The characters contained within this story are owned by Takahashi 
Rumiko or Takeuchi Naoko. No infringement of copyright is intended. 
This work to be distributed for free, unchanged, crediting the current 
author.

This is a crossover between Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon. To make the two 
stories fit together the way I wanted, I needed to shuffle the dates at 
which a few things occur within the main timeline of Sailor Moon. I bow 
my head in shame: please forgive. We also have guest appearances by 
Slayers and 3x3 Eyes.

Die hard fans of Ranma may also notice a very subtle change to it's 
story timeline...

This story is dedicated to the number 668 (the neighbour of the beast).


Visit my website at
dzillman@ozemail.com.au
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~dzillman/fire

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                         | Destiny's Child |
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What has gone before:
While on a training trip with his father, Ranma fell into the spring of 
the drowned young girl. Unfortunately, his curse can only be changed 
back with _very_ hot water, which means he spends most of the time in 
his cursed form. Not only that, but since the spring was drowned young 
girl, he turns into a 12 year old girl who never ages.

Through almost four hundred years of history, Ranma has endured. He has 
been a husband to Akane and a second mother to children in the 
Joketsuzoku. From monk to revolutionary, Ranma has travelled much of 
Asia and Europe. At long last he has returned to Japan. While Ranma's 
curse is being cured by the spirit woman called Mistress 9, he attempts 
to fit into modern society, learning Shinto from a certain temple 
maiden. Unfortunately, he now also has to contend with a roving pig-
demon called Ryoga who he seems to have slighted some time in the 
past...


-----------------------------
If We Are Three, Who Is Four? 
-----------------------------

After avoiding her for days, Haruka had finally summoned up the courage 
to speak to Michiru again. She knew what she feared, and it was not the 
fighting which came with being a Sailor Senshi. What she really feared 
was losing the one person in the world that really mattered. 

It had taken her a long time to come to the conclusion, but she had 
realised that the person that she truly cared for was Michiru, and she 
wanted nothing, her work, her destiny or some long dead kingdom to come 
between them. 

It was then that she realised just what she would need to do to ensure 
that Michiru was safe. Everyone in Tokyo had seen the Sailor Senshi in 
action, and she knew of the superhuman feats which they performed. The 
only way that she could possibly help her friend in such a situation 
was to be with her, to be by her side in battle. To become one of the 
Sailor Senshi. 

Even as she had shuddered at the idea, she realised that for one dream 
to live, another must die. For her to be with Michiru, and to be one of 
the Sailors, she must give up racing. The career which she had 
dedicated her life to was too public, and too dangerous to sit well 
with a long term relationship. Speeding around the track at hundreds of 
kilometres per hour was exhilarating, but the risks became to high when 
you considered that it was no longer just yourself the would be hurt in 
an accident. 

With firm resolve she had tendered her resignation to head of her pit 
crew. 'Tendered her resignation', such a neat way of saying it, and it 
carried so little of the real effort or pain involved. When she first 
told him, he did not believe her, and why would he? Haruka had 
dedicated all of her young life to becoming the paramount racer of her 
age, she had defeated trials and hardship to be where she was, why 
would she throw it all away?

Trying to answer that question was one of the hardest things she had 
ever done. Here was a friend who had been there for her most of her 
life, and had given her so many of the opportunities she desired. Now 
she was casting them aside. Her first tries at explaining the situation 
had failed, being to 
obviously fabricated, or too shallow to account for her change in 
motivation.

She had been spared more difficult explanations by the sudden arrivals 
of a Daimon and Sailor Neptune. The battle had been short enough - and 
more exhilarating than cornering at 250kph with no brakes - and by the 
end of it, Sailor Uranus stood beside Sailor Neptune. 

They had almost saved him too. The Daimon had extracted his heart 
crystal, and while they had been fighting, the evil witch Kaolinite had 
taken it. A person's heart crystal was almost a physical manifestation 
of the link between a person's soul, and their body. When they had the 
witch surrounded, she had crushed the heart crystal, dropping the 
shards and powder to the ground. In their panic to save the man, 
Kaolinite had escaped.

That had been two days ago, and now Haruka stood holding Michiru's hand 
as the looked at the fresh grave. Setsuna was behind them, and waited 
quietly until the two of them turned away and walked down the hill to 
Haruka's car. 

"Have you been able to find out anything more about why the witch 
wanted the heart crystal?"

Setsuna shook her head and let her long dark green hair hide her face. 
People might think she was cold, possibly callous even, but she felt 
the suffering of those around her. She understood what it was like to 
see a friend die, she had seen too many die since the fall of the Moon 
Kingdom. Forcing iron into her voice, Setsuna answered in an even tone. 

"No, not yet. There is more I can do, but I will need to be away for a 
while. Do you two think you can handle yourselves for a week or two?"

That might have been a head nodding, or it might have been swaying from 
inertia. There was no need to take the corner that fast, but Setsuna 
expected Haruka just wanted to get home quickly. As she watched the 
street that Michiru lived on whiz past, she wondered if they were 
stopping there, or just going past. Yes, they were stopping, they were 
stopping very quickly. My, what good brakes this car has. I must 
remember to wear a seat belt next time.

Michiru was about to step out of the car when Haruka turned around and 
placed a hand on her arm, looking at the older woman in the back seat. 
Haruka had been quiet all day, and now it looked like she was ready to 
talk. "Setsuna. I've got a question for you. Every one knows the Sailor 
Senshi, right?"

"Yes, the Inner Senshi."

"And we're the Senshi for planets at the edge of the system."

"Yes, the Outer Senshi. The Inner Senshi are there to defend the 
Kingdom against attack from within, they are also the last line of 
defence for the Princess or Queen. We on the other hand are the 
Kingdom's defenders against external threat. If someone wants to hurt 
our Kingdom or the people we protect, they have to go through us 
first."

"Now my astronomy might be a little rusty, but I seem to remember the 

planet Saturn sitting somewhere between Jupiter and Uranus. Does it 
have a Senshi? And when will she awake? Is she an Inner or an Outer? I 
think were going to need all the help we can get for this."

Setsuna bowed her head briefly. It was good to know the girls she would 
be working with could use their brains as well as their magic. "You're 
entirely correct. There was a Sailor Saturn. Maybe there will be again.
"Sailor Saturn holds a special place in the history of the Sailor 
Senshi. She is the Senshi of creation and destruction, and she is 
arguably the most powerful Senshi in existence."

Michiru looked confused and furrowed her brow in a cute little frown. 
"I don't understand."

"Sailor Saturn is a special case. All of the other Senshi live and die 
in service to the Kingdom. They have normal lives and are normal 
people. Sailor Saturn is special. She only awakens when there is a 
great need for her. At a time when the Kingdom is in it's darkest hour, 
Sailor Saturn shall awaken. This tends to give the poor girl a most 
unfortunate reputation, being associated with all of that danger.
"However, it can be a reputation that is deserved. Sailor Saturn is 
extremely powerful, possibly more powerful than Sailor Moon or Queen 
Serenity herself."

"But if she's so powerful, why would people be afraid of her? Can't she 
just toss whoever is attacking right back where they came from?"

"People are afraid for good reason. Tell me this, who is more powerful: 
Sailor Moon, who can bring someone back from the dead, or Sailor 
Saturn, who can destroy the world?"

Looking them in the eye, Setsuna continued without giving them a chance 
to answer. "Sailor Moon might have the power for it, but there is no 
way she could even think about trying to do something like that. Sailor 
Saturn not only can do it, she would do it if that is what she thought 
was needed.
"Sailor Saturn is like a sleeping guard dog: she can defeat most 
intruders if she wakes up, but you have to pray that she never turns on 
her friends either through intent or ignorance. I suggest you do not 
wish Sailor Saturn is here to help us. Wishes like that have a nasty 
tendency to come true."

Somewhere, hidden deep inside, Setsuna chuckled. She knew Saturn would 
awaken, it was her destiny... it was all a matter of time.

---
End of Chapter