Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Reluctant Bet (2nd Labor) ❯ Shan & Sakyo on the road to Terratoo ( Chapter 12 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Reluctant bet, segment 12: "Shan & Sakyo in 'On The Road To Terratwo'."

Disclaimer: y'all know this stuff already.

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Imperial Labs, Japoness, Terratwo:

"Well, Doctor Lorelei?"

"You say he just appeared out of nowhere?" The doctor took a moment to look at the figure whose parts were scattered about on four seperate tables. "Pretty heavily damaged. Looks like he was in a major battle. And that sack of equipment produced a few surprises too."

Lime looked at some of the equipment lying about and got curious.

Otaru Mamiya stared at the odd devices. "Looks like you've been busy."

"Could I borrow Cherry? Her scanning equipment might be of use. I have more sophisticated scanners, but they aren't capable of investigating things on their own."

"I'd be happy to," the nearly prepubescent looking girl shot a glance at her master then relaxed when he gave a barely perceptible nod. "I was reading organic material. So he's not a marionette, is he?"

"No. I believe the operative term is cyborg. The internal systems were heavily damaged in whatever fight he was in, and we're looking at a transfer of much of the lifesupport and the human parts to a marionette chassis." Lorelei sighed. "There's just so much we don't understand about this. Some of the devices here are *completely* unfamiliar, some systems are actually less advanced or efficient than a Sabre class marionette."

"So you're looking to remove the parts you do understand and moving them to a marionette while you try to figure out what can be repaired in the meantime?" Otaru understood but felt a little funny about the concept. "I dunno, Doc. I know that if I woke up as a marionette, I'd probably be a bit freaked."

"Well, it's a thought." Lorelei didn't mention that they had already begun preparing a stock chassis from a Jin-Goro model. "There aren't that many scientists internationally we can trust implicitly with the sort of technology this represents."

"What about Lynx? Can this help you repair her Maiden Circuit?" Bloodberry, surprisingly, was the one who thought of that angle.

"Possibly. Some of the technology here is *extremely* advanced. Our marionette factories use self-replicating nanites that were designed on a computer that was itself third generation of designs by other computers. This looks even more advanced, and in a direction we haven't explored."

"A hodgepodge," guessed Cherry. "Look, this device here is a cylinder and has english lettering on the side. This cylinder has lettering, but of an unfamiliar language. This tetrahedron has yet another alien script on it, while this sealed box has what looks like Ionic Greek..."

"Exactly. Both the cyborg and his equipment appear to be much like a modern factory. Where the conveyor belts are built in New Texas, the extruders in Geltland, the design specs are from Japoness, and so on. No single source for either, which suggests a commercial model. Which is why we threw out the idea of this being an invader or some advance scout for a military force like in some 'anime'. Otherwise he'd be similar to Baiko and Tamasaburo in that only specially crafted parts would be used- and all of an 'in house' manufacture."

"Oh, Otaru. Ohayo." An old man with a bald head and a beard looked up from a tech magazine as he entered the lab.

"Gennai ojichan! What are you doing here?" Other than ogling Bloodberry again, silently added Otaru.

"Hmmmph, when I heard that Doctor Lorelai was short staffed, I took it upon myself to offer my services. I *am* one of the greatest experts in manufacture processes of my day... LIME! What are you doing?!"

Lime looked up. "What? I was just looking at this..."

Doctor Lorelei gently pushed Lime aside from the computer. "How did you break the passcode? We tried everything we could think of!"

"I didn't break anything!"

"No, Lime. You did good," Doctor Lorelei said with a smile. "Look at this."

"I can't read it, it's in English, isn't it?" Otaru felt frustrated.

PLANEWALKER'S GUIDE TO THE CONTINUUA
>Yggdrasil Backup Version 2.5<
Licensed to: Grey, Troubleshooter, Rival Relief Office
[Scan] [Encyclopedia] [Log] [Email] [Help]

"This just might be the answers we were looking for." Lorelei smiled at Lime. "Thank you Lime. Let's check his e-mail, that might give us why he's here and how he got damaged." Lorelei toggled her choice and hit the Enter key.

>New Message.

TO: MrFixIt@RRO.org FROM: Smith@Olympus.com

RE: Emergency Beacon.

Message Begins:
Grey, you idiot, what have you gotten yourself into now? Part of your new upgrade (and the upgrades to Shan and Sakyo) is that you have an emergency beacon placed in your chest housing. The signal flared up in that Sailorjin timeline and was lost shortly thereafter. You have apparently leapt to a shielded timeline. Shan and Sakyo will be hunting you down.

Have put an extra enchantment on this e-mail. Hit reply and I'll relay your dimensional coordinates to those two. Try not to mess up my work TOO much, will you?

-Hephaestus

>End file

Lorelei was careful to close the file without hitting reply after translating for the Japoness-only speakers. "Let's see if we get anything useful from the Log."

Another password box came up, so Lorelei escaped out.

"What's a troubleshooter, Otaru?" Lime was puzzled by some of the message. Okay, the vast majority of this was over her head. Her role in life was a lovable ditz and she played that part quite well.

"It's someone who finds problems that other people created, and fixes them." Gennai answered when Otaru seemed to be trying to figure out how to explain it in terms Lime could understand.

"Wai! I wanna be a troubleshooter too!"

"You already are, Lime, you already are."

---\-------

Sailorjin Timeline:

Haruka got tired of chasing around the strange girl with the odd staff. She was agile, quick, and clearly no pushover. Putting her open hand in front of her, she built her chi up before pointing the palm at the girl in Chinese clothing and tucking her thumb in against that palm. "BIG BANG ATTACK!"

Shan partially dodged the blast, and blocked the rest with her whirling staff. "Technique acquired: Big Bang Attack. High level chi attack. Adding to file. Estimate ability to duplicate currently at 25%."

"What are you talking about?!" Haruka snarled at the stranger. Was she being mocked?!

"Shan going to need more than 25%, Shan thinks." ~Initiate Emergency Override. Boost energy levels to maximum.~ #Warning: Estimate Emergency Shutdown Within 10 Minutes Of Activation. Proceed?# ~Do it.~

"Haaaaaa!" Haruka began to form a sphere of energy in her hands.

Shan vanished.

"What?!" Haruka's eyes widened. "How did her power rating just triple?!"

"BIG BANG ATTACK!"

As the smoke cleared, Haruka held one arm and glared at her opponent. "That is MY attack! You..."

Son Usagi, Ami Mercury, Hotaru Saturn, and Michiru Neptune slowly rose up to renew their battle.

Shan winced and wondered if she'd survive long enough to absorb a useful technique.

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

Morisato Residence:

Jared Saotome blinked. "FOUR Belldandies, THREE Urds, TWO Megumi? It's a good thing nobody else showed up. One can just imagine the problems with five Peorths or Sayokos."

Keiichi shuddered. Five Skulds. Five Marllers. Five Aoshima. Five Tamiya. The mind boggled.

"Be that as it may, we've come up with a solution." Urd exchanged a nod with Urd. "We rock-paper-scissors to see who stays and who goes. When we're done, one of us stays on THIS Earth and retains the Goddess classification."

"What about Megumi?" Keiichi said, raising a hand.

"Yeah! What about me?!" The Megumi Morisatos chorused.

"One of you has your memories blanked of this whole fiasco and remains here," explained Urd. "The other one goes off and joins the Rival Relief Office as an operative."

"What kind of solution is that?!" Megumi chorused and eyed herself uncertainly.

"The only one we've got that doesn't involve turning you into smurfette and throwing you into one of THOSE timelines." Urd was feeling a bit snippish at present.

Megumi shut up.

"The remaining Belldandys and Urds will go on and find other things to do."

"Such as?" Keiichi was a bit concerned, as one might well understand.

"We've actually got placement offers coming in," Urd rolled her eyes. "Senshi identities, alternate spheres of influence, Divine Intervention, even one offer to turn us into Eternals. That was Sif's suggestion by the way. Toltiir suggested a few other ideas, you really DON'T want details."

"Well, I'm looking for Grey, so if any of you need a lift off this plane..." Jared felt a little uncomfortable with the grins turned on him.

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

Target Timeline:

Night had drawn her cloak of stillness over Nerima, though the stillness was broken by those whose jobs *were* the night. Nonetheless, overall the enfolding calm and shadow was broken only by hints of light and movement within its embrace.

In a crowded room over a newly refurbished restaurant slept: four women, a man, and a panda whose weight would cause the floor to creak periodically. Four women who wore bracers that glimmered from an internal light that occasionally shifted. And in the darkness of that room, one could occasionally get a glimpse of figures sitting near their mistresses, regarding them with a degree of affection and longing that seemed to transcend their inhuman nature.

One of those girls smiled a little smile and dreamed of vast amounts of wealth flowing through her fingers, of sending her shadow to ferret out secrets, and of a tea party attended by Winnie the Pooh and Tigger too. One of the girls dreamed of vengeance, her Ranchan, and okonomiyaki. Sometimes she would dream dreams that involved all three at once. Another girl dreamed of being a Jedi Knight that was stalked by the black armored figure of Dark Mousse, rescuing her handsome prince, and joining in the Rebellion against an evil Empire. Another girl dreamed of riding a tiger through the streets of Nerima, only to have the tiger turn into a handsomely dressed groom who swept her up for a kiss... only to have her entire family come dragging her off to fix breakfast rather than let HER have the romantic spotlight.

The panda merely dreamed of food. The man dreamed of his deceased wife, of his darling daughters, and something very odd dealing with handcuffs and chocolate syrup.

In a lonely room a little over a mile away, a darkhaired girl who still smelled of lemons was mainly sleeping. Though at any creak of the house would startle to full wakefulness as if expecting an attack at any moment. In between these times of wakefulness and sleep, she was convincing herself of the need to strike and kill an inhuman being. Surprising herself with how difficult it was to actually INTEND to hurt something and plan its execution.

In a manor house that was a poor man's Addams Family Mansion, a boy of samurai descent dreamed of winning his One True Love and claiming her in a night of heated passion. One floor away, a girl with a gymnastic fixation dreamed of at last finding a True Love and poisoning him to ensure constancy.

Not that far away as things went, a functionally blind martial artist slept and dreamed of winning his One True Love and claiming her in a night of heated passion.

In a small village in China, a certain boy left his two wives to try and find the bathroom, only to end up somewhere unexpected.

In another small village in China, another boy dreamed of getting vengeance on the person who had given him such an awful name. He also dreamed of getting a more prominent role but as this is the only scene Pantyhose Tarou appears in, well he can dream can't he?

Tsubasa Kurenai dreamed of Ukyo Kuonji, trading clothing with her, hot kisses and cold mountain streams, and of sour cream and wasabi nachos. But then you knew Tsubasa was a bit weird, didn't you?

A certain mallet hidden under a certain paranoid girl's bed dreamed as well, but one can't go into detail on THOSE without putting all sorts of Dark and Mature tags up to warn off the unwary. Therefore they are not detailed, save to say that if Akane had known that some of her jumping at shadows was related to the close proximity of Soul Corrupting Evil, she might not have had the weapon under her bed after all.

Amaterasu Omikami, not that far away from a room with four girls and a panda, dreamt of actually having a romantic subplot in her life. Of not being linked with such ladies as Artemis and Athena. It had been an awfully long time, and she'd have to decide whether or not to dispel the love arrow. Certainly, she knew she could have done worse. That Ataru kid over in that timeline over there, for example. Though, considering their relative power levels, there was the additional danger of accidently frying him on a regular basis.

Ares, who actually was far away, dreamed of chaos and death and destruction. Of people dying and suffering and lamenting their actions and their losses. He smiled in his sleep.

Toltiir didn't dream and didn't sleep. He caught (appropriately enough) catnaps and otherwise continued to meddle with various lives, trying to get them to lighten up and see the humor in the situations around them. On viewing that nice young Pheonix Mage running about, he decided to pay EXTRA attention to the boy this time.

All in all, a relatively quiet and peaceful schoolnight in Nerima.

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Imperial Labs, Japoness, Terratwo.

"No, we're using an electronic pulse to keep her asleep."

Cherry smiled as the Doctor continued explaining exactly WHAT was going on to the various concerned parties over the videoconference. That the other nations had heard of this development THIS quickly indicated some serious intelligence leaks in the castle. Cherry continued to read through text files as she half listened, and tried NOT to consider what was going on with the marionette on the table.

"No, you will NOT be allowed in. This is definitely a case of too many cooks would spoil the broth. Instead, we've got some remote stations here that will allow you to scan and research from your labs in your own countries. Let me show you what we've got so far."

Lorelei flicked an image of Cherry and the odd computer onto their screens. "Cherry, whom some of you know, is currently going through the log, e-mail, and encyclopedia functions of the stranger's computer. From this we know certain details.

"The stranger's name is Grey, alternatively Ranma Saotome, sometimes known as 'Mister Fixit'. She works for a transdimensional organization known as the Rival Relief Office which apparently has the task of attempting to trying to make things turn out for the better in various timelines. She's a low level operative, mainly concerned with repair and construction.

"She's some kind of cyborg. Organic brain and spinal column, everything else was artificial and fairly advanced. We've removed the organic components and placed them in the marionette you see behind me. The sleep device is one method to prevent her activation, but we've added other precautions."

Lorelei listened to one of the scientists briefly. "For example? Regulators will keep this marionette's strength and speed well below normal human levels. Plus we've added a sort of 'hindbrain' that is a normally functional marionette AI. Any command given by the organic brain is processed through the marionette's AI. This way, all it requires is the proper command phrase and the organic brain will be 'locked out' of command functions."

Lorelei listened to another scientist. "Yes, it is fairly harsh, but we ARE dealing with a number of unknown quantities. You DO raise a valid point, and it is possible that we could accidently or on purpose override the organic brain with the marionette brain. While this would lose valuable information, essentially erasing the original personality and memories of the individual who arrived here, the potential dangers here require we take as many precautions as possible."

Cherry glanced, a little alarmed, at the displays surrounding Lorelei. She understood there might be some dangers, but if what she was seeing on one of the displays was correct, there were verbal cues that could produce a number of hazardous effects. Was the danger THAT great or were the various humans just reacting emotionally to the unknown?

A pinball-sized sphere on one table, unnoticed by anyone in the room, clicked and briefly vibrated.

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

Another Pokemon World & Another Fanfic Crossover:

She didn't remember the trip. She didn't remember Grey or Kiyone or Sasami. She didn't remember Ishtar. Her pokemon might have, had he ever left his pokeball.

Cadet Jenny was one of a large family of absolutely identical girls who were all in law enforcement. All of whom, through some caprice of fate or other factor, were named Jenny.

CADET Jenny had graduated from Police Academy and gotten her own pokemon shortly thereafter - a Haunter. However, instead of joining her sisters and cousins and second cousins and all the other Officer Jennies, Cadet Jenny had decided on a different path.

DETECTIVE Jenny. Yes, Jenny was going to be something other than a clone. Even if her Haunter was a bit of a weirdo and insisted on calling her "Watson" for some odd reason. Jenny was going to be a great detective and find out WHO Team Rocket was working for.

There were a LOT of Team Rockets. Not only was there the trio of Jesse, James, and Meowth, but there was Butch and Cassidy. Doc Holly and Day. Billi and Kidd. To suspect a connection was natural, but no investigation had ever been conducted. Why?

"Are you okay, Jenny?"

"Yes, Jenny." The Cadet smiled at her elder sister. "So you caught Butch and Cassidy?"

"Not me, a young pokemon trainer and his pikachu." Jenny placed a photo of the two out on her counter. "His name is "

"Ranma Saotome." Cadet Jenny stared at the photo. There was a familiar feeling about him as if she'd met him before.

"You know him? Well, I'm not surprised. He's run into two Team Rockets apparently."

"He has?" Cadet Jenny smiled. "Do you remember that report of that Ash Ketchum? How his path always seems to intersect with Team Rocket?"

"Yeah. Like the priests say, it looks like the threads of their karma are intertwined." Officer Jenny shrugged. "Something isn't complete between the two, so they'll continue to lock horns until they do. We thought there might be something more sinister involved but our investigations didn't turn up anything."

"Well, if Ash and HIS pikachu are 'karma-tangled' with one Team Rocket, maybe this 'Ranma' and HIS pikachu are likewise bound to tangle with Team Rocket. In which case..."

Officer Jenny smiled at Cadet Jenny, suspecting other motives. She'd have to tell the other Jennies so they could help young romance develop. "I think I heard where they were going."

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

Sailorjin Timeline:

"Is he cute?!" Makoto Jupiter asked brightly.

"Is he single?!" Minako Venus chimed in a moment later.

"You two back off, he's mine!" Haruka Uranus snarled.

"Ours," corrected Michiru Neptune. "If we can find him again."

"Guys..." Son Usagi couldn't believe her friends were like this. Okay, maybe guys who could put up with their affections were kind of rare. Tuxedo Kamen (Mamoru Earth) being staked out by Rei Mars who'd stated her unwillingness to share.

The guy had been able to take a combined attack from Haruka, Usagi, and Hotaru. It wasn't until the tug of war that he'd started coming apart, and it had been pointed out by Ami that Mamoru wouldn't have done very well either.

"Well, *I* think so," said Sakyo, "but I'm biased. And yes, he's single, but I *know* he isn't that fond of arguments or people fighting around him."

"Unnnn," groaned Shan from her impact crater.

"Dimensional disturbance," noted Ami Mercury, "located about three klicks away."

The various sailorjin glanced off to the west.

"That guy has some serious chi," Makoto said with a smile.

"I saw him first!" Minako was already leaping into the air.

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Target Timeline:

Kasumi swung open the door of her own home with a wary sniff. Faint traces of the Odor Of Evil remained but it looked like Naiad and Sylph had gotten the worst of it.

She gestured to her remaining family who slowly followed her.

"AHHHHH! DON'T BURN! DON'T BURN!"

"Well, that establishes Akane's location," was Nabiki's dry remark.

"Oh my. Oh my. Oh my." Kasumi held one arm up. "Sylph, a breeze would be nice!"

Sylph formed and bowed to her mistress before standing near the door and gently fluttering her wings to start a breeze.

"Too bad Shampoo stayed with Ukyo at their restaurant, it looks like our bracerites haven't quite got the hang of cleaning up after themselves." Nabiki frowned at evidence of dampness in the hallway. "Well, *I* have to get ready for school. Good luck, Kasumi."

"I suppose..." A glance towards Genma and Soun confirmed there would be no help coming from that corner. "Hmmm."

Nabiki saw the pokeball that Kasumi had found near the foyer. "That isn't Pepe is it?"

"Come out, come out, whoever you are." Kasumi thought it was a bit undignified but she'd been wanting to use that line for awhile.

"Raaaauuuuh, raaaaa. Hmmmm?" A Tasmanian Devil formed out of the glowing light and seemed a bit put off that there was neither food nor an opponent handy.

"Oh, how cute!"

Taz tried to withstand the full power of the dreaded Cute Look that Kasumi turned on him. He made it up to the point where she cuddled his densely packed fuzzy form before he conceded defeat. "Bwa ouuu bleh ook."

"I think he wants to know what you want him to do," Nabiki pointed out, wondering at the fact that something so furry could still blush. Not to mention how she could understand him.

"Oh?" Kasumi considered. "Taz, could you please clean up the mess?"

Taz considered then nodded, quickly spinning into a whirlwind that swept through the foyer and into the kitchen.

"WHAT?! AAAHHHHHHH! THAT'S *MY* BREAKFAST! TAKE THAT! NO! STOP!"

Kasumi and Nabiki rushed into the kitchen to find that Taz was standing there with two struggling house slippers sticking up out of his mouth.

"MMMMMMMPHHHHH!" The slippers kicked, one falling off, revealing that they were still attached to their owner.

"MMMMMMMMM!" Taz was clearly savoring the flavor of what was in his mouth.

"No, Taz, you may not eat my sister!" Kasumi was quite firm on that point. Some behavior was just NOT proper.

"Bwak bru globble glek!" Taz showed off perfect diction for someone who had a five foot Japanese girl somehow stuffed into his mouth.

"Well, as long as you don't hurt her," Kasumi said thoughtfully.

"MMMF! MMMMMRFFF!" The feet kicked in great agitation.

"Once you pop, you can't stop," smirked Nabiki. "Or like 'Tick Tock' the crocodile in 'Peter Pan' once he's tasted her, he won't be able to resist going back for another lick. Right, Tasmanian Devil?"

Taz nodded. Food was good here and they'd provided an after-dinner mint. He'd stay.

-----------

Ukyo and Shampoo had sat down in front of the tape player. They had a lot to do, but this one had practically *begged* to be played.

The misty mountains of Japan started the opening sequence, the lyrics somehow fitting as the camera's view tightened in closer and closer to one of the pale "rivers" of a dirt road that meandered down from the heights.

"Many times I've been alone
And many times I've cried
Anyway you'll never know
The many ways I've tried
But still they lead me back
To the long and winding road
You left me standing here
A long, long time ago
Don't leave me waiting here
Lead me to you door"

Ukyo sniffled, eyes sparkling as she watched her screen-self being helped up onto a boulder by her Ranchan. The two looking out over a valley as the credits ended and the song faded.

Shampoo decided not to spoil the moment for her co-conspirator and busied herself around the restaurant. One hour and twenty five minutes later, she stuck her head in the room, vanished again briefly, then returned with a box of Kleenex that she wordlessly handed to Ukyo.

Ukyo's eyes were brimming and she sniffled again.

Ranma: "Why not? It'll be a chance to make a fresh start. There'll be lots of people around, and plenty of work for someone with my skills. And I'd imagine that you could make a killing with your okonomiyaki..."

Ukyou (studying the map, nods): "You're on, Ran-chan. Let's go!"

Ukyo sniffled, sobbed, and as the "To Be Continued" kanji appeared, gave a flood of tears that Soun Tendo would have been proud of.

Shampoo waited for the flood to subside. "Was good?"

"You felt that the writer almost KNEW me, he captured me so well," sniffled Ukyo. "And the bit with his mother... The conflicts of honor and love and the desire to try to keep one's sanity while madness swirls about you. It was just..."

"Was good?"

"You didn't get any lines at all. Sorry, Shampoo."

"Shampoo figured. She not even on box."

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

On a small boat, someone travelled. This person had gone by many names over the past few years.

"The greatest pervert in all China," some called her. Some called her the Scourge or the Disgrace of the Amazons. Some called her by her Amazon name of Starch. Urd referred to her as a "Princess Fatora clone." Mousse called her cousin. Many others called her things less repeatable in polite company.

Not that girl+girl was unknown within the Amazons. It was the way Starch went about it that had given her the title "Happosai's Disciple." (Among the Amazons this was considered quite the shameful thing.)

Starch resembled, if one did not know the evil of her heart, an attractive young lady of Chinese ancestry. She kept herself fairly fit and taut, and liked to show it off by wearing outfits that were quite revealing where they weren't simply tight. Once one got closer, one could determine a more worn look hidden behind the makeup, as one can't put one's body through THAT much abuse without leaving traces.

Starch was also the master (mistress?) of Dirty Tricks style martial arts. As well as the corresponding school of *marital* arts.

Had the Japanese government any idea of what was piloting a fishing boat across the Sea of Japan, there would have been barricades and an armed presence beyond anything that even Madame Lao would have merited. After all, the Chinese government had seriously considered nuking the Amazon village the LAST time Starch had set foot outside her village.

Once Starch was dealing with Outsiders, such terms as restraint and subtlety became conspicuous by absence.

As it was, most people who were at all sensitive to psychic energies were having premonitions.

"Most ominous," pronounced Cherry.

"Screw ominous, I'm outta here!" Cherry's cousin, a cousin named Aisha, started packing. "When I get a fire reading that looks like THAT, and an ominous voice saying 'you're screwed' it's time for a VACATION!"

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to Disneyland!"

"Most ominous," repeated Cherry.

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

Japoness, Terra Two

A worldgate briefly flared into existence and out stepped a redhaired young man, who looked about himself with deliberate casualness, then made way to be followed out of the portal by a gaggle... well, actually they got along surprisingly well with each other, a group of Belldandies and Urds. And two androids and a girl in a gym suit with brown hair in a ponytail.

"Now remember," said one Belldandy to the ponytailed girl, "he's still in mourning so trying to seduce him just isn't proper yet."

Makoto Jupiter nodded but continued to smile. She'd reached the target first and counted dibbs on Minako. This was her BIG CHANCE!

The young man studied the sky. "Well, the 'Locate Person' spell now tells me we're on the same plane of existance. Any idea of where we are? The constellations aren't Earth's."

One of the Urds glanced between the youth and the afternoon sun, but neglected to ask how he could see star constellations in midday. The other Urd was hearing the words, but she'd think about them later. The young man was wearing a practically shapeless set of tunic and leggings that could've fit into any number of cultures - which was the point. But in spite of the bagginess of his garments his face was well featured and quite easy to look upon. So she did. Of course, he might as well not have bothered with the attire. The five goddesses were garbed as usual, and stuck out pretty handily.

Two Belldandies answered at the same time - the same answer. "I'm afraid that we lost Yggdrassil access when we determined who got to stay with Keiichi. Father says that we can get back online when we¹ve found new positions, assuming we do, but for the time being I¹m afraid we don¹t have any power."

Sakyo frowned but didn't say anything. Her sensors indicated a fair amount of power in the goddesses. Perhaps this was more human interaction that she didn't understand despite borrowed memories. Analysis indicated that this might be a strategic move, keeping one's strengths in reserve.

Little alarm bells were ringing in the young man's mind. He'd been assuming more effective assistance when he'd invited them along. He mentally switched his mind into more of a bodyguard role, and his informational priorities crept up a notch.

"Okaaay," he tried not to sound disappointed. Well, chi senses read nothing near for now, so at least they weren¹t in any immediate danger. He lifted an arm and whispered a command word, sending a brief ripple of blue light out in a ring from his hand.

Sakyo scanned the alleyway and the park it opened out into. "Architecture suggests Edo period Japan, though materials are incorrect for such. High degree of dust particles in midair, noted plasma-energy charge in dust. G-class sun, spectroanalysis indicates three billion years older than Earth's sun. Low level scanning reveals multiple energy sources of approximately Tech Level 6."

"Which means?" Urd raised an eyebrow as if *daring* the cyberoid to continue.

"Not sure," said Sakyo, ignoring the resultant facefault from Urd.

"What was that spell, anyway?" Three godesses of mixed type responded.

Makoto merely relaxed. She didn't sense enough chi to trouble HER from anyone on the planet, save one. And she was MORE than happy to be keeping an eye on him anyway.

Soon the air was full of small birds landing on arms and branches. The Urd who'd been staring became aware of small avians landing on her shoulders and hair and asked. "Animal Summoning? What for?"

The other Urd stifled a small stab of jealosy at her companion's spell knowledge. She hadn¹t caught that one.

The redhaired youth didn¹t notice, stifling as he was a stab of grief. "I'm recreating the Sparrow Squadron." He took a long breath. ~Calm, deliberately calm.~ "When my base universe was destroyed I also lost my animal friends. I'll charm some of these and implant the training with a memory spell. Some of these types fly at over two hundred miles per hour. They'll be able to seek out over a wider area and cover a great deal more ground than we do."

~Okay,~ both Urds conceded at the same time. ~Nice guy. Hell of a bod, and he's got a brain too.~ Thoughts ran immediately into the same barricade. ~Still, he doesn't drink and doesn't approve of it in others. So there goes my recharge. Then again, I haven't *got* any powers to speak of and who's to say next time the limits will be the same?~ Both platinum haired goddesses ended with an identical smirk. The thought was shelved for later as the young druid/mage/really awesome martial artist went on casting spells over the birds he'd selected.

Two Belldandies were busily playing with the unselected avians and one was spreading out a small picnic lunch on a towel. As they hadn't left with this sort of equipment, it was a fair indication that SOME things remained. It was a good fifteen minutes before the mage ceased murmuring spells and joined them, releasing his chosen birds who went flying every which way.

One Belldandy was handling tea, another had produced small cakes, and the other had somehow convinced the unclaimed small birds to bring them a selection of nuts and berries. Jared took his seat and accepted a steaming mug of hot cocoa, saying. "I put them to work. I'll get to the rest of the enchantments later, but for now they¹re equipped with the basics of magical location and their own protection. Time enough to get fancy when we need them to be upgraded. For right now I have them seeking out the nearest local, who I'll hunt down and use a Know Customs spell on, which will give us a more sure footing to deal with, and then we'll
use them to hunt down Grey. My 'Locate Person' spell will tell me 'left' or 'down' or things like that, but swifter and safer to get the right location and close with magic. That way we don¹t wind up walking three hundred miles or whatever."

~And, with any good fortune,~ Jared thought to himself. ~Within that time one or two of my little birds will've run across a conveniently large bunch of great cats so I can recreate the Furball Brigade so I can leave you all defended while I pull Grey out of whatever mess he's in.~

Sakyo opened her mouth to speak but held back. Grey was approximately 12.1275 miles from their current location, in a NNE direction. There was also indication of some jamming fields, so her reading might not be accurate. Should she speak or would the mage resent it?

Makoto shrugged. Whatever there was on this dirtball, she wasn't sure it was ready to face HER.

Shan merely let her batteries recharge. She'd seen entirely too much combat recently, and her internal repair systems could use some downtime.

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

A gate swirled open and a woman stepped forth.

She'd never admit it, but she liked Grey. In some ways he reminded her of a tough old mouse that was so amusing to watch one never got around to killing it. Besides, he'd done her a good turn or two, and Bast kept track of such things.

Now here was this Pheonix Mage, and SHE remembered HIM, remembered him quite well, in fact. He'd had a few cats, kept them as friends and companions, and had respected their needs to go out and do cat-things on occasion. More important to her, she knew of occasion where cat-enemies had suffered at the hands of this mage. So, even if he DID use a bird motif, she counted him as an intriguing catspaw to try to save this all from catastrophe.

Besides, she would also be addressing a problem with this world.

When the Bulbun shuttle from the arcship Mesopotamia had landed on Terra Two, it had carried genetic samples of hundreds of Earth species. Domestic cats, squirrels, dogs, birds, ferrets, and others. MANY species had NOT been represented, or had been fried when the AI of the Mesopotamia had gone rogue.

There were perhaps twelve cats on Terratwo. All male clones, comfortably employed with grain warehouses. But only twelve cats on the planet.

This was not the sort of situation that Bast liked to see.

So, as that RRO operative had already stirred things up, Bast felt free to meddle. She was, after all, a cat. Meddling was a preferred option.

She opened a gate and materialized a pod such as might have been dropped off an arcship. It was actually off of the very Mesopotamia that was lying in wreckage up above. Instead of dead embryos, however, what was being brought forth...

Prey animals, of course. Everything from birds to zebras. A fertility spell to ensure a quick increase in numbers. A cat understood that nature had balances. But also she produced the cats that could hunt those prey. A few more than would be prudent if they were staying.

And, just to tweak a few noses, Bast put a few cats in the mix that were not what would have been originally packed back on Earth. She was a cat, such gestures were irresistable.

----------

Sailorjin world:

Ami Mercury, Scientist caste, considered carefully.

Rei Mars would be Rae Earth shortly, having decided to take HIS name as they were living on Earth now anyway.

"Got anything yet?" Usagi asked her old friend. Who would have thought that when Ami had come riding up on Usagi's hut seeking dragonballs, all those years ago, that they'd have come so far?

Ami nodded. "Look, are you sure about this? He's a cyborg that just looks human, like some of Doctor Zero's creations."

"I think you should drop out now," Haruka said with Michiru nodding agreement. "Leave this to a REAL warrior. Errr. Warriors."

"Besides, who will defend your homeworld if YOU leave," Michiru added coyly.

"Ahhhh!" Usagi sweatdropped. "Well, we could ALL use a vacation, couldn't we?"

"Makoto's after that Mage fellow, but if he's unavailable as he said, won't she switch to Grey?"

"AHHHH!" Usagi repeated. "HURRY AMI!"

"I *think* I can open a dimensional warp," Ami said slowly. "But I don't have the equipment here. I'd have to go back to my lab at hooooooommmme!"

Usagi, having plucked her dear old friend up under one arm, was in danger of breaking the sound barrier.

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

Rei took one good look at the video feed and squeaked.

"What's up?" Mamoru asked drowsily from the couch.

"The wedding's off."

"Huh?!" This managed to cut through Mamoru's exhausted haze.

"This Jared Saotome guy is SO fine! Usagi can have you after all, THIS guy is exactly what's needed!"

"Huh?!" Mamoru repeated. "B-b-but what about..."

"When your old buddies referred to you as 'old one-two Mamoru' I had *thought* they were referring to your fighting skills. If I had known stamina was the reason you always showed up and left during your brief appearances in those fights, I'd have let Usagi or Makoto have you."

"Makoto?" He'd known that Rei was getting bored. That she was talking on the phone while they were making love had indicated that perhaps their romance wasn't getting along well.

"Yeah, she used to say you were cute. Mind you, if you can prove you're somehow studlier than THAT guy, I'll change my mind."

"But I?!" Mamoru wondered if he should try that Viagra stuff. Or maybe he'd just been stressed out a bit.

"I gotta run. They're going to Ami's lab to go pursue that Grey-schmuck. Don't see what they see in HIM, but no way I'll let Makoto or Minako have some guy who's more man than MINE." Rei leapt out the window and was gone in a blaze of fire.

"Eeeple," said Mamoru feeling rather small at the moment. Indignation, jealousy, and rage would come later.

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

Weird ideas i couldn't fit anywhere else but in this muddle. Segment 12

What would happen to Ifurita in a Dragonball Z world?

A chance to crossover with "Fist of the Pikachu"!

Why wouldn't the good guys be paranoid?

A Jin-Goro model marionette is seen briefly in episode 8 of Sabre Marionette J.

Starch is coming, the advocate of the "all love is good love" and "all religion and morality is bad" philosophies! Hide your women, your children, your farm animals and pets!

Taz the Tasmanian Devil, pokemon version. Knows the attacks of Slurp, Lick, Spin, etc. And finally someone in the Ranmaverse who has worse eating habits than Genma.

"Long & Winding Road" as a miniseries on TV?

An alternate explanation for why Mamoru Chiba never sticks around very long.

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