TRTSS2: The Trek of Ranma Who! – By DS Wynne


Disclaimer: R1/2, SM, ST, DW and other genres belong to their respective owners.

Note: This is a multi-genre story.


Part 29: "Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?" (III)


Meanwhile…

Sarah Jane looks up, as she felt the shift of the timeline.

"What is happening?" Sarah Jane yelled.

FWOOSH!

From the mist, a cloaked figure appears.

"It seems that a Lady of Fate has been ensnared in my plans," says the figure. "Good…"

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.

"A Lord or Lady of Fate is the scion of a Lord or Lady of Chaos…and a Lord or Lady of Order. He or she of Fate can tip the scales either towards Universal balance…or destruction. And thanks to Rose Tyler's sudden absence in the space-time continuum will create Universal destruction, which will feed ME and my kind."

"What…kind? And how do you know of Rose?"

"I am one of the Lords of Chaos…though I do not have a name. As to Rose: you know her father very well."

Sarah Jane thinks for a moment.

"Ranma."

"Exactly. Ranma Prime is a Lord of Chaos…just like ME."

"Ranma is NOTHING like you!" Sarah Jane yells. "He is a good man, and he doesn't get off harming others!"

"I know this, which is utterly sickening. Why he thinks that 'chaos' can be a form of freedom is BEYOND me. But no matter…he had to go away, if my plans are to be fulfilled…"

"Cassandra. That's why I found Cassandra in this place."

"Exactly. Without 'Cassandra', my plans to plunge this world into chaos will not work. 'She' would have sensed my machinations and stop them, so 'she' was the one to go first, before YOU were taken out of the proverbial equation."

Pause.

"But now a Lady of Fate is involved, the chaos I can sew will expand beyond just a mere meteor. Now, the Universe itself will feed me."

"You'll loose," Sarah Jane says defiantly. "Sooner or later, you'll get you comeuppance."

"You seem confidant."

"Yes, because I know that sooner or later, Ranma will be back. And when he does, you'll pay."

"We will see about that, Sarah Jane Smith…"

And with that, the Nameless disappears in a fine mist.

Sarah Jane sighs. She really hopes that Ranma or somebody will figure out a way to free her from limbo. Otherwise, the world, and everything else, is doomed.

Meanwhile…

"Run, Maria!" Rose yells, as she and Maria were being chased by a horde of alien dwarfs while running along the edge of a series of floating rocks with a gray sky hanging overhead.

"But they are small!" Maria yells.

"Yeah, but they'll still take you down by attrition!" Rose says. She then extends her senses. If what her training told her, they were in temporal limbo. They could, however, re-emerge into the time-stream by simply-

"Jump!" Rose says.

"But-" Maria began to say.

"It's the only way out of this mess."

"Uh, okay…"

Maria and Rose stop at the edge of a virtual abyss.

"Ready?"

"I guess."

The two females turn their heads back, just as the dwarfs were about to overwhelm them.

"NOW!" Rose yells, as she and Maria make a bold leap.

As they both fell, they begin to separate.

"Hold…my…hand-!" Rose yells.

"I can't reach it!" Maria yells back. "Rose-!"

CHOOM!

Rose appears lying on the ground.

"Ow," Rose replied, as she shakes her head. "Where the heck am I now-?"

"But Pop, I don't wanna go back in there!" cried a child.

"Boy, I want you to be strong!" says a bi-spectacled man, who wore a white martial arts uniform and a wrapped head.

Rose sees that the boy had some kind of meat wrapped around his body. She could also hear lots of yowling from some sort of pit…

"Please, don't-!" the boy cried.

"Hey!" Rose says angrily, as she stood up.

The boy and the man turn to look at the foreigner.

"What do YOU want?" the man says.

"I'm not going to let you hurt that boy!"

"Oh, yeah? What can a foreigner like you do to me?"

Rose merely breathed deeply. She then looks at the rude man…and punches the air towards the man.

WHAM!

The man goes flying into the air.

"You okay?" Rose says, as she goes over to the boy, and unties him.

"Yeah," the boy says. He then bows.

"Thank you for helping me," the boy replied.

"No problem. Look, I got to go, so…be good."

Rose closes her eyes. Using the Instant Transmission Technique was not made for time traveling. However…the lines of temporal energy were quite noticeable. So…

ZIP!

And Rose was gone.

"Neato!" says a young Ranma Saotome with a smile. "I hope I see her again, so she can teach me how to do that!"

Elsewhere…

ZIP!

Rose finds herself on some sort of pier, which included a boardwalk.

'I should look into having my own travel agency,' Rose says, as she looks around the pier. 'Wait, this can't be-'

"Rose!" Maria says, as she runs up to Rose. "You're here!"

"Yeah," Rose says. "Kind of got lost when we were separated. So…what happened?"

"I just found out that the today's date is July 13th, 1964!" Maria exclaimed.

"Huh," Rose says. "It's been a while since I was in the 1960s…"

"More time traveling?"

"Yeah. I was traveling with this 'blok' named the Doctor for a while, when I last came here."

"Oh. Oh! I found Sarah Jane Smith and Andrea Yates."

"Really. Did you say anything?"

"Well, I warned them not to go down the pier where the accident-"

"You did WHAT?"

"But…I wanted to make sure Sarah didn't die."

Rose rubs her forehead.

"What is it, Rose?"

"Have you ever thought of the possibility that whoever is the cause of all this, may have set you up, so that Andrea would be forced to choose her life at the cost of the world?"

Maria wasn't sure what Rose was talking about until it dawned on her.

"All this…is MY fault!"

"No," Rose says with assurance. "It could be that you were set up."

"This…time travel stuff is giving me a headache."

"I know. There is an expression that I learned while traveling with the Doctor."

"And that is…?"

"'Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Whimy'. That means that sometimes the effect comes before the cause."

Silence.

"Now, I got a BIGGER headache."

"I know."

"But…what should we do? Andrea and Sarah Jane are on the pier now."

Maria points towards the closed pier. It appears that the gates were unlocked.

"Well, just in case, we better-" Rose began, when suddenly.

HEEHEEHEEHEEHEE-!

Rose and Maria turn around to see the same alien midget.

"Oh, no-!" Maria began to say again, before-

ZAAAAPPPPP!

The next thing Maria and Rose knew was that they were in a endless, white room.

"I really hate that," Rose says.

"Where are we?" Maria asks, as she scans the place.

"Well, wherever we are, were stuck in limbo," Rose says, as she dust herself off.

Maria turns towards Rose.

"You seem nonchalant about all this," Maria says.

"As long as we are alive, there is a way out of this place," Rose replies. "I don't know what THAT is…but we'll think of something-"

"Rose? Maria?" says a familiar voice.

Rose and Maria turn to see an attractive, middle age woman dressed in white.

"Sarah Jane!" Maria says, as she runs into Sarah's arms.

"I'm glad to see you two here," Sarah Jane says.

Rose tilts her head.

"Do I know you?"

"I was afraid of this," Sarah Jane says. "When history was changed, you and everyone else no longer remembered me."

"But she knows Cassandra, Sarah Jane," Maria says, as she let's go of Sarah.

"You do?"

"Yes. I believed Maria because I ran into Cassandra while exploring one of the Null Zones, like this one, even though there was no actual record of her existing. I still don't know who she is though…"

"Sarah Jane, Rose is a time traveler," Maria says.

"I know, so am I," Sarah Jane says.

"YOU, too?"

"Yes. Rose and I are mutual acquaintances of a man named 'The Doctor', who has a time machine."

"So you know the Doctor?" Rose asked.

"I was about to ask the same thing," Maria replied.

"Never mind THAT," Sarah Jane says. "The point is that we're trapped in limbo."

"Sarah Jane, we have a problem with that meteor we talked about yesterday."

"I know," Sarah Jane says. "I met the person who was responsible for this chaos."

"You have?" Rose and Maria.

"Yes. A nameless Lord of Chaos seeks to feed upon the destruction of the Earth…and elsewhere."

"Then we should do something about it," Maria says.

"In order to do that, we have to get out of her."

"I think I may have a way out of here," Rose says, as she takes out her cell phone. She then scans the area with it…

"What are you doing?" Maria asked.

"Trying to find a trail…"

"Of course," Sarah Jane says. "Do a teleportation effect will always leave energy signatures."

"Exactly. Now, unless this 'Nameless' has anticipated this, we should be able to find our way…home-"

BEEP-BEEP!

"Bingo!" Rose says, as she read the data. She then turns towards Sarah and Maria.

"You two…hold onto me."

"How can you teleport us back home?" Sarah Jane says.

"Training under the watch of the Prophets of Bajor mostly, though Mom and Dad have introduced me to their old masters and teachers on the subject of Time…though I could do without Mistress Marianna's teaching style."

"I see…"

"Well, we better get going then," says Maria insistently.

"Okay, hang on…"

ZIP!

Rose and Maria appear where Alan, Maria's father, was tying up the alien dwarf.

"Dad!" Maria yells.

Alan turns towards the source of the familiar sound.

"Maria?"

Maria runs to hug Alan.

"Dad…"

"Um, hello?" Rose says, as she waves her hand slightly,

Alan sees Rose.

"Who are you?" Alan demanded.

"This is Rose," Maria says. "She's been helping me figure out whatever happened to Sarah Jane."

"Are you with HIM?" Alan asked, motioning to the alien dwarf.

"Grrrr!" the dwarf says, as he struggles his bonds.

"Not my type," Rose replies.

"Wait, where is Sarah Jane?" Maria says.

Rose closes her eyes.

"I sense her, but I don't sense her."

"What?" Alan interjects. "And who is Sarah Jane?"

"Wait," Maria says. "Is it possible that Andrea is still around?"

"Of course!" Rose says, as she snaps her fingers. "Otherwise, there is a paradox flaw at work."

"Maybe…Andrea has a box similar to mine?" Maria asked.
"Yes, she does," says Alan. "She used it to contact this…dwarf."

"Then that means that Sarah could be in her house, but not quite."

"That's what I said," Rose says, as she turns around.

"Well, whatever you decide, you should decide quickly," Alan says. "We have a meteor to deal with."

"Then, let's go!" Maria says, as she runs out the house with her father and friend in tow…

Sure enough the meteor was about to impact the Earth. It's destination: London.

"Maria-!" Maria's mother says, as she grabs her daughter. "I'm sorry for forgetting you right now-"

"Not right now," Maria says, as she leaves. "We have to save Sarah Jane and the Earth."

"What?"

When Maria arrives, she sees Andrea holding the gray cube, which was similar to her own. She also sees Sarah Jane stuck in a mirror. It appears that Andrea and Sarah were having a deep discussion about fate…

"You need to do the right thing," Sarah says.

"How can you ask me to sacrifice my life like that?" Andrea cried. "I love my life."

"But at the cost of the Earth?" Alan says.

Maria turns towards Rose, who was speaking on the phone.

"Rose, how can you stand there, and do nothing?" Maria complains.

CHIRP!

Rose puts the phone back in her pocket.

"I was just taking care of one last minute business."

"Huh?"

"So, I win after all," says the Nameless, as he appears.

"Why you-!" Alan says, as he was about to bum rush the Lord of Chaos.

"Dad, stay back!" Maria says.

"I agree," Rose says.

Andrea steps forth and stands in front of the entity.

"You USED me!" Andrea yells. "You knew that by eliminating Sarah Jane, the Earth would be doomed. How can you do that?"

"Because I feed on chaos?" the Nameless smirked.

"Well, the DEAL is off!" Andrea says. She then turns towards the mirror that held Sarah Jane. She knew that as long as she lives, Sarah could not be freed from her limbo…

"Good-bye, Sarah Jane."

"Andrea-!"

With that, Andrea throws the box at the mirror.

KRRSSSSSH-!

FLASH!

When the flash of light came and went, there was one big surprise.

Maria looks around and see-

"Rini!" Maria says, as she hugs her best friend.

"Hey, not to hard!" Rini replied.

"Clyde! Luke!"

Maria squeezed her other close friends.

"What's with her?" Clyde says.

"I'm not sure...but I like it..."

Sarah shakes her head until she sees-

"Andrea?" Sarah Jane says, as she gets up. "How-?"

"I don't know," Andrea says. "And then-"

"Hello," the Doctor says, as he peeks his head into the attic. "Is everyone okay?"

"Doctor?" Sarah Jane exclaims.

"THIS is the Doctor?" Maria asked.

"Yes," Sarah Jane replied. "You sound surprised."

"Well, I expect him to be a bit…older."

"Well, the Doctor is a man of many faces…literally."

"What the heck is going on?" Alan says.

"The meteor," Luke says. "I do not hear any gravitational vibrations."

"That's because things have been restored to what was suppose to happen," Rose says with a broad smile. "No fate."

"Huh?" Alan says.

"Wait, I remember now," Andrea says. "Sarah and I snuck into the pier, after this rude girl told us not to."

"Rude?" Maria yells.

"And Andrea began to fall, because of this loose railing, except that this man with a pigtail grabbed her before she fell over," Sarah Jane says. "We got in trouble by headmistress, but, otherwise, we were okay."

Silence.

"Well, that sounds quite the story," the Doctor says. "But we're here to celebrate Andrea's birthday, right?"

"Oh…oh yes," Andrea says with a smile. "I forgot about that."

Sarah smiles, as her best friend of forty years go back downstairs. She then turns to Rose.

"Thanks," Sarah says.

"Now, could SOMEONE tell me what's going on?" Alan says.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time for THAT later," the Doctor says, as he wraps his arms around Alan, and begins to escort Alan back downstairs.

"But-"

"Wait, where's Cassandra?" Maria says.

"Oh, she'll be here shortly," says Rose. "When I spoke to her on the phone, she said that she wanted to take care of something first…"

Meanwhile, in limbo…

"There you go," says Cassandra, as she finished tying up the Nameless in chains made from a collapsing star. "You didn't think I remember you, when you manipulated events to have Sarah be killed by her best friend, no? I'm just glad that I received that MY Rose spoke to her younger self, tapping into her own phone."

"WHAT are you going to do to me?" the Nameless said with a growl.

"You are going to listen to some poetry…"

"How is that effective against ME?"

"…From the Vogon collection."

Vogon poetry is said to be the third worst poetry in existence. So bad it was that even the Shadow Proclamation considers it to be inhumane to recite it.

"WHAT?"

"Have fun," Cassandra says, as she disappears…just as the recording of bad poetry begins to play back.

"Noooooo-!"

Tbc.


Next time: "The Doctor's Daughter!"