The Light Hawk War
By: Chaos Lord
Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to their respective owners. The concepts dealing with the Time Gates the Ultimate Good and Evil and the Forbidden belong to PacMan.
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Chapter 6
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Setsuna Meioh was running. As she ran there was a battle raging inside her mind. On one side there was what little remained of her sanity. This was screaming that what Setsuna was doing was wrong. That killing to create a utopia was wrong. On the other side of the metaphoric arena was the insanity that was the result of having Tokimi in her mind for thousands of years. This was the side that said that it was absolutely fine to kill for the utopia of Crystal Tokyo. And since Ranma was a threat he had to die. Unfortunately the crazy side was in greater abundance than the sane so she was set in her course. Kill Ranma Saotome.
Behind the crazed Senshi of Time ran Usagi Tsukino, also known as the defender of love and justice Sailor Moon. Usagi ran as fast as her Senshi- magic enhanced legs would carry her and even that wasn't enough to catch Pluto. The leader of the Senshi was deeply concerned about Setsuna; she took it as her responsibility to ensure that everyone on the team was healthy, both mentally and physically. What she saw of Setsuna's behavior did not constitute healthy mental behavior in her book. Sure there had been among the team regarding Setsuna's sanity in the past, one time Minako had suggested that she sleeps in a cave somewhere praying to the Timegate with lit candles tied to her head and sacrificing live gophers in some kind of bizarre ceremony. Of course this theory was discussed in a calm rational manner. The form of debate used was the pillow fight and the target was Minako. As Usagi ran she was concerned that she was unable to spot Setsuna, so great was the woman's head start, but somehow she knew the correct direction to run. And if it was one thing Usagi didn't like to do it was ignoring her instincts.
Even further behind Usagi was the rest of the Sailor Senshi. They ran together since their slowest runner, Ami, was the one who knew where Usagi and Setsuna were located. You may ask why Ami was the slowest runner and not Hotaru, well Hotaru was ridding on her popa's back since she still didn't have the stamina to run long distances with any noticeable speed.
As Ami ran she had the Mercury Computer out and on constant scan. On the small screen there was two dots, one was purple and green the other dot, which was behind he first, was white. These dots represented Setsuna and Usagi; they were also the only way the rest of the group knew where their colleagues were. After a minute or two of running the Mercury computer chirped. Ami's fingers flew across the keyboard and when she saw the readings all she said was, "Whoa."
Makoto, who was running next to Ami, heard her exclamation. "What's wrong?"
"I detected an energy signal several miles off our projected path. I would have never detected it if I didn't have the computer set as fine as I did. It is just that I have never seen this signature before and the computer has no prior record of it either."
Sailor Jupiter didn't like the sound of that. In her opinion new energy signals meant new enemies and a possible next chance at Death's door. "Hey Minako! Come over here!"
While still maintaining her pace, the blonde-hared Senshi of Love, Sailor Venus, made her way over to Ami and Makoto. "What's up?"
Ami then went and told Minako what she had told Makoto.
Minako thought the news over for a moment then asked he obvious question. "Could it be an enemy?"
Ami shook her head, "I don't think so. While belonging to different groups and calling their energy by different names, all of our enemies have basically used the same energy. This new pattern is definantly different and is lighter than the others."
Minako quirked an eyebrow, "Lighter?"
Ami looked somewhat embarrassed, "Yes, you see the energy that the Negaverse, the Black Moon Family, and even Galaxia had a certain set wavelengths that, when visible, produce the color black or a derivative there of. The energy pattern that I detected has a wave length that is more in line with the "blue" end of the electromagnetic spectrum."
Haruka, who had been listening in on Ami, Makoto, and Minako, looked at Ami increaduosly. "So are you saying that this energy you detected doesn't "look" evil?"
Ami blushed in embarrassment, "Yes."
Haruka shook her head. While she was a firm member of the team and respected any opinions or theories a member may come up with, some of the stuff they came up with really made her question that stance. Minako's gopher theory about Setsuna and now evil being a certain color being some of those things.
"Well Minako, what do we do," asked Makoto.
The secondary leader of the Senshi thought greatly about this. Now some people who knew Minako Aino would say that she is incapable of the kind of thought necessary to make an important decision. They would be wrong. Minako wasn't stupid; in fact she was very very intelligent. Not as much as Ami but she is pretty high up there. The reason for her rather stereotypical behavior, fun. As Sailor V, Minako had to do some hard things and make tough choices but as Sailor Venus she could act carefree and be happy. But when it comes down to it, the second in command was more than capable of making decisions. "We should keep following Setsuna and Usagi. If this energy is dangerous then it'll probably end up attacking us sooner or later. But we should stick to our current path so we can back Usagi if she needs it."
The Senshi who were running beside Venus nodded in agreement. With a course of action decided the defenders of love and justice looked ahead and added some more speed to their gait.
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When Setsuna reached the building across the street from where "he" lived she snarled. She could feel the subtle shifting in the Timestream that was occurring around the Tendo Dojo and knew that her prey was here. As Setsuna grew up, the princess of Pluto went on several trips to the planet Earth. She would visit the various locals and exalt in the wonder of the cradle of humanity. One of the sites she made sure to see was the temple at the location of present day Nerima. This temple served as a research station so that the magic users of the could study the nexus of chaos energy that resided in the area. Though she usually got sick afterwards the unimaginable beauty of the site constantly beckoned her. As she grew older it was discovered that she had a unique ability, as there were those that were so entrenched in chaos that their very presence altered the laws of probability, there were others so grounded in reality that any fluctuations in time could not affect them. Setsuna was one of these people; such was her stability that she could see forward into the future a handful of minutes. One could liken it to the speedboat and the boulder. The speedboat travels down the river creating waves and unnatural patterns. Where as the boulder sits firmly in the river as the current flows around it. More prevalent than the chaos bringers, the people of order on a whole were less powerful. Sensing Setsuna's temporal stability the then current Senshi of Pluto approached her with the offer of becoming the next Sailor Pluto.
When offered Setsuna was filled with joy. She had always wanted to be a Senshi but she was never properly attuned to a given element. So when she was offered the chance she jumped on it, never for an instant listening to the warning that the elder Pluto gave. After several hundred years Setsuna realized the price she paid to attain her wish. While all Senshi are immortal they are only so until they give there powers to another. So a given Senshi would spend several hundred years at their post then grow tired of their longevity. They would look for a relatively short time to find a person with the proper alignments, train them, pass on the power, then live for a normal amount of time.
For the Senshi of Pluto this proved exceedingly difficult, since a Senshi of Pluto must be firmly rooted in time. The last person good enough was about four thousand years before Setsuna. With the fall of the Silver Millennium and Tokimi's possession, Setsuna was unwilling and unable to find a replacement.
Tokimi's influence only enhanced the natural uneasiness Setsuna had for those like Ranma. So when she saw her prey exit the house to follow a running girl, Setsuna made her move. She jumped to the ground and by the time Ranma noticed her, the Garnet Orb at the top of the Time Staff was crackling with power.
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"Ranma Saotome! Die! DEAD SCREAM!!"
The instant the purple colored sphere of energy left the staff the lady was carrying, Ranma was in motion. He jumped over the ball of energy and landed behind his obviously insane attacker. I mean, who would attack someone wearing a skimpy sailor fuku?
Setsuna was shocked that Ranma had jumped over her attack. Usually the enemies that the Senshi fight are shocked into motionless when are they attacked out of the blue. So she never expected that Ranma would jump over her Dead Scream.
When Ranma landed behind the green-hared woman he got ready to deliver a blow sufficient enough to knock her out. But before he could the woman turned and tried to strike him with her oddly decorated staff.
As Setsuna swung the Timekey at Ranma she was unaware that there was a metal pole directly behind him. When Ranma jumped over her swing, instead of meeting soft flesh, the Timekey hit the unyielding metal pole. This resulted in two things, one, a dent pole, and two, Setsuna dropping the Timekey.
When the woman dropped her staff, Ranma took his chance. First he hit her in the stomach. Then as she was doubled over, Ranma struck her in the back of the head knocking her out. If any of the people that knew Ranma from his time in Nerima might be asking why Ranma is hitting a woman. Well in his time at the Masaki compound Ranma had come to realize two things. One was that women could be just as strong or powerful as a man could, if not more so. The other thing that Ranma realized was that many of his fights that had gotten truly dangerous to others was his fault. He should not have tried to reason with his opponent, he should have gone for the quick knock out. Then after the danger to himself and non-combatants was gone _then_ figure out his attacker's motives.
Several seconds later Tenchi, Ryoko, and Mihoshi ran outside. "Ranma! What's wrong? We heard an explosion and then what sounded like metal hitting metal," said Tenchi.
"This crazy woman attacked me out of nowhere," replied Ranma as he pointed to his now unconscious attacker.
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When Usagi reached the final building she saw what she had feared. From the crater it looked like Setsuna had already tried to attack Ranma. Apparently he was as good as Makoto said since Setsuna was lying on the ground. When the group of people surrounding Setsuna began to move towards the Senshi's prone form Usagi yelled, "Wait!"
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When Ranma, Tenchi, Ryoko, and Mihoshi heard the shout of, "Wait!" they turned to look at the source and instantly slipped into positions that they could attack or defend.
When Usagi landed in front of the assembled group she said, "Eeep." What she saw was a floating woman with spiky hair and red energy crackling in the palm of her hands. One of the men had a blue energy sword and he looked like he knew how to use it. The man that she assumed was Ranma was in a low martial arts stance. The way his hands flexed and his oddly shaped eyes glinted told Usagi that this man was a dangerous predator. But what shocked her most was the blonde that had a gun pointed at her head. Never in her life had she had a weapon such as that pointed at her by such a component looking wielder.
Deciding that descretion was the better part of valor Sailor Moon threw her hands into the air. "Please. Don't hurt my friend, she's not acting like herself. I'm sorry if she hurt anyone."
Ranma looked into the girl's eyes and saw a kind heart and worry over possible injuries. Seeing that, for now, she bore him no ill will, Ranma stood up. "We weren't going to hurt your friend. We just wanted to know who she is and why she attacked me. So, who are you?"
Usagi lowered her arms and stared at Ranma. How can he not know who she was, there was enough publicity about them that even a small child at least knew what a Sailor Senshi looked like. At first Usagi had enjoyed being in she public eye, but that enjoyment quickly changed to a desire for anonymity once Ami had shown her some of the Sailor Moon hentai out there. "I'm Sailor Moon, you know the leader of the Sailor Senshi. Haven't you heard of us?" Usagi was shocked at seeing everyone but the blonde shake his or her heads.
Mihoshi stood there in thought for several seconds trying to remember where she had heard those titles from, "Hmmm."
Ranma turned to Mihoshi, "You heard about these Sailor Senshi before?"
Mihoshi nodded her head, "Yeah, I was flipping through the channels one day and I saw a report about them. I thought it was just a preview for a new hentai movie. I mean, what kind of super hero fights evil in a two inch mini skirt?"
Usagi blushed and tugged on her skirt in a vain effort to make it longer. She had just made herself forget about that and now this Mihoshi person brought the embarrassment back. Before she could come to their fashion defense Usagi heard a cry come from behind her.
"Sailor Moon!"
When Ryoko saw the rest of the Sailor Suited Warriors of Love and Justice she exclaimed, "Christ! There's more of them!?"
The remaining Senshi jumped to the ground and ran up to their leader. Though none of them were making any threatening gestures several were ready to throw an attack should the need arise.
"Sorry guys. I wasn't able to stop Pluto."
"Usagi that's him. That's the guy from my dream," said Rei.
"Is Pluto ok," asked Hotaru.
"Yeah, Ranma just knocked her out but don't heal her. We don't need to make a worse impression on Ranma than we already have."
The conscious Senshi all nodded in agreement. It was rare, but sometimes Usagi could really be a great leader.
"Excuse me? Why don't we take your friend inside and we can make some formal introductions. Besides it looks like you want to talk to us," asked Tenchi. He was getting uncomfortable with standing around in the open with a group of scantily clad schoolgirls.
Usagi nodded, "That sounds like a good idea."
Ranma picked up the unconscious girl's staff. "I'll carry your friend but can one of you Senshi take her staff? I don't want her waking up and trying to blast me again."
"I'll carry it," said the Senshi with the aqua hair.
Ranma handed the staff to the Senshi and picked up the one that had attacked him. He carried her inside the compound and walked around the edge of the house. Once he reached the verandah next to the family room he gently laid her on the wood floor. When he looked up he immediately sought out Kasumi. "Kasumi can you get something to make her comfortable?"
Kasumi smiled at Ranma, "Of course." She then headed out to fetch a pillow and blanket.
Nodoka took this moment to question her son. "Ranma, did you catch Akane? And who is this woman that you brought in?"
"I lost Akane and while I was looking for her this girl attacked me."
When the rest of the Senshi everyone heard someone squeal, "OH MY GOD!"
When they turned to the source of the outburst they saw that Nabiki was running towards the Senshi. "It's the Sailor Senshi!" Nabiki stopped in front of the group and looked around for several seconds, studying the various Senshi until she spotted the one she was looking for. To all those present, even those with enhanced visual acuity, it looked like Nabiki disappeared from where she was standing only to reappear in front of the Senshi with the blue hair and blue-trimmed fuku. Out of no-where Nabiki pulled a book and a pen. "Sailor Mercury, you're my favorite Senshi, can I have your autograph?"
Sailor Mercury looked at her fellow Senshi who shrugged their shoulders. She looked back to Nabiki, "Sure, I guess. What is your name?"
Nabiki handed her idol the book; "I'm Nabiki Tendo."
Ranma blinked at Nabiki's display. He slid up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Uh, Nabiki? You know who these guys are?"
Nabiki whirled around and looked at Ranma incredulously. "You mean to tell me that you never heard of the Sailor Senshi?!"
"Nope. Never heard of them. Until now that is."
"I swear Ranma, sometimes I worry about you." She then gestured to the Senshi behind her. "This is Sailor Mercury, she controls ice and is the brains of the group."
Zip
Nabiki was now next to the Senshi in red. "This is Sailor Mars, her element is fire and she's the Senshi's spiritualist. Next to her is Sailor Venus, she is the Senshi of love and she used to be the crime fighter, Sailor V."
Zip
Nabiki was next to the Senshi with the long ponytails. "This is Sailor Moon, I'm not sure what her power is but she's the apparent leader of the group. Next to her is Sailor Saturn, from what I can tell her power is massive explosions. She has also been seen healing people."
Zip
Nabiki was now next to the Senshi in green. "This is Sailor Jupiter, she can control lightning and plants. She is apparently the Senshi's resident martial artist."
Zip
"The Senshi who has been leering at my but is Sailor Uranus, she has an earth based attack. The Senshi who is now glaring at Uranus is Sailor Neptune she is the Senshi of water." Nabiki was brought up short as she began to realize something. She looked over at the still unconscious woman on the verandah and gasped. She ran over to Ranma and punched him in the arm. "Ranma you asshole! You knocked out Sailor Pluto!"
Ranma rubbed the spot where Nabiki punched him. "She attacked me and I defended myself. Besides, who the hell do you know so much about these guys when I never heard of them?"
Nabiki stared at Ranma for several seconds before hitting herself in the forehead. "Martial arts is all that registers in that brain of yours, isn't it?" Nabiki then felt a tapping on her shoulder, when she turned she saw that Sailor Mercury was holding out her book.
"Here is your book Miss. Tendo."
Nabiki took the book from Mercury as a Christian would take a bible that was written by Jesus. "Thank you." The book and pen then disappeared to wherever she had pulled it from.
"Now that Nabiki has introduced the Senshi, maybe we can go inside and make the rest of the introductions. I also want to know what you need to talk to me about." With that Ranma headed indoors and was closely followed by Nabiki and the Senshi, most of which were forced to sit on the verandah. Once everyone was seated Ranma began to speak again, "Since I haven't introduced myself to you girls I'll start with myself. I'm Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."
Happosai raised his hand. "Hold on a minute Ranma. You are no longer an heir to one school of my art. Since you have apparently mastered the Neko-Ken and have an excellent start on teaching Mihoshi, I proclaim you a master of my art and the heir to the true Anything Goes school. With all the privileges and responsibilities that come with it."
Ranma bowed, "Thank you master. As I was saying, I'm Ranma. The short guy who is leering at you girls is the Grandmaster of my art Happosai. The man with the beard is Emperor Azusa Masaki, of the Juraian Empire. The women to either side of Azusa are his wives Funaho and Misaki." He then pointed to Yosho. "This is Azusa and Funaho's son Yosho. The guy with the two girls latched to him is Yosho's grandson Tenchi Masaki. The girl on his right arm is his fiancé, Ayeka Masaki. The girl on his left is his other fiancé Ryoko Hakubi, the wildest woman in the Universe. The woman with the red hair is Ryoko's mother, Washu Hakubi, the Goddess of Knowledge and Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe. The girl beside her is Ayeka's sister Sasami. The creature on her head is Ryo- Oh-Ki. Give her some carrots and she'll be your friend for life." At that he produced a carrot and tossed it to the cabbit.
Seeing her favorite thing in the universe Ryo-Oh-Ki dove for the carrot and caught it in mid-air. By the time she landed on the ground the carrot was gone.
While watching Ryo-Oh-Ki's antics Ranma smiled and put his arm around Mihoshi's waist. "This beautiful girl next to me is my girlfriend Mihoshi Kuramitsu." This announcement earned a drooping of shoulders on the part of several of the Senshi.
Ranma pointed at Nodoka; "This is my mother Nodoka Saotome and beside her is my father Genma. The man that is silently crying is my father's best friend and owner of this house, Soun Tendo. The woman to his left is his oldest daughter, Kasumi, the best big sister anyone can ask for. Next to Kasumi is her sister Nabiki and up till about five minutes ago she was one of the most rational people in Nerima.
Next to my mother is Ukyo Kounj, the best Okonomiyaki chef in Japan and my best friend." Ranma then pointed to Cologne. "The old ghoul next to Happosai is Cologne, Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku." The addition of the "old ghoul" modifier to Cologne earned Ranma a bop on the head but there were smiles on the part of both parties. "The purple-haired girl next to Cologne is her granddaughter Shampoo and one of the best female fighters of her tribe."
All of the people that Ranma introduced either bowed their head or bowed completely upon introduction.
"Well that's everyone. Now why did you want to see me," asked Ranma.
Before Sailor Moon could answer, Sailor Uranus tapped her on the shoulder. "Maybe we should go somewhere a little more secure than this."
Washu heard the comment and immediately pulled up her computer. The spectral keyboard was noticed by Nabiki and Sailor Mercury who both looked at it in wonder and want.
When Washu typed the final keystroke Mercury's own computer went haywire. It was instantly open and Mercury was busy inputting commands and calling up information.
Sailor Moon looked over at her resident genius, "What is it?"
"Somehow all the readings for outside of this compound have just vanished!"
"Oh that's my fault. Uranus had said she wanted a more secure location so I pulled the house and yard out of phase with the rest of the universe. Now people can only see us but as for anything else we're not here."
"Um no offense but I meant somewhere were we could talk to Ranma alone," said Uranus in the nicest possible voice.
"Anything you have to say to me you say to everyone. There are no secrets here and anything that should remain private will stay that way," replied Ranma.
Everyone from Nerima but Ranma was now staring at Nabiki. She looked around at the accusatory faces incredulously. "What?! I can keep a secret when I can see it's important. And this is important."
Before those that were staring at Nabiki could turn on him Genma addressed the group. "I will keep what is said here a secret as well." This action surprised those who knew him since he usually waits until after an accusation is made to defend himself.
Ranma looked at the Senshi expectantly, "Well?"
Usagi shook herself out of the stupor brought about by the in jokes and comments on the part of the others. She turned to Sailor Mars and whispered, "Do you want me to tell them or do you?" She could see how much this vision had troubled her friend and wished to spare her any mental anguish.
Rei shook her head. "Thanks, but it's my vision I should be the one to tell him." She then looked at Ranma. "Ranma, I can get visions of the future. Usually they are vague but they are usually what determines whether we live or die. This most recent vision that I had has been the most vivid of them. In it I'm in the future and a great utopia has been destroyed. The rest of the Senshi are there but they have all been horribly killed. Then a man appeared in my dream and showed me a tall woman with brown hair wearing oddly arranged and colored robes. Her eyes were very beautiful but they were cold, dead. In front of the woman there was two men and one woman and they were fighting. One man was wearing white robes, the other black. The woman's robes were red. The white man and the red woman were battling the man in black. Eventually red made a mistake and black stabbed her through the chest. White screamed and cut off black's head but he was then killed by the woman. Now that I have met all of you I would have to say that the woman in red was Ryoko and the man in white was Tenchi."
As Tenchi listened to what Sailor Mars was saying his heart grew increasingly colder. He could see where this was going and from the increasing pressure on his arms so could Ayeka and Ryoko. When Mars confirmed his beliefs Tenchi's heart stopped. He looked at his loves and he could tell that each was trying as hard as he to hold back the tears.
Before sadness could spread any further through the ranks of the Masaki group Rei continued talking. "But there is still hope. The man who showed me the battle said that there was a way to prevent the deaths of you and my friends and save the future. He showed me the image of a man and he said, 'Look carefully and remember this man's face. For he is Ranma Saotome and it is he who will determine the fate of the universe. Meet him, gain his trust, but no harm should come to him.' Somehow Ranma is going to help save the universe sometime in the future."
Usagi then took up the conversation. "And that's why we're here, to protect you from harm."
"Ranma, I think we should believe them," said Washu.
Ranma looked at her in confusion, "Why?"
Instead of answering Ranma, Washu looked at Mars. "Tell me, the woman that you saw kill Tenchi did she have large yellow jewels on either side of her chest? And was there green bands that circled her throat and ended on her cheeks?"
Sailor Mars' face grew distant as she tried to call an image of the woman from her vision. After several seconds of thought she nodded her head, "Yes she did. How did you know that?"
"Tokimi," breathed Washu.
At hearing that name Sasami grew scared and latched onto her mother. The memories of Tsunami's torture at the hands of Tokimi were still there despite the fact that Washu had surpressed the mental link the she and Tsunami had shared.
When they heard what Washu had said Ayeka was once again filled with despair. "How could they beat someone with ten Light Hawk Wings?"
When Washu said the name, Tokimi, Usagi was surprised to see half of the people tense up. "Who is Tokimi?"
"My sister, and the Goddess of Chaos," replied Washu
Now that caused some concern with the gathered Senshi. They had fought Chaos before and it was only by luck that Usagi had defeated her. And Usagi's victory had only occurred after everyone else had died. How would they defeat a goddess of chaos? "Can you tell us about her Miss Washu," asked Sailor Mercury.
Oh she was so tempted. Had this been a less formal meeting she would probably already have done it but right now it wasn't right. Next time though . . it's plasma cannon time. "My sisters Tsunami, Tokimi, and I originate from another universe. When we came into existence we each knew what our domain was. In the universe that we hail from the laws that govern space, time, up, down, good, and evil were radically different. Things that we take for granted like knowing that when you walk out your door a giant meteor won't crash down on you would happen. That is were the Gods and Goddesses came in, we served as the physical and metaphysical anchor that allowed all those laws to exist in a meaningful way.
When Tokimi, Tsunami, and I came into existence, Tokimi's area of influence was Chaos. Chaos is not an evil thing like many make it to be. Chance, randomness, these things are necessary for life and all things to exist. It is when the amount of chaos outweighs the amount of order that chaos is bad. If we didn't have chaos, life would be rather boring.
Like Tsunami and I, Tokimi had a people that she maintained and protected. These people had neither the awesome power of Tsunami's people, nor the massive intelligence of mine. What they lacked in power and genius, they made up for in passion and a strict honor code. The arts that they produced were absolutely beautiful and their martial artists were beyond compare. Tokimi loved her people absolutely, and that is why what was to come hurt her so badly. A man came to our realm and through both an army he raised and his own power destroyed our universe. A handful of the more powerful Gods and Goddesses were able to escape but Tsunami was the only one to be able to save any of her people. The death of her people and her home made Tokimi unstable and it would seem that the twenty thousand years since I last saw my poor sister have only increased her instability." By the time Washu was finished she was even sadder than before.
"What do you mean Miss Washu," asked Hotaru.
Yosho decided to answer for Washu. "A little over two weeks ago Tokimi and her knight, Zander, invaded my planet of origin, Jurai, and captured our goddess Tsunami. Now we must go to Jurai and try to free my people."
Usagi looked at Ranma, "Are you going too?"
"I have to go. If it wasn't for my stupidity and narrow mindness then Jurai wouldn't be in danger."
For the first time since this meeting started Azusa felt as if he needed to say something. "Ranma, what happened to Jurai is not your fault. Your intentions were honorable. There is no shame in a warrior who decides that enough is enough and they will no longer fight. What truly shows your courage is the willingness to right a perceived wrong." Though his words were for Ranma, they were also for Yosho. Since he became stranded on this world Azusa was forced to face certain truths that he never had wanted to admit. His people would never have allowed Yosho to become emperor. At the time people looked down on interracial marriages and had almost not made emperor himself due to his marriage to Funaho. But he held true to his belief that Juraians should mix their blood with that of other peoples. If anyone needed further proof then look at Tenchi. Never before had a there been a person capable of wielding the Light Hawk Wings. But with his mixed heritage Tenchi was somehow able to do just that.
Yosho was shocked at his father's words. He had never heard his father direct such kind words to anyone other than his mother or Misaki. And while others might have missed the secondary meaning behind his father's words Yosho did not. Unable to express himself meaningfully with words Yosho simply bowed his head to his father.
Sailor Moon rose to her fully seated height, "If Ranma is going then we're going."
From behind her came a weak, "No."
All the Senshi turned in the direction of the voice and saw that Sailor Pluto was awake and vainly trying to sit up. Usagi was instantly by her Senshi's side, "Lay back down and get some rest."
Setsuna shook head; "No, you mustn't trust Ranma. We must stop him before he kills us all."
Usagi placed a hand on the ill Senshi and she sadly shook her head. It pained her to see one of her Senshi reduced to such a state, especially one who, up until now, had been such a stable presence among their group. "Why do you want to kill him so badly?"
Tears were streaming down the Senshi of Pluto's face. A testament to her instability and her profound need to stop Ranma. "He's using the Forbidden, we have to stop him before he destroys everything. Please, if not for me, do it for Usa."
Rei took up the conversation. "I've been having visions. They say that if we don't protect Ranma EVERYTHING will be destroyed."
Setsuna shook her head, "What if your visions are wrong? I know he's using the Forbidden and I know it will destroy us. It has been written."
A small voice prevented Setsuna from saying anything else. "What about me? Prophecy said that the Senshi of Saturn would destroy everything," said a sad Hotaru. "But I didn't, I saved the world. And if it wasn't for Sailor Moon then I would have died doing so. What if this is another case of a false prophecy?"
"But," Setsuna said weakly.
"Enough, we will not hurt Ranma. And if you continue to try then I will relieve you of your duties as a Senshi until you realize that Ranma isn't our enemy. Is that clear?" The authority that rang though Usagi's voice stunned those who knew her, despite the fact that this wasn't the first time something like this has happened.
The only answer that the Senshi of Pluto gave was to lay back down and silently sob over her inability to convince her fellows what the correct course of action was.
During the entire time that the Senshi talked amongst each other no one else spoke. For each was either in their own thought or unwilling to intrude in an obviously private moment. But when the woman who attacked Ranma failed to convince the rest of the Senshi to follow in her footsteps, Washu went into action. Before her appeared her computer and she typed on it for several seconds. When she was done a small black hole opened up and out of it came a small round device. Washu took the device over to the blue-haired Sailor Mercury. "Here, place this on your friend's temple. It will induce a peaceful sleep."
Mercury took the device and nodded gratefully, "Thank you Miss Washu." Mercury went over to Setsuna and placed the device where Washu told her. She was rewarded with the ending of Setsuna's tears and a peaceful look that engulfed her tear streaked face.
With Setsuna once again in the blissful grasp of unconsciousness, the rest of the Senshi returned to where they were previously sitting.
Ranma looked into the resolute faces of the Senshi and addressed Sailor Moon. "So, do you still want to come with us?"
Sailor Moon nodded, "If you're going, then yes."
"Fine, come back tomorrow around noon and we'll talk about our plans and see what you've got."
"Ok, we'll be back tomorrow. But one of us has to stay to make sure that you are safe," replied Usagi.
Hotaru tapped on Haruka's shoulder. "Can I stay Papa?"
Haruka thought about it for several seconds. During her deliberations she looked at Sasami. What she saw was a girl who was of a similar age to Hotaru and while she was probably loved left and right, Haruka doubted that the girl had few friends her own age. Haruka looked back at Hotaru, "Sure."
Hotaru's face lit up. "Thank you. But, what about changing back?"
Usagi answered for Haruka. "Wait until Ranma says it is safe, ok. If we're going to be spending time around him he's going to need to know who we really are." She then stood and was joined by the rest of the Senshi. "Ranma, we're going to leave Sailor Saturn here. It's up to you on who knows who she truly is ok."
Ranma mentally grumbled at having girls in outfits that made them every pervert's fantasy guarding but he nodded his head. "Don't worry I'll make sure only the right people know who she really is."
"Thank you. See you tomorrow." With that the Senshi left.
*********
"Ranma, it's getting late maybe we should go home for tonight," said Misaki.
"But," Ranma weakly replied. When someone like Misaki wants you to do something then you better comply. Despite that Ranma wasn't ready to leave; he still wanted to talk to his mother.
"Ranma, why don't the ones who want to stay do so," said Washu. "The ones who want to go can use a gate."
Ranma lit up, "You're right! Why don't we do that? Ok, everyone who's going to leave, stand up."
Everyone in the Masaki group, including the guards, stood up. The only ones that remained seated were Ranma and Mihoshi.
Seeing the totality of those who wanted to leave Ranma grumbled, "Well I feel special."
Every one but Washu began to walk towards the entrance. Seeing that the red-haired genus wasn't following Tenchi stopped and turned to her. "Washu are you coming?"
Washu made a shooing guesture, "You guys go on without me. There is something that I have to do here first."
"Ok, see you when we get home." With that they left.
Washu, who was still standing, looked at Kasumi. "Do you have any doors that people don't regularly use?"
Kasumi stopped trying to get her father to calm down and stood up. "Yes we do, it's in the dojo. Why do you ask?"
Washu just shrugged, "Oh I need to borrow it for a little while."
Kasumi smiled, "Ok, I'll show you where the door is at."
Cologne sensed that Ranma needed some time with his parents and stood up. "Shampoo come along, we must go back to the restaurant."
Ranma smiled at Cologne's sensitivity, "Thank you elder. Will you join us tomorrow?"
"Of course I will. Besides, I need to continue your training." At that she turned and pogoed away. But before she got out of hearing range she called back, "Come along Happi."
Happosai stood up, "Well Ranma m'boy see you tomorrow." As he followed Cologne Happosai began to form a plan. There were panties and bras out there that were crying out to be saved by his divine presence.
Ukyo also decided to take her leave, "Well Ranma, I've got to get going before Konatsu sells my shop."
All that were left in the room was Soun, Nabiki, Nodoka, Genma, Ranma, Mihoshi, and Sailor Saturn. Saturn got up and moved over by Setsuna so that she could give Ranma his privacy and at the same time complete her mission.
Now that they were as alone as they were going to get, Ranma addressed his parents. "Mother, Pop, Mihoshi and I want to get married, and while it won't stop us from getting together we'd like to have your blessing."
"Ranma, you would defy me and ruin our family's honor just so you can marry this girl," asked Genma carefully.
Ranma reached out took Mihoshi's hand and looked into his father's eyes defiantly. "I love Mihoshi more than anything, and if it means that I have to give up every shred of honor I have then I will. I won't hurt her because of honor."
Nodoka was shocked and scared as she looked at her husband's stern visage. She shocked because Ranma was willing to forego all honor for love. And Nodoka was scared because Genma might kick Ranma out of the clan. Had this been several months ago Nodoka would have left with her son. But after Ranma had left, a change had come over her husband. Slowly but surely he has been changing from the dishonorable fiend that he had become and was making himself more like the caring, loving man that she had married.
Genma sat and stared at his son. Though his face was stern and impassable, inside he was proud. In all the years he had taught his son the one lesson Ranma failed to learn is self-reliance. Sure, Ranma could live on his own but once he got near Genma he ended up deferring to his father's judgment. And of all subjects to make a stand on Genma was glad his son had chosen love. Sure when he first dragged Ranma to Tendo's place the concept of love meant little to him. But now that he has been spending time with his beloved wife Genma realized why it was so hard to stay on the road in those early days. Genma sat in silence for several minutes just to make the boy sweat. Despite the waiting he had put everyone through he had already made up his mind. It had come down to a choice, choose to live with honor and kick his son out of the clan or live in dishonor and keep his son and maybe regain something he had lost all those years ago, his son's respect. "I have only one thing to say, Mihoshi, welcome to the family," by the time Genma was finished a large grin lit up his face.
Nodoka and Ranma were so happy that they were unable to say anything so the first thing anyone heard after Genma's decision was Soun's shocked gasp.
Soun Tendo sat and stared at his friend in shocked horror. How could he give his blessing to any union that didn't unite the schools? When Genma turned to him all Soun could manage was a weak, "Why?"
Genma sadly looked at his long-time friend. Together they had been through many a peril yet it seems that this will destroy that friendship. "I couldn't loose him. I'm sorry, but I can't loose my family."
Soun could understand Genma's need to keep his family. But what about the schools? "But the schools?"
"Mr. Tendo," said Mihoshi. "As I understand the agreement between you and Mr. Saotome, it was meant to join yours and his branches of the Anything Goes school, correct?"
"Yes."
"Well that can still be done. Ranma has already started to teach me his half of the style. Why don't you teach me your half, then I can teach him and we can teach our children." Mihoshi was in her element. During her time as Kiyone's partner, Mihoshi became a very good mediator, solving minor disputes that crop up in day to day life.
Soun's shoulders slumped, "Why won't you marry one of my daughters Ranma? Aren't they good enough?"
Ranma shook his head, "That's not what this about. You raised some beautiful and intelligent daughters. Had the right things happened I'm sure that I would have ended up with one of them. But that doesn't matter because I'm with Mihoshi, and there is nothing you can do to change that. I just hope that you and Pops can stay as friends."
"What Genma, of course we will remain friends. All of those years with the master forged a friendship stronger than any metal." Soun abruptly stood, "Right Saotome!"
Genma stood and joined his friend, "Quite right Tendo."
As one the duo began to walk off, "Now let us celebrate the school!" Those who were in the room were not quite sure who made the last statement.
Before they could leave the room Genma stopped, "Soun you go on. There is something I must do and then I will join you."
Soun nodded solemnly, "Very well, I shall see you in the normal place." With that he left the room and headed to the nearest bar.
As those who remained in the room watched Genma the ones that knew him were weary, he was speaking formally. Sometimes this was good sometimes this was bad.
"My son, Happosai may have made you the master of his school but there is one thing you have yet to learn from mine." He pulled out two scrolls, "I give to you the Saotome Forbidden techniques, I know you will use them wisely."
Ranma stood and took the scrolls with pride, "I will."
"Good. Now, if you will excuse me. I've got some celebrating to do." When he was done Genma was off like a flash.
Ranma shook his head and pocketed the scrolls to whatever spooky place martial artists put things. He then turned to Nodoka; "Well we have to be going."
At that everyone in the room stood. "So soon, you just got here," said Nodoka, her voice full of regret.
"Don't worry. I'm sure that you'll be seeing much more of me from now on." He then looked to his right to Sailor Saturn. "You ready to go?"
"Yes. But what about Pluto," asked Hotaru as she pointed to the sleeping Senshi.
"She can stay the night, I'll make sure that she comfortable," replied Kasumi who had just returned from showing around Washu. "Oh Ranma, your friend left."
"Thanks Kasumi. Well, see you guys tomorrow." Ranma turned and headed o the entryway to retrieve his slippers and was followed by Mihoshi and Sailor Saturn.
*********
To say that the goddess Tokimi was furious would be placing a limit on how truly, madly, and deeply pissed she was. The only reason the planet Jurai still existed was that blowing up the planet put a crimp in her whole, have Tsunami's people worship me, plan. After ranting for several hours Tokimi regained some semblance of control. Mind you none of the woman's sanity returned she was just less outwardly angry.
The first order of business was to remove herself from those she was effecting on Earth. Unlike Setsuna, whom she had complete control over, the people who actually spent all their time on that annoying orb were harder to control. Not because the people she needed to use were heavily fortified mentally, in fact for most of those that she controlled, a rat with a cheese grater could do the same thing as she was. It was the brothers, they claimed Earth as their own and there was no way Tokimi was going to mess with them. She wasn't that crazy. So she had to enact her whole "Kill Ranma" plan differently than she would have liked. At first Tokimi had tried making it so that Genma seemed so stupid that Nodoka would never want to marry him. When that didn't work she tried increasing the stress that Nodoka put on honor. That plan worked and Genma left with Ranma. Now all Tokimi needed to do was keep Genma's stupidity quotient high and feed him a string of screwed up training techniques. The Neko- Ken, speed training by dodging swarms of angry bees, throwing Ranma down a cliffside to increase the boy's resistance to punches. Admittedly the whole Neko-Ken thing seemed like a good thing at the time. After all it should kill him right? But did that kill him? Did any of that kill him? Oh hell no! It just made the bastard even stronger and gave him a greater will to live.
So Tokimi tried a different path. She used her pawn, Setsuna to look in to Ranma's future to see if anyone else could be manipulated into killing Ranma. What she saw shocked her. At first he had a rocky relationship with a Tendo sister but they ended up together and happy. Then all of his potential rivals or fiancés ended up as Ranma's friends and everyone was happy. It really pissed her off. If everyone were happy then Ranma would manage to meet the Silver Millennium brats and Tsunami's people.
So Tokimi had to stop this problem. She used what little control she could exert over people to cloud their minds. Now all those who met Ranma would put him in a group and that would be how they interact with him. While this is how most people normally are Tokimi made it harder for them to look past that initial placement. Next she took certain personality traits or vices that may serve her uses and dramatically increased them. Thereby turning someone who would normally be sweet and caring and have only a mild temper into a vicious person who crushed anything that angered them. It was quite simple, increase this person's anger, and make that person dumber, blind others to reality and you end up with a group of people primed to make Ranma's life a living hell.
But did all of this hard work pay off? Was Ranma laying in a hole somewhere rotting? No! Instead he is happier than ever and everything that she had been working to avoid happened anyway! What's worse is that he has that damnable forbidden. "Well fuck them." Tokimi said to herself. If there was one thing that humans were good at, it was creating words perfect for when one is angry. But before she washed her hands of this pathetic orb there was one thing that she had to do. There was one person on Earth that she could use. The only person to bring Ranma Saotome to the edge of death. Besides, his monster form should have its uses.
*********
Makoto Kino was the last Senshi. All others had fallen in battle to an opponent that they were ill equipped to deal with. Who knew that someone that looked so harmless could be so dangerous. After her opponent struck the first blow Makoto had been flung into a tree, luckily all of her previous encounters with walls and other solid objects had built up a resistance to blunt force trauma in the Senshi of Jupiter. Thought to be unconscious, she was passed over as others who still clung to consciousness tried to fight back, Jupiter hid in the bushes in the hopes that an opportunity for attack may present itself.
Now the same bushes that had offered sanctuary would now prove to be the location of her complete defeat. As she waited she could hear her pursuer closing in on her. Though the steps she heard were not at all loud, they were magnified so greatly to her ears so that any noise would be like cannon fire. So she waited, barely breathing so as not to alert her pursuer and going over what had happened trying to see if there was anything different that she might have done. To her dismay there wasn't anything she could have done. After several seconds of waiting she realized that the steady sound of footsteps had ceased. She looked left and then right yet she saw nothing. Then, like a person in a horror movie, Makoto slowly turned around and the only thing that she managed to do before the darkness consumed her was utter, "Oh crap."
*********
Authors Notes: And thus completes my story. Now you all know the true purpose of this story, to kill the Sailor Senshi.
NOT!
If you honestly think that this is the end then you are wrong. Nothing is stopping this story. Muwa, ha, ha, ha!
Ahem. Sorry for the shortness of the chapter but this was a perfect cut off point. I know I'll get some complaints about a lack of action but this chapter, like the one before it, was to finally close the book on the Nerima portion of Ranma's life. He'll visit from time to time but he will never return for good. Also the point of this story from the very beginning has been a story of character development. Strike Fiss said it best in Seven Knights, each person is in a shell constantly remaking themselves. I intend to try to make many character's shells grow or break.
Now as you can see I explained Akane's behavior in chapter 5, she was being manipulated by Tokimi. In fact Tokimi, manipulated everyone that had any impact on Ranma's life, no matter how small. I did this for two reasons:
Reason #1 - To show how badly Tokimi wanted Ranma dead and how little she could do to kill him.
Reason #2 - It is my firm belief that the characters of Ranma 1/2 can't be as stupid as they seem. Take Cologne for example, she lives for three hundred years, becomes matriarch, and she can't handle one boy?
Now this will have some effect on certain characters, the beginnings of which have already been seen. Genma will become more intelligent and honorable. He's not going to become Super Genma but he will be someone that a person like Nodoka would be willing to wed. If there are any other concerns tell me.
Chaos Lord King of the Wicker People
By: Chaos Lord
Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to their respective owners. The concepts dealing with the Time Gates the Ultimate Good and Evil and the Forbidden belong to PacMan.
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Chapter 6
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Setsuna Meioh was running. As she ran there was a battle raging inside her mind. On one side there was what little remained of her sanity. This was screaming that what Setsuna was doing was wrong. That killing to create a utopia was wrong. On the other side of the metaphoric arena was the insanity that was the result of having Tokimi in her mind for thousands of years. This was the side that said that it was absolutely fine to kill for the utopia of Crystal Tokyo. And since Ranma was a threat he had to die. Unfortunately the crazy side was in greater abundance than the sane so she was set in her course. Kill Ranma Saotome.
Behind the crazed Senshi of Time ran Usagi Tsukino, also known as the defender of love and justice Sailor Moon. Usagi ran as fast as her Senshi- magic enhanced legs would carry her and even that wasn't enough to catch Pluto. The leader of the Senshi was deeply concerned about Setsuna; she took it as her responsibility to ensure that everyone on the team was healthy, both mentally and physically. What she saw of Setsuna's behavior did not constitute healthy mental behavior in her book. Sure there had been among the team regarding Setsuna's sanity in the past, one time Minako had suggested that she sleeps in a cave somewhere praying to the Timegate with lit candles tied to her head and sacrificing live gophers in some kind of bizarre ceremony. Of course this theory was discussed in a calm rational manner. The form of debate used was the pillow fight and the target was Minako. As Usagi ran she was concerned that she was unable to spot Setsuna, so great was the woman's head start, but somehow she knew the correct direction to run. And if it was one thing Usagi didn't like to do it was ignoring her instincts.
Even further behind Usagi was the rest of the Sailor Senshi. They ran together since their slowest runner, Ami, was the one who knew where Usagi and Setsuna were located. You may ask why Ami was the slowest runner and not Hotaru, well Hotaru was ridding on her popa's back since she still didn't have the stamina to run long distances with any noticeable speed.
As Ami ran she had the Mercury Computer out and on constant scan. On the small screen there was two dots, one was purple and green the other dot, which was behind he first, was white. These dots represented Setsuna and Usagi; they were also the only way the rest of the group knew where their colleagues were. After a minute or two of running the Mercury computer chirped. Ami's fingers flew across the keyboard and when she saw the readings all she said was, "Whoa."
Makoto, who was running next to Ami, heard her exclamation. "What's wrong?"
"I detected an energy signal several miles off our projected path. I would have never detected it if I didn't have the computer set as fine as I did. It is just that I have never seen this signature before and the computer has no prior record of it either."
Sailor Jupiter didn't like the sound of that. In her opinion new energy signals meant new enemies and a possible next chance at Death's door. "Hey Minako! Come over here!"
While still maintaining her pace, the blonde-hared Senshi of Love, Sailor Venus, made her way over to Ami and Makoto. "What's up?"
Ami then went and told Minako what she had told Makoto.
Minako thought the news over for a moment then asked he obvious question. "Could it be an enemy?"
Ami shook her head, "I don't think so. While belonging to different groups and calling their energy by different names, all of our enemies have basically used the same energy. This new pattern is definantly different and is lighter than the others."
Minako quirked an eyebrow, "Lighter?"
Ami looked somewhat embarrassed, "Yes, you see the energy that the Negaverse, the Black Moon Family, and even Galaxia had a certain set wavelengths that, when visible, produce the color black or a derivative there of. The energy pattern that I detected has a wave length that is more in line with the "blue" end of the electromagnetic spectrum."
Haruka, who had been listening in on Ami, Makoto, and Minako, looked at Ami increaduosly. "So are you saying that this energy you detected doesn't "look" evil?"
Ami blushed in embarrassment, "Yes."
Haruka shook her head. While she was a firm member of the team and respected any opinions or theories a member may come up with, some of the stuff they came up with really made her question that stance. Minako's gopher theory about Setsuna and now evil being a certain color being some of those things.
"Well Minako, what do we do," asked Makoto.
The secondary leader of the Senshi thought greatly about this. Now some people who knew Minako Aino would say that she is incapable of the kind of thought necessary to make an important decision. They would be wrong. Minako wasn't stupid; in fact she was very very intelligent. Not as much as Ami but she is pretty high up there. The reason for her rather stereotypical behavior, fun. As Sailor V, Minako had to do some hard things and make tough choices but as Sailor Venus she could act carefree and be happy. But when it comes down to it, the second in command was more than capable of making decisions. "We should keep following Setsuna and Usagi. If this energy is dangerous then it'll probably end up attacking us sooner or later. But we should stick to our current path so we can back Usagi if she needs it."
The Senshi who were running beside Venus nodded in agreement. With a course of action decided the defenders of love and justice looked ahead and added some more speed to their gait.
*********
When Setsuna reached the building across the street from where "he" lived she snarled. She could feel the subtle shifting in the Timestream that was occurring around the Tendo Dojo and knew that her prey was here. As Setsuna grew up, the princess of Pluto went on several trips to the planet Earth. She would visit the various locals and exalt in the wonder of the cradle of humanity. One of the sites she made sure to see was the temple at the location of present day Nerima. This temple served as a research station so that the magic users of the could study the nexus of chaos energy that resided in the area. Though she usually got sick afterwards the unimaginable beauty of the site constantly beckoned her. As she grew older it was discovered that she had a unique ability, as there were those that were so entrenched in chaos that their very presence altered the laws of probability, there were others so grounded in reality that any fluctuations in time could not affect them. Setsuna was one of these people; such was her stability that she could see forward into the future a handful of minutes. One could liken it to the speedboat and the boulder. The speedboat travels down the river creating waves and unnatural patterns. Where as the boulder sits firmly in the river as the current flows around it. More prevalent than the chaos bringers, the people of order on a whole were less powerful. Sensing Setsuna's temporal stability the then current Senshi of Pluto approached her with the offer of becoming the next Sailor Pluto.
When offered Setsuna was filled with joy. She had always wanted to be a Senshi but she was never properly attuned to a given element. So when she was offered the chance she jumped on it, never for an instant listening to the warning that the elder Pluto gave. After several hundred years Setsuna realized the price she paid to attain her wish. While all Senshi are immortal they are only so until they give there powers to another. So a given Senshi would spend several hundred years at their post then grow tired of their longevity. They would look for a relatively short time to find a person with the proper alignments, train them, pass on the power, then live for a normal amount of time.
For the Senshi of Pluto this proved exceedingly difficult, since a Senshi of Pluto must be firmly rooted in time. The last person good enough was about four thousand years before Setsuna. With the fall of the Silver Millennium and Tokimi's possession, Setsuna was unwilling and unable to find a replacement.
Tokimi's influence only enhanced the natural uneasiness Setsuna had for those like Ranma. So when she saw her prey exit the house to follow a running girl, Setsuna made her move. She jumped to the ground and by the time Ranma noticed her, the Garnet Orb at the top of the Time Staff was crackling with power.
*********
"Ranma Saotome! Die! DEAD SCREAM!!"
The instant the purple colored sphere of energy left the staff the lady was carrying, Ranma was in motion. He jumped over the ball of energy and landed behind his obviously insane attacker. I mean, who would attack someone wearing a skimpy sailor fuku?
Setsuna was shocked that Ranma had jumped over her attack. Usually the enemies that the Senshi fight are shocked into motionless when are they attacked out of the blue. So she never expected that Ranma would jump over her Dead Scream.
When Ranma landed behind the green-hared woman he got ready to deliver a blow sufficient enough to knock her out. But before he could the woman turned and tried to strike him with her oddly decorated staff.
As Setsuna swung the Timekey at Ranma she was unaware that there was a metal pole directly behind him. When Ranma jumped over her swing, instead of meeting soft flesh, the Timekey hit the unyielding metal pole. This resulted in two things, one, a dent pole, and two, Setsuna dropping the Timekey.
When the woman dropped her staff, Ranma took his chance. First he hit her in the stomach. Then as she was doubled over, Ranma struck her in the back of the head knocking her out. If any of the people that knew Ranma from his time in Nerima might be asking why Ranma is hitting a woman. Well in his time at the Masaki compound Ranma had come to realize two things. One was that women could be just as strong or powerful as a man could, if not more so. The other thing that Ranma realized was that many of his fights that had gotten truly dangerous to others was his fault. He should not have tried to reason with his opponent, he should have gone for the quick knock out. Then after the danger to himself and non-combatants was gone _then_ figure out his attacker's motives.
Several seconds later Tenchi, Ryoko, and Mihoshi ran outside. "Ranma! What's wrong? We heard an explosion and then what sounded like metal hitting metal," said Tenchi.
"This crazy woman attacked me out of nowhere," replied Ranma as he pointed to his now unconscious attacker.
*********
When Usagi reached the final building she saw what she had feared. From the crater it looked like Setsuna had already tried to attack Ranma. Apparently he was as good as Makoto said since Setsuna was lying on the ground. When the group of people surrounding Setsuna began to move towards the Senshi's prone form Usagi yelled, "Wait!"
*********
When Ranma, Tenchi, Ryoko, and Mihoshi heard the shout of, "Wait!" they turned to look at the source and instantly slipped into positions that they could attack or defend.
When Usagi landed in front of the assembled group she said, "Eeep." What she saw was a floating woman with spiky hair and red energy crackling in the palm of her hands. One of the men had a blue energy sword and he looked like he knew how to use it. The man that she assumed was Ranma was in a low martial arts stance. The way his hands flexed and his oddly shaped eyes glinted told Usagi that this man was a dangerous predator. But what shocked her most was the blonde that had a gun pointed at her head. Never in her life had she had a weapon such as that pointed at her by such a component looking wielder.
Deciding that descretion was the better part of valor Sailor Moon threw her hands into the air. "Please. Don't hurt my friend, she's not acting like herself. I'm sorry if she hurt anyone."
Ranma looked into the girl's eyes and saw a kind heart and worry over possible injuries. Seeing that, for now, she bore him no ill will, Ranma stood up. "We weren't going to hurt your friend. We just wanted to know who she is and why she attacked me. So, who are you?"
Usagi lowered her arms and stared at Ranma. How can he not know who she was, there was enough publicity about them that even a small child at least knew what a Sailor Senshi looked like. At first Usagi had enjoyed being in she public eye, but that enjoyment quickly changed to a desire for anonymity once Ami had shown her some of the Sailor Moon hentai out there. "I'm Sailor Moon, you know the leader of the Sailor Senshi. Haven't you heard of us?" Usagi was shocked at seeing everyone but the blonde shake his or her heads.
Mihoshi stood there in thought for several seconds trying to remember where she had heard those titles from, "Hmmm."
Ranma turned to Mihoshi, "You heard about these Sailor Senshi before?"
Mihoshi nodded her head, "Yeah, I was flipping through the channels one day and I saw a report about them. I thought it was just a preview for a new hentai movie. I mean, what kind of super hero fights evil in a two inch mini skirt?"
Usagi blushed and tugged on her skirt in a vain effort to make it longer. She had just made herself forget about that and now this Mihoshi person brought the embarrassment back. Before she could come to their fashion defense Usagi heard a cry come from behind her.
"Sailor Moon!"
When Ryoko saw the rest of the Sailor Suited Warriors of Love and Justice she exclaimed, "Christ! There's more of them!?"
The remaining Senshi jumped to the ground and ran up to their leader. Though none of them were making any threatening gestures several were ready to throw an attack should the need arise.
"Sorry guys. I wasn't able to stop Pluto."
"Usagi that's him. That's the guy from my dream," said Rei.
"Is Pluto ok," asked Hotaru.
"Yeah, Ranma just knocked her out but don't heal her. We don't need to make a worse impression on Ranma than we already have."
The conscious Senshi all nodded in agreement. It was rare, but sometimes Usagi could really be a great leader.
"Excuse me? Why don't we take your friend inside and we can make some formal introductions. Besides it looks like you want to talk to us," asked Tenchi. He was getting uncomfortable with standing around in the open with a group of scantily clad schoolgirls.
Usagi nodded, "That sounds like a good idea."
Ranma picked up the unconscious girl's staff. "I'll carry your friend but can one of you Senshi take her staff? I don't want her waking up and trying to blast me again."
"I'll carry it," said the Senshi with the aqua hair.
Ranma handed the staff to the Senshi and picked up the one that had attacked him. He carried her inside the compound and walked around the edge of the house. Once he reached the verandah next to the family room he gently laid her on the wood floor. When he looked up he immediately sought out Kasumi. "Kasumi can you get something to make her comfortable?"
Kasumi smiled at Ranma, "Of course." She then headed out to fetch a pillow and blanket.
Nodoka took this moment to question her son. "Ranma, did you catch Akane? And who is this woman that you brought in?"
"I lost Akane and while I was looking for her this girl attacked me."
When the rest of the Senshi everyone heard someone squeal, "OH MY GOD!"
When they turned to the source of the outburst they saw that Nabiki was running towards the Senshi. "It's the Sailor Senshi!" Nabiki stopped in front of the group and looked around for several seconds, studying the various Senshi until she spotted the one she was looking for. To all those present, even those with enhanced visual acuity, it looked like Nabiki disappeared from where she was standing only to reappear in front of the Senshi with the blue hair and blue-trimmed fuku. Out of no-where Nabiki pulled a book and a pen. "Sailor Mercury, you're my favorite Senshi, can I have your autograph?"
Sailor Mercury looked at her fellow Senshi who shrugged their shoulders. She looked back to Nabiki, "Sure, I guess. What is your name?"
Nabiki handed her idol the book; "I'm Nabiki Tendo."
Ranma blinked at Nabiki's display. He slid up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Uh, Nabiki? You know who these guys are?"
Nabiki whirled around and looked at Ranma incredulously. "You mean to tell me that you never heard of the Sailor Senshi?!"
"Nope. Never heard of them. Until now that is."
"I swear Ranma, sometimes I worry about you." She then gestured to the Senshi behind her. "This is Sailor Mercury, she controls ice and is the brains of the group."
Zip
Nabiki was now next to the Senshi in red. "This is Sailor Mars, her element is fire and she's the Senshi's spiritualist. Next to her is Sailor Venus, she is the Senshi of love and she used to be the crime fighter, Sailor V."
Zip
Nabiki was next to the Senshi with the long ponytails. "This is Sailor Moon, I'm not sure what her power is but she's the apparent leader of the group. Next to her is Sailor Saturn, from what I can tell her power is massive explosions. She has also been seen healing people."
Zip
Nabiki was now next to the Senshi in green. "This is Sailor Jupiter, she can control lightning and plants. She is apparently the Senshi's resident martial artist."
Zip
"The Senshi who has been leering at my but is Sailor Uranus, she has an earth based attack. The Senshi who is now glaring at Uranus is Sailor Neptune she is the Senshi of water." Nabiki was brought up short as she began to realize something. She looked over at the still unconscious woman on the verandah and gasped. She ran over to Ranma and punched him in the arm. "Ranma you asshole! You knocked out Sailor Pluto!"
Ranma rubbed the spot where Nabiki punched him. "She attacked me and I defended myself. Besides, who the hell do you know so much about these guys when I never heard of them?"
Nabiki stared at Ranma for several seconds before hitting herself in the forehead. "Martial arts is all that registers in that brain of yours, isn't it?" Nabiki then felt a tapping on her shoulder, when she turned she saw that Sailor Mercury was holding out her book.
"Here is your book Miss. Tendo."
Nabiki took the book from Mercury as a Christian would take a bible that was written by Jesus. "Thank you." The book and pen then disappeared to wherever she had pulled it from.
"Now that Nabiki has introduced the Senshi, maybe we can go inside and make the rest of the introductions. I also want to know what you need to talk to me about." With that Ranma headed indoors and was closely followed by Nabiki and the Senshi, most of which were forced to sit on the verandah. Once everyone was seated Ranma began to speak again, "Since I haven't introduced myself to you girls I'll start with myself. I'm Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."
Happosai raised his hand. "Hold on a minute Ranma. You are no longer an heir to one school of my art. Since you have apparently mastered the Neko-Ken and have an excellent start on teaching Mihoshi, I proclaim you a master of my art and the heir to the true Anything Goes school. With all the privileges and responsibilities that come with it."
Ranma bowed, "Thank you master. As I was saying, I'm Ranma. The short guy who is leering at you girls is the Grandmaster of my art Happosai. The man with the beard is Emperor Azusa Masaki, of the Juraian Empire. The women to either side of Azusa are his wives Funaho and Misaki." He then pointed to Yosho. "This is Azusa and Funaho's son Yosho. The guy with the two girls latched to him is Yosho's grandson Tenchi Masaki. The girl on his right arm is his fiancé, Ayeka Masaki. The girl on his left is his other fiancé Ryoko Hakubi, the wildest woman in the Universe. The woman with the red hair is Ryoko's mother, Washu Hakubi, the Goddess of Knowledge and Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe. The girl beside her is Ayeka's sister Sasami. The creature on her head is Ryo- Oh-Ki. Give her some carrots and she'll be your friend for life." At that he produced a carrot and tossed it to the cabbit.
Seeing her favorite thing in the universe Ryo-Oh-Ki dove for the carrot and caught it in mid-air. By the time she landed on the ground the carrot was gone.
While watching Ryo-Oh-Ki's antics Ranma smiled and put his arm around Mihoshi's waist. "This beautiful girl next to me is my girlfriend Mihoshi Kuramitsu." This announcement earned a drooping of shoulders on the part of several of the Senshi.
Ranma pointed at Nodoka; "This is my mother Nodoka Saotome and beside her is my father Genma. The man that is silently crying is my father's best friend and owner of this house, Soun Tendo. The woman to his left is his oldest daughter, Kasumi, the best big sister anyone can ask for. Next to Kasumi is her sister Nabiki and up till about five minutes ago she was one of the most rational people in Nerima.
Next to my mother is Ukyo Kounj, the best Okonomiyaki chef in Japan and my best friend." Ranma then pointed to Cologne. "The old ghoul next to Happosai is Cologne, Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku." The addition of the "old ghoul" modifier to Cologne earned Ranma a bop on the head but there were smiles on the part of both parties. "The purple-haired girl next to Cologne is her granddaughter Shampoo and one of the best female fighters of her tribe."
All of the people that Ranma introduced either bowed their head or bowed completely upon introduction.
"Well that's everyone. Now why did you want to see me," asked Ranma.
Before Sailor Moon could answer, Sailor Uranus tapped her on the shoulder. "Maybe we should go somewhere a little more secure than this."
Washu heard the comment and immediately pulled up her computer. The spectral keyboard was noticed by Nabiki and Sailor Mercury who both looked at it in wonder and want.
When Washu typed the final keystroke Mercury's own computer went haywire. It was instantly open and Mercury was busy inputting commands and calling up information.
Sailor Moon looked over at her resident genius, "What is it?"
"Somehow all the readings for outside of this compound have just vanished!"
"Oh that's my fault. Uranus had said she wanted a more secure location so I pulled the house and yard out of phase with the rest of the universe. Now people can only see us but as for anything else we're not here."
"Um no offense but I meant somewhere were we could talk to Ranma alone," said Uranus in the nicest possible voice.
"Anything you have to say to me you say to everyone. There are no secrets here and anything that should remain private will stay that way," replied Ranma.
Everyone from Nerima but Ranma was now staring at Nabiki. She looked around at the accusatory faces incredulously. "What?! I can keep a secret when I can see it's important. And this is important."
Before those that were staring at Nabiki could turn on him Genma addressed the group. "I will keep what is said here a secret as well." This action surprised those who knew him since he usually waits until after an accusation is made to defend himself.
Ranma looked at the Senshi expectantly, "Well?"
Usagi shook herself out of the stupor brought about by the in jokes and comments on the part of the others. She turned to Sailor Mars and whispered, "Do you want me to tell them or do you?" She could see how much this vision had troubled her friend and wished to spare her any mental anguish.
Rei shook her head. "Thanks, but it's my vision I should be the one to tell him." She then looked at Ranma. "Ranma, I can get visions of the future. Usually they are vague but they are usually what determines whether we live or die. This most recent vision that I had has been the most vivid of them. In it I'm in the future and a great utopia has been destroyed. The rest of the Senshi are there but they have all been horribly killed. Then a man appeared in my dream and showed me a tall woman with brown hair wearing oddly arranged and colored robes. Her eyes were very beautiful but they were cold, dead. In front of the woman there was two men and one woman and they were fighting. One man was wearing white robes, the other black. The woman's robes were red. The white man and the red woman were battling the man in black. Eventually red made a mistake and black stabbed her through the chest. White screamed and cut off black's head but he was then killed by the woman. Now that I have met all of you I would have to say that the woman in red was Ryoko and the man in white was Tenchi."
As Tenchi listened to what Sailor Mars was saying his heart grew increasingly colder. He could see where this was going and from the increasing pressure on his arms so could Ayeka and Ryoko. When Mars confirmed his beliefs Tenchi's heart stopped. He looked at his loves and he could tell that each was trying as hard as he to hold back the tears.
Before sadness could spread any further through the ranks of the Masaki group Rei continued talking. "But there is still hope. The man who showed me the battle said that there was a way to prevent the deaths of you and my friends and save the future. He showed me the image of a man and he said, 'Look carefully and remember this man's face. For he is Ranma Saotome and it is he who will determine the fate of the universe. Meet him, gain his trust, but no harm should come to him.' Somehow Ranma is going to help save the universe sometime in the future."
Usagi then took up the conversation. "And that's why we're here, to protect you from harm."
"Ranma, I think we should believe them," said Washu.
Ranma looked at her in confusion, "Why?"
Instead of answering Ranma, Washu looked at Mars. "Tell me, the woman that you saw kill Tenchi did she have large yellow jewels on either side of her chest? And was there green bands that circled her throat and ended on her cheeks?"
Sailor Mars' face grew distant as she tried to call an image of the woman from her vision. After several seconds of thought she nodded her head, "Yes she did. How did you know that?"
"Tokimi," breathed Washu.
At hearing that name Sasami grew scared and latched onto her mother. The memories of Tsunami's torture at the hands of Tokimi were still there despite the fact that Washu had surpressed the mental link the she and Tsunami had shared.
When they heard what Washu had said Ayeka was once again filled with despair. "How could they beat someone with ten Light Hawk Wings?"
When Washu said the name, Tokimi, Usagi was surprised to see half of the people tense up. "Who is Tokimi?"
"My sister, and the Goddess of Chaos," replied Washu
Now that caused some concern with the gathered Senshi. They had fought Chaos before and it was only by luck that Usagi had defeated her. And Usagi's victory had only occurred after everyone else had died. How would they defeat a goddess of chaos? "Can you tell us about her Miss Washu," asked Sailor Mercury.
Oh she was so tempted. Had this been a less formal meeting she would probably already have done it but right now it wasn't right. Next time though . . it's plasma cannon time. "My sisters Tsunami, Tokimi, and I originate from another universe. When we came into existence we each knew what our domain was. In the universe that we hail from the laws that govern space, time, up, down, good, and evil were radically different. Things that we take for granted like knowing that when you walk out your door a giant meteor won't crash down on you would happen. That is were the Gods and Goddesses came in, we served as the physical and metaphysical anchor that allowed all those laws to exist in a meaningful way.
When Tokimi, Tsunami, and I came into existence, Tokimi's area of influence was Chaos. Chaos is not an evil thing like many make it to be. Chance, randomness, these things are necessary for life and all things to exist. It is when the amount of chaos outweighs the amount of order that chaos is bad. If we didn't have chaos, life would be rather boring.
Like Tsunami and I, Tokimi had a people that she maintained and protected. These people had neither the awesome power of Tsunami's people, nor the massive intelligence of mine. What they lacked in power and genius, they made up for in passion and a strict honor code. The arts that they produced were absolutely beautiful and their martial artists were beyond compare. Tokimi loved her people absolutely, and that is why what was to come hurt her so badly. A man came to our realm and through both an army he raised and his own power destroyed our universe. A handful of the more powerful Gods and Goddesses were able to escape but Tsunami was the only one to be able to save any of her people. The death of her people and her home made Tokimi unstable and it would seem that the twenty thousand years since I last saw my poor sister have only increased her instability." By the time Washu was finished she was even sadder than before.
"What do you mean Miss Washu," asked Hotaru.
Yosho decided to answer for Washu. "A little over two weeks ago Tokimi and her knight, Zander, invaded my planet of origin, Jurai, and captured our goddess Tsunami. Now we must go to Jurai and try to free my people."
Usagi looked at Ranma, "Are you going too?"
"I have to go. If it wasn't for my stupidity and narrow mindness then Jurai wouldn't be in danger."
For the first time since this meeting started Azusa felt as if he needed to say something. "Ranma, what happened to Jurai is not your fault. Your intentions were honorable. There is no shame in a warrior who decides that enough is enough and they will no longer fight. What truly shows your courage is the willingness to right a perceived wrong." Though his words were for Ranma, they were also for Yosho. Since he became stranded on this world Azusa was forced to face certain truths that he never had wanted to admit. His people would never have allowed Yosho to become emperor. At the time people looked down on interracial marriages and had almost not made emperor himself due to his marriage to Funaho. But he held true to his belief that Juraians should mix their blood with that of other peoples. If anyone needed further proof then look at Tenchi. Never before had a there been a person capable of wielding the Light Hawk Wings. But with his mixed heritage Tenchi was somehow able to do just that.
Yosho was shocked at his father's words. He had never heard his father direct such kind words to anyone other than his mother or Misaki. And while others might have missed the secondary meaning behind his father's words Yosho did not. Unable to express himself meaningfully with words Yosho simply bowed his head to his father.
Sailor Moon rose to her fully seated height, "If Ranma is going then we're going."
From behind her came a weak, "No."
All the Senshi turned in the direction of the voice and saw that Sailor Pluto was awake and vainly trying to sit up. Usagi was instantly by her Senshi's side, "Lay back down and get some rest."
Setsuna shook head; "No, you mustn't trust Ranma. We must stop him before he kills us all."
Usagi placed a hand on the ill Senshi and she sadly shook her head. It pained her to see one of her Senshi reduced to such a state, especially one who, up until now, had been such a stable presence among their group. "Why do you want to kill him so badly?"
Tears were streaming down the Senshi of Pluto's face. A testament to her instability and her profound need to stop Ranma. "He's using the Forbidden, we have to stop him before he destroys everything. Please, if not for me, do it for Usa."
Rei took up the conversation. "I've been having visions. They say that if we don't protect Ranma EVERYTHING will be destroyed."
Setsuna shook her head, "What if your visions are wrong? I know he's using the Forbidden and I know it will destroy us. It has been written."
A small voice prevented Setsuna from saying anything else. "What about me? Prophecy said that the Senshi of Saturn would destroy everything," said a sad Hotaru. "But I didn't, I saved the world. And if it wasn't for Sailor Moon then I would have died doing so. What if this is another case of a false prophecy?"
"But," Setsuna said weakly.
"Enough, we will not hurt Ranma. And if you continue to try then I will relieve you of your duties as a Senshi until you realize that Ranma isn't our enemy. Is that clear?" The authority that rang though Usagi's voice stunned those who knew her, despite the fact that this wasn't the first time something like this has happened.
The only answer that the Senshi of Pluto gave was to lay back down and silently sob over her inability to convince her fellows what the correct course of action was.
During the entire time that the Senshi talked amongst each other no one else spoke. For each was either in their own thought or unwilling to intrude in an obviously private moment. But when the woman who attacked Ranma failed to convince the rest of the Senshi to follow in her footsteps, Washu went into action. Before her appeared her computer and she typed on it for several seconds. When she was done a small black hole opened up and out of it came a small round device. Washu took the device over to the blue-haired Sailor Mercury. "Here, place this on your friend's temple. It will induce a peaceful sleep."
Mercury took the device and nodded gratefully, "Thank you Miss Washu." Mercury went over to Setsuna and placed the device where Washu told her. She was rewarded with the ending of Setsuna's tears and a peaceful look that engulfed her tear streaked face.
With Setsuna once again in the blissful grasp of unconsciousness, the rest of the Senshi returned to where they were previously sitting.
Ranma looked into the resolute faces of the Senshi and addressed Sailor Moon. "So, do you still want to come with us?"
Sailor Moon nodded, "If you're going, then yes."
"Fine, come back tomorrow around noon and we'll talk about our plans and see what you've got."
"Ok, we'll be back tomorrow. But one of us has to stay to make sure that you are safe," replied Usagi.
Hotaru tapped on Haruka's shoulder. "Can I stay Papa?"
Haruka thought about it for several seconds. During her deliberations she looked at Sasami. What she saw was a girl who was of a similar age to Hotaru and while she was probably loved left and right, Haruka doubted that the girl had few friends her own age. Haruka looked back at Hotaru, "Sure."
Hotaru's face lit up. "Thank you. But, what about changing back?"
Usagi answered for Haruka. "Wait until Ranma says it is safe, ok. If we're going to be spending time around him he's going to need to know who we really are." She then stood and was joined by the rest of the Senshi. "Ranma, we're going to leave Sailor Saturn here. It's up to you on who knows who she truly is ok."
Ranma mentally grumbled at having girls in outfits that made them every pervert's fantasy guarding but he nodded his head. "Don't worry I'll make sure only the right people know who she really is."
"Thank you. See you tomorrow." With that the Senshi left.
*********
"Ranma, it's getting late maybe we should go home for tonight," said Misaki.
"But," Ranma weakly replied. When someone like Misaki wants you to do something then you better comply. Despite that Ranma wasn't ready to leave; he still wanted to talk to his mother.
"Ranma, why don't the ones who want to stay do so," said Washu. "The ones who want to go can use a gate."
Ranma lit up, "You're right! Why don't we do that? Ok, everyone who's going to leave, stand up."
Everyone in the Masaki group, including the guards, stood up. The only ones that remained seated were Ranma and Mihoshi.
Seeing the totality of those who wanted to leave Ranma grumbled, "Well I feel special."
Every one but Washu began to walk towards the entrance. Seeing that the red-haired genus wasn't following Tenchi stopped and turned to her. "Washu are you coming?"
Washu made a shooing guesture, "You guys go on without me. There is something that I have to do here first."
"Ok, see you when we get home." With that they left.
Washu, who was still standing, looked at Kasumi. "Do you have any doors that people don't regularly use?"
Kasumi stopped trying to get her father to calm down and stood up. "Yes we do, it's in the dojo. Why do you ask?"
Washu just shrugged, "Oh I need to borrow it for a little while."
Kasumi smiled, "Ok, I'll show you where the door is at."
Cologne sensed that Ranma needed some time with his parents and stood up. "Shampoo come along, we must go back to the restaurant."
Ranma smiled at Cologne's sensitivity, "Thank you elder. Will you join us tomorrow?"
"Of course I will. Besides, I need to continue your training." At that she turned and pogoed away. But before she got out of hearing range she called back, "Come along Happi."
Happosai stood up, "Well Ranma m'boy see you tomorrow." As he followed Cologne Happosai began to form a plan. There were panties and bras out there that were crying out to be saved by his divine presence.
Ukyo also decided to take her leave, "Well Ranma, I've got to get going before Konatsu sells my shop."
All that were left in the room was Soun, Nabiki, Nodoka, Genma, Ranma, Mihoshi, and Sailor Saturn. Saturn got up and moved over by Setsuna so that she could give Ranma his privacy and at the same time complete her mission.
Now that they were as alone as they were going to get, Ranma addressed his parents. "Mother, Pop, Mihoshi and I want to get married, and while it won't stop us from getting together we'd like to have your blessing."
"Ranma, you would defy me and ruin our family's honor just so you can marry this girl," asked Genma carefully.
Ranma reached out took Mihoshi's hand and looked into his father's eyes defiantly. "I love Mihoshi more than anything, and if it means that I have to give up every shred of honor I have then I will. I won't hurt her because of honor."
Nodoka was shocked and scared as she looked at her husband's stern visage. She shocked because Ranma was willing to forego all honor for love. And Nodoka was scared because Genma might kick Ranma out of the clan. Had this been several months ago Nodoka would have left with her son. But after Ranma had left, a change had come over her husband. Slowly but surely he has been changing from the dishonorable fiend that he had become and was making himself more like the caring, loving man that she had married.
Genma sat and stared at his son. Though his face was stern and impassable, inside he was proud. In all the years he had taught his son the one lesson Ranma failed to learn is self-reliance. Sure, Ranma could live on his own but once he got near Genma he ended up deferring to his father's judgment. And of all subjects to make a stand on Genma was glad his son had chosen love. Sure when he first dragged Ranma to Tendo's place the concept of love meant little to him. But now that he has been spending time with his beloved wife Genma realized why it was so hard to stay on the road in those early days. Genma sat in silence for several minutes just to make the boy sweat. Despite the waiting he had put everyone through he had already made up his mind. It had come down to a choice, choose to live with honor and kick his son out of the clan or live in dishonor and keep his son and maybe regain something he had lost all those years ago, his son's respect. "I have only one thing to say, Mihoshi, welcome to the family," by the time Genma was finished a large grin lit up his face.
Nodoka and Ranma were so happy that they were unable to say anything so the first thing anyone heard after Genma's decision was Soun's shocked gasp.
Soun Tendo sat and stared at his friend in shocked horror. How could he give his blessing to any union that didn't unite the schools? When Genma turned to him all Soun could manage was a weak, "Why?"
Genma sadly looked at his long-time friend. Together they had been through many a peril yet it seems that this will destroy that friendship. "I couldn't loose him. I'm sorry, but I can't loose my family."
Soun could understand Genma's need to keep his family. But what about the schools? "But the schools?"
"Mr. Tendo," said Mihoshi. "As I understand the agreement between you and Mr. Saotome, it was meant to join yours and his branches of the Anything Goes school, correct?"
"Yes."
"Well that can still be done. Ranma has already started to teach me his half of the style. Why don't you teach me your half, then I can teach him and we can teach our children." Mihoshi was in her element. During her time as Kiyone's partner, Mihoshi became a very good mediator, solving minor disputes that crop up in day to day life.
Soun's shoulders slumped, "Why won't you marry one of my daughters Ranma? Aren't they good enough?"
Ranma shook his head, "That's not what this about. You raised some beautiful and intelligent daughters. Had the right things happened I'm sure that I would have ended up with one of them. But that doesn't matter because I'm with Mihoshi, and there is nothing you can do to change that. I just hope that you and Pops can stay as friends."
"What Genma, of course we will remain friends. All of those years with the master forged a friendship stronger than any metal." Soun abruptly stood, "Right Saotome!"
Genma stood and joined his friend, "Quite right Tendo."
As one the duo began to walk off, "Now let us celebrate the school!" Those who were in the room were not quite sure who made the last statement.
Before they could leave the room Genma stopped, "Soun you go on. There is something I must do and then I will join you."
Soun nodded solemnly, "Very well, I shall see you in the normal place." With that he left the room and headed to the nearest bar.
As those who remained in the room watched Genma the ones that knew him were weary, he was speaking formally. Sometimes this was good sometimes this was bad.
"My son, Happosai may have made you the master of his school but there is one thing you have yet to learn from mine." He pulled out two scrolls, "I give to you the Saotome Forbidden techniques, I know you will use them wisely."
Ranma stood and took the scrolls with pride, "I will."
"Good. Now, if you will excuse me. I've got some celebrating to do." When he was done Genma was off like a flash.
Ranma shook his head and pocketed the scrolls to whatever spooky place martial artists put things. He then turned to Nodoka; "Well we have to be going."
At that everyone in the room stood. "So soon, you just got here," said Nodoka, her voice full of regret.
"Don't worry. I'm sure that you'll be seeing much more of me from now on." He then looked to his right to Sailor Saturn. "You ready to go?"
"Yes. But what about Pluto," asked Hotaru as she pointed to the sleeping Senshi.
"She can stay the night, I'll make sure that she comfortable," replied Kasumi who had just returned from showing around Washu. "Oh Ranma, your friend left."
"Thanks Kasumi. Well, see you guys tomorrow." Ranma turned and headed o the entryway to retrieve his slippers and was followed by Mihoshi and Sailor Saturn.
*********
To say that the goddess Tokimi was furious would be placing a limit on how truly, madly, and deeply pissed she was. The only reason the planet Jurai still existed was that blowing up the planet put a crimp in her whole, have Tsunami's people worship me, plan. After ranting for several hours Tokimi regained some semblance of control. Mind you none of the woman's sanity returned she was just less outwardly angry.
The first order of business was to remove herself from those she was effecting on Earth. Unlike Setsuna, whom she had complete control over, the people who actually spent all their time on that annoying orb were harder to control. Not because the people she needed to use were heavily fortified mentally, in fact for most of those that she controlled, a rat with a cheese grater could do the same thing as she was. It was the brothers, they claimed Earth as their own and there was no way Tokimi was going to mess with them. She wasn't that crazy. So she had to enact her whole "Kill Ranma" plan differently than she would have liked. At first Tokimi had tried making it so that Genma seemed so stupid that Nodoka would never want to marry him. When that didn't work she tried increasing the stress that Nodoka put on honor. That plan worked and Genma left with Ranma. Now all Tokimi needed to do was keep Genma's stupidity quotient high and feed him a string of screwed up training techniques. The Neko- Ken, speed training by dodging swarms of angry bees, throwing Ranma down a cliffside to increase the boy's resistance to punches. Admittedly the whole Neko-Ken thing seemed like a good thing at the time. After all it should kill him right? But did that kill him? Did any of that kill him? Oh hell no! It just made the bastard even stronger and gave him a greater will to live.
So Tokimi tried a different path. She used her pawn, Setsuna to look in to Ranma's future to see if anyone else could be manipulated into killing Ranma. What she saw shocked her. At first he had a rocky relationship with a Tendo sister but they ended up together and happy. Then all of his potential rivals or fiancés ended up as Ranma's friends and everyone was happy. It really pissed her off. If everyone were happy then Ranma would manage to meet the Silver Millennium brats and Tsunami's people.
So Tokimi had to stop this problem. She used what little control she could exert over people to cloud their minds. Now all those who met Ranma would put him in a group and that would be how they interact with him. While this is how most people normally are Tokimi made it harder for them to look past that initial placement. Next she took certain personality traits or vices that may serve her uses and dramatically increased them. Thereby turning someone who would normally be sweet and caring and have only a mild temper into a vicious person who crushed anything that angered them. It was quite simple, increase this person's anger, and make that person dumber, blind others to reality and you end up with a group of people primed to make Ranma's life a living hell.
But did all of this hard work pay off? Was Ranma laying in a hole somewhere rotting? No! Instead he is happier than ever and everything that she had been working to avoid happened anyway! What's worse is that he has that damnable forbidden. "Well fuck them." Tokimi said to herself. If there was one thing that humans were good at, it was creating words perfect for when one is angry. But before she washed her hands of this pathetic orb there was one thing that she had to do. There was one person on Earth that she could use. The only person to bring Ranma Saotome to the edge of death. Besides, his monster form should have its uses.
*********
Makoto Kino was the last Senshi. All others had fallen in battle to an opponent that they were ill equipped to deal with. Who knew that someone that looked so harmless could be so dangerous. After her opponent struck the first blow Makoto had been flung into a tree, luckily all of her previous encounters with walls and other solid objects had built up a resistance to blunt force trauma in the Senshi of Jupiter. Thought to be unconscious, she was passed over as others who still clung to consciousness tried to fight back, Jupiter hid in the bushes in the hopes that an opportunity for attack may present itself.
Now the same bushes that had offered sanctuary would now prove to be the location of her complete defeat. As she waited she could hear her pursuer closing in on her. Though the steps she heard were not at all loud, they were magnified so greatly to her ears so that any noise would be like cannon fire. So she waited, barely breathing so as not to alert her pursuer and going over what had happened trying to see if there was anything different that she might have done. To her dismay there wasn't anything she could have done. After several seconds of waiting she realized that the steady sound of footsteps had ceased. She looked left and then right yet she saw nothing. Then, like a person in a horror movie, Makoto slowly turned around and the only thing that she managed to do before the darkness consumed her was utter, "Oh crap."
*********
Authors Notes: And thus completes my story. Now you all know the true purpose of this story, to kill the Sailor Senshi.
NOT!
If you honestly think that this is the end then you are wrong. Nothing is stopping this story. Muwa, ha, ha, ha!
Ahem. Sorry for the shortness of the chapter but this was a perfect cut off point. I know I'll get some complaints about a lack of action but this chapter, like the one before it, was to finally close the book on the Nerima portion of Ranma's life. He'll visit from time to time but he will never return for good. Also the point of this story from the very beginning has been a story of character development. Strike Fiss said it best in Seven Knights, each person is in a shell constantly remaking themselves. I intend to try to make many character's shells grow or break.
Now as you can see I explained Akane's behavior in chapter 5, she was being manipulated by Tokimi. In fact Tokimi, manipulated everyone that had any impact on Ranma's life, no matter how small. I did this for two reasons:
Reason #1 - To show how badly Tokimi wanted Ranma dead and how little she could do to kill him.
Reason #2 - It is my firm belief that the characters of Ranma 1/2 can't be as stupid as they seem. Take Cologne for example, she lives for three hundred years, becomes matriarch, and she can't handle one boy?
Now this will have some effect on certain characters, the beginnings of which have already been seen. Genma will become more intelligent and honorable. He's not going to become Super Genma but he will be someone that a person like Nodoka would be willing to wed. If there are any other concerns tell me.
Chaos Lord King of the Wicker People