I don't own the characters of Ranma 1/2 or any other works used here. This work is just for fun. Enjoy!
Italics indicate thoughts.
Mara walked out of the Demon Resource Director's office deep in thought. There were no demons missing. It obviously did not come from here. I need to look into the past and see what happened. If Urd were around I could probably talk her into it, but since Urd is the one missing… That leaves only one source who may have some information. Damn and double damn. I need to see Belldandy and the squirt. Maybe they can help.
The sound of multiple explosions caused Belldandy and Skuld to run out of the temple. Outside they found a flying Mara dodging blasts from Banpi Mark II. "Damn it kid, call off your toy. I need to talk to Belldandy," Mara yelled.
Skuld glanced at her sister and seeing her nod issued commands for Banpi to stand down. With a dark look at the robot, Mara glided to a landing in front of Belldandy.
Oh, crap. Belldandy's eyes were red and she wasn't smiling. Belldandy – smile danger. It took all of Mara's willpower to not run in circles gibbering in fear. A pissed Belldandy was something she so did not want to see.
Well, here goes. "I need your help. The Daimakaichō assigned me to find Urd and whoever sent the demon after her. Before you ask, the demon was not one of ours. From what little I know the demon was destroyed and we have none missing."
"Why should we believe you," Skuld asked frowning.
"Because squirt, her mother is worried."
"I don't think we can help, Father said…" Before she could finish the ringing of Mara's cell phone interrupted.
"Yes," Mara said impatiently. Her eyes got bigger and she took a deep breath. "It's for you," she said handing the phone to Belldandy and pointing toward the sky.
"Hello Father…Yes…I understand…Bye Father, I love you."
"Well," Mara said.
"That was Father. He has given his approval for us to help you in your assignment," Bell said.
"Say what," Skuld yelled. "He wouldn't."
Mara smiled evilly, "Well runt, looks like we will be working together." She looked at Bell, "Any ideas."
"Yes, I think so. Ages past, mages and scientists created an artifact to monitor the time stream. With it, we may be able to view what happened to sister.
"The only problem," she continued, "is that the person charged by her former queen to monitor the time stream tends to be very difficult to deal with."
"I think two goddesses and a demon can persuade her that it's in her best interest for us to use the device, "Mara said smiling grimly. "Let's go," she cracked her knuckles, "introduce ourselves."
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There is nothing like a quiet evening at home with a good cup of tea. Hotaru is spending the night with small lady. Haruka went out with Nabiki and there are no conflicts on the horizon. Life is good. Or, at least it was until the doorbell spoiled the moment.
"Damn, who can that be?"
Opening the door, she saw a tall, slim girl with light brown hair and a shorter dark haired girl standing beside her. Fighting an impulse to kneel, she saw a tall blond woman standing in back. For some reason she made her want to transform and introduce her to a dead scream.
Fighting both urges, she calmed her face. "What can I do for you?
My name is Belldandy and this is my sister Skuld," she said indicating the short dark haired girl, "and our associate, Mara," indicating the blond. We need to speak with you, Setsuna Meioh, concerning your position."
"And what position would that be," she asked, thinking they meant her job as school councilor.
"That of Sailor Pluto, Guardian of the Gates of Time," Mara said pushing her inside and closing the door. Setsuna could feel the evil energy coming from her touch. She…she is a demon.
"Pluto planet power make-up." a short transformational sequence later and Sailor Pluto stood brandishing the Garnet Orb. "What do you want, demons," Pluto whispered as Mara got into a fighting stance.
"Pluto, Mara, stand down," Belldandy commanded with a frown. "Why don't we sit down with a nice cup of tea and discuss this."
A short time later, a de-transformed Pluto said while sipping a cup of tea. "Let me get this straight, you two are goddesses," pointing at Belldandy and Skuld who nodded. "And you are a demon," pointing at Mara who just grinned.
"And you need my help," she said. "Why?"
"We need you to help find my sister Urd, goddess of the past," Bell said.
"That explains you two," Setsuna said. "But, what about her, how does she fit into this equation?"
"It seems the Daimakaichō, Hild, is Urd's mother and she is very concerned, Mara said. "And in case you are wondering, Kami-sama is her father."
"All we know, so far, is that she was attacked by a demon," Bell said.
"Not one of ours," Mara added. "We need to use the time gate to see what happened so we can find her and whoever was responsible for the attack. The Daimakaichō is very interested in talking with them."
Setsuna paled. "I don't think I can do that. The Queen's orders were very specific that I be only one allowed to monitor the time stream."
"You don't understand," Mara said. "We are not asking for…"
Belldandy held up her hand forestalling Mara. "Let me handle this, please Mara." Seeing Mara nod, she continued, her face stern. "The time gate could never have been built without the blessing of the three Norns, Goddesses of the Past, Present and Future. What do you think will happen if we remove that blessing?"
If possible, Setsuna paled even more. Crap! "Let me transform and I'll teleport us there."
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While her mother and Kasumi cleaned up after breakfast, Ranma wandered aimlessly through the house. Today is going to be so boring; I almost wish I had gone to school. Can't do katas in this outfit. Let's see, what else is there to do. Potions, maybe. But who would need it. Not Kasumi or Nabiki evidently. Akane, but who would she be interested in. Certainly not Ryouga. Heh. The pig is gonna go splat. Maybe there's something on television.
Grabbing the remote, Ranma settled down in front of the television. Hours later, Kasumi peeked in on Ranma. "Auntie, I think you need to see this."
"What, Kasumi," Nodoka said then froze in place. Ranma was sitting as if ensconced in an easy chair, only she was floating about a foot off the couch.
Nodoka and Kasumi looked at each other with question-filled eyes. Questions that had no answers.
As the show she was watching ended Ranma noticed her mom and Kasumi in the doorway. "Hey guys, watcha need?"
Kasumi shook herself free of the trance she was in. "Just wanted to tell you that your clothes are ready. I put them in your room for you."
"All right," Ranma said jumping to her feet and dashing up the stairs with the words, "thanks, Kasumi," trailing behind.
Moments later, she came back down. "Kasumi did my clothes shrink?"
"Not that I know of, Ranma, don't they fit any more."
"Nah, they're way too small. Is there anything else I could wear," she asked pleadingly.
"Well, you could try one of Dad's gi's, maybe that would fit. Let me get one for you."
Getting the clothes and adjourning to the furo for hot water Ranma returned decked out in the gi. Both Kasumi and Nodoka looked at Ranma in shock. Soun's gi, which would have been baggy on the Ranma of yesterday, fit perfectly. He now stood about six-feet tall with a slimmer build. His face was now more mature and angular and he had forsaken the pigtail for a ponytail, which hung down to mid-back.
"Do I have something on my face," Ranma asked the two staring women.
"No, ah, no Ranma, you look just fine," Kasumi said, absent-mindedly wiping the drool from a corner of her mouth. His mother's nodding echoed Kasumi's statement.
Just then, Genma and Soun staggered into the room, bottles of sake clutched in their hands. Ranma's form blurred for a moment as he removed a bottle from each. The two besotted individuals felt sobriety wash over them as they were relieved of their sake.
The two morons dropped into a defensive stance. "You, give back those bottles," Genma demanded
"Sure, Pops," Ranma said draining the remainder of the sake and handing them back the empty bottles. "I feel much better now."
"Boy," Genma.
"Ranma," Soun.
"Why did you drink our sake," they wailed in unison.
Ranma took Kasumi by the arm, ignoring the two crying fathers.. "Let's go out to a Karaoke bar." Glancing down at the clothes he was wearing he said, "These just won't do." He snapped his fingers and his clothes changed to a black shirt, black cargo pants and boots. "Tha's much better."
He paused a moment studying Kasumi. "You need some new clothes. Those do not do that body of yours any justice." Ranma snapped her fingers and Kasumi was dressed in a provocative outfit similar to the one Ranma wore earlier. "That's more like it." Ranma glided over to the full body blushing Kasumi and trailed a finger over her soft lips. He leaned over and gently nipped an earlobe. "Now, that makes me hungry."
Nodoka danced around the room, fans waving. Oh, my so manly son. The habits of a lifetime are very hard to break.
The sound of two bodies hitting the floor followed the departure of Ranma and Kasumi. Nerimans are used to the unusual and generally pay it no mind. The occasional super powered martial artist, monster, demon, or panty stealing pervert elicits no response. But the sight of a rosy-cheeked Kasumi in a dress that most would consider scandalous being escorted by a tall black-haired young man was another matter entirely. The face faults that echoed through Nerima that day registered on seismographs halfway across the country.
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In a place that doesn't exist, somewhere outside normal time and space stood the time gates. The gate itself wasn't that impressive. It was an arch approximately 30-feet high and 15-feet wide and rune encrusted. It stood on a black polished seamless surface suspended over what appeared to be an endless field of mist. There was no light, but everything was visible in stark contrast.
The portal area was black void that appeared to stretch on forever. It was in front of the portal that the four figures stood. Sailor Pluto started to insert her time key into the portal, but was stopped by Belldandy. "That's not necessary. I know when and where to look."
Saying that, she began to chant in a language no mortal could understand. After a moment an image began to appear of Urd fighting a demon. Bell and Skuldcried as their sister fought valiantly only to be severely wounded by the creature.
Then another figure appeared, a mortal boy wearing a red and black outfit, and joined in the fight. Their tears intensified as they saw him mortally hurt. Then somehow, he and Urd were able to channel their power together and blast the demon into his component atoms. The image faded as Urd dragged the boy into an electronics shop and into a television screen.
Tears streaming down her face, Belldandy chanted a spell, but the stream would show them no more. She dropped her hands wearily, "I guess Father doesn't want us to see any more."
She turned to Pluto. "Is there any way to identify the boy?"
Pluto hesitated. Damn, Goddesses and demons. I imagine they will find out anyway. "I know who the boy is. His name is Ranma Saotome, chaos magnet, and until yesterday he was the biggest threat to the formation of Crystal Tokyo."
Giving the senshi a hard look, Mara asked, "Do you know where the demon came from?"
"Yes, it was summoned from another dimension by a perverted little troll."
"Did you have anything to do with hurting big sister," Skuld asked, suspicion dripping from her voice.
Its now or never. "The time stream showed me Ranma fighting the formation of Crystal Tokyo. He would slowly bring some of the senshi to his side and destroy a dream that lasted thousands of years. "Because of that I decided that he needed to be eliminated."
"What gave you that right," Belldandy demanded. "Father gave everyone free will and you do not have the authority to meddle in time. You are supposed to monitor the time stream and insure that no one, and I repeat, no one interfere with the progression of time."
"But Crystal Tokyo…," Pluto stammered.
"Is only one of many different possibilities open to the future. It is up to mortals to determine their future, not gods, goddesses, demons or misguided magical girls," Skuld said.
"What exactly did you do," Mara asked, surprised for once to be the calming voice.
"Ranma offended the perverted grandmaster of his art and he swore revenge. I made it possible for him to find a summoning scroll."
"What went wrong and how was my sister involved," Bell asked.
"When you deal with chaos, and Ranma is pure chaos, unexplained variables may crop up," Pluto said.
"Are you saying that my sister is an unexplained variable," Skuld yelled.
"No," Pluto said massaging her temples, because of a fight with his fiancée, Ranma was late leaving and that put your sister on the scene instead of him."
"Do you know where he lives," Bell asked.
Pluto nodded.
"Take us back," Mara said. "I need to contact my boss."