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 4
Despite the comfortable sofa offering a degree of comfort that was simply unreal Nodoka Saotome had never felt as tense as at present, and a sigh almost escaped her lips. Yesterday things had been so simple. She'd had a manly and handsome son who was sought after by many gorgeous young women, and even despite his… questionable manners and the Nyannichuan curse he had picked up in China the prospects that he would make her a grandmother had looked good.
Now these chances looked even better, even if for very different reasons. She sighed internally as she thought about all the things she had learned. A part of her wished that she hadn't learned these things at all, wished that she'd remained in the slightly deluded version of reality she'd created for herself over the years. Nodoka still asked herself how her expectations towards her son could have turned into something out of a really bad novel, and the other part of her was glad that her mother had found the words that had forcefully kicked her butt out of the dreamworld she had created for herself.
But this was the crux of the matter exactly, now that her perceptions had been realigned with reality she couldn't hide behind weird concepts of honour or manliness any longer, couldn't delude herself into thinking that her manly son would do the manly thing and let himself be knocked up in his female form so that billions could be saved. Before her rude awakening she had only seen the honour her son would bring her and the Clan through his noble sacrifice, but now, now that she had been 'enlightened' she feared what her Clans' plan would do to Ranma, especially mentally.
Her fear that Ranma would crumble under the enormity of what they were going to ask of him, no, her, Nodoka corrected mentally, was the reason why she had wanted to talk to her son-turned-daughter in private. Nodoka knew there was just no alternative to the desperate plan her parents had concocted, and she also knew that they were willing to see it through at all costs.
Maybe not her mother, but her father at any rate, who had become obsessed with stopping Pluto. And after learning that the Senshi of Time had most likely staged their ancestors death she couldn't fault him for being angry. However, the means her father was willing to employ in order to achieve the ends he so sought were hardly better than what Pluto did and had done, but it seemed like there was no stopping the plan.
It had already been set in motion, and all that she could do now was to hope that she could redirect the avalanche…
-.-
Ranma's mind was in utter turmoil, and the whole situation was so surreal that she wanted to erupt in gales of laughter. Had the situation not been so serious she would have, but the lengths her captors had gone to to ensure that she was at their mercy conveyed that this was far from a joke.
Questions kept popping up in intervals of nanoseconds. Where was she, and why had they made her so weak? Were her grandparents responsible for this, and if so, why had yet another people, her own grandparents to boot, betrayed her? One of the more immediate questions pertained to her mother, though. She had asked her own parents for a chance to have a private talk with her, and this talk could mean her mother was in on whatever was going on here.
'Why is it that my life takes one pitfall after the other?' Ranma lamented mentally and the redhead was hard pressed not to vent her crowing anger in a long string of curses that'd have made hardened sailors blush.
"Mother," she growled out with a scowl and in a cold tone, raising her mother out of her own musings, "What is this supposed 'mother-daughter-talk' about? Why I was knocked out and made weak? Why my own family betrayed me, betrayed my trust? What the fuck is going on, and where am I?"
Nodoka sighed and leaned forward in the chair she was sitting in, her almost apologetic gaze meeting Ranma's angry one. "I understand your anger, dear, but please refrain from swearing. It's not becoming of you."
"I don't care…" began Ranma enraged, her voice rising.
The calm voice of her mother interrupted her. "You wanted answers to your questions, so I ask you to control yourself. Please. Good," she said as Ranma visibly calmed herself. "First off, you are at Saotome Manor, the ancestral home of the Saotome line. You were brought here once you had, err, fallen asleep."
"Fallen asleep?" snorted Ranma mockingly, both brows cocked. "Knocked out is more like it. So what do you want of me? What can the universes' spittoon do for you?" she spat sarcastically.
The Saotome matriarch sighed once more and massaged her temples. "I'd lie if I said nothing. Dear, I hate what I have to ask of you, especially considering your unique situation. Please believe me, it was no easy decision for me, but it has to be done. Maybe you'll be able to forgive me one time," she said and wiped a few tears from her eyes.
Ranma, who had been about to retort that she didn't know if she'd ever be able to believe anything from her and her grandparents any more, deflated somewhat. It was not due to the fact that she had always gone to pieces before when confronted with crying females, no, this time she held her ground in that respect. It was her mother's aura and the genuine sorrow she was projecting that convinced her of her truthfulness, thus she decided to hear her out. Besides, she had no real choice anyway, and she could still get angry and bitchy later on.
"Momma, I'm still very angry with you, but I'll listen. What is it that you want to ask of me? Has it something to do with me being manly with someone you and my grandparents have chosen? Or womanly, which would explain why I had to be a girl for the meeting?" she asked sarcastically.
Nodoka flinched somewhat, and that made alarms go off in Ranma's head. However, the shake of the head of her mother eased her worries somewhat. "No, neither. That manliness obsession of mine is a case for the rubbish heap. I literally had these notions beaten out of me," she said with dry humour that made Ranma cock a delicate scarlet brow."
"Grandma?" the younger redhead queried.
Nodoka nodded and shuddered briefly. "Indeed. She can be very... persuasive. More so than even me, I must admit. But enough of that. Ranma, dear, what I must discuss with you, ask of you, is much more complicated and serious than your fiancées or anything else, and it pertains to a heritage of the Saotome line, so to speak. And sadly, you are the only one who is able to bear it."
"Figures," muttered Ranma and shook her head in a mixture of bemusement and resignation. "But what is it?"
Her mother wiped yet more tears from her eyes, which made Ranma's stomach twist into knots as it hinted at the severity of the upcoming topic. "My Ranma," she said, drawing her into a tight embrace, "Never forget that I love you. I love you because you're a strong, honourable and good person, as a girl and a boy. I really don't care anymore if you're manly or not, I just love you for who and what you are. My daughter and my son, who has already made me proud beyond words. I'm so sorry it took me so long to realise."
"Momma…" Ranma breathed, the sinking feeling in her stomach intensifying; her mother had once more spoken the truth, but that she had said that, and that she had lost her composure like that implied that what she'd ask of her was indeed as severe as she feared.
Composing herself Ranma looked her mother in the eyes. "First off, why didn't you ask me whatever it is right off the bat? Why bother luring me into a trap, knocking me out and shipping me here?"
"Because it is as bad as you think, from your standpoint at least. You see, your grandfather thought he had no other choice. Time is scarce and he felt compelled to act. But you'll understand the situation if you allow me to use this on you," Nodoka replied and pulled the MRU out of her pocket.
"What's this?" asked Ranma and eyed the device warily.
"This is a memory retrieval unit, dear. Aside from stimulating a specific region of the brain it'll also give you a complete overview of the situation and details on the plan to avoid the danger that is coming," Nodoka explained.
"Danger?" Ranma repeated incredulous. "Hmm… what about those memories? I was not aware that I had am… amn… that memory problem thingie."
"What you mean is amnesia, dear. Which you don't suffer from. Though I have my doubts sometimes," Nodoka said with a teasing smile, to which Ranma huffed. "You see, the members of the Saotome line, at least those by birthright, have a region of their brain that hosts memories of a long forgotten time," she explained.
"Long forgotten?" Ranma interjected, looking less than impressed. "What good are some old, dusty memories?"
"They are important, daughter, because they affect the present and the future to a great degree. They are in fact of utmost importance, and I sometimes wish I hadn't had them unlocked," Nodoka replied, a sad smile on her face.
Ranma sighed, took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly. "If they are so important, then okay. I really hope you guys have a damn good explanation for all this shit."
Nodoka nodded solemnly. "I thought so when I was made aware of the situation, dear."
"Alright, mom. Go ahead. Ain't that I got a choice anyway."
The Saotome patriarch flinched, then she nodded and gave her surprised daughter a loving kiss to the forehead before taking a few steps back. Then she levelled the device at Ranma's forehead and hesitated for a few moments in which she stared at her son-turned-daughter. A single tear trickled down Nodoka's left cheek when she finally pushed the button, and a jet-black beam shot at Ranma. For a moment the redhead felt nothing but intense pain, then everything went black.
-.-
"Ooooh... my head," a certain redheaded martial artist muttered as she came to. Her head pounded like she had accompanied her father and his buddy in crime on a pub crawl through all their favourite pubs, and she wasn't even into the drinking stuff. "Where the hell am I? That ain't the bedroom..." she muttered as she looked around, recognising that she was in some kind of living room where she comfortably rested on a comfy navy-blue three-piece leather couch.
"Hello, Ranma," a familiar voice spoke up unexpectedly from across her.
Ranma's sat up in a flash and her head whipped around to the source of that voice, her jaw practically on the floor. "Dr. Tofu? What the hell are you doing here? Where is here?" she asked confused as she trained her eyes on the bespectacled man who was standing in front of her.
The doctor she had known and trusted for so long smiled at her. "Yes, Ranma. It's really me. It's good to see you again, even if under not so ideal circumstances. To answer your question: we are in the living room this underground facility provides, Ranma, and you are currently in the process of assimilating the data we provided you with. And I'm here instead of your mother because I convinced her and your grandmother that it should be me to explain everything to you. After all, I have never lied to you, have I?"
Ranma mulled the doctor's words over for a moment. "No, doc. But who is 'we'? And how...?"
"You ask yourself how it can be that I'm here. And no, I'm no figment of your imagination. I'm here to explain things to you, Ranma, and I ask of you, please listen to me," Tofu explained and sat down on a two-piece sofa of similar design as the one she was lying on. "The MRU has dumped a lot of data into your brain, and the assimilation will take a while and will happen in intervals. Due to the damage your mind suffered from the neko-ken we couldn't risk to have it happen in one go, and it will be painful enough anyway. That said, you'll experience a very bad headache every time you 'remember' something. You with me so far?"
Ranma nodded despite the fact that she was more than a little out of her depth. "Yeah, doc. But how are you here? I mean, what have you got to do with things?" the redhead queried, hoping against hope that his involvement wouldn't make an already bleak looking situation even worse.
Dr. Tofu sighed and crossed his arms across his chest. "You know that I disappeared half a year ago. I bet everyone figured I had given up on Kasumi and had left town to forget her."
Ranma nodded and wet her lips. "We did, yeah. OWW! What the hell was that?" she exclaimed, and massaged her temples in an attempt to ward off the grandmother of all headaches.
Tofu looked at her in concern, before nodding to himself. "You already absorbed some of the memories, as far as I can tell. Remarkable. How much do you 'remember' now, Ranma?"
"I… Serenity… Damn, our line reaches that far back? Damn, Tenma was a great man… I… I 'remember' everything, Doc. OWW! What now?" the redhead exclaimed and squeezed her eyes shut, clutching her head once again, a pained hiss escaping her lips despite her attempts to hide how much it hurt.
"What do you 'remember' now, Ranma? What have you seen?" Tofu asked almost eagerly when several minutes had passed.
Ranma slowly opened her eyes. "Pluto and the Senshi… I have seen what they're planning. Is it true, doc? Is this Pluto really willing to… sacrifice billions? And has planned to for several thousand years?"
Doctor Tofu stared into her eyes for several moments before nodding slowly. "Yes, she has. I needed several days before I understood it rationally, and being a man of science I was able to understand her motifs, at least from a rational point of view."
"WHAT!" Ranma exclaimed. "How can you understand her? She wants to kill nearly every human being on Earth through Kami-sama knows what!"
The doctor held up his hands in a pacifying gesture. "I didn't say I approve of what she's planning, far from it. But in her mind it's the only way to ensure that the Moon Kingdom will be rebuilt. I've spent quite some time going over it, and this is what I think: Sailor Pluto is the only real survivor of the Sol war, as far as we know. We know that she wanted to fight by her Queen's side and die in battle, yet her Queen denied it when she ordered Pluto to evacuate to the Gates of Time."
"Wow, Serenity must have really cared for her people if she was willing to die for them," Ranma mused to herself, barely concealed awe tingeing her voice.
"Yes, she did. Much like you, in fact," the Doctor nodded, gazing at Ranma with serious eyes. "But ask yourself this: how would you feel if you were sent to safety while someone you have sworn to protect and die for faces her end? If this order led to your survival, but to your Queen's death?"
Ranma thought for several minutes before answering. "I… I would feel guilty. Incredibly guilty. But to kill several billion people to get rid of this guilt… it can't be," she muttered, shaking her head. "It just can't be."
"Oh, it can very well be, Ranma. You are one of a kind, you'd never take a life needlessly. Saffron was no exception, and yes, I know everything about it. You would never sacrifice other people's lives for your gains, but that doesn't mean that others wouldn't. Don't make the mistake to think that everyone is as noble-hearted as you," Tofu stressed. "Pluto has spent several millennia in solitude, all alone without her Queen or co-senshi. Her guilt in combination with this loneliness may have caused her decision. She is willing to sacrifice everything to found a new Moon Kingdom, Ranma, and I can understand her, at least rationally."
"But that's just so wrong… OWW!" Ranma exclaimed once more, clutching her head.
Tofu watched in silence how Ranma assimilated the new information, only this time he dreaded what would come of it. By his estimation this particular 'data upload' contained their plan, and Ranma would probably be more than just a little cross with them…
-.-
Ranma slowly came back from her trip on the memory lane, and after blinking her eyes a few times she started to fully grasp the implications of what she had just seen. "Even if I believe all that, that my Clan is de… descended from some Queen that ruled the galaxy and all that, this Great Freeze coming, do you really expect me to agree to being IMPREGNATED?!" she shouted, almost causing the paint to peel from the ceiling.
Doctor Tofu sighed. "Ideally, yes, Ranma," he stated calmly.
"Oh, okay," Ranma muttered, much to the doctor's surprise. Then her face acquired a purple quality. "ARE YOU PEOPLE OUTTA YOUR MIND? THAT CRAZY PLAN MAKES THE KUNOS LOOK SANE, FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD!" she yelled.
Dr. Tofu cringed and held his hurting ears. "Ranma," he said, stepping to her side and sitting down in front of the redhead Indian style, "If we had an alternative, any alternative, we would gladly use it. Heck, if they could, both your mother and grandmother would gladly carry the baby. Sadly that isn't an option. You are the only one on this planet who can."
"No, no freaking way. I'm a guy, and guys don't get preggers. Ever," Ranma retorted stubbornly and finished with some advice that, while practical and informative, probably wasn't physically possible.
Tofu calmly bore Ranma's tirade and dryly retorted, "You're also the only 'guy' with female equipment and a period, Ranma."
The redhead sputtered indignantly, and Dr. Tofu patiently sighed. "Ranma, I'll tell you how I came into the service of your grandparents, okay? Maybe you'll understand the situation a bit better if you know the background. The only thing I ask of you is that you listen to me, okay?"
Ranma shrugged uncaringly, seeing as she had no real alternative anyway. "Okay, doc. Not that I'll change my mind or nothing, but I'll listen."
"That's fair, Ranma. Well, let me start at the beginning. As you said, everyone had believed I had given up on Kasumi. Well, that's as far away from the truth as you can get," Doctor Tofu said and took a deep breath, Ranma watching him intently all the while.
"You see, Ayame approached me half a year ago and asked for my help. She was vague in her explanations, but she had enough proof going for her to make me curious. I agreed to accompany her to Saotome Manor and learned the whole truth about the 'Great Freeze' and its effects. This catastrophe bears the very real chance that Kasumi will be among the billions of victims, and I thought 'if my contribute to a plan to stop this catastrophe has the chance of saving her I'll take it,'.
"If what I had been told was true I'd be able to help a lot more people than ever before, and when I saw this lab for the first time I was giddy as a schoolboy on sugar high. Your grandparents showed me proof that the threat the Sailor Senshi pose is very real, and I have been helping them to bring the Queen back ever since," the bi-spectacled doctor explained, his voice so calm and collected that Ranma didn't doubt his words.
"B- But you're just a chiropractor, aren't you?" the redhead inquired, her facial expression showing just how baffled she was.
Dr. Tofu chuckled softly and smiled. "What many people don't know, I have the diploma to prove that I'm an authorised doctor. My field of work is genetics, aside from being an internist. However, considering the average population in Nerima I knew right from the start that I wouldn't be able to work in my chosen field of work."
"Err, Doc, just outta curiosity, why didn't you ever get ta work in a big lab or something if you're so talented?" Ranma asked, a scarlet brow raised. "You coulda made a shitload of money!"
The doctor sighed and steepled his fingers, peering at Ranma over the rim of his glasses. "Yes, I could have at that, but it never became an option because I had to follow in my father's steps. He was a well renowned chiropractor in town, but I had hoped if I focussed on something different I'd be able to avoid following in his steps.
"But you of all people know how parents can be, and my mother convinced me to study Chiropractics as well. As you will remember, my mother can be quite… forceful. And in the end I became a chiropractor and inherited my father's practise, thanks to mother."
Ranma chuckled despite her situation. "Oh yeah, I remember her. Very nearly became your bride because of her. Said I had the ideal birthing hips… damn," she grumbled angrily, remembering her predicament.
Dr. Tofu sweatdropped, realising his faux pax too late. "Err, well, that's how I ended up here. Ayame kept me informed of your situation, and I had really, really hoped that you'd find happiness with Akane. Sadly Fate was apparently set against that, and now you are here," he mused, his professionalism in full swing again.
"Now I'm here," Ranma growled, her eyes flashing. "And you expect me to agree to that crazy plan you guys have hatched? That I'll just spread my legs and be a good lil girl or what? No freakin' way!" she yelled, instinctively squeezing her thighs shut.
"Ranma, we have tried everything. If only we had more time we could wait for an offspring of yours, but sadly, time is a luxury we do not have. The great freeze will occur in about three years time, by our most optimistic estimations. Only you can prevent that," Doctor Tofu stated in the chestnote of confirmedness.
"Is there really no other way?" Ranma reasoned, her anger slowly turning into fear. "There gotta be another way. There always is!"
Doctor Tofu sighed, but as much as it tore at his heart to see Ranma so desperate, there really was no alternative. "Ranma, I wish there was. But only you can guarantee that the Queen will be strong enough to prevent the Great Freeze."
"Why? Why can't you… dunno, implant that egg into another woman? Why me?" she pleaded desperately.
Dr. Tofu took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly. "We would gladly do it in any other way, Ranma, but every other human being is lacking two things: your own inert magic and the Jusenkyo magic."
"What?" Ranma exclaimed, her fear forgotten for the moment. "You've gotta be shitting me!"
"No, Ranma." Tofu retorted softly, a sad smile on his face. "You have the greatest potential for all things magical ever recorded in the history of the Saotome Clan, or at least your female form has. You have the requisite DNA and a massively powerful magical gene in your mitochondria. This will be inherited by your daughter, seeing as women pass off their mitochondria to their children. The reason why you have to carry the baby is that the Jusenkyo magic will intermix with the child's magic inside your womb."
"WHAT'S THAT FOR A KINDA BOGUS?!" Ranma exclaimed in complete disbelief. "YOU'RE ALL RAVING NUTS, THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE!"
"Ranma, this has been confirmed by our magical specialists," Dr. Tofu said patiently, "What you don't know is that Jusenkyo magic does a lot more than just turning its victims into different shapes. It is chaos magic at its purest, and will amplify the chaos traits you already carry in you due to your lineage. And that's something that can only happen if you carry the baby in your womb."
"BULLSHIT!" Ranma yelled, a vein appearing on her forehead. "Take some frigging samples of me if ya gotta and let me go! Then ya can play around with your test tubes all ya wanta! Heck, make it in… in… what's it called?"
"In vitro, Ranma," Tofu supplied patiently, "Which won't produce the same results as you carrying the baby. Also, implanting the modified egg into another woman bears the very real risk of repulsion. Sure, we could suppress the reaction, but that would damage the magic of the child with a probability of 95, 6 percent. Also, seeing that we do not have an endless supply of genetic material from the Queen that is something we can't risk, especially since we can't clone the Queens' genetic material. There just is no alternative," he explained with a wary sigh.
"There's gotta be, doc! I may have accepted the curse, but ya know as well as I do that I'm a guy at heart! And guys don't get preggers! They just don't!" the redhead yelled, her hands balled into tight fists.
Tofu sighed for the seemingly umpteenth time, which showed that this was not easy for him. "You have no idea how sorry I am, Ranma. That plan goes up against every professional and ethical rule of mine, and my sole justification is necessity. What good are my morals and ethics if I can't save Kasumi?"
The seriousness and despair in Tofu's voice caught Ranma's attention. "From what, doc? What is this 'Great Freeze' thing everyone is so worried about?"
Tofu looked her directly into the eyes with intent. "Simply put the end of the world for but a select few. We had several scenarios from the material your ancestor left us, but had no idea what would be the cause of the catastrophe. They found out last month what will cause the Great Freeze. It's unsettling, and makes the Gaijin movie 'Armageddon' look tame by comparison."
Ranma forgot her situation, her anger, fury and depression for a moment as she remembered the movie. "You gotta be kidding, doc!"
Tofu shook his head, a deadly-serious expression on his face. "I wish I was. Our long-range sensors detected the bastard last month. The thing is half as big as Earth and accompanied by hundreds of smaller asteroids. From what our scientists say it'll not impact Earth directly, but it'll knock the planet of course and alter its orbit. They're still busy with calculations, but according to their latest estimations it's going to be bad."
Ranma gulped. "How bad?"
-.-
Dr. Tofu had never looked more serious in his life than in this moment. "Very bad, and much worse than we initially thought. The climate that'll result from the change in orbit will be much, much harsher, even according to the most optimistic prognosis. Crops will fail all around the globe, and billions are going to die of starvation and cold. Most of Earth's population will freeze to death in a frozen hell. Japan will be one of the countries worst off, just like most Asian and European countries. The U.S.A., despite all their resources, technology and military power are going to turn into a frozen wasteland just like the rest. Habitable spots will be scarce for hundreds of years to come," Tofu muttered, just loud enough to be heard.
"Damn," Ranma breathed, her voice breaking a little.
"You can say that again, Ranma. No one will be safe from the Great Freeze, seeing that the effects will be global. You are our only chance. I know it's selfish, but I don't want to lose Kasumi. I want to have the chance to tell her that I love her, and I want to see our eventual children training happily in the Dojo, playing in the garden, whatever," Tofu said with desperate determination.
"B-But what about convincing the Tendos to move here?" Ranma suggested.
"Wouldn't work, for various reasons. If we tell the Tendos it'll get out. Someone will blab, or Happosai will find out. Do you think he'd keep his trap shut?" he muttered, raising his eyebrows inquiringly.
Ranma frowned and shook her head. "He'd go to any length to save as many beautiful girls as possible. Especially that nursery school teacher he had a crush on. From thereon her co-workers and even the kids would learn, tell their parents and so on. Or he'd run around screaming that he had to save his silky darlings from Armageddon or some shit," she murmured in defeat. "I see your point, doc."
"The situation is desperate, Ranma. We had always hoped that we would have more time, that you would have a daughter who could be slowly prepared for the duty instead of forcing you through the procedure like that. I had always hoped that we would find someone else, but deep in my heart I've always known that it would be you," Tofu said with a wry smile.
Ranma's face scrunched up. "I swear, shit like that only happens to me. Don't get me wrong," she said angrily, "I'm a guy and won't do it… but damn."
"Too true. Damn, or rather damned, that's what Earth is. This cockamamie plan is the only chance to resolve what Sailor Pluto started, Ranma, to stop the next Ice Age," Tofu retorted calmly in an attempt to reason with Ranma.
"Resolve it by impregnating me," the redhead spat bitterly. "Can't they… dunno, make another world like Earth or something if Clan Saotome has such great scientists? I remember some boring report on TV that other worlds could be ter… terra…"
"Terraformed?" supplied Tofu, smiling faintly.
"Yeah, that. Ain't that possible with the resources my Clan seems to have?" asked Ranma, wetting her lips nervously.
"No, Ranma," the doctor retorted bluntly with a shake of the head. "Not even the Clan has the technology needed to do so, and as far as I'm informed magic was utilised to terraform worlds in the Silver Millennium. And none of the Clan is magically powerful enough to do so. Terraforming and evacuation is out."
"Damn," Ranma groused with an angry shake of her head. "What's so special about this baby, the Queen, anyway? What can she do to stop the Great Freeze?"
Tofu sighed and massaged his temples. "This is highly complicated, Ranma. Not even I understand all magical aspects. Only so much, the Queen will have a mix of her original genes plus your genes, which will make her very strong. She'll truly be your daughter, Ranma, and you'll be her father who just happens to carry her to term as her surrogate mother. I don't know what the effects will be, only that the outcome will also be affected by the genes your father passed on to you."
"The genes pops passed on? Are they sure their microscopes are working?" Ranma asked snidely, a scarlet brow cocked mockingly.
Tofu's lips quirked into a wry smile. "Oh yes, perfectly, indeed. My colleague Dr. van Dyke was already the capacity on the working field genetics before your grandparents assured themselves his loyalty, and you can believe me when I say the man knows what he's doing."
"That's nice and all, but what can the Queen do? What makes her so special?" Ranma pressed, her curiosity piqued.
"That question leads us directly to the field of magic. I'm pretty sure you know nothing about the Sailor Scouts, which is something Xenma will no doubt rectify later. Know thy enemy and all that. Only so much, their leader, Sailor Moon, is the wielder of an artefact called the 'Silver Crystal'. This artefact holds unimaginable power, and can only be wielded by members of the Serenity line. That leads us to the conclusion that Sailor Moon is the reincarnation of Serenity VI's. daughter. It will be tough to gain control of the crystal, but your grandparents are optimistic that the addition of your genes will make the decisive difference. That, and the blending of the Jusenkyo and the Moon Kingdom magic," said Tofu, deciding to be blunt about it rather than circumspect.
Ranma on her part looked confused. "Doc, you lost me, and my head hurts. Hope there ain't any more 'memories' ya guys wanna stuff inta my head."
"No, Ranma, I'm pretty sure that that was everything. Have you understood the importance, Ranma? I can't stress it enough."
"Doc, I've known ya for a long time and I used to… I trust you. But… ya know, I can't do it. Even though I turn inta a girl and all… even though I gotta deal with female stuff… I'm a guy. And guys just don't get preggers," Ranma exclaimed in the chestnote of confirmedness.
"I can imagine how hard it is for you, Ranma," Doctor Tofu said honestly, informing the others to ready the video files and visual aids they had prepared. "But billions of people will die if you refuse. Akane, Kasumi, Nabiki, Mr. Tendo, Shampoo, Ryoga, even your own father, may very well be among them. Only the reborn Queen will be able to stop the asteroid, with the help of the Silver Crystal; and only you are able to carry the Queen."
"B-But…" Ranma began, but the Doctor shook his head.
"I'll show you how the Great Freeze will be caused and what it'll cause, and what would happen if you were to fight it unassisted. I wish I could refrain from showing this to you, but you have to see firsthand how futile that would be. I'm sorry, Ranma. I really am," he said a voice barely above a whisper, and used the alternate function of the MRU to upload the data containing variants of alternate versions of Ranma fighting the Senshi.
One press of a button later and Ranma clutched the sides of her head again as she was assaulted by images. In them she saw several 'fights' of herself in both forms with the Sailor Senshi, and how badly she lost to them despite going all out and pulling every move in her book; her martial arts and ki-attacks were ineffective against a Sailor Pluto who could slow down time so that the others could get her with their magical attacks, and she died every single time. And in gruesome ways to boot.
Ranma's body shuddered as she watched herself being electrocuted, frozen to ice, burned alive or just plain cut to pieces, and looking into her own lifeless eye after having been stabbed through the heart almost was too much for her.
After ten of these fights she finally saw the consequences of her failure, and what she saw was mindboggling and gruesome. The redhead had to watch helplessly how the gigantic asteroid grazed Earth and knocked it of course due to its enormous mass. A few smaller asteroids – if gigantic masses the size of Tokyo Tower could be called small - impacted and caused great havoc and chaos.
Ranma watched powerlessly as the consequences of the change in orbit unfolded, and didn't even notice the tears that were streaming down her face as she 'watched' the events. She had one time watched a report of what would happen during a nuclear winter, and this was just as gruelling. The redhead watched helplessly but in morbid fascination how the world grew visibly colder, how blizzards, tornadoes and other natural disasters devastated the world without mercy, and she just couldn't close her eyes or look away, it was like watching a train wreck, only a million times worse. One simply couldn't look away, regardless how gruesome the scene.
The focus then switched to her mother-country and showed how sites she had been at were destroyed by every hazardous weather phenomenon imaginable; things really became personal however when the focus switched to Nerima. Not a Nerima as she knew it, but a destroyed, devastated landscape, wrecked by an unforgiving nature; frozen bodies were lying everywhere, and Ranma was sure she must die when she saw a newborn baby lying on top of its dead parents, wailing in vain with frozen tears on its cheeks, already frozen half to death, the wailing getting constantly weaker.
That wasn't the end of this horror trip by a long shot as Ranma found, and she was a helpless passenger when they passed the Nekohanten which had apparently been abandoned before it had collapsed in on itself; however, the countless frozen bodies she had seen on the way were more than enough.
Ucchan's okonomiyaki shop was the next stop, and the restaurant had been completely destroyed by some weather condition or the other. The redhead gasped loudly when she saw Ucchan's frozen and mangled body which had been entrapped under the debris of her own restaurant, only leaving the top-half visible. A look of horror was permanently edged into her white-blue face, and her eyes stared lifelessly at the sky. Never again would she prepare a perfect okonomiyaki or exclaim, "I'm your cute fiancée, Ranchan,".
Never had death seemed more final to Ranma, and the Saotome youth was now well aware of the tears streaming down her face, but she was not ashamed and made no attempt to keep them in, not that she'd have managed to anyway.
The journey continued, and the next stop turned out to be the worst: the Tendo Dojo. Or what was left of it; the main house as well as the Dojo itself had collapsed, and bodies were lying scattered within the perimeter of what had once been her home. All bodies were showing signs of grievous injuries, but in the end it had been the cold caused by the Great Freeze that had done way of them.
Ranma sobbed uncontrollably as she turned to look from friend to friend, and her sobbing only increased in intensity when she saw Akane; her ex-fiancée and someone she still considered a good friend, maybe a sister even had been trapped under a support-beam that had crushed her midsection, and Ryoga who had apparently tried to come to her aid had met his end due to another support beam that had caved his skull in. It was a gruesome sight, and it took all Ranma had not to be violently sick.
The martial artist was whisked further into the house, and she gasped when she saw her dead father, a look of intense pain permanently edged into his face. The roof had obviously collapsed, and she couldn't be sure if it had been an act of heroism or something else, but her pops must have tried to shield the others from the debris.
But it hadn't done any good in the end. He had shielded Kasumi and Nabiki (who were only recognisable due to their clothing), but all three had been crushed to death from the enormous weight of the debris. Mr. Tendo was lying a few feet away; he, too, had apparently tried to save his daughters, but an enormous piece of debris had ended his life. They were all dead, no more than lifeless shells lying in what had become a frozen hell.
Moments later the perspective changed, and Ranma found herself high above Earth. The once beautiful blue-green planet was literally encased in a thick layer of ice; it had become a frozen prison of death for the better part of humanity, a planetary common grave without escape. Ranma barely noticed that a tortured scream escaped her, and seconds later she found herself in front of Dr. Tofu. The horror trip had finally come to an end…
-.-
Ranma Saotome had always strived to keep her – or his, depending on form and weather – emotions in check. But what she had just seen had been way too much even by her standards; she knew in the back of her mind that everything had been a simulation, and ' she had always tried to keep in mind that it wasn't real during the actual 'trip, but the VR had been a tad bit too realistic.
Not knowing how to deal with what she had seen the Saotome girl hugged her knees and sobbed, the images of her dead friends and almost-family still vivid in her mind. "T-They w-were all dead!"
Tofu had always hated to see people suffer, which was one of the main reasons he had chosen his profession, but seeing Ranma suffer, a sometimes boy sometimes girl, who had seen entirely too much in his/her young life, was unlike harder. He truly hated what Ranma was now forced to endure, and had tried beforehand to convince Xenma that forcing Ranma was the wrong way; yet Xenma had only given in when everything had been too late anyway, and it was still questionable if the young boy-turned-girl could be convinced to agree.
But now she needed comfort foremost. 'Not surprising after what she just saw. I had depressions for weeks after I had seen Kasumi die. How bad must it be for Ranma?' he mused.
Slowly walking up to her the doctor sat down beside her and drew the boy-turned-girl into a comforting hug, slowly rubbing her back in soothing circles. "Ssshhh, Ranma, let it all out. I know what you just saw was gruesome, but that is what will happen if the Queen isn't reborn. I know it will be shocking, but that was no simulation either. That is what Tenma Saotome managed to record when he tapped the Timegates.
"All of them will die, and so will you, with no more than slight variances in the outcome. I swear on my honour as a martial artist and doctor that this is the truth. The majority of our friends and loved ones will die, Ranma. Most probably… Ka… Kasumi too," he concluded in a whisper, wiping away his own tears.
More sobs racked Ranma's body as the images she had seen gained a new quality. She believed the doc that these had been scenarios her ancestor had managed to record, for he had never lied to her in important matters. "And... i-if I fight t-the Senshi...?"
The doctor sighed and smiled bitter-sweetly. "You saw it yourself, Ranma. The recordings you saw stem from alternate timelines where you chose to fight the Senshi unassisted. And the Senshi will win every single time, regardless if you fight them in male or female form, and even we with all our technology and money can't do jack against them. Only the Queen would be able to counter Pluto's powers, but sadly none of us. You saw it yourself, you'd throw your life away and die, and the Great Freeze will kill everyone you care about anyway."
"B-but me… p-pregnant… I just can't, doc! I can't!" Ranma sobbed, hiding her face in her hands.
Tofu placed his right hand under Ranma's chin and lifted her chin up so that she was forced to look at him. "I'm aware that it goes against everything you have ever been taught, and against your self-image in particular. But ask yourself this question: is your ego, your pride of staying male worth the lives of so many innocents, when you would only need to sacrifice a bit of yourself to save them? To save Akane? Kasumi? Ukyo? Your parents? And all the others?"
"B-but I…a … a mother…" Ranma whispered, her tone of voice conveying just how much the concept terrified her.
"Ranma, you will be the father, not the mother. The mother is the dead Queen Serenity, who left her DNA for safekeeping in case it would be needed. You, Ranma, will have to act as a kind of surrogate mother, even if we use your genetic material too. Do you understand me so far?" Tofu asked intently.
Ranma remained silent for a few minutes, then she nodded slowly. "B-But still, it would be m-me to carry the baby…"
"Indeed. But isn't it your duty as the father, which you would be, to protect the mother and the unborn child? Granted, Queen Serenity is dead, but seeing as you would be acting as a surrogate mother for her you'd be protecting yourself," Tofu reasoned and readied himself to deliver the final blow. "You, Ranma, have the safest and most protected womb one could imagine, considering your abilities and your dormant magic. Add to that that no other woman on the planet is such a chaos generator as you are, which effectively shrouds you from Sailor Pluto. You still have to be wary of Pluto and her powers seeing that she has millennia of experience working for her, the rest is a walk in the park, as they say."
"B-But…"
"Ranma," the Doctor interrupted, his intent gaze boring into her, "you said you trust me."
A nod from the redhead. "But not farther than I can throw you."
"Which is not saying much," Tofu chuckled, a bright light shining in his brown eyes, "seeing as you could probably throw me right back to Nerima ward by tomorrow. Ranma, I told you the complete and ugly truth when I said that there is no other candidate. You are our only chance to save the world, to save billions of people. Isn't it a martial artists' duty to protect the weak?"
Ranma closed her eyes as the memory of the wailing baby lying on top of its dead parents assaulted her, parents who had probably tried their utmost to save theirs and their child lives. "Yes," she muttered silently.
"Good. Ranma, this isn't easy for me. You always were a younger brother, or sister to me, depending on the weather or Akane's mood," he chuckled, "and believe me when I say that I tried every alternative imaginable beforehand because I knew how you'd react. I really tried, Ranma, for I remember our talks about your experiences on Watermelon Island all too well. I know how much it unsettled you when you learned that you could become a mother."
Ranma's face contorted and she made a retching sound. "Don't remind me of that, doc. The vision of having Kuno's kids was almost enough to drive me insane."
"Understandable," the doctor nodded, an amused snort escaping him. "Anyone would have a colony of bats in their belfry when faced with that. But it would be very different here. You would carry a child that is a mix of your genes and those of the Queen, that much is true. But there will be no sex with a guy, no overly invasive method, nothing of that kind. Just forty weeks during which you'd have to be a surrogate mother in order to save the world. We wouldn't ask it of you if we had another way, Ranma."
The redhead said nothing for a few moments, and then she sighed and closed her eyes. Everything Doctor Tofu had told her was the truth, as far as she could tell. Would it really be so bad if she could save Akane... and all the others? And the world?
Ranma couldn't deny that the doc had raised some pretty good points. Essentially, she, or rather her male form would be the father while she would act as the surrogate mother. 'Let's suppose Akane… or someone else and I had married and she wouldn't be able to have kids 'cause of some medical shit. Wouldn't I have agreed to carry our children so that we could have children at all? Face it, Saotome, the answer is yes…'
"Doc, before I agree to anything, why was I knocked out and brought here?" Ranma asked out of the blue.
Dr. Tofu sighed and rubbed his temples for a moment. "Ranma, I'll be honest and upfront with you. The original plan envisioned that you'd be knocked out and brought here, which happened. It was further planned that you were to be impregnated without your consent-"
Ranma growled, interrupting him. "I suspected something like that," she growled icily, angry at the fact that she couldn't access her ki to wreck some serious havoc; but postponed was not abandoned, as they say. "Continue," she commanded.
"Err, yes," Tofu almost stammered and pushed his glasses up in a nervous gesture; even without her powers the redhead was scary! "Well, your grandmother convinced your grandfather to alter the plan. She couldn't bear to see her granddaughter subjected to this, and I believe her exact words were something to the effect that she had 'already embosomed you completely' despite not knowing you for longer than one hour."
"Hn. How nice of grandma. So I'll just have to set gramps straight then. Good to know," the redhead groused and balled her right hand to a fist which she smacked into her palm.
"He only did what he thought he had to do. Ranma, Pluto killed your ancestor, Tenma. She staged the great ice and will kill billions of people, even if indirectly. For your grandfather you are the only shot at preventing this, at getting back at Pluto. He got carried away, no doubt about it, and taking your choice away is unforgivable. But try to understand him. He wants to preserve the world as it is, and had to make some tough choices to get to where he is now. Believe me, it was not easy on him," Tofu said seriously.
"I understand that very well, doc. I had some tough choices to make as well in my life, as you very well know. But enough of that for now. You've been honest with me, and for that I'm grateful. But now I really gotta think about all that shit. Could ya leave alone?"
Dr. Tofu nodded and bowed his head slightly. "Of course. Please, use the intercom over there at the wall once you've reached a decision. But before I go, remember a martial artists' first duty," he stressed.
"Protect the weak…" Ranma muttered, just loud enough to be heard.
"Indeed. And now you could protect and save a whole world. You just have to make the right decision…"
Tofu's words echoed in Ranma's ears as he exited the room, leaving the redhead to her thoughts.
-.-
Nodoka, her parents and Ayame were congregated in another section of the underground complex and waited with bated breath for Ranma to make her decision. Worry was written on each face, and each of them were feeling regretful and even ashamed to a certain extent that they had put Ranma through what might be the worst experience of her short life.
Doctor Tofu had rejoined them a minute prior and had informed them in a short and crisp fashion that the boy-turned-girl had received all information and was now trying to reach a decision. A decision she could only make alone.
"Damn that Pluto for forcing me to do this to my child," Nodoka growled, her eyes flashing angrily. "My only hope is that Ranma will be able to forgive me some day."
Lara, who was sitting to her daughter's left on a three-piece sofa with Xenma sitting beside her in silent contemplation put an arm around Nodoka. "That's something we all hope, No-chan."
"It's especially bad that our only salvation goes up against Ranma's views of herself, and that completely and utterly. I once said to Mr. Saotome that Ranma's curse should be handled more openmindedly, but sadly, I was ignored," Dr. Tofu mused with a long-suffering sigh.
Nodoka sighed and squeezed her mother's hand while looking at the doctor. "Yes, I made many mistakes in dealing with my child. Today has really opened my eyes to that. But from now on I'll be there for her, she'll never be alone again." she vowed.
Lara nudged her daughter in the ribs and looked at her sternly. "I hope for your sake that this manliness bull is really buried and forgotten, No-chan. Otherwise I might be forced to do something you'll regret. Have I made myself clear, young lady?"
Nodoka sighed and bowed her head. "Yes, mother. I promise that these stupid ideas are gone from my mind. For good."
"Good, No-chan. Ranma will need us in the coming months, but especially you. You'll have the chance to build a completely new relationship, but it will be very hard in the beginning. Her trust in us has likely been completely erased," Lara sighed, sadness tinting his voice.
"That is indeed very likely," Dr. Tofu agreed and briefly bowed his head before meeting Lara's eyes again. "Ranma is a person to trust easily, but once you have lost her trust it will be incredibly hard to regain it. However, her forgiving nature might go a long way in helping us out, but all of us will have to be completely honest with her from now on. No hidden agendas, no hidden motives."
Everyone nodded in understanding. "Kami-sama forgive us," Nodoka bre thed.
-.-
Two hours had passed and Ranma had still not given word. Despite the fact that the boy-turned-girl might get angry with them, worry won over caution and the group led by Nodoka and Lara opened the door to the living room to check up on Ranma.
Nodoka entered the room first, cautiously. Peering at the sofa she saw that Ranma was apparently fast asleep, but when she tiptoed over towards her daughter she saw that Ranma was unnaturally pale as well. Now really worried she sat down and tried to waken her. "She won't wake," she exclaimed worriedly to the others after several tries.
"Let's have a look…" the doctor of the group said, producing a scanning-device. "Ah, there's the problem… the drugs haven't been flushed out of her system, and due to the fact that her ki isn't working properly it's affecting her much more than I'd have thought. That should remedy it…" he mused and gave her an injection.
The others looked on in worry and let him do his work, which had apparently been effective, seeing that a low moan could be heard a minute later. "Good, she's coming around," Dr. Tofu muttered, looking up from his device. "Her vitals are stabilising, she'll be fully awake in a few seconds."
Nodoka smiled thankfully and stroked her daughter's hair while holding her hand. "Ranma, honey, how are you feeling?"
"Like I had a fight with Taro and lost," the younger redhead moaned. "Mom, I'm thirsty. Water, please?"
Ayame had already become active and brought the requested drink. "Drink slowly, Mistress," she advised.
Ranma, who had recovered by now, glared at her for various reasons, but complied when Ayame set the glass to her lips. The glass was removed once she had finished, and as soon as that was the case Ranma glared into the round. "First off, what the hell happened? I'm pretty damn sure I hadn't used the intercom…"
"Dear," her mother interrupted before Ranma could develop a full head of steam, "it's just that we got worried when we hadn't heard a blip from you in hours."
Ranma saw the honesty in her mother's eyes and nodded. "Okay. But you know that you're all friggin insane, right?" she growled, lacing especially Xenma with a burning glare. "And I must be too…" she muttered, shaking her head.
Before hope could flare up because of Ranma's words the redhead focussed her attention solely on Tofu. "Doc, do you swear on your honour as a martial artist and a doctor that everything you showed me was the truth? The complete, undiluted fucking truth?" she asked intently, discreetly scanning the auras of the others while seemingly concentrating on the good doctor.
Tofu looked her square in the eyes without blinking, and his unguarded brown eyes held the answer. The doctor made no attempt to hide his aura either when he answered. "Yes, Ranma. The complete truth, nothing more, nothing less. Akane, Kasumi, Ukyo, the others… They are all going to die if the Asteroid isn't stopped. No one aside from the Queen can do that, Ranma. No one."
The redhead bowed her head to hide her tears, wiping them away with her sleeve. He had said nothing but the truth, and she hadn't sensed deceit from the others. Everyone she held dear would indeed die, and there was nothing she could do safe one thing. Finally looking back up she spoke up again. "All of you, please leave me alone. I need some time to think before I make my decision, seeing that I fell asleep and all that."
"Of course, honey," her mother agreed with a real smile.
"But…" Xenma began to protest.
"No, Xen," Lara interrupted and laced her husband with a stern glare. "It is her decision, and we should have asked for her help from the start. I'm ashamed at what we did, and we will… not… force… her," she concluded adamantly. "Ranma-honey, use the intercom once you have reached a decision, okay?"
The Saotome patriarch sighed inwardly, but nodded nevertheless. He knew it was useless to discuss with his wife when she was like this, and he still had ways to ensure that the plan was carried out if Ranma refused. Giving in wouldn't weaken his position at all and might prove to be to his benefit. "Agreed, Lara-chan. Ranma-chan, we will leave you to your thoughts. But I can only stress once more how important your decision is. Billions of lives are riding on it."
Ranma, who had been secretly pleased by her grandmother's reaction, even though she was wary that it could still be a ploy despite that she hadn't sensed deceit in her grandma, immediately glared at her grandfather. "I won't talk to you, grandfather," she spat acidly, her eyes two chips of ice. "What you did to me went beyond the pale, and it's 'cause of my sense of duty and fuckin' necessity that I even consider agreeing to your crazy plan. I know my duties, but you forgot yours to the Clan and its members. Now leave me the hell alone!"
Xenma looked at her for a few seconds and sighed then in defeat. "As you wish," he replied in a carefully neutral tone and left the room.
Nodoka, Lara and Dr. Tofu gave Ranma encouraging smiles before they too followed the Saotome patriarch.
-.-
Finally being more awake enabled Ranma to think. Slowly, carefully the redhead got out of the bed, her ki-paths having recovered enough so that she could pace without fear of landing flat on her face. She had always been able to think best when in motion, and even though the bedroom of roughly twenty square metres didn't exactly give her much space it was nevertheless sufficient. Ranma frowned deeply as she paced, sorting through her thoughts.
'What they've shown me is the truth. I'd have noticed if the doc had lied. So that means that Akane… Kasumi… Ukyo… Nabiki… pops… and all the others are going to die. Maybe not all of them, but does it make a difference? I couldn't bear it if even one of them died, 'specially not if I could've made a difference. And even if we got them all to safety, what about the billions of people we can't get to safety?' she thought, pausing in her pacing for a second.
'We can't terr… terraform or escape either…' she mused grimly, resuming her pacing, 'So doing… that… is really the only way. But why do I hafta be the only one sui… suitable? Not that I don't believe the doc, but why me? It's just not fair!' the redhead wailed inwardly.
Letting out a frustrated sigh Ranma ran her fingers through her hair, the unconscious gesture being testament to how churned up she was inside. 'Damn, Nabiki was right, as usual. I should have listened. But nooo, stupid trusting me runs straight into the trap… nope, can't trust gramps, grandma and mom at all… they wanted to force me! Grandma and mom not as much as gramps as it seems, but still… I don't even know if I can ever forgive them for planning to use me this way! But what to do? Can't even use Drowned Twin water, 'cause it would still be me… that shucks.'
Grumbling Ranma sat down on the ground Indian style and put her head in her hands. 'If I flee and do nothing the ones I care about will die, and I might very well die a meaningless death myself. If I stay and agree I'll be a mom… maybe not a real mom, but it would be me to carry the kid… how did doc call it? Surrogate mom? Am I strong enough to do that?' she asked herself, her head dropping even more.
'Doc said I'd be the father…' she reasoned with herself, 'I only have to carry the kid 'cause there ain't anybody else who could. I'd not be its real mom… but still, I'm a guy, damn it! Stupid pops… It's all his fault for dragging me to Jusenkyo! Why couldn't he have fallen into the Spring?' she groused, glaring angrily at the ground.
'Enough with the pity party now, Saotome. Ya gotta make a tough decision, and bitching and whining ain't gonna help. So I, or better, my kid can save the world if I decide to play surrogate mom… my kid could save all of 'em I care about… This ain't about if I'm a guy or not, this is about if I got the balls to do what needs to be done… Even if my stupid Clan will pay for trying to spring that on me without asking me.'
Getting up from her seated position Ranma resumed her pacing, a look of intense concentration on her face. 'Damn, I can't get the looks Akane and Ucchan had on their faces outta my head… Kasumi, Nabiki, pops, Ryoga… all dead and frozen… and then that baby… seeing that really gave me the creeps.
'I can prevent that, can't I? Damn, I don't wanna lose them… nearly losing Akane was bad enough… even though I don't love her as anything but a sister anymore… I couldn't stand to lose any of them… their frozen bodies… and their lifeless faces… all of 'em… never saw anything more gruelling… I ain't got no choice. It's my duty to prevent it, to help my kid prevent it from happening. Can't back down from the challenge to save 'n' protect the whole friggin world now, can I?'
A scowl appeared on her face as a thought crossed her mind. 'Doc also said that they wanted to force me… who says they ain't gonna do that anyway if I say no? I got no way of escaping as I'm now, and I bet they got ways to stop me if I tried to flee. Fuck, I really got no damn choice. Hafta do it and get their damn trust, and once I got it I'm gonna get the hell outta here so fast their heads are gonna spin!'
Her face firmed and settled into a determined expression. 'Okay, I'll do it, but I'll do it on my terms. My Clan shall think that they've won, that I'll be a good little girl,' she grinned wickedly at this point, 'and go along with their wishes. But the heck I will, and they'll only find out once it's too late. I'll raise the kid by myself, and once we're done saving the world I'm so gonna lay down a few rules. Oh yeah. I-'
Ranma's internal monologue was all of a sudden interrupted by the door opening with a swish, and in stepped her grandfather, his face sporting an utterly serious expression. "I know you're very cross with me, Ranma, and I can perfectly understand why," he said as he walked up to his granddaughter, and he held up his left hand to stall her retort, his right hand holding some kind of ultra thin thing Ranma'd never seen before, "But I won't apologise for doing what I feel is the right thing. And now I'm here to show you why I think that only you'll be able to do the job.
"The others don't know I'm here, and will never know unless you choose to tell them. This is completely off the books, and you'll learn the real reasons why I did what I did. No one, not even your grandmother knows, and she - like your mother and everyone else - thinks that the asteroid is our only problem. Alas, if only it were so!"
Ranma couldn't help but feel intrigued and swallowed her ire for the time being, and using her soul of ice she managed to keep her face impassive. "Go on."
Xenma walked over to the bed, placed the flat thing on the pillow and sat down. His face still impassive he beckoned Ranma to do the same. "Don't worry, I don't bite," he said dryly. "On second thought, your grandmother'd probably rat me out, so I assume I do bite after all."
"Old geezers like you shouldn't talk like that," Ranma scoffed, stared at Xenma for a few moments to show him that it was her decision and then walked over to the bed and sat down beside Xenma, whose eyes were glittering amusedly.
The Saotome patriarch opened up the laptop (for that's what it turned out to be, much to Ranma's astonishment) and fired it up, his serious dark eyes glancing at Ranma. "What I'm going to show you is the best kept secret of our Clan, and the complete and utter truth. Only a few of our most loyal scientists are in the know aside from me, only we know the terrible truth. A truth I'm going to share with you. Now watch closely..."
And watch Ranma did.
-.-
Almost one hour later, her grandfather having left long ago, an empty, drained and most of all shocked Ranma Saotome stared off into space, her mind still going over the shocking facts she had learned. The redhead remained in this position, frozen like a statue, for what seemed to be hours until she slowly raised her head, having come to a decision.
Slowly but deliberately she got to her feet and walked over to where the intercom was installed and pushed the appropriate button. "Ya can come in now. I'll do it," she simply said, numb fingers sliding down the wall.
to be continued…