact, I feel kinda warm and cozy inside. OK, maybe I am taken. Maybe.}
* * *
Minako was as surprised as Chang when she tagged him on the lips. She didn't mind at all,
but she felt him tense and steeled herself for the moment when Chang pulled her off, but he didn't.
He actually joined in the hug, and Minako melted. Finally, she pulled back for breath, and Chang
gave her a small smile as he disengaged. "Mina-chan, I'm sorry for being so dense." She just smiled
back at him. Only then did the other Senshi and Mamoru start applauding, causing her - {and
Chang,} she noticed - to blush cherry-red.
Luna broke up the teasing by clearing her throat. "Ahem! I would like to welcome Lunar to
our ranks, but to really make that official, there are a couple of items we need to cover.
Artemis...?"