"speech (English mainly)"

"radio, feline language, or telepathic speech"

thoughts

/"different language or panda sign"/

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

Warning: There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

Wings of Recursion

It started about supper time, the end of the world that is. His name was Eric Von Mason, a minor fact that the man hadn't known for a few years. In his life he had already been many things. He'd been a highly trained infiltration expert for the CIA of his home dimension. He'd been a costume crime fighter. For a while he'd become a wandering hero, a knight errant of a futuristic time and place. It was during this last that he met his wife.

Her name at the time had been Susan Wellington, and she too had been from a different dimension then that where they met. The two of them in many ways were nothing alike. While Eric was of average height for an American, Susan was freakishly tall at seven foot eight inches. Where he was rather ugly, she was good looking. Not beautiful, but definitely easy on the eyes. While he favored hand to hand, she preferred guns. When he favored subtlety, she was direct and confrontational.

The one thing they had in common was a passion for protecting those incapable of protecting them self. For Eric it had been drilled into him during the course of years of martial arts study. The Art was for defense, defense of yourself and defense of others. It was not used to harm the innocent. It was a means of obtaining enlightenment, not a path to power. It was a lesson Eric had learned well in his studies. And one he took to heart.

Susan on the other hand had no formal training in the Art. She'd gone through some basic self defense, and had built upon that herself. While Eric didn't know the details, he'd gathered his wife dedicated herself to fighting the supernatural because something happened to her mother. Something so bad Susan refused to talk about it. But with her limited skills the young woman threw herself into harms way time and again.

It was this selfless dedication to defending humanity that caused Eric to fall in love. Theirs was not a relationship shown in the movies. It wasn't the next great romance. Theirs was a love forged on the battle field. And it was there that it was most evident. So when they'd heard of a demonic invasion up in Calgary, the two of them immediately traveled north to lend a hand. Both had known they might not come back this time. But it was a risk worth taking.

When they got there, it had been the middle of a war in miniature. In the chaos it was a miracle they hadn't been separated. Somehow, even Eric wasn't sure how, they found themselves the vanguard of a push to shut down a demonic gate. He'd long since abandoned the fluid grace of his preferred style for brutal efficiency of a more basic martial art. As his hover cycle had roared across the battlefield his sword flashed back and forth.

Susan hadn't been idle either. Sitting behind him, she provided cover fire with her unusual pistol and shotgun. I wonder how the battle went? Eric mused briefly. They hadn't been there for the end. A balrog had managed to smash a tree into his hover cycle, sending them careening into the portal just as several mages were sealing it. And that alone had been the biggest event leading to the current situation. As well as why the world was ending.

They had not been sent to hades like the demon had probably wanted. Instead Eric and his wife had found themselves in an endless misty expanse. Other then the mist the only feature they had initially found was a single freestanding arched door and a couch. It was in that endless expanse that Eric Von Mason's life took a strange turn. The spirit of a long dead faerie had asked him to take up the mantle of Guardian of Time.

From the moment he accepted the position Mason had realized there was a problem. Unless something was done, time it's self would start breaking down within a century. Maybe less, he wasn't entirely sure. And the only way he could find to stop that from happening was almost as bad. According to the time gate, it was something that had never happened before in this dimension. For the only way to save reality was to initiate a recursive loop set to trigger before the breakdown began.

At most a recursive loop would be a stop gap. It didn't solve the underlying problem. In fact it would likely create new problems. Yet it was the only choice. Then Eric stumbled across an option. One that gave a slim ray of hope. If he could find seven people to serve as anchors during each loop time might have a chance at being repaired. But who? It had to be seven individuals who together represented every aspect of creation. One for each element, one to represent time it's self, one for order, and one for chaos.

Learning about both Ranma Saotome and the Sailor Senshi had been a stroke of luck. They weren't entirely a perfect fit, but close enough to work. It would mean the repair would take longer though. The fact the world was beginning to unravel meant one of them had died. It's too early! Eric thought as he grabbed his wife and transported them both to the time gate. It was going to be a long watch, he could tell already.

Wings of Retribution

There are some facts almost no one can tell you about. They can't describe it, because they didn't survive the experience. Case in point, Ranma Nightbane could tell you in intimate detail how much it hurts to have a holy sword thrust into your chest. She could describe every second of pure agony as the divine flames consume your demonic body. It's not a pleasant experience. Nor is it one demons can survive. As such a demon describing the experience is highly unlikely to happen.

It was a surprise when she found herself waking up on the dining room floor of the Tendo residence. Where she awoke was part of the shock. It wasn't the entirety of the shock however. No, that honor went to the fact that Ranma Nightbane was waking up. I was killed, what's going on? Ugh, my head... What hit me? Spotting the cracked table gave a clue what hit her. Why and when was still unanswered however.

"He wants Akane," Came a voice that sounded suspiciously like Kasumi.

"I hate boys!" That was Akane, most likely.

"Well then he's perfect. Ranma's half girl." That sounded a lot like Nabiki, which was odd.

"What's going on?" There was Nabiki's voice again, this time coming from the dojo.

Wait, what? Ranma sat up and looked around. Sure enough the Tendos were gathered around the ruined table. And there was Nabiki Tendo also emerging from the dojo. I must be hurt more then I thought. I'd swear I'm seeing double. She gauged the reactions of everyone else. Since they were expressing various states of shock there really had to be two of the middle tendo. The one by the dojo had a familiar link.

"Okay Nabs, mind explaining what's going on? Last thing I remember was Mousse killing me in a quite painful manner. And now my head hurts, probably because someone apparently smashed a table into it. And I'm suddenly engaged to your psychopath of a sister. Not to mention, why are there two of you?"

Everyone stared at Ranma like she'd grown a second head. Nabiki, her Nabiki anyway shrugged. "Sure thing hot stuff, I'm just as confused as you. I was talking to my sister, then everything unraveled and here we are. Do I have permission to check the files?"

"Go for it Nabs," Ranma said casually. Her stomach rumbled loud enough to be heard from across the room. "I'm really hungry, so while you're doing that I'm going to take my apparent fiance upstairs for a snack."

Ranma started to pull off the red Chinese silk shirt that was being worn. When did that get put on? Movement alerted her to the table being lifted by Akane and swung towards her head. The demoness rolled backwards to avoid the clumsy strike and came to her feet. The shirt had been casually discarded on the floor. That others were in the room didn't bother her too much. Maybe once it would have, but that was before merging two different personalities and spirits.

"PERVERT!" Akane screamed as she smashed the table into the floor, breaking it in two.

"No, I'm a sex demon. Don't worry, I'll be gentle. If you want, I could even show you how good the first time with a man really can be." In a casual display of power Ranma incinerated the broken table. "Try that again though, and I'll have to punish you. I'll still feed, but you wont enjoy it much."

An hour later Akane came back downstairs stiff and with a nuclear blush that refused to fade.

XxXxX

"Ranma! Prepare to die!"

The cry echoed through the school yard. The boy in question grabbed Akane and jumped backward, just before a red bamboo umbrella cratered the sidewalk. He continued to casually dodge strikes of brutal power. When the umbrella was thrown like a cloth and wood saw blade the pig tailed martial artist casually caught it. The umbrella's sheer momentum caused him to spin around a couple times before it bled away. He examined the umbrella curiously.

"Excuse me, but do I know you? And why did you just try killing me?" Ranma asked honestly.

"Because of you I've seen hell!" The yellow and black bandana clad boy exclaimed.

With a smile of genuine joy Ranma tossed the umbrella back. "Really? I'd think I'd remember that. What restaurant is your favorite? Mine's Di Vinci's, they serve the best pasta in hell or earth. And their cooks make a pretty mean chicken salad too. Liu Bei's Fine Dining is pretty good too."

Ranma dodged several more attempts to skewer him with the rainy weather implement. Even as he continuously avoided the lethal assault the demonic boy called forth a translucent keyboard in midair. I'm glad I finally got Nabs to show me how to use this thing, he thought while accessing the mainframe. Without a name however the search was proving less then helpful. Maybe if I narrow it down to living mortals who visited hell? Huh, that's a pretty long list. And I notice they're all from the Hibiki line.

"Sure you don't want to share your name? I'm pretty sure I never met you before. Come on, not even a little more hint then 'I've seen hell'? I'm guessing you are a Hibiki, but that doesn't narrow it down much. Everyone in that family seems to visit Nephilheim at least once in their life, sometimes hundreds of times. And I'm currently seeing fifty living Hibiki at the moment in the files. Six are staying at the Infernal for a few days right now. Then there's the half dozen here in Japan, wait make that two dozen. Damn, you Hibiki travel fast. How does one get from Iceland to Japan in ten seconds anyway?"

By this point the unknown boy had grown tired of the game. He jumped back and pulled eight bandanas off his head. Surprisingly he was still wearing one. The triangles of cloth became rigid, then he threw them in an arcing spread. Without really paying attention to the surroundings, Ranma ducked beneath the projectiles. A series of meaty impact sounds caused him to pause and look back.

There five students of Furiken High were laying on the ground, yellow with black pokadot bandanas protruding from the chest, leg, arm, or in one boy's case the forehead. Eyes narrowed dangerously as Ranma's wings were brought out. If there was one thing he really frowned upon, it was pointless murder. It was the second fastest way to piss Nightbane off. The fastest way was betrayal.

"Let me guess, whoever you are, you're now going to try blaming me for you killing innocents. You'll then use that to justify continued attempts on my life for no reason. I'm then guessing you'll use increasingly indiscriminate attacks until you destroy the city, blaming me the entire time for it?"

The aggressor blanched as fire formed in his hated foe's hands. With a new found hesitance he asked "Because of you I've seen hell?"

"No boy," Ranma snarled. "Because of your family's curse you've seen hell, probably multiple times. Because of me you're going to actually live there now, murderer."

Akane peaked out from behind a tree, extremely glad she'd decided not to try proving her martial arts skill. Who'd have thought a bandana could do that? She winced as tormented screams echoed across the school yard. The cracking of bone and tearing of flesh alone made her want to flee. And yet that same primal fear held Akane Tendo immobile. Above her Nabiki Tendo sat by a window watching.

"Note to self: do not anger the demon. Make absolutely sure he knows about and approves any pictures taken or sales made. Also, share all profits with him." The mercenary Tendo muttered. "Good thing that other me left. A three way split would be really bad."

Wings of Whimsy

There's something to be said about doing the same events multiple times. Namely that they get boring. After awhile there is no more surprise in them. No real reason to keep doing the same thing. If you already know where and when an attack will occur, it's easy to skip strait to the beat-down before anyone even gets hurt. In fact, knowing exactly who holds the rainbow crystals within them tends to make getting the silver imperium crystal a very simple task. It was actually defeating Queen Beryl that kept proving problematic. While the senshi knew where the dark kingdom was based, so far no assault had actually worked.

The first few times Sailor Moon was content to let the dark kingdom move first. After all, it's not like they would actually get the prize. They never did. But as the fights became old hat she wondered if there is a better way. A way to shortcut everything and find more fun things to do. She'd already tested out of Crossroads Junior High, for the fiftieth time. Being a eighteen year old forced into the body of a fourteen year old was not fun. At least not anymore.

"Do you think we should get the stuff right away this time?" She asked her friends.

They were eating ice cream at the Crown Arcade, still one of Usagi's favorite places. The games had become boring and easy, but the company and food was more then worth it. It's great everyone's here. Guess Mina-chan finished in London early this time. The teenage leader was all smiles as she took in her friends. There was Makoto, she'd decided to transfer to Crossroads early too. Meeting her had been a joy.

Then there was Ami, still burying her nose deep in books. I thought she read the entire library eight times already? Rei was sitting across from Usagi, rereading one of her favorite manga again. And over there was Setsuna. A long time friend as well. It still seemed odd that Setsuna was the only one not named after an inner planet Even Luna couldn't explain it. Not that the moon cat ever could explain anything.

"Say Usagi, why do we need to keep collecting it? Don't you still have one?" Ami asked from around her geology guidebook.

"Uh, kinda. I started a collection. Besides I thought we had to keep them out of her hands?"

Ami put down her book in surprise. "Just what do you do with them all then?"

Usagi looked sheepish and touched her index fingers together. "Uhm... I'm making a statue out of them. Three more and it'll be complete."

Rei was having trouble digesting this information. So instead she focused on something else. "When do the attacks start?"

Ami pulled out the mercury computer and checked a file. "In three weeks. If we hurry, we could get the crystal and finish everything ahead of schedule this time."

Usagi smiled at the idea. Then another great one occurred to her. "I know, remember that woman we met before? You know, the one also in our line of work? Why don't we give her the dates and locations of the attacks. That way we get some time off."

Further discussion ended as the second round of sundaes were delivered.

XxXxX

The plan was flawless. There were no lunar guardians to stumble across the energy gathering operation. His yoma had infiltrated the shop in the dead of the night. The entire stock should have been replaced and put on sale already. The energy should have been flowing, ready for his dark queen to empower Metallia. And yet the perfect plan had gone wrong somehow. There was the sale, just as expected. Crowds of eager shoppers, just as expected.

And yet there was no energy being gathered. It made no sense at all. This nation had been targeted for main operations due to it's lack of defenders. So what could have happened to his servant? When someone tapped him on the shoulder Jeddite scowled. No one should have been on the roof he stood upon besides him. He slowly turned around. There stood a woman wearing a brown trench coat. In one hand she held a clear plastic bag filled with grayish black dust. In the other was a sawed off shotgun. The handle of a sword could be seen protruding from her back.

"Excuse me, but is this demon yours?" The woman asked. "I've been looking for it's owner all day."

XxXxX

There's no way she can know about this one! Jeddite thought confidently. At every stage that duster wearing woman had shown up, asking if he was the owner of yet another bag of yoma dust. It was getting rather frustrating. But not this time. She couldn't possibly guess this theme park was a energy gathering plan. After all, it was far too pink and girly to attract her attention. So this plan at least was safe. Which would help get him back into Beryl's good graces.

"I don't believe it," he deadpanned.

The theme park wasn't even open yet, and that woman was emerging from the castle. Once again she was carrying a bag filled with dust. It was obvious the woman had spotted him because she waved. How does she do it? She even stopped the bus plan before it could even start. It makes no sense! It's almost like she knows my plans before I do! He was still fuming when his queen called him for a report.

XxXxX

"Now that has to hurt," Sailor Moon commented from her perch.

She and the rest of the senshi were sitting on the airport's roof watching the fight. It had started with fifty police officers trying to swarm the woman. That had not worked very well. Instead they had been dispatched back into the sand they originated as by an actual fireball launched from a shotgun. Next the aircraft had tried running her over. This too hadn't worked nearly as well as intended.

Rather then being smashed, the woman had jumped onto a wing and plane surfing. It was at this point Jeddite had tried going toe to toe with her. Rather then fire a gun or draw her sword, the woman merely punched him in the face. And what a punch it was! He flew backwards nearly fifteen feet before skidding to a stop. The impact had probably shattered his nose considering he appeared to be bleeding a lot.

"Need any help?" Sailor Moon called down to the woman.

"No, I'm good! Thanks for asking though!" Came the reply.

Sailor Pluto turned to her nominal leader and frowned. "I don't suppose we'll actually defeat Beryl this time, will we? I'm getting tired of middle school."

Author Notes:

Okay, the overall tale is called 'Wings of recursion'. However each vignette will have it's own title. Wings of Retribution for example is the very first loop after Wings of Paradise ends. Wings of Whimsy is several loops later. While I may go back sometime and turn one of these into a full blown story, they are not intended to be complete tales.

Thanks to tuatara for catching some bone headed spelling errors from writing at 3am. They have since been fixed.