3:

"And that's why we need you," Ranma said after Sheila finished.

Calyx blinked. "Huh? I don't see how that follows. This sounds like 
single combat, and --"

"First technique of Musabetsu Kakuto," he interrupted smoothly. "If 
the rules favor the other guy, change the rules. And right now, 
following the rules is like bringin' fists to a gunfight, instead of 
riggin' up the place to explode while a hundred miles away."

"I thought you were just supposed to stay out of gunfights," Calyx 
replied.

He stared at her as though she were speaking in tongues.

"Never mind."

"Dad ... there's something I've been wondering since you and I first 
heard this story." Hima looked positively grim. "You don't seem 
surprised by any of this. And you said that the Queen had told you 
things that made you sure Sheila was telling the truth. I'd like to 
hear what you know about all this."

Ranma sighed deeply. "I don't *know* anything, not for sure. But I'll 
tell you what I was told. This ... mess didn't start a few decades 
ago. It goes back to the twentieth century, and maybe even further. 
This ain't the first time there's been a school here on this land."

Calyx twitched involuntarily.


"Back in the Silicon Age, it was a place called Ohtori Gakuen. I 
dunno much about it; the only thing that matters, I guess, was that 
it was home to a secret society that apparently engaged in elaborate 
duellin' contests to gain the power `to bring the world revolution'. 
Ominous, no?"

"How does `our side' know about this?" Sheila asked quietly.

"An informer. Apparently, the game ended very abruptly, and some 
years after one of its veterans gave the Crystal Tokyo Society the 
scoop about it in exchange for some assistance. The Society sent a 
few agents to look into it, but they all came back empty-handed. 
After an earthquake in the early twenty-first century wrecked the 
place, nobody gave it a lot of thought.

"Fast forward up to 2986, a little while after the Black Moon Crisis. 
Most of Crystal Tokyo got reconstructed pretty quickly after peace 
broke out, but the University was still wrecked. I guess it was 
outside the area of effect for ... anyway, shortly afterwards the 
city council was contacted by a group of educators and entrepreneurs 
who proposed to build a new, huge educational complex just outside of 
CT limits. 

"Everything proceeded in a fairly normal manner after that, although 
you'd think that someone in the cabinet might've recognized where the 
place was being built. But they didn't. What with one thing and 
another the Crystal Tokyo Academy opened up its doors in 2996."

Ranma began to rub his nose as he spoke, and with a start Calyx 
realized that he was genuinely uncomfortable giving long explanations 
like this. Considering some aspects of his legend, she could 
understand why.

"This part comes direct from Serenity. She was asked to cut the 
ribbon at the opening ceremonies, but when she was about to step 
across the threshold after doin' it ...

"I've known the woman for over a thousand years. As far as I know, 
she knows no fear. So when she tells me that she felt a surge of 
terror running up her spine when she began to take that step, I'm 
inclined to believe her."

"Did she know what was making her afraid?" Hima asked.

"She told me she wasn't sure at the time, but a few investigations by 
the other senshi confirmed that because of some sort of field around 
the place, any being of power -- like the Senshi, or a god or goddess 
-- that stepped across the line would have its abilities and maybe 
mind enslaved to whatever made its home here. So they --"

"What about you?" Calyx interrupted.

"What about me?" Ranma retorted evenly.

"You've got power," she pressed. "Why aren't you under this vaguely 
-defined thing's control?"

"I could," he said slowly, "give you a long lecture on how ki and 
magic are totally different from one another, but you probably know 
that's shit. There's really only one reason that hasn't happened."

And in his grey eyes, she saw something smoldering. "I obey no laws 
but my own," he said in a voice that was almost a hiss.

Silence ensued.

"Anyway," Ranma continued in a more normal voice, "the Senshi -- 
Jupiter in particular -- sent in a few non-powered agents to 
investigate. At first their reports seemed fairly mundane, but 
gradually they stopped comin' in at all. This Academy has eaten about 
twenty of Jupiter's top agents; you can guess how she felt about 
Sheila and Athena takin' positions here.

"We needed jobs," Sheila muttered. "My stipend as a Palladin isn't 
enough for both of us to live on, and Athena had enough of that sort 
of thing when she was her world's Sailor Mercury. And besides," she 
added with some heat, "none of us knew any of this."

"Wait -- back up a second," Hima interjected. "You're Sailor Erinyes, 
and Athena *was* Sailor Mercury ... so why aren't the two of you 
affected by this, this field or zone or whatever?"

"Athena was Sailor Mercury, but she's not anymore. There are 
differences between the magic on her world and ours; she has some 
limited talents involving ice and cold, but they'll never be the 
equal of what Aunt Amy can do. As for me ... there are barriers 
between my magical identity and my mundane one, barriers which the 
Senshi tore down in their own minds a long time ago. I think that as 
long as I don't transform, I should be all right. But ---"

Intuition surged through Calyx's mind. "But you think your enemy is 
going to try to force you to transform, and then he'll have you right 
where he wants you."

Sheila stared at her wordlessly for a moment, then nodded shortly.

"I told you she was sharp," Hima said with quiet pride.

"So here's the situation," Ranma concluded. "Someone has taken Athena 
Mizuno-Tenkai as a hostage. We're going to go and rescue her by any 
means necessary. Are you in or are you out?"

"In," Calyx said immediately. "Kidnappers aren't any better than 
murderers or rapists in my book. And I can think of a couple other 
people who might be willing to help --"

"Hold it," Ranma snapped, holding up a hand. "Anyone else we recruit 
might be a part of the enemy's group."

"For all you know, so could I." Calyx smiled as she saw her words 
strike home. "Besides, I thought an old guy like you would know that 
you're supposed to have at least five heroes for end of the world 
stuff."

                               TBC