An Empire Reborn
Ch4: To March into the Future
"So Ranma are you as good as they say you are?" Nabiki's voice seemed to break the atmosphere at the table as Ranma finished off his third serving. Kasumi's cooking was as good as old man Tendo had claimed. He would enjoy staying here while he was away from the palace. Too busy thinking about how he would deal with the unexpected arrival of the refugees from Mars, Ranma ignored the attempts at conversation by the Tendo's two daughters. Akane was still unconscious in the Dojo.
Rather than answering Nabiki's question he snatched a sliver of beef from her plate and offered it to Ehri. He was better than they said he was, only Serenity knew his real strength in the art and she wasn't in the position to tell anybody even if she wanted to. If you factored in the strength that he controlled from the moon crystal he could probably take on America and win if he was lucky.
That was beside the point though, he would never take on a country without substantial backup and resources which he lacked at the moment. If he could persuade the Martians to join him he could start building the resources he needed though. Even if he didn't use them for attacking and conquering he would need them for rebuilding the shattered moon kingdom and he had a feeling that they would be only too glad to participate on any future attacks on earth..
"Quite an impression you made today Ranma," commented Serenity wryly as Nabiki glanced down at her bowl annoyed that Ranma had disregarded her question and wondering when she had nibbled at her dish. "Still I suppose I have to be grateful that you restrained yourself in the dojo earlier." Serenity was obviously referring to his previous encounters with challenges. 'If they felt they were strong enough to challenge him then they were strong enough to survive a beating,' he thought casually. He hadn't killed anyone yet so he wasn't too worried.
"You're rubbing off on me Serenity, besides with those survivors from Mars I'm going to have to take on more responsibility and speed up those repairs to the moon palace." Only Serenity would have noticed him mouthing the words around his food, he had long since developed ways of communicating with her in the presence of others. She was right though, usually he would have thrashed the insolently weak challenger. It was a practice that had caused as many problems as it had solved but with the new Martian arrivals he had bigger concerns.
"About those survivors, am I correct in assuming that you plan to try and rebuild the moon kingdom. It is now more than possible with the Martian refugees as a power base. Ehri did a surprisingly good job at selecting a variety of teachers, engineers, and artists among the survivors." If that was true then he might have to think about building his power base sooner than he had planned. Not that it mattered to him, he would just be a little busier than he normally kept himself.
Ranma just nodded as he smilingly asked Kasumi for another serving while his father and the Tendo's pressed Ehri for some answers to their questions seeing that he wasn't supplying anything but the occasional grunt. She was doing a surprisingly good job at fending them off, 'must be something to do with her military training' he thought to himself.
"I would never have dreamed that it would be possible to rebuild what Beryl took away from us much less build it better. All the mistakes I made will allow us to build a fairer society." Serenity breathed wistfully, "statesmanship is an area of your education that I neglected. That is an area that has to be remedied soon, winning over some militaristic Martians will be very different from winning over the governments of earth. A peaceful settlement with the people of earth is something that is of prime importance if we are to avoid another Beryl." Ranma grunted, another Beryl was unlikely with Earths current development, still she was right. The more resources he put into war the less he had else where, it didn't mean he had to neglect his military however.
"Then there are all the other areas of your education you have neglected in favor of your combat training. I didn't push you before since you showed little interest but if you are going to grab this opportunity with both hands then they will become necessary."
"Aren't you forgetting whoever is behind those so called warriors of peace and justice, they wont just roll over peacefully you know and I suspect that they are trying to achieve much the same goals as we are for their own reasons. I doubt the people of earth will overlook a high tech war going on in their backyards." Someone would be sure to notice no matter how discrete the conducted such a war. Ranma smirked privately at Serenity's assumption that his speech to Ehri earlier was no more than rhetoric. So sure that she was aware of what was going on – he would play along but when she found out she would be very surprised. The castle was much more prepared than she knew.
"Ranma," Ehri gasped as he chocked on a piece of rice. Something was about to happen which he had to witness, it would be a good idea for his lieutenant to be there as well. It was rude to rush of in the middle of a meal but this was too important.
"Ehri we have to go, excuse me but this can't wait." Ranma bowed to Kasumi, her cooking was some of the best he had tasted making him wonder if there were any cooks among the Martian survivors.
"This is something you must see," he whispered as they left the dojo grounds where he opened up a portal. "Let's see what Beryl and the scouts are up to," he mouthed to Serenity as he stepped through with Ehri. Only a curious Nabiki, who had quickly followed her antisocial fiancé, was a witness to his mode of transport.
Ehri followed her king's lead through the stone labyrinth he had teleported them to as she listened to the echoing sound of nearby voices. She started in surprise when he gestured urgently to her and faded from view leaving her trying to imitate his level of stealth by merging with the shadows. It was obvious he had sensed someone approaching who he wanted to hide from, she would not allow her limited skill give her king away, she thought with determination.
"Are sure this is a good idea Artimis?"
"Relax, Luna the scouts will be fine."
Ehri stared incredulously at her king when he reappeared again and gestured for her to follow. Talking cats, that was something she hadn't expected to see in this primitive time and why the hell where they named after Queen Serenities closest advisors. Something weird was going on, something her king wanted to see and perhaps figure out for herself. She would keep her eyes and ears open in an attempt to understand what he was showing her as she continued to follow his stealthy approach to the cavern before them. Ehri was sure he would explain the situation to her when there was time if she didn't understand.
"Kunzite!" she hissed with anger before Ranma silenced her. What was going on here and who were the colorfully dressed schoolgirls facing the evil terran general? "What is going on here?" she mouthed to Ranma, as she listened to Kunzite demand the Silver millennium crystal from the pony tailed leader. She checked in confusion to see that Ranma still glowed confirming that he held possession of the Ginzuishou, so what was that powerful gem the girl had in her possession and why was Beryl's general so sure it was the Ginzuishou? It was obvious that Beryl wanted its power but that didn't explain his confusion over the artifacts identity.
"Just watch," he mouthed back.
Ehri followed Ranma's lead as he sat down to watch the conflict, it seemed her king was enjoying this conflict more than he let on. Even the lightening blast, which barely missed the enterence to the cavern they sat in didn't move the sardonic grin he held. Kunzite's counter attack more than demonstrated the differing power levels by throwing all five of the girls back against the stonewalls and making a grab for the crystal. Why was her king watching such a one-sided fight and not interfering, it was clear who was in the wrong here. Beryl and her generals, how could Ranma not run in and destroy one who took part in the downfall of his kingdom? Obviously she was missing a piece of the puzzle.
"Wha…" she gaped in amazement. Just as Kunzite grabbed for the crystal which was attached to the crescent moon shaped scepter it spun away letting out a powerful blast which held Kunzite and the five girls frozen in place. Only Ranma's protection prevented them from suffering the same fate. She had heard of some powerful artifacts in the queen's possession having the power to freeze an enemy in place but had never seen it. She didn't even notice sweat pooling on Ranma's brow as he maintained the shield against the crystals light.
"Now isn't that interesting," Ranma commented while he studied the statue like figures. "It seems that the crystal is being controlled by the same mysterious person who was controlling those cats." Ehri blinked in understanding as she started putting the pieces together, obviously there was a mysterious third power and her king was holding his hand, in an attempt to find out more before he deployed his own resources. 'Very strategic my king,' she thought in admiration
Ehri thought back to the cats, how had he noticed that the two cats were more than the enhanced pets she had originally suspected. Shrugging and putting it down to his connection with the Ginzuishou she drew her knife to kill Beryl's general while he was helpless.
"Don't, let's just see how this little drama plays out. There will be more than enough time for that later," Ranma said restraining her. "Meanwhile tell me what you think of this…" Ranma just gestured at the six frozen figures in the stone cavern.
"I don't understand how Beryl and her generals could have survived so long after the fall of the moon kingdom. It has been thousands of years by my calculation and I am not amused by these schoolgirls imitating and besmirching the names of such great warriors." Ehri replied after some consideration, she had survived because of a trick of time and space how could Beryl have weathered so many years?
What angered and confused her more than the return of Beryl and her generals though was these imposters with the powerful crystal. There was no mistaking its power or its origin. The only explanation she could see was someone giving the group of schoolgirls the crystal but how could anyone entrust such a powerful object into their hands and what was the extent of their knowledge about the moon kingdom. "Tactically these girls barely have a chance of winning this fight unless they work together and use the power of the crystal so why aren't you interfering - that is Kunzite out there. Beryl's general," she hissed as her king's grip tightened. Her anger and grief at what she had witnessed was almost overwhelming her military training.
"You look confused Ehri, is it that crystal?" Her king asked in an understanding tone, he knew that she thirsted to go and end the lives of the people in the stone chamber, one in revenge, the others because they mocked the dead, those she had once defended with her life.
"I have to admit my king, that the presence of two such powerful crystals worries me, all the more that the second is in the presence of some untrained girls." One of the reasons so many of the Queens powerful artifacts were been booby-trapped was for this very reason. In case someone obtained some power and attempted to carve out a kingdom with it. It was a small possibility when the queen and senshi held power, but from what I have seen in this time….There is no one with enough power to stop them.
"It is quite pitiful and slightly ironic that earths defenders have resorted to relying on power-ups and Silver Millennium artifacts isn't it." Ranma barked out with a laugh.
"When Beryl's forces broke into the moon palace to confront Serenity, she used the power of the Ginzuishou to banish Beryl and her forces to another dimension. Beryl is only now flexing her muscles and stirring from the plane she was banished to after having pillaged the moon kingdom entirely. I inherited the real Ginzuishou from the hands of Pluto herself. What you see in their possession is a clever and powerful fake but as long as they contain Beryl I see no reason for not letting them keep their pretty stone. As long as I am able to keep an eye on them, as for how they know of the moon kingdom when all trace had been erased from earth millennia ago, I can't tell you."
"What? But.."
Ranma silenced her with his hand while he pointed at the stirring scouts with the other, it seemed the fight was once again about to begin as the freeze started to loose its grip.
Pluto watched as the scouts were brushed back with the strength of Kunzite's blast and Usagi lost her grip on the moon scepter. It frustrated her that the girls she had picked out seemed to adjust to their new powers so slowly. She had carefully chosen the group of girls with the greatest potential in their generation to wield the powers of the Sailor Scouts but it seemed that they barely managed to defeat each threat that Beryl threw at them.
Now so close to escaping the prison that Serenity had imprisoned her in, Pluto could ill afford to wait any longer, she would need to speed up the bonding between Usagi and the crystal. Unfortunately as Usagi increased her mastery over the crystal, Pluto's own control over the gem would drastically diminish. Even as Usagi's power grew hers would weaken. That was one of the reasons she was going so carefully, so that other controls could be put into place.
Still it was either that or wait another generation as Kunzite demolished her warriors of peace and justice. 'Time for plan B' she muttered in disgust, if the girls she had picked had lived up to their potential plan B would have been unnecessary. Seizing control of her bond with the power held within the crystal, Pluto altered its path to avoid Kunzites grasp before using its innate power to freeze the combatants where they stood.
"If I'm going to give up control over any power, I'm going to make real sure I maintain its users loyalty," Pluto groused as she entered the girls mind. She had made sure that she had plenty of backup plans from the moment she was forced to use a couple of cats as advisors, this was one of the more simplistic of them.
After she had been caught plan free once, she had imagined the most unlikely events and had come up with plans to correct or limit their effect on her plans. Feeding the girls bursts of images and dialogue directly into their mind she shaped their thoughts and manipulated their emotions before sitting back and watching her handy work. While physically they wouldn't be going anywhere or meeting anyone, by the time the information she had fed them unraveled they would believe they had.
Setsuna smiled in satisfaction as the scouts wondered what she imagined remained of the moon palace after Beryl had trashed it before activating a prerecorded message left by Serenity the last Queen of the moon kingdom. She watched as they experienced her own reconstruction of the kingdoms fall from power as told by the last Queen and smirked as they felt great pain and sadness from her created events. Pluto's manipulation of events ensured that Serenities courage and valiant sacrifice motivated them while fueling their hate for Beryl's kind and the evil she represented.
She waited until she was confident that the group of teens she had gathered was only filled with loyalty to Usagi with no disloyalty tainting their actions. For now it would suit her plans to have their loyalty lie there, later their loyalty could be eroded and slowly transferred to her, but until she appeared there would not be much point.
"She protected us all," Minako murmured sadly.
"She sure did," Makoto muttered tearfully.
Setsuna smiled at seeing her plans go so well when Usagi unconsciously drew power from the crystal in an attempt to drive the fear from her friends and augment their attacks and defenses. Sailor moons control had jumped enormously, however if Pluto were to imbue the girl with a greater mastery over the crystal then the girls body would fail despite her potential and the amount of wards and technology she had invested into the girl.
Only time and experience would allow her to push that limit further but the girl was already more than powerful enough to handle Beryl's general and possibly even Beryl herself. Once Beryl was out of the way she could start some real planning and then the real work of empire building would begin.
Pluto's laughter from the entrance of the time gates muffled Kunzites death knell as events were transmitted through the Shanite she had recovered not long after the fall of civilization. His last words echoed through space, "I'm coming Zoicite, I will join you soon."
'What's going on?" thought Ranma in a daze. He had mostly agreed with Ehri's analysis of the situation. There was no way the girls could have possibly overpowered that general unless they used as much power as they could leach from the crystal and worked as a team. But they had, or rather their blond leader had. She had not only managed to draw heavily on the crystals power to augment her own teams but had also had enough power to spare to annihilate Kunzite.
"There is no way that girl's mastery over that crystal could have grown so much in the little time I've been following her. No way!' If the girl had a learning curve that fast then he would have a problem, one that could possibly upset his plans in the near future. 'Bah, I'll just have to work harder at building my own strength in case she ever becomes a problem.' Despite his shock he would not show any weakness before his lieutenant, he must show himself to be a strong leader to convince the Martians to join him.
"Ehri it is time we awoke the refugees, they will look to you for the right think to do. You saved them from death and brought them home, they will value your advice. I might hold the Ginzuishou but you are the one who saved their lives. I am no Serenity and cannot expect to hold their loyalty immediately. Tell them what you've seen and what my plans for the future are, the moon kingdom can be reborn better and greater than when it died, with their help. These girls are my responsibility even as Beryl is my responsibility, so please don't let such weak threats sway yours or their decision. Our priority must be rebuilding for sometime to come. What is the point of conquest if we do not have a home to come back too?"
Ranma watched Ehri nod in understanding before he creating a portal to the moon palace. Even as they appeared in the medical wing he watched as Ehri made her rounds waking up the survivors. "What do you think Serenity?" he mouthed watching as she gathered the Martians around her and ignoring the pointed stares his way.
"The Martians have always been eager to join nation building projects especially when there is the possibility for showing off their superiority in war." Serenity said as she stared at the growing crowd of people at the far end of the hall. Despite being the first to fall, they accounted for the most casualties on Beryl's side. If they had held on a little longer it is possible that the war would have ended much differently. I have no doubt that if you promise them the opportunity to regain their strength and honor they will join you."
"Not about them, what sort of technique could this puppet master have used on her slave girls to have effected such a change and how could I not have seen her use it? I've not seen anyone better at stealth than me," Ranma was silently berating himself for his oversight, he would he vowed step up his training with both the crystal and his own art.
"Ranma, these girls are people with parents and friends. What she did was forbidden, I outlawed it for the exact reason you saw. It removes free will and personal choice, with little chance of resisting its effects and since such a technique could be used at a distance, who ever used that move might not even have been on earth. Using it to its maximum potential has the possibility of creating an army of loyal and fanatical followers, think of the havoc such a skill could cause. With a few people controlling constantly battling brainwashed followers society would quickly break down and eventually collapse completely. Only a few people ever have had the power or the knowledge to do such a thing however, Beryl and I among them and that was a long time ago. Still knowing the technique doesn't protect you from it unless you had the power to use it yourself."
"Obviously the amount of people that could hold such power now would be far fewer than back then at the height of the moon kingdoms powers. Who… I want to know and you've gotta teach me that technique if for no other reason than to defend against it. I would have the power to use such a technique and you know that I would not misuse it." Ranma grinned ferally as Serenity succumbed to his arguments and agreed to teach him the technique. He would not use the technique since he knew of more reliable means too bind people too him but a technique was a technique and he would not allow its use on himself or his followers.
"My king, the people have some questions that my explanation could not satisfy." Ranma watched as Ehri approached from the crowd and prostrated herself before him.
Mindful of the atmosphere that surrounded the throne of what was still in their minds a powerful nation Ranma followed protocol. "Of course, please, ask them."
Ehri stood with her head still lowered, "what guarantees can you provide that the events that they fled from will not happen again. More, will you provide assurances that they will be able to return home when Mars has been re-terraformed?"
"Citizens of Mars," Ranma smirked inwardly as he addressed the people who were about to join him in his quest for a bigger and more powerful kingdom. Though Ehri asked the question it was the concerns of the people behind her, "I have not been idle for the last sixteen years, indeed the palace has not been idle for the last thousand years." Ranma had always thought the basic public speaking techniques Serenity had drilled him in had been a waste of time but with the arrival of the Martian citizens from the past his plans had expanded, now he played them for all he was worth.
"It is possible that the Moon kingdom has the potential to become greater than it ever was, but while the moon has been moving ever forward the earth has been traveling backward. It is inconceivable that a threat could emerge from earth, which is great enough to bring about a disaster of such a magnitude that occurred on that day. Still as you know or would have been told by now, Beryl destroyed much of the nations infrastructure."
"So while I have been rebuilding what I can alone, I have not been able to fulfill the vast potential this kingdom has, to become much greater than it was before. Citizens of Mars be assured that with your help the strength you remember will not only be rebuilt but enhanced and as soon as that happens you are welcome to move back to your homes on mars or stay here on the moon if you wish. Help me rebuild this shattered kingdom and Mars will once again be known for its military might throughout the galaxy and perhaps even the universe."
Ranma fought back an evil grin as the men and women from the past all knelt before him enamored with his vision for the future.
Genma sat over the edge of the deck gazing unblinkingly at Tendo's koi pond. The graceful leaps of the colorful Koi barely registered as he considered his son. His thoughts were increasingly on his son lately as he continued to increase in strength and knowledge. What he had told Tendo was true, his son embodied what they imagined for an heir to the Anything Goes school when they planned the engagement.
It wasn't his skill or knowledge that worried Genma though, Ranma had proven he was more than capable to take over his fathers school when Genma retired. He was worried about his sons behavior lately, he wasn't as close as he once was, he was sure his son held tightly onto secrets where there used to be none between them.
Although his son had remained just as focused on furthering his boundaries and expanding his school, Ranma had become increasingly elitist and seemingly cruel. He regularly beat challenges to an inch of infirmity and brooked little when it came too the weaknesses of others, it concerned Genma because the world was full of people that did not have the strength his son had acquired.
Genma would have been worried about such a person, even his son possessing such power, a power he admitted he probably under estimated, he was sure his son hadn't revealed the extent of which he was capable of for many years despite constantly winning in their sparring matches. He would have been worried if such behavior wasn't balanced by his acts of humanity, helping out a bullied student, stopping a mugging and enacting his healing techniques to save someone's life.
One event particularly stood out in Genma's mind. A young girl had been being bullied by a group of boys heavier and stronger than her and yet she had stood up to them, even going so far as to assume a clumsy martial arts stance. Her hurt, determined and saddened eyes had clearly moved his son to action. With an overly flashy rescue he had ensured that the girl would no longer be bullied without her attackers always looking over their shoulder. He doubted to this day whether his son even noticed the awe filled face of the girl he had rescued all those years ago, 'what was her name again' Genma wondered. 'Mak, ko..mko,' Genma gave up, it was a long time ago.
So who was his son and which was an act? Genma knew his son was a consummate actor and had the discipline to main a mask for years but both acts seemed so genuine. Just a decade ago he would have been proud of the façade of superiority but now he was more proud of the gentle and caring actions that his son spontaneously displayed.
Genma just prayed that the former was the act but too what purpose? There was no doubt that Ranma had become distracted by something here in Tokyo. When would his son let him into the secret life he led? When?
