Crossover Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Path of Chaos: Ascension of Supremacy ❯ Chapter 01 ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

PATH OF CHAOS

- Lord Rance

Disclaimer: "If the Pen is mightier than the Sword, then why the heck
did we invent the Sword then?! Stab everyone in the eye with a Pen
then!"

Author Notes: Some scenes are... well... hmmm... forget it.

======================================================================== ==
CHAPTER 1 - WHAT THE HECK IS A 'RANMA'?!
======================================================================== ==

Dr. Gero, the former Red Ribbon Army's resident mad doctor, finally finished the construction of his latest weapons of doom. Of course, his mad anger directed to the one called Son Goku. He smirked as he gazed upon the huge human sized tubes filled with sustenance liquid.

As he peered in one circular window, a shoulder lengthed black haired humanoid was floating inside it. Outside the tube, the label 'Number 17' was visible. The tube was among the others lined up in a row.

The doctor walked up to the last tube. His unfinished creation, the one he dubbed, 'Ultimate Cyborg Cell' was still in an infantile size. The small green thing that floats inside the semi-clear liquid was growing slowly, faster than the normal rate. Dr. Gero rubbed his hands together as he prepared to inject some blood samples he collected from the most powerful beings in the universe.

First, he injected the one labeled, 'Piccolo DNA' and watched as the fetus flinch when the needle came into contact. He smirked as the blood was accepted quickly. He designed the android to fully accept the DNAs and assimilate them to itself without any problems. Next was 'Tenshinhan DNA', followed by 'Krillin DNA', 'Yamcha DNA', 'Chou-Tzu DNA', then 'Vegeta DNA'.

He paused dramatically as he stared at the last tube of blood. It is labeled 'Son Goku DNA'. He cackled as he threw his head back in his mad fits of laughter, his chuckles heard inside the damp laboratory of his. He then prepared for the final phase. Just as he was about to press for the assimilation process, a bright light suddenly appeared above him. He gazed at it as the light slowly compressed, a hole of some sort appeared above the test tube. The hole spit out something, then closed up almost as immediately as it appeared. The object bashed through the tube of the still developing android, smashing the tube with a loud crash. Tendrils of electricity arcs against the broken glass surface which engulfed the boy. With a scream, the boy's body lurched as electricity coursed into his body, threatening to disembowel him. A burnt smell wafted through the air.

Dr. Gero finally recovered from his shock and stomped towards the individual. "WHO ARE YOU???" He demanded loudly. Now that the boy stopped moving, he got a good glimpse at him. He saw that he is no more than 18 years old, with a good build and a curious looking pigtail that stuck out at the back of his head. Dr. Gero then saw that the boy stopped convulsing and slowly sat up. As he was shaking the cobwebs off his head, his face contorted into pain. Dr. Gero's gaze rested on the boy's back, seeing a frantic movement from the upper part of the boy's pants. With a soft rip, a red furry tail sprang forth from the hole created in the pants.

The boy absentmindedly rubbed his appendage, but it seemed that he didn't notice the added part on his anatomy just yet. He glared at the fuming doctor, shouting, "What the hell?? That hurts ya know?!" He angrily patted himself, causing smoke to rise from his slightly burnt shirt.

"Where the hell did you come from, boy? You just appeared out of
nowhere in my lab!"

The boy angrily stood up. "I'm not a BOY! And that doesn't give
you any right to stick me with needles ya know!"

"Grrrr! Insolent boy! Android 17 and 19! Activate and get rid of
this nuisance!" The doctor angrily flipped a switch on a remote control
that he kept inside his lab coat.

With a loud hissing sound, two of the tubes opened and out came
a huge fat humanoid with white skin wearing an ancient chinese-style
turban, and a somewhat teenaged-looking male humanoid with shoulder
lengthed black hair with a red bandana wrapped around the collar of his
neck. According to the labels on their tubes, they are Andriods 19 and
17 respectively.

"Something bothering you, doc?" the black haired humanoid said
with a bored expression.

Dr. Gero pointed at the intruder. "17! I order you to destroy
this good for nothing human that wrecked my greatest creation!"

The android named 17 shrugged and lifted his hand. He lined his
palm towards the boy with a slight smile on his face. "Sorry kid..." he
sighed, "Doc's orders... no offense."

The boy flinched. "Hey... now what did I---" then with a boom, a
huge blast of energy slammed against his chest that came from the
outstretched palm of 17. The boy's body flew and slammed hard against
the cold metallic wall of the lab, a huge metal crushing sound was heard
followed by huge falling rocks that covered up the huge hole on the
wall.

The fat android, probably the one named 19, smiled slightly as
the dust cleared. The whole area was silent for a while. The doctor then
snorted, saying, "Hmph! That takes care of that! Now... where was I when
I was rudely interrupted?" He turned towards the broken tube, shaking
his head grimly, grumbling to himself.

17 sighed and cracked his knuckles. He smirked evilly, saying,
"Heheh... that was fun." Suddenly, his smirk faded as his sensors picked
up a huge energy build up somewhere in the lab. It seemed that 19 also
detected the same power fluctuation and was looking around frantically.
Their sensors zeroed in on the newly built hole that 17 has conveniently
created. Dr. Gero stopped from his musings when he felt his androids
fall silent all of the sudden. He turned to them and saw that they were
looking at the hole intensely.

"What is it, 17?" the doctor asked.

"A power fluctuation... coming from there..." 17 pointed to the
hole. As he said that, the lab vibrated slightly. A huge explosion
erupted from the hole. 17 and 19 appeared in front of the doctor to
protect him from the sharp rocks that flew everywhere. When the dust
settled, the debris around the hole was cleared, and the boy stood in
front of the hole, inspecting his body.

The doctor gaped momentarily. "Wha..? How is that possible? That
blast should've... oh no..." he muttered as he looked at the rising pile
of debris.

"My shirt! This is a new one too! Kasumi is NOT gonna be happy
with this!" the boy muttered to himself as he looked at the hole that
was sported on his shirt's front area. "Dammit! Now I'm DEFINITELY
PISSED!" he angrily shouted. The boy glared at the sweating doctor and
the two unmoved androids. "You... IDIOTS!" he growled as he powered up.
Whisps of golden aura erupted around his body, momentarily bathing him.
His whole body tightened as the power surrounded him, the whole ground
shook and pieces of rocks started to float around. His pigtail and red
tail stood up on one end.

Dr. Gero sweated and slowly backed away. 17 and 19's heads
twitched suddenly as they measured the boy's power level.

"Damn..." 17 muttered as he shook his head, "The sensors shorted
out..."

The nervous doctor glanced at 17. "Wha-what? It should be able
to take huge amounts of energy!"

17 eyed the VERY angry teenager in front of him. "W-well... it
would seem that this boy has a LOT of power in him."

Turning his head towards the boy, Dr. Gero muttered in
resignation, "Oh shit..."

Ranma felt his aura change drastically. He felt new raw energy
that he never had course through his body. But at this moment he
would've cared less. First, he was attacked when he was jogging
peacefully, then he was blasted by some unknown artifact from the
perverted freak, then now his shirt was ruined because some IDIOTS were
trigger happy in their attacks! He slowly lifted his hands and cupped
them in front of him as he pointed them towards the cowering forms of
the androids and that loud old fart.

He felt a huge power build up in front of his outstretched palms
which was a lot more powerful than his normal attacks. He then smiled as
he thought of a name for the attack. He shouted, "SHIN MOKO
TAKABISHA!!!"

The former (but still mad) doctor just cringed as everything
turned white...

=========================================================================== ==

Son Goku, champion of Earth against the forces of evil, suddenly
stumbled while sparring with his son, Gohan and his friends. At the same
time, Krillin, Tenshinhan, the future Trunks, Yamcha and Chou-Tzu
stopped abruptly, looking up to the direction of the huge energy
signature.

"Wow... that's one very pissed guy..." Goku said to no one in
particular, while the others nodded in agreement. Goku turned to his
friends and nodded. They all started floating up to the sky and flew
towards the energy.

Piccolo, the green skinned Namek was high above the temple of
Kami meditating when he suddenly fell back down the temple floor. He
shakily stood up and looked at the new young Kami wide-eyed. Dende, the
new Kami, was standing close to the temple edge loooking down on Earth.
He looked back at Piccolo, saying, "T-there's a huge power surge from
those mountains..." he pointed towards the source, "And it is one
POWERFUL surge... the owner is not evil, though right now he is angry at
something or someone..." Piccolo just nodded and flew quickly towards
the power source.

Dende sighed and looked at Mr. Popo, saying, "I just hope they
don't piss the guy some more..." Mr. Popo just chuckled.

Vegeta's senses flared and threatened to dampen him as he felt
the sudden burst of power nearby. <Damn it... this power... it's a
Saiyajin!>. He quickly stepped to the console of the training room in
Capsule Corps. and turned the gravity back to normal. Hurrying towards
the exit, he almost ran over Bulma, who was carrying Chibi Trunks.

"Vegeta!" The metallic blue-haired woman berated him, "You have
to be careful where you are going! You almost bowled Trunks over!"

Vegeta passed by her. "I have no time to quarrel with you,
onna!" he grumbled back as he hurried to the exit and flew. Bulma just
looked at the exit and shook her head, saying, "Of all people... why did
I choose him?"

All of the Earth's protectors, affectionally called the 'Z
Soldiers' converged at one point on the sky. Two full-blooded
Saiyanjins, Two half-blooded Saiyajins, one Namekkan and four humans
just looked at one another in curiousity as they all felt the power
flare up higher and higher. They dreaded that this is another invasion
attack from beings that have so much power.

=========================================================================== ==

The mountain area where Dr. Gero hid his laboratory suddenly
exploded with great intensity. A huge mushroom cloud of fire became
visible to the eyes of the incoming warriors. They suddenly sped up,
hoping that no one was injured or far worse, dead. They hovered above
the smoking crater, dodging outgoing projectiles that were thrown out
carelessly by the powerful explosion. Pieces of machinery and glass flew
out of the smoke. They gaped at the large crater that was once a huge
range of mountainous terrain. Nothing was left from the explosion. It
was then that they spotted a dot in the middle of the crater.

Ranma opened his eyes and squinted as sunlight temporarily
blinded him. Somehow, that huge burst of ki didn't drain him as much as
he thought it would, considering the huge amount of energy that he let
out. He then looked around and scratched the back of his head almost
apologetically, seeing the destruction his little stunt has caused. He
then slumped back and sat on the ground, crossing his arms across his
chest as he tried to assess what happened.

"Okay..." he muttered, as he gasped for breath, "That was a wee
bit much..."

Up from above, Goku and Vegeta's eyes widened as the dust
cleared up. They saw a humanoid being with something stuck at the lower
back of its body. The others were also rendered speechless as they saw
what Goku and Vegeta were looking at. In the middle of the crater stood
a being, with a tail resembling a Saiyajin. But there was something
different...

Goku turned to Vegeta, saying, "Another Saiyajin! But something
is weird about him though..."

Vegeta shook his head. "Are you dumb, Kakaroto? Can't you see
that it is different from a normal Saiyajin?"

Gohan pulled on the sleeve of Goku, his father, "What do you
mean, papa?"

Vegeta snorted at Gohan. "Can't you see? Normal Saiyajins have
brown tail, while that guy..."

"He has a red tail." Goku finished.

Piccolo shivered momentarily. "His power is immense. He isn't
even straining at all! It seems that he has trained extensively for
fighting."

Krillin sighed softly. "So what are we gonna do about him?" He
pointed at the guy below them as the guy in question sat down and
crossed his arms across his chest. It seems that the guy is at a loss of
what to do.

Goku scratched his head. "He's not attacking or destroying
anyone though..."

"But he is STILL a threat... not to mention his power levels are
kind of erratic!" Vegeta growled.

Ranma has his eyes closed as he thought of what to do next. Now
that he concentrated, he felt some presences above him. He opened his
eyes and looked up, seeing several powerful fighters in heated debate.
He stood up and addressed to the crowd above him. "A-no... hello there!
Do you mind telling me where I am?"

Goku heard the boy below them call out. He looked at the boy and
felt no evil intentions in him. "You know guys, I think I'm gonna talk
to him. Stay here and keep your guards up." he said, and with that he
flew down towards the boy, while the others kept back and watched.

Ranma smiled as he saw one of the men float down towards him. He
has a very weird hairdo, all spiky and stuff. He wondered whether this
man has taken a liking of hair gels or something. He was also trying to
understand how he could fly in the first place. Noting some ki
displacements around his feet, Ranma understood that the guy could fly
by means of pushing the ki to a downward push. Ranma's smile grew as he
understood the concept of flying. (His learning curve is drastically
higher than most fighters. Ranma is a genius... he is able to comprehend
and assimilate things that he sees in his style of combat almost
immediately.)

Goku saw the boy smile at him. When he touched down the ground,
he examined the boy up close. Aside from the tail, he obviously is just
a boy. He also noted that the presence of a Saiyajin Module is absent.
It would mean that this Saiyajin has been here for a long time. He then
smiled and waved at the boy. "Hello! My name is Son Goku!"

Ranma pulled on his pigtail, saying, "Uhm... my name is Saotome
Ranma. I'm kinda lost. You see I was wondering if you could tell me
where I am right now..."

"You're in Japan right now! By the way, can I ask what a
Saiyajin like you doing here?" Goku arched his eyebrow when he saw the
blank look on the boy's face.

"Eh? What are ya talkin' 'bout?" Ranma asked loudly.

Goku pointed at Ranma's tail. "Ano... according to your tail,
you are Saiyajin. You don't know what you are?"

Ranma looked at the area where Goku pointed. His face blanched
when he saw something protruding his backside. "What the heck is this?!"
Ranma was sure that he never had a tail. Tail? Clenching his teeth Ranma
slowly reached back behind him and found something red and furry that
kinda complimented the red sleeveless shirt he has on his body. <Oh no,
oh no, oh please god no.> Ever so slowly Ranma brought the furry
appendage around to the front. Yep, sure enough, it was a furry red
tail, a big thick one at that. For some reason, he could squirm it about
subconsciously, making it look like a gigantic red earthworm trying to
escape his hands.

Goku gaped at Ranma. "You mean, you didn't know you are a
Saiyajin?!"

Ranma looked at Goku, his hand still clutching his tail. "What
the heck is a Saiyajin?!"

Goku shook his head. "Well, for one thing they are from another
world. I am a Saiyajin you see... and some of my friends are also
Saiyajins. Our home planet Vegeta-sei was destroyed years ago, so it
means that we are the only Saiyajins left throughout the universe. But
it is really weird... most Saiyajins I know have brown tails, but you
have red tail..."

Ranma tried pulling his tail out but to no avail. "I am human! I
was pulled into this world by some unknown artifact! Then I appeared in
that lab of some sort... electricuted and... oh damn. What the hell
happened in there?!"

Goku saw that Ranma is starting to panic. He raised his hand and
said, "Calm down, Ranma! We can have this sorted out. Lemme call out my
friends okay?" Goku looked up at the sky and motioned his friends that
it is safe to come down. One by one, the Z Soldiers came down and slowly
made their way towards the two.

Piccolo looked at the boy. He felt that the boy is panicking. He
looked questioningly at Goku. Goku sighed and said, "It seems Ranma here
doesn't know he is a Saiyajin now. He claims he was human and was sent
here by some unknown artifact from his world."

Vegeta snorted in disgust. "And you believe him? What if he's
saying that just to get our guards down?!"

Ranma heard Vegeta's comment. He didn't like the guy with a
weirder hairdo. He walked up to Vegeta, saying, "What did ya say? Are ya
sayin' that I'm lyin'??!"

Vegeta growled, saying, "Watch your tongue boy! I am the Prince
of the Saiyajins! You better respect me or you'll be in a world of
hurt!" The others save Ranma just groaned at Vegeta's outburst.

Ranma crossed his arms across his chest. "And who're ya to order
me aroun', short man? A prince of an extinct race can't order me
'round!"

Vegeta was angered by Ranma's counter. He cocked his fist back
and landed a strong punch on Ranma's face. A loud crack was heard,
followed by Vegeta's scream of pain. Everyone gasped as Vegeta's hand
snapped at the force of the punch that HE did. Ranma just chuckled,
saying, "Boy, you're really weak..."

Vegeta couldn't think of a retort as he fell down on one knee,
cradling his broken fist. Everyone rounded up at Ranma and immediately
began to introduce themselves. After a series of introductions, Piccolo
finally asked what everyone wanted to know. "So Ranma, how did you get
here?" the Namek asked.

Ranma sighed and shook his head slowly. "I was back at home when
I got into this fight with a perverted freak. He got angry when I beat
him up, and used an artifact of some sort. I saw a bright light then
when I finally got out of that one, I landed into a lab or somethin'.
Got the shock of my life when I fell into some liquid and some live
wire. The guy in white coat was cackling 'bout his experiments or
something. Some guy named 17 blasted me and burned my clothes," he then
pointed at a hole on his shirt, "and I kinda got angry at him. I sorta
blasted everythin' up... then here I am."

Trunks blanched at the name Ranma mentioned. "17? The android
17?! He blasted you?" Everyone gasped at Trunks' comment and stared at
Ranma.

Ranm scratched the back of his head, saying, "Well... I dunno
'bout the android thing, but 17 is his name definitely. Has shoulder
length hair with a very annoying cold attitude."

Trunks grabbed Ranma's shoulders and shook him. "You mean you
battled the androids and destroyed them?!"

Ranma began to get nervous at the looks of the group. "Uhm... is
that a bad thing?"

Everyone suffered a facefault. Vegeta on the other hand, groaned
loudly.

Everyone except Vegeta, who was still on the ground, blinked and
laughed at Ranma's comment. They immediately sobered up when they heard
a crumbling noise, followed by a groan. They turned and saw a huge green
man with orange mohawk for hair and a blonde woman who, for Ranma, looks
kinda like 17, crawling out of their respective tubes. Aside from a few
dirty spots because of the dust, they are in otherwise good condition.

Everyone backed away except for Ranma, who walked casually
towards the two people, who they believe to be some surviving androids.
The man turned to the woman, saying, "Our target, Son Goku, is among the
others in the crowd. The others are identifiable as well. But the boy is
unknown. Do you know what we should do, 18?"

The woman, known as 18, shook her head. "I don't know, 16. If I
remember it right, he was the one who destroyed the lab a while ago."

Ranma stopped near the two and scratched his head. "Ano... I'm
Saotome Ranma. Sorry bout this..."

18 looked at Ranma intensely. "Are you not afraid of us? We
could kill you, you know..."

Ranma sighed. "Don't tell me you're one of those guys who shoots
first and ask questions later?"

16 relaxed his stance. He couldn't figure out what this boy is
up to. According to his sensors, the boy has an odd mixture of genes in
his blood, unidentifiable even to him. He shook his head, saying, "No...
we have no quarrel with you. But can you tell us why you destroyed 17
and Doctor Gero?" The man pointed at the discarded pieces of 17. Wires
and bolts are still flickering with energy discharge.

18 sighed loudly. "My poor brother..."

Ranma slumped his shoulders. "I... killed someone?"

16 smiled slightly. "Not really. He's an android just like us. A
robot so to speak..."

Ranma relaxed a bit. He looked at 16 and said, "Still...
anyway... I was just asking why they were screaming at me. Then they
blasted me. Look at my favorite shirt! It has a hole in it..."

18 looked at the boy. Aside from the reddish tail, his unruly
black hair is held by a pigtail at the back of his head. 18 looked at
his face, and saw that he was handsome, his blue-grey eyes are like a
storm threatening to engulf her. She felt her cheeks burn a little. She
took her gaze from the boy and turned away from him, making sure that
the boy wouldn't see her blush. 16 cocked his head at 18, asking, "18,
your heart rate is rapidly increasing, and your vital signs are erratic.
Although I know this sounds impossible, but are you sick?"

18 snorted. "Shut up, 16!" she said as she blushed further. She
couldn't face this boy Ranma, because he has affected her for some
reason. During all this time, the Z Soldiers watching the scene relaxed
from their battle stances with a bewildered look on their faces.

"Uhh... did that lady android looked shy or is it just me?"
Krillin asked as he scratched his head in confusion. 18 was holding her
cheeks between her hands as she turned away from Ranma, who was talking
with 16.

Trunks has a somewhat shocked look on his face. He remembered
the lady android as a very cruel individual. He turned to the others,
saying, "I remember 18... she was with her twin brother when they went
on a killing rampage. But this one... she seemed different somehow..."

Vegeta growled loudly. "Don't let them fool you! For all we
know, they are in cahoots with that Ranma guy! I say we attack them
right now!" he said loudly. He then blasted towards the group, ignoring
the shouts of protests the group he left behind were giving.

=========================================================================== ==

Meanwhile... in Ranma's 'homeworld'...

The Tendo's, the Amazons and Genma were having a heated
discussion regarding Ranma's disappearance. Ryoga mysteriously got lost
while finding the dining room. Happosai is currently incapacitated and
tied up at the middle of the dining table, with everyone punching and
kicking him occasionally out of annoyance. The whole Nerima Wrecking
Crew (patented already) declared a ceasefire with regards to the chaos
just to sit down and think about the situation at hand.

"He just disappeared! What could have happened?!" Akane was
frantic now. Things were kinda looking up in their relationship. She
must admit, she did miss the 'baka' that she malleted oh so lovingly
everyday.

Shampoo and Ukyo were also in states of distress. Their
participation of late in the violent destruction of the wedding fiasco
certainly didn't give them in the good side of their reluctant fiance.
They literally 'thrashed' the whole ceremony, throwing bombs and maces
everywhere. This time, they cannot complain, though, for they knew that
it was really their fault that things became hectic. Now that Ranma's
disappeared, their chance of reconciliation seemed to slimmed down a
bit.

Nabiki's face reflected a mask of neutrality. But inside her
emotions ran amuck. Her source of income, mainly Ranma-chan's
'pictorials', is gone at the moment. Although she was thankful that the
damage to the dojo would be reduced, money would be a problem for her
very soon. She was still kinda peeved at her current feelings about her
participation in the destruction of the wedding. She 'sold' the
invitation to the other girls and also the Kunos. Who knew what they
could dish out?

Soun Tendo was as usual, crying his heart out. His constant
wails are currently being ignored by the people around him. Likewise,
Genma has his arm draped around his friend. Both of them are wailing,
"That ungrateful boy of mine," and "The schools cannot be joined!"

Kasumi's smile also dropped a notch. For her, Ranma is an
epithome of chaos and yet, things got exciting because of him. She
enjoys having 'unusual and unannounced' guests. She served tea with her
ever-present smile, but her eyes reflected a bit of sadness in them.
Yes, for her, Ranma is a brother that she wished she always had, and she
treated him kindly, and Ranma also treated her more like a person than
anyone else around her.

Cologne was currently examining the malicious artifact that
supposedly sucked Ranma out of this plane. She shook her head, saying,
"This type of mirror is the defective type of the Nanban Mirror. This
might have randomly shifted Ranma into any universes at will."

Shampoo turned to her great grandmother, hope glimmering in her
eyes, "Can great grandmother help?"

Everyone in the room abruptly shifted their attentions to the
Matriarch. The old crone sighed, saying, "Without the actual Nanban
Mirror, there is no way of knowing where this dud deposited him."

Shampoo sighed. "Great grandmother... Nanban Mirror stolen long
time ago, yes?"

Cologne's visage darkened. "Yes... it was stolen more than 200
years ago by a traveling martial artist who..." her voice trailed and
her gaze fell on the prone figure on top of the table. Everyone wondered
briefly why the Matriarch fell silent when they followed her gaze. Their
eyes widened in understanding.

In unison, they muttered, "Happosai."

=========================================================================== ==

In the dimension, or time, where Ranma was dumped...

Vegeta got frustrated when Ranma wove and dodged every punch he
threw. Ranma felt great about it though. He also couldn't believe how
much power he has gained because of the accident. Granted, it was kinda
like cheating, but maybe this is the payment for what the Kamis has
brought his life upon.

In Heaven... the Valkyrie that acted as the secretary outside
the door of Kami-sama's office jumped in surprise at Kami-sama's loud
sneeze.

Back to Ranma and Vegeta's battle, Vegeta was quickly becoming
enraged at Ranma's lack of seriousness in the fight. He could actually
see the new pigtailed Saiyajin's smirk as he flowed away fron his
punches. "Fight seriously you peasant!" Vegeta screamed, throwing
another punch which was of course, dodged by the smiling martial artist.
The androids sat on the rocks in some distance away, watching the battle
with little interest.

Gohan saw his father, Goku, smiling broadly. He asked, "Papa,
what's funny? We should stop them before Ranma-san gets hurt!"

Goku looked at his son and laughed heartily, catching the
attention of the rest of the group. He sobered slightly and he said,
"You don't have to worry about a thing, Gohan. From what I could see,
Ranma is a really good fighter. As in, REALLY good. The way he dodges
those attacks is really awesome!"

Krillin nodded absently, still watching the fight. For what he
can see, Vegeta has been trying to tag Ranma, but the latter just
sidesteps the attack, as if he could read Vegeta's mind or something.
But still, Vegeta has yet to transform into a Super Saiyajin. When
transformed, the ones with Saiyajin blood become insanely powerful.

Finally, the enraged Vegeta snapped. He stopped abruptly and
powered up. Ranma stood back and gaped at the angry Saiyajin. Vegeta's
hair stood up more than it normally was and turned into a golden color.
His eyes glazed over and a flat greenish hue reflected back towards
Ranma's own blue-gray ones. Yellow tendrils of energy erupted all over
his body, while miniature lightning dances along Vegeta's body. Rocks
and pieces of earth floated slowly as the ground under shook under the
strain of power. Ranma checked on Vegeta's ki levels. He finally settled
to a loose stance; Ranma felt like Vegeta has just turned serious about
the fight.

The other Z Soldiers tried to dash towards the fight to break it
up, but Goku stopped them with a wave of his arms. "Don't interfere with
them..." Goku said, as his face turned serious.

Vegeta smirked. He just learned how to power up like this a
short while ago, and he felt good about it. Granted, it was that blasted
Kakaroto that achieved Super Saiyajin Mode first, he still took pride at
his achievement. He felt his power gush forth his body. He slowly took
his battle stance and lunged once again at Ranma.

The baffled boy was too surprised and distracted to see Vegeta's
fist move towards him. The punch hit Ranma's face with a crunch, sending
him flying to a rock face nearby. A loud boom followed as Ranma's body
imbedded itself at the miniature mountain, instantly annihilating it.
Vegeta laughed out loud as he watched the small mountain collapse into
itself, burying the annoying boy he was fighting before. Just as he was
about to gloat his victory to the group, the rock pile suddenly
shuddered and exploded upwards, sending a shower of debris all over the
place. Vegeta turned his concentration towards the center of the dust.
As the swirls of fog lifted, he saw Ranma, with his fist up in the air.
Ranma looked at his clothes and dusted himself off.

Ranma absently rubbed his cheek. For a while there, he thought
that it was really powerful. But for some reason, he didn't feel much of
the pain of the punch at all, considering the power level Vegeta is in
right now, Ranma knew that if Ryoga were to receive that punch, his face
would be ripped off by the sheer force it should've inflicted. Ranma
frowned, feeling a bit disappointed at that. He was wondering why he
didn't feel that. Seeing the mountain destroyed around him, he knew that
the power of that punch would be powerful. But for some weird reason, he
just didn't feel it much. Ranma saw Vegeta's face having a kinda
surprised and angry note in it. He sighed to himself. This is going to
be a long day.

=========================================================================== ==

In Heaven...

Urd gawked at the screen. "Whoa!" she gasped out loud, "I can't
believe the Chaos Factor this guy has in him! I mean... everything in
his life is chaos! So this is what a future God of Chaos is going to
experience before ascension?"

Belldandy sighed. "Yes... but imagine how hard his life was.
Poor Ranma..."

Meanwhile, Skuld was paying attention on another screen. She
turned to her sisters, saying, "Uhmm... oneechan... take a look here. I
found Ranma." Immediately after that statement, the other two goddesses
moved over to Skuld's screen. They stared wide-eyed as they saw Ranma,
with tail and all, battle it out with a guy with a really weird hairdo.

"Hey... that's the Saiyajin Vegeta! What's Ranma doing in
there?" Urd asked in exhasperation.

Skuld turned to another console and typed in some commands. "It
says here that he was sent there by an 4th class summoning artifact. It
seems he was flung to some weird future..."

Urd rubbed her chin. "Isn't that place where the 1st class Wish
Granting Dragonballs are located?"

Skuld nodded. "Yup..."

"We cannot do anything about this, can we?" Belldandy asked.

Skuld hung her head in defeat. "No... it is his Destiny."

Urd sat back to her chair, her arms crossed over her head. "Then
all we can do now is watch..."

=========================================================================== ==

"I still can't believe you could pick up flying that quickly!"
Goku said excitedly as he flew beside their new friend. Earlier, Ranma
knocked out Vegeta with the Tenshin Amaguri-Ken speed punching
technique. Because of his speed and power increase, he outclassed the
'prince of Saiyajins' quite easily. After a Senzo bean power-up, an
irritated Vegeta follows behind the group, grumbling about wiseguys and
tremendous luck. Obviously, he is a sore loser.

"Well, it was easy when I understood where you let the ki flow
out of your body..." Ranma smiled, slightly embarassed and fidgeting his
pigtail.

After some immediate discussion and a formal challenge from
Android 16, Goku easily accepted the two remaining androids and invited
them to his Master Roshi's home. While in the skies, Krillin's gaze
would often linger on Android 18, while the said Android's gaze is
fixated on the reluctant visitor's well-toned body. 18 knew that the
pigtailed boy is a Saiyajin, but unlike most of the race, Ranma's body
didn't get the muscle builder's body like all Saiyajins have. Instead, a
compact, and chiseled muscle is evident. Ranma's hair is still flat,
unlike the Saiyajins who have spiked hairstyles. She finally noticed
that her gaze was getting longer than it should have been. She quickly
jerked her head to face front and blushed. At some point of the trip,
the rest of the 'human' side of the group started to break off, saying
that they needed to take care of some things. Goku, Gohan, Trunks,
Vegeta and Piccolo were left with Ranma and the two remaining androids.
They head for the Kami Island.

Master Roshi felt this huge aura from the arriving group's
direction. He first thought it was Son Goku, but then this aura is an
inhibited one. He wiped the dust from his sunglasses and stood up,
heading towards the window. Up in the horizon, he felt five familiar
auras <Hmm... that would be Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo too, and the
future Trunks...> he thought, then he frowned, sensing one other aura
that has been bothering him for hours now. He finally saw them at the
horizon, speeding towards his home. After a few seconds, the five
familiar people have landed at the beach, followed by a slower flying
boy with a tail and two other people he didn't recognize. <One is a
girl, though!>

Goku swept his arm in a wide arc. "Well, here we are!" he
announced cheerfully. Ranma nodded with a slight smile on his face. He
was actually kinda nervous, seeing water all around him which he felt is
intending to drench him anytime soon. His curse has been a water magnet
for a long time now, and since then he felt really sure that luck was
never on his side. Gohan and Krillin immediately ran up to the door to
be greeted by Master Roshi himself. Vegeta still has this huge scowl on
his face, still sore about losing to the 'kid'. Piccolo stood a little
ways behind Goku, maintaining a neutral face most of the time. Inside
the Namek's mind, though, he was trying to ascertain who this boy is and
why he is here. 16 leaned on a palm tree and watched watch 18 with great
interest, noting as to why his fellow android is fidgeting so much with
herself. He also caught her stealing glimpses of the red-tailed Saiyajin
that they had just accompanied. 18 straightened her blouse with one hand
as she ruffled her hair with another. She thinks that seawater air makes
her hair feel limp and damp.

As Goku introduced the visitors, Master Roshi was kinda
surprised that the androids Trunks have come for turned out to be quite
friendlier than what he described in his stories about the world he came
from. Krillin mentioned that the Saiyajin boy, Ranma, had the big part
in talking to them. He felt that the appearance of the boy had a great
impact in everything. He found it odd to find a Saiyajin with red tail
though, because all the Saiyajins he met have brown tail. In hushed
tones, Krillin mentioned that Ranma literally whipped Vegeta's butt. He
was kinda surprised about it, but he didn't doubt it. He noticed how
knowledgeable the boy was in terms of the Art. Nothing could be more
dangerous than a Saiyajin who knows how to fight properly. Most
Saiyajins just use brute force and strength in their fights, expending
excessive amounts of ki. Granted that Saiyajins have inhuman ki levels,
it is still exhaustible at a point. He smirked at the thought of
watching Ranma kick Vegeta all over the area. <That should bring Vegeta
down a peg or two.>

Ranma fidgeted nervously among the gazes of the people around
him. He bowed his head, saying, "I'm Saotome Ranma, Heir to the School
of Anything Goes of Martial Arts..."

Master Roshi perked up in this. "Anything Goes? I don't think I
have heard of that school..."

Ranma smiled. "I'm not surprised. It ain't really that popular
coz only three people in my world practice it."

The others except Vegeta nodded in understanding. The 'prince'
just snorted in disgust loudly. Everyone turned to him when he asked,
"What a stupid name! Martial Arts? What the hell is that?!"

The pigtailed Saiyajin smirked. "That's the style of fighting I
used to beat the crap outta ya." The others snickered at Ranma's
response. It was really fun for them to see Vegeta get riled up and
can't find a suitable response. Vegeta just glared at him as Ranma
relaxed at the sofa. After while, a loud whirring noise from outside
caught their attention. Peering trough the window, the group sees a
VTOL-type plane with a huge body and label on the side in capital
letters: CAPSULE CORP, land on the beach side. Out of the plane came a
woman with blue hair, cut to the shoulder, with a baby hugged to her
chest. On the other side, a woman with black hair, tied up in a tight
bun also came out. The woman with blue hair turned to the plane, and the
plane disappears in a puff of smoke, turning into a capsule-like thingie
that she casually picked up on the ground. Ranma was actually kinda
surprised and curious as to how a big thing vanish into a puff of smoke
like that, but after contemplating a bit he just kept silent. The woman
pocketed the thing and together with her companion proceeded inside.

"Son Goku! Son Gohan!" the woman with black hair called out to
them, "Gohan should be at home studying right now, what do you two have
to say for yourselves?"

Poor Goku chuckled nervously as his son Gohan hid behind his
father. They look like deers caught in the spotlight. "We're just
working out a bit, Chi-Chi. We were about to go home..." Goku explained.

"..." was all Chi-Chi has to say, still glaring at her husband
and her son.

The blue haired woman's eyes went to the irritated Vegeta.
"There you are!" the woman commented, "What are you doing here?"

Vegeta grumbled, "None of your business, onna!"

"Don't give me that! We were worried about you!" she snapped
back at him.

Trunks stepped forward, saying, "Hi mom..."

Bulma's annoyed look quickly turned to a smile when she heard
Trunks. "Hi Trunks!"

Krillin saw Ranma's weird look. He whispered to the pigtailed
boy, "That's Bulma, Vegeta's wife. As for the other, that's Chi-Chi,
Goku's wife. Saiyajins may be strong, but when it comes to their
wives..." Ranma snickered as he held in his laughter.

Bulma looked at Vegeta closely. She saw abrasions and cuts all
over his body and his face. A tiny grin formed from her lips. "Well...
who beat you up?"

Krillin couldn't hold it anymore as he laughed out loud,
clutching at his sides. It was followed by Goku, with his son smiling
widely. Vegeta just growled loudly and turned sharply towards the door,
going outside. Giving Ranma a parting glare, he floated up the sky and
flew quickly towards somewhere. Bulma finally noticed the two androids
and the pigtailed boy. She saw that the boy was still young, younger
than the future Trunks. But what she really noticed was red tail. Bulma
glanced at Trunks, asking, "Who's he? Another Saiyajin?"

Ranma chose this moment to sigh, saying, "Not really... I was
human before I came to this world..."

Bulma was skeptical. "Human? Aside from the tail color, that
tail really belonged to the Saiyajin race."

"I was minding my own business back home when an accident
happened. Somehow I got sucked into this world by an artifact. I
appeared inside a lab somewhere. A doctor or somethin' was experimenting
when I popped into this world and fell into his lab, and electricity hit
me. I got blasted for askin' some questions. I got mad, well..." Ranma
paused, blushing from embarrassment at the memory, "I kinda destroyed
the lab when I didn't realize how powerful my ki blast is. Then Goku and
the others came, Vegeta attacked me somewhat pissed. Of course I have to
defend myself from his attacks..." Ranma frowned slightly.

Chi-Chi turned to Goku, "So he's a Saiyajin now like you?"

Goku shrugged. "I guess... but his tail is different..."

Ranma looked at his tail. "What's with the tail color anyways?
Is there somethin' wrong with red?" he asked while watching his tail
move.

"Goku, Vegeta and Gohan have, I mean had, brown tail. Yours is
red..." Krillin stated.

Ranma smacked his forehead with his palm. "Oh great! Another
problem... I wonder what that doctor did to me?"

Bulma sighed. "Well if you want, I will try to determine how
that happened. I have lab equipment at home, so what do you say about
that?"

Ranma looked up at the ceiling. He was contemplating on whether
to tell them about his curse or not. His decision was made when a pig
walking on its hind legs came with a tray of iced tea. As luck would
have had it, the pig tripped, sending the tray flying. A glass landed on
top of Ranma's head, instantly transforming him to his female side. His
black hair shifted to red, his chest pointed out and his well endowed
breasts are formed, his hips shifted and his height diminished. Ranma
sighed loudly as she looked at herself, with her tail fluttering wildly
behind her. The room fell silent instantly for a long time. The androids
blinked as a reaction. Master Roshi and Krillin had a little bit of
drool coming out of his mouth though.

Onna-Ranma scratched behind her head, eyeing the shocked
audience, and said, "I'm Saotome Ranma. Sorry 'bout this..."

After that announcement, everyone finally recovered, then
barraged Onna-Ranma with questions. Onna-Ranma held up his hand in
exhasperation and quieted the crowd down. She finally said, "When I was
with my pop in a training trip, we went to this supposed to be ancient
training ground in China called Jusenkyo, or Spring of Sorrows to be
exact. There were hundreds of springs there, all have different curses.
The guide tried to warn us off about the dangers, but pop was really
askin' for it, goading me to fight him as he jumped unto the bamboo
pole. Well, I got lucky and bashed him into a spring. When he came out,
he became a panda. I was so surprised that I didn't see the panda attack
me. It hit me into another spring, then I came out as a girl. The thing
about the springs is that you will turn into whatever drowned there. Pop
fell into the Spring of Drowned Panda. As for me, well as you can see I
fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl. From that day on, whenever cold
water splashes me, I turn to a girl, but with hot water, I could turn
back to a boy."

Everybody was silent for a few moments, digesting the
information. They didn't notice Onna-Ranma as she took off to the
kitchen to heat up a kettle of water for herself. After a few moments,
she poured the steaming water over her head, a moment of tingling
sensation was felt all over her body as the transformation took place.
He shook the excess water from himself and went back to the living room,
with the group still unmoving.

Goku smiled a bit, saying, "It isn't much trouble at all!"

Chi-Chi wacked his husband on his head. She then turned to
Ranma, saying, "No offense, Ranma, but your dad's an idiot."

Krillin nodded. "I won't argue with that one. Though I may add
'stupid' to the list..."

Ranma nodded grimly. "I agree with all of ya in that. Pop's an
idiot."

Master Roshi wiped the blood from his nose. "I think he's quite
lucky to have that curse. A female body whenever you need--URK!" his
comment was cut off when he bashed through the door. Ranma whapped the
perverted master on the back of the head, but miscalculated in the
intensity of the tap. He just hoped that Master Roshi would survive that
one, and he has this sinking feeling that the old man was reminding him
of a certain perverted gnome back in his homeworld.

Bulma finally said, "That's amazing! I mean... where does the
excess mass go? I really should examine you!"

Ranma gulped nervously, looking at Bulma's sparkling eyes.
Chi-Chi was a little saddened at his fate though, thinking how hard it
was for him to live with such a curse. Goku and Gohan just shrugged, for
they have seen too many weird things already in their lifetime. Piccolo
also already saw a lot of weird things in his life, but it was amazing
for him how effective the curse is. Krillin had weird thoughts in his
mind, while Master Roshi's nose bled as he thought of hentai thoughts.
The pervert is still reeling from the blow, but that didn't stop him
from his thoughts. The androids blinked again as they saved the
information in their minds. 18 was kind of jealous, because the girl
form of Ranma was 'blessed' in assets more than her. She glanced at her
chest for a moment before she turned her gaze back to Ranma, who was now
a boy again. After a few moments of convincing, Bulma finally made Ranma
agree to be examined, and perhaps to be cured of his curse. Bulma was
also curious at the 'accident' that Ranma had mentioned when he first
arrived.

=========================================================================== ==

Happosai is feeling pretty nervous. After he woke up and found
himself tied up at the center of the dining table, he also found several
pairs of eyes boring into him. Before he could ask what was going on the
crowd launched themselves to him, demanding that he give up a certain
Nanban Mirror. He panicked and fled from the group, hiding himself among
the trees at the park. He reached into secret pocket in his dark gi,
producing the mirror. He then had it disappear into the pocket
dimension, a trick he learned while he 'ravaged' the village of the
Amazons. That was where he also got the Nanban Mirror in the first
place.

While the perverted old man contemplated on his next move high
above that tree, the rest of the Nerimanians tore through the town,
searching for the artifact that could probably bring the dimensionally
lost boy.

=========================================================================== ==

Powerful as he may have become, the pigailed Saiyajin Ranma
sweated furiously as he looked upon his surroundings. He woke up to find
himself strapped unto a lab table, with tools and other wicked looking
instruments sticking out here and there of the lab. Hours ago, Bulma
Briefs, wife of Vegeta, took him into her lab to be tested. He was
accompanied by his new found friends, as well as the silent androids.
They left him in Bulma's hands. Right now, Bulma is testing the blood
sample that he gave rather willingly while he slept off the sedative.
Finally after minutes of waiting, Bulma sat up, with a glazed look on
her face.

"Uhmm... Bulma-san... what's the matter?" Ranma asked with a
tinge of fear. The look Bulma gave out to him would mean two things,
either he is dying or he is really interesting and may be used for other
experiments as well. He gulped loudly as time passed by, with Bulma
still gazing at him without saying a word.

Finally, Bulma snapped out of her stupor. She grinned at Ranma,
saying, "Problem? No that's not the case here.Did you know that you
already had Saiyajin DNA in you? You also told me before that you also
heal fast because of training right? That shock of lightning might've
unlocked your Saiyajin DNA structure. Before this, the DNA is locked
away by some force, that I do not know. Because of your healing ability,
when the lock was removed the DNA reconstruction of the Saiyajin blood
jump started immediately. But in any case, it's alright now..." She
looked at Ranma again and saw that this time, Ranma's eyes glazed over,
with a bit of drool on the corner of his mouth. He didn't understand a
thing. Seeing the blank look on Ranma's face, Bulma sighed, saying,
"What I mean is, you're all right. There's no problem in all of this,
but the only probable thing to think about is that you were born with
Saiyajin blood in you."

Ranma was shocked a bit. He didn't know how to think of this.
Now, aside from his feminine curse, he is now part alien.

Bulma sighed once again. She opted to continue, "Did you know
that you were never full human in the first place, Ranma? Even before
the awakened Saiyajin blood, you weren't human at all."

"WHAT?!" Ranma sputtered out. "Waddya mean by that?!" he
screamed as the restraints snapped at his sudden movement.

Bulma saw the pained, confused and angry Ranma as he rose from
the table. She stammered out, "B-but... y-your blood says that Saiyajin
blood isn't the only alien DNA you h-have!"

Ranma stopped himself, collecting his thoughts. Right now, his
mind is in a whirlwind of emotions that threatened his sanity. After
breathing deeply, he finally felt his blood calm down. His hard eyes
turned soft as he looked at Bulma. "Could ya explain it to me?" he
asked, a bit of pleading in the voice he used.

Bulma nodded quickly, pointing to the screen in front of them.
"See this? This red colored strain part is Saiyajin DNA. This blue
colored one, is a strange strand of Juraian DNA. This white colored
strain part is currently unclassified..."

Ranma nodded at her explanation. In front of him was a sample of
his DNA helix. It was divided into 3 colors, making the whole set-up.
"When did I get this Juraian DNA thingie? And what's a Juraian? And
whaddya mean 'strange'?"

Bulma sighed softly. "As for the 'when' question, well, as I was
saying before, it was inborn in you. I could tell because it has no
symptoms of any type of manipulation. It's also a natural part of your
strain. The Saiyajin blood is currrently being reconfigured into your
strain in a very fast pace because it was recently unlocked. I had to be
REALLY quick in trying to gather information about the Saiyajin genetic
material before it fully unravels with your current DNA. I guess your
healing abilities are really inhuman then." She saw Ranma smile a bit at
her praise. "As for the 'what', Juraians are powerful aliens with a
large governing power throughout the universe. This is the only
goverment that Freeza cannot win against," Seeing the questioning look
Ranma gave her, she explained, "Freeza is a dictator out to destroy
worlds, and Son Goku managed to defeat him recently. He is gone now...
well back to the subject. When it comes to physical power, Saiyajins are
unparalleled in that category. They live most of their lives fighting,
and their powers just amazes me. Juraians however, they are legendary
for their energy. They fight giving off tremendous amounts of energy.
Saiyajins could also generate huge, huge amounts of energy, but Juraians
could easily beat them in it. You, have inherited Juraian DNA. It means
you were half Juraian at birth. Maybe your mother or father is a
Juraian. The same thing goes with your Saiyajin blood. One of your
parents is a Saiyajin. Although, your Juraian DNA is a bit weird,
meaning, it's not a normal strand of Jurai. But it is still basically
Juraian."

"So many damn secrets! What's the unclassified one?" Ranma asked
in irritation.

Bulma shrugged. "As far as my records show, that part is clearly
unclassified. Meaning, there are no records whatsoever of what that part
of your DNA is. It means that you were Juraian and another specie before
the Saiyajiin blood reawakened. Scratch that, you always had these, but
the Saiyajin power was locked. Maybe magic, I'm not really sure. That
isn't my forte. Ask Piccolo about it, coz he's the one who knows a lot
about magic."

Ranma sat back down the table. "Well, maybe that's why I was a
bit stronger than most people..."

Bulma nodded. "That's right. Not only do you have near infinite
energy, but also the greatest power to boot! You should feel lucky you
know..."

"My luck's a lil' bit off to the side. I just know that this
sudden good luck has a downside into it."

Bulma snorted. "Reeaaallyyy.... don't think about it too much."

Ranma smirked. "Thinking is not my best forte..."

"By the way Ranma, your blood's immune system is really a
spectacle. The power in your Jurai descent was sealed before. Meaning,
it wasn't supposed to be awakened at this early time. But with the now
reawakened Saiyajin blood, your Juraian blood seemed to have awaken
also. I am not sure of the implications, but maybe you could try it
yourself. Though I am sure of one thing, Juraian blood have an age
longetivity."

Ranma's face twisted in confusion. "Longe-what?!"

Bulma sighed. "Age longetivity, meaning, Juraians have a natural
long lifespans, most lasting for hundreds and thousands of years. That
is for a normal Juraian. But you on the other hand... Saiyajin blood
also has its own age longetivity, but with the added immune system
enhancement... the Saiyajins' natural quick molecular healing
capabilities and your own natural inhumanely quick healing..."

"Get to the point already!"

"Okay okay! Right now, I have no idea if you are going to age,
EVER!"

Ranma's shock is clearly printed at his face right now. He
wanted to say something, but he can't find his voice. Although long life
sounds appealing, the new information he heard may have different
wordings but, it all is summarized to one word: immortality. He may be
nearly immortal right now. While it sounds cool and all, when he gets
bored, what will he do then? The shock on his face slowly turned to
anguish as he thought of the implications this would entail.

The female inventor is feeling helpless. She knew that having
the possibility of living practically forever is a very tiring journey.
She slowly lifted her hand to Ranma's shoulder, patting it gently. Ranma
looked up to her and flashed a small smile. A smile that means, 'I will
get over this slump soon.'

Ranma is touched by Bulma's sympathetic gaze. Although he knew
he is going to have problems in the future, he will face them like he
faced countless problems before. His current predicament has a weird way
of reminding him of Saffron. He was cut off his musings when he felt a
part of his back twitch. He looked at his back and saw his tail swish
back and forth his back. It felt really weird, but it is also
fascinating. He looked at Bulma again, asking, "By the way, can ya do
something about the tail?"

Bulma shook her head. "As for the tail, it is really weird. Not
only that it has red color, but apparently, it is really resilient to
damage. I tried cutting it with laser, but the laser just bounced right
off it. It didn't even leave a scorch mark!"

Ranma winced involuntarily. "Well, not that I'm complaining or
anythin' but how do I deal with it?"

Bulma looked thoughtful for a while. She tapped her chin with
her index finger. After a while, she nodded and said, "Well if I
remember it right, Vegeta used to put his tail around his waist, sort of
like a belt or something."

Ranma looked at his red tail and 'willed' it to wrap itself
around his waist. As if automatically, the tail wrapped itself around
his waist, fitting rather snugly. Ranma whistled. "Kewl... no need to
worry 'bout my pants falling off anytime soon, ne?" Bulma chuckled at
Ranma's joke. Soon afterwards, Ranma joined in her chuckling. Their
silent laughter was interrupted when a beeping sound was heard. Bulma
hurried to another panel, followed by Ranma.

Her eyes widened and looked at Ranma again. "You're THE Ranma
Saotome? From Nerima?!"

Ranma scratched the back of his head, smiling meekly. "Ahh...
yep. What of it?"

"Lots of legends that has been spread are about a certain
pigtailed martial artist who defeated a god! I can't believe you're
him!!!"

Ranma asked, "Legend? What the heck are ya talkin' about?!"

"Approximately four hundred years ago, a martial artist fought a
godling named Saffron, dubbed 'The Phoenix God', and defeated him using
only martial arts skill." Bulma eyed him as she said this. She couldn't
believe that the legends would actually be true.

Ranma blanched. "F-four hundred y-years?! I'm flung into the far
future?!"

Bulma nodded excitedly. "Yup. According to some reports in the
files salvaged after Magi was dismantled, you disappeared and vanished
without a trace."

"Magi? What's that?"

Bulma showed Ranma a picture in the console. "The Magi is a very
intelligent computer system, also it was used to inadvertly deter the
world's end. I can't go into specifics because most of the files
concerning WHY the Magi was built were either corrupted beyond repair or
were completely destroyed, but I can say that it kept most of the
personal records of all people around the world during that time. It is
really ancient, but most of the computers used today are solely based on
that one."

Ranma sighed. "Well, what's in the file?"

Bulma looked back to her console again, reading, "Missing Person
Data of Saotome Ranma. Master of Anything Goes Martial Arts, defeated
several 'gods', part of the 'Nerima Wrecking Crew'. Fiance to Tendo
Akane. Disappeared shortly by means unknown. Rumors say that it was
caused by a teleportation artifact. Fact remains that he is still not
found."

"Oh... can you tell me what happened to Akane Tendo? If I sorta
disappeared... well..." Ranma trailed off, sweating a bit as he was
trying to sound casual and uncaring.

Bulma smiled at the boy. She turned to the keyboard, typing
away. "Akane Tendo... ah! Here we are! Let's see... oh my. It's not as
good as I was hoping it would be..."

Ranma became slightly confused at her remark. Then he felt
really nervous, his pathetic unemotional mask shattered completely as he
quickly gazed upon the file. His eyes widened like saucers as he read
out loud, "Autopsy of Tendo Akane. Accidentally got caught in the middle
of a large explosion. Details of the investigation proved that the
culprit is one known as Hibiki Ryoga, in a fight against Happosai,
current Grandmaster of Anything Goes Martial Arts. Received third degree
burns and massive internal bleeding injuries. She died after five days
of being confined in Nerima Hospital, under the care of Doctor Tofu
Ono."

Bulma felt the temperature of the room suddenly drop. She looked
at Ranma, who has this totally expressionless face. She shuddered when
she saw tears streak down his cheek. She heard him muttering, "My
fault... all my fault..." She saw him sit down slowly and hugged his
legs to his chest, his face place on his knees. Her heart went out to
him, but she doesn't know what to say to make him feel better. Knowing a
loss of a loved one is too much for anyone to bear, even to the most
powerful beings in the universe. It proves that they are still living
beings, with feelings to boot. She snapped back from her musings when
Ranma asks about the other people he cared. One by one, she searched
them all, but each one with their own tragic story to tell. Kuonji Ukyo,
Ranma's best friend, died when she took her life after losing all hope
in getting him back. Shampoo was hunted down and killed by her fellow
Amazons, because of her failed 'Husband Expedition' mission. Tendo
Kasumi, oldest daughter in the Tendo family, died when her grief over
Ranma's loss was coupled by Akane's death. Tendo Nabiki, second daughter
in the Tendo family, moved out of their home, died at the age of
seventy-two, still single and lonely despite the wealth she amassed.

After shedding silent tears, Ranma finally built up his resolve.
He slowly stood out and let out a long, sad sigh. He looked at Bulma,
with new found determination on his face. "I need to go back." he said.
It was a statement.

Bulma nodded, feeling her inventor's blood churn with new
intensity. "I will try my new concepts of a time machine. I already drew
the specifications, but I still have to build it. It will take some time
though... it might take me several months at most..."

Ranma's smirk appeared, then he laughed out loud. "I have all
the time in the world!"

Bulma smiled. She feels her heart lighten tremendously, when she
saw this boy's hearty laughter. For some reason, those laughing
blue-gray eyes of his are a welcome sight to her. She sobered up,
saying, "Ranma-kun... some really powerful people locked your abilities
up. I don't know the real catalyst of the release of the lock. It may
have been the shock, or the dimensional travel itself. Or maybe when
your Saiyajin blood awakened, your Juraian blood compensated. Also,
Saiyajin tails regrow when a huge shock is introduced to them. So many
possibilities..."

Ranma snickered. "Confusing isn't it?"

=========================================================================== ==

It was already a week after Ranma's disappearance. Each of the
people who wanted Ranma back is losing their hope. Happosai is very
cunning in hiding, even Cologne is having quite a hard time following
Happosai's vanishing aura.

Akane sat alone in the park, pushing herself up on a swing. It
was long dark of night, and everything was silent. She sat there,
contemplating on what to do next. For some reason, she feels quite angry
at Ranma for angering Happosai in the first place. Eventhough she knows
he could hold his own against the perverted freak, he couldn't defend
himself against the artifacts the old gnome stole. Now, Ranma is once
again caught in one of them. And she feels quite angry because of it.
Months of training to control her temper slowly wisped away from her
mind as her body was slowly covered in a red aura. She then stood up,
clenching her fist. She screamed the words she felt that she hadn't
screamed for a long time. "Ranma... YOU JERK!"

"Akane..." a voice from behind her surprised Akane. She turned
sharply to the source of the voice. The spotted yellow bandana with the
matching yellowish tunic is recognizable everywhere.

"Ryoga..." Akane whispered as her eyes slowly filled up with
tears. Her head instinctively burrowed itself into Ryoga's tunic. The
lost boy looked at Akane, with a sad smile on his face.

"Akane..." Ryoga repeated, absently stroking Akane's hair, "What
will you do if... he doesn't get back?"

That statement only made Akane cry harder. She tightened her
embrace on Ryoga. She sniffed and replied, "I-I... don't k-know... I
guess I s-should move on... and find another..." She slowly quieted
down, feeling Ryoga's hand caressing her hair.

Ryoga nodded. "If you need me, I will always be here for you,
Akane."

Akane slowly nodded, facing Ryoga in the process. They stayed in
each others arms for a long time.

=========================================================================== ==

Time went by quickly for Ranma. He was really enjoying himself
at this place. He was sparring with the best warriors in the universe.
Vegeta still is angry at the martial artist, and occasionally challenged
him. Vegeta always ends up in the regeneration tank after a few minutes.
Goku is a different story though. The always smiling Saiyajin has a way
of picking up things quickly, just like Ranma does. Goku really is
powerful, especially in his Super Saiyajin type 3 mode. Although the
long hair is a surprise, Ranma found Goku's strength in this form quite
formidable. Goku taught him how to accumulate his energies and transform
like the rest of the Saiyajins, but he has yet to test it out and Ranma
usually chose to spar in his normal form. He also had Bulma forge him
two bracers of condensed depleted Uranium, each carrying an initial load
of 3,000 pounds, which he planned to have it reweighted soon after he
gets used to it. For a few minutes, he had some trouble with the weight,
but got over it after his body quickly compensated. Another one of his
favorite places is the Gravity Room. He still laughs as he remembers the
first time they had him test it out.

-Start Flashback-

Ranma stood expectantly in the middle of a white circular room.
Various mechanical devices are lacking as he inspected his surroundings.
Suddenly, a loud voice booms from the speakers that were placed
discreetly along the upper ridges of the room.

"Ranma!" Bulma's voice echoed inside the Gravity Room, "I will
turn the gravity up to 200 G's if it's okay with you?"

Ranma nodded quickly. Although he didn't understand much of it,
he just wanted to get on with this. Suddenly, the floor he is standing
on glowed a bit of red, then it is white again. He looked at the window
questioningly, flexing his arms and jumping up and down as a test.

Outside the room, Goku snickered as he saw Ranma take on the
gravity displacement like a fish learning to swim in water. Vegeta
snorted angrily, muttering about 'show-offs' and other incoherent
ramblings. He quickly pushed Bulma aside and pushed up the level of
gravity strain inside the room. Everyone's eyes widened when they say
the gravity go up from 200 to 900 G's instantly. Vegeta smirked, hoping
to find a flattened pigtailed Saiyajin inside the room. He noticed
everyone fell silent, so he turned to look at them. Vegeta saw the
widened eyes everyone has as they looked inside the window. Vegeta
quickly moved towards the window and his jaw fell down to the ground.

There was a black blur flowing across the room, almost invisible
even to the Saiyajins' eyes. The blur suddenly stops in the middle,
exposing Ranma as he slowed down his katas, the fluidity in his
movements never lost in the quick transition. A few minutes later he
stopped, bringing his hands to his sides, and breathed slowly. He turned
to the window, asking, "How long do I hafta wait for the gravity
thingie?!" Everyone facefaulted.

Bulma stood up shakily and took the mic. "Are you crazy?! You
are standing inside a room with a gravity strain of 900 times the normal
force of Earth's gravity! And you say you don't feel anything?! You
should be blubber by now!"

Ranma crossed his arms across his chest, saying, "Waddya mean? I
am still standing ain't I?" Just then, a bead of sweat from his temple
produced during his kata fell down to the floor with an audible thud,
creating a miniature crater. Ranma knelt down and looked at it
thoughtfully. He continued, "Wow... that is one heavy sweat."

-End Flashback-

Ranma chuckled at the thought. His danger sense flared up
momentarily as he instinctively dodged a hard right from his sparring
partner. He mentally chided himself for losing concentration in the
spar. With his concentration once again focused, he flared up his aura
to retaliate against Goku.

More time passes by in this world, and Ranma grew accustomed to
the weird gadgetry around him. He loves flying across the sky while he
rests from his training. While on sparring sessions with Goku, Ranma is
treated to constant threats from Vegeta. Vegeta eventually mellowed down
in his anger as a month passed. He was really starting to enjoy the
'RANMA, PREPARE TO DIE!' routine that he unwittingly adapted from some
pig-boy. Ranma's ever-present cocky grin still annoyed Vegeta, but
having such a fighting partner really improved his speed and strength.
Eventually, he is starting to change his fighting style, concentrating
more on skill than power this time. Though he is still yet to land a hit
on Ranma, he feels exhilirated. Ranma suddenly feels nostalgic about it,
remembering his hectic life back in his time. He now knew that this is a
future reference from the timeline he was in before everything happened.
Bulma is still buried in her work, and it fascinates him how she tends
to be overexertive in her work. She only goes out of the working room
for meals and if she needed something other than what is cluttered
inside that workroom of hers. While Bulma is busy, Chi-Chi stays in the
inventor's house, temporarily taking the mantle of being the 'mother' of
the house. She took care of chibi-Trunks.

Speaking of Trunks, the future version of Trunks also spars with
Ranma. Sometimes, he and Goku team up to finally tag Ranma. Like most
days, Trunks lost quickly, while Goku manages to stand up for a longer
bit. Ranma spends some of his time teaching Trunks how to correctly
control his ki. Since the martial artist's instructions, Trunks usually
boosts his aura through emotions. Ranma taught him different techniques,
and eventually the basic forms of the Anything Goes Martial Arts school.
Trunks was reluctant at first, but after a half second later, he groaned
as he accepted Ranma's lessons. The duo formed a strong friendship in
the middle of battle, and Ranma forbade Trunks to call him 'sensei'
(mainly because Trunks is older than him).

Chi-Chi also took the protesting pigtailed Saiyajin under her
tutelage. As he was being dragged away, everbody including Vegeta
shuddered and winced at him in sympathy. What was it? Chi-Chi said
something about him learning Advanced Calculus. From the looks Gohan
gave as he too was dragged with Ranma, the pigtailed boy sweated
nervously. This is not gonna be good.

Ranma learned a lot from Chi-Chi, despite being a little
reluctant. Math, Science, History and some different Languages are
taught to him. Most days, his brain becomes fried with the overload of
information being crammed inside it, but nevertheless after a few days,
his mind compensated. Ranma later found out that he could take in his
lessons as easily as learning new techniques.

Goku was surprised when he showed Ranma the Kamehame Ha. At
first, the pigtailed boy was confused by it, but then after thinking for
a bit, he brought out Goku's trademark ki blast from his hands. Goku
also showed Ranma the Instant Transmission Technique, and after a few
explanations on how to locate the auras (which Ranma already knows how
to do pretty well) he was teleporting like crazy all around the world.
Ranma absorbed techniques like a sponge. Ranma also taught Goku some
basic Anything Goes, telling him that their ability to fly will be a
great asset. Anything Goes is basically dominant in air battles. After
two months of heavy training, Ranma's bracers now weighed 5000 pounds
each.

Then 'HE' came.

Ranma and Trunks were flying up in the sky when they saw
discarded people's clothes lying on the ground below. Curious, the two
Saiyajins landed, taking a look around. Clothes, ranging from adult
sizes to even kid sizes fluttered against the wind. Shaking, Trunks
growled, "This is the work of Cell..."

Ranma turned to Trunks, scowling, "Who is this 'Cell'?"

Trunks slumped his shoulders. "He is a really powerful android
created by Dr. Gero. He is much more powerful than the rest of his
creations. But that is impossible! You destroyed the lab, only 16 and 18
came out of it right?"

Ranma nodded. "Well, let's look around for clues."

As they looked around, they found more of the discarded
clothing. Ranma felt angrier and angrier as he saw how many children
'disappeared'. Their search ended in a light forest where they found a
spaceship of some sort. After removing some of the grime and dust
surrounding the vehicle, Trunks gasped as he saw the sign.

"That's..." Trunks couldn't believe it. The sign says, 'Capsule
Corps.' and it means that it came from his mother's company.

Ranma saw the distressed look in Trunks' face. He patted Trunks'
shoulder, making the purple haired boy to look at him. Trunks sighed,
saying, "Well... this is my time machine. How Cell found it, I have no
idea but I could suspect that he found it in my timeline."

Ranma nodded. "Well, let's look for the bastard and kick his ass
then." Just as they were about to go, they spied upon a huge insect-like
carapace that was discarded carelessly. They looked at each other and
nodded, then started to fly out of the area.

Piccolo finally found the power spike that he felt while he was
training in Kami's Hideaway. Around him, a similar scene of clothes
scattered about can be seen. Destruction of buildings were everywhere,
and there are no signs of life. A blur of green caught Piccolo's eye. He
turned and blasted a nearby rubble with an energy blast.

A huge green insectoid with a long tail dusted itself up as he
turned to look at Piccolo. It grinned, saying, "My, my... what do we
have here? The Namek is here..."

Piccolo growled. "What the hell did you do to these people?!"

The insectoid shrugged. "I needed some energy, and these people
are not enough to even fill me to half. It's a pity... I will need
more..."

Piccolo got into a ready stance. He barked, "Just who are you?!"

The insectoid cackled with glee. "I am Cell, the most powerful
creation of Dr. Gero!"

Piccolo snorted. "Well, in that case, I am the one to destroy
you!"

The battle between the two greens started.

Ranma and Trunks perked up when they felt a familiar power spike
across the horizon. "Piccolo..." they said simultaneously. They sped up
towards the direction of the battle.

Piccolo glared at Cell, clutching his arm. Cell somehow managed
to break into his defense and broke his arm. Pain wracked the Namek's
body as he kept away from the android, buying some time for his arm to
heal.

"It's amazing how our body heals..." Cell said thoughtfully.

Piccolo was aghast. "W-what do you mean?!"

Cell pointed at his own rapidly healing cuts. "With your DNA, my
body could heal faster. I also have Goku, Vegeta and the other fighters'
DNA infused in my own. That is why I am your superior."

Piccolo felt drained. He didn't really believe that Gero would
be crazy enough to create such a monster. But he didn't have time to
think it over, because Cell started moving again. A punch to his face
reminded Piccolo that he was still in the middle of a fight, a one sided
fight to be exact. Piccolo just crossed his arms across his face,
attempting to block Cell's lightning fast punches, at the same time
dodging that weird tail of his. He felt his arms tire out easily, as he
felt his broken arm being mangled up. He let his guard down for a
moment, but that was all that is needed for Cell to kick him squarely on
the chin, causing him to hit the collapsed wall behind him. He slid back
down the wall, his purple blood smearing the wall's surface. For the
second third time in his life, he felt helpless as he lay there, waiting
for his end.

Cell felt exhiliration as he pounded on his adversary. He saw
the Namek fall down to the ground in a crumpled heap. Cell snickered,
"Is that all you can do? Very well... I will end this then..." and with
that, he raised his arm and pointed his fist towards Piccolo's prone
figure. An energy blast accumulated itself unto Cell's outstretched
palm, intending to end Piccolo's existence.

The ball dissipated when Cell felt new power signatures coming
from the sky. His eyes widened when he felt the unfamiliar energy that
emanates from the second source. His sensors got fried as the source got
closer, temporarily disorienting him.

Piccolo looked up and saw Cell shaking his head vigorously. The
Namek then felt the power source that Cell also felt. He smirked,
saying, "Well, Cell, I'm afraid you are going to get fried."

"Trunks, better get Piccolo outta there... lemme handle the
freak insectoid first." Ranma growled as he cracked his knuckles. Him
and Trunks were hovering above the wreckage, overlooking the ensuing
battle between Cell and Piccolo. Trunks nodded and blurred, appearing
behind the surprised Cell and grabbing Piccolo out of the way. This made
it easier for Ranma to maneuver and use a lot more of his power without
the fear of hurting innocents.

Cell was surprised when one of the floating men blurred and got
Piccolo away from him. He then saw the snarling pigtailed fighter coming
down from the air, removing the kinks from his joints. Suddenly, the boy
was asking him a question.

"Hey you! Did you do all these?!" Ranma gestured to the clothes
lying around the area.

Cell regained his composure and chuckled, saying, "Yes, and I
got pretty strong because of them too!"

Ranma snarled and blurred, catching Cell off-guard. Ranma
suddenly appeared in front of Cell, shouting, "Kachuu Tenshin
Amaguri-Ken!!!" and his hands practically became invisible to the eye.
Cell felt hundreds of blows rain down on his robotic body, slamming
everything that is colored green in him. The android let out a silent
scream as Ranma delivered thousands of blows in a second, his body
creaking and moaning as its components were unable to compensate on the
shock of the blows. When Ranma disengaged himself, Cell's body was
mangled up beyond recognition.

Just when Ranma was about to turn his back on his opponent, he
was surprised to see Cell's body regenerating at a really fast rate. The
mangled up form rebuilt itself, and Cell was back once again. The
android grinned evilly, saying, "Hah! I could regenerate anything I
lose! I am immortal!"

Ranma's only reaction was the flare of his battle aura, as he
smirked at the cackling android. "Immortals are really easy to beat.
I'll just add ya up to another one of my 'gods killed' list then..."
Seeing the surprised look on Cell's face, he snorted, "Oh please! I
already defeated gods in the past. What makes ya think I can't destroy
you? Especially since I know ya aren't a livin' thing?" Ranma smiled
oh-so-deadly at the now doubtful android. After a few moments of being
locked in a staring contest, they finally lunged at each other, with
Trunks and Piccolo standing in the sidelines.

Meanwhile, Goku and the rest of the Z Soldiers were speeding
towards the battlefield. <Piccolo's aura has died down a bit. He might
be in real trouble!> Goku thought to himself. When they finally arrived
at the scene, they saw the green insectoid android being pummeled by the
irritated Ranma. They all landed near Trunks and Piccolo, noting the
Namek's broken arm.

Cell gritted his teeth and lashed out at the small but still
obvious opening that had been exposed. His fist hit Ranma's ribs with
considerable force for himself, and Ranma grunted in surprise. Cell
followed up with a kick to the shin, another to the other knee, and then
a kick to the ribs.

Ranma was momentarily taken aback, but he shrugged off the
attacks.

The spectators watched the battle intensely as Ranma and Cell
traded lightning fast blows. Cell throws a straight punch towards
Ranma's face, which was easily dodged. Ranma just danced around the
punches and kicks thrown at him. When Cell overextended with one of his
punches, Ranma took the opening and jabbed the android in the gut. Cell
grunted at the force of the hit and flew back into a damaged wall,
demolishing it over him. Ranma smirked as he felt a huge power build up
from the demolished rubble. The shaking debris exploded outward, sending
massive rocks and dust around. Out came a very angry and pissed Cell.

Cell gathered energy into his cupped hands, shouting, "KAMEHAME
HA!"

Ranma was a bit surprised to see Goku's ki technique flying
towards him. He crossed his arms to his front and took the huge blast
straight on. The explosion that momentarily rocked the area was
staggering.

Goku was horrified. "How did he know that?!"

Cell heard Goku's comment. He turned to the crowd, saying,
"Ahh... the great Son Goku! Did you see that? Every technique you have,
every skill... I can do them all! How? Simple! All your DNAs were
assimilated in me! Dr. Gero made a perfect android just to destroy you!"
Cell threw back his head and laughed out.

"So what?" Cell immediately stopped laughing when a voice cut
through the dust ball where he blasted the ki attack. When the dust
cleared, Ranma was dusting himself off, his clothes were singed
slightly. A few bruises was sported all over his body, but otherwise he
was fine. Ranma faced the somewhat surprised Cell and smirked. He said,
"Being a copy don't mean squat to me. You're no 'perfect android',
you're jus' a freak."

"WHAT?!" Cell shouted.

Ranma adopted a fighting stance. "It's time to finish this,
robot." He then pumped up his aura to a high degree. As his golden aura
came out, the whole area shook to accomodate the vast amount of power
being emitted. The ground where Ranma stood finally crumbled under the
strain of energy the came out in waves. Rocks and stones floated around
and flung aimlessly. Suddenly, the battle aura was absorbed into Ranma.
He aimed his palms towards Cell, who was slowly backing away. "Try
regenerating after this... SHIN MOKO TAKABISHA!!!"

Cell's eyes grew wide when a huge ball of golden ki erupted from
Ranma's outstretched palms. Cell's sensors overloaded when he tried to
measure the energy output. Panicking, he tried to dodge but it was too
late. A burning sensation was felt when the ki tore down his aura
shield. Cell's body slowly crumbled as the ball of ki bore into him. He
had no time to cry out as his face crumbled to dust first, followed by
the other parts of his body. The blast continued until it hit the earth,
exploding in a fantastic manner. A huge crater was formed after the dust
settled on the ground, but no sign of Cell's body could be found.

Ranma finally sat down and smiled tiredly at his approaching
comrades...

"Gee..." he muttered, "That was tiring..."

=========================================================================== ==

Akane smiled warmly at Ryoga. For the past months, he has been
supportive to her. Her hope for Ranma's return has dimmed somehow, when
they couldn't find a trace of as to where the Nanban Mirror could be
found. She was sad at the same time glad. Sad that she might never see
Ranma anymore, but at the same time glad because she found out that
Ryoga could be so caring at times. She smiled, holding Ryoga's hand,
while they were finishing their ice cream. Although Ryoga is not as
strong and as powerful as Ranma, he is still there for her.

Ryoga was in heaven. Now that Ranma's gone, he is now the most
powerful martial artist in Nerima. But most of all, he now has the
attention of the girl he has pined on since he came here. Aside from
killing Ranma, his mission to destroy Ranma's happiness has now come
true.

Nerima was in constant chaos moreso than before. Without someone
to control the situation, the whole area was in destruction. Nobody
wanted to admit it, but the nexus of all was Ranma, and without the
nexus, there is nothing. Although Ryoga was there as damage control,
everything slowly fell down into chaos. Ranma's resourcefulness and his
ability to win a battle at any costs made the huge difference in
everything. Whatever chaos dished out, Ranma comes out triumphant in the
end. The master pervert Happosai was now without leash, and Ryoga can
never hope to match the gnome in battle. It was a losing battle, and
they are all losing ground fast.

Nabiki was in monetary despair. Although now, there is a tinge
of worry in her facial features. Ranma always comes back no matter what,
and seeing Nerima reduce to utter chaos because of his absence is quite
a humbling experience. She never thought that a single man like Ranma
could control that much chaos. She would never admit it, but she did
care for the martial artist. He was always there to defend the household
whenever danger comes. Not that Ryoga isn't reliable, but Ranma is...
Ranma. There is this quality in him that Ryoga could never hope to
match.

Kasumi's smile faltered a bit. Without Ranma's chaotic
tendencies, she really couldn't put her heart into her chores anymore.
She missed the soft sounds that comes from his practice katas in the
dojo. Unknown to all, she watches the young Saotome as he practiced in
their dojo. Aside from her, he would occasionally wake up earlier and
practice. She has been thoroughly awed as to how Ranma could keep his
sanity throughout the constant chaos in his life. Although Ryoga is a
nice 'replacement' for Ranma, there will be no one to match up to the
pigtailed martial artist. Secretly, she disapproved the growing
relationship between her youngest sibling and the Lost Boy, mainly
because he still haven't told her about his Jusenkyo curse. Yes, she
knew about it, but she swore to her father not to reveal it to Akane, to
use it to make Ranma jealous. She knew it was unhonorable, and she felt
dirty about it. Now that Ranma's gone, she felt sadder than ever, and
now she couldn't talk to anyone anymore about it. Usually, Ranma was the
one who would listen to her rants about everything, while they were
alone in the rooftop, watching the stars. Now, she felt alone.

=========================================================================== ==

"Finally!!!" Bulma sighed out loud as she wiped the dust off her
hands. She marveled at her latest creation, which she has promised for
Ranma. Suddenly she stopped, thinking about what will happen when Ranma
goes back. Her heart ached a bit as she thought about it. Ranma was a
jerk, yes, but a loving jerk. Chaos seemed to follow him everywhere, and
he also fixes the chaos himself in the end. He was reliable, and a very
good martial artist. She smiled at the memory of Ranma's first day in
the local high school. He caused a school-wide stampede. Girls rushed to
him while he ran away. Bulma knew of Ranma's past, and so she understood
why he didn't want anything to do with hormone driven females. Trunks
always laughs at the comical situation. Ranma had much problems with his
fiancees in the past. Not that she blamed the women, though. Ranma is
handsome, at the same time has this boyish charm in him. He is also has
a happy-go-lucky personality, and his smile makes girls weak in the
knees. She snickered at the thought of Ranma's effect on all the people
around him. Even Vegeta, dubbed the most hated being in existence, now
occasionally smiles. Ranma's laughter is greatly contagious. In some
aspects he is like Goku, but unlike the airhead, Ranma is sensitive to a
point. He still had the foot in mouth problem, but it wasn't as bad as
before. Even Android 18 smiled when she is near the pigtailed Saiyajin.
Ranma is also a good babysitter. For some reason, he is extremely
competent when it comes to kids. He could make chibi-Trunks stop crying
with just the soothing sound of his voice. But now... he is to go back.
Bulma knows this time will eventually come, but she had so much fun with
him that she forgot the passing time. It has been several months since
he first came here. She sighed and turned to the door, walking slowly
towards to where Ranma is at the moment and tell him her news.

Ranma sighed as he stood in front of the time machine Bulma made
for him. It is somewhat like a spaceship. Beside him is a battered
Trunks. Ranma whapped Trunks again on the back of his head, saying,
"Baka... why didn't ya say ya had a time machine in the first place?!"

Trunks smiled sheepishly. "Well... you didn't ask." he said, his
tail swishing from side to side. Trunks' tail grew back when he
accidentally touched a live wire while repairing his own time machine.
After being burned out by thousands of volts, he found out that his tail
grew out again. Goku and Ranma helped Trunks train his tail so that it
will not be a weakness in the future.

Ranma smacked his forehead as the others giggled. Trunks also
used a time machine to get to this time period to prevent Goku from
dying because of a Saiyajin heart disease. Trunks also wanted to learn
how to defeat the androids in his time. After the battle with Cell,
Trunks used his time machine to go back to his own time and destroyed
the androids. Trunks came back to the waiting Ranma and his beating.

Ranma turned to the crowd. Everyone was there to see them off.
Trunks decided to tag along since he has nothing to do. And besides, he
said once before, he wanted to learn more about fighting from Ranma.

"Well everyone, this is where we shove off. It has been a good
two years and some months. I really enjoyed every bit of it." Ranma said
with a sad tone.

Goku said, "Good luck, Ranma. It was great to have known you!"

Gohan nodded, saying, "Yeah. It was fun while it lasted, right?"
Gohan a growth spurt, and has cut his hair to a long crew cut. He
inherited his father's innocent attitude, but his intelligence was
because of his mother.

Ranma smirked. "Hell yeah. Who knows? I might find another
artifact so that I can visit ya all here..."

"You should come back! I will beat you by then!" Vegeta snorted,
but with a slight smile on his face. Ranma turned to him and smiled
back.

Ranma turned to Chi-Chi and Bulma. Both have tears in their eyes
as he hugged them tightly. He whispered in their ears, "Take care of
everyone here, okay?" Feeling them nod, he sighed and reluctantly let
them go. He faced Chibi-Trunks, who was watching him with great
curiosity. Ranma chuckled when Chibi-Trunks smiled at him. He tapped his
index finger on the baby's nose, saying, "You better grow up like Trunks
over there, so that if I come back, I would train ya like him."
Chibi-Trunks gurgled in response, squeaking and squirming around Bulma's
arms. He then turned to Chi-Chi, with her own baby, Goten, in her arms.
The baby was a spitting image of Goku, much to the dismay of the mother.
The baby literally bounced in Chi-Chi's arms when he heard Ranma's
voice. The pigtailed boy smiled at the baby and patted his head,
elliciting a squeal.

Ranma stepped back and watched as Trunks said his farewells to
the group. When everything was finally done, Ranma and Trunks went
inside the miniature spaceship. Ranma entered the approximate time and
day he disappeared. With a flash, the whole machine vanished. The people
left behind sighed and silently wished for Ranma and Trunks' well being.

=========================================================================== ==

In the Time Gate, Sailor Pluto was studying the single line
towards the fated Crystal Tokyo vigilantly. She made sure that nobody
disturbs the timeline and the Crystal Tokyo. Since the fall of the
Silver Millenium, she was destined for eternal life, her mission to
ensure the future heirarchy of the fallen Moon Kingdom. She also watches
her wares, mainly the Senshi and her Princess Serenity. Her eyes widened
when the timeline that she was watching twisted and screwed, dividing
itself into a thousand other timelines. She screeched when her vision of
a future Crystal Tokyo wavered. She desperately searched for the source
of the disturbance in the Time Gates, shouting obscenities along the
way. Finally, she saw a vision of a pigtail-haired boy with a tail.
<Huh? A tail?> Pluto thought, as she delved into the vision some more.
The boy was accompanied by another boy, with purple hair and a sword.
The second boy also had a tail. She noted that the pigtailed boy has
'red' tail while the other has 'brown' tail. She gripped her Time Staff
tighter, muttering, "Who the hell are these boys?!" She turned and
proceeded in a portal, eager to tell the Senshi her plans.

Katsuhito Masaki, also known as Crown Prince Yosho of the
Juraian Empire, suddenly tensed as he felt a huge energy source near
him. He was working at the ancestral shrine of his home when the power
surge hit him. He stopped his work and immediately came down to his
home.

Inside a pocket universe laboratory, sensors of all kinds
suddenly lit up. Alarm bells sounded off as the power surge was
registered. A pink haired girl who looks like a 12 year old excitedly
ran back and forth across the lab, inspecting the results of the power
surge. The greatest scientist in the universe, Washuu Hakubi, fidgeted
in her seat when she saw the output readings. She haven't felt this
excited since she studied Tenchi's ability to generate the Light Hawk
Wings. She clasped her hands together as she said, "Another guinea pig!"

Most of those sensitive to ki stopped their works when they felt
the powerful ki that permeated in the air.

After a flash of light on a clear sky, a spaceship-like
structure appeared. It landed in a forested area below. The glass bubble
door opened, spilling out a coughing pigtailed boy wearing a dark blue
polo and dark blue kung fu pants. He was followed by a purple haired boy
wearing long shorts and a blue jacket with a sign 'CAPSULE CORPS'
embroidered at the back. Once they got their bearings, they looked at
each other and laughed out loud.

"It worked!" Ranma shouted, jumping up and down, "But that ride
was weird..."

Trunks sat up. "Hehe... yeah. Time traveling does that. It makes
me wanna hurl."

Ranma smirked as he turned towards the machine. He pushed a
button at the side and with a *POOF*, the time machine disappeared in a
puff of smoke, replaced by a hand sized capsule. Ranma grabbed the
capsule and kept it in his pocket. He turned to Trunks and grinned
widely. "Welcome to my time, Trunks."

Trunks snickered. "I have to admit, you have lot of trees in
here. Where are we anyway?"

Ranma looked thoughtful for a moment. He took his time to look
around and saw something over at the end of the forest. Gesturing to
Trunks, they walked towards the clearing and found that it was a cliff.
They stood at the cliff's edge, and Ranma saw something that he
recognized anywhere. "Jusenkyo..." he muttered, looking to the ground
with thousands of holes filled with water, bamboo sticking up from the
holes.

Trunks smiled at Ranma. "Hey! This is where you got your curse
right?"

Ranma nodded. "Yep. Let's go and cure my curse now!" he said and
with that, he jumped down. Trunks just shook his head in amusement as he
followed Ranma down.

The Jusenkyo Guide is seated atop a huge rock, smoking his pipe
while looking up at the sky. Suddenly, a shadow covered his form, so he
automatically looked up. He let out a yelp as two blurs landed on each
side of the rock he sat upon, so silent that the dust wasn't even
disturbed. The Guide saw a boy with his hair tied in a pigtail and
another with purple hair and a huge sword sheathed at his back. He
tensed slightly as the boy with the pigtail turned to him.

"[Excuse me, but can you direct us to the Nannichuan?]" the boy
in question asked in Chinese.

The Guide recognized the boy. "[Sir, you got cursed years ago,
didn't you? I think it was the Nyannichuan...]"

The boy nodded. "[Yes... I'm Ranma. I got splashed in the Spring
of Drowned Girl. I was wondering if the Spring of Drowned Boy is
available?]"

The Guide started at that. "[Ranma? Saotome Ranma? The one who
defeated the god Saffron in battle?]"

Ranma smiled. "[Uhm, yes, I guess so.]" All the while, they have
been speaking in chinese, and Trunks didn't understand a word. Contrary
to most beliefs, Ranma learned to speak mandarin for the last years. He
knew it would be needed because of the Amazons that have been a constant
thorn on his side. It was a tactical advantage for him to learn it, so
that he could understand their plans easily.

"Not that I'm angry or anything but, could you please speak in a
language I can understand?" Trunks snorted, crossing his arms across his
chest. Ranma and the Guide snickered at Trunks' outburst, finally
realizing that they have been conversing in full chinese for the last
few minutes.

"Sorry 'bout that, Trunks..." Ranma smiled at him.

The Guide followed suit. "Yes, I sorry, honored customer." the
guide said in broken but passable Japanese. Trunks nodded slightly in
appreciation. Ranma explained how he got cursed, and of how he met the
Guide again before defeating Saffron. He also noted the absence of the
Guide's daughter, Plum, but the Guide reassured them that his daughter
was out doing some errands in the nearby Amazon Village, the
Joketsuzoku.

As they talked, the Guide led Ranma to the cure for his
predicament. When the Guide pointed at the spring, Ranma nodded to
Trunks and jumped. Or at least tried to. Ranma heard the Guide calling
out to him in a frantic manner. Learning from his past mistakes, his
descent suddenly stopped as he floated over the waters of the spring.
Ranma turned to the Guide, whose words now became clear.

"Honored customer must not jump in spring! Only mix curse!" The
Guide was saying.

"Mix the curse? What do you... oh kami! You mean if I jumped
here I would become...?" Ranma blanched at the thought. He finally
remembered something that nagged his mind. <Pantyhose Taro's added
curse!>

Ranma tried controlling his anger. <WHAT THE HELL?!> he thought
angrily as he started to glow bright red. Trunks pulled the Guide and
took an unconscious step back. He felt bad for Ranma though. Hope of
being cured crushed totally. He turned to the Guide and asked, "Is there
a real cure?"

The Guide thought for a moment. "Customers try find cure but
fail. Curses permanent."

By this time, Ranma finally cooled down momentarily and slumped
down to the ground. His tail whipped at the ground angrily as he thought
of his predicament. He heard what the Guide had said, and he felt
betrayed. He turned to the Guide and asked, "So that means, I wouldn't
have never gotten cured by the spring water you sent me at the wedding
anyway right? It would've just made things worse..."

The Guide nodded. Ranma sighed and stood up, shaking himself out
of his stupor. He would have to find another means to get cured. Both
thanked the Guide and turned to leave. But just as they were about to
float off, a loud battlecry was heard over the horizon. The Guide paled
and ran out screaming something about a war between the Amazons and the
Phoenix people. Ranma and Trunks looked at each other and nodded, then
bolted through the forest towards the direction of the battle.

The Phoenix and the Amazons, two of the warring tribes vieing
for supremacy over Chinese soil. The Phoenix have superiority over the
air, while the Amazons have superiority in battle tactics and
experience, not to mention their artifacts. The other tribe, the Musk,
chose to remain silent and neutral as they watched from the sidelines.
The Phoenix God Saffron, long ago defeated in combat by the mortal named
Ranma Saotome, is now fully grown and led to the defense of his
stronghold. Yes, it would seem that Saffron has mellowed down after
being defeated. He is trying to keep his race from dying out. The
Amazons, realizing the lack of onslaught from the winged race in the
past years, deduced their lack in numbers and therefore pressed on the
attack. At the moment, they have devastated most of the Phoenix,
mercilessly killing the hapless young soldiers sent over to repel the
Amazons. The Phoenix soldiers are currently young and have little battle
experience.

Ranma looked on in horror as he saw the Phoenix being shot down
helplessly. In his battle-tried eyes, he clearly saw that the Phoenix
are currently helpless. The fact that the soldiers are younger than he
is made his blood boil. Trunks shook his head when he saw the blood all
over the battlefield. Corpses with blood stained white wings scattered
throughout the field. He said a silent prayer for the soldiers that
departed. Trunks suddenly felt the rise of battle aura emanating from
his companion. Ranma jerked his head and looked directly into Trunks'
eyes. The blue-gray orbs seemingly glowed with intensity as the battle
aura grew.

Trunks nodded slightly. "So, who do we help?"

Ranma looked back at the battlefield. "The Phoenix race are not
battle ready. I feel kinda responsible for that."

"Oh? Why is that?"

Ranma looked down to the ground. "I killed their god, to save
Akane."

Trunks tilted his head a bit, looking pensive. "Don't you think
they'll hold it against you?"

Ranma looked up and shrugged, saying, "I guess so, but we can't
just let 'em die out like this, ne?" And with that, the two Saiyajins
nodded and ran into the battle.

Kiima, Royal Guardian to his highness Saffron of Phoenix, is
having a hard time. Eventhough she is battle tested, her charges were
simply too inexperienced to command. She sported bruises all over her
body, and her silver hair is smeared with blood. She darted from side to
side, avoiding the deadly arrows fired upon them by Amazon assassins. It
was really a desperate battle, and she figures that she might not live
long. Currently, her wounds were bleeding too much that she is having
trouble keeping herself afloat. Her own bloodied sword was barely being
held by her hand. She felt some guilt while she watched most of her
charges got shot down. But she refused to give up. She tightened her
hold on her sword and yelled a battlecry. She directed her assault
towards a group of several Amazons. Three whom are carrying bows and
arrows and four are waiting with swords and spears to finish off fallen
adversaries. Kiima dodged the first six arrows, then proceeded to slash
on two of the bow users. Blood spewed all over as the other amazons
screamed in outrage. Kiima lifted herself up and tried to escape the
incoming barrage of new arrows, but one hit her on her upper shoulder.
She screamed and staggered upwards, her vision blurring. Her wings were
starting to get weak, slowing its flappings down tremendously. As she
hung in the air, arrows whizzed by past her. She tried desperately to
dodge the projectiles, but she is suffering from severe blood loss,
especially now with her arrow-pierced shoulder. Her thoughts were about
her promise to protect Lord Saffron, and now the hope in her eyes has
dimmed. The momentary lapse in concentration was all it needed. When she
snapped out of her reverie, she saw an arrow going straight for her
heart. Kiima knew it was too late, for she could not dodge in time to
let the arrow pass harmlessly by. Kiima closed her eyes as she awaited
her impending doom. She suddenly felt a brief breeze followed by a snap
of wood. She opened her eyes, searching for any lodged arrow in her
chest. Finding none, she looked forward, and saw a boy, wearing dark
polo and dark pants. He has this unusual tail that's flailing around his
back angrily. But what caught the winged woman's sight is the hair. Dark
hair and tied in... a pigtail. <That... can't be! RANMA!> she mentally
screamed. She was about to attack the boy with her sword when she saw
him turn about.

Ranma angrily threw the wooden arrows down to the ground. He
turned and saw a familiar figure. "Kiima..." he said, then shook his
head to clear it, "Are you alright?"

Kiima stopped her charge, rather looking at Ranma in a confused
manner. "You are not going to... attack me?" she said. This brought a
chuckle from the boy, and she felt her heart skipped a beat as she saw
his hearty smile directly at her.

"No, of course not." Ranma sighed, relenting to ask the question
he dreaded, "How're your people?"

Kiima regained her composure. "Not too well, but Lord Saffron is
fully developed now..." the simple statement from her lips drew a wide
relieved smile from Ranma.

"That's good." Ranma said genuinely. An arrow hit him in his
arm, or rather, the arrow hit his arm and was pulverized. Kiima's eyes
widened when she saw what happened. Ranma cursed and turned downwards,
saying, "Amazons... are really irritating!" and with that, he threw and
open hand punch downwards to the remaining amazons. Kiima's eyes bugged
out as she saw the amazons being blown away by such an excessive force
from Ranma's punch. The ground was left with a huge dent after the
attack. Kiima heard outraged cries towards the east. She saw a blur
throwing multiple balls of ki around, devastating the ground the Amazon
group was. The distraughted females bolted away, scared of the purple
haired demon with a huge sword at his back. Kiima turned to Ranma, who
she figured was asking her a question.

Ranma shook his head. "Kiima, I was asking if you're all right?"

Kiima just nodded dumbly, as the other purple haired demon
approached them. The demon hailed Ranma, saying, "Geez... those amazons
are really irritating."

Ranma chuckled. "Exactly my point. Did ya manage to turn them
away?"

Trunks nodded. "Yep. By the way, who's the chick?"

Kiima, by this time, has regained her bearings and scowled at
the man. She growled, "I am not a chick! I am Kiima, Royal Guardian of
Lord Saffron!"

Trunks raised his hands and 'surrendered'. "All right! Really
you are so touchy!"

Ranma smiled. "Kiima, this is Trunks, a friend of mine. Trunks,
this is Kiima, what she said earlier."

Kiima glared at Ranma. "What are doing here?! Are you ready to
kill Lord Saffron AGAIN?!"

Ranma sighed and looked at Kiima. "Please, Kiima. I just did it
to save someone. If it could be avoided, I would be glad to avoid it."

Kiima tried to get angrier at Ranma, though she saw his
sincerity in his blue-gray eyes. Her angry exterior slowly melted, as
she looked in his eyes. <His eyes... they're so... WHAT THE HELL AM I
THINKING?!> It was when she noticed Ranma's body. Fairly muscled, but
not too bulky. Now she would liked to see how he would do in bed and
taste him for herself. She mentally kicked herself for having such a
thought. <Again?! What am I thinking?!"> She blushed as she had rather
animated thoughts that would have Ranma running for the hills. She
continued to watch him. <Why am I feeling this way?> Kiima thought to
herself. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain. Ranma winced when he got a
long look at Kiima. He floated towards Kiima, who tried backing up.
"Relax, Kiima. I'm just gonna pull that arrow out, that's all." he said
in a soothing voice. Finally, Kiima just let her body fall forward into
Ranma's arms.

Ranma took a firm hold on the arrow. He thanked the Kamis
because it missed the vital organs. Although it has passed through the
other side of her shoulder. He quickly cut the serrated point, so quick
that Kiima didn't even feel the action. He quickly pulled the arrow out
and covered the wound with his hand. Ranma turned to Trunks, saying,
"Trunks, gimme a Senzo bean."

Trunks nodded and took a big brown bag out of the pocket of his
jacket. He threw a piece of green bean to Ranma, who deftly caught it.
Ranma lifted Kiima's chin to face him. He said softly, "Here, swallow
this."

Kiima looked at the bean. It looked harmless, and she was too
weak to argue. She opened her mouth and let Ranma slide the bean into
her mouth. She bit on it and swallowed. When she did, her body felt
stronger immediately. She looked at Ranma again and saw his smiling
face. She slowly felt for her wounds and found only red patches over the
rapidly healing scars.

Ranma patted Kiima's back gently. "There ya go..." he said.
Kiima finally noticed that she was leaning to Ranma's body for such a
long time now. She especially felt his hard chiseled chest as she lay
her head on him. She hid her blush and was reluctant in getting away
from the warmth. After a short while, she gently pushed Ranma away. Her
eyes widened when she remembered something.

"Y-you... can fly?! How? Without wings?!" Kiima stammered out as
she circled Ranma slowly, looking for appendages like her wings. She
gasped as she found Trunks also floating without any support.

Ranma chuckled slightly. "It's a form of ki manipulation. Like
Herb's technique, but ours is faster and it doesn't waste too much
energy."

Trunks gulped as he looked over the horizon. "Uhm, Ranma?" he
squeaked, nervously scratching his hair, "I... think we better go...
NOW."

"Huh?" Ranma mumbled unintelligently, which brought a warm smile
from Kiima. His innocence amused Kiima right now. They both turned to
where Trunks was looking. Ranma blanched when he saw multiple dots
hovering on the horizon, and upon close inspection, they all have wings.
"Ooookay. Kiima, this is where we part. It's nice meeting ya again
though..." he said as he and Trunks turned to go. But before they could
jet out of the area, a loud booming voice stopped their advance.
"HOLD!!!" bellowed a familiar voice for Ranma. The pigtailed boy groaned
and slowly faced the source of the voice. An all too familiar figure
hovered towards them, well, it was Saffron.

Trunks was awed at the level of power the divinity before him
was producing. He could literally see the waves of energy emitted from
the winged god. He gazed at the approaching guards, their weapons raised
and ready for any conflict that may arise. Saffron just floated near
Ranma, regarding him with a neutral face.

"Ranma." Saffron said in an even voice. Seeing Ranma fidget a
bit brought a slight smile across his face. "Why being nervous? We both
know you could defeat me with one arm tied behind your back." The others
just gasped as they hear their ruler joke about something like that.
Since his defeat, Saffron has really changed, especially about his views
towards on how to treat 'Landlings'. His respect for the one called
Ranma Saotome is great. Even though Ranma Saotome's name was worse than
a curse among the winged people, it was decided by the nobles that no
action should be taken against the pigtailed martial artist. Even if he
did kill their King, he did in defense of another, and didn't try to
destroy the Phoenix even if he could've done it. Saffron himself agreed
with the decision, knowing he wouldn't get a thing out of killing the
teenager. Except a little satisfaction, of course.

The pigtailed boy sighed gratefully. "I was thinking you're
still mad about the last time..." he muttered.

Saffron shook his head. "Not really. I should've known something
like that would happen. I would do the same thing if that happened to
me. By the way, you have a tail." he snickered, pointing to the swishing
red appendage at Ranma's back. Ranma just snorted and willed his tail to
wrap around his waist, which it did so.

"Story of my life..." Ranma deadpanned, "Anyway... what's with
the war?"

Saffron sighed a bit. "Well, the amazons took advantage of my
people's weak time. They attacked visciously, killing most of the
younger soldiers. I feel appaled by the lack of ethics these savages
showed these past few days. Thank you for saving my loyal guardian,
Ranma."

Ranma shrugged. "I was just passing through. By the way,
Saffron, meet my traveling companion, Trunks. He came with me from my
last crazy adventure... Trunks, meet Saffron, Lord of the Pheonix
Mountain."

Saffron bowed at the purple-haired boy. "I believe you have
great power inside of you."

Trunks bowed deeply. "And you as well."

Saffron turned back to Ranma. "So what are you going to do now?"

Ranma looked over the horizon. "We're gonna go back to Japan.
Long overdue return to home..." he said wistfully.

Saffron looked a bit crestfallen. "I... see. Well, a good luck
to you, Ranma Saotome."

Ranma smiled and held out his hand. "I'll come visit ya soon,
Saffron."

Saffron nodded and shook his hand. The other soldiers just
looked at each other and shrugged. Kiima was looking longingly at Ranma,
although none really noticed. Ranma and Trunks turned and jetted out of
the area, leaving a bewildered Saffron and the forlorned Kiima.

Saffron sweatdropped. "Uhm, Ranma can fly?"

The soldiers could've facefaulted, if they weren't on the air.
Kiima just shook her head. She recovered quickly and turned her
attentions to the direction where Ranma flew off, and this time Saffron
caught her lovestruck gaze with a smirk.

=========================================================================== ==

Ranma and Trunks flew through the sea, marveling at the vast
blue waters. Ranma related to Trunks how he and his father transversed
these waters, by swimming across it to Japan, because of his father's
penny-pinching personality. They both have come to the conclusion that
Ranma's father is an idiot. They both agreed in that aspect. They
finally hit Japanese soil a few hours after, passing through an old
shrine. All of the sudden, Ranma felt a familiar chi signature that he
has long forgotten. He stopped in midair, causing Trunks to overshoot a
few feet before gliding back towards the pigtailed Saiyajin.

"What is it?" Trunks asked.

Ranma looked down below. He saw a shrine with a very long
staircase which led to a two story house. Ranma turned to Trunks,
saying, "I felt someone very familiar in there. Let's go check it out.
Besides..." just then, Ranma's stomach growled. He blushed as he
continued, "I'm hungry..." Trunks snickered at his friend's appetite. He
never doubted for a moment that he is really hungry at this moment. Even
when Ranma's stomach is not growling, the boy eats just as well. Trunks
nodded and descended with Ranma to the ground in front of the shrine.

Ayeka, glorious princess of the greatest dynasty in the
universe, is currently picking a fight on Ryoko, the universe's dreaded
space pirate (retired of course!). Tenchi Masaki, current heir to the
crown Prince of Jurai, sat back helplessly as he watched the two women
vieing for his affections fight once again. Sasami, sister of Ayeka, sat
a little further away with Ryo-ohki, cabbit ship of Ryoko, on her lap,
happily nibbling on a carrot. Also nearby were Kiyone and Mihoshi,
Galaxy Police detectives. The fight escalated as dark red energy
crackled in Ryoko's hand and the defense point logs appeared around
Ayeka.

A huge explosion outside the shrine caught Katsuhito and
Washuu's attentions. They knew that the women are duking it out once
again at the house grounds. They sweatdropped at the level of
obscenities heard while the eruptions occur.

"Anyway... as I was saying, I isolated the energy source, and
believe me it has a bit of Juraian descent in it." Washuu pointed out as
she drank her coffee.

Katsuhito just nodded. "I know. I just wonder if it is hostile
or not. But nevertheless, it feels familiar."

Washuu smirked. "Yes. Very familiar. Something like Tenchi's in
fact. But is was mixed with other powerful energies that I haven't
identified yet."

"I was also wondering about tha---" whatever Katsuhito was about
to say was cut off. He stood up and quickly went out of the door,
followed by a very perplexed Washuu.

Washuu gaped as she went out of the door. Katsuhito was already
there, waiting calmly for the 'visitors' to land. She regarded them
carefully. A boy about Tenchi's age who has his hair tied up in a tied
pigtail, wore a dark blue polo and matching dark blue pants and a
reddish brown belt that also caught her attention, is accompanied by
another boy who has light purple hair in a clean cut, wearing a blue
jacket with 'CAPSULE CORPS' embroidered worn over a black tank top and
shorts that reached up to his knees. The boy also has this huge sword
sheathed on his back.

Ranma landed gently on his feet followed by Trunks. He looked
around the shrine area, and liked what he saw. Trees of different kinds
grew everywhere, and the area has an aura of calm. He looked at the two
people in front of him. One was an old man in Shinto robes. <He looks
familiar> Ranma remarked mentally. The other was a girl, 12 years old at
most, who has pink hair that stuck out like a fan. <Reminds me of Goku>
Ranma smirked to himself.

Katsuhito stepped up and greeted the guests. "Do you need
anything in this shrine, strangers?"

Ranma smiled. "I was hoping to find... hmmm... what was his
name? Ah! Katsuhito Masaki!" Trunks snickered behind him at the confused
look on their hosts' faces.

Katsuhito recovered from his confusion somewhat. "I am he. Who
am I speaking to?"

Ranma's eyes bugged out. "G-grandpa?! Is that you?!"

Trunks and the others gaped at Ranma as he quickly scooted
towards the old man. A look of recognition dawned on Katsuhito as he
regarded the boy some more. "By the goddess! Ranma!" he smiled widely as
he took his grandson in an embrace.

Washuu pulled on the old man's robes. "Grandson?! You have
another relative?!"

Katsuhito and Ranma parted. The old man chuckled, saying, "Yes.
Washuu, this is Ranma Saotome, son of my youngest daughter, Nodoka
Masaki Saotome and also Tenchi's cousin. Ranma, this is Washuu."

Ranma smiled and shook Washuu's hand immediately. "Nice to
meetcha!" he said. Ranma then turned to Katsuhito, asking, "Tenchi's
here?" Katushito nodded in reply.

"Washuu-CHAN..." Washuu admonished Katsuhito, who sweated a bit.
Ranma and Trunks looked in confusion before Washuu finally waved the
comment off.

Katsuhito turned to Ranma once again. "Where have you been,
Ranma? The last time you were here it was... when you were nine years
old right? I take it that you finished with the training trip you and
your father started when you were five?"

Ranma looked at Trunks, who shrugged. He sighed, saying, "You
have no idea how weird my life is, grandpa. Yeah, finally finished with
that really stupid training trip. Though it's really not totally stupid,
a lot of bad things happened coz of Pops." and with that, his tail
uncoiled, fluttering freely against the wind. Katsuhito looked on in
shock as Washuu's eyes twinkled in a way that made Ranma REALLY nervous.

"What, may I ask, is that?" Washuu asked in a sultry voice as
she pointed at the red appendage behind Ranma. She smiled wider as
Trunks let lose his own tail, but his was colored brown.

Ranma saw the curious look on his grandfather's eyes. He sighed,
saying, "It's a long story, grandpa."

Katsuhito just nodded, and led the two guests down the stairs.
"We have all the time in the world, Ranma."

"By the way, grandpa, I was wondering if you were the relatives
that gave me this," Ranma looked at Trunks, who nodded once, "To quote a
friend: Strange Juraian blood?"

Washuu perked up at that question. Katsuhito blanched
considerably. Seeing the old man won't answer anytime soon, Washuu took
the opportunity to ask her question, "How did you know about this?"

Ranma shrugged. "Let's just say, it is one of the complications
of my life..."

Ryoko was about to fire off her red hot energy ball when she
heard footsteps coming down from the shrine. Ayeka's logs disappeared
one by one when she looked at the direction Ryoko was turned. Tenchi's
grandfather and Washuu were coming down from the shrine steps, along
with them were two boys. One with purple hair and a huge sword strapped
unto his back, while the other has black hair tied up in a pigtail. They
looked at each other and wordlessly declared a temporary ceasefire until
they learn of what is going on. Sasami and the rest of the watching
group has this curious look on their face while Tenchi's has this 'deep
thinking' expression. After a bit, his face lit up as he recognized one
of the guests. He stood up, to the surprise of the others, and said,
"Ranma!" running up to the boy to hug him.

The pigtailed boy looked up to Tenchi and smiled, "Yo, Tenchi!"
he said happily, taking Tenchi's hug in stride. It has been so long
since they last seen each other, but they couldn't forget how each one
looks.

Ayeka approached the two grinning boys. "Lord Tenchi..." Ayeka
began, "Who is this person?"

Tenchi grinned. "Allow me to introduce my cousin Ranma. It's
been so long since I last seen him!" he said as he patted Ranma's back.

As Ayeka's shock showed on her face, Ryoko floated by grinning,
"A cousin, eh? A good looking one too!" she snickered when Ranma's face
turned red. <So, being shy around women is hereditary! Hmmm... not to
mention he's well built than Tenchi... more handsome... and... what am I
saying?! I love Tenchi! Tenchi! Ten... wait... he's also a prince then?>
she thought to herself as she absently licked her lips. She then noticed
the red furry belt wrapped around his waist. <A tail?> she noted wryly
<It's too thick to be a Nekojin tail...>

Meanwhile, Ayeka's shocked look turned into one of admiration
and... the other thing. <By the goddess! He's gorgeous! Look at those
muscles... just enough to show his great body... his face is
absolutely... WHAT?! I only care for Lord Tenchi! Uhhmmm... then...
arrrggghhh!!!> she thought, her face screwing up in confusion which
caused the group to wonder what she was thinking about.

Sasami's pink eyes dilated when her gaze turned to the owner of
the blue-gray eyes. She has never seen such confidence and power being
radiated in warm vibes before! Even Tsunami, the goddess that resides
inside Sasami's persona, was captivated by the pigtailed boy. It was
long ago that she already felt the Juraian blood within him, but now
with the new 'complications', someone holding that much power and being
sane at the same time is really captivating for her. Then she finally
remembered him... back when Nodoka was young... and Tokimi was enraged
further. <Oh my...> Tsunami thought, <This is going to be a bit hard to
explain...>

Kiyone had trouble keeping herself in check. Sure, she had seen
a thousand other handsome aliens out there, but this one just takes the
cake! The way he also keeps his innocent look helped a lot in the
'adorable' department too.

Mihoshi on the other hand is more open. She was openly frothing
in the mouth now. Sure, Tenchi was a cupcake, but his cousin was a
really HUGE chocolate cake! And the way his steps glide and his actions
compliment his stance just took her breath away. Despite her well-known
ditzy behavior, her appreciation in men is not something to laugh at.

However, Ranma being Ranma, is actually totally oblivious at the
stares thrown at him. He was currently surveying the surroundings,
really appreciating the homely feeling he's getting. Somehow, the trees
move differently in these parts. His gaze rested on the small girl with
pink eyes, her blue hair tied up in two cute long ponytails that made
her look even more adorable. He smiled at her as she giggled slightly.
His body flinched when his gaze rested upon the small furry animal
resting in her hands. It didn't help when the creature looked up to him
expectantly and said, "Miyaaaah!"

Trunks snickered when his friend momentarily froze in place. He
elbowed the quite frozen martial artist and was rewarded with a grunt
from the boy in question. "I thought you got that out of your system
already?" he asked Ranma.

Ranma snapped out of his freeze. "Well, yeah, sorry... it was
just a reflex." Trunks just nodded sympathetically. By now, everyone was
giving them strange looks when they heard the exchange. Ranma just
sighed, because he knew they wanted an explanation of that incident.
"Neko-ken..." he said, in a tone which says that it explained
everything.

Katsuhito gasped, then his expression hardened. He asked in a
barely controlled voice, "Neko-ken? You were TAUGHT that dreaded
technique?"

Ranma nodded. "Yeah. Actually, more like Pop shoved it into me.
Left me with a weird fear of cats. I had it fixed a while ago, but
sometimes I still feel a little edgy. But I don't go into the state
anymore. I kinda mastered it at the same time without having to resort
into the feral state." To prove his point, he clenched his right fist
and four long red ki claws emerged from the middle of the knuckles. The
people around him gawked at the menacing red energy.

Trunks looked thoughtful. "Yeah... you should've seen him the
first time I saw him went berserk. His power and speed were horrifying.
We had to literally dogpile him. It took us five days to finally subdue
him, but not after he caused mass destruction on properties and stuff.
Even in his normal state, he is already powerful enough to beat all of
us up, multiply it by seven or more and add insanity into it."

"Hey! How was I suppose to know Pular was a flying cat?" Ranma
said sheepishly. The flying blue cat surprised him. He was caught in a
corner and was in the state where he couldn't get his two cents in.
After a short time, he lost his human mind and shifted to Neko-ken
state. The description of 'worldwide destruction' is truly an
understatement. A flying Saiyajin in Neko-ken state is not something to
be laughed about. His already powerful body became seven times stronger
and faster. He dodged every single attack that was thrown to him in such
ease. It also didn't help that he is subconsciously using Anything Goes
that was literally an aerial combat style. It was a good thing that Goku
and Vegeta blasted him at the back with a combined Kamehame Ha and Final
Flash when he was distracted by Trunks that caused him to plummet into
the ocean. He transformed into a girl but wasn't damaged at all. When
she came to, a flat desert with cement filings are scattered about. Her
friends were also filled with scratches, obviously from her feral state.

Tenchi shot a worried glance to his grandfather. "Neko-ken? What
is that, grandpa?" Everyone save Ranma and Trunks craned their faces
near Katsuhito's general direction to hear the explanation. When they
saw the old man tremble a little, their curiosity shot through the roof.
What could possible terrify him so much? Heh, now they are gonna know.

A shadow passed Katsuhito's face as his eyeglasses gleamed. "The
Neko-ken is a legendary technique that is feared because of two things.
One, when you master it, it is practically invincible. Two, the training
itself is suicide. It is supposed to make the practitioner faster and
stronger. The student must be a child ranging from five to ten years of
age, wrap him with fish products and throw him or her into a pit of 4
day long starved cats. Repeat until the student learns it to death." the
old man paused in his explanations to let the revelation sink to the
listeners. The audience except Ranma and Trunks had these horrified
looks on their faces. He sighed and continued, "Out of a hundred, only
ten survive the training. All of them stays locked in berserk feral
state, while only a rare one gets out of the state. The survivor does
not escape unscathed, for the experience leave the student with an
irrational fear of cats, which can be used to induce the student once
again to a temporary feral state."

Ranma crossed his arms across his chest. "Yeah. With what
happened to me," he sighed, absently stroking his tail, "The added speed
and strength is a nightmare to those who will try to stop me."

"THAT'S HORRIBLE!" They all screamed sympathetically.

"The Neko-ken..." Washuu said softly, "Someone survived the
training after all..."

"Who would do such a thing to a child?!" Ayeka demanded. Her
defense logs immediately appeared.

Ranma shrugged nonchalantly. "Pops did it to me when I was six."

Ryoko's eyes flared up. "I'm gonna enjoy gutting him alive!" she
hissed, brandishing her red energy blade on her left hand. Kiyone and
Mihoshi were both busy loading magazines in their respective guns,
sporting angry scowls on their faces. Sasami frowned, which for Ranma is
not a good thing. For some odd reason, she really feels just like
Kasumi.

In Nerima, a certain panda had a sneezing fit, its head
frantically looking about for any emminent danger.

Ranma waved the tension off. "Get in line, there are a lot of
people after him."

The old man asked, "How did you manage to control the
technique?"

The pigtailed martial artist fidgeted. "When they managed to
subdue me, I asked help from this weird green dude with antennae-OWW!!"
he paused, caressing the part where Trunks smacked his head.

"That's Kami of Chikyuu you knucklehead." Trunks said irritably.

Ranma sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, the Kami took me to this
goddess named Bastet, or Bast as I recalled she would want me to call
her. She is the goddess of cats, pregnant women, goddess of men and
children. She taught me the True Neko-ken, coz she said she was the one
who developed it with her co-wife Sehkmet. They both cured me of the
fear during the training (because I had no choice, they look like cats!)
and taught me how to control the flawed Neko-ken in me. Bast told me
that they developed it for her warriors years ago, and it was taught by
them PERSONALLY. When mortals who didn't get the training became
jealous, they tried to copy the original technique, with devastating
results. The Neko-ken Manual my stupid father had is one of those
'devastating results' and he didn't even bother reading the last page of
the manual which clearly stated how the tachnique was banned for
mortals."

"REALLY stupid of your father..." Katsuhito lamented.

"Yeah... can't argue with you on that grandpa..." Ranma said.
His stomach suddenly let itself be heard as a low growl emanated from
it.

Katsuhito clapped his hands together once to get everyone's
attention. "We'll just postpone the punishment for later, right now I
think the two guests need some food."

Everyone nodded in agreement and they all went inside.

During dinner, Ranma ate at a very reasonable rate (partly
because of the fact that Chi-Chi would strangle him if he forgot his
table manners). He related to his grandfather his past training trip. He
related the stories about how he was taken from his mother by being
tricked into signing a seppuku contract to be 'Man amongst Men', Genma
forcing him to steal as 'training', starving him to death, almost fed
him to ferocious animals and considers it 'training', the stolen dowry
(the famous okonomiyaki yattai of the Kuonji's) and making him part with
his buddy (who now he knew is a girl) Ukyou, his accidental beating of
the amazon warrior Shampoo which earned him a kiss of death (he left out
the curse part) that eventually turned into a kiss of marriage, up to
the engagement before his birth to one of Soun Tendo's daughters.
Looking around him, Ranma deduced Tenchi's situation shockingly similar
to his own, so he patted the shoulder of his frail cousin and said how
women troubles seem to be passed on by blood. He was bopped on the head
for that outburst.

After the quite elaborate tale of his life, many were left
seething, spouting vengeance on a certain bald martial artist. Ranma
just raised his hand dismissively, saying that it was all for training.
But that didn't leave the others appeased, still secretly brandishing
their weapons behind Ranma.

Just as the day was progressing, there came a point where Sasami
has brought ice cold refreshments for the humid day. True to her nature,
Mihoshi 'accidentally' hit the incoming tray, the glasses of drinks
directed towards Ranma. Fast as he may be, the martial artist could only
watched as the glasses drenched him in cold liquid. The transformation
is triggered again and all, and all those around him except Trunks froze
in their chat. In an instant, a pigtailed redhead wearing the same
clothes as Tenchi's cousin appeared. Washuu immediately launched herself
towards the 'guinea pig' of her dreams. The redhead barely had enough
time to sidestep and let the small scientist sail harmlessly by her.

Katsuhito's brow lifted when his grandson transformed into this
creavascious well-endowed redhead. He looked questioningly at her,
saying, "Jusenkyo, Ranma?"

At the mention of the cursed place, Ranma turned to her
grandfather and nodded. "Stupid pops got this brochure about a legendary
training ground. It was all fine and dandy BUT... the whole pamphlet was
in chinese! And he couldn't even read chinese! Anyway, he ignored the
guide's warning and we started sparring on the bamboo poles that stuck
up from the springs. I managed to land a hit on him, propelling him into
a spring. To me surprise, a panda emerged. While I was surprised, the
stupid panda bopped me on the head and let me fall into another spring,
and guess what? It was the spring of drowned girl... cold water causes
the change to my cursed form, while hot water reverses the effect." she
swatted away from her breast Ryoko's poking finger.

Washuu stood up, declaring, "Why don't you come with me? I will
cure you of that curse!"

Ranma shook her head violently, accepting the kettle from
Sasami's hands. "No thanks. Maybe just having control is enough for me.
I think I already kinda accepted the curse. I might not like it, but I
accept it." she explained as she poured the hot water over her head.
Everyone marveled the full body transformation of female to male.

"By the way, Ranma..." his grandfather said, "I was wondering if
you could explain your tail..."

Ranma smiled at his grandfather. "A while back I was fighting
Happosai, the perverted Grandmaster of Anything Goes School of Martial
Arts, when he pulled out a strange artifact that blasted me into Trunks'
dimension..."

Katsuhito started at that. "Happosai? That pervert is still
alive?"

Ranma snorted. "Yeah... I beat him up together with a couple of
my enemies too. Must be angry at that. Anyway, when I appeared to the
other dimension, I fell into some kind of lab. I got electricuted badly,
and while I was busy tryin' ta figure out what the heck happened to me,
some weird doctor guy with a couple of androids started blasting me. I
got pretty pissed at that, so I kinda blasted the whole lab thingie
apart. That was when Trunks and the rest found me. Goku, another friend
and a very strong guy at that, pointed out my tail. He said somethin' me
being a Saiyajin now... but the tail was in the wrong color..." he
turned to Trunks, pulling on the purple haired boy's tail gently, "See
this? His is brown, like all of the other Saiyajins. While mine is red
in color..." and to show his point, he wagged his tail in front of him.

Ayeka had her hands on her mouth. "Saiyajins..." she said,
"Those group of warriors are uncivilized at best, but they are really
powerful. Physically, they are unmatched across the entire universe, and
energy-wise, only the Juraians could outmatch them."

Ryoko snarled. "Met a couple of them a while back, and I was
beaten badly. They're quite honorable, but too cocky sometimes too. They
never fight unfairly. One-on-one is really a one warrior fight. Geez!
They are freakin' monsters! They outlast my endurance like I was a baby
to them!"

Katsuhito nodded his head once. "Yes, I remember them. Though
they were never asked for their alliance. It was too late when the Royal
Council decided to enlist them, because they switched their sides to the
tyrant Freeza. They became feared as planet destroyers, and pods from
their planet are sent across the galaxies to probe out planets to be
conquered. Saiyajins also have this condition which causes them to
transform into very powerful gigantic monkeys during a full moon. Their
prime directive is to destroy everything in sight."

Everybody cringed at that, but Ranma interjected, "For some
reason, I didn't change when I was exposed to the full moon back when I
was battling some aliens in their homeworld. Bulma says it might have
been because of my mixed blood. Trunks here also regrew his tail when he
was hit by lightning. Bulma removed the recessive gene that causes
Saiyajins to change in his DNA. She discovered that I lack those
recessive genes when she examined my DNA, so she applied those theories
to Trunks too."

Katsuhito visibly relaxed at that. "That's good. You must've had
a really grand time."

Ranma snickered. "Yeah. In that timeline I was in, a lot of
Saiyajins were present. It was Earth, centuries in the future from now."

"You were pulled into the future?" Washuu asked with great
interest.

"Yep." Ranma said simply, "Son Goku, or Kakaroto as his Saiyajin
name says, was the first of the Saiyajins to be sent in this part of the
universe. He was sent as a conqueror, but a mighty blow on the head
reversed his way of thinkin'. His violent nature turned into a kind and
gentle soul. He saved the Earth lots of times and was considered a hero.
Raditz, Goku's blood brother, followed, but was defeated. He was later
joined in by the prince of the Saiyajins himself, Vegeta accompanied by
Nappa, who first arrived to destroy the planet but reconsidered after
being badly beaten by Goku. Nappa died in that encounter when Vegeta
killed him. The Saiyajins settled down and also had sons, Goku had Gohan
and Vegeta had Trunks..."

Trunks smiled. "The timeline I was in where Ranma arrived wasn't
really my timeline."

"Oh?" everyone said simultaneously.

"Yes... I came back through a time machine made by my mother. I
was to save Son Goku from dying. He suffered from a rare heart disease
and died. Later, my world was attacked by the androids of a mad doctor,
coincidentally the same doctor that got Ranma regrow his tail again."
Trunks continued on, "Everyone died at that timeline, and I came back to
stop it. Ranma also came out and apparently, he wiped out save two of
the android force that was created by Doctor Gero. The two other
androids became friendly for some reason, and also Android 18 has this
huge thing for Ra-hmmmmpppphhhh!!!" Trunks mumbled as a blushing Ranma
covered his mouth.

"What was that?" Katsuhito eyed his blushing grandson. Trunks
elbowed Ranma which at the same time freed his mouth.

"Android 18 fell in love with Ranma!" Trunks laughed out loud.
The others followed his example and a bellow of laughters echoed the
room. This caused Ranma to blush even redder as he waited for the
newfound family of his settle down.

When everyone sobered up, Ranma turned to his grandfather,
asking, "Grandpa, now tell me about my other heritage, and also why
everyone here are all aliens?"

Everyone sweated as Katsuhito gasped in mild surprise. "How did
you deduce that, Ranma?" he asked. Ranma raised an eyebrow and gave his
grandfather a 'do-you-take-me-for-a-fool' look.

Ayeka smiled. "You are right. I am of Juraian Royalty, Princess
Ayeka. I came here with my sister, Sasami. She is also a princess. I
came here to retrieve my half-brother Yosho. Kiyone and Mihoshi are
Galaxy Police. They are not from Earth either. Well, we took a liking of
this place and decided to stay for a while longer."

Washuu laughed softly. "Amazing! You could tell auras apart!
Very well, I am definitely not human. I'm approximately 20,000 years
old. Ryoko is my daughter, mixed breeds of the alien races I come
across. I am the greatest scientist in the universe!" Everybody
sweatdropped at the outburst.

Ryoko smirked. "I was a feared space pirate before I came here,
but got defeated by Yosho almost seven hundred years ago. He trapped me
in a cave near here and I was freed by Tenchi here." Ryoko threw Tenchi
a small smile. Ranma chuckled as he watched his cousin freeze up, and
Ayeka fumed.

Katsuhito bowed a bit. "I am a descendant of Yosho, former crown
prince of Jurai. Tenchi is now the current crown prince, which makes you
a prince as well."

Ranma looked at his grandfather curiously. "So... this is the
effect of the Age Longetivity thingie Bulma explained to me..."

Ayeka's brow rose at that. "What do you mean, Ranma-sama?"

Ranma winced slightly, but he continued, "I mean, why is grandpa
hiding his real face? He's really young, but he hid under that baggy old
man look." The 'old' man paled at the remark, looking at Ayeka nervously
who was at this time glaring at him.

"What does he mean, 'brother'?" Ayeka hissed, a hint of venom
dripped from the 'brother' part.

Everyone's gazes concentrated on him, and Katsuhito really felt
uncomfortable. "W-well..." he stammered, "I really didn't want to take
the throne. I chose to pursue Ryoko here rather than be tied down by
royalty." and with that, he dropped his disguise field, earning a
wide-eyed stare from the people around him. In place of the old man, a
rather young man with long black hair tied in a low ponytail sat before
them.

Ranma felt the huge tension that sprang up in the air. Before
things got out of hand, he stepped in saying, "I wouldn't blame him for
hiding though, I mean I couldn't be caught dead rotting in a throne."

Ayeka's outrage towards Yosho turned to Ranma. "What do you mean
by that?! How dare you speak about the throne like that!"

Ranma waved his hand in the air. "Then what the heck are ya all
doin' here then? Why are the princesses out here in a small planet like
this?! Why the heck did the great space pirate Ryoko stay in here after
getting outta that cave? Why did the greatest scientist in the universe
prefer to be here? Well???" Seeing no one would dispute his claim, he
spoke once again, "Everyone wants to let loose once in a while. You
cannot blame them for bein' selfish jus' once in a while."

Katsuhito smiled. "While we are in the subject of secrets, I
have another one concerning you, Ranma." When he saw Ranma's brow rise a
bit, he continued, "You see, your Saiyajin blood was kind of, my fault."

"What?" Ranma has a confused expression on his face.

"You see, a lost Saiyajin crash-landed long ago here, and was
terribly wounded. It was when your mother is about sixteen years of age.
She in turn tended on the Saiyajin while I tried to find information on
how to repair his ship with Funaho. Let's just say, it was love between
them. He had amnesia, and forgotten his name. We only knew that he has
escaped here from Freeza's tyranny, by order of the Vegeta-sei's Royal
Guard Captain named Bardock. We named him Ran."

Ranma's face was neutral. "You mean to tell me, Genma was really
not my father?"

Katsuhito shook his head. "No. He's not. I had Funaho seal your
Saiyajin powers just because it is too powerful even for Nodoka to bear
when she is going to give birth to you. After that, Ran received a
distress signal from his planet, and he was being ordered to go back. At
that time, I was successful in restoring parts of the ship he used with
Funaho's help. He left the planet with Nodoka one month pregnant of you,
Ranma. My daughter cried every night after that."

Ranma nodded solemnly. "I should be angry at my father, but for
some reason I understand his reasons for leaving. I woulda done the same
thing ya know. People will die if he didn't come back. But I heard
Vegeta-sei was destroyed anyway. Still, his courage is admirable."

"You got that trait from him, Ranma." Katsuhito chuckled. "Too
bad we never got his real name. After a few weeks, a traveling martial
artist came by, and wooed Nodoka. That man is Saotome Genma. The rest is
history."

"So, my Saiyajin blood is supposed to remain dormant?" the
pigtailed Saiyajin asked.

Katsuhito sighed. "You have to understand. We have to control
your powers because it was too much. Your mother wouldn't have survived
giving birth to you if you had that kind of energy. Even one month old
inside your mother's womb, Ran and I could already feel your energy
gushing forth."

"Oh... I guess that's okay. But still, it won't hurt if ya just
told me anyways." Ranma deadpanned.

"Enough with the lies. Isn't there another secret you wish to
tell Ranma, Yosho?" Everyone looked at Sasami, who's playful eyes
reverted into an older looking type with lots of experience in them.

"Tsunami..." Katsuhito muttered, sweating a bit. "D-do you wish
for him to know this now?"

Sasami/Tsunami nodded. "Yes, prince of Jurai. I wish it so."

"Know what?" Ranma asked, confusion etched into his face.

Everyone turned to Katsuhito, who coughed to clear his throat.
"Well, you see... Nodoka is not your blood mother either."

"WHAT?!" Multitudes of outraged cries was heard all over the
household. Katushito winced as he watched them glare at him except
Ranma, who was in extreme shock, and Sasami/Tsunami, who was looking at
him intently.

"Actually, he is Tokimi's child..." Katsuhito raised his hand to
forestall any more outbursts, "The lost Saiyajin, who we named Ran, is
the father. Tsunami and I made a story to hide the fact who Ranma really
is."

"TOKIMI?!" Washuu, Ayeka and Ryoko screamed, shocked out of
their wits.

"Yes... my sister Tokimi's son..." Sasami/Tsunami's sad sigh
didn't escape those around her. "Tokimi detected the strong energy, thus
she sought the source out. She found the Saiyajin, and I still don't
know about this, but I think she was smitten by him. How, I cannot tell.
I found out about her plan to bring the Saiyajin and brainwash him, but
I was too late to stop it when it happened. Tokimi has spies everywhere,
eventhough she was imprisoned. The Saiyajin was brought to her from here
by some means that only she knew, and for some reason, her expression
softened when she talked to him. I was monitoring Tokimi's dimensional
prison at this time, trying to find a way to rescue the poor warrior.
But, to my surprise, Tokimi embraced him and even kissed him. I didn't
watch anymore, but I learned that the kidnapped Saiyajin was returned
here, under Funaho's tree. He doesn't remember a thing." she said the
last part almost in a whisper.

Katsuhito breathed out. "Tsunami -FELT- that Tokimi is with
child, so it is safe to assume of Ran and Tokimi's... tryst... well, she
got pregnant. Tsunami was afraid that Tokimi will use her child as an
instrument of her revenge. A mixture of two of the most powerful beings
in the universe. Imagine the consequences given Tokimi's evil. While
Tokimi was asleep Tsunami magically removed the fertilized egg from her
sister's womb. Incidentally, this caused Tokimi to go mad, adding to her
anger in Tsunami and her children. Meanwhile Tsunami talked to me and
asked for advice. While it is not practical, I suggested that she
transfer the 'seed' to a mortal. I talked to Nodoka and Achika, and
Nodoka took the chance."

"I transferred the seed into Nodoka's womb..." Sasami/Tsunami
continued, "And erased it from her memory. At that time, there was also
a martial artist who wandered here, so it was convenient at that time.
They fell in love, and the rest is history. The baby they thought they
conceived by themselves was already there to begin with. The Saiyajin
wasn't really in love with Nodoka. We made that part up to cover
everything up. Days after the Saiyajin returned from Tokimi, he returned
to his infantry. His courage and sense of honor though, are exactly like
Ranma's. His stubborness and pride, is from your mother. We hid
everything from everyone, to protect the stability of... possibly the
whole universe. I just don't know what to do at that time, if I knew
that Tokimi brought you up. I cannot read my sister's actions that
well."

By this time, everyone was openly gaping at the solemn Tsunami.
Ryoko then growled, "You -STOLE- Ranma from his mother?! What kind of an
action is that?! Do you have any idea how that would feel?!"

A meek voice answered for her. "It hurts like hell." They all
turned to see Washuu seething in anger. "Damn you, Tsunami, how the hell
could you do this?! You mean to tell me that all her anger was from
this?! No wonder she was mad at you!"

Tenchi just kept silent.

"By the goddess! I can't believe this!" Ayeka cried out for the
sheer absurdity of it all.

"...Why?" It was barely a whisper, but everyone stopped talking
at once and looked at the disraughted Ranma. "Why did you take me from
my mother?" Then he shook his head. "No, I won't blame you for it. For
some reason, I think you thought it was for the best. I heard from the
stories that my real mother was evil, and that you won't like me to be
tainted like her. But I will reserve my judgement of her... she may or
may not be evil after all..."

"I'm sorry, Ranma... at first that was part of it. I don't want
you to grow up in that path, my nephew. I just had to save you from that
pain!" Sasami/Tsunami said, her eyes cast on the floor, "But then there
is also this legend. The first ever sentient being in the known
multiverses is known only as the Darkness. Then out of that Darkness,
the Ancient Gods were born. After countless of years being in control,
the Darkness bore another three gods, namely Kami-sama, Chaos-sama, and
Hel-sama. They had different names, but all mean the same. The three
casted the Ancient Gods into Oblivion, and set to run things. But Chaos
was different, and it chose to just exist along the Cosmos, constantly
traveling from one universe to another, balancing the elements out.
There will come a time when Chaos would find its perfect body, and with
it, it will be acting as a balance for the whole of existence. Kami-sama
told me that I was the one to bear such a body for the heralding the
avatar or... possibly the heir of Chaos. It can never be controlled, nor
can ever be tamed."

Ranma sighed magnanimously. "Chaos, huh? Sounds exactly like my
life."

"Would you like to stay here for a few days, Ranma?" Katsuhito
asked suddenly. "It would also give me an opportunity to train you in
the other half of your heritage."

Ranma looked at Trunks, who nodded slightly in return. He gazed
once again to his grandfather, saying, "Sure... I'm not in a hurry
anyway... besides, I wanna ask you about my mother. Better in one
perspective than none at all."

======================================================================== ==
== To Be Continued... ==
======================================================================== ==

Authors Rants:

Ah... Chapter One finally. You might wanna ask why Ranma is
stronger than most, well coz since he was young he was already
unconsciously using his ki to augment and aid his strength, stamina and
durability. Now imagine him, now a newly awakened Saiyajin with high ki
output, unconsciously use his ki to boost his stats.

Besides, he needs the power boost. He's always hunted here,
always bullied for some reason. I hate bullies.

Don't worry, he's gonna have enemies that will be stronger than
him, and he will need some help in fighting them. His fights won't
always be against a humanoid you know.

At first, I was planning on having the mad doctor to
accidentally inject the Goku DNA to Ranma, but then I got an inspiration
from the story 'Child of the Goddess'.

To the author, Gekigengar31, I salute you! I hope you're gonna
continue with the story soon... been looking forward to the next
chapters.

Some might disagree with Akane quickly falling for Ryoga.
Well... maybe, maybe not. It depends... but as I really see it, Ryoga's
too well hung in his mission to destroy Ranma's happiness. His
persistence in showing up and courting Akane to his side without Ranma
to bother or stop them would push things along. Besides, Akane trusts
Ryoga more than she does Ranma. Sorry for the canon Akane fans, but her
mistrusting ways must go! I really feel for Ranma when he gets clobbered
for something he didn't do, and if not for Akane's really intense but
super hidden feelings for the guy, I would even agree to an Akane
bashing. But as I said, I for some reason like Akane's tomboy attitude,
coz my dearly departed beloved (rhymes... figures...) is somewhat like
her, without the too much mistrust. She bashes, she raves, but heck,
it's in moderation. And she cuddles me after a quarrel.

Ryoga fans too, sorry for his would be apparent bashings and for
future ones too. I just can't think of any other way to visualize the
guy. Maybe he stuck with Ranma with his most hedious fights, but heck
Ryoga always did plan for something sneaky and dishonorable. Ryoga even
didn't realize that he is leading on Akari, although it is one of his
battlecries against Ranma. His bullheadedness is somewhat...
disconcerting. Weird.

I also wanna explore the fact about Ranma being the stolen son
of Tokimi. I may have kinda changed things, but it is a good reason why
Tokimi would be so angry at Tsunami, right? Eheh... Ranma calling Sasami
'auntie'... funny... heheh...

Anyway, if you're gonna ask about the matchups, well, we're
going there. The hints will be obvious anyway. I don't wanna give out
who Ranma will stay with. Besides, Ranma 1/2 can NOT be Ranma 1/2 if he
won't be pursued by a harem. It might not be his fault, but it is
comical, as well as a plot device!

That's why I love Ranma 1/2! There's so many possibilities and
outcomes waiting to be explored!

Will Ryoga finally get his girl? Heh... stay tuned.

Hmmm... I wonder if I would also cross this fic with games and
stuff... Final Fantasy isn't bad... Evil Zone too... Chrono Trigger and
Cross... yummy. Lots and lots of possibilities.

This won't be the end of the crossover between Ranma and
DBZ/DBGT. It's only the beginning of a really interesting fusion.

Oh yeah. This is a 'FanFic'... the writer IS the boss ya know.

- Lord Rance

This whole story, 'Path of Chaos', is dedicated to Ashleen, my
beloved. May you rest in peace, my love. I will find you and be with you
again, wherever you are.

Comments are welcome, but please reserve the negative. It's a
fanfic, I get to tweak my story my own way.

In case you need my email for some reason at all, here:
lord_rance@yahoo.com

Homepage will be coming... I hope to find a good place.