Infinity's Shore
By James Barnhill

Thanks go out to Jerry and the Ranma Fanfic Forum for C+C and urging 
me to 
continue this fanfic. And especially to Phu for hosting this fanfic on his 
excellent site.

Legal Disclaimer:  Nothing illegal going on here, uh uh, not now or ever.  
I'm just borrowing these characters from their perspective stories without 
the intention of making (much) money.

Satisfaction Disclaimer:  You may not like this fanfic.  Should you hate 
fanfics 
where the Senshi and or Ranma 1/2 characters get cast unfavorably then 
dont 
read this.  Also I have never claimed to be the worlds most PERFECT fanfic 
writer.  So if any of you must have perfection.....then read something else.  
I warned you.

Health Disclaimer:  This fanfic has been known to cause severe insanity.  
Should you begin to think that you are insane, then keep reading cause your 
not insane.  But if you feel that you are sane and well adjusted to both reality 
and this society...THEN GET HELP, GET HELP RIGHT NOW BEFORE 
YOU HURT SOMEONE!

Namely me!

---------------------------------

Deep blue eyes looked out of one of the apartment's few windows.  His 
visitor for the moment forgotten.  

He still remembered.

A year and a half ago he used the Nan-ban mirror to go back in time with 
the intent of trying to change Happosie from a lecherous freak into a 
honorable sensei.  It had seemed like a really good plan too, until the mirror 
deposited him before a woman wearing a fuku.  She said her name was 
Sailor Pluto and that she needed his help.  Showing him two futures that 
were both possible, one that showed the Earth as a wasteland and the other 
showing.......the people of Earth unified in peace and harmony.  Or to him it 
looked like they were at least happier then they would have been in that 
wasteland of a future.  Pluto then asked him to help her create that 
brightfuture.  He had of course agreed, though now he wished he hadn't.  

What she had never told him after that night was the price needed for that 
bright future.  But he'd seen the clues appear when he moved to Juuban.  
One by one they had happened by accident.

She gave him this apartment......no, this prison cell to live in.  She told him 
that for certain events to occur he would need to stay hidden from public 
view.  So he'd stayed in this apartment for months with only schoolwork to 
do.  Sometimes in a great while he and Setsuna would talk.  It had helped 
him to pass the time.  That and the Nan-ban mirror that she had changed so 
that it would only show you places around the world instead of taking you to 
those places.

He'd seen Ukyou meet Zoicite one night in a park.  They became friends 
within the week.

He'd seen Akane become a sailor scout, or rather Sailor Io.  She became cold 
and distant to everyone that wasn't a Sailor Scout, possible proof that her 
past life was catching up to her.

He'd seen Shampoo get defeated by Mamorou, how he could not tell, as the 
mirror had fogged up at that point.  He learned from Setsuna that 
Shampoo's tribe would later become the Imperial Guards for the King and 
Queen of Neo-Tokyo.  He also learned that Shampoo would die ten years 
later defending Sailor Moon.

He'd seen what would happen to the Sailor scouts and who they ended up 
with.  Originally he didn't really care about the other Sailor Senshi, but after 
a while he became curious as to whether or not they were as cold and distant 
as Sailor Pluto and Io acted.  He was surprised at the amount of yelling that 
would take place at their meetings during lunch at school.  It was 
entertaining most of the time, but it really made him wonder if they could 
defend the Earth.  He started to wonder if he was missing something.....

Rei would meet Hiroshi and the two immediately hit it off.  Minako would 
meet Ryouga when he accidentally wondered into her house.  It looked like 
love at first sight.  At least with the way Minako got infatuated with him.  
Those hearts that appeared in her eyes were scary.  Ami would meet Mousse 
when he mistook her for Shampoo.  Mousse would later come to her house 
and apologize, and Ami's mother used that opportunity to clean the house 
and force them outside.

To him the arrangements had been.....unusual.  At least for him to 
contemplate.  And why were these Senshi's love interests from Nerima?  
Was Pluto trying to do something else besides ensure the creation of that 
bright future?  It was hard for him to think like this for any length of time, 
especially before going to sleep.  But somehow he got the impression that 
when Pluto wasn't visiting she was watching him through that portal of 
hers.  If that was true then he couldn't give away his suspicions.  The next 
morning he learned of his parents' death.

He remembered crying the night after the funeral of his parents.  At the 
cemetery Akane had been cold and distant.  They were the only ones there 
as Akane had been sent to make sure that he didn't try to meet with anyone 
else before or after seeing his parents graves.  He'd tried to speak to her but 
she brushed him off like some insect and left.  Never had he felt so alone, so 
vulnerable.

Two months ago he was allowed to help the Sailor Senshi fight Wiseman.  
For some reason he couldn't quite grasp Wiseman seemed to know how he 
fought or evaded attacks and throughout the battle scored some painful hits 
on him while leaving the Senshi alone for the most part.  After the battle 
he'd been attacked by his ex-fiancees 'and' the Sailor Senshi.  He would 
never forget the pain he felt when Rei put that spirit ward on his forehead.

And here he was, again standing before Sailor Pluto.  She told him he could 
leave now, that he was no longer needed.  But he didn't believe her, he 
would never believe her again.  He *knew* that she was going to kill him, it 
was the only thing that made sense to him.  Cause when she showed him the 
future, he wasn't there, but everyone he knew was.  It was logical though; to 
create such a bright future people like him that attracted chaos on a daily 
level would have to be........dealt with.  

It explained why his mother and father died in a 'freak' earthquake.  And 
why he wasn't allowed out of the apartment.  Because if he went to school 
then he would gain new fiancees and enemies, and thus the cycle would 
start again.

He wasn't afraid though.  He'd had weeks to deal with this conclusion.  He'd 
talked to his fiancees, who just wanted to be friends, except for Akane, who 
now felt that talking to him was beneath her new station in life.  The Sailor 
Senshi acted like he was contagious, staying at least six feet away, looking 
around them like they were afraid to touch anything he'd touched.  Rei in 
particular seemed to hate him with an inhuman passion, blaming his curse 
for everything.

Even Soun didn't want to speak to him, as he blamed Nodoka and Genma's 
death, as well as Akane's change in attitude, on Ranma.

The fear was gone now, leaving behind an icy calm that made him turn 
around before stepping out the door, to see Setsuna pointing her Time staff 
at him.  From outside the apartment he felt the auras of the other Senshi 
plus Shampoo, Ryouga, Ukyou and Mousse.  All of them willing to destroy 
him if he got away from Pluto.

Right now he was just relieved that the wait was over.  Now nobody would 
ever control him again.

He smiled at her, to show he had no regrets.  "Finish it, Pluto."  

He could hear the staff weapon charging up with a dull whine.  Along his 
arms he could feel the small hairs rising up as if they were being attracted 
by a static charge.  Now the air began to feel and smell differently, not very 
strongly but somehow wrong.  He shifted his weight to his right foot, the 
straps of his backpack were digging into his shoulders.  Slowly he moved 
his left foot an inch back, ready to move it further when the time came.

Smiling, he took out the mirror from his backpack, hoping her attack would 
give it the jump start he needed to escape and warn everyone else.  His right 
leg bent at the knee as he pushed his left foot further back, bracing himself 
for what would happen next.  Opening his eyes as he raised the mirror like a 
shield he made sure to wink at Pluto before her 'Dead Scream' hit the Nan-
ban mirror.  

THE END?



Part 2
 
Alia's Judgement
By William Dix

Alia hung out of phase, watching as Sailor Pluto's Dead Scream struck the 
Nan-ban mirror and the young man who to her glowed with the blue white 
energy of a chaotic nexus disappeared in a surge of temporal energies.  
Moments later the top floor of that apartment blew outward to shower the 
Senshi and their respective others with wood and plaster.  None of them 
showed any emotional reaction to Ranma being gone, though Ryouga and 
Mousse seemed about ready to dance.

With a cold grimace she decided to flick into phase and tell Pluto and those 
with her exactly what she thought of them.  Being a intelligence consisting 
primarily of quantum energy states and radiation she was not what one 
could exactly call human although she'd been human in a universe far from 
here and long ago.

She watched them gather around Sailor Pluto and with a surge of energy she 
dropped into phase and using the air and dust in the air she created a quasi 
body to speak with.

Alia observed with amusement as they spun around in shock at the bright 
energy flash from her dropping into phase and her creation of a form to 
speak with and said.   "You may call me Alia the Outsider."

And she continued, "For so called warriors of Love and Justice you do not 
show those virtues. What you just did in any decent code of ethics would 
count as murder."  Turning to sailor Pluto in disgust.  "And you thought he 
was a fool?  You didn't expect him to deduce what was to happen to him 
after his long imprisonment and you murdered his parents."  She noted with 
interest the surprised reactions of some of those present.  Apparently they 
thought that no one could spy on them with Pluto around.  Well it was about 
time they got smacked by reality, and she was just the person to do it.

With a pitying glance at Sailor Io she stated.  "And you Io, or should I say 
Akane Tendo.  Why did you  participate in this travesty of justice?"  And 
then turning to Ryouga, Ukyou, Xian Pu, and Mu Tsu she quoted with a 
contemptuous tone.  "With friends like these who needs enemies." 

Finally she turned back to her original source of anger, turning to Pluto in 
disgust she continued.  "On your head be it Pluto, you alone created this foe 
with your actions, all to create a perfect future.  I am afraid that dream now 
will never really be possible. You think you can foresee the future?  As a 
matter of fact you foresee what you wish to see, the fact that you are right 
most of the time can be attributed to blind luck!  While I on the other hand 
am able to observe all possible outcomes, no matter how terrible they are. 
And what you did here was not what I would call the optimal path to take, 
nor for that matter the most ethical one to take."  Calmly ignoring the rising 
energies around her.  "As a matter of fact you cannot even attain the 
overview I am able to attain, for my visualizations of possible futures is 
much clearer and more accurate than yours.  That's because I don't filter my 
visions with hatred of that which I do not understand, unlike all of you 
contemptuous *things*."  She drew the word out as if it were the most vile 
thing she had ever said.

She felt the surge from one of the Senshi's attacks and with a cold smile she 
absorbed the energy from the attack and converted it to her own use.  
Amusedly, she stated.  "You would need the energy release of a supernova 
to really catch my attention young ladies, and so very much more to bruise 
me."  With that she faded out of phase, her body dispersed like a cloud of 
dust.  For now she would be content to watch events unfold.  She would 
relish the look of defeat that each Senshi would have upon her face when 
they found no easy way to kill Ranma.  But in time.  For now she wanted to 
savor the moment, and watch the Sailor Senshi fume and curse below part 
of her perception matrix.  Events like this did not come as often as she 
would like, and instead of leaping ahead she would watch it all happen in a 
slow linear fashion.

A part of her perception matrix found its other target.  She split her 
attention between the two.  Noting that the information was coming from 
within China.  Her secondary focus lay on the floor of a hollowed out 
mountain, his impact had broken up a particularly beautiful mosaic inlaid 
into the floor.  Above she could see that his emergence into the immense 
hollow space had left carbon scorching on some of the higher levels arches.  
She willed that half of her perception matrix to focus on the small creatures 
below.


Part 3

"Is this....him?"  Kima asked, looking at the charred and blackened form 
that lie motionless in the center of the floor.  The cracks radiating from the 
body told her it had hit the floor at high speed.

"Yes, Your Highness.  One of the inner guards heard this scream and came 
running to this very spot.  He said he saw this man appear out of the 
explosion on level 15."

Kima turned on the guard in an instant.  The armored man cringed and 
backed away from the look in her eyes.  "Explosion?!  When were you going 
to tell me about that?  For all we know he could be a part of the Chinese Red 
Army."

The guard fought for control.  "He's not, the clothes he's wearing are 
definitely not a uniform.  If he were a soldier for the Red Army he would at 
least have a pistol but we didn't even find that much on him.  Over there lie 
the remains of a travel pack that we searched through but most of the 
contents were destroyed except for what appears to be a diary  Also their are 
no tunnels leading outside from level 15, or any of the levels immediately 
above or below it.  I immediately questioned the guards but all ten of them 
were awake at that time so he couldn't have slipped though the main gate.  
Whatever the explosion was he didn't create it, all we found around him 
were these small mirror fragments."

The charred figure started to moan, getting slightly louder for a few 
moments before its voice broke down into a fit of coughs.  Kima walked 
over to it and turned him over, gasping when she saw Ranma's face still 
mostly intact with his eyes staring at her.  Suddenly his hand grabbed her 
bare shoulder, she looked at the offending hand to see the cracked skin 
oozing blood.

"The...Senshi....coming..be prepared...."  Ranma slumped back to the 
ground, his breathing more labored then it had been.

"Guards!  Call a healer, NOW!"  She kept her attention focused on Ranma.  
Unwilling to show the guards any trace of the fear she felt at seeing Ranma's 
battered body.

"Captain!"

"Yes?"

"Wake the Keepers and tell them to search for any knowledge pertaining to 
transporting from one place to another.  Give them all the details of 
Ranma's arrival as well as where to find him should they 
require...evidence."

The head guard saluted before extending his wings and taking off for one of 
the higher floors.

Ranma coughed several times more while his bleeding hands covered his 
stomach.  But each time he coughed blood came out of his mouth.  Still his 
eyes stared at her and for a moment she saw fear.  Then the healer arrived 
with a stretcher.  They took him to one of the higher level rooms meant for 
people that needed to heal, around the inside of the room were plants that 
kept the atmosphere rich in oxygen.  The healer moved her and the guards 
out of the room before shutting the door.

Kima paced about for several minutes.  Her mind going over the fight she 
had with Ranma before he fought with Lord Saffron.  She wanted to know 
what happened to Ranma and, more importantly, she wanted to know if it 
could happen to any of her people.  Her anger rose when she reexamined 
how the Healer had literally thrown her out of the room.  To occupy her 
mind for a little bit she positioned the guards at the entrance of the door 
while verbally berating them for their slovenly conduct, pointing out that if 
it had been Saffron who had seen their performance he would have them 
punished in excess.  

She tried knocking but only got a muffled 'go away' from the healer.  She 
wanted to know what had happened to Ranma.  And, more importantly.  
She wanted to know what he was trying to warn her about.  None of the 
words he'd said made any sense.  Still they should be ready.  She told one of 
the guards to wake more men to man the gates.

"Good of you to show up, my lady.  I was getting tired of staring at the 
walls."

Kima stood before the old man, letting his slip in etiquette slide for the time 
being.  He was an old man after all and they had to be allowed then 
eccentricities from time to time.  "How is he?"

"I administered what herbs I had on hand for his most serious injuries, 
fortunately he seems quite healthy. And most of the injuries he sustained 
were to his skin, which as you can see, is charred almost completely black 
and cracking in most places.  I have no doubt in my mind that he will 
survive though there is the possibility of infection to the exposed muscles.  
Something about his injuries puzzles me.."  He said as they stood outside the 
closed door to the room.

The Healer continued.  "The Captain of the guards told me Ranma came out 
of an explosion on level 15.  They didn't find any traces of an explosive, just 
small fragments of a mirror."

They stopped at the end of the hall, looking down to the bottom floor where 
Ranma was found.  There were small splotches around the impression in the 
floor that might have been blood or stone.  Koron looked up and pointed at a 
spot several levels up that looked like it had been burned.

Kima described the damage done to the floor and the scorch marks around 
the entrance arches of level 15

"It does sound like a chemical fire.  But it doesn't make sense.  The patient, 
Ranma's, unburned skin has been prematurely aged by some force that none 
of our magic users could detect.  Then of course the fire that engulfed 
Ranma had no discernible cause, like it had been willed into existence.  And 
the mirror fragments found near him may or may not have something to do 
about it.  My lady this has the marks of some sort of magical attack but I do 
not have the expertise to correctly label it if I'm right.

"Someone could have set fire to him before he got here."  Kima thought out 
loud.  She knew the Healers reasoning was solid, or at least as solid as it 
could be given the circumstances.  But she wanted to explore some other 
possibilities before falling back on magic to explain Ranma's injuries.

"I'm afraid not.  The fire was just a possible byproduct of the attack failing, 
this idea is supported by the fact that Ranma is still alive.  Also while 
inspecting the worst injuries I saw that the unburned skin had become criss 
crossed with wrinkles and what appeared to be liver spots.  Peeling that 
diseased skin away revealed healthy skin underneath with no signs of 
advanced aging."

"Then he was hit with some sort of....what?  Aging weapon?"

"I don't know.  It would seem came here to warn us before it was too late."

"It may already be."  Said a hoarse voice from behind them.

Kima turned around to see Ranma leaning against the door frame, most of 
his body covered in blood stained bandages.  "Ranma!  What are you 
doing?"  She angrily rushed to his side and put one of his arms over her 
shoulder to support him.  For a moment angry at him for making her do this 
for him.

The Healer walked to Ranma's other side to examine a patch of skin that 
had been burned to a crisp before.  "Remarkable.  I didn't think a human 
could heal so fast."  He bent lower to inspect the bandages that had been 
torn away from the hands, showing healthy pink skin where before muscle 
and small irregular 'aged patches of skin had been.

Ranma grimaced at the feeling of Kima pressing into the burned skin of his 
side.  "Long story. Careful.  Pluto's Dead Scream really did a number on 
me."  Ranma let Kima and the Healer help him back to the room as he tried 
to clear his head.

-----------------------------------------

Outside Phoenix Mountain a woman walked up the pass leading to the 
gates.  She had been deposited at the bottom of the mountain so as not to 
trigger any of the magical alarms still active within the mountain.   She 
noted that many of the steps had eroded over the years but as Pluto had 
promised it was still passable.  Akane made her way through the piles of 
loose rock and thorn bushes with one objective in mind.  The closer she 
came to that objective the better she felt.  Safe in the knowledge that she was 
more powerful then Ranma, and that he wouldn't be a threat for much 
longer.  She reached the last step and looked around, the sun was beginning 
to set creating a beautiful sunset, turning to the mountain she could see 
Phoenix men lighting torches to get ready for the long night ahead.  She 
smiled before stepping into their line of sight, making sure that she looked 
suitably worried.

-----------------------------------------

Ranma grimaced again when thy set him down on the bed.  Wincing 
slightly he took a quick look of his surroundings to see Kima now at the foot 
of the bed while the Healer continued to examine his skin.  He was surprised 
to still be alive.  Then again the look Kima was giving him didn't bode well 
for his future health.  Still, he needed to find out how mad or annoyed she 
was.  "Nearly everyone I knew is either a traitor or dead."

Kima dispassionately looked at him from the foot of the bed he lay on.  
"How?"

Ranma willed the muscles in his face to freeze.  He stared at her for a 
moment, mulling over the tone she had used.  It almost sounded like she 
didn't care about what had nearly killed him.  He gave her a sad smile 
before continuing.  "Sailor Pluto.  She put certain events into effect that 
drew my fiance's and friends away.  You should see what they did to Akane.  
They gave her this transformation pen and made her into one of them."  He 
saw the incredulous look Kima and the other person who had attended his 
wounds gave him.  "You don't believe me do you?"  He lay back on the bed, 
trying to ease some of the pressure from his burned skin.  He still wasn't 
sure how his back had gotten burned.  

Kima spoke up.  "Why should we?  You defeated our Lord Saffron last time 
you were here.  Seeing you now I cant help but be suspicious of your 
intentions.  For all I know you came back here under false pretenses to try 
and finish off Saffron while he is still a child!"  Kima stopped her little triad 
when she felt someone putting their hand on her shoulder.  She spun 
around, ready to give a scathing retort when she saw it was Koran who had 
stopped her.  For a moment she stared at him incredulously as she found 
herself trembling with blind rage.

Ranma looked at Kima's livid expression change to something of 
puzzlement.  Now he felt even more out of place.  The speech he'd had all 
ready no longer fit the circumstances as he'd never counted on Kima still 
being so angry with him.  He now had to play it by ear and hope he didn't 
give them enough reason to either throw him out or kill him in his 
condition.  He looked down at his hands, wishing that he had the mirror.  
And some food.

He tried again.  "Haven't you noticed the increase of attacks lately from both 
the Chinese Red Army, Amazons and the Musk?  Pluto has set these 
cultures after you with the intent of whittling down your forces, then when 
the times right she and the rest of the Senshi will attack you and annihilate 
your people!"  There, he'd said it in the hope that where reason had failed 
outright threats might get through her hatred.  Especially as the threat not 
only applied to her but to everything living within Phoenix Mountain.  He 
looked from her to the other guy to see that none of them quite believed 
them.  Kima looked at the other guy as if for some sign.  Ranma took a deep 
breathe before going ahead.  "Of course their may be survivors but they'll 
only be around long enough to teach the Sailor Senshi how to use all of the 
magical artifacts that you've been hoarding for so many years.  That's a 
couple of years off, but because of me you should expect a attack from either 
the Sailor Senshi or some other faction close by very soon."

Kima took several long steps from the foot of the bed to Ranma's side where 
she preceded to hoist him up by the bandages covering his chest.  She 
ignored his grimace at the pain as she shook him.  "You knew and you came 
here anyway!?"

Ranma's grimace changed to a deep scowl, his eyes staring at her.  Kima 
resisted the urge to let him go so easily, instead she stopped shaking him.  
"Yes I knew!  By coming here I'm giving you a chance to evacuate your 
people, Kima."  

"Liar."

Koran watched Ranma.  In so many ways he was like Saffron.  Powerful, 
intelligent and morbid to the point of suicide.  He saw the look of fear in the 
young mans eyes when he treated the unusual wounds, the look of someone 
who had nothing left to lose.  He guessed that quiet acceptance of whatever 
happened lay not too far behind the fear.  It hurt the old Healer to see 
someone in such pain without a cure.  He moved quickly to stop Kima from 
pounding on Ranma, mentally chastising himself for not paying more 
attention to the here and now.

"Let me go!"  Kima shouted when she found a pair of hands suddenly seize 
both her arm and twist them behind her back.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't beat up on my patient."  He spoke to her 
like a father to a child.  Kima's resistance lessened.  Koron waited a few 
seconds before releasing Kima while making sure to put himself between 
her and Ranma for the time being.

Kima stared at the old Healer for what seemed like an eternity as the Healer 
calmly looked back at her with no trace of hatred or disapproval.  Ranma 
waited quietly, subtly uncomfortable and feeling like he should be 
somewhere else for the time being.  "Where's your proof, Ranma?"

"Wha..?  Just look at me!  Do you think Id do this to myself!?  If you want 
proof then bring me my backpack and the Nan-ban mirror."

"How am I supposed to know what your capable of?  The last time I saw you 
you were taking on Saffron, you a mere mortal, and winning!  I cant 
imagine anyone able to defeat you.  Nor why you would come here of all 
places looking for help, Ranma.  I don't know what game your playing but I 
intend to find out, even if I have to torture you."

"Fine!  If thats the way you feel then just get me some damn clothes and Ill 
be gone."  Ranma nearly got out of the bed before he was doused with some 
cold water.  Sputtering the irate redhead looked at Kima.

Kima put down the pitcher of water while continuing to smirk at Ranma-
chan.  "Cool off.  Your not going anywhere until we find out how you got 
here."

A guard came into the room and spoke quietly into Kima's ear for a few 
seconds before retreating to a respectful distance to await her command.  
She looked to Ranma-chan to see her unwrapping some of the bandages on 
her right arm.  "Koran, guards, watch Ranma.  I have to see to something at 
the gate."  She and the guard left the room before the Healer could respond.  

Koran looked from the guards standing at attention to the only exit of the 
room to Ranma-chan, who was taking off the bandages covering her still 
bleeding chest. Walking over to the nearest chair he sat down with a weary 
sigh of relief before looking up at his patient, trying not to look too intently 
at his patient.  "As for your last question, boy..er..girl, the ashes of your 
backpack were found near you with almost everything inside destroyed."  
Koran picked up a book from the table near him and handed it to Ranma-
chan.  "Except for this and the picture inside.  But we didn't find any mirror 
near you.  Maybe now you can answer some of my own questions young 
man?"

Ranma-chan stared at the old man before her for several seconds.  "Only if 
you give me some hot water."

------------------------------------------------

Kima met the guards at the gate to find a most unexpected visitor.  Akane 
stood within a circle of guardsmen, looking sullen and somewhat 
frightened.

"Hello, Akane."

Akane immediately looked up from her shoe scuffing the ground.  "Kima!  
You've got to help me, Ranma's sick."

She pretended not to care, hoping that Akane would tell more.  "Oh?"

"He.....He ate some roots that made him go insane, he thinks that everyone's 
out to get him.  He nearly killed Ryouga.  Luckily Cologne was able to stop 
him before he hurt anyone else."

Akane looked sincere but to Kima it all could have been a lie, still.  There 
was one way they could find out though.  "Search her."

Akane resisted, shoving several guards away from her but one of them 
behind her caught her arms and held her while the rest of them searched 
her.  They came up with several hundred yen and a bit of lint.

"He told you I was a, what was it?  Sailor Senshi?"  Akane asked with as 
much incomprehension as she could muster into her voice and facial 
expression.

"Hmm...yes, he may be sick after all."  She began to doubt Ranma's story, 
noting that Akane didn't seem all that cold or distant, well maybe a little 
distant but she also looked a bit worried too.  And since they couldn't find 
that transformation pen on her they didn't have any evidence to prove 
Ranma's story.  But that still didn't explain how Ranma got here, or why it 
looked like he was attacked by a magic user.  Could Cologne have sent him 
here?  "Guards!  Come with us.  You two wake up the next shift."

Kima led Akane through the heavy reinforced doors into Phoenix mountain, 
with Akane walking slightly behind her with the guards bringing up the 
rear.  No one noticed Akane smile briefly as she pretended to run her right 
hand through her hair while actually taking her transformation pen out of 
her subspace pocket.

---------------------------------------------------------------

"So you studied this.....uh...Sailor Saturns ability to heal and came up with a 
way to emulate it with your, ki, was it?"

"Thats right."  Ranma said in a tired voice as he finished dressing.  Wincing 
slightly at how the wool of the shirt scraped against his partially exposed 
arms and chest.  He sat down on the bed, trying to get more comfortable but 
failing as the new pants managed to irritate one of the small exposed 
sections of skin on the back of his leg.  "I'm still working on the technique 
though, it requires quite a bit of ki to work right.  Even then, it wasn't meant 
to heal burned skin so quickly."

"Fascinating.  I'm starting to wish that I met you when I was younger, we 
might have been good friends."

"Oh?"  Ranma replied with a confused look directed at Koran.  Noting the 
small smile on the older mans face, then comparing it with the hard set jaws 
of the guards standing by the rooms only door.  "I didn't think people like 
yourself could interact with humans.  Isn't it frowned on or something?"

"Now.  Ever since you beat Lord Saffron the other nobles are worried that 
some outsider will come along and decide that this mountain should be 
destroyed.  In fact, some of them wanted to send our best soldiers to hunt 
you down and kill you."

Ranma paused in unwrapping the bandages from his left hand to stare at 
Koron.  Then he turned back to the bandages.  Muttering.  "Always the 
same..."

Before Koron could ask him what he meant the door to the room opened to 
admit Kima and Akane.  Ranma took one look at Akane and immediately 
jumped behind the bed, assuming a defensive posture while wincing slightly 
from some of the tender areas of his body.  "You let her in here?!"

Akane passed Kima and walked around the bed, her eyes her partially full of 
unshed tears as she held her arms out to Ranma.  "Oh Ranma, I was so 
worried...."  She stopped talking when Ranma lowered his arms halfway to 
give her a inquisitive look.  

Silently she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him.  Then, 
standing on her toes so her mouth could reach his ear she said.  "Now, I can 
finish what Pluto started!"  She lifted him up in the air and tightened her 
hold on him until the sound of vertebrae popping out of place filled the 
room.  Ranma retaliated with palm strikes to the right temple of her head.  
Akane released him and stepped back, clutching her head in pain.  The 
guards behind Kima ran into the room and surrounded Akane.  Akane 
merely smirked at them before holding up her transformation pen and 
activating it, the flash of light blinded everyone in the room.  When the 
light faded Akane was gone, and one of the guards had been knocked out.

Ranma turned to Kima.  "Call all your guards out.  NOW!"  He ran out of 
the room, into the corridor, noting that the two guards posted outside had 
been killed but other then that there was no sign of Akane anywhere.  With 
two directions to choose from he chose the one to his right.  He started 
running.

Kima called to him.  "Ranma, wait!"  She called out as several guards came 
out of the room, heading in the opposite direction.  Ranma swore softly 
before running back to her.

Together they ran toward the central shaft while the guards that ran ahead 
of them jumped off the edge.  His eyes looked out over the hollow center of 
Phoenix mountain, searching the floor below for signs of Akane.  Nothing 
except for the guards flying down to the floor yelling.  Something definitely 
didn't feel right.  He looked down, not quite knowing what to look for and 
saw a bit of dust and a few rocks on the polished rock floor before him.  
Then his eyes widened as he looked up, craning his neck and body until he 
almost fell off the edge to see the deep cut in the floor above him and above 
that floor another deep cut.  He turned to Kima and grabbed her arm.  Kima 
yelped and almost screamed until Ranma asked her.  "Where's Saffron?"

Kima stared at him, then her eyes widened.  Her face became quite pale 
before she answered.  "At the top."

Ranma looked up, counting more then a dozen floors in his line of sight and 
knew he couldn't get there by jumping alone.  He let go of her arm and 
grabbed both hands before wrapping them around his waist.  "Carry me."

Kima blushed faintly but complied, on the way up they heard the master 
alarm and the cries of 'Intruder!'.  Neither one looked down to see the 
ensuing chaos below, instead fixing their gazes on the top level.

--------------------------------------------------------

She came upon the room of her secondary target.  Outside of it had been two 
guards, lightly dozing off until she killed them.  The first one had gone very 
quietly but the second one had seemed to know that his time had come and 
tried to fight her.  With his hands around her throat she tore off the second 
guards left wing while with her right she smashed his lower mandible into 
his skull before he could scream out.  Then bringing out her weapon she 
cleanly sliced off his head.  While dragging the bodies and head from the 
entrance she smiled again before opening the door.

The room was dark; the torches in the outer corridor had been put out so as 
not to wake her prey.  Akane slipped into the room before closing the door 
behind her.  She breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't hear any signs of 
pursuit.  Looking around she waited a couple of seconds for her eyes to 
adapt to what meager light was available.  Around her the room sparkled 
with gold, diamonds, and fine silks.  Her eyes sought out the single source 
of light, straining she could see that the light came from another room thats 
door was slightly open.  Probably for circulation.  She activated her visor 
and immediately the room came into focus, the crystal of the visor acted like 
Night Goggles but it didn't gave everything a greenish glow.  She looked 
down and around before choosing her path through the room.  Several times 
she nearly stepped on objects that might have been these people's version of 
a toy.  It took her longer then she had planned to reach the door.  Peeking 
inside she could see a candle burning, and she caught a whiff of some faint 
incense.

THERE!

She saw the small child turn under the covers of the intricately carved bed, 
exposing one of his small wings.  Taking out her staff she spun it in a half 
circle until the rounded blade faced up.  Stepping back slightly she raised 
her foot to kick in the door.

--------------------------------------------------------

Kima barely made it to the top with her heavy load.  Ranma managed to 
catch her before she fell off the edge.  He gently laid her down, quickly 
scanning the surrounding area for any sign of Akane.  Seeing none he 
gently shook Kima.  "Where's Saffron?"

Breathlessly she pointed down the last of the three corridors.  Ranma 
thanked her and immediately ran down it.  Upon entering the corridor he 
started running as fast as he could but when he saw that the rest of the 
torches lining his path had been put out he slowed down, keeping his senses 
open in case Akane tried to attack him from a concealed position.  When he 
came to the end of the corridor he met his first door.  It was large.  Possibly 
made of iron or brass but with the surrounding torches out he didn't have 
the time for such idle thoughts.  Walking to the door he almost fell over one 
of the dead guards, or rather the dead guards head.  Frantic, he grabbed the 
handle and started to pull.

From inside the sounds of something crashing met his ears, in his haste he 
opened the door too fast and made it smash into the wall it was attached to.  
Wincing as the crash echoed off the walls, he stepped inside the dark room.  
The sounds of a commotion were coming from his left.  Focusing his ki he 
formed a small sphere that lit the space around him.  He quickly made his 
way to the only door with light coming out of it.  Extinguishing the ki ball 
at the last moment before grabbing the door handle he peeked through the 
small crack.  Inside he saw Akane trying to pull the sharp blade of her 
weapon out of the stone wall.  Looking around he saw the child Saffron 
hiding under a nearby table, staring at Akane like he was trying to will her 
to die.  Ranma stepped into the room, being as quiet as possible.  Akane was 
totally absorbed on pulling her weapon out.

Saffron struggled when he felt a pair of hands land on is shoulders, his child 
mentality causing him to suddenly think of someone else out to kill him.  In 
desperation he tried to scream but found one of the hands holding him 
suddenly clamp around his mouth, he took that opportunity to bite the hand 
and felt a moment of satisfaction at hearing a low grunt.  He tried looking at 
his assailant, his eyes momentarily widening before they became slits as he 
caught the familiar blue eyes and face of Ranma.  Ranma gave him a stern 
look before motioning with his head toward the door while shifting around.  
Saffron saw that Ranma was putting himself between him and Akane.  
Nodding, he ran for the door.

"AAAAHHH!"  Akane, aka Sailor Io, cried out as she managed to pull her 
weapon out of the rock wall.  She spun around to see her secondary target 
run out the door.  Her eyes immediately focused on Ranma.

"You're not killing him Akane.  I wont allow it."  Ranma shifted his stance 
slightly, readying himself for an attack.

"I'm Sailor IO.  And both of you will die!"  She charged Ranma with her 
staff held high, within three feet of Ranma she swung the staff down in a 
oblique strike.  Ranma dodged out of the way and kneed her in the gut.  
Backing away his back hit the door, closing it as Akane charged him again 
with her staff.  He waited until the last moment to move his head out of the 
way, causing Akane to miss him and drive the bladed edge of her weapon 
into the heavy wood of the door.  Ranma got behind her and started 
punching her back using the Amigurikan technique to deliver hundreds of 
punches within the space of a second, seeing her elbow coming for his 
stomach he tried to deflect it with his right knee.  Akane retaliated with a 
elbow to his gut but instead hit his right knee as she managed to pull her 
weapon out of the door while simultaniously destroying it.

He jumped over her and through the door into the larger room with Akane 
in pursuit.  Akane grinned when she saw Ranma favoring his right knee 
when he landed on the polished rock floor.  

Her grin quickly faded when Ranma's ki flared up for a few seconds, 
changing color from blue to a soft yellow.  Then he shifted his weight until 
more of it rested on his right leg.  Akane looked up to see Ranma smiling at 
her.  She snarled before calling out her 'Blizzard' attack.  Immediately a 
small snow storm erupted from around her body and toward Ranma, Ranma 
jumped over the small storm, just managing to graze the rooms ceiling.  The 
'Blizzard' passed beneath him to hit the opposite wall and freeze it solid.  
Then he charged her before she could call out any of her more devastating 
attacks.  With a spin kick to her head Akane was knocked several feet back, 
a light trail of blood came from her upper lip.  Ranma charged her again, 
this time Akane tried to run him through with her staff.  Ranma dodged 
what he could, taking the occasional cut to his skin while he worked his way 
inside her defenses.  Akane gave up using her staff and resorted to her fists.  
Her fists blurred along with Ranma as he blocked or dodged, always trying 
to get closer.  When he was close enough to attack her all out she changed 
tactics, opting to use several wild kicks to push him away.  One of the kicks 
connected with his chest.  Ranma brought up both hands to defend himself 
when Akane brought her staff around for a final strike.  Ranma grinned.

He deflected the staff with his right arm, the force behind the staff created a 
sickening crunch, while at the same time he used his left hand in a knife 
thrust at Akane's throat.  She dropped to her knees, holding her throat with 
both hands in a attempt born of instinct to protect it from further harm.  
Ranma stepped several feet away from her, his face impassive.

The large doors to the room opened, outlined in the faint light were Kima, 
and behind her Saffron.  Akane managed to look up at them.  Her eyes 
burning with rage she stood up.

Ranma stood behind her.  "Don't do it Akane."  He looked at her staff on the 
ground, then a different staff lying on a wall nearby.

She was beyond rational thought.  The very fact that she had been defeated 
by Ranma, while in Sailor form no less, drove her over the edge.  By her 
memories she should have won, she remembered being the best martial 
artist in her past life.  But here she had lost to that...that thing!  That nexus 
of chaos that threatened Crystal Tokyo's future.  The rage in her mind kept 
increasing.  Every slight, whether real or imagined added to the fire.  Her 
face red, Akane started running toward Saffron.  Determined to finish this 
part of her mission.

Then something stopped her, she'd felt something hit her back before it 
went numb along with part of her chest.  She struggled against it while 
keeping her eyes on Saffron.  When she couldn't move forward Akane 
looked down at the spot where she felt the numbness.  Her eyes opening in 
horror when she saw the blood covered blade penetrating through her chest.  
She looked back to see Ranma with a firm grip on the weapon.  He released 
the staff, causing Akane to slump to the floor with her legs under her.  She 
just stared at the blade.  Then her body faded from the room.

Ranma stared at the spot where Akane had been.  Wondering why he wasn't 
crying.  His mind came up with the answer that he knew Sailor Saturn 
would heal her before she could lose enough blood to die.  But even 
knowing that he found himself strangely numb from the battle.  He did love 
her, right?  For some reason he remembered the day his parents were 
buried.  He had knelt at their grave's in silent prayer, when he looked up for 
some sign of support from Akane she had only looked annoyed.  That was 
why he didn't feel anything for her.  She wasn't the girl he had known.  Nor 
would she go back to being that way again, the allure of power was too 
much for her to resist.  He blinked.  Suddenly noticing that little Saffron 
was tugging at his pants and Kima stood a few feet away from them.  She 
looked scared.  Though he couldn't tell for sure.

He took a deep breath before picking up Sailor IO's weapon with his left 
arm.  Hoping this would convince the others to follow his plan.

--------------------------------------------------------

Part 4

Pluto had watched the Timestream since the collapse of the Silver 
Millennium as a favor to her Queen.  For hundreds upon thousands of years 
she watched the people of Earth rebuild their civilization.  She noted with 
interest early on that they were instead shunning magic and embracing 
technology as a means to tame and control their environment.  The novelty 
had worn off though early on.  To keep her mind stable she read and reread 
everything in her personal library.  Then it happened.

Sailor Moon came back, soon followed by each of the Senshi.  Pluto had 
been overjoyed when her long, lonely watch of the Timestream had paid off.  
Now she wasn't alone and above all she could again practice her skills.  She 
watched each fight through the Gate of Time before the fight happened.  
This was to insure that her control and manipulation of the Timestream had 
not deteriorated during her long vigil.  And with each successfully predicted 
fight she felt more at ease concerning the future.  

Then the Timestream disappeared.  

For several hours she sat on her throne, staring at the Gate of Time, shocked 
at the abrupt loss of information.  She tried going back to a past event and 
was relieved to find that the Gate of Time still worked.  She immediately 
started a search for the cause of the disruption.

It took her weeks of intense searching to pinpoint the exact time the gate 
would no longer send her information.  Part of that time was spent testing 
the Gate to see if she could someway work around what she deemed The 
Chaos.  In truth the gate still worked perfectly fine, but after looking so far 
into the future she didn't see just one timeline, but thousands!  More then 
half of them ended in tragedy for the people of Earth.

After that she looked for the normal causes of such disruptions.  Yet no 
matter how hard she searched she couldn't find any.  Out of patience she 
ordered the Gate of Time to show her random images from all over Japan 
for that day.  It was a guess really since she had found no dark forces on the 
other continents of Earth.  Again and again the image changed.  Cycling 
from images of families to construction workers assembling buildings, to 
'Top Secret' research facilities.  She had only looked away for a second but 
something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention.  The gate 
stopped on a small Japanese home for a rare form of martial arts.  But that 
wasn't what caught her attention.  Shown at the dinner table was a male 
youth of 17 to 18 years.  But the way his body looked in the Timegate made 
her think of a reflection in a lake, while all around him the other people's 
image was sharp as could be.  Something didn't feel right to her.

For days she tracked the male from home to school.  She watched him fight 
enemies and fiances.  Her eyes widened when he used a ki attack.  The 
Timegate caught the subtle play of powers around his hazy body, powers 
much like the ley lines around the Earth.  She knew what he was, and she 
was afraid.

When the Sailor Pluto that had come before her imparted all of her 
knowledge she told a very old story about how the Silver Moon Kingdom 
came to be.  All the various factions that strived for dominance on each 
world and its surrounding space.  The first Queen Serenity united the world 
of Earth, Moon, and Mars.  When that was done she set the greatest minds 
of those worlds but a single task:  Peace.  For hundreds of years the scholars 
recorded as many events as they could, trying to develop ways to promote 
harmony out of the chaos.  They helped Queen Serenity convince the worlds 
of Venus and Mercury to join them.  They added the great minds of those 
worlds toward the same task.  Unintentionally finding something new.

One of the younger scholars took it upon himself to correlate the data from 
the other worlds and find a root cause for all of the chaos that occurred on 
all of the populated worlds.  He tried everything from psychological studies 
to comparing the histories of two people or more from different worlds.  
Nothing matched.  Alone, shunned by his peers the young scholar tried one 
last technique.  He compared their DNA.

Amazingly enough those people who were responsible for creating such 
chaos turned out to have 85% of the same DNA, though no direct relations 
between two Chaos people could be found.  Not only that but somehow these 
people managed to violate the laws of chance and probability through their 
genetic make-up.  This made them unusual from a normal person in that 
their good/bad luck were always out of balance.  A normal person might 
find a bit of money on the sidewalk, then sometime later they might break 
something by accident.  But these Chaotic people would find a bit more 
money, then get arrested by the local police.  How genetics could account for 
their nature, no one could tell.  Some actually thought they were possessed 
when the findings came out.  But at least now they had a possible key to 
peace.

Only problem was they didn't have any way to stop these people from being 
Chaotic short of killing them.  All attempts at treatment from chemical 
medicines to powerful magic failed against these people's Chaotic nature.  
The problem was taken out of the researchers hands when the ruling family 
of Mercury made a desperate attempt to remove the DNA fragments from 
these people.  To that end they used a retro virus that was supposed to 
replace the dangerous DNA with a more benign DNA set while leaving the 
host and the normal people unharmed.  Several month's later all of those 
Chaotic people were dead.  No single answer could account for all of their 
deaths, for even in death they were chaotic.  Some had died in accidents, 
others had been murdered, still others were killed when the retro virus in 
their bodies mutated into a deadly pathogen that somehow failed to spread 
to other people.  Some of the scholars came up with the idea that the DNA 
in those Chaotic people's bodies also served a defensive function that 
allowed them to survive with the unpredictable events that happened around 
them, sort of giving them a danger sense.  But no more studies were made of 
the DNA to confirm the idea.  All everyone wanted to do was bury the 
bodies and forget the whole sordid deal.

After the bodies had been buried the first Sailor Pluto was created.  It was 
her task to protect their Past/Present/Future.  Unofficially though she'd been 
created to prevent any Chaotic people from being born, this was partly to 
assuage the Queens fear of more death.  With the powers of the Time Gate 
she checked around the Sol system, then she went ahead into the future a 
number of days/months/years.  The process was tedious as billions of people 
had to be checked against their potential life partners for those dangerous 
DNA segments.  When such a couple were found in the future it was a 
simple matter to make sure that the two people never fell in love by 
changing certain events.  Thousands of years later those DNA fragments 
had been diluted and or bread out of the people.  The last recorded Chaos 
person ever born was four years before she herself was born.  The Elder 
Pluto tried to use the latent energies in that person to enhance her own 
powers over time.  The effect killed the little girl and seriously injured the 
Elder Pluto.

For days Pluto tried to figure out how Ranma even existed.  The records of 
the Moon Kingdom clearly showed that all of the Chaotic people died.  Not 
only that but a detailed account of the first Pluto's campaign to dilute and 
ultimately remove the dangerous DNA from all those in the general 
populace confirmed those reports.  Combing over the rest of those records 
for anomalies had been a waste of time.  Ultimately she tested the waters of 
Jusenkyo to see if some form of the DNA was in it.  Still nothing.  However 
Ranma came to be neither she, the Gate of Time, or the complete knowledge 
of the Moon Kingdom could find a logical explanation.

Tired, hungry, and suffering from the largest headache she had ever had 
Sailor Pluto lay back on her throne and tried to think of a way to get the 
timeline back in order.  At first she couldn't kill Ranma without suffering 
serious repercussions from both his suiters and his enemies.  But what if she 
eliminated those people first by integrating them into a modified timeline?  
The plan was tricky and dangerous, more so with Ranma around.  But if she 
were to find a way to keep him in 'one' spot his disruptions of the timeline 
could be kept to a minimum.  Perhaps she could even use the chaos that 
surrounded him to order certain other events to her advantage.  Her chance 
came when he tried to use the Nan-Ban mirror to travel back through time.  
With little effort she redirected the energies of the mirror to place him 
before her.  It was easier then she would have believed to convince him to 
stay in that apartment and watch events from afar without interfering.  

She had lulled him into complacency by showing him the best and worst 
futures.  She'd made sure that the apartment was in a relatively deserted part 
of Juuban so that if Ranma did decide to disobey her warnings his contact 
with other people would be kept to a minimum.  To distract him she 
arranged for homework assignments.  The worst part though was when she 
spoke to him.  Whenever she got within six feet of him her connection to the 
Time Gate would immediately sever.  At those times she felt powerless and 
frightened.  It made her want to destroy Ranma and be done with it.  But 
instead she modified the Nan-ban mirror to show Ranma other times and 
places.  In the long run it had seemed like a good idea as it would free her 
from having to speak to him at all.  And with the lack of space for him to 
practice his martial arts she hoped that he would soften up or at least slow 
down in his training.  It had been too easy to believe him a total idiot, and 
now she was paying the price for her over confidence.

Sailor Pluto stared at the Time Gate before her.  Knowing that it was now 
up to her to destroy this Chaotic person, Ranma, before he could wreck her 
plans and send the timeline into further disarray.  Her first attempt had 
failed.  Her second attempt by sending Akane to Phoenix mountain had only 
been a diversion.  She stood up from her throne.  Her link to the Time Gate 
allowed her to see Akane being healed by Hataru.  Several miles away from 
the Outer Senshi the Inner Senshi were in a heated argument over the 
morality killing Ranma.  Concentrating further the Time Gate also allowed 
her to........feel, that other presence on some subconscious level.  Matters 
were getting out of hand.

She didnt want to involve the Inner Senshi anymore then she had to.  
Already their ties of freindship and loyalty were being strained to the limit.  
But if she let Ranma go the number of random variables that would upset 
the creation of Crystal Tokyo would increase and jeoperdise the future.  
Even now the timeline she had strived to create was starting to fray from 
Ranma's actions.  

But, like all planners, she made allowances for such difficulties.  Sailor 
Pluto smiled.

-----------------------------------------

Outside of the room a dozen of the Elite guardsmen were posted in case the 
Senshi should come back.  Inside Ranma, the child Saffron and Lady Kima 
sat around one of the larger tables.  Each one had two empty seats on either 
side of them.  Ranma looked at Kima, then Saffron.  Kima appeared to be 
staring at the tabletop, maybe tracing some of the darker lines with her eyes 
while recounting the brutality of Sailor Io's attempted assassination of 
Saffron.  Or rather, the child Saffron.  He too seemed shaken by recent 
events, though what effect his childs body was having on his adult mind was 
unpredictable.  Was he scared?  Did he feel the need to cry for his mother?  
Or was he seething with rage and ready to try to kill the first person who 
pissed him off?

Again, Ranma tried to remember why he had chosen Phoenix mountain of 
all places.  Besides Phoenix mountain there were two other places he 
could've escaped to but the second one would have been too dangerous in his 
weakened condition and the third one, while more survivable, was best kept 
a secret until he needed to go there.  Perhaps it was more guilt then 
anything else that lead him here.  Ever since defeating Saffron he had 
relived the battle during his days and dreams, wondering if there might not 
have been a better outcome then to go all out.  But in the end he knew on 
some level that after both he and Saffron were committed to battle only the 
Kami would have stood a chance of stopping them.

He didn't understand Saffrons motives and probably never would.  But like 
him Saffron did not like to lose to anyone.  Especially someone mortal and 
by definition easy to kill.  He couldn't begin to imagine how angry Saffron 
was after being reborn.  Nor what other emotions he might have 
experienced.  For instance was being reborn painful?

Ranma shook his head, clearing it of the unnecessary questions.  What 
mattered was the here and now.  Seeing that neither Kima or Saffron were 
moving he tried breaking the ice.  Taking hold of his right arm he pulled at 
it until he felt the sharp pain of broken bone parts rubbing against not only 
one another but any other nerve endings nearby.  The resulting pain made 
his breathe quicken as he hastened to put his arm back into its rightful 
position while at the same time trying to remain calm enough not to make 
any mistakes that might leave lasting results.  A portion of his mind 
compared this pain to the pain he experienced when indirectly hit by Pluto's 
Dead Scream and found a broken arm much more painful.  Perhaps it was 
the fact that after a certain pain thresh hold had been met and exceeded the 
nerve cells in his skin simply stopped working.  That or his mind was 
unconsciously blocking out the pain.

But the little show did attract Kima and Saffron attention.  At least that's 
what it looked like out of the corner of his eyes when he could see passed 
the forming tears.  Taking in a deep breath he shifted the arm down more, 
twisting it unintentionally when he had to take another breath of air to calm 
his pain deadened nerves.  Wincing, he suddenly let go of the arm, at the 
same time letting out the breath of air he hadn't known he was holding in.  
Wincing, he flexed all of the muscles in his right hand while his left hand 
held his lower arm where the bone had been reset.  The space between his 
left hand and right arm glowed for several seconds before he leaned back in 
his seat.  Staring up at the ceiling while sweat dripped down from his 
forehead, feeling a tear tracking down his cheek he used his good arm to 
wipe away the unwanted tears.

"They found me."

Kima looked up at him, her eyes focusing on his face.  Out of the corner of 
his eye he saw her studying his face, maybe looking for some sign of 
remorse.  Seeing nothing, or maybe something she didn't like, Kima stood 
up from her seat.  Keeping her hands to her sides she walked around the 
table to where Ranma sat.

Kima's punch shook the entire table.  Momentarily jolting the child Saffron 
back to some semblance of perception as his head immediately came up to 
look at Kima with fearful eyes.  Ranma saw her fist, and the web of cracks 
radiating from the spot she hit it at.  Looking up into her face he could see 
the same look that Akane had given him so many times before using her 
mallet on him.  Strangely, he felt no fear, no wanting to cringe or run away 
like he had done with Akane so many times.  Then it had been a perverse 
sort of fun, like some stupid childs game.  But he wasn't a child.  And this 
could never be considered a game.

" 'They found me.'?  IS THAT ALL YOU CAN SAY!?"  She smacked the 
table again for emphasis while staring into his eyes with all of the hatred 
and revulsion she could muster.  Willing him to look afraid.

"No.  I can say: Why weren't there more guards in front of Saffrons door?"  
He said with icy calm.  Finding it surprisingly easy to sound like Nabiki 
when she dealt with one of her factors.  He saw her flinch for just a second.  
But wondered if he wasn't just hallucinating.  Suddenly he found himself 
being lifted from his seat by his shirt front.  He saw the hatred in her eyes, 
now more intense, and knew that she had flinched.  Though that 
information would probably not save him.

"It was because of 'you' that I posted those guards at Saffrons door!  Before 
you came here none of our enemies managed to get past the main gate!  
Now....six guards...dead.  BECAUSE OF YOU!"  Kima shook Ranma 
before throwing him at the wall in front of her.  She smiled when she saw 
his body impact with the wall, then go limp as he slid down to the hard 
floor.  Kima walked toward him when she realized he wasnt going to get up 
anytime soon.

Saffron watched Kima throw Ranma.  The child part of him wanted all of 
the fighting to stop, wanted its everyday world to return.  Instead he had 
almost been killed and now felt the overwhelming need to cry.  The adult 
part of him wanted Kima to finish Ranma off, or at least break a few of his 
bones.  Each part knew of the others existence and had, in the past, fought 
for dominance.  Now both watched, one in horror, one in delight, Ranma 
spit out some blood while Kima approached him.

Ranma watched Kima come closer to him.  He could see her hands flexing, 
maybe getting ready to grab his throat and squeeze it until he could no 
longer breathe.  If she could do it.  One foot and several inches away she 
stopped.  Maybe he could make her flinch a bit more.  "Doesn't matter how 
many guards you put in front of Saffrons door now.  Akane knows its exact 
location.  Maybe she'll come back tonight and finish the job.  Were all dead 
anyways so don't matter who dies first."

She stared at him for what felt like a long time.  Minutes?  Hours?  Killing 
him would only make her feel better for a little while.  And even then she 
still had the Senshi to deal with while at the same time protecting Saffron.  
But Ranma couldn't be trusted.  If he brought Akane here then who knew 
what else might be after him.

"But if you want my help.  You'll have to do something for me."

"What?!"

"Send a message to Prince Herb.  Tell the courier to tell Herb: We know 
why the Red Army is attacking you.  Come to Phoenix Mountain."

"No!  Never!"

"Then I wont help you."

Ranma looked up at Kima.  As they stared at one another Ranma let his 
mask fall, showing Kima a small glimpse of the hatred he felt.  She blinked.  
Probably wondering if what she had seen was real or imagined.  Or at least 
that's the way it seemed when she walked away from him to the door.

Saffron looked at Kima walk through the door, her face seemingly 
expressionless.  But that was a lie, he'd seen her like this when she was 
really mad.  But unlike most people she hid her anger, waiting for the right 
chance to strike back at who ever had angered her.  It made him shudder 
with all the unknown implications and complications.  The child part of his 
mind watched/felt/lived these thoughts but instead of contemplating possible 
outcomes it decided to ask Ranma a question.  "Why was Akane trying to 
kill me?  Isn't she your fiance?"

"Its her mission.  And not anymore."

The child Saffron looked at Ranma's prone body lay against the wall, from 
his vantage point it looked like Ranma was sleeping.  The whole situation 
felt wrong.  Any moment now he expected to wake up in his bed, in the 
normal world where his hated enemy, Ranma, didn't act so.......sad.  He 
fidgeted in his seat for several minutes before laying his head down to rest.

---------------------------------------------

"But she killed him!"  Usagi yelled over the general din of conversation that 
had erupted around the table.

Rie stood up, towering over Usagi she gave her a disgusted look.  "You 
heard Pluto.  If he didn't die then the future we fought for could never be!"

Usagi looked down at the table, tears welling up in her eyes.  "He cant be 
evil Rie, he just cant be!  If he was then why did he help us to defeat 
Wiseman?"

The other Senshi watched the argument between Rie and Usagi with a little 
trepidation.  They were split on the issue of whether it was right or wrong to 
kill Ranma.  Mercury, Minako, Rie and Akane believed that the ends 
justified the means if it meant saving millions of lives later on.  While 
Usagi, Makoto and Darien thought that destroying someone who wasn't 
truly evil made them evil for either endorsing or doing nothing to stop said 
action.  

Makoto looked at her friends while they bickered amongst themselves.  
Seeing friends turn on one another without knowing how to fix everything 
made her feel so weak.  But if she left then she might miss a chance to 
break-up any fights that might break out.  Even though she knew that her 
friends would never fight physically, still, it made her feel useful to some 
extent.  She looked at all of them again as a thought formed in her mind, 
halfheartedly she spoke the idea out loud, hoping that at least one of them 
would stop arguing.

"If Ranma's a threat to the future, then why isn't Rini here?"

---------------------------------------------


CH 5

Ranma got up from the cold floor.  He saw Saffron still sitting at the table, 
only now the child was crying.  Ranma looked at Saffron, feeling out of 
place and as if he were trespassing.  Quietly he stepped toward the door, 
trying not to make any noise to disturb Saffron.  Still, the thought that a 
godling like Saffron could actually cry was hard to understand in light of the 
limited powers the boy must still have.  Opening the door he slipped out, 
putting the question away as he saw the commotion taking place in front of 
the door.

"Lady Kima gave us express orders not to allow anyone into Lord Saffrons 
chambers."  The first of three guards that stood in the strangers way 
answered with cool detachment.  Ranma stayed out of sight for the moment, 
wondering what was happening.

"I am Healer Koran, I am to see to any injuries Saffron might have recieved 
from the assassin.  And if you do not want me reporting your lack of respect 
to Kima then let me pass."

Ranma recognized the voice of Koran almost immediately, thought he 
would have recognized the old man if his view wasnt ubstructed by several 
guards in front of him.  But from his view he could see the lead guards 
shoulders tense like he was getting ready to attack.  But if Koran saw it 
coming he didnt let anything on as he stared at the guard.

"Saffrons fine."  Ranma spoke up, his voice startled the guards in front of 
him.  They all turned to look at him with a mild grimace on their faces, 
probably angry at him for sneeking up on them but he ignored them as he 
walked past the guards to Korans side.

"Your sure?"

Ranma tried to smile but couldnt make himself.  The image of himself 
thrusting the spearpoint into Akane's back kept flashing before his eyes.  He 
ended up shrugging as he led Koran away from the guards.  "He wasnt hurt, 
just in shock or something.  I think he needs some time alone for now."

"Im still going to check him out later.  Just to make sure."

"Go ahead."  he said noncommitally as he and Koran aproached the end of 
the corridor as it opened up on the center of Pheonix Mountain.  "Can you 
help me down?"

Koran looked at him for a moment, blinking a couple of times before he 
burst out laughing.  "Im not quite that young, Ranma.  Here, I know another 
way down."  he led Ranma down the corridor to their right until they came 
to the large tapestry marking the end of the corridor.  Koran walked to the 
side of the tapestry to lift one of its edges while motioning Ranma through.

On the other side they found a wide passageway that rounded at both the top 
and bottom for as far as either could see.  Koran led Ranma down the 
smooth rock floor.

"Pheonix Mountain was not your first choice."  Koran said.  It was a 
statement, not a question.

Ranma looked at the old healer to see that he was staring strait ahead.  
Ranma decided to do the same as he answered.  "Yeah.  How'd you know?"

"Why did you come here in the first place?"

Ranma waited several minutes for Koran to answer his question.  He looked 
over to the old Healer, but couldnt discern any emotion from his facia 
features.  But not wanting to offend him Ranma answered.  "This is where 
the Senshi will get most of their magical artifacts."

"Looters."  Koran spat the word as if it were the most vile thing he had ever 
tasted.  "From what Kima told me these Senshi can teleport out of places.  
Could'nt they just teleport into the mountain and steal the magical artifacts 
they need?"

"I dont think so.  From what I saw in the Nan-ban mirror they used the 
Musk and Amazons to whittle your forces down before they attacked the 
mountain.  I guess something here, maybe one of the artifacts their after, 
doesnt allow a close teleport.  Or ma.."  Ranma stopped talking when he 
heard Koran chuckle, though it sounded more like a cough then a chuckle.  
"Are you okay?"

Koran waved Ranma away.  "Yes, yes, Im fine.  Heh, Ive heard stories that 
their are more then a hundred spells woven into the rock of this mountain.  
Over the ages the knowledge of what each spell does has been lost until now 
only a handful of the spell's purpose's are known."

"Maybe.  It was hard enough looking at the future."

"Where else would you have gone?"

"What?"

"I said, where else would you have gone?  What was your second choice?"

Ranma wanted the conversation to be over as it made him feel uneasy.  
Almost like he was being grilled for information by Nabiki.  But he didnt 
have any freinds here, and probably never would.  Still, he wanted someone 
to understand his motives.  And if that someone was also on freindly terms 
with Kima, then he had nothing to lose by answering the question.  "The 
Musk Citidel.  Im pretty sure I'd be dead now if I went there.  I cant imagine 
Herb missing out on the chance to kill me when Im at my weakest."

"Was that your only other choice?"

"Yes."

"Thats absurd.  There are several continents you couldve hidden on, 
mingled with the population until you were sure that no one was following 
you.  Maybe you could get some form of protection from some government, 
or atleast change your identity.  Even if it took years these Senshi couldnt be 
that diligent in killing just you.  Thats one point among many I dont 
understand about your story.  Why do they want to kill you?"  Koran asked 
as he and Ranma turned into the next corridor.  Ranma held the tapestry 
until Koran had walked under it.

"Because Im unpredictable."  Ranma softly replied as they came out of the 
corridor and into the spot where he crash landed.  

Oddly enough the floor looked like it had never been scratched.  He 
wondered a little, trying to find some evidence of his arrival, until he saw 
something glitter from one of the shadows.  Walking closer he saw that it 
was a small pile of mirror shards.  Spying one large piece he picked it up as 
Koran came up behind him.  But his joy at finding some part of the mirror 
intact dissipated as the large shard crumbled to dust between his fingers.  He 
searched the pile again with shaking hands that caused the smaller shard 
peices to crumble and the precious few larger peices to crack into smaller 
peices.  When he sneezed most of the  fine dust created by his fumbling 
blew away into small dust clouds, leaving a small mound of coarse grains 
behind.

"T-t-the mirror.  Its gone."  Ranma said to no one in particular.  His eyes 
still staring at the spot where the mound of mirror dust had been.  He'd 
know the mirror couldnt take much strain, in fact he was quite sure that it 
would break up into dozens of pieces.  But he'd expected at least one large 
piece to survive the explosion.

"Such sloppy maintenance!  I told the workers to put the remaining peices 
in a container and send it to my room.  When I find those hatchlings I'll 
pluck them lyself!"

Ranma continued to stare at the spot where the pile of mirror dust had been.  
For the moment Korans rant was forgotten as he tried to come up with, 
something, anything to do!  But all he could think about was the Nan-ban 
mirror.  His only way to watch the future was gone and with it any warning 
he might have had of Pluto's plans.  Absently he could feel his stomach 
making its presence known.  When had he last eaten?

He looked up to see the Healer talking with one of the guards.  The question 
was absurd, stupid beyond comprehension...but it would give him something 
to do while thinking about how to deal with the future and the problems it 
would bring.  "Koran?"

Koran nodded to the guardsmen, dismissing him, before turning around to 
face Ranma.  "Yes?"

"Is there a kitchen around here?"  His stomach chose that time to make its 
presence known, this time loud enough for Koran to hear.

He covered his mouth with one of his hands, feigning coughing.  The 
absurdity of the situation though was just too funny.  But managing to calm 
down he directed Ranma down one of the passages where they found a well 
stocked kitchem that looked to have been recently vacated.  Ranma was 
surprised to see several modern refrigerators, asking Koran he found out 
that they also had several small generators in one of the adjoining corridors 
that provided power for the refrigerators and some shop tools.

Ranma ate at one of the large tables they used to prepare some of the food 
with Koran seated opposite from him.  Between mouthfulls of food Ranma 
spoke.  "So how do ya keep children out of those passages?"

Koran looked at Ranma, frowning somewhat before he understood the 
question.  "The tapestries hung over the entrances are imprinted with spells 
that easily deflect a childs curiosity.  It might even be strong enough to 
deflect any curiosity you might have had if I hadnt shown you what lay 
beyond it.  Keep in mind though the spells were created specifically against 
children, not adults."

Ranma considered the answer as he finished another of the sandwiches he'd 
made.  Taking another sandwich off the plate he paused to reply.  "Okay, I 
see.  But why not use a door instead?"

Koran laughed at Ranma.  "There are more then thirty levels in this 
mountain, each one has two such passages leading through it on opposite 
sides.  Now imagine if everyone had to carry around sixty keys to unlock 
only a few doors?"

"Yeah, I guess it was a stupid question."  He returned to eating the rest of he 
food he'd piled on the plates before him.  The hunger he had felt had abated 
enough for him to eat much quicker without having to worry about 
accidentally choking on some of the weird stuff he was eating.

"The guard I talked to told me that the messener had come back and that 
Herb would arrive within the hour."  Koran said.  Usually whenever he was 
eating with one of his fellow people there was always gossip at the table 
relating to politics or some scandelous act.  Just sitting there, watching 
Ranma pack away so much food without talking very much made him 
acutely uncomfortable as he had nothing else to do at the time being.

Ranma quickly polished off the rest of the food before setting the silver trays 
in some of the cleaning sinks.  As he exited the room Koran had to sprint to 
catch up with him.  "In that case Ill be outside waiting for him.  You better 
go check on Saffron."

When he was sure that Ranma was going to wait at the gate he spread his 
wings to fly up to Saffrons room.  

------------------------------------------------------

Kima stood at the entrance of Pheonix Mountain, watching the night sky.  
Behind her the giant doors leading to the interior of Pheonix Mountain were 
open, beside each half of the door stood five guards that were ready to close 
the massive doors at a moments notice.  The wall surrounding the main gate 
swarmed with soldiers readying their weapons and or patroling.  But even 
those soldiers that were cleaning their weapons were keeping one eye out for 
anything out of the ordinary, no matter how innocent and weak it looked.

The messenger that Kima sent said that Herb would arrive in an hour.  She 
looked behind her to one of the mechanical clocks built into the tunnel 
walls.  Five minutes more and Herb would be late.  If that happened she was 
ready to send two patrols out to look for him in case he ran into the Sailor 
Senshi.  But seeing what Akane had done she didnt hold much hope of her 
soldiers lasting very long against any of the other Senshi.  Suddenly she 
looked over her shoulder to see that Ranma was behind her.

He briefly nodded at her before joining most of the other soldiers watching 
the sky for Herb.  "Anything wrong?"

"Not yet.  Im worried Herb's not going to get here.  Or if he does he will 
attack us instead of hearing you out."

"He'll make it.  From what Ive seen the Senshi are going to concentrate their 
attacks on this mountain.  Though I doubt that Herb would attack at a time 
like this with the few soldiers he does have going to scout patrols to watch 
out for Red Army patrols"

Kima paused for a moment, wondering if the tone in Ranma's voice was 
apprehension or relief.  From her position watching the sky she couldnt see 
if Ranma might have been frowning or smiling.  If he was feeling nervous 
she could understand that.  She decided to lighten the mood.  "Thanks.  
That makes me feel much better."

"Sorry, but I now how they operate, or how Pluto operates.  Right now your 
people are on her number one hit list.  If anything happens I think it will be 
when Herb gets here, that way she'll be able to kill all of us."

Kima resisted the urge to walk into the mouth of the tunnel.  Ranma's 
reasoning made her feel more defenseless then she had felt before.  It got to 
the point where she didnt want Herb to show up at all.  She nearly jumped 
out of her skin when Ranma put his hand on her shoulder.

"I didnt mean to scare ya Kima.  Okay?"

Kima was spared from having to reply when one of the guards called out to 
the others.  Soon they could all see Herb flying from the direction of the 
Musk Citadel.  Kima looked up at Ranma to see him staring at Herb with a 
curious expression on his face.  Around them the guards readied their 
weapons in case Herb tried to attack them, most of the guards used spears 
with metal tips while others brandished crossbows.  Some of the guards 
hiding themselves in and around the wall readied their Chinese rifle's.

Herb came in low over the horizon, just managing to clear the outer wall 
before he landed on the bare ground between the wall and the main gate.  
He took one look at the assembled guards and smirked at each and every one 
of them as he let his ki flare to life around him for all to see.  When he saw 
the guards flinch and slightly back away he looked over at Kima, his face 
losing all expression when his eyes locked onto Ranma's.  The two stared at 
each other for several seconds.

"Ranma."

"Herb."

To Kima it felt like hours while she stood just to the side of Ranma and 
watched them have their staring contest.  She suddenly got the urge to 
smack both of them for being so egotistical.  Instead she reframed from any 
undiplomatic measures for the time being.  She let out a sigh of relief when 
Ranma and Herb nodded to one another.  She quickly spoke up before they 
could do anything else to waste time.

"Shall we go in?"

Herb nodded to her and fell in line with Ranma.  Behind them the large 
doors swung shut with a silent creaking sound that sent shivers down 
Ranma's spine.  They traveled in silence to Saffrons quarters.  The only bit 
of conversation between Ranma and Herb was when one of the guards had 
to give Ranma a ride to the top floor.  Herb took one look at Ranma before 
laughing out loud.

"Well atleast I dont freak out when I get splashed with cold water."

Herb scowled at Ranma before flying ahead.

Before the doors to Saffrons receiving room stood a dozen of the Elite 
guards who were now dressed in battle armor.  Herb took one look at the 
guards before looking at Ranma and Kima for a explanation.  They only 
pointed to the open doors and motioned him inside.  They found Saffron 
sitting at the same chair of the one large table in the room, just staring at the 
heavy wood.  In one discreet corner of the room Koran watched them enter 
the room before turning his attention back to Saffron.

Without being asked Ranma sat down opposite from Saffron while Herb 
took a  position between Saffron and Ranma, eyeing both with his arms 
crossed and standing.  Kima took the seat next to Saffron and gently shook 
him out of his daze.  Saffron immediately sat up and looked around until he 
caught sight of Ranma and Herb.  He gave Ranma a feral look before 
returning his attention to Herb.  No one spoke, tried to exchange 
pleasantries or smiled.

"The reason we are all here is because a group is now operating in Japan 
with the intent of destroying all of us and remaking the world.  At best we 
have one, maybe two, days to evacuate to some safe place before then."  
Ranma had avoided looking at anyone or making direct eye contact for fear 
of faltering and making them suspicious of him.  That's the last thing he 
needed to deal with at the moment without getting into these people's 
version of political intrigue.  He kept his hands at his sides to look calm and 
collected, while mentally he felt that something really bad was gonna 
happen very soon.

Herb chose that moment to blink and then laugh out loud at Ranma, 
thumping his fist on the table like he had heard the funniest joke in his life.  
"HAHAHA!  Is that the best you can do?  Where's your proof?"

Kima put a restraining hand on Saffrons shoulder, preventing him from 
leaping out of his chair and attacking Herb.  Herb laughed a bit more as if 
daring Ranma to show his proof.

Ranma got up and went over to one of the other tables spaced equally 
around the room.  He returned with a  staff.  He sat it down in front of Herb, 
Herb backed up a few inches but continued to eye the grey staff with a bit of 
curiosity and suspicion.

"Go ahead touch it, it wont harm you."  Atleast it hadnt harmed him when 
he picked it up.  Ranma resisted the urge to smirk at Herb's caution.

Herb reached out with his index finger and touched the gunmetal grey rod, 
when nothing happened he grabbed it with his hand and examined it.  It 
looked like an ordinary metal staff, except for the two ends.  On one end 
rested some sort of decoration that looked like a spider web, on the other 
was a crescent shaped blade attached to the staff at its center.  There were 
no obvious signs of wear or tear, nor signs that it had been put together from 
separate parts.  Without asking Herb backed off to give himself some room.  
He swung the staff around to test its weight.  Near the bladed end he saw 
what appeared to be small characters imprinted into the staff and flowing 
onto the blade.

He swung it a few more times but couldnt see anything particularly 
menacing about it.  "Whats so special about this?"

"See that sculpture over there?"  Ranma pointed to a bass relief of a man 
with wings holding someones disembodied head.  Seeing Herb nod Ranma 
continued.  "Attack it with the staff."

Saffron jumped out of his seat.  "No!  I forbid it.  Do you have any idea how 
old that statue is?!"

Herb paid him no attention and struck out with the blade end of the staff.  A 
foot from the sculpture the staff stopped.  Saffron, Ranma and Kima 
watched as sweat broke out on Herbs forehead before he drew the staff back 
and tried to attack the statue again while putting more of his strength 
behind the swing as he tried to force the staff further.  The crystalline 
snowflake adorning the other end of the staff lit up as small points of light 
coalesced from the outer portions of the flake to the center where the light 
became a small bolt of lightning that traveled through the staff and up the 
length of Herb's arm before he screamed and let it go.  He backed away 
several steps while his hands stopped smoking.  Kima and Saffron came 
around the table to see the staff lying on the ground, looking as if it had 
never been used.

Ranma drew in a deep breathe and started to talk.  "I think that you can 
understand just how dangerous these Senshi, as well as their weapons, are.  
I just wish I could have convinced you sooner without Akane getting into 
the mountain, or Herb burn his hand.  Sorry.  Im not too good at this, let me 
start at the very beginning to bring Saffron and Herb up to speed."  He saw 
Saffron relax somewhat.  Though it was hard to tell whether or not the 
childs body interfered with the normal emotions he would have felt as an 
adult.  Would he get bored and fall asleep?  Or would he try to blast Ranma 
to make him get to the point?  So many questions that without the help of 
the Nan-ban mirror he might never have the answer to.

"As you can see, Herb, these Senshi have weapons that are quite powerful 
and cannot be used by anyone else who isn't a Senshi.  What you saw and 
experienced was just a defense function to insure that no one besides a 
Senshi could use the weapon, compared to what Sailor Io has done with that 
weapon you only got a small taste of its true power.  Though whether or not 
a Senshi can use anothers weapon is not known, for the time being lets 
assume they can only use their own personal weapons.  When fighting with 
a Senshi it is important to make sure that they do not have access to their 
weapons, for them the weapons act like a lens that focus's their powers by 
several factors.  Fortunately we have an edge over them."

Herb stopped flexing his singed hand to look at him suspiciously.  "And 
what advantage would that be?"

"Magic.  The only powers they have involve either their planets or simple 
disguises that all of us could see through.  The reason they want to kill us all 
is because of the potential for chaos we embody, as well as to get their hands 
on the magical artifacts of your peoples.  For in their perfect world people 
like the Musk, Pheonix, and myself cannot exist.  They also need the 
magical artifacts both your people's possess to guard their future kingdom."

Herb spoke up.  "How do we know that they aren't just going to kill you and 
leave all of us alone?"

Kima answered.  "If that were the truth then they wouldn't have sent one of 
their own here to kill Saffron."

Herb shut up as Ranma continued.

"My only method of escape from the Senshi before they could kill me the 
first time was the Nan-ban mirror, which was destroyed by Pluto's attack.  
Though even if it were repaired I dont think it could transport all of your 
people's to safety, atleast not in the time we may have left."

Saffron silently added.  "Then we'll die..."

Herb.  "You brought me here just for this!?"

"No.  If the Nan-ban mirror could transport people then there must be other 
artifacts like it with the same function!  Right?"

Herb looked at the table while in deep thought.  Aloud he said.  "Whats in it 
for me?"

"Your life and the safety of your people."  Ranma inwardly smiled at Herbs 
slightly dazed and scared expression.  For a moment he wondered if this is 
what Nabiki felt when she cornered him.  If he was right then Herbs 
instincts for self preservation and defending others should be kicking in.  He 
hoped.  "  Look through your records, books, scrolls for anything like the 
Nan-Ban mirror.  Its all I ask.  Meanwhile we have to organize the people 
for evacuation when we do find something."  He left out the 'if' on purpose, 
trying to sound more confident then he actually was.

Kima.  "Ive already asked the scholars here to look through their books and 
scrolls, hopefully they'll find something soon."  

Ranma nodded at Kima, surprised that she had anticipated him.  Then 
mentally scolding himself for not thinking of it sooner.  "It would probably 
be best if I told you all everything I know about the Senshi.  It may help all 
of you in the future if you knew what each of them were capable of.  Believe 
me, the last thing you want to do is laugh at their uniforms."

Herb stood up.  "Just a second Ranma.  Kima, could you spare a courier?  I 
want to send a message to my subordinates."

"There should be several ready, just in case.  Give me the message and Ill 
pass it along to the courier."

Herb took out a piece of paper and quill from a nearby desk and began to 
write.  When he finished he took out a disk from him pocket along with a 
dirty cloth, he poured a bit of the ink on the cloth before wiping it on the 
disk and firmly pressing the disk into the paper.  He handed the message to 
Kima who passed it to the guards outside the door.

Ranma waited until Kima was seated before beginning.  He started with his 
first meeting with Pluto, explaining how cold she seemed and emphasizing 
her control of time and ability to see into the future.  He didnt describe the 
apartment in too much detail since it wasnt very important, he did tell them 
of the modified Nan-ban mirror he had used and the horrible things he had 
seen in its surface.  His fiance's coming to Jouban and each finding her own 
happiness without ever finding him, along with the enemies that followed 
behind them and also found love interests.  He tried to keep from looking at 
his little audience when he described how strange it had all seemed, much 
too orderly for the people who he had known for two years.  But thoughts 
like that were quickly forgotten under the anguish he'd felt over being 
forgotten so easily, to forget them he lost himself in viewing the present and 
the future.  But watching event after event in different countries grew 
boring.  On a whim he then looked to see how Crystal Tokyo would be 
created........ 

His skin paled as he closed his eyes, fighting for control instead of breaking 
down and crying.  When he felt he had enough control he forced himself to 
continue.  

The death of so many people when the polar icecaps expanded over there 
homes and froze them to death as they slept was a horror that no one, in his 
opinion, should have to watch.  The fact that Pluto caused it to happen and 
could stand by while so many people died made him sick to his stomach as 
he'd begun to trust her.  For a while he thought that he'd found a woman 
that could be his friend without becoming a potential fiance.  He wanted to 
believe in that so much that at first he shunned what had appeared in the 
mirror, wanting to believe instead that something was interfering with it.  
Instead he looked for his future self in Crystal Tokyo.  He found Ryouga, 
Mousse, Shampoo, Ukyou, Akane and the rest of the Senshi, but not him.  
He used the mirror to look at the other countries of that future, hoping to 
find some future version of himself, with the same result.  He then tried 
asking the mirror to show his future self, the mirror responded by showing 
his death.

He opened his eyes to see that he had everyones attention.  He continued by 
going into detail about what attacks each and every Senshi would use as 
well as which Senshi had weapons.  He tried to stress how important it was 
that if they should meet Sailor Saturn that they should not threaten her in 
any way.  He didnt know if she would destroy this planet, but given what the 
other Senshi have done he didnt want to take any chances.

After he had finished and sat down there was silence.  Each of the people 
around the table pondering what he had said.  Wondering if it was the truth.  

Herb looked at Saffron and Kima, wondering what the people of china 
would think if they found out that these people had been living within the 
country for thousands of years.  Even his own people and their enemies were 
just legends to the average Chinese citizen.  Even if the Chinese Red Army 
knew of their existence they treated them like terrorist groups and 
dissidents.  In china legends and myths had a strange way of coming to life 
and biting you on the ass just to show you up.

Saffron was the first to speak up.  "Is that all?  They should have some 
weakness's.  Maybe enemies we can ally ourselves with."

Ranma was about to answer when Herb added his two cents.  

"He's right.  No ones that perfect...although, it does sound like they can only 
fight as a group..."

Saffron.  "Care to explain that Herb?"

"Its their attacks, each of them seems to have a attack modeled after some 
force of nature and only that.  Sure they probably improvise attacks and 
maybe learn but none of them is capable of duplicating the other's powers, 
they each use a fixed power source.  What are they using for power, 
Ranma?"

"From what Ive seen and heard I think each of them draws their power from 
their respective planets, though I cant be sure.  I dont know how or if there 
is a way their powers could be blocked.  But.....I do know that they each 
have *limited* powers, when a Senshi first gains her powers and memories 
they are very weak and can only use basic attacks.  Or atleast I heard.  But 
every time they fight they gain new knowledge and learn to tap a bit more 
power from their respective sources.  In a sense they are still trying to wake 
up, regain all of their memories and skills.  Fortunately its gonna take 
several years for them to do that."

Kima spoke up before either Herb or Saffron could comment.  "If we 
separate them we might be able to hold them off or defeat them totally..."  
She stopped when Ranma shook his head.

"No Kima, it doesnt work like that.  Beryl, their first enemy, tried that a few 
times but it never worked long enough to defeat them.  Hell, I dont even 
know if my theory is right.  I mean that...well...their are two people who 
violate my theory, Sailor's Pluto and Saturn.  Its easy to guess why Pluto is 
as powerful and knowledgeable as she is but Saturn is the real wild card 
here, when she was reborn she came with her power intact but not the 
knowledge to use it.  Even now as we speak she is having a hard time 
controlling her powers."

Kima.  "Okay, then will 'she' fight 'us'?"

Ranma sighed and looked down at his hands.  "I dont know."  He looked up 
at everyone.  "Everything I know."  He grimaced briefly before resuming.  
"Everything I think I know I got from the Nan-Ban mirror and from peices 
of conversation I overheard from the Senshi while they were talking.  I 
could be wrong about several things or everything.  The Senshi treated me 
like I was diseased, few of them came close to me.  Fewer talked to me.  I 
dont know anything about their minds.  All I really know is that I dont have 
anymore freinds, my fiance is a Senshi, and their cold blooded enough to 
kill my parents just for being my parents...."  He stopped, for a moment 
looking down instead of showing them the confusion he felt.  The 
disappointment of not being able to talk to them of what he felt.  His eyes 
focused on the table, at that moment he unleashed all of his anger with one 
punch that put a hole in the table.

Everyone else jumped out of their seats, taking several steps away from 
Ranma.  They looked at each other nervously.  All hoping that Ranma hadnt 
chosen this time to snap, yet none of them wanted to voice the question.  
Instead they watched him take several shallow breaths, each time he exhaled 
his shoulders seemed to shake with the effort.

With a bit of hesitation Kima walked around the table until she was a foot 
from Ranma.  From this distance she could tell that he was tense and, she 
paused to look a bit closer.  Crying?  She tried to reason out why he was 
crying.  But she didnt understand him well enough to tell what was 
troubling him.  She looked back at Saffron and Herb, seeing the indecision 
in their eyes as they looked at Ranma then at her for as if waiting for the 
right time to act.  For a moment she considered doing the same.  But instead 
she put her hand on his shoulder, hoping that it would somehow comfort 
him.

She relaxed when she could feel his shoulder relax as his breathing slowed 
down.  He turned his head to look at her out of the corner of his eye.  
"Thanks, Kima."  He emphasized his words by putting his hand over her 
own.

Saffron was the first to come around the table with what looked like real 
concern.  "Ranma I.."

"They killed my parents."  He said again as if to explain what had 
happened.  "They haven't killed any of your people, or families."  He paused 
for a moment to let his last statement take effect and let the others know 
they may not survive what would happen next. He cleared his throat before 
taking a deep breathe.  "You can kill me anytime you want.  I wont defend 
myself.  But I am telling the truth.  I swear it upon the graves of my mother 
and father."  He looked at them, hoping they would see how strongly he felt.  
One by one they nodded their agreement.  He almost let himself smile but 
forced himself no to.  For now they would trust him.

Herb came forward.  "Theres something you should know."

The way he had said it held ominous tones.

Herb.  "On my way here I saw two small columns of tanks and other 
vehicles heading here.  They'll be here in two hours, maybe more or less 
depending on the terrain."

Ranma scowled.  Just when everything seemed to be shaping up this 
happened.  And he knew, without a shadow of a doubt whose fault it was.  
"Pluto."

---------------------------------------------

"DAMM IT!"  Akane cried out when Micheru finished taking out the last of 
the stitches in her back, the skin beneath the stitches looked as if it had 
never been cut.  But all Akane could think about was the pain that persisted 
in the muscles around the healed area's, that and the sensation of having the 
stitches pulled out only to grate against sensitive nerve endings.

Hataru lay on the couch watching Akane wince again when Micheru pulled 
out another section of the stitches.  She felt slightly guilty for having Akane 
get stitches but it made the healing process a bit easier and quicker.  Though 
the fact that Akane hadnt thanked her made Haruna a bit happy at her 
fellow Senshi's pain.

Micheru looked at the back of Akane's head with a frown on her face, 
clearly she wasnt enjoying the task of pulling out the stitches, or hearing 
Akane yell out or curse at no one in particular.  She could handle the 
yelling, but she looked over to see Haruna wince slightly at the more 
colorful words Akane was employing.  "Akane.  If you keep yelling like that 
I wont be able to pull the other stitches out, then Haruka wil have to do it."  
She grinned at Haruna when she saw Akane's shoulders tense and her 
mouth shut with an audible click.

Haruka watched all of this from the dinner table.  Feeling slightly pissed at 
Pluto for not letting them take Akane to a hospital or Sailor Mercury.  She 
didnt like sneaking around like this around the Inner Senshi, though why 
Pluto didnt want the Inners to know about her and Micheru and Haruna she 
couldnt understand.  Though she never did completely understand Pluto's 
motives in the first place, or her fixation with destroying Ranma.  For that 
matter she didnt understand why she had to destroy that couple in Nerima.  
Too may things were happening for her to understand anyone in great 
detail.  All she knew for sure was that the Inners were starting to bicker 
amongst themselves more and Ranma was still alive.

Haruka pinched the bridge of her nose to alleviate the headache she could 
feel developing.  Akane's sudden, though muffled, yell just made the 
beginning headache worst.  She needed more information from Pluto but 
Pluto had disappeared to parts unknown.  And she had left implicit 
instructions that she and Micheru and Hataru were not to meet the Inner 
Senshi.  Akane was the only exception as she worked like a spy for them, 
telling them what happened at each meeting and helping to mislead the 
Inner's investigations concerning the mysterious Senshi that showed up 
from time to time to help them.

"All done."  Micheru said with a little bit of relief showing through.

Akane noisily exhaled before pulling her shirt back on.  She stretched her 
arms up high to work out some of the kinks in her chest and back, suddenly 
wincing when she felt a pain between two of her ribs.  Apparently the 
muscle needed more time to rest.  She turned around to look at all of her 
Outer friends.  "I want another chance!  If Ranma hadnt interfered I 
would've succeeded!"

"Im afraid you wont get the chance for revenge, but I can offer you some 
entertainment."

Haruka looked across the table to see Sailor Pluto in her customary business 
suite's sitting down at the table as if she'd always been there.  For a moment 
Haruka felt angry with herself for not hearing her come in.  But of course 
she never did quite see Pluto come or go.  Instead of focusing on that fact 
she tried something else.  "Entertainment?"

Pluto smiled at her but the smile didnt quite reach her eyes.  Then the Outer 
Senshi disappeared from the room.

---------------------------------------------

Several miles away from Pheonix mountain two J-8 II fighters flew around 
the mountainous region.  Their normal armaments having been replaced by 
special sensor pods under the wings where missiles or air to ground 
armaments would have been.  In the back seats of both fighters the copilots 
hunched over their displays to ferret out details and highlight it for the 
experts who would see it later on, making special note of which areas 
appeared to be inhabited by their IR signatures.  As well as the rough 
outlings of the hollow interior gained by a combination of radar and sonar 
pulses sent through the rock.  The copilots of those jets leaned over their 
green/black display and tried without success to resolve 50% of the interior 
that only showed up as a indistinct blob with very few definite highlights.  
Each one knew that the success of tommorrows operation depended on their 
work and the work of the experts at Beijing, and that if any insights gained 
by them proved particularly valuable then they would receive a share of 
whatever war spoils were to be found in the mountain.  

They also knew that if tommorrows plan failed then heads would roll.  Most 
likely their own

The relatively calm air currents in the region allowed both fighters to 
complete several wide circles of the inhabited mountain with plenty of fuel 
to spare.  The small fact that they hadnt been attacked by any of the warriors 
of Pheonix mountain was in itself a minor miracle.  When they recieved the 
code word to return to base each pilot silently thanked whatever god's or 
goddess's they could think of.

------------------------------------------

Authors notes:  I wrote it and for the time being I am content with how it 
worked out.  Then again as the present changes so will I and the story.  

To answer some of your unvoiced or unthought questions I have nothing 
against the Sailor Moon series, just their idea of utopia.  It just seems a bit 
too perfect so you have to wonder what all the drawbacks are.  

Then of course theres casting Akane as one of the villians, some of you will 
probably call me an Akane basher, so be it.  Just remember, I can always 
make this much more........violent, if pushed.

Comments welcome, flames will be used to keep my home warm, questions 
will also be answered in due time.

I can be reached at  Mecvolve@zdnetonebox.com

Authors Notes (take two):  Reformatted the story to make it look better, also 
added a couple of minor changes.  If Im lucky chapters 6 and 7 will be 
coming out shortly.  If I dont get hit by lightning or some such freak 
occurance.  

Was that thunder?