Intellectually, Pluto knew that further meddling could make things worse. By all rights, she should have simply let Ranma/Artemis alone, and trusted destiny to make sure everything turned out as it was meant to—but she couldn’t do that. Not really. At the very least, she owed them both an apology for screwing up their lives. She had no idea if they’d be able to forgive her, but at least this might make it easier for them to work with her when their paths crossed again.
The main problem with the apology was logistical. Quite simply, they’d probably dismiss her if she wasn’t in full Senshi regalia, and that seifuku just made you stick out like a sore thumb no matter where you went. She had to find some point in the timeline (preferably before they found Venus) where she could be alone with the two—er, one of them. Fortunately, this was much easier than she’d ever anticipated.
Ranma sighed in relief—there was no one in sight. For some reason, Pops had decided to halt their return to Japan when they’d come to this village, and said that he’d be out all day (Ranma didn’t exactly know why, suspected that it involved his father’s stomach and/or restocking his supply of alcoholic beverages). No matter—he enjoyed those rare times when he could be alone. Well, alone as a person can be when he’s got someone else living in his head. Still, Artemis seemed to recognize how important times like this were to his host, and generally kept quiet unless he had a good reason to speak up.
He was still trying to figure out a way to try and access the Neko-ken. Artemis hadn’t been kidding when he’d told his host he’d have to figure it out for himself; the only concession Ranma had been willing to wring from the mooncat thus far was to lend him control of their feline body.
“Hello, Ranma.”
The teenager reacted to the sudden arrival of a disembodied female voice in a fairly predictable manner. “GAH!” I thought I— I mean we were alone!
You aren’t the only one.
Ugh. She’d better not be in my head, too—it’s crowded enough in here with just you.
“And greetings to you as well, Artemis.” It’s fair to say that if the human/mooncat pair wasn’t suspicious before, they were now.
“Uh, who are you and what are you talking about? And while I’m at it, where are you?”
The source of the voice responded by stepping into the light. She looked to be in her early to mid-twenties, with a light tan and waist-long green hair. But what was most notable about her was her wardrobe—she wore what looked like a bizarre fusion of a leotard, a seifuku, and a miniskirt, and in the way of accessories, she had a tiara around her forehead and carried a staff that looked like… a really freakin’ big key. “I am Sailor Pluto, the Senshi of Time, and I know about the situation between you and Venus’ advisor because I saw the whole Catfist fiasco from my post at the Time Gates—or rather, I saw the aftermath—by the time I noticed it, it was too late to do anything without risking serious damage to the timestream.”
She the real deal, Artemis?
Oh yeah. You don’t forget someone like her very easily.
Because of her personality, or her body?
To be honest, both.
Ranma returned to the conversation at hand, though Pluto didn’t seem to mind the pause—she probably figured that Ranma would want to corroborate everything she said with his passenger. “Uh, well, then why are ya here? Did Artemis movin’ inta my head mess somethin’ up?”
“No—not in any way that can’t be easily handled. Rather, I’m here to apologize.”
That took Artemis by surprise. Apologize? Since when does a Pluto apologize for anything?!
“Um, Artemis wants ta know why yer apologizin’ at all…”
You weren’t supposed to say that out loud, you moron! Don’t you have any idea how nasty Time Guardians can be? With the foreknowledge that comes with their Senshi abilities, they can totally destroy your whole life!
“…not that that’s meant ta be an insult or nuthin’.”
Pluto sighed… she hadn’t been at her post for very long when the Silver Millennium fell, so she couldn’t very well blame Artemis (who she assumed was the cause of Ranma’s sudden nervousness) for thinking that she was like her predecessors. “Don’t worry, I’m not insulted… quite frankly, most of those who have held my position haven’t proved themselves very worthy of anyone’s trust.”
“Huh?”
“I am the ninth person in history to hold the title of Sailor Pluto. Of the previous seven Plutos, four were impeached and exiled for corruption, two were executed for high treason, and one (my predecessor) committed suicide for reasons unknown, though I personally think the immanent fall of the House of Serenity had something to do with it. Only the first Pluto managed to keep an relatively unblemished record throughout her service, and even she was known to bend the rules as far as ethics were concerned.”
“Well, why didn’t they just give the job ta someone trustworthy?”
“Oh, every single one of them was considered trustworthy when they received the position, but the lure of power offered by the Time Gates is too much for most people to handle—even if your initial intention is not self-serving, the temptation to manipulate to excess is always there.”
“And, uh, why are you different?”
“To be honest, I think it’s because I’ve been able to learn from their mistakes. Whenever you try and change something in the timeline, there are almost always unexpected consequences—and where my predecessors went wrong, in my opinion, was when they tried to deal with those consequences with even more manipulation, which just generates even more consequences, and so on.”
“So ya don’t do that?”
Pluto sighed. “Unfortunately, the nature of this post almost always dictates some manipulation—I’m charged not just with the protection not just of the Time Gates, but with the continued wellbeing of humanity as well. It’s the last part that makes it so difficult to avoid corruption as Sailor Pluto—quite simply, in the long run there is no force more destructive than misguided benevolence, and when you couple that with the illusion of omniscience that comes from observing the Time Gates, you end up with hubris so great that you have absolutely no problems with playing God. You can justify almost anything with an appeal to a better future, with the result that Plutos ignore the needs of the present. And that’s why they’re capable of committing horrible atrocities.
“As for me, I’ve done what I can to resist temptation by trying to do what’s best not only for people living in the distant future, but for people living in the present, whenever that may be. Often as not, I’ve found that my help isn’t needed at all. But now that the reincarnations of Serenity’s court are emerging, I’m required to intervene—very soon, we’ll be facing enemies that simply can’t be defeated any other way. And they must be defeated, if humanity is to be spared the horrors that would come with their victory.
“But as I’ve said, I’m not perfect—I still sometimes overstep my bounds, and when I do, the consequences are rarely good. And that brings me to you, Ranma.”
About time. As interesting as the Time Guardian’s pontification was, he’d been wondering whether or not it was actually headed anywhere. “So, what’s that got ta do with me an’ Artemis?”
“I… I was the one who gave your father that book.”
“What?! The one with the Neko-ken?!”
“Yes… Ranma, you have the potential to be a very powerful martial artist—powerful enough to do things that even the most experienced masters would immediately dismiss as utterly ludicrous fictions. But your life is also destined to be extremely chaotic, no matter what path you choose. Since the events of the next few years will more than likely change the course of history, it had me worried about what would happen if you became a factor; I think the total uncertainty I felt at that point actually scared me. In short, I didn’t think I could allow someone whose life was destined to be so chaotic to have that much power, so I tried to stop it.”
“Ya tried ta kill me?!”
“No! I just wanted you to give up the martial arts… I knew the fact that you were too young for most of the techniques in the book probably wouldn’t stop your father, and my hope was that your experience would be so negative that you’d turn your attention to a vocation where you wouldn’t be a risk, like international politics. I never thought your father would be so short-sighted as to try and train you in the Neko-ken without knowing its consequences, nor did I expect him to find Artemis and catnap him for that debacle.”
Artemis couldn’t remain silent at this—he took over control of the teenager’s body and shouted, “And this was supposed to help the Senshi?! I died, dammit! It’s a miracle that we both didn’t! And now Ranma has to get dragged along on my mission instead of being allowed to live his own life! What the hell were you thinking?”
The green-haired Time Guardian hung her head in shame. “I thought that it would be justified in the long run—just like every other Pluto. I even almost gave into my impulse to ‘fix’ things afterward, and I’ve already told you what that leads to. Fortunately for me, Fate seems to be smiling on you two—thanks to your trip to Jusenkyo, you should be able to help Venus effectively—have you been able to access subspace?”
“No,” replied Artemis in a voice that was audibly holding back anger, “I haven’t tried yet.”
“Well, I suggest you do—not only will it allow you to give your charge the tools she needs, it will give you a place to keep Ranma’s things while you’re in your cat form.”
“And speaking of Venus, where is she? I don’t have a clue where to find her.”
“I’d like to tell you—I really would. But I’ve already done more meddling than necessary—even this apology is likely pushing the limit. As things stand, you will meet your charge in time to face our first foe, and quite simply, that’s enough for me.”
“You still haven’t been forgiven.”
“And I don’t expect you to forgive me for a long time, if at all. I’m doing this in the hope that we’ll be able to remain civil when we have to work together—and there’s no escaping that. Now, as I’ve said, I’d like to avoid messing up the timestream, so I will bid the two of you farewell. I only ask that you not tell your charge about my existence—not yet, anyway.”
“Fine.”
And with that, Pluto teleported back to the Time Gates to continue her vigil.
Artemis sighed. Sorry about taking over your body so suddenly, Ranma.
Hey, don’t worry ’bout it. I’d probably wanna do the same thing if I were in your place. Just don’t let it become a habit, okay?
Right.
Good. Now, can I have my body back?
Oh… right. Sorry about that. Is that better?
Much. Now, let’s go find us a faucet with hot and cold water. We may as well figure out how ta use that “subspace” thing she was talkin’ ’bout.
I suppose you’re right.
An’ how is that different from normal?
Quiet, you.
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(Posted Thu, 23 Mar 2006 23:54)
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