Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2 or Nuku Nuku. If I did I would be rich.

Author's Notes: Another chapter already? Apparently this story has been so good for my writer's block that I may actually be able to tackle another chapter of TNGB soon. Is that good news or what? As for this story I don't see a clear ending in sight. Thank you for the positive response to the last chapter's cliffhanger ending. The explanation for how a machine could become a real girl will be in here. Anyone who can tell me where the title for this chapter came from will get special mention in the next author's notes. With that said let's get on with the show!

Random Destiny

Chapter 3

Dreams of Electric Sheep

Kyuusaku lit his cigarette absently. He needed the nicotine badly because this was going to be a long story and he needed something to fortify himself. His son sat at Nuku Nuku's bedside. The girl had yet to wake up. It was troubling and he found his hands shaking. The word Jusenkyo was rattling about in his skull teasingly. Magic. He had never believed in it before until a certain cat girl named Nuku Nuku had bounded into their lives. It was a simple magic made possible by the kind and loving heart she held. Despite her electronics and mechanical parts she was every bit as real as any other girl where it counted. Now due to a freak accident of powerful magic she was a real girl. The Tendos and Saotomes sat before him as they waited for him to begin.

"I can't speak for what exactly happened. It would take extensive tests and research which I actually have no idea how to perform. I digress. Atsuko is actually an android. Before you tell me that's impossible how does turning into other things with cold water sound? Equally impossible. I was a scientist for Mishima Heavy Industries. One night I took my son and an experimental android away from them. On the way my son found a cat but during a short shootout the cat died. I placed the brain of the cat inside the android. The reason we were evicted was because my wife, the daughter of the owner, kept trying to take back our son with war machines that frequently tore apart the neighborhood." he took a drag from his cigarette.

"Once again, I digress. You can see why I'm so surprised by the fact that she is now alive in the human sense of the word. I would call it a miracle but I don't how my daughter will handle it. She's used to protecting her little brother but can she even do that now? Would hot water change her back to an android and cold water reverse the process? I wish we had an expert on the subject." he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"I think I might know somebody. We could talk to Cologne." Akane said. The other members of the house looked at each other. It was a good idea but invoking her could almost be as bad as Happosai at times. What would she charge?

"It does look like somethin' the Old Ghoul might find interestin'." Ranma mused as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"True, but what will she want in return?" Nabiki asked. The pigtailed boy gave her a smirk that pretty much told her he knew something she didn't. Just then Kasumi gasped softly.

"Oh, Elder Cologne! I'll get you a cup of tea!" the eldest Tendo daughter rushed into the house to fullfill her hostess duties. The middle daughter slowly turned her head and almost leaped out of her skin at the visage of the ancient crone a mere foot away from own. Kyuusaku peered at her intently.

"Ah...we have something to be doing right Saotome?" Soun asked worriedly. Cologne was smiling and that was never a good sign.

"Indeed." Genma concurred and the brave martial artists fled into the house. The aged matriarch laughed uproariously at their departure only to stop. She peered at the scientist in mild amusement as he fingered her shriveled arm. He made a few appreciative noises much to the remaining teens confusion.

"Hmmm...well aged. If the parchment texture of the flesh is any indication you are three hundred and some change. You definitely aged well." the satisfied scientist sat back. Which drew a sharp laugh from the ancient mummy. She already liked this guy.

"Well that was certainly an entertaining story. The way you speak of her it is clear that she is very real to you even if she was an artificial being. I actually couldn't tell that she wasn't alive from a distance. She is truly a unique specimen. I think I know what happened actually. You and your son had so many feelings wrapped up inside of her that she not only became real to you but she developed a true sense of self beyond the...programming. Jusenkyo requires a soul to lock onto in order to affect the changes. The clash between magic and science should have left your child a pile of inert scrap but her sense of self was so strong she won out. She is a living being as you put it. Will the water change her back? It can't. The pyrotechnic display that drew me here was the magic clashing with the science destroying her old body. I doubt her mechanical abilities would have transferred to the living body." she smirked at the stunned expressions on everyone's faces. Kasumi almost couldn't hand her the tea since her hand was wobbly.

"Hold it. Jusenkyo can do that?" Ranma blinked in shock. This was cool but definitely weird. The cat brained android had become a real girl? He had to clarify that.

"Obviously it can otherwise she would have been destroyed. Magic hates science and science hates magic. They both deal with energy flows but it would be like putting you in a room with a cat. No mix." she told him only to get a sheepish smile. Akane looked a tad strained.

"How do we know they didn't mix? Ranma has been hanging around her and he's not scared of her. She's got the mind of a cat but it doesn't bother him." she told the now thoughtful matriarch. Kyuusaku rubbed his stubbled chin absently, nodding.

"That does seem to be the most likely answer. If Ranma can strike a compromise with ailurophobia which he's never done before then it might be possible for magic to reach an agreement with science. We'll wait until she wakes up to run a few tests. Actually I'll get her to deploy her antennae. If those still work then we'll know that's what happened." he said. It was the best idea they had until his equipment arrived.

"If that is settled why don't we go inside and get something to eat? Ranma, would you take something up to Ryuunosuke and Nuku Nuku-chan?" the kindly girl asked. The pigtailed boy nodded as she set up a tray. Since it was Ranma taking it up she was able to place a lot on the tray. If Nuku Nuku woke up then she would probably need a lot to eat since she was just brought to life today.

Ah Kasumi is so sweet and compassionate. Truly there is no better person in all of Nerima. Alright, that's enough Kasumi worshipping.

Ranma took the laden tray from Kasumi and went up to Happosai's old room. It would be a long time before he would fully get rid of those memories but at least someone kinder was in there. That was what he focused on. There was likely to be a very confused and scared girl shortly. He picked up what had been said but it sounded like garbage to him. The kind of talk two people get into to try and impress the other. He'd figure it out and tell it to her straight. No bullshit. The old room had a new nameplate on it "Natsume". According to what they did the night before there was a privacy screen for Atsuko. The size of the room was pretty big but ultimately small if they were going to actually live in there which is why the agreement was they could use any part of the house. A pretty sweet deal considering that Nabiki brokered it. He didn't have a high opinion of the mercenary anymore ever since the wedding.

"Dinner time." Ranma called through the door. It opened to reveal the concerned face of Ryuunosuke. The kid was so calm and gentle that it was no wonder why everyone wanted to protect him. His mom sounded like a piece of work. If one of those Mishima jerkwads showed up he'd ram a Moko Takabisha so far up their collective asshole they'd never sit down again. Jusendo taught him the value of mercy and fair play. Basically when it's okay to say enough is enough and give it to them hard.

"Oh hi Ranma. C'mon in. Uh...she's awake by the way. My sister seems to be in shock." he told the pigtailed boy. Carefully he got the food into the room and set it on the small table. Ryuu went behind the screen to tell his sister who was there. The gender bending martial artist let his senses expand through the screen to "look" at her ki. When he had first done it all he could tell was that she had some form of life energy which turned out to be electricity. Now she had ki. A small amount, largely untrained, but it was there. Her physical power seemed to be quite impressive though. In a strict ki fight though she would lose badly. He was brought from his musings by the Natsume boy coming back.

"She says she'll talk to you. Please make sure she eats something okay? I have to tell Dad." he grabbed a few meatrolls off of the tray before heading out. The pigtailed boy went around the corner with the tray. Atsuko was sitting up on the futon in one of Kasumi's nightgowns that she had lent her. Ranma sat down with the tray placed within reach of the girl. Nuku Nuku didn't even remotely look like her usual self as described by Doctor Natsume. Oh her physical appearance was normal but she didn't seem all that perky.

"What? No "Ranma-san"?" he tried jokingly. She looked to him with a fleeting smile. Something was bothering her greatly.

"It's strange. I always wanted to be a real girl but now that I am...why am I miserable?" she asked. The only one who would give her a straight answer she felt was Ranma. As one cat to another he wouldn't lie to her. He was a responsible Alpha of which she was certain. She was absently rubbing her hands along her living skin, feeling real nerves and not simulations.

"Because you're feeling all your new limitations. You're flesh and blood. You can't be rebuilt or upgraded. If you're body is destroyed you are dead. Simple as that right?" he asked her in return. As she went to nod he startled her with a forceful "Wrong!"

"W-what do you mean Ranma-san?" she asked in surprise. Her real heart was beating quite fast from the shock. Her lungs were sucking in oxygen. She forced herself not to hyperventilate with surprising ease earning an approving nod from Ranma.

"You're already learning how to control your body. Limitations are something you had to live with as a machine. You couldn't swim. You couldn't really feel. Now you're past those barriers and can actually enjoy a real life. You can heal. Not quite like being rebuilt but you grow stronger for the experience. You can train to grow in strength. Forget costly upgrades since you can do it yourself now. You can die which makes every experience that much sweeter. Something happened to me recently that showed me that last part." he whispered softly. The catdroid-turned-human looked at him for the first time without the perceptions of her being a machine. He knew he had gotten through to her.

"R-Ranma-san...!" she sobbed out as she clung to him, crying hard. The pigtailed boy nervously put his arms around the crying girl, trying to comfort her like Kasumi would for him after nights with the Neko-ken dreams. Her cries were not broken hearted however. She sounded strangely as if she were rejoicing. It was an oddly wonderful sound. He held her until her storm of weeping had passed and laid her back down gently. She had cried herself to sleep. He stayed beside her, watching her sleep in amazement, until quite late.

-Downstairs-

The conversation between Genma and Soun was surprisingly deep. For once. They were conversing about the new houseguests. The Tendo patriarch actually seemed to like them. Atsuko was the first of Ranma's friends to be in the house more than five minutes without breaking anything or threatening death on obstacles. The fact that they were paying to live there also made him more charitable. What man would he be anyway to let a family go out on the street when he could shelter them? He was an honorable man indeed just vastly misguided.

Genma was all in favor of telling them to hit the road. The boy was becoming distracted by the android-turned-human girl much to his displeasure. He stated his reasoning to the Tendo patriarch calmly and rationally...wait, I'm sorry, this is Genma we're talking about. He was telling Soun how he was positive that the purple haired vixen was a threat to the Tendo-Saotome agreement. He was trying to start a little war in Soun's brain that would result in him convincing his buddy to throw them out. It would have been perfect except for one thing.

There was no honor in throwing out a destitute family. The Natsumes were completely homeless if they didn't have the Tendo-ke to call home. That was not something the Tendo patriarch would wish on anyone. It all boiled down to simple logic for Soun. If it had been his own babies and someone threw them out, how would he feel? Also the fact that Kyuusaku was a reasonable individual who didn't fly off the handle at every little thing. His therapist had told him that he needed better friends to pattern his behavior off of. The scientist seemed better adjusted than he did.

"Are you going to forsake the agreement and sully our honor? You know where the greater dishonor would go of course..." Genma was too heavily into his sake or he would have realized quite fast that he shouldn't say that to his best friend. That was the surest way to get the other man's ire up and he lit up like Vesuvious. Akane would have been impressed.

"Why don't you shut your mouth on things you obviously do not understand fool? My family is important to me and so is their honor. I don't care about my personal dishonor but if it reflects on my family then I do my best to correct it. You lied, cheated, and stole on your journey. Not to feed Ranma or care for him better but to satisfy your own needs. Do not lecture me on dishonor. I am cutting off this engagement right now since you feel it would be such a dishonor." Volcano Soun had erupted and had taken out Genma's village of dreams with the lava flow. The bald man sweated tremendously as he wondered why he said that.

"Uh...but the joining of the schools..." he protested. It got him about as far as a doughnut would get rolling in front of a fat security guard, or himself, which means not very far.

"Ranma may continue to live here since this has been his home. He will teach Akane the Saotome Branch and we will fullfill the honor agreement that way. I will teach him the Tendo style. How about that lardman? I need to do what I should have done. I am ashamed of myself for letting you dictate even a fraction of what goes on under my roof. Get your things and leave this instant or I will have Ranma throw you out. With everything you've said and done, who do you think he would listen to?" Soun asked contemptuously. It was no secret that Soun treated Ranma better than Genma did and had actually been more of a father to him. The pigtailed juggernaut would be more than happy to roll over his deluded sire.

"But Happosai..." the man without a leg left to stand on tried appealing to the old training buddy with horror stories only to be silenced by a full blown Demon Head ver 9.0. It was definitely inspired by Gold Digger since he was a closet otaku of American anime hence the burning skull reeking demonic aura.

Several groups of scantily clad demon hunters shuddered in terror all over the island.

"GET YOUR FILTHY ASS OUT OF MY HOUSE THIS INSTANT!" the head roared terribly with enough force to rupture eardrums. The newest version made it silent to all but the victim. Genma had just recieved the aural equivalent of a nuke. He decided that he didn't like it and quickly hastened to do what he was told. Somehow Soun managed to evoke more terror than Happosai ever could. Then again his old buddy had more dirt on him than even Nabiki. With that, he fled into the night back to his home to lament to his dear wife only to find that he would be sharing a bed with not only just her.

Katana-sama had a lacy new slip cover.

Soun went back to staring at the shogi board as Kyuusaku sat across from him. The scientist gave the patriarch of the Tendo clan a slight smile. The pensive man gave his new houseguest a smile and began setting up the pieces.

"Do you play?" he asked the Natsume patriarch.

"Why not? I haven't my brain stimulated enough tonight." he told the other man wryly. The two men began laughing at that. It wasn't that it was particularly humorous but the soul always needed a good, cleansing laugh to free it. The two began to play. Much to Soun's pleasure the man seemed to pick up the finer points of Anything Goes Shogi quite fast. Pretty soon the two men were moving, and removing, pieces at a fantastic rate. It wasn't really cheating since it does take skill to pull off clever misdirections without being caught.

-Kitchen-

Kasumi set out a plate of cookies and milk for Ryuunosuke. The boy was sitting there staring at the space in front of him as if he was lost. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was wrong. She sat down at the table with him. He looked up at her and caught her most winning smile. His brain slipped a track as he suddenly had a vision of his mother with that same smile. It had been before the whole business with Mishima that had turned his parents into adversaries. That wasn't so bad but the painful fact they still loved each other hurt him. Then to have his own beloved sister be so distressed. It was too much to bear for an eight year old.

"Don't worry Ryuu-chan. Kami-sama never gives us any more than we can handle. This storm shall pass and the sun will come out soon. You have come to a very special place. A place where things turn out all right with hard work. Happy endings can be found here. Our family had happy times but none as happy as when Ranma came into our lives. He can be brash, arrogant, and overconfident, but as he says...It's only overconfidence if you can't back it up." she did a fair imitation of his usual dialect which earned her a smile.

"I-It's been like that since Nuku Nuku came into our lives. She's been the glue holding our family together. Always trying so hard to make us happy because that always made her happy, but lately she's been unsatisfied. She used to like playing with the Mishima stuff but now..." he shrugged his shoulders.

"It was the same old grind. That can be heard around here on occasion. Things become boring and you begin looking for something unique or more exciting to latch onto. Your sister seems to have latched onto poor Ranma." she giggled softly. The boy ate a cookie with a smile.

"Why do ya say "poor Ranma" Kasumi-neechan?" he asked. Not sure why he said that to her except that it felt right.

"The boy was taken from his mother at six years old to train in the martial arts. He has three fiancees that compete for his affection violently at times. His rivals all try to mangle him in one way or another. Also some of the challenges he recieves are just off the wall. Martial Arts Tea Ceremony? However that one does sound like one I would excell in." she mused thoughtfully. Ryuunosuke took a deep swig of milk since he was too young for sake but for some reason that seemed like a good idea.

"What about his friends?" he asked only to earn an unladylike snort from Kasumi. That seemed somehow wrong to the boy even though he had just met her that night. She gave him a small smile.

"The blinders finally came off recently. Chaos piles up around here like dung in a stable and it's left to Ranma to muck it out. His friends don't do a thing about it. They pile more onto his already Herculean workload. There have been times they actually stood beside him but not enough to make me forget. I can forgive since they all seem to have been raised by wild apes but...don't tell anyone I said that." Kasumi giggled as she tweaked Ryuunosuke's nose. The boy laughed softly at that and ate another cookie.

"Aside from me and Dad...she doesn't have too many friends either. The one she had "Emi-chan" I wished I could take a wrench to her on a few occasions." he told her with an irritated eye roll. Kasumi's eyebrows almost shot up into her hairline at that bald statement.

"But violence against women..." she began only to be quickly placated by Ryuunosuke.

"Sorry Kasumi-neechan. I didn't mean it like that. I just meant to fix her personality circuits. She's an android too who keeps trying to "bodyjack" my sister. Meaning she hates her model body and wants to take Nuku Nuku's...well that will have to stop since it's not even an android's anymore..." he stared off into space. The Tendo girl breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't meant against a real girl...but then again...what constituted real anymore?

"Do robots dream of electric sheep..." she whispered softly. Ryuunosuke blinked in astonishment. It was a good question really. Not because of the dreams reference but what was meant by "real"?

"Where did you get that?" he asked her in awe.

"A movie called Blade Runner. It took place in the future where rogue androids were hunted by the police and destroyed. At the end of the movie you discover that the hero is actually one of those rogue androids and we never suspected throughout the entire movie. It makes you wonder in this world of magic and science. How can we say something isn't "real" when things created by man or by nature ask us to reevaluate our views daily?" she asked him. The boy blinked in amazement. She was not only was she the perfect example of Japanese womanhood she possessed a mind to make his father sweat bullets and salivate to plum the depths of. She was definitely someone to be looked up to.

"I never thought of it like that..." he mused quietly as he munched another cookie. Kasumi rested a hand on his shoulder softly.

"We'll rent the movie sometime." she promised and went back to setting up the ingredients for breakfast. Thorough and regular as clockwork was how she kept her ship. Another thing that he respected.

-Nabiki's Room-

The mercenary sat with her ledger out making notations in it. This had been more entertaining than she thought, Nabiki smiled at that. She had been getting bored lately but definitely not since Nuku Nuku arrived and it was such a short time ago too. There was definitely possibilites and with how well she was put together there would be photo opportunities as well. Of course she would have to be even more discreet but with normal human senses the former catdroid would be easy to spy on. There was a knock on the door. Hiding her irritation she put her ledger away.

"Yes?" it was not really a question or an invitation. It was a demand for information. Much to her surprise it was Akane who strode into her room. The younger girl looked more determined then she had ever seen her. There was a strange look in her eyes. Almost like when she was calling Ranma a pervert and was about to bash him. Something had set baby sister off.

"Nabiki. We need to talk." she began as she shut the door. Nabiki looked at her briefly before typing a few things on her computer.

"Time is money and I hope you have some if this isn't something worth my time." The mercenary said cooly. She felt a strange draft as her chair was spun a tad forcefully to face her sister. The look was much more pronounced. A ruined monitoring device fell into her lap. Nabiki looked up at her baby sister with a raised eyebrow.

"That was found in the Natsumes' room by Ranma tonight. Now I had a choice. Play pound the pervert which would have been wrong since he's behaving himself or come after the bigger pervert. She has enough shit going on right now without your money making schemes. Back off. You're getting rent from them. If I, or Ranma, catch you again the next step is Daddy." Akane said in a voice that dropped below freezing. Nabiki idly wondered when sis had learned the Soul of Ice.

"Well if Ranma would keep the damage down then I wouldn't have to..." she was stopped by her sister's glare intensifying. Nabiki looked into those angry orbs and almost embarassed herself and their ancestors with loss of bodily function. Something was terribly wrong with that gaze.

"Do not blame him for the mistakes you make. His playmates come over to make trouble and in quite a number of instances you have fueled the fire. The wedding was just the last straw. I don't trust you anymore which is why I'm telling you to back off. If I tell Daddy about this then you can deal with his displeasure." she started for the door only to be stopped by Nabiki.

"What could he possibly do to me?" she asked arrogantly.

"Think about this. He kicked out Saotome-san tonight." with that she left the room. The brown haired girl blinked in astonishment. If he kicked out his old training buddy then it meant he was growing a spine. An honest to Kami spine. That would be bad for future ventures. For now she would listen to her sister. For now.

-Natsumes' Room-

Nuku Nuku had woken up again and was eating the dinner that Kasumi had prepared. She kept sneaking glances at Ranma who had not let her out of his sight. It was an amazing feeling to actually smell without synthesizers or speak with an actual larynx. To be able to do the things that humans can do. The pigtailed boy had asked her about the antennae her Papa-san mentioned and they had slid right out as usual. It seemed as if he had expected that actually. So she wasn't a normal human which made her a bit happier actually.

"Nuku Nuku wants to thank Ranma-san for helping her." she said cutely. Ranma gave her a smile and popped a meatroll into his mouth.

"No problem. We are gonna have to test you out tomorrow to see what you can do. You were pretty strong as a robot so you might have lost some strength. Though I think you might have gained in agility since you're not limited to a mechanical body." he said. Actually he was looking forward to training with her. It would help bring Akane around if there was another girl learning. She would keep begging him to take her seriously but when given the chance she would pass. Not anymore. He couldn't allow her to keep running from it. In the running there was Ranma in the lead. Ryoga was second, Shampoo was third, Ukyou was fourth, Kuno was fifth, Konatsu was not really a fighter but could have held second easily. In the ranks Akane was maybe sixth or seventh best. Now there was Nuku Nuku and he had no idea where she would place.

"It feels so strange...uh...Ranma-san...?" she asked worriedly. Ranma blinked.

"What's wrong Nuku Nuku?" he asked curiously.

"I-I think I need to use the bathroon." she said as a queer look passed across her face. Ranma absorbed that information before it finally processed.

"O-oh..." he chuckled nervously as he quickly helped her to the bathroom. How would he explain potty-training an android-turned-girl?

End Chapter

Author's Notes: Okay so the chapter was mostly serious. There are some concepts that needed to be explored and explained so I hope you can bear with me. What will happen next time? Who will attack next? Can Ranma pull this off without getting malleted? See ya next time for all this and more! Ja ne!