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Thanks too all you reviewers out there.

Chapter 15 – Jail Time

Sailor Moon stared at the wall of her cell. For the second time in as many minutes she pulled her tiara off her head and made as if to throw it as the wall. “Sailor Moon!”

The voice of Mercury stopped her and she said, “Come on can’t we just leave? We can just destroy the walls and get out of here any time we like,” her voice took on a whining pitch as she said, “Why can’t we?”

A female voice from down the cell block said, “Because that might establish guilt.”

All of the sailors in the jail looked towards the woman and Jupiter said, “How exactly does that work miss…”

The woman walked forward. She was wearing a business suit and her green hair was perfectly coifed. “Setsuna Meioh attorney at law.”

Everyone gasped and Mercury stared at her and said, “Sailor Pluto?” Jupiter and Venus nodded in agreement.

Setsuna shrugged and said, “I am what I need to be in this situation. You girls need my assistance and I will need yours. We will discuss the relevant details later, but suffice it to say you must heed my advice and it must be done quickly.”

Moon said, “Very well how can you help us Meioh-san?”

“I can get you off, you just need to officially accept me as your legal counsel and we will reach a judge and tell him that it was all a mistake, an accident, you never intended to harm the innocent Ranma Hitoshirenu, but her amazing martial arts prowess made you believe she was corrupted by one of those droids that has been attacking recently.”

Jupiter said, “Oh when I get my hands on her!”

“Please, not now we can’t have any of that, not even in private. You must at least pretend to treat her with the utmost respect. Anything else and you could be declared criminals and treated as such.”

The girls agreed and Setsuna had them released from their cells and brought them in front of the judge. When asked where their families were and about their family names Setsuna Said, “Sir, due to the circumstances involved here I believe it would be dangerous to release that information to you. Already they have numerous enemies and thousands of fans.”

The judge seemed to think and then he said, “You make a very good point, but what about this attack on an innocent civilian?”

Setsuna replied, “It was of course a dreadful mistake, one that they will ensure will not happen again.”

“Is that right Miss Moon?”

“Yes, sir it was just a bad mistake. We thought she was one of the droids that have been attacking the town recently.”

A guard in the back of the court house said, “Hey! He has a tape recorder!”

There was a commotion surrounding a young almost non-descript man. The guard hit him in the chest and a crack of breaking plastic could be heard. The man started to run, but a guard grabbed his Jacket. He nimbly twisted out of the jacket and then he ran out the door.

When the commotion ceased the Judge rubbed his temples and said, “Three weeks of community service for two hours every day and I remand you into the custody of your guardians.”

Setsuna said, “Thank you sir.”

“Yes, yes, just send them to their parents and get them out of my courtroom,” he banged a gavel down and said, “Dismissed!”

Setsuna and the senshi left the courtroom and the green haired girl quickly brought them to a bathroom where she teleported them to the Gates of Time. They arrived in the white mist and suddenly Mercury gasped. The group looked at her and then at where she was pointing. The silver arch that once made the beautiful gates was showing cracks and strange circuitry was crackling with magical power. Setsuna said, “That’s not right we should have arrived hours ago.” Even so she quickly transformed and dashed over to the device. Sailor Pluto streamed magical energy into the gates and they slowly started to repair themselves. As that happened the green haired Sailor said, “Please, something is messing with the time stream and we have arrived here later than we should have, now come over here and help me.”

The scouts came closer and Pluto struggled to say, “Quickly, send your power into the gates.” The scouts followed her orders and sent their own powers into the ancient artifact. As they did so an immense power thrummed through the room. Setsuna shouted, “Paradox wave incoming! Everyone hold your positions!”

A wave of power crashed through the gates and into everyone there; a sizzling chaotic power that was barely stemmed. When it was over all of the scouts present were strewn about the gates unconscious.

Neherenia walked out of the airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil and immediately hired a guide to take her into the Amazon rain forest. After almost a day of travel she told the man to stop and wait for her where he was. The man tried to convince her of the dangers involved, but she just waved some extra money at him and he relented.

The brush became thick and hard to walk through and so Neherenia accessed her cat transformation and was suddenly making much better time through the thick growth. Some more time passed and she found herself staring at a large mirror with shiny golden metal sides.

Neherenia transformed back into her human guise and stared at the mirror. “What am I to do with you? The future that I am from has already changed and yet here you are waiting to be freed in a few more years. I can’t let that happen you know, I can’t allow you to try and take Pegasus and the golden crystal,” Neherenia paused and said, “For all I know that’s not even possible though is it? The one called Dark Lady would have to change radically for that to happen and who knows what will occur in the next few days.”

Neherenia sighed and then touched the mirror. She watched as her duplicate stepped out haughty and filled with evil. The woman stared at her and gasped, “Who are you that you would dare to put on my face? Do you not know who I am? I am Queen Neherenia!”

Neherenia stared at the woman and almost cried. “I was once like you. I was once just like you are, but that has all been changed.”

The other stared at her and said, “Pah, I do not believe you. I can feel that you are weak. Your level of magical power is lower than mine and it seems that you are relying on some other strange power to aid you. Tel me the truth now girl who are you?”

Neherenia stared at her old self once again and then she allowed her transformation to start partway and then stopped it giving her cat ears just like Ranma’s. “You can call me Miss Hitoshirenu, sister to Ranma Hitoshirenu and aide de camp to the true Avatar of Nemesis.”

The other Neherenia stared at her and said, “Well, now I know who I am about to kill,” Magical power gathered in her hand and she shot it at Miss Hitoshirenu. The bolt slammed into the cat girl and she crashed into a tree. Standing up again Miss Hitoshirenu growled and sent her own blast of dark power at the other girl.

The power was absorbed by a magical shield and Neherenia just laughed, “Is that all you have? The best that you can do?” The evil queen attacked again sending blasts of magic at the cat girl who was now dodging through the trees.

“Damn,” Neherenia cursed to herself behind some cover, “She really is more powerful than I am. I need an edge.”

A blast of power smashed through the area the cat girl had been hiding in and a voice said, “I know you’re in there little face thief. Come out and take your punishment!”

Neherenia thought some more and then an idea came to her. She shifted entirely into her cat form and walked silently through the underbrush towards the evil Queen. The queen was stomping around with magical power bright in her hands. “I tell you what little face thief. Come out and I promise to make it quick. How does that sound?”

The cat lunged at her target, Neherenia’s claws were not powered by nemesis energy or the Neko-Ken, and they were not very long, but it did not matter they were sharp and painful. She landed on her counterpart’s neck and slashed with all of her might. Blood welled up and the other woman screamed and then a blast of magic slammed into the cat. She dug her claws into soft flesh and held on with amazing tenacity. The other woman started casting another spell, but Neherenia slashed at her again and again with her claws. A bright fist full of magic descended towards her and Neherenia released her hold sliding down her enemy’s back with her claws outstretched. The woman screamed in agony and Neherenia transformed back into her human form and landed on the ground in a crouch.

He evil counterpart turned towards her with blood pouring from the wounds in her neck and started to gather bright magic into her hands. She was standing right in front of the mirror and an evil sneer was on the woman’s face as she said, “Now you die!”

Neherenia watched the magic gather and smiled she had been waiting for just this moment it was the ultimate spell in her old repertoire and it would take precious seconds to complete. Seconds, that the cat girl was about to use to her own advantage. She rushed her opponent and slammed into a magical barrier created by the spell. She used her connection to Nemesis in order to boost her strength and pushed. The evil queen said, “You can do nothing girl. Accept your fate!”

Neherenia ignored her and pushed some more. The evil queen slid just a bit and then some more. She slid towards the mirror until one of her feet was actually inside the mirror and then Neherenia stopped pushing and slumped onto her knees panting with exertion and waiting for the inevitable.

She looked at her counterpart and saw that the spell was almost completed and fear suddenly put her back on her feet and running as far as she could. The evil queen sneered at her again and said, “You will never get far enough to escape,” and released her magic. Instead of traveling towards the cat girl the spell bolt would not leave the evil queen’s hand. Instead it released its power right where she stood.

Neherenia was on the point of collapse when she was hit by the shockwave and thrown into the air. She felt herself rise and break through tree limbs and bushes and then she felt nothing else.

She woke sometime later in her human form and in the pitch blackness of a night in the Amazon jungle. There were itches over every single part of her body and, when she tried to stand, she found that her right knee would not support her weight. She fumbled in the darkness and found a broken limb under her. She used the limb and part of her shirt to bind her knee and then she stood up. She bent down and grabbed another broken limb and used it as a walking stick, and then she limped towards the battle ground.

She arrived in a circle of complete destruction, trees, plants, and animals were all crushed and ripped apart. The ground itself seemed to be missing a layer of soil and in the center of the clearing stood a large and beautiful mirror completely untouched by the devastation.

Neherenia walked towards the mirror and looked in it. There she saw her own reflection and something else. On the other side of the mirror there was a single foot sitting inside the mirror with blood welling from the place it had been severed. She stared at that foot and at her own reflection saying, “Well looks like we were right. Nemesis really does make you immune to paradox.”

Neherenia then stared at her reflection and said, “I suppose it’s also a good thing that we were also right about trying to cast magic while in two separate dimensions at the same time.”

Neherenia paused for a moment and said, “I suppose I should stop talking to my reflection now and get this over with.” She stepped inside the mirror and a few moments later she came out again holding four balls each one about the size of a billiard ball. She set each one of them down next to the mirror and then put both hands on the large thing. As she did that she felt the tormented souls of her people. Those souls were trapped in a prison she had created for them and screaming for release. In a soft voice she said, “My Lemures, my people. I have a one last act as your Queen and it is to give you your freedom. Go, find your celestial homes and be at peace.”

Neherenia then traced a single symbol on the mirror and it cracked. From the crack hundreds upon hundreds of souls floated away and the mirror faded leaving Neherenia holding onto its metal sides and staring at the clearing beyond. She pulled on those metal sides and they broke releasing a last piece of magic directly into the former Queen. She sighed, dropped the now useless pieces of scrap metal and gathered up the four balls again, then she walked away hardly even noticing that her knee was healed.

Neherenia arrived back at where the vehicle should have been and found that it was gone. She sighed and said, “I guess I’ll walk.” Some more hours of walking found her in a small village and she was able to rest there.

She woke the next morning and felt her full powers once again inside her. So, instead of another long journey on the brutal Brazilian roads, she gathered her belongings and cast a spell that took her immediately to Tokyo.

Neherenia groggily wandered through her room and fell asleep. She woke from the short nap and started dinner. It was late in the night when Ranma arrived. The red haired girl enveloped her in a hug and said, “I’m glad to see you.”

Neherenia nodded and said, “What happened er yesterday?”

Ranma smiled and said, “It’s been at least three days, but I managed to gather who we need and my Gymnastics team and I have been practicing. Plus the competition against Hebereke went flawlessly without their star…. I’ll tell you more about it in the morning.”

A very exhausted Neherenia allowed Ranma to bring her to her bed and she fell asleep immediately. She began to have bad dreams about her past, but suddenly three shimmering forms hovered around her. The dreams quieted down and the three spirits spoke softly, “Sleep well Neherenia Hitoshirenu, we your loyal servants shall protect your dreams.”

Neherenia woke up early the next morning feeling refreshed and relaxed. Ranma smiled at her sister and served her some breakfast. Neherenia ate heartily and said, “I have the items we will need Ranma. Who do you wish to give them to?”

“I’m not sure; let me tell you what happened recently and we can go from there.”

Author’s Notes: The rewrite has changed it so that there is no specific timeline given for Wiseman’s plans. This gives Neherenia more than enough time to complete her mission and some time for Ranma and his team to practice. It also shuts down the silly idea that Wiseman would provide a location or decent timeline to his enemy, maybe he hasn’t read the 100 things I’d do as evil overlord list, but he’s not that stupid…