"And that's why we need you," Ranma said after Sheila finished.
Calyx blinked. "Huh? I don't see how that follows. This sounds like
single combat, and --"
"First technique of Musabetsu Kakuto," he interrupted smoothly. "If
the rules favor the other guy, change the rules. And right now,
following the rules is like bringin' fists to a gunfight, instead of
riggin' up the place to explode while a hundred miles away."
"I thought you were just supposed to stay out of gunfights," Calyx
replied.
He stared at her as though she were speaking in tongues.
"Never mind."
"Dad ... there's something I've been wondering since you and I first
heard this story." Hima looked positively grim. "You don't seem
surprised by any of this. And you said that the Queen had told you
things that made you sure Sheila was telling the truth. I'd like to
hear what you know about all this."
Ranma sighed deeply. "I don't *know* anything, not for sure. But I'll
tell you what I was told. This ... mess didn't start a few decades
ago. It goes back to the twentieth century, and maybe even further.
This ain't the first time there's been a school here on this land."
Calyx twitched involuntarily.
"Back in the Silicon Age, it was a place called Ohtori Gakuen. I
dunno much about it; the only thing that matters, I guess, was that
it was home to a secret society that apparently engaged in elaborate
duellin' contests to gain the power `to bring the world revolution'.
Ominous, no?"
"How does `our side' know about this?" Sheila asked quietly.
"An informer. Apparently, the game ended very abruptly, and some
years after one of its veterans gave the Crystal Tokyo Society the
scoop about it in exchange for some assistance. The Society sent a
few agents to look into it, but they all came back empty-handed.
After an earthquake in the early twenty-first century wrecked the
place, nobody gave it a lot of thought.
"Fast forward up to 2986, a little while after the Black Moon Crisis.
Most of Crystal Tokyo got reconstructed pretty quickly after peace
broke out, but the University was still wrecked. I guess it was
outside the area of effect for ... anyway, shortly afterwards the
city council was contacted by a group of educators and entrepreneurs
who proposed to build a new, huge educational complex just outside of
CT limits.
"Everything proceeded in a fairly normal manner after that, although
you'd think that someone in the cabinet might've recognized where the
place was being built. But they didn't. What with one thing and
another the Crystal Tokyo Academy opened up its doors in 2996."
Ranma began to rub his nose as he spoke, and with a start Calyx
realized that he was genuinely uncomfortable giving long explanations
like this. Considering some aspects of his legend, she could
understand why.
"This part comes direct from Serenity. She was asked to cut the
ribbon at the opening ceremonies, but when she was about to step
across the threshold after doin' it ...
"I've known the woman for over a thousand years. As far as I know,
she knows no fear. So when she tells me that she felt a surge of
terror running up her spine when she began to take that step, I'm
inclined to believe her."
"Did she know what was making her afraid?" Hima asked.
"She told me she wasn't sure at the time, but a few investigations by
the other Senshi confirmed that because of some sort of field around
the place, any being of power -- like the Senshi, or a god or goddess
-- that stepped across the line would have its abilities and maybe
mind enslaved to whatever made its home here. So they --"
"What about you?" Calyx interrupted.
"What about me?" Ranma retorted evenly.
"You've got power," she pressed. "Why aren't you under this vaguely
-defined thing's control?"
"I could," he said slowly, "give you a long lecture on how ki and
magic are totally different from one another, but you probably know
that's shit. There's really only one reason that hasn't happened."
And in his grey eyes, she saw something smoldering. "I obey no laws
but my own," he said in a voice that was almost a hiss.
Silence ensued.
"Anyway," Ranma continued in a more normal voice, "the Senshi --
Jupiter in particular -- sent in a few non-powered agents to
investigate. At first their reports seemed fairly mundane, but
gradually they stopped comin' in at all. This Academy has eaten about
twenty of Jupiter's top agents; you can guess how she felt about
Sheila and Athena takin' positions here.
"We needed jobs," Sheila muttered. "My stipend as a Palladin isn't
enough for both of us to live on, and Athena had enough of that sort
of thing when she was her world's Sailor Mercury. And besides," she
added with some heat, "none of us knew any of this."
"Wait -- back up a second," Hima interjected. "You're Sailor Erinyes,
and Athena *was* Sailor Mercury ... so why aren't the two of you
affected by this, this field or zone or whatever?"
"Athena was Sailor Mercury, but she's not anymore. There are
differences between the magic on her world and ours; she has some
limited talents involving ice and cold, but they'll never be the
equal of what Aunt Amy can do. As for me ... there are barriers
between my magical identity and my mundane one, barriers which the
Senshi tore down in their own minds a long time ago. I think that as
long as I don't transform, I should be all right. But ---"
Intuition surged through Calyx's mind. "But you think your enemy is
going to try to force you to transform, and then he'll have you right
where he wants you."
Sheila stared at her wordlessly for a moment, then nodded shortly.
"I told you she was sharp," Hima said with quiet pride.
"So here's the situation," Ranma concluded. "Someone has taken Athena
Mizuno-Tenkai as a hostage. We're going to go and rescue her by any
means necessary. Are you in or are you out?"
"In," Calyx said immediately. "Kidnappers aren't any better than
murderers or rapists in my book. And I can think of a couple other
people who might be willing to help --"
"Hold it," Ranma snapped, holding up a hand. "Anyone else we recruit
might be a part of the enemy's group."
"For all you know, so could I." Calyx smiled as she saw her words
strike home. "Besides, I thought an old guy like you would know that
you're supposed to have at least five heroes for end of the world
stuff."
TBC
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