A Ranma/Sailor-Moon crossover fan fiction

 

 

Started - 1 February 2004                      Completed - pending

 

Last revised – 25 June 2004                  Reason –minor revs and chapter 3 added

 

 

 * * * * *

 

Disclaimer:  Ranma ½ and Sailor-Moon and all associated characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi or Naoko Takeuchi and are used without permission.  This fan-fiction isn’t intended for commercial use but is rather a tribute to the Ranma ½ and Sailor-Moon universes.  There may be ‘cameos’ of other anime series but I make no claim on them and disclaim any profit.

 

This story starts after the end of both ‘cannon’ story lines.  Ranma is the same age as Usagi.

 

 * * * * *

 

The Earth Princess                by               Cloud Dreamer

 

 * * * * *

 

Prologue – Chaos Storms

 

 * * * * *

 

Then:

 

Beryl studied the photo of a young girl, her niece.  She damned her father for his past machinations even as she assumed his mantle after his untimely death.  She suspected that the child was part of the reason he had been assassinated.  Not even the fact that he was a distant blood relative of the Earth’s ruling family had shielded him in this case. Somehow he’d obtained Royal sperm and had her elder sister artificially inseminated in an effort to unite the Earth line and the Moon Kingdom bloodlines in hopes of somehow creating a Terran Senshi that did not owe allegiance to that bitch Serenity. The toddler had vanished the same day her father had died. 

 

Beryl now had another reason to hate the Moon Kingdom.  She wondered what had been done with the young redhead. 

 

Oh, well.  Hopefully she’d find out next week.  Only time would tell.  In the meantime, she had a ball to ‘crash’ since she didn’t have an invitation.

 

Now:

 

Setsuna sighed as she reluctantly locked the Time gates.  She really didn’t want to do this but the coming chaos storm that would herald the beginning of the final events that would ultimately culminate in Crystal Tokyo made the gates unusable and potentially dangerous to her and the gates themselves if she didn’t lock it out for the next half century.  She’d learned this lesson the last time a major chaos storm had come during the end of the Silver Millennium.  She’d tried to use the gates then and nearly been killed as a result.  By the time she’d recovered, it was all over.

 

“Oh well,” she grumbled to herself, “it’s not as if there was anything that could change the path this late in this time-steam.”  She grinned to herself as she thought about one of the benefits of this event.  “Alright!  It’s time to party since I don’t have to guard the gates for awhile.”

 

 * * * * *

 

Chapter One – Chaos Princess

 

 * * * * *

 

Ami absently studied her computer trying to chase down a couple of stray thoughts; memories, ancient memories of her first life actually.

 

Bored from watching the other scouts in their various repetitive activities, (two fighting over a manga, two talking about boy watching, two more snuggling while mama-S just watched ‘wisely’), Hotaru wandered over and sat down next to the ‘wonder’ girl.  “Hi Ami, what are you doing?”

Ami shyly smiled at her and replied, “Just trying to define what our relationship with our planets was really like in the old days.”

 

Hotaru sighed; it brought up so many memories.  “Ami, mama-Setsuna said I have a lot more of my old memories than most of you.”  She paused and softly continued; an element of longing in her voice, “We were more than just linked with ‘our’ planet.  It was dependant on us.  The planet was almost alive and it looked to us for guidance and protection in exchange for the power it gave us.”

 

“Yes,” affirmed Setsuna as she quietly seated herself on the other side of Ami, “That was in fact one of the reasons that Beryl waited until we were all away from our planets at the Lunar Ball when she attacked.  Without a scout to guide the planetary responses, each planet was easily overwhelmed and the biosphere destroyed.”  She sighed, “In a sense that is one of the reasons that the earth survived.”  Seeing Ami’s and Hotaru’s confusion she explained. “The earth did not have ‘one’ senshi; It was linked to hundreds of individuals, the ruling family foremost and many others such as senior monks at temples, in a way they represented a sort of ‘hive’ mentality that steered the defenses of earth to destroy the dark warriors that Beryl sent to capture the planet.”  She added quietly, “Of course Beryl also took pains not to cause too much damage to her own home especially since it wasn’t part of the Moon kingdom.”  She sighed regretfully, “Still she did enough damage to plunge the world into barbarianism for almost ten millennia before ‘civilization’ started to rise again in ancient Egypt and China.”

 

Ami thought about it for a few moments then tentatively asked, “You mean having a planetary senshi was actually a liability then?”

 

Setsuna thought about it for a few moments, it was after all an argument she had raised with herself all those lonely years.  “Yes and no.  It sort of depends on the individual that assumes that position.  If she was knowledgeable, strong and stayed at her post – then it was it was definitely a good solution.  But since our focus in the Moon kingdom was more on preserving the Kingdom instead of the planets, then I would have to say ‘no’, it wasn’t the best solution.”

 

Hotaru sighed and then giggled as she recalled some of the more pleasant memories.  An introspective expression on her face she softly said, “I remember walking among the sky trees of Saturn.”  She sighed again and wistfully continued, “Some times all I had to do was ‘think’ about it and the weather would change to what I wanted it to be.”

 

“Yes,” agreed Setsuna, “All of you were so in tune with your planets that it responded almost to your every whim.”  She smiled and added, “It also made you particularly effective in battles on your planets as well.  All of you could command almost instant monster storms and massive earthquakes not to mention incredible lightning strikes.”

“But I thought ‘lightning’ was Sailor Jupiter’s providence?” asked Ami.

 

Setsuna shrugged, “It is, but what I was talking about was the ‘planet’ itself fighting on your behalf and at your direction.”

 

“Hotaru?” asked Ami, “I don’t understand.  How did people live on your planet?  I mean the pressure and gravity on the surface is just monstrous and even worse on Jupiter.”

 

The youngest scout giggled, “That’s just it,” she said, “we didn’t live on the surface.  On both Saturn and Jupiter, we lived on large floating islands; most of them were as large as continents on Earth; there were a few really huge ones too.”

 

“Yep,” interjected Setsuna, “In fact, the ‘red spot’ on Jupiter is the only one that survived on that planet.  There are a couple of the smaller ones remaining on Saturn as well but because that planet is further away and the islands so much smaller, they haven’t been discovered yet.”  She sighed, “In both cases, the ‘planet’ managed to preserve your home castle along with a trace of life.”  She sighed regretfully, “Just plants and a few simple animals, no people,” she clarified.

 

Ami glanced up and noticed that the other six scouts had silently gathered around and had been listening to the conversation.  She turned to Setsuna, “So all of us had a strong link with our planet much like Hotaru was describing?”

 

Setsuna nodded, “Yes,” she sighed, “well sort of.  Since you haven’t ‘stepped’ onto your planets in so very long, the link has diminished a lot.”  She added painfully, “Of course, the fact that some of the planets are completely lifeless now and all of them uninhabited also reduces your power levels as well.”

 

The scouts silently accepted that information and wondered what they could do about it, if anything.

 

 * * * * *

 

Ranma glared at the offending clouds that had just dumped their load of water over her.  She shook her fist impotently at the sky and hissed, “Damn it, I just wanted to spend one day, one lousy day dry for once.”  The clouds were immediately swept out of sight and an unseasonably warm wind gently blew in her face as she was haloed in a warm shaft of light.  She was stunned by the sudden change.  Even more so when several songbirds perched on her arm and began to ‘sing’ energetically.

 

Nabiki had been spying on Ranma in hopes of finding some blackmail material; but this caused her hair to briefly ‘toing’ out in shock.

 

Ami glanced at her computer, a slight frown on her face.  ‘That’s odd,’ she thought to herself, ‘I wonder what that small strange energy surge was about?’

 

 * * * * *

 

Cologne restlessly paced the floor of her bedroom.  She didn’t need much sleep at her age, but even that was being denied her by her apprehension.  Her female intuition, augmented by skills and magics learned over the course of centuries was telling her something big was on the horizon.  Then today a brief cryptic note had arrived from their Tribe’s leading mystic lore-mistress telling her to ‘be prepared for duty!’

 

Cologne was tempted to return home and strangle the old biddy except that it was her own youngest sister that was apparently jerking her chain.

 

 * * * * *

 

Setsuna sat surrounded by the other scouts in a lonely park a few months later.  They were all transformed and using their powers to watch the shadow that was slowly obscuring the sun.

 

“It has begun,” softly intoned the shrine maiden Rei.

 

Silent tears traced their way down Usagi’s face.  “Is there really no way for us to defeat that thing?” she asked.  “Not even Crystal Tokyo is worth all the death it will cause.”

 

“Death eventually comes to all,” softly intoned Setsuna.  She added, “The only difference is the circumstances in the end.  Most have a ‘singular’ death in that their passing is unrelated to anybody else, but sometimes it is due to small things like regional wars or massive disasters.”  She whispered, “These cause ‘chaos zephyrs’ or breezes.  But sometimes, once every ten or twenty thousand years or so; there is a ‘chaos storm’ when a large part of the life on these planets is threatened.”  Tears dripping, she finished, “And just like when the Silver Millennium fell fifteen thousand years ago, there is nothing any of us can do except to ride out the storm.”

 

 * * * * *

 

Eyes twice their normal size, Ranma was almost glued to the TV screen as he and the Tendou’s watched the televised images of events happening so many millions of miles away.

 

The frenetic commentary only served to emphasize just how ignorant of any solution all the world leaders and ‘knowledgeable’ experts actually were in the end. 

 

How strange it was that a chance comment by an irreverent social skeptic contained the solution.  How fortunate it was that a certain neo princess heard and understood the potential subconsciously, even if it was just grasping at a straw.

 

Ranma’s attention was drawn away from the events on the screen as Kuno entered the Tendou yard yelling, “Foul sorcerer!  Now the world knows of thy evil deeds.  This day I will smite thee and save the world.  Then shall my true loves reward me as I deserve.”

 

A fuming Akane launched him into LEO.  “You idiot!  You trampled my laundry into the dirt.”

 

Cologne glanced out of her window only long enough to identify Kuno before returning her attention to the TV screen.  She hadn’t even opened up the shop today.  ‘Was this what the warning had been about?’ she wondered.

 

Ukyou had heard Akane’s yell and wondered if Ranma had gotten hurt again.  She sighed and wondered when Ranma would wise up about the violent girl.  She kept a warm smile on her face as she worked frantically.  Her TV was on and prominently placed on a counter so it could be seen by all in her shop.  Business was booming!

 

Kodachi grinned as her brother splashed down in Mr. Green Turtle’s pond.  She watched the battle for a few idle moments before turning off the TV (after all, it did not affect her and therefore was of no concern) and strolling into her garden.

 

Somewhere . . . Ryouga screamed at the sky, “Ranma, this is your fault too.”

 

 * * * * *

 

Setsuna stared in disbelief at the headlines a week later.  World’s Volcanoes all Blow Within Days of Each Other!

 

She shakily read the accompanying article that told how the volcanoes were all spewing incredible amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.  In fact they were actually starting to counteract the affects of the diminished sunlight.

 

“I never saw this in the time gates,” she quietly said.  “What in the world is going on?”  She paused and softly repeated, “What in the world . . . it’s almost as if Terra is actually responding to guidance.”

 

Hotaru had been a silent witness to this up till now.  “Mama-Setsuna, maybe that ‘hive’ mind for guiding the planet is still working somehow?”

 

“Maybe,” replied the senshi of time, “but this so focused a response usually means that all of them are in agreement.  Somehow I don’t think that is the case given the confusion that seems to exist worldwide just now.”

 

Usagi grabbed a manga and started to read it while ignoring a fuming Rei.  “I wonder if Ami knows anything about it?” she asked as she turned a page while dodging Rei’s efforts to retrieve her newest acquisition.

 

Minako turned to Makato and softly remarked, “Have you noticed how Rei always seems to leave her newest manga out for Usagi?”

 

Makato shrugged then nodded and quietly replied, “Yeah, I think it’s really just a game between them anymore.”

 

Ami cocked an eyebrow at M&M before responding to Usagi’s comment.  “Sorry Usagi, but I haven’t seen much that would indicate another senshi.  The only thing strange was some random spikes of some unknown power last week.”  She pulled out her computer and froze as she looked it over.

 

Haruka noticed and asked, “What’s up, Ami?”

 

Ami gulped and admitted, “Well, I’ve really been cramming for the University placement exams and this is the first time I’ve looked at the Mercury computer since that day in the park when we first gathered together to watch this whole situation start.”  She paused and guiltily added, “The computer is showing some really strong surges of power happening right now, planetary power apparently.”

 

The others all gathered about her as she deftly manipulated keys.  She set the computer down on the table as it began projecting a hologram of the globe into the air above it.  Ami sighed in relief as the data demonstrated that the power she was talking about was visually shown to be concentrated at the volcanoes.  “It looks as if something is causing the earth’s planetary power to react, but I see no sign of a senshi.”

 

 * * * * *

 

Ranma fled from both his suitors and enemies, despairing of finding any peace.  “Damn it,” he yelled hopelessly, “I wish they would just leave me alone.”  Ukyou heard his words and stopped her pursuit, shocked at the lonely despair in his voice.

 

Ranma almost fell from the roof as multiple sheets of lighting fell between him and his pursuers.  The brief storm included enough rain to change Ryouga, Shampoo and Mousse into their cursed forms while blasting the Kuno duo into temporary oblivion.  (Un)Fortunately Akane had seen Ryouga change.

 

“P-chan no hentai!” the tomboy screamed and malleted the lost piglet out of sight.  She glared balefully at Ranma; torn between apologizing to him for all the times she’d blamed him for picking on P-chan or Ryouga; or blaming him for failing to tell her clearly about Ryouga’s curse.

 

Ranma fled onward, “I just want ta have a nice peaceful day.  Is that too much ta ask?”  He dropped into a previously unvisited park and was startled at just how pretty and peaceful it seemed to be.  He thought it was odd that even the local folk seemed amazed by the park as well, but he dismissed it from immediate consideration.

 

Ranma happily picked a dozen apples from a tree in the park and quickly finished his snack not even realizing that normally apples aren’t found on trees in early spring.

 

As Ranma relaxed in a hidden part of the city park, he was surprised as dozens of small animals approached him.  Several squirrels dropped nuts at his feet and even gave a jerky semblance of a bow to him as they left.

 

Ranma was really puzzled though it somehow reminded him of that weird American movie about a girl and some dwarves that Nabiki had made him watch last month.

 

 * * * * *

 

The inner scouts had met together more for ‘old times’ sake rather than any problem.  Within a decade they would have to take refuge from the advancing sheets of ice as the world fell into another ice age, but for now, they were just another gaggle of school girls enjoying a spring day.

 

The hair on all five scouts almost stood out straight from their heads as they felt the surge of unfamiliar planetary power.  They watched in awe as the grass visibly greened and grew, trees leafed out and flowers sprung from the soil, budded and opened into blossoms in mere minutes.

 

Ami’s eyes were almost bugging out of her head as she checked the power levels surrounding them via the Mercury computer.  She gulped audibly, “The planetary power level in this area is almost as strong as the silver crystal,” she squeaked.

 

Meanwhile, Minako and Makato were both dreamily staring at a dark haired boy wearing a pigtail as he harvested apples from a tree; apples that hadn’t been there ten minutes ago.

 

Setsuna sat next to Usagi at the emergency meeting at Rei’s temple three hours later.  The other’s looked to her for the explanation to the events Ami had just described at the park.

 

“It can’t be,” she muttered, “It can’t be.  I would have seen it from the gates.”

 

“What!” yelled the ever impatient and frequently angry Rei.  She gulped as Setsuna cocked a cold eyebrow at her, “Sorry,” Rei offered.

 

Surprisingly it was Hotaru who guessed the cause, “Terra has a scout now doesn’t it.  That’s why the earth is reacting so strongly to the threat.”  A frown creased her petite cute face.  “How is that?  Since the earth was never part of the Silver Millennium, there was also never a scout for the planet.  What happened to cause one?”

 

“Beryl,” sighed Setsuna uncertainly.

 

“Beryl!” yelped the others.

 

Ami took up the line of questioning, “Beryl is dead and she never had anything to do with a Sailor Earth unless there is something you haven’t told us yet.”

 

Massaging her temples, Setsuna ignored them and absently continued, “Beryl and her line were all carriers of incredible amounts of chaos energy.  It made her and her kin almost impossible to track.  It was one of the reasons that the Earth Ruling family was able to resist the Moon kingdom for so many years.  Even they had a fair share of it.  Not as strong as Beryl and her family, but enough to foul up the time gates.”

 

Setsuna turned to Ami and said, “Ami, enter into the archive protocols of your computer please.”  When Ami indicated she was there, Setsuna directed her, “Ami, open the file named ‘Earth-Princess’, encryption code, ‘Serenity-sister’.”

 

The other scouts gathered behind Ami as she slowly (for her) read through the file.  Usagi blanched, “I have a ‘half-sister’ who is also Beryl’s niece.”  She swallowed and added almost in a wail, “My mom’s security staff kidnapped her and killed her grandfather too!  No wonder Beryl was so mad at the Queen!”

 

“Actually,” inserted Setsuna, “Beryl had already made all her plans before she even found out about this.  Queen Serenity’s security chief tried to take custody of the little girl only a week before Beryl attacked.”

 

“Why would he try steal a little girl?” asked Minako confusedly.

 

“She,” absently corrected Setsuna, “The chief of Security for the Moon Kingdom was a woman, Usagi’s distant cousin on her father’s side in fact.  When the Queen found out what she’d done, Queen Serenity fired her.”  Setsuna grimaced, “It really sucked that this all came about less than a week before Beryl attacked.”

 

“But why?” repeated Minako.

 

Chiba stepped from the shadows were he’d been for the past few minutes, “Because she was potentially not only the first Senshi of Earth, but also because of that power and her blood link to both the Terran ruling family and the Moon kingdom, she could have probably claimed the right to rule the Earth as well.  That made her a threat to my family and because she was potentially a Senshi unbound to the Moon Kingdom she was also a threat to them.”  He paused and added, “If Beryl had managed to ‘keep’ her niece, she would have had a powerful tool to block my impending marriage to Usagi back then.  She may have even been able to claim the earth as regent and the Moon kingdom would have been powerless to prevent her.”  He sighed, “I recall overhearing dad accepting Queen Serenity’s apology for the assassination of his distant cousin despite the ‘crime’ he’d committed against her by creating the little girl.”

 

“What happened to her?” asked Makato softly.

 

Ami answered, “I found a follow up file.  It indicates that she was put in the custody a group of warriors sworn to the service of the Earth dynasty.”  She paused and added, “It says that Queen Serenity wanted the girl on the moon but King Endymion refused her.  He placed her under the guardianship of,” she paused in disbelief, “a group of Amazons?”

 

 * * * * *

 

Ranma-chan sleepily rubbed her eyes as she softly padded her way into the bathroom at the Tendou home.  It was just dawn but she was unable to sleep in much anymore despite her ole man having been drug back home by his wife.  She grinned as she recalled the look of sheer terror on the old fart’s face as Nodoka mumbled about ‘getting a job & chores to do & . . .’ while pulling Genma behind her by the ear.  She sighed as she sort of wished she could have gone with her folks but Soun just wouldn’t hear of it.  Besides it would have meant changing schools in the middle of the school term so maybe it was better the way it was; . . . maybe.

 

Ranma-chan carefully checked to make sure the furo area was empty before she entered.  She not only placed the ‘occupied’ sign in place but blocked the door ‘locked’ using a short piece of broom handle that she dropped into the tracks of the sliding door.  It was perhaps excessive, but it had prevented Akane from walking in on him at least a dozen times since he’d started doing it.

 

Ranma sighed as she thought about Akane.  Yesterday Akane had found out about P-chan and Ranma had managed to avoid her so far.  It helped that Akane had decided to stay over with some friends for the weekend but that was only delaying the confrontation.  Ranma doubted it would allow Akane to cool down; she was probably ‘stewing’ over her anger instead of just letting it go.

 

The redhead quickly shed her clothes but stopped short of actually washing up as she glanced in the mirror and spied something out of place.  Ranma leaned over the sink to peer into the mirror closer.  As she did so she raised her bangs to get a closer look at the golden glowing mark on her forehead.  It was a circle cut into four pieces but even as she glared at the mark, it faded completely.

 

Ranma spent the day puzzling out why being a guy felt vaguely ‘wrong’ and faintly irritating.  Both feelings vanished when he became a girl.  He experimented with his kata and found that his skills in both forms were not affected but were instead slightly augmented more than he could explain.  It bothered him that the effect was more pronounced for his female form.

 

Ranma sat on the roof absently staring upward at the stars and still hiding from Akane – one could never tell when she’d show up.  Once again he was trying to puzzle out just where that surge of energy came from that enabled him to defeat Saffron.  In his desperation of the moment, he had reached deep within himself for the extra power.  He had failed to find it there and had almost despaired until a welcoming surge of energy outside of himself had answered his desperate call.

 

Still puzzling it out, he slowly drifted off to sleep in warm spring night.  He didn’t notice the whirlwind that lifted a blanket from a neighbor’s clothesline and gently draped it over him.

 

Ranma dreamed, but this time it was not about cats or food or Kuno offering roses.  No, this time he met himself, well sort of.

 

Ranma glanced around himself.  He was sure it was a dream, an unusual dream in that it was a flower covered meadow in bright sunlight with only a few majestic clouds in the sky for contrast and texture.  He saw the redheaded girl lying in the flowers and almost sullenly walked over to her.

 

“Alright ‘Ranko’, what is it now?” he almost snarled.  Ranma had met her several times in his dreams in the recent months since tangling with Saffron.

 

She looked up at him and softly replied, “I finally remembered.”

 

He arched an eyebrow, copying a technique Nabiki often used on him.  She giggled so he continued, “Did you remember who you were when you drowned?”

 

“I never drowned,” she softly replied, “I’m just the sum of all your previous reincarnations.”  Seeing the confusion on his face she explained, “Normally ‘I’ would only meet you after you had died, well, what would have really happened is that you would just remember me and your life would just sort of get ‘tacked-on’ to what I am or was or whatever.”  She sighed and laid back in the grass and flowers again before adding, “Three things happened though.  The first was you fell into a cursed spring.  This established a sort of link to the realm of the dead in a passive sort of way,” she paused and added, “Normally that wouldn’t have made much difference except you fell into the spring of drowned girl.”  She looked into his eyes and grinned, “Which is what ‘I’ just happen to be, a girl.”  She smirked as his obvious discomfort before continuing.  “The second was when you battled Saffron, you called for help and you were answered.  The being who helped you then now needs your help desperately and is asking, almost demanding or pleading for your help.”  She paused again and softly finished, “And lastly, this is the destiny our soul was created for.”

 

Ranma’s eyes narrowed, “I ain’t gonna be a girl.”

 

“I never said that,” she replied.

 

“Don’t believe I ever was a girl either,” he added belligerently.

 

“Tough,” she casually answered, “what you believe has no bearing on the truth.  In fact, this is only the second time you’ve been a boy in all of your previous reincarnations.”

 

Ranma grumped but was otherwise silent.

 

“Tell me Ranma,” she asked softly, “what would you be willing to do or give up in order to save four billion lives including the lives of everyone you know?”

 

Ranma stared in silent shock at her for a moment before the number she cited made a connection for him.  “You’re talking about what’s happening to the sun and the world aren’t you?” he asked pensively.

 

She nodded.  She patted the earth beside her and said, “The earth is alive.  Not just with all the creatures that live on it, but the world itself is alive.  Not alive in the way we are, but alive nonetheless.  ‘She’ is feminine and glories in the life she supports.  She gave you the power to succeed when you asked.  Now she is in trouble and needs a guide and champion.”  She looked up at Ranma, “It’s you or nobody since there isn’t enough time to find somebody else who is both strong enough and has the necessary link to this planet’s life-force.”  She softly reaffirmed, “She needs help, your help; or a lot of folks are gonna die.”

 

It took Ranma a long time to wipe the tears from his eyes as he woke in the middle of the night.  He sat there the rest of the night wondering how his life was going to change.  He understood that he did not have a choice, honor and duty was a part of his soul and he could not deny a part of his very being.

 

 * * * * *

 

Neptune used her deep aqua mirror and tried to focus on the problem.  It didn’t help that her lover Uranus was eagerly peering over her shoulder. 

 

Sensing her lover’s growing frustration, Uranus quickly backed off.

 

Neptune relaxed a bit and focused more strongly on the task at hand.  ‘A redheaded Japanese girl!’ she realized.  That seemed to be the root of the problem.  She grumbled as the mirror refused to show more and merely repeated the image every time she asked it any question relating to Terra.

 

 * * * * *

 

Akane finally caught up with Ranma after dinner that Sunday evening.  Ranma had been considering all the various scenarios and had even tentatively decided on a few possible response options.

 

Akane confronted Ranma in the yard as he was stretching out and glared at him before finally declaring, “You put your own honor before mine.  It just proves what I’ve been saying all along.  I can’t trust you.”  She huffed self-righteously, “We are not engaged; there is no way I could ever love or marry an untrustworthy pervert like you.”

 

Ranma was stunned for the moment; then unfamiliar anger surged upward.  He fought it to a standstill so that the only evidence of it was his wildly fluctuating aura.  Still it was enough to shock all that saw it.  All of them stepped back; Akane slipped in the suddenly wet grass and slid several feet into the koi pond.  Her feet slipped into a hole in the muddy bottom and suddenly she was in neck deep water in a pond that was barely a meter deep.

 

Suddenly suspecting a bit of what was happening, Ranma reined in his anger and watched as Nabiki and Kasumi pulled the now frightened Akane out of the water.  Ranma fatalistically shrugged his shoulders in understanding before softly answering, his anger obviously held in check, “Alright, Akane; you’ve broken the honor agreement between our clans for the last time.  Because of the cir . . . er . . . circumstances, I guess part of the blame is mine; so no honor is lost by either family.”  Ranma bowed low to each of the Tendous in turn before concluding a bit sadly, “I will leave now forever.”  With that he jumped into the second story window of the guest room he’d been staying in the past year.  He quickly packed using all the speed with which he was capable.  He invoked the umi sen ken technique and vanished out of the Tendou home, unseen out the window, over the roof and the back wall.  It was several blocks later before he released the technique.

 

Ranma made his way toward his recently rebuilt childhood home and when the rain started misting, she merely adjusted the straps of her pack to a more comfortable position, glad for once that she didn’t have to conceal the tears.

 

That evening, Akane watched the rain from her bedroom window, absently wiping her eyes every once in a while.  She murmured, “Baka, you weren’t supposed to do that.”  Maybe she knew who ‘baka’ really was, maybe not.  It no longer mattered.

 

 * * * * *

 

Minako watched the muscular boy with the pigtail as he bowed to the class.  It was unusual for someone to transfer into Juuban high school with only two months left in the term but once they heard he was transferring from Furinkan, it made complete sense.  Nobody really wanted to spend time in that school.

 

The love-struck girl shortly joined Usagi in the hall again.  She wasn’t late this time like her friend; she just hadn’t noticed anything else after Ranma had appeared until the eraser had bounced off her head.  Fortunately the schools used ‘dry-erase’ boards now else her face would have been covered with chalk dust.  On the other hand, that might have hidden her embarrassed blush.

 

 * * * * *

 

Genma glared at Ranma as she demurely sat at the table in a dress listening to her mother explain the intricacies of the tea ceremony.

 

Nodoka had decided that Ranma was both a man and a woman and was training Ranma to function socially as both.

 

He snorted disgustedly, she’d even put an end to the food fight speed training. Genma grumbled at the food he’d been missing as a result.  Few realized it but Genma rarely targeted just Ranma’s bowl for his food thefts.  During all the time at the Tendous, Ranma had been handicapped by having to defend not only his own food but the Tendous as well.  Ranma was good but not that good, Genma had always come out a bit ahead.

 

Genma dumped a glass of water over his head before his grumbling got him in trouble, or even worse, on a diet, again.  It didn’t help when Ranma saucily winked at him. 

 

Little did he know that the ‘girls’ were conspiring to annoy him as much as they could.  It was the main driving force for Ranma to dress and act this way.  Well, learning this was important to Nodoka made it important to Ranma-chan as well in this case too.

 

Genma continued to grumble softly to himself in Pandaese, ‘I almost wish the master had taken me with him on his trip to see the ‘Miss American Pageant’ in person.’

 

 * * * * *

 

Sailors Uranus and Neptune stood frustrated before their princess and future queen.  Usagi glared at the two of them as she said, “So you think we should hunt down somebody who may be my reincarnated half sister and who may be the senshi of this planet and ‘kill’ her just because it gives you a warm fuzzy?”

 

The two outers gulped audibly as they reconsidered their words briefly.  It was obviously not long enough as Haruka snapped out, “Nothing must be allowed to interfere with Crystal Tokyo.  If she is an obstacle then . . .” She paused in consternation as Usagi transformed into her Eternal form, gossamer wings framing her fuming form.

 

“If that is the way you feel, then perhaps I can help you resolve those feelings,” she offered sweetly.  “After all, if you were no longer a senshi, I’m sure it would no longer be a concern of yours,” she added brightly.  Her smile was brittle though as she continued, “The two of you have the dubious ‘honor’ of being the only senshi to have ever attacked me or killed another senshi.  I’m sure it won’t be too difficult to find ‘better’ replacements for the two of you.”

 

The two outer senshi powered down and knelt before her.  “I’m sorry,” they said in unison, voices trembling in anxiety.  They had never before considered the idea of being stripped of their powers and it suddenly made them eager to please their future Queen.

 

 * * * * *

 

Nabiki cornered Ranma as he casually practiced early one Sunday afternoon in a park midway between their homes.  “Ranma, you still owe me for when you and your dad were staying at the Tendou Dojo.”

 

Uncharacteristically, all Ranma did was cock an eyebrow at her and merely continue his cooling down kata.

 

A little disconcerted and irritated because of it, Nabiki hissed, “Pay attention to me when I’m talking to you.”

 

Ranma kept on with his measured movements but responded nonetheless, “You are right.  I do owe you.  You ought to thank the kami that my honor is all that keeps me from giving you all the payback I truly do owe you.”

 

Nabiki blanched as she realized that the distance between Ranma and the Tendous was much wider than she realized.  Getting him back with Akane might not be possible she decided.  Still . . . she shrugged and continued, “Ranma, is that any way to talk to your fiancée?”

 

She grinned as he stumbled.

 

“Ah not again,” mumbled Ranma halfheartedly.

 

“Yep,” sighed Nabiki, her eyes glistening as she clasped her hands in front of her in feigned girlish excitement.

 

“Yeah, right!” retorted Ranma, “I remember your lies and schemes last time and don’t want any part of it again.”

 

Ranma froze in place as his danger sense pegged momentarily.  He glanced around before noticing Nabiki’s glare.  She softly said in a voice edged with steel: “I NEVER lie Saotome.  You might not understand what I said, you might jump to the wrong conclusions because you only have part of the story, but I never lie.”

 

Ranma’s eyes narrowed sharply.  He’d had time to rehash memories recently and there were a few concerning her that he’d just get clarified now and prove her last statement wrong.  “Oh really Tendou,” he began casually.  “So just what did I miss when you told me that ‘you loved me’ the first time we were engaged.”  He grimaced for the need to do this as he actually liked the girl and even somewhat respected her for keeping her family fed even if he didn’t appreciate her methods.  “Tell me, were you lying then or did I somehow misunderstand that you meant that you loved me as a cash cow or maybe as a comedy routine or something else.”

 

She froze in consternation.  She tried glaring at him but the tears kept interfering; finally she just turned away.  She took a dozen steps before she softly said over her shoulder, “Maybe all that you missed was the obvious.”

 

Ranma watched her walk out of sight.  He turned the conversation over in his mind a few times.  There was one possible conclusion he could make if he took all of Nabiki’s comments into consideration.  “Nah, that’s not possible,” he said to himself and decided to forget the whole matter.

 

 * * * * *

 

Makato watched in awe as Ranma’s speed increased to such a level that he was beginning to leave afterimages.  She had found Ranma in the school gym after school doing some of his daily kata.  Makato had stumbled onto him while waiting for Usagi and Minako to get out of detention.

 

She sighed and wistfully wondered, “I hope he gives lessons.”  Lessons in what was left to the viewer’s imagination. 

 

Unfortunately, she like the other girls at this school before her; found that Ranma was somewhat brusque in how he offhandedly ignored her attempts to ‘claim’ him; or perhaps he was merely clueless.  The results were the same.

 

Ranma had gotten splashed a couple of times but rather than explain it, he had simply invoked his fathers hidden thief method and vanished before anybody realized that he had changed.  Shrugging and explaining that it was an advanced martial arts technique was his response when questioned.

 

 * * * * *

 

Ranma was frustrated; he’d tried for several weeks to make headway on his most recent problem without results.  Finally he’d decided to ask the person with the most magic knowledge he knew.  Then Mousse had splashed him just as he’d walked into the Cat Café.  In irritation, she’d flared her aura and things had suddenly taken a turn for the strange even for his life.  It all began when she’d noticed the sigil on her head again in a mirror on the café wall and pointed the sigil out to the old ghoul.

 

Cologne stared with astonishment at the glowing mark on Ranma’s forehead for only a moment before dropping off her stick and onto to her knees before the redhead. 

 

When Shampoo and Mousse hesitated, the crone quickly knocked their feet from under them with her staff.  She glared at them and hissed, “Look at her forehead and remember our tribe’s greatest duty.”

 

Aiaya,” softly moaned Shampoo as she studied the glowing mark.  Tears in her eyes, she also took her place by Cologne’s side on her knees as well. 

 

Mousse hesitantly followed her lead but before Ranma could ask anything, Cologne eagerly asked, “Your highness, how may these Amazons serve the Princess of the Earth, and eternal Queen of the Amazons?”

 

At her words, Mousse glanced up in sudden understanding, a slight smile on his face at first until he recalled other details of the prophecy related to this duty.

 

“I don’t understand,” hesitantly started Ranma.  She pointed to her forehead where the mark had now faded, “How does this dumb mark make me a . . . (she shuddered) . . . a Princess?”  She hesitantly protested, “I’m a guy, not a girl.”

 

Surprisingly to all it was Shampoo who responded.  She rose to her feet and gently embraced the redhead. “You is you, but you is more than you know.”

 

Ranma froze momentarily before relaxing as she realized it was a genuine hug instead of a glomp. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

Shampoo released the hug and led the neo girl to a table where she urged Ranma to sit before she seated herself opposite her.  Shampoo glanced at Cologne and Mousse and then stated softly yet authoritatively in her native tongue, “By the words of ancient prophecy, I am shield maiden and guardian of Princess.”

 

Mousse thought a moment before nodding.  Cologne sighed and then added as she also sat in the booth, “The kiss of marriage and the kiss of death is not binding on her or you.”  She then caught Shampoo’s eye and warned, “Your honor is fully restored, but it is now her honor.  Your life is hers.  Your future is hers.  Fail her in any way and death will be the least of your worries.”

 

Shampoo gulped audibly and nodded.  “Mousse,” she directed, “put closed sign in window and fetch meal for Pri . . .” she paused and then softly continued, “Ranma.”

 

“So . . . Ranma,” continued Cologne, “how may I help you?”

 

Ranma nervously picked up the hot tea before Cologne and poured it over her head.  He hesitated then visibly forged onward, “I gotta remember.”

 

“Remember?” the elder asked.

”Yeah,” confirmed Ranma, “I sort of had a talk with the ‘spirit’ of my reincarnations and she said I had to remember if I was gonna be able to save the world.”

 

“You!” interjected Mousse in shock, “you are the one that started all those volcanoes, aren’t you?”

 

“No, well, sorta,” answered Ranma uncertainly.  “I mean, I think it happened because I kinda thought it was a good idea.  But I didn’t know that it would happen then.”

 

Cologne shook her head regretfully, “I’m sorry Ranma,” she said.  “What you ask about remembering your past lives is not possible.”

 

Ranma sat there before shrugging, “Yeah, that’s what I said too.  I mean there was no way I was gonna remember being a girl.  Even if ‘Ranko’ said that because of my curse, she and Gaea could do it if I really tried to do it.”

 

“Ranko?” asked Shampoo in confusion.

 

“Gaea!” whispered Cologne apprehensively.

 

“Huh” responded Ranma before continuing, “Ah, Ranko was the name I gave to the girl that visits me in my dreams recently.  She says she’s not my curse but an as . . .” Ranma paused obviously searching for the right word, “aspect of my past lives.”  He added, “She said the curse let me talk with her.  She also said that the world was alive and was called Gaea.”

“What else did she say about ‘Gaea’, Ranma?” hoarsely asked Cologne.

 

Surprised, the three youths glanced at the elder Amazon and then Ranma responded, “She said that Gaea was the name of the earth itself.  Gaea was alive and had the aspect of a mother for ‘she’ gloried in the life she bore.  Gaea also needed my help desperately to save the life on the earth.”  Ranma softly said, “I am supposed to be her Guardian.”  He paused and then added, “I don’t believe it, but Ranko said I was ‘created’ as a girl and I was always supposed to be this Guardian whatever.  I don’t believe it, but I can’t take the chance that I might be wrong.  So I gotta try to do what Ranko said and remember how to be a Guardian or else a lot of people are gonna die.”  Ranma gulped and added softly, “I ain’t a girl.  I just know it, but maybe I can do part of this stuff anyway.  But first I gotta try to remember the Guardian stuff if I can.  If that don’t work then I gotta try something else until I find a way.”

 

 * * * * *

 

Ami glanced at the results of the climatic model she had just run on the Mercury computer.  She turned to the other scouts, “I just ran a simulation on the weather patterns.  The onset of the ice age is delayed by maybe a hundred years, but it’s still on the way.  It won’t be quite as severe, but there are going to be other problems instead.”

 

Rei shuddered and asked, “Tell me that world wide flooding isn’t one of them?”  Seeing the questioning looks the others gave her she clarified, “I did a fire reading last night.” She hesitated and added, “What I saw scared me.”

 

“Sorry,” responded Ami.  “The greenhouse affect is initially going to cause an increase in the earth’s overall temperature.  Because of the way it’s happening the effect will be to cause the whole world to become temperate instead just a slight increase everywhere.”

 

Seeing the confusion on the other faces including that of Setsuna, Ami explained, “One model for global warming has temperatures rising a little everywhere, meaning the equatorial deserts are a little hotter and the poles a little warmer also.  But the model the Mercury computer uses has the equatorial regions actually becoming cooler as air and ocean currents move vast amounts of heat from the equator to the poles.  In short the whole world is warm or temperate just like when the dinosaurs roamed the world.”  She paused and softly said, “That means that all the ice at the poles and Greenland melts and sea levels rise almost twenty meters in the next ten years.”

 

 * * * * *

 

Ranma was on a short training trip; this time to an old shrine just on the edge of Juuban ward.  Cologne had said it might have a technique that might help Ranma remember some of his past lives.

 

Just as Ranma was about to enter the outer temple grounds, he heard a roar. It was interspersed with the screams of frightened people.  Ranma quickly raced toward it and was stunned to see what had to a youma.  Ranma had heard of them and had even seen the images on TV, but that was over a year ago.  Ranma peered at it and was surprised that it seemed to be an animated statue of an animalistic female kami or something.  It was trashing the series of small shops before the Tori of the temple.

 

Ranma braced himself and prepared to attack it.  Before he could move though, it saw him and tossed an entire aquarium of goldfish at him.  Ranma dithered between dodging the water or catching the aquarium, in the end he opted to catch the tank.  He caught it and set it safely on the ground but not without being splashed as a result. 

 

The youma froze as it gazed on the fuming redhead.  It felt a weak connection to its mistress from the girl who faintly resembled her.

 

Ranma froze in turn as the statuesque youma knelt and bowed to her, arms outstretched in a semblance of asking for something.

 

Ranma cautiously approached the subservient youma.  She was on guard as she circled it, but the dark chaotic creature made no threatening moves at all.  Finally, Ranma had enough and sharply asked, “Why did ya do all this bad stuff?”

 

The youma looked up, an expression of surprise on its stony face.  It gestured to the damaged shops questioningly.

 

Ranma nodded and then explained, “It ain’t nice to do this stuff.  It’s why alla the people scream and run from you.  It’s also why the senshi kicked the butts of your friends.”

 

The youma scratched ‘her’ head and then shrugged her shoulders in an obviously questioning manner.

 

Ranma was confused yet on some level felt a faint connection to the creature.  She sighed and then gestured to the shops at the temple entrance, “If ya wanta make up for it, then help fix up the stuff you broke.”  She paused and then added, “After you’re done, then maybe you can help out at the temple.”

 

The youma slowly stood and then bowed to Ranma before she began to repair the damaged shops.  At first the shop owners stared in disbelief, but as the creature continued to work, they also began to pick up their scattered wares, taking care to keep a wary distance from the creature.

 

The senior monk of the temple had been a witness to this scene as he had come with wards to try and protect his neighbors.  He fixed the redhead with a stern gaze and asked, “How is it that you can command creatures of darkness young lady?  Are you in league with them?”

 

Ranma was a bit upset as she stalked toward the monk.  First he had called her a ‘lady’, as if!  Then he had the gall to question her honor as well.

 

She stood nose to chin with the aged monk who towered over her despite being a bit stooped with age.  She looked up into his glasses and saw her reflection.  It was the reflection of a redheaded girl she noted and half her frustration reluctantly melted away.  “I ain’t in league with no dark creatures, but I don’t kill nobody ‘less’n it’s my only choice.  It surrendered and accepted doing the right thing to make up for what it done so it ain’t right to hurt it now.”

 

She glanced at the wards in the monk’s hands, “What cha got there?”

 

The monk slyly smiled to himself and handed the anti-evil wards to the girl, “Here take a look at them for yourself.”  He halfway expected them to destroy the girl but on another level was not surprised when she merely looked them over quietly before handing them back without comment or harm.

 

He thought his subterfuge had gone undetected until she murmured, “For the several insults you have offered me, you owe me.”

 

He nodded slightly.

 

Alla you monks and priests are always spouting about people changing for the good” Ranma stated. Ranma pointed to the youma and continued, “I want you to take care of her, give her good work to do, teach her the right stuff and protect her.”

 

The monk’s face froze in outrage, outrage that did not diminish when Ranma added, “Or is all the stuff you say mere window dressing without any truth?”  The outrage remained but changed into an acceptance of a challenge to show that the temple could ‘do’ as it also taught.

 

“Very well,” stiffly responded the monk, “introduce me to the new temple gardener.”

 

Ranma did so.

 

A bit later, Ranma sat sipping tea across a short table from the senior monk and the other two monks at this small temple as they all watched the new gardener at work.

 

“So Ranma,” finally asked the senior monk, “what was it that brought you to this obscure temple?”

 

Ranma hesitated on how to ask this, finally she said; “I’ve been chosen to be the Guardian of Gaea, our mother earth.  But to do my task, I need to remember my past life when I once before held this job since there is not now time enough for me to learn what I need to know if I am to save the peoples of the world.”  She paused as she continued to watch the former youma hard at work. “I gotta remember or a lot of people are gonna die,” she softly added.  “I heard that there might be an ancient technique here at this temple that might help.”

 

All three monks stiffly stared in obvious disbelief at her.  One of the other monks glared at her, glanced at the youma working in the yard and then said, “We have heard many tales designed to convince us that their cause is worthy and we should assist in restoring past reincarnations to power.  But this is preposterous.  You expect us to believe the mere words someone who is surely the mistress of an evil creature.  There is no way we will help an even greater evil to return.”

 

Fuming, Ranma nonetheless held her anger in check and sibilantly asked, “Then does that mean you DO have the means to restore my past memories?”

 

Before either of the other two monks could respond, the senior monk held his hand up, gesturing them to silence.  He guardedly responded, “We do know part of a technique.  But without confirmation of your claims, we will say no more.”

 

Ranma sat there quietly sipping her tea and wondering what to do next.  On one hand, she really didn’t want to do this.  No way was she interested in remembering being a girl.  But on the other hand, this was the path of honor and duty, her chosen life path, no matter how hard or what it required of her.  She softly sighed as she started to analyze the matter.  It was obvious that force was not the answer.  As she probed her recent memories with a new understanding, a line of approach occurred to her.

 

She rose to her feet and walked into the yard, gesturing the monks to follow her.  She sat on the grass at their feet as they stood before her.  “Gaea,” she softly said, “is the mother earth; all life is important to her.  To her the only monsters are those that destroy life without cause or need.”  Ranma pointed at the youma, “That could be a monster.”  She pointed at the monks and said, “Just as you could also be one.”  Forestalling their protests she clarified, “It depends on what you do, not what or who you are.”

 

Ranma looked deep inside herself.  This time she found the faint trace of the power that had helped her win against Saffron, she embraced it and putting her heart into her desire pushed it into the link as she said to the monks, “Experience the power of Gaea, know that she glories in life above all else.”

 

Ranma was not sure what was going to happen, but even she was surprised when the ground faintly trembled.  A few moments later the gentle splashing of water heralded the rebirth of a long dried up fountain as a spring flowed once more.  Distracted by the sound and sight of the fountain, it was a few moments before they noticed the trees gradually swelling to twice their height.  Those that bore blossoms in season quickly blossomed again.  The yard was no longer green, the long lush grass was obscured by a colorful patchwork of blossoming wildflowers and herbs, many rare and a few believed extinct.

 

The monks froze as an old bear ambled out of the surrounding trees and came up to Ranma.  The bear whined and nuzzled Ranma’s hand entreating a petting.

 

Ranma-chan sighed, then hugged the bear and told him to go back to his home.  The monks watched spell bound as the bear waddled a short distance away before awkwardly rising to its hind feet and jerkily bowing to Ranma before disappearing into the trees again.

 

Unnoticed behind them, the youma froze in shock as she stared wonderingly at her hands as the stone skin flaked off.  She shivered and a shower of stone dust gathered at her feet as her stone skin was replaced with living tissue that looked much like her original skin but proved that she really was a living being now.  The youma stared in awe at her mistress, unforced devotion plainly evident on her face but unnoticed by the others.

 

Ranma stretched and asked, “I’m a bit stressed out, do you mind if I relax in your hot springs before I leave?”

 

“We don’t have any hot springs.  There was a small one a long time ago but it’s dead now,” the heretofore silent third monk responded with a stunned stutter.

 

Ranma hesitantly scratched her neck and asked, “What’s causing all that steam then? Sure smells like a hot spring,” she added.

 

The senior monk bowed low to her. “I will show you the way to the hot springs.” He gestured to the other monks, “One will fetch you a robe and towels while the other gathers the scrolls of the technique you seek.”  The other two monks also bowed low and quickly left to do their assigned tasks.  Ranma had ended up reluctantly explaining the curse as well.  He figured that if he was going to have to work with them, then it was going to come up one way or another.

 

The elder monk had only nodded and commented, “That explains why your aura is so balanced, neither predominantly male nor female.”

 

 * * * * *

 

Rei noticed the puzzled look on Ami’s face and decided to ignore Usagi for the moment. “Hey Ami, what’s up?”

 

Ami looked up and briefly smiled, “Well for a little bit, I thought I had detected the faint trace of a dark kingdom creature just on the edge of detection.  I set my computer to scan for it and just as it was starting to refine its location, it disappeared!”  She paused and added, “There was also some other momentary spike of that other power like we saw at the park but there was also a burst of chaos with it so I lost all the signals because of it.”

 

Makato absently cracked her knuckles as she eagerly asked, “Any chance of finding where the youma went?”  She sighed and added wistfully, “Kami, it has been a long time since I’ve had a chance to trash something.”

The others merely ‘sweat-dropped’ in silence.

 

 * * * * *

 

Cologne had summoned two lore masters from the tribe with the urgent and cryptic message, “Earth Princess found, Amazon Queen summons you now.”

 

The two lore masters had arrived with a guard of twenty of the best of the Amazon warriors.  Cologne and Ranma had met them outside of Nerima and all the Amazons had promptly knelt upon seeing the glowing golden sigil on Ranma’s forehead. The rush of Gaea’s life energy that had surrounded Ranma at that point had only confirmed her identity in their eyes.

 

Ranma introduced the Amazon elders to the monks she’d befriended though the three gals were a bit leery of the ‘tamed’ youma at first.  The senior monk explained that because the youma unsettled the local folk, she had taken to ‘freezing’ in place on their roof during the day and doing the gardening at night.  They had decided to call her ‘Demona’.

 

The newly arrived Amazons had set up camp on the temple grounds and the three Amazon elders and the monks had spent two months going over each other’s respective ‘secret’ techniques and scrolls.  Between them they had devised a technique that they believed might work.

 

They had tried it yesterday; Ranma had been unconscious upstairs in the new Cat Café just outside the temple grounds up until an hour ago.

 

Ranma sighed to himself. 

 

Cologne cocked a questioning eyebrow toward him.

 

“Yeah,” he responded, “I remember now.  I remember all my past lives.  Not as if I ‘was’ them but rather as if they were movies that I had seen lots of times.”

 

Mousse and Shampoo both sat near him.  Mousse offered them both a soda as Shampoo sat the bucket of popcorn between them.  “So, what happened?” she asked.

 

Ranma grimaced, he wasn’t sure he wanted to talk but he also realized that not only did he actually need to talk in order to relieve some of the stress but it was unlikely the Amazons would permit him not to tell them either.

 

“Fourteen,” he started off absently.  “This is my fourteenth life.  The first was as you said; I was the first Queen of the Amazons during the fall of the Silver Millennium kingdom almost fifteen thousand years ago.  I, with the help of a few of the surviving advisors from the Earth court managed to save and preserve the Amazon people.  It was then that I gained all my Earth Guardian powers as we fought the residue of the dark ones that destroyed the Moon kingdom. My first life was also my longest, lasting almost seven hundred years.”  He concluded softly, “It seems I average being reborn about once every millennium since then.”

 

“Almost fifteen thousand years,” sighed Cologne.  Seeing the question on the other’s faces she explained, “The Amazons lost most of their history during the ‘lost times’.  A lot of the old history is now mixed with myths and it has only been the past three thousand years that we’ve actually got good records anymore.”

 

Mousse thought about what he’d overheard. “So you really are originally a girl,” he snickered.

 

Ranma huffed, then blushed when he realized how feminine the gesture was.  “Yeah,” he admitted.  “This is only the second time I’ve been born male.”  A wide grin crossed his face as he added, “But mom would really have liked that time!” he exulted.

 

Seeing the curiosity on their faces, Ranma explained, “My second life was as a minor priestess, but then I was reborn into my third life as a barbarian warrior who became a king named . . .” Ranma paused for effect and then said with a wide smile, “Conan!”

 

Shampoo frowned cutely, “That not funny Ranma!  Everybody know ‘Conan’ made up, not real.”

 

Ranma shrugged, “That’s what I thought too until I got my former memories back.”  He grinned and said, “My last reincarnation was as an English maiden and before that it was as a princess in India but the one before that was as . . .” again he paused for effect. 

 

Cologne sighed and bonked him on the head, “Enough already! Just tell us.”

 

Ranma rubbed his head then grinned as he said, “Xena.”

 

Nnooo,” whispered Mousse to think that his favorite female warrior (after Shampoo of course) was actually Ranma.

 

“It gets better,” grinned Ranma.  He waited until the three Amazons were watching him.  Mulan of ancient China actually existed.”  He paused, “Guess who was my eighth reincarnation?” He asked rhetorically.

 

Cologne dropped her staff.  Take a guess as to who was her favorite ‘mythical’ hero was?

 

“Ranma?” asked Shampoo, “You no joke?”

 

Ranma nervously scratched the back of his neck. “Nah, Shamps; I’m not joking.  Beats me how somebody wrote about them though.”

 

Cologne sighed and offered, “It is rumored that the lives of the great ones in history are captured by the ‘muses’ and retold as stories in later times.  Maybe there is some truth to those stories.” She grinned and laughing said, “Maybe somewhere, somebody is writing about us!” She sniggered at the stunned expressions on their faces, “Get off it!” she chuckled, “I was only kidding.”

 

Shampoo was still unconvinced.  She pouted and told Ranma, “Shampoo no like ‘princess’ teasing shield-maiden.”

 

Ranma glanced over at her and visibly paused as he was about to say something.  He then softly said in ancient Chinese, “Please believe this one, warrior maid.  In all of my lives, I was honorable, refusing deceit or murder.  A few times I was a barbarian and lived as one; plundering and destroying my enemies.  But even then, I was honorable by the code of my people and the times I lived in.”

 

All three Amazons gulped at this undeniable sign that Ranma had been telling them the truth.

 

“So Ranma,” began Cologne, “You apparently remember more than just a little of your former lives I take it?”

 

Ranma reluctantly nodded, “Yeah, I actually remember all of their lives.  I have all of their skills as well.” He sighed, “The languages may not be all that useful the further I go back, but the skills might be.” He grimaced, “I can use a broadsword like probably no one else in the world anymore and my archery skill were taught to me by Robin Hood himself for all the good that does me now.”

 

Seeing the confusion on their faces, Ranma picked up a metal platter and casually tossed it like a ‘Frisbee’.  It soared into the kitchen, bounced out of sight a few times before lazily landing before them with a few breadsticks lying on it.  Ranma calmly reached over and picked up several of the snacks as he softly added, “I seem to have even the ‘muscle’ memory of how to do things as well.”

 

Cologne was silent for a few moments before observing, “It’s odd how many of your incarnations played major roles in history or were associated with those that did.”

 

“Karma,” hazarded Ranma.

 

“Maybe, maybe not,” responded Cologne.  “I think that perhaps your spirit is drawn to the nexus of conflicts and in a rudimentary way you’ve been used by Gaea each time to bring about a small measure of peace whenever you’ve appeared.”

 

 * * * * *

 

“Usagi?” asked Setsuna, “What are we going to do about the Senshi of Terra?  What do we do about Crystal Tokyo?  I don’t know if she prevents it from happening.  It’s possible that this was always meant to be a part of the creation of our future and what’s happening now was part of what was hidden from me by both the time gates and my future self.”

 

The blue-eyed blond cocked her head quizzically at the elder senshi.  Just as Setsuna expected to hear a ditzy response, Usagi quietly responded, “We’ve been wrong in the past.  Creating an utopist future of our choosing should never have been our goal.  Safeguarding what ever future these people created should have been our true goal.  Maybe they might have chosen me as Queen then, but unless that becomes our true goal, then none of us are worthy to rule.”

 

Setsuna felt tears in her eyes.  She quietly thought to herself, ‘yes, this is my Queen.  Maybe we really are on the right track after all.’

 

 * * * * *

 

Ranma could feel the difference in his link with Gaea while in male form.  It was still there, but strained as if it was a ‘bad connection’ like sometimes happens with telephones.  He splashed himself halfhearted, assuming his cursed form out of duty.  Ranma automatically masked his/her aura these days using a combination of techniques learned from Tofu, Happosai and Genma.  Ranma had dubbed the passive hybrid technique as the ‘Gosunkugi Shadow Form’; when Ranma used it, he remained visible but nobody noticed him and his aura vanished almost completely unless the one looking for it was very skilled.  It had the side effect of cutting down on the craziness of his life.  Oh weird things still happened about him, but it just somehow seemed to not ‘land’ on him as much as it did before.  It was almost as if his ‘do-not-notice-me’ technique deflected the chaos to some extent. Of course, his growing rapport with Gaea may have contributed to this as well.

 

Ranma-chan had reluctantly acquiesced to the necessity of spending most of her time in female form for the next several years as the bonding with Gaea proceeded.  Apparently something called the ‘silver crystal’ could have made the bond happen almost immediately but Gaea’s information on that process indicated that it also enslaved the Guardian to the bearer of the silver crystal.  Even a willing slave is still a slave and neither Ranma nor Gaea wanted any part of that.

 

The redhead remembered how the bonding gradually happened over several decades the first time, but even if she was the same soul, there were sufficient differences that years of time would be required just to renew the old existing bonds that had weakened over time.

 

Ranma had thought long and hard about concealing what was happening to him from his parents but then recalled the remembered pain of deceiving his mother.  Because of that, Ranma had taken his mother aside one day shortly after ‘remembering’ and explained what was happening to the world and what his part in it was and more importantly what ‘her’ part would be. 

 

Nodoka had slowly pulled out the seppuku contract that she still carried with her despite having decided that Ranma had fulfilled its demands.  She then poured a little water over Ranma before handing her the contract with these few words; “My child honors me.”  They hugged, simply hugged each other for a long while; thus old bonds are renewed.

 

Ranma reluctantly began the final year of high school but as a girl this time.  Fortunately, few of the students connected the new redhead with lonely and bitter martial artist that had shown up during the final months of their junior year.  When Ranma’s school records had finally shown up from Furinkan, the indicated gender had been ‘both’.  Resolving the resulting confusion had enabled Ranma-chan to enroll in girl-form after privately demonstrating the curse for the principle.  Fortunately, the girl’s PE showers were private; unfortunately, Ranma-chan was required to conform to the school dress code.

 

While Ranma certainly appreciated being free from the attention of the various hopeful girls, she really had problems with the interested boys.  Well, briefly anyway; the flash of her aura when the first couple of boys attempted to hit on her quickly taught all interested boys that Ranma was NOT interested.  The aura bit did catch the attention of a few of her classmates but a quick scan with the mercury computer on the sly convinced Ami that Ranma was not possessed of anything other than an odd ki level.  Makoto attributed it to her martial arts training after learning of Ranma’s skill.  Ami was concerned about the high chaos reading associated with the redhead but it was less than Mamoru’s and there were others such as Usagi’s friend Naru who also radiated chaos as well so it wasn’t exactly unique.

 

Of the old fiancée brigade, only Ukyo and Nabiki were left.  Ranma-chan met them together in her mother’s house.  She delayed the confrontation by initiating a formal tea ceremony with only her mother in attendance on the three teen girls.

 

Seeing the confusion in their faces as the ceremony ended, Ranma explained.  “Circumstances of honor and duty will require me to remain in this form almost exclusively for the next three to five years.  At most I will be able to be in my birth form no more than four hours a day, probably less.”  She bowed partially from the waist.  “I am not allowed to tell you of my duty but know that Shampoo knows of it and it is important enough that she no longer pursues me but is now bound to me as an honor guard by her people.”  She sighed wistfully, “This duty supercedes even any obligation I might have to either of you or my own family.”

 

“But my dowry,” hesitantly began Ukyo.

 

“Your bill . . .” Nabiki’s words trailed off at the sternness she saw in Ranma’s eyes.  She belatedly realized that the jerk of a martial artist had grown up into a seasoned warrior.  She mentally damned the distance between the Tendou and Saotome homes that had limited her contact with Ranma the past several months.

 

Ranma chan closed her eyes and seemed to either remember or perhaps somehow commune with someone.  Ranma eventually briefly nodded her head in understanding and rose to her feet, surprisingly graceful in kimono and geta as she made her way outside to the small koi pond in the back corner of the Saotome yard.

 

Ranma reached into the water, not bothering to pull back her sleeves.  Surprisingly, the water parted before her hand.  Ranma fumbled with the stones in the bottom of the mud before seeming to select four small stones each the size of a robin’s egg that were gathered together in a small newly formed depression in the bottom of the pond.

 

Ranma quickly washed the stones and then handed one to Nabiki and two to Ukyou.  “This should more than cover all the expenses and financial obligations between our families.”

 

Nabiki’s eyes had almost bugged out as she appraised the stone.  “This, thi . . . is a . . .”

 

“Diamond,” Ranma completed her statement, as she handed the fourth gem to her mother.  “Here mom, this should take care of expenses for awhile.”

 

Ukyou sighed as she accepted the two stones.  It wasn’t what she wanted but it would do she supposed.  She sighed, at least this way she still had a friend.

 

As the three started back into the house, Genma dove into the pond desperately searching for more of these riches.  He was to be disappointed.

 

 * * * * *

 

It was another meeting at the shrine.  Surprisingly it was Minako who raised the question that was to trouble them so much in the future.

“Usagi?” Minako began, “If there really is a senshi for earth, doesn’t that mean she is already the ruler.  I mean, there is no way you can become Queen of the earth if your power isn’t even from this planet and hers is?  I don’t understand,” she ended plaintively.

 

Mamoru Chiba grimaced but protested, “Hey, don’t forget, I’m the Prince of the Earth by birthright!”

 

Ami idly tapped her teeth with a pen before slowly replying, “Humm, in the Moon kingdom, the planetary rulers were selected by their respective planets even if that selection did tend to stay in one family, not by the people for political reasons as was done on Earth then and now.  So which way was Crystal Tokyo supposed to be like?”

 

 * * * * *

 

Cologne sighed to herself.  She wanted to believe that she had finally identified the cause of her continuing though diminished apprehension but was entirely too old and experienced to fool herself with wistful thoughts.

 

She stretched and carefully returned to the book she had been studying and was about to go to her bedroom when she heard sounds of distress from Shampoo’s room.  She quickly but silently opened the door.  Seeing her heir apparently in the midst of a nightmare, she gently awakened her.

 

“Dear,” she softly asked Shampoo, “can you remember your dream?”

 

Shampoo visibly stiffened her back, trying hard not to show weakness. “Is nothing.”

 

“Tell me anyway, warrior.”

 

“Yes elder,” Shampoo responded.  “Shampoo have dream about being cat floating in space, was scary.”

 

Cologne facefaulted.  She shook her head and said, “No more anime for you anymore,” as she walked out chuckling. ‘Sigh,’ she thought, ‘if only that was the limit of our problems.’

 

 * * * * *

 

Nabiki locked her door and carefully unlocked the hidden inner door to her closet.  She studied the small cask of Nanniichuan she had ‘liberated’ before the failed wedding.

 

“Good thing I substituted a cask filled with normal water considering what happened to it,” she muttered to herself in self-justification.

 

“Now what do I do with it?” she absently asked herself.  Indeed, what?

 

 * * * * *

 

 * * * * *

 

Author’s notes:

 

1.)  I was reading over the offerings at the ‘Temple of Ranma's Seifuku’ (http://www.angelfire.com/creep/nukethemoon/cult.htm) and got to wondering how Ranma would look as a senshi and what it would take to get there.  That is where the impetus for this story came; not sure how far I will take it before my muse goes dry (again, again).

 

2.)  Additional Ranma and Sailor-Moon crossover fan-fiction can be found on my two personal Web Pages listed below and at Fan-Fiction-Net & Tannim’s crossover page (http://ranmafics.com/index.htm).  Note that only my personal web-pages have all my stories.

 

C & C to cloud_dreamer2000@yahoo.com

 

Main Web-page http://www.geocities.com/cloud_dreamer2000

 

And (secondary) http://mysite.verizon.net/cloud-dreamer/index.html

 

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