Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Crossover With Non-anime Series Fan Fiction ❯ Soldier, Sailor, Jedi, Sith ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 3 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Maj_Scooter 
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Crossover With Non-anime Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Sci-fi / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.24.2007 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 758 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Crossover With Non-anime Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Sci-fi / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.24.2007 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 758 | Status: Work In Progress
Hikawa Shrine
5 pm
"Why are we here, anyway? Setsuna said that we've pretty much defeated our major enemies."
"I could use the time to study," Ami said, as the Senshi grabbed pillows to sit around the sacred fire.
"Ami, you don't need to study. Don't you have, like a three hundred IQ?" Makoto asked, for once not using metaphors.
"I do, but there's nothing wrong with studying for the college entrance exams."
"You're 14, Ami," Rei growled. "You don't need to get ready for those exams for another three or four years." The fire senshi saw Usagi reaching for her latest Slayers manga.
"And don't you dare, meatball head!"
"Aw, but Rei, I haven't read this one yet," Usagi said, with big puppy dog eyes. "I'll give it back when I'm finished with it."
"They're at it again, love," Michiru cooed into her lover's ear, as they snuggled on multiple pillows.
"Why don't they at least admit that they like each other?" Haruka said, looking like the cat that ate the canary. "It might even make our nights more...interesting." Michiru blushed at what her lover was thinking, but was also giving it serious consideration.
"I've called you here because there's been a...hiccup in the time stream," Setsuna said, from a shadowed corner of the room. She walked out of the shadows, and settled down in front of the Senshi.
Ami looked at the emerald haired Senshi. "What do you mean 'a hiccup'?"
"What I mean is that there are literally millions of possibilities for the future in the time stream. Every major fight you've had and won, one possibility is burned away. Unfortunately, one tributary has taken over, and literally become the current time stream. I won't go on any further, unless you hold multiple degrees in high level, and currently theoretical physics." She stood from her cushion. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have some business to attend to."
Haruka eyeballed her housemate. "What kind of business, Setsuna?"
"The kind that is none of your business to know, Haruka." With that, the Senshi of Time walked into the shadows and disappeared.
"Well, that was rather cryptic of her. I wonder what this new threat is." The rest of the Senshi merely shrugged their shoulders.
00000
Ranma was waiting outside the school, sitting on a ledge. When Tarquin was a Padawan, patience was literally beat into him by his Master, but even as the amalgam of Jedi and martial artist, patience was still something he needed to learn again. He was mentally going through several Anything Goes katas while he waited for his date. Setsuna arrived after he started his fiftieth kata. "I was wondering if you were going to remember," he said.
"I had to get ready," she replied. If the Senshi were there to see what Setsuna was wearing, having been indoctrinated to her business suits or sailor fuku, they might wonder who this woman was with the green hair and crimson eyes. Even Ranma had to do a double take at first, because Tarquin's memories told the pigtailed Jedi that Setsuna rarely wore anything other than formal attire or her uniform. For their date, Setsuna was wearing a simple red halter top dress that ended just above her knees, with a matching shawl wrapped around her shoulders. And revealed plenty of perfectly tanned skin.
"I think this is the first time I've seen you in normal clothes, Setsuna. You always seem to make everything into a uniform of some sort."
"I seem to recall that you've seen me out of uniform plenty of times," the Senshi of Time teased, and was rewarded by Ranma blushing. She placed her hand against his cheek. "I'm sorry, Ranma. I'm taking advantage of you."
Ranma smiled at the emerald haired Senshi. "There's no need to apologize, Setsuna. My fat fool of a father kept me totally ignorant of everything about the opposite sex. I have Tarquin's memories on that to keep me honest." He offered his arm to his date. Setsuna accepted. "Shall we go?"
"Yes, let's." They left the school grounds, guided by Setsuna towards their restaurant.
The restaurant Setsuna had chosen was a small, intimate Italian place that had just opened, and the reviews were outstanding. Even the local Yakuza took a lesson from The Godfather, and began using it for business dealings, treating it as neutral ground. The owner, a former member of Gambino family, who was so deep in Witness Protection that the FBI lost him, took pride in that fact. The tables were far enough apart to discourage overhearing conversation, and the candlelit dining room provided enough light to see your dining companion and dinner, but not reveal who was at the table to someone looking in from outside.
As they were seated, and menus placed in front of them, Ranma looked at his date for the evening. The candlelight silhouetted Setsuna, highlighting her features. "Setsuna, do you know why I went behind the back of the Council?"
"In what way, Ranma?"
"With our relationship and the other relationships I had before you." Setsuna motioned for him to continue, after they ordered and the wine was poured. "The Council felt that love was one of those emotions that that led to the Dark Side. I'm sure they had ample reasons. But that was the new code of the Jedi. My Master followed the old code, where Jedi were allowed to have a lover, as his master had taught him, as had his master before him. He told me that a Jedi with a wife or husband was more stable, and less prone to the temptations of the Dark Side. In battle, the married Jedi knew what he was fighting for—the defense and protection of his loved ones—and was more in tune with the Force.
"According to legends, a Jedi family only grew stronger in the Force. But, at the same time, a Jedi remained humble, and didn't use his family line to secure a position on the Council, as there were no hereditary Council seats. Council seats have been always awarded by merit. Except in Anakin's case." Ranma paused as the salads were brought out, and wine glasses were refilled.
"I remember the scandal it caused when Palpatine had the council elevate Skywalker to an honorary position," Setsuna said, after taking a sip of her wine.
"Even among the Jedi, we had cause to be wary. Young Skywalker had the ear of the Chancellor," Ranma refused to call him "Emperor", "and the opposite was true as well. I firmly believe that if Palpatine hadn't such an interest in Skywalker, or we were able to rescue his mother from the Tusken Raiders, he wouldn't have fallen as quickly into Darkness." Ranma took a sip of his Chianti. "It doesn't pay to dwell on the past."
Setsuna smiled. "I have no choice in dwelling in the past. Or dwelling in the future, for that matter. I am who I am."
"I know. And I loved you for that back on Coruscant." The salad plates were cleared away, and dinner arrived. Conversation was light as Setsuna brought her old flame up to date with her life. She set her fork down. "Ranma," she said, "you realize you still have family here in Juuban."
Ranma's fork paused halfway to his mouth. He set it back down, the piece of lasagna forgotten. It was his younger, martial artist persona that answered. "Pops told me my sister and mother died during a Godzilla attack."
Setsuna arched a delicate green eyebrow at that. She always felt the Vulcan Eyebrow Raise was an effective means of conveying surprise or interest without actually showing any other emotion. "Your father lied to you, Ranma," she replied. "Your mother divorced your father, and moved you, your sister, and herself back to her family's register."
"You mean my family is still alive?"
Setsuna nodded. "And your little sister is one of your students," she said with a smirk.
"I was four when Oyaji and I left. Mako-chan was two. And that would make her..."
"A freshman in Juuban High, Ranma," Setsuna finished for him.
"Oh wow. My sister is still alive. When I find that fat fool, Genma'll...no. Revenge is a seduction of the Dark Side. I made my decision when I left that baka panda at Jusenkyo and changed my name. And I will stick by that decision. But may he never cross my path again."
oooooooooooo
Ranma sat in his apartment, meditating. Both he and Setsuna were willing to wait before bringing their relationship back up to where it had been on Coruscant. So he left her at her house with such a romantic kiss that prompted the other older Outers to interrogate the Senshi of Time about her date. He meditated on how he was going to teach the regular regimen of physical education activities, and the fact that his little sister was a student of his.
As his meditations cleared his chaotic thoughts, he was granted a Force-vision of such startling clarity, that it had to be true. Even though Master Yoda taught that the future was always in motion, the clarity of this vision showed the reborn Master that this future was virtually set in stone. A form swathed in robes was meeting with an undistinguished kendoist, in a suburban western ward of Tokyo. The form was telling the martial artist of a way that he could win his fierce tigress and beautiful, but frequently lost, redheaded goddess. The martial artist was in the act of pledging himself to the robe-covered form when the vision clouded up.
"Bastet," Ranma muttered. "I should have realized that she would follow me here. After all, she found me on Chel Nasin. I should have defeated her there, permanently. And I'm sure there's an Imperial fleet waiting for the order to attack. And this planet's defenses are nowhere near capable of defeating such an enemy."
Setsuna was watching her lover meditate through the Gates, when she heard him talking to himself. "Chel Nasin," she asked. Ever since she fled Coruscant, she had stopped watching Tarquin, knowing in her heart that she could never be with him again. Foolish girl.
"A Class M-type planet, located in the Outer Rim territories. The surface of the planet was reduced to ash and molten rock by the Imperial 33rd Battle Fleet. The firepower of the fleet was such that the crust was fractured, and turned a once fertile planet into a ball of molten rock. The destruction of the planet was done at the command of Grand Moff Tarkin, the sector governor, as an example of what happens to a planet that defies the Emperor and the New Order. Grand Moff Tarkin will eventually take command of a battlestation capable of destroying a planet in one shot." The monolith showed the planet, prior to its destruction, then the attack on the planet, and finally the aftermath of the attack, one of the few examples of the implementation of the Imperial Navy's Base Delta Zero code. The once vibrant and lush planet was turned into a molten wasteland.
"That is what we're trying to prevent here," Setsuna said quietly. "By the Goddess, I will prevent Earth's fate at the hands of the Empire."
Without prompting, the sentient monolith showed the future she was trying to prevent, again. "Pluto, this future will come to pass, so long as the Senshi are...lucky in their fights." Setsuna noted both the pause as well as sarcasm in her artifact's mental voice. "Have Tarquin, or Ranma as he is calling himself now, train the Senshi and Serenity's penguin-suited boytoy. Even if they do not have the potential to be Jedi, the training regimen that he will put them through will make them better fighters. He will teach them how to be warriors, not just little girls playing superhero. That will prevent this future from happening. Especially since magic will not work against this enemy, Guardian Pluto, as it has in the past."
The Senshi of Time sighed, and sipped from her mug of tea. "I would like to see the future, should Ranma and the Senshi win." The gate complied, and showed what would have been Crystal Tokyo in any normal timeline. Six of the eight Senshi were seated at a round table, wearing robes in their planet's color, instead of their normal sailor fuku. Serenity and Endymion were seated together. Standing off to the side of the throne room was Ranma, an insufferable smirk on his face. Next to him was the eighth Senshi, her robes almost as black as a Sith Lord's, and another cloaked figure, with their hood up. There was something about the figure that screamed female, but there were no other discernable clues. "How did Ranma get into the future? And who is that other figure?" The image changed to a hangar in the Palace, where seven starfighters, each one matching their pilot's robes, with the exception of one that looked like it was painted in Southeast Asia four-tone camouflage, although the penguin painted on the nose indicated to whom it belonged to. Sitting in the background looked like a tramp freighter from some science fiction movie.
The image of the future was replaced by an anime character; Xellos to be exact. "That, my dear Setsuna...is a secret!" The Gate chuckled as Setsuna landed on her face.
"You have way too much time on your hands," she growled, teleporting back to Earth, leaving the Gate laughing.
oooooooooooo
At the Hikawa Shrine, Rei was jolted awake by feelings of intense hatred and darkness. There were times she hated being both the Senshi of Mars and a shrine maiden because of her empathy, since she could be jolted awake by even a heated argument in front of the Shrine. And that could explain why she was always fighting with Usagi, since a lack of sleep tended to make her grumpy. She looked out her window and saw a cloaked form walk by the Shrine. As the shaped passed under the street light, Rei had to do a double take. She could have sworn she saw a cat's tail hanging under the hem of the cloak. "I really need to stop eating those pepperoni and anchovy pizzas before I go to bed," she muttered, as she tried to get back to sleep.
Ranma was leaning front of a closed shop, the hilt of his lightsaber in hand, although turned off. He looked down the road, and saw the shape coming closer. "Hello, Bastet," he said, when she got within earshot.
"Tarrquin," she growled. Normally, the Catian could keep from rolling her r's. But this was not a normal circumstance.
"Bastet," the Jedi said amicably, "I haven't seen you since Chel Nasin."
"The rresidents of the planet paid forr yourr arrogance Tarrquin with theirr lives. Moff Tarrkin orrdered Base Delta Zerro. Admirral Nelson was morre than happy to destrroy the planet."
"You always were an impatient one, Bast-chan. When you found me, I told you that the Emperor will fall. Why do you insist on supporting such a foolish old man, who's wrapped up in his deceit and lies?"
"Because he brought order to the Republic, Lim." Bastet had begun calming down again, since she was no longer rolling her r's. The Sith Lord, a fallen Jedi in her own right, had been dangerous sparring against, as she was very unpredictable, as most cats are.
"He brought only a veneer of order over a regime based on evil. The Base Delta Zero code is just one example of Palpatine's evil. Destroying a whole planet in retaliation for harboring a Jedi? That is an absurd notion, my former Padawan. Had I not taught you anything about honor, duty and loyalty?" The blue light from Ranma's lightsaber chased away the shadows around the Jedi, as he held it in a chudan-no-kamae stance. He took a deep, calming breath, and held faith that the Force would hold the Neko-ken away during this duel.
"I have my loyalty to the Emperor, Tarquin," the Sith catgirl countered. "I have a duty to the Empire." Her lightsaber ignited, a crimson blade of death reflecting in her slitted eyes. "I lost my honor the night you slept with me! Die, bastard," she hissed (AN: Perhaps our noble Jedi isn't so noble after all, ne?). Bastet charged, swinging low, as if to castrate the reborn Jedi. Ranma blocked, and launched his own counterattack. Bastet countered, and kicked her opponent, aiming for a tender piece of anatomy, when their blades locked in a tsubazeriai, hissing and squealing.
As the fighters disengaged, the fight began to resemble a kendoka facing off a western fencer, as different forms from various schools were being used. Yagyu Shinkage-ryu faced MacPherson; Ryujoji Shinkage-ryu countered Bonetti; Iaido met Flynn; Kenobi met Skywalker. Coronal flashes filled the sleepy street as azure blade clashed against crimson. Mailbox met lightsaber, and lost. Lightsaber defeated Kawasaki. Neither combatant was truly capable of defeating the other, even when adding Force-thrown objects into the fight, as both Jedi and Sith had been taught by Yoda when they were Younglings.
Bastet realized that she was deadlocked against her former master, when a portion of her cloak's overhanging sleeve separated from the rest of it. Jumping back, she pulled a canister out of an inner pocket, and with a bit of the Force, pulled the pin. She threw it towards Ranma, as the spoon flew off. Within seconds, a cloud of smoke began billowing out, as Bastet deactivated her blade, and exercised the better part of valor.
Ranma, for his sake, was caught unawares by her actions, and suffered the effects of CS gas, as his eyes began to get puffy and run, and his lungs gave him coughing fits as they tried to expel the riot control agent. He deactivated his saber and returned to his apartment, to at least try and get the stink off of him and out of his robes.
5 pm
"Why are we here, anyway? Setsuna said that we've pretty much defeated our major enemies."
"I could use the time to study," Ami said, as the Senshi grabbed pillows to sit around the sacred fire.
"Ami, you don't need to study. Don't you have, like a three hundred IQ?" Makoto asked, for once not using metaphors.
"I do, but there's nothing wrong with studying for the college entrance exams."
"You're 14, Ami," Rei growled. "You don't need to get ready for those exams for another three or four years." The fire senshi saw Usagi reaching for her latest Slayers manga.
"And don't you dare, meatball head!"
"Aw, but Rei, I haven't read this one yet," Usagi said, with big puppy dog eyes. "I'll give it back when I'm finished with it."
"They're at it again, love," Michiru cooed into her lover's ear, as they snuggled on multiple pillows.
"Why don't they at least admit that they like each other?" Haruka said, looking like the cat that ate the canary. "It might even make our nights more...interesting." Michiru blushed at what her lover was thinking, but was also giving it serious consideration.
"I've called you here because there's been a...hiccup in the time stream," Setsuna said, from a shadowed corner of the room. She walked out of the shadows, and settled down in front of the Senshi.
Ami looked at the emerald haired Senshi. "What do you mean 'a hiccup'?"
"What I mean is that there are literally millions of possibilities for the future in the time stream. Every major fight you've had and won, one possibility is burned away. Unfortunately, one tributary has taken over, and literally become the current time stream. I won't go on any further, unless you hold multiple degrees in high level, and currently theoretical physics." She stood from her cushion. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have some business to attend to."
Haruka eyeballed her housemate. "What kind of business, Setsuna?"
"The kind that is none of your business to know, Haruka." With that, the Senshi of Time walked into the shadows and disappeared.
"Well, that was rather cryptic of her. I wonder what this new threat is." The rest of the Senshi merely shrugged their shoulders.
00000
Ranma was waiting outside the school, sitting on a ledge. When Tarquin was a Padawan, patience was literally beat into him by his Master, but even as the amalgam of Jedi and martial artist, patience was still something he needed to learn again. He was mentally going through several Anything Goes katas while he waited for his date. Setsuna arrived after he started his fiftieth kata. "I was wondering if you were going to remember," he said.
"I had to get ready," she replied. If the Senshi were there to see what Setsuna was wearing, having been indoctrinated to her business suits or sailor fuku, they might wonder who this woman was with the green hair and crimson eyes. Even Ranma had to do a double take at first, because Tarquin's memories told the pigtailed Jedi that Setsuna rarely wore anything other than formal attire or her uniform. For their date, Setsuna was wearing a simple red halter top dress that ended just above her knees, with a matching shawl wrapped around her shoulders. And revealed plenty of perfectly tanned skin.
"I think this is the first time I've seen you in normal clothes, Setsuna. You always seem to make everything into a uniform of some sort."
"I seem to recall that you've seen me out of uniform plenty of times," the Senshi of Time teased, and was rewarded by Ranma blushing. She placed her hand against his cheek. "I'm sorry, Ranma. I'm taking advantage of you."
Ranma smiled at the emerald haired Senshi. "There's no need to apologize, Setsuna. My fat fool of a father kept me totally ignorant of everything about the opposite sex. I have Tarquin's memories on that to keep me honest." He offered his arm to his date. Setsuna accepted. "Shall we go?"
"Yes, let's." They left the school grounds, guided by Setsuna towards their restaurant.
The restaurant Setsuna had chosen was a small, intimate Italian place that had just opened, and the reviews were outstanding. Even the local Yakuza took a lesson from The Godfather, and began using it for business dealings, treating it as neutral ground. The owner, a former member of Gambino family, who was so deep in Witness Protection that the FBI lost him, took pride in that fact. The tables were far enough apart to discourage overhearing conversation, and the candlelit dining room provided enough light to see your dining companion and dinner, but not reveal who was at the table to someone looking in from outside.
As they were seated, and menus placed in front of them, Ranma looked at his date for the evening. The candlelight silhouetted Setsuna, highlighting her features. "Setsuna, do you know why I went behind the back of the Council?"
"In what way, Ranma?"
"With our relationship and the other relationships I had before you." Setsuna motioned for him to continue, after they ordered and the wine was poured. "The Council felt that love was one of those emotions that that led to the Dark Side. I'm sure they had ample reasons. But that was the new code of the Jedi. My Master followed the old code, where Jedi were allowed to have a lover, as his master had taught him, as had his master before him. He told me that a Jedi with a wife or husband was more stable, and less prone to the temptations of the Dark Side. In battle, the married Jedi knew what he was fighting for—the defense and protection of his loved ones—and was more in tune with the Force.
"According to legends, a Jedi family only grew stronger in the Force. But, at the same time, a Jedi remained humble, and didn't use his family line to secure a position on the Council, as there were no hereditary Council seats. Council seats have been always awarded by merit. Except in Anakin's case." Ranma paused as the salads were brought out, and wine glasses were refilled.
"I remember the scandal it caused when Palpatine had the council elevate Skywalker to an honorary position," Setsuna said, after taking a sip of her wine.
"Even among the Jedi, we had cause to be wary. Young Skywalker had the ear of the Chancellor," Ranma refused to call him "Emperor", "and the opposite was true as well. I firmly believe that if Palpatine hadn't such an interest in Skywalker, or we were able to rescue his mother from the Tusken Raiders, he wouldn't have fallen as quickly into Darkness." Ranma took a sip of his Chianti. "It doesn't pay to dwell on the past."
Setsuna smiled. "I have no choice in dwelling in the past. Or dwelling in the future, for that matter. I am who I am."
"I know. And I loved you for that back on Coruscant." The salad plates were cleared away, and dinner arrived. Conversation was light as Setsuna brought her old flame up to date with her life. She set her fork down. "Ranma," she said, "you realize you still have family here in Juuban."
Ranma's fork paused halfway to his mouth. He set it back down, the piece of lasagna forgotten. It was his younger, martial artist persona that answered. "Pops told me my sister and mother died during a Godzilla attack."
Setsuna arched a delicate green eyebrow at that. She always felt the Vulcan Eyebrow Raise was an effective means of conveying surprise or interest without actually showing any other emotion. "Your father lied to you, Ranma," she replied. "Your mother divorced your father, and moved you, your sister, and herself back to her family's register."
"You mean my family is still alive?"
Setsuna nodded. "And your little sister is one of your students," she said with a smirk.
"I was four when Oyaji and I left. Mako-chan was two. And that would make her..."
"A freshman in Juuban High, Ranma," Setsuna finished for him.
"Oh wow. My sister is still alive. When I find that fat fool, Genma'll...no. Revenge is a seduction of the Dark Side. I made my decision when I left that baka panda at Jusenkyo and changed my name. And I will stick by that decision. But may he never cross my path again."
oooooooooooo
Ranma sat in his apartment, meditating. Both he and Setsuna were willing to wait before bringing their relationship back up to where it had been on Coruscant. So he left her at her house with such a romantic kiss that prompted the other older Outers to interrogate the Senshi of Time about her date. He meditated on how he was going to teach the regular regimen of physical education activities, and the fact that his little sister was a student of his.
As his meditations cleared his chaotic thoughts, he was granted a Force-vision of such startling clarity, that it had to be true. Even though Master Yoda taught that the future was always in motion, the clarity of this vision showed the reborn Master that this future was virtually set in stone. A form swathed in robes was meeting with an undistinguished kendoist, in a suburban western ward of Tokyo. The form was telling the martial artist of a way that he could win his fierce tigress and beautiful, but frequently lost, redheaded goddess. The martial artist was in the act of pledging himself to the robe-covered form when the vision clouded up.
"Bastet," Ranma muttered. "I should have realized that she would follow me here. After all, she found me on Chel Nasin. I should have defeated her there, permanently. And I'm sure there's an Imperial fleet waiting for the order to attack. And this planet's defenses are nowhere near capable of defeating such an enemy."
Setsuna was watching her lover meditate through the Gates, when she heard him talking to himself. "Chel Nasin," she asked. Ever since she fled Coruscant, she had stopped watching Tarquin, knowing in her heart that she could never be with him again. Foolish girl.
"A Class M-type planet, located in the Outer Rim territories. The surface of the planet was reduced to ash and molten rock by the Imperial 33rd Battle Fleet. The firepower of the fleet was such that the crust was fractured, and turned a once fertile planet into a ball of molten rock. The destruction of the planet was done at the command of Grand Moff Tarkin, the sector governor, as an example of what happens to a planet that defies the Emperor and the New Order. Grand Moff Tarkin will eventually take command of a battlestation capable of destroying a planet in one shot." The monolith showed the planet, prior to its destruction, then the attack on the planet, and finally the aftermath of the attack, one of the few examples of the implementation of the Imperial Navy's Base Delta Zero code. The once vibrant and lush planet was turned into a molten wasteland.
"That is what we're trying to prevent here," Setsuna said quietly. "By the Goddess, I will prevent Earth's fate at the hands of the Empire."
Without prompting, the sentient monolith showed the future she was trying to prevent, again. "Pluto, this future will come to pass, so long as the Senshi are...lucky in their fights." Setsuna noted both the pause as well as sarcasm in her artifact's mental voice. "Have Tarquin, or Ranma as he is calling himself now, train the Senshi and Serenity's penguin-suited boytoy. Even if they do not have the potential to be Jedi, the training regimen that he will put them through will make them better fighters. He will teach them how to be warriors, not just little girls playing superhero. That will prevent this future from happening. Especially since magic will not work against this enemy, Guardian Pluto, as it has in the past."
The Senshi of Time sighed, and sipped from her mug of tea. "I would like to see the future, should Ranma and the Senshi win." The gate complied, and showed what would have been Crystal Tokyo in any normal timeline. Six of the eight Senshi were seated at a round table, wearing robes in their planet's color, instead of their normal sailor fuku. Serenity and Endymion were seated together. Standing off to the side of the throne room was Ranma, an insufferable smirk on his face. Next to him was the eighth Senshi, her robes almost as black as a Sith Lord's, and another cloaked figure, with their hood up. There was something about the figure that screamed female, but there were no other discernable clues. "How did Ranma get into the future? And who is that other figure?" The image changed to a hangar in the Palace, where seven starfighters, each one matching their pilot's robes, with the exception of one that looked like it was painted in Southeast Asia four-tone camouflage, although the penguin painted on the nose indicated to whom it belonged to. Sitting in the background looked like a tramp freighter from some science fiction movie.
The image of the future was replaced by an anime character; Xellos to be exact. "That, my dear Setsuna...is a secret!" The Gate chuckled as Setsuna landed on her face.
"You have way too much time on your hands," she growled, teleporting back to Earth, leaving the Gate laughing.
oooooooooooo
At the Hikawa Shrine, Rei was jolted awake by feelings of intense hatred and darkness. There were times she hated being both the Senshi of Mars and a shrine maiden because of her empathy, since she could be jolted awake by even a heated argument in front of the Shrine. And that could explain why she was always fighting with Usagi, since a lack of sleep tended to make her grumpy. She looked out her window and saw a cloaked form walk by the Shrine. As the shaped passed under the street light, Rei had to do a double take. She could have sworn she saw a cat's tail hanging under the hem of the cloak. "I really need to stop eating those pepperoni and anchovy pizzas before I go to bed," she muttered, as she tried to get back to sleep.
Ranma was leaning front of a closed shop, the hilt of his lightsaber in hand, although turned off. He looked down the road, and saw the shape coming closer. "Hello, Bastet," he said, when she got within earshot.
"Tarrquin," she growled. Normally, the Catian could keep from rolling her r's. But this was not a normal circumstance.
"Bastet," the Jedi said amicably, "I haven't seen you since Chel Nasin."
"The rresidents of the planet paid forr yourr arrogance Tarrquin with theirr lives. Moff Tarrkin orrdered Base Delta Zerro. Admirral Nelson was morre than happy to destrroy the planet."
"You always were an impatient one, Bast-chan. When you found me, I told you that the Emperor will fall. Why do you insist on supporting such a foolish old man, who's wrapped up in his deceit and lies?"
"Because he brought order to the Republic, Lim." Bastet had begun calming down again, since she was no longer rolling her r's. The Sith Lord, a fallen Jedi in her own right, had been dangerous sparring against, as she was very unpredictable, as most cats are.
"He brought only a veneer of order over a regime based on evil. The Base Delta Zero code is just one example of Palpatine's evil. Destroying a whole planet in retaliation for harboring a Jedi? That is an absurd notion, my former Padawan. Had I not taught you anything about honor, duty and loyalty?" The blue light from Ranma's lightsaber chased away the shadows around the Jedi, as he held it in a chudan-no-kamae stance. He took a deep, calming breath, and held faith that the Force would hold the Neko-ken away during this duel.
"I have my loyalty to the Emperor, Tarquin," the Sith catgirl countered. "I have a duty to the Empire." Her lightsaber ignited, a crimson blade of death reflecting in her slitted eyes. "I lost my honor the night you slept with me! Die, bastard," she hissed (AN: Perhaps our noble Jedi isn't so noble after all, ne?). Bastet charged, swinging low, as if to castrate the reborn Jedi. Ranma blocked, and launched his own counterattack. Bastet countered, and kicked her opponent, aiming for a tender piece of anatomy, when their blades locked in a tsubazeriai, hissing and squealing.
As the fighters disengaged, the fight began to resemble a kendoka facing off a western fencer, as different forms from various schools were being used. Yagyu Shinkage-ryu faced MacPherson; Ryujoji Shinkage-ryu countered Bonetti; Iaido met Flynn; Kenobi met Skywalker. Coronal flashes filled the sleepy street as azure blade clashed against crimson. Mailbox met lightsaber, and lost. Lightsaber defeated Kawasaki. Neither combatant was truly capable of defeating the other, even when adding Force-thrown objects into the fight, as both Jedi and Sith had been taught by Yoda when they were Younglings.
Bastet realized that she was deadlocked against her former master, when a portion of her cloak's overhanging sleeve separated from the rest of it. Jumping back, she pulled a canister out of an inner pocket, and with a bit of the Force, pulled the pin. She threw it towards Ranma, as the spoon flew off. Within seconds, a cloud of smoke began billowing out, as Bastet deactivated her blade, and exercised the better part of valor.
Ranma, for his sake, was caught unawares by her actions, and suffered the effects of CS gas, as his eyes began to get puffy and run, and his lungs gave him coughing fits as they tried to expel the riot control agent. He deactivated his saber and returned to his apartment, to at least try and get the stink off of him and out of his robes.