This is the final chapter of the series. For anyone who is
missing the earlier chapters can find 1-19 on the  RAAC
archives (first link) or in Studio Vanir Metro-Anime page
(second Link). For the main page at Vanir use the third
link. This is the last chapter of the series. It is also on
Fanfic.net, if it is up. I am posting this because Gregg and
I have received many requests for it. Replies to this should
go directly to Metro-Anime as I have the reply to to his
address. Mine is below the rest of the story.

http://www.fanfic.net/pub/Anime/FanFictions/

http://www.geocities.com/studio_vanir/mimir.html

http://www.geocities.com/studio_vanir/
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A Soldier's Duty, chapter 25

"...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is
pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if
anything is excellent
or praiseworthy - thing about such things." _Philippians 4:8

"1500 years ago, everyone KNEW that the Earth was the center
of the
Universe. 500 years ago, everyone KNEW the world was flat.
And 5 minutes ago
you KNEW people were alone on this planet. Imagine what
we'll KNOW
tomorrow." - Agent K, "Men In Black"

---------

Queen Serenity of the Kingdom of the Djinn was many things.
Stupid was not
on the list.

"So, you're saying that a partial retroactive temporal flux
caused an
adjustment in our past that had little effect on the present
day Tokyo, but
completely rewrote our ancient kingdom, and that only those
of you who were
cut off from those ties were completely unaffected?"
Serenity idly chewed on
knuckle as she pondered. "Interesting."

"Actually, I wasn't cut off, and I remember the Moon
Kingdom," Mamoru said,
still eyeing Usagi and Rei nervously.

"Perhaps the change ran out of power," said Grey over
Amieow's purring.
"Though if it *was* the Enemy, i think it likely it was
stopped because this
was *not* the sort of results he was after."

"Rrrrrrr, lowerrrrr Grrrey-chan," purred Amieow. "Oh
yeeeeeeeahhhhhh."

Makoto watched Amieow practically melting down while her
calves and feet
were being rubbed. "Me next!"

"Excuse me, the line is *after* me," disagreed Setsuna.

"Nuku Nuku want try!"

"If I may," said Serenity, "was this 'Moon Kingdom' of
'Senshi' any happier?
Will some 'Crystal Tokyo' be a better choice than the reborn
'Djinn
Kingdom'?" Serenity openly considered. "Setsuna Meiou. You
are among the
best informed, if I may ask of you to make an unbiased
opinion. What say
you?"

Setsuna blinked. SERENITY was asking her opinion? "Well,
that would depend
on who you ask..."

"Actually," said Serenity wryly, "I had a bit more detail in
mind. Basalt?"

Grey kept his attention on a knot of tension in Amieow's low
back for a
moment until he felt it unwind. Though it was odd feeling
the vibration of
her purring through his hands. "It depends to some extent,
as Setsuna said.
The Senshi were less powerful, but more independent, than
your Djinn. They
were not prone to being stuffed into lamps or anything for
example."

"Lamps are only for common Djinn such as Phobos, Deimos,
Luna, and Artemis,"
corrected Serenity. "Rings and gems are more common, while
Uranus is bound
to a sword and Neptune a mirror. Still, your point is
accepted."

"There's also Chibiusa, who is not stuck at a very young
age," admitted
Grey. "And this group marriage concept wouldn't have flown
nearly as well
prior to this change."

"I *have* noticed that neither you nor Endymion seem as
comfortable with the
idea," drily commented Serenity. "How peculiar."

Grey shook his head. He knew some some teenage boys who
would be joyful at
the prospect of polygamy. It seemed to him, however,
(actually facing the
possibility of such a relationship) that you took on the
problems of a
marriage multiplied as well as the good points. Not to
mention expenses, the
amount of time and affection spent on one curtailing into
the others' time,
and just plain exhausting (he was thinking specifically of
laundry and
cooking here actually. When he would eventually get around
to the idea of
the honeymoon, he'd likely faint.) In fact, it would be
likely to dilute the
good points in favor of the bad.

"Why me?" Mamoru demanded of the heavens, then realized he
was looking at
the mural on the ceiling again and shut his eyes rather than
burn those
images into his retinas. "You know, things were simpler in
the fight against
Beryl."

"Which one?" Rei asked. "Back when your four chief sorcerers
(Jedite,
Nephrite, Kunzite, Zoicite) were mind controlled by Beryl
and you had to
free us, their genie, from enslavement to their base wishes?
Or do you mean
the one we just got through a couple of years ago with the
Blue Djinn and
Metallica?"

"That was Metal'la," corrected Makoto. "And Beryl was a
moron."

"Well, duh!" Usagi said. "Making pacts with Class Three
Freeroaming Entities
in a bid to destroy the world because she had the hots for
my Mamo-chan?
Like, that just totally was bogus."

"Would you stop it with the Osaka-ben language, Usagi?" Rei
rubbed her
forehead while managing to keep one arm around Mamoru's arm.
"You're gonna
give me a headache!"

"Good, that means that I'll go first!" Usagi said from her
position on the
other side of Mamoru.

"I think that *I'm* getting the headache," said Mamoru
wearily. Prince of
Earth or not, he was in college, he had to study. Where he
was going to get
the solitude or time was rapidly becoming a major concern.

----------

Somewhere in the multiverse, a boy named Ataru Moroboshi
gave a howl of envy
and frustration.

This was followed by an electrical crackle and a "Darling No
Baka" on
general principles.

Which didn't hurt nearly so much for Ataru, as the idea of
someone,
somewhere, somehow, getting HIS harem.

This would eventually lead him on a quest to find and catch
the most
beautiful women in the multiverse and put them in pokeballs,
up until they
got out and started whomping his butt into the ground. But
that is another
story.(1)

Right now he was just getting zapped.

--------

"So it's sort of mixed, neither particularly better nor
worse?" Serenity
said, getting tired of everyone talking AROUND the subject.
What were they,
djinn or politicians?!

"The Senshi were not slaves," offered Grey *very*
reluctantly as he worked
the kinks out of Hotaru's shoulders. It was kind of alarming
that Hotaru
seemed to be purring. Just a little, but still!

"Very well then," said Serenity, coming to a decision. "We
must correct
this. The good of my subjects comes before all else."

"Now THAT sounds like the old Serenity," said Setsuna, then
looked down at
her feet. "Mineko, why did you bite me in the ankle?"

"Nyah? I did that during the pie fight. Sorry, I had egg
creme in my eyes."
Mineko went back to watching Grey work. She was beginning to
appreciate
strong hands in a guy. Even if the guy wasn't that cute. On
the other hand,
he *was* the closest thing to an offer she'd had since
Ace/Danburite.

"Endymion, Basalt, you two are ins. Stand at the center. My
daughter, my
granddaughter, link hands with me. My djinn, link hands
around us." Serenity
firmly grasped the two hands and noticed the puzzled look
from Basalt. "A
magic circle, and three is a number that has its echoes in
power. The good
of the Kingdom, and my people, is first. If the Senshi
Kingdom was
superior..."

"Moon Kingdom, and i'm not sure i'd say 'superior'
really..." Grey's voice
trailed off. He understood that if the changes were still
occurring that
they had to move quickly if they were to hope to reverse it,
but there were
so many aspects (*not* the polygamy angle) that he wanted to
explore.

"Focus on this Kingdom of color coded warriors," advised
Serenity. "Wish for
things to return to normal. Genie can provide the power, but
it is mortals
who provide the focus and the wish. Through cooperation
between the two, the
sum is greater than either part. Focus, my sha'ir."

The two humans in the center exchanged a helpless shrug. "I
wish everything
was back to normal," they said in unison.

Endymion tried. He really tried. Though he was getting looks
from Usagi,
Rei, *and* Uranus and Neptune. Which made him quite
self-conscious.

Grey tried, though the looks from Amieow, Mineko, Sakura,
Setsuna, and
Hotaru were distracting. Especially when he could *swear*
that that looked
like a cat tail poking out from Hotaru's back?!

(FLASH!)

------------

Celeste checked. "Well, it looks like the time's almost up."

"I thought they had more time," complained Fleece.

"All of these sweeping changes are speeding up the process,"
Celeste replied
and flicked a switch.

A well modulated female voice spoke. "Time until simulated
timeline overlays
biodeath earth timeline: 5 minutes 37 seconds our time. In
simulation: 5
hours, forty four minutes."

"You see?" Celeste said.

"Warning," interrupted the computer voice. "Retroactive
alteration
occurring. Merger hastening. Recalculating time remaining."

"Oh dear," said Celeste. "Well, there's one chance of
pulling something
successful out of this now."

---------

"It's not my fault," said Grey. "Though i'm getting this odd
feeling of deja
vu."

"Nyaaa," agreed Queen Purrenity, not indicating which
statement she was
agreeing with.

"Usako is a lion-girl," said Mamoru, a little bit in shock.

"So's her mother," pointed out the M'rei as if it were
perfectly normal.

"The Moon Kingdom was originally settled by refugees from
the Ctarl-Ctarl
Empire, fleeing a war with Tau Ceti, what else would you
expect?" asked
catgirl Artemis. (2)

"I don't even want to ask," responded Mamoru.

"Werecat Tokyo?" Grey stared at the tiger striped Jupiter,
the blue furred
Mercury, the cheetah-marked Venus, the pantherish Mars,
lionlike Usagi and
Serenity. He wasn't sure *what* kind of cat the two Plutos,
Uranus and
Neptune were. Even Hotaru was looking feline. So was Catti
Honey, Nuku Nuku,
and Phobos and Deimos? "Let me guess, the ancient enemy from
Tau Ceti were
werewolves?"

"Of course," agreed M'rei. "Oh, waitaminute. You really
*don't* remember all
this?"

"I didn't ask, I didn't want to know, I still don't want to
know."

"And Rei..." began Grey.

"M'rei," corrected the shrine priestess who could turn into
Nekosume
Bisenshi Panthera Mars.

"And Usagi are engaged to Mamoru here?"

"Nyaaa," agreed Usagi, hugging her Mamo-chan.

"Grey-san? I really could have done without knowing that."
Mamoru tried not
to picture him and two girls who could literally rip him
into ribbons.

"We'll try again, then," said Queen Purrenity, "if this is
clearly not right
yet."

"Maybe we ought to stop while we're ahead?" Grey was not at
all sure what to
make of all this, or the eerie feeling of deja vu.

"NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Mamoru didn't agree with the concept
at all.

---------

Black asteroids tumbled closer, passing the orbit of the
moon. Travelling at
speeds measured in hundreds of thousands of miles per hour,
it would take
them less than a few minutes to cross that gulf and impact
the Earth. Though
the largest three would miss, the fourth one was still
twenty miles long and
eight miles wide.(3)

Sailor Galaxia, having followed some strange person with a
strong aura, had
found herself in some place called Libya and was trying to
find someone with
a Star Seed. So far she hadn't had any success. What
confused her was that
everytime she hit someone with her attack, they faded out as
opposed to
transforming. And why had the landscape started shifting
around her into
this barren, bombed out, desolate wasteland?

Ryouga Hibiki, having no idea who that strange woman with
the funky
hairstyle was, had absolutely no idea that he'd given Tokyo
a reprieve. Of
course, by the time he realized she wasn't following him
anymore, he'd ended
up in the "Pottery Inlayers and Glaziers Convention"
(PIGcon, though it was
actually more of a tradeshow) in Cairo. Thousands of
handcrafted pieces of
pottery, sculpture, glassware, and the supplies needed to
turn them out.
Which is why Ryouga sat down and tried not to move through
the crowds. Even
he could see this disaster coming.

And in a place known as Japan, in the Minato-ku, Azabu
Juuban, section of
Tokyo, Death met up with Tiger Tanaka to share one last
drink.

And in a place known as the Goddess Relief Office, a woman
named Celeste
prepared to try and snatch victory from the maw of disaster.
Interference
had caused the problems, interference could fix it, but the
choice had to
come from the candidate.

-------

Grey looked around. A void stretched in every direction. The
only things
present seemed to be a large section of stone, in the center
of which was a
well, attended by an old woman with a staff. "Oh dear."

"I am a representitive of the Norns," said the woman in a
raspy voice. "Fate
is upon you, and you must choose."

"Choose what?" Grey's natural response to what was
apparently a not
immediately hostile but powerful being. Be polite and stall.

"You have several young ladies who may, or may not, end up
being with you
for quite some time. You must choose one. As your time was
curtailed by
forces outside your control, you may ask three questions,
which I must
answer truthfully."

Grey bit back the immediate and obvious questions "Is this
for real?" or
"Why don't I have time?" Those would obviously count among
those three
questions. Which meant that one would have to try and be
tricky.
Unfortunately he wasn't ready for this.

"You may begin," said the older woman, making a gesture and
causing a large
hourglass to appear and begin marking time.

Letting out a deep breath, Grey focussed. If this was some
kind of trap, the
girls might be in trouble. So a question to maybe serve the
purpose the
woman was stating, but also determine if this was one of
those nasty little
Edgar Allan Poe sort of things. "Who among any of them needs
me?"

Celeste winced in her disguise. That had NOT been a good
question from her
point of view. "None. None of them need you." Seeing his
puzzled look,
Celeste expounded on the simple answer. "All of them:
Senshi, Queen,
Warriors, Spies - they are all strong and proud and quite
capable of living
out their natural span of years without you or any man."

"Oh..." Grey let out another deep breath, trying to squash
the feeling of
disappointment. At least they were safe, *if* the woman was
telling the
truth. That didn't mean they were all lesbians, did it?

"Next question," prompted Celeste, looking upwards and
asking that the boy
before her get a clue.

Trying to center himself and concentrate, Grey tried again.
"Who..." He had
the feeling he was missing something. Something important.
He just couldn't
figure out *what* with the sand pouring down. This was a
test. He hated
tests. Nobody needed him, so what did that leave? "Who would
I be able to
make the happiest?"

Another wince. "In each case, there will be good times and
bad times. From
Ami to Setsuna, each would have times when they love you
dearly, and other
times when they just want to shake some sense into you. In
each case the
seeds of a serious and long term relationship have been
planted, and in each
case it all depends on how you and she interact over the
nurturing of that
relationship that will determine how it grows. In other
words, you have more
or less normal odds."

"Oh," repeated Grey. That hadn't been much help either.

"Last question," said Celeste, still slightly hopeful. It
was an obvious
question, why didn't he just ask it?

Grey started working at it, keeping an eye on the hourglass.
Or rather more
of a 10min glass considering how much was already gone.
Still, if choosing
one wouldn't necessarily make one happier than the others,
and none needed
him, then none of them would particularly be upset if he
just quietly left
and went back to America, would they? He'd heard Mamoru and
Rei and the
others. Things hadn't been as crazy prior to his appearance.
Things had been
predictable.

"Any time now," indicated Celeste. Why couldn't he just ask
the darn
question?

"Uhm," said Grey, just *knowing* there was a question to
ask. But what? If
choosing one didn't make anyone happy, and nobody needed
him, then they
weren't in any danger from this were they? So... "That is. I
think that. If
it's just up to me, that is. Then... argggh!"

Celeste groaned herself. Classic case of Tenchi Syndrome.
Nice guy who fell
apart into a ruin of indecision when it came to anything
regarding women.
"Time's almost up."

"None of them actually want me, I think, so I can't ask
that. None of them
love me, half of 'em are after Basalt - my previous life.
Not sure what the
other half want. So... Got it!"

"Finally," growled Celeste.

"Whose life would I improve the most by being able to share
it with them?"
Grey thought this had the most potential for being a good
question.

"Idiot," grumbled Celeste. "That's essentially the same as
the 'happiness
question' and the answer is the same. ANY of them could have
their life
improved or ruined by you, depending on the decisions you
and she make. Now
you've got to choose one."

Grey nodded, filled with the absolute certainty of a fifteen
year old making
a choice that he would have to live with for the rest of his
life. "My
choice is clear then. If I could bring ruin to any of them,
I choose none.
If I could make any of 'em happy, if one of them actually
wanted or needed
me, I'd just go ahead and marry 'em right now."

Celeste covered her forehead. "Moron," she said with a
certain painful tone.

"Let the record show then: that during his Fourth Labor,
Grey L Shard has
failed." THIS voice was male and echoed oddly. "Let his
memories be
returned, as well as those of the other test subjects. The
simulation is
ended."

"Huh?! Oh crap," said Grey as memories fell into place.

Celeste pointed. "Sorry. Elevator's over there."

Grey nodded and started walking towards it. Expulsion from
the Heavens. In
fact, there was only one way to go in THAT elevator. All the
way down. He
stopped with his hand on the button. "Will any of them at
least be happy?"

"We'll see what can be done," said Celeste. "There's a good
chance."

Nodding, Grey got into the elevator. There was a certain
contentment in that
he'd brought some happiness their way at least. Though the
music from the
elevator was *way* too appropriate.

"In a little while from now
  If I'm not feeling any less sour
 I promise myself to treat myself
 And visit a nearby tower
 And climbing to the top
 to throw myself off.
 In an effort to
 make it clear to whoever
 What it's like when you're shattered."

Grey found himself going back over the Labor. Yeah, he'd
have done a few
things differently given the chance. Still, he knew in his
heart that he
just plain wasn't worthy of the affection of any of those
girls. He'd been
dirtied and soiled by living entirely too long, and in one
set of nasty
circumstances after another. Better they find someone
without all the mental
baggage.

"Alone again, naturally," continued the music.

---------

Celeste snapped her fingers and threw off the old woman
disguise. "Damn. I
had hopes too. Setsuna really deserved a chance too."

"So why so glum?" Toltiir asked.

"Because the boy's gone to hell?" Bast asked in reply.
"Frankly, I think
he's already been there."

"You weren't just pulling his leg?" Toltiir stared. He'd
thought that Bast,
Celeste, and Susanou were just setting up for a punch line.
It was how *he*
would have handled it, after all. "Wasn't *anyone* paying
attention to his
words? Yeesh."

"But he said..." Celeste began to think about what he'd
said. "But the Labor
was for him to decide on... but then he *did* didn't he?"

"Put the guy on hiatus, he needs it," advised Toltiir.
"Besides, there's a
wedding and honeymoon to plan."

"A marriage that goes well can be heaven, one that goes bad
can be hell, so
there is something of a continuation there of his Labor,
yes?" Susanou
frowned. He still wanted to kick the little schmuck for
leading Amaterasu on
like that, but thought that this was a little much.

----------

Grey got off the elevator, head held high. He may have been
a failure all
his life, and been kicked out of Heaven, and be a really
pathetic loser, but
he wasn't going to whine about it. He'd done his best! If
that wasn't good
enough, then it wasn't. He was going into the pits of Hell,
but at least the
girls he'd met would be better off.

His stride faltered as he realized that this was *not* a
stygian depth
backlit with volcanic wounds oozing putrescence. Not Hell's
lobby after all.
There wasn't even the Gates with their made-famous-by-Dante
logo. ("Abandon
all hope, ye who pass through these portals." Grey had been
planning on
making a remark about how Hope was among his favorite
comedians and he
wouldn't abandon him.)

There was no sign of Marller, Charon, or even Oscar. No
indication of
supernatural evil anywhere he could sense.

A forest? A *green* forest? With normal looking plants and
trees? This
didn't fit. And why did he feel so *different*? He shouldn't
have adapted
unless he was...

..in a different timestream.

*Crackle* *THOOM!*

Lying in a daze on the ground, smoldering, Grey wondered if
someone was
trying to tell him something.

-------

Ami looked at the swirling gate before her. "Why are we
separated like
this?"

Amaterasu tsked. "Grey's gone on to finish a little job.
He's been expelled
for failing in the Labor..."

"There was interference! That wasn't a fair test!" Ami faced
the goddess
with only a little bit of nervousness showing. *Inside* was
another story.
She was quite aware of the gap in power levels, the gap in
experience
levels, and that Amaterasu Omikami had changed from
wallflower to warrior
princess. Someone who could transform her to drifting ash
with less effort
than raising an eyebrow, likely even if she were Sailor
Mercury or Amieow at
the moment.

Amaterasu looked stern. "Interference is *part* of the test.
Being able to
adapt to different situations and developments is necessary
in any of the
positions he had applied for. Ahem. Now as for his failure -
this is just a
temporary respite before he goes to recycling."

"Recycling?" Ami wasn't too sure about that.

"Reincarnation," Amaterasu shrugged. "Not bad enough for
Hell, not good
enough for Heaven. Of course *he* would end up in a grey
area. He failed to
choose one of you, and none of you chose him. Room 42's gate
was used, just
projected into the elevator. He's in for a mortal lifetime,
but then as soon
as he gets done he'll go on."

"Oh," Ami said, still not satisfied.

"As for separating all of you, each of you are going to
different timelines.
The Queen, for example, is going to return to the universe
of her origin.
You, an Ami Mizuno who has never been Sailor Mercury outside
a virtual
reality, are going to go through that gateway when the light
goes on. You'll
forget entirely about the penitent Grey and go on to live a
normal life,
merged with an aspect of yourself that *is* Sailor Mercury.
The same with
everyone else, we managed to find ways of hooking you
directly into a
mainline."

"...can't I even say goodbye?!"

Amaterasu shook her head again, still looking quite stern.
Even if one
corner of her mouth kept twitching. Funny, Ami hadn't
thought Amaterasu the
sort to develop a facial twitch. "No, if you entered that
timeline you'd
change and adapt to that world. You'd be stuck with him and
whatever changes
occurred to you. Besides, there really shouldn't be any
retaking of tests.
Bad precedent if it were allowed."

"I see," said Ami, not a sufficiently good actress that she
could keep a
crafty look from briefly appearing. "Uhm, so what kind of
reality was he
inserted into?"

"Not of your concern," said Amaterasu. "I didn't look other
than it was an
SM line and a 4xx series, so it's a bizarre variation on the
Silver
Millenium. It could be one where you'd have ended up being a
catgirl, a
bunnygirl, an android marionette, or even a pokemon.
Fortunately you're not
going there, isn't it? Now, if you don't mind, I have other
things to do."

"You've split, haven't you?" Ami deduced suddenly from an
odd feeling she'd
had ever since the goddess had appeared. "You're just an
image projected
here while you're having conversations with everyone else
who took part in
the simulation."

"Still have your feline instincts, Amieow?" The sun goddess
almost smiled.
"Projecting a mirror image is perfectly within my portfolio.
Besides, did
you know you came out of there with two more people than had
gone in? That
was supposed to be impossible but there's a lot of chaos in
that boy's
karma. You're actually a lot less stressed without him. Keep
in mind, as a
Goddess First Class, I cannot lie."

Ami silently added "directly" as she was already familiar
with the concept.
She watched Amaterasu's image turn translucent then fade.
Then looked at the
door behind her then at the swirling gate. Go ahead and
accept that things
had turned out like they had, and meekly go through that
gate. It would be
easy and it would be following the local rules, doing what
everyone told her
to do. She wouldn't get in trouble with any divine
authority, she'd be
reunited with her friends in this other life, and she'd be
reasonably
content.

Ami checked the door she'd entered in. Locked, of course.
Ami sat down for a
moment, deep in thought. She'd seen some of those 400000
lines while waiting
for the simulation matrix to finish setting up. SM meant
Silver Millenium,
*not* (to Usagi's disappointment) Sailor Moon, so that could
mean that there
were no Senshi or some odd variant, or even that the Silver
Millenium had
been completely different. Both the genie and catgirl Moon
Kingdoms would
have been considered SM 4xxx timelines.

The Ami Mizuno she'd seen in various "Sailor Moon" timelines
would have
considered this a no-brainer. She'd have sat on the bench,
waiting to be
reunited with Usagi and the others, and a boyfriend would
not have been a
concern. The Ami Mizuno who had been one of a group of
nonSenshi friends who
had followed a transformed gold dragon as he accidentally
conquered China, she
would likewise have waited to be rejoined with her friends.
The Ami who had
grown up with her best friend Grey, only to discover that
she was part of
NERV's genetically engineered soldiers, would also have not
have a had
problem deciding - she would have battered down the door by
now and gone to
"room 42" by now.

------------

Amaterasu reformed. They had all been given the idea. Now
that the seed had
been planted, it was time to determine *what* would result.

She was beginning to see what Urd found so interesting about
this
matchmaking stuff.

-----------

"To: Penitent Grey, recently of the Rival Relief Office,
Alley of Lingering
Smells, Asgard
 From: the Almighty"

Grey got to *that* line and stared. In his more mortal
experience and roles,
any time you got the bosses' personal attention it was Bad.
It being easier
to notice a Screw Up than the opposite, after all. This was
not *a* boss.
This was *the* capital-B Boss.

The thought of screwing bad enough that it got *His*
attention was stressing
enough that Grey considered going off into those bushes over
there and
quietly throwing up. Except that his knees didn't want to
cooperate. Not to
mention that this was unprecedented. The "Norse runes
lightning bolted into
the ground" treatment was *never* done for anyone less than
a Goddess 2nd
Class. Well, hardly ever. Separation Of Heaven & Earth
Clause and His desire
not to micromanage anyone.

Another problem was that he had a *lot* of trouble reading
Celestial, which
was the variation of Norse runes that everyone used in
Asgard. He was still
mortal, despite the Binding and other events, and nobody
really mastered
that language without either using a spell or some other
aid.

"As an agent of the Celestial Bureaucracy, you gave your
word regarding
marriage. He just wants to remind you that your word is
binding as such an
agent.
Sincerely,
Frigga, secretary for the Almighty."

Grey sighed a little, relieved. Not nearly so bad as he'd
first feared.

Waitaminute? He was still an agent?! That meant that this
was NOT his
original destination? It *was* a real timeline? But if that
was the case,
where was his mission briefing?

*crackle* *THOOOM!*

Grey groaned, smoldering again. "Ask and ye shall receive...
ouch..."

-------

The Earth that had suffered from plague and war shimmered
briefly. Just
before it would have been overwritten by a simulation, that
simulation had
been cancelled.

The simulation itself was broken down into its various
parts, which Celeste
could then later study and determine what kind of
fine-tuning was necessary
for better performance. Too many unexpected events had taken
place for her
to be comfortable with it as it was.

The "Heart Of Darkest Chocolate" was put up for sale, where
it remained for
a week before being remodeled into a tavern named the
"Magni's Meadhall."
Other places catering to the sweet tooth were eventually
able to pick up the
slack.

Rei Ayanami was eventually able to enter a Ranma timeline,
oddly enough as a
Chinese Amazon.

Others assisted where they could. Some of the other entrants
into the
simulation had to be placed, having failed to make their
choice - thereby
making a choice.

------

Grey stretched out, wondering where the rest of it was. His
mission would
depend on who joined him and would be a mortal lifetime? Who
was to meet
him?

"Basalt."

Grey turned and saw her standing there, tall and regal in
her gown. For a
moment he looked hopefully about. Setsuna or Ami?

"Basalt," repeated the Queen. "It is time."

Grey sighed and summoned his "costume" of Basalt/Nebula. His
Silver
Millenium identity, complete with the Chain. Love had, it
appeared, been too
much to hope for.

He was not Ranma Saotome, who could forgive and forget
betrayal in an
instant. It had taken decades to put the pain behind him,
but Nebula had
eventually forgiven and come to peace with Queen Serenity.
In that time,
love had died.

Had Jupiter not gone pursuing Narcissus or had merely
noticed him at the
Ball, she could have reached out her hand and collected a
suitor more
constant than the General had been. Had Pluto thought to
leave a letter or
message with other than the Queen herself, she *could* have
had a love
dedicated to her that would have survived 10,000 years
undimmed. Neither
had.

Basalt nodded and strode to the Queen's side. At her look,
he crooked an arm
so that she could take it.

Kingdom always came first, so while there could be
affection, Basalt had
learned the lesson well that her foremost and most abiding
love would always
be for her kingdom and her position. No doubt he would be
expected to beget
another Heir for the Moon Kingdom. Another Heir for the
position of Knight
of Duty would also be required.

No, there was no love in his heart for the Queen anymore. He
simply couldn't
summon a false sincerity, so there it was. She had her role.
He had his.

He was the Knight of Duty after all, adventures with friends
and companions
to the side. Basalt, the Marine engineer, the soldier.
Nebula the Knight,
the Consort, the Queen's Right Hand. He had sought Love and
Comfort and a
Home of his own. And failed at all three.

Duty was all he had left.

Putting on a false face to return to the Queen's palace and
his role as
Consort, Basalt, aka Grey, alias Nebula, found himself
hoping that at least
the Queen would permit him to keep some friends this time
around. Perhaps he
could even give Pluto a break in her vigil.

Duty.

Well, it was *something* at least. (5)

=======

well, that's it. The end of the Labors and my experiments
with doing an SI.

It was interesting seeing the votes. So far the only
surviving member of
Studio Aesir wanted this pairing, so here it is.

Celeste had requested Setsuna + Grey. i've wondered what
she'd think about
my characterization of Sailor Pluto...

======

(1) can you picture this? Scary, ain't it?

(2) has anyone else seen Outlaw Star and been struck with
the fusion
possibility:
 Jim Hawking replaced by Nabiki Tendo
 Gene Starwind = Ranma Saotome
 Melfina = Kasumi Tendo
 Gilliam = Soun Tendo
 Aisha Ctarl-Ctarl = Shampoo
 "Twilight" Suzuka = Kodachi Kuno alt: Ukyo Kuonji
 Fred Luo = Tatewaki Kuno
 The McKenzie Brothers = Ryouga and Mousse
  alternatively have Nabiki be Fred Luo, the McKenzie
brothers be the Kunos,
and Jim could be played by Ukyo

(3) No, i hadn't forgotten about this.

(4) "Alone Again Naturally" by Gilbert O Sullivan.

(5) That's pretty much the end of Grey, a touch of realism
here. Stuck in a
relationship that the Silver Crystal couldn't bring love
back into (Sorry,
Sky, but i just cannot see anything less than significant
rewriting of the
character by mind control magic ever putting something close
to love or
trust back in that relationship. At which point he ceases to
be anything
other than a puppet under the Queen's control.)  i was
considering having
Basalt seperate from Grey, as well as the other parts, and
having separate
ends for each, but figured that was too trite and paralleled
the Alternate
Endings for other fics i've done. This, however, fits with
my personal life
experiences as to likely outcomes.

So, unless i get a lot of demands for something more upbeat,
this is it.
Going on to other fics now.

And now for something more upbeat:

___omake_omake_omake_omake___

"What if someone *else* had fulfilled Genma's role," mused
Toltiir.

"With Ares, we saw a capable martial artist who frankly
didn't take much
crap off anyone," reminded Bast. "Unfortunately, or
fortunately if you
prefer, he had little in the way of traditional Western
morality."

"Yeah, none of this 'don't hit girls' or 'let other people
push me around'
sort of thing." Ares felt that he'd done a pretty darn good
job there. And
it had been strangely fulfilling to take on the role of
father-sensei. Much
better than he'd done with his two real sons.

"I disagree, Genma did a much better job of raising Ranma,"
argued Fleece.
"Look at that Ranma! Anybody who jumps him shouting 'Ranma,
prepare to die'
is gonna get killed! Heck, if the Nabiki in *that* world
tried half the
stuff I did with *my* version of Ranma, she'd be lucky if
she didn't end up
in the hospital!"

Ares considered the idea briefly. "Nah. More likely he'd
just contact the
local Yakuza and tell them that this little girl was
poaching on their
territory. Once he did that..."

Fleece flinched at the likely consequences of *that* sort of
thing. "You see
what I mean? THAT Ranma is going to have even more social
problems than the
original."

"So. You're saying you could do a better job?" Bast purred
as she regarded
the Nabiki Tendo that had dared to cross path with the gods,
and had ended
up becoming a minor goddess herself due to the whims of
Toltiir. There were
times when Fleece was in serious danger of being demoted as
per Titania's
suggestion - to tooth fairy.

Nabiki *almost* said "Yeah, right." The grins around her
were enough clue.
"NO! NO WAY! I am *NOT* going to play the part of Genma
Saotome!"

"Spoilsport," said Ares. "Put your money where your mouth
is."

"Well, who do *you* think would do a better job of being
Genma?" Toltiir
blinked at the girl, yellow eyes gleaming. "Keeping in mind
the following
points typical of Ranma timelines:
a) Ranma must be a highly ranked martial artist, it may not
be his only
focus, but it's got to be in there.
b) His orbit must intersect the Tendos. He may not end up
engaged to any of
'em. Maybe neither group knows about the arrangement, but
they'll at least
meet. The test point is Ranma meeting them, and how
different it is from the
original.
c) The person who does the raising has to spend at least ten
years
subjective in the simulation."

"This ain't another Bet, is it, Toltiir?" Bast glared at the
cat.

"Heaven forbid, no. Just a possibility of related omake."
The cat waved a
paw.

"Well, in that case," suggested Nabiki with her own catty
expression.

Almost everyone traced her gaze to the side where a visitor
had been
preoccupied with other concerns. More smiles.

The old man looked up.

----------

"He'll be here any moment," said Soun, smiling at the
prospect of joining
the two families. Though the calligraphy was much more neat
and precise than
he'd expect from Genma. The wording had been odd too.
"Tendo- I will be
bringing Ranma on Mar-11. We shall discuss the engagement
then. -S"

"So is he cute?" Nabiki asked, not quite as mercenary as she
would later
become. In an unaltered timeline, that is.

"How old is he. Younger men bore me," said Kasumi, not quite
as oblivious as
she would later become. Were everything to remain normal, of
course.

"Hmmmph, boys," Akane grumbled. Boy=pervert=target. Math
wasn't her best
subject but some things were obvious. The entire gender
could be deleted
from existence or chained into dungeons and she'd be a lot
happier. She
hated boys. She loathed boys. Boys had ignored her most of
her life, and
then suddenly she couldn't literally beat them off. Boys
were beyond icky.

There came a knocking at the door as if someone had not
gotten into a fight
on the way to the dojo.

"That must be Ranma!" Nabiki hoped for cute. Rich would be
even better. Cute
and rich? Too much to hope for. But she would certainly
settle for cute.

"I do hope he's older," sighed Kasumi.

"ACK!" Soun made a warding sign. There was no paunchy Genma
present, just
Nabiki (who had somehow got out the door before him) eyeing
a tall and
broadshouldered young man. That wasn't the ack part. An old
man, still
standing straight and proud, was eyeing him as if judging
him on his entire
life experience and deciding that he was just barely worth
continued
existence.

"Oh my," Kasumi looked over the boy. Tall, strong, lithely
muscled,
immaculately dressed in a nice dress shirt, slacks, and
boots of some kind.
Very nice if a bit Westernized in appearance.

"hmmmmph," hmmmphed Akane, then turned around and walked
back into the
house. Okay, the boy was fairly good looking. THAT didn't
mean anything.

"Genma couldn't make it," said the old man. "May we come
in?"

--------

"So Genma died and you took over his training," Soun said,
nodding.

"Yes, he fell into a pit of starving cats. Terrible tragic
story." The old
man didn't look as if he thought it was terribly tragic. "So
we've been
wandering back and forth, hither and yon."

"Yes, well, these are my three daughters," Soun said,
indicating each girl
and her age, then turning back to Ranma, "pick any one you
like. She'll be
your new fiancee."

"Geez, they're not bagels, Mister Tendo. Pick one? None of
them seem
interested. Besides there are other more pressing concerns."

"AH?! It's a matter of family honor." Soun glanced over the
three. "Akane is
a martial artist, she'll be your fiancee."

"Oh my," said Kasumi, who was too old and housewifeish to be
chosen. And was
regretting it. Ranma was polite and had a cute... he was
nice.

"WHAT?!" Nabiki and Akane reacted with entirely different
reasons.

"You see?" Ranma gave a helpless shrug. A beeping from a
pocket caused him
to consult a pager. "Ooops. Gotta go. Old man, you handle
this?"

The old man nodded.

"But but but but but...?!" Soun was going into shock. If
only Genma were
here to back him up!

Nabiki, Kasumi, and Akane blinked. Ranma had gotten lost by
going off into
their backyard. Their reactions were quite different. Nabiki
was intrigued
by the boy's butt... err purposeful stride. Akane was
wondering what the
pervert was up to. Kasumi wanted to make sure there were no
hard feelings,
sometimes her father made a rather poor first impression.

Ranma ducked around the side of the dojo. This really got
the three curious,
as there was nothing back there. As one they approached from
a different
angle. Yes, there was that fiance. He was standing still,
looking
heavenwards, and his mouth opened as he said a single word.

"SHAZAM!"

*BOOOM!* Thunder answered.

Nabiki had just realized that she'd leapt up and was being
held by Kasumi as
all three sets of eyes watched a major hunk fly up and away
in a high speed
blur.

"That was *Captain Marvel*..." Nabiki said to Kasumi.

"Oh my, oh dear," said Kasumi who had little hearts floating
in her eyes.
Not a boy at all. Oh heavens no. There had been a nobility
and maturity in
the Captain that just did not fit any of the categories she
placed younger
boys in. Nope.

Akane stood where Ranma had stood, took an identical pose,
and tried
something. "Shatsamu. Shatsam! Sha- tsa - mu! Damnit, why
won't it work for
me?"

Kasumi let Nabiki go, her arms were getting heavy anyway,
and considered.
Captain Marvel seemed very mature. Perhaps she should speak
up.

Nabiki thought about this. Let anyone know she knew who
Captain Marvel was?
Oh yeah, duh! The moment she even advertised something like
that, she'd be
kidnapped by supervillains and tortured for the information.
She was
allergic to being tortured. Not to mention she'd be
alienating someone who
could wrestle Godzilla and any friends he happened to have!

Akane sulked. If some stupid boy could transform into
Captain Marvel, why
couldn't she? Twenty years ago there had been a Mary Marvel,
there was a
girl named Aoi Marvel who'd briefly appeared in Osaka, so
why not Akane
Marvel? She was noble and worthy and nobody could say she
wasn't a great
fighter! Dang it.

Three girls found their father alone, crying to the extent
that there was
going to be no answers from that quarter.

Nabiki mused. Captain Marvel made headlines. When he was in
China recently,
he made headlines. All she had to do was wait for him to
start appearing in
a particular area, then track him down. She was sure that
she could make a
good press manager.

Kasumi thought. It seemed to her that if the Captain was off
saving Japan or
the world, he'd need someone to cook and clean and maintain
a home. Well,
what an amazing coincidence that she currently had no
suitors or prospects.
Look for where the trouble is, he'd be nearby, then she
could grab him and
make mad passionate... uhm apply for a job and get to know
him.

Akane glowered. She'd catch that boy and make him tell her
the secrets of
whatever martial arts technique he'd used to transform! Then
she could go
assist the Senshi!

Soun wailed. Prior engagements?! "Waaaaaaaaa!"

-------

Ranma sped across town so quickly that he was just a blur,
and smiled. THIS
was living. Everything that was so confusing was suddenly
clear, the world
was his rice bowl, he felt a thousand times more alive than
as plain old
Ranma Saotome.

One didn't need the Wisdom of Solomon to see the dangers in
staying as
Captain Marvel for too long. Black Adam was still around,
somewhere, a
wonderful advertisement of how power could corrupt. Then
there was that
mysterious Juggernaut who had appeared in China. Someone who
could hurt
*him*. But here was the thing that had drawn him.

Captain Marvel came to a halt to observe the battle before
he weighed in. It
looked like he should do something...

Now.

------

Usagi shrieked like a little girl (which she was actually -
being fifteen
years old) as the big yoma prepared to bring that gleaming
claw down and
reduce her to the consistency of fish paste. Her Moon Rod
had been knocked
out of reach and the others had been scattered about with a
few swipes.

"SAILOR MOON!" Several young girls cried as they watched
what was about to
be a gruesome scene.

Tuxedo Kamen prepared to throw a rose despite that the past
three had
bounced off the armor plating on the creature.

"Excuse me, may I cut in?"

Everyone blinked. Some guy had popped out of nowhere, and
was lifting the
yoma up into the air by a grip on its outstretched paw.

Tuxedo Kamen dropped the rose, feeling completely
inadequate.

The yoma roared and tried to swing at the caped man holding
it.

"Shall we dance?" The man threw the yoma straight up, giving
the crowd a
good look at the chest emblem of a stylized lightning bolt.

"CAPTAIN MARVEL?!" Venus, Mars, Mercury, Moon, and Tuxedo
Mask exclaimed.

"My new sempai..." Sailor Jupiter said dreamily.

The yoma came down, Captain Marvel stopped its progress with
an uppercut.
The yoma disintegrated.

"Well, Sailor Senshi," said Captain Marvel, floating
slightly above head
level. "I've wanted to make your acquaintance. Shall we
arrange a meeting to
discuss pooling our resources?"

Seeing that Mars was too starstruck, Venus was drooling, and
Jupiter was
repeating something about a sempai every so often, Mercury
quickly set up a
meeting for after school the next day on the roof of her
mother's hospital.
(Which had the benefits of being remote and accessible.)

There was a group sigh as the Captain flew away.

"I don't trust him," said Luna as soon as the fellow was out
of earshot. "He
wasn't present in the Moon Kingdom after all, and... why is
everyone looking
at me like that? HEY! LET ME OUT OF THIS! WHAT ARE YOU
DOING?! USAGI!"

"Where'd you get a mailing box anyway," Venus asked Mercury.

"Oh dear, ha ha, I just happened to have one handy," Mercury
said, blushing
furiously. After all, the Captain was said to be quite
intellectual, and
well, Ryo hadn't been around for over a year, and well...

Venus smirked. She knew one way to make sure he was
considered part of the
group. And if Sailor Venus had to drag the stud off by his
cape, she was
gonna make sure he knew she was willing to be his... friend.
Or something
like that.

Jupiter was already gone. She had to make sure she had
plenty of cookies
baked so she could bring them along and introduce herself to
her new sempai!

Mars wanted to check the sacred fire and see if Shinto
priestesses and
Divinely empowered superheroes were a good match. She was
sure they were,
but maybe a horoscope would be good too.

Tuxedo Mask waved his hand in front of Usagi's face and
sighed. Well, at
least he knew that he'd end up with Usagi. And maybe the
Captain could
deflect some of the looks that had been heading his way
lately from the
other Senshi.

"LET ME OUT OF HERE!" Luna called from inside the box marked
"To: Paris by
way of Abudabi".

"You weren't going to really mail that were you?" Venus
turned to find
Mercury running off on some errand. Wait a minute! She had
to get things
ready for meeting her new boyfriend tomorrow!

Tuxedo Kamen became Mamoru and picked up the boxed kitty.
Looked like their
current adventure had gotten more complicated.

============

-End-

--
Rick Robinson
RICHARDROBINSON@prodigy.net


If violence is not solving your
problems you're just not using enough of it.

     Misato

"I guess I'm just an old-fashioned sentimentalist at heart.
I refuse
 to accept a no-win scenario.  I hate the thought of a
universe without
 justice.  If the maneuverings of dark powers can't be
exposed and
 defeated by the pure of heart, then there's no point in
anything.  I
 can't believe that."
                               -- Benjamin Hutchins


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