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 Version 1.1
 #include <ahoal/author_notes.h>
 #include <mega_crossover/std_disclaimer.h>
 #include <alternate_universe/std_disclaimer.h>
 #include <ranma/std_disclaimer.h>

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     Cologne watched her great-grand-daughter, Shampoo, as she served the various customers of the Neko Hanten. For all intends and purposes, Shampoo looked like she was sleepwalking. She hardly said anything since she told her about what happened to Ranma over a month ago.

     Cologne had felt a great evil near by, wanting to see if she could use it to her adtanvage, she had gone to investigate... Only she arrived just in time to see Ranma and Happosai being teleported by an Oni that they had been fighting.

     She knew that Ranma already possessed some good skills and had a great potential to go far on the Path of a Martial Artist -- given proper guidance -- but to face an Oni... and a powerful Oni at that...

     After all the other observers of the fight left, Cologne went to the site of the teleportation, and casted a divination to see where the Oni had taken Ranma and Happosai. To her sorrow, the divination told her that the Oni had taken them to Hell, she knew no one living ever returns from Hell.

     Telling Shampoo the truth, that Ranma wasn't coming back, was one of the hardest things she had to have done in all of her ninety-eight years of life. But she did it, in Grand Amazon Tradition, straight out.

     At first Shampoo had tried to deny her great grand-mother's words but as Time went on, she was forced to accept them. Especially after she spent the rest of the week searching various places her rivals might have hidden her Airen.

     Cologne was very disappointed in Shampoo. Almost as much as she was disappointed in her own daughter and great daughter. She couldn't see where she had gone wrong with Shampoo. After seeing the failure that her own daughter had become and the traitorious ways of her own grand-daughter, Cologne had taking upon herself to raise her great grand-daughter alone and in the proper ways. She was disgusted when Shampoo's mother didn't even challenge her when she took the still bloody infant away. Instead of outrage, Shampoo's mother showed relief. Which just made Cologne more determined to raise young Shampoo herself. By raising young Shampoo in the proper ways, she hoped to undo the damage inflicted by her own daughters and grand-daughters upon the Village.

     She had named the young baby herself. She named the child 'Shampoo' after her own grand-mother and previous Eldest of the Village Elders with the hope that her great grand-daughter would receive help from her name-sake's spirit.... Even if Shampoo grew up to be only a quarter of the Amazon that Grandmother Shampoo was, young Shampoo would be tenfold greater Amazon than either her mother or grand-mother was.

     Cologne sighed and tried to figure out how she had let Shampoo talk her into staying in Japan. Although to be truthful to herself, she, herself, didn't wish to return the Village, especially as a Failure.

     Cologne couldn't help feeling angry. In her day, an Amazon would have simply kidnaped her intended, trained him, and that was that. The outside world was too afraid to challenge their Rights and Laws.

     But Ranma... But Ranma had to make things difficult.

     And to make things worse, he was corrupting Shampoo. Filling her head with meaningless things like equality, love, and honor to all....

     //Everything would be fine once I... once we got him into the Village,// Cologne thought. //It would be a simply thing to train him, to show him his proper place in the True World.//

     Cologne laughed to herself and continued thinking, //It should be a simple matter to show Shampoo that she should share with her fellow Amazons.//

     Cologne's face moved into a smile and she thought, //And then... the children...//

     She chuckled as the thoughts came to her mind, //Within two decades, we will be strong again. Able to show the World, its proper place. And then there will Peace in the world.//

     <<"Great grand-mother, I need a 'Number Two Special,'">> Shampoo said in her native Chinese. This caused Cologne's thought to be interrupted.

     <<"Right,">> Cologne replied in Chinese. She shook her head and added, "And speak in Japanese!"

     "Hai," Shampoo replied sadly. She didn't like Japanese. It was a stupid language. The only reason she attempted to learn it was so she could talk to her Airen in his own stupid language. And she had yet to show off her vocabulary yet. Stupid Violent Girl kept interrupting her. But what little she had shown of her vocabulary had caused her Airen to blush in that cute way of his...

     Shampoo sighed and had gotten herself depressed again. //Airen isn't coming back,// she couldn't help thinking.

     She heard the greeting-bell's ding-ding-ding announce another customer, so she headed for the door, and said, "Welcome to Neko Hanten. How many does Shampoo need to sit?"

     "Four, please," a young girl replied. Sakura and her three friends, Aiko, Nozomi, and Megumi, followed Shampoo to a table, sat down at the table, and looked over the menus that Shampoo had given them.

     "What will you all have?" Shampoo asked them.

     After taking their orders, Shampoo called them out to her great grand-mother who then flung the orders at her. She caught them more out of habit than anything else.

     After setting the orders down, she went to get tea for the girls to drink. As she returned she overheard Sakura say, "See, I told you the foods here is good...."

     Aiko replied, "You're right..."

     Nozomi responded, "And safer than Furinkan is... now that Saotome-san is back."

     Shampoo set the tea pot down with a bang and asked, "Ai-- Ranma is back, yes?"

     Without looking up, Megumi answered, "Yes, Saotome-san got back, I guess, from his training trip yesterday..."

     <<"Yes!!! Husband is back!!!! Goddesses are kind to me!">> Shampoo exclaimed in Chinese.

     "Great grand-mother!!!!" Shampoo shouted. "Shampoo go on date with Airen!!!! Shampoo go now."

     With that Shampoo ran out of the Neko Hanten and headed for Furinkan High School as fast as she could.

     "Brilliant, Megumi," Aiko stated. "Now, there's going to be a huge mess..."

     Cologne sighed after sending Mousse out for various items the restaurant needed. The lunch hour was over, thankfully, with only Mousse to help her... it had been trying. But she needed the exercise. She had been getting soft.... But now that Son-in-Law was back... If it was Son-in-Law... No mortal ever escaped from Hell... At least, not without some kind of divine help. She began to think of ways to test to see if it was truly Ranma, and, more importantly, to check to see what divine interference she would have to deal with....

     Her head snapped up upon hearing the greeting-bell sound a single ding. The bell, a charm actually, shouldn't have sounded only once. That was suppose to be impossible... It was suppose to ding three times for normal people, four times for very powerful auras, and five for evil... It wasn't suppose to be able to ding only one or twice.

     However, the greeting-bell did ding only once and there waiting to be seated was a woman. Cologne thought she should know who this woman was but she couldn't recall seeing this gaijin woman before. The woman's hair was as dark as night and seemed to move with the wind like waves upon the ocean. There was something about the strange woman's eyes that was unusual... but for some reason her mind couldn't grasped it. The woman was wearing a simply white kimono that seemed to cling to her form like a second skin.

     Even more unusual was the fact that Cologne thought that the strange woman has beautiful. Sure, when she was younger she had taken part in the Festivals, especially when there were only a few males available, but Cologne didn't usually think of women has beautiful... but this stranger was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen.

     As her nature, Cologne tried to assess the woman's power, age and spirit, but she couldn't. The woman's pose and body language belong to an adult who was secure in her sexuality that only comes with age, something Shampoo lacked, and yet, her face and skin had the smoothness of youth. She could only detect a weak fighting spirit within the woman, but her body moved with the grace and economics of one familiar with the martial arts.

     Still the stranger was a customer. Unthinking, Cologne in the formal Chinese of her Village asked, <<"How may I serve thee?">>

     The woman smiled and replied in simple Chinese, <<"I would like to try the House Special, please.">>

     "Coming right up," Cologne replied in Japanese.

     As Cologne moved towards the kitchen, she noticed that the woman was still standing so she said, "You may sit where ever you wish..."

     The woman nodded and sat down at one of the corner booths with the corner to her back. Thus she had two walls protecting her back and she had a view of the entire restaurant.

     Cologne grew more puzzled. Although she couldn't sense any ability in the Art in the woman, she had sat down in a very defensible position. The only way to approach the woman was by coming directly at her.

     Shrugging, Cologne went off to make the woman's order. After a few moments, she returned with the order and set it down in front of the woman, who frowned slightly.

     "Is something wrong?" Cologne asked.

     "No, no," the woman replied. "I'm just not used to oriental food..."

     Cologne smiled slightly and showed the woman how to use the chopsticks that she had set on the table with the order.

     As the woman began to eat, Cologne headed back to the kitchen to get ready for the supper crowd. Just as she reached the door to the kitchen, the greeting bell sounded four times. Spinning around, Cologne was amazed to see Elder Shan-Lee enter the Neko Hanten. She was even more surprised at the grim face that greeted her. Shan-Lee was one of several of her own daughter's contemporaries that she had trained. Shan-Lee was more like a daughter to her than her own flesh and blood daughter was. Usually Shan-Lee brought a smile to everything she did... so whatever had brought her out to her must be very grim indeed.

     "What can..." Cologne began but Shan-Lee interrupted her by saying in Chinese, <<"Elder Cologne, you are Summoned... You have one week to prepare before you must appear before the Council.">>

     <<"What?">> Cologne exclaimed in her confusion. She also noted that Shan-Lee had addressed her simply as Elder and not as Eldest of the Counsel of Elders as was her title. A title she had had since slightly before Shan-Lee herself was born.

     <<"You will answer the Summons, Cologne,">> Shan-Lee replied in Chinese. <<"Or...">>

     //Face banishment,// Cologne finished the statement mentally.

     Out loud, in Chinese Cologne demanded, <<"And who dares summon me?">>

     Shan-Lee shook her head and said sadly, <<"You don't have the time, Cologne. If you don't leave now, you won't make it on time for the Summons...">>

     Cologne's face darken but she had to acknowledge the truth of Shan-Lee's words. However family honor demanded that she ask in Chinese, <<"Who will look after my great grand-daughter, Shampoo, while I'm away?">>

     Shan-Lee looked puzzled and asked, <<"Hasn't Shampoo undergone the Right of Womanhood before she left the Village?">>

     <<"Well, yes,">> Cologne replied impatently.

     <<"Then she's an adult, an Amazon,">> Shan-Lee stated. <<"She doesn't need a babysitter....">>

     Cologne looked guilty and in a small, sad voice said, <<"She's all I have left in the World....">>

     A slight smile crossed Shan-Lee's face.

     The smile was echoed by the strange woman who had been listening to Cologne's conversation with Shan-Lee, although neither realized it.

     Gently Shan-Lee replied, <<"I will remain here until...">>

     //Until when?// Cologne wondered herself. Depending on the reason behind the Summons, she could be gone for a little more than two weeks, one week out to the Village, a few minutes to straight out whatever it was, and a week back. Or she may never be able to return...

     Cologne quickly gathered a few items that she might need on her trip back to the Village, showed Shan-Lee where everything was, and headed out to the airport to get a flight as close to where the village was in order to cut down on her travel time.

     Shan-Lee sighed and, for the first time, noticed the strange woman in the corner eating. Her eyes grew wide as she recognized the woman. Dropping to her knees, she humbly stated in Chinese, <<"Mistress! How can this lowly one server thee?">>

     The woman thought a moment. She seemed to look at the ceiling for a moment and then said, <<"I think you should go comfort Shampoo.">>

     <<"Huh?">> Shan-Lee began but stopped as a loud wail tore through the Neko Hanten. Shan-Lee got up and headed upstairs.

     Once Shan-Lee was out of her sight, the woman turned to a shadow caused by a table in another corner and said in her native Greek, "Brother, you can come out of the shadow now...."

     Impossibly, a tall, handsome man, who stood at two meters in height, stepped out from under a three-quarter of a meter shadow that laid under the table. The man had the same hair color as the woman. His eyes were dirt brown with bloody red specks within them. He wore a white toga that came down from his left shoulder and reached down to his mid-thigh level. Around his waist was a simple silk cord that secured the toga to his body. On his feet were simple, laced sandals.

     The woman raised her right eyebrow at the man's appearance and commented, "What? No armor? Are you getting soft, Ares?"

     Ares laughed. It was a soft laugh of merriment. Ares changed his hair to blonde and his eyes to blue with red specks. He took a seat and said, "Dear Athena... There is more to Life than War, although fun, it might be."

     Athena replied in surprise, "My! You have changed...."

     "In two thousand years," Ares responded, "Those who don't change, are lost..."

     Athena took on a suspicious look as she asked, "So tell me, Ares, what are you doing here?"

     "Why visiting Futsu-Nushi-no-Kami," Ares replied lightly.

     "Oh?" Athena replied. "Then why are you in Tokyo? Last time I heard, ol'Fut-shi was in Nagasaki..."

     "Well..." Ares began.

     "Hera asked you to check up on me?" Athena asked.

     "No, Mother didn't ask me to check up on you," Ares replied.

     "Then why?" Athena began but stopped herself. Athena changed her hair and eye color the same as Ares, blonde and blue. Her blue eyes widen slight and she whispered, "Raijin...."

     "Well, you must admit," Ares stated. "We are all curious about this 'Raijin'... this 'Ranma'... You have remained a virgin -- even defended it against all that have come in the last two thousand years -- and now..."

     Athena's eyes narrowed and she replied, "Didn't you, yourself, say that we must change with the times?"

     "Yes," Ares replied. "But to date outside one's own pantheon?"

     "Oh?" Athena remarked with a smile. "Do you, brother dear, disapprove my choice?"

     "Few are the War Gods that can, and have, challenged me and tell the tale," Ares stated matter of factly. "Fewer still are those that can teach me a new trick.... No, I don't disapprove of your choice."

     Athena was shocked, she actually hadn't thought that Ares would't approve of Raijin.

     "Better you than that little bitch, Diana[WW]," Ares replied with a laugh.

     Athena's eyes narrowed. A storm began to form outside and above the Neko Hanten. Athena began in a low and dangerous voice, "Areessss..."

     Noting his mistake, Ares took a few steps back but calmly said, "You must admit that Diana is no better than that child upstairs is.... Made the same mistakes too...."

     Athena calmed down slight. Out of curiosity, she asked, "And what mistakes are those?"

     "Too much, too soon," Ares answered. "While I can understand the child's rush... You would think that Diana would know better... Especially after all of my plans she's foiled."

     "Speaking of the child," Athena began.

     Ares laughed and said, "No, I don't know why Mother Summoned the child's great grand-mother.... My interests, as far as the Amazons are concern, lays solely with Diana and her mother, Hippolyta."

     "I've never understood that," Athena replied. Seeing that Ares would remain close-lip on that subject, she continued, "Let us not argue about domains.... Getting back to my original question, what are you doing here?"

     Ares thought it over a moment, then said, "Curiosity."

     "Huh?" Athena wasn't expecting that answer.

     "I wished to see what type of World could produce one such as Raijin," Ares replied honestly. "That and a chance to spar with him, again..."

     "Is that what you called what happened in Mount Olympus?" Athena asked with a raised, right eyebrow.

     "Hey!" Ares exclaimed. "That was your brother, Apollo, and Heracles's fault..."

     "Righttt..." Athena stated showing her disbelief. "And who was it that damaged Father's throne?"

     "Now, that," Ares replied with a laugh, "was the Asgardian, Urd's, fault."

     "Oh?" Athena asked intrigued.

     "Oh no, you don't." Ares laughed. "I'm not getting involved with someone who's domain is the Past... even if it is another pantheon. Anyway, I'm going hunting with Futsu-Nushi-no-Kami, Bishamon, Hachiman, and Apollo... You're welcome to join us, if you wish."

     "And be the only female in a group of War Gods? I don't think so," Athena replied with a laugh. "I have a very good idea on what you're really hunting for... I won't wish to get in the way..."

     "Suit yourself, I asked," Ares replied. He shrugged and said formally in their native language, <<"Merry met, Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and War and Patroness of the Amazon.">>

     <<"Merry met, you, Ares, God of War,">> Athena answered back just as formally.

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     "That's amazing!" Akane exclaimed as Nabiki finished telling Akane about onna-Ranma's performance for Kuno. As she and Nabiki walked into their home, she asked, "And then what happened?"

     "We simply walked home together," Nabiki replied too quickly.

     Akane gave her sister a look and said, "There's nothing simple involving Ranma..."

     "Well," Nabiki began. "We did run into Gosunkugi on the way home... He was trying to fly via magic again..."

     "Oh?" Akane asked curiously.

     There was a knock at the front door.

     Calling out, Akane said, "I'll get it..."

     Nabiki sighed in relief and then wondered, //Where's Kasumi?//

     Akane opened the door and gasped. There standing at the door was a woman, a beautiful woman. The gasp was because the woman had green hair. Green hair is not a natural color -- it had to be a dye job -- one that punkers got. But this woman, who was taller than she, was no punker. Her dress suit fit her too well... Her manners and outfit was of a business woman.

     In addition to the green hair, the other odd thing about the strange woman was that she wore reflective sunglasses on a cloudy day.

     The woman, upon seeing Akane said, "Hello, my name is Setsuna Meiou. I have come to see Ranma.... Is he home?"

     "Why no," Akane replied. Suspiciously, Akane asked, "How do you know Ranma? You're not another fiancee, are you?"

     "Heavens, no," Setsuna responded. She paused a moment and asked, "You're Akane, aren't you?"

     Akane simply nodded and repeated a little heatedly, "You didn't answer my question, 'how do you know Ranma?'"

     Setsuna sighed and said, "That's a long story... Can I come in?"

     Akane led Setsuna up to her room so they could talk while waiting for Ranma to come home. Once inside, Akane noted that Setsuna kept her sunglasses on.

     It was only when they sat down, Akane on her bed and Setsuna at her desk chair turned to face her, did Setsuna remove her sunglasses. Akane gave a little start as she saw that Setsuna's eyes were red. Akane was able to hid her reaction better this time. Red seemed to be their natural color just like her eyes were brown.

     Taking a deep breath, Setsuna stated, "Both my hair and eye color are natural..."

     "Nani?" Akane exclaimed but quieted down as she saw Setsuna was going to continue.

     "I got them from my mother," Setsuna replied evenly. Nodding, she continued, "I'm only *half* human..."

     "And the other half?" Akane wondered.

     "I'll get to that," Setsuna replied. "Needless to say, I'm not from this Universe... I've come here to ask for Ranma's help in dealing with a threat to my Universe that Ranma is very familiar with... As to how I know Ranma... That's a long story...."

     "I've got time," Akane responded.

     Setsuna laughed.

     "Nani?" Akane asked angrily.

     "You'll see..." was Setsuna only reply. Adjusting her dress suit to be comfortable, Setsuna began to tell her story...

     "A long time ago," Setsuna began. "There was a... kingdom. Lets call it the 'Silver Kingdom.' Silver Kingdom was actually composed of nine smaller kingdoms, five inner-realms and four outer-realms, all ruled over by the Silver King, King Serenity.

     "For a couple of hundreds of years the Silver Kingdom was peaceful and the people were happy with King Serenity's rule."

     "King Serenity ruled for over a hundred years? How?" Akane interrupted.

     "Well... It was the custom of the Silver Kingdom, to name the heir, Serenity," Setsuna explained.

     "So it was a series of kings, all with the same name?" Akane asked.

     Setsuna ignored the question and continued, "Anyway, one day, out of nowhere, the Kingdom was attacked. Within six weeks, the four outer-realms fell to the invaders. And that was simply a factor of the distances involved between the realms....

     "There were numerous attempts by the Silver Army to drive out the invaders, but each time, the Silver Army met only resounding defeats. So bad were these defeats, that many in the Army thought there were traitors within their mists.

     "It was that mistrust that cost the Silver Army the first of the outer inner-realms. The Enemy truly didn't need to defeat us then... No, we had pretty much defeated ourselves by then. The distrust grew to the point that everything, which had once been shared freely, was now feverously amassed. Alas, regardless what 'precautions' were made, the Enemy knew the Army's every move. It became apparent that the Enemy was using some new, alien way of gathering their intelligence reports. No secret was safe. The best laid plans of the Silver Army failed to stop the Enemy... Nothing seemed to be able to...

     "So when the Enemy was within striking distance of the Silver Palace... Everyone knew it was hopeless...

     "While the people didn't have any hope of surviving... they did hope that the Silver King and his family might be gotten to safety... although few knew of any place that was safe from this unstoppable Enemy.

     "A few nobles gathered their courage and their Soldiers and formed a wall between the Silver Palace and the Enemy...

     "They did so, in the hope of giving the Royal Family time to escape. Of course, the good King Serenity won't abandoned his people...

     "History has it that one of the King's servants had to knock the King unconscious in order to get the Family to safety.

     "Anyway, the battle, if you could call it that, was going poorly... Most of the nobles were dead or dying... Half the Soldiers were wounded or dead... Those alive... Those alive knew it was only a matter of time before they, too, would join the others in that Final Sleep...

     "And that's when Ranma showed up....

     "Ranma organized the survivors and personally lead the assault on the Enemy. Where others had failed, Ranma was victorious! Ranma wasn't like the other nobles and generals, who commanded the battle behind the battle lines... No... Ranma was, is, always the first one in... Most of the time, his lieutenants had to sound the charge in order to keep up with him...

     "Not only did he lead what remained of the Army, but he personally, trained a group of Soldiers, those who would become his lieutenants, in the Art of War and other things... In a short time, Ranma and his Unit, who called themselves 'Guardians', reclaimed the honor and moral of the Silver Kingdom. In recognition of what Ranma had done the Silver King, himself, appointed Ranma as General-Commander of the entire Silver Army.

     "It took four months of constant fighting, but, Ranma was able to reclaim three of the four outer realms back from the Enemy. It was during the Battle of Neptune, that Ranma and the Silver Kingdom, first learned what it was truly facing....

     "Ranma and the Guardians were finally able to capture a living person who belong to the Enemy... Up until then, they had fought nothing more than machines and suiciding cyborgs...

     "It took a few weeks but Ranma was finally able to talk with one of the Enemy, who had almost swiped out the Silver Kingdom. The captured enemy's name was translated as 'Crimson' and her people's name as 'Lomian' from the city-state of 'Chronopolis.'"

     "*Her* people?" Akane asked. "Figures...."

     Setsuna continued, "From Crimson, Ranma and the others learned that the Lomian had the ability to see into the future a few minutes ahead. This was how the Lomian were able to defeat the Silver Army so easily... It's easy.... If you knew what your enemy is going to do, before he or she does it...

     "One's place in Lomian society depended upon how far one could see into the future... Their evil queen, Queen Violet, foresaw that the Silver Kingdom would be the downfall of her people... She used this as an excuse to launch a pre-emptive strike against the Silver Kingdom. Queen Violet hoped that their ability to see into the future would give them an easy victory and allow her to plunder the Kingdom, to steal the resources of the Silver Kingdom for herself... Thus causing the very war that she said she wished to prevent.

     "But for some reason, Ranma was completely immune to the Lomian's foresight.... and while the Guardians weren't immune like Ranma, the Lomian foresaw multiple futures for them, all as valid as the other, thus confusing them.

     "From Ranma, Crimson learned the truth about how Queen Violet had started the war, her ordering the execution of the civilians, the destruction of Nature...

     "Outraged, Crimson sided with Ranma and Silver Kingdom and fought against her own people.... While others in the Silver Kingdom didn't fully trust her, Ranma did... Ranma trusted her completely and she never did betray that trust that he gave her.

     "To make a long story, short," Setsuna concluded, "A year to the day of the first Lomian invasion, Ranma, Crimson, the Guardians, and the remaining portion of the Silver Army finally entered Chronopolis. They defeated the Lomian Army. The war ended when Crimson, who had trained under Ranma, challenged her older sister Violet for the crown of Chronopolis. Crimson won and declared the war over."

     "Wow," was the only thing Akane could say after hearing such a story. She collected her thoughts for a moment, then asked, "But that still doesn't explain how you know Ranma...."

     With a slight smile Setsuna continued, "Well... After barely defeating the Lomian, the Silver King realized that they needed a 'defense' against possible future temporal invaders like the Lomian... So a team of Silver Kingdom 'scientists' and some Lomian 'scientists' got together to build a Space/Time Gate to give the Kingdom warning and the ability to wage a temporal-battle like the Lomian were able to... King Serenity placed Ranma and Crimson in charge of the Project... It took them fifteen years to create and secure the Time Gate, but they did it. During that time, Ranma and Crimson grew close...

     "A year after the completion of the Time Gate, Crimson gave birth to a baby girl, which if you haven't guessed yet, was me. So I've known Ranma most of my life..."

     "Why that two-timing hentai," Akane began as she got anger at the thought that Ranma had settled down with some alien female instead of with her.

     With a slight smile, Setsuna asked, "Do you know why Ranma trusted Crimson, when he had no right to?"

     Akane thought a moment and asked, "No... why?"

     "He trusted her... as he has always trusted her," Setsuna said simply.

     "Huh?" Akane was puzzled.

     "You must have realized that Ranma isn't you're typical kind of person," Setsuna continued. "He can see through a person, right down to their soul."

     "Aaa... maybe," was Akane's reply. "But what does that have to do with..."

     "You see," Setsuna responded. "Ranma recognized Crimson's soul as someone he knew... and greatly loved...."

     Akane thought a moment and realization struck as she whispered, "Me..."

     Setsuna nodded.

     With wide eyes Akane asked, "You're saying this 'Crimson' was me?"

     "In my Timeline, yes," Setsuna answered. "Or your counter-part, to be accurate."

     Looking at the clock Akane wondered out loud, "Where's Ranma?"

     Without thinking Setsuna replied, "Out talking with Ryouga in the Park, repairing their friendship..."

     "Nani?" Akane exclaimed. "If you knew, why did you ask if Ranma was home?"

     Looking slightly guilty, Setsuna replied with a sad face, "My mother died when I was only three years old from an old wound that never properly healed. I only have dim memories of her... I have given most of my life to duty... Just this once... I'm being selfish... I was hoping to get to know you a little better... and hopefully, in a way, get a little closer to my mother..."

     Akane saw that Setsuna was close to tears. She did the only thing she could do, she gathered Setsuna up in her arms and held her.

     Akane decided to let Setsuna sleep as she went to wait for Ranma to return.

= - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - =

     "I'm back!" Mousse called out as he set the various items he had been sent for on a table in the kitchen. He was surprised at the stillness of the place. It was as if no one was there. Yet, the main door was unlocked, no one turned the open sign over to close, but the dining area was empty of people.

     Sighing Mousse put everything away and proceed up the stairs towards the living area. As he neared Shampoo's room, he thought he heard some sniffing... Cautiously, he tried to open Shampoo's door, found it unlock, walked in, and stopped dead on his feet.

     Shampoo was laying on her bed in a fetal ball position and sitting next to her was Elder Shan-Lee. Mousse was indecisive. On one hand, he wished to leave since he knew the penalty for disturbing an Amazon, but on the other hand, his heart wished to comfort Shampoo.

     The decision was taken out of his hands when Shan-Lee noticed him, frowned and motioned for him to come over to them. Silently, Shan-Lee motioned for him to Cologne's room.

     Swallowing as he did as he was told, Mousse waited in Cologne's bedroom for his fate. After what seemed like an eternity, but was only fifteen minutes, Shan-Lee entered the bedroom. She took a seat on Cologne's bed. Once settled, she looked Mousse over leisurely. He didn't like the looks Shan-Lee was giving him, but what choice had he?

     After a few moments, Shan-Lee sighed and said in Chinese, <<"What am I going to do with you?">>

     It was a rhetorical question, so Mousse didn't answer.

     After a brief lull, Mousse asked out of curiosity, "Where's Cologne?"

     Shan-Lee looked at Mousse for a moment wondering if she should punish him for his disrespect. Finally, she simply said in Chinese, <<"Eldest of the Elders Cologne has been Summoned.">>

     Mousse ran towards the Tendo Dojo thinking, //Saotome has gone too far this time. He has hurt my beloved Shampoo for the last time. He has insulted my beloved Shampoo for the last time.//

     Once at the Tendo Dojo, Mousse screamed, "Saotome! Prepare to die!"

     He saw a male figure in the doorway and he began throwing knives at the figure. Ranma calmly jumped out of the knives' way, landed behind Mousse, and asked, "What's up?"

     "It ends tonight!" Mousse screamed.

     Ranma just looked slightly puzzled and calmly asked, "Huh? What are you talking about?"

     "Die!" Mousse screamed as he threw a number of throwing-darts at Ranma.

     Ranma sighed as he dodged the various projectiles and asked calmly, "What are you accusing me for this time?"

     "Nani!??!" Mousse roared. "You have disgraced Shampoo for the last time, Saotome."

     Ranma's calm only enraged Mousse more.

     "Look, Mousse," Ranma replied in a soothly voice. "I'm not going to fight you..."

     Enraged Mousse started throwing everything he had at Ranma.

     "But I'm not going to like you use me as your punching bag either," Ranma stated as he stood still. He whispered, "Seraphim's Shield."

     A blue sphere of crackling energy appeared with Ranma at its center. Everything that Mousse threw at the sphere took on a bluish tint and then disintegrated completely. But that didn't stop Mousse. For a full twenty-minutes, Mousse threw chains, knives, blades, darts, gas pellets, and a kitchen sink at Ranma. Only some ash remained of everything Mousse had thrown at Ranma. After another ten minutes, Mousse collapsed from exhaustion.

     Ranma let his shield go, walked over to Mousse, sat down next to where Mousse laid, and asked "Want to talk about it?"

     And they did. Ranma and Mousse talked about everything... After an hour had passed, Ranma stood up, offered his hand to Mousse, and asked, "Do you trust me?"

     Puzzled, Mousse just nodded. He knew that, despite everything, Ranma was a honorable man. Reaching out, he took Ranma's offered hand.

     The world went dark.

     And the world brighten suddenly and it was slightly warmer than before.

     Mousse could hear a number of automobiles in the background. He noticed that he and Ranma were in some alley, some where. It appeared to be mid-morning... which was impossible... It was just a little after supper time a few moments ago.

     Ranma motioned for Mousse to follow him.

     Mousse shrugged and walked after Ranma. As they left the alley, Mousse noticed that the signs on the street were all in English. He also noticed that the passer-by were speaking English as well. He heard some other languages being spoken but he couldn't identify them. In his confusion Mousse fell back on his native language of Chinese and asked <<"Where are we?">>

     Ranma replied in Chinese, <<"In America... Specifically, Springfield, California, United States. With the Time Zone differs, it's about mid-morning here.">> [Note 1]

     <<"What are we doing here?">> Mousse asked. So great was he's surprise that he didn't realize that he and Ranma were speaking in Chinese.

     <<"Working on the Future,">> was Ranma's reply in Chinese. He noticed an particular building which he and Mousse entered. They got into an elevator. Ranma pressed a button marked six. The elevator went up to the sixth floor, Ranma and Mousse got off and Ranma headed to to the right, down a hallway. He stopped in front of a door mark, 'Christopher Wu, Optometrist.'

     He opened the door and motioned Mousse in. Within was a typical doctor's waiting room. He gestured for Mousse to take a seat as he went over to the receptionist. With a smile on his face, he inquired in English, <<"Good morning, Chris. Is Chris in?">>

     <<"Good morning, Ranma. He's in. Let me check to see if he's free,">> Chris, short for Christina, answered in English. She picked up her phone, apparently got an answered, and her end of the conversion went like, <<"Ranma and his friend are here.">> Pause. <<"Are you free?">> Pause. <<"Okay.">> She then hung up the phone.

     To Ranma, Chris said, <<"You and your friend can go right in...">>

     <<"Thanks,">> Ranma replied in English. He gestured for Mousse to follow him. They walked into a hallway that was to the right of the receptionist until they came to two doors. One door was closed and the other lead into a room with an eye chart, a stylish chair with armatures that had weird looking masks attached, a desk to the side with a simple movable seat, and a table with various instruments. He pointed to the chair, Mousse sat down, and Ranma adjusted the equipment for Mousse's height. With an easy that puzzled Mousse, Ranma pulled out a blank form from the desk and began writing on it.

     Once he was finished filling out a number of fields, he placed the form on the desk. A Chinese man in his fifties came in and sat down on the simple seat. He looked over the form Ranma had written on and asked him in English, <<"You're sure you don't want to stay on as an assistant? The college is nearby... You could finish up your degree and became a partner in a few years....">>

     <<"Nope,">> Ranma replied in Chinese with a slight smile. <<"I have no desire to become an optometrist. Anyway, this is my friend, Mousse.">>

     Turning to Mousse, he continued in Chinese, <<"This is Doctor Christopher Wu, an Eye Care Specialist, and he's also a Master of Hidden Weapons, like yourself.">> Off-handedly, he added, <<"Same school, different branch.">>

     Addressing both, he continued, <<"Mousse has a problem with his vision and some other problems, Chris...

     <<"I've worked with Wu-sensei, Mousse, he's a good, honorable man. I'm leaving you in his care, I'll be back later if you wish to return. But that's for later...">>

     Ranma put his right hand on Chris's shoulder and said in English, <<"You know how to contact me, if you need me...">>

     With that Ranma simply vanished into thin air. Mousse could only stare in awe until Doctor Wu started asking him questions about what he could see with and without his glasses.

     Ranma reappeared within the Tendo's Dojo. He walked into the dining room and seat back down. His food had only cooled slightly while he dealt with Mousse.

     "That was fast," Nabiki commented off-handedly as she noted that he was gone for only about ten minutes.

     Ranma shrugged and answered, "I guess Time's relative..."

     Laughter from outside the dining room greeted that statement.

     Ranma simply smiled and said, "Setsuna-chan, why don't you join us?"

     Setsuna walked into the room and sat between Ranma and Akane. To Kasumi and Nabiki's surprise, instead of getting angry at the newcomer, Akane got her a plate full of food and Akane told her to eat.

     With a slight smile on her face, Setsuna replied, "Yes, Mother."

     Kasumi paused and Nabiki choked on what she was eating, she started to turn blue in the face. Kasumi gently patted her sister on the back until Nabiki said she was okay.

     The rest of diner was finished in silence, although, both of her older sisters looked at Akane then at the strange woman who called her 'mother' and back again. Afterwards, Ranma and Akane told Kasumi and Nabiki that they would be gone for a while. When asked how long, Akane shrugged and Ranma replied that they would be gone for an hour. Akane looked sharply at Ranma, who had an 'I'll-explain-later' face.

     Once they were outside Ranma said, "We're dimension-hopping with a little time travel, we could be back at anytime..."

     "We could return the same time we left?" Akane asked curiously

     "Yes," Ranma answered. "But I like to leave some room as a safety margin."

     "Pu-chan, hand me your staff," Ranma said with a gentle smile.

     With a laugh Setsuna replied, "You mean, you don't want your staff back."

     Ranma sighed and said, "We are not starting that again."

     Setsuna just smiled. She reached over her should, pulled out her henshin rod, and said, "Pluto Planet Power, Make Up!"

     Akane watched amazed as Setsuna's clothes exploded from her body only to be replaced by a sailor fuku. In Setsuna's right hand she held giant key as tall as she was. On top of the key-staff was a heart-shape metal bow with a gem at the top and a orb connecting the bow with the staff. Both the orb and gem seemed dull, lifeless.

     Sailor Pluto handed her staff to Ranma, who took it reluctantly. As soon as he touched the staff, the orb and gem brighten and seemed to pulse with life.

     Sailor Pluto had an 'I-told-you-so' look on her face.

     Ranma frowned and said, "I guess I shouldn't confuse things.... I guess I should look the part, at least... Wouldn't want to give her hind-ness a heart-attack now do we..."

     With that, Ranma switched to onna-Ranma and said, "Pluto Cosmic Power, Make Up."

     Onna-Ranma underwent a similar transformation as Setsuna did, but onna-Ranma's sailor fuku was the opposite of Setsuna's outfit. Where Setsuna had white, onna-Ranma had black and where Setsuna had black, onna-Ranma had white.

     Akane didn't know if she should laugh at onna-Ranma in a sailor fuku, or be angry that onna-Ranma looked better than either she or Setsuna. She did notice that onna-Ranma was a few centimeters taller than Setsuna, and yet, male Ranma was, at least, five centimeters shorter than Setsuna. Of course, onna-Ranma's height only emphasized the short shirt of the sailor fuku she was wearing.

     After a few moments, she noticed that Ranma was staring at her. Onna-Ranma's stare unsettled her. She couldn't help feel Ranma's love for her but she couldn't help feeling as if he was weighing her against some standard, and he found her wanting.

     "Charon," onna-Ranma said suddenly.

     Setsuna nodded.

     Akane was confused and said, "Huh?"

     "You're a great martial artist, Akane," onna-Ranma began.

     "I hear a 'but' in there, Ranma," Akane said angrily.

     Onna-Ranma signed and continued, "Where we're going, you need some long-distance attacks, but you don't have any..."

     Akane began to say something but onna-Ranma interuptted her with, "Very few people can use their ki like we do, and I include you in that group. You do use your ki to increase your strength, but you can't project it outwards like Ryouga and I can, but fewer still can. I could attempt to teach you, but there's no guarantee that we would be successful. Unfortunately, and paradoxically, we don't have the Time to even attempt that. So...

     "So, the obvious solution is... Magic. And since we're heading towards the Sailor Senshi, their type of magic is probably the best for you to use."

     "Hence you need a Sailor Senshi name," Setsuna stated. "Charon is the name of Pluto's natural satellite."

     "So it's the perfect name for someone who's assists Sailor Pluto, or is that Sailor Plutos, in this case," onna-Ranma replied with a smile. "Fortunately, I can make a henshin rod for you, so you can become Sailor Charon."

     So saying onna-Ranma formed a ball of magical energy in between her hands. The ball condensed into a cylinder with a ball on its top. Onna-Ranma handed the cylinder to Akane. It fit easily in her hand. At the top of the rod was a globe. Within the global was a large symbol with a small symbol in its bottom right corner. She felt a warm 'glow' within her mind. She somehow knew that the larger symbol was the symbol of Pluto and the smaller one was the symbol of Charon.

     She held up the henshin rod, words entered her mind which she spoke out loud, "Charon Moon Power, Make Up."

     Akane barely noticed as her clothes exploded from her body, just as Setsuna and onna-Ranma's had, she felt a warm feeling spreading through her body. She only noticed that she was naked when she felt a draft through her lower regions. Just as she went to cover herself, the softest cloth caressed her body.

     As transformation ended Akane could feeling the intensity of the warm feeling reduced to a mild tingling all over her body. She looked down at herself and realized that she was wearing an identical outfit to what Setsuna wore. Akane began to pose in typical Sailor Senshi style.

     Akane didn't even realize she was doing it until onna-Ranma began to laugh. She wanted to get angry at Ranma but she saw that he wasn't laughing at her but at some reason could not work herself up to hitting her.

     After a few moment, onna-Ranma composed herself and said, "We need to get going..."

     So saying, onna-Ranma leveled the key-staff and pointed it slightly to the right. A beam shot out and opened a portal which Setsuna, then Akane, and finally onna-Ranma walked through. Once onna-Ranma passed through the portal, it closed. After it closed, from the other side of the Tendo's wall a woman's voice could be overheard cursing in the Norse language. While from the dojo proper, another woman's voice could be overheard cursing in Greek. A silence descended as each of the women realized the other was there.

= - = - = - =

     "Must be a storm coming," Kasumi commented as she and Nabiki heard some thunder and lightning coming from outside.

[=== End of Part 6 ===]

[-- Note 1:
     Yes, I know that Pacific Standard Time (PST) is seven hours 'ahead' of Tokyo Standard Time (TST). So saying that 'supper time' is 6pm TST, that would make it 1am PST. The reason why it's mid-morning instead of 1am is Artistical License(tm). ^_^
-- End Note]

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Last Updated: Tue Dec 23 18:53:11 CST 2003
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