A great disturbance in the force, she recalled the line from a movie grimly. It fit nicely. It had hit her like a fist. She was connected to this particular force by the deepest bond imaginable. She set down her coffee, and motioned to the young waitress. She responded with a nod and a forced smile. The woman that was seated sighed, and propped her elbows onto the table, resting her chin on her hands. It was her own fault, really. She had neglected her duties as the Keeper of the Gates, and this is what she got for it. Whatever it was, it promised to be a problem for her. She was about to motion to the waitress once again when a hand whizzed in front of her, dropping a slim sheet of paper onto the table. A bright voice had apologized and thanked her at the same time.
She rose, and got out of the booth. She quickly smoothed out her beige skirt and straightened her jacket. Glancing at the check, she reached into her purse without looking, knowing instinctively what she had inside it. She had been rather generous with the tip, but she had more pressing matters than money at the moment. She paid at the counter, the man at the register engrossed in the latest issue of his favorite magazine. He was slow in counting her change, sneaking in a sentence as he dug into the drawer. She snatched the bills from his hand rudely. The man at the cash register hadn't even seen her reach for it; by the time he looked up to thank her, all he had seen was the ends of her dark green hair rushing behind her out the door.
She emerged outside. The sky above was ominously cloudy, threatening the people below with the promise of a storm. Two old men sat at a table in front of the diner, playing a silent game of chess, and occasionally commenting on the state of the world today. There was really no time to waste, she chided herself ironically, gazing above her. The roof of the diner would have to do. She marched up the block, and into a nearby alley. It smelled faintly of rotting fruit, but she after everything she had seen in her life, she had learned to ignore the things that would quickly deter a normal person out of sheer discomfort. After a cursory look around, she hopped effortlessly upwards.
She landed silently onto the tar. Below her, the small section of the city she frequented buzzed with activity. She had happened upon it during an outing with Chibi-usa, while searching for a present for the girl's mother. She enjoyed the simplicity of the area. The vintage shops, art stores, and interesting people that were immersed in their own little worlds.
The wind blew her dark green hair behind her, and she reached into nothingness, and procured a golden wand, crowned with a sphere.
"Pluto Crystal Power...Make-Up," she said carefully, raising the wand above her head. She was engulfed in a funnel of purple light, and when it subsided, she was dressed in a white blouse with a black bow on the front, and a matching black skirt. She held a silver staff pensively in her gloved hand. This feeling was getting worse. She wasn't looking forward to this in the least. If she was lucky, it was simply a small glitch somewhere across the time stream. Something that could be easily remedied. But by the way she was feeling, she knew it was anything but simple. She tapped the butt of her staff on the ground once, and vanished, leaving only the imprint of her boots on the slightly wet tar.
*****************************************************
It shouldn't be this cold. That was the first thought that came to Sailor Pluto's mind as she materialized in her domain. She knew every nuance of this place, and even the slightest change never escaped her attention. She closed her eyes and began her search. She vaguely recalled trying to explain to a young Hotaru what it was like to have to examine the infinite stream of time itself. Every event, big or small. She had thought about it for a moment.
"I don't really scrutinize every path of the stream itself. It's not really possible," she explained. "It's more like I send bits and pieces of myself out throughout it. My power is what travels through the stream. And then it shoots back. If there's a disruption, I know exactly where it is, and it's my job to handle it." But it was a very different situation this time. She hadn't even had to search. The disturbance was that obvious.
With a single thought, she appeared on a suburban street. She immediately recognized it. The sun blazed down hard, and the sound of lawnmowers roaring and birds chirping could be heard all around her. The crisp smell of summer was all around her. She turned around, and stared at the house before her. The paint job was different, but other than that, there was no doubt about it. One of the her closest companions lived here.
A high pitched bell broke the neighborhood silence. She whisked to her left, and saw a child speeding toward her on a bicycle. She must have been about ten years old, with blond hair tied into twin ponytails that streamed behind her. Her eyes were bright and excited, full of life. Pluto smiled slightly, stepping to the side. It was Usagi.
She whizzed past her, taking no notice of the dark skinned woman that watched her go by. Pluto had long since made it a habit to cloak herself from human eyes while journeying into the past. She more than anyone understood the frailty of the force that she guarded. The smallest interaction led to the smallest change, which led to a big paradox, her worst fear. She looked around, trying to sense any threatening impressions. She was getting nothing. The young girl had gotten off her bike, and was now sitting in front of her house, devouring a bag of chips. Children don't really change that much with age it seems, Pluto thought fondly.
Suddenly, she felt a tremendous flare of energy. It happened in the span of a second. She sensed it coming from above, and leapt in front of the child. She caught the blast in the orb at the top of her staff, but just barely. It coursed through, into her hands, then arms, and soon her entire felt like it was on fire. The feeling passed quickly. She breathed hard, glaring up at the man that stood on the end of the lamppost above her. His arms were folded across his chest, and his expression was one of annoyance. For a moment, they merely sized each-other up. This man certainly didn't seem intimidating. He stood about four and a half feet tall, and had a rather husky build. He wore a simple gray suit, with a pair of strange triangular glasses and a wide brimmed tophat. A poor man's Tuxedo Mask, she thought, and held back a laugh.
He stepped off, landing shakily onto the street.
"Sailor Pluto, I presume?" he spoke politely, placing his hands behind his back. She said nothing, but merely spun her staff once, holding it forward threateningly. Whatever he had meant to hit the child with, it had felt like temporal energy, but she knew that wasn't the case. If it had been, she would have merely absorbed it without batting an eye. Her opponent wielded something similar to time magic, but different enough so that she was caught off guard. "Please step away from that child. In seven seconds, her mother will call her inside, and I'd rather not do this in front of her."
"Who are you?" she asked calmly, tensing up. She had no intention whatsoever of letting this man hurt her.
"My name is Chance. She is Usagi Tsukino," he said, pointing at the girl. "In about four years, she'll become Sailor Moon; one of your associates, I believe. And after that, she'll become Neo-Queen Serenity. I simply can't let that happen." Pluto's eyes widened. How did he know all this? How did he manage to travel through time without her knowing?
"Usagi! Time to come in!" a stern voice from behind her called out. The little girl wiped her face with her sleeve, and threw the empty bag into the garbage pail on her way inside. The man called Chance scowled.
"Damn. It seems that I won't get any work done with you around, Miss Meioh," he growled. He knew her name. Each word he uttered made her more fearful. She had to get him out of the past before he did something drastic. There was no telling what his mental state was, but if he had the fortitude to harm an innocent child, she could only assume that he was indeed unhinged. With a sharp upward gesture of her hand, they both disappeared.
*****************************************************
"So you're wondering how I managed to slip past your guard, and travel back through time?" Chance asked, readjusting his glasses. He didn't seem to notice that they were no longer in the past, but rather somewhere in the Death Valley region of North America, present time. The sun was just beginning to set, and the desert chill crept around the two of them. "Let me get comfortable and explain..." He looked around, and snapped his fingers. Pluto felt her stomach drop, and a wave of nausea hit her. She slumped onto the sand, dropping her staff softly. She thought he might have laughed a bit, but her ears were ringing too loud for her to be sure. All she knew was that he was sitting on a rock that hadn't been there before.
"I was born with a power. A strange power. I first learned about it when I was five. I had a goldfish named Finny. This was a great fish. I can remember just sitting there for hours watching him swim around his little castle, looking at me from inside. One weekend, my dad decided to take me camping. I specifically remember telling my mother not to forget to feed my fish," he told the story casually, as if relaying it over the dinner table. "When I got back that Sunday, I found the glass bowl where Finny lived empty. Naturally, I was quite upset. My mom explained that it had accidentally slipped her mind to feed the fish. My mom was never really quite right in the head, you understand. It was sad, really. My dad tried to comfort me, saying that death was a part of life and all that nonsense. That's when I had my first flash."
"I knew that Finny was dead on this particular Earth. But it was then I realized that this wasn't the only Earth that existed. On some other Earth, in some other dimension, my fish was alive. My mother hadn't forgotten to feed him. There was even an Earth where my mother was completely right in the head. Of course, all I knew at that point was that somewhere Finny was still swimming happily, and he wasn't here with me. Naturally, I was quite upset." Chance paused to regard Pluto, who by then had made it to her feet once again, and stared at him with an absolutely blank expression. He tilted his head, curious if she was still listening. He went on anyway.
"As I got older, these flashes came more and more frequently. They began to happen everywhere I went. Everything and everyone I saw showed nothing but possibilities. It took its toll me. All I wanted was peace from the endless question." The look on his round face became more thoughtful and sad.
"And what question was that?" Pluto asked coldly. He managed a weak smile.
"What if?" He stood up, and cracked his neck awkwardly. "I decided to throw myself in front of a train. It seemed like a good way to die. Rather tragic and romantic, like Anna Corrinina. It was then that I met..." he paused, and looked into the senshi's eyes. "I was saved. I was given a new purpose, and a new power. Not only can I see the endless possibilities of everything around me, I can reach into any one road, and make it a reality. Take this rock for instance..." Chance indicated the large stone behind him. "This has no business being here. But somewhere in the endless realm of 'what if', all the environmental factors needed to create a rock converged in this one spot. All I have to do is make 'if' into 'is'." Pluto's mouth went dry at this revelation.
"I did the same thing to you. While you were sleeping this morning, I happened to make it so that there was a small chemical glitch in your brain while I snuck into the Time Realm. That glitch kept you from realizing that there was someone invading your territory," he explained proudly.
"But you are doing irrevocable damage!" Pluto screamed despite herself. "Time was not meant to be toyed with so impudently."
"Oh c'mon, Pluto. I think we both know the reason why you're so scared of my power. You share a bond with Time itself. And, like you said, every time I use my power, time is stretched and torn apart to fulfill my wishes. If I use this gift enough, eventually ... you'll die." He smiled broadly. Pluto's eyes narrowed, and she assumed a fighting stance.
"What do you want with Usagi Tsukino?" Chance smiled once again, dripping with malice.
"I'll never tell. Though we certainly can't have you prancing about, bothering our plans," he said, a tightly wound ball of green energy appearing in his hand. He pitched it up once, causing Pluto to wince a bit.
"Dead Scream," she whispered. She whipped around, and flung a ringed sphere of purple energy toward him. She didn't expect to do much damage, but the attack actually send him careening backwards.
"That hurt..." he spat, getting up clumsily, and dusting the sand off his suit. He glowered at her like a hurt child, and bit his lip. He's readying his attack, she deducted by the flare of energy she felt coming from his direction. He needed to concentrate to use it. She wasn't going to allow him that opportunity. She bolted forward, hurling another Dead Scream at him. He was prepared this time, throwing himself to the side with a yelp.
She was on him before he had fully rose. A whirling blow to the head with her staff introduced him to a whole new kind of pain, and a connecting low kick robbed him of the ground below. His nose and the orb of her rod were now intimate.
"A blast of temporal energy at point blank range..." she seethed. "...would most likely scatter your skull across three millennia." Her threat was rewarded with a whimper.
"Please don't..." he stammered.
"Once again...what do you want with Usagi Tsukino?"
"I can't ..."
"Dead..." she murmured. A rush of temporal power blazed around her. Chance screamed, and his eyes shot closed.
Pain flashed in her chest. Unbearable, white hot pain. The spell she had been preparing abruptly fizzled, and she collapsed. The red sky stared down at her. Her body pulsed with agony.
"It's not as easy to be threatening while your heart is failing, is it?" he asked, standing up wearily. She tried to speak, but her voice was nothing more than a gurgle. "Don't speak. Let me enlighten you."
"Since my opportunity to kill Sailor Moon as a child has failed, I'll have to strike at her at a later time. I have so many opportunities," Chance snarled, inches away from her face. His voice was a whisper. "And when she's dead...the future will be open..." Pluto's vision began to blur. Her end was near. There only fear in her heart concerned the girl who's destiny was pivotal to mankind. She had one option left. And the pain she felt was nothing to the guilt that plagued her in her last moments. Her tiara melted away slowly, and the sigil of Pluto wavered on her forehead with a soft purple light.
The Garnet Orb at her side hummed, detaching itself from her staff. It floated upwards, hovering for a moment, as if unsure to leave its master. It was imbued with a mission. It flashed once, and vanished. Chance watched the process intently.
"Looks like old reliable's moving on to greener prospects," he giggled. Her world started to blacken, as she felt her heart slowing. The world become darker. Her heart slowed. The sigil faded. But she was not afraid.
