All previous parts of this story can be found at: 

http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=17205

Sorry, but I can't send you txt versions of chapters if you've asked for
them. This story is huge, and I don't keep it on my HD, only about the
last three or four most recent parts.

	Insertion	

	Part 90

	A break in training.

+++++++++++++++++++

	Trunks smirked as he walked in front of the Senshi and Nabiki Tendo.
The girls were all standing in line in front of him. They had just
emerged from the room and he looked somewhat trampled after they're
escape. However, a simple call of 'formation' had halted their mad dash.

	"Well ladies, I have a few things to tell you before I release you for
the next few days."

	The girls stared forward at attention.

	"For starters, congratulations on completing the training, in three
days you will return for some more technical training, you'll learn to
operate the star fighters I've had Washuu building for us."

	This actually got a surprised reaction from the group.

	"We'll be facing the old navy of the Moon Kingdom when we return as you
know. The Juraians will be supporting us, but only three cruisers will
accompany us back to Earth. This fight is ours ladies."

	"A squad of star fighters and three cruisers against the Moon Kingdom's
armada?" said Rei dumbly.

	"That's right, we'll be well equipped to deal with it, and that was
part of the reason I've been training you so hard. Once that threat is
gone, there's still the forces on Earth to deal with," replied the boy
simply. "The training room was at about twenty times the Earth's gravity
during the last leg of your training as well. I think I should warn you
about that before I set you loose on Jurai. You're much stronger
physically than you were when you entered, and I'm betting you don't
know just how strong you are. Be careful ladies."

	"More training?" muttered Usagi fearfully.

	"You have three days, enjoy your leave ladies," replied the boy as he
turned away from them.

	"Twenty times the Earth's gravity?" muttered Makoto dumbly.

	"It would seem that we need to gauge our strength, in order to not
cause damage," said Ami calmly.

	"Well, where are we going?" said Rei as she looked at her companions
for a moment.

++++++++++++++++++++

	Makoto Kino sat at a bar brooding. She had a drink in her hand as she
stared forward in her senshi uniform. "I never expected anything like
this..." she muttered to herself as she watched her own reflection in
the mirror behind the bar. She could see that she was much more
muscular, but it wasn't that bad really. She was firmer, all of them
were, and they lost a little bit of chest, barely noticeable to anyone
who didn't know them well. Otherwise they didn't look that different, it
was the look in their eyes that haunted her.

	She and the rest of the senshi now had haunted and far away looks about
them. They had seen and done things that they would probably never come
completely to terms with. Ami was the most changed, her friendly and shy
demeanor torn to shreds, and replaced with a cold calculating mask of
ice. It suited her powers really, but was very unnerving for all who had
known her in the past.

	Usagi had been alienated from the group. Yet she was still one of them
somehow, it was obvious that she didn't really like any of them much
anymore. She seemed to think it was her duty to work with them, and she
did care about their welfare. She'd proven it several times over while
in training, saving all of them more than once. 

	Rei had actually calmed because of the training. Her temper was still
there, but it was much more subdued than it had been.

	Minako didn't appear to change much outwardly, but she'd seen the
haunted looks on the girl's face when she had thought she was alone. Her
eye wandered around the men in the room with a strange glint to it, a
little more intense than it had been before.

	She hadn't known Nabiki all that long before the training. Now she
could barely recall what life was like without her. The girl was always
keeping her emotions away, but now she seemed more in command than she
ever had before. She had taken to her authority rather well actually,
and was now probably the most responsible member of the team.

	As for herself, well, she was never quite this introspective before.
She snorted a chuckle out and sipped at the hard liquor in her hand for
a moment.

	"You all right lady?" asked the bartender as he walked over towards her
for a moment.

	"Naw, I'm not," she responded calmly as she glanced at the man. A brief
flash of memory, of the beach where they had fought along side hundreds
of other soldiers in a bloody and costly battle flashed in her mind as
she stared at the man for a moment. His horrified face lying dead on the
ground. She stared at him for a moment and he grew uncomfortable. "No.
No way..." she muttered under her breath as she stood up and turned away
from the bar. "It can't be." She staggered over to where the rest of the
group was sitting. They had taken a large table near the back of the
room and were all sitting around quietly. Usagi had her own booth
nearby; Nabiki was sitting on her own as well, in the next booth.

	Ami noticed the look on the girl's face and turned to look at her
emotionlessly. "So, you noticed it as well did you?" She turned to look
into the crowd.

	"What?" muttered Makoto dumbly as she stared at the girl.

	"I shot him in the face," replied the girl as she pointed at someone
sitting nearby. "Him, I stabbed with a rather large shard of ice, and
the one next to him, was blown in half."

	Makoto stared around the room, there were a lot of faces she didn't
recognize. Mixed in where a few that would haunt her dreams forever.
Those she'd killed or witnessed dying at the hands of her friends.

	"Unreal," muttered Minako as she sucked in a quick breath of air.
Apparently, she had just noticed it as well.

	"I get the feeling, we'll be noticing this over the next few days no
matter where we go," said Rei as she looked up from her drink. "Probably
until we leave this planet."

	Nabiki walked over to them and sat down. "I just got hit on by a man I
castrated once. That was an interesting experience," she said as she
downed half her drink in a single gulp.

	"Castrated?" muttered Minako in horror.

	"The grenade didn't kill him, he bled to death," replied the girl with
a small shrug. It was clear she was very disturbed by it though.

	"This is too weird," muttered Makoto as she looked down at the half
empty glass in her hands.

+++++++++++++++++++

	Trunks stood before the Emperor of Jurai with a smirk on his face. 

	"So, you have returned, and turned those senshi into soldiers?" asked
the man in a patronizing tone.

	"Each one, individually, could probably kill half the people on this
planet," replied the boy calmly. "As a group, not even you could stop
them."

	Azusa frowned at this. 

	"In any case, once the final leg of our training is completed, we'll be
returning to Earth. Lord Tenchi and Yosho will probably return with the
cruisers. It would be best if they were in command of the Juraians in
this operation. I don't trust someone who has no real interests to
protect in this."

	Azusa looked slightly miffed and impressed at the same time. "I see."

	"It would be best if Lady Ayeka did not return with us. Ryoko will
probably accompany Tenchi, but the princess is not strong enough to be
of much use. It would put her in harms way needlessly if she came
along."

	The man arched his eyebrow at this but didn't reply.

	"The Galaxy Police probably won't have much interest either, this is an
internal struggle," continued the boy as he paced back and forth. 

	"You'd like to keep it that way?" said Azusa as he chuckled slightly.

	"It's out of their jurisdiction," replied the boy with a small shrug. 

	"I see, so you are going to leave within a few days?"

	Trunks nodded at him and turned away. "We'll begin the training in
three days. After that, we'll be out of your hair." He walked towards
the door, not bothering to be dismissed. The few nobles that had
witnessed this grumbled irritably, but didn't speak out any longer; at
least not until Trunks had left.

	"The boy is disrespectful, he's dangerous."

	Azusa glanced at the man who had said this too him. "He has saved Jurai
from destruction, he made no attempt to take the throne despite the fact
that he could have easily. The Juraian Royal family was at his mercy. I
trust him more than I trust you. I can tolerate a little disrespect from
someone like him."

	The man looked enraged by this, but sat down silently.

+++++++++++++++++++

	"Tsunami," Trunks stared at the great space tree for a long moment. It
towered over him as he stared up at it. He'd been able to sneak into the
complex that housed the mighty tree easily enough. He and Hotaru had not
been completely idle in their time in the room with the Senshi. They had
their own training to see too, well out of sight of the Senshi. It was
really the true purpose of making Nabiki the ranking member of the
group.

	He reached forward and touched the tree with his palm. "Tsunami, I want
to speak with you."

	The woman appeared behind him with a small frown on her face. He didn't
even turn to face her as he took his palm off the tree. 

	"What is it that you desire?" she asked diplomatically.

	"I want to find out about Keiichi Morisato. I want to know what
happened to him, is he dead?"

	The goddess cocked her eyebrow slightly at this. "That is not too
difficult."

	"I know, I wouldn't have bothered asking you if it was," replied the
boy with a small shrug. "If he's not dead, I'd like you to contact Urd
for me. I want to know if they find him, and when they do, I want to
know what happened to him."

	Tsunami frowned a little at this. "If I might ask, why do you care for
this mortal's life?"

	"Because if he dies, I will lose three very powerful allies," replied
the boy as he smirked at her. "If Keiichi is sent to heaven, then
Belldandy will have to follow. That means Urd and Skuld will go as well,
having lost any personal interest in Earth."

	Tsunami nodded at this. "I see, I understand. I shall see what I can
discover. I do not believe that the trio have found him yet."

	"That bothers me a bit, it would have to be a pretty strong force to
hide him from their magic," commented Trunks.

	"This is true as well," said the Goddess with a short nod. She vanished
and left him alone.

	"I get the feeling, if he isn't dead, there's another force at work
here besides my evil self and those Youma."

	"Brilliant deduction Holmes!" snapped Dan.

	"Another force?" muttered Ranma in confusion.

	"That's right," said Carrot as he chuckled to himself. "Kinda makes me
wonder what it is though. Is it friendly or not?"

	"I hope so," muttered Pissant fearfully.

	"Well, I guess we'll find out sooner or later," muttered Carrot with a
small shrug.

	"Right, whether we like it or not,"	agreed Dan.

	"Well, we've screwed up the Senshi pretty good," commented Carrot
lazily. 

	Pissant tried to make them hold their breath in order to express his
displeasure at this comment. They overpowered him easily though and he
gave up. "That wasn't a very nice thing to do to them at all!"

	"What the hell where you thinking?" snapped Ranma at Carrot and Dan.

	"Hey, you were laughing just as hard as I was when they started blowing
each other up," snorted Carrot. "Don't even think of pinning this on me.
The Drill Sargent was Dan's idea anyway. It would have been more fun to
do it ourselves."

	"Well, I suppose so. It was kind of fun to kick around Hotaru a bit
too," said Dan with a small shrug. "Too bad she's older than us now
though."

	"Gah! Don't say that, once was enough don't ya think? We should find
someone else!" snapped Carrot.

	"Isn't that cheating?" muttered Pissant in confusion.

	Carrot slapped himself in the face.

	"Thanks," muttered Ranma. "I hate to say it, but we haven't gotten any
in a while."

	"Well, we're like ten years old. That's normal. I'd be more disturbed
if we had gotten some," commented Carrot. "Since when are you worried
about that? You cry for a week every time we find some girl who wants to
have a good time anyway."

	"Well, I kinda...got used to it ya know?" muttered Ranma sheepishly.
"Besides, it ain't like we gotta worry about that whiny tomboy chick
anymore."

	Carrot sighed. "Ah, I can hear the sound of us getting slapped for that
comment resounding across the heavens now."

+++++++++++++++++++

	In the office of L-sama, the Lord of All sneezed as he rubbed his cheek
in irritation.

+++++++++++++++++++

	Meanwhile, back on Earth...

	Trunks frowned as Gohan smiled cheerfully as the group overlooked the
village below them.

	"Hey, still looks the same," said Gohan cheerfully.

	"It doesn't," snapped Trunks irritably.

	"Sure it does, why, it looks just like it did that summer we came to
visit the elder and..."

	"All this is burned down in the future moron," grumbled Trunks.

	"Oh, well I guess they did a good job rebuilding it," said Gohan with a
small shrug. "Hey Ghoul, you comin?"

	"Why does he keep calling me that?" muttered Akane irritably as she
glanced at Cologne.

	The elder had other things on her mind though. "Burned to the ground?
Hold! What do you mean burned to the ground?!"

	Shampoo had a cute frown on her face at that moment, not quite
understanding what was going on. 

	"Oh, all this is destroyed when the starships come," said Trunks with a
small shrug. "Actually, casualties aren't too bad around here. He'll be
more interested in cities and such at first."

	"Starships?!" cried Cologne angrily. "What foolishness is this?!"

	"What's not to believe? He already flat out told you he wasn't human,"
said Gohan as he stared at her for a moment.

	Cologne simply stared at him. "I..." Ranma had said something along
those lines to her before. She just hadn't thought too hard on it at the
time. "Space travel on such a level? I never imagined I would see it."

	"Yeah, kinda neat isn't it?" agreed Gohan cheerfully.

	"Where are we? Where are you taking me?" muttered Keiichi fearfully as
he glanced around the group. He looked tired and worn out, the others
were all much stronger than he was, and had a great deal more endurance.
Only the fact that he was excused from carrying any supplies had enabled
him to keep up at all. "Why am I here?"

	Trunks blinked and looked at him for a moment. "You're here so you stay
alive. If you die, those goddesses with you have to return to heaven.
That's not a good thing with what's coming this way."

	"You still haven't explained that," commented Jadeite as he and the
other generals appeared around the group. They had just returned from
scouting ahead.

	"These defenses are a joke," commented Nephrite lazily. "There's only
about five people patrolling the area right now."

	"He's right," agreed Kunzite. "The area is only defended to the south,
the northern area is wide open to anyone who wishes to enter."

	Akane rolled her eyes at this. "So what? We aren't trying to invade
them."

	Cologne looked somewhat irritated by this. "I leave for a few months,
and everything goes to hell? I am going to have a long discussion with
some colleagues of mine in the near future."

	"Right, can we just go now? I'm tired!" whined Keiichi.

	"Well, we can't just stand here all night," agreed Gohan. "Cologne
should be able to get us in without too much hassle too."

	"Why come here though?" asked the Elder as she watched them.

	"Because we know it's safe here. Ranma won't mess with the Amazon's
yet. He's got other plans for you, once you're out of the way that is."
Trunks looked at the old woman for a moment and gauged her reaction.

	Cologne didn't even blink. "I see. Would you divulge this information
to me?"

	"No," replied Trunks before Gohan could respond. "If it doesn't happen
anyway, it won't matter if you know about it or not."

	"You're awfully distrusting," said Cologne with a small shake of her
head.
	
	"Think I don't know what you're planning for us down there? A couple of
strong guys like us just waltzing into the village? Right, I know about
you and your laws. Of course I'm cautious, I don't trust you."

	Cologne narrowed her eyes at him for a moment and sighed. "Saw through
me that easily did you?"

	"You were awfully enthusiastic about us coming here," said Gohan with a
small shrug. "Seemed a bit odd to me anyway. What with us kidnapping
you, and your great granddaughter from your home that way."

	"Can't fault an old woman for trying can you?" replied the hag
cheerfully.

	"No, but we already know our future here," said Trunks calmly. "Nothing
you can do will change that." The boy glanced back at Akane for a
moment. "Sensei, you should be careful here. You're strong, but fighting
with these women here is a bad idea. Please be careful."

	The girl nodded dumbly at this. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

	The pair looked at each other and shrugged. "Cause that's who you are
to us," replied Trunks.

	"Yeah. You'll always be an old bat too me!" replied Gohan cheerfully.

	Akane blinked and looked at the pair for a moment. She was the heir to
the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts after all. It was the
only possible connection she could think of.

	Cologne hopped forward. "Come, we should be there before nightfall."

	"We should be there in about five minutes," corrected Gohan. "It's just
up ahead, sheesh."

	Cologne rolled her eyes; the boy had no flair for drama obviously.

++++++++++++++++++++

	Chibi-Usa was lying on the floor in pain, her father standing over her
with a malevolent grin on his face as he stared down at her. "Weak. You
can barely stand, much less fight. This is truly pathetic."
	
	A golden aura formed around the woman as she glared at him angrily. "I
am not weak!"

	"Then why am I not the one on the ground? I was going easy on you
spore."

	The girl growled at this. "You would never go easy on me."

	"Bah. You're only on the edge of your second transformation, I've
mastered mine, and I am pushing through to the next level. When he
returns, I will destroy him utterly."

	"Still hanging around here are you?" said a calm voice from behind the
pair.

	Ranma turned to look at the intruder with a smirk on his face. "As it
were, yes."

	"You're wasting time," said the small boy who simply stood watching
them. He looked to be about eight, and had short black hair and a black
schoolboy uniform on.

	"I'm making sure," replied Ranma coldly as he turned away.

	"If it amuses you, go ahead," replied the boy calmly as he smiled
slightly. "Your mother is looking for you."

	"Let her," replied Ranma with a snort. "I've got no time to waste on
childish plots and foolish tactics. I'm preparing for the real battle,
she can sit on the sidelines while I do what she failed in."

	"Our plans are almost complete," said the boy.

	"Good, I'll rest easier when everyone who can oppose us is dead,"
replied Ranma icily. "Not a moment before."

	The boy nodded and turned away. "Good, I like that. Tochi is lax as of
late, and Ekitai has gone silent."

	"I warned you about that," replied Ranma coldly. "We should have all
gone, he is the greatest threat to us."

	The boy smirked, his back was still turned to them, but Ranma could
still tell. "So you did. I'll remember that in the future. The ships
will arrive within a month or so. Once they are here, we will have this
planet within a week."

	"That's your end, my end is still alive, on Jurai," replied Ranma
coldly. "Get up Spore, resting is over."

	The woman glared at him and staggered to her feet. The golden aura
burning around her was the only thing that gave her the strength to do
so.

	The boy walked towards the exit and sighed. "He's growing strong,
perhaps too much for my liking. Still, I will need him for a time." He
frowned and left the room.

	"Kuroi doesn't like me training this much," commented Ranma as he took
his attention off his daughter.

	"What?" muttered Chibi-Usa irritably.

	"He's beginning to see me as a threat to his power, true, but dangerous
for us," said the boy as he frowned deeply. "It would be wise, for both
of us to keep an eye on him."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

	Trunks frowned slightly as he found himself surrounded by a large group
of armed women. Fortunately, they seemed somewhat friendly.

	"Um, Hi," said Gohan as he waved at them.

	"Are they going to kill us?" muttered Keiichi fearfully as he clung to
Akane Tendo's back.

	The girl looked somewhat annoyed at this, but refrained from speaking.
She wasn't wearing her black suit at the moment, rather a durable
bodysuit of the same color with several large pockets for equipment sewn
into it. Her eyebrow twitched slightly from behind her shades, but she
didn't move to strike the cowering boy.

	The generals snickered in amusement at the scene behind her, irritating
her further.

	Cologne and Shampoo moved up to the girls. 

	"You!" said one of the guards in Chinese.

	Akane frowned and put her finger up to her ear, making a slight
adjustment to the tiny device inside. "The translators are working."

	"Good," replied Jadeite with a small shrug. The group had avoided
populated areas for the most part on the trip to the village, but he had
known his was working for several days. All of the men had worn them
throughout the trip, and they had taken a train to get to the village at
one point in order to speed things along. Akane hadn't seen the need to
wear hers, as she didn't speak with anyone outside the group. Zoicite
and Kunzite had taken care of any dealings with the locals, with
Cologne's help of course. Shampoo had also been enlisted to buy food
once or twice as well.

	Keiichi looked up at her in confusion and Jadeite grabbed his head
forcibly. The boy muttered in panic, but didn't try to stop the man as
he shoved something in his ear. "Shut up and pay attention."

	The boy nodded at this and seemed to relax a bit more as he was
released.

	"Hey, that's pretty neat," said Gohan in excellent Chinese.

	"Whatever, it's up to you now old woman," snorted Trunks irritably.

	"Yes, so it seems," commented Cologne lazily. "I see Fu Shin hasn't
taken the opportunity to lord over the village lightly. That old fool,
she's as stupid as she is clumsy. Only her age has allowed her as much
respect as she has now."

	"I'll remember that," commented Nephrite with a small snort.

	"What?" cried one of the girls in the group. "You dare!?" She started
to move forward, but a gnarled old staff held her at bay easily.

	"These men are under my protection for the time being. That may change
soon, but until then, you will leave them be." Cologne's tone left no
room for argument. She turned to look at the man. "Be careful what you
say here. You seem to have insulted her granddaughter."

	"And you didn't?" replied the man casually. "Information is always an
asset. It would be foolish of me to disregard the opinions of others so
blatantly, especially political figures like yourself and this Fu Shin
seem to be."

	Cologne offered him a wry grin. "You're smarter than you seem."

	"Ranma didn't carry us to our positions. We earned them ourselves a
thousand years before your ancestors were born," replied Kunzute coldly.
"In any case, we are being rather rude to our hosts."

	"It's understandable, given our guides' reluctance to part with any of
their intuition about our future," said Cologne calmly. "None of us is
very certain about why we have come here. Although I do admit, it is
favorable to myself to be in my own 'back yard' so to speak for this."

	"Ouch," commented Gohan. "Look, we told you, if we tell you too much,
it might disrupt things more than needed. That's bad. This situation is
unpredictable enough as it is."

	"He's right, Pluto-sama gave us strict instructions about what we let
slip," said Trunks with a firm nod. 

	"Pluto-sama?" said Gohan as he stared at his companion for a moment.

	"Not one word," grumbled Trunks irritably. 

	"In any case, the village will be most interested to meet this group,"
said Cologne as she sighed and started to hop forward. "Follow me
please."

	Trunks and Gohan shrugged their shoulders and walked after her,
followed by the rest of the group.

+++++++++++++++++

	"Nice place you got here," commented Gohan cheerfully.

	"Stop embarrassing me," grumbled Trunks.

	Cologne was sitting with the two teens with a number of withered
looking old women around them. The others were outside the room, as only
those with business could enter the chamber of elders; especially the
males in the group.

	"What business do you have with the Amazons?" asked Cologne formally.

	Trunks snorted. "No real business, we needed to be out of Japan for a
time, this was just a convenient place to go really. It's out of the
way, far enough to make him following us inconvenient, and well
guarded."

	"Why do you need to be away from Japan?" asked one of the other elders
suspiciously.

	"Because Ranma Saotome is an insane monster, who will destroy any who
oppose him. Here, we're out of his reach for the time being," replied
Trunks.

	Cologne sighed at this. "What good will this do you? Sooner or later,
he will be able to reach this far. If what you claim is true."

	Gohan frowned at this. "We don't have to do anything. Help is already
on the way, from the planet Jurai. The Sailor Senshi are there training,
once they return with their allies, they will eliminate the threat in
Japan."

	There were muttered whispers and gasps within the chamber.

	Cologne narrowed her eyes at the boys in front of her and slowly stood
up. "Senshi? Alive?! This cannot be!"

	Gohan and Trunks looked at each other for a moment. This was obviously
something they were not expecting. 

	"Ah, but it is Ku Lon."

	All of the elders were on their feet as a new person walked out from
the shadows. Another was at her side, a girl with long violet hair. Both
of them had rather smug grins on their faces.

	"Demon!" cried Cologne.

	"Wait, you mean she didn't know about the Senshi?" muttered Gohan as he
looked at Trunks for a moment.

	"That's crazy, they've been all over the news. Besides, she's met Usagi
I think."

	"News?" muttered one of the elders. 

	"Serenity has been reborn," said Pluto as she walked between the two
boys and glared directly at Cologne. She smiled at the woman's glare.
"The daughter of the woman who banished your people to this desolate
area of the world in a time before history even started."

	"Our people remember that insult!" snapped Cologne hatefully.

	Tsuki was at her mother's side, holding a small metal object in her
hands. "Mother..." she muttered tensely.

	"They won't attack us, they know our power," said Pluto calmly. "They
command the elements themselves, but we hold the power of entire worlds.
Most of the magic they could have used to oppose us, died a thousand
years ago. Lost arts to them now."

	"Thanks to your meddling no doubt," growled Cologne.

	"Perhaps," said Pluto as she smiled at her. "Serenity has no memory of
your foolish treachery though. This is your chance at redemption."

	"Redemption?" growled Cologne angrily.

	"Push aside your anger elder, if only for a moment. Serenity will rule
this world, this entire system, once again. Your people were outcasts,
because of your ancestors' mistakes, now you can be welcomed back once
again, with open arms. If you will only do one thing."

	Cologne didn't look impressed; the two teens that stood around the
Senshi of Pluto and her ward stepped back slightly away from her. "What
might that be?" asked the old woman hatefully.

	"Save yourselves, and this entire world," replied Pluto calmly. "This
is not time for blood feuds or petty age old punishments. Your ancestors
betrayed their own Queen to Beryl, giving her the keys that she later
used to bring down a dynasty that had lasted for thousands of years, and
sealing her own fate. It is ironic that you survived this, thrived, and
are now on the brink of extinction yourselves. However, now a new threat
will destroy all that you know on this world if you do not act quickly."

	"Please, get to the point," growled one of the elders hatefully. "Then
leave at once!"

	Pluto's expression never changed. "Your bitterness will be the
destruction of your own people. The reason these two had to be silent as
to the fate of your people was simple. I wanted to give you a choice,
before you went into the arms of the devil willingly. If you follow him,
you will be destroyed."

	"This devil sounds more appealing by the moment monster," growled
Cologne.

	"Really? I assumed you would say as much. Allow me to show you what you
will be facing, if you choose to oppose us." Pluto arched her eyebrow
slightly as she looked at the two boys. "Transform please."

	"Huh?" said the pair in unison. They had been edging for the door,
hoping to escape the tension of the room.

"Just do it," muttered Tsuki irritably. She was giving Pluto odd glances
as the woman spoke to the elders from time to time, and seemed
distracted.

	"Okay," said Gohan cheerfully as he smirked at her.

	"Great," mumbled Trunks to himself as he crossed his arms and rolled
his eyes. 

	A golden light filled the room suddenly, waves of power poured from the
teens as they stood there. Nothing but their aura's had turned golden as
of yet, but the power was growing stronger by the moment. They seemed
relaxed so far, but it was becoming obvious that something powerful was
building up by the way they were starting to sweat.

	"Enough!" cried Cologne suddenly as the wall behind her cracked. The
floor had started to shake and several of the elders were on the floor
at this point.

	The pair stopped building energy and relaxed.

	Pluto looked at the old woman calmly. "What you just felt, was less
than a tenth of their power. The ones training on the planet Jurai, are
a hundred times stronger than this."

	There were several whispers within the chamber once again. Hateful
glares and interested smiles mixed together amongst the council. 

	"Great, some of them are ready to kill us, and some of them are ready
to make us call them Grandma," muttered Trunks irritably.

	Gohan was looking at Pluto and her daughter, not really paying
attention too much else.

	"What a mess," grumbled Trunks.

	"At least we know which side they pick," whispered Gohan. "Man, they
never told us about any of this mess."

	"It seems you leave us little choice," said Cologne with a heavy sigh.

"There is always a choice elder, you have merely chosen the correct
one," replied Setsuna as she turned to leave. "Come Tsuki, it is best
that we not remain here."

	"Aw man," grumbled Gohan in disappointment. 

	The pair found themselves under the glare of every old woman in the
room. They were also alone now, as the two senshi vanished into their
portal.

	"Think they're mad at us?" asked Trunks as he looked at his companion.

	Cologne cleared her throat. "Had I known about this, you'd have never
set foot inside my village."

	The pair looked at the ground sheepishly. 

	"However, it seems we have no choice but to accept you for the moment."

	"We didn't know about this either," grumbled Gohan.

	"Silence!" snapped Cologne as she belted him on the top of his head
with her cane. "Do you have any idea what you have brought upon my
village?"

	"Not really, no," said Trunks.

	"Shut up!" cried Cologne as she repeated the act on the second boy.
"This is a disaster worse than the revival of the Phoenix King! What
have you done to us?"

	The pair looked at the ground, not wanting to make her any more upset
by answering.

	She bopped them both again. "Answer me fools!"

	"But you said..." started Gohan.

	"Don't speak idiot!" cried Cologne as she promptly gave him another
sound rap on his skull.

++++++++++++++++++++++

	Keiichi frowned as he found himself standing alone in the middle of the
village. Akane and her companions were currently setting up a campsite
just outside the edge of the village. He'd decided to go with the two
kidnappers after they'd basically shooed him away. Unfortunately, the
pair had been called into a private meeting.

	Now he was alone, and surrounded by women who were all looking at him.

	"He's one of those who came earlier today. I hear they are strong
fighters," said one of the nearby females to her companion.

	"What?" he said as he stared at her.

	One of the women walked up to him with a firm looking frown on her
face. "You! I challenge you!"

	Keiichi blinked.

	"I have heard they are very strong, I shall challenge him as well,"
said another amazon. 

	The first looked annoyed by this, but didn't argue as she hefted a long
pole up into a combat stance.

	"Um. Wait a minute," started Keiichi.

+++++++++++++++++++

	"Stupid backwater..." grumbled Akane as she glared at the tents they
would be using as lodging. 

	"It's not so bad," said Jadeite. The tents looked more like small
plastic lodgings, with a lot of electronic equipment protruding from
them. There were four total and they looked quite comfortable.

	Jadeite cocked his head slightly. "Did you just hear someone scream?"

	"Huh?" said Nephrite. "Naw, must have been some animal or something."

++++++++++++++++++++

	Trunks smirked as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing
his martial arts uniform again. The orange tunic with the horse symbol
on the right chest. There was another ball that evening, and he decided
to attend, for lack of anything better to do. He hadn't seen much of
Yosho or Washuu since he'd emerged from the time chamber.

	"Damn, we're a sexy bitch," said Carrot cheerfully as they looked
themselves over.

	"We need water to be a bitch, but we are impossibly sexy aren't we?"
commented Dan.

	"We've been remarkably dry lately," commented Pissant.

	"Well, the fact that we stay indoors mostly, coupled with the fact that
we've been in a room where we control every aspect of everything
probably helped," commented Carrot.

	Ranma sighed as he looked at himself. "Why do we gotta go to this
stupid party anyway?"

	"Well, for starters, I wanna talk with Yosho and Washuu, they'll both
be there," said Carrot. "Secondly, we don't have anything better to do,
we might as well have some fun at Azusa's expense."

	"Besides, I want to see how the girls are holding up, they'll be there
as well," said Dan. "I'm kind of worried about how they'll react to a
crowd like that. I haven't heard any reports of random killings, or
stuff exploding without reason, but I'm still a little worried."

	"Maybe we went too far?" muttered Pissant.

	"Maybe we did, there's nothing we can do now," said Carrot calmly. "In
any case, they seem to keep each other relatively stable. Nabiki's level
head helps a bit too. They don't question her in the slightest anymore."

	"Is that a good thing?" muttered Ranma as he thought about a few things
the girl had done in the past.

	"I'm not sure. I'm not even sure if they'll even go through with
Crystal Tokyo or not, even if they do, I doubt if it will be the same."

	"I'm worried about Usagi," muttered Pissant.

	"She seems to be taking all of this rather well," said Carrot with a
small shrug. "What happened to her was definitely unexpected. I didn't
think the Senshi had it in them. Nabiki maybe, but not those girls. They
were willing to die for her, and then..."

	"Their loyalties might have changed, that could have an effect on the
future," said Dan with a heavy sigh. 

	"Thinking we might have caused a civil war?" said Carrot as he turned
them towards the door.

	"It's possible," commented Dan. "Ami or one of the others might decide
that they'd make a better ruler than Usagi."

	"That's possible, any reason you singled out Ami?" asked Carrot.

	"She's the most different," said Ranma as he forced a slightly guilty
blush to form on their face.

	"Well, I doubt if her soul died, as Usagi put it," commented Carrot.
"She's definitely changed, and shut down her emotions, but they're still
there. You saw how she reacted to that little girl."

	"I think they work well together," said Dan.

	"Things might change once the climate becomes more political. A war is
easier to pick sides on," said Carrot. 

	"So, we basically don't know what the future is gonna be like again,"
said Ranma with a small sigh.

	"Relax Saotome, we can always play mediator," said Carrot cheerfully.
"I doubt if we'll need too. They might surprise you."

	"They also might surprise you," said Dan calmly. "Come on, we should
go. It's only fashionably late if we get there before the party is
over."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

	Azusa sat with his two wives on either side of him. He frowned at the
doorway as the last ball in honor of the barely averted destruction of
Jurai went on before him. "He's late."

	Misaki frowned at him slightly. "Maybe we should have had more food?"

	Funaho sighed "He seems to enjoy being late, but he enjoys teasing you
too much to pass up an opportunity like this one."

	Azusa growled slightly at this, the woman actually looked somewhat
amused by this. "Perhaps."

	"Speak of the devil," said Funaho with her smirk fading slightly.

	The boy strolled into the room with a somewhat bored looking frown on
his face as he glanced around. No one seemed to notice him enter, or
cared that much really. A few of the partygoers moved out of his path as
he strolled up to the throne. "A final party, celebrating our leaving
your presence?" he asked as he smirked at Azusa.

	"Something like that," said the man with a nod. His face was
unreadable. Trunks glanced around the room and noticed Ryoko and Tenchi
standing beside Ayeka. The trio were discussing something politely, even
Ryoko was doing a good job of not angering the princess so far. He
noticed Tenchi looked slightly uncomfortable. 

"I wonder if anyone ever bothered to tell him he can have more than one
wife?"

	"Doubtful," chuckled Azusa lazily. "It will be expected of him, if he
is to remain in contact with Jurai."

	"I'd tell him, but this is too much fun to watch," said Trunks
cheerfully as he eyed the trio for a moment. His gaze flicked over to
the senshi next. They were standing in a group, wearing dress military
uniforms. None of them looked particularly interested in the party, but
they conversed amongst each other. 

	"I haven't seen Yosho in a while, is he here?" asked Trunks as he
glanced up at the emperor. "I get the feeling he's been avoiding me, and
his grandson."

	Azusa smirked at this. "Just figured that out did you?"

	Trunks arched his eyebrow in surprise and frowned. "I've been busy."

	"Actually, I believe he will speak with you before you leave, he's
outside at the moment. The boy has been oddly...introspective as of
late."

	"There's a lot of that going around, excuse me," said Trunks as he
turned away from the man and walked towards the doors.

++++++++++++++++++

	"I'm starting to hate these gatherings," grumbled Nabiki as she brushed
her dark green jacket down slightly. They were all wearing the same
uniform. A green jacket with various medals hanging from their chests,
with a black skirt and dark hoes. Their shoes were highly polished, with
only Rei opting for high heels. The others wore flat-soled shoes of a
similar design. 

	"It's not so bad," said Minako as she smirked at one of the young
servants who walked by carrying a tray of drinks. He didn't seem to
notice her, but her hungry gaze fixed on him anyway.

	"Tsukino is more silent than usual," commented Makoto.

	"I just don't have much to say Kino," replied the girl as she continued
to watch the dancers in the middle of the room calmly. There was no heat
in the exchange at all really. 

	"Should we leave?" asked Rei.

	Ami glanced up at the longhaired girl for a moment nursing a drink
against the wall. She didn't respond, nor did she look like she cared
too.
	
	"No, this is very political," said Nabiki as she smiled at them for a
moment. "We should be mingling, there are a lot of connections to be had
in this crowd."

	"Why aren't we?" asked Usagi as she returned the cool gaze of her
superior.

	"Because I was gauging everyone, to see who looked like they might be
the most beneficial to us. There are a lot of people bowing and scraping
around that one," she pointed out a balding man with a stern face who
strolled by the crowd unmolested. "Minako is eyeing the drink boy, but
he's actually security in disguise."

	"I'd noticed that," commented Minako lazily.

	Everyone looked slightly surprised at this announcement, but Nabiki
continued anyway. "Approaching the emperor would be foolish and a waste
of time. He doesn't seem to care for us much. However, that group over
there is high class, probably pretty high ranking nobles. It might be
wise to test the waters by mingling a little bit. Ladies, I think we
should disperse. Ami, you can hang back if you want." She glanced at the
girl who was still resting against the wall. 

	"As you wish," replied the girl quietly as she closed her eyes and hung
her head down appearing to doze off again.

	"I'm gonna go see how tight security is," said Minako cheerfully.

	Usagi walked in front of her, not bothering to hide it as she rolled
her eyes and vanished into the crowd with the others.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

	Trunks smirked as he stood in front of Washuu and Yosho. The pair were
outside, watching the sky together, basically enjoying being old. "Heh.
I knew you old geezers would get tired of all that activity in there."

	Yosho blinked, he looked to be in his twenties at the moment. Washuu
glared at him in irritation.

	"Jeez, it's way to easy to push people's buttons around here,"
commented Trunks lazily as he walked up to them. "How's the project
going?" he looked directly at Washuu as he said this.

	"It's finished," replied the woman calmly. "Ready to go any time you
are."

	"Good," said Trunks cheerfully. "I guess we're finally even...well, not
really. You can never make up for what you did to me with Mihoshi."

	She smiled at this and shook her head. "I actually just got out a
little earlier today. I finished up a week early, so I took a little
break before coming out."

	"Must have been nice," said Trunks cheerfully. "We'll be going back to
the room tomorrow morning. This is sort of a last fling for the girls."

	The redhead nodded. "After we get out again?"

	"Most likely we'll take a day to rest, and then return to Earth," said
Trunks with a small shrug. "No big deal really."

	The woman nodded at this and smiled. "Well, I've had enough fun for one
night. I'll leave you boys alone." She turned away and left.

	As soon as she was out of sight, Trunks's face was serious once again.
"So, you wanted to speak with me about something?"

	Yosho didn't look surprised in the slightest. "There is a lot on my
mind. Concerning Tenchi mostly, and what he has become."

	"He still uses his art you know, I didn't train any of his forms out of
him," said Trunks. "My training focused more on sharpening what he
already knew, but mostly on making him more powerful above all else."

	"I had noticed, he has lost some of the philosophies of my school
though. Not overly bad per say, but that is not what bothers me."

	Trunks arched his eyebrow at this. "Eh?"

	"The boy is stronger than I could ever hope to be," said Yosho. "I'm
not sure if that was your doing or not, but his power is greater than I
imagined it could be. That...disturbs me."

	"That you didn't think he could be that strong, or that he has become
that strong?"

	"I am not certain," replied Yosho calmly. "I don't know what to say, or
do with the boy now. He is my superior in power, he is also of my blood.
He may choose to remain on Jurai after all this ends, but I will return
home."

	"Hmmm," said Trunks with a small nod. "Little Tenchi is growing up and
becoming a man, that's what's bothering you."

	"In a round about way, yes," said Yosho with a slightly wistful smile
on his face.

	"I've got three daughters, one from the future who's trying to kill me,
one who, as you know, is already grown into a woman of her own, and one
who's mother hates me so much, that she hid who I was from her for more
than ten thousand years. I've never gotten the chance to really raise my
own child. I envy you Yosho."

	The old man glanced down at the boy's serious expression for a moment.
"I am sorry."

	"Maybe, in the future, I'll get the chance. I'll probably be around for
a while if I live through all of this."

	"Yes, this part of a child's life is always hard. Tenchi is growing
into his own man, and I can do little more for him."

	"I doubt that," chuckled Trunks as he glanced up at the man. "Compared
to me, you're a model parent. If I picked up fiancees as easily as I did
daughters, my life would have been much simpler."

	"That's an odd comment," replied Yosho.

	"I suppose it is, I got to see what my life was supposed to have been
like once. What I got was a whole lot different."

	Yosho didn't look completely satisfied with the answer, but brushed it
off anyway. "It seems we are both fated to become old men in young
bodies."

	"It's not so bad, beats the heck out of arthritis," replied Trunks as
he smirked at the man. "If my luck keeps going as it has been, I'll
never need Viagra. Speaking of which...how was Minako anyway?"

	Yosho glanced down at the boy with shock openly expressed on his face.
"What?"

	"Come on you old codger! I know where she was all day yesterday! Your
room is just down the hall from mine," said the boy as he winked at him.

	The man blushed heavily. "I...um..."

	"You pervert, she's fifteen," said Trunks as he elbowed the man in his
ribs.

	The man grabbed the boy by his shoulders. "What?!!"

	"Ya didn't know?" muttered Trunks in confusion.

	"She told me she was..." muttered Yosho as he shook the boy by his
shoulders.

	"Man, I can't believe you fell for that," muttered Trunks lamely. 

	"But she was so...experienced..." muttered Yosho as he found himself
sitting on the grass with an awed expression on his face. 

	"Eh, kids today," replied Trunks as he patted the man on his shoulder. 

	Yosho clutched the boy's leg. "Are you certain?"

	"Yosho, I'm sorry about what happened, but if you don't get your hands
away from that area of my body. I'm going to rip your head off, both of
them." 

	The man realized what he was doing and quickly jumped away. "I
apologize."

	"Whatever, don't worry about it. Minako is kind of a slut, I saw her
eyeing the drink server in the party a minute ago. Kinda feel sorry for
him, she actually tried to sleep with Fuller at one point."

	"Fuller?" muttered Yosho.

	"The training program I created for them. Luckily, I didn't include
full functionality in his program. She shorted him out pretty badly for
about an hour though."

	"I begin to understand," muttered the man as he slumped his shoulders.

	"Look at it this way, at least you don't have to worry about any sort
of commitment this way. It was just a good time and all." Trunks smiled
at him cheerfully and pat him on the back.

	Yosho sighed. "I suppose so."

+++++++++++++++++++++++

	Minako smiled at the man who she now had cornered in the back of the
room. "I said, I want to see how tight security is." She touched her
finger against his chest. "You're security aren't you? Well, how tight
is it?"

	The man stammered at her dumbly. "I...uhhh..."

	"Don't worry, you can trust me. I want to hear all about it," said the
girl as she winked at him.

	The unfortunate young man was desperately searching for an escape from
this situation. "I've got to get back to work. I'll get in trouble if
I'm missed!" He tried to step around her, but she kept moving in front
of him.

	"I'm sure Azusa won't mind if I borrow you for the night. I'll explain
things to him. I'm sure he'd want me to feel secure after all..."

	"Look, it's getting late..." stammered the man as he looked at his
watch and glanced over her shoulder nervously.

	"You're right, I should be getting back to my room. Why don't you keep
me safe on the way there?"

	The man frowned at her suddenly and his expression darkened. "Damn."

	Minako blinked at this and glanced over her shoulder. "Huh?"

	Azusa was standing up from his throne and heading for the door.

	"Sorry lady. Love to take you up on your offer, but I've got places to
be," said the boy as he smirked at Minako.

	"What the?" said the senshi as she noticed him drop his tray and step
back. Before she knew what hit her, she was sent onto her back by a
surprisingly strong kick. "What's going on?"

	Something clicked in her mind as she saw him rush towards the emperor,
not even registering with the guests really. The towering man hadn't
noticed yet, and he was a good distance away from any guards.
"Assassin!" muttered Minako. She pouted quite cutely. "No! He's so cute,
and now I have to kill him!?"

	It all happened within a split second, she noticed Ami rushing towards
the man from the side, the only one besides herself to realize what was
happening. She grit her teeth in frustration and jumped into the air.
"Venus Love Me Chainsaw!"

	The crowd of partygoers turned their gazes upwards as the girl
initiated her attack. It was a loop of hearts that were linked together
in a long oval shape. A high pitched whine filled the air as they began
to move at an amazingly high rate of speed. Venus slashed down with her
arm, and the giant chainsaw blade moved down with it, cutting the floor
directly in front of him and stopping his forward motion.

	Ami skidded to a halt and pushed her hands forward. "Shabon Cage!"

	Rows of thick ice spikes shot up from the ground around the man in a
circle, they curved towards each other connecting at the top, creating a
prison that held the man in place.

	Ami looked at Minako for a moment. "You missed."

	"He's got a nice butt," said the girl with a shrug. "Besides, I saw you
were coming from the side, so I only needed to slow him down a little.
You didn't kill him either though."

	Ami snorted. "No, I did not. He needs to be tortured so that we can
discover who sent him. Then he will be executed."

	Minako glanced through the icy bars at the man and sighed. He was
cowering fearfully away from the pair. "Too bad, you're really good
looking too. Oh! Hey! Look at that guy!" Her attention was diverted
instantly as another young male came into view. 

	Azusa walked up to the pair and frowned deeply. "It seems I owe you my
thanks. I will take it from here."

	"Good, torture is messy business, I'd rather not deal with it if I
don't have too," commented Nabiki as she walked up with the rest of the
senshi around her. They were all alert now, and were glancing around the
room for a possible accomplice. "Still, whoever did this probably has a
lot of pull. I'll send some of my girls to make sure he doesn't escape
before we can get some answers out of him tonight."

	"I think it can wait until tomorrow. It is late," said Azusa.

	"You won't have us around tomorrow," said Nabiki calmly. "Whoever sent
him is likely to do something to make him clam up as well, it's even
possible that he could be killed, or released before then. It's best
that we do it now, just to make certain." 

	"I will go, he will not escape," said Ami coldly. She narrowed her eyes
at the man and frowned deeply.

	"Very well, I leave this in your hands. The Captain of the Royal Guard
will handle the rest."

	Nabiki nodded and turned to face the man who the Emperor had indicated.
"Hello."

	Two hours later, Ami Mizuno walked out of the dungeon with a stony
expression on her face. She had some bloodstains on her collar and
hands, and a name. One of the court as she suspected all along. It was
fairly simple to extract the information from the man with her power
over ice. Freezing various body parts off of someone tended to do
wonders with loosening of lips. A few razor sharp needles and blades,
and the will crumbled to dust. It was an oddly familiar feeling to do
what she had done. Perhaps something related to her past in the Silver
Millenium. The emperor's men had limited success with their own
interrogation, and had accepted her offer to assist only a half-hour
into the torture.

	She'd wash off the blood later, for at the moment, she had an order for
execution in her hand, signed by the Captain of the Guard, and the
Emperor himself. Having a license to kill was an oddly free feeling,
while at the very same time restricting in the same manner. Duty, Honor,
and responsibility weighed much more with such a freedom. Before, her
kindness and feelings would have prevented her from doing what was
necessary. Now, she had no such problems with her duty.

	When the next morning came, there was one less traitor in the Emperor's
court. Apparently someone was rather upset with the man's decision to
just give away the Earth without a fight. To even assist those who were
taking it from them was apparently going too far. The information was
easy enough to garner, he was not nearly as difficult to persuade as his
assassin had been.

	Ami Mizuno walked into Nabiki Tendo's room and found the girl waiting
quietly at a desk inside. "How did it go?"

	Ami handed over the paper silently and stepped back. "Mission,
complete."

	"Very good," said Nabiki as she gave her a sort of predatory smile.
"We've just gained an awful lot of respect here. That could help us in
the future."

	Ami nodded. "If there is nothing else?"

	"Dismissed," replied the girl as she waved her hand casually.

	Ami glanced up at the clock as she left the room. She still had five
hours to sleep, more than she had been expecting. "How fortunate," she
commented to herself as she walked into her own room.

++++++++++++++++++++

	George Lucas sat up in his cot aboard the Mikon Taka. Things had been
quiet since the end of the whole Buu episode. It was rather relaxing,
and he'd been able to fix everything onboard the ship. Which meant there
was nothing to do anymore. "This is pretty boring," he muttered to
himself with a small smile. Boring was good, it meant he wasn't being
tormented. "I hope this lasts a while." He laid his head back and sighed
in contentment.

	"Psst. Hey George," said a familiar voice from beside him.

	"Eh?" muttered the man as he turned his head. "GAH!"

	Trunks was grinning at him. "Time to go."

	"Go?" he muttered fearfully.

	He found himself being dragged off by his wrist. His belly hanging out
over the exposed midsection of his spandex outfit. Still the same one he
had worn during the Silver Millenium. Apparently he had several such
outfits, and the male clothes the Juraians had sent him were largely
ignored.

	"Jeez, you're still wearing those things? Get a grip man," muttered
Trunks as he peered at the man for a moment.

	"Where are you taking me?" whimpered the man as he struggled futilely
in the boy's iron grip.

	"It's time for training dumbass. You gotta show those stupid chicks how
ta fly!"

	"It's six in the morning!" cried George.

	"Yeah, I let ya sleep in, come on. You'll get used to the time schedule
in a day or two," muttered the boy as he led the man down the ramp of
the ship.

	The girls were all standing in front of him at attention, and Washuu
was beside them with a slightly dazed look about her. Hotaru smirked at
the scene and rolled her eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow then." She turned
away and walked back towards the palace.

	"She's not coming?" said Nabiki in surprise.

	"Nah," replied Trunks calmly. "We're going to be too busy for me to
really train with her this time."

	The girl nodded and swallowed as Trunks opened the door to the room and
shoved George inside.

	"You'd better not expect me to get up this early every day," mumbled
Washuu irritably.

	"Come on," said the boy as he rolled his eyes and pushed her inside.
The Senshi and Nabiki walked in after her, and he walked in last,
closing the door behind him.

++++++++++++++++++++

	TBC...

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