Usa was merrily strolling down the street carrying a backpack, when she heard someone whisper in shocked manner, "Black Lady?" The future princess whirled around trying to find who had mentioned her evil alter-ego. It didn't take Usa very long to spot Mamoru standing a few feet behind her. Even though Usa was shocked, she kept her wits and thought about what to do. She then calmly walked over to Mamoru and said, "Hi cousin. I didn't expect to see you today."

By now, Mamoru was trying to figure out what was going on. Chibiusa was supposed to be a cute little, if slightly annoying at times to Usako, girl in the 30th century. She wasn't supposed to be a teenager hanging out in the 20th century. When Mamoru had first passed Usa by he wanted to believe that she was simply a young woman who had a passing resemblance to a grown up Chibiusa. However, when Usa had turned around to look at Mamoru, he was left without any doubts. Black Lady's face had been seared into Mamoru's memory.

It just didn't seem possible to Mamoru. Chibiusa had been restored to her proper age by Neo-Queen Serenity. Her features were too soft and she was too friendly for this sudden age to be explained as another transformation. Something clicked in Mamoru's mind and he remembered that Usa traveled through time. Could this a grown up Chibiusa? Trying to prevent a scene, Mamoru politely nodded his head and replied, "Hello cousin. I didn't expect to see you today either."

Usa swiftly closed the gap between the two of them and gave Mamoru a hug. While Usa was hugging Mamoru, she whispered into his ear, "Refer to me as Usa. If anyone asks, I'm your paternal cousin." Mamoru quickly caught on to Usa's plan and had to admire the elegance in her cover story's simplicity. Almost imperceptibly, Mamoru nodded his head to show that he understood.

Quickly afterwards, Usa ended the hug and she waited for Mamoru to speak. It was obvious that he'd want to know why she was here. Sure enough, Mamoru asked, "So Usa, why are you in town? It's great to see you again, but I honestly wasn't expecting to see you again for a while."

In a friendly manner, Usa replied, "I'm only in town till the end of the week Mamoru. Recently, I got in contact with the new owner of the shop across the street from mom and dad's shop. You know the one that they were having that big feud with? Well, the two of us decided to hold a series of low-key meetings here in the city to see if we can iron out some of the problems that have come up between our two stores in the past. Once we get a decent agreement we're planning on going back to my home town and getting my folks to accept our new plan."

Since Usa got her brains from Mamoru, it wasn't surprising that he quickly decoded why she was here. Mamoru quickly thought over what Usa had told him. So Usa was in the past with Ranma to quietly discuss a treaty between Crystal Tokyo and Nemesis? Well, at least that explained why Kasumi ran into Ranma the other day. The Prince of Earth had to admit that Usa had found the perfect place for a secret meeting. No one would be able to leak information about Usa and Ranma's new treaty if they created the treaty in the distant past.

After admiring Usa's ingenuity, Mamoru said, "Well then cousin, I wish you luck on your meeting. Hopefully you and your friend will be able to work everything out. By the way, are you and your friend planning on hanging out with everyone? Some of those games the group likes to play aren't a whole lot of fun with the number of players we currently have. Adding two or even one more players would make the games a whole lot better."

Usa put two fingers against her cheek and said, "I don't know Mamoru. Ranma and I are trying to keep the fact that we're in town quiet. However, we'll defiantly join in if we're nearby when the gang starts to play. Anyways, it was good seeing you."

Mamoru nodded his head and replied, "It was good seeing you to. Keep safe cousin."

In one of the conference rooms in the palace, Seto and Ranma's cabinet were just sitting down for a meeting. Seto looked at his associates and said, "It's good that you were all able to get here so fast with such short notice. No doubt you all are wondering why I called this meeting. About an hour ago the prince sent me a copy of a treaty he has crafted with Princess Serenity of Crystal Tokyo. If you will direct your attention to your computer screens you see the contents of the treaty. The prince wants to know what you think of the treaty before he sends it off to Neo-Queen Serenity."

For the next few minutes the conference room was silent as the secretaries carefully read the treaty. Seto spent this time carefully observing the secretaries reactions. Even though it was rather petty of him, Seto couldn't help grinning when he saw the shocked look on Tamahome's face. Obviously the tight-fisted man had just come across Ranma's bride price offer. After everyone had finished reading the treaty Seto said, "Your opinions ladies and gentlemen."

Being the Secretary of Foreign Matters, Releena spoke first. "Over all it is a very sound treaty and its terms are quite generous. While it might be possible to gain control of the mentioned moons without the dynastic marriage, the political fallout among our trading partners would simply be too much. This treaty will grant us peace on the sunward front, boost our trading partners' opinions of us, and secure the dynasty for the next generation. I say that the prince should send the treaty to Neo-Queen Serenity as is whenever he wants to."

Heero backed his wife up by saying, "I also support the treaty as is. While Crystal Tokyo is a non-existent entity militarily speaking, it does have connections to Kinmoku, Thundera, Triforia, and Jurai. It is extremely likely that at least one of those four would get involved if we pushed for military annexation of any of these moons. Given our present military capabilities, we would be hard pressed to win against any of those four. Even if it was just Kinmoku we'd have a lot of trouble since they have closer ties with our remaining trading partners then we do."

Ishizu and Teletha also agreed that the treaty was a good idea. Finally Tamahome spoke up. "Look, I hate to be the bad guy here, but this treaty isn't going to work. 30 million Solari isn't nearly enough to 'restore Crystal Tokyo's industry.' Crystal Tokyo lost more the 600 million Solari worth of industry assets during the war thanks to the plans that Mr. scorched earth Yui over here managed to get done under Wiseman's nose. There is absolutely no way that 30 million can even start Crystal Tokyo's industry again with Neo-Queen Serenity in charge over there. Even if by some miracle the princess didn't inherit her mother's financial incompetence, there's still the fact that Neo-Queen Serenity is running the show. Knowing her, that 30 million will disappear because of ridiculous regulations and environmental penalties."

Releena quickly replied, "I don't see how Crystal Tokyo's lack of industry is our concern. Section 13, subsection 3, paragraph 5 states that when the princess inherits the Crystal Throne that both Nemesis and Crystal Tokyo are to remain separate beyond the connection on the dynastic level. Except for a shared foreign police and maybe some trade agreements, the two nations will remain completely separate."

Seto's eyes light up and he said, "I see what you're getting at Tamahome. You're worried that Nemesis will have to prop Crystal Tokyo up financially as well as militarily. I'll send a note to the prince advising him to add a clause to the treaty stating that funds cannot be transferred from Nemesis to Crystal Tokyo besides the bride price without approval of the Nemesian Senate. Since we're talking about government funds, it would have had to be approved by the Senate in the first place."

Tamahome nodded his head and said, "If that clause is added to the treaty, then I have no more reservations about it. I don't want Nemesis to go broke because Neo-Queen Serenity has to buy a 10 Nummi stick of bubblegum with a 20 Soldai bill and always forgets to collect the change." Everyone around the table broke out into grins at Tamahome's joke. Sure it was an old joke, but it was still a good one.

Everyone's professionalism quickly returned and Seto said, "So, does everyone approve of the treaty with the Tamahome clause added?" Seto looked around the table as everyone calmly nodded their heads. The chancellor then nodded his head and said, "I'll inform the prince about the cabinet's recommendations. This meeting is now over."

Ranma and Usa were walking down the streets of Nerima towards the Cat Café. After Usa's run-in with Mamoru, the duo wanted to avoid meeting any more of Usa's Scout friends for the rest of the day. The Cat Café seemed like the best idea because the Scouts never headed for Nerima. According to Kasumi, she always went to the Scouts in Juuban so the Scouts wouldn't be in Nerima. Since Kasumi had met Ranma in Juuban, the royal duo figure that any man hunts by the NWC would be conducted in Juuban. That meant that Nerima would paradoxically be the quietest spot they could find.

Once Ranma and Usa got to the Cat Café, they went in and sat down in the waiting area. Shortly after their arrival, Shampoo cheerfully walked up and said, "Hello there and welcome to the Cat-" Shampoo instantly stopped talking when she saw Ranma standing in the waiting area. The Amazon's eyes narrowed as her gaze moved from Ranma to Usa. In a very testy manner, Shampoo continued on, "I will be your waiter today. Follow me."

While Ranma was confused by Shampoo's behavior, Usa was not. Obviously, Shampoo still cared a great deal for Ranma and Usa's presence was aggravating the Amazon. Part of Usa really wanted to send Shampoo a 'back off he's mine' aura. However, Usa decided against it in the end. Doing that would only increase problems and Usa really didn't want to get involved in a cat fight.

Luckily for Usa and Ranma, Cologne spotted them entering the restaurant and the near death glares Shampoo was sending Usa. Cologne quickly made a decision and when Shampoo came near she said, "I'll take care of table 26 dear."

Shampoo froze and tried to figure out what she should do. On the one hand, she didn't want to be near Ranma while he was on a date with some floozy. But on the other hand, she didn't want said floozy to be near Ranma. So what if Great-grandmother had ruled that she actually hadn't been married to Ranma? Shampoo loved him. However, Shampoo also knew when going against her grandmother was a bad idea. So in a quiet manner Shampoo stated, "Yes Great-grandmother."

Meanwhile at their table, Ranma and Usa were trying to figure out what to eat. Usually whenever Ranma went over to the Cat café in the past he would just grab some ramen. However, this time he wanted to try one of the other menu choices. Cologne hopped up to the table just as Ranma and Usa finished deciding on lunch and she said, "Hello there Ranma, and good day miss. One of our new hands didn't show up for her shift, so we had to rearrange the waiter zones. Hope you don't mind me filling in for Shampoo."

Usa quickly caught on to why Cologne was waiting on them instead of Shampoo and smirked. The elder had smoothly removed a potentially serious problem for the afternoon without any trouble and politely explained what happened in a very believable manner. While the duo ordered, Usa made a mental note to ask Setsuna to take notes on Cologne with the Time Gates. She was sure that the old Amazonian leader had some useful skills for governing.

At the same time, Cologne was studying Usa to see what kind of woman she was. If Cologne hadn't been so good at observing people, she would have wondered at Ranma's tale that Usa wanted to overthrow her mother. However, Cologne could peer past Usa's smile and see the formidable mind behind. In a way, it was almost like looking back through time for Cologne. Usa possessed a drive and desire to help her people that Cologne had possessed and still possessed.

Once Cologne had the orders, she crackled and said, "Word of advice Ranma, keep this girl close. I've seen way too many foolish men go after bad women because they didn't know which head to think with. This girl appears to one of the rare girls that has beauty and brains so hang on to her. Of course, that type of girl tends to be the most dangerous when you cross them so be sure to keep her happy."

Ranma knew that Cologne was sincerely happy, or at least pleased with, him marrying Usa. Even though Ranma wasn't Cologne's great-great-grandson-in-law, she still thought of him like a beloved grandson. Similarly, Ranma had come to view Cologne like she was he own grandmother. Ranma would never say it out loud, but Cologne's approval of Usa meant a lot to him.

As Ranma and Usa's lunch date continued on Cologne would periodically pop in and chat for a few minutes. With each visit, Cologne was able to get a clearer and clearer picture of Ranma and Usa's relationship. The young couple weren't in love; at least, they weren't in love as modern romantics would consider being in love. One of the most prominent facts dominating their relationship was the fact that both needed to secure a good marriage for their respective kingdoms future. That need to secure their lines and their people's safety was the reason why their relationship was moving at such a breakneck speed.

However, Ranma and Usa's relationship wasn't driven solely by political expediency. Cologne had been around long enough to recognize all the signs. Both Ranma and Usa respected the other as a person, and they cared for the other. Also, the two still had their friendship from before Ranma ascended to the throne. What Ranma and Usa had forged was, realistically speaking, the closest that nobility ever got to a perfect marriage. Cologne was sure that if either let this match slip through his or her fingers, then that person would be too stupid to be a ruler.

Hotaru was sitting in the park feeling depressed as usual. Chibiusa, Hotaru's only friend, had left the city to go back home to her folks. In Hotaru's mind it just wasn't fair. She had finally made a friend who wasn't scared by her powers and then the friend had to leave. Why did Chibiusa have to go? Why couldn't Chibiusa's parents let her stay in town for a few more days?

While Hotaru was wallowing in self-pity, Usa and Ranma were slowly walking up the park path. Usa stopped the duo about 15 feet away and softly said, "There she is Ranma. That's my friend Hotaru."

In a low voice Ranma replied, "The coast is clear Usa. However, are you sure you want to do this? We can have a lot of problems if Mistress 9 starts to act up within her. Besides, wouldn't this alert your mother to the fact that we're in the past?"

Usa quickly replied, "In her current state, Mistress 9's power is insignificant compared to ours. Getting Hotaru out of the 20th century will weaken the Death Busters to the point where they will only be a minor threat to the Scouts in this era. Eventually, the Scouts will defeat the Death Busters and emerge stronger because of the fact that the continuing threat won't allow their skills to degrade. My mother won't find out about this because Setsuna won't tell her."

Ranma nodded his head and said, "If you say so Usa. I really hope we can convince her to come with us because I don't like the idea of anyone being possessed by a Class II wraith-like entity. The sooner we can get her to Yamoto City Hospital the better."

Instead of saying something, Usa simply pulled out her new transformation pen and transformed into Chibiusa. The newly shrunken princess raced towards Hotaru calling out, "Hey Hotaru. Did you miss me?"

Hotaru's head immediately bobbled up as the frail girl looked at Chibiusa. With a tear in her eye, Hotaru said, "Chibiusa, you're back! I thought I wouldn't get to see you sense you went away."

Chibiusa hugged her dear friend and said, "I wasn't gone that long Hotaru. Besides, I came back as soon as I could. After all, you're my friend." For several minutes afterwards Chibiusa and Hotaru chatted away like good friends. Meanwhile, Ranma stood in the background patiently waiting for the two girls to finish. Eventually, Chibiusa got to the reason for her visit. In a calm, cheerful voice Chibiusa said, "Hotaru, what would you say if I told you that I found a way for you to get healthier?"

Hotaru diverted her eyes and said, "That's nice Chibiusa, but I don't think it will help me. I've looked into a few exercises to make me healthier and I just can't do them. Thanks for trying to help me. I really appreciate it."

With a twinkle in her eye, Chibiusa said, "Just trust me on this one Hotaru. I promise you that you'll be healthy so fast it will almost be magical!" As soon as Chibiusa said that, she twilled around and deactivated her transformation pen. Naturally, Hotaru was shocked out of her mind seeing her friend transform like that. Usa winked at Hotaru and said, "I told you it would be magical."

Seeing the state that Hotaru was in, Usa softly said, "This is my true form Hotaru. Like you, I'm a little different then most people. However that doesn't change the fact that you're my friend and I care about you. In fact, I came back to town because I wanted to help you."

At this point Ranma neared the duo and created a small dog-shaped droid. Hotaru's eyes bulged out when she saw this, but she quickly calmed down as the puppy droid acted like a regular puppy and Usa continued to smile. Ranma presented the puppy droid to Hotaru and he cheerfully said, "Hello Hotaru. Usa mentioned to me about how you were probably feeling lonely while she was away, so here's a little something so you'll always have a friend nearby."

There was a tear in Hotaru's eye as she gratefully accepted the droid from Ranma. This boy didn't even know her, except for what Usa might have told him, but he had gotten a gift for her because he thought she might be lonely. As Hotaru hugged the droid, she turned to Usa and asked, "How? How can I become healthier?"

Usa smiled softly and answered. "You see Hotaru, there's a slight imbalance with your healing abilities. It seems that your abilities are draining you much more than they should. Regular doctors wouldn't be able to treat this problem since they don't understand magical abilities. Luckily, my good friend Ranma here has access to a hospital that helps those with magical abilities. He's even managed to arrange for an appointment for you in the next hour. We can go there, get the doctor to recommend a few treatments, and then we can go back to your place so you discuss the treatment options with your father. What do you say Hotaru?"

Like any good child, Hotaru was torn about what to do. On the one hand, she shouldn't go somewhere without notifying her father. But on the other hand, Usa and Ranma were going through so much trouble just to help her out. Eventually, Hotaru timidly said, "Where is this hospital?" She was so afraid that if she didn't take this chance now, she'd never get it again.

Ranma looked around one more time to make sure that the coast was clear and then he stated, "We can't get to the hospitable by regular means Hotaru, so I'm going to create a portal to the place we need to go in order to get to the hospital. Just stay with Usa and watch." He then promptly created a typical black vortex and walked through. Usa held on to Hotaru and the duo walked into the portal together.

There is no day on Nemesis. At least, there isn't a time were the sun blots out the light of all the stars in the sky. Nemesis was just too far away from the sun for even the recovered magical terraforming techniques of the Silver Millennium to make the Nemesian sky like Earth's. Instead, the first colonists of Nemesis had weaved powerful spells to amplify the sun's light and the light of several dozen bright stars. During the 'day' the enhanced starlight made it seem like there were dozens of tiny suns in the sky. At evening, the magical construct stopped the magnification allowing the night sky to show its brilliance.

Ranma was sitting on the granite railing of one of the balconies in the palace looking up at the sky as the light bringers started to dim. Below Ranma, the city lights of Yamoto started to turn on. Thanks to a law his great-grandfather made, there was very little light pollution from the street lights. Seeing Yamoto's city lights always moved Ranma. It served as a daily reminder to Ranma of all the people depending on him as Prince.

While Ranma was staring out at Yamoto, Tweety flew over and landed on Ranma's shoulder. The little droid started gently rubbing its head against Ranma's neck causing him to start stroking its neck. After a few minutes of attention, Tweety flew off to another part of the palace. It probably went to go bug Teletha, but Ranma could never be sure. Tweety never seemed to tire in flying about the palace.

For a few minutes, Ranma was left in peaceful solitude. This solitude ended when Seto walked in and stood by the doorway. It was obvious that the chancellor wanted to talk to Ranma; but at the same time, Seto didn't want to intrude upon Ranma's private time. Ranma sighed and clearly said, "Come closer and conjure up a chair Seto. Tell me what's on your mind."

It still surprised Seto how casual Ranma was when he wasn't actually 'in the public eye'. Prince Demand had always insisted that every formal protocol be followed. The differences in leadership style still took some getting use to; although, Seto and everyone else in the cabinet was happy that they didn't have to constantly worry about proper forms of address. Focusing his attention on the present, Seto said, "The Treaty of Union was transmitted to Crystal Tokyo a few hours ago."

Ranma nodded his head and replied, "Yes I know Seto. Is there something about the treaty that's bothering you?"

Seto frowned as he said, "The treaty itself doesn't bother me. What bothers me is the possibility that the treaty won't go through. Given the decisions that your uncle made, it is possible that Neo-Queen Serenity won't approve of the treaty. If negotiations break down, Nemesis could be in serious trouble. We can't afford to have our trading partners embargo us because of another Crystal Tokyo/Nemesis war. Our metal stockpiles are just too low to both successfully fight another war and take care of our domestic needs."

After contemplating it a bit, Ranma decided to let Seto in on the plan. "That treaty will go through Seto. If Neo-Queen Serenity doesn't approve of the Treaty of Union, then Neo-Queen Serenity II will approve of it shortly after her imminent succession."

The wheels started turning in Seto's mind and he uttered, "On the Founder's grave, that second person who accompanied you when you first arrived at this afternoon was Princess Serenity!" Seto's eyes immediately narrowed and he said, "But why, why would the princess of Crystal Tokyo be willing to help overthrow her mother?"

Ranma smiled sadly and replied, "Actually, she's the one who approached me with the idea of overthrowing Neo-Queen Serenity. Things aren't too good over there and the present leadership isn't helping. I came up with the idea of the dynastic union being achieved by treaty instead of by force. However, Usa still has a lot of back-up if her mother decides to reject the treaty."

Seto's keen political mind worked through the information Ranma had provided and quickly saw the whole plan. The chancellor smirked and stated, "A very ingenious plan Ranma. If every thing goes right, Nemesis gets the recourses it needs. Should the treaty be rejected, the Neo-Queen is replaced by Nemesis friendly Neo-Queen who promptly ratifies the treaty. Worst case scenario, Crystal Tokyo tears itself to pieces in a civil war. No matter how this goes down, Nemesis comes out on top."

In a wistful manner Ranma said, "I'm hoping that things don't break out into a civil war on Earth. There's too much of a chance of Nemesis getting dragged into the war because of a third party getting involved."

Seto was able to read between the lines and he asked, "Are you afraid that you'll want to involve Nemesis in a Crystal Tokyo civil war because of the princess?"

For a second, Ranma was taken aback by Seto's question because he hadn't expected it. Shortly afterwards, Ranma nodded his head and said, "A little Seto. Usa's my friend and I don't want to see her hurt too badly. At the same time, I don't want to hurt my people because my emotions were in charge and not my reason. It wouldn't be right to make my people suffer because of my personal wants and desires. That's part of why I was so willing to agree to the royal marriage part in the treaty."

In a firm manner, Seto stated, "I can't consul you about your heart Ranma. However, I can act as a voice of reason. If things go to Tau Ceti on Earth, talk to me or one of the secretaries before making any decisions about a Crystal Tokyo civil war. We can offer sound advice if this situation comes up since none of us have any personal attachments to Earth."

Ranma gave Seto a small smile and replied, "Good advice. I just hope I don't have to depend on you guys too much if things go south. As prince, I need to know how to separate my personal wants from the needs of the state."

Seto nodded his head and said, "Your ancestor said it very well Ranma when he said 'I am both the first citizen and the first servant of Nemesis'. I've met and dealt with many politicians over my career. I've negotiated with foreign diplomats and brokered deals with business titans. However, I've rarely met people who understand the duty and personal sacrifice that a truly good leader needs to accept. You are one of those few people Ranma."

This unexpected praise got Ranma to chuckle and he said in turn, "It's too early to judge me on my leadership ability. There's always the chance that the power will go to my head and I'll do something stupid. Come back in twenty years and then we'll see if I'm actually half as good of a ruler that you seem to think I am."

Seto just retorted, "I find that very unlikely. You're too set in your ways to have any real major leadership problems. Just remember that Nemesis doesn't revolve around you and you should be fine. Oh, and don't take too many women into your bed. We don't need fifty claimants to the throne running around after you're dead because you decided to pull a sultan."

Ranma rolled his eyes as he said, "I'm not about to start a harem. Given how much mail they burn for me every day containing invitations for sex I'd end up bedding half the planet if I started have a mistress. There's no way I'm starting down that road, the prince does need his sleep after all."

The conversation quickly changed to lighter topics after that remark. Besides being the chancellor, Seto was also the closet thing Ranma had to a best friend on Nemesis. Their relationship was sort of like what Ranma used to want to have with Ryoga; except that the 'competition' was about who could help the commoners the most while interfering the least in the commoners' lives.