Yeah, it's been a while.  Yes, I know it sucks.  Shush.

Still don't own any of them, obviously.

***** 
All the Small Things -- Chapter 10 

"Miss Nemesis Goes to Nerima" 

By Slacker (datcord@gmail.com) 
*****

     "You know, I had expected more of a response."  Ranma idly noted,
fingers tapping the empty glass on the table in front of him.   

     Setsuna shrugged lightly and refilled Ranma's glass with tea.  "I
hadn't thought to take the Starlights into consideration.  I should
have accounted for that."

     Ranma nodded and sipped his tea slowly, making a light noise of 
pleasure.  "Well, it was a decent surprise, you know?  No parade of 
kettles and ice water, no screaming, no fainting....  Although,
I was a bit worried about Minako and Makoto.  They turned really red 
there for a few minutes.  You ever figure out why that was?"

     Setsuna eyed Ranma for a long, drawn-out moment, then continued
in the slow ritual she always followed to fill her teacup, letting
the ease of long habit take over her.  "Oh, I'm sure they were just 
feeling very warm.  Probably got too close to the fire."

     Ranma 'ahhh'd and smiled, savoring the last little drop of tea in
the cup before setting it down neatly and precisely in the center of 
its saucer.  He stood from the table and gave Setsuna a little bow.  
"I'll talk with you in the morning, all right?"

     Setsuna nodded over the rim of her cup and went back to 
contemplating the surface of her tea.  Vaguely, she followed the sound
of Ranma walking up the stairs and entering his room.  She enjoyed
the silence of the house for a few wonderful minutes, then set her 
teacup down and casually announced,

     "If you even *think* about nipping my ankle, I will kick you 
through the far wall."

     There was another moment of silence.  Then a soft, grumbled
series of complaints sounded from under Setsuna's chair and slowly
moved to the other side of the table.  The chair wiggled a bit as 
Farow's russet muzzle popped over the edge of the table, followed
by the rest of his body.  He perched delicately on the table, calmly
smoothing his tail with his tongue.  After a few minutes, he spoke,

     "Tail brush against your leg?"

     "The sandalwood shampoo Hotaru used to wash you."

     "Oh.  Figures.  So, we should talk."

     Setsuna nodded, standing from the table long enough to rinse out
the teapot and cups.  "Yes, we should."

     Farow curled up into a red ball of fur on the table, tail flicking
lightly.  "So, talked to Artemis a bit.  Says he's got a bit of a 
memory thing going on."

     Setsuna paused for a second, then carefully sank into her seat 
again.  "And how is your memory?"

     "Pristine."  The fox's voice was hard and flat.  "Seyanne,
you all ignoring Nemesis' warnings, the Palace 'incident'....
Right up to the point that Arin ripped his way out of the dungeon,
shoved me into a cryo-tube, and warned me that he was likely about to 
get killed.  So.  Why don't you fill in on what I've missed."

     Setsuna calmly shrugged and, with an idle tone, casually spoke.
"Oh, Serenity died trying to save everyone's life when Beryl led a 
revolt against her, Earth is the only planet that still contains
life, we've got your classic unknown enemy trying to kill all of us, 
likely very painfully, and lest I forget:  I don't think Nemesis really
has all his memories back, despite what he's said to me before."

     Farow twitched and pressed his muzzle into his tail, sighing
deeply.  "Great.  Just freakin' great.  And I suppose you're going to 
ask me to keep my memories to myself.  Otherwise, I might 'risk danger
to the time stream' or some crap like that?"

     Setsuna lifted an eyebrow.  "Yes.  But not for the reason you 
think.  The time stream is on its own for the next few...well,
centuries, I think.  I want you to keep them to yourself because 
they're not ready to hear them yet.  Mercury would have a nervous
breakdown if you told her about her past, for example.  And, quite 
frankly, the less they remember of *some* things, the better they'll
be.  Venus and her incidents in Court, for example."

     Farow winced, fur crawling as he shuddered lightly.  "Point.
And I suppose they're at an 'anything could trigger anything' phase?"

     Setsuna nodded and rubbed the bridge of her nose slowly as she 
answered.  "Of course.  Otherwise, it'd be too easy, right?  Part of me
really wants to give them everything back, but....  The rest of me, the
majority in fact, would prefer they not ever have to remember their
past lives.  The Phobos campaign, the Mercurian Blow-up, or the Jovian
liner incident all spring to mind.  Serenity sent them here in the 
hopes that they'd be able to escape all that and live happily this 
time.  And, frankly, some of those memories would ensure the opposite."

     Slowly, the ruddy ball of fur uncurled, hazel eyes moving to scan
over Setsuna.  "Okay.  For now, I'm agreeing with you.  Except Arin.
He needs his memories.  Those blocks, you need to take out."

     "I don't have any blocks on Arin.  I said that already, remember?
In fact, he's stated that all his memories have returned to him."  
Setsuna bluntly reminded with a small frown.  "And I think he's wrong.
I'm certain, in fact."

     Farow just groaned and dropped his head to the table, mumbling
under his breath about "things never being easy".

*****

        *thunk*  *thunk*  *thunk*  *CRACK*

        Start with a bank of soft shale or clay.  Use heavy equipment,
such as loaders and bulldozers, to break it up.  For hard shale, use 
explosives to break it up.

        *thunk*  *thunk*  *thunk*  *CRACK*

        Use conveyor belts or trucks to move the material to two 
different sets of crushers, type varying depending on the texture
of the clay or shale.  Break it down until it's no longer chunks with
these crushers.

        *thunk*  *thunk*  *thunk*  *CRACK*

        Then, extrude the clay onto another conveyor, use a wire (much
like a cheese cutter) to cut it into a rectangle, and perforate
it to help speed the drying process.

        *thunk*  *thunk*  *thunk*  *CRACK*

        After all of this, send these rectangular hunks of clay and 
shale through a kiln on a trolley car to remove the remaining moisture.
Then, load them onto a different trolley car and send them through
a baking kiln, heating them to between 1000 and 1200 degrees Celsius.

        *thunk*  *thunk*  *thunk*  *CRACK*

        After this, unload the trolley, stack the newly made bricks
into packs of three or four layers of 50 to 60 bricks apiece (called
a 'leaf'), then stack on a pallet.  Load this pallet into a delivery
truck.  Drive this delivery truck to a small dojo located in a 
prefecture of Tokyo named Nerima.  

        *thunk*  *thunk*  *thunk*  *CRACK*

        And do this entire process again in a week, after Akane Tendo
has utterly destroyed each and every brick on that pallet, three at a 
time.

        *thunk*  *thunk*  *thunk*  *CRACK*

        Akane wasn't taking Ranma's continued absence well.  And was 
taking that fact out the best way she knew how to: practice.  Which
was mostly comprised of destroying an astonishingly large amount of 
bricks on a daily basis.  And, about every hour to 45 minutes, stalking
upstairs to inquire as to Nabiki's progress on locating her wayward
fiance.

        *thunk*  *thunk*  *thunk*  *CRACK*

        Nabiki, for her part, was about two seconds from seeing if 
breaking one of those bricks over Akane's head would get her younger
sister out of her hair for a while.  The constant interruptions
were not helping her find out what the heck was going on in the least
bit.  Ranma had vanished.  Her source in Tomobiki was utterly 
gone...and had apparently never existed, from what she hearing.

        "Ukyo, are you *sure*?  No, I'm not saying you're an idiot.
Yes, I'm sure you'd do your best.  Yes, I *know* you want to find him.
I just wanted to be sure.  Nothing, then.  Checked the school records?
Asked around?  Figures.  Okay, I'll do more fact finding and let you 
know.  And do me a favor and don't get in a fight with Shampoo.  If you
two put each other into the hospital....  Yeah, yeah.  I know.  Later."

        Nabiki carefully set the phone back in the cradle, then laced
her fingers together and slowly rested her hands on her desk.  She took
a long, slow breath...and said several words that would have made her
elder sister turn a most remarkable shade of red.  This was past the 
money Cologne had slipped her.  This was personal, now.  Ranma was 
making a fool of her.  No one did that to her.  She was going to find
him or die trying.

*****

        They waited.  Silent.  Unmoving.  Emotionless.  There may have
only been a handful.  There may have been too many to count.  Really,
it didn't matter.  If they proved to be too few, more would be made.

        And they waited.  Patiently.  For the one to whom they owed 
their very being to speak.  To command.  To give the meager existence
they now possessed a purpose.  

        Their patience was infinite, for they had no concept of 
disobedience.  After all, how could you disobey when that ability
had been deliberately left out at creation?  All they knew was to obey,
utterly and completely.

        They were many and they were one.  They were different and the
same.  And they all waited, endlessly.  Crouching and standing and 
creeping and slithering by forms that were given to them by their 
maker's whims.

        Until, finally, they were rewarded by the snapping of fingers
and the voice they all knew as their maker's.

        "Go.  Harry and harass.  Wear them down for me.  Leave them 
weak.  Vulnerable.  Ready for me to pluck their meager, fragile lives
from them.  Go, my creations.  Go, and please me."

        The silence was unbroken.  The darkness was still.  Despite
that, their joy and satisfaction radiated at the chance to serve.  To 
destroy.  To kill.  All for their maker and master.

        Dark eyes watched as the room slowly emptied, in duos and trios
and groups.  Twisted, misshapen forms each finding their own ways out
to fulfill the commands they'd been given.  Harsh lips quirked just a 
bit as their bearer turned and walked away, leaving behind only the 
harsh, rough sound of cruel laughter.

*****

     "So, we havin' fun yet?"  Nemesis' voice was harsh and sarcastic,
a rough croak of sheer exhaustion.  He sank into a sitting position
on the raised edge of the rooftop the Senshi were currently perched
on.  Well, perched would perhaps be too generous a term.  With the sole
exception of Pluto, who was leaning heavily on the Time Staff, all the
Senshi were slumped on the building's dirty roof, in one way or the 
other.  Saturn was currently laying across the laps of Neptune and 
Uranus, snoring solidly and drooling on the short-haired Senshi's
thigh.  Uranus was blearily blinking at Saturn, one arm thrown around
Neptune.  Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon were curled inside his cape, and
it was a measure of Moon's weariness that she couldn't even work up 
enough energy to whine about how tired she was.  The rest of the Senshi
were faring no better.  

     It had been a very rough few weeks.  And that was putting it very,
very mildly.  It wasn't that the youma they were fighting were that 
tough.  They weren't.  And it wasn't that they always showed up in 
pairs, at the very least, either.  No.  It was that they showed up a 
LOT.  Irregularly.  Frequently.  All over the place.  The absolute
longest break in the attacks to date was a depressing eight hours.
And that was right before the most recent series of incidents.
Which had been running for a solid day and a half, now.  And had 
utterly drained the Senshi.  Tactics, shift rotation, pacing 
themselves, all had fallen to the side in the continual assaults,
until all that existed was the next set of monsters.  And the next.
And the next.  

     And now, bruised, battered, and bone-weary, they waited.  For the
next attack.  For a sign of the next attack.  For a sign they could
finally sleep.  For...anything.  

     With a loud groan, Nemesis slowly rose to his feet, joints 
sounding like a machine gun as he gradually stretched the stiffness
out of them.  "That's it.  That.  Is.  It.  Mercury...find
us a hotel.  I don't care how expensive, I don't care how cheap.  Just
find us a place we can pass out."  His face was slack with weariness
as he announced.  "If something shows up before we finish sleeping....
Someone else will have to handle it.  We have to rest."

     The absolute lack of protest at his words amply demonstrated
the Senshi's utter lack of anything resembling energy at this point.
The Senshi slowly levered, stumbled, or staggered to their feet, 
trooping gradually towards the easiest egress from the roof:  the fire
escape.  Halfway there, Moon stumbled on a stray moonbeam and just 
barely managed to catch herself with a staggering half step, frowning
a bit as a fly buzzed past her and tugged at her hair.  Behind her, a 
loud *crack* sounded, followed by a strangled grunt/exclamation
from Jupiter.  

     Brow wrinkling in a frown, the leader of the Senshi turned herself
towards the brunette, mouth opening in a question that was never asked,
as her eyes fell upon the tall girl, slumped into the arms of Venus,
a growing crimson stain spreading across her chest from the shattered
remains of the jewel the used to adorn her bow.  She started to take
a step towards her friend...and was hit by a black and silver Mack 
truck that swiftly bore her across the roof, over the street, through
the window of the building next door, and behind a large, solid-looking
desk, glove-clad hands shoving her on top of Tuxedo Mask...who
she hadn't even seen thrown over Nemesis' other shoulder.

     Sailor Moon wheezed and curled around her abused stomach on top of
her One, True Love, doing her best to remember how to breathe as she 
dimly registered Nemesis' voice above her, carrying on a shouted 
conversation in an incredibly rage-filled tone.

     "Drop that son of a bitch NOW!  No!  I don't care!  Take the whole
block, just get rid of him!"

     Coughing softly, Moon started to get to her feet...and was rudely
shoved back under the desk with a growled command, dimly registering
Tuxedo Mask's "oof!" as she landed on his stomach.

     "Stay down, my Queen.  There might be more than just that one."

     "More than one WHAT?"  She demanded, still more than a little
confused as the distinct sound of a Silence Glaive Surprise drifted
in from outside.  Nemesis paused for a second, cocking his head to 
listen to a faint yell from a surprisingly distant rooftop, nodding
as he slowly sank down to his heels. 

     "Snipers.  Or didn't you notice that someone was trying to shoot
you?"  Nemesis' voice was hard, eyes flat as he murmured softly, 
fingers pressed to the dark jewel closing the collar of his shirt.
"Okay, Jupiter's probably going to be all right.  Uniform took most of
the impact."

     "S-sniper?  Bu-but...THAT'S NOT HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK!"  Moon
indignantly declared, starting to move out from under the desk 
again...and easily being pushed right back by Nemesis.  She blinked
as a tuxedoed arm slipped around her waist, holding her in place this
time.

     "Obviously, they changed the rules on us.  Now, stay there, blast
it!"  Nemesis grumbled again, fingers gently starting to glide over 
Moon's form.  "And I'm just making sure you're not hurt, so don't get
any weird ideas about tryin' ta marry me or attackin' me for your honor
or nothin'.  Got enough of that already."

     "M-marry you?  I'm not going to marry you, I'm going to marry 
Mamo-chan!  I...."  Her voice trailed off, then asked in a low, far too
calm voice, "Nemesis?  What does 'This side towards enemy.' mean?"

     "What the hell do you mean, 'This side towards'...."  Nemesis'
voice trailed to nothingness as well, his eyes following Moon's shakily
pointing finger to the pair of small green boxes taped to the underside
of the tipped-over chair that used to be in front of the desk they were
under...and the well-concealed mates that dotted the walls, ceiling,
floors, and furniture of the room.  Succinctly, he summed things up.

     "Well...*shit*."

*****

     A half mile away, a pair of grease-painted lips tightened in a 
smirk as three stories of an office building vanished in a roiling
ball of flame and wreckage at the press of a button.  The small black
detonator was casually tossed to the ground as the man holding it 
strode easily across the rooftop to stand over the bound form of a man
in a battered centurion's uniform.

     "See, and THAT is the value of advanced planning." The man's lips
twisted in a sneer as he pulled a pistol out of its holster. "By the 
way, the boss-man gave me a message for you.  And I quote: 'Augstyn,
who served under Maximus Decimus Meridius in the Felix Legions during
the northern wars....  You're fired.'  I'm in charge now, buddy boy.
The rest of them won't last a week." 

     The man's lips finally curved into a smile as he pulled the 
pistol's trigger, laughter ringing through the air with the echo of the
shot.

*****     

        Setsuna calmly set her teacup down on the saucer, reaching
out to retrieve a cookie from the plate nearby as she firmly declared
to the assembled Senshi.

        "I *said*: 'No, we will NOT panic and call Usagi's mother.'"
Her teeth delicately nipped a piece of cookie free, using the excuse
of chewing to ignore the rather...heated stares from the Senshi ringing
her.  "And, before you ask, no.  I did not have anything to do with the
family emergency that called her away yesterday."

        Her hand shot out, one finger firmly cementing itself over 
Makoto's lips as she softly commented, eyes not meeting the taller
girl's.  "And before you scream at me, since I'm sure you want to, 
allow me to explain why I'm sitting here calmly when our Princess,
her Prince, and Nemesis vanished earlier today in a rather large 
fireball."

        She paused, eyes slipping around to meet each of the other 
girl's eyes and holding them for a brief time as she clearly and slowly
enunciated.

        "We didn't find bodies.  And if you'd think, you'd realize
you'd have felt it if the Princess had died.  And I know for a fact 
that Nemesis is still alive.  Know this:  Arin was a fairly nice guy.
Nemesis was anything but.  He was a triple-dyed, iron-clad, psychotic
son of a bitch who's only concern in the world was the continued
survival and happiness of the Queen and Princess."  Setsuna's eyes went
flat as her voice hardened, staying low and almost scarily calm.  "And
since he is still alive, I can not and will not even *entertain*
the thought that my Queen is dead.  And neither will you."  Her voice
hardened to steel as she hissed.  "Do. You. Understand. Me."

        Silently, each of the girls nodded, held captive by the iron
resolve behind Setsuna's eyes.  She jerked her head in a quick 
acceptance, then spoke in a low, flat tone.  "I don't know how.  I 
don't care how.  But I will wait here until Rei finishes her fire 
reading.  And if she can't get anything out of the fire, I will wait
here until Michiru gets something out of the mirror.  And if that 
doesn't work, I will go find a goat and knife and use some old school
methods I learned in Jamaica.  And Ami, don't ask.  Trust me."

        Whatever Ami was going to ask anyways was cut off by the sound
of the door opening, letting in a thoroughly exhausted Rei, who sank
onto a pillow with a soft groan, cradling her head in her hands weakly.
The rest of the occupants of the room rushed over to circle her, much
like sharks around something thrashing weakly and bleeding freely.
Rei eyed the rest of her team mates and tried to banish that mental
image from her tired brain as she decided to head off the questions
she could see on the tips of their tongues.

        "They're alive...somewhere.  At least Usagi and Mamoru are.  I 
don't know about Nemesis, I don't know where they are, or how, or in 
what condition, but....  I could feel their love still.  It's like a 
silver beacon glowing faintly on a far away hill.  They're alive."
Rei slowly slumped on her cushion, fingers massaging her temples slowly
as she tried to ease away the tension headache clamped around her 
brain. 

        Setsuna nodded slowly and gracefully rose to her feet, fingers
adjusting her skirt and jacket with the ease of long habit.  "Good.
Now, we need to get some sleep.  We're all still completely exhausted
and I, for one, would really, really like to pass out somewhere
comfortable, instead of on a hard, wooden floor.  Rei, could we impose
upon your hospitality and borrow your floor and a few futons?"

*****

        There are sounds that aren't heard so much as felt, deep down
in the depths of the brain, where the really primitive bits are, just
waiting for something to poke them, so they can remind you that 
sometimes, instincts ARE the best way to do things.  Sounds like 
thunder, sonic booms, and Usagi whining for that last piece of 
chocolate cake all apply to this concept.

        The Senshi were re-introduced to this class of noise via the 
way most people are:  They were woken up from a very sound sleep by it,
resulting in humorous antics for all.  And swearing from Haruka, Rei,
and (surprisingly) Michiru.  Though Michiru should be excused, as her
swearing was caused by Haruka jerking awake and elbowing her sharply
in sensitive places.

        As the mostly sleep-hazed girls attempted to figure out what
the heck was going on, the more aware of the group, specifically
Setsuna, scrambled for the door, dressed either in borrowed nightshirts
from Rei or, in the case of those who wouldn't fit into Rei's pajamas
(Makoto), their underwear.  The few girls who weren't snapped fully
awake by the body-numbing sound had what little sleepiness remained
banished by the unmistakable noises of splintering wood and falling
trees.

        Their state of dress, or lack thereof, didn't even flit through
the girl's minds as hands gripped henshin wands with well-practiced
movements as they swiftly moved towards the source of the noise, a 
stand of trees near the back of the shrine...a stand of trees that used
to be substantially larger, in fact.  

        "What the hell happened to my trees?"  Rei's enraged shout was
almost simultaneous with the sound of her transformation into a 
fighting mad Sailor Mars, her enhanced Senshi speed and strength
sending her flashing past Setsuna in a blur of red and white.  The 
viridian-haired Senshi held out a hand, waving it a bit to signal the
others to follow the miko's lead.  She carefully picked her way through
the remains of the trees, boots sounding loud as they landed on the 
splintered remnants of multiple trees.

        Silently, she edged her way around a tree, blinking as she 
caught sight of Mars' distinctive fuku, kneeling down next a blasted,
empty circle of dirt.  At least she thought it was empty until Mars 
shifted to glance behind her...and revealed the white and black clad
forms laying there, one blonde-capped head cradled in her arms.  The 
next several seconds seemed to blur for Pluto, ending with her in a 
crouch by Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, both clad in the formal clothing
of their past lives, their hands entwined tightly.  

        "What happened here?"  Mars hissed softly, eyes scanning
the area for clues swiftly.

        Pluto's lips quirked a bit as she slowly straightened
out of her crouch, leaning the Time Staff against her shoulder lightly
as she calmly responded.  "I told you Nemesis was still alive.  This
is the usual aftermath of one of his teleports."  Her eyes scanned
the destroyed bits and pieces of wood with a light snort.  "He never
was very good at the whole 'teleport without incidence' thing."

        "Uh...right."  Jupiter confusedly commented, intently watching
Mercury scan the unconscious couple with her Computer.  "So where's
Nemesis, then?"

        In answer to her question, a thunderclap sounded deeper into
the woods, followed almost simultaneously by the noise of splintering
and destroyed trees, the meaty thud of a body hitting hard dirt, and a 
rather long string of expletives bellowed in a very angry voice.  A few
seconds later, Nemesis strode into the clearing, covered in splintered
wood and debris.  The black and silver clad Senshi was not a pretty
sight.  One eye was swelled nearly shut, while the ripped and ragged
remnants of his uniform made the bruised and bleeding flesh underneath
it easily visible.  The creak of his fingers tightening inside his 
gloves into fists was clearly audible as he growled out through swollen
and split lips, "Did we win?"

        "Well....  We're all still alive and in somewhat decent 
health?"  Uranus volunteered hesitantly.

        Nemesis considered the Outer Senshi's words for a moment,
then nodded in a short, sharp jerk.  "Close enough, I guess.  Night."

        "'Night'?"  Neptune asked curiously, only to have any other
words rendered pointless as Nemesis' eyes rolled up in their sockets
and he dropped like a tree, slamming into the ground face-first
without even a twitch.  Her wince was echoed by the rest of the Senshi
as Uranus carefully moved over by the passed-out man...and nudged him
with a toe experimentally a few times.

        "Seems he never did pick up the whole 'don't faint after 
teleporting' thing, either."  Uranus sardonically drawled, with every
indication of enjoyment, before she leaned down and gathered Nemesis
into her arms with surprising carefulness, easily handling the dead 
weight.  She turned...and stopped short as Pluto silently plucked
her burden out of her arms, holding him carefully against her.

        "I'll take care of him."  Pluto narrowed her eyes in warning
at Uranus as the taller girl opened her mouth with a twinkle in her 
eyes.  "Don't even say it.  Or I will take great enjoyment in 
introducing you to whole new universes of suffering."  Her voice was 
light, airy, and so very, very serious that Uranus couldn't restrain
her shudder.  So she wisely kept her mouth shut, instead turning to 
help Jupiter carry Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask to a pair of empty 
futons in the temple.

*****

        Ranma muttered softly and flipped a page in his manga 
irritably.  From way too many youma to none at all.  Nothing for two 
weeks.  Good for relaxing...bad for adrenaline junkies.  Besides,
he was running out of manga to read.  He turned over on his bed and 
grumbled under his breath.  It felt like someone was trying to lure 
them into letting down their guard.

        *knock*  

        Ranma blinked up from his manga and flicked a glance at the 
door curiously at the rather hesitant-sounding knock.  Bending over the
tip of one page to mark his place, he sat up from his bed and called
out.

        "C'mon in, Ami.  I'm decent, I s'ppose."

        Slowly, hesitantly, the blue-haired, heavily flushed, 
schoolgirl opened the door and stepped inside, briefly letting in the
noises of Setsuna's current history lesson from downstairs before 
nervously closing the door behind her.  Amusedly, the martial artist
slash magical defender of justice (He'd be damned if he EVER declared
he was fighting for love.  He was a guy and had a reputation to uphold,
after all.) noted how she stayed right by the door, as if she was 
prepared to flee to safety at a moment's notice.

        "What's up?"  He casually inquired, leaning back against the 
wall behind his bed, fingers laced behind his head.  He attempted
not to laugh as Ami proceeded to look anywhere but at him, fingers
knotting nervously together.  At least, they were knotting whenever
they weren't plucking at her clothing or adjusting the minimalist,
understated bits of jewelry she was wearing.  His eyebrow quirked
a bit at the jewelry, cataloging it through hard-won experience
as his girl-side.  *Hmm.  Haven't seen her wearing much of that, 
really.  Makeup's new, too.  Nicely done, though.*  

        "Well, you see...that is...I....you know...when 
I'm...dreams...was I..."  Ami's face turned, if possible, an even 
brighter shade of red as she mumbled something quickly and more or less
incoherently under her breath in a rush.

        Ranma blinked.  "Err...Ami?  Did you just ask me if you're
a lesb-"

        "WAS!  NOT IS!  WAS!"  Ami yelled, then paled and squeaked
before resuming her utterly mortified expression for a few seconds,
then suddenly turning to the door in a quick, panicked movement,
fingers grabbing for the doorknob. 

     "NevermindIneedtogostudywitheveryoneelse!"

        Ranma's hand flashed over Ami's head, slapping the door closed
and holding it there with the solid immovability of a mountain.
Or a martial artist very, very skilled in using his ki to boost his own
strength.  Roughly the same thing, anyways.  His voice was soft and 
exceptionally polite as he lightly pushed Ami towards the best seat in
the room: the bed.

        "Why don't you sit down."  For all the politeness, it had the
steely undertone of a command that was meant to be obeyed, the tone 
that she normally only heard in the midst of a battle.  Silently,
she sank onto the bed, hands clasped between her knees with her eyes
locked onto them.  Her eyes stayed firmly on her fidgeting thumbs as 
Ranma grabbed a chair and swung it around in front of the bed, 
straddling it and crossing his arms along the back.

        "So, I'd be guessing you had some sort of dreams, then?"  His
voice was light as he laced his fingers and rested his chin on them.
Silently, Ami's head jerked in a quick, jerky nod.  Ranma restrained
a snicker and shook his head a bit.

        "And the dream was about...."  His voice trailed off 
expectantly, with an obvious waiting undertone.

        Ami made a strangled noise and did her best to compact herself
into an invisible ball of embarrassment on the bed, her fingers 
clutching tightly at her skirt, silently shaking her head.  Ranma 
rolled his eyes a bit.

        "Lemme guess.  Brunette, tall, extremely...curvy,
and very, very naked."  Ranma's voice was droll...as his arm flashed
out to catch the now-fleeing girl and guide her back to the bed, 
instead of to the door, where her attempt to spring up and flee was 
heading.  "Ah-ah.  No running today.  We go jogging tomorrow."
He gently pushed Ami back onto the bed.  "Though I appreciate your 
enthusiasm for exercise."

        Ami whimpered faintly and huddled on the bed, doing her best
to wish herself out of existence through sheer force of will.  Or maybe
to ignite the blanket with the heat from her face and end the horror
that way.

        Ranma rolled his eyes.  "Look, here's the thing.  I'm wondering
why you bothered to come to me, rather than Setsuna.  She IS the Senshi
of Time, etc etc etc.  So, unless you got a reason, I'm gonna go poke
her and get her in here."

        Ami sighed and slowly uncurled from her ball of embarrassment,
still not looking at Ranma as she grumbled softly.  "I did."

        "Aaaahh....  Gave you some sort of speech about how you should
let it happen and then started to babble about the sanctity of the time
stream, and how you shouldn't live in the past, and so on and so forth,
I suppose?"  Ranma wryly asked.  Ami nodded silently, with a look on 
her face that expressed her opinions on THAT option clearly.

        "Still doesn't explain why you came to me and not to, say, 
Michiru.  You know, someone with a bit of...hands-on experience."
Ranma said with a small grin, doing his best to put a suggestive
lilt to his voice.  Judging by how Ami's face became, if possible,
even redder, he seemed to have succeeded.

     Ami finally took a deep breath and swallowed shakily, biting her
lower lip as she glanced up at Ranma.  "I...just answer, please?  
Please?"

     Ranma's smile melted off his face at the naked pleading in the 
normally reserved voice and slowly nodded, glancing at the clock on the
wall as he pondered for a second.

     "Let me see if I've got this figured out right.  Basically,
you want to know if you're the same as Iria was.  Yeah?"  He waited
and got the nod he was expecting, then calmly continued.  "Well, from
what I can see....  Only in the ways that matter.  Which, I point out,
does NOT include who you find sexually attractive."

     "Wha-?"  Ami's startled question was cut off by a harsh jerk of 
Ranma's hand as he quickly stood, restlessly pacing about the room as 
he continued.

     "Look, I ain't exactly the most...elegant speaker, ya know?  Got
a bit better since I got my memories back, but I'm still pretty rough.
So this ain't gonna be all polished and stuff.  But that don't make it
any less true."  He paused briefly, glancing at her to make sure she 
was getting his drift before speaking again.  "Who you ARE, not who you
were, is the important thing.  You ain't Iria.  You ain't the Ice Queen
of Mercury.  And, dammit, you shouldn't expect yourself to be!  You're
two totally different people, god dammit!  All of you are!"  He whirled
and almost glared at the occupant of his bed, nearly snarling as he 
emphatically stated,  "Iria was, in fact, so very gay.  And, before
you even ask, yes.  She was obviously, deeply, awe-inspiringly
in love with the Senshi of Jupiter.  But you...YOU..."  His finger
jerked out in a quick, savage gesture.  "YOU are whatever YOU decide
to be.  Straight or not.  Caring or not.  You decide.  Who to love,
how to live, what to do with your life.  No one else.  And that 
especially means someone who's been dead for so long recorded history
can't even remember her existing."

     Slowly, Ranma sank back into his chair, scrubbing his face with
one hand weakly as he sighed softly.  "For what it's worth, you're
a lot like her.  In the important ways.  You care about your friends.
You're dedicated to those you care about.  Fiercely focused.  You don't
give up on the ones you love."  He met her eyes and held them for a 
long, silent moment before speaking in a near whisper.  "Those are the
important things.  Don't let the ghost of who you once were interfere
with who you can be, Ami.  Don't let the past rule your future."

     Silently, the blue-haired Senshi nodded, hesitantly standing
from the bed and giving Ranma a deep bow before silently exiting the 
room, gently closing the door behind her.  He watched the door for a 
few moments...and then smiled a bit as he went back to reading his 
manga, very pointedly ignoring the figure in black and silver who 
smirked at him as he passed the mirror.

     Outside the door, Ami stood in the hallway for a few long moments,
distantly listening to Setsuna finishing up whatever lecture she was on
currently, mulling over what Ranma had said.  One hand slowly stroked
the wood of the door as she pondered.  Ranma seemed awfully worked
up for a question that had just been sprung upon him.

        "I wonder if that was to convince me?  Or to convince himself?"
She mused to herself, turning away from the door and moving to rejoin
her friends.

*****

     "Argh.  Photons. Too loud."  Haruka grumbled out around a huge 
yawn, stumbling into the kitchen and staggering towards the coffee
maker, grabbing a mug as she passed the dish drainer.

     Ami sipped at a cup of tea politely, tapping at the keyboard
of the Computer.  "You know, it is almost noon.  Why in the world are
you still yawning?"

     Haruka took a long pull from her cup, grinning widely as she 
re-filled the almost-empty mug.  She reached over and easily poured
another cup full of hot water from the waiting heater, flipping a tea
bag into it with the ease of long practice.  "Late night."

     "What are you talking about?  We stayed over last night and you 
went to bed before I did.  You and Michi-oh."  Ami buried her 
flaming-red face in the screen of the Computer intently.  Haruka lifted
an eyebrow and snickered softly into her coffee, slipping out of the 
kitchen with the cup of tea with a smirk.  Behind her, the tapping
of Ami's typing slowly faded...and then was broken by an extremely
annoying, all too familiar beeping.

     Haruka's teeth ground together as Ami dashed out of the kitchen,
scurrying into the front room to wake up the rest of the Senshi.  Well,
there went perfect plans to laze in bed for the rest of the day.  Bah.

     Shortly, the group had been gathered about the table in the 
kitchen, blearily waking themselves up with a quick meal while Ami 
worked on narrowing down the youma signal.  Idly, Haruka tried to 
figure out just *how* Ranma was eating all that food.  He never seemed
to shove food in, but...it was vanishing from his plate faster than he
was eating it.  Weird.

     "Ah!"  Ami's pleased exclamation resulted in everyone's attention
snapping to her in a heartbeat, Ranma even pausing for a second before
finishing off the last of his breakfast.

     "Got it?"  Haruka drawled, cracking the knuckles of one hand idly,
beginning to feel the familiar tingle of anticipation that always got
her before a fight against the forces of evil.  Or a fight period,
for that matter.

     "Yes!  It's in Tokyo.  Not a big surprise there, they always seem
to appear in Tokyo.  A bit weird, that.  Anyways, I've only been able
to narrow it down to a fairly wide area.  We'll need to get closer
for me to get a precise lock."  Ami tapped at her Computer a bit more,
then nodded and closed it, slipping it into her pocket and pulling
out her henshin wand.  "Shall we?"

     "You kinda forgot to tell us where we're going, Ami dear."  Haruka
politely reminded, a teasing note to her voice as she twirled her 
henshin pen between her fingers, straightening from her leaning 
position against the counter.

     "Oh."  Ami blushed a bit and straightened her shirt a bit.  
"Sorry.  It's likely somewhere in Nerima prefecture, so-"

     *SPOOT*  "NE-*caffcaff*-RIMA?*caff*"

     "-GAH!  RANMA!"  Ami yelped, springing away from the coughing
boy as she batted at her shirt, trying to get the orange juice out of 
the now-soaked material helplessly.

     Ranma managed to bring the fit of coughing under control and 
slowly rose from his seat, one eyelid twitching a bit.  "You know, it 
just figures.  I swear ta Serenity, one day I'm gonna find the bastard
gods who like screwin' with my life and then...oh, then...."  His 
finger jerked out quickly, flicking at the Inner Senshi.  "Right.
You're staying here, just in case this is a trap or a feint or 
something.  I'll take the Outers, 'port over there, and deal with 
this."

     "What happens if you guys can't handle it by yourself, though?"
Rei inquired semi-sarcastically.

     Ranma grinned a bit.  "That's why you guys're stayin' together.
So you can teleport in and do that thing you do so well."

     "Kick youma butt!"  Makoto proclaimed loudly, holding up a 
clenched fist as a wild grin bloomed on her face.

     "Make speeches to distract them while we kick their butt."  Haruka
sing-songed sotto voce to Michiru.  The aqua-haired Senshi just barely
managed to keep her giggle in and elbowed the taller girl with a 
whispered command to be good.  Haruka just grinned in response.

     Ranma rolled his eyes and strolled out of the room, moving towards
the back yard calmly.  By the time his feet hit the grass of the yard,
he was in the black and silver of Nemesis, feeling the familiar tug of
his power, the call to his duty, the chain that was his weapon of 
choice wrapping itself around his left arm and wrist with a metallic,
joyful slither.  His eyes closed for a moment and he took a deep 
breath, head jerking to shake loose the ghost of old memories flitting
through his mind.  His eyebrows furrowed as his eyes glanced at the 
position of the sun in the sky, then fell upon a hose attached to the
faucet in the yard.

     The Outer Senshi came through the door just in time to see a 
thoroughly female Nemesis give a full body shake to shed the excess
water from her skin and clothing, one hand shutting off the hose as she
did.  She shrugged as she moved towards them, idly commenting.

     "Had to see if I was lucky enough to get the cursed locked while
transformed.  I ain't.  At least people won't recognize me.  You guys
know how to follow a teleport lead, at least?"  She paused long enough
to get nods of confirmation from the Outers, then grinned.  "Right.
Pluto will lead you in." She nodded at the viridian-haired
Senshi.  "You can guess where I'm going.  Most of the well-known
insanity was centered there, after all.  See you there."

     Pluto turned to the Outers with a calm face as Nemesis disappeared
into a shadow, almost perfectly masking the mischief in her eyes as she
instructed.  "Just follow me in.  It'll be a school roof, so don't make
yourselves *too* obvious, all right?"

*****

     Nemesis yawned and reclined in the shadow on Furinkan's roof, 
nonchalantly waiting for Neptune to finish her scrying.  

     "Nemesis.  I believe I've found him."  Neptune's voice was calm
as she called to the relaxed Senshi.  "And he's a weird one, too."

     Nemesis quirked an eyebrow and moved over to peer over the 
aqua-haired Senshi's shoulder, eying the Mirror for a few long seconds
before snorting and shaking her head.  "That's Taro.  He ain't a youma.
Just cursed."

     "What kind of curse does THAT?"  Uranus demanded incredulously,
flicking a finger at the figure in the mirror.

     "Spring of drowned yeti riding bull and carrying eel and crane.
He added the octopus tentacles later."  Nemesis said matter-of-factly,
then added.  "I can take 'im."

         Uranus opened her mouth, paused, then slowly blinked.

     "...you're serious, aren't you.  Jeez.  No wonder you don't blink
at the ridiculous crap we get."  The short-haired Senshi's voice was 
slightly dazed as she spent a few more seconds staring at the surreal
vision in the mirror.  "How the heck did you beat that thing?"

     Nemesis grinned and crossed her arms over her chest as she stated
with absolute confidence.  "I'm the best."

     Pluto cocked an eyebrow and opened her mouth to speak, only to be
cut off by Neptune clearing her throat and wordlessly pointing at her
mirror again.  Nemesis glanced quickly.

     "Akari's pet sumo pig.  Katsu-somethingorother.
Try again."

     Wordlessly, Uranus mouthed "pet sumo pig" at Pluto, who's only 
response was a silent shrug and shake of the head.  The blonde Senshi
lifted a hand to slowly massaged the bridge of her nose and mentally
revised her opinion of her (sometimes) male compatriot.  Judging from
a few of the stories he'd (She'd? Whatever.  She'd think of him as a 
"he", easier for her to keep from going totally crazy, then.  And to 
keep from noticing how she filled out the scanty uniform she was 
wearing now, what with the straps and chains and skin and bouncy,
perky-NO! Bad Haruka!  That way lies sleeping on the couch!) shared,
coupled with the history received from Pluto, added to this trip....
No wonder he had a few..."quirks".  She eyed the black and silver-clad
Senshi as he shook his head at Neptune again.  Strike that.  It's a 
wonder he wasn't totally gibbering crazy.  Her train of thought was 
derailed by an outburst from the target of her contemplation
giving a shudder and a quick, almost frantic, head shake.

     "Oh, hell no.  I mean, I'd almost think he IS some sorta demon,
but he's been around for a while."

     "Well, maybe we should investigate, then?  After all, you keep 
telling use to listen to our instincts during practice."  Pluto 
suggested, shifting her stance to prepare for a teleport.  Nemesis
shuddered mightily.  Uranus twitched and started to mumble something
about couches under her breath.  Nemesis shot her a weird look before
eying Pluto again.

     "Look, ya don't want to go near the old coot.  Trust me.  
Just...trust me."  

     Pluto cocked an eyebrow in the totally irritating manner that 
Uranus swore, SWORE, she had to practice and replied easily.  "Oh, how
bad could it be?"

     "'How bad-'!"  Nemesis gaped for a few seconds, then slowly 
grinned at the Senshi of Time.  "So....  You wearing panties under that
skirt?"

     "WHAT?  You!  Why! Wha-"  Pluto floundered for a few seconds
before her power of speech totally abandoned her, leaving her gaping
at her interrogator...much like a fish out of water, Uranus had to 
note.  She also noted that she needed to buy a good camera and always
remember it, just for moments like this...just as soon as she figured
out how to get her jaw off her boots.

     Nemesis stabbed a finger at the mirror, now being held loosely
in the shock-slackened hands of Neptune, who was doing her best fish
impression as well.  In the mirror, a stubby figure guzzled some sake
and cackled as he continued ironing something pink and wispy.

     "Because if you go within eye shot of THAT perv, you won't be any
more!  Get me?  Or anything else that might be lacy, frilly, or 
delicate!  It's his thing, and he's damn good at it.  And he's easily
a match for me, ta boot!  You want to make this a nice, quiet job?  
Then we stay the hell away from that lech!"  Nemesis pursed her lips
and just looked at the other Senshi for a moment before nodding and 
adding in a mumble.  "Besides, I don't wanna get within a mile of him
lookin' like this.  Gah."

     After a trio of shared glances, the other girls silently decided
to just agree with the currently-female Senshi...and follow up on this
later, when they were alone.  Didn't pay to leave unknowns, after all.

     "What about this one?  It's pretty much the only other weird thing
I can find around here.  We might need to move to a different area and
start again."  Neptune said in a resigned voice, tilting the mirror
towards Nemesis.  "Whatever it is, it looks very drunk."

     Nemesis blinked and peered at the mirror intently.  "Drunk?  What
the hell...."  Her voice trailed off as she stared into the clear 
surface of the mirror.  "That's not a youma."

     "Well, isn't that just perfect.  Should have brought Mercury."
Uranus groused softly, kicking at a bit of litter on the rooftop in 
frustration.  However, any further comments were stilled by Nemesis'
next words.

     "It's a full-blown demon."  Slowly, leather-cased fists curled
into tight balls of anger.  "A true, summoned demon.  Who's drunk."
The rage underlining her voice darkened as she hissed.  "You three deal
with it.  I have an idea who called it.  I'll deal with HIM."

     Uranus nodded and drew the Space Sword easily, eying the blade
from long habit.  "How do you know who summoned it?"

     A snort sounded loud in the air as Nemesis moved towards a pool
of shadows.  "You have to be pretty damn useless at it to summon up a 
demon DRUNK.  No summoner worth anything would screw up that badly."
Her lips curled in what could almost be called a smile, if it had only
shown half as many teeth.  "I only know one person who fits the bill
in Nerima."

*****

     Uranus sighed softly and watched the demon bounce off another
wall and stagger into the street.  If it wasn't drunk as a skunk, the
so-called fight between it and the three Senshi would be just about
even.  But in its condition, it was about thirty more minutes of 
steady, boring pounding from being reduced to nothing.

     She skipped off her perch in a tree and landed a ways behind the
creature, carefully pegging it with a World Shaking before hopping
to another perch.  The three were taking turns, hitting it with attack
after attack to weaken it up.  No point in exhausting themselves
for a weak threat, after all.

     She glanced over as she caught movement in the corner of her eye,
just in time to catch a lovely view of Neptune's thighs as the other
Senshi landed next to her.  A light elbow to her ribs made it clear
that her ogling hadn't gone unnoticed, either. 

     "You know, I'm not sure who designed these stupid outfits, but 
sometimes I want to kiss 'im."  Uranus' voice was decidedly lecherous
as she waggled her eyebrows at her lover with a leer on her face.  
Neptune gave a tolerant sigh and repeated her earlier rib elbowing.  

     "You be good."  The dryness in Neptune's voice made it clear how
likely she thought THAT option was.  She tensed and quickly slipped
down to the street to plant a quick Deep Submerge into the back of the
demon, setting it up for Pluto.  As she hopped back up beside her love,
she rolled her eyes at the obviousness of the ogling that resulted.
Calmly, she decided to just let her "better" half get it out of her 
system.  "I wonder how Nemesis is doing?"

     As if summoned by Neptune's comment, the Outer's communicators
crackled to life, carrying the easily recognizable (and very pissed)
voice of the aforementioned Senshi.

     "Oi!  Neptune, Uranus, you there?"

     Neptune blinked and tapped a hand to her communicator easily,
watching as Pluto started to harass the demon a bit, apparently
deliberately trying to hit specific parts on it with her Dead Screams.

     "We're here, Nemesis.  Found your target?"

     A soft growl rolled from the communicator, followed by the very
definite sounds of grinding teeth as Nemesis spit out.      

     "Yeah, I found the idiot.  Listen, aim for the sake bottle.  Idiot
somehow managed to use that as the summoning focus.  Blow it up, you 
ain't got no demon.  Got it?"

     "Got it.  Though, I have to admit, I'm almost starting to have fun
hitting this thing."

     "Just destroy it and meet me at the teleport location, awright?"
Nemesis snorted softly as she flicked off the communicator,
slowly turning to stab a finger at a very cowed Hikaru Gosunguki...who
had a very impressive black eye starting to develop around one 
eye...and a vivid red palm print on the opposite cheek.  "And you!  If
you *ever* try to summon something again, I'll come back here and break
your damn knees, you got me?"

     She paused just long enough to watch Gosunguki nod, then took a 
few slow, menacing steps closer, putting her face right into the pale
boy's and hissing softly.  "And next time you get the urge to stare
at someone's breasts, just because they're in tight leather....don't.
Just don't."

     Gosunguki squeaked and slowly cowered back against the wall, 
trying to look away from the eyes of the girl, which were filled with
iron-hard, ice-cold, blazing promises of much pain if he didn't agree.
Stupid hormones.  Stupid, stupid, STUPID hentai anime!  Must throw it 
out.  

     Nemesis gave the cringing figure in front of her the evil eye for
a few more long, horrible seconds, then nodded and took three easy 
steps to the window and out, landing softly in the alley outside it and
looking around to orient herself.  Stupid Gos.

     Now....to take care of something.  Since she was in Nerima and 
all.  The Tendo's house was only a hop, skip, and a jump 
away....literally.

******

        "So, what'd you tell them?"  Setsuna casually asked that 
evening, perching on the arm of the couch Ranma was sitting on while
watching TV.

        "Tell who what?"  

        "Ranma."  Her voice was firm.  "Please, I'm not an idiot.  You
know who.  We were in Nerima, you took a while getting back to us....
The math isn't that hard to do, when you know the numbers."

        Ranma sighed and leaned back against the couch, lacing his 
hands behind his neck.  "I didn't tell 'them' anything.  Akane and 
Nabiki both were gone.  Apparently, the Principal finally managed
to convince the school board that Hawaii was a reasonable place for a 
field trip."

        "So, basically, you're saying you weaseled out." Setsuna's
voice was disapproving as she shook her head.  "You're going to have
to tell them something eventually, you know."

        "Why?"  He snorted and lifted himself of the couch in a burst
of movement.  "None of YOU have told anyone jack!  Hell, you guys have
DIED and haven't bothered to fill people in on the truth!"

        "Yes, that's true.  But none of us have a fiance waiting for 
us, either."  Her voice was calm as she stood, moving to stand in front
of Ranma and catch his eyes with her own.  "You need to tell her, at 
least.  It's the right thing to do.  What if the worst happens, Ranma?
What if you're killed next time we fight?  What then?  Will you let her
just wonder for the rest of her life what happened to you?"

        "I...."  Ranma sighed and scrubbed at his face with one hand.
"Okay.  I ain't gonna go to Hawaii and talk to her, though.  Not with
all those strangers around."

        "Reasonable.  However, you need to do something.  Perhaps
talking to Kasumi?"

        Ranma laughed and shook his head.  "No chance of talkin' to 
Kasumi.  I learned a long time ago that I can't lie to her for shit."

        "Then why not write a letter?"  Setsuna nodded towards her open
study door.  "I'll even help you compose it.  Something nice and 
reassuring, that lets her know you haven't just vanished into thin air
for no reason."

        "I...all right.  A letter."  Ranma shrugged and followed
Setsuna into her study.  She did have a point, really.  If nothing
else, he owed certain people some sort of explanation.

*****

        Among the most hated of all the management techniques is the 
"Hurry up and wait".  There's nothing like rushing to an appointment,
only to be told you'll have to wait, since the boss has pressing
business to attend to.

        Usually, the boss would put up some sort of lie, though.  Not
just sit right in front of you in his recliner reading a newspaper,
while you stood at attention.  

        Not that the man in camo fatigues seemed to mind.  His back was
straight enough that if you compared it to a laser level, the laser
would come out wanting.  Not a twitch passed his face at the continued
slow rustling of the papers.  Every so often, he would blink, but that
was the extent of his movement...and had been for several hours.

        Finally, the paper was cast aside, joining the pile of 
discarded news to the side of the chair.  A hand reached down and 
flipped the recliner's lever, bringing its occupant back to a sitting
position.

        "So, I suppose you're wondering why I called you to see me.  Am
I correct, sir?"  The chair's occupant had a gentle, cultured voice,
which almost served to distract from the rows upon rows of sharp, 
jagged teeth his mouth contained.

        The standing man, if possible, seemed to jerk himself even 
straighter as he declared.  "Sir, I am not a 'sir', sir!  'Sir' is for
officers, sir!  I am a sergeant, sir!  Sir, I *work* for a living,
sir!"

        Fingers drummed on the arm of the chair lightly, sharp, pointed
fingernails leaving small scratches on the tough leather with each 
impact.  "Ah, yes.  How silly of me to forget.  However, on the subject
of work, it seems as though I no longer have quite as many employees
as I once did."

        "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about, sir!"  The 
man kept his face carefully neutral as the armchair's occupant slowly
stood, pulling a folder from thin air and reading from it as he, for 
lack of a better word, flowed around the room with a stride like an oil
slick spreading across the surface of an arctic wildlife refuge.

        "Dendrite appears to have eaten some sort of fish and suffered
a bad reaction to it.  Now, I've never heard of fugu before, but it 
seems poisonous."  A piece of paper fluttered to the ground.  "Arthur
slipped off a subway platform just as the train was arriving.  My, 
that's quite a mess."  Another piece of paper joined the first.  
"Myan-myan appeared to have sunk into a deep depression while thinking
about the cousins Sailor V killed and committed suicide.  I can tell,
because she left a nicely typed note that said so."  A third paper 
slipped to the ground.  "And William and Henry, despite seeming to 
loathe each other even more than I loathe those Senshi, were apparently
carrying on a torrid secret love affair.  Sadly, they appear to have
died when their 'personal massager' somehow fell into the tub they were
sharing."  Two more pieces of paper fluttered to the floor, followed
by quite a number of polaroids.  "Quite an interesting position they
were attempting at the time, I note.  I seem to recall something
of an intense hatred between you three.  Of course, that surely is a 
coincidence."

        There was a long, tense silence before the single remaining
piece of paper was lifted from the folder and held in front of the 
standing man's face.  "Which just leaves...you.  Somehow, in under two
weeks, all of my generals, except one, have had...accidents.
I know they must be accidents, since I explicitly forbid any kind of 
in-fighting among them.  Seems a bit strange, doesn't it?"

        "Sir!  An unexplainable series of tragedies, sir!  I feel 
sorrow at the loss of each and every one of them, sir!"

        "You know, sergeant, there are ways to end a sentence besides
an exclamation point."  The voice was dry as its bearer returned
to his previous seat, dropping the folder to the side as he did.  "Now.
We both know I have no proof that those were anything but accidents.
Otherwise, you'd already be screaming and begging me to kill you.  I 
suppose I should have seen something like this coming, really.  I do 
trust, however, that you will remember the reason I kept you from dying
on that battlefield, yes?  You have Senshi to kill and a very powerful
magic weapon to acquire, sergeant.  Get to it."

        "Sir, yes, sir!"  One arm flashed in a crisp salute that was 
held as the man slowly vanished, like a mirage on a hot day.

        A sigh slowly echoed through the room, one hand waving absently
at the scattered papers and folders, making them vanish.  "And after
I went through all that trouble to recruit those idiots, too.  Ah, 
well.  Saves me the trouble of having to remove them once I'd won, I 
suppose.  Once the Senshi finish the job, I suppose I'll have to get 
involved."

        A slow laugh sounded, rippling and building in the dark space.
"Oh, and what fun we will have then...." 

To be continued.... 
*****

Well, this only took...uh...way too long.  Yeah.

Shaddup.  At least I finished it, right?

Anyways.  I'm sure the Ami/Ranma bit doesn't come off quite right, 
but.... I like it anyways, so I'm keeping it in.  That's because I'm
stubborn!

This is mostly to let people know I'm still alive and working on 
things.  

Ja Ne!
Slacker