Title: Chaotic Rebirth

Author name: Trugeta

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ as well as Naoko Takeuchi and many others. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Note further that I don't own any of the trademarks mentioned in this story.

This story takes place after the failed wedding in the Ranma series and the defeat of Galaxia in the Sailor Moon Series. It's an AU, and reviews are welcome and appreciated.


Chapter 3


Ranma Saotome, gender-changing prodigal martial artist and permanent resident of the Tendo-ke in the Nerima ward of Tokyo of three years was normally a happy-go-lucky person with a very long fuse. Normally being they key-word here, for lately said long fuse had really been put to the test, and today hadn't been an exception to what was rapidly becoming the norm. In fact, the incident that had put the nineteen year old man-turned-woman in a state of mind she was becoming more and more familiar with as of late and the failed wedding in particular hadn't even consisted of her being chased by all of the fiancées, rivals and suitors and massive property damage as had almost become par for the course, but it hadn't been any less annoying.

The cause of her ire hadn't even been a new one, but the means by which said cause, that being no one other than her mother, had yet again managed to annoy her hadn't been her manliness shtick for a change, but rather her surprising order to dress up for a meeting with her grandparents. Grandparents she hadn't even known she had. Grandparents who wanted to meet her in female form, hence the order to dress up as a teenage girl. Hence her mounting ire that was slowly reaching levels comparable to Akane at her best.

Ranma took a few calming breaths and closed her eyes to get a grip on her emotions, and after deeply breathing in and out for a few minutes she opened her eyes again. She just had to concentrate on that silver lining on the horizon, her grandparents. That she still had living relatives beside her parents was, while surprising, a real chance to - hopefully - interact with 'normal' members of her family (seeing as neither her mother nor her father could be considered normal by a long shot), and surprising revelations being sprung at her left, right and centre had become so much of a routine that she'd taken to taking them in stride. Still having grandparents was comparatively tame anyway considering the strange turns her life was wont to taking. What wasn't fine by a long shot was that her mother - her mother of all people! - had practically ordered her to pretty up in female form.

Ranma shook her head in irritation and continued to grumble to herself, paying her own reflection as shown by the bathroom mirror only half a mind. She admitted to herself that she was looking forward to meeting her grandparents, relatives she had never seen before in her life, but did she have to wear so womanly attire to do so? Surveying the red cocktail dress and equally red high heels her mother had practically ordered her to wear she sighed. Deeply. Repeatedly.

The worst wasn't the very feminine attire but the fact that her outfit was such that she'd had no other choice but to wear a pair of panties underneath her skirt, and not just plain cotton panties, but red lace panties as selected by her mother. It was well known how much effort it had cost her to wear this epitome of all that was feminine during the Moxibustion incident, but it seemed her mother - who had been told this particular story - had just gone crazy as usual when it came to underwear and had provided her with something out of every man's wet dream. Traditional woman her mother may be, but she had really odd quirks when it came to bathing suits and underwear, Ranma thought with a sorrowful shake of her head.

This thought involuntarily guided her musings to another piece of female undergarment she had to wear, to 'give her the proper support', as her mother had said. Ranma shuddered as the thought crossed her mind how Kuno would react if he ever saw her like this and forcefully shook her head to shoo away said nightmarish scenario, returning to cursing the injustice of it all. She had fumbled with the clasps for five minutes straight - five whole minutes! - and had barely managed to get the bra on, and the darn thing was still uncomfortable as hell. Ranma asked herself for the umpteenth time how girls could wear contraptions this uncomfortable, and considered herself lucky that she didn't belong to the unlucky ones who had to do so regularly. The attire wasn't the only thing that served to irritate her, though, for her mother had also insisted that she wore earrings and make-up. Should Nabiki - despite her reassurances - take shots of her it'd make her day. Not.

The only redeeming part was the chance to meet her grandparents, who were, according to Ayame, normal people without such strange quirks as her parents possessed; due to Ayame's reassurances she was also hopeful that the older Saotomes would really welcome her with open arms and accept her as she was. This was also the main reason why she had chosen to go along with her grandmother's wishes. The desire to finally meet someone of her family who'd accept her as she was, curse and all, even if she initially had to be a girl to do so was great, and if they really did, who knew, maybe her mother would as well. Ayame had revealed that her grandmother had looked very much like her female half in her younger days, so Ranma naturally suspected that her granny wanted to see for herself if this was true. Why that couldn't be done by turning into a girl on site eluded her, but the anticipation to meet her grandparents pushed that thought to the back of her mind.

Another incentive had been born from the realisation that her mother had still not accepted her as she was, despite her claims to the contrary, and now she'd 'go along' and be as real a girl as she could manage just to spite her mother. It would be funny to see how she would react to her acting like a real girl would, and even if it was kind of mean, it would be well deserved payback for the manliness hell her mother had put her through. That her mother couldn't reprimand her was just an added bonus.

Looking at herself in the mirror and really looking this time Ranma carefully applied make-up, just a little mascara here and shadow there to highlight her natural features. Taking a deep breath after she was finished the redhead gave herself a mental pep talk, telling herself she shouldn't be bothered by going out like this as it was just another disguise as well as a free ticket to pay her mother back.

Ranma scowled as her thoughts dwelled on something she had noticed right off the bat. Her mother may have claimed that she could hold her own counsel from now on, but she knew she hadn't really meant it. Her mother's ki had given her away, which meant she was still as hung up on manliness as ever and continued to cling to her own plans. Nothing had changed.

Ever since she'd come to know that she still had a mother she had constantly fought to be acknowledged by her, and that still hadn't happened. Add to that that her mother wanted to use her for her own gains, much like her father, only that her goals lay in becoming a (multiple) grandmother as soon as possible. It was Ranma's vain hope that she'd gain access to her mother through meeting her grandparents, maybe they could help convince her that there were things more important than being 'manly'.

Grumbling about 'stupid manliness' Ranma added the finishing touches and gave herself a once over in the mirror; finding that she was properly attired and as well prepared as could be expected the redheaded boy-turned-girl made her way downstairs. 'It's good that Akane can't see me like this. She'd have a stroke and mallet me to the Moon for being a pervert. Or get insanely jealous,' were her amused thoughts.

Stepping into the living room Ranma immediately locked eyes with her mother and gave her her best puppy-dog expression. "Do I really hafta go like this, mom? I mean, those clothes are a-okay," she said and twirled her red cocktail dress in a sexy way which made her mother visibly twitch, "but this bra is really killing me!" she lamented. "Don't you have a more comfy one for me to wear?" she added, hoping to get even more of a rise out of her mother.

Nodoka visibly struggled to keep her countenance, but managed to keep her face impassive due to years of experience safe for a twitch of her left eye. "No, Ranma-chan, your underwear has been carefully selected in accordance with your other clothes. I'm sure you'll get used to it in no time."

Ranma barely managed to suppress the satisfied grin that wanted to appear on her face at finding that she had unsettled her mother. "If you say so, mom," she fake-sighed, making a show of adjusting her bra.

Nodoka stepped behind her son-turned-daughter, an obviously forced smile on her face. "Here, let me help you, dear," she said and set to work on readjusting the bra straps, although the smile didn't stretch to her voice.

Few moments later a heart-felt sigh of relief escaped Ranma-chan and Nodoka walked to stand beside Ayame. "That's much better. Thanks, mom, you'll really have to show me how to put those on properly."

Twitching increased, and Ranma hid her smirk. "Mom, I'm kinda hungry… Can we go now?"

"Ayame informed me that our limo will arrive any moment now, Ranma-chan. Oh, and please try to stick to the table-manners Kasumi and I have tried to teach you once we are at the restaurant. You surely don't want to embarrass us in front of my parents, do you?" Nodoka asked with an undertone that suggested the expected answer.

"No, mom, of course not," Ranma retorted fake-earnestly, pasting her best butter-wouldn't-melt-in-my-mouth-look on her face.

The younger redhead had just barely managed to keep her face straight and helped herself to a glass of water when the honk of a horn could be heard from the outside. Nodoka got up dignifiedly. "That's probably the limo. Come on, daughter."

Ayame inwardly rejoiced that Nodoka had apparently finally managed to accept what was to happen, for that she had called Ranma 'daughter' had surely not been easy for her. Or had it just been an act? Either way, she'd carefully observe and draw her conclusions, as always. However, looking at Ranma and seeing her unperturbed expression Ayame was surprised to see that the younger redhead was not put out by Nodoka's use of 'daughter' at all, as she would have expected. Add to that that the behaviour she had just witnessed between mother and daughter had been... strange, to say the least. Further observation was definitely called for, but she'd have done that anyway.

-.-

Ranma had decided to let her mother off the hook as she deemed the overwhelming success at annoying her suffice for the time being, and switched from oblivious to happy-go-lucky. It would be very interesting to see how her mother would deal with a certain problem, though, and Ranma pasted her best thoughtful expression on her face. "Mom, there's something that occurred to me... What about the danger that hot fluids might accidentally change me back? Now that would be really embarrassing," she muttered and shuddered, carefully watching her mother's reaction; although, the vision of her male side in a damn hot cocktail dress with matching panties and bra was something that made her shudder, and the thought of what form-fitting panties would do to suddenly restored male anatomy made her cringe for real.

Her mother looked horrified for a moment as similar thoughts were no doubt running through her mind, but then her look switched to thoughtful. "I hadn't thought of that, daughter. Hmm, let me think," she put a hand to her chin, then snatched her fingers a few moments later. "Ranma, you told me about that Soul of Ice technique you learned. Would it be possible to modify it so that it would chill the air around you once the meal was served, ultimately freezing any hot fluid that might come in contact with your aura?"

The redhead looked thoughtful for a moment, then she grinned broadly, managing to keep her happy-go-lucky-mask in place. "Yes, I can do that. I'd have to focus hard to create a shield around me so that I won't cool the whole room, but it should work. Cool idea, mom!"

"Thanks, daughter," Nodoka replied modestly.

"There's just one problem, mom... I'd have to keep it up at all times. That will be… taxing. And I might still end up cooling the whole room," Ranma mused, a finger resting on her chin.

Ayame waved her concerns away. "This is of no concern, Mistress. Your grandparents are used to variable and extreme temperatures. It was part of their training. And seeing as we'll have a room to ourselves it's nothing to worry about."

"Oh, okay," Ranma said with a shrug.

Nodoka nodded. "Good. Let's take our leave then. I'm sure my parents will already be waiting."

The Saotome matriarch walked towards the door, Ranma and Ayame on her heels. "Don't wait for us, Kasumi," Nodoka called towards the kitchen. "It'll probably get late, and we might even sleep at Saotome manor."

"Okay, Auntie. I'll be sure to tell Uncle," came Kasumi's reply from the kitchen.

"Thanks, dear. Until later."

"Bye, Auntie," Kasumi called, and once the other three women had stepped outside she quietly muttered, "I hope everything goes well for you, little brother, but something tells me that it won't. I have a very bad feeling about this."

-.-

The drive to the Ritz was quite uneventful by anyone's standard, which was unsurprising seeing as Nabiki hadn't sold Ranma's destination to the NWC. Ranma and her mother were seated in the backseat, while Ayame had chosen the seat beside the driver. The armoured black limo offered every luxury imaginable, from TV over champagne to truffles, and the younger redhead, curious as ever, tried out the 42'' plasma TV. She soon grew bored with the 'useless stuff', seeing as she'd never really been one to watch TV in the first place, and took to questioning her mother and Ayame about her grandparents instead.

It was Ayame who answered, and the agent gave her the official version, that her grandfather, Xenma Saotome, was fifty-nine years old, held mastery in thirteen martial arts categories, was proficient at wielding at least ten weapons at master level and was all around a tough bastard. Ranma laughed at Ayame's bluntness, and from what she'd observed of the raven-haired woman she knew that she was not prone to exaggeration, which was why she was very much looking forward to meeting her grandfather, and she anticipated matching her skills with him.

According to Ayame her grandmother was a Gaijin woman named Lara, a Gaijin who had at that time managed to impress her later in-laws so much that she had instantly been accepted into the family. The red hair that now ran in the female side of the Saotome line was a trait of hers, which meant very strong genes on her part. Lara Saotome was fifty-four years old, and held many masteries in many an art, just like her husband, yet she had also focussed on honing and perfecting her skills where it came to modern weaponry, which had something to do with her former profession. Upon questioning what profession that was Ayame had just smiled and refused to elaborate.

The drive soon came to an end, and Ayame escorted a gaping Ranma and a dignified Nodoka into the Ritz. Once the younger redhead had managed to rewind her jaw the trio passed the lobby and marched straight towards the restaurant, led by Ayame who obviously knew her way around here. The dark-clad woman opened a side-door and held it open to allow Ranma and her mother entry. The younger redhead cautiously stepped into the darkened room, and routinely made a room-sweep to gauge potential risks and routes of escape. The back room they had entered was nearly lavish in its luxury, and the full range of services was assured through a sliding door that apparently led directly to the kitchens. Having finished her room-sweep in under a second Ranma's gaze fell on the two occupants of the room; the redhead had already felt their gazes upon her mother and herself, but mainly on her.

Pretending to admire the interior of the room Ranma surveyed them as unobtrusively as possible, knowing full well she'd only have a few seconds before her mother would start walking towards her parents, and she planned to use these seconds well; she surveyed her grandfather Xenma first, and noticed that Ayame had not exaggerated. Xenma was a fit and healthy looking man, and his thick cords of muscle and built made him look like a bear. His brown eyes were alert and shining with intelligence, but had a friendliness to them as well. Ranma noticed right away that he'd be a challenging sparring partner alright.

Ranma's focus switched to her grandmother, and found Ayame's statement that Lara Saotome looked very much like her mother and her herself in her female form to be true, with the slight difference that she was a little bit shorter than Nodoka, maybe by about five centimetres. But her bust-line... 'Ayame was right… now I know after whom I take in this form. Hers gotta be at least as big as mine, if not more so!' the redhead thought.

Lara's hair was still of a vivid red, which was surprising considering her age, and Ranma found other signs that her grandmother was obviously aging well. The older Saotome's lean and muscular build resembled that of her own female form verily and was almost as well defined. Through surveying Lara Saotome further Ranma came to the conclusion that she had to be an able martial artist, for her whole posture and the fact that she had hidden her aura were a dead-giveaway. But her blue eyes, much like Xenma's, held a certain friendliness to them that was often associated with good people. The young redhead dearly hoped that her grandparents were not the exception from the rule.

Ranma had just finished surveying her grandparents when her mother started walking towards them, and she noticed how regal her mother walked, proudly, nearly defiant. Shrugging internally Ranma followed her mother's lead, absently noting that Ayame remained routed to the spot near the sole exit aside from the escape-route via the kitchens. 'Stop it, Ranma!' the redhead chided herself. 'I'm in no danger here, they are my grandparents, for cryin' out loud! So relax.'

"Mother, Father," Nodoka began, bowing down only as much as common courtesy demanded, "it's good to see you again."

"I agree, daughter," retorted Xenma in a rich baritone, his face neutral and devoid of emotions. "It has been... long."

"Xenma, stop acting like a block of ice," Lara chided and swatted him on the arm before getting up from behind the circular table Xenma and she were seated at. She stepped in front of Nodoka and hugged her, who stiffened briefly before returning the hug "Hello, No-chan. It has been too long," she almost whispered, blinking a few tears away.

Ranma watched all this in silence, and took an instant liking to her grandmother. Lara Saotome seemed to be... nice. Xenma she couldn't really evaluate as of yet, the knowledge she had gained through her prior observations aside. She had just switched her attention back to Xenma when her grandfather chuckled. "Woman, you have always been too emotional," he said with humour.

Lara batted her lashes at him. "That's a woman's prerogative. Besides, that's why you love me."

Xenma chuckled anew and inclined his head. "True, true," he allowed and got up himself. With a few steps he was standing in front of Nodoka. "It's good to see you, No-chan. Even if I still say your marriage to Genma Yamada was a mistake, I see that he got at least something right."

His vista turned to Ranma. "You must be Ranma," he stated in his baritone and laced the teen with a powerful gaze.

"Yes," the redhead replied and met the gaze unflinchingly, almost challengingly.

"Xenma, don't scare the poor dear!" Lara exclaimed indignantly and loosened out of the hug to puff her husband into the side.

"Hey, I ain't scared of nothing!" Ranma retorted with a glare.

"She has the typical Saotome fire. Good," Xenma commented with a satisfied nod.

Lara shook her head and stepped in front of Ranma. Before the younger redhead knew what was going on she was drawn into a crushing hug by her surprisingly strong grandmother. "Hello dear, I'm Lara, your grandmother. I'm happy to meet you after all these years! And my, you look lovely!"

Ranma on her part was slowly turning blue. "Air... long white tunnel... pearly gates opening wide..."

Xenma chuckled, his brown eyes twinkling. "Ease up on the poor dear, honey. She's already turning violet."

Lara let go of Ranma and managed not to blush, a remarkable feat in the youngest redhead's opinion. "T... Thanks," she wheezed as she drew much needed oxygen into her lungs. "I think I have seen an angel or two."

Xenma chuckled once again. "You have to forgive your grandmother. Seventeen years of looking forward to meeting you have made her a bit overenthusiastic. But I admit to sharing her enthusiasm."

Ranma stepped back and made warding gestures. "If you try to hug me like that I'll have to hurt you. I ain't gonna survive another one like this."

Xenma shook his head and laughed. "Don't worry, Ranma, I'm not into the touchy feely stuff," the Head of Clan Saotome said and embraced Ranma lightly in a brief hug. "It's good to finally meet you."

"You too, grandfather," replied the youngest redhead in the room with a smile.

"Before we get all sappy and teary eyed I say we eat," Xenma suggested and clapped into his hands, "I'm sure you have many questions, as do we."

Ranma nodded in agreement, and the quartet sat down around the circular table. Xenma rung a bell, and half a minute later a waiter appeared and took their orders. From thereon the talk progressed, and Ranma learned just how often agents of her grandparents had missed them on the training trip. Her grandparents knew indeed everything, from the various training methods to the curse and the whole situation in Nerima.

Upon Ranma's baffled question how long she'd been watched Lara answered, "Ever since your initial arrival in Nerima. Our agents had lost track of you in China after Jusenkyo where we were just hours too late to catch up to you, but we caught your trail again soon afterwards."

"You were at Jusenkyo?" Ranma almost yelled, worry shining in her eyes.

Lara shook her head and smiled sheepishly. "Excuse my imprecise choice of words, Ranma. I meant our agents, not us. Jusenkyo wasn't a complete failure on our part, though. The self-updating registry of Jusenkyo victims was most helpful," she explained with a wolfish smile.

Ranma breathed a silent sigh of relief. "I can imagine," she then muttered darkly, her brows furrowing as she remembered the first Taro incident. "But please tell me that none of your agents got cursed."

Xenma and Lara shared a look that conveyed how impressed they were that Ranma was so compassionate even considering what she had been through, just as the reports had made her out to be. "We had a team of five agents on site. Two of them got cursed," the Saotome patriarch admitted, her face carefully neutral.

"Damn!" Ranma growled, smacking a fist into her palm. "Another two lives ruined..."

Lara reached out and took Ranma's hands into her own. "It is not your fault, Ranma," she said sternly, well knowing how Ranma ticked. "Our agents had their orders, and they knew about the dangers of their profession. That aside, the curses they received are very useful."

"That they are," Xenma agreed, his rich baritone drawing Ranma's attention, "My wife is right, no one is to blame, Ranma. If anyone is it's your father, thoughtless fool that he is."

"Pops ain't that bad," Ranma protested, but even to her ears it sounded weak seeing as she knew exactly how thoughtless her father could be.

Xenma snorted and raised a mocking brow. "No? Granted, a man with good intentions he may be," he allowed, but narrowed his eyes, "but the way to hell is paved with aforementioned intentions. I'm certain he never planned to fly as far off the handle as he did, but he did some very idiotic things, the Neko-ken being the most glaring example.

"Should your father and I ever meet again I'd be forced to have him grow a brain, right after I beat him to a bloody pulp. His unthinking acts have cost the sub-branch of Clan Saotome I allowed my daughter to found quite a lot."

Ranma mulled Xenma's words over and couldn't deny that her father had bungled up a lot of things, and inclined her head, muttering, "Stupid is Pops' middle name."

"I can't deny it, father. Husband managed to make quite the mess of things," Nodoka sighed and held her head bowed for a moment before meeting Xenma's gaze again. "I only hope that I'll find a way to resolve things, but it has proven to be a trying task."

Xenma, Lara and Ranma nodded in sympathetic understanding, the latter immersing in a introspective mood that almost drifted to depression due to the fact that her mother's admission had driven home that even she knew that her situation had not improved at all since Jusendo and had in fact only gotten worse. The redhead's mood was lifted a bit when dinner arrived, and as suggested by her mother beforehand she began to chill the air around her. Naturally her grandparents noticed, and Ranma explained what she was doing.

Xenma and Lara nodded, both obviously impressed, and the Saotome patriarch spoke up first. "Quite the ingenious technique, Ranma. Is this part of what you used at Jusendo?"

Ranma nodded, carefully hiding her surprise. "Wow, you're well informed. Your agents?"

Xenma nodded, and a scowl briefly showed on his face. "I must admit they couldn't have done much to help you seeing as they had strict orders to remain hidden and were outclassed by far. But what they were able to observe was the quote 'most spectacular display of skill and technique' they have ever seen."

Ranma limited her reaction to a modest inclination of her head and leaned forward, curiosity apparent on her face. "There's something I'd like to know. How exactly were your agents able to remain hidden, at Jusendo and Nerima? I mean, it must have been darn difficult in Nerima with the old ghoul and the old lech around. They ain't grandmaster and Elder for naught."

The Saotome patriarch nodded in what Ranma interpreted as grudging respect. "Those two are indeed very talented warriors, and had it not been for our equipment they would have caught us easily, many times. No, it is no technique," he explained and smiled apologetically when he saw Ranma's face fall, "but a cloaking device based on technology that is very advanced. That is how our agents remained undetected, even at Jusendo."

Ranma nodded in understanding, recognising the benefits of such a gadget. "I see. Must be damn useful, that cloaking thingy, especially for people who want to spy on Grandmaster level martial artists."

"Oh yes," agreed Xenma with a chuckle. "We would have been in a fix many a time without it. Especially at Jusendo, considering this winged man's power."

Ranma gave her grandfather a wan smile. "You can say that again. He could have easily blown up Tokyo without even trying."

"Ayame mentioned this 'Jusendo' as well. What exactly happened there?" Nodoka wanted to know, looking from her parents to her daughter.

Ranma sighed once more. Then, with a conscious effort, she used some of her soul of ice to calm herself and launched into the complete story of what had begun in Nerima with Plum's arrival and had ended with her victory over Saffron and the de facto destruction of Jusenkyo. The redhead helped herself to food all the while and tried to enact table-manners, but in face of such a tale she could probably have gotten away with eating like a barbarian. A tale that had obviously ensnared her three relatives, who, Ranma noted, were looking positively astounded, her mother most of all.

"You really killed a God?" Nodoka asked incredulously, astonishment clearly written on her face.

This was quite understandable, after all, it was not every day that your child, even someone leading such a chaotic life as her son-turned-daughter told you that she'd killed a freaking God. Looking at her parents Nodoka noticed that they looked likewise astonished. Her daughter on her part looked sheepish, a strong indicator that her tale was not exaggerated.

"That… man you fought, the one with wings, he was a God?" Lara asked, her delicate scarlet brows almost climbing into the hairline.

Ranma nodded sheepishly. "Or as close to a God as you can get. His name was… is Saffron. He's worshipped as a God in his tribe, the Phoenix people, and even the Amazons recognize him as a demi-God. His powers… boy, they were nothing to sneeze at. He was not very impressive in the physical department seeing as I managed to beat him like a drum, but as said, that guy could have toasted Tokyo without breaking a sweat just with his fireballs. And that damn regeneration of his… it was damn near unbeatable."

"But you won in the end, obviously," Xenma stated, something shining in his eyes; Ranma thought it was pride, but she couldn't be certain.

"Yes," the redhead replied, and shook her head in a way that conveyed she still found it hard to believe as well, "through a combination of luck and skill. I admit that I was extremely lucky."

Nodoka looked at her daughter with obvious pride in her eyes. "Be it as it is, my daughter killed a God! You're so manly!" she gushed, her episode making her miss Ranma rolling her eyes.

"No-chan," her father chided, "what have I told you about this manliness crap? Yes," he said, as Nodoka looked confused, "this crap has no place in our Clan, neither in the main Clan nor in your sub-branch. I can not consent to something straight out of a very bad Samurai novel."

"Your father is right, No-chan," Lara added, her face stern and unforgiving. "I have acquired a copy of the contract, and it made my insides lurch and my blood boil. The terms of the contract were so vague and open to interpretation you could have demanded anything of Ranma. It was all bound to your views on manliness, and my agents have told me that those are questionable at best. Ah, ah, don't you dare object, young lady! I could go to court with what I have and would get guardianship of my granddaughter in no time.

"No," she continued at seeing the pleading look in Nodoka's eyes, "I won't resort to doing that, No-chan. Not after what Genma put you through, thoughtless as he is. Let's just say that your views on manliness are something for the rubbish heap of history and leave it at that. From now on I want you to treat Ranma according to form. I for my part love my granddaughter Ranma just as much as my grandson," Lara finished, smiling at Ranma.

Said redhead was confused and delighted to equal parts; her confusion was rooted therein that her grandparents really seemed to view her as their granddaughter in this form, which was a very strange concept for her. Granted, she'd accepted the curse after Jusendo, but to be downright treated as a girl… it freaked her out. On the other hand, she was delighted that her grandparents obviously loved her, she could tell it both from their body language and auras. If they were not the best actors in the world (plus it was very hard to fake auras) they were telling the truth. And lovestarved as she was her delight overrid her confusion.

"Thanks, grandma," she said with a small smile. "I'm glad that mom will try to let go of her manliness shtick in the future, for I don't want to be manly with any of my fiancées."

That caused an exclamation of shock from Nodoka. "Why ever not, Ranma?" she asked, clearly worried.

Ranma sighed inwardly and kept the deep frown from appearing on her face with difficulty; that her mother seemed to go into shock over learning that she didn't want to do the 'manly' thing with any of her fiancées proved that she was still as hung up on manliness as ever. Schooling her features she fixated her mother with an intent gaze to show her how serious she was. "The only one I would have considered was Akane. As for the others..." she began ticking off fingers, and her face became an expressionless mask. "You know, Ukyo is like a sister to me, and I can't be manly with my sister now, can I?"

Finger number two. "Shampoo... I mean she's cute and all, can cook and fight, but I can't really imagine a life with her. She always comes on too strongly, and that so turns me off. And I'd never want to live in her village, regardless of how good they'd promise to treat me there."

Ranma then pretended to think for a moment. "Marrying her and staying in Japan... considering my luck I'd drive the Nekohanten into the ground within a month; besides, I really doubt that she'd be willing to stay in Japan. No, it'd be 'Airen has to come live in village,'. Then there's that she wanted to kill 'girl-type Ranma'... she hunted me for months, and I can't forget that. Not to forget her curse... brrrrrrrr! And if that's not enough there's always Mousse, the Shampoo-obsessed myopic duck-boy who'd love nothing more than to kill the perceived obstacle to Shampoo's heart, namely me … no, I don't wanna marry her."

Finger number three. "Kodachi... I almost don't wanna go there," she muttered with a shudder. "Regardless of how often pops tries to engage me to her 'cause of her money, I'll never marry that nutjob. I mean, that crazy chick tries to marry my male half and wants to kill my female half! She's too far gone to grasp that I'm both, and I doubt she'll ever get it. Nope, don't wanna wake up with a dagger in my heart just 'cause my curse got activated. No way am I gonna marry her."

Fingers four and five. "Nabiki and Kasumi... I won't go in depth, I'll just say that I see both as my sisters, and same as Ukyo, I could never marry one of my sisters."

Finger number one, different hand. The last, and incidentally most difficult fiancée. "Akane..." Ranma sighed, almost forlornly. "She is cute, at least when it comes to her looks, she's also honest and brave. I think I loved her once, but… but in all the time, in all of the three years I've known her she hasn't changed one bit; she never let go of her jealousy, mom. You know, she always claimed she didn't care, but malleted me to the other end of the globe whenever the other girls made a move on me. And her trust in me… Don't even get me started. Heck, maybe I'm a coward for not admitting that I loved her when I still did, and maybe things would now be different if I had, but she never admitted that she loved me either."

"So you thought that she was cute… why did you always call her a 'kawaiikune tomboy' then? You must have known that this is a severe blow to a girls' ego, dear," Nodoka said and gave her son-turned-daughter an inquisitive look that was slightly disapproving.

Ranma exhaled deeply before meeting her mother's eyes. "Yeah, mom. I thought her cute, and she really looks like an angel when she smiles, but… but her temper and jealousy... that's what makes her so dang uncute, that's why I always called her an uncute tomboy. She has lost her temper so often, and always at me," the redhead concluded sadly.

"From what I've witnessed at the dojo I must say that you don't always make it easy on Akane," Nodoka replied thoughtfully, but added, "But I must say, her way of dealing with your smart-mouth left a lot to be desired…"

Ranma snorted inelegantly. "You can say that again, mom. I know I ain't perfect, far from it, but why did she have to clobber me for the tiniest bits? You know, mom, I let her hit me. When she realised just how good I am I saw fear in her eyes. Fear that I could take whatever I wanted to take from her; heck, I'm half girl, I'd never do something like that! I thought she was cute, and thought if I allowed her to hit me she'd see that she needn't fear me. Now I know that it was stupid, but one does stupid things for cute girls."

Nodoka smiled for a moment, but her expression turned serious quickly. "I see. Did Akane really hit you that often? I thought she was a nice girl."

"Nice in the aspect that she's helpful, brave and sticks to those who need help, at least according to our reports." Xenma said in Ranma's stead. "But this girl is unfit as a fiancée for Ranma. Her temper and jealousy aside, which are worse than my dear granddaughter described, she made the mistake to trust the word of others above that of Ranma without hearing Ranma's side. That is completely unacceptable for affianced people."

Nodoka took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly. "Is this true, Ranma?" she asked.

The redhead nodded slowly, nearly imperceptibly. "Yes, mom." she sighed.

"It's worse than that, No-chan," Lara added in a voice so low and foreboding it caught her daughter's attention easily, "I'm sure you know Ryoga Hibiki?"

Nodoka cursed contemptuously under her breath. "Yes," she growled. "Ayame enlightened me."

Lara, who had been undecided between congratulating her daughter to her creativity and inventiveness and washing her mouth out with soap decided to do neither and nodded grimly. "Good, daughter. I have read the reports myself, of course, and one can trust their accuracy."

"There's also an important fact to be gleaned from these reports," Xenma carried on seamlessly, "Hibiki nearly killed Akane Tendo in their initial meeting, and despite that she developed unwavering trust in him in the following months. In fact, she listened to him more in these past three years than to her own fiancé. Granted, Hibiki used knowledge he had acquired in his cursed form, but this is the most glaring example for Akane Tendos distrust," he concluded gravely.

"And without trust there cannot be a working relationship," Lara added in a knowing and serious tone. "Trust is one of the pillars of a relationship, and without it even love can not prevent said relationship from crumbling to dust."

Nodoka tilted her head in silent agreement. She was still reeling from what she had just learned, and it was a foregone conclusion that none of her son's fiancées were fit to be called such. Indeed, as things were her son was better of without them, especially as it was plain as daylight that Soun's youngest had still a lot of maturing ahead of her; much like her own child. "Maybe it was for the best that the engagement was resolved. It would have been a lot harder on everyone had the relationship broken apart a few years into a marriage. But let us talk about more pleasant topics. The company is much too enjoyable to delve further into these troublesome topics, and I'm sure you're still hungry, dear."

Ranma smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. The beef stroganoff was really good. And the shrimps. And the potato gratin. And the Cesar's Salad. And..."

"We get the image, daughter," a chuckling Nodoka said, her eyes twinkling.

"Eat whatever you like, Ranma. You're a growing girl after all," Lara commented with a smile. "God knows I ate as much when I was your age, and your dear mother wasn't any better, isn't that right, No-chan?"

Nodoka smiled faintly. "That was a life-time ago, but yes, I loved to eat and still do. Only good that I inherited your genes and looks, mother," she mused with a far-away look, and snapped her gaze on Ranma.

"Which seems to have been passed on on Ranma-chan here, much to her luck. Imagine she'd take after Genma," Lara mused with a minute shudder.

"Some things are better not to be dwelled on overly," Xenma commented in a dark tone, and sipped the tea he had helped himself to slowly, blowing a little on the hot liquid. "But it is as my dear wife and daughter said, you're a growing girl and need your food. So go help yourself."

"Err... yeah, sure," Ranma replied a bit weirded out at having her mother and grandparents referring to her as a girl and dinged to gain the waiters attention.

Said waiter appeared a few seconds later. "You rang, Miss?"

"Yes," the redhead replied, automatically switching into her kawaii as a thousand buttons look that always guaranteed her extra helpings, "I'd like to have the shrimps, beef stroganoff, Cesar's Salad, potato gratin, meat loaf and the frutti di mare. On second thought, I take all of that doubly. And a large coke please."

The waiter carefully hid his surprise. "Will that be all, Miss...?"

"Ranma," the redhead said graciously and batted her lashes to annoy her mother. "Yes, that's all."

"Right away, Miss Ranma," the waiter nodded with a ghost of a smile and made to leave towards the kitchen.

"One moment, Carlo, my granddaughter will also take the specialty of the house. I'm sure it will be to her liking," Xenma added, giving him an unseen wink.

Carlo nodded in response and left for the kitchen. Nodoka looked at her daughter in surprise. "I didn't know you were such a flirt, dear."

Ranma smirked in reply and batted her lashes again, hoping to rile up her mother even more. "Aww, that was nothing, mom. You've got no idea how often I've used my looks to nick extra helpings and bigger portions. Works especially well at ice-cream parlours."

Lara grinned mischievously and looked from granddaughter to daughter. "Like mother, like daughter. Isn't it so, No-chan?"

Nodoka blushed and looked at her feet. "That was so long ago, mother. It isn't even worth mentioning."

"I beg to differ, No-chan. Why shouldn't your daughter learn after whom she's taking?" teased Lara good-naturedly.

Ranma on her part was baffled. "Mom? Mom did something like that?" she asked incredulously.

"Oh yes," Lara smirked, "she had a reputation for being the biggest flirt in the neighbourhood. Had you been born a girl I'm sure you'd have given her a run for her money, though, considering your performance just now."

"The apple has obviously not fallen far off..." Xenma mused with a faint smile and sipped his tea.

The three females exchanged looks before shrugging, then smiled softly and didn't disagree with him.

From then on out the quartet engaged in small talk as they waited for Ranma's food, and continued their conversation when dinner was served. Ranma learned a lot about her mother during the talk, but also about her grandparents. She found she really began to like them, and to be in the company of so openminded people was a refreshing and very welcome change for her. No one had insulted her as a freak or disgrace for over an hour or demanded that she change back into a boy. Here she could be herself, not a boy, not a girl, but just Ranma. Even the unfamiliar feel of female attire had slowly faded, and she found herself enjoying the evening very much. Maybe life was not just as bad as she'd thought after all…

An hour later Ranma had finished the meal and had even found space for the excellent dessert, a German speciality called Herrencreme, the specialty of the house her grandfather had ordered for her. The meal itself had been one of the best she had ever eaten, but the dessert had really topped it all.

Filled and satisfied Ranma was lulled by the small talk and the discreet music that originated from hidden loudspeakers, and laid her head onto the table. She didn't really fight the sleep that rolled over her in waves. 'A short nap will do me some good,' was her last conscious thought before sleep claimed her, whisking her off into the land of nod.

-.-

Three Saotomes looked at each other and then at the forth, who was currently sound asleep and snoring like a lumberjack, her head resting on the table courtesy of specifically designed knockout-drops Ranma's dessert had been laced with. Clan Saotomes' head senior physician had assured them that the drops would be more than enough to keep Ranma asleep for several hours, and considering their senior physicians' experience the required results were guaranteed.

"I really hate that we have to force her through this." Lara commented and frowned softly. "I've barely known her for two hours, yet I've already embosomed her completely."

"I know, I feel the same" Xenma said and rested his right hand on his wife's shoulders, squeezing it gently. "She is strong and untameable, I could see it in her eyes. But we must proceed with caution, or our enterprise could very well break her. Some horses cannot be tamed, but sadly they can be broken, stealing their will to live."

"Nothing can break my Ranma." Nodoka stated proudly. "He'll give birth to Neo-Queen Serenity and then be my manly son again. I'll be the grandmother of a Queen…" she whispered dreamily.

"So your whole attitude was a façade..." Lara muttered, a deep frown on her face. "And I had such high hopes after Ayame's report," she added in a sad and disappointed tone.

"Nodoka!" Xenma barked, and his tone of voice told his wife that a shouting match was about to occur. Well, she would just lean back to see if Xenma still had it in him. Seeing that her hands-off approach hadn't yielded results Nodoka didn't deserve any less than her husband in top-form. "Come out of this damn dreamworld or I'll kick your ass so bad that it'll still hurt when your granddaughter the Queen celebrates her three-hundredth birthday! Have these eighteen years in which I've not seen you addled your brain?" the Head of Clan Saotome demanded acidly.

The younger Saotome reared back as if she'd been hit. "Father," she began, redfaced, "I'm old enough to determine what the best is for my manly son! I…"

"Fail to realise that you have a daughter, stupid! Look, she's right here in front of your eyes! This… is… a… girl! She may have been born a boy, my grandson, but in this form she is a girl!" Xenma barked.

"Nothing that some warm water couldn't remedy," Nodoka retorted defiantly and crossed her arms underneath her chest.

"Do you really hate your daughter Ranma so much? The curse won't disappear just like that! We have searched the whole wide world, there… is… no… cure! Ranma will always be half-girl, and the sooner you accept it, the better! I have sworn not to interfere in your business, but if you mistreat my grandchild any further with your stupidity my hand will be forced. Provided Ranma accepts what our senior physicians and we provide her with I might be forced to take her to live with us permanently. I won't have a danger to her health during such a precarious phase, and the way you are now you are a danger to her mental health," Xenma stated with utter finality.

"And what is so different about your plans, father? You want to force a pregnancy on my son! If that's not mistreatment then I don't know!" Nodoka shot back icily.

Xenma was about to retort when Lara laid a hand on his arm. "Xen, No-chan is right. She may have very screwed-up ideas of gender ideals, but our plan is as screwed-up. Maybe we should really ask for Ranma's cooperation first."

"But what if she refuses? She sees herself as a man even in girl-form, we know that from the reports, and that makes it very likely that she will refuse. You know as well as I do that there is no alternative. Ranma has to carry the Queen, or the world is doomed," Xenma replied and massaged his temples.

Lara sighed and smiled bitterly. "I really hate this plan, Xen, but sadly, you're right. There is no alternative. But please, let us ask Ranma first after she wakes up, maybe, just maybe she will accept if we appeal to her honour code. As much as I hate to use her honour against her, it might be the only way."

"Okay, honey. But if you," he fixed his daughter with an intent stare, "continue to hold Ranma to your idiotic standards of manliness I will get guardianship of her, and you know I have enough pull to see it through."

Nodoka realised that her father meant business, and she knew for a fact that he had more than enough pull to carry out his threats. But she wasn't a Saotome for nothing. Saotomes didn't give up. "You wouldn't do that. He is my child! My Ranma can't be a girl, for girls can't be manly!"

Xenma shook his head in disbelief. "You still cling to that manliness crap? Ah, I understand. You want male Ranma to spread his seed so that you can have a bunch of grandchildren, illegitimate ones to boot. Care to enlighten me why? Maybe so that you can give them the childhood that Ranma never had? Now that is one screwed guilt-trip if I ever saw one!"

"N-no!" Nodoka replied with a jerky shake of her head and visibly gathered herself todefend her views, but had a snowball's chance in hell to do so as she was bowled over by her father who was developing steam.

"Nodoka, instead of planning to pamper future grandchildren you should stop harassing your child who is both a boy and a girl! She's only nineteen, for crying out loud! Ranma still needs her mother, even more so than others her age, considering what she lives through on a daily basis! But what do you do? You heap more shit on her shoulders with your outrageous demands! Do you know what our agents say?" he demanded, his teeth clenched in barely restrained anger.

"No." Nodoka replied levelly in an effort to show no outward sign that her father had gotten to her.

"They say it's a miracle that Ranma hasn't snapped, No-chan," Lara said softly in her husband's stead. "We even developed plans for such a case, so that we could stop her should she go on a killing spree, as unlikely as the killing part was. The stress she was under before you arrived was incredible, but when you came and preached your manliness idiocy it became unimaginable. It's nothing short of a miracle that she survived. Despite that you still want to push her to be manly, even after she'll hopefully have done the most womanly thing in the world?"

"Yes?" Nodoka more asked than said, her tone weak and uncertain.

"I can't remember that my daughter was such an idiot with delusional notions right out of a really bad Shounen manga eighteen years ago," Xenma growled furious. "Our excuse to ask Ranma to make the greatest sacrifice of her life is the salvation of the human race. Something she'll hopefully understand and accept in time. What she won't understand is why you want to force her to use her male form to fuck around so that you can have the jollies of being a grandmother."

"Something you'll be anyway if everything goes according to plan," Lara added softly.

Nodoka looked still unconvinced. "But my dreams..."

"Exactly. Your dreams. And they are completely and utterly selfish, No-chan," Lara said with a stern expression, her previous softness gone. "We have at least the excuse that we want to save Earth as it is. A weak excuse in Ranma's eyes, I'm sure, but you have no excuse. Just your selfish desires."

"B-but..."

Xenma readied himself to tear into his daughter with another verbal assault, but a hand on his shoulder from Lara stopped him in his tracks. The Saotome matriarch shook her head. "Xen, lets get Ranma to the manor. I'll talk sense into No-chan once we're there," she said with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

The Saotome patriarch looked at his wife for several long moments, moments in which a lot was silently exchanged between the spouses, then Xenma nodded and pressed a button on his watch. Few moments later Ayame wheeled in a gurney. Xenma hoisted Ranma's unconscious body on it with no apparent effort and strapped her down so she wouldn't fall off. Using a back exit the sleeping redhead was wheeled into a waiting van and driven away.

-.-

The drive to Saotome manor didn't take more than ten minutes, and Ranma was immediately wheeled into the house and taken to the medical wing upon arrival. The medical wing lay a hundred metres under the earth and was more tightly secured and fortified than anything else on the planet. Even a Senshi-teleport onto the compound would fail due to the anti-magic shields and forcefields in the area, so should Pluto ever find their base of operations she'd still have one hell of a time getting into it, especially considering their assorted defences and other weaponry at their disposal.

While Ranma ended up in the lab where samples were immediately taken from her, her mother was virtually dragged into an unused lab by her incensed mother. Due to a specially developed knockout-gas Ranma remained unconscious for the better part of three hours, three hours of intense testing, comparisons, verifications and ultimately modification of the samples into the desirable end-result. Xenma and Lara had beforehand agreed to take and modify the samples ahead of the talk with Ranma, seeing as they'd need the samples anyway. Either Ranma accepted and would cooperate, or she'd refuse, but the modified egg-cell would be used either way.

These three hours in which everything had been prepared had been pure hell for one Nodoka Saotome. Her mother had taken the kid's gloves off and had vented at her unlike ever before. If that hadn't been bad enough Ayame had assisted her Mistress and had lend the necessary items, and five wooden spoons and two bo-staves later Nodoka had had her crazy notions literally beaten out of her, eventually. Mother and daughter had embraced each other in tears once Nodoka had realised what had become of her, but Lara had made clear that her daughter was still on probation and would be watched with hawkeyes.

Now, said three hours later mother and daughter were standing in the bedroom that belonged to an adjacent underground habitation, watching the sleeping form of their granddaughter respective daughter. Xenma, who was standing at the foot of the bed beside his wife and daughter nodded towards the doctor. "Wake her up, doc."

The bespectacled man standing to the right of Ranma's bed nodded and gave the sleeping redhead an injection. "She'll wake up in a minute or two. I have redirected her ki-flows so that she won't be able to use her ki as she is wont to. A realigning on her own during the time the procedure will take place is impossible. Even taking her well-known abilities into account it would take more than a day. I have triple-checked everything, and seeing as I know all there is about her medical history you can trust my word that everything will go according to plan."

"Very good, doc. I take that everything is prepared?" Lara asked and tried to keep her tone businesslike, but a slight waver in her voice showed how hard it was on her.

"Yes, ma'am," the doctor replied with a nod, returning his attention to the monitors. "Good. The fertility-levels are even higher than we had hoped for, we would be operating under better than ideal conditions."

"What about the danger that she might change back from warm fluids?" Nodoka asked, her brow puckered with a faint frown.

If the doctor was surprised by the fact that Nodoka had asked the question he didn't show it. "That has already been taken care of. She was bathed after we had taken the needed samples, and waterproof soap was applied. You see, there is no danger of an accidental change. We also assume that the curse will lock itself once conception has taken place. Amazon sources indicate this strongly," he said calmly.

Xenma nodded in approval. "Very good, doc."

The doctor nodded and turned to look at the monitors. "She's waking up. Pulse and heart-rate are rising, breathing is quickening too. Better prepare for one confused and probably irate patient, Xenma."

Lara took Xenma's hand. "We are prepared, doc. Let's only hope that Ranma can stomach what we'll ask of her."

The doctor and Xenma exchanged a look and nodded grimly. Nodoka looked worriedly at her daughter, having grasped what was at stake here after the dressing down her mother had given her. Their enterprise bore the very real risk of breaking Ranma...

-.-

Ranma Saotome slowly came to, and the dizziness she felt clouded her mind. Her head felt as if someone had drilled holes into it, and her mouth was as dry as the Sahara, she was sure. A quick self-assessment told her that she was considerably weaker than she should be. Eyes still closed she tried to isolate the cause of her weakness, and some moments later she had found the reason. Her ki-paths were in utter upheaval! It would take her the better part of a day to return her ki to its normal state, and that was an optimistic estimation. Whoever had done this, and it had been done voluntarily, he or she was a master. She had practically been disabled and was now at the mercy of whoever had abducted her. 'Great, now I have been abducted for a change. Probably confused me with the tomboy,' the redhead thought sarcastically.

"Ranma, open your eyes, dear. We know that you're awake," came the unexpected voice of her mother.

"Mom?" Ranma asked confused, and opened her eyes fully, looking directly into a lamp that blinded her.

"Yes, daughter."

"Mom, what am I doing here lying in some bed I dunno, and who the fuck made me this weak! What the hell is going on here!" the redhead demanded, her voice rising.

Nodoka looked sternly at her irate daughter. "Ranma Saotome, if you swear like that again I'm going to wash out your mouth!"

Ranma took a few calming breaths. "The heck you will! You ain't my mother! My mom would never call me her daughter and mean it! I can't see you, I can't sense you. You may sound like my mother, but you can't be her!"

Slowly a face came into her field of vision. "There, daughter. Better?" Nodoka asked, softly caressing Ranma's cheek.

Now Ranma was completely confused. "What the nine hells is going on here?" she demanded again.

"You want answers and you'll get them, dear," Nodoka said and made a point of keeping her voice as calm and soothing as possible and sat down in a chair that conveniently stood beside the bed. "Please, everyone, leave us alone. This is a talk between a mother and her daughter, and Ranma deserves to know the full extent of our plans from me. Please."

While Ranma looked on in confusion Nodoka was carefully regarded by her own mother, and slowly Lara Saotome nodded. "As you wish, No-chan. Xen and I will be waiting nearby."

Nodoka nodded in understanding. "Thank you for your trust in me, mother, father."

"You're welcome, dear," Lara answered with a smile. "Come, Xen, let us give them some time alone," she said as she led her husband out of the lab. "Maybe this will work out even better…" she mouthed.

Xenma nodded in understanding, and the doctor followed on his wink. Maybe it was indeed a sounder course of action to just ask for Ranma's cooperation first instead of forcing her, though he doubted it verily. All their analysis of her probable reactions had indicated that she'd flat out refuse their plan. But stranger things had happened before, he mused. Maybe a miracle would happen, for that was the only thing that could help them. Time was running out…

to be continued...