Time Enough For Love
A Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon, Tenchi crossover
by Drake

disclaimer: Ranma 1/2, Tenchi, and Sailor Moon characters aren't mine.
Pity, isn't it?

Prologue: Time and time again...


        :Not as far off as you'd wish. The Gate of Time.:


        Sailor Pluto watched, sobbing incoherently, tears streaming from
her eyes, as the Moon Kingdom was destroyed. She'd failed her queen,
and failed her friends. Again. The invaders couldn't reach her in the
Gate of Time, and she couldn't reach them, because she'd destroyed the
exit on the material plane of existence. But she could watch.

        The Jurai Empire had already fallen. The Emperor Tenchi and the
Emperor-Goddess Tsunami had fought the invaders, and died, along with
the Emperor's consorts Ryoko and Ayeka. Washu was in a position much
like hers. Perhaps the greatest scientist in the universe would come up
with a method to destroy the invaders, but it would be too late for
Washu's friends. It would be far too late for Setsuna's friends and the
Moon Kingdom as well.

        She watched her friends Michiru and Haruka try to hold them off.
The Outers were far stronger now than they'd ever been on Earth, but the
invaders were unstoppable. The talismans her friends carried were
absorbed by the aliens, and used to produce more soldiers. But worse...

        "Hotaru..." Setsuna sobbed. She'd warned all of them, but she'd
actually begged Hotaru to stand with Serenity on the moon. Hotaru was
like the daughter she had never had. Watching her die...

        Sailor Pluto watched. She watched her friends die, and watched
as the aliens went on for Earth and Crystal Tokyo. She watched as the
senshi put up a valiant but ultimately futile defense. She saw Serenity
use the Silver Crystal, and saw it's power finally fail against an enemy
that did not understand the concepts of love or justice.

        They were the K'tee. Energy beings that absorbed any form of
energy used against them and used that energy to reproduce. They might
not be unstoppable, but Setsuna Meiou, the last Sailor Pluto, had been
combatting them ever since they'd destroyed her friends the first time.
Despite everything she'd tried, she'd failed repeatedly, and watched the
K'tee destroy her friends and the galaxy four separate times.

        She wanted to stand with her friends, but her powers were
dwarfed by Serenity's. In the end, she would only die, and with Sailor
Pluto's death the death of the galaxy would be final and complete.

        Sailor Pluto watched her life end again. She could have gone
mad. She could have given up. Instead she went off and collapsed on her
bed into a troubled sleep, haunted by nightmares of friends she'd
failed. In the end, she knew she'd try until she succeeded, died, or
went insane. Setsuna Meiou had to admit her sanity was a little unsure
at this point...

***************************************


        :The Restaraunt at the End of the Universe. Guess when?:


        Alchohol is a terrible way to forget your problems. Sailor Pluto
was well aware of this, but she slammed down yet another Pan-Galactic
Gargleblaster nonetheless. She had an eternity to mourn her friends, but
she'd been through the experience enough times that she intended to get
back to work as soon as possible. Sailor Pluto knew damn well she'd go
insane if she didn't manage to work out her feelings though. That's why
she was getting drunk.

        "Mind if I sit down?" A male voice inquired. Setsuna blinked,
peering over at the voice.

        'A Mazoku. Probably drawn by my negative emotions. Handsome,
though. Lustrous purple hair and a delicate face. Pretty lavender eyes.
Looks unutterably smug. Probably a complete bastard.'

        "Sure, go ahead." Setsuna replied, peering around. "Hey,
bartender! Get me something with alcohol in it. What's your name,
cutie?"

        "Xellos." The purple-haired man replied, easing down ihto the
barstool next to her. "You look a little depressed. Care to tell me
about it?"

        Sailor Pluto nearly sneered. 'He's trying to get me to dwell on
my bad memories so he can feed off my depression.'  Still, she had no
one else to talk to, and the Mazoku was willing to listen.




        Setsuna cried, and Xellos' superior grin was a bit tattered. He
had to admit, watching your friends die over and over was a little
extreme. Not that he had friends. Still, making a human watch their
friends die over and over was the sort of pointlessly cruel thing only
Phibrizzio would find funny...

        Xellos scratched his head. "So basically, you set up this
enormous star empire ruled by a divine Empress and superpowered Emperor,
and they still weren't good enough allies to beat the K'tee?"

        "Yeah." the green-haired senshi mumbled, sniffling a little,
peering deeply into her drink. The bartender had refused to serve her
another Pan-Galactic Gargleblaster, so it was only a glass of vodka.

        "But both the Jurai Empire and the Moon Kingdom were pretty
sedate places, right? The rulers were considered more or less
omnipotent, and they were both pretty peaceful, so they never worried
about invaders, and never really went out looking for threats." Xellos
said, a rather disgusted expression on his face. He was sure he'd have
hated both of those places and their rulers.

        "Yeah." Setsuna mumbled. She tossed back the glass of vodka,
spilling part of it on her fuku. The vodka slid off and dripped down
onto the floor. Senshi fukus were waterproof, tearproof, bulletproof...
well, maybe not that.

        "Well the solution to your problem is obvious. You need a more
chaotic element in place, one that can respond to sudden threats or
problems. Preferably the ruler of some nation or race, and I suppose
you'd want a human." Xellos said, shrugging.

        'Actually, what would happen if I made Lina the ruler of some
kingdom?' Xellos mused to himself. 'That could be pretty funny. Filia
would have a heart attack.'

        Setsuna actually looked over at Xellos. "That's actually not a
bad idea. Not the sort of thing I'd ordinarily try, but not bad. Say,
what exactly are you doing here anyways?"

        Xellos grinned 'That's my exit cue.'

        He held up one finger in front of his lips and prepared to
teleport. "That's a secr.. UURrrk!"

        His teleport had been blocked. The green-haired girl currently
had one hand firmly gripping his testicles. Normally, that wouldn't be a
problem, since his physical form was only a sort of puppet. The girl
could cause him pain but not actually kill him. The staff she had
suddenly produced and leveled in front of his face that was humming with
magical and temporal energies was slightly more worrisome. The fact
that he couldn't seem to leave his physical form was also a little
disturbing.

        "What exactly are you doing?" Xellos growled, a bit painedly.

        The woman with green hair glared at him. He hadn't noticed
before, but her eyes were a startling blood-red color. It actually made
her look a little intimidating. She almost resembled a Mazoku at the
moment...

        "You were about to leave." Setsuna snarled. "I've made an art
out of exit lines myself, and I know damn well you were about to leave.
That is not going to happen. I came here to get drunk and either destroy
something or get laid. It could still go either way."

        Xellos blinked. He'd had sex with humans before, but few of them
were emanating rage and depression at the levels this woman was. Usually
it had been fairly routine. He had to admit, however, that he actually
found this human somewhat attractive. To his surprise, he decided he
actually WANTED to have sex with her.

        Xellos' grin returned at full force. "I never could refuse a
lady."




        Setsuna woke up alone on the bed in one of the thousands of
rooms above the restaraunt. She hadn't wanted to take Xellos to the Gate
of Time, and he hadn't wanted to bring her wherever it was he lived. The
sex had been pretty good, but now she felt tired and used. As expected.

        'Half the reason it was good is because I still hated his guts.
Because I knew he was just using me, and I was just using him. Mazoku
love that, even though they can't love anyone.'

        She willed the change, and was soon clad in her immaculate fuku,
spotlessly clean. In a bizarre sort of way Setsuna hated the fukus. They
were always perfect, and they kept you perfect. Like a well-tuned
machine. The last thing Setsuna wanted to feel like was a machine.

        Sailor Pluto got up, groaning a bit as her head began to pound.
She picked up the phone on the end table near the bed, punching the
buttom marked 'Room Service'. "Hello? Room service?"

        "Ya? What you want?"

        "Iced tea, donuts, and the nastiest hangover cure you can find."

        "Okay. Ten minutes."

        Sailor Pluto looked around the room, and saw something she would
never have expected. A note from Xellos. It was lying on a thick black
book, on the end table at the other side of the bed. She picked up the
note.

        You would have made a good Mazoku, if you understood chaos
        a bit better.
        Do yourself a favor and give up on a fixed future.
        Humans have enough trouble just trying to survive.
        Here's something to remember me by.
        -Xellos

        The green-haired senshi raised an eyebrow, then looked down at
the book. 'He must be an unusual Mazoku, to say the least.'

        'A Compilation of Chaotic Nexuses and Their Respective
Attributes, by L.' the title proclaimed in bold silver lettering. A gold
cloth book mark was inserted halfway through the book.

        Setsuna flipped the book open to the page marked. 'Chaotic
Nexuses of Earth1a, Japan, Greater Tokyo Area. Timeline 01270013a.
Twentieth Century.' She rubbed her eyes, and, ignoring the pounding
behind her temples, started to read...



        Setsuna sighed as she sipped her iced tea and chewed on a donut.
The problem with most Chaotic Nexuses was that they didn't survive
childhood. Even those who survived lived a... difficult life. Those who
lived usually ended up acquiring keen survival instincts. Sailor Pluto
needed far more than that, though. The person she chose had to be
honorable and compassionate, and have the capability to acquire
significant personal power. More importantly, the person she chose had
to have an innate charisma, a quality that drew people to them. After
significant study, she'd decided it would also be best if the person
lived at around the same time as the Sailor Scouts.

        "Ranma Saotome." the green-haired senshi muttered. If she didn't
interfere, he'd end up commiting suicide a few years after the divorce
from his first marriage. His wife, Akane Tendo, loved him but ended up
blaming Ranma when the constant chaos in his life failed to end after
their marriage. The book had put it a bit more cynically than that, but
that was to be expected. Sailor Pluto wasn't sure who had written it,
but they probably weren't too sympathetic to human foibles.

        Ranma Saotome had significant power as a first-class martial
artist. His potential was even more impressive. He lived at the same
time as the Sailor Scouts. He had a certain charisma that did draw
people to him, although he'd need Sailor Pluto's help to become a true
leader. Most importantly, he was honorable and compassionate, although
he hid the latter quality most of the time. The only significant
problem was that he gained a great deal of power after what was
enigmatically referred to as 'The Phoenix Mountain Incident' in the
book, but that he married his fiance only a few months afterward. She'd
have to intervene somewhere between those two events.

        Sailor Pluto's face was grim as she stared at the name. Making a
Chaotic Nexus into some sort of leader would be tough. Persuading him
not to marry the woman he loved would be even more difficult. Doing it
without utterly screwing up the future would be nearly impossible, and
she'd have to supervise a large part of Ranma's life to get anywhere
near the future she wanted, since strange events would keep happening
around him as long as he lived.

        Usagi had forgiven Sailor Pluto for making her into Serenity.
Humanity's survival had depended on that transformation, but only
Serenity and Setsuna had really understood everything that Usagi had
given up. If Ranma blamed her for everything he had to endure, Setsuna
Meiou probably wouldn't survive to witness the galaxy's destruction
again.

        Which suited her just fine.

        'Prepare yourself, Ranma Saotome.' Setsuna thought to herself.
'Your future is coming for you.'