Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Sailor Goddess ❯ Showdown in the Star Shell ( Chapter 22 )

Sailor Goddess

A Ranma One Half Fan Fiction

By Michael A. Ivins

 

Ranma, and all of his/her friends and family are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. I do not own any of them, nor do I own any of the characters from Ah! My Goddess or Sailor Moon. I'm writing this for fun, not profit. I'm so poor that suing me wouldn't do you much good.

 

WARNING: This is a sequel to a previous fic I wrote called, “Nodoka's Lessons.” That was a Lemon fic. While there won't be as much emphasis on sex (it will be more implied than described) in this sequel, it will deal with subjects like incest. If these subjects offend you, stop reading.

 

Chapter 22

Showdown in the Star Shell

 

Once again the group was gathered in the briefing room in Heaven. Aries looked over the assembled deities, Senshi and valkyries. He began, “We now know a lot more about the foe we face. For this we must all give thanks for the efforts of Sailor Pluto and our own God/dess Saotome Ranma. If not for their work it would have taken a lot longer to have compiled the information we have.”

 

Everyone looked at the named individuals and bowed or otherwise acknowledged them.

 

Aries resumed. “This is a story of great accomplishment and triumph and also one of great tragedy.”

 

In Ranma's mind there echoed the words, “Very tragic story” as spoken by the Jusenkyo Guide.

 

Aries said, “The story begins with a race called the Darough Na'eel. To tell you about them I have invited a god who used to go by the name Kiriath Shonaugh to speak to us. Kiriath?”

 

A being who was a humanoid with grayish skin, no external ears and a nose that seemed to spread to the width of his face stood up. He was what Ranma would judge to be middle height. The being walked to the front of the room and bowed to the audience and to Aries.

 

The gray man said, “Thank you, Aries. You pronounced that quite well. To the rest of you I should explain. The reason why Aries said that I used to go by the name of Kiriath Shonaugh is because I no longer use that name. Back when I did go by that name I was a god of the Darough Na'eel.”

 

He paused to let that sink in. “The reason that I speak in the past tense of the people for whom I was a god is that they are no more. Every member of the race of Darough Na'eel died a long time ago. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the process, when a race of beings dies out the gods for that species have three choices. They may retire, they may elect to die or they may move to a new pantheon or, in essence, get reassigned. I took that last option.”

 

“If any of the Darough Na'eel were alive today they would tell you they were a mighty race, wise and powerful. Now that they are gone I feel free to say they were wise in some ways, foolish in others. The Darough Na'eel had one problem that faces the world that you here protect, Overpopulation. My charges did try to control their breeding, but they were less than fully successful.”

 

“After they filled the world of their birth, the Darough Na'eel sent ships off to establish colonies as well as teraforming worlds in their own star system to act as farm planets to feed the home world. For most races the concept of a star shell is just that, a concept. It is an intellectual exercise. For most it was something to talk about or write about, but beyond their ability to construct. The Darough Na'eel were able to actually build one.”

 

“The task took nearly a thousand years to complete and the resources of fifteen star systems to supply the raw materials. When it was completed they moved from their home world and all of their colonies and took up a new existence on the inner surface of the star shell. They lived inside the shell for two thousand years.

 

“During that time civilization expanded then fell to barbarism through warfare over control of territory and resources. Now we come to the tragedy that Aries spoke of and the foolishness that I spoke of. Their scientists made a bad choice of the star to build the shell around. It was unstable. The star expanded to nearly fill the shell, killing all life on the inner surface. Sometime later the star collapsed into the neutron star that now occupies the inside of the structure.”

 

The alien deity paused to let the audience absorb that. He continued, “You might think that would be the end of the story, but it wasn't. The material that the shell was made of should have been burned away when the star expanded but it survived. The computer and self maintenance systems for the shell should have been destroyed, but the Darough Na'eel had built better than they knew. The systems were damaged, but they were able to repair themselves and there we have the root of the current problem. I turn this back over to Aries to explain further.”

 

The gray deity bowed then walked back to his seat and Aries came back to the front. “Thank you Kiriath. We have learned that the star shell had been maintained by a vast network of computers, maintenance drones and other devices that were controlled by a central artificial intelligence.”

 

“That artificial intelligence was damaged as described. It had been charged with caring for the Drough Na'eel and by not warning them of the danger of the unstable star, it had failed in its task. It has been trying to make up for that lack ever since that time. From what we have been able to discover, the stolen energy is being stored with a goal of eventually removing the neutron star from inside the shell and igniting a new star. Once that is accomplished the computer would use DNA samples from armored vaults to re-create the Darough Na'eel and all of the life that used to exist within the shell.”

 

“That is never going to happen. Even if the computer were able to create a new star, the DNA in the vault was not fully protected from the radiation. The contents of the vault were damaged. Any life that was built from those blueprints would be horribly mutated and probably wouldn't live long. Apparently the computer doesn't recognize this or refuses to do so.”

 

“Because of the damage caused by a giant star in its guts, the computer for the star shell is insane. It is working toward resurrecting a race that is gone beyond recovery. And that defines the problem.”

 

“Next we come to the possible solutions to the problems. One suggestion has been to try and talk the computer into stopping its energy harvesting. While I would rate that as a valid option, I question how effective it is likely to be.”

 

“The second option that was discussed was to take control of the computer and change its programming. If this could be accomplished, we would be able to order the computer to shut down its energy harvesting operations. Once the computer gave us the locations of all the harvesters, we could then shut down the computer.”

 

“The third option is to destroy either the computer or the whole star shell. It is the opinion of the experts that destroying just the computer would be difficult. If the same design philosophy was used on this computer as in the harvester Ships then there might be millions of processors involved. Destroying the star shell would be an enormous task and it would be a shame to have to destroy such a magnificent feat of engineering. We are currently researching ways to destroy the shell.”

 

“Does anyone here have any suggestions on how to approach this problem?”

Somewhat shyly, Ranma raised her hand. Aries pointed to her.

 

Ranma asked, “On that option two, has anyone considered using a computer virus to get control?”

 

Aries looked blank for a moment until one of his aides stepped up and whispered in his ear. He thought about it and said, “I will have to confess that is not one of the strategies that was discussed. If I may ask, what made you think of this?”

 

Ranma looked slightly embarrassed. She said, “I've been hanging out with Skuld and one can't do that and not learn something about computers. Then there was something about this situation that reminded me of an American movie I saw.”

 

The War god asked, “What about the movie seemed familiar?”

 

The goddess described it. “There were these really big alien ships hovering over every major city in the world and a mothership in orbit. The mothership was one quarter the size of the moon. The earth people couldn't hurt the aliens because of the force fields they had on their ships. This engineer guy used a captured alien scout ship to fly to the mothership and upload a virus that disrupted the force fields so our weapons could damage and destroy the ships.”

 

“At the time I thought the concept that an American engineer could create a virus that could take out an alien computer was silly. I just figured it was one of those things they do in movies where `it doesn't have to make sense if it makes a good story.' Now that I find myself in a situation where we have to find a way to take down an alien computer, the idea doesn't seem so silly. Besides that we have better resources than that American.”

 

Aries and his aide conducted a whispered conversation. Finally he turned and said, “Thank you, Miss Saotome. You have presented an idea that is definitely worth consideration. I'm going to consult with some computer experts and see if this is an option that we could utilize.” He paused before continuing, “I'm not sure why, but I feel really good about this idea.”

 

He straightened up and said, “I did have more to say, but I think I'm going to dismiss the meeting for now. I need to get in touch with some computer experts to find if Saotome's suggestion is practical. Saotome, you can go, but keep yourself available in case we need to talk more about this.”

 

As the people left the room the Outer Senshi crowded around Ranma, congratulating her for her clever suggestion. Hotaru slyly suggested they go somewhere to celebrate. Ranma was sure she knew the kind of “celebration” the youngest Senshi had in mind. Since Hotaru had experienced sex, it seemed she couldn't enough.

 

Ranma smiled and said, “Thanks for the offer, but I have a promise to keep. I'm in the right part of my cycle so tonight my husband is going to get me pregnant.”

 

“Husband?” Hotaru looked puzzled.

 

The redhead smiled. “With instant Naniichuan water Akane can become male. He's a really handsome man at that, and really good in bed.” Ranma smiled and went on, “I strongly believe that nobody can please a woman like a man who can become a woman and experience it herself.”

 

In sultry tones, Haruka commented, “So that's why you are so good at it. Thanks to you I'm starting to think I'm bi instead of a lesbian. Previously I had been firmly convinced that nothing could change my sexual orientation.”

 

Now curious, Ranma asked, “Had you never tried it with a man before?”

 

Haruka grimaced. “Once. It was horrible. And the man wasn't the least sympathetic for my pain. That was when I swore I'd never try it again. You've proved to me that not every man is an insensitive asshole like my ex-boyfriend. You may have spoiled me though. I'm still not sure I want to try it with men who have always been men.”

 

Ranma shrugged. “Your choice. I'm still glad that I've helped you to broaden your horizons.”

 

Haruka frowned. “I used to think my horizons were better being narrow. You're sure you won't have one more session with us in your male body?”

 

The redheaded goddess smiled. “I'm sure. Don't look so disappointed. I can still do that trick with my clitoris.”

 

Michiru grinned. “That's better than a penis. Are you sure you can't teach us how to do that?”

 

Ranma looked thoughtful. “Normal mortals can't do it because you need magic instead of just ki. Since the Senshi have magic too, it may be possible. Let me ask Aphrodite about it. She was my sensei for that technique. She should know.”

 

The redheaded goddess teleported back home. Akane was waiting in the bedroom. As Ranma willed her clothing away she asked, “Are you ready to be a father, my love?”

 

The young man snorted. “I was ready before your little accident at the fertility clinic. I'm not complaining, mind you. The twins are great. All our current crop of kids are nice. The law of averages says the next one will probably be a brat. Are you sure you want to risk it?”

 

“Yes! Come to bed and make me pregnant. Knock me up! I'm ready.”

 

Akane was happy to comply with the request.

 

The following day Ranma went to see Aries in Heaven. She couldn't keep the smile off her face. She had sensed the quickening of life in her womb and knew she was pregnant for the second time. She was feeling incredibly happy.

 

This was the way it should be. The way it was supposed to be the last time she got pregnant. She was carrying the child of the person she loved the most. She had verified it with her ki senses. This time there was no doubt, no question. There had been much kissing and hugging when Akane and Nodoka had been told the news.

 

When Ranma walked into Aries' office the war god looked at her and asked, “What's with the silly smile?”

 

With an effort, the red haired goddess smoothed her features and explained, “I just found out this morning that I'm pregnant.”

 

“Oh.” There was silence for a moment. Finally Aries commented, “I don't know why someone who was born male would find that such a wonderful thing, but there is no arguing with the aura of happiness you are projecting. Congratulations, I guess.”

 

“Thank you, sir.”

 

The war god just said, “Humph! Now if you could pull in the aura and not project so much, maybe we could get some work done.”

 

Ranma blushed and suppressed her aura. “Sorry.”

 

The War god just shook his head before saying, “Since you suggested the strategy, I thought we should keep you informed. The computer people tell me that your idea would work. They are now working to design the virus. If it was a virus for one of those mundane computers that run on electronics there might be a problem, but with a divine virus, backed with magic, it should work.”

 

Ranma nodded. “What is the virus being designed to do?”

 

Aries looked at her for a moment before saying, “The fact that the computer is insane prevents us trying to do anything fancy. We're going to be satisfied if we can get the main computer to broadcast the `mission accomplished' code to shut down the harvesters, tell us where they are and finally shut itself down.”

 

He continued, “We have the two Ships we captured. No one sees any benefit to be gained by saving the rest of the ships. Once we get the locations for all of them, we plan to have you teleport Sailor Saturn to each of the ships in turn while she uses her Silence Glaive to destroy them. We figure that a power great enough to knock out a planet should take out a harvester Ship.”

 

Ranma's eyes went wide. “I was wondering why we didn't just have her destroy the ships.”

 

The war god explained, “At the time we were still gathering intel. We still need it. If we can pull off the trick with the virus, we can get the locations of all the harvester ships. Without it you and Miss Meiyoh would have a very tedious job. You would have to use the Gates of time to spot the launch of every one of those ships, then track them to their current location. I feel reasonably sure there are at least dozens of the Ships, more likely hundreds and maybe thousands. Regardless of how powerful your young friend is, it's not a job that is likely to be completed in just a day or two.”

 

Aries combed his fingers through his hair. “I wish we had a quick way to take out the ships. They were designed so there was no way to blow them up short of massive attack. It would likely not be a good idea to just let them drift, because there is the chance that something could activate one of them again. We are also going to destroy the relay stations. “

 

He paused, “It would be more accurate to say we will destroy all the computer circuits in the relay stations but the rest is going to be disassembled. There's a lot of good tech in those stations. It would be a shame to let it go to waste.

 

Ranma sat thoughtfully. Aries saw this and asked, “What's bothering you?”

 

“What the engineers are calling the design philosophy of the Darough Na'eel,” answered the red haired goddess.

 

“What about it?”

 

In a somewhat distant tone Ranma responded, “Everything the computer built is the same, with backups, redundancies and failsafes. How much more paranoid would the organic minds of the original designers be? Would they have made a contingency plan for if the computer network on the shell were compromised?”

 

“Saotome… You make a good point. What kind of contingency plan would you imagine?”

She said, “I don't know. Maybe they would have a separate network isolated from the main system. Something able to monitor the main system but isolated so that whatever corrupts the main system won't touch the backup.”

 

Aries nodded. “You make a good point. The harvester ship and relay stations were built by the computer after the original people were all dead. The systems on the Shell were built by the living creators of the shell. In addition to the caution exhibited by the computers in their design and construction, we should also expect deviousness of a living being in the design of the shell. There would probably be additional backups and I wouldn't be surprised if there were booby traps as well.”

 

He stopped and sighed. “Saotome, the operation is going to be bigger than originally planned. But, thanks to your comments, it should be safer for those participating. You and Miss Miyoh should go back to the Gates of Time to see what you can find along that line.”

 

It was two weeks later that plans had been finalized and the operation was ready to go. Nearly every god of war from every pantheon was there as well as five hundred valkyries were gathered. Mixed among them were support troops who were not there to fight but to perform healing if needed. There were also some deities who were there solely because of their power to teleport others.

 

While waiting for the operation to begin, Ranma was going through some of the configurations of Proteus Blade. Some new shapes had been programmed into it. Hephaestos had seen a weapon in a movie and had adapted it to the transforming device.

 

Ranma transformed the weapon into the new form and studied it. In shape it was a little like a star with five metal arms radiating out from a round center. When a mental command was issued, curved blades sprang out from the blunt ends of the metal arms. This magical device was a throwing weapon.

 

In the movie it had been called the Glaive. Since it bore little resemblance to the Silence Glaive, the big pole-arm wielded by Sailor Saturn, Ranma called the throwing weapon MFD which stood for “Magic Frisbee of Death.” One threw the weapon like a Frisbee but catching it required someone with Ranma's ridiculously fast movements to reach in from outside the direction of spin. To try and catch the MFD like one of the plastic flying disks was to risk losing fingers.

 

As long as the wielder of the weapon maintained a psychic contact with it, the MFD would continue to fly and spin. The blades could slice metal with ease and was utterly deadly on flesh and blood creatures.

 

Ranma had seen the movie but thought it kind of lame. An alien villain with the unoriginal name of the Beast kidnapped a princess. To rescue her the prince had to gather allies and his magic weapon. The special effect of the big horses that could fly with flaming hooves was sort of cool.

 

At the agreed upon time the whole mass of warriors was teleported to the interior of the Star Shell. As they moved to their chosen positions it was telepathically announced, “The virus is being uploaded. All warriors stand ready.”

 

They waited for about 15 minutes before it was announced, “The computer has given us the locations of all the harvester ships and is transmitting the `mission accomplished' code. There are just under 3000 ships.”

 

Five minutes later the announcement came, “The Computer network is shutting down. This is it. If there are any booby traps or backup systems they will be activating now.

 

Ranma stood with the Sailor Senshi. She was part of a circle around Sailor Moon.

 

Then came the announcement, “Heads up, everybody. The probes we have stationed are picking up activity. There was another computer network, separate from the main. There is also movement. We believe it is some kind of battle droids. Five probes have been destroyed.”

Ranma extended her senses to the maximum and used the Nekoken senses as well. She sensed something and shouted to the Senshi, “Above us!”

 

There followed, “Shabon Spray freezing,” “Venus Crescent beam,” “Mars Flame Sniper,” “Moon gorgeous mediation,” “Supreme Thunder,” “Deep Submerge,” “Space Sword Blaster” and “Dead Scream.” From Ranma's hands there leapt a ball of flame.

 

Bits of metal rained down on them. Ranma laughed and said, “I think that may have been overdoing it a bit.”

 

Suddenly the red haired goddess could sense movement all around their little group. She warned, “Heads up, We've got more incoming.”

 

The light shed by the neutron star was dim and it was hard to see what they were fighting. Most of the warriors were using senses other than human sight. The attackers were robots. In shape they were similar to the maintenance droids in the harvester ships and they had metal tentacles like them, but the resemblance ended there. The tentacles were longer, thicker and tipped with cutting or stabbing weapons. On their bodies were mounted weapons. Some were projectile weapons with others were shooting lasers and other types of energy weapons.

 

There were too many of the robots for a mass attack like first one they had used and they had to pick targets. The water attacks of Neptune and Mercury were ineffective. They fell back and let the rest handle the robots. Ranma was taking out four times as many as any of the other Senshi.

 

Ranma extended her wings and flew up to take on any of the robots that came in from above. To conserve her energy she transformed into full nekoken mode while flinging out the MFD. The sailor armor she was wearing opened a hole for her tail. Her eyes blazed with a green glow and the ki claws were visible.

 

The MFD spun through the air, its blades cutting into the bodies of the battle droids. Where possible, Ranma directed the flight of the spinning weapon so it could cut the tentacles off the flying drones. Moving faster than the rest could follow, she slashed with her claws and shredded the robots that tried to get behind the Senshi.

 

Ranma was too busy with her own battles in the air to worry about what the Senshi were doing on the ground. They would have to fight their own battles. As a drone came from behind her, Ranma spun quickly and with her claws sliced off the tentacles of an approaching battle droid. With a quick followup blow of her other hand's claws she cut into the side of the droid and it fell to the ground.

 

The spinning MFD took out another drone while a quick slash of ki claws damaged another. Ranma had to deliver a kick because the crippled drone would have crashed down on top of Sailor Mars if left to fall on its trajectory.

 

Out of her peripheral vision Ranma could see lightning bolts flash out as well as fire attacks and the other Senshi attacks. She couldn't spare any more attention to the ground battles than that. As Ranma slashed out again she had to wonder, “Just how many of this damn robots are there?”

 

On the ground below Sailor Saturn spotted a cluster of robots and fired off a Silence Glaive Surprise. Just a moment later she used Silence Wall like it was a flyswatter. As an attack it was crude but effective.

 

The battle seemed to last 20 minutes and at the end they were surrounded by piles of twisted metal scraps. Saturn was healing Neptune, Moon was healing Mars and Terra was healing Venus. When that was finished Ranma reported in.

 

The word was that the robots had sent out some scouts. When those were destroyed, the rest attacked in one massive wave. There were times when some were nearly overrun, but all of the divine party survived. No further movement could be detected. A second virus was being uploaded to the backup computer network.

 

Ranma said to Moon, “Scouts to locate where we are then one massive frontal assault. No subtlety or finesse to the assault. I admit that if the warriors opposing them were any less capable or strong we would have been in trouble.”

 

Sailor Moon agreed, “I'd guess the computer never had to fight a real battle before. Maybe it didn't study the wars of its builders very well.”

 

Ranma frowned. “It would be out of character for them to not have kept some battle droids in reserve.”

 

Moon asked, “Won't infecting the secondary network take care of that?”

 

Ranma shrugged. “Maybe it will. I was just thinking that if I were running this, I would have some robots in reserve that were not hooked into any network. If there are any independent battle droids we should be seeing them soon. If there are any such, they would likely be more heavily armed than the ones we just fought and they would be sneakier.”

 

They waited for another half hour but nothing more happened. It was reported that the secondary computer network had shut itself down. Before it had done that the experts had queried the system to ask if there any more backups. It said no. The virus should have made it impossible for it to give false information. The only way there could be other computer networks still on the shell is if this one didn't know of them.

 

Ranma mused, “Not letting the secondary computer know of the existence of a third computer would be an obvious security measure. The problem with this Star Shell is that it's too damn big. You could hide an army of 100 meter tall giants and we'd never have a chance of finding them. I know there are those who would say this thing is such a wonderful achievement, but I'd be happier if it were destroyed.”

 

Sailor Moon looked thoughtful. “I know Saturn can destroy a planet but this Star Shell is a lot bigger than a planet.”

 

Ranma nodded. “If she was going to try it, she'd have to use Silence Glaive Surprise to cut it into pieces then destroy the pieces one at a time. I think I'm in a minority here, but I think this shell is too dangerous to leave intact. Besides that, the amount of work, materials and energy needed to make this thing livable for mortals is ridiculous. If it isn't destroyed, it should be broken up and used for other stuff.”

 

A telepathic announcement came out, “Everybody please return to the staging area for teleport back home. Sailors Terra, Pluto and Saturn, please report to Aries.”

 

Ranma oriented on Aries aura and grabbed Setsuna and Hotaru and teleported to him.

 

When she got there she announced, “Sailors Terra, Saturn and Pluto reporting as ordered.”

 

The war god saluted and said, “Well Saotome, you came through again. Your hunch about a backup system was right on the money. That robot attack was nasty. Did all of the Senshi come through it?”

 

Ranma confirmed, “Yes sir, we all survived. There were some injuries but nothing that couldn't be healed.”

 

“Excellent,” approved the War god. “When you see them next convey my thanks to the rest of the Senshi for volunteering for this. This was outside their area of responsibility and you all performed well. I exempt Saotome from that because she is doing her duty as a god/dess.”

 

Ranma rolled her eyes, “Gee thanks, General.”

 

The war god raised an eyebrow and just looked at Ranma for a moment. “That doesn't mean we don't recognize you for how you performed those duties. In fact a commendation will be placed in your file. You have done tasks beyond the scope of your responsibilities. I'll be talking to Kami-Sama to see about getting you moved off that ridiculous sex goddess designation. It's a waste of talent. You could be a battle goddess and still help out the occasional gender confused mortal. After all, what you are doing now pretty much fits that description anyway.”

 

Ranma bowed her head in gratitude. “Thanks boss, I'd like that.”

 

He nodded. “That's not what I called you over for. We got the data on the location of all of the harvester ships. The main job is done, but there's going to be a big job of mop up to do. Sailor Pluto and Saturn are not answerable to me so I can't order you. I can make a request. Pluto I would like you to use the list of coordinates to verify the ships are in the locations supplied.”

 

“For Miss Saturn is the hard job. I should mention that you are not the only being with the power to destroy a planet, so you won't have to do the whole job alone. It is the opinion among the experts that the harvester ships are too dangerous to leave alone even if they are shut down. You shouldn't have to personally destroy more than a hundred. “

 

Ranma asked, “What will be done with the Star Shell?”

 

Aries grinned, “It has been decided that the threat represented by the shell is too great. Just because we beat the robots this time, doesn't mean there aren't any more. The shell is so big that millions or even billions of the robots could be stored and could come out later. A group is going to be assigned to study the shell with the specific goal of disassembling it. When they have done so, the pieces will be examined for all manner of possible threats, even including nanobots. While we don't know that Duraugh Na'eel had such technology, we can't rule it out.”

 

“As to what is to be done with the materials of the shell, that is still being considered. Some want to transport the parts and use them to enclose a star in our galaxy. Others want to use them as raw materials to make space colonies. It might be a while before a decision is made.”

 

He took a deep breath. “You don't have to get to work on those jobs now. You have all earned some time to rest up. Teleport back to earth for some R&R and report back in a week.”

 

Ranma grabbed the other two women and teleported them back to the Outers house. None of the Outers were in the mood for any sex games, being tired from the battle, so Ranma teleported home.

 

The Senshi got their week of R&R following which Setusuna and Ranma gave the list of ship coordinates to Chronus, the computer of the Time gates. She was able to quickly verify that there were ships in all of the specified locations. Then Ranma did what she called providing taxi service. Using the Death Reborn Revolution, Sailor Saturn was able to destroy ten ships per day. Thus it was that her part of the job was finished in two weeks.

 

They were not told how the rest of the ships were disposed of. Ranma did ask, but was only told that they were taken care of in a variety of ways. She felt quite frustrated that she was not given any specifics.

 

Setsuna sought out Usagi and sat down with her. She said, “I know you have been taking it hard that the Great Freeze won't come because you thought it would mean Chibi-Usa wouldn't be born. I've been wanting to get together with you to tell you something that I learned recently. My daughter from the future paid me a visit.”

 

The blonde looked confused, “Your daughter? But she's…”

 

Patting her abdomen that hadn't begun to swell yet, the green haired woman completed, “Not born yet? She's the future Senshi of Time. I used to always meet with my future self. This time it was a future holder of the office who came to visit me for a change.”

 

“That's great. You get to meet your daughter before she's born, just like I did. Oh, wait, that's right, she's never going to be born because Crystal Tokyo is never going to happen.”

 

While giving no sign of emotion, Setsuna winced inwardly at the sarcastic tone Usagi used. This was not like her. The Senshi of Time said, “My daughter has told me otherwise.”

“What!” Usagi demanded, “Explain that.”

 

“My daughter told me that Small Lady will be born. It would seem that my daughter and yours won't get along well in the future. Sakura, that's my daughter's name, called Chibi-Usa `the Pink Menace.'”

 

Usagi sat up and her eyes grew wide. “That sounds like her. Why hasn't she come to see me since this whole business came up?”

 

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Usagi's mother called through the door, “Usagi, your cousin is here to see you.”

 

When Usagi opened the door a pink haired tornado came through the door and put a glomp on the blonde that would put an Amazon to shame. Usagi returned the hug with equal force. Setsuna was almost sure she could hear ribs creaking from the strain of the embrace.

 

After mother and daughter finally released each other they just stood and looked at each other. Usagi finally said, “I was so worried about you.”

 

Chibi-Usa smiled, “You know me, Mom. I'm a survivor.”

 

The girl, who looked about 13 turned and said, “Pu-Chan I hope you didn't believe what the Time Demon told you about me.”

 

Setsuna's eyes narrowed. “Time demon?”

 

“Look, Pu-Chan, I know Sakura's your daughter and all, but I swear she's evil. She hates me, she always has.”

 

Setsuna sighed. “Neither of you is even born yet and I'm already having to mediate between you. I'm not asking you to be her friend, but at least try to be civil.”

 

In a sulky tone Chibi-Usa replied, “Yes, Pu-Chan. I'll try.”

 

Pluto looked at the young girl with a stern expression for a moment then nodded. “I'm going to leave the two of you so you can have some mother/daughter bonding time. After what's been going on, I think you need it.

 

As she walked away, Setsuna reflected on recent events. It seemed like she and the Senshi had come to the conclusion of another adventure. If she looked at things the right way, having her daughter take over the job of Time Guardian could actually be viewed as a good thing.

 

From what Sakura had said, Setsuna wasn't being fired from job, she was getting a really long vacation. If she went into it with the proper attitude, she would eventually return to the job refreshed, renewed and ready for future hard work.

 

Other good things had happened. Her relationship with the rest of the Outers had changed in a major way. Having all of them as lovers did mean that she could no longer play the aloof omniscient as she had, but she definitely felt she had gained more than she had lost in that. On top of that she was the lover of a god/dess.

 

Hmm… The things Sakura had said suggested that even in the future Ranma was still with Akane. That would make it appear that her efforts to win Ranma for herself would not succeed. Even so, it appeared that Ranma had a big enough heart to share with all of his/her lovers.

 

Besides, the Senshi of Pluto was an immortal. She could afford to be patient. If nothing else, she could simply outlive Akane and Nodoka. On the day when Ranma's younger wife died of old age (or illness or whatever), it was likely that Ranma would need comforting. Setsuna could be the one to offer a consoling embrace or a shoulder to cry on.

 

Yes, patience seemed the best course. Setsuna had seen that when pushed, Ranma would either dig in his heals and resist or he would push back. Her reading of the Time Gates suggested that nothing major was coming up for a while. She would have time to think about it as she prepared for the birth of her daughter.

 

Author's Note: That is the end of the main story. I have written an epilogue where loose ends are tied up. Stay tuned. The magic Frisbee of death is the Glaive, taken from the movie “Krull.”