Lines Of Destiny

   A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2  Crossover

   By Louis-Philippe Giroux
   <Phoenix@upc.qc.ca>

   I fixed a few things; minor stuff.

   A big thanks to REM for giving me a wonderful idea!  (I can't tell you
what it is, because it would spoil things).  Among other things, I
arbitrarily placed the end of the Moon Kingdom at 1500 years ago.

   Sailor Moon was created by Naoko Takeuchi and Ranma 1/2 by Rumiko
Takahashi.  Please don't sue me.

   It seems that the timeline I use is mixing people up and it's partly my
fault.

   In my fic, Ranma and Akane are 18 and the SM characters are 17 or 18 as
well.  I know this screws up the relative timelines, but it's something I
needed for possible plots.

   The way I see it, the last time Rei saw Ranma was just before he left
for his training trip with Genma.


Chapter 2 (version 2.0)

   Hotaru Tomoe was depressed.  Since Chibi-Usa had gone back to the
future, she had lost the only friend who was close to her.  Sure, Haruka,
Michiru and Setsuna were far from bad company, but they *were* older than
she was.  Besides, they had other things to worry about than play
baby-sitter to a teenage girl who could easily level the planet.
   She missed her brother.
   Following her rebirth, Hotaru had grown up for a second time at a
phenomenal rate, though she still ended up smaller than the others (much to
her annoyance).  Only this time, she remembered things from her days in the
Moon Kingdom, 1500 years ago.  Among other things, how everyone had
different names back then; Serenity, Endymion...  One of the things she now
remembered is that she had had an older brother, named Kanma.  She
remembered...

   <Moon Kingdom, 1500 years ago>

   Verika was watching her brother work the family forge.  He was a strange
person; even though there was no need of it, he spent his days at the forge
near their house, wielding enormous forge hammers. He kept saying pounding
things made him relax.  He had black hair, tied in a pigtail-type braid and
muscles that would make any man jealous.
   "Did you hear the news?" Verika asked with a look of anticipation on her
face.
   "What news?" asked Kanma, somewhat amused by her "baby" sister's antics.
"The healers told you you were going to gain another inch after all?"
   Verika scowled.  "I can't help it if I'm short, okay!?" she said
testily.  The look of anticipation quickly came back, though.  "What I'm
talking about is the nominations of Sailor Terra and Saturn!  The royal
seer said that the girl who becomes Saturn will know it because the sigil
will appear on her forehead today!"
   "Don't tell me you *want* to be Sailor Saturn?" said Kanma
incredulously, letting his hammer rest beside the forge.
   Verika was a bit miffed at her brother's comment.  "Why not?  Saturn is
supposed to have great healing powers.  I'd very much like to be a great
healer."
   Kanma shook his head.  "You've never bothered to read the prophecies,
have you?"
   "What prophecies?"
   Kanma took on a lecturing tone.  "Many things have been said about the
legendary Sailor Saturn." Nodding towards his sister, he continued: "The
prophecies do say she is supposed to be a great healer, but the very fact
that she will be chosen means other things."
   "Like what?" asked Verika, leaning forward.
   "It's said that Saturn would have more than enough power to wipe off an
entire planet if she chose to.  It's also said that she would only awakened
in time to fight off the Moon Kingdom's greatest threat."
   Verika paled a little and Kanma nodded.  "Do you see now?  Even though
Sailor Saturn is fabled to have wondrous healing abilities, she is
generally portrayed in the prophecies as Saturn The Destroyer, not Saturn
The Healer. Sorry to disillusion you like that, but you should be careful
what you wish for."
   Verika, now uncomfortalble, changed the subject.  "What about Sailor Terra?"
   Kanma snorted.  "No contest there.  It's old news all over the Kingdom
that it's Earth Prince Endymion's sister Akana who will be Sailor Terra.
Almost every seer in the Kingdom said so. It's rumored that she will be the
strongest Senshi next to Saturn."
   Verika nodded absently.  She had seen pictures of princess Akana,
before.  She wasn't bad-looking, although they did say she had a bit of a
temper...

   Later that day, the sigil of Saturn appeared on Verika's forehead and
her life was changed forever.

   <Back to the Present>

   Hotaru was interrupted from her reminescing by the sound of the
appartment's front door being opened.  She got up and looked towards the
door.  Haruka and Michiru were already taking off their coats.
   "So how was the concert, Michiru?" asked Hotaru.
   "It went okay," Michiru replied.
   Haruka grinned and put an arm around Michiru's neck. "She means it went
perfect as usual."  Haruka then gave a playful kiss to Michiru.
   Hotaru sighed. It was a strange relationship betwen those two, but at
least they had each other.  She, on the other hand, didn't have anyone
close to her.
   Hotaru gave herself a mental shake.  She had to stop whining to herself
like that.  Suddenly, she noticed something, or rather, someone, was
missing.  "Hey, where's Setsuna?"
   "She said she had some buisiness to attend to," said Haruka. "And you
know from experience that if she doesn't want to tell us, she won't."  She
shook her head.  "For all we know, she's removed herself from the time
stream again and God only knows when she'll be back."

   In a rare moment of peace, the two Moon cats were asleep, while the
girls were all out shopping, so they never noticed the Guardian Of Time
silently walking up to them.  Sailor Pluto silently raise the Time Staff
and a tiny beam of light shot from the Garnet Orb to the two cats' crescent
moons.  The crescents shined, but the cats merely stirred and stayed asleep.
   A ghost of a smile touched Pluto's lips.  *At least now, Luna and
Artemis will be able to answer Mamoru and the others' questions.*  The
ageless warrior slowly shook her head.  *I doubt they realize just how hard
awakening Terra will be, but they will surely need Terra's help in the
weeks to come.*
   A swirling portal opened behind Pluto and she stepped inside it,
disppearing into thin air.

***

   Akane had fallen asleep early.  Whether she wanted to admit it or not,
the stress related to her wedding had taken its toll on her.  They had
agreed to sleep apart for this night because they didn't want to be tempted
by anything  that would require... exertion.  They needed to be fully awake
and alert tomorrow.  She settled by dreaming of Ranma and how they had
finally admitted that they loved each other and how they would spend the
rest of their days together.  But gradually, the dream became something
else; images she had never seen or imagined before were floating in her
mind.  Strangely, the face of a young girl often repeated itself.  The girl
sometimes wore a simple old-fashioned dress and sometimes what looked like
an ridiculously abbreviated sailor suit.  The strangest thing of all was
that she felt some kind of kinship to the girl, but she didn't know exactly
what.
   Soon, the images disappeared and she dreamt of Ranma again.

   In his room, Ranma also had dreams of his own.  He dreamt of college and
of his marriage to Akane, how he would make sure she was happy for the rest
of their lives.  And like Akane, his dreams drifted to those of a young
girl whose face he could not see.  He saw images of the girl running and
somehow, he knew her.  He knew that inexplicably, he had once been, and
still was, closely bound to this girl.  Suddenly, her face cleared...

   ...and he was rudely awakened by an oversized panda who nearly crushed
him.  Ranma cursed silently.  *Damn! it's the third time in three days I've
had this weird dream and at last I was this damn close to figuring who the
hell that girl is.*  Ranma got up and walked to the window and looked out
at the starry sky.  *I thought I had that dream because of pre-wedding
jitters, but now I'm not so sure...*  He smiled and snorted softly.
*Huh... If it gets worse, maybe I can always ask cousin Rei about the
dream.  Maybe her priestess training might help.*
   Ranma yawned and went back to sleep and to his dreams of Akane.

   The following morning, Ranma and Akane had what would probably be their
last meal at the Tendo Dojo for a long while.  For the occasion, Kasumi and
Nodoka had prepared a such a feast that even Genma and Ranma could not eat
everything and perhaps most surprising of all, a smiling Akane not passing
a single comment on her husband's eating habits.  Afterwards, Ranma and
Akane finished packing their belongings and prepared themselves to take the
train.

   Then came the tearful goobyes.

   "Take good care of yourselves, okay?" said Kasumi.
   "We will, I promise." answered Akane.
   "If you need a loan, don't hesitate to call me, okay?  I have special
rates for family." said Nabiki with a sad smile on her lips.
   "Uh... we will, Nabiki." said Ranma.
   "Oh my daughter is growing up!  She's married and going to college!"
Soun wailed.
   Ranma extricated himself from the knot of Tendo sisters and walked to
his parents.
   "Be sure to tell your cousin Rei that we're grateful for what she's
doing, and try to keep your water curse a secret if possible." said Genma,
with a proud smile on his lips.
   Ranma chuckled: "It's not as if I want everyone to know about the curse,
dad.  It's just that sometimes, it's like Akane says: I'm a water magnet;
you should know it better than most.  As for Rei, I'll be sure to tell her;
but we won't see each other for a long time.  We'll only see each other at
the temple, remember?"
   "What are you talking about, Ranma?" asked Nodoka, a bit puzzled.  "Rei
will be going at the same college as you are!"
   "What?"  Ranma looked confused. "But... I was always told Rei was
younger than me..." he trailed uncertainly.
   Nodoka looked bemused.  "Well, yes, of course she's younger, but only by
three months!"
   Genma cut in.  "What does it matter, son?  Just be sure to keep up you
training and come to visit us one in a while, okay?"
   Ranma tried to cast aside the thoughts of his cousin.  "Yeah, sure!" he
said, half-distracted. "We'll come back as often as we can, I promise."
   Akane approached Ranma and put her hand on his shoulder.  "It's time to
go if we want to catch the train, Ranma."
   Ranma nodded and soon, the two newlyweds were on their way to the train
station.

***

   Mamoru was sitting in the train, reading a magazine on the strange and
unususal.  He chuckled softly.  One of the magazine's top stories this
month was the popular mystery of the Sailor Senshi.  As he read the
article, hoever, one passage caught his attention:

   "... another one of the mysteries concerning the Sailor Senshi is that
every planet in our solar system has a Senshi named after it, except on
Earth, where, oddly enough, the Senshi, who happens to be the leader of the
group, is named after the satellite.  Is there or has there ever been a
Sailor Earth?  Only the Senshi could answer this question, and they have
never been known to stick around for interviews."

   Mamoru closed the magazine and put it back on the tray where he had
found it.  A Sailor Earth?  The name sounded wrong somehow.  Unwittingly,
he found his thoughts drifting back to the girl in his dreams while the
speakers warned people that the next stop was Nerima station...

***

   Ranma and Akane boarded the train along with other passengers.  Moving
inside the cart, Ranma caught a magazine on a tray, as did Akane.  The
found seats across a handsome young man in his early twenties who looked
preoccupied by something.  For a moment, Ranma thought the man was staring
at him and Akane, but when he looked up from his reading, he found the man
looking away.  Ranma shrugged and went back to reading an article on a
bunch of mysterious girls calling themselves the Sailor Senshi...

   Mamoru was still zoned out when two teenagers sat in front of him. When
he looked up, he couldn't help but stare at them in puzzlement.  He didn't
understand, but they seemed very familiar, somehow... almost like...
   He quickly changed the focus of his gaze, when he saw the young man
lifting his head.  Luckily, the teenager didn't pursue the matter any
further and went back to his reading.  Mamoru looked out the window and
started thinking about Usagi, who had promised she would be waiting at the
train station.

***

   Minako, Ami and Artemis were arriving at the train station.  They
weren't really surprised to see that Usagi and Luna were already there;
Usagi had probably arrived here a long time ago, since Mamoru's train was
due back in less than fifteen minutes.  They were surprised, however, to
see Hotaru.
   "Hotaru-chan!  What are you doing here?" exclaimed Minako.
   Hotaru turned towards the voice.  "Minako!  Well, I was bored sitting
around Haruka and Michiru's appartment doing nothing, so I decided to come
here with Usagi to greet Mamoru when he comes back."
   Minako nodded. "That makes quite a few of us to greet him then."
   Ami looked up from yet another book she was reading.  "Say, isn't Rei's
cousin supposed to arrive on this train as well?"
   "Cousin?" Usagi, Hotaru and Minako exclaimed in unison.  Luna and
Artemis wisely refrained from saying something out loud, seeing as they
were in a public place, but their faces clearly showed surprise as well.
   Ami spent the next few minute explaining that Rei would be housing her
cousin and his girlfriend at the Hikawa Shrine for the next few days.
   Minako was clearly disppointed he wasn't single, while Usagi and Hotaru
wondered what Rei's cousin would be like.  Luna and Artemis looked at each
other and exchanged a look that promised further questioning when they were
in private.
   Hotaru spoke up: "I wonder why Rei didn't come by to welcome him?"
   "She told me she had special shrine duties today," Ami answered.
"Anyway, she said her cousin had the address of the Temple, so he shouldn't
have any problems finding it on his own."
   "What does he look like, anyway?" asked Minako. "We could always
accompany him to the Temple instead of letting him go there on his own."
   Ami thought for a second.  "You know, I don't believe Rei ever told
Makoto or myself what he looked like, although she did say the last time
she had seen him, she was only 4 or 5 years old.  I don't think she could
have given us a decent description if she had wanted to."
   "Do you at least know his name?"
    "Err, I forgot." said Ami sheepishly.
   Usagi broke into an eager smile.  "We'll see what he looks like later!
The train is arriving!"
   The others sighed good-naturedly.  Several things had changed in the
last few weeks, but Usagi was still single-mindedly obssessed with her
"Mamo-chan."

   The train pulled in the station and people started flowing out.  It
wasn't long before Mamoru got out of the train.
   "Mamo-chan!" Usagi cried, running into Mamoru's arms.  "I've missed you
so much!"
   "I've missed you too, Usako."
   While Usagi was busy gushing all over Mamoru, the other girls looked at
the other passengers.  Minako was trying to spot herself a hunk and she
soon found one.  A muscular young man about her age, who was wearing loose
black pants and a red Chinese shirt.  His wild black hair was tied down in
a pigtail-style braid.  *I'm in love!* Minako told herself.
   She nudged Ami and Hotaru.  "Hey girls, look at the major hunk over
there!  Isn't he gorgeous?"
   Ami looked where Minako was pointing, looked around the boy and quickly
brought her friend back too Earth.  "Look right behind him, Minako.  I
think he's already taken."
   Minako shook herself out of her dreams and realized there was a girl
holding his hand.  A girl who bore a faint resemblance to Ami, at that.
"Awww, it's not fair," she pouted.
   Hotaru wasn't merely looking at them.  She was staring at them.
*Masaka!  He... she... they look so much like...* she shook herself.
*You're imagining things, Hotaru.  Neither of them could be alive today.
They both died before the end of the Moon Kingdom.  Besides, the genders
are all...*
   Suddenly, something beeped urgently in Ami's purse.  Startled, Ami took
out her computer compact and her eyes widened.  She grabbed Usagi's
shoulder and turned her around.
   "Usagi!  My computer's detected a... "

   "WWRRRRAAGGHHHHHHH!!!!"

   "monster nearby," she finished weakly.
   Usagi cursed under her breath.  She thought they were finished with
this.  They had not had a monster attack in over a month and a half. Much
to Luna and the other girls' surprise, Usagi's grades had picked up
strength during that time.  Usagi said it was because she was no longer
interrupted by constant monster attacks.  The girls had been inclined to
believe her.
   And now, the attacks were starting up again.  Damn.
   "All right," she said, her face darkening.  "Let's find a place to
transform and thrash that thing..."
   Usagi got no further when all hell broke loose.

   End of Chapter 2.

Autho's note:  Ain't I a stinker?  I will only have time for one more
installment before I start choking on schoolwork.  I go to the university
full-time and also have a 25-hour/week job starting Monday, so I may be
quiet for the next few weeks.  But do not despair!  I will not abandon this
story!
   In the meantime, if people have plot ideas they wish to share with me,
they're welcome to do so!

   I can be reached at <Phoenix@upc.qc.ca>

**********************
* The Phoenix Reborn *              Jordanite and Mystical
**********************                  Freak at Large

Louis-Philippe Giroux

Phoenix@upc.qc.ca
Phoenix@cmq.qc.ca