"Well, be it as it may," said Setsuna. "I'm a little surprised that you find Ranma Saotome such a thorn to be plucked. After all, he's the fiancé of our own Miss Susan."
Pluto said, "Let's just say that my original time line was much more exclusive. I was trying to prevent his getting hooked up with the Senshi, keep other 'genres', if you accept that term, from interfering with their destiny and role." She snorted gently. "I can't believe I was that counter-productive!"
Setsuna nodded. "Well, Pluto, you didn't have Miss Susan's instructions on folly with Time to help you out, the way I did."
Pluto remarked, "Now that's the second time you've mentioned her. Is this a hint?"
Setsuna chuckled a bit. "No, it really isn't. But she is pretty central to matters dealing with Time these days, just like the other Gallifreyan survivors."
The still adjusting Pluto arched a eyebrow.
Setsuna blinked. "Not in your fiction? I had to check."
Pluto smiled, "For all I know, it may be, but I never really got into modern entertainment in my own time. I researched it as needed, but never really sat down at the movies or such, for fear of tripping over myself or providing multiple targets for our foes."
Setsuna just laughed aloud until she had top catch her breath. "Oh, forgive me! You have nothing on Susan's grandfather, I'm so sorry to announce. That man's met himself three, then five times overlapping, due to circumstances beyond his control.
Pluto stared. Then she stared some more. "This. Is. One." Setsuna chuckled again.
"Pluto, I obviously need to let you off the hook. Gallifrey was a very distant world, and very reclusive. Its people went from warrior ethics to high science with great speed, but it was the works of their undying lord, Rassilon, that set the course of their destiny. He achieved immortality, but was saddled with immobility as a result. His people managed to connect him to a receptacle of wisdom, and his urgings led them to create a lesser life extension technique, alongside the beginnings of temporal manipulation on a high scale. Somehow, they managed to not destroy themselves. Modern Gallifreyans learned from their pains to avoid other races, basically standing aloof, save for some that went renegade to help or conquer others. They have long lives in series, Regenerating eleven times on the advent of their current persona getting killed or 'dying' of natural causes, before fading from Time in the final Twelfth Regeneration. Each regeneration is a distinct personality and often radically changed physically from the one before, although the memories of the previous regeneration settle back in soon, remembered like a well-learned story in that, to them, it happened to someone else."
Pluto said, "This is completely over the top to me. You do understand this, don't you?"
Setsuna nodded. "Of course. But when you have the remnants of a race like that, you're going to have a back-story. *sigh* They had calamity fall on them not so long ago in objective time. Another time-manipulating race had arisen, not nearly as skilled but ruthless in the extreme. They and the Gallifreyan Timelords managed to make each other virtually extinct. Ironically, only those portions of either race considered outcast remain, and that is a VERY small number. Of the Timelords, only Susan, her grandfather, who is simply called the Doctor, a former companion of the Doctor named Romana, and a would-be conqueror known as the Master remain. The enemy race, called Daleks, have repeatedly turned on their creator and even killed him, but that one has come back from seeming certain death before, according to Susan. I'm not stupid enough to believe he'll stay dead this time either."
Pluto said numbly, "And Ranma Saotome is engaged with an alien refugee?"
Setsuna shrugged, "They became companions when he came across her and the Cybermen attacked. I'm not even going into those creatures, but I will say that Ranma had heard of a variety of jujitsu from another time being practiced, and he used it as a excuse to get out of the dojo for a training trip. He missed connection with the Doctor, but Susan also practices the style, so once the menace of the day was put to bed they traveled together and grew close while learning from one another."
Pluto felt like she was driving by a truckload of chickens having crashed into a feed store (in downtown Pagosa Springs). She asked casually, "So where is the lucky duo now?"
Setsuna smirked as she said,
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(Posted Tue, 30 Jan 2007 21:42)
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