Transcending Time, a Ranma/SM crossover
by JohnnyG
You can begin the story from the beginning by clicking here:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2357156/1/
This chapter can also be viewed better by visiting here:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2357156/2/
So far, we've witnessed Ranma's thoughts on the failed wedding, his
fiancees, and his comprehension that he has no idea what love is.
Let's see what the Senshi are up to...
--
Sailor Pluto gazed into the Gates of Time to observe the location
around the Hino shrine where she would soon be teleporting. She
really didn't want to attend this meeting, having already seen in the
Gates what the focus was going to be on, but her Princess had insisted
that everyone be there. The thought of what was to come was really
depressing. It wasn't the situation itself, but rather the painful
memories it engendered.
There was a dull ache within her chest as her mind wandered back to
the Moon Kingdom. At first she thought the pain was merely
psychological, but Pluto soon realized it had taken on a physical
manifestation. She had suppressed her memories for so long by
creating a solid barrier between them and her conscious mind. Now,
the purpose of the upcoming meeting had caused a small pinprick to
appear in her defenses and long-buried emotions were beginning to
slowly creep out.
A quick image of a handsome face, the deep baritone sound of a laugh,
the shiver on her skin from an intimate touch, gradually these
memories threatened to overwhelm her senses. Summoning up all of her
willpower, she forced them down. Even as she did though, Pluto
understood that it was only temporary. She was going to have to face
them again all too soon.
'I might as well get this over with,' she thought with a sigh. 'The
sooner it's done, the sooner I can get away from them and deal with
this.' Burying the hollow sensation she was feeling, she put into
place her mask of total indifference and used her Time Key to initiate
the transport.
Her arrival at the shrine was anticlimactic; there was no sound or
flash of light to announce her. One second the space was empty, and
the next there was a very attractive woman with long green hair, knee-
high black boots, and a black and white sailor fuku standing there.
With another wave of her Time Key, the Senshi uniform was instantly
replaced with a very smart looking light-purple business suit. The
blouse was white with a red bow, and the skirt tightly made its way
halfway down her thighs.
Once again, she was in the guise of Setsuna Meioh. To the eldest
Senshi, her identity as Setsuna was truly a masquerade. Long ago, she
had been both Sailor Pluto and Setsuna Meioh, both a Senshi and a
woman. But on the day the Moon Kingdom fell, the part of her that was
Setsuna, that is to say the part that was a woman, died. Now, in her
mind, she was only Sailor Pluto, Guardian of the Gates of Time. She
only allowed herself to take place in this illusion because she knew
it made the other Senshi feel more relaxed around her. Therefore, she
suppressed her disgust of this... character she was playing, and made
her way into the meeting room.
As she entered, Setsuna found that her timing had been perfect, as was
expected. Everyone, with the exception of Usagi, Mamoru, and Luna
were there, and she knew they wouldn't be long in arriving. As she
made her way to the couch, where she planned to sit on the end
farthest from where Haruka and Michiru were currently snuggling, she
studiously ignored the astonished looks her teammates were giving her.
'They must be shocked that I didn't wait until Usagi was here and then
teleport in behind her to scare the poor Princess.' While it was true
that she had done that very thing numerous times in the past, mostly
for her own amusement, today she just wasn't in the mood. She wanted
to get herself situated before the Princess came in and gave her
proclamation.
'Then I can get the hell out of here.' Her line of thought was cut
off as Artemis jumped onto the couch next to her and spoke.
"Are you alright?" he asked softly.
Setsuna looked around and noticed that the Senshi had returned to
their various activities, but were still stealing glances at her out
of the corner of their eyes. She wanted to yell at them and insist
that her behavior wasn't that strange, but she knew that it actually
was rather different from her norm.
Stifling a small sigh, and not even bothering to look at the white
cat, Setsuna said, "I'm perfectly fine. Thank you for asking."
When Artemis didn't respond, Setsuna looked at him to see if he was
finished. She found him giving her a speculative, yet sad look.
"It's just..." he said with hesitation, "Luna told me what this
meeting was about, and I'm sure you know because of the Time Gates,
and I thought maybe..."
More than likely it was the look of fury on Setsuna's face that caused
the cat to trail off. 'How dare he?!' she thought. 'Who does he
think I am, one of these ignorant schoolgirls?' The eldest Senshi
nearly released her ire, but thousands of years of life had taught her
very well how her own mind worked. She took several deep breaths and
slowly clenched and unclenched her hands. 'I can't let anger take
control. If I allow one emotion out, then the rest of them are sure
to follow.'
"Again," she replied coolly enough that everyone in the room felt as
if the temperature had dropped several degrees, "thank you for your
concern. However, it is unwarranted, and I would appreciate it if you
would drop the matter." The look she gave him made it quite clear
that she wouldn't take no for an answer.
"O-Of course," Artemis replied nervously. He jumped off the couch and
made his way over to Sailor Venus where he could cower for a while.
Setsuna noticed the looks from everyone had become more blatant, but
she continued to ignore them, knowing that Usagi would show up any
second and then the Senshi of Time could get out of there.
Sure enough, five seconds later Usagi, future ruler of Crystal Tokyo,
walked in with Mamoru and Luna. The entrance, much to Setsuna's
relief, deflected the attention away from the elder Senshi when Usagi
tripped and fell flat on her face.
"Wah!" the Princess cried as Mamoru helped her up. She looked like
she was about to break into full-blown tears when the other blond in
the group spoke up.
"What's that?" Minako Aino, known to those in the room as Sailor
Venus, asked with something akin to a squeal. She was pointing at
something on Usagi's hand.
"Is that what I think it is?" This came from Makoto Kino, the brown-
haired Sailor Jupiter.
"Yes!" Usagi shouted in delight as she held up her left hand so that
everyone could see the diamond ring there. "Mamo-chan finally
proposed to me!"
"You called a meeting just to tell us that?" Rei Hino, the black-
haired Sailor Mars, asked with a snort. Despite her seemingly
condescending attitude, everyone could tell she was genuinely happy
for their leader.
Setsuna took a few deep breaths as the other Senshi crowded Usagi and
demanded details of how the engagement took place. While the Princess
fielded these questions, usually in an obnoxious sounding voice, the
Senshi of Time noticed Artemis glancing in her direction again. She
gave him a brief scowl that forced him to jerk his attention away.
She let her gaze sweep the room and noticed that Luna was also giving
her a similar look. 'I can't... hold back these emotions. I have to
get out of here now.'
Having thus decided, Setsuna rose from the couch and made her way to
her Princess. Everyone else shut up when they saw her approach. The
eldest Senshi executed a formal bow to Usagi.
"Congratulations your Highness," Setsuna said hurriedly. "I'm afraid
my duties at the Gates of Time require my attention and I must leave."
Fighting tears, she quickly walked out of the shrine, pulled out her
Henshin stick, transformed back into what she considered her true
form, called forth the Time Key, and teleported to the Gates of Time.
Once there, and assured she was alone, Sailor Pluto, who felt as if
the scabs on her emotional scars were being forcibly torn off, acted
in the only way she could think of.
The Senshi of Time collapsed where she was, curled up into a ball, and
cried herself to sleep. And dreamed...
--
Artemis shook his small head as he watched the retreating back of
Setsuna while she escaped from the shrine. 'I know this has to be
hurting her more than she's letting on. But knowing her, she won't
allow anyone to get close enough to help her.'
His musings were interrupted when he first felt, and then saw, nine
sets of eyes focused on him. Looking around, he found that the eight
remaining Senshi, as well as Mamoru, were all eyeing him expectantly.
"What?" he asked hesitantly, and took a cautious step backwards.
"We want to know what the hell that was all about," Rei said in her
normal blunt fashion.
Retreating a few more steps, Artemis responded, "I don't really think
it's my place to say anything." Out of the corner of his eye, he
noticed that Luna was making a similar withdrawal, though nobody
seemed to notice with all the attention focused in his direction.
Suddenly, moving faster than he would have thought possible while she
wasn't transformed into Sailor Uranus, Haruka was behind him grabbing
him by the scruff of the neck. She turned him so that he was nose-to-
nose with the blond woman, and the smirk on her face spoke volumes.
"We're not asking you," she said in a falsely sweet voice. "We're
informing you that you're going to tell us what we want to know."
The cat gulped and turned its head to look at everyone else. The
combination of frowns from some, mixed with the cute-eyed kawaii
attack from others finally forced him to break down.
"Fine," Artemis grumbled. "But if Setsuna gets angry about this, I'm
making sure she understands you forced it out of me." A minute later
the Senshi were all gathered around, prepared to listen to the small
white cat.
"I'm only going to tell you the basics," he insisted. "If you want
more information, you're going to have to get it from Setsuna
herself." A few of the Senshi didn't look happy about that idea,
while the rest appeared not to care; they just wanted the juicy
gossip. Fighting down the voice that told him this was a really bad
idea, Artemis steeled himself and began.
"Let me open with a question," he said. "I know your memories of the
Moon Kingdom are mostly fragmented, but can anyone tell me what they
remember about Setsuna from that time?"
Most of them only had vague impression of the Senshi of Time as she
had been back then, with Hotaru, the black-haired Sailor Saturn,
remembering the most.
"I mostly remember her spending time with me, and being so nice to
me," the youngest Senshi said. "Most everyone else was afraid of me
because of my powers." Haruka and Michiru wrapped the young girl in
an embrace to convey that it was no longer like that. Hotaru gladly
melted into their arms.
Artemis gave them a few moments before continuing. "As you may have
guessed, Setsuna was much more open back then. Even now we know you
carry a special place in her heart Hotaru, but I'm sure that even you
can feel that it's different."
The Senshi of Silence nodded and appeared ready to speak, but Michiru
beat her to it. "Well, she had to watch the destruction of the Moon
Kingdom and then live alone for over a thousand years. I'm sure that
would be enough to change anyone."
"I'm sure you're right," Artemis agreed. "However, I think there was
something else; something that had an even more profound impact on
her."
"What could possibly do that?" asked Ami Mizuno, the intellectual,
albeit na�ve, Sailor Mercury.
By way of answering, Artemis turned his attention once again to
Hotaru. "Can you recall, during those times you spent with Setsuna,
was there usually somebody else there?"
The young girl frowned in concentration as she thought. "Now that you
mention it, there was... someone..." She continued to wrack her
brain. "I can't remember what he looked like, but I remember that he
was usually with her and that when he was they were always smiling."
"He?!" Minako shouted. "You can't possibly be suggesting what I think
you are."
"Yes," Artemis replied sadly. "The man Hotaru is remembering was
Setsuna's husband."
The collective shock caused the room to plunge into silence. Everyone
sat there, obviously lost in their own contemplation, before the real
pertinent question was asked by the most unlikely of people.
"What happened to him?" Usagi asked gently, not at all sounding like
the ditz she usually came across as. Everyone leaned forward a bit to
hear the answer. Artemis nodded to Luna to allow her to finish the
story.
"He died," the black cat said softly. "He fell defending the Queen
during Beryl's last attack."
"B-But," Usagi cried, "isn't it possible my mother sent him forward in
time the same way she sent us?"
"No," Artemis replied, picking up the conversation again. "You have
to understand, the reason your mother was able to send all of us
forward is due to the tie we all had to her through the Silver
Crystal. Because of that connection, she was able to use its power on
us to send us to this time. Kadono, that was his name by the way,
didn't have any such connection."
"Who was he then?" Makoto asked.
Artemis almost didn't answer, figuring he had given out enough
information, but he decided that it wouldn't matter all that much in
the end. "Kadono was a traveler from another galaxy. He was
immortal, much like your Senshi forms are, and he had been on a
knowledge journey for over a thousand years before he had come to the
Moon Kingdom."
"Knowledge journey?" Ami asked, her curiosity obviously piqued.
"Not the kind of knowledge you would think," Luna said with a laugh.
"He was a warrior, and was constantly seeking out new training methods
to increase his abilities."
"He studied fighting for more than a thousand years?!" Haruka asked
incredulously.
"Yes," Artemis said. "He was probably one of the most formidable
fighters I have ever seen."
"Surely he wasn't as powerful as us though," Makoto said with a hint
of pride.
The roar of laughter that Artemis and Luna let out didn't reassure
them at all. Once they calmed down, the black cat spoke. "He could
take out any of you in single combat," she snickered. "With Saturn's
power, if one of you teamed up with her, it usually ended in a
standstill. With the rest of you, it would always take at least three
to match him, and even then it was a toss up."
While everyone digested this sobering news, Usagi brought the
conversation back on track. "I still don't understand. Even without
a connection to the Silver Crystal, my mother should've been able to
summon enough power to send him forward if she wanted to."
"That's true," Artemis agreed, "but the focus of his own power is what
would have made it impossible. His abilities were all focused around
the unusually powerful chaos field that he generated." Seeing the
questioning looks that everyone, including Ami, were giving him, he
elaborated. "Kadono was what Setsuna called a nexus of chaos.
Wherever he went, probabilities would become warped and unusual things
would occur. He also had the ability to focus this power into various
attacks. One of his most devastating attacks was called the Chaos
Punch. He only used it in life and death situations. It would focus
his energies on his fist and when it would intersect with someone, it
would cause their bodies to behave erratically. However, it was
uncontrollable and could likely kill someone."
"Anyhow," Luna interrupted, "back to Usagi's question. If your mother
had attempted to send Kadono forward, it's impossible to say what
would've happened. The power could've backlashed and ripped a hole in
the time-space continuum. Or it could've drawn your souls back and
made it impossible for you to leap forward. Your mother knew this,
and I doubt she would've been willing to take the chance."
"But what if she did?" Usagi insisted. "I know it was a risk, but I
can't imagine mother not trying to do something."
"Even if she had," Artemis said with a sigh, "there is no way she
could've directed him. The Queen would have no way of knowing where
he would end up in the time stream."
"Besides," Ami added quietly, "even if she had, Setsuna would be able
to find him through the Gates of Time. The fact that she hasn't means
that he wasn't sent forward."
"That's not actually true," Luna interjected, then continued after
receiving several puzzled looks. "Because of his chaos field, Kadono
was not only invisible to the Gates, but also made the immediate
space-time around him that way as well."
"Wait," Rei said incredulously. "You're telling us that Setsuna
married a guy that made her job nearly impossible?"
"Well, at first the two hated each other," Artemis replied with a
chuckle. "However, as time went on and they fell in love, Setsuna
began to say that she greatly enjoyed the additional challenge that
his presence caused. Because it wasn't just that the time-space
around him was invisible, all potential possibilities for the future
that came forth wherever he was present tended to branch out wildly.
It made her job quite complex."
"But having him around more than made up for it," Luna said softly.
Everyone sat silently for a while as they contemplated what it would
be like to lose someone like that.
"So you really think he's gone forever?" Hotaru asked quietly, finally
breaking the silence.
The two cats exchanged looks. "Yes," Luna answered for both of them.
"It's a shame too. He was so good for Setsuna, and he would've made a
powerful ally for Crystal Tokyo."
The group all bowed their heads sadly.