Third Labor, Chapter 12 "Past Tense, Future Shock"
...or "To Sleep, Perchance To Dream"
Disclaimer: no smear or insult is intended against the
Catholic church, Christianity, Buddhism, Shintoism, Taoism,
Zen (author or faith), Judaism, or any particular race or
creed. . Well, except for uncute violent tomboys who lack
redeeming qualities. various characters owned by various
people. (time travel in use, what is doctrine changes over
time so a change in time - etc.)
some scenes written by Skysaber, though i'm told it's
pretty obvious which is by me and which is by he.
---------
What impressed Naoko Takeuchi was that the girls obviously
weren't trying. She was resting in one of her favorite
places in the park, trying to think of what to do now that
Sailor Moon was finally laid to rest, going through the
options she had planned for her next series, whichever
*that* would be, when ten girls had sauntered up and
casually taken their seats on the lawn not far from her.
That was actually an aspect of this part of the park the
manga artist loved so much, was that it was private in a way
others didn't expect. She had based several of her best
characters off of moments of other's personalities she had
observed from here. She thought of it as her duck blind or
African Safari for observing people being honestly who they
were.
These girls were blowing her for a loop, and one of the
*biggest* things was they were being so casual about it.
Even the best actor knows he is on stage, many of them turn
that into a type of magnetism to draw their viewers onto the
stage with them, immersed in a world of the actor's
creating.
This wasn't like that, not at all.
As far as the manga artist could tell these girls had *no*
idea they were on stage, and one of the biggest things
convincing her of their honesty is what they were getting
wrong. Naoko was no stranger to fans or kids doing cosplay,
but something here felt different. She was actually
considering going over there and introducing herself to see
what their reactions would be when one by one several of the
girls broke out bawling.
And it was *not* who she'd have written doing it!
She stayed obscure and watched.
"There, there..." Mina comforted a wailing Susan. "I'm sure
he's alright."
*sniff!* "But I should have seen this happening!" the
off-duty Scout of Time wailed, trembling under her
sister-wife's comforting fingertips. "He may be hurt even
*more!*"
Two big teardrops gathered under the corners of Amy's eyes.
"And I should be blamed for not seeing to it that he had
proper medical help, rather than going off to those refugees
like I did." The tears began to run like waterfalls. "He's
all alone and I didn't do a thing for him!" Amy buried her
head in her sleeve and fountained twin streams of tears as
she bawled.
Rae was sniffing dangerously. "Maybe he doesn't believe any
of us still loves him?"
Naoko was watching the girls cry and felt like a heel,
overhearing their words when whatever they were going
through got to them even out in public. There was something
so desperately fascinating about them, however. In spite of
this, she almost got up to leave them some privacy, when she
was stopped by what came next.
~Luna? Artemis?!?~ The manga author thought in shock.
"Ladies!" The black cat called out, nearly causing the
bookish author to have a stroke as it raced quite near her
position. Luna came to a halt, panting, and Artemis (who
she'd always had a though was a little braver cat) proved
his stamina by not being so winded.
"We think we've found him!" The white cat finished.
All ten girls came erect at one instant. The spell was
broken by a caw breaching the air and the dark haired girl
Ms. Takeuchi thought was a dead ringer for her own Sailor
Mars character shifted her gaze skyward and held up an arm,
on which landed twin ravens, who cawed some more at her.
"That's confirmed!" The suddenly galvanized girl cried,
rising to her feet smoothly and without dislodging her
birds. "Phobos and Diemos just spotted him!"
There was an instant where the manga artist was positively
certain she saw all-too familiar symbols flare on each
girl's forehead, and all of their gazes swung in one
direction as a single united motion. Somehow they were all
now standing.
"Silver Millennium Energy!"
"His powers must have recharged themselves!"
A huge, glowing symbol appeared in the sky above, that the
artist couldn't quite make out from her vantage point, as it
was behind her with some trees in her way, blocking it from
her view.
"That's the Thundercat sign!"
"He must be in real trouble!!"
"Scouts!" Mina turned to address her group glowing in
confidence. "This calls for an emergency transformation
sequence! Let's do it!"
There came a single, united nod, and they all produced
little wands that Naoko Takeuchi had drawn *far* too many
times not to recognize at this close distance. But this was
absurd! It then struck her that she'd never actually seen
the like of these. There was a look to cheap plastic toys
for girls, and these didn't have it. If anything the short
wands bore the marks of *real* otherworldly metals and
*real* gems, about the size of golf balls capping them. All
of this registered kind of dazedly in the back of the
artist's mind as she watched with stunned fascination what
went on after this.
The girl who she'd thought a dead ringer for her own Sailor
Neptune raised a hand above her head and spoke a single
word.
"Cloudburst."
There wasn't even a crack of thunder, but suddenly their
clear summer sky became the most dreadful torrent of rain
the artist could remember. Shielding her eyes with her
hands, the amazed woman noted that the ordinary parkgoers,
some of whom had become interested in the antics of the
young ladies, were now scattering and picking up blankets
and food, paying NO attention to the young ladies in their
haste to avoid getting drenched.
And those girls smoothly took advantage of this.
The first to leap into the sky was the girl who looked like
Venus, and her friends all formed a barrier around her by
throwing their party blankets such that there was a moment
that the girl was totally obscured, even for their audience
of one who was ignoring the pouring rain to peer through the
dampness.
"Venus Star Power!"
What part of the artist's mind was gibbering at her that
this was insane and couldn't be happening and maybe she
ought to go a little more easy on herself was drowned out by
an analytical portion that noted the brief yet intense flash
of light from the transformation sequence was confused by
the park attendees busily going about their business as
ordinary lightning. In her astonishment the author nearly
missed the same sequence of thrown blankets repeated for the
next girl as Sailor Venus hit the ground.
"Jupiter Star Power!"
The author stood stunned, gripped in fascination in spite of
the obscuring sheets of pouring rain as the same sequence
was repeated for eight other girls, ending with the redhead
calling out.
"Earth Star Power!"
~That can't be right.~ The part of Ms. Takeuchi's mind that
wasn't terrified she'd gone insane was cataloging. ~I made
Tuxedo Mask the guardian of Earth. This girl looks nothing
like him, in either form.~ She noted as the perky Sailor
touched down.
Then, as soon as it had appeared, the rain was over. There
were puddles on the ground in low places but most of the
park goers hadn't even picked up all of their things yet.
A bolt of inspiration struck the artist as she noted the
disarray, though. There was no way of knowing who had bolted
for cover quickly and almost no one was in the same places.
The Sailors might have started and ended in the same spot
they'd begun, but there was no way any onlooker would know
that. Even the rain had added concealment factor, not just
diversion.
It was brilliant!
Seeing the storm over, one guy who'd lurked fairly nearby
noted the girls in *veeery* short skirts and ceased wringing
out his jacket to call out to them some invitation or other.
Sailor Neptune had just finished fluffing out her hair after
the change, and shot him a stunning yet negatory smile,
flashing him a gorgeous gold ring with a huge stone that
Naoko had noted on each girl and had been puzzled about. It
didn't fit the...
"Sorry," Neptune turned down the man. "We are all married
ladies."
An author's jaw fell open wide enough to catch bugs in.
Sailor Uranus gave a confident glance to one and all. "And
our husband needs us. Earth Golems! Rise!" The Sailor tossed
a fist in the air and three hulking shapes began to stand up
out of the ground.
~Husband?! Singular?!~ Takeuchi felt faint.
"Air Golems! Fly!" Cried out another Sailor.
"Fire Golems!" Mars cried out.
"Ice Golems!" Mercury shouted, producing a trio of watery
servants that had formerly been rainwater puddles.
"Water Golems!" Neptune commanded, claiming the rest, and
even the water from some of their observer's clothes.
"Time Golems!" Pluto announced very smugly, watching three
figures fade into existence, each so difficult to look upon
it was like gazing into a hole through eternity, like
infinite reflections without the mirrors.
An author's hair stood out in all directions and her head
was nodding, so she missed the rest of these summonings. But
a crook who had been hanging out in the park did not.
Mindful of the manga, the criminal pulled out a gun and
leveled it at the Sailor Scouts in panic, absolutely certain
that they had come there just to punish him, and too
terrified to rationally accept they shouldn't even exist.
*Bang!*
Venus' head tilted sharply to the side as the gunshot struck
her in the side of the face. Her gaze righted itself, hand
rubbing her cheek, as she spied the criminal. "That stings,
you know!" She shouted.
The horrified gangster began to empty his clip at her, and
the perky Sailor Scout seemed to blur as she dodged aside.
"Meteor Beam Shower!"
Naoko was so caught up in watching the beam of light emerge
from the girl's fingertip and splitting up, to converge
again and strike the gangster from every side in a
magnificent explosion, that she almost didn't notice whose
arms she was in until Jupiter set her down again.
"Sorry," the Scout apologized, giving the artist a flashy
fingertip kind of reverse salute like she'd drawn them
giving. "But you were in the way of those bullets, had to
get you out of their path."
The manga artist nodded numbly. Then watched from only a
foot or so away as the girls all went into identical wind up
poses, crying out together. "Eternal Pheonix Wings!" Then
they all flew off, trailing some golems while others went on
ahead, even the earth-types flying without difficulty and
shielding the Sailors rather well in formation.
Absorbing the last of this, Naoko Takeuchi fainted.
-----------
"...you OK? Miss?"
Naoko woke up slowly, wondering at the odd dream she'd had.
Opening her eyes, she saw reason to wonder if she was still
dreaming.
The gaijin bishonen in camouflage fatigues backed away from
her.
"Master?" One of the girls accompanying him looked curiously
at him. "Why did your appearance change? And how did we
cross dimensions?"
"A designated Prince of the Moon Kingdom summoned all the
Knights and Scouts to him. By carrying you with me, we fell
short. Hurry now, the Prince might be in danger!"
"Knights?" Naoko asked.
"i am the Knight Of Duty, Nebula. Sumi-chan, carry Siryn."
"Actually, now that we're not likely to be confused, I'd
prefer to just be called Lorelei," Siryn said as she was
hefted up into a girl's arms.
"Uhm 'Knight of Duty'..." Naoko asked, watching the foursome
leave at high speeds. She felt like fainting again. But if
she did that, what would she wake up to the next time?!
----------
785 AD:
"Come out, foul wyrm! For thy doom is upon thee!"
"Wouldn't you rather have a nice cup of tea? i've got the
water on to boil."
The six man squad exchanged glances among themselves with
uncertainty. This cave with the faint smoke trail had been
the fifth they'd investigated (the previous four turning up
two hermits, a husband who had fled a shrewish wife, and a
prospector) and they hadn't really expected an answer.
The Commander, Julius Hennington, cleared his throat. "Uhm,
are we to understand that you *are* in fact the dragon
sighted flying through this area?"
"Quite, though i thought the area largely deserted. Uhm,
sorry if i startled anyone, it certainly wasn't my
intention."
"First he invites us to tea, then he apologizes for creating
a nuisance. This is NOT what i envisaged for a Dragon Hunt,"
Mallory complained.
"Quiet, you," Julius commanded and drew his sword. "Come out
now, that you may perish on my blade which was blessed by a
holy man of Lindisfarne!"
"Oh?" There came the sounds of something BIG moving through
the hillside cavern. "How *is* Father James of late?"
Julius held his sword confidently up until the shape moved
out into the light. Then he felt rather less confident and
was glad that he'd just taken a piss a few minutes before.
The evil beast was ten times the size of any of his men,
with claws longer than his sword! The creature's wicked
sharp teeth were thicker around than his leg and could
likely bite through his armor in a heartbeat.
"Madre de Dios!"
"I thought you were agnostic?"
"Guy's got the right to change his mind!"
"Dragon? I don't see no stinking dragon! Well, guess we
ought to go home!"
Julius thought that running away and getting reinforcements
sounded like a good idea. The problem was that his knees
weren't doing so good.
Mallory looked over the huge gleaming dragon and came to a
conclusion. "You said something about tea?"
"Mint or comfrey?" The reptile inquired.
"Mint," Mallory said, sheathing his sword and walking
forward. The creature was big, powerful, and could likely
run them all down before they could get out of this
rock-strewn hilly area back to where the horses were. In a
fight, six men armed with good steel *might* be able to
cause serious injury. The problem Mallory had with this
picture was that the six men would be dead at the end of
that fight. "I suppose a good cup of ale is out of the
question."
"Afraid so, haven't much use for it myself. i've a small
herb garden not far from here, which is always nice."
"Might I see it? Me girlfriend, Susan, she loves to grow
herbs."
"Really? i'd like to meet her. There's a lot of herbs i just
haven't been able to find. Hmmm. Why not? It's up on that
hill to the North."
Julius blinked a few times as Mallory and the dragon went
back into the cave. "Uhm..."
Five minutes later, Mallory returned, holding a crudely made
wooden teacup from which he sipped.
"Mallory! Did you kill it?" Julius had wondered if that was
Mallory's plan, get inside its claws then thrust home while
the thing was offguard.
"Kill it? Why would I do that?" Mallory sipped again at the
tea. "Makes a lovely mint blend tea. Has all sorts of herbs
drying in his cave. Besides, I promised I'd bring Susan up
here sometime. She'd love a look at a dragon's herb garden,
I think."
"AAAHHHHHGGGHHH!" Commander Julius Hennington was having
trouble with this whole assignment. "We're here to kill the
evil beast!"
Mallory shrugged and set the now-empty cup on the ground.
"Our assignment was to kill the 'evil beast terrorizing the
countryside and bring back its hoard'. How many evil beasts
have an herb garden, offer you afternoon tea, or apologize
for the inconvenience?"
"Well there's my Aunt Edna..." *THWACK* "Ow!"
"Quiet, Perim." Julius had to admit this wasn't going
anywhere near what he had planned. "How are we going to
explain this?"
"That what we found wasn't an 'evil beast terrorizing the
countryside' but a hermit guarding his herb garden?" Mallory
suggested.
The dragon exited his cave, taking wing in a few beats and
circling the area. Julius eyed the creature estimating his
chances. Leather armor vs thick scale, the good steel of his
sword against those fangs and claws.
"Works for me. Let's go home."
----------
Asgard: much later
"We've got another one. That makes SIX of these time
ripples. Too early to see what the effects are. One looks to
be a doozy, though." Celeste had seen this sort of thing
happening before. "If it's Grey he's NOT maintaining a low
profile."
"Or he's trying and just not being successful," commented
Setsuna. "What time are the ripples centered in, and how
long before the changes reach the present?"
"Weeks, that timeline has some peculiar temporal
characteristics. And... looks like they start in 776 AD.
Last one is 785 AD. Well, that lets the Pheonix Mage out.
Two ripples in Greenland, a pretty small one in North
America, a small one in England, a *big* one in Northern
England or Scotland, I'm not sure which it is in that era."
Celeste fiddled with a readout. "Hmmm. A ripple in
Switzerland? What the heck's in Switzerland in 785?!"
"What about the big one, what's the nature?"
There were few around the Goddess Relief Office who could
have brought it up. Celeste was one. "Looks like something
put this Deacon named Father James Rihan from obscurity to a
major figure of the faith for about a decade. Then he died
when the Vikings raided... Lindisfarne. It was the first
recorded mention of the Vikings... WHAT?!"
Setsuna looked politely over Celeste's shoulder, somehow
having transformed to Sailor Pluto without going through
anything resembling a nude transformation sequence. "Looks
like another ripple, forming at the Lindisfarne monastery,
reinforcing the effects of the earlier change."
"W-w-WAIT!" Ami exclaimed, seeing Sailor Pluto fade away,
her smile being the last thing to vanish. "...take me..."
Makoto/Apple placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Don't
worry Ami-chan. If anyone can reach him across the
timestream, Setsuna can."
Ami didn't bother to mention that THAT was part of her
worries.
----------
Lindisfarne, 793 AD:
"Get down, Father!" Brother Leul yelled before an arrow gave
ample demonstration as to why.
The Deacon frowned and looked around at his fellows. "Well?
It appears that these raiders have no respect for our being
men of cloth."
"We could surrender!" Father Wolt looked a bit wild around
the eyes.
"That's what those by the docks tried, and these savages cut
them down."
"Heavenly Father," prayed the priest known as James. "We
need some assistance. Please send your servant to intercede
in this matter."
"Amen," intoned everyone except Wolt.
"Rrraaaaggghhhhh!"
Everyone stared for a moment at Wolt.
Keian cleared his throat. "Father James, you aren't playing
pranks with sheep's bladders or something similar at a time
like this, are you?"
"Rrrraagghhhhhh!"
James looked out at the rubble. "Ah, actually, I don't think
it was Brother Wolt's food OR a sheep's bladder this time."
---------
He'd flown in at his current ceiling, roughly 12,000 feet.
(He lacked an Altimeter spell.) At that altitude he was a
glittering dot to most of the locals.
He'd lost track of time again, and it hadn't been until
Mallory and his wife Susan had appeared with their child
that he'd realized how much time had passed.
Upon seeing the monastery being attacked, he'd reacted. That
was always a factor while being a dragon, they tended to be
very emotional and swung from one extreme to another. Seeing
the monastery being raided, he knew he should have gone
elsewhere. He was trying *not* to interfere too much with
the timeline. He just got carried away.
Such as now.
Wings shifted, and the dragon lost altitude quickly,
increasing in speed as he dove. As he approached the water,
the wings shifted again to level the flight off. He rocketed
past longboats and was surprised when a spear actually
connected in the moment he was near them
Unfortunately for the spearman, Grey's hide was thick enough
that it bounced. He looped around, and this time his breath
weapon shot out. Aimed at the slope leading to the
monastery, the blast of frost didn't do much damage, merely
caused ice to coat the area.
Grey roared twice, and settled down for the fight.
--------
In a place that was not a place, a black cat smirked.
Mischief was his purvue after all, and there was much
mischief to be made here.
The question was, who was renewing Grey's spells. Though
there might be some delicious irony should he do it himself,
the Elder of Mischief knew that he wouldn't have been able
to resist putting little twists in the spells that would
have revealed him.
Toltiir nudged things slightly, then withdrew. A slight
touch or two, that was all that was needed. For now.
--------
"The forces of evil are upon us!" Wolt cried, his plans for
politically rising through the ranks of the church hierarchy
currently replaced with the desire for staying alive.
"I don't think so," said the bookish Father Keian. "Look at
the way the dragon's scales gleam. The very color is silver,
is it not?"
"I'm too young to die! I have a chance of gaining the ear of
the Archbishop! I am *this* close to gaining a position at
York!"
Everyone's gaze turned pitying (or disgusted) towards Wolt.
Finally James spoke, inquiring as to what Keian found
significant.
"Silver, as everyone knows is a pure metal, it is said to be
the bane of werewolves and other foul creatures, is it not?"
Keian pointed towards the dragon now darting in and out of
the spear range of raiders on the shore. "Also note the
dragon is seeking to drive them off, not aid them."
Wolt uncurled slightly, hoping despite himself. "So the
forces of evil have turned upon themselves. As soon as it
has finished with its competition, we shall be destroyed!"
"Nay, for I do see what young Keian describes. Were the
beast truly an evil beast, would it not eat the raiders, not
simply sweep them into the seas with its tail? Would it
throw the raiders aside or drive them like a shepherd does
his flock towards their own boats were it unconcerned with
human life?" James spared a glance towards Wolt. "We are
men, not merely of the cloth, but of God. Should we quibble
or make demands on the Almighty as to the nature of the aid
he sends us in dire times?"
"But, tis a SERPENT!" Wolt protested. Everyone knew that
dragons were evil creatures of Heaven's Adversary, did they
not?
"Serpents have not legs," pointed out Keian. "Nor wings upon
which they may ascend to the heavens. Besides, even a
serpent be one of His creatures and worthy of respect. Who
are we to put limits on what He may do?"
"Our scribe has a point," said James, cutting off any
further response from Wolt. "So, as these raiders seek to
despoil a House of the Lord, there is one thing that I see
that we may do!"
"What's that?" Wolt asked.
"Deal with the ones that goodly servant missed," answered
James, picking up a cudgel. "Saint Cuthbert, shrive my foe
and guide my aim!"
--------
Akumakun/Ranma timeline:
Ranma was about to ask Jared if Nabiki now had the Catfist.
He never got the chance, nor did Jared have the opportunity
to inform him that Nabiki functionally WAS the Catfist.
Genma slipped on a slick stone, a claw tightening on a
certain area on the long tube in his hands as a reflexive
move.
Unfortunately, the gadget he was hoping to sell for drink
money, as previously noted, was a Robotech Repeating Rocket
Launcher. Fortunately, the clip had been removed.
Unfortunately, he'd removed the clip but left a round in the
chamber from when he'd been testing the balky feed
mechanism. Fortunately, he'd used a "smoke and paint" round.
Unfortunately the targetting laser and backup blaster had
power. Fortunately the safety had been engaged.
Unfortunately, that only covered the backup blaster.
The results were as one might easily expect.
An explosion of white smoke, a fair concussive wave, and red
paint splattered everywhere.
Genma spent a few moments gawking at the scene as the smoke
billowed out.
A large number of women appearing out of nowhere to take
places along the outer walls and Tendo roof didn't do much
for Genma's nerves. They were joined by a couple of guys he
didn't recognize. A tall and powerful looking man who was
cracking his knuckles, and a thinner fellow holding a chain
weapon.
In the courtyard, people were scattered and a few were
unconscious. More than one was splattered with red.
"IT'S A MUTANT RAT YOUMA!"
"And he's killed our Jay-chan!"
Genma had learned many things over many years of training
with the Master. How to steal panties. How to run. How to
grovel. Even how to fight to some extent. One of those
dearly learned lessons was a danger sense that wasn't 100%
effective, but when it went off he knew to listen.
It was going off now. In fact, it was alerting him to the
fact that if he remained standing where he was, he would be
reduced to a fine red paste *long* before he had a chance to
explain.
Genma decided to use two of the lessons he'd most frequently
invoked when training with the Master. When to run. When to
hide. Valuable lessons indeed for a student of Anything
Goes.
*FOOM!*
The Thundercats were the first to give chase by virtue of
having no transformations and the fastest tank.
There are certain things that are difficult not to remember,
among them how terrifying it is to see a tank leaping and
jumping overhead. The REALLY rousing music that played as
the thing left track marks deep in Nerima's roads hadn't
helped matters any.
Where the standard Thundercats were almost exclusively male,
when Sakyo and Shan had run across a genecrafting facility
in their hunt for evil Ifurita units to scrap and thereby
empower Shan, they'd decided to go for an all-female cast.
The better for loving their Master.
They also got Really Uppity about things that threatened
their Mate.
Also, after the various upgrades, they were prepared to DO
something about it. "The Rat Lord is using a random evasive
pattern, insufficient time to adapt tracking weaponry."
Panthera, female engineering lead and based off of a
panther, said.
"High-technology weaponry and black-band magic are combined
in his foe. Threat level is... he must be interfering with
the sensors." Tigress concluded, reading their scanners
while Panthera drove.
Liona, the redhaired leader (and based off a lion), twisted
in her seat to gaze back at Cheetarah, who was standing in
the back manning their pintel-mounted main gun, riding the
shocks of their movement with the ease that came from moving
this speed herself, on foot. "We can't afford to take any
chances. Cheetarah, forward observer. I'll take the gun."
"Roger!" Cheetarah leaped from the back of the racing
vehicle and sped off at an even faster rate.
"Multiple magic bands appearing throughout the city!"
Tigress warned, though she was about to go on that most if
not all of them read as friendly.
Impetuous Liona interrupted, jumping to conclusions as she
lifted the muzzle of the gun, "We've got to act fast! Claw
Missiles! Fire!" and letting off a volley of three.
--------
Soun shrieked as he noted the shredded compound wall where
the Thundertank had entered, and the rather large hole where
it had made when it had exited through the dining room and
out the front door.
It was made rather worse as various high powered individuals
flew, ran, leapt, and in the case of two androids - got into
an immediate fight.
"No way, Naga! *I* will be the one to handle this
situation!"
"Oh ho ho ho ho ho! Truly, Lina, you underestimate *my*
talents. Jay-chan deserves to be nursed back to health by
someone more skilled... and more developed than you!"
"WHAT was that?"
"You can't possibly have enough love in your heart with a
chest THAT small!"
"Y-y-you.... EXPLOSION ARRAY!"
*BOOM BOOM BA-KOOM!*
Jared had said previously that he could cast "Otiluke's
Protective Dome" in his sleep. It was a good thing that he
hadn't exaggerated.
"Childish in form and talent, aren't you Lina Inverse? Oh
hohohohoho! SPIRIT GOLEM!"
*CRASH* *BOOM!*
"Oh yeah, Naga? THis time you've gone too far! DRILL..."
*THWACK! THWACK!*
The Knight of Duty considered the two marionettes he'd
temporarily shut off. While lacking the elegance of Chiba's
thrown roses his thrown chesspieces could still pack a
wallop. (Though he agreed with the general consensus that
they looked dorky and lacked class.) "Lorelei, disable
them."
Soun stared at the ruined yard, listening briefly as a
section of his home fell over.
Akane woke up, saw her room move from the second floor to
the first, and promptly lost her temper.
--------
Adam Warren was riding peacefully along (having an invite to
a Japanese comik-mart where he expected to meet some people
whose work he'd long admired) when his rented convertible
was suddenly rocked by four near-simultanious impacts and he
was shoved roughly to the side, ending up sitting on his
head in the back seat while four women crowded the front
(producing standing room only for three of them) and the
vehicle lunged forward as a redhead stomped on the gas
pedal.
~Hey, Wait a minute!~ The manga author thought, but they
were ignoring him. Even so, he couldn't help but recognize
that *two* were the Dirty Pair as drawn by the animators in
Flash, and two were identical right down to the toenails to
the Original Dirty Pair.
Realizing they were arguing, the artist covered his nuts and
hoped.
Mature Yuri fluffed out her billowy dark hair and shot a sly
smile to the younger duo from Flash. "You two should go home
and get the starship. We're going to need it for pickup."
"We *already* sent Muugi for it!" The young Kei shouted,
clenching her fist. "You two are just trying to get rid of
us."
The older duo only looked toward each other and laughed,
chiming, "Useless baggage!" in agreement.
The author could feel his life flashing before his eyes, and
wished he'd done things more interesting in his life and
less in the series.
"Are you two trying to start a fight?" Younger Yuri accused.
The author considered hiding under his seat, but was
frustrated in this by his car performing a miraculous and
highly improbable leap, knocking over three fruit stands and
an okonomiyaki cart as it flew abruptly, violently, and
unevenly over Japanese traffic *and* a train that were
crossing that intersection the other way. As he clung
desperately for dear life, Mature Kei guided the seemingly
out-of-control vehicle through a disastrous skid, crashing
sideways against a bus full of nuns, and then racing off
again at improbable acceleration without so much as a
'how-do-you-do'.
As he clung to the hood the author was convinced his sins
had come to haunt him.
While Mr. Warren was trying desperately to maintain his hold
on the hood (having flown there sometime during that
prodigious leap) and not fall under the wheels of his own
vehicle, the more mature Kei was wondering aloud. "Why do
you two tag along, anyway? You KNOW that we're more
competent."
Suddenly Mr. Author had a dreadful sense of impending doom
worse that of clinging to the hood of a highly erratic
convertible going in excess of 200 mph and piloted by some
of the Most Destructive People Imaginable, that of clinging
to the hood of said vehicle when THOSE people were in a
fighting mood.
"YOU shouldn't be here anyway! *We're* his true partners!"
Younger Yuri accused.
Mature Yuri just winked smugly at the older Kei. Both
chorused. "Yea, but we were *made* for him!"
"You're just COPIES! Androids made to look like us!" Younger
Yuri shouted, fists at her sides.
"Too bad we do a better job than you do." Mature Yuri pulled
an eyelid down and stuck her tongue out at her younger twin.
"Bee-dah!"
If Adam Warren had been able to feel anything but terror at
this, he might've been somewhat relieved to note that his
fingers had made their own hand holds by bending the metal
of the hood, though breaking finger bones doing it cost him
some ability to use the purchase.
"Stupid sex-dolls." Younger Kei groused.
Mature Kei smirked and looked back at her younger double,
incidentally ignoring the road before her totally. "*You're*
only jealous because Jared hasn't agreed to marry you."
"WE ARE NOT!!!" Both of the younger Dirty Pair looked
properly enraged.
Mature Yuri flicked her hair dismissively. "Then you'll feel
*awful* nice about not feeling that way when MY Kei and I go
to..." Suggestive whispers were made that turned younger
Yuri an interesting shade of blue, then scarlet and
trembling red.
"Grrrrr THAT'S IT!!!!" Both of the younger ones pulled out
their weapons.
The author of the Dirty Pair comics, presently clinging for
dear life to an exploding vehicle full of highly dangerous
and well armed females that for no explicable reason was
currently hurtling a gulf where Kei had found a shortcut,
whimpered.
---------
Yoshinobu Nishizaki had been out watering and now the hose
hung limply from off his fingertips, watching the Space
Battleship Yamato descend gently out of the clouds.
Only there were some changes to the midship portion, near
the stern. They looked like, but nah, THAT couldn't be!
Up on the bridge of the Space Battleship, one woman turned
to another. "Are we within range?"
The second woman nodded, over crossed arms. "Yes. Inform the
SDF-1 through 12, we've got a situation here. We might want
to deploy."
The first woman turned back to her control board.
"Evangelions, Launch!"
And from the docking cradles near the back of the Yamato,
release bolts were unlocked and five fully functional (and
VASTLY upgraded) Evangelion Units fell free.
"Yeeeeeha!" Rei shouted on the decent, having gained
considerable personality since meeting Jay-chan awhile back,
and NOT knowing how appropriate that cry was at this place
and time.
Asuka landed her red Eva unit on the roads of Tokyo while
four others landed behind her. "Okay team! We're off target
by 4.8 miles. It's jogging time!"
"Wait!" Misato cried, wearing a black plug suit in the green
Eva Unit, and for no explainable reason (in *this* story, at
least - see Otaku Reflected for details) looking 14 years
old. "We've got to await weapons drop!"
14-year old Ritsuko was already on that, wearing a yellow
plugsuit in a matching Eva. "I'm tracking the dump boxes.
they'll come to ground within point four miles of our
present position, on course to Jay-chan."
Rei's ice blue Eva danced a step. "Then let's hurry up!"
As they ran away it was revealed that their landing had NOT
been entirely without incident, and the left foot of
Misato's Eva had crushed a certain pedestrian by the name of
Hideaki Anno who had been too shocked at their appearance to
move out of the way.
*****
The first principle and precept of the Anything Goes school,
well, the first one that dealt with *combat* anyway, was
this: Avoidance. Avoid blame. Avoid responsibility. Most
important though - avoid massive damage occurring to your
body.
Even Genma, who was nowhere near the level either of his
sons had attained in the Art, was tolerably fair to
excellent on this one concept, depending on how well
motivated he was. And at this moment he was at a pinnacle of
motivation that was causing him to transcend *all sorts* of
limits so far that he was running, dodging, twisting and
evading with such skill he was almost leaving his fat
behind.
Almost.
-------------
795 AD:
"Father, i won't be able to appear here again." Grey warned
the old practical joker priest.
"Hmmmmph. What about your students?" James looked out over
the monastery training field.
"They've got the basics. Just as the Three Aspects, there is
mind body AND spirit. Health in all can only benefit the
faith." Grey shrugged. He hadn't much idea on WHAT medieval
monataries did, and some of his suggestions had taken root.
Unexpectedly, he'd found himself in the role of teacher.
"Is it that mystery woman?" James watched the crowd of
initiates practicing that odd exercise that Grey had taught
them. What did he call it? Oh yes - a kata. Some of the
priests, and not a few of the children, had taken to an hour
of this odd dance a day.
"If she is who i suspect, you're right."
"FATHER JAMES!" Keian waved as he ran up. "Oh, Grey. Sorry
to interrupt, but Father - you've *got* to try this!"
James sniffed and sipped at the drink, then blinked
repeatedly. "Most interesting. What is it called?"
"A penitent with the most unusual raiment did show me the
preparation. It is called 'green tea' and it is made in the
manner of normal teas. She did say that in her homeland..."
Grey tuned the rest out, now *knowing* without the shadow of
a doubt who the mystery woman was.
--------
"Oh yes," Setsuna said with a nod. "I just came from Heaven,
in fact."
"So, you're an angel?" Percival (not the Arthurian figure)
asked. He was asking the questions as this also distracted
the woman from where Keian's wife Korin was frantically
scribbling down notes.
"No, though my fiance is. At least some of the time."
Setsuna straightened her short skirt again, uncomfortable
with the stares her long legs were getting.
Wolt muttered something about succubi, temptresses, the
flames of Hell, and harlotry. Setsuna showed incredible
restraint (for an anime character) and didn't "Dead Scream"
the fellow into the next century. Or mallet him, merely
favored the politically oriented priest with a glare that
suggested she had thought about it.
Korin finished noting down this concept of a nourishing food
made with ground peanuts and molasses known as "peanut
butter" and went on to note that angels could have mortal
wives while placing the notes with those she'd already
taken.
"Angels can get married?" Percival asked, his eyes large.
Few priests at the monastery had wives, they tended to be
poor and devoted to secular life. Some even felt that any
earthly ties detracted from their devotion. (1)
"Yes, well, he married us, but unfortunately there was
interference."
"Demonic interference?" Percival asked, then he staggered.
"'US'?!"
"Well, technically, yes. It's a long story, and not one that
I'd prefer going into. Suffice to say there were problems
and he considers us fiancees and not wives." Setsuna stood
up and her clothes blurred from a Sailor Pluto seifuku to a
plain woolen robe such as Korin wore.
Eyes widened at this further evidence of power.
"Life in Heaven isn't perfect," mused Percival aloud, trying
to fit the revelations into a framework that his own
paradigm could handle. "Ah, then only He is perfect."
"My fiance is far from perfect," said Setsuna with a smile.
"He suffers from underconfidence, is honest when he should
be evasive, gets lost regularly, tries to cope with
situations he should avoid due to a stubborn streak, can't
resist meddling when he sees a chance to be of assistance to
others, gets sidetracked far too easily, and is generous to
a fault with people he knows while being shy or abrupt with
people he does not. On the other hand he'll usually abandon
a battle if he doesn't see any point in continuing. He is
nearly phobic about being crowded, has a *strong* dislike
for politicians and lawyers, and if you ever get personal
and abusive will not forgive you at all easily."
"Sounds like Grey," joked Percival.
"Ah, you know his bad qualities already," Setsuna sipped at
her tea. Unfortunately it had grown rather cold.
Dead silence, even Korin's scratching with a quill pen came
to a dead halt.
The door opened. Grey entered, and a stray beam of sunlight
seemed to give him a momentary halo.
Korin fainted, remembering all the times she'd joked about
the sad-seeming foreigner.
Percival turned pale. He'd gained his ability to pray for
magic (being the fourth to successfully receive the "Imbue
With Spell Ability" clerical enhancement) cast by Grey.
Which meant that...
Wolt shrieked like a little girl, causing everyone else to
jump.
"Setsuna?" Grey asked, curious. "Anyone else come?"
"Ami wanted to. So did Makoto and Rei and Minako..." Setsuna
regarded her fiance briefly, wondering if he'd been eating
properly. Probably not. "Honey and Nuku Nuku are off
somewhere else. Akane's offplane. Nabiki, Kasumi, Shampoo,
and Ukyo haven't been seen for awhile. Sasami's back with
her family. I was the only one who could make the trip among
us. Even that was difficult."
Keian jotted names down frantically. They would later become
popular names for girls.
"Well, we should be going soon," Grey said, ignoring as much
as he could. "Rather than alter this timeline too much prior
to America's colonization."
Keian noted quickly that a previous reference to a "land far
to the West" from the strange laborer was to be colonized
later, and was termed "America" for some odd reason. Sounded
Italian.
Setsuna nodded. She tactfully didn't mention the model of an
elaborate fullscale castle/monastery she'd seen. Nor the
still made of copper that was purifying water (to "cleanse
it of foul essences") or the fields inside an outer
containment wall. Or any of the other odd elements that
she'd seen such as the supply of paper or the loom. The
windmill being constructed was not brought up. She didn't
mention that four priests of this monastery were able to
cast minor clerical spells, nor that most of those present
shouldn't even be alive if he wanted to avoid changing
things. She didn't mention that Keian and Korin had been
jotting down notes since Grey had shown up. She didn't
mention the ballistae or catapults that had been assembled
based on a couple of children's toys that Grey had made.
No, Setsuna understood the relationship between cause and
effect. She also knew that Grey couldn't help these little
nudges, and was merely being his helpful self. Which was why
Setsuna merely smiled and nodded, gathering her pack as she
prepared to accompany her fiance.
She thought it likely they'd be back, anyway.
----------
Ranma/Akumakun timeline:
Black Bart sent a puff of foul smoke on the breeze as he
listened to Oregon's report.
"...and the rat thing blew 'em all up, then vamoosed. I'd
never seen anything like it!"
Black Bart snorted smoke again from his cigar and
considered. "Boys, saddle up. We gonna have us a necktie
party."
A stranger moseying by, stopped. "Black Bart? Why are YOU
going after the rat-man?"
Black Bart took the opportunity to practice his orating
skills. "Y'see. We're villains."
"YEAH!" chorused the Dozen Thieves.
"We be desperadoes, and we be opportunists!"
"THAT'S RIGHT!" The Dozen Thieves went into a sentai group
pose that somehow looked appropriate.
"We be hardworking fellas..."
"EXCUSE ME!" Dakota fumed.
"...and a lady who may be shiftless thieves and villains and
scum. But we come by it honestly."
The Dozen Thieves started humming "Glory, Glory, Halleluia"
in the background as Black Bart spoke.
Black Bart's voice rose slowly, his black Stetson held over
his heart. "We're villains. But we're not heartless. We're
not cheap. We operate with honor, and by our own rules. We
do not strike from behind without warning. We DO strike from
behind, or from above, or from below, or any other way we
can get an advantage but it's never an instant kill attempt.
We are lowdown sidewinders, but we have a certain thing
lacking in modern common villains. We have standards.
Striking a young innocent like Miss Kasumi from ambush like
that - it isn't right. It isn't right at all. So we ride on
the side of the law this time, because of a simple truth,
stranger."
Bart and his Thieves all chorused on the expected phrase.
"Because, it's the Code of The West."
Black Bart put his Stetson back on and leapt to the back of
(also black) horse. During the speech, he managed an air of
solemn and noble dignity. "Saddle up boys. And you too
Dakota. We gonna avenge Miss Kasumi's honor."
Jared watched the thirteen riders gallop off and removed his
disguise. "Well... dang. I guess Bart wasn't hiding the
panda."
-----------
Olympus, the Great Smithy:
The computerized voice was female and sounded quite a bit
like Eartha Kitt. At least that was the settings for today.
"Upgrades complete. Tea, anyone?"
"No, just give me a readout," said Hephaestus. He was a
craftsman, work came first.
"Unit: Honey Kisaragi. Upgrades requested by unit. Base form
remains human in performance capabilities. Added matter
conversion unit, sense of taste, and ability to conceive.
Ability to transform into specific Templates and alter
appearance through Atmospheric Condensor enhanced using
hyperstitial pocket and morfogenic materials. Added
requested Templates: Senshi, 'fighting game' martial artist,
X wing pilot, Angel, RPA Pilot, Mink, and Batgirl.
"Unit: Atsuko Natsume (Nuku Nuku). Upgrades requested by
unit. Fully functional cyborg. Cat brain neural capacity
increased by secondary cybernetic brain. Limited matter
conversion unit. Ability to produce and direct chi fields in
manner referenced under file 'Cat Fist' - capabilities
triggered under extreme stress or when loved ones are
threatened. Limited transformation capabilities added."
"Hmmmph," Hephaestus said after a moment. "Catgirl cyborgs
and transforming androids..."
"So YOU'RE the one doing it," said a sly voice.
Hephaestus closed his holographic laptop and sighed.
"Honestly, I'd expected someone else to figure this out
first."
Toltiir snickered. "Most think *I'm* the one giving Grey his
clerical spells. They've forgotten about your association
with your apprentice."
"Look at what he does," Hephaestus brought forth a scene
where the monastery at Lindisfarne was now scurrying with
people exploring the wonders of these new discoveries and
devices. "Tell me that this does not serve MY cause."
Toltiir smirked some more, but didn't disagree.
Hephaestus was silent for a moment. "What are you going to
do about it, Elder?"
"Little old me? Why nothing. I just *love* ironies, and this
situation has a number of them."
"However, *I* am not granting spells to any of those monks,"
pointed out Hephaestus. "Who is?"
Toltiir chuckled. "Like Grey they're Christians. Like many
worlds, faith generates manna. The lower level stuff is
typically done drawing on their own belief and the local
magic fields. It's when they start asking their Patron
directly that things get interesting."
Hephaestus looked puzzled for a moment, then nodded as
understanding clicked. "Oh my."
-----------
795 AD:
They were well out of sight of the monastery when Grey
dropped the shapeshift that kept him in human form,
reverting in a blur to what had become his natural form, a
dragon.
Setsuna didn't even blink.
"Well, you're taking your transformation rather well,"
remarked the dragon in a basso rumble. "When Ami-chan
entered a non-anime universe and translated to a non-anime
looking Japanese girl, she had trouble dealing with it for
quite some time."
Setsuna shrugged in her robes. "And what do I look like?"
"Greek, i think." Grey's tail lashed, somehow *knowing* that
the woman walking nearby had wanted a different answer. But
what? "Errr. Your eyes aren't that red color..."
Silver dragons were immune to cold. The night was fairly
warm as attested by the crickets and other life scurrying
about. Why was he getting a chill?
"Uhm..." Grey tried, "you look like the sort of young woman
i could have encountered in my origin universe, but never
met. You could have been a model back there..."
Setsuna seemed to relax ever so slightly. "What do you mean
by 'encountered' but 'never met'?"
"Well, even if i walked into someone who looked THAT good,
nothing could come of it - even getting a name would have
been impossible." The dragon eyed his companion uncertainly.
Was that a smirk briefly showing itself on her face? What
the heck was going on? "Uhm. There's a problem you should
know about..."
"Besides that the temporal currents in this timeline are all
amuck and even dimensional travel seems to becoming more and
more difficult as time passes for us?" Setsuna considered
lightly thwacking the dragon's neck with her Time Staff to
remind him of who she was. She was Setsuna Meiou, Temporal
Wizard who had joined with another of her aspects - a Sailor
Pluto who had been born in the Silver Millenium. She had
observed other timelines where she was Pluto but had been
the child of another Senshi - and had then gone back in time
to aid her mother and friends. Only to die saving Sailor
Uranus and Sailor Neptune in their fight against the Death
Busters - then resurrected again in the future to do it all
over again. She was an *expert* in time travel and even she
had experienced enormous difficulty in reaching this place
in the timeline.
Grey didn't have a telepathy spell and was speaking of somet
hing else anyway. "Besides that. i'm beginning to get
lethargic and have this compulsion to build a lair."
Setsuna frowned, this being ninety degrees from her current
train of thought. "Excuse me?"
"Due to various things that have happened, i'm a dragon -
this is my default form and existence except in worlds where
dragons simply can't happen." Grey craned his long neck up
and scanned the area. Nobody else nearby as far as *his*
senses could determine. "Dragons hit something called
dragonsleep at points in their existence."
Setsuna nodded. "Admittedly, dragon behavior is not
something I've studied in any of my lives."
"Whereas humans grow more or less steadily until they reach
the adult stage, dragons do it differently. We're elemental
creatures, go figure. What we do is find a lair, preferably
hidden. There we store our bonded hoard and on its contents
we sleep a period of several months or years, depending on
the rules of the local timeline. In Io's Blood it's months,
Aramar was years. i think it'll be years here too."
Setsuna blinked and looked up at the huge shape nearby. She
ignored the wolf which leapt out of the woods, got a whiff
of her companion, piddled itself and fled with a keening
noise. Other than to step over the evidence of its fright
when she came to it. "How long?"
"i'm currently a 'young adult' stage - so going through the
growth spurt and everything will take about six years.
There's also a feeding frenzy prior to the sleep, but i'll
have to have a lair built before then. My 'hoard' consists
of a few items from the Rival Relief Office as well as
scavenged stuff from a variety of timelines, don't know if
that'll be enough."
"So what's the next stage, and how long do we have?" Setsuna
started making plans. Six years where her fiance/husband was
sleeping and going through a growth spurt...
"Adult. At minimum my dragonform will increase another ten
feet in length. Also, i'll be ravenous again upon awakening.
So the lair site will have to be fairly off the beaten path
but still have access to a good supply of food. i'd say
another six months before it hits." Grey stopped and lowered
his body as they came to a secluded shoreline. "If you'd
mount we can fly from here. Suggest sitting yourself where
neck meets shoulder and put your legs around like you were
riding a horse."
Setsuna made another gesture, altering the robe to a pair of
braies and a tunic. Pants made riding much easier. "Hmmm. So
we *do* have some time."
"Setsuna-chan," rumbled the dragon as he sailed over the
cliffs and over the English channel. "Any ideas on where to
wait this out?"
The sometimes-Senshi patted a length of cold smooth scales.
"We could have stayed at Lindisfarne."
"i'd only been with them for a few years. Already they've
gone from an obscure monastery to a center of learning.
Herbcraft and sewer systems, papermaking and printing, kempo
and Zen philosophies - all mistakes or slip ups. They'll be
lucky if they're not all branded heretics and brought down
by the Vatican. Though if anyone can talk those power
brokers into keeping an open mind, Father James might do it.
And then you gave them ideas on brewing green tea."
"I like green tea," Setsuna said with a sniff.
"Nonetheless, the further we stay, the more changes will
accumulate." Grey sighed and coughed up a hailstone. "My
Lord, they've started *quilting* after an idle comment of
mine. That wasn't supposed to be introduced for another four
hundred years! i'd rather not endanger the truly faithful,
they get enough of that on their own. Any suggestions?"
Setsuna considered carefully, watching the waters under them
speed by as she pondered.
---------
Akumakun/Ranma timeline:
Kuno knew that someone had entered the ancestral Kuno estate
and was responding appropriately.
"Hold villains! What do you..." *THUD* The great and noble
Tatewaki Kuno was backhanded into a wall where he slumped
onto his great and noble posterior. Dazedly he looked up at
the girl before him. The intruder was a woman! Tall, proud,
defiant, with shapely limbs and form. Powerful, even more so
than Akane Tendo before her "accident." The only detractions
were the coloration of her hair and the simple but
unflattering ponytail. Neither truly suitable for such a
magnificent figure of a woman.
"Have you seen a bazooka toting big fat mutant rat? A
villainous murderous beast about so tall," the beautiful
young woman indicated something slightly taller than
herself, "really ugly?"
"Nay my goddess. Ah, I see, this is a ruse that you might
introduce yourself to me. Well then, I..." Kuno's voice
trailed off as his goddess abruptly shot up at high speeds.
Doing something only an angel or goddess should be able to
do. Flying. At really high speeds too.
"Ahhhh," said Kuno, for once in his life lost as to what he
should say. "AHHHH!" Kuno said a moment later, as a bald
panda (still carrying the bazooka - now knowing it to be
valuable to a gun collector or maybe the SDF) emerged from
his hiding spot and started sneaking away.
A concept clicked in Tatewaki Kuno's head. The girl was
looking for this very beast! She said it was villainous?
Murderous? Why then, it was the duty of a samurai to bring
such a beast to justice and thereby gain the rewards of his
ponytailed goddess!
"HAVE AT THEE FOUL VILLAIN!"
[Go away] read the sign that the beast threw at him.
But of course such measures could not deter the Blue
Thunder!
--------
Lindisfarne, Scotland, 801 AD:
The Papal Investigator wasn't quite sure what to make of all
this.
Monasteries tended to be formed by those who had some minor
differences with the rest of the faithful, grouped together
and retiring at a distance from the main group of the flock.
Such had been the case with the followers of Saint
Cuthbert.(2) THIS however was beyond MINOR.
The fortification was massive, the outer walls spiked
downwards to intimidate and make it difficult for invaders
to scale. Inside were massive THINGS the Investigator was
sure were part of some heresy. What was this massive tower
which resembled a flower whose head turned on its own? And
this tower from which smoke poured and water came flowing
into an aquaduct? Surely these were sinister as Wolt's
letters had indicated!
The guide assigned to the Investigator was happily babbling
about their library and the folk coming to the island. He
continued on about the number of babies saved simply by
boiling their swaddling clothes and seeking to keep clean
their surroundings lest the tiny imps that caused disease
corrupt the infant's health. The guide enthusiastically
spoke of the new methods being developed for seperating
plant fibers that they might be woven again into cloth for
garments. He continued to exclaim over the concept of making
paper easily and swiftly or of some oddiment called the
"power of applied steam" and of plants that could purge
poisons from the body.
The Investigator (who had long ago stopped referring to
himself except as the Investigator) stopped abruptly on
seeing the old priest in the courtyard. "What is he doing?"
"Ah, Father James is invoking the glory of God in order to
heal a child."
"Well, that is..." the Investigator's smirk faded and his
jaw dropped as the old monk *glowed* with a pure white light
and reached down to touch a child swathed in blankets.
Though he couldn't see the child through the crowd, the
child's parents clearly went from shocked to elated within
the space of heartbeats. ~This place is *dangerous!* I must
inform His Holiness at once!~
----------
(1) _ It wasn't until later that the Papal Council
instituted the "no marriage" policy.
(2) No, this was not solely a World Of Greyhawke
invention, and Lindisfarne monastery in Scotland's patron
saint was Saint Cuthbert until the relics were unearthed and
moved later.
Black Bart - Martial Arts Stage Villainry, Heir.
Dozen Thieves: Dakota (Naoko Ishima, Barmaid style kempo),
Arizona (Kakeru Shinma, Martial Arts Cardsharking), Oregon
(Sancho Pablo Juan Enrique Martinez Esteban Villalobo III,
gaijin tarento), California (Dong Hi, Sherpa style kung fu),
Wyoming (Masami Umari, no martial arts training but has
"Photographic Reflexes"), the remainder are subject to
change without notice.
votes: where does Setsuna suggest?
Dragons of the Caribbean - 4, Japan - 6, Antarctica - 1,
American continent - 3, Lindisfarne - 1, Norway - 1,
Russia - 1.
=============
-------------------------------
"You see that which is and ask 'Why?' whereas I
see the dreams of other possibilities and ask 'Why
not?' "
Jared Saotome, Third Labor
"Don't forget that for the acorn to
become the mighty oak, it starts with a
little nut that decides to stand its ground."
-Anonymous
metroanime@mindspring.com
http://metroanime.home.mindspring.com/