Subject: [FFML] [FanFic][SM] Nuke 'Em 'Till They Glow!! Ch.10 P.2 (4/??)
From: Boredcollective@aol.com
Date: 8/7/2001, 12:48 AM
To: ffml@anifics.com

Hey, everybody!

This is the next section of the new chapter of the long-awaited, 
long-anticipated 
story!

For those reading for the first time, earlier chapters can still be found at:
http://members.tripod.com/DNyx/NETTG.html

...or by request.

Any and all comments, criticism, or methods to improve what has been written
here are greatly appreciated. I am under no illusion that this will be the 
final form
of the chapter. I actually have great hopes that something someone has to say
out there will improve it a great deal. ^_^

Special thanks to:

Jason Hanks, who has stayed with me the whole time on this.
Jussi Nikander, who has helped to correct and give ideas here.
Jason Liao, who is getting back into the groove.
And many thanks to those who commented on the last section released.

And everyone else for keeping the vision alive, with all those philosophical
discussions and everything.

Okay, did I get everyone? ^_^

So, all in all, here we go for even more!

<Continued from NETTG!! Ch10 P2 (3/??)>

---

    Meanwhile, a thousand years into the future in the Happiest
Place on Earth...

    Birds were chirping, the buildings shining, and repair crews
with wands worked on the damage caused by the latest rebel assault.
In a brilliant display of modern construction innovations, elegant
walls reformed little by little, shimmering with a bright magical
glow behind the mobile wooden 'closed for refurbishing' barricades.

    Ah, the future, full of such wonders, blah blah blah. A lovely
bit o' utopian society it was, let me tell you. Everyone happy, no
fighting, and everyone liked it, well except that crazy old grey-
haired bloke living as a hermit in the mountains that liked to come
in, get a personal audience with the Queen, and rough up a lot of
classy gents, just to get banished to the mountains again for another
few years until probation let up.

    But we're not talkin' 'bout _him_. Nobody cares about _him_.

    It was the happiest place on Earth; this Magic Kingdom had
dominated the minds of humanity for centuries, and showed no sign of
weakening anytime soon.

    Crystal Tokyo? No! This was that OTHER Magic Kingdom.

    Disneyland.

    *Dunh-dunh-daaaahn*Dunh-dahn-daaahn* Someone struck a minor
key as someone else with a helicopter drew back to film a quick,
ominous pass-by shot.

    Anyway, when Haruka and the crew back home asked what Setsuna
was going to do now that she was actually considering marriage,
they'd thought she was joking when she said where she was going.

    Setsuna surprised everyone and made good on her threat.

    "Wheeeee!" the ancient time guardian called out in glee at the
thrill of the G-acceleration on the Matterhorn(tm) ride.

    Disneyland was back, bigger, better, and more life-threatening
than ever before! The Matterhorn was actual size, Space Mountain
had gone hypersonic, and Star Tours was a historical event. The
Dumbo Ride was basically the same, though. Y'know, classics and
whatnot.

    "Yikes," Ranma was forced to admit when he saw the approaching
sharp drop-off finale, "this is BIG!"

    "This is much better than last time I was here," Setsuna added,
holding tighter to her fiance, who was going pale and inching back on
his seat. She turned and gave Ranma a kiss on the cheek. "I love
you."

    Ranma let out a little, terrified whimper as they hit the
fourteen-thousand-foot vertical drop.

    *AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!* The ride's
passengers screamed bloody death and murder as they hit terminal
velocity.

    After a moment, the ground loomed close.

    "Are we gonna die, Setsuna?"

    "Yes, my love!" Setsuna exclaimed with a smile and her hair
rippling in the wind, "We're going to die!"

    The air whistled past them as they fell.

    *CRAAAAASH!!!* The little ride-car smashed through a bank of
snow and was caught in a semi-mobile drag-net, then was eased back
onto the track and clunked to a halt at the exit point.

    A pair of thrill-seekers were the first to leave. They shook
their heads and curled their lips in disgust.

    "This bites!"
    "That was lame!"
    "Too short!"
    "And way too slow!"
    "Let's go back to Space Mountain."
    "Yeah!"

    "Did you enjoy that, Love?" Setsuna prodded Ranma with a
finger. "Love?"

    The boy only whimpered, still in shock and glued to his
theoretical future wife.

    "A vulnerable side? Willing to admit that something scares
you?" Setsuna smiled down at him. "I like that in a man!"

    "That was," Ranma said, "really far up there."

    "Shh, save those words for when we go on Splash Mountain."
Setsuna stood and placed her fiance on the ground. Ranma stumbled
along side her, his hand in hers, through the exitway, and straight
into the giftshop. "See anything you like, Love?"

    Ranma didn't say a word for a few minutes. They left the
giftshop and walked through Critter Country.

    *Munch-munch* A giant Kodaic Bear idly gnawed on a tourist,
smiling and waving when the couple passed by.

    Setsuna finally spoke up. "I think you just passed off the
first requirement on the preparation phase of Intimidation through
Property Damage. You know, finding a really scary threat, and
surviving it. A very gallant beginning, I must say."

    Ranma's color slowly returned to his face. "Hey, yeah!" He
whipped out his new little training book and put a checkmark
beside a paragraph. "That's one. I'm gonna want to spend some more
time on this later. I HAVE to learn these!"

    "You should know: this themepark is currently listed as one
of the top training grounds in the world."

    "Disneyland?" Ranma looked confused.

    "I'll show you. We'll get permission later and go into the gear
system," Setsuna clarified, "but first, we're going on the Dumbo
Ride."

    Crystal Tokyo had been getting a little stressful, and everyone
was horribly gossipy there, and Setsuna didn't feel like torturing
her fiance anymore, plus she didn't enjoy all those stupid middle
eastern comments that were floating around, either. So, that meant it
was vacation time. Millions of people still flocked each year to the
famed themepark, despite it being outlawed by the Crystal Tokian
Safety Act of 2904. The rides just kept getting more extreme every
decade, y'see.

    Even so, it was the best gosh darn themepark in the whole
post-apocalyptic world, with the possible exception of Six Flags over
Armageddon, and nobody DARED shut that place down. There'd be a
revolt and all that nasty stuff, don't-cha-know.

    Besides, what would the world be like without the Dumbo Ride?
Oh, the great Dumbo Ride. More than a thousand years in service, and
it still managed to attract large crowds and lines several miles in
length.

    Setsuna flashed her VIP pass and scooted to the front of the
line, causing much mumbling and grumbling amongst the rest of the
would-be riders.

    The ride operator actually looked a bit surprised to see this
particular Crystal Tokian here. After all, Sailor Pluto was famed as
the Sailor Senshi that had absolutely no vacation time whatsoever.
Nevertheless, with a smile and a welcoming gesture, Setsuna and Ranma
passed on and boarded their elephant.

    In a moment, the ride began, the plastic elephant-thingies being
lifted up and spun in the air, suspended by a few metal beams, providing
a nice view of the park. "It's a Small World" loomed like a great white
megalith a short distance away.

    This calm experience gave Setsuna some time to reflect.

    The time-guardian smiled. Ranma really was a nice boy, wasn't
he? After all, in addition to shrugging off the horrible torture she
had intended to do to him, he demanded to go through with some
of the other things in that wretched book, no doubt just to show
to her that there were no hard feelings whatsoever.

    "No one has ever been this caring to me," the time guardian
considered as she slowly recovered from the internal stress
generated in the past few days. "No one."

    Setsuna was highly regarded and respected by all, and even
feared by some. Rightly so, given nature and difficulty of her job,
but was that what she truly wanted?

    Did anyone really love her?

    Had anyone _ever_ loved her?

    The woman recalled portions of her long past to find one fact:
Her life had been almost entirely devoid of that special key element.
She stayed apart from any close relationship that could compromise her
responsibilities.

    Setsuna glanced sideways at her fiance and thought of a few past
instances when she had allowed someone to become close to her; the
times when she dared to open her heart to another. Rare was the man
that could get her to do that, and nonexistent was the one that had
stayed.

    Longevity was one thing that put up a barrier. The ones that
were worth staying with weren't anywhere near immortal, and the ones
that were had already been taken. Like that dragon-rider guy, whatshis
name... Oh, he was an elf, so it wouldn't have worked out anyway.

    Setsuna lowered her head and put a hand over her eyes, trying
to recall the names of her past suitors. One thing about living a
***REEEEAAAAAAALLLLYYY*** long time was that most memories tended
to slip away after a few hundred years, or decades, or months. Okay,
FINE, so she'd forget her name if it wasn't on all her stationery.

    Yes, though. She remembered them. Some were still alive, some
were dead, and some she wished were dead.

    On the dead list, one man stuck out like a rotten badger on
Groundhog Day. OOOOOOOOOOOOH, how glad she was that he was
gone. The jerk, he used her like no one else ever DARED. Just
thinking about him made her want to wrench his teeth out with a rusty
set of pliers. If he wasn't already consigned to the void, she
would...

    Setsuna paused, surprised at the mental outburst. How could
anyone have hurt her so badly? What did he do?

    More importantly, what was his name and how did it happen?

###

    'Twas the last decade leading toward the end of the Great
Silver Millennium, and all was relatively calm in the solar system.
The worlds were at peace with each other, though the political
situation grew tense with Earth's recent surge in military power.

    The few skirmishes that existed were often between would-be
interstellar conquerors and the Outer Senshi, who had been quite
effective in warding off the assaults with the exception of some
incursions against the protectors themselves.

    Defending their homeworlds often led to escapades with high
levels of romantic tension, for example a Senshi falling in love
with a lower-ranked soldier or with a brilliant commander from
a neighboring world or vice versa, who either died by the end of
the struggle or went back home for a childhood sweetheart.

    Life was tough that way.

    Nevertheless, all eventually managed to acquire a romance that
stayed, and good thing too, because otherwise it would be difficult
to maintain the planetary monarchy, which still went by direct
lineage to transfer powers and authority. This provided for a very
stable, long-lasting form of government.

    The planet Pluto, however, required no such bureaucracy, its
population too small and everyone knowing everyone else by their
first name. Following a strict military-like code, all their
resources were dedicated to one thing: guarding the Gate of Time. As
a sort of commander in chief, Sailor Pluto supervised all that went
on.

    This meant that if she wanted something done, it got done,
no questions asked.

    In this instance, Perimeter Security had detected the approach
of a starship. The crew on their work shift followed their protocol.

    "Unidentified starship," the Spokesman Alpha transmitted, "this
is a restricted area. Withdraw immediately or we will authorize
lethal force. You have fifteen seconds to comply."

    A verbal response came through: [This is Captain StarKnight of
the HMS Ferrite Mirage. Stand down. We've been authorized.]

    The scan results came in, confirming the captain's statement.
This week's sensor equipment apparently could tell that a ship was
coming long before they could tell who it was.

    They were going to have to fix that if they were going to be
getting any more regular visitors.

    A three-dimensional schematic of a medium-sized winged craft
went up on a big screen in front of the crew, along with statistics.

    {Ship name: Ferrite Mirage, HMS (His Majesty's Ship).
     Registration No.: 148-C
     Date Commissioned: 04/11/980 S.M.S.
     Date Refitted: 10/31/992 S.M.S.
     Alignment: Terran
     Mass: 2025 Tonnes
     Crew Compliment: 151
     Defense: Electronic Shield, 1,750 MSBP (Def)
            Structural Integrity Field, 223.45 MSBP (Def)
     Armaments: Mass Driver (4), 300 MSBP (Off)
            Particle Projection Cannon, 1500 MSBP (Off)
            'Bulldog' Heavy Rockets (69), 800 MSBP (Off)
            Point Defense Laser Cannons (9), 175 MSBP (Off)
     Cargo: Iron (50 CM)
          Silver (15 CM)
          Platinum (6 CM)
          Gold (9 CM)
          Terran Gemstones (90 Kg)}

    "Confirmed, Captain StarKnight," Spokesman Alpha continued,
allowing Scanner Theta and Armourer Beta to go over the scans. Beta
and Theta looked at Alpha and shook their heads. Alpha nodded.
"Ferrite Mirage, you are heavily armed. Explain."

    [My cargo. Space pirates. Enough said.]

    "Disable all weapon systems immediately."

    [You got it.]

    A number of spots on the schematic went yellow.

    "Now transmit your authorization code."

    [Uhh, code?]

    *Beep-beep!* Spokesman Alpha manipulated the panel in front of
her. "Permission granted. Proceed to the main landing pad. Transmitting
coordinates." She cleared her throat. "You have been given a great
honor. Do not abuse it."

    [Gee, thanks, Mikey. I feel so special now.]

    Theta and Beta snickered a little at Alpha's expense.

    "I really hate that man," muttered the Spokesman.

    "Mikey, Mikey," Theta and Beta teased in annoying, high-pitched
voices.

    It was a new thing, really. The only ones that had ever actually
gotten clearance beforehand to even approach the planet were Moon
Kingdom royalty. Now, this captain was coming every couple of weeks,
each time with his cargo hold full of valuable materials, a portion
of which went to constructing additional planetary facilities, and
the rest went Sailor-Pluto-knows-where.

    The Ferrite Mirage received a fighter escort to the main landing
pad, where Sailor Pluto personally awaited the arrival of her guest.

    The time Senshi admired the workmanship of the spacecraft. It
was quaint, but the gleaming metal and birdlike design with swept back
wings had an air of anticipatory power, like a great eagle before it
strikes. She impassively watched the ramp descend and the official
detachment exit.

    "On behalf of His Majesty, Kull, the Great King of Earth," the
Captain eloquently intoned, "I, Captain 'Timothy Starknight do humbly
greet you, Honored Senshi of the planet Pluto, Guardian of the Gate
of Time."

    Sailor Pluto's eyes glimmered imperceptibly. "You are welcomed,
Captain. State your request."

    "His Majesty wishes to open negotiations with Her Highness."

    "His Majesty's request is granted," the time Senshi assented.

    As was the official manner, the Captain and the Senshi
separated from their guards and entered the inner sanctum. As the
outer doors closed, the Terran soldiers crossed their fingers,
hoping that all would go well.

    Once inside, Sailor Pluto ordered that all security stand down
and all surveillance be deactivated.

    The two planetary officials maintained neutral expressions
as they walked side-by-side into the conference room, then faced
each other and threw themselves at each other in a deep, passionate
embrace.

    "So," the captain began, speaking in between kisses, "did you
miss me, shnook'ems?"

    "Just-Mmmm," Sailor Pluto replied, savoring the moment, "a
little, Muffy-wuffy."

    Although the tension was broken for the moment, they continued
to hold each other close.

    "Must we wait so long between visits?" 'Timothy asked.

    "Patience, my love," Pluto rested her head against the man's
shoulder. "We mustn't let anyone become suspicious."

    The pair of lovers recalled their plans. No one could know
about their marriage; at least not in this generation. None would
accept it. Everyone knew that the Time Senshi was a solitary being,
and was far too dedicated to be swayed by any romantic involvement.

    The fact remained, however, that Fate had brought them into
contact, and after just a few encounters, they found that they really
did love each other.

    It was a whirlwind romance. Pluto had been hesitant, at first,
but her knight in shining armor didn't give up on her, and
relentlessly pursuing a worthy goal was a trait that the woman
admired.

    And, she added to herself, talk about _good_ French kissing...

    Sailor Pluto recalled the wedding, with only 'Timothy,
herself, and Chronos himself that performed the ceremony. It was
beautiful, better than a fairy tale; She in her favorite, jewel-
studded gown, and he in shining, princely Terran-style armor.
The magical thrill from that experience could still be felt.

    The only down point of such a union was that they had to go
to great lengths to keep it a secret. The honeymoon had to be
postponed for a future date, and they could only meet once in a
long while.

    They knew that it would only be a matter of time before they
could be openly accepted. The wait would be difficult, but they
were committed to it. Fortunately, they were both immortals; Aging
was not a factor. They would cope.

    For now, though, it seemed enough just to spend a few moments
together; feel their closeness and be able to look into each others'
eyes.

    "Dearest," Sailor Pluto began again, "Earth's government wanted
to trade materials for technology again, didn't it?"

    "Sure did, pumpkin," the Terran captain replied, lightly
running a hand down his wife's long hair. "The Mirage's cargo bay is
full of iron, platinum, gold and gems to be traded for something that
can-"

    "Sweetie, I'm sure you will be able to create another device to
fulfill that need."

    'Timothy smiled at her. "No worries there, sugar. I did it
before, I'll do it again."

    The beautiful Time Guardian smiled back. It really was nice to
be married to someone that didn't have any reason to take advantage
of her great position of trust; someone that didn't have to use
her as a crutch.

    "That's good to hear, cutey-pie."

    "A pleasure, sugar-dumpling."

    Earth wanted technology, and that was just fine. Destiny didn't
care one way or the other on that, but what DID matter was if they
got it from abuse of the Time Gate. That could not be allowed.

    "You know, fluffy-dove I'm getting promoted next week," the
captain whispered, drawing his wife closer. "I'm going to be
Admiral."

    "I am happy for you, pookie-wookie."

    This led to another long, involved kiss.

    "They won't be-aaah-keeping as many tabs on me. We can have
our honeymoon aaaanytime you like, honey-bun."

    "Looking forward to it-MMMmh, fluffy-numpkins."

    "Think we'll ever get tired of talking to each other like
this?"

    "Like what, num-num?"

    "My feelings exactly, fluffy-wuffy."

    "MMMmmh-"

    *CLANK* They fell to the floor in each others' arms, Pluto
on top of 'Timothy. The shock of the fall snapped them both to
attention.

    Catching themselves, they broke the embrace and stood back
up. One of their agreements was that, even though they were
perfectly legally married, they wouldn't go all the way, so to
speak, until the honeymoon. It had to be something special!

    Therefore, the pair spent a bit of time talking about their
lives' plans while sharing a large chocolate milkshake. They had
done this many times before, and it was always rather refreshing
to see a new perspective on the universe.

    The captain had an impressive knowledge of the solar system's
defensive capabilities; He could name the weaknesses of each Senshi
(Except Pluto. He said that _he_ was her weakness, which occasioned
a rarely-viewed laugh from the time guardian.), and commented on a
few ways to upgrade Terran ships to defend against _everyone_.

    Apparently, in his pursuit of the now-adopted Princess Terra,
'Timothy had needed to fight a great deal with just about every
major empire in the galaxy. Hence, his focus on the theme.

    It was clear that he had ambitions as well. Eventually, he
kind of wanted to rule the solar system. Hey, why not? That was
actually a good point; who wants a husband with no goals?

    However, this man also seemed to know things that only Queen
Serenity or a long-lived Senshi ought to know. To be sure, he didn't
have everything--he showed no understanding of what the Three
Talismans were or what the secret of Olympus Mons on Mars was--but
he _did_ know about--

    Sailor Pluto paused and thought about what she was doing. She
really had to stop doing disguised interrogations on her husband so
much. She knew he was hiding something; Something big, but it didn't
seem to be anything dangerous to Destiny or herself, so she could
probably just stop worrying about it. 

    He's not the only one that hides things, she considered
silently, so what's a little mayhem between friends?

    "But enough about me," 'Timothy concluded his travel-log.
"Let's talk about you. For example-"

    "I still want to hear a little more about _you_, love," Sailor
Pluto couldn't resist just one more question. Another fun thing about
her love's visits was that she had a chance to discover the hidden
mystery. She felt like she was getting close to unraveling it all.
"Tell me more about what happened between you and Princess Terra."

    "Ah," the captain replied, "that is a secret."

    The Time Senshi stared at him.

    "What?" 'Timothy smiled.

    Sailor Pluto smiled back. "Alright, I admit it. I'm curious."
She paused and whispered back, "How about we have no secrets between
us?"

    'Timothy slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry. I can't-" he trailed
off, looking down with a frown. He trembled a little, then regained his
calm and looked into her eyes, placing his hands on hers. "I agree
wholeheartedly, Beloved."

    The Senshi picked up that something had happened, but there was
no sign of anything; no energy or force other than 'Timothy suddenly
changing his mind. "Alright," she continued in a controlled voice, "no
secrets."

    "You and I both know that I've told you much more than you've
told me. So, I want to hear a couple of _your_ secrets before giving
out more of mine."

    Pluto inclined her head slightly. Yes, that was fair, she
supposed. "What do you wish to know?"

    Deep behind the man's eyes, there was a hint of desperation.
"Where _is_ that time gate of yours? You've never shown it to me."

    He didn't know already?

    "It is here and yet not; it lies on another plane."

    "Will you show it to me?"

    That was a steep request. "I cannot, my Love..."

    "Please, dearest, it's very important to me to see it."

    This was a most difficult thing to allow, Sailor Pluto thought
over, her mind in turmoil. She indeed loved him, but could he be
trusted there? They had gone this far and all had been very well
planned out, very patiently. Never had he made such a request...

    'Timothy looked at her with hopeful eyes.

    The woman made a decision. If she could not trust the man she
married, she could not trust even herself. "Yes, you may see it."

    The two rose from their seats, and Sailor Pluto raised her
staff. The room flickered and vanished, a bright, swirling
environment rolling into view. "I do for you what I have done for
no other."

    In a moment, the Gate of Time could be seen. It consisted
of a gigantic pair of glimmering white doors between two large
marble pillars.

    Captain StarKnight focused his gaze intently upon the
structure and took a step forward.

    This didn't feel right...

    Sailor Pluto put out a hand to stop him. "Look, but do not
touch."

    Ignoring her and without a word, the armored man sidestepped
the guardian and rushed toward the gate.

    In a flash, Sailor Pluto was in front of him again, her
staff held out defensively in front of her. "Do NOT approach the
Gate of Time!"

    What was he doing?!

    The knight looked at her with a neutral expression. "No time
to explain!" He leapt into a full flip directly over the Senshi's
head, grabbing a hold of the timestaff as he went.

    She shouldn't have let him come here in the first place...

    Pluto deftly maneuvered the staff, firmly but gently pushing
her husband to land safely away from the gate. "I am warning you,
'Timothy. Do not attempt to tamper with the Gate."

    'Timothy recovered quickly, stood back up, and his expression
became even more determined. "I'm terribly sorry about this, but I
need to borrow it. It's very important to me." His stance made it
obvious that he was calculating a way to get around the Gate's
guardian.

    The woman took her staff in both hands and replied, "And it is
very important to me that no one touches it."

    This was very strange; a complete turnabout in his attitude.

    Pluto stood ready. "In the name of our trust, stop." Her
husband hesitated for a moment, but did not back down. "Make no
mistake, I _will_ fulfill my duty."

    Could this be what he had been trying to hide before?

    *CRACK!* The man dashed half-past his wife, and delivered a
stunning blow to the base of her neck with his elbow, staggering her.

    No! It couldn't be! He WAS serious!

    Sailor Pluto regained her balance and clutched her neck with
one hand. She saw the captain reach the gate and place his hand
against it.

    All this time, had he deceived her?!

    "In the name of our love, stop!"

    'Timothy's expression wavered for a moment, but remained focused,
his eyes closed as he concentrated on his task. A glow began to build
up around the gate.

    The time guardian narrowed her eyes. It seemed a near-
impossibility, but there he was, no doubt trying to open it.

    This must not be allowed to come to pass.

    *THWACK!* Sailor Pluto swung the end of her staff, delivering a
sharp blow to the top of the man's head, driving him down. He winced,
then rolled away and unsheathed his sword, taking up a firm attack
stance.

    "Someone," the knight pressed, his halting breath showing that
he was very emotional about the subject, "very important to me is--
has died." A pained tear went down his left cheek. Through clenched
teeth he declared, "I must prevent that from h-happening to her!"

    'Her,' considered the time guardian. So that was it. He was
using her to be able to change the past; to stop some poor maiden's
demise. Who could it be? A mother? A sister?

    A lover, perhaps?

    Then his affection toward her _had_ all been a ruse...

    "What is it to you," Sailor Pluto began, her gaze narrowing and
her posture strengthening, "if that is her destiny? If it so be that
she must die, you must accept it! Destiny cannot be changed!"

    'Timothy clenched both fists tightly around the handle of his
blade. "GRRRR! DESTINY MY EYE!" With a roar, he dove forward, his
sword whistling through the air at Sailor Pluto.

    *Clang!* Pluto blocked the sword-strike with the handle of her
staff and thrust the end at the man's chest, knocking him back. "It
must be a very difficult lesson for you to learn," she tried to show
a bit of understanding.

    Poor man, really. Obsessed for so long to try something like
this.

    The captain kicked low, knocking the woman off her feet.
"Grrr!" He pointed his palm at her and generated a small ball of
energy, then leapt once more toward the gate.

    Nevertheless, no mercy must be shown to this offender.

    *Blam!* Raising her staff, Pluto blocked the strike, the
energy washing over her without effect. She stood, no speck of
understanding or remorse left in her eyes. "In the name of the
planet Pluto, you cannot be forgiven."

    *Clank!* Pluto blocked another swordstrike and returned it
with a sharp kick, which her foe sidestepped.

    The tall man continued his efforts to dodge and fight his way
to the gate, his expression and attack-style growing ever more
desperate by the moment. For over a minute, they exchanged blows,
slashes, and kicks. Sailor Pluto was clearly the superior fighter,
while 'Timothy was managing to get through only by sheer
determination.

    *SHING!* Finally, the Terran captain managed a strong swing,
which bit deeply into the Senshi's side. He used the opening to
snatch the timestaff from Pluto's grasp, and in a single bound he
was at the Gate of Time, and attempted to use the staff with the
keyhole in one door.

    Sailor Pluto took a moment to recover, but when she did...

    *SMACK!* The guardian stunned her enemy with a stiff slap to
the face, then grabbed her staff. "Dead," she whispered, a light
building up in the Garnet Orb, "Scream." She thrust the light into
her foe's armored chest.

    *CRAAASH!* The resulting blast sent 'Timothy spiraling in the
air to crash several dozen meters away, where he lay still, his
breastplate cracked and lower jaw badly scorched.

    Sailor Pluto approached his immobile form, aiming her staff
at him.

    In a moment, with a cough, her husband opened his eyes.

    "Do you yield?" Pluto demanded.

    'Timothy clenched his teeth for a moment, but after a tense
pause, his expression softened. "Yes. Yes, I yield."

    "Do you still desire to use the Gate of Time?"

    The man took a breath. "No."

    Sailor Pluto's posture relaxed slightly. "You have broken my
trust, disobeyed the laws, and made a complete mockery of my love.
This is unforgivable. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

    'Timothy closed his eyes. "No."

    "Had it been my desire, I could have killed you."

    A pained look appeared on the man's face. "I understand."

    "We have nothing further to discuss. Get back on your ship,
and leave. You are never to return."

    'Timothy grimaced, his voice showing great internal trauma,
obviously embarrassed at having failed his worthless attempt at
time travel. "Right."

    "Now, BEGONE!"

    With a tap of the Senshi's staff against the ground, her ex-
lover vanished.

    Sailor Pluto looked around impassively at her surroundings,
her duty to guard the gate having been accomplished.

    Without a word, or a thought, the woman allowed her staff to
clatter to the ground, then went to her knees and buried her face
in her hands. For hours, she wept bitterly.

    Echoes of her soft, brokenhearted sobs went unheeded in the
swirling pools of temporal infinity.

...

    It was over, Setsuna recalled. The best relationship she had
taken in millennia was ended by the other's selfish desire to abuse
her powers. He was not trustworthy, not like Ranma. The young man
probably wouldn't have the first idea how to use the Gate of Time
anyway...

    The gorgeous Guardian of Time looked at her fiance, who was
concentrating deeply on his surroundings, and decided something.

    This time, she would make it last. She would not give up on
him. He was her only hope.

---

To be continued...

So, what did you think? ^_^

-------------------------------
Benjamin A. Oliver
boredcollective@aol.com

    "We are the Bored. Lower your shields and surrender your fics.
     We will add your standup and slapstick comedy to our own.
     Your humor will adapt to entertain us.
     Resistance is and always has been: Futile."
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