It is only when carelessly worded bindings of Nature and bindings of Duty come from the same type of source that problems arise. When this happens the Nature of a soul remains the same in rebirth, and so retains the Duty. My friend and then later my queen made this combined mistake. It can also happen when someone does the unthinkable, and forces a rebirth without letting the soul be wiped clean. In this instance the bond of Duty remains because the soul is completely unchanged. This then was Queen Serenity's mistake.

-Meioh Setsuna

Musings of a Time Traveler

That Old Time Magic

by

FaerieKnight197

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2 or Sailor Moon. This story is for fun. I do not make any profit off it. Characters not in either series however are mine. As are unique story elements.

Three figures came bounding across the rooftops. That alone wasn't too unexpected. Not in this area of Tokyo. It had become a fairly common sight over the last two months. No, it wasn't the fact someone was bounding across the roofs that surprised the observer. It was the fact this wasn't the sailor senshi. The obvious leader was a red head with twin buns leading into pig tails. The silent observer noted that Knight Rose had come. The other two however were harder to identify.

All three were almost wearing matching outfits. The color of blouse differed for each girl. The blond girl had a yellow blouse on, while the blue haired girl had a white blouse. Another difference was that only Knight Rose had silver wings. The observer also noted that while Rose had a silver tiara with leaf engravings on it, the other two merely had plain silver circlets on their brow.

The three magical warriors had come as a result of the other creature in the lot. The figure was clearly female, but not human. She wore a tattered black gown, and her arms were far longer then normal. The creature's fingers were little more then talons. And her cry was shrill enough to shatter glass. This creature was currently stalking towards the observer.

I'm gonna die, the observer thought. His knees had given out after that last horrible wail. He could feel the unstoppable approach of death. The arrival of these three didn't inspire much hope. Maybe if they were the sailor senshi, but they weren't. He knew he was going to die.

"The song of the banshee is an omen and not to be abused. Foul creature, you are upsetting the balance of nature. In the name of the queen we shall punish you." Rose proclaimed bravely.

Privately Rose wondered what the hell a banshee was. To her sides, the others were holding their weapons with clear unfamiliarity. The girl in a yellow blouse was holding her pole arm as if it was an alien creature. In truth it was a minor miracle Knight Shellflower hadn't hurt herself or allies with it's bladed clover leaves during the trip. The girl in the white blouse also was unfamiliar with her weapon. Fortunately she had the presence of mind not to hold the oaken staff vertically while running.

The female creature turned and smirked. "So the queen's mice come for me?"

With that she let loose a high pitched wail. The two former sailor senshi stood there, unsure if it was an attack or just a battle cry. Knight Rose however had started to roll to the side. A gut feeling told her being in front of the woman like creature was a bad thing when she vocalized. Even so, Rose hadn't moved fast enough. The sound struck all three with the force of a speeding automobile. They were knocked back into a wall by the force. The unearthly cry however didn't let up.

Pain quickly became their entire world. As Rose gritted her teeth Knight Magnolia instinctively reached for her temple. She had become use to having the mercury computer in battle. But this time she couldn't call upon it. Now how will we know the weak point? Magnolia thought in a panic. Even that however was a struggle to do. She could feel herself slipping. I'm dying... again.

Knight Shellflower on the other hand did what came most naturally to her. When things looked their worst, when it appeared she was about to die and couldn't stop it there was one way she knew to react. She started to cry. If she'd been Sailor Moon still, it would have helped. The pins in her ponytails would have created a sonic resonance that might have canceled out the banshee's wail. But as Knight Shellflower it was just a useless act of fear. Even her unique hairstyle was changed in this guise. Instead of twin meatball style buns leading into ponytails her hair was braided and hung down her back. She could feel a tightness in her chest growing. So this is what death feels like. As consciousness started to fade the pole arm slipped from her fingers.

"Don't lose hope Sailor... Moon? Who are you?" Came from a nearby rooftop.

The speaker had been a man wearing a tuxedo and top hat. He had on a white mask to conceal his identity as well. He threw a rose at the creature. To his surprise thewas intercepted by a falling weapon. This knocked it's course off, causing the rose to land next to the red and green garbed magical girl. He didn't notice that however. The man called Tuxedo Mask was too busy trying to figure out when Sailor Moon's hair had become red. Not to mention when she had changed her outfit.

Knight Rose felt something with a great deal of raw power land next to her. Slumped against the wall as she was, the flower knight of love reached for it. If something didn't happen, they were going to die. She knew it deep in her soul. The neo-girl youth barely managed to clutch the fallen rose. As unfeeling fingers wrapped around it a brilliant green light filled the area.

XXX

By the time the boat pulled into a dock Minako felt like they'd been rowing for days. Her arms were sore, and the youth felt extremely tired. Her friend however didn't even seem to notice how much time had passed. Rei, or Garnet as she kept insisting on being called looked like she was fully rested, still. Even the dance hadn't tired Garnet. The thoughts that arose were unworthy of her, so Minako turned her attention instead to the surroundings.

From the other shore it had looked like a large lake with an island in the center. From this side however the lake seemed like an endless sea. The island by comparison was rather small. Most of it was taken up by a castle of black spires and walkways. Daylight had faded during the trip. The island it's self appeared to be shrouded in night like a thick fog.

Garnet spoke in a hushed tone. "And lo through the forest of night I doth travel unto seas of infinity. And on the tides of eternity hath I row, forbidden shore to reach. There doth dwell the lady of night within crystal towers as dark as void."

The speech was so out of character that Minako blinked several times. Such reverence was shocking to her. A quiet poise, sure. Anger just beneath the surface was expected. But not hushed reverence. Not sure what to make of it, the senshi of love decided to stride forward. To her surprise the gates were wide open. The halls within the palace proved to be just as black as the exterior. Lighting seemed to come from no where, and everywhere at the same time. Even with that it was just barely possible to see.

"Everything here is too dark. What this place needs is plenty of green, yellow, and pink. And maybe some candles. Yes, lots of romantic candles."

"That isn't a good idea Mina," Garnet said.

Her tone was still hushed. Just being here once again was enough to humble the young miko. I haven't been here since the Lady gave me to the princess for her birthday. Wonder where everybody is, there should be at least a few staff running around. As they traversed the halls Garnet couldn't help but begin to dance. There was just something about the place. Whenever she was here, her body couldn't stop it's self. Once upon a time that had been disheartening. But over the years of that long ago childhood she'd begun to enjoy the compulsion.

It wasn't just in the castle either. Every time she was in the forest of dreams she had to dance. A fact which even the Lady hadn't completely understood. It was a similar compulsion to the need Garnet had felt in that previous life to spend time in the Hall of Futures. A place in the Lady's palace where the past, present, and future blended into one. Even though it had given her headaches to stay in the hall for more then a few minutes, as a child Garnet had spent as much time there as allowed. No, I didn't. My past self did.

"Where is everyone? Did they go on bake?" Minako asked finally.

"Go on break," Garnet corrected. "And I'm not sure. The throne room is up ahead. We should get answers there."

When the two wanders finally found the room in question they stopped in awe. For Garnet, the awe was a long familiar thing. The woman sitting on the throne had once been everything in her world. For Minako it was different. The senshi of love took in Lady Nox's black dress. The dress had pinpoints of light, as if it represented the night sky.

"I wish I could put off a dress like that."

I swear she does that intentionally, Garnet thought. As the two strode forward Garnet made sure her eyes were cast towards the floor. She knelt before the throne, pulling Minako down to her knees too. The blond started to complain about being pulled. The sheer presence of their host however stopped the protest before it could begin.

"My Lady, we bring glad tidings. The princess has returned. In the wake of this joyous occasion, humbly we seek guidance on the path to follow."

Lady Nox spoke then, and her voice was as empty as the eternal void it's self. "The chain of fate broken and reforged. Time adrift without her oar. Queen reborn lost once more. Child's mistake price to pay. Earth and Magic come to head. A friend, a foe, a choice bestowed. The queen is dead. Long live the queen."

XXX

Her fingers wrapped around the rose stem. Then a green light enveloped the area. In it's wake Knight Rose found herself laying in a grassy field. Or rather, himself. For some reason the transformation into Knight Rose had reversed, and she was now a he once more. It was a welcome change. James felt he'd spent entirely too much time as a girl lately. The relief quickly vanished in the wake of knowledge. Whatever had just happened, that creature was still killing Ami and Usagi.

He sat up. Eyes took in the area, and James noted a red headed girl sitting with her back facing him. After clearing his throat James approached. "Who are you, and what is going on?"

The girl slowly turned around. To his surprise, the girl had no face. Other then that, the figure almost could have been his girl form. Soon he started to think this was the form he took at times. A conclusion which disturbed and elated James. If I'm me, and that's the girl form... That means I wont be changing anymore will I? YES!

The figure spoke, and her voice sounded hollow. "You are dying, son of Mab. But death need not claim thee. To live anew thy must pay a price. In all things a balance exists. For light, a dark. For gain, a loss. For power, a sacrifice. To receive, one must give. Take my hand and live once more, but that which you desire forever will be denied."

Dying, I'm dying... James didn't want to die. He almost told the figure to save his life then and there. However the rest of what it said sank in. Give up my desire? But what could that be? He reflected upon the events of the past few months. When the pixie had first shown up, James had recklessly agreed to help it. It had seemed important. However since then he'd seen things that horrified him.

There were nights where he woke up screaming. A few times he'd been too late. He'd arrived after some monster had killed. The worst of them had been a family of three. When James had arrived, he had seen those creatures with red stocking caps decorating the small apartment with the family's intestines. That day still gave him nightmares, and probably always would.

For a week after that James had cursed the ring. Why couldn't someone else have been picked? Why did anyone have to fight those monsters? The only thing that had kept him going was the knowledge that he had to fight. If he didn't protect people, who would? Certainly not Sailor Moon. Usagi and her friends could barely do anything against the things he typically fought. Just as James had found he couldn't really fight those yoma the senshi battled.

And those thoughts brought to mind another one of Jame's desires. He hated becoming a girl. Being forced to be one at school was torture. Already he'd grown to despise 'that time of the month'. Sure, there were a few minor benefits. One of them was that he'd found it more enjoyable to masturbate as a girl then a boy. But overall, it was a curse in every sense of the word. Even if he wasn't forced to fight those monsters, thanks to that stupid pixie James was less then a man. A fate he thought worse then death.

If his suspicions were right, the youth would rather die then give up being male even part of the time. And yet, if he did accept death, what of his friends? James knew he could save them, but not if he died here and now. They didn't deserve to suffer for his sake. I know I'm going to regret this James reached out and grabbed the girl's hand. Contact brought with it a torrent of raw pain. And then the world around him faded away.

Author Notes

tuatara: I'll freely admit that characterization can be a problem with me. Especially when dealing with a sizable main cast. I'm better at focusing on one person's perspective. And for the most part, this is James Fillmore's story. So it'll be his perspective more often then not. Part of the problem currently is that when I'm writing I go by instinct. And the cannon personalities of several senshi seem forced. Thus they are harder to portray. Hopefully this current arc will shed some light on who everyone is. have some interesting ideas on why some act the way they do.