Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A New Future 2 - First Blood ❯ Every Breath You Take ( Chapter 5 )

This is an alternate history (both the world in general and the Senshi in particular) continuation for both Sailor Moon and Ranma 1/2, set in a world with no space exploration, personal computers, cell phones, or anything else requiring a transistor. The Y rating is for violence in later chapters.

This was originally published by me under the name Anduril at Anime Addventures, with the only changes being a few corrections in spelling, punctuation and the occasional word choice. If you like the beginning of my story but think I've gone off the rails, or have your own ideas for a great branch-off, or think I'm taking too long to update and want to continue the story yourself, come to Anime Addventures and join in the fun!

I claim no ownership rights to any of the works of Rumiko Takahashi, Naoko Takeuchi, or anything in the GURPS Ogre and GURPS Tales of the Solar Patrol settings published by Steve Jackson Games. Everything else is mine.

The title comes from the song by the Police - Sting's commented that he's a little surprised at the number of people that play a song that's essentially about a stalker at weddings.

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Setsuna Meioh sighed as she stepped back into her office at the high school and collapsed into her chair. The latest attack hadn't been brutal, precisely, but it had definitely been frustrating — a swarm of some kind of small, hairless, boneless, segmented, winged, fast thing with a nasty poisoned stinger that had proven immune to fire damage and Moon's cleansing attacks. Fortunately, it had proven vulnerable to Jupiter's lightning, but Setsuna's side still ached where one had gotten in a good shot just before Jupiter killed it — Pluto had survived being on the periphery of the lightning attack as well as the stinger's poison, but the two together had sapped her energy considerably.

Still, the four Senshi involved in the fight had left alien bodies scattered over nine square blocks, and people had to be getting nervous — even after all the youma attacks, they just weren't used to walking out their doors to find corpses of things like nothing that had ever walked (or in this case, flew over) the Earth. I wonder if this will be enough to set off the government? Setsuna thought. Then, with a groan, I suppose there's no time like the present to find out.

Hauling herself to her feet, she once again transformed into Sailor Pluto, and stepped through the long-familiar twist to stand before the Time Gates. Leaning on the Garnet Rod, Pluto called up the futures in view before her and watched as they danced through event after sequence after variation. After a time, she sighed and dismissed the view before stepping back into her office.

Reverting to Setsuna, she once again dropped into her chair and leaned her head on her hands, elbows braced on the desk. Sometimes I hate being right most of the time, she thought, then wearily climbed back to her feet, heading for the door. I suppose if I'm going to beard the lion in his den I'd better get some rest first.

 

Several hours later, Setsuna slowly came awake to the sound of her alarm clock and grimaced — the few hours of sleep almost seemed to have made things worse. The emerald-haired seemingly young woman dragged herself to her feet and headed to the kitchen. Sitting for a time with a cup of tea, glancing occasionally at the clock on the wall, she finally nodded, stood and washed her tea cup, then transformed and once again stepped over to the Time Gates and brought up the view, only this time it wasn't flickering, steadily showing a comfortable, not to say well-used, office — books stacked on chairs, memorabilia on shelves, pictures obviously of friends and family rather than the “I love me” wall that graced so many offices intended to impress rather than relax visitors.

But as absent of imperial regalia as the office might be, it was the room's occupants that had Pluto's eyebrows crawling up into her hairline. I expected the Emperor, but the Crown Prince? she thought in surprise. I thought he was still in the monastery where he's lived these past five years — since he got out of the hospital after the `accident' that killed his wife, children, and older brother and his wife and child. He's early, I'll have to review the futures more closely, see what impact that's going to have. Still, first things first.

The view of the office froze, then reversed and sped up, only to slow as a middle-aged man in a military uniform with the rank markings of a general walked backwards into the view, then backwards out of it. Pluto froze the view when the general disappeared, then started forward at normal speed and nodded as the general reported on the latest findings from the scene of that afternoon's fight, the camera footage they had of the battle (and how to edit it slightly to make the Senshi look better before releasing it for use as news reels in movie theaters — it hadn't been one of their more glorious, or even competent, fights), and then the expected decision of the Emperor to finally speak to Pluto directly. Five minutes ago, excellent, Pluto thought, almost perfect timing.

Dismissing the view, Pluto stepped out into the office she had just been observing at the precise split-second she had left her kitchen, and gave the bow of an equal to an Emperor Akihito startled at her sudden appearance as Crown Prince Akishino jerked to his feet. “Good afternoon, Your Majesty,” she said serenely, carefully hiding a jaunty grin at their reaction. “I believe you wished to speak with me.”

 

Kneeling before the traditional Japanese low table in an informal meeting room close to the Emperor's working office, Pluto savored the last of the best green tea she could remember in a long time, then carefully placed the heirloom she had been drinking from on the equally priceless saucer and straightened. As fun as the small talk has been (and informative, and just how long has the Imperial Household been spying on us?), it's time to get down to brass tacks.

“Your Majesty,” she said calmly, “I thank you for the offer of the use of the JSDF that you are about to make, but I'm afraid that in this instance all your soldiers would do is provide a live training exercise for the Alarna Confederacy's troops, those few that first encounter them. Any substantial gathering of troops is likely to be detected, and the Confederacy will simply shift their Gate's locus to a new location, away from your forces where they will have time to establish themselves before you can shift forces to oppose them. Besides, your men aren't really trained for this kind of foe, it's best to leave fighting them to those that are.”

“You have seen this?” Emperor Akihito asked from where he knelt beside his son across the table, and Pluto nodded.

“Yes. If Japan's military — excuse me, self defense force — comes to the Senshi's aid it will simply make things harder for us when the enemy shifts the location of their invasion site and has time to bring in substantial numbers of troops before we can locate and get to the new site.”

“I see.” The Emperor was silent for a long moment. “And is there any other aid that we can supply in the months of fighting that lie ahead before the actual invasion?”

Pluto pursed her lips thoughtfully, then gave a slight nod. “Actually, there is. If you would very quietly make preparations to smuggle several thousand people out of China, and hold those preparations ready to put into effect at a moment's notice by, say, a week from now to be safe, that would be an enormous help.”

“The Chinese Amazons?” Crown Prince Akishino asked, and Pluto nodded again.

“Correct,” she said and Akishino frowned.

“Why wait?” he asked. “Why not simply start moving them as soon as the preparations are complete? The Elder Ku Lon has already said that her people are seeking a way to move to Japan en masse, they would welcome the offer.”

“Because their liege lady has not yet asked that their move be expedited,” Pluto said calmly, covertly watching the Emperor, then nodding to herself as he gazed thoughtfully at her.

“I see,” the Emperor said at last. “You wish for the young reawakened princess to acknowledge her birthright.”

“Exactly,” Pluto responded. “That acknowledgement isn't really necessary for the current crisis, but will be later. Besides, they are her people, not mine or yours.”

“And what can these bar — these warriors do that our soldiers cannot?” Akishino asked, carefully keeping his tone free of the offense he so obviously felt (to Pluto's experienced eye), and she flashed him a slight smile.

“You mean besides provide hundreds of warriors that have trained in combat with muscle-powered weapons all their lives and are at least somewhat familiar with magic, and don't look like soldiers?” she asked. “You know the nature of the enemy we will face at the end.”

“Ah, yes,” the suddenly thoughtful Crown Prince mused. “The magical protections against high-speed kinetic weapons you reported.”

The Emperor shot his son a slightly disapproving glance, and Pluto hid a smile. Gotcha — you have at least the shrine bugged. Probably my home and office, and the homes of the rest of the Senshi as well. And from what you said earlier about the Amazons, the new Cat Café. And I can't imagine Ranma's apartment isn't covered as well.

“Very well,” the Emperor said. “We will make the preparations you have requested, and await your word to initiate the migration.”

“Oh, no need to wait on my word, Your Majesty,” Pluto said. “I'll ask Ku Lon for the necessary contact information to give your people and have her send forewarning, and when your surveillance hears the princess give the word your people can start.”

Emperor Akihito relaxed enough to give a slight chuckle and rose, his son and Pluto a second behind him. “Very well, when we receive the word. And now I believe we have kept you long enough. You had an exciting time earlier today, and even with the Senshi's amazing recuperative abilities I imagine you would like some more time to rest.”

“You are right, Your Majesty, thank you,” Pluto acknowledged, and again gave the bow of an equal to the Emperor and a slightly shallower one to the Crown Prince.

The two returned the bows, then as she turned away, the Emperor said, “One last question before you go — how long have you known of our surveillance?”

Pluto turned back and studied the old man for a long moment, then shrugged. “Since minutes after the moment in my kitchen when everything changed — before that, the futures had never called for you or your heirs to bring that surveillance to my attention, at least not enough to make me aware of it. After this current problem is settled we will discuss the real reason you wished to speak with me.” And with that, she stepped out of the meeting room.