Book 1: Immortals' Hope

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Takeuchi Naoko, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. Tenchi Muyo! belongs to Hitoshi Okuda, AIC / Pioneer LDC, and Viz Communications, Inc. Oh, My Goddess belongs to Fujishima Kosuke, Kodansha, TBS and KSS films; AnimEigo, Studio Proteus, and Dark Horse Comics. Star Trek belongs to the estate of Gene Roddenberry and Paramount.  Highlander belongs to Rysher / Davis / Panzier Productions.

Introduction: 'Tis me again, the Immortal Ki Dragon half-Goddess, half-Demoness Nendo-kata Researcher, Cute Kitsune Kaydee. Ah, I see that thou hast come in search of more tales about the crew of the Wild Rabbit, immortal and other. Well then, come with me to my techno-magic computer's high-resolution screen, and let us observe the amazing adventures within.

— Kitsune

Welcome to the first book in the ongoing saga of our immortal friends. I hope that you enjoyed Immortal's Lament and that you will like this just as much. The records that are being recorded here are true, somewhere and sometime. Who knows, maybe someday you will meet these travelers.

I have my own web site, Nighthawk's Fanfiction. Please check it out, and sign my guestbook.

—Tomas

Part 1

There was a bright flash of light in the blackness of space. Reality seemed to bend and fold in one point. To any that were there to observe, it would seem that a space ship of a very advanced design came out of nowhere. Unfortunately for those aboard the ship, there were people there to observe its appearance. A lot of people, in fact. More people than they had given as the best guess. All of those people were currently staring at the ship. After all, it was not every day that a spaceship appeared directly above a Royal ball being held on the Moon, the capital of the Solar System.

The Sailor Senshi reacted as normal, powering up and preparing for a fight. Queen Serenity and her daughter were ushered into the palace by a group of Royal Guards. A pair of battlecruisers moved in on the ship, with their guns trained on it. A number of people questioned the name of the ship, scrolled in large letters on the side in the language of the Royal Family, 'Wild Rabbit'.

Ranma stared at the sensor image that Nabiki had brought up. His wife and Setsuna were looking at him. He wondered why stuff like this always happened to him. As warning lights went off as the cruisers armed their guns, Ranma came to a quick decision. "Usa, Setsuna, I'm going to beam down first. I'll let them know that we are here in peace. If trouble starts and I run into problems, I want you to come down and power up. The shock of that will stop any fighting. Give me two hours to convince them. If you don't here from me by then, assume the worse and come crash the party. Nabiki, beam me down."

Nabiki looked tense on the screen. "You better know what you are doing, Ranma. If you screw this up, I'm never going to trust you to do a diplomatic mission again." She energized the transporter and sent Ranma Moonside.

"Nabiki, please bring up an enhanced view of Ranma on the main screen. I want to make sure he's okay."

"Of course, Usa. I wouldn't have it any other way." Nabiki moved herself to one of the side-screens and brought up the view of Ranma.

The Senshi were prepared for almost anything. Be it demonic beast, hoards of mindless zombies, dozens of shock troops, or high explosive devices, they would win the fight. Unfortunately, there was that word, 'almost'. They were NOT prepared for the appearance of a young man wearing loose fitting clothes and coming among them unarmed. It was really unfortunate for Ranma who happened to be in the way of the released magical attacks.

It was extremely unfortunate for the Sailor Senshi that the Norn Goddesses had brought the nekoken into perfect harmony with Ranma's ki, so that he received all the benefits of the cat-fist without the fear. Using his newfound speed, Ranma slid left past Venus's Crescent Beam, ducked under Jupiter's Supreme Thunder, and jumped over all of the attacks by the other Senshi. The jump brought him into the middle of them. Not wanting to hurt them, Ranma attacked using the knowledge he gained in the Tomb of the Gods. His arms disappeared as he struck out, pressing pressure points on their bodies causing their muscles to freeze up. Within a minute the only ones not paralyzed were Sailor Saturn and Ranma himself. Saturn had jumped back and held the Silence Glaive ready. Ranma, however, dropped all pretense of a stance and took up a neutral position.

"Saturn, I don't wish to fight. Myself, my wife, and my friends came in peace." He gave her his most charming smile, which grew slightly as he saw her relax. He noticed the interest in the other Senshi's eyes. He prayed that they were only interested in what he had to say and not other things. "Look at the other Senshi." Ranma waved his hand at the prone forms. "I could have killed them instead. I simply wish to talk right now. You can relax."

There was a distortion of air behind Ranma as a familiar power source came into existence. Another smile crossed his lips. She came sooner than I expected. This is going to make getting through a lot easier. Before anything else could be said, Ranma addressed the figure without turning. "Sailor Pluto. Am I glad to see you. I was afraid that we'd have to search the galaxy to find you. I know what you are going to say. You are going to tell me that my friends, my wife, and myself represent a huge distortion in the time/space continuum. Am I correct?" Ranma finally turned around to face the Senshi of Time. She looked the same as Setsuna did back on the ship. Ranma smiled at the shock the native Pluto was going to have when she met her counterpart.

"I assume that if you know all that then you have a good reason for being here. What is it?"

"Those reasons are only for your ears and Queen Serenity's. If she will grant me a private audience with you present, then I will discuss it. If not, then I will speak of what brought me here only to you."

The voice of Serenity came from behind them. They both turned to gaze upon the great Queen. "I will grant you the audience you have requested, stranger. Before I do, however, I would have your name."

Giving her his best, sweeping bow that he learned from the years living in Crystal Tokyo, he replied. "Ranma Saotome."

It was a brightly lit chamber. There was a long table at which three people sat. Two women were next to each other while the lone male sat across from them. Ranma prepared to give a hopefully moving speech that would get Serenity and Pluto on his side. I never was good at this stuff. Usa-chan is a lot better than me, but I won't expose her to the danger this can bring. First thing I need is some information from Pluto.

"Before I begin, I need to know something from you, Pluto. How much about the near future does Serenity know?"

Pluto's eyes narrowed at the implications that Ranma was posing. "What do you mean how much she knows? I don't hide anything from her."

"Fine, then," Ranma was already getting annoyed at her attitude. It wasn't like he was some sort of lower life form, after all. "Does Queen Serenity know of the events that will lead to the rise of Crystal Tokyo? I need to know, Pluto. I don't want to change certain parts of history. I need to know what I can say."

A puzzled expression came over Serenity's face. She glanced at Pluto as she spoke. "What is this Crystal Tokyo, Pluto?"

Ranma smiled. He now had all that he needed. "It will become the capital of the galaxy in about thirteen thousand years. That is all that I need to know. Suffice to say, your Majesty, the Silver Millennium will come to an end as all things do. Eventually, one of your family line will come into power and create a new order of peace. The capital of this new Federation will be called Crystal Tokyo. After thousands of years of peace, a group of alien invaders from out side the galaxy will come. Not only will they destroy the peace and kill everyone in the Federation, which has hundreds of races and worlds in it, their actions will destroy all life in the universe, causing all to become a void. They will start to do this by making the Time Gates lost. I think you know what not having access to the Gates of Time will cause, Pluto."

Pluto paled and looked shaken. Serenity, however, looked confused.

"What would the loss of the Gates of Time mean?"

Pluto turned to her Queen. "All time would go out of order. Past, present, and future would become mixed, and a paradox would be formed. It would cause the universe to simply vanish." Serenity paled at the thought. Ranma, however, continued.

"There were three survivors of their invasion. Me and a friend of mine left the galaxy to become strong enough in order to defeat the invaders, by order of the queen. The invaders destroyed themselves a hundred years after they annihilated the Federation. We went to another quadrant of this galaxy and trained for three thousand years, so that we could go to their galaxy and stop them from invading anyone else. We had learned earlier that they had come to our galaxy through an unstable wormhole that shortly collapsed behind them. It was a good thing it did, or they would have swarmed over the entire galaxy. When we found a way to cross galaxies and go there, we found that they had destroyed themselves and all other life in their galaxy. It took a little while, but we found their planet of origin and learned that they had been artificial bio-organic/metallic engineered life forms designed to be soldiers to defend that planet. However they got out of control and destroyed their creators, and anyone and anything else they found. We were also ordered to protect my wife, who was a member of the nobility, at all cost. To do so we put her in a cryogenic stasis capsule. We then put her in the Gates of Time. When the Gates were lost I thought I would never see her again. Around a million years later, a temporal vortex opened up and let her out. I barely managed to keep going after my dear wife was lost. Only my friends needing me there is what kept me going. The only other survivors were a holographic doctor and my first wife's late sister's memory, personality, and emotions inside our ship's computer. We wish to prevent this from happening again, so we will give you what you need to know to prepare for the invaders. The changes, however must start now."

Pluto was looking at Ranma like he was crazy by the time he finished relating what they needed to know. Serenity had a very cautious look upon her face, as though she was trying to decide whether he was telling the truth or not. If he was, then the decisions that she made now could destroy all life in the universe and bring about a never-ending void. Pluto wasn't just skeptical, though, she was completely disbelieving.

"You don't really expect us to believe that do you? No one can live for millions of years. It's completely impossible. Even the longest-lived person in the Solar System right now is only approaching a thousand. How could you be as old as you say you are? Not only that, but if you were there when the Invaders came, how come you didn't die?" Pluto was very much against Ranma all the way. He had a feeling he shouldn't have paralyzed the other Senshi. After he released them, the only one who showed any type of trust was Saturn, and that was most likely because she thought she could defeat him if she had to. Ranma was glad that she hadn't learned his secret yet. Unfortunately, it was now going to come out in the open.

"I survived for one simple reason, Pluto, you see, I am Immortal. I cannot be killed. I cannot die. I live, now and forever." There, it's out. I'll probably have to convince them, though.

"No one is Immortal. You're just completely full of yourself. If you were so powerful, why didn't you take control of everything, huh? Maybe you did and now you're here to do the same to us!" Pluto was really against Ranma. Too bad for her, she had finally pushed Ranma too far.

"THAT'S IT, PLUTO! I AM SICK OF LISTENING TO YOU TRY TO ACT AS IF YOU KNOW EVERYTHING! GUESS WHAT? YOU DON'T!" Ranma utilized the Hidden Weapons technique he had learned from Mousse so long ago, and drew a dagger from nowhere. Before Pluto could yell in alarm he plunged it through his arm completely, letting it stick all the way out, blood dripping on the table. Serenity looked in shock at what he had done. Even Pluto was surprised by his actions. She was also upset about it. She wished she could have been the one to stick it in him. Ranma then tore the dagger out of his arm and tossed it back into weapon-space. Serenity began to draw forth her healing magic, only to stop in shock as she watched the wound seal itself shut. Pluto had finally shut up. Ranma spoke once more in a normal tone of voice. "Now you know how I survived. No matter what injury I get, it just heals up instantaneously. One of the Invaders stuck a metal claw through my forehead and dropped me for dead. Less than one minute later I destroyed it with the most powerful Ki blast I could summon, and should have died a second time, from using too much of my life energy. Another minute and I was back in the battle at full health, if a bit tired."

Serenity spoke for the first time since she asked about Crystal Tokyo. "That must be terrible, losing so many friends and loved ones to time. I don't know how you did it." There was true compassion in her eyes.

"I can show you how I did it. It would probably make a bigger impact on what I'm telling you. Will you let me beam down my friend on my ship?" This was the biggest moment. Ranma had one shot at convincing them that all he had said was true. He had to have Setsuna beam down. The Guardian of Time meeting herself would do wonders for her attitude.

"Don't let him, your Majesty! It's a trick so he can beam down an army and capture you! Don't listen to him! He represents the biggest disruption to Time that I have ever seen! We should kill him now and destroy his ship before they cause a paradox!"

"Oh, sure, on a ship that has enough life support for three people, I've stuffed an army in there! That's a good one! Let me guess, you thought of it all by yourself, didn't you? It's true that my ship is a large Universe-class Federation starship and can hold a crew of three thousand. But more than a third of the decks are shut down, and only a few are actually operational. your Majesty, surely your people have taken life readings of my ship by now. They can tell you that there are only two people aboard it right now. Go ahead and ask them. If there are more than two, then I'm going up there and throwing them off my ship. Oh, and Pluto you wouldn't be able to kill me at all or damage my ship. Not even Saturn at her strongest can scratch my ship or kill me, either."

Pluto still wouldn't give up on getting rid of Ranma, however. "Your Majesty, surely this is…"

Serenity had finally had enough. She realized that Ranma and his friends were trying to aid them, not harm them. "Pluto, that's enough." She used a soft but firm voice. "Ranma, you may have one person come down."

"Thank you, your Majesty." He brought his wrist comp, which had a communicator built in, to his mouth. "Nabs, ask our green-haired friend to beam down to my location. We have permission."

"Sure thing, Ranma. I'm sure she's looking forward to the meeting. Beaming now."

A soft blue column of light formed beside Ranma. When it cleared Setsuna stood tall and proud in her Royal gown from Crystal Tokyo. "Hello, your Majesty. It has been far too long."

Ranma gave her a disappointed look. "You didn't power up! I wanted to see her face" He accused as he pointed at the native Pluto.

The native Pluto (hereby referred to as Pluto) stared in a semi-shock at the Pluto who had just arrived (hereby referred to as Setsuna). She came to her senses rather quickly. It didn't help her attitude much, though. "I have never met you before. You are not my future self. Just who are you?"

"I am you, Pluto. I'm different because I come from much farther in the future than I ever did before. There are other reasons, though, and I will not get into them right now. You have no need to know of them as they would effect the future too much."

"I know for a fact that you are lying now. If you came from the future, then you would have had to use the Gates of Time. No one has passed through the Gates but myself in many years." Her voice was disgustingly superior. She was just full of gloating innuendo. "Now then, just who do you think you are? Just because you say you come from the future doesn't mean anything!"

Setsuna's voice became deathly quiet. "Don't you dare take that tone of voice with me. You have no idea what I've been through, no idea just how much pain I've suffered in my life since the fall of Crystal Tokyo. I've been through hell, child, and I am far more powerful than you can ever hope to be."

"Who do you think you are?! You dare call ME a child! Why you little…"

"I will call you whatever I wish. After you've lived for better than a million years, then you can ask me to stop calling you a child!"

Ranma had never seen Setsuna lose her temper before. He was instantly glad of that fact, too. Note to myself; NEVER get Setsuna angry with me. It is NOT pretty.

Sailor Pluto obviously felt the same way. She hadn't moved since Setsuna ended her statement. She just stared at Setsuna. She said in a shaky voice, "Over a million years?" Her eyes were wide and unblinking. Then, as though it were the most natural thing to do, her eyes rolled up to the back of her head, and she fell out of her chair onto the floor in a dead faint. Serenity looked startled by the event that had just occurred. It was the first time she had ever seen the Senshi of Time drop in a faint. Ranma sat there smirking at the sight, while Setsuna had a sick look on her face.

Ranma looked worriedly at his friend. "Hey, Setsuna, are you okay? You don't look too good."

"I'm fine, Ranma. I just forgot how prideful I was back then. I was always right, even if it meant untold danger being brought onto the other Senshi. I remember during the rebirths, when I tried to stop Saturn from being reborn. In the end, it was she who saved us all."

Serenity looked intrigued at the thought. "Sailor Pluto, what do you mean by the rebirths? And why would you try to stop Sailor Saturn from being reborn?" She was struggling to come up with a reason why any of the Senshi would want to harm another. She knew that there was a growing rift between the Inner Senshi and the Outer Senshi, but it had never been violent. Also, this was between two of the Outer Senshi. Surely things could not be that bad in the future.

"Your Majesty, let us wait for my counterpart to revive. It is not so nice a story that I want to tell it more than once." Fortunately for Serenity Pluto was just coming to her senses and caught the message. "Also, please call me Setsuna. It will make things a bit easier while we are here." It was then that Sailor Pluto resumed her seat. "Now, if you are willing to listen, we will tell the story you need to know."

"I am both ready and willing to listen. Go ahead."

"Everything that originally happens is to start in one year. At that time, the Duchess Beryl will lead an assault on the Palace here on the Moon. You see, a number of years ago she released Metallia from her prison."

"WHAT!" Serenity was shocked by the news. Word had reached her of Metallia's escape, but she never learned who had caused it to happen.

"Please, your Majesty, clam down and let me tell you what is to happen. If we are to prevent the greater of the evils you must know this one. Beryl's attack on the Palace is going to be successful. There is no way you could prevent it without any warning. You could get no aid from the other worlds and moons, since her minions attacked them first. The attacks upon the other worlds and moons were even more successful than that here on the Moon. Their biospheres were completely and totally destroyed. Only Earth remained habitable, and that was due to the efforts of all of Earth's military. They had been able to hold the enemy back, but not make any advances. When Beryl attacked here, you were forced to use the Ginzuishou. With it you imprisoned Beryl and all her forces. Your daughter, Prince Endymion, and the Senshi were also trapped by the power of the Ginzuishou. With your last strength you sent them all into the future to be reborn so that some children of the Moon would survive."

Serenity could be seen to be getting more and more depressed. The thoughts of how bad things were going to get for her weighed heavily on her mind. She was trying to come up with ways to prevent it all, Ranma was sure. Setsuna continued to speak.

"I'm afraid that it gets worse, Serenity. Endymion's four bodyguards are going to be turned against us by Beryl. She will corrupt their minds and force them to fight against their will, though they won't realize that. You see, in the future, around nine thousand years from now in a time known as the 1990's AD, the Senshi will be reborn, along with your daughter — who will become Sailor Moon — and Beryl will escape her prison. There will be a number of battles, but eventually the Sailor Senshi will win by combining all of their power into your daughter, who at the time will be in the form of Princess Serenity. She channels it into the Ginzuishou, which causes all power to unite, and she sends this power against Beryl, who is merged with Metallia, and destroys them both. Unfortunately, they will also end up killing the four bodyguards of Endymion before then, except Nephrite who was killed by Zoicite's youma minions. They will never remember who they were. The process that sent them into the future to be reborn was flawed and erased most of their memories. It is true that Zoicite and Kunzite remembered, but that was only of their love for each other. They, and the other bodyguards, did not remember their lovers amongst the Senshi. Beryl had destroyed most of their memories."

Setsuna could see the sadness and tears in her Queen's eyes. She knew that learning of so much pain would hurt, but it had to be done. The invaders could not be allowed to win again. "After Beryl is destroyed, the Senshi lost their memories at the request of your daughter, who wanted them all to have normal lives. Not too long after, though, a new, alien menace attacked Earth. The Senshi awoke once more, and after a struggle, they won, though this time by teaching the aliens about love, a concept they had never heard of."

"How sad that there was a race that didn't know about love," Serenity murmured under her breath.

"Yes, it is, your Majesty. Their race did once know about love, but a dark force invaded and turned most of them evil. They destroyed their world and only a few survived. The only two survivors who reached Earth were teenagers who had never heard of or experienced love. Their elders perished on the long journey before they could teach them about it," Setsuna continued. "The battles didn't stop there, however. Not too long after that, a young girl came to the past from the future. There was an entire enemy race, know as the Black Moon Family, descendants of those on the penal colony Nemesis, trying to capture her. They succeeded at one point, but the love that her parents had for her brought her back from the darkness. Her parents, you see, were your daughter and Prince Endymion. During this war against darkness, the Senshi, your daughter, and Endymion, went to the future to try and save it. There they learned where destiny would lead them. Even after they had been through all of that, another darkness tried to take over the Earth. This time it was in the form of Pharaoh 90. This struggle was even tougher than the others were, and it caused the Outer Senshi, who had been unaware of their past to this point, to wake up. The last of these was Sailor Saturn. It was a long struggle with more twists than I wish to go through. Suffice to say, in the end, Sailors Moon and Saturn went into the dimension that Pharaoh 90 was trying to get out of, and Saturn used the Death Reborn Revolution. Sailor Moon was then able to pull her out, as she was so drained her body reverted back to that of a child. There were a number of other battles, including a terrible war that left much of the planet in ruins, and eventually Crystal Tokyo was formed. After Space travel outside our Solar System became capable on a normal basis and a peaceful — though very logical race — known as the Vulcans contacted us, Neo-Queen Serenity, the ruler of our system, set up the Federation of Planets."

"Neo-Queen Serenity?"

"It is the name your daughter takes up. She will be a kind and just ruler for her entire life, and loved by almost all people." Ranma had finally gotten a word in. It took them long enough to get to a point that he knew something about. Now it was his turn.

"In what was called the year 1999 AD a man by the name of Kahn started what has become known as the Eugenics Wars. He and other genetically engineered superhumans attempted to take over the Earth. The normal government forces couldn't stop him and his troops. They were too strong. As soon as it became apparent that the normal humans were losing the war, a band of us stronger, more powerful people took up the call of war. This was, in fact, the first time I met one of the Sailor Senshi. A band of about 20 of these engineered humans attacked a local high school to gain hostages that they could trade for supplies and weapons. I was working at the high school to gain credit for my degree so I could open my own dojo when it happened. I was in the middle of teaching a self-defense class when a pair of them came in to stand watch over us. I didn't take their pointing guns at my students too well. I used some of my father's forbidden techniques to kill them, and protect those under my care."

Serenity's eyes narrowed slightly at those words. "What do you mean by forbidden techniques? What were they, and why were they made?" Thoughts of some of the most dangerous spells came to mind spells that could eradicate all life on a world if not used with care. If he knows any of them, I will have to wipe his memory. They cannot be allowed to exist.

"The Saotome Forbidden Techniques are two schools of martial arts that my father developed. The first is the Yamasenken, or Mountain fist school, and the other is the Umisenken, or water fist school. The Yamasenken is supposed to be powerful, strong like the mountains. The Umisenken is supposed to flow and deflect around an opponent like the waters of the sea against a rock. I utilized the Yamasenken. The first one I killed by cutting him in half with the Kijin Raishu Dan. That particular technique creates a blade made of a vacuum. It's like throwing a chunk of space at your opponent. The other one I killed with the Roga Shuhai Tai. It allows me to use my Ki to create a set of claws over my fingers. I ripped his throat out using it." Both Serenity and Pluto looked sickened at the thought of him doing that to any living thing. Even Setsuna was pale even though she had seen him use the techniques before. "The reason that they are forbidden is because they are so dangerous. I will teach them to only my heir in the art, and no other. At this time I am the only one to know them. I am planning on adding one other school to the Saotome Forbidden Techniques."

Setsuna looked at Ranma in surprise. "You have another school as dangerous as the Yamasenken and Umisenken? I thought you said you wouldn't develop anymore schools to it."

"I didn't develop this school, I acquired it. Not that I wanted it in the first place. I'm talking about the nekoken, Setsuna. It is just as dangerous as the others are. It is not only dangerous to an opponent, but to oneself as well."

Setsuna nodded her head in understanding. "I can understand your desire to make the nekoken forbidden. I take it that is going to be one of the changes we make."

"Yes, it is."

"Excuse me, but what is this nekoken you are referring to? And why is it so dangerous?"

"It is known as the Cat Fist, your Majesty. It is dangerous because the training can kill the student. It is more dangerous since if the training is successful, it will drive the one whom wishes to learn it insane. I was forced into learning it, but thankfully the Moon cats of my universe used telepathy to reprogram the insanity that comes with it away."

"How is it taught, Ranma?" If it was so bad, she wanted to make sure no one in the Silver Millennium was the one who created it. Serenity cared for all of her people, not just some.

"First, the learner has to be under ten years of age. Then you wrap the person from head to toe in fish sausage and throw them into a pit of a hundred starving cats." Ranma winced at the memory of all the pain it had caused him. "I really don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Of course, I can see how painful it must have been for you." Serenity and Pluto were not only disgusted by what had to be done to learn the nekoken, but gained a new respect for Ranma, since he had survived it.

"Anyway, the Forbidden Techniques are only to be used in life-and-death situations. And so you know, they were made because they follow the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts only rule: to win at the cost of your enemy. The ultimate form of victory, and the last resort of any fight, is the death of your opponent. Remember this, it is easier to kill than it is to spare lives." Both Pluto and Serenity looked somewhat frightened of Ranma by now. He ignored it, however, and continued with the story.

"Back to the story. I took care of those two, and all of a sudden a new voice comes from above. I think that it's another one of the Engineered and prepare another attack. When I turned to face the person, though, it was Saturn. I lowered my power level and talked to her. The other students confirmed my words, and we made a plan. Eventually we incapacitated all of the Engineered. We gathered our friends, met and started to plan a way to battle in the war. We gained some more help from the Royal Family of Jurai, a planet outside our Solar System. They had been visiting our world when this all broke out. It took another half a year, but we won and forced them off the planet. They left in cryogenic stasis capsules, and we had peace again. They were never seen on Earth again, but later after the Federation was formed and been around awhile our most legendary Captain, James T. Kirk, stumbled across them. Kahn tried to kill Kirk and take control of the ship but he was defeated and he and his followers were exiled to an uninhabited planet."

"Eventually, the governments started squabbling amongst themselves and one launched missiles at others. This ignited hostilities and started World War Three. The Earth was left in ruins, and a cease-fire was called. It was during this time of quiet that Crystal Tokyo was built. A final peace treaty was drafted not much later, and Neo-Queen Serenity became the leader of our race by unanimous vote of the people."

Pluto looked surprised at that. "A unanimous vote? I never realized how loved she would become. My future self never told me of any of this."

It was Setsuna who answered her. "You didn't need to know at that time. All of those events moved slowly and perfectly by themselves. It was during the wars that the Princess grew up and became who she had to be."

It was at this point that Setsuna picked up the story. "About six years after Crystal Tokyo was founded, a rift in the time space continuum appeared. Through it came a race known as the Borg. They were from the future, and trying to change the past. I aided in sending back a Federation starship known as the USS Enterprise-E to help fight them. During this time, Sailor Mercury, and some of the Enterprise crew from the future, aided Zephram Cochrane in developing the first human-made warp drive. The test was a complete success. The Borg attempted to destroy the ship, but Captain Picard, Captain of the Enterprise-E, and the android Data managed to stop them. Not too long after a race known as the Vulcans contacted us. The Enterprise crew, seeing that history was on the correct course, left back for their time. With the Vulcans' aid, Earth rebuilt its civilization and humans were brought out of their Solar System. After we had made contact with a number of inhabited planets, Neo-Queen Serenity created the United Federation of Planets. Its purpose was to seek new life, to aid those we had an agreement with, and to share culture, knowledge, and technology with the member planets.

"Eventually, the head of the Federation, as well as Starfleet Academy, was moved to be located in Crystal Tokyo. But it wasn't a ruling body per se. Serenity had it formed to act as a mediator in arguments between planets. It never interfered with lone planetary politics unless requested by the government of that planet. Starfleet, so you know, is an exploratory and defense force. It will never initiate an attack on any people. It also tried to keep from having contact with cultures that had not yet developed the warp drive. We felt that we should allow each world to develop unhindered by any type of interaction with other races so that they could develop culturally. We did have regulations on who could join; such as not being a tyrant dictatorship, and a united planetary government. The Federation would also aid any planet struck by a natural disaster, even the underdeveloped ones. We would use holographic imaging technology to keep the natives of undeveloped worlds from knowing exactly who we were. There were also many other empires that we had either a nonaggression pact or alliance with. The United Federation of Planets lasted until the invaders destroyed our galaxy."

"This Federation sounds a lot like the government that I rule here, during the Silver Millennium. Why would my government fail, where yours lasted so long?"

"Your Majesty, The Federation made NO rules for individual planets to follow. It only held laws in place for interplanetary dealings. Also, we had severe steps that would keep those who were mad for power off any throne."

"Eventually, Neo-Queen Serenity gave birth to a daughter. The daughter led a relatively happy life, though she was in danger a number of times."

"I have a granddaughter?" Surprise filled Serenity. Her one daughter wasn't even 14 years of age yet, and already she had a grandchild. Well, she would have a grandchild in the future.

Ranma smiled as he spoke of his wife. "Yes, and a very beautiful young woman she is. Her name is Usagi, after Neo-Queen Serenity's name at her rebirth. We all call her Usa, however. She has long pink hair, and a lithe body. She is as kind and gentle as her mother was. I was lucky to have met her, and even more lucky to have married her."

Pluto's eyes widened in surprise. Serenity's were no more so. "MARRIED! You mean that you… I mean…" Pluto was getting very nervous. She just realized that she had been insulting the honor of the House of Serenity.

Serenity however had tears in her eyes. She had just found new family, and as small as it was, now that her husband had died, she was overjoyed. "Please, Ranma, ask her to come down. I would very much like to meet my granddaughter."

"Of course, your Majesty." He brought his wrist comp to his face. "Usa-chan, would you mind coming down right now? Serenity would like to meet you." There was nothing but silence on the other end. Worry came over Ranma's face. "Usagi, are you alright?" There was static, and then a hiss.

"Sorry, Ranma, I've been busy getting Nabiki transferred into the portable computer. The ship has been docked, and I saw no reason to leave her alone. I'll have someone show me to where you are after I'm done, dear."

"I guess that's fine. Bring Tolan along as well. No point in having him stuck up there with nothing to do. That is, unless he's busy with something. If he's not, then have him come along. Just don't let Nabiki get any access to the treasury here. I don't feel like being arrested for robbery."

A small picture of Nabiki came up on the screen. "Ha ha, Ranma. Just remember that I control the ship. You wouldn't want to wake up to anything bad, now would you?"

"Sorry Nabs, I couldn't help it. I'll see you in a bit, Usa-chan."

"Of course, Ranma." The wrist comp turned off. Before anyone could say another word, Setsuna spoke again.

"Nabiki is a personality module that is a part of our ship. She has a small avarice problem. Don't worry, though, she would never try to break in or do anything illegal… I think."

"Anyway, our story pretty much wraps up around here. Usa grew up, and met Ranma when she was around seventeen," Setsuna continued the story. "Ranma had come to Crystal Tokyo for a few reasons. The first was so he could visit old friends. He hadn't seen the Senshi since the Eugenics Wars, and he was curious how they were doing. The other was to see Neo-Queen Serenity. He had hoped that she would be able to use the Ginzuishou to cure his curse, but there was no such luck for him. I couldn't ever see an end to his curse, but viewing Ranma is hard. Chaos itself has taken him in hand a number of times, and his destiny is always changing."

Ranma picked up the story here. "Anyway, I was just leaving the Palace when an earthquake started. I was looking around for a place to get out in the open when I saw part of the Palace start to collapse. It was going to crush a beautiful pink-haired girl. I couldn't just let that happen, so I acted. I swept her into my arms and jumped out of the way."

Setsuna smiled and added her own two cents in. "Of course, Ranma's 'just out of the way' was a balcony on the twentieth floor of the palace." The others looked at her disbelieving while Ranma shrugged.

"It was convenient. Well, I learned who she was and we started talking. Eventually we fell in love and I proposed to her. There's a lot in between there, though, but not really relevant right now. She accepted and we were married the following spring. It was beautiful with all the cherry blossoms on the trees. Of course, that was nothing compared to Usa, but it was still pretty. Around a year later, I was away looking into some disturbance in one of the outer sectors of the city when another earthquake struck. Usa had been in the kitchen with her mother cooking when it happened. She tripped and a knife she was holding tore into her lungs. Neo-Queen Serenity pulled the knife out with the intent of healing her, when she made the discovery. Usa's wound healed up by itself in a matter of seconds. When I got back they told me what happened. We started going through Usa's family history when we came across the reason why. In her father's family there was an Immortal. The Immortals are a race from another dimension. The rulers of their land started a game, where they sent a group of Immortals to Earth with the intent that only the strongest of them would survive. A number of the Immortals, however, renounced the game. The genes for the Immortal's blood had been dormant in that family line for many years. It had become active in Usa-chan, though. Eventually the invaders came, and we lost everything. I already told you about that war, so there is no need to go into it. The only question now, though, is whether you will aid us in making the changes necessary to survive in the future or not."

Serenity had a stream of emotions racing through her. All of them played on her face. Ranma could see joy, which he assumed was from getting the chance to meet new family that she might otherwise never know. Setsuna could see depression in the Queen's eyes. She guessed that it was most likely from losing the chance to not only see her daughter grow up, but all of the pain that would be coming from the future. Pluto noticed sadness in Her Majesty's posture. This, she guessed, was coming from the knowledge of all of the horrible events and struggles that she had been told were to happen in the future, events that she never should have learned about.

Then there was an emotion that they could all see. It was an emotion neither Pluto nor Setsuna had seen on her face. It was an emotion Ranma had never seen on the face of Neo-Queen Serenity. It was anger. It was pure emotion filled anger. And it was all directed at one person in that room.

"PLUTO! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT ANY OF THIS?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY LIVES COULD HAVE BEEN LOST BECAUSE YOU KEPT THIS FROM ME?!"

Pluto was actually quite calm. She had been prepared for something like this since the story started. She now knew that her future self was telling the truth about everything. Every single event named had been told to her by her future self. Now it was time to sooth her queen, and try to change the terrible future that was ahead of them. "Your Majesty, I couldn't tell you about the fall of the Silver Millennium because that would have brought about a worse future. If you stop Beryl before she launches the attack on the Moon, then it would lead to all of the other planets rebelling against you. She never shows her face until she leads the attack on the palace. Once she does attack the Palace, it will be too late to stop her without the loss of the Moon. The only thing that will be able to stop her at that point will be the Ginzuishou. I knew that if I allowed Beryl to attack the Moon, at least some of the people would survive, and they would be able to create a new order of peace in the future. I knew that the capital of this new order would be called Crystal Tokyo. I knew nothing, your Majesty, about these invaders that will come to destroy the universe. I swear upon my entire honor as one of your Senshi that I did not know. My future self never mentioned anything about these invaders."

Setsuna came to her defense. "It is true, your Majesty. The first target destroyed by the invaders was the entrance to the Gates of Time. Without that, I had no way to come back and warn myself of the threat so we could prepare."

Serenity looked at the three others for sometime after that. They sat in their chairs quietly as they awaited the decision of the Queen of the Moon. She finally sighed and spoke. "We cannot allow such a thing to happen. Ranma, Setsuna, tell me what we need to do to stop these invaders. Any aid that I can give you is yours." Pluto looked relieved at the statement. She had no desire to live through the hell that her other self had done. She knew that it was a selfish thought, but one that she was willing to live with.

It wasn't Ranma who answered Serenity, nor was it Setsuna. Instead a third voice from across the room answered her. "The first thing we need to do is make sure when Beryl attacks, that we keep as many inhabited planetary bodies' atmospheres safe. If we can keep the planets habitable, we'll be one step ahead. That way we won't have to terraform any of them." Ranma walked up to his wife and took her by the arm. As he led her to the table, both Serenity and Pluto could see similarities of the family… besides the golden Moon on her forehead, of course.

Ranma took the silence as incentive to make introductions. "Queen Serenity, Sailor Pluto, I would like to introduce you to my wife, Usagi of the House of Serenity, and the last of your line."

Usa took her arm from Ranma and walked up to her grandmother who had stood as she made her approach. She smiled and took the older woman into a hug with the whisper of grandmother. Serenity had tears openly falling down her face as she clung to her grandchild. Ranma and Setsuna smiled at the scene as Pluto watched with a distant look in her eyes. Ranma could almost see the wish that she had something like that to look at and hold onto. After a moment, Ranma took some incentive and walked up to the two members of Royalty. Just as he reached them, they both opened up and drew him into a three-way hug. The three of them just stood there for a few minutes basking in each other's presence. A few minutes after that Setsuna politely told them that they had more important things to worry about and that they could play catch-up later. Usagi opened up the portable computer that she had brought, and Nabiki came on screen. After the introductions were finished, everyone got down to planning.

Ranma started the conversation. "As we said, the fall of the Silver Millennium has to happen. What we are going to do is make it a lot softer. First, when Beryl does attack the palace, it will be Usa-chan who uses the crystal to send everyone to the future. Because she is an immortal, she won't die from the strain of the casting like you would, Grandmother." Ranma couldn't help but call her that now. He knew that when they weren't alone he wouldn't be able to do so. He had never known his own grandparents, so he wanted to make the most of it. Serenity just smiled at the usage of the name. "This will allow you to be saved, and that alone would give us a great advantage in the future. We can have you reborn and then have the princess reborn as your child again. We will awaken your memories in the future so that you can train your daughter to use her powers to their full potential. Then we will give you the names and such of the other Senshi, and they can be awakened too. Once all of the Senshi remember who they are, we will begin to train them how to fight. This will give them a much bigger advantage than they would otherwise have. For the most part, they tended to rely on their magic in the future, instead of physical skills."

Setsuna picked up the narration at this point. "Before we awaken you, however, we are going to go into Ranma's past to change some things. His father was an idiot and turned his life into a living hell. What we are going to do is take over and teach Ranma how to fight correctly and generally make his life better. Once he is ready, we will introduce him and some of his friends, whose past we are also going to change, and to the Senshi. We will create an alliance between them. Serenity, at that time you can use the Ginzuishou to make them members of the nobility of the Moon Kingdom. That will give them lifespans like the Senshi. They will be there when the invaders arrive, and have had close to a thousand years to prepare for the fight. There are others in the future we will talk to, such as the members of the House of Jurai. We will gain their aid early, so when Crystal Tokyo is formed, the alliance will be in place. We will also help to advance technology so that colonization of the other planets in the Solar System can begin earlier than the original line suggests. Washu can help us with that. She will be glad to, after we prevent Kagato from imprisoning her for five thousand years. Washu is a twenty-five thousand year old scientist… well, she will be that old in 1990 AD. She is also the Goddess of Knowledge. Her sister Tsunami is the Goddess of Courage, and she will also help us, after she merges with Sasami. Her other sister Tokimi is the Goddess of Power, and she likes conquest. I do not know if she will be friend or foe. Kagato is a madman who has lived almost as long as Washu. He imprisoned her after she was tricked into building a powerful ship for him. He then took her daughter, Ryoko, and turned her to the ways of evil. Ryoko had very little free will and had to obey Kagato. We're going to change that. We plan on releasing Washu a few minutes after she is imprisoned, and leaving a mindless android lookalike in her place. We will do the same with Ryoko. Then we will take them both to into the future."

Usa finished giving the two their plan. "The most important part of the plan, though, is the fact that we are going to train the Senshi how to fight now. That way, when you bring back their memories they will already have a firm basis on which to fight and not have to learn the basics. We need them to have a relative level of skill to what we are pushing Ranma's counterpart and his friends to. We need the year that we have to train the Senshi in fighting, and I mean all of the Senshi. You saw how effective they were against Ranma when he was alone. What would have happened if I were there too? They would have fallen that much quicker."

Ranma smiled. "I'll teach them how to use their ki, too. That will give them a much wider range of attacks available. I can teach them how to enhance their bodies' strength, speed, and endurance beyond anything that they could dream of right now. The Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken and Breaking Point will help them a lot. All I need is your permission to teach them, and for you to order them to listen to me when I do."

Setsuna thought for a second and then decided that the time was right. "Pluto, come here. I am going to give you my memories of the future. I think that it would be much easier for you to understand what is going to happen if you know."

"I can agree with that. Is this going to be a full transfer or a partial?"

"A partial. You will know the events, but my feelings about them are not going to come with them. I will let you make your own decision on what is right and what is wrong." The two Senshi of Time stepped up to each other. Setsuna placed her fingertips on Pluto's temples. There was a slight bluish glow around the two for a few moments, and then it was done. Pluto looked at Setsuna in an awed manner that was clearly shown in her voice. "How did you manage it? How did you go on for so long?"

"I went on because I had to. There was me, Ranma, Nabiki, and for a while also Tolan, and that was it. We survived on the hopes that we would find a way to do just what we are now, changing the past to keep it from ever happening. All we have to do now is play our hand right. We've got one shot, so we aren't going to blow it."

Pluto went through the memories that she had gained from Setsuna. There were a number of memories of Ranma battling many types of beings. As she remembered, she gained a new respect for the martial artist. She now realized that he had the power to back up his words. Now she had to do something she hated. "Ranma, I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I didn't know who you were, and was simply trying to protect my queen."

"No hard feelings Pluto. I know what it's like being protective." He put his arm around Usa. "I'd do the same thing if you popped up unannounced. So, what do you say? Friends?"

Pluto was taken in by the openness that Ranma displayed. His smile was catching, too. That is a cute smile…. "Friends it is, Ranma." She smiled back at him, if ever so slightly.

Ranma grinned. "Well, then it's settled. I guess we begin training the Senshi tomorrow."

Usa looked concerned, however. "Ranma, should we bring the other Senshi in on everything? How much can we trust them with? And what about mother? How much can we tell her?"

Serenity was the one who answered the question. "We tell my daughter nothing. I don't want her to know any of this."

"I think we should tell Endymion some of it, though. We are going to have to protect his bodyguards from Beryl. To do that, we need them close by." Ranma was worried. The hardest part of the plan, he felt, was protecting the Inner Senshi's lovers. "Or we could just tell them. It would make it easier if they get an extended stay here at the palace. What do you all think?"

Setsuna thought for a few moments. "I think that it would be better to keep them all in the dark. How about we invite Endymion and his guards for training when the time comes? Pluto can keep watch on them through the Gates of Time and tell us when it is time to summon them. We go to Earth for a vacation before that and meet them. Then they will know who we are."

"That sounds good for right now. However, we should hide who we are. Let's just say that we are family from the future and were sent here to train the Senshi by Grandmother. How does that sound?" Usa looked around at everyone and got an affirmative response from them all. "Well then, lets go meet the Sailor Senshi, shall we?"

The Sailor Senshi had been waiting in the hall outside of the Council chamber for close to two hours. Their presence had the effect of keeping everyone away from the room. Well, everyone except the pink-haired girl. She claimed that she had come with the boy, and the guard escorting her confirmed that she had come down in the same manner as the other one. Uranus and Jupiter had been arguing over the fight that had taken them both out, but they had finally reached the point that they were admitting that the young man seriously outclassed them all. Mars and Venus were bored and had run out of gossip to speak about. Mercury was reading some sort of book that none of the others understood, while Neptune rested against the wall. Saturn was apart from the others, standing alone as she was far too used to. At that point the door finally opened and a group of people came out. First out were Queen Serenity and Sailor Pluto. They walked out of the doorway and moved off to the side. Out next was Ranma and Usa. Ranma had his arm around his wife's waist. They were both smiling as they walked out. It was the last pair of people who shocked everyone. The man wasn't that strange looking except for his clothes and the fact that if the Senshi used their magical sense they could somewhat see through him. What really shocked all of the Senshi was the second Sailor Pluto who came out with him. The only difference between the two was the fact that this second one wasn't in her fuku, but wearing a jumpsuit that looked like it was made to move with the body. Even Serenity smiled at the shocked looks of all of her Senshi. She couldn't let them stay like that, however.

"My Senshi, allow me to introduce you to some guests from the future. First, of course, you know Setsuna, or Sailor Pluto. She is here from the future to make sure the time stream isn't changed while our other guests are here." She waved her hand to Tolan. "This is Doctor Tolan. He is well-versed in medicine in the future. He is actually a holographic projection, but can manipulate solid objects." Tolan gave a polite bow to the Senshi, but otherwise remained tight-lipped.

Mercury stared at him in interest. She had never seen such a being before. What is his programming like? she wondered. Does he feel emotions too?

"Finally, this is Ranma and Usagi Saotome. They are of my House far into the future. They were sent back here for the purpose of training you in combat. You will follow their orders when they are training you, no questions asked." Her face became incredibly hard. "And I mean that. They are far stronger than you are, and have seen far more battles. You would do well to learn all that they can teach. When you are not training, they hold the rank of prince and princess respectively. You will treat them as such. Am I clear about this?"

None of the Senshi looked too excited about this, but they all knew better than to go against the will of their queen. Uranus and Jupiter were the only ones who didn't look on it with disgust, though. They both knew how good Ranma had to be if he could take them all out. And after he taught them enough, well, then there could be some payback. Mars simply glared at Ranma. She looked like she wished she could take him apart, slowly and without anesthetic. It was Saturn, however, who spoke for them all. "Yes, your Majesty, if that is your will." She said it quiet, almost as if she was going to destroy the Moon just to defeat Ranma. The other Senshi shrank back. As the pain entered Saturn's eyes, Ranma walked up to her. He couldn't stand to see a girl hurt. He walked up to her and drew her into a hug, to the surprise of everyone but Usa and Setsuna. A moment later Usa walked up to Saturn and Ranma and put her arms around the young Senshi too. Then Setsuna was there, with her arms around all three of them. Everyone in the hall was taken aback by the event. Even Serenity had never seen anyone act like that around Saturn. It was Ranma who spoke for the time travelers.

"Saturn, you have nothing to fear. There are people who care for you. Me, Usa, Setsuna, we all know you better than anyone else here. You're our friend and we love you. If you ever need anything, we are here for you." And Saturn started to cry. The love that was coming from these three strangers was overwhelming to her. She hadn't felt this loved since before she gained the mantle of Saturn. Even her parents had grown distant to her over the years. She came to a decision right then and there. This was her family now. These were people who she could love and they would never show fear. And Saturn cried tears of joy.

Princess Serenity entered the hall at that time. She was looking for her mother when she came upon the sight. The first thing that caught her eyes was the ashamed looks upon almost all of the Senshi's faces. Only Pluto and Saturn didn't have a look like they had acted like the cruelest people on the planet. Pluto had a distant look on her face. It was like she was trying to remember something from the distant past— or future, since it was Pluto. She couldn't tell what type of look Saturn had on her face, because she couldn't see Saturn's face. She could see Saturn surrounded by a small group of people who were hugging her. The first to catch her attention was the second Sailor Pluto. This one wasn't in a Sailor fuku, but it was definitely Pluto. The next person to catch her eye was the girl with the long pink hair. The hair caught her eyes, but it was the style that held them. They were in the same style as her own. I wonder who she is, and why does she have my hairstyle? Then she gasped upon seeing the Royal Crescent Moon symbol on her forehead. That must mean she's a member of the Royal Family. But how could she be? I have never seen her before. The third person caught her eye for two reasons. The first was that Saturn was clinging to him with her face buried in his chest as she cried. The second was that it was the same person who defeated the Senshi a few hours ago in battle. She slowly walked up to her mother and asked what was going on and why that girl had the Royal symbol. This caused the Senshi to look at Usa and see the Crescent Moon. They were a bit shocked about it. But they remembered that Queen Serenity had said the two people were of her House from the future.

"Daughter, they are family. The girl, Usagi, is of our line. She is from the distant future. The young man is Ranma, her husband. They are the princess and prince of our House in that distant time. They came back here to teach the Sailor Senshi the ways of an advanced form of combat. Setsuna, the one standing with them, has come back with them to make sure that they do not disrupt the timestream."

The emotional group had quieted down by then, and they were looking at the other members of the House of Serenity. Usa interrupted them. "Your Majesty, I'm afraid that that is going to include her Highness."

Everyone looked at her in shock. Screams of outrage would have been heard, if it weren't for the fact that Usagi refused to let them get a word in edgewise. "One of the other reasons we are here is to start a new tradition, one that will be maintained even in the distant future. From this day forward when the princess comes of age, she will don the mantle of Sailor Moon, leader of the Sailor Senshi. We will start the tradition now, because we are the best teachers you could find. You will learn much from us, all of you, but you must be willing."

Ranma gave them a stern look. "If you're not willing, then it's going to be a very painful experience. I was trained by some of the most insane, powerful people that you will ever find. One of them, Ku Lon, would be able to take you on when you're powered up, and win in a one-on-one fight. She started training me when I was sixteen by having me constantly place my hands into a fire. I can do the same to you, if you want." There was a nervous glance among the Senshi.

Usa ignored him, though, and walked over to Princess Serenity and handed her a locket. "This locket will allow you to transform into Sailor Moon. It will only do so, however, if it is your destiny to become the leader of the Senshi. Hold it to the sky and call out 'Moon Prism Power, Make Up'."

The Princess's hand reached forward and took hold of the locket. Words of power burned in her mind, and she knew that destiny called for her. She held the locket toward the sky beyond the roof and called out "MOON PRISM POWER, MAKE UP!" The lights and energy swirled around her. When it was done, the Warrior of Love and Justice stood tall and proud. Sailor Moon had been born.

Ranma looked grimly at the group. Just what I wanted to teach, a bunch of princesses. I've got my work cut out for me in whipping them into shape. I hope they can take it, or Tolan is going to have LOTS of work. "All right, enough gawking at your leader." Everyone turned to look at him in surprise. "We've got training to do. You've got one hour to change and meet me in the practice yard. Wear something loose enough so you can move freely, but tight enough so it doesn't get in your way. Oh, and remember to power down. Your strength as Senshi is proportional to your strength when you're normal. You will rarely get to spar in your Senshi forms. And that's what we are doing today. I need to know how good you are so I can set up a training regimen." The Senshi stared at him with open anger, except for Saturn, who was already heading toward her rooms. She was eager to learn what Ranma-Otousan and Usa-Oneesan could teach her.

Serenity looked at the unmoving Senshi and decided to give Ranma a hand. She didn't want him to destroy this wing of the palace as he gave them object lessons for disobeying him when it came to his teaching them. "Go now, Senshi. This is a matter of training, and Ranma outranks you right now. All you are doing is making it harder on yourselves. And you better be at the practice field in one hour…"

Ranma interrupted her, "56 minutes."

Serenity grimly smiled. "Correction, 56 minutes. Ranma you are more than free to discipline anyone who is so much as a second late. I won't stop you."

Ranma gave a big grin. "Today's punishment for being tardy is a three-mile run followed by fifty sit-ups and fifty push-ups." The Senshi were halfway down the corridor before he finished. All except the Princess, that is.

Usa looked over at her mother. "Don't worry, princess, I've got something you can wear. Come on, I'll tell you what the future is like while we change." The two of them left, Usa taking Nabiki with her. Ranma looked at Serenity.

"Would you like to watch today's session, Grandmother? It should prove very entertaining."

"I would be pleased to, Ranma. Come along, I'll show you where the practice field is."

Tolan spoke up. "Captain, I am going to return to the ship. I have a feeling that the young ones will need my medical aid today."

"Sure thing, Tolan. How 'bout you, Setsuna?" He looked around only to see both Senshi of Time gone. He shrugged and walked with Serenity toward the practice field.

Saturn was standing with Serenity and watched Ranma as he went through a practice kata. She looked on in awe as he flowed from one form to another, like moving water. Then Ranma began his midair practice. He was up in the air releasing a barrage of punches and kicks at invisible opponents. He moved with a speed and grace that she thought she could never duplicate.

Serenity was also in awe. She had listened as Ranma told her stories of his past fights, and she had seen him against the Senshi, but now she knew that he was as good as he claimed. Even now, as he flowed in forms that emphasized speed and power, she knew that he was holding back. If he was this good and still wasn't strong enough to defeat these invaders he talked about, she was truly worried. Would her Senshi be able to get to the level they needed to be at that crucial moment? She prayed that it would all be enough.

Ranma stopped his kata and walked over to the two ladies. "The others are approaching. I don't want to give them any warning on what I can do. We've been here for the last half-hour talking, all right?"

The two agreed, and moments later the Senshi walked in, all in exercise outfits. Even the princess was with them, along with Usa. Ranma motioned Saturn to join them and walked to stand with Usa in the middle of the field. "All right, line up, everyone. We've got a lot to do, and not much time to do it in." The Senshi formed four lines of two each. Uranus and Neptune were the first column. The second was Saturn and the princess. Venus and Mercury made up the third column. The last group was Jupiter and Mars. Ranma smiled at the pairings. They weren't quite what he would have guessed, but the makeups wouldn't be all that hard to beat. The most difficult was going to be Saturn and the Princess. He had to be careful not to hurt either of them too badly, which meant they could get some decent shots in on him. "All right, you'll attack me in pairs. Each column is going to get its shot. We're doing this from my left to my right, so Uranus, Neptune, give me your REAL names, and then we start."

"Kei", said Uranus.

"Yuri", came from Neptune.

Ranma was stunned just for a second. No way! It CAN'T be THEM, he thought. Well, let's see how good they are in this time.

And then they attacked. After a couple of minutes of studying them Ranma came to a conclusion about each. Yuri most likely relied on her magic to give her an advantage. Her blows were slow and sloppy. They had very little power to them. Kei, on the other hand, showed some skill. She was nowhere in his league— hell, he figured he could have taken her when he was twelve— but she still showed promise. At least this is one I won't have to teach all the basics to. Still she has a temper like Akane did. This is too easy. He decided that he had seen enough and decided to end it. A sweep kick and blow to the gut took Yuri down quickly and quietly. Kei just got even angrier. Ranma decided it was time to unleash one of the first attacks his father had ever taught him. "What's the matter? Can't hit me?"

"Hold still, damn it!"

"Ah, you're slow, your defense is lousy and your reflexes could be beaten by a dead slug."

"WHY YOU LITTLE!!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!"

"I'd like to see that, you uncute tomboy!"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!!!!"

Ranma inwardly grinned. It was time to teach his class lesson number one. "I said you're an UNCUTE, UNSEXY, BUILT-LIKE-A-BRICK TOMBOY!!!!"

"DIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!" Uranus charged Ranma with the sole intent of ripping his head off… only to strike air. Ranma flipped over her head, turned around in mid air, and gave her a solid push to the back, sending her sprawling into the ground.

"The fight is over. I win."

Uranus gritted her teeth as she stood up and walked over to help Neptune who was still catching her breath. She glared at Ranma only to receive a look that said 'I was holding back so much that you should be dead right now, not just have some wounded pride'.

After they got in line Ranma spoke to his students. "You have just seen the first rule of any form of martial arts broken. You must ALWAYS control your emotions. Kei didn't lose like that because I am far more skilled then her. She lost like that because I am making a point. If you lose your temper, then you are dead. Period, no questions asked. She lost her temper, and her defense became nonexistent and her offense became sloppy. Remember that." He looked and saw comprehension on all of their faces. He had made his point. "Up next are Saturn and your Highness. Please give me your REAL names; here at practice it's what I'll use."

Saturn was the first to speak. "My name of birth is Verika."

"Like all of my family, I am called Serenity."

"Well, Serenity, Verika, step forward and attack me. Don't worry, I won't hit you harder than I am sure you can take. I didn't for Kei and Yuri, did I?"

"No, you didn't." Saturn thought back to how Ranma had battled. He was studying them, seeing what he had to teach. She decided to use her full abilities. Unlike the other Senshi, Verika could use some magic outside of her Senshi form. Normally she only used it for healing, though. She now used it to increase her speed. Ranma was caught by surprise at the speed Verika attacked him with. He blocked her first blow and then started to dodge. Verika, unlike Kei, stayed calm even as Ranma dodged her blows. He sent some counterstrikes at her that she felt, but they didn't hurt her. Ranma suddenly felt a massive buildup of magic behind him.

Turning he saw Serenity's birthmark glowing. Deciding it was the best time to show who was really stronger; he released all of the restraints he had placed on his ki when Serenity fired her magic at him. A wall of golden energy formed in front of Ranma. The magical blast hit the shield and stopped. It stayed like that for a whole minute until the magic blast stopped. Serenity dropped to the ground huffing, while Ranma sweep-kicked Verika and drove a punch to her face, stopping just centimeters from impacting.

Saturn opened her eyes when she felt strong hands lifting her off the ground. She looked up to see Ranma smiling at her. "Very good, you two. I was surprised at how you adapted. You also brought lesson number two for today." He gently pushed Verika back toward the line and looked at his students once more. He waited for five minutes before the shocked faces of everyone were finally gone. "Lesson number two is simple. Don't go all-out right away. Both Verika and Serenity did and look where it got them. Serenity couldn't stand after her attack, and Verika was predictable. If Saturn had used that speed enhancement of hers in the middle of the fight, I think she might have gotten a blow in. Also, if Serenity had used smaller bits of magic to shoot at me, some would have hit if only by sheer numbers and speed, due to her strength. It wasn't until she had begun to direct the blast that I noticed it. A small blast might have hit me." He watched as the Senshi absorbed the information. He knew that they would get better, it would just take time. I wish I knew where Sailor Solaris is. Is she even a Senshi yet? She needs to go through this training. I'll have Usa ask Queen Serenity about it.

"All right. Mercury, Venus, you're up."

Mercury was the first to speak. "My name is Sylre."

Venus gave Ranma a grin. "I'm Arielwyn."

The fight began as did the first two. Ranma dodged their attacks as they did their best just to touch him. He easily dodged their blows, seeing that they relied too much on their magic to aid them in a fight. Hmm, I think for one of the sparring sessions that I let them use their Senshi forms, I'll put a null magic zone around the area. I need to get them to stop relying on the magic. As Sylre sent a punch to Ranma's stomach, he grabbed her wrist with both of his hands and sent her flying across the field with a judo throw. He then sidestepped Arielwyn's kick, and hit three pressure points on her leg to immobilize it. With her leg stuck in the air, she was unable to do anything when Ranma pushed on the bottom of her foot and sent her crashing to the ground.

"This fight is over." He bent down and tapped the release points on Arielwyn's leg and helped her up. "You're not too bad, but you have no form. Don't worry, though, we'll get it drilled into you. Mars, Jupiter, you're last. Are you ready for this?"

Mars glared at him. He had injured the princess, and now she was going to make him pay. Jupiter had a grim look of anticipation on her face. She wanted to find out just how good he was. "Don't hold back on us like you did the others! We're not going to play easy!"

Ranma was getting very amused by the two. So they don't want me to go easy, huh? Well, let's show them what my not going easy is like. I think it's time to put them in their place. He glanced at the rest of the Senshi who were off to the side. Kei and Yuri had hostile looks on their faces. No surprise there. They're just as bad in the future. Mercury and Venus had speculative looks in their eyes. For different reasons most likely. Sylre probably wants to do some tests on me, while Arielwyn probably forgot that I'm a married man. Well, I'll dissuade them of those thoughts fast enough. Princess Serenity had a look of respect in her eyes. Just like when she saw my first all-out kata all those years ago. She was so surprised that the others never let her live it down. Finally Verika had a look of adoration across her face. Even in her posture he could tell that she was concentrating solely on him. I wonder what she's thinking? Oh well, she's a good kid. He then glanced over at his wife and raised an eyebrow. He got a slight nod in response. Well, Usa thinks that I should, so I might as well.

Before he had been using a basic stance that could be recognized by anyone with the slightest bit of Martial Arts training. Now he took up a different one. The stance he chose was one that he created on his own. It emphasized speed and precision over endurance and power. It was the one he was planning to teach to Verika when she advanced enough. "You want to see me go all out, huh? Very well, against you two I won't hold back anything but my killing blows. I assume that you can accept that."

Princess Serenity off to the side looked a bit shaken at that statement, but otherwise there was no movement. Mars nodded her head in acceptance of the terms Ranma set.

"Good. Usa-chan, will you please signal the start of the fight? Oh, and your real names, please."

Mars didn't stop glaring at him. "Eowyn."

Jupiter just took up her own stance. "Juno."

"Of course, love." Usa walked to a point where she was off to the side, but in between the combatants. "Ready… FIGHT!"

There was a loud boom as Ranma went to supersonic speeds. He was standing next to Mars and Jupiter. A few seconds later, the two Senshi dropped to the ground unconscious. Ranma turned to face the others. "The last thing for you to learn today is that you should NEVER underestimate an opponent."

Usa walked up to him and frowned. "Ranma, how could you lie to them like that? You know they need to learn this."

"Hey, I just didn't want them to get hurt too badly. They need to be able to move for when we start really training them tomorrow. I thought that that would have been good enough."

Verika walked up to the two of them. "What are you talking about?"

Usa looked down at Saturn. "Ranma was still holding back a lot of his ability."

"WHAT!!!" came from a number of sections of the grounds. Ranma looked around a bit shame-faced.

"Well, if I had really gone all-out, I doubt you would have even seen me move. It would have been kind of hard for me to teach a lesson if you couldn't see me, now wouldn't it?"

Queen Serenity walked up to the group. "Saturn, would you please heal and revive Mars and Jupiter?"

"Of course, your Majesty."

"Just wake them up, Verika." She turned to face Ranma. Everyone but Usa and Queen Serenity were shocked. No one ever contradicted the queen. "I want them to feel the pain. It should teach them that they have a LOT to learn before they challenge me again." Verika looked at Serenity for a response.

"Heal them of any seeable bruises if they wear one of their nicer gowns. I am planning on continuing the ball that you interrupted last night, Ranma. That means you and Usa both have to go and be fitted for clothes. I expect you to be there promptly."

Ranma knew better than to argue or groan about having to attend the festivities. I never did like the formal stuff. However he did nod at Queen Serenity before turning back to his students. "Go shower and clean up. I'll see you at the ball tonight. Oh, and be out here at sunrise, and not a moment later. If I have to get you up, it will not be pleasant. Do I make myself clear?" All of the Senshi nodded, even Mars and Jupiter, who had gotten up in time to hear his commands. They all then headed to the wing of the palace where they were quartered.

Queen Serenity looked at Ranma. "Now that that's taken care of, I think you would look good in a dark blue. What do you think, Usa?" Ranma had a panicked look on his face as each woman grabbed an arm and dragged him toward the palace.

The door to the ballroom opened and two figures stepped in. Everyone with magical sense could tell these were figures of power. The man's movement spoke of grace and power, speed and stealth, much like large predatory cats in the jungles of nearby Earth did. The woman flowed with the grace of water, her movements having a bearing much like the Queen did. She had her head held high, and a serene look on her face. Her hair was in the royal style, and everyone could see the symbol of the House of Serenity on her forehead. Many tried to place this member of the royal family, but none had seen her before. Queen Serenity moved to greet the couple as they moved into the activities.

"Ranma, Usagi, welcome. I trust that you found your quarters to your liking."

Usa smiled at the Queen of the Solar System. "Yes, the room you gave us is wonderful. Thank you for providing such wonderful quarters for us. Also, thank you for inviting us to attend this ball. It has been such a long time since we've been to one, hasn't it, Ranma?"

Ranma gave his best rogue's grin. "It sure has, dear. I believe the last one we were at was when your mother threw that surprise party for Tenchi. It's been a long time since then."

Usa smiled as she remembered the party. She also remembered the dance. Their dance. They had captured the floor when they moved. Ranma's grace and agility gave itself to the floor, and they had moved with perfect timing to the music.

As Usa thought back to pleasant times in their home universe, Ranma looked around the room. The first thing he did was find all of the entrances and exits. Best to know every way in and out, just in case of a fight. Then he started looking for the people that he knew. Lets see, Mars is with Jupiter and Venus, giving me a look that would kill me if I wasn't immortal. Jupiter and Venus, on the other hand… Well, I'll deal with them in my own way. Kei and Yuri— I still can't believe they're the Dirty Pair— are on the dance floor. Mercury is with some guy by the food table. The Princess is with… Endymion! Great, I'll have to go make introductions. He looked around the room some more, but didn't see Saturn. Where is she? I doubt she would have missed this. Oh, wait, there she is. Why is she alone, though? I guess I'll just have to go cheer Verika up a bit. He turned back to his wife. "Hey, Usa, I'm going to go talk to Verika. She looks pretty lonely. Do you mind?"

Usa looked at her husband, coming out of the memories that had overtaken her. "Sure, go ahead. I would like to talk to her Majesty about some things anyway." She arched an eyebrow at him. "Just don't try and sneak off, okay?"

Ranma put on a hurt face, only broken by a grin across his face. "You know me better than that, dear. I would never do anything like that. To think, not even my own wife of so many years trusts me… What is a poor old man like me supposed to do?"

"Be happy that I don't like to hit you."

"You'd only hurt your hand anyway. I've got a hard head, you know." He gave a small laugh and then headed for the balcony that Verika had walked out on. Usa smiled at him.

Verika was resting against the rail of the balcony, watching the earth below. Once more no one would talk to her, no one would ask her to dance. She sighed as the sadness began to take over her again. She was so alone in the world. She only talked to her parents on her birthday anymore, and her only friend was Princess Serenity, and she hardly got a chance to be with her. Now, though, she had Ranma and Usa. They told her that they loved her. They comforted her when she needed them. They cared about her. Suddenly she felt an arm go around her shoulders.

Looking up she saw Ranma. He was watching the Earth. Finally, he spoke. "It's so peaceful here. With the Earth in the sky, everything is just so calm and relaxing." He removed his arm from her shoulder and looked at her. "You shouldn't be sad, you know. There are people who care for you. Not everyone is ignorant of the truth. You just have to look for them. And remember, I'm always going to be here for you, if you need me."

Saturn smiled at that. It was wonderful to have a family again. "Thank you, Ranma-Otousan."

Ranma blinked in surprise. "Father? What brought that on? Why did you call me father?"

"I haven't felt this since I last talked to my father. He always made me feel safe and secure. Until I became Sailor Saturn, anyway. My parents became very distant after that. They only talk to me once a year now, and only from long distance."

Ranma felt horrible at that. It had taken him a long time to end the harsh rumors about Hotaru at Crystal Tokyo. Now he learned that Verika was in an even worse position. The song that was playing came to an end and a new one was struck up. Ranma quickly made a choice. "Verika, may I have this dance?" Ranma smiled as me saw feelings of joy jump into her eyes.

"Yes, I would like that." Ranma took her arm and led her to the dance floor. They reached the floor and Ranma took her in his arms. He then began to lead her in one of the traditional dances that were used in Crystal Tokyo. Verika let her head go to the clouds as new feelings entered her body. She felt joy and happiness and love like she hadn't felt in a long time. As the song neared the end, Ranma guided Verika over to where Queen Serenity and Usa were talking.

Usa watched Ranma walk toward Verika and looked back at Queen Serenity. "Your Majesty, I have a question for you."

"Go ahead, Usagi."

"Where has Sailor Solaris been? I haven't seen her since we got here."

Serenity blinked a few times before responding. "What are you speaking of? There is no Sailor Solaris. No one has ever tried to harness the power of the Sun."

Now it was Usa's turn to blink. "You mean that you don't know? Naru is working on a way to harness the power. She will succeed, too. I suggest that you talk to her about it. With your help, she could do so quicker and safer."

Serenity just looked at her. "Who is this Naru you speak of?" she asked.

Usa realized Serenity didn't know the names the others would reborn under. She decided this information would not harm things. "Naru Osaka is the name Lady Patience will be reborn under in the future."

Serenity thought of about this. She knew that harnessing the power of the Sun was dangerous. It was so powerful, there was a danger to try and use its strength. But if someone could do it successfully… if they could gain the power of the star… then they would have a great ally in the future. And since she now knew what the future held, she knew that every ally would be necessary. "I promise that I will speak with her tomorrow. It should be interesting to listen to her response." Naru Osaka., she thought. What an interesting name. I shall have to remember that. I wonder what names the other will be reborn under?

Usa looked around the dance floor. She saw that Ranma and Verika were sharing a dance. She smiled at the scene. Looking around the room she noticed the other Senshi, who were almost exclusively watching her husband. Most of them were looking at him with open hostility. Others were giving him a look that she had seen many times before. They are going to get such a surprise if they try to put the moves on my husband. They don't realize how many years that he's had putting up with girls like that. This should be interesting. She turned back to Ranma and gave him a smile. As the song came to a close, Ranma led Verika over towards her. They stopped just as the song ended. "It looks like you two had a good time. Did you enjoy the dance, Verika?"

"I really liked it!" A sad look came over Verika's face. "I just wish more people would ask me to dance. They're all so scared of what I can do, that they stay away from me. But now I have Ranma-Otousan and you, Usa-Okaasan. Now I know everything will turn out all right!" She gave the two of them a big smile.

Usa raised an eyebrow at Ranma at that statement. He gave her a look that said play along. She looked down at Verika and smiled. "Of course we'll be here for you. If you don't mind, though, I'd like to have my husband for the next dance." She took her husband's hand and led Ranma to the floor. A new tune was started and Ranma and Usa began to flow across the floor. Moving with a grace not seen before, they soon captured the attention of everyone at the ball. Everyone in the room had stopped what they were doing to gaze at the two strangers' dance in a way never seen before. Ranma led Usa through the same dance that they had shared on their wedding night. It was slow paced, and yet had a rhythm that quickened the pulse. It brought to mind fairytales about how a single dance brought forth a deep-seeded love in the two that could conquer anything and everything.

Jupiter and Venus, who had been gazing at Ranma all night had their jaws on the floor and little hearts in their eyes as he guided his wife through the beat. Each was scheming how to get Ranma to dance with them like that when a turn brought Ranma to face them and a frown crossed his face. Their eyes widened in a shock as they thought that he was saying to each of them 'don't you dare try anything, since I WILL make you pay for it later'. Another turn in the dance brought Usagi to face them, and a very disapproving look was seen in her features. Her eyes were telling them that if they so much as thought about trying anything with her husband that she would have them punished severely.

While Usa was gazing on the two love sick (with bad taste) Senshi, Ranma had a good view of Mars. I know why Eowyn is upset with me. I think I'll take her aside at tomorrow's practice and explain a few things to her. She needs to know why things are being done. I can't afford to have her on my case the entire time about something that is for the best in the future.

Yet more dances were shared by the Immortal couple, and food was eaten, and discussions held. Eventually the ball came to an end, and everyone retired for another day to be seen.

Ranma walked up to the door of Kei's room. He stopped right before barging in. I should be polite. It would not be a good idea just to barge in, but… Oh, hell, I'm going in. I gave them fair warning not to be late to practice. It's time to pay the piper. Ranma opened the door and stepped into the room. Glancing around he noticed two things. First were Kei and Yuri in the same bed. No surprise there. The second was a balcony door. He walked over to that and opened it up. Looking down he saw the spring in the practice field. He looked over at the girls in the lawn and waved to them. Verika, Juno, and Arielwyn returned the wave. Eowyn ignored it and Sylre had her back toward him as she talked to Serenity. He turned and headed back into the room. Well, this isn't going to be too hard. Ranma walked up to the bed and looked down upon the two Outer Senshi.

Shrugging his shoulders, he grabbed each by an arm and threw them out the door into the spring below. Curses filled the air right up until the ki blast hit the pool, causing the water to become steam. Ranma jumped into the fog and released a number of blows upon each Senshi and threw them out toward the others, making sure that they landed a few feet in front of the others. Ranma walked out of the fog and moved to stand in front of his students.

Eventually Kei and Yuri recovered from their beating and turned to face the Grand Master of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. Before either could complain Ranma spoke to them calmly. "I told you to be here at sunrise or there would be a price to pay. If you are late tomorrow, then it will be much worse. Now Neptune, transform." She did so, and Ranma pointed at the spring. "Fill it back up."

"WHAT!!!"

"I said fill it back up. If you don't, then when you are late tomorrow, you're going to hit dirt and rock, not water. Which would you prefer?"

Neptune grinned at him. "Of course, Sensei. DEEP SUBMERGE!" Of course, she aimed right at Ranma, who jumped over it and came down in front of her. The water released in the attack went straight into the spring, refilling it. Neptune didn't get off easy for her disobedience, though.

"KACHUU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" Ranma released close to a thousand punches into her face and stomach in less than a second. There were three problems with this, though. The first was that that amount of blows sent her flying into the castle wall, which she promptly went through landing in the kitchen and spilling some sort of batter on her. Of course, since she was completely knocked out before she had hit the wall, this didn't bother her one bit. The second was the fact that Ranma created a sonic boom that destroyed three fourths of the windows in the Palace. The third was the fact that it caused Kei to attack him.

"DIIIIIIIIEEE!!!!" Ranma responded to the threat with the quickest thing that came to mind since he was now at full combat readiness.

"HIRYUU SHOTEN HAAAA!!!" The tornado he created out of thin air promptly sent Uranus right back into the spring that had been refilled moments before by her lover's attack. Ranma turned back to the others who were starring at him in shock. "Well, would anyone else like to attack me?" He looked around and saw no responses. "In that case let us begin today's lesson." And thus began the Sailor Senshi's first day of training in the martial arts.

Usa and Queen Serenity sat in the Council chamber once more. This time, they were waiting for someone, though. Finally, after long moments of silence, there came a timid knock at the door. Usa got up and opened the door. There was the one they awaited. She smiled at the young woman. "Come in, Lady Patience. We've been waiting for you." Usa took a good look at her. She had chestnut-brown hair down to her shoulder blades and in waves. Her eyes were a greenish color, but had a scared look in them. Her first thought was 'no self-confidence'. She was right.

In a quiet voice, Lady Patience addressed the Queen. "Your Majesty wished to see me?"

Serenity gave the young noble a gentle smile. "Yes, my Lady, I have heard that you have succeeded at harnessing the power of the Sun. Is this true?"

To say that she was shocked was an understatement. She had no idea that anyone, let alone the queen, knew that she had been working on such a thing. Once more she spoke in a quiet voice, but this time it was very stuttered. "Y-Y-Yes, M-m-my queen."

"And who did you form the link to?"

"Myself, my queen."

Serenity smiled. "Well, then, we can't let that link go to waste, can we. In a few weeks we will hold the ceremony, and create the new Senshi, Sailor Solaris."

Fear entered Patience's eyes. "My queen, I am not worthy. I couldn't hope to do you justice as one of your Senshi!"

"Nonsense. You will do just fine. All you need is some training." These were fateful words, however. At that moment there was a loud boom, and every window in the conference chamber shattered. Serenity was immediately on her feet. "Come on, we have to go find out what that was."

Usa, however, was very calm. "My guess is that it came from Ranma. Come on, let's go check the practice field."

They moved through the halls with a quiet haste only to come across a confusing practice field. Ranma had the girls in the middle doing their first kata. He was walking around correcting their mistakes. There was a group of healers over the injured Kei, tending her injuries. There was another group of healers tending Sailor Neptune, who was stretched out by a giant hole in the wall leading to the kitchen. Ranma noticed them, and after talking to his students went up to speak to the trio.

"Sorry about the mess, your Majesty. Neptune and Kei needed a small lesson on why you never attack me unless I tell you to. I didn't hurt them too badly, though. They'll be as good as new in a couple of days, and maybe even eager to learn something. And if they aren't… Well, I suppose a repeat lesson would be in order. Of course, you realize that if I have to give repeat lessons for discipline, then they are going to be a whole lot worse. I'll actually stop holding back. I think three thousand blows in less than a second to the stomach and face, followed by a few dozen ki blasts, would make for a painful, if effective, lesson, don't you, your Majesty?" The group had started walking toward the Senshi while Ranma was in the middle of his speech. The Senshi stopped when they heard Ranma tell the queen what his next discipline method would be. Lady Patience had a look of fright in her eyes as Ranma described what he was planning to do. Usa just sighed and shook her head while mumbling about going too easy on them. She knew that Ranma could think of a lot worse ways to handle them. After all, pain did fade after some time. Embarrassment, however, would last a lifetime.

Queen Serenity stared at Ranma in a slight shock. He must be kidding about that. There is no way he would do something that extreme in order to get them trained. Then she looked into his eyes and saw how serious he was. She swallowed and thought back to the future that Ranma and Usa had lain before her. If it meant the survival of everything, her Senshi could survive some brutal training. She spoke loudly enough so all of the Senshi could hear her. "Ranma, do whatever you have to in order to get them in shape. You have my complete authority to do whatever you want with them, as long as it can be justified as training. If they step out of line, discipline them in whatever way you think is necessary. That includes my daughter. She needs this training as much as the rest of them do."

Ranma smiled. "Thank you, Queen Serenity. However, we will need to go to Earth soon, so I can get into their conditioning."

She raised an eyebrow at that. "Why do you need to go to Earth?"

"I need a swamp, a pack of wolves, and a number of large heavy objects for them to carry. Also, Earth's heavier gravity will be useful. Training them in it instead of the Moon's lighter gravity would be better."

"Ranma do you not think that is a little extreme?" asked Queen Serenity.

"Nah. That's going to be easy. Heck, I did it when I was eight. They should be fine. It's not like I'm going to throw them in a pit of starving cats." said Ranma. "On second thought, maybe that would be for the best. Give them the nekoken training. Of course, I'd have to hog-tie them first so they couldn't fight back, but…. No, it would probably take too long to break them of the fear. Break… yeah, that's it. I'll give them the Bakusai Tenketsu training. They'll improve a lot with that."

Queen Serenity raised an eyebrow at that. "What is this Bakusai Tenketsu training?"

"Oh, well, you tie them up, hang them up from a tree with only one hand in front and only one finger of that hand and smash them with one-ton boulders until their skin gets so tough that it doesn't hurt anymore. They spend that time looking for the Breaking Point. When they can find it all they have to do is force a small splinter of ki from their finger into it, and the boulder shatters. It should only take a week or two." The Senshi blanched at the thought of someone going through such training. "Or I could force them to learn how to throw a ki blast."

"How do you do that?"

"I just start throwing a bunch at them until they pick up how it's done. Hey, it's the way I learned. We'll need to be on Earth for that too, by the way."

"I see. Well, we will be going to Earth for our yearly Royal meeting in two months. Will that be soon enough? I would only need them for a week. You can train them however you wish for three weeks after that. Will that do?"

"It's a bit far away, and a bit short on time, but I can do it. I'll find some way for them to get in the training up here until that time. I know, do you think you could get me a pile of rice about knee high? I'll have them move it one grain at a time across the field while running at top speed. Not as good as the wolves will be, but I guess it will hold them for two months."

Queen Serenity smiled at that. Her Senshi were not only going to improve, but get a lesson in humility. "That shouldn't be a problem. I'll have it placed next to the east wall before your practice begins tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, your Majesty."

She looked at the other Senshi. She slightly pushed Lady Patience forward. "My Senshi, I have a joyous announcement to make. Lady Patience here as discovered a safe, reliable way to draw strength from the Sun. In honor of that feat, I have deemed it that she will become the first Senshi of the Sun, known to all as Sailor Solaris. I expect you all to make her feel welcome."

Princess Serenity walked up to her and took her in a hug. "Welcome to our team, Patience. We are all glad to have you." The others walked up and began to congratulate her. Ranma meanwhile headed toward the builder team that had arrived to fix the hole in the kitchen wall. He selected six heavy blocks of stone and carried them back to the girls. When he got there he broke up the joyous gathering.

"Sorry to rain on your parade, but you've got a workout to do. Lady Patience, if you will join her Majesty and Usa over there, I will speak with you about your training in a few minutes."

"Yes, Lord Ranma."

"Just Ranma, I hate formalities."

"Yes, then, Ranma." The three women moved off to the side. Ranma turned back to the Senshi who had already lined up again. He smiled.

"Good, I'm glad to see that you know what to do. Now then, we are going to begin your strength training." He patted the blocks of stone next to him. "These are going to be tied to your backs and supported by your arms. You will be running laps around the palace grounds. You will start at the east wall and run toward me. When you reach the spring you will swim across it, not run around it. I have chosen blocks that each of you can handle. You will do ten laps each. I will be counting, so don't try to cheat out of any. Now step forward when I call your name, and you can begin."

*Four hours later*

Ranma smiled as Verika jumped down off of the wall to do a somewhat wobbly landing. She had improved a lot in the past half-hour. He decided that they had been pushed enough for one day and decided to call it quits. He needed them to be able to move tomorrow; he was planning on starting their defensive and speed training. "All right girls, you can stop now! You're done for the day. Go get cleaned up and something to eat. I'll see you all back here at dawn tomorrow." He walked over to where Queen Serenity and Usa were. Lady Patience had passed out somewhere between the first and second hour and had yet to revive. He glanced at her prone form and sighed. At least she knew what she had gotten into, and he knew where to start her training. Ranma knelt at her side and placed a hand on her forehead. Running a thin stream of ki into her body he forced her to awaken and helped her to stand. Lady Patience stood up and gazed at Ranma. He let her go and stood back, shocked by the terror that he saw in her eyes. He didn't think that she would have that sort of reaction to him.

The Lady turned toward her Queen. "Your Majesty, do I have to go through with this? I am sure that you can find someone else much better suited for this position. I wouldn't last a day with that sort of training." Her voice was quivering with fear.

Queen Serenity sighed and gazed at her newest Senshi. "Yes, Lady Patience, you do have to go through with it. Don't worry, though, you'll be fine. Ranma won't push you any harder than he knows that you can handle." The Queen could see the look of disbelief in the other woman's eyes. She sighed again and wondered how long it would take to get her self-confidence up.

*Two days later*

The Senshi stood at attention as Lady Patience walked slowly down the hall toward Queen Serenity. Even with the ceremony for bringing the newest of the Sailor Senshi to life, Ranma had not given them the day off. He had talked the Queen into holding the ceremony in the evening so that he could have the morning to train them. Well, he thought of it as training. To all of the Senshi except Verika, it was torture. Verika would have agreed with them except she was sure that Ranma-Otousan had their best interest in mind. She had overheard a conversation that he was having with Eowyn after their first day of training. As Lady Patience walked toward the Queen, Verika thought back to what she had heard.

*Flashback*

Ranma walked toward Eowyn as she started to get up after the jumping practice. He ignored the glare she gave him and grabbed her arm. He pulled her away from the others completely ignoring her protests. "Eowyn, be quiet. We need to talk about some things. That is, I'm going to talk, and you are going to listen. What I am going to tell you is NOT to be repeated to anyone else. You can discuss this with only myself, my wife, Queen Serenity, or either Lady Pluto. Do I make myself clear?" Still glaring at him she gave an affirmative nod. "Good. I know you don't like what I'm doing to you and the others. That's not really your problem with me, though, is it? The real reason that you are being so hostile to me is because of the fact that I'm doing this to the princess. Am I right?" Once again she nodded, only a bit more slowly this time. "Well, I've got news for you, this HAS to happen."

Eowyn finally spoke to her torturer (as she thought of him). "And just why is that?"

"Because in time the Silver Millennium is going to fall."

"Fall! What do you mean it's going to fall!?" asked/shouted Eowyn.

"Just what I said, it will fall someday." said Ranma. "Ask Sailor Pluto and Queen Serenity what the consequences will be to the star system if it doesn't. And remember something, Eowyn, nothing lasts forever."

"Believe me, I will do just that." said Eowyn in an icy tone.

"Good. Anyway, the princess, her Senshi, and a few others are going to be reborn on Earth as the last power of the queen is used to send you into the future. The mantle of Sailor Moon is going to be thrust upon the princess whether you like it or not."

"I will never let that happen!"

"You won't have a choice. You will remember nothing of this time or who you are. More importantly, no one will remember who the princess is. She will fight many battles and be put at risk of death numerous times. This training is to make sure that she survives those trials that face her in the future. We can not allow her to be at any risk, can we?"

"No, of course not." Ranma could see the understanding enter her eyes. Now it was time to make sure that she was on his side for this.

"I am not saying that Princess Serenity is going to join you in any fights right now. What is going to happen is that when she is reborn and her memories are returned to her, she will have the knowledge of how to fight and she will survive. That is why I am pushing her so hard now. Do you understand?"

"Yes I do. I don't like it, but I understand why you are doing this. I will not go against you unless it is truly capable of harming her."

"I will not push her any harder than I know that she is capable of. Do not worry about that."

Verika quietly slipped away from the two to think about what was said by Ranma.

*End Flashback*

Verika's attention came back to the ceremony as a bright light surrounded Lady Patience. The light glowed brightly and seemed to seep into her body. A symbol flared on her forehead in the shape of the Sun. A new Senshi was being born. She smiled as she listened to her repeat the Oath that they all took.

"To serve without fear.
To guard with my life.
To protect the House at any cost.
To obey the will of Serenity.
To defend justice for the rest of my life.
I do hereby swear my loyalty.
I do hereby accept the responsibility.
I do hereby accept the power.
I do hereby become your Senshi."

As the Oath was repeated, her clothes changed. A skirt of bright red color with orange trim formed with a white top. Bright red and orange bows adorned her outfit. The Senshi of the Sun was born. And another ball was held.

*Six weeks later*

Ranma smiled as the Senshi completed the latest kata that he had taught them. They were all very quick learners. After the conditioning, I can start teaching each of them a specialized style. That will be useful. I'd love to see what Uranus can do after I teach her what I know of the Jurai swordplay. Ranma motioned them to line up again. After they did so he smiled. "I'm glad to see how much you've all improved over the past two months. You are all much farther along than I thought you would be. As you know, we are traveling to Earth tomorrow for the annual meeting between the Royal Families. You will have one week off. I expect you to keep practicing, however. After that week is up, we will begin your conditioning exercises. They are going to be brutal, I'll tell you that now. However, once we are done you will be in top physical condition. Then I will begin you on your specialized training. Each of your training will be different. Also, before we begin your specialized training we will have your first sparring session while in Senshi forms. I am sure that you will notice the difference in your power levels almost immediately. You are now dismissed." The Senshi headed for the wing of the Palace that held their quarters as Ranma turned to go see Queen Serenity. He was stopped by a small cough, however. Turning he saw Verika looking at him. "What is it Verika? Can I help you with something?"

"I'm just wondering why you are doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Teaching us to fight. All you said was that it had to be done. Why does it have to be done, though?" She had a slightly puzzled expression on her face.

Ranma stared at her for a while. He was debating with himself over whether he should tell her anything or not. I really can't bring myself to lie to her. She's become almost a daughter to me during my time here. She really has made the time here brighter for me, but I don't want to hurt her. AAAUUUUGGG! WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME!! Oh, well, I guess I can tell her some.

"Verika, the time is coming when the Silver Millennium is going to end. There is nothing that can be done to prevent it. There are two ways it can happen, though. In one way, a great darkness will come, and while the Silver Millennium is destroyed the people survive, are reborn in the future in new bodies, and remember it. Many years from now a new Silver Millennium will come about and be led by the House of Serenity. In the other future, a great civil war will break out and engulf the Solar System in flames. In this future, no one would survive on almost all of the planets. We had a choice to make when we came back. We either stop the evil, but lose everyone in a civil war, or we allow the evil to win for now, and we make sure that everyone is prepared for the future. I am sure that you can see which one we chose." Oops, that was more than I meant to say. Well, too late to take it back. When will my mouth stop getting me into trouble? He looked at Verika and could see fright in her eyes. Ranma knew that he shouldn't have told her that much, but it was far too late for that. All he could do now was try and make her feel better. "Hey Verika, don't cry. I mean, it's not like everyone is just going to up and die. We still have time. And besides, you will see everyone in the future too. You're not losing them. Or me, or Usa either. I promise you that I will be there when your memories awaken. I always keep my promises."

Verika looked up at Ranma with some hope entering her eyes. He almost laughed with joy at the sight. "Do you really mean that, Ranma-Otousan? Will you and Usa-Okaasan really be here for me always?"

Ranma knelt down and took her into an embrace. Whispering quietly in her ear, he put all of her fears to rest. "Yes, the two of us will always be here when you need us." Verika clung to Ranma as though he was the only stable thing in the universe. She just held him as her shoulders shook ever so slightly. Ranma kept her wrapped up in his arms for some time before finally pushing back a bit. Looking at her he smiled. "How about we go get some lunch. I'm sure that the others are waiting for us." He took her arm and led her inside.

*That night*

Ranma and Usa were sitting in their quarters discussing what they were going to do once on Earth. Ranma was stretched upon the couch as he watched his wife brush her hair. He smiled as a few strands got out of place and tangled with a few others in the middle of her back. He got up and went over to his wife and gently put the hair back into place for her, so she could tie it in with the rest. Usa turned around and smiled at her husband. "What do you think about going to Earth tomorrow, dear?"

"I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait to practice my kata in normal gravity again. It'll also be nice to meet Endymion for the first time. I forgot to at that first ball. And the rest of his family, too. I'm still trying to come up with a way to get him and his bodyguards off of Earth without telling them everything. Can you think of anything?"

"Well, how about we have Queen Serenity offer to let you train them? That would basically give you free reign over all of them and get them out of Beryl's reach."

Ranma thought about it for a moment and then shook his head. "No, that won't work. They're supposed to be the best-trained people on Earth. There's no way that they'll feel that they need any training. It won't work."

"Ranma, Ranma, it will work. After all, you are training the Senshi here, and they are supposed to be the strongest in the Solar System. If you can train them, then you can train Endymion's bodyguards. It shouldn't be that hard for Serenity to talk him into letting you train them."

"I suppose so, but I really don't want to train more people. It was bad enough getting the Senshi to obey what I tell them to do. It's going to be even harder to get these guys to do it. More importantly, I'm going to have to listen to them complain about how I'm pushing their lovers in the training. They aren't going to like conditioning, I can tell you that much already."

"Did you like your conditioning?"

"Of course not. Being chased through a swamp by a pack of wolves while carrying Oyaji who was on a couch when I was eight was not fun. But it was better than the nekoken training. That was living hell."

"I know, love, you've said so a number of times over the years. I still can't believe some of the stories that you've told me. Not just about your early training, but of what happened before your first marriage. I know that you're strong, but to be able to do what you did when you were only 16 is incredible. It rivals some of what my mother and her friends did, and they were granted the powers to do so. You had to train to get your abilities."

"Yeah, going against super-powerful martial artists, isolated Chinese warlords, and a Phoenix was pretty tough. But I always got stronger. Every new challenge I faced caused me to grow in skill. I wouldn't be where I am now if it weren't for that. The things I faced after I thought I lost you were even worse than those, however." Ranma sighed and his eyes grew distant. Thoughts of past battles went through his mind, and memories of past pain grew in him again. He knew that he had Usa back now, and that he wasn't going to loose her like he thought that he almost had, but the pain stayed. When ever he thought back to the time when it was just him and Setsuna his heart ached with a slow pain, one that could drive a person insane.

Usa saw her husband's eyes glaze over and pain enter them. She could hardly picture what it must have been like for her Ranma. Now that I think about it, Ranma never did tell me what he and Setsuna had done when I was in cryostasis. I wish I knew.

Ranma saw his wife's gaze deepen for a moment. Coming out of his mood, he walked over and sat down on the table that she was at. "What's the matter Usa-chan? You look a bit out of it."

"Oh, I was just wondering what you and Setsuna did while I was in the cryostasis chamber. You never told me."

Ranma gave her his best smile. "You just have to ask, you know. We've been pretty busy since we got you out that there hasn't been much time. Do you want to hear?" Usa nodded her head and looked at him. Ranma took her hand and led her over to the couch where they both sat down. "Well, I guess I should start with right after we sealed the Gates of Time." And so Ranma began to tell her a tale of pain, joy, hardships, heroism, terror, good, and evil. He told her of how he and Setsuna battled to protect the Gates, but lost. He spoke of the hundreds of years of pain that he went through at the thought of never seeing her again, and how he held on to his sanity only by Setsuna's need of him. He weaved a tale of grand adventure on a small planet outside the known galaxy where the two of them aided in overthrowing a tyrannical empire that was destroying the world through its own greed. He told her about another confederation of planets that they came across that was in a war against an unknown species, and how they aided the people in defending their home. Ranma spoke of times when in the heat of battle Setsuna came to his rescue, or he came to hers, or Nabiki directed the Wild Rabbit to both their rescues. He spoke of overthrowing dictatorships and enemies that he couldn't even describe. He spoke of all these things and had Usa's undivided attention the entire time. Eventually he came to the creation of the void, and of the long search to find something.

Usagi leaned her head against her husband's shoulder as they sat on the couch. Ranma's arm was around her as he grew quiet. He just wanted to feel his wife, sense her presence, and know that everything was all right. He felt like he had finally exorcised the last demons hidden in his soul. Usa chose this moment of peace to speak. "Ranma, you've been through so much with out me. You had so many adventures with Setsuna. I wish that I could have been a part of them. I wish I could have been with you, to experience everything that happened."

Ranma closed his eyes and gently placed his cheek against the top of his wife's head. "No, you don't. What happened during those years was not fun. It hurt me a lot. The thought of having lost you had cut through my heart. There were so many times that I wished I had died. So many times I tried to kill myself in hopes of having lost my curse so I wouldn't have to bear it any more. You want nothing of that life, Usagi, trust me."

"That should be my choice to make, Ranma, not yours. You can't deny my feelings, not like you did so long ago."

"I know. But I can still be glad that you never had to go through that much pain."

Usa raised her head and looked at him. "There may be a way, Ranma. Remember the gift of Luna? We can share thoughts with each other. I remember mother telling me how Luna showed her images of herself after the battle with Beryl to restore her memories. We could do the same, you know. You could let me see your memories."

"No, I don't want that. I don't want you to know what it was like. Please, don't Usa. Let it rest. It's all in the past and we can't change it. Please, just let it go."

"Ranma, please, let me in. I can help you with the pain. I can aid you in letting go. Don't block me out. I want to help you, you know that."

Ranma gazed at his wife for sometime. He knew that she wanted to help him, to take away his pain. Telling the story had gotten rid of the demons, but the ghosts were still there. Maybe this would be a way to rid himself of them. But I don't want to give them to Usa. I know she's strong, but can she take it? He looked into her eyes and saw something he didn't like. She was determined to try and do this that much Ranma was sure of. He sighed and resigned himself to this fate. "All right, Usa-chan, we'll try and do this. I don't know if it will work, but we will give it a shot." Just her smile as he said that was enough to brighten his whole day. The two of them closed their eyes and concentrated on each other.

The Crescent Moon on Usa's forehead glowed and a thin light formed between her and Ranma. Within a split second, thousands of images passed between the two of them. Usa saw the battles, the trials, and the victories of Ranma. She saw the bathroom on the Wild Rabbit as he tried to kill himself by cutting his wrists open. She heard his cry of anguish at her loss.

Ranma, meanwhile, saw the darkness. He saw a place where the eyes were closed, and the mind active. A never-ending sleep without dreams. He could sense time flowing by him, but whether it was forward or backward he couldn't tell. He saw a crack of light and felt pain in his eyes, and then it was gone.

Their eyes opened as one. For a moment they had been linked and shared every experience that the other had since they parted ways. They had been as good as a single being in that one moment. Then it was over and the images faded into memories. And the memories faded into half remembered events. Ranma reached up and brushed a strand of pink hair out of his wife's face. He drew her close and felt her soft lips meet his. He marveled at how soft and gentle they were, like silk upon the skin. They stayed like that for some time before Ranma drew back. He looked at her again and then gently picked her up into his arms. The lights turned off as he carried her into their bedroom.

It was the next day, and everyone who was going to Earth had gathered in the starport. Queen Serenity and her daughter were there, of course, along with the Moon Cat advisors, Luna and Artemis. The Sailor Senshi were there, including Sailor Pluto. She had been training with Setsuna for the past two months. Ranma, Usa, and Setsuna had gathered as well. Currently they were talking with Queen Serenity.

"So you see, your Majesty, we think that if we can get the Four Generals off of Earth, we can prevent Beryl from corrupting them. We also want Endymion to come back since he could use the training too." Usa smiled at her grandmother. Anyone who looked over could see the resemblance in their faces.

Ranma grunted, however. "Yeah, he could use a LOT of training. From what I recall the only thing he was good at was throwing roses and making speeches."

Queen Serenity raised an eyebrow at that, but chose to ignore it. It wasn't something she was sure she needed to know.. "You do realize that the Four Generals are the best trained troops on Earth? It's going to take a lot to convince King Gremain to let you take the Generals and train them right."

Ranma simply shrugged his shoulders. "So I'll challenge them to a fight and beat them up a bit. It won't be all that hard. I did take out eight of your ten Senshi at one time, didn't I? It shouldn't be all that hard to take out the four of them, you know."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Ranma? Beating his guards up wouldn't exactly make a good impression on the king. It would probably be a better idea just to talk him into letting us take them along." Usa looked at her husband.

Ranma just shook his head. "No, after they see a single one of my training sessions with the Senshi they're going to be itching for a fight. I'm not exactly thinking of them being the sensible type. I suggest that we prepare for a challenge. I'll make quick work of them just to prove how much training they really need." It was at that point that the signal was given to begin boarding the transport. The delegation from the Moon boarded the starship and took their seats for the short journey to Earth.

Ranma and Usa stood at the back of the group that was going to get off of the transport. It had touched down moments before and everyone was preparing to disembark. Queen Serenity and her daughter were in the front of the group. Flanking and right behind them were the Inner Senshi. After that came the Outer Senshi, followed by the Queen's advisors (non-cat). After all of them were the two time travelers. The hatch opened to let everyone off, and Ranma smiled. He put his arm around his wife's waist as they walked out of the ship. "Look at that blue sky and that green ground. The air is so fresh. It's been far, far too many years since we were back on Earth, hasn't it been, Usa?"

"It sure has, Ranma. Do you think that they will let us go to the beach before we head back? I would love to swim in the ocean once more, and to feel the sand under my feet." Usa, like Ranma, was smiling at the beauty of their home planet.

Ranma got a wicked grin on his face. "Why don't we make a training exercise out of it. We can have the Senshi swim to China and back to help build stamina and toughness of skin. What do you say?"

Usa shook her head at the thought. "No, Ranma, it's much too early to try and have them do that. We need to get in as much training as we can, and we don't want to risk one of them drowning because they get a cramp and can't swim anymore."

Ranma pouted a bit before snapping to military attention, which was drilled into him at Starfleet. Usa looked up, and seeing King Gremain, she too stood tall and proud. She watched as the king came over to her grandmother and gave her a brotherly hug. The corner of her lips turned up at the cute shyness that was coming from her mother in the face of Endymion. She smiled as fond memories entered her mind of when she was younger and of days that were filled with love and joy. She felt Ranma nudge her slightly and looked at him.

"Over there are the Generals. We really need to get them trained. None of them have power levels that can be of use to us right now. Do you think we can get away with this?"

"We have to. We don't want to lose them like so many others have been. Don't worry about it, Queen Serenity will make sure that everything will work out just fine. Oh, she's doing introductions. We better be ready."

They watched silently as Queen Serenity introduced Lady Patience to the royal family of Earth. She was still quiet and demure despite the intense training that Ranma had been putting her through. He had been trying everything to build her confidence up and to have her start to trust herself, but to no avail. She still thought that she was worth less than everyone else was and deferred to almost anyone. Ranma sighed slightly as he thought of how different she was from her future self. I have no clue what it's going to take to get her self-confidence up. I can't teach her any ki techniques until she gets some sort of emotion. I can't believe that anyone could feel so down about themselves as Solaris does. He glanced up as he heard his name spoken by the Queen. Ranma and Usa stepped forward and approached their Majesties. Ranma gave a sweeping bow as Usagi curtsied with grace born from living in the palace.

Queen Serenity gestured to the two of them. "This is Ranma and Usagi Saotome, relatives of mine from the future. Sailor Pluto brought them so they could teach my Senshi how to fight."

King Gremain's eyebrow twitched at that. "Someone sent to teach your Senshi how to fight? They are already more powerful than my Generals are. I do not believe that such a thing is possible."

"Nevertheless, your Majesty, Ranma alone beat all of them in battle, without using any magic. And they were powered up when the fight started. He defeated them quickly and effectively. Perhaps you would care to have him train your Generals in his ways of fighting? I am sure that it could be of use to them."

"I would prefer to see how good he is with my own eyes, Serenity. You speak highly of him, but circumstances can affect the outcome of any battle. Perhaps a small demonstration would be in order? What do you think, young Ranma?"

Ranma was actually able to keep from breaking out laughing when the king called him 'young'. He did, however, smile slightly at the comment. "I would be glad to show you, your Majesty. I was hoping I would get a chance to test the Senshi in Earth's gravity. Just decide on a time, and we will be ready."

"How would right now sound? There is plenty of room over on the east side of the spaceport. We are planning to put a new landing pad in there. Will it be sufficient?"

Ranma looked to where the King had indicated and nodded in approval. There was enough room so no one but the Senshi would get hurt. And probably the Generals, too. "That will be fine. Shall we go?" He gave the King of the Earth a wicked grin.

To be continued.

Author's notes: I want to thank Tomas Megerson, without whose help this would be nothing. He did the hard work of dialog , writing in some cool scenes , character interaction and development , coming up with some cool ideas , and writing them in a way better than I ever could. Thanks, Tomas.

If you want more of this story, you want to ask Tomas, not me , since he does most of the writing. I come up with ideas. Tomas is the one writes most of it. I write out the narrated plot. Tomas adds the dialog , character interaction , fight scenes. So I can't write this story without him. Don't forgot to send him fan mail since he does most of the work!

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Last revision: May 21, 2007