Pluto seethed a bit as yet another attempt to remove Ranma Saotome from the space-time continuum failed, resulting in a reality that the Gates couldn’t even lock onto. “What am I doing wrong?” she grumbled.
“Idiot says what?”
“What?” she asked, turning around, so consumed with her next attempt she didn’t even think it odd or dangerous someone else had said that.
WHAP!
And because she had lost focus on her primary duty, Sailor Pluto ended up knocked out.
“Really,” said the voice, “must a Pluto always cause such trouble? I swear you generate more chaos than … well, Sailor Chaos.”
“I wonder why Setsuna asked us to meet her here?” queried Ami, as the Inner and Outer Senshi stood outside the gate of a house near Juuban District.
“Who knows with her anymore,” sighed Rei. “I hate to say this, but I think she really, really needs a vacation.”
Haruka opened her mouth to make a suggestion of what Setsuna could use, but Michiru’s elbow to her ribs ended that possibility.
Before anyone else could offer a course of action the gates opened, revealing a woman with auburn hair, dressed in a kimono, and smiling. The only odd thing about her was a strange circular disk on her forehead. “Let’s see; one two… Good, all of you are here! Please come in, I have tea, cookies, and cakes for snacks. And trust me; I have a very interesting story to impart to you.”
The girls and one guy could only blink at her words. “Um…”
“Don’t worry children,” smiled the woman. “I mean you no harm, I’m not some evil entity out to destroy, take over, or do anything. I’m someone your friend Setsuna brought about because she decided to break some rules, rules that existed long before any of you donned your extracurricular jobs.”
“O…kay,” said Mamoru.
“I’d offer more to assuage your fears,” she said. “But … we are in public at the moment.”
“Of course,” said Ami. She didn’t think it was a trap, but it paid to be careful, especially when you had a track record like they did.
The girls made themselves comfortable within the dining area, snacking on the food provided—after Ami did a quick scan to ensure there were no traps or poisons. “So,” began the Senshi of Mercury, “can you tell us why Setsuna had us come here?”
“And why do you have that weird thing on your forehead!” added Usagi, causing a few girls to palm their foreheads in embarrassment.
The woman giggled for a bit, before she sat her teacup onto the table. “Okay then, I guess I should begin with a little information.
“You see, Setsuna was … breaking some rules at her post,” said the woman. “She was trying to remove a specific person from the timeline because when they would meet up with you—and they always seemed to no matter what she did—it generated results she found unwanted.”
“What results?” asked Rei.
The woman shrugged. “No idea; I just know from the Gate logs that the distortions it created ranged from a marriage to one of you all the way to whole new timelines with only a five percent similarity to the original.” Seeing a few blank faces, she sighed and elaborated. “She screwed up so bad; the timeline went from Star Trek to Star Wars.”
“Ohhhh,” said several of the girls, nodding as they got it.
The woman sighed once again. It appeared education hadn’t been a priority for some of the girls.
“And you were generated from one of these … fluxes?” asked Ami.
“Yes and no,” said the woman. “Her last attempt ended up creating a merged universe. Now for most people, it wouldn’t be a problem; they would have led the same or a similar life, so a new or changed memory would be all that occurred.
“For me however and my son, such a change was a lot more severe. These,” she said, pointing to the disk on her forehead, “allow us to sort through those memories without driving us insane.” Seeing the girls pale, she acted quickly to dissuade their fears. “You all are fine. As far as I can tell, only me and my son are affected, most likely because this new universe resembles your own much more than mine.”
“And you are?” asked Makoto.
“My name in this life is Nodoka Saotome. During the Silver Millennium, I was Nodoka, half-sister to Queen Serenity and Lady Beryl.”
“WHAT?” yelled out the girls.
“Yeah, giant-ass flux,” commented Nodoka. “In my timeline, I was born because Beryl’s father attended a ball and well … mother was not known for holding her liquor, so nine months later Serenity XVI had a little sister. That would make me your aunt,” she finished, pointing to Usagi.
“And how did removing a guy from the present get you?” asked Haruka.
Nodoka snorted. “Listen, one thing you need to know, the space-time continuum is somewhat sentient, and if you keep poking it with a stick, the ripples don’t always go forward.”
“I assume this led to further changes in your timeline from our own?” asked Michiru.
Nodoka nodded. “I won’t bore you with the details of growing up the second Princess, but suffice to say Beryl was still swayed to Metallia, the Great Fall occurred, but Big Sister couldn’t send you forward.”
The Senshi all paled at that.
“My thoughts exactly,” Nodoka said. “So when it was all said and done, I was one of a few survivors of a once great kingdom, new Queen with a subjects numbering in the dozens.
“So I sealed up everything the best I could, came to Earth, and began making plans to protect this world. Most of the time I’d either be in stasis or working on magical projects to try and retrieve your souls from the Cauldron. Unfortunately, the best I could do was gain access to the mana streams of your former Sailor Crystals.
“Of course, I couldn’t use them myself, I like my ancestors in the Serenity line could only barely tap into them with the Ginzuishō. But when the barrier holding the Negaverse was showing signs of collapsing during this century, I … had a child,” she murmured, rubbing her head around the disk. “Forgive me, but the memories of my life from your original universe are attempting to color my perceptions. Both of us loved the man we married at the time. But where I made sure he became a better person, she let him run off with our child to train for over ten years.”
“So … I have a cousin now?” asked Usagi.
“Cool!” smirked Minako. “New team member!”
“Forgive me,” said a male voice, disturbing them and drawing their attention towards the entrance of the room. “I have never worked with a team before, so I must apologize if I generate conflicts because of my style.”
The girls looked on in awe at the male before them. Deep blue eyes similar to Usagi’s, black hair darker than Rei’s done in a pigtail, standing tall and dressed in a silk shirt, black pants, and slippers on his feet. The only odd thing was that he had several of the disks on his head, almost ringing it like a crown.
“That bad, my son?” asked Nodoka with concern.
The man nodded. “My counterpart had a fractured psyche, plus several emotional issues and a … fear of cats,” he added, his face twisted in confusion. “I will be heading out to the Dojo to meditate in hopes of speeding up the process.”
“Very well,” Nodoka said. “Be careful, and do check in on your father. He didn’t need a neural inhibitor, but I’m still not sure how the fused personality will act.”
Nodding, the man turned around and left.
“There is a Kami,” sighed Makoto as she watched him leave, “and he’s finally paying me back for all of my good karma.”
“Nice butt!”
“Hotaru!” cried the shocked Haruka.
“That was my son,” said Nodoka, “and heir to your powers in my timeline, known as the Sol Knight.”
“I see,” said Ami, “Sol is the sun, and since all the planets circle it, it would only be fitting.”
Nodoka nodded. “And apparently thanks to some chaos magic from your timeline, he changes into a female now, so he would also be Sailor Sol. Sol was the easiest choice; Sailor Crystals from stars can also access any abilities of the crystals of the worlds and objects orbiting them.
“Anyway, he was raised as the heir to the Silver Millennium, trained in combat from birth, and defeated the enemies you all faced.”
“But what about the Black Moon family?” asked Minako.
“Never heard of them,” said Nodoka. “Sounds like something involving the Jakokusuishou though,” she murmured.
“You know of that … thing?” spat Rei.
Nodoka’s eyebrow raised a bit. “That thing as you call it is the counterpart to the Ginzuishō,” she said. “Queen Serenity XIV sent it to Nemesis because she wanted it hidden in case an heir to Serenity went evil. I guess it was just forgotten.”
“You have it though, don’t you?” asked Michiru.
Nodoka nodded. “My son uses both and is nearly a master of their powers separate. Combined however is another matter; his last attempt drew Galaxia here a few months ago, and let me tell you that girl had issues, her and Sailor Chaos.”
“He defeated them!” said Mamoru, eyes wide in shock.
Nodoka nodded slightly. “As I said, my son was trained to be the sole defense against threats to our world. Where the ten of you had each other, he had only my husband and I to assist him, and there was little at times we could do.” Releasing a breath, she looked out towards the open porch, the Dojo beyond it. “If I could shoulder the burden, I would. But he has persevered, leaving no doubt when the time comes he will be a fair ruler, hopefully a better one than my sister and those who went before her.”
The girls looked with her, each of them wondering how they would have faired, alone, without the backup of those closest to them against the threats they had each faced. Even Haruka’s respect for the man went up a few notches.
“Um, excuse me, Nodoka-san,” said Hotaru.
“Please dear, call me Auntie,” she said with a smile.
“Um … Auntie, where is Setsuna-mama at?” she asked quietly.
Nodoka’s eyes narrowed as her thoughts drifted to the Senshi of Time. “She’s out cold at the moment in the guest bedroom. I had to stop her from using the Time Gates again and causing further damage. As it is, the Gates will need a week at best to recover from her efforts, and I’d prefer to allow the Timestream to recover as well.
“I also used my power as Serenity’s heir to strip her of her access to the Gates, since they recognized me as a legitimate user thanks to her meddling efforts. That lady will be getting a piece of my mind when she wakes up, I promise you that. All that trouble because she didn’t want my son meeting you,” Nodoka spat.
She was so angry at the moment; she missed as several of the girls turned back to the Dojo, smiles growing on their faces, remembering what Nodoka had mentioned earlier one of the reasons Setsuna had tried to remove the boy.
In the Dojo, before he had even gave a thought to looking towards his meditating father, Ranma felt as if himself and the fractured psyche of his counterpart shivered in fear, as if a great danger was reaching out to them.
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(Posted Sat, 26 Jul 2008 16:30)
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