Paragon
A Sailor Moon / Ranma 1/2 fanfiction
by Robert Haynie
####
Prologue:
It was done.
The cats had been sealed, and sent into orbit around the Earth,
where eventually they would land, to be awakened when the time was
right.
As many souls as possible had been sent into the future, to be
reborn in a happier time, hopefully without conflict.
Not that Serenity, the queen of the Silver Millennium,
actually believed that for a moment as she lay dying amidst the
wreckage of her palace. Darkness would arrive again. She had not
been able to destroy Metalliaia or Beryl, only seal them away...
and there were other dangers out there, and she feared that they too
would come.
Ginzoushou. Broken into seven parts, to seal the Shadows
away... even if it was reformed, would it be enough?
Her daughter... such potential... but still...
She lay dying, and despaired.
And then, in her last moments, a shadow fell across her face,
and she saw a man. Someone she had never seen before, but somehow
his presence comforted her.
"Do not fear, Serenity. There are other powers."
And Serenity let go, with a smile on her lips...
####
He sat under the bridge that he favored when he was feeling
unusually depressed. Recently, for Ranma Saotome, that was happening
a lot lately.
Stupid wedding. That was hell.
Stupid Amazons and their stupid laws.
Stupid Ucch-- Ukyo. He'd expected better of her.
Stupid Nabiki, inviting all those loons.
Stupid Pops, attacking that cask of Nannichuan.
Stupid Happosai, DRINKING the damn thing, thinking it was sake.
Stupid... curse.
Maybe not everything came down to the curse, but enough did.
Only person right now that he wasn't calling stupid was Akane.
It was something of a shock to him that she'd actually wanted to get
married.
Ranma was normally not the type to use a Shi Shi Hokodan.
Right now, the bridge was in serious danger.
"This can't be right."
Depressed or not, Ranma's reflexes and reactions were still
about the sharpest around. He leapt to his feet, spun, and faced--
A six year old boy.
"You're supposed to be-- hmm. You ARE Ranma Saotome, right?"
"Look, kid, I ain't in the mood--"
"Why aren't you a girl? The Paragon is supposed to be a girl,
you know. No, wait, you wouldn't know. Excuse me, mind if I take
a look at your soul?"
"What?"
"Arigato. Won't take a moment."
Then the kid stuck his head inside Ranma.
Now, Ranma was no stranger to weird things happening. Frankly,
he was more a stranger to NORMAL thing happening. But this was so
insanely weird that he froze in shock.
The kid pulled his head out from Ranma's abdomen, and nodded.
"Hmm... you're both. That could be useful. And you're definitely
the Paragon after all. Wanna help save the world?"
"Huh?"
"I'm not allowed to explain right now. But... look, you want
a way to control your curse? I can give it to you. But you have to
help save the world."
"A... a cure?"
"Not a cure, a control. It won't be a curse any more. It'll
be something else. But you have to promise. You have to help save
the world."
Ranma paused. Something told him that accepting would be a
mistake. Something else told him that refusing would be a bigger
one.
"Deal."
The boy smiled. "Okay! Now, put this on, and wait for the
rabbit."
"What? Rabbit? And what's that thing?"
Said thing was a sort of pendant, with a five pointed star of
crystal inside a simple gold circle.
"It's the Paragon Amulet. Never take it off. Actually,
you won't be able to take it off. If you take it, you can't go back.
Last chance to back out."
Ranma paused.
And then he took the amulet, and put it on. "Now what?"
The boy smiled again. Then he produced a bucket from apparently
nowhere (not an unusual act in Nerima, really) and splashed Ranma.
"HEY! What did you... do... that... I'm... I'm still a guy?"
"Cold water isn't a problem for you any more, Ranma."
"I'm... I'm cured! Never gonna be a girl again! Never gonna
be a girl again! Never gonna be a girl again!" The no longer
aquatransexual began to fairly caper in joy.
"I didn't say that. But you'll understand in time."
"Never gonna be-- what did you say?" But the boy had vanished.
No longer depressed, Ranma decided to forget about it and
started to dance home.
####
A man stood staring into a pool of water. "THAT'S your choice
for the Paragon?"
The boy shrugged. "A mighty warrior, a heroic soul, and a girl.
When he'll need to be. Star's already on the way to his house. And
he's meant for this, I can tell."
"His life is a constant pattern of chaos! He's got a pack of
loons chasing him, who either want to kill him or marry him! His
father's a moron, his mother's a loon, and he attracts trouble like
a cake attracts ants!"
"And he's still sane, still noble at heart, still a gentle soul
and a brave fighter."
"You're right. He's perfect. And the Amulet is already
adapting to him. This is likely to be the strongest Paragon ever."
The boy smiled. "Am I ever wrong?"
The man sighed. "Just once, I almost wish you would be..."
####
"So... this world has a Senshi."
"My lord, it may have more than one. And there are other
sources of power that we can't define."
"But you're certain that the StarGem is here?"
"Yes. It will try to mask itself by hiding in the soul of one
of the humans of this world. We can determine possible candidates,
but we can't be certain which one until we find the right one."
"Problematical..."
"Yes. We can't be certain who carries it, there are probably
multiple Senshi, and other opponents. Then again, we have our
Ur-golems, and our Ur-demons. Ur-golems can distract any senshi
that pop up, while the Ur-Demons seek the StarGem. I don't think
it will be that difficult after all."
"Then go. Find the StarGem, my key to immortality and
omnipotence."
"As you command."
####
In the room of Ranma Saotome, a gray rabbit with a white
star-shaped patch of fur on his haunch sat on his futon, wriggled
his amazingly cute nose, twitched a whisker adorably, and sighed.
The door opened, and Ranma entered. He'd gotten back to a empty
house, which was unusual. Then he stared at the rabbit.
And the rabbit said, "Hi! I'm Star, your advisor. I'm supposed
to teach you how to be the Paragon. Funny, you don't LOOK like a
girl."
Ranma fainted.
####
End prologue...
A Sailor Moon / Ranma 1/2 fanfiction
by Robert Haynie
####
Prologue:
It was done.
The cats had been sealed, and sent into orbit around the Earth,
where eventually they would land, to be awakened when the time was
right.
As many souls as possible had been sent into the future, to be
reborn in a happier time, hopefully without conflict.
Not that Serenity, the queen of the Silver Millennium,
actually believed that for a moment as she lay dying amidst the
wreckage of her palace. Darkness would arrive again. She had not
been able to destroy Metalliaia or Beryl, only seal them away...
and there were other dangers out there, and she feared that they too
would come.
Ginzoushou. Broken into seven parts, to seal the Shadows
away... even if it was reformed, would it be enough?
Her daughter... such potential... but still...
She lay dying, and despaired.
And then, in her last moments, a shadow fell across her face,
and she saw a man. Someone she had never seen before, but somehow
his presence comforted her.
"Do not fear, Serenity. There are other powers."
And Serenity let go, with a smile on her lips...
####
He sat under the bridge that he favored when he was feeling
unusually depressed. Recently, for Ranma Saotome, that was happening
a lot lately.
Stupid wedding. That was hell.
Stupid Amazons and their stupid laws.
Stupid Ucch-- Ukyo. He'd expected better of her.
Stupid Nabiki, inviting all those loons.
Stupid Pops, attacking that cask of Nannichuan.
Stupid Happosai, DRINKING the damn thing, thinking it was sake.
Stupid... curse.
Maybe not everything came down to the curse, but enough did.
Only person right now that he wasn't calling stupid was Akane.
It was something of a shock to him that she'd actually wanted to get
married.
Ranma was normally not the type to use a Shi Shi Hokodan.
Right now, the bridge was in serious danger.
"This can't be right."
Depressed or not, Ranma's reflexes and reactions were still
about the sharpest around. He leapt to his feet, spun, and faced--
A six year old boy.
"You're supposed to be-- hmm. You ARE Ranma Saotome, right?"
"Look, kid, I ain't in the mood--"
"Why aren't you a girl? The Paragon is supposed to be a girl,
you know. No, wait, you wouldn't know. Excuse me, mind if I take
a look at your soul?"
"What?"
"Arigato. Won't take a moment."
Then the kid stuck his head inside Ranma.
Now, Ranma was no stranger to weird things happening. Frankly,
he was more a stranger to NORMAL thing happening. But this was so
insanely weird that he froze in shock.
The kid pulled his head out from Ranma's abdomen, and nodded.
"Hmm... you're both. That could be useful. And you're definitely
the Paragon after all. Wanna help save the world?"
"Huh?"
"I'm not allowed to explain right now. But... look, you want
a way to control your curse? I can give it to you. But you have to
help save the world."
"A... a cure?"
"Not a cure, a control. It won't be a curse any more. It'll
be something else. But you have to promise. You have to help save
the world."
Ranma paused. Something told him that accepting would be a
mistake. Something else told him that refusing would be a bigger
one.
"Deal."
The boy smiled. "Okay! Now, put this on, and wait for the
rabbit."
"What? Rabbit? And what's that thing?"
Said thing was a sort of pendant, with a five pointed star of
crystal inside a simple gold circle.
"It's the Paragon Amulet. Never take it off. Actually,
you won't be able to take it off. If you take it, you can't go back.
Last chance to back out."
Ranma paused.
And then he took the amulet, and put it on. "Now what?"
The boy smiled again. Then he produced a bucket from apparently
nowhere (not an unusual act in Nerima, really) and splashed Ranma.
"HEY! What did you... do... that... I'm... I'm still a guy?"
"Cold water isn't a problem for you any more, Ranma."
"I'm... I'm cured! Never gonna be a girl again! Never gonna
be a girl again! Never gonna be a girl again!" The no longer
aquatransexual began to fairly caper in joy.
"I didn't say that. But you'll understand in time."
"Never gonna be-- what did you say?" But the boy had vanished.
No longer depressed, Ranma decided to forget about it and
started to dance home.
####
A man stood staring into a pool of water. "THAT'S your choice
for the Paragon?"
The boy shrugged. "A mighty warrior, a heroic soul, and a girl.
When he'll need to be. Star's already on the way to his house. And
he's meant for this, I can tell."
"His life is a constant pattern of chaos! He's got a pack of
loons chasing him, who either want to kill him or marry him! His
father's a moron, his mother's a loon, and he attracts trouble like
a cake attracts ants!"
"And he's still sane, still noble at heart, still a gentle soul
and a brave fighter."
"You're right. He's perfect. And the Amulet is already
adapting to him. This is likely to be the strongest Paragon ever."
The boy smiled. "Am I ever wrong?"
The man sighed. "Just once, I almost wish you would be..."
####
"So... this world has a Senshi."
"My lord, it may have more than one. And there are other
sources of power that we can't define."
"But you're certain that the StarGem is here?"
"Yes. It will try to mask itself by hiding in the soul of one
of the humans of this world. We can determine possible candidates,
but we can't be certain which one until we find the right one."
"Problematical..."
"Yes. We can't be certain who carries it, there are probably
multiple Senshi, and other opponents. Then again, we have our
Ur-golems, and our Ur-demons. Ur-golems can distract any senshi
that pop up, while the Ur-Demons seek the StarGem. I don't think
it will be that difficult after all."
"Then go. Find the StarGem, my key to immortality and
omnipotence."
"As you command."
####
In the room of Ranma Saotome, a gray rabbit with a white
star-shaped patch of fur on his haunch sat on his futon, wriggled
his amazingly cute nose, twitched a whisker adorably, and sighed.
The door opened, and Ranma entered. He'd gotten back to a empty
house, which was unusual. Then he stared at the rabbit.
And the rabbit said, "Hi! I'm Star, your advisor. I'm supposed
to teach you how to be the Paragon. Funny, you don't LOOK like a
girl."
Ranma fainted.
####
End prologue...