[Episode 258447] [Episode 258447]"Haruka-chan, there are some walls too thick or hard for your cute, stubborn noggin to break through," Setsuna chirped(?) to the blonde head protruding from the beach.
The addressed short-haired Senshi was still dazed, irregularly blinking and having definite trouble directing her eyes in the same direction, but her sand-spitting mumbles seemed to indicate some awareness. And a bit confusion.
The other people present were confused, too. Who was that woman? Did she just step in front of Gojira and the Hulk, practically ignoring them (except for a quick tug at Hulk's pants to straighten them out) to gently but jokingly admonishing one of the two trigger-happy girls who had just been softly curb-stomped? And had they blinked or hadn't that Senshi Uniform just now been a green swimsuit?
She still held a portion of cotton candy (woodruff and raspberry, Usagi was positive about it) off-hand to a gleaming rod topped by a blood-red jewel orb.
Then she faced the house-sized orb swiveling towards her as Gojira seemed to take notice.
"Mercury," she said smoothly, with supreme confidence, "may I just borrow your computer?"
Setsuna felt as if she was floating on a cloud. A fluffy, soft cloud shining in the warm, pleasant glow of the rising sun, borne aloft by a pleasant breeze.
Her gamble had paid off. She had risked death or elimination from the timeline by bypassing the danger safeguards, hoping for the best but expecting the worst, and activated the time view again. And it was glorious! Changed to almost-unrecognizability, but still beautiful and full of hope.
Crystal Tokyo was not - would never be - as she had always seen it and aimed for before, but it still would be beautiful - and now it had what she had missed previously. What she had 'not missed' because she had never seen it before. It was as if she had been blind - and she had been! - and now had seen her first rainbow.
Who cared for sterile order and forced goodness anymore? Now that she had seen the new Crystal Tokyo and what would be needed to maintain course for that future she would do what she had to, but no longer with iron discipline and cold efficiency. The timeline had more resilience and flexibility than she ever had believed before.
New Crystal Tokyo would not be an ordered (stiff), squeaky clean (sterile!) paradise (ha!) anymore, but it would have heart, and joy, and hope, and love.
The Senshi had been fighting for love and justice before, and they would do so for a long time, but somewhere along the way, without anyone - without her - noticing, the justice had become rigid and inflexible, and the love had become stale and faded. Earlier futures had shown her, but she just had not seen. Why had Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion been - would be - would have been - the way they were in the future that would now never be (and good riddance!)? They had been cold, inflexible paragon figures, just as the future Senshi were.
NOW - so to say - Crystal Tokyo would no longer be the only center of the future, but 'only' first among equals, and people of conviction and compassion would be her prime export. Colorful costumes would not be limited to the senshi, but shared with other heroes and explorers. Crystal Tokyo would not be static and insular, but embracing its role of with open arms, that of an example, a teacher, a confidant and healer of hearts and souls. A merciful and open-minded protector, strong in her conviction but striving to understand other viewpoints and offering alternatives, while still standing strong against selfishness, corruption and egotism.
There would be flies in the soup, but they would be managed and guided, not simply forced or driven out. Only unrepenting, incurable malevolence would be taken on with force, and aggressive misunderstandings might be needed to defend against, but usually only until understanding could be won and applied.
And best of all, Small Lady would not only exist (and her godchild would still be a brat, but Pluto didn't care) but have lots of siblings and friends her age. She would still visit, the crisis would happen (but altered). The Wiseman would have to be fought - just as other crises would happen - but the Black Moon Family would rejoin human civilization.
And the catalyst was a mystically orphaned boy with an indomitable conviction to do the right thing. To protect and help. To stand against wrongness and suffering.
He would not win all his fights, not alone, but he would not be alone when he needed help.
Never (well, almost).
They might never know what it was the green-haired senior Senshi actually did, but she was able to catch the living disaster's attention and talk to it! Pluto got assistance sometime during the... negotiations? conversation? discussion? as a short, very young, frail-looking purple-haired girl in Senshi suit joined her, bearing a naginata-like polearm - and making the two loose cannons from earlier (literally loose by now) pale and tremble. And very cooperative, while somewhat uninformative.
They all were pleasantly surprised, if rather critically boggled, when Gojira gazed upon their group, winked, raised a paw in parting and simply left. He ruined the beach for several square kilometers (or miles - no need to calculate exact land areas), but that still was the least damage ever done by the King of Monster or any of his colleagues on a 'visit'.
Later the Senshi would be praised publically as never before, even J. Jiro Jamikun was unable to get his way to publish anything negative about any of them - not even the Hulk.
While talking to the 'Outer Senshi' Pluto practically nailed down Uranus and Neptune with a few focused looks and quiet words, while Saturn just seemed to vanish - as the Inners, Ranma and Akane finally learned - they managed to keep the Hulk pleasant enough company to keep him at or below mild annoyance. With lots of ice cream and cotton candy (even if Usagi dared to compete with the Hulk. She lost. Narrowly.). And hot dogs. And even okonomiyaki. And a large pair of non-clown pants, courtesy of Pluto together with a few elephant-sized beach towels to spare the fragile minds of the young girls.
Somehow, no one noticed when the Hulk left. Until Mars noticed a certain absence of nine feet cubed (more or less) green muscle. Ami noticed Pluto offside talking to a nice pensioner, though, but kept quiet about it.
Ranma, though, had the worst part of the aftermath party, according to himself later at home.
While loud arguments or actual feuds were suppressed by Ami, Pluto and Usagi (mainly), Ranma was hogged or boxed in by the majority of the Inners (Venus, Mars, Jupiter) and Akane(!). Akane and Ranma shared a friendly discussion about superpowers, methods and applications, among other things.
Finally, everyone peacefully went home, even if Ami had to dispense a few persuasive pinches to Minako and Makoto to direct them to their own homes.
Tomorrow would be a grand new day.
(Posted Wed, 03 Apr 2013 07:17)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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